Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.
BGM: A Gentle Breeze (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)
"I have to say, you're definitely improving." Byleth said with a smile. "How do you feel now?"
"Honestly, I feel a lot better. All those breathing exercises, stretching, listening to music… it definitely helps."
Byleth smiled. "And of course, being with your friends is also a plus." She said. "Not to mention you have a totally cute dog. I have to say, Seryu… you're really looking a lot better."
Seryu smiled. "I was really in the dark for so long… but I'm glad someone pulled me out of it. A lot of people did." She said, looking at her metal hands. "It's funny, you'd think I'd be more bothered by losing both of my arms, but… I guess my instability overshadowed that."
"Do you feel different with those arms?" Byleth asked.
"A little bit, but I'm not going to let that bother me. After all, I have someone with me that's always there for me…" She said, as a hand touched her right metal hand. She looked up to see Sheele, the two of them smiling as both their hands closed. "A hell of an amazing friend."
Right, "friend". Byleth thought, trying to hide a playful teasing smile. "Friends always make a difference, you think you can do it all by yourself, yet you ask for help and it goes a long way."
"Yeah, of course." Seryu nodded.
"Well, I see this therapy session's going well." A voice said as the three of them looked up to see Ruby and Yang approached them.
"Oh yeah, we were just wrapping up." Byleth said. "Hey, where's Weiss and Blake?"
"Weiss is taking it easy, she caught a cold so she's keeping to herself for a while." Yang explained.
"And Blake is currently in Inkopolis because Sun wanted to go paintballing and invited Blake and her family… soooo it's just us." Yang said.
"Oh, well, I hope Weiss gets feeling better." Byleth said.
"Hey uh… Byleth? Mind if I talk with you for a second… when you're done, of course?"
"Sure." Byleth nodded and looked at Seryu. "So, same time next week then?"
"Yeah." Seryu nodded as she and Sheele walked the other way while Ruby walked over to her.
"Okay… so… this might sound kinda silly but, I've been having the weirdest feeling for a while."
"Hmm?" Byleth immediately looked concerned. "Is it the lingering fear again?"
"I'm not sure what it is, I've been feeling this way for a few days and… I can't seem to shake the feeling away, no matter what I do. I'm not sure if I'm just paranoid or… I dunno, but my instinct is kicking in hard."
"Instinct?" Seryu turned her head.
"Oh right, that." Yang nodded. "So, you know how Ruby can go into her Zinogre form?"
"I'm… very familiar with that." Seryu said, recalling how she went Zinogre the first time.
"Apparently, it came with a few side effects. Stronger sense of smell, improved hearing, animal instinct…"
"So, she has some Faunus tendencies now?" Sheele wondered.
"Pretty much. I'm not sure if that's a bad thing… is it?" Yang asked.
"I'm not sure." Seryu shrugged. "If anything, she might have a better understanding of Faunus. Not necessarily a bad thing, in my opinion."
End BGM
"So she's a human with Faunus tendencies? That could actually be beneficial."
Seryu jumped. "Who said that?" She asked as Xena teleported in. "Ack!" She yelped.
BGM: Funny Footsteps (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)
"Sup." Xena greeted and spotted Seryu. "Oh hey, you're the one that got a second chance… Seryu, right?"
"Yeah… and uh… who are you?"
"Oh, right, you never met us. We're Xena and Yagami."
"We?" Seryu tilted her head as Yagami switched.
"Yo." Yagami greeted.
"Oh yeah, Yagami is Xena's split personality." Yang said. "She was born during a massive war and at one point, something snapped within Xena, causing Yagami to be born. She's basically Xena's darker side, and was once evil, but they settled their differences. She was called Dark Xena but changed her name to Yagami."
"We're two different people." Yagami said and then folded her arms. "We're practically twins, yet I'm the younger one…" She mumbled.
"Dude, we're the same age."
True, but I was born in the Bob-omb war… I'm practically the younger twin despite our same age.
"Fair enough."
Body switching and the fact they have different voices… that's a thing now? Seryu thought.
