Lie and Seek

by draconichero21

On Planet Earth, there are multiple superpowers that oversee the global populace, most prominently are those that follow the Church of Seiros: Adrestia, Faerghus, Leicester, and Britannia. A chance meeting interlocks the fate of Lelouch and Edelgard, unknowingly putting the fate of mankind in their very ambitious hands.

49. Defiant Claws, Horns and Feathers

(A/N: (cracks knuckles) (sets pot) (Drops potatoes to boil) (slathers cuts of meat with bbq sauce) (snaps fingers as fitting music plays) Showtime.)

---

The Green Pheasant defensive line had all but collapsed. The only remaining members alive where those who had transferred in, like Ashe and Felix, its best ace, Naomi Inoue, its professor, Kaname Ohgi, its leader, Kaguya Sumeragi, and a scant few others. The Blue Lions bearing down on the group was bad enough, but now the Golden Deer were breaking through their southern ranks.

Leonie, who had moved from the western flank to the northern flank during the Black Eagle's siege, now was charging forward, dual wielding cartridge pistols. Leaving the Green Pheasants to their fate, she made it to the Blue Lions main force and started opening fire. Without Dimitri around to rally them, the forces scattered. Mercedes, Leila, and Annette, the rear guard, did their best to heal troops, shoot, and sling spells, but Leonie had the speed and dexterity to avoid Annette's attacks. She activated the Amber Hornet and then began using the jet boosters on the back and soles to "skate" along the gras below her feet.

Taking grazing shots at the Lions, she began to circle back towards Lorenz. She reported in. "Lorenz. Claude. Something's wrong. The Blue Lions are scattering and only the rear guard is here. No sign of Dimitri. I'm pulling back."

"What?" Claude hissed in shock. "That doesn't make any sense. Dimitri's too smart to give up the main force now. Unless…" A prickling sensation on the back of Claude's neck clued him in to what was going on. He didn't vocalize what he'd come to realize though. "Leonie. Lorenz. Move in. If we clean up quick enough on the northeastern battlefield, Zero's going to have a hell of a time making any forward momentum. He'll either have to punch through us to the south and east or choose death by Britannia."

"Aha, any moment to show off my talents is time worth spent!" Lorenz replied. "All units, charge! Prioritize the Blue Lions!"

Claude dismissed contact with Leonie and Lorenz and contacted Lysithea. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine. Do you need me this soon?" Lysithea asked seriously, but without a hint of rudeness.

"I might. Dimitri's abandoned his main force to attack Zero. Not even sure if he brought token backup. I want you to move slightly north and survey the situation there. Don't make a big showing of it if you don't have to. But if things look bad, help our main force pull back and don't hold back to cover their escape."

"Got it," Lysithea told him. "How are things on your end?"

Claude looked at his western force locked in combat against the Black Eagles's collapsing eastern flank. "It's…going. Edelgard definitely chose Britannia over us. That's going to cost her once Hilda's knocking at her rear flank."

"She probably has faith in Professor Eisner to stop Britannia before then," Lysithea stated.

"Yeah, maybe," Claude remarked. But something about this doesn't feel right. There's more than just Zero on the battlefield as my rival in genius. Where's Lelouch? I would've expected to walk into one or two of his traps by now. Did Edelgard make him go up against Britannia too? What's going on with the Black Eagles?

---

As Claude contemplated this, Manuela was now on the winning end of her clash with Ohgi. "Well, this has been fun professor, but I really must be passing on for Professor Hanneman and his house. Nosferatu!" She declared. Draining the battery and energy right out of Ohgi's body, Manuela supercharged herself, practically back at full stamina.

Ohgi fell to the ground, dismissing his Uesugi as he fell, but trying to make it look like it had been shattered by the attack. He collapsed onto his back as, even the actress, Manuela walked up to him, heels pressing into his stomach. "Any last words?" she asked the younger man.

"Yeah," Ohgi said, noticing a glint from downwind. "Don't underestimate me or my students!"

BANG!

Manuela was completely caught off-guard by a massive kinetic slug slamming into the Radiant Diva dead center against her back. She turned to see just what had hit her, only to barely register a massive rifle down the battlefield, a scope giving off the glint of the sunlight above. Well, at least right before a slug pierced her HLKMF, shattering it and doing enough damage to her training armor underneath to completely bring its reserves to zero. Cause of "death?" shot through center of mass.

The shooter? Naomi Inoue, clad in her own HLKMF. The Kikai no Yurei had grown since the skirmish at Saitama. Patched like the camouflage of a Japanese military uniform, Inoue's mech sported an absurdly large rifle to compliment her Sniper certification she'd added to her frame just last week. Codename: Musei Heishi, the silent soldier.

Ohgi quickly got up and sent shots down the battlefield at the Golden Deer, putting the Uesugi back on. "Good work, Inoue. Pull towards us. This is about to be our last stand. Most of our troops are down. We're on our last legs."

"Understood," Inoue responded and moved in to regroup.

Lorenz immediately radioed the news to Claude. "Professor Manuela is down and Professor Ohgi is retreating to regroup with the rest of the Green Pheasants."

"Unless they engage, we need to focus on the Blue Lions, but without Professor Manuela, we're now shorter on leadership. Lysithea! Get in there! Forget about pivoting! If I need you here, just burn a warp charge!"

"On it!" Lysithea shouted. Finally, a chance to get into the action.

The smallest member of the Golden Deer launched herself into the fray. Having hung back to conserve energy, she was slinging half-powered Miasma blasts at anyone not wearing yellow or sporting a Golden Deer emblem. What was left of the Green Pheasants fell quickly and the Blue Lions didn't fare much better. Lysithea was the Golden Deer's other secret weapon and she was still at full strength. The tired soldiers she blew past were not ready for her power. And, as a group of them tried to stop her, the critical magic phenomenon occurred.

"You're irrelevant!" Lysithea shouted, unleashing a hard hitting Miasma blast that scattered enemies like ragdoll physics in a sandbox video game. KOs were handed out like candy on Halloween.

However, one Blue Lion remained firm against Lysithea's attack, the professor of their house: Professor Hannemann von Essar.

"Professor," Lysithea stated, backing up a couple of steps. If there was one man she respected in the mastery of the arcane arts, it was the Father of Crestology standing right in front of her.

"Ah, Lysithea. Good to see you on the frontlines. But, if you intend to take me on as your opponent, I'm afraid I will have no choice but to retaliate," he told her.

"Go ahead then," Lysithea stated, undeterred. "I've no intention of turning around. Claude gave me a job." Her gaze calmed and looked fierce. "Defeating you is part of it."

"Hmm, very well. Then perhaps I should show you that prodigy or no prodigy, why I am still one of this era's best and most powerful practitioners of magic at Garreg Mach. I believe, as the youth say, bring it on."

Lysithea didn't need to be told twice. She flung a Miasma bolt at Hanneman, only for the attack to harmlessly bounce against an oval barrier.

So that was how he deflected my critical attack.

"Sagittae!" Hannemann declared and attempted to pelt Lysithea with magic arrows.

This was where an arsenal of mostly offensive spells began to bite Lysithea in her small butt. Hannemann was ever the spell caster she was. And she was not a very mobile fighter so quick dodging was out of the question. That was why her main method of attack was to obliterate anything dumb enough to get in her way, or rely on teammates. But right now, she didn't have that luxury.

That left only one option. "HLKMF: Silver Jaguar!"

Activating her HLKMF in response, Lysithea was easily able to thwart Hannemann's attack. "Darkness take you! Swarm Zeta!" The tiny bugs of dark magic slammed towards Hannemann, bolstered by the wand held by Lysithea while using her frame.

Hannemann cast the same barrier as before, but it wasn't able to protect him completely. "Ah, I see that your Hard Light Knightmare Frame is nothing to be brushed off. Quite the potent magic force."

"If you continue to monologue and take notes mid-battle, I will attack you," Lysithea told him. "This is a battlefield."

Hannemann sighed. "Ah, youth. Always in such a hurry to get to the explosions and carnage. Never a time to marvel at the fundamentals. And that will be your undoing, Lysithea." Hannemann took out a brown crystal and activated it. "Let me show you my Hard Light Knightmare Frame."

Hannemann disappeared into a flash of dusty light and reappeared…in a brown cloak that completely hid his face, arms and legs. Codename: Faustian Phantom.

The frame simply raised an arm and Lysithea had to witness a red hot meteorite falling from the sky.

Silent incantation?! "Blaze Luminous!" Casting a shield around herself, Lysithea intended to take the attack head on. The projectile exploded upon colliding with her barrier, pushing her back against the dirt. Lysithea coughed, residual damage causing her to nearly hack up snot from her throat.

She then felt a chill as Hannemann's frame suddenly was in her intimate space. So close?! But how?

She had no time to question it. Hannemann was already charging a spell, and it was one Lysithea was uncomfortably familiar with.

Thoron.

The lightning blast send her hurtling towards the wall that served as the perimeter of the battlefield. Since out of bounds KOs were not allowed, a barrier was erected to help keep combatants in the arena.

Lysithea shook off the shock and disorientation. Hannemann was already floating towards her, another Meteor coming down from above.

"Miasma delta!" Lysithea shouted, blasting the projectile as it came in…to no effect.

She screamed as the attack slammed down onto her, bouncing her against the wall again. Hannemann then appeared right above her mid-bounce as he blasted a Thoron at her at point blank, blasting her into the ground.

Lysithea picked herself up out of the crater.

