Chapter 8 - Returning Home

Baricadia Island, New World

Din tried to calm his breathing as he wiped the sweat from his brow. The endless smoke created an infinite haze over the ravaged streets of what had once been the town square. It stung both his eyes and his throat as he tried to keep his scarf over his mouth and his head down. Blood oozed from a wound on his shoulder and he pulled the makeshift cloth bandage tighter. He didn't need his shooting arm hampered.

Shots rang out across the city that had become a battlefield. For days on end, chaos had reigned, battle after battle between them and the king's soldiers. Morale remained high, even if manpower was getting weak. Din could only think of his wife and little daughter who were languishing in prison because he had refused to obey, or his son who had been put to death for speaking out, to remember why it was he fought. His comrades were much the same, all of them having their lives, families, and livelihoods threatened because of one man's selfish desires.

It was when the king had made the decision to send their loved ones, who had been held hostage to keep them all in line and working, away as slaves to Tequila Wolf. It was the last straw and spark that blazed into rebellion. They had all fought desperately, and the king was held up in his castle, and they and his soldiers were at a stalemate. However, manpower and supplies were coming up short. They had mysteriously been getting shipments of food, medicine, and supplies from unknown backers, who were keeping them supplied via third-party trade shipment. And yet even with that, Din knew that he and his fellow countrymen couldn't keep this up indefinitely.

If only there was some way around the barricades the royal army had set up. If they could take those down, then it wouldn't be hard to rush the soldiers and overwhelm them. But for now, the army had the high ground and they were left with what was quickly turning into a war of attrition. They could attack small amounts of soldiers at a time, but at the same time, it was eating away at their own manpower.

The man suddenly heard several shots ring out behind him! Crouching down behind some stones, he pointed his rifle in the direction of the attack. He then heard running footsteps and watched in surprise as a tall man was running in his direction, the gunshots following him, He was dressed as many of the men in the rebellion were, in simple dark green pants and boots, a warm olive-colored jacket and gloves, with a scarf completely wrapped around his head covering both his nose and mouth. All men had taken to doing this ever since the army had begun using gas as weapons, making the air even hazier and more hazardous.

He lifted his weapon and looked for the man's pursuer. Seeing the very brief glint from a royal army uniform, Din took the shot and heard a pained grunt as he struck his target.

The other man changed trajectory and ran towards him, not stopping until he had tumbled to a stop next to him, his breathing heavy and gasping as he sat there next to him. Din placed his weapon by his side and looked over as the guy seemed to be trying to catch his breath. He didn't recognize him right off, but then again, with the haze, the scarf, and with so many men from all over the island, both young and old, who had joined in the uprising, this wasn't a surprise.

This rebel seemed to be in the younger range, he'd guess him to be in his early 20s at most. His skin held a slight tan to it, though it was overall on the paler side of the spectrum. Interestingly enough he already had an obviously large scar covering his left eye. It looked like an old burn though. Perhaps the kid had been a victim of the king's wretched torture some years ago? It honestly wouldn't surprise him.

After taking a moment steady his breathing, the kid opened his eyes and looked over at him in gratitude. His eyes were a clear cerulean crystal blue…or at least one was. The other, the one ravaged by the burn scar, was slightly cloudy and opaque creating a strange otherworldly sense to his gaze.

The kid spoke up and looked to smile behind his face covering, "Thanks for the save."

Din nodded before shrugging, "No problem. We've got stick together out here anyway."

He offered him a cigarette from his pocket, but scarred kid politely declined before offering him a ration bar instead. Surprised to see that the kid still had some, he gladly took it. "Thanks, haven't gotten a chance to eat today. Name's Din, what's yours?"

The kid pulled out a bar of his own and moved his scarf ever so slightly lower to take a bite. After a moment he spoke again, "You can call me Enjolras."

He nodded in return before chewing slowly. The sound of gunshots continued in the distance and he continued to try to keep cover. "So Enjolras, tell me. How'd you get pulled into all this? Haven't seen you on this side of fighting. I'm guessing you're from one of the other districts?"

The kid shrugged, "You could say that. I had something I had to do close to this area and then had to get out fast. I've been all over the place really. A lot's just been going on the last few days."

Din gave a laugh, "I guess you could say that. We're making progress though. It's slow, but it's there."

"Would be nice if some help would arrive."

