Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.
A Day Before Byleth Wakes Up
"Effective immediately, I will take over as archbishop of the church where I will turn things around for the better. I am relieving you of your duties."
"You will do no such thing!"
"Oh, I am. What are you going to do about it, Rhea? Or should I say Seiros, the Immaculate One? I am your mother, and you will resign effective immediately."
"Lady Sothis! Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude wish to speak with you. They are in the cathedral."
"I'll be right there. You disgust me. Oh, and by the way, I'm going to tell Byleth to get a restraining order from you!"
"No mother… it is you who is disgusting. If you think I will resign right now… you are sorely mistaken."
"Rhea, you've been acting rashly ever since Sothis took over. In retrospect, it was definitely a good thing."
"She took over MY job! How the hell was I supposed to take it?"
"She did you a favor. With how rashly you act about beheading those who go against the church, someone had to step in and try to make you see the power went to your head."
"My head?! What in mother's name are you-"
"You've been this way for centuries. Over time, you became someone you weren't. Because of that, you've made a lot of enemies."
"Everyone has enemies. Why would I be any different!"
"The way you act irrationally sometimes… it has me and Flayn worried about you. Seiros, please… just think clearly for once. There was a good reason why Sothis took over. You were on a self destructive path and you were turning the church into a hostile environment for those who didn't think too highly of it. Even if someone questioned the church's ways, even if innocent, you'd have their heads. Think about why Captain Jeralt had let after the twins were born."
"Captain Jeralt was a fool and so was my mother for coming back just to kick me off the throne! If you will excuse me, Seteth, I've got to prepare for battle."
"Rhea… if only you could see how much of a fool you turned out to be."
"Mother, after all the things I've done and said to you, I-"
"I already forgive you, daughter."
"Rhea, what are you doing?!"
"Atoning for my transgressions!"
"RHEA!"
Rhea had her arms folded, looking out of a watch tower and watched the students go about their day. A few of them were picking up some rubble despite the Hands fixing everything. Some students fished, some had races with their Pegasi and Wyverns, it was as if things were back to normal despite Those Who Slither had made a mess of things.
Kidnapping her mother, torturing Byleth, siccing Nemesis on all of them… she still didn't get how anyoe could just walk it off without a care in the world.
Well, not everyone made it out without a scratch. Her mind fixated on Byleth, she remembered how after she got out of the rubble, she saw Byleth's blood ridden body after destroying Nemesis. She saw them taking her to the Mushroom Kingdom's hospital where they mentioned that someone named Mikan would take care of her, something about her being the Ultimate Nurse or something.
Of course, Sothis went over to check on her. Rhea awkwardly rubbed her arm, she did apologize to her after freeing her, and she already forgave her, but it didn't feel enough.
It was time to do something about it.
She turned around and walked off, heading straight for the Mushroom Kingdom.
Once there…
"Excuse me." Rhea said to the receptionist. "Do you know what room Byleth is in?"
"She's in Room 116."
"Thank you." Rhea walked off to said room, and when she walked in, she would see Ruby, Yang, Dorothea and Sothis all around Byleth. What surprised Rhea the most was that Byleth had IV tubes hooked up to her and she had an oxygen mask attached to her.
Oh mother… She thought before she walked further. "How is she?"
Sothis turned her head. "She's doing better. She just got out of the ICU about an hour ago."
"…ICU?"
"Intensive Care Unit."
"I see." Rhea nodded in understanding.
"She's been through so much…" Dorothea said, holding Byleth's hand while Ruby was holding her other.
"Mother, if it's not too much trouble, can we speak… privately?"
"Hmm?" Sothis turned her head. "Oh, of course. I'll be right with you." She said as she gently caressed Byleth's cheek before turning around and walked off with Rhea, both of them walking into the lounging room.
Rhea looked out the window, letting out a sigh. "Mother, there's something I need to tell you."
"What is it?"
"All of these years, I did what I thought was best for the church. However… I realize now that I've been nothing more than a fool. I've made everyone fear the Church of Seiros for a long time…"
"Yeah, I'm well aware." Sothis nodded. "I mean, it's one thing to make people see how strong the church is, but to be feared by all? That's enough to make anyone an enemy of the church."
"Indeed. I was so caught up with everything and doing my best to make it the best of Fodlan that… I had the power get to my head. You were justified in calling me out, but I was so distraught that I called you horrible things… I should have resigned but I was insistent I'd stay. I'm… truly sorry for everything I've done."
Sothis sighed. "You know, you're not the only one who should be apologizing. I should be too."
"You?" Rhea looked at her in surprise. "What for?"
"Well, after Palutena got me out of Byleth, all of my memories returned to me all at once. It was enough to give me a migraine. I then remembered what you were doing to Byleth that I just… lashed out. Considering I was still trying to get my emotions all under control and fighting that migraine, I just couldn't think straight. Hell, the fact that I never actually got around to telling Byleth to get that restraining order all situated is a miracle of itself."
