As the prince looked out across the torch lit field he felt a sickening sense of dread creep up his spine. Both the Nohrian and Hoshidan armies had lined up on opposing sides of the field, weapons drawn and faces hard as stone. Apprehension filled the air in the face of the impending conflict.

It was exactly the scene of the nightmare he had had all those weeks ago at the Northern Fortress.

"Corrin are you alright?"

Looking away from the scene playing out in front of him for a moment, Corrin met the concerned face of his red haired older sister. "I'm fine Hinoka. Thanks."

"Are you sure? You look a little pale. If you want to, I'm sure Ryoma wouldn't object to you staying back with Sakura and Yukimura. I acn't imagine how hard this must be for you..."

"No, I'm fine, promise. Besides, I need to do this." Corrin replied with a sad smile. Turning back to the field he continued. "So what's the plan? How long do we have to stand here until the action starts?"

"Oh thats right you weren't at the tactics meeting last night were you?"

"No, something about Takumi and Yukimura saying I was, and I quote 'A filthy Nohrian excuse of a security risk that would like nothing more than to betray our military secrets to that infernal army of sub-human maggots.' You know, I do have to give them credit for creativity when it comes to their insults. I could try for a week and not come up with anything half that entertaining."

"They said what?!" Hinoka looked as though she was about to stab something. "I can't believe that!"

"Hinoka, please try to calm down a little. I'm sure that can wait until after the impending mass murder spree."

The princess sighed. "Ya ya, I know you're right. Still, I thought that after the whole Ose thing they would have warmed up to you a little."

"Apparently they found the whole transforming dragon thing a cause for suspicion." Corrin deadpanned. "Go figure."

"Ugh. I'll talk to them about it after this is all over. I'll make SURE they get over it." Hinoka smiled. "Anyway, back to your question, we're to wait here until the Nohrians make the first move. Ryoma distributed our forces into a defensive formation designed to block Nohr's advance and stall them."

"But won't that just create a stalemate?"

"Essentially, ya."

Now that didn't make any sense. Nohr was well known to have a higher military might than Hoshido. Even though Hoshido had more troops currently fielded, Nohr was just better organized, better trained, just… better. Hell, it was the reason Mikoto had even needed to create the magic barrier to begin with. The way things stood now eventually Nohr would just send for reinforcements, ending the stalemate in a Nohrian victory.

Shaking his head, Corrin asked the obvious question. "Why? Won't that just end in a loss?"

"Normally yes," Hinoka admitted. "But Ryoma has made sure to keep an escape route open for us in case we get overwhelmed."

"That still doesn't explain why you wouldn't try to beat them before their reinforcements arrive."

"Corrin, what would happen if they were to send more troops?"

The prince thought for a second. "The order would be sent back to Nohr, which would would respond by sending more soldiers into Hoshido over the bottomless canyon, right?"

"Exactly. Now what would happen if the bridges over the canyon were to be broken after they crossed over?"

And with that one question the whole strategy made sense. Ryoma was playing the long game. If this worked out the way he planned it, a huge portion of the Nohrian army would be trapped in Hoshido. Their supply lines would be cut and they would be in completely foreign territory. Given enough time, the Hoshidan army would be able to whittle them down and eventually eliminate the enemy without too much effort. True, the Nohrian troops could rebuild the bridges across the canyon. But that would take time they didn't have. They could also try to air drop small amounts of supplies to their troops via wyvern, but in the end that wouldn't stave off a total loss for more than a few days. The high prince of Hoshido wasn't trying to win the battle, he was trying to win the war.

Corrin chuckled and shook his head as it all fell into place. "I assume you're the one leading the raid, then?"

Hinoka winked at her little brother as she turned away. "Who else?"

"Heh, heh. I guess you've got me there. Oh, before I forget," Corrin reached into his back pocket and pulled out two small candy like objects. "I picked up two pegasus treats back at the festival but after that whole mess in the square…" The white haired prince shivered in spite of himself. "Well anyway, I'm sure they'd love the treat before the battle. Could you make sure one of these gets to Sakura's retainer as well? I want to thank him for keeping my little sister safe."

"Aww, Corrin! Thank you so much!" Hinoka said smiling. "I'll make sure this gets to both of our pegasi right away!"

Corrin watched his sister walk off toward the line of pegasi that stood ready at the flank of the Hoshidan army. As she walked off he couldn't help but feel a pungent pang of sadness and regret shoot through him. Turning back towards the deadly calm of the battle field Corrin felt a sad smile crawl across his face.

"Well what do you know? Kaze was right. Damn it." Sighing, he spared a glance over to where he knew Sakura and Azura were waiting with the army officers. It was the safest place on the field.

"Hmm, by this time Lilith and Kaze should have gotten into position." Corrin sat down and rested his head on his hands. "It won't be long now. Nothing to do but wait"

A few hours passed, as Corrin waited for the inevitable. In the mean time he occupied himself by fiddling with his sword, fiddling with his dragon stone, fiddling with his cape, basically anything to keep his mind off of what was coming. He had just begun to count the leaves on a nearby tree when the moment he had been dreading finally came. Horns blew, drums beat, and the thunderous roar of thousands of footsteps crescendoed across the field. Looking up, the prince was greeted by the sight of the Nohrian vanguard pouring over the field towards the Hoshidan defenses. Ruby and Amethyst bursts of magic could be seen raining down from on high like the wrath of the gods.

War had officially begun.

