The final chapter of "Two's a Crowd" featuring more Luke for everyone! But in reality, Leon still takes the spotlight in this chapter. Next Arc: "A Vague Truth"...which is a bad pun on Veigue's name. Anyway!
After reading a review from Kimmi RHK, I've decided to move this story over to the Symphonia section after I finish "A Vague truth". I want to pre-warn all readers so they know where they can find this fic after it disappears from the Tales of Destiny section.
"Hey! Leon!" Keel shouted from the shadows as he entered the room, "That is you, right?"
Leon shrunk back into the shadows, pushing Sheena down behind him to hide her, "Yeah. I heard some strange noises. And now, Luke is missing."
"Oh, I saw him with Barbatos a while ago. I saw them when I went to grab a book. I think they were going to his office."
"Really? Ah, thank you!" Leon shouted back, "You should get back to sleep now. I have…insomnia so I can't sleep well."
With a nod in the darkness, Keel gave him a wave and walked away.
Sheena swallowed and stood up, "What would've happened if he saw us…"
"I don't know." Leon replied, "We have to find Luke!"
The two walked in the darkness of the halls with only small lamps lighting the way. The lights themselves were far too dim to allow either of them to gauge each others' expression. Luke walked a step behind Barbatos. Even someone as ignorant as him feared the energy radiating off of this powerful man.
"Tell me, Luke, what is your last name?" Barbatos boomed. Was it just small talk? He couldn't tell.
"It's Lungberg." Luke replied, quickly pulling out Veigue's last name. Whatever reason Barbatos had for asking, it couldn't have been good. He chose to protect his last name in case it revealed something.
Barbatos chuckled, "Lungberg…right? Is there any relation to Veigue Lungberg and Woodrow Lungberg by any chance?"
Luke froze on the spot. His feet moved mechanically to keep up with Barbatos, "N-none at all!"
"Thought so," Barbatos replied, "The Lungberg family line that Veigue and Woodrow belong to are famous for their silvery hair. They're all great achievers in this world. Did you know that?"
Luke shook his head in truth, "I did not." Was Barbatos lying to him? The quiet, docile, Claire-obsessed Veigue of the freelancing company was part of a line of great achievers? He couldn't believe this. Thinking over it again, he never asked Veigue anything about his past. Veigue just happened to be in the freelancing corporation when he joined.
"Ever heard of Asch?" Barbatos asked once more, "He was a great scientist with knowledge that could revolutionize the world." Taking out his key, he unlocked the office door and pushed it open, "You first." Luke walked into the office dumbly, "Asch was partners with several powerful men. I was one of them. We invested in his knowledge."
"Uh-huh…" Luke replied.
"However, misfortune always meets the gifted." Barbatos stepped in front of Luke and stared at him intensely, "Asch was killed in a car crash. Poor man, he had so much potential."
"Why are you telling me this?"
Barbatos chuckled unpleasantly. Luke shuddered at the sound of his laugh, "Arrogant and impatient. Just like Asch,"
"What's going on?" Luke replied. His body shook without him noticing.
"Ever heard of the Fon Fabre line? You should…Luke Fon Fabre." Barbatos laughed again. This time, his laugh was menacing and purely evil, "The long red hair. The purely arrogant expression…Did you really think it could fool me for a second?"
Luke grabbed the hilt of his sword in fear, "What the hell are you talking about?"
"You mean you don't know? Didn't Van tell you? Didn't Jade tell you?"
"How do you know those two?" Luke drew his sword, "Tell me!"
Barbatos laughed again. He slowed down to a soft chuckle, "Scientists don't bother telling vessels. They're afraid they'll commit suicide and all their knowledge will be lost. Luke Fon Fabre…Do you know what you are?" Placing his hands behind him calmly, he tilted his head downward to look at Luke, "It would be a shame to lose such knowledge. If you truly are the vessel, you should be able to figure it out."
Luke swallowed and stepped back, slowly approaching the door.
"Where do you think you're going?" Barbatos hissed, "Do you know how much you are worth? Do you know how much they'll pay for your safe return?" Barbatos reached over to Luke and gripped his arm tightly, almost crushing it, "Van cares for his precious vessel. He cares for his precious knowledge!"
Luke wrenched his arm away, "What? So now I'm a bargaining chip? No thanks!" Luke hissed as he slashed at Barbatos with his sword. He was caught off guard when Barbatos grabbed his sword with his bare hand, "What the…"
"Asch, you don't have a choice." In one swift movement, the blade of his sword snapped and Luke was sent flying into a bookcase.
