Big shoutout to IAmWhoIAm317 for the review really appreciated it and I hope things are going better for you.

Also shoutouts to James Haas and victoria cullen35

Talib had arrived in Weselton earlier this week and already had an audience with the King later today. Before he could go however, he needed to converse with his point of contact and inquire about the status of their task. Sending a letter was too risky as someone could intercept it and ask what they intended to do in this kingdom, so he had to wait until he was physically here. He could've sent Greed but the Sin had other matters to attend to plus there was the matter of his behavior.

He knew that the bandit leader had plenty of his own side projects in the works and while he professed his loyalty to Father, the Sin still had his own agendas. Those that might even endanger the plan. The alchemist scoffed inwardly, Father himself was becoming a thorn in his own plan and had Talib working overtime to tie up loose ends. It annoyed him to no end but as always he bowed and nodded his head.

He really shouldn't be surprised, humans always stood in their own way when trying to achieve greatness. Father should've completed his plan long ago but with that hiccup of a civil war that he was the cause of, they were delayed a few years. He didn't even learn his lesson either and was now chasing after Alrick who was a small stepping stone in the great scheme of things. Even his choice in who would become the Seven Deadly Sins was completely biased as well as illogical.

Four of the seven were bound to fail, that was a certainty. Greed, Lust, Gluttony, and Envy all would fall prey to their human instincts and would force him to deal with them. Sloth was less likely to fail given that she was one of the most logical minds he had the pleasure of molding but still had her shortcomings. Wrath was such a wasted opportunity, he had so much potential just being a tool but then he just had to get curious of what was inside a human's mind.

Granted, he did pick one of the most useful ones available. The alchemist would never admit this aloud but he enjoyed molding Rahim and Shahbaz into the fine specimen that they ended up as. The two of them were the only ones that he would have recommended to be Sins. Each of them were perfect for the Sin that they were now and were of great use when properly utilized. Unfortunately certain circumstances had placed complications on the two.

Wrath deserting Father and going to hiding infuriated the alchemist but he was certain he could find the Sin. Pride refused to be controlled and it made him highly unpredictable. Talib would've preferred if he could make the Sin follow him willingly and not educating him due to the inevitability that he would find a way to bypass that.

It was only a matter of time before Pride would come after Father with religious anger.

There was also the matter of the other two pillars that he still hadn't gotten around to creating. New situations arising forced him to put off focusing on that particular subject. While he could complete one at any time, it would be ill advised if he did so without considering all the factors. There was also the fact that he would need to physically be in Blackdust to do so but Father had him killed so it would be somewhat difficult to return somewhere one was already considered dead.

Another problem Father has laid upon my lap to clean up.

Pride would go to his lab and secure all of his research notes and set up his lab so he could continue where he left off. There was no doubt that someone would have found the bodies that he experimented on and know the nature of his research. That made things quite tricky, he still needed time and if the kingdom knew he was still working down in his lab then they would most certainly try to stop him.

Unless…

The alchemist shook his head, that would be an exteremely stupid idea. Father has been on this Earth for too long to even consider a plan like that. It would definitely fail as well as cause a massive loss of life to the population of quite a few kingdoms. Talib hoped, really and truly hoped that Father wasn't considering it.

Unfortunately though, he almost fulfilled all the steps to launch this plan. He had Asger's body, spies in Blackdust that were unsatisfied with the current ruling monarch, and the military might to launch such an operation.

Fortunately though, Alrick was still surrounded by his Mystic Guard while he visited a neutral kingdom and without him, the plan couldn't come to fruition.

Talib opened the door to an inconspicuous building and walked into the basement. After traversing some hidden stone stairs, he arrived in a cavern where he could see someone looking through some reports.

"How are things coming Mr. Lind?"

The mentioned man stopped reading before turning around to face Talib with the same exact face and glasses with a smile on his face.

"Everything is proceeding right on schedule. My contacts have been informing of each kingdom's movements as well as trade routes. With our mutual friend in the Northern Isles we should have a complete network throughout the land."

"That's good to hear, I take it you are aware of the new leadership in the Southern Isles."

"More than aware, while I'm still skeptical about that child leading the kingdom, he is easier to manipulate. You just have to make sure that he doesn't get overzealous in his grudge against Arendelle. We both know that if he moves too soon then he is bound to fail and there goes another spring of opportunity."

