Chapter Two - Obstacles

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6 Years Later

Jade's eyes fluttered open, only to be greeted with darkness and a faint hint of light. Groaning, he sat up and rubbed his eyes, searching for his glasses. He'd fallen asleep doing paperwork again and his desk and chair had been his bed that night. He finally located his glasses and slipped them on, blinking to the adjustment. The room was dark except for a sliver of light from the blinded window. He pulled the shutter up and squinted at the light.

Checking the clock, it read noon. He was going to be in trouble. Still not fully awake, the automated voice transporter rang. "Jade Curtiss," he murmured through a yawn, stretching his arms over his head.

"Jade! Are you just now waking up?!" Peony's annoyed voice jeered accusingly. "Do you have any idea how late it is? What were you doing all night?!"

"I'm sorry, Peony. I just stayed up too late doing paperwork and fell asleep. I'll make it up to you." Jade rolled his eyes at the sight of his desk, which was in total disarray. "Just let me do some organizing first."

"Okay, well remember there's a meeting at two o'clock and you got a telegram this morning labeled 'urgent'. I'll get it to you. Also, there's another meeting for you tonight."

"What time is that?" The colonel began stacking related papers on his desk and collecting loose scraps. This was going to take a while.

"I'm not your secretary, figure it out!" Peony's line went dead.

The printer produced a small piece of white paper, which Jade immediatlely picked up. It read. "dear jade stop i need to see you at choral castle around two o clock pm today stop it has something to do with luke stop you had better be there stop from dist stop."

"Why did he use a telegram, of all things?" Jade mumbled to himself, setting it aside on another stack of papers. After several minutes of papers organizing, Jade stood and left his room, making his way to the main audience hall.

Peony was seated in his throne, talking to Sesemann. He immediately dismissed the old man at sight of Jade though. "You look...awful."

Jade glowered at his friend and took his place beside the throne. Finger-combing his hair, he turned to Peony. "I won't be able to make the meeting this afternoon, the telegram scheduled a more important assembely. I hope it's not too much trouble."

"Understood," Peony replied simply, staring at the wall across from him.

Jade paused. "...Something bothering you?"

The emperor sighed and scratched his head. "I...just want to know who you got the telegram from...and why this urgent business is going on and I don't get to know about it!" His voice held a beseeching tone, but he was irritated nonetheless. "And I'm the emperor..." Peony attempted to find Jade's eyes with his own pure cerulean ones. Jade was clearly trying to avoid the subject. "You ask me what's wrong and then you ignore me."

"It's not like that," Jade explained, stretching his back, which gave an unfriendly cracking sound. He sighed and straightened himself back up, shaking his head slightly. "I must be getting old."

"Nah, that's just what happens when you fall asleep on your desk," Peony argued. "You're only thrirty-four, that's still young."

Jade looked at him closely. "So are you. And I'm not ignoring you, I'm thinking about how you're right-"

"So you'll tell me?!" Peony interrupted, sitting up in this chair.

"...No, it's confidential. I'd be ashamed to tell you."

Peony sulked back in his chair and heaved a sigh. "I'd hoped I would at least be the one person you could tell."

The colonel checked his watch and faced Peony. "I should be heading out now. Sorry about the meeting, and update me if anything happens." The emperor nodded solemnly and Jade bowed to him, then made his way out the door. To Choral Castle.

The place was as deserted as it had been six years ago, the last time he had been there. Jade stepped precariously onto the beaten path of gravel, listening for sounds of life. The rocks churned under his boots as he approached the silently fearsome monument. He glanced at his watch again. "I'm early."

"So am I." Dist stepped out from behind a nearby marble pillar, his expression unreadable. "Let's go."

They walked inside the abandoned building, not wasting time with monsters. Dist walked several paces ahead of Jade, leading the way to the lab. "If my calculations are correct, this DNA process we did on Luke had some problems, resulting in a possible genetic error. It's nothing too serious, as in it hasn't been affecting the replica for six years, but Van wanted a perfect copy and we should try to figure out what went wrong. That way, nothing else he replicates will go bad, which might result in destruction."

They entered the lab, the place a drab gray, and the machines only glowing with a sickly blue due to inactivity. Jade went behind a counter and blew the dust layer off the surface. "I don't want to get involved with Van's goal. While I may know about fomicry, I don't intend to use it like this along with him. And you can't make me." But his actions contradicted his words as he booted up the apparatus, the lime green glow returning.

