"Noire, this is the bandit attack that you were warned about?"

Noire flinched at Severa's pointed question. It was clear that she wasn't impressed, and to be honest, neither was Noire. Six people didn't seem like much to worry about.

Noire, Severa, and Lucina had positioned themselves on the branches of a nearby tree, attempting to get a better look at the group that had halted them on their trip home. Noire could see three horses attempting to hide behind the trees. She looked closer. One of those horses looked …

"Lucy, doesn't that horse look like -?"

Lucina looked as well. "Now that you mention it, it looks very much like mothers …"

Severa rubbed the bridge of her nose in frustration. "You really don't think she made the same mistake again, do you?"

"There's no way," Noire responded, "surely she's smarter than that!"

Lucina sighed. "I wouldn't bet on it," she eventually muttered, "but there's only one real way to find out."

"Did you summon those six?" Ishtar whispered.

"I haven't touched Briedablik since I passed out.". Kiran looked over the six hooded figures. It was clear to him that they were heroes, even if he couldn't see their faces. Heroes had a certain energy to them, one that he had a knack for noticing. "I don't know if anyone else can use the thing, either."

"What's a Build a Brick?" came a perky voice. Ylgr was munching on some snacks with Veronica, who looked through the Summoner with a piercing gaze. "Is it that big weapon you carry around, Kiran?"

"Umm," Kiran paused, trying to look away from Veronica's sight, "Yeah. Why do you ask, Ylgr?"

"Oh, Veronica and I were playing with it a few days ago!" Ylgr shouted. "It was pretty hard to use, every shot just launched across the sky!"

Ishtar's face darkened. "Perhaps," she stated, "The two of you should ask permission before you use something that isn't yours."

Veronica spoke up. "I was bored, and I enjoy summoning things." She said coldly, "But those 6 aren't under my contract. What a waste."

"So, you summoned 6 heroes, just because?" Kiran asked. Veronica shook her head.

"I summoned 8 heroes, summoner." Kiran closed his eyes, attempting to wish away this problem. "I am hungry again, Ylgr, we must go to procure some more snacks from Lady Laegjarn."

"She makes the best cinnamon buns," Ylgr breathed out in temptation, "Let's go do that! See ya later!" She waved at Ishtar and Kiran. Ishtar looked stormy as she faced the summoner again.

"Some children just don't listen…" she grumbled. The mage crossed her arms in frustration, and looked across the field. They could barely hear the six cloaked figures arguing amongst themselves, but they hadn't seemed to notice. "Should we actually try to parley with them, Kiran?"

"I'm going to let Alfonse deal with that," he replied, "How about we just go back in our wagon and rest?"

Ishtar gave him a look. "Tempting, but we both know you should be out there." Kiran sighed at that, to which Ishtar dished out a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll be with you the whole time, do not worry."

The duo found Alfonse rather quickly. The prince had gathered a small group together; most likely for the inevitable parley that was to occur. Reinhardt, Severa, Lucina, and Noire surrounded the prince, who waved at the summoner.

"Kiran!" He called out, "Shouldn't you be resting?"

Ishtar answered. "As much as I would like him to rest, his place is here, is it not?" Alfonse looked at the mage, then back at Kiran.

"Is that alright with you?" The prince asked. Kiran nodded confidently, and Alfonse's face brightened. "Thank goodness!" He cried out, patting the summoner on the back. "I didn't want to say this if you were still feeling bad, but I wasn't sure how well I'd do without you, my friend!"

Kiran laughed nervously. "Careful, Alfonse," he said, "Just because I feel better doesn't mean I can take a hit from you!" Alfonse lightly tapped his back in response to that. He looked at Ishtar apologetically. She grimaced, and held onto the summoner's arm.

"So," Kiran continued, looking at Lucina, "The three of you volunteered?"

Severa cleared her throat, "Well," she began, "We've had some experience dealing with bandits like this, so we thought it just made sense to help out, you know?" Kiran's eyes narrowed. It was clear she knew more than she was letting on, but he let it go. Having extra people was never a bad thing. "So, are we going to go or what?" Severa began walking with a purpose. "Hurry up!"

The group was still bickering when they reached them. The lance wielder motioned to the others and gave out a haughty and obviously faked laugh. It started to grow anxious as she looked at the group in front of her. "Um … hello there! I assume one of you must be the …" the figure looked at Severa, "... the leader of these bandits?"

Alfonse stepped forward. "I am no bandit, but I am the leader here." He announced. "I am Alfonse, the leader of the Order of Heroes. Who are you, may I ask?"

The cloaked figure scoffed at this. "Alfonse? That's impossible!" She declared. "You're just trying to trick me!"

The bow user spoke up. "Honestly, that makes a lot of sense. That other guy had thief written all over him."

