A/n- Say hello to my new longest story ever! Again, blame the framing device. XD Same deal as the last one, after the initial set up the formula is: Setting up for the months battle, Supports, and then the battle and aftermath. Also Roy is here this time because he deserves to have some fun to! Enjoy!

The Commission Files- File #1070 Transfer Students Part 2

Characters: Rutger, Lilina, Roy, Female Byleth, Felix, Annette, The Golden Deer, Various Church of Seiros Staff Members

Based on: a commission by SandyrexArt on Twitter/X

Elibe 1007 Years After the Scouring

Once again Roy, Lilina, and Rutger were on the Dread Isle and once again they were there to see the Dragon's Gate. Unlike the last time three years ago, they were prepared this time though. They were there to travel through it on purpose this time, to go to the land of Fodlan like Lilina and Rutger had accidentally done last time.

"Explain to me again why we're doing this now." Roy noted as they started walking up the long stairway to the Dragon's Gate. "You said you would be back in five years and it's only been three. Are you sure this is going to work out the way you think it will Lilina?"

"I'm about 90% sure." Lilina replied, mirroring her words when her and Rutger were about to try and get back to Elibe. "Something with the Dragon's Gate or maybe the Outrealm Fodlan is in has some strange passages of time. Either way, with the tests I did with it, today is our best chance to get there at the right time. And even if we're a bit early I'm sure Lady Rhea and Seteth wouldn't be too hassled to let us stay until the celebration passes."

"Yeah, they were really nice like we told you, I'm sure they'd be fine with housing us again." Rutger added. "And remember, ten months to us was like ten minutes to you here, so we had to think something was up with the time flow between our realms. Lilina just found a way to manipulate it a bit better than last time since she knows what she's doing now."

"Exactly, I might not be as good at opening Outrealm portals as his father was, but the Dragon's Gate being a big nexus between many of them helps. The real issue was finding the same exact one we went to in the first place. I didn't see much of it, but there was a Fodlan where Miss Byleth wasn't even a professor and this purple haired mercenary was leading the students into battle."

"Interesting." Roy commented. "Well, since I'm not good with magic, and because you are one of the people I trust more than anyone else, I'm going to believe in what you say Lilina."

"Always a wise course of action." Rutger teased.

"Alright you two, stand back." Lilina said as they got to the Gate and she started channeling the spirits. "And let's make sure to hold onto our weapons and supplies this time, since we won't have anyone to keep them safe and we want to show them off."

"Everything I've got is strapped down as best as possible." Roy noted.

"It's not like I have all these extra belts on for nothing." Rutger added. A few moments later the Dragon's Gate lit up and that same suction of wind started to pull the trio towards it. "Last one in has to make the bed first." Rutger said as he ran towards it with confidence.

"Oh, you know how I hate making the bed!" Lilina exclaimed with a bit of a smile as she followed him.

"This, this is exactly what I needed." Roy commented to himself. "A vacation with my two best friends where I don't have to worry about anything. I'm gonna enjoy myself if it's the last thing I do." And with that he dove in after the other two, not knowing what was about to become of this supposedly light hearted trip to another land.

Ethereal Moon 1185

If everything had gone the way Lilina and Rutger had supposed it had, they probably would have landed upright next to the glowing orb in the gazebo near the monastery's center. But little did they know that in the last five years Fodlan had changed, and it wasn't a peaceful change. So when the orb activated it was off-kilter and it sent them a good distance away from the monastery, in fact they weren't quite sure where they had landed.

"This doesn't look anything like you two described it." Roy noted as he looked around. "Are you sure you sent us to the right place Lilina?"

"I did everything correctly, I think. This looks like Fodlan, somewhat, though it seems a bit more broken down than when we first came here." Lilina commented. Meanwhile Rutger was walking about trying to see if he could find any landmarks that could tell them where they were. Eventually he did and called the other two over.

"This is the river that flows out of the monastery, I remember it from when we had to leave for missions." Rutger told the two. "If we just follow it up to the source we're bound to make it there eventually."

"Sounds like a plan to me, good thing we brought food just in case." Roy stated.

"Always be prepared, one of my father's best pieces of advice." Rutger replied before the trio started to make their way up stream. As they did they looked around at the scenery. To Roy things seemed slightly off, everything looking broken and burnt, but it was a bit of a shock to Rutger and Lilina who had seen what it used to look like.

"I don't like how this looks, I think something has happened since we left." Lilina commented as they continued to follow the river.

"Yeah, it's so quiet around here, where are all the people?" Rutger agreed.

"I don't want to sound too negative, but this feels eerily familiar to when we were on the war campaign." Roy added. Before either Rutger or Lilina could reply to that though the trio saw a body laying in the river. They quickened their pace a bit to see if they were okay, but the second Lilina saw the woman's mint green hair she knew who it was.

"It's Byleth!" She said with a gasp, running even faster to see if she was okay. Quickly the three were knelt down next to her and Lilina was testing her vital signs.

"Is she alive?" Roy asked with worry in his voice.

"All signs say that she is." Lilina noted. "It feels like she's just in a deep sleep. I don't see any scars or open wounds or anything like that."

"Maybe she had one of those fainting spells like she had before and fell into the river." Rutger suggested.

"That could be the case, though if it is she's lucky she didn't go in face first or get cut by any rocks." Lilina replied. Either way, by this big commotion over her body or by something else entirely, Byleth's eyes started to flit open and when she opened them fully she was greeted by two familiar faces and one new one.

"Lilina, Rutger, what are you two doing here?" She asked slowly as she tried to sit up. Lilina helped her get steady before they answered.

"Well, it's been five years, at least here in Fodlan." Lilina noted.

"We're here for the millennium festival like we promised, and we brought our friend Roy because we figured you'd want to meet him and he wanted to see what Fodlan was like." Rutger added.

"Um, hello. I'm Roy." Roy waved awkwardly.

"Nice to finally have a face for all the stories." Byleth nodded at him. "But what do you mean it's been five years?"

"Well, honestly, we're not quite sure." Lilina admitted. "Like I tried to get us here at the right time, but we might be a bit early or late."

"I think the bigger issue is that Byleth might not know what the date is." Roy surmised.

"Is that true?" Rutger asked.

"It is, I don't know how long I've been asleep like that." Byleth noted. The four looked around and eventually they saw a villager who had been watching the scene.

"Hey, what's the date today?" Lilina called out to him.

"Uhh, it's the Ethereal Moon of 1185, a day before the millennium festival was supposed to take place, though I doubt it'll happen since the monastery got destroyed." The villager answered.

"The monastery got destroyed?!" Byleth, Lilina, and Rutger all asked at the same time.

"Have you three been living under a rock this whole time?" The villager asked in disbelief.

"We're not from around here, so we don't get news about Fodlan quickly." Rutger noted.

"We need to get up there, in case any of the students decided to come anyways." Byleth stated as she stood up finally.

"Agreed, but we should be prepared for a fight, we don't know who or what might be up there." Rutger commented.

"I'm feeling fine, let's do this!" Lilina said confidently.

"Well, we didn't bring these weapons for nothing." Roy added.

"Let's get going then. To the monastery!"

Claude was standing near a large broken window high up on the monastery grounds. As much as he knew it was a long shot, he had to take this chance, had to see if Byleth or any other of the Golden Deer would show up like they said they would. He had been waiting for a while and he was about to go down and have a meal for himself when he heard the buzz of conversation coming up the stairs. When he looked to see who it was coming up, well let's just say it was a better situation than he would have dreamed of.

"Teach, you're late! But I guess I can forgive that seeing as you found some friends along the way!" Claude said with a smile as he turned to face the group on the stairs. "Rutger, Lilina, glad you could make it back, sorry for the mess though. And if the stories are anything to go by, that must make you Roy correct? You probably get this a lot, but I kind of thought you'd be taller."

"You would be correct, on both accounts." Roy nodded. "I am Roy of Pherae from the Lycian League. I take it you are Claude of the Leister Alliance?"

"Bingo, right you are." Claude confirmed, to the chuckle of Rutger and Lilina. "What?"

"Are you sure you're Claude and that someone with worse fashion sense didn't replace you?" Lilina teased.

"That beard Claude, not your best decision." Rutger added.

"Oh, hush you two, I've been busy. Lots of things have been on my plate since the war started." Claude commented.

"War?" Byleth wondered.

"Yeah, the war." Claude confirmed. "Like I get that those three wouldn't know about it since they don't live here, but you've had to of heard something, you couldn't have been sleeping for five years."

"Well, about that..." Byleth trailed off.

"We found her sleeping in the river, we think she might have had one of her fainting spells." Lilina noted.

"I guess we should ask you what the last thing you remember was Byleth." Rutger commented.

"The last thing I remember..." Byleth said slowly. "Edelgard had launched an invasion on the monastery and Rhea had transformed into a dragon type form to fight it off."

"Called it." Lilina cut in before letting Byleth continued.

"I joined in to help her because she was getting overwhelmed, but then I got blasted into a canyon and fell in. That's the last thing I remember before blacking out." She finished.

"You really don't remember anything other than that?" Claude asked, not quite believing it. "But your story does make sense from some perspective, and I trust Rutger and Lilina here to not be lying to me about how they found you. Well, I guess the best thing to say is that you're alive and relatively well. And that goes for the rest of you as well."

"Not to be a downer or anything, but if the monastery got destroyed during this invasion, then how are we supposed to get back home?" Roy questioned.

"Not to worry, I've checked the grounds, that orb thing is still in place, so heading home shouldn't be an issue." Claude noted. "Though it was laying at a weird angle, probably how you ended up so far away."

"Well, that's a relief." Rutger commented. "Though I have the feeling it would be a bit complicated to go back home to try and send supplies here, so I guess we have to help with what we brought with us."

"Good thing for you we actually kept our good weapons this time." Lilina added, showing off the Forblaze tome.

"Wait, you guys are gonna stay here and help out?" Claude asked in shock.

"Well, of course we are!" Lilina stated confidently. "We said we'd come back and we did. And you know, once a Deer, always a Deer."

"Yeah, we're not gonna leave a friend in the lurch like that, it's not our style." Rutger confirmed.

"I may not have been here the first time, but when there are people in need then I'm usually the first to help, so this is no different." Roy added.

"I'm going to help as well, it's the least I could do after letting everyone down the first time." Byleth noted.

"Well, color me surprised." Claude replied with a chuckle. "I was just expecting Byleth but now I've got three more powerful allies on my side. Well, I'm hungry and I'm sure you four must be as well, so let's eat a meal and I'll tell you everything that's going on in Fodlan right now." So the five headed down to eat, with the Elibe trio happy to share what remained of their food as well, and Claude told the group about everything. About how Dimitri was set to be executed, how the Alliance was at each other's necks while he did his best to show a united front, and how Edelgard was doing her best to invade more and more of Faerghus by the day. He also noted on how Rhea was missing and that the Knights of Seiros were looking for her and that's why the monastery was in such disarray.

"You don't think that they killed her do you?" Roy wondered.

"I doubt it, after seeing her turn into what I'm assuming is the Immaculate One like Rutger, Lilina, and I discussed five years ago and with all the crest beasts running around, they are probably doing experiments on her to see if they can get anything out of her." Claude noted. "Though to most people, that's a fate worse than death."

"We have to save her!" Byleth stated confidently. "She's done so much for us, it's the least we could do!"

"I agree, Rhea was nothing but helpful to us, we need to do right by her." Rutger added.

"No one should have to be put through that, especially not someone like her." Lilina chimed in. Claude had other thoughts on the matter, but he kept silent knowing that in this group his ideas would get shot down almost immediately.

"It may sound cold and calculating, but if we tell the Knights we're going to help look for her, they might lend us a hand in other areas as well." Claude noted. "But first, we need to make sure it's safe for them to return."

"Meaning what?" Byleth questioned.

"This place is teeming with bandits, ready to strip and steal anything that isn't nailed down. If we're gonna use this place for a base, we need to make sure it's secure. I'm sure with the five of us it shouldn't be that hard."

"Bandits? Well, why didn't you say so? Bandits are our specialty." Rutger joked.

"If that's the case let's get going then. Besides, what if more of the Deer decide to show up and they get caught with the bandits, we have to make it safe for them too." Lilina added.

"Good point, I wonder if they'll even come though." Byleth wondered. Either way the five made their way down to the city near the monastery and as Claude noted there were bandits everywhere. And they had a lot of goods with them that could be useful in the future.

"Well, I'd say we spread out and cast a large net." Claude suggested. "Byleth, you stay on point in the middle while Roy and I take the north end and Rutger and Lilina take the sound end."

"Sounds like a good plan to me." Byleth noted. Everyone else agreed and soon enough they were engaged with the bandits. The fighting was, well, a cakewalk for people as trained as they were. The trio from Elibe barely even broke a sweat, and when the rest of the Golden Deer along with Felix and Annette showed up to help out, well let's just say the bandits really didn't stand a chance. Eventually they were all taken care of and the group joined together to greet each other.

"Professor Byleth, you're still alive! Not that I had any doubts of course." Lorenz commented.

"And if it isn't everyone's favorite couple Lilina and Rutger!" Hilda cheered. "What are you two doing here?"

"Well, we said we'd come for the millennium festival, so we did." Rutger commented. "Though we didn't really expect things to be like this."

"And this is our friend Roy we told you all about!" Lilina said motioning to Roy.

"Oh, he does look quite charming and commanding, I think I might have an idea for my next painting now." Ignatz stated.

"Even Felix and Annette are here." Claude noted. "Shouldn't you both be back trying to help Dimitri out?"

"There is nothing we can do the help the Boar in Faerghus, so we hoped that if we came here we might be able to get some support." Felix answered. "Luckily, we were right."

"It was my idea to come here." Annette stated. "He's just grumpy he didn't think of it first." She teased.

"Hey, the more the merrier, but we should move this inside, we don't know who could be watching and listening." Claude stated. So the whole group moved back into the monastery and grouped up in the cathedral. That's where Claude laid out his plans to use Garreg Mach as a base of operations to strike back against the Empire. It took some smooth talking, but everyone agreed eventually, even Lorenz whose father was causing trouble in the Alliance.

"Well, if this is going to be our base, we really need to clean it up." Hilda stated. "It's a mess and totally dangerous. I wonder if we could hire some people to help us." It was at that time that Seteth, Flayn, Alois, Cyril, Shamir, and Catherine walked into the cathedral and saw the group conversing.

"It, it can't be." Seteth said shocked. "Byleth is alive!" He quickly walked over to make sure his eyes weren't deceiving him, and they weren't. And then he saw Rutger and Lilina, along with Roy, though he didn't know that at the time. After that little show they all explained how the search for Rhea was going and Claude told them about his plan to use the monastery as a base.

"Well, it seems like we have similar goals in mind." Seteth stated to Claude. "The Knights of Seiros would be glad to support your rebellion against the Empire in exchange for help in finding the Archbishop. And we will do everything in our power to start fixing up the monastery so it's safe for us and anyone who needs shelter."

"Glad to hear it Seteth, I think this is going to be a start of a great relationship between the two of us." Claude noted. After that the group started to disperse, but Seteth made sure to get the attention of Rutger, Lilina, and Roy. He motioned them over to somewhere private so they could talk.

"I'm assuming you all are here because you thought the festival was going to take place, so I would also assume that you're not going to get caught up in all of this either. But I'm here to ask you if you would, for Rhea's sake." Seteth asked the three. "Claude and Byleth probably already told you, but Rhea is in fact the Immaculate One, a form of what you would call a dragon. Goddess knows what Edelgard and the Empire are doing to her as we speak."

"Don't worry Seteth, we already told Claude we'd help out, and it's mostly for Rhea's sake." Lilina assured him.

"That and we don't want to leave you all like this, you're our friends and you need our help." Rutger added.

"And I'm willing to help anyone, especially those who my own friends trust." Roy chimed in.

"Once again you surprise me with your honesty and helpfulness." Seteth said with a sigh of relief. "Well then, I guess I should tell you everything I know in case it's helpful to you in anyway."

Guardian Moon 1185

The start of the month was focused mainly on cleaning and rebuilding the monastery and the area around it. The trio from Elibe did what they could to help, though Rutger was really the only one with any real skills at building anything. Roy and Lilina did what they could though, willing to do whatever was needed to help get the job done. One day Roy was working with Ignatz and he struck up a conversation with him.

"So, I've heard your an artist Ignatz." Roy commented as they were clearing away some debris. "What kind of medium do you use?"

"Well, I'm mainly a painter, but I can do sketches and stuff as well." Ignatz answered. "I prefer drawing landscapes and scenes after things have happened, though I do the occasional portrait as well."

"I'd love to see some of your work some time." Roy told him genuinely. "Though I do wonder why a guy such as yourself came here to the Officers Academy."

"It's a long story, but basically it boils down to me being the second son in my family so I need to make a name for myself since I really won't be inheriting much from my family." Ignatz explained. "I really wish I didn't have to, obviously, but I've got as much skill with a bow as I do with a brush and when you look at Fodlan now the former is much more needed than the latter."

"You've probably been told this before from your friends, but you should keep your dreams of being an artist alive as much as you can." Roy noted. "Wars don't last forever and someone has to show everyone what happened so they learn from their mistakes."

"I'm just worried about seeing the end of this war myself." Ignatz admitted. "Though your friends have helped me a ton, so I don't want to disappoint them."

"Oh really?" Roy wondered. "Tell me about what they helped you with."

A few days later Claude held a meeting with everyone explaining that this 'army' if that's what they were going to call it was going to be flying the flag of the Crest of Flames. His reasoning being that if they flew the Alliance colors the Empire would know something was up and that more people would give them support if they spun their cause as a moral one.

"He is quite crafty as you said, but I like the idea." Roy commented to Rutger and Lilina when it was over.

"I thought you'd like the way he thinks. He's like my father but slightly more devious." Rutger noted.

"And he can actually hold his own in a fight." Lilina teased, getting the two guys to laugh a bit.

"Well, we all can't be perfect." Rutger replied slightly sarcastically. "But we can try our best. Come on, let's get some training in."

Rutger/Claude A-Support

"So, Rhea is a dragon along with Flayn and Seteth and she manipulated Fodlan's history for hundreds of years, I still can't quite believe it." Claude said to Rutger once they were alone. Seteth had come clean about pretty much everything because he felt he needed to and now Claude wanted to see if that changed how Rutger thought about the situation. "What do you think about all this?"

"I mean, I kind of get it honestly." Rutger admitted, getting a slight look of shock from Claude. "Look, you heard what Seteth said and you know I'm going to resonate with what happened them more than most people with what I went through."

"Yeah, but they've been secretly in control of everything for so long. You can almost think it's their fault everything is the way it is, especially the bad stuff." Claude noted.

"Granted, but then you also have to credit them with the good stuff as well." Rutger countered. "And honestly, from what Lilina and I saw, Fodlan could have been so much worse off than it was."

"Meaning what?" Claude wondered.

"Meaning Rhea could have decided to try and take her revenge on humanity, could have hid in the shadows plotting their demise, but she didn't. She openly and directly tried to keep things from getting worse, manipulated things to make humans look better than they actually were, and then let them keep all those weapons that were made of her family's body parts. It could have been so much worse. Was it perfect, probably not, but it was probably good enough for most people."

"Yeah, but I don't want good enough for most people, I want good for all people, even those outside of Fodlan." Claude noted. "I don't think we can do that with Rhea in power."

"Have you or anyone from the Alliance ever talked to her about it?" Rutger questioned.

"Well, no, not exactly." Claude admitted.

"Then you have the perfect opportunity to get an audience with her to speak your mind, granted we rescue her in time." Rutger told him. "You can't just write someone off without seeing if they are willing to compromise. Or are you telling me you're one of those all or nothing people like Edelgard seems to be?"

"You know, I think I forgot just how smart you are in these five years away from each other." Claude noted after a bit of silence.

"You also forgot to answer my question." Rutger noted, sensing he was trying to dodge.

"Well, you'll have to get back to me on that one, I'm not too sure myself." Claude admitted. "Can we put a pin in this conversation until later?"

"Fair enough, but don't think you're getting out of this so easily." Rutger assured him.

"Believe me, you're one of the last people I want to cross." Claude commented. "But I would like to move onto a lighter note. Before you left last time you asked me what my thoughts on intimacy were, I guess now is a good time to ask some advice from you."

"What kind of advice?" Rutger wondered.

"Well, I kind of have this situation going on and Byleth coming back like she did complicates it a bit." Claude explained.

"Oh, let me guess, you started a side thing with Hilda because you weren't sure Byleth was coming back." Rutger guessed. "And now that she is you want to pursue your relationship with her again, but you don't want to end things with Hilda either."

"Yeah, that's about the long and short of it." Claude nodded. "Well that, and I was wondering if you'd be okay if I tried hooking up with Lilina one time, since I overheard your relationship is more like your parent's was since the last time we met."

"And I thought no one was hearing us talk about that." Rutger chuckled. "Well, that's up to her honestly, so I'm gonna have to pass you off to her one last time. As for Byleth and Hilda, as much as you might not like it, being up front and honest about what you want from them is for the best. I'm not saying that they are going to give you what you want, but you don't want to go manipulating things, especially since we're about to go on a war campaign."

"I kind of figured that's what you were going to say." Claude admitted. "Well, I'll see what happens with that, though maybe I'll talk to Lilina about it some first, if you catch my drift."

"I wish you luck Claude, you're gonna need it."

Roy/Byleth C-Support

Roy was getting in some training since the training grounds just got done getting cleaned and fixed up, and eventually Byleth entered the area as well and saw him swinging the Binding Blade back and forth.

"You have a great form Roy, a lot of my students could learn a lot from you." She noted as she got closer.

"Oh, thank you." Roy replied a bit embarrassed since he didn't know anyone was watching him. "I had a good teacher and the circumstances to better myself through battle, but I wouldn't call myself the best or anything. I mean you've seen Rutger."

"I have, but it's hard to compare your styles." Byleth commented. "You have a more formal style of swordplay while his is more free flowing given both of your backgrounds. I wouldn't say one is better than the other though."

"Well, if you say so." Roy told her, not quite believing it. "Did you come here to see me specifically?"

"I did." Byleth confirmed. "I figured since I became friends with Rutger and Lilina it would be easy to be friends with you. So I'm doing what I did with them, I wanted to come and talk about your strengths and weaknesses as a combatant."

"That sounds like a good idea, do you mind if we sit down though, I've been at this a bit." Roy wondered.

