I wrote a lot of this before life became unbearably busy with school, exams and moving house. However, I'm on holiday now so I'll be able to update some more. (If I'm allowed to go on the internet). Sorry for the (extreme) lateness of this update.

I don't own Fire Emblem or any of its characters.

Chapter 9 – Reunions

-On the road to Pherae-

Despite the earliness, Dart and co. were preparing to leave for Pherae almost immediately after sunrise. Rebecca was feeling a lot better and cheerful, but was finding herself surprisingly alone in that respect.

"Wil what's wrong?" She asked a serious Wil "Didn't you sleep enough?"

"No I slept enough…." Wil mumbled trailing off into a sleepy silence. Although the concern in her voice cheered him up considerably, he was still seemed troubled.

"Dart are you okay?" Rebecca asked.

"Yeh, I'm fine…" Dart replied in a very similar manner to Wil.

"What's going on?" Rebecca asked, a little frustrated with the two of them. Neither answered.

"I know what it is. They're two grown men afraid of going home." Geitz mocked from a little way away. Rebecca giggled a little and Wil and Dart turned around and returned to packing up their belongings.

"Aww you two… I'm sure everyone will be happy to see you." Rebecca consoled. They quickly packed and headed out with only a few minutes of moping.

-The New Black Fang Headquarters-

"We need a greater army!" Borz shouted, his voice filling the hall. All heads turned to him after his sudden outburst. "Well… we do."

He span around as a dry laugh rang out behind him, from a man who was standing quite calmly behind him. The man had long lavender hair which came down to his waist and was tied back with a strip of purple cloth. A scar streaked down from the centre of his forehead to his right cheek, running in parallel to a smaller scar just above. Borz gaped a little before addressing the man.

"Hurricane! I thought you left" Borz said, with all the offhandedness he could muster.

"There is a life after the Black Fang, you know all about it – or at least you would …" Hurricane, who is better known as Legault, said slowly. Borz ran a hand through his short brown hair, as if a little ashamed.

"Hurricane, are you telling me that you don't want to be part of this… this honour?" Borz asked pridefully.

"No." Legault said simply. Borz was left speechless for a moment, and he felt his hand twitch automatically for the sword strapped to his back. "The Black Fang is dead… we can't go back."

"Traitor…" Borz breathed softly. Legault merely stared at him. Borz's hand suddenly whipped to his sword and Legault jumped out of the way of his first swing.

"Grrahhh!" Borz grunted as he swung again, missing the nimble thief by a hair. Legault gave a little laugh at his antics.

"Looks like I have a new enemy, What a pity!" He said jokingly. Borz glared for a second, rage building up in his veins, then attacked again. This time bearing down with his sword- on thin air, Legault having spun to the side at the last moment. Borz quickly followed up with an upwards slash, which, this time, was blocked by one of Legault's daggers.

Borz, who still did not see the futility of attacking an opponent who could dodge all his blows, slashed again and again, carving the air with his broad sword, but not touching Legault.

All activity in the hall had ceased, as everyone was glued to the disrespect-building sight of their general attacking wildly, and missing every time.

-Near Pherae-

The cart was close to Pherae now, and inside the tension inside Wil was now building up into a suffocating ball in his throat. Rebecca, of course, was happily oblivious to this and humming softly to herself, her legs dangling off the back of the cart. Dart too seemed highly strung at the moment, and when a small animal moved inside a bush, he started and nearly fell off. Geitz laughed quite a bit at this and only stopped when Dart smacked him over the head.

Soon enough they could see the castle in the background and the small villages of Pherae in the foreground. Wil's small ball of tension had now worked its way into his stomach and seemed to have doubled in size. He hadn't seen his parents for more than five years. What if they didn't want to see him? This thought only served to make the ball writhe around, churning his insides.

They stopped by a stream near the coast to let the horses refresh themselves and Dart, who had decided that it would be good to see his parents again (Rebecca had been working hard for a hour or so), and Rebecca entered the back to escape the harsh sun.

Dart was displaying his happiness and tension by drumming a tattoo on the floor of the cart, while Wil seemed to be curling up into a ball himself. Geitz was outside shooting fish with his bow for fun and Rebecca was calmly sitting on the edge, humming again.

