Ibuki: Disclaimer! The author does not own any of the material appearing in the story. The OC's belong to their respective owners!


BGM: Hades' Infernal Theme (Kid Icarus: Uprising)

"Time! Space! Reality! It's more than just a boring ol' linear path! It's a prism of boundless entertainment! A single choice can branch out into infinite realities and infinite amusement from yours truly! Alternate universes created from the ones that we know and love! I am Lord Hades, your handsome guide to these wonderful and boundless fun of opportunities! Follow me, if you dare… and bask in the neverending torturous question of:"

SUPER RWBY: WHAT IF?

"What If!"

End BGM

"Well now, Yang and Shantae are sisters in that universe, who saw that coming? Though, I do wonder where Ruby could be? Could she be a Half Genie too? Could she have been turned into a Nega Genie? All these questions to torment you with, hahahaha!"

He looked through the universes again, finding another that caught his interest.

"Ooooh… interesting…" He mused as he looked up with a smirk.

"Sooooo, we all know the story of how Sothis chose Byleth as her vessel. She turned her from a total wench into a compassionate sister to Ruby. A total sweetheart who has an F in therapy. …Okay, maybe D Plus, but still not that great. After all, she told Ruby to fight Dark Ruby one on one. We all know how that went! Pure entertainment for me, if I say so myself."

He chuckled. "But anywho, let's say that Sothis didn't change Byleth's attitude and was in her brother instead? Let's find out in…"

What If… Bereto Was Sothis's Vessel?

"Wait, I could have phrased that better. Eh… oh well! Happens to the best of us."

Shez opened up the doors. "Captain! I'm he-" She gasped, seeing her captain already dead as she saw Bereto standing in front of the captain.

"You were an honorable fighter." He said before looking up to see Shez. "Hey."

"You… you killed my captain!"

"Your captain was an honorable fighter, but it was not her day, unfortunately. I advise that you leave before you get hurt."

"I came all this way… I'm not going to back down from the Ashen Demon, I don't CARE if you're polite! You're gonna die, you son of a bitch!"

Bereto sighed. "Very well."

BGM: The Ashen Demon (Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes)

"Don't hold anything against me." He said.

"I'm gonna avenge the captain!" Shez declared as she lunged, both of them immediately slashing each other. Bereto calmly parried her while Shez angrily slashed at him, letting out vicious war cries.

Bereto swiftly swept his foot, tripping Shez up as she fell on her butt as Bereto pointed his sword at her.

"You're not going to win this."

"I'm just getting started!"

Shez sprang back up as the two of them continued their sword fight as Shez tried to do the same thing he did to her, but he backed up. Crap, I was a bit slow on the draw there… She thought as she continued to fight, only for Bereto to disarm her and then backhanded her.

"Mmmph!" Shez grunted. I don't understand… I'm usually good at fights. This guy's the real deal… he's the Ashen Demon alright… I just… never thought he'd be so polite and-

Shez blushed a little.

-So cute…! Agh! Focus!

"...Are you feeling okay? You probably caught a cold."

"Wh-what? N-no! Of course not! I'm feeling a hundred percent fine!" Shez got back up as they continued fighting until Bereto swept his leg to knock her down. "Mmmph!"

"...Oh for pete's sake. Do I need to intervene?"

Huh?

"Obviously, you're not going to die here but I'm not just going to sit here and watch you get humiliated in front of the Ashen Demon!"

Who are- aaaack!

End BGM

BGM: Fodlan Winds [Inferno] (Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes)

Bereto watched as Shez turned completely different. "That's new… where did you get that power?"

"I don't know… but I'm going to kick your butt with this! I'll strike you down!" She immediately charged at Bereto, both of them clashing once again as Bereto pushed her back, although it took some effort to do so.

Shez lunged again, only for a sword to swipe her arm. "AAAAGH!"

Bereto gasped, noticing that Byleth had come in to help. "I was handling this!"

"Yeah, well, you were taking too long."

End BGM

"There's… two of you…?!" Shez grunted, holding on to her arm that was bleeding as Byleth quickly slashed at her, where Shez tried to block but Byleth swiftly punched her in the gut and then disarmed her before going in to slash her chest. "Graaaagh!"

Shez fell on her back as Byleth slammed her heel into her stomach. "What's wrong? You had an edge just a second ago." She taunted.

"Nnngh…!"

"Byleth, that's enough!" Bereto demanded, pulling her away. "She's had enough."

"Tch, you're too soft."

"Alright, that's enough! We did what we came here to do." Jeralt said. "We're moving out."

"Come on, let's leave this worthless trash to the wolves." Byleth walked off.

Bereto walked away… but he stopped as he looked at Shez struggling. He clenched his fists as he picked her up and walked off with her.

"You're… what…?" Shez wondered.

"What the hell are you doing?" Byleth asked.

"I say we keep her prisoner." Bereto said. "It's not like anyone's coming for her."

"Mmm… alright, I don't see the harm in it. But she's your responsibility. Besides, she needs those wounds checked out." Jeralt said.

"Right." He nodded as they set up a medical tent as Bereto went in with Shez while Byleth had a bewildered look on her face.

"...Why are you letting him do this?" Byleth wondered.

"He has compassion, which is unheard of for a mercenary, but what can you do?" He chuckled. "You might learn something from him."

Byleth rolled her eyes. "Right…"

"Nnngh…" Shez groaned as Bereto went right to work on patching her up. "Wh-what… are you doing…?"

"Patching you up."

"Why…? I should've been left for dead…"

"I wasn't going to let you. Pardon my sister, by the way… she can be a bit… shall we say… cranky."

"How bad-"

"Twenty four seven."

Shez sweatdropped. "Forget I asked…" She mumbled. "So, why did-"

"Bite down on this for me." Bereto instructed as Shez raised an eyebrow but bit down on some wood.

"I donth thee the pointh inth-"

Bereto applied ointment on her wounds.

"NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNTH! MMMMPH!"

"Don't want you biting down on your tongue." Bereto said, tearing open her shirt and applying ointment on said wound that was enough to make Shez keel over.

"What a drama queen…" Arval deadpanned.


Several moments later…

"Uuuugh…" Shez woke up, finding that the room had stopped spinning as she had bandages on her arm and chest. She looked to see Bereto sitting next to her while eating some food.

"Hmm? Oh hey, you're awake. Got you some food in case if you're hungry."

"I'm not particular-... is that mutton? You didn't poison it, did you?"

"No."

Shez cautiously looked at him before she took a bite. Her eyes sparkled and proceeded to eat it happily. She immediately looked at Bereto after a few bites. "So… why'd you save me?"

"Well, I actually have compassion. It's true that I'm the Ashen Demon and I can be pretty ruthless, but… unlike my sister, I tend to take my time paying respects to the fallen. Byleth thinks it's a waste of time, but my father thinks otherwise."

"The Ashen Demon with compassion… that's not what I heard… and what I also heard was that there was only one. Guess the captain was misinformed." Shez mumbled. "So now what? You gonna kill me?"

"If I was gonna kill you, I'd have done it already."

"...Fair point." Shez mumbled. "So what happens now? I guess I'm a prisoner of war."

"Well, you can always fight alongside us. Talked with my father about it and he seemed willing to work with you."

Shez blinked. "Jeralt the Blade Breaker? Willing to-" She rubbed her head. "What the hell is going on right now…"

"I'll give you some space." Bereto walked off while Shez started to continue eating.

"Soooooo… I guess you're with them now!"

Uuuuh, can I help you? Who are you?

"Ah, right, introductions…"

Bereto grabbed his fishing pole and walked over to a stream, sitting down and cast his line with a small relaxed smile on his face.

