Deliverer of Birthright

by romeoraiden

My First Story. Two Nations. One desperate enough to bring a terrible war, the other more concern for themselves, and at the center, a sheltered Princess is forced to make difficult choices for the good of all. In her quest to do what's right many will stand with her and many more will oppose, throwing her in a state of despair. And from the chaos a Fallen Hero will rise again.

27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27: Ice Age, Hellfire and a very, very, very Angry Dragon Girlfriend?

How long has it been since he's felt like this? His lungs burning up by how heavy he's breathing, face sweating due to nervousness that even clouds his thoughts, one incomplete solution after another with no promise of success, legs about to give out despite being in no way exhausted, it's all in his head as there is great fear overtaking him. The worse kind of fear that is not born from one's inevitable death but the death of someone who means a great deal to you and you could've saved them but failed in the end. Everyone has their perspective of what makes fear awful, Robin has experienced fear in many forms, and the inability to protect anyone has always been his greatest fear, but not the only one. Another of his greatest fears is the Sin of Betrayal, a vice that surpasses the Seven Deadly Sins in his heart and is personally lucky that that particular vice doesn't seem to have a supernatural conscious, as far as he knows. But ever since coming to Horus and living with the Nohrians, and later the Hoshidans, these two great fears have not even come close to plaguing his thoughts, for the first time in so long he found a semblance of peace, until his other great fear returned.

War! War had returned and once again Robin was forced into the battlefield. The anarchy, the hate, the anger, the bloodshed, the carnage, the deaths, the conquests, the lust for power. It all came back to force him to suffer under their chains. Forced to lead soldiers into battle as they fight for what they deem to be right and just at the expense of all the lives of their enemies, and the ''heroes'' they can become by it. They are all murderers in truth, who sugarcoat their misdeeds by claiming it's for the sake of their great nation when there are always interior motives. There is no such thing as Saints in his eyes. The biggest example is himself. A ''Master'' Tactician who wins by ceasing control of the battle by controlling his comrades like chest pieces with threads all over them, telling them where they need to go, where to put the enemy in, who lives and who dies. Snipers are often treated as Subhuman for their ability to have a clean shot at their targets despite being so far away and when they shoot to kill, it's like they were judge, jury, and executioner, playing god, and in his experience, a Tactician can be the Devil. He certainly felt like one after a while. It got so bad until he was no longer able to appreciate his efforts, the lives he's saved are always overshadowed by the lives he's taken, and before he even knew it, he realized that he never once prided himself for his craft, his cunning and achievements. It all felt so wasteful and empty inside.

Why did he even start this path in the first place? What was it he wanted to gain from having these skills? These powers? On that, he truly doesn't remember anymore. All he wanted to do when he learned that war was again inevitable was to run away and leave the two nations who he harbors a personal contempt towards to rot and reap what they've sowed but alas, he just couldn't go through with it and abandon his new friend to deal with this nightmare alone.

Corrin. So sweet, so innocent, so fragile, so naïve, unspoiled by the true, ugly nature of the world that is no different from the one he left behind. That emotion he felt when he woke up in those plains, the nostalgia that forced itself into his thoughts but different at the same time when he met Chrom, Lissa and Frederick. She meant something that day; he couldn't put his finger at it in the beginning but eventually he realized what she represented. A chance, a real chance to start anew. The Shepherds were the greatest people he had ever known but they were never his family, he tried, they tried, but he just didn't belong with them. He didn't want to belong in Nohr, nor Hoshido but he had to pick a side for her, so he stayed, he fought, he shielded, he bled, he sowed, he sacrificed, it's nothing new to him, by now the hardship doesn't really phase him, not even a little.

He was at first so disappointed when he woke up in a grassy field again because deep down he knew that the cycle would repeat itself one way or another. He wanted to stay dead. He never wanted to live again. He never wanted to fight again. And yet here he is, searching for a new calling and reason to live again.

Why?

No good came from leaving his heart wide open to be embraced, his greatest rewards were hate-filled eyes and a blade through his heart and the blood of someone precious in his arms.

None of that matters now, nor will anything else if he fails.

'Severa. Owain. Inigo. I won't let you die!' Robin swore as his mind is racing with no clear end on sight, his options more limited than ever in the wake of this new crisis.

An Envoy of King Garon came in an hour ago, escorted by members of the Royal Guard, standing outside of Nyx's barrier with a message for the leaders of the Army of Light, in particular, the ''Scourge of Nohr'' and made sure to be taken seriously by announcing to the sentries who spotted them that Niflheim would be destroyed. It was only after all the army's leaders were gathered that he delivered his message in full to them about how far they have truly pushed Garon by coming this far and so close to the Capital and boy, was he pretty standoffish about it.

"Listen well for I am only going to say this once, you Hoshidan Dogs! His eminence, the King of Nohr, is displeased with your continued stubbornness and inability to see reason in the futility of these struggles and surrender to preserve your meaningless lives, as such we are forced to take true drastic measures, though his Majesty still found some semblance of mercy, where others could not to tell you this. Starting tomorrow, the people of Niflheim, who too stand as an inconvenience to the Glory of Nohr shall be punished and their villages burned asunder and all traces of resistance permanently silenced! Unless the traitors responsible for starting this uprising in power are to surrender and delivered on to his Majesty. Do this and submit victory on to Nohr and you may still leave with your lives intact. If not, then you will all die and the blood of the Niflheimians will be on YOUR HANDS!"

"Sons of bitches! SONS OF BITCHES!" Takumi snapped in outraged as he slams his fists on the table in the war tent as all the leaders have gathered, alongside them is Felicia due to her involvement in the crisis since her father is the Chief of Niflheim and she technically a princess so her place in this is valid. "How did we not see this coming! This is exactly the kind of crap they would be more than willing to pull off!"

"It's not that we didn't account for it but more that we were too focus on everything else to worry about the inevitable ultimatums that we would be forced to make." Scarlet hissed, gritting her teeth with rage.

"Xander wouldn't allow this but there's no way he could stand up to Garon without risking infighting." Corrin whispered to herself, completely lost by this horror. 'This is insane. Nohr is dutybound to protect the Ice Tribe, not enslave or destroy it. Niflheim's Goddess is Qliphoth's daughter.'

"What do we do?!" Felicia asked with fear and dread all too visible in her over what can they possibly do about this disaster. She wants them to go and save her home and family but they be putting all their lives at risk for an obvious trap. She's not sure if it's selflessness or cowardice that prevents her from demanding that they go save her tribe.

"Not panic for one, this is exactly what they want from us. To make a move based on brash decisions compromised by emotion without thinking anything through at all." Ryoma declared.

"Indeed, such crude tactics have been used many times across history, taking advantage of the enemy's morals and pull them right into their clutches when they are at their most vulnerable that has proven effective many times." Fuga said most trouble by this declaration and the dark consequences. "Still, I question if rather or not Garon is truly willing to go through with this."

"It's honestly hard to say, Niflheim has always been Nohr's top providers with their famine for centuries, the sudden conflict between them baffled pretty much everyone over how out of control things became that the mere thought that they would go this far shouldn't have surprised us as it does." Reina mused.

"Well, obviously there's more to it than that, the only reason why they would warn us is that this is all just a trap." Hinoka said.

"Yeah, I mean the Niffs are unstoppable with their home-field advantage, with the Grimm, Nohr may be able to match them but never to the point that they can conquer the Iceland." Rinkah said. "They've already tried to conquer Muspelheim and the results ended for the same reason, everywhere they fought, there was just too much firepower for them to resist and Dark Mages aren't exactly good in using ice magic. Well, the Nohrian ones at least."

"The key to this working in their favor has to be because of the Nestrian Army and their own march that must've begun by now. They must be using Niflheim to catch us between their army as well as their own." Corrin concluded.

"Yes, that must be it! It's been difficult to receive any messages to help us understand what is going on elsewhere so we were never going to realize the other threat we faced in time." Ryoma concluded.

"So now what? We go to Niflheim we'll be putting us all in danger." Takumi questioned.

"We go straight to Demon's Falls, we take on the full fury of Nohr and while we do so, Nestra will still be gunning for us and may end up striking us when we are at our most vulnerable." Scarlet countered.

"We knew that the risks for coming this far would be enormous and that we would need to make heavy sacrifices. There was never a way we would be able to save everyone, that in of itself was always a losing battle." Ryoma said, frustration and sadness painfully visible.

"So what, are you saying we should just let this go?!" Corrin protested.

"We mustn't allow ourselves to waltz right into their clutches, Corrin, there's too much riding on us winning this damn war." Ryoma affirmed.

"But we're talking about over fifty thousand people being used as lived bait, Ryoma!" Corrin objected.

"We cannot risk the lives of our troops by walking into a danger that we can avoid, Corrin. When it comes to something like this it's not simply about right and wrong." Ryoma argued.

"But if we can just stop this, we can enlist the tribe's aid. All of Horus can have a real chance if we-"

"I KNOW!" Ryoma interrupted her more harshly than he intended. "I don't want to do this either, Corrin but it's not about protecting everyone anymore, it's about protecting those that we can and right now those we must protect are the men and women we have been fighting alongside thus far, we can't just throw them away either."

"I'm afraid your brother is right, Princess Corrin. It pains me to even consider this but we stand a much better chance going through with Demon's Falls and bringing the fight to Windmire than to help my brethren of the Frost." Fuga said equally disturbed by this crossroad they are now stuck in. The tent is left in silence with everything getting too stressful too quickly, made even worse with Felicia's struggle not to shed a tear over what her friends are saying about leaving Niflheim behind.

"Wait, hold on…" Corrin uttered, trying to find a solution, a way out of this, and it's under the newfound stress that she remembered she doesn't have to, as bad as that sounds. "Robin! C'mon! You already have a way out of this, right?!"

The Tactician in question has been silent ever since they met with the envoy, said nothing even as both sides exchange foul words in frustration and getting on one another's nerves and even now, he's just been sitting there, his eyes glued to the map of Horus, his face largely covered by his hands, contemplation all over him. Surely this crisis isn't a match for him?

"Robin…?" Corrin muttered.

"I… I don't…" His lack of response was the last straw. He's never shown a lack of response before, one way or the other, he always finds a way out of situations and pulls them all through.

"No! No! No! Nonononononooo! NO! You do not get to stutter!" Corrin all but loses it again, rushing to his side, pulls him up his feet and slaps him twice. "You're not the guy who gets to give up, man!"

"I… Demon's Falls. I have to-" Robin continued to ramble on without really knowing what he's saying.

"WHAT?! You're going along with what they're saying!" She cried in shock over this, and everyone else is also surprised. This is the first time he ever agreed to do something that demanded they risk lives as all his tactics heavily focus on winning with fewer casualties and martyrs as possible.

"No! That's not it! This is just too sudden. And you know I can't always come up with something right off the bat." He muttered, looking more defeated than her, which is largely concerning. Sure, there's the fact that their friend Flora is also in danger but he and her were never really close for him to want to stick his neck out for her like Corrin does, but it hardly matters since he does seem to possess a sort of hero complex so it's not like he would let that technicality stop him from doing the right thing.

"Well, you have to come up with something quick, otherwise we'll lose Niflheim!" Corrin demanded.

"I KNOW, CORRIN!" Robin snapped back at her with an uncharacteristic outburst that once again silenced everyone, leaving Corrin especially speechless, this is the first time he'd ever really talked back to her.

"I need to clear my head. Don't follow me!" He demanded, specifically to her as he storms out of the tent.

