Author's Notes: Now, where was I for the last year? Where does the time go? If you were wondering, on top of personal business, I was in a revision process for this story, going back and editing/altering things that irked me to no end. So, if you ever went back to re-read certain chapters, you may find that some things have been completely changed if not outright removed.
You have my apologies for how long that process took but it is now done. However, as a result, Chapter 10 had to be scrapped and restarted to match the pace I was setting. But, it's finally here. I won't keep you any longer.
Please Enjoy.
Time.
It was a universal constant. No matter who you were, how much money you had, how much blood was on your hands, you would have the same time, the same 24 hours, as everyone else. Of course, if you were indeed a criminal and doing time, your time would be spent less productively than those who hadn't dipped their hands into that forbidden pool. A fitting punishment to those who committed wrongs against the innocent.
Delthea had to wonder. What sort of grievances had she done against the world? What ill-fated star was she born beneath? What kinds of things had she done in the past life to deserve this?
Time.
She had not enough.
She along with everyone else stepped closer to the dreaded machine, their footsteps clattering against the hardwood floor. A most unassuming-looking thing, this rectangular device was responsible for the vast ocean of tears it produced on this day. It wasn't called the Trials of Elimination for nothing. It was responsible for not even sparing a wink of sleep to Delthea last night. Not even the lavish comforts of an entire dormitory and massive bed could stave away the gnawing within, as the evening peeled away to the first light of dawn.
Time.
It wouldn't stop just for her. It certainly wouldn't stall the footsteps she was taking to the scanner, or whatever it was called.
The Trials of Elimination, or Trials for short, were a set of different tests students could try out to obtain their right of admission to the Academy. There were three main examinations: Aptitude, Application, and Demonstration. The test she was set to face was the Aptitude exam. It was noteworthy for being the shortest of the three tests, thus giving her nowhere enough time to prepare for it.
She was but one student among the many that occupied the four major lines set up in the gymnasium, the lines themselves being organized alphabetically, each with its own assigned machine scanner. In an orderly fashion, students would step up to the podium and stand in front of the rectangular device. It was kind of like a weight scale, with the difference being the two handlebars that bordered its side, both of which were to be gripped by the scanee. After a brief period, the machine scanner would make this beeping, whirring noise, calculating something that determined whether the person being scanned made the cut into the academy, or the other harsh alternative.
Simple. Yet absolutely terrifying.
She recalled the words of the contract:
"Rise and meet expectations."
It meant she had to pass this test. Failure would mean she hadn't met those expectations. Failure would mean expulsion, exposing what she did yesterday to the world.
Again, another simple outcome. Yet absolutely terrifying.
Another step forward, someone somewhere in front of her had just finished their Aptitude exam. Were they shaking their fist with triumph? Or were they weeping in sorrow like so many others before her? That's what she noticed. The Aptitude test was effectively culling the prospective student body in half, maybe even more. It was brutal, a stark contrast to how welcoming and open the academy appeared the day before. Those who had been chatty and talkative earlier sure weren't talking now.
The machine wasn't hidden away behind curtains, giving the testing student no inkling of privacy. Their success, or failure, was on full display for all to see. With the rate of failing students, reassurance was at an all time low for poor Delthea.
So why this test? Why had so many chosen this test over Application or Demonstration? If the passing rate was so low, why had so many risked their admittance with such a test?
That was simply because this was the easiest test of them all.
Yes, as irony would have it the test where so many before her had failed was the easiest.
The Application exam required students to exhibit a noteworthy display of their channeling powers, showcasing its practicality, finesse, and strength. This exam, being the second hardest, tested the student's theoretical knowledge on channeling and implementation of said power. Lacking expertise in both criteria, Delthea steered clear. She wouldn't be able to fudge her way out of something like that.
And the final test, Demonstration. Initially, it sounded just like the Application test, but upon figuring out what it entailed, Delthea realized taking it would be nothing short of suicide. The Demonstration exam involved two experienced students, ones who attained proficiency over their channeling, to duel. Duel, as in what happened at the train station the day prior. Only the most skilled and experienced students took this exam as their admittance test, considering it a badge of pride and honor as it was the oldest test on offer, upheld as one of the oldest traditions. A nice shiny badge they could bear while reeling proudly in the hospital room, Delthea thought to herself. Tradition kills. No thanks.
That left the Aptitude test and other students probably came to the same conclusion Delthea had given how many had shown up for it. With how many defeatedly slumped out of the gymnasium, Delthea wondered if any of them regretted taking this route. She wondered if she would too.
