Nagi awoke to bright sunlight and a cold jail cell and voice's within the prison.

"So like I was saying, the thief made off with the priceless treasure from that noble's mansion."

"I know, I know, then he was caught and the loot was returned right?"

"No. See, that's just the nobility trying ta keep things quiet. The treasure in the mansion right now's a fake."

"Seriously? Whoa."

Nagi slowly got up from his…'bed' and cracked his neck, secretly hoping that one day he'll get a job for Cumore. He noticed a knight guarding his cell edge closer to the cell next to his.

"Hey, you didn't hear it from me, bub. The dark wings are goin' nuts looking for the hideout."

"You mean the thieves guild?"

The knight heard the prison entrance door open and quickly cleared his throat. "Ahem! That's enough out of you. Almost meal time!" and went back to guarding Nagi's cell. Nagi heard his neighbor knock on the wall and listened "Hey neighbor! You're awake right? You gotta be gettin' tired from keeping so quiet." Nagi chuckled darkly "You think that story up all by yourself old man? You must have plenty of time on you're hands." He heard a scoff followed by ""Old man?" Now you've gone and hurt this old man's feelings. Beside's, I didn't make up nothing! I've got eyes and ears the world over digging up information for me!" "Heh, sure you do old man." Nagi said sitting up against the wall.

"Hey, I am what I am! Go ahead and ask me something! I'll tell ya whatever you want to know. Wanna know about th-" Nagi quickly banged on the stone wall "I just want to know how to get out of here." "Well I'm not sure what your in for, but they'll let you out if ya keep yer trap shut fer ten days."

Nagi frowned "The lower quarter'll be underwater in ten days." He heard a distinct 'hn' for a few seconds and then "The lower quarter? Ah yeah I heard bout that." Nagi then smiled and shrugged "I wonder how they're all doing right now." He heard a laugh and then the sounds of shifting metal "Sorry neighbor, that's one piece of dirt I don't have." "And what am I gonna do about that damned Mordio?" Nagi almost yelled pounding the wall behind him.

"THE Mordio? You mean to say you've got connections ta the famed mage from Aspio? The city of scholars?" Now Nagi was interested "You know about him?" Another laugh echoed through the prison "That information wont come cheap!"

"Famed mage from aspio and city of scholars right? I think I got it." Nagi grinned when he heard the sound of something or someone falling out of bed. "W-wait, that's not it! He's the uh, the head of the gourmet guild! No wait, I mean it's the…uh…" The sound of the prison entrance echoed and a man wearing a knight commandant uniform walked by.

"Out." He said like it was a command.

"Ah well, just when things were getting good."

"Hurry up."

What is Commandant Alexi doing here? Nagi thought as he watched the commandant walk by again followed by an old man with graying hair tied into a ponytail wearing a colorful jacket. "Whoa!" The old man suddenly tripped and fell just in front of Nagi's cell. (How original!)

Nagi bent low enough that Alexi couldn't see him whisper "Just who are you anyway? What does the head of the knights want with you?" He watched the old man slide a key under the door and wink "Beneath the statue of the goddess…"

Alexi turned and glared "What are you doing? I said hurry up." The old man sighed and stood up "All right easy, I'm coming." Nagi stood up and eyed the key with a grin "…I did say I was looking for a way out of here." He quickly inserted the key and watched as the door swung open. "Well would you look at that….it opened!" He quickly glanced to his left and his right before sighing "Ever vigilant as usual… With the way he's sleeping, it'll be a while before anyone notices I'm gone. And If I come back before morning, they'll never be the wiser to my little jailbreak." He chuckled quietly and began searching for his sword. Eventually, he found his crimson blade tucked into a large brown chest. "Looks like they just tossed it in here carelessly." Nagi sighed retrieving his blade and strapping it to the special sheath that he had designed himself.

"All right then…." He then stood and eyed the stairs leading out of the prison cells.

"Damn! They know that I've escaped already?" Nagi muttered watching a guard point and shout at him before running at him, sword raised. He sighed and, in one smooth movement, flipped his crimson blade out of its sheath and slashed the knight. "Do not worry, you are not my target, therefore, I shall not kill you." True to his word, the knight suddenly grunted and fell to the ground out cold. He turned and walked up another flight of stairs. Hoping to find an exit. Instead, he found himself in a large hallway that split in three directions: one, he noticed, led to the throne room. There were only two other hallways and he had just come from one of them so….

