A/N: AGH FINALLY I GOT THE GUTS TO PUT THIS UP (I wrote this like ages ago not kidding XD)

I only have 4 chapter ready (plus the prologue so yeah), plus fair warning: I may or may not turn this into shonen ai/yaoi (boy x boy for ya'll who's not familiar with the term), but yeah I haven't decided yet. Also yay for a 2-man team! *throws confetti)

So yeah, hope you enjoy~

Warning/Disclaimer: EO 2 (c) Atlus, I don't own anything aside from the characters (even that's not in it's entirety)


Heroes of High Lagaard

C.1: Arrival

Trudging into the mildly cold regions of High Lagaard are two people, one with blond hair wielding a bow, the other with brown hair, wearing a hat, a gun holstered somewhere in his green coat.

Staring at the gates, the two boys sigh. A new page in their lives is about to start, and they only met again about a few days ago.

Fate sure has a way of making reunions seem like the worst idea.

Not uttering a single word, the two step through the gates, befuddled by how many people are swarming the streets as soon as they entered.

"Oh man..." A sigh escaped the blond boy's mouth. He then resumed walking, dragging his companion along with him.

"So, what are we looking for again?"

"Well... the Explorer's Guild, I think? I heard it's close." The blond boy nodded, maneuvering through the crowd.

As they got deeper into the crowd, they noticed a tall building, explorers coming in and out of the door. That should be the Explorer's Guild.

Both boys walked into the building. They could've swore that as soon as they entered the building the whole place would blow up. This place is choked full of people, there literally is no room left to breathe.

"Shit... I hate crowds..." the brunette uttered. His blonde companion placed a hand on his shoulders.

"C'mon... let's just get this over with, then we can get out of here." He then grabbed his friend's hand and dragged him deeper into the room, a person clad in ebony colored armor greeting them.

"Hm? Are you new explorers?" Both boys nodded.

"Well then. Welcome to High Lagaard. I take it you want to explore the Labyrinth? If so, then you must make a Guild first." Noticing the two boys' confused faces, the Guildmaster continued.

"Guilds are like a... support network, so to say, where explorers can pool their talents. You can organize yourself better with a Guild, too. To trek into the Labyrinth alone would be possible, but it is also a suicide mission. That's why Guilds are like a sort of... necessity in the Labyrinth." The two boys nodded, before turning to each other.

"So, how about it? Would you like to make a Guild?"

"Hmm... alright, sure." Answered the blonde boy. The Guildmaster nodded, grabbing a parchment from within the desk drawer before handing it over to them.

"Here. You'll need to fill this up first. Put in your Guild name and your current members. Once your done, hand the paper back to me." The two nodded, walking away, searching for a seat.

Once seated, they discussed their Guild's name. After a while, the blonde one spoke.

"How about... 'Asgard'?"

" 'As...gard'?"

"Yeah. I found out that in ancient language, that name means 'Land of the Gods'." The brunette nodded.

"Yeah... I think I've heard of that too, while I was looking through some books...," the brunette mused. His friend scribbled some things on the paper before he lays down the quill pen.

"There, done. C'mon." The blonde boy stood, urging his friend to follow him.

They handed the paper to the Guildmaster, who scanned the paper carefully.

"Hmm... Varen, Survivalist and Lexion, Gunner... are you sure you two alone will do for now?"

"Yeah, we should do for now." Varen, the blonde one said, crossing his hands. Lexion too nodded. Both weren't really good with crowds, and maybe having a two man team wouldn't be so bad, as having more people would only hinder them.

"Well... alright then, if your sure. Everything else seems to be in order." The Guildmaster then turned to the two.

"Alright, next you'll want to head to the Grand Duchy's office to get things started. The Minister will explain the rest to you. Good luck." Varen nodded, before dragging his friend with him out of the building.

Once they got out, Lexion sighed.

"Don't ever drag me in there again..."

"Hey, you think I liked it in there?" Lexion sighed again.

