Author's Note: I've got a fair few auditions in September now. Two in the span of a few days though I'm hoping for more. I'd be really nice to finally be involved in theater again. When I'm on stage, things just feel right. I know it's what Dad wanted for me more than anything too, so even if it's small roles right now, it means the world to me.

Randomreviewer: I can understand not jumping on a ship. Heck, part of the story is figuring out whether you like the pairing or not when romance is involved. And drunk Kent is best Kent.

Pixelsaber: Unlike the original where I kept the magical class change items, this time I went for a more realistic 'have them grow and improve as time goes on.' Some of it has been hamfisted (Serra learning light magic has been nearly entirely off-screen), I think in the long run it works since showing every single character learning new ways to fight would drag far too much. The battle on this one was never my favorite either. I felt like it was just a placeholder for Eliwood's recovery, so I kind of treated it as such. Also yes, Legault took a small jab at that game mechanic there. The barrier will likely see one or two more uses, but right now it can't be used quickly or moved. I'm glad you're enjoying the story a lot now though. Hopefully I keep that pace.

Please enjoy, and leave a review if you get the chance.

Chapter 68: To Ostia

Dearest Eliwood,

It pains me greatly to hear news of your Father's passing. Elbert was the love of my life, as are you. However, now is not the time for us to drown in sorrow. I must remain strong here, while you do what you must out there. If Nergal is truly as dangerous as your father thought, then we must stop him. If anyone can do this, I know it is you and your friends.

I send Isadora with this message. She should be of great help to you in the coming times, so please allow her to join your company. She herself is still dealing with the loss of Harken, but helping you, Marcus and Lowen should help her regain herself.

It is not that we do not feel our sorrow. What is important is how we shape the future from this point forward. Your father wishes to see us happy. So we will make that future come to be.

Obey your Father's dying wish, Eliwood.

Your loving mother,

Eleanora

"Hey, you okay?" Hector asked, helping Will to his feet. Nearby, Isadora was doing the same for Eliwood.

"Yeah. Sorry to worry you. Thanks for the help, Ninian." Will said.

"I'm glad it worked." Ninian said. "I'll admit I was a bit apprehensive."

"You need to stop pushing yourself so hard, man." Hector said. "Next time just fall back and switch with me."

"Yeah… think I'll do that." Will agreed, panting heavily. "I haven't felt this drained since Lucius' training courses."

"Lord Eliwood!" Called the voice of Marcus. "We've finished off the last of the dastards! He paused upon seeing the blue haired woman. "Isadora? Is that you?"

"Good evening, Lord Marcus. Forgive my impromptu arrival." Isadora said with a polite bow.

"Isadora, is my mother okay?" Eliwood asked, suddenly realizing something. "For her to send you…"

"She wanted this message delivered to you in haste and safely." Isadora said, producing a letter from beneath her shirt.

"But… the castle's defenses…" Eliwood began.

"Lord Eliwood, please understand your mother's feelings." Isadora said, pushing the letter towards him. "If Lord Elbert is no longer able to return home, she can only pray for your continued safety. Please… read it."

Eliwood wanted to protest, but a small nod from Marcus made him sigh, accepting the letter without further complaint. He read it silently, contemplating the words his mother had sent him. "Obey his dying wish…"

"When the messenger delivered the news… Lady Eleanora did not say a word. She merely… listened. After he was done, she issued me orders without hesitation. She told me to prepare to join your company. Once I was prepared, she handed me this letter to deliver to you." Isadora explained.

"Our battles are nothing like you've ever faced, Isadora." Marcus said. "Are you prepared?"

"Yes, sir." Isadora said, saluting faithfully.

"Then… I have no choice but to accept." Eliwood said begrudgingly. "It wouldn't do to worry mother further."

"I will serve you with my very life." Isadora said, kneeling before Eliwood.

Eliwood sighed, before drawing his rapier. "I, Eliwood of Pharae, hereby accept your vow. Isadora the Paladin, you will join my service, until we have all returned to my mother's side in Pharae. Is that understood?"

"Yes!" Isadora said, as Eliwood placed his rapier gently on her shoulder.

"Good." Eliwood said. "Then stand. We go to Ostia."

