Disclaimer: Y'know the drill, I do not own anything or anyone from DQ9. I only own Saffron.

Chapter Ten: Jack of Alltrades

Renia was sitting on the steps of Alltrades Abbey, waiting for her missing leader to appear. She yawned before looking at her older sister who was smiling as if nothing is wrong. "I'm bored," she stated, "Miu, where is Saffron?"

Miu just smiled and said nothing.

"C'mon, sis," the warrior groaned, "Sulina's worried sick and she already thinking about the worse possibilities."

Again, Miu just smiled and replied with nothing before standing up and walking up the stairs. The sister groaned in frustration. It was been three days since Saffron's mysterious disappearance and so far, they are in Alltrades Abbey and still no sign of their leader. 'Where could she be?' Renia thought and she stood up and followed her sister, 'It wasn't like she could disappear in thin air! Maybe…she was murdered? That's right! That cloaked guy from before must have kidnapped her and killed her so we can never find the body! Why I oughta-'

"What are you mumbling about?" a voice asked from behind, "Knowing you, it's probably about boys."

Renia's blood boiled at that statement and turned around to punch the person who had the nerve to insult her. However, all she punched was an empty space. The turquoise haired girl was confused! She swore there was a person standing behind her as she felt their presence. In addition to that, the voice sounded so close to her. Renia blinked, "W-Wha…?"

"Jeez, I guess you can't take jokes." the voice said from behind followed with a soft 'tap'. Renia quickly spun around so she can catch her insulter. Her purple eyes widened in shock when she found that the person in front of her was Saffron herself. At first, she was happy but then annoyed. "Where the hell were you?" Renia shouted, "Miu, Sulina and I were searching for you for three days! Do you know how worried we were?"

Saffron laughed nervously. "Sorry," she told her angry friend, "I had an errand to do and I didn't want to wake you guys so early in the morning so-"

"You left us without writing a little note to say where you were or what you're doing!" Renia interrupted, "We travelled to Angel Falls, Stornway, Coffinwell and Alltrades Abbey, hoping to catch up with you. Did you even consider how we felt?"

Miu suddenly said with a stern voice, "Renia! That's enough."

"But sis-"

"Look at Saffron."

Renia obliged and gasped. Saffron who previously had a nervous smile on her face now had a face full of depression and regret. The warrior could also see the tears forming on the bottom of her eyes. A pang of guilt hit Renia's heart like a sharp arrow. She muttered an apology and Saffron apologised for leaving without telling.

When the three entered the building and walked to the inn, Saffron noticed Sulina's dazed expression. She called the mage's name a few times and got no response other than a dreamy sigh. It was when Saffron clapped her hands in the pink-haired girl's face she snapped awake. "H-Huh?" Sulina squeaked and looked at Saffron, "Saffron, you're okay!"

The leader raised an eyebrow, "I called you a few times and you didn't answer."

"I didn't hear you."

"I was right in front of you. What were you thinking about?"

Sulina looked flustered, "N-Nothing really. Just wondering where you were and all."

'Hmm, that sounds rehearsed,' Saffron thought and grinned, "Was you really thinking about me…or was it…a guy?" Saffron asked slyly. As she predicted, Sulina's face became as red as a tomato and she started to whimper. 'Bingo!' the girl thought.

Renia also grinned and said, "Yeah. When we were looking for you, Sulina was attack thugs and was rescued by a paladin; if I recall correctly, I think name was Ken…Kane…caveman?"

"It's Kevin!" Sulina cried as the warrior and the minstrel sniggered at the last suggestion and the purple-haired woman giggled. The mage puffed out her cheeks, "Oh! You guys are no help at all!"

Saffron smiled and ruffled Sulina's hair, "Just kiddin'. I'm happy that you have found a man…all we need to do now is find Renia one."

"Hey!" Renia exclaimed, "What about you? What happened to Mr. tall, dark and mysterious."

"Meh. Not my type."

"Oh right, not your type. Is your type short, fat and stupid?"

"Ha ha, very funny."

With that, the four girls threw a small celebration for their reunion.

On the next day, Saffron explained to her team that back in her country, there were some golden fruits that was supposed to be sacrificed to the Almighty but due to the recent earthquake, the fruits were lost and she was sent to retrieve them or else her country is doomed. It was a lie of course but Sulina and Renia fell for it (Saffron knows that Miu knows that she is lying but she doubt the woman going to say anything soon.)