He raised an eyebrow at the kid's naive thought. "From who? We're in between Kaido and Big Mom's territories and neither of them would give a crap about this place. The World Government doesn't even bother way out here, and even if they did they're too busy trying to weed out a pirate problem. Stupid waste of time if ya ask me."

A group of army soldiers seemed to have found their hiding place, and loose shots were beginning to rein down on them from above. He and Enjolras ducked closer to the ground, and in between shots, Din rose briefly to return fire.

The second time he came back down, the kid continued their conversation. "I hear the Navy's got their hands full fighting Whitebeard of all people."

Looking over at Enjolras, he noticed that he didn't carry a gun, only a couple of knives strapped here and there.

Must have lost his firearm somewhere, though then again, perhaps the kid never had one. He did notice a very slight shudder that went through the boy every time a shot rang out. It was most likely unconscious, but it spoke of past mental trauma.

He wondered if it had anything to do with the scar on the boy's face. A scar like that could indeed be caused by an explosion, and what were gunshots but tiny explosions.

Even as he observed all this, he responded. "I hear the war's already over, old Whitebeard and his men lost."

Mismatched blue eyes looked up at him in surprise, "Really? That's unfortunate. Whitebeard was a good man."

"Better than Big Mom or Kaido anyway, not sure about the red-haired brat. It's a shame since he was holding back the tides for a lot of riffraff that was up here."

"What about other avenues?"

He finally hit one of the soldiers that had been hiding up the incline of the hill, behind some buildings. That left only four to go. "Other avenues?"

"Yeah, like what about the Revolutionary Army?"

He rose an eyebrow at that before crouching by Enjolras once again and taking up another ration bar that he offered. Where was this kid coming up with these things?

"Don't know a lot about the RA. Know they hate the World Government and want to change the status quo. Not a lot of information about them gets through here, what with the king having complete control over all the nation's transponder snails. And you can't expect the newspapers to print anything true about them. The World Government would be idiotic to allow that."

Din once again wiped the sweat from his brow, while his young companion responded thoughtfully, "That's true, though it wouldn't hurt to ask, maybe get some backup so it doesn't feel like Baricadia is in this alone?"

He sighed and sat placing his rifle against his shoulder, sitting down on the ground, ignoring for a moment the warfare around him. His body beginning to feel the weariness of it all. They'd been fighting this battle for days—weeks now, without much rest or reprieve. And while they had a reason to fight for their home and for their loved ones, it was also harrowing to know that they were fighting this alone and no one would care or even know if they were to get wiped off the map. Their lives and their struggle are simply forgotten and covered up.

"I wouldn't be against it if they'd be willing to help. But no one knows the first thing about how to contact a clandestine group like them. And even if we did, who even knows if they would help us? They're taking on the World Government itself, who would have time for the little guys like us?"

The blue-eyed kid studied him for a moment and Din was curious as to his thoughts, especially when those mismatched orbs seemed to crinkle up slightly in the corners as if he was ever so slightly smiling. The older man felt a cold wind cut right through him and he was about to suggest that they start trying to make their way to a nearby checkpoint and safe house where they could rest for an hour or two when suddenly the ground began to rumble!

Din opened his eyes wide in alarm and confusion. What the?

Not understanding what was happening, he looked over to Enjolras to tell him to hold on to him and the nearby building's foundation, but he was bewildered to see that the young man didn't seem disturbed at all. While he did brace himself, he seemed to have been prepared for the tremor.

As if he expected it…

Din thought back to what the boy had said earlier.

'I had something I had to do close to this area and then had to get out fast…'

What exactly had the boy been doing all the way out here? And by himself? Without a partner?

BOOOOOM!

A sudden explosion followed the tremors shaking him from his thoughts. He watched in shock as a large mushroom of smoke and flame billowed from near the castle. Yelling and alarms could be heard followed by more shots and smaller explosions.

Din looked around trying to get a bearing on what was going on. That explosion looked to be right at the center of the enemy camp. What the heck had happened?!

"The barricades have been destroyed, Din. You should take the opportunity to lead your men against the king's soldiers while you have the advantage and before they can regroup."

The man looked down at the blue-eyed young man, the knowing look in his contradistinctive gaze was unsettling.

"What? What do you—"

"You're Jahryn Din, correct? Leader of this Northeast rebel battalion? Your men need you."

Din looked at the boy, who suddenly didn't seem like such a "boy" anymore, in astonishment. He knew he hadn't told the kid his full name or rank. And the boy could barely see his face. And then there was the explosion itself, which the kid also obviously knew about and he was beginning to think he was responsible for.

