The carriage ride to The Saltworks was brief and uneventful, though the awkwardness was palpable. Chrom knew his allies didn't understand his decisions, and no one spoke a word to him. Even Gaius largely looked away. In the few moments where their eyes did meet, Gaius seemed to feel only concern. Chrom stood by his actions. If given the opportunity to repeat the events of that morning, he would have done them again without hesitation. The group had gotten a late start, and it was almost sundown now. Chrom remembered marching for hours as a young man without tiring, but those days were gone. Now he was still exhausted from the earlier battle, and he already looked forward to a night's sleep. Unfortunately for him, he only needed a brief glance at The Saltworks itself to see that was still a few hours away.

The Saltworks was surrounded by a massive stone wall, far more complex than anything Chrom had seen in his time. Ylisse had nothing like it, and even Gangrel and Walhart's castles weren't as fortified. The walls were double lined. The inner walls were separated from the outer walls by a terrace, and another terrace separated the outer wall from a large moat. Breastworks also surrounded the outer terrace. The inner walls were all part of one massive structure. They reached twelve meters into the air and were six meters thick. It was made from well cut limestone blocks and several bands of bricks. At several points in the wall were massive octagonal towers over twenty meters tall and fifteen meters wide. There was a battlemented terrace at the top of each tower. The outer walls were two meters thick at the base and featured arched chambers that extended nine meters into the sky. The outer wall also had towers, each one sitting midway between the towers in the inner wall. Wherever there was a tower in the inner wall, the outer wall had a massive flat platform. Chrom wondered if the platforms were for wyvern riders. It would give them enough space to land directly on the walls if they had to. The towers of the other wall were square shaped, ten meters tall, and four meters wide. They had battlemented terraces on the top of the towers and posterns that allowed entrance to the terraces. The moat outside the walls was twenty meters wide and easily looked deep enough to sink a wagon. There was a short crenellated wall inside of the moat that looked like it could provide cover for defending soldiers. Walls crossed the moat. Chrom had no idea what they were for, but they were spiked so they could not be used to cross. It was possible that they were dams used to control the height of the moat. The engineering that went into the walls was already highly advanced, and Chrom didn't find it unbelievable. Given that The Saltworks was built in the middle of the badlands, the Grimleal had to have shipped the water in from kilometers away. No expense was too much when it came to defending the Grimleal's resources.

Entrance to The Saltworks was possible only through several gates, and the main gate had a mass of hundreds of people in front of it. As the carriage got closer, Chrom could see the problem. The Grimleal only allowed a few people into the city every minute. The crowd was actually a line. The gate, built of large square blocks of polished white marble fitted together without cement, had the form of a triumphal arch with three arched gates, the middle one larger than the two others, and was flanked by large stone towers. Dozens of Pacification Units could be seen outside the gate, and soldiers patrolled the wall itself. Breaking in was absolutely impossible.

"Gods above all!" Chrom exclaimed. "I've never seen a fortress like this! Is every city in the Grimleal so fortified?"

"All the important ones. Controlling the planet gives you quite a bit of taxpayer money to spend on defenses."

Chrom looked past the crowd to see what appeared to be a small village outside of The Saltworks itself. The main road leading to the city passed through it, and the carriage would soon visit it. Pheros noticed Chrom looking at it, and she spoke up. "The Grimleal heavily monitors traffic in and out of major cities. No one gets in without valid authorization papers, and it can take hours to get through the gate."

"You're kidding!"

"Am I known for my sparkling sense of humor, Chrom?"

"Well-" Chrom glanced over to the Carrot Axe. "You did get me this."

Pheros almost laughed before she stopped herself, but she still smiled. "I just thought it went with your eyes. Anyways, those buildings there were built to cater to the people stuck waiting outside of the city. It's too late to try and get in now, so we'll have to try in the morning. We'll stay at an inn tonight."

"Do you have authorization to enter the city?"

"You let me worry about that."

Gaius turned to Chrom. "If I remember, Tinhead would come to this city for supplies. If he can get in, why can't we?"

"He wasn't wanted by the Grimleal."

"We'll put on disguises. I'll wear a fake beard. You can shave off yours."

"Very funny."

The group continued until they were just outside of the makeshift town, but Pheros had the driver let them off there. Gaius protested about having to walk, but Pheros ignored him. She simply lead Chrom, Gaius, and Henry around the buildings. She didn't walk down the street, Instead duck through alleys. The further the group got from the main road, the shiftier the area became. The buildings became more rundown, and Chrom couldn't see any patrolling Pacification Units. The people also became rougher looking. Chrom couldn't see any travelling families anymore, and nobody here looked wealthy. Gaius looked around and smiled. "Well hey. It's just like the slums I grew up in. Takes me back. I guess some things never change."

"Income inequality is an ancient evil." Pheros responded. "However, we have an advantage here. The Pacification Units never come to this part of the town."

Pheros had the group wait there until they were approached by three unfortunate looking individuals. They were all older men, their bodies concealed by ragged looking cloaks. One was heavily slouched and balding. One was elderly, but his posture was oddly straight, and he seemed to be very fit. One had a beard that consumed much of his body. Chrom and Gaius looked at that man in particular. "Wait a minute." Gaius squinted at him. "I've seen that ridiculous beard before."

"Nothing is ridiculous about the Archanean Liberation Front, knave!" The man in the center dramatically seized his own cloak and tossed it aside, revealing himself as Farber. The poorly disguised Cervantes tried to do the same, but Farber's cloak flew into him and he struggled with it for several seconds.

"Agh! Damn it, Farber! You ruined my entrance!"

