We now begin a Paralogue for a certain loli-goddess. And this is going to be VERY different from the in-game iteration.
Chapter 52 – Journey to the Red Canyon (Red Wolf Moon)
Dorothea was walking past the bathhouse on her way back to her room from the training grounds when she saw Byleth and Jeralt standing before the Professor's quarters. The two did not often have time to speak with one another, so Dorothea decided to listen in as she passed.
"You'll be getting your students ready for Remire, yes?" asked Jeralt.
"Yes, father," said Byleth.
"If you have the time, it would be helpful if you could go ahead and talk to the knights. I'll be in my office making my own preparations."
"Of course, father. I'll be asking Gilbert what he… Uhh…"
Byleth's eyes widened unexpectedly as a sudden, painful dizziness began to overwhelm her. She felt a dull thud within her chest that she normally did not feel.
An image flashed before her eyes. It was of a familiar set of ruins, grey, barren, and unlike any others in Fódlan.
And then, a second later, she toppled over to the ground.
Dorothea and Jeralt both went wide-eyed with concern. The singer rushed over as Jeralt said, "Hey! What's wrong? Byleth?"
"Professor?" Dorothea said as she knelt next to Byleth. "Are you okay?"
"I… I'm alright…" Byleth replied weakly. "I just got a little dizzy…"
As Dorothea helped Byleth to stand back up, Jeralt said, "If anything feels off, return to the infirmary. No need to just grin and bear it. Got it?"
Byleth nodded wordlessly as she listened to Sothis in her head.
"Ugh… What could have caused such dizziness?" the green-haired girl moaned. "I felt it too." Then, with a tone of realization, she added, "Actually… I've felt that way before… and that image…"
Turning to Dorothea, Jeralt said, "You, Dorothea, keep an eye on her, will you?"
"Of course, Sir Jeralt," said Dorothea.
Jeralt nodded at the brunette and then walked off to his office.
Turning back to Byleth, Dorothea asked, "Professor, are you sure you're alright? You aren't sick or anything, are you?"
"N-No, Dorothea," Byleth replied. "I told you, I just got a little dizzy."
In Byleth's head, Sothis was now pondering aloud and said, "Hmm… What was that name again? Oh, this is frustrating me to no end! I simply can't recall." Then, after a moment's silence, the green-haired girl's eyes lit up as she remembered and said, "Oh, I have it! Zanado!"
"Zanado…? The Red Canyon?" asked Byleth.
"That's it! It was not long ago that we were there…" said Sothis. "And still, I somehow managed to forget! That place brought back some fragments of my memory. I cannot help but wonder why. I feel we must return to find some answers there."
"Go to Zanado?"
"Professor? Professor Byleth?" asked Dorothea as she waved her hand before Byleth's eyes.
Byleth's expression turned to alarm as she looked at Dorothea and realized she had just been talking to Sothis out loud in the singer's presence.
"Professor, please, is something wrong? You're acting really strange," Dorothea said with concern. "Why are you talking about going to Zanado?"
Byleth's mind raced as she tried to think of a way to get out of this scenario. For a moment, she thought to use the Divine Pulse to stop herself from speaking out loud.
But as she tried to think, Sothis said impatiently, "Come on, why are you stalling?! Just bring the girl with you!"
It was at this moment that Byleth tried to use the Divine Pulse. But as her mind reached for the power, she found it blocked by Sothis.
"Oh no you don't!" the girl snapped. "We may have need of it later! Just tell the girl what you saw. You can trust her, can you not?"
"Professor? Hey, Professor~" Dorothea took a singsong tone as she said, "You'd better tell me what's going on or I'm going to grope you again~"
Byleth's eyes snapped down to see Dorothea was about to grab her chest. Immediately, Byleth slapped away Dorothea's hands, prompting a giggle out of the brunette.
"Dorothea!" Byleth hissed admonishingly. As Dorothea gave her a playful smile, Byleth sighed and said, "I saw something when I got all dizzy. I saw Zanado, the Red Canyon."
"You did? Why?"
"I don't know. I just… Remember when we were there the first time? How I told you, Claude and Edelgard about how I had faint memories of that place even though I had never been there before?"
"Yeah, I remember. We thought it might be memories of a past life or something, right?"
"Maybe… In any event, I think I may remember something more if I go there again."
"But isn't Zanado off-limits without the Archbishop's permission?"
"It is. And I don't think Rhea would be giving me permission over something like this."
"Yeah, it does sound kinda suspicious, if you ask me."
