Sylvia and the Baron
By Airship Canon

Warning: Reader Discretion is Advised!
The following contains (possible, depends on what you believe) Brother/Sister Incest (Or Kissing Cousins, if not the former, it's the latter.), Plucky girl, Little Miss Badass and who knows, there's probably more. Also based on true events. Ahem!

"Oh lord…" Claude shook his head as he looked at Sigurd, his Recover Staff in hand. "May grace be upon this person…"

"…Thanks, Claude… there's a fierce fighter in the arena here in town… I didn't think I'd lose the way I did." Sigurd said, cringing in pain from the serious burns he had sustained from his gladiatorial fight. "It's… actually kind of shameful, really. I'm so used to winning fights, to lose like that to Atlas and his Volcanon spell…"

"It's… not shameful in the least, if you're not considering the price of risking your life in those arenas. It'd be something if you had won." Claude smiled as he put down his staff. "You'll be fine, but I will suggest, that you not try again. I saw you fight, you hardly could put a dent in him- and the way Fire Magic is on you…"

"Hmmm…" Sylvia thought to herself, "It'd be something if you'd won". Her eyes widened as she looked at Father Claude. "…I'm no fighter, but…"

"So you really are here for a fight, little girl! This is quite a laugh… you'll be up against Baron Atlas! You won't stand a chance!" the Arena fight organizer, a scruffy looking brute with scars across his face, said, looking at Sylvia's scantily clad figure. "You're much better off just showing off your body, girl! You'll stay alive longer and make just as much, if not more, money that way!"

"I'll show you..! I can win this..!...besides I do THAT already..!" Sylvia said, her hand on her Defender Sword, which she had gotten from a nearby Silesian town for doing exactly what the fight organizer had suggested.

"Well… I'd assume that sword you've got there is your entry weapon…ah it's a Defender Sword… I'll let Atlas know what he's up against… so far he's only lost to Briggid and her Ichival… and that weapon, I'm not sure why we let her use it her… not saying the fans weren't impressed seeing a Holy Weapon in combat."

"Good to know I'm getting to you..!"

"Tssh…! A DANCER? REALLY? This can't be the truth… there's no way that's not a lie." the Baron said, equipping his heavy armor.

"Yeah, I'm surprised as well, but you really should see that girl! She's quite the looker if you know what I mean! Just don't get distracted out there, Atlas."

"Wodin, you know me and Marilyn have a thing..! I wouldn't be distracted by my opponent in that way. Anyways… so you're serious… my opponent is Sylvia… a Dancer, with a Defender Sword and a Speed Ring?" Atlas said, strapping down his last piece of armor and lifting up his helmet.

"Looking forward to you destroying that girl… she's no fighter! She needs to get to performing, not trying to win here in the arena… I've already talked it over too, don't kill her- standard rules."

"I don't fight to kill, Wodin… you know that. Or else I'd be kicking that damn Daccar's ass- you could bet I'd have him dead in a heartbeat. Him and those jerks from Grandbell… the Beige Ritter…" Atlas lifted up his Volcanon tome "…you know, those guys… Mahnya and her Pegasus Knights were awfully pretty. The way he killed them… it makes me sick… how could any self-respecting guy do that?"

"The same way you fight, I suppose." Wodin, the Arena supervisor laughed, "Not that I approve of Daccar, but you'd do the same if you were a soldier who fought wars."

"And that's why I'm not. I'm just an Arena fighter. I could never take an order like that. I love to fight- the thrill of combat, and the honor of it, I'm a fighter, but no warrior... I don't kill."

"Either way, Atlas, your fight is about to begin… get into the Arena."

"Who's that girl?" a spectator asked his friend.

"Sylvia… she's with Sigurd's Blate Ritter… though I hear she's a dancer." the youth replied, "And she certainly looks that way..!"

"Yeah, look at her! She's quite the looker!" the first boy drooled as he stared at Sylvia who graciously drew her defender sword as the Arena gate opened in front of her.

