AN: I do not own Fire Emblem, all characters are owned by Intelligent systems and Nintendo

Shez raced through the thicket, pushing past the brambles as he headed through the woods. Clutched in his hand was a map, and he held onto it for dear life as he ducked through the lower hanging foliage.

"I told you that was a terrible idea." Arval chided him and Shez rolled his eyes as he skidded down a ravine and crouched.

"Yeah, well, I couldn't just let those merchants be cut down by those bandits."

He could hear pounding footsteps getting closer and shouts. Shez held his breath, praying to the goddess they wouldn't find him. The steps slowed, and he heard one muttering about missing the brat. The young mercenary didn't dare move, but his eyes looked up to see a foot just above his head. He was glad the leaves covered him.

"Eh, he's not here. Let's go. He's bound to come out at some point, and we can wait for him by the crossroad."

Thanks for giving me your plan stupid. Thought the boy as he heard the bandits stomp off. Once Shez was sure they were gone, he sat down and took a breather.

"Whew, that was close."

"Too close if you asked me!" Arval shouted at him and crossed his arms, glaring at him. "What would have happened if you were half a step slower?! Did you even think to comprehend that? No, of course you didn't."

"Arval, I'm sorry. But those people needed help." He sighed as he pulled his knees up to his chest and pushed his back against the bank of the ravine. "Besides, if I didn't do it, who would? And we got something important out of it."

"Might I remind you it's not just your life anymore to do with what you please?" the white-haired boy castrated him and huffed. "I'm in here too, you know. And as your partner, I would like to have a choice before we go jumping into dangerous situations."

"You're right. I'm sorry for not telling you my plan." Shez told him and untied the map in his hand.

"Your recklessness has now added six more saves than your sister from me."

Shez chuckled, "Heh. So I beat her in something."

"It's not funny. If I have to keep saving you, what is the point of you getting stronger?" Arval pointed out, and Shez held up his hands.

"Look, I get where you're coming from. I've been trying to be more cautious since the last monster we had to fight. But in this case, it was the right thing to do. Sometimes you have to be impulsive and reckless in your actions to get a job done. Not everything can be planned out."

Arval sighed loudly, "You humans are so weird sometimes. Let us just say we disagree with this matter and move on." He glanced at the unrolled map. "And what is that?"

"Well, it's a map that covers most of Faerghus." Shez waved his hand over it.

"And how does this help us exactly?" the boy's red eyes blinked as he floated over Shez's shoulder in his mind. The purple-haired boy had gotten used to being the only one who could see him, and, while it was odd and got him funny looks, it helped to at least know that Arval was there with him on the journey he had committed to.

"Word is, there's some excellent fighters in Erebus right now, and I figured since we're going north, why not head there?"

"Ah, so you intend to pester them for lessons?" Arval teased him and Shez sighed. It was like having a younger brother that was constantly glued to his side.

"Pester isn't the word I would use for it. But yes, I intend to ask them for lessons so I can get stronger and faster."

Arval smiled and nodded. "Looks like an excellent plan. So. Shall we get going?"

"Yup." Shez got up and glanced at the map one more time. "There's an inn not too far from here. It would be a good idea to rest up and see if we can hitch a ride north."

"Yes, better than taking more time traveling, and your little adventure gained us some coin." Arval intoned, as if pondering some possibilities. Shez chuckled and climbed out of the brush and found a pathway.

"Don't go thinking that we can get a private carriage or something. I'm thinking more of a wagon that is headed up there."

"Of course. Why travel in style and instead travel in hay…" Arval was saying when everything shifted. Shez gripped his head, and felt himself go head over heels, as if he was being tossed by river rapids. When he could get his bearings, he was sitting back down on the ground by the ravine.

How did I get back here? He wondered, and then called out. "Arval! You okay?"

"Ugh. What hit us?"

"I don't know, but something happened." Shez stood up and looked around. Nothing had changed by him, but he looked up and then heard a scream, then another. Eyes wide, he pulled himself up and ran down the road he'd just seen the bandits on not that long ago.

"You fool! Where are you going?" Arval cried out as he beat a fast pace down the path. "If you hear screaming like that, run the other way!"

Shez slowed and pushed himself behind a tree near the crossroad. He watched in shock as a figure in dark gray with a hood up easily dispatched the bandits with their sword. Once they were laying in the dust, the figure gave a solemn nod to the remains. Then, just as quickly, the figure wiped their blade off and vanished behind some bushes.

