A/N: If you have reached this chapter, then I love you and you deserve many, MANY a cookie!!! True, it might only be the second chapter, but you deserve cookies nonetheless!!

About mid chapter the plot line (Is there a plot line?) becomes more random, and I'll be honest, only a few characters MIGHT actually be in character.

Anyway, review! And, I have to tell Lemurian 04 and Nightmare how much I love them because they read my story after it was up only one day!!! I LURVE YOU!!!!!! And I even put Karel in it for you, Nightmare! He'll do more later.... MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Ch.2: Why Lowen? Because I Can!!!!!

"Ohhh..." Kent groaned, "Why isn't there anyone to take over for me?" He slumped foreward and buried his face in his hands, "It has to be at least 4:00 in the morning..."

"Don't worry Kenty!!" Jordan piped up as she dropped out of a tree and landed right next to him, "Sain didn't get more sleep than you did!"

Kent raised an eyebrow, "What?" With Sain, that phrase could take on a lot of meanings.

"Tee hee hee!!! You'll see!" She snickered as she scurried off.

'Honestly,' Kent thought, 'how does someone like her even BECOME a Tactician?!'

A moment later, Sain rode up hunched over like an old woman and moaning like he broke his back. El Principe Juanito didn't look too good either.

"You will not BELIEVE what happened to me during vacations last night!!" he said, gingerly stretching his aching back.

". . ."

"Last night, after I left, I was on my way to the Tavern minding my own business when all of the sudden, the Tactician called my horse!"

"... And?"

"AND just because they're the best of friends, El Principe Juanito went in hot pursuit of her ALL NIGHT!!!! He galloped around ALL night looking for her!!!"

"But you didn't get off?"

"No, of course not! Who in the right mind jumps off a horse in full gallop?"

". . ." Kent said nothing, but we all know he was smiling on the inside.

"So I rode him all night!!" Sain added with an angry snort.

". . ."

"What's the matter with you? You're most certainly in a foul mood today!"

"Well, I've been on guard duty for nearly 24 HOURS now!!!!!! 24 hours without a break, drink of water, or anything!!!!!"

".... Wow. That sounds rough."

Kent leaned his head back and put his hands over his eyes out of sheer frustration, "It is."

"I don't know about you, but I'm going to go catch up on my beauty sleep." Sain said as he dismounted, "Good luck with the whole guard duty thing!" he left, leading El Principe Juanito Francisco María Don Pan III to the stables.

Kent's eye twitched, "Completely oblivious..."

Katrina-Bo, who had been standing there all night along with Kent and Maximus, gave Kent a sympathetic look.

"Thank you, Katrina-Bo..."

A FEW HOURS LATER!!!!!!!

Kent was still there, so tired he kept nodding off and almost fell off of Maximus a few times.

"Kent, are you alright?" someone asked.

Kent awoke with a start to see Lyn standing at his side.

"Oh, Milady..."

"You don't look so good."

"Really, you needn't worry about me. I'm doing fine."

She giggled, "You look as though you've been here all night!"

"Ha ha ha.... It most certainly feels like it...."

"Well, I think that you're working too hard."

"Please, don't concern yourself with me I'm fine, milady-"

"Ah, ah! No buts! I'll get a replacement for you so you can rest a little!"

"Thank you, Lady Lyndis." Kent said with relief.

"Don't mention it!" Lyn said as she skipped off in search of a replacement.

A FEW MINUTES LATER!!!!!!

Kent had fallen asleep again. He was awakened by the Mission Impossible theme song, which was being terribly sung by Marcus and Oswin who were sneaking around. Merlinus was following closely behind skipping around and giggling like an eight year old school boy.

Kent regarded them with eyes narrowed in suspicion, "Can I help you?"

"SHHH!! You'll blow our cover, laddie!!" Oswin spat.

"We're hunting for something, but we can't tell you what, lest you alert our prey to our presence...." Marcus said with "shifty eyes."

"Right, so you two are hunting, but why's Merlinus with you?"

"They're gonna let me kill something so that I'll become a man!!" Merlinus said, skipping around even more from excitement, "WHEEE!!!!!"

"Blast it lad!!! Shut your trap or you'll expose us!!!" Oswin said, slapping Merlinus.

"Oh yeah! We have to be VEEEEERRY quiet, huh?" Merlinus snickered.

"That's right. Now sit down and shut up."Oswin replied.

They began stalking away with Merlinus still frolicking around stupidly behind them.

"Oswin, you can have the Mullet, but the one without eyes is mine. Are we clear on that?" Marcus asked.

Oswin nodded.

The Mission Impossible music died off and peace and quiet finally returned to Kent's watch.

It wasn't long until Lyn rounded the corner.

"Kent! I've got a replacement!" Lyn said.

"That's fantastic, milady!" Kent looked around, "Is he with you?"

"Erm, well, What I meant was that I had one in mind." Kent's enthusiasm deflated significantly, But Lyn continued, "I was wondering if you've seen Sir Wallace anywhere?" Lyn gave Kent a cheerful smile.

