Tony: Hello… I'm back already! I actually posted this chapter on time. Celebrate with me! –does a little dance- Okay, sorry. I've had too much sugar already this morning and my sister is out of the house, my dad went fishing (seriously? On a Monday morning? Who goes fishing on a Monday morning?), and my mom is at work, so I've got the house to myself, with the exception of the cat… But, you all didn't come here to listen to me ramble.
Huge thanks to DAve and Bob for reviewing again!
Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of the Abyss.
Tony: Enjoy the chapter!
Bloody Nightshade
Chapter Nine
Forbidden Knowledge
Luke didn't want to open his eyes. He had a feeling he knew where he was, and that he knew exactly how he had gotten there and why. The memory of Van's betrayal, still fresh in his mind, left him in no doubt of who's fault the catastrophe had been.
Finally giving in, Luke opened his eyes and sat up. He wasn't the only one down here, though only a few were conscious at the moment. 'Asch, Tear, Natalia, Guy, Ion, Anise, Mieu… But where's Jade? And… where is Sirris?' his thoughts raged. Looking around, he realized that two of his companions were awake. Tear was looking around, and while he wasn't very good at reading other people's emotions, it was obvious that she was upset.
The other conscious person was Guy, who was leaned over Ion at that moment. Luke walked over to Tear quietly.
"You idiot… what were you thinking?" she asked as he approached. When he didn't reply right away, Tear rounded on him and put her hands on her hips. "I was talking to you!" Luke flinched.
"I didn't know what he was making me do. And if you think I'm happy about what happened, you're dead wrong. I—" Luke told her. He was cut off by a whimper, however. Looking out at the muddy sea, he gasped. He only took two steps toward the stranded child before Tear grabbed him, however.
"Wait! That's a bottomless sea of mud and miasma! You'll die if you jump in there," she told him.
"We've got to do something!" Luke insisted. Guy ran over then with Natalia.
"Why don't we try healing artes? They might reach from here," Guy suggested. Tear nodded and started gathering seventh fonons. Meanwhile, Ion and Anise joined the group. Asch woke not long after, just in time to watch as they threw a plank of wood to the boy, who carefully rowed his little makeshift raft over to them. He was only about halfway, however, when it started to sink.
"No!" Natalia cried. Luke held out an arm to stop her, but then launched himself off toward the crate. He landed carefully, but it started to sink even faster. "Luke!" the princess cried. Luke quickly checked the boy's father for a pulse, and, having found none, pushed the man into the mud and grabbed the little boy before he could follow after him.
The redhead carefully tossed the boy to Natalia and Tear, then warned them to back up. After getting his footing, he jumped, just barely landing on the somewhat-solid ground. His impact had been a bit much for the unstable earth, however, and it started to crumble.
"Luke!"
The redhead's would-have-been messy fall into the mud and miasma was cut short, however, as a strong hand grabbed his arm and pulled him to safety. The entire group looked on in shocked silence as they realized, one by one, that Asch had been the one to save his replica. Luke, too, seemed shocked.
"Wh- why would you save me? After what I did…" he asked quietly. Asch scowled and stood up.
"If anything, you deserve to live with the weight of the lives you destroyed on your shoulders. Dying here would be too easy," he grumbled, walking away. Then, a rather unexpected voice joined the conversation.
"You're just surprised at how mature he's being and that he'd risk his own life for a kid he didn't know," Sirris muttered, obviously not very awake, as she was being carried in Jade's arms. The colonel's uniform was extremely dirty, and no one quite wanted to know what he had gone through to get to her. Luke, however, smiled in relief and ran over to the small girl.
"And Jade… If you don't put me down in the next two seconds I will slit your throat," Sirris added a moment later. Jade quickly put her down, taking her word for what it was, but not straying far from her side. Sirris hissed and shifted her leg.
"Here, I'll use a healing arte," Tear said. But Sirris held up a hand.
"Don't bother. It won't work," she told the melodist. Then she flinched. "Ah… But a Lemon Gel would be nice if someone has one." Luke, who had been rummaging around his bag for a while now, sighed.
"I used my last Lemon Gel back in the Deo Pass. Sorry," he said. Jade, however handed two over.
"Here," he said simply. Sirris regarded him carefully, then gave in and took them, popping one into her mouth without even a word of thanks, not that Jade had been expecting one. It seemed to do the job, as she managed to stand a few minutes later.
