AN: So...for those of you wondering just what the hell the last chapter was, that was my attempt at building the setting and an attempt at character growth! So yeah...I'll admit, I have no idea how that went. I'm guessing okay considering there doesn't seem like there's any major complaints for the time being.
Anyways, with no comments at the current time being, let's just...get into this, I guess. Also, fun fact; apparently the longest chapter I've written thus far.
Obviously, if you've got any questions or you believe there might be a problem regarding a certain thing in the fanfic, please, go ahead. At the end of the day, genuine criticism is important to anyone. :)
One last thing; happy one year anniversary to this fanfic (despite only 3 of those months actually consisting of me being active. XD)
—
The stones pitter-pattering. Four people sitting in relative silence, as the sky darkened into a near pitch black color. And weapons laid a strewn around, some of which were heavily important to their users to various degrees.
Alongside, of course, a Cross-Z Dragon simply there just in the middle.
"And that is how we got here." Petra simply ended, as Claude gave a look of thought while Hilda...well, Hilda looked about as bewildered as ever about the tale Petra just told to the group.
"So...let me get this straight. You met the vigilante known as the Muscle Dragon. You knew him from back in Brigid during that war. The two of you accidentally found Bernie. Then Edelgard tried to convince you to hand over the Build Driver. You said no. Brief skirmish breaks out. Then some snake man in armor shows up out of nowhere, brands the three of you as traitors, and then you three somehow end up with the Knights of Seiros and Sento. And now, you're hoping to escape to the Alliance to come up with some sort of idea on how to deal with this?" Claude summarized as best as he could. He looked a little befuddled at the whole story, but looked to understand the majority of it.
After a brief silence, not to mention both Shamir and Petra looking at each other for a brief moment, they both nodded.
"You seem to have gotten the entirety of the story, Claude." Petra stated in agreement, Claude stretching on his back. And yet...Petra seemed to realize something. "Wait...how do you know Sento?"
"Well, let's just say that we've been housing the majority of the Knights of Seiros at Deidriu for quite a bit. At least in Alois's case, we moved their base of operations from Garreg Mach over to there for the time being. You know, after what happened there half a decade ago and all." Claude explained, as Shamir simply nodded. Considering she was also a Knight of Seiros after all.
Petra was confused to say the least, as she looked to Shamir.
"Is that why we are escaping to the Alliance, then?" She asked Shamir, who stared back at her.
"Partially." She told her after a brief moment of thought. "Although, the obvious would be that the three of you are being hunted by the Empire. You could yield valuable information to us. Hiding in the relatively neutral Alliance would be best for the time being."
Petra seemed to understand this, as she looked towards the leader of said Alliance, alongside his technical 'retainer' as said retainer looked very much bored of the entire thing.
"So…" Hilda stated, attempting to continue any form of conversation.
"Nonetheless, I'm sure you two are tired from the march over here…" Claude offered, pulling out what little they had stored away for the trip. A few bits of non-perishables, such as bread and a few local herbs from outside the tower, placed on the ground. "Possibly even hungry?"
"We just ate. Remire's not looking much better." Shamir noted, as she and Petra noticed Claude's small twitch at the mention of the village. It left a bad taste in his mouth, as his face morphed into a subtle frown.
"Wasn't it abandoned after what happened?" Claude asked the group, Hilda staying relatively quiet throughout the entire thing. The thought probably even haunted her.
"Some people moved back in. They looked to be barely living off the scraps left behind from the village." Petra commented, Claude simply scratching his chin in thought.
"Well...that'd be something that'll I'd have to tell the rest of the Alliance. If they'd bother to listen without breaking out into argument every five seconds." Claude stated, as he scratched the back of his head in a tiny bit of nervousness.
"Still that bad, huh?" Shamir asked, Claude simply staying relatively silent. A short nod of yes simply confirmed what was being subtly implied.
"I mean, thankfully the Alliance hasn't dragged itself into the war just yet. But with rumors of Edelgard and her crew moving up here? It's only a matter of time before things get dicey over here." Claude reacted, as he looked towards Petra.
"Ah, Petra; you've stayed relatively quiet. How has Brigid been?" He asked.
Petra snapped out of whatever thoughts she had on her, as she looked towards the Alliance leader and his pink-haired lackey.
"Brigid as well, has stayed relatively neutral to the war. However, if I were to be switched over to the Alliance, then there might be a chance they will be dragged in by force." She briefly summarized the situation back at her home. Claude for his part, simply stayed somewhat understanding. Although the gears inside his head began to turn…
"Looks like we're both in a rough situation." Hilda pretty much concluded regarding all of them, as they sat there, before they all stood up.
"Well, the two of us are hopefully planning on scanning over Garreg Mach for a few days. I'm sure you five want to actually explore the Academy as much as we do; been thinking about converting it into a secondary base of operations. Maybe even turn it back into the main base for the Knights if we get the upper hand." Claude explained. The group simply looked to each other for a brief moment. Shamir especially seemed to have a look of thought for a moment.
"Sounds like a decent plan. I'd imagine though we'd have to deal with whatever wildlife's roamed the area since then. Or possible Empire scout parties." Shamir commented, as Claude simply nodded. As the two somewhat discussed potential options for entry into their old academy, Hilda decided to drag Petra aside for a brief moment, her eyes being a just a little cautious of the Brigidian princess.
Yeah
"So, Petra. Have you heard anything from anyone else?" She asked. Hilda didn't seem relatively worried about her former classmates. At least on the outside, what with her radiant smile on her face.
"No. Although, from what I had heard briefly while approaching Oche, according to our driver, House Bergliez is planning to support whatever Edelgard may be planning." Petra stated, noticing out of the corner of her eye the presence of the Cross-Z Dragon.
Hilda didn't seem to notice it yet.
"Huh...so Caspar's dedicating himself to the Empire, hm? A shame." Hilda stated, as she looked towards Petra. For a moment, she seemed to be thinking, trying to imagine any potential way to pass the time, while the more experienced/"experienced" mercenary/leader respectively attempted to try and come up with some form of strategy.
"So...is fashion in Brigid always so...loose?" Hilda stated after a long moment of silence, as Petra simply looked a little surprised at the change in topic.
"It is. We like to enjoy our jewelers as much as anyone else. It helps to represent our heritage once we are of age." Petra briefly explained, as Hilda looked on.
"Well, I'm sure a certain someone might be interested in that type of look…" Hilda teased, as Petra tilted her head in a small amount of confusion.
"What...does that mean?" She asked, as Hilda chuckled. A whistle followed, and as both of their heads turned to face Shamir and Claude, they both noticed Claude's face returning to that of a smile.
"Alright; Hilda, pack up our things! Looks like we're going back to the Academy!" He said in a small amount of excitement, as Hilda stated at Claude.
"...you're making me lug all that stuff BACK down the stairs?" She asked, the Riegan chuckling in response.
"C'mon Hilda; surely those 'noodle arms' got that gear up here; why not bring it back down? I'll even serve you twice as much when we get back to Deidriu."
A relative moment of silence followed.
Then Hilda spoke.
"...make it twice as much for me and Balthie, and it's a done deal." She offered, as Claude gave a nod.
"Fine by me. Shamir, I'm sure you can tell the rest of them down there? I want to speak to Petra specifically."
Shamir simply looked towards Claude with a confused look, before looking to Petra. A small nod from the heiress allowed Shamir to relax, as she maintained her neutral look, making her way down first.
After Hilda made her way down with the gear, Petra and Claude were the only ones left in the top floor of the Goddess Tower.
"...your little dragon friend can come out now. I'm sure even machines can get a little tired of flapping their little built wings." Claude stated, as the Cross-Z Dragon made it's way to Petra, much to her shock at Claude somehow knowing about it.
"How did you..?" She asked, as Claude simply placed a finger up to near Petra's lips. A small wink followed as his smile grew a little more.
