-Robin's Study-

"Damn them, and damn them all!" Zulas howled at the letter he has just opened, addressed to Robin.

"Language!" Robin snapped. "I will not have you using those kinds of words within earshot of Ravena."

"Dad, I think you're taking the whole 'protective father' thing too far here." Ravena managed to talk while she had a pin in her mouth. One full side of Robin's office was devoted to being a giant stringboard, and Ravena was updating the information on it. Currently, she was rearraigning the nest of strings, notes, and pins, so it resembled more of a giant nest of webbing rather than somethings a crazed Grimleal would use to summon Grima. "Besides, you left me in private lessons with Morgaine. Kind of screwed up there."

"So, what kind of things did she teach you?"

"Don't encourage her, Vermil." Robin addressed the fire mage.

"I don't like you right now." Vermil scowled at him. "You gave everyone else fun assignments."

"Except me!" Argeni piped up. "My poor, delicate, lady fingers. They weren't made for things like writing documents. They were made for writing love letters! And now they're too tired to do that."

"Except Argeni. What gives?"

"What gives is that Zulas is more senior than you and has experience commanding troops. So he got the job taking out the Wolfguard, and you were assign to reduce a fortress to a smoldering crater." Robin said. Actually, I wanted them to know it was personal. Vermil just burns everything to the ground, but Zulas is pretty reasonable so it's a big deal when he gets annoyed like that. I still wished he'd shown a little restraint, and maybe not murdered everyone there.

"Yeah, but that doesn't explain Argeni, or why you locked us out of the loop."

"Argeni has no more seniority or command experience than Zulas does." Robin explained. "And I didn't tell you because that's standard operating procedures in the event of a major breach of security. No one gets told anything unless it's absolutely necessary. And if I had my way, none of you would know about the Wolfguard traitors."

"Yup." Ravena said. "Kind of sucks that you can't trust an army of twenty thousand people not to blab, you know?"

"I have a sneaking suspicion that you'd have assigned me to paperwork even if I was more experienced."

"That's just pure conjecture." Robin clapped his hands. "Anyway, Ravena, how goes the search?"

"Working on it." Ravena spat out the dart to her hand and impaled Dalton's face with it. "Dalton's clear, finally. Wasn't him."

"You thought it was Dalton?" Argeni asked.

"Someone highly placed in the Valm military." Robin said. "We've also found no traces of any offices, or any cash flow, so we think the spymaster has a legitimate position that he uses to cover for his real job."

"Huh." Zulas thought about it. "Yeah, I guess that's possible. Honestly, once you go Colonel, you wind up with more space than you need, and up to a certain point, you can just request treasury gold without it showing up on any records."

"I like the sound of that. So, how much space and money do colonels get, exactly?" Argeni asked. "And does it go up when they get married?"

"I'm not a colonel, Argeni."

"Yet, dear."

"Actually, your quarters will be your family's mansion in Valm." Robin said. "I took a look at the regs, and when nobility get married, they're allowed leniency to rest at their house when not deployed. Of course, that's only for lieutenant and above, but Zulas made that long ago."

"Why not Zulas's mansion?"

"Because Zulas has a title in name only, and nothing behind it." Robin said. "Anyway, regs aside, we need to get back on topic."

"Okay." Argeni nodded. "Have you tried following the trail of Imperial spies?"

"Yes. Most of his agents just report to higher agents. He does have a cabal of about half a dozen spies that know the spymaster personally." Robin winced. "Used to, anyway. Ravena?"

"Two killed, one in hiding, and we don't know the two others." Ravena sighed. "Morgaine did manage to get her hands on one, and he committed suicide by overcasting Valentian magic. Wasn't pretty, apparently."

"We've had some tricky progress on that front." Robin nodded.

"Anyway, we know that the spymaster was involved within all three Wolfguard traitors." Ravena said. "And, if you're wondering who took out the third one, it was a patrol led by Cervantes. Now, whoever's the spymaster needed to know these three people in detail."

"You can't just eliminate them on that kind of a basis." Argeni said. "Secret relationships happen all the time, you know. Or well, perhaps you don't, but I certainly do. Not that I've had them, of course."

"Because you're unlikable?" Vermil offered.