"Hey, isn't that the Tartarus?" Luke asked, looking past where they were standing. Jade looked over and nodded.
"Yes. The emergency buoy seems to be operational… if only we had a way to get onboard," he muttered. And then the port-side hatch opened and the ramp was let down, surprising all of them.
"Hiya!" Amai greeted them from inside. For a moment, everyone stood there, as if frozen by the huge smile across her face. "Well, are ya'll coming onboard or not? It's rather difficult to operate this thing by myself."
"I imagine," Sirris replied, recovering from her shock. "That girl…" she added under her breath.
"You know… I'm honestly not certain what to think about her," Jade commented. Then the land they were standing on shook. "Although I think we'd best get onboard," he added, a suggestion that everyone agreed with. Once onboard, however, everyone found themselves standing on the deck, looking out over the destruction of Akzeriuth.
"Well… At least I'll have a good excuse as to why I'm late this time…" Sirris muttered. Luke closed his eyes for a moment, though whether he was mourning the dead or thinking of Sirris's uncle, Jade knew not.
"Sirris, are you okay?" Amai asked suddenly, breaking the silence. Sirris had popped the second Lemon Gel in her mouth a few moments ago, but that didn't stop her from swaying where she stood. Luke ran over to catch her.
"I'm fine. I just need to rest," Sirris mumbled. Luke nodded and started carrying her off to a cabin, oblivious to the eyes on his back and the young boy that was following him.
"How did this even happen?" Anise cried, looking around again. Tear sighed.
"I'm not sure. The Sephiroth under Akzeriuth should have held it up, but…" she said. Asch frowned.
"The passage ring, the device that controls and stimulates the Sephiroth, was gone. I think I know what happened," he said. Ion turned to Asch.
"The passage ring was there at first. It disintegrated, somehow, but Dawn Age fon machinery like that is difficult to damage," he added. Asch nodded, knowing exactly what had happened.
"Van manipulated Luke into using a hyperresonance on the passage ring, probably after telling him that it would get rid of the miasma," Asch said.
"I wish I could say that you're lying but… that's exactly what happened," a quieter voice added. In moments, everyone had directed some sort of disapproving look toward the replica… Except Asch.
"You're not going to try to tell us that it wasn't your fault?" he asked, not even bothering to mask the surprise in his voice.
"While I'm not completely to blame for what happened, the fact still remains that it was my hyperresonance that destroyed the passage ring. I have to take at least some responsibility for the destruction of Akzeriuth," Luke replied. The looks on the faces of Tear, Guy, Natalia, and Anise had changed from disapproving to something reminiscent of shock.
"How much did Sirris manage to pound into your head in a month and a half?" Jade asked, the slightest note of incredulity in his voice despite the perfectly calm mask on his countenance. Luke scratched his head.
"Um… A lot…?" he replied. Asch raised an eyebrow.
"Judging from the fact that that sounded more like a question that a statement, I'd say you're not entirely sure," he said. Luke sighed.
"Whatever… I'm going to go do something semi-productive to distract myself," the replica replied before walking off. Guy stared after him.
"You know… I'm not entirely sure that's actually Luke," he said. Asch rolled his eyes.
"It's the replica alright. Anyway, what are we going to do now?" the redhead replied. Tear looked up from where she had been staring at the ground.
"There should be a city east of here, called Yulia City. We should head there," she said. Anise tilted her head.
"Huh? How do you know?" she asked.
"This is the Qliphoth, isn't it? Only Maestros and above in the order of Lorelei, as well as those who live in the Qliphoth, know of it," Ion added.
"So you were born here, Tear?" Guy asked. Tear nodded.
"Yes," she answered simply. Then she turned to Jade.
"I'll need some help on the bridge if we want to go anywhere," he informed them before heading in that direction. Asch was the first to follow, with Guy not far behind. Anise and Tear came after them, leaving Natalia and Ion alone. Well, relatively.
"Hello… Goodbye," Luke called to them as he ran past. Natalia stared after him.
"Um… what is he doing?" she wondered.
"Not entirely sure, but at least he's not just standing around moping," Sirris grumbled, coming onboard. Her face was still extremely pale, and the boy Luke had rescued was helping her along. "Tell me we're headed somewhere where we can get away from the miasma," she added. Natalia nodded.