"Sento told us a little about Banjou Ryuga. May have also learned how to find out more sensitive info from whatever thing he uses to record his notes. Good man from what I heard. A bit more impulsive than I expected. Reminds me of what would happen if you mix an angry Lysithea and Balthus together…" Claude stated, as Petra slowly took out the Beat Crosser from the floor.
She clearly did not to be fooled into handing over the tech a second time. Not after what had happened as a result of it.
Claude, noticing the potential tension, simply backed up a little.
"Hold on, hold on, Petra! I'm not asking you to hand it over. I'm just saying that Banjou and Cross-Z's powers are safe with us for the time being." Claude stated in an attempt to ease the nearly chaotic situation that would have ensued. He even raised his hands in the air, showing that he wouldn't immediately grab his bow.
Petra slowly thought about it as she was on the verge of pulling out Cross-Z's Beat Crosser. Eventually, she lowered it, as Claude slowly lowered his hands as well once it was clear she didn't see him as suspcious.
"Now…can I grab Failnaught without getting guillotined in private? Haven't even said my final rite." Claude replied in an attempt to garner some positive humor, as he grabbed the giant bow in question, lifting it and slinging it around his back. He saw a small chuckle out of Petra.
"Now...shall we go down and revisit some old times?" Claude stated, before Petra briefly stopped him.
"You still did not explain how you got here." She said, as Claude simply looked towards her. After a moment of confliction in his mind, he shrugged, opting to summarize it to her.
"Well…" he began.
—
(Deidriu, 4 days before present day)
"...Claude, you must know that it sounds like one of the most ill-conceived plans you've come up with. And to leave at such an important time?" A man with what looked to be long lavender hair stated. His armor was much more ornate as opposed to Claude, instead decorated in much the same color as his hair. Little strands of gold surrounded his armor, alongside a small circular armored item on his Chestplate in the shape of a rose.
The day in Deidriu was bright, the sounds of seagulls chirping and of other birds chirping. Servants silently passed the two as they were walking down a hallway in the chambers of the Alliance's parliament.
Claude simply scoffed off at the individual's worry, giving a small laugh.
"You worry too much, Lorenz. Always worried about the probability and 'by the book' type things. Not like people would worry too much, right?" He asked his comrade, the now named Lorenz Hellman Gloucester.
"You're technically the de facto leader of the Leicester Alliance, Claude. A lot of people will worry."
"It'll just be a couple of days, Lorenz. No sweat."
Lorenz sighed.
"The things I do for you sometimes, Riegan. You know Judith won't be happy about this. Neither would the old man. Especially if you take the Alliance's little secret and use it out in public." Lorenz told him, only for Claude to chuckle.
"Relax. If anything, it'll just be me and Hilda dealing with it. I'm sure you and Judith can handle Weathervane and them." Claude stated. A brief laugh followed by a cough came from Lorenz, as he straightened himself up.
"And if you come back to the Leicester Alliance burning on fire from the civil war that breaks out?" Lorenz asked hypothetically, as Claude gave a smaller smile back to his comrade.
"Simple; I pick up the pieces and try to fight back. And if all else fails, we leave and try again in the future." He replied, Lorenz giving a small look of frustration, which eventually devolved into a tiny snicker.
"...well, it is clear to me you aren't the best long-term planner here, Claude. It seems Garreg Mach and five years of war around us hasn't changed that aspect of you."
"Hey; gotta stay positive in times like these. Don't want a brooding guy just aimlessly trying to control a country." Claude stated with a small wink, only for Lorenz to raise one of his eyebrows as he smiled.
"More like you are an unorthodox leader trying to keep a country together, Claude. Although those unorthodox tactics might be the one advantage we have over both the Kingdom and the Empire." Lorenz stated, as by that point it was Claude's turn to raise one of his eyebrows.
"What about the tech the old man gave us? Not to mention Sento's presence?" He asked him, as the Gloucester noble simply turned to Claude, the two stopping in the middle of the hallway.
"As much as what the old man and his motley crew gave us helps, I would rather not immediately uncover it. Even both of us could agree...it's rather moot to reveal all our hands so early. It could be a detriment to the war effort." Lorenz argued, as Claude simply stared at him with somewhat of a blank stare.
"Or it could instill enough fear in our enemies to the point where they'll surrender and we can all go home, peace and all!" Claude jested, as Lorenz's face morphed into one of seriousness.
"Claude...even you know that won't happen. Sento mentioned there were more than just him present. Not to mention the implications either side might have since we hold not only the Knights of Seiros but on top of that, we also hold the man who created that technology. Imagine if the Empire caught wind of him here; they would most likely push the majority of their forces straight to Deidriu just to hold him hostage. Or worse…" Lorenz replied, as the two simply stood there for the moment. The air in the room felt a little bit tense, especially in such a cramped base like a hallway.
"Well...I'm sure we'll cross that bridge when we get there." He told them, as they decided to continue walking. Eventually, after a while, the two arrived at a set of big doors, the sound of arguing and yelling being heard on the other end.
"How long has this…"
"A whole week now. I'm surprised that most of the lords hadn't started a fistfight in the halls with how they're very much...patriotic about their stance on the war. Especially with their neutrality." Lorenz told Claude, as his face turned into that of concern.
Claude understood that concern very well.
And Lorenz saw exactly how Claude was looking at him.
"Do not worry; I will hopefully convince my father not to go to war. Or to break away. Acheron's a cocky man, but he forgets that Lord Gloucester also had a son that learned how to be exactly that from him."
"And what…"
"If it comes to that, I will stick with you Claude. I somehow braved through Garreg Mach with you and the Deer; a few more years of my life being wasted shouldn't be too difficult. You'll need someone to reign you in from the more free-thinking members of our team." Lorenz replied, as Claude simply gave a hearty laugh, that laugh being overshadowed by the sounds of yelling from behind the door. And the sound of a woman screeching.
"Well...looks like we've got our work cut out for us." Claude stated, as he cracked his neck a bit.
"Let's do this."
And thus, the leader of the Leicester Alliance, one Claude von Riegan, pushed the big doors open with his two hands, as he walked straight into the mess that was the Alliance's politics.
—
(Later that night…)
As dawn turned to dusk on the port city, the arguments continued. Except they were centered towards Claude.
"That is improbable, Lord Riegan. If it is true that the Empire is planning to assault the Great Bridge of Myrrdin, I suspect we will be at a disadvantage staying neutral in our current condition." One of the eight people in the room stated to Claude, as he stood in the center of the parliament room. Surrounding him were 5 people who Claude recognized as the important lords of the Alliance. At least out of those that could even make it. Lorenz stood by the Alliance leader's side alongside another woman, who wore a mixture of different shades of yellow clothing-wise, a rapier on her side, sheathed.
"Yeah, but I would rather we don't send all our troops there. Imagine the propaganda they could bring to us if we strike first. We would be seen as the bad guys in that case." Claude argued, before one of the other lords, this one this time in quite the jester-like clothing and blond curly mustache decided to interject.
"And what happens then? We stay and let the Kingdom be destroyed by the main threats, Claude? I'm not surprised a lackluster individual like your…" he began, before his eyes laid on the woman from before. They bored into him, like he was staring into his personal hell. It was enough to shut him up, as Claude sighed.
"Yeah; thanks for the useless interjection, Weathervane. Anyways, to conclude this meeting, I only say to stand strong. I'm sending some of our troops to meet up with the Kingdom at Fort Merceus. Hopefully, we'll be able to end this war quickly. And hopefully, the Empire won't recognize the Alliance's support efforts. This meeting is adjourned."
As the lords filed out through the big doors they came from, Lorenz and the woman turned to Claude, as he turned to them.
"Looks like Acheron's getting a little risky regarding his attitude. I'd guess that was you who put that new dent in the wall near where Acheron's head formerly was, Commander Judith?" Lorenz asked
"Well, he wouldn't shut his mouth. So I simply threatened to shut it personally. Don't see a big problem with that. House Gautier's lord even agreed with me on that note." Judith stated, shrugging before turning to Claude. "Now, boy. To answer your question, no. As much as I would enjoy getting Garreg Mach back in action, I wouldn't want to risk valuable resources. Especially with what I've heard regarding the Empire moving on Myrrdin."
