Author's Note's:
My last shot against that damned cat! Will this be my victory? Let's wait and see.

Arthur and Sylvie were flying across the sky towards the floating castle. It had been two days since they had completed their missions, and a little sadly that was all they completed. It seems that winning these battles in such overwhelming victory had caused a greater change to the timeline than Arthur had expected.

For two days Arthur and Sylvie sat perfectly still in the Captain's tent without eating or drinking. At first it was as if Trodius was walking on eggshells, making sure that he wasn't even too loud. Eventually however he began to function as he normally did, since it seemed that there meditative state was so deep that they would never wake up unless they wanted to.

That morning Arthur finally got some luck, and Trodius' co-conspirators finally showed up. They were of course still cautious around Arthur, and created a wind barrier to dampen their voices while they spoke.

Arthur's meditative state wasn't just to lull them into a false sense of security, but also for him to re-familiarize himself with how to use mana. Being in the integration stage had turned out to be more accommodating to this than Arthur had expected. For starters, his mana core had essentially deconstructed and lined the inside of his entire body, essentially turning his whole body into a mana core that could heal. Secondly the mana around him responded so much more harmoniously than ever before, as if it were truly a part of his body.

The biggest benefit of this was in relation to his aether core. He still would still occasionally experience pain from his core, but now it was far more tolerable and more of an annoyance than anything.

So as the conspirators spoke freely within their little wind bubble, Arthur was easily able to use sound magic to hear every single word they said. Interestingly, it seemed that Trodius had had a change of heart on their treason, and stopped himself before he actually did anything wrong. Apparently Arthur single handedly defeating the beast horde re-sparked his passion and faith that they could win the war. They of course couldn't comprehend this, and tried to convince him to continue helping with their new plan. He of course refused and had no problem pointing out every little illegal activity the other four had committed in preparation for this.

Seeing as it was clear Trodius wasn't going to do anything to incriminate himself, Arthur decided he might as well move again, and deal with the traitors. They were completely focused on arguing with Trodius, as he was focused on arguing with them. Trodius only blinked for a split second, but out of nowhere Arthur had suddenly appeared behind them. He was frozen and at a loss for words, catching their attention, and causing them to turn around.

Arthur remained silent as he stared them down expressionlessly, and dispersed their wind spell. They tried to throw a fit about it, how he was interrupting a private conversation, but Arthur's patience for bull shit was nearly non-existent. He simply released the pressure from his core, causing everyone including Trodius to collapse to the ground as their legs felt like jelly. He reigned in the pressure again and explained how he heard everything, followed by telling Trodius to lock them up for treason. They of course tried to talk their way out of it, even trying to bribe him, thinking since he was born a commoner he would always be looking to make it rich. Even Trodius scoffed when he heard them, knowing with his position as a Lance alone, Arthur didn't need to ever worry about money ever again.

Arthur just grabbed two of them by the head and released a pulse of sound magic that rendered them unconscious. The other two tried to run, but Sylvie grabbed one by the collar and grabbed him back, as the other returned on his own after seeing Regis blocking the exit while growling menacingly.

With the traitors being escorted to a cell Arthur ordered Trodius to gather all of the evidence he needed to have the council take action against them, as well as his own testimony, and have it sent to the castle as soon as possible. As Arthur left he gave Trodius a warning, that if he had actually worked with them that he would have personally dismantled the entire house of Flamesworth, leaving the only honor left to those few innocent members who had earned their own honor during the war.

—————————————————————-

As they approached the castle, the guards mounted upon flying beasts began to cheer. This was a complete change from the solemn greeting he received from his return in the previous timeline, but it was more than understandable considering the two major victories that were just won. In the previous timeline both victories were bittersweet for Dicathen, and by this point there were already rumors that Elenoir might be abandoned.

As they entered the hangar they noticed other things were different as well. The hangar was bustling with activity as the workers prepared the next group of mana beasts for flight, reading them and securing their saddles. Commander Virion was also there waiting on him with a proud smile. This in itself wasn't that much of a change, but what was was the fact that he wasn't alone. Standing beside him, looking as beautiful and radiant as ever was Tess.

He could have sworn he felt his heart skip a beat. To him it had been so long since he had seen her, although to her it had only been a few days. Arthur landed and immediately started walking towards her, smiling ear to ear. Seeing he was walking closer Tess started walking to him, just a little bit faster. She was prepared for a hug and maybe a light kiss, since they were in public, and her grandfather was there. Arthur however wouldn't be satisfied with just that.

