Hello everyone. So this is the second chapter of Without Reason, which I hope you guys know, otherwise I guess you wouldn't be here… o.O Anyway, we really hope that you like this chapter, I'm saying that for Kazey too 'cause she's not here right now, she's probably writing chapter 14 of One Reality as we speak. At least… we hope she is.
Thank you for your reviews. :D We really appreciate them and hearing that you enjoyed the first chapter. Hopefully you will all enjoy the second chapter just as much.
Enjoy.
Chapter 2
A fist slammed hard against the table, causing it to rattle in protest.
"What the hell is going on out there?" Asch asked Syft angrily.
There was no answer. Both Syft and Dailiin's silence pressed on the former God General's patience.
"Are you going to tell us or are you just going to stand there?" he asked, brows furrowing.
Still no answer…
"We are not putting our lives on the line for no reason. We here by take ourselves out of this war," Asch stated before turning to go to the door, "Good luck fighting this war on your own."
Two steps were taken by the former God General before Dailiin stopped him.
"Wait Asch, please," the young Empress nearly pleaded, "You're right, you all have the right to know what you're fighting for…"
Turning back around, his emerald eyes caught something in Syft's expression. It seemed agitated – angry – by what was occurring around him.
'What is really going on around this war?'
"When my father died he left a will for me… I was charged with the responsibility to protect something that my family has been guarding since before I was born," Dailiin started to explain, taking a seat at the table.
"What did you have to protect?" Sin asked, taking a step to be beside Asch.
'It better be worth dying over.' Asch thought to himself.
"A large stone tablet," she replied, "It's been hidden under the palace for decades. One of my ancestors found it and hid it down there to keep it from the eyes of others."
The former God General's eyes narrowed at Dailiin's words. Something about what she was telling them felt familiar. The mention of a stone tablet… that sounded very familiar…
"Down where?" Asch asked, his eyes locking with the brunette's.
"It's in a chamber hidden well beneath the palace," Syft stated, his arms crossed, "In a place where no one could find it."
"What is on this stone tablet?" he asked; his voice almost cautious.
'I know I've heard something like this before… Was it back in Auldrant?'
He caught the young Empress's face become solemn at the question. Asch couldn't help but wonder why.
"We don't really know," Dailiin admitted, "My father told me that it could be used to predict the future and that it absolutely needed to be kept out of the hands of an enemy. I never… really wanted to look at it…"
His fists clenched then; his jaw tightening as well. There was something like that here too? Why couldn't it all just be left back in Auldrant where it belonged? People didn't need the knowledge of knowing their futures…
"Why didn't you tell us this?" he asked with a strained voice, "Didn't you think that it would have been an important thing to know?"
"Yes… I know…" Dailiin nearly murmured.
"Then why?" he asked again, sounding more frustrated.
A hand was placed on his shoulder and he looked back coldly behind him. There stood Din; his blue eyes worried.
"It's not worth it," he murmured to the former God General.
"We didn't tell you because we couldn't trust you with this information," Syft stated almost emotionlessly.
That drew a frozen, deadly look from Asch.
"Couldn't trust us?" Asch asked with disbelief.
"Asch," Sin called quietly.
"We were putting our lives on the line without even a reason as to why we were out there and you couldn't trust us?" he growled, his face showing his anger, "What did you think we were going to do? Steal the stone for ourselves?"
Syft's expression was serious at the former God General's words and Dailiin's was apologetic. Apparently that was exactly what they were thinking.
"Asch."
"I can't believe this," he muttered, looking away from the nobles.
"Asch!" Sin called out louder.
His emerald eyes shot to look at her. Her expression was agitated, probably from having to wait for him to acknowledge her.
"What?" he asked her, his brows furrowed.
"Calm down," she whispered, nearly pleading.
His jaw clenched together in his frustration. He didn't want to calm down. They should have told them this a long time ago… They should have been warned about what they would be fighting for.
"It's not just that we thought you might steal it," Dailiin seemed to confess quietly.
This drew on all their attention, bringing on confusion.
"If you all knew about the stone and one of you was tortured for information… then you might let out the greatest secret Blue Abarath has to keep."
