*whispers* nothing will stop my muse now especially when fueled by the power of almost a totally complete story outline haha-

Thank you for the follows, favs, and reviews... We return to Elibe tonight!

Guilt

It had been many weeks since Roy's disappearance from Elibe.

Nary a day went by where Nils did not stare out at the sky, wondering what he could have done different. Though the sun blazed overhead, the manakete felt nothing but cold as he stared out into the open blue. The breeze rustled his hair as he closed his eyes and let out a slow sigh.

Eliwood had been intent on beginning the construction of a Dragon's Gate right there in the gardens of House Pherae. Even with Nils' initial concerns, the marquess was loathe to change his mind, and eventually Nils agreed to help.

It had been his fault that Roy disappeared, after all. If he just had done something, anything different that day…

He frowned. There it was again- that passing thought that had constantly nagged his mind since that day at Dread Isle. Regardless of whether he was conscious or not, his doubts and guilts plagued him even in his sleep. Nightmares were almost nightly for him now, with the scene replaying over and over as he stood there as a bystander in his own unfortunate past. What would his sister say if she was alive now? Surely, she would be disappointed in his inability to protect her son.

Right?

Even Roy's friends, like Wolt, Fa, or even Lilina were unable to bring Nils out from this crushing guilt he had subjected himself to. Never had he felt so inadequate in his life—not even when his sister had been taken by Nergal, or when he watched as Elbert—

No, now was not the time to dwell on that, either.

The sound of careful footsteps crunching in the grass behind him pulled him from his thoughts and he glanced back over his shoulder. Eliwood smiled gently at Nils as he approached, some papers in his hands.

"Good afternoon, Nils," he greeted. Nils nodded his head slightly in response.

Eliwood walked forward to take a spot standing next to Nils. "You have been staring out at the sky again…" he said quietly, which made Nils glance away. "I can't tell you how to feel. But know that you aren't alone, and if you do need to talk… well, there are many of us here, myself included, that are here for you Nils."

Nils had heard this more than once from his brother-in-law. While he appreciated the sentiment, he was not particularly sure he was ready to open up just yet.

"Is there something you needed help with, Eliwood?" he asked as he looked up to the marquess. Eliwood looked to the parchments in his hands and sifted through them.

"We were just going over these documents you drew up for us and had a few small questions, is all. Would you have a moment to answer?" Eliwood looked to Nils. He had an understanding but expecting look in his eyes.

Nils nodded. "Yes, I do."

The redhead seemed pleased. "Great. Thank you. Come with me, we were discussing this in the main hall…"

With a slight motion of his hand, he bid Nils to follow him as he turned on his heel and proceeded back towards the mansion. Nils followed his brother as they made their way to the main hall. Eliwood opened the door to allow Nils in before him, and the manakete took a few steps into the room before halting with slightly widened eyes.

A friend he had not seen in many years stood but a few paces away, one hand on her hip as her other palm supported her weight against the table as she read the diagrams laid out for them.

"Lyn?"

The green-haired woman looked their way and smiled as she stood up straight. "Nils, it's been a long time," Lyn greeted. "You look just as I remember you."

For some reason, a swell of emotion built in the smaller manakete's chest and his lips pursed as he held his feelings back. He could only manage a small nod in response. Eliwood smiled and closed the door quietly before walking past Nils and towards the table. After a moment of hesitation, Nils came to the table as well, though he kept watching Lyn all the while.

"I appreciate you coming, Lyn," Eliwood said as he set the parchments down on the table. "I know it has been a few years now since we last saw each other… so your prompt arrival means a lot."

Lyn shook her head and smiled. "There's no need. I heard what happened to Roy," she said. "There was no way I could simply ignore your request for help. Besides, Kent and Sain were itching to take a trip anyway, so it didn't take much to convince them to tag along."

A small chuckle escaped Eliwood's lips as he closed his eyes and shook his head. "I should not be surprised. They seemed as sprightly as ever."

She only shrugged, a smile still playing on her face as she looked to Nils. "So, you both are deciding to build a Dragon's Gate…" she started as she looked to the marquess again, "Right here, in Pherae. I'm sure you already thought over it long and hard, but are you absolutely sure that this is going to work?"