The girls search everywhere for the golden fruits but there was no luck. Fortunately for them, they eventually had a lead; apparently, a guy named Jack ate a fruit in a golden colour not too long ago. After that he took off somewhere and has not returned since. The four suspects it was a Fygg and was told that Jack might have gone to a place called 'Tower of Trades'. Saffron then suggested they should head to the tower tomorrow. They then went training until the sky was getting dark. As the team went to bed; Saffron went outside and sat on the roof. As usual, the sky was clear, the moon was full and the stars were out. The girl sighed and leaned on the roof with her eyes closed and hands behind her head, "I wonder how my family is doing. They must be really worried. Heh, I bet they have police out looking for me," she then opened her eyes and looked the sky. Back in her old home, she had seen clear skies but the difference between the nights in that home and this home is that the sky in this home looks so…beautiful. It was like looking at an everlasting sea of deep blue full of pure white crystals. The girl sighed and closed her eyes once again…

"Wow!" a little girl exclaimed as ran through the fields and under the stars, "Look papa! There are a lot of crystals stuck in the sky."

The man with black wings behind her laughed cheerfully, "That's right my little princess. Don't run off too far now!"

"Okay~!"

The little girl continued to run through the field of white flowers until she saw a black figure in the distance. It was still and the bottom of the figure flew in the wind. The girl was afraid at first but soon, it changed into curiosity. The little girl hesitantly took a step towards the figure… then another…then another. Each step was slow and uncertain and before she knew it, she was in front of the mysterious figure. The black figure was in fact a black cloak standing on its own. The girl's big red eyes stared at the top as she was trying to see something through the darkness. Suddenly, a deep voice asked, "Do you want something, little girl?"

"Eek!" she squeaked and trembled in fear, "I-I'm sorry s-sir. It's j-just…"

"It's alright." the cloaked figure said, "You're Phillip's little girl, right?" The girl nodded. The cloaked man kneeled down to her level, "Did you know that me and your father go way back, even before you were born?"

The girl nodded her head again, "Are you… um…the man who likes the colour black?"

The man seemed to be taken back by the question but he soon chuckled and ruffled the little girl's black hair, "Yes. Yes, I am."

The man then stood up and reached up to the stars. The girl looked up to see a black gloved hand grabbing the brightest star. He then lowered his closed hand so the little girl got a close look at it. Then hand opened up to reveal a necklace with a little silver cross with a red gem in the middle. The little girl's eyes widened as she had never seen any jewellery that beautiful. "It's beautiful." She gasped.

"And it's yours." The man told her and gave her the necklace.

"Mine?"

"Yes. It's a gift for we might not see each other again and I know that this necklace will help you in the future."

With those words said, the man dissolve into black mist, leaving the girl confused. She clutched the necklace close to her chest before running back to her father. "Papa! Papa!" she exclaimed happily, "Look what your friend gave me!"

Saffron slowly opened her eyes and sat up, "Whoever has the necklace now…must be really lucky."

As if on cue, a chuckle was heard and a voice said, "New worlds can bring up old memories."

Saffron looked down from the roof and saw the cloaked stranger. She sighed, "Okay, seriously, you're stalking me."

The boy laughed, "I'd like to think it as watching over you."

"Whatever, what do you want?"

The boy said nothing and smiled. Saffron groaned, "You're being like Miu now."

"That's good to hear." the stranger said.

'Ugh!' Saffron thought, 'This guy's getting on my nerves. Stop stalking me!'

The stranger stayed quiet and stated, "I'm not the guy who saved you or who you saw at the pass."

"Okay…wait, what?"

"It's true."

"Now that you mentioned it, you do sound a bit higher than the other guy. Plus it's kinda annoying. Who are-"

Then a tiny ringing of a bell was heard. The cloaked figured chuckled and bowed at the girl once again. "I guess this is the time of departure," he said, "But we will meet again; until next time, adieu!"

Suddenly the stranger jumped from top of the stairs! The panic kicked in as the wingless Celestrian's eyes widened and stood up and said, "You idiot!" before leaping off the roof to try to catch the guy before he break his neck! She grabbed his covered hand only to find that there was nothing inside the cloak. She landed near the first step holding a cloak. "What was that about?" Saffron mumbled and went to the inn to get some sleep before sunrise.

On the next day, Renia was unusually cheerful and it wasn't because of the nice weather. She was also giggling the whole journey to Tower of Trades. Saffron was getting suspicious of the warrior's abnormal behaviour and tries to interrogate the answers out of her but Miu said that it was not worth it. Sulina did not mind about her friend's cheeriness, she said it brightens up the day. After battling many monsters, they got to the top of the tower and Miu asked Saffron, "Feel anything strange?"

"Glad you asked." Saffron replied, "There seems to be an ominous aura coming from that door." the three looked at the door as their leader continued, "If Abbot Jack is there, then he might be in danger."