"Ostia?" Will said, surprised. "Eliwood, I…"

"I wish to request Ostia provide some protection for Pharae in Isadora's absence." Eliwood said. "Marcus, I assume you were the one who sent word to my mother?"

"It was at my own discretion, my lord." Marcus said.

"No I… I understand. The words I put to page would not have been healthy for her. Thank you for your help." Eliwood said.

"So we've got to go after all…" Hector grumbled.

"What, afraid of seeing your brother?" Will asked, bemused.

"Sure… I guess… I mean I know we can't NOT tell him…" Hector muttered.

Eliwood chuckled. "Hector is just realizing he's been lax in his missives. He thinks Uther's going to chew him out the moment he sees him. Isn't that right?"

"Hey I… I sort of managed one or two messages." Hector said. "Three… I think. How did you expect me to send him messages when we were traipsing about deadly islands and fighting evil forces?"

"I still managed." Eliwood said.

"As did I." Marcus said.

"Even I managed a message here or there, Hector." Will said.

"Great, just tear away all my perfectly crafted excuses." Hector muttered.

"He's going to be so pissed." Eliwood chuckled again.

"It's good to see Lord Eliwood back in good spirits." Marcus said softly to Will.

"It's a lot better than giving into despair." Will replied.

"Indeed." Marcus agreed.

"I suppose we head for Ostia, then." Will said with a shrug. "I was going to suggest heading there anyway, but I'd like to inform Eliwood of the rest of my plans."

"Now that he's beginning to act more like himself, he'll likely be receptive to it." Marcus said. "It will be nice to see you all cooperating in full once more."

At a location unknown, the black robed form of Nergal collapsed in a chair, breathing heavily. That General and Ephidel's Quintessence had vanished into the Dragon's Gate. Elbert's Quintessence… he wasn't so desperate as to use that fool's Quintessence for anything anymore. He wasn't worthy of the lowest of Morphs. Renault… he had hoped to use that Mercenary's Quintessence to heal himself, but that… that had been unexpected.

Why was it he had been unable to collect his Quintessence? Was it true after all? Touching, merely touching a legendary weapon had protected his energy from being used for Nergal's purposes? He supposed it was plausible. The power to fight Dragon's also needed to resist their magic. His magic, the magic that used Quintessence, was derived from them, after all. "Sonia." He called into the darkness. "Limstella."

From the darkness, two figures emerged. One was the slender form of Limstella, her emotionless eyes staring down at Nergal, barely blinking. Behind her, the curvy figure of Sonia strutted into the room, her golden eyes blinking as she looked at Nergal's pathetic state. "You called, Lord Nergal?" Sonia cooed, in her sultry voice.

"My wound… needs time." Nergal growled through gritted teeth. "It was a deeper cut than I expected. My strength is not what it should be."

"Do you need me to kill him?" Limstella asked in her strange monotone.

"No, he is already dead." Nergal growled. "I want his son's life as compensation now. Sonia, use Brendan to move the Black Fang. I don't need any more of these useless underlings."

"The four fangs, then." Sonia said with a small smile. "Understood. I'll have them bowing their heads to you, my lord."

"Limstella, gather Quintessence. For this injury, I will need a remarkable amount. You are the strongest of my morphs. Kill any with signs of great power.

Limstella stared down at Nergal, blinking only once as her mouth slowly opened. "As you will, Lord Nergal."

The two vanished from the room, leaving Nergal to his recovery. He closed his eyes, though his anger would keep him up several minutes more before exhaustion took over.

"Will you really teach me magic, Erk?" Priscilla asked happily.

"I think it's a solid plan." Erk said calmly. "Being able to protect yourself a small amount is a good idea. Especially if I'm needed in a different location. That way I won't have to worry."

"Right…" Priscilla said. She fell silent. "Erk, will you… no, never mind. When do you think the best time to start would be?"

"Well, we're heading for Ostia at this very moment. I suppose now is the best time to begin teaching you the basics. I can only teach you what my teacher taught me, so there's going to be a lot of texts I'll likely have you read. Unlike Serra, you seem much more like myself: a textbook learner. So while it may take a bit of time, I'm sure you'll get there. We'll start with the basics of magic control. Your staff use should make you more accustomed to it, but healing and attack magic seem very different from each other in theory as well as in practice."

