Arthur awoke to Francis crying out. He staggered to his feet and grabbed his tome, looking around for the Docte, his eyes still half-blinded with sleep. Beside him, Gilbert jumped up wordlessly, snatched up a stick from the ground, grimaced at it, and ran to the stream, where the yelling was loudest. Lizzie was hot on his heels, and Arthur cautiously followed them. He saw, by the bright moon, that Francis was being attacked by a shadow creature.

"Francis has nothing to defend himself with!" Lizzie managed as she ran at top speed.

Gilbert did not reply, but increased his pace, a look of fury on his face. Arthur skidded to a halt at the stream's edge and stopped briefly to catch his breath. As he did so, he saw Gilbert make a great leap and land on the shadow creature's back, but it was too late. The shadowy menace had sunk its teeth deep into Francis' arm when he tried to fend it off.

Gilbert drove the stick he was holding deep into the monster, and quickly disembarked as Lizzie pulled Francis out of the way. Arthur decided that it was his turn to help, and as the creature reared, bellowing, he flipped to the right page on his tome and spoke the incantation. "Fusione!"

The shadow creature began to melt. Roaring, it lunged at Arthur's face, melting into a puddle just before it reached him.

Breathing hard, Gilbert scowled at Francis. "You call that guard duty!?"

"It came at me from above! How the heck was I supposed to see it?" Francis retorted, trying to staunch the bleeding in his arm. Oddly, no one tried to help him.

Lizzie stepped between them. "I'm sure that if we had weapons, this wouldn't have happened, so don't blame Francis."

"Humph." Gilbert turned away from the Docte and caught sight of Arthur, who was slipping back to the camp. "Hey, shorty!"

Arthur whipped around. "Don't call me that!" he hissed.

Gilbert smirked. "You did a good job out there, kid."

"Two things. One, I'm only a year younger than you, so don't call me kid. Two, I just did what anyone would do," the Omnes countered.

Francis joined Gilbert. "Seriously, Arthur, merci. I would not be here to say this if you didn't help me."

Arthur turned away. "Whatever. Like I said, anyone would have done it." He began to trudge towards the camp.

Francis watched the darkness swallow Arthur up with a sad look on his face. "I wish we could help."

"We all do, mate," Gilbert said, clapping Francis on the back. "Some people are just like that."

"Well, that's not completely true," Lizzie commented. "Most people that are like that had something happen to them. Maybe if you got him to open up to you, he'll tell you."

"Didn't he say his whole family was dead?" Francis recalled.

"Yeah, but there must be some story to that. Remember when we went into that room in his house? He freaked out," Lizzie reminded him. "One of us should get closer to him and find out about that."

"I'm too awesome to pry into others' business, so I'm not gonna do it," Gilbert immediately said.

"Yeah," Lizzie agreed. "He already got mad at me for babying him before."

They both looked at Francis expectantly.

"Wait," the Docte said in disbelief. "He hates my guts! Why are you making me do this?"

Gilbert and Lizzie were already heading back to the camp. Gilbert glanced over his shoulder at Francis, raising his eyebrows. Good luck, his crimson eyes seemed to say. Francis hoped he was imagining the malicious glint in them.

"By the way, where the heck is your fox?" Gilbert yelled back at Francis. "He can probably defend himself, even if you can't."

Francis hurried to catch up, favouring his arm. "That's actually a good question."

Lizzie joined in. "I haven't seen any of our companions since the stream yesterday. It just...slipped my mind, which is kinda weird, since I never spend time away from Eros."

Gilbert narrowed his eyes. "I think something is up." He closed his eyes and tried to sense his hawk. "I'm not feeling Kralle anywhere, guys."

"Me as well," Lizzie agreed, furrowing her brow.

By now, they had reached the camp. Gilbert spotted Arthur sitting into the fire, gazing into it. "Hey, Arthur!"

"What do you want?" the Omnes muttered tonelessly.

"To ask if you've seen Spirit anywhere," Francis explained. "None of us can find nor sense our companions. It's like something just made us forget about them."

"Now that you mention it, I haven't." Arthur frowned, a troubled look in his eyes. "Although, I shouldn't be surprised. It wouldn't be the first time someone abandoned me."

Francis sat beside him. "Don't worry," he soothed. "That will not happen again. You have us now."

The Frenchman noticed that Arthur's green eyes were fractured like broken glass. A few tears ran down the Omnes' pale cheeks, but he scowled and looked away, furiously wiping them.

Francis' heart melted, watching the poor boy struggle to conceal his feelings. He said nothing for the rest of the night, but continued to sit next to Arthur, silently supporting him, watching the fire burn itself into twinkling embers.


The next morning, the four cleared up the site and filled their bottles with fresh water from the stream.

"You know, I think I hate this place," Francis commented, looking around. He gestured to his newly bandaged arm. "This sucks."

"I'll eat to that!" Gilbert agreed, crunching into an apple.

"Where did you get that?" Lizzie asked, a look of faint disgust on her face as she watched the Fortis devour the fruit messily.

"Over there." Gilbert pointed to a tree positively bursting with shiny red apples.

