Authors' Notes: "Hello once again peoples of the FF community! Now, some may be wondering why I'm doing ANOTHER new fic while I have Dragon Quest and Rekka No Ken going on. Well... I think the guy who came up with half of this idea would probably be able to explain it better than I! XD Also, with less tomfoolery."

"Don't worry. All shall be revealed. Suffice to say this is the product of late night talking. On top of that, this is actually relevant to GameFreakimage's other story idea. The one he hasn't worked on because he's been stuck on Chapter 20 for so long."

"Yeah... chapter 20. It'll come out sometime this century, I'm sure".

"What, you want me to reveal the spoilers I know about your secret idea?"

"NO!"

"Then get Chapter 20 out!"

"Besides, I have many secret ideas by this point..."

"You mean that FE couples idea we had?"

"That was a secret?"

"And the worst part is, it'll probably be less explicit than FE: If. That is, if what I've heard is true."

"Couldn't resist, could you? XD But I can't help but feel we're getting off track..."

"What can I say? I was disappointed in the direction the game took. Regardless, you're correct."

"So, would you like to actually explain what this whole thing is about? Or should we just, you know, ignore that little tidbit for now until later?"

"Later; let's let the reviewers decide if they like a third take on Rekka No Ken from the same author."

"More like a second. Rekka No Ken 2.0 is just basically the first, but with more scenes and ACTUAL THOUGHT IN ONE OF THE CHARACTERS."

"True, but it's still a separate story."

"True as well. So... on with the show?"

"Indeed."

Chapter 1: The Three Knights

Bulgar, arguably one of the largest, if not the largest of all the cities in Sacae: its location in the southern center of Sacae made it an ideal meeting place for both merchants and consumers alike. Truly, in the land of Sacae, where most, if not all, of its inhabitants were nomads, the goods that could be found here were of the utmost rarity and novelty. Considering that those goods were coveted by many nomads was a fact that the citizens of Bulgar held in high esteem. One could even say that their personal pride was staked in making their wares something to be coveted and envied by every single person in Sacae, regardless of age, tribe, or station. In this way, the city truly lived up to its reputation as the commercial center of Sacae.

The streets of Bulgar were bustling with life as it always was. People flooded the pathways as they shopped and socialized. Merchants called at people walking by to visit their stalls as their assistants advertised their wares or services as loudly as they could to be heard above the noise of the people and the competition from nearby vendors. In fact, it could be said that any savvy merchant changed their prices based on rival announcements. Because of this unique relationship between business rival and customer, everyone somehow made some sort of profit from it. The consumers were assured low prices that fit their budget and the merchants sold all of their daily wares while still making a profit. Admittedly, this unspoken system didn't form overnight. Merchant pride was a strong sentiment, and it took many decades for the merchants that did business here, especially those that lived within Bulgar, to let go of such nonsense and adopt such a system as their motto.

The buildings where people lived stood stories into the sky, possibly the largest buildings in the entire region. While the typical nomad housing consisted of tents made from animal furs and the occasional ones made from cloth, most nomad groups slept out in the open sea of grass unless the weather wasn't permitting. Here, the buildings of Bulgar were made from slabs of smooth stone stacked on top of one another with clay used to meld the slabs together. It was a practice of construction that was adopted from the foreign lands of both Bern and Illia. However, while the buildings themselves were simple and straightforward, the city's roads were anything but simple. All the merchant stalls, branching and winding pathways, and alleyways throughout the city made navigating a literal walking nightmare. Even those fortunate enough to be born in Bulgar found themselves frustrated and confused by its layout at times. Though the people had a certain pride in not admitting to it. It would prove very easy for one unfamiliar to the city's layout to become lost.

"This might take more time to navigate through than I thought…" Michael said as he observed the ocean of people occupying the streets by the city entrance. Just thinking about all the people he would be butting shoulders with made him frown in annoyance.

"At least we won't be short of merchants to buy from," Lyn pointed out as she scanned the view in front of them with little more than a look of curiosity. It was probably her first time in Bulgar, if at least in her recent memory.

"I guess that's one way of looking at this situation," Michael admitted, "Of course, now that I think about what we need and how much of a budget we have… I don't feel so safe about the contents of my coin purse…."

Michael's eyes wandered painfully onto various merchant stalls nearby. One in particular he found was selling single sets of three vulnerary for seven hundred gold. Even if you were to assume that this merchant had specifically set up shop to swindle first-time shoppers out of their hard earned money, this was still too much. There was an art involved in merchants making people willingly separating themselves from their gold, but apparently this merchant didn't care about subtlety in the slightest.

"Hey, what kind of game are you playing here?!" Michael angrily asked the head merchant, who happened to be manning the storefront himself, "Any idiot can see that your goods are overpriced!"

The merchant looked up to Michael with an angry expression as his mustache twitched in anger, "Don't like the prices? Beat it!" After saying his piece, he looked away and began to ignore Michael, taking up more of an interest in his shoes.

Michael was about to give the merchant the best retort he could think of but Lyn pulled him away, "Don't antagonize the merchant; he might have friends at other stalls."

"Listen to your lady friend, kid," the merchant spoke up again in a tone that easily carried the impression that the merchant thought he was far beyond Michael, "Don't make adults angry."

At that point Michael was filled with anger, "Look here-" he stopped himself. This piece of trash wasn't worth getting all riled up on. At the end of the day, when his shop was in the red because of better competition, Michael would have the last laugh as the merchant cried himself to sleep at night.

"Good point," Michael conceded to her Lyn with a nod. He then settled with giving the merchant a dirty look before the two departed.

"Condescending idiot…" Lyn muttered into his ear as they walked away. Michael couldn't help but smile to himself.

With that at an end, the two began to carefully navigate themselves throughout the city, going from merchant shop to merchant shop. They were able to find many of the supplies needed from their journey, but not all bunched up together in a single store. Unfortunate, but not unexpected. As the two fought both other customers and merchants for their supplies Lyn discovered a talent neither would ever thought she would've had; haggling. Lyn managed to not only procure an entire set of kitchen utensils but also several sets of clothes for only one fifth of their original asking price. Michael was just as stunned as he was pleased. Though not as much as the merchants were upset to have their wares sold for an even lower price than before.

It seemed their pride was hurt by Lyn's superior bartering skills even though this was her first time.

"Remind me to never go shopping without you around," Michael told Lyn jovially as he counted up their remaining resources in his head. Sure, they had spent around half of their savings, but Michael had braced himself to be completely tapped out.

"That was fun!" Lyn admitted with a laugh as she stretched her arms around the back of her head, "What else do you think we'll need?"

"I'm positive we're done here," Michael said without a second of pause, adopting a frown in place of his smile from just a moment ago. Just because they had extra money didn't mean they had to spend it. And Michael hated excessive spending.

"You think so?" Lyn asked him skeptically, "Not even a dagger to keep under your cloak just in case?"

"I've done just fine the way I am now," Michael told her sternly, "And how would you know I didn't have a dagger with me?"

"I didn't see one on you when I was stripping you earlier," Lyn told him with straight face and even tone.

"Could you…elaborate please?" Michael asked her, not enjoying the way she had chosen to word that sentence.

"Ah!" Lyn winced as she realized how she had said what she had said, her face growing slightly red, "What I meant to say was that I didn't see one on you when I had taken off your cloak earlier to check you for injuries. Better?"

"Much," Michael admitted with a wince. This girl had a way with draining him mentally. "Look, how about we split up and browse around?" Michael suggested, "If you find anything we need, just come back and find me. I'll be sure to stay around these stalls and catch a break."

"Are you sure?" Lyn asked him as she tilted her head slightly, "Wouldn't it be better for the two of us to stay together? What if one of us gets lost?"

"I'm positive," Michael assured her with a slight sigh, "But if we do get lost, how about the both of us meet up by the plaza center? You know, the place with the fountain?"

"I remember," Lyn nodded in understanding, "We walked by that place when we first got here."

"Good girl," Michael nodded.

"Creep," Lyn frowned at him as she went walking off to go who knows where.

Michael watched Lyn walk away for a short time before she blended into the crowd of people. Immediately he made a beeline for a nearby wall and leaned his back against it as he allowed himself to slide down to the ground. This was the most tired he had ever felt in a long time. It wasn't so much physical fatigue that was ailing him so much as it was the mental fatigue of traveling with someone, a young woman at that, for the first time in well, ever. Michael looked down to the sack filled with their newly bought supplies and let out a loud sigh.

'This is so unlike me…' Michael thought to himself. He always had his guard up around people as much as possible, never staying anywhere for more than a few days at most. Of course that didn't leave much time for making any personal connections, but Michael was rather glad that he didn't. Michael opened up his cloak and took out a small pouch from the back of his robe and held it in his hand. Unraveling the rope keeping it firmly closed, he took out a small locket.