Asch scoffed, "None of us would do that!"
The scuffle of a foot drew his attention to Sin, her expression looking anguished.
"What's wrong?" Asch asked her, confused by her expression.
"Asch… if they were torturing you…" her voice was a whisper, "…then I would tell them…"
She looked away from him shamefully, making his eyes soften a little. He didn't know what he would do if they were torturing her…
'I guess… I would probably do the same thing…'
"That's our point," Syft stated, "You would put this secret second to the love of each other. We couldn't trust you with it."
"Well now that we've heard about this stone, let's see it for our own eyes," Asch stated, almost demanding more than anything.
Dailiin nodding with agreement and Syft's nod was a little more reluctant.
'I need to see this with my own eyes.'
Three pairs of footsteps echoed down the long hallway of prison cells. The cells were mostly empty until the middle of the long hallway. Four pairs of eyes looked up at them as their hands touched the bars of the cell.
"Take the orange haired boy," Soran ordered, giving the keys to a man beside him.
"How about you leave the boy and take someone else?" the silver haired girl asked coldly.
"We have no use for you yet," Soran replied emotionlessly.
"Let me go!" the orange haired boy growled, kicking his feet violently.
"Stop your squirming boy," the soldier stated, pulling the boy out of the cell.
"Let me go!" the boy growled again, elbowing the soldier between the legs.
The boy was released, him choosing to run away from the soldier. Soran grabbed the boy's arm and stopped him.
"If you comply with us boy, you might make it out of here alive," Soran whispered into the orange haired boy's ear.
Soran caught the boy falter in his actions before slowly nodding his head.
"You kill that boy," the silver haired girl growled, "And I swear that you will pay with your life."
"Don't worry," Soran nearly mused, "He'll come back alive."
They took the orange haired boy down the hallways of cells. They brought him to a room in the underground prison where the five large tablets stood. Soran pushed the boy to the stone tablet – the fonstone – on the end of the line.
"Read it," Soran ordered; his hand on the boy's shoulder.
The other generals were in the room, all six watching closely.
The boy hesitated before Soran squeezed his shoulder.
"Read the fonstone and you'll live longer," he stated, pushing the boy forward a little more, "Right here."
The boy seemed reluctant and his brows pressed together as he looked at the large stone.
"The Eyes of the Demon is on their way to retrieve the sixth fonstone. The Sky Generals will capture and retrieve the Eyes of the Demon, but will not proceed to collect the sixth fonstone," the boy read, wincing as he read.
His fists clenched, catching Soran's attention.
"Keep reading," the young man ordered.
"An unknown force will intervene with their efforts and stop them from taking the fonstone," the boy finished tiredly, his eyes half closing.
"What a nuisance," Jion muttered, crossing his arms.
"Wasn't it at the war as well?" Levaia questioned, her blue eyes narrowing.
"Indeed it was," Jion replied thoughtfully.
All of them seemed to ponder the thought before Jion looked at Soran.
"Take the boy back Soran. We need to consider out course of action," he ordered, dismissing the younger man.
The light blue haired man nodded before taking the boy back to his prison cell.
The five walked slowly down the winding staircase beneath the castle. Syft led the way down the long staircase, having been the only one to have ventured down there in the past. Sin walked behind Din, taking up the end of the line.
'A stone that predicts the future… I wonder why that would bother Asch so much… What's the harm in knowing the future?' The young girl asked herself.
As they came closer to the end of the long stairway, Sin could see the effect this stone was having on Asch. His brows were furrowed and he was more silent than usual… It wasn't like him to overreact to something to easily. He could usually stay calm or kept it hidden for a while.
They all reached the last step and Syft glared at the door to the side of the room.
"Through there," he stated, "You'll find the tablet through there."
Asch was cautious making his way to the door. When he opened it, Sin was amazed at the size of the stone tablet.
"W-what is it?" she asked with curiosity.
"A fonstone…" Asch muttered, sounding like he was seething.
"A fonstone…" Sin whispered after him.
"This tells the future?" Din questioned.
The former God General sighed at Din's question.