But time was not on her side. Her position in line moved ever closer.
"Well, fancy seeing you here."
She recognized the voice immediately but did her best to show it on her face. In the past, she would've melted upon hearing it. It was something she only heard call out to her in dreams, whispering sweet nothings. But now that Delthea had gotten a glimpse of the sly devil that hid behind the silver tongue and mask, in truth she wanted nothing more than to slip away, unnoticed.
"I get the feeling you don't want to talk to me."
"You know why." She wanted to say but couldn't. Claude was already drawing attention to himself by being… well, himself. And it certainly wouldn't do Delthea any good by springing about unwanted eyes towards her by making a scene. Everyone all around her was already on edge as it was.
Glancing over her shoulder, her eyes met the boy's sharp green irises for a brief second. Unmistakably, his expression was playful, laidback even, despite the hot water all of the students, himself included, were about to head into. That went double for Delthea. She sure as hell didn't forget what happened the night before.
There was so much she wanted to say, to ask. But she had found no time between their meeting yesterday and less-than-happy reunion now. As insistent as Claude had been trying to get Delthea to confess about her role in the accident yesterday, he had all but disappeared once the orientation ceremony had concluded, leaving not a trace of his whereabouts. She had not seen him with the rest of the students heading towards the temporary dorms. If ousting Delthea as the culprit for the train explosion wasn't Claude's goal, then why was he acting like that yesterday? What was he trying to do?
Delthea faced forward, away from the boy as a mischievous grin spread across his face. Through some sweet talking, he had managed to snag the spot in line right behind her. He sure as hell wasn't in the line before; she would've noticed otherwise. But since their last names did start with the same letter, Claude technically was in the right place, even if Delthea didn't like it… But...
"... what are you trying to do?" she muttered under her breath, just loud enough for the boy behind her to hear. She heard him chuckle.
"Why, I'm standing in line for the Aptitude test like yourself," he answered suredly, his tone uncompromisingly cheery for a student about to head straight into a do-or-die exam. A brief glance at all the other students painted a vastly different, far grimer picture than Claude made it out to be. Some students stoically faced forward, hands clenched, eyes fierce. A good majority were shaking in their shoes, hands clasped at their foreheads or mouths. Others had blank, empty looks adorning their faces, borne of shock, unable to process what they were about to wade into. Who could blame them? After how welcoming the academy appeared last night, this was a world of a rude awakening.
Delthea sympathized and could feel her jaw tighten but chose to keep her eyes straight forward. Through gritted teeth she asked, "But why are you behind me?"
He winked at her.
"Insurance."
Delthea finally turned around to face him. But before she could go about grilling the boy any further, she felt a sharp tap on her shoulder. Turning her head, she saw a gloved hand belonging to a coat-wearing exam proctor pull away from her, only to soon motion her towards what she had been dreading the most this whole time. And she hadn't even noticed.
She was now first in line.
The next on the chopping block.
Time.
Hers was up.
Many others, many of whom were undoubtedly more skilled and well-versed at channeling than she was, failed. In any other normal circumstance, that precedent would have scared Delthea. She who knew little to nothing about channeling couldn't hold a candle to those devoted types and that lack of skill would've spelled trouble for her on this examination.
But what she was afraid of wasn't her lack of power or skill.
Rather, she was afraid she had too much of it.
She wasn't going to pretend to understand what the machine scanners did when the examinee gripped onto the handles to get scanned. What was as clear as day though was the machine… reacted… when scanning a student. Sometimes more prominently—or violently—than others.
Sparks or even whole gouts of flame would eject from the machine from time to time when a certain student got scanned, reacting that way probably due to the "affinity" the student possessed. It hadn't escaped her the whole time while she was standing in line that all students who displayed these qualities all passed, which only spoke further of their skill as channelers.
And she possessed what the eye-patch interrogator told her was an S-Class level ability. It wasn't something cute like shiny sparkles or small jets of flame like some of the students here performed. It was something monstrous, capable of tearing a hole through a train car as if it were made of mere paper. Something everyone at this academy was itching to find out more about since the incident.
And if this machine scanner reacted in accordance to one's ability, then that meant…
"Hey! Quit stalling the line!"
The same proctor who tapped her on the shoulder was now yelling at her to get a move on.
The only direction Delthea wanted to move in was anywhere but forward. And though every fiber of her body wanted to run far, far away, her legs inched closer to the ever-daunting machine.
There was no escape from time. And there was no escape this time.
