Kiran could feel the air slowly heat up with each passing step. He couldn't quite place it, but the summoner had an unsettling feeling. It felt like a snake had coiled around his stomach, and began to slowly squeeze.

"Are you quite alright, Sir Kiran?" Reinhardt and Grima followed the summoner down the dimly lit hallway.

"Yeah," he replied, "Just a little nervous."

"I would not worry, Lady Ishtar will be quite alright," Reinhardt replied, "She's much less reckless than the people she associates herself with." Kiran turned around and glared at the mage knight. He winked at the summoner, and gave him a wry smile. Grima looked at the two of them, attempting to interpret both of them.

The summoner groaned. "That's exactly what I'm worried about." He replied. He didn't elaborate any further, and continued down the hall.

The trio came upon a section of the hallway that was little more than rubble. Above them was open sky. They could hear the roars of manaketes overhead. Kiran yelled up into the night, and heard the flapping of large feathery wings in response to his calls. A pure white pegasus hovered above them, with Sumia behind the reins. She attempted, rather poorly, to wipe some soot from her face.

"Commander!" She exclaimed, "What do you need from me?"

Kiran coughed a couple of times, clearing his throat. "Your Grace, Alfonse went ahead to fight Surtr with a small group. We need as many reinforcements as we can get!" Sumia nodded her head in response.

"I-I'll see what I can do!" As she left, she gave Grima a strange look, "Do I know you? You look familiar." The fell dragon smiled.

"It's a surprise," she answered coyly, "Just watch your step, sweet Sumia." With that, the queen of Ylisse was off into the air again, only a little more nervous than before. Kiran looked at Grima and frowned. She just shrugged. "What? She's as clumsy as all the hells."

Kiran clicked his tongue, but said nothing. He looked down the remaining hallway. The rubble in front of them barely impeded them, but the remainder of the dragon fire was adding to the substantial heat. As they continued forward, he wiped his brow, and grunted in frustration. This was taking too long. Far too long. If they made it out of this, Kiran made a mental note to have a long talk with Alfonse.

That's when he heard it. The sound of metal on stone, and the sound of thunder. The corridor ended, and opened up into a huge room. The heat here almost punched the breath out of Kiran's lungs. A small contingent of Muspellan soldiers were engaged in a battle with the heroes. The summoner saw Henry leaned against a wall, with Veronica and Tharja tending to him. He seemed in relatively good spirits, which probably meant he had a severe injury. Kiran looked around and saw Oboro and Nephenee fiercely defending a position where several other mages and archers stood. He exhaled his held breath when he saw Ishtar still slinging lightning, looking the part of a thunder goddess. Hector was taking a majority of the Muspellan forces, laughing off their attacks and swinging Armads with reckless abandon. And then he saw Alfonse. Flames licked at his friend's boots as he held off the King of Muspell. Fjorm and Ike were there as well; and Kiran noticed the trio kept switching out, presumably to give the other two a chance to recoup. He turned to Grima, who looked at the Tyrant hungrily.

"That's the bad guy," Kiran yelled, "You're allowed to do what you need to!"

Grima's face twisted with glee. "I have your full permission to rend him into pieces?" She asked. The fell dragon didn't wait for an answer, choosing to fling herself towards Surtr, roaring with an unearthly pleasure. "I have come for you, worm!"

Kiran growled to himself, looking at Reinhardt. The mage knight raised an eyebrow back at the summoner.

"Go help Hector," he finally said, "The sooner these men are dealt with, the sooner we can force Surtr to surrender." Reinhardt nodded, and thunder sprung forth from his hand. Kiran kept surveying the small battlefield, looking for some way to assist the heroes. A loud shriek behind him caused him to turn around; and he saw a large Muspellan beserker, swinging a large silver axe at him. There was a flash, and the sound of thunder echoed in Kiran's ears. The scent of ozone filled his nostrils, and he coughed. The beserker fell to the floor, a hole in his chest. Kiran looked towards the source of the sound; Ishtar stood, pointing in the direction of the now-deceased Muspellan. He could see panic in her eyes, but what was worrying her? And why was everything so loud? He couldn't hear anything beyond his own heartbeat.