"Sooo, you two decided to pay a visit because… boredom?" Yang asked.
"Nah, we just wanted to drop in and say hi to Byleth."
"Weeeeeell, there's more to that." Yagami said. "We were gonna go pay our man a visit but he said he was busy working on something in the Game Corner… said something about being a surprise for the two of us. So we asked what our teammates were doing. Nyx is helping her parents out with a yard sale, Jade is out with her grandparents on a ghost hunt and Iris, last we checked, is sparring with Akame. Sooooo, we thought "Hey, why not go say hi to Byleth"?"
"You didn't want to Mantine surf?"
"We already did that before coming here. Caught some big waves!"
"Mantine surfing?" Seryu quietly mouthed.
"I think you're confusing her." Sheele said, noticing the confusion on Seryu's face.
"Oh, sorry, where did we lose you?" Yagami asked.
"Uh… everything?" Seryu sweatdropped.
End BGM
With Ruby and Byleth…
"Hmm… that's concerning." Byleth said. "You haven't felt this way when you were on ZDR or facing the Galactic Federation, yet this gut instinct just popped out of nowhere?"
"Yeah, I was on a date with Pit when it happened. I thought something was breathing down my neck. I had the chills, I felt like I was on the verge of a panic attack… I dunno what's going on!"
"Breathe…" Byleth said gently. "We'll figure out what this is. I would say this isn't a big deal, but I'm not the type of woman who brushes anything aside. I may have a theory… I could be wrong, but-"
"Her?"
"Yes. She might be making her move. We have to be ready… and if she comes. Call me, I'll be right there to help you out."
Ruby smiled. "Got ya."
"Hey, you two!" A voice said as they turned to see Sothis approaching.
"Oh hi, Sothis. What's up?" Ruby asked.
"Well, we were actually going to go on a trip. It's the end of the month, so we were planning on going to the Holy Tomb."
"Oh shoot, is that today?" Byleth sheepishly rubbed her head. "I was so focused on another therapy session with Seryu that it slipped my mind."
"And making love with Dorothea~" Sothis teased, causing Byleth to blush.
"Ah-ahem… w-we're not there yet…" Byleth mumbled.
"Oh, you're too easy!" Sothis chuckled. "Nah, it's cool. Even I would lose track of time if I'm doing therapy for everyone, dating and training the Black Eagles. Heck, I didn't realize we were closing in on the month until Seteth brought it to my attention."
"Soooo… Holy Tomb, what's that about?" Ruby asked.
"It's an underground chamber underneath Garreg Mach. It houses caskets that contain Crest Stones. Originally, Rhea was going to have Byleth visit the Holy Tomb after I had merged with her. Something about "divine revelation" or something… However, Palutena got me out of Byleth and that threw a wrench into everything. Because of that, Rhea is not happy with Palutena."
"Heh, cute… she's mad at a goddess." Ruby chuckled. "Adorable."
"Right? I don't think it's that big of a deal, but whatever." Sothis shrugged. "Then I took over the Church of Seiros and… well, Rhea hasn't spoken a word with me ever since."
"Think she's okay?"
"Mmm, she'll get over it eventually." Sothis waved it off.
"Soooo… why are we going to the Holy Tomb?" Byleth asked.
"Because I think it'd be cool. Plus the Outworlders oughta see this kind of stuff, don't you agree?" Sothis smiled.
"Yeah, I think it'd be a good idea!" Ruby nodded.
"Plus, the students here haven't seen it either." Sothis explained.
"All the students?" Byleth asked.
"Yes!"
"Well, alright then." Byleth nodded.
"Hmm…" Sothis looked around. "Okay, so Ruby, Yang, Seryu, Sheele, the psychic twins… I saw Ilia hanging with the Blue Lions, ooooh… I don't think that's enough. I'm gonna make some telepathy calls, hang on."
Later…
"That's more like it." Sothis smiled as Robin, Chrom, Lucina, Frederick, Tharja, JNPR and the Phantom Thieves stood before them.
"It's an honor to be part of this." Akira said.
