Part 1: White Clouds

From Bad to Worse

"Aaaaaaahhhh… I really, REALLY needed that drink." Judith sighed loudly as she had just downed a large pint of beer. She was currently in a bar with Byleth as they were back in Daphnel pretty quickly, as they had to get the injured to a doctor as soon as possible. The most damaged being Claude and Leonie. Byleth reminded herself to check up on them later tonight. But right now, Judith really needed to talk to her. It had been two days since the fateful battle and a lot had happened in that time span.

"So… I had just gotten out of the emergency meeting that had taken place today."

Ah yes. Byleth wasn't too familiar with how politics worked, but she remembered a bunch of Nobles scampering about in Daphnel trying to keep their conversations quiet before their meeting started. Seems that the news of Holst's death travelled fast.

"I'm assuming that it went well?" Byleth asked while taking a sip of her own beer. She also needed a drink after what happened and she watched Judith slam her head in the table groaning loudly.

"Honestly, you would think the people running this place would have a clear head on their shoulders, but it was non stop finger pointing. Worse of all, this wasn't even the most heated the meetings had gotten."

"How so?" Byleth asked, as Judith picked herself up. But before she could respond, a new voice piped in.

"It's nice to know you're taking this with a straight face, Lady Judith."

Both women turned around to see an old man walk into the tavern. He had a neatly trimmed gray beard and a thin, combed over set of hair of the same colour. Using his cane to move himself along, he sat down next to Byleth who had no clue who this man was. Though he looked oddly familiar.

Sensing Byleth's confusion, Judith piped up. "Byleth, meet the current Duke of the Alliance, Oswald Von Riegan. Claude's grandfather."

Oh, so that explains why he looked familiar to her. He certainly bore a resemblance to Claude in some aspects. Oswald smiled to Byleth and nodded. "I have heard a lot about you from the brat. And I want to thank you for what you did at the border. I heard from my soldiers how fast and adaptable you were, you saved many lives."

"Thank you sir…" Byleth tried to be kind but found herself frowning deeply. "But it wasn't enough. General Holst still lost his life. I tried to save him but-"

"Now, I won't hear you moping about, Byleth." Oswald scolded. "You can't save everyone. And while it is very unfortunate that Holst has left us, the fact is that you kept the casualties to a minimum. Well, you and the Golden Deer."

"Seriously, if it weren't for you, Lysithea, Leonie and the boy doing your Ki stuff, Legion would've destroyed us in an instant." Judith piped up. "Give yourself some credit, you did good."

"…Thank you. Are Claude and Leonie okay?" Byleth asked, looking over to Oswald. "I haven't been able to visit them at all today. I've been working with the rest of their class."

Oswald scratched his beard and hummed in thought. "Well, I don't know much about this Leonie girl but Claude seems to be doing okay. But from what I heard from the doctor, the boy was at death's door when he got brought in. What the hell happened out there?"

Both Judith and Byleth looked at each other before Byleth spoke. "He charged a powerful attack that used his Ki. His life energy. It was what we needed to defeat Legion for good. I'm sorry, I should've stopped him-"

"The hell you apologising for? I'm proud of him! He has matured a lot since I last saw him."

Byleth just looked at him and Oswald sighed to himself. "Oh sorry, I forgot you wouldn't know about what he was like. The boy was… well, selfish isn't the right word, but he was always looking out for himself. Whenever he did something, he would think about how it would benefit him."

"Well, I certainly caught a glimpse of that when he came to Remire Village." Byleth replied. "Apparently, when they were ambushed by the bandits, he ran off leaving everyone behind. Though he claimed it was a 'tactical retreat'."

"Oh, that boy was certainly a handful." Judith sighed, getting another mug of beer. Then a smirk crossed her lips. "Though, I can already see a difference from his time at Garreg Mach."

"Indeed." Oswald nodded. "The fact that he risked his own life to save everyone else, well I can tell you've made an impact on him. He's definitely on the right track to take my place one day as the Duke, that's for sure."

But then Judith had a hand rubbing her temples before speaking. "We barely managed to get out of a war today."

Oswald growled and folded his arms, shaking his head. "Honestly, those fools are too eager to fight with swords and not with words. Don't they understand that we do not have the resources to pick a fight with Almyra?"

That's when the pair realised Byleth was still here and was probably very confused.

"Sorry, keep forgetting that you don't have a clue about what's going on." Judith said and started to explain. "You see, in the Alliance we aren't like the Empire or the Kingdom when it comes to leading. Instead, we do round table discussions to try and come to a reasonable decision on how to lead our people."

"Discussion is a strong word." Oswald grumbled, as a mug of water was placed next to him by a waitress. "Honestly, it's mostly about taxes on trading goods and who gets the bigger tax break most of the time."

"Technically, I shouldn't even be a part of the discussions." Judith continued, keeping her eyes on Byleth. "My house used to be a member at the round table but… internal disputes lead to us giving it to House Edmund instead."

"Well, you ain't getting out of it that easily, I need you at those meetings to keep me sane." Oswald grumbled. "And that's why Judith here is a special member."

Byleth slowly nodded, getting the gist of it and looked over to the two. "Was it bad? You said you just barely avoided a war."

Both Judith and Oswald grimaced at that and sighed loudly before Oswald spoke up. "We've been at odds with Almyra for quite some time. Not just in the Alliance, but all of Fódlan. We're just unlucky enough to be their next door neighbour. But certain other Lords don't like the Almyran's, and were always sick of their bandits picking fights with us."

"House Goneril was put in charge of our military faction in order to fend off minor attacks." Judith continued. "Holst was a great leader who could command the troops rather effectively. Though he… always made a show about it. I'm surprised that wasn't how he went out. That, or by eating strange mushrooms."

"And now with Holst no longer with us, that's one of the seats of our table now gone." Oswald said. "Normally, we would appoint the next in line to the seat, but Hilda is too young to inherit it yet. And now these idiots either blame each other, or call for the heads of the Almyran's."

