Chris: Finally I'm updating this. Thanks to all who waited patiently. Oh, and I updated the character profiles as well.

Tom Valor: Thanks for the compliments, and I'll try to remember all the stuff you've told me.

Crove: Glad you like it, and here's an update for you.

Kaori: Whoo! It's the person who read Tom Valor's fic! Glad you like it so far, and I hope you continue to read!

Zhang Kai? That's Me: Hmm…It might have been. I dunno, really. But thanks for the compliments.

Northernsword: Thanks and glad you like it.

Oh, and if you're wondering why I took so long…Call it lack of motivation and laziness. And other stories…And games…And original stories…And school…And basically everything.

Disclaimer: Don't own RO. Don't own the CT series, because Tom Valor does. Read his fics.

Chapter 9: Infiltrating NightKnife, Part 1

"NO WAY!" Niklason folded his arms crossly, glaring at Carylesti, who was holding a bottle of hair dye. "I am not going to die my hair to…his color! It reminds me of thieves!" He pointed at Alex, who was smirking at the swordsman's predicament.

"Heheh." Alex shrugged and smiled. "Not my problem. If you were a little swifter, you might not have been robbed. Idiot."

"HEY!" Niklason shouted. "Fine! If I have to get my hair dyed, you have to get your hair shaved! You're going bald!"

"…I'm not doing that!" Alex straightened from his place at the wall, looking enraged. "How could you even think of shaving my hair?"

"Because I can!"

"BE QUIET! You two are acting like three-year olds!" Carylesti shouted with all her might and drowned out the bickering swordsman and rogue. "Look, Niklsaon. If we want to do this, you're going to have to dye your hair into another color! We can't be too certain that they didn't recognize you when we were escaping!" She whirled towards Alex. "And you! Stop razzing him! And secondly, while we aren't going to make you bald, we are going to do something else!" She held up a small tuft of hair.

"Say hello to your new mustache."

"…Crap."

"Bwa ha ha ha!" Niklason burst out laughing. "You're going to look like a fool!"

The huntress walked up to Niklason. "You're not going away unscathed either." She waved a bottle of red hair dye in front of his face. "In ten minutes, I expect to see you as a redhead, got it?"

"Dammit." Niklason took the bottle grumpily and left to dye hair red. Radella giggled at his dejected figure and flipped another page of her book.

"Let's see how those two turn out before we design our own costumes." Carylesti smirked and placed her hands on her hips.

"Okay." Radella nodded.

"Hey, what about me?" Elindasin spoke up from his little corner.

"Eh…" Carylesti scratched her cheek. "I'm not sure you'd be a great candidate for going, brother. So…I don't think you're going to be coming."

"Why not?" Elindasin's eyes flared. "I'm just as good as fighting as the rest of you!"

"I know, I know!" The huntress held up her hands. "Look, it's just that…you can't lie."

"I can lie!" Elindasin protested. "Come on, little sister, you've got to let me come! Who else is going to watch out for you?"

Carylesti let out a heartfelt sigh. "That's another problem. If you get too protective of me, NightKnife might think there's something amiss. After all, we're supposed to be acting as hardened people looking for a job. We can't let them think we're scared, okay?"

"Weeeell…" The priest scratched his head, mulling over her argument. "I don't know…"

"Okay, how about this? If you can lie to me, then you can come with us." Carylesti offered.

"Deal!" Elindasin's eyes brightened.

"Okay, tell me what we did today." Carylesti said.

"Uh…Hmmmm…We…uh…" The red-haired priest thought about it. "Oh…I can't think of anything."

"That's what I mean, Lindy. You can't lie. And you're a little too hot-tempered too."

"Don't call me Lindy!" Elindasin's eyes flared again. "But what can I do? I don't like feeling helpless while my sister is risking her life!"

"Well, if we're in trouble, we'll need someone to teleport us out. Think you have a spell for that?"

"Not at the moment, but I'm pretty certain I can rig something up." Elindasin said. "Maybe…" He walked off to study his spells, shaking his head. "Sheesh…Little sisters…"

"Sigh…Big brothers…" Carylesti shook her head as well. She turned to where Alex and Niklason had departed. "Yo, you guys done yet?"

"I am…And I am not happy about this!" Alextrazos entered again, his face glum.

"Nobody asked you to be happy, twinkletoes. You're getting a reprieve from jail because of this, so you better do it. And I like the mustache. Fits you well." Carylesti stared at the rogue, who fingered the lip hair dismally.

"I don't know…" Alex muttered. "And how will this stay on?"

"Eh, don't worry. I have magician friends in the militia department that made certain that it'd stay throughout our mission. When you want it off, then just go ask them to remove the charm on it." Carylesti said.

"Gosh, that seems like kind of a useless spell…"

"The magicians who put that spell on the mustache could easily turn you into a pile of ash, so I'd watch my mouth around them if I were you."

"Ooooh…Right….If they can hit me, of course." He smirked. "I'm the best rogue there is." He started juggling five coins that he pulled out of nowhere. "One coin for the poor, one coin for the rich, one coin for the sly, one coin for the honest, and one coin for me!" He flipped the coins into a small leather bag tied at his waist.