Algol stripped off his disguise. "You sure your cloak didn't just get caught in that thing?"

"You all are just jealous!" Cervantes took out a small comb and straightened his beard. "Ah, there we go."

"Oh boy, you three." Gaius moaned. "This day just couldn't get any better."

Chrom immediately remembered that last time he saw Cervantes, Farber, and Algol. "Paul! Where is he?"

Algol furrowed his brow. "Who?"

"Donnel's son! He survived the destruction of the homestead, and he was last with you! Where is he!"

"He's in our safehouse in the city itself." Farber replied. Cervantes shook his head.

"But I don't think he wants to see you, my boy. He blames you for what happened."

"I… I can't say I disagree with him."

Henry stepped forward. Though clearly concerned, he still wouldn't speak, but Gaius seemed to understand exactly what he was worried about. "And… Ophelia's body?"

"It's not fly food if that's what you're asking." Algol replied bluntly. "We kept it."

"Algol!" Pheros snapped. "Show some respect!"

"Aww, or what? I'll hurt their feelings? Does the poor little Exalt miss the last of his inbred bloodline?"

Chrom clenched his fist, and Gaius stepped forward. "Shut up, you insane cultist!"

Algol smiled and placed his hand on his axe. "How about I put you in the dirt with the rest of the Shepherds?!"

Pheros was about to shout at both of them, but Farber beat her to it, and his voice carried far more easily. "SILENCE! BOTH OF YOU! Now, we shall proceed to the funeral immediately!"

Chrom slowly turned to him. "Funeral?"

Cervantes continued to comb his beard out of habit. "You did want to bury her right? We've got the body ready, and we dug a hole by a hill outside of town. It's the best we can do for her at this point."

All three of the former Shepherds were hit by a twinge of sorrow. Though Ophelia had been gone for several days at this point, burying her would have been an admission that she was never coming back. Still, there wasn't anything else they could do. Chrom took a deep breath and slowly nodded. "Alright. W-we should bury her. She… deserves something."

Chrom didn't get much sympathy from the men of the Arch Surg, but Pheros gave him an understanding look. "Follow us."

The group made their way out of the town to the top of a small hill. A small gravesite was already prepared, featuring a hole about 1.8 meters deep and an unnamed marker. Beyond that was a sight that shook Chrom to his bones, and Gaius and Henry didn't take it much better. Lying beside the grave, apparently having been just put there, was the corpse of his grandniece. Farber had placed some kind of magical ward on the body, protecting it from the elements, but several days of decomposition had still taken their toll on Ophelia. Despite that, Chrom thought she looked dissonantly peaceful. If not for the visible injury on her abdomen, she almost looked like she could be sleeping. Chrom had to actively fight the urge to cry, and he still couldn't stop himself from letting out a rather undignified noise. Henry didn't speak. The expression on his face didn't even change much beyond an empty stare, but he did suddenly fall to his knees in shock. Chrom wasn't sure he'd ever seen him do anything like it. Gaius just crossed his arms and turned his head away, his breathing short and irregular.

Farber gave a short pause before he spoke, as if he felt the slightest bit of pity, but he quickly returned to his professional demeanor. "We upheld our end of the bargain. Her body is preserved and ready for burial."

"Thank you." Chrom said weakly. At that moment he could have stared at Ophelia's corpse forever, lost in his guilt and sorrow. Why get up? Why live any further himself? Why do anything but let these feelings he'd fought so long to suppress consume him when his few remaining loved ones continued to die no matter what he did? Chrom wasn't brought back to reality until Pheros gently placed her hand on his shoulder, and she even rocked him slightly. Chrom couldn't help but be reminded of Cordelia and the times she had done the same when he found himself confronted with his past failures. He willed himself to look away from Ophelia and was greeted by her compassionate gaze. He could tell there was no trauma in her own eyes. She'd likely seen countless funerals before. Still, Pheros seemed to genuinely feel something for Chrom, and he silently thanked the gods she was there. In a dark way, Chrom was even glad that Algol, Farber, and Cervantes were there. If they weren't trying to rush things along,

Chrom might have stayed there in his agony for hours. Maybe even days. "Oh gods."

"Shh." Pheros whispered. Deprived of her normal seriousness and repressed fury, Pheros' voice was calm and soothing, and it was about the only thing Chrom could hold on to at that moment. He'd have broken down completely without it. "Let's just set her to rest. You'll feel better with closure."

Chrom sniffled. Keeping the tears from rolling down his cheeks no longer mattered to him. Now it was a great effort just to speak clearly. "Naga… why? I… I don't understand. Why is it always the young? A-am I… my age and sorrow… am I to carry it forever? She was the one who believed things could be better. She was the hero… and I the mentor, if that. She should be here today. Not me. I… I can't fix this. I don't want to walk the Earth anymore, propelled forth by rage and loss. I want to be with my loved ones again. Why… WHY can't you understand that?! YOU'VE ABANDONED US!"

"Blue!" Gaius cried to him. Pheros knelt by him.

"Chrom, please. You'll feel better when this over."

"Gah-hads. I… I'm sorry, Lissa." Chrom turned to Henry, still on his knees. "I'm sorry, Henry. I'm so sorry."

Henry slowly turned back to Chrom. To his surprise, the dark mage spoke to him directly for the first time in days. "You're sorry?" Henry slowly rose, staring at Ophelia again as he did. "I think there's someone else you should be sorry to." Henry reached into his robe and pulled out the trinket he'd bought at Shepherd's Folly. It was a wooden replica of a sword, and though Chrom honestly never spent much time with its owner, he immediately recognized the significance.

