Disclaimer: None of the anime used in this story belong to the writer. This is a work of fiction done for fun, not money. Please do not sue. You won't get much anyway.

Chapter Six: The Victorious

Saber began to run towards the building. "Hey!" Kalan called to her. "Where are you going?"

She whirled back to him, anguish and anger intermingled on her features. "We have to save her Highness! We can't stand around doing nothing!"

"We can't rush off without thinking," Kalan retorted. "Her kidnapper has vanished. We run off now, we're going blindly. We need to collect information."

"What information we can collect!?" Saber demanded.

"Easy. Get me a possession of hers. I'll track her with magic."

Kamo hopped onto Kalan's shoulder. "Not a bad idea, kid. But what if that mage puts a scryguard up?"

Kalan smiled. "He won't be able to make one stronger than my seeker spell. If you're worried, Lady Saber, then hurry!"

The girl started, then hurried into the monastery. She returned shortly with a stole of Aeli's. Kalan took it and made a sign. There was a brief flash of magic. He looked up and pointed. "This way…he's got some distance on us. His escape spell was well-prepared."

"The entire set-up was," Eishun commented. "Using these soldiers as a decoy…."

"We'll worry about that later. Now, Lady Saber, we can rush off."

"R-right!"

"What a troublesome situation," sighed Gafgarion. "This simple job is getting way too complicated for the price…."

8-8-8

They ran on all that day. Led by the desperate Saber, they continued into the night until the darkness was so great they couldn't go any further…probably exhausting even this veteran group far more than was prudent.

Jynx approached Saber, who had, when finally coaxed to stop, simply sat down and placed her sword point-first into the earth in front of her, and leaned upon it. "Don't worry," he offered hopefully. "We'll find her…no matter what."

"Of course we'll find her," Saber said rather harshly. "We won't stop…." She sighed suddenly, cutting herself off. "I'm sorry," she began, smiling slightly. "I'm…on edge right now…."

"I understand," he replied easily. "You're worried about Princess Aeli." He glanced askew at her. "You're…very…concerned about her…I mean…."

"Well, of course I'm concerned about her. I am her knight, her champion and personal bodyguard. But, to answer your unspoken question…." She smiled again. "Her Highness and I…are very close. We practically grew up together, even though we were from different countries. Our families are close…and as I've grown learning the legacy of my nation and my family line, I have sought to become a sword, for her sake, for as long as our paths and destinies will continue…."

She frowned and shook her head. "That's enough talk for now," she said more sternly. "We need to use the time we're not moving to rest."

Jynx nodded. Moving away from her, he tried to settle down and get some rest of his own. It was difficult…for the first time, it seemed like they had found adventure…with a terrifying and exciting mixture….

8-8-8

It was shortly before noon the next day that they caught up to Aeli and her kidnapper…and they weren't the only ones.

The pair was on a wooden bridge on a mountain path…a bridge traversing a waterfall that came down from the mountain. The man in white was standing protectively in front of Aeli, trying to shield her…although that was difficult, considering that his enemies lay on both sides of the bridge. Eight soldiers in Grandall's colors, four on each side, confronted him, weapons drawn.

"That's as far as you go!" one of the Grandall knights cried. "Hand over the princess…or we'll take her by force!"

"Hand her over?" the man replied, rather dryly. "Ah, so you can execute her for political purposes? I think I'd rather take my chances and keep her…."

"Aeli!" cried Saber, calling forth her sword.

The surrounding warriors whirled to face this newcomer. "What the…!? Now, of all times!?" one of them cried, obviously angered.

"No helping it!" called the leader. "Gafgarion! Kill them! Now!"

"Kill 'them'?" Kalan murmured, bemused. "As in, us…?"

Gafgarion laughed. "Well, I don't know quite what's going on, but it's in the contract!" He drew his sword in a flash and leapt at Kalan, who whirled, drawing his own sword from his cloak and parrying the blow.

"You're betraying us?" Kalan demanded mildly.

"It's nothing personal," Gafgarion said. "This is simple business. I have a different employer…."

"Who, I wonder…?"

Meanwhile, the Grandall troops were leaping into action. Four on the far side from Kalan's party came leaping to attack the man in white; the four on the near side moved to fight Kalan's group.

"Leave no witnesses! Kill them all!"

"What's this about?" Jynx demanded, parrying an attack. "Isn't Grandall on our side!?"

"Not right now," Eishun replied.

"Well…I guess right now we're allies," the man in white mentioned, putting his hands in his pockets. "We'll work together for this…."

Kalan exchanged sword blows with Gafgarion. He was careful…Gafgarion himself had always been more cautious in their battles. He had not been cowardly, but he was an aged and experienced warrior who had learned how to survive through circumspect behavior, while the rest of them were callow youths, quite excitable and impulsive. Therefore, Kalan had not had a chance to see too much of Gafgarion's skills and abilities, and so he was set to observe Gafgarion so as to discern the danger he presented.

It was no great surprise to him that Gafgarion was still holding back and fighting reservedly…he had seen Kalan's skills first hand, and had no desire to leave himself vulnerable to this dangerous youth. His actual goal became clear about a minute into the battle, when he suddenly withdrew from the sword exchange and saluted Kalan. "Well, that's enough for me," he said cheerfully. "It seems this isn't the time…for me or you. But we'll meet later, kid. Stay alive until then."

Kalan sent a lance of ki at him with a sword slash, but the man dissolved before the attack, vanishing as he activated his own recall spell. And as Kalan had been half-aware, the rest of the battle was almost over. He turned to watch Saber cut down the last soldier on their side, then hurry towards the bridge. Aeli took the opportunity to rush across the bridge and to her friend. Her captor, meanwhile, was in the act of putting down the last man facing him. Moving his hands almost faster than Kalan could see, he kept his hands in his pockets and repeatedly pulled them out to deliver lightning-fast punches before returning them to their place of rest. The man recoiled from a barrage of alternating hits to the face and stomach, then was knocked into the air, and finally the white-clad warrior leapt up quite briefly above him and slammed him into the ground with a surge of energy.