Once they reached each other they wrapped their arms around each other, and Arthur lifted her up off the ground and spun around with her, before placing her back down on her feet and kissing her passionately. Tess was caught off guard, but as always she would never turn down any affection from Arthur, and placed a hand behind his head as she deepened the kiss.

Many of the workers became distracted and stopped what they were doing and stared at them. Virion noticed and directed his killing intent towards them to get them back to work. The kissing lasted for several seconds, and Virion was starting to feel a little uncomfortable.

"Ahem," Virion said, clearing his throat.

Realizing they had been at it for a while in front of everyone, Arthur and Tess broke the kiss.

"Sorry about that," Arthur said, as he continued to hold Tess close by his side.

"No need to apologize, I hate to have broken you two up, but there is a time and place for everything. And I don't believe the hangar here is one of them," Virion said with an amused tone.

"Anyway," Virion started as he extended his right hand. "Welcome back, grandson."

Arthur took his hand and shook it.

"Don't you think it's a little too early to be calling me that?" Arthur replied.

"Maybe just a little, but then again you are engaged to my granddaughter now." Virion smiled in amusement. "You know I asked Tess to come up here, as kind of a congratulations to you both on your victories, and maybe to give you a chance to finally ask her to marry you." He then chuckled to himself. "Imagine my reaction when she arrived and learned you already did it."

"I imagine the whole castle heard your excitement," Arthur teased.

"Come now, not only am I the former king of Elenoir, but I am also the commander of the entire Dicathen army."

"He's right Art, pfft, only half the castle heard his cheers," Tess laughed, as Arthur and Sylvie joined in.

"Ahem," Virion cleared his throat, feeling a bit embarrassed from the reminder of his overwhelming excitement. "Anyway, I want the two of you to take the rest of the day and relax, you both have earned it. And Arthur, please invite your family back up here for dinner soon. Our families need to celebrate your engagement."

"Will do, but why only relax today?" Arthur asked.

Virion's face turned grim. "Have you heard of the fleet approaching Etistin?"

"Captain Flamesworth relayed the information to me before I left. They'll be here in a week right?"

"That's right. Barion and Varay will be arriving tomorrow morning, and I want the four of us to come up with a plan for defense." Virion's expression softened. "So please enjoy the rest of today, and even though I'll still have some work for you, you'll still have time for the two of you together."

"Thanks Gramps, I'll see you in the morning then," Arthur replied and started to walk away.

"Oh, one more thing," Virion said before they left. "I heard your Asura weapon activated..."

Before Virion could utter another word Regis took that as his cue to introduce himself, and leapt from Arthur's chest.

"Hey there Old man, I'm Regis. I've heard nothing but great things about how you kicked Arty's ass and teased him about your granddaughter growing up."

"That's all you've heard about me?" Virion asked, sounding a little hurt as he looked the black aetheric wolf over.

"No, but those were my favorite parts," Regis said with a smirk.

"Anything you find annoying or uncomfortable about him, blame on the retainer mana Arthur absorbed, I do," Sylvie stated as she walked past him.

"Come at me lizard princess!" Regis shouted, and chased after her.

"Well, it seems you'll at least get some parenting practice dealing with those two," Virion commented, still not sure what to make of what he just saw.

"So, what do you feel like doing?" Tess asked as they walked and held hands.

"We'll see you later," Sylvie said.

"Good luck," Regis added.

"Can we go someplace where we can talk in private?"

Tess smiled. "I know just the place."

After a few minutes, and entering a part of the castle that Arthur had never been before, they walked outside into a small flower garden with a lone wooden bench.

"Where are we?" Arthur asked as he looked around.

"My grandfather found this place a few months ago and told me about it. The grass was completely overgrown, the plants were dead, and weeds were everywhere," Tess said as she sat down on the bench, then patted the space beside her for Arthur to join her. "Sadly it looks like this little garden was completely forgotten about for, who knows how long."

"Did you do all this?"

"Mhmm. Little by little every time I came and visited. I spent more time those few times you weren't here. Now you're only the third person to know about this spot," she said as she snuggled closer to her fiancé. "So, was there something specific you wanted to talk about?" She asked, thinking it was wedding related.

Arthur sighed, and pulled the vile of the dark green liquid from his storage rune.

"Tess, I screwed up bad, and didn't even realize it," Arthur said as he held the vile towards her.

"What is that?"

"Part of the reason you had such a hard time with your beast will, was because it was from a mutated beast."

"What?!" Tess sat up and stared at him with wide eyes.

"The mutation hadn't been triggered yet, so everything looked normal."

"What does this mean? What's going to happen to me?"

"At any time Agrona could activate the mutation, and you would lose control and go on a rampage."