Shez slipped out from behind the tree and went over to the dead men. He checked them and saw they had single wounds. This person killed with a single blow? How?

He frowned. If someone like that was in the woods, they could probably harm anyone that crossed their paths if they were dangerous. He followed the figure he'd seen and slid down an embankment from the road.

"What in the world are you doing?" Arval asked him with irritation. "You saw those bandits, or what remained of them. Do you really think following the person who murdered them is a good idea?"

"I need to know who did this. If that person is a danger to other travelers. Then I take him out."

"Or he takes you out. I'm not saving you if you do something stupid, Shez." grumbled the white-haired boy.

"Fine, I'll be cautious. I'm just going to look, anyway."

Shez slowly crept along the pathway he discovered and listened. The sound of running water caught his attention, and he hurried along to see if there was a creek ahead. Any swordsman knew you had to clean your blade of blood, or else it could rust. So naturally he figured that a person who did such clean cuts was someone who took care of their blade.

They have to be by the water. He slowed his pace the closer he got to the sound. Eventually, Shez came to a stop and crouched down some to peek over a branch of a large bush. He stared. There by the creek was a young man with oddly colored light green hair. He seemed pensive as he cleaned his hands, then dried them in his tunic. On his ring finger, Shez caught sight of a silver ring with a green gemstone. On his head was a crown of some sort, which the man took off and tucked into a satchel he had with him.

The strange-looking man cupped some water and washed his face, flicking his bangs some. Shez stared and felt some heat in his cheeks.

"Something the matter, you look flushed."

"I'm fine," muttered Shez to Arval, then bit his lip as the young man suddenly stopped. His head didn't move and Shez could see he was listening.

Crap, he heard me. He needed to leave quickly. As the purple-haired boy moved back, he noticed that the man had stood up and grabbed his sword. The blade looked very different from any that Shez had seen before. But he had no time to really examine it as the man approached the spot he was hiding in and he got ready to draw his blade.

Yet as the stranger approached, his powers activated some, and he had to fight them. No Arval, don't do this.

"This person, there's something powerful about them. It feels familiar." He commented to Shez as they backed up from the approaching green-haired man.

"Powerful?" questioned Shez as he moved back more and the man walked up to the bushes and pushed the branch aside and stared down at Shez. His voice was soft but firm as he stared at Shez.

"Who are you? Are you spying on me?" The sword was at his side and, while he looked like he could be ready for a fight, there was a calmness to him that made Shez think he wasn't a threat.

"Who me? No…" Shez stood and dusted off as he did so. "Well, more like trying to find out who was down here."

"So then spying," the young man gave a smile and a soft chuckle.

"Er, yeah." Shez rubbed his neck and cleared his throat, embarrassed.

"Ask who he is, and if he was the one that killed those men." Arval instructed him and Shez sighed.

"Getting to it." Shez spoke louder with a hand on his hip. "So, can I ask why you came down here?"

"To wash my blade and get a drink." The young man looked at Shez curiously. "I feel like we've met before."

"Not sure, maybe. I got that feeling too. But I certainly would have remembered you," Shez nodded and smiled. "I'm Shez, by the way."

"Byleth." the young man revealed and Shez paused. "Is something wrong?"

"No, I just… I thought I heard that name before." Shez expressed aloud and ran through his thoughts quickly. Where did I hear that name before? I could have sworn I had at some point.

Byleth looked puzzled and rested his chin on his fingers as he crossed his arm. "Well, it's not a common name, I can assure you. But I'm sure that I'm not the only person who carries it. It comes from some ancient legends that my mother knew of." He smiled sadly for a second. "It's a slightly changed version of the name of a good demon that turned his back on his kin to fight alongside heroes."

"Oh, wow, that's kind of neat." Shez smiled. "Yeah, uh, my name's not fancy like that."

"All names are important, Shez," Byleth told him and smiled. "So then, I guess you must have found the bandits?" Shez nodded slowly to him, and Byleth shook his head. "I didn't want to get into a fight, but they gave me no choice. I hope you weren't allied with them?"

"Who? Me? No." Shez explained and relaxed as they stood there talking. "I was actually running from them."

"Why?"

"A mercenary is not a thief, and I never want to be one." Shez quickly explained how he met with some merchants on the road and, while they were having some lunch, the bandits attacked.

