When Gods walk among Titans

by demonoid217

Man has always believed themselves superior. Their ego. Their might. It is only when man walks among titans do they realize how insignificant they truly are. But what would happen if the one that walks among titans is not man, but a god? Will they find find peace? "Dad, what the hell are you talking about?" "Nothing kiddo, just a question I have on my mind."

1. the Winds of Fate converge

Hello everyone, before you guys read this, I just wanna give a shout out to LuckyDawg and JackL5742 for convincing me to try my hand out in fanfic.

This is my very first fanfic and I decided to make it an open ended one shot. Hope y'all enjoy it.

Beta'd by Old man of the mountain

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When the Winds of Fate Converge.

Imperial Year 1180, 19th of the Great Tree Moon

Byleth

"This dream again."

Byleth looked arounds only to see the darkness first surround her. This wasn't the first time this had occurred but lately these dreams have been occurring more frequently. The first thing she would see is a battlefield, armies among an open field giving their all. But it always ends the same. Two figures enter the battlefield, one, a woman of green hair and ornate armor, and the other, a barbarian with withered features engage each other. She already knows the outcome, the woman removes both of their swords from play, pins down the barbarian, knife pointed at his throat, and looks at him with rage.

"Tell me, Nemesis. Do you recall the Red Canyon?" Her words are full of grief and resentment.

Her words bewilder him for a moment, but widen as if to come to a realization. He never gets a chance to speak. The warrioress simply drives her blade into him with full of passionate fury, fulfilling the death threats she is spewing. Cheers erupt from her side, but she ignores them as she trudges towards the discarded blades. She picks up not her own blade but the Nemesis possessed and cradles it as if it was a child. Byleth couldn't make out anymore of the words that left her mouth as the battlefield slowly fades away, only to be replaced by a young girl sleeping upon a throne. She awakens and only then notices her, head leaning into her arm laying atop the armrest. However before the words exit her mouth…

"...eth. HEY. BYLETH. WAKE UP."

Her eyes slowly open, unperturbed by the loud voice that called to her. She takes a moment to look at her surroundings, with her father, Jeralt, being the most prevalent sight of all.

"Jeez kid, was wondering if I had to wake the whole inn just to get you to respond." a small laugh escapes him.

"I hope this won't be a recurring thing. I know you needed the rest but jeez, this is just pushing it. Mercenaries need to be on their toes at all times, even if in the safety of a village."

Byleth looks towards the window and is greeted by the sun's light leaning towards the floorboards. Ah, she overslept. She looks back toward her father and gives a simple nod as her reply. She too hoped this wasn't a recurring event. Afterall, a mercenary's life was fraught with danger. Not being aware of their environment could lead them open to ambushes if they were camped outside. Her internal reflection was interrupted by the sounds of her stomach growling. She must've really been tired if she slept through breakfast.

Aware of her current thoughts, Jeralt simply smiled and responded with

"Hehe. Well breakfast ended about an hour ago, so let's get you some lunch. Come on. Get ready. I'll wait for you outside"

At that, her father left while Byleth freshened up, she took the time to contemplate what her dreams were about. She walks to a nearby basin and splashes some water over her face. This wasn't some dream that came from imagination, no, they were too vivid in her mind and she could recall them in descriptive detail. Next was the girl on the throne. She was always there at the end and she would talk to her. Having a conversation with someone you've never met or recall seemed too strange even to her. This time it was interrupted but what about next time?

…Well, no use dwelling on it for now, she'll deal with it when the time comes. She grabs a towel to dry her face and out the door she goes to meet with her father. A simple greeting to let him know and off they went to the tavern down the dirt path.

As they walked they could hear the small gossip among the villagers. Most of it, not that it bothered her, was about her appearance. She would look towards some of the villagers. Young men were speaking of her and they would look away the moment she made eye contact, but not before she noticed how red dusted their cheeks. When she glanced at their female compatriots, a few would commit the same action. She wondered what about her was so disturbing to them. She may not be able to express emotion, she can still feel annoyance. But while she can't show emotion, her father held a not so subtle one in the form of a glare while out of her line of sight.

"Come on kid, let's hustle before the rest of the band eat everything." Jeralt ground out in exasperation.

"Very well" was her concise response.

They quickened their pace and soon reached their destination. The sounds of laughter and gossip filled her ears as she entered. Her father led her to a small corner of the tavern where they sat and bided their time for the waitress to come to them. For some reason her father had taken the time to raise a hood up and cover his face. Once she asked why he would need to do such a thing every time they entered a tavern, he would always respond with "Let's just say, dear old dad loves a good drink a bit too much". It wasn't a good answer in her eyes, but in the end it wasn't really worth pursuing anymore and dropped it eventually. In the meantime while waiting for the waitress, Byleth would listen in on the ongoing conversations. While most were for boasts of skill, tall tales or rumors, there is alway information that could be gleaned that could one day prove useful.

"I'm telling you mate, she was looking at me. It's love at first sight." Useless.

"Demon attacks have been starting to get more frequent around here. Think it's time to bug out?" worth noting.

"Ha, those cowards ran with their tail between their legs, next time they show up we'll send them to the Goddess' embrace." Unprofessional. If you are fighting someone, make sure they don't live to tell the tale and form a strategy against you for the future.

"I'm telling ya. I saw 'em. It's the Skywalker. He's somewhere in the Ogma mountains"

"And I'm telling you, you must've been seeing things. Ain't no way that crazy fool is traveling in range of the Knights of Seiros" Hoo?

She focused her hearing to this tidbit of info. The Skywalker. A moniker given to a being that is capable of traveling through the air. For the past 5 years, she had heard rumors and tales of the Skywalker wherever she went. A single person who could tame the air to do his bidding, command lightning from his fingers without a spell stated that he would vanish into thin air when all was done. And the strangest one yet, run towards enemies and their attacks would phase through him as though he was a spirit. Other rumors claimed this individual is able to summon the wrath of the Goddess and rain fire and destruction upon their enemies from the heavens. A single being able to wipe out entire bands without injury. And in the aftermath he would burn the bodies. One moment there were reports of thieves, next they were all burnt carcasses by the time the knights arrived. One tale that came from a small group of women being held hostage told of how the Skywalker rescued them from brigands. From the shadows this mysterious figure arrived and grabbed those who forced them in bonds and vanished. All they could hear were their screams before the figure walked before them. Their only actions being to cut off the ropes and point them in the direction of safety. No words were ever spoken, just the cries of joy they felt and ran.

In the beginning, she simply dismissed it as mad ravings, born from a drunken tirade of a group for the masses to hear. But as she traveled with her father, the more she began to believe that the rumors held some sort of merit. The same tales of feats that this individual was capable of had made to villages and towns they passed through. Some romanticized this being as a messenger of the Goddess, delivering justice to those that would bring harm to her followers. Others believed it was a demon in human skin, as it slaughtered so many people within so little time. Even as descriptions differed slightly and more feats of impossible abilities continued to be added, it all led back to one entity.

She wasn't one to believe in idle rumors without proof, but she was becoming a believer when passing through Varley.

Imperial Year 1177, 6th of the Harpstring Moon

Bandits had been raiding the mining deposits around the Ogma mountains, and as a result operations had stopped and the miners were forced to clear out until the situation had improved. The count of Varley seemed to be seething at such an incident and wanted them gone. Something about how precious time and profits were being lost by the minute. Her father managed to negotiate a contract with him but he seemed to sport a dark look when he returned. Why was he so worried? Was it the bandits, the count, or something else? She didn't know but one thing she did know is that a contract was made and they must now fulfill it.

But by then, night had fallen and climbing the mountains without proper lighting would be dangerous. With no knowledge of the roads towards the mountains, they would need to light a lantern or torch, but that would only expose their location. In addition, the rough terrain and darkness would only lead to accidents, which would also end in the same result of exposing themselves if someone began to scream from the pain of a broken bone or such injuries. In the end, they set up camp at the base of the mountain and at first light they would venture up the mountain. Just as she was about to retire for the evening, the sounds of thunder washed over her. She looked up to the sky only to find it clear, then towards the others, confusion also prominent on their features. Strange. Is this really thunder? It sounded too numerous, like a small rhythm. As they were questioning this mystery, screams began to vocalize in tandem with the thunder. The bandits hiding out in the mountains, she presumed. Words that she couldn't decipher due to the distance and the mountains echoing the thunder, thus drowning out any chance of a coherent phrase. By the time Byleth even took the first step out after getting over her confusion, the sounds ceased. No one in the camp uttered a word, hoping to hear something to explain what happened but no answer came to them. Instead,

"What in the name of the Goddess was that?"

"That was thunder wasn't it? Is there a mage up there?"

"Can't be. Boss man said these were thieves. No mages in the group"

"Was that the bandits? Did somebody attack them?"

Jeralt seemed to take the initiative better and decided

"We're heading up. Get ready."

The order was a surprise to the mercs. Normally Jeralt doesn't make a reckless move such as this.

"B-but… what about the bandits? Won't th-"

"If what we heard was real…then we don't need to worry about them anymore."

Don't need to worry? What did her father mean by that? She looked to the others and it appeared she wasn't the only one to have those thoughts. She looked back at her father, head tilted slightly in confusion.

"Father?"

Jeralt turned to her

"Kid. Just trust me on this." A beat passed. Then another.

"Alright" would be her response.

Her father has always watched out for the group. Never taking unnecessary risks unless it was warranted in a situation where it called for some. She would always trust her fathers judgement because he never led her astray before. She still believes he won't now. She went to her tent to pick up her satchel to take for the journey. Of the 8 mercs alongside them for this mission, she along with 4 others went alongside her father, while the rest would wait at the base in case of an unexpected occurrence. Her father lit up a small lantern and held it up, signaling the start of their trek up the beaten path. While the others were wary, she noticed something with her father. He didn't draw his blade. In fact he doesn't even look worried about an attack coming. That means that he knows something that the others don't. About the truth of what happened. She quickened her pace to match her fathers.

"You know, don't you."

It was a statement, she knew her father enough to know when he was trying to keep something from her, but she never felt like pressing. This is one of the times she would feel it to be an exception. Jeralt's face scrunched slightly, but sighed after a moment.

"Yeah. Yeah kid, I do."

He continued his trek as he turned slightly to face her.

"Do you remember those rumors that were flooding every village we passed through? You know, the ones about this magical being with the power of flight and all that."

She raised a brow at this. That nonsense? Wait…

"The Skywalker? I thought that was just a rumor."

"..."

"Father, they were rumors, right?"

Her answer was him looking away from her. Why? What was it about this Skywalker that put her father on edge?

"... I've got reasons why I don't think they are rumors."

"But, why not tell me? Is he that dangerous?"

"No. The reason I didn't tell you wasn't because of him, but …'sigh' look, there are things I've kept from you, be it was more because of the kni–"

"Hey Jeralt look over there!" one of the mercs pointed upwards the mountain.

They didn't need to follow the finger as it was answered by the lights blooming towards their destination. Smoke filled the night sky and the fires raged against the heavens. What happened? They began to quicken their pace while avoiding the hazardous obstacles on the terrain. Jeralt finally decided to draw his sword on the way and they stopped before the entrance. Whoever these bandits were, they built quite the base. Wooden barricades, now besieged by flames, stood tall to defend against outside threats. But worthless, as its occupants were nowhere to be seen.

Damn, it was becoming difficult to breathe. The smoke surrounded them and made their eyes water just from trying to keep them open. Whatever cloth they could use, they pulled out to cover their faces as best they could to prevent smoke inhalation. One of the mercs even took out some herbs to add into it. Smart. Her father looked back towards them.

"We are going in to check for survivors, but be careful. If you find one alive but can't feel as though you get to him in time, leave him. I care more about you guys than to take chances here."

""YES SIR"" was the reply.

They braved through the opened gates and into the camp, but as they barely got through the plume of smoke blocking their vision, they were introduced to a gruesome sight. Bodies. Bodies of at least 10 bandits lay strewn about, other signs showing there were still more to find. She went to one of the bodies and took a look. A look of horror was etched into his face. It was worth a note but it wasn't important now. What was of note was the hole that occupied his forehead. Looking at the body as quickly as she could, there were additional holes in him. Specifically 2 in the chest right where the heart would be. An arrow perhaps? No, not possible. No shaft was sticking out of him to indicate there was ever one in the first place. The hole in the head is almost perfectly circular. Nothing an arrow could leave. She wanted to turn over the body to check behind, but there was a time limit before everything literally came crashing around them. She decided to move on, hopefully among the dead there could be one survivor they could interrogate. The others looked like they weren't faring much better, but they all saw the exact same wounds on each of the bodies before them. The only difference in a number of them was a few extra holes in differing locations.

