Title: Promethes Mneme by apakoha

Author's Note: Wow, thanks a bunch for all of the reviews! Again, thanks to my beta primo, eagle711 and to the writing encouragement of lady, DA and Meimi.

Meimi: Yes, Luke would be very, very disappointed in them. He'd be so upset...

Blaze 909: Whoa, thanks, and, uh, I'm glad you're inspired!

Thanks again to everyone!


Luke knew only two things: Asch and the whiteness. The whiteness faded after a while – after all, it was just white. It illuminated, it glowed, it was dull. The still, pale man in Luke's arms was infinitely more interesting. The body occupied all of his attention. It wasn't a pleasant type of attention. Luke's face scrunched up miserably as he studied Asch's almost-white face. In his detached state, Luke was only distantly aware of the hysterical question: when Asch was completely white, would he be as uninteresting as the white light surrounding them?

Part of Luke's so distant psyche was the inclusion of Asch. Upon the death of Asch and the sending of his powerful hyperresonance, Luke had the edgy feeling that Asch's mind had not disappeared. In fact, Luke had a half-constructed theory that Asch's psyche had taken a ride with the hyperresonance and was deeply affecting – that wasn't his thought! It practically proved the theory, though... But Luke felt no elation at the thought that Asch was alive; nor did he feel grief for his death, or sorrow for parting with his friends, or... Luke/Asch realized that he/they didn't feel anything. Then a deep masculine voice rang out, and Luke felt something leave from his mind – but the emotions did not return.

You have done admirably, Lorelei said, Who would have thought that the future I saw would be rewritten?

Luke watched Asch being healed dispassionately, as if this were Goldberg's rendition of Macbeth. Now that he was alone, the body was not as fascinating. He much preferred to see where he was falling with Asch's body in his arms. They were slowly falling into the core, he knew that much.

Luke... Give me Asch, Lorelei requested. Luke obliged, holding him up in his arms. Asch slowly vanished from Luke's arms, as did everybody in death. And then all of his emotions rushed back, so quickly Luke could hardly blink before he felt crushed by everything.

Now, started Lorelei again, what would you give for your friends' lives? For Asch's life?

Still reeling, Luke could barely answer the question. It took him a moment to deal with everything so quickly (Asch was gone, Tear was gone, everyone was gone, Asch was back and gone again and what was going on?), and then think about what Lorelei had said.

"I'd – I'd do anything. I'd give my own life to keep them alive and happy." Luke could practically feel his sincerity coming to the surface. The words were spoken with the certainty of experience of willingly giving up one's life.

Indeed...

Luke could almost hear the entity thinking.

"Lorelei, what is it?" he asked, hesitantly.

...Luke, I have a task for you. I will not lie; it will be very difficult.

"Difficult as in life or death? I promised everyone I'd come back. I have to. Please." Luke pleaded desperately with the entity.

I'm sorry to give you this choice, Luke. But know this, once I send you, my ability to help will be reduced. I will do my best to help you, but it's likely I will not even be able to contact you. Lorelei was grave.

Luke heaved his shoulders.

"I – I don't know. Lorelei, I'm so tired..."

The thoughts of Lorelei hung in the air. In this silent exchange, the burden of Lorelei was transferred to Luke's shoulders. The young man's shoulders dipped even lower as if the task was a physical yoke. And I don't even know what the task is, Luke realized in one of his moments of self-pity. With the weight of a different world on his shoulders, Luke turned to Lorelei, as much as one could 'turn' to a non-physical entity.

"Lorelei?" Luke asked, feeling pitifully small.

Yes?

"Can I have a rest first...? I don't really think I'm ready."

Of course. Let me refresh you.

"Wait, when are you going to tell me the mission? Right away?" Luke asked in panic, stopping Lorelei from putting him to sleep right away.

If you like.

Luke waited while Lorelei gathered his thoughts.

I will be sending you to a world parallel to this one, a world where I still lie trapped. It diverged from this world when Vandesdelca created you. I need you, with your foreknowledge and experience, to go back and rescue me. You must not destroy the replicas; Tear must not become sick with the miasma. I will place you in a time after the divergence so you will have time to prepare.

"But, wait! What? That's not specific enough! I mean - "

Good luck. Even before Luke could process those words, he was falling asleep.

"Wait, why n...?"


After what was many, many hours to Luke, he woke up. The first thing he noticed was that he was in a very familiar bed. In fact, if Luke could remember how he got there, he would have said it was his own. Without opening his eyes, Luke yawned and stretched. When he had gotten comfortable, Luke opened his eyes, and was instantly jolted into wide-awake awareness. He was home! How did he get here?

Wonderingly, he sat up and looked around. Maybe Guy was here, too – he'd know how Luke had gotten here so mysteriously. He moved his legs to the side of the bed and pushed himself out onto the floor. He nearly fell flat on his face. Luke instinctively threw himself backwards on his bed so he didn't fall forward. He was mostly proud that he didn't yell.

When Luke was sure he had his footing, he sat up again and actually tried to remember how he had gotten there. I remember invading Eldrant and taking down Van... What happened after that?

