Breath of Fire III: Of Gods and Dragons

Chapter Three: Heroes or Thieves?

Written by Estrelita Farr

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The sun shone brightly onto the bright green leaves of the trees, the birds sang the song of spring and darted off to meet their partners, and squirrels bounded from tree to tree in play. Rabbits chased each other, the deer grazed peacefully in the forest clearings, foxes rested in the shade under the bushes.

Spring had come.

A particular young boy with long purple hair walked through the woods, his hands full of apples, to a wooden cabin situated on a little hill. With some difficulty, he managed to turn the doorknob, kick the door open and enter.

"Hey! I'm home!" Teepo cried.

There was no one in the house at all.

"Now that's funny… where did they go?"

He placed all the apples on the table and went outside once more, looking around for his companions. He soon found them sparring at the nearby forest clearing.

Ryu was getting much better at using his sword and he was used to carrying it by now, thanks to Rei and Teepo's constant training, but he still couldn't help but to swing wildly each time fear gripped him, and that fear always overwhelmed him in the face of monsters. However, he was better at the Heal spell now and even learned a new one called Purify, which would detoxify one's body of poison.

The older boy yelled loudly, waving madly. "Heeeey! Rei! Ryu!"

"Hey, you're back." Rei sheathed his daggers with ease. "Found anything new this time, Teepo?"

Teepo shook his head. "Nope, just apples and berries."

He groaned. "Man, not again, the least you could do is getting us some meat…"

"Hey, it's not my idea that it's my turn to get breakfast!" he protested.

Ryu didn't mind having apples for breakfast again, he liked very much. However, the other two evidently preferred something else to eat, so he sheathed his sword and tried to raise their spirits.

"At least we don't have trouble finding food anymore… right?" he said hopefully.

It seemed to have worked on Teepo, for he grinned. "Yeah, it's a good thing we got rid of that monster, huh?"

Now his own spirits fell. Killing the Nue three months ago was something he still regretted to this day.

Then, the other boy's eyes lit up. "Hey, I've got a good idea!"

Rei groaned again. "Oh no…"

"Oh yes! Why don't we go down to the village and show them who did it?" He punched the air confidently. "Tell them who got rid of the monster!"

Ryu shook his head. "I don't think it's that much of a good idea… I mean, isn't it better if we don't brag about it?"

"Aw, c'mon!"

"But…" Rei swished his tail as he thought for a moment. "…I suppose it wouldn't hurt to go and see what they're saying about us…"

Teepo perked up immediately. "Then we can go? C'mon, c'mon! Let's go now!" He ushered them towards the dirt path leading outside of Cedar Woods. "Go go go!"

Ryu blinked. "Where… does he get all his energy from?"

The half-tiger shrugged. "Beats me…"

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-o-o-o-o-o-

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It took about an hour and a half to walk to the village, but even Ryu found it easy to defeat the attacking monsters now. He still wondered why they were so vicious, unlike animals, and why they disappeared the moment they died… though it seemed he would not get the answers anytime soon.

Teepo ran ahead into McNeil village when they finally arrived at the village gates, eager to see how the townspeople reacted, while Ryu and Rei lagged behind, more worried about whether they would receive a cold reception or not. But somehow the place was eerily silent today…

"Hey, that's funny…" Teepo said, looking around. "There's no one here."

It was true. Whereas the last time they were here, there were people walking up and down, working in the fields or taking care of the shops… now, there were no sign of people within their line of sight at all.

Teepo crossed his arms. "Right after I told them we'll be coming today too…"

The young man let out a sound similar to a strangled gasp and grabbed him by the collar. "I KNEW IT! I knew you were bragging about it!"

He paled a little. "H-hey, cool it, Rei, it's not like I said I did it alone! Honest!"

Ryu, however, was not paying attention at all, and started to feel uneasy. "Um, g-guys… look…"

The other two turned, and began to look uncomfortable as well.

The villagers, who had been in their houses, had came out from the buildings all at once, as though they had been summoned by a silent horn. The men surrounded the trio first, all wielding tools such as hoes, sickles and rakes (Ryu could not help thinking that it would be painful to be hit by these weapons), followed by the women and the elderly behind them.

The three of them backed away from the villagers and into each other, feeling nervous… what kind of trouble had they landed themselves into this time?

Even Rei, who kept his cool most of the time, seemed shaky. "H-hey, Teepo… what's going on?"

Teepo shook his head quickly. "I-I don't know, I didn't expect this to happen at all…"

Ryu could only shiver in fear.

One old man in a brown coat stepped forward from among the people, leaning heavily on a wooden cane, and spoke in a raspy voice, "Hey, you three."