Talib sighed in agreement. It was refreshing to hear another logical mind coming to the same conclusion. Even if they were essentially the same mind, it was nice to hear it from another person.

"Well if Greed follows my instructions then things should go in our favor. I will be heading his way after my business here is concluded."

"Greed huh…" The other man with the same face as the one he was talking to picked up a notebook before handing it to Talib. When the alchemist read the handwriting, he looked back up with a bored expression.

"Why is it that you feel the need that I read over how Ian Cavaliere died?"

"I'm just reminding you that Greed was a human when you made him into what he is. One that lost a significant amount and tried to force you into telling him where Wrath was."

"I remember, I also remember educating him and making sure that he not do something as foolish as that again."

"Yes you did, however, his recent failure in Arendelle was most intriguing. That idiot's Prince's attempt on the Elemental there was sloppy, even if it was his plan, Greed should've known better. He was wise to pull out when he did, but what bothers me is the fact that Envy disobeyed an order to retreat and was captured. We both know that Envy was more than a match for that Elemental, he's a hunter and had any tool at his disposal to capture her. The rumors in Arendelle suggest that a stranger was able to combat the Queen's kidnapper and capture him. Greed already confirmed that Envy captured the Queen and that Ahimoth wasn't anywhere near her to rescue her so it must've been someone else. Someone who could stand toe to toe with a Sin and live to tell the tale."

Talib narrowed his eyes as he growled to himself for not considering the matter more intently instead of filing it away as another failure.

"So what are you suggesting?"

Mr. Lind shrugged his shoulders as he adjusted the glasses that concealed his red orbs. "I'm suggesting that since there are no new rumors of another Elemental in Arendelle and the fact that Ahimoth left the very next day after such a battle without taking time to rest suggests that he didn't want to stay. The lieutenant turned Prince may be an oaf but he's smarter than an average human, he knows how important that Alrick gets his kingdom in an alliance. For him to leave after spending one day there suggests some emotional aspects. That in conjunction with Greed stealing the armor that belonged to Rahim who is now Wrath points to one possibility."

"That Wrath is in Arendelle?"

Mr. Lind turned back around and continued to look over more reports as Talib considered the possibility. Wrath had disappeared quite some time ago and given how fast he could move, he could cover quite a bit of distance if he replenished his abilities along the way. The men that were with Wrath reported that he went crazy before dashing out of the vicinity too quickly for them to follow, yet he left no bodies in his wake.

That was certainly odd. While Wrath didn't go on random killing sprees like Envy did, he would be aware that he needed to kill to keep abilities in peak form. If he truly wanted to run from Father then killing the soldiers would've been smart as it would've delayed then knowing that he deserted them and that he would have more energy to use.

It would explain how Envy was defeated if Wrath was in Arendelle. The furious Sin was more than a match for the jealous Sin due to their combat capacity. It would also explain why Greed has been spending so much time in Arendelle, Ian's desire for revenge appealed to his avarice more than the desire to see Father's plan through.

The only flaw in the theory was the other self he had in Arendelle that was keeping an eye on Elsa should've reported that Wrath was there. The alchemist remembered reading the reports and was satisfied knowing that the Queen wasn't an issue but that changed during her coronation. To have the ability to freeze her entire kingdom in a single night was troubling news indeed. News that should've been reported to them sooner rather than later. It threw into question the credibility of his other self in Arendelle.

Talib tried to remember his last interaction with his other self from Arendelle and noted that it had been more than ten years ago. Father had dispatched his other selves to their destinations as well as giving them their tasks and parts for the plan. The one sent to Arendelle was probably the most quiet of all of them and preferred to work in total silence alone. He was chosen to go to Arendelle and watch the Elemental because out of all of them, he was less likely to be noticed. If he had left out some information on her then that would be a problem and would require the alchemist to make an assessment of her abilities himself.

The sound of footsteps coming down the stone stairs had both men whirling in the direction of the basement door. Standing there was Gluttony who raised an eyebrow at seeing two copies of the same man in the hidden room. "Father didn't say that he would be sending another one of you here."