Indulging in one last moment to feel sorry for himself, the white haired prince drew his golden sword and began to run down towards the battle.

Alright now if the dream was accurate, I should find Xander and Ryoma battling each other somewhere near the center of the conflict. Corrin thought. Thankfully this whole affair has been fairly straightforward so far, except for some reason the sky was almost empty. Neither pegasus knight or wyvern rider was anywhere to be seen.

The battle had been going on for over half an hour with neither side being able to claim a definitive advantage over the other. The Nohrian side had been able to claim an early lead via magical bombardment from the southern flank but that was quickly negated by Takumi's archery division. After that, Nohr had seemed somewhat reluctant to unleash any more of their mages for fear of snipers. Of course it wasn't like Ryoma's forces couldn't press the advantage, as they had more than enough to deal with already.

Through all of the fighting Corrin continued to search through the murk and gloom, trying desperately to find the fight he knew was taking place at that very moment.

There!

Through the smokey chaos of the battle field Corrin saw Xander and Ryoma battling. Like two titans out of a legend they clashed, bursts of dark and lightning magic streaking through the air from their swords. The surrounding soldiers had given the pair a wide berth for fear of being caught in the crossfire.

Turning on his heels Corrin sprinted towards the two princes. As he went he took the opportunity to slice through two soldiers with the Yato, inviting stunned silence from those they had been fighting. But there was no time to ponder that now, Corrin could see that the battle was reaching a fever pitch, if he waited any longer...

As he entered the ring, Xander saw him. In less than an instant the ice-cold focus of battle that adorned his face morphed into a look of shock which in turn morphed into relief followed by joy. "Corrin!"

Ryoma stopped mid sword swing. "Corrin?! What are you-"

The high prince was cut off as Corrin pushed himself in between the two men. Swinging the Yato in a wide arcing motion, Xander and Ryoma were forced to jump out of the way or risk being disemboweled.

For a moment a look of hurt and confusion passed over Xander's face. "Corrin? What was that? Are you alright? They haven't harmed you have they?"

"Xander, I'm fine. But what are you even doing here? Why are you invading Hoshido?"

"Father said it was finally time to free our people from the threat of Hoshido forever, to finally show our strength and bring the world into a new age!" Xander's face turned solemen for a moment, and for a second, Corrin could see the telltale remnants of weeks of worry. "He also said that there had been sightings of you in the Hoshidan capital. We were worried we'd lost you... Camilla and Elise have been near implacable." The prince shook his head, as his smile returned. "But that doesn't matter, not now, not anymore. Join us and we can conquer Hoshido here and now!"

"Xander…"

"We can end this war before it's begun! Now come back to me!"

"Corrin!" Ryoma yelled. "Don't listen to him! This man is a Nohrian prince!"

"Ryoma…"

"Corrin, if we end this now we can minimize the amount of blood spilt." Xander held out a hand, desperation clear in his eyes. "Please Corrin, I'm begging you, come home. Come back to your family."

"How dare you!" Ryoma thundered. "You dare call yourselves his family? You're his kidnappers. Nothing more! Never anything more!" Ryoma held out a hand to Corrin, "All those years you stole from him, locked him away in a tower when he should have been with us! With his true family! Corrin, please come over here. together we can turn the tide of this battle!"

"No Corrin, we have loved you and raised you since you were a child. Come home, little prince. We can live as a family once more."

"Don't be fooled by his words, Corrin. Come home to Hoshido!"

"No Corrin, Nohr is your home!"

"My home… My family." Corrin had a far off, forlorn look in his eyes as he spoke. He known this was coming and yet he hoped that just maybe there would be a way to stop it, to change his fate. "Please both of you, this isn't the only answer! It doesn't have to be this way!"

"Corrin…" Ryoma shook his head. "Listen, you know that-"

"NO you listen! Nohr isn't the only enemy that exists. You have to trust me on this!" Corrin shouted desperately. How do I get through to them? I need to somehow make them understand about Valla. At the very least make them realize that there is more going on here then they know. "Just, please. Please listen to me. I'm begging you. If either of you ever truly loved me, you'll do this for me."

"Corrin," Xander began, "I'm sorry, but its too late for that now… My men have already died. If I were to back down now, it would be as if I spit on their graves." Xander's face hardened. "And besides, I have my orders. I will not falter. Corrin... Please, just come back to us."

"For once I agree with the scum, the time for talking has ended." Ryoma growled before reaching out to his younger brother. "Now quickly, come back to me Corrin. Let us drive these invaders from our land!"

So this is how it is. I guess a part of me always knew it. Corrin thought with a sense of overwhelming sadness. At this point there was no other way out. The two princes would not back down. Nothing Corrin could say or do do would stop that. So what can I do? Is there another way out?

For the smallest moment Corrin considered refusing to choose a side, instead running away beyond the reach of this war. Maybe he could live in a cottage in the forests of Hoshido. Or maybe he could strike out on his own trying to unravel the secrets behind Valla and Ose. Given a little luck maybe someday he'd even manage it.

But no. I can't. Some part of me would always resent myself for this moment. I- I will make my choice. Right here. Right now.

Nohr…

Hoshido…

My true family…

Corrin turned towards the blonde haired prince of Nohr and smiled sadly. Then he turned back to Ryoma and raised his sword.

"Ryoma, withdraw your troops."

"Corrin, what are you saying?" Ryoma's voice cracked. It sounded as if he had been drained of all hope. As if he were a husk of his former self.