The kidnapper looked down at his most recently defeated foe for a moment, and then turned to gaze at Kalan and his party as they assembled around Aeli, Saber holding her protectively. "Well, that's done. Now…."

"Now you explain yourself," Kalan interrupted. "You're…from Halteese, aren't you? Allies of the ones who attacked us at the monastery?"

"Halteese, yes," the man replied. "Gato Kagura Vandenberg, at your service. I was once a federal agent in Ouritel, before I got sick of the corruption there. But I'm not with the ones who attacked you…I was just taking advantage of their distraction to try to save Princess Aeli Kanna."

"Save!?" demanded Saber in outrage. "You kidnapped her!"

"Yes, I did," the man replied, pushing at the bridge of his glasses. "But my intent was to remove her from danger. These soldiers lying around you, and the mercenary Gafgarion, should be all the proof you need that I speak the truth. But since you're obviously suspicious, I'll explain in detail." He glanced up at them and his gaze turned chillingly serious. "There is…some faction, or collection of factions, at work behind the scenes of this war…the war between Grandall and Dalkia. These same forces are trying to expand the war by getting the Halteese Republic involved. I don't know who exactly they are…they are masterful at covering their tracks. But their intent seems to be to destroy the balance of power between all the nations of Arcanus Myrror. To commit to war on such a grand scale…whatever they're planning, it's quite dangerous. They have agents in all three of the great nations, in pretty high places, it would appear…I'm certain they also have agents pulling Kanev's strings, and they might even have people in the governments of Avalon and Wind Bloom."

"Impossible!" Saber objected harshly. "In Avalon? Not the Knights of the Round, nor the Court Archmage would…."

"I'm not accusing anyone," Gato replied soothingly. "I doubt their agent is that high up—that's a reason why Avalon has kept out of this matter so far. But I'm not naïve enough to assume any nation is safe from a conspiracy of this level."

"You're talking of a conspiracy," Kalan finally put in. "What proof do you have?"

"Proof? Nothing that could be used in court. However, I have many contacts from my work in government-level law enforcement, and I hear things. Shortly before the war began, a young captain of Grandall's military, only recently graduated from the officers' school, encountered a group of bandits near the border of Dalkia…a large group, surprisingly efficient and well-organized. Interestingly, although they defeated and drove the bandits out of the area, they found those among their numbers dressed in the uniform of Grandall's military. A few days afterward, Dalkia declared war, claiming that they were retaliating against an earlier strike from Grandall, although no one at any level in Grandall's military seems to have heard or ordered such an attack.

"Meanwhile, Halteese, which is still less than a full generation removed from its change to a republic from a kingdom, is not in the most stable circumstances. Yet there are more than a few proponents of taking advantage of their neighbors…right now, not enough to gain attraction, but more than enough to cause alarm. Some senators who have always been pacifistic are suddenly leaning towards the pro-war camp….

"And they're not alone. Several of the most prudent officials in both Grandall and Dalkia, instead of suing for peace, are throwing their whole support behind the war effort. This attitude is unusual….

"And so I've been trying to find out more, although I've been blocked at almost every turn from learning anything concrete. However, I recently heard about this new alliance…that Grandall would take 'protective custody' of Princess Aeli Kanna, the youngest daughter of king of Kanev. This was quite an odd turn of events…."

"Yes, I see," Kalan said, nodding. "It is not odd that Grandall and Kanev might seek to pursue a political marriage between, probably, the princess Aeli of Kanev and the prince Peony of Grandall, but that they would choose to do so at this time…in the middle of a war, when any misstep could just expand hostilities between the nations…."

"Maybe we should interrogate some of these soldiers and ask their opinion about this," Jynx said hopefully.

Gato shook his head. "A fine idea, but it's pointless. Check them, if you like."

Frowning, Jynx turned to the nearby man he had put down…and was astonished to see him completely still, his skin already the pallor of a corpse. Each of the eight soldiers was dead, some with green foam emerging from their mouths, and some with no visible signs of actually being slain. "Just like the Halteese soldiers," Kalan murmured. "How…?"

"This is perhaps what is most frightening," Gato agreed. "Do they have a powerful enough force with enough resources that they can slip in and impersonate any military at a moment's notice? Or do they have enough agents already spread through the various militaries that they can undertake these kinds of clandestine actions anywhere? Neither prospect is comforting. And this is what has most stonewalled my investigations—either through poison or sinister black magic, every agent I've actually managed to identify and subdue has died before I could begin questioning them."

He turned back to Kalan. "And that is why I took the princess away. Taking her to St. Binah is simply delivering her up to be kidnapped and used in this terrible plot. No offense, but I couldn't trust you to protect her…I did not know for certain if the Fell Knight Gafgarion had been hired by them or not, or if any of her other hired bodyguards were involved—again, no offense—but I thought it highly likely at least one agent was in her escort. So I took advantage of the battle to secure her." He held out a hand. "You should commit her to my care for now…I have safe houses I can hide her where the enemy won't be able to find her. If you continue with your mission, you have no way of knowing who's on your side or not…you're delivering her up like a lamb to the slaughter."

In reply, Saber suddenly stepped forward, moving protectively in front of Aeli and putting an arm out to symbolically cut her off from the man. Kalan glanced over at her, smiled slightly, then said to Gato, "I appreciate your offer and I understand your logic, but forgive us if we don't trust you so easily. What you're saying does make sense…but considering you did kidnap her in the first place, we'll have to refuse you for now."

Gato held up his hands placatingly. "I'm not going to press the issue right now…you've proven you can handle yourselves, so I'll leave her in your care." He turned away, but glanced back to say over his shoulder, "Just keep my warning in mind…if you let your eyes off of her, she could be taken from you." He leapt off and was soon out of sight.

Eishun stared after him, then sighed and scratched his head. "This was supposed to be a nice, simple escort mission," he muttered. "This is getting way too complicated…."

"You're telling me," Aeli said with a sigh. "Well, we should keep his warnings in mind…he was not unkind to me while I was in his care…."

