Chris: Well…I finally got off my lazy ass and decided to update. Whoo. So…Yeah. Updating thisas wellmy other two "high-priority" fics. Actually, one is an original thing I'm trying out. But enough of that. I'm sure you guys want your story. Anyway, reader reviews and then the chapter.

Tom Valor: Ooops. I just found out where I had put the numeral instead of the word after I posted that. Sorry about that…And I'm glad that you like how Niklas and Radella act.

Kiyoko-chan: Hmm…I don't know…Do you think it's going to be a pairing? Can't tell you if it is now. Cause I'm still not sure.

Zhang Kai: Ooooh, thanks for the info. And thanks for the praise.

Chapter 5: A Night on the Town, not the Jail

After the incident, wait, no, make that two incidents at the bar, Niklason, Radella, and Alexstrazos were finally able to have quality bonding time for themselves.

"Dammit Alex! For one, we are not going to steal from people! And two, we are not going to be your apprentices!"

"But come on, Niklason! I could use two henchmen like you!" Alex looked pleadingly at Niklason, who folded his arms.

"Henchmen?!"

"Uh…I mean…My right-hand man…and woman."

"I'm not going to steal, Alex." Radella looked at Alex, her face apologetic. "It's taken me a long time to become a mage. I don't want to ruin it by starting thievery."

"Sigh….What about you, Niklas?"

"Absolutely not! And don't you start calling me Niklas also!"

"Dammit…How am I ever going to make my own guild without any members?" Alextrazos sighed, then his face brightened for a while. "Well, since you guys still don't have any equipment, let's go to the stalls and see what else we'll find! I'll make sure you guys won't get conned….again!" He dashed off, Niklason running behind him, yelling curses. Radella sighed and slowly walked behind them.

The mage found her two companions at a weapons shop. Niklason was looking at the various swords in awe, hoping to be able to find a second weapon to compliment his katana. As for Alex, he was looking at the display of arrows, wondering which one would be perfect for that arbalest bow that was strapped on his back.

'Hmm…Oredicon arrows…They look kind of nice. I'll just…look at a couple.' His hand reached out to look at some of them when an axe thudded near his hand. The blacksmith that was minding the store smiled pleasantly. Her dark-blue eyes glinted dangerously.

"How would you like trying to string that bow with one hand?" The blacksmith pried the axe off the table and pointed it at the rogue's head. "Or perhaps you would be able to smell with a nose?"

"Uh…Heh…While that would be interesting…I will have to politely decline." Alex backed away, chuckling nervously.

"Moron…" Niklason muttered under his breath as he examined an ash-wood pike. He lifted it from the stand and tested it out. It was fairly heavy, as portions of the shaft had been covered with iron to make it stronger. Plus, the pike head was longer and wider as well. "Hmm…" He decided to test it out, giving it a few practice thrusts.

The blacksmith watched Niklason as he practiced with the pike. "Ah…Just starting out, huh? Well, the pike's good for stopping cavalry, I'll say that." She leaped over the counter and picked up another lance. "Now…How do you plan on using that? As a thrusting or slashing weapon?"

"Well…Probably thrusting…I have my katana for everything else." Niklason looked at the blacksmith, who nodded.

"Well, if you want a good weapon, that pike is the best for you. So, you going to get it?" The blacksmith pointed at the pike in Niklason's hands.

"Yeah…Luckily I kept some of the money in my pocket." Niklason grumbled as he pulled out a pouch. "How much?"

"Hmm…I think I like you, kid." She smiled, then slammed the axe near Alex's hand again. Alex had been reaching for some more arrows while the blacksmith and Niklason had been talking.

"Whoa!" He jumped back, nearly scared out of his wits. "I was just looking!"

"And what makes you think I would believe that?" She walked up to the rogue, her axe resting on her shoulder.

"Uh…I'm honest?" Alex gave the blacksmith one of his best smiles and kept his hands behind his back, trying to stop them from reaching for the arrows again.

