Author's Note: Well, things couldn't be nice forever, right? This chapter hurt me to write. It really did. Though it's not over yet, so don't worry about an "everyone dies" ending or anything like that; we just had to have the extra dose of Pain sooner or later, is all.

Chapter Six: A Surprise Turn

Dimitri sighed and rubbed his eyes as he walked out of the castle's library. Now that things were calming down, he'd spent more time there, digging through all the historical and magical tomes he could find. He'd hoped he could find something that would help Dedue, but…so far, he hadn't had any luck. Then again, it had only been a few days, but…

Dimitri shook his head. He was on his way to visit Dedue now, and he didn't want to be in a poor mood when he arrived. As he strode down the hallway, Dimitri took a deep breath and tried to clear his mind. Finally, he reached Dedue's door, knocked, and entered.

He was greeted by the sound of something shattering, and Dimitri blinked. It had been a while since he'd last heard this happen, so he hoped it wasn't a bad sign… Dimitri quickly glanced around.

Dedue was in the corner, holding two halves of one of the dinner plates he'd kept in his room. He curiously examined them for a moment, and Dimitri wondered if he was planning on using the pieces as new decorations of sorts. However, Dedue looked up as Dimitri stepped forward, and he grunted in a way that was considerably less welcoming than usual.

"Hello, Dedue," he said cautiously. "I…don't suppose you're getting bored in here, are you? I know it's been a while since we—"

Dimitri was interrupted by one of the plate halves narrowly missing his head. Well, he supposed that answered that question; Dimitri cringed as he heard the plate shatter and fall to the ground. There was a guilty tug in the back of his mind as he attempted to navigate the situation.

"Well, I was about to say, maybe you'd like to come down to the gardens soon?" Dimitri offered. "Most of the gardeners liked you, since you were down there all the time. I'm sure they'd like to see that you're doing well."

Dedue growled again and turned away from him, letting the other half of the plate fall to the floor. It shattered, too, and Dimitri winced again. What brought this on? He'd thought Dedue had been doing so well lately; what changed?

"…Dedue?" he said hesitantly. "Listen, I am sorry we haven't gotten to go hunting as much lately. But things are going so well now that we can probably do it more often, and I do think we could try heading down to the garden soon, too. I'm not sure if you'll be able to fit into the kitchen, but—"

Dedue turned to face him again, making a noise that was more along the lines of an aggressive snarl. Then, he moved away and sat in front of his broken window. Dimitri stared at him, the silence stretching out uncomfortably for several seconds. Finally, Dimitri cast his eyes aside and headed towards the door.

"I guess I'll come back another time, if you'd rather," he mumbled. "I'll ask the cooks to save you some dinner tonight. I think the main dish was going to be onion gratin stew, and I know you always liked that."

It was one of the few Faerghus dishes that had any flavor to it, Dedue had always said. The memory prompted a bittersweet smile, and Dimitri closed the door without looking back. Maybe he just needed some space.

Perhaps Dedue's situation was simply getting to him; Dimitri was honestly surprised he'd held up for so long. He'd thought Dedue had adjusted well, but he couldn't blame him for being frustrated, either. It didn't necessarily mean he was angry at Dimitri, did it?

Still, he couldn't help feeling like he hadn't done enough for Dedue, and maybe he was to blame after all.

They had another hunting trip the following day, and Dimitri couldn't help noticing that Dedue was more aggressive than usual. He tore into the deer he ate with a voracity Dimitri hadn't yet seen, and he ignored Dimitri's previous warnings to be more careful. Dedue chased down two wolves, not bothering to be quick about it—both encounters left him with long, deep gashes and bite marks that he didn't seem to care about.

"I don't know what's going on," Dimitri said in frustration after he asked Mercedes to check on him. "I thought he was getting better, but now he's…"

Dimitri trailed off and shook his head. Mercedes was silent as she struggled to reach a slash on Dedue's shoulder; he was oddly snappish with her, and he was barely letting her heal him. Finally, she managed to tend to the worst of his injuries, and she sighed as she stepped down from her stool.

