Phantom: Well, here we are again. It's always bothered me every time I played Eternal Sonata that we don't find out where Falsetto is or what she does when she runs away. She's my favorite character, so I've decided to indulge myself and write my interpretation of what happened. I promise there will be eventual Jazz/Falsetto, but not yet. Be patient~

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this. 8D

Chapter 1: Flight

The voice in the back of her mind screamed for her to run away as fast as she could. The anxiety was starting to become overwhelming, and Falsetto felt as if she was going against a current by continuing to follow Jazz. The base wasn't too much further, Falsetto knew, but she felt uneasy. She began to wonder what exactly had gone on while she had been in the cemetery with Allegretto and Viola. What confused her more was the fact that Claves wasn't with Jazz when he came back to Andante headquarters. She knew that Claves was a capable fighter, even if her appearance said otherwise, and Falsetto realized that Claves was probably fine waiting for them alone. Despite the reassuring thoughts that Claves was all right, Falsetto felt that something was wrong.

The group had been silent ever since they started the trip from Andante to the base. The silence, combined with the anxiety that was overwhelming Falsetto, was finally getting to her. She quickened her pace and was soon walking beside Jazz, leaving Allegretto and Viola to trail behind them. "Jazz, would you mind if I went ahead without you?" Falsetto asked. Jazz responded with a perplexed look, immediately making Falsetto regret asking.

"Why ever would you want to, Falsetto?" Jazz asked. Falsetto opened her mouth to respond, but she closed it again after a moment. She wondered if Jazz would believe her if she told him about the bad feeling she had. Falsetto would have to try a different tactic if she wanted to avoid being asked more questions.

"I just want to check up on things back at the base, Jazz. We were gone for a while, so I want to make sure everything is all right." Falsetto explained. It sounded reasonable enough to her. The group had been gone longer than they had anticipated with the mission of rescuing Salsa and getting separated from the rest of their little group. It was true that Jazz had been back at the base with Claves only an hour or so before he returned to Andante, but this slight flaw in her plan didn't seem to bother Falsetto.

"Claves and I were just at the base, Falsetto. Everything was fine when we were there." Jazz stated.

"Well, it doesn't hurt to take another look does it?" Falsetto asked indignantly. Jazz's sudden need to question her motives was beginning to annoy her. She wondered for a moment if Jazz trusted her on her own at all anymore. He had been giving her strange looks ever since they had passed through the Woodblock Groves. She couldn't pretend she didn't notice, especially since she, Claves, and Jazz had done most of the fighting in that area. Falsetto was snapped out of her thoughts by Jazz's sigh. It seemed as though the black haired swordsman had given in at last.

"Fine, you can go ahead. We'll be meeting up with you there soon enough, so you might as well get going so you can do whatever it is you need to do." Jazz sighed. Falsetto nodded gratefully and sprinted on ahead of Jazz. As she got farther ahead she could have sworn she heard Allegretto ask Jazz about the conversation that had just gone on, but Falsetto ignored it. All she cared about was getting back to the base and putting the uneasy feeling to rest.

It seemed that the uneasy feeling faded away when she reached the base. The base had a calm air about it, leaves were floating along in the breeze, and as far as Falsetto could tell nothing seemed to be wrong. "Maybe I was worrying over nothing after all." she said. Even though things appeared calm on the outside, Falsetto wondered if everything was all right inside the base. Without wasting any more time, Falsetto approached the base and opened the door.

Once she was inside, she realized it felt oddly quiet. As she walked further down the hall, Falsetto felt the feeling of anxiety return. Usually Claves would be there to greet her and Jazz when they came back from missions or supply runs. Whatever feeling she had now seemed to be telling her to check on Claves. "Claves, are you there? It's me. Falsetto." Falsetto called. When she got no response, Falsetto knew something wasn't right. Whatever grudges she held against the pink haired woman didn't matter now. She had to find Claves.

Falsetto didn't have to search for long. A sickening sight greeted her as soon as she rounded the corner that led to the main planning room. Claves lay motionless on the floor in a puddle of blood that was slowly staining the hardwood an ugly red. The 22-year-old had to do everything within her power to prevent herself from gagging at the sight. Once she was over her initial shock, Falsetto returned her gaze to Claves.

There were bloodstains in various places throughout the room, indicating that Claves had been able to move around quite a bit before collapsing. Falsetto felt as though her head was spinning the more she looked over Claves and the room. Upon further inspection Falsetto saw that Claves' rapier was resting on the table and that it wasn't stained with blood. Falsetto felt more relaxed when she realized that the damage done to Claves wasn't self-inflicted.

A thought came to Falsetto as she looked at Claves; what if Claves wasn't dead? Falsetto quickly made her way over to where Claves was laying and knelt down beside her. "C-Claves, can you hear me?" Falsetto murmured shakily. Her hand trembled as she reached out to touch Claves' shoulder, and when she finally placed her hand on her shoulder she had to resist the urge to flinch away. Claves' body was already cold. Any hope that the pink haired woman was still alive had flown out the window long before Falsetto had arrived.

Falsetto's whole body began trembling as she pulled her hand away from Claves. "N-No… y-you can't be dead. You just can't be!" Falsetto cried. It felt as if her world had shattered in that moment. She had never liked Claves, but she would never wish anything bad upon her. Claves was Jazz's girlfriend, but any chance Falsetto had at winning Jazz's heart was shattered in that instant.

A startling thought came to Falsetto as she started to back away from Claves' body; Jazz might blame her. It had become more noticeable in the passing days that Falsetto didn't like Claves. What if Jazz blamed her?

She had to leave. Falsetto couldn't risk losing Jazz forever by being blamed for something she didn't do. Everything that had happened began swirling around in her head as she staggered toward the exit, but she stopped herself when she thought that Jazz, Allegretto, and Viola might be outside waiting for her and Claves. Falsetto looked around the room and spotted the open window. It wasn't the best way to exit, but Falsetto didn't care. Making sure she didn't step in one of the puddles of blood, Falsetto made her way toward the window and climbed out.

Once she was on the ground, she ran. She didn't care where she ended up; she just had to get away. "Claves is dead. I should be happy," she thought. "Jazz will never forget her, though. I'll always be second fiddle, and I can never hope to catch up now."