Hello again, dear friends. I hope you are all doing well.

We're back to our normal schedule. In this chapter, expect some slip ups from our armored friend, an odd encounter with our protagonist, rowdy students, and an introduction to our third field agent.

With that, please enjoy the seventh chapter of Case Study: Fodlan.

Rook felt a tremendous weight, like heavy stones were being dragged by every cell in his body. It was a familiar feeling of the dimensional anchors, that they were just barely managing to keep him grounded. He was thankful to see Bottlecap safely to his side. It looked like they had made it through the worst of the instability in one piece. Rook expected to see non euclidean deformations and breaks in the space time, but everything was surprisingly normal.

"You okay, Mr. Rook?"

"I think so… or at least I'm not dead yet." Rook said. He walked up carefully to one of the knights standing guard. Their helmet looked conventional from afar, but upon closer inspection he could see that the helmet had split into thousands of small fragments floating in place. "This knight's armor is fractured."

"The ground is too." Bottlecap brushed her hand on the floor, sending small pieces of brick drifting through the air. "Actually, it looks like everything is. Is this the same thing that happened at the fight with the bandits?"

"No. Time just stopped then. Even before that I got pulled into a pocket dimension, but it was still nothing like this." Rook took a step back "This isn't Byleth's doing. This is something wrong with the world's foundation."

"Wait! Do you hear that?"

The two fell silent. There was a low, droning noise as the tiny fragments bounced off one another, but upon their silence Rook could hear voices coming from the other room.

"Looks like Byleth and Rhea are still having their meeting."

"Let's go see how it's going." Bottlecap made way to push open the door but Rook caught her arm. "What?"

"Don't touch anything. Just peek through and listen."

Bottlecap nodded and the two crouched beside the nearly closed door.

The mosaic-like surroundings existed in the room as well. By the far walls it looked similar to the outside hallway, but the fragmentation grew more and more erratic and jagged as it got closer to where Byleth had been standing.

"What… is that?" Bottlecap gasped.

It was an amalgamation of blurs and whispers, vaguely in the shape of the Eisner girl they knew well. The arms and legs spasmed and jutted at unnatural angles, but the head was perfectly still. Rook carefully slipped through the door.

"What are you doing?" Bottlecap hissed.

"Getting a closer look."

Rook crept up to the anomalous Byleth. Each step he took disturbed the ground, sending up small puffs of crystals in his wake.

"The room is starting to get worse!" He heard Bottlecap call out. Sure enough, the gaps between the fragments were getting larger and larger with chunks beginning to float out into open space.

"Who are you?"

Rook jumped. The deep, masculine voice echoed throughout the room. He looked to Byleth to see… someone alarmingly similar. It looked like her male twin. Where only moments before there was a vague blur, this young man was as crisply pictured as Bottlecap was.

Before he could respond, the twin's face morphed into a much more familiar figure.

It was Byleth. The Byleth he knew. Her eyes widened.

"Rook? Is that you?"

The giant man stumbled backwards. "Wha-?"

Byleth took a step forward in his place, peering into Rook's helmet before her eyes drifted around the room. "Where are we?"

Rook could faintly hear Bottlecap's shouting in the background, but his mind was fully focused on the curious girl before him. He reached out a hand, gently grabbing her chin.

"Rook?"

He stared into her eyes. They were deep and cerulean, shimmering as they were when he first met her. She was real. This was the actual Byleth.

A loud, droning beep erupted in Rook's helmet. The anchors were on the verge of failure. He could barely hear Ken's voice crackle over the noise.

"Keep track of your meter, you idiot! I'm pulling you out of there!"

Rook felt his chest go ice cold and he collapsed to the ground. He looked to the door and saw Bottlecap was missing. Before he could think anymore, the sensation spread through his arms and legs, going from pins and needles to a throbbing, excruciating pain. Rook let out a strained cry.

"Rook! Are you okay?" Byleth panicked, dropping to her knees beside him.

"Nope, not about to happen, dimension-girl." Ken growled into his ear. "Overriding your gear, Rook, sorry in advance."

Air vented violently from Rook's armor, scattering the nearest crystal fragments and sending Byleth stumbling backwards. By the time she regained her footing and brushed the crystals away from her face, Rook was gone.

"Are you alright, my child?"

Byleth wobbled, drawing a foot back to steady herself. She looked around. The room was back to normal. What happened to Rook?

