Rio: Ah, well, it is here; the time where I announce the end of the rewritten chapters, and gladly embrace the new chapters after this one.
Legault: …Could you have written a cornier opening statement?
Sothe: 'smirks' You're just jealous because you are an imbecile and can't do anything about it.
Legault: Oh, that's it squirt! You are going to freaking die! 'unsheathes Picario daggers'
Sothe: Bring it weakling! 'unsheathes dual Stilettos' I may not be promoted, but I can still decimate someone as stupid as you!
'the pair rush at each other and start attacking'
Rio: Well, who didn't see this coming…
Matthew: Not me, as I'm off to bet on the winner. 'skips off'
Rio: Great, that's three pre-fiction helpers gone…oh well. Eliwood, disclaimer!
Eliwood: Rio owns only his thoughts and ideas, not anything else…well, except for maybe his body.
Rio: On with the story!
Chapter 13: The Fifteen of Nergal
"Rio?"
The Tactician turned to face the Pheraen Lord. It was dark out, and most of the camp was already asleep, except for Jaffar and Kent on guard duty. He could barely make out Eliwood's form with the aid of the dim light of the fire.
"Yeah Eliwood?"
The red head hesitated for a moment.
"Rio," he began, "what do you think about these Fifteen Generals we have heard about?"
Rio sat and pondered for a second before replying.
"Well, I don't know; from what we have seen through the three we encountered, they are very strong. In addition, they are most likely human, since none of them showed any of the traits of a morph. I just wish we knew a bit more about them."
"…about them," Telliun said. "I mean, if we are supposed to be eliminating these people, shouldn't Nergal tell us everything to exploit them. Seriously though, I got my shoulder punctured wide open by that Tactician of theirs!"
The Assassin sat back in his chair, next to a long table, in a dining hall. Eleven other people occupied the rest of the seats, except one large, empty chair towards the end of the table near to huge doors.
"The Master will tell us all we need to know when the time is right," the Druid, Krestif, replied coldly.
"That's not fair!" whined a young Sage, Nira.
"Zackrin agree," chimed in a large Berserker. "Zackrin believe that Master need tell us now or he may forget to later."
"Why did I betray Ilia for these fools," a Falcoknight, Faron, thought to herself.
"Quit whining you two!" Brintha, a Sniper, commanded. "You are generals in Nergal's army! Is this any way to act?"
"Besides," a Bishop, Vartith, added, "our gracious Lord Nergal will answers all our questions as he shows us his path to follow."
"Quiet you old windbag," Soveris, a Wyvern Lord, said harshly. "I know Nergal is important to all of us, but your stupid preaching is getting on my nerves."
"Soveris don't be so harsh," a quiet Valkyrie, Melanie, commented.
"Besides," her brother, a Paladin, Melantho said, "Nergal is a great man, and it is fine if Vartith wants to praise him. I mean, he did help a lot of us out."
"I agree," the usually quiet Nomad Trooper, Roviel, answered.
"Same here," the Swordmaster Achilles agreed.
"Heh," Portugas, a Hero, chuckled. "This dinner has been a real blast with all of you here. Don't you agree Harviel"
The Warrior looked up from his plate at the Hero.
"I'm sorry Portugas, what did you say? I haven't been paying attention to all of you bicker."
Before Portugas could reply, a black armored General walked through the doors.
"Sorry I'm late everyone," the General, Zuladior, said. "I would have arrived earlier, but I was asked by Nergal to help him with some plans."
"For what?" Telliun pried greedily.
"Well, he wanted my opinion on what groups to send to which countries."
"Nice," Portugas said. "Does this mean we will finally do something other than laze around this castle?"
"Yes it does. As for now though, we should rest; Nergal will be sending us off tomorrow."
The group agreed to it and headed off to their rooms.
After the hall was cleared, two men dropped from the ceiling rafters.
"Well, it looks like we should head back," Matthew said casually. "We need to tell Rio this invasion news."
"Guess so," Heath replied. "Let's head to Hyperion and fly back."
Krestif and Zuladior walked into their large room where they stayed. It was one of the royal chambers, and by far the best.
"Ah, it's nice to be able to rest in such a wondrous place," the General commented as he removed his armor, hanging all of it in place on a steel mannequin. Underneath it all, he wore a black sleeveless shirt and a pair of black pants.
"Well, did you think that Nergal would give us some cheap rooms," the Druid spat out, removing his black cloak and hanging it on a coat rack. "We are the top generals of his army, not to mention the heads of the Fifteen."
"I guess," Zuladior replied.
"Besides, an old man like you needs a good place to rest so his gray hairs don't fall out."
"Quiet you! I may have gray hair, but I'm only 56. That's pretty young in my eyes. Besides, you act like you're at least 80."
The Druid stared into the hazel eyes of Zuladior with his own gray ones.
"I'm only 49, which is much younger than you," Krestif retorted.
"Oh well, I still bet this 'old' mind of mine can beat you in a game of chess," Zuladior joked, pointing towards a table with a chess set prepared for a game on it.
"You're on," Krestif replied with a grin. "Besides, tactics has always been one of our strengths, so this ought to be interesting."
"Oh great Nergal, bless us in our sleep!" Vartith exclaimed.
The Bishop had removed his black and purple robes and was already lying in bed. On the other bed sat Harviel, deep in thought.