With a gasp, Luke collapsed to the ground gripping the hilt of his broken sword, "Ugh…"
"You are a mere vessel. You are nothing more. I am Barbatos, the strongest man alive. Did you really think you could take me down?"
Struggling to look up, Luke coughed out a bit of blood and stared at the man's feet, "Sh-shut up!"
"Luke!" Leon shouted as he pushed through the door off the office. He was shocked to see Luke on the ground withering in pain before Barbatos.
"What the hell…" Luke muttered as he looked at Leon and Sheena, "Contamination…"
Barbatos blinked and faced the two, "Contaminated subjects…interesting. You still hold human will?" Another chuckle, "Not for long…"
Bolting off the floor, Leon used his new mutated speed to reach Luke. However, before he could reach him, a large shadow blocked him and knocked him to the ground. The air in Leon's lungs was knocked straight out as he fell to the ground.
"Damn…" Leon hissed as he got on his elbows, "Barbatos…you're not human…"
Barbatos chuckled, "Neither are you." Lifting his arm into the air, he blocked the aerial kick Sheena gave him from above. His smirk faded away as his arm shook from the struggle to block her, "What…"
Sheena swept down, twisted her body, and gave Barbatos a kick to his ribs. Barbatos blocked that with his arm, sliding to the opposite side as he did so.
"Leon, are you alright?" Sheena gasped as she lifted Leon from the ground.
Leon gasped in pain and gripped his chest. He screamed and rolled onto his stomach, "It hurts…it hurts!"
"Oy! Leon!" Luke shouted as he pushed himself off the floor and over to him. His eyes darted over to Barbatos and then back at the two. With all his might, he shoved the two of them down.
Instantly after this shove, a large beam of light shot overhead the three. Once the beam ended, all they saw was Barbatos standing before him with a dimming light in his hands.
"He really isn't human…" Sheena whispered.
"You," Luke shouted to Sheena, "What's happening to Leon?"
"His organs are morphing. Everything inside his body is altering itself. Soon, he won't be human at all. Just like me…"
Cruel applause came from Barbatos, "How interesting. Contamination can speed up the process? I did not know that at all." He was interrupted by a powerful jolt to the head by Sheena. If Barbatos was even a second late with his block, Sheena would've knocked off his head by now, "And if you purposely use the power of your mutation, you'll have more strength? Even more interesting…"
"Get Leon out of here," Sheena turned to Luke, "I'll handle Barbatos."
Before Luke could give her a nod, Leon reached out and grabbed Sheena's arm, "No…" He gasped, "Not…not again…never again…"
Luke looked down at the suffering being in his arms, "Leon, what are you talking about? Listen to what she says!"
"I won't leave her. I won't leave you." He whispered between his gasps of pain.
Sheena nodded slowly to him, stepping back so she faced Barbatos with Leon and Luke close behind her, "Alright, I'll try it." She lifted her hands, "I call upon the red giant, the ruler of hellfire!" A circle of light appeared around her, "I summon…come Efreet!"
From the light, a large being that highly resembled the devil itself rose from the flames. Barbatos didn't flinch at all. He merely stared at the summon spirit calmly. Sheena was caught by surprise.
"Efreet…he isn't usually this big…"
The large demonic figure drenched the place in flames, engulfing Barbatos in the blast. Amidst the flame, Barbatos laughed once more, "So…level two beings…beings that are close to summon spirits themselves…they can utilize the spirit's full potential? How very interesting!"
Sheena pressed the two down, shielding them from the flames. Luke watched Sheena closely. He saw the exhaustion on her face and the pain she must've been going through because of the mutation.
Before the flames could die down, Sheena collapsed. The flames moved closer towards them and licked at their bodies. Luke hunched over, shielding the two from the flames, "Damn…it…all…" The intense heat worked its way into Luke's body, killing him slowly.
He soon collapsed on the ground, his energy all gone. The flames eventually died down when Efreet disappeared. Leon continued to grunt in pain and Sheena was far too exhausted to move. Luke forced himself up with all his strength. All he saw was the silhouette of a short man by the door; he reached out to the man.
"…help…"
Awakening from a bed as if the whole ordeal was just a bad nightmare, Leon sat up from the bed he slept on. He felt his aching forehead, instantly realizing that the scales coating his hand were all gone.
