Author's Note: Hey, hey! I'm back! And I brought a new chapter! Was waiting to write this. Things are gonna be getting juicy.
I'm gonna be honest with you, some parts of this chapter can be skipped if you want. If you want to you can skip to the end around the line "Rhea nodded impassively. "Very well. We shall discuss this. Manuela, Hanneman, you are dismissed."" Yeah… that probably doesn't bode well. All I can really tell you is that there are some pretty good gags.
Part One
White Clouds
Remire Village Shall not Fall
Byleth awoke to a feeling she knew all too well: a pillow to the face. Even months later it was how Sothis woke her up. It was basically her only option, since when she tried getting an alarm clock she ended up destroying it. Still, she couldn't deny that sometimes the pillow thing still annoyed her.
"Sothis, it's my day off." She groaned, slowly taking the pillow off her head and throwing it absentmindedly to the side.
"Yeah, yeah, I know." Sothis replied, somewhere off to Byleth's left. "But somebody is knocking on your door and it's not like I can answer it."
As if to prove her point, three loud knocks sounded. Byleth sighed. Looked like she wouldn't be sleeping in this time.
"I'm coming, I'm coming." She groaned, rolling out of bed.
She walked over to the door, opening it up just wide enough to see who was there while also preserving what little dignity she had left. Standing outside her door was a Knight of Seiros, looking generic as always. Byleth sighed.
"What does Rhea want?" She asked.
"I don't know ma'am." The Knight said, boringly formal. "It's not my job to ask questions."
Byleth sighed again. "Fine, I'll be right there. Just let me get dressed first."
Half an hour later, Byleth stood in front of Rhea and Seteth in the audience chamber. Alongside her were Manuela and Hanneman. Sothis was also there just in case the meeting turned out to be boring.
"Byleth, Hanneman, Manuela." Rhea said, completely serious. "Thank you for meeting me."
"Did we have a choice?" Byleth asked. Finally, she had gotten her snark back. Mostly.
"Byleth, I would appreciate if you dropped the sarcasm." Seteth said, glaring at her. "This is a very serious situation."
Byleth believed him. The last time she'd heard Rhea this grave was when Edelgard launched her assault on the Monastery. However, since Edelgard was not currently launching an assault on the Monastery, there was only one thing Byleth could think of that would cause Rhea to have such an attitude.
"No." She breathed. "No no no no no."
"Byleth?" Manuela asked, concerned. "Are you okay?"
"Rhea, please tell me the worst hasn't happened." Byleth pleaded. "Please tell me Remire Village is okay."
"Byleth, please calm down." Rhea said, holding her hands out, in an attempt to be soothing. "Remire Village is fine. A strange affliction has broken out but those who have it have been quarantined."
Byleth breathed out a sigh of relief. "Oh thank the Goddess."
"Hey don't thank me." Sothis said. "I didn't do anything. It was all you and the Knights."
(You're right.) Byleth thought. (Guess the Knights came through for once.)
"Hold on a moment." Hanneman said, interrupting Byleth and Sothis' mental conversation. "Byleth, how did you know about this situation when we did not?"
"I'm wondering that myself." Seteth said, stroking his beard.
"Well, the truth is…" Byleth began hesitantly. "I'm the reason you know about it at all."
Hanneman's jaw dropped and his eyes widened. It was almost comical.
"What!" He shouted.
Seteth and Manuela looked equally surprised. Rhea, however, kept her cool. Byleth couldn't tell if she was just hiding her surprise or knew more than she was letting on. Both were equally likely.
"Back when my father…" Byleth began to explain. A lump formed in her throat. "Back when Jeralt was still alive, I asked him to have a couple of Knights monitor Remire Village."
"But why?" Manuela asked.
Byleth's mind raced. How had she not anticipated this? Now she had to come up with an excuse on the fly.
"Have you considered misdirection?" Sothis suggested, quite literally reading her thoughts.
"That doesn't matter right now." Byleth said aloud. "There are more pressing things to worry about." She turned to Seteth. "Seteth, where's Tomas!" In her head she added. (Thanks Sothis.)