"Hey Vartith?"
"Yes?" the gray-haired man replied, his wine eyes filled with religious fervor.
"What do you think is truly going to happen tomorrow?" the Warrior questioned, his blue eyes staring at the ceiling.
"I know that our glorious Lord Nergal will send us off to the other nations to bring them into his control, so that all may see his power."
Harviel lifted his hand to his black helmet and pulled it off, exposing his mahogany-colored hair.
"I hope you're right," he said as he fell back on the bed, going to sleep fully armored.
"Get out of my bed you little vermin!" Achilles yelled.
He lifted the sheets off his bed and sent a punch straight at Telliun's face, sending him spiraling into the wall.
"Ow! Did you need to be so rough?"
"As long as you're being a damn fool, of course I do!" Achilles yelled at the Assassin.
"All right, Mr. Moody, all right," Telliun replied.
He headed back to his own bed and got in.
"Serves the little bugger right," Achilles thought as he slung off his black cloak, and got into his bed. All of a sudden, he felt a slimy substance near his legs.
"TELLIUN!"
The red-haired brother and sister pair, Melantho and Melanie, sat in two comfortable armchairs in their room.
"So sis, what do you think about tomorrow?"
"Well brother, if we are not separated, I will be quite happy."
Melantho chuckled, his sky blue eyes seeming to laugh with him.
"I think from how kind Nergal has been to us, that he knows that we are better together."
Melanie sat there, a smile forming on her lips, and her violet eyes brightening.
"I guess you're right," she said. "Nergal has been almost like a father to us, and he always knows what to do that is best for us."
"Don't be so scared!" the golden haired Sniper shouted, bow in hand. "I'm not going to kill you, yet."
"That's what you said last time when I accidentally tripped and landed on top of you!" Soveris called out, his lance pointing out from between a small fortress of chairs.
"Well, if you hadn't lain on top of me for so long, maybe I wouldn't have had to shoot you," Brintha replied.
"Yeah, and accidentally seeing you changing into your night gown is just as bad!" the Wyvern Lord yelled, his teal hair and eyes peeking through the crack.
"No," she answered, her maroon eyes staring at her bow as she notched an arrow on to the string. "It's much worse. Even if you only did it on accident, I can't forgive it, especially after all the tolerance you gave to Portugas and his 'incident' with me."
"Damn it, I'm in for a long night," he thought, propping his body against the wall.
"Zackrin, give me a piggyback ride!" Nira yelled, he pale blue hair swirling about in a ponytail.
"Zackrin already give you at least thirty of them already today," the purple haired Berserker complained.
Nira stared with her forest green eyes into Zackrin's crimson ones. Her mouth formed into an evil smile.
"I guess you'll just have to do it, or I'll tell Uncle Krestif."
"Fine, Zackrin will do it," he said nervously, a look of fear in his eyes.
As he started giving her a piggyback, Zackrin wondered how he had gotten the duty of having to be her partner.
Roviel sat on the bed of his small room. He was content with its size, since he was use to living in small places, and he had no need for a larger room, since he did not have a partner. However, all he could think about was the plains of Sacae, and how much he missed living there.
"This suffering is worth what Nergal will do to help me."
"Hey, Faron, how about you move that sweet little body of yours over here and let me snuggle with you," the cocky Hero asked from the bed, his orange hair neatly combed, and his steel-colored eyes staring at the Falcoknight in her nightgown.
"If you even think I'd let you do that, you must be terminally insane," she casually replied, her cerulean hair in curlers, and her raspberry-colored eyes rolling in a circle.
"Oh come on, you know I was joking," he replied. "I mean, I'd never do something like that to you. We are friends, and I hold you in a high respect."
"Yeah, you are pretty lucky we're friends, or I wouldn't have let that slide," Faron replied, scooting in with Portugas in the single bed in the room.
"Besides, without you," Portugas said, wrapping his arm around her, "how would I know how to woo any ladies?"
"Heh, you know that's the truth behind it all," she answered with a smile. "As fellow friends from Ilia, we have to help each other out."
"So, I see that my generals are starting to bond with each other."
Nergal was looking in a dark sphere in a pitch-dark room. In the sphere was every room, and he was watching the Fifteen and what they were doing.
"I am most interested to see how the Tactician will deal with these excellent warriors."
Rio: Well, isn't that all just fine and dandy.
Eliwood: Well, maybe for Nergal, but definitely not for all of us.
Rio: I guess you're right Eliwood. Anyways, next time, our merry little group has its eyes set on reaching Etruria, but it seems someone else has plans for the country as well. Not to mention that we will have the results of the fight between Sothe and Legault. It has surprisingly lasted this entire chapter, with neither of them losing any ground really. Also, in case you are wondering, all of the Fifteen's armor and clothes is either black or purple, and here is a list of their ranks.
Rank
1-Krestif
2-Zuladior
3-Vartith
4-Harviel
5-Achilles
6-Telliun
7-Melantho
8-Melanie
9-Brintha
10-Soveris
11-Zackrin
12-Nira
13-Roviel
14-Faron
15-Portugas
This is also pretty much the list in which they bunked. Anyways, I hope you had fun reading this chapter. Please review, and welcome back for the next chapter, where the new material begins!
Eliwood: Sayonara.