Chapter Text
"Phew, that was a fight, Sis!"
"Indeed, Brother."
The twins sit in the dining hall and watch Raphael and Dedue armwrestle. Both bet on the blonde Deer.
Both lose.
"Out of curiosity, the tricks Claude pulled, it was you or..."
"Claude. You?"
"Hubert. Your boss's schemes sure backfired."
"Claude has a mercenary's mindset: anything is fair in love and war. He just needs to learn to better assess the situation."
"And account for nasty surprises. As that fight demonstrated, the other Houses are equally capable of sucker punches... and some actions have consequences."
Byleth stifles a laugh. Sure, they are in the same house, but seeing Edelgard give him the mother of all beatings was still funny, especially the face he made before running away.
"Still." Balan stretches. "You have a point: anything is fair in love and war. That fight was three-way. Him turning on the Black Eagles when we got within reach was legit. A shame the Blue Lions chose that moment to pounce."
Byleth looks down. She had taken Dimitri as a straightforward, honest man with a hidden propencity for violence. She had caught his discussion with Edelgard afterward. She'd been right about his character. Rather, it had been Taylor she'd misread. As always, her brother reads her thoughts.
"I still can't get over the fact she's just an untrained civilian. I mean, she had a genuine panic attack when we entered the dining hall, and she didn't lie about her past, but I still can't help but think there's something else about her. Something off. She's hiding things from us."
"Stating the obvious, Brother. We press her for answers?"
Balan frowns, calculating. Eventually, he nods.
"Tomorrow, after classes. We ask to talk in private and get her to spill the truth. She'll be weak and isolated, vulnerable. We'll have the upper hand."
Byleth nods.
5/01
As soon as classes have ended, they ask Taylor to meet them in private. They gather in an empty room on the second floor. There Balan leans against the closed door while Byleth crosses her arms. In Taylor's defense, she picks up fast, her gaze going from puzzled to focused. Her body is tense, as if she's ready to spring. The twins know she is in no shape to fight.
"I should have known." She spits. "I truly can't trust anyone. And here I thought we were friends..."
Betrayal, Balan recognizes. He remembers one of her murderers used to be her best friend. He does feel guilty, but he and his sister need answers. If trust is the price, then so be it. They can be sorry once they know they're safe.
They are minutes away from learning they are not.
"Big words coming from someone with a past as mysterious as yours." Byleth retorts. "Who are you, truly? And don't say you are just a civilian. You're not. No ordinary civilian can fight us to a standstill, much less for several minutes. I want to know what you are. Answer and we may let you leave in one piece."
Taylor glares.
"Open that door and you get to leave alive."
"You are in no position to make threats." His sister retorts. "Your body is still weak. You have no weapon and no magic. You have no way to fight. So, start talking."
"Or else?"
"Or Balan starts to throw fists."
Taylor quirks a grin. Chuckles.
"Cute. Try and they will never find your corpses." Her eyes narrow. "Because I won't leave any."
For a brief moment, the twins think she's not bluffing. They decide she is. There's no way she could possibly stand against the two of them if they decide to get serious.
Wait, is it them or is there a buzzing in the air?
The door opens violently and Balan stumbles against a table. The three students turn to see Khelos, Seteth and Jeralt. Khelos is hauling a massive warhammer.
"What are you two doing?" He growls, and his voice is deep-enough to send a shiver down their spine.
Byleth, as always, is the first to recover.
"We are getting the truth out of Taylor. Enough of her lies. She is more than a mere civilian and we all know it."
Khelos shakes his head.
"You two have no idea what you're doing. This, right there, is about the worst thing you could do to her."
"That doesn't answer our question."
And her tone makes clear she is ready to draw her sword. Khelos crosses his arms and glances at Seteth. The green-haired professor is giving them his sternest face. Their father, meanwhile, looks disappointed.
"You won't give up until you know the truth, uh, brat?"
Brat, not kid.
"I won't."
Taylor looks nervously at her caretaker. When he opens his mouth, she warns him.
"If you tell them my secret, I'm telling yours."
Balan still can't tell if she's bluffing or not.
"Taylor can control bugs."
"Khelos can transform into a dragon-turtle."
And... she wasn't bluffing. Hold on, they said what!?
The Eisners turn to the pair. Seteth just looks exasperated.
"You got careless, Brother. Letting her see your transformed state..."
"I helped her hone her power. It is only fair that she was privy to mine, though our knowledge only extends to our respective powers. We don't know each other's past and, until one of us broaches the topic, it will remain off the table.
Byleth has quickly put two and two together.
"A draconic turtle by Lake Teutates... You're the Immovable, the Keeper of the Lake!"
"Indeed I am, child. And Taylor didn't lie about her past. She truly is a mere civilian. It's just that, during the attempt on her life, she gained the power to control bugs and sense through them. When I tore her from that metallic box, it was filled with human waste, a lot of it spoiled blood. Between this and the fact it had landed in Lake Teutates, the cold was freezing her. I had to..."
