Enjoy, I hope to write as often as I have been for as long as I can.

Chapter 21

The ship pulled into a dock in Tellius two days later, spot on with Nasir's prediction. Specifically, they pulled into a dock in the north of Crimea, in a town known as Port Toha. Ike remembered this town well from their last encounter; they would have to be much more careful this time around, when a large conflict with Laguz-haters would not be preferable.

With Ranulf, Caineghis, and Nasir cloaked in full body-length brown robes, the group careful got off the ship and into the subtle village. Being a port town, they had no problem finding an inn where they could all sleep comfortably.

This was when Harold and Gregory took their leave of the group. Both were immensely grateful and thankful for Ike's deed and had offered to help. Ike, even humbled as he was, decided to decline their offer and told them to get back home to their families. And they did.

The town was similar to how it was when they had last been here. The buildings poorly built and almost identical to each other, and the people were shady to say the least. Soren made sure to remind all of them not to speak to anyone, as these people were very unpredictable, feared and hated anything different from them, and were easily offended. A combination which made a street brawl, not only possible, but highly likely when trying to engage in conversation with any of the townsfolk.

Nevertheless, they were soon comfortably locked in their rooms. The barmaid who had sold them their rooms was in utter shock when Soren offered to rent all the rooms left in the small building. They soon found out why, as the quality within the rooms was very poor and it was easy to see why they were not often sold out.

After a bit of quick planning by Soren, Ike soon found himself in a four-bed room with Soren, Bryce and Oscar. Ike suspected that he knew why Soren had a placed Bryce in the room with them, though he did not confront the sage about this.

Other than the four beds, the room contained nothing but a table with a small candle on it, four chairs, a tattered rug, and a small, cut out section in the wooden wall that served as a window.

Ike claimed the bed all the way to the left. He threw his small bag of possessions at the foot of his bed and immediately leaped onto the sheets. It wasn't very late, but Ike was worn out. Probably because of the all the walking he had just done, as he wasn't accustomed to walking much on the ship.

Ike closed his eyes and began to rest and, from what he heard a few seconds later, he wasn't the only one that was tired.

For a few minutes, they all lay peacefully in their beds, until someone broke the silence.

Of course, it was Soren. "Hey Ike?" Soren had taken the bed directly adjacent to Ike.

Ike's eyes twitched open. "What is it, Soren?" He grumbled unevenly. He rubbed his eyes and yawned while he waited for a reply.

"I've been thinking, and I've been thinking hard, but I really can't think of any way that we can figure out where Amaros is, much less how to get to him. I would assume that he has taken refuge in some heavily fortified place, but there are many little castles throughout Tellius. And even then, they probably have loads of guards and-"

"Soren!" Ike interrupted calmly. "Save your breath, I have figured out the same thing."

"But, then everything we have worked for is nothing! We have no way to finish this war short of joining the Zadonian army. Which they would reject us upon first sight."

Ike smirked. "Well, you said it yourself, Soren."

"What?" Soren asked quizzically.

Ike leaned up a little bit and caught eyes with Bryce, who was looking at him intently. "Your right, they would turn us away if we tried to enter their army. Except for one of us."

Soren's face still looked a bit confused after Ike said this, but soon he caught on. "No!" Soren said vehemently. "No, Ike we can't do that, it is far too dangerous."

Ike was quite sure that Soren was not talking about it being dangerous to Bryce's well being, but to their whole mission's secrecy.

Ike simply laid back down and ignored Soren. Again, he closed his eyes to rest.

"Ike, listen to me!" Soren muttered angrily. "We can't do that, there is absolutely no hope for success!"

Ike's eyes remained closed as he said, "Go ahead, try to think of something else. But until you think of something better, we're sticking to this plan."

With an exasperated huff, Soren jump out of his bed and stumped out of the room without saying another word.

Once he was gone, Bryce sat up in his bed and said, "Why does he distrust me so much? I have done nothing but help you out."

"It's just Soren." Oscar replied. "You have to work for his trust."

"Yeah, don't worry about it." Ike added. He too sat up on the side of his bed. "Soren doesn't trust anyone except the original Greil Mercenaries, really." Then, thinking of Shinon and Gatrie, he added, "And it is pretty shaky with some of them, too."

"What? Does he think that I would turn you in for…for…for money? Fame?" Bryce spat, starting to get a little angry.