Claude for his part, said nothing. Instead, his face morphed into that of contempt.
"Don't look at me like that, boy. You know damn well the importance of that bridge. As much as I want to support Faerghus at this point, we just don't have the resources. Not now at least." Judith stated with a sigh, as Claude simply gave his own sigh. "Now, if there's nothing else, I have to get going. The forces for House Edmund and my own house can't command themselves."
With that, the Commander took her leave, leaving just Lorenz and Claude in the massive room. Once the doors were shut and Judith's footsteps were no longer heard, Lorenz turned to Claude, as he saw a familiar smirk on his face.
"...you're still going through with the plan, aren't you?" Lorenz asked with a quiet sigh, as Claude's smirk simply got wider.
After another long sigh, Lorenz proceeded to nod.
"Fine, Riegan. Just know I can't get you out of this one. I have my own problems regarding my father and Acheron." Lorenz stated, Claude giving a small nod.
"Don't worry; I'll get out in one piece. And hopefully with a new base of operations." Claude winked, as the two parted ways.
Although Claude had an external smirk, inside, his thoughts were of one thing.
Worry.
—-
"...and that's how I somehow managed to come here." Claude ended with, as Petra simply stood there, just a little surprised.
"So the Alliance is much like the Kingdom currently?" Petra asked, Claude nodding in agreement.
"Exactly! And as for Hilda, she just wanted to revisit the old place. Something about memorabilia her and Leonie had left a while ago in some secret compartment." Claude replied, chuckling.
"So I see." Petra curtly said, before looking downstairs.
"Shall we, my lady?" He asked somewhat charmingly, as the two made their way down.
As they did, they saw Bernie simply sitting by with her bow, as Shamir and Catherine made some light talk. Dorothea and Hilda simply chuckled at one another. Probably at old gossip.
Shamir eventually noticed their arrival, as everyone looked to the two.
"Now that everyone's here, we should make a move on. Get to Garreg Mach before the wildiife becomes more predatory." Shamir stated, the group simply nodding.
"Don't worry; we actually decided on a somewhat decent plan for once." Catherine assured the group. It somewhat eased Bernie, who eventually prepared to follow them.
"March!" Catherine ordered, much to the amusement of Claude and Shamir as the group followed their way to Garreg Mach.
As they were marching, Petra lagged behind a little bit, as the Cross-Z Dragon floated its way near her.
"What do you want, Dragon?" She asked, as she noticed it latched the Build Driver on its mechanical talons. It landed in her hands, as Claude decided to follow alongside Shamir, both of them lagging behind to see what Petra and the mechanized tiny companion was doing.
"Huh...you know, I don't think I'm ever gonna get used to that thing flying around me all the time. Might be stalking me in my sleep." Claude stated out of nowhere, as the Cross-Z Dragon roared at Petra.
"Hm?" She asked, noticing the log from before. The dragon seemed to offer to decode whatever Sento his from her.
"Oh? A secret, hm? What is the wise, great dragon hiding from us?" Claude jested, as Shamir simply looked a little curious herself at whatever the mysterious scientist was hiding from the group.
Petra looked to the two, then at the dragon. Afterwards, she sighed and gave a nod to the dragon.
The dragon simply took a moment, shutting its screen off. After a bit of silence, the dragon opened its screen back up, the previously encrypted part of the recent log Sento placed in became decoded. But not entirely. The second part of it was encrypted still.
Although what was on it that was decoded certainly piqued the curiosity of the group staring at it.
Additional Notes: Hazard Trigger still missing. Same with Grease and Mad Rogue. Rhea and Professor Byleth are still missing. Seteth and Flayn moved to Fhirdiad, to my knowledge. Thankfully, Cross-Z and Build abilities are still held in my hands. Rogue's with the Adrestian Empire. Hoping to talk to him. Possibly end the war, focus on stopping Evolto from whatever he's planning.
?
The three were all kinds of confused.
"What is this Hazard Trigger?" Petra stated out loud. Only the three could hear her say this.
"Huh...Grease and Mad Rogue, huh? So Rogue's with Adrestia? Well…looks like our new friends might possibly even the tables a bit if that's the case." Claude murmured, referring to Petra, Dorothea and Bernie. Alongside the not-present Banjou of course.
Shamir simply stared at the last part of the hidden notes.
"You hide a lot of things, Sento Kiryu. I hope you'd be able to answer them when the time comes. Especially if it's as dangerous as you claim." She thought, as she noticed the group up ahead stopped. The marketplace before the actual academy laid ahead, as Catherine motioned them to the wall as the group could hear fighting going on inside the former market of the Monastery.
"...Petra, Hilda, with me. The rest of you, mind covering us from behind?" Catherine replied, as she motioned the two to come with them.
As they entered through the gates into the marketplace, they saw the bodies of who looked to be looters there, numbering at least a dozen or more. Up ahead, they could see a visible swing of a very familiar saber up ahead, as it extended to swing on a bandit, cutting him off of his life.
As the body of the looter dropped, they could recognize the figure in mostly black who was responsible for the death. His hair seemed wildly different, being that of a light sea green. His sword retracted itself, the glow the sword once had dissipating. His back was turned on the three.
"Professor?" Petra asked inquisitively, as the person in question turned around, quickly raising his unique sword at the group. Catherine raised Thunderbrand in case he accidentally lashed out assuming they were hostiles.
And thus, one former Professor and mercenary Byleth Eisner realized his students were here. And Catherine too, of course.
—
(?, 24 hours before present time)
Green eyes shot open. A dark void surrounded the man, say for the sole exception of a throne sitting atop a set of stairs, sitting by its lonesome.
"Finally! You're awake! I swear, even after we merged, you tend to never change!" The other exception, a very angry floating little girl with hair that can only be described as an unusual blend of green, orange and white said as she went straight up in Byleth's face.
"It's been five years, Byleth! Five! Years!" She shouted, as Byleth was startled by the screaming definition of insanity staring in his face.
"Five...years?" He asked with a monotone voice, as he slowly made his way up, using the sword on his side to help himself stand up and balance properly.
"Yes! Five years! The world has changed quite a lot since you were gone!" The floating girl replied, as Byleth looked toward her. "I happened to poke into the minds of one of your students while they were unconscious."
"And?" Byleth stated in one word. He wasn't really in the mood to speak as much as would in a case like this. Or question just what Sothis had done.
"And what I found is that somehow, the hands of time have changed in ways I hadn't expected." The girl stated, as she simply stared towards him. Her face morphed from that of anger, to that of more boredness, as she floated her way around him. "Somehow, new factors that had previously not been present are here. And for once, we have nothing to do with it. It'll be rather interesting to see what comes of it."
As Byleth comprehended literally anything the little girl stated, she looked towards him in silence. After a small while of the two blankly staring at each other, the girl became visibly frustrated, eventually going back up in his face.
"What are you standing there for like a tree? Wake up!" She stated, as Byleth began being engulfed by the darkness once more.
"Sothis…" was all Byleth was able to weakly muddle out, before he was blinded by the void that followed.
—
(Near Remire, 16 hours before present day)
Byleth once again woke up. But unlike the void that was his mind, he instead felt splashes of water crawling across his back.
Then he realized he was gently being sent through a calm river downstream.
He briefly clutched onto his familiar sword, which still stayed sheathed but rather felt...old. Worn out, in its own way. But it was still very warm. And very much active for use.
He swam his way out of the calm river, as he managed to reach solid grown, panting quite a bit. He looked at himself in the calm waters of the river.
Nothing it would seem had changed in the slightest since the last time. His hair however, was long, down to his shoulders at this point. It would be enough for him to be mistaken as a woman by some ignorant folks or kids. But that was the least of his concerns.
"At least I still have the Sword of the Creator." Byleth thought, before looking up towards the academy.
