Been on vacation during the entire month of July. Enough said. ^^;

Total word count in this chapter: 12,541 words. OH MY GOOOOOD! O_O

Long chapter is LONG! But at least that makes up for my month absence, right? :D Heh, this is my longest chapter yet.

Anyway, I'll just let the chapter get underway now.


Stained Escape

"We arrived at a good time. It seems that they haven't returned yet," Jade noted, standing against the wall on one side of the exit of the port hatch. Tear was kneeling down on the floor behind him, her staff out and ready to be used as soon as the door was opened from the outside.

I was leaning against the wall with my arms crossed on the opposite side of where Jade and Tear were: concentrating on my breathing to slow down my rapid heartbeat. However, compared to me…

"Luke… how are you holding up?" I asked quietly, turning my head to the right to face Luke, who was also leaning against the wall like me. He was holding onto Mieu's head with one hand, and the cheagle looked more than ready to spit out a burst of flames at a moment's notice.

"I'm fine," he stated plainly, glaring at the metal floor.

"We might have to kill someone, so… are you sure you can take it…?"

"Ask yourself that damn question, idiot. You haven't killed anyone yet, so are you ready to do the same thing that I did earlier?" he hissed quietly. "I'm telling you now, it's going to be a damn horrible feeling."

"I trust your opinion about that…" I murmured, biting my lip. "…I think… I can do it."

"Hey, killing a griffin isn't the same as killing another living human being, you know," Luke said, rolling his eyes. "I've already fought both by now ever since I got blown away from my manor, and they're not the same at all. Monsters are just brainless animals that we can have for dinner if we want to. A soldier, on the other hand…" He suddenly stopped, closing his eyes with a pained grimace. "...look, it's not easy, alright?"

I did not say anything to that, instead looking down at my feet.

"…I guess… I'm a little nervous…" I admitted quietly. "But I'll try not to slow you guys down. The feeling in the air around us now… it's not really… comforting."

"Yeah, and the scent of blood isn't helping either. You reek of it."

"Hey... I turned my back on that griffin for you, you know," I protested.

Luke, however, just scoffed at that. "Not like that helped with anything, so thanks for nothing."

"…Sorry."

He gritted his teeth. "That's your fault too, you know. If you hadn't left me alone to fight that bag of feathers, then I wouldn't have…! That guy would still be…!"

I could point out the flaws in the scenario that Luke had wanted. I could point out that if that guy hadn't been killed, then he would have killed him first. I could point out the fact that if he hadn't done that, then he still wouldn't have even the faintest idea of what's to come in the future, and that there would definitely be more humans for him to draw his blade against.

And yet… When I look at the strained and slightly pained expression on Luke's face, and thinking about how he's really doing his best to keep it together, maybe even more so than me… I only felt guilt, and I'm not even that sure of myself anymore.

When it was my turn to kill… would I feel the same thing that he's feeling right now? I could only hope and pray to any divine being up there that I won't take it even worse than he does. I don't want to kill, but I really don't want the others to look down at me, or see me as a crybaby as well… even though I'll admit that I can be one at times. I hate being so super sensitive and weak-hearted…

Not only that… but it's obvious that he's blaming me for not being able to help him with that soldier earlier. Maybe I should have stayed with him. Even though I might have been the one to kill first, I don't want Luke to hate me over something like this. Because, right now, looking at it from a certain perspective… it is kind of my fault that Luke was forced to have his first kill, isn't it…?"

And so, with those things in mind, I can only say one thing to Luke right now, despite my earlier thoughts.

"I'm sorry…"


Back then...


"Tue rei zue kroa ryou tue zue…"

As the soldier guarding the doors to the bridge fell to ground, fast asleep, we all made our way towards him. Tear dropped the arm that was holding onto her staff back down to her side after she was done singing her fonic hymn.

"This is not really a good idea, Luke…" I frowned. It was his idea to tell Tear to just put the soldier to sleep over the idea of Jade killing him.

"It's better than unnecessary killing," Luke retorted before looking down at the sleeping figure of the Oracle Knight. "Wow… he's out like a light."

I shook my head. He didn't even thank her for sparing this guy's life. I'm still on the fence as to whether I should feel worried, or feel relieved that we're sparing an enemy's life. I'm not too sure of myself yet, either…

"Tear, you're amazing!" Mieu declared, his round, grey eyes filled with awe.

Tear gave the cheagle a nod in response as Jade opened the automatic doors by stepping up to them.

"Let's take back the Tartarus. Tear, if you'd assist me."

Tear gave another nod, this time to Jade's request. "Right."

"Hey, what do I do?" Luke asked quickly, just as Jade entered through the doors and out of out sight.

Tear turned her head over her shoulder to face Luke. "You stand watch here. Samantha, make sure he doesn't do anything careless."

"Hey!" Luke shouted to Tear's back as she walked through the automatic doors herself before they closed shut behind her. "Hmph! I think she's just telling us to stay out of their way…"

"Nah…" I shook my head. "They just don't want anyone going through those doors and attacking them from behind."

"What?" Luke set his lips into a grimace. "That's just fighting dirty."

"When it comes to fighting for your life, Luke, there aren't any rules," I murmured, looking back the way we came in apprehension when I heard a high-pitched shriek coming from the sky. Looking up, I saw a griffin flying around in the sky above our heads. It was staring down at us hungrily, and looked more than ready to swoop down and attack at any moment.

"Hey… that bird…"

"Hm…" I stared up at the sky. "…Let me handle this."

"Are you serious?" Luke asked incredulously.

I forced a smirk on to my face so that I could hide my unease. "Yeah, I'm serious. Just jump in when I'm in serious trouble, alright? This is a good chance to learn how to look after myself in battle, and get some battle experience under my belt, even if it's just a little."

"Tch… fine, whatever. Just don't get yourself ripped apart before I could step in, though. I don't need to give Tear more reasons to chew me out again," he said from behind me.

"Samantha! I'm rooting for you!" Mieu encouraged me.

"Yeah, thanks." I said, placing my wooden sword down on the ground before pulling out both my newly-claimed daggers from my pockets. "I would need that."

"Wait," Luke interrupted me, sounding surprised. "Those daggers… oh man, don't tell me…"

"I believe that I'll be needing more effective weapons than a weapon made out of wood, so I had decided that I'll be borrowing these for a while", I responded somewhat sheepishly, turning my head around to face him with a tiny smile. "Like I just said, Luke… when you're fighting for your life, there's no time to be worrying about the smaller things."

Luke shook his head, smirking to himself. "Man… I can't wait to see the look on Jade's face when he found out about this… he'll be so mad." He snorted. "Heh, but he so deserved it."

