Chris: Another update! From me! Whoo! And, yeah, same layout as always.

Tom Valor: Thanks for the compliment and I was actually planning to have Niklason destroy the letter, but then I changed it at the last second and forgot to edit that sentence….Stupid me.

Kiyoko-chan: I agree. I need more reviews. Oh well. Just have to keep on writing. And…I didn't remember how to spell oridecon. It's a hard word…And Niklason/Radella might be a pairing. Probably. Maybe. And yeah…I had to use assassin. Of course, they'll get names later.

Chapter 6: Give Her Back!

Niklason plunged back towards the city, heading for the trail that led to the Payon Caves. The faerie continued to enchant his sword, making it stronger and lighter. He found himself in the main plaza and sped off, shoving aside people that were in his way. He spotted the trail and ran towards it; his only thought that of saving his friend.

Carylesti and Alexstrazos appeared a little later. The huntress spotted Niklason's disappearing figure and dragged Alex along as she ran after him. The rogue was currently emptying other people's pockets as he was running, and Alex calculated that he'd be thousands richer after this day was over. The both of them followed after Niklason, hoping he didn't do anything too rash.

-

Niklason peered behind some bushes, spying on the three people who kidnapped Radella.

"Do you think that kid will actually come here? We're going for Alex, not the kid." One of the assassins stretched, her long, silver hair falling behind her back. The rogue glared at her.

"We want him to come, Ninoryn! We must make sure that no one witnessed our assassination attempt. I hope that huntress comes too. I've got payment that I need to carve out of her pretty little body." The rogue ran his fingers along the length of his dagger. The second assassin, who was leaning against one of the many trees that surrounded the clearing, snickered.

"Of course, of course. Anyway, what are gonna do with her?" He cocked his head towards Radella, who was lying on the floor, unconscious. He practiced with his katars, testing their sharpness by clashing them against each other. "I just want to get rid of that rogue. He's done enough damage to our guild's reputation."

"The wench?" Ninoryn looked at Radella and shook her head. "I have no idea. Like you, I just want to get rid of that rogue, Alexstrazos. The nerve of that guy! Sneaking into our guild hall and pilfering some of the treasury! And he got past all of the guards too! You know, he would have made a great guild member, Hitori." She busied herself with spinning her twin daggers, throwing them in the air at random intervals.

"After we've killed those three fools, we can just kill her." The rogue pointed to Radella. "Unless…One of you wants to keep her as a slave. She's not bad looking, you know."

"No way." Hitori and Ninoryn shook her heads. "It's…Just dishonorable to take her as a slave." Hitori looked at the ground, his green hair ruffling.

"I can never understand you guys. With all that talk about honor. We're assassins and thieves! There is no honor in our work!" The rogue threw his dagger at the ground in frustration. "If you two won't take her, I will! She's has the same color hair as I have. Which only serves to make her more appealing." He reached and picked it back up. Grinning, he walked towards Radella's unmoving body and reached down to touch her hair. "She'd make a ni-"

"Get your hands off of her! None of you will take her! Now give Radella back to me!" Niklason charged out of his hiding spot, swinging his sword at the rogue's head. Niklason's opponent spun around in surprise and was barely able to block Niklason's furious blow. Hitori reacted immediately, running towards Niklason with one of his katars aiming for the swordsman's heart. Ninoryn scanned the clearing, searching for any others.

"Niklason! You idiot!" Alex burst out of his hiding spot, blocking Hitori's katar before it pierced Niklason's armor. "Next time, don't rush out recklessly!" Alex used his free hand to punch the assassin in the stomach, knocking Hitori backwards.

"Listen to Alex! He might be an idiot, but at least he knows how to fight!" Carylesti launched an arrow at Ninoryn and it was able to graze her side. The female assassin hissed and threw a stiletto at the huntress's throat. Carylesti dodged and fell to the ground, hiding so she could reload her bow.

"I thought I told you that this is my fight!" Niklason yelled angrily, swinging his sword again and again at the rogue, who was backing away. The rogue grimaced. Since one of his hands was out of action, thanks to that damned huntress, his defense was weakening. He grinned as he thought of another way to get out of this mess. He ducked, dodging Niklason's overhead swipe and grabbed Radella's body, using her as a shield again.