"Whatever," Saber huffed. "I can't trust a man who acted without even seeking parlay, regardless of his reasons. We should get a move on…we've wasted time, and we're behind schedule getting you to St. Binah."

Aeli sighed again. "Yes, mother," she said with mock obedience.

8-8-8

"You know," Kamo said quietly to Kalan as they marched on, "I hate to admit it, but Gato Kagura Vandenberg seemed on the level. And he had some good facts…and a proper plan. We're probably leading the little princess right into danger…."

"Probably," Kalan agreed almost cheerfully. "Actually, I'm counting on it."

"Oh?" Kamo raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You're…actually planning on using the ojô-chan as bait?"

"That's right. I agree with Mr. Vandenberg…she's certain to be targeted again at this rate. And then we can track her to the lair of our mysterious enemies…it seems to me like the best way to find out about them."

Kamo chuckled. "Saber wouldn't be happy to know this was your strategy…."

Kalan shrugged. "Well, no helping it. She's duty-bound right now, anyway. It's for her sake, too…a second kidnapping will probably be required to convince her to seek to keep the princess safe…in any case, we'll worry about all that when it happens."

8-8-8

The group finally arrived in St. Binah. The Grand Marshal came out himself to greet them. "We were worried," he said. "You are late…and Gafgarion is not with you…?"

"It's a long story," Kalan said. He nodded towards the ladies. "If you could escort them to their new home…I'll explain as I can."

McGovern nodded towards his guards and two hurried to escort Saber and Aeli away. Then he started walking back towards his office with Kalan, who began to explain the situation to him.

"We were attacked en route," Kalan put forth. "Agents, supposedly from Halteese, trying to take the princess. She was kidnapped, and we were forced to pursue her. When we found her, we had to free her from Grandall soldiers. They ordered Gafgarion to kill us all, and he tried."

"What!? Halteese…Grandall…Gafgarion…which ones are the enemy!?"

"All of them," Kalan continued as they made it into McGovern's office and McGovern sat down at the desk. "From what we gathered, there's some sort of conspiracy involved that has advocates in all the nations, and Gafgarion was hired by this same group. He escaped, so he's still alive, by the way…but in any case, this conspiracy might touch every nation on Arcanus Myrror."

The marshal slammed his hand on the table in fury. "Traitors, and from our own country!? Unthinkable! And what were they planning on doing with the princess!?"

"Nothing, specifically. They simply needed to use her to cause a war between Halteese and Grandall…."

"Because if Halteese dares to take her from us, it would be an act of war," McGovern huffed. He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "This is…."

Kalan nodded. McGovern was honest…he was not part of the conspiracy, which relieved the boy. Still, he decided he should keep the rest of the facts and his intentions to himself. "In any case, I doubt they'll just leave her alone. We'll have to keep watch over her…."

"I'll increase the guard on her. As much as I can." He sighed. "With the war, of course, our resources in a 'secure' location like this are limited. Soon I'll be heading out to the front line myself. I'll also keep the ladies under house arrest, as unhappy as they'll probably be about it." He looked up at Kalan. "For now, can I ask you to keep watch over the city while I employ you on errands?"

Kalan nodded. This played into his own plans perfectly. "Of course," he said.

8-8-8

And yet Kalan questioned his own plans five days later. Returning from a mission, they saw plumes of smoke ahead. At the first sight of it, Kalan broke into a fierce run, quickly outdistancing Jynx and Eishun as, hollering after him, they strove to keep up.

The great gates of St. Binah had been smashed down, and bloody bodies lay strewn about. Kalan hurried up to the citadel where McGovern, Saber and Aeli had been staying. McGovern had finally departed the day before, leaving his second-in-command in charge….

Saber was lying in a pool of her own blood, struggling to rise as she propped herself up on her elbows. Her sword lay broken on the ground next to her, and most of her armor was shattered.

She glanced up as the boy dropped to his knees next to her. "Kalan-dono…" she muttered.

"What happened?" Kalan demanded as he cupped his hands over her, letting his healing spell go to work. "How many enemies are we facing?"

"J-just one," Saber replied. "Folmarv Tengille, Divine Knight of the Glabados movement. He slaughtered everyone…I couldn't even slow him down…."

"And Commander Greymere?"

Saber glanced behind her briefly. A quick glance showed the man at the back of the room…nearly cut in two.

"And the princess?"

"She's been taken…alive, but…we have to go after her!"

"Not yet. Not in your condition. Lie still, and let me work."

Jynx arrived, looked around, whistled, and joined healing Saber by Kalan's side. By the time that Eishun arrived, the two had done what healing they could to stabilize Saber. Kamo was running around outside and came back in, muttering, "Hell, Divine Knight? The guy's a monster. Out of all the soldiers staying here, a half-dozen survived this attack. You're a tough little girl, Saber."

Saber rose unsteadily to her feet. "We…we need to go after him."

"But your wounds…" Jynx protested. "We're not master healers…."

"I'm fine!" Saber snapped. "We can't delay any longer! Who knows what will happen to Princess Aeli…?"

"You're not in much condition to do this right now, Ojô-chan," Kamo replied with a laugh. "Even after that, like Jynx said, you're not fully healed. And you really think you'll do any better now than you did before?"

"I-I have to…!" Saber began.

Kalan shook his head. "Kamo's right. You're not ready to fight again, Saber. You'd best stay here, and leave this to us."

"Not a chance! I am her knight! I can't bear this disgrace…nor can she bear this horror!"

"Are you willing to do anything to rescue Aeli-chan?" Kamo said, almost innocently. "Will you pay any price?"

"What are you getting at, Kamo?" Kalan demanded suspiciously.

"This is the ojô-chan's question. Well, Saber? What's your answer?"

Saber stared at the rodent, then smiled. She chuckled slightly under breath. "I see…Kamo-kun, you wish me to make a contract with Kalan-dono now?"

"That's the idea," Kamo agreed. "If this guy was tough enough to do this…I think he's tougher than Krovak and Gafgarion. If that's the case, we'll need everything we can get. So, are you willing to gain a new lord in order to save your lady?"