Tess shook with fear at the thought of the harm she could unleash.

"Thankfully, I managed to get the cure," he added, shaking the vile a bit.

Tess punched him in the arm. "You couldn't have told me that sooner?"

She took the vile and was about to drink it, but hesitated.

"How did you learn all this? And how did you get this antidote?"

"Please drink it, and I swear I will tell you everything, no holding back, complete honesty," Arthur said looking her in the eyes with a pleading look.

Looking him in the eyes she could see all of his concern, worry, and fear, but could also see he was being completely honest. She looked at the vile, cringed, then took it like a shot.

"Guahhh," she said in disgust as she gagged. "Well, it tastes like medicine." She then turned sideways to face him. "Now start explaining."

Arthur proceeded to tell her everything from the previous timeline, from how they lost at Etistin, to how the castle was captured, and how he ended up in Alacrya. He told her about his now part Asura body, the development of his aether core, everything up to and including the year he spent and a Virita science experiment, and how he turned back time to fix things.

By the time Arthur was done bringing her up to speed, the tears were flowing freely down her cheeks. Slowly she leaned forward and held him in her arms.

"I-I'm so sorry. You've been through so much, and if only I just stayed put, you wouldn't have had to suffer."

"It's not your fault. In all honesty, knowing how the last timeline went, I think it was probably for the best that I ended up there. There's no way I could have been able to stand up to all of those Scythes at once, but now, I know I'm stronger. I can protect everyone."

Tess pushed herself back and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"But I have one question, how can you be certain that Cecilia didn't lie to you? That she didn't give you a fake antidote?"

Arthur's head lowered. "Because we have history."

Arthur then began talking about his most dreaded topic, his reincarnation. Just like before, nothing was held back.

"So that's why, you've always been so good at everything. You've done it all before."

Arthur nodded silently, waiting for everything to fall apart like it almost did with his parents. They were older, so he felt that was how they were able to handle everything, but Tess was only eighteen, while his mental age was closer to fifty.

"Art, should I still even call you that?"

"Please do," Arthur replied without making eye contact, as he fought the tears back that his fears were creating.

"Art, this...this is a lot to take in. Why did you tell me all this? You could have kept this from me for our entire life and would never have guessed."

"Marriage is a union based on mutual love, trust, and respect. How can I say I feel any of that for you if I'm willing to hold back such a big secret about myself."

"Ok. Art, I'm so confused right now, I need some time to just process all of this, alone."

"I understand."

Tess stood up and kissed his head, then began to walk away, but stopped at the door.

"How do I compare?"

"What?"

"How do I compare, to your previous Queen?"

"There was no queen, although many of the kings did get married. But since the kingship wasn't something passed down along a blood line, there was no pressure for the kings to get married. But for me, I was incapable of love. In two lives, you are the first woman I've ever loved."

Tess didn't say anything else and just walked away, leaving Arthur there alone with his thoughts. Not even Sylvie or Regis dared to say anything right now.

"Well," a voice said from the opposite side of the garden.

Arthurs head immediately snapped to see Virion at another doorway.

"That was quite a tale." Virion said with an unreadable expression.

He then proceeded to walk over to Arthur and sat down beside him.

"I guess that explains how we get along so well. You never really felt much like a kid to me."

"So you heard everything," Arthur said as he buried his face in his hands.

"It wasn't my intention. I had expected you two would have gone somewhere else. But after I heard you talking, curiosity got the better of me," Virion said, sounding regretful.

"So, is this the part where you withdraw your blessings and tell me to stay away from your granddaughter?" Arthur asked as his fears overwhelmed him and tears poured from his eyes.

"That depends."

"On?"

"Have you ever misrepresented yourself to my granddaughter?"

"Did you just miss everything I just told her?"

"I'll rephrase the question. Do you love my granddaughter? Or are you just after the eventual title of king?"

Arthur looked at him with tears streaming with an annoyed expression.

"I don't give a damn about being king. I'd probably be happier if that wasn't ever going to happen, but I love her. So if spending the rest of my life with Tess means I have to become a king again then so be it."

Virion could see the honesty in his eyes and smiled as he patted his back.

"In that case you still have my blessings."

"Thank you. But it doesn't mean much if Tess doesn't want to marry me."

"Give her time. You hit her with a lot today, so right now she's just confused."

Virion then stood up and stretched his back.

"By the way, about the meeting tomorrow. Considering how you came all this way back, I'm assuming you already know what needs to be done?"

Arthur nodded. "Yes, but history might not look upon us favorably."

"As long as our people are free from Alacryan rule, that's something I can live with."