Dist took out a test tube and shook the liquid inside. I could tell by looking that it was a sample of Luke's blood, the replica's. "Then do this for Luke. You like the kid after all," he sneered, pouring a drop of the substance onto a glass square for examination.

"I haven't seen him in years..." Jade muttered, watching the screen display a slide of red.

"This is the chemical makeup of the replica," Dist explained, letting Jade soak in the picture. Then he switched it with another sample, the other Luke's. "This is the original's. See the difference?" He turned to Jade, who was deep in though, and switched the slides back. "You can easily see the discrepancy in the cells."

Jade nodded. "So even though they may appear perfectly the same, there's still at least one difference in them." He turned to Dist. "And you're saying this hasn't affected Luke over the years?" Dist shook his head. "Alright then, what are we going to do?"

Dist straightened up and cleared his throat. "You are going to go to Baticul and get the replica back. We have to continue research on him." His eyes flashed for a moment. "I trust I can leave you to do that much?"

"You talk as if this is my fault," Jade retorted, examining his fingernails. "I'll go to Baticul immediately and get Luke back here."

"Then I'll leave the research to you also. I have plans, so I'll be out for a while." Little did Jade know his old friend was referring to God-General business.

"Fine by me, stay gone as long as you like." Jade snapped the machinery switch off tersely and stepped away. "I'm assuming you want me to make Luke the perfect replica when the research is complete." he said more declaratively than quizzically.

"That'd be splendid." Dist removed the blood samples and set them on an old table. As Jade walked over to him, he handed the samples to him. "Keep up with these."

Jade scoffed and fingered the test tubes indolently. "I'm probably more organized that you, I'm not going to lose them."

"You're organized with everything that's not important," Dist bit back, giving Jade a hatefel glare. Just then, the room became pitch black and the hum of the machines faded, along with a loud snap from above. The equipment's drone died down pitch by pitch, and soon went silent with a faint crackle. "...Great. Power's out."

"Does this always happen?" Jade asked, waving his hand in front of his face, to no avail. "Seems pretty...inconvenient."

"This is the second time it's happened, the first was last year." Dist sighed but didn't move. "I was alone then."

Jade couldn't help but grin. "Don't tell me you're afraid of the dark."

"N-no! It was just more difficult! Anyway, let's get out of here." It was obvious Dist was nervous about something.

"Actually, I think it'd be better to wait here until the power comes back on. We wouldn't want to run into anything important and break it."

"What? I can see fine!" The sound of breaking glass was heard about four feet from Jade. "...Really."

Jade sighed. "Give me your hand," he said, extending his arm to where he thought Dist was. Reluctantly, Dist placed his bloody hand in Jade's and winced at the pressure he applied. "You're so careless." Dist said nothing. "Do you really think Luke is going to go along with these examinations so easily?"

"I think if you tell him it's for the sake of his health, he'll comply." Dist flushed slightly as Jade pulled him closer.

"What about his family? They've only seen him for six years since the event. They might not want to let him go again." Jade's voice was serious and heavy with truth.

"You always manage to pick out the worst case. They should remember you and realize that since you returned their son, you can be trusted. Just tell them...he's been drafted into the military. He's what, eighteen now?"

"Sixteen."

"Whatever. Tell them that. It'll work. That way, they won't be able to check on him or anything." The force on his wound lifted to a light press, and then a gentle stroke. "Jade..."

"Alright, if you think we can get away with re-kidnapping him, then I'll do it." He continued to assuage the injury, easing the soreness carefully.

"It's not kidnapping if he's willing to go with you. Besides, I'll bet he's bored to death in the manor." Dist's eyes began to adjust and he looked over at Jade. His eyes were closed in concentration.

"You may be right. I guess we'll see." He felt Dist lean against him involuntarily and let go of his hand, opening his eyes. His friend's breathing became relaxed and the room grew quiet. "You didn't fall asleep, did you?"

"No, no," Dist mumbled, dozing off. "By the way, my hand feels better. I didn't think you could heal."

Jade smiled. "It's just a trick I learned somewhere." Dist nodded. "...How long do these lights usually take to come back-"

Suddenly, the lights flickered to life and the surrounding devices revved awake. Dist woke immediately and sprang away from Jade, who was looking around the interior of the room for the cause. "Well, had I known you just had to command it, I would've done that a long time ago."

"Ahem, go get Luke. Keep me posted, and I'll see you later." The man left without another word, and Jade put the blood samples in his pocket.