"That's exactly what he thinks." Ike admitted. "But don't worry about him. When you find out where Amaros is hiding, he'll come around." Ike gave him a reassuring smile.

"There are more important things than money." Bryce muttered.

"Too true…"

A minute or two passed before Oscar asked, "So, Ike, how do you plan on accomplishing this plan of yours? I don't know much about Zadonia, but my guess would be that the Zadonian army doesn't reveal the location of its commander to new recruits."

"Well, I haven't thought about if much yet…" Ike admitted. "but Bryce does come from a respectable Zadonian. I think that he may be able to get a higher position than a recruit when he applies. The tricky part may be finding a place to sign up for the army."

"Yes, that may be a problem…" Oscar agreed.

"Historically, when Zadonia takes over a nation, they try to recruit the people from the rural towns and farms." Bryce said. "They threaten to imprison the men, with the only possible way out is to enlist in the army."

"Wait, are you saying that there may be a recruiting officer in this town somewhere?" Ike asked, shocked. He had not heard this piece of information before, but it did seem logical.

"I'm not sure, maybe…" Bryce replied inconclusively. "Might be worth a shot to look."

Ike nodded slowly and looked at Bryce, full of thought.

"Alright. Are you up for it tonight?"

Ike and Bryce, both fully cloaked, began to walk through the town right after dinner. They had not seen Soren since he had run off, but that was so much the better for them. If Soren knew what they were doing, he would flip. It did not take a lot to convince Oscar to cover for them; in fact, he was the one who offered to. Apart from Oscar, no one knew where Ike and Boyd had gone, and most of them didn't even know that the two had left.

The streets were dark and unwelcoming as they walked through the town. The alleys offered a hideout for many suspicious characters but, luckily, none of them ever approached Ike and Bryce as they made their way uncertainly through them.

Some of the buildings were so beat and worn out that it was a wonder that they were even still standing. Most of the candles were out by now, but under the starlight, Ike could see just how run down many of the wooden houses really were.

At first, neither Ike nor Bryce really had any idea what it was they were looking for. Some kind of Zadonian outpost, sure, but what did one of those look like? But, no more than half an hour of search later, they had found it.

The one thing that set this particular building apart from the rest was the fact that this building was, in no way, run down, beat up, or about to fall to the ground. This building was a huge, two-story building with many windows lit by candlelight. There were four, eloquent pillars on the front side of the building which held up a balcony which extended from the second floor. And the door to the building itself rose almost as high as the pillars.

"This is it." Ike said when he and Bryce found the building. Everything fit. This building was new; it was definitely not here when Ike had passed through here last. The architecture of it was assuredly not from Tellius. And it was too glamorous for anyone who lives in Port Toha to own.

It was located near the docks, on prime waterfront property. The building itself had a small dock for personal use, but Ike and Bryce did not see this as they approached the building. As he got closer and closer, he realized that the building was painted a dull red and the roof was a pitch black.

It was not until they were right in front of the building that they stopped. The front door had a huge window and on the inside of the lit entrance room, Ike saw what he recognized to be the Zadonian flag.

Ike put his hand on Bryce's shoulder when he turned to him and said, "Alright Bryce, I have to take my leave of you here. Good luck."

Bryce nodded and opened the door, a look of grim determination on his face.

In the minutes that followed Bryce's departure into the mysterious building, Ike began to look for a good hiding spot. One which would allow him to see the door to the Zadonian building and not be seen by anyone coming out of it. And, as if that weren't hard enough, it also had to be a spot he could easily get out of for he needed to be able to catch up to Bryce once he left the building.

It did not take long for to find a suitable spot. Directly to the left of the building's entrance was a couple of empty barrels. They were not the perfect hiding place, but in the intense dark, no one would be able to see him when he was completely submerged in one of the barrels.

It was hardly a couple of minutes before Bryce emerged from the building once. Ike could hardly believe it but he jumped out of the barrel and ran to him anyway. Ike grabbed Bryce unawares on the arm and dragged him to a nearby alley.

"So?" Ike asked him in an excited whisper. "What did you find out?"

"Nothing." Bryce replied lightly. "Yet."

"Nothing?" Ike repeated, disheartened. "What do you mean? They haven't figured out about you and us yet, have they?"

"No." Bryce replied mysteriously.

Ike frowned. Bryce was acting very strange and ambiguous. "What then?"

"Well, I walked in the building-it was nice on the inside and definitely a Zadonian recruitment office. I talked a bit with the receptionist and I found out that, indeed, it was."