"Mm, knowing him, I think he'll just find a way to put me into debt or something," I ruminated, tightening my grip on both my daggers. "Besides, I need to quickly learn how to fight with these, so I guess now's a good time as any. Anyway, you can just… sit, relax and just watch, or something. I'm going!"

With that, I ran forward, keeping my gaze up on the griffin flying overhead. Most of its body is tawny in color, with the feathers around its collar bone being lighter in shade. Its majestic wings were spread wide on either side of its body, occasionally flapping to keep itself in midair. Its legs which were stretched behind it as it flew were very much unlike those of a regular bird's.

I'm sure its gaze is now fixated on me now that I'm an open prey for it. An easy catch. Not if I have things go my way, though.

"H-Hey, you!" I called out to it, spreading my arms wide and feeling my heart start to race once more in anticipation for the inevitable battle. "Come... come face me!"

Even though this might not be a good idea, maybe... maybe fighting and killing the griffin would give me a real idea of what's to come. Maybe this could help me prepare for all the gorefest that is sure to come soon. Hopefully...

The griffin flying high overhead let out a loud battle cry of its own at my challenge before diving down towards me at a neck-breaking speed. My eyes widened in alarm as I threw myself to the side to get out of its way as it whizzed past the area where I had once been standing at: leaving a gust of wind in its wake. It then quickly flew back up to the sky before I could even try to attack it when it was on ground-level.

...Ohh-kaay... this'll be harder than I thought. How can I kill an enemy that attacks from the air? I suddenly felt like a rodent that is about to get snatched from the ground by a falcon in the air before being eaten. Shit...

Keeping my eyes trained on the griffin overhead, I tried my best to think of a plan to lure it closer to the ground where attacking it would be easier. I narrowed my eyes and squinted from the glare of the sun so that I would not lose sight of the griffin. That was when I suddenly felt my shoulders jolt in shock and my heart giving a jump when I heard Luke screaming from somewhere behind me.

"AHHHH! STAY AWAY! S-SAMANTHA~, KEEP HIM AWAY, HELP!"

Whirling around, I saw Luke crazily swinging his sword about in order to keep the Oracle Soldier, whom is now conscious, at bay. Mieu was a good distance away from where the two were fighting: face-down on the ground and probably either too dazed or unconscious.

"SAMANTHA~! DO SOMETHING, IDIOT!" Luke yelled again frantically, almost being unable to block the swipe that came from the Oracle Knight with his own sword.

He couldn't do it. He obviously couldn't bring himself to take the life of another human being. He could only defend himself at best now. Even then, panic and fear were clouding his mind, thus making him unable to defend himself properly: his parries were weak and clumsy, he was shaking all over, and he has a watery grip on his sword. Even I could see that.

What...? Was he expecting me, a person with even less experience in battle, to kill that person in his place? How the hell could I do that? I'm not ready yet! But...! If I don't do something, then Luke's going to be the one that will get killed! I don't want that!

Mindlessly, I allowed my feet to take a step forward towards the direction of the two battling males. Maybe... I don't have to kill the guy. Just knock him unconscious again from behind... or even disarm him! Yeah... that would work.

Before I could take another step, I felt a strong gust of wind from the air behind me along with the sound of flapping wings. Before I could even turned around, something sharp and strong dug painfully deep into both of my shoulders and my eyes widened. I felt both of my feet starting to lift from the ground as a shadow from overhead fell all over me.

"Oh no no no NO!" I screamed, thrashing about in the griffin's grip on me. Looking down, I saw myself slowly getting up higher from the ground. No! I don't want to die yet!

"LET... GO!" I shrieked loudly. Re-adjusting my grip on both of my daggers, I made it so that both of their blades were facing upwards. Without hesitation, I thrust both daggers deep into the griffin's underside with all the force I have. I pursed my lips tightly when blood started to drip on me and down the blades of my daggers. The griffin shrieked loudly in pain (ow... my eardrums...) and started to thrash about. Huh, now it seems that our roles were reversed now.

Since it still has a strong grip on me, I dragged both of the blades of the daggers down the griffin's flesh as hard as I could: ignoring the combined sounds of its cries and its flesh bring ripped open. I narrowed my eyes when I felt more of its disgusting blood fell and land on me.

I suddenly felt the air around me rushing upwards as the griffin dropped back to the metal ground, and I grunted in pain when I felt the cold and hard surface slapping the front of my body with half of the griffin's body on top of me. Ow, that hurt... but at least it finally decided to let go of me. With a grimace, I dragged myself out from underneath the griffin's body: making sure to pull both my now bloodied daggers out as well. Wincing, I stood up while taking care of not to fall over. That fall just now hurts quite a bit... I guess it's a good thing that the griffin wasn't that high up from the ground, or else it could have been worse.

As if it was waiting for me to pull my daggers out from its body, the fallen griffin attempted to get back up to its feet, probably even planning to take flight again to get away. However, I wasn't planning to let it go for attacking me from behind, so I quickly rushed back over to it: both my daggers held up at the ready.

"Die already!" I shouted before plunging both daggers down onto its head while it was still held down low. I shuddered violently when I heard the sound of the griffin's skull being broken and its pained, dying wail before it slumped to the ground, dead.

"Ugh... geez, that's... really sick. Gross..." I muttered to myself with a disgusted grimace. With a hard tug, I freed both of my daggers from the dead griffin's skull and trying not to drop them when I saw just how much blood had coated the blades. Ugh... my goodness... and to think that I'm the one who did all that, too... it still felt kind of unreal. Yet... I did that. I actually was the one that killed the creature in front of me... this feels like a kind of fantasy dream. A very realistic dream. I wonder if this is all what hunters felt when they killed their first animal in a hunt.

No... should I feel pride, instead? Maybe...

"Die!" I heard a metallic, masculine voice shouted, bringing me back out of my thoughts. Damn it! It's not over yet! Why did I have to space out at a time like this? Luke! How could I almost forgot about him?

There was a terrified yell in response to that. "D-Don't come any closer!"

"UGH!"

The loud sound of metal being shot through metal rung throughout the surrounding area. My eyes widened in realization of what had just happened, and I turned around.

What met my sight was a startling one, regardless of what I had already known would happen from the game's plot-line. But seeing it in real life, right in front of me instead of behind the safety of a TV screen... it's a completely different and new experience entirely.

There was Luke: his head turned away to his side with his eyes squeezed tightly shut and a horribly terrified expression painted all over his entire face. His left arm that was holding onto the hilt of his sword was held out far in front of him. The blade of his sword was embedded so deep in the Oracle Knight's torso area, its tip had came out of the other side of the soldier's body: thickly coated with fresh crimson blood that slowly dripped soundlessly from the blade and onto the metal ground. The Oracle Knight's own sword fell from his loosened hand and landed with a loud clatter on the ground. Other than that, the surrounding area was dead silent.

