(This story was made for my friends, SquidbaggerOfWoomyAndNgyesness, and YouTubers Patrick Slattery, and Eeveesaur. If you are not one of these people, and would like some context on what the heck is going on in this story, feel free to contact me via review. Also, this goes without saying, but if you're sensitive to the topic of disease, given the current outbreak, don't blame me if you get offended.)
One day at the monastery, something incredibly concerning had gone down. Bylara had suddenly fallen ill. And not just with a simple cold or fever. In fact... no one knew what it was! It was only a few hours ago that she was training, and suddenly collapsed. Witnessing the whole thing, Kana immediately rushed her to the infirmary. And ever since, Sakura has been working around the clock to try and help her worsening condition, but to no avail. However, the threads of Bylara's life were coming closer and closer to giving away, a certain mage happened to come by and check on her.
Sera walked into the infirmary, to see Bylara passed out in bed. The color drained from her face, aside from the splotches of pink on her cheeks and forehead. Sakura wipes the sweat from her brow as she saw her visitor. "Sorry, Sera. Whatever you need will have to wait, I have my hands full here." As Sakura soaked a rag in a bucket of cold water, Sera curtsied. "Don't despair. I wanted to see if I could help." Sakura didn't waste time looking back at her, as she placed the rag over Bylara's forehead. "Help? How? You don't know anything about medicine, as far as I know." She said, pacing through the room to look for something to help slow down Bylara's condition. "Sadly, I don't. I wanted to test a theory of mine. It may amount to nothing, but we might as well try. Can you tell me the symptoms of this disease?" Normally Sakura wouldn't humor the idea, but she was getting quite desperate by now.
"She has a very high fever, first and foremost. Diaphoresis, meaning she's sweating a lot. Starting to develop blisters, and she appears to have difficulty breathing. I've checked, and there's some sort of gross black mucus beginning to clog up her throat. I've never seen that happen before!" Politely listening, Sera then pulled her staff, Soraka, and held it over Bylara as a blue aura formed around her. "What are... what are you doing?" After a minute or two, her aura dissipated. "As I suspected. This isn't an ordinary disease. I can't pinpoint the exact cause, but I believe I have a solution. We must act quickly, before it's too late." Choosing to place her trust in her, Sakura continued tending to Bylara as Sera gathered Pit, Delthea, and Byleth to the infirmary forming a spell circle around them with a wave of her hand.
"I saw traces of dark magic in her bloodstream. And that means she won't get better until we take out the threat itself. If I did all this right, this spell should allow us to locate the problem and hopefully eliminate it." Byleth gripped his sword tight. "Whatever awaits us, I'll carry us through." They'd already lost Jeralt. He wasn't losing her too. Pit put a hand on his shoulder. "We all get you're worried. But remember to exercise caution. We don't know who or what we're up against." Sera then readied Soraka. "We won't be able to come back until we've completed our mission. Are you ready?" Everyone nodded in unison. "Send us in, Sera." Delthea asked. And without further delay, a pillar of blue magic engulfed them. When the light faded, they found themselves in a dark room. A familiar looking throne perched atop a flight of steps. Byleth gasped. "Are we...?" Sera walked over. "Inside her. Yes. Everyone, look around. The source of our worries must be here somewhere."
"Uhhh... just a guess on my part, but..." Pit began, as he was pointing to a wall, that happened to have a large whole in it. It appeared the concrete was somehow melted through, exposing some sort of maze on the other side, similar to the labyrinth under Duma Tower. "I think they may be this way." Trekking out into the shadows, Delthea used her fire magic to light up the dark corridors. "Why can bad guys never choose somewhere nice to hide out?" She muttered to herself. But atleast they knew they were on the right track here. The question remained, though: would they find the source of Bylara's illness, or would it find them first...?