"Hey! Princess! Stop!"

Nagi cursed and quickly ducked back into the hallway and hid behind a large pillar to the side. A girl with pink hair, wearing a fancy blue dress. Expensive too. Nagi noted as he watched her run towards the throne room only to stop and back away as a knight came out, hand on his sheathed blade. She gasped and quickly tried to turn back. Another Knight came from the direction she had just come from; both knights had her trapped in the middle of the hall.

"Why don't we just go back?" One of them said, releasing his grip on his blade slightly. "I can't go back now!" The girl cried out. "This is for your own good, miss, you know that." The other knight said as they closed in on her. "As for the 'Incident,' we will assume full responsibility and will inform the lieutenant ourselves."

The girl gasped and shook her head wildly "How can you say that when you haven't done anything to help me?" Both knights's shared a glance before sighing. One of them moved closer, resulting in the girl whipping out a fancy looking sword, a rapier, and pointing it at the closer knight. Who the hell is she? Nagi wondered watching the scene with growing interest. "Please, don't come any closer." She muttered with fear in her eyes. Damn! She must not have much experience with a sword! Nagi brought his hand to his sword and prepared himself for what he was about to do.

One of the knights chuckled "Now, now, why don't you put that down? You'll only end up hurting yourself…." "I know how to use a sword!" She snarled swinging the rapier to prove her point. Both knights backed off and gripped their blade's handles "I'm afraid you leave us no choice. I was hoping it wouldn't come to this…" In perfect unison, like the seasoned warriors they were, they pulled out swords and nodded to each other.

"Hey! There she is! This way!"

This day is turning into a headache… Nagi thought with a hushed groan as more knights came running into the hall. The girl shivered slightly and lowered her rapier a bit "Please, you've got to let me go! I have to warn Flynn!" Nagi's eye twitched at the name and frowned. "Did she say Flynn?" Now it was official, he HAD to question that girl! Nagi quickly stepped out and swung his blade "Azure fang!" An ice blue bolt shot out of the tip of the blade and knocked several knights over at once. "That art! Flynn? You came to help me?" She turned to greet her champion, only to see Nagi stepping out of the shadows, crimson sword in hand. "W-who are you?" She squeaked backing away slightly. Nagi laughed and stepped into the hall with a grin.

"Identify yourself!" A knight shouted, raising his sword at him. Nagi lifted his sword and held it on his shoulder "Nagi Lowell, assassin-for-hire." He then dashed forward and kicked the knight's sword out of his hand before knocking him out with one punch. He 'tsked' and frowned as more of the knights surrounded him "Man, just when I thought I was gonna escape. Things had to go to hell…" A knight eyed his silver bladed armband and frowned "Careful. I think he's got a blastia." "It shouldn't be a problem if we take him together."

"Sorry, but I'm only interested in the little lady at the moment." Nagi replied before unleashing two more Azure fangs, which hit their mark and dropped them instantly. "Don't they teach these guys manners in Knight School anymore?" He sighed sheathing the sword. He didn't notice the girl grab a vase and slowly creep up behind him. "HYAH!" She screamed bringing the vase down. Nagi dodged the vase and grabbed her wrists, forcing her to drop it. "HEY! What, are you trying to kill me?" The girl didn't struggle but calmly raised an eyebrow "Well…you don't belong in the castle right?" Nagi laughed, releasing her wrists, and clapped. "Bravo! I'm pleased you can tell that just by looking at me."

"NAGI LOOOWELL! WHERE ARE YOOOU?"

"Adecor and Boccos…" Nagi groaned.

"YOU FOUL FUGITIVE! I SAY, WE KNOW YOU'RE TRYING TO MAKE YOUR ESCAPE!"

"Guess there's no point in going back to the prison cell now." He said with a chuckle before grabbing the girls hand and running down the hall she came in from.

"LOUDER FOOLS! SAY IT LIKE YOU MEAN IT!"

"Lieutenant LeBlanc, your voice is TOO loud. My poor ears…."