Who was this kid?

He moved over to question him about how exactly he knew what he did, when he instinctively dunked as more gunshots rang out over his head, just barely missing him. A few even ricocheted off of the nearby stones.

"Oh, for the love of…"

The boy called Enjolras—if that even was his name—growled and looked towards his rifle. "May I?"

Feeling like his world was turning topsy-turvy, the older man silently handed the firearm over to the scarred young man. The kid quickly unlatching the gun and checking the ammunition before closing up the chamber again.

Going to one knee, the kid lifted the gun up with practiced precision, his entire body conforming to that of an expert shot. Using his right eye to aim, his posture was perfect, his limbs, stance, and hold on the trigger were still and calm. He was the picture of a paragon marksman, slowly breathing in through his nose before releasing it past his lips.

And then he pulled the trigger.

BANG!

BANG! BANG!

BANG!

Four shots rang out in quick succession, each shot true and on the mark as Din heard all rest of the hidden soldiers fall. Taking a moment to see if any other enemies would pop out of the woodwork, the kid didn't drop his guard or his stance until it was obvious that the area was clear.

At that point, he relaxed and lowered the rifle before handing it back to the slackjawed older man with a hidden smile before standing up. "I think we're going to have to separate here, Din. You need to get going. Thanks again for helping me out."

He could only blankly blink in response as he was offered a helping hand up.

Those mismated eyes twinkled with knowing mischief, and Din couldn't help to be pulled towards them, allowing the young man to assist him in standing.

As he let go of the unsurprisingly strong grip, the strange not-quite-rebel soldier reached into his pocket before pressing several items in his still outstretched hand. Looking down, his eyes went wide with shock as he saw that the kid had given him several more ration bars as well as an actual transponder snail! Attached to it was a small white card with only a simple handwritten number on it.

"Once you're done taking over the enemy stronghold here and have had a chance to regroup, maybe give the number a call. Believe me, there are people who think that the 'little guys' are just as, if not more important, in trying to right the injustices of the world."

Taking a step away, the young man took a small moment to pull down his face scarf, revealing a warm charming grin to accompany those sharp distinctive eyes and rugged scar. "You're not alone, Din."

And just like that, he rose the mask back up on his face, before running off in the opposite direction, leaving the rebel leader completely dumbfounded.

As the kid got further away, he shook himself out of his stupor enough to call out, "Hey! Kid!"

The kid-who-wasn't-really-a-kid turned around for a second to look back at him. Din found himself smiling before yelling out. "You're name's not actually 'Enjolras' is it?"

The kid seemed to be smiling again if he had read his tone right. "I never said it was. But you can call me that if you like. The person who you call at that number will know who you're talking about. Now go!"

The time he turned and ran off once again this time disappearing in the maze of city remains. Din placed the food and the precious transponder and number into the pouches on his belt. He then ran off to gather his men to proceed to attack.

Considering that the kid—a Revolutionary agent—had bought them this opportunity, it would be a shame to waste it!

Purururu…Purururu…

Touching the receiver on the baby transponder snail on his wrist he listed as the woman on the other end of the line spoke softly.

"What I love most about rivers is…"

He responded quickly with the other half of the passcode, letting them know it was okay to talk.

"...you can't step in the same river twice."

He then spoke out today's communication code number, "2-3-0-6-1-9-9-5-Papa-Oscar-Charlie"

"Line is secure. I can see it was mission accomplished, BlueJay."

"It went pretty smoothly, all things considered. You should be getting a call in the coming, Janite. I think you'll find them pretty willing for an ally in all this."

"That's good to hear, Bluejay. Any problems?"

As he walked, the man unwrapped the scarf from around his head and headed to a small one-man vessel on the edge of a hidden rocky alcove. Jumping aboard, he walked over to where he had hidden his things. "Baricadia's going to need a paint job and a whole lot of new doors, but if they take advantage of what they've got, they should be well on their way. Also, I've heard the war with the Navy and Whitebeard is over."

The woman on the other end of the line sighed sadly, "I haven't got all the details as everything's still in flux and communication is bad out here, but as far as we can gather, it ended some hours ago with the emperor's crew talking the loss."

The young man stripped out of the rebel fatigues before taking up a blue jacket and slipping it on. The holster came next, and then he towed out a long pipe, the edges forged out of seastone, and slipped it into place on his back. "That's unfortunate. Newgate was a good man, and this is going to cause quite a bit of a power vacuum."