"Wait, aren't you supposed to be teaching?" Chrom asked.
"My sister's filling in for me." Robin explained.
"Fair enough."
Sothis turned to Byleth. "I assume you contacted all the classes?"
"Yeah, they're on their way right abooout-" Byleth turned her head to see the Lions, Deer and Eagles approaching. "Now."
"Hey cutie!" Claude greeted.
"Sup handsome!" Yang smiled.
"Oh right, you accompanied me just to say hi to Claude…" Ruby snickered.
Get a room, you two… Hilda and Lysithea thought.
"Oh, so you guys are going somewhere?" A voice asked as they saw Bereto approaching. "That's cool. I'll just-"
"Bro, you can come too. I'm not leaving you out." Byleth winked.
Bereto smiled. "I was just joking." He said.
"…Wait a second, where's Edelgard?" Ruby asked.
"She said she had to go somewhere. She'll catch up." Dorothea said.
"That's… oddly convenient." Xena said.
"That's what I said." Ilia responded. "Hubert seems to have disappeared as well."
"I'm sure they will be fine. I have completely faith in those two." Dimitri said.
"…Dimitri, when did you get your eye back?" Yang asked.
"Huh? Oh, I was visiting the Mushroom Kingdom one day when Futaba and her band of mechanics saw me and decided to give me a cybernetic eye."
"You're welcome!" Futaba smiled.
Dimitri shrugged. "Hey, if it means I can see out of both eyes and laugh at Cackletta's attempt to kill me, then I am fine with it."
"Indeed. Her attempt was fruitless." Dedue said.
Why didn't I think of that? Sothis thought. "Alright, to the Holy Tomb we go!"
Later, at the Holy Tomb…
"Wow, kinda depressing if you ask me." Yang said.
"I mean, it is a tomb." Claude chuckled.
"Ugh…" Sothis said as she stared directly at the throne. "Just when I thought I could finally be away from that damned chair, it comes back to haunt me.
"Oh, I recognize that throne." Byleth said.
"Well… time to sit in it for old time's sake." Sothis said as she walked over to it.
"These tombs are remarkable." Yusuke said, examining some tombs. "Completely untouched for centuries, I feel like I need to make a painting for it."
"Indeed. This holy place is indeed remarkable." Frederick said.
"Should we keep an eye on Chrom just in case if he breaks it?" Ilia asked teasingly.
"Hey, I'm not that clumsy!" Chrom defended.
"Tell that to the power that you cut off while defending Beacon." Robin said.
"Hey, I didn't know the academy held the current Fall Maiden in there… or previous Fall Maiden now that Cinder is… the… Fall Maid…en… wait, am I responsible for that?"
"He finally figured it out." Tharja chuckled. "Took him long enough."
"Ooooh…" Chrom groaned.
"Oh, Father…" Lucina shook her head.
"Well, on the bright side, Cinder's on our side… I think." Yang said, rubbing her head. "Not sure where she aligns, but I hear she's a good cook at Bowser's Castle."
"Worry not about the status of the caskets." A voice said as they turned to see Rhea approaching. "They are strong enough to withstand the mightiest of blows."
"She's never met Chrom…" Yagami snarked, causing Xena to snicker.
"Ah, Rhea. You wanted to join us?" Sothis asked.
"Yes, mother. I was curious to see why you wanted to visit this place."
"Eh, sight seeing mostly." Sothis shrugged.
That's her mother? Seryu thought. But… she's so… tiny and this Rhea lady is so… so big! What… what the hell?!
"This world's… unique with parents and children." Sheele mused.
"'Unique' doesn't begin to cover it…" Seryu mumbled.
"I see. Glad to see the Outworlders are enjoying their visit here in this Holy Tomb." Rhea said as she walked forward.
"Interesting inscriptions here…" Akechi said, reading one of them. "Fascinating."
"So how's the throne?" Byleth asked.
"I took naps on this thing? This is extremely uncomfortable…" Sothis complained. "How the hell did I not go crazy inside of you?"
