Mature Content Warning: This chapter is quite tame, but there is a somewhat disturbing graphic description, and some mild swearing.

Author's Note:

There were times in my life that caused me to wonder about what it is that I could have done better. Hindsight is twenty-twenty, as they say. In some ways, I think that since I know so much about this world, I should be able to do more to prevent the needless deaths and the suffering of others.

I know that to be a vain hope, however. For all the supposed knowledge that I have of this world, there is one thing that I cannot deny. I am here, and things are not as they seem.

I could have scoured the planet for all of the treasures that might exist, all the little things that I hid in my stories. There is no way to be sure that they exist here, however. What I do know for certain is that there are asses to be kicked, and hearts to be protected. So, that is what I will do. That is the only thing that I can do.

-----

Chapter 20: Rules of Engagement.

----

"So, it happened after all?" asked Aaron rhetorically to the vid-screen in front of him.

The far older looking man responded, "Yes, she awakened while you were away."

The guild leader of Oldtowne sighed and nodded. "I was hoping it would skip her generation, like it did with her great grandmother."

"We all did, but life rarely allows for such things. Still, she could have done worse for herself." was the withered man's reply.

"Quite true, grandpa.” said Aaron.

'Grandpa' smirked at him and shook his head, "Cut that out, will you. You know damn well you're older than me."

The long-lived meta-human chuckled merrily. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"What's the matter with kids today? My, my.” was the reply.

Aaron smirked. "Fine, fine. Son, do you have a tamer in mind for her?"

"There's been a few sniffing around. No one I’d want her to end up with though."

The far older man nodded, but stopped nodding when a bizarre thought crossed his mind. "You know... I might just know someone.”

"Oh?"

"Yes, he's even a knight of the league...” informed the man.

Grandpa's eyes widened slightly, "Well, that's a possibility! But, well... you remember Norma's request don't you?"

Aaron nodded, "True... but I think he can handle it."

"Ah, well that's good then. Bring him by the shrine soon if you can, I won't be able to keep these drooling idiots away forever." sighed the man.

"Don't worry; I’m sure we'll be able to get there in time to help my great granddaughter."

The tiny old man on the screen nodded, and said, "Thanks dad."

-----

Scott was once again working on his abilities in the training room. His girls were off to one side of the area working on their various skills while he was attempting to master his new fire attack.

While it did have some interesting benefits, elemental damage plus there seemed to be a strength and speed enhancement that came with it, it also took way too long to power up and cast.

He'd been toying with it for the last two days, and discovered a very interesting fact. If he shortened the spell at various points, he'd get slightly different and weaker effects.

The problems lay in just where to shorten the spell though. If he cut it too short it didn't work, too long and it drained too much of his overall power life energy for it to be useful.

So far the only thing he knew for sure was that if he just powered up and sang out the attack name he'd get a weak elemental fire damage upgrade with no haste attached to it. There was low power drain, and it somewhat useful.

To that end he cast the spell again, this time with his mind focused entirely on the spell's full form.

"Child do not give in,

To rage and fearful choice"

Once again the power inside him began to churn, to surge and flow around him like a warm inviting

"Rise like a shooting star

Roar out your mighty voice!”

The power begins to burn brighter, his aura flickering with tiny pin pricks of light that flow around him like fire flies, or the embers of a dying fire.

"Despite your battle scars,

Burn on with a dragon’s force!"

He sang out strongly, the power wrapping around him beginning to radiate an inferno of raging energy that left minor scorch marks on the floor despite not harming him in the slightest.

"And...”

"PREPARE FOR WAR!" sang the man loudly, a split second before a concussive wave of force erupted from the core of his body. Immediately afterward, the fiery aura raced into the blade that he held aloft before him. Fire burned brightly along its glowing red length.

Data registration complete, analyzing... compiling data... averaging... data entry complete.

"My master is so cool!" exclaimed Yoko as she gazed in awe at her new Sensei. She just had to learn his art! It was the duty of every samurai to perfect their swordsmanship after all.

"Yeah, we know... it's all you ever talk about!" exclaimed Aerune in irritation. Did they really need a fan girl around? Honestly, she wasn't even a guardian!

Scott ignored the bickering going on in the background as he checked the latest data on his full strength support skill.

----

Prepare for War

Ability Type: Magic [elemental fire]

Sub-Category: Spell

Tertiary Classification: Song

Type: Support

Attack Rating: Base 60 (upgrade) Full Version.

Requirements: 590 Life Force

Notation on official full version of spell:

Prepare for War is a specialized elemental blade support spell exclusive to Knight Errant Scott of the Indigo League. It is a fire based ability that works similar to a combination of Flame Sword II, Speed Boost II, Strength Boost I, Fire eater I, and Ice Ward II.

The power rating of the fire based portion is relative to a low level Flame-Burst attack.

---

Scott nodded. The damage rating was rather low. The support effects were quite good, though. After combining the physical boosts to his stats, with the attack rating, he could see a drastic change in his direct combat prowess.