"Yes… your body isn't taking the miasma too well, is it?" she asked. Sirris let out a bark of a laugh.
"The miasma couldn't kill me if it wanted to… but it can put me in a coma. I'm trying to stay awake for now. I don't want to risk falling asleep," she replied. Then Luke came running back over.
"Sirris!" he cried. Sirris shook her head.
"Where did the others go?" she asked.
"They went to the bridge," Natalia told her. Sirris turned to look off to her left and headed in that direction, aided by the boy and, as they got closer, Luke.
"By the way… What's your name?" Sirris asked the boy as they entered the bridge.
"John…" the boy whispered. Though, as silent as it was on the bridge, everyone heard.
"Sirris, shouldn't you be resting? You really don't look well," Tear asked. Sirris sat down to the side and closed her eyes, but forced herself to stay awake. Jade noticed.
"Your body is trying to put itself on standby, isn't it?" he asked. Sirris nodded, not bothering to open her eyes. "Damn. We likely won't make it to Yulia City before you go into a coma."
"Just get us there," the girl grumbled. Luke joined the quartet at the controls, and, after an extremely short crash course from Asch, helped them to maneuver the landship through the Qliphoth.
A few hours later, Jade looked up from his screen. "There's an abnormally large fonic signature coming from the east," he informed them. Tear turned around in her seat.
"That's probably Yulia City," she told him.
"Oh… goody," Sirris muttered. For a moment, all eyes on the Tartarus were focused on her, sitting in the corner, white as paper, and breathing too slowly for their liking.
'Hang in there, Siri,' Jade thought, not daring to say the words out loud. Finally, almost an hour later, something came into view.
"Is that… a waterfall?" Anise asked.
"Yes. It's seawater from the Outer Lands," Tear explained.
"Wait, won't the water pressure crush the Tartarus?" Guy asked concernedly. Tear shook her head though.
"No, the water vaporizes near the ground," she replied.
"Then, here we go," Jade said. They moved the Tartarus through the water fall and docked it carefully, then prepared to leave. Jade moved over to Sirris's side. "Sirris, we've arrived," he informed the girl. When she didn't move, Jade knelt and checked her pulse. "Damn. We didn't make it in time," he cursed. Luke clenched his fists.
"If we can get her inside the city to safety quickly, she should wake up within a few days," he said. Jade already had the young woman in his arms.
"Let's go," Tear said, leading the way. John stayed close to Luke on their way out, but they hadn't quite made it past the city's shields against the miasma when Luke collapsed. "Luke!" Tear called back to him. Guy ran back to check his pulse.
"N-no way! Jade, he's fallen into a coma too!" the blonde called to the man standing just outside the shields. Asch ran back to help Guy carry the comatose replica into the city.
"First Sirris, now Luke…?" Anise wondered. Tear frowned.
"I don't understand… You said back in Chesedonia that Sirris was sensitive to poisons, so I can understand why she's fallen into a coma, but why Luke?" she asked Jade. He looked far more concerned than anyone else had ever seen him, something that worried the others.
"Let's get into the city, and then Tear, I want to try something," he suggested. Tear nodded and led them into Yulia City and to a house, then upstairs where there was a bed and windows leading out to what appeared to be a garden.
"I'll go get one of the spare cots for Luke," she said before disappearing back downstairs. She came back up with a cot and set it up quickly.
"Tear, use a First Aid on Luke, please. Asch, you're more sensitive to the Seventh Fonon than I am. Pay attention to how the Seventh Fonons react to Luke," Jade ordered. Tear cast the healing arte quickly, and after a moment, Asch looked shocked.
"What is it?" Natalia asked from the other side of the room. Asch looked up at Jade.
"Most of the fonons wouldn't go anywhere near him," Asch muttered. Jade nodded.
"Yes. The exact same thing happens to Sirris, except her body is farther along than his. That's why we didn't notice the miasma affecting him until after he'd collapsed," the colonel explained.
"Wait, what are you talking about?" Guy asked. Jade sighed.
"Could we go downstairs to have this discussion?" he inquired of Tear. She nodded and took them back downstairs, where they all settled in around the table, with the exception of Jade, who chose to stand instead.
