Snow arrived upon Garreg Mach. A blanket of white covered the majority of the land, hiding the roofs and grass from the omnipresence of the night sky. Winter had officially made itself known within Fodlan's central academy - if it hadn't already.

While it was night time, that didn't exactly mean many people were asleep. Quite the opposite, in fact. This particular night was a celebratory one. It was designed to commemorate nine-hundred and ninety-five years of Garreg Mach's establishment.

A ball had been set up for this very purpose. Students and faculty alike mingled within the Reception Hall. Stalls full of food and drink lined the lengthy walls, perfectly parallel to one another. All around the hall, there were wide open spaces, given for those that wished to partake in the fruitfulness of dance. A quiet, melodic band had been prepared in the corner, playing their instruments in such a way that it elicited a calm state of being within everyone at the ball. Not even the most stubborn of folks could help themselves in such a joyous environment.

Lucas was one of them. Although he hadn't actively participated in any rounds of dancing, he primarily stuck to standing beside one of the food tables, watching overall proceedings with a light alcoholic drink placed firmly in his hand. He viewed the gaggle of people before him as they all danced the night away. Most of them were folks he didn't recognise, though there were quite a number of Officers Academy folks scattered around. Lucas took note of who was with whom.

"Is that...Ashe and Ingrid? Huh. They seem to be having a good time," he noted, his eye briefly locking onto the pair of Blue Lions. He nearly spat out his drink once he saw a particular duo. "Felix and Sylvain?! How did that skirt chaser manage to get not-Sasuke to dance? How interesting."

Taking another sip of his drink, Lucas could literally feel the insides of his mouth tingle as he playfully sloshed the liquid around within there. The light from the chandeliers above reflected off his glass as he raised it up, his retinas scanning the drink inside.

"This sure is some wine. I'm surprised they're even letting students have this stuff. This is practically a 'firewine' with how tangy this tastes," Lucas remarked aimlessly. "I'm just glad they're only giving out the mildly heavier stuff to faculty. Goddess, I haven't seen Manuela around here. Perhaps that's for the best, actually, now that I think of it."

He took another sip of his wine. The glass then became empty. Lucas grunted in disappointment.

"Oh damn, I'm out. Probably shouldn't get much more, I'm feeling a wee bit buzzed myself. Man, my head sure is on fire right now! Hmm...maybe I should go play in the snow to cool myself down. It's not like I was able to do that terribly often back on Earth."

His eyes fluttered over to the exit that was closer to the cathedral. The professor shook his head.

"You're not thinking of running away, are you?" Sothis questioned the mortalis individual.

"Not exactly. I was thinking about making a snowman. That's got nothing to do with how bored I am right now. Nope! Not at all!" Lucas sighed - in the metaphysical realm.

"It is strange how you aren't receiving very many dance requests. I usually get a lot," Byleth mentioned. Lucas thinned his gaze.

"Yeah well, I ain't you. I ain't nowhere near as pretty boy-ish as you are. I'm not surprised I've been sticking around the tables here for as long as I have," Lucas lamented. He fiddled with his short beard. "Is it because of my facial hair? I don't see a whole lot of people my age here with a beard or moustache. The closest thing I've seen is Alois, but he's pretty much middle-aged. Do I really stand out that much?"

"I don't know if it's because of that," Byleth refuted. "But I am not the best person to ask about this."

"You're right about that. No offense. I, uh, you were never the most social person," Lucas pointed out. "Despite how strangely charming you can be. Byleth, you're a pretty oxymoronic person, y'know that?"

"Thank you?" Byleth tilted his head, confused about his ally's words.

"You're welcome." Lucas went to go take another sip of his wine, yet he soon remembered why he stopped in the first place. "Oh shit, yeah. Empty. Fuck, I need more."

"No, you don't. If you have any more of that infernal drink, you'll become drunk. And I'm not about to let you become afflicted with that," Sothis refused. "Go get some water or something. It's better for you, apparently."

"Oh, but water's booorrriiiing…" Lucas mentally drawled. Sothis merely glared at him. "Fine. I won't drink anymore wine. I promise, oh mighty goddess."

"I stand corrected. You're drunk right now. Perhaps not entirely so, but this is most certainly a sign you should stop," Sothis said as she delivered an almighty facepalm. "I just hope you don't get messed up with any of the students."

"It may be too late for that." Byleth pointed into the darkness. "Claude's approaching."

