AN: ….Yo.
Nah, in all seriousness though, welcome back, both old and new readers, both those who read my story a lot and those who are just passing by like a certain Rider…
Anyways, a couple little things before we continue. As I'm sure you're aware, I previously asked the question at the end of the last chapter about the length of the chapters; whether you guys tend to enjoy the longer chapters or the shorter chapters. Obviously, it looks like you guys preferred the longer chapters, and look to be patient enough to wait until the next chapter, and well...here we are!
I might as well also get this out of the way as well, for those of you wondering; I don't have any plans for any stories after this. That saying, if you're expecting stories of this caliber and scale to come after I finished Future Imperfect...probably ain't happening. As I mention, this is a side thing I do; don't really have too much time in my day to exactly do this story more than the important things that goes on. Might do a few one-shots or maybe short stories here and there, but this'll be my first and only ACTUAL fanfic.
Alright, comment time!
linkthetoaoftime - Okay, thank goodness the Golden Deer were done justice. I kinda feared that they would sound too formal for being the most non-formal group of the three houses. Also, thank you for the feedback regarding the chapter length!
ARSLOTHES - Thank you for the feedback!
Anyways, with all that out of the way, I hope you enjoy. I do apologize for the long author's note; just wanted to get that out there. Enjoy. And as always, almost all criticism is appreciated. It's important to look back on your work and understand what you did wrong. Or the cringey shite you did before so you could learn what not to do.
Another question though before I go; what do you think of the story itself? I understand it's different from what you're used to seeing in the crossover section of Kamen Rider fanfics, at least. Just asking to gauge some things.
—
"...oh no."
Claude proceeded to throw himself behind Dorothea, as the songstress was confused at the arrival of reinforcements. Behind the four new arrivals were a vast array of soldiers of various classes; knights, archers, even the occasional mage or two. The majority of them had the brand of a Crest on their personnel. Goneril specifically. Clearly reinforcements from the Alliance that came with the four.
While Claude was terrified, Hilda was quite the opposite. She was exuberant to say the least.
"Hey guys!" She screamed, as her and the orange haired girl ended up in some type of compassionate hug, as the other man with glasses simply sighed, looking towards the Knights of Seiros with the group. And then to his surprise, Byleth.
"Professor; it's an honor seeing you alive right now. It has been a rather tense five years since your disappearance." The glasses-wearing man stated, a smile present on his face, as Byleth looked hella confused.
"Ignatz?" Byleth stated in a bit of surprise, as he was immediately bear hugged by the brawn blonde man with the gauntlets, the Ashen Demon looking like he was about to die of shortness of breath. The brawn man was probably the happiest out of all of them.
"Professor, it's so good to see you again!" He shouted, as Ignatz realized the Professor's current condition.
"Raphael, the Professor might need a little breathing room right now!" Ignatz stated, as the now named Raphael saw what he was doing, letting go of the mercenary as he collapsed to the floor, breathing hard to get back all the air he lost.
"Whoops; sorry Professor, force of habit!" He said, as he gave an embarrassed look.
"It's...fine." He said in relative monotone, the only subtle change in his voice being him finally getting the air into his lungs, as he stood up.
Meanwhile, Hilda and the orange haired girl gleefully hugged each other before letting go.
"Leonie, you look good! Where have you been for the past couple years?" Hilda asked, as she noticed the axe on her back.
"I've been busy. Couple of the local villages out between Ordelia and Goneril territory were being haggled by bandits and a couple pro-Imperial soldiers. Decided to help out a bit. Gotta give back to the people that raised me somehow. Just like Captain Jeralt did before!" Leonie stated, chuckling a little bit.
"I'm gonna guess that's how you found Lysithea over there?" Hilda asked her, as she grabbed the Silver Axe embedded next to the hole in the wall.
"To a degree. Turned out she and General Holstering had heard about where Claude was going and decided to give up some of his soldiers to head there. Picked me up in Ordelia territory and then we picked Raphael and Ignatz up nearby." Leonie explained in brief, Hilda nodding in understanding.
"So why is Lysithea so mad? "
"She wasn't invited."
Meanwhile, as the majority of the group was either resting or idly chatting, Claude was rushing between cover once more, albeit this time attempting to avoid a case of the spell Swarm Z, which intended to slow Claude down. Obviously, she wasn't trying to kill the de facto Alliance leader; if anything, it was more so that she could yell at the poor man about his secrecy in this 'reunion'.
"Why didn't you tell us you were going back to Garreg Mach!" Lysithea yelled, throwing yet another one of Swarm Z towards Claude, as he ducked into cover.
"I thought you were busy with trying to convince your parents about the whole war!" Claude yelled, as he slung Failnaught onto his back, staying into cover. He was waiting, seeing what Lysithea would do next.
"I was; but you could've at least warned us that you were going there!" She yelled, sounding much closer to Claude than he thought. Shaking, he turned his head to visibly notice the woman right up in his face, a sickly and scary-looking green spell in her hands, ripe for activation.
"Can't we just...talk this out, Lysithea? Look, cake!" He shouted, pointing to a random direction across Garreg Mach's abbey. This somehow worked, as Lysithea briefly turned her head in the direction where Claude was pointing. When she turned back around to yell at the Riegan though, all she saw was a blank space of air where Claude was. She witnessed him attempting to rush across the abbey, as she shot a Swarm Z spell towards Claude, as it hit him squarely in the legs. The man's speed drastically reduced, as he realized what he was caught by.
"Damn it." He mumbled to himself, as he collapsed on the floor from the power of his own tripping and gravity, as Lysithea rushed over to him, giving him somewhat of a diatribe about hiding secrets and all.
And while that happened, the rest of the group were welcoming the remainder of the former Golden Deer into the already decent-sized group that was formed.
"So, my brother was worried about me?" Hilda asked, earning a chuckle from Leonie.
"Ask Lysithea. She was the one who brought them and the little she could from her own house here." She replied, before she turned towards Byleth, a beaming smile on her face. "And Professor; long time no see. I've been practicing what you and your dad had taught me from back at the academy. Before all...this."
She made a hand motion to the currently damaged and neglected abbey around them. Some parts of which were still on fire, with mages trying to calm the flames.
Byleth for his part, didn't really respond verbally. Mostly with a nod of respect. It was enough though, as Leonie's smile widened ever more so.
"Well, I'm hungry from all that running! Anyone know where we kept the food?" Raphael asked, turning around to the various confused soldiers still standing outside the entrance to the abbey.