"Owain…"

"She was so much like him, you know? Owain, heh. Always talking about his cursed blood. I remember the first time he told me. I took it seriously. Then he told me it was nothing. He got me good! Nya ha ha!"

"Henry…"

Gaius was more nervous. "Henry? What are you getting at?"

Henry smiled to himself. "Owain. He looked up to his dear old dad so much. He wanted to spend time with me. Me. The three of us, Lissa, him, and I, we were like a big happy family. Except, heh, except I never had a happy family. I didn't… know what that was like. I felt… I felt like I was going to do something to mess it up. But… I didn't." Henry pointed his finger at Chrom, but he was still smiling. "You did! Not me! You of all people! Heh, heh. Ha, HAHAHA! You of all people! No one saw it coming! That's… that's HILARIOUS!"

Pheros and Gaius took a step back, and Farber and Algol exchanged uneasy glances. Chrom just hung his head. "Henry… I'm sorry."

Henry ignored him. "But… I'm not sure he ever really felt like my son. He wasn't like me at all. He was a hero. He was someone that was going to help the world. Me… well… I'm me." Henry looked down to the replica of Missiletainn. "Sometimes, even now, I wonder what Lissa saw in me. She was so sweet. So nice. And… she chooses me."

"Henry?"

"I've taken a lot from the world. I've killed a lot of people. When I was a child, I was close to a wolf. Then a village killed it, so I killed everyone in the village. The men. The women. The children. The infants. The ones who fought back. The ones who ran. The ones who begged. All of them… nya ha ha! All of them! Then I joined the army, and I killed people left and right! Just, pow! Everyday there was killing to be done. Pchew, pchew! Curses were flying everywhere! They let me do anything I wanted to Ylisseans like you and Lissa. Soldiers! Merchants! Peasants! Fathers and mothers! Sons and daughters! All slain, nya ha ha! Then I joined your Shepherds, Chrom! Oh how we killed!" Henry grew more excited and unhinged with every word, but he calmed down as he looked back to the sword. "I've taken a lot from the world… but I never gave anything back. I never created anything. Except him. I… I remember when Lissa gave birth to the younger one. Let me hold him in my hands. He was so fragile. I could have squished him right there. It wouldn't have been hard. I also remember thinking he was so beautiful. How… how could something that beautiful have come from me of all people? Owain. The one good thing I did for the world. Me? I'm just a Plegian dark mage trained from a young age to kill. There are lots of those. Owain? He was a hero. How many of those are there? I never understood why he died, and why I lived. Now… it's happened again. Ophelia is gone, and I'm still here."

Henry's words resonated with Chrom. He remembered a similar feeling when Lucina was born, and he felt the same way about Ophelia's death. Henry walked up to Ophelia's body and gently placed the sword on her chest. "Henry? What are you doing?"

"There. Now she has something to remember her father by. Heh… I'm sorry, Lissa. You can't be with our granddaughter just yet, but I'll see you soon. Really soon." Henry stood up and turned back to Chrom. "I know what I have to do now. When Lissa and Owain died, I didn't know what to do. I focused all my time on being a better dark mage, but for what? Now… I know what I have to do. In fact, I've never done a thing worth doing in my life until now."

Algol squinted at him. "He's got that look in his eyes. He's going to do something."

Gaius slowly stepped forward. "Junior?"

Henry raised his hand and began to draw some kind of dark magic from Ophelia's corpse. The energy materialized into a raven that perched on Henry's shoulder. Huginn. Everyone gave Henry an alarmed look, but he just casually played with the raven. "I can bring her back." Henry's voice was calm and casual, as if he were talking about something very simple. "I'll need to have both of my ravens absorbed for this to work, but I think I can do it."

Gaius stared incredulously at the raven that had appeared from Ophelia's body. "What the hell are you on about?! What did you just do?!"

"Like I said, I devoted my life to becoming a stronger dark mage after Lissa and Owain died. I had… nothing else in my life. Eventually I became so powerful that the dark magic began to take a toll on my body, so I sealed much of my power away in these ravens. With all of my power, I may be able to bring her back."

Algol and Farber, both familiar with dark magic themselves, began to take several steps back. Chrom stepped closer to his brother-in-law, concerned with Henry's words. "Henry, I know this must be hard on you, but you can't just use dark magic to solve everything. Ophelia is gone, and we have to accept that."

"No really! It's simple. I just have to use a time reversal curse on her. I did it to Sumia once when she dropped some bowls on the ground."

Gaius raised an eyebrow. "So because it worked on bowls, it'll work on a person?! There has to be a catch."

"There is. The curse alone won't be enough to bring her back. She'll go back to being dead when it wears off. I'd have to use dark healing to save her life."

Chrom remembered the other times Henry had used dark healing. "But that requires a sacrifice. You can't ask someone to make that sacrifice, Henry."

"Yes I can." Everyone, even Chrom, stepped back, afraid Henry was about to attack, but he simply reabsorbed the raven and turned to face Ophelia. "Myself."

"What?!"

Henry simply raised his hand, and dark magic radiated from his body. "My life for hers. Heh, if only Lissa could see me now. She'd be so proud of me."

No one really believed Henry could do anything to save Ophelia until dark magic started to violently arc and crack off of him. Dirt and dust around Henry began to levitate, and spacetime around him distorted as if reality itself didn't agree with what he was doing. Green energy seeped outwards from Henry's body and into Ophelia's, and this seemed to cause Henry considerable pain, but he didn't stop. If anything, the curse became more severe by the second. Chrom tried to run up to Henry, but became disgusted when he realized everyone else was backing away. "Chrom!" Pheros shouted. "By the Earth Mother, get away from him!"