"Mind if I take a seat?"
"Be my guest." Sothis floated off as Byleth took a seat.
"Mmmph…"
"How is it?"
"I can understand why you were so crabby."
"Exact-… hey! I wasn't that bad!" She said, hearing Byleth giggle. She shook her head with a chuckle right after. "Glad I am not getting nostalgic over this, otherwise I'd be worried."
"You know." Rhea spoke up. "It is said that if someone were to sit on the throne, especially if they merge with Sothis, they will get divine revelation. Are you getting anything?"
Sothis snapped her fingers and whispered in Byleth's ear. "Yes. This throne needs soft cushions, pillows and a blanket." She said, causing Rhea to sweatdrop and Sothis giggling.
"I see…"
"Oh, don't be so uptight, Rhea. We're just having a fun time. Besides… not like anything interesting goes on down here anyway." Sothis shrugged it off.
Ruby's senses kicked in and turned around. "Who's there!" She demanded as Seryu and Ilia quickly turned around as well.
BGM: Mask of Fire (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)
"Hahahaha! Don't move, any of you!" An army, led by the Flame Emperor, walked in. A young man by the name of Metodey smirked at them. "If you move, your lives will be forfeit. Thank you all so much for guiding us this far. The imperial army will now take possession of everything in the Holy Tomb." He said.
"…You were saying?" Byleth asked.
"Remind me why we jinx stuff all the time?" Sothis sweatdropped.
"Our lives will be "forfeit"?" Ryuji raised an eyebrow. "Buddy, look around you."
"Wait a second… if the Flame Emperor is here, then would mean…" Sylvain trailed off.
"The Imperial Army is connected to the Empire. Who would've thought." Felix folded his arms.
Dimitri let out a small growl, staring at the Flame Emperor before him. "I never imagined you'd have the nerve to return here. What are you after, Flame Emperor?"
"Is it not obvious? The Holy Tomb contains great power. The power to rule all of Fodlan."
"And to attain that power, you'll trample anything that stands in your way. JUST LIKE YOU DID IN DUSCUR!"
Akira, Ann, Makoto, Ruby, Sheele, Seryu, Yang, Claude, Chrom, Robin and all the rest of the Blue Lions glanced over at Dimitri in concern.
"I had nothing to do with that." The Flame Emperor said. "Quickly, retrieve the Crest Stones. Kill for them if you must."
Rhea growled. "Insolence! You will atone for the sin of trampling on this holy resting place!"
"Rhea, calm down!" Sothis told her. "Flame Emperor, you must have a good reason for all of this, but I will not allow you to steal any of the Crest Stones in here!"
"Ah, so it is true! Sothis lives!" Metodey smirked, reading his sword. "I'm going to enjoy this…"
"Byleth, I want you to take care of the Flame Emperor… but don't get too rough." Sothis told her.
"Huh?"
"Trust me, I have a feeling you'll regret it if you get too wild. I'll stay here for now."
"…Okay then." Byleth walked down the stairs. "Leave the Flame Emperor to me." She told the rest.
"But professor-" Dimitri tried to speak up.
End BGM
BGM: Dwellings of the Ancient Gods - Rain (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)
"Let her handle this." Robin said. "As for the rest of us…" He smirked. "Ruby, I want you and the other snipers behind those tombs over there. Yang, you and the other brawlers go to the right. Phantom Thieves, do what you always do! Chrom, Lucina, Frederick, you take on those large beasts over there. The ones with Melee Weapons are on the front lines dealing damage. Bereto, cover your sister the best that you can! The rest of you spread out and protect the tombs at all costs!"
Sheele took out her scissors. "Let's do this."
"I'll cover you." Seryu said, forming a Sniper Rifle as Sheele nodded and took off.
"Tharja, you and I will deal with this clown right here." Robin said, looking at Metodey in front of him.
"Hmhmhmhm~ Very well~" Tharja smirked, dark magic circling her hands.
"Joker!" Robin got his attention. "See if you can find an opening and take the Flame Emperor's mask off."