"Mmm… who are you…?"

"Huh?"


Inside…

Bereto would find himself face to face with Sothis, who was sitting down on a throne, looking like she just woke up from a nap.

"Aaaah, that was a good nap… who are you?"

"I'm… Bereto…? Why are you in my brain?"

"Your brain? I thought I was-... huh, I guess I am. Weird… but regardless, I suppose I'm stuck here."

"You mean… I'm gonna be haunted by you."

"Oh come on, "haunted" sounds too childish. I'd say it's… willingly spooking a person's brain."

"Sooooo, haunting."

Sothis sweatdropped. "Dammit, I'm not haunting you!"

"Uh-huh…"

"Ugh, whatever. So… you have a name?"

"Bereto Eisner."

"Sothis. Nice to meet you. Well, I guess we might make ourselves comfortable since I'm stuck with you. That's gonna be fun… not."

"Oi, who are you talking to?"


Outside…

"Hmm?" Bereto turned his head to see Byleth standing behind him.

"You were talking to someone."

"Oh, I was talking to my new friend, Sothis."

""Friend" is a bit of a stretch."

Byleth raised an eyebrow. "Sothis? Is that what you're calling a fish? …Oh oh, wait… a new imaginary friend? Pah, grow up, doofus. Imagine having an imaginary friend at your age… how pathetic can you be?"

"...The hell is her problem?"

"Whatever, I'm just gonna go hang out with my real friends and not some fake ass nobody named Sothis like you."

"FAKE ASS NOBODY?!" Sothis yelled while Byleth walked away. "WHY DON'T YOU COME SAY THAT TO MY FACE, YOU BIG BOOBED BIMBO!"

Silence.

"...I don't think she can hear you."

"Crap. It was such a good insult too…"

"Maybe some day…"

"Have you ever insulted her?"

"We tried, but she just dismisses it."

"And she's part of your mercenary group? …oh, by the way, I can already tell you're mercs."

"Not only is she part of it… she's my sister. We're twins."

"...Oh my goodness gracious, you live with that thing. I am SO sorry."

"Eh, don't worry about it."

"I'm gonna be honest, I think I dodged an arrow with that one. If I somehow managed to wind up in her, I'd be nothing but a nag…"

"Now now, I'm sure you'd put her in her place, given how none of us seem to do. Not even dad can get through to her."

"Eh… not like I can give her a tongue lashing right now. But perhaps I'll find a different way. For now… I… guess I'll just be living in your brain."

"Haunting me."

"Dammit, I said I'm not haunting you!"


A few days later…

"Jeralt! Jeralt, sir!" A mercenary came running up.

"What's up?"

"We got some trouble! These three individuals came seeking aid." He said as Claude, Dimitri and Edelgard walked up to them.

"Hmm?" Shez looked at Edelgard. What's with the white hair…? Is she trying to stand out?

"Says the girl with purple hair."

Shez blushed. Good point…

"What can I do for you?" Jeralt asked.

"There's a tribe of bandits near our camping spot. We got separated from our group and… well, they look pretty intimidating." Dimitri said.

"Bandits? Here?" Jeralt wondered.

"Why should we help you?" Byleth asked. "Honestly, you look like you can defend yourselves."

"...Seriously. It's been three days and I've been wanting to slap her! Ugh! Why did I have to get caught up with you! …No offense." Sothis said.

Don't worry about it. Bereto chuckled.

"While it's true that we can defend ourselves… we're not entirely that experienced on the field." Edelgard admitted.

"Yeah, I'm good with a bow but I feel like I'd need to babysit these two." Claude said.

"Hey!" Edelgard glared.

"Claude…" Dimitri shook his head with an amused chuckle.

"Alright, we'll see what we can do." Jeralt said. Wait, those uniforms…

"Watch and learn how a pro handles things." Byleth said.

"Oooh no, you're not gonna hog all the glory!" Shez said as the two ran off.

"I'm Bereto. That's Byleth and Shez."

"Nice to meet you three. I'm Claude."

"Dimitri."

"Edelgard. A pleasure to meet you."

Bereto unsheathed his sword. "Let's take these bandits down."


One minute later (Because five minutes is too generous with these guys…)

"Rrrrgh!" Kostas sprang back up after Shez knocked him over. "You brat!"

"Huh?!" Shez turned around in surprise as Kostas charged right at her.

Edelgard immediately sprang into action, getting in front of Shez while pulling out her dagger… only for Bereto to push her out of the way.

"Diiiiiiiie!" Kostas swung his axe down… only for Sothis to activate Divine Pulse at the last second.

"What the HELL are you thinking!"


Inside…

"Are you trying to get us both killed?"

"I thought I could react after pushing Edelgard away."

"You kidding? Dude's surprisingly faster than he looks… but regardless, you're the "Ashen Demon", not the "Ashen Sacrifice"!" Sothis sighed in annoyance. "Whatever, I can still make this work. Allow me to unleash Divine Pulse."

"Divine… Pulse?"

"Oh, ya know, stop time, rewind it, possibly make a time god cry like a piss baby-"

Bereto blinked. "What?"

"...Too specific?"

"Uh… I don't think time gods exist."

"Well, if they did, they can't do a thing about it."

"Okay, so… let's rewind time then."

"And please, for the love of the goddess, don't throw yourself in like that next time."

With a nod, Sothis rewound time as Bereto found himself running toward Edelgard, but instead of pushing her, he got in front of her and proceeded to parry him… only for Byleth to jump and swiftly beheaded the man.

"Oh!" Edelgard exclaimed.

"Shez. Next time you take down a man, make sure they're dead." Byleth snarked.

"Oh excuuuuuuse me, I didn't know he had some life left in him!"

"...Question, is she always this blood thirsty?"

"Yes."

"Good grief. I know you gotta do what you gotta do as a mercenary but come on!"

"Yeah…"

"Though I do wonder if her level of psychosis is equivalent to her cup size…"

"...What?"

"I said what I said. Not like she can hear me!"

"Heeeey, there you are!" A voice called out as they saw Alois approaching.

"...Oh boy…" Jeralt mumbled.

"Hmm? Jeralt, is that you?"


Some months later…

"Something about that Monica woman rubs me the wrong way…" Sothis said as Bereto did his rounds around the campus.

"You think?"

"Yeah. I don't know… Edelgard seems pretty chill with her, but I dunno, something seems off. I could just be overthinking it but-"

A hand grabbed Bereto by the forearm and yanked him away. "Whoa!" He yelped as he found himself face to face with Shez. "Oh, hey Shez."

"Hey "Teach". You got a sec?"

"Well, seeing that you kidnapped me-"

"Shush! Not so loud. The next thing we need is Bernie having a panic attack overhearing you."

"...You do realize she's in her room, right?"

"Okay, WHEN she overhears you… but regardless… the Black Eagles really like this Monica girl, the Lions and Deer like her too. Normally, I wouldn't care but something feels off about her."

You too, huh?

"Huh! What are the odds…"

"I could just be paranoid, but the way I'm around her, I feel this… weird sensation from her. Like there's this odd vibe that I get from her."

"Ah, I get it." Bereto nodded in understanding and put his hand on her shoulder. "You like Monica."

Shez stared at him before lighting smacking him on his head.

"Oh! …I guess not."

"I don't like like her. I… like you, obviously."

Bereto chuckled. "I don't see it."

Gods, you're dense sometimes! …That's what makes you even more adorable.

"I swear, your standards are… odd…"

"Regardless, I think we need to keep an eye on her."

"Right."