She had to entrust her fate to the machine and pray it didn't react in proportion to the power that lay within her body. Thinking about the ability she possessed actually made her feel worse. Had she been less reckless and been more careful, she could have hopped onto this machine and flexed her powers without having a massive school-rocking accident looming over her; without worrying about the threat of expulsion weighing on her neck.
She could've carved a name for herself with the talents she had and led a fulfilling life at the academy, surrounded by people that she once thought were beyond her reach, let alone seeing. Heck, maybe she would've pursued some sort of amazing career out here, away from home, just like how she always envisioned herself doing.
At the end of the day, that was just wishful thinking.
There was still an academy train sitting in the repair station with a massive, gaping hole in its tail end.
There was still a shady contract binding her and several others to the academy by threat of severe punishment.
There was still an exam that would broadcast her powers to the world.
Delthea always told herself she wasn't a clumsy person, that she was someone who was in control of her life; she wasn't someone who would stumble so willy-nilly into ridiculous developments as this. But then again, if she wasn't, she wouldn't be in this mess in the first place.
And she also wouldn't have gotten her foot caught on the first step of the stairs leading up the elevated stand, catapulting her face first into the—
"... watch your step."
Another voice she recognized.
One moment her face had come dangerously close to kissing the hardwood floor. The next, Delthea found herself being lifted from that fate by hand, coming face-to-face with her savior. A face belonging to someone who had saved her before in a coincidentally similar fashion.
"You alright?" Byleth asked, steadily letting Delthea regain her balance. His hand never left her wrist. She quickly guided her free hand to the handrail attached to the stairs.
"I wish," she muttered with a sigh before giving the boy probably the first and only genuine smile she managed today. "But… thanks. Again."
"Don't mention it," the boy said. Delthea thought she could see the corner of his eyes soften, if only slightly. "I just happened to be by."
Ah, right. Byleth was taking the test too. Delthea had been so caught up with her own fatalistic thinking, everything else had taken a back seat. But seeing him again amidst all this was… nice.
Though she wished this moment would last, the shrill voice of the test proctor dashed any chance of it staying past its welcome. Reality was still very much in full effect. An overcast expression quickly clouded Delthea's face again as she could make out from the corner of her eye the machine that awaited her, poised and unchanged. The exam would go on.
And as she turned to face her fate, she felt a gentle squeeze on her right wrist. By the time she realized who had still been holding it, he had already let go, turning away and walking back to his line to take his test. It wasn't much but the message was there. Though faint, a soothing calm spread throughout Delthea's frayed nerves. The very same sensation she felt back on the ship when she met Byleth for the first time.
It was enough to make her swallow back her trepidation, letting her take her final steps to the scanner without much trouble, tripping or otherwise. The examination itself was so simple, even if she were still a complete nervous wreck, she'd probably still be able to do it. Probably.
Place your hands on the corresponding handlebars.
Easy enough.
Taking one final deep breath, she slowly raised her hands and placed them on the horizontal metal rods in front of her. Though she saw the machine spew all sorts of elements before her, the bars were ice cold to the touch.
Once gripped, do not let go for the remainder of the exam.
Delthea felt the machine start to hum and rumble as it established contact with her hands. She didn't know if it was supposed to do this but she kept her mouth shut. The less attention on her, the better. However, everything seemed relatively calm. So long as she didn't have to do anything that required a use of her power, she would be just—
Please concentrate channeled energy into your palms.
"... for the love of—."
The exact thing she feared. Despite how cold the metal handles were, Delthea could feel her palms begin to sweat. Everything, literally everything regarding her school life here and that of her companions, was riding on this exam. If the resultant display was anything like that of yesterday, Delthea would be absolutely, most royally screwed—and that was putting it mildly.
… Maybe if I just focus real hard and only let off a small bit of—
No, that was exactly what she did on the train in an effort to show off to—or, blind—Claude. With the fitting name of "Aurora", it was nothing more than a really bright fireball she channeled into her hand. Or, at least, it was supposed to be. Delthea still hadn't figured out how in the hell her fireball went from a nightlight to the literal warhead it was yesterday. She had gone through those practiced motions before and done basically everything, from her focus to channeled energy, bit for bit.
Please concentrate—
"Okay, okay!"
…
A rather fun fact about channeling (though probably not-so-fun for poor Delthea here) is that while it requires a user to maintain utmost concentration to deliver results, the opposite can sometimes be true. If a channeler doesn't properly maintain their channeled power or if, God forbid, they get a tad bit too emotional while channeling, their gathered energy can… have unintended results. These outbursts are dependent on the strength of the channeler in question.
The stronger they are… Well, you get the picture.
