"I hear something up ahead, kupo," July said, glancing over her shoulder towards Lini.

It was late afternoon of the next day. The six moogles had been marching most of the day, having left at dawn that morning. Lini had roused all of them at dawn and informed them that it was time for them to get moving. At current, they were headed in a mainly north-western direction, but that was understandable; there wasn't too much which could be reached to the south of the Aisen Plains without a ship. The further north they ventured, the greater and greater the size of the hills got.

They were moving in a formation which Lini had contrived for maximum advantage. July and Isaac were the point and rear guards respectively due to their sharp senses, with Lini behind July and Carl before Isaac. Between these two, stood Montblanc and Thomas, each being particularly skilled in mid range combat.

Lini still hadn't explained to the other five where they were going, but she appeared very sure of the direction. Every now and again she would pause to gaze up at the sun, and sometimes get them to change their direction somewhat.

Upon hearing the warning from the animist from up ahead, Lini held up a paw, getting everybody to halt. Without even looking back, she stated more than asked, "Thomas."

The juggler stepped forward, saying, "Kupopo?"

"Scout ahead. If you see any enemies, come back and report, kupo. If you have to fight, take them out fast, and come directly back."

Thomas nodded, then set off ahead, keeping his head low and jumping from side to side with each foot as he ran.

"While he's gone, kupo, let's take a bit of a rest. But keep quiet, just in case."

The others all nodded, and sat down. As Isaac plomped down, Montblanc stepped over and sat next to him.

"So, what were you doing last night, kupo?" the black mage asked.

"What do you mean, kupo?" Isaac asked suspiciously. Neither he or Thomas had spoken about their battle the night before so far.

"Oh, kupo, come on. You have the most gigantic bags under your eyes, and you and Thomas keep staring at each other. Not to mention the fact that you both look like you came off worse in a bar fight."

"Oh, right, kupo," Isaac muttered, reaching up to gingerly feel his black left eye. "The two of us might have had a little duel last night."

"Really, kupo?" the mage asked, looking intrigued. "Who won?"

"Uh, nobody, kupo…"

"Kupopo? I mean, the two of you don't seem the type to say, 'Oh, we both did well, let's call it a draw'."

"Well, we sort of got interrupted by Lini and Carl, and, uh… the short version of events is that I have to fight Lini every night for the rest of the mission."

"Kupopo!?" Montblanc demanded, staring at him. "Are you serious? I mean, that's so…"

"I know, kupo," he sighed.

"…great!"

It was Isaac's turn to say, "Kupopo!?"

"Well, just think about it, kupo!" Montblanc exclaimed. "You're receiving one-on-one training with the strongest living mog knight! Just think of how much stronger you'll get!"

"Yeah," Isaac said, sarcasm dripping from his voice, "and all at the measly cost of a few dozen welts and bruises and about an hour's less sleep every night."

"True…" Montblanc conceded. "Still, I'd consider that as a pretty small cost for some training with, say, the Archmage Quin!"

"You, not me," Isaac stated flatly, then blinked suddenly. "Wait, the Archmage Quin? As in the Quin that Eileen is going out with?"

"Of course, kupo," Montblanc said matter-of-factly. "He's the archmage of all of Cadoan city. Didn't you know that? …Uh, are you alright? You're looking kind of pale."

"I think I need to sit down, kupo," Isaac muttered.

"You already are sitting."

"Dammit, kupo!"

Fortunately, at that moment, Thomas returned. He came running in that same manner, head low, and stopped just in front of Lini. There, he took a few moments to catch his breath, and then said, "There's a clan up ahead. Looks pretty small, though the few members I did see seemed tough."

"Any mages or rangers, kupo?" Lini inquired, threading her fingers pensively.

"I think one elementalist, and I couldn't tell if there were any rangers. They were probably acting as shadows or scouts, if there were any, kupo."

"How many did you see in total?"

"Probably eight."

She remained sitting in thought for a moment longer, before calling out, "Alright, kupo, we'll take them."

"Kupopo?" Isaac asked, glancing over at her. "But we don't have to, kupo!"

"No, we don't, but I still haven't seen two of you fight yet, and I'd like to."