Lucina sheathed Falchion as the sounds of battle began to fade. Victory was quick and decisive, which was a surprise. Perhaps the tyranny of Surtr had led to a lack of motivation from the opposing force, but the princess welcomed it. The flames of Muspell felt horribly familiar, and she wanted to be done with this grim place as quickly as possible.

She felt a hand lightly brush against her arm. Lucina jumped back, seeing the mahogany glare and red pigtails of Severa. "Ah! I'm sorry, Sev!" She managed to squeak out.

Severa rolled her eyes. "Like I would let any- any enemy get to you, Lucy," she commented, "Try to relax just a little bit." She brought her hand to Lucina's arm again. Her eye's narrowed. Lucina looked at the small scratch. An errant swing had cut through her clothes, but had barely touched the skin. It was extraordinarily lucky. "Jeez, you really enjoy cutting things close, huh?"

"I'm only so reckless because you're there to help me out." Lucina teased. Severa's lips thinned.

"Don't push your luck." she retorted, giving Lucina a playful shove.

The sound of large feathered wings cut through the thick haze, moving quickly overhead. The princess saw the pegasus come to a quick stop, and Sumia dismounted the pegasus in a fluid, graceful motion. Lucina felt a tinge of jealousy. She just didn't have the talent for flying like her mother and sister did, and sometimes it was annoying to watch …

Sumia took two steps before landing on her face. Everyone within a ten foot radius of the Queen of Ylisse winced. Maybe not so much jealousy as befuddlement. Lucina thought to herself. Sumia slowly got up, muttering some rather un-royal language. As everyone debated what to do next, another pegasus knight landed next to her. Cordelia dismounted, and made her way to the queen, helping her up.

"Are you alright, Sumia?" Cordelia asked. Sumia pouted, and checked her body for any injuries.

"Yeah," She finally replied, "It's just … I looked so cool on the dismount, Cordy!" She stomped her foot for emphasis. The clang of metal on metal echoed, and Cordelia winced. Sumia had stomped on her foot. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" Sumia shouted, "I'm so sorry!"

"Don't … worry … about it." Cordelia said through clenched teeth.

"Mom, Auntie Cordelia," Lucina interrupted, "Is there anything else that needs to be done?" She hoped the answer was no, but judging by the duo's expressions, things were not quite over yet.

"Prince Alfonse," Sumia explained, "He and a small group of heroes are fighting Surtr, and the Summoner asked me to get some reinforcements." A group started to gather around her. "Cordelia and I can only take two people, the rest of you will have to make your way to the main hall of the castle." Sumia looked over everyone, before speaking again. "Who is willing to go with us?" The queen closed her eyes as she saw Lucina's hand shoot up. Of course.

"I will go, mother!" Lucina called out. Before she could walk forward, she felt a hand grab her arm and start to drag her towards the pegasus knights. Severa pushed through the crowd, standing tall with Lucina in tow. She stood defiantly in front of her mother, daring Cordelia to send her away.

Before Sumia could speak for or against, Cordelia laughed softly. She looked at her daughter with a mixture of pride and sadness. The knight saw Robin attempting to reach them from the back of the group. She shook her head at him.

"I suppose it would be foolish to refuse you, hmm?" She asked Severa. Severa didn't reply, just walked towards her mother's pegasus.

"Let's get moving," She declared, "I'm sick of waiting." Cordelia nodded in affirmation.

"Okay, so the rest of you will have to just follow as best as you can." She announced, pushing herself onto her mount. The pegasus whinnied, and began to flap her wings, preparing for takeoff. Cordelia looked at her husband, now looking his fair share of worried. "I think Robin knows the way?" With a wink, the two pegasi sprinted forward, reaching takeoff velocity.

Robin clenched his teeth. He knew that Severa and Cordelia would be fine; but dammit, he didn't like being excluded.

"Father!" He heard Morgan shout. His younger daughter, pegasus in tow, approached the tactician. "I saw that mother and Severa took off! What are they doing?"

"They're going ahead of the rest of us, to provide some backup."

"You and I can provide backup!"

Robin smiled slightly. "No," he replied, "I'm staying with the group. Somebody needs to make a plan." Morgan pouted in response.

"No fun," she muttered, "We should go help them!"