Carylesti stared at Alex. "Hmm…I don't know if the magic is good enough. After all, they should recognize you since you used to be a NightKnife member. We'll need to change some other things."

"Like what?" Alex said, looking at the huntress nervously.

"Hmm…We'll probably have to make you a silver-blond. Yeah…Your brown hair is too noticeable. Especially that little streak of red in the back. We can't do anything about height yet, so you're still going to have to remain tall, but there are a lot of tall people, so that's cool. Now…About the eyes…I don't know if we have the ability to change those." Carylesti muttered.

"Oh? The eyes are easy." Alex searched through his pockets. "I'm pretty certain I had something here…" He continued searching. "Guess not…I could always wear goggles though."

"No, no…They'll be suspicious and wonder why you're covering up your eyes like that. You can wear them if you want, however. And I think we should change your usual attire." Carylesti commented.

"What's wrong with my clothes? I mean, it's just a loose tunic over some leather armor. And a pair of jeans." Alex said.

"I'm talking more about the straw hat. I don't want you to wear that while we're there. Ever."

"Hmph. I think you're being too cautious. If we're in trouble, you can count on me to get us out of it." Alex said, but he complied and threw his hat somewhere in the house.

"Actually, I think I'm the one that will get us out of whatever trouble we encounter." Niklason walked in, holding the bottle of hair dye in his hand. "Here you go, Carylesti." He tossed it to the huntress. "I'm not sure I like being a redhead."

A hand reached out and grabbed the bottle in mid-air. "Hah!" Alex flipped the container in his hand and nudged his newly-worn goggles on his head. Grabbing the bottle of silver-blond hair dye from Carylesti, he applied it liberally on his brown hair, which soon became the desired color.

"Who the hell are you?" Niklason shouted.

"See Alex? The costume works!" Carylesti said, slapping the rogue on the back.

"Bah, I knew it was him the whole time. The shock of the mustache kind of got to me, though." Niklason said.

"Really? I think it makes me looked distinguished." Alex mused, stroking it.

"I think it makes you look like an idiot!"

"Now, now, Niklason. Don't be sore because my disguise is so much more better than yours." Alex laughed and patted the swordsman on the head condescendingly. Niklason swung a fist at the rogue but Alex caught it before it could connect.

"Sigh…Looks like we're all ready then." Carylesti threw her hands up in helplessness.

"Hey, what about your costumes?" Niklason turned his attention from Alex to look at the huntress. She thought about it for a second before shrugging.

"I dunno. I've always wanted short hair though…I guess this'll be as good a time to try it out as any. I don't know if I should change my hair color."

"Make your hair blond. It'll match your personality." Alex commented, smirking.

Carylesti turned to Alex, smiling serenely, which scared the rogue a lot more than if she had been angry. She winked at the now silver-blond haired rogue. "That's a good one, Alex. However, I do have the power to send you to jail." Her voice turned to a low growl. "You wouldn't want me to get angry and accidentally send forms that get you transferred to Prontera, where their jails are a lot more secure and tough, right?"

"I got it, I got it! Didn't say a word!" Alex said half-heartedly, sweating slightly. "I'll just go mind my own business."

"You go do that." Carylesti muttered angrily. "And make one more crack about changing my hair to blond and I'll kill you."

"I'd listen to her. She's in one of her 'moods'." Elindasin cautioned, eying his sister warily. "Last time I bothered her, she threatened to get me kicked out of church."

"I see…" Alex muttered.

"What are you talking about?" Carylesti whirled around to face the two.

"Uh…Nothing! Nothing!" Alex said frantically. "Nothing at all! Let's go, Elindasin! We'll wait for you outside!" He grabbed the priest's hand and immediately rushed outside of the house with Elindasin in tow.

"Hmph…" The huntress muttered to herself. "Come on, Radella. We're gonna get some extra supplies and more stuff for our costumes." She smiled. "After all, I'm the militia leader! I should get some extra bonuses."

"Uh…Where are we going?" Radella asked, quickly pocketing her little book.

"Where do you think we're going? We're going shopping!" Carylesti said cheerfully as she dragged Radella along with her.

Niklason watched them leave and shrugged. He wasn't involved and didn't want to be involved because the last time Radella had wanted to go shopping, he was stuck carrying the packages. He wasn't certain if Carylesti was the same…But chances were that she was. It would be most beneficial for him if he didn't make any sounds. The swordsman sat on the couch and lay on his back, sighing deeply.

'Oooh boy...This is going to be great.' Niklason thought sarcastically to himself.

---

An hour, Niklason, Radella, Carylesti, Alexstrazos stood in front of a popular Payon tavern, with Sylvia at their side. The blacksmith, once alerted of their plans, wanted to join them and finally they relented, on the condition that she wouldn't do something extremely stupid.

"What exactly are we doing here? Don't tell me you want a drink." Niklason said scornfully, looking at Alex with his arms folded.

"Fine. I don't want a drink." Alex replied. "I know that some NightKnife recruiters go to taverns to scout out any prospective guild members. So, if we just hint that we're looking for work, we should be fine."