Farber just stared. "He's dark magic incarnate."

"No he's not! He's my brother, and we need to help him!"

Gaius just shook his head and spoke calmly. "Blue, what are we supposed to do?"

Chrom refused to accept that, and he flung himself forward. "Henry! There has to be another way!" He got within an arm's reach of him before a surge of dark magic flung him almost two meters backwards. Chrom forced himself up, and he and Henry met each other's eyes. "Henry, stop! PLEASE! There has to be another way!"

"If you could have died in Lucina's place, would you?"

Deep down Chrom knew the answer, and he understood how Henry felt, but he still refused to do nothing. "We can find another way!"

"I'm sorry, Chrom, but I'm just DYING to meet her again. Heh, heh. Ha, HAHAHA! BWAHAHAHAHA!" Henry continued to laugh at his own joke, but the sound of the dark magic thundering off of him eventually became deafening. Chrom tried to throw himself at him again, but the curse completed before he could. A massive wave of energy flung everyone backwards, and spacetime violently warped for a second before returning to normal. Henry fell to the ground, bright purple light shining off of his body, and Chrom ran to his side. Gaius waited until he was sure nothing else would happen, but he eventually ran to his old ally too. Chrom cradled Henry in his arms, even as the light became blinding.

"Henry, stay with us. It didn't, gods it didn't have to be this way. We could have found another way!"

Henry just gave a warm smile. "No, this is, this is good. I can be with Lissa and Owain again. A big happy family. You can see Ophelia again. That's what you wanted, right? The world needs her more than it needs me."

"Stop! We can save you! Stay with us!"

Henry reached into his robe and pulled out the tomes he created for Huginn and Muninn. "Give these to Ophelia. She'll know what to do with them. And make sure she gets the sword." Henry allowed his head to fall back. "Heh, I always wanted to have the bloodiest death possible. This isn't as painful as I wanted it to be. I guess that dream was FOR THE BIRDS! Nya ha ha!" Chrom was blinded by a flash of purple light. When he looked up again, Henry's body had disappeared into a flock of ravens that flew off into the sky, leaving everyone stunned.

"Yeesh, Junior. Even in death you're strange." Gaius said in a dejected, but tranquil tone. Gaius was saddened at what happened to Henry, but he was also accepting of it. He knew they couldn't have changed Henry's mind. He looked over to Chrom, but he wasn't taking it as well. Chrom was shivering and taking very short breaths. When he slowly brought his eyes to Gaius', he could see that they were choked with tears, but Chrom didn't allow himself to cry out. He just stood there, bitterly fighting back his pain. Gaius knew Chrom could have stayed like that indefinitely, and he knew Chrom would never try to show any weakness. For all that, Gaius also knew he wanted someone to be there for him. The two men rose to their feet, and Gaius gently placed his hand on Chrom's shoulder. Chrom finally broke down, and the two embraced.

"Gah-hah-hads!"

"Shh. Blue. It's okay."

"I'm sorry!"

"Hey, come on. Just get it all out." Tears began to fall down Gaius' own cheeks, and he was just glad Chrom couldn't see his face. "I'm going to miss him too."

The two old friends just held each other for a few seconds, and the four Arch Surg officers gave solemn expressions as they gathered around. Then, still lying behind everyone, Ophelia slowly took a breath.

Just as he was ordered to, the recon soldiers Dartsmoth sent out stopped their carriage just outside the entrance of a Grimleal slaver's camp. An ancient evil that has been with every civilization in existence in some form or another, slavery was alive and well in the Grimleal's new world order. Gangrel and Aversa largely looked the other way, and so individual Lord Lieutenants were given the choice of legalizing it in their sectors or not. Many willingly took advantage of the profits, making slaving a state sanctioned operation in their sectors. Only a few banned it, but even then the slaving enterprises were active in the local black markets. With their operations protected by Lord Lieutenants in other sectors, it was nigh impossible to stop them.

Soleil had told herself the entire way there that she would fight to her last breath to resist the Grimleal soldiers, but there wasn't much she could do when one of them had a pistol pointed at her face. As the carriage came to a stop, the driver got out and helped his comrade force Soleil outside. For a brief moment she was able to fight back, even with her hands bound, and she managed to strike one of the soldiers in the head, but the other man quickly pointed his pistol at her once more. Soleil's gums seared with pain after what Dartsmoth did to her, and her blood now burned hot with rage, but no amount of determination and fury could save her if the man pulled the trigger. Reluctantly, Soleil looked down to her feet and walked forward as the recon soldiers pushed her towards the camp. The last steps she'd take as a free woman.

The slavers were quick to notice the carriage's arrival, and a rather intimidating man was sent to greet the Grimleal soldiers. He resembled a berserker. He didn't wear much besides pants and shoes, and his bare chest had a red mark of Grima painted over it. An actual tattoo, required for all Grimleal personnel, could be found on his shoulder. The man was also armed with a large club slung over his back, simple but intimidating. Strangely, the man's face was covered by a metal mask depicting a stylized sun with a human face in it. The face's expression was stuck in a grimace. "Well, well." The man grunted in a brutish voice. "4th Army soldiers. It's always good news when our boys in uniform pull up. Did you bring us a prisoner you don't want to feed anymore?"

"Good eye." The recon soldier jabbed Soleil in the back with the barrel of his pistol, almost causing her to trip into the man. "We need to get rid of this one." Soleil noticed the man wasn't looking at her, and she took the opportunity to kick out the other soldier's knee. She then repeatedly struck at the first soldier, keeping him from aiming. "Agh! A little help here?!"

