"Do you know how long it'll take to reach the castle?" Eliwood asked Jasmine and she paused for a moment before hoisting her bag off her shoulder. She unhooked the flap that closed her bag and she took out her map. She held it in her left hand, for her right was occupied by the bag and she handed it over to Eliwood, who was walking to the right of her. He opened it up, looking down at the trails.

"We're here," she said, pointing to the outskirts of Santeruz, causing Eliwood to nod. "We need to get there," she said, moving her finger by a few inches to the castle.

"Yes, and as quickly as possible…are there any shortcuts?" he asked, glancing over at her and she shrugged.

"They don't really show shortcuts on maps…and I never went to Santeruz much," she said, causing the redheaded lord to frown deeply.

"How long would it take, then, if we take this route?" he asked, trailing his finger along the thin lines on the map while Jasmine was quiet for a moment, doing the mental calculations.

"Two days, including today," she declared with a nod to herself.

"Oh, then I suppose it isn't too bad."

"It isn't," she agreed, gently taking the map back and folding it back up before stuffing it into her bag. She swung it over to her back, looping her arms through the strings, creating a backpack.

"ELIWOOD!" a booming voice came from their right and Hector walked toward them. As he got next to Eliwood, he wrapped his arm around his redheaded friend's neck and rubbed the top of his head with his knuckles. Eliwood laughed as he slipped out of Hector's grip.

"Hey, you messed up my hair!" he said and laughed, trying to put down his now ruffled and messy hair. Hector laughed but paused for a moment once noticing Jasmine walking next to Eliwood, staring straight ahead. He looked at her suspiciously and Eliwood turned around to see what Hector was looking at. "What?" he asked as he turned back around to face Hector, his eyebrows scrunched up in confusion.

"So, Jasmine, where are you from?" Hector called out, ignoring Eliwood and she turned her head toward him, looking slightly caught off guard.

"Uh…a small village in Ilia," she said.

"Oh, I heard that it's cold there."

"…yeah, I guess it is, I got kind of used to it," she said, shrugging but was unable to hide the amused smile that itched away at her lips.

"What?" the blue headed lord asked, looking confused at why she was smiling.

She shrugged again. "Oh I don't know, the way you said it…it was just kind of funny," she said, allowing her smile to grow a bit more and he nodded.

"You have any siblings?" he asked casually, looking innocent as she looked up at him, her smile slipping off her face and she slightly raised an eyebrow.

"No."

"How old are you?"

"…Eighteen."

"Have you ever done anything you regret? Like…oh I don't know, killing someone?" he questioned and Eliwood glared at him.

"Hector!" he hissed warningly and his friend looked down at him with a frown.

"What?" he asked, acting a bit too clueless and Jasmine raised her eyebrows before speaking.

"How old are you? Why are you so big? Why is your hair blue?" she inquired and the two lords looked over at her, Eliwood looking slightly amused whilst Hector looked slightly annoyed. "See?" she chirped, smirking slightly. "Nobody likes being interrogated."

"Fine," he grumbled. "You got me," he huffed and crossed his arms across his chest as they continued to march on.

"She got you good," Eliwood said and laughed, patting his friend on the back. He didn't say anything and Eliwood looked back at Jasmine, smiling. "You got him good."

"Thanks," she said with a small smile.

"You can stop saying that," Hector grumbled, glaring down at his redheaded friend. "You don't have to rub it in."

Eliwood chuckled good-naturedly. "Right, sorry about that," he said as Jasmine looked away from the two and looked straight ahead instead as she continued to walk along with the rest of her new comrades. She fluttered her eyes at them a few moments later, looking at them intriguingly and thoughtfully. Hector gave her the same look, well aware that she could see it, before looking back at Eliwood.

"Anyways, Eliwood, we have to spar soon! I got this great new technique…"

"We spar soon, Dorcas," Bartre said as he ripped some meat off the bone and chomped on it, his mouth slightly open as he did so.

"Maybe once you eat with your mouth closed," Dorcas replied quietly, looking down at his plate as he spoke. Bartre paused for a moment, narrowing his eyes at the other axe man beside him.

"What?"

"It's impolite to eat with your mouth open, I've already told you many times," he said and Bartre glared at him before ripping off some more meat with his teeth.

