Author's Note: Ah, chapter nine. We're so close to the double digits now! Yes! Mwahahaha! And as for last chapter, an incredible amount of you guessed what happened. Except for one of you, who actually knew what happened for a while. Yay for Aminec, who helps ever so much with the plot. But enough of my ramblings. On with the chapter, right?

Disclaimer: So far, Amethyst Bubble has yet to gain the right to Fire Emblem. Shame, isn't it?

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Something Wicked

Chapter Nine

By Amethyst Bubble

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Rebecca frowned to herself as she closed the internet all the open programs and shut off the computer. She was beginning to reach the end of her rope. How many years had it been since she'd seen her brother? Or Wil, for that matter? Too many, she decided, slowly getting up from her chair and stretching. Fiddling with one of her braids, she walked over to the small kitchen of her family's apartment.

Catching sight of a photo of her brother and herself that hung on the refrigerator, she stopped dead in her tracks. There they were, the two of them, smiling and waving at the camera. She could not have been older then five in the picture, one of her small hands clutching at her brother's larger one, the other outstretched in an ark above her head. She didn't know why that picture still made her cringe; it had always been there. It was nothing new.

Hanging her head and fixing her vision on the floor so she wouldn't have to look at the photo, Rebecca forced herself to keep walking. When she reached the refrigerator, she pulled the door open, and only then did she look up from the floor. With the door open, she couldn't see the picture anymore. Picking up a bottle of water, she closed the refrigerator door, once again making an effort not to look at the picture. She would have liked to take it down so she wouldn't be haunted by her brother's face any longer. Unfortunately, her mother would notice. Taking down the picture was out of the question.

Rebecca sighed as she carried the water back to her bedroom. She shut the door, wishing someone, anyone, would come home, so she wouldn't have to be alone any longer. Any distraction was a good one. She wanted to push Dan into the back of her mind and concentrate on just smiling and making everyone happy again. When she was the only one home, she couldn't do that.

Sighing heavily, she sat back down in the computer chair she had left just moments ago and resigned herself to her online search for clues about her brother's whereabouts. Maybe, just maybe, this time she'd get lucky.

---

"Do you think we should tell everyone... about Nils' vision, I mean," Ninian questioned, staring at Hannah with pleading ruby eyes. She fiddled slightly with one of the ribbons that adorned her hair, twisting it around her index finger.

The old woman scratched her chin, "...No." She said after a moment, shaking her gray-haired head. "It could have been a false vision. Nils has had those before." There was no need to alarm everyone. If they told everyone and then it turned out that Nils' vision was false, it could be a problem.

"But what if this isn't-" Ninian began, her voice filled with panic.

Hannah shushed her, "Don't fret about it yet, girl. Nils foresaw nothing we cannot overcome." Her voice was strong and firm as she tried to reassure the younger fortune teller. She wasn't the sentimental sort and she'd never been good at comforting people, but there was always a first time for everything.

Ninian folded her hands in her lap, trying to slow her breathing down to a normal rate, "I...I'm sorry."

Hannah tutted to herself, "Nils wasn't even as panicky as you and he's the one that had the vision." She muttered as she got up from her seat and began to pace. Even if she didn't sound like it, she was nervous too.

"I know..." Ninian said quietly. "I'm overreacting, aren't I? After all, there is no guarantee...Even the best of seers can not foretell tell the future with one hundred percent accuracy..." She wondered if that was the truth or if she was just trying to falsely reason with herself in order to stop her own panicking. At this point, she couldn't even tell the difference.

Hannah nodded, "That's true. And Nils certainly isn't the best. He's good, but he's still just a beginner." She continued pacing for the sake of just moving. She was old and her knees disagreed with this sudden movement, but she felt like she could not sit down.

It was a momentary relief when Erk walked into the attic. That is, it was until both fortune tellers noticed his grim expression and his pale face. He opened his mouth to speak, and then closed it again, pressing a hand to his face.

"Erk?" Ninian spoke, tilting her head to one side, "What's the matter?"