"And another thing. Bitch-leth is acting all high and mighty with the Blue Lions. Which, I know I've said this before, but I'm still surprised she went with the Blue Lions while you decided to stick with the Black Eagles. I thought you would've both been in there."

"I wasn't going to stop her from going her own path. And for the record, you could've chosen Claude, but you chose Edelgard… actually, no, you chose me." Bereto teased.

Shez blushed. "Claude's cute, but you're… cuter… agh, forget I said anything!" She walked off.

"Bitch-leth… I'm gonna have to remember that."

"You haven't noticed before we joined Garreg Mach? Our crew kept mentioning "Bitch-leth" under their breaths when her back was turned to them."

"I was probably taking a nap when they said that…"

"Over and over again?"

"I get bored haunting your brain, okay?"

"Ha. So you admit you're haunting me."

"Wait… crap… forget I said that! I am not haunting you! I'M NOT!"

Bereto let out a laugh as he walked off. "Still though… Byleth's attitude is getting exhausting."

"Finally, you agree!"


A few days later…

Jeralt walked into a chapel. "Hmm, nothing can be done about this…" He mumbled. "Guess there are no survivors."

"Excuse me!"

"Hmm? Another student?" He walked over and saw Monica underneath some rubble. "Oh, how'd you get down there?"

"Um… long story!" She chuckled nervously as Jeralt pulled her out as he walked out with her while Shez and Bereto were chatting, while Byleth leaned against a tree by herself. "Thanks for all your help, sir!"

"No problem. You run along now." He said as Monica happily skipped around him as Shez and Bereto noticed this, and both of them gasped as Monica impaled him in the back. "Nnngh!"

"You're just… a pathetic old man." She removed the blade as Jeralt fell on his knees. "How dare you get in the way of my brilliant plan… you dog!"

"Monica… you…" Shez growled. "YOU BI-"

Bereto immediately Divine Pulsed, rewinding back a few seconds.

"Thanks for all your help, sir!"

"No problem, you run along now."

"Shez… you know how you said you didn't trust her?"

"Yeah?"

"You were right!" Bereto swung the Sword of the Creator at Monica, only for Thales to intervene and blocked the attack. "What?!"

"Is that Solon's uncle?" Shez wondered and then spotted Monica stabbing Jeralt. She gasped. "Monica, YOU BITCH!" She yelled as she charged forward, going into her Awakening mode and jumped up to slash down at Thales, but he casually blocked her and fired a dark bolt of lightning to send her back. "Gah!"

"Shez!" Bereto exclaimed as Monica turned around.

"Huh? What are you doing here?"

"You must survive. Merely because there is still a role that I require you to fulfill."

Both he and Monica disappeared, leaving Jeralt to fall over as Bereto and Shez ran over to him, all the while Byleth walked a few feet.

"Father…?" Byleth whispered.

BGM: Broken Routine (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)

Bereto immediately cradled Jeralt. "Dad, come on, stay with me…"

"It… looks like… I'm going to have to leave you now… all three of you…"

"No… no! You took me in after Bereto patched me back up, you can't!" Shez exclaimed, taking his hand with tears swelling in her eyes while tears already fell from Bereto's.

"Heh… to think that the first time I saw you cry… your tears would be for me… it's sad… and yet… I'm happy for it. Thank you… kid…"

He breathed his last with a smile on his face as Shez immediately buried her head into his chest, softly crying in his chest as it started raining while tears streamed down Bereto's cheeks.

"May this man rest in peace… a needless death that could have been avoided. Alas… those cretins thought otherwise…" Arval said.

"Oh man… Bereto, I'm so sorry…" Sothis said gently.

Byleth watched on as it started raining. "He's dead…" She said quietly before clenching her fists. "He was weak… father died because he was weak." She said to herself.

However, Bereto heard this as he gritted his teeth. "Shut… UP."

"Hmm?" Byleth looked at him as Bereto got up and angrily glared at her.

"You shut the hell up! Our dad was not weak!"

"The weak die, the strong live. Have you honestly forgotten that, brother?"

"That phrase is outdated! You don't have the right to say that about our father!"

"Tch! Look at you, caring for the dead once again. You know, you've always bothered me with your way of thinking. Honoring the dead even though you killed them in battle, how naive are you? You're the Ashen Demon, so you might as well act like it. Honestly, if our dad can't survive, then he's weak too!"

"You take that back…"

"If he was weak enough to die the way he did, then maybe we'd be better off WITHOUT him!" Byleth declared… and then got swiftly punched in the face by Bereto that knocked her cleanly on her butt. "Mmmph!"

"You take that back… YOU POWER OBSESSED BITCH!"

Byleth got up, rubbing her mouth. "What the hell was-"

Bereto grabbed her by the collar and pushed her against the tree.

"Have you ever wondered why no one wants to be around you? Have you ever wondered why the Blue Lions are scared of you? Have you wondered why Dimitri lost an eye already? Have you WONDERED why Ingrid hasn't flown in a while? Have you even thought about how your actions harm others? No, you don't because you're living in your own fantasy world thinking the weak die and the strong live!"

"But that's how we live, you dumbass!"

SLAP!

"You are so infuriating! Not once have you thought about anyone but yourself and those fake watermelons you have in your chest! You think the world would be better off without weaklings, but let me tell you! The only weak one here is you and that dark pit of hell you call a heart! The weak die and the strong live? I'd say it's "Those without a hardened heart are weak"! Because let me tell you, that's you! Oh, and for the record, those in our company called you Bitch-leth behind your back. It's not hard to see WHY!"

Bereto growled. "I always gave you the benefit of the doubt… because I had always hoped you'd change. But I've lost that hope… because you will always be nothing more than a bitch who only thinks about herself and how your so-called strategies nearly cost the life of a few Blue Lions. You. Make. Me. SICK."

He let go of her. "Get out of my sight… right now, I need to plan on getting back at the one who killed our-... no, my father. You don't deserve to call him that."

He walked away. "Let's go, Shez… we need to start planning."

"Can't… can't we just take some time to mourn first?" Shez asked as Byleth was left alone in the rain.

Byleth silently approached Jeralt. She stared at him as her brother's words echoed in her mind. Her lower lip started to tremble as tears rolled down her cheeks. She fell on her knees and let out a loud wail.

Back at Garreg Mach…

"Jeralt's loss was a tragic one…" Rhea said. "I understand that you want to go after your father's killer, but I advise you take some time to yourself. Going after someone while in the pit of despair usually results in… more tragedy."

She gently placed her hand on Bereto's shoulder. "Take all the time you need… it's… it's not a request…"

Bereto closed his eyes. "I understand…"

"Take all the time you need to mourn… and when you're ready, we'll go after the one who took your father away from you."

She walked off. "...By the way, where is your sister?"

Bereto looked away. "Why should I care?" He walked off as Rhea looked on with sadness in her eyes.

"It appears they have gotten into an argument after Jeralt's passing." Seteth said.

"Apparently so… I, for one, do not blame him…"

Bereto walked out, noticing Shez waiting for him. She immediately walked to him and hugged him as he hugged her back. Both of them parted as they walked together as Edelgard approached them.

"I've heard the news…" Edelgard said before she gave them both a hug, then they walked off together with Edelgard watching on.

End BGM


A few weeks of mourning later… and a team was gathered…

"Nnngh…! Stop… this…!" Kronya groaned.

Solon smirked. "The time has finally come to unleash the Forbidden Spell of Zahras upon our enemies!"

Dark magic engulfed Kronya and Bereto, both of them grunting as Kronya reached out to Bereto. "Help… me…!" She pleaded before she was engulfed as Bereto tried to fight it off, only to get engulfed in the flames.