"There are seven fonstones. Each one tells the future, but the seventh fonstone tells the fate of the world," he explained before turning back the Dailiin, "This isn't the seventh fonstone, is it?"
She raised her brow at his question before thinking about it.
"I'm not sure…" she replied quietly, "Why do you ask?"
"The seventh will drain all the energy from any replica that reads from it for too long," he stated, his brows knitting together.
"It probably is," Syft stated, "It's the only one to be kept out of enemy hands."
'Only replicas can read them?' Sin asked herself curiously.
She took a step past Asch, going closer to the large stone tablet.
"Sin, don't go near it," the former God General warned.
"Why not?" she questioned, "It's just a stone."
"A stone that could kill you," he retorted, "Didn't you hear what I just said?"
"What if we needed to use it and I'm the only one that can read it?" the small girl countered, "What if we could use it against them?"
"You know," Din started thoughtfully, "She does have a point."
"This isn't a debate. That thing could kill her!" Asch stated again.
"Only if I read it too long," she stated.
'Come on Asch. Don't be worried over a little energy loss.'
Sin made a face at the upset expression he was making at her. This whole thing over the fonstone really seemed to bother him.
"Smile Sunshine," she said, grinning up at him.
He looked away from her with those words.
She reached out a hand and touched his arm gently.
"Hey, I'm only going to read a little bit," the small girl assured him, "Just tell me what to look for."
"Don't look for the future," Asch said reluctantly, "Look for the sixth fonstone. Our finding it would be a piece of the future so it should still tell us where it is."
"Why are we looking for the sixth fonstone?" Din questioned with some confusion.
"If they don't have it, then we can keep them from getting it," the former God General explained, "If they have it then it will just lead us to where all the fonstones are."
Sin went over to the stone while Asch was explained. Her demonic orange eyes landed on the writing, scanning the tablet for the sixth fonstone. It had only taken a few minutes, but she could already feel her energy draining. She felt more tired than she already had been.
'Where is it?' She asked herself, 'I know it's on here…'
The words popped off the fonstone, catching her attention immediately.
"There it is!" Sin stated, reading.
"What's it say?" Din asked her, sounding curious.
"The sixth fonstone is hidden deep within a western forest, past the large waterfall and near the mountain cliffs," she read before tearing her eyes away.
Sin lost her balance; falling backward. She felt someone catch her, and she smiled at seeing all the red hair cascade around her.
"You fool," Asch murmured.
Sin grinned at his words.
"I love you too Sunshine."
"So what does this mean?" Din questioned, smiling pleasantly.
"We head west, right?" Sin asked, looking up at the former God General.
Asch nodded, "We head west."
The orange haired boy was thrown back into his cell, the older boy catching him. Scion's brows furrowed at the sight of Soran walking away.
"What happened?" the older boy asked, "What did you read about?"
"The sixth fonstone… and an unknown force…" the boy replied tiredly, closing his eyes.
'An unknown force…' Scion thought quietly to herself.
Her lime green eyes caught the expression on the older boy's face.
"Do you know something?" she asked him, her brows knitted together.
He looked at her almost cautiously at her question.
"If you know something, then you better tell me," she told him seriously.
"Before one of the others died… they mentioned something about an unknown force. I think it's a person interfering with the future; a person whose fonons are different from the ones that are in the stones," the older boy explained, his expression thoughtful.
'A person that can interfere with the future…'
The silver haired girl became thoughtful as well. How could someone be completely, physically detached from the rest of the world? Was that even possible? Her thoughts were cut short when footsteps echoed down the hallway again. Her brows furrowed as they came closer and two people stopped in front of her cell.
"Do you think you can get a hold of her again Razal?" the large man asked the man with the cold eyes.
"So you do have a name," Scion stated, staring at his short mahogany coloured hair.
The cell door opened before Razal drew his sword. She didn't rise to her feet. She wasn't scared of him.
"I do, but do you, Presence of Moonlight?" he questioned, coming closer.
'Why do they keep calling me that?'
"That's not my name," she stated, "Don't call me that."
"It's your title," Razal told her, "Every person has one."