"I know it sounds strange, but that's what I saw. And if I want any answers, I'll have to go there."
Dorothea was silent for a moment as she gave the whole thing some thought. Then, with a smile, she said enthusiastically, "Well then, what are we waiting for?"
"Huh?"
"You want to figure this all out, don't you? Well, I want to help you, Professor!"
"Dorothea?"
"Besides, your father asked me to keep an eye on you, right? And who knows? It might be fun. Come on, we'll be there and back before anyone notices."
"I… Umm…" Byleth was trying to find a way to protest Dorothea's involvement.
"Do not bother dissuading her," said Sothis. "I surmise she will follow even if you say no."
Byleth let out another sigh of defeat and said, "Alright, Dorothea. You can come along if you want."
"Great! Just let me get a few things!"
With that, Dorothea took off toward her room, leaving Byleth to wonder if she was going to regret her choice.
…
The air was bitter cold at the Red Canyon as Byleth and Dorothea approached on horseback. Slipping out of town unnoticed hadn't been too difficult, as Dorothea knew a lot of the spots where the guards were posted. Thanks to that knowledge, the two had made it to Zanado without anyone questioning or spotting them.
As they dismounted from their horse and Byleth tied its reins to a nearby tree, Dorothea made a brief shiver as she said, "Is it just me, or is it a lot colder here than it is at Garreg Mach?"
Byleth said nothing in response to this, not feeling any difference in temperature as she walked down into the ruins of Zanado. Her eyes looked about the ruins, trying to find anything noteworthy among the grey stones and broken buildings.
Dorothea followed close behind the Professor, not knowing what it was the bluette was looking for. She made another shiver and was left wishing she had worn some warmer clothes.
With a small shudder, she said, "I don't remember this place being this creepy before. Without any bandits in it, it feels really… empty. Like a graveyard or something."
The two continued into the canyon ruins, passing one broken building after another. There was little to find in the canyon besides a few shattered pots, foliage, and an abundance of rubble. Some areas of the ground also had large holes in them. One could not see into the darkness below, but it was clear these holes would lead deep underground. Fortunately, it looked as though the cracked ground was strong enough to support their weight.
After about twenty minutes, the two came up to a structure that looked as though it had withstood the test of time far better than the others. It looked as though it could be considered a temple, but its architecture was nothing like other temples in Fódlan. The roof had collapsed inward, and a great deal of rubble was inside the temple, but the walls at least were intact.
Dorothea then asked, "Well, Professor? Remember anything yet?"
Byleth was about to reply when Sothis said, "Yes… It is all coming back to me. This structure…" Byleth was going to say something to Dorothea when Sothis continued, "Oh, but it's as though my memories are clouded. The most important pieces are obscured. But I once called this home. I have no doubt."
"Professor?" Dorothea asked again.
"I'm… not sure," said Byleth, which brought a look of disappointment to Dorothea. "It's as if the memories are there, but they're in a thick fog."
"Oh… kay…" Dorothea's confusion was palpable.
Byleth then looked over and saw a large wall with faded images on its side.
Sothis then said, "I seem to recall something… on the other side of that wall. I cannot see it, but I can still feel it… It is not my imagination. I know this to be true. We are already deep within this valley… We must press on."
"Let's see what's over beyond that wall," Byleth said to Dorothea, who nodded to her.
But just as they were about to move, the two stopped as a loud howling echoed through the canyon.
Startled, Dorothea and Sothis said simultaneously, "What was that?!"
Byleth and Dorothea looked about the ruins, trying to find the source of the howl. Dorothea was about to say something else when Byleth let out a loud "SHH!" to silence her. The former mercenary listened for any sound in the emptiness of the canyon.
She heard the pattering of many footfalls coming from the southeast. And they were not the footfalls of any human.
"Professor…?" Dorothea whispered.
"Ready your weapon," Byleth replied, drawing the Sword of the Creator.
Dorothea immediately drew Joyeuse and moved behind Byleth. The singer could now hear the footfalls, and they were getting closer. After another few seconds, the two heard snarling.
The source of the noises came forth soon after: a pack of eight Dire Wolves, each larger than a horse, came stalking into view.
Dorothea's eyes widened with fear. They were badly outnumbered, and even one of the beasts could be a significant threat for the unprepared.
"Professor, what are we gonna do?" Dorothea asked fearfully.
"Don't show them fear," Byleth said as she stood her ground. "If they think you're afraid of them, they'll attack."