"How could you be so rude?" Argeni sniffed. "No, it's because I'm simply a good girl with good breeding who actually has manners and taste."

"Those novels in your room say otherwise." Ravena snorted. "Ribald Tales of a Faith War? Seriously? That series is trash, and you know it."

"Argeni, so help me if you've been corrupting her…" Robin began.

"Cut it out, the lot of you." Zulas sighed. "Robin, ignore the girls, they're just trying to get a rise out of us. But Argeni does have a point. There's no shortage of fools trying to seduce her. And defeating them in duels hasn't helped."

"Trying to seduce her, yes?" Robin said. "Are any successful?"

"No." Zulas snorted.

"Exactly."

"Spycraft isn't as simple as some shallow romantic liaison." Ravena explained. "Recruiting for a top-secret double agent job isn't a few winks at a party and a meeting in the shadows."

"In this case, they'd need a stable recruitment platform. Every one of the traitors has people who he knows well, and people who backed up the recommendation. Then all those have a circle of confidants themselves. The spymaster, at most, has a two-degree separation, so luckily we don't need to check deeper." Robin said. "These people were recruited because the recruiter knew ahead of time they were the type to be able to be turned against me."

"You sure it's got to be that close?" Zulas asked Robin. "I mean, I don't remember you pulling off plans using people that far away as cat's paws. Pretty sure you used Excellus, though."

"Yes, we're including notable enemies." Robin said. "Luckily, we already have most of this information from the original set of background checks, and Morgaine delivered the last set of information earlier this morning. So, all that's left is to cross reference all the information and take a note of the few dozen who cross over, then run that over our list of suspects."

"Not that appearing or not appearing is enough to have you confirmed or denied, of course." Ravena said. "When I eliminated Dalton, I mean he's clear from this rubric. We've got a master list, under heavy lock and key, which contains the final tally of evidence against people. So someone connected to all three of these just gets a check mark, if you're not connected to any, that's an X."

"Isn't intelligence work supposed to be more, um, cloak and dagger?" Argeni asked, blinking. "I have this image of dark figures in the night, slipping in to crack open safes and reading documents."

"Yeah that happens too. Guess how much."

"About half of it?" Argeni ventured, trying to go low.

"One percent." Ravena sighed. "One percent of intelligence is active fieldwork, or as you put it, cloak and dagger. A further twenty-five is passive fieldwork or listening in on people. Everything else is this! So the next time you complain about filing paperwork, remember I'm doing this."

"Want a hand?" Vermil offered, shooting Robin a dirty look. "I've got a lot of experience archiving thanks to someone making me research spells."

"Answer's the same as last time." Robin sighed. "You know you want larger destructive capacity more than I do."

"I'll take help, sure." Ravena gestured to a stack of papers by her that was taller than her. "Those files contain links. Find the names and connect them with thread. If they don't have a name, scrawl one down and pin it up. Connect them with string and see if you can try to make it so we get a nice set of webs, rather than a massive sprawl, because that gets annoying."

"What do we do afterwards?"

"Ask me when we're done." Ravena said. "Might take a few weeks."

"…Oh."

"Don't worry, it's not like you have better things to do." Zulas tossed the missive he'd gotten to Robin. "Take a look at this."

"That can't be right." Robin frowned. Well, a spot of good news for a change. And also explains why Zulas was cursing. "No rebel activity? That doesn't make any sense."

"Yup." Zulas moodily kicked the table. An inkwell was upset, spilling over a set of opened letters. Robin snatched the inkwell up and used the ruin letters to funnel the remaining ink to the side, leading to a black puddle on the floor. "We've hit 'em too hard, and the rest are now hiding."

"I mean, that was the fate to begin with." Robin said, shuffling the letters together, taking care not to get ink flecks on his sleeves. His hands were already loss. "Even though the Gray Tactician and/or the spymaster was the one behind it all, they just controlling groups of scattered rebels, with no logistics, no support, and a recruitment which only fed off a hostile population, i.e. the one they're fighting. They feed off each other, so when a decisive string of victories crop up against them, they've got no support. Most rebellions can only take one or two decisive losses. Between the variousValm general and the Wolfguard, we hit them with six."

