A/N: We are rapidly reaching our true climactic chapter. Only a few more left to go. This one is major so I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 63: Paid Debts

Arya first met Jaqen H'ghar four years ago, on a pier in Braavos. Back then, she had been a child, twisted by grief and vengeance, ignorant to the ways of the world. He lured her into the House of Black and White with promises then showed her how much crueler life could be.

They called him the Kindly Man. But he was not kindly. Even when he smiled and spoke softly, he was not kindly. There was always something lurking beneath his smiles. Something dangerous that Arya could not put into words.

Every instinct bid her to fight. To run. To do something. Anything other than continue standing calmly at the grave of her father. But she fought her instincts, swallowing them down and lifting her chin.

"What do you want?"

"A man wants to collect on a deal," Jaqen said.

Arya's eyes narrowed. "A girl hasn't violated our deal."

"And yet the deal is broken." Jaqen said, looking down at her. "Because Petyr Baelish is dead."

Arya's heart dropped into her stomach. It was a fact that should have brought her joy. And yet… "A girl did not kill him."

"No. She did not," Jaqen said. "But the deal did not hinge on Arya Stark abstaining from vengeance, did it? The deal was that the culprit could not die by any hand."

Yes. He had been quite clear on that fact. At the time, she thought it was to prevent her from finding some loophole. From placing the knife in the hand of her mother or one of her siblings. But that hadn't been the purpose of the deal at all. No…Instead…

"You never intended to let me go," she said flatly.

"What makes a girl so sure," Jaqen asked.

A hollow laugh escaped Arya's lips. "Because. You always intended to kill Petyr Baelish. He knew too much. You had to kill him."

"Petyr Baelish died in a prison riot," Jaqen said.

"And the Faceless Men made sure it happened," Arya said. "As they made sure Olenna Tyrell died." She ground her teeth together. "Do not lie to me. We aren't playing that game right now."

"So now a girl can tell lies from truths?" Jaqen asked.

"Yes," Arya said. "Because it turns out her teachers were lying to her all along." She turned to face him. "All of this talk the past few years about being no one. Of telling me to abandon my past and my name. It was all bullshit. You had as much vengeance in your heart as I did. You were never no one."

"A girl is an expert on such things now?" Jaqen asked.

"A girl knows what happened to Braavos during the second Essosi war," Arya said. "What you've done to sow chaos in Westeros. The people you've killed and the people you've encouraged others to kill." Her jaw clenched. "You pretended the Waif was acting out of line…but you and her aren't so different. You're just better at hiding it."

"The Waif did act out of line," Jaqen said. "It was too soon to go after Tywin Lannister."

"But the time is right now I guess? Now that the others are dead?" Arya asked. "Well, if you're planning to ask me to kill him…forget it. I am not playing this game anymore. I am not going to continue being a tool for your vengeance. It doesn't matter what threats you make or what rewards you offer me. Your deals are poison." She practically spit the word at his feet. "You are not no one. So why should I be?"

Jaqen smiled his usual pleasant smile. But there was something glittering in his eyes. That undercurrent of danger that always lurked beneath that expression. It was crawling to the surface. Seeping through the cracks. And Arya shivered at the sight of it.

"A girl is mistaken," Jaqen said, taking a single step closer to her. "Death does not need her to kill Tywin Lannister." That smile widened. "She is just…the bait."

His hand flashed out. She tried to back away, but he was quick as a snake strike, grasping her wrist tight. She felt a sharp pang in her arm as he jabbed a needle into her skin. Then heaviness fell upon her limbs, dragging her down to her knees. Down to the ground.

And into darkness.

Tywin was on his way back into the office when he got the call from Catelyn. Rather, he realized he had missed three calls from her, all in a row, while driving.

It was his first day returning to the office since the Long Night. The damage to the city was extensive and they were a long way from burying all their dead. But there was always a certain pressure to return to work. To return to normal.

Three missed calls in a row from Catelyn was not normal. He answered at once as he strode through the Lannister HQ toward the elevator.

"What happened?"

"Have you seen Arya?"

It was, perhaps, the worst question to hear. It was the question that first tangled them together in the first place, but one he did not want to hear again.

"Yesterday," he said. "At the cemetery. She was there after the funeral, wasn't she?"

"Yes. She was. She wanted to stay for a while," Catelyn said. Her voice was high pitched. Tinged with panic. "Were you…you were there?"

"I was visiting my wife," Tywin said. "We exchanged words. It was brief."

"And she seemed…normal?"