"Raphael; at least wait until we can determine our next move before we stuff our face; who knows if there's still enemies still around.." Ignatz stated with a disappointing look and a sigh. He turned to Byleth for a moment.
"Excuse me Professor; I must make sure Raphael does not accidentally get himself in any major trouble. Still, it's an honor seeing you still alive Professor." He continued, before following Raphael outside.
"...what?" Byleth stated to himself out loud in continued confusion, as Petra was helped up by Dorothea.
"This was...rather unexpected." Petra told them between small heaves of breath, as Dorothea simply stared towards Byleth.
"Well, Professor. It was nice fighting alongside you again, even if we weren't of the same house." She stated to Byleth, as he nodded towards her. He was lost in everything that was going on currently, as nearby, Shamir also helped Catherine up, Bernadetta using the small amount of healing magic she knew to slowly heal Catherine.
"Well, I'd say it was rather fun. Actually had a damn challenge; hadn't felt like that since Lonato's little rebellion." Catherine said with a grin, much to Shamir's annoyance at her optimism in her situation.
"Sometimes, I wonder how we still survive through everything."
"Pure luck!" Catherine stated, that grin ever so present on her face as they looked towards the rest of the Golden Deer, all of whom were too busy interacting with each other to notice the rest of them.
Claude eventually joined them, looking quite sluggish followed by a satisfied Lysithea.
"Hey guys." He said rather tiredly, as they looked toward Claude.
"Claude...explain." Byleth commanded, as Claude looked very much tired at Byleth.
"Sorry Teach; kind of tired right now. All that chasing has made me rather hungry. Ask the Knights; I caught them up on everything."
Byleth took that as a satisfied answer, as he looked to Lysithea.
"Don't worry about me, Professor; I'm just going to make sure the monastery is at least somewhat repaired." She chimed, a smile present on her face. "Nice to see you again! Thankfully, you aren't a ghost!"
And with that random comment, she followed her way outside, leaving an even more baffled Byleth.
"...what?" Was once again his only response, as he turned to see a genuinely chuckling Catherine and a staring Shamir.
"You have a lot to catch up on." She told him, as Byleth stared at her. Dumbfounded at the entire thought in five years, his Fodlan would be more confusing than ever.
—
As the group sauntered off to stare at the sights and all, Petra laid on the floor, looking up at the hole in the roof, showing the shining moonlight that bearer down on the abbey. A smile crossed her face, despite the receding pain from Lysithea's attack. She somehow felt more powerful after that, as the Cross-Z Dragon floated above her, cawing at her.
"What do you wish now, Dragon?" She asked, as it stared at her for a moment. It looked like it was waiting for an answer or question. Petra sighed, as she slowly made her way up, her smile turning into more of a nostalgic look.
"Perhaps we may do this in a more comfortable place." She told the Dragon, it cawing as it followed Petra out. Her fellow ex-Adrestian allies followed.
"It feels rather nostalgic being here." Dorothea stated, as they walked into the cool breeze outside. Goneril soldiers were looking into buildings, searching for any further bandits that might've been hiding or not noticed the commotion.
"Y-yeah...I just hope no one stole anything too important from here. I hope they ignored my room!" Bernie stated, as the two briefly turned to her, before continuing to match their way back towards where they came from.
"This feels rather...bleak, as you would say." Petra stated, having brief trouble with the word as they passed by the Golden Deer going through the various locations that they formally resided in. Obviously, Raphael busted into the cafeteria in search for Garreg Mach's food supplies. Ignatz sighed, following suite. He gave a brief nod towards the ladies before moving into the cafeteria himself.
Leonie and Hilda were seen digging around in the Golden Deer's classroom, the two murmuring amongst themselves. A small chest laid in front of them, probably hidden somewhere.
Petra admittedly didn't want to know whatever they were hiding in there, as she continued on towards the dorms.
Lysithea strangely also began following them, staring at the rather foreign-looking Build Driver still attached to Petra's waist.
"Why do you have Sento's driver?" She blatantly asked, much to Petra's absolute shock, as she quickly turned around.
"What do you mean 'Sento's driver'? This is Banjou Ryuga's belt." Petra concluded, as Lysithea raised a concerning eyebrow, as she looked towards the Build Driver briefly.
"I always see him carrying around that thing whenever he's not in that big room of his back in Deidriu whenever I visit. I was wondering how you got that." She stated, looking around at the driver, taking in its various different distinct features. The color scheme, the weird looking belt and the various different other features. Petra looked rather awkward at this rather thorough inspection of her waist, as Dorothea nervously laughed.
"Lysithea, don't you think it's a little...pervasive to that? At least wait until it's off her waist." Dorothea told the pale-haired magi user, as she sighed.
"Fine. But would I be allowed to look at it when you happen to have a chance?" She asked, as Petra stared at her suspiciously. After a long moment of silence, Lysithea continued.
"...fine, if some of us would. I'd know that despite my better judgement, Claude would probably want to know these things. I mean after all, we are going to be sticking with that for the war." Lysithea gave in, grunting silently.
The three ex-Black Eagles stared at her with a slight look of confusion. After yet another moment of silence, Petra broke it, a small smile on her face.
"That would be best." She told them, as they arrived at the dorms.
"Well...this brings back fond memories. Maybe not for the best, but definitely not the worst." Dorothea commented, Bernie making a mad rush for her room.
The songstress sighed.
"Petra, I'll catch you in a little bit. I'm going to make sure she doesn't run into anything too bad." She explained, before she indeed made her way after the Varley. Leaving just Petra and Lysithea present in the area.
"So, Petra. How has everything been?" Lysithea asked as the two began walking in the direction of the Black Eagles's dorms.
Petra said nothing for the moment, looking at the Build Driver. Then at the Dragon Fullbottle which laid on her hand. And finally, the Cross-Z Dragon floating near the two.
"Rather the crazy." She said somewhat incorrectly. Although it was enough for Lysithea to nod.
"So I see. I'll admit; it has been crazy the last five years. Ever since Edelgard declared war on the rest of Fodlan, everyone has been a lot more suspcious of one another. It's less so in the Leicester Alliance, but from what little I've heard, the Kingdom isn't doing too well." Lysithea explained, as Petra gave a curious glance towards the mage.
"I did not take you for being a gossiper, Lysithea." Petra noticed, as Lysithea gave a slight snicker at it.
"Not usually. Claude insists on having a feast every couple of weeks. Hilda might as well be the leaker of everything outside the Alliance. They've got contacts." She said, much to Petra's ever-increasing curiosity.
"So she's a...leaker?" Petra asked, confused by the term.
