Hello there folks! Here's a short celebration of Byleth getting into Smash Bros Ultimate. Byleth is a fun character when you give them a chance. Luckily, I think this fits into my vague timeline of events, but there's bound to be a couple of issues; once the timeline is complete, I'll post it here. Anyway, let's go!
Summary: There have been strange rumours and stranger figures lurking around Garreg Mach. Enlisted by his father, Byleth tries his best to root out the cause, only to find himself drawn into a conflict he never could've expected.
"Greetings Professor! Something to report! Apparently, there's been news of a massive fighting tournament occurring, and they want to host matches at Garreg Mach! There are rumours of tonnes of people coming from beyond Fodlan to participate!"
It was not unreasonable, Byleth supposed. Garreg Mach was no stranger to combat, or even combat tournaments, not when the Officers Academy held weekly tournaments that regularly drew a large crowd. If whoever was organising the tournament didn't want to create their own tournament grounds, then Garreg Mach's facilities were more than sufficient. Plus, it would have an immediate audience in the students, who were always searching for new ways to entertain themselves.
Still, for such an announcement to come out of nowhere was somewhat concerning for the Professor. Fodlan hadn't exactly had the best of relationships with the world beyond the borders of the continent, so why would they suddenly accept a massive influx of foreigners for the sake of a fighting tournament? They couldn't even get along with Almyra, and that was basically sitting right next door! Any countries from further away were practically unknown entities and letting strangers into one of the main powerhouses of Fodlan wasn't something Byleth would normally approve of. He'd have to do some research and figure out just how this all came to be.
"I assume that you've come across the news as well, Professor?" Lysithea's voice from behind caused the Professor to turn with a curt nod, watching as a sigh escaped the Golden Deer. "I don't think you can escape it. A giant event out of nowhere, apparently involving huge numbers of foreign participants? It barely even took a day before the entire monastery was gossiping. I can understand their excitement, but something feels… a little off about it."
"Indeed. It is suspicious." Byleth commented succinctly, looking up to the monastery and the small window where green hair could just be made out. "I do not make the rules. The Archbishop knows more than me. If she accepts, I cannot complain."
"At least you've actually thought about the situation." Lysithea replied, a bitter tone to her words as she matched the blue haired man's rhythm. "All any of the other students speak of now is whether they have a chance of participating as well. The training ground tournaments are getting flooded with people trying to train for it, it's ridiculous. If we're going to represent Fodlan on a global scale, it's obvious that we're going to choose someone more reputable and skilled, not some random student in their first year of military training."
"Do you not want to compete?" Byleth asked as they eventually paused before the pond, watching from the side as Flayn tried to learn how to fish. It was an… interesting effort to watch, but there was some potential to her technique. "There must be rewards. Fame among your peers."
"I have no need for that sort of thing. Unless they have something that can cause a miracle, I'm perfectly content with what I have now." The white-haired girl quickly dismissed. "Besides, while there is much to be gained, so is there much to be lost. Imagine if I were to be selected, only to lose in the first round? Not only would I have disgraced my family's name, but the reputation of the Leicester Alliance, Garreg Mach, and Fodlan would be tainted as well. If others delude themselves into thinking they can bear such a burden, let them; I'm not willing to take such a foolish risk."
"Reasonable."
There were probably some who would reach the same conclusions. Those like Ingrid or Hubert would allow their common sense to stay their hands. Others, such as Ignatz or Marianne, would be too shy to even ponder the thought of volunteering themselves. It was the more reckless of the Officers Academy that Byleth had to keep an eye on; those who either believed they had a serious chance of succeeding or simply wanted to join another fight. Hopefully, the tamer students would be able to keep their rowdier counterparts in line, or lessons were about to get a whole lot more distracted.
"What about you, Professor?" Lysithea's question drew the man out of his musings, Byleth looking down to meet the inquisitive eyes gazing at him. "What are your plans? You're far more suitable for the job than any student and even among the staff, you're more renowned. I don't think there is anyone who could beat you without some assistance or advantage."
"Incorrect. Jeralt is a capable warrior. He has taught me much." Byleth eventually said after brief hesitation, glancing around before picking up a small log of wood. Lysithea's head tilted as she watched; it was an ordinary piece of firewood, nothing of particular interest, yet the Professor seemed to inspect it closely before tossing it in his hand. "There are differences between us. He would be a better choice."
It wasn't an unreasonable suggestion. After all, while his son was renowned and feared as the Ashen Demon, Jeralt was the infamous Bladebreaker. Not everyone had the skill to become one of the Knights of Seiros' greatest captains, after all, and there were few who had anything bad to say about the man. Nobody would object if such a man were to represent Fodlan in the mysterious tournament.
But that wasn't to say that Byleth was a slouch in that department either. After all they had witnessed the blue haired man's brutality before, when facing bandits. Now that was something to be feared. Not only had Byleth been taught much by his father, the professor had a ruthless style all of his own that swept through opponents as if they were nothing. Even with training weapons, Byleth had caused some devastating injuries during the mock battles he was allowed to participate in. If Byleth was allowed to use his full might? Lysithea struggled to imaginer many who could best him, in Fodlan or elsewhere.
