The next morning, Tear came to let Sync out of his cell. Beyond a couple annoying pleasantries like "good morning" and "are you doing all right?" she said little to him. Sync preferred it that way. He preferred it better once he got her to drop the empty words. That made Van's sister monitoring him borderline tolerable.

After breakfast, the group broke to prepare for the flight to their next destination. This time, it was Guy who stuck close to him. It was a little impressive; Sync neither saw nor heard any indication of discussion of who was going to monitor him next. He wondered if they'd set up a turn system while he'd been unconscious yesterday.

Not that it was important. Guy made a good show of being easygoing, but Sync knew from Van about how revenge motivated him. He doubted he'd just forgotten about the curse slot seal incident, or more recently, the jabs Sync made about it - not that Guy made a useful puppet in the end. Better to toe the line with him around. The only thing Sync had to say to him was a request for reading material. After the humiliation the Necromancer had made him suffer, it seemed stupid to be stubborn about asking for anything. Once Guy provided, he settled into the passenger room to read, even though Anise, Luke, Ion and the cheagle were already there. He'd be damned if he let them know he was still bothered by yesterday, though he ignored them when they tried to talk to him, too.

By the time the airship took off, Sync had buried himself in his book while Guy and Luke had started sword maintenance. The cheagle squeaked encouragements from Luke's shoulder, and Ion and Anise loitered. Before long, he was able to tune them out almost completely, but that didn't stop them from continuing conversation at their own pace.

After the second hour of flight, Anise draped herself across a chair, completely unnecessarily. "I'm bored."

"I know you must be getting stir-crazy, but there's still a couple more hours before we get where we're going. You're just gonna have to be patient," Guy said, looking up from his sword-cleaning over at her.

She pushed herself up to glare at him. "That's what's boring!" She gestured at the room. "We've been flying around so much lately and there's nothing to do when we're in the air!"

"You could polish Tokunaga with Master!" Mieu suggested, bushy ears quivering with the desire to be helpful.

Anise side-eyed him. "I don't think that stinky polish would do much for a doll."

"Mieuuu..."

"I know what you mean, Anise," Luke sympathized. "Times like this, I kinda miss the Tartarus. You could play a mean game of hide-and-seek in a huge ship like that."

"Haha - we never did get a chance, though, huh?" Guy said, crooking a grin at his friend. "The Albiore's just as great, though! It might not be as big as the Tartarus, but I bet there's plenty of good spots."

"Huh. You think so?"

Mieu perked up. "Master! Let's play together! I know you'll be amazing!"

Anise was on her feet in an instant, sidling up to the redhead. "Luuuuke! He's right! We should test it out!"

"Heh. Sure, sounds fun!" he said, smiling at Mieu and Anise. "I gotta warn you two, though, I'm invincible when it comes to hide-and-seek!"

Mieu leaned forward, expression deadly serious. "I'll do my very best!"

"Oooh, sounds scaryy! Guy, you'll protect me, won't you?" Anise trilled, leaning over to beam at the blond.

"Haha. I'd love to, but..." He tilted his head slightly towards the corner in which Sync sat and read.

"Oh, right," Luke said. He turned to his fellow replicas. "Hey Ion, Sync, you guys wanna come play with us?"

"Sure," Ion said, getting to his feet.

Sync ticked a baleful and pointedly silent look up Luke's way.

"...Is that a no?" Luke hazarded while Anise crossed the room to join Ion.

Sync lowered his eyes back to his book and didn't respond.

"Don't worry about it, Luke," Guy reassured him. "You guys go and have fun. I'll stay here with Sync."

"Okay," Luke agreed, but disappointment suffused every syllable and inflection of the word.

"If he's staying, I'll stay after all, too," Ion said, settling back into his chair. "I'd rather be near Sync."

"Oh. So I guess it's just the three of us after all."

"Aw, c'mon," Anise insisted, turning to the others. "It's more fun with more people! And anyway, Sync, I bet you've never even played hide-and-seek before."

"No, I haven't," he replied without looking up, "and I doubt I'm missing anything."

Luke, Guy, and Ion, who already had a solid idea of what was coming next, shared a glance. Mieu just looked confused and slightly nervous. Anise marched up to Sync, fists on her hips, and stared down at him until he finally gave her a flat look.

"What."

"You're coming with us," she declared.

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are!"