"Yes!" Priscilla said happily.

Nearby, Guy smiled softly. Good for you, Priscilla.

Raven gripped his sword experimentally in his right hand. With a growl, he quickly switched over to his left before reattaching it to his back with the small chain he carried to do so. He gripped his forearm angrily, trying desperately trying to stop to shaking. "Damn it." He cursed under his breath.

"Sir Raven!" A cheerful voice called out from behind him. Quickly dropping his arms to his side as if nothing was wrong, he turned to face the oncoming person.

"Ah… you're… Rebecca, right?" Raven asked, recalling the name. The last time they had spoken to each other was probably before the events of the Dread Isle, back when their party had split up to cover more ground in a short amount of time.

"I never got a chance to thank you for fixing my bow! It's never shot so straight and true!" Rebecca said with a smile. "I only made it through those fights on the Island because of it."

"Glad to have been of service." Raven replied.

"Well, uh…" Rebecca began, after a short silence had fallen. Raven's statement had killed the conversation quite effectively.

"What?" Raven asked.

"Is there anything you like to eat?" Rebecca asked quickly.

"…Huh?" Raven asked in confusion.

"Well, I mean, it'd be rude not to repay your kindness." Rebecca explained, though she looked away in embarrassment. "And I'm a rather good chef, so I was thinking…"

"I don't particularly like or dislike anything." Raven answered unhelpfully.

"Well, pick something!" Rebecca said, slightly exasperated.

"I guess… meat." Raven said, still rather unhelpfully.

"What kind?" Rebecca asked. "Meat's a pretty easy request though. I can catch anything! Fowl, deer, boar, you name it!"

"Ah, right. You were a hunter before you joined the company." Raven mused.

"Yup! It's a skill I'm quite confident in." Rebecca said happily.

"Well then, I'll leave the meat selection up to you, hunter." Raven said with the smallest of smiles.

Rebecca grinned. "Excellent! You won't be disappointed! Look forward to it!"

She waved happily, before hurrying off in some direction towards another member of the company. "She's… gotten stronger." Raven muttered, glancing back down at his shivering arm. "But I…"

"Florina?" Fiora asked, as the two scouted the air together. Thankfully, their path was much safer than any path had been back on the Dread Isle. Fiora had to admit she had missed being able to fly freely in the air.

Florina, however, was extremely distracted the past few days. She would randomly blush, looking at her feet or bringing her hand to her lips, before muttering something to herself that no one could hear. "Yes?"

"Did something happen?" Fiora asked. "If you need a break, you can ride behind and back me up, you know?"

"No I… I'm fine!" Florina said quickly. "It's uh… It's not about… I'm sorry."

"I'm worried." Fiora said. "You haven't acted like this since your training days. You would get so scared…" She smiled slightly.

"Hey!" Florina said quickly, blushing further. "I'm fine now. You've seen me fighting!"

"You have improved a lot, Florina." Fiora said. "But the Caelin Knights are full of men, aren't they? Didn't they… give you a hard time for being a woman? If they did, you can be sure I'll have more than a few words for them…"

"No!" Florina said quickly. "They were all… they were all very friendly. Lyn even let me set up a small pegasus squad to protect the castle! Kent was always kind and Sain very dependable, even if he likes to spin fancy words in among all the umm… well he's Sain?" She tried, falling a little short. "Wil is… hard for me to get used to even now because he's an archer, but he's a very nice guy. Nobody was ever mean to me. That's not even to get started on Lyn!"

"Well, I still worry." Fiora said. "With you lost in thought like you have been…"

"That's… umm…" Florina said hesitantly. "Because of… umm…"

"Maybe when this war is over, we could go back to Ilia." Fiora mused. "The way you fly now, I'll admit they may even promote you higher than me. It'd be nice to have my sister in the first division. Assuming I still have my place there, of course."

"Of course you do!" Florina said quickly. "Fiora, why would you even say that!"

"I failed, Florina." Fiora said. "More than any Pegasus Knight has in many years. If I could help you improve even further… maybe I'd be able to feel a little better about everything that happened."

