I'm a little disappointed in this chapter. I've been trying to put more detail in my stories and I'm not sure how I did with that, I know it probably wasn't enough. Feedback be much appreciated.

Also, it may take me three weeks to write the next chapter. Reasons you'll see soon, I want it to be epic. It may take only two but lets go with three to be safe.

Chapter 3

Compassion to all. That was what the priest in Begnion always taught their congregation. But apparently all only meant beorcs. It was no secret that the laguz slave trade was still in business under the table. Some just ignored it but one priest refused to be a hypocrite to what he preached. He taught that compassion should be extended to laguz and that all of us were equal under the goddess. As one can imagine this didn't sit well with other pastors and once this spread to the senate the priest was excommunicated. He didn't go alone, two other priest and a cleric followed him. His name was Father Abner.

But I guess I should be grateful that he was excommunicated because if he hadn't I would never had a home. Father Abner and the rest of the priest settled on the boarder of Begnion and gave seven kids a place to call home.

The orphanage I had been raised in had kicked me out when I turned ten; to them older boys were too much trouble to take care of. Father Abner took me in and I became indebted to him. He turned no one away; not children or weary travelers. We didn't have much but we knew the goddess would provide.

We grew our own food but sometimes that wasn't enough. Since the priest swore a life of no violence I took it upon myself to hunt since I was the oldest out all the other children. I was fairly good with a bow so each day I went out to the forest to catch some food.

One day when I hadn't spotted any sign of game I was just about to head back when I spotted a large bird flying far above him. Judging from the distance and its size I thought it was possibly the biggest fowl I had ever hunted. It would surly feed everyone. With that in mind I loaded my bow, aimed to adjust for the wind change and distance, and fired. My stomach tied itself into a knot when I realized I only hit its wing as I watched it fall. That meant I would have to see it squirm before I put it out of its misery.

Only it wasn't a bird I had shot but a laguz. As I had rushed to where my catch had fallen I saw an unconscious man with an arrow that was embedded into his black wing and shoulder. He was clade in white clothes that was now stained with the blood I had caused and had dark blond hair.

I didn't hesitate; I quickly picked up the laguz and put him over my shoulder so I could take him to Sister Keyah so she could heal him. The laguz was surprisingly light and once I saw the front of his wings I noticed his white feathers and realized he was a heron. I had thought they were all gone which only gave haste to my speed, I certainly didn't want to be the one that killed the last of the heron laguz.

Sister Keyah was able to treat the laguz's injury the only thing was it would be some time until he was able to attempt to fly. He stayed unconscious for a whole day. When he did awake, Father Abner came to me and said the laguz wanted to see me.

Nervous was the only thing I felt when I was walking to the laguz's room, was he going to be angry at me for shooting him? He had every right to be mad at me. But anger was the last thing I found on the heron's face, he looked…amused when I walked in.

"So you're the one that shot me," he said to himself with a smile.

"Yes sir," I told him. I stole a glance to Father Abner who had taken a seat in the corner.

"Sir?" The laguz chuckled at that. "My, you all are the strangest group of beorcs I've run into in Begnion. Yes I think you all will do fine."

And he is possibly the strangest person I have ever met, I thought. "What do you mean "we'll do fine"?" I asked him.

"Oh yes, how rude of me. You can call me Ghost, I'm from a village called Lynn," the heron informed me which I thought it was weird for someone to be named Ghost. "We're always in need of priest and healers, not to mention someone with your skill." Ghost leaned closer to me and said, "You are too good with a bow to waste it on hunting animals."

"You want him to join an army, don't you?" Father Abner chimed in.

Ghost nodded. That would mean he wanted me to possibly kill someone. I hated hunting and I wouldn't if it wasn't for the fact I had to take care of the other kids. How could I spill a person's blood? "I can't, animals are one thing…I don't think I could bring myself to hurting someone." Then I realized how much of a hypocrite I sounded like after I had just shot the laguz in front of me.

But he made no comment about that but said, "People aren't so different from animals when you think about it. Look at me," he gestured to his uninjured wing.

I thought about what he said and though it may be true but I still didn't know what to do. "Have you ever killed anyone?" I asked him.

