I know it’s become a popular pastime to hate on Gilbert (for what are admittedly fairly valid reasons for hating on a character, but bear with me here), but it’s worth taking into account that Gilbert’s someone who got smacked even harder with the ‘toxic masculinity’ and ‘harmful cultural values regarding chivalric and knightly ideals’ sticks than Felix and his father did, and is acutely aware of just how badly he fucked up because of it.
Gilbert is a man whose life is defined by his failures, and he lives in a society that does not take kindly to those who fail to fulfill their vows. In the eyes of his people, failing to be with the royal family when they were set upon in Duscur is a blot on his honor that can never come out, and the only proper course of action is to spend many years, possibly the rest of his life, atoning for this failure. Annette will tell us early on that she and her mother suspected that Gilbert went to Garreg Mach after leaving Fhirdiad because of his piety. I think it may have had a lot more to do with the depths of his shame over his failure. He couldn’t bear to continue living at the site of his failure, the traumatized boy he had sworn to protect a living symbol of the vows he had sworn, and then failed to fulfill. He was pious, so the Church was a convenient site for his penance, but I don’t think his piety was the primary reason he went there. I think he was just trying to get as far away from Fhirdiad as possible, without having to swear fealty to another country.
And, of course, Gilbert couldn’t atone his failure without compounding it. He swore vows to protect Dimitri, and he abandoned him. I’ve no doubt he swore vows to his wife as well on their wedding day, and abandonment of her and their child would certainly have left him foresworn. Can’t do one thing right without doing ten things wrong.
Where the ‘harmful cultural values’ comes into play is that, after Duscur, shame was his, and he could not escape it without heaping even more shame upon himself. It seems without question that Gilbert faced severe opprobrium for failing to protect the royal family in Duscur, despite the fact that his absence suggests that the king himself thought his presence would be unnecessary, and that he may have even ordered Gilbert to stay behind in Fhirdiad. King Lambert, seeking to foster diplomatic relations with Duscur without resorting to military force or intimidation, may have felt that bringing a full complement of knights would be needlessly provocative. None of that seems to matter, though, and neither fighting for nor dying for the royal family is a black mark on Gilbert’s honor that, to many people, overshadows all else.
Well, that and his having abandoned what remained of the royal family after the massacre in Duscur. This is what society considers to have most dishonored him: failing to protect the royal family in Duscur, and abandoning his responsibilities to Dimitri afterwards. Nobody outside of Annette ever confronts him over his having abandoned his family as well; it’s a non-issue even for Dedue, who both cares for Annette and does not mince words about Gilbert’s abandonment of Dimitri having had a deleterious effect on Dimitri himself. This is what proper knightly, chivalric masculinity is: all your honor is bound up in your valor and the vows you swear to your liege lords and the reputation you forge and the reputation your liege lord forges, and unless your treatment of your family is so outstandingly awful that it can’t fail to catch other people’s attention, however you treat your wife and your children takes a distant second place in importance. If you’re good to them, it’s a feather in your cap, but if you’re not, then unless you’re outstandingly awful, most everyone just tends to look the other way.
Given that no one but Annette ever brings it up, it would seem that spousal abandonment and child abandonment in the name of knighthood is not considered outstandingly awful behavior in Faerghus.
Except that Gilbert does seem to consider it outstandingly awful, judging by his behavior. He does not contact his family because he doesn’t feel he deserves to be happy. He also doesn’t contact them because he feels his abandonment to have been unforgivable. He doesn’t want to face their recriminations or their pain. He also doesn’t want to face the thought that they might forgive him, doesn’t want to face all the work of having to rebuild his life with them from the ground up.
Gilbert is a man trapped in a cycle of guilt and self-recrimination, of reliving his failures over and over again without end. He’s like a Bad End Annette, because you can see Annette get caught up in a similar cycle of guilt and self-recrimination from time to time, notably in her support chain with Caspar. But where Annette had Caspar to reassure her that failure isn’t unforgivable, that it’s something that just happens sometimes and that the only thing to do is to move past it, Gilbert doesn’t appear to have had such support when he’s needed it.
I know that Faerghus’s conception of masculinity likely doesn’t map perfectly to any modern conception of masculinity that we might be familiar with, but we know that reputation is paramount, that losing face is considered unconscionable, and everything seems to suggest that showing true vulnerability outside of your most intimate circle (and even with them, you can only show vulnerability up to a certain point) is highly discouraged. Annette is certain that her mother would have supported Gilbert through the societal shame he endured after Duscur if he had ever confided in her, but it seems he was unable to make himself vulnerable enough to even think to lean on her. Interesting how a man like that is introduced to us as a Fortress Knight.