"Do you understand why you're losing?" Hannemann asked her. "It's because you only care about how magic can make you stronger! You comprehend the fundamentals to the degree that you need to in order to learn a spell, but you never take the time to master it. But of course, Dark Spikes Tau is purely your original design, but have you take the time to perfect it after creating it? You pride yourself on your genius, but you are a budding talent that has yet to bloom. And that, Lysithea von Ordelia, is why you will lose, having accomplished nothing, but learning a lesson today."

Hannemann's robe caught fire, but not in the "oh goddess I'm on fire!" way, but more a tremendously burning aura.

"Ragnarok."

A destructive blast of fire seared Lysithea and everything around her, causing her to scream as it heavily damaged her Silver Jaguar. The grass was seared away too, leaving Lysithea prone, face-down and on low battery of her frame.

"I commend your resilience, Lysithea, but I'm afraid your inexperience, not your power will be your downfall." Hannemann then prepared to cast Ragnarok again.

Lysithea could see it, her future, a girl who got in over her head, bested by the past generation, looking down on her. She stood, alone, unloved, having accomplished nothing, a failure.

She clenched dirt with her hand. She would not tolerate such a future. Her body began to glow. Her Crest of Gloucester, which she typically frowned upon for how it was given to her, seared against her hand. And then, something within Lysithea surged. Her power…was for more than just her, had been for some time.

Silver Jaguar was not her frame's original name, nor Saffron Chimera Claude's. The group had all decided, upon completing their first exams, to go with the stupid, silly animal and color theme naming Claude had come up with. It was such a dorky idea, but, in a way, it made Lysithea happy. Claude. That stupid, dorky idiot who couldn't take anything seriously. Hilda, who acted lazy, but was one of her best fighters, Ignatz, who didn't even want to be a knight, but still tried his best, Leonie who had her eyes on her future and never waivered, Raphael, the dumb muscle of the group with a heart to match his size, Marianne who, despite her doubts, Lysithea knew could be counted on, and yes, even Lorenz, for all his faults, could always be counted on to be a voice of reason when he wasn't stroking his ego.

And Lysithea…she…she would protect them all!

Sorry Claude, but I think I have to break our promise. I need to evolve…in a manner that befits me, Lysithea thought as her blue glow turned pitch black. Hannemann was about to cast Ragnarok now, but Lysithea was already standing. A shadow swept up her body, obscuring all but her hair and one of her very, very irate eyes from view.

Lysithea outstretched her hand…and called for Thyrsus.

In an instant, Ragnarok began to collapse inward on its target, only for a powerful energy to push it back: Lysithea's raw magic power and resilience.

"Hmm?"

A well of gravity based energy expanded outward and exploded the fire magic around her, like a vacuum seal erasing the oxygen from a fire. And then, from out of the dissipating inferno, floated Lysithea, a golden, sharp-ended mardi gras mask designed to look like the same material as Thyrsus, spread across her face. She was dressed in all black robes with a purple sash tied around her waist. A golden belt chain wrapped itself around the sashs. White leggings were visible under the frilled robe. Black boots up to her shins covered her feet. But, above all, magic swirled around Lysithea. Purple energy swirled around her left hand, red magic swirled around her right.

Hannemann's Faustian Phantom's scanner broke and cracked, damaging his monocle. Power was off the charts.

Codename: Calamity Lily.

Watching Dimitri and Balthus clash, Zero turned his head to the east where a font of power was erupting outward to the sky. "This…could be bad," he remarked.

The font was visible from even where Yuri and Dorothea were fighting. "Is that…Lysithea?!" Dorothea gasped.

"Okaaaaay, definitely on staying on this side of the center," Yuri remarked. He pulled back from Dorothea, peppering her with wind blasts so he could radio Zero, scouting the area to the south for a bit. "Zero, please tell me you have a plan for…that."

"I'm looking right at it," Zero remarked, looking at C.C., picking at a loose fragment of wood on the structure the center of the battlefield was erected upon. "Let's hope it's enough."

Hilda's crest glowed. "Looks like Lysithea's decided to stop holding back. Guess I will too." She charged in and nearly took Shirley's whole arm off. It was instantly healed by Flayn.

Shirley pushed her Crest of Cethleann to its limit. And, unbeknownst to her, if she didn't know this was a mock battle, the command Lelouch had placed on her would be flaring alarm bells. That was the danger Hilda here and Lysithea over there posed.

Lysithea floated into the air. "You said, professor, that I lack understanding of the fundamentals. You're half right. You said I would lose due to my inexperience, and that's partially right as well. However, I make up for both with my ability to learn, to plan and to adapt and grow." She gathered fire magic in her right hand. "Normally I can't cast this spell because it's too much for my body to handle." She gathered dark magic in her left. "But with this new frame," Lysithea stated as her battery flared to 100% due to the upgrade, "I'll show you my true power."

Panicked, Hannemann activated another Ragnarok spell and fired it off like a cataclysmic blast of fire magic, streaming it across the battlefield like some kind of Thoron on steroids. Lysithea did not panic, however. She channeled her power through Thyrsus as she brought her hands close together horizontally. She then pulled the apart and prepared to bring them together vertically.

"From hell's blackest pitch, I cast your might. Enslave me with your demonic power and rend my target silent," Lysithea remarked.

Ragnarok raced towards her but she was hardly bothered and called her spell's name with a tranquil tone.

"Hades…Omega."

Pulling her hands back, she then thrust them forward, releasing a blast of magic that matched and surpassed Hannemann's attack. The two attacks slammed into each other, blowing away nearby combatants from the shockwave alone.

"Whoa!" Leonie exclaimed, almost caught in it.

Despite it being a clash of fire and dark magic, the energy was so potent and the light so bright that it was hard to look at.

"Ohhhhhhh, so dibs on not fighting that," Sylvain remarked.

"Go! Go! Go! Go!" Annette shouted at the rear guard, pushing them west. If Hanemann couldn't stop it, the force behind him, which included her, was going to be annihilated. She had the option to team up with Mercedes and help Professor Hannemann, but if they headed west, they would at least be able to hopefully help Dimitri.

Hannemann pushed back against Lysithea's attack, even as the hood of his frame was blown off his face. Down his fancy monocle, a scratch caused by a kicked up sharp rock appeared on his wrinkled face. Sternly, he dug his heel into the ground and pushed against the attack, trying to push more magic into the attack. He doubled the attack using the power of his crest of Saint Indech. It worked…at least it seemed to.

But Lysithea was done holding back. Taking one hand off the power of her attack, she charged her other crest, the crest of Charon, through her left hand. Shrieking, she powered up her own attack, which plowed through Hannemann, blowing him off his feet, shredding the Faustian Phantom and disintegrating it, launching Hannemann all the way to the shallow river.

A whistle blew once Lysithea's attack smashed into the barrier on the north side of the battlefield. Professor Hannemann was out.

Lysithea, arms and legs burning, took a knee, panting. She was then surrounded by Blue Lion members looking to avenge Professor Hannemann. She hadn't the stamina to quickly stand back up. Fortunately, Lorenz and Leonie both rode in to her rescue.

"Don't worry, Lysithea!" Leonie said from within the Amber Hornet.

"You shall not fall on our watch," Lorenz told her.

"Thank you," Lysithea panted. "Don't worry too much. I just need…a few moments to catch my breath."

"We'll buy you that time," Leonie told her.

"Indeed!" Lorenz responded. The two then proceeded to protect their friend.

Lysithea smiled and then wiped an oncoming tear from her eye, touched. She wouldn't be useless, she would be a key member of the Golden Deer's victory. That, she thought as she got to her feet, was how it had to be, for her parents' sake.

---

Locked in combat with Edelgard, Cornelia couldn't really afford to take moments to shout out orders. Her lance clashing against Edelgard's axe left her well on her toes.

Of all battlefields not to have Guilford at my disposal. And Marrybell is tied up as well. Princess Edelgard is truly a worthy opponent.

Fortunately, Cornelia didn't have to open comms, someone else opened them for her.

"You appear to be struggling, Princess," Lila la Britannia, Clovis's younger sister spoke up through visual feed. "The Blue Lions are heading towards us. You've placed Lady Monica and Sir Gino on that front, but shall Euphemia and I provide additional assistance?"

"Are you a free agent?"

"Yes, sister."

"Send me a map of what you know of the battlefield!" Cornelia ordered, parrying an attack from Edelgard.

"Done. Aaaaaand done."

Cornelia smirked as she saw some of the names listed on the battlefield and where they were located. "No, let Gino and Monica handle the Blue Lions. I want you to push past the Black Eagles's backline before us and strike at their core base. Just you though, Lila. From what I've seen of your skills, you should be enough."

"Roger dodger!" Lila saluted casually and killed comms.

"What did she say?" Euphemia asked her.

"You stay here," Lila said and crouched low. "I'm on saboteur duty." She then sped off in a maroon blur, speeding past Cornelia's fight with Edelgard but also crucially Byleth's battle with Shez and Oldrin.

Tik

Tock

Tik

Tock

Tik

Tock

While Cornelia was on comms with Lila, Byleth opened her own comms. "Rolo. Clara. You're the only two generals we have at the rear. Stay alert and reinforce the northern flank."

"Understood, Professor," Rolo stated. "Reinforcing."

Lila, unaware she'd been had by the Divine Pulse, sped onward, only to be shot at. She was shocked to see Rolo, Clara and about a dozen or so Black Eagles ready to receive her and take her out.

"Hey…that's not fair,"

"I missed the part where that's our problem," Clara remarked as she and her battalion started taking aim at Lila.