Delthea most certainly did. Not from what she could see but rather from the complete lack of what she saw. No, the world did not go dark. If it had then it would've meant she was dead or buried underneath the charred rubble of the destroyed gymnasium. Spoilers, she wasn't dead, otherwise this would be a very short tale. She was, to her own shock and disappointment, still very much alive and well… No, that was only half-right. She was very much alive.
And completely enveloped in white light. A blinding light resonated from her hands, submerging the whole gymnasium in a sheen that put even the brilliance of the sun to shame. It was a near perfect recreation of what happened back on the train. Which meant that an explosion should've followed soon after.
But it didn't.
Delthea was still one piece. The machine scanner in front of her, although barely visible, was still very much intact. The gym didn't seem to have had any explosive renovations done on its walls either.
And as Delthea was realizing that, the light she channeled subsided, returning the world to safe levels of brightness. What hadn't returned however was sound. In fact, the gym had gotten so quiet, Delthea thought that her ears were affected by her channeling.
Your exam is finished. Please step off the scanner.
She nearly screamed at the machine's sudden monotone voice. Oh, so her ears were working just fine after all, she realized while recovering from her heart attack. Then why had the gym gone so quiet? Hadn't everyone else seen the same thing as her?
She didn't want to toot her own horn but what she just did was on a completely different level from the students before her. If anything, the gym should be in an uproar with the sudden blinding burst of light that flooded it. Not to mention, this Aurora burst she just channeled was beyond what she could originally do as well. If Aurora used to be a powerful strobing flashlight, then what happened just now was a supernova in comparison. She wondered as she turned to step off the machine. Fully turned around, she got her answer.
"Oh."
Everyone in the gymnasium was sprawled out on the floor. Students, staff, test proctors, no one was spared; all of them had collapsed from where they were originally standing.
"Whew, good thing I brought these."
Well, almost everyone.
Delthea's eyes darted to the voice and the only person standing among the crowd who hadn't dropped to the ground in a pathetic heap. Scratching his messy, black hair, he was standing around as carefree as ever, donning a smile showing off his perfect teeth. Though, something about his appearance was different, particularly his face. Covering his green eyes were a pair of very thick black-lensed goggle… things…
"... how are you still standing?"
Claude laughed. "What? Disappointed?"
"Kind of." She grumbled as she eyed the weird contraption Claude had oddly prepared. "... Where'd you get something like that?"
Claude smirked, loosening the goggle's straps and letting it rest on his neck. "A man's always got to be prepared."
"... Can you actually see out of those things?" Delthea had to ask.
"If I could, then I'd be just like them." He pointed at all the strewn bodies surrounding him.
Delthea cautiously stepped down the stairs, her eyes glued to all the people who had been standing mere moments before.
"... are they… are they de—"
"No need to worry. They're all simply passed out. Sensory overload."
Her ears perked up. That matter-of-fact voice couldn't belong to anyone else.
"Oho," Claude announced, eyebrows raised, "look who else survived."
"Byleth?" Delthea gasped, turning to the right to see the teal-haired boy standing about as coolly as ever, observing the scene with much interest.
"How did you—"
Byleth looked over to her. "Riegan is not the only one who's aware of your power."
"You what?!" Byleth? Byleth knew about her power? How?! Since when?! If that was the case then, yesterday… All these questions that she wanted to ask so badly lodged altogether in her throat, leaving her tongue-tied.
He calmly approached the two stragglers, his measured footsteps echoing throughout the now eerily quiet gym. His presence was so unaccounted for, even Claude looked slightly on edge. But right now there was no time to be worried about how other people appeared. This was exactly what Delthea was fearing, wasn't she? Other people knowing about the sole cause of yesterday's accident?
"Rest assured. Your secret is safe with me."
Byleth gently spoke as he looked Delthea dead-on, unwavering. For someone who was hard-to-read, Delthea could tell he was being honest. And if that wasn't enough, he gently laid his hand on her shoulder, as if to reassure her further… which almost had the opposite effect on the poor girl.
"But," Delthea managed to finally say after swallowing back some of her nervousness, "h-how did you know?"
"Yes," Claude chimed in from below the elevated floor, walking towards the two, eyes narrowed. "How did you know about what happened yesterday?"
Byleth glanced over at the tanned boy, who was clearly glaring at him with eyes riddled with suspicion. He did have a point though. The only reason Delthea even attempted to try something as ballsy as showing off her powers in the first place was because there was no one else around. She had looked around to make sure of that. No one else but Claude was at the bar at that moment and that weird Tharja girl had all but wandered back to her cabin by the time Delthea and Claude started talking. No one else should have been there.