He stepped into the thicket of trees that engulfed the castle and ran for the fields. Baticul was a long way, but as long as Luke remembered his promise, Jade had an incentive to go there, because he'd remembered his.

Baticul was heavily guarded because of war preparations, but Jade got in nonetheless. The manor was pleasant, the clear air greeting the people outside. Bright sunlight shone down from high in the sky, basking the greenery in warmth.

As Jade walked toward the building, he was spotted by someone, who waved and yelled at him. They raced over and welcomed him with a smile. "Are you looking for someone?" The man's eyes were bright blue, and his hair a milky gold. He looked to be about twenty, and Jade recognized him almost immediately.

"Guy..." he said to himself, looking at how the boy had changed. Guy was taken aback and his eyes widened.

"H-how did you know my name?" he asked, apparently astonished. Then he calmed down and looked at Jade closely. "Come to think of it, you look pretty familiar...but...I don't know. I can't place it. Anyway, do you need to see someone?"

"Yes, I desire a conference with Duke Fabre. It concerns his son, Luke." Jade bit his lip nervously. This had better work.

"Alright, please follow me, Mister...?" Guy raised an eyebrow at him questioningly.

"Curtiss, Jade Curtiss."

"Right, okay. Sorry about that." They walked into the Drawing Room where Duke Fabre was seated, talking to his wife. "This is Jade Curtiss," Guy introduced.

The duke stood and shook his hand firmly. "It's good to see you again, Colonel," he said with a pleased smile. "Please have a seat." Jade complied.

"It's nice to see you too, sir. Where's Luke?" Jade looked around, and Susanne turned to a maid.

"Please go get Luke from his room," she instructed before the maid curtsied and skimpered off. She turned her attention back to Jade. "What matters do you have to discuss?"

"Luke has been requested to-," Jade just remembered something. "Um, have a health check-up, concerning his amnesia. I heard you'd asked him to keep a diary, and we'd like to see how well he's been keeping up with it."

The duke rubbed his chin in thought. "Why would they send a Malkuth colonel to make such a request?"

"It is because of health research we're doing in Malkuth, and since I have close relations with the emperor, he sent me. This amnesia data may come in handy for possibly coming up with a cure." These white lies would catch up to him someday, he suspected.

Susanne nodded. "I see, that makes sense. Well, we'll let Luke decide when he gets here."

"It's been six years since the incident, a reasonable amount of time for him to have written some progress in his diary." Jade flipped his hair behind his shoulder in distraction. Dist, how did you expect the Kimlasca duke to give his son to a Malkuth colonel for military?!

Luke abruptly opened the door to the Drawing Room, directing all attention to himself. "What do you want?"

Susanne looked at the boy kindly and said, "Luke, this man needs to check on your amnesia progress. If you have your diary, could you give it here?" Luke pulled the diary out of his pocket and walked over to her, handing it over. "Thank you. My, you've written a lot."

Luke slammed the book shut, flustered. "D-don't read it, Mom!" She shrugged.

"So you'll take him to wherever this research takes place?" The duke looked sternly at Jade, fearing another kidnapping.

"Yes, it's a safe place with lots of people. I'm not sure how long the research will take, but I'll keep you updated." Jade turned his attention to the now sixteen year old boy. His hair was long and red, unkempt and messy. His eyes were a combination of blue and green, his expression on combination of boredom and annoyance. Jade stood and walked over to him hopefully. "Luke...do you remember me?"

Luke's eyes were empty as he searched his mind for memory of the man in front of him. Finally, he shrugged carelessly. "Never seen you before."

Jade's heart sank and his eyes widened. Despite his hurt, he sighed and closed his eyes. "No matter, you'll be coming with me anyway." Even Guy thought I looked familiar...

The duke encouraged Jade to explain the circumstances, and Jade did so. Luke grew bored with the conversation and headed back to his room, leaving his diary on the table with the stranger. In his small room, he began packing his things. He wasn't exactly used to being commanded to go to places without warning, but he wanted to get out of the manor. He pulled a change of clothes from his dresser, some food, and other simple necessities.

As he slammed his dresser drawer closed, something on top of it wobbled and fell off. "Whoa!" Luke reached out and caught it impulsively. Looking at the object curiously, he saw a small, porcelain figurine of an owl. He gasped as he felt over its small beak and shapely wings. Turning from the dresser, the raced out the door and back to the Drawing Room.