The battle was over...

"What do we do now?"  Marcine asked, breathing heavily from the
recent exertion.

"We should get going before the militia gets here," Syeira replied
as she nonchalantly retrieved her knives while searching the bodies,
"then hide indoors somewhere and keep a low profile."

"True," Davin nodded as he sheathed his sword.  "We certainly don't
want to attract any more unwanted attention."

"But we'll be acting like criminals," Mika protested.  "We didn't
really do anything wrong."

Syeira pointed out.  "It can't be helped.  Would you like to explain
this to the authorities?"

"But where can we find a place to stay?"  Mika wondered.

"We could go back to that inn we passed by," Davin suggested.

"Davin!"

"Big Brother!"

Syeira watched in amusement as both Marcine and Mika glared at a
confused Davin.  "It just so happens," she chuckled, "that I know
a place you all had in mind."

"Another inn?"  Marcine perked up expectantly.

"...Well, something like that.  Follow me."

With that, the party left the scene, leaving the bodies of the
assassins on the cold ground of the town square, partially buried
in the gathering snow...


======================================================================


			 FINAL FANTASY LEGACY
			 Knights of the Round

		An ImproFanfic Started by Brian Stricklin
		And hosted by http://www.improfanfic.com

			     Chapter Nine:
			 A Knight At The Town
		   (Or The Beast Wizards' Comedy Hour)

			This Chapter written by
		  Signus Megido (maramala@hotmail.com)

======================================================================


Miles away, in Atlantea, a Dragoon entered the captain's office in
the barracks.  Their Captain didn't notice him arrive at first.  He
was still moping about, thinking on what to do next when the soldier
entered the room.

"Sir!"

Startled, Kyle Cavanaugh spun, his hand already grasping the hilt of
his sword.  He managed not to draw his weapon as he recognized the
young Dragoon nervously saluting at him.

"What is it?"

"We've...  we've found Rhyl's horse, sir.  Cheney would like you to
go and see for yourself."

Kyle paused for a moment as he tried to recall the name.  "Rhyl?
You mean Rhyl Valcrest?"

"The same, sir."

"I see," Kyle nodded.  "Let's go then."

The young soldier led him to the outskirts of town, where a group
of Dragoons were clustered around a horse.  Cheney was already
there, along with Martin, who was asking the older man questions.

"What's going on?"  Kyle asked the group.

"Captain," Cheney spoke.  "I sent Rhyl Valcrest off earlier to
Tienne in order to bring word to the Holy Guard on the terrible
events that happened here.  This was Rhyl's mount.  Our patrol
recently found the horse wandering about the gates of the city."

"And Rhyl..."

"No trace of him...  But I have my suspicions."

"What suspicions...?"

Cheney pointed out several bloodstains on the back of the mount.
"See here?  Those are not wounds from the horse.  They way they
are splattered would indicate that the rider was attacked quickly
and violently, perhaps even slain."  He paused to make sure he
brought his point across.  "So, I conclude that Rhyl was waylaid
on the road along the way to Tienne.  This means that the mission
was a failure, and no word was sent to Tienne at all."

Kyle thought on the recent news.  This mission was getting worse
by the minute.  "Then we have no other option but to rely on the
radio equipment from the church to send the message."

"Doubtful," Cheney commented.  "The Holy Guard won't expect
anything like that outside Tienne, and so wouldn't be monitoring
any transmissions from Atlantea, Even considering that the radio
transmitter here assembled here is pretty much experimental stuff,
capable of sending and receiving long-range transmissions, which
is nothing like our current equipment back at the capital."

Kyle was silent as he stared off into at the distance, watching the
last rays of the sun fade away as night began to engulf the skies.
"I knew him, Cheney.  Rhyl was a good soldier."

Cheney nodded.  "Yes.  He was a good man."

Kyle sighed sadly, thinking on the eventual reception he will
receive when he returns to Tienne.  "His family will be crushed
with the news."

