"Kanade? What in the seven hells happened to you," Rasputin asked, helping the woman into a sitting position. Thankfully this was the second room he had looked for her in and he hadn't left the others hanging for very long.

"That alchemist, Voyce... Tricked me into drinking," She was unable to speak more than a few words at one time. She took a deep breath and willed her muscles to relax before continuing, "Numbing agent." Rasputin nodded as he flipped through his grimoire rapidly.

"Cloud Touch, if I am not mistaken. Give me a moment and you'll have your limbs back," he said. Ras hastily scribbled a summoning formula on a blank page and channeled a small amount of magic into the ink after he had finished. A dark-colored spirit appeared in a flash of light, looking to him for instructions.

"Selene, I need you to heal Kanade; she has been poisoned with Cloud Touch. Would you mind," he asked. Selene shook her head and gave him a determined smile as she set to work undoing the damage caused by the toxin.

This is bad, Voyce thought as he watched Kimpach'e pitch a monk over the edge of the roof. He took out his grimoire, flipped to a blank page, and hastily drew the formula he would need. Meanwhile, Kimpach'e had stopped in her battle dance and stared at two warriors as they cautiously approached her from both sides. The miqo'te's blue eyes darted from one to the other, refusing to let any movement go unnoticed. Time seemed to slow for the paladin as her heartbeat became the only thing she heard. Using years of experience she slowed her breathing to a normal pace and readied herself for the upcoming strike. She failed to notice the two emerald carbuncle that Voyce had finished summoning approaching from behind; until one of them slammed into her stomach and forced the air from her lungs. The two men took the opening and charged her, each grabbed an arm and slammed her onto the ground.

"Kim," Fate yelled when she heard her lover cry out in pain. She twisted her lance into her opponent's stomach and ripped it out as she turned and ran towards the miqo'te.

Hmm? Voyce thought as he noticed the dragoon sprinting to Kimpach'e.

"We can't have you interrupt, Fate," Voyce said calmly as he raised his hand and pointed at her.

"Go"

Both Carbuncle sitting beside his heels leapt to life, as they barreled towards the dragoon to intercept her. Fate glanced at the emerald lights charging her left flank.

"No you don't ," the dragoon jumped in the air and balanced on the head of her lance and swung her feet around, sending both carbuncle tumbling across the roof with a strong kick. Her momentum made her follow through the motion and she landed ten yards in front of Voyce. The dragoon leveled her lance and charged.

"Interreptone Sattic Porack," Voyce said, the air around him humming with pure energy. On the last word he slammed his grimoire shut and Fate was brought to a standstill six yards from her target, poised to run the lance through Voyce. The dragoon struggled to move her body, but only managed to glance at her feet. She stood on a glowing circle filled with a magic formula.

Ah, a paralyzing glyph. Because this wasn't hard enough already, she thought dryly to herself. Kimpach'e and the men pinning her all watched the dragoon as she struggled against the glyph without much success. The miqo'te had to turn her head away, unable to watch her lover fight a losing battle. Her eyes didn't open again until the sound of boots thudding on the roof approached her.

"So Kimpach'e, my dear? What do I do with you," Voyce asked, like one would speak to a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar. The miqo'te frowned and responded with an unmoving glare. Voyce laughed softly and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Okay Kim, I see you're in one of your stubborn moods. I know for a fact that will never change. When you start something you are set on it, and I like that about you." Voyce frowned for half a second, and then hardened as he looked into the eyes of someone who once called him a friend.

"Let Fate go, Voyce," Kimpach'e spoke almost too softly for Voyce to hear, and only he really had heard her clearly.

"You think yourself in a position to make requests," Voyce asked, as he circled around her; the miqo'te's eyes tracked him, never breaking contact with his. When the alchemist came to a stop Kimpach'e shook her head.

"Just please let her go. I cannot lose her again, I won't," she spoke with words nearing their breaking point, and Voyce noted the tremble they held. Pleading, yet also a threat.

"Sir?" Voyce had been locked in a staring contest with the miqo'te and only broke away when the warrior spoke. He glanced at the source of the voice, and then briefly at Fate, before he clasped his hands behind his back and strode calmly to the edge of the roof.

"One thing about the Lavender Beds most people don't know," Voyce tossed over his shoulder, fully knowing Kim would be curious. When there was no response he continued.

