#withering flower

Byleth was in the classroom organizing his papers when he heard the doors open.

(Byleth) “Hm? Oh, class.”

The Black Eagles class walked up to him, looking very excited.

(Byleth) “What’s with the smile on everyone’s faces?”

(Dorothea) “Well, professor! The ball is tomorrow!”

(Edelgard) “Hah, I have no worthwhile memories of such an event, yet I am still looking forward to it.”

(Hubert) “As am I, in the sense that I look forward to destroying all the unworthy suitors that would swarm Lady Edelgard.”

(Ferdinand) “I admit, Edelgard is adorable, however I think I am far superior on the dance floor!”

(Dorothea) “You’re not a bad dancer Ferdie but you have some moves that are...hard to watch.”

(Linhardt) “I also know how to dance...in theory. Maybe I should participate as well.”

(Bernadetta) “N-NOT ME! You wouldn’t catch me dancing no sooner than you’d see a fish swimming through the sky!”

(Caspar) “You do tend to flop around like a fish on land after all! Though, speaking of it, do we get to choose who we dance with and stuff? I wonder who I’ll ask...”

(Petra) “I will fight with all I have!”

(Byleth) “Er...I don’t think fighting is what you’ll be doing, Petra-”

(Dorothea) “So, professor, got anyone in mind?~”

Byleth raised his eyebrow at her.

(Byleth) “I...don’t think I’m going to dance, I’m a mercenary not a-”

(Ferdinand) “No, you’re not a mercenary either, professor! You’re our teacher!”

(Bernadetta) “I-I won’t be dancing but, I’m sure watching you would be interesting!”

(Edelgard) “Our professor ball dancing?” Snrrk!

(Byleth) “I-I can dance! At least...I think I can?”

(Caspar) “You mean those ‘dances’ you do with the other mercenaries? That’s drunk dancing!”

(Hubert) “Seeing our professor ‘drunk dance’ at a ball as fancy as this would be very entertaining? May I humbly request you do this?”

(Byleth) “Absolutely not.”

Everyone began chatting about the dance, Byleth’s dancing skills and who they were going to ask to dance.

Edelgard watched the class engage in such a lively manner, it brought a smile to her face.

(Edelgard) “Excuse me, sorry to change the subject but I have a proposition. Five years from tomorrow, let’s all agree to meet up again!”

(Caspar) “Like a class reunion? That’s a great idea!”

(Petra) “Yes, you will get to see how much growing I have done! This is a good idea!”

(Byleth) “Five years time? Hah, I wonder how all you kids will be five years from now.”

(Linhardt) “And you won’t be enjoying a cozy retirement by then, professor?”

(Byleth) “Hah, not likely being honest. Though, no matter what I’ll be, I’ll be right back here in time.”

(Edelgard) “It’s a promise, professor. Don’t you forget it!”

-----

(Edelgard) “Five years...”

(Dimitri) “El?”

(Edelgard) “O-Oh, Dimitri. Sorry I...”

He stood next to Edelgard, looking up at the monastery.

(Dimitri) “We cannot turn the hands of time back to what it once was.”

(Edelgard) “I know but...maybe if I had done something different...Byleth wouldn’t be what he is now. If I had never started the war then...Maybe we could have all lived in peace together-”

(Claude) “What’s done is done, Edelgard.”

He walked up beside her, looking up with the two.

(Claude) “Much as I would have loved to live a life of friendship, reality doesn’t work that way. All we can do now is try to right our wrongs.”

(Dimitri) “No matter what, we’ll stay alive long enough to fix this world, together.”

(Edelgard) “...Together.”

(Claude) “I like the sound of that. But, right now we gotta hurry. We’ll be within Garreg Mach in an hour...”

(Edelgard) “Byleth...”

(Everyone) “...”

(Edelgard) “Alright. Let us put an end to it, once and for all.”

...

Byleth stood near the gates watching the three armies converge on their location.

(Soldier) “Sir, the Javelin of Liberation will be activating soon. All of the main forces who haven’t rebelled are out here in the gates.”

He nodded.

Ever since the massive casualties at Gronder, their morale was shaken and started to question their loyalty.

The fact that Shamir, Alois, and Leonie had defected did not help easing their fears.

There was an uprising within the barracks that had to be contained. No one had time to properly kill them.

(Soldier) “If I may sir?”

(Byleth) “Go ahead.”

(Soldier) “I don’t think there’s much chances of us surviving this fight, so you need to get to a safespot and ensure that the Javelin activates.”

Byleth turned to the soldier.

(Byleth) “You are right but...Not being with my men in this battle would surely break mora-”

(Soldier) “We’re all dying for this cause, one way or another. For us loyalists, I’d be more comfortable knowing our deaths ensured victory.”

Byleth looked at the armies who were getting closer, seeing Edelgard leading everyone alongside Dimitri and Claude.

(Byleth) “...Understood. Sothis watch over you all.”

The soldier nodded, and started directing commands to the others, preparing for battle.

Byleth went to the roof to watch the Javelin’s progress on activation.

The main core was in the Tombs where he found the Sword of the Creator, near the chapel.

(Byleth) “All of this blood I have shed...All the lives lost. All will soon be forgiven for everyone...”

...

(Dimitri) “Even though he is our old friend, we must not go easy today...”

(Claude) “As long as we pull off the victory, doesn’t matter how.”

(Edelgard) “Our victory must be absolute, no matter what it may take...”

Kingdom, Alliance, and Empire soldiers drew their swords, the House Leaders retainers coming up to them.

(Dedue) “We all are ready to lay down our lives to stop this madness.”

(Hilda) “Speak for yourself! I don’t plan on dying. I plan on kicking their butts, and living to tell the tale!”

(Hubert) “An inelegant way of putting it, but something I agree with nevertheless.”

...

The Blue Lions slowly drew out their weapons.

(Sylvain) “Can’t say that this is where I imagined the war taking us but...I’m glad we’re all together today.”

(Ingrid) “I will protect my homeland, and my people!”

(Felix) “Tch...If I die here, then the Old Man would never let me hear the end of it...”

(Annette) “My father is gone, but I will not be losing anyone else today!”

(Mercedes) “I’ll protect everyone, even if it means losing my own life!”

(Death Knight) “You will not be losing it when I am around, because I will make sure you die by my hands...”