Eliwood only shook his head, and Nils glanced away. "No… we're not sure," Nils said quietly. "But it's the only option we have left… the Dragon's Gate that was on Dread Isle was completely blown to bits when those mages attacked Roy and I, after I pushed Roy through the gate. And Eliwood didn't want us to build something far away since it would be hard to keep quick progress going if everyone had to travel back and forth between Pherae and the gate…"

Nils laced his fingers behind him, resting his hands on the small of his back sheepishly as he kept his gaze averted. Eliwood glanced to Nils. "He's correct. And though I know it's a potential danger… well, it is a risk I am willing to take for the time being, while we try to bring my son back," he added before looking to Lyn again. She only nodded.

"Run in first, ask questions later… you're sounding like Hector," she mused. Eliwood rested his fingertips on the table as he turned his attention to the parchments and drawings sprawled across the wood.

"Perhaps."

After a short silence, Eliwood cleared his throat slightly, drawing the attention of the other two in the room. "Nils, the reason I had Lyn come here was to request her help, as you are aware. However, it was we have more than enough hands as far as the actual construction of the gate goes."

Nils furrowed his brow a little, unsure of where his brother was going with this. Eliwood tapped his knuckle to the table slightly before picking up the parchment that had been beneath his fingers. "I have finished reading over all of the notes you took, Nils, and had a couple of concerns that require travel. Since I am more or less required to stay here, especially in Roy's absence, Lyn has agreed to address these issues in my stead."

"Okay…" Nils responded slowly, still unsure. "Then you needed me here for…?"

The marquess picked up the paper in his hand and kept his eyes trained on it as he went over Nils' scrawling again. "You had concerns about the gate's power source…" he recounted as he looked over the notes, "Isn't that right?"

A slow nod.

"Right," Eliwood started again, looking to Nils. "If you think it might take more power than you and Fa have, then perhaps having someone travel to Arcadia would be able to persuade a few more dragons to assist... and if you would be willing to go along to help them talk to-"

Immediately, Nils shook his head and threw his arms to the sides. "No," he practically shouted, but quietened once he realized how strong his reaction had been. "I don't…"

Lyn frowned a little and crossed her arms under her chest. "You don't want to go there, do you," she said. Nils lowered his arms and stared down at the floor. "Nils… why?"

He shook his head and put his forehead in one of his hands. After a moment that felt like an eternity, he finally mumbled, "… That's where my father…" His thought trailed and he found himself unable to say anything further.

The other two exchanged glances and Eliwood felt as if he had requested far too much of Nils. However, with the situation as dire as it was, he turned to look at his brother again. "Nils… I know it is hard for you…" he started, "My father… he died in my arms. I watched him take his last breath. But for you, you had to watch your father live on even after his soul had long since left him."

Nils grit his teeth. "Is this supposed to make me feel better…" he muttered.

The paper in Eliwood's hands crumpled in the corner as he gripped it just slightly tighter. "… What I am trying to say is… it was very difficult for me to come back to Pherae, and to this castle, after my father's death. There was more than one occasion where I would call out for him to show him something I had discovered, only to receive no answer… and the memories of that day would flood back like a wildfire," he explained. "But… I had to stay strong for my people, my friends… my wife. Even though there were times that I wanted to turn my back and run away in my grief, I…"

Lyn was quiet—though her and Eliwood had been friends for many years by now, he had never spoken so freely about his feelings. He always took things in stride or with a smile. It made sense that he would have struggles too—it's not like he lacked humanity, after all—but to hear him admit them out loud made them reality instead of imagination. Nils relaxed a little bit as his gaze rose up to Eliwood. Now it had been Eliwood's turn to focus on the floor as he thought back to his past.

"… But even in the times where I found myself falling into grief, I had those friends and family to pull me back out again before I drowned. Even my mother, before she passed." Eliwood lowered the paper back to the table and turned his attention to Nils once more, "You have withstood so much and are far stronger than I could ever hope to be. But… if you ever find yourself struggling to stay afloat, please remember that your friends, and I as your brother-in-law, am here for you. I say it often, but I truly mean every word."