"What the bloody hell just happened? Did our prize tactician just chickened out?" Scarlet protested.

"It's not that at all, it seems something else had caught the young man's ire. I've only ever seen that kind of reaction on someone who's been burden with information that others need to know but can't bring himself to say it." Fuga surmised.

"It can't be anything related to our war effort otherwise there be no reason for him to behave this way." Hinoka said worriedly. "Whatever the case he needs to clear his head fast before things get even worse."

"Leave that to me. I don't care that he doesn't like my song, he's going to hear it." Azura said, staying quiet until now and goes after the Tactician.

All the while Corrin's become numb as his outburst affected her, so much so that she vaguely collapses and slams her face on the table.

"Sounds like someone is not used to be talked back by her servant." Takumi somewhat mocked.

"Shut up, Takumi." She sobbed.

---

Robin sighs exasperatedly with frustration while lying down on a rock big enough to sit on away enough from the camp to be alone, staring at the floor, his mind might as well be on fire at this point. It's been so long since he snapped like that, it wasn't by far his worst outburst but one he should've avoided. He needed too, everyone is so on edge that emotions are constantly exploding, he needed to contribute as much as possible by being a voice of reason and keep a cool head always just like he's always practiced but he can't anymore, not when his heart is focused on something just as urgent to him.

"I'll get you three out of this mess, I know I will." He swore.

"So that's what has you all worked up." Azura wondered as she approaches the tactician.

"Not now, Azura, my issues are too personal for any of you to actually help me." Robin shrugged.

"I would've made a similar argument weeks ago and yet I still found solace with you as my confidant, why shouldn't it work both ways?" She countered. "You especially out of everyone has been trying hard to keep a level headed attitude for the sake of everyone's wellbeing, Corrin most of all. Your high tolerance for insubordination and persuasiveness to keep them in line does well to hide how much this all bothers you."

She has been keeping an eye on everyone's psyche. She's no expert on such a delicate subject but with her magic she has been able to keep everyone relax, they more than anyone know the risks of succumbing to negative thoughts but alas, it is unavoidable for them so they simply have to be there for each other some more and do what they can.

"Well, I've finally reached my limit. I can't go much farther on my own now." Robin muttered, unwilling to betray Corrin or Azura, not even for them but is so desperate to do so.

"You won't feel that way in a few moments." Azura smiled as she places a hand on his head and holds the Dragonstone in the other, about to sing her song to rejuvenate him.

"~You are the ocean's gray waves, destined to seek life beyond the shore just out of reach~" As she sang, a water dome manifested that entraps both of them in it. "~Yet the waters ever change, flowing like time, The path is yours to climb~"

"~In the white light, a hand reaches through a double-edged blade cuts your heart in two waking dreams fade away, Embrace the brand-new day. Sing with me a song of birthrights and love the light scatters to the sky above Dawn breaks through the gloom, white as a bone. Lost in thoughts all alone~"

The magic did the trick as usual with Robin finally starting to calm down, his thoughts emptying from all the stress and struggle he's been enduring but something goes off. The pinkish flames start to manifest again as well as the pain they bring but the water is helping to dull it and remove them and his body doesn't go invisible this time. Azura doesn't notice as she has her eyes closed, she once told him that it helps her concentrate when she uses this power so he's grateful for that and she doesn't seem to feel the cold sensation they emit, something else to do with her magic perhaps. Soon enough they go away and he starts to feel all better again.

"There, that wasn't so hard now, was it." Azura sighed heavily as she finishes her song, taking a few deep breaths as that was exhausting with sweat all over her face that Robin puts his hands on her to help her lie down.

"Not really, thank you Azura, I needed this." Robin smiled compassionately.

"Don't sweat it. You've been there enough times for me, this was the least I could do." She smiled back.

"Right, well once you're all better, let's gather the others, the ones that have been with us since this all started, what comes next I want them to be the first to hear."

Soon enough, the two gather all the comrades they hold the deepest connection in this army, except for Orochi who volunteered to stay behind in Hoshido to defend Mikoto, and called them to assemble in the Astral Realm, all 23 of them.

"Alright everyone, listen up. I would like to begin by apologizing for my outburst earlier. It was unprofessional and did nothing to help anyone, I can't stress that enough but I'm all calm now and I have a solution to all this." Robin said with confidence.

"About time." Corrin smiled with joy.

"The plan is this, we do go to Niflheim but not just to save the nation, that's the ultimate price but there is a consolation." He began. "From Niflheim, we can move ever closer to Windmire and take them from behind."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Hayato asked intrigued.

"By warping of course. The cancel spell we cast to even the plain field only works within Nohrian territory, Niflheim may be under Garon's clutches but they haven't been annexed yet, we were very thorough about that delicate detail so it'll work again once we're there." Robin explained.

"You sure about that?" Jakob questioned.

"Very." Robin said with confidence. "And according to Lilith, there exists a Deeprealm Gate within Niflheim that we can access to get there easily and once all is set and done we can pour our power into one warp strong enough that will take Lilith back to Nohr and the rest will be history."

"I don't know about this, I don't think we'll be able to warp our way into Windmire, the Capital has to be the most heavily guarded and warded place in Nohr." Lilith said concern.

"We won't be sending you to the Capital, where you're going and where we'll be able to resume our counterattack not even Garon will ever see coming." Robin declared.

"Where is that?" Corrin asked, regaining her hope.

"Before we proceed, there's something else that needs to be said." Robin shrugged. "The reason why I acted the way I did before was not because of the current danger. Far from it. It was because someone struck me close to home."

"Close to home?" Corrin repeated.

"Robin, what are you doing?" Azura asked, getting a good idea of what the real reason he called them all here is.

"What needs to be said. If I am to do what I must, you all need to know why." Robin said solemnly.

"What you must? Don't tell me you have something that could ever be considered more important than maintaining your oath to Lady Corrin?!" Jakob demanded with a low growl.

"That is entirely up to your opinion." Robin replied with melancholy, getting different reactions from his new friends but none yet hostile.

"Robin… what are you saying? What is going on?" Corrin pleaded with him to speak sense as she is growing scared. Is this it? Has the day she feared actually come? Is he leaving her?

"I have to go to Demon's Falls. One of Nohr's more crude mages has taken three of my friends. To Hoshido, they're just three more enemies to add to the slaughter but to me, they are most precious." He confessed.

"Who are they?" Corrin wanted to say more like how he should've realized by now that any friend of his is a friend of hers and she be more than willing to find a way to help, they literally have all the time in the world but the look on his eyes told her that he wants to say what more is on his mind.

"Well… for starters, one of them just so happens to be my goddaughter." He revealed.

"God… d-da… goddaughter?"

Robin came clean to them about everything. That he lied to Corrin from the start, he never had amnesia, he made it up to not explain his true situation and that he's from nowhere near Horus, of Canta, or Fódlan, or from this world but is actually from the Outrealms, an entirely different world that does not mirrors theirs at all and came here by a freak accident and he's not even supposed to be here, in fact, he's supposed to be dead and has no intention of staying here. And that Xander's retainer Laslow, Leo's retainer Odin and Camilla's retainer Selena are also from the same world and he's Selena's godfather, and that the dark mage Zola has kidnapped them and unless he delivered Corrin and Azura to him, they will die.

But that's not the biggest kicker, the one that crossed the line for Corrin is that Morgan, the girl that saved her from the Shadow Realm is an actuality his DAUGHTER!

And to add insult to injury, Azura was aware of the truth ever since the attack in the Opera House, rather it was because he trusted the Songstress more than her or because she was at the wrong place at the wrong time and overheard what she shouldn't have did not matter.

If there were a way to describe just how truly empty inside Corrin feels at this very moment as she loses all touch with reality with everything around her darkening until there is no one left but herself and she is incapable of hearing anything except what she believes to be her heart shattering into a billion, tiny little pieces like glass. The correct words would be "I don't want to live anymore"

She felt sick now. She can't breathe. Her whole body is shaking beyond her control. It's as if she's experiencing something just as bad or possibly worse than when she was forced to choose between two families. One thing only made sense though, that she will not stand to feel this way, if there is anything that she would rather consume her at this very moment it's not sadness, not despair, not hate. But rage. Pure, nondemonic (at least not literal) enviable, broken love RAGE!

"You… YOU… YOU… YOU BASTARD!" Without warning, Corrin roared with the fury of a thousand dragons screaming in her lungs, sucker punching Robin with her monstrous arm, sending him crashing into Lilith's temple and the impact demolishes half of it.

"MY TEMPLE!" Lilith cried in horror and falls to her knees. "Rebuilding that is always a heartache!"

"Not like we didn't see It coming, though." Takumi muttered.

"I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU!" Corrin screamed, going practically mad and charges after him but Lilith stops her by summoning four astral arms that grab her by all four limbs and lifts her into the air.

"NO! Bad master! BAD! You need to chill." Lilith cried.

"Let me at him! LET GO! LET THE FUCK GO!" Corrin demanded, struggling to free herself but cannot as Lilith is not holding back on the restraints.

"No, Corrin, you're not going to do any more harm to the Outrealmer! This is more of a big deal than any of you realize." Lilith scolded.

"Well, he hurt me worse than anyone!" Corrin cried in outraged, all teary-eyed again, glaring down on Robin who recovers from the sucker punch.

"You know if you truly felt betrayed by me your punch would've been far more lethal than that." Robin muttered walking back to them, causing the Dragon Princess to howl at him like a mad dog.

"You're just lashing out, sis, take it from me, especially me when I say that you have got to relax." Takumi pleaded with her.

"Sound advice from Takumi, that's how deep and serious he is about this." Sakura added.

"What?"

"Corrin! Corrin! I get why you would be mad about him lying but really, this isn't as bad as it sounds." Hinoka said next. "Now that I say it out loud I feel ridiculous but I still stand by it."

"NOT AS BAD AS IT SOUNDS?! I've been HAD! I've been TRICKED! and quite frankly, I've been BAMBOOZLED!" Corrin snapped.

"None of those things are accurate." Azura added.

"AND YOU!" Corrin growled like a beast, turning her glare at Azura who yelp at the frightening sight.

"Corrin, no! Be mad at your boyfriend and physically abuse him all you like but under no circumstances are you to direct your ire at Azura, nor anyone else for that matter." Ryoma warned as he pulls the Songstress behind him.

"They are not a thing!" Jakob snapped.

"You stay out of this!" Kaze demanded.

"He told you the truth instead of me! ME!" She roared.

"It was mere happenstance; I was just in the right place at the right time." Azura clarified. "Even then I couldn't just spill the beans, there was never a time to spread more doubt than there already was towards him. We all need him."

"Coming from her, that's a really good point." Rinkah said.

"And we wouldn't have come this far without him so Lady Azura made a good call." Saizo added.

"Holy shit, even Saizo is backing him up." Hinata gasped. "That's a sign, right, Highness?"

"I cannot possibly argue with that. Corrin, you have a right to feel this way but now is not the time for infighting, we must all remain together, if not for him than for Felicia's sister." Ryoma advised.

At the mention of Flora, Corrin begrudgingly calms herself and ceases her struggle, causing Lilith to gently lower her back down and release her and they all stay silent for a few seconds.

"Cor…" Robin tried to talk but couldn't bring himself to continue.

"First things first, we rescue Flora and your little friends." Is all Corrin could say to him without looking him in the eye. That was a good sign as getting hit so hard of the rift that now stands between them, not that he didn't see it coming.

