To Fulfill a Prophecy
By Songwind
Summary- A kick-butt sorcerer, a fast-talking thief, a stiff knight, a reluctant healer and a prophecy of old... Will the author end up with a great story on her hands, or just a really bad headache? ^^ That remains to be seen. Until I figure that out, please enjoy.

Chapter One- Doohickies

"I dunno HOW yer doin' it, but yer cheating!"

"I am not!"

"Yes, you are!"

"Aw, c'mon guys, can't we get along?"

"NO!"

Three prison guards sat around a small, rickety table. On the table was a deck of cards, carelessly strewn about. In neat little piles on each side of the table were little stacks of bronze coins. One of the guards, an obviously new guy, was reaching towards two of the stacks. The second, a veteran who had once been part of the King's Guard himself, sat growling and swearing, reaching for his dagger. The third was also a veteran, but had never left the prison to guard anywhere else. He was trying to keep the peace.

"Now, now, gentlemen-"

"Ya don't call a cheater a gentleman!"

"I did NOT cheat!" the youngest protested. "You just suck at Go Fish!"

"I ain't never played that damn game before!"

"Obviously."

"Why you little-!"

"Guys!" the third guard yelped. He leaped between the two before they could get into a fight. "What are you doing, eh? Wanna wake up the prisoner?"

"Hah, wake him up? That's a good one," the youngest laughed. "I hit that bastard hard enough to keep him out for a week, that is if he lives!"

"Not if we get 'im t' the courts tomorrow," the second guard said. He crossed his arms and snorted, the card game forgotten for the moment. "He'll be killed off first thing in th' morning, take my word fer it."

"Yeah, what with him trying to break into that jewelry store."

"Honestly. An amplifier? Hah! Those're kept locked up so tightly it'd be impossible for that kid to find one anywhere besides one of 'em Schools!" the peacemaker of the group said.

"Right." Suddenly the second man growled and reached for what used to be his money. "Now gimme back my money, ya-!"

BAM!

"What the-?!"

BAM!

"Who's there?!"

SLAM!

With that, the door to the nearest prison cell (the one they were guarding) blasted open. The door promptly hit the youngest man in the back of the head, and down he went, out cold.

Ignoring his friend's being unconscious, not to mention the now-open prison door, the second man bent down to retrieve his former money. "Heh..."

The peacemaker, however, was staring and pointing blankly at who stood in the doorway. "You-you-" he stammered.

"Yeah? I what?" asked an amused voice from inside.

"You- uh-"

"What? You guys really need to learn grammar. What the heck did yer folks teach you when you were kids anyway? To point at someone? That's not nice." A hand lifted into view, with a glowing red orb in it.

"What the?!" The second man, who had finished getting his money back, now stared up at the prisoner- er, former prisoner. "You're awake?! But how?" he demanded.

"Oh, it's not that big of a thing," the voice said. The hand seemed to glow dangerously for a moment before fading again. "You usually do it by opening your eyes, standing up, you know the drill. Now about me being in prison... how about you all turn around and leave without a fuss?"

"What? We'll never let you get past us alive!" the second guard shouted. He reached for his dagger and unsheathed it, waving it around.

"Really?" There was a sigh. "I am sorry about that."

WHOOSH!

The figure's hand glowed bright red before a blast of fire shot from it, hitting the third man square in the chest. The man didn't have any time to scream before he was engulfed in the flames. The figure then shot fire towards the other, but he was already out the door screaming bloody murder.

After a moment, the figure walked out of his prison cell and looked around. He ran a hand through his short black hair and smirked. "Honestly, if you all are gonna put a sorcerer in prison, the LEAST ya can do to protect yourselves is take away my amplifiers!" He tossed the orb into the air and caught it with the same hand again before laughing. "Now, onwards!"

Syd meandered over to the next door, lifted his orb again, and another blast of heat was all it took to destroy the wood. With a grin, he declared, "I LOVE amplifiers!"

Meanwhile, the rest of the prison was in a panic.

"The sorcerer's escaping!"

"What?! But he shouldn't have woken up yet! Not until tomorrow!"

"Who cares? Kill him!"

"Idiot! We have to get help!"

"We're all gonna die!"

SLAP!

"Pull it together, man!"

"AAAH, there he is!"