"I won't fight for Hoshido. I'm- I'm returning to Nohr. I'm going home." Corrin looked away, unable to meet his older brother's gaze. "I'm not coming back with you. Not now, not ever."

"You can't mean that. You can't!"

"Ryoma, I'm sorry. But it's the truth."

"But, but- why?"

"You did the right thing Corrin." Xander said with pride. "I can't tell you how much it means to me that you came back. I know father will feel the same way once we return to castle Krakenburg."

"Ryoma, I can't tell you how sorry I am." Corrin began. "But it isn't so simple. Yes I have all of my memories from before. But that doesn't mean I lost all the ones I made while I was in Nohr! I can't betray the people who raised me. I won't leave them."

Ryoma's sword began to shake. "But you were there, weren't you? You saw what they did to our father, to our mother!" The samurai rushed Corrin, his sword a wild arc of lightning and wrath. Corrin barely had enough time to dodge the first strike and move his sword into a clumsy attempt to parry the second. Thankfully, whatever the Yato was made out of didn't seem to conduct the electricity of Ryoma's sword. "The demon they summoned! How can you possibly forgive that?!"

Corrin's eyes narrowed as he struggled to keep the samurai at bay. "You're making a lot of assumptions, brother." Corrin could hear the telltale rumble of Xander's blade, Siegfried, charging a blast of dark energy. With all his strength, Corrin pushed against Ryoma's iron-like strength. The samurai barely gave an inch, but it was enough. In an instant Corrin used the slight opening to throw himself to the side as Xander unleashed his power. But Ryoma merely changed his stance, adopting a defensive posture and deflected the blast off of his blade. Taking advantage of the slight lull in the fighting, Corrin continued. "I don't recall saying I ever forgave the heartless murder of my mother. Nor do I recall any proof linking Ose to Nohr."

Lightning began to crackle on the edge of Ryoma's blade. "No, no, no, you don't have the right to call me brother any longer. If that's the choice you make, if you choose Nohr over your own flesh and blood… Well there's nothing left for us to say."

"I'm sorry to hear you say that." Corrin replied, his voice purged of all emotion.

"You think you can beat me, traitor? I know your abilities are still recovering from our fight with Ose. I will drag you back to Hoshido and beat some sense into you if that's what it takes."

"You will not touch him." Xander voice rang out.

"Xander, please." Corrin held up a hand. "True. You aren't wrong about that, my powers are completely and totally depleted for the time being." The white haired prince admitted. Then a smile spread across his face. It was a cold, dead smile. There was no humor or warmth in that smile, it was the look a predator gave its prey right before the kill. "However, you don't honestly believe I came onto this gods forsaken battlefield before making my decision, do you? Hell, I killed a few of your soldiers on my way here." Corrin could see Ryoma go stiff with fear as he realized where the conversation was headed. Corrin's smile widened. "So tell me, Brother, do you really think I was stupid enough to come out here without a plan?"

"What have you done?" Ryoma asked, his voice low. "What. Have. You. DONE?!"

"Absolutely nothing. Though… now that I think about it," Corrin raised a finger to his lips in mock contemplation. "I haven't seen Lilith or Kaze in FOREVER. I hope they're okay. Be a real shame if they got into trouble…"

"You…"

Corrin let the false smile slip off of his face. Though he had hated to do it, the plan they had made necessitated it unfortunately. The angrier the samurai was, the less likely he would be to catch on too soon. It tore Corrin apart, but at this point there truly was no turning back.

Adopting an offensive posture and taking his place at Xander's side, Corrin was ready to compliment the paladin's efforts. "But enough of that. Let's finish this. Here and now."

"So you're sure?"

Corrin nodded. "I can't turn my back on my Nohrian siblings. I won't."

Kaze sighed. "Can't say I'm surprised. So what do we do now?"

"I could just open a portal to the Nohrian encampment." Lilith offered. "If this is what you want, then we ought get out of here as soon as possible."

"Not a bad idea." Kaze agreed. "If Nohr is your choice then sooner we're out of here the better."

Corrin shook his head. "No we can't. If we do that then the Hoshidans will be annihilated down to the last man."

Lilith cocked her head to the side, sympathy lacing her face. "Milord… I understand you don't want to hurt you siblings but if we try to help both sides it'll just end with us being rejected by everyone."

"Lilith is right." Kaze affirmed. "You've made your choice. If we can end this war here and now then we owe it to the civilians who would be hurt in the long run to do just that."

Corrin shook his head sadly. "Normally you'd both be right. However, you're forgetting that this isn't a normal war." The prince sighed. "Ose made sure of that."

"Ose attacked the Hoshidan capitol with the express purpose of killing the Hoshidan ruler. But why?" The prince rested his head on his hands as he frowned. "If you ask me I don't think the assassination was the point. I mean, that seems a little bit low-key for a demon. No, I think the entire purpose of the attack was to destroy the barrier protecting Hoshido. Killing my mother was simply a means to that end." Any argument his two retainers had was cut off as Corrin continued. "I also think it's fairly safe to assume that the Nohrian army being at the border just when the shield failed isn't a coincidence. They somehow knew the barrier was going to break."

Kaze thought about the prince's words for a moment. "So what are you saying, that Nohr has an alliance with Ose?"

Corrin shook his head. "Maybe, but I doubt it. If Nohr had an alliance like that, why only use it now? No, this seems like a test run of sorts."