Saber drew in a deep breath and gave a determined sigh. "If that is the price of saving Aeli...then I will do it." She turned to Kalan and continued, "Kalan-dono…I want to do this to save my princess. Will you accept me as your disciple?"

"Well, it's not that I mind," Kalan said coolly, "but are you sure you can swear yourself to another lord that easily?"

"We haven't known each other for very long," Saber replied. "But I have seen enough to know that you are an honorable and forthright young man, a champion of good and justice. I place no risk on my current loyalties by swearing myself to you. Now, shall we get on with it?"

Kamo's circle formed under them. "Okay, kiddies," he cackled as the two faced each other. "This one's a bit different…an inferior contract between men, like Jynx and Kalan, can be done with an oath, but for one between a man and a woman…you'll have to kiss."

"What? On the lips?" Kalan demanded, surprised as Saber began to start.

"That's the ticket…."

Kalan was ten years old, intelligent, and not yet aroused to a strong interest in girls. He did not yet understand those feelings, but he had observed human nature enough to know that girls of Saber's age and older had particular concerns about such things. Therefore, as she glanced over at Kamo, shock creeping over her face, he decided not to give her any chance to have a change of heart or let her feminine sensibilities cause problems. He reached up, took her head, turned her and kissed her.

The energy was completely different than what was felt during his contract with Jynx. He understood immediately that Kamo's earlier explanation was correct…emotions created this bond, and the power was much greater between a man and woman like this. It would have to be even stronger if the two making contract had stronger feelings to each other than chance acquaintances….

Kalan withdrew and the magic receded. As Saber stood there, red-faced, Kamo appeared above them and let the cards fall into their hands. Saber grasped hers and turned away in embarrassment; Kalan looked at his copy of her picture and smiled at what he read.

"Adeat," Saber intoned, and the card transformed into the same golden sword that Kalan was looking at.

"Excalibur," Kamo said happily. "The legendary sword. I'd like to see even a Divine Knight break that sword."

"Quite a proper weapon for Artoria Pendragon, the Princess of Avalon," Kalan agreed with a smirk.

"Huh?" Jynx looked back and forth between the two, surprised. "Wait, what? Princess of Avalon…?"

"Y-you're not surprised about it," Saber—Artoria—murmured to Kalan.

"I don't know a lot about Arcanus Myrror's politics and such, but I did hear that Uther Pendragon had married the sister of Kanev's queen. I thought you might be, but I didn't want to be too rude and accuse you directly, not after I harassed you at the start of our meeting. I'm still curious as to why King Uther's only child is away from her country serving as another princess' knight, but…."

"Well, save that for another time," Kamo said, hopping onto the knight's shoulder. "With Kalan's magical power bolstering you from the contract, Lady Bird, you should finish healing quickly enough. We need to get after this Folmarv. I'll track him."

"Lady Bird?" Artoria muttered as Kamo began to gesture.

"You like Japanese, right? Torii is Japanese for bird, Ojô-chan, and it suits you pretty well. Now, this guy's spirit…is weird. He'll be easy to track." A barely-visible colored line appeared in the air. Kamo pointed. "Onward, intrepid heroes!"

Eishun pushed at the bridge of his glasses. "Hoo-boy…this is getting crazier by the minute…."

8-8-8

"It looks like we're heading there," Kamo said, pointing. The citadel rested against the mountainside, looking more like a fortress of war than a church. The high walls hung with the banner of Glabados.

"So what's with these Glabados guys?" Allen asked.

"They're a 'holy order' of knights," Eishun explained. "A military arm of the church. They're full of skilled individuals and quite militaristic, but not…vicious…."

"They're small," Kalan added. "The Order of Glabados normally can't do these kinds of things…but that's neither here nor there." He stood up briskly. "If Princess Aeli is inside there, we just have to get her out. You guys wait here…there don't seem to be guards at the gate or walls, so I'll sneak in and open the gate so the rest of you can come in."

"No guards? That's ridiculous," Saber said. "It feels like a trap…."

"I'm certain this is some sort of trap," Kalan agreed. "That's why I'm going in first."

He started off, sweeping around through woods and using a bit of magic to slip easily and undetected onto the wall's turret…not that there was anything to detect him. He looked around, but there was still no one in sight…no sense of anything outside. Inside was a power he did not recognize…he felt a thrill of excitement twinge inside him at the thought of such a challenge….

He turned and motioned for his companions to approach, which they slowly did. Once they were near the gates, he called out, "I'll just be a second. I think I've spotted the switch for that gate…."

"Not so fast, kid," a voice said, and Gafgarion suddenly stepped out of the shadows. "You've walked right into it now…."

Soldiers emerged from the shadows around the rest of party, surrounding them and pinning them against the wall, soldiers and mages in the garb of Grandall, Dalkia, Halteese, and Glabados. Kalan was stunned—this was like no magic he had ever experienced. Their presence had been completely erased. He felt the thrill intensify….

"Not bad, Gafgarion," Kalan said. "So, your masters have some neat tricks…."

"One of the perks of working for them. En garde, kid!"

He flashed his sword out, and his red life-draining magic blade erupted underneath (and above) Kalan, but he dodged aside. Gafgarion continued without abatement, swinging his sword and causing flashes of red energy to rain at Kalan from all directions. Kalan ran about the courtyard, running across the walls over the ground, avoiding all the attacks, until finally he was able to leap in close to exchange real sword blows with the older man.

Outside, two swordsmen drove in and began to press Saber back. Jynx dodged backwards as three men began to unleash gunfire at him—gunfire that, rather than bullets, was composed of fire, ice, and lightning.

Eishun found a mage staring him down. The woman gestured and chanted, and the air around her rippled and distorted. A horse-like creature with a jagged, lightning bolt-like horn on its head emerged, electricity crackling around it. It whinnied and charged at the man. He cut it down immediately, much to the surprise of the mage, and smiled slightly, grateful that his particular sword skills were well-suited to exorcising magical beasts….