"...you idiot!" SMACK! "That's that drunk we got a week ago!"

"Oh yeah."

Syd shook his head at these conversations and shrugged. "Well, what're ya gonna do?" he questioned. He tossed his amplifier up in the air, made to catch it-

-and tripped on a rock sticking up from the floor.

"OW! The hell?!" Syd swore as he sat up and began to look around for the magical fire orb. Sure, he didn't really need it to get outta here, but still... "Where did it go?" he muttered, and glanced around.

His eyes fell on a young woman who was in a nearby cell. She was wearing some rather raggedy clothing, but otherwise looked pretty nice. However, she wasn't his main concern. The amplifier in her left hand was.

Syd sighed and ran a hand through his hair before walking up to her. He put on his best casual expression and held out one of his hands. "I say, be a good fellow and give that back, would you?" he asked politely.

In response, the girl tightened her grip on the orb and smiled.

"Do you speak my language?" he asked, feeling mildly irritated.

She continued to smirk at him, and nodded.

"Damn it, then what part of GIVE THAT BACK don't you understand?" he asked.

The girl pulled farther back into her cell. "Let's make a deal," she answered.

"I have no deals to make with you, kid. Give me back my amplifier or I'll blow you out of there," he said, pulling out another fiery orb. It wasn't quite as powerful as the one the girl was holding, but it'd do.

"Oooh, shiny!" she exclaimed.

Syd blinked, looked around, and realized that somehow his second orb had disappeared from his hand into hers. Now she held BOTH of his favorite magical amplifiers! "You little-"

"You get me outta here, and you get your pretty doohickies back," she stated. "Or I'll just sell these when I manage to escape later on anyway."

The mage glared at her for a moment, as though hoping that if he glared enough she'd change her mind. However, the girl continued to watch him stubbornly, waiting for his answer.

"He can't have gone far!"

"Let's get to him! Hey, this door is still on fire! I'll bet he's nearby!"

Syd growled and pulled out a third amplifier, a wind one. "Fine," he said. "But don't you dare touch this one, you hear?"

She shrugged and smiled. "Alright, get me out of this place then."

With a sigh, he went about unlocking her door and held out his hand as she stepped out. "Now give them back, kid."

She glanced at him. "We're not out of here yet," she replied. "And if you call me kid one more time, I swear I'll throw these into the river!"

"...I hate you."

"Why, thanks!" the girl smiled at him.

"There he is!"

"Get him, he's freeing the other prisoners!"

Syd whirled around and focused on his wind orb and blasted a wave of ice cold wind towards the approaching guards. Then he grabbed onto the girl around the waist.

"HEY!" she squeaked. "I didn't say you could- WHOA!"

"Now!" Syd howled, and blasted the wind at the ground at their feet. The two went hurtling up, towards the ceiling (which thankfully was only made of straw).

"Wh-wh-wow," the girl said, peering around herself. "These doohickies of yours are really something, aren't they?"

"Just shut up." He shot another blast of air and continued flying out.

"They're escaping!"

"Damn it! Tan's gonna be pissed!"

"Yeah, well I'm pissed right now!" SMACK.

"Ow, will you stop that?! We gotta report and get the city on alarm. We don't want that guy giving us any more trouble."

Syd smirked down at the prison, which he and the girl were now hovering over. "Idiots. Who said I was going back into town?" he asked, and with that turned and flew towards the outskirts of the city.

"Hey! Where are you taking me?" the girl demanded.

The mage blinked at her. "Oh yeah, you. I'll just drop you off over a cliff or something later."

"Why you- HELP! HELP! THIS MAGE IS TRYING TO MOLEST ME! HEEELP!"

"Damn it, kid, will you-"

"HE JUST SAID HE MOLESTS LITTLE KIDS! HEEELP MEEE!"

Syd growled. "I WILL drop you if you don't shut up!"

"Hah, and lose yer little doohickies? I don't think so," she said, fingering the two fiery orbs in her hands.

"You little-"

"You just put me down nice and then I'll give you your stuff back."

"Why me?" Syd groaned. "Fine. In that case, let's hurry up."

With that, he focused more on his wind orb, hoping he could get rid of this annoying girl soon. Then he could just get home and have a nice vacation- jails do take a lot out of a guy, after all.

Boy, would he be in for a surprise.

~*~