"Not bad." Niklason said grudgingly.

"And I wanted a drink."

"…" Niklason glared at the rogue before entering, feeling slightly uncomfortable in his new clothes. Instead of his usual attire of a loose shirt, leather armor, and brown pants, he was decked out with black chain mail that was slightly concealed by a rough, brown jacket and he was wearing black pants and thick, belted boots. The chain mail itched him, the boots were annoying, and all-in-all, it was a bad experience.

Alex, on the other hand, was enjoying his disguise immensely. With his silver-blond hair and the goggles on his head, along with the sweeping dark-blue cloak he was wearing, he radiated an aura of fashion and mystery. He adjusted his goggles again and followed the swordsman, trying to look hardened and rough.

Carylesti and Radella exchanged glances at each other before entering as well. The huntress had made good on her vow and cut her hair so it just reached her shoulders instead of the middle of her back. Her hair color was now a stark-black and she carried a multitude of daggers around her waist and her bow was on her back. Her clothing hadn't changed much, but she wore a cape over her bow and her fingers constantly fiddled with the knife handles, as if she was wishing that she could use them immediately.

Radella, on the other hand, had her outfit changed dramatically, but her hair color remained the same. She wore a black headband and a small, blue choker around her neck. Her hands were covered by black, elbow length gloves, and she wore a long, brown skirt and a normal, blue shirt.

Sylvia entered last, the only change being that she had tied her hair in a ponytail and had switched her normal white shirt with a set of leather armor and a green coat. She made sure her axe was at her side before settling down in one of the stools.

Alex, since he was the only one of the group that actually knew how the NightKnife recruitment process went, took the lead, scanning the crowd with an appraising eye, separating the drunkards from those that were only faking it. A couple of minutes passed and Alex finally located his quarry, sitting at a corner table and nursing a cold flagon of beer. Occasionally, the recruiter would lift the mug up to his lips, but he would never take a drink.

Alex grinned slightly to himself. If all went well, he wouldn't even have to break a sweat. Banging on the counter loudly, he called for the barkeep.

"Hey, idiot. Give me some of your best stuff." Alex grumbled in a voice carefully calculated to draw the recruiter's interest. He looked at the others and turned back to the barkeep. "And some beer for the rest of my friends here. We're thirsty and tired."

The barkeep mumbled compliance with the order before leaving the companions to themselves. Alex took another look at the recruiter and smiled inwardly as he saw that the NightKnife member had shown an interest, how slight it might be. He turned to Niklason and nudged him roughly.

"Hey, Rantelon, stop shoving me." Niklason said angrily, calling Alexstrazos by the fake name they had concocted for him. "You got most of the pay from our last job, so don't go bothering me for my zeny."

"Ahhhh shut up, moron. If you had any brains, you'd be leading this outfit, Wetran, not me." Alex scoffed and looked at the barkeep. "Hey! Hurry up with that!"

"Hmph, if I was leading this outfit, I would be able to get us work, bastard. We've been starving ever since you began hoarding the cash." Niklason retorted, snarling slightly.

"You think I'm not leading you guys well enough?" Alex cocked an eyebrow at Niklason. "Listen, buddy. I'll be getting us work soon enough, so just sit down, shut your trap, and act like the good, little mercenary everyone knows you aren't."

When the barkeep finally arrived with their drinks, Alex tugged on the man's dirty sleeve. "Hey, can you help us?" The rogue slowly slid out a thousand-zeny piece out of a bag at his waist and slowly slid it to the barkeep. He shot a look at Niklason and looked back at the barkeep, noticing the intelligent gleam in the man's eyes.

"I'm not sure I can help you, sirs…"

"No, I'm pretty certain you can." Alex retorted, whispering. "Listen, we need work and we don't care what kind it is. As long as it's steady, pays well, and we get in a little action time to time, you can count on our prowess. So, do you have anything?"

"…I might just have one, sir." The barkeep slowly pocketed the thousand-zeny piece and walked over to the NightKnife recruiter. Alex looked at them from the corner of his eye, trying to catch strains of their conversation. The disguised rogue smiled as he saw the recruiter stand up and head up to them.

"I hear you're looking for work." The tall, silver-haired man sat next to him, looking at Alex and his companions. "All of you?"

"Yeah." Alex narrowed his eyes. "What's it to you?" The rogue's hand lowered to his dagger. "And I wouldn't think of drawing that knife you have hidden in your pocket."

The recruiter smiled. "Ah…Quick…I think I have a solution to your problems."

"Yeah? And what's that?" Alex asked lazily, but inside, he was cheering.

"How would you like to join…NightKnife?"

"Hmmm…" Alex said thoughtfully. "I've heard rumors of that guild…Very well. You've got yourself a deal and five new recruits." The rogue brushed back some of his hair and smiled. Part one of their plan had just been completed.

Chris: Well, there you go! Once again, I'm truly sorry for the delay and I hope this kind of makes up for it! Hopefully, I'll be able to update this at a constant schedule soon. Probably once a week or something.

And if I messed up the recruiting scene...Oops.