{-Alfonse-}

He never really considered what would happen to the Order's castle if no one was there to keep it from falling into disrepair; that is, until he found himself standing in front of it.

Veronica just stared at the beginning-to-fall-apart castle. "I feel like I should've been a lot more concerned for Bruno's well-being in his time here," she remarked bluntly.

"Well, it doesn't look like this in our world," Anna retorted. "This is kind of what happens to buildings when everyone dies, leaving no one to take care of maintenance." After looking around a bit, she continued. "It should be enough to get us through the night, at least. It's got a while to go still until it gets to the point where it could collapse at any moment."

She gestured for everyone to follow her inside.

Thankfully, there wasn't any signs of Líf and Thrasir being here. Everything was just as untouched as it was in the village, plus the general chaos the castle's courtyard possessed even on a normal day. Inside wasn't much different, and they wandered to the dining hall.

Whether intentional or not, the room was basically divided. Anna went to the corner closest to the door, with Eir in the opposite corner. Alfonse, Sharena, and Fauna were more or less huddled together in a corner between the two, with Veronica occupying the corner that was left.

Anna nodded to Eir. "Start explaining what it was that you couldn't tell us outside."

"I admit now that I have not been completely truthful with all of you, though I would like to remind you that I did not lie about what I had told you. Hel herself was never informed of what you were doing. I really did stay by camp. And know that whatever you wish to do with me after this, I will accept without defiance." Eir sighed, looking over at each of them before settling on the ground. "Before the battle that took the Askran king's life, Hel gave me a task. This task was to take advantage of your hospitality, eventually using it against you in order to kill the prince and anyone else who posed a threat to her or her ally. Líf and Thrasir were not pleased when they heard this—while Hel just told me not to return unless you were dead, they…were much more specific. They threatened to break apart everything I have, and I fear once they know I'm telling you this, they will.

"What happened after the battle when you found me was staged. They'd left as soon as it ended, picked me up, and made a portal to that spot. We then waited for you to show up, though I am aware that what they did to me in order to gain you're attention was neither planned nor on accident. They've been following us ever since, and I've been given them reports of you're actions nearly every night. This was supposed to be a simple mission; stay and gain your trust, then to end your lives before Hel could get a chance. But now…there's a feeling that resides in me that I did not possess before. A warmth I've only experienced through dreams…and a guilt of knowing your deaths are near. Since those feelings arose I have been trying to tell myself lies to ease that guilt; that a death by my hands will be more merciful than one by Hel's, and that mortal life itself is short. Yet I know, deep down, that this victory will not change anything—I will return to the realm of the dead, cast back into silence and solitude as only a worthless vessel. You have showed me that I may not need to suffer no matter the choice…and now, I believe I'm beginning to realize that I'd rather help you drive Hel out of your world than be apart of her plans."

For a single, hopeful minute, there wasn't any sign of fighting. Anna wasn't even the first one to say anything, despite looking like she was thinking of a nice way to go completely off on Eir. It was Veronica's statement that served as the last thing Anna would be tolerating that afternoon;

"I think we found who'll be killing Hel."

"Did you seriously not hear any of that?!" Anna payed no mind to the fact that Sharena and Fauna flinched, both getting closer to Alfonse. "She just admitted to have been working with the enemy for this entire time. There's still nothing stopping her from telling them this plan, and we've already put way too much risk on it by letting her stay this long. Who knows what she's already told Líf and Thrasir, let alone how much of this crap she's just making up!"

"Everything I say is the truth," Eir insisted. "While in the beginning that was kept by withholding all of the information, now I'm telling you everything I know. None of this is lies and this is not a game where we can afford to keep secrets."

"NOW you say that? After days of allowing you to stay with us, thinking it would be safe to let our guard down with you like everything you said in the beginning was all of it? I knew something was up with you, and I guess I know what it was now. I should've seen right through you the moment you walked in and before anyone could get hurt." Anna's tone grew increasingly colder as she talked, though she thankfully didn't move from her spot. Alfonse really didn't want to add having to step in between her and Eir to the list of things he wish he hadn't done in this trip.

"Oh, how sad that your little prince got hurt," Veronica remarked sarcastically. "Can you wait to do whatever the hell this is until I finish explaining?"

Alfonse gave an answer before Anna could. "Any plan is better than none at the moment, so go ahead."

"As I was going to explain, Eir's undoubtedly our best chance at getting anywhere near Hel," Veronica said. "She's the only one out of all of us who'll be able to easily walk through whatever defenses there are, and she already keeps her blades concealed so that wouldn't be an issue. All we have to do is figure out a way to convince Hel that the task is done and find where the heart is—I'll transfer the power of the heart to Eir's dagger, then we'll find Líf and beat him up until he opens a portal back to the realm of the dead for us."

That sounded like the best plan any of them had had so far, despite the few flaws in it. Though it would help if it wasn't one of the only plans they'd come up with. It wasn't even the "let's beat up Líf" part of the plan that he felt might need to be reconsidered, but it was definitely something that should be thought about a bit more.

"We could use my sword," Alfonse offered. "Honestly it's the only proof we could supply without actually doing it."

"Hel will be expecting a body," Eir pointed out, "If not only a part of it. Not to mention she will likely be able to tell that you have not joined the ranks of the dead."

"What if you were quicker?" Sharena suggested cautiously, clearly still not sure if she wanted to join in the conversation. "Don't give her the chance to consider it, and try not to think about how you're killing your own mother."

"Really, I'm not sure if that will be a problem. You have all made me consider if what I thought I knew of her was truly just something on my mind's creation…" Eir more or less trailed off near the end. "There is something I would like to ask her…but it will not change my goal."

Once Anna seemed to catch up to the current subject, she wasn't fond of the idea. "Are you really all considering this? We don't even know for certain if she'll even do it."

"Eir wouldn't have tolerated you this long if she didn't mean what she said," Fauna decided in an almost confident tone. "Not to mention she's had plenty of opportunities to kill us if she really wanted to. She deserves the right to prove she isn't loyal to Hel anymore."

Anna didn't reply at all to that statement. "Fine. Where would the heart be?"

"One of two places; either at the temple, or at a place Líf and Thrasir could trust," Alfonse answered. "The temple would be the obvious choice, which means it wouldn't take much for Hel to realize it's there and get rid of it. While carrying the heart with them would make them stand out, they'd be able to keep a close eye on it and could put it into use as soon as they came across Hel. There should be something around here about where it is now, and with any luck it won't be far." He already had a guess on where Líf and Thrasir could've left it after losing the others, if not even shortly before. All he could do was hope he was right.

((A/N: Yes, I imagine the heart being heckin huge. Imagine carrying around a giant human-looking heart. Actually that sounds really awful—))