"I was wondering if you thought the same, Claude," the axe wielder replied, "So that's why you left Hilda there." The lance user stomped her feet in frustration.

"C-code names!" She blurted out, "Don't forget your code names!"

Severa stepped forward. "Cynthia, I can't believe you got tricked again," she said, glowering at the girl, "Like, what on earth is going on in that head of yours?"

The lance user looked around, desperate to find an answer. "I - I…" She flipped off her hood, revealing her dark blue pigtails. She looked close to tears. "No fair, Sev! You would've gotten tricked too!"

Severa rolled her eyes. "I sincerely doubt it," she replied. She looked at Lucina, who gave her a stern expression, "But whatever, what's done is done." The swordswoman approached Cynthia. "It's good to see you again, even if you're a-" Severa was cut off by an aggressive hug from the pegasus knight.

"I missed you guys tooooo!" Cynthia cried out, sniffling all the while. Severa muttered something under her breath, but was again interrupted by Lucina and Noire coming in for a hug as well.

"Okay, just leave out your other friend," commented the hooded figure in the tree, "I see how it is." She removed her hood, to reveal a set of bright green braided pigtails. She huffed in frustration, crossing her arms and pouting.

"Nah!" Noire called out, "I'm so glad to see you!"

Nah smiled smugly. "Yeah, yeah …" she responded, before slowly climbing down the tree. Her fellow tree climber seemed to struggle with it for a moment, before the dagger wielder walked over and helped her down.

"We should be doing the switching of roles next time, Edelgard." she piped up.

"Yes, perhaps that would be for the best, Petra," the axe wielder responded, "I thought it was prudent to try it." The axe wielder had silvery hair, and piercing lavender eyes. Her expression seemed to be permanently neutral and limited, as if she was cautiously monitoring herself. Her companion had a long purple braid and two facial tattoos. The other two cloaked figures removed their hoods at this point. The bow user had messy black hair, bright green eyes, and an expression that reflected some sort of mischief. The other one had long black hair and eyes that glowed red with malice. She seemed to be muttering to herself, which was off-putting to Kiran. He leaned over to Ishtar.

"We should watch that one," he whispered, "Something's not right."

The archer laughed. Apparently Kiran was not as quiet as he thought. "What? Mareeta? She's a lot of bark… and bite… but I doubt she'll just randomly attack you."

"Mareeta?" Ishtar asked, "The Princess of Isaach?"

"Oh, is that where she's from?" The archer replied, "All she's told us is her name and the various ways she'd kill us if she could. It's all pretty entertaining!"

"It certainly sounds like an entertaining situation, yes…" Ishtar leaned towards Mareeta. While they hadn't ever really met, she had heard tale of the swordswoman. "A shame that she is clearly not herself." As she spoke, Mareeta looked at her with an unclear expression. "I wonder what is causing such a…"

"Oh, it's definitely the sword," the archer said flippantly, "I'm not an expert on curses or anything, but she hasn't let anybody get close to her sword." He reached out a hand to Ishtar. "Name's Claude, by the way."

"A pleasure. I'm Ishtar," came the cold reply, "and this is our summoner, Kiran."

Claude winked at the summoner. "Oh? So I suppose that makes you our boss, hmm? I'll try to stay on your good side!"

Kiran gave Claude a tight lipped smile. "So," he looked at the six in front of him, "Claude, Mareeta… um…"

Claude looked to the others. "Princess, don't be a stranger! Come meet the nice summoner!"

The silver haired girl scowled at Claude, but approached anyways. The purple haired girl stood by her side. "Apologies for my … associate, Summoner. I am Edelgard von Hresvelg, Future Empress of the Adrestian Empire." She curtseyed to the summoner. The other girl understood the cue, and spoke as well.

"I am Petra Macneary, meeting you is of my pleasure!" She vigorously shook Ishtar's hand.

Ishtar smiled awkwardly, "Indeed, the pleasure is all mine," she replied, "The other two were named Nah and Cynthia, from what I overheard."

"Yeah, that's them," Claude answered, "Nah definitely has her head on straight, but I really appreciate Cynthia's passion for life."

"That passion for life has put that town in danger, Claude." Edelgard said harshly. "Who knows what that man was planning."

Alfonse turned to Edelgard. "The nearby town is in danger?"

"Yes!" Petra replied, "A man was making the claiming that he was Alfonse, and told us to be stopping you, the bandits!"

Severa snorted. "Let me guess," she said, "Cynthia jumped at the chance, and the rest of you followed along."

"Hey!" Cynthia protested, but Severa shot her a ferocious glare. " … Yeah, that's about right."

Kiran looked at Alfonse, who seemed lost in thought. "Well, what should we do, Alfonse?" He asked. Even though it was a legitimate question, the answer was clear. "You should go rally the rest of the heroes; our group can scout ahead and get a plan together."

