"I said, I want a rematch!" Gerald paused at the base of the stairs connecting the third and second floors of the guild. He had initially been on his way to the training ground to kill a little time before Nocturne came back from whatever mission he had been on. The commotion from the first floor; however, caught his attention and he curiously changed course for the next staircase leading downward.

"You lost fair and square buddy. I'm not doing this with you everyday." Upon reaching the lobby, he found the noise coming from the guild's two newest recruits. He had only seen them in passing the day before and hadn't been particularly impressed by ether of them. He was more than a little surprised to see them both here again.

"You cheated, you must have!" The first boy argued. The boy couldn't have even been any older than nineteen, judging by demeanor and by the fact that he looked like he was just starting to fill out his simple plate armor with lean muscle. A mop of short purple hair sticking out in odd directions from his head and a broad two handed sword strapped to his back helped to make him stand out from the gathering crowd.

"I didn't cheat. You just sucked because you were hungover." Argued the other boy, a brunette with slicked back hair and a thick pad of gauze stuck to the left side of his jaw. The brown leather armor he wore was a little better fitted but he lacked any significant signs of muscle growth and appeared lanky and scrawny. Judging by the simple light blade strapped to his hip, the brunette had won whatever fight they had purely because he was faster and sober.

"Just accept that you fucked up your own chances and deal with what you got." The brunette finished, returning the scowl the other boy was sending him.

"What's going on?" Gerald finally approached the arguing recruits. The small crowd that had gathered immediately dispersed. Even at the young age of twenty three, very few ever dared to cross Gerald when he was angry or annoyed. Both boys immediately stopped their fighting and turned to face the man who towered over them by a head. The purple haired boy imminently looked at him with curiosity, though the brunette wasn't so quickly pacified, instead glaring up at him with defiance and frowning.

"Who are you?" The brunette asked with a mocking tone.

"Sergeant Gerald. One of your superior officers and you will address me with the proper respect." Gerald replied, arms crossed and glare cutting like daggers. The brunettes face immediately softened with sheepishness and he took a few steps back so his companion stood in the forefront.

"So again, what's going on? And while you're at it tell me your names."

"Thanos sir, and this is Jarvis. We just got assigned to the same squad. Our Sergeant had us duke it out yesterday to see who would be corporal." Thanos replied. "I won, but Jarvis doesn't seem happy with it."

"Because I wasn't at my best. It wasn't a fair fight!" Jarvis interjected before Thanos had even finished.

"That's not my fault! Maybe don't go out drinking the night before your first day on the job."

"Enough!" Gerald commanded, sick of listening to the two men argue like children. "Thanos, as a superior you should be fostering your subordinates desires to advance in rank. If he challenges you for your rank than you accept it. Unless you think you can't win against someone who fighting at their absolute best."

"I-I, but he…yes sir. " Thanos mumbled with embarrassed resignation. He shot a glare at Jarvis who laughed at his expense.

"As for you." Jarvis instantly silenced when he realized the Sergeants eyes were on him now. "Are you even old enough to be drinking? No? That's what I thought. Do yourself a favor and don't make that a bad habit. This is dangerous work and being hungover all the time could get you or your teammates killed."

"Yeah, yeah." Jarvis sighed with a roll of his eyes. He looked as if this weren't the first time he had been given this spiel.

'Is this really what we've resorted to taking in?' Gerald thought.

"Are the both of you causing trouble already." Both boys cried out with surprise as they were ruffly gabbed by the arm and pulled back into a slightly bent down stance. Both looked between them to find a women in her late thirties. Her red hair was kept short and slicked back and her sharp hazel eyes glared back and forth between the two men. She was dressed in a long black leather brigandine studded with small steel disks. Underneath she wore a dark green tunic, brown pants, and knee high black boots. A smallsword hung sheathed at her hip and a simple red brown targe was strapped over her shoulder. Despite her small 5 foot stature her posture and expression expressed an air of disciplined and no nonsense.

"Sergeant Margot, so the new recruits have been assigned to you?" Gerald acknowledged the small woman. Judging by his first interactions with the newbies, they would have a hell of a time dealing with the strict ways of their new Sergeant. Likewise the woman would have a trial of patience whipping them both up to her standards.