"I'm sure it's only temporary," she replied, though her voice was more strained than usual. "But please be careful, all right?"

With that, she left the room, and Dimitri sighed as he watched her go. He turned his attention to Dedue one more time; he was hunched over in the corner, looking like…well…a cornered wild animal. Dimitri hated phrasing it like that, but Dedue was down on all fours, hackles raised defensively, and he growled when he caught Dimitri's attention.

Shaking his head, Dimitri turned on his heel and left as well. Instead of retiring to his own chambers, Dimitri decided to visit the library again. Maybe he'd just missed something earlier, and now he was even more determined to help Dedue.

Dimitri had another meeting the following day with Margraves Gautier and Edmund, along with Dukes Fraldarius and Gloucester. It was little more than a hasty gathering to figure out some plan for hunting down Lord Arundel. They'd had little success, and it was getting frustrating. Dimitri had already ordered his uncle's territory be searched, as well as all the areas now under Kingdom control, but they'd had no luck. He'd proceeded to suggest combing through Alliance territories, but frustrations had quickly grown between everyone, and they'd had to call the discussion to a close.

At least it was over, and Dimitri was relieved for that. He rubbed his forehead, barely conscious of where he was until he heard another loud smashing noise. Pausing, Dimitri doubled back and realized he'd just passed Dedue's room. Hesitantly, he opened the door, failing to bite back a yelp as he scanned the room.

The bed had been smashed to bits—worse even than any of the other furniture—and Dedue growled as he brushed it aside. Then, he swung a massive arm across the room, splintering one of the bookshelves that had been in a semi-decent state. Upon noticing Dimitri, he snarled and lashed out at him, smashing the wall near the door in his attempt to strike him.

"Dedue, what are you doing? Stop this at once!"

But Dedue didn't hear him—that or he didn't care. Instead, he bolted through the hole in the wall, tearing more of it down as he fled. Then, he turned down the hallway, and Dimitri scrambled to keep up with him. There were screams in the distance; they probably came from servants and other staff who just barely got out of the way in time.

"No one follow him," Dimitri ordered as he passed by a small group of people. "Tell the knights to hold back—I'll get him myself!"

He could only hope he was quick enough to catch up before Dedue got too far.

Somehow, Dimitri managed to chase down Dedue. Even with the stop to grab a horse (and arguing with the stable hands as to whether he should take a weapon, which he'd finally done just to shut them up), it hadn't taken too long. Of course, when Dimitri had dozens of eyewitnesses—he supposed a charging Demonic Beast wasn't hard to miss—maybe it wasn't too surprising after all.

They were near the Tailtean Plains now, and Dimitri almost laughed at the irony. It was the exact same place Dedue had transformed, after all. But now wasn't the time for that; he had to focus on bringing Dedue home.

"Dedue," he called. "Please, listen to me. If I've done something to upset you, I'd like to fix—"

He was interrupted by a snarl, and Dimitri barely steered his horse out of the way in time. A small crater was left in the ground from Dedue's giant fist, and he promptly swung it towards Dimitri upon getting it unstuck. This time, it connected, and Dimitri gasped as he felt his shoulder snap.

It was fine, Dimitri insisted as he grit his teeth. That was his non-dominant arm; he was okay. Still, he could feel his arm swelling beneath his armor… Dimitri wouldn't be surprised if he'd broken something, and it would hinder his ability to get a better grip on his spear should he need it. It wouldn't keep him from fighting at all, but…

"Dedue, please!"

Talking didn't seem to register on him, though. Dimitri was met with another angry howl, and he barely managed to get out of the way in time. His horse whinnied, jerking its head around frantically; it would be a miracle if he could keep it calm long enough to do this.

And Dimitri really, really did not want to do this—but what choice did he have?

He swallowed, turned his horse directly towards Dedue, and said, almost pathetically, "I don't want to fight you, Dedue!"