What could have done this? Were these wounds from the 'thunder' they heard before? Questions for later. Right now was gathering as much information as she could before the fires destroyed all of the evidence.

5 minutes passed

The coughing of her fellow compatriots accompanied by the crackling of the wood structures fill her ears. The heat was starting to become unbearable around them and the smoke occupied more of their vision by the second. Her clothes clung to her body and were showing signs of burns. Contrary to popular belief it's not the flames that are needed to set you on fire, but the fumes it produces at high temperature. It's time to move now, they need to leave before they become trapped. There was no one alive. Thirty men lived here. Thirty men that now lay dead. The men in the ramparts were caught by surprise. Some had their throats slit. A couple had their heads twisted ground level didn't fare better, only 2 had wounds different from the rest, only it wasn't a better sight. One that was laying limp against a rock wall is missing various sections of his face alongside the top of his head. She found some sort of cylinders around the body. Thank goodness she was wearing gloves. The heat was dispersed to them instead of her hands long enough that she was able to place 2 in her satchel before moving on. The other victim… the other needed to be scooped up in a bucket to be able to have enough to bury. The roars of the fires increased yet again. That's it. They have overstayed their welcome, if they stay any longer they risk being trapped inside.

"Father,-cough- it's time to -cough- leave -cough-"

Her father had no trouble agreeing to her request. He called out to the men.

"ALRIGHT EVERYONE, TIME TO BUG OUT NOW!"

They all filed for the exit and as Byleth made to move for the door before she felt something to her left. A building with its door broken down. She didn't know why she was feeling what she was, but it was telling her to go in. As though there was something there for her to find. The footprints she could only now see reinforced her decision.

"Be quick, then get out" She moved towards the door and entered. Head low and knees down to almost touch the ground. She surveyed whatever she could that wasn't covered in smoke and saw hopefully some ray of hope. One of the bandits, they must've missed him, covered in fiery planks. Boxes scattered near him. She motioned closer to him and the groan she heard was music to her ears. She grabbed him by the arms and began to remove him from this position. She then moved under his pits once she could get a better grip and pulled back to the door.

*CREEEEAKKKK*

This was her mistake. The floorboard above her groaned, finally giving in. Debris was falling around her. Forcing her to summon more strength she possibly could and drag out the survivor. She looked up and her eyes widened. More debris. But this time targeting where she stood. She wanted to move, but time she spent in the flames drained her of most of her energy. She couldn't move in time. Time seemed to slow to a crawl in her eyes as the debris inched closer. So this was it. She supposed it was her fault. She ignored her fathers warnings and now she will pay the price. Hmm. Would father be lonely now? She hoped not, afterall there wa-

It was then she felt something wrap around her waist and began to pull

*whir* *SWOOSH*

Wha– OOPH. The sudden speed knocked the already low amounts of air from her lungs. Pulling her and the bandit out of the danger zone. One moment she was looking at her death sentence, then the next she was outside on the ground. What was that? Who-

"KID WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!"

Her father was upon her. Fraught with anger born of worry. He didn't waste time continuing his argument. Visibility was almost nonexistent right now. He just pulled her up and saw what she was dragging. Agitation marred his features but said nothing and he just helped in pulling him out the stronghold. Well, he did most of the work, she was limping from the bruising she just received in the sternum from her rescue. Once they were out of safety, she was in for a scolding. Damn, she really hated those.

They exited from the hell hole and ran down as far away as they could in an attempt to break away from the smoke. It was only after they finally let themselves relax and collapsed from the accumulated heat and exhaustion they endured. She was faring no better herself. She could barely muster any strength to even stand. Pulling down the cloth over her mouth was a job of itself. Her hair practically glued to her face and covered in soot. The only one seeming unaffected by it all was her father, who stood tall above everyone else. Despite that he was no worse than anyone else, he somehow found the strength to still stand. He began walking towards her. Oh no. He didn't seem too happy. He raised a fist and…

*BONK* Searing pain made itself known atop her head. She reflexively moved her hands to cover it in an attempt to mitigate the pain.

"Kid, you better have a good explanation why I almost dragged your corpse outta there. That was something beyond stupid what you did."

She could only stare at her father. He was right. She looked down and could only offer apologies.

"I'm sorry. I just… I felt that whatever was in that building held the answer to what we were looking for."

She looked to the sole survivor of that useless hunk of wood now. Whatever happened, he could be the key to finding out. Oh speaking of…

"Thank you. For pulling me out the building." Confusion took over Jeralt.

"What are you talking about?" What?

"When I was trying to get out of the building. Weren't you the one who pulled me to safety?"

"Kid… when I went back to find you, you were on the ground. I never went into the buildings."

That.. that didn't make any sense. If he didn't pull the two of them to safety then who… No. It couldn't be. Could it?

"Kid?"

"...I'm fine. Just tired." Her body as well as her mind reached their limits. Sleep was the best thing she could ask for right now. Jeralt looked at her but didn't press into it.

"Don't think your punishment is over. When you wake up, you are in some trouble."

Her response was to look down at their newly acquired prisoner. Worth it.

Imperial Year 1177, 7th of the Harpstring Moon

The trek back down the mountain was arduous, be they made it. Just walking set fire to her body from pain but they needed to be back. The sun was just rising so they decided to get a good rest before they started asking any questions. The prisoner Byleth managed to secure was alive with a few burns on his back. He was lucky as it seemed he was knocked out before the fire rages so he was breathing in much less smoke on the floor. The mercs back at camp wanted to ask what happened but Jeralt just gave a concise 'later' and told them to tie up the addition they brought back with them. Byleth didn't even bother to listen. She just walked into her tent, threw her satchel to the side and collapsed on her makeshift bed without even changing out of her clothing. By the time she awoke, the sun had begun its rotation of coming back down. She was aching all over because she received some burn marks on her. She thought at least getting something to eat before patching herself up was a good idea. It wasn't. She wouldn't even get to enjoy lunch because her father took her to the side and had forced her to her knees while he was giving her a tongue-lashing about the dangers of going into a burning building and the various risks she ignored in taking her chances. She knew and paid the price, but her father seemed insistent on planted how stupid t was in her head. It lasted for a whole hour before that small torture finally ended. The mercs with them could only snicker at the display before them. A few openly laughed at the absurdity of the situation. Laugh will they? Well, some of them do look like they've put on some weight. Maybe it's time for some mandatory training and see if she could 'correct' a few issues with that. See if by the end they could still laugh.

30 minutes later

Byleth was able to swap out her clothes and cleaned herself off all the soot and sweat that clung to her. However she needed a vulnerary for the burn marks over her body. Hopefully they won't leave a scar but she would need to consult a healer the next chance she got just to make sure. After applying some medicine, she was able to hold some jerky and oatmeal they had for the journey in before she met with Jeralt and could finally interrogate their prisoner. He was still out cold. Hmm. She went back to her tent and grabbed her basin and returned… only to dump its contents on the bandits face. It certainly gave him the jolt he needed to awaken.

*cough, cough, hack*

Jeralt looked on in approval. She always gets the job done. He then dawned a face of stoicism and crouched at eye level to the still wheezing man.

"Here's how it works, I ask a question and you answer. Every answer I don't like, and I'll–"

"WHERE ARE WE? IS HE HERE? OH GODDESS PLEASE, DON'T LET HIM NEAR ME! TAKE TO THE KNIGHTS. I'LL ADMIT EVERYTHING. I'LL GO TO THE DUNGEONS! I'LL HANG BY THE NOOSE! I'LL TALK! I'LL TALK! JUST GET ME OUT OF HERE!"

Huh. That was easy. Normally it takes a while for us to get answers. Well since he is in a talkative mood. She motioned forward and leveled herself to his level.

"What happened?"

"NO! GET ME OUT OF HERE! I WON'T ANSWER ANYTHING UNTIL–"

She gives him a slap across his face to snap him out of it. She was sporting a headache from the bump in the noggin she suffered last night and the lecture she received not too long ago was not helping. She didn't need to increase the migraine from his constant screaming.

"Answer our questions, and we will deliver you as to the knights to face your punishment"

There was a slight nod to him, but he didn't seem too focused on her, her father or anyone else at the camp. His breathing was shaky. His eyes wandered everywhere as if there was a predator out there looking for him. His fears were starting to affect everyone else. Here was a man that likely took enjoyment in his thievery, and instead was nothing more than a fear stricken wreck. Jeralt came in to try and salvage something. This time he didn't hold onto his stoicism and his eyes softened slightly at the quivering mess before him.

"Take a deep breath. Calm down and the quicker you talk, the faster we get you outta here."

The promise of leaving seemed to do the trick. The bandit seemed to try and take a breath but was still shaky. After giving him a minute he looked willing to answer questions. She took the initiative.

"Let's start over. First, what's your name?"

"J-James"

"Ok James, what happened?"

The brigand took one last breath and

"We were celebrating our latest haul. We had just gotten a lot of carts of iron ore we were going to sell to a couple of nobles."

Jeralt then took the next question to get more out of that statement

"Nobles?"

"Yeah, some nobles hired us to raid the mines for the ore. We get a cut every cart we bring back."

"Is that why you were targeting Varley? So some nobles could get ore cheaper than the askin' price"

A nod was his response.

"They- " he took a gulp of air" They gave us some equipment, and a couple extra men for this. The count pretty much holds all of the iron ore in the nearby lands. So he could make any sort of price he wanted and most couldn't do anything about it."

That would explain the veritable fortress they found. If nobles were backing this, then of course these men could afford the fortifications. Cheaper to pay men to steal it than to pay for it from the count. Best get the names later. Even if they are taking his word for it, there must be some trail that could be followed. But that's a problem for the count, not them.

"Go on." Byleth urged.

"R-right. We were celebrating and one of the boys called out to the scout, Murphy, in the ramparts. When he didn't get an answer, he just assumed Murphy was drunk off his ass and fell asleep. He left to go check it out, but never came back. We started calling for them, and started noticing that there was no one where they were supposed to be."

So whoever did this was able to silently take them down. Quite the achievement. James continued in his explanation.

"We didn't know what was going on. One sec, we were partying like nobles, then everything was going real quiet. Men weren't answering our calls, and we were starting to get scared. And then… and then"

Damn it, he was starting to shake again. No time for this. She cocked her hand back for another slap before he broke.

"THUNDER. THERE WAS THE SOUND OF THUNDER AND LUCAS CRUMPLED ON THE SPOT! THE POOR BASTARD! FELL OVER DEAD BEFORE HE EVEN KNEW HE WAS KILLED. WE COULDN'T EVEN DRAW OUR WEAPONS BECAUSE WE WERE COVERING OUR EARS BEFORE NOAH AND LIAM JOINED HIM! ALLAN, ETHAN, OWEN! ONE BY ONE THEY ALL FELL! OHHHH GODDESS. EVEN WITH MY EARS RINGING I COULD HEAR THEM. THOSE THAT SURVIVED THE THUNDER SCREAMING FOR THE GODDESS, THEIR MOMMIES, ANYONE TO SAVE THEM"

James broke down into tears, head touching the ground as he continued to shed tears, replaying the memory before them. It was a pitiful sight to see. Hell, even some of the men started looking at him as less than a bandit they were ready to kill and more a man who just lost a family member. It was silently unanimous that he was given time to get this out of his system. Push too far and they risk being given incomplete information or babbling. When he picked himself back up they decided to try again.

"I-I, I ran to the storage room. I couldn't- I couldn't take it and hid like a coward. I barely had time to hide behind some crates before all of the noise was done. "

She looked at her father and he mirrored the action. He was telling the truth so far. Everything he lined up with what little information they were able to find. The answer is obvious as to who did this, but better to confirm than speculate. She asked her question?

"Do you know who did this?"

"…"

"..."

"..."

Silence was their answer. Jeralt moved to shake him before it was finally broken.