Akira smirked. "Can do." He said, immediately going into his Phantom Thief attire.
"Hahaha, you think you can take me down? I will bathe in your blood before I strike Sothis down!" Metodey said.
"Well, I guess we're skipping the foreplay." Tharja smirked.
End BGM
Byleth approached the Flame Emperor with an adamant look in her eyes. "You're not going to get away with this, we won't let you."
"Byleth, you are the one person I prayed I wouldn't have to fight."
Byleth raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?" She asked, not letting her grip on the Sword of the Creator lighten.
"The time for talk is over, now… we must finish this. Once and for all." The Flame Emperor took out Amyr.
Bereto's eyes widened. "That's… Edelgard's weapon!"
A fuel of anger swelled within Byleth. "What did you do to her…"
"Edelgard was weak. She could not strike me down. Her death will light the fuel of this war."
Byleth growled. "Bastard…" She got in her fighting stance. "I'll make you pay for that!"
BGM: Keep Your Faith (Persona 5 Royal)
The Flames of Revolution Incarnate - The Flame Emperor
Byleth and the Flame Emperor both lunged at each other, clashing with their blades as the Flame Emperor swung Amyr to strike her, but Byleth jumped back right as Bereto slashed the Flame Emperor from behind. The Flame Emperor turned around and swung at Bereto. He blocked with his sword but the force of Amyr was enough to make him slide.
Time to use what Dorothea had taught me. Byleth thought, her hand catching ablaze and throwing a fireball at the Flame Emperor. The Flame Emperor turned around and swung Amyr down, where Byleth jumped back as Amyr struck the ground. The ground underneath it lit up and unleashed a fire storm in front of her.
That's new! Byleth thought with her eyes widened as she rolled out of the way as the Flame Emperor rushed ahead and swung Amyr, but Byleth blocked and countered it but the Flame Emperor used his shield to block. Bereto snuck up behind the Emperor and slashed down.
"Rrrgh!" The Flame Emperor growled, turning around and swinging Amyr at Bereto, where Byleth flanked the Emperor and swung her sword but the Emperor blocked with the shield and shoved the shield into her. The Flame Emperor punched the ground as the ground underneath Byleth rose up and knocked Byleth up in the air.
"Nnngh!" Byleth growled. Where the hell did this come from?! The Flame Emperor's a lot stronger than I took him for! She thought as she flipped and landed on a new platform that was created and then the Flame Emperor rose up as well. "So this is the power that you've been holding back all this time?"
"You do not know the half of it, Byleth."
Byleth smirked. "Guess this just got more interesting." She said as she jumped between the platforms as the Flame Emperor launched fireballs at her, but she deflected them as Byleth landed on the platform where the Flame Emperor stood as the clashed with their weapons.
Bereto, meanwhile, climbed up the platform. "Typical… he doesn't give me one." He mumbled as he kept climbing, but he lost his grip and started to fall, but Ilia, with the help of her Magenta Wisp, caught him.
"I got ya!" Ilia said.
"Thanks!" Bereto nodded as he went up the rails that she created and then she backflipped off right as they got to the top.
"Alright, go!"
Bereto jumped off and slashed the Flame Emperor from behind. "Rrrgh!" The Flame Emperor growled as the Emperor would try to attack Bereto from close range but he ducked and then delivered a strong punch to the Flame Emperor's back while Byleth swung at the chest.
The Flame Emperor's hand caught ablaze and punched the platform, causing it to explode and knocked the two off in different directions while the Flame Emperor fell to the ground, but gracefully landed on the ground. However, the dust from the rock platforms impeded the Emperor's eyesight, where Byleth flicked her sword and grabbed a hold of the shield, then yanked it out of the Emperor's hand and threw it to the side.
"Hmph. What I would expect from you." The Flame Emperor said as Byleth rushed through and slashed at the Flame Emperor, but the Emperor blocked and would counter and pushed Byleth away as the Emperor swung Amyr.