Despite his words, Dimitri swung his lance upwards. Dedue roared as it caused a deep gash across his arm, and Dimitri swallowed again as he pulled back. Dark blackish-red blood spurted onto the ground; he was nearly ill from the sight of it.

Dimitri closed his eyes as he swung again. There was another pained roar above him, and Dimitri opened his eyes to see his lance plunged deep into Dedue's lower torso. He hastily pulled it back, cringing as another shower of blood erupted from the wound. Some of it splattered onto Dimitri, and he pulled back to wipe it out of his eyes. This turned out to be a bad move, as Dedue took the pause to lash out at him again.

The horse wheezed as Dedue's arm collided with it, and Dimitri was sent flying. He skidded across the ground, falling hard on his knees, and the horse had landed on its side. Its eyes rolled back in its head, though it was still breathing, if barely. Dimitri's eyes flickered back to Dedue; he was rounding on Dimitri, clawed hand poised to strike.

Dimitri grit his teeth, rolling aside just in time. He managed to stab the spear through Dedue's foot, prompting another sharp howl. It gave Dimitri just enough time to scramble to his feet, but his legs were still screaming in protest. Taking a few deep breaths, Dimitri leaned against his lance like it was a staff, trying to give himself time to recover.

He didn't have much time to rest, though. Dedue advanced on him again soon enough, growling as he leaned down towards Dimitri. Once his face was closer to Dimitri, he slowly raised his hands—one on each side of him—and swung them inwards.

Dimitri barely had time to think. He closed his eyes and thrust his lance upwards, and there was a sudden rush through Dimitri's body. It was a sign of his crest activating, and the spear collided with Dedue's chin with a surge of power. He could feel cracks forming in the lance's shaft as Dedue roared in pain.

Then, he opened his eyes, and everything happened in slow motion. Dedue fell to the ground with a mighty thud, and Dimitri threw aside his damaged weapon. Cracks covered the mask on Dedue's face, and Dimitri grabbed chunks of the stone and tossed them away.

He almost wished he'd left it there, even if the mask likely would've shattered on the way back anyway. Dedue's face was narrow and pointed, horribly reptilian but covered in the same sinewy skin as the rest of his body. Narrow, needle-like teeth jutted out of his jaw, which had a noticeable under-bite. Large slits in his eyelids revealed dark reddish-brown eyes, pupils only distinguished by the very faint red glow they gave off.

Dedue's large eyes were focused on Dimitri. He was breathing heavily, slit eyelids slowly closing and opening. Was he done? Was it safe?

However, Dimitri then heard Dedue's hand rising behind him. His breath hitched as he spun around, grabbed Dedue's hand in both of his own, and shattered it beneath his grip. He fought the urge to vomit as he heard Dedue make a small, pained whine; Dimitri had never hated his family's brute strength more than he did right now.

Dimitri turned around and slowly knelt down. He reached up and put a hand on the side of Dedue's face. His eyes prickled as Dedue's attention focused on him again.

"Please, Dedue," he said hoarsely. "I want…I want to take you home. We'll heal you up, and it'll be fine. We'll find a way to fix you, and turn you back, and…"

Dedue's breathing slowed down.

No, no, no—

"You'll be fine, Dedue." There was another pathetically desperate edge in his voice. "I'm not going to lose you now. Not after how far you've come. I can't…"

This couldn't be enough to kill him, could it? Despite how terrifyingly slow parts of the fight had felt to Dimitri, it hadn't actually gone on very long. It was impossible. It had to be.

"Please, Dedue, I…"

Dedue's eyes closed, and his arms fell to the ground with a slight thud. What if he didn't get another chance? And, really, what could it hurt to say now, anyway?

"I love you, Dedue. Please, don't…"

There was no sound bar the pained wheezing of the horse behind them. And yet, Dedue's body was still rising and falling, very slowly. He was alive. Dimitri wasn't sure how long he'd last, but he couldn't just leave him here. He wouldn't leave Dedue to die.

Dimitri would drag him back to Fhirdiad himself if he had to.