"Drop your weapons! Everyone, drop your weapons! Or else this girl gets it!" He positioned the dagger at Radella's neck. "Drop the weapons!"

"You little bastard…" Niklason grumbled as he dropped his katana on the floor, wincing as he heard it hit the ground. Alex and Hitori stopped fighting, and Alex dropped his stiletto on the ground, looking at the floor regretfully.

"The huntress too! Get out here right now!"

Carylesti stepped out of her hiding spot and dropped her hunter's bow on the ground.

"Hee hee. Good, good." The rogue pointed to the two assassins. "Make sure they don't do anything stupid!" Ninoryn picked up Carylesti's bow and unstrung it while Hitori picked up Alex's stiletto. Seeing this, the rogue tossed Radella on the floor and walked up to the huntress.

"I still haven't paid you back for what you did to my hand, you know." The rogue ran his hand across her cheek, and she slapped his hand away. "Hiss…You've got spunk. I like that."

While the rogue and Carylesti were talking, Niklason was slowly loosening the straps that held the pike to his back. Luckily for him, the rogue had forgotten all about it. Niklason stole a glance at Alex, who realized what he was trying to do. Alex gave a small nod to show that he understood and Niklason nodded back. Seeing that nobody was looking at him, Niklason pulled his pike free and stabbed the rogue in the back, piercing the leather armor that the rogue was wearing. He yanked it out of the rogue's body, prepared to fight anyone else.

"Gaha…" The rogue staggered forward a bit, his blood seeping out of the gaping wound in his back. He fell on his knees, his eyes glazing over. As he fell, his blood forming a pool around him, chaos broke out. Alex, seeing that Niklason was on the move, spun around and punched Hitori on the head, dazing the male assassin for a while. Carylesti lashed out with her leg and tripped Ninoryn before she was aware what was happening. The huntress proceeded to whip out an arrow from her quiver and point it at Ninoryn's neck. Alex was able to obtain his stiletto again and pointed it at Hitori before he was able to react.

"Grr…You win again, scum. But I swear, the next time we meet, I'm going to make sure that you die." Hitori glared fiercely at Alex, loathing plain on his features.

"As will I. I won't rest until I see your body in a grave, Alexstrazos Liakos. Be prepared for that day." Ninoryn throw down a ball, and it exploded, spreading smoke across the clearing. When it cleared, the two assassins had disappeared. Niklason trembled, the adrenaline disappearing. He dropped his pike on the floor and rushed to Radella, trying to see if she was okay.

"Whew…It's finally over." Alex fell to the ground, looking at the sky. "I thought I had seen the last of those guys."

Carylesti picked up her bow and began restringing it. "You've run against NightKnife before?"

"You need to ask?" Alex sat up a little, grinning tiredly.

"Oh…Right. Forget I asked." Carylesti shook her head. "How is the girl, Niklason?"

"Radella is fine." Niklason cut the mage's bonds, and lifted her up, shaking her.

"Ugh…Where…Where am I?" Radella blinked, shaking her head. "What happened...?"

"You're awake!" Niklason smiled, his eyes shining. He wrapped Radella in a big hug, tears of happiness falling out of his eyes. Radella's eyes widened, but she hugged him back, savoring the moment. Alex and Carylesti looked at each other, smiling at each other and happy that everything was okay.

-

"Okay Alex. Explain how you know these guys." Niklason sat down on a couch, looking at the rogue. After the battle, they had all returned to the inn and washed up and changed their clothes. Now they were seating in the common room, near the fireplace. This time, they were able to get enough rooms for the four of them, considering that the militia leader was there as well. For now, however, Niklason was determined to find out why these assassins were after Alexstrazos.

"Well, it is a long story…" Alex pulled at the collar of his black shirt and tugged at his pants.

"We've got time." Niklason folded his arms, with Radella sitting next to him. Niklason had on a white shirt and brown breeches while Radella had a green blouse and a blue skirt. Carylesti had left earlier, saying she had some things to do at the militia headquarters.