Janite agreed, "It was nice to have the World Government's eyes off of us for a while, but Golden Eagle wants you back at the Nest as soon as you're done here."

He took up a white cloth and expertly ran it around his neck, tying a simple cravat with ease. "I figured. I'm on my way. I should be back in about a day or less, depending on the winds."

"Thanks once again for all your help, Bluejay. We'll meet again soon. Godspeed, over and out."

The snail went quiet, and while the sounds of the conflict at the city's center could still vaguely be heard, it was oddly peaceful out here on the island's edge.

Undoing the rope holding his boat in place and raising the single sail, he took out an eternal pose, allowing it to guide his path.

Taking out a black top hat, a pair of silvery goggles wrapped around its edge, the Chief of Staff and General of the Revolutionary Army, codename "Bluejay", real name—Sabo grinned to himself before placing the hat on his head.

He still loved the placid peace of the sea on even this clouded night.

"Time to head home."

On the waters near Marineford, the evening of the end of the Paramount War

Akainu sat at his desk on his ship and laid down the information from the report given to him by his men. They had followed the pirates from a distance up to the back island piers of Marineford and had listened in. So RedHair and Phoenix had separated from their crews and there seemed to be an issue with FireFist's missing body. Reportedly, the pirates thought some naval officers had taken FireFist's body away.

Personally, he would have had the Pirate King's spawn beheaded and then drawn and quartered, his separate pieces put on display as a warning to all who wished to continue Roger's legacy and legend, the folly that would follow on such a horrid path. But Sengoku of course, soft once again, had allowed that brat Shanks to convince him to give up the bodies of Whitebeard and FireFist back to the pirate scum for a "proper burial".

As if such swine deserved such a thing.

However, there had been no reports by any officers of having recovered the boy's corpse, and considering such an action would be acting in violation of a direct order, he had to think these "marines" were not actually connected to any part of the Navy.

Kizaru had reported something similar in that at the very end of the war, a brown-haired female captain had attacked him with some strange devil fruit ability that had actually been able to paralyze him in place. That thought alone was cause for alarm, and the fact that they had sleeper agents in their ranks was even worse!

Curse that demon Dragon and his wretched army!

He hoped that wretched incendiary's son was dying a most painful death. Though even he had doubts about that considering the child's rotten luck and that he was in the hands of that hotshot pirate doctor from the North.

Sakazuki knew that it would be foolish to not keep an eye on the doings of the RedHair emperor and the new captain of the Whitebeards. There could be nothing that tainted the Navy's victory this day. However, their own men were being brought up short. Too much needed to be done at HQ, and thanks to that stupid old fool's last words, pirates were causing chaos all over the seas, the Grand Line, and the New World.

No, it seems he was going to have to leave this in other hands.

Reaching out to the transponder snail on his desk he dialed and number before allowing it to ring.

Purururu…Purururu…gatcha

The voice on the other side of the line seemed to be amused, "Well, well, it's an honor, admiral. What can I do ya for?"

"Don't even bother with the pleasantries. I need one of CP9's independent agents."

The new leader of Cipher Pol 9 raised an eyebrow. "Very interesting, admiral. I'm going to guess this has to do with the Revolutionary Army's presence at the Paramount War?"

Akainu didn't bother to answer. Cipher Pol knew what they knew. No one was going to stop that. It wasn't worth it to play into the espionage group's hands by revealing more than you meant to.

The man on the other line seemed to realize he wasn't going to get any more info, so he sighed and seemed to be looking through his register. "Independent agent, eh? So I'm guessing this is going to be off the books."

Well if that wasn't redundant. Everything CP9 did was off the books. The department wasn't even supposed to be known to exist.

After a moment the face on the snail smiled, "Ah, I think I have just what you need, and probably a familiar face. He's worked for you before and he can definitely handle any job. You remember, Aramaki?"

Akainu let a slight smirk come to his face. He'd been hoping that the man wasn't on another job. Aramaki was a strong up-and-comer mercenary who could get the job done when called for. He also understood what needed to be done. None of that softshell stuff that Sengoku or Aokiji fell prey to. He may be a bit headstrong perhaps, but he would go far.

"Send him over," he barked in reply before hanging up the line without waiting for the other man's confirmation.

Less than an hour later, a collection of roots seemed to spring from out of the cracks in the floor of Akainu's office. He merely watched, having seen the display before, though it was rather interesting that the man had been able to make his way so secretly onboard his ship when he had already set sail.