"So… what is next for you?" Byleth asked.

"Well, we have an investigation take place over our dearly departed General. The statements from those that were at the battle show that something isn't right. I've been Duke for a very long time and I've never seen an Almyran act like that before. They are all driven by honour and code. They don't use sneaky tactics either, and they certainly don't use weird devices on their faces."

That's when Oswald looked over to Byleth again and sighed. "You leave this to us. After all, this took place on Alliance territory, and so we shall look into the matter at hand ourselves. Now, I believe you should be visiting your two students, should you not?"

"Yes… thank you. I'll be taking my leave now." Byleth said, standing up and nodding to the pit before leaving.

"She's done well with the boy." Judith commented, looking at Byleth walk away. "He's certainly grown up."

"Yeah… let's just hope he doesn't have to do what he did again."

Byleth sighed, slowly walking into the medical ward and closing the door behind her before looking at the bed in front of her which Leonie was laying in. She had bandages around her arms and hands but otherwise looked relatively unharmed. The doctor was there, checking her vitals and making sure everything was okay.

"Is she going to be well?" Byleth asked. She had been asking that same question the past few days but always got an unsure answer. But this time it was good news.

"If she was a normal human, then she wouldn't have been able to use her arms ever again. She damaged her nerves, but bizarrely, her body is repairing itself. Though those scars that she has will be permanent. Perhaps it will serve as a reminder to not do something as dangerous as that ever again."

Byleth breathed out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, it seems that her Ki was helping to heal her. At least she wouldn't have lost anything major once she recovered, and scars were a good way to remind yourself on how far you have come. "And Claude?"

"Though he did give us all a scare when he arrived, he too will be fine. Just some rest is all he needs. If everything lines up, then both of them should be awake tomorrow. Then we can see if they are fit enough to leave."

"And they are completely fine?" Byleth asked one more time, just to be sure and the doctor nodded again.

"Against all odds, there's nothing wrong with them physically. Young Leonie's scars aside, they should make a full recovery. How long that will take however, I cannot say."

That's when the doctor pushed up his glasses and grabbed his notebook. "I must be going now. If you wish to visit Claude, do it now. But Leonie has to rest, so I must ask you to leave her room."

"I understand. Thank you doctor." Byleth nodded and let the doctor past before looking at Leonie one more time. It's strange. Despite the times she irritates Byleth with her obsession with Jeralt, Leonie grew on her. Like a little sister in a way. It certainly made her feel a lot better to hear that she would recover.

But now, she had to see if Claude was okay as the doctor closed the door to Leonie's room behind her. "I think there is another person visiting him too, but I'm not sure if they left yet. Just wanted to let you know."

"Thank you doctor."

Byleth walked down the corridor and was outside the room that Claude would be in before slowly peeking inside and her eyes widened at what she saw.

It was Claude, still unconscious and wrapped in bandages. But then she saw Hilda was on a chair sitting next to him, holding his bandaged hand and resting her head on his shoulder, fast asleep. Seems she's been in here for quite some time waiting for him. It was honestly a cute sight.

"Well… I think I can wait until tomorrow." Byleth said to herself with a warm smile and quietly shut the door to not disturb Hilda. She made sure to tell the doctor if Hilda could stay the night beside Claude as she was already asleep.

The doctor furrowed his brows and scratched at his beard. "Well, she did lose her brother recently, so I suppose she's needing someone to hold onto. Very well, I will allow her to stay by his side. But I will check in regularly to make sure nothing has gone wrong. Thank you for letting me know Miss Eisner."

"Anytime. Now, if you'll excuse me." Byleth bowed and rubbed her head as she felt it starting to ache. She needed a place to think.

Hours had passed, and it was two in the morning. The sky was still completely dark with only the moon providing light down below. Byleth was sitting on top of a building and staring up at it. She had to keep in mind that a full moon would occur in the later days. Had to be in bed when that comes.

"Can't sleep?"

She turned around and her eyes widened in surprise when she saw it was Shamir standing behind her. Shamir just smirked and sat beside Byleth. "Well, your dad was worried about you, so I thought that I would check up to make sure everything is okay."

But then Shamir's face turned serious as she also looked up at the moon. "News travels fast. Almost all of Fódlan now know of General Holst's passing. It's sad really. But I suppose we all have to say goodbye to this life eventually, even if we are rarely ready. But I can sense that you're blaming yourself for what happened?"

Byleth was just silent as she closed her eyes, trying to feel the presence of Sothis. But she had yet to return. She hasn't heard from the spirit since she used her Divine Pulse's. And it's left her alone with her thoughts. "Shamir. I'm scared."

Shamir just raised an eyebrow but sighed to herself. "Yeah. Me too. It feels like we're walking into a situation that we haven't prepared for. Like there is something bigger going on."

"There was a girl from Almyra that killed Holst." Byleth said. "But she was wearing that thing on her head. A Scouter."

"Shit. That either means two things." Shamir muttered, brushing her bangs out of her face. "Either Almyra is part of this, or they've got inside agents."

"Or they're trying to frame Almyra." Byleth continued which caused Shamir to give her an odd look. "Nobody else had Scouters when we fought them. And they have a history of interfering in other matters so they can gain more power. The only time they didn't was when we stopped them in the Kingdom."

"So you think that they're trying to frame them…" Shamir hummed, closing her eyes in thought and rubbing her chin. "It certainly adds up. They're trying to keep the Alliance busy while they wreak more havoc across Fódlan. But why? Why do they want to destroy everything? I can understand trying to take over, but they seem more interested in destruction."

"I suppose we will find out more when we get there." Byleth replied and then remembered something. "Is she okay?"

"…She's locked herself in her room. She hasn't left in days. She keeps on saying how it was her fault and how you're going to kill her."

Byleth sighed and looked down at her hands, before clenching them together. "When I'm back, I'll talk to her. She helped us a lot and I'm sure she got injured when she was attacked."