"Luke... Luke!" I called out, inhaling sharply and running over to the young duke's side.

Luke finally chose that moment to slowly open one of his eyes. As soon as he saw the body he had unintentionally ran through hanging off of his sword like some kind of sick human shiskabob, his other eye snapped wide open in horror.

Yelling with distress, Luke quickly pulled his sword back out from the soldier's body: making the corpse limply fell backwards to the ground. From my place standing next to Luke, I could see the wide, dull, empty and overall lifeless eyes of the dead Oracle Knight.

Oh... God... someone just got killed right in front of me. Someone just died in front of me! It's not a monster or a wild animal, but a real, sentient human being, just like me and Luke! God... this is... this is... I feel so...

Thankfully, I was torn out of my examination of the corpse when Luke dropped his sword to the ground and fell back onto his rear: shaking and staring fearfully at the dead body in front of us.

"Master!" Mieu cried as he scurried over to Luke's side and started tugging on the material of his pants. However, it appeared that Luke had not even heard the little cheagle.

"I..." Luke said shakily, his eyes wide with disbelief. "I... I didn't... hey... he's still alive, i-isn't he? I-I-I mean... his eyes are still open! H-He... I didn't even mean to... to..." He trailed off, taking in a shaky breath.

I sighed wearily, kneeling down next to him. "Oh Luke..." I murmured sympathetically, placing a hand on his shoulder to hopefully comfort him a bit. "Luke... he's dead. For real. Even though his eyes may be open... there's no light in them anymore. You killed him."

I winced at my own words. Maybe they're a bit too blunt... but how could I sugarcoat the truth when it's as clear as glass and right in front of us? And now that my words had confirmed the horrible fact that he tried to just deny, Luke's facial expression became worse.

"I-I killed..." he repeated my last words shakily. He reached up a hand so that he could clutch a fistful of his red hair. "I killed... a human. Another man. That... this... I can't believe..."

"Luke-" I started to say. I suddenly snapped my head up in fright when I heard the automatic doors nearby slid open, but I then relaxed and let out a breath of relief when I saw that it was just Jade and Tear making their return. I noticed that both of their clothes were stained with blood that I'm quite sure weren't there before. It looks like they did some fighting of their own.

Though I'm really glad it's just them who showed up first, and not any more Oracle Soldiers. Right now, I don't think we're ready for another fight with Luke like this. ...I don't blame him though. I could understand his feelings regarding the topic of killing another human-being.

Luke... a seven-year-old child who was forced to make his first kill. That's so cruel... despite his physical appearance, he has the heart of a child: he shouldn't be fighting and taking lives like this yet. Screw the people who thinks he should act like a man merely because of his body. Damn you, Mohs! Damn you, Van! Curse them both to oblivion! It might've been better if it was me, would it? I'm older than Luke, so it should be me protecting him, isn't it? Not the other way around. That's one of the jobs of a real woman, ISN'T IT?

And yet... despite those thoughts... I couldn't even help. I'm scared too... seeing that soldier getting killed right in front of me had really shook my nerves up. Damn it... why am I so stupid and useless? Shit! Dammit, dammit, dammit!

As I punched the ground in anger, and mentally cursed myself for being so incompetent, Tear quickly demanded, "What happened?"

"Guess!" I snapped, unable to control my anger. At the back of my mind, I knew it was wrong. Tear didn't do anything, and I shouldn't be directing my anger towards myself at her. But seriously... couldn't she just see the bloody corpse that's just right in front of us, as well as Luke's (literally) bloody sword?

Other than what might've been a startled blink, Tear did not show any other outward reaction towards my outburst. Jade, at the very least, observed the scenario before speaking.

"This is bad... The commotion has caused the fonic hymn to weaken."

Luke, just like before, didn't even seem to see or hear anyone. He just sat where he was, bringing both of his shaking hands in front of his face as if in a trance. He still couldn't grasp the reality of what he had just done.

"I... I stabbed him. I... I killed him..." he whispered, looking down at his hands and clenching them shut.

Now what should we say? I don't know now. Maybe words of comfort would at least calm him down? ...That's worth a try, I guess. At this point, it's better than nothing. I opened my mouth to do just that.

"If you're scared of killing, then throw away your sword, you worthless reject!"

No... I swear to God that wasn't me.

Snapping my head over to where I heard the voice came from, what met my sight instead of a certain red-haired God General was a cloud of icy-blue appearing in the middle of the air... before a rain of icicles came flying down towards us.

"Look out!" I heard Jade shout. But it was too late.

I could only throw my arms up in front of me to avoid getting struck in the head. However, that didn't do any good, as I soon felt a heavy, sharp and cold pain struck me in the leg. I yelped in pain and could only shout out "No!" before the same painful feeling hit me again: this time on my shoulder. PAIN! Sharp, cold, pain...!

Another one soon followed, and this time it hit me right in the forehead, which is the most painful one of all. I could see stars and a flash of light exploding in my vision before it cleared for only a second. I then vaguely saw a blur of red before I felt myself falling over and my entire world fading to black.

At least... I won't feel... the pain when I'm un... con...


Blazing fire burning everywhere.

As a flaming piece of wood fell from the ceiling and crashed loudly against the floor, I placed the back of my hand against my forehead and squinted through the bright flames licking and eating away at everything. I'm standing on top of a dais that overlooked the entire room I was in: alit with a vibrant red-orange light from the flames. Everything... everything was on fire.

I looked over to the entrance located at the far side of of the room. It was right at the opposite of where I was. I could run there though... the fire is nothing. I could run through the flames. I will be alright. Yet...

I turned away to look over at the wall on my right. A... symbol? Something is drawn inside a circle... but I can't see it properly through all the smoke inside this room.

Hearing another loud crash, I turned to look back towards the entrance far across the room from where I was. A flaming pillar had collapsed down in front of the entrance, otherwise blocking what seems to be the only way out.

...epoc... n... nac... uoy.

An... eerie chant. What did it say? I can't... I can't tell. Blinking slowly, I looked back towards the war where I had seen the symbol just now.

It wasn't there anymore. What took its place there instead was a reflection of myself. Ah... a mirror? Where did that come from? Turning around completely to face it, I stared intently at my reflection at the mirror. For some reason... I was compelled to concentrate on it even despite all the fire surrounding me. Like... there should be something important there if I looked hard enough. No... strangely... it felt like the mirror was commanding me to look at it. It's strange... yet also kind of... scary. I watched my reflection stare back at me with an emotionless mask.

I vaguely heard that chant again, but I am more transfixed by what I am now seeing in the mirror.