"Do you really want me playing a game that involves hiding?"

"Sure! It's hide-and-seek. Someone's gonna come find you. And how far can you go when we're a thousand feet or whatever in the air?"

He sighed irritably. It occurred to him that he could commit some sabotage, but the cockpit and engine room were probably both still guarded, or else someone would have shot down the offer already. "Why do you even want me along? I'd just ruin your 'fun.'"

"You're already ruining it by not joining in," Anise said, shrugging. "So if you're gonna be a ruiner either way, you may as well come join us."

"As amazingly tempting as that sounds, I'll pass," Sync said, returning to his book.

"Don't worry!" Mieu called, waving a tiny paw. "If you're scared of losing, I'm sure Master will go easy on you!"

Sync's grip on the text tightened.

"What're you doing?!" Luke hissed.

"Huh? B-but you said you were invincible when it comes to hide-and-seek," he squeaked, ears turning back. "I thought that'd be scary to someone who's never played before. Poor Sync!"

Sync ground his teeth together.

"That's amazingly... both thoughtful and thoughtless of you," Guy said.

"Aw, shucks!" the cheagle beamed.

"If Sync doesn't want to play, that's all right," Ion said. "We shouldn't force him."

"Yeah..." Luke agreed, shooting a glance at Sync. "Okay, yeah, you're right. I'd feel bad if I -" he raised his voice, "- kicked his butt too easily."

Ion cast him a disappointed look. Sync slapped his book down on the chair next to him and stood, making Anise retreat a step.

"Is that so?" he said coldly. "You think you're better than me?"

Luke got to his feet too, sporting a cocky grin. "I know I'm better than you!"

Sync bared his teeth in what could technically be called a grin, too. "Oh, really. Then if I crush you in your stupid little game, you won't have anything to take pride in anymore. Did I get that right?"

"Easy, easy," Guy warned, holding his hands up in a placating gesture. "We're just having a nice, friendly game of hide-and-seek, okay?"

"Right," Sync sneered, placing a hand on his hip. "'Friendly.'"

"Heh, don't worry about me, Guy!" Luke said, no less enthusiastic. "Bring it on, Sync! I won't lose!"

"May the best hide-and-seeker win!" Anise cheered, pumping a fist. "Which is gonna be me, 'cause I'm the smallest and the cutest!"

"Get real! It's totally gonna be me!" Luke argued.

"Yeah! Master will win for sure!" Mieu, who was much smaller than Anise, chimed in.

"Sync, are you really sure about this?" Ion wondered as they bantered, expression pinched. "Do you even know the rules?"

"I don't need you worrying about me. I'll figure it out. I always do."

"...So, does that mean you don't want an explanation?" Guy hazarded.

"No, I don't."

"I do," Ion said. "I'm aware of the basics, but I've never played, either."

"Oh man, it's so much fun!" Luke enthused, switching gears. "Don't worry, Ion, I'll go easy on you!"

He smiled. "Thank you. I appreciate that."

Sync eyed Luke. "Are you going to 'go easy' on me too?"

"No way. You're going down!"

He smirked. "We'll just see about that."

Guy went over the basics with them: each game started with someone who was "it," who would close their eyes and count to thirty. Everyone else had until then to hide, and when the seeker was done counting, they announced that and started searching. Whoever wasn't found after ten minutes, or whoever was found last, won that round. One counted as "found" when the person who was "it" tapped them on the shoulder.

Half a minute to hide, ten minutes to stay hidden. Seems simple enough, Sync thought, placing a hand on his hip. "So we can hide wherever we want?"

"The cockpit's off-limits. So's the engine room," Guy said firmly.

"Tear and Natalia are in the cockpit with Noelle today, and the Colonel said he was headed to the engine room," Anise added, "so I don't think anyone wants to go there anyway."

"Duly noted," said Sync, who had already figured as much.

Guy agreed to be "it" first. They moved out into the hallway, and when he started counting, Anise grabbed Ion's hand and pulled him to the left, while Luke darted to the right, Mieu still clinging to his shoulder. Sync tailed Luke. Keeping tabs on idiot redheads was a familiar task, and if he was as good as everyone claimed, he might learn something from him.

He watched him slip into the kitchen, and peeked in after him. From the doorway, he could see the tail of the idiot's coat poking out from behind the dividing counter.