"Not directly, no, but it is me who paints the targets are their backs. So in a way, yes I have killed people." I still wasn't convinced and so Ghost added. "I may not be religious but I believe if someone kills another to protect others then it's not considered a sin.

Doing a job so no one else has to. "So if I agree what's going to happen to everyone else?" I asked wondering about the other kids.

"They'll be taken care of; you all can continue to live together if you wish if you all decide to come to Lynn with me."

I looked back to Father Abner to see how he was taking all this. He shook his head, "This is your decision Kyle. Only you can decide what you want to do with your life." He said that but I could tell he wanted to go, to have another chance to preach was what he had always wanted. They could have a better life with Father Abner preaching and the others healing in Lynn. The kids wouldn't have to go hungry. I would be the most selfish person ever if I denied them of that only because I didn't want to kill people.

"I'm in," I announced. Both Father Abner and Ghost smiled at my decision. "You can call me Kyle," I told Ghost as held my hand out to him.

Ghost shook it and said, "Well Kyle, I look forward to working with you."

/

Kyle began to open his heavy eyes to the sounds of by passers going about their business entering and exiting the Melior. He was on the outskirts of the capital's walls and had fallen asleep under a tree by the side of the road. Since he was sure the knights were now looking for someone with the bow that killed Duoqun Luba he hid his gear up in the tree so he looked like a homeless person. Sure enough when he looked down at his boots he saw a few gold coins.

He made a mental note to find an actual homeless person and give the money to them. He really had no need for it. Everyone under Father Abner's care always had more than enough food. Life was good in Lynn; Father Abner says that it was the goddess that guided his arrow to Ghost thus providing for them. Kyle no longer mined the jobs he was given if it meant Father Abner and the others were taken care of. But he was seriously going to make Ralik hurt for all these precautions he now had to take. The news about the assassin that killed Djam had spread like rushing water. Why the hell did Nyoka let Ralik go first, he had to know the laguz was going to do something like that? All this was just making everyone else's job all the more harder.

"It certainly is sad to see someone with nothing to do," a familiar voice said from behind the tree.

Kyle knew it was the phantom but looked to his side to see the laguz leading against the tree. He was truly deserving of the name Ghost, to this day Kyle still didn't know who he moved so silently. "Not true. I'd say staying out of trouble is a profession." Ghost was silent and Kyle had known him for about ten years now and knew the laguz wasn't here to see how he was fairing. Ghost needed him to do something. "What's going on?"

"It's Colin's turn," he said in a low tone so no one else could hear.

The rookie? He could understand why Ghost was at unease about it but he heard about Colin, he was the best of his class. "What about him?" He asked as two guards walked past them. They were quiet and looked at nothing in particular till the knights past.

"I don't know. I just have a bad feeling about tonight," Ghost told them.

"Feathers tingling again," Kyle grinned. It's what everyone said when the phantom said he had a "bad feeling". But they were mostly right.

"I'm serious!" He barked.

The archer sighed, "So I guess you want me to be there in case things go south." Nyoka was going to Colin's second; the rookies always had seconds on their first job. This must be some "bad feeling" Ghost had if he was asking him to be a third which was almost unheard of. Another group of people were walking down the path so Kyle temporarily changed the subject. "Rhona find her man?"

"Yes, met him with a loving embrace, which is good cause if she didn't her and Railk both would be in trouble with Nyoka," Ghost said casually.

Great, Kyle thought. Two murders in one city; now it would be even more difficult to get in unnoticed. Everyone would be on high alert. At least Rhona was stealthy about her target. With the people gone he said to Ghost, "I'll get in as soon as I can."

"Hospitalier Fortress," the laguz said simply as he walked away. "See you then."

/

Some of the mercenaries weren't too thrilled to learn about the new plans. Soren had selected Rhys, Rolf, Mia, Oscar, and Gatrie to go on to the capital with Titania in charge. By first light they had already left.

Shinon wasn't happy about the extra work he would have to do plus having to work with Soren on this until Ike said he'd get extra pay. That shut him up for a while. But while they were out looking for a murderer Mist was left behind with Leila. "Keep Leila out of trouble," her brother told to her before he joined Geoffrey with the search.