"Nagi Lowell? Your one of Flynn's friends, aren't you?" "Yeah. Why?" He asked with a shrug. "And you used to belong in the Imperial Knights?" He turned away and frowned "Just for three short months. You hear that from Flynn?" The girl nodded. Nagi sighed and placed a hand on his hip "Huh, Guess he managed to find someone at the castle he could to talk to after all." She suddenly moved in front of him and bowed slightly "Nagi! I need to talk to Flynn!" He was smarter than an average assassin however, He turned away from her and grabbed a few apple gels that he spotted among the knights equipment "Hold on just a second. Who are you supposed to be, anyway? I can tell you know Flynn, but why are you being chased by the Knights?"

"OVER HERE!"

Nagi frowned and quickly scooped up the remaining apple gels. "Listen, I want to hear the whole story, but we can't really afford to stand around and chat." He turned to her and tossed her an apple gel "First things first, lets get to Flynn's place. Want me to lead the way?"

She smiled and nodded warmly, which shocked Nagi. Ever since he became an assassin, everyone hated him. Not even a fake smile. This girl probably didn't know about his 'work'. "Ah, yes!" Nagi, with a trace amount of shock in his voice, muttered "Let's go."

It didn't take long for more Knights's to find the pair. They never stood a chance however, as Nagi expertly knocked them out without ever drawing blood once. The girl was astounded by his skill. Never had she seen anyone with such skill since Flynn. Eventually they came across a wooden door with a diamond mark on it. The girl moved towards it and nodded "Yes, this is it." Nagi watched the girl stare at the door with a grin "This is Flynn's room." The girl blushed faintly but quickly shook it off and opened the door.

Nagi whistled as he looked around the room. Everything was clean and packed away neatly. "He's really keeping this place cleaned up…" He turned back to the girl, who looked saddened by the fact that he didn't appear to be in. "Flynn must be off gallivanting around somewhere." Tears began to well up in her eyes "Then… That means I'm too late…"

Easy Nagi… You're an assassin first and a gentleman second…a cold, unemotional assassin… He quickly turned and faced her "So what sort of wickedness did you do anyway?" She wiped away a few tears and frowned "Me? I haven't done anything wrong." "And yet a bunch of knights were chasing you around the castle. …Yeah, that makes sense." Nagi replied with a roll of his eyes. He moved to the bed and began examining the dresser next to it. "Um, you see…Nagi!" She suddenly exclaimed. Nagi widened his eyes and turned "Whoa… what is it?" "I can't be specific, but Flynn is in terrible danger! I've got to go and warn him,"

Seeing no signs of the traps that he would usually see when he tried to scare Flynn while he was asleep, when they were younger, Nagi shrugged and sat down on the bed. "So go if you want to go. What's wrong with that?" "I wish I knew…" She sighed. Nagi frowned and leaned back "Listen, I've got some things I've gotta take care of right away, too. As soon as things quiet down outside I want to get back to the lower quarter." The girl gasped and ran over to Nagi. "In that case, would you take me with you? Please? Other than Flynn, there's no one I can depend on." Ugh, again I'm Flynn's replacement! Nagi snarled mentally. "Will you at least help me get out of the castle?" She asked with a pleading look in her eyes. She suddenly bowed and said "Please, I'm begging you."

Nagi frowned and watched the girl bow with her head low. "…..Okay I can see you are serious., but why don't you tell me your name first."

The moment she opened her mouth, the door was suddenly blasted off its hinges and fell to the floor with an echoing thud, resulting in a shriek from the girl. In walked a smug looking man with red hair and foreign looking battle armor. "Prepare to fall victim to my blade." He said with a smirk. Nagi sighed and turned away, pretending that there was something FAR more interesting outside the window.

The man growled when he realized he was being ignored and slashed a nearby vase to pieces. Nagi stood up and pointed his sword at the man "Don't you know how to knock?" The man suddenly began shivering and laughed evilly. "I am Zagi… The man who will end your life. Now die, Flynn Scifo!" The strange man then hurled himself at Nagi, intent on killing 'Flynn'. Nagi quickly blocked the large dagger with his bladed armband. "COME ON FLYNN! MAKE MY DAY!" Nagi quickly kicked Zagi's stomach, causing him to recoil in pain. He then quickly took the opportunity and slashed at Zagi "Azure Storm!" He yelled as three ice blue bolts were fired out of the tip of his sword. Zagi barked out a laugh and blew the bolts away with a quick series of slashes with his large dagger. "Ahh, now I feel it."