"Right…" He muttered.

"Okay, and exactly how are we supposed to do this, Niflheim on one side on Demon's Falls and the other, even you can't be in two places at once?" Azura asked.

"Nyx has a powerful relic that can help us survive this mess and it may very much help us for the remainder of this war." Robin explained.

"Would she surrender it willingly?" She asked.

"I'm afraid we can't ask for permission." Robin replied.

"Okay, that's a clear sign that we need to get to Niflheim right now." Lilith sighed.

Soon enough, the army is briefed on the plan and naturally, there is much debate on the soldiers on what the right course of action is with many arguing that they shouldn't go risking their necks out when they know it's a trap while a shorter variety supports the idea to protect Niflheim, either way, the plan is clear now. They can only hope that they are not committing everything for something that will ultimately amount to nothing in the end just to satisfy Corrin's own need to hold on to what good is left of what there was of her childhood in Nohr, not like anyone doesn't already know how she feels.

"I certainly hope that you know what you're doing, Lord Ryoma." Fuga said as he and the High General watch their men and women making preparations to leave as Lilith finish marking the way to Niflheim. "This clearly will be riskier than anything else we have attempted so far."

"I know. I'd kill myself before I allow those under my authority to waltz right into danger when it can be avoided, believe me." Ryoma muttered.

"Like father like son. Then let us do what is needed so that none of our troops fall in this mission." Fuga said.

"Alright, I'm back." Lilith said as she arrives from the Deeprealms with a new portal ready to take them to Niflheim. "And as Robin said, we should go in few numbers first, meet with Chief Kilma and let him know of our aid, and of course we have to make time for Felicia to be with her sister and father."

"Right, and I'm sure Corrin would like to see this Flora again as well, what better way to assure the Ice Tribe that we got their backs by sending Nohr's treacherous Princess as Hoshido's envoy." Rinkah said.

"Please don't say it like that, Rinkah. Lady Corrin is going through a rough time as is with Robin's revelation." Kaze sighed.

"Well, at least he was honest about the whole being blackmailed into delivering her to this sick bastard." Oboro noted.

"How is the Princess, last we saw her she ran to her treehouse in the Astral Plane." Hayato asked.

"Heartbroken and brooding way too much. It's been eight minutes since we last saw her and we figured that many hours would be enough for her to calm down but…" Hinoka muttered as they visited Corrin seconds ago, hearing her sob constantly and sulking on her bed and when they approach her and try to engage in conversation she responded with a violent "GO AWAY!" and went back to crying and they had to keep their distance. "… I'll give her another go."

Hinoka went back to the Astral Plane to check on her sister and came back two seconds later, again disappointed but also looking very grossed out by something she wishes she could unsee.

"Let's give her ten more minutes."

"I swear, princes and princesses are their own unique species when it comes to romance because they make it more of a big deal than it really is." Hinata sighed. "And I'm not saying love isn't complicated, but whenever someone of the upper echelon gets their heart broken they always go overboard."

"I'd slap you for that but Corrin just proved you right." Takumi muttered. "Still, even with everything we've come to learned and experienced, was he telling the full truth, Lilith?"

"I had a feeling there was something off about Robin when I first laid eyes on him but I just wasn't sure. Way off. His mere presence alone gave all my senses the chills, he's human, no doubt about that but at the same time it was as if I was trying to figure out a dark beast or some kind of fallen angel. But then the fight in Kyoto happened and I siphoned some of his magic power to escape Iago's trap, that's when I was sure of what he has affirmed but did not know how to confront him about it." Lilith explained. "Those strange flames of his that amplify his power, Ignis, I believed it's what he calls it, they look like a type of fire magic meant to increase one's prowess but are actually a unique form of dark magic."

"Yeah, I figured that out myself, using dark magic while harnessing Anima energy to gain more power is nothing new so I never approached him about it. It's a fancy technique used by the Dark Mages allowed to live in Muspelheim and I hear Warlocks in Niflheim use similar tricks with their ice magic." Rinkah explained.

"That's true, however, Robin is different. If you recall I was feeling ill after I drew power from him and collapsed from sickness after dispelling Iago's dome for almost an hour and have been unable to use my magics for some time, it was after a week of rest that I finally started to get better. Dark Magic used by humans shouldn't be capable of making dragons sick in any way unless they are directly based on the power of Aether." Lilith explained.

"Aether? Never heard that before." Hinoka said.

"I have, I read about it in the older versions of the Cosmogony books that speak the origins of our world and how it was created." Hayato said. "Aether is wildly believed to be the spiritual life force of the universe, while others believe it's the name of the Supreme God that created the Universe itself."

"Neither of those statements is wrong but there's no longer any evidence to explain the origin of the true God of Creation, regardless, Aether is essentially the great source where all Magic came from and what gave birth to everything we've come to know and beyond, but none more so than the Dragons and other entities who could harness its power and it's what allows anything to be considered godlike in any way. Rare humans like Robin can harness Aether themselves but to a lesser extent, making them authentic Demigods, though there have been many who have wielded this power, few could actually use it to the same way Robin has mastered it. There's also the Man of Miracles, Ike who was known to have possessed a power that ancient Solheimians described as blue flames ''brighter than a thousand suns'', which perfectly describes Aether in its purest form." Lilith explained.

"Fascinating. But how does Robin somehow having access to a fraction of the ultimate power make him from this Outrealm you mentioned a couple of times?" Takumi asked.

"Well you see, Aether is the key reason why Dragons suffer from Degeneration. While it is the parent of all elements, Aether is extremely dependent on a perfect balance between Primordial Light and Primordial Darkness, should either of these elements become the dominate half, the Dragons lose all cohesion, even if the Light takes over, and become the demons the legends spoke off who caused the Old War, aside from the Seven Deadly Sins. When I harnessed Robin's power, I realized immediately that this Ignis is actually the Dark Side of Aether, that's why I couldn't see his soul before, so much Darkness can conceal all, even from the Light of Sephiroth but there's more to it than that. Almost four years ago, roughly before Corrin found Robin, a god was slain by human hands." Lilith began, earning everyone's full attention more than before.

"What are you saying, Lilith?" Ryoma questioned.

"When a godlike being is killed, his life force can be felt fading away across the cosmos, especially by astrals like myself. This god was from another world, his name was the Fell Dragon Grima, a psychopathic God of Death prophesied by my father to be the youngest but strongest Dark God in the long history of all Divinity, destined to bring about an Apocalypse that can never be averted and replace the Humans of his world with a new race under his dominion and once his masterplan was completed he would invade other worlds with humans and do the same to them, with ours as his next victims but Fate was defiled. A Paradox that made even the Astral Dragon Moro quake from shock erupted and ensured that Grima would be defeated when he was supposed to win and died by the hands of a human who used his own power against him, and supposedly at the cost of his own life. But this Hero did not die, instead, he took Grima's power for his own and became something more, yet human still. And he is known as the High Deliverer."

"That's one of the aliases the Seven Deadly Sins called Robin." Hinoka gasped.

"Odin also mentioned that name before when he, Leo and Zero led that ambush." Takumi muttered.

"Robin… slew a god." Felicia uttered awestruck.

"You have got to be fucking with me…" Jakob mumbled in complete horror.

"I don't understand Grima, nor his abilities but I do know that he was a master of Dark Aether far superior to even the Dusk Dragon and the chaos inside Robin is identical to what I sensed when he died so I'm sure he's the same Godslayer who changed Fate as well as saved our future." Lilith continued.

"Azura, did he mentioned something like this to you?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, he told me that before meeting Corrin he and his former friends were engaged in a war against a rampaging Death Dragon across his world and would've been defeated if not for twelve children who warned them of the danger before the Beast arrived and gave them a fighting chance but he never mentioned how he overcame such odds, nor that he was the one who slew it." Azura said with concern over this revelation.

"And when were you going to tell us that you two were thicker than thieves when even Corrin was kept in the dark?" Azama asked.

"Don't make me break your nose again, Azama. It was not my secret to tell and when I was in distress about what happened in the Opera House and later the Second Attack on Suzanoh, Robin helped me through it and cope with the bad hand I've been dealt with." Azura protested, not noticing the bothered reactions her Hoshidan siblings got from hearing that.

"Sure, confide in the new guy and not the people that have watched your back throughout your time in Hoshido, that makes total sense." Takumi bemused.

"Unless you want to be a demon's meatsuit again, I suggest you drop it already." Azura demanded angrily while blushing. "As I said, it was by mere chance that I learned the truth when Robin and I confronted Laslow and Odin. He was always trapped in a roadblock; it was only now that he chose to seek our help for real and he had to come clean."

"Well, did you also know that Robin's a father?" Sakura asked and even before the Songstress could reply, a brand new frown on her face said it all first.

"No, I did not." She hissed.

"I do not like the way you responded to that question." Ryoma cursed.

"Get over yourself, Ryoma!"

"And what are we to do about Demon's Fall? Those three Retainers are the toughest foes the Nohrian Royals have at their disposal. Their loss could be a huge boom for us." Saizo said.

"But a major blow for Robin's morale as well, he said so himself that he thinks of those three as his kids, as odd as that sounded since there isn't much of an age gap between him and them but that just means there's still more he's still keeping from us but I guess a Demigod works in mysterious ways." Rinkah mused.

"Clearly but that's not important right now." Azura insisted.

"Let's just get to Niflheim and we'll discuss things from there, that is as soon as Corrin snaps out of it and Robin gets what he needs from the Witch." Ryoma said.

"There's still one thing that doesn't add up, Robin's mentioned before that he needs to go to Mount Garou to go home due to instructions given to him by the Rainbow Sage. Is there something there that can accomplish this like a portal to move across Outrealms?" Kaze asked.

"Now that you mentioned it, there does exist a Gateway that can take him to the worlds farther beyond ours but the flaw in Mount Garou is that the Outrealm Gate isn't with the Lycans." Lilith said.

"It isn't?" Felicia said.

"No, the only Outrealm Gate of this world is located someplace far removed from the eyes of humans and beasts alike, a place I assumed for years that only the Rainbow Sage might know of its whereabouts but perhaps I was wrong because there's nothing of real value there." Lilith explained. "Unless the Gate is not what Robin was instructed to find."

"The infinite mystery that is Robin has irked my thoughts for the last time." Jakob cursed.

---

Robin arrives back in Nyx's home, about to ask her for more help when she made it clear that she does not want to be involved in any way with this war but has no choice to seek her power, or more accurately a powerful spell that can help him with his desperate plight.

"Back for more I see." Nyx spoke from nowhere and everywhere at once. "You really are a Deadman; you just keep coming for more."

"I'm told I'm glutton for punishment, no pun intended." Robin half-mused.

"Charming?" Nyx replied sarcastically. "What is it this time?"

"I am in need of an item you carry with you. Friends of mine are in danger and I must save them but I can't get the army involved because we must go to Niflheim and I can't be in two places at once." Robin explained his situation.

"Oh, right, the Multiplex. Forgot I had that." Nyx said with sarcasm but there's more humor in her tone this time.

"We're about to leave a little earlier than we agreed and no one's going to be caught in what happens next, so if I have to fight you to get that relic, I will." Robin said with burning determination, getting the Witch to chuckle.

"Oh really, you're willing to brawl with me, how lovely, at least you have the decency to confront me up front, I'll give you that." Nyx smirked, sounding ready for what's coming. "Cool down the firmness, little man, there's no point in two Cursed Bloods to fight one another."