(The music "Dark Bedroom" from Disney's Magical Mirror Starring Mickey Mouse plays)
The creepy catacombs were lit to an extent, but anything past a few feet was just shapeless shadows only discernible at a closer look. And going farther beyond that was nothing but a looming curtain of darkness. Byleth was unfazed by the unsettling atmosphere. Both because he hardly ever felt fear, and because he was impatient in taking out whatever was stalking these halls. "Where exactly... are we?" He asked. A valid question. And one that Sera fortunately had an answer for. "Well, Sothis's throne is where Bylara's heart is, right? So these hallways must be her veins." Her eyes were focused onto the direction they were moving. "Truth be told, I used to be afraid of the dark as a kid. Still am, to an extent. But if it means helping a treasured ally, a few dark corridors are of little consequence." Even as she said that, Byleth could tell she was talking quietly so as to listen for possible danger.
And then, they heard a footstep echo from down the hall. Prompting everyone to stop advancing and listen for anything. More footsteps. Sounded like someone wearing heels. And then... silence. "They stopped...?" Pit whispered, fear starting to grow in him. Then all the sudden, A GIANT BLACK TENTACLE LUNGED OUT OF THE DARKNESS! It grabbed Pit as he screamed in terror! Acting fast, Delthea blasted the slimy appendage with her spells to loosen its grip, as Byleth sliced it with his sword, allowing Pit to fall out of its clutches. The frightened angel scrambled to his feet, away from the still wriggling disembodied tentacle and scurrying away back to his allies. The tentacle retreated into the darkness as the footsteps got closer. Closer. And then, came a deep female voice. "It's a farce. All of it."
Out of the shadows came a woman in a sorceress-style cloak, and a headdress. Her clothes were all black, and yellow eyes. Sera recognized her. "You... you're Alecto, aren't you? By what means are you alive?" Alecto was surprised her foe knew her name, considering she had no idea who she was. But she dismissed it as not being worth her time. "Losing to the spartan was a humiliation I won't forget, nor forgive. But to be revived by a mortal!? It's almost as if the universe itself is jealous of my power! But it makes no difference. With the aid of that virus, I will have my revenge!" So she was revived by Male Robin. Figures. He's always toying with forces he doesn't understand. And by the sound of it, she was planning on spreading the virus to everyone in the resistance in the hopes of taking down Kratos.
(The music "Nightmare (first battle)" from Super Kirby Clash plays)
Sera kept her grip on Soraka. "If you think we're just gonna sit here and let you, you're gravely mistaken." She used a spell to blind Alecto with a bright light, as Pit fired a volley of arrows her way. Alecto shielded her gaze with her arm, and ducking under the arrows before blasting Pit with a glob of ink, pinning him to the wall with its sticky web-like grip. "This is just not my day." He muttered to himself. Byleth and Sera attacked simultaneously as Delthea worked to free Pit from his predicament. Byleth slinging his sword at her, and and successfully cleaving off part of her shoulder to reveal the black viscera underneath. But Alecto retaliated by closing the gap, and briefly morphing her face into her true form's to violently take a bite out of his forearm! Not wanting to accidentally hit Byleth, Sera ran in and tried to blast her point blank, but Alecto saw her coming and summoned forth one of her tentacles to strangle her neck.
While still tearing into him, Alecto used the full force of her body to knock Byleth off his feet and pinned down his limbs with her own, intending to rip apart his face with her teeth. But Sera used Fimbulvetr to nearly impale her with a shard of ice, giving Byleth the opening he needed to get her off of him and carve her clean down the middle with his sword. Leaving a grizzly slash across Alecto's body. Black sludge spilling out of her like an oil spill. Meanwhile, Delthea finally freed Pit. Getting him back into the fight. "Thanks! Now let's get this lad-" Alecto then hissed at him, causing him to jump. "Actually... I think I'll just leave her to you." He said, trying to hide his cowardice. Met with few other options, Alecto decided it was time to stop pulling punches. "I am the queen of the Furies!" Then tentacles started growing out of her, as her own body started mutating. Sera knew what was about to happen. "Run!"
Not wanting to stick around to see what will happen if they don't, the others heeded her words and started putting some distance between them and Alecto. Growling sounds similar to a demonic beast audible from behind. "Don't look back. Don't look back." Pit repeated to himself, only to do exactly what he told himself not to do, looking back to see a huge black kraken using its tentacles to edge closer to them, clapping its teeth. "Oh, why can't I take my own advice!?" Delthea and Sera were taking potshots at the hideous abomination while running. "Aim for the eyes!" Byleth advised, as he used his sword to his advantage, slashing away at Alecto's eyes. While successful, it only proved to anger her even further. To make matters worse, she finally had them cornered at a dead end! "Okay... if anyone has a plan, now would be the time to say it." Delthea said, as the four of them slowly backed up towards the wall while trying to hit Alecto with everything they had to keep her away. But alas, her determination to kill them was too strong. All seemed hopeless.