It did seem that if anyone took their eyes off the girl for even a second she was getting herself into something. Leila said she didn't know how to sew and that her friend Anna had tried to teach her but soon gave up on it. So since Leila didn't know how to Mist took it upon herself to teach the girl. Grabbing two pieces of scrap fabric Mist instructed Leila to watch what she was doing. She started it out and put a few stitch in them before handing it on to Leila. She didn't look too sure about it as she looked at the needle like Mist had just handed her a dagger.

Slowly she began to pierce the fabric with the needle and then pulled the string all the way though. She looked confused as what to do next but somehow managed to pull the needle back up through the material. Leila became more confident the more she used the needle; only she was holding it all wrong. At that rate she was going to prick herself and just when Mist was about to warn her about it when she did just that.

"Ow!" She cried as she jerked her hand back from underneath the fabric. A small bead of blood appeared on her index finger. It wasn't a big deal until Leila's face turn pale white and her eyes wide with horror. Her whole arm began shaking as a whimpering sound escaped quivering mouth. "G-get it off me!" She shrieked.

Mist was so terrified by her friend's reaction that it took a moment in her brain to realize she needed to do something to help her. Very quickly Mist threw what Leila had been sewing over her whole hand. Slowly, Leila began to breathe easier and to actually blink.

Keeping her hands firmly on the fabric so she wouldn't have another attack, Mist said, "You're afraid of blood, aren't you?"

Leila looked embarrassed and didn't look her directly in the eye. "I…I just don't like it when it gets on me." That certainly wasn't a reaction you do when you don't like something, that was the face of pure fear she had.

"Is there a reason you don't like blood?" Mist asked. For most phobias there was a reason a person had them. She wondered if something happened to Leila to make her this way. Then again there might not be.

Still, Leila didn't look Mist in the eye. "I don't remember."

She knew Leila wasn't telling her the truth which was weird since she had been so blunt ever since they met her. But then again everyone probably has something they want to keep to themselves. Now Mist knew why Leila's friend gave up on teaching her. So they quite sew and just stuck with playing a card game.

/

After about an hour searching and some swearing, Ike and everyone else ended up in an old watch tower that hadn't been in use for over thirty years. From the information Geoffrey told them about, the direction the arrow entered Duoqun Luba and how windy it was, Shinon concluded this was where the assassin shot from. But Ike was having his doubts about that. He was no archer but even he could tell that what Shinon was suggesting was an impossible shot. The tower was several yards from where Duoqun's body was with buildings all around allowing only a small window of opportunity to shoot even if they were high above the ground. Then there were all the trees making it even smaller opportunity.

Shinon was perched at the window that looked out into the streets below. He imitated what he imagined that assassin would have done; he drew his empty bow string and aimed. After a while he informed them that this was where the arrow was shot from.

No one was convinced. "Are you sure?" Geoffrey asked. "This seems like a near impossible shot."

The archer let out an annoyed breath. "I could make that shot. So I would say this guy's almost as good as me."

This guy had to be good if Shinon was using himself as a reference.

"Then there are two possibilities," Soren concluded. "One, our killer was just so arrogant in their own skill that they decided to take their frustration on the tax collector. Or this was premeditated. If that's the case the odds are that the killer is long gone by now. Have there been any other people killed lately?" He asked the knight.

"I just received a letter from Lucia this morning. She said that Djam was killed during an execution by a mysterious man," Geoffrey answered.

"That can't just be a coincidence," Ike said out loud.

"I concur. The best bet would be that the person we're looking for is long gone by now," Soren concluded.

"You've got to be kidding me! If what you say is true then our guy is probably halfway to Melior by now!" Geoffrey ran his hand over his face in frustration. "That means we've wasted all this time."

"Probably what he wanted," Shinon chimed in which caused everyone to stare at him.

"What do mean?" Boyd asked what everyone was thinking.

A groan escaped Shinon. "Do I have to explain everything to you whelps?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Whether I like to admit it or not this guy's smart. He wouldn't leave town right away 'cause then it'd be obvious. No, he'd wait for a time then make his way out of the city. That way he has everyone thinking he's still here and not chasing after him."

"That's a rather perceptive observation coming from you," Soren said plainly but Ike could hear the mocking tone in his voice.

Obviously Shinon heard it too as he glared at the young strategist with daggers. On the outside they just seemed like two guys that disliked each other but on the inside they probably wanted the other dead. Ike just sighed; those two could become an unstoppable force if they could learn to at least tolerate each other.