"BERETO!" Shez ran to him and reached out to him, only for Bereto to disappear. "...No…!" She whispered as Solon turned to face her with a malicious smirk. "Not you too…" She whispered as tears started to stream down her face.

"Would you like to join him?"

Shez growled. "YOU BASTAAAAAAAAAAAARD!" She screamed, immediately going into her Awakening form and lunging, slashing him ferociously as he calmly blocked her attacks.


Meanwhile…

"Ugh, well this is a fine mess you got ourselves into! Vengeance never usually bodes so well!" Sothis scolded.

"Well, what would you have done?"

"Well, for starters, I would have had a level head, ya dingus! Now thanks to you… you and I will cease to be. Well, there's only thing we can do."

"And what might that be?"

"You and I will merge as one."

Bereto's eyes widened. "What? Haven't you done that already since you-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence with "haunting you"!"

"...Never mind."

"But regardless… you and I will merge as one."

Sothis descended the staircase as she smiled.

"I'm going to be honest, I'm going to miss talking to you. I grew fond of our talks."

"As did I."

Sothis extended her arm to him. "Ready to kick his butt?"

Bereto extended his. "I'm ready."

"Good."

Sothis walked forward, slowly merging into Bereto as he started to glow, his hair started to turn light green as his eyes glowed as well. He raised the Sword of the Creator and with a mighty yell, he swung down.

Back outside, Solon found himself surrounded by the Black Eagles. In fact, the Golden Deer and the Blue Lions were with them as well.

"I believe I can take you all on." Solon said.

"For the professor!" Dimitri declared as they started charging at him, only for a sword to cut through the air as everyone looked up in surprise.

Solon's eyes widened. "So the Fell Star consumes even the darkness itself…"

Bereto stood before Solon, glaring at him as he aimed his sword directly at him. He attempted to get away, but Catherine and Shamir grabbed him by the arms. Shez had her sword planted in his back. Solon tried to teleport away, but to his dismay, Hubert and Lystihea worked together to make sure to cancel out his teleportation powers.

"We Agarthans… we will rule…" He said as Bereto swung his sword down to cut through him, killing him as he fell.

"Bereto… you… you look different." Shez said.

"Something about this power…" Arval mused as Bereto took a step forward… before he collapsed.


A day later…

Bereto sat up from his bed with a gasp, looking around to see where he was. He failed to notice the wash cloth on his head. "Hey, it's okay… you're alright." A voice said as he turned to see Shez sitting next to him.

"Where am I…?"

"Back home. Rhea wanted you to rest your head on her lap, but I convinced her to let me keep an eye on you. She accepted." Shez chuckled. "Of course, she looked a bit disappointed but… hey, what's she gonna do, kill me?"

Bereto chuckled as well. "I suppose."

He slowly rose up from his bed as Shez helped him up. "So, anyone come to visit me?"

"Yeah, you had a lot of people come to check on you. Even Byleth."

"Byleth? I haven't seen her for a while… she locked herself up in her room ever since that day. Hell, I only see her leaving the cafeteria with a plate full of food."

"She was really melancholy too, though I did see her smile when she looked at you. Didn't even say a word, though. She left almost immediately after she walked in. If I had to guess, she locked herself back up."

"...She'll come through when she's ready. She's a big girl." Bereto said. "...Hell, morale improved for Blue Lions when Shamir took over."

"Oh! That reminds me. Seteth asked me to take you to the cathedral when you woke up. He didn't say why… but it seemed important."

"Okay…?" Bereto wondered as they walked to the cathedral where Seteth was chatting with someone.

"Hmm? Ah, Bereto. Glad to see you up and about again."

"I'm ready to teach again." Bereto said. "You said you needed to see me?"

"Yes… just last night, this portal appeared right next to the monastery. A search team went inside to see what happened, and they came back with the most peculiar things."

Seteth dug in his pocket, pulling out a Super Mushroom, and then a Fairy in a Jar. He then pulled out a Maximum Tomato along with three pieces of a Dragoon. "These… outworldly things confirms one thing. The Outworlds exist… and they got plenty of… unique items to them. I swear, this flower in particular-" He pulled out a Fire Flower. "-has been staring into my soul for quite some time."

"...Oh my gosh. That's the cutest flower I've ever seen!" Shez grinned, taking the Fire Flower away from him. "Why hello cutie, what's your name~?"

"Not only that…" Seteth pulled out a Pokeball. "Apparently creatures exist in these tiny things."

He tossed it in the air, as the Pokeball opened up.

"Karp! Karp Karp Karp!"

"The hell…?!" Seteth said in surprise, then heard a pleasant gasp.

"Fish!" Flayn exclaimed as she picked up the Magikarp and took a bite, only to pause as anime tears rolled down her cheeks. "Thith fith ith harth ath a rokth…"

"KARP! KAAAAAAAAAARP!" The Magikarp immediately started to glow.

"Now ith glothin'!" Flayn said as the Magikarp evolved into Gyarados,

"How in…?!" Bereto exclaimed.

"...We're gonna need a bigger fire pit." Shez said. "Hell, a bigger skewer!"

The Gyarados brought his tail up to look at Flayn in annoyance, who was dangling underneath his fin that she was currently biting down on.

"Hiiiiiiiii~" Flayn carefreely waved as the Gyarados slammed her into the ground to let her go. "Oooomph! I'm okay!"

The Gyarados slithered away, as several guards yelped and hid away from the beast as the Gyarados jumped off the bridge and into the lake below, where they would see it swimming around and not even caring.

"...Well. That was… something." Shez said.

"But that's not all." Seteth cleared his throat. "We have a visitor here that I was just talking to. Says she's from this… Smash Mansion."

"Yes, hi. I'm Kamui, nice to meet you!" She smiled. "I was actually going to give you this when you woke up."

She handed him an envelope as Bereto took it, opened it up and read it.

"Dear Bereto Eisner. You and your sister have been selected to participate in the Super Smash Bros Ultimate Tournament. You'll have a lot of fun here! I guarantee it. - Master Hand

PS: Your purple haired friend should be getting a letter too."

"Huh?" Shez wondered as Kamui handed her a letter as well. "Let's see… participate… Smash Bros… Tournament… wait… huh? I'm in this roster too?"

"Mhm!" Kamui nodded. "We can invite your friends too, come on!" She walked off.

Bereto and Shez looked at each other with curious expressions.

BGM: Menu (Super Smash Bros Ultimate)

Bereto would be the first to walk through with Kamui in front of him as he would see the Smash Mansion in front of his eyes, seeing all the Smashers before him. "Whoa…"

"...Is that a dude in a fox costume or is that an actual fox?" Shez wondered.

"It's an actual fox named Fox." Kamui said. "Come on! Master Hand should be nearby."

"A fox named Fox…" Shez blinked as they walked forward. "Then I guess the blue hedgehog is named Hedgehog! …Wait, why is he blue?"

"His name's Sonic."

"...Sonic. Riiiiiight… uh… I knew that…"

"No, you didn't." Bereto teased.

"Oh, shut up!" Shez chuckled.

"Ah, Kamui! I see you brought them along." Master Hand floated over to them.

"Oh. My. Gods. Bereto… is… is that a talking floating hand… that's… separated from someone's body?!"

"Yes, I see it too."

"Hoooooly shit, the Outworlds do NOT mess around…" Shez whimpered.

"Welcome to SUPER! SMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH! BROOOOOOTHERS!"

"He does that a lot." Kamui said.

"I can see that." Bereto chuckled.

"WHAT?" Shez asked with her ears ringing.