In the mirror, I could see a drop of crimson blood slid down my face from my forehead hidden behind my bangs: leaving a trail of red behind as it continued its descent More started to follow after that. Blood dripped quickly: from the sides of my head, from my cheeks down the sides of my jawline, from my shoulders down my arms, from my neck down to my chest. Even a large stain of blood started to form on my dress as I'm probably bleeding from the chest as well. Where are all these blood coming from...? Am I injured? As if I was in a trance, I looked down as I brought my arms up to my face to examine.

No blood. I'm fine. ...What? Then why am I...?

I looked back up to the mirror in front of me again. As I did, the sound of the flames reached my ears even louder this time. I heard that faint, scary chant again as well.

"...am..."

In my reflection... I saw my entire body completely covered in red blood now. As if... as if I was stabbed repeatedly by an unknown invisible force, or as if I was ripped inside out. When two more drops of blood dripped down from my temple and into my eyes-

"Sa... m..."

-I blinked once and-

"Saman... ha."

-my pupils and irises have both turned a frightening red in color with a sickening 'blop' sound. I am now seeing everything in red-! What is happening what is going on-?

"Samantha...!"

"Samantha!"

My eyes snapped open in surprise and I gasped: breathing quickly. What... what?

Blinking a few times, the first thing I noticed was... one blue eye and a light-brown curtain next to it. Wha...?

"Oh, good. You finally woke up," I heard Tear's familiar voice said just as the blue eye and the light brown curtain (which I now realized was just Tear's long bang) pulled away and out of my view. I blinked again, looking up at the blue ceiling above me dumbly.

No fire... there's no fire here. So... I'm... awake now? Is it just a dream? Yeah... seems like it was just a dream. A bad dream at that. Oh... that's good. I don't know what I should do if that were real.

"Mm... Tear?" I called softly, my own voice sounding groggy even to my ears. "What time is it...?"

That question came out of my mouth almost automatically. The instinctive question whenever you got woken up by someone else. Because if someone woke you up, then most of the time, that must have meant that you've overslept, right?

"It should be some time after 3 pm, I believe," Tear responded after a moment of silence to probably calculate the time in her head.

"You have been unconscious for an approximately an hour and a half," Jade added as I sat up, looking over to where he was standing against a wall. "You, Luke and Tear have been struck hard by a fonic arte cast by one of the God-Generals: knocking you all unconscious. I fortunately managed to jump out of the way in time, but we got captured and locked in here."

"Ah..." was all I could say at the moment. "And then... anything else happened while we're out?"

"Earlier, Jade told me that he saw the Oracle Knights were holding Ion hostage back on the bridge," Tear told me, frowning. "We're not sure what happened to Anise, though."

"...I... think she will fine... no matter what might have happened..." I said slowly, the words 'I'LL KILL YOU BASTARDS!' by a high-pitched and veeery angry feminine voice ringing quite loudly in my head as the image of Anise being thrown out of a window and being seen safe and sound later on flashing clearly before my eyes. I quickly cleared my thoughts before I ended up smirking or something. "She looks quite... tough."

"The Tartarus has recently stopped moving," Jade continued. "Most likely, they've taken him somewhere nearby if Ion wasn't kept here with us. So I believed that now is the right time to wake all of you up to take action." He suddenly smiled faintly. "Hopefully, we did not disturb your lovely relaxing slumber, Samantha."

I groaned, rubbing my temples when I remembered just what had knocked me out. "No way, how could you say that? My sleep wasn't good at all... I think it's horrible, actually." I sighed, then realizing that my head strangely wasn't throbbing in pain as I expected it to be. "Hey, uh... did Tear...?"

"Yes, I healed everyone's injuries. Don't worry," Tear said with a tiny smile, confirming my incomplete question. "Luke should be fine as well... but he's not up yet. He's been groaning for a while..."

"Luke isn't up yet?" I asked, looking around for the red-head. I quickly found him to my far right, asleep on the only bed here that was laid against the wall. Mieu was sitting close to his face, his ears drooped. Aw... how cute. He's worried.

Back to Luke... since he was facing towards us, I could see his sleeping face. Even though he's still unconscious, the expression on his face looked uncomfortable: as if he's having some kind of nightmare. Oh... I guess I'm not the only one, then. It is kind of weird knowing how he and I are somewhat alike in a way. I frowned when I heard a faint groan resounding from his throat, but he continued to sleep away despite that.

"It seems so," Jade remarked, looking over to his right, which is my left. I looked as well, and I saw the bars of our prison cell, apparently made out of some kind of glowing green energy that could... shock us if we touch them or something. "Tear, if you would. Wake him up as well."

"Very well. I'll try once more," Tear answered, walking over to Luke's bedside. "He hadn't even stirred a bit when I tried before."

"He must be tired..." I murmured, leaning back against the supporting pillar behind me. I then frowned: Luke's probably tired both physically and mentally after all that's happened today. Let's see... travelling from Engeve to Cheagle Woods, going to the other side of the forest and into liger territory, fighting the Liger Queen, going back across the forest again to meet with the Cheagle Elder, getting arrested, being told everything that Jade had told him about the possibility of war, being held hostage by Largo and nearly getting his neck sliced off, seeing tons of bloodied and dismembered corpses, more fighting and then finally taking your first human kill. ...Yeah... after all that, Luke must be dead exhausted. I know I would be too. In fact, I am tired now. Being unconscious does not really count as resting. If it was, my sleep was far from a pleasant one.

And the worst part? The day's not even over yet.

"Can't you let him rest a little longer?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, time is of the essence now," Jade declined. "If we don't make our move now, we won't get another chance like this again. Now only will saving Ion and getting away from the Tartarus will be much harder, especially if they plan to go straight back to Daath, but it will take us even further from our destination: and rescuing Ion from Mohs' custody will all be a wasted effort."

"Samantha, we ask you, and probably Luke too when he gets up, to please bear it a little longer. At least when we all have escaped with Ion," Tear said, shaking Luke's shoulder. She sighed. "We're all tired, but things will only become worse for us if we choose to rest now."

I sighed as well, nodding once in understanding. Looks like we have to push it a little more. Those two did have a good point.

"Yeah... okay, I get it," I replied, leaning back against the support pillar behind me and allowing myself to get lost in my own thoughts as I waited for Luke to wake up.

Poor kid, I thought, letting my forehead to rest against the top of my knees after bringing them up to my chest.

Seven... he's only frickken' seven, and already he's been forced to come into terms of the fact that he had just killed another human being. How many kids of that age has to do that back home on Earth?

Back home, I have three younger cousins. The oldest one being ten-years-old right now, with the second one being eight, and the youngest one should be six now. Luke is only a year older than my youngest cousin! How hard has it gotten to Luke? If my younger cousins have been the ones to swing a sword and kill someone, while being fully aware of death and what they have done... how would they react? Would they cry?