"It will be nice to see my mother!" Dart announced out of the blue. Rebecca stopped humming as suddenly as though she had inhaled the last note. Wil sprang out of his curled position. Even Geitz stopped fishing and walked back to the cart, but that was more a case of brilliant timing than surprise or concern.

Wil glanced at Rebecca with a look that clearly accused: "You didn't tell him!", Rebecca appealed for help with her eyes. After a few seconds that seemed like an eternity, Rebecca spoke.

"Uhhh Dart?" She began, even though she was unsure of how to proceed. Dart caught her tone, incorrectly, and replied with sarcasm.

"Yes, Mother?" Dart asked wearily. Rebecca and Wil both winced at the name.

"Uh Dart you see ... Mother…" She paused here, then decided break it to him. "Mother… passed away. A few years ago…" Rebecca felt vaguely upset too as she told him. Dart froze in mid-beat and his face seemed to darken considerably.

All he said was "Oh.". At this point Geitz jumped into the cart happily and smiled inanely for a moment or two before he saw Rebecca and Wil's faces. Dart jumped out and started pushing the horses back into their places. The rest of the journey was passed in absolute silence, but inside Dart several emotions were raging.

The first was extreme sorrow at the loss of a mother he couldn't even remember, the second was surprisal that he felt so sad for the loss of a mother he didn't even know he had until a few months ago, the third was bitterness at the betrayal by Rebecca and Wil, and the fourth, by no means the weakest, was the excitement and tension he had been feeling for quite a while.

Rebecca was a little upset by Dart's reaction. While she hadn't imagined he'd be at all happy, she didn't expect he would take the news so hard. Wil had resumed his foetal position with renewed tension.

Eventually they reached their village. Dart was greeted by a balding man with a large brown moustache and a kindly face.

"Welcome to our humble vil-…" He broke off as he studied Dart's face. At this moment Rebecca jumped out of the back and ran up to the man.

"Father!" She screamed in delight.

"Rebecca, my girl!" Rebecca's father, who was also the village magistrate, greeted her. By this time Geitz and Wil had jumped out as well and came over to the front. Dart was still sitting in the driver's seat, unsure of what to do.

"Wil? … Is that… It can't be… Wil?" Rebecca's father said, staring at Wil, amazed.

"Actually this is Wil, Father!" Rebecca said brightly, "And this is Geitz and-"

"Dan?… " Rebecca's father whispered so softly that no one really heard it.

"Dart!" Rebecca finished.

"Oh I thought… Never mind. A foolish old man's sight…" He mumbled. "Are you a- a pirate?" He asked Dart.

"Oh yes, a regular scourge of the sea!" Dart answered. It was a joke, of course, but no one laughed apart from Dart himself and he quickly stopped.

"I see…" Rebecca's father said slowly and seriously, before turning to Geitz, "Are you a pirate too?"

"No… sir." Geitz addressed him, in a manner reminiscent of a schoolboy.

"Father, Geitz is from a Sacaen merchant family" Rebecca put in, anxious to make a good impression.

"Well, why are we standing around in the middle of the village? You must come to the house.". Rebecca's father said jovially. It wasn't a suggestion, so they followed him, Dart leading the horses and cart. Rebecca fell back and walked with him, while Wil was chatting to Rebecca's father about local affairs.

"Why didn' you tell Father that… I'm Dan?" Dart asked Rebecca furtively. Rebecca looked ahead for a moment.

"Well I didn't know how to say that our long-lost Dan is back." Rebecca said.

"Tha' was fine!" Dart exclaimed. Ahead Wil stopped in his tracks, at a statement from Rebecca's father.

Nearby a man stood out of sight behind a few carelessly placed boxes. He had been staring out at the cart and it's occupants for some time now. Now that they were leaving, he ran away. His master would be very pleased with this piece of information.

-Santaruz-

"Wow! This town has nothing!" Leo said with sarcastic enthusiasm. Although Farina didn't enjoy his sarcasm, he was quite correct. The town of Santaruz seemed only to consist of a couple of dusty armouries and a single dingy inn. In the early morning light, everything was shadowed by the large fortress-like castle to the west.

They had risen at dawn, and rode the short distance to the town in less than an hour. Now Farina, Karla and Leo were standing in the rather barren town of Santaruz.

"Well I guess this is goodbye" Leo said, with a hint of sorrow. Farina and Karla realised the predicament they were in. They needed to travel towards Ostia, and Leo was too. They were in a race, yet they needed to stay well behind Leo, at least until Laus, where they might be able to slip past him. Still they walked to the inn.