He began to charge the mage, but she stepped back and summoned another creature, forcing him to step back and deal with it. She was already casting another spell by the time he had finished with the flaming man-dog.

Inside Kalan and Gafgarion exchanged blows. "You're not bad, kid," Gafgarion muttered.

"Well, you are," Kalan shot back. "You rely on your Dark Sword arts too much…your sword skills aren't at the same level."

"Heh. You survive by honing many different skills." He dodged back from one vicious cut from Kalan, and pulled an object from his pocket as he fell. In slow motion Kalan watched the cube leave the man's hand in a gentle arc, tumbling over through the air, opening ever-so-slowly and beginning to glow….

Kalan recognized the energy, and continued forward, grabbing the hem of his cloak. He flung it open and moved to let the object pass into it, as if he were a matador baiting a bull. The object vanished suddenly, pulled by the cloak into a subspace. Gafgarion's eyes widened in shock, and then, as Kalan took his katana in both hands again to make a swing, the sensation of slowed time ended, and Gafgarion leapt away from the swing.

He backed off, cursing, as Kalan moved in again. "Not a bad trick," Kalan said. "Those magic seals are expensive, aren't they?"

"You have no idea," Gafgarion muttered.

Two of the gunmen had left Jynx to fire at Eishun, seeing that his skills were confounding their companion, and in the distraction the summoner moved to engage Jynx as well; the trade-off put both young men on the defensive. Saber, meanwhile, was still battling both swordsmen. The energy flowing through her from the active contract and from her new mighty sword was pushing her to new heights, yet these two warriors matched her well, even if it took the both of them. She dodged one strike, shoved one man out of the way, deflected down the sword of the second and dashed past him, slicing him across the side en route. Unfazed, moving as if nothing had happened, the man whirled around with a vicious counterattack at the princess-knight barely managed to parry. "What's with these guys?" she cursed. "They're not human…!"

"They're human," muttered Kamo from the safety of a nearby tree branch. "But they've got some weird magical energy pumping through them…."

As Saber leapt back from another attack, the second came leaping overhead to dive in on her while she was airborne, seeking to strike her while she couldn't defend herself. Then a blast of energy suddenly came flying down, flattening the figure.

Saber hit the ground and whirled to stare…at Gato Kagura Vandenberg, approaching slowly, energy radiating off of him in a manner she had never before beheld, his hands in his pockets. "Yo, Ojô-chan," he said cheerfully, a cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth. "I'd told you I'd see you soon. Looks like you need a hand."

The other swordsman came charging in, and Saber whirled back around to meet his attack. "I'm grateful, Vandenberg-san," she said. "We'll accept your assistance…."

The one that had been flattened rose and climbed out of the small crater around him. Then he charged in at Gato, who began to beat him backwards with his fists.

Allen noted the new combatant out of the corner of his eye, then turned to face the small dragon that had been called to battle him. "Reinforcements? Well, that's not a bad idea…two can play this summoning game!" He drew his card out of his pocket. "Activate!"

The scroll unwound around him, and he planted a hand on it. "Come to my aid, hero from beyond!"

Smoke billowed out around him as the dragon came diving in. It cleared, suddenly revealing a man in a red coat, holding the dragon's mouth closed with his left hand, which was clad in a massive, golden, almost claw-like gauntlet. His coat had a high collar that hid the lower half of his face, but that didn't matter much since, to Jynx, only the long black hair was visible while he was behind the man, and even his red headband and eerie red eyes were hidden. Jynx stared in surprise.

"Vincent Valentine," the man said. In his right hand he raised a gun that didn't seem to be a pistol, a rifle, or a shotgun, and blew away the dragon with a single shot.

The summoner stepped back and began to summon again, but Vincent blew her away with a second shot and then the gunman next to her with a third. Then he turned on the pair suppressing Eishun and took out one with his fourth bullet. As the other turned to try and retaliate, Eishun suddenly dashed in, cutting him down.

Saber and Gato had each downed their foes, and so the battlefield was clear. Vincent spun his gun around in his hand in a rather Western-like manner, then holstered it at his side and stood calmly in the very definition of a 'stoic cool' pose. "We're done here," he said in his harsh, low voice, and he faded away, leaving Jynx once again holding his scroll.

Jynx stared down at it as he commanded it to return to the card. "Wow. That was…pretty cool."

"What about Kalan?" Saber snapped.

And what about him? Kalan slipped his katana into his cloak as Gafgarion, cut down, fell to his knees and then to his face, his sword falling from his grasp. "I feel…cold…?" Gafgarion muttered.

"Goodbye, Gafgarion," Kalan said. Then he turned away and went to the gate control. Throwing down the lever, he watched as the gate rose up, revealing his dirtied and slightly bloodied comrades. He barely offered more than a sidelong glance to Gato.

"You all right?" Eishun demanded, stepping inside. He glanced down at the fallen knight and murmured, "Well…guess that's the end of that."

"He won't cause us problems anymore," Kalan agreed curtly, turning back to the steps at the rear of the courtyard that led into the keep proper. "Let's go. Aeli's waiting for us."

8-8-8

"Why are you doing this?" Aeli demanded, her hands bound behind her by chains connected to the floor, glaring up at Folmarv. Like Gafgarion, he was grey-haired from age and yet seemed to be young and vibrant…almost too young and vibrant. Dressed in his purple tunic over his golden armor, he had the look of a rather gaudy soldier.

"Why?" Folmarv sneered. "As if the bait could understand, as if the insects understand the thoughts of the man that treads them underfoot. You are not important at all…only in your absence are you important. Your life means nothing…and yet you have the pride to demand information? Intriguing…."

The opened and a Glabados soldier rushed in. "Master, the enemy is here!"

Folmarv turned in surprise. "What? Gafgarion failed…the fool. I thought that he had his uses, for a human…he's not as good as he claimed. Or perhaps…that child really is special…."

He stalked out after the other man, slamming the door behind him.

And walked out onto the upper landing at the top of the stairs of the main hall; down at the bottom, Kalan's party entered and began to spread out. Saber stepped forward. "Knave! Release the princess, or you shall suffer!"