"There is an extremely rare mineral that can be found north of Keterburg called isomin. All isomin emits the same fonon frequency, hence the reason why it's called that. Powdered, it can also be a deadly poison. In the right amounts however, that poison will become… a cure, so to speak, and render someone incapable of being truly poisoned, even by the miasma," Jade explained.
"Wait, you mean Sirris and Luke both have this isomin in their systems?" Guy asked. Jade nodded.
"Yes. Well, so to speak. It's already left a permanent mark on Sirris. If I'm correct, she hasn't ingested it for ten years now. But it's still new to Luke's body. That's another reason why the miasma took so long to affect Luke the way it did. His body hasn't completely adapted to the isomin yet," the colonel replied.
"The isomin is also responsible for pushing away the Seventh Fonons, isn't it?" Asch asked. Jade sighed.
"Actually, the isomin does strange things in regard to the Seventh Fonon," he said. "In Luke's case, as he is, technically, a Seventh Fonist, he'll be able to draw in the Seventh Fonon easily, regardless of what he intends to use it for. However, in a situation like, say… Sirris's, where the person in question is not a Seventh Fonist, the isomin allows them to draw in and control small amounts of Seventh Fonons at a time. Sirris's Mystic Arte uses the Seventh Fonon, actually."
"Whoa, wait… So someone who can't use the Seventh Fonon could if they had that isomin stuff in their body?" Anise asked. Jade turned an unsettling gaze on her.
"Yes, but isomin is an extremely dangerous mineral. Even a tiny bit too much and it could kill you," he answered. "And while I'm not surprised that Sirris's uncle risked it, I'm a little shocked that Sirris would chance doing that to Luke. Then again, she is a master with poisons."
"So healing artes won't help Luke anymore?" Natalia asked. Jade nodded, then started looking around, as if he'd lost something.
"Colonel? Is something wrong?" Tear asked. Jade stopped looking around and adjusted his glasses.
"Now that I think about it… I haven't seen Amai since we all boarded the Tartarus," he informed them. The entire group started exchanging looks, each person more baffled than the next.
"Wait a minute…" Tear mumbled. She ran into another room, then came back with an old text, carefully flipping through the pages. "This is a book from the Dawn Age, written about a dead language. It translates hundreds of words from that language to the Fonic language we use now, bypassing Ancient Ispanian altogether. I thought her name sounded familiar… Here it is!" She put the book down and pointed to a word in the book.
"'Amai, meaning sweet or naïve. Often used as a girl's name,'" Jade read out loud. Tear then started flipping through the pages again, closer to the back of the book.
"Her last name was Sakkaku, right?" the brunette asked. Guy confirmed her question, and Tear stopped and pointed to another word.
"'Sakkaku, meaning illusion. The name of an ancient royal family or a name given to an elusive male,'" Ion read this time. Jade adjusted his glasses.
"Sweet Illusion… A fitting name for that girl, between her personality and the way she disappears," he commented. Tear frowned.
"I think I've heard of the House of Sakkaku… I'm going to ask Grandfather if he has a book about them. We should probably talk to him about Akzeriuth too," Tear suggested. Jade and Asch nodded, and the group left the room, but not before Asch paused. Natalia was the only one to notice, but he was following them again shortly, so she chose not to comment on it.
(Asch's POV)
'Huh? What's going on?' I heard. I stopped, before I realized that I had opened a full connection with the replica. I rolled my eyes and started walking again.
'We're going to go talk to the mayor about something,' I told him.
'We? Wait… why am I looking through your eyes?' he asked. I contemplated breaking off the connection, then decided against it.
'You and I are perfect isofons. We can connect to each other through our fon slots. Dist adjusted yours at Choral Castle so they'd be open to me,' I explained. He was quiet for a while.
'So… If I'm looking through your eyes, where am I?' he wondered.
'Your body shut down the same way Sirris's did. The two of you are in Tear's room,' I replied. More silence. I had a feeling that, despite his sudden, new-found maturity, the replica would still end up asking me countless questions that I didn't want to answer.
Surprisingly, we made it to the meeting room without another word. "Ah, I had a feeling you'd be coming. Please, sit down. I have a feeling that we have a lot to talk about," the elderly man at the head of the table said. I sat down quietly, but Tear asked her grandfather a question before walking off. "Tear will return shortly. In the meantime, I believe introductions are in order. My name is Teodoro. I am the mayor of Yulia City."