Geoffrey's voice brought Ike to the situation they were in. "Ike, go on to Melior. My men and I are just going to do a quick search and then we'll be there ourselves."

"Very well," Ike said, "we'll leave right away."

/

They had gone to retrieve Leila and Mist before they took off but Ike was worried about Leila since she looked so pale. But she said she was fine as did Mist so he dropped the matter for now. At least she wasn't getting herself in trouble again.

By now it was well into the afternoon as they traveled the main road to Melior. The weather was fair and there weren't hardly any people; in Ike's opinion, the best time to travel. If they continued at the pace they were going they should reach the city late the following morning. But he soon lost that idea when he saw the backs of the people he had hoped never wanted to see again.

He saw them as soon as they came up a small hill; the people who had told them to heal Leila. The bandits they encountered almost a week ago. They didn't seem to notice the mercenaries yet as they were heading into the forest. There was the hooded guy, the woman, the big guy, and the mace carrier. But wasn't there another one? Ike searched all his memories of that day until he remembered; there was a teen with them. Where was he? Was he somewhere nearby watching them or was he somewhere else entirely?

Everyone else quickly noticed them and they all looked to Ike. None of them wanted to fight these guys, he certainly didn't. So he motioned them to go on. Maybe if they walked by casually they might not notice.

Whether or not that would have worked Ike would never know, because Leila ran out to them. None of them could have stopped her in time before she called out to them as if nothing was wrong, "Hi Captain Natsu!"

All four of them froze in their tracks. Very slowly each of them turned looking like at Leila like she was a ghost. It was the red headed woman who found her voice first. "Le-Leila!" She stuttered. "Wh-why are you here?"

Leila smiled, "I was about to ask you all the same thing? Are you all on a big job right now?"

"You don't remember…do you?" The hood man said sounding both sad and disappointed. Ike just didn't know what to think of all this. Just what was going on? Perhaps he would find out.

The mercenaries surrounded Leila, Ike placed himself in-between her and the bandits. His hand was gripped on his sword, ready for whatever may transpire in the next few seconds. Mist came beside her and said, "Leila, they're the ones who were holding you captive."

"What?" Leila looked at Mist with confusion. "That can't be right," she said as she turned back to the mysterious group. "There has to be a good reason I was with you all…and…being hurt…right…Captain Natsu?" She didn't sound too sure herself after she said it. But in her eyes Ike could see a tiny bit of hope. She knew them and seems to hold them in high regard; for her sake he hoped they wouldn't have to fight them, that this was all just some misunderstanding.

The hooded guy whose name must have been Natsu averted his hidden gaze from her and didn't give an answer.

The mace wielder looked to Natsu. "Boss, what do we do? She doesn't remember!" He sounded more panicked, why were they so worried?

Natsu clutched his chest as if he were in pain, and then stood tall apparently coming to a decision. "We do what were sighed up ta do." Then in a blink Natsu darted right toward Ike. He jumped high and was aiming to kick Ike square in the chest.

Luckily Ike brought his sword up to deflect his hit but the kick vibrated painfully though Ike's whole being. So Natsu kicked off the blade that caused Ike to stager some; for a skinny guy he sure had strength behind his attacks. The hooded man landed gracefully a few feet away. Ike risked a glanced back to Leila. She looked as if Natsu had kicked her directly.

"All of you be careful," the red headed woman announced to her group. "If you get hurt I can't guaranteed I can heal any of you properly in a fight."

"Don't lie Talitha," the mace wielder sneered. "You can't heal a scratch under normal circumstance."

She narrowed her eyes at the fighter then with a snap of her fingers flames appeared under his feet. He yelped and jumped a safe distance away but still did a little dance to smolder the fire that was still on his boots. "Borka, you'll remember to keep you big mouth shut."

"Both of you get serious!" Natsu barked at them. Then he turned to the big guy behind him. "Izzu, you know what ta do; just don't squash 'er like last time."