Only in Azure Moon, and only if you achieve Gilbert’s paired ending with Annette, can Gilbert fully break out of the cycle of guilt and self-recrimination. It’s only there where he can overcome the paralysis that keeps him from doing something that isn’t wallowing in his guilt, only there where he can actually bring himself to end his pattern of escaping one source of shame by creating another.
In all the other routes, Gilbert’s cycle of failures carries on until he is entirely consumed by them. In Silver Snow, he’s presumed dead after the Battle at Gronder. In Verdant Wind, he’s last reported carrying Dimitri’s corpse away from the battlefield, and there’s no evidence that he’s ever seen alive again. In Crimson Flower, he is complicit in the burning of Fhirdiad after Dimitri is killed in battle (one does doubt that Catherine and Cyril were able to pull that off by themselves), and while you can technically spare him, he was most likely executed for his role in the burning of the city after the battle was over if he didn’t die during that battle.
Only in Azure Moon can he break the cycle. In every other circumstance, he most likely dies consumed by it.
All this makes him fascinating to me, though it seems that few share my opinion. And I understand why people would dislike Gilbert, but never has a fandom come closer than this one to making me think that nuanced character evaluation is truly dead, because oh boy, do you guys get fixated on the one thing about Gilbert and never seem to even think about any of the rest of it.
Saw someone say that Gilbert is useless in the story. Highly disagree. He’s more important in Azure Moon than many of the students are in literally any route. What do most of the students contribute in the routes? Pretty much nothing but being playable and throwing a comment during the group conversations here and there. Most of them can even die in between part 1 and part 2. And for some of those deaths, the theming of the route won’t even really be affected.
5 years have passed since the Battle at Garreg Mach, and the war has been drawn to a stalemate. Constant attacks by the Knights of Nemesis have halted any progress the Empire and Church may have made.
After maintaining a facade of neutrality, Claude finds out the truth of what Byleth has been planning throughout all this time, and is now racing against the clock to get the truth out before it is too late for everyone.
-----
The Elites of the Fell Star Journal - “Breach”
Throughout the five years, the Elites of the Fell Star was sent all across Fodlan to gather resources for a super weapon Byleth wanted to make.
We had built it under Garreg Mach so that way only our engineers and mages could tamper it, and at all times it was under heavy security.
Once it was finally finished, it was Byleth's favorite toy.
He shipped it out into some god-forsaken desert in the North and had a good chunk of us guarding it.
The fortress holding it was a spectacle to behold.
It was also the most boring assignment in the continent for a Knight of Nemesis.
Tedious inspection drills, endless hours of guarding impregnable magic fields.
Things got so bad that when a breach of security was reported, we were almost happy to be chasing down someone again.
If only we had known what an embarrassing shitstorm we were about to wade into, and how the situation escalated all the way to Derdriu.
We probably would have razed the entire base to the ground...
-----
CURRENT STATE OF FODLAN:
3 Years Later after Chapter 4
Imperial Year 1185
When Byleth, now referred to as Nemesis, announced his presence to the world in Arianrhod, he had declared war on the Adrestian Empire and the Church of Seiros. And by association, the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus.
For such a small force to deal with a 3-Front war, everyone thought he would be crushed in a matter of a few months, or even weeks.
The Church of Seiros was the first to attack, sending a relatively strong army to Garreg Mach and to secure the Monastery.
However, the forces were completely obliterated in an ambush right outside of the monastery, with magic and beasts no one had ever seen before.
This showed that Nemesis would not go down easily, if at all.
Before anyone could make the next move, Nemesis launched a full-scale counter attack with the Knights of Nemesis on all fronts.
While had not conquered territory to expand, he razed each city to the ground while taking all the supplies and any prisoners back to Garreg Mach.
Several attempts were made to infiltrate Garreg Mach, but each time was a critical failure.
His forces could warp in and out of the battlefield, inflicting maximum damage while taking minimal losses, no one had a good counter to his hit and run tactics.
Edelgard, previously having Nemesis as her professor, knew how dangerous he was and tried to avoid direct combat with his forces as much as possible.
The only trump card she has against him, is the Death Knight, which no forces have been able to take down thus far.