The locket was small, made of pure silver that as molded into the shape of an oval. On its surface was a small, but complex etched image. Well, maybe an image was a better word. From its left was dragon that looked vaguely angelic in nature. It had long, graceful looking wings and a halo over its head. The dragon looked to be flying skyward as its long snout breathed a small flame from its nostrils. On the right however, was another dragon, but more demonic looking. The dragon had two sets of eyes, with a much for ferocious looking jaw, with several rows of razor sharp teeth. It wings were battered and heavily damaged. The dragon looked like it was falling, as if it were being cast out from somewhere. In the middle of the two was a single sword. From the direction of its pommel, which was sticking upwards like the angelic dragon, it looked as if it were being planted in the ground. Michael always thought that the two dragons must have been fighting each other. Obviously the angelic dragon was the victor. However the appearance of the sword intrigued Michael. Was there a third force that aided the dragon and tipped the balance of power? At any rate, Michael tore his eyes away from the image and more to a little switch on the side of the locket. That tiny little switch was all that kept a small picture that Michael hadn't looked at in years safe. It was probably faded beyond all recognition now. Michael didn't want to risk finding out if it was or not. He frowned as he looked at it. He always felt like a pair of eyes were staring back at him whenever he looked at it. No wonder why he never took it out much.

As quickly as he brought it out, Michael dropped the locket back into it pouch and retied it shut. If anything, Michael felt like he was resealing it more than anything. As soon as he put it back in his cloak, he found Lyn coming to his mind once more. What was it with that girl and her worming her way into his head?

After splitting up from the young man who was just as likely to be in a good mood as he would be a bad mood, Lyn decided to entertain herself by completely submerging herself within the sights, sounds, and the smells of the city. She found herself in many different and even exotic locals compared to the ones she and Michael had seen while shopping and bartering with the merchants. Though, that should have been expected with a city as old as Bulgar. Not everything would looks alike, and even then, they were in the merchant district of the city. Still, even then, depending on where her feet took her, she would find definite Bernese and even Lycian influence in the architecture. Odd, considering the abhorrence any of the "first class" countries feel towards Sacae and the nomads that make up the majority of the population.

After several minutes of examining her surroundings, Lyn's eye happened to catch the glint off of the pauldron from a man wearing very exotic armor, if the blatant stares from passers-by were anything to judge by. He was a fairly tall and well-built man, if the size of his armor matched his physique. He sat on the edge of a large fountain, apparently alone, playing with a tin whistle quietly. His helmet sat next to him, the pointed and angular visor almost glowering at anyone who dared look at or its owner too long. The young man himself had short blonde hair, a long, fairly large nose, and a caring, if cautious, expression as a small child selling questionable produce cautiously approached him. A strange symbol adorned his surcoat as he talked to the little boy, the silver stitches dully catching the light against the cobalt blue backdrop.

There was something about the man that had a mystical effect on Lyn. If she were to put this feeling into words in order for others to understand, it would be like a hunter coming across a lone wolf amidst a colony of hares. In fact, even Lyn herself felt like she would be one of the hares if she were to compare herself to the man. His posture, the way he ever so cautiously observed his surroundings every several seconds with but the most casual glance, made it obvious that this man was no stranger to combat in any sense of the word.

As his tune came to an end, he stopped, and with the outward motions of turning and putting his whistle away and making sure his bags were unmolested, the knight scanned the crowd with a careful eye. Lyn sensed immediately that his vision locked on her, if only briefly before a very large man walked between them. However, the moment the man had walked away, Lyn saw that the knighthad already packed up his things and was walking directly towards her.

Lyn began to camouflage herself within the sea of people, making sure to carefully scan behind and around her. The last thing she needed this moment was to end up in a fight within the confines of the city, with its citizens a constant handicap against her for fear her sword would accidentally strike one of them. Luckily, within the dark colors of hair that naturally topped people's heads in Sacae, it was easier to keep track of the pursuing knight than she originally thought.

The knight grunted in irritation as he was roughly shunted around by the pressing mass of people. He'd thought about donning his helmet and intimidating people out of his way, but the infringement on his vision would make it much harder to keep that barely visible head of green hair in his sights. As it was, he was almost afraid to blink, lest he lose track of her. Nevertheless, despite being weakened from his last campaign, he was still an experienced soldier, and still stronger than most average bandits, leaving skill completely out of the question as a factor. Nevertheless, he was slowly beginning to notice the lack of blonde or other more lightly colored hair tints, and while his own hair wasn't nearly as bright as, say, a good friend of his, it was still noticeably lighter than practically everyone around him. At last, the crowds began to thin somewhat as they neared the end of the merchant's quarter, and he managed to just catch a glimpse of the young woman's hair whipping around a corner, and quickly moved to pursue.

As Lyn made her way back into the merchant's district, and the crowd of people thickened even more, she began to let her guard down, though just ever so slightly. Just as she had passed by a food stall, some local homeless children and teenagers ransacked it had spilled the stand's contents onto the street in an attempt to divert and cut off the local authorities and the merchant himself. It would take an extremely persistent and goal-oriented individual to continue pursuing her. Letting out a sigh of slight relief, Lyn decided to explore the more dense and populated space she was currently in, just in case the man WAS one of those people.

As he thought about their last conversation on the way to Bulgar, Michael couldn't help but feel like he had offended her. Of course, reviewing his behavior in mind, he found several instances of him being ruder than he was allowed to be. He winced at himself as he remembered his actions. Lyn wasn't exactly joining up with him for no reason either. If they were going to be traveling for long, it would be best to patch things up and at least create a somewhat cheerful atmosphere between each other.

"Damn it…" Michael sighed to himself as he picked himself up from the ground, "Now she's getting me all overly conscious as well…" Hopefully a small trinket would be a suitable peace offering for her. And so began Michael's trip along a long line of stalls to look for the perfect peace offering. Eventually, one managed to catch his eye.

The stall wasn't one that had any supplies that the duo would ever need for their journey. This stall was selling jewelry and small toys. There were all kinds of accessories ranging from rings to earrings to glasses. While the toys were such things as little stuffed bears and toy swords. Some of the things on sale were quite cute in Michael's opinion and he found himself smiling to himself before he could realize it. Cute things were dangerous.

"See something you like?" a cool female voice called out to Michael as he looked up from some of the wares to meet the merchant who had asked him, making Michael jump slightly in surprise.

"Oh, no," Michael mumbled to her as he looked away, "Just browsing…"

The merchant was silent for a moment as she gave Michael a quick look over. This made Michael a little uncomfortable. He couldn't help but notice her long, fiery red hair that seemed to go down past her neck, which was tied in a single neat ponytail. Her eyes were a ferocious shade crimson, but there was also a small warmth to them as well. She wore a simple red shirt that matched her eyes and hair, but it was a colorful shade compared to them and long, white baggy pants that completely hid her long legs. Over her back was a gigantic backpack fit to bursting with what must have been other wares for the stall. Michael could only guess how many toys and accessories that they needed at this little stall. Even if Bulgar was busy, there surely had to be a limit on how many people came here each day. She also wore wooden sandals with black straps that ran over her foot and in-between her big toes and index toes. She was actually quite attractive in Michael's opinion. Then again, he hadn't had much contact with women aside from Lyn and even then, Michael still held the opinion that Lyn was slightly above this woman in terms of beauty.

"Alrighty!" she said with a smile as she began to walk over to another part of the stall, "But if you change your mind, just holler, okay?"

"Weird…" Michael said under his breath as nodded to her as she walked away. Talk about the exact opposite of a pushy seller.

"What are you looking at?" Lyn voice asked as she suddenly appeared behind Michael's back, making him jump in surprise.

"Nothing much!" Michael told her, not allowing himself to look as surprised as he felt. When did she get behind him?

"Jewelry?" Lyn asked as she took a look for herself, looking over the necklaces and rings Michael had been absently looking at, "Why would you be looking at that? I never pegged you as the kind of guy that would wear jewelry…"

"I was just browsing," Michael told her as he felt himself sweat, "And I don't wear jewelry either. Never had a liking for the stuff. This stall just happened to catch my eye is all… Did you find something?"

Lyn looked around the stall until her eyes fell upon the merchant, then quickly went back to Michael. "Well, no. I was just coming back here to check on you just in case… You sure it wasn't the beautiful merchant running the stall that has you browsing?" She was going to make this painful, wasn't she?

"Oh, don't even start!" Michael partially yelled in annoyance, "Do you think I'm that dumb to just be attracted to a pretty face?"

Lyn was silent for a while, her face slowly turning from one of curiosity to one of annoyance and even indifference, "…"

"What?" Michael asked as Lyn just looked at him.

Unbeknownst to the both of them, the merchant from before had heard their bickering and was silently listening while slowly turning to face their direction.

"Honestly?" Lyn asked him as she put her arms on her hips as her lips formed a frown, "You should really start taking a look at your attitude. I was just asking a question and you just blew up at me."