"Ah, the little girl playing knight again," Folmarv murmured as his four soldiers spread out around him. "Do you really think that you will fare any better than last time, simply because you have a few reinforcements? Even if you defeated Gafgarion, you humans do not know the weight of your despair…."

"Is that so?" Kalan retorted. "Tell that to our corpses."

"And so we shall," Folmarv replied. Power suddenly began to erupt around him and each of his subordinates. "Die, now, ignorant of the world upon which you have stumbled!"

Dark light engulfed all five of the figures above, and when it faded, monstrosities were revealed in their places. The four soldiers were now massive, demon-like creatures, with clawed hands, inhuman faces and bat-wings. Folmarv had a lion-like face and was dressed in a blue robe…and was nearly twice as massive, now towering over eight feet tall and about five at the shoulder. "Folmarv Tengille is but the shell of a man! Now you face Hashmal, The Regulator, a being that was upholding Order when your planet was nothing but a churning cauldron of chaos!"

Kalan stepped next to Saber and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "Can you handle him?"

"Yes," she said resolutely.

Kalan nodded and pulled his sword. "I'll leave him to you, then. We'll handle the rest."

The battle began. Saber charged straight up the steps and attacked Hashmal. The beast parried the attack with its massive claw, straining against the blow, and finally the pair repulsed each other. A slight burn was left on its arm where it met Saber's blade. "A holy sword? Extremely powerful…you've found a new toy since last we met…."

The other four leapt into action, each targeting one of the winged demons. Eishun leapt at one red-hued fiend to find himself blown back by a blast of energy. As he recovered, the demon gestured with one claw, causing a fountain of similar red energy to erupt underneath the man, but Eishun dodged away.

Each of the colored demons acted similarly, each unleashing blasts of energy of a different hue, although all seemed to be of similar power and not truly 'elemental' as one might first think. Kalan found himself battling a demon with blue skin unleashing blasts of blue-colored energy. The demon could release them from its hands, and summon blasts from nearly anywhere…and, as Kalan quickly found, even produce a shield of the same energy. It was powerful, and unlike any other kind of energy he had ever encountered….

Jynx and Gato were likewise pushed back by the black and white energy blasts released by their own similarly-colored foes. Still, the power wielded by the monsters was not overwhelming…just difficult to defeat….

Saber, however, had the most difficult battle. Folmarv, channeling the power of this greater demonic entity into a human form, had been a swordsman beyond her capabilities. Now, with no mortal frame to limit him, Hashmal was faster, stronger, and possessed of incredible power. Fortunately for Saber, she was now bolstered by her contract with Kalan, and even more so by the sword in her hand…a sword so legendary that even those who knew nothing of the existence of magic revered its name. In the hands of the bloodline of Arthur Pendragon, there was no greater sword in the world. And, whatever power these strange demonic creatures wielded, their nature was as dark as the mazoku, and the holy sword Excalibur was like a hot brand to his flesh…and the creature, using no weapons and normally defending itself with skin harder than a sword blade, found his usually impregnable defense suddenly quite vulnerable.

Therefore, after a few exchanges, Hashmal chose to withdraw from the mêlée, using his speed to keep his distance as he and Saber danced around the landing above, and the rest of the warriors battled down below. He offered a few half-hearted spells at her as he retreated, but her sword easily deflected the attacks.

Finally, his back against the wall, Hashmal managed to dodge Saber's strike, then caught her hands as she made a skillful follow-up swing. He slammed a knee into her stomach, and then sent her flying to the other end of the hall with a savage punch from his other hand. Before she had even struck the wall, he was chanting and gathering his power. "Dissolve into a fiery world of chaos…Meltdown!" Searing flames and roiling lava engulfed the area where Saber stood as she came to her feet and disappeared in a flash of armor-changing light. Her red-and-white anti-flame armor came into view as she swept the last of the flames away with her sword. Even with that armor, burns showed around her skin and part of clothing was consumed.

"Very well…let's continue," Hashmal said, and powered up further as Saber steadied herself. "Gusting winds, hear what I say! Tornado!" Winds swept around Saber, once again engulfing her. "Assailants in the ground, it's time to rumble! Quake!" The earth began to split underneath her, releasing geysers of energy to continue the assault, but Hashmal wasn't finished. Raising his hands to the heavens, he continued, "The time has come…crash down on the unworthy! Meteor!" A hole in time-space appeared above Saber and a flaming ball of rock dropped onto her location.

Hashmal lowered his hands and stared at the wreckage as smoke and dust obscured any sight of his victim. Then the glowing light shone through the fog and Saber swept it away with a wide slash of her sword. Saber, beaten and bloodied, but standing strong, raised her sword above her as it glowed with a holy golden light. "Excalibur!" she called, and brought the sword down in a great slash. The blast of golden holy energy thus released sailed across the landing and collided with the beast, creating a new great explosion that consumed Hashmal.

During the brief time that the explosion reigned, Saber glanced down at the ruined hall below. Her four comrades had stepped forward…behind them, the four demons lay still on the ground, slowly dissolving, almost evaporating, into nothingness, and Jynx was returning his scroll to its card form. Thus reassured, Saber glanced back as the last of the dust of her attack settled, revealing Hashmal…or what was left of him. The upper part of his torso, his head, and his right arm were still present…and still moving, although the rest was gone. Futily, he began to drag himself forward, groaning.

"T-this can't be…" he gasped as Saber began to approach him. "Me, killed…by this little girl of a human?" He began to make a coughing laugh and struggled to look up at Saber. "Not that it matters…you have no idea what world you're fallen into…what the meaning of this all is…." What remained of his body began to evaporate into flying dust. "Despair…is all that awaits you…."

Saber stared down at him as he finished disappearing. "Abeat," she whispered, and her sword returned to being a card, which she stashed about her person. Then she lifted her gaze and went running for the door at the back. "Aeli!" she shouted.

Aeli glanced up as the door burst open. "Saber!" she cried, struggling to sit up as her knight came hurtling down the steps towards her. In a moment Artoria was at her side. A knife manifested in her hands, and she cut Aeli's bonds. As soon as her hands were free Aeli threw herself onto Saber, and they embraced.

