The Nohrian siblings met in the great hall of Nohr, King Garon looking at each of them with piercing cold eyes. Not that any dared look up at him until he gave permission. Even Corrin had picked up on that rather quickly.

"So, the Hoshidans are not crushed," Garon finally spoke. His words were not full of anger, but that did not put them at ease.

"No, my king," Xander spoke for them all, "They came prepared for war."

"And had you not changed tactics, you would have been nearly wiped out."

"I apologize. I did not see their strategy."

"I will expect all of you to make up for this failure. Right now I need you to reinforce our positions across the country. Xander, you will lead our army as a whole. I want you to make sure we are prepared for another such force. Get our forces ready in every corner of our kingdom."

"Yes, my king!" Xander finally stood and saluted.

"Camilla, make sure our wyverns are ready to blot out the sun at a moment's notice. I want you ready to smother our foes in talons and teeth."

"As you say."

"Leo, you are to shore up our more delicate operations. You seem to have a talent for it. Put it to use."

"I will not disappoint."

"Elise, you are not fit for battle. You will stay here under protection."

The blonde swallowed, but managed a, "Yes, Father."

"Corrin."

"Father," Corrin snapped out of her doldrum.

"Some of our 'allies' may see this as an opportunity to betray us. You are to ride north and ensure that the Ice Tribe remains loyal. I do not care how you do it, but weed out any treachery."

"I understand, Father."

"Good. Do not disappoint me. All of Nohr is counting on you."

"Yes, my Lord!" The siblings responded in unison.

"How could we let them push us back?" Takumi fumed, "We were supposed to crush their army then and there!"

"I must apologize," Reflet apologized again, "I was not anticipating they would have such a…capable tactician in their ranks. I will try to account for that moving forward."

"We will support your intelligence gathering where we can," Ryoma reassured the strategist, "But we cannot start turning on each other. This was a setback, but I take the fact they were already amassed at our borders as a confession of guilt. We must be sure to defend our people first and foremost. Only then can we seek our vengeance.

"Hinoka, I want you to work with Reflet to deploy our troops to defend our borders and strategic locations."

"I'll do what I can."

"Leave it to me," Reflet nodded.

"Takumi, we won't be on the defensive forever. I want you to work on assembling strike forces."

"Now you're talking. I'll make sure we're ready to move at a moment's notice."

"See that you do. Sakura, I want you to monitor civilian morale and help our people through these hard times."

"I-I can fight too," Sakura blurted out while squeezing her eyes shut.

"I know you can, but this is an important task. One you're better suited to than any of us."

"O-oh," Sakura bowed stiffly with a blush, "Then I'll give it everything I have!"

"I know you will," Ryoma then eyed his other brother stewing in the corner, "Kamui. Your mission remains the same."

"That…" The draconic prince eyed the assembled royals, "Might be harder than I thought."

"Why's that?" Hinoka raised a brow.

"I…saw her during the battle."

Kamui paused to let the surprised royals voice said surprise, "She was fighting as a princess of Nohr." Clutching his fist, Kamui continued, "She did not even recognize me. Nor did she believe that we were siblings."

They were all silent for a few minutes before Sakura finally asked, "What are you going to do?"

"I'm bringing her to her senses, one way or another," Kamui spoke without doubt or hesitation, "It's for her own good. Whether she knows it or not. Don't worry, I'll get her back, and I'll make them pay for what they did to her." He clenched his fist, "That much I promise."

"Well, this is a fine mess," Laslow tossed his sword carelessly on the table making a loud thud.

"Matters escalated faster than we had anticipated, but we managed to prevent greater losses this day," Geoffery muttered, "I am at a loss for how much good we can do moving forward though."

"Should we…should we go home?" Nicole asked, and for the first time, Selena was not the only one considering it. That was until the door opened to reveal a rain drenched duo.

"Report," Robin demanded, his tone not giving room to question him as he did not even take the time to take his wet coat off.

"War," Selena barked, "We're stuck in another war, in another world, that we have no stake in!"

"Sev…" Odin trailed off under her sharp gaze. He knew she was right. He also knew the only reason she had come.

"If you want to leave, leave," Robin spoke sternly, "You're right. You have no stake here. So, if that's how you feel, you're free to go. I can tell you how to go back the way we came."

