A green shimmer of light reflected off the black of his pupils as he sat at the ledge of the cliffed coast, staring across the ocean at the light coming from Beacon Tower. His lungs filled with salty air with every breath he took and the crashing of the ocean waves against the rock carried by the wind periodically sending a mist of cold water raining upon him, was the only sound penetrating the darkness of the night.

Yang had run off some time ago, taking with her the horse that had carried them to the edge of the continent. He couldn't blame her. Given what she had just discovered, well, denial would be the natural reaction. No doubt she had run home to confront the man she called father. (F/N) did not bother to chase after her. He had long since given her permission to come and go as she pleased. Besides, given what he planned on doing next, it was probably for the best.

He had given it a few hours to ensure she had plenty of time to put distance between them. With her out of harm's way it was time he do something about the shadows. Swinging his legs back to solid ground, he pressed his hand on his knee to assist him in getting to his feet.

"Tell me," he said to the darkness, "were you hoping I would fall asleep and topple off the cliff?"

From the tree line flew an arrow, the moonlight glinting off the sharpened point of its head. In a single fluid motion (F/N) had drawn the Yamato and cut the arrow from the sky, bringing the blade to rest at his right side.

"You're going to have to do better than that."

The rustling of leaves was all that could be heard as their silent footsteps carried them into the clearing. Over a dozen figures clad in black from head to toe stepped forth from the shadows. He had sensed their presence a few hours into the ride across Anima, when they had first started tailing him and Yang, though he had to admit, he wasn't expecting so many. Keeping up with their horses while maintaining their stealth must have been no easy task.

The shadows made to move forward but faltered when (F/N) reached into his vest pocket. "I'll admit, you impress me. Days of torture at the hands of my Ministers of Diplomacy and Security and your comrade's tongue still wouldn't loosen. As you can see though, I helped free it in the end." He chuckled as he tossed the human tongue in the air over and over. "It's funny." (F/N) caught the hunk of flesh and held it in front of his face, examining it in the moonlight, the silver glow illuminating the black flower tattooed on the underside of the tongue. "I thought I'd absorbed the Black Lotus clan into The Family over three years ago. Don't tell me you've been harboring a grudge against me all this time."

He smirked as he saw the fabric around their brows bunch up as their noses wrinkled in silent anger. (L/N) leaned his head to the side to avoid another arrow.

"Disappointing." He clicked his tongue. "And after I graciously accepted you all into my family. I suppose every family has a few rebellious children, though. I hope you're prepared for your punishment."

A glimmer of red flashed in his (F/N) eyes, and before any of the shadows could react, the three nearest The Dark Slayer fell to his blade. More arrows were cut from the sky as (F/N) raced towards the remaining assassins. Those still standing moved to flank him as he cut down another two swordsmen. As he parried the blades of the assailants on his left, one of the shadows took the opening to attack from the rear. Her sword swung at the back of (F/N)'s neck, but her eyes grew wide when it was stopped by an ethereal blue broadsword. For a moment the assassin thought it some sort of mirage, but the sharpness with which it killed her was no illusion.

With a malicious grin, (F/N) swung his Yamato mercilessly, slicing their arms and legs but never dealing a fatal blow, all the while a spinning assortment of spectral blue blades deflected any blow being dealt from sword or arrow. Yes, it was cruel to be toying with them as he was, but he had a lot of pent-up frustration that had been begging for a release. By the time he was finished his blade was dripping, watering the grass beneath him with crimson rain. A single archer had been left alive, now fleeing through the trees in a desperate escape for their life.

The shadow abandoned all stealth in exchange for speed. With any luck she would make it back to the horses and be well on her way before he had the chance to mount his own steed. As she approached the spot where the group had left their horses tethered however, she was shocked to find (F/N) already waiting for her.

"I thought you were supposed to have more resolve than to run away." He said, wiping his bloodied hands with a rag. "It's also very telling of you. Do you want to know what being a warrior means? It means fighting to the death, like your comrades back there. Running away, now that's not very becoming of a soldier. Do you want to know what running means?" In a flash he was upon her, slamming her up against a tree with his blade pressed against her throat. "It means you're a talker."

________________________________________________________________________________
The signal to open the gates sounded throughout the camp as (L/N) rode up to the wall of wooden posts. Behind him were the horses once belonging to the remnants of the Black Lotus clan, each dragging the mutilated corpses of what used to be their riders. Dismounting, (F/N) adjusted his outfit and handed the reins off to one of the guards.

"My lord." Alastair said, running up to greet him. "Sir, I understand that you operate at your own discretion, but please let one of the seven know next time you plan to take another of your excursions."

"I apologize." (F/N) smirked. "I hope I didn't worry you."

"Not worried, overwhelmed." Alastair responded. "Remember who has to take over for you in your absence."

"Of course." (F/N) laughed. "I'll make sure to put in a request for time off next time."

Alastair rolled his eyes. "At least you had fun." He said, eying the bodies that had been dragged across the continent. "More assassins?"

(F/N) nodded. "More shadows like those that infiltrated camp earlier this year."

Urdin looked back at his colleague with steeled eyes. "This is why you should always be accompanied by a guard." He said.

"Relax, Alastair."

"Relax? These, shadows," he dropped his voice to a hiss, "nearly killed you!"

"It wasn't the shadows that nearly killed me." (F/N) replied cryptically. "Besides, they only managed to get the jump on me last time because I was lulled into a sense of security inside my own home. This time around, I sensed them long before they had the chance to strike."

"Hmm." Alastair growled, still unconvinced. Glaring over (F/N)'s shoulder at the corpses on the ground, his eyes suddenly grew wide with surprise. "Hold on a moment." He said slowly. (F/N) watched as he knelt before the nearest body, pulling away the tattered remains of the mask to reveal the lifeless face underneath. "Darkhall?"

"Ah, yes." (F/N) said casually. "I was wondering if you'd recognize him."

"But he's..."

"One of ours, yes. They all were. Remnants of the Black Lotus clan." He explained. "Those individuals who chose to swear their allegiance to me rather than face the blade. They certainly know how to hold a grudge." He chuckled.

"This isn't something you should be laughing about!" Alastair said sternly. "We need to assemble the sins, find out how many others are hiding amongst our people."

"That won't be necessary."

"Wha... won't be necessary? Don't you realize the gravity of this situation? An attack from within our own ranks? If we don't chop it off at the base, and swiftly, we risk dissention from our members."

"Clearly, it's too late for that." (F/N) said, resting his hands on the pommel of his sword.

"My lord, be that as it may..."

(F/N) held up his hand to silence the man. "Please, don't misinterpret my meaning. I fully grasp the gravity of the situation. In fact, it's far more severe than you realize. This attack on me is certainly an egregious crime and rest assured that it will be dealt with accordingly. When I say it won't be necessary to determine the number of malcontents, it is because I already know where the root of the issue lie."

"You do?"

"I do." (F/N) nodded. "Remember Alastair, Christ may have been crucified by the soldiers, but they were led to his doorstep by another."

Alastair snapped to lock eyes with (F/N) as understanding dawned upon him. "You mean to say...? But... who?"

"Who indeed?"

"What do we do now?" Alastair asked.

"Now I do as Christ has done. Call upon my most trusted to join me for The Last Supper and I confront my Judas."

Author's Note: A bit of a shorter chapter, I know, but the narrative demanded a break here to set the scene for what is to follow.

Also, thoughts on who the traitor is? Any evidence you've seen?