"Rrrgh!" Byleth winced, holding on to her stomach. Yup, that hurts like a bitch… She thought, shaking it off as she looked down at her hand and saw blood. She clenched her fist. I'll have to get healed for that later… She thought as she dodged the fireballs that were sent her way as the Flame Emperor lunged and swung Amyr right as Bereto came running in from behind and slashed the Emperor again.
"Mmmph!" The Flame Emperor tried to swing at him, but Bereto jumped to the side while Byleth flicked the Sword of the Creator and wrapped it around the Emperor's hand and yanked it away, snagging Amyr for herself. "That weapon is mine."
"Not anymore!" Byleth said. For Edelgard! She thought as she ran ahead as she then weaved to the side as the earth rose up beneath her as Bereto lunged and grappled the Flame Emperor from behind.
"Let go of me!"
"Sis, NOW!"
Byleth jumped up in the air as a flash of light surrounded her. "HERE IS SOMETHING TO BELIEVE IN!" She yelled and swung Amyr down.
"AAAAAAAARGH!" The Flame Emperor cried as the Emperor fell on one knee.
End BGM
Metodey turned his head. "Emperor!" He exclaimed and turned to Tharja and Robin. "Rrrgh, you think you're all that with your spells and your fancy Levin Sword!" He growled before chuckling. "The mere thought of bathing in your blood is enough to rile me up!" He laughed. "I'M ALL FIRED UP JUST THINKING ABOUT IT!"
"Ooooh, thank you for giving me an idea~" Tharja smiled and then waved her hand directly at Metodey.
"Nnngh! What…?! Why do… why do I feel like my bones are on fire!"
"Oh, I just put a hex on you where your skin feels like a thousand fire ants have bitten you. It goes deeper, because I've made it to where your organs feel the same way, including your bones. After you, you did say you were "fired up"."
"AAAAAGH! MAKE IT STOP! My whole body… I can't take it!"
"Should we put him out of his misery?" Robin asked.
"Are you kidding? It lasts five hours. He'd be lucky to live after that."
"Fair enough."
Sheele cut down a soldier as one snuck up behind her with an axe. However, Seryu shot him in the head before he could touch her. "I got your back, girl." Seryu said.
Sheele saw several soldiers surround her as she smirked, looking over to Seryu as both nodded. Sheele opened her scissors and tossed it up in the air as Seyru aimed through her scope and fired several shots, the bullets striking the scissors at an angle and hitting everyone around her. Sheele caught her scissors and cut through a soldier that was still alive from the bullet rain.
A demonic beast roared as it looked like it was on its last legs as it swiped at Frederick, but he jumped to the side and rushed at the beast. "Pick a god and pray!" He said, slashing at the beast to finish it off… and to add insult to injury, Chrom and Lucina jumped in and slashed it hard enough for the beast to flying into a coffin where a soldier picked up a crest stone.
"I got one!" He exclaimed as he looked up. "…Oh shit." He whimpered as the beast crushed him and the coffin, which, considering it's Chrom and Lucina, destroyed the coffin which was enough for Rhea to see this and her eye twitched in disbelief.
"But… they were supposed to be indestructible!" She said.
"Whoops…" Lucina sweatdropped.
"Eh, it'll be fine…" Chrom waved it off.
"I swear to mother, I will never let those two near a sacred tomb ever again!" Rhea growled.
"Oh relax, not like we have a tomb raiding problem. Besides, that tomb looked tacky anyway…" Sothis said with a shrug, causing Rhea to sigh.
"Your nonchalant attitude continues to perplex me…"
"Hah… hah…" The Flame Emperor looked around, watching the soldiers get absolutely decimated oh so easily. What the Emperor didn't see was Joker on top of a tomb, completely in the Emperor's blindspot. "You think you've won, but you've-"
Joker jumped on top of the Emperor. "Got ya!"
"Mmph! What…?!"
"Show me your true form!" He said, taking off the helmet and jumping away, but as he did, his eyes widened when he saw who was underneath the mask.
"Edelgard?!" Byleth and Bereto exclaimed.