Lucas snapped out of his thoughts, his viewpoint flashing from the eternal darkness of the void to the overly bright ambience of the ball. Just as Byleth had pointed out, the leader of the Golden Deer house was indeed getting closer to the professor. Lucas instinctively raised his glass closer to his face - for no reason.

"Hey, Teach. How's the ball?" Claude asked, a smile on his face.

"Good. Very good. I see a lot of, uh...good dancing here," Lucas commented. His eyes scanned over the hall once more. "Yep, definitely some dancing."

"You're not wrong, Teach. Say, speaking of dance, you wanna? I've got some free time."

Lucas paused to consider the offer. For a brief moment. "Sure! I'm a-okay with that. Lemme just put this little guy down."

Just as he said, the teacher carefully placed his glass back onto the table just below him. Claude watched as he did this, his expression somehow combining both confusion and intrigue at the same time. He smirked.

"Well, alright then. Let's get right into it." Claude grabbed onto Lucas' arm and pulled him into the depths of the dancing world.

Although the British man hadn't entirely adjusted to the concept of moving his body around in such specific ways, the time he'd spent training Dorothea for the White Heron Cup was enough to not make him look like a complete fool at the ball. He knew the ball was to happen, anyway. Relief washed over him as his slow, circular movements with Claude felt oh-so natural.

But then the Alliance heir wished to have a conversation. That only made it more difficult for Lucas to focus.

"So, Teach," Claude began, his voice's volume lowering to a discreet whisper. "I kinda wanted to talk to you about our three-way alliance. You know, the one we discussed a few days ago?"

"Oh right. I could've sworn that happened two weeks ago." Lucas shook his head to clear his personal confusion. He also lowered his voice to match his dancing partner. "Never mind. Yeah, uh, what exactly did you wanna talk about with that?"

"Do you really think the other two will wanna work with one another?" Claude wondered as the pair spun around. "Back when we were talking in the Captain's Quarters, they kept looking at each other. Then, when it came out they were actually related, something just felt off. I can't really describe it."

"Well, if you can't describe it, then I dunno what to say."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to make it sound weird like that. It's just...it's hard to put into words. There's something between those two I just don't like the feel of."

An eyebrow upon Lucas' forehead rose. "You don't like their chemistry?"

"In a way, I guess. I'm not sure. I feel like they left too much unspoken between them. I have no idea if they've spoken privately since that discussion, but if they don't air out whatever's with 'em, then this alliance of ours might just fall apart."

"That's surprising to hear from you. You seemed like the most positive one back in those quarters. What's with the sudden change of heart?"

"I'm just having doubts. But don't worry." Claude winked. "I'm still feeling good about it overall. I might see what's going on between those two myself. Maybe not tonight, since us house leaders are super in-demand right now. If you get what I mean."

"Yeah, I understand. Kind of the opposite of me, actually."

"Nonsense. You'll get to dance with someone nice soon, I feel. Actually...how about now?"

Lucas was befuddled once more. Before he could possibly consider the ramifications or implications of what Claude just said, the house leader let go of him and latched onto someone else. He swore he could see a cheeky smile upon that Almyran's face as he spun away with his new, pink-haired partner.

In turn, Lucas was face-to-face with a new potential dance partner of his own.

"Oh, hi Professor! I haven't seen you all night!" Dorothea greeted him. "Would you like to dance? I won't force you into it if you don't want to."

"Uh...no, I uh, I wouldn't mind," Lucas accepted, his mind still ablaze from what just occurred. "I'll dance."

"Good! You'd better get ready, because I'm something of a fiend on the dance floor."

"What?"

Dorothea quickly held onto Lucas, not giving him any time to reconsider the matter or even think about what was to happen next. She slowly began tip-toeing and spinning themselves around the hall, making light movements to enhance the brilliance of their routine. Lucas bore a bewildered countenance the entire time.

"What?" The professor repeated. "How are you doing this? I can barely keep up."

"Practice. Being a songstress at a famous opera company gives you certain perks. One of them being this," Dorothea answered, spinning herself and her teacher around. "It's one of the things I'm good at."

"I can tell. You're quite the expert when it comes to shows and the like, huh?"

Dorothea giggled. "Yeah, that's another perk. You learn a lot when you do that sort of stuff for so long. Sure, I might not have wanted to do it at first, but I did get really into it kinda quickly. It certainly beat living on the street, that's for sure."

"I can only imagine. I've, uh, I've only ever lived in houses, so I can't really relate. Being homeless must be quite a terrible experience."