"So you defended them? That was kind of you." Byleth spoke as he went back to the creek, motioning Shez to follow. The purple-haired boy did so and watched as the green-haired man filled a canteen of water.

"Well, I couldn't just leave them there." Byleth nodded to the boy. "So after that, those guys chased me down for a while, and I ditched them."

"I see."

Shez sighed and shook his head. "Only thing is, they were going to the crossroad, and something happened."

The young man stopped looking at the water filling the bottle and looked up at Shez. "Something happened?"

"Yeah, I don't know how to describe it. But it felt like I, and this is going to sound really dumb, but I moved back through time." Shez told him, and Byleth looked back down at the water.

"Are you sure it's not the heat from running that caused it?" He capped the canteen and stowed it.

"I don't know." Shez muttered, though he could sense that Byleth wasn't telling him everything. He looked over the man's outfit and noticed that on his long coat there was a marking that he'd seen on Jeralt's tunic. Though he couldn't be sure, it was dark after all. "Anyway, I guess thanks for the assist back there. I mean, with the bandits."

Byleth nodded and motioned to his map. "Would you mind if I looked at that?"

"Huh? My map? Sure I guess." Shez unrolled it for him. Byleth examined it for a few moments, and Shez heard him mutter.

"So that's where I am…" He rolled it up and handed it back to the boy with a gentle smile. "Thank you Shez. You've been very helpful to me."

"Mind if I walk with you for a while?" Shez asked him, and Byleth shrugged. The two set a pace, following the creek for a while, then back up to the road.

"Why are we following this man?" Arval asked him curiously. "I thought you just wanted to know about what happened to the bandits."

"I did, but something's off about this guy." Shez told him as they walked. "Did you notice his sword?"

"Yes, it's made of an odd material. What of it?" Arval seemed less than impressed. Shez seemed thoughtful as he explained.

"Well, when I was little, my mom told me of the legends of King Nemesis, and one thing she talked about was his sword. It was called the sword of the Creator, and that sword kinda looks like what she described."

"So? It could be a replica." Arval said to him and Shez acknowledged that possibility. As he was talking in his mind, he didn't notice Byleth had stopped and ran into his back.

"Oof. Hey?" the purple-haired boy yelped when he did so, but Byleth didn't move. Shez stared at him and then moved to look where the taller man was staring. Ahead was a strange man in a black robe and hat. He seemed lost, as if trying to find his way.

"Why did you stop? He's just some guy."

Byleth narrowed his brow and gripped the sword at his side. "He's not just some guy. He's an Agarthan."

"A what?" the boy asked as the man stood and looked at them. Then he suddenly bolted off down the left crossroad. Byleth took off after the man and Shez called out to him.

"Hey wait!" He chased after the taller green-haired man as they ran down the road. Ahead, the person who Byleth had called an Agarthan sped up and seemed to make hand motions.

"Shez, be careful. He's going to cast a spell." Arval warned him, and Shez nodded as he drew his sword. With quick movement, Shez used what he'd learned to push himself off the rocks nearby and launch himself forward more to catch up with Byleth who was a lot faster than he supposed.

"No problem Arval, we got this." He was saying when a blast of energy came at him and he tried to dodge it, then it happened again, things warped and he felt himself being pulled back to when they were by the crossroads seeing the man.

Only this time, Byleth didn't give the man a chance to run off and came at him full force with his sword. Shez watched in awe as the young man easily got in front of the dark mage before he could run off and hit him in the gut with the pommel of the sword he wielded. The Agarthan gasped but could still move, and he threw a spell at Shez who found his own powers activating.

He blocked as the purple energy smashed into the two swords he held up and the Agarthan stared in shock at him.

"You… You can't be…"

"I can't be what?" Shez lept at him and the man moved back glaring. The strange dark mage avoided Shez's slash, only to find Byleth ready for him and he blocked with a shield spell. The green-haired man bounced back and stood beside Shez. The moment he did, though, his powers seemed to resonate with the young man in black, and Byleth looked at him.

"Are you okay?" Shez nodded. "Do you have it in you for one more attack?"

"Yeah, if you do."

Byleth smiled at him and the two came at the mage with everything they had. The battle lasted only a few moments, but in the end, the strange dark mage vanished from the road. Shez panted and looked at his partner at the moment.

"What was that? Or rather, who was that?"

The green-haired swordsman caught his breath as well and put away his sword. "That was a dark mage of the Agarthans. No, let me rephrase that. He was probably a member of Those who Slither in the Dark."

