Author's Note: M3lody: thanks for the tip! I used to think Lyon was always sleeping on a room beside (or near) the Prince's, hence why I assume she'd feel uneasy about not being near him. But yeah, she had shown no signs of trouble with that even in the game. I'll definitely keep this in mind. :) Oh and we'll definitely see a lot more Suikoden I casts. In fact, there's already someone you know very well waiting in this chapter.

As for last chapter's quiz.. It's a bit awkward for me to say this, but you're both essentially correct. But since Fortune got to answer it first, M3lody, would you mind taking your turn after him? Oh, but you can both name your requests for specific character(s) whose story you want me to write right now. :)It takes me quite a while to devise a good story anyway, so I might be able to get it done while writing the chapters.

Okay now, here goes Chapter 8!

Chapter 8

Blackout and Rescue

Dusk had fallen, and the sun was on the verge of fading away; its last light flickering hopelessly on the west. For three days, Frey, Lyon, and Humphrey had been riding at full speed, only stopping for short breaks and night rests. They had arrived sooner than expected; according to the map Humphrey was holding, the safe house should already be nearby.

The three of them now found themselves in a large prairie; vast field of grass and only few trees abound. Due to the lack of visibility, they had to slow down to their pace… or at least, that was what the Prince had in mind before Humphrey called them off to a complete halt. He then got off his steed, followed by Frey and Lyon.

"What's the matter? Are we there yet?" Frey asked.

"… Yes," Humphrey replied, but did not elaborate. He simply jerked for Frey and Lyon to follow him instead.

'Gosh, it would be nice if he were a little more talkative', the Prince thought. Even during the last three days, the man did not utter a single word except during a few times in which a query is directed to him (of which he answered most by simple nods and gestures). And whenever the question was personal, he answered with pointed silence on almost every occasion. The Prince could not help but surmise that the big Talon member was more akin to the silent gladiator, Zegai, rather than Georg like he presumed.

The three of them tied their horses on a nearby tree and began wrapping each of the horses' hooves with cloth. Once they were finished, they began treading the plains towards an uphill path. Humphrey's particular vigilance during the trek made Frey caught a gist what was going on: the possibility of the enemy reaching the safe house before them.

For about half an hour, they were moving smoothly under cover of the night towards the inclining grounds. Fortunately for them, the full moon made it easier to navigate through the uneven grounds. Lyon and Frey were trailing closely behind Humphrey, nimbly stepping up the hill until they had reached a cliff. All of a sudden, the big Talon member ducked; the Prince and the bodyguard instantly followed suit. They crept towards the edge of the cliff, overlooking the ground below.

There stood a wooden cabin, dimly lit and... two people were seen standing by it.

"Damn," Frey cursed under his breath, noticing the uniforms the men guarding the hut were in, "Imperial soldiers? Are we too late?"

"... Not yet," Humphrey replied quietly. "They are still here. Which means they haven't moved him yet."

"Him?" Frey asked.

The blond man simply shot him a 'you will see later' look and led them to move in.

"I'll take out the guard on the front," he muttered.

Frey nodded and the three of them glided over the steep rock. Once they had touched the surface, the Prince and his bodyguard promptly headed to the back of the hut, while the tall Talon went the other way. They crept along the meadows, moving stealthily behind long patches of grass.

When they were near enough, Frey and Lyon briskly took cover behind a tall bush. One of the guards was still lurking near the door, and there were probably more inside the hut... They would be alerted if he moved in too soon, so the Prince kept crouching behind the thicket and slapped a shrub in hopes to draw the attention of the guard.

A dull crash and moderate rustle ensued, and the Imperial jolted and looked bewildered.

Seeing nothing but a suspiciously swaying shrub, the soldier crept in closer to investigate. His face reflected wariness, and at the same time, excitement, as if knowing he would find his 'prey' behind those bushes. He brandished his sword, and...

Indeed, he found what he was looking for. The problem was... the 'prey' was, in fact, not as harmless as he'd expected. With lightning fast speed, Frey flung the tip of his nunchaku, hitting the guard precisely on the cervical. The baffled Imperial hit the ground before even realizing what had happened.

Then almost at the same time, another dull *thud* was heard from the opposite direction of the lodge. It seemed Humphrey had successfully taken out the other one too.

