#(which makes the ending bittersweet - because rather than the eagle being able to live free from strife

[frozenartscapes]

What crossover do you think would be the coolest/funniest/saddest for FE3H? ATLA? Sailor Moon? Etc.?

So... This may not be what you're thinking, but I recently had an AU idea (that I probably won't write but I just want to share). Having recently watched the Wild Robot, I had a thought:

Hegemon Edelgard as Roz

Ok, so the story would have to change a fair bit, but essentially, following the events of Azure Moon, it is revealed that Edelgard survived and escaped into the forests of Adrestia. She's not completely transformed - think her more human form in Heroes - and she has to come to terms with this. This transformation has not only altered her body, but she now has new abilities she needs to learn. On top of trying to survive in the wilderness, she also has to process the fact that everyone she knows and ever cared for is dead.

She's alone, in the wild.

Being half beast allows her to understand the other animals, however none of them are especially welcoming to her at first (and she isn't either). On top of that, she has new instincts she needs to fight and is completely lost on what her new motivation should be. (Which is a problem in itself because Edelgard's primary coping mechanism for all of the trauma she's faced in the past is to double down on a big goal - something to keep her mind occupied so she doesn't run the risk of thinking too hard about just how much her heart actually hurts. The old "if I stop and think about this for more than two seconds I'll go insane" trope.)

Then, through a series of events involving having to defend herself from an angry demonic wolf and haphazardly thrown fireballs, she hits an eagle nest. To her horror, she discovers the family has all died - except for a single egg. To stop herself from becoming completely consumed by guilt, she decides to take care of the egg. It hatches soon after, and taking care of an egg turns into taking care of the chick inside.

She meets other animals and forms bonds with them along the way. A solitary raven she saves from a trap, who decides he is in eternal debt to her. A songbird who offers the most advice in how to raise a baby bird. A stag who is always trying to challenge her at first, until he realizes she makes a better friend than competition. A wolf who teaches her how to properly hunt and fend for herself in the wild. A mouse whose kindness outweighs her terror to show comfort to Edelgard when she was obviously on the verge of a breakdown. A badger who takes it upon himself to fight off any predators who may try to harm them, no matter the size difference. A possum who, despite seeming rather lazy, offers a lot of advice about foraging techniques and building comfortable habitats.

It is revealed that the eagle would have been the runt and likely would have died had nature been allowed to take its course. There is still tension when she learns just how her family died, but she realizes that Edelgard did everything possible to make up for it.

Along the way, Edelgard becomes more and more in tune with her wild side, and starts to learn more about what the Hegemon can really do. She can give herself wings, and she and the eagle learn to fly at the same time. Her claws she once thought monstrous now protect the things she cares about. She incorporates her tail into fighting. She uses magic now - magic that is wilder than anything she learned in school and allows her to feel more in touch with the forest. It isn't long before she feels more at home in the woods than she ever did in civilization, and she is happy to let this life be her new one forever.

Until the Agarthans learn she's still alive.

Dimitri and Byleth might have killed Thales, but a new leader took his place and succeeded in evading the King's attempts to snuff them out. Once the Agarthans learned that one of their most powerful weapons was still alive, they tracked her down and captured her (not without a fight, mind you). It then falls on her animal companions to stage a rescue mission, led by the eagle Edelgard saved, who rallies not just the main animals but many of the forest inhabitants as well.

The Agarthans tried to force Edelgard to obey them, going so far as to push her transformation to what Thales had originally envisioned for the Hegemon Husk (I always thought the Hegie we get in the game was still a transition stage, and that the true form of the Hegemon Husk would be like a twisted version of the Immaculate One - or an approximation of what Sothis' dragon form would look like). The eagle finds her while the others are stalling, and thanks to the Power of Love, snaps Edelgard out of her rage state. She then turns on the Agarthans, and succeeds in wiping them out. However, as she kills the leader, he wheezes out that there will always be more, and they won't stop until they have their weapon.

The animals celebrate their victory, but Edelgard can't get the Agarthan's words out of her head. Their forest home sustained heavy damage in the attack, and a number of animals died. Even amongst her main group, the stag had suffered a close call while charging an enemy mage, the badger broke his leg, and the wolf has a permanent scar across her eye. She makes a decision, then.

King Dimitri is in his castle in Faerghus, busy trying to work out a peace deal between Fódlan and Almyra. Suddenly a guard bursts into his study, stating hurriedly that there's some strange forest witch demanding to see the king. Dimitri, exhausted by paperwork, decides to humour this and heads for the audience chamber.

That's when he comes face to face with a ghost - or maybe demon. She wears an old, torn cloak covered in moss and a dress that looks to have come from the forest floor itself. The tips of golden horns peak through the hood of her cloak. A black eagle sits on her shoulder. She offers a cordial bow, revealing hands armed with obsidian claws. "Dimitri," she says in a voice he has heard countless times in his nightmares, "It has been a long time."

"...Edelgard?" he breathes. Goddess... What has become of her?

Edelgard smiled, revealing a glimpse of her fangs. "I come to you today with a proposition," she stated, "How do you feel about finally ridding the shadows of Fódlan of the wretched snakes that dwell there?"