He turned to the other soldiers.  "Bring the horse into the stables
at the barracks, then all of you return to your patrols.  Tomorrow
at daybreak we shall begin our journey back to Tienne."

"We'll have to leave the bulk of our troops here in Atlantea,"
Cheney advised.  "Since Atlantea doesn't have a standing garrison
right now."

Kyle nodded silently.  He remained there as the other Dragoons left,
leading the horse with them to the stables.  It took him quite a
while to he realize that his hand was in his pouch, gripping the
glowing crystal globe fiercely as he stood immobile, the cold night
winds blowing around him.

"Marcine..." Kyle whispered to the wind.

He could almost fancy the wind laughing back at him.

			 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

They reached a two-storey house near the edge of town.  At first
glance, the building did not look any different from the others
beside it, except for the plain-looking sign, which was easy to
miss amid the clutter and the snow.

"Lassenkirche's General Store," Mika read.

Davin looked thoughtful.  "Somehow that name sounds familiar."

"A friend of mine."  Syeira hurriedly explained.  "Let's get inside
her shop before anyone spots us."

Inside, the shop was cluttered yet well-swept.  On the wall next
to the door was displayed a complete set of clothes that seemed
oddly familiar for some reason to the party.  The clothes were set
apart from the rest, and stood out from the other merchandize in
the store.  Racks and racks of items were on display, both mudane
and exotic of origin.  The sight gave a homely atmosphere that set
the usual customers at ease.

Of course, the four that entered were not your usual customers.
There was no one else in the store when they entered at the time,
save for the proprietor seated by the counter, who was busy writing
something on an old book.  She looked to be in her early twenties,
with long, curly red hair almost covering her sharp features.
Unlike most of the people in Voden, she was swarthy, her dark
well-muscled form that hinted at a previous adventuring career,
complete with her exotic garb made entirely out of what appeared
to be flowing cloth.  The pair of wicked-looking Starsilver scythes
prominently displayed on the wall behind her was the other clue.

"What is this place?"  Marcine wondered.  "This sure does not look
like any general store I know of back in Tienne."

"It's a Hunter's Lodge," Mika replied.  "At least, that's what it
looks like.  Right, big brother?"

"A Hunter's Lodge?"  Marcine asked, curious.

"It's a type of store where you can buy monster hunting equipment
along with the usual stuff you can find in an adventuring shop,"
Davin explained.  "And also sell the remains of monsters, like
furs or fangs.  Certain monster remains are very useful as
components in many things, and so are considered very valuable.
This sort of shops are more commonplace in far-flung locales such
as Voden."

"That is correct.  The things I deal in are usually frowned upon
in more so-called 'civilized' areas," the woman behind the counter
began speaking without even looking up from what she was writing.
"I didn't expect you to be back here so soon," she added, before
any of the party said anything.  "Got some more goods for me to
exchange with, Syeira?"

Syeira cleared her throat.  "Pearl..."

The young woman looked up curiously, showing dark hazel eyes.
"Who are these people?"

"They're friends," Syeira replied.  Seeing the question in her
friend's eyes, she added, "they can be trusted."

Pearl closed her book and put the heavy tome away.  "You have some
very strange friends," she commented offhandedly.

Syeira relaxed.  "Speak for yourself," she replied.

"Milady," Davin stepped forward, "I am Davin Highwater, and my
companions are Mika Gilchrist and Marcine Cavanaugh."

"Pleased to meet you," Mika waved to Pearl in greeting.  Then she
added, "and I'm not strange!"

Marcine doffed her hat and curtsied.  "Hello."

"Can I be of service to you in any way?"  Pearl asked.  "Perhaps
you wish to purchase some Remedy vials, or maybe a couple of my
famous Healing potions perhaps...?"

"Not really...  We were looking for a place to stay," Davin replied.

"Oh?"  Pearl raised an eyebrow.  "Why not try the local inn?"