"How did we miss that before?" Francis asked unnecessarily.

"Who cares? Just gather as many as you can!" Gilbert cheered.

After they had proceeded to do so, they fully packed their bags, ready to leave.

"We should set a straight course to my place. Weapons are the priority right now," Gilbert said firmly. "We're almost at the city; it's about a week's walk from here."

Ignoring Francis' horrified cry of "A week?!", he rolled up the map and stuffed it in his bag. Pulling out one of the apples, he took a big bite out of it. "I'll lead," he mumbled around the food.

When they set off, Gilbert was in front, navigating around the various swamps dotted around the territory. Lizzie, who had taken the map back from Gilbert, was studying it, muttering to herself. Francis was complaining about the weight of his backpack and his arm hurting. Arthur was getting a headache from the Docte's voice, so he slowed his pace until he was trailing behind the rest. He reviewed the battle in his mind.

I guess all that practise with magic worked, he thought. Maybe these guys will treat me less like a little kid now. I am supposed to be the Great Angel's champion, after all.

And then,

Francis is such a git.


After about a week of trudging through swamps and long grass,a city skyline slowly appeared on the horizon, framed by the setting sun.

"Made it!" Gilbert grinned and pumped his fist. "We're coming, West!"

"Where should we stop for the night?" Lizzie asked, looking at the city borders apprehensively. "Should we wait until morning to enter the city?"

"Yeah, the Fortis city can actually be a pretty dangerous place at night." Gilbert scowled, clearly relieving a bad memory.

The next morning, Arthur, who had last watch, roused the others. "Let's get going."

Gilbert stretched, already smiling at the prospect of seeing his brother. "This way!"

They followed the Fortis through several streets with little activity, as it was still pretty early. A large building with a foreboding aura loomed up ahead of them.

"Is that were you live?" asked Francis distastefully.

"Yeah. Something wrong with it?" Gilbert shot back.

Francis sniffed disdainfully. "Non."

"Translation: yes," Arthur murmured.

Gilbert ran up to the building and flattened himself up against the wall. He peered around sneakily before opening the door slowly.

"Phew," he exhaled. "Looks like no one's home right now."

The rest of the group entered cautiously. There was training equipment and mats everywhere. "Gilbert... You live in a training school?" Lizzie asked.

Gilbert sighed. "Yeah. Long story. Let's go to my room."

They walked up the stairs, the eerie silence following them.

"This place is giving me the creeps," Lizzie whispered.

Gilbert looked unsettled. "It's not usually this empty."

They reached what was presumably Gilbert and his brother's room. The Fortis slowly opened the door and peeked in. All was clean and orderly, except for one high-backed swivel chair in the middle of the room, facing away from him.

"All clear," Gilbert whispered, and tiptoed in, the other three behind him. When they reached the middle, the door suddenly swung shut. When Arthur whirled around, he met the gaze of a small bear standing in front of it.

"Uh, guys." Arthur swallowed. "There's a bit of a problem."

Gilbert, however, was staring at the chair in horror as it swung around to face him.

The others just had enough time to see a tall figure sitting in the chair before it lunged towards Gilbert and knocked him onto the floor.

"What do we do!?" panicked Lizzie as they darted around the room to avoid the wrestling pair.

"I'm not going to interfere," Francis promised, retreating to a corner.

Arthur had drawn back to the door, next to the bear. The cub merely sniffed him curiously, but didn't seem hostile. That just made the Omnes miss Spirit even more.

Lizzie could only catch flashes of the boy grappling with Gilbert, but she manged to make out blond hair, a green uniform, and a furious face.

"West..." Gilbert choked out. "Let go of my throat!"

"Like Hölle I will!" 'West' growled. "Verdammt, bruder, you left without telling me, without a note, just leaving me to think that something horrible had happened! You completely deserve all of this!" He held Gilbert pinned on the floor.

"Look, I didn't have much choice!" Gilbert protested. "The Goddess told me to-"

"Oh, so now you have divine excuses, huh?" 'West' snorted. "I don't know your real reason, but you-"

"Stop."

Gilbert and 'West' both looked up, surprised.

Arthur stood before them, his cloak swishing, regarding them impassively. "Are you Gilbert's brother?"

'West' stood up, finally releasing Gilbert. "Yes. And you are?"

"I am Arthur Kirkland. I am the Great Angel's champion, and these are my companions."

Lizzie scrambled to stand beside Arthur; she had never seen him so serious and commanding before. Francis warily came to stand beside them as well.

'West' raised his eyebrows. "Great Angel? So my worthless bruder wasn't just spouting nonsense, then?"

Gilbert coughed. "See, West, I told you! We're the heroes from the legend!"

'West' was about to respond sharply, but Arthur held up his hand. "It is true," he said firmly. "I am the Omnes. Francis is the Docte. Lizzie is one of the Bellators. You and your brother are the Fortis."

'West' stared at him for a second, a calculating look on his face. Finally, he sighed and rubbed his forehead. He went to a desk on the left side of the room, sat down, and picked up a pen. He hesitated for a moment, then started to scribble something on a piece of paper.