"...alker" was a muted response.

"Come again?" Jeralt requested.

"...it was the Skywalker. " James barely muttered. He seemed drained, the life in his eyes simply empty.

The response was deafening. Murmurs stoked amongst the men at hearing his. To have confirmation like this was certainly expected, but that didn't detracted from how big this news was. However she needed to be sure.

"How do you know? You said you ran into the storage room before the fighting was done. What proof do you have that you know it was him?"

The signs were obvious but for some reason she was intrigued by this being. Her curiosity was getting the better of her in wondering what this entity looked like. She wanted to know more. What was the motive? Why them?

"I waited. I couldn't move. I felt if I even breathed I would be found. But as time passed I finally gathered some courage to look out. …I regret it. I went to the window to peek and saw it. The demon in human form. I slipped away from the window, but I think I hit something as the lantern fell. When I went to look again, in front of me was that thing, face blackened like the night sky, a single eye staring at me as though it was looking into my soul. I backed away as quickly as I could a-and a few of the boxes landed on top of me."

Well... now they knew how the fire started. The heavy winds from the mountains must've carried the flames towards the other sections until the entire area was consumed.

"Please… just get me outta here. *hic* I don't want to be here any more"

Jeralt looked to his left and signaled the men to take him away. But…

"Wait." Byleth stopped them. She went back into her tent and began to search her satchel for what she found. When she returned she carried a small hollowed out cylinder with her.

"This thing." she held it up in front of his face. "Do you know what this is?"

James took a look, but to her disappointment he shook his head

"No. I've never seen that before"

"Kid. Is that all?"

"...Yes."

And with that the mercs took him away.

Imperial Year 1180, 19th of the Great Tree Moon

Present time

The memory would never leave her. After they went to collect their pay, the count stiffed them. Since they weren't the ones who dealt with the bandits, he claimed they weren't worth the price they negotiated. It left a sour taste in her mouth, but unfortunately it was true. But she felt at least they deserved something for bringing back the survivor. They did give him the names of nobles that were possibly complicit in thievery. He just responded with the fact that since it was from a thief, it was worthless, but from the grumbling she could see, he wasn't going to let it go. She was going to have her father help in trying to salvage something but the moment Count Varley mentioned getting the knights of Seiros involved in the matter, he decided to drop the issue and left. Every time she would ask about him the only answer was not to worry about them. If he told her why she didn't need to worry about them, she would let it go, but this was something she would look into later.

In the meantime, ever since that encounter she would listen for any information about the Skywalker. For her, it was the mystery behind the legend. She couldn't help herself. One being. A single being is capable of such destruction yet very few actually know anything besides their appearance and feats. That night. She was now certain that night the Skywalker was the one who saved her. Her only proof of the event now lies around her neck. The 2 hollow cylinders she found that night, she fashioned into a necklace and always kept it on her. Her father disapproved, but this was one of the few things she asked for, so he was willing to look the other way this once, but his condition for keeping it was that she had to keep it tucked under her shirt away from the public eye.

Later

The waitress had finally come to them and they were able to enjoy a nice hot meal. Spuds with meat were always a nice meal wherever you went. But her small vices came from the dessert, apple cinnamon pie. It was a rare treat for her since they were always on the move and she was used to simple foods like oatmeal and other foods that were bland in flavor. But one day for her birthday her father took her to a small tavern and said she could order anything she wanted. She saw it from a patron across the table who was coincidentally with her daughter as well and wanted to try it herself. It was the best decision she ever made because of the rich flavors that invaded her tongue. It was an instant favorite that she would splurge every now and again at every opportunity she could get. It was being readied in the oven and the smell was tickling her nose. Only a few more minutes now. The wait would be well worth it.

*Step step step step*

The sound of boots caught her attention as she faced the doorway. What she found was… certainly a strange sight. Someone was at the doorway, head wrapped in some sort of cloth along with a scarf for the lower portion of their face. Her hair couldn't be seen. They wore glasses(?) that were tinted and a type of elongated metal covering on their ears. As for their state of dress it seemed sooo.. flashy yet distinctive. A simple short sleeved red shirt. Various belts lined with pouches strapped together that overlaid their chest. Female? The body type would certainly match. A knife holster hanging on the belt above the right shoulder. Along the belt contained more pouches and other various items she had never seen before nor would she be able to tell anyone as to their function. The one that stood out though was whatever was holstered on this woman's right. A weapon perhaps? Not one she was certainly familiar with. Looking at her arms she wore black gloves with a unique design. She carried 2 bags with her. One long bag slung over her shoulder that seemed to make a camouflaging pattern and another backpack with many chains and pockets. Looking down at her pants, she was wearing a green set of skin tight pants with pads on her knees. Her boots seem to be on the heavy side from the noise they made on the wooden floor. Given how the tavern became silent at her entrance, her effects must be a rare sight. Said subject of observation chose to ignore the stares she received as she started for a table. Her movements, tracked by every occupant in the room. She didn't utter a single word as she set down her bags near her and sat down.

She turned her head towards the waitress, not even bothering to remove her headwear and gave her a single wave. This action quickly snapped the waitress out of her trance and made her way to take her order.

"Yes? What would you like today?"

She pulled down the scarf over her mouth and opened her mouth but stopped midway. She angled her head slightly above and began to sniff something in the air.

"Uh, is there something burning back there?"

Burning? Now that she mentions it there does smell like something is being overcooked but what could… OH FU–

1 minute later…

She was not pouting. Her blank stares at the waitress weren't making her sweat profusely as she was bowing low, sputtering out apologies. She wasn't thinking of wanting to throttle her for the desecration of such a blessed food. She didn't then turn her anger at the newcomer wondering what sort of vengeance she could enact upon her. No. Anger is just petty. She was simply staring at her because that's what everyone else was doing.

"Kid. we'll buy ya another one. No need to get worked up over it."

"I'm so sorry dear customer, I offer no excuses for this blunder."

The pie that was brought before them had the entire top cover reduced to a charred mess. The heavenly cinnamon that complimented the apple was now replaced with a putrid odor that warded patrons away.

"It's fine." her father answered in her stead. It was not fine. Someone must pay for this. "Look, just make another one and we'll be ok."

The waitress shuffled in place. She wasn't making eye contact with them.

"I- I'm sorry to say we don't have any more cinnamon. We don't receive a new supply until next week."

*CRACK*

The words plowed through her and broke her down like a stone. Noooo. It's been 2 months, 1 week and 4 days since her last pie. And now she wouldn't be able to taste it again until they reached Gaspard. The trip alone would take a week through Magdred Way and that's if the fog doesn't settle in and even then, finding a village that served it was an inconvenience.

"Don't pout, kid." She wasn't pouting. She was simply inflating her cheeks.

"But-"

"Look, I know how much it means to you but there's nothing more we can do now. Them's the breaks."

Hearing the familiar steps behind her, she glanced behind, air still in her cheeks. The cause of her current predicament. A few clinks sounded as coins landed on the table. Gold?

"I'll pay for it"

Byleth lost the air in order to speak.

"Why?"

"I guess my entrance was a bit too spectacular for these people. Your food paid the price."

"..." Byleth could only stare at her. It was still as blank as before. Eye contact was made with tinted glasses and all the mysterious stranger did was raise her hands in the air.

"Hey. Come on. I think the anger toward me is a little unjustified here. It's not like I wanted to waste good food" She supposed now it wasn't. The only crime the young woman in front of her was guilty of was simply entering at a bad time. Wait…

Her father was surprised at that as he had the same revelation.

"Wait, you could tell she was angry?"

The girl turned to him.

"Yeah. Pretty easy to tell. Her eyes are very expressive." Ho? She turns to face her again. One hand lowered while the other held a point to her.

"Now she's got an inquisitive look." Two for two.

"Geez. It took me years to finally learn her tells."

"Don't blame you on that mister. My daddy acted the same so I've got some practice with this. But he was still a talker at times to me so I had an easier time pickin up the differences."

"Huh. Finally someone who understands." Her father stood up and extended his hand. "Jeralt Eisner. This kid is my daughter, Byleth."

"..." instead of taking the hand, she stared at it for a few moments. It was subtle but Byleth could see her hands trembling. Why? What was so bad about a handshake? It was slow but she gently met his hand with her own and shook it. But the second it ended, she drew it back like the hand was the plague.

"Jack. My name is Jack."

"Jack? Ha. That's a boy's name."

"Short for Jacklyn. But I honestly prefer Jack for the most part. Dad didn't mind. So, if you aren't going to eat that pie, I'll take it."

Byleth looked back at the blackened treat. Part of her still wanted to eat it despite its current state, but she couldn't afford stomach problems nor another lecture from her father. So in the end she just asked.

"Are you sure? You won't have any problems with it?"

"Nah, I'll just scrape off what I need to and eat it. Wasting food is a crime punishable by death to me." She could salvage this? The maybe she should jo–

"Ok. Let's go kid. We need to head to bed early tonight. Remember we need to head out to the kingdom at the crack of dawn" Jeralt left the coins on the table and made for the doorway.

She couldn't argue more with her father. She took one last look at her last dessert and then finally worked up the nerve to leave. While she was exiting, their newest acquaintance kept her eyes on them as they left then turned back to the ruined confectionary. She stood there a moment before looking at the waitress.

Imperial Year 1180, 20th of the Great Tree Moon

Jack POV

"Hot damn. She must've really wanted this thing."

I take another slice and start munching down on it. It was really good despite the crust being burnt. A few (read: many) scrapes later and it was finally edible again. I wasn't lying before. Wasting food is a terrible crime that I won't let people get away with. And I will put a bullet through someone who does it without a second thought. It was the crack of dawn and I was already in my work clothes.

'Hope she'll forgive me next time'

I look at a small package near the door. Her father said they were heading out right about now. Might buy me some goodwill from her and then some. Hopefully before she leaves I can get that to her, but if not oh well. Now I gotta get ready to head out myself. Tracking bounties is a bitch, but hey, legwork is needed to reap the rewards.

"Hey JT. Got a bead on my target of the week?" I talk, seemingly to no one. But a voice enters my ear.

"Confirmed. Search drones within the local area have spotted the target just outside the village." A robotic, yet gentle voice echoes in my ear. Specifically my earpiece.

"How far out?" That wasn't good. Are they preparing for a raid or something?

"Approximately half a mile and closing in towards the village. Motion sensors indicate your target is pursuing 3 unknowns. Eta: 6 minutes. I Recommend preparing for combat."

What? FUCK. Who would be so stupid to lead brigands to a village? I went to my drag bag and unzipped it. The D-101 Longbow. Loud as shit to me even with noise cancelers and a suppressor on, but it always did the job, so the results are worth the noise. With a 6x scope, they get anywhere within 300-600 meters, they're dead. I do a once over in checking the chamber, attaching the suppressor. No need for the 4.5x here. AOG is probably the best I can do with how close they are. Ok quick check on equipment.

E-smoke grenades? Check

Noise cancelers? Check

P2016? Check

Ammo? Check

Knives? Check

I take a second to wrap my head covering around my face and put on my scarf. After that, I put on my visor and they light up with my vital signs, sonar, and ammo counter. Outside they look like sunglasses, but to those who put it on, they look at everything in the same light.

"JT. What direction are they coming from?"

"They are westbound at 600 meters and closing. ETA: 4 minutes. The 3 civilians have made contact with the mercenary band currently staying in Remire and are now preparing to make their stand at the outskirts of the village. Ally forces tally at 13. Sensors detect that 34 additional hostile targets are accompanying your primary target. Recommendation: Leave the fighting to the mercenaries. Sensor drones located at the base of the mountains confirm the knights of Seiros en route to your location. ETA: 10 minutes."

"It's 13 against 34 JT. The mercs I can trust, but I don't know about the civvies that ran here for help. Even if this fucker is after them, all it takes to turn the tide in their favor is one getting past them and causing chaos in the thick of things. A single break in formation and everything can easily fall apart. I don't want to take chances with this."

"Very well. Addendum: take a position due northeast approximately 100 meters. There is a small hill you can use for a sniper position overlooking the target area. Fire only should the situation necessitate it. ETA of targets: 3 minutes. You'd best hurry along."

"Thank JT. Leave the countdown on the screen."