"So?!" Michael shot back at her, "Don't assume things about me!"

"Fine," Lyn sighed with an air of finality, "You obviously don't want to talk to me. You obviously want to be alone. Fine. I'll leave you to your own devices. Good day." With a huff, Lyn departed from the stall and ran back into the sea of people from before.

Michael watched Lyn walk away completely flabbergasted. He slowly covered his face with his hands and slowly dragged them down as he slowly let the consequences of his actions sink in. What could have been a real chance for them to talk and even things out turned into a complete disaster. Michael cursed himself underneath his breath.

"Little fight with your lady friend?" the merchant asked as she walked back up to him, her smile now a frown.

"What?" Michael asked, not truly listening to what she said, "Oh… maybe? I'm not so sure myself. Friend? We weren't close to begin with and I think any chance of that just blew up in my face."

The merchant gave Michael an understanding smile. "Say no more," she laughed, "My boyfriend and I were a little like that before we got together. I know exactly what you're going through."

"I should probably get going now," Michael announced as he began to leave. "Thanks for letting me browse for so long. Your wares are quite… wonderful (Would that be the right word)? It's almost a shame not to buy anything…" He had to go chase after Lyn and properly apologize.

How did one properly apologize again?

"No, thank you," the merchant told Michael. "…But don't you want something to help smooth things over with your friend?"

"Excuse me?" Michael asked, slowly stepping back to the stall, his interest piqued.

"If I know how a lady thinks−and I think I know pretty well−she probably thinks you're either a complete ass, or you've got crippling emotional problems. Either way, that doesn't excuse your behavior-"

"Were you spying on us?" Michael asked with a slightly threatening tone.

"-Nor does it excuse cutting people OFF…" the merchant added with a venomous look that instantly shut Michael up, "You'll need something of the incredibly cute and heartwarming variety of gifts to appease her. Preferably something fluffy and huggable."

"That's…a good idea?" Michael asked, slowly being sucked into the merchant's sales pitch, though trying his best to resist.

"If I might make a suggestion," the merchant continued, picking up a hand-sized teddy bear from one of the farther racks, "Girls love cute things most of all. Anything small and furry especially. And this little guy here happens to be the best of the best! How fast these little guys fly off the shelves and the fact that even I keep one with me at all times should tell you all you need to know!"

"I don't know…" Michael resisted as he attempted to take a step back.

"Excuse me!" another customer called out towards the merchant as she came running up towards the stall.

"Yes?" the merchant asked, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"I just wanted to thank you!" the customer said to her, "This adorable little bear my boyfriend bought for me the other day is simply to die for!"

"Glad to hear you like it!" the merchant giggled, "It's my best selling item!"

"With good reason!" the customer agreed, "Well, I have to go do other shopping! I just wanted to say thanks! Bye!" the customer left in the blink of an eye as she got lost in the crowd of shoppers in the streets.

"Sorry about that," the merchant apologized, "Where were we again?"

"…How much for the bear?" Michael asked with a sigh. That woman was most likely an employee that was supposed to come over when the merchant was talking up a storm for a sale. Normally, this wouldn't get through to Michael, but the situation was a unique one and the glint of happiness in that woman's eyes wasn't faked.

"For you?" the merchant asked as she thought to herself, "Fifteen gold. It's usually thirty, but I like you. You seem like a good kid, minus the outburst and such, so I'll give you the employee discount."

"Deal…" Michael sighed once more as he put the gold in the merchant's hand.

"Pleasure doing business with you!" the merchant thanked Michael as he grabbed the bear and began to depart.

"Oh, yeah. I almost forgot!" Michael said just as he left, "What's your name, if you don't mind me asking?"

"My name?" the merchant asked, caught by surprise. She let out a little smile before responding, "Anna."

"Anna. Mine's Michael," Michael responded, "Thank you very much for your assistance, Anna."

"Good luck!" Anna called out as Michael left. Anna made sure Michael had left before she spoke to herself. "Wow! That was an easier sale than I thought! Hook line and sinker! I hope everything goes well for him. The look on his face when she walked on up behind him? Priceless! He must have jumped a whole foot in the air!"

After trying his best to search for Lyn while not getting lost, Michael was just about ready to give up entirely. With so many people, even someone as distinct as Lyn wouldn't be easy to find. With a long sigh, Michael began to make his way towards plaza. At least there was a fountain he could sit by and try to listen to the sounds of the water if the sounds of consumerism didn't drown it out. However, Michael was in luck to find Lyn sitting right by the fountain looking off into the clouds. Now all he needed to do was think of a good way to approach her and explain himself before apologizing…

However, before he could even have a moment to think, a voice shouted out from the middle of nowhere, grabbing Lyn's attention, "Oh, my heart! What a dazzling vision of loveliness!" the voice belonged to a man, though obvious by the deepness of his voice, though it was slightly high pitched. And what soon followed the voice was the man it belonged to.

"A fair maiden all by her lonesome? How cruel! She must have been abandoned by some no-good ruffian. Who would leave such a beautiful flower out where an animal could step over it?"

The man had long, somewhat light-green hair, a color akin to dying grass, or more likely, dry grass that fell down halfway past his neck and was his locks were kept from falling over his eyes with a black headband. His eyes were the same shade as his hair with a hint of mischievousness and a light that seemed to radiate good cheer. His body armor, while also green, was of a much more natural and darker color, resembling the color of vibrant forest of evergreens with white inlay around the edges of his breastplate, shoulder, elbow, and knee guards. Underneath his armor, he wore a black long-sleeved shirt and long white pants. Attached to his side was a single lance, its tip glimmering in the sunlight. It was well taken care of. A large grin was plastered onto his face which gave Michael the impression he didn't possess a care in the world. He was a man with his head in the clouds.

"Wait, O beauteous one!" the man pleaded as he made his way over to Lyn and bent down on one knee, "Would you favor me with your name? Or better yet, your company?"

Lyn looked back at the knight with a quizzical look. Evidently she didn't think the knight was speaking to her as she looked around to see if anyone was around her. There wasn't. "Excuse me, sir knight," Lyn began politely as she looked back to him, still holding onto his glorious pose, "Where are you from that allows you speak so freely to a stranger?" Her tone cordial, but there was some slight annoyance mixed in. She was probably still angry about the argument from earlier.

"Ha!" the man laughed as he flicked his hair back and out of his eyes. He should invest in a new bandanna… or a haircut. "I thought you would never ask! I am from Lycia. I hail from Caelin canton, home of men of passion and fire!" From the way he was posing and waving his arms around, Michael thought he would truly catch on fire at any moment.

"Ah," Lyn nodded with a forced smile, "It seems like they have horrible standards if you allowed you to join their ranks…" That last part was muttered softly enough that the knight didn't pick up on it.

"They must have really lowered their standards for knights if you're one…" Michael responded, his voice dry with sarcasm from where he was observing the scene play out. He couldn't help but feel like a fool since he was talking to himself.

Evidently, the two could agree on one thing, even if they weren't close enough to hear each other.

"Milady," the knight continued, "Would you do me the honor or a luncheon rendezvous? There was this fabulous little restaurant I happened to pass by that looks absolutely divine!"

"I'm afraid I will have to decline your generous offer, sir knight," Lyn told him flatly, her patience quickly coming to an end, "I would also like to ask you to leave me be. My impression of Caelin knights is falling by the second, and you have yourself to blame for that."

"Such cruelty…" the knight shuddered in ecstasy as he smiled still, "You're even lovelier when you're cruel…"

"This just stopped being funny and just got really weird…" Michael winced as he heard the knight's line. Only a person with no shame and boundless self-confidence could utter such a line without bursting into laughter.

"Sain! Hold your tongue this instant!"

Michael jumped. Right next to him was another man. How he managed to sneak up to him while in armor, Michael would probably never know. Michael instantly knew that the two knew each other from the way the man next to him had called out.

The man then quickly made his way over to the green knight. He had bright orange hair, trimmed short enough so it didn't trouble his vision. His compatriot could learn from his example. His eyes were a light but deep red, thankfully not being the same color as his hair. His eyes held a serious look to them, vastly different than his comrade's. His armor, while much like the other knight's, was red instead of green, but he had the same white inlay around the pieces of his armor, just like the green knight. Underneath his armor was a deep tan colored shirt and long brown pants. Kept in a sheath on his left thigh was a sword, while a lance was kept behind his back. His tone was rigid and his voice was stern. It was obvious that this man was the leader of the two. A no nonsense fellow. Someone Michael could probably get along with for five minutes before getting into an argument with.

"Ah, Kent!" the knight called Sain called back with a smile, "My boon companion! Why so severe an expression?"

"Your conduct gives me such an expression!" the knight called Kent told Sain through clenched teeth, "If your manner were more serious, I wouldn't have to be so severe! We still have a mission to complete! And here you are, flirting with yet another maiden!"

