Chapter 2: Into The Ground
"Location: Fates Continent, the Nintendo Realm of the Dream World, February 19th 2013"
In the far past, Corrin kept close behind Hinoka, Takumi, and Sakura as they headed towards the Nohrian army gathered at the border. Soon after the incident at the Hoshidian plaza, Kaze came with the news of a large Nohrian army. Their movements were swift, and Corrin remembered his dream. Everything followed it down to the very last detail. On the border, Xander led the Nohrian troops, commanding the open field and battle studiously and without mercy, with Siegfried held high.
"Corrin, your alive! They haven't harmed you, have they?" Xander asked when he caught sight of the dragonic prince, as if he didn't care that three of the Hoshidan royals surrounded him.
"Xander, I'm fine! But... why are you invading Hoshido?" Corrin asked.
"Father say's it's time to show our true strength. Join us, and we'll end this quickly. If we conquer Hoshido here and now, we can avoid unnecessary bloodshed." Xander replied.
The Hoshidan siblings looked at Corrin, with expressions of concern, fear, and distrust.
"Xander... I... I need a minute." Corrin called out.
"Be careful, Corrin! This man is a Nohrian commander!" Ryoma called out, Raijinto poised to strike at Xander.
Just then, the Nohrian royals arrived on the battlefield. Memories of his time with them in Nohr appeared in Corrin's mind. He couldn't betray them, after all these years. But his family included more then just them.
"Corrin! I was so worried about you! Don't ever wander away from me again!" Camilla said, determined to be reunited with him.
Leo smirked.
"I'm glad your okay, Corrin. You must have the devil's own luck!" Leo said.
"Yaaay! We got our brother back!" Elise said excitedly.
Hinoka glared at her and the other Nohrian siblings.
"Nohrian scum! First you kidnap him, then you lie to him? Corrin is my brother, not yours!" Hinoka snapped.
Camilla narrowed her eyes at the elder Hoshidian princess.
"You are mistaken. Corrin is my sweet little brother. You may not have him." Camilla said.
Ryoma spoke again to Corrin.
"Don't be fooled by their words! You belong with your true family in Hoshido!" Ryoma called out.
"We have loved and raised you since you were a child! Come home, little prince! We can live as a family once more!" Xander called out.
"Come home to Hoshido, Corrin!" Ryoma called out.
"No, Corrin! Nohr is your home!" Xander called out.
Corrin's heart throbbed in his chest.
"What do I do?" Corrin wondered.
He moved his eyes between his Xander and Ryoma. They both turned to him with pleading expressions of love, solidarity, and hope. They wanted his response, and for him to choose either side. Ryoma held out his hand to him.
"This way." Ryoma said and nodded.
Hinoka, Takumi and Sakura stood behind him, the three waiting for his response and for him to choose to side with them. Even Takumi, after all his cries of complaint, looked longingly to him as well.
"B-Big brother?" Sakura asked in a stutter, clutching her healing rod tightly to her chest.
"He's my brother!" Elise cried.
Corrin's attention turned to his Nohrian siblings. Xander held out his hand to him.
"We're your family." Xander said.
Corrin looked out towards his family in Nohr and towards his siblings in Hoshido, realizing that the choice he made would change the world as he knew it. His siblings and family alike called out to him, but Corrin couldn't decide. Should he side with the family that had raised him since he was a boy, even with a wicked king in the form of his father? Or should he side with his family that had shown him the evil ways of Nohr when his mother was killed in the place of himself? Corrin took notice of both of his younger sisters teary eyes as they pleaded with him to stay. He looked towards his Nohrian family.
"Elise, Camilla, Leo, Xander." Corrin thought.
He looked towards his Hoshidan family.
"Sakura, Hinoka, Takumi, Ryoma." Corrin thought.
He wrestled with the differing choices in his mind, but could not bring himself to pick a side against any of his family members, blood-related or not. He clutched Yato tightly and spoke.
"I... I won't betray anyone!" Corrin announced. He turned to Xander and said "I won't fight against the people of Nohr after you cared for me all these years. You and Camilla, Leo and Elise... we might not be related by blood, but you are family to me. You've been with me for as long as I can remember.".
Ryoma face dropped, horror and confusion on his face. Meanwhile, his taller opposite smiled.
"Well said, little prince. What ties us together is thicker then blood." Xander said.
"What are you saying, Corrin? You would discard your true family and side with those who stand against us?" Ryoma asked.
Corrin shook his head.