"Of course, I even brought some water and snacks." Byleth told him. So they sat down and Roy took a sip of water as Byleth started to question him. "So, other than swordplay, what are you good at Roy?"

"Not a lot honestly." Roy told her. "I mean I'm good at strategizing and coming up with plans, changing them when things go wrong. And I guess I'm a decent enough leader when it comes to other people, but not much else than that. I'm not trained in horse riding, I don't know how to use other weapons except some basic lance training my father gave me, and I'm absolutely terrible at magic."

"And you have confidence issues." Byleth commented matter of factly.

"That too." Roy agreed.

"Why is that?" Byleth wondered. "I could understand it if I met you when you were younger, but seeing you like this, hearing everything you did from Lilina and Rutger, and you still don't fully believe in yourself, it's concerning."

"I know, and I hate it myself." Roy admitted. "And I've gotten better about it, I do have more confidence in myself than I used to, but I just look at my peers and they are all so much better at things than I am. Rutger is a better fighter, Lilina is a better mage, I'll never live up to my godfather's tactical legacy, it just weighs on me because I care about the people in Pherae and Lycia so much, I don't want to let them down. And I just feel like I'm not good enough for them sometimes."

"But you are Roy." Byleth told him firmly. "Without you, your land wouldn't be the way it is. You led your army against the dragons, you made the decisions that needed to be made, you bore the consequences of your actions, and you came out on top. That's more than I can say for myself. I merged with the Goddess of this land and then got thrown into a pit for five years, letting this war go on for much longer than it had any right to. Compared you you, I'm the failure here, I couldn't even keep my father alive." Roy was about to apologize, but Byleth put her finger up to his mouth to stop him. "My point being, you need to focus on all the good things you've done, not what you could have done. If you keep chasing ghosts then eventually you become one."

"I get what you mean, I really do, it's just hard." Roy noted.

"Well, it's a good thing I've heard you're a hard worker." Byleth countered. "Now, I can't guarantee it will boost your confidence, but if you'd like I can train you a bit like I did with Rutger and Lilina, give you some skills you might not otherwise have. Would you like that Roy?"

"Yes, I would really appreciate it." Roy answered truthfully. "I was wondering, since you taught Rutger magic and he wasn't very good at it, could you do that for me as well? I've always wanted to be a mage, but back in Elibe I didn't have the natural talent for it."

"Of course, though I could swear you already knew some fire magic, don't you use it with your sword there?" Byleth wondered.

"Oh no, it does that on it's own, kind of like how your sword can extend like a whip." Roy explained.

"Interesting."

A few days after Claude's speech Roy and Leonie were on lookout duty near the entrance of the monastery and they got to talking to each other.

"This Jeralt reminds me of a mercenary commander back home named Dieck." Roy commented since Leonie had been talking about Byleth's father because Roy asked how she came to be at the Officer's Academy. "I think you two would get along well."

"Who knows, if all this world hopping stuff gets more popular I might just jump into it, who knows what worlds are in need of skilled mercenaries." Leonie noted with a grin. Before Roy could reply to that though he saw something off in the distance.

"There is a crowd of people approaching the monastery!" He called out. "It looks like they are flying a flag bearing a red shield and a golden eagle on it!"

"You have some pretty good eyes there Roy." Leonie complimented him before realizing what that symbol meant. "Shit! That's the Empire's flag! How did they know we were here so quickly?"

"We'll find out later, you run and tell Claude and I'll tell everyone else so we can get ready for a fight." Roy told her.

"Right!" So they went their separate ways and eventually Roy found the majority of the fighting force and caught them up to speed.

"Well, I figured we'd have to defend this place eventually, I just didn't think it would be this soon." Rutger noted. "But I'm ready for a fight as always, bring it on!"

"Yeah! This will be just like when you came to save me in Pherae, a small step to get the momentum of the war back on our side!" Lilina added.

"Let's not waste any more time then!" Roy exclaimed. "Defend the monastery with everything you've got!" So everyone gathered together near the entrance of the monastery and Claude could see that even with the help from another world he was still out numbered.

"What are your thoughts on this Roy?" Claude wondered, since he had heard all the stories of his tactical skills from Lilina and Rutger.

"Well, if they break past our back line and get into the monastery then we're done for, so we need to make sure we guard this opening behind us and the small one all the way to the left." Roy noted. "The thing is, I don't think we have the numbers to hold a siege this long, we need some sort of advantage or gimmick to slow or weaken the enemy force."

"I was thinking the same thing, and I have just the trick." Claude said pulling a map out. "If we can clear this area out here we can trigger a trap that will set the area directly in front of us on fire, slowing down and practically cooking the Empires soldiers in their armor. Once we take care of enough of them then our air support can use your Rescue technique to carry our infantry over the fire without taking any damage. That should give us the advantage we need."

"Yeah, I like that plan, but how are we going to get enough people over to trigger the trap?" Roy wondered.

"Well, what if we only had to send one or two?" Rutger asked with a grin. "Lysithea's magic is strong enough that if she warps Lilina and I, with the support of Marianne's dancing of course, and then Lilina warps me, I should be able to clear out the area with the trigger, double back to support Lilina, and then if we have time we could go around the enemy's back line for a pincer maneuver."

"That could work, you think you two are up to the task?" Claude asked.

"Oh please, it'll be easy." Lilina said confidently.

"This is decidedly not easy!" Lilina exclaimed to herself as she was in the middle of a pack of Adrestian soldiers. Something must have gotten into the water in the last five years because these enemies were much stronger than they were before. And it wasn't like Lilina had been slacking on her magical or axe training either, both her and Rutger kept up on it on the off chance another war sprung up so they wouldn't end up like their parents. Eventually though she held out long enough for Rutger to come back after activating the trap to help her finish them off.

"Is it just me, or are these guys stronger than usual?" Rutger asked, a bit out of breath from fighting. Of course he wasn't as bad off as Lilina since he was the better fighter, but he could still sense the strength of the enemy was greater than before.

"No, it's not just you, I'm barely scraping by right now. I almost had to pull Forblaze out on these guys." Lilina noted. After she said that they watched as Claude and the flyers swooped down and dropped the infantry over the fire. It seemed they had everything in hand so they started making their way back to make sure Roy was doing alright and they saw him defending the back line with Byleth.

"Just in time you two, we could use some help over here!" Roy called out. So Rutger and Lilina rushed over and with the four's combined strength they finally finished off the last of the soldiers.

"You three look like you just ran 20 miles, are you alright?" Byleth wondered as she saw the Elibe trio so tired and beat up.

"These enemies...they are tougher than before." Lilina breathed.

"They are even giving me a hard time." Rutger admitted. "And it's not like we slacked on our training or anything like that."

"I think...I think I know what the issue is." Roy panted. "Something about the people here, they have limits that are far greater than the ones back home. Remember when your father would always note someone couldn't grow any more as a fighter, I think I'm starting to sense what he meant by that."

"You think we're at our limits? That we can't grow it strength any more?" Lilina wondered.

"It could be. We fought a whole 3 year war, kept up with training, and you two came here and even if you didn't fight a lot you still did." Roy noted. "We might be at our full potential unfortunately."

"Or, maybe not." Byleth commented, getting a look from the trio. "Well, think about it. Lilina was able to learn how to use axes and Rutger wind magic while they were here, two things that you all said was impossible back in Elibe. What if you could also break these so called 'limits' here in Fodlan as well?"

"How would we go about doing that?" Rutger wondered.

"Seals." Byleth stated confidently. "Remember when I had the other students take tests to improve their skills and I gave them the magic seals when they passed? What if you took those same tests and then used the seals? It's worth a shot."

"I mean, I don't see a better option on the table, and if the enemies are going to keep getting stronger we'll just be liabilities later on." Lilina noted.

"I'm not opposed to taking tests, that's actually something I'm good at." Roy added.

"I'm in on the plan as well, we came here and said we're gonna help, so I'll do anything that might keep us in the fight longer." Rutger added as well.

"Good, I'll see if I can scrounge up any leftover seals from when I was here last and then prepare the tests for you all." Byleth told them. "Since you all are already so skilled I'm sure that I can start you off with the more difficult ones. Also, I was thinking maybe you could test for classes that have a bit more mobility so you can do more."

"My mother was a pegasus knight, I could probably learn to ride one easily." Lilina commented.

"I've got skills with horse riding like I noted the first time we met." Rutger added.

"I've always kind of wanted to ride a wyvern." Roy noted.

"Great, then your training starts next month!"

Pegasus Moon 1185

This month Claude had another meeting to discuss what the plans were for the army and they involved getting help from Judith from House Daphnel. Though she couldn't directly help them so they had to meet her in a place called Ailell, the Valley of Torment.

"Kind of gives me 'Valor, the Dread Isle' feelings if you ask me." Roy noted. "You two didn't say much about this Judith woman though, did you get the chance to meet her last time?"

"I remember seeing her around, but I never talked to her." Rutger noted.

"Same." Lilina added. "I'm sure we'll get to know her better this time though. But that's gonna be later this month, we have to go take those tests remember?"

"Let's get this over with." Rutger muttered. So the trio met up with Byleth after she had gotten done talking to Claude privately and she gave them their tests so they could prove they could use the magic seals. All three tests were different since they were testing for different classes so she let them all sit in the same room, though she stayed to watch to make sure they couldn't cheat anyways.

"You're looking a bit distressed." Roy commented as he turned in his test to get graded. "Is something the matter Byleth?"

"Oh, it's just Claude." Byleth noted. "It's a mix of a few things. Relationship issues with me being missing for five years and he's still acting a bit strangely about all the stuff we learned about Rhea and the Nabateans. I just need to sit down and have some time to think about it privately, that's all. Thank you for your concern though Roy, I really appreciate it."

"Well, if you ever need a listening ear then I'd be happy to sit and listen to you talk about anything you'd like." Roy assured her. "I may not be the best on the battlefield, but I get people for the most part. And don't feel like it's an imposition either, I'd be glad to help out."

"I'll keep that in mind, thank you Roy." Byleth replied with a slight smile. "Now hopefully you did your test right so I can teach you that magic you wanted to learn." While they were talking Rutger and Lilina finished their tests and turned them in, deciding to not snoop on Roy and Byleth just yet. So they walked out of the classroom and the first person they saw was Marianne.

"Oh, Marianne!" Lilina greeted her. "I wanted to tell you that you did a great job dancing during the battle the other day, it really helped out a lot!"

"Yeah, if Lysithea wasn't able to get both of us closer to that trap trigger things might have gone south." Rutger added.

"Thank you, both of you, that's very kind of you to say." Marianne said with what looked like a genuine smile. "I never knew that I was any good at dancing, but when Byleth told me that you two though I would be good at it, well that gave me the confidence to try and dancing has been something I've cherished ever since. So I really think I should be thanking you both instead, you've really let me see that my life is much more important than I used to think."

"Hey, that's wonderful, I'm glad we could help you out in such a way!" Lilina replied with a big smile.

"It really shows Marianne." Rutger noted. "Your smile is much more genuine and you just sound and look much happier than before. I'm sure the rest of the Deer are so proud of your growth, as are we."

"That means a lot coming from you both." Marianne told the couple with a bigger smile. "Oh, I know! Why don't I show you a few of my new dances that I learned while you were away?"

"Sounds like fun!"

Roy/Claude C-Support

Roy was casually walking around the monastery grounds after his testing and he came across Claude sitting alone in the corner of the dining hall with a chess board on the table. He was about to comment on the oddity before Claude spoke up first.

"Ah Roy, just the man I was hoping would stroll in here." Claude noted with a smirk. "Fancy a game of chess? Rutger said that you're much better than he is at it and he was pretty darn good five years ago."

"I guess I have some time to spare." Roy said as he sat across from Claude. "Are the rules any different here?"

"Nope, not one bit, which is surprising when you think about it." Claude answered.

"Kind of." Roy agreed. After that they started a match, but Claude wanted more out of this conversation than to just see how good Roy actually was at strategy.

"Soooo, can I get your input on something?" Claude wondered as he moved a piece.

"What's on your mind?" Roy asked back as he pondered his next move.

"Dragons." Claude stated simply. "Moreso how they act and what they are like, since you seem to have more experience with them than I do."

"Yeah, that makes sense." Roy said making his next move. "What do you want to know?"

"Well, anything really." Claude admitted. "Just tell me some cool facts or something." He was making it so Roy would tell him what he thought was important and how he really felt about dragons.

"I mean honestly dragons aren't that much different from humans." Roy noted. "The major exceptions are just how long they live and how strong they can be, other than that they are just like you and me. They may not be perfect, but most of them have that innate desire that humans have to do the right thing when it comes down to it. If you equate it to them just being a different race of humans with different traits, it's much easier to accept them for who they are. I'm sure you can understand that quite well Claude."

"What do you mean by that?" Claude asked, somehow getting put on the back foot.

"Well, you're Almyran right?" Roy asked rhetorically. "I'm sure you've had some people treat you differently because of that, but then you have the people here who accept you for who you are. It's the same for dragonkind, people just need to learn to accept things that are different from what they know."

"Back up, back up, how do you know I'm Almyran?" Claude wondered in disbelief.

"Claude, it was kind of obvious once I saw and talked to Cyril a bit." Roy noted. "Your skin color is different from pretty much everyone else's. Has no one here really pointed that out to you yet?"

"No, you're the first person to bring that up." Claude admitted.

"Strange, I thought I would have been the third." Roy commented. "I guess Rutger and Lilina didn't feel the need to ask you about it."

"They know too?" Claude asked, eyes wide. "Look, you three need to keep this a secret until I'm ready to come out about it, I've got some big plans and people knowing I'm Almyran could ruin them for me."

"Of course, that's not our secret to tell, we just kind of thought it was obvious and everyone knew and that's why they didn't mention it much." Roy assured him. "Though I might want to get with them just to make sure they don't let anything slip."

"I'd really appreciate that." Claude replied, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Sure thing." Roy noted. "Though I'd appreciate you actually trying to play this game of chess, you really think you're going to throw me off or make me tip off my strategy by playing sub-optimally like this?"

"You can tell I'm playing bad on purpose?" Claude asked, in wonder again.

"Of course, if you played this bad against Rutger he would have smoked you." Roy commented.

"Fair enough, let the real game begin."

Lilina/Claude A-Support

After playing a number of chess matches with Roy, they decided to call the whole thing a draw, Claude left the dining hall and made his rounds around the monastery, checking in on things and people to see how they were going and to gather information he could use later. Eventually he saw Lilina out near the training grounds and he figured it was as good enough time to try and push his luck.

"Getting some training in, or are you finished for the day already?" Claude asked as he came up.

"Neither, I just like the view from around here." Lilina replied. "It kind of reminds me of home. But don't take that as me being homesick or anything, I'm still committed to the cause as I was before."

"Oh, believe me Lilina, I wouldn't doubt your commitment to anything." Claude noted. "In fact, there are a number of people here who could learn a thing or two about your determination."

"I'm sure they just need the right motivation." Lilina replied. "Changing subjects slightly, I saw you and Roy playing chess in the dining hall earlier, how was that?"

"I now see why you and Rutger have so much respect for his intelligence, both tactically and emotionally." Claude noted with a chuckle. "He really went toe to toe with me, not just on the board but in the mind and soul as well. I get why he was the leader now. You and Rutger might have strong wills, but Roy blows you both out of the water, no offense."

"None taken." Lilina assured him. "Me and Rutger know that Roy is a special guy, we just hope some day that he'll recognize it himself."

"Yeah, that's the one thing I didn't understand." Claude commented. "At first I just thought he was being humble about himself, but the more and more I heard him talk I just kind of felt sad for him almost. Like he thinks he has to be so much better than he is when in reality, he's awesome already. And that's coming from me, so you know that means something."

"He's gotten better of course, but he still has some room to grow. And that's what Rutger and I plan to help him with while he's here. Since he doesn't have to be the leader here he can somewhat relax and realize he doesn't have to take everything on himself." Lilina noted. "Can I rely on you to help us with that Claude?"

"Hey, as long as you and Rutger keep quiet about where I was born, I think we can make a deal." Claude replied.

"Wait, people don't know?" Lilina wondered. "I mean, it's so obvious. Maybe it's just our outside point of view, but come on."

"Yeah, apparently you three just figured it out while everyone else is blissfully unaware. But honestly, that's how I like it." Claude commented.

"Sounds like you." Lilina chuckled sarcastically.

"Speaking of Rutger though, I did kind of get passed off onto you yet again for something." Claude said, changing the subject once again.

"Oh really, and what would that be?" Lilina asked a bit intrigued.

"Well, I think it would be better if we discussed that back in my room, for privacy reasons you know." Claude replied in a slightly teasing voice.

"Oh, that." Lilina replied back with a chuckle. "Yeah, I think I have some time to spend 'discussing' things with you Claude. Though we could invite Rutger and Hilda if you wanted, unless you wanted this to be a one-on-one sort of thing."

"Maybe some other time, I'm still weighing my options with some other parties. So a one-on-one would be appreciated." Claude noted.

"Fine by me, just know if any of those other parties ask I'm telling them what happens." Lilina stated firmly, looking Claude in the eyes.

"Yeah, I was pretty sure that was the case." Claude admitted. "But hey, maybe you talking to them can help me sort things out. Not that I'm asking you directly to do anything, but if it comes up it comes up."

"What a tangled and sticky web you weave Claude." Lilina joked, shaking her head a bit. "Hopefully it's less sticky than what I'm about to get out of you."

"Is that a promise or a threat?"

"At least this time we were prepared for a fiery hellscape." Rutger commented as the group filed into the so called Valley of Torment.

"I'm still sweating up a storm, the quicker we meet up with Judith the better." Roy replied, slightly out of breath.

"Really, I would have thought with how you're so associated with fire you'd love the heat Roy." Claude joked.

"Must be the ice dragon blood in his veins." Lilina teased some more, getting Roy to chuckle a bit.

"Yeah, that's probably it." Roy agreed.

"You're kidding right?" Claude wondered. "About the dragon blood?"

"No, my mother was an ice dragon." Roy confirmed. "And no, I didn't hatch from an egg, I get that all the time when people find out."

"No wonder you have sympathy for dragons then." Claude muttered. "Either way it is hot as hell here so I agree that we need to get out of here as quickly as we can."

"Oh, that's it!" Marianne suddenly cut in. "This place is called the Valley of Torment because the legends say that the Goddess sent a beam of light as punishment to the forest here."

"That sounds like a wonderful Goddess then." Claude said sarcastically.

"Well, it's just a legend, nothing is written down officially in the scriptures." Marianne countered.

"So either it's a made up story or the Goddess is some sort of monster, great." Claude continued on.

"Or someone is trying to frame it that way to make her and her followers look bad." Rutger chimed in. "In which case, you might be falling for it Claude."

"That's...not a bad point actually." Claude considered. "We don't know everything just yet so maybe I shouldn't be jumping to conclusions."

"I mean, she was in my head for a while." Byleth added. "She might have been childish, but I didn't find her irresponsible, if she did this then she must have had a decent reason."

"I don't mean to be rude to you all, but I think we have some company." Cyril cut in as he pointed over to the other side of the valley where some troops were stationed.

"That's not House Daphnel's flag, that flag is from House Rowe from the Kingdom." Lorenz commented.

"You think Judith is going to be alright?" Roy wondered.

"She's tough, she'll be fine." Claude assured him. "But we should handle this quickly just in case. Everyone, take your battle positions. That surly old knight seems to be their leader, if we can take him down then the rest should fall easily."

"Take care to not stand on top of the lava." Lilina told the group before they headed out. "It may burn just a bit, but even a little bit of extra pain here and there can add up, trust me I know." After that the battle lines were drawn and Roy noticed something strange about one of the soldiers.

"That bow knight there, he looks pretty young to be a soldier, not that I can speak on that of course, and he's not wearing the same attire as the other soldiers, do you know who he is?" Roy asked Lilina and Rutger.

"That looks like Ashe, from the Blue Lions house." Rutger said using his hand to improve his vision somewhat.

"I don't want to have to kill him, he was nice. Like really nice." Lilina pouted. "We have to find a way to get him to join our side."

"Okay, that's what we'll focus on for this battle then." Roy stated. "We're still getting used to our new limits and we still need some more training, but I think we can clear the way to him and talk some sense into him." So the trio discussed their plan with Byleth and she agreed that it was a good idea so they set out to talk with Ashe while the rest of the army dealt with the House Rowe forces.

"Here, take this chest key, just in case." Byleth said giving it to Roy. So the trio made their way over to Ashe. For Lilina and Roy it was a bit easier than Rutger since they could fly over the lava with their mounts, though they were still getting used to riding them so they all three made it to the scene at the same time.

"Alright, I'll ride up and see what's going on while you two hang back, it looks like he has a Killer bow and we don't need you falling off into the lava." Rutger told Lilina and Roy.

"Good idea, I'll swoop into help if you happen to disarm him and Roy can go for that chest." Lilina pointed out. Roy nodded and Rutger rode up to face Ashe.

"Ashe, what are you doing all the way out here? Shouldn't you be trying to help the Kingdom get it's land back?" Rutger asked, his bow at the ready in case Ashe were to shoot at him.

"Rutger?! What are you doing back here, I thought you and Lilina left five years ago." Ashe wondered.

"We did, and we came back for the millennium festival, but then we saw Fodlan like this and we figured we needed to help in any way we could." Rutger answered. "Byleth is even back with us, so if you just stand down and join us we can help you. Claude has a plan, and even if he hasn't said all of it yet I'm pretty sure it involves getting the Empire out of the Kingdom."

"That does sound tempting, I'll admit that." Ashe said thinking it over before raising his bow at Rutger. "But how will it look when I change sides and betray my own family?! I just, I can't do that, that's not what a knight does! I'm sorry." And with that he started firing at Rutger with his bow. Rutger, who had tensed up when Ashe aimed at him, was ready to dodge and fire back at him while getting closer so he could use his sword to negate the ranged advantage he knew Ashe had on him. Instead of trying to hit Ashe Rutger was trying to back him into a corner next to some lava so he could cut off his options and eventually he did, allowing him to pull out his sword.

"Now, how did Sue and Sin do that attack again?" Rutger muttered to himself. "Yeah, that's it!" And with that he made it so his horse bucked it's back legs and he used the momentum to jump off and land straight down onto Ashe's bow, breaking it in half before landing back into the saddle.

