Whooo! I'm back on the horse again! Man, having multiple beta readers really is good for me. Well, here's chapter three, I hope you all enjoy. And I feel I should state for the record that I edited Chapter 2 slightly, I added in a few more paragraphs and did make it better in my opinion so if you have time, check it out. And hopefully chapter 4 won't be too far behind!

I don't own Final Fantasy IX, or any of the people, places, things or ideas contained therein (as much as that would be awesome!)


"So let me get this strait," Lani said as she and Steiner walked purposefully down the main business street of Alexandria, "It is better for the Queen's children to be bastards than for them to say they're the children of a non-noble?"

"I am but a lowly knight," Steiner said, "It is not my place to question the logic of the royal family."

Lani rolled her eyes. "You are so full of shit." Steiner started at her foul language and looked over to see her glaring at him. "Half the time you act all high and mighty and your word is law. The other half of the time you say you're just a lowly knight and your two cents is worth nothing. So which is it?"

"Oh, you stupid, simple-minded harpy!" He noisily shook his fist.

"Hey, this is the one!" Their argument was quickly forgotten as she dashed toward her target store, beckoning him to follow.

Mamy Esa's Magical Arms and Armor. Hmmm. He had never seen this store before. Had it been put up since the reconstruction? It was right on the main road, behind the old florist's stand. Perhaps his eyes were not as sharp as they used to be. He slowly walked into the shop to find Lani busily chatting up the nearly geriatric shopkeeper woman. This place actually had a decent selection, he realized as a brand new set of full plate armor caught his eye. Polished to a mirror shine, it even made the dummy that wore it look battle ready.

"Pretty impressive, huh?" Lani asked, coming up next to him. "Mamy Esa's craftsmanship is top notch."

"I do say." He ran his fingers along the edge of the shoulder guard. "I am surprised he has not been recruited by the royal blacksmiths."

"She." Lani corrected. "And it would not be difficult for someone of her stature to be overlooked." She motioned to the blue-haired woman behind the counter who waved back warmly.

Steiner was actually very impressed, he wouldn't have thought an octogenarian like her would be capable of lifting a super heavy breastplate let alone craft it so finely. Maybe she used some kind of magic?

"Well, feast you eyes while you can because this is the one you'll actually be wearing." She said holding up a bizarre set of fabric armor with horizontal bands of interlocking metal going top to bottom. Although it was tied up in her hands, it clearly would go on over his head and tie up the sides with a metal belt around the waist. It had a special, clearly detachable, piece to cover the shoulders and give extra protection to his chest although it hung low enough that hip guards were unnecessary. It was the oddest set of armor he had ever seen.

"What is it?"

"It's lamellar." Lani said with a smile. "Provides protection similar to chain mail but allows for better air circulation. People who wear it swear by it."

"Maybe so but I wear full plate." He said, turning his attention to the shiny armor again.

"And that's just the problem." she stepped between him and his eye candy armor. "We are going to need to travel low profile. And full plate is rather anti-low profile, believe me." She again offered up her armor. "Will you at least try it on?"

He sighed dramatically, taking the lamellar from her hands. "I don't even like medium armor." He muttered, trudging toward the curtained off changing room next to the counter.

"Oh, bitch bitch bitch." She said, waiting outside the curtain. "Now start handing out the pieces of your armor."

He let out a defiant 'Hrumph!'

"What do you think I'm going to do with them? I just want to get them out of your way." She heard the heavy clank of his breastplate hitting the ground followed by the clear thud of him shoving it against the wall. "Don't make me come in there for it because I will!"

"You will do nothing of the sort, you manner less harlot!"

She suddenly threw open the curtain, standing defiantly in the open door of his changing booth. He gasped at the sudden motion and drew up his newly stripped shirt to cover his bare chest. "Now let me make one thing perfectly clear to you!" She said, glaring at him as he shrank slightly before her. "I know you talk like that to Zidane and Amarant but there is one key difference between them and me: I take you seriously. Zidane would just laugh it off and Amarant hoped that if he ignored you long enough, you'd just go away. I'm not like that. Our professional relationship, and I'd like to think your friendship, is very important to me." Her face softened noticeably. "I'm trying to help you here. Please don't put me down."