The man just stood and stared, carefully watching Soleil's movements. "She ain't ours yet. I can't damage someone else's property."

"I'M NOBODY'S PROPERTY!" Soleil struck the man's bare chest with as much force as she could muster, but he didn't even flinch. The mercenary briefly froze in regret, and the first soldier was able to seize his pistol and strike her in the face with the butt of it.

"Bitch! Damn it! I am so sick of this! Look, just take her off our hands."

"Permission to inspect her?"

"Yeah, sure. Whatever."

Soleil threw herself back to her feet. "You're not laying a hand on me-" The man just ignored her and grabbed her head. Soleil tried striking him, and she resisted being grabbed as much as she could, but nothing she did so much as moved the man. With her hands bound, there wasn't much she could do against a man well over twice her weight.

"Hmm. Young woman. We always have a demand for those. Passably attractive. Physically fit. Looks healthy."

"GET OFF OF ME!"

The man ignored her still. He looked Soleil over as if she were an animal, and he even forced her mouth open. Soleil hoped she'd be able to at least bite him, but the man was too strong to allow her jaw to close. "Ooh. Missing a tooth."

The Grimleal soldier shrugged. "Who cares? Who buys a slave for their teeth?!"

The man let Soleil go. "I'll give you standard price for a young woman like this. 14,000."

"14,000? I don't think I can do that. How about 18,000?"

"14,000."

"You fops can go to hell!" Soleil roared as she tried kicking the man in his knee. He still resisted her attacks, and the conversation continued.

"Come on, man. I've seen slaves go at auction for more than 18,000."

"We're a business here. That's how much we'll get at auction. I got to make money. Plus she might sit around our camp for weeks. Best I can do is 14,500."

"Are you sure you can't do more? How about 16,000?"

"Listen, I got a buddy of mine who specializes in young women with missing teeth. If you want I can call him down here."

Giving up on attacking the larger man, Soleil struck at the second soldier. Without a gun to defend himself, he tried fighting with his fists, but Soleil's ferocity and rage drove him back. It was everything he had to keep her from bolting away. "Just sell her damn it!"

"Alright, alright. 14,500."

"Pleasure doing business with you." The man signalled back to the camp, and another slaver walked up to him. "These gentlemen are getting 14,500 for her. Go write them up."

"Just get her already!" The second soldier cried. Without an instant of hesitation, the large man jabbed Soleil in the back. She fell to her knees, and before she could even think about counterattacking, the man grabbed her shoulders and forced her to her back. He then callously grabbed her leg and dragged her into the camp, Soleil roaring at him the entire way. The two Grimleal soldiers looked at her until she disappeared from their view. "I almost feel bad for her."

The first soldier shook his head. "One less rebel, one more woman in her place."

The man dragged Soleil about halfway through the camp before he let her go. Soleil rose to her feet just in time to be set upon by two more muscular men, and the three forced her forward. Soleil was more free in her movements without a gun in her face, but for all her training, all her experience, there was nothing she could do to resist the strength of three men. Nothing she did or said mattered. The men were disinterested and apathetic, as if they'd done this a million times before, and they overpowered everything she tried to do. It was an absolutely horrifying experience to not have any control of her movements. To be entirely at other people's mercy. Still, Soleil resisted the entire way, making the men have to fight her for every step, and the struggle slowly attracted the attention of everyone in the camp. The slavers looked on in annoyance, while a handful of slaves, long since processed, looked on in wonder. One woman, surrounded by slavers and two armored Grimleal soldiers, was particularly interested. She took in Soleil's every move as the men forced her to bend over a table, and a small smile appeared on her weathered face. "A fighter, I see."

The soldier beside turned his head. "Ma'am?"

"I think I'll deal with this one personally."

The three men finally succeeded in forcing Soleil down, and two of them held her there while the larger man yelled towards slavers in front of a tent. "Brand!"

Several of the slavers gave rather sadistic cheers and repeated the word. "Brand! Brand!" They shouted as a slaver approached with the object in question. Soleil couldn't see what was happening, but her fury was slowly becoming fear. "W-what? What is that?! Tell me!"

One of her captors just smiled at her. "Oh, you'll feel it soon enough."

A slaver slowly approached Soleil with a heated branding iron, but he was stopped by the woman as she approached. She had the slaver follow her as she walked over to the front of the table, and she smiled at Soleil as the mercenary slowly brought her head up to see her. The woman looked entirely out of place with the slavers, and yet these cruel and thuggish men all seemed to hold her in respect. She was at least sixty years old, her face tired and wrinkled, and all the color in her shoulder length hair was long gone. Still, it was straight and smooth, and the woman clearly took great care of it. The woman's silver dress was long and elegant, and golden jewellery adorned her body. She looked like she belonged in Ylisstol, not in a rural camp surrounded by shirtless, barbaric men and Grimleal soldiers, yet she acted as if she were right at home. "Ah, there's a lot of fight left in you, child. We'll have quite the challenge breaking you."

Soleil struggled against the men. "You'll never break me! Grimmie trash!"

"Oh, but they all say that. I guarantee you will fall into your new place soon enough. There is always a market for young women."

"H-how can you say that?! You're a woman!"

The woman looked inquisitively at Soleil. "And that means we have a connection? I have seen all aspects of this economy, and it has taught me a lot about human nature." The woman had a strange, foreign accent, and even with all the trauma Soleil found herself enduring now, she couldn't help but find it… sexy. "Women turn on women. Men turn on men. Women turn on men, and men turn on women. Parents turn on children, and children turn on parents. These things, they do not matter. Oui. There are only two groups that matter. Predators and prey. Wolves and sheep."