When suddenly, the animator suffered a fatal heart attack! (Monty Python reference!) Alecto was defeated. Lying in her human form, clenching her fist against the concrete in a pool of her own black slime. "After all the effort of stealing that virus from him...! It can't end here! For the honor of my fallen sisters, I must not fail...!" Byleth walked over to her. Nothing but pity in his eyes. "Think we should just put her out of her misery?" Sera put a hand on her chin. "Something doesn't add up. You say you stole a virus from Male Robin? I guess that makes sense. The black mucus in her throat was unmistakably your doing. But the other symptoms, there's no way they could've been you." She then knelt down to her, the prideful Fury gazing up at her in... well... fury! "What kind of virus was it?" Before she could even respond, the gang saw something glowing orange in the distance. It touched the trail of black bile Alecto had been generating during her chase, immediately setting it on fire! The flames raced towards them, traveling along the liquid like it was gasoline! "Get back!" Delthea warned, using her magic to pull them out of harm's way.
When the fire reached Alecto, she instantly burst into flames, screaming in agony as her insides spewed out of her like a scene out of a horror movie! And in no time at all, she was dead. "My my, aren't we a buncha fine lads and ladies." That voice was male. Deep, with a laid back and composed ring to it, that never failed to come off as vaguely menacing. A figure started casually walking towards them through the fire. Appearing to be immune to harm by it. "Who's this guy?" Pit asked. Sera held Soraka close to her chest. "If I had to guess... that's the virus." The figure chuckled. "Virus? Aw, come now, baby. You're doing me dirty like that..." he then stepped out of the inferno, allowing everyone to see him clearly. He had red skin, and a thin yet muscular build. He wore a black trench coat, and a gray shirt. His fingers were claw-like, a sharp angular chin, and he had dreadlocks of sorts. His eyes were completely yellow, aside from his black pupils, and he wore a devious grin. "I'm an epidemic."
Just like Alecto before him, Sera knew who he was, yet never actually met him until now. "Thrax." Thrax smirked. "Glad to know my rep precedes me. You humans are jus' full of surprises. I mean, bringin' an infection like me back into the game? Your species must really get off on destroyin' each other. Such a shame I'll have to reduce y'all to a collection of red stains on the wall." He slowly started walking towards them. "Word of advice, everyone. Whatever you do, don't let him touch you." Sera warned. Delthea nervously looked back at her. "Um... why?" Thrax's pointer finger then started glowing orange. A spine-chilling smile on his face. "Why not come a lil' closer and find out, sweetcakes?" Pit aimed his bow at him, but much to his dismay, realized that Alecto's goop from earlier had tied his bow and arrow together. "Oh, crud."
(The music "The Holy Order of The Digital Hermit" from Astral Chain plays)
Thrax struck his finger into the ground, and flinged it back up to send a streak of lava spreading in their direction. Without hesitation, Sera used her magic to send Pit back to Garreg Mach, and out of harm's way. Seeing he wasn't gonna be much help in this fight without his weapon. The remaining fighters then sprinted out of the way of the straight line of skin-melting heat. Thrax then leapt over to Byleth, winding back his arm to send his claw straight into him, but Byleth defended with his sword, against the razor sharp assault. "I should be thanking you weirdos. I'll set a record no disease can ever beat, by killing you here in just a few minutes!" Delthea then blasted him with her magic, but to her horror, it seemed to have no effect! Thrax cracked his neck, and tried puncturing Byleth with his syringe of a fingernail, but ended up missing and hitting the wall instead, causing more fire to explode out into the room.
