Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.
A Few Days After They Got Back From Delfino
Byleth lay on the couch, staring at the ceiling. A few days at Delfino was quite the blast, not to mention doing all sorts of fun things like riding the rollercoaster, getting thrown into the ocean by Cataquacks and gracefully landing in the water, chilling at Bianco Hills and checking out the windmill.
…Finding out that the shortcut to Pinna Park was stuff yourself in a cannon and blast your way at mach speed, as Dorothea had found out the hard way. Luckily, there were soft mattresses to cushion the landing.
"Babe, why do you look so frazzled?"
"I just found out what the shortcut is to this island…"
Byleth let out a chuckle. At least Yang and Claude had fun shooting themselves out of the cannon. At least everyone had fun at Delfino, especially her.
However, the smile on her face disappeared. Despite all the fun she had with her new family and how she truly felt at peace, she was still haunted.
Those damned screams wouldn't get away from her, no matter how hard she tried to block them out. She tried listening to music or watch TV to get her mind off things, but it still bothered her. In fact, last night, she woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat and breathing heavily. She had tried not to wake her fiance up, but Dorothea had woken up from her breathing. She hugged her gently and softly kissed her cheek and neck to get her relaxed again, she even hummed a soft tune to get her to sleep.
She had felt Dorothea's hand gently caressing her hair as she went back to sleep.
"You look beat."
"Huh?" Byleth looked over to see Ruby. "Oh, hey Rubes…"
"Something on your mind?"
"Well… yeah, didn't sleep very well last night." She said, putting her arm over her forehead.
"Is that still bothering you?"
"Honestly, yeah… hell, I've told mom I feel at peace after fighting for so long, and yet… these damned screams won't leave me alone."
Ruby sat down with her. "I know the feeling, even if I told myself I'm no longer afraid of Dark Ruby, I still can't shake this feeling away that something horrible's gonna happen."
"I totally get that now, what with I'm experiencing, not to mention I broke down at the monastery."
"Mhm…"
"What am I gonna do? Obviously, I know what I have to do but yet… it feels kinda silly that a therapist like me actually needs therapy herself."
"Well, you could go see one."
"Yeah… I could, but… where would I go?"
"There's Palutena." Ruby suggested.
"Ooooh, that's a bad call." Yang said as she leaned on the back of the couch. "While it did seem like a good idea for her to help lighten the load after the Phazon crisis, she's… not the greatest at non-goddess stuff."
"RUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!" Luigi yelled as he ran away screaming as a gigantic food monster came crashing through the mansion and roared loudly.
"Cooking's not really your specialty, isn't it?" Pyra asked.
"No, It is not… although I'm better at cooking than Mythra."
"I HEARD THAT!"
"Time to wheelie!" Palutena exclaimed as she leaned back on the Mach Bike. "WAHOOOOO!" She yelled as she tried to push herself down but had no success. "Uh oh… AAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
CRASH!
The back wheel of the Mach Bike bounced away as Mario and Peach watched on. "I'm okay!"
"Woooow, look at him go!" Chiaki said in awe as Game and Watch flawlessly juggled flower pots without trouble.
"Please, anyone can do that." Palutena said as she summoned a few eggs. "If an 8-bit calculator can do anything, a goddess can do better!" She said and threw the eggs up in the air. "Hup!" She was ready to catch them and would continue to juggle them.
Splat!
Palutena let out a groan, egg yolk running down her hair and face. "I'm… glad that you didn't choose chainsaws." Pit said with Chiaki sweatdropping. Game and Watch, however, let out several beeps, pointing at Palutena and laughing.
"Laugh it up…"
A large plant monster terrorized Skyworld as Pit and the Centurions fought it off. "I told you to use a drop of the growth elixir!" Viridi scolded.
"But I did use a drop."
"USING THE WHOLE BOTTLE DOESN'T MAKE IT A DROP, YOU THICK BITCH!" Viridi yelled.
Byleth let out a groan. "Oooh… and I thought it was a good idea to lighten the load for me? Oooh, what was I thinking?"
"Aw, cheer up. I'm sure she's not that bad." Ruby said.
"Ah! I know… how about Mewtwo?" Yang suggested.
"Yang, remember what happened with Xena?" Ruby reminded.
"Ooooh… riiiiight…" Yang grimaced.
