The web site of cyeofthetorrent

Title: Justice, Revenge, and Family
Fandom: Fire Emblem: Three Hopes
Characters/Pairings: Ashe Ubert/Yuri Leclerc, implied Edelgard/Hubert. Hapi, Constance von Nuvelle, Balthus von Albrecht, Shez, Lonato Gaspard, Count Rowe
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Implied past CSA, off-screen torture, dark humor
Word Count: 3,221
Summary: Scarlet Blaze AU (Canon Divergence). It’s clear that Lord Lonato plans to defect. The Central Church is so busy trying to convince King Dimitri that he needs to focus only on Lonato that they don’t realize that Certain People are going to use this to their advantage—and they do so, their first step being arresting Dimitri’s most trusted knight/Lonato’s heir, Ashe Ubert, on suspicions of treason. Well, Yuri is not having any of that.

“Halt, villain!” Gatekeeper shouted bravely, lance in hand. “I won’t permit anyone allied with the Kingdom to enter the Imperial camp!”

“Wow, I’ve been called a villain. That’s never happened to me before,” Yuri montoned, his hands held up in surrender. “That has lowered my morale to a point where I give up. Now, let’s make this quick. Like I said, I surrender. I want to defect to the Empire. Now be a good little tin soldier and point me in Hubert’s general direction. I have some intel he’s going to love.”

“Intriguing,” Hubert said as he glided upon shadows to the camp’s gate (for lack of a better term). “My sources tell me that you have family in the Kingdom—and that the King is paying you handsomely for your services. Before you provide the intel that I apparently will love, I want to hear your reasons for defection.”

This little creep knew about his mother?! Well, it couldn’t be helped now. He would have to ‘explain’ the rules about Mom to Hubert later. “They crossed a line.”

Gatekeeper was in the middle of asking what Yuri meant when Hubert held up a hand, his expression uncharacteristically sympathetic. “Then you’ve heard what happened to Ashe Ubert.”

“You mean how Rowe had him arrested for treason just as Lonato seceded from the Kingdom so he could have his vengeance quest? So he can get brownie points with the nobles and kneecap the King at the same time?” His minion’s last report was that King Dimitri was so busy with the war and trying to get Ashe free that many of his reforms/orders were slowed to a crawl, if not reversed. Now the aforementioned nobles were working on getting the King to sue for peace. It would fuck with the entire Kingdom… unless you were a noble with things to hide. “Yeah. I heard. And it ain’t just scummy; it’s a shit way to run your territories. So, I’m making a bet on y’all. Emperor Edelgard is no angel, but she actually has the power to help people. And she has more control over her soldiers and nobles.” He’d heard rumblings that Claude was planning to change that soon, but Yuri did not have time to wait it out. It was side with the Empire or let Ashe be executed. And the latter was not happening.

“I see. And I trust you enough to allow you entry, although I will assign you a guard.” Hubert turned his attention elsewhere. “Lord Lonato? Apologies for assigning you such a banal task as guard duty, but I suspect you will want to talk to our latest defector.”

“If it brings us another step closer to saving Ashe, I’ll clean all the latrines here at camp single-handedly.” His face lit up in recognition. “Yuri! I am heartened to see you, but—”

“We have things to do,” Yuri finished for him as he strode in to the camp. “I’m officially an Empire boy now, so let’s head out, hunt down Rowe, make him tells us where Ashe is, and then save Ashe. Good? Good.”

Lonato frowned as they kept walking. “Believe me, I want nothing more than to save my son. But—”

“If you say patience is a virtue, I will scream so loud. You of all people know what’s at stake here and what the Central Church is capable of.”

Now Lonato almost smiled. “You’ve very good at reading me and what I value. If I didn’t have three heirs, I’d make you the next Lord Gaspard.” He rested a hand on Yuri’s shoulder. If it’d been someone else, Yuri would have batted it away as dramatically as he could. But he respected Lonato too much to do that, even if he was really pissed at him right now. “But please believe me when I say that we need to take this slowly.”

He hated it, but he’d played the long game before. “Fine. But you need to fill me in.”