"Safe travels, Jack. Good hunting."

I shoulder my rifle, strap on my backpack, grab my drag bag and head out. I look to where JT pointed me to and I can see it. I hoof it towards the location and get ready to set up, the timer in the corner of the screen dwindling as I pick up the pace. I extend the bipod and use my backpack as an additional stabilizer. 1 minute left.

Position set.

Load in the magazine.

Flick off the safety.

Rack the bolt to load the first round.

Pop open the cover on the scope.

Make sure the finger is off the trigger until ready to fire.

Zero in the sight.

And viola, a nice view of the future battlefield. 200 meters out. Fire offers minimal vision and not much moonlight but that works both ways. They can't see me but I've got the equipment to see them. Besides, I'm here for defense, not offense so I'm ok with this. Oh, through the scope I can see it's Byleth and Jeralt. They must be the mercs JT was talking about. I can see Jeralt barking orders to the mercs around them and are taking defensive positions around where the most action is. Now let's see the idiots that brought trouble here.

'…Fuck. They're kids.' to my mental shock

Best I can see right now are their backs. One is blonde hair with a blue cape and black uniform holding a spear. The other is a black haired slightly tanned guy with a yellow cape and matching uniform. He's strapped with a bow. And the last one is a platinum blonde with a red cape and, you guessed it, a black matching uniform. Chick has got quite the axe on her. Are they students?

'Damn it, they must be from the academy.' my thoughts are already playing the events from the facts I just learned. The monastery up the mountain is home to an officer's academy. These guys must be from there.

'That would explain why the Knights of Seiros are running down the hills. These students are under their protection and something must've happened to separate them.' My grumblings from this are not going to stop soon.

'Great. It was supposed to be a simple bounty. But nooooo. Whatever the world decided, it took the most unexpected outcomes, mashed them together, and threw it in my face like a ball of shit.'

I wanted to just let my face rest in my hands to try and scream into them, but if I do that, I would lose precious seconds in trying to readjust my sightings. My mistake though was lowering my head to take in this absurdity.

'Dad's not going to be happy about this, but at least he'll understand none of this was my fault.'

Looking back through my scope.

'Shit, the fighting's already started.'

I mentally scold myself for that lapse in judgement. Jeralt, Byleth and one of the mercs are on the frontlines. The 3 students closeby. Seems like they're doing a pair system. Byleth with the white haired girl, blondie with the bowman, and Jeralt with his guy. Decent strategy enough, especially since the mercs don't know the skills of the students. I look to see Byleth cutting down the bandits. The platinum blonde close by, finishing off those that survive the first strike.

"Damn girl. You are one cold customer." I mutter to myself. I don't know if that applies to Byleth or both of them, but I can see it fitting for both.

Jeralt and his merc buddy are pushing up with ease as well. Son of a gun is smashing their weapons. Takes a lot of strength and skill to aim for their weapon like that. And the spearman is keeping the brigands at bay while the bowman picks them off. The band of mercs that stayed behind picked their corners and dug in. They use the terrain and barricades to their advantage to funnel them into killzones. The mercs have taken a defensive line with some bows being fired to ward off any reckless idiots. And those that make it past them are getting cut down.

'Heh. guess that speaks of Jeralt's leadership skills. Make even strangers effective in formation.'

Despite the numerical advantage, the bandits don't seem to have much in the combat department. Must not be used to people who can fight back. Little by little Jeralt and Byleth seem to be pushing them back. The bandits are losing ground.

'Might not even need to help. They seem to have this in the bag.'

"Warning. Sensor Drones Motion detectors have been tripped due northwest of your position. Seven blips. It seems the hostiles are using the forest to cover their movements and are attempting to flank their position."

'I just had to jinx myself. Stupid.'

"JT. Can you mark them? I don't like relying on you for this but saving these villagers comes before my pride."

"Certainly. Search drones will emit a sonar pulse on your mark. Linking visuals to your HUD now. Beware. Once the pulse emits you will have 4.5 seconds before it runs out, plus an additional 25 seconds for recharge."

"Thanks for the reminder. Ok. Pulse, on my mark."

The right side of my screen adds in an additional countdown the moment I say the word. Gotta make every second count. I can see the shadows in the forest move about. Damn it, if you guys ran away I would've let you go. I aim for the general direction andddd..

"Mark."

My hud lights up. The bioelectricity from the pulse bares themselves for me to see. First group is barely 150 meters out. Thank God some elevation on me gives me something to work with. Too close for proper sighting to work. But the 2nd group behind is well within perfect range. Best I can do now is thin the herd. I take the first shot at the farthest man the millisecond they appear.

*SNAP* that definitely was heard in the village right now. 4.2 seconds

I can't afford to wait to confirm the hit as the bullet travels.

Next target. Another snap leaves aimed at the man closest to the first target about 3 feet to his right. Any chance for the villagers to not hear it is gone now. 3.2 seconds.

First target goes down. The hiss from the traveling bullet was heard by them and now they stood still to look about. Perfect. Continue to be sitting ducks. 2.8 seconds.

Third and fourth targets are together, so I aim for the right's stomach and fire. In succession I aim for the chest with the recoil for target four. Second target collapses, his bio-electricity vanishing. 1.6 seconds left.

What's left of the gang finally wise up and decide to hide behind the trees for some cover. They saw that their buddies behind them were starting to drop. Target 3 is still alive but his buddy can't say the same. Target 3 is screaming his lungs out, but I elected to ignore him for lining up my last target. Less than a second left. Target 5 is behind a tree.

"Hope that's oak you are hiding behind because if not, this is gonna fuck up your day."

The sonar ran out and his silhouette vanished, but I kept my rifle trained on his location and unloaded another round. I wait for the snap to impact against the tree.

*BANG* I hear the impact and the screams of the fifth target are echoing out. Damn, I was hoping that would kill him quickly. My noise cancelers filter out most of the screams but are still audible. Five targets down. 3 confirmed kills and 2 wounded. One round is still in the chamber.

'Do I reload? Hmmm.'

I take a second I can afford to look through my options. First half is dead. Second half is probably scared outta their minds from the screams alone. Best take a closer stance. I elect to eject the last bullet, flip back on the safety and put the rifle down against the tree because the barrel is too hot to put back in the bag. I pull out my P2016 from my holster and reach for a pouch on my backpack. I pull out the suppressor and screw it on. Quiet is out the window, but the muzzle flash will be taken away and keep me in the dark.

"JT, keep an eye on the motion trackers and keep one search drone on my stuff. Looks like I need to get in the mud for this last bit."

"Certainly. Though I do oppose such an action. Mud is terribly vexing to remove from magazines and guns. With the addition that it is highly unsanitary."

"Figure of speech, JT." I roll my eyes at the interpretation.

"Very well, I will update my vernacular to include that phrase."

I hold back a sigh. Sometimes I forget how literal he could be. I crouch down and make for the trees. I can't let them go anymore. Dad told me once I fired the first shot, never let anyone who deserves it live to tell the tale. No motion as of yet from the leftovers and I don't need to take chances. The 2 wounded are still screaming but I could deal with them after. Last known locations are marked and I slowly make my way towards them. Slow and methodical steps now. No need to break a branch or anything cliche like that. Motion trackers are still negative so it looks like they still haven't moved. One hand on the grip and the other covering the ammo counter at the back. Damn thing lights up like a torch.

"Jack, motion trackers are pinging multiple unknowns east of your position. Possibly the villagers. It seems they are reacting in tandem with the screams and multiple gunshots fired."

"Shit" I whisper.

That's not good. Motion trackers are pinging too many signals. If the torches get out, my position will be exposed. The bandits I don't have a problem with, but I really don't want to deal with the knights after this. Red starts filling up the night sky and a commotion is happening. Oh no.

'Go back inside you idiots. When you hear people screaming and weapons bashing against each other, you don't ALL go out to check.'

Suddenly movement crossed my vision. It's the surviving bandits backing out if this. I position myself directly behind them so I don't have to worry about strafing shots. I level my pistol and let it cough twice. Both go down, but even the screaming the 2 are doing can't drown out the noise of the gun firing. I quickly move up and make sure they stay dead. Another shot to the chest and one in the head each just in case. Next is to follow the screams. First one closest to me was the one I shot through the tree. Bullet penetrated the wood and into the upper end of his back. From the new found lighting I was getting, I could see that bits of wood decided to stick into him. I aim for the head and pull the trigger twice.

'Last one is stomach guy'

I felt bad for that shot. But just hitting center mass in a forest is difficult enough without them running. Compensation for recoil was on my mind when I went for the stomach. No way was I going to risk headshots. I can see him. He was crying from the pain. Both hands over his stomach and balled up. No need to drag his pain out. 2 more snaps rang out and that was it. No more noise from the forest. I look towards where the main battle is.

'I'm already in it, might as well see its end.'

I eject the magazine into my hand and slap in a new one, then begin my trek towards where Jeralt and Byleth were, unheeded by the branches I'm stepping on. I keep close to the tree lines and ready myself. But it seems like my caution was unwarranted. The battle is over with most of the bandits dead or lined up far away. And in sight was the bounty I was supposed to collect, Kostas. The rat bastard was looking on in fear.

'Run man. Pride isn't worth your life. Take the chance to flee and I'll hunt your ass another day'

Despite being my target I was willing to let him go because there was too much to lose at shooting him now. Everyone already heard my shots and it's only a matter of time before search parties were sent out. I need to bail now. I look over to where Byleth is, a twinge of sadness in my chest. I really wanted to make it up to her.

"Warning; hostile target is charging towards one of the 3 unknowns."

My head snaps back to Kostas. The fool decides to try and take one with him before he goes down and charges towards the female student. The yellow garbed one reaches for an arrow but to his horror, the quiver is empty. The blonde spearman attempts to intercept but he's too far away. The closest is Byleth and she moves.

'Fuck. I hate strafing shots.' The best thing I can do now is raise my gun eye level and lead the shot. Not good. Can't get a good angle to shoot because a tree is blocking my line of sight.

Kostas raises his axe and slams it down. The white haired one blocks the strike but the handle is split in two and the force of the strike knocks her flat on her ass. Kostas uses the momentum to raise it again. The girl still doesn't give up and pulls out a knife ready to try and attack. Hes, stilI so I can now aim properly, but to both my annoyance and horror Byleth moves in my line of fire.

"BYLETH GET DOWN NOW" I scream out, hoping that she would hear it in time.

But my warning came too late. She attempts to block the initial overhead strike but the difference in mass slams her own blade back into her and breaks her collarbone. In my haste, I let out a few panic shots but it only serves to hurt my allies' hearing. He raises it again, red in his eyes, and finally my bullets strike too but it's too late. The body may have been killed but the axe still held momentum towards Byleth's head. Time slows down as I witness this.

'I'm so sorry. I couldn't save you.'

Those were my last remaining thoughts as the axe was about to enter the green haired mercenary's skull. I waited. And waited… and waited?

What the hell was going on? The axe isn't moving anymore. In fact, I look around and see no one is moving.

"What the fuck?"

A fog begins to wash over everything. It spreads to me and all of a sudden everything is playing out backwards. My gun was lowered before, now suddenly my gun is back pointed towards Byleth as she raises her sword to block the strike. Only this time instead of it slamming into her, she redirects the axe, knocking it out of his hands and kicks him back. I honestly don't know what the fuck is going on, but I decided right now shooting him took priority. Her kick knocked him back away from the try and 3 hisses emerge from my gun, 2 of them strike his chest with the third lodging itself in his throat. I removed my finger from the trigger and let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding.

'What was that? One moment Byleth was going to meet the reaper, next she's back on her feet and kicking. Need to let JT and dad know about that.'

I look back towards her and the other girl… only to see her staring right at me.

… Ooohhhh, righttttttt. I look over to the others and see they are all staring at me now too, with those closest to me having a hand on their ear. Well I just put myself between a rock and a hard place now.

"Uhhh JT. A little help over here" I desperately mumble.

"I am afraid I am limited in capacity for what I can do about your current predicament. Immediate plans I have now involve you inflicting bodily harm to allied forces even if using electronic smoke grenades for cover. Best course of action is to standby while I alert your father. Also, Knight of Seiros now approaching your position. ETA: 50 seconds."