"I…" She was at a loss for words. A rarity, which only served to show how unsure she was after being put on the spot. When she looked at her friends, she found she was not looking at them. Just him. She swallowed, "No, I'll stay."

Robin analyzed her for a bit without saying anything while Lucina wore a small but proud smile, "Very well."

Moving to address everyone, Robin was grim, "Now, what do we know about their movements?"

"Leo has ordered Nicole and I to trail Corrin to the Ice Tribe," Odin informed, "Seems that he expects things will get bloody. Considering the less than consensual relationship the tribe has with Nohr, can't say I blame him."

"Good, that will give you some time with our special little princess. If she is key to stopping this, then you need to focus on keeping her alive and open to the idea of a third party manipulating things behind the scenes.

"To that end, we need to stop this war as soon as possible, and to do that, we need to convince both sides that there is a silent enemy that needs dealing with. That should be our top priority as well as finding a way to find this...Anankos."

"Our informant didn't exactly get that far," Laslow mused, "We haven't had much luck finding it on our own either."

"Hmm," Robin paced, "We know he has agents of his own that he sent after your informant. If we could follow them back, we could find where he's based. However, to do that, we'll have to either find them acting or give them a reason to intervene."

Addressing the gathered troops directly, "If you think you've found an agent of Anankos, do not act immediately. Observe. Thwart them if needed, but see if you can find something out from them instead.

"That said, our first priority is to de-escalate this conflict." Robin eyed the others, "I want to meet with these royals."

This made the retainers a bit uneasy. It was Laslow that spoke up first, "Xander might go for it, but if it goes south, it might not go well for us."

"That's true. How much do you have to do with their paperwork though?"

The retainers shared a concerned look.

"Laslow!" The retainer stood stock still as the crown prince caught up to him.

"Milord?" Laslow humbly bowed, hoping he was keeping his cool, "How may I serve?"

"I received a strange letter here," Xander held up a quite familiar piece of paper, but Laslow played it off as if he had never seen it, "It purports to be from someone with inner knowledge of this conflict. It included details that a layman should not be knowledgeable of."

"I see. A potential spy, perhaps?"

"Possibly, but it isn't something I can just ignore. The writer would like a royal audience."

"Will King Garon agree to something like that?"

"He already has," Xander produced another letter and handed both to Laslow, "Here. This is the reply. The letter included very specific instructions. Follow them to the letter."

"Will do, sire, but…are you sure? Doesn't it include sensitive material?"

"It's nothing you don't already know. Besides, you have a talent for knowing things you shouldn't. Might as well make use of that ability."

Laslow swallowed, "Yes, sire. Though, if I may, what if this is a trap?"

"Then we'll be short an enemy spy, won't we?"

The mood in Hoshido was understandably tense. Not only were they at war, but their supposed quick push to victory had been rebutted. Now, they were preparing for a long and bloody war. Something the man sipping tea was all too familiar with - if that fight for survival could even be considered a war.

If only his compatriot shared his outer calm.

"The more you act like someone has a knife to your throat, the more attention you bring to yourself."

"Can you blame me?" The sheepish voice called out from underneath the robe, "After everything that happened lately, they'll probably want my head on a platter."

"You could simply remove the hood."

"That might be even worse!"

"Eh," Kent shrugged, "From what I understand, they may try to worship you as some sort of…what was it…ah, yes, kitsune."

"Do not lump me in with those foxes. I've had a hard enough time avoiding those things while 'Nagi' frolics across the countryside."

"Ah, so they do exist."

"Yes, and they're very territorial. I also don't imagine they'd take too kindly to a rabbit."

"I trust your ability to stay out of danger," Kent put down his cup calmly, "Now, on to more important matters, has Nagi had any success in her search?"

The taguel sighed, "None yet. She might have a lead on potential dragon activity, but she still seems pretty convinced these Dawn and Dusk dragons are long dead but probably did exist."

"A double edged sword for certain," The scholar put a hand to his mouth in thought, "That means we can't ask them for help, but we don't have to worry about them opposing our efforts."

"Not that it'd matter now that Lucina and Robin are here. They could handle it."