"Too crowded," Syeira explained, "and open besides.  We needed some
place more discrete."

Pearl smiled pleasantly.  "So you plan on staying here in my house?"

"Took the words right out of my mouth," Syeira roguishly grinned
back.  "Thanks for your kind generousity, Pearl."

Pearl didn't lose her pleasant expression, although her eyebrow
clearly twitched.  "Fine.  But it's gonna cost you..."

"Greetings and salutations, Frau Lassenkirche!"  A familiar voice
called out from outside the shop.  "'Tis I, thine most long-awaited
paramour, who hath come from a long and perilous journey to pay thee
a visit!"

"Oh, no..."  Everyone said in unison.

"Pearl!"  Syeira whispered in rising panic.  "Where do we hide?"

"Hide?"  Pearl blinked in confusion.  "Why?"

"No time to explain!  Quick!  Where?!?"  Syeira hissed forcefully.

"Huh?...  Oh...  Behind the counter!  Hurry!"  Pearl hissed back.

The four had just managed to squeeze into the small area when Stine
strode into the building in all his well-endowed glory.

"Hello, Stine...  By the Three Gods!"  Pearl jokingly covered her
eyes.  "Put some clothes on!"

Stine struck a pose.  "And what flaw could thou see in such a most
noble physique as this?  Thou should be thankful that I, Beastmaster
Stine, didst choose to grace thine establishment today."

Under the counter, Syeira quietly snickered.

Pearl lowered her hands to the counter as she rolled her eyes upward
in exasperation.  "More likely because the other shops would throw
you out in your current condition.  Then again, this is the only
establishment you would 'grace' whenever you come here."

"Ah, who else in Voden doest know me better than thou, the most wise
and noble and beautiful and wonderful Pearl Lassenkirche?"  Stine
spoke as he continued strutting about the room, which would have
been a pretty interesting sight to see, to those who would prefer
such... *ahem* sights, anyway.

"Flattering me as always?  You should know by now that this never
works, dear Stine.  So, are you here as a customer, or were you
simply intending to impress me again with your great manliness,"
Pearl deadpanned.  "Not that I mind the entertainment, but I've
already seen everything there is to see already..."

It was at this point that Mika belatedly covered Marcine's ears,
which was a futile effort judging by the shocked expression on
Marcine's reddening face.

Stine smirked, then made a warding gesture as if shocked.  "Thou art
right as always, Frau Lassenkirche.  I doest feel a draft, though..."

"So you'll be wanting a set of new clothes, right?"  Pearl jerked a
thumb to the side.  "They're over there, hanging on the usual wall."

Stine took down the indicated articles of clothing and leisurely
put them on.  "And what form of payment doest thou wish I shouldst
bestow upon thee this time?"

"I guess you're still good for it," Pearl paused in thought.
"That last batch was a pretty big one...  It's on credit."

There was a long, quiet pause.  The four could see Pearl lean
forward, her feet tiptoeing while in place.  After a long while,
Pearl drew back from the counter, and they saw Pearl smiling
radiantly, her dark complexion tingled a slight red.

"Thank thee most kindly, my beloved." Stine's boots had be heard by
the four hiding under the counter as he strode towards the door.
"I shall now sally forth and continue my quest."

Pearl sounded genuinely curious.  "And what is your quest, pray
tell?"

"Why, to hunt down those damnable heretics of the Church, who hath
escaped my overwhelming wrath time and time again.  But no longer,
for this time I am now ready for their blasphemous tricks, and when
I vanquish them with my righteous might, they will rue ever walking
the path of evil.  For none shalt prevail over the Citizen's Justice."

"I... see.  Good luck, Stine."

"Fare thee well, Frau Lassenkirche."  With that, Stine left the
Hunter's Lodge.  Pearl frowned.

After a while, Pearl nudged the four adventurers under her counter.
"He's gone.  You can come out now."

As the trio stumbled out of the confined space, Pearl roughly pulled
Syeira to her feet.