Hannah stopped pacing, turning to look at the teenager. She said nothing, instead staring at him long and hard, daring him to speak up.

After a moment, he did. "I was sent to tell you," He began. "That...there's been an incident... Hector, Matthew and Serra...maybe some others, I think, they're going to the hospital right now... I ran into them on there way out and Serra told me what happened..." He paused, thinking about how to put his thoughts into words. "I just barely understood what happened through all her sobbing, but..." He trailed off; eyes traveling to the ceiling as he mentally debated how to say this.

"Well, what happened?" Hannah barked gruffly, "Stop beating around the bush and speak up, boy!"

Erk bit his lip, "...Leila was attacked, probably by witch hunters." He said slowly.

---

The ride to the hospital was a near silent one, punctuated only by the sound of Serra's soft sobbing. There was a total of five people in the car. Oswin had offered to drive seeing as neither Hector nor Matthew seemed to be in any condition to do so. Serra had insisted on coming and in her teary state no one had the heart to tell her no. And as for Guy, he was going because when Matthew had been informed of what had happened, he'd taken a hold of Guy's hand and gripped it so hard Guy was sure he was cutting off circulation. Of course, he hadn't told Matthew that. Even now, Matthew had yet to let go of his hand.

He chewed his lip nervously, glancing at Matthew. The usually cheerful man was extremely pale. He had barely said a word since he'd heard the news about Leila. Guy didn't know what to think of that. He had expected Matthew to be upset, angry, to at least show some emotion.

Placing his free hand on Matthew's arm, he sent him a concerned glance. Glancing down at him, Matthew managed to give Guy a small, strained smile. Guy wondered how Matthew could be so calm. He certainly wouldn't be so calm if this was someone he cared about. He didn't even like Leila, and he was still upset.

"Are we there yet?" Even while devastated, Serra managed to be impatient. It would have been amusing, if the situation had not been so gravely serious.

"Almost," Hector replied gruffly.

Serra nodded quietly, playing with the strap of her seatbelt. After a moment, she spoke up again, "Is Leila going to be okay?" She asked in a voice that was close to a whisper. No one answered her. Guy stared at her with pity in his eyes. He felt bad for her.

He really hadn't liked Leila. She hadn't liked him either, of course. Still, what if she was...? He stopped himself, shaking his head. He couldn't think like that. That couldn't happen. It just couldn't. Leila would be fine. She had to be.

He felt guilty. How many times had he wished she would just disappear? Now she was hurt...Actually hurt, and he felt so guilty. He knew his wishing couldn't have actually lead up to this. That was impossible. Besides, he'd never been serious. He would have never have wished for something like this to happen.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by Hector, who announced in the same gruff voice he'd answered Serra's question that they were there. Matthew slid out of the car quickly, finally letting go off Guy's hand. Guy followed him, wanting to reach out and take Matthew's hand again, to offer some sort of comfort, but he feared that would be out of line.

In a few quick moments that seemed more like a movie then real life, they were inside the hospital, Oswin and Hector were talking to the receptionist while Matthew silently hung back and Serra bounced nervously from one foot to another, tear streaks visible on her cheeks.

They were directed to a waiting room on an upper floor and told to wait there. Oswin was silent as he looked around. Hector couldn't keep still; he paced back and forth across the waiting room floor, Serra following, trying to keep up with his longer strides. She looked as if she was about to cry again. Matthew leaned against the wall, obviously too stressed to do much else. Not knowing exactly what to do and feeling very out of place, Guy went and stood next to him, reaching out and brushing his fingertips against the taller male's arm. Matthew glanced down at him and tried to smile, but failed. He reached out and gripped Guy's wrist tightly, tugging the dark haired boy against him. Guy wished that Matthew had done this in a different situation so that he could actually enjoy it and not feel so anxious and maybe just a little bit guilty.

They stood like that for a while. In reality, it couldn't have been more then an hour, but it felt like so much more, as if the moments were going by in slow motion just to spite them. Finally, a man in a white coat, a doctor, approached them.