That emotion Nils felt earlier built in his chest again, so high that it began to escape from his eyes as he tried to fight back his tears. Red eyes clenched shut as his shoulders shook with a quiet sob. His reaction to Eliwood's suggested plan and his encouraging words had been so strong—had Nils really been bottling up his emotions this much? Nils swore he was okay, happy even, with the resolution from years past; he had moved beyond losing his mother, beyond Ninian's first death, beyond his distrust of humans, beyond laying his father to rest after hundreds of years of torment, beyond leaving through the Dragon's Gate alone… and beyond learning of his sister's actual death after she had given birth to Roy.

Recounting it all just made his heart ache. Maybe he had not been okay with it after all. Having to bear witness to his nephew falling under the same horrible spell that had taken his sister away from him the first time and having him so quickly ripped away through the Dragon's Gate, must have triggered a slew of dark emotions Nils had buried over the years.

A gentle hand on his shoulder brought him from his thoughts and he raised his head to see Lyn in front of him with a sympathetic smile. "We are still here for you Nils. Your pain is our pain to share. You won't be alone."

He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat and, after a few more sniffles, nodded. Lyn's smile grew and the corners of Eliwood's lips turned upwards as well.

"… Alright… I'll go," he said quietly. "To… to Arcadia, with Lyn."

Eliwood came to Nils as Lyn stepped back to allow him room by his brother. The marquess pulled his brother in for a firm hug.

"Thank you, Nils," he said. After a stunned moment of silence, Nils returned the gesture.

"Yeah…" he said. "I'll do whatever I can to get Roy back. For you… for my sister."

After a long night and a few hours of early-morning preparations, primarily because Lyn had insisted on assisting in the actual physical building of the gate while she was there, they were ready to set off for the hidden city of Arcania.

Kent and Sain acted just as they did years back—those two managed to find a smile in any situation. It was contagious, Nils thought, as he had caught himself smiling and holding back chuckles on more than one occasion throughout the last few hours.

Perhaps getting those few tears out earlier lifted some of the weight that had kept his heart chained down for so many years. At least, he hoped it was that.

The jingle of the metal rivets and loops on Lyn's horse's bridle was oddly calming as she brought her horse to Nils and Eliwood, who had been standing by the manakete's side.

"Well, we've got all of our things ready," she said as she patted her horse's neck. "Nils, are you ready to go?"

He shifted on his feet and glanced to Eliwood a little before turning to Lyn again with a nod. "I think so," he said. "I haven't… actually had to travel there myself, so I'll have to hope you can get us there."

"Well, we will not be going alone," Lyn said as Fa bounded towards them with Kent and Sain in tow.

"Fa will show you how to get there! Fa will show you!" she cheered. "Fa is from Arcadia!"

Sain rubbed the back of his head and grinned. "We're going to have our hands full, but I've been itching for another adventure. It's been a long time."

Kent nodded in agreement. "Arcadia's pretty far away too. So that means a lot of sightseeing along the way…"

Lyn rolled her eyes. "We are not here to sightsee, you two. We have an important mission."

Both Kent and Sain shrugged a little. Eliwood seemed amused as he put his hand to one of the horse's noses. "Well, regardless, please do travel safely. Arcadia is far away."

After exchanging their goodbyes, they all mounted their horses, with Fa sitting behind Lyn and Nils behind Kent. Eliwood stepped back a few paces and waved as Lyn's horse took off, with Kent and Sain following.

Nils looked back as they departed, and his eyes met with Eliwood's as the marquess was lowering his arm. There was a fire in his irises that Nils had seen only a few times before, years ago- the most notable of which being when everything was on the line as he stood against Nergal. Nils could remember that day like it was yesterday; Eliwood had held himself firm with determination, unwilling to back down, even when faced with immeasurable odds. It was then that he saw the true strength and power of Eliwood's relationships with his comrades.

That look was in his eyes again. That determination and trust—though this time, it was meant for Nils.

Nils… We will do this. Together.