Soleil wasn't entirely listening. She aimlessly daydreamed about the woman in front of her. What she might have looked like when she was younger. Even how Soleil would have approached her if she'd ever met her younger self. Soleil was angry, but the seriousness of everything that had just happened still failed to dawn on her, and she was slowly going back to her normal absentmindedness. "I'm sorry, but… how do you do that with your hair?"

"Excuse me?"

"It's so… gorgeous. It's just… I'm sorry. Were you trying to monologue?" Soleil looked at the woman more closely. For her regal appearance, she actually had a tattoo running along her arm. It seemed to say something, but Soleil couldn't make it out. "What is that gibberish on your arm? Some Grimleal crap?"

"Oh this?" The woman held up her arm. "Homo homini lupus est."

"Huh?"

"Just an archaic language they used to speak in my homeland, but not anymore. Ce que je dis maintenant est la belle langue qu'ils parlent à la maison."

"What?!"

"You should learn to speak my tongue, mademoiselle. It would mask your barbaric sensibilities." The woman slowly took the branding iron from the slaver beside her. "Get her ready. I will handle this personally."

Soleil could see the branding iron this time, and she froze up. "W-what are you doing? N-no! No, no! What are you doing?"

One of the men produced a knife and cut open Soleil's shirt until almost all of her bare back was visible. Soleil struggled more furiously than ever, but still the men held her. As violated and terrified as Soleil felt in that moment, it was nothing compared to what was coming. A twisted smile on her face, the woman maneuvered behind Soleil, held up the branding iron for all the slavers to see, and jammed it into her back. The slavers in the camp cheered, but Soleil's piercing scream could be heard over everything else.

As Soleil was taken to the slave markets, Caeldori was forced into a seperate carriage. Her destination was The Rockpile, where she had once lead the only successful escape attempt in the installation's history. In Caeldori's mind, it was all a symbol of her failures. Since meeting up with Chrom, Tiki had been captured, Ophelia and Cordelia had been killed, and Caeldori herself was without a home or family. To further add to the sting, Caeldori and her allies still hadn't inflicted any real losses on the Grimleal. The Pegasus Knight had struggled her entire life with the pressure of having to follow in her grandmother's path, but now it seemed even what little she had was being stripped away.

But Caeldori was also a woman that wouldn't stop fighting. She didn't focus on her sorrow or loss, but instead on her hatred of the Grimleal in front of her. While two of the Grimleal soldiers took to driving the carriage, two more, including the lead scout, rode in the back with Caeldori. Though only her hands were bound, Caeldori refused to speak. Refused to give them anything. She just stared daggers at the lower ranking soldier in front of her, never deviating. The man's own expression was hidden beneath his metal helmet, but it was clearly getting to him. "Damn it, woman! Look at something else!"

Caeldori just continued her glare.

"Don't mind the prisoner." The lead scout said to his subordinate. "You won't have to see her again once we get to The Rockpile. No one will ever see her again."

Caeldori just continued glaring at the lower ranking soldier, not even turning to look at the lead scout. The one act of defiance she was capable of. The soldier nervously shifted around, and he eventually turned to his superior. "Why the hell are we in a carriage anyways? Why couldn't we Faraskjótr over to The Rockpile?"

"Aversa and her highest ranking agents are using it a lot lately, so the thing is constantly on cooldown. Dartsmoth may be an inquisitor, but even his use is limited. Army soldiers like us can't use it at all."

"But we're working with Dartsmoth!"

"Not officially. He just kind of forced us to. This is what bureaucracy gets you."

"We're not taking a carriage all the way to western Ylisse are we?"

"Hell no. We'll just dump her off at the nearest army base. Wyvern riders can take her from there. Not our problem anymore."

The carriage continued a little ways before the distant sound of howling could be heard. As time passed, the howling grew louder. Caeldori wondered if it just seemed that way because of how dead quiet things were in the back, but she swore the noise was genuinely getting louder. Then, with no other warning, the furious shriek of an animal could be heard, but this was no wild beast. It was the carriage horses that had cried out, and it was a noise of primal fear and agony. The soldiers driving the carriage followed shortly after. "SON OF A CHEAP CHON'SIN HARLOT!" The soldier's voice was both furious and terrified, and a gunshot was heard immediately after.

"Lancepesade?!" The lead scout shouted towards the front of the carriage. The man didn't respond, but the horses continued to cry out. Caeldori even thought she heard snarling of some kind. "What in Grima's name is happening out there? Stay here!"

The second soldier nodded. "Yes, sir."

The lead scout drew his carbine and stepped outside the carriage. For the first time in an hour, Caeldori looked away from the other soldier and watched him depart. Outside the horses continued to scream until suddenly stopping. A gunshot could be heard, but Caeldori didn't hear anything else from the Grimleal soldiers. The situation was getting to her, but she kept a cool head. This could have been her opportunity to escape after all.

A loud gunshot could be heard just outside the carriage, and Caeldori realized this was probably the lead scout. "Future Witness' tiara! I hate these little buggers. Get out here, private soldier!"

The second soldier looked back to Caeldori. "But you said-"

The lead scout suddenly screamed, and his voice got fainter by the second. As if something was moving him. "PRIVAAAAATE!"

The second soldier looked between Caeldori and the outside of the carriage. "Aw hell." The man jumped outside and visibly tensed up at whatever it was he was seeing. "By the Emperor's pelvis! Coming, sir!"