---

Wil leaned back against the wall of his room, thankful that the paint had finally dried. Reaching into the small velvet pouch out of boredom more then anything else, he pulled out the crystal pendulum that hung from the thin silver chain.

He wondered what was going on back there, when Rath had dragged him out of the room. His teacher had told him that it was not his place to know and left, presumably to his own room. He supposed that if Rath said it wasn't his place to know, then it wasn't his place to know and he shouldn't stick his nose into it.

"But all the same, I'm curious..." He said aloud, reaching up to brush his auburn bangs out of his eyes. As he placed his hand back down on the floor, he bumped into something. Looking down, he saw that it was a stick of white chalk.

"That's odd..." He mumbled, picking it up and examining it. He hadn't remembered bringing it into his room. Maybe Lyn or Florina had dropped it when they had helped paint his room? Well, he might as well use it to relieve some boredom.

On a whim more then anything, Wil drew began to draw on the hardwood floors, reminding himself to clean them later. He lightly traced a medium sized circle, making sure there weren't any gaps in it and smoothing it over with his fingertips. Once he was done with that, he marked the outside of the circle with anything he could think off, including clouds, flames and triangles. Finishing up with an eight pointed star in the center of the circle, he stopped and admired his work.

Tapping the chalk absentmindedly, Wil wondered what he could do with this now. It was a nice circle, but it really didn't have a purpose, did it?

Without thinking about it, he picked up the abandoned pendulum, swinging it lazily back and forth. The idea of hypnotizing himself materialized once again in his mind, but he decided that wasn't such a good idea. After all, how would he get un-hypnotized? Twisting the chain around his hand, he suddenly wondered if he could use the pendulum and the circle as a sort of ouija board (1). He figured there was no harm in trying.

Writing 'yes' and 'no' on opposite sides of the circle, Wil hung the pendulum over it, concentrating hard on the pointed crystal.

Then he remembered that for these things to work, you had to ask a question. Searching his mind for a yes or no question, he settled on a simple one, just as a test.

"Do you know who I am?"

Wil flicked his wrist so that the pendulum would move and gain momentum. The pendulum swung, slicing through the air that hung a few inches above the circle. After a moment, it began to slow down. It stopped, hanging over the middle of the circle.

Wil sighed; he hadn't actually expected it to work, but it was rather disappointing that it didn't. Ah, well, at least he tried. Maybe he'd go see if he could find Rath, or Guy or someone. If not, he could always explore the house a bit. Its winding hallways were still a mystery to him, and he would like to get to know it better. Making a move to get up, he stopped as he felt something tug at his hand.

Looking down, he was just in time to see the pendulum swing from center of the circle to the tree symbol adorning one side to the cloud symbol he'd drawn at the top and finally to the word 'yes', before coming to a standstill.

Wil blinked. It had ended on 'yes', so that was the answer to his question... right? He might as well assume it was. But what about those two symbols it had pointed to before it had landed on yes? A tree and a cloud. He racked his brain for some sort of meaning.

"Well, let's see..." He said aloud, "Trees are...erm, green and they have leaves and sometimes squirrels live in them and birds too, I guess..." Nope, he doubted that the pendulum's answer had anything to do with small woodland creatures. He mentally scratched 'squirrel' out.

"Um, okay...Trees grow in the ground...and the ground is earth so..." He blinked, "Wait, maybe it means earth?" That seemed logical enough. "And clouds are in the sky and the sky is associated with air..." He said, piecing together the meaning of the cloud symbol. "So, it was referring to my elements?" He asked himself.

Deciding the easiest way to find out was to ask the pendulum again. Taking it out and dangling above the chalk circle, he asked if that was what the circle had meant. Almost immediately, the pendulum swung to 'yes'.

---

When Heath finally talked Legault into releasing the shadows he'd locked the door with, they found Nino talking to Erk in the hall outside of the room they had just been in.

Hearing footsteps, the green haired girl turned around to look at both men with a sad look, "Oh, Uncle Legault...Have you heard?" She asked, fiddling with the hem of her shirt.

"Of course I haven't. I've been in a locked room with Heath for the past half an hour," He said flatly in a 'heard what' sort of tone.