"Fiora…" Florina said. "That's…"

"You don't want to?" Fiora said in a bemused voice. "Let me guess: Lyn or William, right?"

"Well, no, that's not… entirely it." Florina said. "If I went with you… you'd probably protect me for the rest of my life… and I'd never get stronger. That's… not right. I'd never become my own person, making my own decisions. So I… I won't return to Ilia."

"Florina…" Fiora said in surprise, her eyes widening slightly.

"I don't always want to be a crybaby." Florina said firmly. "I want to be like my sisters: fine Pegasus knights. I suppose… I can be a pretty decent tactician too, while I'm at it."

"I understand." Fiora said, relenting. "You've become able to express yourself so clearly… it's quite impressive."

"I… I'm sorry." Florina said.

"It's a good thing." Fiora said kindly. "It's means it's not just your body that's grown. You're right. I was asking you to join my division to protect you. I think… I was just trying to fall back into old habits. I've been… trying to find myself again. It's not easy."

"Fiora." Florina said kindly. She wanted to hug her, but taking her hands of her reins to do so would send her and Huey into a plummet.

"Let me at least tell you one last thing as your senior Pegasus Knight." Fiora said with a shake of her head. "No matter what happens… never quit. Anything you decide to undertake should be seen through to the end. We aren't fighting for only ourselves, but the pride of the Ilian Pegasus Knights. "

"Yes!" Florina said.

"Good response." Fiora said with a smile.

"Thank you, sister." Florina said. "I was getting a little hung up, I admit. I just… I've never done something like that before."

"Done what?" Fiora asked.

"Kissed a boy." Florina said.

Fiora nearly fell off her Pegasus. "You did what?!"

Eliwood approached Will awkwardly. It had been some time since the two last spoke. Eliwood's focus on his father's death had narrowed his vision, to the point where he had nearly isolated himself from the group as a whole. Now that he had finally found himself again, he felt he owed it to Will to apologize.

After searching for him for a short time, Eliwood found Will speaking quietly with Merlinus. What the two were speaking about, he couldn't be sure, but he caught what must've been the tail end of their conversation. "I'm just not sure what the right thing to do is, Merlinus."

"It's never easy when it comes to matters of the heart, young master." Merlinus chuckled. "My own heart led me here so I can't say I chose poorly."

"I feel like there's a text somewhere that everyone else read while leaving me in the dark about it." Will muttered. "With all the explanations I needed to understand."

"In most cases, young master, it is the parents who teach such matters." Merlinus said. "In that case, you were most unfortunately depraved. It doesn't help that you have a natural disposition towards being rather dense."

"That's mean, Merlinus." Will grumbled.

"You did ask me to speak the truth." Merlinus returned with a small smile.

"That I did." Will admitted.

"Am I… interrupting?" Eliwood asked awkwardly.

"Eliwood!" Will said brightly. "Not at all, just figuring some personal things out. Give me a moment." Will got off the wagon and nodded to Merlinus, who fell back towards the rear of the company once more, being joined by Kent and Sain for protection. "What going on?"

"I wanted to… apologize." Eliwood said. "I know on the trip back I was… shaken, to say the least. I'm supposed to be the leader, yet I allowed my loss to outweigh the losses of others. I did not even grieve for Lord Wallace or Excellency Renault as I should have."

"I'll admit, things got a bit… tense." Will said.

"I heard you and Hector exchanged… words." Eliwood said awkwardly.

"If you mean fists, yeah." Will said. "But it… helped. Hector may not be eloquent, but he gets his points across much better than I can."

"I know what you mean." Eliwood chuckled. "He's my best friend for good reason."

"Even now, the company hasn't fully recovered." Will said. "Morale has begun to improve, but you and I need to work together going forward. Now more than ever."

"Yes." Eliwood said. "Forgive me for deciding our course without consulting you."

"Had it been detrimental, I would have stopped you." Will said with a small grin. "As it is, going to Ostia right now is our best course of action."

"Why is that?" Eliwood asked.

"Renault's package contained the Legendary Weapon, Aureola." Will explained. "I believe he meant it as a message that to stop Nergal we would need the others as well."

"Aureola!" Eliwood exclaimed. "That's the weapon St. Elimine used in the Scouring! It's said that when the dragon's claw pierced her, she threw the book to Lord Athos, who used it's light to destroy the last Dragon."