"But what happened?" Ike asked him impatiently, starting to get a little irked.

Bryce ignored him. "I kept talking to the receptionist for a little while until I saw someone I knew." Ike, at this point, frowned and furrowed his brow, listening as carefully as he could. "This man also recognized me and he offered me comfort and hospitality. I politely told him no, that I only wished to join the cause."

"So, are you in?" Ike asked, starting to shake and wither with anticipation.

"No, but I might have found something that will help us even more."

Ike felt all the excitement that had been welling up inside instantly blow away with the breeze. Anger rose to take its place. "Bryce, stick to the plan!" Ike commanded in an agitated whisper.

"Ike, you have to trust me on this one." Bryce pleaded. "This man…he can really help us. He has very close contacts and he really wants to help us."

Ike narrowed his eyes. "How can he help us?" He asked skeptically.

"I'm not really sure yet…" Bryce mumbled in response. "But, as I said Ike, he is really close and he can basically do whatever he wants in the Zadonian army. He has offered all of his services and all he wishes in return is to see you."

Ike's breath was cut short when he heard this. "No, Bryce, absolutely not! Do you not know how dangerous this is? I will be thrown into some cell the moment I walk into that building. Even if this man is as trustworthy as you say he is, everyone else in the building would be willing, happy even, to throw me into a cell!"

"Ike, you are already fully cloaked." Bryce replied, frowning. "Nobody will be able to see your face, much less match it to a face that not even half the army has even seen before."

"Yes, but they asked you to remove your cloak, did they not?"

"Yes, just the hood." Bryce replied, having already restored his hood since he stepped out of the building. "But that's not the point. They will recognize me and allow me to pass without checking now that they know me. And they will not check anyone that accompanies me either. So you and I can pass, undetected, through the halls to this man's office, where we can shut the door for privacy."

Ike still stared at Bryce skeptically, even though he could see no flaw in his reasoning. "Still, why should I trust this man you speak of?"

"Ike, I have learned long ago that a man of a different nationality is just as deserving of trust as any other man. I think that it is time for you to learn the same."

"What are you talking about?" Ike muttered angrily. "You're Zadonian and I trust you just as much as anyone else in Tellius."

"Then why don't you trust me now?"

Ike glared at Bryce. He had effectively made him eat his own words. "Alright, alright, fine." Ike sighed. "What do I need to do?"

"Ok, good." Bryce smirked. "So you're in?"

"Don't make me regret it." Ike growled.

"Ok, just follow me, and keep your cloak on. Be sure to be very quiet." Bryce began to walk out of the alley. "It is late and I don't expect there to be very many guards in the halls, but nevertheless, be careful."

Ike made sure that his cloak completely covered his body; he didn't want an inch of his skin exposed. Once satisfied, Ike rounded the corner out of the alley behind Bryce and appeared at the front of the building once more.

Bryce glanced back at Ike for an instant before he opened the door and stepped into the building. Ike followed a step behind and, once inside, was struck by the glamour. The entry room was half the building at least. There was a staircase on his left and his right, and Ike could see three separate doors on the second floor.

An exquisite rug covered almost the entire floor before them. The walls were covered with various decorations ranging from decorative swords to Zadonian flags to paintings of Zadonian soldiers in all their glory. And, to top it all off, an expensive-looking chandelier hung from the roof far above.

Right in front of the door was a desk which was occupied by a young female receptionist. She looked exhausted, but she continued to write something down as they entered the room. On either side of the desk was a separate door, but each led to the same hallway.

"Well, Mr. Fendrel, the general is willing to see you whenever." The receptionist said yawning, never looking up from her work. Ike was a bit surprised that she knew it was Bryce without even looking up. But he was even more surprised when he heard the word, "General." Who was that?

"Thank you, I'm heading to him now." Bryce replied, and he began to climb up the staircase to the left. Ike followed him up the stairs, and they walked beside the railing until they were directly over the receptionist's desk, where there was a door. Bryce opened the door and Ike followed him to the end of the hallway.

Ike could tell that this was the general's door just by the look of it. The other doors, apart from the entry door, were plain wooden doors. But this door was quite a bit bigger than any other door. The door handle looked to have been made of pure silver, and so did the knocker. There was a carving in the wood of an axe underneath the knocker.