"I believe he is in his room." Seteth said, perplexed. "Why do you ask?"
"Come on, then!" Byleth shouted, grabbing Seteth's hand. He barely had time to yelp "hold on" before Byleth had dragged him out the door.
Solon hurried to pack his trunk. He had to get out of there fast. Its not that he was worried about being discovered, no definitely not. But his spies told him the Remire Village experiment hadn't quite gone as planned. Somehow, unexpected variables in the form of the Knights of Seiros had been introduced. He needed to find out how this had happened and fix it immediately.
"Going somewhere, Tomas?" A voice said from the doorway. Solon turned to see Byleth leaning against the frame. Suddenly, Solon felt worried. The question had been innocent enough but something about Byleth's demeanor and the tone of her voice seemed to indicate that she knew more than she was letting on.
"Oh, just on vacation." Solon said, adopting his sweet old man voice.
"Really, where too?" Byleth asked.
"Oh, just here and there." Solon said, flipping his hand. "Why do you ask?"
Byleth sighed. "You know, I was going to do this whole coy cat-and-mouse thing but honestly, I don't think I really have the patience for it so I'm just going to be blunt: I know you're an evil wizard."
"Evil mage." Solon blurted involuntarily.
Byleth smirked. "Couldn't resist, could you?"
Solon opened his mouth but didn't get a chance to speak.
"Before you try to defend yourself, let me list some other things I know." Byleth interrupted. "You are not Tomas, in fact, it is very likely you killed and replaced him long ago. And, perhaps more importantly, you are responsible for the current affliction in Remire Village."
"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about." Solon replied. He couldn't deny that he was a little nervous. How did she know about all this?
"Oh, I'm sure you don't." Byleth replied sarcastically. "But I have plenty of experience dealing with people who keep secrets, and trust me you're much worse at it than them." She raised her arm. "How do you think the Knights responded so fast to the Remire Village Outbreak? I told them about it. And I know much more than that, so perhaps its time you confessed to your crimes."
Solon grit his teeth and clenched his fist. An aura of dark magic emanated from them. "Fine, you've found me out. My true name is Solon and I am responsible for the Remire Village Outbreak as well as many other things."
"See, was that so hard?" Byleth asked mockingly.
"But it doesn't matter!" Solon replied. "Nobody will believe you! You're just some newbie professor where as I am a beloved librarian."
Byleth smirked again. "You're right, they might not believe me but they will believe him." She glanced to the side. "You can come out now."
On cue, Seteth walked into the frame. The expression he wore was angrier than it had ever been.
"Tomas, is this true?" He asked. "Have you really been a servant of darkness this whole time?"
"Hmph." Solon hmph'd "When you put it like that it makes us sound like the evil ones when in reality it is you who is the monster."
"Us?" Seteth asked. "Who is "us?""
"I have revealed to much." Solon growled. "As such, I must bid you farewell." With that he warped away, leaving behind his trunk and belongings.
"I cannot believe it." Seteth said, placing his hand on his face. "Tomas was secretly a servant of evil this whole time."
"Not the whole time." Byleth said. "He killed and replaced Tomas after he left the Monastery the first time. And his name is Solon, not Tomas."
"We must tell Lady Rhea immediately!" Seteth said gravely.
"Hold on," Byleth said, approaching Solon's belongings. "I want to take a look at his stuff first."
Seteth held out his hand ineffectively. "Byleth are you sure we should-"
Byleth wasn't listening, however, as she was already rooting through Tomas' trunk. There were quite a lot of things in there that were probably dark magic related. Nothing she really recognized, though she was sure other people would. Perhaps one of them could even be used to devise a cure for the Remirs Village outbreak.
Then, at the bottom of the trunk she found something she did recognize: a map. She laid it out on Tomas, no, Solon's bed and looked it over. She couldn't read the writing on it but based on the fact that one of the locations marked on it was the derelict church where Jerald had been killed in the original timeline, Byleth was guessing it was a map of experimental facilities of some sort. Or, at least, locations in which experiments were being performed. This was the jackpot albeit not the kind that led to you winning a million gold.
Byleth rolled up the map again. "Now we need to tell Rhea."
