News flash, filling out college applications still sucks. Same goes for writer's block. Sorry about the late update...

The Story Master 125: My last chapter was really "god?" ;P

FireEdge: I feel sorry for Nino too...that's why Sonia will DIE A HORRIBLE AND PAINFUL DEATH—er...--cough-- yeah.

Ragnarok-Legend: You really think my updates are fast? My normal rate is a week and the last chapter was three days late. And this one is an entire week late...maybe I should redefine my "normal" rate :/

Ryst: There will be a final confrontation between Jaffar and Sonia. However, Jaffar is not going to kill her. Wait and see ;)

Flaming Soul: Thanks for your review!

Swordmaster J: Thanks for your review!

Firelien: It will be fun for me to create Jaffar's introduction into Eliwood's army, especially since many of his allies are going to hate him. Should be interesting :)

Inferno-Hero: I'd have to think more about a Harken/Isadora story, but in any case it wouldn't be started until after I'm done with this.

Lady of Dragons: I think the "did I just think that" line is very necessary for Jaffar, especially because he's been so used to carrying out orders without question. A mental disturbance must be very important for him to fix.

Spectral Flame: I agree. Death to Sonia!

Chaos: Thanks for your review!

Jeanie: What bugged you about the Mend staff scenes?

Bloody Mary: Thanks for your review!

Crystal Royale: Thanks for your review!

hyliansage: To quote Hector, "The more you praise me, the less worthy I sound." Now I think my "cliffhanger" sucks... ;(

DTN: Heath/Priscilla support C?! You have to do A! You must!

demonesszen: I'm trying to make Sonia as evil as I possibly can, and from the responses I've been getting, it looks like my characterization did the trick. :) And as for what Jaffar was thinking when he saved Nino...that's this chapter! Read on...

James Holester: A Jaffar outfit for Halloween? I think that's taking it a bit far...

frombern: Don't worry, I don't think Jaffar is the type to destroy things other than what he hates :P

Magebrush: Thanks for your review!

SkyFireZero: Thanks for your review!

gentleness28: Don't worry about the late review...I don't care when I get a review, as long as I receive it in the end :)

dustin pollock: Thanks for your review!

Winteress: Thanks for your review!

SaiTheInsaneTactician: If I tell you how many chapters this is going to be, it inevitably will end up being a different number of chapters. So I'm just going to leave that question unanswered. :P

And now, a nice steaming platter of Chapter 5. (Geez, I can't stop using that phrase now :P)

Chapter Five
Pity

For the first time in a long while, Jaffar was taken aback by Sonia's request.

He knew this woman was asking the impossible, but he did not dare voice that opinion to her.

She was asking him to kill the girl who had saved his life, both physically and spiritually—she had reawakened the emotions inside him that without her would have remained dormant forever. It was a debt he owed her at the basest level—a life for a life.

But even then, what had Nino done to merit this punishment? Jaffar had never had any moral qualms with any other assignment he had been given because he had always had a reason to assassinate his targets—some were traitors, some had severely broken the law of the Fang, and some were simply enemies of the organization.

But Nino had done nothing wrong.

He couldn't believe that this woman was asking him to do such a thing.

And when he responded, all that came out was, "What?!"

"You heard me," Sonia replied, that accursed smirk still on her face. "I want you to kill Nino."

Again, disbelief overtook him. How could she ask him this?

"Nino has failed in her duties time and time again," Sonia continued; it seemed Jaffar's incredulousness was apparent to her. "The magic that flows through her veins is far more powerful than mine—" she spat out the words with disgust, "—yet she cannot, will not refine it. She was granted immense power that she cannot use."

"She can use it," Jaffar countered. "She healed my wound in Swanchika."

"I don't believe I asked you to question my orders," Sonia retorted angrily. "She was lucky, do you understand?! She could never use that staff at will."

"But Nino is your daughter!" Jaffar exclaimed. Never mind that she wanted him to kill Nino, she wanted her own daughter to die! How heartless could this woman be?

He knew his comments were out of place, and he made no move to resist as Sonia lashed out, furiously grabbing the collar of the assassin's shirt and pulling his face close to hers.