"Whatever," he snarled as he chewed on his food and therefore was talking with his mouth full, causing Dorcas to sigh quietly. "Fearless warriors eat like this," he said, chomping off some more of his meat and Dorcas didn't respond, only biting into his food quietly. "And I am a fearless warrior!"

"Bartre stop talking with your mouth full!" Marcus snapped from across the fire and the axe man glared over at him.

"But fearless-"

"True fearless warriors are polite and don't talk with their mouths full!" Marcus interrupted, looking over at Bartre with solemn eyes. Oswin, sitting to the left of Marcus, nodded in agreement. "Do we have to go over this everyday?"

"Yes, 'cause I'm not going to stop!"

Marcus sighed and shook his head. "By the end of this journey, I vow that I will manage to make you stop talking with your mouth full," he said and Bartre laughed loudly, some small pieces of food spitting out of his mouth.

"Ew!" Serra squealed, scooting over to the right, making a face at the fallen pieces of food by her feet. "That's gross! Keep your mouth closed, Bartre, you could've gotten some of that on me!"
Matthew, who was sitting on the grass and between the two logs, popped his head up and seemed delighted. "Spit some on Serra right now, Bartre!" he said quickly and Jasmine, who was sitting beside Matthew, giggled. Serra glared down at the two as she adjusted herself on the log.

"Oh stop it Matthew! You're just embarrassed to admit that I'm beautiful," the pink haired cleric huffed and the thief raised an eyebrow.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

Serra was about to answer but paused for a moment, frowning slightly. "It just does! I'm beautiful and you know it!" she huffed and Matthew rolled his eyes before stabbing his fork into his meat.

"Argh!" Hector shouted as the tent fell on top of him and Eliwood, despite his efforts to hold in his laughter, couldn't and burst out laughing. "Oh shut the hell up," Hector grumbled as he fought his way through the tent, not getting any help from Eliwood, for he was still laughing too hard to even notice.

"S-sorry, Hector," Eliwood managed to say and he calmed down a few moments later, wiping away some tears that formed in his eyes.

"It's not even that funny," he huffed as he got the last of the fabric off himself and turned around, glaring at the fallen tent.

"Whatever you say," Eliwood said, smiling and Hector glared at him over his shoulder.

"Just help me get this thing up," he huffed and Eliwood nodded, walking a few steps up to the blue fabric.

"Okay, you grab that side while I grab this one," Eliwood said, pointing to the right side before moving his finger to the left, indicating that Hector was to grab the right whilst Eliwood was to grab the left.

"This better work," Hector grumbled. After a while of flailing around and laughing, they managed to make the tent, that is, after Marcus came along and helped out.

"Ah, there we go, thank you Marcus," Eliwood said, smiling at his loyal Paladin and he nodded, smiling as well before walking off to his own tent to go to sleep. The night had darkened, becoming a pitch black. The only thing that illuminated the small camp was the small fire burning away at the center of the small half-circle of tents. The stars and the moon weren't that bright tonight, barely winking down at them. Grabbing their bags they had left next to the tent, the two lords walked into their tent and Hector threw his bag on the tent floor.

"I'm so tired," he said, yawning as he took his blanket out of his backpack and put it down onto the floor. Eliwood followed, making his blanket a bit neater. The two, being the lords they were, had much thicker blankets made of a much sturdier material and was actually rather comfortable to lie down on.

"Me too…well, hopefully we make it to the castle tomorrow," he said as he grabbed his other blanket and he put it down on top of him. He was lying down on his back and he turned his head to face Hector, who was rolled onto his side and facing Eliwood.

"Yes, I hope so, all this walking is tiring," he grumbled and Eliwood laughed.

"I hope you realize how long this journey might be…it includes a lot more walking," he said, eliciting a groan from Hector as he put his hands up his forehead, rolling over onto his back.

"Well, fine, if it's for your old man," Hector said, glancing back over at Eliwood with a large grin on his face, though Eliwood couldn't see it because it was too dark. He could hear it in his voice, however, and Eliwood smiled.

"Thank you, Hector…that means a lot to me."

"What else are friends for?"

"Well, you can easily beat them in sparring…" Eliwood said as he grinned widely and Hector rolled his eyes.

"Oh yeah right, you WISH you could beat me…let's spar tomorrow! We still haven't even once!"

"Calm down and you'll have to wake up extra early for that!" he said and Hector pursed his lips.

"Maybe some other day…." he grumbled and Eliwood laughed.