(Ashe) “Lonato, Christophe, everyone...Today, we’ll make things right for everyone!”

...

The Golden Deers all stood behind Hilda.

(Marianne) “After seeing so much death firsthand, I now realize how precious life is. I won’t let everyone be robbed of such a wonderful thing!”

(Raphael) “I got my little sister, and she sure as heck isn’t going to get killed by this weird Javelin thing if I have anything to say about it!”

(Ignatz) “I’ll protect my family, and all of ours!”

(Lorenz) “What kind of noble would I be if I let a tragedy such as this slide? It is my honor to-”

(Lysithea) “Put a sock in it, would you?...Hmph, I’m not sure I have long to live but, I won’t be letting it end early!”

...

The Black Eagles Strike Force looked down sadly.

(Linhardt) “To think this is where 5 years would put us...”

(Bernadetta) “This one time, I won’t run away. If I die today, well...At least I know it was for all of you.”

(Caspar) “Randolph...even though I didn’t know you that well, I’ll make the professor pay for what he’s done to you, and your sister!”

(Dorothea) “Professor...”

(Ferdinand) “I am conflicted as well but, I will be protecting all of our homes.”

(Petra) “Whether it be Brigid or Fodlan, protect them I shall!”

...

(Edelgard) “Hubert. From the schematics and plans Leonie told us, you and the other retainers will lead the students to the core.”

(Hubert) “And you’ll be going for the control room where Byleth is, correct?”

She nodded.

(Hilda) “We’ll get it done, don’t you worry Miss Edelgard!”

(Dedue) “Leave it to us.”

Everyone looked back to the gates and took a deep breath.

Everything they did here would decide the fate of everyone.

[Apex of the World (Rain) - Fire Emblem Three Houses] 

(Edelgard) “FORWARD, NOW!”

(Dimitri) “FOR HONOR!”

Claude motioned forward, and charged with everyone else.

Demonic Beasts came barreling out of the gate, running at a full tilt sprint at them.

Dimitri jumped into the air slammed the lance straight into its head, making it stop and trip over, the corpse now acting as a mini shield for everyone.

The second beast tried going for Claude, only to miss as his Wyvern flew into the air, letting Claude land a shot in the eye.

Hilda, Lorenz, and Ignatz attacked from the sides, sticking their weapons into its head as it tried to break free from the barrage.

Marianne and Lysithea finished it off with a combination of holy and dark magic, burning parts of the body off or completely disintegrating it.

The third beast swung its claws at Edelgard, which was blocked by a magical barrier that reflected it back.

She stood still readying her axe as the rest of the class charged in front of her.

Caspar grabbed onto its head while it was recoiling, and started punching it in the eye, with Hubert, Dorothea, and Linhardt keeping it down with magic.

Ferdinand, Petra, and Bernadetta began taking down the soldiers that were accompanying the beasts and were eventually joined in by the others.

The Blue Lions rushed into the town with Dimitri, seeing the soldiers in formation, walking towards them.

(Ingrid) “RIGHT AND LEFT FLANKS!”

Soldiers emerged from the houses, catching several Kingdom soldiers off guard and killed them.

The Death Knight was almost caught off guard by two soldiers, but his horse leaped back, and cut both their heads off with his scythe.

(Dimitri) “KEEP AN EYE ON THE HOUSES, SOME ARE IN HIDING!”

Dimitri swiped his lance upwards, cutting off the limbs of one knight as he helped one of his own up.

The rest of the classes joined in, with troopers on all sides pouring from the other entrances.

(Nemesis Knight 1) “THEY’RE IN, SHUT THE GATES!”

The Gates closed behind Edelgard, seeing that a good portion of her soldiers were still out there, alongside Claude’s and Dimitri’s.

Claude’s Wyvern landed on a porch right in front of the gate and motioned to everyone.

(Claude) “PREVENT ANY REINFORCEMENTS FROM COMING IN OUTSIDE, AND FIND A WAY TO BLAST THESE GATES OPEN!”

(Alliance Captain) “Yes, Milord!”

Claude nodded and flew back into the fight that was ensuing in the town.

Felix and Sylvain struck down a soldier trying to charge Annette and Mercedes who were trying to cast a spell.

As another squad tried to come at them from behind, Ingrid swooped in, knocking them all back with her Pegasus and skewered one of the soldiers on her lance, making her drop it and pulling out a sword.

Annette and Mercedes shot a line of ice spikes that shot out of the ground, sending a battalion flying into the buildings around them.

Ashe took out the enemy snipers trying to shoot Ingrid, and Dedue protected him from any attackers coming from behind. 

A soldier turned the corner and ran straight into Dedue’s shield, making him kick the soldier down, tumbling onto other soldiers falling at the bottom.

Once the Town Square was clear, they all moved to the gates.

However, more and more soldiers began to surround them.

(Dimitri) “Damn, there’s no end to them!”

Dimitri cut down several soldiers, twirling his lance and impaling a soldier behind him without turning to look at him.

Edelgard crushed a soldier completely into the concrete, breaking it and making blood splatter everywhere as Hubert shot a fireball into the building, making everything inside explode.

A soldier opened the door from the building, completely on fire as he fell to the ground dead.

(Edelgard) “We will not be able to make it to Monastery at this rate!”

(Hilda) “Claude, take Dimitri and Edelgard to the monastery, there’s no time to wait up on us!”

They all looked back to their retainers, realizing if they had any chance, they had to be left behind.

(Dedue) “Your highness, go!”

(Hubert) “We have no intention of dying just yet!”

(Hilda) “GO YOU IDIOT!”

Claude nodded, and had Dimitri and Edelgard hop on.

(Claude) “This ride’s gonna be really bumpy, so hang on!”

His Wyvern shot off towards the Monastery, leaving everyone behind.

(Dedue) “Now, it’s up to us!”

The soldiers who accompanied the classes were finally wiped out by the overwhelming numbers of Knights of Nemesis, who slowly began to surround them.

(Hilda) “Looks like they still haven’t found a way to enter in yet! We need reinforcements!”

(Hubert) “EVERYONE, HOLD YOUR GROUND!”

All the classes stood back to back, drawing out their weapons as they moved closer in.

(Ingrid) “So many of them...!”

(Lorenz) “I admit, I’m more than a little worried!”

(Hilda) “I never thought I’d be dying back at the schoolgrounds!”

(Dedue) “How about side by side with your classmates?”