"Funny, I wasn't aware that I had such a title," she nearly scoffed.
His hand grabbed her shoulder and he leaned down to her. Deep green eyes locked with her lime green ones.
"Now," he whispered, "What's your name?"
"Why does it matter? You're just going to kill me later anyway," Scion hissed, staring coldly into Razal's eyes.
He pulled Scion to her feet and pressed her back to the cell wall.
"I'm curious," the mahogany haired man stated, "So enlighten me."
"Bite me," she growled, head butting him in the forehead.
With a wince, Razal threw Scion toward the cell door before glaring at her.
"Take her to Jion," he ordered; his back to the larger man.
Hugo grabbed the chains that held her hands together and began dragging her down the long prison hallway.
Scion scowled, jerking her hands to get out of the man's hold. He didn't release her; making her scowl even more.
'These people are probably just being used for someone else's purposes.'
"What are you doing all this for?" she found herself asking.
Hugo didn't reply; merely ignored her.
'Figures. Of course no one's going to tell a prisoner what's going on.' The girl thought dully to herself.
Upon coming to an open door in the long hallway, Hugo pushed Scion into it. She turned back and glared at him; daring him to do it again.
"Where is Razal?" Jion asked, looking at Hugo.
"He decided to stay back with the other filthy creatures," the large man stated, gripping Scion's shoulder tightly.
She turned and elbowed him forcefully in the stomach, having not been tall enough to hit his face. He winced before forcing her to her knees.
"He seems to be the only one that can control her," Jion murmured thoughtfully.
"Hardly," Scion scoffed, "Tell that to his forehead."
"Shut the door Hugo," Jion ordered, "And chain her to the wall."
'What the hell do they think they're doing?'
Hugo jerked her roughly forward before putting a chain through the ones holding her wrists together. The girl scowled at her position on her knees.
"This is how this will work Presence of Moonlight," Jion started; his voice sounding amused, "We ask you a question and you answer truthfully. If you don't give me the information I desire then your torture will ensue."
'Great… Another part of my life to push away…' Scion thought dully.
"Now where is the Eyes of the Demon?" he asked.
"I don't know who that is," she replied with furrowed brows.
"That orange eyed friend of yours."
'Sin…'
"She's probably back in Blue Abarath by now," Scion stated, "Your soldiers weren't exactly putting up much of a fight."
Her ears caught the sound of something hitting the floor and she readied herself for anything.
"What were you defending in that war?" Jion asked, still sounding amused.
"You should know, since you're the ones that declared war," Scion retorted, her voice cold and icy.
"That is true, but did your Emperor not tell you of why you went to war?"
"No."
There was silence for a few moments. Scion assumed that he was thinking of other questions.
"What is the unknown force?" Jion questioned, his tone no longer amused.
"What are you talking about?" she asked.
"Who or what is the unknown force?" he asked again, more demanding this time.
"Like hell I'd know," she growled back.
A hand lifted the back of her shirt and there was a pause before a whip cracked against her back.
"You must know this thing because it's been on the fonstone with the stories of you," the man stated, his whip sliding against the stone floor, "Is it one of those soldiers in your army?"
"I don't know," she stated again, her teeth clenched together.
There was another crack of the whip against her back. Her jaw tightened at the familiar sting.
It was a familiar feeling, that burning sting at her back. It reminded her too much of the time she had been lady Nadelay's prisoner half a year beforehand.
"Who is it?" Jion growled, "Is it that blond haired man?"
"I said I don't know!" Scion growled back.
Two more lashes.
"Take her back to her cell," he ordered, "She obviously isn't going to talk."
"Even if I did know, I wouldn't tell you," she hissed before being jerked to her feet, "I wouldn't tell you a damn thing."
She caught Jion smirk at her comment.
"I think you would… if that blond man's life was at risk."
Anger and hatred hit her like running into a brick wall; quick and forceful.
"How dare you threaten his life?" Scion growled, lunging at the man.
Hugo held tightly to the back of her shirt before striking her over the head.
Asch looked over his shoulder at the two riding horses behind him. They needed to get to the fonstone faster than the enemy. If the enemy got their hands on it… then that would lead to serious problems in the future.