Alfonse nodded. "It's the most logical thing we can do, isn't it?" he replied, "Just be careful, my friend."

Ishtar placed a hand on Kiran's shoulder. "I'll keep him safe," she insisted, "I swear by my name."

Petra, in her short time in Askr, had found a perfect vantage point to scout out the town from above. There were a couple plumes of smoke coming from the open market near the center, but otherwise the town seemed unperturbed.

"I was expecting a little more commotion." Lucina admitted, "Perhaps the thieves haven't attacked yet?" The thought had crossed Kiran's mind as well, but something didn't add up.

"No, the imposter sent us out to get rid of us for the short term," Claude replied, "That way they could pillage and run before we cleared up any confusion."

"Perhaps Hilda-" Edelgard began.

"I asked her to stall for time, not fight anybody outright." The archer stroked his chin, "It's not out of the question, but with how many bandits there were …"

"Perhaps they were weak!" Petra exclaimed, "Hilda is very strong!"

Claude nodded his head. "Well, no argument there…"

"Well, talking about it from up here will do us no good," Ishtar said, "If there is no commotion, then we should head into town and investigate."

"We should approach with caution, milady," Reinhardt interjected, "There is a small chance the bandits fully took over the town." Cynthia stepped forward, stars in her eyes.

"How about Petra and I take a look around on our pegasi?" She asked, "We'll do a quick flyover while the rest of you head into the town. We can make sure everything is clear!" Kiran pondered this for a moment, before nodding in agreement.

"I think it's the best course of action, but be careful." He warned the two.

Severa spoke up. "Yeah, especially you, Cynth." Cynthia stuck her tongue out at Severa, who replied in earnest. "Don't fall for another guy claiming to be a prince or whatever!"

"Don't make it sound like that." Cynthia replied, face glowing with embarrassment. She grabbed Petra. "C'mon, let's get going."

After the two were flying, out of earshot, Noire spoke up. "You don't have to be so harsh, Severa…"

"Why?" Severa shot back, "She's better than that, falling for every stupid trick in the book. All of us know that!"

"S-she's really trying her best…" Noire looked for affirmation from Lucina or Nah. Nah heaved a heavy sigh, and nodded her head.

"It's a bit much sometimes, but she's really trying." she muttered. Severa groaned, and rubbed her eyes.

"Fine," she relented, "I'll try to be kinder to Cynthia. But if she acts like a fool, don't expect me to just stand there and accept it."

Noire smiled. "Thanks, Sev."

Claude clapped his hands. "Friendship really is a powerful thing, huh, princess?"

Edelgard shot Claude a smug smile. "Saying we're friends is quite the assumption, Claude."

"Buddies?"

"No."

"... Acquaintances?"

"Better."

The outskirts of town were strangely quiet. There were signs of a skirmish, with a few damaged fences and walls; but honestly, Kiran thought things looked pretty good. There was a notable gash in one of the walls, which looked like it was created by a large axe. Reinhardt kneeled over to get a closer look.

"Did the thieves have a berzerker?" He asked, "This axe seems to have some weight to it."

Claude coughed in response, but didn't answer right away. "Ha… that's a possibility." Edelgard scoffed.

"Really, Claude?" She asked, "It's quite obvious that this is Hilda's handiwork."

"Princess, I know you probably don't care," Claude began, "but Hilda doesn't like it when she's not considered… uh… delicate."

Severa leaned over Reinhardt and studied the axe mark. "Delicate," she said, "Right. A gash this deep just screams delicate."

Ishtar tapped Kiran's shoulder. "Kiran, do you hear something?" The Summoner listened carefully. They could hear excitable voices from inside the town. "What could that possibly be?"

"You should be seeing for yourself!" A voice proclaimed above the group. Petra and Cynthia hovered above the party, huge grins plastered on their faces. "Claude, it is amazing!"

"Everything is clear?" Lucina asked. Petra modded her head.

"Very much it is the clear!" She replied. "Come!"

The center of town was filled with cheering citizens, surrounding an unseen figure. Several ruffians sat in the square, tied up and battered. One in particular had poorly dyed hair, a crude attempt to look like Alfonse.

"So these are the ruffians, hmm?" Ishtar commented, "They look worse for wear." She motioned to Reinhardt, "Reinhardt, see what you can learn from these… thieves. If they are part of a larger system, we need to smoke it out." Ishtar turned to the celebrating group of villagers. "We should check everyone for injuries, but if they're celebrating…"

A pink haired girl floated into view, being propped up by the crowd. The people started chanting.

"Hilda! Hilda! Hilda!"

Claude began to clap along, while Cynthia and Petra joined in the cheers. Ishtar and Kiran looked at each other, and Ishtar gave out an unsure smile.

"I suppose they feel well enough."