"So an individual or a small organization then."

Corrin nodded. "That would make the most sense. The king wouldn't be this subtle. Why would he need to be? But a smaller organization? They would have to be careful not to let the king think they were a threat to the crown, and considering how powerful Ose was… Ya this attack seems more like a tryout session for the king's favor."

"Do you have any idea who it could be?" Lilith asked. "I mean, I'm sure you know who I'd guess..."

Corrin groaned. "Yep, Iago is definitely suspect number one. But even if he is the one behind it, there's not much we can do about it at the moment, especially if he has the king's favor."

"Then what ARE we going to do?" Kaze interjected. "If we can't do anything about it, why are we going back to Nohr? There no reason to do so, I mean, your familial ties notwithstanding."

Corrin smiled slyly at the ninja. "Ye of little faith, Kaze! Just because we can't attack Iago directly doesn't mean we're out of luck. Think about it. Summoning a demon can't be easy, otherwise he would have conquered the entire world already."

"Hmm, so you're saying he has a support network?"

"Bingo." Corrin closed his eyes and leaned back to rest against a nearby tree. "That's where we strike. If we can dismantle that from the inside, we can stop more demons from being summoned while humiliating Iago at the same time. And once he loses favor with the king… well I doubt he'll live to regret that." Corrin smiled again in spite of himself. "Not to mention that I'm positive that given enough time I can bring my siblings around. I know that they don't want this war any more than we do. And I'm sure they would be horrified to know they were working with actual demons."

Lilith nodded in agreement. "So we know what we our plan is once we're back in Nohr. But how are we going to get there? If you want to end things peacefully later on, the battle tomorrow can't have too many casualties."

"Right. Too many casualties and there will be even more hatred between the two sides than there is now. To that end, we have two objectives." Corrin held up a finger. "One, force the Hoshidans to retreat before they suffer critical losses-"

"You're sure that the Nohrians will win?" Kaze interrupted.

"Unfortunately yes." Corrin responded sadly. "Garon wouldn't have sent this many soldiers if he intended to give the Hoshidans a chance. Also, the honor guard is still recovering from our battle with Ose. Trust me, on an open field there is really only one way this fight ends. But back to that in a moment." Corrin held up a second finger. "Objective two, force a Nohrian retreat in such a way that we can't be blamed for it. Preferably without humiliating my siblings either."

Corrin waited a moment for that to sink in. Kaze and Lilith looked at each other before turning back to Corrin. Neither of them said as much as a word.

"What?!"

"Lilith?"

"Yes Kaze?"

"I believe our lord's head is addled."

"I must concur. Perhaps we should bring him to the medical tent?"

"Okay, I think I've just about had it with the sass. Can we please get back to business?"

"Sorry milord, it's just-"

"Impossible." Kaze finished. The ninja crossed his arms in exasperation. "Sabotaging Hoshido? Relatively simple. But framing them for a Nohrian retreat? That's pushing it."

"Oh come on! We beat a demon for crying out loud, compared to that this is child's play." Corrin rose to his feet and began to pace around the group's small campfire. "Now Lilith, you made sure to soundproof our campsite right?"

"Yes milord. I set up an astral ward around the immediate area. We can talk with impunity."

"Perfect. Probably should have asked that earlier on, but whatever. Now before you two boo me off the stage, please give me the benefit of the doubt and hear me out." Pausing to hear any objections but finding none, Corrin continued. "So, as Kaze mentioned, the first objective is by far the easiest. All we have to do is cause enough damage such that continuing to fight would be suicide. Yet, as previously mentioned I'd prefer to keep the bloodshed to a minimum. So this is what we're going to do…"

Kaze crept around the side of the carriage. His eyes darted from side to side as he moved, careful to make sure no one caught wind of his presence. He was a shadow, barely discernable from his surrounding.

He paused as a squad of Hoshidan soldiers ran toward the front lines. From the sound of their yelling things were going about as Corrin had expected. When he was sure that they were well and truly gone, the green haired ninja darted towards his target.

It was an armored carriage, similar to the one that he had ridden in on the way here, except much larger and with reinforced armored plates on the sides and roof. There were two guards stationed at the only entrance inside, each armed with an iron naginata. For a moment Kaze wondered if it would come to blows before he noticed that there was a small window behind the driver's seat of the carriage.

That's right, these carriages aren't military made. They're converted merchant carriages. Kazed thought. Hmm, we got lucky.

Scampering up a nearby tree the ninja slowly crawled across a tree branch until he was over the objective. Dropping down onto the guarded carriage, the ninja crawled through the open window and slipped inside.

Once inside, he found himself surrounded by the shadowy inactive forms of Hoshidan puppets. Perfect.

"So this is what we're going to do: The Hoshidan military is well known for using enchanted puppets as auxiliary troops . Normally they're used as either cover for a retreat or as the vanguard of an ambush." Corrin lectured. "Now what we're going to do is set them on a rampage. If we do it right, by the time the Hoshidan command realizes what's happening most of their supplies will be destroyed and their flank cut to pieces. BUT if we disable their weapons before hand their shouldn't be much, if any loss of life."

"Hmm, that could actually work. I was given preliminary training with puppets by my brother. It shouldn't be too hard to activate them with such a simple objective."

Corrin smiled. "I'd hoped as much. Perfect."

"But won't there be safety measures to prevent that type of thing from happening?" Lilith asked.

Kaze shook his head. "None that I can't disable."