Talib narrowed his eyes as he placed his hands behind his back and clenched his fist in quiet anger. "He also didn't mention that you would be here in Weselton Gluttony, I thought I assigned you and Lust a different task."

The air in the room began to get heavy as Gluttony was aware that the alchemist was not happy to see him here. His face was calm yet his heartbeat wasn't as he nervously swallowed when the glint in the man's glasses disappeared to see his eyes burning with rage. "You did, however Father told us to disregard it and come here to move up the plan."

"Us?"

Two more sets of footsteps sounded throughout the basement as Lust appeared with her arm curled around another man's arm. Her face was slightly annoyed as well as disgusted as she couldn't believe that Father made her interact with the man next to her. She and Gluttony were sent here to capture a key piece for the plan to invade Arendelle. One would've thought the King was the piece however Lust knew that the royal was married thus he should love his Queen and her abilities would be useless.

However, it wasn't the King she was targeting.

The Duke of Weselton was still a small conniving weasel of a man that had absolutely no love for anything. He was an easy target to capture and the lengths that Lust had to go disgusted her yet she had completed her task and the little man was firmly under her control. All it took for her to have in the palm of her hand was her fluttering her eyelashes. Even without using her hypnotic stare, she had him around her finger and felt that it was enough but Father wanted them to be sure that she had him.

So she slept with him to have time to adequately alter his mind to the specifications needed.

The Duke would carry out his assigned task and would have no memory of the four people in the room with him. Personally, she wanted to kill the little man when she caught a glimpse in his mind and it disgusted her to see someone of his standing taking advantage of so many people including less fortunate women. That however would attract too much attention so she couldn't indulge in her desires.

The lascivious Sin turned her head to the alchemist and presented the Duke who was still firmly focused on her breasts. "Father told us both to come here and use this sniveling excuse of a dog to accelerate the process of an army getting sent to invade Arendelle."

"I see, tell me, did Father give you an approximate time where he envisions this invasion to take place?"

"He said he wanted it to take place in a month when he spoke with us."

Talib really didn't want an answer to this but he had to ask. "When was the last time you spoke with him?"

"Three weeks ago, the army is already on its way to the Southern Isles where they'll rendezvous with Greed and his bandit faction and combined with the kingdom's army, they'll march on Arendelle."

Talib closed his eyes for a moment and took a breath. Mr. Lind promptly sighed and left the room entirely leaving the two Sins alone with the alchemist. The two of them said nothing and didn't make a move as they were both aware of the bomb in front of them. Usually the alchemist was above losing his temper but it seemed that today he wasn't in full control of it. Rationally they knew that he wasn't entirely angry at them for following Father's orders so logically he wouldn't vent on them yet they both knew that Talib had moments where logic wasn't at the forefront of his mind.

"Lust, tell the Duke to leave the room and wait upstairs."

Her heart picked up at the soft way the alchemist spoke but nevertheless she obeyed his orders and had the man walking up the stairs. When they heard the door close, silence once again fell into the basement. Gluttony took a few steps and stood in front of Lust as Talib slowly took his glasses off before placing them on the table.

"I know that I shouldn't be angry with the two of you since you were only following Father's orders yet you should both remember that I'm the one who made you. Thus I am your father. Your first instinct is to do what I tell you. It seems that you all need some discipline to remember that simple little fact."

Gluttony had black dust swirl around him as he prepared for what was about to happen. He knew that he had absolutely no chance against the alchemist but thought that if he charged the man then Lust would get off easy. It was James's instinct to always protect Rin and Gluttony didn't feel like changing that aspect of himself. Lust looked at him and grabbed his arm shaking her head trying to dissuade him but when Talib turned them around to fix them with his red eyed stare, she forgot how to breathe.

"Don't worry, I won't mess with your minds, you two aren't a risk to the plan. However, you will learn that your fear of Father pales in comparison to your fear of me."

The Duke of Weselton and Mr. Lind were upstairs minding their own business as they both ignored the screams that he could be heard from the basement.

Edward heard the snap of another trap being set off as a hail of knives rained on him from all directions. Drawing his weapon, he deflected the first wave of them while dancing through the second before leaping out of the way of the third as he crossed the finish line. The cocky smirk was on his face as he walked by the Captain who had a pocket watch in his hand.

"So how'd I do this time?"