"This is a deeply troubling development." Rhea said gravely.
Byleth and Seteth had returned to Rhea's chamber where she and the other two Professors had apparently been waiting. What they had been doing there was a mystery to Byleth. She doubted they had just stood there awkwardly but Rhea didn't seem the type for small talk.
"I'll say." Manuela said. "A member of the Church of Seiros, and a beloved member at that, turning out to be a spy. It's very startling."
"Indeed." Hanneman agreed. "And if Tomas is a spy, then others might be too. Where there's one spy there's usually more."
Rhea nodded. "That is most likely correct, there are likely more spies than just this Solon character."
"So what's the plan here?" Byleth asked. "Frisk down everyone in the Monastery until we find the spy. That seems kind of impractical."
Rhea shook her head. "No, we must not alert the Monastery that there are more spies in our midst. Mass panic and paranoia is the last thing we need. Moreover, there are more immediate concerns." She turned to Manuela. "Manuela, will you be able to devise a cure for the disease afflicting Remire Village using the contents of the chest Solon left behind?"
"Maybe." Manuela said, tapping her chin with her index finger. "Show me the chest and I'll see what I can do."
"Good." Rhea said. "Hanneman, please assist Manuela."
"Can do." Hanneman said.
Rhea turned to Seteth. "Seteth, contact Alois. Request that he dispatch more Knights to Remire Village. I believe it is likely that Solon will return there." She turned to Byleth. "And Byleth-"
"Actually, I have a request." Byleth interrupted.
Rhea raised a curious eyebrow. "Yes?"
Byleth took out the map she had found and unfurled it. "This is a map I found in Solon's chest. I believe it is a map of various experimental facilities. I am formally requesting permission to perform reconnaissance on one of these facilities to confirm my suspicion."
An awkward silence fell over the room. Sothis muttered something about "unnecessary dramatic tension."
Rhea nodded impassively. "Very well. We shall discuss this. Manuela, Hanneman, you are dismissed."
Once Manuela and Hanneman left, Rhea's face went from impassive to scary. It felt sort of like she was looking into Byleth's very soul. It actually made her a bit nervous.
"This can't be good." Sothis said, deadpan.
(Gee, you think.) Byleth asked, fighting her nerves with sarcasm. "So… I take it we're not actually talking about the experimental sites." She said aloud, rolling up the map.
"We will." Rhea said. "But first, there is something else we need to discuss."
Byleth took a moment to glance at Seteth. He seemed nervous as well. Of course.
"Byleth, let me preface this by saying that I do have complete faith in you and believe that you have the best intentions." Rhea said in a tone that implied otherwise. "But I need you to be honest with me, how did you know about Tomas secretly being a spy?"
"Ah…" Byleth said slowly. "I… I can't tell you."
"Really? That's the excuse you're going with?" Sothis snarked.
(What, do you have a better idea?) Byleth shot back.
"Yes! Several!" Sothis hissed. "But it's too late now!"
Rhea scrutinized her. Byleth drew herself up to her full height, which wasn't really all that much.
"I can't tell you," She repeated with more certainty. "Because if I did it would threaten the safety of everyone in this Monastery and potentially the entirety of Fodlan."
Seteth looked surprised.
"Byleth, you cannot be serious." He said. "What secret could possibly be dire enough that revealing it would threaten Fodlan?"
"Ask Rhea." Byleth said, giving the Archbishop a pointed look. "She's an expert in secrets like that."
"Byleth." Rhea said warningly, tipping off Byleth that she should tread more carefully.
Byleth took a deep breath. "Listen, Fodlan is in danger. This organization, whoever they are, is a danger to all of us."
"Byleth, I assure you this group shall be easily dealt with. Now that we have discovered their spy it will be a simple matter to root out any others." Rhea said, motioning at the ground with her palms pointing downward.
"Please drop the "everything is fine" act!" Byleth said, irritably. "This is not a proclamation where you have to reassure the masses that nothing is wrong so that they don't panic!"