"What about the cla—"

"It's not like they're going to die or anything, kupo," the mogknight said, shrugging. "This sort of thing happens all the time."

Isaac opened his mouth to argue, but Montblanc's paw quickly clamped over it. Isaac turned to the mage, and found the member of Clan Nutsy glaring at him. Montblanc whispered, "Be quiet."

"If there are no more objections?" Lini asked. When no sound came from the others, she stood up, and said, "Alright, then. This is how it will work. Montblanc, I want you to take the mage. Carl and July, please take down four between you, and I'll take on three. Isaac and Thomas, kupo, I want the two of you to hold back and deal with any rangers we might not have seen beforehand. Understood?"

Everybody nodded, and with that, they all got up and started moving. As they walked forward, more carefully now, Isaac whispered to Montblanc, "What was that about, kupo?"

"I could ask you the exact same thing, kupo!" Montblanc whispered back furiously. "You flat out questioned her authority!"

"I don't feel right with this, kupo!" Isaac replied simply. "We shouldn't be doing this!"

"Nutsy does this all the time, kupo, just like every other clan," Montblanc said back. "You'd better get used to it. Now excuse me, I need to get my energy ready for the fight."

Isaac watched as the other moogle pulled a few steps ahead of him, then bowed his head. He still wasn't alright with this. There was something just wrong about it.

Glancing about, he noticed that nobody else seemed in the least bit troubled by the prospect. Perhaps it was because Isaac had never actually been a member of a clan, or perhaps it was due to his experiences from the old world. Either way, Isaac doubted that he would ever understand it.

Soon, they arrived at the crest of a larger hill. Looking down into the small valley down below, they could see the clan. Indeed, there were eight, all laying around comfortably. Isaac couldn't make out many details from where he was standing, but just from the weapons each one had with them, they did indeed look sufficiently proficient.

"Alright, then," Lini said, drawing out a judgepoint. "Everybody ready? I declare and engagement!"

This, she yelled, loud enough for the clan below to hear her.

Instantly, the four of the moogles involved in the battle plans began charging down the steep hill, with Lini at their lead. The clanners below all jumped up and drew their weapons, impressively fast. Isaac watched as all of the apparent warriors charged forward, while the mage remained behind, holding her rapier ready.

The first warrior met with Lini, and a terrifying battle ensued. He swung his broadsword once, and Lini blocked, still running. Then, using her blade on her opponent's weapon as a lever, she leapt, going over the broadsword. The blade swung out before her, and the bangaa's head left its body, flying several feet before hitting the ground.

She landed easily, and continued going. Lini met two humans, one bearing a katana, the other a blade. Both swung at the same time, and she blocked both attacks on the one blade. With little effort, she pushed her blade upwards, defeating the strength of both humans. Then, she spun around once incredibly quickly, slashing deep wounds into both of their sides, and throwing them a few feet away. She came out of her spin facing the remaining four warriors, looking completely ready to deliver bloody execution.

However, she calmly sheathed her blade, then turned away and said, "Your turn."

With that, Carl and July past her, he clenching his fists to bring the blades out, she placing her lips to her flute.

"This sucks," Thomas muttered as they watched from up above.

"Oh, come on, it's not that bad, kupo," Isaac replied, his eyes scanning the hills around them.

"They get to fight, while we have to sit up here and watch? I call that pretty harsh punishment."

"Speaking of punishment, kupo, what did Carl do to you last night?"

"Oh, right," he sighed, rolling his eyes. "Said that I had to start taking knife-fighting lessons with him every night."

"You too, huh?" the gunner asked.

"What, you've gotta train against Lini!?" Thomas blurted out, laughing. "Oh, you're screwed."

"That, I know," he muttered. All of a sudden, his hand went to his Longbarrel, and he said, "One ranger, kupo, hill on the right. I'll stop him, you knife him."

He drew the weapon, and without even needing time to aim, fired. The bullet travelled the distance, and coined the archer off the head. He instantly stopped pulling back his loaded bowstring, just standing there staring.

Thomas ran off towards him, two throwing knives suddenly appearing in his hands. Once he was a few metres away, he threw both knives, landing them in his target's chest. He looked back over to Isaac with a look that said, "Oh yeah, I know I'm good."