He knew he had to check the Academy first. See if anyone was even alive there. He looked back at whatever remained of Remire Village in the distance, a subtle grim look on his face.
He didn't want to be reminded of what happened there.
He proceeded to trudge onward towards the academy, sighing as he pulled out his Sword of the Creator in case.
—
As the much more shaken Byleth stared down his former peers, he slowly moved the Sword of the Creator away from them, slowly placing it away. Catherine kept her own sword, Thunderbrand armed to her hands. Most likely in case of anyone trying to sneak up on the group.
Petra and Hilda however looked surprised, loosening the grip on their weapons.
"Professor? We thought you died!" Hilda was the one to break the silence, as he stared at them, just as shocked as them about their vastly different looks. Minus Catherine of course; her face was less of shock and more of a smirk.
He had to question that later. For now though, he noticed additional recognizable faces. Although ones he didn't expect, as they approached behind the three.
As the other four ranged people of the group met up with the others, Byleth couldn't help but to raise his eyebrow. Half from his house during the academy days, half not. It was rather unexpected.
"Hey, Teach; why am I not surprised to see you here? It's like whatever god decided to give us a thought to be dead Professor and the powers of Cross-Z!" Claude brought up with a sense of confidence, as Byleth looked hell of confused. Obviously not showing it.
"Cross-Z? What is a Cross-Z?" He asked, as the group heard shuffling from further inside the old monastery.
"Are they?" Catherine asked out loud, before realizing exactly what they were doing.
Pushing Byleth out of the way, she stormed further in as Shamir sighed.
"Looks like we've got a battle; and here I thought we were gonna have a feast for this fortune." Claude stated, sighing alongside the mercenary.
"You and me both." Dorothea chimed in, giving a somewhat disappointed look as she readied her magic, her and Claude following suite.
Byleth turned to those remaining, that being a silent Bernadetta, Petra, Shamir and Hilda.
"We will hopefully be able to explain everything to you once everything has calmed down." Shamir replied, nodding as she looked towards the remainder of them. "I'll make sure the rest of them don't end up in some sort of trap."
And with that, she eventually ran towards Catherine and them, leaving Byleth with the other three. And the sound of more looters being lured towards the marketplace.
Byleth simply huffed as he pulled out the Sword of the Creator. The rest pulled out their own weapons, as Bernadetta nocked an arrow.
This was indeed going to be a fight.
—
As Catherine busted into the area, she could see a multitude of bandits in the abbey leading to the second floor. It was clear their leader was attempting to bust into the old archbishop's chambers. And based on the duffel bags that were glowing on some of the bandits, it was obvious that they were looting a rather specific item; the Crests.
And as a Knight of Seiros, she wouldn't allow that.
As the Knight pulled out Thunderbrand, her sword arced with electricity, as she immediately struck down an unsuspecting bandit, making her presence known to the rest of them. And they promptly did what any bandit would do.
Some immediately tried to make a run out of there, only to be shot down by arrows courtesy of an approaching Claude and Shamir. Others stayed firm, a couple of them armed with axes immediately making the stupid decision to charge right at the Knight.
"This will be the last worst decision of your lives, boys!" Catherine shouted, deftly avoiding one such swing as she used the arcing electricity plus a well time knee to the chest to electrocute the poor bandit.
She looked to the other one as it too earned the same treatment with a blast of Thoron, courtesy of Dorothea.
Of course, being too blind with rage, she marched her way forward ignoring her, as she moved to the side to avoid a blast of Fire from a Bandit, as she proceeded to allow an arrow to pierce the man fatally, courtesy of Claude. Who at that point had caught up with them. Wielding Thunderbrand, she slashed another bandit with it, before quickly switching targets and clashed with a third.
"Catherine, slow down!" Shamir commanded, nocking an arrow quickly into her Silver Bow, as she fired at a Thief attempting to stab Catherine from behind. "We're going in blind here!"
"They're looting the damn monastery, Shamir! I'm not allowing them to take what's left of Lady Rhea's away! Not now; not again!" Catherine shouted through somewhat angry, yet pained tears as she broke the guard on the bandit she was fighting, quickly kicking him to the ground before breaking his neck with a landing of a foot on it.
Catherine then noticed up ahead, someone commanding the last two, more beefy thieves armed with a Lance and Broadsword respectively.
The one behind them seemed to cower, himself only armed with a Steel Sword. Most likely their leader.
Catherine made a rush for it, as she grabbed one of the dead bandit's axe's, hurling it right at their leader. For his sake, he got out of the way, as the axe landed where his head would've been, had he not moved.
"That wench is crazy as hell! Kill them or something!" The leader attempted to shout, as the two bandits charged right in. More appeared behind him. Probably those from further within the cathedral.
"Why did I know this would happen?" Shamir mumbled to herself, as she grabbed the Silver Sword Petra gave to her, looking to Claude and Dorothea.
"You two, stay in the back. Try to give us some covering fire. I'll go stop my partner from getting overwhelmed. I have a feeling she'll need the help." Shamir replied, as she didn't await a response from either one of them, jumping right into the fray to save her fellow partner, kicking a bandit that attempted to attack Catherine through the back away from her partner.
It was clear she was not the best with a sword, as she mostly relied on a combination of simple slashes and kicking any enemy bandit coming her way. Claude attempted to help by shooting down any bandits that could've been coming her way with Failnaught, whilst Dorothea tried to lessen the health and armor of the big bandits blocking their leader's way, as Catherine charged headfirst into the fray towards the bandit leader.
"Protect me!" The bandit cowardly yelled, panicking as the charging woman proceeded to jump straight up in the air, aerially slamming her sword down on one of the bandits; specifically one that was right in the middle of trying to resist Dorothea's Thoron spell, as he got hit with both; causing him to be nothing more than charred ashes.
She turned to the second one, as the bandit lunged his Lance, it successfully denting Catherine's chestplate.
"...now you made me mad." She angrily mumbled, stabbing her own Thunderbrand sword into the bandit, while Shamir was seen slashing her last bandit right in the center of his chest with her own Silver Sword.
It just solely left the bandit leader, who, realizing that the only way out was blocked by four highly trained people, not to mention any other option would land him dead or worse, he proceeded to make the stupid decision to charge as well. With his Steel Sword.
Catherine easily was able to kill the bandit leader with a simple stab to the stomach with Thunderbrand. As she let go of the blade from his stomach, the bandit leader's body slumped to the ground unceremoniously.
"He isn't the leader." Shamir simply blurted out, the group immediately turning to the archer as she put away her silver sword.
Catherine looked confused.
"He certainly looked like it. Unless…"
[Steam Shot! Cobra!]
Shamir and Catherine both dragged Dorothea and Claude into cover as a hazy phantom of a cobra almost went past them. The sound of an explosion laid where the cobra was, leaving a hole in the wall.
Followed by clapping.
"Great work. For a couple of highly trained protectors of Lady Rhea, you certainly suck at situational awareness. And your job, if this entire place is anything to go by." Blood Stalk stated, as he laughed, the actual bandit leader following. He looked almost exactly the same as the one they stabbed. With the sole exception that he had no weapon on him.
"Wait a minute...I remember you!" Claude yelled in reference to Blood Stalk. "You were the one who tried to steal Failnaught a few years ago!"
"And the same one who supported the ransacking of the crests of the Holy Tomb years ago alongside the Empire." Catherine muttered through gritted teeth, raising the blood-stained Thunderbrand. Pallardo simply gave a tiny smirk, assuming he was safe behind the mysterious Cobra Man with advanced technology.
Shamir and Dorothea's eyes widened, as they realized something.
"Wait a minute; you're the same one who framed us!" Dorothea stated in shock, as Shamir couldn't help but stare down Blood Stalk. Then at the situation; see if there was any way out. He simply gave a bow to them.
"Guilty as charged." He stated, the four noticing multiple additional bandits coming back up. A couple low-level magic users by the looks of it in rags. Alongside typical bandit and thief-like beings, armed with swords, axes, lances. The typical expectations for being a bandit. "An honor to have a Mittlefrank Opera singer in our presence."