"There has to be another therapist of some kind…" Ruby mused. "Like… oh, how about that guy in Vale? He might-"
"No good. I've heard his personal life is a bit… problematic." Yang said.
"What, like racism against Faunus?" Ruby guessed as Yang whispered in her ear. "Oh… ooooh, that's worse…"
"Yeah, last I heard, he's being investigated."
Byleth closed her eyes. "Well… there's one person I know who might help out."
"Who is it?" Yang asked.
"Well…" Byleth sat up. "Back when I was having a self pity party over not realizing how much of a monster Dark Ruby turned out to be, I did have a little pep talk with someone that cheered me up."
"Oh good, who was it?" Ruby asked.
"Ozpin."
Yang grimaced. "Ooooh… sis, I dunno about that."
"Look, I know he's had a very difficult past with Salem, but it's either him or someone incredibly sketchier than him that we know nothing about." Byleth pointed out. "Besides, my other options are Palutena and Mewtwo."
"Yeeeeah, that's fair." Yang nodded.
"You want us to come with you?" Ruby asked.
"I'll be fine." Byleth smiled, hugging her sisters. "I'll be back." She said as she walked out, then finding the Warp Pipe nearby and climbed in, then hopped inside.
Meanwhile, with Ozpin…
"NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!"
CRASH!
Mavis slumped as anime tears ran down her cheeks. "Aww… I worked so hard on that…"
"I had a feeling that wouldn't have worked." Ozpin said, drinking some coffee.
"Sooooo… have you ever thought of bolting the window down?" Mavis suggested, looking down at the shattered glass.
"We tried that. Unfortunately, the bolts popped out and the window shattered after the last bolt fell off."
"You ever thought about remodeling?"
"Tried that too. The wall came off and took the window with it."
Mavis sweatdropped. "Sooo, the wall can be fixed, yet the window refuses to be compliant… oi vey…" She sighed.
"Ozpin?"
"Yes Glynda, we need the window fixed… again."
"I was going to say that someone wishes to see you."
"Send them up."
"I'll get the dust pan." Mavis said, grabbing it and proceeding to sweep up the glass.
Ding!
Byleth walked into the room, noticing Mavis sweeping. "Um… did I miss something?"
"You missed a glass shattering event." Ozpin chuckled. "So, Byleth, to what do I owe this pleasure?"
"I… wish to speak to you, if that's alright."
"Oh no, that's fine. Have a seat." Ozpin said as Byleth walked over and sat down. "I like the new look. You look rather casual, especially with the flower in your hair and the seashell necklace."
Byleth smiled. "Thank you."
"I've heard about your new family, by the way. They're good people."
"Yes, they are."
"So what is it now? Byleth Rose? Byleth Branwen? Byleth Xiao-Long?"
"Still an Eisner."
"Personally, I'd say that since you're very close with Ruby, I'd say Byleth Rose sounds fitting."
Byleth blushed. "You think so…?"
"Indeed." Ozpin smiled. "After all, she was the one who adopted you, after all."
"Good point." Byleth giggled.
"Byleth Rose-Eisner. Sounds fitting, yes?"
"It does." She nodded.
"By the way, congratulations on your engagement. When is your wedding?"
"That's… still being decided, admittedly." Byleth said. "We just got back from Delfino, we didn't think much of planning for the wedding."
Ozpin chuckled. "That's understandable. Now, I imagine you're here for another reason."
"Yes, but I have a quest-"
"Ruby wouldn't stop gushing about you when you came back from your vacation."
Byleth laughed. "Yeah, that definitely sounds like her. Anyway, yes… something has been on my mind for a while. It's… a great burden."
Ozpin frowned. "Are you still beating yourself up after that incident?"
"A little bit… but that's not the point." She stood up. "Take my hand."
Ozpin raised an eyebrow. "What for?"
"Humor me."
"Okay…" Ozpin walked over to Byleth and took her hand, and then she closed her eyes. "I fail to see what this has to do with-" Byleth activated her Divine Pulse, where Ozpin would find their surroundings in a purple light. He turned his head to see Mavis frozen in time. "…What is this?"
"This is Divine Pulse. Sothis had given it to me after I threw myself in front of Edelgard. When she rewound time, I was able to parry an attack. Even if we're no longer fused, I still have it."
"Rewound time?" Ozpin wondered as Byleth demonstrated by rewinding time, where Ozpin would see Mavis going back up to where she had just applied stabilizers on both sides of the window, then she stopped. "My word… can you go forward in time as well?"