"Showoff!" Lilina yelled from above as she swooped in like she said she would. "Ashe! We don't want to kill you, join us and we'll do everything we can to help the Kingdom."

"You said a true knight doesn't betray his people right?" Rutger questioned. "He does if his people are in the wrong. My mother's best knight killed dozens of his former comrades because they betrayed their ideals and master first, just like it seems House Rowe has done. You know the Empire is wrong for starting this war Ashe, you know what they want to do to the Kingdom, fighting to protect what you believe in is never the wrong choice."

"Very well, I will join the Alliance's cause." Ashe noted. "It's going to take some time for me to think about if I'll actually fight, but you're right. The Empire wants the Kingdom, my land, my friends, my family all to themselves and I will not let that stand while I draw breath any longer! Thank you for showing me a clearer path."

"Don't mention it, years ago I was in your same position Ashe, so I know how it feels." Rutger confided in him.

"It looks like the battle is almost over from where we stand." Lilina said flying up a bit higher to get a better view. "We should regroup with Claude and Byleth."

"So Byleth is still alive?" Ashe wondered. "I thought she died in the invasion of the monastery five years ago?"

"We have a lot to catch you up on Ashe." Rutger commented before Roy swooped in on his wyvern.

"Look what I found, another Bolt Axe for you to use Lilina." He said handing it over to her.

"Awesome! Good job Roy!" After that the four met up with Claude and Byleth who had found Judith and protected her from the House Rowe forces. And it was great seeing Claude so flustered when she talked to him.

"Come on now Claude, a good leader needs to have more composure than that, even I know that." Roy teased him.

"Oh, and who might you be?" Judith asked Roy. "I remember seeing your friends around a few years ago, but you're a new face."

"I'm Roy of Pherae, from Elibe, the same place as Rutger and Lilina are from." Roy answered with a bit of confidence. "I wanted to tag along for the millennium festival, but kind of got dragged into this mess."

"I like the way you speak boy, it's very refined and respectful. Why can't you be more like that Claude?" She joked. "Either way, like I said, the Empire has Rhea and I'm fighting with you all to end the war more quickly."

"I like her, she seems like a strong ally." Lilina commented to Rutger.

"Yeah, she seems impressive. Let's hope she's not all talk like Claude can be sometimes."

Lone Moon 1185

After the battle at Ailell Claude had let everyone know a little about his next step, how he wanted to get Lorenz' father to join their side and make it so the Alliance was unified, but it took a little longer for him to divulge just exactly how they were going to do it.

"So while Nardel is keeping Count Gloucester busy in the north we'll send in a force to capture the bridge. Once that is done then swaying him over to our side should be a cinch since the threat of the Empire will be off his back." Claude explained.

"Do you really trust me not to tell my father any of this plan Claude, it could be quite easy for me to do so." Lorenz questioned.

"I do trust you Lorenz, you know what's best for the Alliance and it's people and rule from the Empire is not it." Claude confirmed. "I know you'll do the right thing."

"While I don't like how confident you sound in predicting my actions, I can't truly say you are wrong Claude. I guess I shall just thank you for your trust in me then." Lorenz noted before Claude went into a few more details.

"Lorenz reminds me a bit of Narcian, don't you think?" Roy commented to Rutger as Claude continued to speak.

"I thought the same, and while personality-wise they are very similar, Lorenz is actually a pretty alright guy." Rutger noted. "He just comes off in a strange way. Like yes, he thinks he's better than everyone because of his noble status, but he also thinks that it's is up to just him to solve all the common people's issues because of the position he's in. He's a bit of a paradox, but you get used to it."

"Maybe I'll talk to him some, get to know him better, just to make sure." Roy replied. Soon enough the war meeting was over and it was Lorenz that actually came over to talk to Roy instead of the other way around.

"Sir Roy, I noticed that you were silent during that last meeting and I've come to hear that you have a tactical mind that rivals even Claude's, so I was wondering if I could ask you a question about our strategy." Lorenz said, getting straight to the point.

"Very well, ask away." Roy replied.

"If it were you leading this army, would you trust someone like me with sensitive information?" Lorenz asked. "Me who has close ties to someone who you don't want to know what is going on until your plan has been accomplished?"

"Well, it would depend on if I thought you were trustworthy or not." Roy answered simply. "If you were someone I didn't know well, honestly I probably wouldn't. But you and Claude seem to know each other well, and even if you are rivals to one another you both have similar goals for your land and people. You want your people to look to you for help and support, right?"

"Yes, of course!" Lorenz confirmed. "It is the goddess given duty of all nobles, large or small, to help guide the people into having better lives for themselves. If one cannot help those below them in status to live peacefully and enjoy life, then one should hardly be proud of their nobility."

"And while Claude might see things a bit differently, all he really wants is everyone to be able to live the lives they want to." Roy added. "So that's why he trusts you even if you two do get at each other's necks sometimes. And honestly a dissenting voice every now and then can help a leader made the right decisions at the right time, even if they don't take your advice all the time."

"You seem to speak from experience, I take it Sir Rutger was your foil during your war campaign?" Lorenz questioned.

"No actually, it was my merchant and arms dealer." Roy noted. "He was a shrewd and slightly cowardly man, he always advocated for the safe option over the emotional or difficult one. But hearing his counsel, though flawed, helped me realize what I really needed to do on a number of occasions. So even if you give out advice Claude doesn't take to heart, know that he probably still appreciates you challenging him."

"Hmm, I've never thought about it that way before." Lorenz mused. "I will keep that in mind Sir Roy, thank you for your advice and for your wise words. I can see now why Sir Rutger and Lady Lilina respect you so."

"The pleasure is mine Lorenz, I now see a little bit of what Claude sees in you and I understand why he trusts you so much."

Rutger/Byleth A-Support

A few nights before the mission to take the Great Bridge of Myrddin Rutger decided he wanted to take a late night dip into the fishing pond by the greenhouse. He offered Lilina to come with him but she told him she wanted to study more about riding her pegasus and he accepted that. He got down to the pier and stripped down completely naked since he hadn't brought a pair of swim trunks and he really didn't feel like getting his undergarments wet. Besides he was the only one out here, to his knowledge, and at this point he really didn't mind if anyone did see him naked. He piled his clothes up in a neat pile before diving into the pond very smoothly. He swam down as far as he could before rolling over on his back and allowing his body to float up to the surface.

"Ahhh! I really needed this." He commented to himself, or at least he thought he did.

"I really didn't peg you for someone willing to skinny-dip like this Rutger." A voice beside him chimed in, causing him to lose balance a bit and sink back into the water. He caught himself before his head went under the surface and then turned to see that Byleth was in the pond with him.

"Gods, you're even silent in the water." Rutger noted with a chuckle before registering what she said. "And, yeah, I've become a lot more comfortable with things like this. And I mean a lot more comfortable. That advice to meditate you gave me really worked out."

"I can tell." Byleth replied with a smile. "I like it, it suits you better. Though does that comfort extend to knowing that I'm in here naked as well?"

"Of course it does, you'd be surprised what Lilina and I have been getting up to while we were gone." Rutger chuckled again. "Though why are you skinny-dipping, don't you have a swimsuit?"

"Probably somewhere, but I kind of woke up with only the clothes on my back." Byleth responded. "And, you know, mercenaries are known for being pretty casual about things like this."

"That's the truth, I can't count the number of times I've seen my friend Dieck naked on accident." Rutger joked. "Well, while we're here might as well have some fun. Want to see who can swim across the distance faster?"

"That sounds like fun, I've never really seen you in the water before." Byleth told him. So they swam to the edge of the pond and raced back and forth a few times. As usual Rutger's competitive side that he got from his mother stuck out and he pushed himself just a bit farther to win most of the time, but Byleth was grateful for the challenge since most people couldn't push her that far either. Eventually they stopped racing and just started floating about on their backs. Rutger started talking about what he and Lilina had been doing while they were away to catch Byleth up and she appreciated him letting her know that they were both doing so well.

"I'd ask you what you've been up to this last five years, but I think you spent your time breaking my father's napping records by a long shot." Rutger joked when he was done.

"Well, if I had something to share with you I'd be happy to let you know, but I barely even had any dreams that I could remember, which is weird when you think about it." Byleth noted.

"Yeah, that sounds super boring. But maybe your body just needed the rest." Rutger suggested. "Either way, you look great, if that's not too inappropriate for me to say."

"Oh, no, not at all." Byleth replied with a slight blush. "I mean coming from someone as fit and handsome as you that means something." She looked over to Rutger's body just to get another look, but she couldn't help but notice his dick was starting to get a bit hard, something that let her know he was being truthful with his words. But it also brought something else up to her mind, something about Claude and she figured Rutger could help her think things through. "Hey Rutger, can I talk to you about something?"

"Of course Byleth, I'm always willing to listen." Rutger stated genuinely.

"So you noted that you and Lilina have started being intimate with your friends, and Claude talked to me about what he has going on with Hilda, and I'm a bit conflicted." Byleth stated.

"Yeah, Claude told me about that as well." Rutger noted. "What's the issue?"

"The issue is that when I want to settle down with someone, I want that to be it." Byleth noted. "I want it to be just me and my partner, no outside flings, no casual sex with friends, none of that. I know that's a bit limiting compared to your viewpoint, but that's what I want in a relationship."

"Hey, I totally get that." Rutger assured her. "I was kind of the same way honestly, it was Lilina who convinced me to start fooling around with our friends."

"Huh, I wouldn't have though that." Byleth chuckled. "Either way, the problem is that I'm not sure if Claude is willing to do that. I mean I really care about Claude, so much, but that thing with Hilda is a deal breaker for me. What do you think I should do?"

"Well, like I told Claude, you should be truthful about what you want. Tell Claude that until he gets serious about your relationship that you are still going to be up for grabs. Tell him that you still care about him, but if someone comes by and gives you what you want that you'll end up with them instead. From what I know about Claude, that might not do the trick right away but it's sure to gnaw at him until he feels like he has to make a decision." Rutger answered from the heart.

"You make it sound so simple." Byleth noted.

"That's because sometimes it is." Rutger commented. "You have to tell him what you want and if he won't give it to you, then go find someone who will."

"Well, I'll keep that in mind Rutger, thank you." Byleth told him with a smile. "I do think that is wonderful advice, I just need to find the right time to bring it up."

"If you need me or Lilina to be there to give you strength we're totally willing to help." Rutger assured her.

"I appreciate that, truly." Byleth said a bit more contently. "There is just one more thing though. Do you think it would be hypocritical of me to fool around with someone else during all this?"

"I don't think so." Rutger noted. "Claude is doing it and if you state as long as he's doing it you're free to do whatever, fair is fair. I'm surprised you have someone in mind already, anyone I might know?" Byleth didn't respond verbally, instead she swam over and planted a kiss on Rutger's lips to let him know just exactly what she was wanting.

"Does that answer your question?" She teased him with a more sultry voice.

"It certainly does." Rutger answered with a smirk and sultry tone of his own. "Well, hopefully I won't ruin Claude's reputation with how good I'm gonna make you feel."

"If you were anyone else I'd tease you about the big talk, but something tells me Lilina could tell me you can back it up." Byleth teased some more.

"Just you wait and see."

Roy/Flayn C-Support

Flayn had overheard Roy mention that he was part dragon before the fight at the Valley of Torment, so she decided that she wanted to get a little more information about that the next time she saw him.

"Sir Roy, do you have time to talk about something?" Flayn asked, walking up to him in the greenhouse.

"Oh, Flayn, hello." Roy replied with a friendly smile. "Yeah, I have some time to talk. But you don't have to call me 'Sir Roy' just Roy is alright."

"Oh, alright." Flayn noted. "Well, can we speak somewhere more privately, I'm still not comfortable talking about this subject out in public."

"Sure, we can talk wherever you'd like Flayn." Roy assured her. So she took Roy up to Seteth's office and locked the door behind them. "So, what were you wanting to talk about?"

"Your parents." Flayn stated, getting a confused look from Roy. "I overheard that your mother was a dragon and I wanted to know more about that since I'm kind of in the same boat as her."

"Oh, that makes a bit more sense then." Roy noted. "Well, what do you want to know about them?"

"Well, how did they fall in love?" Flayn asked. "Did your father know your mother was a dragon before they fell in love? What happened when he found out?"

"Honestly Flayn, it's a bit of a long story, but if you're willing to hear it then I can tell you." Roy warned her.

"Yes, please!" Flayn almost begged. So Roy told her about everything he knew about his parent's relationship, from how they met, how they fell in love, and how his father found out his mother was a dragon. To anyone else it would seem like a fairy tale, but Flayn took Roy at his word because he was known for being very truthful.

"But unfortunately she died a few years after I was born, so I didn't get to know her that well. But I'll always remember her smile and the warmth and the love I felt while in her arms." Roy finished off. "Is that what you were looking to hear about Flayn?"

"Kind of, though I doubt I'm gonna have a story that eventful if I ever fall in love with someone." Flayn noted.

"I figured that's what this was about." Roy noted. "Hmm, well if you age the same as dragons do back home, you're not that much younger than my mother was during all of that, relatively speaking. So you've got a lot more time to find someone special Flayn, and I'm sure with someone as nice, funny, and determined as you are you'll find that person eventually."

"But will they accept me for what I am?" Flayn wondered.

"They will if they truly love you, and if they don't then they aren't worth your time." Roy told her. "If they can't get past your heritage then they don't deserve your love."

"Hmm, alright, you've given me some stuff to think about Roy, thank you." Flayn said before their was a knock on the door.

"Flayn! Is that you in there? Why is the door locked?" It was Seteth.

"Ahh! It's my father! He can't see you in here! Hide in the closet!" Flayn said before pushing Roy into one of the spacious closets in the office. He hid just in time and while he was in there he had one singular thought.

"Seteth really reminds me of Lord Hector with his over protectiveness."

The day came for Claude and his team to take the Great Bridge and the air was tense with a feeling of unease with everyone.

"Are there any bridges this big back in Elibe?" Marianne asked Lilina as they came up to it.

"No, this has to be the biggest bridge I've ever seen." Lilina noted. "Though we did have a battle on a bridge during our war."

"I definitely remember that one." Rutger noted thinking back to that day. "Roy sent me and this woman named Clarine, think if Hilda and Lorenz had a kid, up onto that bridge by ourselves as a diversion so the rest of the army could take the lower path with the shorter bridges."

"Are you still on about that Rutger?" Roy chuckled. "I sent you both up there because I knew that neither of you were going to get touched by any of the enemies up there. He won't admit it Marianne, but him and Clarine were a pretty powerful duo when they worked together."

"Well, I'm just glad your safe and here to help us out." Marianne replied with a slight giggle at the playful banter between the friends. After that Claude explained once again why this bridge was such a tactical advantage to have under control.

"I don't mean to sound like a parrot by repeating this all again, I just want to make sure that everyone knows that the Empire is going to be fighting tooth and nail against us here." Claude noted.

"We should try to take things carefully." Byleth added. "Don't run off and try and be a hero, not here, not today."

"So that means Lysithea isn't going to be warping me and Lilina over that little gap towards the west, Mr. Pherae." Rutger teased Roy a bit more.

"Fine, fine, but that would be a good place to try a pincer maneuver. Actually this bridge has a lot of points where that could happen, we should be worried about reinforcements."

"I called it!" Roy chimed in as a silly looking man with blonde hair and two other soldiers were teleported behind Claude's forces. Claude circled around to see who it was and he almost let out a laugh.

"Oh, it's him." He noted, slightly disappointed. "That man there is Acheron, the Weathervane. Named for how his position on war changes on a whim. If he's helping the Empire that's his decision, but he's definitely what you would call a 'small fry' when it comes to the Alliance. Offing him here would probably be for the best, he's that bad.

"Now that guy reminds me of Narcian for real." Roy noted.

"Well, maybe if Narcian was even more lame than he already was." Lilina added.

"So what you're saying Claude is that the three of us ganging up on him would be enough?" Rutger questioned.

"Yeah, I think you three can handle it, you've been improving quite well since Byleth gave you those seals. And if you could take care of those armor knights back where we started, that would be great as well." Claude replied.

"On it!" Lilina noted. So the three first took out Acheron's guards before surrounding the pitiful man from all sides.

"W-Who are you three? I was expecting to fight Sir Riegan himself." Acheron commented.

"Yeah, we're the people Claude sends to deal with people that aren't worth his time." Rutger taunted him. "Think about that for a second."

"Goddess, why did I decide to fight for the Empire?!" Acheron cursed before the Elibe trio jumped him. Honestly with him being a mage Lilina could have taken him out by herself on her pegasus, but she let the guys get their hits in as well.

"Hey, I just thought of something." Roy noted as they started making their way towards the armor knights Claude pointed out. "You know how the pegasus knight sisters and your armor knights can do that Triangle Attack maneuver Lilina?"

"Yeah, what about it?" Lilina wondered.

"You think you, me, and Rutger could pull something like that off together?" Roy wondered. "It would be quite useful for our combat usefulness in the future."

"Well, I say we have three perfect training dummies in front of us." Rutger noted with a smirk.

Eventually the bridge was cleared of all Empire forces, which sadly did include Ferdinand from the Black Eagles house, but there wasn't that much time to grieve before things had to be put in motion to protect the bridge from counterattack.

"So while Judith and the Knights of Seiros guard the bridge I want all of you to go to your lands and tell them what we did here to bolster support for the army before we make our next move." Claude noted.

"What about me, should I stay here at the bridge to defend it?" Byleth wondered.

"No, I want you and our friends from Elibe to come with me to negotiate with the lords. And I want you all to meet a friend of mine." Claude noted. So a few days later they were in Alliance territory and Claude brought them to see his friend.

"Oh, Master Claude, I wasn't expecting you to bring so many guests." The large man with scars on his face noted as they came in.

"You can cut the act Nader, they know." Claude noted.

"Ha! Good, talking in that stuffy manner really makes my skin shiver sometimes." Nader commented.

"This my friends is that retainer I was talking about earlier who dealt with the Gloucester forces. I have him going by Nardel around these parts because his real name would tip people off." Claude explained.

"You wouldn't happen to be 'Nader the Undefeated' would you?" Roy asked, surprising everyone. "What? I read about his exploits in the library and heard some rumors. Like I get Claude and Byleth being surprised, but you two have known me too long to not know I would know things like this." He said towards Rutger and Lilina

"Haha! I like this lad, he has a good head on his shoulders, and a sharp tongue. Kind of reminds me of you kiddo!" Nader commented to Claude.

"Nader was the one who taught me how to fight, so I owe him a lot. And I wanted you all to meet him because he might be getting more involved in this war later on and I don't want you four attacking him on sight when he swoops in." Claude explained. "But, I do want to keep this a bit of a secret from the others, the Nader part at least. I know most of the Deer are accepting, but if some of the army finds out we're getting help from Almyra, well you can probably know how that would go."

"Yeah, unfortunately." Rutger noted, remembering his mother's thoughts on similar subjects. "But sure, this screams secret plan that will save our asses in the future so it's probably best if we keep it a secret." Lilina and Roy nodded in approval and Claude looked to Byleth for hers.

"Hey, you've steered us correctly so far, who am I to question your tactics when it's not something outright questionable?" Byleth responded. After that they got to know Nader a bit more but eventually the trio and Byleth were alone together for a bit. So the question naturally had to be asked.

"So, when did you find out Claude was Almyran Byleth?" Lilina wondered.

"It came up when we were talking about our relationship like you guys suggested we should. But honestly now that I think about it, it's kind of obvious isn't it?"

Great Tree Moon 1186

At the start of the next month everyone gathered back at the monastery and reported to Claude about how things went in their lands. Everything was looking positive for the future so Claude called a meeting to discuss the next step of the plan.

"With all these lords helping out, we're going to be quite the force." He noted. "And it's all thanks you Byleth. And well, our friends from Elibe here. You and Lilina are quite the smooth talkers when you want to be."

"Hey, give yourself some credit Claude, you did some smooth talking of your own." Lilina assured him. "But thank you for the recognition."

"Of course, I just don't want you four to think I'm using you, because I kind of am. Byleth in particular." Claude commented. "Are you still getting used to being such a figurehead?"

"I mean I've never been one to really take the main stage on anything, but I'm the one that had the Goddess in her head and I'm the one with her power now, I might as well be doing something with it to help Fodlan out." Byleth replied. "It'll take a bit more to get used to, but with people like you and Seteth to guide me I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually. Honestly, kind of reminds me of how you talk about staying in Ostia with Lilina Rutger."

"I can see the similarities in our situations." Rutger agreed. But before he could say anything else Shamir came in with a report. Empire forces were getting stationed at Fort Merceus.

"Well, that's to be expected, it's no wonder they think we're going to try and invade, because we are." Claude stated.

"Though the force being built up there is huge. There is a good chance the Emperor herself could be leading the forces." Shamir noted.

"If we could defeat her, then this war would be over much quicker than expected." Claude noted.

"And just to be clear, because I know we've been over this before, Hubert isn't like mind controlling her or anything right, she chose to do this on her own free will?" Lilina asked.

"If he is then whatever spell he could be using would have to have infinite range because he's been all over trying to tidy things up for her." Claude noted. "So no, I don't think he is."

"If I may cut in I have a report as well." Judith noted. "There seems to be a small force of soldiers waving Kingdom banners marching through Alliance lands. They didn't attack us so we didn't attack them, but they did try to cross the Great Bridge before seeing us there and heading in a different direction. So they might be in play as well."

"Well, it would be good to try and get them on our side, but our main goal is stopping the Empire. So if it happens it happens, but I wouldn't count on any miracles like Dimitri actually still being alive." Claude commented.

"I mean, he could be." Rutger noted. "The Empire does like to lie, and having him as an ally would be...well if he's anything like I was back then there would be some use for him."

"Well, like Claude said, if an opportunity presents itself then we can take it, but for now we have to press onward with our advantage." Roy noted. "Just where exactly do you think the Empire's forces will engage us at."

"Gronder Field, the site of the Battle of the Eagle and Lion."

Roy/Byleth B-Support

Roy's magic training was going quite well, a bit better than Rutger's was since Roy was much more connected to his inner fire than Rutger was with his inner wind when Byleth started training them.

"There! There! Annnnnd there!" Roy exclaimed as he pinpointed three fireballs directly on the targets Byleth had set up for him.

"Nice job Roy! You're getting pretty good at this." Byleth commended him. "And I'm loving the smile on your face as your training, you should really do it more often, it's really uplifting to look at."

"I'm smiling?" Roy wondered as he looked back to Byleth.