The soldier ran off, leaving Caeldori alone. Though she'd be lying if she said everything happening wasn't alarming to her, she didn't allow herself to hesitate for an instant. Escape would be impossible if she was taken to a military installation. It would have to be now, no matter what was waiting for her outside. Looking down to her handcuffs, Caeldori placed her damaged metal prosthetic on her left hand and applied as much pressure as she could to her thumb. "Alright. Deep breath. Here we go." After a few failed attempts, Caeldori managed to dislocate her own thumb. "AARGH! Son of a pickle eater! Hrrgh." Allowing herself only a few seconds to deal with the pain, Caeldori pulled on her handcuffs. With her thumb now bent out of place, she was able to slowly slide her left hand out. Though the handcuffs were still attached to her right wrist, she now had free use of her hands. With another deep breath, Caeldori popped her thumb back into place, took just a few more seconds to recover, and sprinted out of the carriage.

It was late at night, and Caeldori had a hard time time seeing more than a few meters in front of her, but she didn't care. She just bolted forward as quickly as she could. She ran until her legs ached and her muscles begged for rest, and then she kept running. She covered well over two kilometers before she finally fell to her knees and allowed herself a moment of reprieve. In between her furious breaths, Caeldori slowly began to smile. "It's, *pant* it's over. I… I did it." It was then that she heard the same snarling from before.

Caeldori rose to her feet and slowly turned to see two wolves, visibly starved, prowling around in front of her. As the exact fate of the carriage dawned on her, a third wolf charged behind Caeldori. She turned at the sounds of snarling just an instant before the wolf was on top of her, and so was facing the beast directly when it tackled her to her back. Desperately trying to keep a cool head, Caeldori realized that the wolf would surely go for her neck, and she threw her left arm in front of her as the wolf tried to go for the killing blow. After a few seconds of trying to force it out of the way, the wolf finally bit down, sinking its teeth through Caeldori's muscles and down to the bone. It was pain beyond almost anything Caeldori had endured before, but she hadn't come this far to lie down and die. Channeling her pain and fear into anger, Caeldori furiously struck at the wolf with her right hand until the beast retreated with a yelp. Realizing that her metal hand could make for a makeshift club, Caeldori readied her emergency weapon and beat the wolf back as it charged again. The wolf stepped back, but the creature still readied itself for another attack. Caeldori then remembered that two more wolves were nearby, and she turned as they both charged at her. Though she beat one back with her prosthetic, the other seized her leg and tripped her up. The first followed suit, and the wolves began to forcibly pull her forwards. Thankfully her boots gave her legs some protection, but Caeldori didn't have the strength to resist being dragged, and she was only stopped when the third wolf bit down on her already injured left arm again and pulled in another direction. For a few agonizing moments Caeldori's body was forcibly pulled in two different directions, and in her suffering she lost the ability to think. Her mind was consumed entirely by primal fear and emotion, and she almost wanted to just give up. For all the suffering that she'd endured in the past few weeks, why keep fighting? Then, without her actively thinking about it, an image just popped into her head. Cordelia's face, smiling down on her granddaughter.

"Grandmother." Caeldori thought to herself, almost automatically. "What would you do? You had an answer for everything. What would you do?!" As Caeldori felt the first two wolves sink their teeth through her boots, and as the third wolf continued to tear at her now very bloodied left arm, Caeldori's mind was filled with memories of her grandmother. All the stories she'd told her. All the battles Cordelia had been in. The veteran Pegasus Knight had faced down Plegian and Valmese soldiers. Brigands and pirates. Generations of Grimleal. Armies of Risen. How could Caeldori call herself her granddaughter if she fell to animals? "I know." Caeldori said aloud this time. "You wouldn't give up! Gaah! Come here beasties!" Mustering her remaining strength, Caeldori reached out and struck the wolf on her arm with her metal prosthetic until it finally let go. Focusing on her legs, Caeldori struggled until she managed to slide her right leg out of her boot, leaving it in the wolf's mouth, and then kicked the other wolf with her bare foot. She then threw herself up, only to cut said foot on a jagged rock as she tried to regain her balance. "Gaargh! Give me a danged break!"

But Caeldori remembered the importance of keeping a cool head. Thinking more clearly, she realized the rock could help her, and she took it as the wolf that had been on her arm attacked again. Caeldori furiously struck at it, alternating between the rock and her metal prosthetic until the wolf fell still. Briefly stunned by her success, Caeldori didn't move in time to prevent another wolf from tackling her in the back, but she managed to avoid losing her footing. She desperately stumbled forward, and in trying to get at her neck, the wolf accidentally got a mouthful of her hair. Feeling that the wolf had failed to bite her, Caeldori threw herself forward and escaped the creature's grasp. She screamed in pain as strands of her hair went down with the wolf, but it was nothing like what she'd endured so far. Caeldori turned and charged at it, but the wolf reared up on its hind legs and tried to bite and paw at her. Even a starved wolf was too powerful for a woman of Caeldori's height and weight to grapple with, but still the Pegasus Knight approached the situation tactically. Rather than furiously try to push the wolf back, Caeldori allowed herself to fall back in a controlled manner. As the wolf pushed her down, she maneuvered her legs under it and used the momentum to kick it upwards and behind her. She then rolled over, surged forward, and savagely assaulted the creature with her prosthetic before it could recover.