"The situation with Grima was a special circumstance. I would not expect them to be able to pull out a similar feat. Especially with Lucina's Falchion in the state it is in. From my studies, dragons can be especially hardy. Particularly those of legend. I wonder if any regular human could hope to best them. It may truly take the might of a dragon to slay a dragon. Though, I'd like to think it possible. One day at least."

"Thanks for raining on that parade."

"Do not misinterpret my words. I am greatly relieved that they have joined our efforts. Perhaps now we might make some headway. Especially with the greatest tactician alive on our side. Though, this mystery tactician has me intrigued."

"She that good?"

"I…don't think so, but from the reports I've gathered, she is exceptionally skilled in her craft yet we know little of her past. Our allies are working on it, but we still know little. I doubt she will be a tactical match for Robin though. Few have his level of strategic acumen. I can only think of one that is close."

The taguel shivered while reflexively protecting his ears, "Don't remind me."

"Tiki! Tiki!" Morgan puffed out her cheeks as the manakete kept sleeping on the couch, "Waaaaaake up!"

"Huh?" The dragon wiped her eyes, "Morgan? What's wrong?"

"I'm booooooooored!" Morgain made an exaggerated show of fainting which at best got a bemused smile from the manakete.

"You woke me up for that?"

"Yeah," Morgan tilted her head, "Why not?"

"Nothing. I'm just used to people only waking me in dire circumstances."

"But this is dire! Boredom is no joke! Surely you did stuff as a little…hatchling to stave off the menace."

"I'm afraid most of my childhood was spent sleeping. Not much playing."

Morgan let out an exasperated gasp of horror, "That's horrible! Well, lucky for you, I'm an expert at all such things. I'll teach you all about playing!"

"Er, that's nice, but I think I'm a few thousand years too old for that. You're a bit old for such games too."

"Nonsense!" Morgan declared confidently, hands on her hips, "You're never too old to have fun! Oh, this is gonna be great! I need to make some plans!"

Tiki watched her leave to draw up some rough drafts with a mix of horror and amusement. She was not sure which one was stronger.

Robin and Lucina were greeted at the gates of Castle Krakenburg by Laslow and Selena. Odin and Nicole had already left on babysitting duty. The two did a good job of pretending they did not know them as they guided the husband and wife through the castle.

It was clear they were not trusted though. Everything not on their path was locked up tight and there was no shortage of guards on duty. Fortunately, he had people on the inside who had already provided him with the layout of the castle.

Lucina remained on guard the whole time as well. While she trusted Robin and her old comrades, she did not trust these Nohrians. Robin tried to remain diplomatic for his part, remaining polite and cordial.

They were led into the throne room where Xander, Camilla, and Leo eyed them suspiciously. Lucina returned their gazes just as hard, however, Robin was more concerned with the…thing on the throne. His posture immediately grew defensive. He was not sure why, but something about that man seemed positively foul. Not in the same way as someone like Gangrel. No, it was more like Validar, but far worse if that were possible.

"So, you are the informants I have heard about," Garon's eyes did not leave Robin. If he noticed Lucina's presence, he made no indication, "I would speak with the man. Alone."

The crown prince looked like he really wanted to object, but in the end, he knew better than to argue. As the siblings walked by them, Garon spoke again.

"Alone includes you," He finally gave Lucina some acknowledgement. Lucina was absolutely not a fan, but Robin nodded his approval. Relenting, she joined the siblings outside. The awkward silence outside the doors was only matched by the one inside just before the doors shut.

"Hoshido is not the enemy" Robin finally spoke when the door was shut. Robin did not trust this…person, but he hoped he might learn something at least, "Someone is manipulating everything from behind the scenes."

The king laughed. A deep, booming, humorless laugh, "So, you do know. Yes," Robin felt a bit uncomfortable under his harsh gaze, "You could be a threat."

"Are you Anankos?" Robin demanded.

"Hah! I am not worthy of the name. Regardless, you know too much. What I want to know is how you know it."

"And I want to know why you'd condemn two nations to war. What does Anankos want?"

"What does he want?" Garon repeated incredulously, "It is not my place to question his motives. Only to be his blade. I can tell that you are not the type to break. I wonder though, is the woman made of such sturdy material?"

"She's just as capable of cutting you down as I am," Robin's posture tensed along with his hardened stare, "But I won't give you that opportunity."

"Hmph, somehow I doubt that. Seems you can only barely grasp at my true nature as well. Very well. I will get my answers from the woman. You can burn!"