"Yes. She did," Tywin said. As normal as the girl ever was. But she did not have the same look she'd had all those years ago. She was not a child wild with grief.

If she had not come home…something was wrong.

"Has anyone else seen her more recently?" Tywin asked.

"No," Catelyn said. "I got a few texts from her last night. Saying that she was fine. She'd be home late. But…she never came home. So. You're the last to have seen her."

Again, he thought. Yet again.

But what in the seven hells had carried her away this time. He had not thought anything of leaving her alone at the graveside. Her family had done the same. Ever since Baelish had been locked up, the danger to the Stark family was supposed to be at its end. The trials they faced during the Long Night crisis had been mostly incidental. The world had fallen to chaos, and they were simply caught in it's current.

They were not targets. Arya was not a target. Not anymore.

"I'll speak with Myrcella," Tywin said. "And the rest of my family. Just in case."

Catelyn didn't reply.

"We're going to find her," Tywin said. "I promise that."

"How can you?" Catelyn asked softly.

"Because," Tywin said. "I found her once before."

It was the only thing he could offer her. Arya had returned from death once. What else could possibly keep her away?

He made it to his office, dropping off his things. He went to the desk, preparing to make some more calls. But stopped when he saw something on the desk. A small pile of coins. But not just any pile. It was the same amount Arya had given him all those years ago right before her first disappearance.

There were two small differences. A note. And an extra coin.

Beneath the pile sat a note. A note with a few words written in graceful font.

Interest.

For the man who always pays his debts.

His fist snapped closed around the note, crumpling it into a ball as a terrible truth settled over him.

This was not an attack on the Starks at all. This was an attack on him. And the single Braavosi coin mixed in with the others was the last piece of the puzzle, clicking into place, revealing the bigger picture he had been missing all along.

A terrible sense of déjà vu filled the Stark household. A disappearance of a sister not long after a death in the family. Same old story, different coat of paint.

But it wasn't supposed to be that way. Things were different now.

Are they, asked the past. Are they really?

Bran wasn't so sure. And so, he sat in his room, in front of his computer, helplessness weighing heavy on his shoulders.

All that time he spent searching for Arya after she went away came back to haunt him. He'd tried so hard, and it all led to dead ends and heartbreak. It led to a grave with his sister's name on it. She'd come back to them through a miracle. But now she had disappeared again.

Would it be the same? Would Bran search and search and find nothing? Would Arya end up in a grave for good this time.

No, he thought. Things are different. I am different.

After all, one couldn't be the same after killing a man like the Night King, right? That changed something.

It gave Bran leverage.

So he called the Spider.

The man answered for him. Perhaps the most surprising thing. "Is there something I can help you with, Brandon Stark."

"I need you to find my sister," Bran said.

"As I recall, I've already helped you with that," the Spider said.

"My other sister. Arya," Bran said. "She's missing."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"You're not. And that's fine. I don't need you to be sorry. I just need your help finding her."

"And why should I put resources into such a thing?" the Spider asked. "You have nothing to offer in return."

"No," Bran said. "You're paying me back for the favor I did you."

"And what is that?"

"Killing the Night King."

The Spider laughed. "And what makes you think that was a favor? Especially since you failed to stop his actual plan."

"The beginnings of it, yes," Bran said. "You know he would have kept going. That he would have made it much worse."

"Perhaps I wanted that as well."

"I don't think so," Bran said. "You're a lot of things. But if you truly loathed this city so much, you would have brought it to its knees long ago."

"Isn't that an interesting idea," the Spider said. "Maybe I'll try it."

"You can play word games with me all you want," Bran said. "But you gave me Mance's name because you hoped he would talk to me and not you. You wanted to do something about the Night King too. Well, I killed him. I did what you wanted. So please." Bran's jaw clenched. "Please help me."

The Spider was silent for a long moment. Bran wanted to scream at him. His sister was on the line. This wasn't the time to be indecisive.

But at least the Spider let out a sigh. "You are a fascinating person, Brandon Stark. Killing the Night King yourself…it did go beyond the call of duty." There was a smile in his voice. "I'll find your sister, if it is in my power."

"Thank you," Bran said. "I have no doubt that it is."

There was no getting used to one's children disappearing. Even if happened over and over again…Catelyn knew she would feel the same thing every time—pure panic.

She had thought nothing of Arya staying alone in the cemetery. Ever since Arya stepped back into her real life, she had assumed the threats to her were done. Arya had promised as much. Ever since the attack by that Waif girl at the Lannister manor, she had not been specifically targeted. It had been Sansa. Bran. Catelyn herself. Arya had been caught up in the same trouble as all of their family and yet…

And yet…

I can't do this again. I cannot bury her a second time.