"She was attacked?" Shamir asked, eyes widening to which Byleth nodded.

"She ran off before I could get a good look at her. I was too exhausted from the fight to do anything so I couldn't go after her… which reminds me. We need to train our butts off if we're going to stand a chance in the later stages."

"Or a miracle." Shamir mumbled before standing up. "Well, I'll let your dad and Lady Rhea know that you're doing okay. I only came over to check up on you. So, end of the week you'll be back?"

"End of the week. Just so we can attend the funeral of Holst and make sure everyone is recovered."

Shamir nodded and gave a two fingered salute before flying off into the direction of Garreg Mach. Byleth was by herself again. Until she heard a voice that gave her an immediate sense of relief.

'I can only guess what happened due to your somber mood. Were you able to save everyone?'

It was Sothis who was now sitting next to her, waiting for a response. Byleth just looked away, unable to give her an answer and the Spirit understood.

'I hate to say that I told you so… but you can't save everyone. If even the flow of time wasn't enough to help then it was meant to be.'

"Mm…"

'…You can't blame yourself. You're only human after all.'

"Sometimes I wonder if I even am human." Byleth said, looking down at her tail by her side. But then she shook her head and put that to the back of her mind. "I suppose you're right. But I wonder if I could've done more…"

'Look, quit beating yourself up! You still saved lots of lives and stopped a dangerous foe! And we both know that this isn't the end of what's happening, we need to prepare for what's next.'

"…You're right Sothis." Byleth said, standing up and smiling. "Thank you. It's best we use this time wisely, and once the service for Holst is over, we get Hilda up to speed."

'There we go! Now you're thinking logically!' Sothis said, smiling to Byleth. 'You're right, let's get young Hilda to the level of Ashe and the others. As you said, we need to be stronger!'

WHACK!

"Ow!"

"Focus!"

BOOM!

"Watch my hair!"

CRASH!

Byleth sighed as she watched Hilda crawl out of the barrel that she was launched into. "Let's take a break, and we can evaluate your progress."

It had been four days since she had that talk with Shamir and Sothis. The service for Holst was a beautiful one and Byleth was hoping that Hilda would take this time to properly mourn. But now, she was constantly asking to train with Byleth in order to improve herself. And while Byleth was happy that she was taking this seriously, she couldn't help but notice some very dangerous flaws Hilda currently had that that she has never shown before.

Byleth stabbed her training sword into the ground and gestured Hilda to sit next to her. Hilda unfortunately, didn't have the uniform that the other members of 141 had, simply because her spares were at the Monastery. Byleth knew that she wanted to keep Hilda in and so would give her the beginners uniform. Or if she advanced fast enough, give her the intermediate ones that Claude, Leonie and Lysithea wore. The most she could do was put gravity hexes on Hilda's spare academy uniform to maximise her training. She was adjusting well to them, but could tell it was wearing her down.

"Right. Let's start with the positives." Byleth said, looking over to Hilda. "You are really strong. Despite your small stature, you have a lot of power behind your swings. But then there's your fighting style. You go in charging, putting all your power into one swing. Now normally, you wouldn't have to worry about this since all you've fought are bandits and training with knights, but if you're coming with the Task Force, then you'll be dealing with foes who know how to fight. And that style you have just isn't going to cut it."

She then stood up and walked to the middle of the field and opened her arms. "Come at me. Try and hit me. What we did before was merely me testing your strength, now I want you to try and land a blow."

Hilda looked down at her training axe and then back at Byleth. She knew better than to underestimate the Mercenary, considering as far as she knew, none of the students have been able to hit her. But… she did ask for it, so she may as well oblige. So she readied her axe and charged towards Byleth.

"Here I come Professor, get ready!"

But then she found very quickly that she was about to have a bad time. First, her attack didn't even connect, as Byleth sidestepped out of the way. Then she stamped on Hilda's foot and thrusted her hand in her face, before yanking the axe out of her grasp and side sweeping Hilda causing her to fall to the ground on her back and then an axe pointed directly at her face. All in the span of a few seconds.

"What… what just happened?"

"You're putting too much emphasis on the power behind your swing. Like I said, good against people who don't know how to fight. Bad for people who do. Also, you're acting a lot more irrationally than before."

Hilda just huffed and crossed her arms. "Well, I lost one of my closest family members this week, so I'm still not fully over that. I mean come on, what would you be like if your own dad was killed in front of you?"

Before Byleth could answer, her vision started fizzing out as a voice sounded in her head.

"It looks like… I'm going to have to leave you now."

But then her vision returned to normal and she clutched at her head and hissed in pain, feeling a severe headache form which caught Hilda's attention. "Are… you okay, Professor?"

"I'm fine." Byleth replied and helped up her student before stepping back and tossing her coat away, Hilda jumping as the sound it made when it hit the ground scared her. "Tell me, how good are you at hand to hand combat?"

"Well… I know the basics. But I'm guessing I won't do too good with the people that we'll be fighting, will we?"

Byleth smiled and shook her head. "Not for now. But I'm sure I can get you to a level where you could defend yourself without an axe. Not to mention you'll need mental training too in order to focus in a fight. But for now, we shall start with your stance. Copy what I'm doing."

Hilda watched Byleth slowly sink down into a stance that looked pretty simple to do. Turn to the side, bend your knees, keep your right hand level to your face, put your left fist by your side. Simple.

So she did exactly that as Byleth walked up to her and placed her hands on her shoulders, pulling her back slightly. "Straighten your spine. So you look more confident in your actions."

And she grabbed Hilda's right hand and held it in place. "Keep it steady. Don't be loose. Treat every battle like it's your life. Because one day, it might be just that."

Byleth then nudged her student's right foot a little more forward as Hilda was starting to feel uncomfortable as her body moved in a way it never has before as Byleth observed it once more before nodding to herself. "It's a start. Once we're back at the Monastery, we can do a lot more training. I hope you're ready, because you'll be needing a lot of catching up."

