This story belongs to me and my creative mind. However, most of the characters, names, and places all belong to their respective companies, so don't yell at me for copyright infringements! Remember, Italics represent a person's thoughts or the telling of past events.

Enjoy...

______________

:Faraway Dreams:

Chapter Six:


"Master Setzer, I have returned with Gordan's sword." Kurin announced as he entered the front room.

"Coming!" The silver haired Gestahl replied.

Setzer entered the front room from one of the adjacent hallways, again drinking from an ever-present goblet of wine. He stopped his walk when he saw another guest at his door, someone he wasn't expecting. In the midst of expensive artistry and furniture, the woman's plain clothing made her stand out even more than his moogle assistant.

"Kurin, who is this that is with you?" He asked of the moogle.

"This is-"

"I can talk, you don't need to have your moogle speak for me." Illis informed.

Setzer arched an eyebrow at her brazen attitude. "Then do explain yourself, milady."

"My name is Illis Killjoy, and I'm here to see Gordan. Kurin was more than willing to lead me here."

"And what is your relation to my nephew?"

"I'm his friend and ally in the Regulators."

"Ah yes, I seem to recall him mentioning your people. Kurin, go bring Gordan here for our guest."

"Yes Sir." The moogle nodded, fluttering off to another hall.

"So tell me, milady, what brings you here at such a late hour?"

"I'm here because I want to be at Gordan's side for his stay here protecting you." Illis stated matter of factly. "At least, that's what I understand him to be doing from the letter he sent."

Setzer frowned slightly. "Did he mention anything else in regards to that?"

"Only that it was some rivalry from another company that's got you on their list."

"Good." He nodded with a sip of his drink.

A shuffle of footsteps announced Gordan's arrival, the nobleman entering the main room with a hurried pace. Spying Illis, he quickly walked to her side with a concerned expression. Setzer stepped aside quietly, giving the two some privacy as he thought over the details of the day.

"Illis, why have you come here?" Gordan asked.

"Because I want to be with you while you're here to make sure you don't get hurt protecting your uncle."

"I appreciate your concern, but you do not need to-"

"Please, Gordan, I want to do this!" She pleaded. "Assassins are supposed to be frighteningly good at their trade, not stopping for anything or anyone. You could be killed fighting for him!"

"I will not be hurt, Illis, I can defend myself sufficiently from the man who attacked us."

"But still...!"

He put a finger against her lips. "Please, do not argue with me, Illis."

She batted his hand away, looking hurt. Gordan chuckled lightly as a memory crossed his mind.

"This has been a strange day, assassination attempts aside. Normally is it not I who is begging to protect you from harm rather than you of me?"

Illis stifled a laugh. "Yeah. How odd."

Gordan smiled at her, but noticed that her eyes were tinged with redness.

"Have you been crying, Illis?" He asked, concerned.

Her expression quickly changed, and she remained silent as she stared at some point away from Gordan in thought.

"Were you afraid for me?" He again posed.

Sniffling, she looked back to the nobleman. "When I heard about the attack in the letter, I wanted to go and help you. Gerick said that you could protect yourself, and he was acting like he didn't care about the danger at all, so I left to come here."

"It sounds much more complex than that." Gordan noted. "But it matters little, Illis, you have a duty to the Regulators first, and if Gerick will not allow you here, then you must respect his decision."

"I don't care about his decision!" She insisted, wrapping her arms around Gordan's form as she rested her head against his chest. "I care about you, and I want to protect you instead of fighting in the field, even if it costs me my position!"

"Illis..." Gordan started, fumbling for words.

"If you don't mind my interruption, you two," Setzer coughed, reminding the two that he was still present. "But you really got your feelings in a knot. Both of you seem more focused on protecting the others to think of much else. Gordan, I know you're a good warrior, and I'm certain that your friend Illis is just as good, so why are you squabbling over things like this?"

The two stepped apart from the embrace, looking at the elder man as he rested against the side of an oak table. Setzer's expression seemed to tell that he already knew the answers to their questions.

"It is only proper for me to defend those who need it." Gordan replied, Illis adding her own stare of irritation.

"And sometimes, m'boy, being proper can be more trouble than it's worth." He spoke with a worldly tone.

"You certainly seem like a paragon of wisdom." Illis muttered.

"I consider myself an expert in the subject of relations between a man and a woman." He chuckled with a knowing smirk.

"So then, o knowledgeable one, what advice would you spare us?"

Pausing a moment to gather his thoughts, Setzer sipped his wine. "Gordan, would you say that miss Illis can hold her own in a battle?"

"Yes, she can." He nodded.

"And would you say the same of Gordan, Miss Illis?"

"Yeah, and stop calling me miss."