"Yes." Will said, nodding his head. "If Nergal has been alive for hundreds of years now… Athos may still live as well. If that's the case, our best chance to find him is by asking Lord Uther."

"Ostia's network of spies is rather vast." Eliwood mused. "I see now. So you did have a plan for fighting Nergal after all."

"Did you doubt me?" Will asked, pretending to be hurt by placing a hand to his chest.

"No." Eliwood said. "I knew you would think of something."

"I… thanks, Eliwood." Will said.

"I think I'm the one who should be thankful." Eliwood said. "Our meeting in Pharae may have been by chance, but it has led to many good things. Now, we'll be able to stop a madman from destroying the world, rather than having it happen to us without a chance of fighting back."

"I'll be expecting a lot from you." Will said. "You'll need to stand firmer than ever in the face of what's to come."

"If I falter, I'm sure you and Hector will set me straight." Eliwood said with a grin.

"You have a point there." Will chuckled.

The two shared a brief laugh over the absurdity of their lives as the march continued.

Lyn fell flat on the earthy ground, her sword clattering away just far enough that she couldn't reach it. She couldn't believe it. She supposed she shouldn't have gotten distracted, but for Hector to defeat her this soundly was… annoying, to say the least. She prided herself (perhaps too much so) on being on of the best warriors in the company. Even Bartre, their resident fighting expert, had a hard time dealing with her. Now that Wallace was gone, she had wanted to figure out who, if any, were stronger than her now.

Hector was. It pained her greatly to admit it, but during the fight he hadn't given her an inch. In fact, she couldn't' be entirely sure he hadn't been holding back. If he and Eliwood were tied in their spars… did that make her worse than them both? If that was the case… what good was she? Especially since…

"Lyn!" Hector shouted, dragging her from her thoughts. Evening had fast come upon them, so when they had stopped to make camp for the night Lyn had asked for that duel she had semi-forced upon him. He obliged, but he hadn't expected her to take the loss this hard. He offered her his hand.

Lyn ignored it, standing up on her own and dusting off her bottom and legs. "What?" She asked angrily.

"I uh…" Hector balked, withdrawing his hand. "I thought it would be disrespectful to you to hold back, you see." He explained. "So I went full force, you know?" Lyn remained silent. "I gotta admit, I was pretty surprised! Your sword arm is… I mean… you're loads better than I thought. And I already had a pretty high opinion thanks to fighting on the Dread Isle with you and from everything Will's told me."

Lyn's anger reached a boiling point. Whether it was because she felt underestimated, or because Hector brought up the name she was feeling most conflicted about at the moment, she couldn't be sure. "Why thank you, Hector." She said coldly. "Losing was a good lesson in my limitations."

"Hey, are you even listening to me?" Hector asked.

Lyn went over and grabbed her sword, before striking a pose Hector hadn't seen her take during the fight. It was a much more defensive pose. It didn't really seem to fit her, in his opinion. "I'm going to practice now. There's some new thrusts and lunges I want to try."

"Yeah, you're standing tons different from you're usual fighting style." Hector said. "But uh… what's all that for?"

"Marcus explained that it's quite useful against axemen in heavy armor." Lyn said kindly, with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"Wait, that's me!" Hector said quickly. "You got something personal against me or something, Lyn? We're… we're friends, right?"

"Of course we are." Lyn said. "This is about me. My limitations. I don't want to be a burden to you, Eliwood, or anyone. I can fight. I can still get stronger."

Hector scratched the back of his head. "Lyn… forcing yourself isn't going to make yourself stronger. You know that."

"Then what else should I do!" Lyn shouted. "Will is… I mean… If I can't even be a warrior able to protect… ugh." She dropped her sword to her side, and the stance along with it. "I'm so conflicted I can't even think straight. I thought… maybe… if I just focused on the fighting…"

"You'll just be putting it off longer, you know?" Hector said. "I know I made a rather unhelpful joke earlier, but it's pretty clear you two are dealing with that romantic tension stuff right now. I don't know how the shy Pegasus girl-"

"Florina." Lyn stated.