"It is. I don't recommend it," Dorothea half-jested. "Enough about that. How's the ball going for you, Professor? Get any dances?"

"Yes. But only barely. My first one was with Claude just now. This is my second," revealed Lucas. His head hung downwards in shame. "Seems like nobody really wants to dance with me. I can understand why."

"Oh, come on. I'm sure a lot of people wanna dance with you. Maybe they're just all busy."

Lucas deeply frowned. He pointed a thumb to his left, towards a selection of unknown students who'd been staring in his direction. Their gazes were full of uncertainty and a hint of fear. Dorothea became concerned.

"I see," she responded, shifting her head back to her dance partner. "Well, you should just ignore them, then, Professor. They're not worth your time or your consideration. If they want to be stupid and assume all sorts of hateful things, then that's on them. Come on. Let's focus on our dance. How about that?"

The depressed teacher mumbled something vague and incoherent, emitting a brief sound of discontentment. He reluctantly raised his head.

"Fine," Lucas accepted. His movements returned to their regular, slightly uncertain pace. "I suppose dancing with you is miles better than thinking about what they think. Still, it makes me regret having done certain things."

"You regret choosing to dance with me?"

"No! Not at all," denied Lucas. "I'm referring to...my violent tendencies. Like with Miklan. And that woman that captured me."

"Oh. Hmm, you're concerned about your reputation, huh? About how others see you?" Dorothea assumed. She nodded. "I can understand that. Don't you worry, Professor. They don't matter to you, which should also mean their opinions don't matter. Those that do matter to you...well, I won't presume anything like that, but just know that I don't think you're a violent or scary person at all."

"Heh. Thanks, Dorothea. I think I can enjoy this dance a little bit more now." Lucas grinned.

Dorothea smiled. "You're welcome, Professor."

As the tune played by the band transitioned into a slightly more peaceful piece (pieceful?), the dance shared between professor and student persisted deeper into the night. They slowly revolved around one another as they basked in each other's presence.

Their dance continued for some time. As their arms slowly pulled themselves apart, a strange feeling washed through them both. It was a feeling strong enough to eliminate any desire to pursue further dancing. Dorothea wandered off while Lucas broke away from the middle of the hall, retreating back to the food table he'd initially hung around.

His head was locked in place as it faced the floor.

"Are you running away now?" Sothis asked, shattering the silence.

"No, I just...I'm tired. I think the alcohol is starting to get to me." Lucas yawned, making sure to cover his mouth as he did so. "And don't you start complaining about that, Ms. I'm Always Exhausted."

"I wasn't about to. I'm no hypocrite," Sothis denied. "Why don't you do something else? Take a walk outside, perhaps? I'm not too sure what else you can do aside from resting. Byleth, do you have any ideas?"

"Well, this is usually around the time when I would leave the hall entirely. Then I would go to the Goddess Tower and meet…" Byleth paused. "Someone."

"Who's that someone? Your partner from your original timeline?" Lucas quizzed, curiously.

"Yes," confirmed Byleth. "After that final battle, when I was first cast backwards in time, I was no longer able to reach her. To speak with her, to hold her...such things became impossible."

"Who are they, then? You didn't answer that question," Sothis noted.

Byleth faltered, his head drooping slightly. His face soon contained a noticeable frown. "My partner was..."

Interrupting the time traveller's line of thinking was the arrival of a short-sized girl within the physical realm. She approached the lengthy table of food, her mouth practically watering as her gaze lingered on some particular treats. Lucas watched her out of the corner of his eye while they expanded in response to Byleth's answer.

"Lysithea."

"Lysithea?" Lucas accidentally repeated out loud.

This caught the Golden Deer student's attention. Her nostrils flared.

"I was hoping you wouldn't try to talk to me. I just wanted some cake. I didn't want you," the young girl scowled.

"There's cake?" Lucas checked the table, his eyes lighting up somewhat when he laid them upon the aforementioned delicacy. "Oh, there is. Hadn't noticed that before. I thought that was just a piece of art."

"Well, you're not entirely wrong. Cake is certainly an art form in of itself. But-hey!" Lysithea shook her head to un-distract herself. "Don't confuse me with that! Ugh, you really are a boorish beast. Get out of my face."

"I-I'm sorry? Where's this coming from?"

"Don't you remember what you did? You know, during the Battle of the Eagle and Lion. You beat me up relentlessly! There wasn't any need for that, but you did it anyway! My face is still bruised! Look!"