"As you wish." He nodded. "So then, if each of you believe the other can defend themselves, and you each know that you are able to defend yourselves, why argue over that detail? Being courteous aside, nephew, it makes no sense."

"So then what would you have us do?" Gordan asked.

The silver haired man shrugged his shoulders. "That's up for you to think about, I'm not going to presume I know everything about you two. All I'm saying is that you don't need to be so worried about one another when you know each of you can hold your own."

Gordan thought over the words, but Illis spoke up before he could. "I guess that makes sense..."

"Now, enough of thinking for the evening." Setzer insisted. "It's far past sundown, so I'll be turning in for the night. You're more than willing to stay the night here, Illis, if you wish to talk more with Gordan. I'll have the servants arrange a guest room for you opposite Gordan's."

"Thank you..." She nodded.

"Think nothing of it. Goodnight, all." He spoke with a bow, walking down the hall to his bedroom.


* * *


"So Claire, 'ya ready to get goin'?" Gerick asked of the Burman.

"I've been ready since I was born." She declared, twirling her lance around eagerly.

"Okay, let's strike on out!"

The Regulators stepped off the worn dirt path outside of Lindblum, heading out for their daily patrol around the city walls. The early morning sunlight was barely over the nearby mountains, warming up the chilly nighttime air as the animals of the plains also woke. As she promised, Claire was pacing around the square even before anyone else arrived at the hall, probably before anyone else was even awake. Despite her early arrival, she was walking with an energetic pace, tossing her lance from hand to hand as she looked across the grasslands for potential enemies.

"You seem ready for action." Gerick commented.

"You bet! I've been idle for nearly a week lookin' for a job, and I'm damn near ready to start fighting you people to pass the time!" She laughed.

"That's good, good! It's nice 'ta see someone as energetic as you with us!" Gerick laughed as well.

Fedrich was about to comment on her attitude, but he noticed that Ruthy wasn't paying any attention to the conversation, walking quietly with a somber expression. The Burman stepped to her side, getting her attention.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Illis never came home last night." She informed. "I'm worried about her."

Fedrich patted her shoulder in reassurance. "She probably went to see Gordan at his parent's home is all. She wouldn't have left for anywhere else."

"Still, she left in such a hurry..." Ruthy continued, looking towards Fedrich. "You don't think that she's never going to come back to the Regulators, do you?"

"I'm sure she'll come back, she probably just needs to sort out her feelings."

The redhead nodded. "Probably. I know I'm still confused about it. I've never seen Gerick so adamant about the Regulators before, it was scary to see him like that."

"He's dedicated to his job. He was a member of the Lindblum Guards for a long time, so he probably still holds things like loyalty and service up higher than anything else." He added with a smirk. "Besides, we all know that he enjoys this work more than any of us, so he's bound to be cranky over it once in a while."

Ruthy smiled, hugging Fedrich's shoulder. "Thanks for the reassurance, Fedrich."

"No problem." He grinned, returning the motion.

"Hey!!" Gerick shouted, getting everyone's attention. "Target's ahead!"

They all looked straight to where Gerick's hammer pointed, eyes seeing the tiny forms of a pair of Iron Beaks and several spiders in a hurried run across the plains. Unsheathing their weapons, everyone gathered together as they make their plans to attack.

"Okay, we'll-"

"Alright! Let's go kick some ass!" Claire bellowed, taking off for the monsters with lightning speed.

"Claire, hold up a sec!" Gerick called.

"Damn, I'll get her!" Fedrich spoke, dashing after the woman.

Pushing his legs as hard as he could, leaping often to gain ground, Fedrich's barely caught up to Claire's thin form when they were halfway towards the pack of monsters. Gasping for breath, he looked in surprise to see Claire still bearing a smile and a steady breath.

"S'about time you got here, Fedrich!" Claire chided.

"How can you run this fast!?" He asked between gasps.

She laughed, readying her lance. "On the plains, where you run with the Fangs and Mus, you learn to run faster and harder than the winds of the Vube!"

"Come back, we can't take them on alone!" Fedrich insisted.

"I'm gonna go all out, comrade, so watch and learn!" She declared, taking to the skies with a mighty jump into the wind.

"Claire, wait!" He shouted to no avail, watching her reach the apex of her leap.

She spun her lance around furiously, then with the speed of falling stars, she flung her weapon down at one of the monsters. With deadly accuracy and strength, the metal bladed rod shattered through the beak of an Iron Beak, scattering hard bone across the grass as the monster wailed in agony and death. Landing easily by her lance, she pulled it from the soft earth and looked to her next opponent, the second Iron Beak that screeched in anger at the passing of it's mate. The Burman laughed madly as she lifted her lance to the charging monster. With a yell of effort, Claire whipped the lance down and completely halted the Iron Beak's motion in a single strike, shattering a long section of the beak apart. Jumping onto its back, she used the same strength to crack the monster's skull into pieces and send it into death.