The war is at a stalemate.
Claude, having stayed neutral the entire war, decides to investigate what Byleth has been up to.
Having been careful in setting his spy networks, has been keeping a close eye on him.
Not only that, an anonymous source saying that they were a Knight of Nemesis and wanted to defect gave Claude vital information.
Large amounts of soldiers and resources were poured to moving an item from Garreg Mach to the deserts of Sreng. They could not put what exactly it was into the letter, but time was of the essence to reveal this project.
They could not hope to stop it Sreng, but once they found out what this item was, it would be pulled back to Garreg Mach and be hopefully destroyed there.
In order to find out what it was, he sends a small force to run a covert operation.
Hilda, Lysithea, and Ignatz were trusted to keep a low profile and check it out.
Deserts of Southern Sreng
Unknown Facility...
Ignatz turned the corner in the hallway and saw two guards chatting as they continued in the direction opposite of him.
(Guard 1) “Damn, the test did that much destruction?”
(Guard 2) “Yeah, it was a good thing that we were told to stand back as far as we did. The debris of the buildings went everywhere.”
(Guard 1) “Thank the goddess that it was uninhabited.”
When they turned a corner to the right, they disappeared. It looked like they were at an intersection now.
(Ignatz) “What are they talking about?”
(Lysithea) “We’ll figure it out soon enough, now let’s get moving!”
He nodded, and the trio quietly ran to the intersection.
Hilda checked the right side while Ignatz checked the left.
(Hilda) “Jeez, how slowly can these guards walk, they’re not even out of the hall yet!”
(Lysithea) “Be quiet!”
(Ignatz) “Coast is clear over here, let’s get a move on!”
They walked down the hall trying their best not to make any noise as they slipped by the guards. They kept walking down the corridor, looking behind and front of them.
(Hilda) “The room the double agent told us to meet them in is getting close, right?”
(Ignatz) “If the map is accurate it should be...here!”
Ignatz readied his bow before Lysithea quickly opened the door, drawing out an arrow and looking into the room.
(Ignatz) “...Clear.”
Hilda nodded and shut the door behind them, holding her axe tightly.
(Lysithea) “Where is the agent? Did they fake us out?”
(Ignatz) “Must be running late. If that’s the case they should knock on the do-”
KNOCK KNOCK!
Everyone hid behind cover as Ignatz put his back against the wall near the door.
If the situation came up where they didn’t see each in the room, they had to knock back in a certain pattern.
Ignatz slowly put his fist against the door.
KNOCK! KNOCK...KNOCK KNOCK!
The door slowly opened and the figure revealed themselves.
“Whew, thank goodness you guys are-What in the-?!”
(Everyone) “Leonie?!”
(Leonie) “H-Hey, keep it down you idiots!”
(Lysithea) “So the rumors were true! What in the world are you doing with Byleth?!”
(Leonie) “Listen, there’s a time and place for that, but that isn’t now! I promise I can explain everything, but for now put these on!”
Leonie down disguises for everyone. They were uniforms with bits of armor, and a fully sealed helmet.
Once everyone put on their helmets, they turned to Leonie.
(Hilda) “It’s good to see you’re okay but, it’s been five years! Why did you suddenly decide to contact us?”
(Leonie) “City after city, civilians dying in the droves and being ordered to kill every one of them? That’s...That’s something I can’t in good conscience let slide, even if it was at some point for a good cause. But that doesn’t matter, I need to tell you about what you came for! It’s...It’s a super weapon the likes of which we’ve never seen before. It’s called the Javelin of Liberation.
(Ignatz) “That name doesn’t sound good. What does it do?”
(Leonie) “That’s all I can say. The last thing I want to do is risk what little time I have. Here, take these papers!”
Leonie shoved documents into his hands.
(Leonie) “Bring it to Claude, and he’ll know what to do. The fate of Fodlan...No, this world lies in your guys hands! You have to bring it to him! Do you guys have an extraction point?”
(Lysithea) “Yeah, we have a boat that can-”
(Leonie) “Tch, that’s not fast enough! We’re already preparing to ship out the Javelin back to Garreg Mach!”
(Hilda) “What?! We were too late?!”
(Leonie) “No, just in time as a matter of fact. I’m supposed to be transporting this to a portal that’ll take us to Gronder Field in 2 weeks!”
(Ignatz) “Why Gronder?”