"Here, let me give you the grand tou- hold a moment, didn't you have a sister?"

"She'll be here soon. She's… throwing a pity party." Bereto said.

A month long pity party, but who's counting? Shez rolled her eyes.

"Ah. I'll give her the tour when she comes. Now then, let's head off!"


One tour later…

"Excuse me." A voice said as Bereto turned to see Palutena approaching him. "I can't help but notice that you have some godly power with you."

"Well, I've merged with someone inside of me and-"

"That's what I thought. Come with me!" Palutena said, pulling Bereto away.

"Wah!" He yelped while Shez noticed the many swordsmen and women walking around.

"...Huh, that's a lot of swords…"

"Too many of them. I think we'll fit right in."

"Yeah, totally. Although, that guy with the red… thing." She pointed to Shulk. "That looks nothing like a sword. If anything, it could be a club and-"

Shulk raised the Monado up high, activating it as he did a friendly little spar session with Link.

"-Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand it's a glowy sword. Neeeever mind."


One surgery later…

"Aaaaaand awaken!" Palutena said as Bereto opened his eyes. "You're good as new!"

"Good as new?"

"Thought I could get the goddess out of you, let her stretch her legs and let her wings fly."

"Uuungh…" A voice groaned as they saw Sothis waking up. "Why do I have a heada-... oh, I'm out of your body then." She said. "...Okay, I'm going to admit, this is kinda weird."

"You're welcome!" Palutena smiled.

"That said, I know what's going on though." Sothis said as she and Bereto walked out. "Apparently, we're in this Smash thing."

"Yeah… and I gotta say, there's… a lot of people with swords."

"Ooooh, I see. Too many swordsmen, are there? And you, you wield the sword as well? Whatever shall you do? Oh woe is you for having another sword, oh the humanity of it all!"

Bereto sweatdropped. "You done yet?"

"Yes. Although that one guy over there looks like he's compensating for something." She said, looking at Cloud who was chatting with Tifa, then Sothis noticed Ike walk by with Ragnell. "...Make that two guys."

"I'll go see if I can't get a fight in…" Bereto walked in.

"You do that and I'll go see how Byleth is holding up. Because believe me, I want to have words with her." She walked off.

Bereto found himself a match and found himself at Castle Siege, coming face to face with Shez herself. "Huh, I was expecting to fight someone else."

"Welp… let's make a first good impression, shall we?" Shez asked.

Bereto smirked. "I'm not going easy on you."

"Good, I'd be bored if you did!"

"Three! Two! One! GO!"

The two of them lunged right for each other.

End BGM


Meanwhile, back at Garreg Mach…

Byleth lay on her bed with a soft sigh, and then there was a knock on the door. "Come in…" She mumbled as Sothis walked in.

"Hey. We need to talk."

"...Who are you?"

"Me? I'm Sothis."

Byleth looked at her before her eyes widened. "Oh my gosh, his imaginary friend is real…"

"Oh, I'm realer than real." Sothis floated up and grabbed her by the collar. "I don't take kindly to being called a "Fake Ass Nobody" you big boobed bimbo."

"You've heard everything, didn't you?"

"Duh!"

Byleth sighed. "Go ahead… let it all out… not like I'm already feeling miserable as is."

Sothis's face softened. "Well… that was my intention, but… I think I ought to say something else instead."

She let go of her. "So what's the deal? There has to be more than just "I'm a bitch twenty four seven"."

Byleth sighed. "Honestly, I forget when it started, but I remember as a young age, dad told me "You're a mercenary, you gotta act tough"." and… I took it to heart. Although, as soon as I did, I… changed almost immediately."

"So that's why you were doing those things to the company."

"I didn't mean for them to take it personally. I was just… trying to boost morale. It's a harsh world out there… the weak die, the strong live… those are the rules as a mercenary. Or at least, that's what I believed when I heard them. I was so… caught up in my tough girl act that I ignored my brother was saying. I was consumed by it… and I had almost killed Shez if Bereto didn't intervene."

"So all of this was because you took it to heart and it… corrupted your mind set?"

"Yes. And now…" Byleth closed her eyes. "I cost DImitri his eye, I almost cost Ingrid her life, not to mention her Pegasus got seriously hurt to where it may never fly again, Dedue was always on my case but I ignored him… and it just… kept getting worse."

She closed her eyes. "When dad died… I was neck deep in my mindset that I didn't care. When I was younger, someone in our company once told me: "Never let your enemy see you cry, that will make them see that you're weak and that you're easy prey"."

"So that's why you said what you said."

"Yeah, and now… I've lost everything after Bereto scolded me. I lost my family, friends… I even resigned as teacher so everyone can heal. I'm just…" A tear left her face. "...A mess…"

"Now… I wouldn't go that far…" Sothis said. "Bereto's still around. Heck, I've heard you checked on him when he collapsed."

"But that's… not it. That's not enough… I… I don't even know what to do…"

"Well, for starters, you can apologize to him. I know he's hanging around the Smash Mansion thing, which, by the way, you're part of the roster too."

"I… am…?"

"Yeah. If anything, perhaps a fresh start would do you some good. Enough moping around, you've done that long enough."

"O-Okay…"


Meanwhile…

"Bereto… wins!"

Bereto walked out with everyone congratulating him as they even gave Shez some applause as well. "Guess we excited them."

"Yup." Bereto nodded.

"By the way, I've noticed your hair's back to normal."

"It is? Huh… didn't notice."

"Of course, you didn't." Shez chuckled.

"Well, whatever. I think we'll fit right-" Bereto noticed a certain red head moping on a couch. "-In… you go on ahead, I'll catch up."

"Oookay. I'm gonna go see what this Target Test is all about." Shez walked off, while nearby, Byleth and Sothis came in through the portal.

"Aaaah, you must be Byleth! Come, I'll show you the tour." Master Hand said as he guided her away.

"What in…?!" Byleth wondered.

"Ooooh, right… forgot about that…" Sothis sweatdropped.

Bereto sat down next to the red head. "Hey."

"Huh…? Oh… hey…"

"Something troubling you? I noticed you looked a bit sad."

"...You're new here, right? You probably won't believe me."

Bereto chuckled. "Try me, miss-"

"Ruby Rose." She sat up to look at him. "Well… I've been dealing with this… issue I've had."

"Okay."

"Have you ever had a bully just… ruin your life?"

Bereto immediately thought of Byleth. "I've been there. I think I can help you with your problem."

"You still won't believe me if I told you…"

"Nonsense. Let's go someplace a little quieter."


Back at Garreg Mach…

"Have a seat." Bereto said as Ruby sat down on his bed before he pulled up a chair and pulled out a notepad.

"You're… a therapist?"

"While I was asked to teach here, I've taken my time to study therapy. I figured it could do me some good. My sister thinks that an "Ashen Demon" shouldn't study therapy, but Shez encouraged me to press on. I just have one more test to finish before I'm officially licensed."

"...Soooooo, is this legal?"

"Consider this some experience from yours truly. After all, I helped the Blue Lions overcome their issues."

"Oh, okay…"

"Now, tell me. What seems to be troubling you? You said a bully was out to ruin your life?"

"Ugh, she's the WORST!" Ruby complained. "She's literally an evil clone of me! …Like I said, you wouldn't believe me."

"Normally, I'd find that strange but I've seen a fish turn into a dragon and a mushroom with eyes about an hour ago. I'd say this is par for the course."

Ruby's eyes lit up. "Oh! Okay!" She sat up. "Okay, so… this clone was made from a mirror when I fought this goddess named Pandora… at least, I think Pandora's a goddess… whatever, this dark image of me pops up and is the opposite of what I do. Foul mouthed, cursing which is something I don't do, she's straight up sadistic and making my life an absolute hell! …Sorry, didn't mean to curse there."