He did not sound furious or sad. He spoke inquiringly, as though puzzled about something. The same could be said about the other villagers' expressions – only puzzlement and confusion could be seen on their faces, as if they had just received a strange piece of news.

"Y-yes?" Rei replied.

Ryu gulped.

The old man hesitated for a moment, and then asked uncertainly, "Is it true that you three… killed the Nue?"

The trio, beginning to wonder about this, nodded simultaneously, and several people gasped.

Another man, a younger one, gazed at them. "So what Bunyan said was true…"

"You mean to say that…" An old woman shook her head, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "You risked your lives… for us?"

Rei scratched the back of his head, not quite knowing what to answer. "Um… I guess you could say that…"

Ryu shut his eyes tightly as he cowered in fear, somehow expecting the mob of people to yell out in anger and throw things at them. However, that did not happen, and instead… they cheered.

Teepo's eyes grew wide while Rei was so shocked that his jaw dropped, and Ryu opened his eyes slightly in curiosity – this was entirely the opposite of what they had expected.

"Thank you so much!" a woman cried, smiling widely.

A man went up to them and happily shook their hands in turn. "Thanks to you three, the harvest is so much better now! We have much more food than we need!"

"You won't need to steal anymore!" another man stated. "If you ever need food, just ask!"

"Wow!" Rei muttered.

The old man who had first spoken shook his head. "We misjudged you boys, and we're really sorry… will you forgive us?"

Ryu nodded, smiling now. "Of course!"

Teepo grinned. "You bet!"

"Well, you heard their answers!" Rei stated, grinning as well.

The crowd cheered even more loudly, then some of the stronger men swept them off their feet and carried them above their heads. They were heroes, and everyone else seemed to want to shake hands with them.

The azure-haired boy turned red, feeling bashful and uneasy especially since he wasn't used to being treated like this, yet he felt relieved – at least he did not have to go on regretting about killing the Nue after all. All he had to do was think how much happier the villagers were after it was dead.

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-o-o-o-o-o-

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It took a very long time before the enthusiasm died down. When the people finally let them go free, Ryu flopped down onto a patch of grass under a tall tree nearby, where it sheltered him from the afternoon sunlight.

"Whoo! That was GREAT!" Teepo cried, grinning from ear to ear. It was clear that he loved the attention.

Even Rei, who was usually a little quiet, couldn't help but to grin. "Doesn't that just beat all? We're heroes now!"

"Now I feel important!" Teepo elbowed the other boy lightly. "What about you, Ryu?"

Ryu, still lying on the ground, looked up at them and wondered where both of them got their energy from. "I'll say, I'll pass on the excitement anytime…"

"What?" he exclaimed loudly. "You can't mean that!" He grabbed him by the shirt and shook him furiously. "What's wrong with you, Ryu? They're giving us the hero treatment! The HERO treatment!"

Rei shook his head. "H-hey, Teepo, you'll kill him…"

"Eh?" He stopped shaking Ryu and looked up at Rei, as though he had just noticed him the first time. "What are you talking about? He doesn't mind, do you, Ryu?"

Ryu didn't reply, for he appeared to be stunned and dizzy from all the shaking.

"…ah, he's tough! He'll live!" He dropped him so abruptly that he was slammed onto the ground.

He slowly sat up and rubbed his sore head as he made a mental note never to incur his friend's wrath in future…

"So, Rei," Teepo spoke again, crossing his arms. "What do we do now?"

"Hm…" The young man shrugged. "I don't really know… maybe we could just hang around a bit?"

He scowled. "Aw, that's boring!"

"Then why don't you think of something better to do?"

At that very moment, Ryu immediately knew that Rei had said the wrong thing, for then Teepo's eyes lit up as they usually did when he had one of his "bright ideas".

"Hey, we could go and do more heroes' work!" Teepo grinned again, clearly proud of his idea. "You know, like killing more monsters for other people! C'mon, whaddya say?"

The other two groaned. "Oh, no…"

"Psst, hey," a voice abruptly whispered near them.

The three of them instantly turned towards the voice, and saw a shady-looking person –probably a man – his features completely hidden within a deep green cloak. Ryu thought that he had seen him around during the gathering of the villagers earlier, eyeing them carefully.

"Heh heh, you guys are really something…" the cloaked man continued to talk in a low voice. "I'm really impressed! No, I mean it, I really am!"

Ryu felt uncomfortable… it was clear that this person was untrustworthy, and by Rei's raised eyebrow, he seemed to be thinking the same thing as well.

"Who're you?" the youngest of the trio asked boldly.

