"Hey, Ion! Check it out!"

Ion looked up from his quiet conversation with Natalia to see Anise at the doorway of the passenger room, holding out some small, rectangular object like it was a battle trophy. Ion failed to recognize it at first and blinked in confusion, but Natalia clapped her hands once and smiled broadly.

"Oh! You found the trump deck, Anise! I thought we'd lost that!"

"Yup! It turned out Mieu got it stuck under one of the seats in the cockpit. I don't even wanna know how he managed that." Anise beamed. "So we should play a game of cards while we're heading to Daath! It'll be a great way to take our minds off things!"

"What things?" Ion wondered.

"Oh, uh, you know, just things, haha!"

Her sudden nervousness puzzled him, but before he could think on it, Natalia stood.

"That sounds like fun. It is going to be a while longer until we arrive," she said. "Shall we head to the kitchen? There's a table we can play at there."

They agreed, Ion mildly nonplussed but nonetheless looking forward to whatever game they were about to play. When they reached the kitchen, though, they found Tear and Sync already seated at the table in question, a pair of thick books cracked open between them along with two pens and a notebook opened to a page half-filled with crisp handwriting. Based on what Ion could see of the illustrations on the pages, they looked to be about world history. Their conversation sounded to be about the same before they paused to look up at them.

"Pardon us. We were just looking for a table," Ion explained.

"We're in the middle of studying," Sync said, tone neutral. Ion wondered if that was meant to be a rejection.

"Oh, is Tear helping you?" Natalia asked, tilting her head. If it was a rejection, she hadn't noticed.

"We're helping each other," Tear replied. "If you need to use the kitchen, we can move." She caught Sync's frown and added to him, "We can study anywhere."

"Oh, you guys don't have to leave!" Anise said. "We were gonna play a game of cards. You wanna join us?"

"What part of 'we're studying' doesn't get through to you?" Sync said, leaning his head on one hand.

Oh, so it was a rejection, Ion thought, disappointed. Aloud, he said, "We shouldn't bother them, Anise."

"It's no bother, Fon Mas - Ion," Tear reassured him, getting up. "Sync, let's go."

"I guess I should've figured someone would come here eventually," he said, getting up with her.

"Liar," Anise said.

Sync shot her a frown. "Excuse you?"

But she just grinned back at him. "I said, we're going to be playing a game called Liar! We didn't get to that one the last time we played cards. It's all about bluffing your way to a win! It's right up your alley, isn't it?"

Ion was pleasantly surprised to see Sync pause, then start to laugh. "You're really trying to push my buttons, huh?"

"As long as it works!" Anise trilled.

Sync glanced at Tear. "What do you think?"

"We're at a good break point anyway. It wouldn't hurt to play a round before we move, if that's what you want to do," she replied.

He thought about it, then sat back down and shut the notebook. "All right, I'll bite."

Anise pumped a fist and cheered, "Victory!"

Tear sat back down to Sync's right, shut the textbooks after making a note of their page and set them, the notebook, and the pens to one side. Ion and Anise sat opposite them, and Natalia seated herself at the end of the table between Anise and Sync.

"You two seem to be getting along well lately," Ion observed, smiling at Sync and Tear as Anise shuffled the deck.

"We were just studying," Sync replied flatly.

"It seemed like a good opportunity for us," Tear added, unruffled. "I needed to catch up on my studies anyway."

Sync settled and shrugged. "Right. I was bored so I figured I'd try something different, and she seems smart."

"Oh - does that mean that you asked her?"

He frowned and said nothing.

"So you'll ask her to study, but I practically have to twist your arm to get you to play a little?" Anise asked with a wry smirk as she dealt the cards one by one around the table. "What makes Tear so special, hmmmm?"

"Her ability to keep her mouth shut," Sync retorted.

Tear sighed and said nothing, which probably proved his point.

"My, he seemed cooperative when Guy and I were gathering trade materials the day before yesterday," Natalia said. "Eventually, anyway. Maybe it's just you, Anise."

"Wait, seriously?!"

Sync snickered. "How's it feel, being the unpopular one?"