"What?!?"  Syeira indignantly exclaimed.

Pearl growled.  "You have a lot of explaining to do..."

"That idiot was chasing us around," Syeira began to explain, but was
cut off when Pearl shoved her to the wall, hard.

"Syeira!"  Mika gasped.

"Stine may be a total idiot," Pearl continued.  "But he's my idiot,
and whenever he's off on a mission, he's got a good reason for doing
so.  No amount of sense could talk him out of it, especially if he
happens to be right.  Whatever you have done must have been really
serious to get him all riled up."

Syeira's eyes went wide as she saw Pearl wielding her scythes
menacingly towards her.  "Explain or I strip it out of you," Pearl's
voice seemed more intimidating than ever, "one piece at a time."

"H-hey, Pearl, what's gotten into you..."  Syeira nervously edged
away slowly, trying to put more space between herself and Pearl,
who was pretty upset all of a sudden.

It was then that Davin stepped in between the two.  "Wait," he
pleaded.  "Let us explain everything that has happened..."  He
glanced at Marcine, who nodded.  "Everything."

Pearl paused, looked directly at Devin's eyes.  Seeing the sincerity
in them, she relented, lowering her weapons slightly.  "Alright.
Now talk."

			 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Stine was pleased with his progress.

Yes, he had some setbacks, especially with getting the more stubborn
ones, but they are all monsters, after all.  Give him a few minutes,
and he'd show them who's the master around here.

Stine was unsuccessful before, but he reasoned that was because the
monsters he picked were of the lesser kind.  In order to finally
succeed, he would need stronger, better allies.

From the forests, grasslands, and mountains, they came, heeding the
call of a Beast Master.  Monsters both big and small, wide and tall,
great and meek.  They come to Stine as friends, willing to follow
his commands.

Only a few more of the harder-to-find ones to call, and he'd be
ready.

Yes, he knows where his objectives are.  This was the last mistake
his goal has made.  She won't be able to get away from his grasp
this time.  With his monster friends by his side, the target will
not escape him.

Stine was very pleased.

			 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The group had finished the narrating their incredible adventure,
which took a few hours in the telling over dinner.  Each of the
four took turns telling the story, and Pearl was silent the whole
time, attentively listening to them while they all sat at the dining
table.  "I see..." Pearl finally said.

She paused.  After some time, she turned to Davin.  "Have you ever
considered a being a bard?"

Syeira snickered as the other two girls glared at Davin.

"Eheh...  I swear I've been having this conversation before," Davin
grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head, "But, no, I'm
a fighter, not a poet."

Pearl nodded.  "Yes, interesting sword..."  She turned to Mika.
"And you say that the man who killed that old priest also carried
a sword just like Davin's?"

"Hey, I know what I saw," Mika huffed.  She didn't say who the
priest was, but she figured that it wasn't important.

Pearl was thoughtful.  "There could be a connection between you
two..."

"Maybe, but for the life of me I have no idea," Davin replied.

Pearl thought about it.  "Maybe my grandfather would know
something..."

"Wait," Marcine interrupted.  "Did you say Grandfather?"

A shadow crossed Pearl's face, and was gone.  "Yes.  My Grandfather
is a priest of Tienne."

"Oh..."

The room became silent.

"I think I understand now," Pearl spoke, breaking the ice.  "I'll
let you stay for the night.  But..." She quickly added, "only for
tonight.  Tomorrow you will have to continue on your journey.
Considering how incredible your situation is, it will be dangerous
for you all to stay any longer."

Davin nodded.  "That's all right.  It's all we ask for anyway."

"Wait..." Pearl held up a hand.  "We still have to discuss...
payment."

Everyone else at the table nearly toppled over from that statement.

"What?!?"  Mika stood up.  "How come?!?"

"Huh?  But..." Marcine stuttered.   "We thought..."