"I was expecting a long campaign." Zulas muttered. "Kind of disappointing. Especially with those traitors."

"These were rebels, not insurgents." Robin said. "And thank goodness for that. Insurgents give me nightmares. Bad nightmares."

"What's the difference?"

"As far as I'm concerned, whether or not they're supported by the population. The Chon'sin dynasts, for instance, would support a rebellion if they thought it profitable, so if someone like Say'ri was leading it, it'd last a while." Robin said. "I didn't give them enough times. So, yes, we just had to crush some dissidents and the traitors. And then the rest wise up and run back into cover."

"I thought rebels where supposed to be 'We'll fight till the last man draws breath! Argh!' and so on, spouting meaningless drivel as you impale them, and they die a slow horrific death." Zulas said, gesturing with his hand.

"Not all rebels are the evil version of you, dear." Argeni said. "I mean, how many of you are there in service to Walhart?"

"Not as many as I'd like, you're right." Zulas said. "Speaking of impaling, I heard about what you did to Eric. That was pretty hardcore."

"Ooh, what's this?" Ravena perked up. "I didn't hear about this."

"There's a reason for that." Robin sighed. The ink now safely contained, he walked to the room's fireplace and tossed the inked letters into it.

"He impaled the traitorous Wolfguard commander on his spear and stuck him into the wall." Zulas explained. "Then dared him to pull himself off and escape or commit suicide to prove he wasn't a spineless coward."

"That is pretty hardcore." Ravena smirked. "So which did he chose?"

"He went with the third option, passing out." Robin sighed. "He was something like half an inch forward against the wall, so he might have made an attempt to escape, or I might have not shoved him against the wall hard enough. We had to cut the blasted thing off him, and he's still unconscious. I seem to have overdone it. On the one hand, the story got out, so now everyone thinks I'm even worse than they already though, and the name 'Crimson Demon Battlemaster' seems to be going around. On the other hand-"

"-no information from an unconscious man." Ravena finished. "Oh, take a look at this. Cervantes is out, too. He's got notable connections to the ones that you and Zulas took out, but none whatsoever to the ones his men killed."

"Still, all things considered, good run." Robin said. "Rebellion flattened in the space of two months, and a good amount of notable information on the spymaster. We even came out ahead, reputation-wise, thanks to the methods we used for dealing with our own traitors. And that's that. Ink-stained letters aside."

"Sorry about that."

"Nah, it was just some reports from Anna." Robin said. "Risen, of all things."

-?-

"It's not over yet." The Valmese spymaster sighed, reading through a stack of papers. "A rebellion ending that quickly?"

"The Battlemaster believes that to the case. He even put out his own notice, saying that all formal rebel activity has disbanded, but that the Wolfguard is now back to engaging the Risen and bandit attacks."

"That last bit is just for propaganda, of course, there's still a few stragglers, but the rebels seem to have disappeared." The spymaster frowned. "By my counts, that's at least 30,000 missing rebels, judging from recruiting reports. Can we assume they're accurate?"

"Avarice supplied them."

Avarice, the spymaster knew, was the codename for a new dealer on the information market. While honesty was a virtue no one ever accused anyone in her line of work of, Avarice tended to be reliable on such matters. Still, the both of them knew better than to completely trust her. "Good enough, then. That number is worrisome. There's a lot of ill that could be done with a number that great."

"Spymaster, do you think he started the rebellions?"

"No." The spymaster shook his head and tapped a letter on his desk. "This is an internal memo, supplied to the generals of Valm, marked for their eyes only. Robin outlines the basic pushes, and a plan to deal with the remainder of the rebels. In it, he identifies an individual as the 'Gray Tactician' that may be responsible for some of the organization. And he asks for any information, if we could send it up. Oh. And a note that says not to let anyone else see it."

"Ah." The agent licked his lips. "So, shall we send in misinformation?"

"No. We've only got one route to send that in, and if Robin identifies that as ours, it would only be a short while until he tracks me down." The spymaster frowned. "As it stands, I believe he's coming too close to the truth."

"Our stunt with the Wolfguard?"

