Edea had trusted Agnes's judgment on their kidnappers, and she didn't plan on backing down from that decision. But personally, she wanted more answers than they were being given. As if they knew that it was driving her nuts, the silent Konoe showed up as their escort with a contingent of the uniformed soldiers, gesturing for them to come peacefully. Despite knowing all this, it didn't stop Edea from peppering Konoe with questions. "What do you guys want with us? Where did you come from? What are you planning? If your aim is to cause harm, know right now that I'll stop you."

Agnes touched a hand to Edea's shoulder, stopping her questions. Konoe wasn't answering anyway. "Edea... Let's wait and see what happens."

"I don't know how you can be so calm," Edea muttered. "Everything about this feels funny. This isn't our Grandship, Konoe's here, those two dark knights..."

"I have a few suspicions. Let's see what becomes of them."

The guards led them to the topmost deck of the Grandship, a wide open space which already had a few other people on it. Edea easily identified the two dark knights, and there on the ground... "Tiz! Alternis?" Ignoring the guards, Edea ran to Alternis's side, checking him over.

His eyes fluttered open, focusing slowly on her face. "Edea?" he mumbled. "What are you-"

"Caught, same as you, I'm guessing. Are you hurt?"

He shook his head, pulling himself into a sitting position. "No, I'm not. I was just knocked out for a while, I think." His expression was downcast. "To think that I'd be taken so easily... I need more training."

"I'll cross swords with you after this," she said, looking over to Agnes. "Is he hurt?"

She shook her head, keeping one hand on his shoulder. "That's enough," the female dark knight addressed them. "Step away from them. You two men, stay where you are."

"Who the hell are you?" Edea demanded. "To kidnap me and then order me around, don't you know who I am?"

"I know very well who you are, Warrior of Light and Avatar of Fire."

Again with the 'Avatar of Fire' business. "I think she has a pertinent question," Agnes said. "Who are you?"

"I don't take off my helmet for the likes of you." She turned back toward the other dark knight. "These are the ones that defeated Ouroboros? I find it hard to believe."

"Don't forget, they didn't do it alone." The male dark knight walked over to Edea, gripping her arm. "Just let us do what we brought you here to do, and we'll release you afterwards. We have no interest in keeping you beyond what we need."

"And just what is that?"

"It's nothing more than a spell. Stand here," he said, pulling her toward a different area of the deck.

Somehow, she wanted to resist, but on the other hand, there was something in that grip that felt... nostalgic? She didn't like where these signs were pointing. "Let's do what he says, Edea," Agnes told her, even as she herself was led by the other dark knight.

"I know, I know," she grumbled, letting herself be pulled.

"We're ready when you are, Doctor," the male dark knight said, turning his head.

"Then step back, please. You four, please stay where you are." Victor's voice. Another foe back from the grave. "We wouldn't want the precious bodies of the Warriors of Light to be ripped apart by this spell, after all."

"What are you planning on casting, you deranged doctor?" Edea shot at him.

"You'll see soon enough."

Under their feet, a pattern began to glow, and then Edea's vision became cloaked in red, the light swallowing her. With it came an intense pressure, as if it was a giant straw trying to suck her up. It was all she could do to hold her position. "Agnes! Alternis!" she tried shouting over the light, but no noise came out. She could barely make out similar pillars, in a triangular position from her perspective, but the light kept her from seeing anything in them.

"There's a problem," she heard Victor's voice over the roar in her ears. "I'm getting very little response from the Avatar of Earth. And none from the Avatar of Water."

"The Avatar of Earth I could maybe understand, but what's wrong with the Avatar of Water?" the male dark knight asked.

"Well, if I had to take a guess, I'd say he isn't the Avatar of Water, after all. Did you perhaps make a mistake?"

"He's the Alternis of this world. How could there be a mistake?"

"There was another Alternis in that room," the female dark knight said. "Could that have been it?"

"That's not possible. He was just a wanderer, an Alternis displaced from his world."

"Are you sure?"

"I can tell."

"If it's all the same to you," Victor said dryly, "I'd still like to give this other one a try. I can tell you with certainty that this one isn't the Avatar of Water. You two already know that there's no faking it. Only the ones that were there will be the avatars."

The male dark knight made an annoyed noise in his throat. "Shut down the spell. We'll lock them up for now and go looking for this wanderer."