"You feel what? I'm not feeling anything over here." Nagi said with a slightly disturbed look and a shudder. Zagi hissed ever so slightly and smiled "Yes, so full of confidence." His smile turned into a sadistic grin, followed by an extremely disturbing laugh "AH HAH HAH! That's it! THAT'S IT! Now I feel truly alive!" Zagi suddenly threw his arms back and began shivering, while continuing to laugh. Nagi raised an eyebrow and frowned. What's with him all of a sudden? He thought quickly blocking a sudden tackle slash made by the insane one before him. "MWA HAH HAH HAH!" The ground shook slightly as their blades connected. "Ugh! What power! He's definitely different from most swordsmen!"

"Nagi, let me help you!"

The girl, obviously a little scared, appeared behind Nagi, rapier and shield pointed at Zagi. "Stay away!" Nagi exclaimed throwing Zagi off and kicking him away. "But-!" Zagi grinned at the appearance of the newcomer and mirrored the girl's action "BRING IT! THE MORE THE MERRIER!" Nagi turned to the girl, keeping one eye on Zagi, and whispered "If thing's get out of hand, run for it." "I will." She replied with a nod. Zagi suddenly adopted a depressed frown and actually pouted…which freaked Nagi out greatly. "Oh, don't give up so soon. I haven't had a fight like this in years!" Both swordsmen dashed forward and began swinging at a speed only possible for men of legendary skill. It was all a blur to the girl, who just watched wide-eyed as everything around the two was instantly slashed to bits.

Damn! He's strong! If only Azure Fang and Silver Fang were here… "Not bad 'Crimson Fang'!" Zagi screamed over the clang of steel. "I got him Nagi!" The girl, who had snuck behind Zagi, was running at him with her rapier set to kill. "Don't make me laugh!" Zagi screamed jumping away from Nagi and preparing to kill her. "Time!" Nagi quickly yelled holding up a small hourglass. Everything except Nagi and the girl froze exactly as they were. "W-What the hell? What have you done?" Zagi yelled as he watched Nagi move swiftly in front of the girl, blade ready to finish him. A few seconds ticked by and everything suddenly resumed moving, including Zagi, who managed to quickly jump out of the way.

Nagi frowned blocking another slash. He was getting increasingly worried about the Knights who MUST have heard this idiots screaming, and would be coming soon to investigate "You've got the wrong guy! Aren't you supposed to know this stuff?" "He's not Flynn!" The girl yelled. Zagi laughed evilly and prepared to stab Nagi with his second dagger "DETAILS, DETAILS! BRING IT!" Nagi quickly snatched the girl's rapier from her hands and barely managed to prevent the second dagger from piercing him.

Both warriors struggled against each other. Nagi, from the weight of Zagi's blades. And Zagi, trying to get his daggers to break through the small rapier. "This guys nuts! Flynn sure has made some interesting enemies!" Suddenly, a man cloaked in a blue robe with only his red eyes showing, ran into the room and frowned "Zagi, we're leaving. The Knights are onto us." Zagi snarled and kicked the man to the ground. "H-How dare you!" The man exclaimed glaring at Zagi. The red haired warrior pulled away and kicked the man down again "HAH HAH HAH! MIND YOUR OWN BUISNESS! I'M JUST GETTING TO THE BEST PART!"

"Hurry, before the Knights get here. Or would you rather have your fun end today?" The man spat before turning to leave. Zagi snarled again and slashed him with his daggers until the man was on the ground twitching and losing blood rapidly. He then turned to Nagi and smirked before walking out, whistling a merry tune. Acting as if nothing had happened a few minutes ago. Nagi turned to the girl and shrugged "We should be getting a move on too."

Beneath the statue of the goddess…

Nagi suddenly smirked under his scarf "…We'll just go pay a visit to the goddess and be on our way." As he began to leave the room, the girl stopped him "Nagi, um…" Nagi sighed and waved a hand at her "Yeah, I know. We'll stick together until we're out of the castle." "Oh. Right. But I was going to say, my name is Tama. 'Tama' said with a quick smile. Nagi, once again, was shocked. A person had genuinely smiled at him not once, but twice! Deciding to be humane, he turned and returned the smile "Well then, Tama, let's get moving."