He turned to me next, and I scowled. "I'm Asch," I said simply. He raised an eyebrow.
"Just Asch?" he asked. I sighed.
"Asch fon Fabre, eldest son of Duke Fabre and former Commander of Special Operations in the Oracle Knights," I said.
'I don't think I'd want to say all of that either,' the replica mumbled. I snapped at him to shut up. Teodoro turned to each of the others in turn as they introduced themselves. I winced when the little cheagle hopped up onto the table and started talking.
'That thing's voice is so high-pitched…' I grumbled. The replica laughed, but I had a feeling that he agreed with me. Tear came back in once the cheagle settled into a chair.
"I suppose I should get straight to the point. We need to get back to the Outer Lands," Jade informed Teodoro. I nodded.
"We'll also need the Tartarus, so I'm afraid the Yulia Road is out of the question," I added. Teodoro looked thoughtful.
"It may be possible for you to raise the Tartarus back into the Outer Lands using the residual power from Akzeriuth's Sephiroth. But do you really need the landship that badly?" he said. I scowled.
"I wouldn't have said something about it if we didn't. But with Akzeriuth's destruction and my and Natalia's disappearances, Kimlasca may begin making preparations for war. It's likely that many of the ferries will be forced to remain docked as well. The Tartarus is our best hope for moving around freely," I told him. He nodded, seemingly deep in thought.
"I'll speak to a few of our researchers about the fon machine needed to raise the Tartarus. In the meantime, why don't you all rest at Tear's house? It should be ready by morning," he suggested. Jade nodded.
"I think we'll do that. I'd like to check on Sirris and Luke as well. While I know it will take Sirris a few days to slip back out of this coma, I have no idea how long Luke will remain in that state," he said. Everyone else nodded and stood, and I sighed and followed suit. Natalia had to get Tear's attention as we left.
Jade, Tear, Natalia and I were the only ones to make it all the way back to Tear's house. The others broke off in favor of exploring the city. Jade checked Sirris's vitals first, then started checking the replica's. After a while, he stood up and crossed his arms, obviously a little confused about something.
"Is something wrong, Jade?" Natalia asked. Jade sighed.
"Well, if the little medical training I've had is telling me anything, it's that Luke has already slipped out of the coma… But for some reason, he won't wake," he explained.
'That might be because I'm in Asch's head…' the replica muttered. I rolled my eyes.
'I'd rather not try to explain that Jade, of all people,' I told him. He agreed.
"At least he isn't comatose," Tear said. Jade turned to look at her.
"Learning anything?" he asked. Tear looked thoughtful.
"Not much yet. I'll get back to you on that in the morning. I should have it finished by then," she replied. Natalia sighed.
"I think I'm going to go join Anise. Asch, would you like to come with me?" she asked. I shook my head.
"No. I need some time alone," I told her. 'Well, as alone as I can get with you in my head,' I added to the replica. I felt indignation filtering through the connection, but brushed it off and headed out into Tear's garden to think.
(3rd Person POV)
Sync was thoroughly confused at this point. He remembered being onboard the Tartarus, then leaving it and being ordered to wait in Chesedonia until he was given further orders. He had decided to visit Tataroo Valley while he was stuck hovering around the large trade city.
That was where things got more complicated. First, it had been Yulia's First Fonic Hymn putting him to sleep once he was just inside the valley. Then, he had woken up in the middle of some ruins that he was certain didn't belong there, or at least weren't easily accessible.
He'd been walking through these ruins when he'd found the hole in the wall. It looked like it was man-made, so, lacking any other leads on how to get out of these ruins, Sync headed down into the tunnel, and had come out into a cavern lit by a then-unknown source, later discovered to be the sixth fonon.
Now, he was completely lost in the maze of fonon-lit caverns and pitch-black tunnels.
"Grr… I should never have left Chesedonia!" the green-haired God-General grumbled. Sinister but feminine laughter rang through the air around him as Sync entered yet another cavern, this one quite a bit different from the ones he had been walking through so far. It was still lit by the sixth fonon, and the floor was still sandy, but there was a spring bubbling up in a nook in the back wall, flowing down in a steady stream around the perimeter of the cavern, which, Sync noted, was also the largest he had been in.