Dorothea winced at that, as she looked at the various different bandits surrounding them, aiming to kill.
"Pallardo, remember that little thing I told you about?" Stalk whispered, as said bandit leader took out the Phoenix Fullbottle.
"You know what to do?" Stalk asked, as Pallardo gave a confused look. Stalk then looked to the rest of the bandits.
"Knock them out. I have use for them." Stalk stated, as the bandits charged right at the four from all sides.
Unfortunately, while Claude, Dorothea and Shamir stayed together, Catherine pulled a ballsy move and charged headfirst towards Stalk and Pallardo.
"...shit." Stalk stated, as he immediately nabbed the Fullbottle from Pallardo, before slamming it back into the bandit leader's neck.
"Wh...Wha...aaa...AAAHH!" He shouted in absolute terror, as his body turned into some purple sludge.
"What in Seiros's name…" Catherine muttered, as she narrowly avoided a shot via Blood Stalk's TransSteam Gun.
"My my, if it isn't Thunder Catherine herself coming to face me in single combat...we missed our little chance back in Oche. And you have something I want." Blood Stalk stated, as he pulled out a second weapon from literally nowhere. A very strange looking sword by the looks of it. Coated in black and grey with a thin actual blade at the end. Not to mention some sort of weird handle on the side of the unusual sword coated in yellow, Blood Stalk twisting it twice.
[Ice Steam! Elec Steam!]
As the strange sword charged with electricity, so too did Catherine's Thunderbrand as she looked quite pissed off. To say the least.
"What...what have you done to these people?" She muttered, her voice shaking in anger, her hands tightly wrapped around the hilt of her sword.
"Simple...I evolved them to something better. Now, I'm sure this'll be a warm-up for when who I'm actually looking for comes along...but I'm sure you'll be a nice appetizer." Stalk stated quite sarcastically, as Catherine made a disgusted face at the statement, before the two charged right at one another.
—
(Meanwhile…)
As that battle began, another was reaching its end.
"Petra, behind you!" Bernadetta yelled out, as the Brigidian ducked, an arrow shot into an approaching bandit's chest. Then two more arrows also to the chest, the bandit landing dead.
Petra simply gave a nod towards Bernie, as she herself didn't realize a bandit armed with a dagger approaching the archer.
Unfortunately, that bandit's stealth was not as quiet as he thought, as he earned a brutal punch to the side, courtesy of Hilda. Who then proceeded to swing her axe to end its life.
"You alright Bernie-Bear? Can't have you die today; Dorothea would kill me!" Hilda said enthusiastically despite the grim situation they found themselves stuck in.
All three had to duck as the extended mode of the Sword of the Creator swung it's way over their heads, slashing down any enemy archers or magi-users present behind the three.
As the sword retracted itself into its normal form, the stone-faced Byleth stared at his fellow ex-students, as the three stood back up.
"Thanks, Professor!" Hilda told the group with jubilee, as she looked ahead. "We should rescue Claude and them!"
"That we should." Petra stated, as something hit her hard on her insides. A feeling of...familiarity. But a bad type. It went to the point where she keeled over, falling to the ground.
"Petra; are you okay?!" Bernadetta asked in worry, as Byleth eyed the area for any sign of any possible enemy that could be responsible for the Brigidian's sudden collapse.
She started to hear something enter her head. Sounding quite familiar.
"...Stalca….Falaci..."
It sounded muddled. Absolutely making no sense in the slightest. But somehow, she had a feeling with that voice where it was from that she remembered. But more importantly...she felt his presence. As if it was both repulsed and attracted to it. And she finally recognized it. Specifically, on how she could be the only one who understood it. It was in Brigidian after all.
"Blood Stalk." Petra whispered to herself, standing straight back up. She noticed that the Cross-Z Drgaon most likely felt it too, as it zoomed down towards the Brigidian, throwing her the Build Driver. She caught it, as the rest gave prying eyes to the Driver.
Byleth especially. The phantom of Sothis, for which only he could see, floated near him, staring at the foreign Driver.
"I seem to feel as if that thing has...familiarity to me. But yet I can't touch on where I've seen that from." Sothis blankly stated, before yawning. If an invisible spirit of a Goddess could somehow be tired.
The goddess disappeared, as the Cross-Z Dragon landed right on the Build Driver.
[Wake Up! Cross-Z Dragon!]
"You...wish for me to use this against him? If he is indeed present, dragon?" Petra asked the device. No response came out of it...yet it was obvious based on what it did that it wanted her to do so.
She latched the driver onto her waist, as she looked towards the group.
"You might want to get out of the way." She warned, as she began cranking the side of the driver.
As the setup for Cross-Z's armor formed around her, her body felt much more active. More alive. Her body entered a fighter's position, much like how she had first witnessed Banjou's transformation so long ago.
[Are You Ready?]
"What the…" Byleth started, looking quite literally shell-shocked at whatever was going on. Hilda too, looked confused. Less so, though.
"Huh...so that's what Claude meant." She stated quite vaguely, as Petra took a couple of deep breaths.
"...I am the ready!" She shouted, as the Cross-Z armor formed around her.
[Wake Up Burning! Get Cross-Z Dragon! Yeah!]
As Kamen Rider Cross-Z looked at herself in surprise that she once again was able to transform, Byleth simply looked baffled. Nothing in his life, despite everything thrown at him could prepare the Ashen Demon for whatever the hell he was witnessing.
Sothis for his part, didn't show up. But it was clear that she would've had the same thought too.
"Probably will have to question her next time around." Byleth thought up in his head, as he stared at his old student, now turned into a blue Draconic warrior. Kamen Rider Cross-Z.
"This...feels different than last time." She stated to herself out loud. Then Cross-Z remembered what Banjou told her much earlier.
"You'd need a bigger Hazard Level than that. Like, 3.2 or something."
Hazard Level: 3.47
"So I see…" she said, as she looked back towards her peers. Bernie didn't look surprised; after all, she was the first beyond just her and Banjou to witness the form in action. Hilda was surprised, but strangely not as much. More curious at the form itself.
Byleth however, was a completely different story.
He was absolutely baffled by the presence. It reminded him way too much of the demonic beasts of the past.
Not to mention whatever the hell he witnessed took down Rhea. Except to somehow form armor out of a single belt…
The man with a somehow extendable bone sword was somehow perturbed by the presence of technology.
Meanwhile, Hilda inspected the armor, looking around it.
"Look, I'm no fashion expert on armor but...I'm jealous." Hilda stated, with a light wink, as Petra looked rather uncomfortable at the rather awkward situation. Considering the dead bodies and the somewhat quiet marketplace that was formerly Garreg Mach, the only sounds being that of the teeming wildlife around them and the distant sounds of screaming bandits, as they were slain.
Then a distant explosion from across the bridge was heard.
"Looks like the other half of our group is in danger." Byleth muttered in quite the obvious situation, as he ran towards where the other half of the group went.
"Ugh...Claude owes me triple for the amount of work I have to do here." Hilda mumbled jokingly, before grabbing her axe from a nearby wall, as she skipped her way after Byleth. Leaving just Bernie and Cross-Z there.
"Do you have any idea how to control that?" Bernie asked with a hint of worry present in both her voice and face.
Cross-Z stayed back, as she looked towards both the BeatCrosser sword and her hands.
It almost felt like she had done this for years in her head. She couldn't quite explain it at all, but yet she felt more experienced and relaxed in the suit now more than she had previously.
"...I think I do." Petra told Bernie with confidence, despite her feelings saying otherwise.
Bernie smiled, as she looked towards where their fellow allies had gone. And realized that they had left them.
"Hey; wait up!" Bernie yelled, lugging her Steel Bow as she gave chase towards the other two.
From there it left solely Cross-Z there. And a sole thought laid in her mind before she gave chase to rescue her comrades.
"I hope you are doing better Banjou. I don't want to lose any more people I consider family."
