Disclaimer: Tales of the Abyss and all characters therein do not belong to me. That honor goes to Namco Bandai. This story is for fun only, and I do not profit from it.

Nederim

Chapter 07 / Out in the Fields

"All men are equal till the victory is won. No colour or religion ever stopped the bullet from a gun." – Primal Fear

Cassia thought it was weird how Guy joined up with Luke without openly wondering who the other three people were (or that blue thing. What in the world was that?) He was able to speak to people he didn't know with such ease, and she would have thought he'd exhibit more caution than he was, especially since the intruder was amongst his new travelling companions. Was he truly that trusting, even in times after being attacked? And how had he reached the ground so quickly, anyway?

She shook her head, didn't bother questioning it, but made sure to stay on her guard around the man in blue and the woman. The green-haired boy didn't seem like too much of a threat, especially since he was already so tired despite the short distance they ran. She stayed firmly in between those two and Luke, trying to form a sort of line of defense just in case. They did help Luke out, so they were the lesser of two evils, and Cass knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she did not want to meet up with the gray-clad soldiers any time soon. The people she was with didn't seem bad at the moment.

Once the Tartarus was out of sight, they decided to slow down their pace to a fast walk. The green-haired boy was breathing heavily, as was Luke, but everyone else seemed fine for the moment. Guy struck up a conversation about Luke's adventure, but the three others that Cass did not know just kind of ignored it. It stayed that way until the boy collapsed about an hour after leaving the Tartarus beyond the horizon.

The girl was the first to rush to his aid, the older man was the first to talk.

"Ion, you used Daathic fonic artes aboard the Tartarus, didn't you?" His tone was vaguely accusing, with a hint of concern, but mostly remained apathetic. Cass decided she didn't like it, despite the green-haired boy—Ion—giving him a pained smile as a reply.

"That thing you did back at the cheagles' place?" Luke asked.

Ion apologized, "My body just isn't built to use Daathic fonic artes… A fair bit of time has passed, so I thought I'd recovered, but…" A Daathic fonic arte? Cass's eyes narrowed the slightest bit. She had never heard of that kind of fonic arte.

The man in blue suggested they rest for a while, so the six of them made their way off of the road, Cass and the soldier taking care to hide their tracks into the brush a few minutes away. He made quick use of fonic artes and she was jealous, having never been able to use them. She hid their tracks the old fashion way. Jogging a way back up the path, before the soldier wiped the road clean, she found their footprints and repeatedly walked across the path in different directions, made it a confusing mess of footprints that would be difficult to decipher.

She ran back to the group as fast as she could, staying on the grass, only to see the man in blue just now making his way back. The other girl was speaking with Ion, making sure that he would be okay. Ion assured the girl—Tear, he said—that he just needed a moment and then he would be fine.

"Hey, Luke," Guy started once everyone was seated, "how'd you end up on the Tartarus with the Fon Master?"

Cass tilted her head slightly, questioningly, at the title. She heard it a few times in passing, but didn't exactly know who the Fon Master was. He was the leader of the Order of Lorelei, but was it Ion, or the unnamed man? She thought it over for a moment, decided that it was Ion based on his garb (the symbol of the Order was on his necklace) and the fonic artes he was able to use.

"Luke is going to help prevent a war from breaking out between Kimlasca and Malkuth. I was brought along as a neutral emissary from Daath. Jade is a representative for His Imperial Majesty, Peony the Ninth," Ion answered kindly. "He helped me escape from Daath when Grand Maestro Mohs refused to allow me to leave."

"So you're an emissary on a mission to prevent war," Guy summarized, sounding thoughtful and curious. "But why would Mohs want to start a war anyway?"

"I'm afraid that's confidential to the Order," Luke scoffed at Ion's reply. "I can't talk about it."

"Whatever his reasons," Jade began, "this war must be avoided. We won't let Mohs interfere."