"Doing what, I wonder?" Erk asked dryly, raising his eyebrows.

Heath's eyes narrowed, "Talking." He replied, turning just faintest bit red.

"Someone has been injured!" Nino cried before anyone else could speak up, "Can't you all get your minds out of the gutter?" She really didn't get men. They were just so frustrating.

Legault tilted his head to one side, "What happened?" He asked, placing a hand on Nino's shoulder.

"Matthew's girlfriend..." Nino trailed, off, trying to match the face with the name in her mind.

"Leila," Erk put in, clearly remembering Serra's voice mentioning her to him in a one-sided conversation.

Legault frowned, "The girl with the red hair?" He asked. With so many people in one house, it became hard to keep track of everyone.

Erk and Nino nodded.

Heath stood behind Legault, listening silently to the conversation. He hoped Legault would fill him on who Leila was after this conversation was finished.

"So, what happened?" Legault asked, wondering why the whole house wasn't in an uproar yet. It couldn't have been anything serious if they weren't...Serious news spread like wildfire in a house full of teenagers and young adults who were just all too willing to gossip.

"She went out shopping today, I think," Nino began, pausing every so often as if she was making sure that she got all the facts correct. "And she was attacked...That's what Erk told me, at least." She glanced over at the purple haired boy.

Erk nodded, "It's what I discovered from Serra's hysterical sobbing on her way out...She was going with Hector and Matthew to the hospital."

"Ah," Legault said, not looking too worried. "Have we heard back from them yet?"

Erk shook his head, "No." He replied shortly.

"So we don't know what happened exactly or how she's doing?"

Again, Erk replied, "No."

Legault nodded to himself, "Well, I wouldn't worry much. If I remember correctly, she was a skilled fire witch, was she not?"

"I think so," Nino piped up, raking a hand through her short green hair. "Do you really think she'll be okay, Uncle Legault?"

The lavender haired man shrugged, "We won't know until they come back... but like I said, I wouldn't worry too much."

Erk turned around, "I should go tell everyone else...It's not good for people to be kept in the dark about these things." The news was going to spread one way or the other, and he preferred to know that people were getting the truth, instead of a mangled half-version of it.

Nino waved to him as he turned a corner. Turning back around, she looked up at Legault, "Isn't that horrible? I wonder what happened..."

"So, who exactly is she? That girl you were talking about..." Heath spoke up.

Legault smiled at him, "Oh, sorry. I forgot that you don't know many people here yet..."

"Well, I don't," Heath said. "Explain." He demanded, placing his hands on his hips.

Legault paused, "...I don't know her very well, if at all. Not sure if I've ever spoke to her. Leila's just...a girl. She's the girlfriend of another witch I'm acquainted with, Matthew... if they're still together, that is. Fire element, I think...or maybe her hair is just red." He shrugged, "I really don't know much about her."

Nino looked apologetic, "Neither do I. She's older then me, and we're different elements, so we never really talked... I've said a few words to her here and there, and she seemed nice enough...Oh!" She exclaimed, pounding a fist into her open palm, "I don't think she likes Guy much. I wonder why?" She always thought the dark haired boy was nice. Maybe he'd done something to get on Leila's nerves?

"I would think the reason would be obvious..." Legault said dryly, rolling his eyes.

Heath and Nino both sent him puzzled looks, and Legault waved them off with a shake of his head, "It's nothing. Just... something they have in common."

Nino tilted her head to one side, "And...Why would that make Leila dislike Guy? Wouldn't having a common interest bring them closer together?"

"Not this kind," Legault said with a chuckle. Sending a knowing look at Heath, Legault winked and said, "You know what I mean, don't you?"

A small smile, "I might. Of course, I don't know them, but from your words, the problem seems obvious enough." Heath replied.

"Hey!" Nino exclaimed, balling her hands into fists, "That's not fair! You have to tell me, Uncle Legault!"

Grabbing Heath around the waist, making the green haired male yelp and glare at him, Legault started down the hallway in the opposite direction from which Erk had gone, "Don't worry, Nino dear. I'm sure you'll figure it out if you just make a few observations."