(Leonie) “We’ve had scouts examining the area from where we wiped out Those Who Slither, and it’s been completely unguarded since Edelgard thinks that place can’t be used anymore. We’ve been using it as a shortcut to avoid Alliance and Kingdom forces to get to Sreng. I can get you guys through that portal and from there, you can hijack a carriage to get back to Derdriu!”
(Lysithea) “Sounds like a plan to me, but what about you?”
(Leonie) “I...I gave up trying to justify myself a long time ago. I’m ready to pay the price for what I’ve done with my life. And that means doing the right thing.”
(Hilda) “Come with us! We can’t just-”
(Leonie) “When you get out, take a left and keep going straight! If they ask what you’re doing, say you’re redeploying back to Garreg Mach as an assignment by me! Now go!”
Leonie immediately left the room, leaving the three alone.
(Hilda) “Leonie...”
(Ignatz) “...Come on, we need to move. We need Claude to get this.”
As Leonie walked down the hallway, she looked down and sighed loudly.
(Leonie) Claude, I hope I can do right by you now...
(Shamir) “You’re sweating a lot there, Leonie.”
(Leonie) “S-SHAMIR?!”
She turned around and saw Shamir leaning against the wall.
(Shamir) “Those are some guards I haven’t seen before. In fact one of them looks like a kid, didn’t even know we made uniforms that small.”
(Leonie) “S-Shamir I-”
Shamir put her hand on Leonie’s shoulder and leaned into her ear.
(Shamir) “Next time, check your surroundings completely. You’re lucky it was me around.”
Leonie’s eyes went wide and turned to Shamir who was already walking off.
(Leonie) “Wait...Does that mean you-”
Shamir signaled a thumbs up behind her as she kept walking.
(Leonie) “...Thank you, Shamir.”
Derdriu, War Room
2 days later...
12 days before Javelin of Liberation ships back to Garreg Mach.
13th of the Ethereal Moon (12/13/1185)
(Claude) “First of all, thank you guys for risking your necks. We never would have gotten such criticla information without you.”
(Hilda) “If anything we should be thanking Leonie. I...I wish she could’ve come with us.”
(Ignatz) “It doesn’t feel good leaving a classmate behind like that.”
(Lysithea) “Did you guys forget what she said already? She’s doing this for us, let’s not waste it.”
(Claude) “Lysithea’s right. All we can do now is look forward and try to make things better. Now, the papers?”
Ignatz nodded and handed Claude the documents he kept safe.
As Claude read the papers, his eyes slowly became wider.
(Claude) “Goddess, this is what Teach has been doing?!”
(Lysithea) “Yeah, we read the reports on the way here...I didn’t think anyone had that much magical power in this world. The technology-”
(Hilda) “Is freaking scary! Do you think he really is going to do that?”
(Ignatz) “With how he’s been completely destroying the Church, Empire and Kingdom? I have no doubt in my mind...”
(Claude) “Hilda, get the fastest couriers we have that can slip by Garreg Mach and bring them to me! Ignatz, I want you to order to have our troopers stand by for combat. Teach is going to know we’re up to something. Lysithea get the best mages we have to prevent any kind of magical attack that the Knights of Nemesis might have!”
Everyone nodded and ran out the door to do what they were told, there wasn’t a moment longer to lose.
He took out three papers and a quill with a bottle of ink.
(Claude) “We have to get everyone together to stop this. If we don’t...Doesn’t matter who wins this war, we’re all ending up dead...”
10 days later...
2 days before Javelin of Liberation ships back to Garreg Mach.
25th of the Ethereal Moon (12/25/1185)
It was the extremely early in the morning when everyone started arriving in their escorts.
Dimitri was the first to arrive, alongside the class of the Blue Lions. As they were nearing the gate, a blue haired woman greeted them.
(Dimitri) “Marianne!”
(Marianne) “Hello your majesty. It’s good to see you again.”
(Dimitri) “And to you as well. Though, I wish this was under better circumstances.”
(Marianne) “Claude is waiting for you in the War Room. If you would please follow.”
Dimitri nodded and followed, the rest of the former Blue Lions close behind them.
The next to arrive was Edelgard, closely tagged behind a Royal Guard and the Black Eagles Strike Force.
This time it was Claude who greeted them.
(Claude) “Edelgard.”
(Edelgard) “Claude.”
There was an awkward silence before Claude cleared his throat.