"Yes." Byleth nodded as she did so, where it fast forwarded up to the moment when Byleth took Ozpin's hand.
"How far does this go back?"
"To the start of the new day, basically when the clock strikes twelve and when I deactivate it when I'm at a certain point, I can't fast forward. It's my new present, or our new present."
"Fascinating… and you haven't incurred the wrath of Dialga yet?"
"I had my concerns, but Arceus had assured me that Dialga finds this to be insignificant, so it doesn't bother him."
"I see." Ozpin nodded. "So tell me, what exactly do you do with this… what do you call it?"
"Divine Pulse. It's basically used to erase mistakes I've made on the battlefield, whether it was a small oversight or an oversight large enough that we get ambushed."
"Ah, that's actually a good idea. Go for a test run, rewind time and proceed with a strategy from there."
"Except… it doesn't erase everything."
"What do you mean?"
"Basically… I can erase mistakes, but I can't erase the blood curdling screams when my students were ambushed and killed on the spot. The amount of times I've seen their corpses…"
Ozpin's eyes widened. "Oh… it doesn't erase the memories…"
"No, it doesn't… sometimes it keeps me awake at night. And… remember when I realized Dark Ruby was more than just some bully?"
"Yeah?" It would soon dawn on Ozpin. "You never used Divine Pulse…"
"I was so… distraught and focused on saving Ruby, I didn't even think about using it… I realized I could've used it the day after."
"So that's why you were throwing that pity party… you realized far too late."
"Yes."
Ozpin closed his eyes. "So, you have a heavy burden placed upon you…"
"When we were fighting Those Who Slither in the Dark, yes, I know, it's a terrible name… Thales thought Sothis could use some motivation, he used his dark magic to torture me, but not just torment my entire body, he went for my mental state… and it played my failure to save my biological father, no matter how many times I've used Divine Pulse to save him, I couldn't… and it played in my mind repeatedly for so long."
"Byleth… you've been through so much." Ozpin said. "You're not the only one with a heavy burden… after all, when I die, my soul goes into another person's body and merges as one, all so I can try to unite everyone from Salem's antics. Honestly, if I had the power to rewind time, I'd stop myself from saving her from her father. Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do about it… and even if I tried, I'd have Dialga breathing down my neck."
"Yes…"
"Can you get us out of this Divine Pulse? I've seen enough." He requested as Byleth did so. "I see now… you're haunted by everything, despite you fixing everything. You had failed to save your biological father despite you trying your best to save him. What stopped you, by the way?"
"Thales. Every time I thought of something, he'd find a way to undo whatever I had thrown at Kronya."
"Mmm, yes, that would be a problem." Ozpin nodded. "And with all of this placed on your shoulders, not to mention you realized far too late that you didn't use Divine Pulse to save Ruby from her evil doppelganger, you have, in my opinion, the heaviest burden I've ever seen. Yet, you're a strong warrior."
"How can I be strong if I broke down…"
"You were strong for so long that it took its toll on you, especially after you were tormented. I, too, know what it's like to be tormented. You beat yourself up, haunted by what you could have done better." Ozpin put his hands on her shoulders. "Byleth, you're too hard on yourself."
"That's what my biological father told me…" Byleth mumbled, tears swelling in her eyes.
"I imagine this to be incredibly hard on you, given how you've been through so much."
"Yes…"
"Tell me, how exactly do you feel with your new family?"
"For the first time ever, I truly feel at peace… like I can finally slow down. And hell, I'm engaged to the cutest girl I've ever met, so… honestly, I should be happy, and yet…"
"Our past can haunt us, I'm very well aware of that… especially when one rewinds time to save others and rethink strategy. You feel at peace, yet your demons can creep up on you."
"Yeah, especially when I woke up in a cold sweat last night. I try to tune it out by listening to music, or watching TV and whatever, yet it still gets me. Even if I confront it, it's still bothering me. Like, it was so bad last night, I tried not to wake Dorothea up but I did… and luckily, she calmed me down."
"I think I might have an answer to your situation. Did you think about your… unique situation when you were at Delfino?"
"No, I was having the time of my life with my family. That was all I could ever think about."