(Hilda) “...No!”

(Hubert) “Both of you be quiet, we need a plan!”

(Bernadetta) “You know what...?!”

Everyone turned to Bernadetta who grasped her bow firmly.

(Bernadetta) “TO HELL WITH ALL OF YOU, NONE OF YOU ARE GONNA KILL ANY OF US TODAY!”

She took the chance to fire her arrow straight through someone’s head, making the soldiers flinch.

(Death Knight) “Well said, little one! General Vestra, you have your plan!”

Before they could react, the Death Knight jumped into the crowd, swinging his sycthe left and right and decapitating and chopping people into pieces.

Now, the rest of the class began attacking, charging and making their enemies back up in fear.

Ashe and Petra pulled out a sword and started trading blows with anyone who got too close to their circle, followed by Felix and Sylvain.

Annette and Mercedes went back into the circle as everyone was keeping the close combat soldiers at bay, alongside Marianne, Lysithea, Dorothea, Linhardt and Hubert.

Spells ranging from healing to offensive were being cast, keeping everyone in fighting shape as they slowly turned the odds back into their favor.

Ingrid grabbed Ignatz by the hand and onto her Pegasus, leading them towards archers who were about to fire into the crowd.

Ignatz dropped down and sliced most of their bows in half, with one archer being able to shoot into the crowd.

Dedue grabbed his shield and deflected an arrow that was about to hit HIlda.

(Dedue) “Ineffective!”

(Hilda) “Thanks!”

She said cheerfully as she swung her axe down, cutting someone in half, and kicking the legs toward a crowd.

Caspar and Raphael used their gauntlets to pulverize the enemies, charging straight in together, crushing heads and stabbing through stomachs.

A group tried to gang up on Raphael, who grabbed one of the soldiers by the legs and swung his body like a weapon, sending troopers flying back from the sheer force.

Ferdinand and Lorenz had to get off their horses to fight in such close quarters, elegantly dodging with their lances and striking back, almost as if they were fencing instead.

The more that everyone cut down, the more soldiers that took their place coming in.

(Ashe) “S-So many!”

(Dedue) “WHERE ARE THE REINFORCEMENTS?!”

As if on cue, one of the gates close by completely exploded, shooting debris all over the floor.

Everyone stopped fighting and looked towards the noise, unsure of whose side it was.

(Nemesis Knight) “That came from the barracks we had in town!”

More Knights of Nemesis emerged from the smoke, raising their weapons.

The students clenched their teeth, raising their weapons as the Knights of Nemesis started to cheer.

Their cheering stopped when they saw Thunder Catherine step out in front of them.

(Catherine) “Sorry to keep you all waiting!”

An arrow flew out of the smoke, hitting a soldier dead in the eye, letting the Knights with Catherine charge out into the fray.

They were joined by Knights of Seiros, adding more to the chaos and confusion.

(Nemesis Knight) “DAMN IT, THE DEFECTORS GOT OU-AUGH!”

A soldier had an axe thrown into his chest, and another was taken out by a woman on horseback.

(Shamir) “Looks like we made it in time.”

(Alois) “Had to make a quick detour!”

(Leonie) “Come on, the Monastery guards will be too busy to deal with us!”

The classes looked off into the distance and saw smoke coming from Garreg Mach.

Even the demonic beasts were having a hard time dealing with the Defectors.

(Shamir) “The beasts we made were ordered not to attack our own forces in the event someone possessed them or Those Who Slither were still around. Obviously, that came to bite them in the ass.”

(Hilda) “Then what are we waiting for, let’s get a move on!”

Everyone nodded, and left the fighting to the soldiers, running towards Garreg Mach.

Catherine was leading the charge, cutting down anyone foolish enough to get in her way, with the classes coming in right behind her.

(Alois) “We’re heading towards the chapel’s Tomb! That’s where the core is!”

Everyone nodded and made a mad dash for the chapel.

Able to run through most of the mayhem with the Loyalists and Defectos fighting each other, they ran down the stairs and saw the core.

It was a massive glowing crystal that was so bright, it almost illuminated the entire tomb.

(Leonie) “There it is, let’s go!”

(Dedue) “A moment, Leonie.”

(Leonie) “Huh?”

(Hilda) “Where are the guards at?”

Everyone remained silent until they saw a shadowy figure form in front of the crystal.

(Hubert) “That sword shape!”

Catherine turned her attention to the weapon the figure was holding.

(Catherine) “The Sword of the Creator! Damn it, it’s Byleth!”

(Linhardt) “N-No it isn’t! Look at the shape of that person!”

(Death Knight) “It is someone worse...”

The core pulsated, and now lit the entire room up to where everyone could see the figure clear as day.

...

“Who...WHO ARE YOU ALL?!”

(Mage) “Sir, the ressurection is working, and he’s under our control.”

(Byleth) “Amazing, Thales. Simply amazing. Trying to resurrect this man against Seiros. How symbolic.”

“That sword...that is mine...! And that crest...!”

(Byleth) “It was never yours to begin with. Sothis belongs to no one.”

“Your hair...your eyes..that means...YOU’RE ONE OF THEM-”

(Byleth) “Kneel.”

“HRRGH! I...CANNOT...MOVE...”

(Byleth) “This is your duty, and you will obey. You are to protect this room from invaders, and you will forfeit your life in order to protect it.”

“I AM A KING! YOU CANNOT CHAIN ME DOWN LIKE-”

(Byleth) “I can, and will. I’ve read the reports on what you are. You’re nothing more than a pathetic old man, but a useful one I suppose. Put him into stasis and have him reemerge once someone has infiltrated.”

(Mage) “Yes sir.”

“YOU WHELPS, DO YOU NOT KNOW WHO I AM?!”

...

[God-Shattering Star - Fire Emblem Three Houses]

(Hubert) “Nemesis...!”

“You...YOU ALL WILL DI-”

(Hilda) “GO BACK TO HELL YOU CRUSTY OLD BASTARD!”

(Leonie) “Goddess, that’s what Byleth was doing all this time down here?!”

(Dedue) “Tch, doesn’t matter! We must get to the core, from the way it’s glowing its about to activate!”

(Catherine) “THEN LET’S DO THIS! EVERYONE, CHARGE!”

(Everyone) “HYAAAAAAAAA-”

(Nemesis) “NO ONE WILL GET IN MY WAY TO DESTROY SEIROS AND HER CRONIES!”