Sync smirked. Invincible at hide-and-seek? What a joke. Anyone could spot him from all the way out here.

He moved on for the stairwell that led to the lower level. No one was hiding in the space beneath the steps, so he slid underneath into the cluttered shadows, making a point to pull all of his outfit in with him. It wasn't a great hiding spot, as he could potentially be seen from above or the side through the slats in the stairs, but he felt confident it was better than the idiot replica's. He didn't have to win - just make the idiot eat his words. The sooner this inane game was over with, the sooner he'd be done with them, too.

He heard Guy's voice, distantly. A minute passed, then two. In minute three, he heard the Malkuthian tip-toeing down the steps, then slip through the bottom doorway. It struck Sync as odd, since Guy was supposed to be looking, not hiding, but he supposed it'd be better to look in silence.

Less than a minute later, another set of footsteps descended the steps, to Sync's puzzlement. He'd counted less than ten minutes, so the game couldn't be over yet, but he hadn't heard anyone come back up, either. They, too, passed through the doorway. A moment later, footsteps came creeping back, picking up speed once they were partway up the stairs and out of sight of the doorway. Sync poked his head out to get a better look, and spotted baggy black pants...

The idiot replica? he wondered, frowning. There hadn't been any mention in the rules about moving around during the game. What was he...

A sound from the doorway made him duck back underneath out of instinct. The next instant, Guy appeared at the doorway. From the shadows, Sync watched him look around the stairwell, then approach the spot where he was hidden. Frustration bubbled up inside him, knowing he'd be found before the idiot replica, but there wasn't anywhere for him to run. When Guy ducked his head underneath, Sync met his stare with a scowl.

"Hey there, Sync," Guy said, leaning in to pat him on the shoulder. "I didn't see you at all coming down. That was a pretty good hiding spot!"

"Not good enough," Sync replied, slipping out from underneath. "The idiot was sneaking around behind your back. Is that allowed by the rules?"

"'The idiot'... you mean Luke?" Guy wondered, smiling sheepishly. "Yup, the rules don't say you have to stick to one hiding spot."

Sync narrowed his eyes. "So then his jacket..."

"Oh, you saw that?" Guy rubbed his neck. "I had a feeling it was a trick, but I checked it out anyway. He left it out where I could see it, but he wasn't actually wearing it. I'm guessing he snuck around and out the door while I was distracted."

"That -"

That's actually pretty clever.

Sync's expression darkened. He folded his arms. "You missed him just now. He ran upstairs a few seconds before you came out again."

"Oh yeah? I better get back to looking for him before time runs out." Guy crooked a smile at him. "Thanks for the tip. C'mon, let's get going. You can help me look if you want."

"Is that part of the rules?"

"Depends on which version of hide-and-seek you play, but... Anyway, let's get moving."

Sync obeyed. Irritatingly, it turned out he'd been the first one found. Guy tagged Anise next a couple minutes later - or more accurately, made Sync tag her - and Ion almost immediately after. Around nine minutes, it seemed like he'd catch Luke, but it turned out it was just Mieu holding up a red wig in midair. When ten minutes passed, Luke himself was nowhere to be found.

"Yay! I was helpful to Master!" Mieu cheered, wiggling in midair as Guy called nonsense words to get Luke to come out of hiding.

"Yes, that was very clever of you two," Ion told him warmly. "That game was pretty fun! What did you think, Sync?"

"I think it must be easy to do well in a game when you're protected by someone the 'it' is too terrified to tag himself," Sync replied.

Anise made a face. "Stop being such a sore loser, Sync."

Before anyone else could say anything, Luke appeared, jogging forward to join the group and looking inordinately pleased with himself.

"Hell yeah, I won!" he cheered, seeing everyone else already gathered. "Heh heh. I told you guys I was invincible!"

Sync scowled but glanced away and said nothing. Anise looked at him sidelong, then shrugged at the redhead.

"Well, duh, of course you won. How many people are you playing that've never played before?" she said. "Not to mention it was Guy looking for you."

Luke frowned. "Hey, Anise, you mind not raining all over my parade?"

She grinned and clapped her hands together. "I'm just saying, if I was looking instead of your usual babysitter, you wouldn't get off so easy~!"

"Babysitter..." Guy echoed.

"Hah! I'm gonna make you eat those words!" the redhead declared, thrusting a finger her way. "Let's go again! Round two!"