"'Kay boss," he said with a great bass voice. Izzu ran at them, very slow at first but soon gained momentum. Like Natsu, he carried no weapons but Ike doubted he the same moves as him. Was he planning to run them over? If he did it would be effective; this Izzu guy was about six feet tall and probably weighed three hundred pounds of raw muscle. None of the mercenaries wanted to find out so they all jumped and rolled out of his way. At the spot where they had all been standing moments ago, Izzu stuck at the earth with his bare fist causing rocks to fly into the air and dust to engulf him. When all was settled Izzu was standing in a small crater about the size of a wagon. All of them stared with disbelief at this man's strength. "I missed?" Izzu asked himself as he examined his hand, obviously surprised he didn't crush them.

But Natsu's group wasn't fazed by this at all. Instead Borka shouted, "We can see that ya big dummy! Now start fighting them!"

"'Kay," Izzu said simply and looked at Boyd.

"Why you looking at me for?" Boyd asked him nervously. Izzu merely attempted to squash him like a bug, but Boyd managed to avoid the hit which was good because there were now deep hole in the ground. Izzu may have been slow in the head and body but because of his overwhelming strength that made him extremely dangerous. "Ike!" Boyd yelled not trying to mask all the worry he was feeling. "How's 'bout we get the hell out of here!"

"Don't have to ask me twice!" Ike said. These guys were in a whole other class then them. Maybe if the rest of the company were here then they could overwhelm them. Why did I send half our people on ahead? He wondered starting to regret his idea. I should have known we'd run into them again. Ike grabbed Leila by the arm but she wasn't moving, eyes almost lifeless; she must be in shock. He could have easily dragged or carry her but right now he needed her fully alert. "We have to go," he said to her with all the urgency in his voice.

"But…but none of this makes any sense…" She said quivering voice. "Why, why would Captain Natsu-"

"We'll figure it out later, but we need to get the heck out of here first," Ike told her.

She nodded but none of them had even taken five steps before the woman named Talitha spoke. "I'm sorry Leila, but we can't let you go this time." With the wave of her hand their only escape route had erupted into giant wall of fire. It hissed at them when they came near, it was as though the barrier were alive. Now there only way out and was though the forest which they would have to go through their opponents first. It would seem they had no choice but to fight.

"That woman…she's a spirit charmer," Soren pronounced.

"It's just one thing after another with these freaks!" Shinon yelled as he prepared his bow.

Ike could see Natsu's mouth frown but it wasn't at Shinon but at the angry flames. "You just had ta summon that thing, didn't you Talitha?" He said to her with a sigh.

"I had to. Just in case," she admitted.

In case of what? Ike wondered. He didn't get much time to do that since he had to deal with Natsu again. Ike was so consumed in his fight that he didn't have the luxury to see how everyone else was holding up. He was pretty sure Boyd was still being chased by the big guy, he saw Shinon and Talitha exchange long-ranged attacks a few times, and once he noticed that Soren was using his wind magic to keep Borka at bay. Then there was Mist and Leila, both stood a safe distance from the fighting. Ike had ordered her not to heal anyone since these guys probably wouldn't hesitate to hurt her. But these guys weren't even getting anywhere near Mist and if Ike had to guess it was because Leila was with her, they didn't want to harm her, so in a way it was really Leila who was protecting Mist. "Don't hurt him!" Leila shouted at Ike, like he had a choice.

Another thing that Ike was starting to notice was that Natsu was pulling his punches. Ike was having a hard time fighting because this was the first time he had ever hand to face someone who was this good at hand to hand combat. Ike couldn't even land a single blow on the guy; he evaded every one of his slashes and stabs while Natsu used him as a punching bag. He could feel bruises forming on his ribcage and arms yet each time Natsu attacked Ike could feel there was more power to them yet his opponent wasn't using it. Was he just toying with him or…did he want them to win? And was the rest of his group doing the same.

He didn't bother to think too long on the why since Natsu kept backing Ike against the fiery wall. If he took one more step he'd be swallowed by flames. Feeling the intense heat Ike began to sweat more then he already was. So Ike took a firm stance and swung as fast as he could in hopes to at least cut him, no matter how shallow it might be, across the chest. It was only when he was in mid swing that he realized how much of a bad idea it was because Natsu got down just in time and punched Ike above his right kneecap. His whole leg instantly went numb, he couldn't feel it. Fortunately he still had control over it to remain standing, but not much.