"No. I refuse to fight against my Hoshidan siblings, either. Ryoma... we might not have spent much time together, but you are my family too. You, Hinoka, Takumi, Sakura... I don't want to fight with you on this or any other battlefield." Corrin replied.
Ryoma smiled.
"We feel the same, Corrin." Ryoma said.
Corrin's voice hitched in his throat. He snapped his eyes shut for a moment, steeled himself, and stood tall.
"But I can't side with either of you against the other. I cannot betray any of my family." Corrin said.
"Corrin, what are you..." Xander started to ask.
"Going to do, then?" Ryoma asked.
"I'm so sorry, both of you. Please, set your swords aside! I'm sure a peaceful solution exists. If we could just..." Corrin started to reply.
Xander gripped Siegfried tighter.
"I've heard enough! Corrin, I can see what your trying to accomplish here. As your older brother, however, it is my duty to teach you the truth." Xander said.
"Not while I still stand! Corrin is finally back with his family! I will not let you take him again!" Ryoma roared.
"No, wait! Xander! Ryoma!" Corrin shouted.
The two ignored him.
"Don't think for a moment that I will let you take Corrin without a fight! It seems only right to cross swords with my opposing equal. As the heirs of our respective families, why don't we settle this here and now?" Xander asked.
"Prepare yourself, then. I will defeat you in defense of my kingdom and my brother!" Ryoma replied.
"Please, both of you, stop! We can still talk this out inste..." Corrin started to plead.
"HAAAA!" Xander yelled.
"YAAAAA!" Ryoma yelled.
The plains of Hoshido then erupted in chaos and became swamped in battle. Xander locked blades with Ryoma at the center of it all, while the cries of war ripped through the air. Soon, Corrin was left standing alone on a field full of people that now wanted his head. He was at a loss as to how to intervene, after watching his older brothers completely ignore him, begin to fight each other, and leave him behind. Just then, Azura approached him.
"Corrin, you have to choose. How do you expect to win against two armies?" Azura asked softly.
Corrin sighed.
"I don't want to fight them both Azura, but I just couldn't choose. How can I fight the only family I've ever known? And how can I fight the family that I was born to and still loves me, even though I've been gone for most of my life? I can't fight any of them." Corrin asked.
"Your not alone, Corrin. You have me by your side. I'll support you no matter what you choose." Azura replied.
"But don't you feel terrible by going against the family that raised you?" Corrin asked.
"Of course. And I could say the same to you. But I'm confident that you've made the right choice. I'll follow you, no matter where you go, Corrin. We're in this together." Azura replied.
"Thank you. We'll have to get their attention if we want to stop them from fighting." Corrin said.
Azura attempted to speak, but Felicia suddenly appeared out of the thick brush and trees behind the two, followed by Jakob.
"Lord Corrin! We've finally caught up to you! I'm sorry it took so long, but we've been searching for you nonstop ever since we were separated in the Bottomless Canyon." Felicia said.
"Who might this girl be, and would you mind telling us what's going on?" Jakob asked.
"This is Azura, a Nohrian princess kidnapped by the Hoshidans in retaliation for what happened to me shortly after being taken to Nohr. She's our ally, and I want you to treat her like you do with me. As for what's going on, I ended up in Hoshido after we became separated, where I met my birth family. Queen Mikoto died because of me, and Xander and Ryoma both tried to get me to join them, but I've chosen not to side with either one. So now, Azura and I are trying to come up with the best strategy to end the fighting, escape, and figure out what to do next." Corrin replied.
"You can't be serious! Two armies? What have you gotten yourself into, milord?" Felicia asked.
Jakob sighed.
"Well, I suppose it matters not. Your enemies are my enemies. I shall assist you, whatever your intentions." Jakob said.
"I have an idea. Why don't we attack the groups closest to us? If we defeat the leaders, Ryoma and Xander can't possibly ignore us." Azura said.
The others agreed and went with her suggestion. The battle wasn't a long one, as there were only three troops in the two nearest groups, one Hoshidian and the other Nohrian, to them. Azura suggested that they go for the leaders of the groups so the royal families would be deterred by their actions and would simply retreat, rather then sending out more fighters to capture or kill the four. Jakob and Azura's assumptions proved true, and after a short time, the fighting stopped. Unfortunately, both sides disowned them and seeked to capture them, so the four had to flee. Eventually, they came to stop in a small clearing.
"Whew. We managed to escape, but I'm sure their still on our trail. We can't leave things are they are now... we'll be branded as traitors by both kingdoms." Azura said.