At the same time two men were walking towards the lobby. They had evidently been resting in the inn.

"I don't understand why we need to leave so quickly." One man was saying to the other. "It's not like we're going to find anyone."

"Well we have to try to find them at least." The other responded. "It's imperative that we find them."

"Okay, we'll look but I doubt-" The door opened and Karla walked in. "Ohh!" He ran up to her. "Such awe-inspiring be-"

"Sain! I'd say I was pleasantly surprised, but…" Karla said nonchalantly.

"Karla!" Kent said walking over to her "Well met!"

"Hello, Kent!" Karla greeted.

"Karla, are you travelling with anyone?" Kent asked.

"Well there's this mage. And Farina of course" Karla said a little cautiously.

"Farina? That's wonderful news!" Sain exclaimed.

"I don't follow you." Karla said. Nor do I want to, she thought. Farina and Leo walked in after a few moments.

"Kent! Sain… What are you doing here?" Farina said happily.

"Well to be blunt, it's about your sister, Florina." Kent said. The smile on Farina's face froze. "She's getting married!"

"Get OUT OF HERE!" Farina squealed.

"Uhhh" Kent wavered.

"Florina's getting married? My little Florina?" Farina screamed.

"Yes" Sain said simply.

"No WAY! To who?" Farina said, her initial surprise fading.

"Hector" Sain said

"Hector? As in Lord Hector of Ostia? As in the fabulously wealthy Hector?" Farina demanded. Kent and Sain both nodded. "Really? Wow… so when are they getting married?"

"In about a week's time." Kent said, checking the date.

"A week?" Karla said finally "Can we reach Ostia in a week?"

"Of course, but I believe that Farina and her Pegasus might be able to reach Ostia in three days or so." Kent said.

"Oh, but that would mean…" Farina said hesitantly. Karla turned to her.

"Look you have to be there as soon as possible. This is Florina's wedding we're talking about. She'd be heartbroken if you weren't there for the preparations. Besides, we'll be in Ostia for the wedding, so I'll- We'll meet you then." Karla rationalized.

"Really? You think…" Farina said, a grin slowly spreading across her face.

"Of course!" Karla scolded her. Even Leo nodded, even though he couldn't see what it would achieve.

"Ok then… I'll see you in Ostia!" Farina said, preparing to leave. "Wow, Hector. She must have gotten her good eye from me." She muttered to herself.

Farina walked out of the inn, and the others followed.

"You had better leave straight away" Karla said gently.

"Yes… You're right. Bye everyone!" Farina said, swinging her self onto her Pegasus. "Fly like the wind, Murphy" She muttered to the Pegasus. Murphy galloped forward, gaining speed until it jumped into the air, gliding upwards with a single deft wing movement.

"We should probably leave as well." Karla suggested slowly.

"You there, Leo, Is your horse very fast?" Sain asked. Leo's horse was a large, brown, ancient horse of unknown origin or age.

"Uh not really." Leo said, truthfully.

"Well then you can use our spare horse, and Karla you can ride with me." Sain offered.

I'd rather die, she thought.

"I'd rather di- ride with Kent. His horse has more room." Karla reasoned, correcting herself. Kent and Leo jumped onto their horses, but Sain paused to try and help Karla onto Kent's horse.

"Let me help you." Sain offered. Karla raised an eyebrow, and jumped nimbly onto Kent's horse. They rode off quickly, leaving the town empty and quiet again.

Once again I apologize for the late update.

To the Reviewers:

Lemurian-Girl: Well I guess I am I kind of protective younger brother, but it's hard to be protective when you're younger. But I agree, protective brothers ar Thanks for the review.

Nightmare3: I guess it was filler-ish, so I hope this chapter has more in the way of plot. Thanks for reviewing.

ManaMage: Sorry about the fluff-lessness of this chapter. As for Raven… well he'll be along. Thankyou for reviewing.

Anonymous: Thanks for reviewing. Unfortunately I had to ditch that fic idea. It was pretty stupid anyway.

Daniel Chen: Oops, sorry I missed your second review. Yeah, the holidays can be tedious at times… Thanks for the reviews.

Oh and sorry about the Florina/Hector thing, it's just a plot event which works well.

R&R!