"But Kent," Sain whined, "How can I keep on such a mission when there is a maiden as beautiful as her that's caught my eye!?" Sain pointed towards Lyn, as if Kent would agree with him if he only took a look at her beauty. "She must have been abandoned by some foolish knave! I'm never wrong about these sort of things, you know!"

"Must I remind you of the time in the last town with the noblewoman?" the red knight named Kent replied with a tired sigh and tone, "Or in the town before that with the farmer's daughter? We can NEVER set foot back in there, thank you very much."

"Those were flukes at best, I assure you," Sain laughed before adopting a somewhat serious expression, "I was merely having an off day."

"Honestly," Kent said as he massaged the bridge of his nose, "What am I to do with you?"

"Excuse me?" Lyn asked politely, making sure to address Kent instead of Sain, "While this might be a riveting conversation for the both of you, would you be so kind as to stop blocking the way? I'm in a hurry."

"Ah, please, milady, accept my apologies," Kent began as he bowed to Lyn and ushered for Sain to move out of her way, "I hope my friend didn't cause you too much trouble."

"Not as much as he's caused for you, I'm sure," Lyn laughed as he began to walk away.

"Excuse me, miss?" Kent asked in a split second as Lyn walked on by, his expression turning both serious and confused, "I apologize for stopping you and I'm sure what I'm about to ask you will seem extremely strange but, is there a chance me and you have been acquainted before? Perhaps at some sort of event?"

"I… don't remember meeting a knight such as yourself before," Lyn answered with a polite tone after pondering for a short while.

"Kent!" Sain finally spoke up once again, this time with a hurt expression, "Have you taken a fancy to this young lady? And not even to tell me of such a development?"

"I beg your pardon?" Lyn asked, almost scandalized.

"What?!" Kent asked Sain as he turned around to face him.

"Kent!" Sain whined, "While I support you as both friend and knight, I must say one thing; no fair! I saw her first! Don't I have the right to strike out first?"

"It seems there are no decent men in Lycia's knights after all," Lyn huffed with a frown as she began to walk away.

"Wait!" Kent called out to Lyn in vain, "It's not like…that…"

By this point Michael had had enough of standing around listening to their conversation. With quick and furious steps, Michael broke through both of the knights and forcefully grabbed Lyn's hand. Lyn looked behind her in surprise before making a shocked expression when she found Michael grabbing her. Turning his head, Michael looked at the two knights and shot them a deathly glare, "Excuse me, gentlemen, but I'm afraid this young lady is taken. Allow me to thank you for keeping her company and driving away any riffraff while I was attending to my errands. Good day!"

While still storming off, Michael dragged Lyn away as fast as both his legs could carry them. Or course, as they made distance between the two knights, Michael felt some gazes from the crowds of people intensify.

Following the noise and gradually growing crowd forming by the fountain, the knight from before moved towards the obviously deteriorating conversation between what looked like two mounted cavalrymen, the young woman, and a brown haired young man who clearly looked like he wanted to be practically anywhere but there. He got there just in time to hear him loudly declare that the young lady was taken before grabbing her hand and running off. With the two knights alone, the lone knight decided to make his way towards them.

"Sain," Kent said once again through clenched teeth in a barely controlled rage as the two disappeared into the crowd, "YOU LOUT! Last time I remembered, I was not you! I can control myself!"

"So you weren't…" Sain began, only now realizing his friend was not thinking the same way he was. "Oh…a thousand pardons." Sain bowed his head and scratched the back of it as he let out a forced laugh.

"Hold the apologies for later!" Kent frowned at him, "For now we must find that maiden! I think she might be our mission!"

"Truly?!" Sain asked in complete shock, "We must act fast then! They were certainly quick on their feet when they left!"

With a sigh of annoyance, the knight turned to the two cavalrymen. "What's going on here?"

The red haired knight known as Kent turned to the man, "Ah, excuse me, good sir?" A quick scan of the man's attire put Kent on edge; not just because the man approached them so, but also because he was clearly a decorated knight without any familiar insignia in a mercantile city.

Michael couldn't believe what he had just done. Clearly putting himself into another's business, clearly displaying any intent of caring about someone else, no matter how small, and even worse, probably drawing the ire of two others. The more Michael stayed near Lyn, the more he felt like he was acting less in his own interests of survival and more for her own gains. This was a maddening prospect that he had no desire to partake in. Yet here he was, pulling her by the hand from two knights that belonged to some kind of military force. Not the kind of people one wanted to annoy and enrage when one wanted to remain anonymous and trouble free. Then again, he was already in trouble since the moment he met eye with Lyn when he had first woken up on that day not too long ago.

"Wait," Lyn told Michael calmly as he continued to pull her along, "I said wait!"

"What?!" Michael asked her in exasperation as he stopped and turned to look at her, "The longer we stay standing around the more time those knights have to find us again if they so wish!"

"I don't care about them," Lyn scoffed as she flicked her wrist in agitation, "What I'm more concerned with right now is you. Why bother helping me? What, did you want to argue with me some more?"

Michael took a deep breath as if he were about to explain himself, but soon stopped himself from speaking, with his mouth left open like a slack-jawed idiot. Why did he intervene between Lyn and the knights? From the look of things and from the words being tossed around, Lyn wasn't too keen on them herself. Surely there wasn't a need for him to come storming in and take her away by the hand.

"I… I don't know why I tried to help you," Michael finally answered after thinking for a moment, "But… I do know I wanted to apologize to you about earlier."

"Huh?" Lyn asked in complete mystification as she looked at Michael with a cautious gaze.

"Look, I'm sorry!" Michael sighed at her in frustration, "But I can't help it if you just seem to sweep me along in your pace and put me on edge! It's a reflex I have around people. I know I was in the wrong and I am trying to at least apologize and take responsibility for my actions. Besides, you also saved my life, you know. So there's another reason to not want to make you angry for too long. I'm sorry, this must sound odd. I'm bad at these kinds of things."

For a moment, Lyn simply looked at Michael with a straight face before breaking out into a laugh, "That was a horrible apology! Come on, at least sound sincere when you say you're sorry! Otherwise the other party will think you're just spouting meaningless words at them."

Michael felt his face burning with embarrassment, "I-I'm sorry. T-The argument earlier was all my fault. I am to blame." Michael bowed his head as he finished, awaiting for Lyn's approval to raise his head.

"Wha?!" Lyn gasped in shock, "Come on, Michael, and pick your head up already! Do you know how strange this looks right now!?" Michael picked his head up to see Lyn frantically waving her arms around in embarrassment as a crowd of onlookers stopped to stare at them. Some were whispering to each other about things better left forgotten.

"WHAT ARE YOU ALL LOOKING AT?!" Michael shouted out at the crowd, "THERE'S NOTHING TO SEE HERE! LEAVE BEFORE I GET ANGRY!" The crowd began to disperse and mix back in with the sea of people at Michael's words with little more than an angry glance or two.

"Let's just leave already…" Lyn sighed as she rubbed her forehead, "Since we have all our supplies, we don't have a reason to be here anymore. Plus, those knights might be looking for us. Let's make haste."

The knight sighed after hearing the two cavalrymen's answers. "If you intend her no harm, I'll follow you out; I too have business with her."

The knight known as Sain flashed a smile and jovially patted the man's shoulder, "Very well then, good Sir! With three instead of two, we'll be able to track her down in only half the time!"

The knight known as Kent, however, was less enthusiastic; "We wouldn't have had to go find her once more if you hadn't been an oaf when you first saw her. Must you always make trouble?" The red knight wasn't so sure about the man before them. His appearance seemed too coincidental, too perfect, too... orchestrated. Though he may show no outward signs of nefarious intent, Kent would be sure to keep a watchful eye on him. ...Though the one he had on Sain never seemed to be enough, so he might have to put more than an eye on him...

"My name is Sir Richard; it's a pleasure to meet you... And wouldn't my addition make the time into thirds, not halves?"

"It would be if Sain wasn't himself," Kent informed him with a pained sigh.

Not having a proper answer to that, the strange knight merely raised his eyebrows under his helmet. "Right... Well, regardless, there a million and one places to hide in a city of this size, not to mention the possibilities involving them leaving the city altogether..."

Kent nodded to Richard's words of wisdom, "Then one if us must simply head to the city gates and keep watch."

"Perhaps it would be best if the two of you go to the gates; I'll take a look around the plaza first before meeting back up with you to discuss further plans."

"Hold a moment, good sir," Kent raised his hand, "But wouldn't two people going to the gate drastically cut down on the amount of manpower we could otherwise use combing the city? Why not only one? If you've a sound reason, please share it."

With a nod, Richard explained. "Well, there are a lot of people moving in and out of the city. More than just one person can keep track of. If they're hiding in the city, then we can just wait until the gates close tonight to search the city itself. However, if they slip by one of us at the gates, then we'd have a hard time catching them, especially if they managed to do it just as the gates closed."