My shoulders slump over and I just let gravity work on my arms.

"Thanks JT. You really are a lifesaver there."

"Your compliment is most appreciative."

'You know what? Fuck it. I'm knee deep in this shit now and running is not going to help me anymore.'

I exit the cover of the forest and let myself be exposed to the light. My face coverings are still on so I have at least some sort of anonymity. Jeralt seems to recognize me but the rest seem stumped as to who I am. I ignore the stares I'm receiving and head towards the dying Kostas. Seems like he's still holding on for dear life. Let's correct that. I raise my gun hopefully for a final time and just as I'm about to end it for him, I look behind me.

"All of you, plug your ears with your fingers, if you don't, the ringing won't go away for at least half a day." I turn towards Byleth and the white haired girl, "You two. I suggest backing away before covering."

Seems like the snaps I made before got them to oblige real quick. Once the two joined up with the rest and covered up, I turned back to Kostas and let my gun off one final time. With that the battle is over.

Footsteps approach behind me and I've got a good guess as to who it is. I turn to face Byleth. However, instead of looking at me, she's eyeing up my gun. And my response to that is to just move it behind my back like it will make it vanish. The action forces her to make eye contact with me. That inquisitive look from before is now present on her face. Well, her eyes mostly but still. Before either of us get off a word, JT chimes in my ear.

"Knights of Seiros inbound directly behind you. Contact in 10,9,8,7…"

JT's warning has me face forward to a group of literal white knights approaching. I holster my weapon. They aren't a threat. The foremost knight comes screaming like a comic book hero ready to save the day.

"The knights of Seiros are here! We'll cut you down for terrorizing our students." a look of surprise takes over. "Hey, the thieves are running away! Go after them!"

The knights who arrived alongside him comply and run after the fleeing remains of brigands. He then approaches us and looks towards the students to check their well being. Jeralt, though, has a look of exasperation.

"Of all the people, why him?"

"Friend of yours?" I couldn't help but call out.

"I wouldn't go that far." The knight turned to him and he sported such a joyful look.

"Captain Jeralt, it's been far too long. Do you remember me? It's Alois, your old right hand man. Well that's how I always thought of myself anyways"

Whatever he is talking about, all eyes are now on him. If Alois wants to steal the show, he can have it. While all attention is on him, let's see how far I can get before they realize I'm gone. I slowly back away to break from the group

'Come on. One step behind the other. Keep talking Alois. Keep your focus on Jeralt.'

As I turned around to make my escape, it was foiled by a single voice.

"Jack, where are you going?"

Three guesses as to who it is and the first two don't count.

I slowly glance back and see Blyeth paying complete attention to me. The rest follow suit after her. Well shit. Now how was I supposed to get outta this?

"You guys seemed to be having quite the conversation. Didn't want to ruin the moment."

Alois spoke next

"Oh, and who might you be, young lady. Are you also with Captain Jeralt?"

"No, she's not with us," said captain replied. Thank you, Jeralt now I can- "but she did help save my daughter." -not go anywhere now.

"I could hardly call it saving. Your daughter didn't seem to need rescuing." I try to deflect.

"Maybe not, but you did warn her of the danger and killed the leader of these brigands. That alone shows you were willing to rise to the call and help." The snow-haired student called out.

Blondie impresses my 'valor' more to the knight.

"Yes, what Edelgard says is correct. You showed initiative in protecting the two of them. Those that are willing to brave dangers are someone worth commending."

The trio completes their add on with the final student.

"Besides, you showed some pretty good marksmanship skills there. Gotta say it was really impressive how you managed to hit Kostas like that. What is that weapon anyway? It's pretty loud."

These people. They are really boxing me in right now. Some sweat starts to accumulate on my head and my window is closing fast. Jeralt proceeded towards me and stopped a few feet from me. He spoke low so the others wouldn't listen in.

"Trust me kid, running away from the Knights of Seiros is a bad idea. Look. I have no right to judge but whatever beef you have with them, it's going to get a lot worse if you run. If you come with us; my name still has some weight there and I can protect you. You helped my daughter and I won't forget that. So please. Don't run."

I let my head down. Shit. This is a complete disaster. The only place in Fòdlan that I wanted to avoid and now it's either go there or risk running. I don't want to go there. If people find out about my who I am then-

"I recommend you take his advice and go with them"

"JT?" I keep my voice low enough for Jeralt not to eavesdrop. The scarf over my mouth helps muffle some of the sound.

"Your father has been apprised of the situation. Before you ask, no, you are not in trouble. You made a judgement call that was correct and assisted in saving civilian lives. As such, your predicament was an inevitability. You are in a delicate matter right now and it will only end in greater consequences in the long run should you choose to flee. Take his offer and travel with them."

"But-"

"No buts, young lady. Go with them and we will continue to monitor the situation. Your father believes this to be the best course of action and with the calculations that I have projected, I concur. We have lost the advantage of stealth and must proceed with caution. We can trust Jeralt to keep his word."

"..."

"If you do not trust his word, trust ours. We will never abandon you, young Jack. No one in the monastery should know your origins and should be relatively safe. However, should you end up in a situation that calls for action, we will arrive momentarily, consequences be damned."

The tension became thick. Moments were passing without an answer and it wasn't going to get any easier. Jeralt was looking at me with a pleading face. I look down. I have no choice now.

"Ok" my muted reply was for both Jeralt and JT. But if we are going with them, it's not without a few conditions. I walk back towards Alois. Everything about this sucks, but I can at least delay it a bit longer. I pull down my scarf so my voice can reach them without interference.

"I'll come with you but first we have some things to deal with first." Alois looked overjoyed at the acceptance. The students seemed to share the feeling. Huh now that I get a look at them, they are much more impressionable up close. I can finally stop calling the guy in yellow bowman.

…To me he is 'pretty boy' now. Blondie keeps his nickname for the moment, and I still can't get a lock on a name for the girl. Ashen one seems… fitting but somehow insulting to her.

"Wonderful. Tell me, what do you need and the knights of Seiros will help in any way we can."

"How much can you lift?" his expression turned quizzical but answered nonetheless.

"Hohoho, I can lift boulders up to my chest, young lass. Training is essential for a knight."

"Great, you can help carry the bodies then." sputtering was the answer I received.

"I-I beg your pardon?"

Uncaring for his predicament, I continued on, hands on my hips ready for scolding.

"There were 34 bandits that were here with the intent to kill these 3." I stretch out my arm and direct a finger towards the deceased all around us. "There are about 22 bodies here and 5 of them, we all witnessed flee. Tell me the math and ask me what happened to the other 7."

It took a moment to set in and when it did the students paled at the revelation. Alois was in genuine confusion about the events that transpired.

"I'll give you a hint. When you are repelled in one direction, but there's more than one entrance, what do you do when another way presents itself?"

The answer finally dawns on him.

"Yeah. The only reason why I got into the fight in the first place was because I wasn't taking chances with the village being attacked. I ended up being right because those 7 tried to invade from the back and I happened to be prepared for it. Now since we killed people, It's only right that we at least clean up the bodies before the smell attracts demonic beasts. You said that the students are yours? Then you can help take responsibility for their actions and help in cleaning up their mess."

The trio dropped their heads in shame and the knight held a somber look upon him.

Jeralt comes to their defense.

"Look, they didn't do it on purpose. They may have wandered here by accident but they choose to stand and fight instead of using the village as a decoy."

"I know and I sympathize with them, but that doesn't change the fact that it was stupid to run TOWARDS a village while being pursued. The only reason why it's still standing here right now is because you happened to be staying here. What if you weren't here? What if I wasn't here? They need to understand that every action has consequences and it doesn't just affect them but also those around them."

I look towards them. It was harsh of me to say, but still it had to be said. Treating this as an isolated incident could lead to worse outcomes in the future if they don't learn their lesson now. *sigh* damn it, this crap is turning stressful. I wanna crawl into bed now and sleep this off.

"You're right" the blonde haired kid spoke up "It was our mistake that these villagers almost paid the price for. We are students of the officers academy and we were supposed to be protecting them, not endangering their livelihood."

"What he said, these guys got us in the middle of a training exercise. I definitely got the worst of it." pretty boy chimed in.

"That would be because you ran off," the red clad girl chided.

"Too true! I was the first to make a strategic escape." he brushed his hair back "Everything would've worked out if these two hadn't followed me and ruined everything. Because of them, every single one of those bandits chased after us. Utterly ridiculous."

Yup. Pretty boy is the perfect name for this S.O.B.

The mood lightened up considerably from the small talk the 3 were having. But we got sidetracked. I want to continue to lecture but I can see they are too absorbed in their talk. They seem to be good friends if they can bicker even in the face of a lecture. Something catches my eye as I look behind them and freeze. It seems like we are no longer alone. Remember a while back, I said my gunshots woke up the village? Well the entire population of adults decide to look at the center of things and are now staring at us. The three students stop their talk and notice my stiffness before looking at Byleth and following her gaze behind them. Something needs to be done to calm the population. Luckily we have someone to help diffuse the growing concerns. I close the distance between Alois and I give a small elbow to his armor. Thank heavens for full body armor. I can afford this much at least in physical contact.

"Oi, you're the white knight here. Say something knightley and explain the situation to them."

He takes a moment to register the statement and happily obliges. He walks towards the villagers and his voice is loud enough to capture their attention.

Welp while he is doing that, I'm gonna go grab my stuff. I might not be able to leave anymore, but at least I should keep my word and clean up. I make my way back to the forest and hear another set of footprints behind me. I don't even bother to turn around.

"I won't run away. I'm just gonna grab my gear and then I can help with moving the bodies."

"...I'll go with you."

"Scared I won't keep my word?" I couldn't help but remark.

"...I don't like crowds too much"

She isn't going to let this go. Well, at least the company will be nice.

"Ha, I bet. Come on. It's quite the walk and I wanna get something after everything is done"

I pull my scarf up and look for Jeralt, he spots me but I simply point a finger to Byleth, then motion to the forest with my thumb. He nods, giving his acceptance of the answer and doesn't impede us on our small journey.

I look to Byleth and give her a nod. We both enter the forest together.

Minutes later

The walk is quiet enough, save for the sound of the bugs chirping and our feet snapping twigs. I don't need a flashlight to guide us because the entire village seemed to spring to life for this occasion. From the cheers I hear, it seems like Alois managed to spin things in their favor and turn them all into heroes. Hope those guys took my words to heart. I hate being the voice of reason and those guys needed a reality check. I sneak a glance to my left. Byleth seems to simply walk alongside me. We approach the first of the bodies and in the light, it's not a pretty sight. Slumped face first in the grass, the bullet went through, and left a lot of blood. 8.19mm will do that to unarmored opponents.

'Shit, speaking of which, I gotta collect the casings before we head out."

One thing dad always drilled into me was after a firefight was done, I was to make sure no evidence we were there was left to find. Casings were collected so that people would have a much more difficult time finding out what was used to kill our enemies.

'Damn it, with everything happening so quickly I forgot. *sigh*, hope JT still has the drones in position.'

I continue along but I don't hear any more footsteps next to me.

"This should be far enough."

I pull down my scarf to talk.

"Byleth?"

Her eyes are much more focused on me than before. Guess she wants to know more about my weapons.

"I think this charade has gone on long enough."

Charade? What the fuck is she talking about?

"What the fuck are you talking about?" I mirror my mental question.

"You're weapons. They remind me of something that I saw 3 years ago. Near the county of Varley."

Varley? I remember my dad telling me about his trip to a bandit hideout. After he was finished clearing it out, he heard a noise in the building next to him and went to peek through a window when this guy looked at him and knocked himself out from a few boxes landing on him. He didn't even mean to spook him, he just walked towards the window. After that he went inside to finish him off but the guy knocked down a lantern and a fire started. He left him thinking he wouldn't survive and got outta there when the fire was just starting to go crazy. Then he ended up being forced to go back because this group of mercenaries went in. Before, he didn't know whether this group was part of the bandits so he wanted to make sure. After confirming they weren't, he was about to leave when this idiot went into a burning building and… The lightbulb in my head flashed on.

"Uhhhhh, you wouldn't happen to have gone inside a burning building to try and rescue some bandit did you?" the words exited my mouth before I even processed them. I wasn't supposed to say that.