"Byleth." Seteth said warningly, once again reminding Byleth who she was talking to. It reminded her of a saying Sothis had once told her about, three strikes and you're out. She had never fully explained the origin of the phrase, something about sports, but nevertheless Byleth felt it was applicable here. She had suffered two strikes and had only one left.
Byleth took another deep breath and interlaced her hands with only her pointer finger and thumb still pointing upwards. "What I'm trying to say is that, as much as it pains me to admit it, I need your help." The words slipped out of Byleth's mouth before she even realized what she said. She placed her hand over her mouth, almost as surprised as her fellow professors had been earlier. She was no stranger to saying things without thinking, but this wasn't the same thing as spontaneously deciding to make a bet with a student. This was asking for help from one of the people who absolutely could not know she had traveled back in time.
"What the hell is wrong with you!" Sothis shouted.
(I don't know, it just slipped out!) Byleth replied.
"You're going to blow our cover big time!" Sothis shouted, throwing her hands up in the air within Byleth's mind.
(No way!) Byleth shouted back. (I've come too far to screw up now and… I kind of really do need her help.)
"You sure?" Sothis asked skeptically.
(Yes.) Byleth replied.
"Well, okay then. Just remember, it's the entire world's ass if you screw up." Sothis said.
"Byleth? Are you okay?" Rhea asked, concerned.
Byleth shook her head. "Sorry. What I was saying is that I need your help."
"Yes, I gathered that." Rhea said.
"The world is in danger." Byleth said, placing her hands together and pointing at Rhea. "And I need your help to stop it because you're the only person with the resources to do so." She returned her arms to her sides.
Rhea rested her right elbow on her left arm and placed her palm on her left cheek. Byleth didn't even register that it was the same thinking pose she herself used.
"Please elaborate." Rhea requested.
"Okay, so here's the situation. There's this terrorist organization, I don't know their name, and they want to take over Fodlan." Byleth said, gesticulating as she spoke. "Solon is part of this organization and they've got spies everywhere. Also, I think they have a grudge against you, though that actually does describe a lot of people." Seteth opened his mouth to speak up about this but Byleth didn't let him. "So, in order to stop them I need your help because you command the Knights of Seiros and having an army on my side would be extremely useful."
"What exactly do you expect me to do, launch an attack on this organization?" Rhea asked.
"Not exactly." Byleth said slowly. "But also sort of. Just hear out my proposal, okay?" Rhea simply nodded while Seteth looked like he wasn't entirely certain what was going on. Byleth rolled out the map on the floor. "So, like I said before, I believe that this is a map of facilities where dangerous experiments are being performed. I would like permission to perform recon on one of these facilities, with a team of my choosing, in order to confirm my suspicions. If I am correct, then I believe the best course of action would be to destroy these facilities, hopefully preventing future events akin to the ongoing Remire Village incident."
Rhea once again adopted her thinking pose. After a moment she made a decision.
"Very well. I approve of this plan. Hanneman and Alois shall be assigned to protect Remire Village instead."
Byleth resisted the urge to fist pump. Instead she simply bowed.
"Thank you so much. Oh, and one more thing. Could you, maybe keep an eye on Cornelia? I'm fairly certain she's a spy."
"Just Cornelia?" Sothis asked. "What about the other guy?" By "the other guy" Byleth assumed Sothis meant Lord Arundel.
(Too much risk of exposing Edelgard.) Byleth explained.
"I can't help but feel there's some level of irony in that statement." Sothis said.
Meanwhile, while this conversation was happening, Seteth was choking on his own spit. Probably because he didn't have a drink to choke in in shock.
"Surely you can't mean Cornelia, the High Mage of Faerghus and most trusted adviser of the royal family!" He shouted once he was able to breathe again.
"Is there another Cornelia?" Byleth asked. "I mean, there probably are several, it's not like Cornelia is a particularly uncommon name, but is there another Cornelia that either of us are aware of?"
"Well, no." Seteth admitted. "But, how could Cornelia of all people be a spy?"
"How could Tomas be a spy?" Byleth countered. "Sometimes your enemies are the people you least expect."
"That is true." Rhea agreed. "But why do you believe Cornelia is a spy?"