"You two need to ride faster," the former God General told both Sin and Din.
"We're trying," Sin stated, "You're the one riding too fast."
'They don't understand the danger that this brings this world into… How much this could completely change everything…'
Reluctantly, Asch slowed his horse to their pace. He knew he didn't have to run all the horses into the ground.
"We should be almost there," Din called to him, "There's the waterfall and those mountains match the ones that were on the map."
"Good," Asch murmured, "We don't need to lose time now."
Scion grunted as Hugo threw her body into the cell. Her back was in pain and her head was muddled now. Her eyes were half open as she watched Razal close her cell door on both of them.
"Make sure it keeps breathing," Hugo stated before walking away.
'What's… going on?' The girl asked herself with confusion.
Razal knelt down in front of her, rolling her onto her stomach.
"Don't… touch me," she murmured, her brows pushing together with some agitation.
"If you don't stay off them then they'll get infected," her replied, his tone emotionless.
"What do you care?"
"I don't, but it's my job to keep you from dying," he continued, "So sit still."
"This coming from the guy that attempted to kill me twice?" Scion asked doubtfully.
'I want to go home… I don't want to see this man's face. I want to see Din…'
Her green orbs slowly drifted closed on the cold stone floor.
Three pairs of feet jumped to the ground quietly. The area was empty… there were no people around. Asch motioned for them forward, not taking the chance of being the last ones there.
"Is this the right place?" Sin asked, looking around the spaced out forest.
It would be easy to be seen by an enemy with the trees spaced so far apart.
"We should be close by," Din replied, his blue eyes scanning the area.
'I hope it is anyway.' The straw-blond thought to him self.
As far as Din was concerned, they didn't have time to get lost. He wanted to get Scion back; free her from being the enemy's prisoner. Though he knew that he couldn't go rushing off alone. As Asch had said, this was too big a fight for just one person to handle.
Asch stopped ahead of them and stared forward. There it was; the sixth fonstone.
"How would they even move something like that?" the straw-blond asked with some confusion.
"With a lot of people to carry it… to at least lift it onto the cart…" the former God General stated, slowly moving closer to the sixth fonstone.
When they were close enough, Din looked over the unreadable text. There was so much writing… so much of the future that could be learned.
'What would people do with that knowledge?' He wondered, touching the large tablet.
"Be on your guard," Asch ordered, "They're coming."
"How can you tell?" Sin questioned, confused.
"They're towing something very large."
He was right. Somewhere not too far away – closer than the waterfall – there was a rumbling through the spaced out trees.
'I think that we're going to have our hands full with this…'
The straw-blonde's hand went to the hilt of his sword, about to draw it.
"Wait," Asch stated thoughtfully, "Climb the trees. We'll ambush them."
Jion led the way up the mountain ahead of Hugo, Levaia, and Soran. Hugo was helping the horses pull the large cart up the mountain.
"We're here," Jion stated, looking around the open spaced area.
Levaia stepped forward, scouting the area with her blue eyes.
"There were horses here," she said, catching the horse hoof prints in the ground.
"How recent?" Jion questioned, cocking a brow.
"Very recent," she replied, "Only a short while ago."
"Keep your guards up," the man ordered, "We don't know where they are yet."
"We should have brought Aeros," Soran muttered in the back, "He could find them in a minute."
"You want to know where we are?" an unfamiliar voice growled from above.
Two men, one with flaming red hair and the other with short blond hair jumped down from both sides of the group.
"You two should mind your own business," Jion nearly mused, drawing his sword.
"We think you should stop while you're ahead," the red haired man replied before running at Jion.
Soran intercepted and knocked the red haired man away.
"Two on one? You're still not fighting fair," the red haired man muttered, swinging his sword at Soran.
"You are interfering with our work. Why should we fight fair?" the blue haired man laughed, parrying the sword.
Hugo left the cart and went to the blond haired man.
"You should have stayed home," the large man stated, watching intently.
"Why do I get the big one?"
Sin sat from her tree branch, following both Din and Asch. They were fighting two on one… hardly fair at all.