Lysithea pointed to her cheek. Lucas had to squint in order to try and see what she was talking about. He shrugged and relented his gaze.

"I don't see it," the professor admitted.

"What? Are you blind, too?! Unbelievable. You're the one who caused my injury, now you're denying that you even did it to begin with? How ridiculous are you?!" Lysithea exclaimed, enraged.

"Whoa, hey! I'm not denying that I did it. Believe me. I...I regret it every single day. I feel absolutely horrible about it. I wasn't able to control myself and so I got caught up in the moment," Lucas recalled, his expression turning to one of sadness. "I haven't been able to say this to you yet, Lysithea, but I'm sorry. I feel really bad for what I did. It has only made me look more like a monster to everyone."

"Hmph," the double Crest-wielder huffed. "They should see you that way. I don't know what it is about you, but you're an animal. If not, then you have one within you. And it hasn't been tamed."

"Yeah, I know."

Lucas went back to staring at the ground as Lysithea grabbed a plate and cut herself a hefty slice of cake. The sugary delight was then promptly shoved into her mouth. She finished her bite before speaking some more.

"I'm glad you didn't choose the Golden Deer. Otherwise, this would be very complicated for me. Though I suppose you wouldn't have beaten me up if you were my teacher." Her frown intensified. "Oh great. I dislike you even more now that I realise that."

"Sorry," Lucas apologised again.

Lysithea equipped herself with a smug expression. "Yeah, you better be. You'd better not also tell anyone about how eager I was to get this cake. I don't want everyone to know, which will happen if word gets out. Understand?"

"I understand. Just...again, I'm sorry, Lysithea."

The petite female merely nodded in acknowledgement as she forced another handful of cake into her face, walking away from the table and heading towards the furthest corner of the hall, away from all signs of civilization. Lucas sighed, his depressive countenance persisting.

"So that's your wife, huh Byleth?" He asked his mind-friend.

Byleth deeply frowned. "No. My wife wasn't assaulted during the Battle of the Eagle and Lion. Not in the way you did to her, at least."

"Oh. Well, I'm sorry to you, too."

"..."

A short silence came between the two in Lucas' mind. Sothis yawned.

"We'll need to work on your anger issues," the goddess stated. "That way, you won't need to apologise for this sort of occurrence ever again."

"That'll be a long process. But it'll be a necessary one. Actually, I wonder if there's any self-help books in the library. Probably not, considering how mental health isn't really in anyone's consideration here in Fodlan. The only reason you guys are thinking about it is likely because of me and my Earth sensibilities," Lucas guessed. "Heh, imagine if Fodlan did have that kind of stuff. I think a lot of people would benefit from all that."

"I don't know if Rhea would even allow it," Byleth assumed, his quiet aggressiveness having subsided. "It may remove some control from her."

"You might be right." Lucas sighed. "Unfortunately."

When the conversation inside of himself quietened down, Lucas checked to see how the overall ball proceedings were going. Many students were still dancing with one another, many twists and turns were being taken and lots of barely-alcoholic drinks were consumed. A smile was brought to the teacher's face as he observed it all.

His eyes briefly fluttered to the window. Faint, shimmering snowflakes had caught his attention.

"Fuck it, I'm running away," Lucas decided.

Departing from the crowded merriment of the grand ball, the Black Eagles' professor ventured out into the snowbound monastery. His feet dug themselves into the chunky whiteness beneath him as he propelled himself away from the Reception Hall.

Once he exited out of the doorway adjacent to the one that led to the cathedral, Lucas passed over by the benches next to the cliff edge. Although they were covered in snow, he still saw some use in them. He carved himself out a seat on the rightmost bench; even as more flakes kept falling down upon his uniform.

His gaze was focused solely towards the distance. He stared at nothing in particular.

"Lovely weather tonight, huh?" Lucas mindlessly mentioned, mentally. "Y'know, I haven't seen snow like this in years."

"Really?" Byleth wondered.

"Uh-huh. Global warming's kind of a bitch. Actually, that's one reason why I'm kinda glad Rhea's been inhibiting the evolution of mankind. She's prevented people from dangerously polluting the planet, like what happened with Earth," Lucas explained with a sigh. "But then, because of her overwhelming control over everything, she's kept quite a few conveniences under wraps. Like, Fodlan doesn't even have a printing press. That's just mad."

"As fascinating as this is, where are you going with it? Why have you suddenly started talking about this?" Sothis questioned.