"Hey, nothing in life is free, Miss Cavanaugh," Pearl playfully
wiggled her right index finger at Marcine as if scolding her.
"'You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours.'  Nothing personal,
really."

Syeira smirked.  "Always the mercenary, huh?"

"It's all right, Marcine, Mika..." Davin assured the girls as he
reached for their purse.  "We'll pay, Miss Lassenkirche...  What
the?!?"

"What's wrong?"  Marcine asked worriedly.

"Our money..."  Davin searched his pockets frantically.  "It's
gone?!?"

"You mean you lost our money?  How could you?!?"  Mika tugged at
Davin's shirt.

Marcine was more calm.  "Syeira, did you have anything to do with
this?"

"HEY!"  Syeira indignantly huffed, crossing her arms.  "Why'd you
guys always pick on the poor, defenseless thief, huh?  I had nothing
to do with it, I'll have you know!"

"It's called occupational hazard, Syeira," Pearl commented.  Syeira
glared at her in reply.

"I must've dropped it during the skirmish," Davin sighed, "how
clumsy of me, of all things..."

"That's all right," Pearl mimicked Davin's earlier statement.  She
then chuckled evilly.  "I'm sure I can think of something..."

The four companions audibly gulped.

			 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The local militia carted off the last of the assassins' corpses from
the town square.  As they passed by a dark alleyway, the town guards
failed to notice several men in hooded cloaks hiding in the shadows.

One of the shadowed figures cursed.  "We didn't make it in time."

"No, we were in time, they attacked early without waiting for us."
A second one added.

The third one spoke.  "How stupid.  And unfortunate."

"Quite."  The fourth shadowed figure shrugged.  "But at least we now
know for certain where they are."

"That's good, because with that information it will be a simple
matter to--"

"Stupid!  Don't you know anything!"

"What?"

"They're staying at the Lassenkirche's General Store."

There were murmurs.

"Can't we just get in and kill them without alerting her...?"

"You fools, she is off-limits.  Don't try to piss off the Legendary
One, even if we have the blessings of the Church."

"You mean Master C--"

"You will not speak of his Mythical Name!"

*WHACK!*

"Ow..."

Silence.

"Then we wait until they leave, sooner or later," one of the
shadowed figures finally spoke.  "They cannot hide forever."

"That is true.  They have to keep on moving to evade the Holy
Guardsmen."

"Right...  And when they do..."

All the shadowy figures nodded simultaneously.

"...We'll be ready for them."

Slowly, the assassins melted into the shadows, each going their
separate ways.

			 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Davin moved the last of the wooden crates, then wiped his hands
clean.  "I think that's the last of them."  He commented.

"Let's see..." Marcine noted something on the oversized book she
was holding.  "Got it."

Davin chuckled as he watched Marcine head back to the counter, and
he reflected on the past few hours.  The 'payment' wasn't as bad as
he thought it was.  He was tasked rearrange the store's stock of
merchandize in the stockroom, while Marcine inventories them one
by one.  He wondered how did the smaller Pearl manage to do all
this by herself.

"I wonder how Mika's doing?"  David said aloud.

"Lucky girl," Marcine grumbled.  "She gets the easy job, while we
get stuck in this dusty room."

"Beggars can't be choosers," Davin reminded her.  Thinking about
this situation, they actually got the easy tasks.  Mika ended up
doing the hard labor, being forcefully conscripted to mix a batch
of potions to replenish Pearl's supplies.

			 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

At the same time, in another room...

Mika gleefully looked around, a silly smile on her face.  She was
surrounded with unaccountable numbers chemicals, potion ingredients,
and other esoteric materials.  From the looks of the mixing and
distillation equipment, this room was well-maintained.

Upon learning of Marcine's skills as an Alchemist, Pearl, who also
dabbled in some Alchemy, had assigned her to go ahead and mix some
Potions for the shop.  She gave Mika free reign in the makeshift
alchemist's lab.

Mika was in heaven.

			 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Then again, maybe not.