Nemesis charged into the students, and clashed swords with Catherine.

The swings were met blow for blow, both of them too fast to actually make any decisive hits.

Alois and Leonie came in from the sides, attempting to flank him.

Kicking Catherine away, he cut the head off Leonie’s horse, making her fly off and the horse making Alois roll out the way.

Bernadetta, Ignatz, and Ashe fired several arrows at him while he was in place, making him back off.

Activating the whip, he deflected the arrows and swung it the archers.

Ignatz managed to dodge in time, but Ashe and Bernadetta were hit by it, making them hit the floor.

Leonie and Alois charged again, Alois slamming the axe onto the floor with Nemesis rolling out the way, blocking Leonie’s hit in time.

Pulling back his sword, he swung at Alois, cutting his axe in half and striking him down, a visible scar on his armor as he fell down.

Leonie sustained a similar injury, though without the blessing of armor, having blood spill out.

(Hilda) “LEONIE!”

(Hubert) “FOCUS!”

Nemesis jumped into the air, slamming his bastardized version of the Sword of the Creator into the ground, creating a mini shockwave.

Dedue, Hilda, and Hubert, and Catherine were sent flying and hit the pillars behind them, falling onto the ground.

Annette and Mercedes fired a multitude of spells at him, Nemesis using the whip to absorb the spells with his sword.

Quickly deactivating the whip, he countered both the Death Knight and Felix’s attacks, who came from his sides.

Nemesis grabbed Felix and threw him onto the Death Knight, making him fall off his horse.

The horse went ballistic, and started charging at Nemesis out of pure fear, which he cut in half with a single slice.

He turned to his right and saw Ferdinand, Lorenz, and Sylvain charging with their lances in three separate directions. 

Flicking his wrist, the whip reactivated and he swung it upwards, decapitating all the horses and inflicting cuts that went through all three of their armors.

He noticed that his shadow was growing larger, and looked upwards seeing Ingrid trying to divebomb him with the Pegasus.

Rolling to the side and taking several swings, both unable to land a solid hit on each other.

Nemesis grabbed Ingrid by the arm, and pulled her towards him and off her mount.

He punched her in the stomach, denting the armor and making her cough up blood.

The force which he grabbed her dislocated Ingrid’s arm, and he threw her into the closest wall, making the wall crack using Ingrid as a projectile.

When she fell onto the floor, it was then he noticed that Lysithea, Annette, and Dorothea were charging up a spell.

It was starting to become brighter than the core in the room.

(Lysithea) “FIRE!”

Unleashing a beam of dark magic, it completely incinerated the pillars next to Nemesis, with him barely dodging in time.

He was about to run before he noticed that parts of his arms were singed off, making it hard to hold the Sword of the Creator.

Flicking his wrist, he was about to strike at the three mages until it got caught onto something.

Looking back, he saw the Death Knight’s scythe was holding the whip.

Caspar and Raphael leaped out from cover, and drove their gauntlets into his head, making an audible cracking noise.

Instead of falling over, Nemesis mustered all his strength to throw the Death Knight around like a ragdoll, finally releasing his grip.

Having nothing to restrain him, he headbutted Caspar so hard that blood came out from both their heads, and kicked Raphael into the ground.

Nemesis aimed his sword at Raphael’s heart, but his hand was shot by a precision shot, making the sword fly off from his hands.

Turning back, he saw Shamir and Petra, loading up arrows.

He ran up to them, leaving his sword behind and using rage as his weapons, raised his fists.

Petra and Shamir dodged his punch, as he punched the wall and created two massive holes.

They took out their daggers and went for the his knees, slicing the major arteries and hopping away quickly before he could retaliate.

From this position, Nemesis could see the room clearly.

All the mages in the room immediately went to healing the injured, Mercedes, Marianne and Linhardt healing the gravely injured first.

However it was at this point he realized he didn’t see Hubert, Catherine, Hilda or Dedue from where he knocked them out.

He saw Lysithea in the distance, firing at a spell behind a rock.

Then, the bright light appeared right above him.

Catherine was warped right on top of him, slamming Thunderbrand into his arms, which he tried to use as a shield.

Feeling his bones start to split apart, he then realized where the other three were.

Right beside Catherine.

Hilda slammed her axe into his legs, severing it, which made him lose balance, leading to his arm getting cut off by Thunderbrand.

Dedue slammed his shield with all his strength on top of Nemesis’s head, crushing it and splattering his head all over the floor.

Everyone hopped out the way as Hubert casted his most powerful dark spell, completely overwhelming Nemesis’s body and vaporizing it into dust.

Once his body was gone, the mock Sword of the Creator dissipated into the air.

(Shamir) “Leonie, Alois!”

Marianne grabbed Leonie while Mercedes helped Alois up, trying to heal their injuries.

(Leonie) “D-Don’t worry about us, the core...!”

They all looked to the core which was pulsating faster and faster.

(Shamir) “Shit, it’s about to activate!”

(Alois) “Y-you-agh! N-Need to overload it with magic! HURRY!”

Dorothea, Linhardt, Lysithea, and Annette all started to cast their strongest spells and aimed it at the core.

(Shamir) “NOW!”

At the same time, all of them shot from their hands, ranging from ice, holy, dark, meteoric spells onto the core, hitting it all at once.

The core exploded into fragments, the energy overtaking the room in a bright light.

[SONG END]

Catherine held her eyes shut, expecting to lose all feeling from the blast, until she opened an eye.

The room was just lit dimly with the orange torches that were in the room, no longer outshined by the core.

She looked around her, seeing all the students were having a similar reaction.

(Leonie) “We...did it...hah...!”

Marianne felt Leonie go limp, which prompted her to start shaking her.

(Hilda) “L-LEONIE!”

(Marianne) “I-It’s the shock from her blood loss, I can still save her!”

(Catherine) “And the others?!”

(Sylvain) “A-Agh...right here...!”

Sylvain was helped up by Felix, but they nearly tripped over themselves once they saw how Ingrid was.

Ferdinand and Lorenz helped each other up, which Linhardt began to heal the both of them, alongside Dorothea.

(Hubert) “That was far closer than I’d like...”

(Hilda) “N-No kidding...!”

(Dedue) “Wait a second, our lords!”

Everyone’s eyes widened when Dedue said that.

