The Bright Star [Fire Emblem: Three Houses AU]

Attack on Abyss (Hapi)

Citizens were scattering to escape Burrow Street to save their lives from bandits. Yuri was holding on to the Chalice, trying to keep it hidden from view in case one of the bandits were to find him. He looked to the other Wolves. "I want you three to start attacking the bandits. Drive them out of here."

Before the other Wolves could move, the Knights of Seiros burst into Abyss, led by Captain Jeralt. "The Knights of Seiros are here!" he called to the Abyssians. Under his order, the Knights of Seiros sprung into action and immediately began fighting the bandits.

When Hapi turned around, she saw that Yuri took the Knights' entrance as an opportunity to flee the scene. He ran from Burrow Street and went toward the Shadow Library. "Wait up!" Hapi called. She turned to Constance and Balthus. "Come with me. We need to go after Yuri." The two nodded as they followed Hapi, where she was going in the same direction Yuri went.

Yuri stopped in the Shadow Library and hid under a table. He seemed startled when he saw his classmates had followed him, sitting down next to him. "I just told you guys to go fight off the bandits," Yuri said.

"The Knights of Seiros are here," Hapi explained. "They came just as you began to flee. It's better to have four people guarding the Chalice than just one, right?"

Yuri smiled. "I suppose you're right. The Knights are probably able to do more than the four of us could on our own to stop them."

"I don't know what to do," Balthus said. "If we can't find Cardinal Aelfric, how are we going to keep the Chalice safe?"

"I'm not sure. I don't know much about how to use it anyway, so maybe if the bandits took it, they won't either."

"Considering it's an artifact of the Church, I don't think we should think about giving it away," Constance said. "Especially to the bandits."

Yuri put the Chalice down on the floor and got up to grab a book from the Shadow Library's shelves. He took out an old, torn book. "It's torn and old, but some of it is still legible." Hapi saw him skim through the pages. "It says here that the Rite of Rising and the Chalice of Beginnings—"

"Hey, give us the Chalice!" a bandit yelled, charging into the Shadow Library. "Those Knight of Seiros thugs don't have it, so anyone else has gotta have it!"

"I wish I had my gang with me, but I've got something just as good." He looked to the Ashen Wolves and then took out a sword, nearly decapitating the bandit with a swing as the bandit dodged at just the right moment.

"Getting a little violent, huh?" The bandit took out his axe. "None of this would have to happen if you just told us who has the Chalice and where they are so we can have it."

"You can have it. I'm sure there's another variant you and your gang can have in hell." Yuri swung his sword and began to fight him. He signaled to the other Ashen Wolves with eye contact to run and take the Chalice with them. Hapi was the first to move as she grabbed the Chalice and tried putting it under her jacket as she ran, the other Wolves following her.

The bandit caught up to Hapi's behavior. "You! Is that the Chalice you have? Give it to me!" He stopped fighting Yuri to go and chase after her when a Knight of Seiros suddenly barged into the Shadow Library and struck him down.

Hearing the bandit's screams, Hapi was startled and turned around to see the Knight of Seiros who mercilessly cut down the bandit. His face was nearly emotionless as he felt no sympathy watching his bloody body lay on the ground in the forbidden library. The Knight of Seiros turned. "You all. Do you know where the Chalice is?"

"We have it," Hapi said, pulling it out to show the knight.

The Knight took a closer inspection. "Good, Lady Rhea's looking for this. I will escort you all to her so we can return the Chalice safely."

"You sound familiar," Yuri said. "Are you Captain Jeralt's kid by any chance?"

"I am." The knight turned towards the exit. "You four. With me, now."

When Hapi exited with her peers, she noticed that a majority of bandits were cleared. Some were still roaming around the area, but most were dead. Lady Rhea stood near a stairway where Byleth led the Ashen Wolves. "Thank goodness the Chalice is safe," Rhea said, relieved. "Thank you, everyone."

Hapi found it odd that Rhea first mentioned the safety of the Chalice, making her think she cared more about the Chalice than their lives. She didn't even bother to ask if they were hurt by the bandits, but Hapi chose not to mention it. She handed over the Chalice to the Archbishop, who took it enthusiastically.

"Has Cardinal Aelfric been found?" Byleth asked Rhea.

"Not yet," Rhea said. "We're hoping that the Knights find him soon, though, or at least find any hints as to where he could be." She turned to the Ashen Wolves. "Have you guys found any hints as to where Aelfric is? Any clue?"

"No," Hapi said. "He just told us to go find the Chalice for him as our mission for the month. When we went there, there were bandits already trying to steal the Chalice."

"So the bandits have been trying to find the Chalice before their attack," Rhea said.

"Or well, we just found out they attacked when we came back from the mission," Balthus said. "I don't know how long they've been attacking this place, but it wasn't being attacked when we left."

"Wait, Aelfric asked you to find the Chalice?" Byleth asked.

"Mhm," the Wolves nodded.

"Why does he need the Chalice?"

The Wolves fell silent for a few moments before Hapi spoke up. "He never told us anything about why he needs it. He just told us that it was being targeted by bandits and to go after it."

"If he wanted you all to retrieve the Chalice, then that means he's probably trying to do something with it."

"You're right," Rhea said, falling a little off-guard to think about what Aelfric might possibly want with the Chalice.

Yuri smirked as with a quick swipe of his blade, he caught Lady Rhea off-guard and took the Chalice from her hands as he ran off.

"Hey, wait!" Constance called. "Yuri, what are you doing?"

"There's no use trying to call him," Rhea said. "We must pursue Yuri at once!"

"Wait, didn't the guard say that Aelfric is being held ransom for the Chalice?" Byleth said. "Maybe Yuri's wanting to take it back, but with him being so aggressive over it I wouldn't think so."

"He knows where Aelfric is?" Hapi looked confused.

"Something's going on here." Byleth moved forward in the group to investigate. "After him, at once!"