Byleth adopted her thinking pose. "Well, the main answer is that it's a secret, but I actually can share parts of it with you. According to rumors, Cornelia's personality did an immediate 180 the moment she got done curing the epidemic."
"Those are not mere rumors." Rhea said. "I have personally met Cornelia and while I do not like speaking ill of those who have done nothing wrong, she was not a particularly pleasant person to speak to. That in-and-of-itself is not enough to indict her as a spy, however. Do you have any more conclusive evidence?"
(Crap, that's actually all I had.) Byleth thought.
"I told you this was a bad idea." Sothis replied. She sounded annoyed but a bit of smugness had also slipped in there.
(Well, there weren't a lot of other options.) Byleth protested.
"Yes there were!" Sothis shot back. "There were so many other options! I knew that, you knew that, everybody knew that!"
(Who's everybody?) Byleth asked. (It's only the two of us.)
"Never mind." Sothis said. Byleth couldn't see her but she was pretty sure she was shaking her head. "Anyways, since we're having this conversation I assume you don't have a plan B."
(None whatsoever.) Byleth affirmed.
Sothis sighed despite not having lungs. "You really are hopeless."
(I think you've used that one before.) Byleth replied.
"Probably." Sothis agreed. "So I assume you're going to ask me for ideas now."
(Not much else I can do.) Byleth replied. (Besides, I've been doing all the work up until now while the only thing you've done is tell me off, the least you can do is pitch in.)
"I see your point." Sothis admitted, probably stroking her chin. "How about you just tell her you don't have any evidence."
(What? That's a terrible idea!) Byleth shouted. (That's the kind of idea you'd call me an idiot for suggesting!)
"No, no, hear me out." Sothis said. "It doesn't matter whether she is a spy or not. All that matters is that you think she might be a spy and have reasons for those suspicions. After all, if you had proof she's a spy there'd be no point in just keeping an eye on her as opposed to arresting her."
(That's a good point.) Byleth agreed. (Let's try this, then.)
Byleth metaphorically returned to reality where Rhea and Seteth were actually a bit worried about her. Byleth really wished her internal conversations didn't take so long. Or that Sothus was actually physically there.
"You and me both." Sothis agreed.
"Byleth, are you still here?" Rhea asked, worriedly.
"I'm fine, I'm fine." She lied, holding out her hands in a calming motion.
"Oh good, for a moment I thought you had fallen into a coma." Rhea replied.
"Right, I was just thinking." Byleth said, this time only half lying.
"Does that mean you have real evidence?" Rhea asked.
"I do not." Byleth admitted, clasping her hands together. "At the moment, all I have are my suspicions. That's why I'm asking you to keep an eye on her and not arrest her."
"Actually, we don't have the legal authority to arrest anyone who has not committed a crime directly against the Church." Seteth interjected. "Most criminals that go through our Court System were arrested by the authorities in the nation where they committed the crime and then sent to the Church due to our Courts being extremely efficient."
"Okay…" Byleth said, not entirely sure how to respond to that. "That's not really the point, though. The point is that I'm asking you to keep an eye on her because I want to confirm my suspicions."
Rhea once again adopted her thinking pose. There was a lot of thinking going on in this chapter. More so than usual.
After a moment of silence Rhea finally removed her hand from her cheek. "Very well, I will take your request under consideration."
Byleth wasn't sure whether Rhea was telling the truth. Sometimes "taking something under consideration" was a polite way of saying "no, absolutely not." Then again, Rhea was usually pretty direct when it came to her decisions.
"For now, I advise you to prepare for your reconnaissance mission." Rhea said. "I will send a Knight or Seiros to inform Hanneman that he will be guarding the Village instead of you."
"Yes, ma'am!" Byleth said, saluting.
Author's Note: Oh boy, really glad I got this chapter done. Been waiting to do this one for a while. I've always had the beginning planned out in my head since… I'm not sure when. Point is I've had the beginning plotted out in my head. I think originally I had Byleth drag out the cat and mouse coy thing but I kind of forgot how it went so now its the way it is.
Sorry for being late, by the way. I just moved into college so that has been real crazy. Thought I'd have more time to write but that was not true.
Bye.