Lila moved swiftly, but she was suddenly tagged by a pistol shot she'd never even seen coming.

Lila hissed. She pulled back, only to nearly end up struck by the Sword of the Creator just as Byleth got some breathing room. Shit! She sped back towards Cornelia.

"I don't know how but they saw right through our ambush. Orders?"

"Original plan. I don't know how they saw through it, I barely caught a glimpse of you myself." Cornelia then muttered. "Preparation time is impeccable on their part." She then spoke normally. "Go with Euphemia and pick off anything that makes it past Gino and Monica."

"Understood," Lila stated and rubbed the numb sensation on her dominant upper arm.

Euphemia gasped when she saw the glowing red throbbing spot on Lila's mock battle armor. "Lila, you're hurt!"

"It's just a scratch," Lila insisted.

Euphemia healed it anyway.

"Dumbass! Save your healing magic for when we really need it!" Lila berated.

"But we do really need it," Euphemia smiled. "You're my sister."

Lila blushed turning her head. "I…I knew that. I knew that's how you felt! I was just testing you!"

Euphemia laughed. "Come on, let's go see if Monica and Gino need help."

They most certainly did not. Annette and Mercedes's mage battalions, and Leila's rifle battalion, couldn't even get close. It was like sending lambs to the slaughterhouse. But, Gino and Monica were holding a defensive line to make sure that nobody would interfere with Dimitri's assault on the Ashen Wolves. It was Monica's idea, let the enemies fight and then sweep in and pick up the pieces once Dimitri had finally taken down like three or four of them.

Lila noticed what was going on as Euphemia got to work healing people. She crinkled her brow, gazing at the Ashen Wolves' location, choking up on her blade, gripping it tighter.

Euphemia held her hand with both of hers. "It's okay to be nervous, Lila. This is the closest I've been to live combat myself too."

Lila blushed. "Stop worrying about me, okay?" She asked, pulling away from her, rubbing her hair. "We have more important things to worry about."

Euphemia giggled. She then noticed what Lila was looking at. She put her own hand to her chest, watching Dimitri tangle with Balthus. "Dimitri will win."

"You think? He's a man going against an army."

"He'll win because I've never met a prince more virtuous," Euphemia remarked with a smile.

Lila glanced sideways, deciding not to comment and burst Euphemia's bubble.

Speaking of Dimitri, he was actually winning his fight with Balthus, the two locked frame to frame just in front of the Ashen Wolves' rear flank.

Dimitri backed off and thrust the trusty lance of the Azure Reaper towards Balthus, transforming it into a scythe mid-attack. When Balthus dodged, Dimitri swiped left, attempting to carve Balthus's arm clean off—well as much he could under the mock battle rules, but first he would have to get through Vajra Mutshi. Fortunately, the hero's relic was quite durable and Balthus charged forward, punching Dimitri in the face, sending him flying. Balthus charged away from his group and met Dimitri on the field of battle.

Dimitri noticed Euphemia and nearly lost his nerve. No, she…she shouldn't see him like this. In that moment, he seemed to come around for a moment.

"No getting distracted pal," Balthus said and grabbed Dimitri by the throat. "Come on, prince, you're fighting a king here." Balthus strangled Dimitri only enough to wind him and then let him go so he could deliver several blows upon his body, the final one launching Dimitri across the river. Balthus gave chase.

Euphemia's eyes shot across the battlefield, meeting Monica's. She knew what she wanted to do, but Dimitri was currently considered Britannia's enemy. She couldn't actually help him, right?

Monica saw the look on Euphemia's face, only to give a firm nod to the third princess. Euphemia brightened up instantly and took off for the river. Monica's silent gesture had said it all, Dimitri's victory was currently in Britannia's best interest.

Speeding across the river, Euphemia made it to the tree line at the front of the forest. Balthus had Dimitri on the ropes, wailing on him, with the man barely putting up a fight.

"What's the matter? Can't act aggressive in front of the lady?" Balthus asked, slugging Dimitri sideways across the face. "The ladies ain't here now, pal. Some come on, throw a punch!"

It wasn't that Euphemia had shown up that was currently afflicting Dimitri, it was what it meant. She'd seen it, seen him, seen his hatred, his fury, the monster that lay beneath. Would she ever look at him the same again.

"Well, if that's how you're gonna be. No skin off my back!" Balthus declared and reared by his fist. "It's over!"

In barely the nick of time, Euphemia got in range, hand glowing.

"Eeyah!" She yelped, letting loose a charge of Physique: the long-range healing spell. The target? Dimitri.

Renewed with vigor, Dimitri felt a lot of emotions all at once. He had a multitude of questions swirling around his head, but none of those mattered. He had no reason to feel sorry for himself. No matter the reason, no matter her feelings, Euphemia had healed him. And it was enough for him to grab Balthus's gauntlet covered fist, pushing back against it. His crest of Blaiddyd glowed.

"It was over," Dimitri remarked seriously, "But I am far from done," he told Balthus. He manifested his lance and took a swipe at Balthus.

"Man, oh man, I just don't get you. You were about ready to keel over when she showed up a minute ago. Now she's here and now you're all ready to fight? I just don't get you."

Balthus then felt something red and seething hit his face…a slap from Euphemia. She then armed herself with a sword, holding it low, showing that she was ready to fight too, frowning.

He turned towards her. "Hey, pal. This is between me and him. I don't like to throw punches at pretty girls, but if you're gonna join the fray, I don't care if you are the fairer sex, I'll put you both in the dirt."

Balthus then felt Dimitri grab his shoulder so hard he felt his frame crack under the grip. "Lay one hand on her and it will be the last thing you do."

"Man, I have got to stop getting used to the taste of shoe leather," Balthus remarked.

At this, Dimitri shoulder checked Balthus and swung at him repeatedly with his lance. Balthus tried to block, but every single strike Dimitri landed was so strong it broke right through Balthus's defenses. In the process, Dimitri broke his lance twice and had to make new ones, but it was worth it.

"Princess Euphemia is the only good thing to come into my life in the last four years, and I won't let you threaten to take that away from me!" Dimitri grabbed the head of the Heavy Thunder King and headbutt it with the Azure Reaper, winning out. Balthus stumbled back as Dimitri forewent weapons entirely and just started landing punches on Balthus's frame, breaking it off in chunks with the power of his crest.

"Aren't you going to help him?" C.C. asked, noticing that Dimitri was pushing Balthus across the battlefield.

"I'm considering it. But don't count Balthus out," Zero remarked.

Balthus activated his crest of Chevalier, bolstering his own power as his frame began to heal itself just as quickly as Dimitri could damage it. "I told you before, prince, you're throwing hands with a king." Balthus punched the Azure Reaper hard in the face. "The undisputed King of Grappling!"

Dimitri skid back, only to feel a warm glow, Euphemia's power at it yet again. He manifested a scythe, only to gaze down at his weapon and the readied Balthus. He shook his head and threw the weapon down on the ground, stomping on the blade. He would fight Zero, but he would not lose himself to rage. That was what Zero wanted. He gazed across the battlefield, noticing Britannia holding off his force, but, at the same time, were allowing Euphemia to fight Zero. Whatever their reasons, he thanked them. Zero was his to take down.

Avenge us.
AVENGE US!

The voices in Dimitri's head called for vengeance as he stared at Zero and then back to Balthus, who he barely had time to block when Balthus charged in.

Dimitri started to sweat.

"It'll be okay," Euphenmia's voice echoed. "You'll be okay." She healed him.

Dimitri felt…strong, not just because Euphemia had healed more of his injuries, but because he could feel a lion's heart welling inside him. Reaper? No. That didn't suit him. Some of the blue on his unit began to shed for a more regal white. And then, Dimitri manifested a much more regal looking lance, befitting of a future king. It resembled the Blaiddyd family heirloom: Aredbhar. He gripped it with both hands and struck against the Heavy Thunder King, piercing the chest armor. Azure Reaper no more. New codename: Azure Paladin.

Fighting as he'd been trained to, and not like a wild animal, Dimitri and Balthus duked it out. Balthus was now having trouble landing hits, while Dimitri would cleave chunks of armor off Balthus's frame.

Zero radioed Balthus. "Balthus. Enough. Limits off. It doesn't matter if you burn yourself out. I'll make sure such a sacrifice is not in vain."

"Jeez, you're making me retire early coach?" Balthus asked. "You're the one who taunted him over here."

"If you pull this off, you can forward your bill for drinks for all of next month to me. I need Dimitri down. Or are you too scared?"

"Hey! If there's one thing I've never been, it's the Cowardly King of Grappling. All right, you want my best! I'll give it my best!"

Balthus powered up his Crest of Chevalier to its fullest limit and began to throw blow after blow after blow after blow. Dimitri could barely keep up. Euphemia, much less experienced in terms of reaction speed, could hardly heal him quick enough to offset the damage.

After taking a series of blows, Dimitri realized that his lance simply was a poor tool to keep up with Balthus's strikes. Unknowingly taking a page out of Marrybell's book, Dimitri dismissed his lance, drawing its power into his fists, creating spinning lance heads on his hands, using those to combat the striking power of the Vajra Mutshi. The Azure Paladin cross countered with the Heavy Thunder King before their fists slammed against each other repeatedly. But it was clear that, under these circumstances, Balthus would easily prevail. So, Dimitri changed tactics. Pulling back from Balthus, he made another faux-Aredbhar and charged. When he got close he evaded Balthus's initial strike and sliced at his shoulder with the lance, peeling armor off in a single strike. Balthus grabbed him by the throat and slammed Dimitri into the dirt, pounding away repeatedly. Dimitri, ever resourceful, dismissed his lance, only to resummon it and let the manifestation nearly impale the Heavy Thunder King through the face, forcing Balthus to let go and give up the assault. Dimitri took a sweeping body level blow that, despite Balthus leaping back, the shockwave got him.