My answer made her eyes light up. So this was the idiot my dad talked about. Huh, small world.

"I knew it. All this time, you were so close and I couldn't recognize you. Now that we've met I can thank you for that time."

"Wait, I don't think you understand."

She tilts her head at me.

"What's to understand? You are the Skywalker are you not."

That statement fried my brain a little. what? WHAT?

"Warning, heart rate is increasing erratically. Please calm yourself."

"Nope. That's not me." I vehemently reject it. Damn, my headache is coming back.

"Why are you lying? The weapons you wield. The sounds they make when used. The sounds of 'thunder' they produce when used. They are the mystery weapons that you use as the Skywalker are they not?"

"No, I mean you are not wrong about the weapons but that's not what I meant" I start to jumble my words.

"Then what do you mean Skywalker?"

"I'm not the Skywalker!" My voice is starting to get a little heated

"Warning. Heart rate is continuing to increase. I recommend taking a deep breath before you resume your conversation."

'Not now JT!'

"Then who are you?"

"I'm his daughter!" I slipped out. I quickly place a hand over my mouth.

I didn't want anyone to know that. The relationship with my dad is something I always tried to keep under wraps.

"His… daughter?"

I can't even say the words anymore. All I could trust myself to do was nod. How can I deny it now? The only solace I can take from this is that Byleth at least went through the trouble of making sure we were alone before confronting me about this. I look down and refuse to even look in her direction.

"Please. Can you keep this a secret between us?"

"Why? What's so bad about being the Skywalker's daughter?"

My head flies up so fast I risk whiplash. I could only stare at her in bewilderment. She doesn't know, does she?

"Byleth. My dad is being hunted by everyone."

Her eyes widened minutely at that tidbit. Where the hell was she raised that she doesn't know what's public knowledge? I gotta check something about this.

"How much do you know about him anyway? Where do you get your info about him?"

"Everywhere I go, I have always kept an ear out at the taverns for the rumors. I never actively went to look for the information because my father didn't want me to for some reason."

"Did you ever hear about him from a noble's standpoint? Or the Church's?"

She shook her head "My father always dealt with the nobles and I didn't even really know too much about the Knights of Seiros or the church fully until now."

Oh for fuck's sake. How sheltered did you make her, Jeralt?

"What you're getting is second hand information Byleth. My dad did a lot more than shoot bandits in his time here. He pissed off a lot of nobles in the Holy kingdom and the Empire that arrest warrants are out for him. Others want to use him for his abilities and the weapons you saw me use. He made himself stand out too much despite the low profile he kept. The reason why he hasn't chosen a side here is because he wants nothing to do with the politics or the influence they can give him. He trusts no one at face value. And even then he can't trust them because of–"

"Jack. Please do not attempt to finish that sentence. That information is on a need to know basis."

JT's voice rings in my ear. Ugh. I'm letting my emotions get the better of me now. But uncle JT is right. She doesn't need to know about them. Best let that secret lie until daddy drags their sorry asses into the light where they can't hide anymore.

I shake my head "Nevermind." I take that train of thought off my mind and redirect her focus to something more present.

"But above all else, the Knights of Seiros believe him to be a heretic that is using the Goddess' name for his own benefit and have him marked to be hunted by the knights."

The first time I see her face show any feeling, it's with an 'oh' expression. Blank, but hey, progress. Great, now I'm trying to run away from reality.

"It's why I tried to bail out of there before they drew their attention to me. If they figure out my relationship with him I can never-"

"I won't tell anyone."

What? My mouth gaped as the sudden declaration.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I won't tell anyone"

This can't be that easy.

"Just like that?"

I receive a nod.

"Just like that"

"What are you really after?"

"... why is that so hard to believe?"

"Did you just let the conversation we had 5 seconds ago go in one ear and come out the other. I told you, he's wanted. And you are willing to keep that a secret?"

She doesn't answer me. She's just standing there with her eyes wandering about me. She doesn't seem conflicted about how to answer. Instead, her hands move to the top of her dress. One to pull open the top portion and the other grabbing something beneath it. She pulls a necklace? Wait, those are the casings that daddy couldn't find!

"Three years ago, your father saved me. When all he had to do for this secret to stay hidden was nothing and let the fire consume me. He didn't. Instead, what he did was pull me out despite the fact that the one I was carrying contained information about him. As such I owe him a debt. No one knows about these except my father and I. The bandit saw it but doesn't know what these are." she took one step forward " I would like to believe you can trust me."

I had trouble processing this. This is prime blackmail material right here, and she is willing to let it stay buried.

Can I trust her? The answer is I want to. I really want to.

But past experiences have colored my visions about who to trust in this world. Those fucks took away my ability to ever connect to people and live in fear. The time I spent with dad knocked out most of it but it was still there. I have no reason to trust her but despite everything telling me not to, she seems earnest in her words.

'Haaaaa fuck, I really want that nap now. My mind is too confused right now.'

A sudden touch against my shoulder takes me out of my musings. I freeze in place. Shivers overtake me and I can't move anymore.

"Warning, heart rate is exceeding acceptable parameters. Jack. Please respond. Jack, can you hear me? Pilot, Jack is experiencing a panic att…"

Suddenly, I'm no longer in the forest, but a dark room. Voices overlap between each other and their eyes leer at me.

My screams echo in the room. The man over me delivers a strike to my face to shut me up, but it only has the opposite effect. Blood red eyes look at me in rage, annoyed that I would dare scream in his presence. Others hold me down as the knife draws closer to my bare chest. I struggle in vain as the knife pierces-

"Jack?" a voice brings me back to reality. I'm no longer in that horrid room, but I look towards the hand placed on my shoulder. When she spoke, it was like she broke the illusion over me. Suddenly I'm on my knees, my heart is thumping against my chest as I stare at the grass below me. I'm now taking huge gulps of air and my body is now drowning in sweat. But that doesn't matter now. What matters to me is the hand that is still on my shoulder. Byleth is crouched next to me, her eyes now showing concern. This is probably the most expressive she's been.

"Jack? What's wrong?"

"You're touching me." The way I said it sounded harsh, though it was anything but. Byleth retracted the hand but I intercepted it. I hold my hand in hers and marvel at it as though it was a rare treasure. I take the hand in both of mine and squeeze at it a bit.

"I can touch you." My eyes make contact with hers, my hands shaking and she knows it. The visor covers my eyes as tears threaten to spill. I make one last dare and suddenly throw my arms around her. She's definitely confused by this but I don't care anymore. The skin contact I feel matters more to me right now than her puzzlement and I'm milking this feeling for all its worth. Her response to all of this is to awkwardly pat my back. I bask in this moment for just a bit longer.

Moments later

"Sorry about that."

"It's fine. I don't know what I did to make you distressed, but I apologize for what happened."

"No no, it's … it's not your fault. It's just some bad memories that popped up. If anything I should be the one apologizing to you for the sudden hug tackle."

Once I finally got that out of my system we continued our trek towards the hill where my stuff is. On the way I started collecting my casings from when I used my P2016 and Byleth even helped me. When I pulled out the flashlight for help, she was surprised by it. Technology. Magic to cavemen and medieval alike. JT kept asking me if I was ok and daddy was ready to drop in. I managed to stop them but Byleth started getting a bit suspicious when I put my scarf back on to talk to them. Worrywarts. I'm so happy to have them.

"Is that why your hands were trembling when my father reached his hand out?"

"*sigh* yes. I…I really can't stand contact with another person. Even when I prepare myself for it, my body still locks up. I wear gloves to mitigate it but even then prolonged contact makes me wanna slam the poor guy on the floor and stab em. All I'll say about how that came to be is because something happened a while back and I still haven't recovered from it."

"But before you were offering to help move the bodies and when fighting, people would close the distance. It's a risk you must know about."

"When I'm fighting I can put it outta my mind. Focusing on how to kill them eases it and afterward they usually end up dead. I can handle the dead no problem because they're dead. They can't do shit to me. It's the living I have a problem with."

"Then why can you touch me without freezing?"

I shrug my shoulders

"No idea. I can only take a few guesses but my best 2 are you don't have a beating heart and you are actually a dead woman walking" I can't help but crack at her, "or," I turn to her "you must be one special lady."

As I complete the sentence, we manage to get to the top of the hill. I collect my rifle and start stripping it apart. Scope, suppressor, magazine and I check the chamber even though I know it's empty.

'Maybe I should give this a cleaning later.'

I make sure everything is strapped in before I zip it up. I collect my casings and strap on my backpack before slinging my drag bag over my shoulder. I was about ready to head off before a thought came into my head.

"Hey Byleth. Would you mind doing me a small favor? There's an inn on the edge of the village. My room is the one closest to the exit. There's a small package near the door. Would you mind grabbing it for me? I think I made too much of an impression on the village and I'm afraid I might get swarmed if anyone caught me. " My hands fold together in a pleading fashion.

"Please? I promise what's inside is worth it."

"Hmmm…Ok" I hand her the key and she takes a few steps before facing me again "Where will you be?"

"I promised to help with the bodies. I'll start at least piling a few of them up here. I may not be strong enough to fully lift them but I can at least drag these guys into a pile or something. I really just wanted to make sure my stuff was ok first."

She nodded and proceeded down the hill. When she is finally out of view,

"Uncle JT, can you hear me?"

"Always Jack. How may I be of service?"

"Byleth Eisner. I need everything you and dad can find out about her. I know it won't be easy, but I think she's worth looking into. Recordings have a picture of her face. Uploading now."

"Recording received. Might I inquire why you believe she is a person of interest?"

"A couple reasons. JT, can you look at the recording and tell me what happened when I fired my shots at Kostas? I want a play-by-play of what happened. From the moment I revealed my position to after Kostas went down?"

"Certainly. One moment please."

"..."

"Analysis complete. After you had revealed your position, Miss Eisner stepped in front of the female student and parried his axe. Your weapon trained on Eisner's back before you brought it down. After a successful parry was completed, she performed a front kick and pushed him back into your line of sight. You took aim and fired 3 rounds. Two perforated his sternum and his left pectoral, and the final bullet lodged in his trachea. What might you be looking for in this recording?"

I chew my lip thinking about what to say. I couldn't hallucinate what I saw. I know I saw Byleth go down and Kostas nearly ram his axe into her skull. But JT says that didn't happen.

"Look JT, I know this might sound crazy, but that's not the way I saw it before. What I remember seeing was Byleth failing to block it and went down as well. Kostas raised the axe again and by the time I finally got a hit on him, the axe was already on a downward swipe towards her."

"Is the equipment malfunctioning? If so then, I must ask that you remove that visor and replace it as soon as you are able to come back. It is my job to properly equip you on your journey and cannot allow faulty equipment to remain on you."

Uncle…

"No, what the recording had shown was right. But something happened. I don't know how to properly explain it but when… When kostas' axe was about to kill Byleth, everything froze."

"..."

"Uncle?"

"Elaborate"

Still not in the looney bin with him. Good. Let's see how far I can stretch this before it gets outta hand.

"When I say everything froze, I mean everything. People, fires, the axe mere centimeters from her face. Then this weird fog rolled it and-"

"It was as though time was rewinding itself. You were removed from it's flow and watched it replay as though you were a bystander peering in."

My mind blanked at the answer I received. Of all the answers I was getting ready to hear, that wasn't on the list…or even in the thought process.

"...Uncle. How did you know what I was going to say?"

"Status on Byleth Eisner has been elevated. She is now marked as a high profile target. Any and all information about her will be scoured and documented no matter if considered fictional or radical."

"Uncle. What's going on? Why did you just-"

"I am sorry Jack. There are many things about your education we did not get to yet. What you have described is similar to something your father and I encountered before our arrival in Fòdlan. Once you are secured safely, we will provide a more in depth explanation about what you encountered. But right now, all I can say about the matter is that you are not crazy and what you had experienced most likely happened. I am afraid I am no longer of any help to you on this matter. All I can do now is take measures from onwards about how to proceed."

This is nuts. I thought something like that would make them question my sanity but right off the bat, but JT doesn't hesitate to believe me. Daddy, what did you go through in order for something that outlandish to be considered sane?

"Proceeding onwards. You mentioned a second reason why."