"Does that mean you're going to give it to me willingly?" Robin questioned, a little baffled.

"Consider it a gesture of good will. I'd been keeping an eye on you ever since our first meeting and in many ways we are kindred spirits. I can't seem to recall a time where I felt any sort of bond for anyone. These passing centuries feel more like eons." Nyx said with a hint of longing in her voice that made Robin sad to hear her with this tone. "That girl, Corrin. You've gone through a great many lengths to protect and secure her future for no reason that could ever be considered logical, even when all you want is to hide in the shadows. You have the same look as me, of one who's seen the worst of humanity more so than their best and has had enough of their hypocrisies, their lies, excuses and individualities that breed only famine, pestilence, war and death."

"I did not join this war for anyone's ridiculous notion of justice, yes." Robin confessed. "But she's worth enduring all this strife one last time before I finally make it to the finish line."

"I see. Then I hope for your sake that this Princess you love snaps you out of your shell before it's too late. I've seen enough children meet their untimely demise and their futures ruined for a thousand lifetimes."

---

"Where are they?" Leo demanded with a lot of frustration as he has not seen Odin for almost four hours and now of all times he should be beside him as they go to Niflheim. But it's not just him, Laslow has also been conspicuously absent as well. Though he is a shameless flirt who would never miss an opportunity to go after anything with a skirt, he is dutiful with his commitment to Xander, he always seems to know when exactly he needs to be by his lord's side, same with Odin.

"Lord Xander, I can't find Laslow anywhere." Peri sobbed as she and Zero return to the two Princes empty handed as they left to find their respective partners with help from other soldiers but found neither.

"Same here. What a drag." Zero hissed.

"This is not like those two to head out without letting anyone know first. Could something have happened?" Xander wondered with a lot of worry for the two servants and friends.

"Dammit. I'm afraid we can't go fetch them ourselves like usual, we're burning daylight and we have to make sure everything is ready." Leo said turning to two soldiers beside him. "Continue the search for those two."

"Very well." Xander said reluctant to go without searching for his retainer first but they mustn't allow themselves to be delayed much longer. "Let us be off then." As he said so, a Void Traveler makes his way towards them and opens its mouth, revealing the portal within.

"Seriously. You know, its common knowledge that the mouth of a beast is the place people try to avoid the most." Zero muttered reluctant to go in.

"Don't really have much of a choice since it's our final means of fast travel, so quit your whining." Leo ordered as they enter the portal and in mere seconds they exit through another Void Traveler and find themselves in the border of the snowy region where there lies the Ice Tribe where Camilla, Beruka and several soldiers are waiting.

"Greetings, Camilla. Is everything efficiently on this end?" Xander greeted his sister.

"As good as everything can be when the world has fallen apart and only continues to do so." Camilla replied but with little to no enthusiasm, in fact she looks too somber for Xander's liking, and it's not like she's ever had issues carrying out their father's more bloodier orders. Not that Camilla is a heartless killer, that's not it at all but more so that she tries to stay positive as a way to cope with tough situations and get things over with as quickly as possible.

"What troubles you, sister? You seem on edge." Xander asked.

"Oh, is it that obvious?" She asked, her sadness more visible now. "It…it's Selena. I can't seem to find her anywhere, it's not like her to wonder off without letting me know first."

"Wait, she's also missing?" Xander asked, his worries skyrocketing, same as Leo, Zero and Peri.

"Also missing?" Camilla repeated, growing more worried as even Beruka is caught off by this. "Don't tell me something's happened to them also?"

"Unbelievable. If she's also ran off without letting you know then something is most certainly wrong here." Leo uttered, now getting worried himself.

"We both know they wouldn't leave without letting us know first, and those three are no cowards either." Xander said.

"Not even the Whispers seem to have much luck in finding her, that shouldn't be possible, Selena's scent is easy even for me to snuff out." Camilla said addressing the Grimm Beetles, like the one sitting on her right shoulder.

"That sounded wrong." Zero noted. "Tell me more."

"They couldn't have used the Void Travelers, even us Royals are prohibited from going anywhere without notifying the other officers of our chosen subsequent destinations for security measures." Xander said trying to come up with an answer. Those three join the Royal Guard together as part of their reward for rescuing Elise and when not on duty they're seen pretty much always together, even when it seems that Selena prefers to be as far away from the boys. If something big is up that either of them want to do, and when they need help they first think of one another for assistance and when they want to go at it alone, they almost always let one another know first. Even when they're away from each other they're inseparable so whatever has happened, what is certain is that they are together but rather this is good or bad is the true question." Camilla muttered.

"Peri, Zero, Beruka, prepare a search party to find them." Xander instructed.

"You really think they've gotten themselves in a situation that requires a rescue search?" Leo questioned.

"What else could've happened? I know Laslow. I trust him with both your safeties as well as Elise should anything happen to me, and while you have issues with him, Leo, I know you trust Odin as well." Xander declared. "The three of us will be able to lead our forces to confront the Hoshidans, Chevians, Wind and Ice Tribalists just fine until the Nestrians arrive to aid us. How long do we have left before they arrive?"

"In about nineteen more hours, your Highness." A Ranger confirmed.

"Will that be enough for you to breach Niflheim's defenses, Leo?" Xander asked.

"Of course." Leo affirmed.

"Then I leave the wellbeing of your respective partners in your capable hands." The Crown Prince instructed to the three remaining retainers.

"Of course, we'll find something that will lead us to those idiots." Zero complied as the three are on the case.

"Oh, I truly hope nothing bad has happened." Camilla said somberly.

"As do I but sadly we cannot dwell on this matter right now." Xander said as he hardens himself to focus on the coming battle.

---

"Huh, second time we end up in a volcano, where treacherous danger awaits and again it was due to a comrade's own machinations." Odin mused to himself as he, Laslow and Selena have been dragged by Zola and his men into the very volcano called Demon's Falls, tied to a wall in chains, close enough to an edge to be thrown into the magma at any moment as the chains can be loosen with magic but neither Odin nor Selena can use magic at the moment as said shackles that bind their wrists are Anti-Magic.

"I would hardly call this pipsqueak a comrade, we didn't even know he even existed until he caught us off guard with that odd shadow spell and dragged us here." Selena scoffed. "At least things were to our liking at Demon's Ingle, that is if you count the issue that Morgan was the one spearheading the fight against poor Yen'fay."

"I faintly recall you being largely enthusiastic about being allowed the chance to be more active in the front lines in that fight." Laslow noted with a smile.

"Well, yeah, up until that point the old geezers were too strict and overbearing about us being too involved in the war but the second falling out in a roll between Robin and dad put the army in a tight spot where more open minds were needed." Selena reminded.

"What are you talking about, we were allowed to join plenty of battles in Valm." Odin countered.

"I remember things differently." Selena huffed. "So, let's put in a few votes, what are our chances of getting out of this?"

"Laughably high, seeing who Zola has chosen to pick a fight with, you would know better than us." Laslow stated.

"I know but considering his new commitments, he's clearly not having a good time at the moment because of us." Selena said.

"Due true. I confess that I still had my doubts but when we saw him again and the look of fear in his eyes when he saw us in a position that brings the most fiendish of shame upon generations of our noble ancestors I knew for a fact that man was indeed the Robin we've proudly call our uncle." Odin declared.

"No shit, ya dingo. Tell me something I don't actually know for once and can genuinely understand." Selena protested, her sharp tongue never fading.

"Come now, lovely Selena, you must learn to smile some more, moments like this demand a certain optimism." Laslow insisted with a smirk.

"If I wanted sound advice from you of all people, I be upfront about it." The rough redhead continued.

"But he speaks truth. That goes especially for you and me, cuzo. After all…"

"Would you three shut up!" Demanded Zola standing up above them from another narrow path. "I get enough troubles as is, I do not need you three whining on and on about whatever! So can it or you fall down!" He warned.

"Not really a threat you can live up to since we're your bargaining chips after you blackmailed the most dangerous man in the continent." Selena hissed, incapable of taking the tiny dark mage seriously, even though he did manage to subdue all three of them and put them in a tight spot as this. "You've read our memories so you know what you've gotten yourself into."

"Yes I have. I dare say this is still a lot to process. Other worlds exist. Gods exist. People coming back from the dead exist. Freaking Time Travel is an actual thing! These are the discoveries of the century." Zola said, contemplating what he's learned. "You little brats have been lucky thus far but all good things come to an end eventually."

"Has that been your life experience, because you look like you know a lot on the subject?" Selena insulted.

"Go ahead and continue to be clever, ''Princess'' Severa. Just know that if I finally snap it's your cousin who will pay the prize for having a bigger mouth than Prince Leo. Gods, you two spoiled brats were made for each other." Zola warned as he takes his leave, having quite enough of Severa's rudeness and unbeknownst to the trio, she actually did get to him as he sheds tears from her insults.

"Poor guy, I kept telling Lord Leo that he needs to be more soft to our comrades in arms, especially those who underperform to raise they're self-esteem." Odin said having sympathy for Zola rather than animosity for kidnapping them.

"Well, that is certainly bitting at us now, still, I can't help but wonder how that little man actually managed to get the drop on us, more importantly how did we get here so fast without a Void Traveler?" Laslow wondered.

"The latter is more important than being humiliated and sucker punched by that loser?" Selena questioned as she is harboring suppress rage from the humiliation she is feeling over being caught by such a fragile man.

"It must be because of that magical lantern he's carrying. It appears to possess surreal powers over illusion and thought manipulation and doubtlessly carries more tricks if he's so confident that he can get away with fighting off Robin and fulfill his avaricious desires." Odin surmised.

"Has to be, I've never seen anything like it. Whatever it is, I'd rather not still be in chains when the fight that's coming begins." Selena growled. "But with these shackles on, I can't even summon Morgenstern. What about you, Las, surely Morgan's toy is still operational."

"You know it." Laslow said as a beautiful silver dagger manifests into his right hand for Selena and Odin to see before it vanishes. "I can still summon one of my many toys from Archangel that can get us out of this mess but there are too many eyes on us that I'm not sure we'll get the chance."

"All I need is one of these shackles gone and I know I can get us out." Selena insisted.

"As much as it pains me to say this but we champions of Fate must endure this humiliation a while longer and wait for the perfect moment to strike." Odin said regrettably.

"I am not a patient woman, you know." Selena hissed.

"And it's because of that why I question how Robin ever took you as his apprentice." Laslow joked.

"Fuck you!" Selena cursed, while getting her two companions to chuckle with delight.

---

"Oh my, what a grave crossroad you have found yourselves this time, though not unexpected given Nohr's machinations." Mikoto said as she is being briefed on the current situation again using Lilith's Astral Projections. Even while far away they've still managed to stay in contact.

"Yes but if Robin is right about this, and he usually is then this could be largely beneficial for us, even if the Ice Tribe decides not to join us for the final battle." Azura explained to the Queen.

"I hope everything yields great results, and I'm glad you're all resolving to take this course of action. Allowing Niflheim to fall is too high a call to make just to advance further into enemy line." Mikoto said, pleased with what she's learned.

"You sound just like Corrin." Ryoma mused.

"No duh." Mikoto smiled. "But in all seriousness, how are you Ryoma, I know you've been forced to make too many tough decisions as of late, deciding to rather or not help the tribe is surely another heartache."

"That's an understatement and I am not yet sure which is the right call." Ryoma said doubtful of himself.

"Just remember that you're not alone in this and everything will be fine, for the most part." His mother advised.