"No, I don't think so." The spymaster grinned. "If he tries tracking us through that – well, let's just say I left a nasty little trap. And now that I've been able to put that long-standing plan into effect, I've a few other methods as well. A few of our nobles will push for more control over the Wolfguard, because as it stands, the Battlemaster has complete control of it."

"Then what could have you suspicious?"

"That's just it." The spymaster frowned. "I don't know what he's planning. He's got something concealed."

"Could it have anything to do with the Fire Emblem?"

"That is just a tale for Ylissean royalty to make themselves feel special." The spymaster scowled. "Don't make me regret telling it to you. Walhart may consider it important, but I don't. But the gems wouldn't do Robin any good."

"Even though he's the Fellblood?" The agent enjoyed the look of shock on the spymaster's face. "Oh, you didn't know that, did you?"

"No." The spymaster slid his chair back and withdrew a large crimson file, flipping through it. "Feigning amnesia, the dates, his age. Yes, that would make sense. But the Fellblood was killed, years ago. That was confirmed."

"The chaos following Gangrel's death left a few secrets looser than usual." The agent rolled up his sleeve to reveal a fresh Grimleal tattoo. "It took a bit of infiltration, but I confirmed that while the child personally murdered by the previous Exalt was indeed the Fellblood, there's just a single missing detail. The child was one of fraternal twins, as it happens. The other? Well, he got away safely."

"That would explain it." The spymaster remembered. "The reports were that the Fellborn was male, yet the Exalt clearly said 'I killed her', on his deathbed. The speculation was that he was referring to the country of Plegia, or Ylisse, but he was referring to the Fellblood, who was female."

"Yes, that was my conclusion too, though it's hard to say conclusively. And honestly, that doesn't matter." The agent cocked his head. "Do you think he knew it? The previous Exalt. Imagine being haunted by that knowledge. Well, that's water under the bridge too, I guess."

"Are you now a Grimleal initiate?" A note of humor was in the spymaster's voice.

"High priest, don't be ridiculous. I killed off a chapter whose leader was only personally known to people killed during the battle. Like I said, chaos around Gangrel's death. Pretty high-ranking member too, I was invited to the new Hierophant's speech, where he told us the secret. Probably to keep faith in the Grimleal." The agent shrugged. "So, do you think he's after the gems?"

"Are you sure this Hierophant wasn't lying?"

"Swore a blood oath." The agent said. "Grimleal may be fanatics, but they aren't gullible or stupid. The Hierophant set a curse on himself which forced him to tell the truth. Yeah, information's on the level. So, gems?"

"No. Tiki is still in possession of hers." The spymaster said. "I checked after Robin visited her. If I had to guess, he's probably the opposite. Harbors a secret hatred to Plegia and wants them wiped out. Probably Ylisse too. Now that I think about it, he was discussing invasion plans the other day with Pheros. Yes, that would make sense."

"Unlimited power is a pretty sweet offer." The agent countered.

"I suppose a closer eye couldn't hurt." The spymaster said. "If that's even possible."

"Now what?"

"Can you join Robin's personal forces?" The spymaster asked.

"No." The agent's tone left little room for discussion.

"It'd be easy for you to join, given the fact you're related to-"

"Look, I share my half-brother's loyalty. Something that you're grateful for, given that the people you can personally trust are steadily being killed by Robin. But that comes with conditions." Balt Albert blinked once. "Zulas is not allowed to know I exist. That was part of the deal. He'd be crushed if he found out his father had an indiscretion. The man's black-and-white nature makes him an ideal soldier, but I don't want him to know about me."

"That was part of the deal." The spymaster nodded. "Alright. I'll post you deep. Robin's assassin Dant is deep undercover somewhere in Plegia."

"Yeah, I know. What's the mission?"

"Given your new status, it shouldn't be that hard of a task. He is, as you have said, killing my confidants. But I'm not going after his soldiers, that would hardly be sporting of me. Track down Dant and kill her. When you're done, send her head to Robin." The spymaster said. "Meanwhile, I'll deal with the rebellion here."

-?-

"Excellent work, Ruger. Everything is proceeding exactly how I wanted it. I think we're done here."

"I don't understand."