Anise shot him a dirty look as she dealt out the last of the cards. "It feels like some smug jerk smugging it up because he thinks he's soooo clever!"

"Wow, I wonder what that's like?" he replied, grinning, as he and the others picked up their hands.

Ion giggled, but in response, Sync's smile blew out like a filament. It happened so quickly that it made Ion feel awkward and self-conscious. After that, though, Anise began to explain the rules, so the moment passed without remark.

The rules were simultaneously simple and confusing. Whoever had the ace of spades (Anise, as it turned out, had set it aside) placed it face-down in the center. The next person going clockwise (which Anise made herself) was supposed to set down any twos in their hand, and the one after (which was him) any threes, and so on until they cycled back to aces.

"But I don't have any threes, Anise," Ion said.

"Iooooon, you're not supposed to say that!" Anise protested. "If you don't have those cards, you just put down whatever."

"But I thought we had to go in order?"

"Right, so you lie!"

Ion stared at Anise like she'd started speaking in tongues. It took a little while for him to understand that he was supposed to claim whatever numbers of threes, or whichever card he was supposed to put down on his turn, whether he actually had them or not. If he lied, and someone called him on his lie, then he had to take the pile. If no one called him on his lie before the next person put down and declared their cards, then he was safe. And if someone called him a liar and it turned out he'd declared his cards truthfully, the accuser had to take the pile instead.

"Oh, okay," he said at the end, then selected a card and set it face-down. "Um, one three."

"Liar."

Ion lifted his head to meet Sync's stare, which was as pointed as a knife at his throat.

"Wow, you didn't waste any time jumping on that," Anise said at the same time.

He flashed her a grim smile. "Just testing the rules. Something wrong with that?"

"Anise, it's fine," Ion cut in before a non-playful argument could follow; he knew Anise was less flexible when it came to him, and he didn't want any bad feelings. He took the pile, all of three cards, and smiled. "He's right. It's the rules."

"Well... okay," she said reluctantly. "If you say so, Ion. Anyway, Tear, it's your turn."

The first round went smoothly enough. But when it back back to Ion's turn...

"Liar," said Sync.

Ion flinched and took the pile again. Another round passed, and while Tear, Sync, and possibly Anise all bluffed on what they set down - Ion knew because he had over a fourth of the deck in his hand at this point - he couldn't bring himself to accuse them of anything. Fortunately, Anise did it for him when it was Sync's turn, though a second later Ion wondered why he thought of that as fortunate. On his turn, he set down all three kings he had in his hand, but hesitated as he declared them to glance up at Sync.

"You better not call Ion a liar again," Anise growled at him.

He showed her his teeth. "Why would I? He wasn't lying. That time."

How does he know? Ion wondered. Am I that easy to read?

"Anise, he's just playing the game," Tear said. She flicked her eyes from her cards over to Sync. "Maybe we should take it a little less seriously."

Sync caught her eye and frowned, which slid into a smirk when he looked at Anise. "Yeah, Anise, don't take it so seriously."

Anise made a face at him. "She was talking to you, Smartass!"

"I didn't hear my name, Anise!"

"What, you aren't going to call me Buzz anymore?"

"Why would I? I only did that to annoy the idiot replica."

Ion glanced at Anise. His stomach churned a little at the disappointment on her face, and he wasn't sure why. He opened his mouth to ask them to please stop fighting but hesitated. Tear was more decisive and pinned a glare onto Sync.

"Don't call Luke an idiot," she said sternly, "especially when he's not here to defend himself."

Sync met her glare with a neutral look. Then he sighed and shut his eyes. "...Fine."

Ion looked back and forth between him and Tear. Despite the tension in the moment, they'd both already relaxed. He smiled to see it, but the uneasiness in the pit of his stomach hadn't quite gone away.

"Cheer up, Sync," Anise said with a shrug. "Luke basically is an idiot."

Natalia frowned. "Anise, you're completely undermining Tear's point."

"Don't worry, I heard her loud and clear," Sync said before glancing at Tear. "It's just who you are."