Corrin remained silent.
"Listen to me. You'll lose everything if you don't choose a side. It's either Hoshido or Nohr." Azura said.
Corrin shook his head.
"No. There's a third option. I can choose not to support either side." Corrin said.
"But... how?" Azura asked.
"I have family in Hoshido. I also have family in Nohr. Even if I were to lose everything... even if all of them despise me... I can't choose to side with one against the other. I simply can't do that. I don't care if I lose everything. This is what I've decided." Corrin replied.
"I see... you have to be willing to risk a lot to accomplish something major... I suppose your right. My own mother lost her life protecting Nohr, but I don't think she regretted her choice. She died to protect the ones she loved. I'll still continue to follow you down the path you've chosen." Azura said.
"Azura... thank you." Corrin said.
She looked out at the sun, which was still relatively high in the sky, but was now beginning to dip down towards the horizon.
"So, what do we do now?" Azura asked.
"That's a good question. For now, let's go to town and find something to eat. Word will spread fast, but I think we'll be okay to go into town for now." Corrin replied.
"Milord, are you sure that this is the best course of action?" Felicia asked, concern evident in her voice.
"Of course, Felicia." Corrin replied.
He and the others made way through the branches and bushes that lined their path. The small group of four proceeded normally, only slightly slowed by wardrobe problems. Eventually, they reached another clearing, with a town visible in the distance, due to smoke that floated into the air and a tall spire that marked a place of worship. The only thing unusual, however, was something in the middle of the clearing. Two people were laying on the ground, seeming unconscious. Corrin rushed over to the two fallen figures.
"Jakob, Felicia, get your staffs and help me!" Corrin ordered.
He knelt over one of the figures, a cloaked person that hadn't as much as twitched at his loudness or presence at their side, along with the second figure, a white female in dark flier armor. Jakob expressed caution about the two being potential threats, but nonetheless, he and Felicia rushed over to the two. Azura followed, curious as to the identity of the two figures. After being healed, both figures groaned and sat up. The first figure's hood, which had been up, cast a shadow over their face, due to angle of the sun, which was almost in setting position and blocking everything above their mouth, making it impossible to determine their gender.
"Are you alright?" Corrin asked timidly, leaning towards the dazed figure.
Both figures slightly reeled back, as if from shock to see him, Azura, Felicia, and Jakob, but both kept their composure.
"I-I'm sorry?" the first figure asked, their voice revealing them to be male.
"Beg my pardon, sir, but you and your friend seem to have been lying in the middle of a field for no good reason, quite unconscious, within walking distance of both a battleground and a perfectly well running town, which is utterly stupid if you ask me!" Jakob replied angrily, cutting off Corrin before he could get a word in.
Both figures turned their heads to get better views of their surroundings.
"Oh. We're sorry about that. If you don't mind me asking, where are we? And what's the date?" the second figure asked.
"It's February 19th 2013, and your in the land of Hoshido." Azura replied quickly.
"Thank you, miss..." the second figure started to ask, dropping off to wait for a name.
"Azura. The man to my left is Jakob, the other female is Felicia, and my friend kneeling next to you is Corrin." Azura replied.
"Ah, thank you. My name is Iniabi. And this is my wife, Cynthia." the first figure introduced. He paused for a moment, frowned, and said "It's a pleasure to meet you.".
He and Cynthia stood up.
"Wait, you said we were in Hoshido and Nohr?" Cynthia asked.
She remembered hearing about the two nations, since they were myths in Ylisse, and since they had helped during the war against the Nightmare King. She wondered why Corrin, Azura, Felicia, and Jakob weren't recognizing her or Iniabi, since they had helped the two and the other heroes during the war.
"Yes, Hoshido and Nohr. What are you, amnesiacs?" Jakob asked, impatient with the other two, as they were delaying him, his liege, Felicia, and Azura.
"It appears so." Iniabi replied, a smile gracing his face, thinking the same thing as Cynthia had.
Jakob was left speechless at that, not knowing how to respond.
"Oh that's terrible! Well, how about you two come with us until you get your memories back? I'll explain everything to you once we get to the inn, okay?" Corrin asked, entering the conversation at last.
"Are you sure about that, Mr. Corrin? I don't think we have any money, so we can't pay you. We don't want to be a burden." Cynthia asked.
"It's fine, Cynthia. And just call me Corrin. Anyway, we better get going. The sun's going to set soon and I want to get to the inn before the evening crowd takes up all the rooms." Corrin replied.