New character this chapter.

Chapter 3: Aspiring Mage

"I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!" A young woman ran through Keterburg as fast as she could. Her shoulder length caramel hair blew in the wind as she ran. Her white coat blew, and small children stared at her highly decorated light blue shirt, whispering among themselves. Her white pants, which were slightly too big for her, bounced a bit as she ran. As she reached the house next to that of the governors, she bumped into someone, and fell onto her behind. "Ow…" She looked up and quickly got up. "Sorry for being late, sir!"

The man in front of her laughed, and adjusted his glasses. "Its fine, Emma. And it's alright for you to call me Jade; that is my name, after all."

Emma bowed. "Okay sir!"

Jade sighed. "No matter; let's get to work." He led her to the park in the north part of town.

A young man watched from the distance. "Miss Emma Terrins; the daughter of the old Malkuthian general, interesting." Emma looked in his direction, but he looked away. "Beautiful, just as I've heard."

"Emma?"

She turned to Jade. "Ah, sorry."

They left through the north exit, but didn't stray too far. "Are you ready? You remember the basics?"

Emma nodded. "I'm ready!"

"Very well; let's try Stalagmite."

Emma took a deep breath and looked at the bracelet she wore. It was very similar to Jason's but with a small blue stone. A brown circle surrounded her. "Oh maddening gale of the spirits of the earth! Stalagmite!" The rock spires shot up from the ground. Emma panted slightly. "It… worked…"

Jade chuckled. "So, the item the emperor sent wasn't a prank; someone has found a way for us to use artes once more, fascinating."

Emma stood tall again. "Jade, I'm ready for another!"

"What other Fonic Artes have you studied?"

Emma cringed. "U-um…"

"Exactly; any Strike Artes?" She pulled out a blade. "The tree will be your target."

She ran to it. "Crimson Slasher!" She slashed upwards, her blade engulfed in flames. As she landed she grinned. "It worked!"

Jade walked over to her. "Very good, Emma."

"Thank you, Jade."

"A good start for you; your father would be proud."

"I'm sure he would."

Jade noticed some men running to a nearby cave. "Odd." He ran after them. "Stay here!"

Emma held out a hand. "Wait! ... Great he's gone." Emma sighed. "He told me to stay, but…" She shook her head. "No, I need to go!" She ran after him.

Behind as tree, the young man that was watching Emma earlier lurked. "Well, what do we have here?" He smirked and followed her.

"This is it, right?"

One of the men looked around. "Yeah, it is."

Another one of them, the largest of the three, put down a large round object; smoke was escaping it.

Jade watched from around the corner. "Is that… no it can't be; a fonon bomb? How did they get one? They've all been disposed of!" The man that put it down stepped back and lit a match. He poured some liquid next to it, and threw in the match. The three of them ran for cover, and the bomb exploded, creating a large hole in the wall.

"Perfect!" They ran to the hole. "Is it here?"

The largest of them kicked a rock. "There's no sign of the damn thing!"

Jade turned when he heard footsteps. "Emma, what are you doing here?!"

"I'm sorry, Jade, but I couldn't just sit back!"

The young man that pursued Emma walked behind the two. "You should be grateful, Colonel."

"Who are you?"

He bowed. "You may call me Ace."

Emma walked over to Jade. "Why did you follow me?"

Ace chuckled. "Does it matter?"

Jade turned back to where the explosion occurred. "We've to deal with them first."

Emma stepped in front of him. "You don't have your spear."

"Give me your sword then; it might not be much, but you have your Fonic Arte."

Ace pulled out a pistol. "An Artist; you really are fascinating."

Emma scoffed. "I didn't ask your opinion."

The men walked out of the expanded part of the cave, only to see Jade, Emma, and Ace. One of them drew his sword, but the other two stood their ground.

The one that was in the middle stepped forward. "You there; you're Colonel Jade Curtiss, correct?"

"And if I am?"

He shook his head, and touched the moon earring that was on his left ear. "I never thought that I'd run into you colonel."

Jade looked at him carefully. He was wearing a brown long tail coat, white pants, a black shirt, and a pair of black boots; a sword scabbard rested on the back of his waist. "What's so important about an earring?"

Ace looked at the other two. "Emma appears to be wearing a regular bracelet, but…"

The man in the middle drew his blade. "My name is Nag; remember it well." Nag swung his sword across the ground, as if using Demon Fang. "Wave Dasher!" A yellow ring of light flew across the ground, tearing it as it went.

Jade stepped out of the way of the attack. "I see; that earring is similar to Emma's bracelet; meaning you can use Artes as well."

Nag ran at Jade, and the other two men ran at Emma and Ace. Emma looked at the man rushing towards her, terrified. "C'mon, Emma, move your legs already…!" She squeezed her eyes tight, preparing for the worst, but she instead heard a man scream in pain. She opened her eyes to see Ace in front of her. The man fell, and she noticed that he held a knife. "Where did you…?"

He pressed a button on the side, and it's switched its shape from a knife to its original gun shape. "No need to let this distract you."

Emma looked to her side and saw the other. "I see."

The same circle from before appeared around her. "Oh maddening gale of the spirits of the earth! Stalagmite!" The man jumped over the attack, but Ace shot him with his pistol, and the man dropped to the ground.

Jade was busy dodging Nag's attacks, and the man cackled. "You have a sword, Curtiss; why not use it?"

Jade cursed under his breath. "Well, I'm more used to lances and spears."

Nag jumped back and snickered. "I'd love to stay; but I've no time to waste. There's somewhere I need to be." He pulled out a small black ball and threw it; a cloud of smoke surrounded him, and when it lifted, he was gone.

Emma fell to her knees. "Aw man… I never thought that I'd have to fight mercenaries…"

Jade walked to her and handed her the sword. "They weren't regular mercenaries. They were far more; they were here for something really important."

Ace looked at the hole. "I wonder what it was; that Nag guy was an Artist, so he was special. I don't want to know what they're up to; but I'll probably be forced to find later." He held out a hand for Emma. "Need some help?"

She took his hand, and he helped her up. "Thanks, Ace."

"No problem; I'll be leaving now."

Emma grabbed his arm. "So soon? I thought-"

"What's up? Do you want me to stay?"

Emma blushed and let him go. "N-no! I'm sorry for grabbing you."

He chuckled. "No worries; good day to you." He walked out of the cave, and Emma watched as he did.

"What's wrong, Emma?"

She turned to Jade. "Nothing, it's just that… he's so mysterious."

Jade laughed as he began to walk out. "You like guys like that, don't you?"

Emma chased after him. "I do not!"

"Whatever you say, Miss Terrins."

"Dammit; another dead end. Undine's Tear should be here somewhere; if not, then…" Nag punched a nearby tree. "We have no leads! Gnome's Crystal was in Kimlasca, but it's gone now! How are we going to pull this off?!" How rubbed his hand. "No matter; there are five others of the stupid things, I could start with one of those." He trudged off to the port to catch a boat to the mainland. "This is going to be more of a pain than I thought."