—————————————————————-

In the middle of the night upon the Floating castle all was dark and quiet. The door to Ellie's room opened, and Sylvie quietly walked out and left down the hall. Ever since Ellie left for the Lancer Academy Sylvie started borrowing her room so Arthur could be alone, at least when he slept. A few seconds later Arthur's door opened and he emerged, and used mirage walk as he followed behind her.

Sylvie went up two floors, and passed several guards who bowed respectfully, until she arrived outside a set of wooden doors. She knocked, and after a few moments Alduin opened the door.

"Good evening Sylvie, it's rather late, but what can I do for you?"

"Good evening King Alduin, I've come to ask another favor of you," She replied with an arrogant smile.

Alduin shuddered and quickly stepped back and gestured for her to enter. As the door closed Arthur stepped up, then disappeared in a flash of aetheric lightning.

"What is it you need from me this time lord Agrona?"

"Nothing much," Agrona said through Sylvie's body, then looked up to him and smiled. "Just allow one of my Scythes into the castle."

"What?! Never! I was accepting of allowing your agents through to assassinate prisoners, but never anyone like a Scythe."

"Yes I know, but it is time for this war to come to a close. As my fleet makes landfall at Etistin, you will activate the castle teleportation gate and allow my scythe to enter to take control."

"No! I refuse! I will never sell out the council!"

"What about your daughter?"

"What? Don't you dare threaten her!"

"I've been planning this war for quite some time. So far back, that Arthur Leywin faced one of my early mutated beasts when he was still only a child, and gave your daughter it's beast core as a gift."

"What have you done to her?"

"I've done nothing. Her fiancé is the one who gave her a mutated beast core, she was the one who took its Will. However if you do not cooperate I will activate the mutation, and set her loose to kill everyone in this castle herself."

Alduin shook and fell to his knees.

Sylvie's hand extended towards him.

"So, do we have a deal? The council and your grandfather for your daughter's life. It's a good deal if you ask me."

Alduin slowly began to reach out his hand.

"What the hell would you know about the value of a daughter's life," Arthur chimed in as he entered from the bathroom.

"Arthur?" Alduin said in shock upon seeing him.

"Seeing as you experimented on Sylvie you have no right to weigh in on the value of someone's child."

"Hello Arthur Leywin. It seems that you've learned Sylvie is my daughter. So I believe I am more than qualified."

"You're nothing more than a sperm donor, and that doesn't make you a dad." Agrona was about to speak, but Arthur raised his hand and spoke instead to silence him. "I could completely dismantle any pathetic attempt you make to argue with me on this, and show that I'm more of a father to her than you ever were or could be, but I don't have time for that. I'm just here to tell you something and stop you from using my daughter as a puppet."

"Your daughter?" Agrona scoffed.

Arthur knelt down to be at his eye level.

"I may not be her father, but she's my daughter, and after today, the next time we speak won't be through her, but face to face in Alacrya, when I come to kill you."

Agrona laughed. "You kill me? That's entertaining."

"Laugh while you can. Because I'm taking control of this war." Arthur smirked evilly. "I just wish I could be there to see the look on your face as all of your plans start falling apart."

Arthur then slid a golden ring onto Sylvie's horn, and her body immediately went limp as Agrona was forced out. Arthur caught her in his arms.

"What have you done?" Alduin asked as fear of losing his daughter set in.

"Prevented a tragedy," Arthur replied matter of factly, as he stood up.

"But Tessia..."

"Will be fine. I already got my hands on the cure and gave it to her." Arthur laughed as he placed Sylvie in a chair. "I wonder if Agrona will be able to tell that his threat was actually completely harmless."

Alduin laughed as the reality hit him.

"Arthur, what would my family ever do without you?"

Arthur extended his hand to him.

"No matter what happens, I don't plan on finding out," Arthur replied as Alduin took his hand and he pulled him to his feet.

"I know you and Tessia are fighting about something, I won't ask what," he then placed a hand on Arthur's shoulder. "But I know you two will work through it, just as you always did when you two were younger."

"Thank you, your majesty, I hope so."

"Arthur, in informal settings like this, please just call me Alduin. We're going to be family, so you might as well get used to it," Alduin said with a grateful smile then hugged him.

"Well I better get going, good night Alduin," Arthur said, then picked Sylvie back up.

"About what you may have seen and heard..."

"All I heard was you and Sylvie talking before she passed out, she has been training very hard lately," Arthur replied, understanding why he had betrayed the council in the previous timeline, and knew he would have done the same in his position.

"Thank you again Arthur."

Arthur nodded and exited the room.

"Regis, meet us in the training room. We need to get ready to show Agrona how we control a war."