"This is stupid," Sync complained. Still, he let the others drag him into the next game.

This time, he took it seriously: he deliberately lagged behind the others and let them dash off, then hid just around the corner from Anise so he could keep track of the "it." When she made it to thirty, he made note of the first room she searched, then jumped up to the pipe-laden ceiling and slid into the tiny gap therein. He'd noticed it earlier, but had dismissed it as a hiding spot because it was so small. As a temporary spot, though, it'd work just fine. When she passed underneath, he waited 'til she was out of sight, then hopped down and went back the way Anise had come. There was no one in sight. He smirked as he slipped into the passenger room and shut the door behind him.

She'll probably come back again to double-check, he thought, looking around the room. But this ought to buy me some time.

There were several spots where he couldn't see the floor from the entrance. Sync padded towards one of them and crouched down between the seats. He estimated it'd already been two minutes; from here, he'd just have to wait another eight.

After another couple of minutes had passed, it occurred to him that if Anise returned to re-search the room, it'd be smart to have a route plotted out to sneak around her. For a moment, Sync debated if that was overdoing it; then he decided a moment's effort was worth wiping off that smug look on the idiot replica's face. He slunk around the perimeter, keeping his head ducked down.

As he passed through a row of seats, a sound came from the hallway. Sync froze. Nothing further happened, either then or after a moment. Still, Sync was closer to the front than he liked, and he was in the middle of the aisle. Deciding to take a chance, he flipped over the seat next to him into the next row.

He didn't see Luke gaping up in horror at him until it was too late.

Both of them yelped when he crashed into him, and trying to right himself just made Sync end up sprawling all over the other replica. Luke struggled to free an arm, then promptly used it to try to shove him away by the face.

"Hey! Get your own hiding spot!" he hissed. "What the hell are you even doing here?!"

Sync shoved him back, also by the face. "Avoiding Anise! That's the whole point!" he hissed back.

"Well, avoid her somewhere else! There's no room here for two people!"

"Tch. This is stupid," Sync growled, trying to get to his feet. Luke was right, though; there really wasn't room for two people. Using a nearby seat as a prop, he only just managed to get to his knees. "If you're supposedly invincible at hide-and-seek, why don't you just get another spot?"

"Why should I?!" he protested hotly, scooting back. "I was here first!"

"Don't be such a child," Sync snapped.

"Who's a child?! I already told you, I wasn't going to go easy on you!" Luke thrust a finger at him. "I. Was here. First! You wanna take me on? Go get your own new hiding spot!"

Sync grit his teeth, but he couldn't contest that logic. "Fine."

"Fine!"

The God-General rose to his feet and felt a hand clasp his shoulder. He turned to see Anise next to him, leaning over a seat in the row in front, an amused smirk on her lips.

"Hi, Luke!" she trilled.

"Oh shit!" The redhead scrambled around and dashed out into an aisle, where he literally ran into Guy. The blond must have already been tagged, because he caught Luke and clapped him on the shoulder with a laugh, much to the redhead's cursing.

The cheagle swooped in, tiny paws tilted towards his mouth. "Sorry, Master! I tried to tell them you definitely weren't in here, but Anise wouldn't listen!"

Luke sighed irritably, then forced himself to smile at it. "It's okay, it's not your fault." He brightened. "But hey, this means I'm last, so I still win!"

"Tch," Sync uttered, folding his arms.

"Actually... not quite," Guy said, grinning.

"Huh?" Luke stared at his friend, then looked around the room. Sync had been tagged a moment before him, and Guy and Mieu were with Anise, so they had to have been tagged already too. That just left...

At that moment, Ion appeared at the doorway, looking slightly out of breath. "I heard a loud thump! Is everyone all right?" he called.

"Yup! Everyone's fine!" Anise cheered, waving a hand over her head. She hopped off the seat and started walking towards the aisle. "Actually, all these guys have already been tagged, so you're the last one left!"

"Oh. Oh!" Ion lit up. "Does this mean I won?"

Luke made a face somewhere between like he'd just watched his puppy get kicked and like he was about to kick that puppy himself. Sync looked like he'd been force-fed poison.

"Wow! You're really strong, Ion!" Mieu cheered. "You even beat Master at hide-and-seek, and he's invincible!"

"Thank you," Ion said, beaming, as he approached the group.