(Claude) “If you’d follow me, Dimitri will be there. All we’re missing is Rhea.”
(Edelgard) “It must be a very desperate situation if you are expecting me and her to get along during this meeting.”
She expected Claude to crack a joke, but his expression just grew darker.
(Claude) “If you don’t, then I might as well just kill us all myself to save Teach the trouble...”
(Edelgard) “I’ll...be on my best behavior then, Claude.”
(Claude) “Appreciated.”
Rhea was the last to arrive, coming in with Seteth, Flayn, and Catherine as her escorts. The Knights of Seiros stood outside, across from the Kingdom and Empire’s royal guards.
Dimitri brought them in and guided them to the room that they would all be sitting at.
(Dimitri) “Lady Rhea.”
(Rhea) “Hello, Dimitri...I see that woman is already here.”
(Dimitri) “Y-Yes-”
(Seteth) “I can only guess how you must be feeling, your worship, but I humbly ask that we keep our minds open. It must be an urgency of the upmost importance if Claude were to invite those who are warring to come together like this.”
(Flayn) “And the professor isn’t here...?”
(Rhea) “Because that child would be dead, Flayn. I am barely holding my hatred in as it is...”
(Catherine) “Lady Rhea, please. Let us hear what they have to say first.”
(Rhea) “Hmph...”
When Rhea and Dimitri entered the War Room, Claude was sitting at the head while the classes were standing near their respective leaders.
Rhea sat down at the other end of the table, facing Claude, while Dimitri sat across from Edelgard.
(Claude) “Alright...onto business, we all understand the general idea of why we’re here, yes?”
(Dimitri) “Yes.”
(Edelgard) “...Indeed.”
(Rhea) “Hm.”
(Claude) “Teac-...No, Nemesis is planning something huge, something that dwarfs this war entirely.”
(Rhea) “Oh please, what could those band of heretics even do-”
(Edelgard) “Those ‘heretics’ if you haven’t noticed have been decimating all of our forces across the entire continent! And if I recall correctly, your forces were so confident marching up to Garreg Mach, only to end up with no survivors!-”
(Rhea) “You dare?!-”
SLAM!
Everyone turned to Dimitri who had completely ripped off a part of the table when he slammed his fist into it.
Though he didn’t mean to do that, it certainly got their attention. Whatever works he supposed.
(Dimitri) “We have no time for your grudges right now! I have seen first hand three years ago of what he is capable of, and the fact Claude brings us all here despite those grudges, and tells us that he is planning something? I’d take this meeting as a priority over your ideals!”
Rhea and Edelgard sat back down into their chairs and turned back to Claude.
(Claude) “Thanks. Now, how much do you guys know about Nemesis thus far?”
(Edelgard) “He has been evading our main forces and have been striking at strategic points along the borders of Faerghus and the Alliance. I have only fought his men, none of his Elites or himself as of yet.
(Dimitri) “Dedue and I encountered him in Arianrhod where I was to be executed. Back then, I only cared about getting my revenge, believing Edelgard was behind the Tragedy of Duscur but...Nemesis had opened my eyes to the facts. Besides that, our forces have had minimal contact with him. The Death Knight protected Mercedes and Annette from their assassins, but that’s about it as direct contact goes. I do not think they are interested in Faerghus besides key points associated with the Church.”
(Rhea) “He has been slaughtering my followers with no hesitation, and have devastated most of our bases...”
(Claude) “Then let me tell you what exactly he’s been up to. I’ve sent some of my men to Sreng after someone from within contacted me...-”
...
Scouts looked at the soldiers standing outside and motioned for the others to head back.
It was confirmed. Claude has called all the leaders to Derdriu.
Byleth and his forces were closing in on Derdriu as they marched forward.
Though it took a lot of resources to do so, they teleported directly outside to bypass any of the border patrols, and everyone wore black to blend in with the darkness of night.
(Byleth) “So it was true...You did allow a breach of security to happen, Leonie.”
He turned around to Leonie, who was kneeling on the ground with hands tied behind her back.
Riddhe and Alois were standing next to her, holding their weapons firmly.
(Byleth) “You disappoint me but at the same time...I cannot fault you for going behind my back.”
(Leonie) “...”
(Byleth) “You always were a kind person underneath.”
(Leonie) “And I thought you were too?! Those years we spent slaughtering civilians, how can you still look any of us in the eye?! You and Jeralt spent so much time protecting the people, and you’ve become no more than a glorified bandit leader!”