"As you wish." The red light around Edea dimmed, and then shut down altogether, and she dropped to the ground.

Her legs felt like jelly, and that wasn't much better than the rest of her. "Agnes," she mumbled as the soldiers lifted her up, awkwardly carrying her back the way they had come. "Alternis..."

She didn't think she fully lapsed into unconsciousness, but she was only vaguely aware of being carried. When her focus finally returned, she was sprawled on the floor of one of the Grandship's fancy bedrooms, much like the one she herself often rode in when she traveled. How ironic. "Agnes, Alternis," she said, putting a hand to her head. "Are you two all right?"

Alternis lay nearby, stirring at the sound of his name. "Ugh," he groaned, pulling himself into a sitting position. "What the heck was that?"

"I don't know. Agnes?"

"I am fine," she said, "but I do not know what they might have been trying to accomplish, either." She pulled Tiz into her lap, checking his pulse. "He's still alive, at least."

"Yeah, but how long can he last outside of Lilia's chamber? You remember what happened when we were taking him there." Edea let out a sigh. "It was a good thing we stayed, since they went after Tiz and Alternis, too. But now I think we need to leave and get Tiz to safety. As we are, he can't defend himself, and I don't want to put him through that spell again."

"No, I think you're right. I think his life is definitely in danger."

"Then we're decided. Give him to me," Edea said, and with Agnes's help, she pulled Tiz onto her shoulders. "Now we have to get out."

"How? The door is guarded." Alternis got to his feet.

"We're not using the door." Edea looked around, finding the spot she wanted at last. With a press against the wall, a trapdoor opened near her feet. "Fools," she muttered. "The only one that knows this ship better than I do is Ringabel. Agnes, you first."

She nodded, then lowered herself into the hole. "Alternis, you're the rear guard. Pull the door closed after you," Edea instructed as she sat on the lip of the hole, gingerly easing her way into the trap door while having her hands full of Tiz. Agnes half-caught her as she descended, pulling her out of the way.

Alternis dropped into the hole like a cat, reaching up to pull the door shut. "What is this place?" he wondered. "I mean, who puts a trap door in a bedroom?"

"There are service tunnels all over this place," Edea said. "I think the actual doors came later. Let's make for the bottom of the ship. If we can get to the Eschalot, we have a chance of getting away."

"What do you think we should do afterwards?" Agnes asked.

"I'm not sure. We need a quick way to get back to Lilia's lab. Of course, the best way is to get there by airship. Argh."

"Lilia was injured when they came after myself and Mr. Tiz," Alternis said. "I hope she's alright."

Edea looked over at him. "You two have been awful chummy lately."

"Well, that's-What's wrong with-Is now really a good time?"

Edea grinned, leading the way down the tunnels. "Can we take these tunnels down all the way?" Agnes asked.

"I'm not sure. I don't remember the lower ones as well. They're really dark and cramped. Plus, they might suspect we're doing that once they discover we're gone. I think a better bet will be to slip onto deck and take one of the main ladders down."

"All right. I'll trust your memory in this matter, Edea."

"Ha. I'm not so sure that's a good choice. I really wish Ringabel were here. He'd be able to run rings around these guys."

"That's true, but perhaps it is because he is not here that they were not able to do whatever it is they were trying."

"Yeah, there's that. We have Alternis to thank for that."

"I didn't really do anything," he protested. "I even got caught by those dark knights."

"You were there," Edea said, "and that was enough."

Alternis's color flushed as he fell silent. "What do you think they were trying to do?" Agnes asked.

"I don't know. It felt like my life was being sucked right out of me. Perhaps they're after some power of the Warriors of Light, or this avatar nonsense they keep going on about?"

"Perhaps, but... We are ordinary humans, Edea. We have trained in various disciplines, but there is no great shift in our properties. What could they possibly extract from us?"

"A better question is what they hope to do with that power," Alternis said, then stopped.

"Go on," Edea encouraged.

Alternis took in a breath. "Let's assume that there's some inherent power - like my power of darkness, for example - that's part of being a warrior of light or an avatar and leave it at that. If you extract such power, you're going to have a huge glob of presumably elemental, magic energy. What would you do with it? What could you possibly use it for?"