"Good night, Hector," he said quietly, closing his eyes.

"Good night," Hector responded and he looked up at the top of the tent for a few moments before rolling over on his side, his back to Eliwood, and he closed his eyes.

"Good morning, Lowen," Rebecca greeted him with a smile and he nodded, smiling slightly and awkwardly.

"Good morning, Rebecca…what's for breakfast?" he asked, looking down at the table full of bowls and plates.

"Only berries and fruits," she answered sadly with a frown as she looked down at the large bowl full of fruits. "Here you go," she said, taking a plate and using a tong, placed many fruits on the plate. "Sorry, we just don't have any food and Eliwood said that he didn't want to waste too much time on cooking."

"It's alright, thank you," he said, taking the plate from her and he walked over to the logs, where the others were.

"You know, I wouldn't have minded taking up some time for some decent food," Hector grumbled as he picked up a grape off its stem and popped it into his mouth.

"Well, we need to walk as much as we can today. Jasmine said that we'll most likely get to the castle today," Eliwood answered, glancing over at him before back at his plate and he ate a strawberry. Hector huffed wordlessly, plucking another grape and popping it into his mouth.

"I still don't trust her, Eliwood."

Eliwood groaned. "Oh come on Hector, she's done nothing wrong!"

"Yeah I know but…when I asked those questions…I could tell that she was, well, you know…" he struggled to find the right word. "Cautious. She seemed just like she didn't trust me! Hah!"

"Just give her a chance, Hector, you might be surprised," Eliwood said, smiling slightly at his friend, who looked doubtful.

"We'll just see about that."

"We shall," he said, nodding and a few moments went in silence as everyone munched on their healthy yet small breakfast. Rebecca grabbed a plate as well and walked over, sitting down between Marcus and Oswin on a log.

"I'm here~" Serra shrieked, skipping over to the quiet group with a big smile on her face, earning groans from Hector and Matthew. She pursed her lips. "That was very rude of you two!"

"Just grab a plate and eat so you don't have to talk!" Hector said and she feigned hurt, sniffling a bit.

"Hector!" Eliwood snapped and looked over at his friend as did he. "That was a very rude and hurtful thing for you to say!"

"Oh who cares?" Hector huffed, rolling his eyes. "You don't even know the half of it; you've barely known her for three days!"

"At least you don't have to sleep in the same tent as her," Matthew mumbled with a yawn as Serra sat down on a log beside Dorcas. "I barely got any sleep last night," he said and it showed on his face, dark circles below his usually bright honey brown eyes.

"Well it's not my fault you're so easily distracted by my beauty," Serra said as she, in a very ladylike manner, stabbed her sliced watermelon with her fork and nibbled on it. Matthew rolled his eyes.

"You know what, I'm too tired to even bother," he grumbled, looking down at his plate and he grabbed his last strawberry.

"Hah, the beautiful ones always win!" Serra said, grinning widely at him and Hector mumbled a few words underneath his breath before standing up and putting his plate away into the large blue sac.

"Err…I'm going to go put the tent away," he said and dashed off, successfully getting away from the chatty cleric. Eliwood chuckled and shook his head as he too stood up. Walking over to the blue sac, he carefully put his plate inside before walking after Hector to help put away the tent.

"I guess that means that we're leaving soon," Marcus said, glancing over at his comrades. "You should all start packing as well."

"OH!" Rebecca said, standing up quickly, earning a few glances. "I forgot to wake up Jasmine!" she said and quickly finished up the rest of her breakfast before putting the silverware away.

Marcus slightly furrowed his eyebrows. "She's still sleeping?"

"Yeah," Rebecca said, pausing in her walk toward her tent as she looked back at Marcus, who frowned deeply.

"Hmm, she seems to sleep in a lot…"

"It's only been two mornings, Sir Marcus, maybe she's just not used to it yet," Rebecca said, shrugging as she continued her walk to her tent. Once she got to it and walked in, she saw Jasmine sprawled out on her stomach, her mouth slightly open and the blanket that she wore on top was curled up by her feet. At least she didn't kick at night.

"Jasmine!" Rebecca said and got no response. She sighed, not wanting to do this once more. "Jasmine!" she said, louder this time. "JASMINE!" she was shouting now and the tactician stirred a bit but continued to sleep. Remembering that shaking her shoulders seemed to work the other day, Rebecca got down on her knees and shook Jasmine's shoulders. She awoke with a yelp and leaped to the side of the tent, her hands against the flimsy fabric and her eyes were wide and alert as they stared at Rebecca. She smiled, not as surprised as she was yesterday. "That seems to work."