Kent nodded begrudgingly as Richard's words sank in. "Your reason... is sound," The very fact that Kent had to admit that to a stranger that could very well pose a threat troubled him greatly, though he masterfully hid all of those emotions well within himself. He had a job to do for the Marquess, and he would see to it that it was a success.

The blonde knight bowed his head lightly in gratitude. "Thank you. Still, I have a feeling that they're going to try and leave outright. I know I probably would if I thought people were after me. If you'd like, we all could go together to the gates."

Kent nodded. "Let us all go there for but a few moments. If they don't appear within the given time, we separate to go search for them. Agreed?

Richard nodded graciously and began to quickly move towards the main gates. "Of course. It might also pay off to check briefly outside of the city to ensure that they haven't already made a break for it while we were talking."

"You truly think a young man and woman could get there that fast when running through a crowded city?" Sain asked him with a frown and a tilt of his head, "Perhaps we should fetch our horses, Kent?"

"Just in case," Kent nodded in agreement.

Richard chuckled. "You'd be surprised how fast two people can disappear when they want to. Nevertheless, let's be off."

Only a few minutes later, the three knights scanned the bustling crowd at the gates, pleased to see that he was correct in his assumption that they'd be too busy for one person to keep track of everyone. After a fair silence, Richard spoke, "So, Sir Green Knight, do you see them outside of the walls?

Sain scanned the the outside plains with wide eyes, only spying the occasional tree and the endless ocean of green and blue everywhere else, "No, I don't see anyone anywhere..."

"Neither do I," Kent agreed.

"Hmm... Well, I suppose we'll have to begin our search the hard way..." Richard mused as he stepped down from the low entrance wall, which gave him an even more impressive view over people's heads as he began to scan the crowd to look for the two from the lower vantage point.

For the duo, however, the two knights quickly became the least of their worries, as they soon discovered that they were being followed almost immediately after mingling into the crowd. What was originally one pursuer soon became two. If it weren't for Lyn looking over her shoulder earlier to double check on whether the knights were following them or not, they would have never known they were being pursued until it was too late. Even as they ran, Michael was dedicating everything he had to formulating a winning strategy for Lyn.

"We have to get out of the markets!" Michael told Lyn, "It's too suffocating for any of your sword techniques."

"You're the tactician!" Lyn answered him as they ran out towards the entrance of the city and towards the wide-open fields.

From afar, Richard caught sight of the two fleeing as some other figures gave chase to them. Again, the blonde knight's eyebrows rose. "Or, perhaps not... Shall we follow them outside?"

"This is... fortunate?" Kent said as he, for once, tilted his head in confusion, but nonetheless agreed with Richard. The knights couldn't clearly make out what their quarry were running from and Kent didn't have quite the same view as the tall stranger.

"For a given value of fortunate, I suppose. Nevertheless, we'd better hurry and catch up to them."

With an impressive initial stride, he was off in pursuit of the quickly retreating forms of Lyn and Michael, Kent and Sain right behind him.

Surveying the area, Michael was relieved to find that the area had many more little thickets of trees than the last battle. This would prove useful both as a means for Lyn to more easily avoid attacks, but almost presented more areas for him to hide so he could continually relay commands and strategies in order to keep Lyn battling effectively. The entire area was split into two sides by a river running through it, with two bridges serving as the only way to cross from one side to the other.

"I hear something!" Lyn spoke up as they both froze in silence. "Horses! Are those knights after us?!"

"Can't be," Michael reassured her, "There's no way they would be able to track us once we got in that crowd. There were too many people we passed through for them to keep an eye on us."

"But we were being followed before!" Lyn pointed out, "What's to say they don't have others with them that have been watching us?"

"I think this is a little different right now," Michael said as he tried to explain their situation, both to Lyn and himself, "Someone definitely had their eyes on us since we were talking to them. Unless−"

But Michael never got to finish that thought, for at that same moment, a bandit walked up to them.

He was aged, with gray hair and an equally gray stubble. But his body had many scars, testaments to the battles he had been a part of. The axe he carried over his shoulders was stained in dried blood.

"Well aren't you a pretty thing!" the bandit laughed as he gave Lyn a once over. "I assume you're Lyndis?"

Lyn's eyes widened in shock in a way Michael had never seen before. She looked truly disturbed that the bandit had called her by that name. "How do you know that name?!" Lyn demanded in a commanding tone, "Who are you?!"

"That shouldn't matter to you dearie," the bandit answered. "But still… It's such a waste… The things I do for gold," the bandit shook his head as if disgusted by himself. "Come on out boys! It's time to earn your coin!"

At the bandit's command, several bandits emerged from cover in the thickets Michael had been thinking of using for cover.

"There goes that plan…" Michael muttered as he let out a sigh and rolled his eyes.

"This might be more than I can handle…"Lyn decided to inform him, adding to the general decline of this situation, "But that doesn't mean I won't try!"

Just as a battle was about to commence, the sound of horses galloping and armor clanking, now clearly close by, filled the air. On those two horses, were the knights Kent, Sain, and the blonde knight from before, though only Lyn recognized him.

"Looks like you could use a hand. Mind if I lend you mine?"

"You're...!" Lyn began as she saw Richard's form approach.

Who are you?! What are THEY doing here?!" Michael asked defensively, which then turned annoyance as he spotted Kent and Sain behind him. For what was probably the umpteenth time today, Michael regretted ever deciding to let Lyn tag along in the first place. His lifespan seemed to be getting shorter by the day.

"How did you find us?" Lyn asked before spitting her attention back to the bandits gradually closing in.

"Finally caught up…" Sain managed to say over the loud gasping of his horse. "We were looking everywhere for you. We eventually spotted you running through a crowd."

"Great," Lyn said in annoyance as she cocked her head to the side and crossed her arms, "Just what I need. A knight to flirt with me as I get an axe through the head."

"You wound me, fair maiden!" Sain responded as he covered the spot where his heart would be with both his hands, "We're here to help! You there!" Sain addressed the bandit leader with a loud yell, "Why so many numbers against one girl? Cowards!"

"I think these bandits are a more pressing matter at the moment. I promise I'll explain myself properly once these bandits are out of the way, but right now, we're friends in this fight," the knight in blue commented dryly as he drew a plain, but clearly well cared-for longsword.

Michael eyed the blade and the man with a critical eye for a moment, every nerve in his body warning him that his skill was set far and above the other knights' and even Lyn's. The ease at which he drew his stance, the poise he kept in his step, the way he kept his eyes glued to the battlefield. This man... was one not a stranger to combat, far from it, in fact.

"Why are you−?" Lyn began, but she was cut off by Kent as he put a hand up.

"We will explain all later," Kent assured her as he looked towards the bandits, "Once the battle is done."

"Wise advice," Michael agreed with a dry smile. For time being, they looked like they would be allies. But the probability that they would turn hostile on them later was still high.

"Very well," Kent nodded as he addressed Michael, "We shall be under your command! Direct the both of us as you see fit."

"I think I'm about done giving you all the time to chat!" the bandit leader announced as he made way to attack.

"Get on the horse!" Michael told Lyn as he jumped onto Kent's, leaving Lyn to get onto Sain's. "Ride down south towards that small thicket! We'll use the cover they provide as the place for our first attack. They'll have to come to us if they wish to fight!"

Dutifully following Michael's instructions, Kent rode his horse as commanded, with Sain and Lyn following close behind, leaving the lone knight on foot to bring up the rear.

"Damn!" the bandit leader shouted as he looked towards his grunts, "Don't just stand there you half-brained idiots! Go haul them back here!"

As they got to the thicket, Michael, rather ungracefully, got off Kent's horse, earning a few bruises for his trouble from the tumble down. He muttered a few choice curses as Lyn got off Sain's horse as if she had been around horses her entire life. Though being from both the Lorca tribe and the Sacae Plains, Michael couldn't expect anything less from her.

"What will our plan be?" Lyn asked, while ignoring the little embarrassing show Michael had just put on. Personal opinion notwithstanding, she appeared to have complete trust in him coming up with a perfect strategy.

"Give me a minute," Michael told her as he peaked around the trunk of a tree.

Two of the bandits from the group were attempting to pursue them, but their speed and ability to cover ground were nothing compared to Sain and Kent's mounts. All the other bandits were waiting patiently for their comrades to bring back their quarry. It was a mistake to assume they were trapped and helpless animals. Then again, given their situation until Kent and Sain's arrival…

The knight from earlier spoke up calmly, if slightly breathless from his running, "Tell me which one to end first, and I'll take care of the rest."

"The one that tries to attack first..." Michael told him, barely bringing out the intended level of sarcasm he wanted to convey at first. This man was like Lyn, but Michael wasn't sure how yet.

Richard chuckled. "Alright, then. In case I get flanked, perhaps Sir Green Knight would care to distract the second one coming long enough for me to finish the first one, and then we both combine our strength to end the other one if his mettle can't finish the enemy quickly enough?"