Luke looked around his room to try and divine some meaning from the objects strewn about. His bed, the window, his extra swords lying on the shelf, the mirror... Luke just didn't get it and decided to get out of bed. If Tear could see him being lazy for no reason, she'd scold him until his ears burned.

"Master Luke?" The maid's voice from outside the door interrupted his thoughts.

Luke swore in surprise. "Uh, yes?"

"Duke Fabre would like to see you in the drawing room?"

"Er, acknowledged. You're dismissed."

Luke looked down at his clothes and noticed how filthy and wrinkly they were. He even had some blood from the battle left over staining his front. He must have slept in them – Father would not be pleased. He went over to his closet and hoped that he had some other, suitable clothes lying around. No such luck.

So Luke tried to straighten out his clothes as best as he could while he ran to the drawing room. As he went through, a thought struck him. This place was missing one small creature named Mieu. If he was here, he would have jumped all over Luke with worry for his master. He'd have to ask Guy.

Luke opened the door and came face to face with Van and Natalia. He froze. What's Van doing alive?! Why's Natalia so calm?! Then at that moment, he remembered exactly how he had gotten back to his manor. The half-explained mission and all of his foreknowledge upstanding, Luke was rather proud of his response: he only jumped a quarter out of his skin, and he squashed his shouts into a choke.

"Luke?" Duke Fabre asked, more curiosity in his voice than Luke had ever heard before.

"Uhhh..." Luke trailed off. He tried to think of something to say, something the old Luke would say, but nothing was coming!

"What have you got to say for yourself, Luke?" Natalia asked, sounding cross. Luke automatically put a hand behind his head.

"I'm sorry?" he said, feeling confused.

Van laughed as Natalia huffed. "You've slept in when Her Highness wishes to visit you." He smiled indulgently. But Luke avoided looking at him, still feeling shaken by the sight of him.

"I'm sorry, Natalia," said Luke more sincerely.

"You had better be," sighed the Duke. Luke quietly repeated the sigh as he heard condescension flood back into his father's tone.

"I'm sorry, Father," repeated Luke, wondering if he'd have to apologize to everyone in the household.

"Well, you must be in a good mood," Van said, "You're willing to apologize." Luke finally turned to him, and Van continued, "I was planning to teach you the theory of base artes today, but since Princess Natalia has come, I'll save that for tomorrow."

"Oh," said Luke, uncertain of how to act around Van. Would he get suspicious? He'd have to wing it. "I guess I'll... see you tomorrow, then?"

Van and his father immediately frowned.

"Are you feeling alright, Luke?" asked Duke Fabre. Luke groaned in his head. That wasn't like the old him at all!

"I mean, no use complaining about it, right? Besides, I don't think Natalia would like having to wait."

The two men still looked suspicious, but after a couple more 'goodbyes', Van left.

"So, Luke," Natalia said, "To the courtyard?"

"Actually, I was wondering..." Luke nervously looked at his father. "Could we go to the castle instead?"

The other two were surprised. That rule was absolute; Luke hadn't challenged it since he was fifteen.

"Please, Father? I'll be responsible, I promise. And there are lots of guards there, too, so security won't really be a problem..."

"Luke, you know that isn't up to me," sighed Duke Fabre, "Your uncle's rules are absolute, as you should already have impressed on you."

"It's for your safety," Natalia persuaded, "It's only a few more years."

Luke sighed. "Forget I asked."

They subsided, apparently satisfied.

"Alright, Luke, let's go to the courtyard."

"Okay."

Luke felt incredibly nervous as they walked. Even if Natalia had naturally been a nicer person than he had been, she wasn't the Natalia he knew. The old Natalia wasn't the type to keep secrets either – if Luke even called her by an old nickname Asch used to have for her, she would tell everyone his memory was returning and the ensuing mess would never end.

Unfortunately for Luke, they had already reached the bench, leaving him no time to prepare for a conversation.

"Well, Luke, how have your studies been going? Your mother says your grasp of the Fonic language is as good as it's going to get, but you haven't been putting it into practice."

Luke flushed and was about to tell her that his grasp of the language was fine, thank you very much... But then inspiration struck.

"Er, actually, Natalia..," he trailed off, still red in the face. Oh, how he hoped she wasn't going to laugh.

"Yes?" she prodded.

"I haven't told anyone, but I'd like to learn Ancient Ispanian." Luke wasn't embarrassed, but he was worried about the suspicions that might spring up because of this new urge.

"Well, I think that you'd have to prove your adequacy with the Fonic language first," teased Natalia.

"Hey!" protested Luke, "I understand everything!"

Natalia 'hmm'ed disbelievingly, but it wasn't cruel. "Would you like to know a few words?"

"Er, please?"

And then Natalia burst into a vocabulary mini-lesson that left Luke dizzy. He struggled to follow the meanings of certain words – Natalia was frustrated with the lack of pen and paper, but she tried her best to carry on vocal translations. Alma was soul, pata was leg, ojo was eye, espalda was back, mano was hand, quinto was -

"Whoa, Natalia," interrupted Luke, "I don't pick up things that fast!" He was a bit flattered that Natalia thought his memory was that good, but he really didn't want her to expect him to remember all of this!