"'Bout time I got at least one of your pressure points," Natsu said to him.

Ike really wasn't sure what he was talking about but his attention soon left the hooded man when he noticed something in the fire out of the corner of his eye. Something was…slithering in the flames. Was there really something in there or was the fire merely playing a trick on his eyes.

As if reading his mind Natsu answered his question. "That wall is Talitha's familiar, Nuria. You betta be careful or the serpent will swallow you whole!" Then Natsu fist came straight toward Ike.

But this time Ike saw it coming so he sidestepped away, only Ike forgot about his leg and tumbled to the ground. But in the end it worked out because Natsu hand was consumed in the fire. The hooded guy screamed out in pain and instantly recoiled his hand. His glove and part of his sleeve was burnt off and his whole hand had been chard black. Was the fire that hot? He should have only had a few burns not looking like ha had just been roasting for ten minutes. Natsu also seemed to be in great pain as he cradled his baked hand. Maybe that was what he meant by "the serpent will swallow you whole"?

Before either of them could make a move, fireballs began falling right at Natsu who was still able to dodge with ease regardless of his injury. At first Ike thought it was the wall of flames but he looked back to see it was Soren. The young mage had switched to a fire tome and deep in concentration chanting his spell as fire balls were not only being shoot at his own opponent but Natsu as well. Ike knew he had the best strategist in the world but he possibly had the best mage in the world on his team.

As Ike struggled to get back on his feet, it seemed Izzu had stopped chasing Boyd and now had his sight on Soren. The mage attacked him with his magic and left only minor burn marks. Izzu paid no mind to them as he continued charging at him like a bull. Ike yelled for Soren to run but it was too late, Izzu was above him and was about to bring his fist down to flatten Soren.

Suddenly the ground beneath his feet curled up causing Soren to be catapulted a very short distance way and then a small pillar of earth shot out from the ground and hit Izzu in the face. Soren landed hard on the ground and even though Izzu didn't fall back he did stop moving momentarily. Ike didn't have to look to know it was Leila who saved Soren, plus the light from her body was a dead giveaway.

The pillar crumbled and Izzu was left unscratched, not even a bloody nose! "That kinda hurt," Izzu said duly as he rubbed his face.

"Are you trying ta get killed, dumb ass!" Natsu yelled over everyone to the big guy.

"Sorry boss," he apologized.

Leila had been on all fours but now was up and looked at Natsu with determination. "Captain Natsu, I want to know right now what's going on!" She told him a powerful voice. "If you wanted me to go back to Lynn why didn't you just ask? Why are you fighting them?"

None of them would look at her and Natsu, again, clutched at his chest with his good hand. "Somethings are beyond even our understanding," he told her.

Just then the sound of hooves echoed in their battle arena. It grew louder and when they heard the cry of a horse one had jumped though the flames. Its rider was donned in knight armor with had a head of blue hair. Geoffrey! Ike never thought he'd be so glad to see him in all his life.

Geoffrey sent his horse galloping straight toward Natsu. He brought his lance up and then swung it down in order to impale him. Natsu avoided it for the most part but the lance had caught him in the neck. It's wasn't deep but some blood had arched as the hooded man fall and didn't move again. He was still alive but he just wasn't moving anymore. The rest of their opponents stopped moving too, they just stared at Natsu in horror.

The knight rode back to where Ike was and jumped down from his mount. "How do you always get in these messes?" Geoffrey asked as he helped him up. Ike had been wondering that himself.

Out of nowhere Leila ran up and started hitting Geoffrey. "Why would do that!" She cried at him as tears were forming in her eyes.

"Clam down," he ordered her and grabbed the girl's flailing arms but she continued to fight. Mist had run over to help but wasn't succeeding.

"Leila, what's wrong?" Ike tried to ask her but the girl just began to whimper.

All of a sudden a deep laugh filled their ears, the kind that made you hair stand on ends. It was coming from Natsu. Very slowly he arose making his hood fall in the process. His white hair was down to his shoulders and his red eyes fill of bloodlust. But most surprising of all was his ears, they that of a cat. He was a laguz! "Yes," his voice now full with insanity, "the sweet smell of blood, oh how I've missed it. I just want rip open some throats so it can pour all over the ground! Hahahahahahahaha!" His entire group had already put great distance between themselves and him; this wasn't the first time he's done this.