Cassia nodded to herself, taking in the conversation. It was a little shocking that something as simple as finding Luke and bringing him home was turning into something as big as preventing a war, but she was happy to help. She didn't like conflict, which is why she typically held her tongue whenever Luke was being abrasive, and a war would likely destroy part of the planet that she so dearly loved. It would scar the earth, kill soldiers and innocent people caught in the cross-fire, as well as the homes of humans and animals alike. It wouldn't do, she didn't want that to happen, so she would make sure to speak with Natalia once they arrived back in Baticul.

The blonde knew that the princess didn't have the best opinion about Malkuth, but all Cass had seen from the few days she had been here hadn't been bad. On the contrary, despite the fact that she knew it as the empire that erased Luke's memories, the people here had been nothing but pleasant and helpful. The people of St. Binah were just like the Kimlascans in Baticul. Maybe, if Luke stayed along to help, he and Cass would be able to change the princess's opinion on the other country. After all, even though Ion wasn't a part of the Malkuth Empire, Tear and Jade seemed like decent enough people.

Guy shook his head before turning to his friend, "You sure have gotten yourself wrapped up in a mess here, Luke…" He said pleasantly with a sort of teasing grin, and Cassia couldn't help the twitch of the corners of her mouth.

"By the way, who are you two?" Ion asked.

Guy stood up, and Cass followed in suit. "Oh, right. I haven't introduced myself, have I? I'm Guy, a servant in Duke Fabre's manor."

Cass bowed slightly. "I'm Cass, an attendant for Princess Natalia," she said.

"Is that what she's calling you these days?" she heard Luke scoff. The blonde shot a heated glare at the back of his head before putting on a pleasant expression and shaking hands with Tear ("Locrian Sergeant Tear Grants, 1st Platoon, Oracle Knights Intelligence Division") and Ion ("Fon Master of the Order of Lorelei") in turn as they introduced themselves. She took a moment to look at everyone more carefully, since she never had an opportunity to thoroughly look them over.

Tear was very short compared to Cass, but she was probably only a little bit shorter than the average height of a woman. Her hair was long and a dull, mousy brown-gray color that was just a bit longer than Cass's messy, jasmine colored hair. Despite her youthful appearance (looking to be a few years younger than what Cass thought her age was), her bright blue eyes displayed a hidden sort of wisdom, and she was much more mature than Cass expected. Polite and friendly as well, contrasting to what she would have expected from the person that tried to kill Van Grants, her brother.

Fon Master Ion was an image of serenity, befitting of his position among the Order of Lorelei. His robe was white and trimmed with light green, which went perfectly with his forest green eyes and hair. He carried with him a staff that resembled the symbol of the Order, as well as a necklace with the same golden symbol. The staff and necklace were the only embellishments he had, and she didn't know if it was because he was simply travelling lightly, or didn't care for extravagance. Judging by his wide grin and calm demeanor, she figured it was the latter.

Her introduction with Jade was interrupted momentarily by Guy's shriek of horror. She ignored it, completely used to this happening whenever Natalia went to the manor, and Colonel Jade Curtiss, commander of the Third Division, Malkuth Imperial Forces didn't seem bothered by it. Didn't spare it much more than a glance as he shook her hand.

Jade was a good bit taller than Cassia was, which was something she wasn't exactly used to. She was taller than Luke, barely shorter than Guy, and she thought he was of average height. His light brown hair was long, going a bit past his shoulders and would have covered one of his bright red eyes if it was mussed even the littlest bit. Those eyes, though. Despite being partially concealed by a pair of simple glasses, there was something about them that unnerved her. Cass didn't think it was the color, unique as it was, but she couldn't quiet determine why they were odd to her in the amount of time that would have been suitable for a simple handshake.

Relinquishing her grip on his gloved hand, Cassia turned towards the commotion. Tear's arm was outstretched, waiting for a handshake, with a look of utter confusion on her face. Guy was a few steps back, arms raised slightly in defense despite the fact that Tear obviously wasn't going to hurt him. She took a step forward, trying again, but Guy, being Guy, was having none of that. She gave up eventually, much to Guy's evident relief.

Once Guy calmed down, Jade decided to continue a normal conversation and asked if the pair came looking for Luke.

"Yes, under orders from Duke Fabre. We knew he'd disappeared into Malkuth territory. Cass and I went by land from Chesedonia, while Dorian General Grants crossed the sea and started searching from Kaitzur."