"We are," Robin explained, "But we need to get all these heroes together." He whistled, gaining the attention of the conversing group. The tactician began barking orders out, as Morgan continued pouting. Why did Severa get to go to the front lines? She was just as mature! Okay, maybe not as mature … Morgan thought, But I'm just as strong! The young tactician heard a familiar giggle behind her, and two hands began to massage her back.

"Little Morgan," Aversa cooed, "What's with the dour expression?"

Morgan sighed, "Nothin', Auntie Aversa," she responded, "I just want to help!"

"We're on our way to help, are we not?" Aversa asked, "Anyways, we just finished fighting here; wasn't that helping?"

Morgan groaned, "I just want to help on the front lines, Auntie! Is that so bad? I'm tired of being seen as a kid!"

Aversa tapped her nose thoughtfully. "Well, I may know someone who wants to be on the front as much as you …" The dark mage turned Morgan around, and the young tactician saw the meek smile of Noire.

"H-hey, Morgan," She squeaked out, "Were you planning to follow Sev and Lucy?" Morgan looked at Aversa.

"Don't worry about your father," Aversa replied, as if reading Morgan's mind, "He's rather easy to distract." She started to slink over to the tactician, calling out to him. "Oh big brother! I want to go into battle with you!"

"Why aren't you on the front lines, you h- ow!" Robin was once again getting pinched again. Morgan and Noire boarded her black pegasus, and the young girl reminded herself to buy Aversa a nice dessert when all this was over. With a few heavy flaps, the pegasus was airborne, and the sounds of the wind filled her ears.

Or maybe it was Noire whimpering.

"How is he feelin'?"

"Keep us protected!" Kiran recognized that voice, but he couldn't place it. "Stay awake, Kiran, please." The summoner blinked, focusing his vision. Ishtar was knelt in front of him, eyes filled with grim determination. She smiled, noticing his lucidity. "Thank the gods," Ishtar finally said, "Thank the gods."

"What happened?" Kiran attempted to get up, but was held down by the mage. He noted that his right side hurt pretty badly, and there were crude stitches closing a pretty nasty cut.

Oh.

His robe and shirt had been discarded.

"Um," Kiran began, "I usually look better than this, I just kinda didn't do crunches this month! I swear!" He began coughing, and Ishtar held his arm. She rolled her eyes, but still smiled.

"You're kidding," the summoner overheard Oboro say, "Get hit by lightning, and that's what he's worrying about?"

"Guys worry 'bout the dumbest stuff sometimes." Nephenee replied, grunting as she threw another Muspellan soldier off her halberd. "How's he doin', Lady Ishtar?" She called out. Ishtar felt his wound, and Kiran winced. He felt a sharp shock come from her fingers for a brief moment. He shouted in pain and confusion.

"I have just cauterized the wound, like Oboro instructed," Ishtar stated coldly, "The bleeding has already stopped."

"Alright, can he get up?" Oboro asked. Ishtar stood up, offering her hand to Kiran. He took it, and only felt a slight stab of pain from his wound as he lifted himself up.

"Yeah, I can get up." He said bluntly, going to grab his robe. "How long have I been out?"

"Only a few minutes," Ishtar replied, "Are you sure you're okay?" Kiran nodded, grunting a little bit. He felt her hand squeeze his. Ishtar was staring him down, her purple eyes sparking with intensity.

"I want you to stay behind me," she said quietly, "Why did you come? You aren't a fighter." Ishtar squeezed tightly, and Kiran noted that she was shaking.

"I need to be here, Ishtar," he replied, "I have to help protect Askr!"

"You can't protect anyone if you die here!" She shouted. Kiran was taken aback. Sure, the wound didn't feel good, but he didn't think it was that bad. Ishtar let go of the summoner, and turned around. "I cannot protect you if you're in front of me. Please, stay behind me from now on." Lightning sprung from her hands, but Kiran noticed she was slow when she attacked, being extremely cautious around the other heroes.

"Are you alright, Mr. Summoner?" An archer with white pigtails approached Kiran. She gave him a sweet smile, but one that made Kiran a little nervous. "That injury looked p-retty rough."

"Nina, right?" The archer nodded, confirming her identity. She took another shot, and Kiran heard a comical scream. "What happened?"

"Oh, that's easy," Nina replied, "That woman hit you with her lightning. She was crying and everything. It was all pretty romantic."