Then, winding a length of chain around his arm, Dimitri threw the lance at Balthus. Balthus punched it aside, and charged. Dimitri abandoned the attack altogether and proved that the Azure Paladin was more than just a lance swinging. Sword in both his hands, he swung up to impale the Heavy Thunder King just as Balthus punched the helmet off the Azure Paladin. Both units damaged, their wearers repaired it as Dimitri recovered his breath faster, charging in and delivering a series of sword slashes to Balthus body.

No rage. No growling. No thoughts of murder. I am a prince of Faerghus! Dimitri declared. He pressed the attack on Balthus, Crest of Blaiddyd throbbing along his arm with every strike. Balthus could barely keep up, but he wasn't going down without a fight. With a powerful fist strike, he staggered Dimitri knocking him back. He then landed a blow that shattered Dimitri's sword. He then headbutt him. This time the Heavy Thunder King won out. Balthus let loose a flurry of blows on Dimitri.

"You nobles are all the same, get high and mighty just cause a girl showed up, or cause you have land to protect. Me, I may have come from nobility, but I never got all that hoity toity garbage. I've always fought for me!" He declared. "Ain't matter for who or for what, someone pisses me off, I throw a punch!" He slammed Dimitri pretty good with an uppercut. He followed up with a strong forward punch, knocking the man back. "Don't matter if it's for my friends or for that girl at the bar I kinda liked. The Valiant King of Grappling always gives a hundred and ten percent!" He punched the Azure Paladin hard in the chest. "Let's see how you like this! Eviscerate!"

Vajra Mutshi turned a mix of gold and crimson as Balthus let loose its secret technique that only wielders of the Crest of Chevalier could use. He smashed through and then past Dimitri, following the attack up with a second blow as the shockwave blew Dimitri right in front of him. He then repeatedly knocked a helpless Dimitri around the battlefield, smashing up the Azure Paladin, before knocking him into the air.

"This time," Balthus said. "It really is over!" He punched Dimitri into the dirt.

Balthus dropped to the ground, taking a knee.

However, the Azure Paladin rose from the crater he made like some kind of heroic lich. "Is that all you've got?" Dimitri asked. "Gustave's training hurt worse than this."

"Ah…uh…" Balthus stammered. He looked towards his boss. "Hey, Zero! A little help he—"

The Azure Paladin covered the Heavy Thunder King's Helmet with its palm. "See you in hell! And tell them to make room! AZUUUUURE BEAM!"

A blast of pure unbridled energy fired off from Dimitri's palm, blasting away Balthus and destroying the trees across the river. In fact, the blast even split the river and disrupted the flow of water as Dimitri blast Balthus back.

Balthus groaned on the ground, armor locked. He heard the whistle. He was out.

As he was helped off the battlefield, Balthus radioed his boss. "Hope that was worth it, Zero."

"Oh, trust me," Zero said, looking at Dimitri with a 19% floating above his head in terms of battery. It wasn't actually there, but Lelouch could see stat lines floating above people's heads as if they were characters in a video game. "Take care of him," he spoke to C.C. standing near him.

C.C. nodded and floated towards Dimitri compliantly.

Dimitri, unaware that he was about to be attacked, turned to look at Euphemia. "Are you all right?" he asked with a smile hidden by his helmet. However, his tone of voice carried with it all the sincerity she needed to hear.

"I'm fine. Thank you," Euphemia smiled. She and Dimitri drew near. And, when they were within paces of each other, C.C. manifested off to the side, but still between them.

The shadow cast by her arrival gave Euphemia and Dimitri only moments to recognize that she had just appeared. And then, C.C. turned towards Dimitri, ignoring Euphemia entirely and declared only one word.

"Bolganone." The fiery blast of magic blew Dimitri off his feet. While only a second-tier fire spell, cast by someone at C.C's level, it was enough to completely shatter and destroy the Azure Paladin. Dimitri landed on his back. He then could see footsteps heading down the staircase from the turret area.

"How foolish of you to commit entirely on Balthus and still forget to give yourself a frame with magic resilience.

Dimitri forced himself to his feet, picking up his energy lance, panting as he aimed his weapon at Zero. "Coward, I don't need the Azure Paladin to take down the likes of you!"

Dimitri prepared to charge, only for C.C. to, offhand, launch a fireball at the otherwise unprotected Euphemia. Her scream nearly drove Dimitri to break his lance as he turned with righteous fury, screaming as he charged at C.C.

All princely façade had dropped. Rage and anger were at their peak. He would gut C.C. like a trout for harming his Euphemia.

"Banshee Theta!"

With his poor magic resilience, Dimitri was struck from all angles and then trapped in place by Zero's spell, barely able to move.

"YOU SCUM! YOU SPIT ON HONOR? YOU SPIT ON CHIVALRY?!" He roared at Zero.

"Honor and chivalry are awarded to those who can afford it," Zero spoke strenuously. "What you have earned today, Prince Dimitri, were this a real battle, is a swift death."

"You snake! Come here so I can rip out your tongue!"

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Zero asked him. "But I wonder, do you crave it more than you crave the embrace of Princess Euphemia?"

Zero watched Dimitri actively fight against the curse of Banshee Theta's movement restriction affliction. He raised one arm off the ground and reached towards Zero with the intent to strangle him.

Zero got closer, knowing if it came down to it, C.C. would protect him. He was just far enough away from Dimitri to be aggravating, like an itch that couldn't be scratched. "I wonder, what would happen to your resolve if I eliminated her," Zero said, manifesting a Levin Sword, "And made you watch."

At this Dimitri broke from Banshee Theta's hold, only to get struck with another Bolganone and sent tumbling to the ground. He didn't let that stop him. He rose to his feet, only for Zero to strike him with the Levin sword, impaling through the first layer of the special armor and getting the blade caught in it.

Dimitri, rather than let this deter him, even as Zero shocked him with the blade, pulled himself down the sword, breaking the second and third layer of the armor. He grappled his hands around Zero's helmet. "I will rip off this helmet and show everyone your cowardly face!"

He then heard Euphemia scream, she'd been struck by another fireball. He attempted to free himself, but he had impaled himself on Zero's blade as the man shocked him over and over, never letting him get a firm grip on the helmet.

"ZEROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Dimitri roared.

BANG!

He was shot in the chest near his heart by a rifle. He locked eyes with Kallen, the shooter.

"Goddess…spit on you all," he said and tumbled off the stairs.

Beep Beeeeeeeep!

Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd was out.

"Know this, prince," Zero taunted as Dimitri was carted off, glaring angrily. "That when the Blue Lions fall, it will be your fault. You have doomed your own kingdom. Remember that."

Dimitri's anger softened then as the consequences of his actions caught up with him. Hearing diluted from realization hitting him, he could see Britannia wailing on his forces, Annette and Mercedes retreating. His fault. All his fault. Blinded by his revenge.

So this is a fool's punishment. Zero…you'll get yours, but I understand the lesson you taught me today. Everyone, forgive me. I never meant to make a stain on Faerghus. He blinked out a tear. I'm sorry.

---

Watching Dimitri be carted off, Annette, Leila, and Mercedes fled from the Violet Tigers, allies included, heading towards their main force. Gino and Monica thought about turning their attention to Zero, but Zero had an offer to make them.

"If you pursue the Blue Lions and leave me to my own devices," he said, fanning a hand at a distant, but easily targetable Euphemia, "I'll give up my hostage."

Monica drew her sword. "Try it and you lose use of that hand."

C.C., much further from Monica, and much closer to Euphemia, also took aim at Euphemia.

"I don't think you want to press that idea," Zero told her.

"Let's do what he says," Lila suggested.

"Princess Lila! That's—"

"Sacrificing Euphemia for a short term gain against Zero would kill morale. Princess Cornelia is fighting her hardest against Princess Edelgard. And if she finds out you're the root cause of Euphemia's defeat," Lila gave a giddy smirk, "I imagine you'll be on latrine duty for moons and moons."

Monica…didn't like the sound of that. "Fine, truce. Give her up."

"Q1," Zero remarked.

C.C. cast Warp on Euphemia, putting her by Monica.

"Get out of my sight," Zero told them.

The Britannians fled in pursuit of the Blue Lions.

"What do we do now?" C.C. asked.

"We prepare an eastern assault. Once the Blue Lions are crushed by this sect of Britannian forces, we wipe them out before they can join the main group," Zero told her.

C.C. nodded.

"Akito. Ayano. Hapi. Kallen. Get ready on my signal to give the Golden Deer and the Violet Tigers a heavy thrashing. Pay attention to the Eastern battlefront and start picking off stragglers. This is the moment where we start piling up the bodies."

"Copy that."
"You got it, Zero."
"Can do, Boss!"
"Right!"

Beneath his helmet, Lelouch grinned. I love it when a plan comes together.

---

Annette stopped, short of breath. "Do you think we lost them?" Annette asked.

"Not for long, I wager," Leila stated. "I don't zink zey have any intention to fight the Ashen Wolves ven we are greater in number."

Annette frowned. "Ohhhhh, I don't like this, Mercie. I don't like this one bit. What do we do?"