Bereto chuckled. "Don't worry about it."

"I have this power called a semblance where I can dash around freely-"

"Show me." He requested as Ruby did so, activating her semblance as Bereto watched her turn into a little twister before she stopped. "Huh… well, Shez did want me to have flowers in my room to "brighten it up"..."

"Sorry…" Ruby slightly giggled. "But anyway, I also have this weapon-" She pulled out her scythe. "It's also a high impact sniper rifle!"

"A what?"

"It's also a gun."

"Again, a what?"

Ruby giggled. "You'll figure it out soon."

Bereto sweatdropped. "I see…"

"So anyway, while I have all this… my dark clone copied my every move, although her semblance is different. She can apparently stop time and move around just so she can cheat."

"And what is the name of this dark clone?"

"Dark Ruby."

Bereto blinked. "How… creative…" Not really…

"But anyway… she sucks. And she likes to make me miserable. Yeah, I've beaten her a few times but she comes back to scare the heck out of me. I even had a nightmare about her too! Not only that, but… my sister doesn't seem to be there for me…"

"Have you been in a one on one with her?"

"Plenty of times."

"Aha! Now we're getting somewhere." Bereto smirked. "What I suggest is that you go at it with friends, because friends tend to make the world a better place for an individual. Strength in numbers is the key. You have friends, so you need to ask them for help. It takes courage to ask since all of us have a bit of pride in ourselves, but once we work past that… it's easy. Well, sort of, but you know what I mean."

"So… I just need to ask for help in order to face Dark Ruby?"

"Yes. Let's try it with me as to start."

"Okay… um… will you help me face Dark Ruby?"

Bereto smiled. "Absolutely."

"Oh… oh wow, that wasn't… hard at all."

Bereto smiled. "All it takes is a simple question."

"Oh wow! I… I thought you were gonna suggest I face Dark Ruby by myself."

"Well, up until you told me she can stop time, I considered it… but standing up to this person by yourself isn't going to cut it. Going one on one is suicide. You'd have to be absolutely dumb to suggest going at it alone."

Ruby smiled. "I… honestly feel a lot better."

"Mind if I have a little chat with your sister? What does she look like?"

"Oh, well, she's blonde, has gauntlets in her arms… she… kinda doesn't mind showing off her chest-"

"Ah, I get ya. Let's go have a chat with your sister, wherever she may be."


Back at the Smash Mansion…

"Holy moly, that's a heck of a story." Shez said.

"Yup. That's pretty much the gist of it." Blake nodded.

"And she… survived the island blowing up." Shez looked at Yang. "How?"

"Sheer determination."

Shez sweatdropped. "Uh… huh."

"Hey Yang!" Ruby called out to her.

"Hmm? Oh hey Rubes!" Yang waved and saw Bereto, then turned to Shez. "Boyfriend?"

Shez blushed. "He's… anything but that."

"You're Yang, right? Come with me for a sec."

"Oh, okay." Yang nodded as she walked with Bereto.

"So, um… can I ask you a question…?" Ruby asked.

"What's up?" Weiss wondered.


With Bereto and Yang…

"Sooo, what's up?"

"Have you been checking up on your sister lately?"

"Well, I was gonna look into having her go into therapy."

"What a coincidence, I'm a therapist myself." Almost certified, but still…

"Oh! Wait, you already chatted with Ruby?"

"Yeah. She mentioned you weren't there for her when Dark Ruby tormented her."

"Huh?" Yang tilted her head. "But that's not true, I was there for her when… uh… when she… um… wheeeeeeeeeeen…."

"What were you doing during these times that Dark Ruby showed up?"

"Let's see… fighting gods, dunking my dark clone in a rewind spring, trying to save my friends who were locked up in Peach's Castle, I was nowhere near Ruby at Delfino, and I was too busy focused on K Rool taking my semblance awa-... ooooh…"

"If I were you, I'd use this opportunity to spend time with your sister in case if she has a panic attack over her clone. You never know when it'll be the last time you spend with your family. You have to cherish every moment of it." Not like Byleth ever speaks to me these days…

Yang sighed. "Dammit, I screwed up… I need to go fix this. Hope she's not too upset."

She turned around and took off running. "Rubyyyyy! You need some sisterly love from me~!"

Bereto chuckled. "Atta girl."


Later, after they get back from the Beanbean Kingdom…

"Okay, I got an idea." Bereto said. "It's a bit dangerous, but if we nip this in the bud, it'll work."

"What do you have in mind?" Ruby asked.

"No doubt Dark Ruby is in hiding, like she's planning something. Knowing my mercenary days, some folks went into hiding deeper in the woods and would ambush us a few days later. Soooo… I say we go into a forest."

"Oh!" Ruby nodded. "That's a good idea. …Then what?"

"We will need bait. I've listened to your stories about her and she takes great pleasure in tormenting you. Soooo… you might not like me for this one-"

Ruby whimpered. "Oh no…"

Bereto nodded. "Think you can fake an injury? Don't worry, we'll be close by."

"O-Okay…" Ruby nodded. "Let's… let's do it."


Later, at Dimble Woods…

BGM: Dimble Woods (Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story plus Bowser Jr's Journey)

Ruby sat down on a trail, letting out a sigh. "Here goes nothing…" She mumbled. "Oooooooow! Ooooow! Oooooh! I'm injured! I'm tooootally injured and defenseless! I broke my ankle! Woe is me…!"

The onlookers sweatdropped from within the shrubs.

"Poor lass doesn't act very well…" Gloria said.

"I've seen actresses in soap operas act better than her…" Blake said.

"...Blake, how do you know that?" Weiss wondered.

"Don't ask."

"Aaaaaaah! I'm dead! I'm gonna be ripped to shreds by Dark Ruby! If only someone could heeeeelp!"

"This is just sad…" Shez mumbled.

"Psst! Ruby! Think you could make it more believable?" Bereto whispered.

"I've never taken acting classes before!"

And it shows! Shez thought.

"What do you expect from me?"

Bereto rubbed his chin. "We might have to rethink our strategy…"

"I could actually break her leg." Nora said.

"Nora…" Ren gave her a soft glare.

"I said "could"."

An idea sprang into Yang's mind. "Hey Rubes! Think of something that makes you sad!"

"Oh… uh… oh noooooo! A chocolate chip cookie shortage! I'm staaaarviiiiing!"

Weiss facepalmed.

"Sadder than that, like… oh, I dunno, Zwei is dead."

"Z-Zwei's dead…?! When did he die?!"

"No no no no no, he's not actually dead! Just pretend he is!"

Ruby sighed with relief. "Oh thank Oum… don't scare me like that!"

"This is a trainwreck…" Weiss groaned.

"Do we have any better ideas?" Marnie wondered. "Does anyone have a Sobble we could use?"

"I'm not makin' it cry." Gloria said.

"Oh, for Oum's sake!" Weiss made a few ice glyphs. "Ruby, I'm sorry in advance!" She fired a few small icebergs at her, making sure they hit her in the legs.

"OW! OW! OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!"

The Mario Bros winced at this.

"Ooooh, that looks like it hurt." Daisy winced.

"Ow! Stop! Ow! OOOOW!"

Weiss stopped. "Forgive me, Ruby… but I had to do what I had to do…"

"Great, now my legs are cold AND achy!" Ruby groaned. "Ooooooh… ooooow… why did you have to make them so pointy…" She sobbed a bit. "Seriously, I'm gonna have bruises and-"

End BGM

In a flash, Dark Ruby appeared behind her. "Groaning in pain? Let me put you out of your misery!"