"Nino is worthless trash," Sonia gave a deadly whisper, and she said the words with such hatred that Jaffar was surprised Sonia had not killed Nino years before. "She cannot do anything I ask of her. She is better off dead."

She shoved Jaffar away as she let go, still seething. "You will kill her," she commanded.

"This...has nothing to do with me," Jaffar responded. The conflict was between Sonia and Nino; that he knew.

"Oh, but it has everything to do with you, Jaffar," Sonia chuckled darkly. "You see, my daughter has had quite an influence on you. And I don't like it." She took a few steps towards him, her expression quickly turning into a snarl of anger. "You never questioned my orders before she...saved you."

"She has done nothing wrong," Jaffar declared flatly. He did not even flinch as Sonia slapped him hard and full across the face.

"She is a failure!" Sonia screamed. "She does not even deserve to stand in my sight! I trained her to become a servant of Lord Nergal, and she has failed that training! Is that clear?!"

Jaffar gave no response.

"You do not seem to understand the situation, Angel of Death," Sonia spat. "Nino is going to die. If it is not by your hand, then it will be by someone else's. And if you do not kill her, then I will kill you."

That got his attention. "What?!" he exclaimed. How could he make such a decision?

"The punishment for traitors is death, isn't it, Jaffar?" Sonia smiled deviously at her victory. "I would have thought that you of all people would know that."

Jaffar was left utterly unable to think of a response.

"Your assignment is to kill the prince, and then Nino. Do you understand?" Sonia asked, her smirk growing.

NO.

The thought returned, stronger, and this time without protest from his instincts. He could not work for a woman such as Sonia. He could not kill Nino.

He could not allow this woman to live.

His hand flew towards his dagger—

But before it could even reach the sheath, Sonia's hand was directly in front of him, holding a swirling, bright-blue sphere of magic mere inches from his face.

"I could kill you right now if I wanted to," Sonia whispered flatly, her hand unmoving from its position. "But you show promise. You can be truly great, Jaffar, if you do not let the refuse bring you down."

Jaffar could do nothing but seethe silently as the magical energy hovered in front of him.

"I have given Nino chance after chance, but she has failed every time," Sonia went on, still holding the magic in her hand. "Now I am giving you a chance, Jaffar. If you do not accept it, then your life is forfeit."

Jaffar remained silent.

"You are to kill the prince, and then Nino," Sonia repeated, but this time there was no anger in her words; it was merely a flat command. "Do you understand?" The magic she held seemed to glow brighter as if to emphasize the magnitude of the choice Jaffar had to make.

Jaffar considered his options. He could refuse, but then he would be killed right there on the spot. He knew he could not kill Nino, but he did not want to die either.

"Answer me, Jaffar," Sonia commanded softly. For a moment, it seemed to the assassin that her face and voice held no expression whatsoever.

"I will...do it," he replied grudgingly. What else could he say?

"Good." Sonia's devious smirk returned, but she continued to hold the magic right in front of the assassin's face. "But mark my words, Jaffar," she went on. "If this assignment is not carried out, I will know. Is that clear?"

Jaffar nodded silently, still seething.

Sonia's smirk grew wider. "You are dismissed, Jaffar." She began to walk backwards, still holding the magic in her hand. "I hope, for your sake, that it is not for the last time."

And with that, she left the fortress.

Jaffar simply stood there breathing heavily for several moments, unsure of how to let out the rage that had been building inside of him. Finally, he drew one of his daggers and slammed it into the wall of the fortress with such force that the blade snapped in half.

He didn't care. He had more.

He drew the other dagger and brought his arm back, about to let his frustrations out on the wall with it as well, when something about the dagger caught his eye. Looking at the blade—something he never felt he had a reason to do before—he noticed that the once-silvery metal was instead tinged red, the color of dried blood.

It did not take long for Jaffar to realize why that was so, but it startled him somewhat. Had he really killed that many people? It seemed as though the blade had become so bloodstained in the past that even the metal itself had begun to absorb it.

