Sorry about the late update, everyone. I've been very busy lately with college stuff. Ugh, they make it too complicated...

demonesszen: Thanks for your review!

The Story Master 125: Your crowd of OC's is scaring me...

Spectral Flame: Actually, there's only one "w." But that's just because loves to cut out repeated letters :P

Inferno-Hero: Harken/Isadora doesn't really have much story potential IMO. I mean, they are already in love, aren't they?

FireEdge: I certainly hope you update Stray Arrow by the time I post this. I've been waiting too long :/

Ragnarok-legend: You do have to realize that Jaffar probably has no sexual attraction to Nino whatsoever, at least at this point. Besides, I did say he just wanted her to be comfortable for the night after what she had done for him.

Narastar: I don't space twice after sentences. Even if I did, would cut it down to one space anyway. They're just weird like that .

Jeanie: Canas is the one who teaches Nino how to read. She had no idea how to read beforehand...it's really kinda sad :/

Ryst: Um, yeah...emo. I think it's more negative reinforcement for himself than anything...

Frombern: I wouldn't really call his injury careless, though it could be seen that way. And remember, Jaffar has no sexual attraction toward Nino right now :P

DTN: Hey, who doesn't love Nino/Jaffar? :D I love the fanart supports you created for them at deviantart. You should make more of those...like Heath/Priscilla :D

Bloody Mary: I don't think Sonia really wanted let Nino and Jaffar get to know each other...it just sort of happened out of her reach.

SweetMisery430: I've been adding out-of-game lines of dialogue to my stories during my entire time at , and you just noticed it? :P Oh and Sonia should be dying soon...probably next chapter or the one after :D

Flaming Soul: Thanks for your review!

hyliansage: Yes...Linus is dead now. It's too bad, he was my comic relief .

Magebrush: I really don't like using the "instant" promotion in my fanfictions. I mean, how does one instantly learn how to use staves (or anima magic, or swords, or whatever)? I like to make it more gradual. Nino using the Mend staff, though, was more desperation than anything. She won't be using it again for awhile.

TheNobody: Thanks for your review!

Kyosnekozukigirl: Thanks for your review!

gentleness28: The way you have it now is just fine :) You can write your review however you feel like; it is yours after all :P

And now...a nice steaming platter of Chapter 4. (thanks for that one, Ryst :P)

Chapter Four
Rage

With Jaffar's injury healed, the trip back to the Black Fang fortress had been simple. Nino, though cheery for the entire journey, did not make any attempt at conversation with the assassin. Jaffar, finding no reason to speak, had remained silent for the entire trip. He dearly wanted to ask the young mage about her past, how she had remained so bright and optimistic with a mother such as Sonia.

Yet he could not find a way to ask her. After all, how could he phrase such a question? And even if he did ask her, would she want to reply? Would she be offended by such an inquiry?

Some small part of his mind, rebelling against the ideals that he had been trained, kept telling him that he could not offend Nino, that he could not do anything that would make her want to avoid him. Inexplicably, part of his mind wanted the young girl by his side, feeling comfortable with her presence. Of course, his trained mind would fight back, telling the assassin that Nino was a distraction from his duties, a hindrance.

And Jaffar was left unable to make a decision.

"Please! Give me one more chance! Please!"

Now, though, he at least had a brief respite. He stood in the corner of the Black Fang fortress along with Ursula as another woman begged Sonia for forgiveness. The woman, a tall, imposing person with short blonde hair, vicious-looking eyes, and a scar down her left cheek, had failed in her mission. She had had Eliwood and his companions right in her clutches—and they had still slipped out of her grasp.

It was an unforgivable failure, but the woman was trying her best nonetheless.

Sonia stood silently in front of the blonde woman, with her back turned towards her. "Vaida," she said angrily after a few moments, "you expect me to give you another chance? You had a chance. You had the best chance you could possibly hope for. And you still failed. What reason do I have to grant you another one?"

"Please!" Vaida begged, now on her knees in a final act of desperation. "Without the Fang's good word, I'll never fly as a royal Wyvern Lord again!"