The girls readied their weapons and carefully went through the door. The four then saw a well-dressed elderly man performing some kind of ritual. He then noticed their presence and ordered them to leave and not to disturb the ceremony. After calling out to the pink horizon, a flash of light was seen and a black circle was formed around him. Renia suddenly felt an evil presence and yelled, "We need to get him out of there and fast!"

Try as they might, they were too late as the dark circle formed a dome and engulfed the elderly man. "Yes…yes!" the man cheered, "I can feel the power coming onto me. More, I need more!"

'Not good,' Renia thought as she winced in pain, 'this newfound power of his is so overwhelming it hurts.'

The circle then evaporated and in the man's place was a monster. The monster chuckled darkly. "Yes…" he mumbled, "With this power I can bend everyone's fate…for I am no longer Abbot Jack; I am now the Master of Nu'un!" the monster turned to the girls, "Hm? What perfect timing, you four will be my first subjects."

Sulina trembled in fear. Never have she seen such a terrifying beast. Her heart was pounding against her chest loud enough for the sound to reach her ears. The mage took one small step back and whimpered. Renia glanced at Sulina and turned to Saffron. 'Saffron's scared as well. She's trembling…' she thought, 'I have to-'

Suddenly, Renia heard a loud cry before seeing her older sister run in front of her and take a blow from the Master of Nu'un's blade. "Sis!" Renia cried and cradled the minstrel, "Miu! Stay with me!"

Miu struggled to open her honey coloured eyes. "I-I'm fine." she stuttered, "I'm not going to die yet."

"You better not or I'll-argh!"

Renia and the three were suddenly struck by the lighting summoned by their opponent. The thousand little volts that ran through their bodies were as painful as being stuck in a brush full of thorns. The warrior fell to the ground and succumbed to the pain throughout her body. 'This is it.' She thought with tears coming out of her dull eyes, 'There is no way we can beat this monster. He's too strong…he's too strong,' she watched as the monster walked closer to her with an evil smile on his face. She closed her eyes tightly and said her prayers, 'We are going to die! It's all over for us. It's over.'

Suddenly, a familiar voice said to her, "Hey, hey… are you serious?"

The voice made the girl wonder. Why did it sound familiar and why did it suddenly give Renia enough strength and confidence to carry on fighting? Renia thought of all the possibilities. It can't be Patty because her voice was smoother; it can't be Erinn, Miu or Sulina since their voices were high pitch…

…which only lead her to one option.

Purple eyes shot open in time to see Saffron fly in with a kick that landed hard on the Master of Nu'un's cheek. The monster flew back and landed on the floor. Renia stared at her leader wide eyed and thought, 'Saffron…was it you who said that?'

Saffron looked over her shoulder and grinned. "This guy may be strong," Renia heard Saffron's voice say in her head, "But if we work together and fight with all our might, we will be stronger. Look."

Renia looked behind her to see Miu and Sulina struggling to get up. She then smiled as she got the message: as long as they have the will to fight, the four of them cannot die so easily. The Master of Nu'un chuckled darkly as his victims steadily got up. "Well, well…it seems that you haven't learnt your lesson."

Saffron turned to the Master on Nu'un, "Heh. The only lesson I've learnt…is that you're one big pain in the ass!"

"Such a big mouth for a small girl."

"Such a small brain for a big head!"

The beast growled at the insult and was about to attack when a ball of fire landed directly on him. He roared in pain and glared at the mage. Sulina whimpered at first but then frowned. "You can't scare me!" she bellowed and readied her wand, "I don't care who or what you are, I'll take you on!" With that, she cast the ice spell, Crackle and because it went haywire, it was more powerful than the last. Saffron then attacked before Miu and Renia and they all had critical hits. The four continued to fight the Master of Nu'un and healed each other whenever they were low on health.

Finally, with Renia's special ability, Critical Claim, the monster was finally defeated. Sulina cheered, "Yay~! We did it!"

"Yeah," Renia agreed and turned to her elder sister, "You okay, Miu?"

Miu nodded and then saw Jack from before on the ground. He got up and suddenly collapsed on his knees. "W-What has happened?" he asked, "And why do I feel so weak."

"You took a form of a monster," Sulina explained.

"And we had to kick some sense into you." Saffron added.

The old man looked bewildered. All he remembers is eating a golden fruit and the sudden overwhelming desire to lead his people to the right path. If what these girls saying are true then whatever power that fruit contained was way beyond his control. He thanked the four girls for saving him and the people of the future from the horrible fate. Since he was still lacking stamina, Renia and Sulina lift up Jack and carried him out of the room. Saffron followed them to the door until she heard Stella say, "Hey look, Saffron, a Fygg!"