He hesitates. Eventually, he looks at her ward.
"Secret for secret. If you are willing to tell us about your origins, I am willing to do the same. What do you say, little one?"
Taylor isn't exactly little, but she doesn't miss the fondness in her caretaker's voice.
"Alright. Deal. Just... believe me, okay? I know it's going to be hard."
"I could tell you the same about us." Khelos sighs. "Rhea, Seteth, Flayn and I belong to a race of dragon-shifters called the Children of the Goddess - or, to use the name we gave ourselves, the Nabateans. Ages ago, our sworn enemies the Agarthans killed our projenitor and crafted a sword from her bones. They gave that sword to a bandit who used its power to slaughter us all. Only a handful of us survived. We gathered an army and avenged our brethrens, but we still had to go into hiding in case our enemies went looking for us again. I hid in Lake Teutates, peddling my trade as a blacksmith or a fisherman. Rhea became the archbishop of the Church of Seiros."
Seteth looks away. Obviously, he isn't happy with their secret being out, but that does mean learning Taylor's own. The girl hums.
"Uh, I figured you belong to a different species. You all have green hair and eyes and pointy ears. I didn't know about the genocide part, though. No wonder you lay low."
"It goes further than that." Khelos says softly. "Our blood has power. Just like our mother, the Agarthans used the blood, bones and hearts of our slain siblings to craft weapons and empower the bandit's allies. Meanwhile, some humans who sheltered us or offered us assistance received our blood, and thus our power. This is what I did to save you: I gave you my blood, and with it the formidable energy it contains. It was the only way to keep you alive."
Jeralt frowns. Slowly, his eyes widen.
"Crests. And the weapons you're talking about are Relic Weapons. Three hundred years, ago, I was a knight serving Rhea. When I was injured during a battle, she gave me her blood to save my life. It gave me the Crest of Seiros and made me stronger than anyone else. It also increased my lifespan beyond that of a mortal man. What you did to Taylor is the same thing Rhea did to me."
Seteth sighs.
"Since we are at it, I should add that the names we use aren't our real ones. Since you are familiar with the Church's teachings, however, it's going to come as a shock."
The former mercenary snorts.
"Let me guess: Rhea is Seiros, right?"
"Yes. Khelos is also Indech while I am Cichol and Flayn, my daughter, is actually Cethleann."
Jeralt pinches the bridge of his nose.
"Thank you for your honesty. Rhea and I are due a long talk... And somebody owe us her own answers. We have a deal, after all."
Taylor is clearly surprised by the news. Eventually, she sighs between her teeth.
"So, I have not just one but two different powers, from two different sources. God... I'll have to master that one as well. On the bright side, if the thing about extended lifespan is true, I have all the time I want to master the activities I enjoy." She looks at them. "A deal is a deal. You told me about your origins, so I am going to tell you about mine. Please, believe me when I say I am being one hundred percent honest here. Alright?"
"Alright." Everyone agrees.
Taylor breathes. Then, she begins to talk.
"I come from a different world. My world is called Earth Bet, and my hometown is Brockton Bay, in the United States of America. I landed in Fodlan when an insane bomber called Bakuda used a space-warping bomb to *free me* from the locker in which three girls, Emma Barnes, Sophia Hess and Madison Clements, trapped me after filling it with used hygiene products."
...She'd done well to warn them. A different world? Seriously? If she hadn't begged them to believe in her honesty, they would have called her a liar. Khelos raises a brow.
"Uh, that explains a lot. That metal box and its contents looked nothing like I've ever seen, and I've been alive for a long time. What's the rest of the story?"
The girl frowns before beginning to recount.
"On May twentieth, 1982, an ocean liner was crossing from Plymouth to Boston when a passenger spotted him. He was naked, his arms to his sides, his long hair blowing in the wind as he stood in the sky, nearly a hundred feet above the gently cresting waves. His skin and hair can only be described as a burnished gold... He has been known to speak just once in thirty years. After extinguishing widespread fire in Alexandrovsk, he paused to survey the scene and be sure no blazes remained. A reporter spoke to him, and asked, ‘Kto vy?’ – what are you? Shocking the world, caught on camera in a scene replayed innumerable times, he answered in a voice that sounded as though it might never have uttered a sound before. Barely audible, he told her, ‘Scion’. It became the name we used for him. Ironic, because we took a word that meant descendant, and used it to name the first of many superpowered individuals – parahumans – to appear across Earth."
Taylor closes her eyes. Everyone listens.
"Just five years after Scion’s first appearance, the superheroes emerged from the cover of rumor and secrecy to show themselves to the public. Though the villains followed soon after, it was the heroes who shattered any illusions of the parahumans being divine figures. In 1989, attempting to quell a riot over a basketball game in Michigan, the superhero known to the public as Vikare stepped in, only to be clubbed over the head. He died not long after of a brain embolism. The golden age of the parahumans was thus short lived. They were not the deific figures they had appeared to be. Parahumans were, after all, people with powers, and people are flawed at their core."