After Kaze had finished making the necessary adjustments he quickly left the way he'd came. He'd just finished climbing down the tree he'd used to get on the carriage when he came face to face with what might have been the worst possible encounter of his life. His older twin. "Saizo… I didn't expect to find you here."

Saizo's eyes narrowed as he drew two throwing stars. "Kaze. When I was told that someone had broken the protective wards around the puppet carriage I'd thought the Nohrians had managed to infiltrate our camp. I wasn't expecting to find you here. So I assume you're here on Corrin's orders?"

"..."

"You- you-" Kaze watched as spasms of rage ran through his brother's body. "Was being brought back by a Nohrian prince not enough of a humiliation for you? Instead you'd rather go full traitor?! Why?!"

"I choose to put my faith in Corrin." Kaze said simply, barely able to keep eye contact with his brother. "I'm sorry."

"That's all?!" Saizo had a demented look in his eyes at this point. Kaze could see he was about to crack. "I told our mother that you could be redeemed; that you would be able to restore your honor. It would have taken a long time, true, but I know you could do it! Instead you… you… You SPIT on your heritage!"

"Saizo, I-" Kaze was cut off by twin throwing stars spinning through the air towards his head. He was barely able to raise his knife in time to deflect them. Knowing that his brother would rush him immediately afterwards, Kaze flipped backwards landing on top of the carriage, throwing two smoke bombs at the ground as he did so.

"YOU THINK THAT WILL SAVE YOU?" Saizo's form burst out of the smoke and landed on top of the puppet carriage in opposition to Kaze. Without waiting for a reply the ninja hurtled towards his brother two more throwing stars already in hand.

Grimacing, Kaze had no choice but to retaliate.

Lilith double checked for the third time that no one had followed her. Satisfied that she was safe, the stable girl pulled out the three, small, blue bottles she had smuggled out of the Hoshidan capital late last night.

"Alright, your plan for forcing the Hoshidans to retreat seems like it could work," Lilith began slowly, "but what about the second objective? How are we going to pull that off?"

"Why thank you for asking my dear Lilith." Corrin smiled and for all purposes looked like a showman at a carnival. "Now first things first. Lilith, in order for this plan to work, you'll need to teleport both Kaze and yourself back to the Hoshidan capital to gather materials. Can you do that for me?"

Lilith nodded solemnly. "I can, but you should know that teleporting over such a large distance is going to be pretty draining. I won't be able to use that power again for at least a few months."

For the first time since they had begun, Corrin looked uncertain. "Lilith, if I'm pushing you too hard, you have to tell me. I don't want you to get hurt because of my decisions."

"No, no it's fine! Really! It's just… these last couple weeks I've used my powers more often than I ever have before. And after the battle with Ose… well I figure I've only got enough left to get this job done."

"But what about self-defense?! Gods Lilith, I can't have you entering a battle field without any means of defending yourself!"

"Those blasts don't need much energy, I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"I promise, milord."

Corrin's shoulders slumped in relief. "Alright, thank goodness. Well in that case I only have a few more question.s Kaze, I take it that the Hoshidan castle is equipped for interrogation right?"

"Yes, milord. But why? What good will that do us?"

"All in good time. Now in Nohr there is a practice of sometimes employing truth serums and the like to help elicit confessions from captives. Terrible and inhumane? Undoubtedly. Effective? Unfortunately so. Does Hoshido have a similar practice?"

"I'm ashamed to say that we do."

"And do they have anything that will strip a man of his inhibitions? The stronger the better."

Kaze gave his lord a perturbed glance. "Umm yes? Why?"

"Do you know where they keep it?"

"Of course but-"

"Excellent! Now if I understand correctly Hoshido has an extensive breeding program when it comes to pegasi. If that's the case they must have a stock of pegasus sex hormone to help them-"

"WHAT?!"

Corrin stopped and turned to his jaw dropped stable girl. "Uhh, yes Lilith, what seems to be the problem?"

"What do you mean whats the problem?! What are we even going to do? All you've talked about so far is getting drugs and pegasus sex hormone!" Lilith let out an exasperated sigh and looked to Kaze for support before turning back to Corrin. "I'm sorry milord, but I just can't see it."

Corrin put a hand on her shoulder and smiled. "I know it sounds weird but don't worry. It may be a bit of a gamble, but if it fails, we'll be in no worse a position than before."

Corrin walked over to where had first been seated and crouched down, using a stick to draw in the dirt. "So where was… OH that's right! Pegasus sex hormone!"

Lilith took the three bottles of pegasus hormones and started tying them to the boulders currently sitting in the catapults. When she was sure that they were fastened securely she pushed against the sides of the weapon until it was at the angle that Corrin had given her. There wouldn't be any second tries if she messed this up.

After double checking the trajectory, she held out a hand towards the firing mechanism and let out an azure blast of astral energy. As the burst of power cascaded into the machine, the boulders flew high into the sky. Lilith took a moment to indulge herself by watching the projectile streaking across the sky. In a certain way it was beautiful, almost like the streaking rays of light that adorned the space between dimensions. That made it almost comforting.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

Lilith nearly jumped out of her skin as she turned on her heels at the source of the voice. Standing behind her, leaning against a nearby tree was none other than the princess Azura. She was watching the projectile much as she had been, though she gave the distinct impression that not only had she been watching for a great period of time, but that she had also grown board of what she saw.

"I assume that this was on Corrin's orders, no?"