"Behold! It's the terror of the Arena! Atlas! The fighter who shatters the earth with his magical might! The Baron of Armageddon, the master of the Volcanic Fire… It's BARON ATLAS!" Wodin's voice boomed across the arena, "Of course, you know the Challenger, but let me reintroduce her! The Dancer of the Grandbell Knights! The beauty of Chalphy's Blate Ritter! SYLVIA!"

The crowd cheered at the combatants, but the cheering quickly changed from a loud roar to a rhythmatic chant for the reigning champion and crowd-favorite, "ATLAS! ATLAS! ATLAS!"

"Now, fighters, fight with honor and dignity! BEGIN!"

"Sylvia… I don't know what you're doing here, girl… but neither the arena, nor the battlefield is a place for someone like you..! Come! I'll even let you strike the first blow before you retreat!" Atlas shouted out to Sylvia.

"I'll show you…! I'm no weakling!" Sylvia said, running at Atlas, and slicing recklessly with her sword, missing the Baron, he effortlessly moved out the way of her strike.

"Hm.. we'll see about that..! Power of Fire..! The skies burn with my fury now! Manifest thyself in a Molten Blast! VOLCANON!" Atlas called out as the skies turned a deep red over the arena, and the ground shook, and a powerful blast of fire erupted forth, sending bits of molten rock high into the sky.

Sylvia screamed in pain as she took the brunt of Atlas's magic attack, but managed to stay on her feet. "…It's not over…" she breathed heavily. "…oh gods… don't let my Prayer go unheard…"

"You're not submitting?" Atlas said, turning his armored figure in a manner so that his massive shield faced Sylvia.

"Of course not!... Now take this! Darkness Blade!" Sylvia yelled as she ran forward like a bolt of lightning, her sword emanating a strange dark magic that allowed it to shatter a portion of Atlas's armor.

"I've never seen a combat skill like that one…" Atlas said, "But it doesn't matter, girl..! Volcanon!" Again, he cast his magic, but this time, Sylvia effortlessly avoided the brilliant, fiery display, a faint white glow in her eyes as she launched a counter attack that ended with her sword bouncing harmlessly off Atlas's armor.

The crowd "Ah!"'d in amazement at the fight, which raged on, Atlas unleashing powerful blasts of fire with his Volcanon spell and Sylvia evading them and bashing her weapon against his thick armor. Occasionally, neither side would be able to strike, making the fight seem less of a fight and more of an excellently coordinated dance, between the Baron, the fire, and the Dancer.

"Oh my… it seems this is the longest fight in this here Arena's history..!" Wodin said, his eyes locked on the beautiful display.

"Girl… I don't know where you learned to fight… but… I may have underestimated you… I'm impressed… but it's not over." Atlas coughed out a few token words, blood running down his body; true, Sylvia's normal attacks only pinged his armor, but her Darkness Blade strikes were capable of dealing a fair amount of damage to the powerful fighter. "Volcanon!"

Sylvia, seeming almost possessed, continued to evade the molten flame and launch a flurry of swings at the Baron. "I'm… not going to lose, Atlas!" She swung her sword once again at the Baron, it shattering on impact.

"…I… submit…" Atlas coughed dropping his tome and falling to his knees. He then took off his helmet and looked Sylvia in the eyes. "You win… Sylvia of the Blate Ritter… I know not what skills you employed, but… you have bested me."

"Oh my! It seems Atlas has fallen!" Wodin yelled "Sylvia wins!"

The crowd went into an uproar. "SYLVIA! SYLVIA! SYLVIA!" They chanted, their tunes changed radically after her victory.

"Father Claude..! Guess what I did!" Sylvia yelled out when she returned to the Castle.

"Oh Child, do tell me…" Claude said, his eyes on the dancer. "What could you have done without leaving the town…"

Author's Note: Given HP regen time + Prayer Skill = Win Anything in the Arenas, OMG. Based on the Shin 1.71 (+ ASC... my personal variant. No more Jealousy formation needed! (And a few other changes... (Sorry, but lowering weapon costs and usages is not cool, dude. Doesn't make it harder, just annoying.)) patch. Reads, Reviews, please!