"Agarthan? Those who Slither in the Dark?" Shez asked, rubbing his head and gazed at the man confused. "I still don't understand."

"That's fine. You don't have to." Byleth bowed to him. "Thank you for walking with me and helping me. But I have to get to Garrag Mach Monastery. If they are moving, this bodes ill. Goodbye Shez."

He turned to go, and Shez grabbed him by the arm. Byleth stopped and looked at him as the boy's brow narrowed.

"Nope. You're not going anywhere. I don't understand any of this. One minute we're going down that path over there," Shez pointed to the road that they had just been on. "The next we're back here. And don't tell me it didn't happen, because I felt it."

Byleth looked at him seriously. "You felt it?"

Shez nodded, holding up two fingers. "Twice."

The green-haired man's eyes went wide this time, and he took a breath. "If that's so, then could you be…?" He closed his green eyes and seemed to go into his own mind as Shez huffed.

"Could I be what?"

When Byleth paid him mind again, he stared at Shez intensely. "I have a question for you. Do you have a sister?"

"Yes. Why?" He was sure now they had met this man before. But why could he not remember him? Then there was Arval, who kept muttering in his mind and he had to tune him out to think.

"It might be nothing." Byleth started when the first dark clouds swept across the sky. The taller young man looked up and blinked. "We should go find shelter. I'll explain more there."

By the time they reached the inn, the storm had started and Shez grimaced at being cold and soaked.

"I warned you not to follow this man, but did you listen to me? No. Now look where we are." Arval told him and leaned on the wall near the two as they sat by the fire to warm up. Shez trying to dry off his hair a bit.

"Yeah, heard you loud and clear the first forty something times, Arval."

Byleth was staring into the fire, looking contemplative. Hot tea was set upon their table, and Shez glanced over at his companion. There was worry etched on the older boy's face, and Shez wasn't sure what to make of it. It was like he was in his own little world. So he picked up his cup of tea and declared loudly.

"Tea's gonna get cold if you let it sit there."

Byleth looked up, "Pardon?"

"Your tea. It's going to get cold." The purple-haired boy motioned to the drink.

"Oh, yes, my apology." Byleth picked up his cup, he seemed to let a small smile slip on his lips. "It seems I've picked up habits from you."

"From me?" Shez asked, and Byleth glanced up at him and shook his head.

"No, from someone… very close to me." He sipped his tea. "It's good."

"Okay, now that I have your attention. Do you mind tell me what's going on here? And who you are? Or how you knew who that guy was?" Shez leaned on the table as he looked at the man before him with the light green hair and nearly glowing green eyes. If he wasn't so pissed, he'd probably make a dumb remark about how cute this guy was. But he kept those thoughts to himself and instead asked. "What's an Agarthan, and who are Those who Slither in the Dark?"

Byleth sighed as he set his cup down. "I can't tell you everything, Shez, but I'm on a mission of sorts to stop something bad from happing to my home. My name is Byleth, and I've fought with his ilk several times already. Too many to count for my taste, honestly." He cupped his cheek as he rested his elbow on the table, trying to think of how to explain things.

"Agarthans are people, or a group of people; They have a history in Fódlan, a long history, but we know little of them, and Those who Slither in the Dark are a cult that comprises Agarthans." Byleth explained and Shez could see a dark look come into his eyes, as if there was nothing but hate for the group he'd named, but then an almost sad look appeared there as well. "Not all Agarthans are a part of Those who Slither in the Dark, but all the cult members are Agarthans."

"Okay, I get it so far. And you've fought with them." Shez nodded and then added curiously. "But that doesn't explain the whole weird thing that happened at the crossroad."

Byleth stared at him and seemed to consider something, then nodded to himself, as if he had come to some sort of conclusion. "I have a unique… I suppose you can call it a power. Like yourself Shez."

"Well, I don't know if I would call it a power. I don't really know what it is, really. It just manifested one day." Shez spoke, trying to avoid talking about Arval. He didn't need anyone knowing about the voice in his mind.

"Something similar happened to me, though it took a while to do it. Over time, I learned I could do certain… things." The young man took a sip of the tea and then seemed to consider his next words carefully. "One thing I can do is reverse time."

Shez's eyes went wide. "You can do what?"

"I can reverse time, move it backwards a certain amount." Byleth explained to him. "When you were in the brush, the bandits attacked me, and reversed it slightly so I could gain an advantage against them, because I knew how they would move."