They may have taken out the core.

But what about Byleth?

1 Day Later after Chapter 5...

Byleth walked alongside his men as they transported the Javelin of Liberation to Garreg Mach. It was in a large metal container being carried by several horses on a cart.

Almost half his forces were here to defend the cart with their lives. He would have been at Garreg Mach fortifying it for an attack, but he did not anticipate Shamir and Alois going rogue.

Though in hindsight, he should have.

Regardless, there was no point in wishing what could have been.

All of this was going to end soon, his plans would be set in motion.

But for now, he was anticipating the arrival of all four factions. He was hoping to slip by unnoticed, but realistically they’d be here any minute now.

And sure enough.

Three armies peered over the horizon bearing Blue, Red, and Yellow banners.

Another army appeared to the hill Byleth was going to escape in, bearing a silver banner.

It was near the House Leaders’ armies that he saw something peculiar.

Shamir, Leonie and Alois were there.

...Leonie.

He had expected to see Shamir and Alois, but he didn't think to see her again. 

She was supposed to be dead and yet...

(Byleth) "Percy."  

He unsheathed the Sword of the Creator and heard footsteps.  

(Percy) "Sir." 

Though he looked calm, Byleth could see in the corner of his eye that he was shaking. 

(Byleth) "You willingly come to me, knowing what's about to happen?" 

(Percy) "I'm proud to have served in the Knights of Nemesis, but I will also not turn my back on my friends. I am ready to accept my fate, sir." 

(Byleth) "...You were a good kid, Percy." 

(Percy) "Thank you sir.  It's been an honor." 

With a swift strike, he slashed at Percy's chest, with him falling to the ground. Byleth had no time to mourn the loss. 

With the upcoming battle, there was more of his own that would fall.

...

Byleth had just killed one of his own soldiers. 

Even though they were so far away, Leonie could tell exactly who it was.

(Leonie) “Percy...”

Alois and Shamir lowered their heads in respect, but put their hands on the hilts of their weapons as Shamir unsheathed her bow.

(Alois) “We’ll make sure his death isn’t in vain, Leonie.”

(Leonie) “Thank you...”

(Shamir) “Look sharp. They’re getting into formation.”

...

Rhea saw the House Leaders stare at her, and she responded with a nod.

The Knights of Seiros were ready.

...

The Generals of their respective armies stood side by side.

(Judith) “Well, this is an alright battlefield to die in.”

(Gilbert) “Very optimistic...”

(Death Knight) “Realistic. Who knows what Nemesis will be throwing at us here.”

(Rodrigue) “If I can protect my son and our future for the Kingdom...I’ll be all right with this.”

(Gilbert) “Annette...Hmph. I agree.”

(Death Knight) “...”

He slowly looked over to Mercedes.

...

Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude walked up to the front together, surveying the area.

Edelgard couldn’t help but feel a sad tinge of nostalgia.

[Between Heaven and Earth - Fire Emblem: Three Houses]

(Edelgard) “Years ago we fought here as classmates…”

(Dimitri) “And now, we stand together against someone who was once a friend.”

(Claude) “As far as big class reunions go, this one’s got to be the worst one in history…”

(Rhea) “There is to be no mercy for these heretics. Do I make myself clear?”

(Catherine) “Crystal.”

(Seteth) “Loud and clear.”

(Alois) “If we are to die today, then we die doing the right thing.”

(Shamir) “Something we should have done long ago…”

(Leonie) “Alois, Shamir. It’s been an honor.”

(Byleth) “I never wanted it to come to this. I’d have much preferred if we were able to find a way to work together but…Wishing for friendship was a foolish thing for what I have done.”

(Rhea) “KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM!”

(Edelgard, Dimitri, Claude) “FOR PEACE!”

(Leonie, Alois, Shamir) “FOR THOSE WHO HAVE PERISHED, WE DIE IN GLORY!”

(Byleth) “WE ARE THE KNIGHTS OF NEMESIS, AND WE SHALL KNOW NO FEAR!”

And so, the Battle of Gronder had begun.

The first forces to begin the fight were Rhea's.

Soldiers charged in, swords and lances raised high straight towards Byleth.

(Riddhe) "What is she doing, her men must know this is suicide!"

(Byleth) "That's exactly why she's sending them in. She'll stop at nothing to kill us. Direct the men while I'm out there."

(Riddhe) "Yes, sir!"

(Byleth) "Since she's so insistent on throwing her life away, MAGES! RELEASE THE WOLVES! BEASTS, IGNORE THE FIGHT AND GET THE CART TO GARREG MACH AS FAST AS POSSIBLE!"

The Javelin of Liberation then began being dragged by several demonic beasts. At the speed they were going, they'd be long gone once the fight was over.

However, this now meant they would only have very few heavy hitters on the field and Byleth decided against pulling his trump card out yet, it was too early.

And Byleth was not going to summon more, if the worst case scenario happened, he needed to save the magic for warping him and his army out of the fight.

He furrowed his brow and decided to observe the battle for now.

Byleth was far back enough from the fight to worry about snipers, and his position was heavily fortified.

He was going to determine when direct intervention was necessary.

Soldiers took the horses from the cart and charged them straight towards the House Leaders. They were joined by other squads of cavalry, meeting the Empire's and Kingdom's head on.

Squads of Mages began casting a large circle around them and after a few seconds, the circle started to glow into a bright light, summoning forth several demonic beasts.

2 giant wolves spawned from the circle, and charged into the Knights of Seiros, crushing and ripping apart any soldier they came across.

(Edelgard) "Rhea, that idiot! She's going to break up our formation walking right into him like that!"

(Dimitri) "Nemesis and his commander are moving to meet us head on!"

(Claude) "I'll be moving to reinforce Rhea before they get overrun by those wolves."

Edelgard and Dimitri nodded and advanced with their soldiers as the Alliance forces moved to flank from the sides.

(Claude) "Stick to the trees and make them come to us!"

Edelgard motioned her soldiers toward the enemy, and turned to Hubert.

(Edelgard) "Take the Strike Force and help the Blue Lions take care of the commander! I will be on the frontlines with Prince Dimitri! Do NOT engage the professor!"

(Hubert) "Understood. You heard Lady Edelgard, move out!"

...

(Alois) “TAKE IT DOWN!”