He paused for a moment, his eyes shifting around uncertainly. "OK... I'm sorry."

"Thank you." She said, slipping the curtain closed again.

He just stood there for a moment, shocked and unmoving, unsure of what just happened. Was he really putting her down? All he did was speak the truth. Perhaps he was too blunt? And what did she say about friendship?

"You know," Lani said, snapping him back to reality, "You are a lot thinner than your armor makes you look."

"Yeah, I've – uhhh..." He stammered, still sort of embarrassed, "I have lost some weight recently. I need to get my armor refitted."

"I'm sure Mamy Esa here could refit it for you while we're gone. But then again, then you wouldn't be able to turn down my armor."

"I don't even know how to put this on!"

"Would you like me to give you a hand, dear?" Mamy Esa asked. Although she didn't wait for a response before sliding the curtain open and stepping in. Steiner let out a startled yelp. "Oh, calm down, dear. Ms. Lani, will you take these please?" She asked, handing out the pieces of his armor.

Lani took the pieces, stacking them on the floor next to the changing booth. It seemed that Steiner had tried over the years to modify the suit himself she noted upon seeing the layers and layers of padding stuffed on the inside. She ran her fingers across a nasty looking dent on the shoulder guard he had clearly put there to refit his neck but then had to clamp with extra straps to the chest plate. The whole suit had become like a giant puzzle box that she knew she couldn't solve with a whole day. "You know, there's nothing wrong with buying a new set of armor." She said, casting the last piece into the pile.

"I happen to like that armor." Steiner said, "We've been through a lot to-GETHER!" He gasped on the last word and Lani could imagine his look of surprise.

"Stop squirming, dear, I need your inseam." Mamy Esa crooned.

Lani burst out laughing.

"How dare you laugh at me? You're not being violated, you r-..." He began cursing but the words died on his lips.

"Nice save, Rusty." Lani said between giggles.

"Well, that should be all the measurements I need." Mamy Esa's voice said and Lani swore she could hear Steiner 'Hrumph!' quietly. "Would you like a hand with the lamellar, dear?"

"That would be appreciated, Lady Esa." Steiner said, slipping back into his knight speak.

"Oh, please, its Mamy Esa."

"As you say, Mamy Esa."

"I believe this armor should work out better for you. Firstly, it looks like it shouldn't need refitting. Secondly, it offers very similar protection to metal armor but is much lighter."

Lani could hear the very distinct sound of fabric moving against fabric followed by the tightening of straps. Once it stopped, she could almost hear the sound of the wheels in Steiner's head moving as he took in his appearance. She wished so bad that she could see his reaction.

After a long moment, the curtain slid open and out stepped the knight errant in his new armor. A smile spread across Lani's face as she slowly looked him up and down. He himself looked to be built completely different in this armor than he did in his plate; rather than looking slightly portly, he looked positively built. His arms from about mid-bicep down were exposed making her think gauntlets might be in order but at least his greaves actually covered all of his legs. In general, the black, silver-accented armor made him look a lot more bad ass. But then again, his helmet was currently under Mamy Esa's arm so it wasn't covering his unruly rust-colored mop of hair which stuck out in every direction.

"What do you think, Ms. Lani?" Mamy Esa asked.

"I think I have very good taste." Lani said with a grin.

"You just can't say no to a chance at self-praise, can you, dear?" She asked, stepping around behind the counter.

"Nope!" She said, turning to Steiner who stood looking at himself in the mirror. "Not bad, I must say, Rusty. You'll just have to do something with your hair." she reached out to touch it but stopped herself. "Oh, yeah, sorry."

He looked over his shoulder in his reflection to see her looking down into a pouch around her waist. Somehow he had expected her to forget he didn't like having his hair touched. Although he had to admit with how many times he had taken off his helmet today, he did look rather like a ragamuffin.