"We do…what we need to Annie. We let everyone know," Mercedes said. She radioed all of the Blue Lions. "This is medic officer Mercedes von Martritz. I have news from the northern battlefront."

The Blue Lions waited with baited breath.

"Prince Dimitri…Prince Dimitri…" Mercedes choked up. "Prince Dimitri has been defeated!"

It had to be said. Lying and expecting Dimitri to surge across the battlefield would only make things worse.

Goddess, give us strength to pass this trial, Mercedes thought.

What happened next could only be called a slaughter. The Blue Lions's ranks fell quickly, front lines collapsing swiftly. Dedue pulled back, dragged away when a rifle shot numbed his foot and he needed a medic to set it right.

Sylvain was the most confounded by the development. "No, No! We need his highness! Gah, damn it all! What the hell happened out there?!"

Comms were open. Chaotic transmissions went left and right from screams of agony and defeat, to people doomsaying and not believing there was any way the Blue Lions could win, that they should just throw in the towel now. It didn't help that they were now getting corralled by both the Deer and now the Violet Tigers had crossed in from the northwest to the northeast to squeeze them in on both sides.

Felix, seeing the chaos, decided to sheathe his blade and cut his losses, jerking his head towards Ashe that they should regroup with Kaguya, Inoue, Ohgi and Sugiyama and figure out what to do. Let the Deer and the Tigers be the Lion's problem. They didn't need to get caught up in it.

This is what happens when you bite off more than you can chew, boar. You end up someone else's meal, Felix remarked scornfully and headed off.

The chaos continued, the Blue Lions in complete disarray. It was exactly what Zero wanted to see as members of them tried to flee towards his troops, seeming to forget they were there, getting picked off easily.

No leadership from Dimitri. No guidance from Professor Hannemann. Dedue was hardly a unifying leader and he was Dimitri's vassal. Worse, he was too saddened by Dimitri's defeat to be effective, mentally kicking himself and blaming himself for what happened.

In that tornado of chaos, however, one voice pierced through. One voice echoed above the noise and silenced the mob. One voice…stepped up to lead.

"EVERYBODY SHUT UP!"

Comms went quiet.

"Look, we were all expecting his highness to be our spear and our shield, but we can't complain over what we want, only what we have! And if no one else has the guts to step in and lead…"

Sylvain smiled as he saw Luin get twirled overhead and swung with gusto.

"Then I'll take command! If anyone has a problem with that, tell me now, but know that we lack the time to squabble over leadership and I'm not going to watch you all run around like headless chickens!" Ingrid snapped. "Now sound off like you got a pair! Are we Blue Kittens, or are we BLUE LIONS?!"

Rallying cheers came from the entire battlefield.

In one speech, Ingrid Brandl Galatea had rallied the troops and lit an azure flame in their souls.

"Sylvain! If you have time to stand there, you have time lead the southern flank!" Ingrid shouted. "Dedue! Get your foot healed and get back out there! Mercedes! Annette! Leila! Take what you need from our main force and lay siege to the incoming Britannian assailants. Push them back if you can, but do not pursue! We're going to get the Golden Deer off our back first!"

"Okay, but what are you going to do?" Sylvain asked.

"The enemy's already encircled us to some extent. We have Deer and Tigers amidst our lions." Ingrid brandished Luin. "I'm going to drive them out!"

"By yourself? Are you crazy?!" Sylvain shouted at her.

"Sylvain! I'm in charge, I will not ask you again! You have your orders!" Ingrid shouted like a drill sergeant.

Sylvain smirked so wide, he thought he was going to laugh. He was so proud of Ingrid. She always dreamed of being a knight, now here she stood on this mock battlefield, rising to the stage of battlefield commander. "Ma'am, yes, ma'am," he responded, bobbing his head. Then, shifting his own demeanor, he started barking orders too. "Medics! Get Dedue back up on his feet pronto! Western unit, get away from the Ashen Wolves and stop pursuing what's left of the Green Pheasants! I need all hands on deck!"

Ingrid, pleased with herself, noticed how she was getting encircled with only a token force for company, but a rather large group of Golden Deer, led by Lorenz and Leonie. Lysithea had long since begun a retreat to the Golden Deer's main force.

"Do you really think you can take us on by yourself, Ingrid?" Lorenz boasted. "You stand before me after all, Lorenz Hellman Gloucester."

Ingrid channeled her Crest of Daphnel through Luin. No words escaped her lips in response to Lorenz's taunt. Leonie was a problem, but she could worry about her in a moment. Instead, she let a few moments pass, sucked in a deep breath and let out an ear piercing war cry.

"EEEEEEEYAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Like the Valkyries from the ancient legends, Ingrid was making it clear that she was a warrior and, come what may, she was not going down without a fight.

Her men rallied and began to fight as if they had the strength of ten soldiers each. Ingrid, fought with the strength of a hundred. One swing of Luin, though blocked by Lorenz, sent him flying. She ducked under Leonie's assault with the Amber Hornet and the flew into the air with the aid of the Royal Alicorn. She then dive bombed at the force opposite her initial position, scattering it like pebbles in an explosion. As she rose, Lorenz met her lance to lance with his Lavender Flamingo.

"I must say, I've always wanted to take your mettle since that fiasco at the church the other day," Lorenz remarked. "You are ever the warrior I pegged you."

Ingrid didn't speak a word, she continued to scowl, deflecting Lorenz's attacks, looking for an opening.

"What? Have you no words of chivalry for yours truly?" Lorenz asked. "A woman of your caliber? I am insulted! Insulted, I say!"

Luin parried Lorenz's next strike and broke the lance. "Lorenz, you can treat this battle like it's just another one of your noble obligations, but me?" Ingrid's whole frame glowed. "I'm here to win!" Ingrid then proceeded to tear Lorenz and his Lavender Flamingo a new extended warranty because that was what he was going to need as she sliced the frame into a fine powder and lacerated Lorenz's armor with just as many strikes, taking him out instantly.

I didn't even see her move and she landed that many hits, Leonie thought, scared.

And it was at this that she noticed the Royal Alicorn itself had morphed, the glowing sensation having stopped. The helmet had shed its horn for a pair of feathered wings on either side of the helmet. A shield placed itself on Ingrid's non-dominant left arm and the armor shed some bulk in favor of an even sleeker build. The deeper blue hues of the Royal Alicorn brightened, matching the color of a clear sky.

Sparks of lightning could be seen emitting from the winged boots, wrists and even the eyes. Codename: Lunar Valkyrie.

Ingrid then took immediate action, speeding faster than Leonie could keep up. The Amber Hornet's only recourse was to simply retreat and fire while retreating but even that didn't keep Ingrid from wailing on Leonie and every strike hurt.

"No! No! Help! I need help!" Leonie knew when she was out of her depth. Fortunately, her cry out was aided by her subordinates who jumped in to take a hit from Ingrid…because one hit was all they could take. While Ingrid did lose Leonie and the wannabe mercenary was able to escape, it was not without cost. Leonie was down below 43% of her Amber Hornet, way less function that she knew Claude would like at this point in time.

"Claude, we have a big problem," she radioed, heading for a healer.

"Lay it on me, Leonie. I just love bad news," Claude told her, sounding depressed.

"Dimitri's down," Leonie told him.

"…Kay, waiting for the bad news."

"And Ingrid just took out Lorenz like it was nothing."

"…Still waiting for the bad news."

Leonie rolled her eyes. "Ingrid's kicking our butt and if things keep up, we're going to lose the eastern front!"

"Okaaaaaay, yeah that's bad," Claude agreed. "Anything else? Like what's going on north of the Blue Lions?"

"The Violet Tigers are coming down, likely looking to take on the Blue Lions," Leonie told him, only to hear nothing. After the silence got awkward, she asked, "What do you want to do?"

Claude opened comms to the entirety of the Golden Deer. "Attention all units! Retreat slowly and leave the Blue Lions to the Violet Tigers to deal with! I want no part of whatever's motivating Ingrid that she's gonna smash us up for free points! Don't collapse formation! It may cost us a few units, but that's better than turning our backs on whatever second wind the Blue Lions just picked up with Prince Dimitri's defeat."

"Huh? You sure Claude?" Ignatz asked.

"If it's coming from Claude, he's got a good reason," Raphael reasoned. "My unit will be the last line of defense like we practiced," Raphael told his friend.

"Okay, just be careful, Raphael," Ignatz told him, watching Golden Deer get hurled through the air like kites in a hurricane. "I don't know if we want to be in the thick of that," he gulped.

"Sheesh, yeah, Ingrid's really putting the squeeze on us," Raphael commented.

"Yeah, be careful, Raphael," Ignatz told him.

Raphael nodded.

Sylvain was the first to notice the Golden Deer pulling back. "Hey! Ingrid! Your plan's working! They're pulling back!"

"Good! Show no mercy!" Ingrid shouted. She stopped her cutting down of legions of foes to hoist Luin into the air. "For Prince Dimitri!"

"FOR PRINCE DIMITRI!" The citizens of Faerghus cried, charging forward.

From the sidelines, Dimitri could only smile. Thank you, Ingrid. With you leading, Faerghus's flame…will not die out…because of my foolishness.

The oncoming onslaught of spears and rifles from the Blue Lions sent the Golden Deer retreating west slowly, sending return fire, but the bulky shield corp., led by Dedue, kept the attacks at bay with minimal casualties.

The attack was so swift and so fierce that Raphael's unit was quickly overwhelmed. He began to retreat with his fellow Deer.