"I suppose so," she agreed (albeit a little grudgingly), "Luckily for you, the grammar is identical."

"Thank goodness for small victories." Luke rolled his eyes.

"I'll leave the Ancient Ispanian to Guy, or whoever teachers you. What about your sword studies with Dorian General Grants?"

"Well," said Luke vaguely. Natalia raised an eyebrow, waiting for more. After it was obvious that Luke wasn't going to say anymore, Natalia sighed.

"Alright, then. Usually this is the highlight of our conversations, but I can see that's gone." If one knew her well, one could see hints of real disappointment in her eyes. Luke did know her well, and picked up on her feelings.

"Nothing like that, Natalia," said Luke, panicking a little, "Don't be mad. How's your archery doing?"

"Well," said Natalia blithely.

"Natalia!"

The princess raised an eyebrow again (Luke correctly interpreted this as "fair's fair"), but she did continue.

"I've mastered moving targets. I'm just now starting to work on running an obstacle course."

"An obstacle course?" asked Luke. He had no idea what an archery obstacle course would look like. Natalia looked happy that Luke was asking.

"It's to test my accuracy on still targets while I move. Eventually as I improve, the targets will be moving as well." She couldn't keep the pride out of her voice.

Luke was impressed.

"I had no idea your training was so intense."

"You've never asked before," Natalia said delicately. Her features had faded into something very prim, effectively hiding her true thoughts.

Luke was quiet again, feeling guilty. It was unbelievable how self-centered he'd been. But what about Asch? Surely he hadn't been so rude.

"Did I ask about your training before I was kidnapped?" Luke asked in a painfully child-like voice.

"Yes," said Natalia quietly, after a pause. Luke lowered his head.

He opened his mouth to say sorry, but Natalia spoke before he made a sound.

"Please don't feel guilty about it, Luke. Technically, you're only seven years old -"

Luke's head shot up in panic, looking at her with wide eyes. Does she know I'm a replica? How could she?

" - Luke, don't look at me like that. It's been seven years since you lost your memory, therefore this 'new you' has only been here for seven years."

Luke swallowed the lump in his throat, trying to convince his body that it was only Natalia's logic that had led her to that conclusion that was truer than she knew.

"That's an interesting way of looking at it," he said, trying to sound only a little interested.

"A seven-year old can be excused a little selfishness, especially with all that you've been through," explained Natalia, "I mean, an enemy country kidnapping a ten-year old? It must have been terrible."

"If only I could remember the trauma," Luke sighed in mock sorrow.

Natalia smiled, but only a little. It was quiet between them until Luke decided to test the waters of this old-new Natalia.

"Why are we learning how to fight, anyway?"

"It's for the incident of a emergency. There's no need to gripe, Luke - "

"I'm not griping! I'm just curious! Don't we have guards? Don't we have the army? What are they expecting to happen to us?"

"Kidnapping," said Natalia flatly.

"Yeah, okay, point to you, but how often does that happen anyway? I know I was taught the sword even before that and that my father never received his training until his engagement to Mother. Mother never received any other instruction, either. Why us? Why so young?" Luke was flinging his arms awry to emphasize the point. With the difference between the generations so bold, Luke marveled that nobody had wondered why Natalia and Luke were so special.

"We're royalty, Luke. We have to be ready for as many different circumstances as possible." Natalia sounded certain, the type of confidence any child would have in the answers given by their parents. Luke was starting to get frustrated with her; she wasn't getting the point!

"Why so young? It didn't do a lot for me. Are we the first in a new generation of battle-trained nobles or something? What's so special about us?"

"I – I don't know, Luke. I'll ask Father."

"Yeah, you do that," muttered Luke under his breath. Like Uncle would tell her the truth behind Luke's birth. Only the fact that everyone was so closed-mouthed about the Score let Luke feel free to rant about this.

"What was that, Luke?" asked Natalia curiously.

"Er, good enough." Luke waved her away.

"Oh. Well, is there anything else eating away at your mind that you've kept hidden?" It was a serious question, no teasing involved.

Another spark of inspiration hit Luke; almost better than his first epiphany.

"Actually, Natalia, I have a favour to ask. I'd like it if nobody knew."

"Why?"

"I'd just like to keep some things away from other eyes," Luke fidgeted.

"Such secrecy..," murmured Natalia, "Is this a favour I won't want to do for you?"

"I don't think you'll have a problem with it," Luke assured her. If I'm right, you'll want to join in.

"Well, then, what is it?"

"Could you get me all of Dr. Jade Balfour's published works?"

"Luke, whatever for?" The princess blinked in surprise, bordering on shock. A studious Luke must be quite out of her experience.

"I, uh, read something recently about fonons and Jade's – I mean, Balfour's writing on the subject. I was just curious." Luke blushed darkly. Why am I shy? Is it just because it's Jade? Lorelei knows how often he's embarrassed me...

"That's a large sense of curiosity you have," Natalia said in a wondrous tone, "Balfour is known for his research on fomicry. I don't think it's something you'd be much interested in."