The old man did not seem impressed by the arrogant tone the young man took but nevertheless answered. "You beat your previous score by three minutes." Edward grin got wider as he showed his pearly white teeth off to the Captain.

"So I basically cut your time in half right?"

Stonewell looked up with an annoyed expression before wiping out a knife and cutting a rope that was next to his sitting position. Edward didn't even look up as his right hand shot up to catch a crossbow bolt headed for his head. He wiggled the bolt in his hand mockingly at the attempt.

"Really?"

Only for two more crossbows to nail him in the back.

The Captain watched as the young man cursed as he reached behind him to pull out the bolts and stretch his back to relieve himself of pain. If he was in his usual mood, he would be laughing with a cigar in his mouth but right now something just felt wrong. The two of them had been up here for the last few days where Edward had made great progress using his abilities.

His senses had definitely heightened to the point of detecting threats all around him as well as his reflexes were quick enough to counter them. His strength and coordination had also improved to the point that he was integrating his left arm seamlessly into their spars. So far, the old man hadn't been able to get a decisive win since he was knocked on his ass when they first started. All in all, the trip seemed to be going extremely well.

Yet for some reason, he just couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, really wrong.

He debated ending the trip early to return to Arendelle but he had faith in his men as well as the Queen. If something should happen then they would handle it. He also didn't want to go back down until he was sure that Edward was completely in control of Wrath. While the preliminary results seemed good, he wanted to make sure that the young man had no more doubts plaguing his mind and would use his abilities to their fullest.

"Hey, there something the matter?"

The Captain looked up from his pensive stare to see Edward looking at him with a searching expression. There was no point in putting baseless worries in the young man's mind while he was focusing on removing his own so the old man decided to keep his thoughts to himself.

"No, that's enough for the day. You go outside and clear your mind, maybe talk to Wrath. I'm going to set up for tomorrow."

Edward narrowed his eyes in suspicion but said nothing as he left the cave leaving the old man alone with his thoughts. As the young man left the Captain stared at his retreating form and frowned.

I hope it's nothing, but if it's something; you better be ready runt.

Edward sat outside on the mountain summit with his legs crossed and his hands on his knees. His eyes were closed with his breathing minimal as he quieted his mind. Before long he was back in the courtyard with Wrath stalking through the rows and rows of weapons.

"Something is obviously wrong with him."

The young man scoffed as he took a seat on some old stone steps. "What gave it away, the worried stare or the lack of reaction to me getting to bolts in the back?"

"You should've seen that coming, I most certainly did."

"And you didn't feel the need to tell me?"

"My senses are your senses so as I said before, you should've seen that coming."

Edward waved the demon off and took a look around the courtyard. Nothing had changed since his last visit here, the old decrepit stone walls were still lined with moss and cracks that came from time. The rows of weapons were all rusted over as well, evident that they were indeed just relics of long ago. After his first visit here, the young man avoided touching any weapons so he wouldn't have to relive how they all died.

While he was on this mountain, he learned to be more accepting of Wrath and the fact that he was just a mindless predator that was pointed in a direction by those in control of him. He didn't exactly blame the demon himself anymore but there was still a distance between them. Wrath even reciprocated the treatment, when Edward found out he could return to the courtyard after a couple more tries of clearing his mind, the first thing he noticed was that when you walked into the bounds of the walls, the sky turned pitch black. Absolutely no light could pass through the blackness and he couldn't see the eclipse that overshadowed the reflective surface outside.

The other thing he noticed was that there was now a small bright star in the pitch black sky.

When he asked Wrath what it was, the demon clammed up and simply walked away. He later came to realize that that little star was very significant to the large predator. It was something that he refused to talk about and would remain silent for hours until being willing to speak about a different subject. There were times that Edward would come here and catch the demon staring at the star with its utmost of attention. During these times, Wrath was completely oblivious to everything around him.

The more the young man thought about it, the more he couldn't exactly blame the demon for acting that way. If he was stuck in this eternal blackness for years at a time, he would stare all day at the only source of bright light for long periods of time too. It actually hinted that Wrath was more than what he seemed when they first began speaking to one another.