Bryce opened the door without question and he stepped inside nary a backward glance. Ike, however, was a bit more hesitant. He only began to move once Bryce had disappeared completely and the door almost closed on him.

The room on the other side of the door was just as glamorous as the door which protected it. The point of interest, however, was the ornate desk before him. There were two chairs that faced the desk, one of which was occupied by Bryce. On the other side of the desk sat a man who looked very familiar…

"Ah, Ike," The man exclaimed. "So nice of you to join us! Please, sit!"

Ike narrowed his eyes. This man looked extremely familiar, but Ike did not know where from. He was short and had short brown hair and brown eyes. His robes were a dark black, and they looked like the robes of a magician. Other than that, Ike could see much more about this mysterious general.

Ike walked away from the door frame and sat down in the chair next to Bryce. As he was sitting, he heard the door behind him creak to a close. And, as Bryce had already removed his hood, Ike politely did the same.

Bryce was the one who spoke next. "Alright, Ike, what you're going to hear next is not what you were expecting to hear."

Ike never took his gaze off this general. "Who is he, Bryce?"

"You know me, hero, you know me quite well." The general replied.

Bryce sighed. "Well, here it goes. Ike, this is General Hogan."

The name took a minute to register in Ike's mind, but when it did, it almost made Ike spring out of his chair in anger. Was Soren right?

"What the hell?!" Ike rounded on Bryce, who calmly waited Ike's anger out. "What are you doing, Bryce, trying to turn me over?"

Bryce sighed again. "I told you that you would be surprised…"

"Damn right, I am!" Ike yelled again. "You can try to turn me over all you want, but you will never succeed! Soren was right about you."

"Ike, you are surprised, and have great reason to be, but you have no reason to be angry. I am not turning you over-"

Ike laughed. "Then why bring me to him?!" Ike brandished his finger toward Hogan. Hogan himself just sat back in his chair and listened intently to what was happening around him, not making any moves.

"If you would just let me explain, there is much that you don't know about Hogan." Bryce replied calmly.

Ike's anger subsided somewhat, but he continued to glare Bryce. "Tell me." Ike said crossly.

"Allow me." Hogan said meekly. Ike directed his cross stare to Hogan. "I am through with Amaros. I wish to help you."

"W-what?" Ike's anger lessened quite a bit, and his muscles, which were tense with anger, relaxed a bit. Bryce stared out the window, lost in thought as Hogan continued.

"It is true." Hogan repeated. "Everything that Amaros is doing and has done to Tellius is wrong. It is not much, but I wish to offer you my help and my support."

Ike stared at the general with his mouth agape. "I-Is this some kind of trick? What are you doing?" Ike whispered.

"This is no trick, Hero. I have a bit of information that can really help your fight against Amaros. Just say the word and I will share it with you."

Ike continued to watch Hogan curiously. "Why are you doing this?"

"Why?" Hogan repeated. "I have not been here long, Hero, not near as long as you have been here. But already, I have seen the virtue that plagues this land. I have seen the unity and loyalty that Amaros has yet to offer the Zadonian army. I had a vision about what I should be fighting for. I used to fight for Amaros, but I have seen the error in my ways. I should be fighting for what Tellius stands for. But how could I fight for freedom and virtue and fight Tellius at the same time?"

Ike stared blankly at the general when paused to catch his breath with eyes full of wonder.

Hogan continued. "In every town that I have conquered here in Tellius, I have suffered through the insults of the native townsfolk. They all mention you, the Hero of Tellius, and how you would again lead them from the darkness. As long as people have something to fight for, they will continue to fight. I could just kill you know and say that they don't have anything to fight for anymore, but it is much more complex than that."

Ike stared at him blankly. "How so?"

"Because the people of Tellius don't just fight for you. They fight for what you stand for. Even if you were gone, they would continue to fight for what you fought for. The spirit of the people of Tellius will not break as easily as Amaros believes. They all have hopes for a life of freedom, and you can't steal the hopes out of people, it is just not possible."

Hogan sighed. "I just want to redeem the great nation of Zadonia. For far too long, it has suffered under Amaros' tyranny."

"Alright." Ike said cautiously. "I trust you. Tell me what you have to say." Ike looked over at Bryce. He was still gazing out the window with a dreamlike stare.

"I only have information to offer, and, I must say, it is not much." Hogan replied. "But you should find it useful to bringing down Amaros."

Ike nodded. "Go on."