"Ah, my dear Hilda is growing up! It really brings a tear to my eye…"

Both women looked behind them to see Claude approaching, giving his trademark smirk. He had fully recovered yesterday along with Leonie and was able to walk about freely. Aside from a couple of scars on his arm, he didn't have any lasting damage.

"Gonna be honest, I never thought I would see the day that you would be training with us." Leonie piped in as unlike Claude, she had some noticeable scars on her hands and wrists, almost like lightning marks formed on them from when she pulled out the Sword of the Creator. "How is it treating you so far?"

"Clothes… too… heavy…" Hilda grunted, now struggling to stay in the stance as the gravity hexes were now taking its toll on her. Lysithea just rolled her eyes and folded her arms.

"I hope that if you are joining us, then you take it seriously. Professor Byleth won't let you pull off your excuses, I hope you know that."

And that's when Hilda collapsed onto the ground as the weight took its toll. "How long do I… have to wear this?"

"Until I say so." Byleth replied which made Hilda's eyes almost pop out of her head. But the Mercenary was already walking away towards the carriages taking them home. "You wished to do this, so do not expect me to go easy on you. You'll be given the full extent of the training back at the Monastery, so consider this a test run."

Hilda slowly planted her face into the dirt and let out some words that weren't very befitting for a lady of her status. Claude just kneeled down and extended a hand to help her up but slowly leaned forward and lowered his voice.

"You okay? I know you're trying to keep your mind off it but-"

"I'm fine." Hilda replied, dusting her clothes and folded her arms. "It hurts… but I need to try and move forward… right?"

Leonie and Lysithea looked at each other, before the former stepped forward. "It's okay to grieve, Hilda. I know Professor Byleth would allow you to do so."

Hilda closed her eyes and struggled to keep her tears at bay, but gave a bright smile that unfortunately looked very fake. "Don't worry about me guys. Really! I'm fine. I'd rather focus on the training and I'm sure Holsty wouldn't want me wallowing in pain anyway. Now come on, let's get going already so I can get out of this filthy uniform!"

Before anyone could stop her, she ran off in the same direction that Byleth went as the rest of the Golden Deer joined up. Lorenz had a deep frown on his face as he shook his head.

"The poor girl is torturing herself. She should properly grieve."

"She didn't even cry during the funeral… ever since, she's just been training non stop." Raphael muttered, scratching his head. "I mean, I like training a lot, but even I know when to take breaks."

That's when Hanneman stepped forward and sighed. "Everyone deals with grief in their own way. She's merely trying to distract herself from it. Give her some time, and eventually she will be back to her normal self. She just needs a good moment to let it all out."

Claude hadn't said anything. He just looked in the direction she ran off in and clenched his fist. This was his fault. He should've done something, anything, to try and help save Holst. If this was a normal school year, he would've had plenty of back up plans.

…But he was learning very quickly just how out of his league he was. None of his plans worked. Because this was stuff he has never even heard of before, much less try and plan against. Sometimes he just felt useless.

But maybe there was something he could do. A plan that would definitely work. So he turned to his class and gave his trademark grin.

"Leave it to me guys. I'll make sure Hilda has a good cry before we're home. And then she will be back to the lazy girl we all know and love."

"I just hope that we don't encounter anymore excitement." Ignatz said, pushing his glasses up. "Or better yet, leave it up to you guys. I know when it's time to step back."

"Yeah, I need to train up my muscles for next time." Raphael grinned, thumping his chest. "Can't exactly be a Knight if I can't protect myself, right?"

"Then train with us!" Lysithea screeched, having been driven insane by his naïve views. "You could be so much stronger! I'm more stronger than you! I'm like ten of you! You could be so much more!"

"Yeah… but meditating is boring!" Raphael replied.

Lysithea just stuttered and tried to formulate a response as blood rushed down her nose which concerned Leonie.

"Are you… okay?"

"I'm fine… just… had an aneurysm from sheer stupidity."

"Wow. Didn't realise you were that stupid Lysithea." Claude grinned.

…

The scream that came out of the mouth of Lysithea could be heard for miles as birds scattered from fright. In other villages and towns people looked up from what they were doing and wondered what in the world that sound was.

"Well, despite what had happened, it was nice to have met you Byleth." Judith said, shaking her hand as she smiled. "If you ever need help, you know where to find me."

"Won't you come with us?" Byleth asked. "You could become part of the Task Force and help."

"Tempting offer, but my place is here." Judith replied with a smile. "But hey. You keep a good eye on the boy for me, got it? He did very good the other day and it's all thanks to you. And feel free to visit at any point, I'd love to have a beer with you."

"Thank you, I feel the same way." Byleth smiled back, and looked at the students approaching. "I hope you are able to do what's best for the Alliance."

"So do I. Let's just hope that this is the last case of excitement for a while."

"Believe me, I feel the same way."

Later on in the night at Garreg Mach…

"Why, aren't you all blooming perfectly?"

Flayn hummed to herself as she was busy tending to a set of flowers in the greenhouse. She loved doing this in her spare time, especially at night. She felt like the moon made them shine in a way the sun couldn't. Though no doubt Seteth would not approve of her avoiding curfew to pick flowers. Not like he had approved of her doing anything that she wanted to do.

They weren't on the best of terms right now as she had a huge argument with him earlier because he kept getting in the way when she was trying to make friends.

"Oh well, at least you all can be my friends, right?" She said, talking to the flowers. "I'm sure my brother wouldn't have anything to say about you."

Flayn then leaned down and inhaled their scent, sighing happily. "Amazing… I'm amazed on how the greenhouse has changed in the course of a few months. It was barely tended to before Miss Byleth showed up… perhaps I could give her some flowers when she gets back?"

She nodded to herself and then giggled. "Oh silly Flayn. There you go talking to yourself again. And you wonder why people find you odd. But I suppose one must do what they can to keep a sense of tranquility around here."