The wingless Celestrian looked over her shoulder to see the golden fruit in one piece. 'Hold on,' Saffron thought, 'Didn't the guy eat the Fygg? What is it doin' here?'

"Maybe it was a different fruit?"

"Nope, the guy said that Jack a golden fruit and Jack himself admitted he ate a golden fruit."

Stella then made a face of disgust, "Don't tell me…it came out of his butt?"

"Does it look like it came out of someone's ass? Now, can you stop whining and get it, please?"

"Ewww! No! I'm not touching that! Who knows where the poop is?"

'Thank goodness I still got on my rubber gloves.' Saffron thought and went to pick up the Fygg. She turned to the exit to see Miu smiling in way than gave Saffron the chills.

When Saffron got back to the abbey, Jack thanked her and her friend for their help and said to them he can assist them in their journey by changing their vocation anytime they want. The girls went back to the inn to take a rest. The leader collapsed on the bed and sighed, "Man~! I'm pooped."

Renia sat next to Saffron and said, "Saffron, you've… changed a little."

"Hm? In what way?" the leader questioned

"You behaved more free will. When we met, you looked as if you were chained to something."

"Oh that," Saffron mused. She smiled as she stared at small flame on top of the candle next to her, "I guess you could say the invisible leash I was tied to is loosening."

"Leash?" Sulina repeated.

"Yeah. A mentor of mine was always serious and never lightens up. Being away from him feels like coming out of a metal cage."

"Oh dear," Miu joined, "Was he really that bad?"

Saffron nodded. After telling the girls about Aquila and the intense training she use to go through, she then left the room to go and buy some food for tonight's dinner. Later, the three girls heard the door knock. The mage went to the door and opened the door a little, thinking it was Saffron, however it wasn't her. Instead, there was a young boy with silver hair with black at the end and blue eyes. He wore a suit of steel armour and had an iron shield and had an iron sword. The pink-haired girl gasped. "Kevin…" she whispered before noticing the grim look on his face, "W-What's the matter?"

"You girls keep taking our moments of glory!" a red haired boy with yellow eyes popped from behind and yelled at Sulina. Miu and Renia stopped talking and looked towards the door to see what the unexpected commotion was about.

The timid girl answered in a quiet voice, "We're j-just doing what is r-right."

"WHAT?" the redhead exclaimed, "Have you girls ever considered about the other people who wants a taste of glory and fame or were you just thinking about your toffee-nosed selves?"

"I-I'm sorry!" Sulina squeaked. Then, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Renia glaring at the redhead, "Renia…"

"Oi, leave Sulina alone, will you?" Renia said, "She did nothing wrong. Show some respect."

The redhead sneered, "Are you the leader?"

"What if I am?"

The redhead then said cockily, "The name's Ryan and I'm one of the greatest martial artists in the world and this here is my good mate, Kevin the paladin. We ain't too happy about you and your friends hogging all the glory."

"Wai-what? We're not hogging any glory." Renia argued, "We're just helping those in need."

"Oh puh-leese," the martial artist replied, "First was the Wight Knight, then getting rid of Coffinwell's curse and now bringing Abbot Jack back from the Tower of Trades. To me, that's hogging up the glory. Kevin feels the same."

Renia growled and clenched her fists, "You're…ticking…me…off."

Ryan laughed cockily and called the trio 'weak little girls' before he turned around. Suddenly, he froze as a small rock just whizzed past him, missing his head just a few millimetres. Ryan hesitantly turned around and stared at the pebble and its dent is absolute shock. Where on earth did that come from? He looked back at where the pebble came from and saw a little brown girl with black hair, red eyes and a petite figure. She was holding a brown paper bag full on food and a one of the hands was a fist where the pebble was launched from.

"Saffron!" Renia cheered.

"Welcome back." Sulina said quietly.

Ryan stared at the girl for a while and then he started to say in a harsh voice, "Hello little girl. I see that you're with the rest of these los-"

"I appreciate it if you stop bullying my friends and leave." Saffron interrupted in a tone as cold as her glare.

The martial artist was going to say something but Kevin placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head, implying it is no use to go any further. Ryan grunted and walked away saying that he will have revenge. Kevin bowed to the four girls as an apology and followed Ryan. Saffron sighed and shook her head. She knew fully well that they will bump into the two boys again and she predicted that a fight with them will come too. 'Thanks to his cockiness,' the wingless Celestrian thought, 'He just made himself a punching bag.'

Miu then called Saffron, saying that dinner was ready.