"So?!" Sonia demanded, whirling around. Her lips had held a scathing retort, but they curled into a darkly amused smile when she noticed the wyvern general on her knees. "Well, you're quite skilled at begging, at least," she spat. "Desist. You have failed and nothing will change that. Just be grateful that you are not a member or the Fang, or you would be dead right now."

Slowly, Vaida rose, then walked slowly out of the fortress. Her eyes blazed with hate and rage, but she made no further attempts to speak to Sonia.

"Pathetic woman," Sonia remarked to herself, then called, "Ursula! Jaffar!"

The two Fangs stepped out of the corner they had been waiting in, walking over to their leader. Ursula bowed in respect; Jaffar simply stood silently.

Sonia looked past them, out the doorway at Vaida's retreating figure. "There are two types of people in this world," she remarked. "Those who are fit to lead and those who are fit only to serve: human refuse." She looked back at the pair, though more at Ursula than Jaffar. "That's all. Only two types."

She smirked arrogantly. "I am the former." Her smirk grew wider. "I am a perfect specimen chosen by Lord Nergal." Her eyes probed the two Fangs' faces for any signs of disloyalty. "You two wish to be like me, don't you?"

No.

The assassin did not know where the thought had come from, nor did he even know why it had come. But for a brief moment, Sonia represented everything wrong in the world: arrogance, treachery...evil in its purest form. And he hated it, hated her, hated everything about her, and he wanted to destroy her, to make sure that nobody would ever have to suffer because of her again and—

And then the thought was gone, fading into memory, even as his trained mind exploded with rage, forcing his lips to mouth the word "yes."

His very thought had been treason to the Black Fang. His eyes did not change, nor did his expression. Yet inwardly, he was aghast. What could be causing him to think this way?

And then, as if on cue, Nino came bouncing into the fortress, smiling happily as she always did.

"Mother, you called for me?" she asked cheerily, not seeming to notice that her mother was meeting with Ursula and Jaffar.

Was it Nino? Could it be Nino that was causing him to have these thoughts?

Sonia sighed, exasperated as she always was when Nino interrupted her. "Yes," she began angrily, "I did, but—"

"What for?" Nino interrupted her again, still cheerful despite her mother's expression.

Sonia put a hand to her face in total exasperation, breathing heavily as she tried to control her rage. "Ursula," she managed to say through clenched teeth, "you are dismissed. Jaffar, stay here."

Ursula raised an eyebrow at Sonia's reaction to her daughter's presence, but she did as she was told and left the fortress quickly.

"So why did you call me?" Nino asked as Ursula left.

Sonia took a few deep breaths to calm herself.

And meanwhile, Jaffar was in shock.

He looked down at the young mage beside him. Her eyes were bright and she was smiling expectantly.

She was just a girl.

She was just a simple, ordinary girl. There was nothing special about her. Nothing.

Nino caught Jaffar's gaze, looking up at the assassin as her expression became one of slight concern. "Hello, Jaffar! Are you feeling all right? Does your wound still hurt?"

Those simple words caused Jaffar to be left speechless. The fact that Nino still cared about him gave him a feeling he couldn't quite describe. But he didn't care what the feeling was; all he knew was that he was feeling. Before he had met this girl, he had been an emotionless machine...and yet now, she was making him feel emotions he had never felt before...

Sonia's head rose at the word "wound." Her voice pulled Jaffar out of his reverie as she asked, "Wound?" She stared at the assassin with an expression that bordered on disbelief. "You were wounded?"

Before Jaffar could reply, Nino quickly answered for him. "Well, he was, but I healed him!" she declared proudly. "I used the Mend staff you gave me, and you never even taught me how to use it!"

Sonia's incredulous stare shifted from Jaffar to Nino, but it began to change into an expression of uncertainty. Her gaze shifted back to Jaffar. "Is this true?" she asked. Despite the laws of the Black Fang, something in Sonia's voice told Jaffar that she wanted to hear a positive reply.

"It is true," Jaffar declared flatly.

"Nino..." Sonia began, staring back at the young mage. She seemed at a loss for words, like a fighter who had been thoroughly defeated yet did not want to admit it to his opponent. And then, her expression calmed, and she stated, "That was...good work."