"I-I was just going easy on him!" Luke protested, turning scarlet. "It'd be boring for everyone else if I won all the time!"

Sync, who'd joined the others in the aisle, sneered at him. "Nice excuse."

The redhead wheeled on him. "Hey, shut up! You got caught before me!"

"I'm not the one who's supposedly invincible."

"Whatever! You still didn't beat me!"

Sync made another irritated sound, but he had no argument for that. Guy nudged Luke with an elbow, and Luke stared at him for a second before clueing in.

"...But, you know, that one didn't really count," he added quickly. "Anise cheated and all."

"Hey! I did not!"

"So let's do this head-to-head!" Luke continued, ignoring her. "I'll be seeker this time! You won't get away from me!"

"A straight-up bout?" Sync dropped his hand from his hip. "Fine by me. Try and hunt me down if you can!"

"You're on!" Luke enthused.

Everyone else joined in too. The next round went quickly. Sync technically won that one, being the last one found, but with six minutes left by the end, he wasn't satisfied. It was his turn to seek if he wanted to, and he found he did want to. It was clear there was in fact a gap between him and the redhead, but even so, he seized the opportunity.

After all, I'm not an idiot, he told himself as he stalked through the interior of the plane, keeping his eyes sharp for any hint of movement, ears sharp for any hint of sound. I lost twice in a row already, and he found me in four minutes last time. Invincible or not, I know I can't beat him.

He stopped under the pipes he'd hidden in earlier, jumped up to peek in, and found that cheagle flailing in heart-stopping shock and gaping back at him. Seeing no reason to ignore a tag, Sync grabbed him, pulled him out, and hopped back onto the floor.

"Aaaah! I'm not going to tell you where Master is!" the cheagle squeaked, still flailing. "I'm going to be useful to Master!"

Sync's frown deepened. Useful, huh. "Now that I really listen to you, you sure sound like him," he remarked. "You're all Master this, Master that."

"Mieu? Sound like who?" the cheagle wondered, blinking widely up at him.

"You're an idiot like him, too," Sync concluded, tossing it over one shoulder. "If you're not going to help me, then I have no use for you."

It squealed cheagle noises, but managed to right itself in midair. Sync hurried along past it towards the stairwell that led to the lower level. No one was hiding under the stairs or in the room past them. At least, it seemed that way at first, but while he was on his way out, he heard a shuffling that was too large to belong to a rat. When he investigated, he found...

"Oh, it's you," he said.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Anise demanded, shaking a fist from her hiding spot behind a cold boiler. "It's an amazing privilege to get to tag me! You should be glad!"

"Whatever. I don't have time for you," he replied, turning to leave.

"Wh - hey! You aren't gonna..."

Her voice cut off when he shut the door behind him. This area was small, but Luke was given to moving around, so he couldn't anticipate that he wouldn't run here. If he had some dirt or dust, he could strew it on the stairs behind him and keep an eye out for if any descending footprints appeared... No point in cursing what he didn't have, though. He reached the top and paused to think.

If I were trying to hide from myself, where would I go?

The answer to that was obvious: the cockpit or the engine room, being places that were supposed to be off-limits. Unfortunately, it wasn't a useful answer, since the idiot replica wasn't likely to break any actual rules. The passenger room seemed unlikely, but he'd already checked out the downstairs and there weren't many other spots besides that.

Maybe the kitchen? he thought, and moved forward. He stopped and turned when he heard a sound behind him.

Anise was at the foot of the stairs, looking unamused. "Did you seriously just walk away without tagging me?"

"I already found you. Going in after you for the official tag would've been too much of a hassle," he replied. "I'm not in this to catch you."

"Well, I'm right here, so come and catch me!"

He turned away. "I'll pass."

When he started jogging away, Anise chased after him. He glanced over his shoulder, annoyed.

"That's no fair! You can't play with just Luke and leave me hanging!" she protested, dashing to keep pace with him.

"I'm not -"

But he cut himself off, eyes widening. There were no real stakes in what he was doing. No real consequences would befall either of them, regardless of who won or lost.

So then... this is what 'playing' is like...?

Anise was pursing her lips at him. To cover up his pause, he breathed out a sigh and slapped her on the shoulder. "There, you're tagged. Now get lost."

"Ow!" she squealed, nearly grinding to a halt. She recovered a second later and chased him into the kitchen. "You're supposed to be gentle with delicate maidens like me!"