Well this is nowhere near as epic but still,

"I can touch her without freezing. After my initial panic attack, she somehow snapped me out of it with her hand still on my shoulder. Hell, I even gave her a hug to test it and I still haven't regressed. "

"Addendum to the status of Byleth Eisner. She is now a high profile VIP. Resources will be diverted to aid her in her survival?"

Wait. What the fuck? What's with the sudden preferential treatment?

"This can now be considered a joyous occasion worth celebrating. I shall alert your father and report the good news. Once I review the footage, we will ensure that she is kept safe and sound."

"I…wha…HUH?"

"If you are able to physically contact her, then this will be a large step in your recovery. To be able to make connections is one of the objectives we wished for you to learn and she currently provides the means for you to accomplish that. In addition, upon reviewing more of the recording, now that she knows of your relationship with your father, we wish to establish a more positive relationship with her."

"I don't need anyone else JT. I have you two."

"...You know in our line of work that it cannot be for long. There will come a time where we must say goodbye. Before either of us leave this world, we want to know you will not be alone when the time comes. Should Byleth be as trustworthy as we wish her to be after careful observations, then we may move on from there."

"I know." I've always known this, but still I always held on to the peace we had. "That doesn't mean a girl can't dream, right? *sigh* Alright enough of this depressing talk, I gotta go now JT. unless they're zombies, those bodies ain't moving themselves."

"Very well. Remember to cover up. The smell I am told is quite horrendous. Use disposable gloves."

"Thanks JT. I promise to call later. Bye"

Byleth POV

"That's quite the encounter you had. I'm surprised you left her alone despite knowing her identity." the voice inside my head told me.

After the first time I attempted to defend Edelgard and failed, this girl appeared and spoke to me. She recalled her name to be Sothis and used something called the Divine Pulse to rewind time to before that axe fell and I was able to block it. After that the bandit Kostas was mortally wounded by Jack and promptly finished off.

"I trust her Sothis" I continue my way to the inn. When I arrive there is no one, probably because they are still occupied with Alois, father and those students. I find my destination and insert the key and twist it.

"Trust is one thing. Caution is another. I advise you to watch her closely. One who does not even show her face is suspicious. However, there is something about her that interests me but I cannot place what it is."

Her words aren't wrong, but she couldn't be all bad. Afterall she helped her before I was almost killed the first time even if it did fail in the end. And before that she knows what I am expressing. The number of people she could count on to do that is on one hand. I open the door slightly and see the package right where she said it would be. A small parcel wrapped up in strings. I pick it up and shove off back to where Jack is supposed to be.

"Is it because of her weapons?" After seeing what they are capable of, I think anyone would be interested in what they were and possibly manufacture. Whoever did make it must be quite the smith.

"While those weapons are interesting, that is not what I was talking about. The girl itself. She is familiar to me, but I cannot recall where."

Jack? Where could she have met before? She did always wear that face covering, so it's possible we met before. But the question would be where? Well answers for another time. Best focus on now.

"One thing at a time. Since we are heading to the monastery, we will have time to talk and find out more."

"I suppose you are correct. Though I suspect that is more for your benefit than mine. Eager to know about this Skywalker are you?"

I decided not to answer her. When I went back to the hill Jack was not there. She must be moving the bodies by herself. A light shining in the forest below reinforces that notion. A flashlight she called it. The light it produced is quite powerful for such a small device. Maybe I should ask if she has extras.

'Would she even be willing to part with it? Such a thing must be rare.' my spirit friend queried.

'Who knows? With how she casually uses it, it may be actually common where she is from.'

With the mental conversation continuing, I see Jack has already finished over half of the work. She still wears those tinted glasses though. I wonder how she can still see out of them. Why doesn't she take them off? My footsteps alert her to my presence.

"So what are we going to do with these bodies? Should we get my father and a few to come help us?"

"Probably, I moved these guys to a pile so it's easier to come back with a cart or something since it was on the way. You got the package?"

I lift up the parcel in view of her light.

"Good. Keep it on you. Your hands are still clean…ish. Open it."

So it's food? Hmm, it can't be something better than my pie.

'Girl, what is it about this food that enamours you so?'

'You shush. Once you know what that heavenly pastry tastes like, you will understand.'

I take apart the strings and remove the packaging. A familiar smell wafts through my nose and I tear off the top.

"I found some cinnamon when asking around. One was willing to give up some for some coin."

"..."

"Well?"

"Jack."

"Yes?"

"I consider you a dear friend."

"Enjoy"

I did.

Hours later

After Jack finished piling all the bodies, she denied my help telling me to enjoy my food, we went back and the rest of the Knights of Seiros who came back from hunting the thieves assisted in the bodies. The process of burying them was something that Alois couldn't afford since his priority was the safety of the students and to bring them back as quickly as possible, so he ordered a few knights to stay behind to finish it while he escorted them, my father and I, and Jack to the monastery. The knights weren't happy about it but Alois was quick to remind them that a knight's duty is to protect and help those in need and since this attack occurred under their watch, burying the dead was one such duty. Jack seemed reluctant but said she understood why they had to leave it half finished, but seemed a bit agitated that she wasn't going to be there to see it completed. Strange girl. At least my fathers mercenaries were going to stay behind and help. The process should be much quicker with them assisting the knights. After saying our goodbyes, we departed to the monastery. As we follow along the path Jack stays a healthy distance from the rest, but seems comfortable near me. I start to see why as every now and then the students seem to be looking at us while the knights seem more focused on Jack. She still hasn't removed her mask or those glasses so they might be getting suspicious of her. I walk in front of her to block her from their line of sight. I may not have known her that long but I've begun to enjoy her company the more I spend time with her. Plus anyone who is willing to get the ingredients and pay for a new pie for her is someone worth protecting.

"Thank you." I hear behind me.

Light starts to break through the treeline to signal the sun's rise, but there is quite the path left to travel. One knight on horseback went on ahead to report our arrival and as we continued on, Garreg Mach Monastery came into view. The students then match their pace with me in order to talk.

"This will be your first time at the monastery. I'd be happy to show you around." Dimitri offered.

"She sure is a beaut isn't it. That's Fódlan in a nutshell. The good and the bad." Claude turns to Jack, "Hey, come join us, being all alone back there isn't gonna do you any good."

"I concur. You've nothing to fear from us. In fact, we are grateful for your assistance last night." Edelgard was quick to latch on.

However Jack didn't wish to indulge them.

"Sorry but I think I like it back here. Not really the type to get along so easily with others."

Despite the refusal, Claude seemed a bit insistent on the matter.

"That's no way to live, everyone needs an ear to talk to. We've got plenty to hear your story with. You must have quite the extraordinary one."

"Claude, if she wishes to be alone, we have no reason to force her." Dimitri came to her defense. " I apologize for his behavior. Thank you though for your help in defense of the village, if it wasn't for your assistance along with the bladebreaker and his daughter, there is no telling how much damage the village would've suffered."

I look at Jack. At least now she is interacting with us.

"It's no problem. In fact, had I arrived a day earlier, you guys might've not even been attacked in the first place."

The Trio seemed a bit confused by her statement.

"Pardon? What do you mean by that?" Edelgard inquired.

"The reason why I was in Remire village was because I was after the bounty on Kostas' head."

"So you're a bounty hunter? Seems like a lot of hard work all by your lonesome." Claude remarked.

"Not really. In terms of trouble, Kostas was low on the docket I had. I thought he would be tougher with the numbers he had on him, but the idiot decided to attack you guys. Might have made my job easier but I would've preferred a more isolated location to fight him.

"That weapon you used, it dispatched him quite easily. What is it?" Edelgard joined in

"Yeah, it went BANG, and suddenly Kostas is down for the count. Pretty loud for a small weapon. "

She left out a laugh.

"Trust me, pretty boy, they get louder. In fact, what you guys heard was at its quietest setting. Things will blow out your ears if you don't have protection like what I got."

She taps the muffs around her ears. So that's why she can fire it so many times without going def. I remember covering my ears and they still left a small ringing there until now. But she ducks Edelgards question for the moment. She really doesn't want any of that info to get out.

"P-pretty boy?" It seems he wasn't expecting that remark, but he recovers soon enough, "Hmmm. I like it. Let people know of my devilish looks."

Another laugh escapes her, "Sure thing pretty boy, you keep telling yourself that."

"Haha, allow me to introduce myself then, I am Claude Von Riegan, heir of House Riegan, ruling house of the Leicester Alliance. If you wanna be with the best, the Golden Deer are at your service."

"The best? Surely your jokes have quite the punchlines Claude." Dimitri speaks up next. "Since we are doing introductions, I am Alexandre Blaidyd, crown prince of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus. I am part of the Blue Lions. Apologies for not introducing ourselves before."

"I concur with Dimitri, if anyone should be the best, it will be the Black Eagles. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Edelgard Von Hresvelg, princess and heir apparent to the Adrestian Empire. May I ask what your name is? We have already become acquainted with Byleth but have yet to make yours."

"...Jack. My name is Jack." Her response is terse and concise. Dimitri is the one to speak up regarding the name.

"Jack? I beg pardon but that's a boy's name."

I finally joined in the conversation.

"It's short for Jacklyn. She prefers Jack." The revelation dawns on them.

"Ah that makes sense. Was wondering why your parents chose a boy's name for such a mysterious girl when you were born." Claude wondered offhandedly.

"They didn't."

"Huh?" Claude was a bit bewildered by the answer.

"Didn't grow up with any. Hell, I didn't have a name til 5 years ago."

That statement stunned them. Even the knights that were ahead of us were now looking back at her.

I couldn't help but wonder

"But you said your father…"

"I'm adopted. A few years back, daddy found me nearly dead. I was nothing but skin and bones, hanging on by a thread. When he found me, he took me in and patched me up. Ever since then, I've lived with him and my uncle."

"I'm sorry" my words may have sounded hollow but they were genuine. Edelgard seemed to take that the hardest if the tightening of her fists were of any indication. The others seemed ready to offer theirs as well but Jack just smiled and waved it off.

"Don't be. None of you guys were responsible for what happened so you have nothing to apologize for. Besides," it was at that moment, her smile became more peaceful. More radiant at how genuine it became despite her eyes being covered "after everything that happened, I'm happy to have been adopted by my father. Couldn't ask for a better one."

"Seems like a great guy." Claude commented

"Haha, it's half and half. He's Not earning any medals in parenting, but I know he'll always look out for me. Uncle JT is great too, but a bit of a stickler to rules. Always too literal at times, but I let it slide because he always made sure I was safe and sound. "

"Then where is your father now?" Edelgard was the one who asked

'Since I know now he is the Skywalker, for all I can believe, he could be watching us right now.'

I do not let this statement leave my head. But I find it's becoming harder not to say them out loud. Oh dear, maybe I should ask them privately later so I can keep my curiosity down.

'Such reverence to one man, is he really worth your attention?' Sothis chimed in.

"Don't know. He had some business to attend to in Empire territory. We went our separate ways about 8 months back. When we met up again I was to have 10 bounties done and proof of confirmation."

Alois seemed the most responsive to that.

"Ten bounties?! All by your lonesome? What for?"

"It's my trial by fire."

"Trial by fire?" Dimitri parroted.

"She means that the bounties are her test as to whether or not she can prove herself" I supplement. Dimitri nods in understanding.

"Yeah, you see my situation is a lot like Byleth and Jeralt. I wanted to prove that I can help him with his jobs, but he thought I wasn't ready for it. I kept begging for a chance to prove myself until he finally caved." a sigh then leaves her mouth "I got my wish, but with a few strings attached to them. I need 10 bounties and my uncle JT supplies me with the equipment I have now. But I have to travel on foot. No wyverns or pegasi to shorten the trip but horses and carriages are allowed. Of all my bounties, 3 bounties must come from each kingdom at minimum. Last one can be from anywhere. Kostas was bounty number 8."

"But, just one against goddess knows how men. Even when Byleth and I attack compounds, or anything like that, we always have someone to watch our backs."

"I just needed the proof of confirmation that I got a bounty. The money was secondary, so I did have the option to team up with others. But that's why I have to be careful and plan out everything when alone. Information can be worth its weight in gold if you know how to use it right. One bounty I had was Batta the Bandit. He held himself in Liecester territory and had a small band with him."

Claude's eyes lit up in realization.

