AN: at the moment, I happen to be grounded, which means that even getting this out is a chore. My last note was probably a little too focused. What I meant was critique it as a whole, not just grammar. I need tips on organization and such. The great picture I see in my head is but an ugly smear if I can't describe it to you right. Enjoy!
The shadow of the Albiore sped on the waves, created by the full moon's glow, as they headed in the general direction of Baticul. The flight was smooth, passing through the occasional cloud with the Ispanian Continent an orange smear in the distance.
Inside was a scene of contentment, with each bit of the group split into chatting circles. Jade asked Luke and Asch a few questions, Natalia and Tear discussing their times away from them. Anise, Florian, Guy, and Noelle were looking at the passing clouds, not saying much. Ginji was flying the Albiore.
"Well, the two of you seem fine. I'd say you won't have any further problems with the contamination effect or any fomicry side effects." Jade pushed up his glasses and walked off, preempting any response from the two.
"Well that went well," Asch said with a sigh. "We officially don't have a thing to worry about."
"Yeah, from that source anyways." Luke looked at Tear and Natalia with a laugh. "Tear still might kill me for not getting out in a week."
"Well let's go find out. I'm rather bored talking to you."
"It's not my fault when you start a conversation with me."
"No, it's just your fault when you keep it going"
Both of them walked over to Tear and Natalia in good spirits, acting like brothers. They sat down, Luke next to Tear and Asch next to Natalia, and asked how they had been over the year.
The four of them talked for over an hour, Tear's head slowly dropping onto Luke's shoulder. Eventually they all agreed that they would head in for the night, tired as they were from the events of the day. They stood up and went to the bunk room, Tear and Luke settling into bunks in the middle, while Asch and Natalia chose to share one in the back corner.
Luke looked over at Tear's bed to see her splayed across the bed. He could tell by the way she was laying there that she was already asleep. After a moment or so, though, she started tossing a little, as if she was very uncomfortable. Luke got up, thinking of finding out what was wrong. He reached out, touching her on the shoulder gently.
She unconsciously grabbed at it, holding his arm to her and almost immediately calming down. Taken aback by what she did, he wondered for a moment what he should do. Luke tried to pull his arm gently out of her grip, but she tightened it and started to toss and turn again. It hit him just then, just how alone she must have been, an entire year with him missing. He knew he had missed some of what she had said in their last moments together. Luke didn't have to be a genius to figure out what it must have been.
So Luke actually laid himself out next to Tear, wondering if she would be angry in the morning. He decided it didn't matter, and pulled her closer to him. Tear nudged her head right next to Luke's neck, using his shoulder as a pillow.
Luke laid there amazed as Tear actually relaxed, not just rested. So he just laid there, cuddled closer to her, and banished the nightmares of being alone.
Guy and Noelle wandered off from Anise and Florian, who had started to just stare off into the distance, in the direction of Daath. They started to talk about a lot of things, surprisingly nothing about fon machines.
They almost didn't notice when the Albiore went into a gentle decent. They realized that they were still a long way off from leaving the peninsula, much less actually being close to Baticul. Before Guy and Noelle could react, Jade jumped up to the cockpit and yelled at Ginji to explain what he was doing.
Instead of explaining himself, he put the Albiore into a much steeper dive, forcing everyone in the cockpit to the floor. Jade stopped himself on the back of the copilot's chair, and summoned his spear to threaten Ginji. "Pull up now!" Jade didn't think he would really listen, but he didn't care. Ginji would pull up, whether he wanted to or not.
"What the hell?" Noelle and Guy nearly simultaneously said. Guy had fallen first, catching Noelle before she fell hard. Noelle's reaction seemed to come from the fall, where Guy's seemed disbelieving, as he wasn't even trembling with Noelle distinctly close to him.
Jade forced Ginji out of his seat and wildly pulled back on the controls. The Albiore leveled out a little, giving everyone a more stable surface to stand on. Ginji started to run for the back, but Guy and Noelle cornered him. He hesitated for a moment, and then tried to run Noelle over. Guy shoved him back against the wall, holding him there while Noelle ran to the pilot's chair.
Jade soon joined Guy and the two tied Ginji up while Noelle put them back on course, more or less. The two dragged him into a corner and tied him to a chair.
"What the hell were you doing?" Guy started, anger seeping into his voice.
"Heh, just going for a dive…" Ginji looked at them as though he hadn't just tried smearing them against a Cliffside.
"Guy, I don't think that's Ginji…" Jade was staring intently at Ginji's expression, suddenly aware of his childish expression and empty eyes.
"What are you talking about, Jade?" Guy looked up at him like he had just said fon machines were run by cheagles on a little wheel (Jade knew that look because he said it once, just to see his expression).
Jade ignored Guy and asked "Ginji, when did we first meet?"
"Years ago, in Sheridan. Been flying for you ever since." Ginji said it in confidence.
His response was met with empty stares, as it was painfully obvious that he was an imposter. "Well, what do you think Jade?" Guy didn't want to look at the imposter so he stared at the wall to the left of them.
"I think we have ourselves a replica." Jade stood up and turned. "Ginji must have been kidnapped, and this replica trained to take his place. We'll worry about finding him after everyone is told about Luke. Goodnight"
Jade headed to the back room, passing a solemn Anise and Florian. "I suggest you two get some rest too. Preparations for weddings can cause headaches, especially when you haven't prepared yourself for the horrors."
"Jade, can't you ever be serious?" Anise put her hands on her hips and leaned forward, her usual expression of frustration. "There's no such thing as horrors at a wedding, unless you count any guests like you."
"So prepare yourselves." Jade turned and left the room with a grin.
"Let's go Florian. I guess we should go, and get some sleep." With that Anise and Florian also went into the back room.
Guy walked over and sat in the co-pilot's seat. "Are you okay Noelle?" Guy looked over as she bit her lower lip.
"I hope Ginji's alright… He's the only family I have left." She wiped the beginnings of a tear out of her eyes and tried to keep flying the Albiore.
"You can go rest too, if you need to Noelle. I can fly the Albiore for a few hours." He looked over all the gauges as if to reassure her.
"I'll stay up here, I'm fine." Guy saw her making a face from the corner of his eye.
"At least take a break then." Guy insisted.
"Alright, alright. You win," Noelle conceded with a smile.
"Well that's new. You'd think that Tear would at least sleep on the other side of the bed." Anise was staring at the two, who had gone from merely being close to Tear being on top of Luke, her head resting on his chest.
"Must be from the struggle. I'm sure Tear would have at least kept him at arms distance." Jade poked up his glasses. "Let's leave them like that so we can see her reaction."
"Colonel, that's evil! Okay, maybe we'll have a good laugh in the morning."
With that, Anise and Florian chose a bed near the front, and then lay down a 'decent' distance apart. Jade chose the bunk across from them, muttering "Silly children…"
"Hey Noelle, I have an idea… Let's go to the Cheagle woods, and pick up Mieu. He'd love to see Luke and Tear again."
"That sounds like a great idea, Guy. If we go now, we can make it to Baticul by early morning."
With that, Guy turned the Albiore around and said "Yea… That way everyone will wake up with a supprise."
AN: Sorry their so short. dont forget to RR! Chapter 3 should be up in 2 or 3 weeks.