Sylvain moved to pursue, but Ingrid checked him with her arm. "No," she told him. "All things in a proper order. Let's get the Violet Tigers off our backs first. And then, we'll take the fight right to Zero. With our entire army."

"You sure that's a good idea?" Sylvain asked.

"At this point, I don't know if we have the numbers to win, so I'm doing what I would in true warfare." Ingrid choked up on Luin. "Clearing the field of insurgents." She gripped the weapon. "And taking the fight to my liege's assassin."

"I, too, would like to avenge his highness. I bear guilt for being separated from him for such a length of time," Dedue stated.

"Then let's move!" Ingrid shouted. "Come on!"

It was not a moment too soon. Between Leila, herself and Mercedes, Annette was the first to faulter, getting exhausted from slinging so many spells. However, right before Monica in the Florence cut her down, Ingrid charged in and blocked her twin swords with Luin.

"Ingrid!" Annette shouted.

"The heroine always arrives in time," Mercedes smiled, laughing happily.

Monica pulled back, forming up next to Gino. "That's a lot of Blue Lions," she remarked.

"No kidding," Gino told her. "Think we can take them all."

"It's not a question of if. We have to," Monica stated.

"If I might make a suggestion," Lila stated, watching the two armies clash with her fellow commanding officers.

"Yes, Princess?" Monica asked her.

"Perhaps we could hug the eastern wall and fight the Blue Lions down the eastern side of the map, then split and hook into our main force from behind Edelgard's forces. We take out Lions in the process and what's left will likely head for Zero now that the Golden Deer are in retreat. In such circumstances—"

"The Black Eagles would be overwhelmed," Monica remarked. "Long term, good for us."

Lila grinned. "Precisely."

"Well, I'm all for it," Gino said. "Let's us not have to completely deal with pissed off and crazy there."

Monica nodded, looking at Ingrid tearing apart their forces. "All right, but make it look good. Gino, you take Sylvain and Dedue. Lila, sabotage their mage unit. We will need Zero preoccupied, so take out the small fry so we can slip south quickly."

"Got it," Lila said, readying her sword.

"What are you going to do?" Gino asked her.

"I might be Knight of Twelve, but I'm still a knight. I will take Ingrid, and show her what being a knight is really all about!"

Monica charged in, meeting Ingrid's lance with her twin swords. The weapons were locked, arms raised. Ingrid then quickly pulled down, retreating back as she locked robotic gazes with Monica.

"Monica Krushevsky, Knight of Twelve. There are few worthy opponents I would relish facing more than you right now."

"Sorry to not be the worthiest of opponents, but I'm all you get right now," Monica told her. She raised her blades. "Will that be enough?"

Ingrid didn't answer with words, but with action, speeding towards Monica and striking with Luin. She got a graze, but Monica was already on her outer flank and swinging a sword. Using the jet boosters in her ankles, Ingrid had the Lunar Valkyrie pivot on a dime, hovering as she used Luin to block the incoming sword strike. Ingrid then performed several swipes at the air with Luin, putting Monica on the defensive. The Knight of Twelve evaded each hit, only to counter with swift, brutal sword strikes. Ingrid lost ground, but she managed to avoid taking damage to anything but Luin's shaft.

For Faerghus, Ingrid thought.

For Britannia, Monica thought.

I shall not lose! They both thought simultaneously.

---

As the Golden Deer retreated to meet up with their main force, they passed through what they believed to be ally held territory, so nobody was particularly on guard. For allies of Claude, they should have all been better prepared than that.

Shots rang out, and before the Golden Deer knew what was happening, not only had Leonie's Amber Hornet been totaled, but she was now lying prone on the ground, armor locked up.

"Ah, darn it!" Leonie exclaimed as staff came in to cart her off the battlefield. Her allies were now taking proper cover, but she wouldn't be able to assist them. Oh well, she'd done her best. She may not have stood out from a crowd like Ingrid and Hilda were doing, but she had given the battle her all. Leonie smiled. "Heh, fear the deer. Give 'em hell, guys," she said and then closed her eyes to the warm sunlight.

"One down," Inoue remarked from behind cover, reloading the Musei Heishi.

"Then we have the advantage!" Kaguya exclaimed. "Go!"

Felix, Ashe, Inoue, Ohgi, Kaguya and Sugiyama, all moved in to take out the retreating Golden Deer.

"AMBUSH!" Ignatz shouted.

"If you panic we're screwed even worse!" Lysithea shouted.

"Lysithea! You gotta get out there and give them a beating!" Raphael urged her.

"Yeah, if you want me to be a vegetable for the rest of the battlefield, sure, I can go Calamity Lily on them! It's powerful, but I'm not used to it yet. I don't know if my body can handle its power for that much output. I've barely finished recovering!"

"Well, we're going to lose troops either way!" Ignatz exclaimed. "Let's at least get out there and try to take out the officers."

Lysithea did activate the Calamity Lily, but she wasn't going to turn on its full power like she had with Hanneman. "I'll find a target and take them out!"

"Me too!" Raphael shouted and jumped out from behind cover. "Come on!"

Looking for an opponent of his size and caliber, Ignatz singled out Ashe and started firing. A hit and run duel of rifles had begun between the two gentlemen. Raphael, more keen on protecting as many people as possible, looked for someone strong. In that, he found Felix. A blow from the meaty paws of the Hickory Grizzly sent a defensive Felix flying west, boots tearing up the ground. He instantly activated the Rogue Shogun. And lastly, for Lysithea, she wouldn't be satisfied with anything less than taking on the house leader herself: Kaguya Sumeragi.

And through it all, his enemies locked in combat, Zero could only smile, feeling like a puppeteer with many marionettes connected to his devious fingers. He hadn't expected Ingrid to rally the Blue Lions, but, all the same, this gave him time to rethink his strategy.

Dimitri, you complete and total fool, though Ingrid has become a phoenix rising from your ashes, your short sightedness will ultimately see the Ashen Wolves win the day. All I have to do is wait, and pick off my enemies while they're at their weakest.

---

High above the battlefield in the blimp, Ashe's rifle duel with Ignatz was being fed live to the masses.

"Hmmm, isn't that the adopted son of the late and disgraced Count Gaspard?" Alois noted.

"Right you are, Alois," Holst confirmed. "That there is Ashe Ubert, a commoner with the prestige to have been recognized by a nobleman."

"Many are surprised to see Ashe recognized as having any goodwill in this day and age because of Lonato's rebellion. Anyone here care to comment?"

"I can," Shamir stated, nodded. "Lady Rhea smoothed things over with Faerghus, and Ashe fought bravely to stop Lonato, even protecting Catherine from harm when it came right down to it. The kid might not look like much, but he's got the spirit of a knight."

"And who's the one facing him? The young man in the spectacles?" Alois inquired.

As he asked this, Ashe ran out from behind cover, taking a few shots at Ignatz before ducking behind a rock, barely avoiding return fire from Ignatz. The bespectacled youth then loaded up a particularly potent cartridge charge and fired it at Ashe's cover, blowing up the boulder and then taking fire at the now exposed Ashe.

Ashe quickly evaded and then activated his Teal Mantis Mk. 5. It had gone through some upgrades during his time with the Green Pheasants. Sweeping towards Ignatz, Ashe transformed his dominant right arm into an axe blade, intending to cut Ignatz down swiftly.

Ignatz couldn't dodge the Teal Mantis under his own power, so he activated the Moss Squid, using its grappling hard light tentacles to grab Ashe's arm before it could reach, then took aim with a rifle with the main two arms.

Ashe generated a hard light shield with his left arm to block the shots, then, in a bold move, dismissed the Teal Mantis, dropping prone to the ground on one knee. Ignatz was so shocked by this decision, he froze, giving Ashe the time he needed to call for the Teal Mantis again, using the axe blade to slice through Ignatz's tentacles in a speedy whirlwind before gunning for the young man's torso. Speeding backwards, Ignatz returned cartridge fire, trying to use the tentacles of the Moss Squid to keep Ashe at bay. This worked, as Ashe lacked any real punch to get in close against such a defensive frame. However, he wasn't giving up.

The Moss Squid's armaments are all front loaded. If I could get behind Ignatz, I might be able to deliver a decisive blow. Switching his axe for a hard light rifle, Ashe went on the offensive, trying his best to stay to Ignatz's flank. The two mechs began swerving around in an imperfect figure eight pattern. The imperfections were caused whenever one or both had to dodge incoming fire, though hits still landed.

"They seem evenly matched," Alois commented. "Can we get their stats on screen?"

Student profiles for Ashe and Ignatz were loaded, comparing the two fellows. Their scores were out of 100. Ashe's scores were: Stamina (68), Strength (51), Skill (76), Speed (71), Endurance (43), Resilience (49). By comparison, Ignatz had Stamina (70), Strength (51), Skill (69), Speed (70), Endurance (43), Resilience (49).

"Seems the young Blue Lions chap has the edge here. Look at that skill score!" Alois praised.

Shamir disagreed. "Skill and speed aren't always everything. Endurance and stamina can make up for a lot. After all, just one wrong move…"

Sweating pouring down his face, Ashe attempted to continue to flank Ignatz, encircling to try and get behind him. He pushed his frame towards the 106th degree, only for Ignatz to swerve narrowly and close the distance.

"…And you could be in for a world of hurt."