"Yeah, her. I don't know how the three of you are going to fit this messed up puzzle together, but ignoring it is only going to cause regrets later. It did with Maria, with Lord Elbert… you see what I mean?" Hector said.

Lyn sighed. "Yeah, I understand. I think I just… I'm afraid that at the end of it all, we might not be friends any more. I'd hate that more than anything."

"Then have a little more faith in yourself." Hector said. "In Will and Florina, too. Just because one of you will be his… you know, doesn't mean you won't find some way to salvage your friendship. Unless you both plan to… that's an even weirder thought."

Lyn chuckled. "You know, Sacaens never have shied away from relationships like that."

Hector raised an eyebrow. "Wait, then what's the issue for you in the first place?"

"I've seen what love can be like between two people." Lyn said. "My Mother and Father were as happy as could be. I'm not sure that kind of special feeling would still exist between three people."

"I see." Hector said. "Well then fight, laugh, cry and make up at the end of the day. Somehow, I get the feeling you can do it."

"Thanks, Hector." Lyn said.

"It's what I do." Hector grinned. "Playing nanny is one hell of a weird job."

"I'm still going to defeat you next time." Lyn said with a grin of her own.

"Oh come on!" Hector cried in exasperation.

"It's good to see you again, Dame Isadora!" Lowen said happily as the two sat around the fire. Once more, Lowen was cooking the meal. At this point, almost no one else even dared encroach upon his territory, so unless Lowen was asleep, on watch, or in the injured tent, no one else bothered to cook.

Isadora smiled. Lowen had blossomed in quite an impressive way since she had seen him last. She was at least eight years older than him, so she felt like he was a bit of a younger brother to her, or at the very least her responsibility since she was the one who had originally overseen his training. Immediately after, she had been assigned the prestigious title of paladin, serving at Lady Eleanora's side. It was strange to be back on the front line, with so many people she didn't know, but Lord Eliwood, Lowen, and Sir Marcus were making the transition much easier. "I am glad to see you safe, Lowen. I was impressed to hear the tales of your exploits up to this point. Lady Rebecca shared a most amazing tale about the gauntlet on enemies you faced upon the Dread Isle, with naught but a sword and a broken lance…"

"Rebecca… tends to exaggerate stories involving me." Lowen said. "I do'nt know the reason entirely. Certainly, the road was very treacherous, but Lord Eliwood and Lord William stood strong every step of the way. I certainly couldn't have done half as much without their encouragement or Sir Marcus' training. Of course, with you here, we'll be much stronger now."

"Yes, Lord William is a most strange individual." Isadora mused. "He took me aside that first day and drilled me on the entirety of the group, questioned me about my training and skill level and formations I was familiar with, before muttering to himself and writing frantically in one of his notebooks."

"Will has… a lot on his plate." Lowen chuckled. "The events on the island… hurt all of us greatly."

"Lord Elbert…" Isadora bowed her head respectfully.

"Lord Wallace was a fighter unparalleled in our company." Lowen said with a small sigh. "And though for only a short period, Excellency Renault had established himself as a true powerhouse as well. Without them, our formations and plans take a large hit in terms of power. Will's just trying to find the best way to use everyone while keeping us alive."

"I see." Isadora said. "I look forward to working side by side then, Lowen. At least, Lord William seemed to think that would be best for the time being."

Lowen chuckled. "Me as well. By the way, Isadora, what do you prefer in your stew?"

"Me?" Isadora asked. "Well, deer meat has always been a bit of a delicacy around Pharae, but whenever I traveled I always enjoyed the taste."

"Deer it is!" Lowen said happily. "As an unofficial welcome party for you, I'll make this stew especially tasty!"

"Lowen, you don't need to go that far." Isadora said quickly. "The thought alone is enough."

"Not so, milady." Lowen said. "Every meal must be taken with the greatest respect for its blessing. While I prepare the stew, you may even peruse my rations should you need an extra bite from your long journey here."

"I was alone so I ate plenty. The journey only took me a week." Isadora said. "It's the benefit of traveling alone or in a small group. Although… perhaps your cooking has improved far more than your fighting skills. You are training properly, aren't you?"

Lowen sighed. He supposed more training would be coming his way shortly, then.