He looked down at the broken remains of his other dagger, and he noticed that its pieces were the same color.

Looking back at the dagger in his hand, he realized that the blood of every single person that he had assassinated was in the blade's metal.

He dearly hoped he would not be forced to make Nino's blood join theirs.

-----

Nino waited at the outskirts of the fortress as Jaffar approached. The air was warmer than usual at the peak of the mountain, but because of where they were, all the warmth caused on that cloudy day was a cold drizzle instead of snow flurries.

"Hello, Jaffar," Nino said as the assassin approached. She was smiling warmly, but her mood was noticeably dampened compared to her normal sunny disposition—both because of the weather and what had just happened to her.

Her eyes traveled down from his face to the arm that Sonia had cut, and her face fell a bit. "I'm...sorry I couldn't heal you, Jaffar," she said awkwardly. She looked back up at his face, her eyes pleading the assassin to say something, anything that would make her failure all right. "I tried, Jaffar...I really did."

Jaffar, of course, had never been in any situation even remotely related to the one he was in now. What could he say? In the hierarchy of the Black Fang, failure was failure. The amount of effort put in was irrelevant; all that mattered was the outcome. She had failed, and nothing he could say was going to change that.

"You saved my life before," he said instead, wondering how he had thought of it since he had never had to comfort anyone before in his life. "I..." he continued uneasily, unsure of how to go on, "I...wouldn't be here...if...you hadn't." The words came out slowly, uneasily, and to those unfamiliar with the assassin's demeanor, the words would have seemed insincere.

But he meant every word, and Nino apparently knew it. "Thank you," she replied warmly. The smile that she gave him afterwards silently added, "I needed that."

She continued to smile at him silently for a few moments, before running a hand through her damp hair and remarking, "Well...we should get going."

Jaffar's only reply was a nod.

And they set off. The girl's mood had been brightened, but the opposite had happened to the assassin's.

How could he possibly even think of killing this girl?

-----

They had left at midday, and Jaffar estimated that they would reach the Bern prince's manse a few hours after nightfall. The majority of the journey passed in silence, though Nino seemed content with that, humming a soft tune to herself as they traveled.

The weather had cleared after they had left the mountain. As the sun began to set, however, the young mage's demeanor seemed to grow more and more nervous. As the sky turned orange, Nino's humming became strained, as though she knew she was afraid but believed that humming would take her mind off her fear. A few minutes later, though, her humming stopped altogether. Jaffar frequently noticed out of the corner of his eye that Nino's head kept turning to him, and she would open her mouth as if to say something, but then would quickly turn her head back to the road in front of her.

The sky had darkened considerably by the time Nino finally mustered up the courage to speak. "Jaffar?" she asked meekly.

Jaffar turned his head toward her silently.

She stopped walking, causing the assassin to stop as well. She looked down, fidgeting with her cape with her hands. "I..." she began uneasily, unsure of how to put her thought into words. "This...this is my first mission, you know?"

"Yes," Jaffar replied flatly.

"I...don't know if..." she began, then stopped. She looked up at the assassin's face. "Jaffar...I've never...I've never had to..." She stopped again. Whatever she wanted to say, it appeared to the assassin that the very thought of it was terrifying her.

"What is it?" Jaffar pressed.

She looked back up at him, then her gaze shifted uncomfortably. "Jaffar..." she tried again. This time she added, with great effort, "What...what does it...feel like...to...to kill someone?"

The question caught Jaffar off guard. Once again, he had absolutely no idea what to say in response.

Fortunately, Nino continued to speak. Her face falling, she said softly, "I...I don't want to have to...kill anyone." She sniffed, but at the same time her expression became one of steely determination. "But...it's what Mother wants. I mustn't fail."

"Why?" The question left the assassin's mouth before he could stop himself. He had wondered why the young mage was so intent on pleasing her mother, but he also did not want to offend her. She had obviously been through a lot of problems with Sonia in the past...

Nino looked up at the assassin, confused. "Why what?"

"...Nothing," Jaffar replied. "Never mind." He was lucky that Nino had not understood. Something about the young mage told Jaffar that she might not want to talk about her experiences with her mother.