"Well, that's unexpected!" Joker said, tossing the helmet away as everyone turned toward Edelgard. The helmet happened to land near Dimitri.
"Is that…?" Yang asked.
"What the heck is she doing?!" Ruby asked.
"Is… is this for real?! Am I seeing things?!" Skull exclaimed.
"No… we're all seeing it." Queen said gravely.
"Well, that would explain her disappearing acts…" Claude said.
"Um… guys!" Annette exclaimed. "Dimitri… he's…!"
"Hmm…" Dimitri looked down at the helmet. "Hmhmhmhmhmhm…" He looked up and laughed crazily with a crazy look in his eyes. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Dimitri…?" Marianne asked with concerned.
"IS THIS SOME KIND OF TWISTED JOKE?!" He yelled as he readied Areadbhar and slowly approached Edelgard, crushing the helmet with only a single step of his foot. Dedue, Claude and Ingrid tried to grab his shoulders but he was ready to slaughter. "I've been looking for you… I will take that head from your shoulders… AND HANG IT FROM THE GATES OF ENBARR!" He yelled with a twisted smirk on his face and lunged at Edelgard.
"Dimitri, stop!" Byleth tried to get in his way, but Dimitri pushed her down and threw Areadbhar at Edelgard. She let out a gasp and weaved her head, barely nicking her cheek and slightly cutting it as Areadbhar struck the ground.
A few soldiers tried to defend Edelgard, but Dimitri mercilessly slaughtered them all with blood splattering everywhere as some of it splashed in his face. All he did was chuckle sadistically.
BGM: Farewell (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)
"Before I break your neck, there is one thing I must ask you…"
"Dimitri, I ask of you to-"
"I don't recall giving you permission to speak!" Dimitri said darkly. "Answer my question. That is all you have left to do. Flame Emperor… no… Edelgard. Tell me now, why did you cause such a tragedy?"
Edelgard said nothing, struggling to find her words to speak while Sothis slowly got up. "You killed your own mother, and yet you haven't even had the decency to stop and consider the reasons behind your actions! HAVE YOU?!"
"I already told you, I had nothing to do with that!"
"Ha! It was foolish to think I could reason with a lowly beast." Dimitri cracked his knuckles and approached her.
"Alright, that's enough!" Sothis said as she had teleported between the two.
"Sothis…" Edelgard whispered.
"Out of my way, Sothis. Can't you see this monster ought to pay for everything that she's done!"
"You don't even know the whole story. You're so blind in your rage that you haven't stopped to think about the other side of the story. Calm the hell down now."
"How can I calm down… she was the one who obliterated Duscur!"
"You don't know that!" Sothis shot back.
"Once her blood has spilled into Fodlan's soil, then Duscur will start healing!"
…Holy shit, was I like this? Seryu thought in surprise.
End BGM
"Hmhmhmhm… you think killing one person will heal Duscur?" A voice asked as Thales appeared before them. "How incredibly naive."
BGM: Those Who Sow Darkness (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)
"And who the hell are you!" Dimitri growled.
"Thales, what are you doing…" Edelgard whispered, but it was loud enough for Sothis to hear.
Sothis smirked. "So you're Thales, huh? You must be the leader of Those Who Slither in the Dark!"
"Those Who… what? THAT'S what they went with?" Yang deadpanned.
"Yeah, definitely not the most original name, is it?" Claude rolled his eyes.
"Okay, TIME OUT. We go from Raven Beak to this? That feels like a downgrade…" Yang mumbled.
"So we're… dealing with a cult… what? Come ooooon, we go from Ridley and Dark Samus to Raven Beak to… a cult. A CULT! What even… I got nothing!" Ruby said.
"Are you kidding me!" Nora exclaimed. "Those Who Slither in the Dark? Am I the only one who thinks the name needs some fine tuning because… I can't take that name seriously."
"He looks so… zombie-like." Ren said.
"Urgh… just his face is enough to make my stomach turn." Jaune said.
Pyrrha grimaced. "That's… I got nothing."