"Elemental energy in itself isn't good or evil," Agnes said. "It could be used to create just as easily as it could to destroy. To which end are our captors going?"

"That's the real question, isn't it?"

"I've noticed something else," Agnes said. "Where are the monsters?"

Edea looked around. "Now that you mention it, where are they? We should've been attacked by now."

"Monsters?" Alternis echoed. "The Grandship houses monsters?"

"More like they took up breeding in here after the thousands of years the Grandship's been around," Edea said. "Datz and Zatz and I tried to eliminate them all off our Grandship when we worked on repairs, but they're slippery. Have they done the same thing here?"

"Well, why wouldn't they?"

"If the ship was being populated by a military, as it seems to be, I'm sure they would try. I'm just not sure they would succeed." She led them down staircases and ladders, across catwalks and narrow hallways, finally pausing next to a nondescript door. "If there's soldiers on the other side of this, I'm going to be annoyed," Edea muttered as she slowly opened the door.

The doorway opened up to an alley between two of the shops along the main staircase, a familiar spot. To her surprise, though, there were people everywhere - much more of a crowd than she had been expecting. And not only were they moving about, but a number even seemed to be camped out on the streets themselves, filling the alley they were standing in front of. "They're not soldiers," Agnes said. "I wonder what they are doing?"

"Let's try and blend into the crowd," Edea said after a moment. "There's a spot in the Drunken Pig that we can use to get down to the Eschalot. Just act normal."

"What part of this is normal?" Alternis muttered as Edea stepped out, Tiz still on her back. Agnes and Alternis followed, carefully stepping around those sleeping in the alley, who gave no reaction.

She had thought the crowd was abnormal from size alone, but once they were in it, Edea realized there was more to it than that. No one moved like a tourist, and relatively few seemed to be engaged with work or a purpose. Most were just lingering around, staring off into the sky or talking with their neighbors. Just keep moving. Stay calm, she thought, walking in long strides toward the Drunken Pig. She could only hope it wasn't as crowded there.

As they neared the entrance, she could see a guard standing by, his posture matching the rest of the crowd. He straightened as he saw Edea, giving her a sharp salute. "Lady Edea. If I'd known you were coming, I'd-"

"It's fine," she said. "We're just stepping in for a brief rest."

The interior of the Drunken Pig was empty, surprising considering the outside. The usual tables had been put aside for longer, makeshift tables that maximized the space given, making it appear more like a cafeteria than a pub. Toward the back, she could see Zatz cleaning some tables while Datz swept the floor. "So you came," the proprietress said from her position behind the bar. "I've been expecting you, kids of this world."

She knew. Not that surprising; the proprietress had always been pretty sharp. Edea eyed the booths above, where she knew another trapdoor waited. Could they make it up there in time? Before she could make a break for it, she could hear another voice, just outside the door: "Yes, sir. Lady Edea just entered a minute ago. Are you looking for her?"

They were trapped.

Lilia had never been part of a rescue operation, but she was getting the distinct impression that this was not how it was supposed to go. Ringabel was gone, over the edge without a word, and she could only hope that he would be all right somehow. At least the arrows had ceased once he'd fallen, but that still left her in the position of being on a malfunctioning ship with an injured girl in her arms, surrounded by hostiles. This was kind of like the teen adventure novels Victoria used to read, only it was real and her shining knight had just fallen off the edge of an airship.

The leader of the soliders, the one Ringabel had called Kamiizumi, turned to her now. Hopping up on an extrusion of the ship, he kept his sword at the ready. "I don't recognize your face... Who are you?"

She stared at him like a dire goat caught in a spotlight. She didn't want to let on that she was a mage- if he didn't know, it could be an advantage for later. What would be a good lie? "I'm an outgoing and pretty sixteen year old looking for adventure!" she told him with a thumbs up. "And a boyfriend!"

"...What?" Kamiizumi shook his head. "Never mind. You there, lock her up with the others. I'm going to deliver my report."

The soldier saluted. Lilia watched as Kamiizumi went up the stairs into an interior part of the ship, out of sight. Now what? She could try and make her escape, but she'd never been on the Grandship like Ringabel and Edea had. 'The others' probably referred to them, so going along was probably the better choice for now. "I'll come along peacefully," she said. "I don't like violence."