"Ah, kid. I was wondering where you've been hiding." Greeted by Jeralt's voice, Byleth turned around with a curt nod, the old man's face unreadable for a moment before it settled into something a bit friendlier. "Good to see ya bonding with the students. Haven't had much of a chance to check you and your class out, but it sounds like you're all a good bunch. Pleasure."
"Oh, the pleasure is all mine. It's not every day you come face to face with such a prestigious figure as the Captain of the Knights of Seiros." Lysithea replied, her noble training immediately kicking in. normally, it would be expected for such respect to be shown, yet Jeralt seemed somewhat uncomfortable with the formality. "Shall I leave you two to it? I wouldn't want to intrude on familiar business."
"Don't worry about it, I'll only need him for a second." Jeralt dismissed, his hand coming down on his son's shoulder as a more solemn expression took place on his face. "Listen up kid. All of the chatter you've heard about a tournament? It hasn't come out of nowhere. I've been seeing some strange things around here, things you wouldn't believe. I've got some of my men patrolling about, but with all of the outside missions, I can only spare so many. Keep an eye out for anything weird, okay? People will be a little less responsive if they automatically assume that an invader's a part of this tournament business."
"Of course." Byleth quickly replied. Depending on how far the rumours spread, there could be potentially hundreds of bandits willing to try and take advantage and with how many rumour-filled letters were probably being sent to parents, it wouldn't be surprising if a fair few were already planning. If anyone believed that Garreg Mach was going to allow any old troublemaker in, then they would have Byleth's blade awaiting them. "Leave it to me."
"Knew I could. Gotta go; I swear, they've given the captain way more work than they used to."
"You don't seriously believe that people are foolish enough to try and attack Garreg Mach?" Lysithea questioned as Jeralt left, Byleth staring off into the distance for a moment as he tried to find an answer.
"Those who succumb to their baser instincts sacrifice intelligence. They see unknown people being invited onto monastery grounds without acknowledging all of the work required to allow such a thing." The professor explained the sagely tone to his voice causing Lysithea to nod in realisation.
"So, they're idiots."
"…Indeed."
Luckily, Byleth's patrols in addition to the ones conducted by the Knights of Seiros had meant that nobody had been able to enter monastery grounds with malicious intent. That wasn't to say that people didn't try, but they were easily dissuaded once the professor's strength was appropriately demonstrated. So long as things continued as they were, things would soon settle down.
The feeling of something falling on his shoulder caused Byleth to pause, absently brushing off his coat before continuing his journey back towards the monastery. When more started to fall on him, his irritation began to grow greater and greater until his eyes turned upward. There had been no clouds for rain after all, which could only mean something strange was going on.
That didn't mean he was prepared for the veritable shower of strange purple particles falling from the sky, violet spheres seemingly coming out of nowhere and raining down on Byleth. It was no magic the mercenary was familiar with and Byleth would've known if anyone from the monastery was out this far. An enemy that managed to evade his detection then? Byleth had been looking forward to some more exercise.
Jumping away from the strange magic and drawing the Sword of the Creator, Byleth prepared to parry whatever the magic was meant to achieve. His blade lowered however when he realised that the magic wasn't actually trying to attack him, but slowly come together, a huge pile of the violet spheres gathering together and growing larger by the second. Given a minute, they had reached the height of a full human; another, and Byleth was horrified to find that they could look like a human as well.
When Caspar and Ingrid's faces first appeared out of the purple magic, Byleth felt his grip tightened around the hilt of the Sword of the Creator. They weren't exact copies, their eyes an ominous yellow and a vicious dark aura surrounding their forms, but that didn't mean there wasn't momentary hesitation in Byleth's movements. That was probably why they chose to clone his students.
Yet he would not be so easily swayed. With a sharp flick of his arm, Byleth's eyes narrowed as the Sword of the Creator separated into its whip-like form, lashing out to ensnare the Ingrid copy's lance. Had it been the actual Ingrid, she would've never been able to match his strength, yet Byleth's frown grew when he found the clone unmoving, matching his strength perfectly. It meant that the professor was forced to release his grip on the lance, lest he be unable to dodge the gauntlets that were suddenly in his face.
Weaving around the punches from the Caspar copy, Byleth slid effortlessly around the attempted backstab from the Ingrid copy, giving her a firm slap on the back. For anyone else, it would have little effect, but with Byleth's strength backing it up, it sent the Ingrid copy flying forward. With her lance already extend from her previous attack, it meant that the Caspar copy could do nothing as its shoulder was suddenly impaled.
The Caspar copy instinctively reached up to pull out the lance, meaning that Byleth was free to take the Sword of the Creator and throw out is segmented blade, wrapping it around the blue haired clone's neck. It barely had a moment to cry out, if it could, before it was perfectly beheaded, a tackle from Byleth pushing the headless corpse onto its companion.