Tear blinked at him in confusion, but took it in stride. "Let's continue the game, in that case. Whose turn was it again?"

"It was yours, actually," said Natalia.

"Oh! Yes, of course."

Ion breathed a sigh of relief as Tear looked over her hand. Rallying himself, he braved a smile over at his fellow replica. "So Sync, you and Tear were studying history, right? What part of it were you talking about?"

Sync neither returned his smile nor answered.

"We were discussing the territory wars that followed the raising of the Outer Lands and how they affected the current political map," Tear said, setting down a card. "One ace."

"So in other words, the formation of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear and the Malkuth Empire as we know them?" Natalia asked. "I have quite a bit of knowledge on the subject! Both of you, please feel free to ask me what you like."

Sync eyed her and shook his head. "Thanks for the offer, Princess, but we were studying it from a Daathic perspective. The history of Auldrant's countries is the history of how the Order of Lorelei's Watchers have manipulated them into following the Score."

"Manipulated?!" Natalia blustered.

"Wow, because that's not cynical or anything," Anise remarked.

"It's uncomfortable to think about, but that's why I thought it was important to study," Tear said. "This perspective is essentially Van's perspective. If I better understand it, it might give me helpful insight."

"And history is my weak point," Sync added. "I've been too busy to study it beyond the lessons Van gave me, so I figured I'd fix that now that I have the time."

"Lessons from the Commandant? I bet he was all kinds of biased," Anise said.

"Oh, he's biased as hell. That doesn't make him wrong." Sync set down a pair of cards. "Two twos."

"Isn't the point of you studying to see for yourself what's true and what's not?" Natalia said. "One three."

"What, you think there's some kind of magical 'truth' that makes your country look good, Princess?"

"Sync," Tear murmured in a warning tone.

He glanced at her, then pinched the bridge of his nose. "Sorry. That was rude of me."

"Woah, Sync apologized?! And meant it?!" Anise uttered, echoing Ion's thoughts.

"My!" Natalia gasped, holding a hand to her mouth. "I see you are making an effort, like you said you would." She smiled. "Thank you. Apology accepted, Sync."

"...Anyway, the point I was trying to make is that history's subjective," Sync continued. "All we really know about it is what people decided to write down, and of that, only what's survived and allowed to circulate today. Plus, history book authors bring their own biases, perspectives, and lack of deeper knowledge into what they write, so you don't have a way of knowing for absolute certain what really happened without knowing who was pulling the strings behind the scenes. That's the first thing Van taught me."

"Why bother studying history at all, in that case?" Anise asked. "Two fours."

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Sync replied, looking over at her. "Honestly, I still don't see much of a point."

"So then why're you doing it?"

"If I didn't do anything I didn't see the point of doing, I wouldn't do much at all." He frowned at Ion as he picked a card, and before he could set it down, added, "On that note, liar."

"Dammit! I was so close!" she cursed as she grabbed the pile, making Sync laugh. She paused and flailed at Ion the next breath. "Uh, I mean darn it! Hahaha!"

"You don't need to hold back for me, Anise," Ion reassured her. "I like it when you're honest with yourself."

She turned red at that, which made Ion a little happy. That happiness withered when he saw the sharp look on Sync's face. Today was a day for knife-blade glares, it seemed, and Ion hurriedly placed the five of spades down on the now-empty pile to cover up his discomfort.

Is he angry at me? What did I do wrong?

"Hey, Sync? Is there a reason you keep glaring at Ion?"

Anise's voice startled Ion, and from the way his shoulders tensed, it had startled Sync too. Natalia and Tear had also gone quiet, Natalia with wide eyes and Tear with narrowed ones. Ion took a deep breath. This was his opportunity. It would have been nice if he could have opened it for himself, but he was grateful to Anise for opening it for him.

"Have I done something to offend you? If I have, I'm sorry," he murmured.

Sync's lips thinned, but beyond that, his expression smoothed into a stoic mask. "No. You didn't do anything."

"So then what's your problem?" Anise insisted.

"You already know what my problem is. If you want this game to stay nice and fun, you really shouldn't ask me to repeat it."