But then Flayn froze when a distant memory came back to her. A land of ruin and destruction everywhere. And at the centre of it was a loud chilling scream with overflowing power. But she quickly shook her head and took a few deep breathes.

"Stay calm… stay calm…"

But suddenly, her senses skyrocketed when she heard footsteps coming from behind her. Those weren't Seteth's boots. It sounded like armour… but the guards shouldn't be here-

"You are coming with me."

Flayn slowly turned around and was face to face with the Death Knight who had blocked the exit as a way to prevent her from leaving. She slowly narrowed her eyes and stood up, clasping her hands together. "I-I am not afraid of you… I know how to fight. So please leave so we do not have to do things we will regret."

"Oh? You wish to fight? Hmm… I have heard a lot about you… let's see if what they say is true."

The Death Knight slowly moved forward towards Flayn with his scythe at his side as she tried to find a way out. But she was trapped as the Death Knight swung at her and she barely dodged with a few of her hair ends being cut off. Any closer and it would have been her head.

She had no choice. She had to fight as she charged at the knight and punched him, but found it did no damage. The Death Knight just stared down at where she punched him and shook his head.

"Is that all you can do? How disappointing. I will allow you one more free shot."

Gritting her teeth, and trying her best to stay calm, Flayn brought her hands forward and unleashed a magic spell heading towards him. But it bounced off his armour and dissipated into the air. The Death Knight wasn't sure if this was some kind of joke she was playing, but he wasn't in the mood for games. So he walked forward more and noticed the flowers that she had been taking care of and decided to stamp on them, as if to rub in her face that she was completely outclassed.

"Pathetic… I grow bored of this. It is time to go."

But he then noticed Flayn trembling and at first thought it was in fear. But then he saw a green aura surrounding her and when Flayn lifted her head, it was a look of pure rage. Her eyes had slits in them too as her fists clenched as lightning started crackling around her fists.

"You… ruined… the flowers. You're… making me… angry. You wouldn't like me… when I'm angry!"

Well, this was interesting. Under his helmet, the Death Knight grinned and leaned forward to Flayn. "Show me."

With a loud roar that he honestly never expected to come out of her, Flayn charged forward and delivered a hard blow to the Death Knight's chest, which completely shattered his chest plate and threw him to the floor. The force of the punch broke every window in the greenhouse and left him winded, and clutching his chest. But that would be the least of his problems as Flayn gave off an incredible power before him, and he saw something forming on her face… it looked like… scales? Just who was this girl?!

But before either of them could do anything, Flayn froze when a needle made its way into her neck and a sedative was drugged into her system.

She slowly fell out of her transformed state and onto her knees, trying to stay awake but soon found her eyes closing and drifting off into an unconscious state.

The Death Knight slowly picked himself up and caught his breath before looking at Solon disguised as Tomas and holding a syringe. "I did not need your help…"

"You must never underestimate the rage of Saint Cethleann." Solon said, disposing of the syringe by throwing it away. "It will be your undoing. She is much more powerful than her innocent persona would have you believe. Now that we have the girl, you must lay out the trap. Kronya will be here soon to enact her part of the plan, so don't screw it up!"

"I will carry out the orders given to me by Thales." The Death Knight growled, looking over Solon and making the man cower in fear. "But I am not your puppet. And you are not my master. Are we clear?"

"C-C-Crystal! Now hurry! Before the guards come!"

The Death Knight chose to not reply and grabbed Flayn by the ankle and dragged her away from the scene. Solon looked around and saw the destruction caused in the greenhouse and shook his head.

"We should've killed her… she's a danger to everyone. But if this is his orders, then we shall obey."

Meanwhile, the merry band of carriages all rode through the night with Byleth laying on top of a carriage with her hands behind her head staring up at the night sky. It felt like that's all she had done this week, was stare up and think. Then again, what else could she do? She was fully prepared to keep her distance and let people grieve but Hilda insisted on starting training right away.

"Yo, Teach. Got a minute?"

She looked down beside her to see Claude slowly walking next to her carriage before hoisting himself up. "Sorry, just felt like I needed someone to talk to rather than stewing in my own thoughts, you know?"

"Is this about Hilda?"

"Heh, you know me rather well, don't you, Teach?" Claude said looking up to the night sky. "Yeah, I'm worried about her. I know she's hurting inside, and I think the fact she didn't cry at the funeral is evidence that she's hurting herself. Like she hasn't given herself enough time to grieve, you hear me?"

"Yeah… Claude I can't really give you advice on this matter." Byleth replied as her tail swung about freely. "All I can say is to be there for her when she needs it. I do agree with you when I say she's trying to move on too soon, but everyone deals with grief differently."

"I was thinking you would say that, but thanks for the advice." Claude smiled, giving a thumbs up. "Well, I best get back to my carriage and try and get some shut eye. After all, we have training to do for the upcoming Battle of the Eagle and Lion."

Byleth wasn't sure what he meant by that but decided to ask more about it later as he hopped off the roof and went to his own carriage before opening the door and crawling inside.

"Hey Hilda, sorry about leaving you like that." Claude started to say as he sat next to his classmate. "Was just talking to Teach about stuff and-"

He blinked in surprise when he found Hilda threw herself into his arms and nuzzled into his shoulder before he heard the muffled sounds of her sobs. He sighed to himself and slowly hugged her.

'Well, seems she finally decided to let her barriers down.'

"Claude… I miss him so much…" Hilda whimpered as she let the tears she had been holding back since the funeral flow freely. Claude just simply kept her in his arms.

"I know… I'm glad you're letting it out."

"I tried to be strong…"

"I know. But at least once you have managed to properly grieve, you can move on more easily."

Hilda sniffled and smiled lightly before leaning up and pecking him on the cheek. "Thanks Claude."

"Anytime Hil. Anytime." Claude replied and just let her stay there.

"Is everything okay Sothis? You've been quiet."