"Sheena…!" He shouted as he looked around quickly.
"She's alright." Keel muttered softly, "She had gone further into the mutation but I was able to pull her back."
"Keel…?"
Luke nodded from the couch he sat on, "Yeah. He pulled you two back. He bandaged me up too."
Leon sighed in relief when he saw Sheena sleeping on the bed next to him. He fell back onto the bed and looked to Keel, "Where are we?"
"We're in the recovery ward of the lab. Experimentation can cause mental and physical damage to the scientists so Barbatos built the recovery ward for us." Keel explained as he put down his book.
"This guy saved us! He made up an excuse and saved us." Luke added, "If it wasn't for him, we would've been caught by the others and probably killed."
Keel chuckled, "Barbatos never calls anyone to his office. I was worried. And, back when I met Leon at the experimentation hall, I thought I saw scales on you."
Suspiciously, Leon glanced over to Keel, "Why are you helping us? You're a scientist that willingly submits to working on humans."
Keel paused with a smile. Tilting his head, he gave his answer, "You're my friends. It's good to have friends."
"Wait, wait, wait,"Luke cut in, "What if you lose your job? What if you get killed?"
"I'm precious to Barbatos. I'm key in the creation of summon spirits. There's no way he would kill me."
"Thank you, Keel." Leon replied, "I really mean it." Swinging his feet over the side of the bed, he stood up and wandered over to Sheena.
Luke stood up immediately and held Leon back, "You just had some crazy surgery on you! Get back to sleep!"
"We can sleep when we're home. Right now, we're still not safe." Pushing past Luke, Leon bent down and picked Sheena up from the bed, "Thank you for helping us Keel. We really mean it."
Keel nodded, "No problem. Perhaps we all can meet again outside of the lab."
After exchanging goodbyes to one another, the three departed from Barbatos's mansion. Struggling under the weight of Sheena on his back, Leon panted quickly as he walked back to the hotel.
"You know, I can carry her back." Luke suggested to Leon, "I might be covered in burns but I'm not exhausted."
"No, I'm alright." Leon replied.
"Whatever you say,"
After what seemed like an eternity's walk back to the hotel, they finally made it back. Zelos rushed over and carried Sheena over to a spare room.
"Thank you very much. I was beginning to think you had failed." Zelos muttered with a chuckle, "As your payment, I'll give you…five hundred each. How is that?"
"We're eating well tonight!" Luke cheered as he took the money from Zelos.
Leon took the money lazily, his whole body swaying as he did so.
"Heck, I'll even give you a free night at this hotel! What do you say?" Zelos offered.
Luke turned to Leon who was already asleep on the couch, "I'm not carrying that guy back. Sure! We'll stay!"
With that, Luke hopped onto another bed and closed his eyes. While he waited to sleep, he began thinking of what Barbatos had said to him. What was 'Asch' to him? What did he mean by 'vessel'? He shrugged it off and emptied out his mind. It was best not to think about something like this after such an ordeal. If there was no way for him to figure out the answer in his current state, it was best to just rest it off and figure it out later.
The next morning, Luke and Leon both got washed and began their trip back home. Luke gave a wave and smile to the bunny outfitted girls by the door.
"We should come here more often." Luke said with a slightly perverted smile on his face.
Leon said nothing and looked back at the hotel. He then saw Sheena running out from the glass doors and over to him, "Sheena?"
She had cleaned herself up and changed all her clothes. She even looked different from before, "Leon…I forgot to thank you…"
"I didn't tell you my name."
She pointed her head towards Luke, "He mentioned it a while ago. So, to both of you, thank you. Thank you for saving me. If there's anything you need help with, come to me and I'll help you."
Luke waved to her, "We got it!"
Something rare that had never happened in years, Leon smiled out of the sincerity in his heart. It wasn't a large smile; it was just the side of his lips twisting upward. He waved to Sheena coolly and turned around.
"Man, Sheena has some nice melons!" Luke commented as soon as they got far enough from the hotel. Leon rolled his eyes at his remark, "Come on, that's why you like her, right?"
Leon scoffed and folded his arms, "Oh please, give me a break."
Luke chuckled with a smirk, "Denial!"
And thats the end of this arc! As mentioned before, next arc will be starring Veigue and look into his storyline. "A Vague Truth"! To current readers, the fic will not be moving yet. Only after the next arc will it move and the next arc will probably be around two or three chapters.