"Well... let's just hope that the Grand Duchy's office won't be that crowded..." They both then started walking into the Duke's office, wherever that is.

After getting lost a few times and asking for some directions, the two finally stumbled upon a grand looking building, guards strewn about, government officials from the looks of it, walking in and out every once in a while.

"Dammit... does every place here have to be crowded?" asked Lexion.

"Just be glad it's not as crowded as the Explorer's Guild." Varen then proceeded to drag his friend into the building.

Inside, it looked just as grand as the outside is. Also, the area seems spacious enough to make the place look as if it's not crowded, calming Lexion a bit.

"You ok there, Lex?" Said-boy nodded. They both then started walking towards the Duke's office. Right before they opened the door though, a guard stopped them.

"Hold! What business do you have here?"

"We're new explorers. They told us to visit the Grand Duchy first," explained Varen. The guard's posture relaxed slightly.

"Ah, I see." He then walked towards the door, opening it, before stepping to the side. "You may come in, then."

As soon as they entered, they're greeted by the same grand interior, but smaller, in terms of the room's size. Right in the middle of the room, is a desk, with piles of paper on it, an old man with clothes that looked like that of nobility sitting right in front of it, hand and quill pen moving quickly, filling the papers with each stroke.

"Um..."

"Hello, there. Are you the new Guild I heard about?" asked the old man, not looking at the two explorers in front of him, hands still moving, scribbling on the paper. Varen raised an eyebrow, while Lexion hid behind his friend.

Finishing the last of what looks to be his paperwork, the old man lays down his quill pen, closing the bottle of ink right next to him on the table. Sighing in satisfaction, he rounded up the rest of the still messy papers strewn about on his desk, his eyes now on the two youngsters in front of him.

"Well then, I would like to welcome you to High Lagaard. I am Minister Dubois, a pleasure."

"Erm... the uh... pleasure's ours, sir...," Varen uttered. Dubois chuckled a bit.

"Well, let's get down to it then. I'm sure your here to explore the Labyrinth?" The two boys nodded.

"Alright. In order to do so though, you must first become an official citizen of High Lagaard. For you explorers to become one, you must first complete the task I give to you."

"Alright. What is it?" Asked Varen. The Minister opened one of his desk drawers, taking out a parchment that looks to be partially filled. Handing it over to them, he spoke.

"You will map a section of the Labyrinth's first floor. In order to explore the place, you must first know cartography. The guard stationed inside the Labyrinth will explain to you the rest. Think of this as a kind of... test." Dubois the walked back towards his desk, turning to the two explorers in front of him.

"Say... where are your other companions?"

"Oh... It'll just be the two of us in this Guild," answered Lexion. The Minister nodded.

"Well, I suggest you take extra caution then. The Labyrinth is not to be underestimated, and there has been some cases where explorers don't make it back just from this exam." The two boys' face darkened as they nodded. The Minister's expression softened, as he spoke, attempting to calm them down.

"I do believe your capable though, don't worry."

"Alright, uh.. we'll be going now," said Varen.

"Ah, yes. And take that parchment with you at all times. There's more than just one floor in the Labyrinth after all. As you go deeper, fill that parchment with the Labyrinth's secrets." The two gave a last nod before walking out of the door, closing it behind them. Lexion rested his back on the door right after the closed it, sighing.

"Y'know... I'm starting to think this is a bad idea..."

"Well... we're here now, might as well go through with it."

"Your oddly optimistic."

"Oh? Am I?" Lexion nodded.

"Heh. And here I though you we're supposed to be the more optimistic out of us two. Or did studying about hexes whittle that optimism of yours... Xion?" He sneered, chuckling soon after. A rather hard punch came from his friend.

"You know, someday I'm either going to shoot you or curse you to death." Varen sighed.

"Tell me how many times you've said that already..." he then walked off, leaving a pouty Lex behind.

As they exited the building, they noticed another band of people, loafing around outside a bar next door.

Wait.

A bar?