"Me? You can just call me Loki." He paused a moment, as though hesitating, though the younger boy immediately had the image of him grinning evilly in his mind. "So you guys are heroes, huh? Saved the village? Oh yes, you guys are heroes indeed, definitely something… I mean, you killed that Nue, something no one else was able to do!"

Ryu and Rei glanced at each other, both a little disgusted at all the false flattery, but Teepo, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying the rapt attention.

"Yep, we're heroes all right!" he bragged, puffing out his chest. "We're really strong!"

The young man shook his head, his eyes watching the cloaked man warily. "Why don't you cut your speech short and tell us what you really want?"

If Loki's face was visible, he would have smiled. "Nothing gets by you, does it? Yes, I do want a little… favour."

The more he spoke, the more Ryu disliked him, and the more he felt uneasy. Everything about this cloaked guy seemed to be yelling the word untrustworthy in the boy's mind, despite how he tried to push it away long enough to listen. And there was this strange feeling deep inside him, a feeling that this man would bring ruin to their now peaceful lives…

The half-tiger's tail swished. "So what's the favour?"

Loki seemed to be acting a little nervous as he looked around him, then whispered again, "It's not safe to talk here… Look, along this road, there's a hut at the edge of a farm… I'll meet you there later, okay?"

Teepo grinned. "You bet!"

If he grinned as well, the others would not know due to the shady hood. "Then we have a deal!" He started moving away, then glanced back and said, "I'll meet you later!"

With that, he walked away.

Ryu and Rei said nothing as they stared at the other boy.

"…what?" Teepo demanded, puzzled.

"Are you really that dense?" Rei shook his head in exasperation. "That guy has 'HEY, I'M A SHADY GUY!' written all over him!"

"Don't you think so, Teepo?" Ryu asked, feeling a little despaired. "There's just something about him… I can't trust him."

"I agree. But there's that chance that he's just asking for a simple favour." The young man seemed thoughtful for a moment. "So… what do we do with this Loki guy? Do we meet him?"

As expected, the blue-haired one shook his head quickly. "No way."

The other boy pondered over his thoughts. "Well… I'm curious. I want to at least know what he wants us to do. What about you, Rei?"

Rei shrugged. "I don't really know… why don't we just go and meet him? And if he asks us to do something bad like Ryu thinks, we'll decline right away."

"Sounds fair."

Ryu sighed, but couldn't argue with that.

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-o-o-o-o-o-

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It didn't take them long to find the aforementioned hut, since it was standing right in the middle of the cluster of farms and next to the main road. When they entered it, Ryu rather hesitantly, Loki was already waiting for them in there, standing next to a few crates leaning against the wall.

"Oh, you're finally here!" he cried, seemingly excited when they entered. "No, I haven't been waiting long, but I would've waited forever for this!"

Rei looked as though he wanted to hit him. "Okay, just cut the crap and tell us what you want."

Ryu, who sat on a barrel, shifted uneasily but said nothing.

The green-cloaked man hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Well… I'm sure you've heard the stories before. You know, the ones about Mr. McNeil?"

Teepo crossed his arms. "You mean, the ones about the mayor being cheap and greedy and collecting too much tax? There are lots of people like that, so what?"

Loki began twiddling his thumbs around, a little nervously. "Yes, but… well… don't you think that he's… well… a little too greedy?"

"Some of the villagers have been complaining about him…" Rei admitted. Suddenly, he realised and stared at the shady man. "W-wait, you want us to steal from him?"

"What?" Teepo exclaimed.

The other boy, startled, stood up immediately. "No! There's no way we're going to do that!"

Loki's shoulders hunched. "No, no, that's not all…" He glanced at all three of them. "Well, if you stole tax money and give it back to the people…" It was as though he was trying to urge them to say it instead of him.

Teepo perked up. "Waitaminute! Then they'll be even more grateful and we'll be even more popular!"

Loki nodded, his spirits raised. "Yes, that's it! You'll do it then?"

He grinned. "You bet!"

Rei considered it for a moment and nodded. "It's for the people…"

Ryu remained quiet, not wanting to participate in this activity that gave him such a bad feeling… but the others had already agreed and he was outvoted by two to one. He sighed, hoping that his intuition was wrong this time.

"Oh, thank you so much!" Loki cried, ignoring Ryu's silence. "There's absolutely no time to waste! You should go tonight!"

The half-tiger blinked. "Tonight? Wait, isn't that a little too so–"

Apparently the cloaked man did not hear him. "So I'll see you here at midnight then! Thank you so much!" Before anyone else could say anything, he left.

They kept quiet for a while, then Rei spoke, shrugging. "Well, I guess we should rest while we can."