Each tentacle of the Moss Squid became a cannon, unloading a barrage of gunfire onto Ashe's frame, causing the boy to scream. He pulled back after getting thrown back. He was down, but not out. Still, that little barrage crippled his systems. He needed a new plan and fast. The Green Pheasants were counting on him. At moments like these, he always asked himself one question: what would Kallen do? Although she'd changed hands for the Ashen Wolves, Ashe still thought of her as one of his closest friends, someone he could always rely on in a time of need. This alone, it seemed, was enough to push the Teal Mantis to its next level.

The color scheme of the frame shifted from Teal…to silver. The Mantis motif also shifted, but the insect motif remained. Four glossy wings erupted from Ashe's back as a long, thin protrusion jutted out behind Ashe. Sharper shape language took root in the mech as Ashe's interface became inundated with additional information to help calculate arc angles and give detailed battlefield information. Jet boosters shot out from his feet and along the lower back, increasing speed. Ashe now held a compact rifle that his frame was strong enough to wield in one hand.

Silver Dragonfly ZX7 was now online.

The rifle in his hand rang out like machine gun fire, spraying the Moss Squid with rounds that pelted the frame with damage from head to toe. Ignatz was taken completely off-guard.

"What the…?"

He was shocked to suddenly be torso checked by Ashe's shoulder.

Moving the frame's tail as a lance for his arms to hold, Ashe charged up the detachable appendage. "I will prove myself!" Black and red lightning coated the lance's tip as she thrust forward.

Critical strike!

The attack smashed into Ignatz's Moss Squid, shattering the torso and causing Ignatz to fly back over the ground. He bounced, landing helmet first and then skid back, getting up as he bled battery to repair the damage. He panted, dazed. That could have been a lot worse. A stronger impact would have broken his glasses. Still, how was he supposed to deal with Ashe now? They'd previously been evenly matched, but now Ashe was on a wholly different level.

Things were not faring much better for Raphael and the Hickory Grizzly. Raphael had strength over Felix, but he was far and away Felix's inferior in speed. And Raphael's own lack of tactical thinking led him to getting baited by Felix time and again.

Felix would take a few uncommitted strikes at Raphael, forcing the man on the defensive. He would then allow Raphael onto the offense, countering his strikes with no more force than critically necessary. Then, when Raphael went in for a decisive blow, Felix would spring to the full ferocity of the Rogue Shogun, slashing at Raphael and dealing serious damage.

"Damn, how do you keep doing that?" Raphael panted.

"Because my IQ is high enough that it doesn't get measured in Celsius," Felix taunted.

"Hey! I'm not the brightest guy, but you don't have to insult me!" Raphael shouted.

"Then prove to me you aren't just dumb muscle. You're boring. At least for all his faults, the boar is actually a challenge," Felix spoke sourly.

Raphael grit his teeth and growled, preparing for a ferocious assault, but Felix knew it was a fruitless endeavor. This guy was all strength, a battering ram at best and a liability—in his mind—at worst. Victory was inevitable, or so it seemed.

This put the pressure all on Lysithea, face to face with the Raiden Miko. However, as previously stated, Lysithea's stamina was circling the drain right now and she was getting double vision from her earlier output. Sure, her attacks were powerful, and she was landing plenty of strikes, but no direct hits. Even her fabled Dark Spikes Tau had missed its mark.

"You're a powerful mage, Lysithea," Kaguya told her, brandishing a naginata with one hand. "But you lack the strength to do little more than fire and forget. Once your power has burned through, you're left vulnerable. Someone like me, who trains their body as well as their brain, won't be bested by the likes of you. Thoron."

The magic attack zapped through the Calamity Lily knocking it to the ground. Kaguya attacked Lysithea over and over, damaging the Calamity Lily's battery and bringing Claude's magic nuke secret weapon closer and closer to being KOed from the battlefield.

Despite her clear disadvantage, Lysithea got back up, right arm drooping. She panted, sweat pouring down her face from the sun and the adrenaline.

"Don't you look down on us," she told Kaguya defiantly.

"We're the Golden Deer!" Raphael shouted at Felix, very much in a similar position.

Ignatz adjusted his glasses, taking his hand off the arm controls. "Our strength isn't our individual strength," he said as he put his hand back on the controls.

"It's our strength we share together!" They all shouted, unknowingly, in unison.

"How noble," Felix remarked. "But platitudes don't save you on the battlefield."

"You can barely stand," Felix and Kaguya told Raphael and Lysithea respectively.

Worse now, Inoue, Ohgi and Sugiyama were almost done cleaning up the other members of the Golden Deer. The remaining six fighters of the Green Pheasants were keen on shutting down this entire sect of the Golden Deer, which would cripple Claude's efforts to fight the Black Eagles.

"Yeah, maybe," Raphael said. "But, I don't know what standing up's got to do with it. After all, one of my best friends in the Golden Deer, can't even stand up on her own."

"…What?" Felix asked, very confused.

As if on cue, a streak of gold blitzed across the horizon.

Before Sugiyama and Ohgi even knew what was on them, they were sent flying, riddled with blunt force as if they'd been punched a hundred times. They were done before they'd even hit the ground.

"Sorry I'm late!" The blur of gold pivoted near the Ashen Wolves' southern border, revealing the Hope's Beacon. "The Black Eagles are really giving us a hard time."

"Be a little faster next time!" Lysithea scolded. "But…thank you, Nunnally."

"One fighter doesn't change a thing!" Inoue shouted. She took aim, calculating her shot to lead the target. However, she never got the chance to pull the trigger. Nunnally and her Hope's Beacon were already on her. Battering her with rapid fire fist strikes, Nunnally then launched Inoue's smashed up frame into the air with a flip kick and then jumped into the air after it.

Clapping her frame's main two hands together, Nunnally declared, "Seraphim!" A barrage of golden magic blasts fired from her frame's body and smashed into Inoue's frame, destroying it and causing Inoue to free fall to the ground. The impact was enough to lock up her mock armor. Naomi Inoue, top sniper and native ace of the Green Pheasants, was out.

Grimacing, Felix decided enough was enough and activated his Crest of Fraldarius. He began going all out against Raphael, smashing up the Hickory Grizzly and bringing its battery levels far below 30%. Raphael was completely defenseless against Felix's strength and speed. As Felix moved in to deliver the final blow, he was suddenly punched across the horizon.

Nunnally had condensed many of the Hope's Beacon's golden arms into one big arm and sent him flying. The Rogue Shogun landed and righted itself as Felix proceeded to face off against the normally blind and paraplegic Nunnally. Felix pushed his crest to its absolute limit, slicing away at Nunnally and even capable of holding his own against just how outnumbered he was against Nunnally's many, many arms. Even as his arms burned and he started to pant, he kept going. He could relax after the enemy had been defeated. The dull blue glow of his crest consumed the entirety of the Rogue Shogun and Felix started pushing Nunnally back. Raphael could see the Hope's Beacon losing ground, floating backwards.

However, Nunnally was not quitting, not like this. A glow enveloped her own body, one very similar to Felix's. The heir to House Fraldarius was shocked.

"She has a crest too?!"

"Hooooooooaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!" Nunnally's Crest of Saint Macuil glowed brightly. Throughout her life, though she had her crest, she'd never been a position where she needed to use it. She was too passive, too gentle. Not today. Today she would be powerful. Today she would protect her friends. Condensing her many arms into one, throwing out strikes just barely faster than Felix could keep up now, Nunnally charged magic power into her frame's oversized right arm. "AURAAAAAAAAA!" she shouted, "KNUCKLE!"

Knowing this was going to hurt, Felix held up the Aegis Shield to protect him from Nunnally's strike. Although he was able to block the strike successfully, his Rogue Shogun was almost out of battery. "Gotta be kidding me!"

He decided to go in for one final push, an all or nothing assault. Felix's aura went from blue to green in a split second as he rushed towards Nunnally with unprecedented speed. Nunnally met this head on, charging another Aura Knuckle. The two raced past each other quicker than Raphael's eyes could keep up. For a moment, it looked like they'd missed.

Nunnally's arm strained, slowly dissolving and she dropped to a knee.

"Guess that's it then," Felix said as the Rogue Shogun faded. "That's my limit." He then fell over, armor locking up. Felix was out. Heh, losing to a girl that normally can't use her eyes and legs. I have a lot of work to do as a swordsman. I won't lose to you again, Nunnally Eisner. I look forward to clashing with you again.

The Green Pheasants now only consisted of Ashe and Kaguya. Peeling away from Ignatz, Ashe put himself between Lysithea and Kaguya. He would protect Empress Kaguya even if it got him eliminated from battle. Arming a massive rifle shot, he took aim at Lysithea.

However, Lysithea was suddenly imbued with a green and golden glow of healing magic, courtesy of an approaching Nunnally. Ashe fired the shot, but Nunnally was too fast and tanked it for Lysithea's sake.

"You're in my way!" Lysithea shouted and proceeded to gather magic power quickly and lethally. "Dark Spikes Tau!"

Her attack hit Ashe and Kaguya dead on, crunching their frames and their armor beneath. When the barrage of spiked blasts ceased, Kaguya and Ashe lay on the ground. They couldn't move.

And, with that, the Green Pheasants were the first house to be eliminated from the battle. A big announcement was made on the big screen to showcase this as the entire house's UI on the big board went from mostly red with a little bit of green, to gray, showing that all of its members had been eliminated.

"Well, we gave it our best shot," Ohgi said as staff members helped Kaguya and Ashe out of their armor so they could move again. "Do we know what we got in terms of points now that we're out of the running?"

"They don't post final scores, only placements," Felix told him.

"You're taking this a lot better than I thought you would," Inoue said to him. "I thought you'd be berating us and saying you picked a loser house or something."