"NOW!" Bereto yelled as Nyx quickly activated her trap as a rope trap wrapped around Dark Ruby's ankle and yanked her up.

"WHOOOOOOOA!" She yelled as she found herself upside down as she dropped her own Crescent Rose. "You had to adopt a strategy of being cheap now? I would say I'm so proud of you IF I WASN'T FUCKING DANGLING FROM MY ANKLE, YOU BITCH!"

"Wow, you weren't kidding when you said she swears up a storm." Shez said.

"Thanks Nyx." Bereto said.

Nyx grinned. "You're welcome~!"

Bereto aimed his sword at Dark Ruby. "Now, you're outnumbered. I would just go out quietly if I were you."

"Who the hell do you think I am? You think I'm just gonna go out quietly?! I'm the original Ruby! That thing is just a mere copy!"

"Well, this "thing" sprung up a brilliant trap. Who's the laughing stock now?" Ruby asked confidently.

"Yeah!" Yang agreed, fist bumping Ruby.

"Technically Nyx did but… eh, what can ya do." Weiss shrugged.

"Damn… I can't really do anything with my scythe on the ground…" Dark Ruby mumbled. "I guess my time is up…"

She smirked maliciously. "If I hadn't come prepared!"

BGM: Desperate Situation (Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity)

Her eyes glowed as everything stopped, she immediately pulled out a dagger and cut the rope as she dropped to the ground and then grabbed a hold of Bereto, pulling him close and turning him around, holding the dagger to his neck as time resumed for everyone.

"What?!" Shez said in surprise.

"Bereto!" Ruby exclaimed as they took out their weapons.

"Ah ah ah! Drop your weapons and hand Ruby over to me… otherwise this guy's a goner!"

"Nnngh, you weren't joking about this either…" Bereto said as he tried to break free, only to feel the dagger dangerously close to cutting his neck.

"Hahahaha! What's it gonna be, Ruby? You or this loser! Drop your weapons or he will-"

End BGM

Immediately, she felt something sharp enter her lower back. "Nnngh!"

"You're quite bold for attempting to kill my brother… you bitch."

"Who the hell…?!" Dark Ruby wondered, her grip loosening on the dagger as Byleth pulled her away and stomped on her pelvis, grinding her boot into it until there was a loud crack! "AAAAAAAGH!"

"Doesn't feel great getting grinded to dust like that, huh?"

"Y-you…!" Pained tears rolled down her cheeks as Byleth still held her steady.

"Hey Rubes!" Nora spoke up.

"Hmm?"

"Wanna play "Whack-A-Clone"?" She tossed her hammer.

Ruby smiled. "Sure!" She walked over to Dark Ruby, raising the hammer up in the air as Dark Ruby could only look on in horror before Ruby swung it down into her face as her arms and legs fell limp.

"Mmm, let me take a crack at it. I don't think there was enough oomph to it." Byleth said.

"Go ahead… I'm not used to Nora's heavy hammer."

"Do you even lift, Rubes?" Nora asked as Byleth took the hammer and then proceeded to turn Dark Ruby into a paste.

"Here…" Byleth handed Nora back her hammer as she got off of what was left of her and turned around to face her brother.

"...Hey." Bereto greeted.

"Hey…" Byleth said softly.

"Um… thanks for savi-"

Byleth immediately hugged him, surprising Bereto. "I'm so sorry… for everything…" She whispered, softly crying into his chest. "It took me a long time to work up the courage to apologize… after everything I've done to you, Shez… dad… everyone…"

Bereto smiled. "Apology accepted." He returned the hug, rubbing her back softly as she continued to cry into his shoulders.

"Hey." Ruby said, getting her attention after she pulled away. "Name's Ruby. Glad to finally meet you for real, and thanks for helping me out in… this."

Byleth smiled as she wiped a tear from her eye. "Nice to meet you proper as well, I'm Byleth."

They both looked at each other before shaking hands, only for Ruby to pull herself towards her and give Byleth a hug. Byleth's eyes widened, tearing up once more before she returned the hug.


Waaaaay later, when Nemesis is threatening Garreg Mach…

Bereto stood in front of Jeralt's grave. "You saying one last goodbye to him?" A voice asked as Bereto turned to see Edelgard approaching him.

"No, I was just telling him to wish me good luck for this fight."

Edelgard smiled and then frowned. "Listen… um… I just want to tell you that… I'm sorry I dragged you into this mess…" She looked down. "You probably have no reason to forgive me or Sothis since we-"

"Why are you beating yourself up?"

Edelgard looked on in surprise as Bereto turned to look at her with a smile. "You had your plan and it worked out well." He rolled his shoulder. "Could've done without that torment that Thales put me through…"

Edelgard chuckled. "Apologies. I had no idea he would've done that."

"Eh, it's in the past." Bereto nodded. "You ready for this?"

Edelgard smiled, aura shooting out of the corners of her eyes. "I'm more than ready." She said as then hugged him, both of them then looked into each others eyes.

"How about when we're done, I take you to that fancy restaurant in the Mushroom Kingdom?"

Edelgard smiled. "It's a date." She said, leaning forward and kissing him, both of them closing their eyes.

"Oi. Get a room, you lovebirds."

The two of them turned to see Shez leaning against the railing. "Come on, Nemesis isn't gonna kill himself, ya know."

"We're coming." Edelgard said as she walked off as did Bereto, only he stopped to look at Shez.

"Apologies for-"

"No no no, it's okay. We wouldn't have worked out anyway. Besides, we work better as best friends." She said, playfully nudging him in the chest.

Bereto chuckled and then turned to see Byleth leaning against a wall. "You ready?"

Byleth pulled out her sword. "I'm ready."

"Let's go kick his ass." Shez said. "And besides, it's only one guy against the Ashen Demon, yours truly and… well, big boobs over here."

"Hey!" Byleth playfully glared as Shez grinned before they all high fived.

"We're all pretty strong together. What's the worst that can happen?" Shez chuckled as they walked through Garreg Mach with determined smirks.

"By the way, sis, you never told me who you've been dating these past few months." Bereto said.

"Oh, him? I'll tell you when this fight's over."

"Good enough for me."


Several moments later…

"Mmm!" Nemesis grunted, realizing his shield was gone almost as soon as he arrived. "How am I vulnerable?"


A few seconds earlier…

"Garreg, use Hyper Beam on these doofuses!" Flayn declared while riding on top of the Gyarados, where said Gyarados used Hyper Beam, wiping out Nemesis's Ten Elites in a cinch.


Back in the present…

"It seems that your ten elites weren't all that cracked up to be." Bereto said.

"That sword…" Nemesis looked at it. "It's the same as mine."

"Apparently so."

"You and me in single combat. We will see who's superior."

"Very well, I accept!"

BGM: God Shattering Star (FamilyJules)

Both of them swung their swords, ending up canceling each other out as Bereto ran ahead and slashed him. Nemesis grunted and returned the favor, only for Bereto to duck and then slashed him a few times before jumping back.

Alright, let's see how well those lessons Dorothea gave me paid off! He thought as fire conjured in his hand as he proceeded to throw fire directly at him.

"Hmph!" Nemesis smirked, deflecting the attack only for Bereto to slash him in the gut and then slashed his shoulders. "Impressive… but not good enough!" He declared, punching Bereto in the face to knock him off as he swung down, latching onto his ankle and threw him across the market, knocking down several stands.

"Nnngh…" Bereto got up, shaking it off.