Byleth was still laying on top of the carriage and saw Sothis appear before her who had a deep frown. 'I'm simply thinking to myself… I feel like my memories are coming back yet at the same time they feel so far away. It's like I'm holding sand in my hand, the more I tighten my grip, the more that slips away.'

"Well, can you tell me anything at all?" Byleth asked, sitting up and watched as Sothis sat next to her.

'It's fuzzy… but I remember someone that I called a dear friend. Though I don't remember her name, I know that she was a very busy person and we were able to have tea just once. Though I can't recall the events, I do know I was happy… and then I remembered going through a similar training program that your students are going through. And I learned a powerful technique, but… due to not having a physical form, I am unable to use it. I believe it was called Kaio… Kaio…'

"Kaio-Ken?"

'Yes! That's what it was!' Sothis yelled, but then looked at Byleth with a quizzical expression. 'That reminds me. You told me that name before, yet I never mentioned it before. So how did you see that in your visions?'

"I'm… not sure." Byleth replied. "All I remember is using it in battle. How far along in the future it is, I cannot say. The only indication I have is that I had green hair."

'Green? How curious… well, let's add that to the list of questions that we have.'

Both looked at a field that they were passing and saw a beautiful clearing. The Alliance truly had beautiful plains that stretched far and wide. It looked like a good place to train.

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through Byleth's head as the scenery before her shifted. From a calm and peaceful night, to a burning inferno with dark clouds blocking out the moon and fire as far as the eye can see. And then she saw herself. Sword in hand and standing before a looming dark figure who… had a sword similar to hers.

But like a bad dream, it was gone as soon as she blinked. The scenery was back to normal, as it always was. She slowly rubbed her head and felt the pain slowly fade away.

'What… was that?'

Byleth looked to her side to see Sothis also rubbing her head. In the same spot. "You… saw that too?"

'The burning hellscape? Yes. And I saw you, with green hair. But who were you fighting…'

"Sothis, you saw what I've been seeing for a while!" Byleth exclaimed. "The visions that I have been receiving! You can see them now too! Perhaps you could help me make sense of them?"

Sothis slowly smiled and pumped her fist. 'You're right! Perhaps we will get those answers someday. Now that both of us are able to help one another much more efficiently. But that one we just saw… I hope that this isn't something that is destined to happen.'

The next morning, Byleth was roused awake by two things. The glaring light from the sun and also the loud rumblings from her stomach. She was super hungry. But luckily for her, Garreg Mach was but a few minutes away. She could already taste what was to come! Rice, pasta, bread, fish, pork, chicken-

'Would you stop thinking about food?!' Sothis yelled while folding her arms. 'It's quite rude to do stuff like that next to someone who can't eat in the first place!'

"I'm sorry, but I haven't had a proper meal for a day."

The spirit just groaned loudly and massaged her temples before giving a look to Byleth. 'Shouldn't you check up on the students before you-'

She didn't even get to finish her sentence. As soon as they stopped just outside of the town, Byleth jumped off of the carriage that she was on and full on sprinted towards the canteen as Sothis sighed in defeat.

'I give up…'

Meanwhile, Claude was already awake and saw Byleth run towards the Monastery and chuckled to himself. "Well, I guess if anyone deserves a feast, it's Teach."

But then he noticed how Hilda was still sleeping on his shoulder and gently nudged her to rouse the girl. "Hey Hilda. Time to wake up. We're here."

"Mmmmm, five more minutes…"

Claude shook his head and then had an idea as he gently pushed her up so she was slightly suspended before going to lean on his shoulder again… only to be met with nothing but air which caused her to panic as she shrieked loudly, all sense of sleep gone.

That's when Hilda realised Claude moved out of the way and rubbed her eyes while glaring. "I will remember that."

"Hey, at least we're here now." Claude replied, but gave a soft smile. "You all good?"

"…I think so. I really needed that cry. For the first time in a week, my head feels clearer and it's like I can finally breathe. Thanks Claude, for letting me do that."

Claude gave a thumbs up in response and winked. "You just make sure you're back to the Hilda I know and love."

There was a moments silence as Claude wondered if he said something wrong until Hilda leaned forward with a smirk. "So you love me?"

…Oh dammit.

"Now, I didn't mean it like that-"

"But you just said you wanted the Hilda you knew and loved!" Hilda exclaimed and leaned backwards pretending to swoon. "Oh Claude, I never realised you felt this way towards me! Why, it's all so overwhelming! What will all the Lords think?!"

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up Hilda." Claude shook his head and kept his smile. "It's good to have you back."

Hilda slowly nodded and opened the door. "Well, I'm not fully back, am I? After all, can't be lazy if I'm to be in 141 with you, right?"

"Right, we have to let the others know about that."

"EEEEEEEHHHHHHH?! HILDA'S JOINING US?!"

The Black Eagles and Blue Lions segment of 141 were all in collective shock as they looked at Hilda who was sheepishly rubbing the back of her head. Edelgard stepped forward and looked over her clothes and saw the familiar gravity runes on the stitching of her uniform.

"I suppose the Professor had gotten you started right away. And how are you adjusting to it Hilda?"

"Well, on the arm region I can handle it fine." Hilda replied. "It's just like holding a really big axe, you know? But everywhere else? I feel like I want to die."

Dimitri silently chuckled to himself and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You'll adjust in time. After all, you must be full of potential if the Professor took you on."

But then the mood turned somber as they all remembered the news of what happened as Ashe stepped forward. "Hilda, I'm really sorry-"

"Guys. It's fine."

They all looked surprised at Hilda who leaned into Claude. "Like… yeah, it sucks. Like REALLY sucks. But these things happen, especially giving his status. But I can't be caught up in the past. And even though I'm training and trying to be what Holsty wanted me to be. It still doesn't change the fact that I want him back."

"At least you are keeping him in your memories, that's a good thing." Edelgard replied, smiling. "Well then, I suppose we should welcome you into our Task Force."

"So, where will I start? Will I be working on the greenhouse like you guys did?"