"My failure is my own, not the failure of my teammates," Felix stated. "I chose the Green Pheasants to grow, and so that I could face opponents I wanted to. I accomplished that today. I leave glory and other such nonsense to historians and bards."

Tamaki laughed. "I hear that, Felix!" He slapped him on the shoulder.

"Felix is right, though. Today's only a measure of our shortcomings as individuals, not as a team," Ohgi agreed. "And we all knew today wasn't going to go our way. I say as long as we don't end up in last, we can call that a personal victory."

Everyone seemed to nod and agree to this. Ashe, however, was preoccupied.

Kallen, he thought. Do your best.

---

With the Green Pheasants now taken care of, Edelgard knew the tide of battle had shifted. She'd had the opportunity to take a glance up at the big screen during her clash with Cornelia. She'd seen that Dimitri had been eliminated. If the Blue Lions were still at play, by now they would be contending with Cornelia's northern force, splintered from her rear guard. Zero would inevitably join that fray, or wait for winner to come to him. The Golden Deer would then, inevitably, put more pressure on her force, knowing how large of a threat Adrestia posed to everyone.

And with that information at her disposal, Edelgard made a choice. She pulled back from Cornelia, falling back towards Byleth. However, while she had one hand on her temple to use comms, she fired at Cornelia with the cannons in her shield to deter the idea of following her.

"Bernadetta! Dorothea! Can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear, Edie! Everything all right?"

"Forget Zero," she told them. "I need you two to pull back!"

"OH THANK THE GODDESS!" Bernadetta shrieked.

"Fall back to my location. You're going to help me eliminate Princess Cornelia."

Bernadetta whined in terror. Out of the frying pan and into the fire it seemed.

Leaving some troops to contend with Cornelia as her cavalry made their way towards her, Edelgard took an unsuspecting Oldrin by surprise, smashing her in the back with her trusty energy axe. Shez moved in to help Oldrin, attacking Edelgard, but this left Byleth without any serious pressure. The Ashen Demon moved in and attacked Shez, forcing Shez to prioritize retreating with Oldrin over continuing the fight.

"The tides of battle are changing," Byleth remarked, sheathing the Sword of the Creator at her hip.

"Indeed," Edelgard said. She activated comms. "Lelouch, I could use one of your master strokes of genius right about now."

Nothing but dead air.

"Lelouch!"

"Sorry, one moment!" Lelouch responded.

Sayoko and Lelouch had worked on this ahead of time. If Sayoko was asked for a plan, she had to secretly add Zero to the comms.

The real Lelouch was smart enough to realize he'd been added to Edelgard's chat. Sayoko muted herself as he spoke with his own voice, moving away from the other wolves so that he couldn't be heard.

"How's the rear guard look?" Edelgard asked.

"Aside from the Golden Deer, we appear to be doing just fine," Lelouch told her.

"I need you to prepare for the unexpected. Start mobilizing more forces my way from our reserves and set up a barricade. Hilda is causing a massive problem for Hubert's forces. She can't get to the professor and me too soon or it will be bad for all of us in the Black Eagles."

"Understood," Lelouch responded only, as Zero, for him to notice something. Across the battlefield, he could see the Violet Tigers splitting off from the Blue Lions as best as they could. "You might want to fall back a little bit. We're about to have company."

"What kind of company?" Edelgard asked.

"The Knights of the Round kind," Lelouch told her. He then cut off comms, talking directly, as Zero, to the Ashen Wolves. "All forces abandon the turrets and form up in the center. We're about to have our own company."

"What kind of company?" Kallen asked.

"The Blue Lion kind," Zero told her.

---

Having heard the gist of what was going on, Sayoko followed a plan she and Lelouch had worked out ahead of time, one that would ultimately see her identity as Lelouch carted off the battlefield. She went up to Rolo, Linhardt Clara, rallying them and the rest of Edelgard's rear guard. She knew that even with this force, there would be very little the Black Eagles could do to suppress the incoming Britannian assault. But they had to try.

Monica, Gino, Lila, and Euphemia all showed up with a force about forty-percent the size of Edelgard's rear guard. However, size wasn't everything. The sheer might and brutality of the Violet Tigers was overwhelming. Monica was bad, and Gino made it worse.

Utilizing the spare charges Lelouch had given her, Sayoko prepared to unleash one last Banshee Theta in the hopes of crippling Monica, who was closing in on her.

"Edelgard, this is Lelouch reporting in. Status of rear guard is…well…we're about to be eliminated. I've done all I can to support you. Unfortunately, you and Byleth will have to figure the rest out on your own."

Hubert was alarmed by this. He'd seen the Britannian forces sweep past him and Monica while they were busy dealing with Hilda, but surely Lelouch had a handle on it? Was Britannia really that powerful? Had they miscalculated?

"No! Lelouch! Don't you dare quit on me!" Edelgard berated.

"I'm not quitting on anyone. But…we're surrounded. The main force is ahead of you. I've stalled the rear force for as long as possible. Hubert, take care of the Golden Deer. I have faith in you."

"The countless blows to the head must have made you delirious," Hubert remarked, unable to simply take the praise at face value. However, his smile betrayed his words.

"Monica, take over from here," Lelouch deputized. "I'll see you all after the battle."

"LELOUCH!" Edelgard shouted.

That should have been convincing enough, Sayoko thought as she turned off comms. She then super charged her attack. "BANSHEE THETA!"

Monica had little time to avert course, choosing instead to power through it. The attack from what she didn't know to be Sayoko crippled her momentarily, leaving her immobile, but she got her and thus, to the battlefield at large, Lelouch Eisner had been eliminated from the battle.

All according to plan, Zero thought.

As Gino defended Monica from token Black Eagles still in the area, it would be some time before he and the others could mount an assault against Edelgard's main force from behind. At this, Cornelia pressed the attack, knowing Edelgard was lower on manpower. Edelgard, Ferdinand, Byleth, Petra, and the bulk of Edelgard's forces were now all but surrounded by Cornelia's forces. Things looked bad.

Edelgard was a bit nervous, but Byleth put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. They would make it through this. She stood stalwartly in front of Cornelia, Forgotten Saint active, Sword of the Creator drawn.

"Professor Eisner," Cornelia said to her, "I don't know what you think you're capable of, but you are one woman against an army. You may have your house leader and a few others to aid you, but you are not invincible!"

"Others have told me that before. They're dead," Byleth responded, not losing her nerve.

"You've never faced a Britannian army before, especially not one led by my and my sister's command," Cornelia responded.

Byleth only blinked in response. The only thing Cornelia's words did was put the woman more on guard. It did not instill fear in her one bit.

"Have a plan?" Edelgard asked Byleth.

"I'll take on as many as I can. Cover me," she told her.

"That's your big plan?" Edelgard asked her.

"I'm strong," Byleth told her.

"Strong or not! You can't just—"

"I'll be fine," Byleth told her. "After all," she said, as the wind blew through her frame and billowed her iconic gray coat underneath. "I've got something worth fighting for."

"Professor…"

"Lelouch gave everything he had to get us this far. The fact that I don't see the Tristan or the Florence here yet means that our rear force is still keeping them at bay. Before they arrive," she said, gripping the Sword of the Creator tightly, Crest of Flames giving off a faint glow, "I will cripple Britannia." Her piercing glare said more than her words. Byleth Eisner was ready to remind Britannia that, as personable as she'd been these past few moons, the Ashen Demon hadn't gone anywhere, and she was ready to show Britannia a hell they'd have waking nightmares about for weeks.

---

Zero could see the Black Eagles getting surrounded from his vantage point. He'd love nothing more than to rush in behind Britannia and cripple their forces. Unfortunately, he and the rest of his forces now had one big, blue colored problem to contend with. Ingrid, leading what was left of the Blue Lions, no thanks to Monica and Gino's units, now stood just east of the center, ready to face off against the Ashen Wolves.

"I imagine you're here for Prince Dimitri," Zero said, noting that he had a slight numbers advantage 9 to 6. However, one of those six was a particularly pissed off Ingrid. The others were the Blue Lions's best mages in Annette and Mercedes, a Sylvain that Lelouch had never seen looking more serious, a vengeful Dedue, and the group's sole gunslinger in Leila.

"Zero, I may owe you for what you did for me, but I am a knight before I am a woman. Blue Lions! Attack!"

As the group started to charge, Zero fanned out an arm. "Ashen Wolves. Show no mercy. Use tactical formation 13b to select opponents. We will eliminate the Blue Lions, cripple Britannia, and take the Battle of the Eagle and Lion by storm! So say I, Zero! The man who makes miracles!"

---

(A/N: Quite the hectic chapter, no? Between Dimitri, Ingrid and Lysithea, plenty of cool moments to be had here. Now we move into the Battle of Eagle and Lion's second phase. With the Green Pheasants eliminated, and the Blue Lions seemingly on their way out, it may soon become a clash between the Deer, the Tigers, the Eagles and the Wolves. Place your bets and prepare for one of the most insane battle royales to have its intensity dialed up to critical. And, as always, I'll see you all next time. Until then, from all of me, to all of you, let your hearts stay human and your wrath draconic. Ja ne!

SPECIAL THANKS to my Patrons ShawnH, Nier 99, and Wizard Aro. Without the support of you and all of the rest of you reading this, none of this would be possible! If you'd like to support my work, consider becoming a patron yourself. Also, feel free to also leave a comment, write a review, or just say hey. It helps out a lot and it keeps me motivated to write more. And I'm sure everyone wants that :D I know I do!