Kiran felt his side. It did explain why she was being so cautious. And why she didn't want him in front of her. "But it was an accident, right?" Kiran didn't really care about what Nina said, he knew what he believed; but it was always helpful to get an outside opinion.

Nina looked confused. "Well, yeah?" She answered, "I'm pretty good at reading people and that was definitely an accident." Kiran nodded, and started to walk towards the heat radiating behind him. "Hey!" Nina protested, "You're still hurt."

"My friend needs me," Kiran responded, "I can't do much fighting, but I know there has to be some way I can help." The summoner began to limp forward. He felt Nina's hand on his shoulder. She looked like she was about to cry. "What's up?" Kiran asked.

Nina sniffed. "You … You move me," she replied, "I'll guide you to your destined one."

"Weird way to call Alfonse my friend, but okay." Nina gave him a frightening look. "Sorry, did I say something wrong?"

Nina sighed, "Nothing, it just happens from time to time." She nocked another arrow. "I just don't like it when people take stuff like destiny lightly." Another shot, another shout of surprise.

"Right."

"What do you need from me?" Nina asked. Kiran looked over, towards where he saw Henry before. The mage was up, and back to slinging hexes like a madman.

"I need that man's help," Kiran said, "I have a plan."

"So, how are things going between you and Lucina?"

Severa nearly fell off the Pegasus. Since when did mom know about - "What are you talking about?" She managed to say, but one look at Cordelia made her heart sink.

The pegasus knight scoffed. "I've known you for years, and you think I couldn't tell?" She asked. Severa slouched a little. "I mean, I can imagine Sumia not noticing …"

"Mom!"

Cordelia laughed at that. "At least you know where you get your sharp tongue from! And don't act like it's not true! Everyone in that family is oblivious when it comes to romance."

Severa smirked. "Personal experience?" Cordelia snorted, and Severa knew she rolled her eyes at that.

"Ugh, don't remind me!" She joked. Severa smiled; despite the horrifically rocky start of their relationship, she had grown pretty close with her mother. "I'm just saying that if Lucina is anything like her mother and father, she'll never notice how you feel if you keep her at arm's length."

"So … you don't have a problem with, y'know?"

Cordelia shook her head. She looked excited. "It has quite the potential for a great love story, doesn't it? I want you to be just as happy as I was when your father proposed."

"Ugh, mom …" Before Severa could finish, the pegasus began to descend. She saw several plumes of smoke coming from the fortress; and then she finally saw the main hall. The manaketes had made several large holes in the roof, and Severa could see the flaming axe of Surtr. The tyrant was locked in combat with … she blinked in surprise. It looked like whoever was fighting was wearing her dad's robes. But Morgan and dad were both way behind them …

Lucina and Sumia were waiting for the duo as they landed. Sumia had not dismounted, and motioned to Cordelia. The other fliers were struggling with a large group of wyvern riders. "Will you be fine without our help?" Cordelia's voice was steady, but Severa could hear the concern in her voice. Now it was her turn to roll her eyes.

"I'm not a kid anymore, mom," she replied harshly, "We've dealt with worse than this wannabe."

The pegasus knight nodded. "Be careful, okay?"

"Same goes for you." Severa's voice had a hint of gentleness to it, and Cordelia smiled back. The wind kicked up as the two pegasi lifted off again. Severa took a deep breath. This isn't like the past, you've got this, She thought.

"You two are getting along better," Lucina noted, "I'm glad." She put her hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Y-yeah," Severa stammered, "Mom's not all bad." The holes in the roof made her a little nervous; a cave-in would be less than optimal for everyone. A ginger step forward gave her a little confidence in the roof's integrity. "Do you see a way down, Lucy?"

Lucina pointed towards a rope near a small group of heroes. "Mother mentioned that one of the heroes set that up just in case they needed to escape." Probably Nephenee, she's definitely a good ol' country gal, Severa thought. "Who is fighting Surtr? Those are Robin's robes."

"Could you not call my dad by his first name?" Severa knew this wasn't the best time, but it always made her cringe. "Anyways, it's definitely not dad; unless he got pigtails and extensions …"

Lucina looked at her friend. "You're seriously considering that as an option? Wouldn't it make more sense for it to be you from a different timeline?" Severa laughed at that.

"That's so …" There was a moment of realization. "Oh gawds, it would be that."