"Ha!" Sain scoffed, "I should think my years of training as a knight would enable me to defeat at least one bandit without needing assistance! Allow me to show you!"

"Alright," Michael said as he turned back to face the other three, "Here's the first part of our attack; Sain, on my mark I want you to engage the bandit on our right side. He looks to be slightly faster than the other one since he's covering ground more quickly. But I want you to wait until he gets closer. We'll have an easier time fighting them if they've tired themselves out just getting to us. Then, Sir Knight or whatever your name is, you'll flank him and take him down if Sain proves too ineffective."

"I will be as swift as the wind itself!" Sain pledged as he took out his lance and thrusted it into the sky.

"Whatever," Michael told him as he looked to Lyn, "Meanwhile, Lyn, I want you to go after the guy on our far left. You'll be leaving after Sain engages his opponent. That guy will probably want to help his buddy while Sain is dealing with him. While that's happening, that's when you can get the jump on him."

"Leave it to me!" Lyn told him with a nod.

"What about me?" Kent spoke up.

"Kent," Michael began, "…You'll be carrying me over to our next little hideaway so I can direct our next course of action. After that, you'll be joining Lyn and Sain on the front lines."

"Understood!" Kent nodded.

"On my mark, Sain," Michael motioned as he peaked his head back out to see the two bandit's progress, holding his arm in the air as he did so.

As soon as Michael could clearly see their faces, he gave Sain the signal to move in. True to his word, Sain engaged them almost as quickly as Michael had given him the signal.

With a gasp of surprise, he bandit soon found himself with a knight atop a horse coming after him. Just as predicted, the other bandit then began to rush in to assist his comrade, with Lyn appearing from out of nowhere behind him. He quickly stopped trying to help his comrade as he gave Lyn his full attention, with her dodging every sloppy swing with his axe he could muster.

Unfortunately, Sain was not doing as spectacular as one could hope. His lance wasn't connecting with its target, the bandit dodging every thrust before they were completely followed through. That was the weakness of lances though. Unless your opponent wasn't being observant or if you weren't in close quarters, the lance's telegraphed attacks could easily be evaded. Of course, a weapon was only as weak or strong as the person behind it. Sain, for whatever reason, was either not fighting to his true potential, or was attempting to show off.

"Sain!" Kent yelled to Sain in frustration, "What is this foolishness?! Take out your blade and be done with him!"

"A blade?" Sain answered as he pulled his horse back from an attack, "But the lance is a far nobler and more heroic weapon!"

"You forgot it, didn't you…?" Kent asked through clenched teeth.

"…Yes!" Sain responded as he dodged another attack.

Michael's hand collided with his forehead, "You have got to be joking… Of all the BONEHEADED— wait, why do I care? I don't even know the guy!"

From Kent's own reaction, Michael wasn't alone. "He forgot to bring along a sword…may I?" Kent asked Michael politely as he waved his hand over to the embarrassing scene of Sain and his little bandit buddy.

With a surprising amount of skill, Richard snaked his way into the fray and blocked the bandit's axe, and in one smooth motion thrust his sword through his enemy's throat, ending the skirmish in two moves. As soon as the deed was done, the strangely armored knight quietly looked at Sain after observing his struggle, not sure if he should step in and say something or not. "Are you alright, Sir Knight?"

"No..!" Sain grunted, "I had that brute right where I wanted him!"

In two blinks of an eye, Kent was at Sain's side, where he produced an iron sword and threw it over to Sain. "Here! Now maybe you won't waste out time fighting a single man for ten minutes in the future."

"A thousand thanks, my good friend!" Sain thanked Kent.

"You're just lucky I have a spare," Kent chastised him, "Otherwise you would be on your own."

"I don't believe you would leave me out to die for one minute," Sain quipped back as he fastened his new blade to his side.

"OK, the knights are done, how about you Lyn?!" Michael asked as he looked over to where she was last engaging the bandit. But all that was left was his corpse.

"I've been done for some time now," Lyn explained as she suddenly appeared out of nowhere and sat down next to him.

"That was fast!" Michael noted as he suppressed another reflex to jump.

"That oaf of a knight was just slow," Lyn responded as she motioned to Sain.

"This is a highly trained knight..." Michael muttered through his hand at the mere mention of what they had both witnessed, "THIS is what we are dealing with... We're as good as dead..."

"I'll have you know I was just playing with him before he would be dealt his horrible demise!" Sain desperately tried to defend himself as the three made their return.

"Your orders?" Kent asked, eager to serve. And to keep Sain from talking.

As Michael peeked around the tree once again, he saw that the bandits had decided to converge on the bridges rather than attempting to engage the two knights on horseback.

Meanwhile, the knight on foot also examined the battlefield. Apparently, the brigands weren't too cut up about the deaths of their comrades, as two of the three left standing were standing patiently on the far sides of both of the small footbridges leading into the relatively small river. Humming in thought, he calmly walked back to Michael and Lyn, who had scarcely moved. "Any further plans, sir?"

"Aside from getting as far away as possible from those two?' Michael asked himself in his mind before turning to the strange knight. "Obviously we're going to need to defeat the rest of the enemies in our way, but since they're not coming to us, we're going to have to approach them. Caution will have to be had in a great amount."

Richard nodded. "Indeed. Still, there's something to be said of simply unbalancing them and dumping them into the river. If they can't swim, they'll drown. If they can though, the current will carry them far enough to tire them out just getting back to us. By that time we would have the time and energy to capture them and extract information before turning them over to the authorities."

Michael gave him a raised eyebrow, his true nature finally breaking through again, "Oh? How would we happen to even get those brigands to fall into the river to even test that theory? I highly doubt throwing some small stones or even rocks would prove useful. What, are you going to talk them into the river?"

Richard chuckled amicably, appreciating the sarcasm. "Grappling. Or, in more broad terms, wrestling them to the ground."

"Grappling?" Michael repeated as one of his eyebrows twitched in annoyance, "Come now, surely if we were to get close enough to the enemy to engage them in the fisticuffs we'd have given up multiple opportunities to use our weapons and keep ourselves out of danger! If the enemy were unarmed themselves, and there was an especially good reason for keeping them alive, I'd at the very least be receptive to the idea. But as it stands now, it sounds ridiculous."

"How would you go about wrestling them to the ground, if you could, Sir knight?" Lyn asked as she gave her undivided attention to the knight in blue.

"You can't be seriously considering this notion, can you?" Michael whirled around to Lyn as he gave her an incredulous look. It was idiotic they were even having this discussion!

The exotically armored knight ignored Michael's comments, instead choosing to address Lyn directly. "Well, milady, there are a great number of techniques, but against a brute using an axe as sloppily as these brigands seem to, then it'd be a simple matter to either dodge an attack and hit him with the pommel of my sword until he's stunned, then shove him into the water. There are other options, of course, but that would be the most straightforward one."

"But that would only work if everyone involved on our side had either better technique or greater strength than the enemy," Michael quickly commented, "The way I see it that Lyn most definitely doesn't have the strength or technique for such a task. Those two knights may have the strength, but I hesitate at the level of their technique."

"It would be unwise to underestimate the lady, especially when she's standing right next to you with the blood of her enemies on her tunic," the blonde knight warned Michael with a cautious tone, "That said, are you sure you have enough talents of me to make that assessment? We only need one alive to give us some information; preferably the leader or his second in command."

"I've seen Lyn in combat, so I CAN make that assessment," Michael growled, "However, I don't know your abilities, which is why I didn't include you in my assessment... Sir knight."

"While I admit I MAY NOT have the strength..." Lyn admitted through gritted teeth as she shot Michael a quick nasty look, "I CAN learn the technique surrounding it. But now is neither the time nor the place."

"Indeed. I assure you, I have both the needed strength, and the technique to do so. If you still don't believe that, then I could show you."

"I'd love to see you try," Michael told him in a dry, even tone, fully expecting him to be bluffing.

With a completely sudden motion, Richard's foot swept Michael's legs out from under him, his elbow clocked the younger man on the chin, and before he could properly react, Michael was sent sprawling into the river below. "... I didn't mean to send him into the river..."

In actuality, what actually happened was, in two strides, the knight man crossed the distance, and with one hand slapped Michael's hand aside at the wrist with a powerful but clearly held back blow, leaving stinging but no real damage, before snaking the same hand around the shocked brunette's elbow,and twisting it abruptly towards the sky by pivoting his torso with a quick jerk. Because the shoulder doesn't naturally rotate that way, it forced Michael to lean back, or break his shoulder or arm by fighting it, and with one more movement, the blonde knight took the tactician's destabilized feet out from under him, dropping him with minimal effort. In all, the exchange took less than five seconds.