"Byleth?"

Byleth blinked upon hearing her name. Rhea was looking at her with deep concern, having taken a few steps forward. "Is everything okay? You look disoriented."

It was so real, but nothing was there. Rook was somewhere off in the monastery, the walls and floor were as sturdy as ever, and Rhea was wholly before her.

"Yes, sorry. It's been a long day."

"Understandable." The serene smile returned to Rhea's face. "If anything is wrong, please don't be afraid to voice your concerns. As a professor of this institution, it is invaluable that you are taken care of."

"Th-thank you." Byleth said shakily. Her mind was still racing.

"Now, you made your decision, correct?"

"Yes. I would like to teach the Black Eagles house."

"That is wonderful. Please follow me, we shall inform Seteth and he will give you a thorough briefing of our Adrestrian students." Rhea turned away, gesturing for Byleth to follow.

Byleth glanced around the room once again. Her eyes drifted to the ground.

The floor was scratched.

Bottlecap crossed her arms, pacing back and forth before the supine man in front of her. Ken was standing off to the side, watching as Valentine waved various mechanical devices over Rook's body, whirrs and beeps emitting at seemingly random intervals.

"He is fine, just unconscious. It should only be a few moments before he awakens."

"No lasting damage?" Ken asked. Valentine shook her head.

"None at all, sir. He's lucky that the anchor's emergency valves opened before you manually triggered the pull."

"Ah, I knew I forgot to check something." Ken squinted. "I was a bit panicked when I saw Bottlecap land back and he was still in there."

"No one is blaming you, sir, you made the right call and Rook disobeyed it." Valentine said, her face growing serious.

Ken sighed. "I don't blame him. The Eisner girl started talking to him. That's not like anything that's happened so far. In the earlier anomalies stuff just froze and that was it."

Further postulation paused as Rook stirred. They all drew up to the side of the bed as they saw Rook's helmet sway to the side.

"Urgh…"

Ken and Valentine jumped as a loud crack erupted in the room.

"Ow! Bottlecap, what the fu-"

"That's what you get for not pulling your anchors, you moron!" Bottlecap yelled. She reared up another punch but her arm was caught by an ethereal tendril. It emerged from the arm of a metal frame covered by a wide, thick-fitting suit. Instead of legs, the frame sat precariously on a thinly stretched wheel. Upon the collar of the suit was an oblong chunk of metal with six, beady red gems embedded in the front, staring directly at the silver-haired girl.

"Peace, Bottlecap. Do not harm a comrade."

Ken nodded. "Thank you Mr. Warden. What brings you here?"

"I heard that Mr. Rook was terribly injured."

"He was only nearly so." Valentine corrected. "But thankfully he is unharmed, if just a little disoriented."

Rook sat up, grasping the side of his helmet. "Gah, only a little, huh? Feels like I got hit with a sledgehammer. Can someone bring me up to speed on what just happened?"

"A certain idiot who rhymes with shmook didn't activate the pull on the anchors." Bottlecap growled, wrestling her arm free from Warden. "And so Ken had to manually override your armor to bring you back in one piece."

"Sorry. I was distracted by that Eisner girl." Rook said. "She saw me. She started talking to me."

"We know, Rook." Ken affirmed. "That changes our theories about this anomaly considerably. However, that can be discussed later. You nearly just died because you got lazy."

"I said I was sorry! And it wasn't lazy!"

Ken turned to the other agents. "Please leave me and Mr. Rook for a moment." The other three nodded obediently and left the room, Bottlecap staring daggers at Rook before sliding the door shut.

Ken gave a deep sigh. "I won't sugarcoat the issue any further. You were stupid and I shouldn't have to expect boneheaded moves from a veteran like you Rook."

"But I-"

"Don't give me excuses. I need you to promise me that this won't happen again."

Rook looked like he was about to retort once more, but relented and nodded solemnly. "It won't. I understand if I'm getting sent to the bench now."

Ken squinted at Rook's helmet. "You are not going to be sidelined. Fortunately for you, I do not have the luxury of disposable, easily interchangeable agents. In fact, I can't really afford any punishment other than chastising you."

"Understood sir. I'll behave myself and make sure I value my safety first."

"I suppose I have to take your word for it." Ken hummed. "Do it for Bottlecap, yeah? She looks up to you a lot."

"Yeah, yeah." Rook grunted.