Frey and Lyon skipped through the remaining distance and found the Talon already beside the cabin, pitting his ear against the wall. He waved a positive gesture, which meant the people inside haven't noticed their presence and that it was safe to get closer.

When they were near enough, they could hear voices from behind the wooden walls.

"... you still... talk?"

*WHACK*

Frey's expression turned into that of horror; it was, without mistake, the sound of someone getting hit. Were the soldiers trying to torture something out of the Raven member inside the house?

Humphrey's grim look confirmed what Frey was just thinking.

"... heh..."

"..hat's... funny?"

"You won't... anything!"

*THUD*

"Faroush," Lyon whispered, "I will go in first through the window and draw their attention. You guys follow in after me."

Frey was not too keen with the idea, but they had no more time to waste. Lyon was the fastest and nimblest among them, and it seemed prudent to neutralize the enemies inside the house as fast as they can, lest they beat the helpless Raven member to death. He nodded and gave Lyon a go.

In one swift motion, the petite bodyguard brandished her blade and leapt through the window into the hut. Surprised, the Imperials inside were caught off guard and a swift stroke from Lyon's nagamaki felled one of them.

Now, there were only three left.

"WHAT? W-WHO IN THE HELL ARE YOU?" shrieked one of the remaining soldiers.

Instead of answering, Lyon brought her blade towards the lamp in the middle of the room; it flew and crashed to the wall, depriving the entire lodge of light. Then as if acting on a signal, Frey and Humphrey broke in through the door. The chaos and confusion worked on their favour; the enemy's vision was obscured in the darkness and thus the hostage was spared from the danger of being used as a shield.

With astounding speed and precision, Frey bashed one of the Imperials' crania and instantly knocking him out cold. Lyon sliced up another guard, sending him writhing on the floor, and Humphrey brought his enormous fist on the last, crushing his face and sending him flying out through the back door. In mere seconds, the enemy had been neutralized.

Their attention turned to the still tied hostage; they could only make out his silhouette as the room was completely without illumination. He was wriggling on his chair, apparently stranded tightly by some kind of rope.

"Viktor, you alright?" Humphrey hurried to him.

The man called Viktor stirred at the mention of his name.

"Yeah, looks like I'll live... What took you so long?"

Humphrey did not answer but merely started untying the ropes binding Viktor.

"And who are these guys?" Viktor looked up even though he couldn't see very well.

"Faroush and Lyonese. New members of the Ravens," Humphrey said, still working on the ropes. "Can you walk?" he added when he was finally finished.

"Yeah, and I can still run. Lucky they didn't break my limbs," groaned Viktor, standing up and flexing his muscles. "Pass me one of those swords and let's get the hell outta here."

Frey reached one of the nearest bodies, took off the sword hanging on the hip, and handed it over to Viktor.

But suddenly, a beacon of red light soared from the outside.

"BASTARD!" Viktor cursed, "He's called in reinforcements from the outpost nearby! Go now, go!"

In less than a second, they sprinted out of the hut. A few seconds later, cries of outrage could be heard from a distance behind. They were still far away, but Frey knew that the enemies would close in to them in mere minutes. The four of them put all their strength to their feet and ran with all their might.

To make matters worse, the full moon became a big disadvantage; their fleeing figures were exposed to the enemies, and there were neither trees nor rocks for them to take cover to. The cold air filled Frey's lungs, and even breathing seemed like agony as time passed. For several times he almost tripped because of the jagged earth; the tip of his toes felt as if they were screaming and protesting.

"Gah!" Frey let out a groan when he felt something scraping his leg. He looked below and expected to see a wild vine on the ground. But it was, in fact, not a vine. It was a bolt, seemingly fired from a crossbow.

"Watch out! They've started firing at us!" Frey yelled, and all of them increased their running speed.

A short moment later, a volley of bolts were pouring at a fair distance back. None of the bolts were actually reaching them; most just sank harmlessly onto the ground behind, but a few had managed to dart past them.

"WHICH WAY? WHICH WAY TO THE CARRIAGE?" Viktor shouted frantically as another bolt flew past his torso and very nearly grazing him.

"TO THE RIGHT! TO THE RIGHT!" Frey bellowed back, taking a sharp turn to the right himself.