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-o-o-o-o-o-

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The hut had been abandoned for a long time, so the trio could stay there without being disturbed by any farmers outside. A few hours later, once they felt that they had rested enough, they waited for it to be truly midnight. Rei leaned against the wall and Ryu just sat next to him, feeling terribly nervous about what they would soon do, but Teepo, rearing to go, kept walking around the hut in a circle as he couldn't stay still.

However, they stopped and turned the moment Loki entered the hut, who spoke excitedly, "It's night, everybody!"

"Yes!" Teepo cried. "Finally!"

"They've just finished repairing the broken wall, and I must say it's a perfect job…" the cloaked man stated. "But I'm sure people as resourceful as you three can find a way!"

"Of course!" He turned to his companions. "Ryu! Rei! Let's go!"

They nodded.

As the trio left the hut, they moved stealthily in the faint moonlight, along the road to the east. As they neared the manor in the distance, Rei whispered to them, "Okay, let's split up and look for a way in, but be careful, we don't know what's in store for us here."

Teepo grinned. "I'll find a way in, you'll see!"

Ryu shook his head and sighed as they separated, but complied by inspecting the wall. As he walked along the stone barrier to the left, he met Rei, who also decided inspect the wall. The latter muttered to himself as his tail bobbed up and down, his chin held in his hand.

"I can climb up there no problem… but I wonder if Ryu could handle it?"

"No, I can't," the boy replied, startling his companion. "So don't even suggest it."

"Ah, okay, that option's out then…"

Further down along the wall, Ryu caught sight of Teepo checking out the heavy iron front gates, muttering to himself, "Why don't you just walk on the front door and say, 'We're here to give all the money that you stole back to everyone'?"

Ryu shook his head. "That wouldn't work at all…"

The other boy grinned sheepishly. "Eheh, of course it wouldn't… Who'll be silly enough to do that?"

He was about to say 'you', but caught himself just in time.

Ryu went all around the wall except for the repaired part of the wall, keeping his eyes peeled for an opening of some sorts, but simply couldn't find a way in. Soon, however, he arrived at a part of the wall that was of a different colour compared to the other parts – while the main wall was made of red bricks, at this part of the wall there was a rectangular shape of a darker coloured brick.

It seemed terribly suspicious.

He called softly to his companions, who came a moment later.

"What's up, Ryu?" Rei asked. "Find something? Hey… isn't that the wall that they were working on before?" He inspected the wall closely, but other than the fact that it was discoloured, it seemed like a perfectly built wall. "Damn, looks like there's no way in here either…" He put a hand onto the darker wall and leaned onto it. "How're we going to get inside if we can't find a way?"

All the time he was talking, he didn't realise that the wall he was leaning on was moving.

"Rei!" Teepo cried.

"What?" He turned his head towards them. "Don't yell so loudly, Teepo, you'll get us cau– UWAH!"

He fell backwards as the discoloured wall crashed onto the ground with a great cloud of dust, as though it was a gate with broken hinges.

"Are you okay?" Ryu asked, shaking his head.

Rei got onto his feet, seemingly unhurt as he rubbed the back of his head uncertainly. "Doesn't this just beat all… so much for a perfect repair job."

"Who cares? We can get in now!" Teepo declared, stepping through the new opening.

"Who goes there?" a male voice immediately called out, belonging to a single guard dressed in full armour.

"Damn, already?" Rei exclaimed, pulling out his weapons, and his companions followed suit.

The guard paused when he saw him, and chuckled. "Oh, it's just Rei and the two boys…"

The young man blinked. "You know who I am?"

He shrugged. "Of course, you're famous here now since you beat the Nue."

"Well, I didn't do it alone, you know."

"Nonetheless," the guard continued. "If you beat that Nue, then I don't stand a chance against you, right?"

"What are you getting at?" Teepo shook his head. "Ah, who cares! We're going in!"

He seemed to be thinking for a while, then spoke. "…fifty zenny."

At first Ryu stared at him, wondering why on earth he would suddenly mention money in the middle of catching robbers, then he nearly fell over when he realised with a start – bribery.

Rei contemplated about it for a moment and forked out the required amount of money reluctantly. "Here, is that enough?"

The guard grinned. "Heh heh, thanks, it's enough. Our salary's not that great, you know?" He turned his back towards them and then cried enthusiastically, "Well, I didn't see anything!"

The trio stared at his back disbelievingly as they passed him, walking along hedges cut in the shape of walls, and moved over to a good hiding spot next to a staircase leading upwards. Once they were satisfied that there were no guards around, they climbed the staircase and stepped onto a stone platform.