"Ha ha!" Claire laughed. "I finally feel alive again!"

Gazing across the field, she looked at the few spiders that stood in hesitation, primal emotions making them reconsider their prey's strength. With a malicious smile, she leapt into the sky and again cast her lance into their ranks, the weapon beheading a beast and ending its life. Landing and gripping the pole, Claire literally took to her feet in a dance of battle prowess, spinning the lance around to deflect the spider's mandibles as they surrounded her. With a sweep of her arm, she impaled a spider and killed it, then pulled the lance out and slashed through another limb that tried to knock her down.

"Come on, come on! You gotta give me more, give me everything you got!" She demanded of the monsters.

The spiders didn't respond any differently to her words, merely continued attacking with their arms and snapping fangs. Fedrich, finally close enough to enter the fight, hesitated as he saw Claire's expression slip into a maddening trance. He didn't even break his gaze when the others finally arrived, mesmerized by her fluid yet savage attacks that brought death with every motion of her arm.

"Fedrich! The hell are you doin' here!?" Gerick asked, stepping next to the Burman. "Where's Claire?"

Fedrich only pointed, and everyone else stared at her as the last spider was dispatched with a screech from it's dying mouth. Claire finally stopped her spear, standing still in a battle stance as she gasped for breath, fur matted with sweat and extertion.

"Claire?" Fedrich asked.

The female Burman snapped to his direction with a snarl, a feral look in her eyes. Recognizing her ally, she shook her head and regained her senses, straightening up and slinging her lance across her shoulder. Wiping her scattered hair free from her face, she chuckled at the stunned expressions her comrades bore.

"Heh, I told 'ya so." She said of Fedrich.

"That's...that's amazing!" Fedrich sputtered. "How did you do that?"

"I told you I've been doing this for ten years. I'm probably stronger than any monster around!" She boasted.

"I wouldn't doubt it." He nodded.

"Okay, ladies, let's clean up this mess and get our prizes fer the day!" Gerick commanded, heading out for the corpses.

"I don't think we're done yet." Ruthy argued. "There's something up in the sky!"

Everyone looked up to the early morning sky, eyes tracing across clouds to find whatever it was that Ruthy mentioned. Moments later, a shadowy figure appeared from underneath a cloud, large wings flapping idly and tail whipping around in flight.

"What is it?" She asked. "A dragon?"

"It's too fast 'ta be a big one..." Gerick muttered. "An Ironite, maybe?"

"No, look at the wings, they're too long." Claire observed. "It's gotta be some kind of lesser dragon."

"But what kind could it be? I've never seen dragons up on the plains before." Ruthy pondered.

The dragon began to circle around, it's form getting larger as it descended to the earth below.

"I don't really care what kind it is now, it looks ready to fight!" Fedrich warned, drawing his sword.

"Hold up!" Claire insisted, holding her hand to stay the others. "I'm still worked up, I gotta get rid of this excess energy I have! You stand back and let me take this bad boy on!"

Spinning her lance about eagerly, she stared at the unknown dragon as it flew ever closer to the Regulators. Readying her legs, she crouched down and prepared to leap and meet the monster head on. However, her body quaked and she fell to her knee, free hand clutching her shoulder as he gritted her teeth.

"Claire!" Fedrich shouted, running to her side.

"I'm fine." She growled.

"What happened to you? Did you get hurt?" Fedrich asked, looking her over.

"One of those spiders bit me is all." She muttered. "Why is it hurting this much?"

"Those spiders have poisonous fangs! You've got to hold back and get some help." Fedrich cursed. "Ruthy! Claire got bit by those spiders, she needs some antidotes!"

"Okay!" The redhead nodded.

"Ruthy, you keep yerself and Claire safe! Fedrich, you're with me!" Gerick ordered.

"Right!"

The two warriors ran ahead to meet the dragon, giving the two women some distance for safety. Gerick hefted his hammer, and Fedrich swung his sword out as they watched the monster close. Suddenly the dragon dipped low to the ground, and before Gerick could dodge to the side, the monster's legs collided with his body and sent him flying back to the grass. It circled around and halted in front of Fedrich's form, revealing the entirely of it's body.

"What in Rei's blessed name is that!?" Fedrich cried out, eyes wide as he looked at the large, pinkish dragon hovering before him.

"It's a...Coral Dragon!" Gerick coughed, recognizing the beast. "They normally stay 'round the mountains! It tries to put its enemies 'ta sleep before eating them or using lightning to fry 'em!"

"Right!" Fedrich spoke, holding his sword protectively.