Jasmine seemed to be at a loss of words before she managed to croak out, "please don't do that."

Rebecca's smile slipped off her face and was replaced with a confused frown as she slightly tilted her head to the left. "Do what, wake you up?"

"Well, not exactly…please don't…don't touch me," she said stiffly, only causing Rebecca to be even more confused.

"What?"

"Just…just don't touch me," she mumbled, glancing down at her feet as she spoke. "Please."

"Uh…okay, sorry," Rebecca said as Jasmine looked back up and for the first time, the green haired girl noticed that the brunette was scared. She was tensed up, her face obviously one of fright, her hands tightly clenching onto the tent. She looked ready to run if it was necessary. "Sorry."

"…it's alright," Jasmine mumbled, relaxing slightly, but only by a hair. "I shouldn't have freaked out like that…"

Before Rebecca could say anything else, a male voice from outside the tent intervened. "Rebecca, is Jasmine awake yet?" Marcus called out, causing the two girls to jump a bit.

"Yes, she is," Rebecca answered back, glancing over her shoulder.

"Okay then, everyone's packing up now…I recommend you do the same," Marcus replied before walking away and Rebecca looked back at Jasmine with a smile.

"What he said," she said and got down on her knees, quickly starting to pack her things. Jasmine followed suit and it was quiet for a few moments as they packed. Once they were done they walked out of the tent and quickly put it down. *Rebecca stuffed the fabric into her bag and with a smile, quickly walked off to join the others. Jasmine followed as she brushed her tangled hair and once she made it to the small circle, Hector nodded.

"We better get going now."

"There it is," Eliwood breathed as he stopped and Hector stopped beside him, the rest of their miniature army stopping behind them.

Hector grinned widely. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!" he said and as he started to walk, Matthew stopped him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "What-Matthew?" he said, glancing over his shoulder to see Matthew glance up at him quickly before back at a bush with narrowed eyes.

"Not so fast!" Matthew said, unsheathing a dagger and throwing it at the bush. Before Hector could ask, a clink was heard and a man emerged from the bush, standing up with a cocky grin. He was a bit overweight and was balding, his green hair thinning away. "Nice try."

The man smirked widely, taking a step back and out of the green bush. "Ah, I didn't think you'd find me."

"Who are you?" Hector snarled, taking steps forth, extending his hand out to stop Eliwood from coming. "Ah, it doesn't matter, I suppose," he said, grinning slyly. "Why would I need to know the name of a corpse?"

"Ha, we'll just see about that, young cub," the overweight man hissed, grinning as well. "Let's see you make it to the castle," he said and walked off, cackling all the while. Hector let out a wordless hiss, adjusting his axe onto his shoulder.

"Jasmine, orders!" Eliwood said suddenly, as if just remembering what her job was as he twirled around to face her. She was already doing mental calculations, glancing around the landscape. Everyone was now watching her and she paused a few moments later, feeling all their eyes on her.

"We have to split up into two groups. And there's not much time…" she trailed off, taking a few steps back to take a better look at her comrades. "Rebecca, Eliwood, Lowen, Hector, Serra, Matthew, you guys all trail down south," she said, pointing straight ahead and they all nodded.

"The rest of you guys, go that way," she said, pointing to her right. "Bartre, knock that small tree over; use it as a bridge. Oh and guys," she called out as the two groups started to walk off in their own directions. Matthew walked up to the bush and grabbed his dagger, twirling it around in his hand before walking off after Lowen and Rebecca. Serra followed, screeching. "I want you to go to villages, close up the gates, and maybe some villagers will be kind enough to give you something."

"Where are you going, Jasmine?" Eliwood asked, turning around to face her and Hector did as well. She paused for a moment thoughtfully before answering.

"I'll go with them," she said, pointing her thumb over at Oswin, Marcus, Bartre, and Dorcas. "Don't worry, as long as you got the big image, you'll be fine…our goal is the castle!" she called out before running off to join her little group.

"Let's go," Hector urged, placing his hand on Eliwood's shoulder and pushing him away, turning back around.

An arrow whizzed past Lowen's head and he let out a yelp, turning around to see it land into the ground.