Realizing this, Lysithea mentally slapped herself for forgetting Petra's lack of termage regarding certain slang terms.
"It means she basically talks about gossip every meeting. She's how Dorothea is, except she does it every couple of weeks at meetings." Lysithea explained, Petra mouthing an 'oh' in understanding.
After a moment of silence with the sole exception of the two's footsteps, they arrived at the entrance to Petra's dorm.
"If you want, I can stand outside. I don't want to intrude on your room." Lysithea stated, as Petra turned to her.
"It is okay. At least, to me it is." Petra replied with a shrug, as she pushed open the door, leading into her room.
It looked like a mess. Dust littered the room, the window smashed open and cabinets tossed and thrown about. Somehow, the bed remained relatively untouched although it too suffered from neglect and the passage of time , as a blanket of dust covered the sheets.
"Looks like we have a lot of cleaning up to do." Lysithea noted, as she and Petra entered the room.
"To say the least." The Brigidian responded, as the two shuffled in, clearing out the mess that formerly was Petra's room.
Clearing up the floors, the two were quickly able to make the room look somewhat neat, and as the moon rose above the skyline, the light from the celestial body radiating through the window, the two stared at their completed work, as a knock was heard behind the two.
"It's open." Petra responded, as Shamir walked in, staring at the cleaned room. She looked somewhat tired, probably from the battle they had.
"Were you two doing this all night?" The archer asked curiously, staring at the clean room.
"All night? What time is it?" Lysithea asked, confused.
"Almost 2 in the morning. Everyone else went to sleep. Except for myself and the Professor. He seems to be looking over the Academy by the looks of it." Shamir replied, blankly staring at the two.
"Is it already that late?" Lysithea asked.
"Yes. I will admit; after the battle in the abbey, it makes sense that you tend to lose the time of day. Anyways, everyone's preparing to fall asleep. You should get some rest as well, Princess." Shamir told them, as she looked to Petra.
"I will be fine. I am surprisingly not particularly tired currently." Petra explained, chalking it up to her increase in Hazard Level.
Shamir simply nodded.
"Well, then, in that case, I'll be keeping an eye out there. Make sure there's not many other bandits still lying around. Or escaping. Keep an eye open, Princess." Shamir stated, closing the door on the two of them.
After a little moment of quiet, Lysithea took the Build Driver, which was lying on the window still nearby, as she pulled up a chair on a nearby table.
"Petra, would you mind if I stay in your room tonight? I'll be quiet; I kind of want to study Banjou's driver. See what exactly it contains." Lysithea offered. "Never got the chance to do so with Sento."
"She seems quite adamant about studying Banjou's belt." Petra thought to herself, as she gave a brief glance towards the Cross-Z Dragon, it folded up in its compact form also present on the windowsill.
The Cross-Z Dragon gave a blank look. It didn't seem to care too much.
"That is okay. Here." She stated, slowly pulling out her Dragon and Lock Fullbottles to give to Lysithea, who beamed at witnessing the two Fullbottles. The Cross-Z Dragon floated towards Petra as Lysithea got comfortable in her seat.
Petra laid on the bed, as she sighed and rested.
The Cross-Z Dragon simply turned into its more winged formation, as it floated above Petra. She noticed a small candle lit next to her, courtesy of Lysithea, as the moonlight brightened through the window.
The screen from the Cross-Z Dragon showed up, Sento's logs showing up. Specifically, the Cross-Z Dragon highlighted two logs; one from Project BLUE, regarding the Beat-Crosser, and the second from Sento's logs. The log simply stated 'New Riders?'.
"New Riders?" Petra mumbled to herself in somewhat confusion, before remembering Sento's encrypted notes.
"Grease and Mad Rogue still missing."
"Could they be the Riders Sento mentioned?" Petra would mumble to herself further, first clicking on the latter log.
Sento showed up on the screen, happy as he could be. He looked to be fresh out of bed, and wide awake. His face was smiling quite joyfully, as various Fullbottles surrounded him. Some empty, some colored. A small cup of coffee laid next to him, most likely his way of waking up.
"Ah; honestly, I did not think this would be the backup for my personal logs. But considering that whoever stumbles upon this in the future might need to know the heroic adventures of the Kamen Riders of Touto and the other dimensions of Riders...might need to know who they were."
Petra paused it briefly, more questions than anything else on her mind.
"Dimensions...what is that term?" She asked herself in her mind, as she decided to continue on. The Cross-Z Dragon didn't provide any answers as the log played further.
"Anyways, let us start with the first Rider I met. Or...one half of the Rider I met, I guess. He's apparently two halves of the same person, at least from what I could guess. Parado and Emu Hojo. They call themselves Kamen Rider Ex-Aid and Para-DX..."
As Petra was staring at the log focusing on the Riders, Lysithea was looking over the Build Driver in all its metallic glory. She rubbed on the scar that laid on the driver. Curiosity overtook her for a moment, as she gave a closer look at the scar.
"Rather odd; this thing looks rather...sturdy. It being scarred like that must mean that something powerful left this here.." Lysithea musingly concluded, as she moved on to the Fullbottles. Her ears briefly picked up the logs Petra was listening to, but she didn't really mind.
The mage picked up both the Dragon and Lock Fullbottles, staring at them.
"A dragon and a lock. Why these of all things? And why bottles...is it some type of drink?" Lysithea mumbled to herself, as she looked towards the Cross-Z Dragon for another brief moment. She could overhear some of the dialogue from the log. It was interesting to say the least.
"...anyways, this Rider is me. Kamen Rider Build! The genius mind who surpass all, alongside his sidekick Banjou Ryuga! Wherever he is…"
Shouting could be heard from the log, as Sento most likely was yelling out for wherever Banjou was.
"Kamen Rider...Build." Both Petra and Lysithea mouthed at the same time.
"What does that mean, Build? Does he construct stuff?" Petra asked out loud, mostly to the dragon as Lysithea was left in thought.
"Maybe so. Maybe not." Lysithea mused to herself, as she looked towards the two Fullbottles. She noticed that there was indeed room for the two Fullbottles to be inserted into the Driver.
"I wonder…" she began, inserting the Dragon Fullbottle into the left-most space of the Build Driver.
[Dragon!]
The announcement surprised her a little, as a brief image of a dragon symbol appeared in front of the driver, disappearing quickly afterward.
"What type of technology is this?" The white-haired mage asked herself, staring at the other Fullbottle in hand. She inserted into the right end of the Build Driver.
[Lock! Best Match!]
"Best Match? What does that mean?" Lysithea asked, staring at the result of it. "And again...a Dragon and Lock? What do those two even have in common?"