At first the taunts to get him to let his guard down and lose himself to murderous rage were infuriating to say the least. There were also the warnings that any attempt to rip out the stone would result in that burning sensation and that he would forcefully take control of their body. Those two aspects made Wrath seem like he was a monster but recently the insightful little things he'd say that while at the time he ignored, now made so much sense.

Being up in the mountains as well as being in Wrath's courtyard, showed him the futility of his earlier plan of leaving Arendelle in the hopes of going somewhere he could be alone. No matter where he went, he was going to be Wrath and at any time they could have a power struggle over who controlled the body. Staying in Arendelle was more logical since he had finally found someone who could hold his own against Wrath and could give him time to control himself if things went badly. There was also Elsa being able to freeze him if she got a chance to do so, which he believed after seeing various use of her abilities that she could do so.

If he was being honest with himself, for the first time, he wasn't deathly terrified of a possible encounter with Father. His confidence had definitely gone up, he would only be cocky with the old man since they were the only two people up here. His experience using Wrath's senses as well as his left arm had improved tremendously and he could extend the time he could use them without wasting the little black dust he had inside him.

Speaking of that matter, while Edward agreed that he wouldn't hesitate when it came to combat, he also came to a decision that he also wouldn't kill. He knew that it definitely put him at a disadvantage but he was resolved to not desecrate the dead by killing them and absorbing their anger. He hadn't told the Captain about this because of the possibility of the old man having a fit. He also knew Stonewell would hammer in the fact that he would be at an acute disadvantage which he would have to be very skilled to compensate for it.

"Hey Wrath."

The demon stopped in his examination of each weapon to fix the young man with a stare who was looking up in the sky.

"If there was one thing you could ask for, what would it be?"

The predator looked somewhat confused at the question, he had never been asked something like that before. To be honest, he really didn't know if he had an answer.

"Why would you want to know?"

"Because you already know what I want most. You know how far I'm willing to go for her, I'm just curious if you have something like that."

Wrath looked up at the star for a moment before he answered.

"Perhaps in the future, you'll know what I want most. For now, I suggest you focus on that Ice Queen of yours."

"It's Snow Queen."

Hans was sitting on his personal flagship as he sailed through the seas toward Arendelle. He had received a letter saying that the man that was in charge of Greed would be late so it would be prudent of him to move ahead with his plan. Threatening Elsa with the information that was in the notebook would buy him time to gather the forces he would need for the invasion.

His fingers twitched in anticipation at the shock on that witch's face when she realized that he was the King of a kingdom in her alliance. That meant that she would be forced to consider him an ally which would get him close enough to stab her in the back regardless of if she suspected him or not.

The only crux of the plan was how that man Edward would take his arrival. While he seemed to be a level headed individual, from what Greed explained, there was a storm of murderous rage inside him that was begging to come out. If the man reacted violently and attacked a King that was in an alliance with Arendelle without provocation then it would be disastrous for Elsa. While Hans had no desire to die a premature death, he could see how advantageous it would be if Edward lost his cool if the two of them met.

He even had a special gift that he was told would all but secure him a definite advantage against Arendelle. Greed had dropped it off before turning into dust and going who knows where as they continued to sail. Getting curious, Hans opened the gift and was confused to see a katana inside the gift. Upon further inspection, he recognized it as the weapon that killed Lars as well as gave him the scar on his face. He wondered how this could possibly give him an advantage but he then remembered the contents of the notebook. If what was in there was true, then if he said the right things to the right people then he would come out ahead big time.

His thoughts were interrupted by the swirling sound of dust that usually meant that Greed was coming. Turning around, he was proven right when the man stepped out from the dust with an annoyed expression on his face.

"What's wrong, you don't look pleased."

The bandit leader hesitated to answer before he decided to just spit it out. "It seems that I've been ordered to accelerate the timetable on the invasion. After you had your talk with the Elemental, you are to return to the Southern Isles to confirm your forces and sail back to invade."

The King's eyes widened as he was lost for words. At first he wanted to invade as soon as possible with the reinforcements that Weselton would provide but when Greed had put a stop to that, it gave the ginger an opportunity to look over his plan. Upon another glance, he realized that, even if he had the manpower, the fact that Arendelle was cordoned off by mountains with the only easy way of transporting troops were by sea meant that Elsa could just freeze the ships as they approached.