One of the wolves, a black alpha male, glared at the two with a loud snarl. Byleth glared back at it, but she failed to intimidate the wolf as it stalked closer toward the two women. Emboldened by their leader, the other wolves stalked closer as well.
Then, as one of the wolves snapped its jaws in their direction, Dorothea flinched back.
It was all it took for the alpha to let out a loud snarl and then charge at them. The others followed suit.
Byleth knew they had only one option at this point.
"RUN!"
The two spun around and began running as fast as they could, with Dorothea sheathing Joyeuse as she ran. The pair darted for a set of broken walls to use them for cover, hoping the wolves would be too large to chase them through. But this plan turned out to be for naught, as the wolves simply smashed through the broken stone walls as if they were powdered snow.
One of the wolves began to close on Dorothea. The singer let out a shriek as she spun around and fired a bolt of lightning at it, shocking the wolf and causing it to crash to the ground. But in doing so, she had been forced to stop running, and this allowed another wolf to rush at her.
"DOROTHEA!" Byleth shouted, but it was too late.
Dorothea let out a bloodcurdling scream as the wolf's claw slashed her, sending her spinning to the ground, broken and bleeding. The wolf that had struck her loomed over the singer, ready to devour her.
Time's flow stopped just before the wolf was about to sink its teeth into her.
"Oh, dear…" said Sothis. "This is all my fault. I've put us all in this peril."
Byleth wound time backward. The wolf's claw reversed its swipe as Dorothea spun back to standing up. Her bolt of lightning was reversed, and the wolf that had tried to pounce on her flew backwards through the air. The walls the two had darted behind reformed as the wolves vanished back behind them.
Byleth could not wind back time any further, and so its flow resumed.
The wall was smashed open again by the mass of the wolves barreling into them. Dorothea let out a shriek as she saw one of the wolves closing on her. In a few seconds, she was going to stop to cast a spell.
Byleth moved first, separating the Sword of the Creator into its whip form and slashing at the wolf, lashing its neck and sending it to the ground as it yelped in pain.
"DON'T STOP! KEEP RUNNING!" Byleth shouted.
The mercenary spun back around to continue fleeing, but she knew they couldn't outrun the wolves for long. Her mind raced to find a way out of their situation.
It was then that Byleth saw the area they were running to was littered with several deep holes in it leading underground. The ground would support their weight, but not that of the Dire Wolves.
"Run over those holes! HURRY!"
Thinking the same thing as Byleth, Dorothea ran for the holes, hoping desperately that she wouldn't accidentally step in one and trap herself. Byleth was close behind her, the teacher spinning around and slashing her whip at another wolf as it tried to attack. The wolf went to the ground with its maw split open.
The two reached the area of unstable ground, and in doing so most of the wolves stopped, realizing the danger.
Dorothea spun around and was about to breathe a sigh of relief when she saw the alpha male continue its charge. It leapt right at Byleth.
"WATCH OUT!" Dorothea cried.
Byleth jumped back, narrowly avoiding being crushed by the wolf. And as the beast landed, the ground was quick to give way under its considerable weight. Stone and gravel shattered as a giant hole was opened in the ground, and the alpha male plummeted snarling into the darkness.
But the ground did not stop breaking apart.
Alarmed, Byleth spun around to run from the collapse, but only managed two steps before the ground beneath her feet broke away. She let out a loud yelp as she reached forward and grabbed a ledge with her left hand. The Sword of the Creator slipped from her grasp and, as Byleth looked down in dismay, the blade fell into the darkness below.
"PROFESSOR!" Dorothea shrieked as she ran over to try and pull Byleth up.
But the second Dorothea grabbed Byleth's hand and tried to pull, the ground beneath them both broke away.
The two fell into the darkness of Zanado as Dorothea let out an earsplitting scream of terror.
Try playing "Confront Battle" from the Sword Art Online soundtrack when the wolves show up, with the song ending as the chapter ends. You'll thank me later. In fact, the part of the two falling into a dark pit was inspired from rewatching Episode 7 of the SAO anime (when Kirito meets Lisbeth).
It was very difficult for me to write up how Dorothea decides to go with Byleth to Zanado, as Byleth can't reveal the existence of Sothis within her yet. I hope I did it in a believable way.
This is far from the biggest difference in this Paralogue, so expect a lot of twists!
EDIT: Also, to address the numerous reviews by Plasma Knight, this is meant to be as much a Byleth fic as it is a Dorothea fic, so some scenes where it feels like Dorothea doesn't fit are there because Byleth fits in them.