It was the perfect distraction, for even clones appeared to freak out when the blood (or whatever you'd call the odd viscous liquid of deep purple that spurted out of the wound) of your lifeless companions sprayed all over you. Too busy throwing the lifeless corpse off itself, the Ingrid clone had no time to regain control of its lance, leaving it completely defenceless. Well, a free weapon was a free weapon – Byleth had no qualms about pulling it free and piercing the Ingrid clone's eye, followed by viciously bisecting her entire body, armour and all.
Both dead, the clones' forms dissolved back into the shadowy orbs they were born from. Byleth watched apathetically as the corpse faded, the orbs fading out of existence. There were more important matters to attend to after all. Byleth had no idea where the magicians responsible for the spells were, meaning they could be anywhere at this point. He would have to return immediately.
Byleth wouldn't get the chance however, for more of the dark magic had already appeared to take on the form of his students. With Marianne and Bernadetta blocking the path forward and what seemed like half of every house forming a circle around him, there was little room for the mercenary to make his escape. Naturally, that didn't mean he couldn't simply cut out his own escape route.
That was easier said than done though, even for one as skilled in combat as Byleth. With their enhanced strength compared to their originals, the clones proved far more of an obstacle than the blue haired man would've liked. The arrows were simple enough to block on their own, but with a plethora of different close-range weapons to deal with as well, it was a fair struggle. Magic could be avoided, except there was a cage of bodies that prevented Byleth from moving too far. Had there been maybe three at a time, then Byleth's quality would override the opponent's quantity, but this was ridiculous.
Not to mention the confusion passing through Byleth's mind as he found himself facing some of the Golden Deer. Whereas he struck the others with practiced ease, whenever Byleth found his blade aimed at someone like the clones of Marianne or Lysithea, his body briefly refused to move. It was only the smallest of hesitations, but to Byleth, it was a glaring error. Not only was he having to deal with unreasonable numbers of enemies by himself, his body was actively fighting against him.
"Thoron!"
Byleth would not have to worry about it any further however, for a sudden beam of pure electricity pierced the hearts of both clones. All combat paused, every single one of the clones turning to where the magic originated, a sparking hand closing a yellow tome.
They were… unfamiliar combatants to say the least. Seven gathered together, five men and two women, all ready to fight at a moment's notice. Had it been any other situation, Byleth would've considered them with more caution but as long as they were fighting his enemies, he could accept them as temporary allies.
"You've been holding yourself well. I see why they have such high regards for you." The leader of the group spoke, a shimmering sword near effortlessly cutting down to of the clones that tried to attack. "Do not worry, however. This is a threat we're more than experienced with. Allow us to end this!"
"Um, I mean, most of us weren't here when you first dealt with the shadow bugs." The white armoured woman sheepishly remarked before pulling out her own golden blade. It was a beauty in and of itself, but when its edge suddenly gained numerous teeth that viciously spun, the sword only became even more of an awe-inspiring weapon. "But we'll still help fight!"
Byleth didn't even need to move before the seven strange warriors jumped into action. Well, he did have to duck to the side when a redheaded swordsman charged forward, his own sword completely wreathed in flame that scorched all it came across. It was fortunate that the white-haired warrior was able to somehow command water without any spoken spell, for surely the surrounding land would be completely burnt by that point.
There wasn't only fire though. The dark robed magician who had saved him with a thoron was eagerly demonstrating the other elements at his disposal. Using the power of elwind to leap high into the sky, Byleth watched as flames rained down from above, the magician landing behind a burning clone of Raphael to drain his life with nosferatu.
"Lucina, with me!"
"Of course, father!"
"Guess I'll join you two then."
Those who weren't defeated through magical means were torn apart by swordsmanship on a completely different level. The father and daughter duo dodged around the attacks that came with perfect harmony, their fighting style seemingly self-taught from how unique their movements were. It meant little to them however, for the enemies they faced fell just as easily.
And the last, well, Byleth had never seen muscles as large as that man's. it was the only way someone could lift a sword as large and clearly heavy as the one he wielded, slicing through the clones as if they were butter. When it too burst into flames, though azure in colour rather than crimson, the damage that he was dealing only multiplied.
In seemingly no time at all, the final clone was killed by the leader's strikes, the shadowy orbs dissipating and hopefully not returning for a third round. With all weapons sheathed, Byleth was left alone with the motley group, only relaxing slightly as the leader approached.
"Thank goodness we managed to make it in time. Not to speak down on the people of this land, but the shadow bugs can be a bit surprising when first encountered." The leader remarked, an enigmatic smile on his face as he held his hand out to Byleth. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Marth. The men you see here are Roy, Ike, Robin and Chrom. The women are Lucina and Corrin. We've been looking for you, Professor Byleth Eisner."
"…Why?"
The newly introduced Marth didn't answer, instead choosing to silently hold out a letter sealed with a strange red symbol.
And that's it for now! If only there weren't so many fire emblem characters in Smash, maybe Byleth would be a far more favoured inclusion. Regardless, Please look forward to the next chapter, one where Lysithea has a little bit more actual involvement.
Super hero time! See you next time!