"I know him. Bastard was tearing through some cargo routes and stalled food shipments towards villages that needed it. Everytime knights would be dispatched, he would move into the territory of another lord and cause contention between the lords. One of the downsides to the alliance is that knights cannot enter another lord's territory without it looking like an invasion. And by the time the misunderstanding is cleared up, he's already moved on. "

"I remember that, father and I were going to search for him since we would be allowed to enter any territory without repercussions, but the bounty was already claimed." I look back to Jack "that was you?"

A nod was the response " Since he always moved around, it was hard to pin him down. I was able to convince a few merchants to show me their shipping lanes to guesstimate where he would attack next. I was able to narrow it down to 3 routes based on distance and terrain from borders between territories after his last attack."

"Smart"

"So what did you do? Did you go with them and use that weapon against them?" Claude was becoming intrigued by the story. However it seemed it there was a small tone of seriousness in his voice

"Nothing so complicated, pretty boy. It was actually a pretty easy solution."

"Hoo, and pray tell what the solution was."

"I just had the merchants load in a couple extra barrels of alcohol in it. One thing Batta loved was a good drink since most of the carriages carried some imported wine in them. When Batta attacked, the merchants and their guards were to abandon the cargo and flee back to the town they left from. Whatever was taken I would fully compensate and then some, plus I had an extra caravan waiting with supplies, paid again by me. All I did was spike a small barrel with a poison that the merchants were told beforehand and followed the bodies back. "

"P-poison?! But that's dishonorable!" Dimitri seemed the most offended by that. The knights held a look of disapproval towards her but it seemed to bounce off her.

All our mystery girl did was point a finger to herself " Bounty hunter. I am not a knight, nor do I follow the doctrine of chivalry. My job is to get a body to collect and no one asks how I do it as long as I get it. If grabbing some dirt and throwing it in someone's eyes keeps me from dying, you bet your ass I'm not going to hesitate in doing so. These guys were starving villages with what they were doing. I simply put a stop to it. They were checking off a lot of boxes of things I hate the most and I do not regret it at all."

"But-"

"Oi, I traveled to some of those villages myself during my travels. You weren't there when I saw people starving and weeping at the sight of a single loaf of bread. Had to watch a few families bury their kids." Claude's demeanor changed. Gone was the happy go lucky attitude he sported and in his place was a different person. He looked back at her " Hope you got all of them. Bounty money was well spent if you finally got rid of that monster."

"Damn right I did. And the money was well invested to the villages and merchants that were affected by it."

It seems whenever we hear something from her, another surprise comes out.

"You…gave it away?" Edelgard queried.

"Yup. Remember I know what it's like to be starving, and despite the temptation, I didn't need the money. I mean look at me."

She waved her hands around herself.

"I got a bounty of 10,000 gold from them but where the hell am I gonna put it? That's way too much for me to lug around. So, I thought just leaving it in a dark hole in a place I might never come back to was too wasteful. Better to give it to someone who needs it. All I kept were food and travel expenses."

Dimitri held a contemplative look in his face, Claude's was flatout proud, and Edelgard seemed to keep a stoic face, but something in her eyes held something akin to approval. The knights felt conflict because despite the dishonorable method, knowing the aftermath of the bandits left a sour taste in their mouths. Alois seemed saddened by the loss of life more than the method used to end their killers.

"Geez, I can't seem to get a lock on you, everytime I think I get you, suddenly you turn it around."

"Good, then that means I'm doing a good job, pretty boy. Now eyes forward, looks like we're here."

Her words ring true. The entrance is but a stone's throw away. My father looks up and stares

"Rhea's here"

I follow his gaze to see a woman on top of a balcony. A woman with bright green hair looks towards us. We go through the gate and into Garreg Mach Monastery. The students bid their farewells and Alois guides us inside towards the interior. Jack, and my father and I are placed in some sort of chamber as Alois leaves. Jack seems to be pacing with her hands opening and closing.

"Jack, calm down. Trust me when Rhea arrives, you don't want to show any weakness to her."

"I tried to avoid this place for a reason, Jeralt. I really do not want to be here at all."

I step forward and place a hand on her shoulder. It does the job as she stops pacing and places a hand over mine. Her breathing begins to level out.

"Who is Rhea, father? I've heard you mention her before outside the gate."

With no choice, father begins to speak,

" As you know, the majority of folks in Fódlan are devout followers of the teachings of Seiros. The leader of that ridiculously large organization is the archbishop, Lady Rhea."

As if on cue, the doors open, two walk through the door. One I surmise to be Lady Rhea. The other, a finely dressed man with a stern expression on him. The man steps forward and speaks

"Thank you for your patience, Jeralt. My name is Seteth. I am an advisor to the archbishop."

"Right. Hello" now father seems to be content in being concise. What is it about this place that makes everyone so wary?

"Hello Jeralt, it has been a long time since we last met"

"Yes it has lady Rhea" she turns to me and then to Jack. Despite her covering her face, Rhea doesn't seem to be bothered by it. Seteth on the other hand seems quite livid. She looks back at me.

"Is this your child? She has grown up to be quite the woman."

"Yes...born many years after I left this place. I wish I could introduce you to the mother of my child...but I'm afraid we lost her to illness."

She takes a hand and places it on my cheek.

"What is your name dear child?"

"Byleth"

A smile emerges from my answer.

"A fine name indeed"

She turns to Jack

"And you are?"

"...Jack."

"Jack, why do you cover your face?"

Seteth steps up with his opinion

"You are in the presence of the archbishop. Is it not rude to hide away your face?

Rhea holds up an arm to stop him from continuing. I look at my friend.

Her palms open and close again. I can hear her breathing shaking as she desperately tried to be ignored. She looks away from the archbishop as she delivers her answer.

"Beg your pardon lady Rhea, my face has caused me nothing but misery to both myself and others for as long as I can remember. I would prefer not to reveal it except to those I implicitly trust?"

"Nonsense." her response was shut down "You are in a place of healing. In here, there is no misery that can be inflicted in the temple of the Goddess. I assure you that your fears are unwarranted."

She takes a step forward.

"Come. Let us see what is under that cloth that makes you so afraid."

She takes another step forward, but Jack takes one back. Her fear of physical contact coming back. Now Rhea sports a frown as her eyes slightly narrow.

'This isn't good.'

I don't want Jack to be in trouble, yet I don't want her to force herself for this. So between the 2 bad options, I offer a third.

"Lady Rhea, allow me to speak."

The archbishop turns to me.

"I speak with no ill will when I say this but your presence frightens her. It is not just you but everyone as she comes into physical contact with. When touched by another she freezes up and she becomes immobilized in fear."

The occupants of the chamber all look at me, all surprised by my declaration. Seteth's eyes seem sceptical but Rhea's soften from the information. I can't tell what Jack's expression is because of her glasses.

"And what proof do you have for this? How do we know this is not a ploy to prevent us from revealing her face?" Seteth plays the demon's advocate.

"You may touch her if you wish, but as one who witnessed what it did to her, I won't allow it."

Seteth's jaw dropped at the audacity, Rhea's eyes did not change expression and my father was dumbfounded at what I said. Jack froze, baffled at my declaration. I continue onward despite the hole I have dug for myself. I owe a debt to her father and simply keeping it a secret is not paying it in full. This may seem like a betrayal, but unfortunately this is just picking the lesser of 2 evils.

"You didn't see what I did. I cannot express emotion like a normal person but even I was affected by what I saw. If you wish to bring that same pain to her, you will go through me first."

Rhea now pays full attention to me. A mask of stoicism takes over.

"Your words. They hold strength behind them. Young Byleth, do you know that your words can be taken as aggression towards the teachings of the Seiros."

"I am often told I can be very blunt."

"Then are you willing to accept the punishments for such actions?"

"Ye-"

"NO" the voice of my companion echos in the chambers. She places herself between Rhea and I, her hands extended to us both.

"Stop… J-Just stop. Byleth thank you but it's just not worth your life for this."

Her desperation at its end, she turns to Rhea having had enough of this game.

"If you wanna see my face, fine. Just don't blame me when the time comes."

She walks to the pillar and places her bags down. She then turns to face Rhea so she can reveal herself.

The first thing she removes is her scarf. There was nothing significant there as I had already seen the lower half of her face.

The next was the elongated coverings to reveal…pointed ears? Wait, she has ears just like..

A choked gasp escape's Rhea's mouth interrupting my thought for a moment.

Before I could continue it she removed her glasses and revealed beneath them to be…eyes of emerald…

The only noise escaping is the shuffling of clothing emanating from Jack. I want to turn away from this sight. To look at the Archbishop and see her reaction, but I can't.

'Why?'

She removes her head dress… and a familiar color of hair enters my vision. Long hair that is tied in a bun is let loose and now leads below her waist is undone. It can't be…

"So… are you happy now? I guess I'll reintroduce myself. My name is Jacklyn Hoffman. Proud daughter of Virgil Hoffman."

I am staring at a mirror image.

'WHY DOES THIS MORTAL BEAR MY FACE?!'

Imperial Year 1175, ?

Pilot POV

My body is sore all over. Just the act of opening my eyes is a challenge. The first thing I see is my helmet floating in zero-G. It takes every bit of energy to just lift myself off the ground and grab it. Where am I? Did we destroy the fold weapon? Fuck, not knowing sucks right now. Power starts turning back on one light section at a time and a familiar voice rings in my ears.

"Power restored, running diagnostics"

"JT?"

"Hello Pilot Hoffman, JT-2559 at your service."

"What happened?"

"Unknown, data drives are currently showing gaps in memory, possibly due to short circuiting. It will be time before I can access navigational charts to determine our location."

"Great. How's the ship doing?"

"As of right now, the ship is operating at 40% capacity. Engines 2-4 are down. And sections of the ship show damage in hull integrity."

"Hehe,*cough cough* What's the bad news?" Despite the burning in my lungs I couldn't help but let out a quip.

"We are currently in unknown space, oxygen is low until MRVN units replace the oxygen tanks, and our current trajectory puts us on a collision course towards an unregistered planet. Sensors and frequencies indicate no IMC or Militia presence. At our current velocity we will crash into the planet within 27 days."

Oh, come the fuck on. Where am I? Ok I'm on the bridge. I secure my helmet and make my way to the captain's chair. Let's open up the windows to see what's going on. Press a few buttons annddd viola.

The blast door shields rise and in view is a vibrant blue and green planet.

"JT. Are the communication's array still online?"

"Negative. I am currently prioritizing life support and engine repair before moving on to communications."

"How about search drones?"

"Search drones and other recon units are available, however satellite imaging and space worthy units must be done manually. There are other units available, but they are not capable of atmospheric re-entry. I am afraid you are stuck until repairs are complete."

"How long until repair time is complete?"

"For essential repairs of life support and engine, current MRVN units available make repair time 20 days. For full body repair, it will require 7 years time unless more MRVN units are produced."

"Food supplies?"

"80% stocked and ready to eat. There are a small number of sections in the ship that are still available that make use of the cafeteria."

So basically, I gotta survive right now. Peachy. If there is any consolation in this shitty situation…

"Well" I look at the planet before me. "At least it will be a nice vacation."

---

And that's it.

I hope I gave you guys an interesting story to read. For about 7 years now I have been getting addicted to fanfics because of the creativity that went with them in creating a story. And lemon stories, but that's besides the point. And since I went to Shiro's Gaming Omniverse, things have taken a turn. Whether it's for the better or worse… I've yet to figure out. But I will say they have been good to me. I helped Lucky with his story since I didn't have much to do at the time and things went from there. After being told a couple of times to give it a try, I gave it serious consideration and decided on this crossover. Yes it's weird for these two worlds, but I hope that I managed to blend it in enough for it to work .

So I wanted to give a shout out to Shifty, Forzarismo, and Mirlnir for their stories. And I want to give a small shoutout to Absol. After reading his new year's post, it just broke the back of why don't I give it a shot.

If you guys like it enough, I will continue it

If you have criticisms, then let me know. I would prefer constructive and not things like "ugh your story sucks because [insert reason here]". Like I said before, this is my very first fanfic I ever wrote. So any tips or comments you leave I am willing to look at and accept if needed. Thank you for reading and enjoy your day. I'll leave a server link below if y'all wanna check it out.

/wd3tUYWVCd