A/N: Oh snap, it's Nergal! This can't be good…
Chapter 13 – Darkness and Hope
The Dark Druid appeared before them, a cruel smile on his face. "At last, I am at full strength once more! I can feel my powers returning. And now it is time to continue what you fools interrupted. Ninian! Nils! Come! Open the Dragon's Gate!"
"N-No! We'll never follow you!" retorted Nils.
"I won't let you harm these children, Nergal!" shouted Lloyd. He and Linus stepped in front of Ninian and Nils. "You've lied to the Black Fang the entire time! Ninian and Nils are innocent children, and YOU, Nergal, are the true villain!"
Nergal sneered. "So, you are Lloyd Reed. I must thank the Black Fang for their services. How does it feel, knowing that Sonia and I have been tearing apart your precious organization for the past year? You have been most useful pawns of my plan, not only in life but even after death!"
Lloyd's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean by that, fiend?"
Nergal laughed wickedly. "You Black Fang fools are more useful to me dead than alive! In every battle that you've fought, my precious creation Limstella has been draining the life force of your little armies as they lay dying on the battlegrounds. Their quintessence strengthened me as I gathered more from each fight. And now, my power is fully restored! Once I open the Dragon's Gate, I will be unstoppable!"
He paused for just a moment, and then gave Lloyd a malicious smile. "And your father's quintessence was absolutely magnificent in my restoration."
"Monster!" Linus yelled. He couldn't and wouldn't hear any more of this blasphemy. "You murdered my father and nearly ruined his life's work! I'll tear you to pieces!" He grabbed a hand axe from one of his soldiers and hurled it at Nergal with all of his might.
The axe flew straight at Nergal…and bounced harmlessly off of him. Nergal laughed mockingly. "Is that the best you can do? A Hand Axe? Fool! I have lived in the darkness for centuries! Let me show you a taste of TRUE power!"
Nergal raised his hands. Suddenly, darkness pulsated from the depths of the earth, surrounding the Dark Druid. Everyone stared in horrified amazement; this was something that no-one, not even Canas or Dusk, had seen before. Nergal suddenly reached out his hand towards Linus, and a vortex of black shadows swirled around him. The vortex sped up faster and faster until, suddenly, it exploded violently in pulsating darkness. Through the explosion, Lloyd could hear an agonized scream from within.
"LINUS!" Lloyd yelled in horror at seeing his brother being attacked so brutally.
When the shadows finally cleared, Linus was collapsed on the ground. He was badly battered and clearly would not be able to get up without help, but it seemed like he would survive. Immediately, a Black Fang sage rushed towards Linus and held out a Mend Staff, healing the wounds that Nergal's spell had inflicted.
Lloyd whirled towards Nergal, blade drawn and ready to avenge his brother.
"I grow weary of these interruptions," Nergal suddenly snapped, the amusement in his voice now replaced by impatience and anger. "Unless you would like to see my full power here and now, your little dancer and bard friend will have to make a choice. Come with me, or watch everyone they care about perish." He sneered at the two Children of Destiny, "Your choice."
Nobody moved for several seconds. Finally, Ninian stepped up. "If I come with you, will you let my brother go?"
"NO!" Eliwood and Nils both shouted in shock and horror. Lloyd felt similarly horrified, but a small part of him emphasized with Ninian's choice. If Linus or Nino were ever threatened by a grave danger, he would have gladly sacrificed his life to save theirs.
"One of you should suffice. Very well…as you wish."
Ninian turned to face Nils. "No, Ninian!" the younger bard cried out. "Why?"
"…Look after Lord Eliwood, Nils." She reached out and clasped her hands over her brothers'. She seemed to glow faintly for a second, and then that light transferred into Nils through their arms. As the glow faded, Ninian slowly let go of her hands.
"Ninian!" Eliwood and Nils both cried out. However, with no choice, she slowly moved towards Nergal's side.
"Excellent, Ninian! The gate will open and I will gain unlimited power!" Nergal cackled.
"Don't move, Nergal! I will cut you down!" Eliwood yelled. But before he could do so, Athos dragged him and Nils back. "Get down, both of you!"
Lloyd and Linus soon saw why. An explosion of energy seemed to burst from Nergal, completely blinding them. When the light finally faded, Nergal and Ninian were gone, and Eliwood and Nils were both knocked unconscious.
"You!" Athos turned to Dusk. "We need to move these two to camp right away! They need to recover!"
"Of course!" Dusk didn't waste any time. "Serra! Get stretchers ready. We need to get Eliwood and Nils to safety!"
"I can carry one of them," Linus offered.
Dusk gave him a startled look. "Linus! Are you sure you're up to this? It's a miracle you even survived that attack!"
"I'm fine," Linus replied confidently. "I'm the Rabid Hound of the Four Fangs! It'll take more than some dark magic attack to bring me down!"
"With that attitude, I'm sure you'll be fine," Lloyd laughed despite the situation that had just occurred. "Since you're technically the stronger of us two, you should take Eliwood's stretcher. I'll carry Nils back to camp."
/
When Eliwood finally awoke, Hector, Lyndis, Athos, Lloyd, and Linus were all sitting around him with looks of relief on their faces.
"Wh-what happened? Where am I?" asked Eliwood, confused.
"You're in camp," Hector answered. "Athos put up a barrier to protect you right when Nergal caused that explosion. Otherwise you and Nils would have both been killed."
"N-Ninian…" Eliwood muttered. He couldn't believe that his one true love had been taken, yet again, by that wretched fiend Nergal. "Where's Dusk? I want to talk to him about that darkness spell."