"Master Van's looking for me too?!" Luke sounded too happy about that, in Cass's opinion. Tear's response to the news wasn't quite filled with as much joy. The fact that the two were at odds seemed strange to her. She would have thought siblings were supposed to be best friends, confidants, an ear to listen. Apparently that wasn't the case for every family.

Some soldiers showed up, and since almost everyone got into a battle-ready position, Cassia did as well, putting her fists up in a defensive stance, ready to activate her hidden blades in a second—the entire situation gave her a sense of déjà vu, but she couldn't keep her fists from shaking with anxiety and her palms from becoming sweaty. She gave a silent thanks to Natalia for fixing up the daggers she had with her instead of lending her something she needed to hold before focusing on the armed soldiers. Would this end the same way as what happened on the Tartarus? A complete slaughter? She didn't want to kill anyone, but somewhere in the back of her mind, Cass knew that she would be able to with ease if she needed to. That realization frightened her.

She spent the fight dodging and countering the strikes of the blade, her bracers taking the hits better than she could have ever imagined. She kept the blades retracted, though. Three of the four soldiers kept the other three busy, but one of them managed to leave the battlefield and try and go after Luke. He was able to defend himself long enough for the others to finish off the remaining soldiers, but once the last one was knocked to the ground, and it was time for Luke to deal the final blow… he froze.

Cass wasn't able to help, could barely spare a panicked glance at the noble before one of the Oracle Knights swung his blade at her once more, and she hardly had time to react to that. A flash of yellow running in Luke's direction eased her mind as she dodged again before delivering a swift kick into the soldier's chest. A spear impaled the Oracle Knight as he stumbled back, and Cass didn't even check to see if he was dead before turning around, sprinting towards Luke.

The redhead was on the ground, eyes wide in fear, but after a quick once-over, Cass decided that he was physically unharmed. The soldier that went after Luke was on the ground, unmoving and dead, but Tear was laying there with him. Shooting a quick glance at Guy—decided that both men nearby weren't able to help her at the moment—Cassia swiftly dropped to her knees and looked the young woman over.

Her arm was bleeding heavily, but Tear was awake, gloved hand over her wound as she sent a steady stream of Seventh Fonons into her injury to fix the damage. Cass asked her if she was all right, if she needed a bandage, water, anything, but Tear shook her head, said that she would be fine.

At Jade's suggestion, the party decided that it would be best to set up camp for the night instead of hurrying to St. Binah, in order to give Tear time to recover.

Everything was set up fairly quickly. They had moved a little ways away from the battle with the soldiers, deeper into the trees so if there were any more wandering around they wouldn't see them and the glow for the fire would be well hidden by the foliage. Tear leaned against a tree stump, occasionally muttering something and her cut would glow a soft green. Guy said that he would take the first watch, and after that was Jade. Truth be told, however, Cassia didn't think she would get all that much sleep tonight. Despite the calmness of the air and how serene everything seemed now, breathing seemed to be more taxing than it was before.

She didn't know exactly why, but it seemed sort of like the blood of the fallen made the air heavy, nearly unbearable to breathe. Cass could recall feeling this way sometimes when she was recovering in the infirmary in Baticul, and she was hardly able to sleep for more than an hour at a time. It wasn't as bad as it was three years ago, but she felt weighed down, sluggish. Surely it wasn't the death of the soldiers—the specks of blood that covered her when Jade impaled the one she was fighting didn't bother her in the slightest. She'd seen things die before—nothing more than animals and insects, yes—but she would have thought seeing people die would do something to her, considering the fact that it felt like fighting was something she had done before. Trigger a memory, maybe. So far, though, nothing. It was slightly upsetting.

Almost immediately she caught herself and shook her head roughly. People had just died and she was the most upset about how it didn't benefit her? That couldn't be something people normally thought. Luke clearly didn't think that way, and Natalia wouldn't either. So why was she? She already took their lives from them in exchange of her own (she didn't kill any of them herself, sure, but her hands were stained nonetheless), and now Cass wanted more from them? That was horrible; she shouldn't be thinking like that.