As they did, however, Ryu spied something on the floor near the railing and picked it up… it was a brown wallet, fat with coins.

Teepo stared. "What's a wallet doing here?"

The oldest among the three shrugged. "Hold on to it, I guess, it might be useful later on."

Ryu seriously doubted it… but he obeyed anyway.

At the top of another staircase that led downwards not ten steps away, there was another guard there. He looked around everywhere, as though he was searching for something. Just as he turned around though, he immediately spied the trio and cried, "Hey, who're you?"

"Yikes!" Rei exclaimed.

"Damn!" Teepo cried.

Ryu raised his hands up in reflex, as if he was defending himself, and one of them still holding the fat wallet.

The guard blinked as he caught sight of the item. "Hey! That's MY wallet! I've been searching for it everywhere!"

"Oh, um… here you go." The younger boy handed the wallet to him.

He took it quickly, checking if his money was still in there, and he sighed in relief. "Whew, thanks! I was worried what my wife's gonna say if she finds out I lost my wallet and all the money inside!"

Teepo grinned. "Well, now you don't have to worry anymore!"

"Yeah, I appreciate it!" Then, he abruptly seemed very uncertain. "Um… well… okay, I really shouldn't do this, but seeing as you found my wallet for me…" He stepped back, leaving enough space for a person to walk across the stone platform instead of going downstairs. "I'll let you through, okay?"

"Hey, thanks!" Rei said, grinning.

"Just one thing…" The guard looked around quickly, trying to see if there was anyone about, then continued, "We all work for McNeil, but he's not a very nice guy and he doesn't pay us much. We're supposed to keep watch with lanterns, but only the hardworking ones do that."

Teepo nodded. "Point noted. Thanks again!"

"No, thanks to you guys for getting my wallet back!"

Those were two guards they had gotten past.

However, as soon as they took another staircase down back to the ground, it was plain that there were a lot more guards around than they had initially thought. Rei, the most agile among the three, headed on ahead to determine the safest route through the maze of McNeil's garden before waving the boys forward quickly.

After dodging about seven guards with lanterns, they arrived at a tall platform with a ladder going up. Teepo, inquisitive as he was, climbed up the ladder, and to his surprise, there was only a bell there, hanging by a rope to a pole.

"Teepo, what are you doing up there?" Rei whispered sharply. "Get back here!"

"There's a bell up here!" the boy whispered back. "Bells are normally meant to be used as some sort of alarms…" He grinned. "I'm going to hit it!"

Ryu paled. "No, Teepo! Wai–"

But it was too late. The purple-haired boy went straight up to the bell, which was as large as himself, and gave it a big kick.

DONG!

The sound of the bell rang across the garden, loudly and clearly, and Ryu shivered as he thought of being caught by guards… however, none came to the tall bell platform.

"Hey, quitting time!" a man's voice said from somewhere.

"Yeah! Man, guarding is a boring job!" another man stated.

When Ryu peeked out from the side of the platform, he was surprised to find that some of the guards were walking away, stretching and chatting among each other.

"Hey… they left!" Rei stated in disbelief.

Teepo grinned as he climbed down the ladder. "I told you it'd work out!"

He did not argue. "Great, that means there are fewer guards around!"

He was right – the guards had definitely reduced by quite a number. Now they had no problems walking between the hedges, as though they owned the place, though however, there were still a large number of guards patrolling the entrance to the mansion. The trio dodged the guards and soon arrived at the courtyard.

To their surprise, the only guard there was sitting leisurely with one leg crossed, leaning against the fountain as he puffed on a pipe. Even as the trio approached him, he didn't bat an eyelid.

"I don't know," he said. "If I let you through here, it'll look like I'm not doing my job, right?"

Rei shrugged. "Guess so."

"I hate to ask you this, but do you think you could go over to the gate and get rid of the dog there?" The guard blew three smoke rings into the air. "See, that way, it'll look like the dog's fault and not mine, right?"

With no other choice, the trio nodded and headed down to the main gates, the one Teepo was eyeing when they were outside searching for a way in.

"Man, doesn't this just beat all?" Rei shook his head in exasperation. "They're all a bunch of goof-offs!"

"Who cares?" Teepo said. "As long as we get into the house!"

The either side of the stone path was decorated with pots of trees, with their leaves sheared to form strange patterns. A few steps from the courtyard, the huge gate loomed into view.

And below that was a small dog with a high-pitched yap, barking as much as it could in a feeble attempt to intimidate them.

Teepo laughed. "Haha! This is a guard dog? It doesn't seem right, picking on a little dog like this!"

His older companion shrugged. "Would you say the same thing if he's bitten your butt while you were climbing over the wall?"