After what felt like hours of cheering, things finally calmed down. Noire and Edelgard began to treat what little wounded there were, as the others approached the town's hero. Her pink twintails shines bright in the midday sun. Her expression darkened slightly as she saw Claude, however.

"Claude!" Hilda shouted, "You are unbelieveable!" She stomped her foot in anger and pouted. "How dare you put a gentle flower like me in danger! Look at me! I'm drenched in sweat and I feel disgusting!"

Claude laughed awkwardly. "Well," he replied, "You did say you wanted to stay behind and 'monitor the situation', so I let you!"

Hilda pouted even more. "You are going to give me wrinkles, Claude! Stress wrinkles! And I'm going to need to take an extra long bath just to recover from this!"

"But you look fine…" Claude muttered.

Severa sighed. "I get you," she said, handing Hilda a handkerchief, "Nobody appreciates how long it takes to really beautify yourself."

"E-Exactly!" Hilda exclaimed, dabbing her unblemished forehead with the handkerchief. "And now I'm exhausted! You're a real savior!"

Severa chortled with glee. "Oh stop. It's the least I could do. You put in some hard work!" She felt Hilda grasp her hands tightly.

"I cannot believe we're about to become best friends." Hilda said to herself. "I love your hair, by the way."

"Oh! Likewise."

Kiran rolled his eyes. One Severa was enough. Two was bound to be a disaster.

"If the two of you are quite done," Ishtar spoke up, "We could use someone to signal the rest of the army."

Severa groaned and turned to Hilda. "Come on," she said, "Let's get this over with." Hilda groaned as well, and they both started to drag their feet all the way towards the edge of town. Lucina turned to Nah.

"Should we… go after them?" She asked. Nah shrugged her shoulders.

"I'll probably be a more effective signal anyways." She replied. Her skin began to shimmer, and Nah's eyes glowed with a strange light. She began to grow larger, and wings sprouted from her back. Nah let out a jubilant roar. "Hop on, Lucy!" She cried out. Lucina complied, and the two rose into the air and flew off.

Kiran looked up into the sky in astonishment. "I don't think I'll ever get used to that." The Summoner noted.

"It certainly is a sight to behold." Ishtar replied.

Kiran looked at Hilda and Severa, who were grumbling louder than before. "You know that Cynthia and Petra also flew off to meet with the army, right?"

Ishtar smiled to herself.

"I'm well aware."

"Cynthia, are you certain we are the best for the greeting?"

Petra and Cynthia scanned above the tree line. Lucina had mentioned that there were several Pegasus and Wyvern riders scouting above the army, and Cynthia caught onto the hint.

"Of course we are!" Cynthia exclaimed, "You and I have the spunk to win over anyone!"

"I am appreciating the confidence in me, Cynthia." Petra looked over to her right. She could see two pegasi heading towards them. "Cynthia! Incoming!"

"Petra, let's get to the ground!"

"Are you having the certainty?" Petra asked, "We will be at the disadvantage!"

"They won't hurt us!" came the response, "Trust me!"

Petra nodded nervously, and the duo began to lower towards the ground. The two Pegasus riders across from them followed suit. Cynthia dismounted quickly, and Petra noted one of the other riders did the same, and began approaching quickly. In a matter of moments, the Knight has tripped over her own boot, and flung herself, full speed, into Cynthia.

"Are they doing an attack?!" Petra called out. Both Cynthia and her mystery attacker groaned in response. She looked at the three people in front of her. A woman with bright crimson hair was helping a gloomy looking woman off of their pegasus. Cynthia was hugging the brown haired woman on the ground.

"Cynthia!" came a muffled sob, "Is it really my pega-pony Princess?!"

"Momma?" Petra saw tears in Cynthia's eyes, "Oh, mom!"

"Goodie," began the gloomy dark mage, "The whole royal family's here. At least we had this wonderful reunion on the ground."

"Tharja, be nice," the redhead commanded, "This is important."

Tharja muttered something and turned away, her eyes catching Petra's. "You," she stated, "I don't recognize your face."

Before Petra could speak, the redhead got in between them. "Tharja, this girl is clearly with Cynthia," she said. She turned to Petra and smiled, "Isn't that right?"

Petra nodded vigorously. "Yes! Cynthia and I are the friends! I am Petra Macneary!"

"Cordelia, and my friends here are Tharja," the dark mage muttered noncommittally, "and Sumia." The sobbing Pegasus knight refused to let go of Cynthia, though she wasn't putting up a fight. "Come on, Sumia," Cordelia groaned, "You'll have plenty of time to reconnect, but we need to report back."

Sumia sniffles and wiped her eyes. "R-right," she replied, "It's just, you know…" she looked at Cynthia and hugged her tightly. "I have my whole family back together again."

Tharja gagged, leaned over, and threw up.