"Th-that's why! I – I mean, if I don't get it or I don't really understand it, I can drop it without anyone knowing I was interested in the first place!" Luke hoped she would think it was only for the sake of his pride. Things wouldn't go well if Natalia figured out that he was a replica from reading the books herself. Of course, she would have to get to the conclusion that she'd known two Lukes; that the Luke she knew was replaced. She wouldn't go there unless there was undeniable proof, and besides, it wasn't exactly the first conclusion a person jumped to. He hoped.

The conversation shifted to more mundane things and it stayed that way until the end of Natalia's visit. Eventually, she stood up to say her good-byes, but Luke stood up with her.

"I'll walk you to the front, Natalia," Luke offered.

Natalia blinked in surprise. "Well, that's nice of you," she said, pleased.

"Uh, it's no problem," said Luke, "It's just the courteous thing to do." He started started scratching the back of his head. It's not that big of a deal. Why does she have to make it sound bigger than it is? Was I really so blind to other people?

They quietly walked out of the courtyard and into the next hallway where the hazy light of the sunset couldn't be seen. They went into the front hallway and stopped underneath the sword Luke recognized as the Jewel of Gardios.

"So, I'll get those books to you as soon as possible," Natalia said, breaking the silence. Luke grinned.

"Thanks, Natalia."

"And I'll ask Father about... that issue. The discussion on our training."

"It's not such a big deal, really," said Luke, regretting starting the topic already. It had been very spur of the moment. "I was mostly just venting."

"But it did raise an interesting point. I'm interested now," assured Natalia.

Luke hesitated before agreeing. "Fine, then."

"I'll see you in a few days, Luke."

"Bye, Natalia." The red-headed noble smiled at her as a White Knight came to escort her back to the castle. He leaned against the pillar and stared at the entrance, thinking.

He thought he'd done a fairly good job of preparing already. He wasn't at all subtle about it, but Luke had never thought himself subtle anyway. The books on fonons and fomicry would cover his knowledge of them... Being more intelligent in conversation now would make Natalia less suspicious of any accidental revelations.

Van would be a problem. Luke honestly had no idea of how he was going to fool him. He wasn't a stupid man – he was the opposite: genius. Luke didn't think that he would be able to hold back his skill with the sword without Van noticing. Luke thought he could hide his other knowledge of science and politics from him. They weren't the kind of thing that usually came up in their training anyway.

"Well, you two got along well," said someone in a familiar drawl. Luke experienced a small heart attack before he realized it was Guy.

"Jealous?" said Luke, trying to sound not strangled. He didn't think he had succeeded when Guy laughed.

"Not right now, no," the blond servant smirked.

"Okay, shut up," grumbled Luke, "Were you watching us? Don't you have anything better to do than spy on young nobles?"

"It's boring here," offered Guy as an excuse.

"You're allowed to go out," teased Luke.

"Yeah, well, I thought there was going to be an argument."

"Yeah..." agreed Luke without thinking. But he remembered... He and Natalia had gotten into a fight the first time around. Guy was an accurate judge.

"So... What's new?" Guy asked.

"Did you hear anything?" asked Luke awkwardly, going back to the time he and Natalia talked.

"Not really." Guy shrugged, "Just watched."

"Well, I talked with Natalia about something and she thinks I should do it," Luke said. If he could get the Ancient Ispanian out of the way soon, it would be that much easier.

"What is it?" Guy asked.

"I'd like to start learning Ancient Ispanian." Luke held his breath, completely hopeful that Guy wasn't going to make this more complicated than it needed to be.

Guy was silent, likely in quiet surprise, Luke thought. Maybe even in shock.

"Why?" asked Guy after his long pause. The playfulness was gone from his voice, replaced with a curious seriousness.

"Because I think I'm the only seven- ugh, seventeen-year old who doesn't know it." Luke stumbled over his age. Luckily the ages were the same, barring a syllable, so it was likely that it sounded like he had just tripped over his tongue.

"How would you know that?" said Guy suspiciously. Luke 'hmph'ed.

"I'm not that ignorant," he sniffed, acting a little affronted, "I hear things."

"You know it's going to be slow going," Guy said cautiously.

"Yeah, but I'd just like to learn enough so it doesn't look like I'm an uneducated noble. I'm going to have to learn this stuff at some point, right? If I'm going to succeed my father."

"Alright, then."

Guy looked at him for a little longer. "...You've been acting weird today, Luke," he commented slowly.

Luke tried to cover up, but it came out awkwardly, "Well, maybe today's just the first day I'm showing it."

Guy stared at him. "...Right."

Nobody spoke for a few minutes. The atmosphere was uncomfortable. Too uncomfortable for Luke's liking.

"Wanna spar before it gets dark?" he asked hopefully.

"Sure," replied Guy easily, and started walking towards the courtyard. Luke inwardly breathed a small sigh of relief. Since Guy wasn't as good as Van, Luke could practice holding back.