She looked back towards Petra briefly as she switched logs to the Beat Crosser log, pulling said sword out from nearby.
"Hmm." Was all she could mutter out, not really having anything to say in regards to Petra's whole situation, as she turned around to stare back at the Build Driver.
Then to where her heart was. The presence of the Fullbottles caused an almost unusual type of warmth to be present in her chest. It didn't hurt specifically, but it felt warm.
It scared her.
But, she pushed on nonetheless.
As Lysithea continued studying the Build Driver to its fullest degree, Petra laid on her bed, looking towards Sento as he pulled out the Beat Crosser.
"This is your weapon, future Cross-Z. Nicknamed the Beat Crosser, courtesy of yours truly. Why the name? Well, it's because this weapon plays off sound…"
"Sound? How can you fight with sound?" Petra whispered to herself, imagining the ideas over using actual instruments to attack enemies.
"Sound waves in particular. I would go into the whole diatribe on how I was able to manipulate sound waves, and how each mode of this weapon utilizes a different wavelength and frequency, but as I understand it, you may not be as much of a genius as I am. Or, like Banjou, you don't really care about the scientific matters of things. So, to simplify, it uses sound to launch ranged and melee attacks at enemies."
Petra was still confused. But, she understood the basics. The sword was both a somewhat ranged weapon, while keeping its more close-ranged abilities.
"Now, for safety purposes, I will transform into my base form as Build. For safety purposes."
Sento was seen in the log as the video cut to an armored figure. Adorned in red and blue in different sections of the armor. The helmet contained two jagged eyes, one with the image of a rabbit, the other which was unfamiliar to MacNeary.
"Now that I'm safe, I will show you the most basic definition of the Beat Crosser's main abilities. Pulling the sword on the bottom…"
Petra paused it right there, as she had to stare at the armored form of Sento. Build, as she came to hear it.
She was somewhat confused, as she sighed.
"Dragon...what is that form?" She asked the Dragon, as it screeched. It then took the opportunity to nab the Build Driver from Lysithea, dragging it towards Petra, with the Dragon and Lock bottles already installed.
"What?" She inquired towards the mechanical dragon, still confused by whatever the hell it was trying to tell her, with Lysithea giving a face of annoyance to the artificial tiny bot.
The dragon screeched a little more, giving a hell of a lot of nudging towards the Build Driver.
Petra still didn't understand. Neither did Lysithea.
Considering the floating robot realized gestures were not going to help its new user understand as much as spoken word or talking, it just plain gave up, returning to its compact form as she sat by the window.
Lysithea grabbed the Build Driver from the bed, as Petra gave a long sigh.
"Petra." Lysithea stated after a small moment of quietness. "Do you mind if we test something regarding the Build Driver in the morning?"
Petra raised an eyebrow, her face showing confusing on what Lysithea meant. Then she saw the Build Driver with the two Fullbottles installed into the Driver.
"I would assume it would be good." She replied, a small smile laid on her lips, as Lysithea chuckled.
"Ah great then! I'm admittedly feeling a bit tired, so…" Lysithea responded, her face slamming into the desk as she fell asleep immediately on the chair, leaving Petra in the bed.
She stared at the roof of the former dorm room, clearly reminiscing.
And then, as she could hear the echoes of the once busy marketplace below, or the sweet smell of lavender flowers, she slowly dozed away into sleep.
—-
(At the same time…)
As Shamir walked off, Phoenix Fullbottle in hand, she noticed out of the corner of her eye Catherine approaching, armor somehow still on her.
"Catherine, I thought the healers dragged you into whatever's left of the infirmary to patch you up?" Shamir asked curiously, raising an eyebrow at the Knight's presence.
"Well, that was before they forgot I was Thunder Catherine!" The Knight responded confidently, wincing at the leftover pain in her leg.
Shamir simply pursed her lips, giving an emotionless look towards her.
"Well, if one thing hasn't changed, it's your persistence." Shamir commented, causing Catherine to give a small laugh at it.
"You know me Shamir; always up for a fight! Albeit, one without some guy that can try and copy me and Thunderbrand." Catherine told Shamir, ending that sentence with a bit more of an annoyed tone.
Shamir didn't comment on it...although to her, it was rather peculiar, Blood Stalk's weapons.
"Much more foreign than I thought. Hadn't seen anything like that in my travels...maybe Sento or Ryuga's got more information. Will have to pry it out of them when the time comes." Shamir thought in her head as she flipped around the Phoenix Fullbottle, catching Catherine's attention.
"That's one of Sento's things, isn't it? What did he call them…" Catherine noted.
"Fullbottles. He called them Fullbottles. I want to know how they got in that snake being's hands." Shamir finished, her head actually moving in the Knight's direction. "Blood Stalk, as Petra said. She seems adamantly familiar with that being. Beyond Oche. I want to know why."
"I'd want to know too. I want a rematch with that son of a…" she began, before they stopped suddenly, Shamir turning around to face Catherine fully. With her keen eyes, Shamir spotted two very sneaky deer trying to follow them a bit of a distance from them.
"Riegan, Hilda. I know both of you are there." She responded down the hallway, causing a very awkward-looking Claude and Hilda to stumble out, leaving Catherine with a rather shocked face towards Shamir for noticing them.
"Told you this would happen, Claude." Hilda whispered in a frustrated tone, as Claude gave a sheepish look towards his fellow pink-haired comrade.
"Explain." Shamir simply commanded, a shiver going up both Golden Deer's spines, as Claude moved a step forward to explain.
"Well...I mean, I was just listening to what you guys were saying regarding Sento and those Fullbottles. And well…" Claude briefly explained, opening his hand out to Hilda, as she placed an object in his hand.
Shamir and Catherine both widened their eyes at what it was. It was another Fullbottle. Unlike the Pheonix Fullbottle Shamir had however, this one was a dark grey one. An R laid on the top, with a weird and unfamiliar image shown on the actual bottle proper.
"You had one the entire time?" Shamir asked them, as Hilda beamed.
"Well…"
—
(A couple of hours earlier…)
The door bursted open, Hilda and Leonie rushing into Hilda's old room, the place, much like most others, ransacked from looters and bandits over the half-decade. They were lugging the chest recovered from the classroom earlier into their room, as Leonie slammed the door closed.
Hilda dragged the bed aside, as Leonie's face switched between worry and thought.
"Ah; there we are!" Hilda yelled out, a hidden compartment present. She pulled it out, grabbing a small Golden key from the hidden compartment, as Leonie tilted her head in curiosity.