"Of course, you don't." Beneath his hooded cloak, Grima sighed. It seemed like he was saying that more and more these days, and the line grew stale. "Ruger, you're only competent as a messenger in the dark. That's why I hired you to serve as the 'Gray Tactician'."

"Gray Tactician?"

"It's just my term for it." Grima sighed. "The opposite to the Crimson Tactician. Your role was to rally the unified dissidents into a rebellion, while keeping it to look like it was scattered. Or, well, to clarify, to run legwork while I gave the orders."

"Right." Ruger said. "So, uh, why'd ya decide to put everything on halt?"

"A better question, I think, is why did you lose track of your soldiers?" Grima asked, though he personally knew the answer to the question. "I put everything to a halt because the rebellion is simply out of soldiers. We recruited thousands of people from across the continent. It took me the better part of two years to set up the network necessary for it. And now, they're dead."

"The Crimson Demon Tactician."

"Not yet." Grima smiled. "No, just the Crimson Tactician for now. Curious, though. I put aside a legion of veterans, and it seems that when I shipped them to classified location, they've somehow vanished without a trace."

"I thought you were behind that."

Grima considered. Given his duplicitous, double-dealing nature, this was actually a perfectly valid excuse as for why Ruger hadn't realized the missing army. However, Grima was evil and enjoyed bullying people. And Ruger no longer had any use for him, and thus became a liability.

"No, you fool!" Grima snapped. "Worthless piece of gutter trash. Those soldiers were moved elsewhere, and I suspect reinforced. No, perhaps reinforced isn't the right word. Absorbed, yes. There are signs, if you know where to look, of an army gathering and hiding undercover. And not only that but planning to remain there for quite a while. A large army."

"Signs?"

"Several food warehouses were raided in the early days of the rebellion." Grima explained. "Those weren't our men doing it. Enough for fifty thousand soldiers to eat for at least four years."

"I thought-"

"Yes, we've established your relative intellect and that you think I'm behind everything." Grima said. Well, I suppose that I am, if you consider Robin a part of me. "However, none of that was part of my plans. I suppose if you consider the rebellion my plan, it would seem I failed. However, I am happy that my plans went perfectly. The rebellions were only a means."

"I thought you wanted to overthrow Valm."

"Idiot." Grima sent the assassin flying with a wave of his hand, sending his spasming into a wall. "One does not defeat an Empire a million soldiers strong with a paltry rebellion of a mere fifty thousand collective people, of which the majority are nothing more than untrained peasants armed with rusty farming equipment. No, the true purpose was to … accelerate. The Valmese Battlemaster gained quite a bit from this rebellion, I think. At least two plans I know of were helped by the rebellion. And, from my perspective, it is vital that his plans be carried out before Valm declares war with Ylisse. A war of that magnitude would honestly ruin anyone's plan. Really, he should be thanking me."

"You wanted to help the Crimson Demon Battlemaster?"

"Tell me." Grima smiled. "Have you, perchance, seen the Battlemaster you're so keen to vilify? His face?"

"Not in person, but I know how he looks." Ruger nodded. "He's got his face all over recruitment posters."

"Does it look something like this?" Grima flipped his hood off and enjoyed the shock that Ruger displayed. "We are similar, you could say. The Battlemaster's gains are my gains … or, more accurately, they will become mine. Now, Ruger, unfortunately I've shared a secret with you that you aren't supposed to know. I'm afraid I'll have to eat your soul."

"Soul?"

Apparently, that was the only thing Ruger could say in response to the information overload, or perhaps he was going to say something else, had Grima not killed him with dark magic, and then consumed the man's soul. After thinking it over, Grima elected against turning the man's corpse into a Risen assassin. Getting it out of Valm was going to be difficult, and inside Valm, he'd tip his hand and reveal that he could control Risen if it was discovered. "I can't help you anymore than this, Robin. I leave the rest to you. Let's see what you can do without that pitiful Exalt holding you back. Show me the true power of Grima's chosen vessel!"

-Robin's Study-

Robin took a sip of tea, trying to relax unsuccessfully. He'd been trying blends from all over Valm, and this week's source came from the Firelands. Unsurprisingly, it tasted a bit charred, but there was a richness that Robin wouldn't have known to associate with volcanos. "Delicious."