"Cass?" Luke nearly whispered, making her jump slightly. He sidled up to her so they were both leaning against the tree. He was still uncharacteristically quiet from the fight earlier.

"How are you feeling, Luke?" she asked, voice equally as quiet. She glanced at him, but didn't bother maintaining eye contact, stared into the fire instead. She wondered why he was talking to her and not to Guy. They were so close and she didn't think Luke liked her much. Tolerated her, yes, but he was usually so terse to her—treated her like everyone except his parents and Guy and Van.

"You don't remember anything about killing anyone do you?" he asked. Cass shook her head. "It doesn't bother you at all? Killing all these people who have families and lives and don't want to die?"

Once more she shook her head. "It does," she replied slowly. And she was truthful, but not in the way Luke wanted her to be. He was clearly distraught from everything and Cass refrained from clarifying. "But this is what the world is like." Luke made a confused sound and she turned to look at him. His expression almost matched the noise he made, though it looked a bit more distraught. His frown wasn't quite so bored or angry as it typically was.

"It seems to me that, in order to survive one needs to be a thief," Cass continued. "A wolf kills a rabbit so it can live another day. As everything is now, we need to steal the lives of others in order to keep our own from being stolen. The world is quite good at making everything self-centered." Almost absently she added, "It didn't appear that this was an issue when the chefs in the manor prepared your meals. Is it because what you eat isn't the same species as you?"

"That's not it at all!" Luke's tone rose. He sounded almost vehement. "I wouldn't kill a harmless rabbit, and it's not my fault if the chefs decide to cook one for dinner. They don't even look like animals afterwards. With people…" he trailed off, but Cass managed to finish his train of thought.

"Focus on their helmets… not their faces of shapes," she suggested after a moment of silence. "Perhaps imagining them as faceless shapes, monsters, will help you… defend yourself."

Luke didn't reply. He simply nodded once and got up without a word, looking rather solemn. Cass stared after him for a minute before returning her gaze to the crackling fire. He was too kind for his own good, and it was a shame he tried to cover that with a harsh and rude persona.

The blonde leaned back against the tree trunk and let out a quiet sigh. What those Oracle Knights were doing was wrong. They were trying their hardest to make sure that a war did break out, and Cass did not understand one bit. Why would anyone want hundreds—thousands—to die, both soldiers and innocent people? There was enough needless bloodshed everyday caused by bandits, murderers, and what have you. Why were they fighting so hard to paint the earth red?

"Mieeeeuu, are you all right, Tear?" came a high pitched voice, interrupting Cass's thoughts and making her jump slightly. Gray eyes darting to the source of the weird sound, she saw a blue, furry looking thing peak its head out of Luke's item bag. It had long ears, tipped with white fur, and its head looked much too big for its body. It must have been a child.

"What… is that?" Cass asked, never seeing anything like it before.

Tear smiled softly and reached out her uninjured arm, the small thing hopped on over to her outreached hand. "Yes, don't worry about me. This is Mieu," she explained. "He's a cheagle."

"Oh, I see…" she trailed off, putting aside the fact that she didn't know what a cheagle was supposed to be, and keeping her eyes on the small animal. Cass had a strong connection with animals, kept care of the stray cats that wandered Baticul's upper tier and felt like she understood them well enough. However, she knew that they didn't just up and start conversations with people. "Why is he talking?"

"The stupid thing never shuts up," Luke complained. "That ring he carries around lets him talk, though he should know by now that he shouldn't be talking." The redhead gave the blue furball a look that said shut up, no one likes you.

The blue creature's ears drooped. "Mieeuuu…"

Cassia sent a terse glare at Luke, but it was ineffective since he was staring off into space. Instead, she turned her attention away from their heir apparent and gave Mieu a small smile, reaching out to get him to come over. He bounded over to her and came to a halt in her lap. She gingerly set her hand on his large head, pet his long ears tentatively.

"You smell familiar," she could barely hear Mieu mumble against her stomach.

Cass stilled her hand. "How do you mean?" she asked quietly.