He turned red. "S-shut up!"

Ryu stifled a laugh.

"Anyways, let's finish this quickly." His hand glowing, Rei gave a yell, "Jolt!"

A rush of thunderbolts crashed onto the dog, instantly ending its barrage of yaps. With a high yelp, it keeled over, stunned.

Ryu stared at him in amazement. "Wow, I didn't know you can use magic too, Rei!"

The half-tiger grinned. "Great, huh? Still…" He rubbed the back of his head. "I don't really use it all that much. I mean, why go through all the trouble when you can just run forward and punch them in the face?"

Teepo grinned proudly. "That's why I'M the mage!"

The younger boy understood. From the battles so far, he could see that Rei did most of the melee attacks to draw the opponent's attention, and Teepo, standing at the back forgotten, would finish up with magic. Filled with awe, Ryu hoped that one day, he would be just as useful, rather than being just a healer.

With the dog unconscious, the smoking guard let them through easily, thanking them for getting rid of "that pesky dog". Past the courtyard was a garden filled with more tall hedges, and as they passed by a particular set of hedges, they heard a voice from the other side.

"M-M-Mina…" a male voice stammered. "W-w-would you like to s-s-spend some time with m-me?"

"Oh…" The girl's shy voice paused. "I-I don't know…"

Rei raised an eyebrow. "Someone's playing hooky."

"Hey, guys," Ryu called, apparently not listening. "Do you see some sort of a wooden hut over there?"

He gazed at the direction he pointed and nodded. "Yeah, it seems kind of weird to have a hut here… let's go check it out."

There was only one lone guard standing at the entrance of the hut, though one look at him would tell others that he wasn't paying too much attention to his surroundings. He sighed heavily, staring into space.

"I wonder what Mina's doing now…" he muttered to himself, but audible enough for the three to hear, and he sighed again. "My dearest Mina…"

"Isn't this Mina the girl we saw earlier?" Teepo's eyes lit up with an idea. "Say… if we tell him about it, think he'll rush off to find her?"

Rei nodded. "Give it a shot, chances are he won't even notice you."

He grinned and strode casually towards the lone guard. "Hey, pal, thinking about Mina?"

The guard sighed yet again. "Yeah, I miss her so much when I have to be on guard duty… I wonder what she's doing now…"

"You know, I saw Mina with another guy at that corner earlier…" He paused, waiting to see what effect his words would have.

The effect was immediate – the guard jumped a foot into the air in shock and exclaimed loudly, "WHAT? Mina's here with ANOTHER MAN? That's terrible! I can't believe it! OH MY MINAAAAAAA!"

Immediately, the guard ran as fast as he could towards where Mina and the other man was, leaving his post unguarded. Teepo, grinning widely at the success, gave a thumbs-up at his companions. They returned the gesture and all three of them entered the hut, hoping to find out why it was there.

…only to find out that it was a chicken coop.

Ryu blinked. "Wow, the mayor keeps chickens?"

The young man nodded. "Oh yeah, I forgot about it. He keeps prized chickens for chicken fights… takes better care of them than he does the villagers, too."

Teepo didn't seem to think of this as much of an achievement, for he walked to some of the nests and grumbled. "Well, since we can't get in the house 'cause of all the guards…" He swiped some eggs from the nests. "Why don't we steal some eggs and just go home already!"

Rei hesitated. "Uh… aren't you setting your sight a little low there, Teepo?"

"What?" He looked up and his eyes widened. "WHOA!" He sped hurriedly back to the other two.

Just in time too, for a giant rooster, as tall as even Rei himself, jumped from the top floor of the coop and landed right where Teepo was just standing before, causing a slight tremor in the wooden floor. It was truly a magnificent chicken, for its feathers seemed to gleam in the lantern that lit the coop, and around its neck was a golden plate on a chain that said, "Rocky."

Teepo shivered a little. "M-maybe I should put the eggs back?"

Ryu shook his head doubtfully. "I don't think that'll make it any happier…"

Rei quickly drew out his knives. "And I don't think it's going to go easy on us too!"

He lunged forward and stuck Rocky as the other two readied for battle. Teepo, as usual, prepared his spell, while Ryu tried to help with the offensive too. Constant training during the past three months had greatly increased his battle skills, though he still missed.

Rocky, angry at them for stealing the eggs, charged at Rei and lashed out with its beak, trying to peck him to bits. He had no trouble evading all the pecks and managed to counter attack at the same time, and with Ryu assisting him, landing an attack was not an issue.

"Simoon!" Teepo cried as he swung his glowing hand forward and a burst of fire expanded from the rooster like a sphere.