"Anise, he's right," Tear cut in when Anise opened her mouth. "This isn't the time or place to discuss it, anyway."

Ion widened his eyes, then lowered them. It hurt more than he knew how to express that after all this time, Sync's feelings towards him appeared unchanged. He tried to tell himself that it was a known pain and that he wasn't doing what he was doing for him to get him to like him, but it didn't help. That made his uneasiness grow.

"Fon Master Ion? Are you all right?" Natalia wondered, eyebrows furrowed in concern.

On automatic, he replied, "I'm fine."

He felt Tear's eyes on him for a few seconds before she set down a card. "One six."

Natalia sighed, meanwhile. "Sync, forgive me for saying so, but your negativity is as trying as ever."

Sync shrugged and reached for one of his cards. "That's who I am. You don't need to soften your punches, Princess."

"Tear, are you all right?" she added. "You're already sick - would you like me to take over for you once we've finished this game?"

In the middle of pulling out a pair, Sync's hand stilled.

"Thank you for your concern, but that's not necessary," Tear replied. "We're in the middle of studying, and anyway, I've come to enjoy his company." She glanced at Sync. "Unless you'd prefer to study with Natalia?"

Ion watched Sync as she spoke. His expression didn't change exactly, but something in his eyes glowed like a ray of sunshine peeking through a darkly overcast sky. He drew two cards.

"No, that's fine," he said.

Natalia must have seen it too, because she uttered, "Oh! Sync, could it be that you're angry with Fon Master Ion because you feel we like him and not you?"

Sync recoiled as if shot. The cards slipped from his hands, landed on their edge, and fell face-up to reveal the seven of hearts and seven of spades. He snatched them up an instant later, and if he didn't slap them onto the pile, he used enough force to convince Ion that master archer Natalia had hit the bull's-eye.

"Two sevens," Sync said flatly. "Your turn, Princess."

"Did I say something I shouldn't have?" Natalia asked, mystified. "I apologize if so, but you told me not to soften my punches, so to speak -"

"It's your turn, Natalia," Tear interrupted, to which she blushed.

Ion lowered his eyes as the others spoke until the tabletop engulfed his vision. Why was Sync angry over that? Hadn't he said over and over again how he didn't like any of them? That they'd never be friends or allies? But... didn't it also seem like he was starting to get along with the others - at least Tear and Anise - despite whatever else he said? And for that matter, if Sync was starting to warm up to the others like Ion had hoped he would, why did he keep feeling this constrictive, sickening thing? He wanted Anise to befriend Sync. That was what he'd wanted all along, for the others to let him experience the friendship Ion had. So why was he troubled?

No, he had to be thinking of this all wrong. Perhaps what he felt was a physical ailment rather than an emotion; certainly it had a physical effect on him. Surely it wasn't food poisoning, not with Anise having cooked breakfast. He'd felt it more than just today, anyway. Nonetheless, it felt familiar, somehow. He pressed a hand to his forehead.

"Ion?"

Was it part of his chronic malaise? Or was he coming down with something? That idea worried him even more.

"Iooon?"

For if he wasn't well enough to unlock the Daathic seals, what help could he be at all?

"Ion!"

"Oh!" he uttered, jerking his head up when Anise's voice finally cut through his thoughts. Without thinking, he added, "I-I'm sorry."

"Ion, are you okay? You don't look so good," Anise said, leaning in.

"You've looked a little under the weather since you arrived," Tear noted, eyebrows knitting together.

"If you're feeling unwell, please let us know right away," Natalia added, nodding once. "A simple game isn't anywhere near as important as your health."

"I'm fine," Ion insisted without conviction as Anise pressed a hand to each of their foreheads. "I just... was lost in thought for a moment." He forced a smile. "I'm fine, really. Thank you all for worrying about me."

Anise pursed her lips and pulled away. "Well, it feels like you don't have a fever, so I guess you're okay. Honestly, Ion, keep it together, all right?"