"Well, it looks like they're losing," Lucina commented, "We should get down as fast as possible."

"If you need help g-getting down, I have an idea!"

The two swords-woman turned around. Morgan and Noire were perched on the former's pegasus, and the archer waved meekly. Severa approached her little sister.

"What are you doing here?" She whispered harshly, "Mother and father will be absolutely furiou-"

"If that's the case, what are you doing?" Morgan retorted, "I'm tired of being treated like a kid!"

"You aren't a kid, it's just dangerous!"

"I've fought in wars too, you know!" Morgan shouted, "I can be helpful too! Why is it okay for me to deal with bad things in a castle, but as soon as it's a battlefield, everyone starts with the kid gloves?"

Severa didn't answer, and Lucina touched her shoulder. The Exalt-in-Waiting looked at Morgan. "Okay, Morgan," Lucina answered, "Before this escalates, what's this plan of yours?"

Grima had had better days in her life. Crushing some 20 people seemed like a promising start to the day, but it had quickly run- "Agh! Why won't you just die?!" She screamed out, lashing at the focus of her anger. The red haired tyrant smiled at her, taking her hit with ease. His flames licked at her hands. They were finally starting to hurt. She took a step back, if only to collect herself. The flash of a golden sword flew past her right side. Another of those annoying blue-haired men sprinted past her.

"Good job holding until now," He called back, "Take a break! We'll wear him down with this!"

Grima clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Worm, you think I need to take a break? I'm not so weak!"

"Great, you can help me out then!" Ike replied shortly. The fell dragon cracked her neck, and let out a cloud of black fire. It seemed to do something, as Surtr stepped away from it in annoyance. Grima laughed in triumph.

"So there are things you fear!" She screeched, flying towards him at full speed.

Grima was an extremely good distraction, Alfonse noted; very durable. He winced as Fjorm attempted to cool his aching muscles. The princess wasn't doing so well herself; one of her hands was bandaged and she could barely hold her lance. She was shaking.

"Thank you," Alfonse said, "We couldn't have gotten this far without your determination."

"If it wasn't for me, this may have never happened." She lamented. Alfonse shook his head.

"Conquerors will be conquerors," he replied, "This was inevitable. Don't blame yourself."

"He's right, you know," came a voice from nearby, "He would've come for us eventually. It was lucky that we found you." Kiran stood in front of them, holding a waterskin. Henry and Nina stood behind him. Fjorm's heart sank. His normally pristine white robe had a large bloodstain on his side, and he looked pale. Alfonse noticed this as well.

"You're hurt," He said, "I thought you were staying with Sharena and Ylgr!"

"Plans changed," Kiran answered simply, "I wasn't about to let you kill yourselves."

"Where's Ishtar? Clarisse?" Alfonse pressed on. Kiran shot him a look, and handed Fjorm the waterskin.

"What's this?" Fjorm asked.

"Can you use your ice magic on this water?" Kiran looked desperate, "It's something that might help us."

"Certainly," she replied, sticking a finger in the water, "I fail to see how it will help, but …"

"The summoner explained the principle to me," Henry answered, "If anything, it will be a fun … experiment!" Fjorm took her finger out, and handed it back to the summoner. Kiran handed the waterskin to Nina.

"Remember, just aim in his general direction," Kiran said carefully, "It doesn't need to be a bullseye."

Nina smirked, "But a bullseye wouldn't hurt." Was all she said. She nocked an arrow, the waterskin attached to the arrow. The archer aimed way above Surtr's head, and let the arrow loose. The arrow whistled as it nearly touched what was left of the wooden supports. As it came down, Surtr grabbed it out of midair. He looked at Alfonse.

"Another desperate attempt failed, prince; I think it's time to end this wa-" Just then, the waterskin burst open, and ice engulfed the Fire King. It was still for a moment. Grima and Ike looked over at the group of five behind them.

"Nyahahaha!" Henry looked elated, "I can't believe that worked!" Alfonse looked at Nina, Henry, and Kiran, who were exchanging embraces.

"What did you just do?" Alfonse asked incredulously.

Kiran pointed at Fjorm, "She supercooled the water; all Henry did was give the water a couple of hexes and curses." The princess looked at the ice spire that housed Surtr, and back at Kiran. "I didn't think it would work this well."