As Luke found out, he didn't need to hold back that much. This old body of his (new body of his?) didn't react with the speed he was used to. Luke didn't use any of the artes he learned over the past few years. Luke found he actually needed to work to block some of Guy's attacks. Resisting the urge to go for any and all weak spots was difficult, though.

He still remembered certain lectures. Take every opportunity you can! It means the difference between life and death! Luke specifically remembered that one from Tear. Temporarily letting go of his training was going to be harder than he'd thought. But he'd also be relearning bad habits; regressing in his skills. Luke hated the thought. He thus resolved to train by himself after Van was gone each day so he didn't pick up any bad habits.

"You're moving a lot better than usual," commented Guy, taking a neutral position so he could talk.

"What do you mean?" asked Luke, a little confused. It seemed pretty normal to him.

"Oh, I dunno. A little less arrogantly, a little more defensively. It's an improvement."

"Thanks," said Luke automatically, and flew at his friend in a bold swipe before the blond could comment on it. They parried back and forth for a few minutes, then slowly came to a halt by unspoken agreement. Luke sheathed his sword, breathing heavily, and turned to his room.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Luke said a little too casually. Guy couldn't see his face, but Luke knew his servant could tell how tired he was.

"Sleep well," said Guy, and then he, too, headed for his rooms.


The next morning, Luke woke up and lay in his bed dreading the lesson with Van. In the back of his mind, he knew he couldn't fight Van without letting some of his skills show. Then Van would know something was wrong and he would... do what? Luke sat up in his bed, feeling a little more hopeful. Van certainly wouldn't confront him about it, he'd be too concerned about where he learned things from.

Feeling cheered by this, Luke got up to get ready for the day. He got dressed and hurried to get breakfast before Van showed up. Wait, he should start calling him Master Van.

He met his parents at the table, who both blinked in surprise.

"Luke...," his mother said, concerned, "You're up early."

"Eh, just hungry," said Luke, a little embarrassed. His father snorted quietly. So Luke sat down and started wolfing down his breakfast. He felt his father's disapproving look on him. Without looking up at his father, Luke slowed down and attempted to use more manners. The table was quiet.

When Luke was finished eating, he looked up at his parents.

"Where's Master Van?" he asked, "He's coming today, right?"

"That's right," said his father, "He usually comes in around nine, and waits for you to get up."

"I see," said Luke thoughtfully. He glanced at the clock. "So I have half an hour." With that, Luke got up and left the table. As he left, his parents exchanged glances.

Luke went to the servants quarters. He passed a maid in the hallway.

"Hey, do you know where Guy is?" he asked her. She halted in her steps.

"He should be out of his rooms already. He might be out in Baticul if you haven't already seen him," she offered.

"Okay, thanks," Luke said and sighed. So he had half an hour to kill. He might as well wait in the entrance hall.

It was boring doing nothing but Luke survived the thirty minute wait until Van showed up at precisely nine o'clock.

"Master Van!" exclaimed Luke, leaping up.

"Luke!" Van said in surprise, "You're rarely up at this time."

Luke shrugged. "I was hungry?" he offered lamely. Van only laughed.

"Here's your training sword," Van said, holding out a familiar wooden blade. Luke grabbed it eagerly. Van smirked and took his own. They separated themselves so they stood a fair distance apart.

"Begin," ordered Van. The distance between them closed as they ran at each other, swords raised.


Van stared unseeingly as he stirred a cup of coffee. He was a big coffee drinker. The crisp scent was always comforting and familiar. Van would never let it show, but he was worried. His plans were being threatened. It was, albeit, a minuscule threat, but one that would have to be remedied.

His problem was the replica. It seemed to have gone under a radical mental overhaul. Its thoughts were more mature, its intellect more honed, its personality softer and its reflexes more experienced. Just by watching one practice in the courtyard, Van could tell Luke was trying to hold back – doing miserably at it – automatic counters that he couldn't have devised on his own and perfected in a day or two. Van should know; he knew the Albert style to every last detail.

But there was a complication. Van could see no reason why the replica would know these things all of a sudden. Guy and Pere couldn't have – they trained in the Sigmund style and no matter the similarities, they were different styles. And added to these oddities, Luke had all of Dr. Balfour's books on order. Every last book.

Van saw no outside influence working on Luke. Guy and Pere were only friends, Natalia only a visitor, his parents too distant, and the staff were far from scientists or soldiers. If there was no outside influence, then... An inside influence?

Van decided it was a good time to check on Asch's activities. He abandoned his coffee to inform Duke Fabre of his intentions to leave for a few weeks. Daath wasn't just around the corner, after all.


Sync glanced at the paper in his hand again. It was so irritating... Pulled back from his mission on the Rugnican plains to come back to Daath and being told to go spy on Asch - who was also on the Rugnican plains. This was just pointless. Being the Missions Commander, Sync could have told the Commandant exactly where Asch was so that Van could go check up on him himself. The only good thing about it was that it was easy. Asch wouldn't be surprised nor would he care that Van was getting paranoid about him.

But Sync just couldn't figure out why the mission to spy on Asch was so top-secret. As he thought before, Asch really wouldn't care. And it was a given that if Van thought it was such an important mission, he would be checking on Asch in person anyway. Sync just didn't see the point. But it was Van and he was Sync's commanding officer, so Sync needed to obey.

