Chapter Three : An Extremely Elaborate Mirror.

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Luke could feel an odd dropping in his stomach, as he continued to shut his eyes tight. How long had it taken so far? Perhaps thirty seconds... he couldn't even feel his teacher's hand anymore, even.

Feeling came back so abruptly that a sort of pain rushed through his nerves. He was still too nervous to open his eyes, but he could hear something finally... a sort of rushing sound. Was it... water? But it sounded so close, as if he was...

In it!

He let out a squeal as his green eyes suddenly opened to the sight of rushing water straight below him. It actually wasn't that powerful... it probably couldn't sweep even somebody as small as himself away. What weirded him out, though, was the fact that he seemed to be hovering straight over it, or walking on the current, without being affected by it in any way.

"Calm down, Luke; it's just an effect of the Yulia Road. You won't get wet." Master Van's voice surprised him; in his excitement he had almost forgot about his captor. Luke turned frantically, noticing that Van, unlike him, was planted on solid ground. He'd obviously done this before, the red-head thought. "Here, come down slowly, slowly..." He took Luke's hands, guiding him down to the ground, smiling. "There."

Luke stood, legs still trembling, letting out a sigh of relief to finally be back both on the ground and in the Outer Lands. He took a moment to look around where they had ended up; It was no place he recognized, but then, it didn't seem like a very memorable location, either. Simply your run-of-the-mill nature scene. Luke looked behind him, watching as the waterfall from which they had come flowed down into a small stream, crawling into dense foliage. A slight breeze blew in over the tall hills surrounding them, disrupting Luke's deep crimson locks. He took a deep breath, inhaling the cool, clean, miasma-free air. It was good to be back... if only he were actually back home.

"They'll be waiting for us at the entrance..." Van muttered sternly, probably to himself. He took a few steps towards the cave entrance Luke had just noticed, absentmindedly beckoning Luke over. The child frowned; Van wasn't even trying to keep him from escaping, they were so far out in the middle of nowhere. It reminded him of how young and helpless he was... rage boiled inside him. He'd just have to wait until the right moment... then run. He soon caught up with the Commandant, the bright sun soon disappearing as they stepped through.

It was a maze, or at least seemed like one to Luke. In fact, as they went through, he could only remember it as a blur. There was silence all throughout, greatly catching Luke's attention. He usually found it so easy to speak with Van... but obviously that was different, now.

He held up an arm, blocking the sunlight as they stepped out into the open once again. He could hear a chattering noise, as if somebody was speaking either extremely quietly or extremely far away. It proved to be the former, as Luke focused his emerald eyes on the two figures standing in the shade of a nearby oak. They wore uniforms, and appeared to be soldiers; though from what nation, Luke couldn't tell, as it was neither the colors of Malkuth or Kimlasca. Could it be... Daath? Luke had never recalled seeing a soldier from Daath, as he had never even stepped forth on the Padamiya continent. But then...

"Commandant, you're late." One of the soldiers mumbled, sounding irritated. "Dist has been complaining." The other soldier rolled his eyes at this last statement, muttering something Luke couldn't hear. Van nodded, still not turning to face Luke.

"Apologize to him for me, then." Van began. "Is the transportation to Choral Castle ready, then?" The soldiers nodded in affirmation, as a smile crept onto Van's face. "It's perfect, then. Get us there, before the rest of Daath notices anything." He glanced quickly at Luke, walking forward. "If only Aramis Spring were farther away from the city..." He whispered to himself. A light turned on in Luke's head. So they were in Padamiya, he thought. And near Daath, too! This could be what he needed... surely there was somebody nearby, somebody from Daath who could help him. He ignored Van motioning to him, trying to work out a quick plan. There were only three of them... it shouldn't be too hard. "Luke, come on." Van's voice was forceful, impatient. Luke stared up, watching the group, who had already started off walking. Here we go, then. Luke took a deep breath, before turning himself around and running.

"What the hell!?" He heard one of the guards cry out. "Little brat..." He kept sprinting, afraid to look back, unsure where he was going. The path was easy enough to see... but his heart was beating so fast, his fear seemed to be blinding him. He could hear there footsteps behind him, though he didn't know how close it was.

"Commandant, use Yulia's hymn!" The other soldier yelled out.