"Impressive for the so-called Ashen Demon to withstand such a blow!"

"I'm not like most people." He immediately grabbed a few weapons and threw spears and daggers at him. Nemesis calmly blocked these as he swung his sword, but Bereto dodged the attack as he pulled out a Failnaught replica and shot him in the shoulder, then he jumped in and slashed him in the chest.

With a growl, Nemesis retaliated by slashing him repeatedly but Bereto avoided these, only he got nicked in the neck. Bereto switched to Areadbhar and thrusted, impaling Nemesis a few times before parrying his attack and stabbing him in the chest, only for Nemesis to grab said spear and yanked Bereto toward him, slugging him in the face as he then grabbed him by the collar and slammed him into the ground, punching him in the face repeatedly, causing Bereto to grunt in pain as Nemesis kicked him away.

WIth a smirk, Nemesis used his Sword of the Creator to wrap around Bereto's ankle and yanked him toward him, only to swing him into a wall as he approached Bereto and swung down, only for Bereto to get out of the way.

Alright… guess I have to go all out. He thought, immediately going into his Awakening form.

"Hmm? It seems Seiros must have given you her power!"

"Not even close!"

Both of them lunged, slashing each other with powerful attacks that nicked the both of them as they clashed, only for Bereto to impale him in the chest. Nemesis coughed out blood as he gave Bereto a smirk of respect… before plunging his own sword into Bereto's chest.

"Nnngh!" Bereto grunted, feeling the sword go through his body and exiting out of his back.

"Ashen Demon… you are going with me!" Nemesis declared with a laugh as he pulled the sword out of Bereto's body.

Behind him, Edelgard's eyes widened in horror while everyone else was left speechless. Edelgard's body trembled as aura flashed out of her eyes as she let out an ear splitting screech as she lunged directly at Nemesis.

"Hmmm?" He looked up, only for Edelgard to split his head open with Amyr, knocking the giant man down to the ground.

End BGM

Edelgard immediately turned around. "Bereto… Bereto!" She cried out as she cradled him.

BGM: Unfulfilled (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)

"Nnngh… well… this sucks…" He coughed out blood.

"Stay with me… please…" Tears swelled in her eyes as Shez, Byleth and Ruby came running over, along with Robin, Chrom and Marth.

"Bereto… no no no no no… don't leave us…" Shez said, her eyes filled with tears. "I can't bear to lose another one…"

"Bro…" Byleth whispered.

"Bereto…" Ruby quietly said as Robin knelt down to check on him.

"Dammit…" Robin growled.

"Is it fatal?" Chrom asked.

"Unfortunately, yes. I don't think a medic is going to save him."

Marth closed his eyes. "Understood… it's been an honor, Bereto."

"Don't say that!" Shez sobbed.

Bereto gently caressed Edelgard's cheek before reaching for Shez. She immediately took his hand. "H-hey… sm-smile… okay…?"

Shez nodded through her tears, trying to keep it together as Bereto looked over at Byleth who was beside herself. "Take… take care of Shez… for me… okay…?"

"I'll try it…" Byleth whispered. "I… I love you, bro…"

"Love… you too…" Bereto gave her a soft smile before looking at Ruby. "Re… Remember… what we talked about… all those months ago…"

Ruby nodded, wiping her tears. "I'll never forget that…"

Sothis immediately came over and knelt down next to him. "Sothis…"

"Shhh…" Sothis whispered, gently caressing his face. "We'll be okay… you can rest now… we'll… be fine…" She said, trying to keep herself together. "...You… you big… lovable… doofus…!" She immediately broke down sobbing into his chest. "Don't go, please…"

Bereto weakly looked at Edelgard, noticing Dimitri and Claude coming to see him. "See… you…" He said as he breathed his last.

Dimitri grit his teeth as tears formed in his own eye. "Professor..."

Claude looked down as he closed his eyes. "Dammit... If only I had expected that, I could've..." He muttered in sadness.

Rhea approached, seeing Bereto's lifeless body. She closed her eyes, a tear escaping her while Seteth looked on with sadness, holding Flayn who was crying into his chest while everyone watched on in silence.


One funeral later…

End BGM

Byleth was by herself at the cemetery with just her, Shez, Ruby and Yang. "I'm gonna miss him…" Yang said.

"We all will." Ruby said. "Shez… Byleth? What are you gonna do?"

"Keep moving forward… that's what he'd want me to do. I just don't know where to start." Shez said.

"To think only months ago, we reconciled… and now this…" Byleth sighed before standing up. She turned around and hugged the three. "Thank you for being there for me…"

The three of them hugged Byleth back in return.

"Hey." A voice said as they looked up to see Tai approaching. "Did I miss the funeral? Sorry about that."

"It's okay." Byleth said. "You were in Remnant, so it would have taken a while to get here."

Tai walked forward, planting some flowers down at the grave. "I didn't know him, but I bet he was a great guy."

"He was." Byleth nodded. "Oh! That reminds me…"

She turned to Ruby, Yang and Shez. "Guys, this is my boyfriend, Taiyang."

"Boyfriend?!" Ruby said in surprise.

"Wait, you said you were back in the dating scene, but I didn't think you were dating Byleth, dad!"

"...Oh wow!" Shez said.

"Dad?" Byleth blinked. "...Oooooh, so these are your two daughters you briefly mentioned."

Tai chuckled. "Shoulda mentioned her name before…"

"Okay, how did you two meet?" Ruby asked.

"Okay, so, this was after my brother and I reconciled, but I went to Toad Town's grocery store to see what was there. That's when I bumped into Tai and we started taking before he asked me out. And well, here we are. We've been dating for a while after that."

Yang smiled, wrapping an arm around her father. "Eyyy, look at you finding love once again~!" She grinned.

Byleth looked at Ruby. 'Are you… okay with this?"

"Am I okay with this? I LOVE this!" Ruby grinned, hugging Byleth as she smiled, returning the hug as Byleth turned her head to look at Bereto's grave.

I can already hear you teasing me about "getting a room" with Tai. Shut up. She smiled as she quietly mouthed "Love you"."

The four of them walked off together, leaving Shez by herself as she let out a small groan.

"What's wrong?"

Shez sighed. "I need a date…"

"You know..." A voice spoke up as Shez turned to see Edelgard approaching. "You could help me take care of a kid in the future."

"Hmm? Well, sure, you want me to be some kid's aunt or something?"

"I was thinking..." Edelgard rubbed her currently small stomach. "A second mother."

"Oh... WAIT HUH?!" Shez yelled as she started blushing.

Edelgard smiled. "Do you want to help me raise the child?"

Steam came out of Shez's ears as she was already bright as a tomato. "I... I... uh... um... uuuuuuh..."

She immediately passed out.

Edelgard smiled. "I'll take that as a yes."


Meanwhile...

Bereto opened his eyes to find himself in an empty white void around him. "Huh? What the..." He looked around in curiosity. "Is this what I think it is?"

"You got it in one, kiddo."

Bereto's eyes widened as he turned to see Jeralt and Sitri approaching him.

"Mom? Dad?"

Jeralt smiled. "Good to see you, though I wish it were better... under different circumstances."

"Bereto..." Sitri approached him. "I'm so proud of you... not only had you stopped Nemesis, but you also brought your sister on the right path. I couldn't be happier."

Bereto smiled as the family embraced one another.

"And that'll wrap it up here! See you next time!"


This What If was suggested by Wyvern, hope you like this one!

Ibuki: Wow... talk about a sad ending though...

Deadpool: Byleth and Taiyang, huh... interesting.

Ibuki: Not only that, but Shez x Edie-chan? Ibuki approves!