It isn't even real sneaking around, Sync grumbled. It was what he was really good at anyway, not this faux thing.

The ferry back to Grand Chokmah was a good three days at a decent speed, and another three to travel to St. Binah on foot. Asch could be in and out of there days before Sync returned.

Sync didn't bother with a coach at Grand Chokmah – he ran. He was faster than any coach. It took him only two days to reach St. Binah. Shurrey Hill was incredibly close, but no one ever went there. Unusual, since areas around Auldrants fon slots always seemed to have the most interesting natural life.

When Sync arrived at Shurrey Hill, he saw a huge hole carved into the hill. Not some animal hole but a path that looked like it had been cleared by heavy machinery, right into the hill. And it lead to a very colourful door, which Sync instinctively knew to be a Daathic seal. Asch had been successful, then. But the most important thing to notice was that there was no Asch in sight.

Sync swore. If Asch had left already...

"Asch!" the boy yelled. Maybe the redhead would still be around, for whatever reason.

"Asch!" Sync called again. Feeling a little hopeful, Sync started to look around the other paths, still yelling for Asch periodically.

The older God-General didn't answer, but Sync found him anyway. When he saw Asch, he knew why Asch hadn't responded and forgave him a little. The God-General in question was deep in a fon verse – from the choppiness of the words, Sync guessed that Asch was looking for something specific. It was several minutes before Asch stopped muttering and lowered his sword, allowing the sparks of fonic artes to disappear. When he did, a large red stone appeared in front of him.

"What's that?" asked Sync, showing no surprise.

"Dawn Age technology," grunted Asch, "Hitting them with fire makes them disappear. When they're all gone, the path to the Sephiroth is opened. I'm closing the path."

"I see."

"Why are you here?" asked Asch irritably, "What about Square Zenith?"

"No good," sighed Sync, "It was a fon slot, but definitely not one of the Sephiroth. The commandant sent me here."

This made Asch stop in his tracks. "Van sent you?" he asked slowly, "Why would he want to check up on me now?"

Sync shrugged. "It makes no sense to me."

"So you were actually sent to spy on me," said Asch, but it wasn't simply a statement.

Sync hesitated before saying anything, but he did respond, "Yes."

Asch grunted and walked away, presumably to recreate another stone. "Thanks for telling me."

Sync followed him. "So if there's anything you're doing that's making Van paranoid, best keep it hidden for a while."

"You're being suspiciously on my side," remarked Asch, too casually for the subject, "Why?"

"Van dragged me out of Square Zenith, back to Daath, gave me instructions in paper and sent me back here. I'm kind of irritated."

Asch chuckled. "You're very unforgiving, Sync."

Sync shifted his mask with a finger. "I know."

Asch stopped and lifted his sword in front of his face in preparation to cast. He turned his head to Sync to talk a bit before he recreated another stone.

"So I guess you'll be sticking around for a while?" asked Asch.

"I guess so."


Life for Luke continued in the same vein it did as his first day. Van came back from his two-week trip and started watching Luke a little more closely for anomalies in what he thought was the perfect mindless pawn. Natalia did deliver those books to Luke as discreetly as she could in person when Van wasn't there, although Luke knew that Van knew that he had them.

Natalia and Luke's relationship grew tighter all the time as Luke tried to help her see how her attitude was affecting other people while at the same time being as open with her as she needed. The first of these times came when Natalia visited about a week after Guy was walking with Luke to the drawing room. Natalia had come to deliver Jade's books in a large box, telling everyone that it was just some books for the servants. Guy accompanied Luke to the drawing room where Natalia was waiting.

Natalia had the box set on the table, and Luke peered inside interestedly.

"Are these them, Natalia?" he asked eagerly, and he picked one up and started flipping through it. He turned back to the cover and saw the bold 'Dr. Jade Balfour' printed on the front, right under the title, The Theory of Fomicry in Terms of Rem.

"Yes," answered Natalia, "I hope you get something from them, Luke. I was looking through them earlier and they looked very complicated."

Luke shrugged. "I'll just get Guy to explain it to me if I have trouble."

The blond servant stepped up next to Luke and picked up the next book in the pile.

"Luke?" Guy questioned, "What is this?" His expression was a mix of sternness and curiosity. Luke was a little unprepared to answer. Great, what do I tell him? Just that I was interested? I don't think he would believe that.

"I, er, found some reading material on fomicry," started Luke, hoping it didn't sound completely implausible, "and Jade Balfour seemed to be pretty, uh, knowledgeable, so I got Natalia to get me these books. I dunno, I guess I wanted to see what it was."

Guy didn't even bother with giving Luke a look, he just quietly flipped through the book in his hands. Everything was quiet until he spoke again.

"I don't know what's going on, Luke, but I'll bite. For now Be more careful about this." Guy at last lifted his head, and gave Luke a severe look.

Natalia huffed. "Guy! Show Luke more respect! You're his servant, not his father!"