"Wasn't that what we found from Sylvain's brother a while back?" She asked Hilda, as the pink-haired axe wielded gave a small snicker.
"No, Leonie; that was that Lance that Sylvain had! This was what my brother gave to me back when I first came here; I completely forgot about this thing when we were being attacked by Edelgard and the Empire back then!" Hilda replied in a jubilant mood, ignoring the obvious bleak memory of the Battle of Garreg Mach long before.
Leonie gave an understanding nod at the revelation, clearly realizing exactly where the hell the box came from, as Hilda opened the box.
"But with all this talk of 'bottles that apparently cause you to become a literal dragon' and that type of stuff, I remembered that I had this!" She shouted, pulling out the very thing in the box in question. A grey bottle of sorts, much similar to the Dragon and Pheonix Fullbottle before. Only unlike the two, this one had a different shade of grey on it.
"My bro said that this was a good luck charm. Guy dropped it trying to save a guy one day, and he just kept it since." Hilda summarized, much to Leonie's confusion.
"Did he say what either one of those people were?" Leonie questioned inquisitively, as Hilda shrugged.
"Don't know; wasn't really specific about anything." She said with a yawn. "Still, this might help. Might even bring it back to that Sento guy back in Deidriu."
"You mean the one who's like a taller gender-swapped Bernadetta?" Leonie asked, chuckling as Hilda gave a small smile.
"Something like that. Least he comes out for breakfast and dinner. Door's always locked though." Hilda commented, as the two laughed.
—
"So where's Leonie now?" Shamir commented towards the two, as Hilda continued with that smile.
"She fell asleep! So, I ragged on Claude to come with me. Leader over here might as well be in the know." Hilda replied with a smile, as Claude nervously laughed at the entire situation.
Catherine gave a suspicious glare towards Shamir, clearly not exactly the most comfortable with the kids knowing this much about something as foreign as a Fullbottle. Much less about their mysterious ally.
Shamir, by the look of her monotone face, clearly wasn't fazed by any of it.
"So...General Holst gave that to you before you arrived at Garreg Mach?" Catherine asked after a moment of silence, as Hilda's smile continued to be ever presented on her face.
"Yup!" She responded, before skipping away, Fullbottle in hand, much to Claude's shock.
"Hilda, where are you even going?" Claude asked, Hilda not even turning towards them.
"Some of us need beauty sleep Claude! See you in the morning!" She shouted, as Claude sighed, turning back around to face the two Knights of Seiros.
"So…" Claude awkwardly stated, being stuck in this awkward case.
"Just go to bed, Riegan. All of us have a busy morning ahead of us." Shamir told Claude, who pretty much ran for his room. Catherine turned to her in surprise.
"Since when the hell did you soften up, Shamir?"
"I didn't." Shamir quickly commented, her voice giving a little more of a thoughtful tone. "I just need him to feel refreshed. That's all."
"There's more to it, isn't it? We're partners at the end of the day; you can speak to me." Catherine replied, her voice becoming a little more sympathetic, as Shamir stayed relatively silent, staring at the Fullbottle.
Catherine's eyes moved towards it.
Shamir then asked a pretty unexpected question.
"Do you think Rhea knew about this?"
That sent Catherine into a bit of a surprised look, taking a step back.
"I...I would think so. Lady Rhea's the archbishop; she should know enough about who she recruits." The Knight replied, sounding semi-confident. Shamir however, was still not so sure.
"She was unaware of Edelgard's attack until she made it obvious. Unaware about the black beasts that the Empire came with. I would imagine some things even elude someone like her; this type of technology included." Shamir countered with. Doubt crept into Catherine's mind for only a moment, before she shook it away, a smile returning to her face.
"We really need to get some rest for once. Staying up the past few days probably made us paranoid as hell about everything. Don't want to be like that when we actually have to fight something again." Catherine stated with a laugh.
"Yeah...probably just sleep deprivation." Shamir mumbled, looking to Catherine for a brief moment .
"C'mon partner; don't wanna have to drag you to bed myself." Catherine replied, as Shamir sighed, placing the Phoenix Fullbottle in the pocket, as she followed Catherine towards their bunks for the time being.
In the back of Shamir's mind however, a single question remained. One that would haunt her in her dreams.
"Sento Kiryu...who are you?"
—
Petra awoke to find herself in some type of garden. White flowers surrounded the area, covering the garden. The sun was bright on her eyes, nearly blinding her to the garden. A small gate led up ahead, as what looked like a winged human was ahead, covered in bright yellow. She couldn't see the face, but it clearly did not help Petra's eyes in the slightest.
"Ah; you must be !" The winged being stated, as the brightness dimmed, allowing Petra to actually see the winged being. Different shades of yellow spring along her back, similar to a butterfly. Yellow pale short hair was on her head, and she clearly looked way more optimistic that any normal human should be. Obviously, Petra recognized that this girl was not a human.
"...you are a dream spirit, aren't you? The ones who give the good children of Brigid hope?" Petra recognized, causing the spirit to nod her head yes quite vigorously.
"Yes! That is what we're referred to in this world. In another, they call me a Ljósálfar. My name is Peony; it's nice to meet you, Petra!" She replied quite happily, shaking Petra's hand much to the Brigidian heiress's lack of response or approval.
"Someone wants to talk to you for a little bit. Don't worry! They won't be taking too much of your time, I hope!" The fairy stated, opening that gate to allow Petra through. It looked to be a recreation of the Garreg Mach garden. A small table laid ahead, two cups of tea present and a chair for Petra to sit in. On the other side of the table, a woman looking much similar to Banjou was present. She was dressed much like a student at Garreg Mach; white button up shirt with black leggings. She also had on a small pink coat and short black hair, as she waved towards no idea who this person was, Petra decided to sit across from her at the table.
"So glad we can finally meet face to face, Petra MacNeary!" The mysterious woman began joyfully, a bright smile on her face.
Petra's mind laid a little suspicious of the entire scenario, especially at how unusually serene the entire place seemed to be. The woman's smile didn't help Petra's uneasiness. Especially in the wake of the previous events beforehand.
But she pressed on. With a question.
"Who are you?" Petra asked, the lady giggling in response.
"Oh; I completely forgot to introduce myself; how rude of me! My name is Kasumi Ogura! I understand you may not know me, but I know you and Banjou; in fact, I've known Banjou for a really long time!" The now named Kasumi responded, leading to Petra feeling a little surprised.
"You knew Banjou...for a long time?" Petra asked, an eyebrow raised as Kasumi took a sip of her tea.