I shook my head to myself. No... don't think of that. All three are back home, safe and sound. Safe back at home... don't worry...

I looked up from me knees at that, staring distractedly at the wall across from me. Home... where I'm not at right now. Many hours have already passed since my first meeting with Ion back at Cheagle Woods. Has anyone noticed me missing yet? What will they all do? I'm not even on Earth anymore. Everything... everything I had seen, felt, done and even smell until now had proved it to me. I still don't know how or how it could be logically possible, but I'm actually n Tales of the- no...

Even everything right now is not just a simple game anymore. There's no cheerful background music, no Gald dropped after killing a monster, no burst of light when the enemies we killed have been defeated... this is reality. All this is real. I'm not in just a game... but in an entirely different world called Auldrant: where everything is different to what I've known from my own world.

The blood from the griffin that I have killed earlier still remained on my shoulders and blouse: staining them red. I tried to wipe the blood off with one hand (which just did no good) while I moved my other hand over to my shoulder. I felt around the flesh around my shoulder with my thumb and soon found what I was looking for. The small puncture wounds made by the griffin's claws. It doesn't sting anymore, probably due to Tear's magic. There only thing left that showed that I had been attacked by a griffin in the first place are the puncture wounds I just found, but they felt too small: Tear's magic probably closed most of it up. How marvelous healing magic is...

Overall, I'm a mess. Then again, we all are one way or another. I just wanted to shower and change into a set of fresh new clothes, I really do. I don't like walking around in dirty clothes. If I could, I would wash away all my troubles through a shower, as well.

It's not that easy. What will I do now?

For now? Don't think about Earth. Don't think about home. Don't think about my family. All that would do is make me brood, make me get homesick, make me sad and will probably make me cry as well. Think about the here and now. I need to go with the flow like I always tend to do anyway. When I figure out something about getting home, then that's good.

But until then, I need to stick with Luke and the others. Not only do they make me feel safe and more comfortable than I would be if I'm alone elsewhere... but they also gave me a sense of direction, at the very least. They'll be travelling all over... I might find something along the way. Even if I don't... it's better than to just sit in one place, twiddling my thumbs and not being able to figure out where to go next on my own.

"My, it certainly is rather quiet when the young master is not awake."

Annnd... that's Jade tearing me away from my thoughts and back to reality. I felt the corners of my lips twitch. Not only was I always told back home that I'm rather sensitive, but I tend to think too much as well. How the hell am I going to survive here?

"Sorry... I didn't know you want to talk," I said, exhaling once through my nose.

"I'm a bit surprised, seeing as you're quite conversational whenever you're around Luke." Jade placed his chin into his fingers in a thoughtful manner and I felt one of my eyebrows twitch.

I swear... if that man makes a joke about me being in love with Luke again at a time like this...! I like my men older than me, thank you very much!

...Not that I'm interested in a romantic relationship right now. It's hard to find my type of man nowadays. Well, back on Earth at least... there's probably more decent men here in Auldrant. Like Guy. Now that is the kind of man I would call my type! He's nice, friendly, could cook, understanding, mature, can be funny at times... he probably isn't the type of man who would court a woman just for their looks either.

Then again... for all I know, getting into a bed with a female would prove to be totally hazardous for his health thanks to his condition. Oh, wait... does that make him a virgin, then?

...Oh my God... what did I just thought about?

"Really?" I asked in response to Jade's question, raising my eyebrows before shrugging. "It's Luke. It's hard to stay quiet around him. He would make you open your mouth even if you don't intend to."

Jade looked amused at that. "I believe I could understand that feeling."

"As do I," Tear's voice said in agreement from her place next to Luke's bedside as she tried to shake the duke awake to no avail. Wow... what a heavy sleeper. Looks like I was right about him being tired after all.

"But Jade..." I started. "Um, did you... uh... are you alright?"

I paused. Why did I ask that all of a sudden? Is it because of the attack on the bridge earlier? But no... I should know Jade's the only one who jumped out of Asch's attack in time.

Oh... OH! That's right! How could I forget? Asch!

That should be it. Jade was the only one who could have seen Asch's face. So he should know by now that Luke's a replica. That's right... so does that mean that he's now thinking about his part in the creation of fomicry: the reason that basically started all this mess going on? Is he kicking himself for that now? Ack... but I can't tell what that man's thinking.

Especially when Jade's amused expression didn't even twitch an inch in my eyes. "It's do nice to see the young ones looking after their elders so well." I rolled my eyes at that and he continued. "But yes, I am alright. I can still keep up with you youngsters even with the fon slot seal placed upon me."

"How long does it usually take to-"

"Luke!"

I stopped, turning over to where Tear was. At the same time, Luke sat up: pressing the palm of his hand against his temple with his eyes squeezed shut as if he has a headache. I turned back to face Jade, and he was staring at Luke with an unidentifiable look on his face: his amused expression now gone. I turned back towards where the other two were when I heard Luke grunt.

I heard Tear sigh faintly. "...Thank goodness. You were moaning in your sleep."

Opening his eyes, Luke pulled his hand away from his face. He blinked slowly, trying to pull his mind out of sleep and be aware of his surroundings. He turned his head over to our side, taking in our current surroundings.

"...Where am I?" he asked.

"In a cabin, onboard the Tartarus," Jade responded in a neutral voice. From the sound of his voice... yep... it's back to business. He could really switch personalities in the blink of an eye.

Luke's eyes widened in realization at that. "That's right... Monsters attacked and-" here, he choked on his own words. He then looked down, cradling his head in his arms and shuddering as if he remembered something unpleasant. Jade turned his head away at the sight, looking out of the energy bars of our cell.

"All right, we need to get out of here and rescue Ion," he said.

"But they took Ion away," Tear interjected.

"From what we overheard the Oracle Knights saying before Samantha was awoken, it sounds like they'll be returning to the Tartarus," Jade informed Luke. "We'll ambush them and rescue him then."

"W-Wait!" Luke protested quickly, looking up and swinging his legs over the side of the bed he was on. His face was desperate. "If you do that, they'll be more fighting!"

"Yes," Tear confirmed calmly. "What about it?"

Luke looked at her in disbelief, before he elaborated. "We might end up killing people again!" He pointed out as if it should be obvious: getting up from his place. Taking that as my cue, I stood up from my place as well and stretched my arms behind my back and getting rid of the kinks in my shoulders.

"That can't be helped," Tear said, which made Luke look even more horrified. "They'll kill us if we don't kill them first."

"Wh-What are you saying?" Luke exclaimed incredulously, his voice nearly breaking. "We're talking about human lives!"