That's when the Golden Deer noticed the looks that their other houses were giving as Claude stepped forward. "What's up?"

"…A lot has happened while you were gone." Edelgard said and was about to continue when Caspar jumped in.

"Some dastard broke the greenhouse!"

This caught Claude, Leonie and Lysithea by surprise. "What? How?"

Edelgard glared at Caspar for interrupting as Annette spoke up playing with her hands anxiously. "We're not sure. We were going to begin this morning's training with Professor Jeralt and Miss Shamir, but we found the greenhouse was completely ruined!"

"We are still having no clue on who is the culprit." Petra said, looking to the side. "I am having a bad feeling down in my gut."

"Seriously? Sheesh, that's too bad." Claude muttered, scratching his head. "Sorry Hilda, looks like the training will have to wait."

"And on top of that, we've had a classmate short this entire time." Edelgard said.

"Really? How so?"

"Bernadetta has locked herself in her room. Usually it's typical behaviour but this is to a brand new extreme. She hasn't left period. Not even at night to sneak some food. She says she doesn't deserve it. Whatever that means."

"It's awful." Annette continued, shaking her head. "Mercie and I leave stuff at her door and that manages to do the trick. But I wonder what's eating her up like this."

"I have a theory in mind…" Edelgard muttered to herself which Claude and Dimitri heard. And they had theories of their own. In Claude's case, this lined up far too well with the events that happened. "We were hoping the Professor would let her see sense."

"…Where is she anyway?"

SLURP! GULP! CRUNCH!

'…'

"This is so tasty…"

'Byleth.'

Byleth stared up from her bowl with noodles hanging out of her mouth to see Sothis looking at her with a very annoyed look. 'Aren't you forgetting something?'

"…Oh of course, I forgot the pepper."

'BERNADETTA! I MEANT BERNADETTA!' Sothis screamed loudly which caused Byleth to start choking on the noodles she swallowed, but a few hits to the best managed to dislodge the noodles and blinked.

"I feel like that was a mistake… but you're right! I need to see her!"

Byleth panted as she had full on sprinted towards the dorms after realising what she had forgotten about and slowed down to a walk once in front of the door of the student she wanted to see. And to her surprise she saw Jeralt standing there as he turned around.

"Oh, hey kid. I didn't know you were back so suddenly. How are you feeling?"

Before she could say that she was fine, a sudden flash of that vision of him dying appeared before her eyes and much to the shock of Jeralt, hugged him and buried her face in his chest.

"Hey Byleth, what's gotten into you?" Jeralt asked but then felt her start to shiver as his shirt was starting to feel a little damp. "Are you… crying?"

"…I think so." She then pulled away and rubbed her eyes. "I'm sorry. I think seeing Hilda lose her brother and just the stress of this week-"

"Byleth… this is the first time I have ever seen you cry." Jeralt whispered as Byleth looked up at him. "It's strange but also… exciting to see you show emotions. Even if the circumstances aren't exactly cheerful. But yeah, we heard all about what had happened. And I heard about you training Hilda from the Golden Deer. Quite a nice pick, I've seen her potential."

That's when he grunted to himself and pulled out a flask from his shirt pocket. "But I think I can guess why you're here. She's been in here ever since she got back. Hasn't left at all, which is usually typical behaviour but it's affecting her health."

"There's more than that." Byleth said, pulling out a bottle of strange liquid. "She was attacked during the fight, and I'm willing to bet that she hasn't gotten her injury seen to. No response?"

Jeralt shook his head, and scratched at his beard after taking a swig. "Nothing intelligible. Just keeps yammering how everyone is going to kill her and that she doesn't deserve anything. I've tried getting through to her but no luck. But hey, maybe she'll respond better to you. I got to see about this greenhouse incident anyway."

"What? What happened to the greenhouse?!"

"I'll tell you later. For now, go and see to her."

Byleth nodded and watched Jeralt walk away before clutching the bottle in her hand. It was a bottle of Vulnery mixed with Aloe Vera. And it was needed for her as she knocked on the door.

"Go away!" Bernadetta screamed, almost hysterically. "I didn't mean to! I don't want to die!"

"Bernie. It's me."

"…Professor? Oh no, I knew this day would come… well, I suppose I should face my death now. I can't escape you of all people even though I don't want to die. I only ask that you ask Dedue to look after my plants and to tell Hilda that I'm sorry and-"

"I'm not here to kill you." Byleth replied, already feeling a headache make it's way forward as silence followed.

"You're here to torture me?!"

…Oh good lord…

"Bernadetta, can you please just open the door?"

"Oh no, you used my full first name! You're really mad… but I suppose that I must accept my punishment now. No point in trying to hide anymore…"

A few more seconds passed before Byleth heard a click and that meant that the door had been unlocked. She just hoped she could snap this girl out of this state as she slowly opened the door and closed it behind her before wrinkling her nose in disgust.

The room was a complete mess. Books thrown everywhere, clothes littered all over the floor, and the smell. It was the smell of a mess that has not been tidied up and no fresh air has been let in for a while. On top of that, there was no candlelight so the room was mostly dark.

But she could see a lone figure sitting on the bed, wrapped up in a blanket and clutching her arm. It was Bernadetta. And she looked even worse than her room. Her hair was a lot messier than usual and dark bags were under her eyes, presumably from lack of sleep. Dried tear streaks were on her face too as she looked like she had been crying for quite a while. The puffy red eyes were evidence of this too. But what was most worrying was how frail she looked. She didn't look like she had been eating at all. This was very bad, Byleth should've gotten here sooner.

But she knew to treat Bernadetta like a lost animal. So she kneeled down and held out a hand. "Let me see your arms."

"…I don't want to. I should keep this injury. It's what I deserve."

"Bernie, please. I want to help you. But first, you have to help me."

Bernadetta looked to the side but slowly pulled her arm out of the blanket and showed it to Byleth who lit a candle to get a better look. And it wasn't good at all.

A severe burn mark on her arm.

From a Ki blast.