"Unfortunately, no." Kent said, doing his best to mask his disappointment.

"I guess that I'll go check the barracks again..." Lyn mumbled to herself as she wandered off.

MEANWHILE!!!!!!!!

"I've gotta find a way out of here!!" Lowen thought desperately, then he saw a shadow cross through the light through the crack underneath the door. He held his breath until it passed.

"Lowen..... Honeybunch," Eunice said sweetly, but not that sweetly because her voice sounded like that of a man.

"Come on out!" another aged voice said, "I promise we don't bite!" the two voices cackled in unison.

The shadow finally passed. Phew, Lowen could finally take a breath!

"It was a stroke of luck that I found this closet, that's for sure! Even luckier is that some idiot installed the doorknob backwards so I could lock it from the inside!!" Lowen thought to himself.

Another shadow came into view, and Lowen held his breath again. It stopped right in front of the door.

"I've been found!!" his brain screamed.

"Dagnabbit!! Eunice, this isn't working!!!"

"Well, it ain't gonna work if you keep yelling like that!"

"Why can't we just blow him out with some mines? He'd come running out screaming and we could nab'im like that!!!"

"That's your solution to everything, Hannah!"

"That's because it WORKS!"

Lowen began to get light headed.

"I'm not interested in blowing my house to smithereens!"

Lowen's lungs were on the verge of exploding, but if he breathed now, they'd find him. Not because they could hear him, they're old women and their hearing is terrible, but because earlier they fed him something extraordinarily nauseating that appeared to be made primarily of garlic, so the smell of his breath would tip them off to his presence.

"It doesn't appear that your 'Knightly Tracking Mechanism' is working! If he were here, we'd be able to smell him, wouldn't we?"

"We should be able to. Maybe I didn't add enough garlic....."

"Our only option now is to blow him out!"

"NO, Hannah, we are NOT going to blow him out! What can we do with him if you turn him into a pile of meat?!"

Lowen could feel his consciousness waning, "Please, for the love of everything holy, Please move!!!!!"

He could have gotten away with that last little thought without passing out, but the additional exclamation marks really cost him, and he passed out anyway.

"THUD!!!!!" said his head hitting the door.

Both ancient women looked at the closet in confusion until Hannah finally had one of those 'Lightbulb Moments' and started to cackle.

"Eee hee hee hee hee!!!" Hannah laughed, smiling her rancid, nearly toothless smile, "I knew he was around here somewhere!!"

"Don't stand there and laugh you idiot! Pull him out!"

"Right! Finally a nice, long foot massage for my bunions!" Hannah said as her gnarled hand reached out for the doorknob slowly and dramatically.

"STOP RIGHT THERE, HAGS!!!!" two very heroic voices called out as they kicked down the door just in the nick of time.

MEANWHILE!!!!!!

Kent was still on guard duty, but with the addition of a few squirrels storing acorns in his chest plate and some robins nesting in his hair.

"I'm almost at 36 hours now...." Kent mumbled sleepily.

MEANWHILE!!!!!!

Heath was having a lovely tea party in the castle garden, that was planned by Serra, with Canas, Raven, Lucius, Erk, (who was forced by Serra to come,) Nino, and Guy also in attendance.

Guy took a sip of his tea, "Ahh! What a fabulously fabulous day!!"

"Oh, yes! I do believe it is!" Canas agreed.

"Yeah ..... It's too bad that Jaffar decided not to come." Nino said as she did a VERY unlady like thing and ate her entire cookie all in one bite.

The entire group looked at her in complete disgust.

"What? What'd I do?" Nino asked.

After they finished 'disgust looking,' they all resumed tea partying as if nothing had happened.

"Pfft! Jaffar had enough sense to run for the hills!" Erk said bitterly, "The least he could have done was give me fair warning!"

"Don't lie, Erk! I hate it when you lie!" Serra snapped at him,"You wanted to come to my party and you know it!!!"

"I'd rather spend 6 hours in a small, small room with Nils on the Mother of all sugar-highs than sit tied to a chair at your stupid tea party!!!"

Karel popped in, "Be careful what you wish for, for it may just come true!!! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!" and then he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Dead silence.

"Yeah, anyway...." Heath said.

"Don't say that! It's a good tea party cause I helped plan it!!!" Lucius cried.

"There, there Lucy my darling. I think it's a great tea party...." Raven put an arm of comfort around Lucius' shoulders and shot a Death Glare at Erk.

"... Eeep ...." said Erk.

"Canas," Heath started as he gave him a very manly pat on the back, "I'm so glad that we finally worked out our differences!!"

"Ha ha ha... Me too." Canas replied as he reclaimed his monocle from his teacup.

"Amen to that, brother!" Guy said.

Then everyone chuckled warmly, except for Erk, who remained tied to his chair, fuming.

In some nearby bushes the sound of somebody cocking their gun could be heard.

A/N: So, what do you think? Is it ok? Reviews, please!!! The story only gets better from here!!