Having acted fast, Garon succeeded in hitting him directly with his Ragnarok spell. It likely would have incinerated a normal human. As it stood, he was merely blown back by the monster king's surprise attack. The king did not seem amused that it had failed, grabbed the massive great ax at the side of the throne and slowly walking down to meet the tactician.

Robin had to admit, it had been a long time before he had so much as felt a spell. This…thing was strong physically and magically. That magic though, it was backed up by something more than typical spellcraft. Something familiar and foreign all at once.

"Father!" Xander rushed in with the siblings and Lucina. The bluenette was instantly at her husband's side, ready to back him up through thick and thin.

"This man tried to assassinate me," Garon lied as he slowly descended the stairs. Whether the lumbering pace was for gravitas or to make himself look weaker in front of the royals, Robin was not sure.

Xander, however, needed to hear nothing else. All Robin heard was the sound of Falchion being pulled from its scabbard before steel met with steel. Both fighters were surprised by the strength behind the other's blow, but Lucina recovered quicker as she and Robin settled in back to back.

"Now what?"

"We're not here to fight them," Robin eyed Garon as he continued descending the stairs. For a split second, he could have sworn the king's eyes glowed. "Like we planned. Make it quick!"

Robin reached out past his wife's shoulder and let loose a powerful wind spell. Powerful enough to send the royals reeling back into the wall behind them without doing any lasting damage.

With that in mind, the couple ran back the way they came upon the agreed upon escape route. Meanwhile, the royals gave chase. This left Garon alone in the throne room. He looked up and stared blankly at the statue in the ceiling.

"Yes…he must be eliminated with the rest of them. I understand…for the silent dragon. Ha…ha…hahahahahahaha!"

"This way!" Robin blew open one of the locked doors despite the guards standing in their way. The soldiers on the other side were easy enough to knock aside. There was a turn coming up ahead. The logical route would be to go left. They went right instead. They had to make it a little less obvious they had people on the inside. Or at least how much access they had.

"Just a little further," Robin mentally tracked their escape. Fortunately, the two were faster than most and were easily able to outrun the armored guards. That was until they both suddenly felt significantly heavier in the courtyard.

"What manner of sorcery is this?" Lucina winced as she forced herself to stay upright.

"That would be gravity magic," The younger prince smirked as he walked into view, his outstretched hand aglow with the special purple magic, "Rare I'll admit. I wouldn't shame you for being unfamiliar."

"You don't know what you're doing," Robin made a labored step towards the prince, "That thing on the throne isn't human."

"Hah, Hoshidan rhetoric? Please. His methods may be harsh, but-"

"No!" Robin shouted with another step causing Leo to back up with surprise and caution, but he quickly hid those emotions, "I'm not being colorful or hyperbolic! He literally isn't human!"

"Enough!" Leo shouted back, "Your mad ravings won't save you now. All that remains is to see how deep your spy ring goes and to root it out."

Robin gritted his teeth, "You'll doom both nations if you stay this course!"

"Well then, at least we took them with us."

Robin growled before unleashing a burst of wind magic behind him with enough force that it propelled him forward. He was able to shoulder tackle Leo hard enough to knock the tome out of his hand and end the spell.

Leo did not give up quite yet though, drawing a blade. However, so did Robin. The prince was not expecting much from what he assumed was a mage. His preconception was quickly disproven though as Robin had years more experience and proved more than a match for him when it came to swordplay.

"Think about it," Robin held the prince to the ground after disarming him with ease, "Is he really acting with Nohr's best interests at heart? Have you verified what he's told you?"

He would not get a replay as Leo's diversion had given the older siblings time to catch up.

Lucina clashed with both of them at once. She was able to hold them off, especially since they were without their mounts, but this was more than they had intended to fight to say the least.

"Think about it," Robin told Leo as he stood up and cast a fire spell between his wife and the royals. Just strong enough to form a dividing line.

"Let's get out here."

Lucina did not have to be told twice. She only spoke up once they were clear of the castle, but she had been curious the whole escape, "What happened in there?"

"It's worse than I thought," Robin shook his head, "Nohr is compromised at the very top. Whatever is sitting on that throne…isn't human. I can't explain it, but my body was screaming at me as soon as we were in the same room."