He needed to figure the spell out properly, though. While the full version was set and quite good, it took several precious seconds to cast. Those were seconds that he might not have in a fight.

A chakram dinged off the wall next to him a moment later startling him. "What?!"

Cerene called out, "Ooops... sorry master...” from her part of the training room, where she and Nina were sparring.

Scott smiled at her and said, "It's cool...” before getting back to the task at hand. A moment later the ring began buzzing and then disappeared, only to reappear in the angel Demi-Humans hand.

"I love that!" exclaimed the Demi-Human, happy to have a toy that let her be lazy enough not to have to walk over and pick it up.

The man chuckled at her antics for a second and then turned back to studying the spell list entry.

'Maybe I’m going about this all wrong..?' he thought after a moment. 'What if....’

He walked quickly back over to the red analysis square and hefted his blade. 'Which part though... hmm...?’

He blinked and nodded a second later and decided to try out his hypothesis.

"Child do not give in,

Burn on with a dragon’s force!"

"PREPARE FOR WAR!" exclaimed the man. The resultant burning in his hands caused him to drop his sword.

"Oh-god-dammit!" screeched the man in pain as he felt the flesh of his hands begin cook.

"Master!" cried Nina.

Scott could not speak for the moment. The pain was excruciating.

"I'm on it!" exclaimed Nina.

The sound of the door opening, a moment later signaled Nina's departure as she went careening down the hallway to find a Nurse. Sure, she could have used the com-system, but she was not thinking about anything but helping her master.

The girls huddled around in fear while the man tried his best not to break down and start to sob like a frightened child. What was a matching set of third degree burns really? Be a man you wuss!

Aaron came walking in a moment later with a decidedly anxious look on his face. However, when he saw what was going, on he raced over to see what the problem might be.

Scott glanced up at him with tears rolling down his face. The sight of the man in black armor openly crying was unsettling. It startled Aaron man greatly.

He looked down and saw the cracked, bleeding, and blackened hands. The ancient man’s eyebrows nearly shot off his face due to how quickly they rose upward.

"Training accident?" he asked curiously.

The girls were babbling at him about what happened and once the man got the gist of it he nodded and said, "This won't take a moment, hold still. As best you can."

At Scott's uncomprehending look of agony the man decided the best bet was to go straight for the big guns, so to speak. Those hands looked horrible.

"Blessed breath of the Earth,

Bring restoration and the end of suffering."

"Full Restore!" intoned the man dramatically. Less than two seconds after he cast the spell a wave of light began to shine brightly around Scott and his pain faded away. His dire wounds slowly began to heal. The blackened flesh took on a lighter coloration. A moment later the wounds had disappeared in their entirety, much to the amazement of the group.

"You're a white mage?" asked Scott after a few minutes of staring stupidly at his now perfectly healed hands. 'What the hell?' Magic can really heal that fast? Why in the hell have I been in the hospital so freaking much!'

The man nodded. "Not many know that spell. Most never go beyond the level of minor Restoration and I’ve only personally met a handful who can utilize even Greater Restoration."

As he finished his explanation, the door zwipped open and Nina came running in with Annie hot on her heels.

"There he is!" exclaimed the blond Demi-Human in panic.

The nursing Demi-Human ran over to begin checking his wounds and then glanced up at Nina in agitation. "This man doesn't need medical attention...”

"It was taken care of just prior to your arrival Annie, but thank you." said Scott simply.

"Oh, ok...” she said with a sigh. She had a ton of patients to take care off still, and paperwork, always the paperwork.

As the nursing Demi-Human made her excuses and wandered off, Aaron asked Scott, "What happened?"

The girls gathered round to hear. They wanted to know too, after all.

"I was trying to determine how to use a lower powered version of my new spell, and ended up nearly burning my hands off." he said sheepishly.

"Oh?" was all Aaron said, with an askance feel to it.

Scott nodded, feeling more than a little idiotic.

"Hmm, any ideas why it did that?" asked the man as he was curious.

He shook his head in response, "All I did was what I’d been doing cutting it short..."

"Well, where did you cut it?"

The dimensionally relocated man hmm'ed and said, “Child do not give in,

burn on with a dragon’s force. And... Prepare for War.”

Every thought about that for a moment trying to understand why those words would cook his hands, but it was Yoko who spoke up.

"Master... that's not right...” she said, as though she were speaking a blasphemy.

"Huh? What?" he asked her curiously.

"Well, you did not say the word and... when you tried that spell." she said meekly.

"Are you sure?" he asked her softly.

"Of course she's sure! All she's done all morning is stare at you, her mouth gaped open like a fish!" snarked Aerune. The black cat had, of course, spent the entire morning staring at Yoko in disapproval, so she knew all about people who wasted their time.

Yoko turned beet red and fidgeted.

"Well, if that's the case it probably explains what happened." said Aaron with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"How so?" asked Scott.