"Well… kind of familiar," he clarified, sounding rather sleepy. "It almost smells like home."

She had been spending a lot of time outside, but she didn't know what kind of places cheagles lived in. Was it a wooded area, or maybe out in the plains? His fur color even suggested someplace closer to the water. "Where is home, Mieu?" she questioned. After a moment, she realized she wasn't going to get a response from the cheagle: he was fast asleep in her lap.

Not wanting to wake the little thing up, Cass just rested her head against the bark of the tree, tried to will herself to fall asleep and rest while she could. She could ask Mieu what he meant later—hopefully cheagles had better sleeping habits than cats did.

The next morning they packed up before the sun was fully risen. Sometime in the middle of the night, when sleep managed to find Cassia and lull her into a restful darkness, the cheagle got out of her lap and made his way back into the item bag. She didn't see him at all, but decided that she was patient enough to wait until Mieu made his way back out in the open. Tear seemed to be fully cured of her injury, and the six started for the city of St. Binah. Luke declared that he was ready to protect himself, and stood by his decision when Tear tried to break his resolve. Cass figured that it was good to make sure that he wouldn't freeze again in battle, but Tear's methods were a little harsh in her opinion.

The blonde took Luke's words to heart as well. Even though she didn't do much yesterday aside from serve as a minor distraction, she would steel herself to the idea of ending another person's life. Cass had weapons, she knew how to use them, and she needed to stay alive. While she didn't necessarily want to stain her hands with blood, it was something that had to be done to continue on and help put an end to the talks of a war between Kimlasca and Malkuth.

By the time the sun was halfway across the sky they arrived back at St. Binah. Or, at least, they would have were it not for a pair of Oracle Knights, garbed in their typical gray regalia, guarding the only entrance into the city. They were likely only there because they knew St. Binah was the closest town to where Guy and Cass found everyone on the Tartarus: it was the most likely stop. The group camped outside of the gates for a couple of minutes, but in that small amount of time it didn't seem like they were any closer to getting into the city. The soldiers would be there for a long time.

"Is it possible that… Anise went to a different location? It doesn't look like we'll be finding a way to get into the city…" Cass said softly, looking back up the beaten path that led into the gates. Nothing was coming down it.

"If Anise is still alive, she was supposed to meet us at the military base here," Jade replied. Unlike the blonde, he stayed focused on the pair of soldiers. Likely deciding if causing a scene and forcibly removing them would be a considerable course of action. "Stopping by would be in our best interests."

The blonde nodded, silently got to her feet and walked away from the others, checking the perimeter over once more, trying to find another way in. Scaling the wall wouldn't be an option; the barrier around the city made quite the impressive defense. Not only that, but climbing over would be incredibly conspicuous. With that in mind, Cass focused her attention lower to the ground, trying to find a hole in the wall or something to squeeze through. It wasn't long until she found something that might be useful.

There was a small section of the wall that had cracked slightly; bits and pieces of the stone that made the fortress had fallen into the grass. The broken off pieces were rather weak, crumbling easily when hit hard enough against the wall, but the broken portion of the wall wouldn't budge when she tried to break it a little more. Making a hole big enough to go through wouldn't be possible. Luckily there was some cobblestone piled up to repair the broken area, as well as a regular hammer and something that resembled cement.

Testing its weight and its durability, Cassia decided that throwing a rock at one of the guards would be good, but it would only take one of them out; the other would probably stay at his post. It was worth a try, though. Cass just didn't have a good enough throwing arm for the task. Tear utilized throwing knives, maybe she had the strength and precision to knock one of them out?

She picked up two of the larger stones and brought them back to the other five, glad to discover that they hadn't managed to get inside and leave her alone. "Do you think these will work?" she asked once she was within hearing range, lifting up the slabs of stone so they could see. "I don't have the best throwing arm," she admitted, "but, Tear, you could knock them unconscious, yes?"

Tear nodded. "I can only throw one, though, then the other guard will be able to find out where we are from the direction the rock came from."

"I can get the other one," Luke proclaimed loudly, snatching one of the rocks Cass held. "I got the left one."