"I got him!" Rebecca shouted and let go of her arrow, allowing it to go sailing through the air but she missed, the arrow landing next to the archer's foot. "Ah!" she let out a yelp, quickly pulling another arrow out of her bag and putting it onto her bow.

Hector ran forward, lifting his ax off his shoulder and he jumped through the air, bringing his ax down with him. He missed as the archer took a step to his left and Hector's ax got stuck down into the grass. As he tried to pull it out, an axe man came rushing forward, swinging his ax toward Hector's neck. He was forced to stop when an arrow found its way into his shoulder and he let out a loud yelp, trying to pull it out of his shoulder blade. Matthew dashed forward as Eliwood rushed up to help Hector, and he unsheathed his two daggers, holding one in each hand. He jumped forward, kicking the axe man in the chest and he fell back a few steps. Jumping again, he made many slashes at his enemy, who looked down at his now tattered shirt and bleeding chest. Letting out an angry growl, he brought his ax down toward Matthew, who quickly dodged it.

"Hector, are you alright?" Eliwood asked and he quickly ducked an arrow from an archer.

"Yeah yeah," he huffed, finally getting his ax out of the ground with some help from Eliwood. Lowen rushed past him, his sword high in the air and he swung it down, plunging it into an enemy archer's chest. He shrieked and fell over, a pool of blood quickly forming as Lowen fell off his horse, falling on his rear end. His horse neighed, looking down at Lowen with its droopy eyes. The turquoise haired boy quickly stood up, ruffling his bangs that completely covered his eyes before jumping back onto his horse.

"Are you alright Lowen?" Rebecca asked as she ran up to him, readying her bow and arrow before letting go of the arrow, allowing it to go zooming forward but she missed again, the arrow making a huge curve in the air before landing in the ground. "Darn!"

"I got a torch…" Jasmine mumbled, holding up it up to show her comrades and Bartre raised an eyebrow as Dorcas started to hit his ax against another snag. "What are we going to do with that?"

Jasmine shrugged. "I don't know…but it might come in handy later," she said and took her backpack off, opening it and stuffing the torch inside before swinging it back onto her back.

"You know, Jasmine, it might be easier if you just ride with me," Marcus said, looking down at her on his horse and she looked up at him.

"No thank you, I can walk," she replied politely.

"But surely it'd be faster-"

"No no I'm good," she interrupted quickly and he raised an eyebrow, opening his mouth to say something but the sound of fresh cut wood tearing apart intervened. They turned to see the tree collapse and it reached the other side of land, across the river. Bartre and Dorcas crossed it, followed by Jasmine and Marcus. Oswin followed a few moments later, once closing the gate to the village.

"Gah!" Bartre shouted as he ducked the swing of a lance from an enemy Cavalier. Before he could do anything else, Marcus urged his horse forward and stabbed his silver lance right below the Cavalier's armor, getting his stomach. He let out an ear piercing scream as blood began to spill out of his stomach and he looked down at it, horrified. "Hey, that was my kill!" Bartre huffed angrily, glaring at Marcus, who pulled his lance out of the enemy's stomach, just in time, too, for the enemy fell off his horse, spluttering blood out of his mouth.

"This isn't a race or a game, Bartre," Marcus said sternly, looking down at the axe man from his horse. He rolled his eyes and snorted, causing Marcus to raise an eyebrow. Before he could say anything else, Bartre dashed off to his left, jumping up and swinging his ax toward the other Cavalier's head. The Cavalier blocked it with his sword and as Bartre came falling back down to the ground, the Cavalier cut his arm. Bartre let out a yelp and he thudded to the ground, accidentally letting go of his ax in pain and it slid a few feet away. The Cavalier laughed as he rushed forward on his horse and he swung down, his sword aimed at Bartre's head. Dorcas blocked it with his ax and Marcus stabbed him from behind. He fell limp and plopped off his horse, which neighed and ran off in the other direction. Dorcas turned around and got down on one knee, examining Bartre's bleeding arm. Marcus's horse trotted over to him and Marcus looked down at him as well.

"This isn't too bad, I've been through worse," Bartre said and chuckled, holding up his arm, wincing a bit. "After all, I will be one of the strongest warriors in all of Elibe!"

Without a word, Dorcas pulled a vulnery out of his pant pocket and he looked over at Marcus, nodding. Getting the message, he pulled on his steed's reigns.