'Cheap bastards.' She thought, seething at the idea.
What ever happened to fighting with honor? Was there any such thing anymore?
"We'll keep them busy Sin. All you have to do it stop whatever they're towing."
'Yeah, easier said than done…' She thought dully before quietly climbing down the large tree.
Her feet touched the ground silently as she made her way to the large cart. All four of the enemies were fighting against Din and Asch. If there was any time to act, it was now.
She asked for her weapons, immediately receiving them from Asch. This was his plan. He knew what she needed to do.
The girl started to strike at the wooden wheels for the cart. Small dents and cuts started to make them selves present with her force.
'Come on wheel… break off for me…' Sin begged, taking another strike at the wooden wheel.
The weapon on her right arm dug deep into the wood. Her demonic orange eyes widened as she tried to pull it out.
"Oh crap," she whispered.
Lifting her foot, Sin kicked at the wheel to try to break loose. The force of her kick knocked her back, causing her to land on her butt.
"Okay," she muttered, "That's it."
Asch kicked Soran back and everything seemed to stop when there was a large explosion in the background. Everyone turned to see what had happened. His brows furrowed at Sin's actions. She had blown the cart to pieces.
"What? I tried to be discreet!"
"Fool," he muttered, swinging his sword at Jion.
His attack was blocked before he pushed Jion away.
"Now Levaia!"
The former God General's eyes were cast to the very familiar blond haired woman. Her bow was directed at Sin and his feet began to move. Soran was on his feet and in Asch's way in a moment.
"Get out of the way," Asch demanded.
"Sorry, can't do that."
'Damn it!' Asch hissed in his mind as he tried to get around Soran.
It only took a moment. The arrow was shot through Sin's shoulder blade. His eyes widened when he saw her immediately fall to the ground.
"Sin!" Din called, throwing Hugo back.
The blond tried to reach her, only to be knocked down by the large man.
'No… this can't be happening…'
Jion retreated with the blond haired woman; infuriating Asch to no end. Sin was gone, taken with them. On impulse he grabbed Soran's arm and threw him far to the side. He then pushed past Hugo to grab Din's arm, pulling him to the fonstone. Upon touching the tablet, there was an explosion and they were gone.
Scion groaned as she pushed herself onto her knees. Her stomach wouldn't stop turning; wouldn't leave her alone.
"What are you doing?" Razal questioned from the side of her cell.
She glared at him for asking.
'This place is horrid… I hate being like this…'
Her stomach lurched and she was confused when she started to puke.
"What's the matter?" the mahogany haired man asked, getting to his feet.
"If I knew why I was losing my guts, why would I tell you?" she coughed, trying to not do it again.
"Maybe I could stop it if I knew that it was," he suggested.
"In that case, maybe it's your presence," the girl muttered before throwing up again.
"I doubt that," he nearly chuckled.
Razal placed a hand on her shoulder, only to have her jerk out of his touch.
"Leave me alone," Scion hissed, keeping her head away from him, "I don't need your pity."
'I don't need anyone's comfort.'
A flash covered the sky over the city of water. Din was confused when they appeared out of thin air, in the air. Asch and the large stone and him fell from the sky, landing in the fountain. The straw-blond heard a crack in his back as he landed directly on top of the fonstone.
Through the pain, Din felt confusion. There was no gasp of air from the fountain water. He pushed himself up and looked around the large stone tablet to find Asch barely floating in the water. Ignoring the throbbing in his back, Din jumped off the fonstone and into the shallow pool.
"Asch? Hey Asch!" the blond called.
'Damn… he's out like a light.'
Throwing off his gloves, Din grabbed the former God General's arms and started to pull him from the fountain.
'Sin's gone, Asch is out… This is really starting to turn the wrong way…' Din thought with a solemn expression on his face.
"What are our chances now?"
End of Chapter 2
--grabs the garbage can lid to deflect rotten veggies –
I hope that all the characters fit their personalities, but again that's up to all of you to decide. Thank you so much for reading, we hope to see more of your reviews in the future. The near future that is. Dun Dun!
Kazegami-inkpot and halfdemon-kai