"Indeed." her answer was none committal as she released the two recruits and immediately turned to Jarvis. "Good to see you bright eyed this time; however, in my squad you will show up looking clean, pressed, and presentable. Not like you just rolled out of bed." Jarvis sheepishly combed a hand through his messy bedraggled hair. Thanos was the one to laugh this time but was silenced as she fixed him with a sharp look. "And BOTH of you would do well to learn some respect. For causing a scene I want both of you running laps up and down Yellow Town."

"Are you serious!?" "But that whole street is on a hill!" Thanos and Jarvis both whined respectively.

"Now!" Margot pointed to the door and both boys scurried from her in a panic. When they were gone, the woman sighed and shook her head in dismay.

"New kids are gonna give you a good workout in patience huh?" Gerald teased, it was no secret that the woman struggled with her temper when things didn't go as smoothly or efficiently as she liked.

"I'm in command of a wannabe knight party boy and a disrespectful street rat. I don't see what the Chief saw in them." Margot replied, her unhappiness with the situation clear as day in her tone.

"Chief always has her reasons. I'm sure there's something there that we just can't see yet. Maybe there's a reason she stuck them with you to." Margot cast a thin lipped sneer at the younger Sergeant.

"Gerald! My love, I have come home!" Nocturne suddenly burst though the door with a showy display of gallantry and valor. Gerald turned his attention away from Margot and placed a hand on his chest and trying hard not to laugh at the jokingly gaudy display.

"Be still my beating heart. And here I was, thinking you had been lost from me." Gerald played along, offering out his other hand for his friend to take. Nocturne took it and immediately pulled the other man into a headlock, resulting in a playful struggle between the two.

"You two are like a couple of overgrown children." Margot observed, looking unimpressed by the display.

"See, that's what I mean Margot…Lighten…up…a bit." Gerald wheezed as Nocturne's grip on his neck tightened.

"Whatever he said. Come have a beer with us, relax." Nocturne agreed, not fully understanding the context. He doubled over with a gasp when Gerald punched him hard in the gut, forcing him to let go of his hold.

"Later, I need to make sure those two finish out their punishment." Margot declined. She bid the two young men farewell and headed for the training ground where she would have a good view of most of the street.

"You're not good at running are you?" Thanos mocked as he looked over his shoulder at his new squad mate. Jarvis lagged a good couple of feet behind and appeared to be at his limit despite their light jogging pace and the fact that they were only now completing their second lap.

"You're not good at shutting up!" Jarvis yelled back. "Can we take a break?"

"No dice, Sarge is watching us from the second floor." Thanos replied as he slowed down until they were side by side. Jarvis looked up as they passed the Vancoor building and groaned when he saw her perched on the low hanging wall surrounding the training ground.

"Jeez, what a psycho bitch." Thanos mumbled when they were out of potential ear shot. He looked to Jarvis and figured he should try to distract the man from his growing fatigue. "Hey, what made you decide to join?"

"Huh? Oh, I needed a job that paid more while I waited for my chance to pass the knight entrance exam. The odd jobs I've been taking aren't really cutting it anymore, plus the training should better my chances of passing right?"

"Have you taken the test yet?"

"Twice a year since I came here when I was fifteen."

"You've been trying for five years?" Thanos balked at the idea of trying so many times to get into anything. "Don't you think you should take that as a sign that it's not meant to be?"

"I'll keep trying for however long it takes!" Thanos rolled his eyes at the others devotion. "I'm gonna be somebody someday Thanos. Then I'll look down and laugh at all of you who told me to quit."

"You know they say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." Thanos replied snidely. Jarvis ignored him and they ran in silence for a few long awkward moments.

"So what about you?" Jarvis eventually asked when he had calmed down. Thanos was quiet for so long Jarvis had thought he wasn't going to answer.

"I got caught brawling in the street." He finally answered somberly. "It wasn't the first time I was in trouble with the law. Now that I'm an adult I can actually go to jail. They were nice enough to give me a chance to clean up my act and get a job though. Vancoor was the only place that would take me."

"Why not just join Void?" Jarvis asked after another long silence.

"I have my reasons for living my life the way I did. Doesn't mean I WANT to be a criminal. Quit being a prick." Thanos snapped, surprising Jarvis.

"Okay, okay sorry. I didn't mean it like that." Jarvis apologized, looking genuinely guilty. Thanos ignored him and ran ahead once again, cutting off any further conversation.