Her mind jumped to the worst-case scenario. How could it not after all of these years of chaos. It was a strange thing to have Tywin Lannister more optimistic than her. But then again, perhaps he was only pretending for her benefit. He was not a man who gave up easily, that much was certain.

He found her once before.

The rest of her children were searching for Arya too. Robb and Sansa were making rounds of the city. Bran was on his computer. Jon was checking for any incidents near where she was last seen. Nothing yet. Nothing yet.

Catelyn went out on a drive as well, trying to look for her in all the familiar places. As if she had any chance of being there. But when Tywin Lannister sent her a message telling her to come to the Lannister manor, she did not hesitate to divert her path.

He was in his office when she found him, turning a coin between his fingers. He looked up when he saw her.

"Catelyn," he said. "Any luck?"

"No," she said. "I hoped you had some good news to give me."

He folded the coin into his hand. "I do have news."

Her heart clenched. "But not good news."

"It is. In part. I'm sure that your daughter is alive," Tywin said. "And I know who has her."

"Who?" Catelyn asked.

"The Faceless Men," Tywin said.

Catelyn swayed. The same people that had taken her in the first place. They…had her again? "She said that they were done with her."

"They were supposed to be," Tywin said. "Near as I can tell, she didn't break the deal she made with them."

"She…made a deal with them?" Catelyn asked.

"To let her go," Tywin said. "She told me about it the night we discovered Baelish. They said that as long as the culprit behind her father's death didn't die…she was allowed to walk free."

Catelyn paled. Nausea pitched in her stomach. "Tywin…Baelish is dead."

Tywin's eyes narrowed. "What?"

"I…I thought your son might have told you. He told me yesterday," Catelyn said. "I didn't tell Arya because…well the funeral. Everything. I wanted to wait. I didn't think that…" She shook her head. "She didn't tell me."

Tywin crossed to her, resting his hands on her upper arms, keeping her steady. "Catelyn. Easy."

"Why didn't she say something?" Catelyn asked, her voice breathy and frantic.

"There's nothing you could have done if she did," Tywin said. "I'm sure she thought everything was settled. Baelish was in jail. She kept her end of the deal."

"And then he died in the chaos," Catelyn murmured.

Tywin was silent for a long moment. Then he shook his head. "I don't think it was chaos that killed him."

Catelyn studied him as he pressed a coin into her hand. A Braavosi coin.

"I found this on my desk. Along with the same amount Arya once paid me back for a bus fare. And a note addressed to me."

"To you," Catelyn said. "Why? If they took Arya, why would they contact you and not me?"

"Because you're not their target. I am," Tywin said. "And I think it's clear now that the Faceless Men never intended to let her go forever. Just to let her go until they needed her."

Catelyn didn't know exactly what to say or what to think. How was her daughter's disappearance and the Faceless Men connected to Tywin Lannister at all?

"We should sit," Tywin said at last. "I have something to explain."

Catelyn let him guide her to a seat, head swirling with questions. He sat beside her, hesitating to speak. It was a strange thing. Tywin Lannister rarely hesitated.

"The reason your husband had such a strong dislike for me," Tywin said. "You remember what it was?"

"He disliked you for several reasons," Catelyn said. "But he frequently brought up what you did in the Second Essosi war."

"I don't imagine he told you what exactly happened?"

"No. No, he never did."

"That doesn't surprise me," Tywin said. He folded his hands together. Took a breath. Then began. "When Westeros lost the first Essosi war, it was quite bad for business. We might have won, of course, if not for Braavos. Their navy broke the blockade around Volantis. An unexpected development that destroyed us in the end. See, Braavos and Volantis don't have a history of getting along. But Braavos had a vested interest in keeping Westeros out of Essosi affairs. It meant they would stay as one of the dominant powers in the East. That interest remained when the Second Essosi war began.

"Several CEOs met. We made an unexpected alliance of our own because we all wanted the same thing. For Westeros to win. To gain a greater foothold in the East. We agreed that it would be best if Braavos didn't participate in the war. If they couldn't participate."

Catelyn studied him for a long moment as it dawned on her. "The coup. The civil war that broke out in Braavos. The crash of the Iron Bank. That was…your doing?"

"We all played our own parts," Tywin said. "Olenna put a great deal of money into the coup. Robert was happy to fund a few assassinations of key political figures that might get in the way. I take responsibility for what happened to the Iron Bank. The last straw that really sent them into chaos."