"Is it?" Say'ri asked. It was late at night, and she'd just arrived. Robin insisted that she tell him about Chon'sin, so they'd both had a bit of liquid stimulation to help them. "I introduced you to Chon'sin blends, which are far superior to that sharp, bitter mess."

"The people of Chon'sin already like me." Robin said. "I've discovered that small talk resembles bribery in the sense that it's universally accepted but only in the right currency. So I've decided to become a tea connoisseur. Surprisingly neutral topic. How was Chon'sin, by the way."

"Chon'sin was nice this time of year. Unfortunately, the cherry trees weren't in blossom." Say'ri said, raising an eyebrow. "I also had my hands full, corralling the dynasts. The rebellion did not help, and you fought a great many battles without me by your side."

"Seem to manage it." Robin said. "And I already told you, a tactician's sword is not wielded like a normal one. I have greater need of you away from my side than by it."

"Evidently." Say'ri withdrew her blade and gazed at her reflection. "This sword was drawn thrice, you should know. Once in battle, once in threat, and once to kill a friend."

"Hikaru Yoshimoto?"

"Nay." Say'ri shook her head. "Him I threatened, but he backed down before blows were forced. It was one of Ryu Shingen's servants, a man known as Oda Shingen, that I slew."

"Related to him?" Robin blinked. "And isn't Ryu supposed to be on our side?"

"Brother, I believe, though I do not know if it is by full blood or even half. Ryu does not speak of these things, and the Shingen clan does not talk to outsiders. Oda was the foolish one, and Ryu allowed him to challenge me. I believe it was to dissuade the rest from joining the rebels. That seems like something Ryu Shingen would do." Say'ri sighed. "He may have been my enemy, but I studied under the same master as Oda once did. Perhaps that is why he thought he might have beaten me."

"Ah." Robin nodded. Ryu seems to be on my side, then, willing to sacrifice his own blood. Perhaps that was also a show of favor. "I owe Ryu a debt, then."

"Not a large one. Oda was not in favor within the Shingen clan." Say'ri frowned. "Ryu is a bit colder than I am. I still grieve Yen'fay in my heart of hearts, but I do not believe that Ryu does. Still, it would raise your standing amongst the Chon'sin if you acknowledged the debt, in a way proper amongst the Chon'sin, of course."

"I'll have to think of something which is suitable to both Chon'sin tastes and my own." Robin said, taking another sip of tea. "Can't let your people get a swelled head and think that I exclusively cater to their culture."

"Yes, that would no doubt be catastrophic, though I cannot determine the reason, but if you say so it must exist." Say'ri said. She poured herself a cup of Robin's tea and took a sip. Then immediately spat it out. "Pah. This is tea? It's nothing more than burnt leaf juice."

"Pretty sure that's what all tea is."

"And you call yourself a tea connoisseur."

"I told you, it's for the small talk, not the tea." Robin said. "It takes more effort to actually learn to properly enjoy tea. Though I suspect Vermil would enjoy this without any training."

"Are you that incapable of enjoying things in life that you must always twist them to an ulterior motive?"

"No, I'm perfectly find of enjoying things that don't have to be twisted to an ulterior motive and just have them innately built in." Robin replied, much to Say'ri's scowl. "Besides, you aren't even eating Chon'sin food either!"

"Yes, but I am doing it because I enjoy this food, not because I hope to twist it to my advantage. If you do not approve, perhaps you shouldn't allow me to order food from your chefs before you call your meetings." Say'ri ate one of her potato chips with her chopsticks. "And I am drinking Chon'sin tea."

Who drinks tea and eats fried chips in the same meal? Robin internally sighed. Say'ri, apparently. I suppose she hasn't quite grasped the concept that greasy food is supposed to be informally eaten. And definitely not with the best tea. Though at least her fingers don't get greasy, because chopsticks.

An explosion interrupted his train of thought. Robin started a silent countdown. Say'ri was on her feet, hand on hilt, in a flash, looking out the window. "Are we under attack?"

"No, that's just a diversion." Another explosion rocked the building. "That one's a diversion too. It has to do with the Wolfguard Initiative." Robin said. "See, a lot of people are annoyed at me that I used them to handle the rebellion. Not that it helped because of traitors."