"What the hell is wrong with him?" Geoffrey demanded gripping his lance tighter.

"He wasn't like this before you stabbed him," Ike told him.

"Rip the flesh so there's nothing left to tell what they are," Natsu sang to himself as he swayed like a drunken man. He was completely deranged. Ike's stomach began to turn growing more alarmed by the laguz.

"Lehran Madness," Leila said just over a whisper.

"What?" Ike looked back at her to make sure he heard right. Lehran?

She nodded solemnly. "A long time ago a weird medallion came to Lynn. Anyone who touched it just started going crazy and killed anyone in their way."

Was it the same medallion that made his father go crazy? He looked at Natsu still singing his sickening song. Was this what his father looked like when he went on his killing rampage all those years ago? He clenched his fist now feeling sorry for the laguz. "Any reason he's going crazy now?" Ike asked Leila.

"Certain things trigger it, for Captain Natsu its blood."

"This information would have been good to know beforehand," Soren said.

"I told you not to hurt him!" She snapped at him which surprised everyone. Then sounding like she did before Leila said, "The only way to bring him back to his sense is to beat him till he can't fight anymore." It was a little strange that she seemed to know so much about this, but he would have to question that later. Right now his job was to get everyone out of this alive.

Ike put his hand on the girl's small shoulder. "Don't worry Leila," he said to her. "I know how to fight a laguz, my friend Ranulf and I spared all the time."

She looked hopeful. "What kind of laguz was he?" She asked.

"A cat."

The hope vanished and was replaced with disappointment. "Oh, was all she said. But then added, "Well I guess you can pretend Captain Natsu is just a really big kitty."

After she said that Natsu began to transform. Now Ike understood why Leila sounded so worried. Natsu was indeed a really big kitty, he was a freakin' lion! His fur and long mane was as white as his hair had been and he looked like a starving lion considering how small he was.

But Ike was sure he was because he would be as fast as he was in his humanoid form. Sure enough he was, maybe even faster because in an instant Natsu was about to maul Ike with his giant claws.

Just barely did Ike succeed in blocking Natsu. Even though his claws were embedded into Ike's shoulders he was able to keep the lion's snapping mouth from biting at his neck with his sword. While Natsu gnawed at the sword that was in his mouth, Ike looked into the laguz eyes. A person could see the laguz's intelligence in their eyes and tell it was no simple beast but with Natsu he had truly become a wild animal. He looked like one of the Feral ones he fought not long ago

"Talitha!" He heard someone shout, which Ike was sure it was Borka but right now he really didn't care as the cat's claws were digging deeper. "You have to stop him!"

Ike wasn't sure what was going on because all he could see was the lion still trying to rip him apart but then he heard Talitha say in voice that sounded like she had just taken a brutal hit, "I can't…not with Leila near him."

Just when Ike's arms were about to give out Natsu was knocked away by a wind spell. The moment the laguz was away from Ike and the others fire shot out the wall and took the form of a serpent. It slithered around Natsu and soon created a mini cyclone of fire appeared with him in the center. They could still hear the lion roaring in anger as he tried to escape but to no avail. Ike glanced over at the woman to see her chanting to control her familiar and blood was pouring out of her mouth. Wait, blood? Why was she bleeding? Was this part of being a spirit charmer?

"Ike, are you alright?" Soren asked him looking at his blood soaked shoulders.

"I'll be fine," he told him even if he didn't feel it. The hot air was stinging the wounds.

"Leila!" Mist shouted which caused everyone to turn and look. Leila stood petrified looking at her arms that was covered in Ike's blood. She must have gotten sprayed when Natsu slashed his shoulders. Her eyes were wide and she was trembling horribly. "Leila, it's okay!" Mist shouted at her as she shook her gently, trying to get the girl to look at her. "You're okay, it's not your blood!"

But none of that help any because Leila began screaming which caused everyone to be thrown back. Worst yet she caused the cyclone of fire to disappear.

/~/~/

"Ryu…what's wrong? You're not mad at me are you?"

"Leila! What are you doing? You're going to get yourself killed!"

"I refuse to live as that bastard's puppet anymore!"

Tune in three Wednesday from today to find out what happens.