"There it is." Ozpin smiled. "Family is the best kind of therapy. They're always there for each other, especially with that tightly knit family that Ruby goes on about. Lean on them, and you've got nothing to worry about. True, those blood curdling screams will come to haunt you, but if you have your family with you, then they'll be there for you. If you're starting to have a panic attack, look for a family member close by and hug them as tight as you possibly can. It could be a pet, or it could be anyone else… or it could be Raven and she's not that much of a hugger as far as I know. The point is, they'll be there for you, showering you with love. I might also suggest listening to some easy listening music and take some deep breaths to help calm yourself."
Byleth smiled a little, wiping her tears. "I find this ironic…"
"That the therapist is seeking therapeutic advice?" Ozpin chuckled. "I understand. Believe it or not, one of my incarnations was a therapist and I happened to learn everything he taught me. You might think I'm not the best therapist out there, but I can assure you… I am."
Byleth giggled. "Yeah… honestly, my other choices were Palutena and Mewtwo."
"That is understandable. I do not think a goddess has what it takes to do non-godly tasks." Ozpin chuckled. "Did my advice help, by the way?"
"Yeah… as you said, family is the best therapy."
"Indeed." Ozpin would feel Byleth hugging him.
"Thank you…"
"You're welcome." Ozpin smiled as Byleth released him.
"I definitely needed to hear that." She said.
Ding!
The two turned around to see Edelgard walking in. "Oh! My teacher, I'm sorry, I didn't know you were here."
"El? What are you doing here?" Byleth asked.
"I thought I'd come chat with Oz for a few moments. I didn't realize he was in a meeting."
"No no, it is quite alright. We had just finished up." He said.
"Yeah." Byleth nodded. "Oh! El, you're not gonna believe this- oh, hang on." She would pull out her scroll and called up Dorothea.
"Hello?"
"Hey Dorothea, I thought it'd be best if we told Edelgard together."
"Oh? Oh! Wait, where are you?"
"Ozpin's office. El just walked in."
"Put me on camera mode or whatever they call it!"
"Sure thing." Byleth put her on speaker. "Okay, now where is that button… uh… photo, was it?"
"It's video chat. Press that button right there." Ozpin instructed.
"Oh!" She pressed the button as Dorothea's face came up.
"Whoa! There we go!" Dorothea giggled as she pulled the scroll back. "Alright, turn me around." She said as Byleth turned it around as Dorothea smiled. "Guess who got engaged~!" Dorothea showed off her ring.
"My, that's a pretty ri- ENGAGED?!" Edelgard yelled. "You… you… you... Y-you…" She looked at them in shock. "You… you… y-you… YOU GOT ENGAGED?!"
"It all happened so fast… it was honestly a blur." Byleth admitted. "Sorry if we left you ou-" Edelgard hugged Byleth. "Oh!"
"I'm happy for you two… honestly, I would have intruded upon that moment if I was with you." Edelgard looked her in the eyes. "I just have one request for you two."
"What is it?" Dorothea asked.
"I want to be one of your bridesmaids. I did set you two up, after all."
Byleth smiled. "El, you were already on my mind."
"And mine too!"
"So of course we'll make you one of our bridesmaids."
Edelgard teared up in happiness. "Thank you! This means so much to me…" She hugged her again as Byleth hugged her back.
"Love you, El." Byleth smiled.
"Hey hey, I love her too, ya know!" Dorothea teased.
"Love you both." Edelgard smiled as Byleth walked off, going inside the elevator and heading down.
"So, Edelgard, what seems to be the trouble?" Ozpin asked.
"I have a great burden…"
Ozpin smiled. "I see you too are troubled with something. What is it? Is ruling Adrestria getting a little claustrophobic?"
"Actually, that's not what I'm worried about." Edelgard said. "You might want to sit down for this one."
"Try me." He said as Edelgard closed her eyes, before activating her Maiden Powers. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw the aura shooting out of her eyes as she floated up.
"WHAT?!" Mavis said in shock as Glynda walked in.
"Young lady, you should have waited until I penciled-… oh my word!" Glynda exclaimed.
"So it is true… outworlders can also become maidens." Ozpin mused as Edelgard gently landed on the ground. "I take it you are the Summer Maiden."
"Yes. Those Who Slither captured the previous Summer Maiden. She passed her powers on to me."
"This is a great burden…" Ozpin said. "If you wish to get rid of your maiden powers, I will not fault you. It is incredibly dangerous."
"Honestly, I do not give a damn if I have a target on my back." Edelgard said. "If Salem thinks about coming to Fodlan, she's going to have a hell of a fight."