He snorted, one side of his mouth quirking up as he looked around the room. "Delicate? You? With all the rampaging you do on that puppet of yours?"

She stomped a foot. "It's lady-like rampaging, dammit!"

It was too absurd not to laugh, and so Sync found himself laughing. Weirdly, she started laughing too, even though he was laughing at her.

She really doesn't make any sense.

"Okay, so I'll help you find the others," she said when she'd calmed down. "You probably haven't found Luke yet, so... Have you found anyone else yet?"

Sync regarded her with furrowed brows. She looked back at him expectantly. He rested a hand on his hip. "...Just that cheagle so far."

"So that leaves Guy, Ion, and Luke," she said, pressing a finger to her chin. "Sheesh, I guess it's a good thing I let Ion hide on his own. He really wanted to try it himself this time."

"If you called for him, he'd probably come right out without suspecting a thing," Sync pointed out, watching her.

She shot him a dirty look. "Oh, come on! That's cheating! You're such a sneak, Sync."

He smirked but let it drop. "This place isn't that big, so there can't be many more places to hide. I'll go in and flush them out, and you tag them if they try to run."

She nodded. "Okay, sounds good."

It almost felt weird to cooperate with an enemy, but then, he was used to working with people he disliked. The kitchen was empty too, so they moved on to the passenger room. Sync made a point of making noise as he walked through the aisle. He was a little surprised to find Guy hiding behind the end, making no attempt to run. When Sync tagged him, he quirked a good-natured smile at him and accepted defeat gracefully. It truly underscored how low the stakes were.

Guy followed them after that, though he didn't help with the searching. He had to follow, as Sync told Anise to circle around the interior from the other end, and Sync couldn't be left alone. The three of them reconvened near the stairs, having at least poked their heads into most of the rooms, but Luke was nowhere to be found.

"He probably already snuck to a new hiding place," Guy remarked, leaning on the railing. "I think it's been about eight minutes now, by the way."

"If I haven't found him by now, he definitely snuck somewhere else," Sync said.

"Hmm. Where haven't we looked so far?" Anise wondered. "You don't think he cheated and went to the cockpit or something, do you?"

"Nah, Luke wouldn't do that," Guy said. "He's pretty serious about his hide-and-seek."

Sync glanced over the railing. He thought he'd heard something like a whisper. "What a kid."

"Hey, you're a kid too," Guy pointed out.

"I might be five years younger than him, but he's still more of a kid than me," Sync replied, resting one hand on the rail.

"Mmm... That's pretty hard to deny," he admitted, hand on his chin. "But I'd bet that's because you've never been allowed to have a childhood."

Sync gauged the distance and the strength he'd need. "Sort of like you, after your fifth birthday."

Guy lowered his hand. "...Yeah, I guess so."

Anise looked back and forth between the two, biting her lip. Then she scoffed loudly. "Gee, Sync, you have a real talent for killing the mood."

"That's not the only thing I'm good at killing," Sync replied, tensing. "Just take a look at-this!"

He swung himself over the railing and slammed down hard on the stairs. A loud swear word, followed by an even louder CLANG and more swear words, rang through the halls. Guy and Anise hurried over to the stairs, but Sync sauntered down to the lower level, turned the corner, and reached down to tag the boy clutching his head.

"Gotcha," he said, brimming with smug self-satisfaction.

"Owww...! Did you have to slam down on the stairs like that?!" Luke demanded, rubbing his scalp. Next to him, the cheagle hovered fretfully, trying to rub his head too.

"Did I have to...?" Sync flashed him a razor grin. "No, not really."

"Luke! Are you all right?!" Guy called, leaning over. "You sound like you hit your head pretty hard!"

"Oof... Yeah, I'm okay!" Luke called, crawling out from the spot under the stairs. "Geez, that really surprised me... Mieu, you okay? You didn't hit your head too, did you?"

"N-no, sir! I'm all right!" the cheagle squeaked, eyes shining.

"Your name's Mieu?" Sync remarked, glancing at him askance. "What a dumb name."

"B-but it's my name," Mieu squeaked, ears turning back.

"That's just the noise cheagles make. You might as well name a dog Woof, or a cat Meow." Sync shot Anise a look. "Or Anise 'Annoying Buzz.'"

"Hey! What're you trying to say, Sync?!"