Tear gave him a look before taking the other rock from Cass. Tear counted down, making sure that they would both throw at the same time. It was synced perfectly, and Luke could actually throw a lot better than Cass thought he would be able to. While Tear's rock soared strongly through the air, hitting the right guard's armored head with a resounding whack!, Luke made the left guard stumble backward with the strength he put into the throw, shattering the stone against the guard's helmet. Luke's target hit the ground almost immediately, and Tear's wobbled around but he obviously couldn't stay standing for long. When the second guard hit the floor, the group ran into the safety of the city.

"Luke, I'm rather surprised that you were able to throw that well," Cass told the redhead once they were safely in the middle of the crowds. He gave her a smug look at the compliment.

"He used to throw rocks at the White Knights around the manor to try and get out," Guy explained, earning a glare from the noble. The blond laughed lightly at the expression, but obeyed the wordless command.

"What a convenient skill for a young noble to pick up," Jade said with a smile. "It would have been horrible if the Oracle Knights discovered you and took you back to Daath if you couldn't throw. The chances of war breaking out would have become much higher." Luke glared at the colonel, opened his mouth to retort, but Jade interrupted cheerily. "Now, let's go to the Malkuth base here and find out Anise's fate, shall we?"

He didn't wait for a reply before he walked off ahead to a large building whose entrance was flanked by two guards in blue. Cass stared at his uniformed back in confusion before following after the older man. How could he sound so happy about that subject matter? The Malkuth soldiers stepped aside, and Jade waved them in to follow in after. The inside was rather ornate, not really something the blonde was expecting in a military base. Sounds of an argument could be heard from behind the closest closed door, but Cass couldn't make out the words.

Jade looked over at the door, his faint grin never fading. "The soldier outside told us to wait, but judging by the topic in the meeting room, our interruption would solve the argument." The colonel didn't bother waiting for anyone else's opinion on the matter of barging in before he knocked loudly on the door, just walked on in without waiting for a reply. That was something Cass would have expected from Luke, not a military commander.

The two men inside didn't seem bothered at all by his interruption. In fact, the older of the two, whom Jade referred to as Field Marshal McGovern, appeared pleasantly surprised to see the colonel while the younger, Glenn, greeted Jade politely and remained relatively silent as the two older men spoke pleasantries for a few minutes. Once the pointless, idle banter ceased, Jade asked if either of the two had gotten a letter from a Fon Master Guardian. That must have been Anise. Cass spared a glance at Ion. He must have a lot of faith in her if she was the only one accompanying him.

"Ah, that…" the younger said. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid we opened it to confirm its contents, for security reasons."

"That's fine, Glenn," the colonel assured him. "There shouldn't be anything in there that would be a problem for you to see."

Glenn nodded, went over to the table before shuffling through the papers scattered on it. Quickly, he located the letter and handed it to Jade. He scanned it, a small smirk forming on his face, before handing it to Luke, saying half of it was written for him.

Cass looked over the redhead's shoulder, wondering why Anise would write to Luke in the first place (only to see frivolous looking handwriting with hearts drawn between words). Deciding it wouldn't be right to actually read the letter, she stepped away, let Luke read in peace, and listened as Jade revealed some of its contents.

"It appears that Anise went on ahead to the next location," Jade said as Luke slowly read his half of the letter, expression slowly becoming an odd mixture of looking sick and embarrassed. "We should be on our way after we gather a few supplies."

Guy tried to stifle a laugh at something Luke muttered. After a quick look, Cass focused once more on the colonel. "What's the 'next location?" she asked.

"Kaitzur," he responded. "It's a city to the southwest of here, on the other side of the Fubras River."

Cass nodded. That was good, that they were heading south. The likelihood that they would be able to meet up with Van Grants was good, especially since he was the one with the passports (this realization made her wonder why she and Guy also weren't given temporary passports; it would certainly make the journey easier if they reached Kimlascan territory before they found the commandant).

"If we make it to Kaitzur, we can catch up with Van," Guy brought up, voicing Cass's thoughts.

Jade excused the group from the meeting, and with that, they filed out of the military base to slowly make their way to the port city.