"If someone were unlucky enough to fall in the water that surrounds the many homes they would find it to be saturated with predatory fish that are willing to prey on anything, including us," he said, emphasizing the last two words by turning to look into the miqo'te's eyes. Kimpach'e's stare did not waver in the slightest and it remained locked on Voyce. The alchemist sighed and turned away from her again to look at the water far below them.

"Throw them in the water, starting with Fate," Voyce said as he turned and started walking to the stairs.

Two men flanked the dragoon and took her by the arms. Kimpach'e watched with silent horror as they pushed her over to the edge of the roof that dropped off to the deep pond that surrounded their Free Company home. Fate looked at Kimpach'e and searched her face for something, anything, to tell her that her paladin had a plan. She found nothing but soul-crushing sorrow in those ice-blue eyes.

"Kimpach'e, I need you to know that I will always love you," Fate said as two lines of tears streaked down her cheeks. The Miqo'te grit her teeth as she willed her mind to come up with a plan. Her thoughts came to a screeching halt as she felt something on her face. She was crying: Two trails cut down her cheeks and slowly dripped from her jawline.

"Fate please," The paladin begged, not more than a whisper. With no further warning the two mercenaries shoved Fate off the edge and sent her cascading towards the clear water below. Time seemed to slow down, as Kim shoved the three men off her and sprinted for the edge of the roof. It took her two full strides where she leapt after Fate's trail and plummeted towards the water.

Six Months Later

Rasputin sighed quietly into his book. He enjoyed reading outside but the absence that Kimpach'e had left six months prior still bothered him.

It's all just too… Calm, he thought. Kimpach'e always brought life and energy into his life, and he missed that, even if it was annoying most of the time. The Lalafell put down his book and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Goddess, I sound like I'm old," he smiled. He may not be old, but he sure felt like he was. Since Kimpach'e wasn't around to go on missions and contracts with them Rasputin and Kanade were left with the work that she would have been doing. The scholar pushed himself out of his chair and walked down to the estate's dock. He had to admit: it felt good to be back home in the Goblet. When he reached the end of the dock he was surprised to see Kanade sitting there dangling the tips of her toes in the water.

"Good afternoon Ras, is something bothering you," she asked when he came close enough. The Lalafell took a seat next to her and starred out over the surface of the water.

"Just missing Kim. I can't believe that Lion Company walked away after that night," he answered picking up a pebble and skipping it over the water.

"Just between you and me: I wouldn't say it was that easy." She maintained her cold confidence while she watched Rasputin skip two more rocks.

"What do you mean by that," the scholar asked after a couple minutes.

Kanade shrugged. "I killed them all." Rasputin nearly dropped the rock he was about to throw.

"All of them? On your own? Kanade there is a line to be drawn somewhere," he trailed off. Silence fell over the two friends as they sat, until Kanade broke it hesitantly.

"They killed Kim," the words swirled in a mixture of hot rage, as if they evaded her usual filter. The scholar was caught off guard.

"You keep most people at a distance, I didn't think this would have meant so much to you," he said, before shrugging and adding, "I miss her too – Very much – but we cannot let the past dwell on us. She wouldn't have allowed that." The bard lowered her head so that hair fell over her eyes.

"I'll be in the valley. I need to work on my forms," She barely managed to keep the lump in her throat choked down. Kanade set off at a brisk pace, leaving the scholar alone with his thoughts. Rasputin sighed quietly to himself as another pebble was skipped across the water

Thud, Thud, Thud.

Kanade turned and began removing her knives from the practice targets. Two of the three had landed in the center. The bard grit her teeth and stepped back to throw them again. She closed her eyes and leapt into the air. The noise of the three knives digging into wood sounded, accompanied swiftly by a scream. Her eyes shot open to find one of the knives had struck the side of a caravan.

"Please forgive me, I should have checked before I threw. Is anyone hurt," The bard yelled as she approached the driver.

"No one is hurt, just gave me a scare, lass. Here's your stabber back," The driver said, tossing her the knife with a soft smile.

She nodded her thanks and turned to recover the other two. Pink hair and a dragoon's lance. The clank of plate-mail and a flash of red. The bard stopped mid-step and spun around to peer inside the back of the wagon. Several normal-looking refugees stared back at her.

"You alright lass," The driver called over to her. She rubbed her eyes and nodded to him before returning to the knives. As she pulled one from the target a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

A/N: So it's finally done! I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I did! I would like to dedicate this 4-part fanfic to my friends and family in TLC, even though we disbanned as a Free Company I will always remember what it was like to know you all.

Thanks for all the great times,

- W. Shepard (AKA: Kimpach'e Ramasamma)