(As soon as Corrin arrives back following chapter ten, Corrin and Lilith speak near the throne of the astral plane)
Lilith: Lord Corrin! You'll never guess what I figured out how to do!
Corrin: What is it?
(Lilith shifts back into human form)
Lilith: I can change back!
Corrin: That's amazing!
Lilith: I began to study the dragonstone that you were given. With some thinking, I realized that I had one of my own. I was given it a long time ago, but I never realized what purpose it served.
Corrin: I'm glad that you can change back now.
Lilith: I'll be able to join you in your fight from here on out.
Corrin: Thank you, Lilith!
Lilith: It's my pleasure!
(Lilith has her own exclusive class in this version. It is called 'Draconic Maid'. She can use daggers, dragonstones, and staves. Her dagger rank goes to B, dragonstone to A, and staff to B)
(When the next chapter starts, Corrin and company are walking near the border of Mokushu and Kohga. Kohga has been destroyed. Buildings are in shambles everywhere. Night has fallen)
Corrin: Are we getting closer to Mokushu?
Hinoka: We are. We're in Kohga as of now.
Sakura: Do you know much about Kohga, Corrin?
Corrin: I'm afraid not. As you already know, I was a bit sheltered growing up.
Hinoka: Kohga used to be a nation of ninjas. It was relatively small, but the best merchants in all of Pheuyura lived there. They were peaceful as well. It was filled with rolling hills and powerful fighters. However, the nation fell at some point years ago unexpectedly. None can say for sure what happened. The people of Kohga were slaughtered quickly. The buildings here have all caved in on themselves due to the damage they suffered during the attack.
Corrin: Do you know who could have done it?
Hinoka: Nobody knows. It wasn't Hoshido, I can assure you that much. Izumo and Mokushu are the closest, but Izumo has always been peaceful. Mokushu and Hoshido don't interact much, so there's the possibility Mokushu is guilty, but it would be best if we avoided saying so when we arrive.
Sakura: We should be arriving there in two days or so...
Corrin: That's good... We should probably get to resting soon. I don't want anybody getting hurt tomorrow. If a fight breaks out, we won't be doing ourselves any good if we're tired.
Sakura: I agree... Let's go on and stop for the night...
(About an hour later, Corrin is standing near a lake alone)
Corrin: *sigh* With all that's been happening so far, I haven't had a moment to think... I can't help but worry about what will happen when I have to see my family from Nohr... King Garon is an absolute monster. There's no doubt about that. However... Xander, Camilla, Leo, and Elise are still good people. It isn't their fault that things had to be this way. I hope that they'll be willing to side with me and the rest of the Hoshidans. I don't want them to get hurt. It'll be a battle between their loyalty to Nohr and how much they care about me. I can't say what they'll decide now, but I pray that they trust me. Akiri, Yugare... If anybody out there can hear me, please help me when we meet...
(A loud crash is heard from nearby. Corrin quickly stands)
Corrin: What was that?!
(Corrin follows the sound and sees Anna surrounded by a group of Mokushujin. She is clearly outnumbered)
Kotaro: If you know what's good for you, you little brat, you'll surrender now. Mokushu doesn't take kindly to spies, I'll have you know.
Anna: I was just following the trail of scandal that would eventually lead to all the cash in the world. It seems I was right. You're most certainly the money-bearing scumbag I was expecting to find here.
Kotaro: If you continue mouthing off, I'll have to kill you.
Anna: Ha! Like you can take me on!
(Anna fires an arrow at Kotaro, wounding him)
Kotaro: Grk-! You'll pay for that!
Anna: What was that about killing me again?
Kotaro: I don't have time for this. Kill the girl before she can escape!
(The other Mokushujin soldiers surround Anna while Kotaro runs off. Corrin leaves the area and returns to camp)
Corrin: Everybody! We're going to have to fight tonight after all!
Sakura: Wh-What's going on?
Corrin: A group of soldiers surrounded a girl near here. We have to help her.
Hinoka: Alright. Let's get to work then!