"I was in the restroom right next to the bar. The moment I left, I happened to catch a glimpse of you extending your hand outward before a burst of light rocked the entire train car." Byleth answered without skipping a beat.
That… made sense. Byleth had disappeared from their cabin, which was what prompted Delthea to go on her little goose chase throughout the train car in the first place. It was a good thing she had been pointing her hand towards the back of the train. Who knows what would have happened if she pointed it towards the front. She shuddered at the mere thought.
Though Byleth had finished his sound explanation, Claude appeared… less than convinced. Just as Delthea was about to point that out, the boy's expression shifted in an instant. He simply nodded to himself, any previous inkling of doubt or otherwise now gone.
"Is that how you were ready for her little display here?" he amusedly asked, waving towards the throngs of knocked out students and staff that surrounded them. A glint of mischief flashed on his face. "If only they were as resourceful as you were. They might've had a chance to take the test."
The realization of what Delthea had done was only dawning on her now, hitting her like a sack of bricks.
"Oh my God I am so damn screwed."
Claude wryly laughed. "Realized that just now?"
She glared at him. "You know what, Claude? Why don't you—"
A sudden, high-pitched screech blared throughout the gymnasium, causing nearly all three of the survivors to clasp their hands against their ears and grit their teeth. The noise was… painful.
But as soon as it started, it dissipated almost instantly, the screeching static decreasing to levels that were digestible. Where was the sound coming from, wondered Delthea, her eyes darting everywhere.
"... test-test."
… Delthea also wondered if she was going crazy. She swore she could hear someone speaking amidst the static. She looked at her two companions and they both nodded in agreement.
"Ah, is this working?"
Delthea raised her slouched head and slowly took in her surroundings one more time. Adorned evenly throughout the room, she could make out several rectangular boxes. The sound and voice must have been emanating from there.
"... judging by your reactions, I'm assuming you can hear me."
The voice was deep and carried a tinge of annoyance punctuating every word.
…
Wait, this sounded like—
"Ms. Rivers, I don't know whether to praise you or arrest you on the spot. Even after how much I warned you yesterday, you still..." The voice paused for a moment, probably due to an exasperated sigh. "... Are you sure the train incident yesterday was just an accident? Or are you just a show-off?"
"It was an accident!" Delthea yelled at the disembodied voice. She looked around at the people sprawled out around her. "... This too."
"Alright, alright," the gravelly voice grumbled. "I'll take your word for it and let you off with just a warning. But just this once. I don't think we can handle a repeat performance in the future."
Delthea blinked.
"In the future?"
"Yes," the voice over the speakers replied. "In case it wasn't clear, Ms. Rivers, you have passed your Aptitude test."
She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She… passed? After the second disaster in a row she personally caused? How lenient was this academy? Or, for that matter, how little did this place care about the human lives at stake?!
"Though," the loudspeaker voice continued, "if you were going to show off like this, you should've just partaken in the Demonstration exam."
"I wasn't trying to show off!"
Delthea could see Claude out of the corner of her eye snickering something fierce.
"Anyway, all three of you should vacate the premises as soon as you can. We will be sending in our cleanup crew to keep all of this under wraps. Can't have any of you be seen near the scene."
It was Claude's turn to ask questions. "What are you going to do with all of them," referring to the students and staff who had passed out.
The voice wasted no time in answering. "Since everyone was non-fatally incapacitated, we're going to transport them back to their rooms under the cover story of these students waking up late for their exams."
Delthea looked around. That would be a LOT of students who overslept. Would that even work?
… then again, this was the same school who magically hand-waved an explosion aboard a train to be wholly something else entirely.
… scary…
"What bearing would that have on their admittance?" It was Byleth who asked this time and it was a question on Delthea's mind as well, aside from freaking out about just how powerful this academy was. Oversleeping and being late for such an important event could hardly be excused or seen in a favorable light. And with this many students missing the Aptitude test…
"Had it been previous years, we would have failed all of them on the spot," the voice began. "Students who can't even make it to their tests have no right to set foot on academy grounds. Not to mention, getting knocked out by something like a sensory attack would raise serious questions on the channeling skill of the prospective body."
Delthea felt a shiver run down her spine at the thought of all the bright, diligent students failing because of her.
The voice then chuckled. "But, we aren't dealing with run-of-the-mill channeling today, are we?"
A direct jab at her. Ouch.
"They'll all be given a written make-up exam. If any try sleeping through this one, they get the boot."