"AAAAHHHH!" Lyn let out a yell of panic as she began to run down the small hill before diving into the river after Michael. It took several moments before she pulled the both of them back onto safe ground, though the current was indeed strong, it wasn't strong enough to take the two of them away, especially since Lyn was a strong swimmer. It also helped that Michael was very light, even more so than his thin frame made one assume.

"Guah…" Michael spat out as he coughed up water onto the grass. His head was spinning both from the "demonstration" Richard had been oh so kind of give and being wildly taken by the current, "This... is why I don't like swimming..." Michael let out groggily as his forehead hit the ground with a thud.

Richard sent an apologetic look towards the two. "Sorry; you're lighter than you look. I didn't intend to throw you all the way into the river."

"WHY WOULD YOU THROW SOMEONE LIKE THAT NEAR A RIVER WITH A STRONG CURRENT DURING A BATTLE ANYWAY?!" Michael retorted.

Richard shrugged. "I just assumed you were a strong enough swimmer not to be carried away from the current in the shallows."

"I hate you with the passion of a thousand suns..." Michael whispered into the ground.

Meanwhile, the brigand leader was busy preparing to depart along with the rest of his men because he knew crazy when he saw it. And no amount of money was worth crossing blades with crazy. He should know. He saw the Taliver Bandits in action once several years ago as they razed a village to the ground in only an hour or two.

As soon as he noticed the bandits getting ready to run, he once again turned to the dripping pair. "It looks like they're going to run. Shall I let them go?"

"I think that's for the best..." Lyn sighed as she stood up and began to wring out her clothes, "Ugh... I feel twenty pounds heavier than I actually am..."

Richard grimaced and began taking off his surcoat, being careful not to rip it as he worked it over his armor. "I'm sorry once again. Here's something to help dry you off..."

Michael reached into his pants and pull out a lone fish struggling in his hand to get back into the water, which it so desperately needed to breathe. "...Charming..."

Lyn burst out into a small laugh over the spectacle before her.

"Again, I'm sorry. Still, don't provoke a knight into demonstrating a technique unless you're ready for the consequences."

Michael mumbled several curses under his breath as he made way back to Bulgar to buy a new set of clothes until his current clothing dried off, his shoes squeaking with every step.

Feeling guilty, Richard handed Lyn several gold coins. "If he's going to buy new clothes, I'll pay for it; it's my fault he fell into the river, after all. This should be enough."

Lyn looked to Michael's moving form and then back to Richard, "I doubt he'll accept it. He looked pretty angry when I caught a glimpse of his face. But I think he'll get over it... maybe?"

With a sigh, the blonde man examined the bandits standing on the bridge once more. "Hopefully... I suppose asking for your name wouldn't be too out of place, milady? And no, it has nothing to do with romantic interest; I'm looking for someone, and you happen to look at lot like her."

"Romantic?" Lyn repeated as she titled her head and arched an eyebrow in confusion, "Why would I assume you asking for my name would involve romantic interests? Though my name is Lyn."

Richard nods seriously. "Well, considering that you've been accosted by a knight in green, then had a misunderstanding with a knight in red, and finally you're talking with a knight in blue... I just wanted to clear the air as soon as possible."

"Ah, yes..." Lyn replied with a deadpan expression, "That would prove to be an irritating trend if every knight that came into contact with me desired something only I could give but have no intention to."

There was a pause as only Kent's continued reaming of Sain could be heard. "Well, at least I'm not getting in your face?"

"True..." Lyn admitted.

"You'll have more problems than that later…" Michael frowned as he walked back into the scene. "Is it too late to go back to being unconscious in the plains...?"

Richard chuckled. "I think so. Would you like me to just finish them off now with magic, or are we still letting them go?"

There was a long pause as Michael looked up and looked Richard in the eye with a more intense look than before. "Did you say... magic?" Michael asked him as he felt his own lips dry out slightly.

The knight nodded. "Yes. Light Magic, to be precise. I have mastery of both Lightning and Shine, but I don't have access to the more advanced magics."

If it wasn't possible for a human's mouth to drop to several feet, Michael did a fine job of challenging that fact with how far his jaw had dropped open.

"... Well, anyway, shall I just hit them, or throw them into the river?"

"...Hit them..." Michael replied weakly as he looked to Richard with awe in his eyes.

"shall I attack them now?"

"...Hit them..." Michael replied this time with an affirmative nod.

With a nod, the knight began to chant quietly as a lightning spear formed in his hand, and with a hard throw after sprinting into range, sent it barreling towards one of the bandits, who, not expecting it, caught it full in the upper gut and dropped like a stone.

Michael didn't let out a single response, simply letting his head tilt more and more onto its side serve as his reaction.

Once the blue knight moved in to inspect the body to ensure he was dead, the blonde man turned to the other bandit. "I actually feel a bit bad about this. You don't even stand a chance. Surrender now and I'll let you live."

And then this is the point where the bandit leader knew to pack up and leave. He knew better than to mess with a magic user... at least for now...

Suddenly, a lightning spear buried itself not two inches in front of the bandit leader's retreating feet, a clearly angry knight not far behind it. "I said I'd let you live, not let you escape. I'm arresting you for attempted murder."

With a quick flick of his wrist, the bandit leader took a vial of some sort of concoction and popped the cork of it, downing the mixture in a second. "Wonderful thing about Magic Water; makes a mage pretty much useless for a while! And now I take my leave!" With that, the bandit leader ran off once again, his years of life experience making him plan ahead based solely off of past battles.

With a sigh of annoyance, Richard took off after him with truly surprising speed and endurance for a man in full armor. Slowly he caught up with the bandit, and, suddenly remembering a bold but effective surprise strategy, he planted his feet, unsheathed his weapon, and threw his sword like a spear, the blade spinning like an arrow before stabbing the bandit right above his right hip, causing him to stumble. Panting to try and keep cool air in his helmet, Richard ran up to the fallen bandit, being sure to keep his distance. "Funny thing about me. Magic's not my only ranged weapon."

"Damn it all!" The bandit leader yelled as he reached out toward his injured hip. His teeth loudly ground against each other before he secretly dug into a pocket for his last resort item; a Light Rune.

With a mighty surge forward, the blue knight leaped onto the bandit, driving the longsword into a much deeper slash before it fell. However, the knight didn't need it, as he was too busy keeping one arm in a deadly choke hold on the bandit's neck, and using the other arm to brace it, causing the vision of the bandit to white out as the arteries in his neck got pinched off, and his airway was all but crushed.

After a few seconds, the bandit passed out, and, looting his prisoner's pockets as well as taking his axe, the blonde knight tied him firmly to a tree and walked back to the group. Surprisingly, Kent and Sain were also returning with the last bandit slumped over the back of Sain's horse, clearly knocked out if his being tied hand and foot meant anything. Richard then turned to Michael and Lyn. "It's done. I managed to capture him, but I'll need help bringing him back to town to face justice."

"Leave him to rot," Michael replied curtly as he turned away from the bandit and made his was back towards Bulgar.

Lyn sighed in response to him and gave Richard a smile, "Thank you for handling that so well. I'll go find some guards personally. Don't mind him too much. He's... Slow to warm up, I guess."

The blonde knight nodded pleasantly, still breathing hard. "I understand. Still, I think the two knights who have yet to introduce themselves to me should guard the leader and the one they have, too. They might be terribly injured, but they might still try and escape."

"Kent is my name, good sir," Kent informed him with a nod as he took a careful glance at the bandit, "Kent of Caelin."

"And I, Sain!" Sain jumped on in with a worry free smile, "From Caelin, the canton of passion and fire, we both do hail!"

Richard responded with a shallow bow. "So I can tell. Regardless, I am Sir Richard of the Western Mountains. A pleasure to meet you."

"The Western Mountains?" Lyn repeated with curiosity, "How far west? West enough to be a part of the Western Isles?"

After a brief, but noticeable pause, he responded. "We have a flourishing sea trade along the central western coast, and the land I hail from is quite prosperous for it. It's quite beautiful."

Kent nodded in understanding. "Then you must be a noble or a son of one from Etruria then. Even there, blonde hair is a rarity. Only Bern and Etruria are known for their prominent blonde manes. Considering the Western Isles are owned by Etruria as well, that makes you more likely to be an Etrurian. Unless you have a father or grandfather of Bernese descent?"

Richard shrugged. "It's a definite possibility, and to my knowledge, my ancestry is noble, but now my family has neither territory, nor credit anymore. I have all of my worldly wealth on my person at this very moment, and have not a roof over my head to call my own."

Lyn's eyebrow arched in curiosity, "Oh? But didn't you just say your land was prosperous?"

"Yes, and that is true, however, by, 'land', I meant the territory I grew up in. I feel a connection to the people who live in my homeland, and I'm happy that things are going well currently."

"I see..." Lyn muttered, "Are you traveling with your family right now then? Trying to find a new home and the like?"

The knight shook his head sadly. "My mother died before I could remember her properly, and my father became a criminal and was executed for murder and attempted murder not too long ago. I have no one here."