"I'm sorry," he repeated with a more honest smile, but he noticed Sync as he spoke. The other replica kept thumbing across his cards, onto which he'd fixed a dark frown. None of the others, even Tear, seemed to notice since they were all focused on him, and in a flash Ion understood.

He is starting to like Tear and the others, but they're my friends. It isn't just that he thinks they like me better. As soon as I have a problem, they drop everything to pay attention to me, which means they forget about him. The more he likes the others, the more he comes to resent me for already being close to them.

To cover up the revelation, Ion stammered, "I-is it my turn? Let's see, it's tens, isn't it?" Flustered as he was, he placed two cards without paying attention to what they were and said, "Two tens."

Sync's eyes ticked up to bore into his. Ion stared back at him, then down at his hand. With a jolt, he realized he'd picked the wrong cards, making his claim a lie. He braced himself, expecting Sync to call him out, but...

"One jack," said Tear.

Ion blinked at her, then at Sync. He eyeballed him a little longer, then flicked his stare down.

Did he... ignore my lie? Ion wondered. But... why?

"One queen," said Sync.

"Liar! Hah!" Natalia crowed, drawing herself up with a triumphant smile. "I caught you in a most ignoble falsehood!"

Sync's mouth slanted. "This is your way of getting back at me for yesterday, isn't it?"

"Do I look that petty?" she demanded, indignant.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" he countered, collecting the sizable pile. "Liar, by the way. Just keep your card."

"Now who's being petty? Hmph!"

Anise snickered. "He can't help it. Sync's always losing at cards. It's because he's only ever played against the other God-Generals before."

Sync peered at her as if to ask what that had to do with anything. Natalia, however, blinked her eyes wide in curiosity.

"My! Do they have special abilities at trumps?" she wondered.

"They sure do!" Anise chirped. "For example, Legretta's got eyes so quick she knows what card you've got as soon as you pick it up. That's why they call her Legretta the Quick!"

"Goodness, I had no idea!" Natalia uttered in wonder as Sync raised a dubious eyebrow, Tear sighed in resignation, and Ion smiled nervously at Anise's tall tales. "I had assumed it was due to her speed in combat."

"That's just what they want you to think!" Anise declared, grinning. "Right, Sync?"

Sync kept his eyebrow high, and for a second, Ion thought he'd insult her. Then, deadpan, he replied, "Anise, stop spilling all our secrets."

She stuck her tongue out at him and set down a card. "Nyeh! They're not as secret as you think they are! We know all about the Commandant's hypno-brows. Right, Natalia? One ace!"

"Yes indeed," Natalia agreed with all due gravity. "Such impressive powers! Just what you'd expect from the Commandant of the Oracle Knights."

Sync looked over at Tear. Tear merely sighed again and shrugged. Sync looked back at Natalia and Anise.

"Well yeah. Everyone knows about those," he said with a grin. "Maybe you just think it's special because you're so low-ranked, Anise?"

"You really are a little punk, Sync," she retorted.

"Oh, but..." Natalia pursed her lips in concern. "Asch is fighting against Dorian General Grants, so doesn't that mean he'll be at risk of having that hypnosis used on him? Ohh, I hope he'll be all right...!"

"It'll be okay, Natalia!" Anise reassured her. "Asch... uh... can shoot hypno-rays from his eyebrows too!"

"Three twos," Ion said.

Natalia gasped. "Really? He never mentioned! I should have known - he's so strong. But... his eyebrows aren't quite as robust as the Dorian General's. Will he be all right should it come to a direct confrontation?"

"He might be in trouble," Sync said, catching Anise's eye. "But he's not that much weaker. His eyebrows aren't as impressive as Van's on their own, so he strengthens them by scowling all the time to make thick lines appear in his forehead. That builds up muscle, so I think he could hold his own in a fight."

"Oh thank goodness!" Natalia uttered while Anise nearly doubled over from holding back laughter.

"One three," Tear said with a sigh.

"Um... Is there anything else you can tell me about Asch?" Natalia continued, clutching her free hand to her chest. "What he's like in the God-Generals and so on...?"

Sync's smile faded. "No."

"That was abrupt," Tear noted as Natalia looked crestfallen.