Kalan, above, smiled as he watched them and turned around. "Well, happy ending for now," Kalan said to his crew. He glanced around at the remains of the battle. "But the problem is that we still don't know anything about these guys…only that we're dealing with something extraordinary."

"Demonic forces involved? This can't be good," Gato agreed, lighting up.

Kalan shook his head. "No. They aren't demons—not the kind that usually trouble this world. I don't know what they are, but they aren't any of the usual types of demons…."

Gato glanced over at him. "A kid like you have much experience with demons?" he asked.

"More than you'd think, for sure," Jynx muttered, sharing a knowing glance with Eishun.

"Whatever this is, it's far deeper than even an international conspiracy to commit war. What's your destination now, Mr. Vandenberg?"

"Well…if it's all right with you, I think I'll stick with you guys for a while. If these kinds of heavy-hitters are the masterminds of this, there's no way I'll be able to do anything by myself." He smiled slightly. "And I figure you'll be right in the thick of it, eh?"

Kalan chuckled. "Yeah…that's true. Right now, I won't balk at any extra support." He turned and glanced back up at the door as Aeli and Artoria emerged from the little dungeon and started down the steps. "And I think we need to keep custody of you two ladies…until we get this all sorted out."

Aeli sighed and then smiled. "Well, I certainly won't complain…better to go traipsing around with you than sitting locked up in a mansion, learning some silly lady thing like knitting or tapestry while I wait for the next evil villain to kidnap me. Where are going, though?"

Kalan turned away and began walking in reply. The group followed him out. Once he had finally passed through the outer gate of the citadel, he glanced around and finally turned his face to the north. "Grand Chokma," he said finally. "The imperial capital. If we have no other leads, I'm going to get right to the heart of his conspiracy and find out what I can." He glanced around at his party. "Well, Red Wings, are we ready to go?"

The group responded in the affirmative.

8-8-8

Her Majesty, Queen Artoria Pendragon stared out the window, sipping her tea. "Yes, those days, so long ago," she murmured. She smiled slightly. "Those were…enjoyable days, to be sure…being part of Kalan Lockeheart's unstoppable Red Wings…."

"Hey! Hey!" Kaoru said. "That girl…the Princess Aeli…is she…?"

Artoria smiled and rose. "There are far too many stories to tell in one sitting," she said. "And we can't get too ahead of ourselves. But for now, I'm afraid I'll have to leave you…I would love to tell you two stories all day long, but there are matters of state that I have to see too." Excusing herself, she departed.

Riku stared after her, musing over the matter. ('Not only that Princess Aeli…the black-cloaked 'Jynx' sounds suspiciously like that man in the tournament…and Eishun Higurashi…wasn't that Kagome-san's father…? And that man sounded so much like Takahata-sensei….

('And even more so…is it just coincidence that he was also accompanied by a white ermine called 'Kamo'?') She shook her head. The answer was obvious, after everything she had already seen—coincidence? Of course not.

8-8-8

"Well, Aiden Rylack…he was supposed to be waiting for us back in Ouritel, but now he's here," Chisame mentioned. "The real question is: can we trust him?"

"Yes…probably," Kain replied. "Kamo seemed to trust him, too, so I'm certain he's one of my father's old comrades."

"Hmm…." Chisame considered this. "Still, that 'James Bond' guy was a real weirdo. If that's the standard of your father's friends, I'm not sure what we're getting into…."

Kain was searching for a reply to that when he spotted it. "There it is!" he cried happily, pointing.

Indeed, it was the oasis. Kain quickened his pace, but not too much, as he still had Chisame trailing him, but they were both brought up short as they came close enough to get a real look. The pool of water was ringed by white marble arches and a tall marble tower stood on an island in the center of the great pool. "They're like ancient ruins," Chisame muttered in awe.

"I wonder what he does out here?" Kain murmured. "Training?"

Then they spotted him. He was at the far end of the pool. Tables were set up and, as they came ever closer, they saw that there were archaeological artifacts, probably from this same ruin, spread out on the tables. Aiden was hunched over one table, inspecting an artifact carefully through an eyeglass and dusting it with a fine brush. Also at hand was a mobile chalkboard, although at the moment nothing was written on it.

"That's your father's friend?" Chisame asked wearily. "And he's going to train you? Okay, I can be grateful that he's not some fighting weirdo or something, but he looks more like a scholar than a fighter…."

Nevertheless, Kain screwed up his face in resolve and hurried forward. "Mr. Aiden Rylack!" he called out.

Aiden started slightly and glanced over. "Oh…is it that time already? Crap…give me a moment." He grabbed a duffle bag and shoveled the artifacts into it, almost without care, much to Kain's shock. Then he zipped the seemingly-not-very-full-bag shut and dropped it on the ground. Then he stood and considered the young man. He smiled wryly. "Heh…you're so young. You look just like he did about the time he won the war. That brings backs memories." He glanced past Kain to Chisame, hanging back some feet. "I saw you before. You are…?"

Chisame met his gaze carefully. Despite her initial impressions, there was definitely something…intense about this man. "Hasegawa Chisame," she replied. "Kain-sensei's student…and partner, I guess. Not the combat type, though."

"I see…his babysitter?" Before either youth could reply to the accusation, he turned to Kain. "So, Kain…you've come to receive my promised training?"

Kain met Aiden's eyes with a solid, stalwart gaze. "Yes," he replied. "Please, teach me how to fight. I don't have much time…but I want…no, I need to be stronger!"

Aiden smiled slightly. "Is that so? That's fine, but I've got to warn you…my training will be tough…probably harder than anything you've endured so far."

"That's hard to imagine," Kain answered with a smile, "but I think it would have to be the case if I'm to get as strong as I need to be. Don't worry about me. Whatever the training is, I will bear it!"

Aiden began to laugh. "It's just like Takamichi said…you're his complete opposite, so polite and obedient. Well, we've got no time to waste, then! Let's get going! We've got to get you strong enough to defeat Byakuya Kuchiki by the time we head for Orimus, and that's no small task!"