And Syeira...  Davin had absolutely no idea what Pearl was planning
to do to her old friend.  And somehow, he didn't want to know.

			 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Actually, nothing happened.

All right, something did happen, but not but not what most people
would have had in mind.  The two women were on the roof of the
building.  Having cleared away the light carpet of snow, they layed
down on the roof, looking up at the stars.

They were talking about many things, mostly catching up with each
other.  Syeira had plenty of opportunities to visit her friend,
but this was the only time they had together that get to have a
conversation that did not mainly concentrate on business deals.

So they talked.

"Pearl?"

"Yes, Syeira?"

Syeira sat up.  "Are you happy?"

"...Why are you asking me that all of the sudden?"

"I...  I dunno."  Syeira met Pearl's gaze.  "It's just that you
seemed different now that when I remembered you, when we were
still travelling with him.  Now, you've changed.  I didn't really
take notice if it before, but..."  Syeira looked away.  "Never
mind.  I must sound crazy to you, like an obsessive hanger-on of
a fangirl or something..."

"No...  no, Syeira," Pearl looked up.  "You're right.  It's been
a long time since I've been on the road.  Ever since I've opened
shop and stayed here in Voden...  I'm still the same, nothing has
changed, but everything else is different now.  I'm content this
way."

"Yeah, I can see why, with people professing their true love
whenever they drop by every once in a while," Syeira teased.

"Stop that."

"Hey, you're actually blushing."

Pearl giggled.  "Am I now?"

"...But not happy."

Pearl stopped smiling.  "I...  am content."

The two were silent for a while.

"Do you miss him?"  Syeira asked.

"Cid?  I haven't seen him in a long time.  You?"

"I still visit Teacher Cid every once in a while, when I'm in the
neighborhood."

"I see...  Why are you helping the Heretic, Marcine Cavanaugh?"

"Aren't we all?"  Syeira asked in reply.

"We're different from Miss Cavanaugh.  She's...  she has this power
that I could sense, almost even see...  I don't really know what it
is.  But wherever her path leads, I'm sure...  it will ultimately
end in sorrow."

Syeira stared at her friend.  "Wow.  That's pretty grim, even for
you, Pearl."

"I...  I'm not really sure, it's just a feeling," Pearl looked
around them.

"I...  I was thinking of her, just right now," Syeira confessed.
"I remember Teacher Cid, he also has the power, and was a Heretic
because of it...  He still is.  Somehow, his power is not like
Marcine's.  Somehow, I believe this time everything will be
different."  She paused.

"Pearl.  Come with us," Syeira offered.  "It'll be just like the
good old days.  You know, going out into the world, seeing new
sights, having great adventures..."

"Such a beautiful ideal.  To go on a quest, to search for the cure,
the ultimate thing that will somehow make the world right.  I would
love to, but...  I...  I can't," Pearl shook her head sadly.  "I'm
sorry.  I would want to, but I have a lot of things to do here."

"I can't believe I'm hearing this from you!  This is a perfect
opportunity, and you are willing do be chained like this instead?
Not to be free as you once was, as you once told me to?  How could
you?!?"

"Syeira...  I know I taught you all that, but everything was
different then.  I can't leave this all behind and go back to
living in the past.  Maybe someday, but not now..."

"Oh.  Well," Syeira stood up, shrugging.  "It was worth a try,
right?"

Pearl smiled sadly.

"I should go to bed early," Syeira yawned.  "We have a big day
tomorrow."

With that, they went back inside.

			 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

In the middle of the night, a sudden indescribably horrible sound
woke up the inhabitants of Lassenkirche's General Store.

"What is that terrible racket?!?"  Mika groaned, rubbing her eyes.

"Singing," Davin replied drowsily.

"Singing?"  Marcine repeated.

"I swear that oaf Stine had something do with this..." Pearl looked
out the window.  Sure enough, Stine was down there, leading a motley
group of monsters in what appeared to be a concerto.  "By the Three
Gods," she groaned.  "Not again."