The soldiers looked to her in shock of what she was saying.
It wasn’t necessarily that she was in the right or wrong for saying it. It was more of the fact she said that to begin with.
(Byleth) “...I was a fool for believing that you could understand why I was doing this. Perhaps I had a bit too much faith instead of relying on my logic.”
(Leonie) “What we did to Randolph and Fleche, what we did to all those civilians?! How do any of those actions justify what our goal is?! You said we’d be bringing peace to the world, not destroying it!”
The soldiers started talking amongst themselves, agreeing and disagreeing with her.
Byleth just sighed.
(Byleth) “I always did like you, Leonie. So, as an act of mercy, you will not see what will become of your classmates.”
He unsheathed the sword of the creator before Percy walked up.
(Percy) “Sir?”
(Byleth) “What is it?”
(Percy) “I’ll be the one to do this sir. You need to focus on the task at hand, you shouldn’t have to kill one of your students.”
Byleth stayed silent. True, he really didn’t want to but he had to make an example for the men, but at the same time...
(Byleth) “You have my thanks then. Percy, take care of her, and make it painless.”
(Percy) “Yes, Nemesis.”
Alois and Riddhe stepped to the side as Percy began charging a spell in his hands.
Shamir and Alois looked at each other but didn’t say anything.
They knew what was about to happen.
(Leonie) “Percy...”
(Percy) “You’re my friend Leonie so...Sorry about this.”
Shamir and Alois closed their eyes and looked away.
Leonie shook her head slowly.
(Leonie) “You were always too compliant for your own good, ya know?”
Percy silently nodded, and raised his hand at her.
The next thing Leonie saw, was her world going black.
Percy picked up Leonie’s body and turned to Byleth.
(Percy) “I’ll bury her for you, sir.”
Byleth nodded silently.
(Byleth) “Now then...Riddhe, prepare the artillery.
....
(Edelgard) “Byleth intends to blow up the entire planet?!”
(Claude) “In his words, it’s to start everything from zero. No church, no crests, nothing so...what better way to do than to wipe the earth clean?”
(Dimitri) “And...And he already has this weapon?!”
(Claude) “No. He intends to use it Garreg Mach, and we have a limited time to intercept it.”
(Rhea) “And where is the damned child going?”
(Claude) “From the Hyrm Mountains and how long it’ll take all of our forces to reconvene, it’ll be 3 days too late to get him at the base of Those Who Slither. Our next best option is to intercept him right at the heart of Gronder Field.”
(Edelgard) “...Tch, how ironic.”
(Dimitri) “I loathe to think what would’ve happened if this war carried on as it did. We’d be fighting each other there instead...”
(Rhea) “Do not dwell on such useless thoughts, Prince Dimitri. What matters is that we kill Nemesis as fast as possible.”
(Edelgard) “We are in agreement for once.”
(Claude) “So, we can put aside all of our differences to stop Nemesis then?”
Everyone nodded and the classes started whispering to each other.
(Claude) “Fantastic. Now, let’s send letters to your armies standing near the borders and prepare to-”
KABOOOOM!
(Claude) “...Fight.”
(Imperial Royal Guard) “LADY EDELGARD! THE KNIGHTS OF NEMESIS HAVE BEGUN ATTACKING DERDRIU!”
(Hilda) “They got past our patrols?!”
(Claude) “Figures, EVERYONE, PREPARE FOR BATTLE!”
Platoons of soldiers of the Knights of Nemesis began pouring onto the roads to Deridru.
(Gilbert) "GET TO THE FRONT, WE MUST PROTECT THE CIVILIANS!"
The Lion Corp moved to the front, forming a blockade with their massive shields, blocking incoming arrow fire.
(Death Knight) "MAGES!"
Imperial mages unleashed a volley of spells onto the troopers coming in, the Death Knight charging into them with his bodyguards on horseback.
Rodrigue and Judith came in with a number of troopers behind them, joining the fray.
(Judith) "Those damn mages up there are raining hell on Derdriu! If we don't get up there fast enough, this entire town will be in flames!"
(Rodrigue) "We can't get close enough! The archers are providing cover for any riders we send up there, and going by foot is suicide!"
(Gilbert) "All we can hope to do is block their main forces from storming the city! The kids will be getting the civilians to safety!"
The Death Knight rode back to them, holding his scythe firmly as he looked to the Titanius Golems moving in behind the soldiers.