Nino beamed.

But Sonia was not finished. She drew a knife from a sheath at her waist, then walked over to Jaffar with a devilish smirk on her face.

Jaffar knew what was coming before it happened. He closed his eyes, standing perfectly still as Sonia drew a gash up his right arm. The pain was intense, but the assassin made sure not to show any signs of weakness to Sonia.

"W-What are you doing?!" Nino shrieked as blood began to pour out of the incision.

Sonia's devilish smirk grew wider. "I'm making sure that you can use the staff consistently."

Nino, however, seemed to be paralyzed with shock.

"Well what are you waiting for?!" Sonia demanded. "If you can really use a Mend staff, then show me!"

Jaffar, meanwhile, clenched his teeth and clamped his eyes shut, trying to ignore the pain as best he could as he kept standing perfectly still. It would pass. Nino could use the staff, he had seen that himself. He would be fine.

There was the sound of rustling as Nino frantically searched through her pack for the staff. When the rustling stopped, Jaffar heard her cry, "Mend!"

Nothing happened.

"Liar," Sonia spat. She snatched the staff out of Nino's hands, then pointed at Jaffar and calmly said, "Mend."

Immediately, the pain disappeared. Jaffar opened his eyes to find Sonia glaring hatefully at Nino.

"You stupid, stupid, stupid girl," Sonia spat. She threw the Mend staff against the floor, shattering the sapphire at the tip.

Nino put her hands up defensively as she stepped backwards, expecting some sort of physical punishment.

Sonia took a few steps closer. "I trained you in the hopes that you might prove to be a powerful sage," Sonia's voice was a deadly whisper. "Yet again, and again, and again, you fail me. And I have had it!"

The more Jaffar watched the mother and daughter, the more his earlier thought recurred to him. As Sonia's rage against Nino grew, so did Jaffar's rage against Sonia.

Nino did not deserve this.

And again, the feeling grew, and he wanted to kill Sonia, to make sure that nobody would have to suffer because of her again—

A whimper interrupted his thoughts. Nino had slunk against the wall of the fortress, tears spilling rapidly down her face.

"You have one chance now," Sonia whispered. "I am giving you an assignment. You will complete it. And just to make sure that you do—" she looked over at Jaffar, "—Jaffar will be coming with you."

Jaffar gave no response, but his mind was in turmoil. He would have to spend more time with Nino? His trained mind told him she would be a hindrance if anything, yet the other part of his mind, which seemed to be growing by the second, was welcoming her presence.

"W-what d-do I have t-to do?" Nino stammered weakly, sniffing.

"You will assassinate the prince of Bern, Zephiel," Sonia stated. "We have explicit orders from the king. This assignment must be carried out, and soon."

Despite her terror, Nino seemed confused at the fact that the king desired the death of his own son. She began weakly, "B-but—"

"BUT NOTHING!" Sonia screamed, causing Nino to shrink further against the wall. "You will complete this assignment! Is that clear?!"

Nino gave the tiniest of nods, shaking from terror from Sonia's onslaught.

"Good," Sonia went on, her devilish smirk returning. "Now get ready for your journey. You are leaving tonight."

Nino slowly stood up, wiping her eyes, though she continued to shiver with fear. Taking a few deep breaths, she said weakly, "O-okay." And she walked out of the fortress without another word.

Jaffar was about to follow her—he had to prepare as well, after all—but Sonia's voice stopped him.

"Jaffar," she called flatly.

He turned to the raven-haired woman soundlessly.

"About this assignment...after you kill the prince..." she began, but she stopped. She smiled deviously, as if delighting in the effect the words she was about to say would have on Jaffar.

"What is it?" Jaffar asked after a few moments of silence.

Sonia's smile grew so wide that her teeth showed.

"After you kill the prince...kill Nino, too."

Mwa ha ha! I think I'll leave it at that...
...
OK, so maybe it isn't so much of a cliffhanger when you know what's going to happen anyway. But what did you guys think of this chapter? I had a lot of fun creating Jaffar's rage against Sonia... ;P

Please review!!!
-TheOneAndOnlyT