"So that's what you did with the mage on the road?" Byleth nodded.

"Because he believed you were going to get hit," Arval explained. "This is quite the power our companion has here. Perhaps he could be useful to us."

"Not happening Arval, we are not using him for our battle with the Ashen Demon." Shez told the white-haired boy. Arval shrugged.

"It was worth a shot to suggest it."

"I thought you could die, so I reversed it, but I have to be mindful of how much I use, because I can get tired." Byleth looked at Shez and then added. "I think, whatever your powers are, they seem to not be fully affected by mine. Most people don't know what happened. But in your case, you do."

"So are you suggesting our powers are the similar?" Shez asked him, and Byleth shrugged.

"It's yet to be determined."

Shez nodded as he took a long drink of his tea. He wished Bea was there. She was better at asking pointed questions. When he looked up, Byleth was watching him and he tried to relax. The guy's eyes were so intense, it could be daunting just looking back at them.

"Shez, where were you headed?"

"Me? Erebus. I was going to head there to train."

Byleth nodded and sighed. "That's out of the way of where I need to go. So after this rain stops, I suspect we'll part ways for a time."

"I mean, I can go with you. You seem to know something about my power and are way stronger than me. Care to partner up?"

The young man chuckled, "Partner up?"

"Yeah," Shez grinned. "I promised someone I would meet them at Garrag Mach Monastery, anyway? So if you train me, I'll help get you there."

"Alright, sounds fair." Byleth held out his hand to the boy and Shez shook it. As he did so, both let go when a stranger in dark black and blue robes approached the table. The man was tall, wearing a cloak to hide himself, and Shez became on edge. He noticed Byleth doing the same.

"There's something about this person, Shez. He feels familiar, like the Agarthan earlier," Arval whispered to him and Shez nodded.

"Yeah, I get that sense too." He stood up with Byleth as the person stood before them. "Can we help you?"

The stranger looked between them and seemed silent for a long moment before he spoke in a whispered voice. "Are you two mercenaries?"

The two men shared a glance, and Shez crossed his arms. "Depends. What do you want?"

"Your help. There is a person who I need rescued and I fear I cannot do it alone." The man threw a bag of money down on the table. "Would that be enough to cover things?"

Shez looked at the bag and opened it up to see it filled with a large sum of gold coin.

"That's more than I've ever seen in my life!" He told Arval, who was watching the stranger.

"What's the catch?" Arval muttered and Shez asked the man.

"No catch, but there are bandits in the area. I will see to it you'll have allies to help you, but I ask you, once you find the girl, do not leave her side for a second."

"Who is this girl?" Byleth asked curiously, and Shez nodded. "Is she a friend of yours?"

The man shook his head. "No, I do not know her; but she was kidnapped, and I fear the longer they keep her locked up, the more likely she will end up no longer being in this world."

"That doesn't sound good." Shez grimaced slightly. "So she's in danger, then?" The man nodded and Shez looked at Arval, who waved his hand, letting him know it was fine.

"We'll need some more information." Byleth directed the hooded figure to a chair. "Take a seat."

The man (Shez assumed it was a man) sat down, keeping the hooded cloak on. Shez noticed he was wearing gloves to hide his hands, and that bothered him. Why would anyone need to hide their hands? He watched as the man pulled a scroll from out of his cloak and laid it on the table to show them a map of a fortress.

"Where is this place?" Shez asked as the man looked up at him. He caught blue eyes staring back for a short second, then they vanished back into the shadows of the hood of the cloak.

"A canyon just north of here, bordering Count Rowe's region in the Kingdom." The man told them as he flattened out the map.

"That's only a day's ride from here." Shez told Byleth, who nodded.

"The young lady was captured a few weeks ago and is being held hostage. I can't give you much, as I don't know exactly what is going on. But I suspect they're holding her to be used for some nefarious schemes."

"And you wish us to rescue her from that location?" Byleth asked him and again the stranger nodded. He pointed to the map and motioned with his finger over a section of the fort's layout, and tapped at a location near the back end.

"Yes, she is being kept in the dungeon area. Right now it's being held by bandits who made it their layer. They do not know she is there, and I'd rather keep it that way. The problem is that moving her could alert the group that is holding her, so I can have some additional men help you. I've heard there's a group called Jeralt's Mercenaries that are very good for work like this."