Delthea let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding this whole time. It was good news that the students here would get a second chance at least. She wouldn't have been able to bear the thought of having so many deserving students fail because of her little… accident.
"Where do we go from here?" Delthea asked.
"I dunno why you're asking me that," her interrogator replied. Delthea swore she could picture him shrugging. "Today's the Trials of Elimination. Go see how your fellow classmates are holding up with their tests. Or something."
Aside from how irresponsible this self-proclaimed teacher was sounding, it was a valid option for the three to pursue. Blending in with the rest of the student body would be a good way to get heat off their backs. Plus, it would give the three a chance to meet up with Hilda and Dimitri who they had not seen since the conclusion of yesterday's orientation. Delthea was curious to see how they were holding up, given the less-than-stellar circumstances everyone split up on.
"Hurry up. Scram. We have to clean this mess up before anyone wakes up." The voice sounded very annoyed now, which was their cue to get the hell out of dodge.
As the three made their way to the gymnasium's entrance, Delthea could already see uniformed personnel quickly moving past them. With barely a word exchanged, the professionals got to work, earning a whistle from Claude as the three exited the building. Outside, workers moved stretchers from ambulance-like vehicles as they rushed into the gym.
"Let's go. We'll only get in the way if we stay here."
Byleth didn't need to tell her twice.
Professor Saber Arvad let out a long-winded sigh, sinking ever more slightly in his chair. One hand clasped his face while the other finally let go of the red intercom button to the gymnasium. After a brief crackle of static, his line to the three students was now severed. It's not like he wanted to be hounding over them 24/7 but a niggling ache at the back of his head gave him a foreboding premonition that this would be one of many "house calls" he would have with these particular students. And definitely not the last time he would be cleaning up after their messes. A resigned groan escaped from his lips.
His two attendants, standing vigil at the doorway to the crisis control center, knew better than to interfere with the professor in the midst of his work regardless of how frustrated he appeared. On top of his teaching duties, he was head of security. If something needed to be done, Professor Saber was the man for the job. He always was. That's what they knew as they maintained their silence.
After going through the five stages of grief in the fraction of a minute, Saber straightened himself out and stood from his chair. With a practiced motion of his hand, various monitors suddenly lit up the wall in front of him, each providing camera feed of the happenings on campus. Several were dedicated to the mess that occurred in the gymnasium this morning, showing Academy personnel working swiftly to cover this incident up. The unconscious bodies of students and staff were being delicately moved about on stretchers and transported to their designated areas.
The wristband of one of Saber's attendants suddenly lit up. With a flick of her wrist, a holographic display encircled her arm. The attendant's eyes glided over the notification with silent diligence. Shutting the hologram off after recording its contents to memory, she made her way to her superior. He glanced at her with his one good eye.
"Teams 1 and 2 are asking what to do with the unconscious prospective students that passed the Aptitude test," she reported with mechanical precision, her voice as measured, cold, and still as the water over a frozen lake. No emotion betrayed her face as she stood upright, awaiting Saber's orders.
Saber clicked his tongue. He remembered telling her to smile a bit more. He'd have to remind Eir after this assignment. It'd do the girl some good to bring some color to her face beyond her subdued gray.
Not missing a beat, Saber activated his own wristband, displaying a similar holographic screen to Eir. He contacted the teams currently on cleanup duty.
"Check the scanner records for Aptitude test results. Cross-reference that with the student roster to distinguish who passed and didn't. Passing students are to be taken to the infirmary's East Ward. Make sure not to mix them with students hospitalized from the Demonstration test. The West Ward is meant for those unlucky saps with actual injuries."
He exhaled. That was a mouthful but it should have cleared up things. It meant he could take a quick break and-
"Sir, there's one more thing."
Grumbling, he turned over to the attendant who called out to him. She was a bit more expressive than her partner, Eir. Perhaps a bit too much. Once Ash got going, she would drone on nonstop for just about anything and everything. Saber had her forward the message to him to save himself the trouble. He read the details in the report.
…
"... Where was he found, lieutenant?"
"Night patrol came across the charred body last night, lying several hundred meters from the train tracks. Blast marks and angle trajectory match up with the explosion aboard the Heroes Express yesterday," Ash quickly answered.
"Has he been identified?" Saber asked.
Ash shook her head. "The Intelligence Division is sifting through records and working on it as we speak."
Saber narrowed his eye. "That means he wasn't a student. We've received no reports of missing persons. All prospective students have been accounted for." What was someone like this doing aboard the train?
"As for his condition…" Ash began.
"Dead?"