Making a face, she headed after them, mumbling to herself, "I wish he wouldn't make everything sound so dirty..."

---

Placing both the pendulum and the chalk in his pocket, Wil rose to his feet with the intention of telling his teacher what had happened. Rath would be glad that he had finally gotten the hang of the pendulum. Stepping around the chalk circle that had become steadily more elaborate with various numbers and letters around it so that it might answer his questions more accurately, Wil left his room, shutting the door behind him.

Luckily, Rath's room was on the same floor, only a few hallways over. Wil found it easy enough to locate the right hallway, walking quickly in his excitement over what had happened. Finding the right door, Wil rapped lightly on it with his knuckles.

He received no answer. He frowned; Rath must have gone somewhere else. Hoping he wouldn't end up lost, Wil began to walk away from Rath's room. He stopped when he thought he heard a noise coming from the aforementioned room. Deciding to knock again, he got no answer other then a muffled yell.

Worried now, Wil reached for the doorknob, twisting it. The door opened just a crack, enough for the brunette to see what was going on in the room.

On one side of the room, the side closest to the door, stood a man Wil did not know. He didn't seem to be anyone who lived in the house, though. A sword was clutched in his hand and he looked angry. Very, very angry.

An equally angry looking Rath inhabited the space next to the wall on the other side of the room. Catching sight of the open door and the shocked face of his student, Rath growled, kneeling down and placing his palms flat on the ground, concentrating. Was it just Wil's imagination, or was the floor starting to move?

The stranger sprang to action, rushing towards Rath with his sword drawn.

Wil wasn't sure exactly what happened after that. He remembered panicking, the only thought in his mind being that he had to save Rath. The next thing he knew, a small whirlwind knocked the stranger off his feet, the sword flying out of his hand and skittering across the floor.

Rath stopped whatever he was doing, getting to his feet, throwing but one surprised glance at his equally surprised student. Dragging the stranger to his feet, he threw him into the room's walk-in closet. Shutting the door to the closet tightly, he pressed his palms against the crack between door and wall. When he removed his hand, the crack had been completely sealed over with clay.

The next thing Wil knew, Rath had grabbed him by the arm and dragged him down the hallway, saying something about being attacked and alerting the others.

---

"Erk?" Louise sent the teenager a questioning look as he walked into the living room. "Is something the matter?"

"I..." Erk paused, something catching his eye. Brushing a few locks of his purple hair back, he said quietly, "I'm sure it's nothing that they won't be able to tell you." He gave Louise a curt nod in the direction of the five that had just entered the room.

"Oh!" Louise put down her book, straightening her skirt before rising from her seat, "You're back." She walked up to them, "Pent told me what happened. I assume that Leila is all right?" She asked, smiling a gentle sort of smile.

At the blonde woman's words, Serra let out a wail, breaking into tears. Erk slowly approached her, wondering why he was doing this when he normally couldn't even tolerate her. Throwing her arms around his neck, Serra sobbed loudly into Erk's shoulder. He stiffened, awkwardly patting her on the back. He really wasn't good with girls. Especially crying girls. Crying Serra was even worse.

Louise's eyes widened, "...Is she...?" She trailed off, not needing to finish the sentence.

Hector grunted, looking ghostly pale.

Louise's hands flew to her mouth, "How...?" She shook her head, "Oh, no..."

A melancholy voice spoke up from the doorway, "She's gone, isn't she?"

Guy sent a sad glance at Priscilla, nodding silently. He couldn't speak. He was too overwhelmed.

Priscilla nodded back at him, "I had feared so..." She said quietly. "When Erk told me...I had hoped that the feeling that had been circling this house today was just a false alarm, but..." She drifted off, her green eyes taking on a glazed look.

Serra slowly let go of Erk, turning to Priscilla. She hesitated a moment, staring at the other girl, before she quickly strode across the room until she faced the red-haired girl, barely half a foot between them. Reaching out and gripping the other's shoulders tightly, she whispered hoarsely, "Priscilla? Priscilla, can you see her? Is she here? Did Leila come back here?" She asked frantically, staring into melancholy green eyes with haunted lavender ones.