He supposed that they could have their troops come through the mountains but that still left the risk that she would just cause another winter. With them in the mountains, they would likely freeze to death quite quickly if she put them in a winter unexpectedly. Perhaps they could've launched surprise attacks in the capitol to distract her then have the ships come in by sea. That plan had the most odds of success but from what intelligence Greed had been gathering, Arendelle had become more alert to suspicious persons.

They needed time to come up with a definite plan to neutralize any advantage that Elsa could give Arendelle or they would be committing troops to the slaughter.

"Wouldn't that be unwise given that I would just be leaving and that they would expect some sort of assault from me after threatening them. There's also the fact that since the Southern Isles is part of the alliance that protects Arendelle, the other kingdoms would have no choice but to attack my kingdom and we would be crushed."

"It would be unwise but I've been told that certain things have been set in motion to avoid that scenario. I've also been ordered to include my own forces along with your army. As for the Elemental, you will leave her to me. My orders are to detain her until my master can collect her. I would advise that you consider your grudge against her appeased since my master will most likely end her life in a horrifying way after he gets what he wants."

"And what is it that he wants."

"Revenge against a very old enemy."

In Corona, King Frederic was tapping his throne impatiently as he waited for his men to return from scouting the dam. When his daughter returned, Cassandra had asked to privately speak with him and informed him of the possible threat. As he planned to send a few scouts, the doors to his throne room opened to see only two scouts that went with the Blackdust entourage had returned. They had quickly reported the situation at the dam and said that they would need more than just a few scouts to ensure they even returned.

He had sent quite a few men while putting the kingdom on lockdown, no one could get in or out. He didn't know if Alrick had found the rogue elements he had been looking for but dumping bodies in rivers was not a common practice. The King wanted to ensure that his people were safe first before seeing to a foreign sovereign. The remaining men from Blackdust had requested they be allowed to return to their ship to send a request for backup but was denied until they could get an appropriate grasp of the situation.

It didn't take long as the doors opened up and the scouts he sent out earlier had all returned with a long box being carried by two people. The leader of the group bowed before he began his report. "Your Majesty, we've finished surveying the dam and so far we couldn't locate any of the soldiers that were housed there. We found bodies that showed that there was a conflict but when we searched the tunnels, it was empty. It seemed whoever was amassing at the dam had fled after engaging our visitors."

"Have search parties patrol the surrounding area, the force described earlier would not be able to disappear so quickly without leaving a trail. If we hurry, we might be able to pick up that trail. Also, what's in that box?"

The leader of the scouting party hesitated as he came closer and presented it to the King. "We found this with a note stating that as long as we didn't get in the way of fighting the soldiers from Blackdust, there would be no loss of life on our side. I've already had the contents searched for any kind of traps, it's safe to open but I would suggest you do not."

The King narrowed his eyes as he placed his hand on the latch of the box and slowly pulled it open before immediately shutting it. What was inside made him gag a bit and made him happy that his wife or daughter wasn't in the throne room. "Go wake the Captain and have him double the patrols around the countryside, I want this force found now. As for the remaining men from Blackdust, I would ask you to return to your ship and return home immediately."

The few men that remained looked ready to argue that they needed to find their King but was cut off by a hand from the monarch. "I know that you followed your sovereign here and your loyalty to him is admirable, however I'm aware he has a son leading his kingdom right now. I'm sure that he needs to verify the contents of this box to take appropriate action."

The remaining soldiers looked confused as the Coroan scouts turned and presented them the box. The bravest one it seemed simply unlatched the box and flipped the lid off before his jaw dropped as did the others. In the box was their King's double bladed sword that had blood drenched on both ends. That wasn't what made their jaws drop.

It was the decapitated left arm that looked suspiciously like the King's, next to the weapon that made their jaws drop.

Well guys the most bothersome thing about trying to keep continuity is the timing. I'm almost losing my mind trying to keep all the chapters to keep flowing together. This chapter I feel was a filler and just helped move things along and wasn't a really story impacting chapter, geez louise. Hope ya'll enjoyed it, I'm gonna try and bust out another chapter before Final Fantasy VII remake comes out. Hopefully I'll be locked up in my room thanks to the Coronavirus that makes the Division games so ironic lol. Anyway please review and favorite the fanfic and stay tuned.