She shook her head again. "Seriously injured, but he's alive."
He let out a long whistle. Whoever this guy was, he was one tough son of a gun. He survived not only being blasted out of a train, but he got beamed with channeled energy of the Class-S variety and emerged alive. Without proper prior preparation or innate resistance, anyone blasted by such force rarely came out in one piece. And sometimes, all the prep in the world wouldn't be enough.
Saber hadn't realized he unconsciously placed his hand on his eyepatch. He grinned wryly.
"Professor Saber?" Ash called out to her superior officer. "The response team is asking what we should do."
Saber cleared his throat, pushing back his thoughts and memories. Right now, he had to be Professor Saber Arvad, head of security and just about anything else faculty threw his way. He activated his wristband again.
"Take this unfortunate bastard and his burnt ass to the intensive care unit. Give him the best care we've got. He's earned that much." He then turned to his attendants and motioned them out of the room. They obliged without question and began striding out the doorway, though he caught glimpses of Ash glancing towards him curiously.
"Divert whatever medication and supplies are necessary to get him conscious. Tell the hospital staff I will be fronting the bill myself."
"Sir?" Ash began to grow curious. Tickled any further and she would soon be talking nonstop.
Saber chuckled as he deactivated the monitors and made his way out of the control center. Just this once, he'd ignore his personal rule with Ash.
"The guy survived an explosion point blank. I have questions for someone like that."
If you had judged the entire academy based on what the atmosphere was like in the Aptitude testing grounds, you probably would've thought Heroes Academy was a ruthless meritocracy, bent on crushing and shedding the weak and only taking on the strong and capable. That's the impression Delthea had.
That was only half-true, as she came to learn. Heroes did pride itself by taking on the cream of the crop among the prospective students to be its main student body. However, it would've been foolishly negligent on the school's part to simply discard the rest of the students, those that didn't measure up to Heroes' absolute pinnacle standards. There were still very bright minds and capable individuals there, and Heroes made sure to recognize talent when it saw it.
Students who didn't clear the Trials of Elimination were still eligible to be a part of the auxiliary student body, a sort of secondary support role to the main students. Delthea didn't know the specifics of being part of that group entailed but she took it upon herself to learn eventually. She was single handedly responsible for nearly failing an entire group, no, an entire building, of students. The least she could do is be aware of their situation. It gave her some piece of mind to know there was still hope for those poor kids, whether they passed or not. She mentally apologized to all of them.
"You're looking glum. C'mon, live a little!"
Delthea could feel the wrinkles forming above her brows. She was trying as hard as she could to digest whatever information she could from the pamphlet she received on the way to the academy's central grounds, bobbing and weaving out of the way of other students. It wasn't like her to study but her aforementioned guilt made her do strange things, and she needed to know what the auxiliary student body did to give her a bit of peace of mind.
"Hello? Earth to Delthea?"
And this incessant, all-too-cheerful voice calling out to her was grating on her nerves.
"Give me one good reason, Claude."
He snickered. "What? To cheer up?"
"To talk to you," she snapped.
He held his hands in mock surrender. "Oh, come now. We're comrades-in-arms, aren't we?" He then wrapped his arms around Byleth and Delthea's shoulders in an attempt to signify their bond. "All in this together?"
It didn't work.
Delthea calmly peeled Claude's toned arms off her shoulder and let it drop to his side. The boy wasn't shocked in the slightest at her reaction and sheepishly scratched the bridge of his nose, all with a dry smile adorning his face.
"Your words and your actions yesterday are in conflict, Riegan."
Now that was a reaction Claude wasn't expecting, his eyes wide. Byleth was full of surprises today. He too had figured out what was eating up Delthea since yesterday evening.
Claude retreated, pulling his arms away. Byleth's words didn't contain malice or anger. And yet, it was more than enough to make the boy actor tense enough to drop his playful facade, if but for a moment. The tumult in his eyes was short-lived however as his usual easy-going expression manifested soon after. He chuckled.
"And here I thought I had everything accounted for," Claude remarked, shaking his head self-critically. His green eyes flashed towards Byleth, containing a razor-like emotion Delthea couldn't put her finger on. Anger? Frustration? Approval? "Seems I've still got some learning to do."
"Why are you talking like this. We're not on some movie set, you know." Delthea frankly had enough of the melodramatic. What was up with these noble-types and their penchant for the operatic?
"Oh come on, I've only played the good guy in every film I've been in! Let me play the villain for once," Claude shot back playfully.