"Make fun of our name all you want… we will see to it that our goal will be completed." Thales said and looked at Sothis. "And you, Sothis, I am not sure how you are alive-" He grabbed her by the arm. "But our goal to revive Nemesis will go along swimmingly with you accompanying us."
"Rrrgh! Yeah right…!" Sothis yanked her arm away as she aimed her hand at Thales, conjuring up magic as he snapped his fingers as she was wrapped around in darkness, which put her in a deep sleep.
"Too easy."
"SOTHIS!" Hilda yelled as Byleth clenched her fists and closed her eyes, slowly rewinding time.
"Make fun of our name all you want… we will see to it that our goal will be completed." Thales said and looked at Sothis. "And you, Sothis, I am not sure how you are alive-"
Byleth readied herself and lunged at Thales.
"-But our goal to revive Nemesis will go along swim-" Thales snapped his fingers as the wound that Edelgard had given Byleth started to burn uncomfortably.
"Nnnnngh! AAAAAAAAAAGH!" Byleth cried, falling on her stomach. "Nnnngh! Rrrgh…! Aaagh!"
"Sis!" Bereto rushed to her side as Dorothea came running over as Ruby used her semblance and Xena teleported to Byleth's side.
Why… why am I getting a sense of deja vu? Edelgard wondered while looking at Byleth in concern while Sothis turned her head.
"What did you do to her!"
"I simply made her wound burn until she could no longer stand." Thales said.
"D-Damn y-you…!" Byleth tried to get up, but the searing pain was enough to make her head spin, then to everyone's horror, Thales enveloped a distracted Sothis in darkness to put her to sleep.
"We will be dealing with all of you in the near future." Thales said, picking up Sothis, unaware of Futaba aiming her ray gun and fired at him, where a microchip was planted on his back.
Got ya. Futaba thought with a smirk.
"Lady Edelgard!" Hubert teleported to her.
"Let's go… we'll try to explain everything later." Edelgard said as Hubert teleported the two of them away as Thales made his escape as well.
Anger swelled within Rhea. "To flee is futile, wicked girl! The Church of Seiros will raise its entire army against you until you have been captured and punished! You have defiled the Holy Tomb, dishonored the goddess, and humiliated your brethren! That crime will never be erased, even if you burn in the eternal flames and spill all of your blood into the goddess's will! The same goes for Those Who Slither! You have captured the goddess… and I WILL see to it that I will have your heads!"
End BGM
Dorothea wrapped Byleth's arm around her, with the help of Ruby. "Come on, let's take her to the infirmary. There's no telling what he did to her."
"Right." Ruby nodded.
"Your highness… are you okay?" Dedue asked.
"No… we didn't kill the enemy. I will kill Edelgard, by my own hands, I swear it!"
"…He's… starting to sound like me." Seryu said, grimacing.
Sheele sighed. "Unfortunately, I can see why…"
"Well… might as well regroup… and try to figure out what the hell happened." Lysithea said as they all walked off.
"You're tracking their whereabouts right now?" Akechi asked.
"Yup… and by the looks of it, it looks to be very technological." Futaba mused. "Hmm… technology…"
"You got something in mind?" Ann asked.
"Yeah… we're gonna need the Blue Bomber." Futaba responded.
Robin overheard this. "Hmm… perhaps some back up will suffice."
"Who are you thinking?" Tharja asked.
"Other folks from the Outrealms. Altea, Crimea, Hoshido, Nohr, Elibe, Valentia… we're gonna need all the help we can get."
"In more ways than one." Chrom said, looking at Dimitri. "Hope we can knock him to his senses."
"Him? I'm more worried about Rhea." Lucina admitted as they walked out of the tomb.
Meanwhile, in Garreg Mach's cafeteria…
"Hmhmhmhmhm~" Umber hummed as he was cooking. "Why go to a crummy ol' tomb when you can just cook away to your heart's content?"
He paused for a second. "Though I wonder if I missed something epic. …Eh, I'll find out soon enough."
Ibuki: Well, that's a hell of a way to start the chapter!
Indeed. It's gonna get wild!