W-what?! How did you know I was here?" Lilith raised her hand at the princess, power bristling as she did. "And what do you want? Why haven't you called the guards yet?"

"Lilith, at this point the guards are going to come whether I call them or not." Azura replied with an eye roll. "In regards to your other question, I must say I'm a little disappointed. You do know who my mother is, correct? Did you think you could teleport back to Hoshido without my knowledge?"

The stable girl just glared at the princess. She wasn't wrong, Lilith did know about Azura's parentage, and just what that entailed. She should have remembered that. "So you knew that Kaze and I went to Hoshido last night. What of it?"

"I was curious what Corrin's plan was. I was even more curious when I saw what you brought back." Azura raised an eyebrow. "Really? Three bottles of pegasus sex hormone, a high powered drug, and the antidote to said drug. You also made it a point to grab some rope. Just what exactly is he trying to do? This isn't some weird-"

"Why didn't you call the guards if you knew we were planning something?" Lilith interrupted, desperate to stop the princess from finishing that thought. "Even if you didn't have any proof, both Yukimura and Takumi would jump at a chance to tie us up."

Azura shrugged. "Who knows? I guess it because I was curious about what Corrin wanted to do. I also hoped that he was secretly trying to help Hoshido. Though, from your reaction, I'll guess that's not the case." The princess began to walk back towards the Hoshidan command tent. " Please give Corrin my best. I'd leave now if I were you. The guards will be here any second. I also heard a commotion over by the puppet carriage. If I had to guess, Kaze could use your help."

Lilith would have said something else, but from the sound of armored footsteps getting louder by the second, the princess was right. Not bothering to turn back, Lilith made a break for the puppet carriage.

Corrin barely had enough time to dodge the blast of lightning. Rolling off to the side, Corrin swept the Yato up at Ryoma, aiming to clip his older brother's tendons. However, the samurai was too quick and parried the strike.

He hadn't intedned to actually attempt to force Ryoma to surrender. But as the battle had progressed Corrin had quickly realized that holding back against his older brother would be a very, very poor life decision on his part. Worse still, Xander, being atop a horse, was limited in what he could accomplish due to Corrin's intervention. What had seemed like an attempt to help the Nohrian high prince had rapidly turned into a hindrance for them both.

Taking advantage of the moment, Ryoma kicked Corrin in the face before shifting back into a defensive posture so that he could block the dark energy Xander had unleashed.

"Ugh, oww." Corrin mumbled as he took a second for his head to stop spinning.

"Corrin are you alright?"

"I-I'm fine Xander, thanks." I knew Ryoma was strong but what the hell! This is ridiculous! Corrin reached into his pocket and felt the smooth shape of the dragonstone. Even from that brief touch a soothing sense of calm spread through his body. I may not have enough strength to channel any of the Demifiend's powers but maybe the dragonstone… I mean I haven't had a chance to test it yet, but all things considered there truly is no time like the-

Corrin's thoughts were cut off by a hundred screeches crescendoing down from on high. Looking up the prince felt a pang of relief as he saw that the Hoshidan pegasus troops had finally returned from the bottomless canyon with multiple squads of wyvern riders hot on their trail. The Nohrian reinforcements were lead by a familiar purple haired princess. And it looks like Leo had Camilla hang back to defend the bridges. Bravo little brother, bravo.

Relief turned to jubilation as Corrin saw all but two of the pegasi turn toward the Nohrian encampment and engage in power dive, streaking down like a hundred shooting stars from the heavens. The battle field seemed to freeze all at once, soldiers on both sides staring up in abject horror as over a hundred knights crashed into the Nohrian camp. There was a terrible screeching sound as the protective wards defending the carriages gave in to the shear weight and force of the Hoshidan cavalry. Corrin didn't need to check personally to know that most if not all of the soldiers involved had perished.

"Alright, so we have all the materials?"

"Yes, milord." Lilith nodded with a smile. The trip had been exhausting for the stable girl, but nonetheless successful. Between the two of them, they had managed to steal the drug, its antidote, and the pegasus hormone.

"Perfect. And Kaze, you're sure this is the strong version of the drug?"

The ninja nodded. "I made sure to grab the undiluted bottles."

"Excellent. Now to business." Corrin grabbed the bottles holding the drug and held them out towards Kaze. "I need you to spike the pegasus feeding troughs before tomorrow morning. Understood?"

"Yes milord. But, I have to ask, why?"

Corrin smiled. "Because we're going to frame the loss of Nohr's supplies on the Hoshidan pegasus knights." Corrin gestured down at the crudely drawn figures he made earlier. "As I showed you guys before, due to my training with my darling little brother I know that the Nohrian supplies will be kept here." Corrin pointed down at a spot marked with an X. "Now, there are a number of magical wards in place to protect them from stray projectiles, but their main defense is the secrecy of their placement."

"But how can you be sure that's where they'll be?" Lilith asked, confused. "Prince Leo might put them there, but another tactician could easily place them somewhere else."

"Leo is the best strategist Nohr has, my father would be an idiot not to send him on this mission. And though my father is many things, he is not an idiot. No, if I had to guess, this attack is led by Leo and Xander."

"Be that as it may," Kaze piped in. "How do you know that he didn't change the placement? They probably received reports that you've been seen around the Hoshidan royals. What if they think you've gone traitor?"