"Aye." Say'ri nodded, turning back to the door. "But what these diversions about?"

"I'm getting to that." Robin said. "See, a lot of people think I've got too much power now that I'm the lead Wolf of the Wolfguard, in addition to my Battlemaster, and when I say people think that, I'm more referring to the dissidents. They've even gotten to calling me the Crimson Demon Battlemaster, which is just overkill. Walhart, well, he's too powerful. But me? I'm just a tactician. Easy enough to kill once you get in close. The rebellions are over, but there's one last attempt. A desperate attack of the few remaining loyalists. A suicide mission. Noble. Misguided, but noble."

"An assassination." Say'ri sighed. "And they're targeting you. Why are you not worried? If I recall, last time you weren't this calm."

"Last time I didn't know the reason why." Robin said. "This time, thought, I'm well prepared. Hence my knowledge of the diversions. I alerted the guards. They know enough to prepare for this."

"That's good." Say'ri said, relaxing her grip. She turned around and scowled. "What are you doing!? I thought you said that tea and chips were an unsuitable combination!"

"Did I?" Robin paused, with yet another one of Say'ri's chips moving towards his mouth. I should lay off fire magic now that I have greasy fingers. He shrugged and ate it, washing it down with the last of his tea. "Well, I definitely thought it loudly enough. I take it back, these are tasty together."

"I half suspect you arranged this to steal my snacks." Say'ri frowned. "But that would be unbelievably petty, even for you. So, you've taken care of everything already?"

"Not quite." Robin said. "My count is down to fourteen, so you may want to have your hand on your blade again."

"Count?"

"From when the explosions started. I started at thirty." Robin said. He aimed his hand at the door to the room. "They were a diversion, I told you. THORON!"

The door exploded as Robin fired a massive lightning burst into it. Say'ri drew her blade in a flash and dashed past the explosion, running through the smoke. Robin fired a burst of Rexcaliber next, clearing the smoke. Three would-be assassins lay dead, with Say'ri whirling among the other three, clashing blades with them. Robin drew his own spear and joined the fight.

It lasted less than thirty seconds, ending with Robin holding Say'ri back with his spear to stop her from killing the last one. It was the leader, a man with mixed blood, half Valm and half Rosanne. "Hold on, Say'ri. I'd like to talk to this one."

"He tried to kill you."

"So did you." Robin reminded her. "I don't think he'll be amendable to joining me, but I'd like to talk to him anyway."

"I have nothing to say to you." The man spat at him.

"Believe me, that isn't necessary." Robin raised an eyebrow. "Your name is Jean-Luc, and you claim to be the bastard son of Viscount Virion – a lie, by the way. Not that I believe that he doesn't have them, you just happen to be too old. I'm taking that personally, Virion's a pawn of mine, and I won't have you used him. He's mine to use. Now, you head a certain organization – Clipped Wings, I believe? – and have been plotting to assassinate me for the last two weeks. A very nice plot, too."

"I see you don't try to disguise your actions." Jean-Luc spat. "Why don't you go kill yourself?"

"You're curious as to how I know all that, aren't you? You are, I can see it in your ideals." Robin said. "They tell me 'How could we have failed? We're the good guys, and you're evil.' Well, you were betrayed. And it wasn't by one of your own, well, not in the strict sense. It was by your own sense of idealism."

"Can you stop speaking in riddles?" Say'ri sighed.

"Traitor!" The man spat at Say'ri. "I see you've decided to take your brother's place."

"What would a cowardly toad like yourself hope to understand?" Say'ri met him with a gaze that froze the man instantly. "You, who have attempted assassination for no other reason than your fanatical hatred! That is what my liege means when he says your idealism has betrayed you. When I lead the resistance, we did not perform assassinations. It is only worth it to kill the head of the demon when the rest can be dealt with. Otherwise, you lead to nothing other than greater than calamity with your petty retribution!"

"Can you not refer to me as a demon's head?" Robin shook his head. "I'm not even immortal and I certainly can't resurrect myself. But anyway, what was your plan, Jean-Luc? What would happen when you killed me?"

"The Empire would fall!" Jean-Luc spat. "The factions would have cleaned you out, and we would have the opportunity to reclaim our homelands!"