"You deploy in an hour. Rest up and I'll get Valentine to cool off the kid."

Ken left the man to his leisure, turning into the commons. The other three department members were seated around the table, looking at him expectantly when he entered the room.

"Did you kick him in the nuts?" Bottlecap said angrily. "I told him to pull his anchors, but no, he's gotta lean in and check out that stupid girl. Swear he's tryna get himself killed and-"

"Calm down, Bottlecap, I already gave him a good talk." Ken said. "Anyway, mission update time."

"Should we have Mr. Rook come?" Valentine asked.

"Nah, it's only stuff for you three, nothing changes for him." Ken pulled out his tablet from thin air. "First up, Warden. You're getting pseudo-deployment."

Warden's gems flickered in confusion. "Sir? I think I'm the least subtle asset at our disposal. I cannot blend in with the natives."

"Pseudo, my dear Warden. You're getting boots down because we're going to concentrate the drones around the monastery, which means we need to get these drones locally grounded."

"Ah, understood sir. Does that mean I'm off of drone monitoring?"

"Yes. Because we're covering considerably less territory, it can be managed by Valentine and I." Ken tapped the tablet twice causing a small, covered trigger to appear beside him. He plucked it out of the air just like his tablet and reached it out to Bottlecap. "Take this kiddo."

Bottlecap gingerly picked it up and weighed it in her hand. "What is it?"

"It's an anchor pull trigger connected to Rook's armor. Although he was an absolute dolt for not triggering his pull, it was truly an accident. However, accidents in this kind of work are lethal, and so this is the back-up plan." Ken explained. "If the anchors start to max out again, don't be afraid to eject him, but only if you're ejecting yourself as well."

"Got it. Should I tell him I have it?" Bottlecap asked, tucking it into her cloak.

"Ehh… yeah, probably. If anything, the idea of it will make him more cautious." Ken thought aloud. "Now then… fifty three minutes until redeployment. I'm going for some seltzer."

Byleth pushed the double doors open with a dramatic swing. They boomed as they collided with the wall. The afternoon sun flooded into the room, illuminating the curious faces of her new students as they spun around.

"Wait, our new professor is you?" The blue hair boy she had met earlier exclaimed, his eyes widening. "No way! I didn't see that one coming!"

"Easy, Caspar! That's a bit rude, isn't it?" A young, brunette woman scolded.

Another one, a green haired boy, interjected. "It is a waste of time expecting politeness fr-from him." He turned to Byleth, his last words muddled by a poorly stifled yawn. "We were expected to wait in the classroom until you arrived, professor, so I will take my leave. I look forward to learning from you."

The boy stood up and made way to depart, nearly bumping into Byleth. She did not move a muscle, staring at him with an unnervingly blank face.

"Um, excuse me prof-"

"You're Lindhardt?"

"Y-yes?"

Byleth nodded. "Have a good afternoon. Do not be late to class tomorrow."

Linhardt blinked, looking from her to the class twice, before quietly shuffling away.

"You're letting him leave, professor? That's encouraging his irresponsibility!" An orange haired boy further into the classroom called out.

"Is it true that you were supposed to stay until I arrived?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"Then you may leave. Introductions can wait till tomorrow." Byleth walked straight to her desk, not looking back until she was seated in the ornate wooden chair. She was surprised to see that, with the exception of the recently departed Linhardt, the class remained. "Is something wrong?"

The class glanced at each other. The orange haired boy puffed out his chest and stepped forward. " We are not all as eager to abscond as Linhardt! We wish to make introductions now, professor!"

"Speak for yourself." A short girl with messy purple hair squeaked. "I-I wanna go back to my r-room!"

"Nonsense, Bernie!" It was now apparent that the girl would have left with Lindhardt if the brunette had not slung her arm tightly around her shoulder. "We must meet our new teacher!"

"Wha-? Do not hold Bernadetta hostage, Dorothea!" The boy balked, now attempting to pry Dorothea's arm off the whimpering girl.

From the other corner, Caspar called out. "When are we gonna spar, professor! That's a good ice breaker, right?"

"Ice… breaker? What ice is there to break?" A girl beside him tilted her head in confusion.

In the breath of a moment the room devolved into bickering and chaos. Edelgard sidled up to Byleth with a tall, black haired young man.