(Death Knight) "We have no time for idle talk, we must take down those golems!"
(Rodrigue) "Right, TROOPERS, WITH ME!"
The four generals charged alongside their men and took the Knights of Nemesis head on.
(Seteth) "They are using the other entrances to breach the city!"
(Claude) "Golden Deers, get the townsfolk to safety!"
(Dimitri) "Lions, we shall take these bastards head on!"
(Rhea) "Knights of Seiros, we shall join the Prince in smiting down these heretics!"
(Edelgard) "Black Eagles, we move to take out the artillery!"
The classes moved out and the leaders about to join them until they heard something warp in behind them.
As the sun rose in, they saw the shadow of the person.
They all drew out their weapons and spun around, pointing it at the figure.
(Byleth) "It's been 5 years..."
No one said a word as they stood their ground, waiting for him to make a move.
(Byleth) "I should've been keeping a closer eye on you, Claude. You were always one of the more crafty students."
Claude's brows furrowed, keeping his relic trained on Byleth's head.
(Claude) "Why the hell are you trying to blow us all to oblivion?!"
(Byleth) "Because, we're all part of the problem, Claude. Humanity will never learn to stop fighting each other at this rate. The poison of the Church and Empire run too deep. The nobles, crests, relics, everything."
(Rhea) "You dare to call us a poison when you yourself take the mantle of a murderer you ignorant brat?! If you read the history of Those Who Slither, then you should know Nemesis was nothing more than a thief!"
(Edelgard) "Professor, I-"
(Byleth) "You still call me that after what you've done? You started all of this!"
(Dimitri) "You speak as if you are above us, yet you fail to realize you are a hypocrite! Condemning Edelgard and Rhea for the very actions you are doing, believing that YOU and you alone are right in what atrocities you have committed!"
(Byleth) "...I will not deny that my actions are unforgivable, but-"
(Rhea) "But NOTHING! YOU WILL DIE TODAY, HERETIC!"
(Byleth) "Then it seems I was a fool for trying to talk to a beast!-"
...
(Percy) "Hey, come on! Get up already!"
"Nnggh...what...?-"
Leonie sat up quickly realizing what had just happened.
(Leonie) "P-Percy? Are you dead too-"
(Percy) "No, you're still alive!"
Leonie's face went from relief to confusion.
(Leonie) "...What?"
(Percy) "...Truth be told, the moment we retook Garreg Mach and I had to kill all those townsfolk...I started to lose faith in our cause."
He helped Leonie up. And took off his mask, and looked at her, eye to eye.
(Percy) "And what we started doing to Randolph, his little sister and all those people? No amount of good we do will wash the blood off our hands from that."
Percy started to look off to Derdriu as the sounds of war filled the air.
(Percy) "I promised my cousin to be a mercenary to help protect families who couldn't protect their own...I guess this is my way of repaying the favor."
He turned back to her.
(Percy) "Get to town via the water, your gear is right next to you."
(Leonie) "You're...not coming with?"
(Percy) "As you said Leonie, I'm too compliant for my own good. I couldn't raise my weapon against Byleth if I could. Half out of respect and half out of fear honestly."
(Leonie) "Percy...You know what he does to-"
(Percy) "He'll kill me, I know. Don't worry about me, alright? Just get to your folks."
Before he put his mask on, he smiled at her.
(Percy) "Thanks for always being so nice to me, Leonie."
Leonie picked up her gear and nodded. A single tear dropped from her eye, but she wiped it away as they parted ways.
If she started now, she wouldn't be able to stop.
Claude and the others needed her now.
(Leonie) "Goodbye, Percy."
(Percy) "...See ya."
...
Shamir and Alois walked towards the other mages firing off artillery.
Two other mages were with them and they stopped before they reached the others.
(Mage 1) "Is there a problem?"
(Alois) "Yes son, there is."
(Shamir) "Two of them."
Alois spun around and punched the mage's stomach, making him drop to the floor.
Shamir roundhouse kicked the mage, making him fly off a small cliff below them, landing in the water.
(Alois) "I'll take care of the archers, get the mages!"
(Shamir) "Already on it."
As Alois charged towards the unsuspecting bodyguards, Shamir pulled out several small ball-like explosives.
(Shamir) "Might as well see if these prototypes work."
The archers were taking aim at the four leaders in the fight below as the mages kept bombarding the city.
(Archer 1) "On my mark!"