"Where did you learn about this?"

"A Youtube- ah, I mean ..."

"What are you-" Kiran just shook his head.

"Don't worry about it," he replied, "Anyways, I guess it isn't holding up as much as we hoped."

Kiran was right, the ice was already cracking. Grima took an offensive stance, hoping to capitalize on some opening. The ice began to melt, starting at Surtr's axe. The area around his head began to melt too, and he shot a glare at Fjorm.

"This is your ice, little princess?" He asked mockingly, "It can barely contain me! All of you have tried so hard, and for what? To finally die at my hands!" Kiran noticed that his flames had not reignited yet. "You cannot kill me!"

Surtr's triumphant laughter was cut short as an arrow struck him in the back. The leather strap holding his plate armor up snapped, revealing a small section of exposed chest. His armor of fire was completely gone, and he was still frozen to the floor. Kiran looked up above him. A black pegasus, belonging to Aversa, floated in the night sky, and the blonde hair of Clarisse was visible between each flap of its wings. There was another flash from up above, and a second arrow hit his exposed back. Surtr gasped in pain. Grima smiled at this.

"So you can feel pain?" She asked, "If so, than it is easy for you to die."

Another arrow hit from the opposite side, over a wooden beam above Surtr's head. Noire had attached a rope to the arrow, and was tying it down on the roof. Kiran's eyes widened as Severa and Lucina jumped down the rope, using Noire's spare bows to glide across the makeshift zip line.

"This is the dumbest idea I've ever heaaard!" Severa shrieked as she pulled out her sword.

Surtr began to scream as well, attempting to dodge the attack with pure bravado. The sword plunged deep into his chest as Severa barreled into the king at full speed. Ike managed to catch the swords-woman as she was flung over the tyrant's shoulder. Lucina struck him only a few seconds later, managing to flip backwards off of his chest. Grima, somehow instinctively, grabbed the girl out of the air. The fell dragon looked down upon Lucina, and felt her heart pang a little.

"That was impulsive and stupid," she scolded, not sure exactly why she was doing so, "Never do such a thing again, worm!"

Lucina's eyes squinted, as if trying to identify her, but she didn't answer. "Well, thank you for catching me." Was all she said.

Surtr groaned. Blood was coming from his mouth, and his eyes began to lose focus. He tried to look at Alfonse. He chuckled. "Even in victory, you lose," he coughed out, "It took all of these people to kill me."

Alfonse looked at him coldly, but didn't answer. Fjorm stood up and held her lance, shaking all the while. She looked at him in the eye. "You die all the same." Was all she said.

Surtr laughed at this, and as it faded, so did his life. He gave out one last rattling breath, all he could muster in his icy prison. The flames in the fortress began to flicker out, and the heroes were lost under the night sky.

Kiran felt exhausted. Everything hurt, and as he took a step forward, he felt that pain reenter his side. The summoner reached for his side, and when he pulled away, he noted that his hands were covered in blood. He looked at Alfonse, and began to stumble over to him. The prince caught his friend as he fell.

"Wound reopened," Kiran said between flashes of pain, "Feels like it nicked something pretty important." He laughed at that. "You take so many hits all the time and I take one-"

"Don't talk right now, Kiran," Alfonse answered, "Just breathe."

Kiran heard other voices. Fjorm was trying to talk to him, and Alfonse kept insisting that he focus on his voice; so annoying. Then he heard an angry, snarling voice. Clearly it belonged to Clarisse, which was good. Something would get done now. Then he heard Ishtar's voice. It was wavering, full of fear, and she sounded weak and angry. It broke his heart. Or maybe it was his kidneys or something. Whatever it was hurt really bad. His vision started to blur a little bit. Damn allergies. He felt something on his lips. Man, he hoped that was Ishtar kissing him. That would be sweet.

Then Kiran passed out.

I wanted to do something comedic to get rid of Surtr, but I decided that something silly and deus ex machina would be appropriate. I mean, have you fought him in Aether Raids? Ridiculous.

Anyways, thank you all for reading! Any comments, reviews, questions, etc are loved and appreciated, and I hope to answer a few of them before the next chapter. (I'm not always the best at timing and getting things together, but I'm trying!)

Again, thank you all so much. The next chapter will be entitled: Chromfrontation Part 1