"Indeed, but she's not one to go down easily. She cannot be harmed."
"Not from ordinary people. I wonder if she can be harmed by magic, be put at bay for a short while."
"It's risky."
"But worth a shot." Edelgard said as she bowed before Ozpin. "If you ever need assistance, the Adrestrian Empire will come to your aid."
"…Shouldn't we be bowing before you? I feel like you have this backwards." Ozpin teased.
Edelgard sweatdropped. "Ruined the moment…" She mumbled as she stood up.
Ozpin chuckled. "I appreciate it. I will let you know when we need the Adrestrian Empire for assistance. We could use it from time to time."
"Indeed."
"Now, before you run off back to Fodlan, perhaps you could… do me a favor real quick."
"What is it?"
"There is a relic in Vacuo that holds great power. It is called the Sword of Destruction. I will warn you, there is a spirit who resides in it and that spirit will you an immense boost of strength, however in turn, it will drain your energy within five minutes. You will have to use its power wisely."
"I see. That sounds like a challenge." Edelgard said. "However, I'm sure we could use the strength against Salem, even if it means putting my life and energy at risk."
"Luckily, it won't kill you, but you will feel sluggish for a whole day." He added. "You think you're up for finding this relic and storing it in Adrestria?"
Edelgard smirked, aura flashing out of her eyes. "Challenge accepted." She said as she looked up at Glynda restoring the window. "Window troubles?"
Mavis sighed in annoyance. "Yes…"
Edelgard walked forward. "Allow me." She said, shooting out fire and earth at the edges of the window and sealing it up tight. "There we go. Now it will not fall."
"…Heh, I should've thought of that earlier." Ozpin chuckled.
"Yay!" Mavis cheered happily.
Edelgard turned around. "Now then, I have a mission to do." She said as she walked off.
"Good luck, your excellency."
Edelgard turned her head with a confident smile. "Call me El." She said and went into the elevator.
Back at Patch…
"Hmhmhmhm~" Byleth hummed as she got out of the Warp Pipe and walked into her home. She would see Rosalina reading a book on the couch.
"Oh hi, Byleth." Rosalina greeted warmly. "How was therapy?"
"It was great." She said as she sat down on the couch. "You… mind if you hold me for a while? An… episode is creeping up again…"
Rosalina smiled, opening her arms. "C'mere~" She said as Byleth immediately got close and hugged Rosalina tightly, where Rosalina gently hugged her. "Shhhh, it's okay…" She said, hearing Byleth let out a groan. She gently kissed her on the head. "We're all here for you, sweetie…"
"Thank you…" Byleth said, trying to fight it off but felt herself melting in Rosalina's gentle hug. The screams in her head started to fade away as she closed her eyes as Rosalina rubbed her back.
Meanwhile, back at Ozpin's office…
"Hmhmhmhm~" Mavis hummed as she stared out at the window when something fell and landed on her head. "Oh!" She yelped as she picked up what had bounced off of her head. "…Lava chunk?" She wondered as she looked up to see Edelgard's handiwork starting to fall apart.
"Oh no… oh no no no no no! Ozzy!" Mavis yelled as Ozpin turned around.
"Well, that's not good…" Ozpin said as the chunks started to break apart. Mavis scrambled and tried to piece it back together.
"Come on, come on… stay with me! You're not dying on me again! COME ON! LIVE!" She pleaded as all the chunks crumbled, but the window stayed up. "…Oh thank Oum!" She sighed wih relief… when suddenly a bird flew over and accidentally smacked itself against the glass, and then it started falling outside. "NOOOOOOO!" She screamed as they heard a loud crash right after.
Ozpin gently patted her on the shoulder. "How about we go get some ice cream to get your mind off things?"
Mavis wiped away frustrated tears. "Sea Salt?"
"Yes."
Mavis smiled. "I would love that." She said as they walked away, while hearing an angry "OH COME ON!" from Glynda.
Ibuki: How many times has that stupid window fell?
From what we know and how it could possibly have fallen off screen many times? Yes.
Ibuki: She was afraid of that...
Fun Fact time! For this chapter, I planned on Edelgard showing her Maiden Powers to Ozpin and swearing the Empire will be by his side... and yet, as I wrote that, the Sword of Destruction just popped into my head and I was like "Huh, didn't plan for that, but that would make an excellent Gaiden chapter. Sweet!"