Nino's gaze wavered again, and she looked back down at the ground. "Jaffar..." she said softly, "you don't...you don't think that Mother...would actually kill me...right?" She made a pathetic attempt at a joking smile, but the gravity of the situation had obviously gotten to her.

Jaffar, of course, knew the answer to that question. But there was no way that he could let this girl know that her own mother wanted to kill her—it would most likely shatter her entire world.

And that wasn't even considering the fact that he might be the one to kill her—

No. There was no way he was going to kill Nino.

"I will do this," Nino's voice interrupted his thoughts. She was looking at the ground, but her determined expression had returned. "I won't fail. Mother will see what I've become, and she will love me."

It took Jaffar a moment to realize that Nino had answered his unspoken question. She remained cheerful and always eager to work because she was intent on proving her worth to her mother.

Jaffar felt a rush of emotion towards the young mage at the realization that her dream that her mother would love her could never come to pass. He had never felt the emotion before, and he wasn't quite sure what it was.

Could it have been pity?

-----

The rest of the journey had passed in an uneasy silence.

True to Black Fang form, Jaffar and Nino would not have to carry out their assignment without aid. The Fang's more insidious members were also part of the Bern military's hierarchy, and they had been able to command all of the guards away from the prince's manse.

"I can do this," Nino kept repeating as they entered the darkened manse. She was exceedingly nervous, however. Though there were no guards, she still jumped at the slightest sound.

This girl was definitely not cut out to be an assassin, Jaffar thought.

"Jaffar?" Nino asked timidly as they walked through the hallways of the manse. As Jaffar turned to her silently, she went on softly, "Jaffar...you'll...help me with this assignment...right?"

Jaffar wasn't quite sure how to respond. Yes, he would help her assassinate the prince, but afterwards...

Jaffar closed his eyes, annoyed at himself. He was not going to kill Nino no matter what! He had to stop thinking about it...

"Jaffar?" Nino asked again, having received no response.

Again the assassin felt that strange emotion rush through him. This girl had nobody she could trust, not even her mother...

"Do not be so naïve as to expect help from 'friends,'" he replied. He tried to say it flatly, but due to his annoyance it ended up coming out as a harsh rebuke. "Remember that. If you fail, then I will, without hesitation, finish the target..." He closed his eyes. "And then you." He took a deep breath. At least if he told her this, Nino might have some idea of what she was in for, even if Jaffar himself did not kill her.

Nino took a step backwards, visibly paling. Still, she tried feebly to laugh it off, smiling weakly despite her fear. "Y-...you don't have to tell me that, Jaffar," she replied, making a pathetic attempt at a laugh. "I know that..."

As Jaffar turned and walked onwards, he heard Nino whisper to herself, "I mustn't fail."

-----

At last, the moment that Jaffar had been dreading approached, as the two of them reached the prince's room.

Jaffar pulled out his lockpick and was about to use it to open the great doors when Nino spoke.

"Someone's praying."

Indeed, someone was praying inside the room, obviously the prince.

"As the prince of Bern," Zephiel's loud, clear voice came from inside the room, "I've tried...I've tried my best not to be an embarrassment to my father. I know I've not met with his expectations. But hear me: tomorrow, I will be a man, so this is my last wish as a foolish child. It's the same wish I've asked you for the past several years, but please...bring Father and Mother together again. Please, let the day come when Guinevere and I...when all of us can live together happily in the castle. Amen."

A sniff came from behind Jaffar, and he turned to find Nino's blue eyes sparkling with tears. When she caught Jaffar's gaze, however, she hastily wiped her eyes and whispered, "I'm ready."

Jaffar did not ponder why Nino would be close to tears from hearing such a prayer.

He instead simply picked the lock and opened the door soundlessly. Zephiel was kneeling on the floor in front of him, though the assassin could only see the back of his green nightgown.

As the prince rose, Jaffar leapt forward, catching the prince in a sleeper hold. Zephiel was only able to mumble "Villain..." before he fell to the floor, unconscious.