"Leo may pretend otherwise, but he loves our family. I doubt he'd believe me capable of betraying them. But you have a point, he could have changed the layout. As I mentioned earlier, there is a very good chance this plan won't work. There's just too much left to chance. For example the drug we have is meant to work on humans. Last I checked there were a few slight anatomical differences between humans and pegasi,. But, this is the best I've got." Corrin looked down at the crudely drawn map once more. "Now, as I was saying, the wards can take some damage, but not say, a hundred or so drugged pegasi flying down at it full speed."

"You've got be kidding me." Lilith said, awestruck. "Then the drugs and the hormones were to-"

"Make sure they disobey their riders and fly headfirst into the caravans. To the Nohrians it will look like the Hoshidans got desperate and made one last ditch effort to buy time for a retreat. The Hoshidans will probably suspect what we did, but they won't say anything for fear of Nohr attempting to repeat the tactic later in the war." Corrin's confidence faltered for a second and a look of shame crawled across his face. "Most of the pegasus riders will be killed in the nosedive. I-I know that. But if we don't do this, Xander and his army will most likely press their advantage and kill far more later on. For their sake we have to- we have to-"

Lilith laid a hand on his shoulder and Corrin realized his hands had been shaking. Smiling sadly, Corrin continued. "As I said, there's a good chance that this won't work at all. There's no telling how the pegasi will respond to the drug. But worst case scenario nothing happens and we're no worse off than we are now." Corrin looked up at the sky and groaned. "I also have no idea how we'll get all of them into position. At best, we'll probably only get a quarter of them close enough to smell the damn stuff."

"Not true. Ryoma will probably have the knights deployed to attack the bridges." Kaze stated, scratching his chin while thinking. "If we launched the hormone right when they were returning... We'd get almost a one hundred percent effectiveness."

The prince looked at Kaze, stunned. "Why on earth would Ryoma attack the bridges? Does he want the Nohrian army not to retreat?!"

Kaze shrugged. "I know your brother. He'd rather keep his enemy where he can see them than let them return home and plan something underhanded. He'll probably try to end the war with this battle."

"One, that's asinine. Nohr has more troops than it knows what to do with. Two, if you're right then I swear I'll buy you a full new set of weapons."

"I'll start window shopping." Kaze replied with a smile.

The prince rolled his eyes before continuing. "Anyway, as I was saying, any pegasus that gets a wiff of the hormone will be drawn to it at full speed. The chances of either the rider or the pegasus living is basically zilch."

Kaze considered the prince's words before asking. "But what about your sister? Lady Hinoka will be leading the pegasus knight tomorrow. Aren't you worried she'll be killed as well?"

"That's where the antidote comes in." Corrin held up the two candy-like bundles. "Tomorrow I'll give these to Hinoka under the excuse that they're treats I picked up back at the capital. I'll make sure she gives them to both her pegasus and Sakura's retainer's. Knowing her and how she treats her pegasus, I'm reasonably certain they'll get the medicine in time."

Kaze nodded. "Then I think we're all set. If you'll excuse me, milord. I have some pegasi to drug."

Corrin's eyes shot back to Ryoma, noting the devastated look on his face. The look only deepened when the sound of an explosion resonated from the Hoshidan encampment. "Well what do you know, the plan worked after all. Neat. Who would have guessed?"

"This… this isn't over!" Ryoma growled.

Xander looked up above the enemy prince's head. "I think not."

"What are you-" The samurai was cut off by a black and purple blur as Corrin's older sister surged down from the sky at top speed. Had Ryoma's reflexes not been what they were, she would have flattened him.

"Corrin are you alright? Did this man hurt you?! I swear if you so much as touched one precious little hair on his head, I'll skin you alive!"

"Camilla I'm fine thanks to you." Corrin replied, forcing a smile at is overprotective sister. Though it was fantastic to see her again, he still hadn't quite gotten used to her attitude towards killing... Turning back to Ryoma he continued. "Ryoma it's over. Surrender."

"I will bring you back, Corrin. Whether you want me to or not." Ryoma's sword stayed where it was, but his left hand climbed above his head, almost as if he was waving at something. "I will not let this scum continue to brainwash you. I promise, I will save you."

Any response Corrin might have had was cut off by Hinoka sweeping down on her steed and grabbing Ryoma's outstretched hand. Pulling him onto her pegasus, the two were soon but a speck in the distance flying back to the now retreating Hoshidan army.

As he watched them go, Corrin couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if he had sided with Hoshido. Could they have ended the war here? Would Ryoma's plan have worked? Probably not. As Corrin had told Kaze the night before, Nohr just had too large an army to beat in a single battle.

But as soon as the thoughts had appeared they vanished, sinking back into the flowing tides of his subconscious. He could have dwelt on them if he'd wanted, but that would have only end in heart ache. Instead he turned towards the outstretched arms of his older brother and sister. Smiling despite the circumstances of their reunion, Corrin walked forward to meet them.

Kaze barely had enough time to dodge his brother's latest strike, the kunai sticking out of the tree where he had been standing mere moments ago.

Swinging from a nearby tree branch Kaze deflected another three projectiles mid jump before throwing three throwing stars with dulled edges. Not bothering to see if they hit their target, Kaze pushed off of the closest tree as he ran among the branches. Dropping a bomb as he ran, he kept running as the trees behind him burst into flame.

Taking a moment to catch his breath Kaze looked around at the devastation playing out all around him. Corrin's plan had worked perfectly. The ground was flooded with the miniscule forms of a hundred rampaging puppets. From what he could tell, the Hoshidans were now in full retreat.