"You are." Byleth confirmed as she picked up a small mirror from the supplies in the training grounds to show him.

"Wow, I really hadn't noticed." Roy commented a bit amazed. "But I've really been having fun with this. This is something I've wanted to do for years, and now that I have the ability to actually do it, I feel like I can do anything. I mean I'm sure I'll come down from this high eventually, but this feels good, I see why people want me to be like this more often."

"Hey, every step forward is a step in the right direction." Byleth told him. "But you don't want to tire yourself out, so let's take a break. I wanted to talk to you about your parents, since I got to know about Rutger and Lilina's before."

"Alright, that sounds good to me." Roy noted. So they moved over to where Byleth liked to share tea and snacks with people and began talking. "Well, unlike Rutger and Lilina, I still have a parent who is alive, my father Eliwood."

"Hmm, that's interesting since Lilina and Rutger told me you're the leader of Pherae now." Byleth noted. "Is something the matter with him?"

"He's had a rough life, rougher than mine, and while he's better nowadays, he's a bit sickly as well. He saw how well I took to command during the war and decided that it would be best if he stepped down into an advisory position while I took the lead to show a strong front for Lycia's rebuilding." Roy explained.

"I see. And what is your father like?" Byleth wondered.

"Well, people say he's a lot like me actually, though I think he's much more than that." Roy noted. "He's kind to everyone he meets, but he doesn't let people take advantage of that kindness either. He stands firm for his morals and for his friends, and even for people that he hasn't met yet but knows they are good people."

"Like dragons?" Byleth asked.

"Exactly. As you probably heard my mother was a dragon, an ice dragon to be specific. She and her brother were the children of the man who my father and Rutger and Lilina's parents had to stop from releasing dragons into Elibe the first time." Roy answered. "She was a dancer, and she was a lot like Marianne honestly, soft spoken yet firm, scared about the the power she held within her but determined to do something with it. At least that's what I heard about her, she died a few years after I was born. I'll always remember her soft smile and the warmth of her embrace though, it's all I have of her."

"I know how that feels Roy, so if you ever need to talk about it, I'm here to listen." Byleth assured him as she placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you Byleth, I'll keep that in mind." Roy answered genuinely. "But going back to my father, I guess I do compare myself to him a bit too much. It's just I feel like things just fell into my lap sometimes while he had to fight tooth and nail for the small bit of happiness he achieved for himself."

"What do you mean Roy?" Byleth wondered.

"Well, during his campaign alone his father was killed, many close allies were as well, he got tricked into killing my mother, she obviously got better but that was a small miracle in itself, and then his best friend took on a cursed axe for the cause which may or may not have led to his death. And then twenty years later his other best friend gets killed by the nation led by the prince he had to save to stop the dragons the first time and he was too sick to do anything about it." Roy explained. "Compared to me, my biggest 'setback', if you even want to call it that, is that some people think I got Lilina stolen from under my nose from by best friend. Which isn't even true. So you can see where I think I've kind of gotten off easy."

"But does your father resent you for that?" Byleth questioned.

"If he does he's never shown it." Roy answered.

"Exactly." Byleth noted. "Your father fought through all that stuff so your life could be easier, so you could go onto do greater things than he did. He stopped some dragons, which is impressive in his own right, but you went out there and faced them head on, won, and saved the heart of the most corrupted one. Like that's a legend to live up to if I've ever heard one."

"Hmm, maybe I've never looked at it that way before." Roy wondered.

"Probably because you haven't had the time to." Byleth pointed out. "Give it some thought and I'm sure things will connect with you."

"Alright, I'll do that."

Lilina/Byleth A-Support

Byleth and Roy left their meet up in different directions and as Byleth was getting onto one of the main paths she saw Lilina turn the corner. She was about to greet her but she was beaten to the punch as Lilina quickened her pace to meet up with her.

"Byleth! Just the woman I wanted to see!" Lilina stated with a smile. "You aren't busy or anything are you?"

"No, I just got done talking with Roy for a bit." Byleth answered.

"Good! There is something I wanted to show you at the training grounds." Lilina explained.

"Well, let's go then." Byleth said turning around to start walking that way.

"How is Roy, in your opinion?" Lilina asked while they were walking.

"He's doing great honestly." Byleth noted. "His magic training is going quite well and he seems very happy, which I've surmised is something quite rare for him."

"It is, so whatever you are doing for him, keep it up." Lilina agreed. "I haven't see Roy this happy in, well pretty much ever if I think about it. So thank you, he really deserves to feel good about himself sometimes."

"I'm glad I could help." Byleth smiled as they reached the gates of the training grounds. They stepped in and Lilina moved over to some large bags that Byleth knew were hers but didn't know what exactly were inside because she didn't feel the need to pry. Eventually she pulled out of the bag a weapon that looked like a bolt axe but slightly different.

"Ta-da!" Lilina cheered as she brought it over. "Byleth I would like to show you the new and improved Elibian bolt axe! Me and my weapon researchers back in Ostia looked over the original design and made some slight improvements to it while we were gone. It's lighter and more aerodynamic, making it be able to be thrown like a handaxe with the same accuracy as it's lighting strike. Perfect for when you don't want to change your weapon but are going up against a magical foe. And it's been infused with Elibian magic tome pages to give it that extra oomph with it's power as well."

"Wow Lilina, this is quite impressive." Byleth said taking the axe in her hand and testing it's weight. "Yeah, I can see how this could be much more useful than the normal bolt axe."

"The only issue is that to use the extra magic power you have to know Elibian magic." Lilina noted. "That's why I wanted to give one to you, to see if you could somehow find a way to infuse it with better Fodlan magic to make up for the difference."

"Hmm, I could do some research on it, and I'm sure Seteth probably has some ancient magic texts he could let me borrow to see what I could do." Byleth mused. "But even if I can't, this is a wonderful gift Lilina, and another fine display as your growth as an individual, I'm sure Ostia is in great hands with you at the lead."

"Thank you Byleth, that means a lot to me, truly." Lilina replied genuinely. "Oh, and don't feel bad if you have to dismantle it or anything, I have another one that I use as my personal weapon along with a few backups, so don't worry about that."

"Of course." Byleth noted. "Hmm, makes me wonder about something though. I wonder if you could make an axe that used wind magic, so it was more effective against flying units."

"We're working on it." Lilina chimed in. "What do you think of the name 'Hurricane Axe' for it?"

"That would be fitting." Byleth chuckled. "I can't wait to see it in five years time." After that Lilina gave Byleth a bit more of a practical display of the new bolt axe's abilities before they both sat down together to relax.

"So, how are you and Claude doing?" Lilina wondered.

"Well, I guess 'fine' would be the best word for it." Byleth answered. "Like we know where we stand, and that's good. Claude told me he still doesn't want to end things with Hilda and I told him that was fine but that until he did we wouldn't be anything more than just a casual relationship either."

"Yeah, Rutger told me he told you to say something like that. And Claude took that well?" Lilina asked.

"As well as I figured he would, you can't ever really tell with Claude sometimes." Byleth noted. "But we're still close and we still trust each other, I guess that's just how it's going to have to be until he makes a decision or I find someone willing to give me what I want."

"Well, like you said, at least you know where you stand." Lilina agreed. "Not every relationship can be like the one I have with Rutger. Or the one his parents had."

"But on the plus side, I do get to experience some things that I would have never gotten to otherwise." Byleth commented with a smirk.

"Oh yeah, how was your night with Rutger?" Lilina asked.

"It was really good." Byleth noted. "Though Rutger was a lot more gentle than I thought we would be. Is he usually like that?"

"He is." Lilina confirmed. "He used to be a bit afraid of losing himself during intimacy and that just kind of shaped how he likes it now. But every once in a while he'll cut loose, or if you ask him to he will as well. He's very open to a lot of things, you just have to ask."

"Yeah, he noted this whole 'open relationship' thing was actually your idea." Byleth chuckled. "You'd think it would be the other way around with him being a guy and with who his parents were."

"It's one of those big 'what if's?' surrounding if the war didn't happen, but either way we're happy with where we are." Lilina commented.

"That's always good to hear." Byleth noted with a content smile that slowly turned into a smirk. "But you know Lilina, Rutger should get to be the only one who gets to spend a night with me, if you're into that sort of thing of course."

"You know, I was just about to ask you the same thing."

"We brought torches this time, right Claude?" Hilda wondered as a thick fog covered the land around Gronder Field.

"Yeah, I gave them to Roy." Claude confirmed. "You still have them?"

"Of course, just have to give them a quick light." Roy said as he handed them out to everyone and lit them up with some fire magic.

"Much better." Lilina noted.

"Even with these though, visibility will be low, be careful everyone. This battle is going to be hard to predict." Claude told the group. Everyone nodded except Byleth who looked a bit zoned out at the moment. Rutger moved over to her and snapped his fingers in front of her face a few times to get her attention, and eventually she shook her head and came back from wherever she had been.

"You good?" Rutger asked her.

"I think so." Byleth noted before turning to Claude. "Claude! I have a plan for this battle. It's going to sound a bit strange, but you have to trust me. If it works we could get a number of new and powerful allies from this battle."

"You know just the words to get me excited Teach, lay it on me."

"I know Byleth said this is part of her big plan, but I really feel like I should be out there with everyone else, staying here and doing nothing is getting on my nerves." Felix commented as he was a bit on edge. He was joined by Annette, Ashe, and Lilina at the north side of the battlefield where they had started out. Byleth had told them that something would happen and they would know what to do when it did, but she was very vague about the whole thing.

"You just need to relax and trust her Felix." Annette assured him. "Remember what she said, if we do this right we won't have to hurt any of our friends, not even Dimitri."

"I for one wish to believe in her plan's validity as well." Ashe added. "If it wasn't for thinking like this I wouldn't be here with you right now."

"I know, I know, I'm just getting antsy, that's all." Felix sighed before sitting down on the ground and starting to meditate.

"Hey, I know that stance, Rutger taught you it didn't he?" Lilina noted.

"Yes, he did." Felix confirmed with his eyes closed. "It's...been quite the help actually. I should thank him eventually." Right after he finished his sentence though he felt something and immediately tensed up and drew his sword. "Someone is coming." And he was right, it was Sylvain coming up from behind.

"Woah, wasn't expecting the greeting party here. Though giving me a glance at some gorgeous women before I die was a nice touch." He joked a bit awkwardly.

"Cut the crap Sylvain, we aren't going to attack you unless you force our hand." Felix replied snidely, now knowing why Byleth told the four of them to stay here. "Here is the deal, Claude is fighting against the Empire and you and everyone else from the Blue Lions that are here are gonna help because we share the same goal."

"Wow, that was surprisingly reserved coming from you Felix." Sylvain teased. "When you say 'everyone else' do you mean Dimitri as well?"

"Well, of course!" Annette replied in a 'duh' tone. "Can't restore the Kingdom without it's ruler can you?"

"And you Ashe? Last time I heard you were with House Rowe's forces." Sylvain questioned. "What do you think about Claude's plan and ideals?"

"Claude's plans and idea's might not perfectly align with those of the Kingdom, but he's the best shot we have at actually getting it back." Ashe explained. "We really don't want to fight you or anyone else from the Kingdom, so please, help us."

"And you, I don't quite remember you." Sylvain said pointing at Lilina. "Oh wait, you were one of those transfer students from before. Man, and you'd think I'd remember a pretty face like yours."

"Sylvain, be serious." Lilina said firmly. "Are you going to help us or not?"

"Yeah, I guess. Though you're going to have be a bit more convincing for Dimitri." Meanwhile the rest of the group was charging forward towards the center hill as they had five years ago. This time Rutger didn't need Leonie's help to get up there since he had his own horse, but before he could reach the steps something happened. In the distance he could see Edelgard gesturing towards the hill and mere moments later the whole of said hill was ablaze in fire magic. Everyone who had been on the hill fled to escape the firer, everyone that was besides the woman on the ballista.

"Dastards!" Rutger muttered to himself as he pushed his horse forward onto the hill and into the fire.

"Where did all this fire come from!" Bernadetta yelled out to herself as she started to lose her composure. She had been doing so well but this just threw all that right into the garbage. She couldn't even focus on trying to use the ballista to hit any body and she couldn't even run off the hill because of how panicked she was. The last thing she saw before she passed out was a horse charging up the hill with it's rider clad in red and she figured that she would just close her eyes and wait to die. She ended up passing out and when she woke up she was on the back of a horse riding back towards the north side of the battlefield.

"Hey, hey, hold on, you don't want to fall off." The man in front of her said as she woke up with a startle. But she did what she was told and held on tight to the rider in front of her until he stopped his horse and helped her down. "That was a close one Bernadetta, are you okay?"

"No, not really." Bernadetta replied before seeing who had saved her. "AHHHHH! It's you! You brought me here to finish me off for what happened five years ago! What did I do to deserve a fate like this!" Now if this was Rutger from three years ago he might not have known how to handle this, but with the added time to learn how to deal with people he knew just what to do. He stepped closer to Bernadetta slowly and proceeded to wrap her up in a big hug to try and calm her down and to show her he didn't mean any harm.

"Bernadetta, I'm not going to do anything to you, I promise." He said softly. "I could take it seeing you up there panicking and being set on fire like that, so I decided to rescue you because even if you were my enemy today, you don't deserve something like that."

"That was really scary." Bernadetta admitted, calming down a bit. "I mean, why would Edelgard do something like that, I thought I was on her good side."

"Only she knows the answer to that, but I doubt you would like the answer." Rutger noted. "Look, the battle seems to be almost over by now, why don't you just surrender and then we can go from there. Claude and Byleth are using the monastery as their base, I'm sure we could convince them to give you your old room back if you promise not to cause any trouble."

"Not causing trouble is one of the things I'm actually good at." Bernadetta sighed. "Alright, I surrender. It's better than being set on fire and dying for no reason. And thank you Rutger, you probably don't know why, but I really did just need a hug. I've needed one for a while now that I think about it. Thank you for not being as scary as you look."

"Hey, what I told you in the past is still true, I probably couldn't hurt you even if I wanted to." By that time Lilina's group with Felix and Annette had convinced pretty much all the Blue Lions to join up with Claude, with the exception of Dimitri.

"What is the meaning of this!" Dimitri breathed in a rage as he saw all of his allies coming back to him.

"Your Highness, allow me to explain." Dedue replied in his calm manner, which was well suited for situations just like this. So he went onto explain what was going on and while Dimitri wasn't really happy with what was being said, it was Dedue explaining it so he did listen and take in everything that he said.

"And you expect me just to side with Claude, just like that? Knowing that he may not kill Edelgard the first chance he gets!" Dimitri questioned. "Claude has his own agenda, that while certainly similar to ours, isn't what we agreed on!"

"We didn't agree on shit!" Sylvain chimed in. "We only went along with this hairbrained scheme of yours because we knew if we didn't you'd do it alone. Look, I wanna kill Edelgard as much as everyone else here, but if we lose our heads, either mentally or physically in your case, then how are we gonna get the chance to do so?"

"Very wise words there Sylvain." Claude commented, swooping in from above. "Edelgard's forces have been taken care of. Though she was able to warp away before I could land the final blow."

"Claude, you were going to kill her?" Dimitri asked, staring Claude in the eyes as best he could with his single eye.

"If I got the chance, yeah." Claude confirmed. "Look, at this point she's not going to be reasoned with, at least not with me, I've been too much of a thorn in her side. And she's definitely not talking to you either Dimitri. The only I way I see this war ending is with her dead or indisposed, and if it has to come from my hand then so be it."

"So if you were given the chance to face her again, you would go for the kill?" Dimitri asked.

"After a witty one liner of course, but yeah." Claude confirmed again. After that Dimitri took a few breaths to calm himself and mull over his options before finally settling on one.

"Alright, I will join your cause Claude, for now." He stated. "But if I think you're wasting time or have changed your mind on killing Edelgard then I will leave and go do it myself, do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal." Claude replied. "We all want things out of this war, and if Edelgard being dead is what you want, I'm pretty confident we can make that happen."

A few nights after the battle at Gronder Lilina saw Claude and Byleth discussing something together and she figured it was the perfect time to bring something up she found odd from the battle. As she was walking up to them though Lysithea joined her from around the corner.

"Are you wanting to talk to them about the battle too?" Lilina asked.

"Yes, I saw something strange and I feel the need to warn them about it." Lysithea noted. So the two of them came up to the pair and Claude proceeded to tease them slightly about not being able to sleep, to which Lysithea protested, but pretty weakly.

"Alright, that's enough, we have some things we need to talk to you about." Lilina told Claude. "You go first Lysithea."

"Sure. So I don't know if you two noticed, but there were some strange looking mages on the Empire's side during that last battle." Lysithea started.

"You mean the ones with the masks right?" Byleth wondered.

"Exactly. I wanted to bring this up because my house has a bad track record with mages who looked exactly like that." Lysithea continued. "After being punished for helping a rebellion against the Empire all involved were killed and replaced by new rulers. Among those replacements were mages just like at the battle. They did horrible experiments to me and my family, blood experiments."

"I can attest to that slightly." Lilina chimed in. "She has nightmares about them."

"Unfortunately, yes. I even still do to this day." Lysithea confirmed. "But these mages, they weren't from the Empire, it was as if they were from somewhere else entirely. I just felt you should know these people are in line with the Empire, we might have to fight them off as well."

"Blood experiments." Byleth mused. "Perhaps these are the same people who kidnapped Flayn for her blood five years ago."

"I was thinking the same exact thing." Claude noted. "Well, at least we know there are other factors at play here, thank you for this information Lysithea, we'll do what we can with it."

"I trust you Claude, that's why I told you." Lysithea noted. "Now what about you Lilina, what did you see?"

"Well, it's not what I saw, it's just a hunch I have about something. Actually it's more Roy's hunch but wanted me to come ask since you know me a bit better." Lilina started.

"Go on." Claude replied.

"We found it strange that Byleth came up with a plan that made little to no tactical sense, but still ended up working." Lilina noted. "Not only working, but getting Dimitri and the Blue Lions to join us. And right before the battle she was zoned out and not paying attention. We think she might have had a vision of the future and that's how she knew what would happen."

"That's a mighty bold claim there Lilina, though I guess I shouldn't be too surprised at anything that comes from you or the other two from Elibe." Claude commented. "But really, a vision of the future, does that even happen in Elibe?"

"Well, not really but-"

"It's true." Byleth cut in, not wanting Claude to start down the road on interrogating Lilina about her suspicions when they were pretty much spot on.

"Wait, what?!" Both Claude and Lysithea exclaimed at the same time.

"I was wondering when this would eventually come out." Byleth sighed. "Look, most of the time Claude's strategies are sound enough for victory and I just give out subtle hints during battles, but part of me being one with the Goddess is that I can rewind time to a short extent, allowing me to see the outcomes of battles somewhat."

"Again, what?" Claude questioned.

"I wanted to keep it a secret because it's not as good as you might think it is. I can only use the power so much and for so long, and I don't want you to rely on it." Byleth explained. "Making it so Dimitri and the Lions joined us was a big risk, I'm not going to be able to use the power for a while now because it took so much energy to do so."

"Claude, this is no different than your 'secret' don't you think?" Lilina questioned him, trying to make it so he wouldn't keep asking questions and so he wouldn't have to tell Lysithea if he didn't want to. "So you should just be happy she was willing to tell you."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Claude sighed. "Sorry Byleth, I got a bit carried away."

"It's fine, but we still need to keep this a secret." Byleth noted. "Lilina, you can tell Rutger and Roy since you'll be leaving soon enough, but Lysithea, you can't tell anyone about this."

"I have some secrets left of my own, so I understand, this is safe with me." Lysithea noted.

"Thank you."

Harpstring Moon 1186

Rutger and Lilina were eating lunch with Annette and Felix after Claude's explanation about how the army was going to take Fort Merceus.

"So, have you two ever had to wear disguises to sneak into anywhere before?" Annette asked curiously.

"Us? No. But our parents had to once." Rutger noted. "They were trying to get to the capital of Bern, but they were being chased by an assassin group called the Black Fang, so they disguised themselves as common people to try and slip through the towns without any trouble."

"An assassin group?" Felix asked a bit intrigued. "What was their deal?"

"Well the story goes that they once were a righteous group that would only deal with corrupt nobles, but once their leader got caught up in a relationship with a woman who worked for a mad sorcerer they started taking on any job, regardless of morality." Lilina explained. "At the point they were sent to kill our parents that change had almost completely taken place, but they got lucky."

"The man who eventually found and fought them took Roy's father by surprise and was about to kill him when he realized that our parents were not the evil villains he was told they would be." Rutger continued. "He let them go to find out more information, but sadly he was killed very shortly later for knowing too much. And to top it all off his brother vowed revenge since he thought it was our parents who killed him."

"Ooh, that sounds rough." Annette noted. "But it makes for great story nonetheless. I'm surprised that they would tell you such a thing honestly."

"My parents didn't, I heard all this from Rutger's parents." Lilina noted. "Mainly his father."

"Yeah, my parents didn't really like keeping secrets unless they had to, so if you asked them something they would tell you, even if you might not be ready for it." Rutger added. "A bit of a double edged sword, but I feel knowing what happened is for the best. You can learn from experiences like that." Everyone else nodded in agreement and went back to eating lunch. When they were almost done with their food though Felix, as blunt as ever, spoke up about something he and Annette had been wondering about.

"So when are you two gonna invite us to your room to have some fun?" He asked plainly.

"FELIX!" Annette exclaimed with a huge blush. Yes she had been thinking about it too, but she wasn't just gonna straight up ask the two about it.

"What? We both know word around the monastery is that they've been fooling around with friends and if anything we're the best friends they have here." Felix noted. "I figured we'd just ask and see if something is going on that's stopping them since they are so honest." The whole scene got both Rutger and Lilina to laugh just a bit at just how silly the two were acting, but they figured they should give them an answer since Felix did ask.

"Well, we've been waiting for the right time to ask." Rutger explained.

"We kind of wanted to save it for like a big celebratory moment, like the end of the war or something." Lilina noted. "But if you two want to do it sooner, that's not a problem for us."

"Honestly, I would like to do it sooner." Felix stated.

"Yeah, as confident as we are in Claude and his planning, who knows what's gonna happen in the next couple months." Annette added. "I'd rather do something fun now before we possibly don't have the chance to do it again."

"Well, they do make a good point Rutger." Lilina noted with a slight smirk. "What do you think?"