Shez noticed Byleth smirked some and lean back a bit, as if he knew something that Shez didn't. However, the name conjured up a pang of anger and Shez shook his head.

"Sorry, but I can't work with those guys."

Byleth glanced at him out of the corner of his eyes as the man in the hood nodded.

"I take it you had a run in with the Ashen Demon?" Shez nodded and the man smiled. "Well then, I would not worry. The person you are worried about is not with them."

"What?! What do you mean, not with them?"

"She is on another job, so I was told, along with their captain." He explained and Shez grumbled.

"Okay, so we won't have to work with her or him?"

"No you will not, and you'll likely not have to do much interacting with any of Jeralt's men either." The hooded figure told Shez, and he seemed content for the moment. "They are to be a distraction of a sort for us."

"Us?" Byleth lightly raised a brow, and the hood bobbed once. "You are coming too, then?"

"I am. Only to help get you in. You must do the rest on your own." The hooded person told them, and Shez pursed his lips with narrowed brows.

"So you're going to get us in, but not help us get here? I mean, we could easily get in with the other mercenaries."

The man shook his head. "There are reasons I can't divulge at the moment, but I assure you, you're better off not knowing. I will take you through a way in that will get you closer to the dungeon area. But you'll have to head back out with the person."

"And you will wait for us, then?" Byleth asked, and the figure stayed silent. He scowled some but seemed to let it go. "Is there anything else we need to know?"

"Just that you should be ready by the twenty-ninth of this month, and we will travel by night, so please be there by sunset. I will bring the others." The hooded figure stood then and stared at them. "And tell no one that we spoke. Do we have a contract?"

Shez looked at Byleth, who stared at the person intently for a long time. There seemed to be something passing between them, some unspoken message. And then the green-haired man nodded firmly.

"Well, if he's in, I'm in too." Shez told the figure, who nodded to Shez.

"Then I will leave that map and coin with you, and be ready." With that, the figure seemed to glide from the room like a ghost.

It wasn't long after that Byleth parted ways with him to his own room to rest, taking the map with him. Alone in his room, Shez tossed in the bed and looked to Arval.

"Hey, can I talk to my sister?"

"Ugh? This late at night?" Arval asked, then gave a nod. "Fine… but not for too long. It drains me to have to hold that connection."

"Okay," Shez waited a moment glancing over at Arval than gave him a light nod, and a moment later he heard Bea's voice, though it was distant and sounded as if she was whispering.

"Ben?"

"Yeah, it's me. How are you holding up?" He asked her kindly, then heard a deep sigh from her and he frowned. "Something wrong? Are you hurt? Where are you?"

"The monastery, of all places. Ben, you will not believe this. There is an underground city here called Abyss." She explained to him and Shez's eyes went wide.

"What? Seriously? Wow, who would have thought?" He pulled the pillow closer to his head. "But why are you in an underground city?"

"Because this is my reward for doing a good deed."

"Your reward for doing a good deed?" His brows narrowed. "Why would that be your reward?"

"Because I helped the heir of the Kingdom, the heir to the Alliance, and the heir to the Empire, and now the archbishop, Lady Rhea, seems to know something is up with me. So she had me sent down here to study with this Ashen Wolves' house." He heard his sister mutter.

"That… That's bad. Are you safe? They haven't hurt you, have they?" He sat up in the bed.

"No," her voice came back, and he let out a sigh of relief.

"Good."

"But," she went on. "It seems like they want to know where I got the power from. A cleric saw me use it and told the church what he saw. So now they want to know what it is."

"Can you leave?"

"I'm trying to. Look Ben, I can't talk much longer. Someone might hear me. I'll contact you when I can, promise." She told him and he could hear her trying to sound optimistic. "By then I'll have a plan to bust out of here."

"Yeah, I hope you can. If not, I'm coming for you." He told her, knowing that it would be nearly impossible for him to break into Garrag Mach on his own.

"Thanks, Ben. Hear from you soon," she said, and he could hear the smile on her face. "I love you, little bro."

"Love you too, big sis."

Then there was silence, and he slouched over, hands on his head. The church had his sister, and he had a mission to do.

"Hey Arval, think you can think of ways to bust into Garrag Mach?"

Arval looked at him inquisitively. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking, after we do this job for that hooded guy, we're going to pay the archbishop a visit," Shez muttered and clenched his fist as he threw himself back on the bed. "And it'll be one she doesn't like."