I exhaled quietly at that, glancing down as Jade said, "Yes. Human life is a valuable thing. But if we sit here and do nothing, a war will start and even more people will die."

"Right now, this is our battlefield," Tear told Luke seriously. "There's no good or evil here. Just life or death."

When Luke stayed silent while clenching his fists his anger, Tear continued. "There's danger even in normal. One could be attacked by monsters or bandits..." I was surprised when Tear gestured towards me at that. "You heard her story. If Samantha had not chosen to run, she would have been killed and would never have met us. Those who lack strength do things like band together like she had done before, or hire mercenaries, and travel by coach. Those with strength to fight, do. Sometimes even children. They do what they must to survive."

"That's got nothing to do with me! I didn't know anything about that, and I didn't come here because I wanted to!" Luke exploded. I blinked when he suddenly turned towards me, flinching when I saw the anger in his eyes. "Say something! You don't want to kill either, do you? You don't have to fight if you don't want to! We can just grab Ion and run, can we?"

Ah... I guess Luke wanted someone to side with him, and had thought that person would be me because of my conversation with him earlier. Maybe I should have kept quiet about that. And... as much as I wanted to stay on the sidelines just this once...

"It's not like that," I murmured quietly, letting out a breath. "It's not that easy. Even if I don't want to, I have to, you know? If it comes down to it, I'll-"

"But why?" he demanded loudly. "Why do we have to be forced to kill people when we don't want to?"

"Don't think of it as being forced to kill someone just for the sake of it," I advised, looking down. "Just... see it as protecting yourself. Luke, you want to go home, right? You can't do that if you don't fight for your life. We have to do what we need to do, you know?"

"I can't believe I'm hearing this from you," Luke said exasperatedly, throwing his arms up in frustration. "Let's see if you can talk big when you actually have to kill someone."

I gave him a forced, weak smile. "If by chance I start crying, then I'm giving you and only you full permission to scold and slap me at the back of my head, Luke. But make no mistake about it, I will fight if I have to despite all that. I won't hold you guys back. I don't want that. Sorry, Luke: to make you fight even though I understand your feelings about this."

"No," Luke shook his head. "You don't get it. Nobody does."

"Astonishing," Jade remarked. "What kind of environment must this one grow up in to be this ignorant of the situation...?"

"Ever since the Malkuth attempt to kidnap him, he's been forbidden to leave his manor for his own safety," Tear explained, looking over to the Necromancer.

"I see... Then I suppose it's natural for him not to know anything about the world..." Jade murmured, his eyebrows raised.

"I can't help it!" Luke snapped, glaring at the older male. "I don't have memories of my childhood! I don't know anything!"

"It's my responsibility that all of this happened, so I promise I'm going to get you back home," Tear told him. "In return, don't get in our way. If you're not willing to fight, you're only going to be a burden."

Luke turned his head to look back at her. "...I didn't say I wouldn't fight! I just don't want to kill anyone."

Tear shook her head. "It's the same thing. Right now, fighting means fighting against the human beings who took the Tartarus. If you don't want to kill the enemy, then stay hidden behind us."

Luke opened his mouth to say something but then closed it. He then sighed, his shoulders slumping. "...I'm just saying, let's not fight any more than we have to. I don't want to die, either."

"It's not like I-!" Tear started to say. When she heard that her voice was raised in an angry tone however, she stopped to regain her composure before trying again in a more softer voice, looking away. "It's not like I'm killing people because I want to."

"So, you're going to fight?" Jade prompted, turning to concentrate on something outside from across our prison. "I'll be counting on you as part of our force."

Luke closed his eyes, as if trying to keep his patience (which is a pretty rare thing for him to do). "I said, I will."

"Good."

Then there was a small explosion nearby that made both Luke and I jump with surprise. Before we know it, the energy bars that kept us contained in this prison were gone, and Jade ran out.

"Wait, what the hell did he just do?" I asked quickly, shocked. "I didn't see anything!"

"It seems that the Colonel has fired a fonic arte at that fontech on the wall over there," Tear replied casually, walking out with a calmness that I envied.

"Geez..." I sighed, before walking out with Luke just in time to see Jade speaking into that wall-phone thing.

"By my name as Necromancer, heed my command. Initiate emergency plan, 'Corpse Hunt'."

Only three seconds have passed before something happened. There was a mechanic sound all around us, and just like that, the lights above us all went off: plunging us into near darkness.

"Ai..." I reached for the person closest to me, which I remember is Luke, and gripped onto the sleeve of his shirt. "Man, I hate the dark...!"

"Don't be a wuss, it's not that dark," Luke muttered. I felt him slap my hand away and I pouted before trying to adjust my eyes to the dark. Luke was right... it's not really that bad at first. I could clearly see everyone's silhouettes, at the very least.

"What did you do, anyway?" Luke asked.

"It's an emergency shutdown system I set up in advance. It should take them some time to recover," Jade answered.

"Wow..." Luke breathed.

"Where should we head from here?" Tear asked.

"Go to the port hatch. During an emergency shutdown, that's the only one that would open," Jade answered. "The Oracle Knights holding Ion should try to enter there as well."

"Then let's go," I said, starting to walk away.

"But what about our weapons?" Luke asked, which made me stop. My eyes widened as I patted around my person. Oh... damn, I didn't even notice!

"They're probably still nearby," Tear ruminated. "Let's look for them."

"Check all the rooms in this corridor?" I asked. "Ah, that would take time. Split up, then?"

"Yes, we really do not have the time," Jade agreed. "That way the rooms will be covered faster. We have no time now, go."

"Right."

"Of course."

"I'll check the ones on this side then..." Luke sighed, walking off. Seeing this, I jogged down the opposite way from where he had gone and slipped into the first room. Squinting, I kept the door open wide open as I walked in and looked around. Just a bedroom... nothing here. Next room, then. A few minutes and several rooms later, I finally hit the jackpot: a huge treasure chest against a wall in what looked like a storage room filled with other stuff and boxes.

"Al-right~!" I smiled, walking into the room and over to the chest first. Grabbing hold of the lid, I pulled it open. I was quickly greeted by the sigh of our very familiar objects. Tear's bag, her staff, Luke's saber, his wooden sword, and my daggers. Smiling, I first pocketed the daggers into my pants pockets before slinging Tear's bag over one shoulder. I grabbed both of the swords before standing up and looking around. Is there anything else in here I could take with me? I don't think Jade will worry about the more trivial things like grabbing some extra stuff on our way out.