"Well, for some spells you need certain key words to link the power of it to the weapon being infused. It's obvious that 'and' is probably the linking word in your spell. Without it, it's quite possible that you tried to enchant elemental fire directly into your hands." informed the man sagely.

Scott's eyes widened comically at that thought. Such a thing might be common for a fire elemental creature or a fire element Demi-Human, but for a human's fleshy hands? He's lucky he had any hands at all!

"So, maybe I should try it again, but this time without half-assing it?" he asked curiously.

Aaron nodded, and said, "I'll be here to do a little healing, if it's necessary."

Scott agreed though the thought of, 'Let's hope my hands don't fall off.' could not be denied.

"Hey, Sir Aaron...” began Makina.

"Yes, my dear?" he asked her in response.

Makina fidgeted a second and said, "If you can use healing magic, why didn't you during that battle?"

He sighed and said, "I was continually being battered around and every time I woke up I saw an opportunity to try and end the fight directly, even if it didn't work out that way. The sooner the beast had been taken down, the sooner we could have patched everyone up."

The Demi-Human nodded 'that... kind of makes sense. I guess.' she thought.

Scott readied himself and nodded before he began.

"Child do not give in,

Burn on with a dragon’s force."

He began, and then continued decisively, to the vague amusement of the others "And...”

"PREPARE FOR WAR!" sang out the man loudly.

This time when he did so, it wasn't his hands that began roaring with elemental fury, it was his sword. Sir Aaron had been right.

The overall effect seemed muted compared to the full version, but he could still tell it was fairly strong.

The computer when through its analysis phase and compiled the data, before Scott allowed the power of the blade to wink out.

"What's it say master?" asked Yoko curiously.

Scott smiled happily a few moments later. "Well, seems I was right! There 'is' a lesser version of that spell!"

"Hmm, really?" came Aaron's reply as he wandered over to see if he could take a look.

"That's a rather drastic drop in status effects though." he pointed out after seeing it.

"Yeah, this version seems to only make a somewhat weaker flaming sword, and a slight speed boost instead of adding the other effects. Still, it'll be useful considering it only takes a little of my energy for me to use this version instead of the massive drain on my energies the full version uses." said Scott lightly.

Aaron nodded at him and smiled lightly.

It took Scott a second but he finally thought to ask, "Hey, Sir Aaron... what brings you by anyway? I thought that you'd be over in Oldtowne or something since you said we wouldn't be doing anymore knight training till next month."

The man took a deep breath and let out a slow sigh. "Yes. I did, but I came by because...” he began before turning to look Scott in the eyes.

"Sir Scott, I need your help." he finished.

Scott blinked at him, then quirked his eye and asked, "Ok, What's the problem?"

Aaron paused in thought for a moment and then said, "My great granddaughter has recently awakened, and she needs a proper tamer...”

"So, you want me to take her on. Sure, no problem, I guess?"

The man nodded, but continued, "Yes, but there actually is a problem. You see my granddaughter's dying wish was that her daughter would get married...”

Scott nodded. That seemed rather normal what was the problem?

"So, what's the problem? I'm sure she's a nice girl. Doesn't she have any suitors?" asked Scott.

"That's the problem; she has a lot of them. None of them worth mentioning and most make my son's skin crawl." said the man before continuing, "Though there is one who I do have hopes for."

He then gazed at Scott imploringly.

Scott thought about what he'd been saying and then it finally dawned on him, ‘he wants me to MARRY his great granddaughter?!'

"Wait! Who? What? You want me to marry someone who I don't even know the name of?!" exclaimed Scott in shock.

The girls in general did not seem to like the idea either. Another harem sister would be bad enough, but playing second fiddle to their master's new wife, no way!

Aaron sighed again, and gazed at Scott with a near pleading look, "I know it's a lot to ask, but please at least meet the girl?"

Scott was going to refuse, and rightly so, but the look in the proud man's eyes reminded him of the constant things that he had done on his behalf. 'The old fart... really needs me to do this.’

Scott sighed and said, "I won't make any promises, but we can at least meet up. What's her name?"

Aaron smiled gratefully, "She's a lovely girl really. She's a bit... spirited... I'd guess you'd say. She had the singing voice of an angel...” he began.

Cerene perked up at that. Of course considering 'her' singing voice, that stereotype didn't always hold true. Still, it was a breed compliment and she would take it gladly.

"Well, she 'sounds' nice, but what's her name?" asked Scott again.

"Reina. She lives with my son at the Hickey-Wa shrine north of Oldtowne.” supplied the man finally.

Scott hmm'ed at that and an odd thought struck him, 'Sounds familiar...’

"When do we leave? I guess?" he asked finally.

Aaron beamed a bright smile at him. "As soon as you're available to go."

"Fine, we'll go get showered and changed then meet you out front." said Scott.

The girls mumbled to themselves about not liking this at all, but they'd have to go along with it. It was just the way things were.

'Maybe, we'll become good friends?' thought Cerene to herself. She'd always been an outgoing sort, though lacking in confidence beyond simple friendliness. New friends always made things better.