"He is scared of you, Hero." Hogan said. "He hides all day long in Sienne, behind walls of stone and guards. He intends to stay there until you come to him or proof of your death reaches his ears."

Ike perked his ears up at the second option and looked at Hogan expectantly.

"No, no, I can't do that." Hogan replied, crushing Ike's hopes. "He already distrusts me. I fear that he has already realized that I am conspiring against him. He will not believe me if I simply tell him that you are dead. He will ask me for your body, I am sure of it."

"Well, alright." Ike sighed. "What else?"

"Well, he also has taken an orange-haired Laguz prisoner."

Somehow, this didn't come as much of a surprise to Ike. He had suspected that she would fall into Amaros' possession ever since she got captured. Still, it pained him greatly to hear it aloud. "He has Lethe?"

"Yes. He has taken her prisoner and he is also using her as bait to lure you out into the open."

Ike nodded. "Well, I suspected as such."

"There is a little more you should know about his guards. Most of them should not pose a threat to you or any of your friends, but there is a couple that are very powerful and should not be taken lightly."

Ike nodded and waited for Hogan to clarify.

"The first is Aileana. She is like no other fighter I have ever seen. She is quick and agile, and yet, she is quite strong as well. She wields a sword and her technique is like no other I have seen. There are no real flaws in her stance. Her armor is quite open to magical attacks, but other than that, your only option is to overpower her, which, I daresay, isn't as easy as you may think."

Hogan continued. "The other is Darod. He is strongest man that I have ever met. And he is decently quick for his size. He puts so much power into his swing. He uses an axe and is actually quite accurate with his strikes as well. Be careful around him, I can offer no real suggestions on how to bring him down."

Ike looked at him, full of thought. "Where can I expect to find these two?"

"They are both generals, so I would expect somewhere near Amaros himself. But I haven't talked to Amaros in a while, so I'm not sure how they are stationed."

Ike looked at him quizzically. "So, why are you even here? I mean...how are you here? Wouldn't Amaros want you to stay in Sienne?"

"Well, yes," Hogan replied, a little hesitant. "But I managed to convince that I would go to the coast and be on the lookout for you. He was not hooked on the idea at first, but he eventually allowed it."

Ike narrowed his eyes and watched Hogan carefully. "You said earlier that Amaros distrusts you a bit now. Why?"

"Well," Hogan sighed. "It was when your friend was given to Amaros. I was with him in Sienne when a man delivered her in a body bag-and before you say anything, she is completely unharmed. Unfortunately, my sense of moral conviction outweighed all common sense and I blatantly suggested that he should free her. He has seen me in a new light ever since then."

Ike frowned. "So, it's all out in the open now. What would happen if Amaros ever found out about this?"

Hogan paused and held a thoughtful stare for a moment before answering, "With any luck, I won't have to worry about that."

"Why?"

"Because…I believe I have seen Amaros for the last time."

"Wh-what?" Ike exclaimed. He was so taken aback that he jumped back in his chair and nearly sent it, and him with it, to the floor.

"Yes, my plight to a life without Amaros' dictatorship begins now. I can't go back to him now, not after committing this treason. I have no doubt in my mind that someone in this very building suspects that the Hero is in his midst. And he will witness your leaving here, unscathed. His suspicion will reach Amaros' ears. And, with how distrustful of me he has become, he will believe it and have me punished. No, I cannot go back now."

Ike didn't reply, but his facial expression asked the obvious question.

And Hogan answered the question. "I will do what I should have done long ago, if I had the opportunity to do so. I will return to Zadonia. I will help restore it to how it was before. Zadonia is not a bad place. Without Amaros, life will be much better in my home. But there is one catch."

"What is that?" Ike asked, but he had a vague idea of what it was.

"I cannot bring grandeur back to Zadonia with Amaros still in power. I have created this plan, and the base of it rests on the assumption that you will take down Amaros."

"That is not an assumption, my friend, that is a fact waiting to come true." Ike replied confidently.

Hogan smiled. "I foresee a future where Tellius and Zadonia are strong allies. Hopefully sooner rather than later, our two nations will join together and put this hate behind us."

"I would very much like that." Ike said, smiling. "As I am sure that Tellius' leaders will. Except, you have said one thing that is untrue. There is not hate between our nations. The only barrier that is prohibiting us from being allies now is Amaros."

"Too true, too true…"

And the whole while that Hogan and Ike were talking, Bryce silently stared out the window, lost in thought.