The roots converged, forming larger and larger plant-like projections that eventually took the shape of a man. It took only seconds before in the chair before his desk, a green-haired man sat barechested wearing only a dark trenchcoat, some torn jeans, and heavy boots. A sword sat on his hip and heavy sunglasses covered his eyes. He sat casually, taking a drag on his cigarette before releasing the smoke.

"Happy to be working with you again, Admiral. What do you have for me?"

He passed the man the report, "As of now, simply call it a hunch, but right now the balance in power is sitting on the edge of a knife. I need all 't's crossed and 'i's dotted. I need you to find out what's going on with RedHair, Phoenix, FireFist's body, and these fake Marines. If it's nothing that the Navy needs to worry about, let it go. If you happen to take out some of the enemies of the World Government in the process, all the better."

Aramaki read through the details before commenting. "Getting past Phoenix won't be a problem, the bird's probably on the edge of a mental breakdown by now considering all that's happened. RedHair on the other hand is another matter. With him, one might have to provide a 'distraction'."

Akainu growled, "Whatever way you decide to get it done is up to you. Do what you have to, I leave it up to you. You have the coordinates they were seen to go in which should give you a good start."

The green-haired man grinned before folding up the report and placing it in his trench coat pocket, doing a two-finger salute. "Yes, sir. I'll let you know what I find, Admiral."

"Remember if you make a mess, make sure to clean it up."

The man casually waved the issue away, "Of course, don't I always?"

This time the man headed to the window, his hands already twisting into knarled branches and vines. As he lifted himself through, seeming ready to jump out into the night, Sakazuki couldn't stop himself from asking.

"How did you get here anyway? We're miles from land."

The mercenary paused for a moment as if surprised at the question, before saluting once again. "By air, of course, sir."

Then he jumped out into the dark, soon followed by the strange sound of a propeller whirring echoed through the night.

Aboard the Commandeered Marine Ship out at sea, Paradise

Lily and Marco had been working on Ace for about an hour together and she could feel her hope and excitement build as she completed the last of the coverings remaining of the heart and lungs. Her original estimate of half an hour had been hampered by the Flare-Flare fruit acting up, which required Marco and then later Captain Shanks to keep her patient restrained.

But it was now time to see if they could actually do this.

Marco watched in awe as Lily worked, his part complete for now. He had never seen such an ability that had carefully reconstructed the heart and the lungs from the ravaged remnants that they were, to the full, healthy new organs that he could now see before him. The many muscles of the thoracic cavity had been slowly knitting themselves back together attaching to pleurae as nerves, blood vessels, and lymphatic vessels all grew back in a chaotic, fantastic tangled mess. The bones and cartilage of the ribs were the slowest in their growth, but they too were on the mend.

It would be a while before they were all complete again, but the thing was that Marco could actually see that eventually, they would be complete, and that alone was a miracle worth having wonderment over. The care, precision, and power that Lily had over her devil fruit were beyond amazing, and at such a young age. It was no wonder that Dragon seemed to be hiding her away. He was sure if the Revolutionaries had had an agent with such skill in the field, her power would not have gone unnoticed for as long as it had.

A selfish part of him wondered what could have been if he had met Lily even a day ago and what her skills could have done for his father. With abilities like hers, the possibilities were practically limitless.

However, having had enough "what ifs" to last a lifetime, he pushed those thoughts to the side and concentrated on the task at hand.

Lily spoke aloud to the two pirates by her side, "Okay men, you know what to do. Let's hope and pray that this works."

Shanks stood by her side while Marco stood across from her, both of them at the ready. The issue had been that once the heart had been reformed, it still needed a shock to get it beating again. A defibrillator couldn't be used on the raw organs and simply massaging the muscle to get it going, also wouldn't work. So, there needed to be a bit of a workaround.

The glow around Lily's fingers and eyes increased and she tightened her grip on whatever she was seeing with her sightless vision. With it this time, Marco was able to see a responding slight luminescence around Ace's chest. After a moment she spoke "Your turn, Phoenix."

He let his flames once again engulf Ace's chest, this time letting it intensify in strength more than ever before. While doing this, He used his hands to push the lungs slightly to the side, allowing the heart to be plainly seen. He could see through both his and her efforts, that everything was pulsing with life, vivified once again.

The ivory-haired woman looked over in Shanks' direction, "It's now or never, Captain. Do it."