"Robert funded this too?" Catelyn asked. "Did…Did Ned know?"

"He knew," Tywin said. "Robert cast most of the blame on me, no doubt. But it was easier for your husband to hate me for it than his friend. Not that I minded. I did what I did. No point denying that." He glanced at her. "Your husband played no part of it of course. Didn't put a single coin into the endeavor."

Catelyn twisted her fingers together. No. Of course he wouldn't. Ned never would have approved of such a thing. But it was no wonder he hadn't given Catelyn the details of what happened. To do so would be to condemn Robert as well. "But…he still died."

"He did," Tywin said. "It was his death that kept me from seeing the truth of this mess. His death and Stannis'. Neither of them played any role in the Braavos catastrophe. So I assumed it was all Baelish. Or maybe I hoped it was all Baelish." He exhaled. "But now Olenna Tyrell is dead too. So I searched for every name of our group from that time. Everyone who funneled money into what happened in Braavos, whether they're still active or not. They're all dead. From illness or accident or murder. The latest casualty being Balon Greyjoy during the riots."

"All of them dead," Catelyn said. "Except for you."

"Except for me," Tywin said.

Catelyn shivered. She rose and paced to the other side of the room as she took it all in.

Tywin being alive was likely not an oversight on their part. If they killed everyone else, they would want him dead too. But she tried not to think about that right at that moment. For now, Tywin was living and breathing. Her daughter was missing.

"I still don't understand how Arya is connected to all of this," she said at last.

"She shouldn't have been," Tywin said, standing slowly. "None of your family should have been. It was Baelish that pulled you all into it. He gave Arya the idea to go to the Faceless Men. Pushed her toward them. Because they wanted some child from a rich family. Someone with a name that they could use if they needed it. It didn't have to be Arya. But it was."

"But why take her back now?" Catelyn asked.

"Because…she's bait. For me." Tywin held up the coin. "There's a reason they left this on my desk. Because they know our families are…closer than they have been. They know that months ago Arya refused to kill me. But also that I refused to kill her, even when she baited me to do so. They must know that we worked in tandem to bring down Baelish. So they knew…I wouldn't let this stand." He exhaled. "I imagine they'll want to offer me a deal."

Catelyn covered her mouth with her hand. She didn't have to give words to this supposed deal. She knew what it was. Her life. Or yours.

"So. That's how I know she's still alive," Tywin said at last, returning to the desk. "But whatever this is… I don't want you to worry about your daughter. She's going to be fine."

He said that with certainty. A certainty that worried her.

"And you?" she asked. "Do I have to worry about you?"

"No," he said. "No, I don't think you should. Someone like you really should not worry about someone like me."

"You don't get to choose that," Catelyn said, closing the gap between them again. "And neither do I. I knew what kind of person you were—the sorts of things you done—before we started this, didn't I? And what you did in Braavos was awful. The kind of thing that deserves punishment. I cannot blame these people for wanting you dead but that does not change the fact that I don't." She shook her head, her throat tightening. "I don't."

Tywin's jaw tightened as if her words pained him. "What I did in Braavos is effecting your family as well. It's the only reason your daughter is currently missing."

"My daughter is missing because Petyr Baelish," Catelyn said. "He is the one who dragged my family into this mess. It's like you said. It didn't have to be Arya."

"But it is. And they are using her to get to me."

"Because you once refused to kill her. It is hard to hate you for that," Catelyn said. "I have hated you for many things, Tywin. And I have wanted to hate you for many more. But not for this. Not for Arya. I want her back. I want her safe. But I do not want to lose anyone else and that includes you."

A silence followed. An echoing quiet that stretched taut between the two of them. Tywin's hand lifted, smoothing back two strands of her hair. "Catelyn…you misunderstand me. I'm not planning on simply accepting their terms." He picked up his phone. "Tell me. What do when someone offers you a terrible deal."

Catelyn studied him for a long time, confused by the question. But she answered none the less. "Make a new one. With someone else."

"Exactly. Preferably someone with more power," Tywin said, looking down at his phone. Searching for a number.

Catelyn brow furrowed. "Who…who are you calling?"

"The ones funding the Faceless Men. The Iron Bank." Tywin lifted the phone to his ear. "I'm cutting out the middleman."

A/N: The real and final culprit revealed! The Faceless Men and the Iron Bank of Braavos :) Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Wild that this story is gonna be done in a few weeks. It's been quite the journey! Review, subscribe and I'll see you next time!