Rocky strongly disliked the fire and crowed loudly, lashing at Ryu this time. The young boy couldn't dodge the beak as well as his half-tiger friend could and was pecked several times, each time more painful than the last.

Rei rushed forward and struck the rooster's head, forcing it back. "Ryu, keep it occupied for a moment!"

The younger boy nodded and readied his sword. "I'll try!"

He then jumped back and landed next to their spell caster. "Teepo! It doesn't seem to like being fried, so get ready to throw another Simoon when I tell you to!"

Teepo grinned. "Got it!"

With a yell, Ryu ran at the rooster and stabbed it repeatedly, trying to get its attention on him instead of his companions. However, he didn't have the half-tiger's agility, and more often than not, he found himself falling onto the floor in his haste to avoid the painful beak.

"Teepo, now!" Rei suddenly cried, raising a shining dagger-wielding hand forward. "Jolt!"

A rush of thunderbolts stuck Rocky at extreme speed, stunning it.

"Simoon!" Teepo yelled, and there was another explosion of fire.

Rocky gave a loud cry, seeming unbalanced for a moment, but remained standing.

"One more time, Teepo!" Rei focused hard, and re-casted the spell. "JOLT!"

"Right!" His companion nodded and released the spell that he was charging a second time. SIMOON!"

With the two spells continually burning the rooster, it proved too much for it to endure. It gave a loud, mournful crow, swayed left and right, and then finally fell to its side, unmoving.

"Whoa…" Ryu muttered in awe.

"That was easy!" Teepo remarked.

"Yeah, that wasn't too bad," Rei agreed.

Suddenly, all the chickens in the coop started clucking and crowing madly, once they realised that the giant rooster was down and unconscious. All of them ran up and down in a mad frenzy, and some even ran between the trio's legs and all the way outside.

"Whoa!" Rei yelled.

Teepo jumped out of the way of a particularly violent chicken. "Yeow! What's with the chickens?"

Ryu shook his head. "I don't know!"

Within a few seconds, all the chickens had already ran outside, and it seemed that everyone else had reacted just as badly to the chickens as the three of them did, maybe even worse.

"Whoa! What's happening?" a guard shouted over the frenzied clucks of the chickens.

"Eeeeeek!" Mina's shriek carried all across the garden.

"The chickens! They're escaping!" a man cried. "Rocky's been acting up again!"

"Close the gates! CLOSE THE GATES!" a deep voice bellowed. "Everyone after the chickens!"

And there was a big commotion all over McNeil's garden.

"Boy, that worked even better than we hoped for!" Teepo grinned as the three exited the chicken coop. "We should be able to sneak in real easy now!"

Rei grinned as well. "Heh, what a mess!"

Even Ryu could not suppress a smile at the sight of all the commotion; it was pretty funny to watch all the guards going after the chickens in a chaotic chase.

The trio quickly navigated their way through the garden and past the courtyard, then took a staircase up to the stone platform. However, just as they reached the top of the staircase, Rei abruptly stopped, forcing the other two to bump into him.

"Shh! Someone's there!" he whispered.

As they flattened themselves against the wall, they took a quick glance at the main door of the manor. The security was tight up here, for there were more than six guards stationed.

Teepo shook his head. "What should we do, Rei?"

The young man edged closer to the front door and signalled to the boys to follow. "They're all guarding the front door…"

"Should we give up…?" Ryu asked hopefully.

"No…" Rei glanced at the guards again. "I'll act as a decoy, and while they're after me, you two sneak in." He gestured upwards. "I'll climb up to the roof and meet you there, okay?"

The two boys nodded.

Rei strode casually out, past the guards to attract their attention. At their flabbergasted expressions, he grinned and pulled out his daggers, waved them in their faces and dashed in the opposite direction.

One of the guards swore, and the whole group chased after him.

Ryu stared incredulously.

"Don't worry, it'll be okay, Rei's really good at running…" Teepo grinned. "Let's go, Ryu!"

"R-right behind you!"

With that, the two of them sprinted to the main doors of the manor, unseen, and stepped inside.

Meanwhile, the golden-haired man had already reached the end of the stone platform and found himself cornered. He sheathed his daggers, not planning to fight or even hurt the guards.

"We've got you now, thief!" one of the guards yelled.

"Then try getting me now!" Rei cried, and with the agility and skill of a tiger, he leaped high into the air, over their heads and down the stairs, hoping to lose the guards as soon as possible.

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-o-o-o-o-o-

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"The cogs of Time are turning, the stars of Fate are shifting…"

A young woman smiled – a small, sweet smile on her beautiful face – as she watched the mirror that showed several figures. The mirror shone like the stars, but however, it was not the only thing that did. Her pair of wings, with feathers of ever-changing colour, glowed as well, illuminating the room partially.