"Yes. For at least a decade. And as a last request before he disappeared, he asked me to watch over you. And that I did." Kasumi responded, smiling as she pulled out a familiar Fullbottle. The Dragon Fullbottle to be exact.
"...you were the Dragon?" Petra somehow concluded, as, after a long while and a brief lapse ofquiet between the two, Kasumi simply nodded slowly a yes.
Petra was shocked.
"How? And why?" She quickly muttered up after a short moment, Kasumi trying not to laugh.
"I will admit; I don't know. One moment, I'm dying in Banjou's arms, the next I was guiding him to become a Kamen Rider. Perhaps maybe it was fate. Or it was something more." She replied. "And as for why, I do believe I consider myself motivation. To guide Banjou away from who he was forced to be. To let him choose his own destiny, perhaps.."
Petra simply waited to contemplate those words.
Kasumi continued.
"Nonetheless, I am sure you have many questions. Sento Kiryu could answer them, most definitely. But I can help with some of them." She responded, as Petra began to understand at least some of it.
That still didn't mean she understood it exactly.
"How long have you known Banjou?" Petra asked her, as Kasumi leaned back in her chair, almost like she was reliving some old memories in her mind.
"A very long time…right now? I'd say nearly 11 years...maybe even 12. I've lost time since everything's happened."
Petra's curiosity peaked. She remembered Banjou mentioning some land from Japan that he claimed to have truly came from...but she was smart enough to realize what Kasumi was hinting at.
However, before she was able to ask another question towards Kasumi regarding her knowledge of Banjou, the light of the sun grew brighter once again. Kasumi sighed in resignation at this fact.
"It seems that our time has been cut short. I do hope we can be able to speak more in-depth the next time we meet, Petra. Until then...tell Banjou I said hello."
And with that, Petra was blinded with light.
—
(8 am)
As Petra woke up startled, she saw Lysithea munching on some breakfast, herself jumping a little from her chair at the sight of Petra's frantic awakening.
"Petra? Did you have a nightmare?" Lysithea asked, as she lazily munched on a piece of scrambled egg, her calming down rapidly.
"Not a nightmare. But rather a dream." Petra stated, as Lysithea tilted her head in a small amount of confusion.
"A dream? Well, I'm sure we could discuss it over breakfast; Dorothea and Catherine made some from all the reserves at the Academy. Apparently it was kept with magic from spoiling over. Got to learn how they do that…" Lysithea stated, mumbling on shortly afterward, as Petra noticed said plate on her nightstand, still relatively warm. Scrambled eggs, a couple pieces of bacon and...elk?
Lysithea noticed Petra looking at her plate and decided to comment.
"Apparently, that was Bernadetta's catch. Shamir and her went out early this morning to train her to hunt. Shamir also didn't want to wake you up; said something about looking 'at peace'."
"Bernadetta...caught something?" Petra asked, surprised.
"Well, it was more like Shamir wounded it enough for Bernadetta to kill it, but still. She seemed really happy about it."
Petra simply gave a head nod in response to Lysithea's explanation, grabbing a fork as she began to chew through her food. A brief look towards the windowsill showed the Cross-Z Dragon still present in its compact form.
"Kasumi Ogura...who are you?"
—
As the morning arrived and the sun rose above the mountains surrounding the old monastery, Byleth looked out from the Goddess Tower, clearly there just to rest and think.
The ghostly spirit of Sothis floated around him. She looked a little concerned for Byleth's vegetative-like state, the Sword of the Creator placed nearby, leaning against the wall.
"Byleth...what are you doing?" Sothis asked. No response from the Ashen Demon followed, him continuing to stare out at the rising sun.
"Byleth." She repeated with a little more emphasis on his name, as once again, she received no response. She floated right in front of him.
"Byleth!" She shouted, trying to shake his head, a very bored look on his face being kept as she did so.
"Sothis." He muttered, not even moving.
"What exactly are you doing staring at the sun? Hadn't anyone told you they'd burn your eyes and blind you?" Sothis chastised, as Byleth continued doing exactly just that.
"I'm in thought." Byleth replied curtly, as he finally turned around to face Sothis's spirit, as she huffed a little.
"In thought? You've been staring there for hours!" Sothis replied, sounding actually concerned for her living ally, as Byleth simply sighed.
"I was gone for five years. Everything's changed more than I thought." Byleth replied, as Sothis simply rubbed her chin.
"That it has. The world has changed indeed. Dark secrets are leaking out, giant beasts are roaming the lands...so much has radically altered. This world seems almost unrecognizable." Sothis stated in a slight somber mood, staring out towards the window.
Byleth simply nodded, the two staring out into the rising sun.
"My, how times had changed from simply managing as a professor. To this." Sothis confirmed, as Byleth turned to her. "These kids are all grown up. Although, that one with the weird-colored hair...that armor she turned into…"
"What about it?" Byleth asked, an almost unnoticeable single eyebrow raise being present on his face.
"That armor seems both strangely new to me...and a little familiar." Sothis commented, as Byleth simply continued to stare blankly towards the spirit.
"Familiar?" He asked.
"Yes...I just have a feeling that it is, but I don't know how…" she commented, as Byleth simply looked a little confused at Sothis's word choice.
"So, you don't know?" Byleth stated rather obviously, as Sothis turned to Byleth quickly, glaring.
"Well, when you say it like that, of course!" She shouted in a loud manner. At least, as loud as Byleth could hear it, as he briefly twitched.
"So...what now Sothis?" Byleth asked, grabbing and raising the Sword of the Creator, its ancient bone structure glistening in the rays of the sun.
"We just...continue to do what we usually do. You go and do your human things; slashing bad people, helping out your friends and students. Learning strategies with that brain of yours. And I'll be your divine intervention with my pulses if need be! Still got a few left I think." Sothis claimed, as Byleth nodded.
"And be my partner, I would assume." Byleth said.
"Yes...but not in that way! Mutually beneficial partners." Sothis said, getting a little flustered at making sure that Byleth knew exactly what he meant by saying that.
Byleth stared at the spirit as it disappeared, the Professor simply standing there, sword in hand as he heard footsteps walking up behind him. Byleth quickly turned around, Sword of the Creator raised. He only lowered it when he saw Claude, hands raised up.
"Woah, Professor! Calm down; it's just me, Claude!" He shouted, trying to ensure that he didn't meet the ancient blade head on. "Pretty face, only reason the Alliance isn't collapsing, really good with ladies and bows?"
After a tense moment, Byleth slowly lowered his sword, as Claude also slowly lowered his hands, until eventually Byleth sheathed the Sword of the Creator away.