Seteth's wyvern grabbed one of the wolves by the neck and bit into its eye as it was being distracted by Alois and Catherine.

Using Thunderbrand, she stabbed it into the other eye, making the beast stop, and having Alois deliver the final blow with an axe to the neck, forcing it down.

Another wolf was about to charge them, being interrupted by a hail of arrows, making it grind to a halt as it fell over.

Catherine, Alois, and Seteth looked back at the trees and nodded, a gesture of thanks to Claude and continued to move towards the Mages.

(Claude) "Keep the pressure on those beasts and watch out for any more that might come in!"

(Hilda) "Claude, we'll be moving in from behind to catch them off guard."

(Claude) "Be careful then, and strike hard and get out of there!"

The Golden Deer students stuck to the trees as Claude kept watch.

Rhea slit the throat of a soldier before setting another on fire with her spell.

Catherine and Seteth barely managed to catch up with her as she continued to slaughter any who tried to attack her.

Alois stayed behind picking off any of the stragglers.

Seteth splitting a soldier in half with his axe as Catherine cut one down, they both turned to her.

(Catherine) "Lady Rhea, you need to stand back!"

(Seteth) "Catherine is right, it's too dangerous! We don't know what else might-"

(Rhea) "I DO NOT CARE WHAT HAPPENS TO ME! THAT CHILD WILL DIE BY MY HANDS IF IT MEANS I WILL HAVE TO LOSE EVERY OUNCE OF BLOOD IN MY BODY!"

(Seiros Knight) "F-FORCES ARE WARPING IN FROM BE-"

The soldier with them was electrocuted and fell to the floor.

All three of them saw a squad of mages teleport in, and fired wave after wave of fireballs at them.

Before Catherine and Rhea could react, Seteth pushed them out of the way with his wyvern, making them tumble over and barely dodge the fire as it hit him.

Seteth was thrown off his mount and landed into the grass.

(Catherine) "Seteth! Tch, DAMN ALL OF YOU!"

Picking up Thunderbrand, she charged with Rhea and began brutally cutting down the soldiers one by

Flayn was trying to heal any injured when she saw Seteth get thrown off, making her instinctively run to him.

(Claude) "H-Hey, FLAYN!"

Doing her best to avoid the carnage, Flayn ran and knelt over to Seteth.

(Flayn) "Father! Are you alri-"

Her blood ran cold as she flipped him over.

Most of his face and his front body was burned off from the attack, leaving a mess of charred bones and blood.

(Flayn) "F...FATHER!--"

That was the last thing she screamed out as she felt her entire body go numb, and fell over to the ground next to him.

Rhea, taking her sword out of a mage's head, looked to where Seteth was, and saw his burnt face and Flayn with an arrow through her heart.

(Catherine) "Flayn...!"

(Alois) “Damn it, NO!”

Rhea said nothing and instead roared out even louder, charging right for the snipers who shot Flayn.

(Sniper) "We've been spotted, retreat to-"

The Sniper's head was lopped off as Leonie rode by with her horse, swinging her sword and running over anyone in the way.

(Sniper 2) "SHIT, AMBUSH!"

(Leonie) “TAKE THE SHOT!”

An ice spike went through his chest and he fell over.

Marianne finished casting her spell and got behind a tree as soldiers were coming to reinforce the snipers.

(Hilda) "Anyone fancy looking up there?!"

Ignatz and Shamir threw themselves against the tree next to Marianne and peeked out of cover.

(Ignatz) "That one, up on the cliff directing artillery!"

...

(Riddhe) "Direct your fire at the Knights of Seiros! If Rhea gets too close, our right flank will be completely open!"

The Mages began casting another spell before one of them yelled out.

(Mages) "INCOMING!"

Everyone looked up and saw a lone Pegasus rider coming at them.

(Riddhe) "ARCHERS!"

A small group of archers aimed at the rider and let the arrows loose.

The Pegasus rider twirled around, gracefully dodging the arrows as she kept coming at them.

Several more archers got into formation and kept up the barrage, but the rider kept avoiding them.

(Riddhe) "The hell?!"

No lone rider should be that fast. Their archers were some of the best shots in the army.

Riddhe didn't realize what was special about that Pegasus rider until he saw the symbol of a lion on the side of the pegasus's helmet.

(Riddhe) "Shit, shit, SHIT! PREPARE FOR CLOSE COMBAT, THE BLUE LION CORPS IS UPON US-"

(Ingrid) "Defenseless, are we?!"

Ingrid swooped down and used an axe to send Mages flying into the air, breaking up their formation.

Archers tried taking another shot at her until a circle formed around them, and froze them completely solid.

(Annette) "ARCHERS DOWN!"

(Hubert) "Rush them!"

(Sylvain) "Got it!"

Sylvain and Ferdinand charged in on their horses, slashing at the enemy soldiers who were still trying to get their swords out.

Riddhe pulled out his sword and was about to enter the fray until he saw an arrowhead emerge from his mouth.

He dropped the sword and fell to his knees, shakily trying to reach for it before another arrow went through his brain, killing him instantly.

(Shamir) "Target down, nice shot kid."

(Ignatz) "Don't thank for me taking a life."

The rest of the Blue Lions and Black Eagles got to the others, finally wiping out the artillery unit as the Golden Deers continued attacking the right flank, eventually joined in by Rhea and her men.

...

Dimitri spun his lance around, killing every soldier around him.

(Dimitri) "Gilbert!"

Gilbert spun around and slammed his shield into a soldier trying to charge him, being cut down by Rodrigue.

(Gilbert) "There is no end to these soldiers!"

(Rodrigue) "I'll hand Nemesis one thing, he sure has an army!"

Edelgard and the Death Knight cut down the enemies next to them, letting their forces charge ahead of them.

(Edelgard) "Keep pushing, we're driving his main forces back!"

(Judith) "Looks like the boy and Rhea did their parts as well! We're starting to rout their men on the left!"

(Dimitri) "Good, now let's-"

Dimitri stopped in his tracks, and everyone else did too.

All of the Knights of Nemesis pulled back and got into a guarding formation, stoppong their attack.

Several Alliance and Empire soldiers charged them, trying to take advantage of the situation.

(Death Knight) "YOU FOOLS, WAIT!"

The soldiers were instantly killed and sent flying back, torso and arms flying high into the air.

When everyone looked back into the crowd, Byleth was slowly walking out, de-activating the whip function in his sword.