—
As the group busted into the cathedral across the bridge, they could see the scene laid out on them. Shamir was busy, literally kneeling with a visible gash across her right knee, attempting to take down as many bandits as she could. Catherine, looking worst for the wear but still clearly standing was ahead, deadlocked with Blood Stalk as the lightning from either of their blades dashed across the room, setting certain wooden objects alight and causing an overall bigger mess in the room. Bags containing artifacts and what looked to even be a few Crests laid strewn alongside their captors, dead as they desperately clutched their weapons, arrows and burn marks across their bodies. Meanwhile, Claude danced across the room with Failnaught, taking down what he could whisky on the room, while Dorothea attempted to toss whatever magic she knew to try and weaken the bandits, though didn't dare try and enforce the storm brewing between the duel that was happening on the other side of the room.
In other words, it was a really big disaster. And the four had arrived just on time, it would have seemed.
"Oh, you're late Professor; mind helping out a little?" Claude Said in an unusually serious tone, sighing as he attempted to tend to a relatively minor wound that Dorothea had concurred, most likely from the battle that happened in there. Shamir was nearby, using her Silver Bow as she knocked down yet another bandit.
"Petra...didn't anticipate that you would actually turn into that...armor?" Shamir stated in a bit of confusion, though didn't even stare at the group as she grabbed another arrow from what looked to be her and Claude's reserves. They were running low.
"Professor Shamir; you're hurt!" Bernie replied, rising to her aid.
"I'm fine, kid." Shamir bluntly told her, as she attempted to shrug off her efforts to keep her down, and more importantly stop her from trying to do anything. Bernadetta eventually built up enough confidence to actually began slowly healing her with the weakest healing spell she knew, as she added her arrows to the reserve.
Meanwhile, Cross-Z and Byleth simply looked to the downed Claude.
"Don't worry Teach; we'll be okay. Might want to help Lady Catherine though; think she's in a hell of a lot more danger than us." Claude commented, as he noticed Hilda's approach to them.
"Claude...you're hurt." Hilda stated with a tinge of sadness.
"Gah...I'm fine, Hilds. Go help Teach and them." Claude stated, trying to rub her off his back, as the sound of fierce fighting was heard ahead.
Hilda simply sighed at Claude's decision to do so. And she made it adamantly clear.
"Right Claude. But you owe me a lot for this." Hilda stated, as she rushed towards her teacher and Cross-Z.
It left Claude and a somewhat okay Dorothea, who sighed as she gave a weak, sad smile.
"She still hasn't changed much from the academy days. Same with you Claude." Dorothea stated, as Claude gave a small smile.
"Gotta keep some of your sanity in this war somehow." Claude replied, as he grabbed Failnaught off the floor, nodding as he provided additional ranged support alongside Shamir.
Which left Hilda, Byleth and Cross-Z rushing at the aid of Catherine. The two had clearly been going at it for quite a while; Blood Stalk didn't look any more exhausted than he was when first fighting the Knight.
Catherine looked a bit worse for wear. Her armor had blotches of black on her formerly pristine white armor; electricity sparked around the two, their swords in the middle of some type of clash against one another.
Cross-Z's blood began pumping. Her anger was somewhat contained, but threatened to burst out. Here stood the one responsible for the near death of one of the only people she could truly consider close to her. And on the verge of killing another protector. Maybe not of her...but of the people.
Blood Stalk seemed to notice, as he turned to them.
"Ah; MacNeary! Joyous of you to join us on this occasion!" Blood Stalk sarcastically stated in a casual manner, despite the obvious battle around them. Not to mention who he currently was fighting with.
"Wait...this is the so-called 'Blood Stalk' you mentioned?" Hilda whispered to Cross-Z, as a simple nod was seen by the Rider, as she looked towards Blood Stalk.
"Finally; was looking for some actua…" Blood Stalk began saying, before being interrupted as an extended Sword of the Creator slashed him in the chest, sending him flying a small distance and more importantly, off Catherine, who let out of a huff.
"Took you long enough." She said with a small sigh as she used Thunderbrand to support herself up, shakily succeeding.
"Retreat for now Catherine. We'll handle it from here." Byleth told her, as Catherine stared at him, blood dripping down her mouth.
"...fine". She stated after a bit of silence, making her way over to Shamir, as she nearly collapsed on the ground next to Claude and Dorothea.
Which just left the remaining three standing close-range members against Blood Stalk, as he stayed on the floor.
"Oh, you just had to interrupt me, didn't you 'Ashen Demon'? Never interrupt a man when he's speaking!" Blood Stalk shouted; wagging his sword in their direction. Byleth stayed stone-faced as ever.
"For Banjou...and for Brigid. Your reign ends here!" Cross-Z shouted with confidence, as she charged at the downed Blood Stalk, Beat-Crosser in hand ready to strike it down.
Blood Stalk noticed the bags filled with crests that the now-predominantly dead looters attempted to steal. Grabbing one, a Crest of Daphnel, he quickly slid it into the former purple sludge that was Pallardo. The Crest ignited with the ooze, as a bright light shined throughout the giant room, temporarily blinding everyone with it.
After a brief moment, a horrendous screech could be heard. Like a Hawk, except it sounded more demonic. More monstrous in its regard.
"Wh…" Cross-Z tried to say in shock, as a grey humanoid beast of some kind emerged. The symbol of Daphnel laid on its head, shining a bright gold. It's humanoid form contained mostly grey, looking like a deformed bird, beak and all replacing the mouth. The eyes looked human, it being the only actual recognizable human thing beyond its overall shape. Jagged grey wings formed across its back, almost like death itself had sprouted it.
It looked as if even Blood Stalk was surprised by the transformation.
He quickly composed himself though, slowly laughing.
This quickly garnered the attention of everyone in the room, who turned to the mysterious armored cobra. Even the few bandits remaining turned and stopped, gawking at the monster before them.
"Allow me to introduce you to Fodlan's newest creation; the FalconCrest Smash!" He shouted as if he had just come up with the name for the monstrosity on the spot.
As it cawed an ungodly caw, Cross-Z and the group couldn't help but be...well, let's be honest here, terrified of whatever Blood Stalk conjured up from the former remains of the bandit leader.
"What in Seiros's name is that abomination?" Catherine whispered as she briefly peeked out of her cover, Shamir doing a bit of the opposite and hiding behind cover.
The mercenary turned to her fellow compatriot, a look of absolute neutrality on her. But from the small amount of twitching Catherine could detect on Shamir's face, a little bit of fear rested in her.
"Well...certainly reminds me of how Miklan was back when the whole thing with Sylvain went down." Claude murmured, as he thought up something. He could hear the 'Smash' as it tore apart the few remaining bandits remaining, his eyes closing.
A cruel yell heard in the distance. Garreg Mach was burning. He turned as he heard his comrades and the Blue Lions fight off wave after wave of Imperial soldiers. A sea of screams would be heard across the Academy.
Opening his eyes, Claude grabbed a few additional arrows and Failnaught, as he rushed out of cover.
"What the hell are you doing, Riegan?" Catherine shouted in pain as she tried to rush over, before being sent back as the pain forced her back to cover.
"Hey; stupid bird! Your chow's over here!" He shouted, the horrific bird-like Smash peering its view towards the Riegan.
It then burst into flames, much like the description of a normal Phoenix.
Claude realized how admittedly stupid his move was now.
"...shit." He responded.
"Well well...looks like this is my time to go then." Blood Stalk stated, quickly turning into his red smoke form.
The Sword of the Creator swinging through the smoke only confirmed his disappearance, as in place of one unknown humanoid figure, was literally air and remnants of red smoke.
"...huh?" Was only Byleth's thought, as an eye quickly turned to the admittedly terrified Claude, as he ran, the flaming monster chasing him down.
He threw himself over a downed statue in the massive Abbey the group were in, as he shot a charged shot of Failnaught towards the Smash.
And it went down, skirting straight onto the floor and sliding a bit of a distance.