He grumbled as he realized that he now had wet sand on his boots, as he had stepped through the water upon entering the cavern, though he had at least been on what appeared to be a bridge, as the rest of the stream seemed to be a foot or two deep and at least a yard across.
"I think that's the least of your problems right now…" a woman's voice told him. Sync started as he realized it was the same source of the laughter from earlier. But, looking around, he saw no one.
"Where are you?" he called. The laughter rang out again.
"I'm right in front of you," the woman answered, materializing. Sync leapt back, scowling as he landed in the deeper water two feet to the left of the entrance. It swirled around his legs, washing away the sand but soaking his pants and boots. "That's a little trick my family mastered some time ago."
Sync took a moment to look over the woman. He could only see her left eye past her pine green bangs, and the icy violet almost made him shiver. This woman, despite the maroon and dark crimson of her strange outfit, was dangerous, and Sync wasn't entirely sure he could beat her if it came to a fight.
"Oh, believe me. You can't," the woman told him. Sync froze, realizing that this woman could read his thoughts, then did his best to keep his mind empty. The woman threw her head back and laughed. "Oh, you learn quickly. And I feel a great deal of pain within you. You'll be perfect," she said.
"I thought we told you that you were not welcome here, Nigai!" a soft but stern voice rang out. The woman that had been stalking toward Sync stopped and looked over her shoulder. Her right shoulder, Sync noted, realizing that she wasn't actually looking.
"Hello, little one," the woman called Nigai said, her voice a little softer than it had been. The dangerous light in her eye had faded, though not disappeared. Sync looked past Nigai to see a semi-familiar face, someone he had seen with Luke's group at Choral Castle. "Tell me, Amai. How did you, Kumo, Sora, and Arashi intend to keep me out of here? These caverns belong to me as much as they belong to you, little sister, and as the eldest in our family, my word holds more weight than yours, even if you had all three of our brothers on your side, which, might I remind you, you don't. At least, not anymore."
"These caverns focus light. You gave that up the day you joined the Kurayami Council. Leave here," Amai ordered, her blue eyes glinting dangerously. Nigai scoffed.
"You have no control over me, sister," the elder sneered. "O celestial tune of Heaven's messengers, Neu Va Rei Kuroa Rei Toue Rei Va Neu," she sang. Moments later, a small whirlwind picked up and she disappeared with it, leaving only tossed-about sand at the proof that she had been there at all. Amai walked over to Sync.
"I'm sorry about that. I'll take you back to Chesedonia," she told him, holding out her hand. Sync ignored it and jumped out of the water, then scowled at his wet pants.
"Tch… Great. Now I'll be covered in sand for a week," he grumbled. Amai giggled and a fonic glyph appeared around her feet. Moments later, she used the exact same hymn Nigai had sung, and Sync watched as the winds whipped around the two of them. He closed his eyes against the flying sand, and when he opened them, he was just north of Chesedonia.
"There you go. All dried off, too, and no sand," Amai told him with a smile. Sync looked down, and was pleasantly surprised to find that Amai had been telling the truth.
"Um… Thanks," he said, a little awkwardly. Amai giggled, then took off skipping down the road, away from Chesedonia. "Hey, where are you going?" Sync called after her. Amai turned around, managing to skip backwards as she did so.
"I think it's time I find my older brothers," she replied. Sync watched as she disappeared into the forest, then headed toward Chesedonia.
"Today has officially been the strangest day of my life," he found himself muttering. Then he noted how low the sun was over the horizon. "Now to deal with Legretta."
Tony: Well, there you have it. Lots and lots of stuff that won't come up again until well after chapter twenty… (Or at least, that's how it's currently planned out. Might end up changing…) I'll warn everyone right now, we won't be seeing Amai again for a few chapters. And since I'm about halfway through the next chapter, I should be able to have it up by next week. (Key word being 'should' there.)
Kairi: You know, I kinda have to feel sorry for Sync… He has absolutely no idea what the heck just happened. Actually... I'M not sure what happened there...
Tony: First of all, you're not supposed to get it yet. Second, GET OUT OF MY STORY! –kicks Kairi out- Gods, woman… Anywho… please please PLEASE leave a review… It's kinda disheartening when the only one reviewing is DAve and Bob…