Davin's eyes boggled as he peeked out the window.  "How'd he manage
to get those into the town?"

"I knew it was too good to be true..." Pearl grumbled.  "And I nearly
thought he would go back to looking for the four of you as soon as he
got new clothes, but he just had to make this into a tradition."

"What's he doing?"  Marcine asked.

"He's serenading me."

The other four gagged.

"I know," Pearl sighed.  "It's sweet and all, but Stine insists on
doing this every time he comes to Voden.  It's really getting to me,
not to mention my neighbors."

"I don't know what's worse," Mika shivered.  "Whether he shows up,
or the fact that you said that he does this every time..."

"Couldn't you do something?"  Marcine asked.

"This ought to fix that..." Pearl grumbled, gathering her sleeping
gown around her as she began chanting.  "'With my voice, I lull my
foes; With my breath, I quiet my foes...'"

Marcine gasped at the sight of Pearl, who was apparently skilled
in Magik.  "What is that?"  She whispered to Davin.

"Beast Lore," Davin replied, more to himself than to his other
companions.

"Is it like your Geomancy?"

Davin shook his head.  "No, not really..."

Continuing her chanting, Pearl produced what appeared to be a piece
from a giant mushroom cap from the folds of her gown.  "'...With my
power I will my foes...  Asleep...  Asleep...'"

With one fluid motion, she crushed the fragment, letting the pieces
scatter outside the window.  After a few moments, Pearl pointed a
slender finger at the group assembled outside and whispered.
"Lullaby."

Several red musical notes appeared and surrounded Stine and the
monsters, who did not seem to notice the spell cast upon them.
They floated and swirled around the monster mob as an orange fog
slowly rose up from the very ground and obscured the view.

This went on until bit by bit the whole assembly dropped to the
ground, snoring.

"And that's that," Syeira smirked.

"Works every time," Pearl mirrored the smirk.  Her smirk was quickly
replaced by a frown.  "By the heretics in the Wall, now I'm not
sleepy anymore..."

Marcine winced at the remark.

Pearl's smirk returned as she appraised the motley of sleeping
monsters.  "Hmm...  some rare ones this time."  She had an almost
sinister sparkle in her eyes as she headed downstairs.

Syeira sighed.  "Don't tell me, you're..."

"Where are you going?"  Mika asked Pearl.

"Why, gathering components, of course," Pearl replied, brandishing
her scythes.  "Want to help?"

Syeira turned to Marcine and Mika, who both looked ill.  "We'd love
to, but unfortunately we had to get up first thing in the morning.
We'll pass."

"Suit yourself."  Pearl shrugged.  "As for me, I'm not letting
this opportunity go to waste."

			 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The next day, the four companions were gathered in the outskirts of
town.  Syeira had called for chocobos earlier, and four mountain
chocobos responded, just enough for all of them.  Pearl was there
with them, sending the party off in their journey.

"Here you go, Davin..." Pearl threw a bag at Davin, which he caught.

Davin looked inside the bag.  "Money...?"

"You said you lost all your money, so I guess that's the least I can
do to help out.  Trust me, you'll need every single coin on your
person when you get to the capital.  Now, if you all go cross-country
n the northwest, you could reach Yahl Russa in four days, maybe even
three," Pearl said.  "With luck, Stine won't be after your trail
until come tomorrow morn, so you have plenty of time today to put
some distance between here and yourselves."

"Speaking of which, where is that big lug?"  Syeira asked.

"Hey!  I told you already, he's my big lug!"  Pearl's features
softened.  "Don't worry, he's...  occupied for the moment."

"Oh."  Syeira caught the hint and gave Pearl a short hug.  "Thanks
for everything."  She winked.  "I'll give my regards to Teacher for
you if I ever meet him again."

"Hey, anything for my favorite customer and fellow Heretic," Pearl
replied jokingly, winking back.  "After all, how could you pay me
back if something happens to you?  I've added the money I just gave
to Davin to your tab, by the way."