"Huh...it was that easy?" Claude mused, as fate decided to turn against him, as some type of red energy flowed over him from the glowing symbol of its Crest, as the so-called 'Smash', made its way up.
Cross-Z for her part, decided to actually intervene here, pulling out the only Fullbottle she didn't use. The. Lock Fullbottle.
"Where'd you even get that from?" Hilda commented, clearly actually taking the clever route of not going against the flaming monstrosity head on. Byleth didn't specifically say anything, but it looked like he too was inquiring about the how.
Obviously, there was no time to think about that, considering there was a flaming bird monster fused with a Crest that was lumbering towards Claude like it wanted him for dinner.
Quickly inserting the Lock Fullbottle into the Beat Crosser, she quickly pulled on the bottom of the sword three times.
[Lock! Special Tune!]
It proceeded to emit a loud type of techno beat, forcing most to cover their ears as Cross-Z was confused, apparently immune to the effects of the sword.
"Huh." She muttered, as she quickly prepared herself to charge at the being.
[Mega Slash!]
She charged at the being, as her sword began being coated in yellow, turning itself...into a key?
Cross-Z paid no mind to whatever was happening regarding her Beat Crosser, as she slashed the monster once straight through the waist, followed by stabbing it into the creature, it being stuck to actually do anything. If the monster somehow had human emotions, it would be displaying a level of shock.
Cross-Z remembered something its former user did. Back when they dealt with the bandit group in Nuvelle.
"Maybe if I perhaps used it as a combo…" she stated, as she turned the crank on the Build Driver a little further, her foot preparing itself.
[Ready? Go!]
Her foot arced with some sort of weird blue energy, as Byleth readied his sword, putting it in its extended form as he bought the Rider time, slashing away at the Hawk creature. Shamir and Bernadetta contributed with their shots of the bows, though they had little effect, minus just turning the monster into more of a humanoid pincushion.
"...I think this is how it would work." Cross-Z told herself, as she turned around and launched a roundhouse kick, the phantom of a dragon forming on her foot.
[Draconic Finish!]
The monster was sent slamming into the wall on the other end of the Abbey, as an axe slammed into its arm, keeping it stuck in the wall. That was of course, courtesy of Hilda, who beamed at her contribution to this entire fight. This was of course, followed by a couple weak Elwind spells courtesy of Dorothea, who tried to contribute with her own magic. And finally, Byleth used his extended Sword of the Creator to stab the monster straight in the chest. He was buying time it would seem, as Claude popped up behind him, a charged, ready shot of Failnaught in hand.
"Now this is what I like to call strategy in motion!" He yelled, much to the grunting of his pink-haired ally, as he fired the charged shot straight at the Crest on its head.
It glowed brightly for a brief moment. And then...nothing.
"...huh. Didn't Sento say Smash usually expl…" Claude briefly began explaining, being interrupted by the monster indeed, giving off a brief explosion, smoke blinding and covering the group, causing some to cough.
Although it blinded all, Cross-Z was not fazed at all. If anything, she was looking towards her foot in surprise that she was able to succeed with such a maneuver.
"I do not understand still…" she whispered, as the smoke cleared, a single Pheonix Fullbottle and yet another hole in the wall being the sole remnants of the combo attack. Well, and the Beat Crosser sword, as it too flattered to the ground.
The group was quite literally in shock themselves. Byleth and Shamir obviously never showed it, but Claude and Bernadetta respectively seemed quite shocked.
"We...actually killed that nightmare?" Bernie asked with surprise and an unrecognizable tone in her voice. That of some form of optimism.
"How I lived past that...I don't think I'd want to know." Claude responded to no one as he looked at the body.
Shamir quickly went ahead and picked up the Pheonix Fullbottle, inspecting it in her hands. She twirled it around, a thoughtful look crossing her face.
"This is rather...surprising." She stated, noticing Claude give a confused look. Her thoughts veered in a different direction however.
"Sento mentioned something about a Smash from his world. Could this be what he was mentioning? But...how were they able to then merge with a Crest? Unless…"
Her thoughts would be interrupted by the feeling that someone was eyeing her. Turning, she realized that it was Catherine, who looked at her. She laid close to Shamir, a small smile somehow on her face.
"Catherine." Shamir meekly stated, hoping to get a response over what she wanted.
"Well, partner...that happened. I'll admit; pretty hard fight with that...thing. Could see why Mophead warned us about him beforehand." Catherine whispered, as Shamir simply nodded.
"Sento Kiryu is as mysterious as he is a help. There's more going on; even more than he most likely told us. Things feel like they're changing." Shamir stated. "Especially with making Petra this…'Kamen Rider'. Whatever that truly means."
"Yeah...but still, I'm sure Lady Rhea will most likely know about the things he said." Catherine interjected, only for Shamir to turn to her.
"If she's still alive that is. Catherine...much as optimism helps, we have to look at facts. There might be a possibility she's dead."
The Knight had nothing to say at that point, simply sighing as she laid next to the archer. Shamir sighed as well, not liking this idea, but decided to run with it anyways. They deserved a break, even for a little bit.
Meanwhile, Claude and Hilda both helped Dorothea and Bernie up, the four of them looking at each other.
"...well, I'm probably gonna have nightmares for the next few days. He stated, Bernie nodding in agreement about the bird creature that was just trying to kill them.
"I will admit...we've faced giant birds, and a black beast among most things...but that...monster certainly tops them all. To be transformed like that all due to a Crest…" Dorothea commented, a worried look on her face as she stared at the remnants of where the bird monster once laid. "And see that man...Claude, he framed us. Forced us to leave Edie and them."
"I know. Petra and Shamir caught me up on everything." Claude stated with his own worried look, following the songstress's gaze. "To think that somehow I'd be sympathizing for Edelgard a little more than I have to."
There was no comments from the Knights, but it was at least somewhat clear they were listening in.
"What was his deal anyways? Why a snake of all things? Dosen't really make sense. What, is he slithering everywhere or something like that?" Hilda asked, the group giving either confused stares or shrugs.
They were about as confused as Hilda on the reasoning behind some of this.
"Well, in that case, at least we could all rest now that THAT's over with...after rebuilding the monastery of course. Somehow." Claude said, before a loud bang could be heard from where the group had come from in the first place. Cross-Z turned towards the noise while picking up her Beat Crosser, as she pelted with purple spikes that looked like it came out of thin air.
She was sent flying across the room, slamming on the ground, as her armor broke off her, Petra struggling to get up.
"You just had to say that, didn't you Claude?" Hilda asked as she audibly grumbled.
Everyone else turned to the door as they heard a greater commotion coming from there, weapons being raised from the door.
Except from Claude and Hilda, who stood there at the door. Hilda's face switched to that of having a wide smile whilst Claude sighed, as Byleth ran back to try and check on Petra.
They would recognize those Dark Spikes from anywhere.
"Your savants have arrived!" A very big and beefy man stated as he walked, a big smile on his face. His blonde hair was messy, specialized gauntlets made for punching on his hands. Behind him came a few different people; a Orange-haired woman who clearly beamed when she spotted Byleth. Yet another archer with glasses, as he looked quite worried about the bombastic entrance the group had made.
In the middle of the group, coming after the three mentioned was what looked to be a mage. White hair, much like Edelgard before, flowed down to her shoulders. A tome laid in her hand, as she looked quite angrily towards Claude. A brief sympathetic look was seen towards Petra, probably for attacking her, before she decided to return to a look of anger towards Claude.
"...oh no."
—
Banjou's eyes shot open. He recognized the touch of sand, the sounds of waves crashing against it. The smell of pineapple and rustling of light wind.
Banjou had somehow come back to Brigid.
As he brought himself up, he saw a young 9 year old Petra, playing on the beach. Drawing a strange symbol with one of the leaves from the palm trees nearby into the sand.
Banjou was curious; what could she be writing?
"Hey, mulberry." He stated with a smile on his face, as he kneeled down to the mulberry-haired Petra. "Whatcha writing?"
Petra looked up to him, beaming.