The way she's speaking, it is clear she is recalling a lesson, or something she'd previously studied. It is enough to allow them to understand.
On top of being a Crest Bearer, Taylor is also a parahuman, and sensing and controling bugs is her power. The power she gained by nearly dying.
"I didn't lie to you about my school. All I said about Winslow, the bullying and everything, it's all true. Before the Locker Incident, I was just an ordinary girl living an ordinary life. Wake up, go to school, be the black sheep, go home... It's just that my world lacks magic and is far ahead of Fodlan in term of technology. We use electricity as a power source, travel thanks to machines, fight with firearms... Compared to us, Fodlan looks almost primitive. But I don't know how to go home and, frankly, I don't want to. I was fine living with Khelos by the lakeside."
Seteth winces.
"In ages past, our mother bestowed the Agarthan with a wealth of knowledge. They used that knowledge to develop weapons they turned on her, only to be wiped out in retaliation. Their survivors engineered our downfall. Ever since, we have been admittedly nervous about technology."
"You fear a repeat. Given you're genocide survivors, that's understandable." Taylor shrugs.
Seteth breathes, visibly grateful. Balan frowns.
"What about your powers? They're the reason you managed to keep up with us, right? How did you do it?"
Taylor looks at Khelos.
"As I said, I can sense through my bugs. The trick is that bug senses are wildly different from humans. Notably, they perceive motion differently. That's why flies are so hard to hit. So, when I told Khelos, he instructed me to put bugs on people's limbs so I'd feel how they move when they fight and react accordingly. The rest came with training. Keeping up with you two wasn't easy and it took a lot out of me, but I could feel how you moved and, thanks to Khelos's lessons, I managed to react properly. Still, I only managed to stall you. Your teamwork was too great. I had no chance to win."
Byleth raises a brow.
"Interesting. Can you turn it off?"
"No." Taylor looks down. "My power doesn't have an off switch. It's constently active, like white noise in the back of my head. I am constently aware of what every bug is doing at any given time anywhere they are. It's also why I *debug* people's rooms to give them some privacy."
Balan pauses.
"Wait, every bug? How many bug can you control at once?"
This time, the girl smiles dangerously. And the twins learn how close they had been from dying.
"All of them, individually, in about three hundred meters. My range tends to expand to four of five hundred in stressful situation. The part about not leaving corpses? I've done it before. A group of bandits was setting the countryside ablaze and made the mistake of camping near our home. Khelos told me to, and I quote, do my worst. So, I gathered every bug within my reach and had them eat the bandits alive. Then, he dumped their bones in the lake. They didn't die screaming. Hard to scream when your lungs are full of bugs."
They know, as a fact, that she is being threatening as retaliation for their betrayal. They don't mind. They deserve it. Still, in the end, Taylor has a point: no matter how good he and his sister are as combattants, they don't stand a chance against a creeping, buzzing swarm out to eat them. Balan kneels.
"I apologize for turning on you and pressing you like that. Byleth and I thought you could be a threat to us and our classmates and decided to find the truth, consequences be damned. While you are powerful, you are no threat to us, not unless we threaten you first. I regret I had to do that."
His words are carefully chosen. That doesn't mean they are meaningless. Byleth doesn't kneel, but she does look away.
"I apologize as well. We needed to find the truth about you to make sure we were safe. We are. You mean us no harm. I regret that it cost us our friendship but, at least, we can sleep knowing you are no threat to us."
Taylor avoid looking at them. Instead, she moves closer to Khelos.
"I understand why you acted like you did and it did give us answers. That doesn't mean your actions hurt. They hurt me a lot."
"We know. We're sorry. If you want nothing to do with us, we'll understand."
The girl hesitates. Khelos puts a hand on her shoulder.
"Forgive them, kid. You kept your secret to protect yourself and they pressed you to defend their people. You all had your reasons to act like you did. Besides, everyone makes mistakes. They apologized and they mean it. That's a good start."
Taylor sighs.
"Fine, you're forgiven. Just, never do it again, alright? I won't be so merciful, next time."
"Noted." Balan shudders. "Death by angry swarm looks bad on a resume, anyway."
As the group leaves, the adults watch the three students discuss.
"Have you two chosen which class to qualify for?" Byleth asks.
Balan grins.
"Fighter all the way. Soldier or Myrmidon for you?"
"Myrmidon. My house doesn't have a dedicated swordsman. Taylor?"
"Well... I hesitate between Soldier and Monk. On one hand, Dimitri, Sylvain and Ingrid are going for it. On the other, Myrmidon is Felix, Dedue and Ashe picked Fighter and Annette and Mercedes chose Monk. What to do?"
"Toss a coin." Balan shrugs. "Head, you pick Monk. Tail, you pick Soldier."
Taylor nods and tosses a coin. The result is...
Somebody wondered how people would react to Taylor's "dark magic". Well, here's your answer. Be careful what you wish for...