"You nearly gave me a panic attack, Professor? What the actual hell!" He stated a little worryingly, as Byleth simply sighed.
"It has been...a rather unexpected few years." He confided into Claude, as he chuckled, calming down from nearly getting slashed in half.
"I can see that. That long hair doesn't look too bad, Professor; and while you smell like a dead rotting carcass, I'm sure we can find some soap for you. And I'm going to hope the bathhouses work. Gotta get back into the game, Teach!" Claude stated.
And for a brief moment, Byleth's face broke its face. A small laugh would follow.
"Hah; I made you laugh! Wait until I tell Hilda about this; she owes me a damn favor for that. Or maybe I can lessen the favor I owe her." Claude replied, smiling at Byleth's somewhat confused look towards the Riegan.
"What's up Teach?"
"Claude…" Byleth stated, before walking up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "What is the matter?"
"Hehe...don't know what you're talking about, Teach. Just checking up on ya!" He responded a little too enthusiastically, as Byleth only grew more suspicious.
"Claude." Byleth repeated, this time with a little more emphasis, as for a brief moment, Claude's face twitched from his casual smirk. A sigh followed afterwards however, his facade breaking to reveal his true feelings; concern.
"I just honestly still can't believe everything's that's been happening over the past five years. Feels like this is simultaneously the best and worst thing I could've come up with in my head for what the future was. Crazy serpent people, having three former Black Eagles join us because of said snake person, multiple cases of random bottles, mysterious people out of nowhere...you get what I mean Professor? It's just happened so quickly. In a matter of days." Claude explained, as he paced around the room, rubbing his hands together.
"You are not the only one." Byleth curtly responded, as Claude realized that Byleth was indeed out of the loop a bit longer than he was.
"Right, Teach. Look, I can catch you up on everything. Blood Stalk, the whole thing regarding Petra and all. What I personally found out, etcetera." Claude stated, only for Byleth to tilt his head in confusion at the mention of literally anything Claude just said.
"Right...you missed a lot Teach. We can discuss it over breakfast; apparently, the ladies made it this time around." Claude stated with a small smile.
Byleth simply stared and nodded, following Claude down the tower, leaving Sothis's spirit there floating, as she shook her head sideways.
"Humans these days." She muttered, as she floated after them.
—
"So, you said to do what?" Petra asked, both her and Lysithea in what was formally the training grounds. Lysithea had some quill and paper sitting on a wooden table nearby, her, Shamir, Byleth, and Claude present as they ate away at whatever remained of breakfast. Old wooden swords, cracked beyond repair and rotting dummies laid around them. The area overall was barren, except for the people currently present.
"From what I could figure out last night, Cross-Z, or Build had some alternate form, based on these devices. They call them 'Best Matches' I would presume. I don't know why, but I think that means we can be able to just simply use something other than that form you had so far." Lysithea explained. Shamir and strangely Claude seemed to be the only ones to understand what the mage was saying.
Petra was slightly confused. Byleth was just plain lost on everything the noble just said.
"You are saying then that I may be able to utilize different forms than Cross-Z?" Petra asked.
"At least that's the assumption I'm getting." Lysithea replied, shrugging.
"Where is Catherine? I would assume she would like to see the form that most likely saved us too." Byleth asked Shamir, as she gave a stare back to the Ashen Demon.
"She's still a little injured from the whole battle that happened yesterday. The clerics are forcing her down with some herbs and sedatives from the Academy's supplies." Shamir bluntly replied, as Byleth nodded, moving their attention back to the heiress/Rider in training.
Build Driver wrapped around her waist, and Dragon and Lock Fullbottles in hand, Petra stared at Lysithea and Shamir for approval.
With a certain nod from Shamir, Petra began the process of...well, transforming, of course.
She inserted the Dragon Fullbottle into the first part of the Build Driver.
[Dragon!]
Petra's eyes widened at the different sound of the Driver, much different than the other form she had.
She quickly got out of that stupor though, quickly inserting the Lock Fullbottle in the right part of the Build Driver.
[Lock! Best Match!]
As Petra proceeded to breath in and out, she cranked the Build Driver, as much like before, the Driver started shooting out tubes, forming two pieces of armor in front and behind her.
What the group, sans Lysithea however, was the difference in said armor.
"It's two different colors…" Shamir pointed out, noticing the front armor was completely blue, while the back armor was more of a Golden color.
"That certainly dosen't look the same to me. Looks more like whatever that armor is, it doesn't know whether to sport the Deer, or the Lions." Claude commented, his eyes squinting a little less than the rest of them, staring at any difference between her Cross-Z armor and whatever the hell this new armor was going to be.
[Are You Ready?]
Staring down at the Driver, before looking up, she prepared for the armor to coalesce into her.
"I am the ready!"
The armor combined, as both sides became one.
[Fūin No Fantasy Star! KeyDragon! Yeah!]
"Excuse me, but what Star?" Claude asked after a small moment of silence, as the group surrounded this new form of the Build Driver. He wasn't as familiar with the way it was said, clearly.
Petra looked at her body and noticed a stark difference between it and the Cross-Z and this new armor she was wearing. However, to Petra herself, it was rather different.
"This feels weaker than the previous armor. Much more faster, but much less stronger." Petra summarized about the combo, as Lysithea nodded and hummed in understanding.
"Now that's interesting." She told her, writing something down on the paper she had. Shamir eyed the armor, noticing its small differences. The one side having a Golden shoulder pad on one side, a lock present, while the other contained the actual dragon that Cross-Z was known for, in its shade of blue. The Cross-Z Dragon mech itself was floating above the group, as it too stared on at its new form.
"Well, that looked different than I imagined." Claude stated as he looked at the armor, walking around the armored Petra, as he looked at every intricacy and specific detail of the armor. "Honestly, if I didn't know any better, this thing looks like Petra can't decide between repping the Deer or the Lion."
A brief tinge of nostalgia warmed his heart, before he returned to his place next to Byleth.
"So I see." He murmured out loud to himself, as Petra removed the Build Driver, her armored form disappearing as she looked towards the group.
"What was the point of that?" Petra inquired to Lysithea, as she got back up from where she was at, walking up to Petra.
"Well, I wanted to see how we can use these new things over just shoving them into that sword of yours." Lysithea stated, pointing to the Beat Crosser. "That thing isn't sharp but it can somehow be powerful enough to damage someone. Technology like that can't be wasted without experimenting it first!"
A chill went up Lysithea's spine for a minute. Bad thoughts began to cloud her mind, before a joke from Claude managed to break them up.