At this point, the heroes were running out of room that was safe to traverse. But then Sera got an idea. "Guys! I know how to beat him, just keep him busy!" And she immediately began working on a spell. But Thrax wasn't deaf, and turned his head to look in her direction. "Gonna take more than a vaccine to take care'a me, junior." He shoved Byleth to the floor, and ran towards Sera to kill her before she could enact her plan. But Delthea stood in his way, her palm glowing with magic. "I think it's time you get a taste of your own medicine!" She declared, before blowing him back with wind magic. All the while, she cringed. "That has got to be the cheesiest line I've ever said." Back in his feet, Byleth took the opportunity to pin Thrax against the wall with his blade, as the virus defended with his sword of a hand. "Hahaha! You kiddies really know how to make me laugh. But let's see if it's possible to laugh while choking on your own blood!" He then stabbed Byleth with his claw, much to the shock of his allies. Thrax dove his weapon deep into Byleth's midriff, while his free hand dug into his shoulder.
Byleth reeled back in pain, grasping his wounds. His body temperature rising at a worrying pace. "What did you do to me!?" He demanded, his insides feeling like they were beginning to melt. Thrax raised an eyebrow. "Strange. You should be dead. But it looks like you're on your way there." Now it was even more serious. If they didn't kill Thrax in the next few minutes, both Byleth AND his sister would die! Thrax resumed his advance towards Sera, as Delthea pelted Thrax with spells in the hopes of slowing him down. "Running out of time here, Sera!" She emphasized. Fortunately for her, Sera's spell was finally done. "It's ready!" A spell circle formed on the ground, and from a flash of blue light cams Sakura. She looked around confusedly. "Huh!? How did I get here!?" Sera ran up to her. "No time to explain. You see that red guy? We need you to heal him, now!" Sera's comrades looked at her in disbelief. "What!? Are you insane!?" Byleth shouted. Sera looked back at them. "Trust me!"
Sakura was unsure of what the heck was going on, but she did as Sera asked. And when she healed Thrax, he lurched back in pain. "What the!?" Now they saw what Sera was thinking. Thrax is a virus. And a virus was harmed by healing. "Again, Sakura!" Sera commanded. Thrax gritted his teeth, "Just wait till I get a hold of-" but Sakura healed him again, causing his body to start dissolving. "Gah! You little street rat...!" He then ran at them full tilt, Sera conjuring up an ice spell to slow him down. "One more time, you've almost got him!" But Thrax manages to push through the attack, and puncture Sera through the side. "Sera!" Sakura shouted, before gripping her staff tightly and healing Thrax one last time. Thrax screamed, as he saw his body falling apart before him. He looked back at his opponents one last time.
"Don't think this is the last you've seen of me! I'll show you such excruciating pain that you'll be BEGGING me to put you out'a your misery!" And just like that, he was gone. Their surroundings was engulfed by a bright light, and when it faded, they were back in the infirmary with Pit. "Woah! You're back. Did you get him?" Delthea nodded, as she and Sakura looked down at their wounded friends. Sakura inspected them. "Are you two okay? Anything that needs healing?" But to her surprise, their injuries started healing within seconds. Byleth got to his feet. "Yeah... Somehow we made it out of there." Sera took in a deep breath as she took Sakura's hand up. "Normally that attack can kill any human. If I had to guess, it's our divine connections that protected us." Everyone then directed their attention to Bylara. She was still asleep, but she was returning to normal as well. "Looks like that did it. I imagine after enough sleep, she should be good as new." Sakura explained.
Byleth then turned to Sera. "Good... Thanks for helping us out here, everyone. Especially you, Sera. If we didn't take those two down... I'm just glad we managed to pull it off." Sera put Soraka away. "I know any of you would've done the same, if it were me. To contribute to this war effort, and each other is reward in itself." Death stretched. "Yeah. Just try not to get us killed next time you have a theory, okay Serbear?" Everyone stared at her. "I'm joking. But anyway, I'll report what happened to Zero. See you guys later." She said, walking out the door. And so Bylara would go on to make a speedy recovery. Once she was well enough, Sakura filled her in on what went down. Grateful for the trouble they went through to save her, Bylara made sure to perform small acts of gratitude for everyone who helped out. She gave Delthea a gift, introduced Pit to the sauna at Garreg Mach, thanked her brother (he was too humble to accept anything else), and Sera... Sera only wanted to be her friend. Something Bylara was more than happy to do.