An exasperated sigh like no other expelled from her lungs. She didn't have the patience for this. She needed to reunite with Dimitri and Hilda, not deal with Claude's theatrics. Doing so would get her nowhere except fed up. Folding the pamphlet away into her butt pocket, Delthea made her exit stage right. Taking Hilda's strength and Dimitri's appearance into account, they were probably partaking in the Demonstration exam. Based on the pamphlet, that test should be taking place in…
…
…
"You not gonna follow after her, Mr. Guardian Angel?"
Byleth wordlessly stood in place, arms folded. Delthea had already gone on her own accord, leaving the two boys to stare at each other in silence, unaware of the leery gazes of passersby. To the untrained eye, Byleth's expression would appear like stone, unmoving. But such things didn't escape Claude. He could tell the teal-haired boy's gaze had hardened, the wrinkles of his brows appearing by a hairbreadth and a small margin of his lower lip retreating into his mouth. None of these nuances got past Claude. Even if he had officially retired, the world was still his stage.
Which was why a castmate like Byleth caught his attention. No, it demanded it. From the moment Claude set his sights on Delthea, this boy would be there to deter him. Whether it be for something frivolous or strategic, the silent boy's gaze was never far. And if there was one thing Claude carried the most disdain for, it was being denied. Far few injustices could oft compare.
Claude ruefully chuckled, running a hand through the curls in his hair. How did it take him this long to piece it together? His mind was replaying the events of yesterday, examining and reexamining his actions and reactions of others. Despite some hiccups, almost everything had gone according to plan. Almost everything. Right when he had Delthea in a bind…
"You're the one that forwarded the anonymous tip to the Student Safety Committee," Claude realized. Byleth neither confirmed nor denied his actions, which basically meant he was saying yes. In the back of Claude's mind, those black-uniformed students and their silver-haired leader, El, appeared much too conveniently, right when things would play out like he wanted. If they indeed had been called, then Byleth had the foresight to know the direction their meeting would wind up in, or how Claude was trying to steer it his way. Claude internally reprimanded himself; he really let his guard down this time.
Delthea was instrumental in plans moving forward. Byleth's intervention could throw a wrench in everything if left unchecked.
Most people could be persuaded by money, which Claude could manifest in spades, but his gut told him something as paltry as cash wouldn't sway Byleth. There was also the option of bringing the boy into the fold, to his side, like he had done with Tharja. If you can't beat 'em, let them join you, they say. However, Claude immediately dispelled the notion. It was much too early to put that into action, let alone think aloud. There were too many unknown variables, with the biggest one being Byleth himself.
Delthea was the perfect picture of a nobody. The only thing that made her stick out, her untapped abilities, was actively being suppressed. She was sharper than some but nothing Claude couldn't handle. He didn't have the same confidence regarding the boy however.
His prowling and research last night turned up nothing useful. Not even a name or a reference. It only furthered the suspicions he had since they met in the train car.
…
… the train car…?
Claude replayed the scene over again in his head. How he had been sitting at the bar counter with Tharja, how Delthea had appeared at the most opportune moment. How the explosion tore through the train car with the fury of a thousand suns. Miraculously Delthea and Claude emerged unscathed. What happened after?
C'mon. Figure it out. You're so close!
…
Byleth appeared, untouched by the ravages of Delthea's channeling. He asked if Delthea was okay.
Byleth appeared. He demanded if Claude was responsible for the burns on her hands.
Byleth appeared.
… Claude finally realized the one thing that fired all the alarms in his head.
Why Byleth was so suspicious.
Why Byleth appearing where he did made no sense, breaking time and space.
Why Byleth was far more dangerous than anything he had dealt with before.
Claude mastered controlling his emotions and maintaining his visage through thick and thin. He had it beaten into him. But if anyone saw him now, his teacher would've been very disappointed.
And upon seeing the look on Claude's face, knowing Claude pieced together the glaring flaw in the story thus far, Byleth did what no one, not even Delthea, had seen yet.
This time, he had the last laugh.
Chapter 10 End.
(A/N): I should probably use this space here to respond to reviews, huh?
To Tenderror: Thanks for enjoying (and sorry for being gone for like a year). I have a lot planned for this story and am excited to put it into action. Hopefully you join me for that ride.
Aes1r: Really wish I could update and write more. Duels are coming up in the next chapter and I really want to get into them as much as I can. Glad you like the premise.
Allen Vth: Byleth indeed has piqued Delthea's interest, but perhaps for reasons she may not expect or realize yet. I'll leave it at that for now.
Chapter 11 is already underway. Hopefully it'll be up here soon-ish.
Until then, have yourselves a damn good one.