"Get past the hypno-brows and you start entering confidential territory," Sync said dryly, half-smiling at her. "Besides, wouldn't it be better if you people just asked him directly?"

Natalia sighed. "I wish I could, but he'll barely stop long enough to speak with us. You told Guy and me a little about Largo, though-what made that different?"

Sync paused and frowned. "...It wasn't. Looking back, I really shouldn't have done that."

"What about the other God-Generals? Who would you dish on?" Anise asked, leaning forward.

He considered that for a moment as he rearranged his cards. "I could tell you about Dist. He'll tell anyone his life's story if they can stand to listen to him for more than five minutes, anyway. Get him on the topic of the Necromancer and you'll get it even faster. Trust me, I speak from experience. Four fours."

Anise grimaced. "Ugh, I totally believe it. I didn't even ask and he started blabbing all about him."

"You've spoken with Dist about the Colonel?" Natalia wondered, setting down a card. "One five."

"Oh, right - he made that doll for you, didn't he?" Sync mused. "I heard about that."

"Modified it, but yeah." Anise sighed and shook her head. "This was a couple years ago. I only sat next to him at the mess hall a couple times and he latched onto me. Then he came over to me and started in on the Colonel. He wouldn't shut up!"

Sync snorted. "I heard about that too. Did he do the thing where he seesaws back and forth between cursing him and praising him, sometimes in the same breath?"

Anise rolled her eyes. "You know it. It was mostly praise, though. He wouldn't let me get a word in edgewise! He was all 'Jade did this' and 'Jade did that'-"

"- and if you pointed out what an ass the Necromancer sounded like, he'd get mad at you, even though he was just harping on how awful he was a second ago."

"Wow, you had the guts to call the Colonel an ass to Dist's face? You're bold!"

"I paid the price for it," Sync replied with a wry smirk. "I learned how to tune him out as a defense mechanism. But you're right. Half the time he was practically pining for him."

"Right, and he'd go on and on about how they were the best of friends -"

"- and he'd always call him -"

"- Jade the Golden Child!" Sync and Anise chorused, then burst into laughter.

Ion sighed and folded his hands.

"I think that's enough," Natalia said. "I can't believe I'm saying this about such a loathsome man, but I'm starting to feel sorry for him."

"I agree. This information isn't relevant," Tear added.

Sync snickered. "Oh, done already? Fine by me."

Anise made a face. "Yeah, okay. I shouldn't make too much fun of him, either. He helped me out and all." She set down her second-to-last card. "One six!"

"Liar," Sync said.

She flipped up the card to show that it was indeed a six. "Read 'em and weep, Sync! It's all yours now!"

He rolled his eyes and accepted the pile. After that, though, silence stretched out as Ion failed to do anything.

"Ion, it's your turn," Anise reminded him.

He unfolded his hands. There was nothing in between them. "I'm out of cards, Anise."

She stared, taken aback. The others, even Sync, looked startled too. "Wait - what? When did that happen?"

"Last round. I put down my last three cards and no one called my bluff. I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry! But you really should've said something sooner," Anise chided him. "Congratulations, Ion! You won!"

I won because you were all paying attention to Sync instead of me, Ion thought. When he met Sync's sideways stare, he felt certain Sync knew it too. Hadn't it been like that during hide-and-seek too? Each time he won, he won because the others had forgotten about him in favor of Sync. How many times had Sync felt alone because he was forgotten in favor of Ion?

Is the only way he can be happy for me to disappear? he wondered, fingers curling into his tabard. But... I don't want to disappear. I don't want Anise and the others to replace me.

If only we hadn't stopped him from falling into the core.

The thought came swift and vicious on the heels of the last, so much so that it stole his breath and left his skin prickly and cold.

"Well, back to studying," Sync announced, standing up. "Let's go, Tear."

Tear stood up and bid her farewells. Ion nodded back to her, keeping a pleasant mask on. When Anise suggested they play Old Maid next, he went along with it, because the worst thing of all would be for anyone to realize something was indeed the matter.

Am I really such a spiteful person?

What's wrong with me...?