Luke shot both of his friends a pleading look. "Natalia, please be nice to Guy. He's giving me advice. I respect his -"

Natalia interrupted. "Luke! He's a servant! You have a higher station, a higher responsibility!"

That made something click in Luke's head. She thought Guy wasn't important? "He's my caretaker. He'll protect my life. What responsibility could be higher to me? He's my best friend!" Luke's voice was raising.

"Calm down, Luke," said Guy quietly.

Natalia expelled her breath in a gust, making a hissing sound. "Luke, just -"

But Luke cut her off this time. He'd better get this issue out of the way as soon as possible.

"Natalia, I need you to listen to me," he said urgently, "I know you being the princess gives you this one mentality where you're better than everyone else 'cause you're gonna rule the country, but you need to understand the people, too."

"I do understand the people," protested Natalia, but Luke shook his head. He wasn't finished.

"Sure, you know the nobles, you at least try to know the common people, but what about the people in between? Servants are caught in between us and the people living down below. When they go out, people treat them with more respect because they serve us. They put up with our messes and food and whatever, and we usually demand more and take it for granted. But I can't stand to see you treat them like dirt, Natalia. They're human, too," Luke finished. Nothing was said. Both Natalia and Guy were staring at him. Luke started fidgeting, feeling uncomfortable. When they still didn't say anything, he looked down at the pile of books in the box.

"I'm just tired of my best friend being treated like crap," he muttered, "Just sick of it." Neither of them moved. Luke couldn't take it. He slowly picked up the box of books, and walked towards the door. He stopped next to Natalia.

"I'm sorry for yelling, Natalia." Luke was blushing; he could feel it. "Don't tell Father, please. He'd..."

"I - yes," murmured Natalia, putting her hand on his shoulder and quickly dropped it.

Luke nodded and left the drawing room. When he was in the courtyard, he turned and whacked his head against the brick wall next to him. And again. And again. Stupid. Stupid. That was the stupidest thing I've done since coming here! I always gave into Natalia when she was cruel to Guy! Always! Luke groaned and whacked his head one more time and left it there. The pain came, but Luke accepted it. Just as well; he was going to reveal everything at this point. He was such a change from the other Luke they knew, but it wasn't like he could just forget all of the things he had learned.

Feeling quite despondent, Luke pushed himself off of the wall he was leaning on and started trudging towards his room. There was nobody outside, and while lucky for him, Luke found he didn't care at all. He opened his door with one hand, balancing the box with the other, and let himself in. He dropped the box by his feet, and flung himself on his bed. For what seemed like a long while, he just stared up at his ceiling. He tried to think of how he should be acting to allay everyone's suspicions, but he was planning on outwardly changing anyway when Tear came, and they'd be even more curious if they didn't see the change themselves. Luke supposed that the best he could hope for was just acting like normal and letting everyone adjust to it. I just hope they don't think I'm some sort of ghost that goes around possessing nobles or something.

There was a knock at his door.

"Luke?" It was Guy. Wondering, Luke got out of bed and opened the door. Natalia was standing next to Guy, a safe distance away. Privately, Luke marveled that Natalia hadn't taken charge and been the one to take the initiative.

"...Yeah?" said Luke, a bit wary. They hadn't really said anything before, so Luke had no idea how they were feeling.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry, Luke," said Natalia, "I've already apologized to Guy. I didn't know how you felt."

Luke looked at Guy, who gave a small shrug, and then turned back to Natalia. "It's okay."

"No, really, Luke. This has obviously been on your mind a while and I'm really sorry I offended you both."

Luke stared at her, thinking furiously. Natalia hadn't matured to this point until much later. Was it just the sudden change in Luke that made Natalia herself change? He must have really unbalanced her.

"Thank you, Natalia."

The young woman nodded and said her good byes before she left. Guy watched her leave and then looked at Luke. He handed Luke the book he had taken, but didn't let go when Luke took it.

"Luke?" Guy was very quiet.

"Guy, I - " Luke tried to apologize to Guy, he hadn't meant to blow up like that, but -

"Don't say anything. Look, I," Guy breathed in deeply. "I appreciate that you care, but I've really learned to expect it."

"But you don't deserve it," argued Luke.

But Guy's next words pierced Luke.

"You never used to care." Guy was almost glaring at his young charge.

Luke recoiled, stung.

"Of course I used to care, Guy! I'm just sorry that I never spoke up about it before."

Guy studied Luke closely, who squirmed a little under the scrutiny.

"Luke, I don't know what happened to you a week ago. Maybe you saw something that made you think. Maybe you're just now deciding to show that fact that you care. I don't know. But whatever it is... I like it." Guy gave Luke one last long look before leaving the threshold and returning to the main hallways of the manor.

That was the event that eased Luke's mind. He felt freer to be himself, and everyone felt better about it. It made him realize that people weren't going to automatically jump to the conclusion that since he was acting differently, he was a time traveler from the future. With the very notable exception of Van, Luke found that people looked for the obvious answer.