"Of course." He replied. "How are things back home?"

"As steady as they can be, and as you can see I'm still alive but even if Nohr does somehow manage to launch another assassination and kill me it pretty much seems pointless since you're all so close to their Capital and you six will still stand so I feel safe in being overconfident for a change." Mikoto said.

"You're never overconfident about anything." Sakura said a little surprised.

"And neither are you and look how much you've grown." Mikoto cheered, causing Sakura to blush not so maddening like usual. "At any rate, Orochi and I have things handled over here so focus only on yourselves and your troops from here on out."

"Easier said than done." Hinoka said as she and the others cannot stop themselves from worrying about what goes on at home.

"I know, dear, homesickness is the worst thing ever. Take it from me who has no idea where she came from and how I long to regain what is lost." Mikoto stated.

"Yeah, that reminds me, when were we ever going to bring up that subject in all family discussions?" Takumi questioned.

"Right, that…"

"Or that Corrin isn't our sister by blood even though that's not really going to stop us from loving her?" Hinoka added.

"Yes, about that…"

"Or the real reason why Uncle Yamamoto was locked away in the chasm." Sakura added herself.

"Well, if you would just give me a chance to answer…" Mikoto muttered.

"Now that it's been brought up, there's a lot of things that need to be addressed but always ignored for one reason or another, even in peace time." Azura realized.

"Yes, we do that too unhealthily often that it's a miracle we get anything done at all." Ryoma said very upset, causing Mikoto to sniff.

"You know… words hurt, you five, and the way you say it is no different than a dagger through the heart."

"I'll tell you what hurts, the exasperation I feel by hearing this. I always knew you all would take forever to actually discuss topics that would naturally be considered too serious for any family at the worse time ever, and I was right, and Orochi owes me 10,000 gold coins." Reina declared.

"Dammit! I hate not being able to see the future." Orochi mumbled as she arrives at the conversation.

"You two took bets on this?" Mikoto uttered.

"You're a wonderful mother, queen and friend, Milady but you got some serious issues that makes you a bit of a loser that gambling is in order for whatever else you do or don't. And I say that fully accepting being beheaded for stepping out of line." Reina mused.

"You two are the worst Retainers, I swear." Mikoto cried.

"Oh, good, a way to lighten the mood, we actually needed this after Corrin's latest volcanic eruption." Takumi laughed with delight.

"Did Cor and Rob get into another fight again? I swear, those two are in desperate need for the best couple counseling in Horus because abusive relationships just won't do, and if the bride is the abuser in the relationship then you know there's something abnormal going on." Mikoto pouted.

"Mother for the last time, they are not a thing!" Ryoma protested.

"YOU ARE NOT THE PATRIARCH OF THIS FAMILY JUST YET! I'm the one in charge and I WANT MY GRANDCHILD!" Mikoto screamed comically at her stepson.

"You can't force Corrin to have a kid just so you can find an excuse to make up for the lost time between you two, mother! It's not right!" Ryoma argued against her, also becoming comical, while everyone else watching are left flabbergasted by what they are witnessing.

"It's not like she's against it. She's already expecting a proposal. Heck she even stole Azura's ring to overcompensate." Mikoto stated.

"That's none of your business!" Ryoma snapped.

"That's none of YOUR BUSINESS!" She snapped back.

"I'M HER BIG BROTHER!"

"AND I'M HER MOTHER! And I want a refund for my stolen time!"

"THAT IS NOT HOW THIS WORKS!"

"Now I remember why we never get anything done right. We always end up bickering against one another over something completely off topic and stupid." Hinoka muttered.

"Yep…" Takumi uttered.

"At least it's not anything awful." Sakura said.

"How does she even know about the ring exchange?" Azura muttered.

"Oh, right, I forgot Robin gave YOU the wedding ring." Hinoka said. "Given our outburst, where are the Seven all the sudden, you think they'd try to possess us again after all the negativity we've been emitting. Especially Pride, Wrath and maybe Greed."

"Why indeed." Lilith muttered.

"Hey, what's with all the yelling, I can hear you from all the way at the end of the camp?" Scarlet interrupted as she enters the tent they are in to find out what is happening.

"Not now, Scarlet. I'm in the middle of something." Ryoma brushed her off, wanting to finish this argument with his mother.

"Oh… goodness, so you're the Scarlet I've heard so much about." Mikoto said with predatory eyes at the Wyvern Knight.

"Ah… hello." Scarlet muttered nervously.

Realizing this is a losing battle, Ryoma averts the conversation by slapping Lilith's Dragonstone off her hands, making the Astral Dragon drop it to the floor and this cause the Astral Projection to be canceled with Mikoto and Orochi fading away.

"Hey, watch it! I still don't know how durable this thing is." Lilith cried as she hastily rushes to pick up her stone.

"No! I was enjoying myself!" Azama cried.

"Me too." Setsuna added disappointed.

"Thank Gods it's over." Takumi muttered.

"What just happened?" Scarlet muttered.

"You saw nothing." Ryoma hastily demanded, sweating like crazy and looking more childish than anyone as ever seen the future King.

---

"Ryoma, you petulant child!" Mikoto snapped at this defiance of her son, while Orochi laughs hysterically and uncontrollably, falling to the ground.

---

"Hello Corrin." Sakura greeted as the siblings and the retainers visit the distraught Princess as she just got back from taking a shower in the Astral Plane and is wearing her original Nohrian armor.

"Hey, guys." Corrin said somberly but appears to have calmed down well enough. Thank Heavens for the warped time flow of the Astral Plane.

"Are you feeling better now, sis?" Hinoka asked with concern.

"Yeah… yeah! I'm all better now." The Princess replied, feeling more enthusiastic.

"Are you sure?" Felicia asked wanting more confirmation.

"Of course. I've been all alone here for a few days, you know. Three to four, I think. That gave me plenty of time to settle down and cope with my frustrations." Corrin said all innocently.

"Did you take my advice on how to cool yourself off?" Jakob asked looking more worried than the rest of them.

Corrin remained silent for a few moments as she recalls the advise her faithful servant is talking about that she used to calm her nerves.

(Flashback)

Fueled by endless grief and anguish, Corrin cries hysterically in the Astral Plane, down in her bed in her tree house, empty bottles of alcohol all over the place, and even outside of the tree house. She's been drinking way too much in a vain effort to make her problems go away but it only makes her feel worse.

"I THOUGHT HE LOVED ME!" She sobbed, losing her mind over Robin's truth. "THAT WE HAD A CHANCE!"

The Truth! Why did she even want it in the first place? One truth after another destroys her more and more on the inside with no mercy to offer. No real closure, only pain. Robin was her one true solace over becoming an enemy of her Nohrian Family and no matter how he may have wanted to, she wanted so badly to tell him not to go. So badly to convince him, beg him to stay with her. She's so afraid of what would become of her if what she has with the Hoshidans doesn't work out either and she might be all on her own in the end. That no matter what happened there was still hope for her in this terrible world.

"I thought… I want… I wanted you to be that hope." Corrin sobbed while holding on to a small portrait of Robin she made using the Dragon Veins. "I thought I meant something to you… that I could make you stay but all along it was… I was… I…" Using her influence over this world she made the portrait change, replacing the image of Robin with Morgan's. HIS DAUGHTER.

"You said you'd never hurt me. You promised… YOU PROMISED!" She once again snapped, throwing the portrait to the ground, smashing it to pieces.

She then proceeds into a bigger rampage as she makes a dummy of Robin and proceeds to beat it to a bloody pulp all around the Hoshidan house and in her berserk state, she uses all her strength and demolishes the house entirely, all the while screaming as she were possessed by Wrath or Envy but she isn't, she's just drunk and mad.

(End of Flashback)

"As a matter of fact, I did. Thank you Jakob, it was really refreshing." Corrin complimented him, even going as far as to give him a bow as gratitude.

"I am unworthy, your Grace." Jakob said with a very satisfying grin.

"What advise was that exactly?" Kaze asked.

"Something really violent, no doubt." Felicia sighed.

"Everything looks… clean and smells as nice as usual." Lilith said eyeing her realm suspiciously. She expected this place to be a mess after leaving Corrin alone here but everything looks as spotless and beautiful as ever. "Did you get yourself cleaned?"

"Well, my tree house anyway, I only recently left it to take a shower." Corrin said.

"I can tell by how wonderous you smell like but last time I saw you, you and the whole tree house was smelling like alcohol and something else I rather not go in to detail ever." Hinoka muttered, feeling grossed out.

"Well, duh, I took responsibility for the mess I made and cleaned up after myself." Corrin rolled her eyes.

"You never clean up after yourself." Kaze pointed out.

"First time for everything." Corrin shrugged.

"Also, how much booze did you drink?" Hinoka asked.

"Enough." Was her stepsister's simple response.

"How much is enough?" Ryoma questioned and Lilith immediately rushed to the house to examine how much alcohol there's left and what she found was terrifying.

"YOU DRANK ALL OF THEM! THIS WAS HALF AN ARMY'S WORTH!" She cried with pure terror as all the bottles are gone.

"Yeah, but hey, it pays to have a dragon's liver. I took all of that like a champ." Corrin laughed.

"NO! I have a dragon's liver and I could've died from just two bottles." Lilith cried again.

"Well, I am older than you and can handle more punishment." Corrin smirked.

"There's a limit to how much madness I can take Corrin, and this is definitely overkill." Ryoma muttered.

"You're just jealous because I can actually drink my problems away." Corrin smirked again.

"Robin is still alive and he doesn't love you back." Yeah! Takumi went that far just to prove a point.

"HA! Jokes on you, little brother, I can't be harmed emotionally anymore." Corrin declared triumphantly. "I don't think I can actually feel anything right now."

"Are you still drunk?" Azura uttered.

"Probably. What even is a drunk?" She made a stupid question.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay for the journey to Niflheim?" Felicia asked concern.

"Yeah, let's go and see Flora already." Corrin declared cheerfully.

"Good, everyone's all here. Now we can begin." Robin said as he arrives at the Astral Plane, carrying in his hand a silver spherical artifact with occult red symbols all over it.

"Oh, goody, the ''Champion of the Universe'' finally graces us with his presence." Corrin greeted with mocking sarcasm at the lying tactician

"If you're going to keep calling me that as an insult, that's fine but I appreciate not being called a champion period." Robin said nonchalantly.

"Reap what you sow, scoundrel." Jakob smirked.

"If you're going to be a joker then come up with something we can all laugh at." Robin cursed.

"AWWWW SHIIT!" Corrin laughed at Jakob's expense, better giving off how wasted she still is.

"Is that the relic you needed from the witch?" Lilith asked, staring at the relic Robin has with him.

"Yep. it's called the Multiplex, a very powerful relic that will help me with my situation while allowing me to still help protecting the Ice Tribe." Robin explained.

"Well, this at a be good." Takumi mused. "Still, Corrin what happened to your Hoshido Noble uniform? Not that I'm against your White Nohrian armor but I don't think it's a good idea to travel to Niff territory while dressed like one of our enemies."

"You worry too much. I know Flora, everything will turn out fine." Corrin smirked with confidence.

---

"In hindsight, I probably should've dressed in something else." Corrin said as the Niffs did not respond well to her wearing this armor.

"YA THINK?!" Ryoma, Hinoka, Takumi, Azura and even Sakura snapped at her for putting them in this situation. As soon as the Hoshidan Royals arrived in Niflheim they were ambushed by Ice Tribalist soldiers who trap them in blue ice and hold Corrin with several icicles an inch away from her neck and because Felicia is in the middle of her friends the Niffs don't notice her.