She sighed softly and inspected it. The foolish girl hadn't got it treated, and now it was starting to show signs of infection. "You silly girl. Why didn't you get this looked at?"

"Because I didn't think I deserved it. I failed you Professor, I failed Hilda, I failed everyone-"

"You saved Hilda's life." Byleth said, pouring some of the aloe vera Vulnery on the wound and watched Bernadetta hiss in pain at the contact before Byleth grabbed some gauze. "We can't save everyone Bernie. A lesson I myself had to learn as well. And you stopped Legion from harming anyone by keeping him back at times."

"But-"

"No buts. Now I can tell you for certain that nobody hates you. They're all just confused on why you've been locking yourself in your room more than usual. I can tell your class are really worried about you."

Bernadetta looked down at her feet as Byleth kept dressing her wound and looked back at the Mercenary. "They… are?"

"Mhm. Now we are going to stop this self loathing and you're going to get something to eat. And you're going to Professor Manuela to get this properly looked at. This is just to try and help you with the pain."

Byleth then stood up once she was done and turned to leave before Bernadetta stopped her. "Wait Professor! I need to ask you something!"

But then she shrunk back and bowed her head. "I'm sorry… I shouldn't have yelled…"

But Byleth didn't say anything. Only turned her head and nodded for her to continue. And after taking a deep breath, Bernadetta continued.

"I think… I want to join the others when it comes to training. Silly old Bernie can't be useful when she's training in her room all the time, right? So… I am ready to join the others now… I am your student still, right?"

Byleth smiled and gave a nod. "Of course you are. But first, you get yourself something to eat and take care of yourself. And go and see that your wound is taken care of."

"R-Right! Thanks Professor!"

With that, Byleth exited the room and sighed. At least something good came out of all of this. Finally Bernadetta was seeing sense and that meant that she would finally do her training with the others. There was only so much progress she could make on her own before she hit a ceiling.

But she then looked to the Church and hummed in thought. "It's probably wise to report to the Archbishop on what happened. No doubt she heard of what happened. But why does the air feel… strange around here?"

"I am glad to see you returned safely, my child. I heard of your endeavours. It seems I was right to entrust you with the sword. You have mastered it." Rhea began after Byleth walked in. She looked down and closed her eyes and shook her head. "Though unfortunately, it appears that the Goddess wasn't as kind to General Holst. It's truly a tragedy that he had been taken from us."

She then sighed and clasped her hands. "But we must press on. I only hope his soul finds peace. The Alliance will be handling this investigation, though I imagine you will be called into questioning when time passes. But, I have a new task for you-"

"Lady Rhea- Archbishop!"

The doors swung open as Seteth came rushing in, with sweat pouring down his face and with the look of a madman on his face.

It unnerved the two women to see him like this and Rhea asked what was troubling him with a concerned look.

"Flayn is missing! I cannot find her anywhere!" Seteth exclaimed which shocked Byleth when he turned towards her.

"Miss Byleth, have you seen Flayn recently?"

Byleth shook her head, worried about this new development. "I'm sorry, but no. I just arrived back this morning, I haven't seen her anywhere."

"I have searched everywhere for her! Oh, where in the world could she be?" Seteth was now panicking as various scenarios ran through his mind. "She could be in danger! Or worse! Oh no… oh, what am I going to do?!"

"Calm yourself, Seteth." Rhea said with a firm tone in her voice, before turning to Byleth. "I believe your task has just changed. I would ask you to give us some time to gather evidence before returning. With this revelation and the greenhouse being destroyed, I fear it is not a mere coincidence. I will call on you when the time comes."

Byleth slowly nodded and left the room, trying to ignore Seteth's panicked ramblings as Sothis appeared, rubbing her chin.

'Who was Flayn again… oh yes! Seteth's little sister! Such a spry young girl, yet… I sense something familiar about her.'

"She is also the one with the unstable Ki." Byleth replied, walking to her room with an uneasy look in her eyes. "If she has truly gone missing, then we might have a problem if she snaps. We need to find her. And fast."

'I agree. I just hope the poor girl is okay…'

"Never a quiet day…"

'Indeed…'

Alright, so with that, we are finally done with the Legion arc. Next chapter will be on the Death Knight and looking for Flayn. Yeah, quite a plot heavy chapter in my opinion. For those who are worried that Hilda is just gonna move on, don't worry. This isn't the last time we'll be seeing of Hilda struggling mentally. But a cry is a good start.

We also have Sothis starting to remember more about her past, as well as sharing the visions that Byleth gets from her future self. But it seems a certain villain is making his way into the future. I have plans for him.

I managed to commission some art for this story! It's done by the ever so lovely budgie_qm on Twitter, and we have art of Byleth in this story as well as Sothis and Chronoa sharing tea which I will provide links for in the description down below. I'll be looking for more artists to try and commission stuff, so if you guys know any artists that you like, feel free to suggest and I'll check them out. I have an idea for my next commission involving a certain fish lady.

So Flayn has a familiar power doesn't she? My inspiration for Flayn having this power will be explored later on, but it ties into her dragon heritage. Surprise to nobody because I painted it so clear, Bernadetta is part of the Task Force. So that's all the positions filled. Keep in mind, I chose these guys because of how well they performed in my runs. But there is one spot open for somebody.

And for people asking for the Ashen Wolves, they'll come in later, do not worry.

We have passed 75 favourites and passed 90 followers on this story! Seriously, it means a lot guys that you take the time to read this. And the reviews are helpful too. I have so many plans for Byleth that reaches far beyond just this.

So please, join me for next chapter where we will be going into the next arc with a nice twist. See you guys then!

Saiyan Byleth: https /twitter budgie_qm/status/1348263929638645761?s=21

Sothis and Chronoa: https /twitter budgie_qm/status/1355044142020087810?s=21

Sorry if this chapter looks rough, the app I am forced to use isn't easy at all and really testing my patience. If this keeps up I might have to swap to AO3.