"No good, the child's a Seventh Fonist." Van replied, sounding frantic. Seventh Fonist? Yulia's Hymn? This got wierder by the minute. "Luke, stop!" No way. He was going to get out of here, no matter how much longer he'd have to keep running.

But his legs didn't seem to agree with him; already he was starting to feel sore, and his breath was getting shorter by the second. Van could outrun him, he knew. This wasn't helping. Before the child knew it, he was being pulled back by a gloved hand, his arms restrained by the other two. He let out a last cry, before collapsing into the dirt, sobbing and panting. "Let me go!" Now one of the hands was over his mouth; Luke made to bite it, but hesitated this time. This wasn't working, not one bit. They had him, and-

"Do you have the sedative I told you to bring?" Van sounded like he was struggling to hold him in place. After a moment's rustling, Luke felt a twinge in his upper right arm; a needle. He fell back further, barely feeling Van's hand steadying him. Grass-green eyes shut, involuntarily, and soon enough everything was black.

---

"...Fonimin levels are stable, sir." "How much longer until we can extract the data?"

"As soon as he wakes up. The drug should be wearing off soon enough."

Ow. Luke's head was hurting... Not to mention he felt cold, and his arm sore. Hell, everything was sore right now. He still had yet to open his eyes, but wasn't sure if he wanted to anymore. Doubtless there was nothing good to see when he came to. The chatter continued, though the only bits of it he was able to catch, he couldn't understand anyways. Something about fon machines, and frequencies, and some other useless drabble.

He could feel a bright light through his eyelids, and cautiously, slowly opened them. A reflex told him to throw up an arm in front of his face, but Luke noticed that was impossible. His arms were strapped to something... something cool and metallic, he began to notice as the feeling came back into his body. The light was dimmed next time he looked, and the shadow of an unknown figure walked around him and out of sight. Lifting up his head as far as the circumstance would allow, he caught a glimpse of his feet, also strapped down, and past that what seemed to be the walls of a cave. The scent of seawater was in the air, strangely familiar; had he been here once before?

"Looks like he's up. Ready, Dist?" Van's deep voice was unmistakable, and seemed incredibly close. Luke gritted his teeth, wishing with all his might that he could get out of here.

"Of course. This will only take a few minutes." Who was that? Obviously the one Van had called Dist... but that was no more than a simple word to Luke. "Cross your fingers that there will be none of those... well, previously observed consequences." He added, tone reminding Luke of an imp from one of his old storybooks.

"I thought you had worked harder to make that chance next to nothing." Van replied solemnly, with a subtle twinge of irritation well mixed in. The Dist person only replied with a sort of giggle, and that was all that Luke heard before the hollow sound of a lever being pulled, inducing a strange whizzing noise. His hands and feet were the first to numb up, and the faint shaking was barely noticable as the rest of his body followed. Bright lights were flashing, and Luke shut his eyes tight in hopes that they would go away.

Then the pain started. It was a sensation similar to burning, and was followed up by a sharp pain stinging through all his joints. He let out a cry, writhing for a moment, wishing he could move. He wasn't sure how long it went on, and soon the whole place felt like a fleeting dream, and a drowsiness fell over him. Slowly and steadily the discomfort decreased, the whizzing noise (now rather strong) following suit. Was it over...? Silence was settling over the whole place, and Luke suddenly felt cold, and fear kept him from opening his eyes again.

"Is he alright?" Van's voice was so close, it seemed, and felt like an alarm. Luke listened as his teacher moved towards him, and the light touch of a hand on his forehead begged him to open his eyes. The environment seemed like a blur, as the child began to focus on the face in front of him. "Luke, you're alright... I'm glad." Van said, relief in his voice. Luke shook his head slightly, confused.

"That hurt, Master Van..." He whined, his current state of weakness reflecting in his voice. He heard a clicking noise, and a pressure removed from his wrists... were his arms finally free? He confirmed it, bringing his hand and running it through his crimson hair. He thought he heard Van urging him to sit up, and did, vision blurring again for a split second. Van's arms were there to catch him as he began to fall back, forcing his head to tilt forward. Van's other arm reached to unleash Luke's legs, which the child was glad to finally be able to relax.

"A perfect sample, Dorian General." Dist's voice called, giving Luke a headache. It sounded so pleased, in the most vile way... it made him want to vomit. Van lifted Luke up off the platform, turning to Dist, a frown on his face. "Oh, don't worry... if there were a problem, he would have exhibited it already. Now, shall I get to work on making the replica?"