"I'm the same way," Lyn told him sadly, "Without family, that is..."

At the mention, bad memories began to flood back into Michael's head. He frowned in response.

Noticing Michael going from pink to pale to red, Richard took on a somewhat concerned tone and turned his attention to the younger man. "Are you alright? You look like something foul got put under your nose."

"...I'm fine..." Michael replied while giving a scowl to the grass, "MY condition is of no concern to you, stranger."

"Stop, Michael," Lyn spoke up with a commanding tone for the first time in his presence, "Sir Richard was gracious enough to assist us. Don't go insulting him over showing basic human compassion."

"Feh..." Michael grunted as he turned his back to the two.

The mentioned knight chuckled. "No need to worry. My hide in these kinds of situations is thick and strong. I do have a request of you, though, if you're willing to hear me out."

"And what is that?" Lyn asked him, her curiosity piqued.

"I am a wanderer as of right now, and have nothing left to me but a small bag of gold and a jewel, my armor, my sword, and my Shine tome. I was wondering if I might travel with you on your adventures and help out where I can," he then turned to Kent and Sain. "These two also had something to tell you, so before you answer my request, I think you should hear them out first."

With that, he stepped back and allowed the two knights the proverbial floor.

"But of course," Kent began almost immediately, "We have ventured from Caelin, in Lycia, in search of someone."

"Lycia," Lyn said as she looked at Michael, "Isn't it that the country beyond the mountains in the southeast?"

Michael gave her a confused shrug in response. Geography wasn't his forte. And he didn't plan on that changing anytime soon.

"You are correct," Kent told her. "We came as messengers to lady Madelyn, who eloped with a nomad some nineteen years ago."

"Madelyn?" Lyn asked, the name ringing a bell.

"Our lord, the Marquess of Caelin's only daughter," Kent continued, "He was heartbroken that she would abandon him. Eventually, he simply declared he had no daughter."

"And then wouldn't you know," Sain jumped in, "This year we received a letter from lady Madelyn. It said her, her husband, and their daughter, were living happily on the Sacae Plains. The marquess was ecstatic to discover that he had a granddaughter of eighteen years. Why, the smile he had on his face when he announced he had suddenly become a grandfather went from one end of the castle to the other! Especially so when he found out the girl's name was Lyndis. It was the same name as the marquess's wife, who passed away at an early age."

"Lyndis?" Lyn asked once again.

Michael was fully absorbed into the conversation to make any comments. The same name the bandit had called Lyn previously. If you put two and two together, even an idiot would be able to know whom the two knights were searching for.

"You can certainly believe that little tidbit melted whatever was left of the ice around the marquess's heart. Now, his only wish is to meet his daughter's family at least once," Sain went on. "That's why we are here. But… we didn't know that lady Madelyn died a few days after sending her letter…We only learned this shortly after arriving in Bulgar."

"But we also learned that all was not lost," Kent began anew, "Her daughter yet lives. We heard she was living alone on the plains… I knew immediately that she was you."

"Why would you think that?" Lyn asked.

"Your resemblance to your departed mother is remarkable," Kent explained.

"Did you know my mother?" Lyn asked again, now interested in any information about her mother's life before meeting her father.

"I am sorry to say I never met her directly," Kent told her, "But I often saw her portrait in Castle Caelin."

"To the rest of my tribe," Lyn began, "I was always Lyn. But when I was with my parents…When it was just the three of us, I was Lyndis. It's so strange. Before, I was all alone in the world, and now I have a grandfather. Lyndis… I never thought I would hear that name again."

Silent tears swept down Lyn's cheeks as she spoke. Everyone was silent while she wiped them away.

"Wait!" Lyn yelled as she opened her eyes in revelation, "That bandit! He called me Lyndis, too!"

"Thank you for reestablishing previous information…" Michael sighed as he rolled his eyes.

Lyn gave him a dirty look, "No, I mean—"

"What?" Kent asked, "But how could he have−"

"…He was a henchman of Lord Lundgren, wasn't he?" Sain spat.

"Lundgren?" Lyn asked, "Who's that?"

"He's the Marquess's younger brother," Kent began to explain once more, "Everyone assumed that lady Madelyn was gone forever. This made Lord Lundgren the heir to the marquess's title."

"To be blunt, milady," Sain stepped in, "Your existence is an obstacle to your granduncle's ambition."

"That's─" Lyn angrily began but cut herself off, "But I have no interest in inheriting ANY title!"

"I'm afraid your granduncle isn't the sort of man to believe that," Sain told her as he shook his head. "I believe the attempts on your life will persist."

"What should I do?" Lyn asked, clueless as to how to act following these new revelations, "This just made things much more complicated."

Michael scowled, "Matters dealing with nobility often aren't anything BUT complicated…"

"Accompany us to Caelin," Kent beckoned her, "Continuing on this way with only yourself as an able fighter is dangerous."

Michael looked over to the bodies of the bandits that they had just finished putting to the sword. No doubt regardless of the choice Lyn made here, there would be no end to these kinds of attacks until either she or Lundgren was dead. Call it favoritism, but Michael would rather have Lyn continue breathing.

"But I was traveling with Michael," Lyn explained to the knights, "I can't just leave him alone and go with you! Can't I?"

This presented an interesting situation for Michael. He could both bow out here and leave Lyn to the protection and service of two knights sworn under oath to her supposed grandfather and go back to his solidary lifestyle or… He could continue to travel with Lyn, see her through this journey to Caelin or die in the attempt. Considering that their journey was only going to be filled with more dangers, the choice seemed to be painfully obvious to make. However, there was the matter concerning Michael repaying Lyn for saving his life. He still owed her that much at least.

"It's alright," Michael told her as he had finished processing everything Kent and Sain had said and put his own thoughts into order. "Besides, my original plan was going to involve us just wandering from place to place. Now, we have a destination and a goal in mind."

"You're coming with?!" Lyn asked in surprise. This wasn't simply two wanderers on a journey anymore. This went beyond just a travel partner.

"You even have to ask?" Michael told her with a huff, "I already bought all of these traveling supplies with you, they'd just go to waste with just me."

Lyn's eyes beamed as she smiled widely, "Thank you. I'll need be in your "care" again in the future."

"Not like I have anywhere else to go..." Michael muttered softly underneath his breath.

"Will you continue to be my master tactician?" Lyn asked. Her face was light, free from any anger or annoyance she had shown him earlier during their arguments. It was quite a sight for Michael to behold once more. He felt a warm feeling in his chest spread throughout his body. No doubt the work of her mysterious power to make him go with the flow again.

"Will you continue to be my peerless warrior?" Michael asked her in return.

Lyn let out a small smile. "Very well," Lyn said to Kent and Sain as she faced them, "The both of us will go with you."

"I love it when things go our way!" Sain laughed as he flashed his teeth.

"Then we make our way for Caelin," Kent announced as he bowed his head to Lyn. "Our swords are now your own."

"I suppose that means I can join your party in jolly cooperation, then?" Richard asked politely, though the answer was already incredibly obvious.

"I don't see why not?" Lyn told him with a smile.

Richard bowed in thanks. "I thank you. I hope I'll be of good service in the trying times to come."

The four have banded together on their way towards Caelin. But a strange traveler brings their number to five. Who is this man and why was he looking for Lyn? So many questions but so little answers… However, just off the beaten path lies a shrine famed for its mystical sword. That is their next destination. Since this sword is said to bring luck to those who touch it, it is a stop not just for sightseeing, but for morale as well. But there Lyn will discover her most steadfast ally and her most trustworthy of weapons.

Authors' Notes: "Well, that was exciting! and interesting! I will never NOT love seeing Michael in pain. It leaves me all tingley." =)

"I think the readers will be concerned with this new, seemingly OP OC now, though."

"Well... considering WHO he is, that is to be expected. We just need to, ya know, use our writer muscles to come up with interesting and believable ways as to how he CAN'T solve everything. I mean, how much EXP did he steal this chapter? TOO MUCH, THAT'S HOW MUCH!"

"Let's see... Killed three, including the boss of the map... Actually, that's not true. He killed two, and captured the boss of the map."

"Still, no EXP for Lyn!"

"That's okay; she's always been delicate in all the playthroughs I've seen."

"If she just laid off the bon-bons and did some curls, that problem would be solved."

"Pfft. Well, regardless, this knight in blue has much more to him than meets the eye. He's a Seth archetype, which means he can clear the map early on, but woe betide you if you rely on him too much."

"No Tower or random encounters to save you here!"

"True. Regardless, I think, if we execute this well, it'll be amazing."

"I agree. Well readers, this is a story Hoennmaster and I came up with during many a day and night and decided to give it a shot. Using Rekka No Ken 2.0 as the skeleton, we'll be bringing you a third path, an alternate take on the story. Will the ending change? Will the story itself change? Who knows? We certainly don't!" XD