The royal families of Nohr and Hoshido were living in peace. Their people were happy, as were Garon and Sumeragi. Yet when Arete and Mikoto fled to their new homes, bearing warnings about a mysterious curse that they could not directly speak the name of, lest they vanish, the Kings took it seriously. Garon personally knew exactly what his new mistress was referring to- for, you see, he had his own YouTube channel.

And he was friends with Anankos.

Anankos had almost taken over Garon's YouTube channel, instructing him to upload videos at his request, tailoring his content to better suit Anankos's own needs. Arete was not aware of this, yet after Garon threatened to kill her if she revealed any of the information to anyone, she knew it was no longer safe to stay. After realizing that Garon was friends with Anankos, Arete took her daughter, Azura, to a nearby lake and told her everything, sentencing herself to death. As Arete was dissolving into the water, she bestowed her necklace to a horrified Azura, instructing her to flee. With her dying breath, she mentioned the name of Mikoto before dissipating into the water, her necklace the only sign that she truly once existed.

Meanwhile, Mikoto was settling in with Sumeragi, desperately trying to explain the situation yet unable to speak about it. Sumeragi, believing her to be nothing more than a woman who had gone mad, took pity upon her and accepted her into the royal family. Eventually, Mikoto and Sumeragi had children to accompany her twins. Unfortunately, tragedy struck as Sumeragi was called to a meeting with King Garon. Unbeknownst to him and Mikoto alike, little Kamui had snuck into his bag and was resting when Sumeragi arrived at the meeting. As he was struck down by Garon's army, the little child fell out of the bag crying. Garon decided to take the child as his own, seizing it immediately and claiming it as a member of the royal family.

Mikoto and her family grew concerned after Sumeragi did not return for several days. Eventually, word reached back to the castle: Sumeragi had been killed, and Kamui was presumed dead as well.

Mikoto was devastated, and rightfully so. Her new husband and one of her children had been killed by the enemy ruler. She feared that a war would spark, and, to her horror and dismay, she was right. Hoshidan spies captured a fleeing Azura and brought her to Mikoto, who was as shocked to see the child as Azura herself was.

Azura was quickly accepted into the Hoshidan royal family as Kamui was to the Nohrians. Yet where does this leave Anankos?

The answer is simple.

Anankos was plotting the best way to get his son back.

Kamui was useless- Kamui would not be a suitable heir to the throne. Corrin was the perfect candidate to continue his reign of fear after Anankos- and he laughed at the mere thought- stepped down. The dirty Vallite woman had taken his children and fled to Hoshido. The filthy traitor had abandoned him. Seething with rage, Anankos decided to take Corrin back- by force.

Anankos summoned several of his likebots and sent them off to infiltrate Hoshido and return his precious son to him. Corrin had grown fond of the Hoshidan royalty. Little Sakura and Takumi would always play with him, and Big Sis Hinoka and Big Brother Ryoma would practice sparring with him. Mother loved him and his sister Azura was as kind as Corrin imagined someone could be.

It was a picturesque dream destined to shatter.

The spies infiltrated in the dead of night, seizing Corrin with no difficulty. Without a sound, he was returned to his father. The family awoke devastated to find that their sibling was missing, and Mikoto was absolutely heartbroken- her husband and children all gone within days.

Anankos exerted a bit of control over Corrin- Corrin was the heir to his bloodline, after all. He was told to do his father's bidding, and to fulfill orders without question. Corrin was taught that Anankos was always right, with no exceptions- he was to never doubt his father's rulings.

Kamui was integrated into the Nohrian family, growing close with all of her siblings. Xander was strong and protective. Camilla was loving and kind. Leo was harsh yet caring. Elise was a bundle of energy. Father was cruel at times, but Kamui knew it was always for the best.

Azura came to love her new Hoshidan siblings. Ryoma was firmly protective of her, declaring that nothing would ever happen to her. Hinoka began to train day and night to find Corrin and Kamui, wherever they might be. Takumi, though timid, grew to be almost as loyal as his older brother, though always possessing an air of nervousness. Sakura was shy, yet wishing for noting more than her family to be happy.

Anankos, meanwhile, was still plotting.

Plotting to overthrow the pathetic worms and insects that dared to defy him- those wretched creatures that thought they had any control over their lives-

He was planning. Anankos's plan was to spark a war between Nohr and Hoshido. But not a physical war- although that would certainly be a key aspect, watching the groveling filth claim each other's lives- a different war.

A war of likes and subscribers.

You see, the Nohrian and Hoshidan royal families had YouTube channels.

The Nohrian channel was run by Garon, who was a servant of Anankos in terms of video content. Anankos controlled almost every aspect of the channel, leaving Garon only to collect footage as Anankos could not.

The Hoshidan channel was run by Mikoto and, formerly, Sumeragi. With Sumeragi dead, Mikoto was left the sole owner of the channel. Yet Anankos was subtly masterminding her channel, too- his goal was to get the Nohrians and Hoshidans to engage in an all out subscriber battle.

None of the Hoshidans and Nohrians knew of YouTube.

There were a few glimpses in Xander's memory of his father mentioning something called YouTube, although he did not know what he was referring to. Likewise in Ryoma's mind was the vision of Mikoto desperately and quickly hiding something from him as he stepped into the room, the YouTube logo clear to see. He did not ask what it was, nor did Xander, and these fleeting gleams of the past were the only proof the two had of its existence.

As for everybody else?

They didn't have a clue.

Anankos's goal was to change that- to create a battle so large between the two channels that there would be no choice but to have a physical war.

Yes, the plan was perfect.

And Corrin would help him do it.

Several years later, in the dark rooms of the Nohrian castle, a princess was awakening from a rather strange dream...