"I thought I had a ribbon in here, I guess I don't, sorry." She slapped her hands against her thighs.

"Would Mamy Esa?" He turned around just in time to see Mamy Esa pick up the entire stack of his armor with seemingly no effort. There was certainly more to this woman than appeared. He would have to investigate further, perhaps she could be willing to share her secret to her deep well of strength.

Lani turned to look as she disappeared into the back room with the giant mass of dented and mangled armor. "Yeah, I'll ask her before we leave." She waved her hand dismissively as she turned back to Steiner. "There's one more matter we must address before we hit the bricks: we need to discuss your name."

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with my name!" He bellowed, pointing an accusing finger at Lani.

"I agree," She said calmly, "Except that you're famous. And believe me, I'm used to dealing with people who charge money for information, a lot of money. They're going to equate fame with funds, which is something we don't have. I don't think my informants are going to know you're you unless I point it out. And the best way to avoid that is to give you a new name. And don't worry, I'll only use it when dealing with my connections, any other time, I'll call you by your name."

He pursed his lips distastefully; as much as he hated it, she was right. "Fine." He turned back to the mirror. "What do you think would be a good name?"

"I suppose you could go by Rusty."

He glared back at her. "I hate that nick-name. Besides, I'm not even wearing my armor. What would make you think of that?"

She motioned to his hair. "What was I thinking?" She asked sarcastically. "OK, so that's out. Do you have any ideas?" She came around to lean on the wall next to the mirror. "Did you have any nick-names as a kid?"

"I have always just gone by Steiner. I like Steiner."

She raised her hands defensively. "I like it too, but you're not even a knight right now so it almost seems inappropriate to call you by your last name."

He rolled his eyes. "Even as a child, I was called by my family name. It is a title I carry with the greatest honor."

She smiled, letting out a breath of a laugh. "That's an odd thing to have pride in." When he looked over at her angrily, she shrugged nonchalantly. "But then again, I was never close with my family."

"If I may offer my input," Mamy Esa said coming up beside them, "You remind me of my oldest grandson. His name is Darien." She held out a black ribbon of fabric to Steiner.

He slowly took the ribbon and turned back to the mirror. As he tied his hair back in a low pony tail, he turned the name over a couple times in his head before even letting it run across his tongue. "Darien." He whispered, looking over his new appearance. "... I suppose that is not entirely disagreeable." He said after a long pause.

Lani smiled. "Darien it is then!"

"I'm glad I could be of help." Mamy Esa said. "Oh, and I took the liberty of sharpening your sword for you." She said, holding up his broad sword in its sheath.

"Thank you, Mamy Esa." He said, taking his sword and latching it across his back, the one piece of his familiar armor. He sighed sadly, he would miss it but Lani was right, it was very high profile. Although this armor rather made him look like a lowly thug. But on that same note, was it better to look like a well-equipped commoner or an unkempt knight?

As he was making his final assessments, Lani and Mamy Esa excused themselves. As much as this new outfit was already growing on him, something was missing. Perhaps gloves? He looked over at the ladies just as money was exchanging hands. Lani handed a big wad of bills to the elderly blacksmith. Hey, that was the same money she had taken from his wallet that very afternoon, she had not even unfolded it. And now she was spending it on him? That seemed rather uncharacteristic of her. Hmm. He thought, his eyes returning to his reflection, I will have to thank her later.

"Well, we're good to go!" Lani sing-songed, coming up next to him.

"We are actually leaving this time?" He asked, turning to her.

"Yep, no more stops, no more stalling, nothing but you, me and the open road."

He grimaced slightly.

"Don't look so excited." She said sarcastically, turning to leave. "And put this on." She handed him his old metal gauntlet.

"Just one?"

"The uneven look is very slimming, I'm told." She said coolly, starting for the door. "I thought you'd want something familiar but you don't have to wear it if you don't want to."

He slowly slipped it on, this was going to be a very interesting trip. "Hey, wait up!" He yelled as he dashed after her.