"What?  Why you..."

Deftly ducking a playful shove from her former travelling companion,
Pearl reached out and patted Mika's head.  "Thanks for mixing that
new batch of Potions.  I've saved quite a bundle from that."

"I've gotten new ingredients in the bargain, so we're even," Mika
pushed Pearl's hand away from her head.  "Will you stop doing that?"

"But you're such an adorable little girl," Pearl teased.  She then
turned to Marcine.  "Good luck on your quest, and may you all find
what you've been looking for."

"Thank you," Marcine curtsied.

"I have something for you too," Pearl added, shoving a bundle into
Marcine's hands.  "Take good care of it, I can't use the thing
anyway."

"Th--"

"Don't thank me," Pearl stared into her eyes intensely.  "You might
not be that grateful later."

			 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Pearl watched them head out into the horizon, slowly shrinking into
dots in the landscape.  "I wonder what Grandpa Onias is doing?"
She thought wryly.  "Maybe I should go pay him a visit later..."

			 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Hours later, the party began crossing the mountain range northwest
of Voden.  It was then that Marcine unwrapped the bundle out of
curiosity.

And gasped.

In her hands was a Guardian Egg, softly glowing green...

"What is it, Marcine?"  Davin asked, leading his mount to trot
beside her.  "Pretty slippery terrain...  You look pale."

"A Guardian Egg..." Marcine managed to gasp.  "How did she..."

This was then that the surroundings around them went crazy.

There was a sudden rumbling, and their chocobos cried out in panic,
then and slipped on the snow-covered ground, pitching them all
forward.  Then dark clouds of smoke rose out of out of nowhere and
surrounded them, cutting off their vision while they were still
disoriented.

"What the..."

"Davin!"

"Big Brother!"

Syeira was the only one who managed to recover first, and so she
was able to notice several dark men in hooded cloaks step out of
the shadows.  "Talk about scum crawling out of the woodwork..."
She cursed.


To be continued...

======================================================================

Author's Skribulous:

	WTF have I... forget I said that.  I knew perfectly well what
I was getting into this time.  ^_^

	Although it was short and a bit rushed a bit, what with
midterm exams and all that, writing this part was still fun.

	For those who are looking for more Final Fantasy stuff, check
http://returners.simplenet.com/ for information on THE Final Fantasy
Role-Playing Game, which is an attempt to create a system that will
bring the FF experience into pen & pencil tabletop gaming, or PBEMs,
or IRC...

	Thanks go out to Terence (who's coming up next, BTW), Sasha,
Hwang and Epsilon for prereading and adding in some more ideas.
Salamat po!

	Any reactions should be posted to the Improfanfic Message
Board (http://impro.ancient.org/mb/).  Thanks for reading.


-Mark Ranel M. Lambo, aka. Signus Megido, aka. MaRaMaLa
http://hello.to/maramala


			 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

BONUS OMAKE!

TO THOSE WHO WERE WONDERING WHATEVER HAPPENED TO STINE, Enjoy:


Stine woke up with a start.  As his senses focused, he noted that
he was inside a room.  He was lying on something soft -- a bed,
perhaps?  He shifted his body to get a better view and find out,
then discovered that couldn't move.  Craning his neck around, he
found his wrists and ankles were tied with strong ropes to the
metal bedposts.  He tried breaking them apart, but they were
secured fast.

"What is this?  What am I doing here?"  He wondered.  Where were
his friends?  There were nowhere to be found.  What was the last
thing that he was doing?  Somehow, the details seem blurry.

And there's that strange smell, a feminine musk that was very
familiar.

After what seemed to be an agonizingly long time, Stine heard a
heavy wooden door open.  He turned around towards the source of
the sound.

"Hello, Stine," Pearl smiled evilly.

Stine gulped, seeing the all-too familiar gleam in her eyes.