"Nohrian Scum! Prepare to die!" Yelled a Niflheim Commander, moments away from executing the wasted princess.

"WAIT! Stop! Uncle Thorfinn!" Felicia cried out as she melts the ice trapping them and quickly rushes to the front to confront the Tribalists threatening Corrin and upon laying eyes on her, all the hate in their eyes turns to shock and relief.

"Felicia!" The Commander gasped, lost for words, unable to believe what he's seeing.

"It's me, Uncle, these are my friends." Felicia pleaded with the man.

"You never said you had an uncle?" Corrin muttered.

"I don't, he's actually a dear friend of the family." Felicia mused.

"Felicia! You're really alive!" Thorfinn declared with joy to see the daughter of his Chief alive and well. "But how? You joined the Hoshidan army instead of rushing back here."

"A lot of trouble kept sowing around me, I got caught up in the invasion and my master defected to the East, the tribe is so far away so I followed her and now Nohr is going to invade. It was a matter of survival before anything else." Felicia uttered.

"Aw, Felicia, I'm not a Dark Princess anymore, so I'm no longer your master, meaning you're back to being an Ice Princess." Corrin cheered.

"Corrin, calling a girl an Ice Princess/Queen is an insult." Takumi corrected her. "And Niflheim's government, or lack thereof, is a Chiefdom."

"But they're a Tribe." Hinata whispered to him.

"It's none of our business." He whispered back.

"But if you're still insistent on being my maid than call me what I've always been. Your Frienster." Corrin smiled a bit too childishly, mixing the words friend and master together.

"Is she high or something?" Thorfinn asked, staring at the princess as if she's demented.

"She's going through a… rough breakup, I think." Felicia muttered very worried for Corrin. "Lilith what else did you hid inside the house with all that alcohol?"

"We were never even a thing." Robin muttered.

"I don't know, it's not like I actually leave drugs anywhere back home." Lilith replied.

"Then why did you entrust me with this ring." Corrin hissed venomously at him, showing off her Icarus.

"Why did we even keep so much booze down there anyway?" Oboro asked.

"I didn't, now that you mentioned it. I entrusted it to Azura." Robin said, looking really irritated to see Corrin have it, souring Corrin's new happy go lucky attitude.

"Assbutt." She pouted, turning away from him childishly.

"Please ignore her." Ryoma sighed, feeling embarrass by his siblings for once in his life but is quick to focus on the Niffs with the composure of a King. "Commander Thorfinn, I am the High Prince of Hoshido, Ryoma, as well as the High General of our army and we have come to offer our aid in the coming danger headed your way from the vile Nohrians."

"An honor to have the next King of Dawn here in Niflheim. Though I must confess that you are either brave or foolish to come here as I have learned that the true motive of Nohr's latest onslaught is to draw you here." Thorfinn replied sternly.

"Speaking logically, this is the latter, however, coming here serves us more so than just forming an alliance with our two nations. I would tell you more but first I ask that you let me speak with your Chief." Ryoma insisted.

"Very well. Follow me." The Commander complies as he agrees to escort the Hoshidans to the main village of the Ice Tribe.

"Did you seriously never noticed that Corrin and I switched rings? It's been over three weeks since you gave them to us." Azura questioned Robin.

"I honestly don't know half the things I say when these rings are involved, Azura. I gave them to you both because I wanted them out of my life but it seems that the sentimental values still runs deeper than I thought." Robin sighed, feeling bad for being harsh to Corrin, and everything else he's done and said to hurt her ever and disappointed at himself. "No matter what we do, we're all forever bound by the memories and bonds with our parents, even in death. To some this is wonderful, while to others it's a curse."

"And do you see it as a curse?" Azura asked.

"I'm not ready to answer that." Robin said sadly. "Wait… Assbutt?"

"What about that stupid insult?" Azura asked, interested in how quick his sadness shifted to a confused one.

"It's just that Corrin isn't the first person I heard use that ridiculous word. Morgan said it to someone who really got on our nerves. In fact, it's practically her catchphrase." Robin mused.

"Well, that is an odd coincidence." Azura mused as well.

---

"Oh… my daughter." Said a man with incredible joy as he embraces Felicia in a tearful hug. This is her father, Kilma who is the Chief of the Ice Tribe, a man that is tall and imposing, grey eyes wearing heavy feathered cloak not too different from the uniform worn by Nohr's sorcerers and an iron helmet.

"I… I can't believe it's really you." Sobbed a disbelieving Flora who only now reunites with her long thought dead twin sister. She and her father, as well as all the villagers near the Chief's home could hardly believe their eyes when they saw the former Princess of Nohr arrive with her new Hoshidan Family and were left more speechless when they saw that she brought their own princess with her. If not for the impending danger heading their way that they managed to catch wind off despite the Nohrians at the border's best attempts to hide this secret, this would be a night to celebrate for the family of their Chieftain.

Even in her current state, Corrin watches joyously as her friend reunites with her family, she knows how hard it's been for Felicia worrying about her father, sister and tribe while she was far away fighting a fight that didn't really concerned her until now.

"But how, we heard you fell into the Bottomless Canyon?" Flora muttered.

"It's a long, scary story but Jakob and I were able to ''climb'' back out of that terrible place but it cost us Gunter." Felicia sobbed, recalling those dark moments in the other world hidden below the Bottomless Canyon.

"Thank the Mother of Niflheim for returning you to us my child." Kilma said joyously to have his family whole again.

"It feels so good to be home, father." Felicia cheered.

"And you. You must be Corrin, the one who Garon made maids of my daughters to serve." Kilma said turning to the Princess, and if she was offended by the way he said it, she did well to hide it.

"I don't like the way he phrased that." Jakob frowned.

"He meant no offense by his words, Jakob, but you know that the reason we were sent to live in the Northern Fortress was because we were Nohr's hostages to keep the Tribe from revolting against the Dusk Nation." Flora said with her usual calm demeanor but there were noticeable traces of venom that were easy enough to pick up on for even Corrin.

"Wait, that's the reason why…" Corrin uttered.

Robin always worried how she never knew. It did not take him long to learn of Felicia and Flora's Niflheim origins and the reason why the heirs of the Frost Dragon Bloodline who command one of the most powerful regions in the continent would be working as maids in a secluded fortress in Nohr. The Ice Tribe has tried to fight off Nohr's oppression before and to stop the rebellion, Garon had Chief Kilma's daughters kidnapped to use them as a means to force Niflheim to cease their rebellion. Felicia seemed oblivious of the circumstances to an extent as she felt content with her life with Corrin in contrast to Flora who was secretly bitter of her fate, Robin and Jakob have spotted her shed tears of sorrow once a year, on the day of their mother's birthday who died shortly before the twins were taken.

"You six have a lot of catching up to do and it's best left indoors." Ryoma said defusing the possible argument that could happen as he presents himself to Chief Kilma. "Chieftain of the Frost, it is an honor to be in your presence."

"Likewise, High Prince. Truth be told, when I learned of Garon's latest affront to my people I expected you to not take the bait and flee to the Dark Capital." Kilma said, though secretly relief that they came.

"It was not an easy decision to make, in all honesty but we are here now and we offer you our strength. Together, Hoshido, Cheve, Oldstrong and Niflheim, we will crush Nohr's oppression once and for all." Ryoma declared, tightening his fist for emphasis.

"Of course, but it's not just Nohr we'll be fighting against, you know." Kilma reminded regarding the coming threat of Nestra.

"Yes, we are fully aware and we assure you, that we had nothing to do with the death of King Alexander. We were framed to drag them into this War." Ryoma assured him.

"It's true father, there's this really evil faction that's been harassing Lady Corrin and the Hoshidans for months that are the true cause of this war finally happening. They killed Alexander." Felicia affirmed.

"I'll take your word for it at the very least, Felicia." Kilma said, still harboring doubts regarding the loss of a truly good king but cannot bother to care for it at the moment. "Curse the Dusk Dragon and his true descendants for forcing my heart to grow colder still. I must tend to the militia at once. Flora, stay with your sister at all times."

"Of course father." Flora obeyed with absolution.

"I'll see you two later. Come with me High Prince, we must discuss how we will deal with this menace once and for all." Kilma stated as he reluctantly parts with his daughters to prepare for the fight of their lives and the good of his people.

"Yes." Ryoma replied.

"Time to go to work again." Robin sighed as he follows.

"I better bring forth the others in as well." Lilith said as she also departs from Corrin.

"Let me know immediately when something occurs." Corrin ordered.

"We would all rather you be extra cautious because you're definitely bitting off more than you can chew this time. You, Robin and Azura." Lilith muttered nervously regarding Robin's plan to rescue Selena, Odin and Laslow.

"My Dragon's fury will dull the pain." Corrin whispered.

"Oh, wow, where to even begin." Felicia muttered as she returns to her house after so long with her sister and most of her friends and finally feels a real sense of ease.

"How about just relaxing and not push yourself any further." Flora suggested while sitting beside her in a couch. "And as for the rest of you, I suggest staying close to fire because I imagine anyone not used to these temperatures is not good for you."

"Yeah, we got the hint after we first set foot here." Takumi muttered shivering as he, sisters and retainers stand close to the burning chimney to keep themselves warm.

"Qliphoth, how can anyone stand this cold?" Corrin questioned as she looks at the window and sees all the tribalists passing by. "Not everyone has the blessings of your Sacred Bloodline, do they?"

"No, it's not possible to pass on Shiva's Blessings to everyone in Niflheim so our family can only pass it along to those who form our militia." Flora explained.

"That makes sense. Anyways, Flora, how have you been? We haven't seen each other since I finally left the fort." Corrin said.

"I've been faring well, especially since I'm back home and in my element, considering I had to deal with the loss of all of you." Flora replied with the sadness she's been feeling has not yet subsided, unsurprisingly considering what she was struggling with.

An awkward silence flooded the living room with no one really sure on what to say next. Corrin who is still a little out of it can't seem to muster on what she wants to say, like the most obvious things such as; ''Everything is going to be okay'', ''The Ice Tribe is in good hands now that we're here'', ''It feels great to have nearly everyone from the days in the fort together again'', but nothing comes out. Even the Hoshidans who have no such attachment to anyone from Niflheim are getting uncomfortable by the silence.

"So…" Felicia began, desperate to say something quick to remove the awkwardness but nothing comes to mind.

"So…" Flora repeated.

"There's tension where there shouldn't be any." Jakob muttered.

"This is not how long time friends react in their get-together after a fair amount of time apart." Takumi bemused.

"We know that but there's clearly a lot of… ''ice'' shall we say, that is weighting us down." Corrin said.

"That's racist." Flora pointed out.

"And I made it worse." The Princess mumbled.

"This is all my fault, I've never been one for socializing and I've been called boring many times, even by my own father." Flora muttered feeling down.

"It was pretty selfish of you to always decline Lady Corrin's offer to join our book club." Jakob noted.

"I'm just not in to literature, even my bookworm mother couldn't get me into it." Flora said.

"That must be it. I believe that it's what led her and Felicia to Nohr that is causing this tension for everyone." Kaze gently whispered to Corrin in a low tone that only her dragon ears can hear him despite not leaning closer to her. "I know it's not my place but maybe ''breaking the ice'' is what needs to be done before you can start feeling like friends again."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Corrin whispered back as she knows this needs to be addressed. With a heavy sigh she readies herself. "Your mother, you never told me about her, nor your father. Now that I really think about it, over the last six years since Camilla delivered you both to live with me as my maids all I ever really knew about you both is that you hailed from the Ice Tribe. I never even questioned how you two could still use Ice Dragon magic despite no longer living under the Frost Dragon's Dominion."

