The Bright Star [Fire Emblem: Three Houses AU]

Shackled (Yuri)

Yuri arrived at the Abyssian chamber with the Chalice of Beginnings to see Aelfric. Aelfric was being kept within the chamber and pretended to be held ransom by the bandits to execute his plan. "I'm here, Aelfric," Yuri said. "Now let go of my mother."

"Yuri, hand me the Chalice," Aelfric insisted. Yuri handed over the Chalice to see Aelfric immediately smile instead of freeing his mother. "It's finally in my hands," he cackled. "I'll let you see your mother in my moderation, but I have one last thing for you to do before I free her, Yuri."

"And that is?"

"Get the other Ashen Wolves here. I need all four of them, including you."

"Well, when I took the Chalice all of the other three noticed, so I would assume they'd be after me right now. They saw the direction I went in, so perhaps they're on the way right now."

"Good. Now that I have what they're looking for, you pursue them and lead them here."

Yuri nodded as he ran out of the chamber to try and find the rest of his wolf pack. He retraced his footsteps to find them in the middle of a chamber he went down to get to Aelfric. He stopped once he saw Byleth in front of him, followed by Rhea, Jeralt, and the other Ashen Wolves. "There you all are." He looked at his classmates. "Aelfric was looking for you three. Come, I will take you to him at once."

"You know where Aelfric is?" Constance looked shocked. "Lead us to him at this instant!"

"Halt," Byleth ordered. He looked to Yuri. "So you've known where Aelfric was this whole time, huh?"

Yuri did not reply.

"I insist you tell the truth! This instant!"

"I just need the Ashen Wolves to come with me."

"I won't let you take them unless you tell me if you knew where Aelfric was this whole time. It requires a simple answer of yes or no, and a simple explanation if you say yes."

"I don't even know who you are."

"My name is Byleth." He looked to Rhea and Jeralt, then back to Yuri. "I am a Knight of Seiros."

"A Knight of Seiros, huh?" Yuri looked. He remembered when he killed several Knights to defend his gang. "I won't hesitate to kill you then if you threaten me." He took out his sword and provoked Byleth.

"Yuri, enough!" Rhea yelled. "This is exactly why you were expelled from the academy! Now, answer Byleth's question! I demand it!"

Yuri sighed, putting his sword back in his scabbard. "Can't argue with the Archbishop. Yes, I do, I think." He came up with a lie, though blended it in with his normal speaking tone so they couldn't tell it was a lie he made up on the spot. "I heard him call out within this chamber. I took the Chalice from Rhea to try and get them to free him, then I would instantly steal it back."

"You already gave them the Chalice, then?" Byleth asked.

"Yes, I have. I came running back to try and find you guys. They want the other Ashen Wolves to show up in order to complete the deal. It's just for confirmation purposes."

"But you four have the Crests of the Four Apostles," Rhea said. "They want to use you to perform the ritual."

Yuri paused.

"You're lying," Byleth said. "I want you to tell us the truth. If the bandits are forcing you to tell us something different from the truth, they're not here. You can tell us."

"Fine. Aelfric wants the Chalice for himself and sent me to retrieve it. My mother is at stake here. Aelfric found and locked her up, and if I want to see her I need to give him the Chalice and the other Ashen Wolves."

"But that means that Aelfric must want to—" Rhea looked worried. "No, he can't be." She looked at Yuri with a smile, as if she were trying to erase the worries from her face. "I thank you that you told us the truth, Yuri. I want you to lead us to the bandits, please."

"Yeah yeah, sure." Yuri turned forward to lead the group. "Let's go. I'll stay more ahead of you guys so they won't suspect anyone else is here. It's just down this tunnel." He ran off with the Wolves, the two Knights, and the Archbishop following him.

Aelfric noticed when Yuri finally arrived. "Could you not find them?" Aelfric asked, seeing that Yuri did not bring the other Ashen Wolves with him.

"No, I didn't," Yuri said. "They must be somewhere, but I couldn't find them. I wonder if they took another route."

"Where you went is the only route to here," Aelfric said. "That means they should be somewhere else. I want you to go down through those chambers to try and find them so they can—" He noticed the group come in. "There they are. They must've found us."

"Aelfric, what are you doing with the Chalice?" Rhea said, seeing the Chalice in his hands. "And why do you want the Ashen Wolves?"

Aelfric was speechless. He looked to Yuri. "Yuri, what did you tell them?"

"That you want the Ashen Wolves to go along with the Chalice."

"Ashen Wolves, my flock! Come with me, at once!"

"If you want to take the Ashen Wolves with you, then we're going with you as well," Byleth insisted.

Aelfric looked to Byleth. "You're the last person I thought would be here right now."

"My training is finished as a Knight of Seiros. I will be joining the Knights soon enough as a high-ranking member. Why else would I be here to investigate this situation?"

"At least you've finally achieved your childhood dream to join the Knights. I'm so proud of you. I remember looking after you when your father would be with the Knights on a mission when your mother parted from this world. It was a—"

"Now's not the time to have a moment with this old friend, foster kid, or whatever of yours," Yuri said. "If you want us as the Ashen Wolves to come with you, then the Knights and Rhea will have to come along as well."

Aelfric looked. "Yuri, if you think you planned anything funny, think again. It looks like I will have to get the bandits to take you by force."

The bandits sprung into action, with their sights set on the Ashen Wolves. Yuri assisted Byleth in fighting the bandits off as they tried to take the Ashen Wolves with them to wherever Aelfric was going as he left the scene.

In order to save their lives, the Ashen Wolves, the two Knights of Seiros, and the Archbishop would have to face an old friend.