With two of the wolves down, Caeldori turned and readied herself against the third. This wolf moved slowly, carefully watching Caeldori's every move, but it was far too hungry to retreat. Charging at her, Caeldori tried to hurl the rock at the creature, but her arm was too injured to muster the strength she needed. The rock bounced off the ground, and the wolf was able to knock her back. Again Caeldori's left arm suffered a severe bite as she threw it forward to protect her neck. By now her arm was coated with blood, and Caeldori could see far more of her actual muscle than she ever wanted to, but she still had to think about things tactically. She couldn't risk injuring her right arm and losing the ability to strike with her prosthetic. "Argh! I hate dogs!" Caeldori forced the wolf back with several hits from her metal hand before kicking it off of her. Rising to her feet, Caeldori raised her arms and prepared herself as the wolf resumed prowling around her. "Come on. Do it. Do it! Come on! I dare you!" The wolf finally attacked, and Caeldori yelled back. "A Pegasus Knight is not afraid of anything!" Forcing herself to hold still until the moment the wolf was on her, Caeldori dodged the wolf's strike and struck it down with her prosthetic. With a few more hits, each one punctuated by a battle cry, Caeldori finally managed to kill the creature, ending the fight.

"I did it. Heh, I did it." Caeldori smiled and took a few steps forward. The adrenaline coursing through her body dulled much of the pain she was feeling, but Caeldori still knew she'd taken several bad injuries. Looking down to her left arm, she saw just how badly savaged it was, and this was only the most pressing of her many wounds. Caeldori felt more light headed as she took more steps, and her walk became a stumble. "I don't feel so good. I'd better treat these… I'd better… I…" Caeldori fell to her knees. "Grandmother… help…" With a final look at her arm, Caeldori passed out.

Chrom and Ophelia stood together, solemnly looking at what was supposed to be the Chosen Heroine's gravesite. The hole was filled, though there was obviously nothing in it, and the marker now had a name etched into it. Henry.

"He gave his life to save me." Ophelia said. Her voice was raspy, and she coughed occasionally, but Chrom could tell she meant to speak softly. He placed his hand on Ophelia's shoulder. Though his grandniece looked up with sorrow in her eyes, Chrom just returned a warm smile.

"He loved you, Ophelia."

Ophelia sighed. "I didn't know him that well, but still. He was family. The only family I had… except you. I can't believe he's gone. I can still barely believe what happened to me. And… Soleil and Caeldori. Was there really nothing you could do?"

Chrom shivered, and his own voice choked up. "Ophelia… I'm sorry. That man, that monster, would have killed us… but not a moment goes by that I don't worry about them. I promise so long as the slightest possibility that they're alive exists, I will do everything I can to find them."

Ophelia slowly smiled. "Thank you. You know, they've been captured by the Grimleal before. They're tougher than you think." Ophelia looked to the grave. "I'll miss him… but I've lost Cordelia and my mother before. I'll get through this."

"I know you will."

Ophelia was silent for awhile, and she seemed to be deep in thought. "So you gave up the Falchion?"

"I did. I can't expect you to understand why, but I had to."

Ophelia sighed, clearly not agreeing with Chrom's decision, but she also gave a small smile. "Well, what if you had a do over?" Ophelia reached into her robe. Chrom wondered what she was doing, but he never would have guessed that she'd pull out the divine blade of his family itself. Or rather, a divine blade. "Good thing I still have this."

Chrom took a step back, having honestly forgotten about the Parallel Falchion until now. "What?! That's been on you this entire time?"

"Kept safe in my inventory."

"How deep is this inventory?"

Ophelia placed her hands on her hips. "A gentleman doesn't ask about a lady's inventory!"

"Uh… sorry."

Ophelia held it by the handle and handed it to Chrom. "Anyways, maybe you should take it. You need a sword."

Chrom caressed the blade with his finger, and he smiled as it cut him. The blade was as sharp in Ophelia's hands as it had been in Lucina's. "No."

"Huh?"

"Keep it. This sword belongs in the hands of a heroine."

"But…" Ophelia looked at the sword in wonder, but she still seemed hesitant. "I'm a mage."

"I could teach you. Train you." Chrom took a step forward. "I haven't been fair to you, Ophelia. I slammed the door in your face when we first met, and though I followed you and Soleil and Caeldori, I didn't really believe the world could be saved as you did. You deserve more from me. From now on, I'll do more than just fight with you. Kill with you. You need a mentor. You need someone who will be with you without hesitation. You need family, and I haven't really been that to you before. It's nothing less than a miracle that you're here now, Ophelia, and I won't be a bitter old man anymore. If you need me, for anything, I'll be here." Ophelia looked like she was about to say something, but she only managed to smile and sniffle. Though he briefly thought about whether it was appropriate or not, Chrom decided to wrap his arms around her, and Ophelia embraced him even more tightly. "I'm sorry about Henry."

"You're all I have left." Ophelia whimpered, but there was also determination in her voice. "Thank you for everything. I love you."

Chrom allowed himself a genuine moment of peace for the first time that day. "I love you too." Chrom and Ophelia looked into each other's eyes and smiled. "This is a perfect moment. Nothing can ruin it."

"Are you sure you want to be that close to her?" Algol jeered from a distance. "She might have voided her bowels when she died."

"... I stand corrected."

Ophelia looked at the Arch Surg nervously. "Chrom, why are you with them again?"

"It's a long story, but whatever happens, we'll face it together."

(For the rest of this act, Soleil and Caeldori will be independent of Chrom. They'll meet their own supporting characters, face their own foes, and become heroes in their own right. The story will be split between Chrom and Ophelia's story, Soleil's story, and Caeldori's story. These chapters can be presented in any order, so feel free to let me know if you want to see more of a certain character first.)