"Please do. The sooner it get's done, the sooner we can get out of here undetected." Van replied, setting himself down on a bench, with Luke nearly dozing off beside him. "The exhaustion is only temporary then, right?" He asked, worry in his voice. Luke began to fall over, resting his small head against Van's arm. He was so young, so vulnerable, so innocent... Van sighed. To think that all his plans rested on the shoulders of this child. A child whom he had ripped away from his home, family... Van couldn't help but feel some remorse. Hey, he was human, after all.

"I'm beginning the process, then..." Dist said, hands typing away into the computer screen in front of him. An electronic voice chanted out, "Initializing Data Scan..." Van watched, as tons of different symbols and numbers appeared on the large screen. Fonon frequencies, the bulk of the sample that Dist had taken. It flashed across the screen, too fast to really see, though it went on for a few moments, before a small beep indicated it had finished. "Data scan complete - begin replication process?" The machine inquired, and Dist was quick to confirm the command. "You're about to witness something truly incredible, sir." He said, letting out a sort of giggle as the spinning sound began. The scientist swiveled around in his chair, turning towards a strange sort of chamber nearby. "To think, Jade's sweet little discovery would be useful to us..." He muttered to himself, leaning back.

It was a long process, taking nearly half an hour for the first part. After that it sped up, and Van smiled as what began as a bundle of data soon grew and began more and more to resemble a person. They had to take it slowly, so the seventh fonon levels wouldn't be too easily detected by the Kaitzur Naval Port, so very close nearby. The whole time Luke was asleep, arms now clinging on to Van, as though his captor were a teddy bear.

"Process complete." The voice came oh so abruptly, breaking the long silence, as a click was heard. Van shifted, beginning to stand up. Luke stirred, letting out a small moan. "Master Van... why'd you wake me up?" He asked sleepily, looking up towards his teacher. The Commandant was turned away from him, obviously focusing on something else. But... what? Luke stood up, staggering for a moment, peering at the chamber everybody was watching so intently. He ran past Van, who made a move to stop him, but decided against it.

Luke could see a figure beyond the transluscent door, still too foggy to identify. His ears perked up as the sound of air rushing out accompanied the strange door as it lowered down, revealing the small person on the other side. Luke took a moment to catch his breath, which seemed to have been cut short as his stomach dropped.

It was... how was there any other way to explain it? It was him. Luke found himself staring into those same green eyes; same in every way, except that there was a sort of cold emptiness as he peered into the dark black pupils. The long red hair mimicked his own, even seeming to blow in the same direction from the light breeze. He was looking into a mirror. Except it wasn't a mirror. Right? It wasn't a mirror. The word 'replica' popped into his head, the term he had remembered slightly from before. Was this - he gulped as he thought it - a replica of him?

He took a step forward, so cautiously his shoe made barely a sound on the stone floor. A shiver shot up his spine as the other him imitated the move (shakier, less sure of himself, though still virtually the same motion), but with the opposite foot, making it seem even more like simply a reflection. They stood only a few feet away from each other, endlessly staring. Some strange feeling inside Luke compelled him to reach out... and touch the strange twin child. Lifting his hand shakily, he wasn't surprised as the replica followed, the same exact hand movements, the same exact everything. Even their breathing was in sync, Luke eerily noticed. They reached out finally, and just like that, the tips of their fingers touched, ever so slightly. It was strange, touching your own hand, and soon the two's palms were in contact. Now they were still, staring, motionless, lifeless.

Then the sparks gathered, and Luke turned sharply to his hand, from which a large amount of energy seemed to be coming. The replica seemed unable to follow this reflex, still staring dully into space. Van tilted his head, having been watching from afar, barely picking up the sudden seventh fonon rush. Luke continued watching as the energy built up, the thought to pull his hand away not occuring. It was as if he were mesmorized, so much that he still couldn't even pick up on the shaking that kept building.

"Is that... hyperresonance!?" Van cried out, running toward original and replica. Unfortunately, his realization came a few meer seconds too late, as the small gathering soon burst into a blinding flash of light, seeming to force the Commandant back. Luke closed his eyes, looking down, now unable to pull his hand away. What was this strange feeling...? It was as if a bunch of seventh fonons were rushing into him, and an immense power was building up throughout his body. And now... was he hearing things?

The link has been made...