"I'm glad that you chose the Black Eagles, professor." She said with a strained smile, looking at Byleth who was watching the commotion with a blank expression.

The black haired boy chuckled lightly. "It seems your first task will be to quiet down this racket. I don't envy you."

"I swear they're not usually this rowdy…" Edelgard shook her head dejectedly.

Byleth thought of how to approach the situation. Her mind wandered back to what her father did when he was meeting with his mercenaries. First things first…

"Listen up, everybody." She stood up, addressing the class. To her pleasant surprise, their conversations died quickly and they turned their attention to her. "Bring a chair up in front of my desk, half-circle."

They compiled quickly, curious of what their professor was planning. Byleth sat back down once they all assembled, leaning forward on her elbows as she had seen with her father. "I am not a teacher. I am a mercenary that is expected to teach. I am here to turn you into the finest fighters with the finest minds."

It felt odd, rehashing what her father said in his pep talks. It was working, however, as the students stared at her wide-eyed. "Do you all know each other?"

The class exchanged unsure glances and uneasy shrugs. Edelgard spoke up. "Not very well, professor. We are only somewhat familiar companions."

Byleth nodded. "Then this is our first lesson. Knowing your friends is just as important as knowing your enemy. Starting with Edelgard, proceed clockwise and introduce yourself to the class."

To her surprise, the rest of the short class went very smoothly. It only lasted about half an hour before Byleth wrapped things up. She expected difficulty upon seeing the earlier chaos, but when in a learning environment it was obvious that they were all eager to please. Byleth felt satisfied as she bid farewell to the last few of the group that lingered behind, locking up the classroom door. She turned around to see that her father had suddenly appeared behind her.

"I thought you weren't supposed to teach today, kid."

"We only did introductions. They wanted to stick around and I had nothing else to do."

"That's good." Jeralt said. "You think you're able to handle them?"

Byleth thought back to the polarizing difference between their chaotic bickering and obedient stares. "I… yes, I think so. They seem like they want to learn. I'm just not sure if I'm a proper teacher for them."

Jeralt scratched at his beard. "Yeah, I thought it was a little odd too. Anyway, I just wanted to check on how you're doing. I think it's time for both of us to get some sleep."

Byleth nodded. Before they parted ways, Jeralt opened his mouth before closing it, his brow furrowing.

"Is something wrong, father?"

"Not really, I suppose. I've just been looking for Rook and no one has seen him."

An image flashed in Byleth's mind. Rook's giant figure leaning down over her, cupping her chin and peering closely into her face. She had seen him… but was that not just her imagination?

"How is it possible for a man that huge to disappear so easily…" Jeralt continued, rubbing his forehead. "I'll find him tomorrow. Also, you met with lady Rhea, correct?"

"Correct."

Jeralt glanced around before taking a step closer. "I'm going to be upfront with you, kid. I don't know how much of this is just an old man's hunch, but be careful around the archbishop. It feels like she was expecting us. Besides, giving you a professorship and readily accepting me back into the Knights of Seiros? It doesn't feel right, even for someone as gracious as the archbishop."

Byleth nodded. "Understood, father."

"I'm not trying to scare you or anything, kid." He ruffled Byleth's hair. She squinted her eyes and her lips puckered into what only the trained eye could see was a pout. Jeralt grinned. "Wariness aside, I think this'll be a good experience for the both of us. Teach those kids some good stuff and we'll see where we go from here."

The two hugged and parted ways, bidding each other a good night. Byleth returned to her room with her mind spinning. Rook's apparition, Jeralt's warning, overly energetic students… it was exhausting. In her father's mercenary band, the most that she had to concern herself with was weapon maintenance and not getting her head lopped off.

But maybe her father was right. Maybe this would be a good experience. Byleth knew that she would find out soon enough on the next day and rolled over into an uneasy sleep.

To be perfectly honest, I feel very uneasy about this chapter. I've run into bumps when drafting the other chapters but I felt like they ironed out well by the time I submitted a finished product to you fine folk. This one still feels incomplete and I'm not particularly satisfied with the direction it took. I think it is because this is a "set up" chapter, and so there are a lot of things left intentionally open ended.

Nonetheless, they do say the hardest critic is yourself, and so I leave it to you all to judge of whether this chapter is up to par.

Reviews are welcomed and encouraged. Tell me what you like and don't like; I will take it into account.

And of course, thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed.

Go in peace,

Louproxy