They kept running desperately for another several minutes that felt like tens of years, before the tree and the horses tethered on it.

"Not a carriage, eh? The first thing I'd expect," Viktor grunted sarcastically.

The four of them rushed to untie the horse, with the enemy still closing behind them.

"Hey!" Frey called Viktor, "Take that grey horse over there! Lyonese and I will be riding the brown one!"

"Ha! A generous offer for the wounded? Well, if you insist," Viktor smirked.

All of the Ravens swiftly hoisted themselves upon their respective horses. As the resounding cry of the enemies' and another volley of arrows crept closer on them, they immediately spurred their steeds, and vanished into the darkness of the night.

Dawn was near. For the whole night they had pushed their steeds to their limits, riding tirelessly through the plains of Lorimar. The cloths wrapped on the horses' hooves had somewhat obscured their trails, fortunately, and it seemed that the pursuers would not be able to catch up with them for some time. It allowed them a little bit of peace of mind... for now.

They decided to settle down below a great tree for the night and set up a camp there. Humphrey started to bandage the wounded Raven, with Frey and Lyon helping with the equipments and preparations.

"Ouch, ouch! Careful with me, will ya?" Viktor blurted every time Humphrey applied an ointment to his many wounds. The blond man did not seem to care, and instead tied the bandage even more tightly, inciting a shriek from Viktor every time he did that.

They could not make out Viktor's appearance the night before, but now, they could see his rough-and-tough features. He had characteristics that made him most look like a bear; his gruffly and unkempt hair, along with big and muscular body and crude fashion emphasized his 'savage' impression.

When the patching up was finished, Viktor was finally able to rest; he was off to the never-never-land the instant his head touched the coverlet, snoring loudly shortly after. Looking disinterested in hearing the unpleasant sounds the sleeping man made, Humphrey got up and walked away from the tent without uttering a single word.

'Really, it's often difficult to make out what's in that guy's mind,' Frey thought. He stretched his legs and gazed off to the slowly rising sun. The past events had taken place one after another so rapidly that it left him a feeling of unrealism. It was not until a while that he realized he was alone with Lyon. He glanced over her; she was immersed in her thoughts as well. This idea made him strangely guilty; he had deprived her of the chance for a happy life in the Palace, the pride of serving Falena and his now-crowned sister as a full-fledged Queen's Knight. And instead, she had to be stuck with him here, going on an aimless journey which end they could not foresee.

"... Lyon," Frey called to her.

"Hmm?"

"... I'm sorry."

There was a brief silence.

"For what?"

"This..." Frey said, with an air of forcing himself to admit something unpleasant, "for you to have to come with me... I'm not sure even if I'm doing the right thing anymore, and..."

But his line was cut off; Lyon had placed her finger on his lips and shook her head.

"I promised I would follow you anywhere, right? I do this not because I have to," she mouthed the word 'Prince', "but because I want to."

Prince Freyjadour felt naught but foolish at his bodyguard's words. How could he have not known? Here he was, cursing and blaming himself, yet Lyon still believed in him. It gave the Prince a twinge of warmth, and affection for his bodyguard swelled inside him.

Unconsciously, he pulled the unsuspecting Lyon towards him - and planted a soft kiss on her forehead.

For several seconds, all seemed tranquil and warm... until the Prince realized what he'd done; he hurriedly released his flustered bodyguard and looked away. Both of them were blushing profusely as a result, but it was when something else blossomed between the Prince and his Sworn Protector. Something they had after all this time, but not yet realized... until the awkward moment was abruptly interrupted by a loud "GUWAAAAA" from Viktor.

End note: Viktor doesn't shout or wake up; he's just yawning. lol

Oh, and I have "moved" the apology scene from last chapter here; I just thought it will be nice if I could expand on Frey and Lyon's respective feelings, especially since they could spend some time alone right now.

Lastly, I apologize for the lateness for this chapter's upload. It's just that RL stuffs have been holding me up. Not to sound too pathetic, but please, if you like this story, I really could use some of the extra motivation right now. Reviews about the grammar, storyline, and everything. Good or bad, and even stuffs you would like to see in future chapters, please tell me what you have in mind. It will help me keep up my spirit.

And thank you Angel, M3lody, Fortune, and those who have been supporting me after all this time. :)