Jaffar turned back to Nino to find her still standing in the doorway. Her breaths were coming shakily now, the sight of what Jaffar had just done and the thought of what she was about to do both terrifying her beyond belief.

She stepped forward slowly, looking down at the unconscious prince.

"That will leave him unconscious for some time," Jaffar explained. "Now, it is time for you to do your part."

"O-Okay." Nino's voice was barely above a whisper. Taking a deep breath, she reached into the pouch at her waist, pulling out a small dagger.

Jaffar merely watched silently.

Closing her eyes and taking another deep breath, Nino raised the dagger. She held it there for a few moments.

Jaffar continued to watch silently, but for the first time in his life, he felt remorse at an assassination—though it was more for Nino than the prince. Sonia was forcing her daughter to experience absolute terror before her death.

Stop it! a voice in his mind cried. Why did he keep thinking about having to kill Nino? He wasn't going to kill her.

There was a sudden clatter, the sound of metal hitting stone. Jaffar looked at Nino only to find that she was no longer holding the dagger.

"I-I can't do this," Nino said softly.

"Do not waste the opportunity I have given you, Nino," Jaffar replied flatly. There was no telling what the consequences might be if the prince lived to wake again and tell others what had happened.

Nino, however, shook her head, the tears which had been sparkling in her eyes before springing forth anew. She looked down at the unconscious prince, motioning for Jaffar to do the same. "Look at him..." she whispered. "All he wants is his parents' love...to be accepted." She blinked, a few tears spilling forth. "That's all..."

"Nino—" Jaffar began.

"He's just like me," Nino sobbed, paying the assassin no notice. "No matter—" she sniffed, "—how hard I try...M-Mother always looks at me...a-as if I were...n-nothing."

Looking at the young mage, this girl pouring her heart out to him, Jaffar could feel nothing but the strange emotion he had felt twice before that day.

Nino did not deserve this pain. A girl such as her deserved another chance, a chance to live like she should have before.

Nino sniffed again, wiping her eyes. Swallowing nervously, she said, "Jaffar."

Jaffar stared back at Nino silently.

She closed her eyes, more tears spilling forth. "D-Do what you must," she whispered, with great effort.

Jaffar reached for his dagger, ready to carry out the prince's assassination.

But Nino silently moved in front of the prince defensively. She stared at Jaffar intently, her tear-filled eyes pleading with the assassin. "Please, Jaffar..." she sobbed, "j-just d-don't hurt the prince. F-For pity's sake...he d-doesn't deserve this..."

Jaffar was so taken aback by Nino's act of defense that he actually dropped his dagger.

Nino clamped her eyes shut forcefully, trying to stand tall against what was awaiting her. "I...I don't care about the law of the Fang," she whispered resolutely. She took a deep breath, then stated, "I'm...ready to die. But please, Jaffar...just make it as painless as you are able."

Jaffar, however, could do nothing but stare at the young mage in absolute shock. He had spent the whole day telling himself that he was not going to kill Nino, and now she was willingly giving her life up to save the prince?

"J-Jaffar?" Nino asked weakly, her eyes still clamped shut. "Please, just do it quickly...I-I'm...scared..."

NO.

Staring at this girl ready to give up her life, Jaffar was suddenly overcome with the overwhelming urge to protect this girl, to save her from anything and everything her mother or anyone else in the world might throw against her.

Even if it took his life...this girl deserved to live. He would protect her.

"Jaffar?" Nino asked again, this time opening her eyes a fraction. They widened considerably when she saw him standing there with his dagger on the floor.

"Come," he told Nino. He was done with the Black Fang. All he wanted to do now was protect Nino.

"Jaffar? W-what are you doing?" Nino asked worriedly, as Jaffar turned and began to walk out of the prince's room.

Jaffar looked over his shoulder at the young mage. He was ready to give up his life to save hers.

"We're leaving," he replied softly.

--holds up hands defensively--
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! This took way too long to get out, I know. Anyway...please tell me what you think of this chapter. I'm a bit unsure of it myself, but...well, tell me what you think.

Please review!!!

-TheOneAndOnlyT