"Delivered". That's one way to put it." Flora repeated, the venom from before manifesting, encouraging Kaze and Hinoka to stay closer to Corrin for her safety, though surprisingly and ironically Jakob is the one not making any sudden movement to Flora's words, already familiar with the blue maid's inner thoughts and feels confident that she won't react on them. "I'm curious, since we never really talked about what mine and Felicia's lives were like before we started working for you, what story did Camilla fed you to welcome us with open arms? Something similar to Jakob's own circumstances, I take it."

"Basically, it wasn't after much later that Robin told me that your unique magic with ice is due to having the blood of the Frost Dragon in your veins and well… that's when I began to put things together that I don't really know anything about anyone but I didn't have it in me to question the family." Corrin said feeling terrible about dismissing the flaws she's been fed for so long.

"I figured as much. You were always kept in the dark about the atrocities Nohr suffered, especially the ones they caused." Flora bemused. "As you surely must know at least, the Ice Tribe has lived under a Divine Oath that we would support Nohr through all endeavors for we too worshipped the Dark Lord Qliphoth, the Father of our Foremother, and for centuries all was well in Horus, relations between the Chieftain of Niflheim and Kings and Queens of Nohr were always beneficial and just but then King Garon sat the Throne of Shadows and the poverty in Nohr inexplicably worsen, and they started taking more food than we could provide. Like with Cheve, there was much bickering to maintain the promised bargaining until eventually we too in Niflheim had to draw the line and Garon responded with force. We had the homefield advantage so we were confident in decimating the Dusk Army but in those days, we were still unused to Grimm attacks and our usual methods were no good and they overpowered us. There were a lot of casualties as the Demon King personally waltzed into our home, including our own mother." As Flora revealed her dark tale, she holds Felicia's hand as recalling those days are harmful to them.

"Felicia… Flora… I…" Corrin muttered not sure what to say.

"In the confusion as my father mourned, Felicia and I were then kidnapped to use as hostages to keep us in line but as a sign of mercy, if you can call it that, Garon chose not to annexed our territory into Nohr and let us keep our autonomy to the extent that we continue living our daily lives. And the one who snapped us from our home was…" Flora continued but stopped at the last sentence.

"Who?" Corrin asked.

"Never mind, it doesn't matter who did it, only that it was done." Flora shrugged. "Life in that tower was admittedly not as bad as I initially thought, though we were prisoners, Gunter made us feel welcomed enough, somehow his disapproval of Garon's actions gave me comfort and Felicia took a lighthearted approach to our forceful servitude but no matter what I did, I could never find solace."

"You must hate me then for being forced upon as your master then." Corrin said bitterly.

"No, that's not…" Felicia uttered.

"All those years in that accursed place, the only thing I could feel for anyone was contempt, no more, no less." Flora confessed her true feelings. "But as the years went by, hating you stopped being easy once I came to accept that you were in the dark about what was really going on outside your walls and that you were the true prisoner of the Northern Fortress, and even now, I'm not sure what to feel, except maybe gratitude that at the very least Felicia didn't suffered at all that time. For so long I dreamt of taking her and run away back home but I was always a coward, it took the dark news of her falling into the canyon to finally get away from it all in the turmoil of the Castle."

"Things haven't really been easy for anyone but Flora… if I never made it obvious before, I never once saw you as just my Maid, you were one of the only few friends I ever had." Corrin professed. "I never wanted to see any of you hurt, much less be responsible for any of it."

"I don't doubt that anymore, Corrin but my heart is colder than Felicia's, letting things go is not so simple for me." Flora uttered.

"I can sympathize with that." Takumi whispered somberly.

"Well, now that none of us are living in Nohr's shadows, we can start over, you and Felicia can go back to being your own princesses and whatever else we can do to set things right." Corrin suggested.

"I don't know, it's not like I'll ever be Chief so why not stay your servant?" Felicia said. "Dad will probably urge me to be a commander for the militia anyway."

"Who better, father always spoiled you because you're a prodigy in combat." Flora said. "Shiva's Chosen, the elders called you."

"The praise feels justified, after all you could've kicked Saizo's ass in training all those times if you hadn't chicken out." Hinata noted.

"Is he still giving me death glares when I'm not looking, yearning for a vengeful rematch?" Felicia asked nervously looking at her surroundings.

"He's too busy being grumpy over Lord Ryoma asking Azama for advise on anything instead of him to bother you this time." Kaze said with assurance.

"So, from Princes of Dusk to Dawn, I see, like the rumors told." Flora noted.

"My life sucks even when it wants to be but is pretty sweet when it's not being an assbutt." Corrin shrugged, getting a chuckle from everyone, finally lighting things up in the living room.

"To this day I question where you learned that vulgar tongue?" Flora said. "And assbutt?"

"If I can't figure out this wicked mystery, you certainly can't." Jakob mused.

"Oh, yeah, let's resume opening that can of warms why don't ya." Corrin whined.

"Hey… sorry to interrupt this rekindling." Robin said as he knocks on the door and reveals his face from one of the front windows. "But Ryoma is calling for Hinoka and Taku…" He is left silenced as Jakob throws a knife at him, purposely missing him by an inch.

"Get the fuck out of here! I don't want to speak to you right now!" Corrin demanded ragingly, still heartbroken.

"Rob-out." He replied bemused, disappearing from view.

"Every damn time!" Jakob cursed.

"I used to think him saying that was sexy." Corrin mumbled as the bitterness returns.

"So… I take it things didn't go so well between you two after all." Flora said confused by the animosity.

"No, I don't hate him but I just found out that he lied about a great many things about himself and as it turns out there was never going to be anything between us." Corrin muttered.

"Based on… what exactly?" Flora asked, not sure she wants to know.

"For one, he lied about his amnesia and it turns out he has a daughter." Felicia revealed. "And probably a wife too."

At the mention of that last sentance, Corrin slams her head on the living room table.

"Oh, you mean the Morgan person he claimed to only remember." Flora said, surprised by this. "Well… that's explosively overwhelming. I'm surprised he's still breathing."

"I'll fix that eventually." Jakob declared proudly.

"Let's leave that unfix, please." Sakura muttered.

'This is going to make what comes next all the more uncomfortable.' Azura thought, focused on events beginning elsewhere.

---

"It's so hot even from this altitude." Elise groaned flying using the wings of her Gearpack as she fled from Windmire without letting anyone know and following the dark voice's command without any knowledge of it being something other than her own conscious, she follows after Zola but when he warped using a Void Traveler she hesitated to follow as those special Grimm are constantly monitored, there's no way she could use them without letting anyone know, much less without the consent of her parents, so she had to follow the trail elsewhere. Luckily, she has the means to find Zola, through the use of a new magical device the more magical smiths design, a unique looking magenta-colored compass called a Tracer, that works as a tracker to find people, all she has to do is point the red gem located on the back of the compass, as it glows it ''scans'' the chosen target and it instantly becomes capable of pinpointing their location, providing they aren't so far away and she knows that Zola left for Demon's Falls. Sneaking out with her Grimm was the easy part, everyone is too busy to pay attention to her and while Effie and Arthur are dutiful, it's not hard to get them to focus on other matters to buy her time to sneak out.

"It wasn't this bad all those other times I was here." She muttered as she reached the volcano and is growing increasingly heated by the environment the closer she gets to the deadly volcano but that is where the Tracer is telling her that's where she'll find Zola. "This may very well not be my brightest idea, Bucky but there's no turning back now." She muttered, talking to the Geist on her back. "Not every day we can get away with flying into a heavily secured sky after all. Let's go forward!"

---

"Zola, sir! He's finally arrived." One of Zola's men came to inform the Warlock that Robin has arrived.

"Goodness, he is fast. Better get this over with." Zola said.

"Shall I get the prisoners?" He asked.

"No, leave them where they are and the arrows pointed right at them, can't take any chances with him." Zola said as he uses his magical lantern to create realistic and tangible illusions of Odin, Selena and Laslow with their mouths covered up as well as six soldiers to restraint them. He also makes an illusion of himself to send and make the exchange with Robin instead, after all, one can't be too careful.

The illusions go to the entrance that leads inside the volcano where the troops station there serving under him are up an arms as they see Robin up above as he arrives and in his arms is carrying both Corrin and Azura who are unconscious.

"Oh, wow, you actually came and with both Princesses as we agreed." Zola said most pleased but at the same time surprised as he was sure he'd take longer to get here and betray Corrin.

"What can I say, Hoshidans are spineless and it's time I go home, so the sooner I get this over with the sooner I can be done with Horus." Robin said callously as he gently drops the Princesses down on the floor.

"My, so much for being a Champion of Light, I guess but I don't like to judge." Zola chuckled maliciously over finally getting her hands on the two deserting princesses. "Finally, my reign can finally begin with Iago gone, I will rule over the Warlocks of Nohr and become a noble."

"Quite the ambitious streak you have, I didn't take you seriously enough." Robin said smugly but not so insultingly. "Those three have better be alright, or this will be a very short lived dream."

"Rest assured, they're alright, I managed to restraint myself in time from cutting the ginger but for the sake of my low self-esteem I had to keep her mouth shut." Zola said glaring at the fake Selena out of the contempt he feels for the real deal and to make sure Robin buys into it, he had the illusion roll her eyes with annoyance and defiance.

"Some things never change." Robin sighed.

"Enough about her, let's talk about these two. Simply pass them here and you can go home and take these brats with you. I am a man of my word, after all." Zola assured him. Though he is not being at all truthful, because as soon as he gets his hands on the Princesses, Zola will use the full power of his lantern to trap Robin inside his own thoughts in a nightmarish prison but for it to work against someone with a strong will like Robin he has to have his guard drop, and what better way to catch a man off guard than to have him embrace his loved ones. Why settle for just two Princesses when he can also bring in Nohr's most wanted.

"Really, then why aren't you here yourself to seal the deal?" Robin asked as he sees right through Zola's charade. "Or my friends for that matter."

"Very perceptive, but can you blame me, you're not exactly one that I should be taking any chances with, especially since you killed Iago." Zola said, maintaining his confidence.

"No, you are wise to be cautious of me as I am of you, which is why you won't be getting these girls until I get those three back." Robin demanded.

"My, aren't we peaky but let's be reasonable, Robin, you're surrounded and you are alone, regardless of how powerful you are, even you can't punch, slash and blast your way out of this one and I alerted the troops below to rush in the moment they hear anything over here and my boys are quite noisy when they need to be." Zola smirked.

"You have me there. However, what you failed to realize, Zola, something that everyone standing in my way have always failed to realized, is that I am always three steps ahead and I'm close enough for this!" Robin said as he rushes for the fake Zola, grabbing him by the neck, lifting him to the air and the other illusions fade away, except for Zola who is now terrified.

"W-W-What?!" Zola gasped in horror as the Zola Robin just caught is the real one. "H-How did you do this?! I kept myself safely inside the volcano?!"

"A little hex I picked up long ago that lets me perform pseudo-summoning through the use of illusions." Robin smirked triumphantly. "Now…"

Zola howled in frustration over being made a fool of and hurls his lantern at Robin's head to use but Robin tosses it off his arms as it drops to the floor behind him.