"I think if they want to have some fun, let's have some fun. I'll be nice to see Felix loosen up a bit more than usual as well." Rutger teased.

"Hey!" Felix grumbled as the girls giggled a bit.

"So, how about tonight then?" Lilina suggested. "A little bit after dinner to give us all some time to prepare?"

"Sounds good to me." Felix agreed.

"Oh, this is gonna be so much fun! I'll be singing about this the rest of the day!"

Rutger-Lilina/Felix-Annette A-Support

About half an hour after dinner there was a knock on the door to Rutger and Lilina's room. They pretty much knew who it was, but Rutger got up from where he was sitting to answer the door without opening it.

"Who is it?" He asked with a normal voice.

"Who do you think it is?" Felix answered back resulting in the door opening.

"Hey, just had to make sure." Rutger replied with a smirk. "It could have been any number of people wanting to spend the night."

"Very funny." Felix commented slightly sarcastically. He wasn't usually this prickly around Rutger and Lilina, but it was kind of a defense mechanism since he was a bit nervous, even if he wouldn't say so. Annette on the other hand was really excited as she came in with a bag full of supplies.

"Wow, you guys made this place look amazing!" She beamed as she saw all the candles and decorations. "Aww, this makes me feel really special, thank you!"

"Well, thank Anna actually." Lilina noted. "She was the one who was able to procure all this stuff on such short notice. What's in your bag there Annette?"

"Just some things I thought would be useful." Annette explained. "Some water, some snacks, towels, soap, lubricant, oil, and other stuff like that."

"When it comes to intimate moments like this, Annette likes to be prepared." Felix added, speaking from experience.

"W-Well, things do tend to deviate from our plans from time to time." Annette replied with a blush. "Like this one time when we were out shopping-"

"They don't need to know about that!" Felix cut in, blushing a bit himself. But Lilina and Rutger took it all in good fun and just chuckled a bit.

"Hey, when the urge comes the urge comes, Lilina knows a lot about that." Rutger teased.

"It's not completely my fault you're so irresistible sometimes." Lilina teased back which actually got Felix to chuckle a bit.

"Sorry, that's just something Annette says all the time after we do something a little crazy." He explained.

"See! It even happens with Lilina, so it's normal!" Annette commented.

"Normal or not, I will admit we do have fun whenever you have an idea, so I'm not going to complain. Too much." Felix assured her, which made her beam at him. "But enough with the formalities, we may have all night but I'd rather spend our time doing things instead of just talking."

"Well, I think before we start we should set some boundaries so we know what we can do and what we shouldn't do." Lilina noted. "As for me, I'm pretty much up for anything, so you have an idea you want to try, I'm all for it."

"Me too!" Annette said cheerfully. "There really isn't anything I'm adverse to that I can think of, but I'll tell you if it comes up."

"I'm good with most things as well, but I'm not really into doing it with another guy. No offense Rutger." Felix commented.

"None taken, I'm pretty much the same, I really only do that kind of stuff with people who are really close to me, like Roy or Lilina." Rutger noted.

"Oh, so you got to peg Rutger like I did with Felix that one time?" Annette asked Lilina.

"ANNETTE!" Felix exclaimed, blushing even harder than he had before, getting the other three to burst out laughing. After they calmed down a bit though they got down to business.

"First off, some musical ambiance." Lilina said snapping her fingers and starting up her music tome.

"Ooh, we need to get one of those." Annette replied impressed. "So how should we start?

"I was thinking we could have a little dance off while we take our clothes off." Lilina suggested. "And then once we're done the guys can do the same for us."

"That sounds like a lot of fun!" Annette agreed.

"Sounds like a good idea to me." Rutger agreed. "I'll be sure to go easy on you Felix."

"Hey, I'm not as inexperienced as you think!" So using the music from Lilina's tome the girls gave the guys a little show, playing off one another pretty well, as they stripped down naked. Rutger was really invested, cheering and going on being supportive, and eventually that rubbed off on Felix as well.

"One thing you're gonna learn being with us, there is no shame." Rutger told Felix as they got up off the bed they were sitting on so they could start dancing for the girls. "It's just like I told you with your sword fighting, the more you just let go and let things happen the more fun you're gonna have. We're not gonna tell anyone what happened in here. We might tease you and Annette about it when we're out as friends, but that's all in good fun. So just lighten up and you'll feel so much better.

"If you were anyone else I probably wouldn't take that advice, but coming from you that actually helps a lot, thank you." Felix admitted genuinely before taking a deep breath and letting some stress shake out of his shoulders.

"See, you look better already." Rutger noted.

"Hey Lilina, that tome have more than one song?" Felix called out. "If it does could you change it to one with a beat that has a little more bass?"

"It's got dozens!" Lilina replied before snapping her finger and changing the tune. "How does this one fit you Felix?" Felix listened for a few moments to the music and started nodding his head to it, feeling the beat in his body.

"That's perfect." He commented with a smirk. So he and Rutger started dancing and taking their clothes off next and they both really got into it, especially with the girls cheering them on and teasing them slightly in good fun. Eventually they were both naked like the girls while also already being a bit hard since the dancing was fun and they did get to see two sexy women dance for them first. "So, now what?" Felix asked. When he did Annette's eyes lit up and she whispered something to Lilina whose eyes lit up as well.

"Good idea." Lilina commented before turning back to the guys. "Okay you two, we need you to stand facing each other."

"Like this?" Rutger said turning to face Felix.

"Maybe take one small step back." Annette noted, so the guys took a step back. "Perfect!" Rutger had a bit of an idea of what was going to happen, though it was a bit of a surprise to Felix when it was Lilina kneeling in front of his cock instead of Annette.

"Oh, don't be so surprised Felix." Lilina teased him as she started rubbing his shaft with her hand. "I've been wanting to do this for a while." Meanwhile Rutger was all for Annette working on him.

"Don't feel like you have to hold back or anything, I can take anything you have to give me Annette." He told her with a smirk as he watched her started to lick him up and down slowly.

"Challenge accepted!" Annette replied with her own smirk, looking up at Rutger for just a moment before going back to licking him. Slowly but surely both of the girls started going farther and farther and eventually they were both sucking off their respective partners. They were just close enough so that their backs and butts were rubbing against each other and that just enhanced the feeling of togetherness between the four of them. After a while they even put their hands on their sides and held them together, showing the guys that they could suck them off even without having to use their hands for support.

"Goddess, that's hot." Felix breathed when he saw them do that. The two girls were very in sync with their movements, when one moved in the other pulled back and it was all very impressive since they had never been together like this before. Eventually though the guys were reaching their limits and they could both tell so they stopped sucking them off and proceeded to get on the bed on all fours next to each other.

"Alright you two, now that you're nice and hard, it's time for you two show us what you can do." Lilina teased them.

"And don't worry about being too rough either, you both know we can take it." Annette added as they both shook their butts at the guys, clapping them together a few times for effect. Lilina had told Annette earlier to say that part about being rough so Rutger would feel comfortable doing what he wanted to.

"You still wanna be switched?" Felix asked as he got a nice look at Lilina's rear end and started to get more excited.

"Of course, just give me just a moment to get ready." Rutger noted. He was planning on being a little cheeky with Annette, in more ways than one. So he quickly grabbed the lubricant that Annette had brought and started slicking up his shaft as he and Felix walked up to the edge of the bed and took a hold of the hips of the women they were gonna fuck.

"And don't worry about when you need to cum Felix, today is a safe day for me. So when you feel it, just give it to me." Lilina said in a sultry tone as she could feel Felix's tip start to tease her pussy

"Good to know, but don't be expecting me to cum as soon as I push it in, I'm that that inexperienced." He replied back in his own intimate tone.

"Yeah, the same goes for me as well Rutger, it's all safe for me as well." Annette added before she felt some liquid pour onto the small of her back and flow down towards her rear. "Hmm, what's that for?"

"Well, let's just say that for now it doesn't really matter if it's a safe day for you." Rutger answered before nodding to Felix to let him know he wanted to go in at the same time. Felix nodded back and smirked knowing that what Rutger was planning to do would be slightly amusing.

"What do you mean by thAAAAAAAT!" Annette gasped as she felt Rutger take his hands and spread her cheeks before quickly, yet carefully, pushing his dick into her ass. At the same time Felix pushed himself into Lilina's pussy and she gave off a much more normal moan of pleasure. Slowly but surely Rutger pushed himself as far as he could go into Annette before stopping to let her breathe a bit.

"You doing okay?" He asked genuinely. "I can switch if you're not good with this."

"No, no, this feels fine, I was just surprised, which I guess was the point." Annette noted as she got used to the feeling. "I just didn't expect you to be an ass guy."

"I'm not usually, but with an ass like this, how could I resist?" Rutger teased back, gently smacking her butt for effect.

"You really are a charmer aren't you?" Annette teased as well. "Well, come on, I said I can take anything you give me, so fuck me like you mean it!"

"Yeah! Come on Felix, are you gonna let him one up you like that?" Lilina teased Felix.

"Hell no!" Felix replied with a smiling smirk before he really started going to town. So the guys fucked the girls doggystyle side by side like that and once again the girls held their hands together as the guys worked on them. They even got the chance to angle their bodies a bit so they could tilt their heads and kiss each other from time to time. They went on like that for a while until Rutger could feel that he was reaching his limit again, so he wanted to end things off with a bang. So he moved his hands around Annette's waist and started raising her body up off the bed until her head was right under his.

"I see you had some fun kissing Lilina, I'm wondering where my kisses are." He whispered into her ear when she was close enough.

"All you had to do was ask." Annette whispered back before turning her head back a bit so they could kiss. Felix saw that and decided since Rutger changed his position with Annette he was free to change it up with Lilina. So he quickly and powerfully put Lilina into a mating press position with her legs wrapped around his waist.

"Oooh, so forceful Felix!" Lilina cooed playfully. "Do you want some kisses as well?"

"If that's my invitation." Felix smirked before moving in and doing just so. It wasn't much longer until they all got off at roughly the same time, the guys shooting their seed as deeply as they could inside the girls like they were told they could. After the big moment they all laid on their back on the bed to catch their breaths.

"That was fun!" Lilina breathed with a big smile.

"I agree, it was just as good as I was expecting! Probably even better!" Annette agreed before looking to Felix for his thoughts.

"It's been good so far, but I was told we have all night." He replied with a bit of a smirk.

"Don't tell me you're out of juice already." Rutger teased. And he wasn't, and neither were the other three. As the night went on the four tried many positions and pairings. Sometimes the guys would team up on one of the girls while the other watched and sometimes the girls would double up on one of the guys, and it was all very fun and interesting along with being very hot and bringing the four much closer to each other as friends. Eventually though they did start to lose energy and knew their time like this was about to end. The final position they were in was where Felix and Annette were going doggystyle near the edge of the bed while Lilina was riding reverse cowgirl on Rutger's dick. But the fun ideas didn't stop there.

"Felix, move me closer, I want to see how they taste." Annette told Felix so he moved her closer so she could start licking Lilina's clit and Rutger's shaft at the same time while he continued to fuck her.

"Ahhh, that feels amazing!" Lilina moaned at the feeling of being licked and fucked at the same time.

"I'm gonna cum!" Rutger added and soon enough he did, causing another chain reaction where the four all went off roughly at the same time. This time when they were done they were all spent and could barely get off the bed for quite some time. Eventually though they did and grabbed some towels to clean themselves up from everything they had done.

"You guys are gonna stay the night right? The best part of sex with friends is getting to cuddle with them afterwards you know?" Rutger noted. "At least that's what my father always said." Annette looked to Felix with stars in her eyes and he just sighed with a content smile.

"I doubt we could get back to our room if we wanted to anyways." Felix commented.

"Yay!" Annette cheered with as much energy as she could muster. "Besides, that means we can wake up and do some more if we feel like it."

"Perhaps." Lilina said as she finally got off the bed and started to rummage around her clothes dresser. "Before we get ready to sleep though, we have something to give you two." She grabbed a small box and then walked back over to the bed to show Felix and Annette. She opened it to show two green orbs resting inside the box.

"Pretty." Annette commented.

"And functional." Lilina explained. "This orbs will allow you to travel to Elibe, where we live, for a short amount of time if you channel some extra magical energy into them from time to time."

"Hmm, interesting." Felix noted. "How long and how much magic?"

"If I made them right a full charge should allow you to visit for three days." Lilina answered. "Though it could take around a month to get a full charge. It did when Rutger and I tested them and I would think you two have a similar amount of magic to us, with me having slightly more than Annette and Rutger having slightly less than Felix."

"Well, I'm just happy that we'll be able to visit you period!" Annette said happily. "Aren't you Felix?"

"This is a wonderful present you two, we'll be sure to visit when we can, that's a promise." Felix agreed.

"Just make sure to keep up your training, I expect a duel when you show up." Rutger teased.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

Roy/Claude B-Support

Once again Roy found himself playing chess with Claude and once again it turned into a debate about dragons and their actions. This time the topic was Lady Rhea specifically.

"I guess my thoughts are that I don't really like feeling like I've been manipulated and that I don't have all the information I need to make an informed decision, you know?" Claude told Roy as they were really getting into it.

"Then why do you do it to your allies all the time." Roy asked pointedly, moving his knight into position on the board.

"That's different, I know what I'm doing when I keep secrets." Claude replied confidently moving a rook down the board.

"And what leads you to believe that Rhea doesn't?" Roy questioned back. "She's lived much longer than you and has more life experience. She's been in Fodlan so much longer than you, she knows how it works better. Even if you might by some chance be smarter than her, she has you on the experience front."

"And if she knew Fodlan so well, she should have made better strides with how much time she had to use compared to me." Claude countered.

"How do you know she hasn't done the best she could?" Roy asked. "Tell me when and where in Fodlan's history she should have taken more action. I've read your history books? Should she not have let the Kingdom and Alliance come to be? No, because then you wouldn't be here to have this debate. Should she have taken a more radical stance after she killed Nemesis? No, because then her and who remained with her would have been killed and while that outcome could be better for people in general she wouldn't take it because it would mean sacrificing the ones she loves. And you wouldn't do that either so you can't say she should."

"Alright, fair enough, but I still think it shouldn't have taken this long." Claude noted.

"Well, think about it another way." Roy pointed out. "Rhea has lived so long time passing has less of a meaning than it does for you. For her a year passing probably only feels like a month, she might think that at her pace things are going quite well. And if her end goal is for everyone as a whole to be at peace and if she thinks things are steadily improving, she might not have seen much of a reason to change things up."

"Reading in between the lines of what you're saying there, are you somewhat suggesting that this war might cause her to take better action in the future, if she makes it through this war?" Claude wondered.

"It's a possibility." Roy commented. "That's why I want you to talk to her with an open mind when we find her. Don't just assume she's doing things wrong like Edelgard does because she's not doing things exactly how you would. As the saying goes there is more than one way to skin a cat, and that's especially true when it comes to politics."

"Makes me wonder, do you and Lilina ever clash about policies?" Claude asked.

"From time to time." Roy noted. "As you know Lilina's nation is more of a military force so from time to time she feels just throwing men and money at an issue is the best way to solve it while I tend to find more creative ways to solve issues."

"Sounds like her." Claude commented. "Does Rutger ever get into the debate?"

"Only when it comes to military tactics, otherwise he's a big part of Lilina's muscle, which is good because some people still don't respect her as much as they should since she's a woman." Roy explained.

"No rest for the righteous I guess." Claude joked.

"You're more right than you think."

Roy/Flayn B-Support

Roy and Flayn were walking around the monastery together just admiring the history and beauty of the place and it's surroundings and Flayn telling Roy a number of secrets she knew since Seteth had told her about them since he was there when it was built. Eventually though they were sitting on one of the benches near the old classrooms when Flayn decided to change the subject of the conversation.

"Roy, can I ask you a personal question?" Flayn wondered.

"Sure, I don't really mind." Roy replied, though he did wonder just what Flayn would ask him.

"Do you think I look pretty?" Flayn asked, trying to give Roy a puppy dog look after she asked. Roy might not have had to answer this question that much since the woman he was married to was confident enough in her looks, but he could also hear the question behind the question as well.

"At this point I'd say you're still in the 'cute' phase of your life." Roy answered truthfully.

"Drat!" Flayn replied back as she started to pout.

"I think I might already know the answer, but why do you care so much?" Roy asked her.

"Because, I want someone to fall in love with!" Flayn answered a bit dramatically. "I see all these couples around the monastery, Felix and Annette, Claude and Byleth, Rutger and Lilina, and I want what they want! I know it might be selfish, but Seteth keeps steering me away from it and it just makes me want it more! I want someone to make me feel special and loved and that I can make feel the same, is that too much to ask?" It was at this point that Roy was so glad he wouldn't have to deal with the point in Fae's life since he'd be long dead at that point. But he would still help as best as he could.

"No, a lot of people want that, and even people that look as old as you start thinking about it as well." Roy noted. "But even if you are hundreds of years old most people aren't going to see you that way and those who do might be a bit on the strange side. And I know it's a hard thing to ask of you and I know it's not my life to live, but I'm sure in a few hundred years you'll look adult enough for the right kind of people to find you attractive."

"You're starting to sound like Seteth." Flayn sighed.

"I'll take that as a compliment." Roy noted. "But perhaps I'm coming at this at the wrong angle. Is there someone here that you fancy, is that why you're thinking about this so much recently?"

"Maybe." Flayn answered, looking down and swaying her feet back and forth nervously.

"Well, if you tell me who it is I might be able to tell you if you have a shot at anything." Roy offered. Flayn mumbled something he couldn't hear in response. "What was that, I couldn't quite get that."

"It's you Roy!" Flayn replied a bit louder. "It's always been you! Ever since you told me the story about your parents I figured that maybe since you have dragon blood you might live longer than other humans and it might work out between us."

"Oh. Oooooooh!" Roy commented as he finally got the point. "Well, let me quash that right now Flayn, I'm happily married and I'm only allowed to fool around with Rutger and Lilina and barely at that."

"Of course you are." Flayn sighed. "All the good guys are already taken. Well, I guess it's back to the drawing board."

"Just give it some time Flayn, you'll find someone special eventually." Roy assured her.

"Yeah, yeah, I've got all the time in the world."

Not so surprisingly the group made it into Fort Merceus without much hassle, but it was once they were inside where the real fun started. Claude was up by the north side of the fort with a secret plan, one that Byleth and the Elibe trio knew about since it involved Nader and his Almyran forces. The real objective was to finally take down the Death Knight once and for all so they could take the fort for their own.

"So, remember what happened last time we faced him?" Lilina asked Rutger rhetorically. "Yeah, that's not happening this time."

"I know, I know." Rutger sighed. "But this time, we have to get him, we've grown even stronger and we were beating him pretty easily before.

"Hey, I know this might be a bit selfish, but would I be able to see this Death Knight up close by any chance?" Roy wondered. "It's just it's not every day you can see someone that almost killed Rutger, I kind of want to see what he looks like.

"Very well, you three along with Lysithea and myself will go and confront the Death Knight while everyone else focuses on cutting off enemy reinforcements." Byleth stated. "And I would make a note that you might see some people you used to know in this fort since it's very important tactically. We don't have to kill them if we can defeat the Death Knight quickly enough." Everyone nodded and soon enough the battle for the fort started when Nader came in with his forces. Everything went pretty smoothly on the way to the Death Knight and the reinforcements were kept to a minimum. Eventually though they had to show themselves since there weren't too many hiding places in the fort.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the interlopers." The Death Knight taunted Rutger and Lilina. "And you brought another lamb to be slaughtered as well, how nice."

"Yeah, I see why he's the Death Knight now." Roy noted. "Let's get this over with." There wasn't really anything special to note about the fight with the Death Knight. Yes he had gotten a bit stronger over the last five years but it still wasn't enough. To the average solider he was invincible, but to Byleth and her students he was pretty much a big joke. But he was a persistent one because he just couldn't be put down for good, this time being no different.

"If you desire to slay me, follow. The appointed hour is at hand." He told Byleth before warping away slightly and then galloping off on his horse to the fort's outer walls.

"Come on! We can't let him get away again!" Byleth told her group. So the five chased him until he stopped and faced them for some reason.

"It is coming. Leave now or all of you will die." He said before jumping off the fort's wall and somehow riding his horse down it. He then pointed in the opposite direction and everyone looked to see something that was beyond their knowledge. Large circles of light came from the sky and inside them large metal rods traveled before hitting the fort and exploding with a might only comparable to relics or Elibe's legendary weapons. More and more fell and the whole army had to retreat lest they get caught up in the fires and explosions. By the time the attacked stopped the whole fort was in ruins, not usable by the Empire or the Alliance. Luckily all the important players in the army were accounted for and they all gathered back around near the starting point of the day's battle.

"Hey kiddo, you didn't say anything about Javelins of Light on this mission, that whole fort got destroyed by them." Nader commented when everyone was safe.

"That's a pretty fitting name for them actually. Though I would scarcely believe the Empire would destroy one of their best forts like this. Especially if they were trying to kill us, they could have used them earlier." Claude noted.

"Did those things remind you of anything back home?" Byleth asked the Elibe trio.

"The closest thing would be the magic from the Aureola tome since it creates circles of light, but it's not that destructive and takes a person to be in the area to cast it." Lilina noted.

"My question is how Nardel is here and why he had an Almyran battalion with him." Judith wondered.

"And that's my cue to leave kiddo, I'll take my troops back to Almyra until you need us again." Nader said trying to sneak away.

"Nader, are you just gonna leave it like that?" Claude asked him, not realizing he had said his real name.

"Nader? You mean that man was Nader the Unstoppable?" Judith asked as he slipped away.

"Undefeated actually." "Roy chimed in.

"Well, whatever, I have questions." Judith noted.

"Me as well." Lorenz added.

"Maybe we should take this conversation to a better place. If any more of those Javelins of Light hit we could be toast." Hilda suggested.

"Good point, let's get somewhere where we can be safe." Rutger noted. So they all rejoined at the Great Bridge and things got started.

"Claude, maybe now is a good time to tell everyone your secret." Lilina suggested.

"Yeah, it probably is." Claude admitted. "Alright everyone listen up because I'm only gonna say this once. I wasn't actually born in Fodlan, I was born in Almyra. My familial station and everything regarding that is the same as I've told you all, but I did hide a part of my heritage from you all for obvious reasons."

"You thought we wouldn't follow you if we knew you were part Almyran?" Lorenz questioned, getting straight to the point.