"Dorcas and Bartre, you two can go that way once Bartre is healed…" Jasmine said, pointing over to the right of the castle. She paused for a moment, just noticing the castle, of which she could only see the back. She looked over at Marcus and Oswin, both of them patiently waiting for her. "We'll go this way," she said, nodding at Dorcas and he nodded in return before she dashed off after Marcus and Oswin, and they headed toward the left of the castle.

"There are the others!" Oswin called out and Marcus and Jasmine looked over toward the small bridge to see the rest of their comrades. There were many enemies clumped up around the bridge, and the others were clumped around on the other side, making it a bit difficult to fight. Jasmine raised an eyebrow, seeming slightly annoyed at their position. Oswin and Marcus were a bit distracted with their lords that they didn't notice the arrow aimed straight at Marcus's head.

"MARCUS!" Jasmine screamed and he turned to look at her in confusion, still not noticing the arrow and she tugged on his horse's reigns roughly, causing it to move to its right.

"What?" he asked, confused and slightly annoyed as he looked down at her. She looked a little annoyed herself as she pointed at the arrow that whizzed past his ear and it landed behind him. "Oh…thank you."

She let go of the reigns and nodded. "Not a problem…now go on, we still have a battle to finish," she said and he nodded, running off with his lance high in the air. Oswin followed and his armor clanked as he ran off. With a sigh, Jasmine started to run toward the bridge, toward her other comrades.

"Gah! Move out of the way, Serra! Matthew!" Hector shouted as Serra skipped her way to her lord and had started to blab as he attempted to kill an enemy. Matthew groaned as he glanced up at Hector in front of him, quickly stashing the small amount of gold he had taken from the dead bandit into his pocket before kicking him into the river.

"I don't think you should do that, Matthew," Eliwood said from behind, trying to get a look at what was happening in the battle in front of him. Hector was halfway across the small and skinny bridge, swinging his ax like a madman, to which his comrades responded by staying on the land, standing in front of the bridge. Despite that, Serra stood behind him, blabbing away.

"Oh no worries, it is fine, Lord Eliwood."

"Matthew!" Hector shouted and his spy groaned.

"Why do I have to?"

"'Cause I told you to!" he snarled and with a sigh, Matthew walked up to Serra and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, pulling her back and ignoring her complaints.

"Just stay put, please," Matthew said as he let go of her and she pursed her lips.

"This is how you treat a person that saves everybody's lives? I think I deserve some more respect!" she huffed and before Matthew could further argue, Jasmine's shouts intervened.

"Rebecca, you can still shoot arrows! Hector, get off that bridge!" she shouted and Rebecca looked over at her sadly.

"I'm sorry, I can't; I ran out of arrows!" she shouted back and was unable to see Jasmine's expression, for she was halfway between the bridge they were by and the castle.

"Hector, get off that bridge! Make it to the other side so the others can get through!"

"I'm trying!" he shouted back angrily, swinging his ax around only to miss and his enemy laughed.

"Don't try, do!" she shouted back and he let out a wordless growl.

"I don't see you trying to help!"

"Well, excuuuuuuuuuuuuse me," she hissed back, not bothering to hide the annoyance in her voice. "Maybe I'll stop trying to explain then."

"Hector!" Eliwood hissed and his friend glanced over at him over his shoulder before sighing.

"Fine…what do you want me to do?" he shouted to Jasmine, who, despite her annoyance, replied.

"Get off the bridge! Hurry up and chop that guy's head off and get off the bridge!" she shouted and after a few more swings, he finally managed to chop off his enemy's head. Jumping over his corpse, he made it to the other side, only to get bombarded by more enemies. He got help, though, when his comrades quickly passed over the bridge and started to fight against the enemies.

"…Guy?" Matthew asked, his eyes widening as an enemy that he slashed through fell, revealing a boy that was around the age of sixteen or so. He wore a traditional Sacaen outfit; a long blue tunic that split as it reached his legs, making his moves much easier to flow. Below were white pants and black boots, which only reached his ankles. In his hand was his Killer Edge, a sword. He had long dark green hair in a braid, reaching his chest and a blue headband was wrapped around his head. The expression on his face made Matthew laugh. His mouth hung open and his eyebrows were raised, his dark brown eyes looking about ready to pop out of his face.