"The reason why I was so attached to Byleth was-"
"-Was not only because you saved her from death after she was born because she had no heartbeat, but because you had unknowingly sensed me inside of her, you wanted to do everything you could to protect Byleth just so she wouldn't end up getting killed."
Rhea nodded. "Yes, that's right… I still don't have the heart to tell her that the Crest of Flames is the reason why she's alive."
"Weeeeeell… about that…" Sothis rubbed her arm. "Remember when I said Palutena got me out of her?"
A long time ago…
"What in the world…? Why am I not detecting a heartbeat?" Palutena wondered as she investigated deeply. "Oh… that crest is what's keeping her alive. Hmm, what if I moved that out of the way." She used her power to move the crest out of her heart, and then swiftly used her magic to make Byleth's heart pump normally.
"Perfect~!" Palutena smiled. "Now what to do with you… hmm, I could just bury it deep within the layers of her skin, but where would I put it…" She rubbed her chin in thought. "Ah! I know, her abdomen!"
In the present…
"In her abdomen?!" Rhea said in surprise.
"Yes. She made sure it wouldn't cover any of her vitals, so she still has the crest inside of her."
Rhea chuckled. "Palutena, you sly goddess…"
Sothis nodded. "Yup, she restored her own heart." She smiled.
Rhea smiled with her. "That's good… but still, how I became unhealthily obsessed with her, especially with you becoming Archbishop… it's horrific of all the things that I've done."
"Yeah, and honestly, as I said, I wasn't thinking straight. I shouldn't have lashed out at you like that."
"…When did your migraine subside?"
"Oh, it was around the time where Bowser's airship exploded from that, oh… what was his name again? Awful? Clawful? Brashful? Foo-fell? Eh… it doesn't matter, he was insignificant anyway. The point is… I deeply apologize that I was so hard on you."
Rhea chuckled. "Who would've thought that both of us would have to repent…"
Sothis chuckled with her. "Yeah, no kidding."
Rhea closed her eyes. "Honestly, you're the rightful ruler of Garreg Mach. I'm in no position to rule it… effective immediately, I'm stepping down and will go into exile. That way, I will not stand in your way."
"Nope. I'm not allowing that."
Rhea opened her eyes in surprise. "What?"
"I'm not allowing it. There's not a chance in hell that I'm going to let you do that."
"What are you-"
"I pushed you away, when what I should have done… was that I wish for you to join me in running the church together."
Rhea's eyes widened. "What?!"
"I think that's the best course of action. The two of us working together and making Garreg Mach a better place to live in? We could get so much done together! Mother and daughter working together to make Fodlan a better place, and Seteth and Flayn can help out too! What do you say?"
"Mother…" Rhea teared up. "I… I don't know what to say…"
Sothis floated up and offered her hand. Without any hesitation, Rhea accepted her hand as the two embraced right after. "I love you, my daughter."
"And I love you too, mother…" Rhea sniffed as the two embraced for a few minutes as Sothis rubbed her back while Rhea's tears stained her shoulder, not that she cared. Sothis broke the hug and gently kissed her on the forehead.
Sothis then floated back down. "So, I think I know what we should do first."
"What is it?"
"I say we give everyone the time off from Garreg Mach, give everyone a chance to breathe and detox from the craziness that went on from defending the church from Those Who Slither."
"How much time do we give them? A few weeks? A month?"
"As much time as they need."
Rhea nodded. "That would be wise."
"Alright, come on, let's go check on Byleth again." She walked off.
"What caused her to be in the… Extensive Healthcare Ultra, you said?"
"Intensive Care Unit."
"Right…" Rhea chuckled.
"Well, she lost so much blood that by the time we got her admitted, she was half dead."
"My word…"
"And the oxygen mask was to help her breathe considering the lack of blood was enough to not get her lungs working properly."
Rhea's eyes widened. "How in the name of…? How did they manage to save her?"
"They don't call Mikan the "Ultimate Nurse" for nothing. I've been hearing rumors that she's on her way to becoming the head nurse of this facility."
"I see… well, when I run into Mikan, I shall give her my gratitude." Rhea said as the two of them walked into Byleth's room, the former having a sense of relief over her shoulders after talking it out with Sothis.
Ibuki: Aww, they made up!
Yup! Really sweet and touching!
Ibuki: You had this all written up yesterday but held off just so you can gush about the Pokemon Presentation as it'd be really fresh on your mind, right?
Of course! As for what we've just seen, all I can say is: FLAAAAAAAAFFY! My favorite Pokemon line is here and that's an automatic team member! Also, version exclusive professors and those two legendary Pokemon looked awesome!
Ibuki: Lechonk~
That name is both hilarious and so stinkin' adorable. Ooooh, I'm already hyped for Flaaffy. Let's friggin' go!