Lucas instinctively leaned backwards in the real world. He jolted back into place when the back of his head touched a pile of snow he'd forgotten about. His countenance became grim.

"I-I've been here for, what, eight months now? It's almost been an entire year since I last saw Earth. I'm not any closer to going back," clarified Lucas. "Sothis, are you sure you're not aware of any dimensional portals or gates I can use to get home?"

"I am positive that no such things exist. Despite the limited access I have to my memories," Sothis said with conviction.

Lucas grinned, but a touch of sorrow lingered in his expression. "Then I guess that confirms it. I should probably stop worrying about trying to get home."

"Are you sure about this? What about your family? And your job?" Byleth queried, a metaphysical eyebrow of his raised.

"I'm sure my family won't mind if I never come back to them. After all, I already said goodbye to them on that day, so it's not like I won't have any closure or anything. Sure, I'll miss them, but I think they'd understand if they knew there was a good reason as to why I chose to stay here," Lucas reasoned. "And my job? Well, I wasn't doing very well with that to begin with. I'm actually making money here, so I think I'd rather throw all that behind me."

"So you're cutting yourself off from your past," Sothis summarised. A grin appeared upon her. "An action such as that requires faith in one's present and the stability of the future. You must feel quite confident with where you are now."

"I…" Lucas hesitated, but only for a moment, as his expression became immensely determined. "I do. The amount of money I'm making here far eclipses that of any menial job I've had in the past. That, and, well, I'm making good friends here. I think."

"You say that in spite of a negative stigma surrounding your very name," Sothis pointed out. "Need I remind you of what you have done?"

"No, there's no need for that. I'm more than aware of the mistakes I've made. Still…" Lucas faltered briefly. "I think there are still people that love and respect me despite what I've done. It's foolish and very presumptuous to say, but I don't think anyone would be listening to me if they didn't respect me in some way."

Byleth smirked. "I am glad you have finally realized that. Not everyone despises you or thinks you're weak in any way. Edelgard, Claude, Dimitri, Dorothea, Rhea and Seteth...all these people and more appreciate you, Lucas. You will simply have to work to restore that negative stigma."

"Goddess, Byleth. You are so correct today," Lucas agreed.

The Black Eagles' teacher wiped away the bundle of snow the back of his head collided with previously, then leaned backwards on the bench. He ignored the freezing water that nipped at his fingertips as he took in the cold environment that surrounded him. A smile showed up upon Lucas' lips.

"I don't know if I'll ever forget about Earth. My memory might be pretty terrible, but it's hard to forget something that's been with you for most of your life," he claimed. His eyes flickered down to the snow below. "It's like the exact opposite of this stuff. Snow disappears before long, but your home never leaves you."

"As it shouldn't," Sothis concurred. "Your home is what makes you who you are."

"Agreed." Byleth nodded in concurrence.

As more snowflakes fell upon the mortal soul, Lucas reached over to another part of the bench, balling together a bundle of the frozen liquid and moulding it into a tiny ball. His fingers ached from all the glacial presence.

"If I'm gonna be living my life in Fodlan from now on, I'll have to start building things up. I won't be able to ignore what's going to happen to the world. Not that I ever planned on bailing, no." Lucas shook his head. "As a resident of Fodlan, I can't ignore the Agarthans. I won't allow them to live under my watch."

"Good," Sothis smiled. "But you won't be able to do that right away. You'll have to proceed one step at a time."

"Yeah, I'm aware. I'll have to start with my house's next mission. It might not sound like anything potentially dangerous, but if it goes exactly the way I think it will, then we might be in one hell of a fight. Duke Gerth...you better give us that Heroes' Relic."

Lucas took a deep breath. With only a mild sense of hesitation, he threw his snowball into the abyss. He then leaned back - now wielding a smile.

"Dad, mum, sis...I may never see you again. But I have a life here. That's fine with you three, right? I suppose it's not much worse than moving out and leaving you all behind. Regardless, I hope you understand."

Only a single tear fell down his cheek.

"Goodbye."

Author Notes: Temporal Glitch is back! After my week long editing break where I updated all the previous chapters, Act 2 finally begins! Hope you all enjoy this one. Some big shit will be happening very soon, so stay tuned!

Also, we've recently hit 100 followers! Thank you all so much! I can't thank you folks enough. This is by far my most popular work and it's all because of you. I have every intention to finish this story, no matter how long it takes. I hope you're all ready to enjoy the ride.

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