Priscilla shook her head sadly, "I-I'm sorry, Serra...but her spirit isn't here." She wished she could tell Serra otherwise and act as a medium between the distraught people in the room and Leila's spirit, but she couldn't. Leila's spirit hadn't contacted her and she did not currently have the skills to contact Leila's spirit. (2)

Serra shook her head, "Liar! Where else would she be? She must have come back here! Priscilla, Priscilla, please! You must put us in contact with her! You have to!" Looking over her shoulder, she sought Matthew's eyes, "Doesn't she, Matthew?"

It was a moment before Matthew replied without looking at Serra, "You heard what she said. Leila's ghost isn't here. She can't put us in contact with her, Serra." His voice was a perfect monotone that revealed no emotion.

Guy glance worriedly up at him, wondering why he wasn't reacting to the news at all. When they'd been told, Matthew had barely said a word. All through the ride home, Matthew hadn't said a thing. He didn't even look upset; his face was void of emotion.

"How can you be like that, Matthew? You loved her, didn't you?" Serra cried, releasing Priscilla's shoulders. She balled her hands into fists, glaring at him from across the room.

Matthew said nothing, turning on his heel and walking out of the room. Guy hesitated a moment, wondering if he should give Matthew some space. Deciding that he was scared of what Matthew might do if left alone, Guy followed him quickly, giving everyone in the room one last glance before he rounded a corner. Matthew's current mood frightened him too much for him not to follow the older man.

"Perhaps it would be best if you sat down?" Oswin said to Louise. Nodding, she sank down onto one of the sofas, quietly folding her hands in her lap.

"I don't understand..." She said quietly. Oswin nodded in a sympathetic manner, silently admitting that he didn't quite understand either. Leila had always been such a strong, talented witch. She should have been able to fend off any normal attacker, or even a group of them. How could they have overpowered her in a public place such as a mall parking lot?

Serra sunk to the ground, pulling her knees up to her chest and burying her face in them. Priscilla quietly knelt next to her, gazing sadly at the older girl. Erk knelt down besides the normally happy pink haired menace, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Serra," he said quietly. "Don't cry, Serra. You're stronger then this." He'd never seen Serra like this, never once seen her cry. She was usually so headstrong and bold; he didn't believe it was possible for her to cry. She must have been very upset, he thought, more upset then they could know.

"No, I'm not." Was her muffled reply. "I'm really not."

Erk said nothing, removing his hand and instead placing it on Priscilla's arm, giving her a glance that told her that they should give Serra some room. Nodding, Priscilla straightened up, quickly followed by Erk. Together, they left the room, both occasionally throwing glances back at Serra. They parted, Priscilla heading after Matthew and Guy and Erk walking in the direction of the library, presumably to tell Canas what had happened.

All was silent for almost an hour, before loud, quick footsteps were heard and Rath entered the room, looking uncharacteristically panicked, a frightened Wil at his heels.

"The house in under attack," Rath announced, trying hard to remain calm.

---

Chapter Nine-End

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(1) Everyone does know what a ouija (pronounced wee-jee) board is, right? They're those boards that people use to communicate with ghosts, or other spirits. They're usually decorated with symbols and letters, with a 'yes' and 'no' on either side of the board. Of course, you can always make your own makeshift one with a table and a glass, or a circle like Wil did. Mom's always talking about buying a ouija board off of eBay...We used to have one. Don't know what happened to it.

(2) Sorry if this isn't clear enough (I was trying to be vague, but there's a fine line between vague and downright unclear). Priscilla is a medium between this world and the spirit world. Or, in simpler terms, she can see ghosts, communicate with ghosts, etc. But only if they contact her first...

Hmm... Somehow, I know this could have come out better. But someone wanted me to update before January rolled around, so I had to rush. Oh, well, I don't mind getting this up before January. I'm cutting it extremely close though, aren't I? I hope this shows up before January. Happy New Year everyone!

Reviews are much appreciated. ::smile smile::