"I thought it was pretty obvious what I was saying."

"Then your new name can be 'Smartass Remark'!"

He grinned sickle-sharp. "Sounds pretty good to me. Maybe there's something to this after all."

"Geez, could you two knock it off?" Luke complained. "It's embarrassing to watch you."

"Wh-what's embarrassing?" Anise protested hotly.

"He's just mad because we can't name him after the noises he makes," Sync remarked. "There's already a 'Master Van' out there; it'd get confusing."

Luke sputtered. Anise cracked up. Guy failed to hide a grin. Mieu didn't even try.

"He's got you there, Luke," Guy said.

"Dammit, it's true, isn't it?" Luke groaned. "I don't even have a comeback."

Mieu swooped up and patted his head. "It's okay, Master. This means we're even closer now!"

"See?" Anise chirped, twirling her fingers in her cheeks, as Luke made a face. "We're just having a good time here!"

"You say the dumbest things, Buzz," Sync said.

"Shove it, Smartass!"

He laughed. It surprised him how natural it was starting to feel.

"You two really are having a good time, huh?" Guy said, smiling lopsided.

"I'm so happy for you, Sync!" the cheagle squeaked.

"See? I knew you were fun, deep down past all the nastiness," Anise added, grinning.

Sync couldn't have come up with a more disarming combo if he'd tried. He covered his face with one hand and decided his only real option was to keep his mouth shut. Even worse, the idiot replica looked happy about it too now.

Fortunately, instead of making it worse, he looked around. "So anyway, am I the last one?"

"There's still Ion left," Guy said.

"Oh no, that's right! I almost forgot about Ion!" Anise gasped. "Ooh, he didn't get himself stuck somewhere, did he? He's hiding all on his own this time!"

"I haven't seen him since the round started," Luke offered. "Wherever he's hiding, he sure picked a good spot."

"I'm gonna go look for him!" she declared, turning around and dashing away.

"Well, duh? That's the point of the game?" Luke called after her, but she didn't respond.

Sync folded his arms and glowered at the floor as the Fon Master Guardian's footsteps retreated. When he looked back up, his expression was neutral. "...Hey, Guy."

The blond blinked down at him. "Hm? What's up?"

"Did Tear lock my cell after she escorted me out this morning?"

"No. There's no point in locking an empty cell, you know?"

"Really?" Luke said. "I kinda assumed it was. I didn't even try looking in there."

Sync's frown deepened. Then he strode up the stairs. The others followed him to his cell. When the God-General opened the unlocked door, the seventh Ion replica looked up at him from where he sat on the cot.

"I thought I'd find you here," Sync said, still frowning.

A smile blossomed on Ion's face, and he stood up. "Sync!"

Anise chose that moment to poke her head in between Luke and Guy, sending Guy bolting halfway down the hall with a terrified yelp. "Ion! There you are! I can't believe I passed right by you twice!"

"Oh... I'm sorry, did I worry you all?"

"No," Sync said coolly. "You just won again. That's all."

Ion held his gaze, uncertainty flickering in his eyes.

"Wow! Ion, you're so good at this game!" Mieu chirped, oblivious. "That's twice you beat Master now!"

"Urgh," Luke grunted. Then he shook his head and smiled. "...Yeah. Great job, Ion! I never would've found you in here."

Ion's uncertainty melted back into a soft smile. "Thank you."

Sync turned around, deadpan. "I'm out of here," he declared before leaving the room.

Anise followed him out, but Ion could still hear her as the two of them grew more distant. "Oh no you don't, Smartass! Where do you think you're going all by yourself?"

"Why don't you make like your name and buzz off?"

Their argument continued, but he couldn't hear the rest. Ion, confused, looked at looked at Guy as he returned; Luke and Mieu had already left too. "What did he mean, like her name?"

"Oh, Sync and Anise gave each other joke nicknames earlier," Guy explained. "You weren't there. We were all laughing about it." He paused. "You okay, Ion?"

The youngest replica's expression had fixed in place. It loosened a second later, leaving behind his usual softness. "Y-yes... Yes, I'm fine."

Guy's eyes lingered on Ion's face, but he let it drop and accompanied him out of the cell. Later, after one more round of hide-and-seek and enough rounds of various card games to last until the Albiore reached the Nirni River, he brought Sync in to take Ion's place.