Fortunately for him Isaac didn't see the look, and was far more interested in shooting another bullet at the sniper lining up a shot for the back of Thom's head. This bullet hit the sniper in the eye, and she fell back, reeling in pain. Thom spun around, another knife appearing in his hand, and threw. The knife slammed perfectly into the sniper's neck, silencing her cries.

The juggler ran back over to Isaac's side, eyes somewhat wide. When he arrived, he said, "Thanks for that, kupo."

"No problem," Isaac replied, shrugging. "Part of the whole 'team' thing."

"Right…"

The two stood there very quietly and awkwardly for a moment or so. They were forced out of their silences when there was a loud roar and several bright flashes of light. Isaac and Thomas turned to stare at the bottom of the valley, where Montblanc had engaged the elementalist. She kept pointing her rapier, sending out coloured balls of energy at him. Every time one would come for him, Montblanc would throw one or another spell at the orb with his staff, destroying it before it touched him.

This continued for quite a while, until the elementalist had to fall back and catch her breath. Jumping on the oppurtunity, Montblanc pointed at the elementalist, and yelled out, "Halt!" The elementalist stopped moving, frozen in the middle of a breath.

Montblanc ran forward the last few steps to be standing just before the elementalist, then pointed two fingers at her. He said something which even Isaac couldn't make out, and two jets of electricity flew from those two fingers. They arched up and down the viera's length for several seconds, before Montblanc cancelled the spell. The elementalist remained there, simmering for several seconds, before time came back into play. The elementalist opened her mouth to scream, but simply fell back as the force of several thousand watts of energy caught up to her.

The black mage backed up several steps, and began breathing terribly heavy. He went down slowly to one knee, leaning heavily on his staff.

"Is the engagement over, kupo?" Isaac asked, glancing over to Thomas.

"It should be…" the juggler muttered, his eyes scanning the terrain below them. "Ah, yep, there goes the judge."

Even as he said so, the judge became wreathed in white energy, and disappeared. Isaac and Thomas quickly began making their way down the hill to meet up with the other four. They skirted the unconscious bodies of the seven fallen warriors, and were met by Lini.

"That was very well done, you two, kupo," the mogknight said, nodding to them.

"You saw that, up there, kupo?" Thomas asked, tilting his head back towards the hill where he'd killed the two rangers.

"Yes. The two of you work very well together, kupo," she said thoughtfully. "I'll have to remember that…"

Isaac and Thomas both looked at each other with a look which clearly said, Oh $#!+!

However, any protests they may have mounted were quickly subdued when Carl walked over, with Montblanc leaning heavily on his side.

"C'd we get goin', kupo?" the gadgeteer asked. "Th' mage ain't doin' so good."

"Of course, kupo," Lini said, glancing around at each of the others. "Are the rest of you alright?" When they all nodded, Lini went on, "Okay, then. Let's keep going, kupo. We'll make camp at nightfall. Isaac, would you help Carl with Montblanc there, kupo? Thanks."

…………………………………………………………………………………………………...

As the sun finally dipped down below the horizon, the six moogles halted their treck, and Lini quickly began assigning jobs to everybody.

"Montblanc, get a fire started, and prepare some food. July, start setting up the tents. Carl, kupo, go out and try to find us some water. Thomas, scout the area to make sure there aren't any… undesirables."

As everybody hopped up to get to their tasks, Isaac glanced over at Lini confusedly. "Er, what are we doing, kupo?"

"The two of us are going to train so that we can get to bed at the same time as everybody else, kupo," she said simply, drawing out her blade. "Follow me, please."

Isaac groaned, but did as he was told. In all truth, he would much rather bite off each of his fingers and then eat them, but he had no choice.

He followed her until they were a few hills away from the rest. Then, Lini turned to him, and asked, "So, do you have a problem with the way I handled that clan earlier today, kupo?"

Isaac paused at this, staring at her. He really hadn't been expecting that one. He was about to mutter that he didn't, but then, something forced him to speak the truth.

"It wasn't right, kupo," he said simply.

" 'Wasn't right', kupo?"

"It wasn't right. They were just minding their own business, and then we came and…"

"Tore them to pieces?" she supplied.

"I was looking for a less graphic word, but yes."