"Yes, exactly." Claude confirmed. "You all are a great and accepting bunch of people, and I want to build a world where everyone is like you all, but as of right now this world isn't the best for people like me, people like Cyril. So yes, I hid that part of myself away hoping that I didn't have to reveal it unless I absolutely had to, and I would probably do it again given the choice. And that's why I know and why I'm friends with Nader the Undefeated. There is a bit more to it as well, but I'd rather not go into it just yet because it's a bit too politically charged for the moment."

"Not to sound like a bad person or anything, but now that you say it, it's kind of obvious with how you look and dress." Lysithea noted.

"Yeah, we thought so too." Lilina noted. "Because yes, me, Rutger, and Roy knew as well but we decided that it was Claude's secret to tell and not ours."

"We figured it out on our own as well, it wasn't like he told us or anything." Rutger clarified.

"And that's the whole of it." Claude stated. "If you don't think you can follow me after knowing what you know or because you feel betrayed, I understand. But I hope that you'll stay because like I said I want to build a world without borders, without skin color or where your born affecting how you're treated or how you can live. And I can't do that without people like you, my friends who have been so supportive of me thus far and who I know I can rely on in the future. So please, not for my sake, not for the Alliance's sake, but for Fodlan's sake, think about it alright?"

"Well, I see little to think about." Lorenz noted. "While your words might be a bit out of line with the Seiros teachings in some places we can tell your heart is in the right place Claude. You want what is best for everyone, not just Fodlan and as the leader of the Alliance that is to be commended. And I for one feel you are our best chance at ending this war, so I will stand by you as I always have, a supportive rival to egg you on when you need it."

"Lorenz, I think that might be the nicest thing you've ever said to me." Claude commented. "But I'm glad you think that way, and I appreciate you being so candid, I've always liked that about you." After that everyone else told Claude they would stick with him as well. If Lorenz of all people would vouch for Claude then why shouldn't they. Eventually the discussion was over and everyone started to disperse but Claude had some words for Byleth and the Elibe trio.

"I want to thank you all for keeping my secret for so long. I know it probably wasn't easy, but I appreciate it nonetheless." He told them.

"Hey, no problem." Rutger told him. "And on the plus side, they all accepted you which was nice."

"Yeah, even Lorenz." Lilina noted.

"Kind of makes you think you're on the right path." Roy added.

"It does. It makes me feel good, feel powerful. And I think I'm gonna need that when we storm Enbarr." Claude commented.

"Well, we know a lot about storming castles don't we?" Rutger said with a smirk.

"Let's just hope this one doesn't have a door that can only open with a certain gem."

Garland Moon 1186

Once again everyone was back at the monastery preparing for the assault on Enbarr. Rutger and Lilina were walking through the dining hall when they saw all of the Golden Deer sans Claude and Byleth all huddled around talking to each other so they decided to see what was going on.

"What are you guys talking about?" Lilina wondered as they came up.

"Did something important come up?" Rutger added.

"Oh, no, nothing like that." Hilda noted. "We were just talking about how great Claude and Byleth are, how they inspired us to come this far and make so much of a difference."

"They are pretty great." Lilina noted. "I think they are both very capable leaders and I think Fodlan will be in good shape with them at the forefront."

"Byleth is a great mentor as well, she's very easy to talk and learn from and I think that will help with people who don't quite understand Claude's big plans yet." Rutger commented.

"Well, if we're giving out praise I think some of that need to go to you, Lilina, and Roy as well." Leonie chimed in. "You three brought them some much needed experience when it came to war and dealing with people, so part of all this is your doing as well."

"We just did what we thought was right and wanted to help out, nothing more than that." Lilina replied humbly.

"Truly we've learned as much from them as they did from us, so I'd call it even." Rutger agreed. "But one thing we can agree on is that we all need to be prepared for when we take the capital. We're going to face the Death Knight again, and probably Hubert and Petra as well along with Edelgard at the end. They most likely will not be taking any prisoners so you all need to be at your best."

"Agreed." Lorenz noted. "To that end, tomorrow after dinner Claude wants us all to come to a war meeting. He has recently procured a very accurate set of maps of Enbarr and the castle from that merchant Anna and he wants to go over them with us."

"We'll be there." Lilina replied with a thumbs up. After that there was a bit more talking before the group dispersed and Rutger and Lilina were alone together again. "Well, I'll tell Roy about the meeting tomorrow as we get our supplies ready. Speaking of that, can you go up to Manuela's office and get some medical supplies for us to work with? I need to go into town to get a few things."

"Sure, I don't have a problem with that." Rutger confirmed. So they split up and Rutger headed up to Manuela's office. As a pleasant surprised Manuela was there reading a book when he came in.

"Oh Rutger, nice to see you." She smiled at him. "Do you need some assistance?"

"Just came to get some medical supplies to bring to Enbarr." He noted. "Sorry I haven't come to see you in a while, things have been hectic as you can probably attest to."

"It's fine dear, I completely understand." Manuela assured him. "I'm just glad you're safe and in one piece like all the other former students."

"I appreciate that." Rutger noted. "So, how is it going on the dating front? Find that special someone yet?"

"Not quite, but I do have to say your advice has done wonders for me this last five years. I don't think I've had a run of decent dates this long in pretty much ever." Manuela told him.

"That's good to hear, I'm sure it's just a matter of time now." Rutger replied with a smile.

"Perhaps." Manuela commented in a contemplative tone. "But I have been thinking about something. Would you be interested in going on another date with me? Since I've improved so much you might be able to see other, smaller things I can work on. And I kind of want to repay you for having to deal with me the first time we went out."

"No need for that Manuela, it's something I had fun doing." Rutger noted. "But I would like to see how you've improved and I would love to catch up with you fully as well. So I accept, when is a good time for you?"

"Is tonight a good night?" Manuela asked. "I know tomorrow we have that war meeting with Claude so I figured tonight would be a good fit if you have time."

"Tonight is good with me." Rutger confirmed with a bit of a smirk. "A little after six like last time?"

"You know me so well."

Rutger/Manuela A-Support

Rutger once again got to Manuela's room at six like they agreed on, but he was expecting a bit of a wait like last time. So when Manuela opened the door ready to go just a few minutes later he was given a bit of a surprise.

"That was quick." Rutger noted with a smile.

"Well, I was confident in what I wanted to wear so I didn't have to change three times like last time." Manuela replied.

"You changed three times last time?" Rutger asked a bit surprised.

"I did." Manuela confirmed. "I wanted things to go right so you wouldn't tell me how bad it was, but you know how that went. But now I just want to have a fun night with a friend so I just put on something I enjoy wearing."

"Either way, you still look quite stunning Manuela." Rutger complimented her.

"Still a charmer, I like that." Manuela said with a light giggle. "You're still very handsome as well Rutger, it looks like a lord's life hasn't stressed you out too much yet. And red is still your color."

"Why thank you." Rutger replied with another smile as he offered Manuela his arm. "Do you want to go to that same tavern we went to last time or do you have another spot in mind?"

"The tavern will do." Manuela noted. So they made their way to the establishment and made it their in a good amount of time. They both got some food and drinks like last time, but unlike last time when Rutger would ask Manuela about herself she would actually answer. And Rutger found out a lot about her. He got to hear a ton of interesting stories about her time at the opera company and how that slowly transferred into her becoming a professor at the Officer's Academy. She also had quite the number of student stories as well, funny and inspiring, and Rutger was loving hearing all of it.

"But enough about me Rutger, why don't you tell me a bit about yourself actually?" Manuela asked.

"Well, what you see is pretty much what you get at this point in my life." Rutger told her. "I used to be a bit more rowdy in my younger years, went through a bit of a depressive spell in my early 20's because of my parent's murders, but then I got better when I realized that I still have a lot of people and things to live for."

"You being rowdy? I don't think I quite believe that." Manuela teased him.

"It's true. My parents were notorious flirts when they were alive and they taught me everything they knew and I was on the fast track to being just like them before they died." Rutger stated. "You tease about me being a charmer, but that's me being reserved because of my trauma. If it wasn't for that, I might have been as bad as Sylvain."

"That is kind of bad isn't it?" Manuela teased some more. "But I'm sure your parents would have reigned you in just a bit."

"Probably, they always did stress not pushing someone's limits unless they were receptive about it." Rutger noted. "Limits are important, even if some people's are lenient. I'd never want to make someone uncomfortable on purpose."

"And that's what makes you such a wonderful man, and I'm sure Lilina loves that about you as well." Manuela assured him. "But, just so you know, you can flirt with me more, I don't mind one bit." She teased him a bit more.

"I'm getting to it." Rutger replied with a laugh. The rest of the date went very smoothly after that and both Rutger and Manuela felt like they had a wonderful time. And it was bonus that Rutger didn't have to carry her into her room this time as they got to her door. "Well, from what I saw Manuela it's just a matter of time until you find that special someone, that date was really fun and I got to know you a whole lot better. And I have to say, you're even more amazing then I thought before."

"Oh you." Manuela said with a blush as she opened her door. "I had a lot of fun as well, and getting to know you better was very enlightening as well Rutger. We should do this again before you leave. Though there is one thing that you're forgetting to do."

"And that would be?" Rutger wondered.

"You haven't given me a goodnight kiss. All good dates end with one of those right?" Manuela teased him.

"You're absolutely correct." Rutger said before moving closer and wrapping his arms around Manuela to bring her close enough to whisper. "Keep being the amazing woman you are." And with that he placed a kiss on her lips, a real one with feeling behind it, not a soft one to chicken out of the moment. He was about to pull back after a few moments but then Manuela started kissing him back. That kind of flipped a switch in Rutger and it made him start kissing her back more passionately before he realized what was going on and pulled back finally. "Ah, sorry, got a little carried away there."

"Don't be sorry, I liked that." Manuela replied with a sensual tone, confirmation about what she wanted to do tonight in her mind. "We could do a bit more than just that if you'd like to come inside." She offered.

"Are you sure? On the second date?" Rutger asked with a bit of a smirk of his own.

"Oh please, I've heard the stories about what you and Lilina get up to with friends." Manuela teased him. "And you consider me a friend right?"

"A very good one in fact." Rutger confirmed.

"Then it's settled, you'll spend the night with me tonight." Manuela replied as she grabbed Rutger by the collar and dragged him into her room before locking the door behind them.

"I just hope I won't ruin other guys for you with this." Rutger teased as he looked around the room. It was much cleaner than it was the first time he was in here.

"Such confidence." Manuela commented with a confident tone. "But will it stand up to someone with my experience? I'm getting worked up just thinking about it. Either way, take off your clothes and sit on the bed for me, will you?"

"Of course." Rutger said doing as he was told. As he did that Manuela searcher around her room until she found a particular tome and opened it. With a snap of her finger it started to fill the room with sensual music, just like Lilina's tome did. "That's a good mood setter there Manuela."

"I thought so." She noted with a wink. "Well now, since you were so interested in my work in the opera I'm sure you'd like to see a bit of a demonstration, say starting with my dancing moves?"

"I would love to see you dance Manuela, I'm sure you're full of grace and fluidity along with a sensual nature." Rutger answered.

"Well, I'll try my best, for you." She teased before starting to dance and strip her clothes off as she did so. And Rutger was not ready for what he would see. Manuela's dancing was on a whole other level compared to what he had seen from anyone else, even Annette and Lilina. She moved to the music so gracefully, so smoothly, it was as if she had rehearsed this exact dance for years. It was to the point that Rutger barely even noticed her taking her clothes off, it was that mesmerizing. Though part of his brain realized what was going on because his dick was getting harder and harder by the moment. The dance felt like it was both super long yet too short at the same time as Manuela snapped her fingers again and changed the music to something that would be less distracting as they continued.

"I don't know if I should clap or what." Rutger commented once he realized the music changed. "That was one of the best dances I've ever seen Manuela."

"I'd say you're just saying that to be nice, but your not so little friend down there is proof enough for me." Manuela replied with a slight blush. "Now come over here so you can get a better look at me."

"Shouldn't that be the other way around?" Rutger wondered with a smirk as he got off the bed.

"No, I want you to look me over and give me your honest opinion on my body as a younger man." Manuela confirmed. "Can you do that for me?"

"I would love to." Rutger answered truthfully as he got closer. "Am I allowed to touch you while I do so?"

"I do want you to be thorough." Manuela teased him. Rutger smirked at her and started his inspection. He gracefully moved his hands all over her smooth skin, tracing around her stomach, legs, chest, back and butt with the slightest of touches. This sent numerous goosebumps all over Manuela's body and she couldn't help but let out a noise or two as he did so. He was very slow and meticulous with his inspection, but that's just because he wanted the moment to last longer, he had his answer pretty much as soon as he saw her like this. He did make sure not to poke at the still visible scar from where the Death Knight had stabbed her, figuring that might ruin the moment. Eventually he was done and when he was ready to give his report he stepped behind Manuela and wrapped his arms around her waist, bringing her close enough to his body that his still very erect dick got comfortably lodged between her butt cheeks. He even rested his head on her shoulder so he could whisper into her ear.

"Would you like to hear my verdict?" He replied smoothly as his hands started to move up and make his way towards Manuela's chest.

"Don't hold anything back." She whispered back before his hands started groping and massaging her boobs.

"Manuela, you are one of the most beautiful and sexy women I've ever had the luck to see naked like this." Rutger told her softly, though with a bit of edge in his voice. "It's taking everything I have to not just slip in right now and give you the loving a woman of your caliber deserves."

"So bold and honest, you really know how to make a woman feel special." Manuela replied with a light moan since she was enjoying how he was treating her chest. "Hopefully you aren't all talk, though I seriously doubt that to be the case. Go ahead, give his old woman the love you think she deserves."

"I must warn you though, once I start I might not be able to stop." Rutger said as a tease and to ask if it was okay to do as he pleased.

"Considerate as well." Manuela mused. "Even if it wasn't safe I'd let you do whatever you wanted I would think."

"That's all I needed to hear." Rutger noted before he readjusted his hips and plunged his rod deep into Manuela's pussy. She gave off a very satisfied moan in response and after that they were off to the races. Rutger was just a tad surprised with how well Manuela was able to keep up with him the whole night, but eventually he chalked it up to her experience and knowing how and when to reserve her energy. But they went at it for a while, able to get in three rounds of hot and exciting sex before they had to admit they were getting too tired to go on. When they did so they cleaned each other off and then cuddled closely on the bed as they prepared to go to sleep.

"Rutger, I think that's the best sex I've had in over a decade. You weren't kidding when you said you might ruin other guys for me." Manuela told him, partly joking. "Thank you for letting an old woman like me get to spend a romantic night with someone like you, I'll treasure it for a long time."

"I'm the one that should be thanking you Manuela, I wasn't even thinking about all this before the date started." Rutger noted. "And I got to learn so much about you today, I'd really like to do this again sometime. Maybe Lilina could join us though, I'm sure she'd enjoy something like this as well?"

"Just make sure you come back soon, before I'm truly an old woman."

Lilina/Alois A-Support

A few days before the assault on Enbarr Lilina was walking near the fishing pond when she saw a young girl she hadn't seen around the monastery before. She looked like she was looking for someone so Lilina figured she would help out.

"Hey there, are you looking for someone around here?" She asked the girl.

"Uh-huh, I'm looking for my papa, he said we were going to go fishing today." The girl noted.

"What does your papa look like, maybe I can help look for him too." Lilina offered.

"Okay! Papa is really big! And he laughs a lot! And he makes a lot of silly jokes, but the silliest thing about him is his mustache." The girl offered.

"Oh, is your papa's name Alois by chance?" Lilina asked.

"Yes! That's his name!" The girl confirmed. So Lilina scanned the nearby area for the jovial knight and eventually she saw him coming out of the dining hall.

"Look, there he is!" Lilina pointed to the girl and she looked over to where she pointed.

"Papa!" The girl cheered before running off to meet him. Eventually Alois made his way down the stairs and his daughter pointed at Lilina. "She helped me find you Papa, she was really nice."

"Oh, she did did she?" Alois play asked like he was impressed. "Well then, how about we invite her to fish with us, then we'd get a whole school of fishing done."

"Okay!" The girl cheered. So the trio went out to the pier and started fishing. Alois was very impressed by Lilina's improvement in fishing since the last time they met.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you were a reel natural there Lilina." He chuckled.

"Well, I took some time to practice back home." Lilina noted as she reeled in another fish. "Rutger helped of course, but I was a quick learner as usual. Hey, can I ask you something Alois?"

"Of course, I'm an open book." He replied.

"If your daughter is here, does that mean your wife is as well?" Lilina wondered.

"She is." Alois confirmed. "We though it best they stay here while we try and take Enbarr. It's the safest place for them to be and they should be easy to protect. It's been a bit of a trouble for the little one here, but I think she's adjusting well enough."

"I know how that feels." Lilina noted. "My father always liked to keep me close after my mother died so I had to travel to a number of different locations when I was young. Though thinking back on it, it probably helped with my diplomatic skills a ton so I can't really blame him for it."

"It's one of those things that 'builds character' which you'll learn when you become a parent is code for 'thing you don't want to do but have to anyways' or some such." Alois commented. "Or am I wrong to presume you don't have a young one already?"

"No, no, Rutger and I don't have a child yet, we were kind of waiting until our visit here was over, though obviously it's taking a bit longer than we expected." Lilina replied.

"Well I for one appreciate you staying and helping protect the things I hold dear, I don't want to put my little one through more than she has to at this point in her life." Alois noted.

"You're a good father Alois, don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise." Lilina told him with a smile.

"Thank you. And I'm sure you will be an amazing mother when the time comes." Alois smiled back. "Well, how about after this you come and have dinner with me and my family, you can finally meet my wife like you said you wanted to before."

"That sounds like a tuna of fun!" Lilina replied, trying to do a pun like Alois did all the time. "Eh, maybe I should give that a bit more practice.

"Maybe a lesson or two is in order perch-ance?"

Roy/Byleth A-Support

Byleth had asked Roy to join her for lunch in the mess hall, and he happily agreed. Though he accidentally bumped into someone on the way into the mess hall.

"Oh, sorry Sir Alois." He apologized.

"No need to worry son, I'm just heading out to get some fishing done. Hopefully they won't be a bass-le." Alois chuckled before moving on. Roy then moved over to the table where Byleth was sitting and sat on the opposite side. There was already food served and it looked quite good.

"This looks delicious, thank you Byleth." Roy said before they both started digging in. After a bit they slowed down eating and started talking about this and that until Byleth wanted to talk about something she had been wondering for a while.

"So, can I ask you something a bit more personal?" She asked Roy.

"Sure, we're friends right?" Roy asked back.

"I'm glad you think so." Byleth replied with a slight smile. "It's nothing too serious, I was just wanting to know more about how you, Lilina, and Rutger became friends. Like how you met and stuff."

"Oh, alright." Roy noted, not really thinking much about it. "Well we didn't really meet until Lilina and I were 5 and Rutger was 8. Like we had heard of each other in passing because of our parents, but that was the first time we met each other. Lilina's father had some concerning news to share with my father and Rutger's parents and he knew it was going to take a while to go over completely so he suggested that they bring us so we could meet."

"Sounds like a pretty normal meeting to me." Byleth noted.

"It was. I was a bit nervous at first, Lilina's father was quite scary looking even for adults, but soon enough the three of us were having fun, Lilina and Rutger getting to show off their horses before we just ran around and played like normal children did." Roy continued. "And after that we would meet up whenever our parents had things to discuss, I went to get some sword and tactics training with Lilina one time, one time I spend a month with Rutger and his parents because my father had something to deal with, things like that. I was always the cautious one like my father while Lilina and Rutger always wanted to get in trouble and adventure. Rutger's father always noted we were the spitting image of our parents which was pretty true all things considered."

"Seems like you all had a pretty decent childhood, sans your mothers not really being around." Byleth commented. "Did you three ever get into a love triangle of sorts, or was Rutger and Lilina always the couple they would become?" Roy just had to give one loud laugh at that thought.

"Sorry, sorry." He apologized with a bit of a chuckle. "It's just that the whole situation between us three is a big topic of gossip back home."

"Really now?" Byleth asked a bit interested.

"I mean it's not a huge thing, but remember when I told you before that some people think Rutger stole Lilina away from me? It's that." Roy answered.

"Did you ever have romantic feelings for her?" Byleth wondered.

"Not that I can remember." Roy noted. "Like the closest I can remember is when we were being taught by General Cecilia privately right before the war. We were her only two students, but I was more focused on studying than anything else. Now Lilina on the other hand, she'll openly admit she had a crush on me, but she didn't want to make the first move."

"And how does Rutger come into this?" Byleth asked.

"Honestly, I think if the war didn't happen he and Lilina wouldn't have gotten together. Rutger was well on his way of being a respectable flirt like his parents. He was older than us and he was already going on dates and having flings and such every now and then and I've never confirmed this with him, but I'm sure he felt me and Lilina were just a bit too young for that kind of stuff right before the war started." Roy answered. "Without the war I probably would have eventually realized how Lilina felt and then we'd be the couple and he'd be the friend."

"I take it things happened during the war that made both Rutger and Lilina realize how they felt about each other?" Byleth questioned.

"Yeah. That and I was too busy taking the lead to really think about any advances Lilina might have made on me. And by the time Rutger finally had a breakthrough late in the war and realized he wasn't irredeemable, Lilina and I were practically adults and since Lilina was a big reason for his turnaround I'm sure that's the main reason they got together." Roy noted. "He was able to give Lilina the attention and love she wanted and she was able to give him a reason to be better and the comfort that was ripped away from him. And also around that time I had fallen for someone else as well, my current wife, so things worked out pretty well I would think."

"And you don't resent either of them?" Byleth asked.

"Of course not." Roy stated confidently. "I'm sure there are other Outrealms where their Roy and Lilina got together for any of those reasons or more and the people who gossip about it should just go there if it's such a big issue for them."

"Maybe Lilina should send them there herself." Byleth joked.

"She is researching Outrealm travel a lot in her free time." Roy noted. "But why so curious about my relationship with her and Rutger?"

"Just another perspective to help me deal with my relationship with Claude. I figured since I got advice from Rutger and Lilina I should hear your side of things, you being the 'third wheel' so to speak." Byleth explained.

"Ah, I see. Well, I'm glad I could help if I did." Roy said with a smile.

"You did Roy, thank you."