Huh?

Both flames have come together, forming an even stronger fire... they are one

The voice was unreal, echo-y, as if it wasn't really there. Luke pondered on it for a moment, before his breath was knocked away by somebody pulling him back strongly. He recognized Van grunting, as Luke's hand finally broke away from the replica's.

"Van, this isn't good... that hyperresonance will not go unnoticed." Dist cried out, running to the group, panic in his voice. Van held Luke by both arms, restraining him from movement. The glowing was still going on, illuminating the cave-like place as if it were a bonfire. Luke struggled for a moment, but Van steadied him easily.

"Perhaps this is what we need... we'll leave the replica here, for the Kimlascan army to pick up." Van replied, pulling one arm away from Luke. He still had a firm grip on Luke's wrist, and began leading him away and up a path. Luke ran, dazed, taking a moment to realize what was going on.

"No, Master Van!" He yelled, twisting out of the hold, running back. Van turned around, chasing him. "I'm waiting for Kimlasca to take me home!" He yelled, still sprinting. Back towards the replica, who had collapsed onto the ground, blank expression still on his small, round face. Luke searched for a path, but found a dead end... all except for the way Van was on.

"Don't make me have to stop you like I did last time, Luke..." Van began, his tone cautious. Luke gritted his teeth, tears welling up. He ran towards the Commandant, small hand forming into a fist, before he slammed it into his teacher's stomach, a direct hit. Van stood, stunned, his breath having been knocked out of him; Luke took the pause as a chance to run past, up the rocky path, following the only way he could see out. "Irritating child..." He muttered, before following the redhead towards the Choral Castle.

---

Luke was afraid to look back. Van was there, no doubt, not far behind him. The passageway was spiraling and strange, but he noticed a strange light in the distance, coming in through an opening. He ran through to find himself in what seemed like a study, or some kind of room in a house. Huh? He could have sworn he was in a cave a second ago... maneuvering his way around the furniture, he found the next door, forcing it open and stopping in the large hall.

Looking around, it seemed like a sort of mansion. A trashed one, that is. The banisters of the staircase were worn, and splintered in some places, and it looked as if some kind of animal had taken its home here. Unfortunately, Luke only found himself looking around for a split-second, before he heard Van's footsteps behind him. His emerald eyes flew to the far wall, conveniently holding a sword rack, with weapons on display. Old looking weapons, he had to admit... but they might prove useful if he had to fight Van. And he probably would, judging the situation. He grabbed the only one that was in his reach, a fairly light one, but still heavy compared to his training swords.

"Must you make things so difficult, Luke...?" Van's voice called out to him. Luke turned around, anger in his eyes, steadying his shaky arms and holding the sword in the stance Van had taught him. The Commandant let out a laugh. "So, you wish to settle it with a fight, then, Luke?" He drew his sword, shining brilliantly compared to Luke's dull antique, smiling. "This won't take long." He muttered to himself.

Luke found himself running towards his teacher, determined. "Van... prepare!" He cried out, swinging the sword at the right moment, remembering his lessons, the drills he had practiced so many times. Van guarded easily, and responded with a quick counter, all with one arm, and nearly effortlessly. Luke felt himself knocked back, as the sword flew out of his hands, sliding ten or so feet away from him. The next thing he saw was Van's silver blade mere inches from his neck. His eyes widened, disappointed that he had faced defeat so quickly. His breathing was heavy, compared to Van, who seemed to be very much enjoying the moment.

"Well then, are you convinced now, Luke?" Van asked, satisfaction in his voice. The child sighed, choking back a sob.

"Master Van... why? Why can't I go home...?" He whined, the tears once again forming. Van didn't respond, only stared long and hard at Luke, the stare he used when he was angered during their practice. "I'll... I'll go, Master Van. I'll accept defeat and go with you." He continued. Van, to his relief, sheithed the sword, letting out a hand to help Luke up, smiling. Anger boiled for a moment as Luke held that hand, dazed once again.

"Vaaaan, hurry up! Are you trying to get us caught?" It was Dist's voice, irritated. Luke looked toward the irritating scientist, who seemed to be riding on... was that a floating chair? He disliked this guy more every time he saw him. Van nodded, pulling Luke along. Dist had a grin on his face again, mumbling to himself. "I do hope you enjoy the little present we left you, Jade..." He whispered, delighted, before following the other two through into the darkness.