At that moment, Dusk entered. "I'm sorry, Eliwood, I was a bit occupied at the moment. One of the Black Fang suddenly arrived. He said his name was Igor and that he had a package for Lloyd and Linus. He also said it was of the utmost importance that they got it."
Lloyd's eyes widened. "That's exactly what I wanted! Come on, Linus! We need to pick up those items from Igor!"
Both of them exited the tent. Linus turned to his brother in confusion. "What exactly are you talking about, Lloyd?"
"Before the battle at the Shrine of Seals began, I met Igor out in the open. I sent him back to the Black Fang winter fort to pick up those special weapons that we keep hidden."
Linus' eyes suddenly went wide with understanding. "Oh, THOSE weapons! But how did Igor get to the winter fort and back so soon? That trip should have taken days!"
They both turned to see Igor standing in front of them. "Soon after I left the area," Igor explained, "I met with one of my friends who happened to be a Wyvern Lord. He volunteered to take me to the Black Fang fort. I was able to give my message and collect the items that you wanted, Lord Lloyd. Then I came back here in record time." He produced a package and showed it to them. "Here are your special weapons."
Linus took the package from Igor and ripped it open eagerly. Inside were a Killing Edge, Silver Blade, and a Wo Dao for Lloyd, and a Tomahawk, Killer Axe, and Brave Sword for Linus. There were also two new Light Brands. But what really mattered to them both were…
"Our Regal Blades!" exclaimed Linus. He and Lloyd each took one and held them in their hands.
"It's been a long time since I held this in my hand, Linus," Lloyd told his brother solemnly. "If there was ever a time to use them, now would be it."
"Thanks, Igor," Linus thanked his lieutenant. "You can go join the rest of the Black Fang. They've set up camp around here for now."
Igor saluted and left. Lloyd turned to his brother. "I think the rest of the commanders are coming out of the tent. Let's go rejoin them now that we have our best weapons here."
As soon as Lyn saw the two Reed brothers and their new weapons, her eyes widened in shock. "You didn't tell us you had these powerful weapons, Lloyd!"
Lloyd chuckled. "That's because we didn't have them until just now, Lady Lyndis."
Eliwood examined the two Regal Blades that they were holding. "My goodness! Those two blades you're wielding…they're unlike anything I've ever seen before!"
Lloyd nodded. "These are Regal Blades, exceptionally rare and powerful blades. Back when my father first created the Black Fang, there was another king of Bern before Desmond who was a very kindhearted man. He asked my father to lead the Black Fang to destroy a particularly brutal and large group of bandits terrorizing all of Bern. Leading just a few men against an entire army, my father wiped them off the face of Elibe without losing a single man. As gratitude, the King gave my father these Regal Blades. These were said to have been created by Hartmut himself, and while they might not be as powerful as the Sacred Weapons, they come pretty close to it."
"Wow," whistled Hector. "I don't think I've ever seen swords like those, and living in Castle Ostia I've seen a lot of finely crafted weapons."
"Speaking of swords," interrupted Athos, "before you continue on to find the Sacred Weapons I have something for you, Hector."
"What's this? A Heaven Seal! Look, old man, I've already tried one of these before and…"
"This time will be different," Athos replied calmly. "Trust me."
Hector took the Heaven Seal in his hand. Suddenly, it glowed brightly and lightning seemed to surge out from Hector. It charged all around his body, and as it did so his old armor seemed to be replaced by a tougher and more majestic one. In a brilliant flash, the transformation was complete. Hector had become a Great Lord.
"How do you feel, Hector?" asked Lyndis.
"This…this is amazing! I feel like I can do anything! Nothing can stop me! Not even Nergal!" exclaimed Hector.
"The power will run rampant through you at first, but it is yours by birth. You will be able to control it as time passes. And with your new power, you will be able to use swords, a weapon that you couldn't use before I gave you the seal." Athos explained.
"All right!" Hector shouted triumphantly. "Eliwood, Lyndis, let's go find those Sacred Weapons! I'm ready to tear Nergal to pieces!"
"Patience, young one!" Athos chided gently. "It is a long and hard road ahead of you. Give yourself some time to control your new powers, and your warriors some time to rest for the night. I will take you to the Sacred Weapons in due time."
Hector reluctantly gave the order to disperse into the camp. Linus turned to Lloyd. "Aww, man, Lloyd," he complained, "I wish I could use a Heaven Seal. Just imagine how strong I'd be!"
Lloyd smiled. "Unfortunately, Linus, I think Heaven Seals can only be used by royalty and direct descendants of the Eight Generals. But now that we have our most powerful weapons in our possession, we'll be just as ready as Hector. Now let's go get some food, I'm starving."
Linus nodded. "Yeah, I haven't had anything to eat since this morning. Too busy plotting my revenge," he said a bit guiltily.
"Don't worry about it, everything's all right now," responded Lloyd. He sniffed the air. "That food smells really good! Want to eat and talk later?"
"I've got no problems with that!" Linus agreed. Without saying any more, the new leaders of the Black Fang went to get some well-deserved meals.
A/N: So, it looks like the "special package" Lloyd was talking about earlier actually turned out to be some really, REALLY sweet weapons! I mean, two Regal Blades? Wow! By the way, I don't think Nergal actually created those semi-Sacred weapons. Rather, I believe he found them in his travels, and that he later took Basilikos from Brendan and would have taken the Regal Blade(s) from the Reed brothers if he had the chance. Anyway, Ninian's been kidnapped by Nergal again, but on the plus side Hector's now been promoted! The next few chapters will likely be filler to focus more on Lloyd and Linus. Read and review please!