“Rowe managed to hide himself very well. He’s good at that,” Lonato said darkly as they headed to what Yuri assumed was the camp’s chapel. “Unfortunately, he’s the only one who knows where Ashe is located. That’s why the King, Goddess bless him, has been unable to rescue my son. Don’t misunderstand me. I still plan to enact my vengeance on Rhea and the Central Church in some way. But I cannot stand to lose another son. So, I quietly seceded to the Empire instead. As quietly as one can secede, at least.”

“Cool. So, how does the Empire plan to capture Rowe?”

“I believe I can answer that.” Yuri was going to have to figure out how Hubert was able to sneak up on them like that. “We have a gentleman who is uncannily skilled when it comes to the hunt. However, he can take things to extremes if left unchecked. So, the one person who can keep him in check accompanied him.”

“And that would be…”

“Myself,” Edelgard said as she approached them. Her armor was a little scuffed and her hair was messy, but aside from that she was as composed as Yuri remembered when he saw glimpses of the surface world when he was younger. She smiled at them. “Hubert was not happy with my decision.”

“And I’m still not,” Hubert assured her. “The Commander could have handled this alone.”

“The Commander does not have my history with Jeritza,” Edelgard reminded him. “They can handle Jeritza, but keeping him from going too far is another story.” She playfully poked Hubert in the chest, who blushed. It was odd to see both of them acting so, well, human, but Yuri supposed they couldn’t be the disobedient, irredeemable sinners that Central Church propaganda claimed they were all the time. “If I’m not willing to take the risks my army is, what kind of emperor am I?”

Hubert rolled his eyes. Another shocking event. “I would argue, but I see Jertiza and the Commander with their prey.”

“Some prey,” Jeritza intoned as he dragged an unconscious Rowe by his feet through the dirt. “He fainted from fear before the battle began.”

“Maybe because you kept screaming about how you wanted to drain his body of every last drop of blood or whatever,” a person with unkempt purple hair snarked at him. They nodded to Yuri. “I’m Shez. I wish we could talk, but I have to brief Ferdinand. If Rowe spills his guts, let me know.” They turned on their heel and left.

“So,” Edelgard began, “who wants to interrogate him?”

“I do,” Yuri said without missing a beat.

“Wait.” Lonato took Yuri by the arm. “We need to talk first.” Once they were alone in a small corner of the chapel, Lonato’s brow furrowed in fatherly concern. “Yuri, I understand and appreciate that you want to save Ashe. But I can’t leave you alone with Rowe.” He shook his head. “I should have gotten you away from him years ago.”

“You tried, more than once. But I kept refusing.” He’d wanted to live at Gaspard with Lonato, Ashe, and his siblings. But he wanted the money to keep his mother and gang alive even more. “Here’s the thing. I know every single twisted little thought that goes through Rowe’s excuse for a brain.” If only because the Count would never shut up. “I can get him to crack in five minutes.”

“Yuri—”

“Please. For Ashe.”

“… Five minutes,” Lonato grumbled. “One second more, and I’m coming to get you.”

Yuri gave him a quick salute. After checking with Hubert that Rowe was confined and his hands were bound, Yuri was ready to go.

Rowe only woke up halfway when the bucket of icy water was poured over his head. It took a boot to his gut to get him fully alert. When he opened his eyes, Yuri Leclerc loomed over him, grinning savagely.

Rowe tried to speak, but all that came out were a few stammered cries for help.

“I don’t why you’re so scared.” Yuri’s voice oozed with false sweetness as he knelt so he could make proper eye contact with Rowe. When Rowe looked away, Yuri grabbed him by his hair so he had no choice but to face him. “You’re finally getting what you always wanted: the Mockingbird all to yourself.

Now. Where. Is. Ashe?”

With two minutes to spare, Yuri stormed out of the makeshift jail. “He told me everything. Ashe is not only captive in the Itha Plains, he’s going to be executed by the end of the week to send King Dimitri a message. We don’t have time to wonder if that’s a bluff or not.” Horses, even those enchanted for speed, would not be fast enough. “You there. Baby Bergliez.” Caspar, despite his reputation for obtuseness, had been hopping around the taller people in the hopes of finding out how he could help his old friend from school. He must have been paying attention to the information channels as well. “Do you know how to fly a wyvern?”

“Hell yeah! Hapi and Constance do, too!” Caspar pumped his fists in the air. “We’re gonna save Ashe, and we’ll kill anyone who even thinks about stopping us!”

