A/N: I'm a continuity wonk, I admit it. Bluntly, every single one of my Phantasy Star stories (um, okay, except for one PSIII story, "Love Is Not a Dream." There's always one troublemaker!) takes place in the same continuity—and I've written over a hundred of the things. Which means that, when I invent an OC, I'm likely to reuse them. Pretty much everyone who writes more than a couple of PSIV fics has to do an obligatory "origin of Zio" story (personally, I think the best ever is Rune Lai's, but then again, people have paid her actual money to put her original fiction in actual books, so there's probably a reason for that ^_- ), and I was no exception with "Amber Eyes, Shadow Eyes," which I basically took the button of Alys's line from the game, "Zio? That fake magician!" and sewed a vest on it. Jason Cord was the OC protagonist of that story. So when I decided that I needed to expand the cast of Guild Bar characters in "An Illuminating Experience," I decided to re-use him instead of inventing another new character.

He's been offstage dating Fenris for the past couple stories, but he's back for this one.

In good news, not only did I not botch continuity this time, but the fact that I gave the Guild Bar those classic swinging batwing doors like are in a billion saloons in a billion Western movies and TV shows is actually promoted to a plot point! (It's also why Alys can see Joss approach the doors from the outside.)

~X X X~

"So," Jason Cord said, "have you seen Joss lately?"

Alys Brangwin slowly turned on her bar stool to look at the man she thought was a friend. That status was in question given his choice of conversational topics.

"I was sitting here, enjoying my drink, relaxing after a hard week's work, and you have to go and start talking about him?"

Motavia's most celebrated hunter had a complicated relationship with Joss Howland. She respected the burly, handsome man as a good fighter and an adequate fellow hunter on jobs that did not require a great deal of intellect. His attitude towards her bordered on the worshipful. He considered her to be everything he could possibly want in a mate. Alys did not return this attitude. She would not say that Joss was the last man on the planet she would consider for a romance, but was pretty sure that if she ever worked her way down to his part of the list she would start seriously looking at celibacy.

Cord grinned, knowing darned well how Alys felt.

"Troublesome as he can be, you have to give him credit for recognizing his flaws and seeking to correct them."

"I do? Since when?"

"Oh, you haven't heard? Ah, that's right; you've been out of town for the past week on that job in Piata. But it's true: Joss has come to realize that his major problem in life comes from his head, so he's decided to educate himself."

"Well, that might do something about his pig-ignorance, but I'm not sure it'll help the fundamental problem of his stupidity."

Cord chuckled.

"That was blunt."

"I just spent seven days in an academy town, getting daily demonstrations of the difference between intelligence and education."

"I wonder if it was your taking that job that inspired him, now that you've been hanging around with the intellectual elite."

"That I believe. It'd mean that he didn't really want to improve himself, but just wanted to impress me."

"Well, it looks like he's about to get his chance to try."

Cord gestured with his mug in the direction of the bar entrance, and Alys turned to see that above the swinging doors, Joss Howland's upper body was visible, together with the upper half of a massive book bound in green-dyed, sandworm-hide leather. His eyes were down, fixed intently on the book. She could tell he was actually concentrating and not just carrying the book for show, since his lips were moving.

Unfortunately for Joss, that concentration made it difficult for him to see where he was going. The leading edge of the book hit the door solidly, sending it swinging open. The unexpected impact, though, made Joss stop short and rock back on his heels, looking up to see what had happened. The batwing doors, though, swung back and smacked into the book, jarring it out of his grip.

The heavy bound volume landed squarely on his foot.

As Joss hopped away back into the main Guild building, clutching his foot, Alys turned back to Cord.

"I'll give him this: this new interest in education seems to have improved his creativity. I'm not sure that last curse is even physically possible."