Sensing an urge to go in there and grab some liquor, Varen walked over to the bar, his friend following (read: chasing) him from behind.

"Hm..?" One of the people in the small group hummed as she noticed Varen walking towards the bar. Smiling, the girl got up, waving her hand.

"Oi!" Varen turned towards the sound, only to see a girl with light, chocolate brown hair waving at him, one hand holding a lute.

"Hey, what're you doin'?" Asked another boy, a part of the small group, who sits right next to the girl, wearing rather loose armor, a sword and an axe perched on the sides of his chair.

"Hehe, nothin'! C'mere, let's share a drink, hm?" said the brown haired girl. Varen, perplexed by the girl's innocence, nodded hesitantly, walking up to the group. Lexion by now had caught up with him.

"Varen... Varen, what are you doing?" Said-boy merely shrugged.

"So, are you a new Guild, like us?" the two boys nodded, Lexion scooting behind Varen, hiding.

"My, he's a shy one, isn't he?" said another girl, her blonde hair tied, one of her hands wearing a weird looking glove. Lexion merely scooted closer to Varen.

"Great, more people... ," said a boy wearing dark clothes, with blue hair and a whip and blade sheathed on his belt.

"Aw, c'mon, lighten up. Your going to be seeing more people soon, you know..." replied a boy clad in heavy looking armor, a giant shield next to him. The blue haired boy sighed.

"Then can I stay in the Labyrinth forever?" The brown haired girl chuckled, while the two boys stood there, silent, confused.

" 'Course you can't, silly~!" She then turned towards the two boys standing behind her.

"Well, I did say I was going to share a drink with you right? What would you like?" asked the brown haired girl. The two boys took a seat.

"I'll just... have something that's not liquor..." Lexion's shoulders sunk a bit as he finished. "Like they have those here..."

"Well... they do have tea, surprisingly. Is that ok?" Lexion nodded.

"How about you?" Varen didn't even need time to think.

"Strongest thing they have here. And if it comes in shots, send in... 3 bottle." Everyone on that table gawked at the blonde, aside from Lexion.

"Hey... uh... you sure?" asked the brunette.

"Yeah, I am. Just a few shots wouldn't hurt."

"A FEW? Your talkin' 'bout a whole 3 bottles there!" said the man in loose armor.

"Yeah, well... I can hold my liquor just fine."

Sighing, the brown haired girl placed her orders. The bartender immediately got to work. As he was preparing the drinks, the two Guilds started chatting.

"My name's Sophitia, Sophie for short. I'm a Trobadour."

"Name's Dashiell. Landsknecht."

"Anra, Alchemist. A pleasure."

"Tristant. Dark Hunter."

"And I'm Mikha, Protector."

"We're Guild Myrian! Nice to meet you!" Said Sophitia, her voice as jolly and uplifting as ever. Varen sighed.

"Well? What's your name?" Asked the jolly Trobadour.

"Huh? Uh... well, I'm... I'm Varen, Ren for short. Survivalist." The group nodded, they then turned towards the shy boy sitting and hiding right next to Varen.

"I-I'm... Lexion, Lex for short... G-Gunner...," the boy uttered, his head downcast as he couldn't look at the crowded bar.

"We're uh... Guild Asgard." Sophitia gasped at the name.

"Oh! So your Guild Asgard!"

"Yeah... why?" asked Varen.

"My, rumors do spread fast, hm? Like petals in the wind~ Your the first two man Guild to ever attempt challenging the Labyrinth!"

"Really...? Huh..." Uttered the Survivalist.

" 'Ere ya go lads!" Said the bartender, handing them out their respected drinks. Timidly taking the tea cup, Lexion took a sip.

"Hmm... is this-"

"Chamomile?" Asked Anra.

"Y-Yeah..." the Gunner then took another sip, and another one, before placing the cup on the table.

Varen, on the other hand, read the lable on the bottle handed to him.

"Huh? Really? Moonshine?"