"TRAITOR!"

"Damn." Kaze swore as his brother came at him once more. But this time he didn't get a chance to attack. As Saizo was making the last jump through the flames to the tree where Kaze stood a burst of blue energy sniped the ninja out of the air.

Looking down at the ground, Kaze was surprised to find Lilith standing next to a heap of destroyed puppets. "Kaze! We've got to go, Corrin will be waiting for us on the Nohrian side of the field."

"I can't just leave Saizo! The puppets will kill him!"

Lilith nodded and pulled out a rope she had grabbed back when they were at the capitol. "Fine, tie him up in one of the trees so the puppets can't get him. But make it quick! The Hoshidans are running and I'm pretty sure the Nohrian supply carts just got annihilated by a hundred drug crazed pegasi."

"Understood." Kaze and Lilith quickly fastened Saizo into one of the trees, taking care to tie him in such a way that it would be easy for him to untie himself upon waking. "That should be fine. Thank you for your help. Alright, Lilith are you ready?"

"Yes, Kaze."

"Then let's go."

Corrin stood at the edge of the battlefield, clearly distressed. They should have gotten back by now. Where are they?

"Worrying about Lilith and Kaze?" a familiar voice asked.

Surprised, Corrin turned to find the familiar form of a Hoshidan princess with long blue hair cascading down her back. Leaning against a nearby tree, Azura wore a sad smile upon her face. "They should be here soon. They managed to escape the Hoshidan camp in the confusion, so I suspect they just got caught up crossing the battlefield."

"Azura…" Corrin began, not quite sure what to say. Thank you. That- that really does take a load off my mind. But what are you doing here?! If Xander or the others see you you'll be taken back to Nohr!"

"I wanted to talk to you one last time." Azura stated matter of factly. "You weren't going to just leave without saying good bye, were you?"

That was exactly what he had intended on doing. In all honesty, Corrin had fully expected future Hoshidan pleasantries to be in the form of assassination attempts.

His silence must have given him away, as Azura ended up sighing before Corrin could think of a response. "Remember what I said the other day. 'If all you do is worry and apologize you won't get anything done.' You made the choice you thought was right. I won't hold that against you." Azura smiled at the prince, her golden eyes warm. "So please, no matter what happens in the days to come, remember that I don't hate you. I'll never hate you."

"But how could you not?" Corrin whispered, his voice as quiet as a spider's step. "What I did today… I tore your family apart. Because of my actions you have to live with the threat of invasion hanging over your head. So why? Why do you still care, even after all that I've done?"

Azura turned away from the prince and began walking back into the woods. When only the faintest outline of the princess was visible she turned back again. "Because I know that you didn't really want to. And because I know that nothing I say now could possibly equal the guilt and anguish you already feel."

"And if you're wrong about that? What if I don't care that I've betrayed everyone?"

"I doubt it. I'm a pretty good judge of character."

"I bet you are..."

"Poking fun are we?"

I would never."

Smiling, Corrin looked away from the woman and back across the battlefield, taking in the dismal scene for what must have been the fiftieth time. "I don't suppose you'd come back to Nohr with me if I asked, would you? I'm certain my siblings would welcome you back with open arms. It wouldn't be like it was before. That kind of backstabbing and treachery ended when I was young. I'm sure you'd be happy."

"No. The same bonds that tie you to Nohr, bind me to Hoshido. I won't, can't leave them behind. As Nohr is your family, Hoshido is mine. I'm sorry."

"I suppose I already knew that, but there was no harm in asking. I'm sorry too."The prince continued to survey the battle field as he spoke, keeping his voice to whisper so as not be overheard. "You know, you were one of the first friends I've ever made. I didn't get much of chance when I was in the Northern Fortress. Only the servants I had there."

The sun had begun to set over the plain. Tattered remnants of banners waved in the small zephyrs crawling across it. "If I find out anything new about Ose or about… you know, I'll find someway to tell you. I promise."

"Thank you Corrin. If you do, I'll make sure the information gets into the right hands. Now if you'll excuse me, I must be getting back before Sakura starts to miss me."

"Goodbye Azura, I'm glad to have met you. I hope the next time we meet, it is in a world finally at peace."

"I hold the same hope deep in heart. Good bye Corrin. I know we'll meet again someday." There was scuttle of branches and the prince knew that his friend was gone.

Corrin continued to gaze out across the battlefield. It felt familiar, like the fading memory of a dream upon waking. On the horizon he could finally make out the telltale shadows of his ninja and stable girl finally returning.

As he watched the figures get closer and closer he wondered if he should say a prayer for Azura and his Hoshidan relatives. If he could solve the mysteries surrounding Valla and the demons before the war escalated, perhaps he could find the happy ending he and Kaze had spoken of before. Maybe a little divine help would be just what he needed.

But in the end, the prince chose to remain silent. Partly because he had never really felt comfortable inside a church and partly because he knew in his heart that that hope was already dead.

Author's Note-

Thank you very much for reading! If you have questions, critiques, or predictions, please leave a review and I'll do my best to get back to you!

Otaku-Nation666- Did you guess right?

vampireharry the 2- Thank you again! I hope you enjoyed!

RealmOfEmptiness- Sorry for the lack of demons but I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Disclaimer- This is a nonprofit, fan-based work. All characters and settings belong to their respective owners.

Next Time- Home again.