(The map setup is the same as the Anna paralogue. The theme is distinctly Hoshidan instead however. The enemies are all Mokushujin fighters. Anna moves around each turn. She will join the party when she is spoken to by Corrin or automatically at the end of the map regardless of whether she survives or not)
(When Corrin speaks with Anna)
Corrin: Hey! Are you alright?
Anna: Who might you be?
Corrin: I'm Corrin. I'm here to help you out in dealing with these guys.
Anna: Thanks for the help, I suppose. The name's Anna... You know, you look like a royal with how fancy your clothes are... And over there... If my eyes aren't deceiving me, those are two of the Hoshidan princesses.
Corrin: Yes, you're right. Hinoka, Sakura, and I are all Hoshidan royalty.
Anna: Cha-ching! I'll help you out a little bit after we've finished up here. How does that sound?
Corrin: That would be great. For now, let's finish things up here.
(Anna initiates combat)
Anna: You have no idea who you're dealing with. I hope you're ready to find out!
(Anna is defeated)
Anna: Yikes! That sure does hurt... I should probably scat before I get into even deeper trouble. I'll lay low for now.
(After the battle ends)
Corrin: Alright... That's the last of them.
Sakura: Those were soldiers of Mokushu... I wonder why they'd be here in the ruins of Kohga. Nobody has been here in countless years. Kohga's people all died out long ago.
Corrin: I can't say for sure. I'm just glad that we were able to take care of things. They were hounding this poor girl to no end before we started fighting...
Anna: Oh, you mean me? It was no problem. They probably thought they were fighting an innocent little merchant only to get their butts handed to them. I'm a far more experienced outlaw than they realized.
Corrin: I'm happy you're safe.
Anna: Well, you're about to be even happier. Well, at the very least, you should be, considering the fact that you're Hoshidan nobility. Those were Mokushujin soldiers. You should know that they were planning on attacking you regardless of if you jumped into the fray or not.
Hinoka: What? Why would they do that?
Anna: I dug up some secrets involving Mokushu while passing through. It's all in the business of an outlaw, it seems. Since you're at war with Nohr, this is all crucial information...
Sakura: What's going on? You seem pretty excited to tell us about all of this...
Anna: I heard that Mokushu made an alliance with Nohr in secret. The daimyo, Kotaro, wants all of the land from Hoshido to himself when Nohr wins the war, as he puts it. Also, I heard something about this nation of Kohga, but I can't quite say for sure what it was...
Sakura: Maybe Mokushu does have something to do with the fall of Kohga...
Anna: And last, but certainly not least, Mokushu's leader killed an important Hoshidan noble some years ago.
Sakura: Wh-What?! How did we not know about this?
Anna: His name was Saizo. He was murdered by the daimyo during an investigation of Mokushu following the fall of Kohga. He also took away the daimyo's daughter and spirited her away shortly before his death. I can't say where she ended up. The daimyo doesn't seem to care at all. He's far too focused on conquering Hoshido.
Hinoka: That's awful... As if we already didn't have a reason to head into Mokushu to find Takumi...
Corrin: Isn't Ryoma's retainer also named Saizo?
Sakura: The Saizo she means was his father. One of the noble lineages in Hoshido always names the oldest son in the family Saizo. He was murdered unexpectedly, though none could say who did it. Not long after, I heard someone new appeared at the palace, but I can't say who it was for sure. I was really young at the time.
Hinoka: I don't remember that well either. Ryoma, Saizo, or Kaze would have a better idea. Kaze?
Kaze: I'm afraid I don't know either. Saizo will know for sure.
Corrin: Then let's make a point of talking to him when we arrive back at the palace or when we next see him.
Anna: Would you all mind if I came with you? As I'm sure you can see, I can fight well. I can help you out in fighting off Mokushu.
Corrin: I don't see any harm in that.
Sakura: Alright. Now that things have been settled here, let's keep going. We have to talk with the daimyo of Mokushu for sure...
We're just going to pretend I didn't forget to post the next chapter on this story for ages.
I'm already done with 24 on Wattpad on AO3, so I really need to kick things into high gear here on FF. Here's hoping I can remember to do that.
-Digital