Alex sighed and leaned against the cushions, trying to recall the past. "I used to be a member in the NightKnife guild. You know, the one that does assassinations?"

"Whoa! Wait…You said you 'used' to be. What happened?" Niklason sat up, interested at what the rogue was going to say.

"Well, you see…At the beginning, it was fun. I was never fond of killing others. I just preferred to steal from them. But, the guild changed and became…darker, you can say. The guild leader, a woman named Trynis, became colder and colder, often killing guild members for idiotic and paranoid reasons. I had a lot of friends in that guild. And then, one day, I just left. I sneaked into the guild treasury and hid, hoping to be able to escape from NightKnife's grasp. I settled in Payon, where I met Carylesti. I managed to live well enough, stealing when it was necessary. Eventually, they tracked me down again, and I had to be more cautious."

"Oh…Alex…I never knew that was your past…" Radella looked at the floor, her skirt clutched in her hands.

"Ah, don't worry about me!" Alex barked out a short laugh. "Anyway, Carylesti helped me avoid some of the more diehard assassins, and if they ever found me, well, they never found anyone else again. Sigh…I never wanted to kill them, but it was a matter of life and death. But what sticks in my mind most is something Trynis told me."

"What's that?"

Alex closed his eyes. "This is what she said. 'Killing is just like stealing. Instead of stealing money, you just steal someone's life. That's all there is to it.'" He buried his head in his hands. "She creeped me out…How she didn't care about life. And…That's about all there is too it." He brought his head back up. "Ah, I'm tired. I'm going to my room to rest for a bit. See ya later!" Alex waved to Niklason and Radella before walking up to his room.

"Poor Alex…" Radella continued to stare at the floor.

"I know…Maybe I shouldn't yell at him so much." Niklason leaded against the cushions again.

"Niklas?" Radella stopped looking at floor and gazed at her friend.

"Yeah? What is it?"

"I…I never really got to thank you for saving me back there." She blushed, clenching her skirt tighter. "S-So…Thank you, Niklas."

"It wasn't a problem. You should be thanking Alex and Carylesti too. They helped a lot." Niklason let out a small sigh and closed his eyes, trying to rest for a bit.

"No…You don't understand!" Radella stamped her foot on the ground, causing Niklason to sit up, with his eyes open.

"What? How?"

"I…I…Niklas. It's just that…Well, I don't know how to say it!"

"Heh, just let it out. I mean, it can't be that bad, right?" Niklason grinned, looking at his friend.

Radella managed a shaky smile. "Hah…Yeah. Um, well, I guess I just wanted to thank you." She stood up and twisted her hair nervously. "And..."

"And what?"

"…" Radella leaned down and gave Niklason a quick peck on the cheek before fleeing to her room. Niklason leaned back, closing his eyes and smiling.

"You're welcome, Radella." Murmuring this, he closed his eyes and began to take a nap on the couch.

-

"What are we going to do now, Hitori! You do know that Trynis doesn't approve of failure! If we return, we'll be killed for certain!" Ninoryn waved her arms around, drawing a dotted line around her neck.

"The answer is simple. We don't go back." Hitori's eyes were closed, as he leaded against a dead tree.

"But…That would mean that we would have assassins sent after us." Ninoryn shook her head, although it was clearly apparent that she was considering the idea.

"It's better than certain death now, right?"

"True…Very well. Renegades we are, then." Ninoryn nodded.

Hitori smiled. "Heh. By this action, we have become like the person we had sworn to kill. Not only will more people be sent to kill Alex, people will be sent to get rid of us."

Ninoryn slashed a mark into the tree near Hitori's face. "We shall never be like that fool. We have the honor that the rogue will never have."

One of Hitori's eyes opened. "Honor you say? Hiding and sneaking around? Doing assassinations for people who have money? Killing people who are innocent, not the people who truly deserve to be killed? If that's our version of honor, I'd rather not have any." He walked off, heading back towards the city.

"…" Following Hitori, Ninoryn realized that her friend was correct.

Chris: Well, here it is! Now I must type up chapters for my other stories. Review please, if you want to.