The combined forces of the Alliance and Kingdom armies were inside the gates of Enbarr, though Claude still had some tricks up his sleeve. He had staggered his forces so that if any reinforcements were to come Dimitri and the Blue Lions would be there to meet them, meaning that they wouldn't have to worry about them getting into the city. But the plans didn't stop there. With some careful planning and a good suggestion from Roy a small strike force consisting of Rutger, Lilina, Felix, Annette, Marianne, Lysithea and Roy was able to sneak into the west side of the city, closer to the gates.

"I really wish I could finish what I started with the Death Knight, but we've got bigger fish to fry." Rutger noted.

"Is everyone clear on the plan?" Roy asked before they broke into the city.

"We clear out anyone near here as fast as we can and then Lilina will distract Hubert with some long range magic." Felix answered.

"Giving me time to warp you and Rutger over to where Hubert is so you can deal with him up close and personal." Lysithea continued.

"Then the rest of us are to meet with the rest of the army near the center square and help with the Death Knight if he's still alive." Marianne finished.

"Good. Now this plan might have some hiccups along the way, but I have confidence that all of you will play your part well." Roy assured them all. After that they broke through and made quick work of the Empire forces that were near their entrance. Lilina broke off slightly from the group to get in Hubert's Bolting range as she pulled out her Elibian Bolting tome.

"The nice thing about this, I have three more casts than he does." Lilina smirked as she fired the first salvo. As she and Hubert dueled with their lightning Lysithea prepared to warp Roy over to Hubert.

"Are you sure you should be going first?" Lysithea wondered. "Rutger could handle Hubert on his own."

"It's to put his guard down. If he think's I'm an easy match then Rutger can surprise him from behind." Roy noted. Lysithea shrugged and cast her Warp spell on him, sending him a few feet away from Hubert as he was casting his Bolting.

"They sent you? The weakest one of your friends?" Hubert taunted. "I don't know what kind of trick this is but-" He cut off his sentence when he felt a faint magical presence behind him. He quickly turned around and grabbed Rutger by the throat with some dark magic and lifted him up off the ground. "I see, you wanted to get me talking so your friend here could get me from behind. Devious plan boy, but you're up against the master of devious plans!"

"Let him go!" Roy yelled as he charged Hubert with all his might. But he too was caught by his dark magic grasp.

"Weaklings, looks like you're not going to get back home after all." Hubert taunted. But Rutger started laughing instead of being fearful. "Laughter, at a time like this? You really are a strange lot." Roy didn't get it at first but when he did he started laughing as well. "Why are you two laughing, I'm about to kill you!"

"Look up." Was all Rutger had to say before Hubert did just that and realized that he was the butt of the joke.

"Well shit." Was all he could say before he took a direct hit from Lilina's Bolting. He dropped both the guys and as soon as they landed on their feet the instantly swiped their swords through Hubert's flesh, cutting him cleanly into three pieces.

"Did you plan for that?" Rutger asked as they faced down the two armor knights that had been near Hubert for his protection.

"No, but it worked." Roy shrugged before they finished off the knights. Over with the Death Knight things went pretty much as expected. He was a tough fight, but without Hubert's magic or and reinforcements coming he was slowly worn down until someone finally got a killing blow on him. After that the army regrouped and made their plans for the castle raid.

"Alright, with the map we got from Anna I've come up with a similar plan to Roy's for the city." Claude explained. "Dimitri, you and the Lions will come in from the secret passage here in the east and we'll pincer any soldiers blocking our path into the main hall. After that it's a clean shot right up to Edelgard and the throne."

"And you do still plan to kill her right?" Dimitri asked. While he was with the Alliance he had chilled out a bit thanks to Byleth and his friends, but he still wanted his revenge.

"Unless she fully surrenders, which I doubt." Claude answered. "And if she does, well she's probably going to be charged with war crimes anyways and sentenced to death, so I'll let you be the executioner if that happens. Deal?"

"It's acceptable." Dimitri stated gruffly. Before they made it into the castle Claude had some private words for Byleth, but soon enough they were breaking down the doors to make it inside.

"There are a lot more soldiers here than I though there would be." Claude commented when they made to the main area. "And the door is locked, of course it is. Any brilliant plans anyone wants to enact right about now?"

"Well, we could always just warp people past the door." Roy suggested. "I figure that if we sent you, Byleth, and Rutger across you can meet up with Dimitri and go from there, the rest of us can hold the fort here until we find a key."

"And I have a Warp staff right here, so Marianne will only have to dance either me or Lysithea once." Lilina said pulling her staff out.

"Well, let's get this moving then, before they realize we're here." Claude said. So the plan was set into motion, though there were complications. Petra was guarding the door and Dorothea was patrolling from a platform behind the stairs. As soon as she saw what was going on Petra charged the group but Leonie and Felix were able to hold her off for long enough for Lilina and Lysithea to warp everyone that needed it past the door.

Once he was on the other side Rutger saw another Crest beast and he instantly got it's attention.

"You two and Dimitri take Edelgard, the rest of us have your back!" He told Claude and Byleth and they nodded. He was able to dodge and counterattack long enough for Dedue and the rest of the Blue Lions to join him and they easily took care of the rest of the soldiers. Soon enough Roy and Lilina opened their door as well and Rutger peered in to see what happened. "Nice work you two."

"Same to you Rutger." Roy commended him. Some more reinforcements flooded through to the throne room, but with the power at their disposal and Roy taking charge it wasn't really a battle. Soon enough they were taken care of and it was done just in time to see Dimitri cutting Edelgard's head off after she managed to stab him a few times. The battle was over, but as they would soon find out, the war wasn't. Back outside Claude, Byleth, Dimitri, and the Elibe trio were talking when Judith came up with a letter to give to Claude.

"An Imperial general told me to give this to you." She noted.

"It's from Hubert." Claude noted with confusion before reading it out to everyone.

"Those who slither in the dark?" Rutger noted. "Needs a better name."

"Either way, it seems that they are the ones responsible for Lysithea's family getting experimented on, those Javelin's of Light, and a ton more." Claude noted.

"That line about 'The Children of the Goddess' gets me somehow." Roy commented. "That's probably referring to Seteth, Flayn, and Rhea. If that's the case then this order has been around just as long as they have."

"Meaning they could have been influencing Fodlan's history as well!" Lilina chimed in.

"Exactly, meaning that Rhea probably was keeping things secret because of them." Roy added, looking at Claude.

"It makes sense, but we still need to talk with her. So let's set out and find her first." Claude noted. So he took the same group to find her, plus Seteth, and eventually they did. When Rhea set eyes on Byleth she used all her strength to walk over and give her a big hug of relief.

"Don't worry, we're here finally." Byleth assured her. "All of us are actually." She added allowing Rhea to see everyone who came.

"Claude...Seteth...Dimitri...Lilina...Rutger...and I'm assuming that you are their friend Roy?" She asked slowly.

"That would be correct." Roy nodded.

"Thank you all, thank you so much for all you've done to get here to me." Rhea told them with what energy she had. "The Goddess really has blessed you all."

"In more ways than one, but I'm afraid the war isn't quite over." Claude noted, giving Rhea a confused look.

"Rhea, we have a lot to tell you." Seteth stated. So he started telling her about how he had to let Claude, Byleth, and the others about who they were and Claude then came in and told her about Hubert's letter and 'those who slither in the dark' and where they were holed up.

"I still think they need a better name." Rutger commented.

"You can call them the Agarthans and they are the mortal enemies of the Goddess and her children which number a scant few including myself, Seteth, and Flayn." Rhea commented, a bit more fire and energy in her voice.

"Woah, your mood changed quickly." Claude noted.

"Should I not be angry at those who massacred my people at Zanado all those years ago?" She asked. "Giving that foul Nemesis the power to rise up against the rest of my family and do unspeakable things with their remains just to give themselves more power?"

"Wait, these Agarthans were in league with Nemesis, all that time ago?" Roy asked, since he had read the history books.

"Yes, and it was I who finally killed him on the Tailtean Plains as Seiros." Rhea confirmed. "But ever since then the Agarthans have plotted to take Fodlan again and again, and this war was just another one of those plots."

"Are you saying that they manipulated Edelgard into doing their bidding?" Dimitri asked.

"Slightly yes, but I feel she would have revolted without their support either way. They also set things in motion for what happened in Duscur as well." Rhea added.

"Well then, it looks like my fight isn't over just yet." Dimitri stated. "My family will have it's full revenge!"

"Looks like I won't have to be convincing you to help us." Claude noted before turning to Rhea. "You and me, when this is over, we need to talk about some things. But for now we need to get rid of these Agarthans once and for all."

"Get rid of them and then I will tell you anything you want to know, you have my word Claude." Rhea stated.

"I'll keep you to that Rhea, mark my words."

Blue Sea Moon 1186

Once again back at the monastery Claude called a meeting to discuss something that was on his mind.

"So, I'm wondering why the Agarthans haven't tried to use any more Javelins of Light on us. They have to know we're still alive and kicking. Why not plaster this place with them and wipe us off the map?" He wondered.

"Maybe they only had the ones they used and haven't made any more?" Hilda suggested.

"Maybe they can't reach this far out?" Ignatz wondered.

"It's because they are unable to do so because the monastery is protected from them." Rhea said coming up with Seteth behind her.

"Lady Rhea, is it alright for you to be up this quickly after what happened?" Roy asked concerned.

"I will be alright, I can't rest and allow Fodlan or it's people come to ruin because of those Agarthans and their plot." Rhea replied sternly. "Though I do appreciate your concern."

"So what do you mean by the monastery being protected?" Lilina wondered.

"Long ago a similar thing happened at this very spot, one of those Javelins of Light was heading for us, but then by the power of the Goddess is was deflected and landed in what is now the Valley of Torment." Rhea explained.

"So it was technically the Agarthans that made it that way, and not the Goddess. Interesting." Rutger mused while Roy gave Claude another knowing look.

"Yes, that is correct." Rhea replied. "And that reason is why most of my people gathered in Zanado, the Holy Tomb was created to repel evil forces and it was the closest town to the monastery with enough space."

"Okay, that answers why they didn't attack us here, but what about other places we've been?" Claude wondered.

"Well, Hubert's letter stated he found out where their base was because they used them." Judith pointed out. "I'm pretty sure we could have done the same if we were thinking about it instead of trying to invade the Empire."

"Yes, Professor Hanneman and I could have done it easily given enough time." Lysithea chimed in. "Even faster if Lilina chipped in."

"That's a good point, but whatever the case it seems like they can't use them at will, thank the Goddess." Claude noted.

"Maybe it's because they don't think we know where they are." Roy suggested. "Would you think Hubert of all people would tell us that information?"

"No, and that means they are perfectly open for a surprise attack." Claude explained.

"I will accompany you." Rhea cut in.

"Even if you went in there as the Immaculate One, you are still weak from confinement Rhea. I don't like this idea." Seteth noted.

"I wasn't planning on going that far, Claude and the army can handle things." Rhea replied. "We've been locked in battle with these Agarthans for centuries, I want to make sure they are gone for good this time and learn why they did what they did to us and our family."

"I-I can't rightly say no after that can I?" Seteth said stepping back. "But don't overexert yourself, that just might be what they want you to do."

"I will do my best to stay safe Seteth, but if it comes to it I will burn that entire base to ash if I have to." Rhea told him with steel in her voice.

"I don't know about you all, but having Rhea with us will be a big confidence boost." Claude noted. After that a few more things were talked about before the meeting was over. When it was Rhea turned to the Elibe trio.

"Would you three meet me in my office, I would like to speak with you privately." She told them.

"Sure thing." Lilina replied. So a few minutes later the three were in her office with Seteth as well.

"First off I would like to thank you three again for coming to my rescue." Rhea commended them. "I was told by Seteth that you could have gone straight home after seeing Fodlan as it was but you didn't, and for that you have my eternal gratitude."

"Well, we couldn't just leave you and our friends in the lurch like that." Rutger noted. "Not after you helped us get home the first time."

"And it hasn't been all bad, we've gotten to make new friends and learn new skills and everything." Lilina added.

"I got to learn a bunch of new history as well." Roy chimed in.

"I'm glad you could enrich yourselves in times like these." Rhea noted. "The second thing I want to ask you about is Claude. He seemed...disturbed when you came and rescued me, if that makes any sense."

"Oh, believe me, we've been having debates about you the whole time we've been here." Roy noted.

"At the beginning Claude was dead set on removing you from power because he didn't like the fact that you had been hiding information about the past from the public and had secret plans no one knew about except for you." Lilina added. "But, we've gotten it to the point where he's willing to talk things through with you if you're willing to be honest with him."

"That's not totally unexpected given how Edelgard acted with the same feelings and a nudge by the Agarthans." Rhea sighed. "Perhaps it is time to share with people what my long term plans for Fodlan are."

"I'd say after the war is the best time to do so." Seteth noted. "Both Claude and Dimitri are working together and once the Empire finds a new ruler it will be easier to convince them of your plans with them in agreement, or at least acknowledgement, of them as well."

"What are your plans for Fodlan, if you're willing to tell us?" Rutger wondered.

"Very well." Rhea said before taking a deep breath. It didn't take too long for her to explain her ideas and the trio were receptive to them and they made sense from someone like Rhea's point of view. "I understand that it might be a slow process in human time, but eventually it would work out."

"Humans can be pretty picky when it comes to time frames." Roy agreed.

"One thing I'm still stuck on was trying to revive Sothis?" Lilina wondered.

"Yes, I've tried a few possible methods but none seemed to work out." Rhea noted.

"So, Sothis being in Byleth's head wasn't what you wanted?" Rutger asked.

"Wait what?" Rhea replied confused.

"She didn't tell you?" Lilina asked. "Yeah, before she got trapped in that magic darkness she had Sothis talking to her in her head. But they had to fuse together to have enough power to get out."

"So that's why nothing happened when she sat on the throne." Rhea noted. "That makes so much sense now. Well, I guess that one wasn't really a failure after all. I wanted someone who could lead Fodlan in my stead once things calmed down, and it seems Byleth is the perfect candidate for that."

"Things just have a way of working out sometimes, huh?" Roy chuckled.

"Well, I'm satisfied, you may go about your business now if you'd like." Rhea told the trio and they left shortly afterwards.

"This worked out so much better than I thought it would." Rhea said to Seteth as she allowed herself to relax in her chair. "Maybe I shouldn't have been so dead set on sending them home so quickly last time, they might have been able to stop this whole war before it started."

"Perhaps, but the past is the past, we must focus on the tasks ahead of us."

Rutger/Raphael A-Support

"Ah Raphael, I finally found you." Rutger said slightly out of breath as he walked into the training grounds.

"You were looking for me?" Raphael asked. "Sorry I had you running around so much, I've been kind of busy today. What do you need buddy?"

"Well, remember back when I was here last time I said I'd come up with a solution for your combat outfit not having pockets for snacks?" Rutger asked back.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that. Did you find something that could work?" Raphael wondered.

"I think so, look at this." Rutger said pulling something out of a sack he was carrying. "It's a belt you can wear over your combat outfit that has a number of small pouches you can put food, or pretty much anything else you want in them." He got closer and handed it over to Raphael so he could inspect it.

"This is awesome! And it looks like it's just my size!" Raphael said before strapping it around his waist. "A perfect fit! Thank you so much Rutger, I knew you'd find a solution with that big brain of yours."

"No problem, it's always nice to help a friend out." Rutger replied with a smile.

"Well, since you're here, you want to train a bit? We still need to get stronger if we're gonna beat those Agarthan guys." Raphael suggested.

"Sure, I've been working on my hand-to-hand combat a bit actually." Rutger noted. So the two trained for a bit to sharpen their skills, but eventually they tired out and sat down to eat some snacks and drink some water to recover.

"Ahh, that hits the spot." Raphael sighed after taking a particularly large drink.

"Hey Raph, can I ask you a question?" Rutger wondered.

"Sure, fire away buddy." Raphael told him.

"What do you think about this war? I mean it's been going on for a while and we just found out we have to fight even more. Doesn't that worry you a bit?" Rutger asked.

"Maybe a little, but then I remember what I'm fighting for." Raphael replied. "I'll fight for as long as I have to if it means my little sister and the rest of my family are safe. You having some doubts Rutger?"

"No, it's just the longer me and my friends are here the better the chance we don't get home." Rutger noted. "And there are people back home that need us, but you guys need us as well and we don't want to leave you hanging like that. And we don't want to leave too early like last time and not make sure everything is settled."

"Well then, that's what you're fighting for then and you should focus on that. That will give you the energy to make it back home." Raphael noted.

"You raise a good point as usual." Rutger chuckled. "Plus I doubt this war is gonna keep dragging like the last one I was in did."

"Hey, could you tell me more about that, just to pass some time to rest more?" Raphael asked.

"Sure thing. So after we had defeated the king of Bern, who was basically our Edelgard, we got possession of his transforming sword and before we knew what was going on it reacted to the rest of our Legendary Weapons and pointed us to a place called the Dragon Temple..."

Roy/Claude A-Support

"So, what did Rhea want with you three?" Claude asked Roy as they were once again playing chess and talking with each other.

"She just wanted to thank us for staying and rescuing her and she wanted to hear our viewpoint of things as an outside party." Roy noted.

"Did you say anything about me?" Claude wondered.

"Yeah, we told her how we convinced you to have a more civil discussion with her instead of how you were going to handle things." Roy answered. "And after everything we've learned about her people and the Agarthans I would say that was a pretty wise move on my part since it turned out I was right about pretty much everything." He said that last part giving Claude a knowing look.

"Being overfilled with pride doesn't suit you my friend." Claude commented, though he had to admit that Roy was right. "Anything else she told you?"

"Well we asked her what her plans were for Fodlan and she told us them since she knows we can really do anything to mess them up at this point." Roy explained. "And she told us she would tell you the same after the war is over."

"Ah, a bit more motivation for me to get on with it then, smart." Claude noted.

"You seem disappointed." Roy commented. "Isn't this what you wanted?"

"Kind of." Claude mused. "I guess a part of me wanted Rhea to be less cooperative so I could have a moral high ground on her, but now that she's giving me everything I want, well there isn't much to strive for anymore."

"That's your inner Edelgard talking." Roy noted. "Take the victory Claude. This is probably one of the best outcomes for your plans and for Fodlan as a whole. You're a hero and will be a hero to countless people now and in the future. You showed that someone from Almyra can make a difference that that will spark hope in other people around the world."

"Do you ever get tired of being right Roy?" Claude asked chuckling and shaking his head.

"I'm not always right." Roy noted.

"Oh yeah, give me an example." Claude teased.

"Well, there was this time back home during our war, in a place called the Western Isles..."

"And we thought the places that held the Legendary Weapons were odd." Roy mused as the army walked into Shambhala.

"This place seems so cold, so empty." Lilina added with a bit of a shiver.

"It's unsettling." Rutger agreed, not liking how still the air felt and how dark this place was.

"If the Agarthans have their way all of Fodlan will become like this." Rhea stated. "While it is true that they have advanced technology further than any nation of Fodlan or even the world, it's not ready sent out into the world. More wars and more power struggles will erupt if any of it makes it's way out, and I'm quite sure none of you want that."

"Yeah, one six year war is enough for my lifetime." Claude agreed. "Any thoughts on a strategy Roy?"

"This place seems to be built around geometric shapes, perhaps if we send small groups to each corner we can stall their decision making enough to have them make some mistakes." Roy suggested.

"Just keep this in mind, they will be targeting Byleth more than the rest of you since she houses the power of Sothis inside of her." Rhea noted.

"Hmm, I think we can work with that." Claude smirked

"What the fuck is this thing?!" Rutger asked as a huge metal beast lumbered towards him and his group consisting of Marianne and Hilda along with himself. They were sent on a mission to take town the controls of some towers that could cast Bolting from their spires.

"Hopefully something we can smash!" Hilda commented as she lunged in the air with her relic and tried to bash the beasts head in. Her blow connected but the beast blocked most of it with it's shield.

"Oh yeah? Block this!" Rutger said before unleashing his ultimate attack on the metal beast. He connected with most of his strikes but they didn't do that much damage. "Damn, this thing must have a weak spot!"

"It must be the head!" Marianne noted. "It blocked Hilda's attack but not yours Rutger, like it was protecting itself!"

"Well, how do we get it to not block it's head?" Hilda wondered.

"I got it!" Rutger said as his eyes lit up. "Instead of attacking one at a time we attack it both at the same time." As he said this he pulled out a sword that could easily cut through armor. "As it's distracted with me and my speed you can come in and bash the head in easily."

"That's a great plan Rutger!" Hilda noted.

"Here, I'll dance for you two to give you as much energy as you can to pull it off." Marianne said before she started to dance for the two of them.

"Ready? On three." Rutger said.

"1"

"2"

"3!" And with that Rutger and Hilda both attacked the metal monstrosity and the plan worked to perfection. It was so busy trying to swat Rutger away like a fly that it didn't notice Hilda coming down on it's head until it was too late.

"Hell yeah!" Rutger cheered as the metal beast died. "Now, let's smash that control room!"

Once the Viskam were shut down Byleth, Claude, and Lilina made their way to the main room in the middle of everything. They beat the guard to get the key and Claude opened it up to see a very confined place to fight.

"So, you've come Fell Star, or should I call you Sothis!" A man with white hair and skin taunted Byleth as they came in. Claude and Lilina quickly engaged his guards so Byleth could deal with him.

"You can call me Byleth, and for all the people of Fodlan and for all those who fell in this retched war, I will be the one to defeat you once and for all!" Byleth said confidently as she held the Sword of the Creator in her hands. "But more importantly for me, THIS IS FOR MY FATHER YOU ASSHOLE!" And with that the battle began. The man with white hair was a mage so he started by casting a bunch of small spells to try and keep Byleth at bay, but she swiped them all away with her sword. She would not be stopped, she would end this war once and for all! The man kept casting stronger and stronger spells at her but they all dissolved around Byleth as she started to glow even greener than before. As soon as she got into striking range she lashed out with her sword and with one blow the man was brought to his knees. Byleth gave him one more just to make sure the deed was done before turning around to see Rhea at the entrance of the room.

"The deed is done, the rest of the army has dispatched the rest of the Agarthans so all that is left is to find a way to destroy this place." Rhea noted.

"You want this place destroyed?" The voice of the white haired man taunted from the back of the room. "Very well, let me grant you this last wish. DIE WITH THE REST OF US!" With that he activated some sort of mechanism on the floor though nothing happened for a bit. That is until a Javelin of Light crashed through the ceiling and started making Shambala crumble.