"Matthew?" he whispered, unable to believe his eyes and he blinked a few times.

"Hah, you remember me! What are you doing here?" he asked as he slashed his daggers through another enemy and he shrieked before plopping down to the ground and Guy hesitated before speaking.

"I got a job."

"You got a job with these guys?" Matthew asked, raising an eyebrow as he gestured toward the many enemies around him.

"Yes…I need money."

"Ah, well, now you're going to work with us!" the thief said, grinning widely as Guy looked at him incredulously.

"You're kidding."

"Nope!" Matthew replied cheerfully with a grin. "I saved your life, didn't I? And who was the one that said that he owed me his life? Hmmm?"

"Fine," he snarled angrily. "I'll join, but not willingly!"

"That's a good boy," Matthew said, his grin widening as he patted Guy on his head. "Now let's finish this!" he said and jumped, slashing his daggers toward the enemy Cavalier. Meanwhile, Hector had made his way to the castle.

"Ah, you finally made it, little cub," the balding man said, grinning widely at Hector as he stopped in front of him.

"Just in time to say goodbye," he replied with a grin and he swung his ax forward, which was easily blocked by the balding man's lance. Furrowing his eyebrows, Hector took a step back to move his ax. As he did, the balding man shoved his lance forward, hitting Hector's chest armor.

"Lowen, Oswin, come to the castle, quickly!" Jasmine called out, running a bit toward them and they turned, being the only two that had some free time. Other than the large clump by the bridge, not many enemies were left. The two quickly ran toward the castle to help out Hector.

"Not so much the tiger now, are we, little one?" the boss cackled as Hector was down on his knees in front of him, his left hand on his bleeding upper right arm. His ax lay a few feet away. "Say bah bye!" he said and he raised his lance, plunging it straight for Hector's neck, right in between the neck armor.

A sword intervened with the lance, the flat side colliding with the lance's tip. The bald man looked up to see the owner of the sword, but was unable to see his eyes, the teal hair covering them. Despite his covered eyes, he looked nervous, his lips quivering a little. As the bald man was about to stab Lowen instead, a lance stabbed through his neck and he fell over as Oswin yanked his lance back out.

"Lord Hector," Oswin breathed as he looked down at his bleeding lord and the rest of the miniature army made their way to the castle.

"Ah! Lord Hector, you're injured!" Rebecca cried out once resting her eyes upon the large lord and Serra pushed her way past everyone.

"I need some room!" she huffed and everyone backed up, creating a large half circle around the two. "Oh Saint Elimine, thanks to you I have the amazing power of being beautiful. And help people by saving their lives. Even when they don't appreciate it!" she said as she closed her eyes, lifting up her staff as everyone raised an eyebrow. "I also think that-"

"SERRA!" Matthew, Hector, and Oswin all shouted simultaneously and she opened her eyes, glancing over at the three, looking annoyed.

"You shouldn't interrupt me when I'm healing someone!"

"Those are most definitely not what you're supposed to say when healing someone!" Hector huffed angrily, wincing and Serra looked back down at him, sighing and nodding.

"Fine fine…" she trailed off, closing her eyes again and lifting her staff high up in the air, mumbling a few words underneath her breath. The ball at the top of the staff lit up, a ball of light forming and it grew until it reached Hector. A few moments later, Serra put her hand back down by her side, holding her staff, and she opened her eyes. She looked down at Hector, bending down to take a look at his arm. Without any arguing he showed her his arm and she examined it carefully.

"…and?" he asked after a few moments, glancing up at her.

"You should be fine, just be gentle with your arm for the next couple of days…did he actually STAB your arm? Did it go through?"

"Yes…" he grumbled indignantly and she frowned slightly, gently rubbing her thumb against the mark. "It went though my skin."

"It went through some muscles, but no worries," Serra said and with one last nod she stood up, brushing herself off with her hands. "Yeah, you should be fine; the staff did all the healing."

"Good," Hector said, rubbing his arm but he winced. "Ow!"

"Didn't I just tell you to be gentle?" she huffed, crossing her arms across her chest and he rolled his eyes as he picked up his fallen ax.

"Yeah yeah yeah whatever," he huffed, using his left hand to pick up his ax and shoulder it. "Can we all go inside now?"

Eliwood walked up to Hector, nodding before turning and facing toward the two wide doors. Taking a deep breath, he put a hand on each handle and opened the doors.