"You mean the ones that Walhart, not me, conquered in the first place?" Robin raised an eye. "You've got raw belief, and there's a certain power in that. Certainly enough to lead the rest of your friends to your death. But it's not what I respect, not without at least some intelligence to back it up."

Jean-Luc's eyes darted back and forth, like a trapped rat. Robin could see that the man was only beginning to grasp how outmatched he was, and that he had charged into a trap. "What do you want from me?"

"Oh, I already got what I came for." Robin said. "I was wondering how skilled my puppet master was."

"Puppet master?" Jean-Luc blinked.

"My spy network doesn't work like a traditional one." Robin explained. "I decided to eschew that a while ago. I've got a few contacts in foreign lands, but half my agents are implanted in the personal networks of other Valm generals, feeding me the information they have. The other half are employed by Morgaine. Is that a name you're familiar with? No?"

"I believe she goes by Avarice, in the circle she's be in." Say'ri interrupted.

"The information merchant?" Jean-Luc blinked.

"The various undergrounds and resistances are in constant need of three things, Jean-Luc." Robin said. "Information, supplies, and hope. And I can supply all three. You see, I don't mind the underground existing, so long as I know about it. And the rebellion gave me the perfect in."

"You're a monster."

"Don't insult monsters." Robin said, his eyes turning fierce. "I'm human. Just like you. Let's not forget that I've only killed people on the field of battle, where they've meant me harm, whereas you've invaded my home, and tried to kill me in cold blood. When it comes down to it, you lack vision. This entire rebellion, which you happen to be the last desperate sparks of? Made by shortsighted men. I'm not saying that killing me would do nothing. I'm saying that you lack a plan beyond that."

"Our plan is simple." Jean-Luc stared malevolently at him. "Kill evil!"

"Kill … evil?"

"Of course you wouldn't understand! It's what an ideal is! If all I do is kill evil, than the world will have been made a better place by it."

"So would you kill yourself as well?" Robin chuckled. "You're trying to kill one of the rightful rulers of this land and create a state based of fear and anarchy. So, tell me Jean-Luc, who's evil here? Is it me because – eh?"

Robin trailed off when he snapped out of the monologue to notice that Jean-Luc's eyes had glazed over. To the side, Say'ri was calmly wiping her blade of blood, while the man lay on the floor, dead. His throat was slashed in a quick motion.

"You are." Say'ri reminded him. "You are evil, Robin. You manipulated him into attacking you, and now you've told him too much, requiring his death. Not that you weren't going to kill him anyway, you were, but he deserves death, so I shall not argue. But please refrain from giving those evil speeches."

"It's kind of hard to resist monologuing." Robin sighed. "How am I supposed to be an evil mastermind without those?"

"You aren't." Say'ri sighed. "I leave you alone, and you're immediately corrupted. Fie."

"Dealing with these people always brings out the worse in me." Robin said. "You do understand, don't you? They're assassins, acting for would-be noble reasons, and doing nothing but sowing chaos. And the rebellions. I guess I got carried away. Sorry."

"I understand." Say'ri sighed. "And now that you've drawn your attack, am I correct in assuming that you'll be off again?"

"Correct." Robin said, grinning. "Things in Valm are proceeding ahead of schedule, so I've decided to take a break. I've got a few old friends to visit. And maybe one or two people to recruit. General Pheros kindly suggested that I take a vacation, so I'm heading across the waves again."

"You may want to consider actually resting while you are there, and not just using the good general's advice as a pretext."

Robin rolled his eyes. "As if."

Report: Alright. So, Plegia's finally got a new king up on the throne. Couldn't do anything about that, sorry. Get this - it's ANOTHER Grimleal, by the name of Validar. Plegia just doesn't learn, eh? Supposedly, he's just a simple believer, and not one of their priests or anything, but that's not true either. He's got a close connection with the Hierophant, who basically skulks in the shadows to the point I can't even find anything about the man. Validar's kind of evil, and I'm pretty sure he's got one of those Gemstone things you told me to keep an eye out for. Obviously, I can't do anything without revealing my identity, so I haven't, but you probably want this guy gone. Though you've never needed any advice on what to do. - Dant.