"What obstacle lies in the path of the Destined One?" she continued, running a finger lightly along the smooth surface of the mirror as she watched. "What lies in the fate of the Prince of the Brood?"

"I am afraid I know not, milady," a deep voice came from the shadows, his features shrouded by the darkness.

"Oh, don't be so stiff, Guardian." She turned to face him, her long golden hair dancing lightly, still smiling sweetly. "Stand up, and relax!"

"As you wish." There was the sound of slight movements, indicating that the Guardian had obeyed.

She thought for a moment, a finger on her cheek. "Now then… how do you think we should help him a little?"

There was a slight pause as the Guardian hesitated. "Milady, why assist an enemy of ours?"

She giggled, as though she found it funny. "Well, sometimes we should have some fun in our life, Guardian." She gazed at him. "How long have you been working for me? Three hundred years? Four?"

He bowed. "Four hundred and eighty-one years, milady."

"Ah, that's right." She smiled again. "You should go with them, have some fun. It's time you relax a bit."

"It is my task to rid the world of impurities at your command, milady, nothing more." He shook his head slowly. "…but I will obey."

"Good boy!" She waved him off. "It's time to go, Guardian, otherwise you'll be too late to meet him, and that won't be a good idea, would it?"

The Guardian bowed again. "As you wish." With that, he slowly backed towards a door, turned, and left.

Just as he passed a dim lamp outside the room, there was a fleeting sight of a brown bat-like wing, before he disappeared into the darkness once more.

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End of Chapter Three.

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Author's Note:

The last scene at the end of this chapter was some sort of an Easter egg (even though Easter has long gone). Dramatic, eh? xP

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Review Replies for Chapter Two:

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To Lord Kain:

Haha, I always find it silly how Ryu keeps swinging wildly at first, like a comedy anime… glad you liked that too. xP

As for the exact when he starts swinging properly… well, it's been some time since I last played through that part so I'm not 100% sure, but the exact point should be during the second battle with Balio and Sunder, beneath Wyndia Castle. During the journey through Mt. Myrneg, he should still be swinging madly…

I wouldn't trust my memory completely though. o_o

Thanks for the review!

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To Mega Edgar:

Thanks!

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To Kestre Wynde:

No worries about late reviews, I'm thankful that you even review when you're on a school exchange program. :D

Looking at Ladon's statue, I've always liked the idea of it coming to life for a split second, then becoming still as though it's been just an illusion. It has this mysterious feel to it, which is one of the reasons I gave that statue a momentary life. That, and it looks cool to me. xP

Thanks for letting me know about the apostrophes in my narration! I've always wondered what the difference between putting it and not putting it; I always thought putting apostrophes would make it more "personalised", like it's the protagonist who is telling the story rather than a mere narration from an unknown person. Then again, putting it seems a little unprofessional, and leaving it feels a little too formal and stiff. I've alternated between the two, wondering for ages whether or not it's more appropriate to use it. I guess it's one of the mysteries of writing. o_o

Thanks again for reviewing!

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To Nina Windia:

Hm... frankly speaking, I don't really find Teepo's last line all that awkward (but then again, I'm the one who wrote it… d'oh!), but I agree that the emphasis is wrongly placed. I was trying to go "Ryu does this" then "Rei does this" then "Teepo does this" (it felt dramatic in my head o_o), but I could've done it better. But hey, "Teepo, then, spoke" works well, too! Thanks for letting me know. :D

To tell you the truth, actually I never put much thought to it when Ryu knows that tigers like water… but now that I think of it, it does have a very small significance, though it's pretty hard to see now since I haven't revealed the major (story-shattering?) change I made to this story yet. True, I've never seen tigers in the BoF world either, but I think tigers should exist somewhere in the world. The reason why I think so is this; in the later part of the story, when you talk to Dauna Mine and Yrall Village people, they all know what a tiger is… otherwise, they would've just called it a "huge, ferocious, striped orange cat" instead of a tiger, right? xP

Thanks for reviewing!

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To Airess Byrd:

Ah, yes, the Nue part. It's really sad, and the tune heightens that sad atmosphere, though I never got the chance to get a copy of the song. The truth is cruel. T_T

Thanks again for reviewing!

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To Omega Gilgamesh:

Yeah, the part about the cubs already being dead is part of the game. In this novelisation of mine, I changed a few things here and there (the change is more apparent later on), so I suggest that you read the BoF3 game script at GameFAQs, then you'll know which part is changed and which is not!

Thanks for the review!