"He's firing it on his own base! Everyone evacuate!" Claude yelled as he and Lilina left to try and get everyone out.

"There isn't enough time." Rhea said more to herself than anyone before turning to Byleth. "My child, I'm sorry we couldn't spend more time with each other, but know that in the deepest reaches of my heart I love you as I would my own kin." And with that she leaped up onto the rubble and transformed into the Immaculate One to try and fend off the Javelins.

"Rhea no!" Byleth called out but she couldn't do anything to stop her. All she could do is watch as she tried to blow the Javelins up in the air before they reached Shambala. She was successful for a time but in her weakened state from captivity she couldn't take them all out. She did however take out enough to give everyone enough time to evacuate, even giving Byleth enough time to pick her up and carry her body out. Rhea was still breathing but she was barely hanging on to life.

"We have to get her back to the monastery!" Byleth said frantically. "Lysithea, Marianne, Lilina! Do what you can to stabilize her please!" So they did as they could as everyone quickly made their way back to the monastery. When they got their Rhea was immediately taken into Manuela's office and Byleth couldn't help but wait at the door to hear any news about her condition. Eventually though she knew she had to rest and when she went downstairs she saw Claude talking with the Elibe trio.

"Any news on Rhea's condition?" Lilina worried.

"No, the healers are trying their best, but she's still barely hanging on." Byleth answered.

"Geez, I wanted to see her turn into that form again, but not like this." Claude noted. "And I've still got all those questions I wanted to ask her about. Not that that is the only reason I want her to pull through of course, but I'd be lying if I didn't say it was one."

"Well, if she doesn't, we'll tell you what she told us." Rutger noted.

"Yeah, let's just wait until things calm down." Roy added. "At least we know she's safe here and that the Empire and the Agarthans are taken care of. Dragons, or Children of the Goddess as she is tend to be tough to put down for good, I'm sure she can pull through."

"Let's hope so, for all of our sakes."

Verdant Rain Moon 1186

There was no word from or about Rhea for about a week after the raid of Shambhala, but then suddenly Seteth told Claude, Byleth, and the Elibe trio that she wanted to see them on the balcony right next to her room so she could speak with them. So the five of them got ready for some serious discussion and made their way up to where Rhea wanted to meet them.

"Rhea, are you really sure it's okay to be doing this so soon after what happened?" Byleth wondered, concern spilling out of her voice.

"If I don't do it now, I may never be able to." Rhea answered with a slow and weak voice.

"What exactly does that mean?" Claude wondered.

"It means you'll be getting what you wanted from the beginning either way." Rhea noted. "I don't have much time left in this world, but I am a woman of my word and I will answer any questions you have for me."

"Well, let's start off with how you know your dying?" Rutger questioned.

"As with many things Children of the Goddess take more time to do things than regular humans, even dying." Rhea explained. "My body is trying it's best to heal me, but I'm no fool, eventually it will fail me. That's why I wanted to do this now before I truly lose the strength to do so."

"Can't really disprove that I guess so let's move on." Claude noted. "Seteth already told us everything he knew, but I'd like to hear the whole story from your mouth about everything. Crests, relics, the Goddess, all of it."

"Very well." Rhea said before taking a deep breath. She went on to recount about how Sothis came to Fodlan, how she tried to guide mankind before they rose up against her, how she restored the land using her power and had to sleep, and how Nemesis killed her and used her blood and bones to make the first Crest and relic and how he did the same with other Children of the Goddess. Then she went on to recall how she fostered the growth of the Empire as Seiros and defeated Nemesis on the Tailtean Plains all those years ago. After that she went on into more detail about how she set up the monastery to try and continue Sothis' guidance and how that led to the situation today.

"Yeah, that's pretty much what Seteth told us, with some more specific and personal details sprinkled in." Roy noted.

"I'd have to agree, and with the way you speak of it so clearly, I can hardly deny you were their yourself." Claude agreed. "So I guess the big question I have is, what was/is the plan here? If Edelgard wouldn't have risen up, what was going to happen?"

"Do remember that I was expecting to live much longer than this when I made this plan, but the idea was that first I was going to let things play out until Crests disappeared on their own." Rhea explained.

"What do you mean by that?" Lilina asked.

"She probably means that since Crests are transferred by blood that eventually it would be so thin in human blood that they wouldn't show up any more." Roy mused. "Like she said, it might take a while though. Given the information about them I could read in the library a conservative estimate would be at least 500 years from now."

"More like 600 given my calculations, but yes you are correct." Rhea stated. "And when that time came I was hoping to have my mother revived by then so she could tell everyone she took the Crests away because the nobility had been abusing the common people with them, granted she and the Church still had a good reputation which they should have."

"And then you would have moved to incorporate people from outside of Fodlan into it since they didn't start off with Crests in the first place?" Claude asked.

"Precisely. Me doing things like taking Cyril in and showing him and the people of Fodlan that people from the outside can work together was another big picture plan of mine." Rhea added. "But don't get the idea I was just using Cyril, I do truly care for the boy and his well being."

"Well, I don't think anyone could doubt that." Rutger noted.

"But what now?" Byleth asked Rhea. "Now that you won't be around, what are to do about going about uniting the world like you wanted to?"

"In the past I worried about such a situation happening and what I would do if it came to pass, but now as my time is coming I'm confident that my successors will bring about the Fodlan that I dreamt about every night." Rhea assured her. "You Byleth are the new voice of the Goddess, you've brought together so many people and inspired them, there is no doubt that people will continue to follow you centuries into the future." Then she turned to Claude. "And in the short term I can think of no one better than you to find a way to make people's lives better and more inclusive. I just beg of you one thing Claude."

"And what would that be?" Claude wondered.

"Don't make the same mistakes I did. Don't hide your intentions until the last moment." Rhea told him. "You've seen what it's done to me and my plans, it slowly sows the seeds of distrust and eventually it blooms into a field of war and bloodshed. If there is one thing in my life that I regret it's that."

"Well, I'll do my best, but as usual I can't guarantee anything." Claude noted. "But with Byleth by my side I'm sure things will work out in the end."

"That's all I can ask for Claude." Rhea replied. She was about to end this meeting and go back to resting, but suddenly a Knight of Seiros burst through the door to the balcony with news. Apparently a rouge military force from the east was making noise and destroying cities.

"Did we miss some of those Agarthan scum?" Rutger wondered hearing the news. Then things just got worse as Hilda and another Knight came with more news. The same military force had already made it to the Great Bridge of Myrddin and had taken out Hilda's brother Holst. The news that got Rhea spooked was that the commander had a sword similar to the Sword of the Creator and flew the Crest of Flames as his banner.

"It can't be." She muttered to herself before gaining back some strength and confidence. "It's Nemesis, he's somehow returned.

"How is that even possible, you killed him!" Claude exclaimed.

"Welllllllll..." Roy dragged out, not really knowing if he should speak up or not.

"Just say it Roy, we're all thinking it." Lilina told him.

"The Agarthans were experts at dark magic and dark magic experiments right?" Roy mused. "It's far from unlikely that they stumbled across the same thing druids in our world did, that you can drain the life force from people and mold it into a being of any shape or form. We call them Morphs."

"And if the Agarthans have been around as long as you have Rhea, there is no doubt they would have enough life force to create a Morph as strong as you claim Nemesis to be." Rutger added. "Given what we know about their Crest research as well, they could have given him a Crest of Flames as well."

"Either way, that's bad news." Claude noted. "But we'll just have to face him like we've done every other enemy we've come across."

"Our bright future will not stand for as long as he lives!" Byleth agreed.

"Go my child, use the powers that Sothis, that my mother, gave you, and end this blood stained war!"

Lilina/Lysithea A-Support

Lilina was preparing for what was hopefully the final battle in her and Rutger's room when she heard a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Lilina called out.

"It's me Lysithea, can I come in?" the answer came through the door.

"Of course, the door is unlocked." Lilina replied and a few moments later Lysithea stepped in and closed the door behind her. "What brings you here today Lysithea?"

"Well, a number of things actually." Lysithea admitted, her voice not sounding as confident as usual. "First off I wanted to thank you for not telling people my secret when you found out five years ago, and for convincing Hilda and Manuela to not do so as well."

"The way I saw it, it wasn't my secret to tell." Lilina told her truthfully. "I figured I hadn't gotten to a point where you actually trusted me with that information and Hilda and Manuela were easy enough to convince."

"Either way, it meant a lot to me that Claude was actually surprised when I told him when I did, even with you standing right there next to him." Lysithea commented. "Secondly, I'd like to apologize for how I treated you back then. It was very rude of me to be so hostile to you when you were just trying to be helpful and look out for my well being. As you saw those experiments gave me a second Crest, but it's also greatly shortened my lifespan. So that's why I'm always so eager to get things done and rush through life, I don't know when it's suddenly going to get worse or even end." As Lysithea was saying all that Lilina started to feel bad and she walked over and gave her a hug when she was finished. "What? A hug?"

"Why not?" Lilina replied simply. "You sounded like you needed a hug and I like giving hugs to my friends."

"You think of me as a friend?" Lysithea wondered. "After everything I've said to you?"

"Of course I do." Lilina confirmed. "Yeah, you might be a little prideful and let your emotions take control of what you say from time to time, but deep down you are a very wonderful and intelligent woman who cares for the people around her, and I like being around people like that."

"I-I don't know what to say to that." Lysithea stumbled, not thinking she'd get this far.

"Then just enjoy the hug, you don't have to say anything." Lilina assured her. So that's what Lysithea did, she hugged Lilina back and enjoyed the warmth and connection the two had. All good things have to end though, so eventually they sat down on the bed so they could talk more. "Is there anything else on your mind Lysithea?"

"Yes, actually." Lysithea noted. "That song you sang to me when you took all those needles out of my body. Could you sing it to me again? I've got most of it down, but I think if I hear it one more time I'll be able to remember it perfectly. Believe it or not, thinking about it really got me through some tough times over the last five years.

"I would love to sing it to you again." Lilina smiled. So she started singing the song again and soon enough Lysithea was joining in with her, filling the room with a warm and calming sound and atmosphere.

"You're quite the singer as well Lysithea, is there anything you can't do?" Lilina joked when they were done.

"Probably a few things, but I pride myself at being multi-talented." Lysithea replied, purposely sounding over confident as a joke. It worked and they both laughed at it together. "Goddess, it's been so long since I've been able to just laugh and relax like this. Thank you Lilina."

"No problem, that's what friends do." Lilina said with a smile. For some reason that made Lysithea feel some sort of way and she quickly pecked a kiss on Lilina's cheek before pulling back embarrassed, wondering why she had done that.

"Ahh! I'm sorry! I don't know what got into me there!" Lysithea said standing up and getting ready to leave. But Lilina quickly grabbed her wrist and kept her in place as she stood up as well.

"Lysithea, calm down. I'm not adverse to a pretty girl kissing me, just ask Annette and Byleth." She told her. "Just tell me what's going on and I can help you with it as well." There was a bit of a silence between the two before Lysithea took a deep breath and decided it was now or never.

"Alright, but you can't make fun of me for this." Lysithea stated.

"Of course I won't." Lilina promised. Another moment of silence as Lysithea collected herself.

"There is one thing that I've been itching to do for a while now, something that truly makes people see you as an adult." Lysithea noted. "And I know it might be selfish or even childish to think this way, but it's what I want and I'm old enough to make these kind of decisions for myself. I want to be intimate with someone before we head out to this last battle. I've never done it before and we don't know if we're gonna come back from this one. I'd ask Cyril, but he's too broken up about Rhea's health and her passing away, so I figured that I should come to you because I know you and Rutger are alright with being intimate with your friends."

"Lysithea, that's nothing to be ashamed of." Lilina assured her as she gave her another hug. "Lots of people try to have a moment of intimacy before heading out to a battle they might not return from, be it a husband with a wife, or a band of mercenaries with each other. That's perfectly normal."

"It is?" Lysithea wondered.

"It is." Lilina confirmed. "And I would love to be the one you spend that moment with. Would you like me to go get Rutger as well, I'm sure he'd be up for it too."

"No, I still want my real first time to be with Cyril, but I figured since we're both women that it kind of doesn't count since nothing will be going to far inside, if that makes sense." Lysithea noted.

"If it makes sense to you, that's all that matters." Lilina replied.

"Good." Lysithea commented before turning her body fully back to Lilina. "So, can I kiss you again then?"

"Go right ahead." Lilina smirked. So they started kissing for real. Soon enough they were making out and a bit later they had discarded their clothes and were on the bed. Lilina was sure to be nice and gentle with Lysithea as she was first starting out, but the longer they went the more she was able to handle and eventually they were really going at it.

"Goddess! This feels so good!" Lysithea moaned as the two girls were scissoring each other, their pussies and clits rubbing up against each other repeatedly.

"You are such a quick learner!" Lilina moaned back. "Not that I should be surprised or anything like that." Eventually though the first one to give out was Lysithea. She was inexperienced and had less energy than Lilina already so it was to be expected. But when they were done Lilina was sure to cuddle up real close to her and start singing again to keep the mood going.

"Thank you so much Lilina, you really don't know how much this meant to me." Lysithea said after she finally caught her breath and got her energy back.

"I'm just glad I could help." Lilina told her truthfully. "Are you ready to face off with Nemesis now?"

"I believe I am." Lysithea confirmed before sitting up on the bed.

"You're leaving?" Lilina wondered.

"Well yeah, you and Rutger probably want to have some fun together too. Plus from how you talk about each other, I have the feeling if he saw me like this he might get some blue balls." Lysithea teased, getting Lilina to laugh again as she sat up as well.

"Yeah, he probably would." Lilina agreed before moving in and giving Lysithea one last kiss. "I had a lot of fun with you, I hope you remember this moment for a while."

"I'll remember it as long as I can."

Roy/Flayn A-Support

"So, why did you want to talk to me so suddenly Roy?" Flayn wondered. "Perhaps you've changed your mind on my proposition?"

"No Flayn, that's not why I wanted to talk to you. Though the subject is adjacent to that." Roy noted.

"Adjacent how?" Flayn asked.

"Well, since Rhea isn't going to be around any more, you along with Seteth are the last ones of your kind who are able to have children." Roy explained himself. "Unless you find some more hiding out somewhere of course. I fear that status will cause a number of men to try and take advantage of you. Especially if Claude and Byleth continue Rhea's plan to make Crests go away eventually, because there are some people who will still desperately want that power."

"Yes, yes, Seteth has already told me similar things." Flayn replied. "And while usually I would chalk that up to his overprotectiveness, I have to agree with him on that fact. But now that you bring up that fact, I think I might have an idea that might work out for all of us getting what we want."

"And what would that be?" Roy wondered.

"You said that back home in Elibe there is a village full of dragons in the desert right?" Flayn asked for confirmation.

"Yes, the village of Arcadia." Roy confirmed. "What about it?"

"Well, why don't you tell some of the cute guy dragons to come over here for a bit?" Flayn suggested. "Seteth and I already know how to hide ourselves, so hiding some dragons shouldn't be that much harder. That way I can have the romance that I want without having to worry about my partner dying before I do, Seteth can be secure in knowing I'm protected by a powerful partner, and people won't bother me for my Crest because I'll already be married."

"That's not a half bad idea." Roy mused. "Though to do so we'd have to have some better consistency when it comes to going back and forth from here to Elibe. But I doubt that will be an issue for long once we get back home, Lilina has already been talking about how she wants to expand relations between Fodlan and Lycia and told me she's gonna research a better way to do so. So eventually it could happen, though you might have to still wait a bit."

"Hey, if it's going to end up in a happy little bow I'll wait as long as I need to so I can meet my dream man." Flayn replied with sparkles in her eyes.

"Just don't put too high of expectations on them, they are imperfect just like we are, you'll have to put in work just like they will to get a relationship to work." Roy told her. "Not every relationship can be as good as others appear to be."

"Come on, have you ever heard Lilina and Rutger fight before?" Flayn teased.

"Yes, multiple times." Roy answered plainly. "But they do it in relative privacy because they don't want to worry their friends and because some of the topics relate to government secrets and plans for the future. Couples fight, even me and my wife fight from time to time because we don't agree on how to do things. She honestly was a bit skeptical of me even coming here in the first place and it took Lilina and Rutger both to convince her."

"Huh, so you're saying even your parents fought?" Flayn wondered.

"Probably. I was too young to remember any of them though." Roy noted. "But yes, you need to be prepared for having to compromise over you and your partner's differences."

"Maybe you were right, maybe I do need a couple hundred years more to think this whole relationship thing through completely."

"A poison swamp, that's a new one." Roy commented as the Alliance and Kingdom armies were prepared to face Nemesis and his horde.

"Lysithea, Annette, do you sense something strange from some of their commanders?" Lilina wondered. "Some sort of connection between them and Nemesis?"

"I sense a connection between them, yes." Lysithea replied.

"I feel it as well, what could it mean?" Annette asked.

"It probably means we'll have to take them down first before we can face Nemesis." Claude noted. "How many are out there."

"8...9...10!" Lilina replied quickly as she was already counting.

"10?" Claude questioned. "Like the 10 Elites? Don't tell me they made Morph versions of those guys too."

"I wouldn't worry about it too much Claude." Roy assured him. "With the numbers and strength we've gathered throughout this campaign, we're the stronger ones overall. They may have the strongest fighter, but it's good strategy that wins the day, 9 times out of 10."

"I couldn't have said it better myself friend." Claude smirked. "Alliance army! Kingdom army! Wipe these sad manifestations of Fodlan's past right off the map so we can have the bright future ahead of us! Charge!" So the armies charged the field, making sure to stay out of the water as much as possible.

And Roy's comprehension of the situation was correct, with the sheer amount of strong fighters they had they were easily able to topple the '10 Elites' and make their way towards Nemesis. Everyone swarmed around him to get as many pot shots as they could but eventually it boiled down to Byleth, Claude, and Dimitri facing him. Dimitri's strength was well suited to holding off Nemesis while Byleth darted back and forth around him and Claude provided support with his arrows from afar. Eventually it got to a point where Nemesis and Dimitri were in a weapon lock together and Byleth had wrapped the Sword of the Creator around Nemesis' neck.

"You weaklings couldn't even fight me one on one." Nemesis taunted. "How sad."

"Says the guy who brought ten of his strongest allies into the battle." Byleth taunted back.

"All that matters is that you die, for all those your people have slaughtered, for all those people who chose a path that lead to their demise, for all those tricked to serve you!" Dimitri shouted as he continuously tried to push Nemesis back with his lance.

"Yeah, and I'm sure someone like you has no concept of friendship, so I won't explain it to you. But that's how we've defeated you." Claude added as he shot an arrow up into the sky.

"Defeated? How haughty a thought." Nemesis threatened.

"They've got this don't they?" Rutger asked Roy from afar.

"The fight is already over." Roy confirmed. As Nemesis tried one last time to wrestle away from Dimitri the arrow shot by Claude pierced his arm and as he jerked back in pain Byleth used the Sword of the Creator to cut his head off cleanly. And as if my magic, which they all figured was the case at this point, when Nemesis died the rest of his forces crumbled to dust.

"You think we're finally gonna get to go home you two?" Lilina wondered as they watched the scene unfold.

"Yeah, I think this is the ending that's going to stick."

Horsebow Moon 1186

Rutger, Lilina, and Roy decided to stay long enough to be at Rhea's funeral. It wasn't as big or flashy as it might have been five years ago, but everyone was there along with a large number of Fodlan's nobility and upper class to pay respects to the woman who tried to guide Fodlan to a better future. Eventually though the trio needed to go back and everyone from the Officer's Academy who had survived the war was there to send them off once again.

"I'm not going to say goodbye you three, more like see you again." Byleth said giving them all a big hug.

"I'll be working on a way to make travel between our worlds easier, so sooner or later that will be the truth." Lilina told her.

"Thanks for everything you three have done, for me and for Fodlan." Claude told the three. "I'm not the same man I was five years ago, or even a year ago, and a lot of that is because of you guys. Just don't disappoint me and change for the worse when you go back okay?"

"I'm expecting the same from you Claude." Roy teased back as he and Claude shared a chuckle.

"Let me express my gratitude as well." Seteth stepped in. "Even if Rhea isn't with us any more, you've made it so Fodlan is more safe for Flayn and myself and given us a bright future to look forward to. You three are always welcome to come back and to stay for as long as you wish, or if you ever need asylum from enemies. The Knights of Seiros will provide whatever support you need."

"Thank you Seteth, that means a lot." Rutger told him. "And if you ever need help, feel free to call on us as well, you're just as much friends as you are allies." After that the former students said their farewells for now and then they gave one last big cheer as the trio stepped into the portal to go back home.

Elibe 1007 Years and 15 Minutes After the Scouring

The trio arrived back on Valor safe and sound with their new animal friends and whatever gifts and such they brought back from Fodlan. They quickly made their way back to the port where Geese was waiting to take them back home.

"You have room on your ship for some animals right?" Roy asked as they pulled up.

"Uhhh, yeah I guess." Geese replied a bit confused. "Where did you guys get a pegasus and a wyvern from? The horse I can kind of understand."

"It's a long story, we should have time to tell you on the way back." Lilina smirked.

"Alright, but you three have to clean up after them." Geese told them.

"Of course, we've been taking care of them for months now.

Endings

Lilina, the Firm Grasp of Ostia

Lilina continued her studies into Outrealms and within the next 5 years travel to Fodlan was made so easy that anyone and everyone who wanted to go back and forth between the lands was able to. This opened up many new economical and political pathways for both Fodlan and Elibe, and Lilina was ready to take the lead in both areas with the help of Claude, Dimitri, and the continued support of her loving husband Rutger.

Rutger, the Steady Winds of Sacae

Rutger continued to support Lilina in every way he could, and he regularly traveled to Fodlan to meet up with old friends and to share his wisdom with students when the Officer's Academy finally opened up once again. Time and time again he would be asked to become the school's new combat instructor, but he would always turn the offer down. That is until his eldest daughter Marilyn joined the Academy when she came of age.

Roy, the Fire of Pherae

Even though he hadn't been there the first time five years ago, Roy gained the respect of the people of Fodlan just as Lilina and Rutger had. Using that respect and the respect he had earned from the village of Arcadia, he allowed both dragons and Children of the Goddess to meet and share their knowledge with each other, enriching both peoples in the process. Though he never got to see it for himself, he took pride in knowing that people like Flayn, Fae, and Idunn would never be truly alone any longer.