So for the next few months, Luke was busy. He trained very carefully under Van, not using any artes at all and goofing up as often as possible. Van wasn't fooled at all, but Luke could at least say he made the attempt. Van hadn't brought it up at all, but Luke knew (with a sinking feeling in his stomach) that Van was getting very, very suspicious.

Daily, Guy gave Luke proper vocabulary lessons in Ancient Ispanian. With his quick memory, Luke was soon able to carry out basic conversations. Most everyone delighted in chatting to Luke in Ancient Ispanian once Guy told his mother he was studying it, so his skill with the language never seemed to stop growing.

Natalia, in spite of her embarrassment, visited Luke often. She was convinced that Luke was hiding a lot more thoughts and ideals in his head, and so applied herself to try and dig up all of Luke's various ideas about the world. Luke was mostly glad to oblige her, but carefully avoided anything regarding fomicry. Aside from that, though, they covered a range of topics (varying in seriousness) from the difference in the food prepared for each of them, to the various changes brought about by Ion succeeding Evenos. (Natalia had to bring him up to speed on current political events, but didn't notice Luke's apparently intuitive understanding of politics, for which Luke was intensely grateful.)

Although he had intended to only have them for his cover, Luke actually picked Jade's books up from time to time. He could detect Jade's personality in the midst of the scientific blather, which made him feel somewhat accomplished. He hoped it might mean he 'knew' Jade a little. Too often on the previous journey, Luke felt that no one really knew Jade. Luke made a note to try and get to know the sardonic man a little better this time around.

There was one last thing that Luke had no idea how to handle: his hair. Going back to before everything started meant going back to his long hair. Luke had stood in front of the mirror a few days after his return to the past, fingering his hair, and contemplated the idea of cutting it. Cutting it had meant something very important to him, but on the other hand... Well, it might be useful to pass for Asch sometime in the future. Luke kept it long just in case.

After a few months of this busy lifestyle, Luke got out of bed and felt an unusual sense of foreboding. It wasn't a training day, but when Luke went to the drawing room for breakfast, Van was sitting, speaking with his parents. The three adults looked up when Luke walked in.

Luke blinked. "What's going on?"

Van patted the seat next to him, and Luke sat.

"I'm going away for a while," Van announced, "I don't know how long."

Luke's heart leaped up into his throat when things started getting very familiar.

"What for?"

"Fon Master Ion has gone missing. As a high-ranking member of the Order of Lorelei, it's my duty to go and look for him."

Luke nodded slowly, trying to calm himself. This was it! This was when everything started!

"Can we practice before you go? I'd kinda like to..." Luke trailed off, fidgeting nervously.

"Of course," said Van. He stood up and started walking to the courtyard. Luke stood up and started to follow him, but forgot something. He stopped at the door and turned back to his parents.

"Mother, Father? I love you." He left the room before they could react. Then he went into the center where Van was waiting with training swords. Guy was on a bench, watching the both of them.

Van tossed Luke a sword. "Ready, Luke? I want to teach you artes before I leave."

"Artes? Really?" Luke tried to sound enthusiastic.

"Yes," said Van, sounding amused, "The first one you'll learn is Fang Blade. You can feel that pressure building up behind your sword arm, right? Build up energy, and then release it when you swing towards the ground. Your natural fonons will..."

Van explained the theory behind it and showed Luke the basics behind the movement, and had Luke try it. Resisting the urge to get it right the first time, Luke shoved his energy towards the sword too fast and failed the move completely. What came out was a white-ish blur of colour that barely impacted the ground. Van nodded; this was expected.

"It's okay, Luke," Van said, "No one gets it on their first try. Again."

For most of the morning, Luke 'learned' Fang Blade until Van was satisfied. As Luke got better and better, Van started explaining the basics a little more thoroughly, which was new for Luke. That familiar pressure were actually his fonons being pulled towards the fonons outside of his body. As it was explained, physical artes like Fang Blade were actually a non-verbal form of regular fonic artes. One of the differences that made people classify them differently was that physical fonic artes moved through the body, while regular fonic artes just needed to be passed through the fon slots. Luke had thought that fonic artes and physical artes were different things, but Van was saying they were different ways of doing the same thing. The possibility of casting something like Indignation Judgment like Jade made Luke light-headed, completely forgetting the fact that since Asch could cast fonic artes, there was nothing stopping him in the first place.

Then they set about dueling. Guy sat up and really started paying attention. Luke played it carefully, leaving spots in his defense open for Van to exploit. Like a good teacher did, Van only attacked the obvious ones, so all the big problems would be fixed first. They danced around the courtyard for only a short while before a lilting voice sang seven words in a language almost never heard in this day and age.

"Toue rei zue kuroa ryuo toue zue..."

The effect was immediate. Guy grunted and fell back into the bench, and both Van and Luke whirled around, looking for the source of that familiar voice. Tear appeared at the door to the courtyard.

"Van!" she yelled, running forward with her knives, "Prepare to die!"

Luke leapt in front of Van and blocked her charge with his sword.

"Wait!" Luke yelled. But he suddenly stopped what he was about to say. A bright golden glow encased the both of them, and heedless of Van's shout, both teenagers vanished with an explosion of light.