The redhead seemed to take a deep breath before stalwartly reaching into the torso, his hand held slightly above where the upper right side of the heart.

"Right here?", he asked with slight hesitation.

Marco used his arm to push the man's hand slightly lower. "There. Alright, go for it."

Once again, the pressure in the room shifted and while Marco was able to hold his ground, Lily squirmed a bit under its heavy presence. A gust of air swept the room, and the scent of ozone pervaded throughout the room. Black and red sparks began to form in the air, getting bigger and bigger with each passing moment.

Shanks expertly coated his hand in Supreme King's haki, the arcs of fulmination reflecting in his cinereal eyes. With a single shot, a bolt of black lightning jumped from out of his hand, shooting down into the newly formed heart!

Ace's body jolted from the impact, his back arching as if he was a bow on a string, his body seizing for a few pregnant moments before falling back down to the table again.

Immediately all three participants drew their power back, releasing their hold and letting the body settle again on its own.

There was a collective holding a breath as if the entire room had forgotten how to exhale. Time had all but stopped for the 3 of them as they simply— waited.

One second…

Two…

Three…

LUB…DUB…

Lily jumped at the sudden sound that shattered the unintended silence, Only to look down in astonishment at the cardiac myocytes beginning to move in excitement.

LUB-DUB…

Shanks watched with wonder as the strangely shaped lump of flesh only slightly bigger than his fist, began to move all on its own. Moving up and down, jerking from side to side, the sound of it rather loud in his own ears.

A huge grin had taken over his face before he could even properly comprehend it all.

LUB-DUB!

Marco had thought he was done with the tears for the time being, but of course, Ace would be the first to try his best to prove him wrong.

But the blond didn't even have it in him to care as he felt his eyes growing full, his vision wavering.

He tenderly ran his hand over the side of the kid's face and hair, trying to hold back an unexpected sob. He watched with unrestrained happiness as Ace's heart beat strongly. His lungs seemed to follow the action, inhaling and exhaling in a steady, soft rhythm.

He smiled lightly. It was only a start really. There was still so much that needed to be done. So much that still could go wrong. And yet…

This was the first time that the impossible had finally felt possible.

He whispered quietly as if, if he spoke too loudly, it would break some spell that had been cast and he would find out that this was some kind of fever dream that he had gotten after being injured on the battlefield. That he would wake up and find out that none of this was real.

But he said it away, because if this was some kind of dream, then he was going to enjoy it for all it was worth, consequences be damned.

"Welcome back, Ace."

.

.

.

The strange, slightly uncomfortable sensations didn't disappear, no instead, they seemed to increase.

He could no longer completely feel comfortable and he grasped at the woman's dress in order to try to ignore it all.

Her hands still stroked his hair, and her lullabies continued to soothe. The other hand that had been holding him close on her lap, moved in soft circles along his back and arms in a way to gentle him.

It was as if she understood what was happening to him and was trying to ease him through it.

The entire time, the man's strong hand never left his shoulder, his simple steady sheltering indomitable presence never leaving his side.

The three of them stayed like that for a time until suddenly–like a bold out of the blue–a searing pain grabbed onto his chest and wouldn't let go!

He flinched against it, trying to squirm away. It hurt!

Soft arms embraced him, cradling him and rocking him back and forth. A strong hand grasped his, holding on tightly. The woman implored him.

'Breathe little one…just breathe.'

And for the first time since he'd found himself in this place, he found that he could!

Intrigued by the new sensation even with the pain at his center, he took one short shallow breath after another, allowing them to get deeper and more instinctive with each one.

As he did so, the pain ebbed a bit, no longer painful but still… something.

He felt different somehow. He felt almost like a diver who had just realized he was tethered.

Male laughter could be heard and he felt a rougher hand ruffle his hair.

'You've got a strong heart, my boy. I always knew you would. It's why I named you after the very essence of my life.'

For the first time, the woman's focus was taken off him and instead went to the nearby male presence. She snorted with disbelief.

'Don't you start with that "my weapon is my life" crap. The only reason that I even went along with it was that I decided that his name had more meaning than simply being the name of a stupid blade.'

'But darlin', I–'

She turned her attention back to him and he felt light with laughter inside of his heart as she cuddled him close, her nose nuzzling against his.

Now that was something he knew he had never experienced before!

'He's my number one noble one. And that's all there is to it.'

The male seemed to sigh in affectionate resignment.

'Yes, darlin'...'