"I am willing to let this all slide Zola. The Royals don't know about your actions so if you let them go now, your life won't be in danger." Robin offered the dark mage mercy.

"NO WAY! I waited too long for this moment! I won't be pushed around by you or anyone else ever again! I'll kill you! I swear it!" Zola vowed now growing with malice and to Robin's horror, his eyes become briefly demonic.

"You too!" Robin cursed as he throws Zola to the floor and summons Morgenstern to pull out Ragnell. "The Seven have gotten to you as well? How many do they have under their clutches then?"

"The Seven? What are you talking about?" Zola asked, oblivious that he is being used by demons. "Forget it! Just die alre-!" The greed-influenced Warlock is silenced as he gets himself bashed into the ground by the monstrous arm of Corrin, as the Princess was conscious the whole time.

"Oh, Shit! Zola's down!" One of his men who was standing on an upper narrow path witnessed the event unfold yelled. "Quick, get the prisoners!" They rushed back inside to get the Awakening Trio.

"Crap, things just got complicated." Robin protested as he summons two more weapons from Morgenstern to pass on to Corrin and Azura, a Brave Sword and Silver Lance. "Grab him, we might be able to use him as a meat shield, that is if he's still alive."

"He's only out cold, which surprises me the most since I lashed out more than I intended when it turned out he was another of their puppets." Corrin said as she nearly had a panic attack after Robin mentioned the Seven + Zola.

"It really shouldn't be surprising if they are involved in any way." Azura said as they rush inside the volcano. All the while, a mysterious hawk with glowing red eyes and black smoke coming out of its body has witnessed the whole event and tales them into the coming battle.

---

"Well, so much for that puppet." Muttered Greed as her eyes are glowing as red as the hawk's that she's controlling as a familiar to see events happening in Horus. Beside her is Wrath who are on top of a rundown tower far away from the castle they're living in what must be the bizzare world Felicia and Jakob mentions with floating islands above them.

"No matter, Zola did his part in luring Corrin, I knew she couldn't resist chasing after Robin's past." Wrath smirked triumphantly. "And the real boss fight is waiting inside, and the best part is that we don't have to pull anymore strings for what comes next."

"Speaking of strings, my familiars in Niflheim are showing me that those three are still there so why am I also seeing them in Demon's Falls?" Greed asked. "Are they using a Multiplex?"

"It's the only logical answer." Wrath affirmed.

"I thought those could only make one replica at a time."

"Apparently there are a few special versions of those toys."

"Then who's the real one, I can't tell unless I'm up close and personal?"

"I don't know but the real Corrin had better be in Demon's Falls otherwise this will all be for nothing."

---

"What are we seeing?" Azura muttered.

"Well, things definitely just got worse." Robin mumbled.

"This cannot be happening." Corrin uttered with despair. The Awakening Trio are safe and already free before they got here as Zola's men have all been apprehended by the Grimm they have with them who turned on them and the one who caused this is Elise who arrived first and is already standing beside the trio.

"I knew Leo and Iago were hard on Zola but I never would've guess their bullying would get anyone to go crazy." Elise said sadly as the three tell her partially of what is going on.

"It is a sad tale that many people go through I'm afraid. What to do with him now, though?" Laslow said.

"Glory on this day, dearest Elise Shadow! To be rescued by you is surely a sign of things to come for our future!" Odin praised with gratitude over this rescue.

"Oh, stop it, you're making me blush." Elise giggled.

"Oh, brother." Selena muttered and rolling her eyes with the typical annoyance these two bring when together.

"Tell me, oh great Princess of Twilight, what dark and powerful voice spoke to you from the deepest shadow to tell us of our imminent danger and rush to our safety?" Odin asked with his typical humor.

"Something stupid I take it." Selena whispered.

"Some angry and scary voice that kept telling me to chase after Zola." Elise explained nonchalantly.

"Ah, excellent! So I was right all along, you truly ar-"

"Oh, crap!" Selena cursed as she notices Robin, Corrin and Azura are also here, getting the other three to turn to face them. "You actually came for us."

"Why are you so surprised by this?" Robin questioned.

"This all feels so wrong for some reason." Laslow muttered, getting a bad feeling about this.

"C-Corrin!" Elise gasped upon seeing her sister again.

"Elise…" Corrin uttered, not sure on what to say. Facing the young princess feels harder than confronting Xander and Leo because she always felt the closest to her out of her four foster siblings.

"I'm starting to see what you mean." Robin said, now feeling the same as Laslow.

"Elise… what was it you said about an angry voice in your head?" Corrin asked, getting an awful feeling in her head.

"Corrin, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with your…" She can't even bring herself to say it.

"That doesn't matter right now." Corrin brushed off her question and hastily asks her own. "The voice you heard, Elise, what was it? When did you start to hear it?"

"You don't really think it's one of them, do you?" Azura uttered with horror at what she is implying.

"I… I don't have to talk to you about anything anymore." Elise tried to put on a strong front while looking away from her. From the negativity their Princess is emitting, the Grimm react and draw closer to the Hoshidans and surround them, not that Corrin cares for them.

"You have to! One more time, Elise. You… you've made a terrible mistake coming here." Corrin protested fearing the worse for Elise. "I don't know what to say to make you believe me but I still want what's best for you, how badly I wish things could be different."

"What's best for me? Do you even have any idea what you've done?" Elise questioned still refusing to look at her. "A lot has changed since you left, and since the war started. Us siblings, well… We were all so upset over losing you, we could hardly look at each other anymore… Now Xander's always gone, Leo's buried himself in his machinations, and Camilla barely speaks. Mother and Father are trying to keep everyone together but even they've begun to fall apart from all the tension and now all they do is argue. It's like the heart's been ripped from the castle."

"I swear, I never wanted this to happen to you. I never meant to bring you pain. I love you. I promised to always be with you through and through but I can't keep that promise." Corrin said. "I still wish that my place wasn't in Hoshido but it is. I was never going to stand by all of you with this cruel war even after accepting its importance to the Nation but there's a better way, father won't listen so I have to fight. I don't expect you to understand but…"

'ONE WEAK LINK CAN BREAK THE CHAIN OF A MIGHTY DYNASTY! AND NOT ONE OF YOU SHALL BE MY WEAK LINKS!' The cold words of her father that have imbedded themselves into her mind, same like her siblings resurfaced upon thoughts of considering Corrin's words started to manifest, only for those same thoughts to be buried deep into darkness, and under the influence of all the stress she was forced to witness and her own fear of being a disappointment, the innocent princess beloved by her people as a sunshine of hope in a Kingdom ruled by Darkness at long last snaps, just as the Sin of Wrath predicted and without actually influencing her as he smirks with triumph over what is to come next.

"NO! NO! I don't want to hear it! You're just a traitor!" Elise yelled, surprising all in the volcano, from the detained Nohrians, the Trio she had rescued and her former sisters now enemies and while not really surprised, the Grimm respond to her wrath, becoming more feral, yearning for the chance to ravage the enemies who are causing their Princess turmoil

"Elise…" Corrin gasped, left completely speechless by this unexpected outburst.

"I'm getting my family back together, even if I have to do it alone! And you… you… you were never a part of it!" Elise declared, proving that words can be just as deadly as she already utterly destroyed Corrin with those words who swears a dam just broke behind her and she is now drowning in the violent waves.

"Dear Elise, please don't be reckless. It doesn't have to be this way." Azura pleaded with her, affected by her words as well.

"Yes it does! I'm bringing all three of you in. Bucky! Everyone! Assemble!" She ordered, raising her staff upwards and all the Grimm move to her side for battle.

"Elise, don't fight us, it will only end badly." Robin too pleaded, refusing to hurt her.

"Badly for you, because it's MORPHING TIME!" She declared now pointing her staff against her foes.

"Now, now, Milady. There's no need to continue being hasty, just stay back and let us handle this." Laslow pleaded, concern for her mental state. "You really shouldn't-" His words go silent as a Beowolf takes a bite out of her arm. "WHAT THE?!"

"Oh my Gods!" Odin shouted as the Beowolf then dissolves into black miasma that is absorbed into Elise's body and more Grimm begin to assault her one by one and merge with her, all the while she makes no reactions to what is being done to her as this is her own choice and once they have all been consumed, Elise floats upwards, while covered in all the smoke. All the while they all watch as the sphere of black smoke starts to take on a shape, now appearing like the Dusk Dragon himself, looking down on the Hoshidans with disdain.

"What… what's happening?" Azura uttered completely baffled by what's happening.

"She's absorbing the Grimm and fueling her magic power beyond her body's natural capacity." Robin gasped, unable to believe the power he is feeling from Elise.

"Grimmafication! She's actually using it." Odin surmised.

The Dragon above them makes a mighty roar that can be heard from outside with the volcano shaking but not enough for it to erupt and flood everyone with lava. The miasma forming Qliphoth soon dissolves and out comes Elise, completely changed and taking on a subhuman form. Now her skin is completely as paled as the moon, with her hair equally white and no longer tied in her cinnamon pigtails and is now loose and floating above her. She's also taller now, looking more like a seventeen year old, closer to Leo and Takumi's height. Her eyes now have jet-black sclera and glowing crimson irises, dark purple veins now visible that line her face and legs, as well as a black diamond-shaped marking in the center of her forehead. Her favored dress is gone and replaced with a form-fitting black dress with long sleeves, and four high-cut leg slits that partially show off her legs and low-heeled black shoes. And finally she has six jet-black angel wings that have grown on her back.

"Eli-Elise…" Corrin lies now paralyzed unable to believe what she's seeing as the sister she's adored for so long is now gone and transformed into something else, now looking like she can live up to the tittle of Demon Princess.

"I'll show you the power of the Dragon you once revered." Elise avowed, her voice still as childlike as before so she's not completely gone and then a new, magenta-colored staff manifests into her right hand, matching, if not surpassing its owner's height, and being divided into two large, inwardly curved antlers near the top; considerably below those, the weapon begins to be overlaid with darker magenta leopard-skin spots that extends up to the antler's tips and several magic circles also manifests around her as she prepares to show off her new power.

---

Well… all good things come to an end, a child's innocence is never an exception, especially in times of war, as hard as it is for some to grasps or accept but… Elise is a Fire Emblem character and even children become adapt at killing far too early. And yes, you read it right, Grimmafication. Came up with it out of inspiration from both RWBY's main antagonist, Salem as well as Hollowfication from Bleach. Fell in love with the series after learning about this unique concept and since the relationship the Nohrian Royals have with the Qliphoth's monsters is basically symbiosis in a way I have yet to explain I figured a transformation would be cool, and so there we have it. Even Elise raises arms against Corrin for leaving her behind. Elise's support with Azura and the Conquest chapter Black & White shows that our beloved cinnamon roll holds some hostility towards Sakura and by extension Hoshido for coming between her and Corrin, at least in the beginning and we really can't really fault her feeling this way, given the circumstances beyond her control. Robin's secret is out, Corrin is livid and devestated but there's still hope for her if you haven't figured it out yet. I'm drawing closer to the climax but I can't give a clear estimation on how many chapters are left, it's complicated for me to say the least but at least I guerentee that it will be completely way before the end of this year, wish I could say the same about the pandemic but beggers can't be choosers.

Also, because on how much the lore I'm building up has change the farther I go, a lot of things I've written before are becoming contridicting and you've all may have notice that I have begeun to rewrite the chapters and I will do so for all of them to keep with the current paste.

Till next time and as always, please leave me some reviews.