(Byleth) "I have come too far, and killed too many to be stopped at Gronder."

Everyone immediately raised their weapons as Byleth continued to walk at them.

(Gilbert) "Your Highness, Lady Edelgard, stand back!"

(Judith) "Protect the kids with our lives!"

(Death Knight) "Acknowledged."

(Rodrigue) "With pleasure! HAAAA-"

Rodrigue was the first to charge Byleth on his horse.

Byleth did not bother moving out the way, and instead raised his hand.

Everything grinded to a halt, with nothing making a sound anymore. Slowly, everyone began to reverse, putting back Rodrigue before he even charged.

Byleth slowly walked alongside Rodrigue, waiting for time to stop reversing.

(Byleth) "2 more to go."

(Rodrigue) "With ple-AAAGH!--"

Everyone immediately looked to their left, Byleth suddenly was behind Rodrigue, looking straight at them as the Sword of the Creator plunged into the back of his chest.

(Gilbert) "RODRIGUE!"

Judith and the Death Knight swung their weapons at Byleth, him ripping the sword out and deflecting their attacks with relative ease.

Gilbert came around the side, swinging his axe down as the Death Knight and Judith kept him down.

(Byleth) "One more."

Again, everything stopped around him and the pressure was let off his sword. However, he didn’t have much time to act.

He backed up a safe distance from when he just killed Rodrigue and activated the whip.

Time resuming, The two swung at an empty space, realizing too late where he was.

Byleth was several feet back from where they would’ve hit him, and he swung at Gilbert who tried to block with his shield.

The shield was split in two as the whip reached Gilbert’s chest, splitting it open, and with him falling over.

(Death Knight) “LADY EDELGARD!”

Byleth’s eyes went wide, barely able to deactivate the whip and time and block Edelgard.

CLANG!

(Edelgard) “YOU WILL FALL TODAY, PROFESSOR!”

(Byleth) “Not...until, I AM DONE WITH MY PLANS!”

Byleth kicked Edelgard back, Dimitri and Judith beginning to rush him.

He deflected Judith’s attacks with ease, but rolled out the way of Dimitri’s.

He was confident in blocking everyone’s attacks, but Dimitri’s brute strength would snap his arms in half with how hard he was swinging Areadbhar.

Judith came in from behind and tried to impale Byleth, but he swung around and knocked her sword into the air, bringing the sword back down and cutting her chest.

Edelgard, Dimitri and the Death Knight got into position, slowly starting to surround Byleth.

(Byleth) “With one Divine Pulse left, staying here is suicidal! MEN, WE’RE RETREATING!”

Byleth turned back to them as his forces formed a small blockade around him.

(Byleth) “MAGES, RELEASE THE PRISONERS!”

The mages did as they were told, leaving a summoning circle right above the cliff where the Blue Lions and Black Eagles were and casted a spell around them, using the last of the energy to get out of the battlefield.

(Rhea) “No...NO! NO DAMN IT! YOU’RE NOT GETTING AWAY!”

Rhea’s body began to glow, and the figure slowly started to larger and larger.

“YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE MEEEEEE!”

(Catherine) “LADY RHEA, WAIT!”

Byleth and the rest of his forces teleported back to where the Demonic Beasts were dragging the Javelin back, but in the distance, he saw Rhea turning into the Immaculate One.

(Byleth) “Tch, of course she’ll force us to use it. DEMONIC BEASTS HALT! MAGES, ACTIVATE THE JAVELIN OF LIBERATION AT MINIMUM POWER! IT WILL BE DAMAGED, BUT WE HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO REPAIR IT BACK AT BASE!”

(Mage) “Understood! ACTIVATING!”

As Rhea took flight, she was about to charge headfirst into Byleth until she saw a bright light coming from the sky.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHH!”

After the sky was lit on fire, Rhea hit the floor, causing a mini-earthquake around Gronder with the impact.

The sky cleared up and Rhea slowly started to transform back into her human self, everyone trying to shake off the intense light that blinded everyone.

Catherine and the others surrounded her, trying to see if she was okay.

(Catherine) “L-LADY RHEA!”

Her hands slowly shook as Catherine took it.

(Rhea) “D-Don’t...let...him...succeed...- “

Her hand fell to the floor, and her dress started to turn red.

(Catherine) “No...! NO NO NO!-”

Alois turned his head away, and couldn’t help but feel guilty for her death.

He may have not liked her after learning the truth but...

...

Byleth was walking with his men until he suddenly felt light headed, and fell to the ground, dropping the Sword of the Creator.

(Mage) “C-COMMANDER!”

(Knight) “Wait a second, his hair!”

Byleth’s hair turned from the bright green he had, slowly to the dark blue.

(Mage) “Someone carry him, and let’s go! We don’t have a moment to waste!”

...

(Annette) “Ack, w-what in the-”

Her eyes went wide when she looked back down, seeing Gilbert on the ground.

(Annette) “DAD!”

She was about to run after him, but Felix grabbed her by the arm.

(Felix) “What are you doing?! We don’t know if there’s enemies still here!”

He said this, but he was fighting every instinct he had to go down to see Rodrigue. 

This was a bloody battle, and the last thing he needed was to lose anyone else.

Annette started sobbing, and Mercedes went to hold Annette. Sylvain, Ingrid, Dedue, and Ashe walked next to Felix, looking at the bodies scattered all across Gronder.

(Ashe) “So much death...”

(Ingrid) “To die on a stupid field like this is...is just-”

(Sylvain) “You...don’t have to finish that, Ingrid.”

(Dedue) “It is a tragedy...”

Edelgard, Dimitri, and the Death Knight lowered their weapons for the moment.

(Dimitri) “Gilbert, Rodrigue...”

Claude slowly rode up on his Wyvern, closing his eyes once he saw Judith.

(Claude) “We’ll...We’ll make sure no one died in vain today, in all sides.”

(Death Knight) “...What did Nemesis mean when he said, “release the prisoner”?”

Edelgard and Dimitri started to look around and noticed that the circle that was in front of the mages wasn’t here anymore.

(Edelgard) “What the...?”

...

(???) “H-Help...us!”

The Blue Lions and Black Eagles quickly looked around, not sure if they heard something.

(Dorothea) “H-Hey...Didn’t that sound like?-”

(Randolph) “Help...us!”

(Fleche) “Please!”