"Why do you fight, kupo?" Lini asked.

"Kupopo?"

"I want to know why it is that you fight."

"Er…" Isaac searched for words. There weren't any.

"You've never thought about it before, have you, kupo?" she stated, smirking.

"I can't say that I have, kupo…"

Still grinning, she raised her blade, and told him, "I want you to attack me this time, kupo."

Isaac sighed, then nodded. He slowly drew his blade from its sheathe, then, after a moment's thought, he tossed off the rest of his gear to make him more light. Then, he held his blade ready in front of him.

"Well?" the mogknight asked him after a moment. "Are you going to just stare at that blade all day, kupo, or are you going to use it?"

Isaac growled, then lunged forward recklessly. He swung his blade as quickly as he could, whipping it across and nearly spraining his wrist with the force. A metallic clang rang out, and when he looked up, he saw that Lini was holding her blade almost lazily in a block out in front of her.

"Is that the best you can do, kupo?" she demanded.

Isaac growled again, then spun, whipping his blade around again. He felt the vibrations running up his arm, but didn't wait for the mogknight to taunt him. Instead, he drew back and struck again, harder this time. Again a block. Isaac swung and swung and swung, harder and faster than he ever had, but each time, the mogknight in front of him managed to block the attack without the slightest bit of effort. Soon, sweat was dripping from his fur, stinging his eyes and the cuts he had received from his fight the day before. On and on it went, for perhaps ten straight minutes, nothing but him swinging the blade.

Finally, when Isaac felt he might collapse soon from exhaustion, he saw an opening appear before him. Not stopping to think, he lunged forward, simply desiring to feel his blade touching something other than metal.

Pain exploded in the back of his head, and Isaac found himself flipping forward from the combined forces of his lunge and the blow. The gunner hit the ground hard, and rolled over several times before coming to a rest on his back.

"Reckless, kupo," Lini whispered from where she stood.

"I'm not quite used to fighting ten minutes straight without landing a blow, kupo…"

"Then you've never truly fought, kupo," she snapped. All of a sudden, she was looming over his vision, blocking out the stars. "I'm beginning to wonder why it is that I called you in for this. You can barely hold your blade correctly."

"In case you hadn't noticed, kupo," Isaac said rudely back, "I also carry guns."

"In case you hadn't noticed, kupo," she said, her eyes piercing into him, "my mission request called for a 'mogknight' of your skills, not a 'gunner' of your skills."

"Then," Isaac retorted, beginning to feel quite angry, "I think you may have the wrong moogle."

"Oh, I know by now that I have the wrong moogle, kupo," Lini said, leaning forward and picking him up. With no effort whatsoever, she lifted him up so that even his toes couldn't touch the ground.

"In that case, kupo, you may as well drop me off at the next town, kupo," the gunner replied, glaring at her defiantly. He bit back his own bile at having said those words. He had told himself he wasn't going to give up…

"No, I don't think I'll do that, kupo," Lini replied. Isaac noticed something in her eyes, something odd. It was as though she was… reading him. She was looking at his face quite intently in a way that made him somewhat uncomfortable. "You may not be the moogle I wanted for this job, but I think I can make you into that moogle."

With that, she dropped him. Isaac, having not expected this in the least, felt his legs collapse underneath him, and fell down onto his paws and knees. He glared up at her in confusion, and asked, "Kupopo?"

Ignoring his question, the mogknight said simply, "If you can block a single one of my attacks or touch a single strand of fur on my body during our training, you won't have to participate in it for the rest of the mission, kupo. Now, let's go eat some dinner."

Isaac, his chest heaving from exhertion, stared at her as she walked away. Slowly, he got up to his feet, and tested his balance. It wasn't too bad. Slowly, he bent down to pick up his fallen blade with his left arm, and felt pain rocket up the limb. He gasped, and realised he probably shouldn't have been so reckless during that fight. His arm was in pain, everywhere.

Groaning, the moogle picked the blade up with his right paw instead, and walked over to gather his gear. All he could hope for was that Lini would trip or something during their practise one night; otherwise he stood no chance. However, the odds of that actually happening were slim themselves. Sighing, he tossed on his empty bandolier, and made his way back to the camp, moving slowly to avoid the pain.