“That’s the attitude I want to see in my minions,” Yuri said with a smirk as he and Caspar sped to the wyvern grounds. Despite his age, Lonato was right behind them.

As much as Edelgard wanted to tell Yuri that he was not allowed to call her comrades ‘minions,’ she had other concerns. “Hubert, did he…”

“No, your Majesty. Rowe still lives. In a manner of speaking.”

“Hm.” The bad news was that the traitor was still alive. The good news was that this meant they could interrogate him further until his trial. “Make sure he stays that way, at least for now. Jertiza and I will want to speak to him later.” Hubert assured him that he would with a bow before leaving to do that.

That meant that Edelgard was alone with nothing to distract her from her worries about Lonato and his adopted son. What Lonato and Ashe were enduring was not what her family had endured, thank whatever wind of fate that had blown that day. But it was horrific in its own way, and she hoped that their efforts would prove successful.

Lonato had already lost one son. Edelgard was not sure he could survive losing another.

In his desperation to save Ashe, it hadn’t fully registered that Hapi and Constance were working with the Empire now as well. He’d heard rumors of their defection and was not surprised by them, since neither woman was a friend of the Central Church. He was a little surprised that Hapi or all people was a general, but as she explained as she flew them (Lonato was with Ashe; the Shady Lady flew alone) to a rural area, even by Itha Plains standards that there hadn’t been much choice. “’Sides, Eddie and Bert are way more chill. Even the Southern Church doesn’t piss me off too much, but that’s because it’s mostly run by decent people. Bernie Bee’s dad is a ghoul, but he’s just a figurehead.” Yuri agreed with her assessment on all counts.

He was also relieved beyond words that they were here. He’d been so convince that he would kill anyone, even friends, to save his mother. And if it came down to it… he probably still could. He was the Savage Mockingbird for a reason, after all. But something had changed when he found out that Ashe was a victim of Kingdom politics. That wasn’t choosing your side—that tossing Ashe aside like he was garbage rather than a person. Despite King Dimitri’s best efforts, shitty noble mentality still ruled the Kingdom. Yuri had been on the receiving end of that mentality far longer than he cared to remember. He refused to permit Ashe to suffer that fate.

If Ashe, a Kingdom Knight, would see Yuri, now a willing agent of the Empire, as an enemy afterwards, fine. He wouldn’t be the first friend turned foe in Yuri’s life, and he would not be the last. But at least Ashe would be alive to make that choice.

Speaking of friends turned foes, they’d found Balthus wearing the uniform of the guards, but brawling with the presumed leader of the guards. The leader was an archer, so Constance was quick with a spell that fell him. Yuri patched Balthus up quickly while Hapi, Caspar, and Lonato went west to dispatch any stragglers.

“Thanks, Boss,” Balthus managed as Yuri helped him upright. “I’ve worked for scoundrels, but that one was asking me to cross a line that I never will. Thank the Goddess those villagers got away—now we just need to save that poor twink in the dungeon before it’s too late.” He did some quick stretches to regain his bearings. “Speaking of too late, is it too late to defect to the Empire? I kind of sort of need a new job now.”

“Fear not, dear Balthus,” Constance assured him, her golden hair contrasting with the leaden gray skies. “Her Majesty is far more accepting than the Central Church propaganda suggests. I’m sure she’ll find a role even for a ne’er-do-well like yourself.”

Balthus held up his hands. “Hey, I’m just so glad to be still breathing I ain’t even mad at you for that truth bomb of yours. That, and not having to kill my pals. I missed you guys!”

“Oh, Balthus,” Constance said with a smile. “Despite your slovenly nature and love of Abyssian slang, I am thrilled beyond measure to be reunited with you as well.”

“Yes, it’s amazing that we’re reunited and still use Abyssian slang.” He ignored Constance’s protest that unlike the boorish Balthus, she was too cultured for such coarse conversations. “We’re here to save Ashe. Let’s go.”

If you’d been in one Kingdom dungeon, you’d been in them all. So, Yuri had no problem navigating even the underground levels. All the cells were empty, save for one. There was a chained figure slumped over, clothes and silver hair filthy.

“Hey.” Yuri tapped the bars. “Can you move, friend?” He got his answer when Ashe bolted upright, snarling—and then somehow becoming even paler when he realized whom he was snarling at. “I know you,” he breathed. “You’re from House Rowe.”