Sonia stepped lazily into the room, her hips swaying as she stepped forth in her heeled boots. With a swish of her hair, she spotted her 'husband' and knew the time was right. Looking around, she could see the four she had needed to make use of were gathered. "Jaffar."

The silent assassin didn't look her way, only make a small grunt of acknowledgement as he looked out the window. What was on that man's mind? Hopefully, how he would make up for his failures. Otherwise, she could easily have him dealt with.

"Ursula."

A woman (To Sonia's chagrin) bowed low towards Brendan. Her short purple hair showed the rather gaudy (At least in her opinion) earrings she chose to wear. The rest of her outfit was also purple, a choice which was quite annoyingly… annoying. Her gloves and boots both went high, covering most of her arms and legs which her outfit failed to do.

"Lloyd."

The blonde brother (At least, that's how she liked to think of him) nodded. His outfit was one of the classic black fang, black shirt, pants, boots and a cloak with their insignia, but lacking the hoods she preferred members to wear. Lloyd was far too honorable for her tastes, always questioning her when he got the chance. At least his work was impeccable.

"Linus."

The fight-happy brother nodded. He also wore the classic fang outfit, but his black shirt was ripped down the middle exposing his rather muscles torso. He had never bothered to fix it, but it didn't matter to Sonia. Give the women some eye candy to keep them around. She was more than enough for the men, of course.

"That's everyone, is it not?" She mused. "If I have you, the four fangs, I need no one else. I need you four to eliminate a couple of men whose continued life plagues me. The first is Eliwood, a young noble of Pharae. The second is a little traitor of ours who Jaffar failed to kill. Little William."

The four fangs turned to look at each other. Jaffar said nothing, though his hands floated towards the daggers at his hip. Lloyd's had already been on his sword, but he had removed it upon hearing a familiar name. Linus chuckled, the sword strapped to his back shaking as he laughed still harder as the silence continued. Ursula, perhaps the only one of the four unfamiliar with the entire situation, put a hand to her temple thoughtfully. "Pharae… that's in Lycia, is it not?"

"That's right." Sonia responded. "Eliwood is no simple country Lord, however. He has friends… allies gathered through his travels and other Lycian Lords at his back. William is his precious little tactic maker, which is why he should be the priority, of course. Individually, they are no match for any of you."

"Carelessness invites death." Jaffar said in his low voice.

"We are not so foolish as to make that mistake." Ursula replied.

"Lloyd, Linus, I have work for the two of you as well. Is that alright?" Sonia asked, in her best impression of a motherly tone.

Lloyd and Linus glanced at each other suspiciously, before Lloyd spoke. "One question first, Sonia. Are these father's… I mean, are these orders from the head of the Black Fang?"

Sonia smiled. All too easy. "Naturally. Isn't that right, dear?"

Brendan, who had been standing silently behind her, turned. "Ah… yes." He said simply.

"There!" Sonia cried triumphantly. "Are you satisfied? Remove Eliwood. Your orders come directly from the head of the Black Fang, Brendan Reed. As members of this group, you will follow that order, won't you? Or does a little Lordling and his traitor friend frighten you that much, Lloyd?"

"Sonia!" Linus barked, his amusement from earlier completely gone. "How dare you speak to my brother in such a-"

"Linus." Lloyd warned.

Linus clicked his tongue, turning away from Sonia. "I know."

Lloyd smiled. "Sonia, we need no chastising by you. Under our father, we are the ones who carried out the laws of the Fang. If Eliwood is an evil person, there is no reason for us to hesitate."

"The Fang lets none escape." Linus parroted.

"The Reed brother will dispense the Fang's justice." Lloyd finished. The two turned and left.

Sonia wanted to wring their little necks. But no, they would be useful to Lord Nergal. "Urusla, Jaffar. You understand your orders, yes? Once you've found the targets, eliminate them at once."

"It will be as you say, Lady Sonia." Ursula said, bowing to her this time. "Anything for you."

"I've received my orders." Jaffar said in his low gravel. "I will do my duty."

"Bring them down. On the Black Fang's honor." Sonia said. The two left. "Now then… dear." Sonia said in a sickly sweet voice, approaching the silent as stone Brendan. "We have matters of our own to attend to."