Right as he raised his hand, he noticed several spheres rolling under their feet.
(Archer 1) "Huh?-"
An explosion made most of the archers and mages fly off the cliff, or die from the shrapnel and blood loss as their limbs went flying.
Several more explosions went off, cutting off the Nemesis's artillery.
(Judith) "The hell is going on up there?"
(Death Knight) "An opportunity."
(Gilbert) "MEN, ADVANCE!"
...
(Raphael) "There's so many of these guys!"
He clashed two of the knights head together before throwing their bodies beside him.
Lorenz and Lysithea used magic to blast away a squad getting too close to the civilians, as Hilda and Ignatz made sure they were getting to the evacuation boats.
Marianne healed any civilian who couldn't run to the boat.
(Hilda) "At least we're not dealing with the bulk of them!"
(Ignatz) "RAPH, BEHIND YOU!"
Raphael turned around right as a knight was about to take a swing with his sword.
A knife went into the knight's head and he fell over.
(Leonie) "Note to self, thank Shamir for practice."
(Lysithea) "LEONIE!"
(Leonie) "No time to talk, where's Claude?! The Javelin is already on the move!"
(Hilda) "Huh?! But thats too early, we still have 2 days don't we?!"
(Leonie) "The report I gave you was a trick from Byleth, he knew that I'd be giving out the information on it!"
(Lorenz) "Goddess, Nemesis is fighting them!"
Everyone turned around and saw the fighting in the distance.
Claude shot several arrows, with Byleth deflecting each one, dodging Rhea's swings.
Activating the whip, Byleth rolled out the way of Edelgard's axe as it slammed down onto the concrete.
As he swung the whip at Edelgard, Dimitri hit the whip away from her and twirled at him, the lance hitting a part of Byleth's cloth.
Before he could retaliate, Riddhe and several other soldiers warped in front of him, blocking Claude's shot with a magical shield.
(Riddhe) "Sir, our artillery battery and main forces are overrun!"
(Byleth) "What?!"
(Mage 1) "Shamir and Alois have gone rogue, and have already caused catastrophic damage to morale!"
(Byleth) "Damn it, fire the flare, we're withdrawing!"
One of the mages fired a green fireball into the air as they warped away from the fight.
In the distance, they all saw the Knights of Nemesis retreat into portals.
(Rhea) "DAMN IT!"
(Dimitri) "So, this battle is won then..."
(Leonie) "CLAUDE!"
Everyone turned around and saw the Golden Deer students run up to them.
(Claude) "Leonie, thank -"
(Leonie) "Yeah yeah, good to see you too, not now! The Javelin is already on the way to Garreg Mach!"
Everyone's eyes went wide.
(Edelgard) "What?!"
(Claude) "A false report, damn it all! And our forces haven't had anytime to recover yet!"
(Shamir) "If the Javelin gets to Garreg Mach and has proper time to deploy?"
Shamir and Alois stepped around the corner, holding their weapons and hands over their injuries.
(Alois) "Then we're all dead..."
Everyone reconvened near the entrance, Catherine and Seteth's jaws hitting the floor.
(Catherine) "You two!? The hell makes you think you can just waltz back in? Leonie too!"
The three looked down onto the floor.
They couldn't deny what Catherine was saying.
(Dimitri) "Worry about the trials later, we have a much bigger crisis on our hands! EVERYONE, LISTEN WELL!"
Dimitri shouted loud enough for all the soldiers to hear, clearly conveying the situation at hand.
(Edelgard) "We must ride to our armies, and regroup at Gronder Field!"
(Rhea) "How much of the heretics will be present to defend their Javelin?"
(Shamir) "Almost half our forces will be there to defend it now that information has been leaked. The rest are stationed at Garreg Mach awaiting for a fight."
(Claude) "Then let's get moving, people!"
Everyone steeled themselves as they got on horses to alert their armies.
This was going to be the bloodiest battle Fodlan had ever seen since the old days.
-----
The Elites of the Fell Star Journal - “Surprise”
If there’s one thing we weren’t expecting once the news of our doomsday weapon was leaked, was that all four factions would unite under a single banner.
With the false leak that we’d be moving later, we thought we could at least get a bit of a distance from the armies before they could converge.
And for once in our entire campaign, we were the ones getting surprised.
I’ll tell you right now.
I’d trade places with that poor bastard Randolph than partake in the Battle of Gronder again.