"Hah! Like I should believe that." She smirked. "Try stealing my goods again and I'll make sure you lose more than just your wits, okay? And you'll have to learn how to shoot a bow with one hand!" Now that Alex seemed unlikely to cause anymore trouble, she turned back to the swordsman. "For the price of…One thousand zeny, that's yours."

"Wow! Thanks a lot!" Niklason handed her the money and picked up his new lance. He ran his hands over the ash haft and scrutinized the pike head. Nodding satisfactorily, he looked around for some place to put it. "Wait…How am I going to carry this thing? I don't want to stab anyone accidentally."

"Here, I'll show you. There's some special straps that you have…" She instructed him on how to strap the lance to his back and when he was finished, grinned at his. "You look like a real fighter now."

"Thanks for the help...Uh…" Niklason scratched his head.

"It's Sylvia. Sylvia Rionen." She smiled and brushed some of her blond hair out of her face. "Since introductions have been made, what about you guys?"

"I'm Niklason." The swordsman nodded before pointing to Radella. "This is my friend, Radella. She's a beginning mage."

"It's nice to meet you." Radella bowed to the blacksmith, who grinned and nodded.

"And this moron, is Alexstrazos….A rogue who I'd rather not have known."

"Hey! I resent that!" Alex glared at Niklason, who glared back. Sylvia chuckled at their antics and shook her head.

"Well, it was nice meeting you all, but I've still got some stuff to sell. Maybe I'll see you guys later." She walked back to behind the counter, ready to receive more customers. The three travelers waved farewell and left her shop.

"That was a disaster…" Niklason slapped his hand to his face as he walked out, moaning in embarrassment.

"Well, at least Sylvia was nice." Radella followed behind him, shaking her head. Alex followed behind them, a big smile on his face.

"Geez, why are you guys so grumpy today?"

Niklason spun around and pointed a finger at Alex's face. "Because of you, we could've been sent to jail or something! Next time, don't stick your hands in places where they shouldn't belong!"

"Like your pouches?"

"Exactly!" Niklason looked down and noticed he was missing on of the pouches on his belt. He looked up and saw Alex dangling it in his face. He gave a shout of rage and chased after a feeling Alexstrazos.

"Boys!" Radella humped and followed after them, muttering various things she'd do to the both of them. Alex ran into an abandoned clearing, Niklason close at his heels. When Radella finally caught up, she saw Niklason holding Alex by the collar.

"Come on! I've just about had enough of your stupid pranks and thieving! Just…Stop it already!"

Alex held up his hands and grinned apologetically. "All right! All right! I'll try, okay? Stealing's just in my blood, ya know?"

Niklason sighed and put the rogue down. "Yeah, I guess…"

"Glad we could come to an agreement." Alexstrazos smiled, but then his eyes flashed. He whipped out a short stiletto from his belt and shoved Niklason to the ground. "Move it, kid!"

"Hey, what's going on?!" Niklason jumped up, but then noticed that Alex was locked in a battle with an assassin. He pulled out his katana and rushed to help the rogue, but Alex brushed him off.

"Go help your mage friend! I've got this guy!" Alex grunted as the assassin's twin katars pushed down on his dagger. He pushed forward suddenly, pushing the assassin off of him. "Dammit, not you guys again! I thought you guys would leave me alone after those two other assassin you sent after me!"

Niklason turned as he stood in front of Radella, watching to see if any other assassins would come out. "Wait, you know these people?!"

"Uh…I'll explain after this!" Alex slashed vertically as the assassin, but was pushed back and had to dodge as the katars came close to puncturing his stomach.

"Hiss….You'll pay for working on our turf, rogue. Come on out!" He whistled and another assassin and a rogue appeared. Alex groaned.