"Oi, Moonshine's damn tough you know!" Warned the Landsknecht.

"Yeah, I know that." Varen then poured himself a shot, before taking it leisurely, swallowing the liquid in one gulp, placing the glass back on the table, seemingly unfazed. Everyone from the Myrian Guild gaped at the sight, even Tristant.

"Hmm... not bad." Varen then took another shot, and another one, and another one, surprising the Guild more and more. Noticing their dumbstruck faces, Lexion peeked from behind Varens back.

"He's... a really tough drinker..." The boy then took another sip of his tea.

Still awestruck, the Guilds continued to chat. Little things, like where they came from. Apparently Sophitia is a native of this city.

By the time they've finished talking, Varen had already finished 3/4th of the last bottle, the Moonshine still not affecting him in any way. Pouring the last of the liquid into the shot glass, he took it, setting the glass back on the table before calling the bartender.

"Whoa, kid! I thought you were gonna share that thing!"

"Got anything stronger than this?"

"Well, yeah, we do. It's a house special, so it's not always available." Varen simply nodded.

"I say, though. Ya managed to drink that Moonshine all the way through without takin' a break? Damn, your tough, kid."

Lexion turned to look outside of the bar's windows, avoiding eye contact with the whole bar, taking one final sip of his tea. Noticing the time, he tapped Varen on the shoulder.

"Uh... I think we should be going now," said the Survivalist as he got up from his chair. Turning towards the windows, Tristant got up as well.

"Yeah, so should we. C'mon, Sophie." Said Troubadour nodded, handing the bartender some money.

"Drink's on me~." She then ran off after the others.

"Uh... thanks...?"

By now, night has fallen and the two boys have arrived at the inn. An old lady greeted them, her presence as warm as the atmosphere in this place.

"Oh, welco—O-Oh, I haven't seen you here before! Are you new?" Varen nodded.

"Well, welcome! Right now, your in Flauss in, one of the best inns in town, and one most explorers use as a base. Across here is the Lagaard hospital, and to the west is Sithoth Trading, the armor shop!" said the innkeeper.

"Oh, and we also offer storage space here. Only 100 En per item!"

'A...100 En? You think it's easy to get that kind of money...?' Varen thought.

"So then, would you like to rent a room? Right now, I'll charge you 5 En for the night!"

"We should... It's getting late, after all..." Varen nodded.

"Alright." He then handed the innkeeper 5 En. She, in turn, handed them their room key. "Have a nice stay!" she said.

As soon as they reached their room, they're dumbstruck by what they saw.

The room is incredibly small. In fact, it's so small that about the only thing that would fit in there and still give them some sort of space is a drawer and one bed.

One.

A small one at that, barely enough for the two to fit on.

Sighing, Varen walked into the room. "I'm sleeping on the floor."

"You sure?" Asked Lexion.

"Yeah." Varen then took of his scarf and hat, took off all of his bags and leaned his bow against the wall, before lying down on the floor.

Taking off his hat and coat, Lexion threw it onto the table along with his gun and holster, throwing the blanket on the bed to Varen.

"Whoa there. You take the blanket, I'll just have your coat." Varen then took the coat from the table and threw the blanket back to Lexion.

"You sure? It's pretty cold tonight.."

"Yeah, I'm sure. Your health's been pretty frail recently. Can't be having a sick person wandering inside the Labyrinth, right?" Lexion sighed. Varen turned to lie on his sides.

"Well, g'night, Xion." A pillow landed on his head as the boy chuckled, Lexion pouting before placing a bell he's been holding onto on the table, lying down, pushing the blanket up to his face.

-TBC-


A/N: Looking back at old stuff sure is fun...

Take note that as soon as c.4 is uploaded, the writing may seem a bit different. I can't say I improved but I wrote this like what, 2 years ago? Yeaaah...

Anyway, time to get in touch with the rest of the characters (I have 2 other fics on here I've neglected QvQ)

And now I shall proofread *sneaks into next chapter*