The Burman watched the dragon as it drifted across the ground, nose up and sniffing the air loudly as it tried to make sense of the creature it saw. Fedrich felt sweat bead across his face, absorbing into his fur to mat it to his skin. His previous battles made him experienced in fighting arachnids nearly twice his own size, but this dragon was twice as big as that.

Oh man, how am I gonna fight this thing? I've never fought a dragon!...

"What're you waiting for!" Gerick continued. "Kill the damn thing!"

"But...how!? What should I do to stop it!?"

"Just rush it! Make sure it can't put ya to sleep!"

Fedrich remained still, even as the Dragon snorted and flapped its wings harder, gaining some altitude as it's tail swung quickly behind it. He clenched his jaw shut, trying to force his body to action in face of the demonic monster that dropped his leader in one strike.

Goddess Rei...if you're listening to me, please help me stop this beast from hurting my friends!

Casting his fate to the wind and his faith, Fedrich brought his sword up and leapt to the sky, aiming for the dragon and readying to lash out. With a wide swing, his blade caught the tip of a wing, the dragon unable to back away fast enough and bellowing it's frustrations out. Landing on his feet, Fedrich again jumped up with intent to carve the Dragon's hide apart. However, the pink beast reared its head back, electricity dancing across its maw as it prepared to belch a lightning spell at the approaching Burman. Fedrich's eyes went wide at the thought, knowing he couldn't adjust his path and made for an easy target.

No! This can't be the end!!

As the dragon's head fell forward and the lightning spell exploded from its jaws, Fedrich felt a strange soothing wind encompass his body. The wind tickled his fur and ears, and suddenly the wind gained strength, his body lurching to the side as the bolt of lightning passed by, deadly energies inches from his form. After the wind and spell passed, Fedrich found himself reaching the end of his jump, the delicate form of the dragon's wing before him. Not taking a moment to hesitate, the Burman slashed up and down, the sharp sword cutting the wing open and drawing a terrible screech from the beast.

Both Burman and dragon fell to the earth as gravity assumed control, but the Regulator was first to attack the other. His sword raised up, Fedrich slashed across the Dragon's neck and doubled back, adding twice the injury to the beast. The Coral Dragon snapped at Fedrich with it's deadly fangs, but the agile warrior jumped out of it's reach. Fedrich held still, watching as the dragon stalked across the ground, slithering tongue coursing through its razor sharp teeth.

"How am I going to beat this thing?" He wondered, seeing that the dragon was only mildly hurt from his attack.

A battle cry suddenly broke through the air, and the dragon looked to the source of the call in time to see the silvery form of a battle hammer collide into it's head. For a long moment, both Gerick and the dragon remained motionless as the impact of the strike took effect, the elder warrior hoping his sneak attack was good enough. Time continued as the dragon recovered from the blow, but it quaked and coughed out a screech as Fedrich's short sword pierced it's neck, cutting through vital nerves. Wrenching his sword out, the blade cut through the neck entirely and allowed the wound to bleed freely.

The Coral Dragon's body shuddered in it's death throes, then collapsed onto the ground with a dull thud, twitching slightly before death claimed it. Fedrich pulled himself upright, gasping for breath as the adrenaline rush faded away. He looked up towards Gerick, the elder man also breathing deeply as he took in what just happened.

"Did we-?" Fedrich started.

Gerick let out a laugh, nearly falling over. "We just took out a Coral Dragon!"

"...Unbelievable!" Fedrich gasped.

"'Ya did good, Fedrich!" Claire encouraged from afar. "I think your the one's who's ready to win the Master Hunter title!"

"Thanks!" He replied with a smile.

"So what can we do with this thing?" Ruthy asked. "We've never fought a dragon before."

Gerick ginned widely. "Don't you know anythin' about dragons, Ruthy? People'll literally pay thousands for their claws and fangs! Some 'o the best weapons ever made have been made of dragon bone."

The redhead's eyes widened. "Seriously!? Talk about luck!"

"Trust me, it was worth 'ta effort! I'm gonna probably be off my feet again 'cause of the damn beast."

"Well let's get to it, comrades!" Claire insisted, standing on uneasy feet as she walked to the dragon.

"Take it easy, Claire, you just got poisoned!" Ruthy reprimanded, holding the female Burman steady.

"Thanks for the reminder, but I've taken worse than this an' lived. You ought to look over Gerick and make sure he isn't going to keel over."

"Okay." Ruthy nodded, heading towards the elder warrior.

Claire slowly walked towards the corpse of the dragon, seeing that Fedrich was working diligently on it's claws as Gerick assisted him, much to the dismay of Ruthy. The female Burman chuckled to herself, admiring the Regulators for being a flexible and close knitted group.

They're stronger than I gave them credit for, and that's something I can't afford to do with anyone these days. Underestimating people is the first thing that leads to being defeated, and I won't allow myself to be beaten...