There was suddenly a bit of smoke surrounding the area, a circle encompassing the area they were in too.

(Caspar) cough cough “Where’d this smoke come from?!”

(Ferdinand) “That sounds like General Randolph!”

(Bernadetta) “And a little girl?”

(Petra) “They are in the sounding of pain!”

Hubert nodded and went near the cliff they were at, looking at Edelgard.

(Hubert) “Lady Edelgard, General Randolph and his sister Fleche is here!”

(Edelgard) “R-Really?!”

There was some good news at least.

Though...Why did Byleth only now decide to release them?

(Ashe) “We have to help them!”

(Ingrid) “Right, come on!”

(Sylvain) “We’re right behind you!”

(Dedue) “Hmph.”

(Felix) “H-Hang on guys!”

The Blue Lions stopped and turned to Felix.

(Mercedes) “What is it?”

(Felix) “Does something about their voices sound...off?”

The Black Eagles stopped moving as well and started to listen.

(Randolph/Fleche) “P-Pleas̶̊͜ë̵͉́.̸̘͠.̷̮͊.̷̭̓h̷̘̾e̴̫̊l̶̳̄p̸͍̏.̴̹̋.̴̛̯.̵̦̽u̷̩͘ș̸͐.̷̰͠.̶̥̾.̶̪͆!̷̩̂"̷̺̑

Everyone’s eyes went wide as Hubert said quietly to everyone.

(Hubert) “Everyone...Backs against the cliff. Now.”

Both classes started to slowly back up as their voices intensified.

(Randolph/Fleche?) “H̷e̵l̶p̶ ̵u̶s̸!̶ ̴H̷E̷L̷P̵ ̵U̷S̴!̴ ̸H̶E̶L̴P̴ ̴U̸S̵!̸”

The Golden Deer students were on the ground, slowly preparing their weapons.

Leonie looked back at Claude and gestured up to the cliff, raising her sword as her horse backed up.

Everyone took the hint, and raised their weapons.

“H̷̘̫͊͗̏̂̐̄̋͑̕͜͝E̶̞͙͉̝͕̗͔̝̬͈͋̚L̴͖͑̈́P̶̰͇͈̿ ̷͔̙̆̏̈́̾́̐̓̀U̸̺͍̇̀̕S̸̡̡̛̝̪̳͋͑͠!̷̧̠̞̜̩̓͛̽̕͠”

Bernadetta was the first to scream when they emerged from the smoke.

First came Randolph’s head, and saw Fleche’s face connected to it. Randolph’s right and Fleche’s left eye connected to form a single eye, one with two pupils and filled with bloodshot red. 

As they walked out of the smoke, their heads were connected to a single body. Several limbs stuck out of them, as if a child had created this unholy abomination that stood before everyone. 

It was several body parts of different people apparently, all crooked and bent.

Some of them had formed scythes from the bones that came out of them.

The circle began to glow even brighter, prompting everyone to look down at their feet.

(Dedue) “OFF THE CLIFF, NOW!”

No one had to be told twice. 

As the circle began getting brighter and brighter, everyone hopped off the cliff and landed right in front of the Golden Deers, looking back up.

It finally enveloped Randolph and Fleche, turning into a massive demonic beast that looked something out of everyone’s nightmares.

It was in a ball-like form, with several disjointed feet at the bottom and hands coming from the side, some broken with the bones sticking out and some arms trying to grab for anyone nearby.

(Leonie) “GODDESS, THAT’S WHAT HE WAS DOING TO THEM?!”

(Alois) “WHAT IN THE HELL IS THAT?!”

(Shamir) “He was trying to research the concept of fusing people together to make a stronger unit, but that...thing is what it amounted to! After a short while once the experiments were failing, he just took the bodies we took from the civilians to make that thing!”

Everyone was taken aback by the horrific monstrosity that stood before them.

(Hilda) “I-I THINK I’M GOING TO THROW UP-”

(Hubert) “NOT NOW!”

(Dedue) “Tch, we would be wasting time fighting this thing!”

(Dimitri) “Dedue is right, but we cannot let this thing live!”

(Catherine) “Leave that thing to me...”

Everyone turned to Catherine as church forces surrounded her.

(Catherine) “Byleth is already getting ahead of us! Take what remains of your forces and get after him! If he activates the Javelin of Liberation while we’re all fighting this thing, then Rhea and everyone else would have died for nothing!”

She held Thunderbrand firmly in her hands.

(Catherine) “The bodies of the dead will not be desecrated by this thing!”

Shamir, Alois, and Leonie stood by Catherine, looking at the monster.

(Shamir) “We...we helped this thing be made, so the responsibility falls on us too. I left you alone before. I won’t be doing that again.”

(Alois) “Same here.”

(Leonie) “We’ll keep it distracted, everyone else JUST GO!”

Although no one wanted to leave them to this thing’s mercy they were right.

(Death Knight) “We are wasting time! We need to get moving!”

(Claude) “All forces, on us! LET’S MOVE IT!”

Everyone snapped out of their state of shock, and the Alliance forces followed Claude. Dimitri was the next to signal to move out, then Edelgard.

Edelgard couldn’t help but look back as sounds of fighting had erupted.

(Edelgard) “Professor...”

She closed her eyes.

It wasn’t any of their faults.

It was hers. If she hadn’t left the professor right when he needed her the most when Jeralt was dead...Maybe things could have-”

Dimitri put his hand on Edelgard’s shoulder.

(Dimitri) “It is too late for regret. El.”

(Edelgard) “D-Dimitri...”

(Claude) “He’s right. Right now, it’s up to us to make sure we can fix our mistakes.”

Edelgard nodded.

(Edelgard) “Right. We must not falter now.”

She started to take the lead, and eventually Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude walked side by side to end this where it all began.

Garreg Mach Monastery.

----

The Elites of the Fell Star Journal - “The Beginning”

In our bones, we knew the war was almost over.

Fodlan held its breath, waiting to see which side would make the final daring move. 

As expected, Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude went for the kill. 

And the moment they were in sight, everything fell into a mini-civil war. We had loyalists that fought for Byleth, and those who wanted to defect and the fights began to grow violent.

Personally? I didn’t care for either side, after what had happened in Gronder? I just wanted to live.

Because in our bones, we knew the war was almost over. 

For better or worse, we knew this battle would be the beginning of the end.

----