"Lysithea, with that attitude, you might as well be Sento's son! Two of you are like peas in a pod!" Claude replied, causing Lysithea to suddenly swerve her head in Claude's direction.
"I am not!" She yelled back at Claude, her attention diverted from the Cross-Z presentation, as she ran after Claude. Claude for his part, laughed once more, running away from the mage as she gave chase.
"That still happens quite often." Shamir stated, as she turned to face Byleth. "Has Claude caught you up on everything?"
"Mostly. I still have many questions however." Byleth noted, rubbing his chin in thought as Shamir tilted her head in thought.
"For example, " Byleth began to question, "that Banjou Ryuga person he mentioned. Wasn't that the same one you…"
"Yes." Shamir immediately interrupted, giving off a small huff. "It is the same person. And I'd rather not talk about it too much."
Byleth simply stayed silent, a little surprised at Shamir's sudden dialogue.
He decided to speak, as she turned away from Byleth, one of her hands fidgeting with the edge of her jacket.
Deciding it would be best to stop Claude and Lysithea from tearing apart the already fragile monastery into pieces, Byleth took his leave, giving a nod to Shamir and Petra as he did so.
Which once again left the two foreigners standing around.
"You knew Banjou?" Petra asked in surprise, Shamr briefly not even saying anything.
"...yes." She said quietly. Petra found it strange, Shamir's sudden turn in behavior.
"Are you okay, Shamir?" Petra asked out of concern.
"I am. But...it's rather something that I'm not ready to talk about. It isn't the right time, and it's not something important. Not now." Shamir explained to the Brigidian.
"Why not now? Do you assume me not ready?" Petra asked, Shamir sighing.
"No. It's more like I'm not ready, Princess Petra. I don't think you could understand this analogy, but...it's almost like an old scar. You could do everything to try and hide it. But it's still there. Haunting you." Shamir told her, her head moving itself down soon afterward.
Petra sighed, also pacing her head down as she leaned against the wall. She understood what that meant. And she knew that she too, had some old scars. Although not in the physical way, of course.
The two stood together in their forlorn manner, thoughts crossing across their mind at a speed that neither could comprehend.
"Petra."
Petra looked up at Shamir, whom looked a little...broken. A vast difference from her usual monotone stupor.
"I need something to get my mind off of this; would you mind if we hunt? Something to shoot at might at the very least raise either of our spirits of our past. And of Banjou's status." She stated, as Petra thought about it for a little bit.
Then a small smile crossed her face.
"That would be best. Perhaps we may talk whilst we hunt."
Shamir gave a very unnoticeable smirk at the response.
"That...would be best. As well of course, I'm sure that our supplies will have to last us. If Claude is planning to potentially turn this into a headquarters of sorts."
"I am not surprised. It is a rather strategic position." Petra claimed, as the two smiled at one another.
"Now, shall we hunt? As I understand it, you are a huntress from your native land." Shamir replied, the two walking off towards the outside of Garreg Mach.
Together, they seemed to be bonding much more than before. Whether anything would come out of it would remain to be seen.
—
(?)
A man walked around a garden, the chatter of soldiers and knights alongside the moving of equipment filled the air across the outside, as the man noticed a table up ahead. Sitting there was yet another man, a familiar weapon armed on him, khaki jacket on top of a button-up shirt and jeans included. A strange pick compared to the bluntly red-armored bearded fellow watching the sitting man.
"Stalk."
"Arundel. I see you've been busy since out last encounter." Blood Stalk stated. "But please; Soichi's fine around here. Wouldn't want any of your soldiers to piss in their pants knowing who's on their side."
"They're already doing such a vulgar act in the presence of the Death Knight." Arundel bluntly stated, as he decided to sit across from Soichi.
"As expected. Thankfully, you weren't like Faerghus's people. Mindlessly throwing troopers at something hoping that it works." Soichi stated, slowly sipping his tea.
"That is rather true. As much as it pains Edelgard, the necessity of Dimitri Bladdyid's condition against her will be necessary in order for the Kingdom to collapse. And Leicester's fall will come rather quickly, as long as you somehow get rid of that...obsession you have with its members." Arundel commented, giving a scowl as Soichi simply laughed.
"You don't understand Arundel; these people. They matter. They are important to me." Soichi claimed, as he held up a smirk on his face. Arundel was somewhat frustrated.
"Well, those same people might be in our way. What happens then?"
"We adapt. Or, I allow them to get powerful. Make them think they've won. Then snag a victory from behind." Soichi claimed somehow stupidly, his smirk only getting more prominent on his face.
Arundel was rather perturbed by Soichi's choice of words. But, he pressed on, his face relaxing into that of a serious look.
"Do we have updates? My 'niece' included?" Arundel asked, as Soichi's smirk only got wider.
"The guys over at Leicester managed to recapture Garreg Mach. And it seems that all three factions are going to meet at Gronder Field. All three leaders included." Soichi explained, Arundel only nodded in response.
"The Ashen Demon lives too."
That set off alarms in Arundel's head, as he quickly turned to Soichi.
"Can you confirm it?" He asked.
"Do you know anyone else who's more silent and blank than a stone statue and wields that Sword of the Creator crap?" Soichi asked him, as Arundel pondered in silence. Then, a sigh followed.
"In that case, our plans still follow. But, Soichi, I would recommend keeping an eye on that particular group. I do not want Byleth Eisner killed just yet; there is a possibility that I am wondering. I just need to see it to confirm it."
As Arundel got up from his chair to leave, Soichi's smile at that point was at its peak, as Arundel stopped for a brief moment, his front facing away from Soichi.
"Do not assume that this will be easy, Soichi. It is a rather fragile situation we deal with; I would rather no one screws it up."
With that out of the way, Soichi simply laughed while sipping the last of his tea, placing the cup down.
"Sento, Sento, Sento. What happened to you? Do I really need to pep talk you again?" Soichi muttered to himself out loud, as he fished in his pockets for something in particular. Pulling it out allowed him to I zwitness the weird contraption he had in his hand. A predominantly red and silver device laid in his hand, a gauge present in the center of the device. A small blue button laid at the top of the device, covered by a small openable glass top.
Soichi stared at it longingly.
"This world seems too interesting to waste such a device like this early. Not everyday I get to reunite with old friends." He muttered to himself out loud, sighing as he looked in peace for the time being.
His eyes drifted back to the device.
"Soon, young MacNeary. Soon. A hazardous future awaits all." He whispered, as he proceeded to place the item back in his pocket. And he also decided to take a nap.
After all, even bad guys deserved some rest.