"Why can't you guys just leave me the hell alone?!" He slashed with his dagger, breaking through the first assassin's defense and raising a long cut along the assassin's arm. He moved quickly to dodge the second assassin's slash, but only succeeded enough to earn himself a light cut on his leg. Wincing, Alex continued to battle the two assassins, who were relentless in their attack.

Niklason was also having troubles of his own, as the rogue had targeted him.

"No one can be a witness!" The rogue whipped out a short gladius, aiming it for the swordsman's throat. Niklason dodged to the left, but was too slow to be able to strike with a return blow. Radella launched a fire bolt at the rogue, which only served to make him target her instead.

"Ah…A little mage…" He disappeared, then reappeared behind Radella, holding his gladius to her throat. He saw Niklason move, but smiled and wagged a finger at him. "No, no! Don't move, or else this little lady is going be missing a few pints of blood." The rogue chuckled. "Who am I kidding? Tons of her blood!" Niklason stood still, his eyes flaring in anger.

"That's good, that's good. Thanks for not moving!" The rogue was about the plunge the dagger into Radella's heart, when an arrow pierced his hand from behind. The dagger dropped from his nerveless hand and he let go of Radella. Carylesti jumped in the clearing, her red hair flying behind her and her bow pointed at the rogue's heart. He hissed in pain and faced his new enemy.

"The militia. We should have known you'd be around here!" The rogue hissed as he turned to his fellows. "Come on! Let's go! We'll get them later!" He threw down a smoke bomb, and when it cleared, the rogue and the assassins were gone.

Alex gave a groan and sat on the ground. The battle had been extremely tiring to the rogue, as he had to face two opponents instead of one. He winked at the huntress. "Good thing you were here!"

Carylesti smiled. "Well, I heard sounds of battle and I decided to investigate. And who do I find but my favorite rogue and the swordsman!" She grinned and sat down next to the rogue, inspecting his injuries.

"Hey…Radella? Radella! Where are you?!" Niklason looked around for his friend, but he couldn't find her anywhere. Alexstrazos and Carylesti looked up in alarm.

"Yeah, where is she? Isn't she always with you?" Carylesti looked at Niklason, who was looking around hopelessly, trying to find some sign of her.

"She was here a minute ago! Where could she be?!" Niklason stomped the ground in anger, and discovered a piece of paper that fallen to the ground. He picked it up and examined it. The huntress and the rogue looked on as Niklason's expression grew angrier and angrier. Letting out a fierce yell, he crumpled up the paper and threw it to the ground.

"What did it say?" Alexstrazos looked at him.

"Grr…Damn bastards…They've taken her. They said we should meet them in front of the Payon Caves in order to talk about her release." Niklason sheathed his sword. "I'm going to get her."

"Hey, hey, don't forget about me!" Alexstrazos stood up and walked up to the swordsman, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I've gotta look out for her too!"

"Yeah, and I better accompany you. You guys seem to get into trouble, and besides, this is happening in my city. I can't let this continue." Carylesti tested her bow and stood beside Niklason.

"Thanks…But this is my fight. I appreciate your offers…But I'm doing this alone. I've known her the longest." Niklason dashed off, leaving the rogue and the huntress behind. Carylesti looked at the rogue, who nodded.

"Yep, we'd better follow him at a safe distance. He's still too reckless in order to deal with these guys properly." Alextrazos waited before running after Niklason. Carylesti thought about it and followed, quickly catching up with the rogue.

"Reminds me of someone I know." She smirked.

"Hey! Hey! I'm not that bad, you know!"

"Of course not. Of course…" They trailed behind him, watching the swordsman at a safe distance as he ran off to rescue his friend. And as he ran, he didn't notice that the fairy from earlier was flying around him, slowly enchanting him with the small amount of magic it had.

Chris: Ooooh…Stuff happened. Aaaanyway…Here's the part where Carylesti unofficially joins up with the group, so I'll be editing the intro as well. However, it isn't really official until later…But she sticks around them for now.