"What're you writing, West?" Gilbert asked, rubbing his throat.

"A note to the instructors, telling them we'll be leaving for an undefined amount of time," 'West' said without looking at him.

Gilbert grinned. "Kesesesese! That's my brother!"

Lizzie cleared her throat. "Um, Mr. West?"

The tall boy sighed again. "No matter what my idiot brother tells you, my name is actually Ludwig. Please address me as such."

Lizzie coloured slightly and shot Gilbert a furious look. "I'm really sorry, Ludwig. Gilbert never told us that your name wasn't actually West."

Ludwig snorted. "Just because I got the left side of our room, he got it stuck in his head that he has to call me 'West' now."

"Do you call him 'East'?" Francis asked.

Ludwig smirked. "No. I usually call him idiot."

"Ouch, West!" Gilbert faked a hurt look. "That's no way to treat your good ol' big brother!"

Lizzie chuckled. "Good one, Gil. Everyone can see that you're the younger one."

"What? No!" Gilbert protested. "I really am older! Tell them, West!"

"As much as I loath to say it, Gilbert is indeed older than me." Ludwig rolled his eyes. "The way he acts, however..."

"Okay, okay," Gilbert laughed. "That's enough picking on the awesome me."

Arthur slapped the map down on Ludwig's desk. "Enough. This is our map and approximate route. Commit it to memory," he ordered.

Ludwig looked up at the short boy. "Who is your navigator?"

Francis flipped his hair dramatically (because he could). "We do not have one."

Ludwig studied the map briefly. "I could fill that role."

Arthur nodded. "Good." He marched over to the door and opened it. "Now, where can we find those weapons?"

Ludwig stood abruptly and faced his brother. "What weapons?" he asked dangerously.

Gilbert laughed nervously. "The ones downstairs?"

Ludwig put his face close to Gilbert's and growled in German, "You promised them weapons?"

Gilbert looked anxiously from his brother to Arthur. He knew that Ludwig wanted to keep the conversation private, but he didn't know that Arthur could understand basically all the languages that anyone could be bothered to speak. "Um, West..."

"You know that the instructor will flay us alive if we steal weapons!" Ludwig roared.

Arthur's eyes widened, and Gilbert desperately tried to shut his brother up. "Now would be a really good time to stop talking, West! Arthur can-"

"To hell with your interruptions! You can't just leave without telling the instructor and then steal weapons afterwards! Do you know what he did to me when he found out you were gone!?"

Gilbert's eyes narrowed. "What happened, West?"

Ludwig backed up. "I didn't mean to say that..." he muttered in English. "Forget it."

"Gilbert, Ludwig, we don't have to take weapons," Arthur told the Fortis' in German.

Ludwig looked stunned. "I didn't know you spoke-"

"Get used to it, West," Gilbert sighed. "Now please tell me what the instructor did to you so I can repay him back tenfold." He punched his fist into the other hand threateningly, his crimson eyes filled with anger.

Ludwig shook his head. "It was nothing, brother. I overreacted."

"Excuse me!" Francis burst out. "I know you are having your little 'private moment', but I think it is quite rude! Lizzie and I cannot understand, and we are getting annoyed."

Arthur heaved a sigh. "Let's leave these two to make the decision." He beckoned Francis and Lizzie out, and turned to the taller Fortis. "Listen, Ludwig, we don't need to get weapons from here if it endangers you two."

With that, he left, leaving just Gilbert and Ludwig in the room.

Ludwig sat down in the chair and sighed heavily. Gilbert towered over him. "Tell me, West."

Ludwig turned away. "He punished me. That's all."

Gilbert clenched his fist. "I thought he was humane enough to spare a 15 year old... I guess I was wrong. That arschloch!"

"It wasn't that bad, Gilbert. Only a lashing."

"Only? Only!?" Gilbert growled. "I'll kill him!"

Ludwig rose and held Gilbert by the shoulders. "That's enough! You're getting out of hand!"

"Oh, am I?" the albino snarled. His red eyes seemed to glow with rage.

"Do I have to restrain you again?" Ludwig hissed.

Gilbert responded by storming over to the door and grabbing the handle.

"NO!" Ludwig shouted, tackling his brother and pinning him to the floor.

"Why won't you let me-" Gilbert started furiously.

"Because you're not thinking about the consequences, Gilbert! Take a deep breath and think."

Gilbert closed his eyes and breathed deeply. Ludwig grimly shook his head. "There's nothing we can do."

Gilbert opened his eyes calmly. "We're leaving."

"What?"

"I said, we're leaving. We're not coming back here after this quest."

"You're not serious."

"Deadly."

"Brother, think!" Ludwig pleaded. "Where will we live? Where will we get our food?"

"We'll figure that out after. For now, let's grab those weapons and get out." Gilbert pushed Ludwig off of him and grabbed the handle again.

"But Mother and Father-"

"Aren't here," Gilbert finished. "We can't stay here for the rest of our lives. It's time to finally go out and make them proud, just like we promised."


There we go. The updates have been pretty close together so far, but that might change soon. Just a warning. So, maybe leave a review to tell me what you think? Arrivaderci!