After taking a quick look around the storage room, I had found a decent-sized satchel lying at the corner of one of the boxes. It's a bit dusty, so I slapped it against the wall a few times. Satisfied, I quickly continued my search. I had found a small bag of coins, a long sword in a sheath and a few bottles stored away in which I assumed are gels. Though what kind they are or how many of the same thing: I couldn't tell. I just stuffed everything, including Luke's wooden sword, into my new satchel along with the bag of coins I found. I think it would be good if I get to carry around my own stuff. I don't want to mooch off of Tear too much or anything like that. And even if we don't need the extra stuff we found... at least we could sell them off at the nearest town for some extra money.

When I believed there's nothing else in the room, I walked out into the hallways and towards where the others are.

"Found them," I informed, handing Tear her bag and weapon and Luke his saber. "We need to get going. Which way now?"

"Follow me," Jade instructed before walking down the hallway. After following him, he soon led us into... what?

"Another storeroom, Jade?" I asked, surprised.

"Oh no, not at all," Jade said in a chirpy voice. Okay... huh? "We'll find something fun in the very back, behind all these boxes."

"Uh... kay...?"

Tear walked forward, pressing both of her hands against its side left side. "So, we just need to move these boxes, then?" she asked.

"That's right," Jade confirmed, and Tear started to try and push the box towards the far side of the room.

"By the way, Luke," Jade started to say as he watched Tear struggled to push the box. "I can't say I think much of you forcing a woman to do the heavy lifting."

"I'm fine Colonel," Tear insisted, but he voice was slightly strained as she tried to work harder.

Hearing this, Jade sighed. Shrugging, he raised his arms up. In a teasing, somewhat challenging voice, he asked, "Or do rich aristocratic boys lack any muscles?" He sighed once more. "And here I thought even your brain was made of muscle."

I hide a grin behind a hand at that, especially at what Luke said next.

"What did you say?"

I couldn't help but snort quietly when Luke comically stomped over to where Tear was and shooed her away. "Out of the way. I'll do it."

"Th-Thanks..." Tear said, sounding a bit flustered as she made her way back over to us.

"Hey, wait a minute," Luke suddenly said after easily pushing the box out of the way in just a few seconds. "Jade, you're a guy, too. You help out!" he demanded.

Jade's response?

"No, I'd rather not. You're younger than I am, after all. At my age, all my joints ache..."

THAT response would have sounded reasonable and serious if it wasn't for Jade's sarcastic yet teasing voice. Jeez, Jade...

Even from my place, I heard Luke grumble quite loudly to himself. Something about 'lazy ass', 'slave driver' and 'four-eyed devil'. Uh... okay.

I smirked to myself as Mieu cheered, "You can do it, Master!"

"I thought I told you to shut up!"

And so, the next following minutes is us waiting for Luke to push all the boxes out of the way enough so that we could walk over to the very end of the room to find the 'special something' that Jade had mentioned. Once we reached the far side of the wall, we found it: a large crate marked with a white skull an two bones crossing each other right below it. Yep, this thing is completely totally safe for us to use, really!

...That was sarcasm, if you couldn't tell.

"...This is your 'something fun'?" Luke asked Jade after a moment of silence with us staring at the box for a good few seconds.

Tear tilted her head slightly as she examined the box a little more thoroughly. "Colonel, is that gunpowder?"

Hearing that, Luke made this almost comical startled sound before scrambling back and behind me, much to my disgruntlement.

"Gunpowder?" Luke repeated incredulously from his place now next to me. He had a hand on my shoulder, probably so that he could pull me in front of him in case it suddenly blows up or something without warning. Sighing, I returned the favor from earlier and lightly slapped his hand away as he demanded, "Why is THAT here?"

"A group of soldiers aboard the ship had been pilfering supplies to sell on their own," Jade explained. "I discovered that they'd been hiding gunpowder here. Though this commotion has made my investigation pointless."

I can see Tear nod in understanding. "I see. So we're going to ignite this and destroy the wall."

They're... seriously going to really blow this up? I'm starting to feel uneasy. I better get ready to run and hide behind something then...

"Are you serious?" Luke asked, sounding as if he believed that the both of them are off their rockers. "You sure that's going to be okay?"

"We'll be fine as long as we're not caught in the explosion," Jade said casually, as if something like this so not at all a big deal and is something normal. "Now, let's hurry."

"Do we light it with a fonic arte?" Tear asked.

"No, we light it with Mieu. You're on, Mieu," Jade said that in a sing-song voice. Is that man crazy?

"Yes, sir!"

I heard Mieu taking in a huge breath and my eyes widened as panic overwhelmed me. WE'RE NOT GOING TO TAKE COVER?

"HEY, WAITWAITWAITWAIT! I'M NOT-"

"WHOA, WAIT A-"

I let out a loud scream along with Luke when there was a burst of fire from Mieu's direction. I felt something cover me so I held onto it tightly for protection when there was a loud, ear-deafening explosion and an eye-blinding burst of bright light that was soon followed by smoke and the smell of burnt ashes. I coughed.

"OHMYGOOOOOOD, MIEU! Jesus Christ, are... are you trying to fucking KILL us?" I demanded angrily, my heart hammering. My tears watered with tears when smoke got into them, so I closed them.

"What she said!" Luke agreed, sounding quite pissed. His voice sounded very close to me. "JEEZ! You could've waited for half a second!"

"Mieuuu..." Great, now I feel a bit bad thanks to that sorrowful voice. "I'm sorry..."

"No, that was perfect Mieu," I heard Jade assure the cheagle, his voice cheerful and overall completely unfazed. "Now, let us be going. Unless the young couple over there prefer to bask in each other's heart-warming presence a little longer?"

Huh? What. I opened my eyes, confused. All the smoke from earlier had dissipated faster thanks to the now large, wide gaping hole in the wall, so now I could see everything more clearly, especially with the aid of the new light from the sun outside. As soon as I opened my eyes however, the sight that greeted me fade my entire face grow hot fast.

When Mieu blew up the gunpowder box, I had felt something cover me, and in turn, I had instinctively grabbed on to it as a shield of sorts. Yeah, that thing? It was just something. It was someone.

Yep. As soon as that explosion occurred, me and Luke have kind of... well... we kind of grabbed on to each other during the midst of things without even our own knowing. So right now, the both of us are kind... hugging each other as if our lives (well, considering earlier, that might as well be the case in our minds) depended on it.

As soon as Jade made that teasing comment however, we both practically pushed the other away: flustered and embarrassed.

"It's not... we didn't mean...!" I tried to say. Oh, my face is probably that funny right now because Jade let out a light laugh.

"Of course it isn't. It's all right, I understand that youngsters enjoy exchanging affection with one another, so don't mind us."

"SHUT UP!" Luke fumed, storming over to the hole and climbing out after taking a look outside. "Damn geezer, you're pissing me off! Let's just go already! Hmph, me and a dirty peasant girl? Don't make me laugh!"