"There was a spirit known for possessing people. He would do ungodly acts to many. People in Brigid called him a night stalker! That he would go into people's dreams! The Spirit of the Dark!" She shouted, giving a small appearance of some fanged being.
He looked at the symbol. Although he couldn't tell exactly what it was, he could see what the symbol was supposed to be. His blood ran cold once he saw it.
"Yo."
A voice from nowhere, made him blink. The sunny, warm beaches of the past turned into a distant, non-visible darkness that encompassed him. The air felt thick, as he began to choke on it. He saw visibly up ahead the Petra he knew from the present, her back turned to him. He spotted the Build Driver's belt wrapped around her waist, a Silver Sword in hand. Dark purple smoke came out from the Build Driver.
As she slowly cranked the driver, that smoke began to surround her. Bind her.
What came out caused Banjou to widen his eyes. In Petra's place was a figure shrouded in pitch-black armor. Jagged edges lined the sides and the chest itself. Cross-Z's helmet laid on its top, it's 'eyes' in a coat of blue and magenta.
It turned around, staring towards Banjou. All Banjou could see was a magenta abyss, staring longingly at its prey.
"P...p." Banjou tried to get out, as the unknown Cross-Z former step closer.
"... !"
—
Banjou's eyes actually shot open for real this time, as his body ached with ridculous amounts of pain. What he opened his eyes upon though, was much different than the fires of the western part of Adrestia. Instead, what he woke upon was what looked to be a room. He heard a small 'eep!' from the side as the pain in his body forced him back down on the bed he was laying on.
A hand helped him in that. He looked to his right side to see the source of the hand, noticing a scruffy looking man with black hair. He looked just a little worried, though his smile at least didn't make it obvious.
"Whoa! Calm down big guy; you just got back from the battlefield; wouldn't want you to overexert yourself there." The scruffy looking man stated, as he kept his hand on Banjou's chest. The man then turned to someone which was on the other side. "Marianne, you can continue. I'll try to make sure the big guy doesn't move too much."
Banjou was inclined to find out who this 'Marianne' was himself, as gave a slow turn with his head. There, he actually made noticed of someone who he would consider a living angel...if those even existed. A beaming smile laid on her face, the light from the candles placed at the nightstands near her, showing her sky blue braided hair. She looked motherly to Banjou.
Or at least, as close as he thought to the idea .
"Please, sir. Stay still and be calm. I won't hurt you." She said soothingly, enough for Banjou to be relaxed, as he laid on the bed.
"Where...am I?" He asked her.
"You're in Deidriu. The capital of the Leicester Alliance. The Knights of Seiros brought you here." Marianne replied, as she slowly placed her hands over Banjou's chest, a light green mist spreading from her hands. A healing spell, most likely.
"Where…" he began, as the scruffy man from before interjected, letting go of Banjou.
"They're fine. They went on foot to avoid detection from the Empire. Should be here in a few days." The man stated, as Banjou felt somewhat satisfied with those answers. Eventually, he was killed back to unconsciousness, as a knock was heard at the door.
"Come in." Marianne softly stated, as the door opened. Sento Kiryu walked in, a shocked look on his face as he saw the state of Banjou.
A lingering question was on his mind however, as he scanned the room.
"Balthus, Marianne...where's Professor Manuela?" Sento asked, as Balthus sighed.
"She's out again. In her room recovering. This whole war's getting to her, Kiryu." The man responded to Sento, as he looked over Banjou.
Silence reigned in the room, as he stared at Banjou. A flurry of memories quickly passed his mind. Memories he remembered from a time long before.
"How's his injuries?" Sento asked, breaking the unknown tension in the room as he turned to look at his unconcious ally.
"His outside looked relatively fine; they're healing. The inside however...I cannot describe. It's as if the pain is trying not to heal itself." Marianne responded with an unsure look, causing Sento to simply sigh.
"So I see. Balthus, would you mind if we have a word? Won't take too long." Sento asked, as he stood up and prepared to walk out the door.
Balthus looked towards Marianne.
"I will be fine on my own. He's sleeping. And the Goddess is looking down on us. Protectingus." She said confidentially.
A simple nod from Balthus, led him to walk up from the chair he was sitting, moving outside and quietly closed the door, leaving just Balthus and Sento in the hallway.
"So...Blood Stalk, huh?" Balthus whispered.
"I suspect so. He's the only one who could do that much damage to a man like Banjou." Sento stated, as Balthus looked at him.
"Same guy we fought in Abyss?"
"The same one."
Balthus gave a small look of thought, before his face morphed into that of a little frustration.
"Why exactly couldn't you have just told anyone else about this? I'd imagine sooner or later, he's gonna be on your tail. On our tail. If he's that threatening to Fodlan…"
Sento simply stared at him, as Balthus continued.
"...what we saw in Abyss. What Yuri. Constance. Hapi. What all of us witnessed down there, is threatening Fodlan, Kiryu. Look…"
He stopped for a moment, as he gave a brief moment of thought.
"The least you could do is tell Claude and Hilda. Those two are the only reason the Leicester Alliance hasn'f fractured itself at this point. And as much as I'm indebted to you for the shit that's happened for the past few years…the very least you could do is make sure that both our sides get paid their due."
Sento simply stared at him. The same actions entered his mind. Rogue and Grease's involvement in the past...and how they lost everything because of it.
No one said a word following that for a time. The two stared at one another, both in thought.
"I'm sure they got their secrets too." Sento tried to argue, as Balthus simply chuckled.
"Sento, everyone has their secrets. But you? Your secret could damn well save this entire country." Balthus emphasized, going a bit close to him.
Sento looked intimidated by Balthus's stature.
"Look, pal...you've got a kind heart and everything. But you got trust issues. And I can sympathize with that. But you need to somehow get more people in the know. I'd be trying to get as many people on my side too if I was a genius scientist with a dark secret."
"There's a war going on Balthus. You think they have enough to worry about?" Sento asked, as Balthus simply smirked.
"And we see the truth. Or at least the part that's important. If I were you, I'd want to keep your friends close. Like you do with Banjou. But save some for the rest of us, alright Sento? We're your allies. Comrades. Or at least the Ashen Wolves will be. Now, if you'll need me, Sento, I'll make sure your other friend doesn't give Edmund over there a panic attack."
With Balthus returning to the chamber involving the healer and former Cross-Z, this solely left Sento in the hallway.
"...Sento, as much of a point that he has, even the Ashen Wolves are unaware of the whole truth. Of what truly lies ahead." He could hear the inner devil inside him claim. Considering his former persona Takumi stood before him, in phantasmic form. "They do not know of the sacrifice needed to do what we must do for the future of this world."
"So why can't we trust them?" Sento mumbled to himself, as Takumi simply stared back at his present self.
"The fates of the original Rogue and Grease will happen to them. And unlike their fates, there might not be a second chance to save them if these drag more than what's necessary."
Sento was contentious. His mind was everywhere, his eyes darting along the dark hallway, only illuminated by moonlight.
"As much as I can guide you, me...you must choose. But if you choose what I think you will, you will have to live with the consequences. We don't live in a world where everything will be peachy at the end of the day. Where we can expect every girl in Fodlan to swoon over us so easily; and where we can be able to truly understand everything. This is a world where change is inevitable, Sento. It's up to us to decide whether to uphold the idea or not."
And with that, Takumi's phantom disspated, leaving a sole, forlorn and lost Sento Kiryu standing in the middle of the moonlit hallway, as thoughts raced across his mind.
And a battle over trust weighed into the complex yet fragile mind that was of a mad genius.
—
AN: Look, I don't usually use end notes for my chapters, but if there's one question I defintley want to ask you readers; do you prefer longer chapters like this? Or shorter chapters, like the previous two? Or do you just don't care? I'm a guy who believes in ACTUAL quality over quantity, but I'd be willing to extend the chapters and try to relegate the same amount of quality as shorter chapters. Obviously, it'll take longer though. Anyhow, have a wonderful rest of your day wherever you are and see you soon.