"Y-yes sir!"

('Well, maybe this won't be so bad,') Chisame thought as she watched the pair. ('This guy seems to be on the level…and it's certain we'll need him to be….')

8-8-8

Far away, nearly on the opposite side of the world, in the imperial capital of Grand Chokma….

And, in fact, also turning back time for this epilogue moment, shortly after the prologue moment….

Tear walked down the streets of the city, glancing around. She seemed cool and composed, as she usually did, but just by looking she was showing far greater emotion.

"It's your first time in a city of the magical world, isn't it?" Meia asked.

"Er…yes. Of course, we were in Ouritel, but…I wasn't in much condition to appreciate the scenery."

Meia's brief smile quirked across her face. "Of course. But the real sight we're here to see…is there." She nodded.

Striding into view they came, side-by-side in a line, like a cinematic troupe of heroes...although not with much of the traditional heroes' swagger. Takamichi stood out the most, one hand in his pocket, the other holding his cigarette. Flanking him on his left was Kajirô Tsukai, walking with the resolute stride of a man reluctantly committed to his work. On Takamichi's right was a young woman, Tokine Yukimura, dressed in her kekkaishi robes and holding her bladed staff, and next to her was the young Yoshimori Sumimura, dressed in his own robes with his own staff. Next to him was Rin Tôsaka, dressed in a red sweater with a dark miniskirt rather like her school uniform, and on her right was Mei Sakura, still dressed in her own school uniform. Finally, on Kajirô's left, dressed as always in her traditional lady's kimono, was Isumi Saginomiya.

At the sight of Tear, Mei went running up to her. "Onee-sama!" she cried, embracing the other girl. She looked up at her, tears almost in her eyes. "We'd heard you were attacked, and you were badly hurt, and Kain-sensei and his students were all lost…."

"Easy, easy, Mei-chan," Tear murmured soothingly, smiling. "I'm all right. More importantly…." She looked at the rest of the group as they gathered around. "I'm surprised to see all of you here. Especially…." She turned to the two kekkaishi. "…Yukimura-san and Sumimura-san, kekkaishi from Kyoto, yes?"

"Several acts of sabotage began shortly after Kain-kun's party left for America," Takamichi explained. "No time to go into details here, but the principal organized us as soon as he could…and we made it through the Gateport just in time."

"But the situation's gotten complicated," Meia added. "Kain and his students have been framed for the destruction of the Gateport in Ouritel. There's no evidence concerning the other gates, so as of now they're being treated as the ones responsible for all of them. That means that it's going to be difficult to rescue them…."

"What about with the gates down?" Kajirô questioned. "We won't be able to make it home like this…."

"We can deal with that when the time comes," Takamichi said. He smiled. "Knowing Kain-kun, he's already thinking of some way to get his students safely home. All we can do for now is to find them and protect them until this mess is sorted out." He nodded at them. "Are we ready to go?"

They all returned his nod. "Hai!"

F I N

Author's Note: The Conclusion

So, it was a little difficult, but it was pretty satisfying using this little Kalan adventure to fluff out the section. It was especially difficult trying to figure out how to have all these younger kids speaking, but I eventually figured that, considering that one was a super-eccentric child genius, another wasn't too far behind (and only a year younger than the main cast, anyway) and the other two were princesses raised in a pseudo-medieval world, so I didn't worry about it. I've never considered myself an expert in making them 'realistic' kids or teens, at least in how they talk, so why start worrying now?

I went ahead and kept with the FFT theme with the villain for the scenario, so I brought in the right-hand man of Tactics' villainy, Vormav (or, as later translated, Folmarv), host of the Zodiac fiend Hashmal. Naturally, there are no zodiac stones or anything of the sort in my story, but he made a nice, evil Obsidian Star pseudo-demon villain before anyone knew anything about the Obsidian Star.

Oh, and regarding the 'church'—often in mage-based anime worlds in a modern setting, such as Fate/Stay Night, there is a religious 'church' involved. It is usually based on the Catholic Church, but ignores most of their principles…for instance, it is well known that Catholic priests are sworn to abstinence, and yet Kotomine Kirei in Fate/Stay Night is a mage/priest of the 'church', the son of a (very active) mage/priest. In this case, the 'church' usually referred to is a similar religion…most mages are Christian, and part of a special church founded by mages who listened to the gospel of Christ. Thus their doctrine is similar to most Catholic and early protestant (Lutheran, Methodist, etc.) faiths, and this is the common church of mages and the magical world. Not all mages are part of it, just most, and since religious questions and concerns only cause unnecessary conflict in settings of this type, we won't go much more into the detail…this kind of generic magic/holy church allows me to include any amount of 'holiness' I like to aid our heroes without getting into nitty-gritty details or profaning a 'real' religion unduly by incorrectly presenting its ideals or dogmas. In any case, the church of the Final Fantasy Tactics world was Glabados, and it ruled the land of Ivalice in a manner similar to how the Catholic Church did over medieval Europe. It had its own temple knights, with classes like Holy Knight and Divine Knight associated with it, and since Folmarv was a Divine Knight of the church as well as a host of the evil Zodiac fiend (and the fiends infiltrated and were using the church because of the legends of the 'Zodiac Braves' who saved the world with the 'holy' stones), making Glabados a part of the church, a minor but military arm for Folmarv's human guise to be a part of was a reasonable development. In fact, it probably won't ever come out in the story, so I will mention just in case that in this world, the Order of Glabados was created by the Obsidian Star to be a visible arm of their work to work in the open but with secret ulterior motives. In Kain's time, it is no longer existent.

Changing gears back, after the giant flashback we return to Kain just in time to set up the training situation with Aiden, and then return to Tear and Meia after having them in the prologue. Now we're going to be leaving Kain for while, getting to all his friends and students and seeing what they're up to. Which means it's time for me to blatantly rip off (er, make my own) several other anime I haven't really touched at all yet….

So, onwards we go! Hurrah!