Ouch. Even though I don't see him that way at ALL, that kind stung. Wow. Best 'rejection' of the century. Stingy...

"Yeah, I totally agree with him," I snapped curtly to Jade as I walked pass him. The spot where the box of gunpowder had once stood is now nothing more than a ring of black soot. "You admit you were old earlier, didn't you. Then let me make myself clear for that deteriorated old brain of yours'. I'm. Not. Interested. In. A. Kid!"

"Why, I'm hurt, Samantha," Jade said lightly as I examined the area beyond the gaping hole in the wall. The hole led out to a pathway high above the now mobile Tartarus that was lined with golden cannons. We seem to be... I don't know: 30 feet or something from the ground.

"But if it wasn't for this brain of mine, then you all would be fighting Oracle Knights by now with no idea of how to shut down the Tartarus. So... I ask you now, where would you be without me, hm?"

...Go fuck yourself, Jade. Now how the hell am I supposed to retort to THAT?

"Ugh, you're just so-! UGH!" I grumbled, climbing out so that I could catch up with Luke: who I can see is waiting for us by a ladder. As soon as I reached his side, he shook his head.

"So, did you have any idea of how those two could just watch an explosion go right off in their faces?" he muttered sourly to me, crossing his arms.

"Because they're ro-" I stopped. Do they have robots here? ...I guess not. "...Because they see stuff like that all the time, I guess."

"...What kind of things do they do daily to not get freaked out over a damn explosion? Seriously, I'll never get them."

"Neither do I, Luke. Neither do I."


Now then...


"Luke, don't blame Samantha for what happened," Tear scolded the red-head, who kept his gaze stubbornly on the ground. "Thinking about what could have happened won't solve anything. I told you earlier, didn't I?"

"I know..." Luke sighed. "I know. But it's just... I feel horrible and sick in the stomach..."

"Guilt, sorrow, anger, empathy, hesitation..." Tear murmured. "...all fighters need to suppress those kind of emotions when fighting to kill. Protect your own life, fight to survive. If you think too much, then that will only make the strain heavier on you. Stay focused: your very life depends on it. Do you understand?"

Luke only bit his lip as a silent response.

"Feeling for those you fight and slain is an admirable trait... but only if it doesn't become a hindrance," Jade remarked, sighing slightly.

"Shut up..."

"Are you still afraid to fight even though you said you will, Luke?" Tear asked quietly.

"I said shut up, already! All of you!" Luke snapped, his head snapping up and his eyes ablazing. "You want to know if I'm afraid? If I'll get in the way? I'll show you when it comes to it! I'll prove it! I won't let you all do the fighting with me hiding in the back! I'm fighting too! I have to!"

"Well said," Tear approved, nodding once.

"If your performance lives up to your words, I'll have no complaints whatsoever," Jade promised, not smiling.

"Shh!" I whispered loudly, my eyes looking out of the port-hole window near to me. I knelt down so I could still see outside without having to expose myself too much.

"We won't have to wait long..." I whispered, still looking out. "Because... because they're all back. Ion's with them. A... blonde woman and four soldiers."

Walking up towards the Tartarus, I could see a certain blonde woman in black with two Oracle Knights flanking either of her sides. Walking behind them are two more Oracle Soldiers, guarding Ion whom is walking slowly in between them. I frowned: Ion looked... pale and tired. I also noted that both Oracle Knights beside him have to help him along by holding onto both his arms.

Back to the blonde woman... I recognized her as Legretta the Quick of the God-Generals. She's dressed in the standard Order of Lorelei clothing, and it looked really similar to Tear's outfit style except for the fact that it's black with the occasional white in color. She wears black gloves with white cuffs, and extremely long boots. Draped across her arms is a long, red cloth. Why she carries that around, I don't know. Legretta's blonde hair was pulled back into a ragged ponytail that almost looked like a bun with some side-bangs framing her face.

Though I couldn't clearly her face, what I could see other than Legretta's overall appearance is that... she's rather... well-edowed. She's... as big as Tear... I'm jealous.

...I'm about to fight for my life, and all I could concentrate on right now are Legretta's big boobs? Dear God, what is wrong with me?

We all pressed ourselves even further against the wall as we prepared to launch our ambush as soon as they opened the door near us.

"Have they realized the Tartarus did an emergency shutdown?" Luke whispered.

"I'd be rather surprised if they haven't," Jade responded. "More importantly, we can't use fonic artes. There's no time for casting."

"So Tear can't put them to sleep," I noted. "And since she has to sing, she can't do it even now, then... we would give ourselves away..." So much for running off with Ion without a fight now...

"That's right," Jade confirmed.

Luke scoffed at that. He probably wanted something like that to happen to avoid fighting. To showcase his frustration without actually having to reveal why he doesn't like the idea, he made a jab towards Jade.

"It's not like you can use any decent fonic artes, anyway, with that fon slot seal," he scoffed.

"How can you say things like that?" Tear demanded quietly from her place. "The Colonel's been working hard to undo the fon slot seal."

"Did he tell you that while we're out of it?" I asked quietly.

Jade shook his head. "I don't mind anyway. It's the truth. Regardless, get ready. It's time."

"Mieu."

That was the sound Mieu had made when Luke reached down and grabbed him firmly by the back of his head.

"I need you to fire when I tell you to, got it?" Luke asked the cheagle. "Don't answer. Just get ready, Thing."

Adjusting my newly-gained satchel around my shoulder so that it's resting on my back, I pulled out my daggers from my pockets: gripping them tightly and prepared to use them. I felt myself break in cold sweat and my heart started to beat faster in anticipation.

'If you think too much, then that will only make the strain heavier on you.'

That's what Tear said. Don't think... fine. I'll take it. She's right. Don't think... just act. Don't think at all, just act if you want to fight someone and stay alive. Don't think at all... only act...

I inhaled sharply when we heard something from outside. The mechanic stairs from the Tartarus had been lowered just now. Next... it was faint at first, but it quickly grew louder as an Oracle Knight ran up the stairs.

And this was it.

The automatic doors in the middle of all of us slowly started to slide open: allowing rays of light to filter into the dark hallway we were in-

-and we all acted.


End of the chapter. Reviews would be lovely.

BTW (if you haven't got it yet)... the "Back then..." means that it is a long flashback, and the "Now then..." is the present time. So basically, most of this chapter is a flashback, because I don't want to write the whole journey to the port hatch after the whole "DON'T BLOW UP THE GUNPOWER, MIEU!" scene, but still leave you all at a cliff hanger 'cuz I'm feeling mean today. XDD

So anyway... that's all for now, folks. Ciao, ciao~!

Next chapter: Enter the Amazing Guy! :D