Yuri snerked. “Not after I damn well near tortured the head of House Rowe to death.”

Ashe’s brow furrowed, then he smiled in recognition. “Yuri! I haven’t seen you in ages.”

Yuri smiled in return. “You’ll be even gladder when you find out why I’m here. This is a jailbreak, friend.” The lock was simple enough. He suspected that if Ashe hadn’t been chained by what looked like enchanted manacles, he could have escaped himself.

“They’re magical chains.” Ashe confirmed his suspicions as Yuri whipped out the charm Constance had made just in case. “I supposed that’s what I get for lock picking to make sure the locals have money for food and bills on the side. My captors heard about that, and were careful.”

“No good deed and all that,” Yuri mused as he undid the chains and helped Ashe up. Despite being grungy and a little dizzy, he didn’t seem that roughed up, thank the Goddess.

“Well, I’d do it all over again.” He grinned again as Yuri slung one of Ashe’s arms over his shoulder to keep him steady. “And hey, it means I got to see you again.”

“You might be less than thrilled about that when you find out that I’m working for the Empire now.” No point in dancing around that. “So, I guess this is where I have to say that we’ll be enemies next time we meet or whatever.”

“Hm? Oh, don’t worry about that. I’m defecting to the Empire as well.”

“Wait.” Yuri wanted to be relieved/thrilled that he wouldn’t have to face his dear friend in battle after all, but… “You were living your dream. It was all you ever wanted since you were little.”

“It was,” Ashe admitted as they headed down the hall together. “And the only thing that’s harder than giving that up is knowing that I’m betraying his Majesty and my friends. But here’s the thing. People think that I’m this starry-eyed waif who believes the world is just like his books. This means that they say things around me that they don’t think someone with my innocent psyche could understand.

This means I know the schemes that a certain ‘Saint’ is up to.”

“Ya don’t say,” Yuri realized. So, this was more than just shitty noble. This was Cornelia, who had connections to some Very Interesting People, working with the shitty nobles to make sure the same people that had corrupted the Empire before Edelgard took over could corrupt the Kingdom. “So, you’re betraying the Kingdom to save it?”

“Loog and Pan had to make hard choices; I guess it’s my turn.” Ashe’s features darkened. “And… well, we’ve defected, so I guess I can say this out loud. The Central Church is convinced that they’re the dominant power in our alliance. Unfortunately, they’re correct.” His expression grew grim. “Rhea and Seteth were so busy throwing their weight around that none of us knew about this wrinkle until I was arrested for ‘suspicions of betrayal.’”

“Hm. So, how they’d grab you, the kid who grew up having to make quick escapes to survive?”

Ashe frowned. “We’ll talk about how you found out about the past that I’ve worked very hard to keep secret later. For now, I’ll explain how they did it. They had the sense to arrest me in front of the King.” He huffed sadly as he remembered. “It was either go quietly or let Dimitri possibly lose his crown when he attacked his own guards. I chose the former, as you can probably guess.”

“So, you’re defecting in order to stop these ghouls and to save the Kingdom by ‘betraying’ it. For justice.”

“Yep. And some selfish reasons, at least by Church standards, but I don’t care.”

“Well, I do! Spill.”

Ashe’s eyes were dark as they turned a corner. “I signed up to serve Dimitri, not the Church that killed Christophe and wanted me to kill my father. And it’s pretty damn clear now that if I go back, that is exactly what will happen again.”

“Justice mixed in with a little revenge,” Yuri mused, thankful that Hapi and Caspar had taken out the guards so Yuri could search/rescue with no unpleasant surprises. “Whelp, you’ll have some allies, including—”

Lonato charged in. Seeing someone usually so stern cry from happiness was something else. “Ashe, my son!”

Ashe’s joy to see Lonato again granted him the strength to break from Yuri and race to his father, hugging him tight.

“Hunh.” Hapi smiled at Yuri while Constance scolded Balthus and Caspar over their sloppy appearances post-jailbreak. “I’m still not keen on fighting, but I’m glad our little family is back together.”

As for Yuri, his gaze was fixed on Ashe. He was safe, he was happy, and they were together again. Everything else could be sorted out later. “Yeah. Me too.”

Final Notes: “In a manner of speaking” is a reference to Star Trek. The reason why? I am an old nerd.