Gingerly, under the point of the soldiers' spear and sword tips, she lowered herself down, then pulled the unconscious young Edea down into her arms. The girl's weight, almost as much as her own, sent her toppling onto the deck with a squeak. "Um... some help here, maybe?"

The soldiers looked at each other, but at last one of them put his weapon away, taking the young Edea in his arms. Lilia rose, letting them lead her inside the ship, to a hallway with many doors. The last one was obviously locked, not just with physical locks but with a magic spell as well, which was going to make breaking out difficult. But not impossible. She was a genius with magic, after all.

The soldier carrying Edea unlocked and opened the door, gesturing for Lilia to enter. "Don't try anything," he called inside.

Lilia did as she was instructed, entering the large, posh room. This was much nicer than the prisons in the adventure books. But one thing she didn't see were the others Kamiizumi had promised. "They're gone!" one of the soldiers said. "They've escaped somehow!"

The soldier carrying Edea set her down gently on a couch. "I'll report this to Commander Kamiizumi. You," he pointed at one of the soldiers, "stay in here with her to make sure she doesn't escape."

He saluted, and the other soldier left the room, locking it behind himself. "Hmph," the large man grunted, taking a seat on a chair that almost seemed too small for him. "Babysitting a couple of little girls? I'd rather be confronting some enemies! Let me at 'em!"

"Are you expecting enemies?" Lilia said. "I'm really quite friendly. Though Ringabel says I have issues with helmets."

"It'd be nice if there were! A man isn't meant to sit around and do nothing!" He stood up again, pacing around the room.

"What would you like to be doing, then?"

"Punching things!" If anything, this brought an increase to his already loud volume.

"Ah!" Now she had him figured out. "Are you... could you possibly be the 'mook' I've read about?!"

"A what? I don't bother with reading, I want to have more action!"

This guy was indeed a mook. She was certain of it. Now would be a good time to go... but on the other hand, she still had to worry about the girl that Ringabel had rescued. She wasn't about to abandon the girl. Especially not a girl so close to her own age, with things in common to her. "Well, I don't mind if you punch some things for a while, but I want to check on my friend, okay?" She knelt next to the girl.

"You're not too bad a brat!"

Lilia watched as he paced around the room, drawing a little magic when she was sure he wasn't watching. That done, she took stock of the room. Plush furniture, a barred window... and a scrap of cloth sticking out of the floor. That must be why Edea and everyone isn't here anymore.

Under her hand, the girl stirred, opening her eyes. She had the same color eyes as Edea, but not quite the same shade- a bit lighter. "Who are you?" she asked.

"Lilia V. Court," she said with a bright grin. "It's nice to meet you, new friend!" She held out a hand.

After a pause, the girl took the hand slowly, and Lilia gave it a shake. There, now they were friends for real. "What's your name?"

"Edea... Edea Lee."

"Should I call you Edea, then? Or perhaps you prefer something else?"

"I... don't know." The girl drew her knees up to her chest. "Why did you save me?"

"The guy I was with wanted to save you no matter what," Lilia said. "Because you're 'Edea'. Oh, he's not here right now. It's a long story. Why were you being dangled off the end of the ship like that?"

She turned her head away. "Because... because I'm not 'Edea'. Not really."

"Ah. Because you're a clone, right?"

Edea looked at her in alarm. "You... How did you... You can tell?!"

"I thought so," Lilia said in satisfaction. "And yeah, I can tell. Maybe it's because I'm a clone, too."

"You're a...?"

"Well, something like that, anyway. Victor-papa was never really forthcoming with the details, and I couldn't find the documentation on my own creation," Lilia said with a shrug.

Edea was staring at her. "You're awfully calm about that."

"Well, what else would I do?" Lilia sat on the couch next to her, adopting the same knees-to-chest pose as Edea, listening with half an ear to the mook throwing punches into the air. "You were cloned from Edea, right? I think that's kind of mean, giving you the same name. You're your own person, don't you know. We should call you something else."

"Like what?"

Lilia paused, considering. The only female names that came to mind were Victoria and Agnes, neither one appropriate. "Oh, the novels," she realized.

"The what?"

"Oh, they're things I read. I'll lend you them sometime," she said. "Let me think. Names, names... Terra? Too earthy. Aeris? No, that's bad luck. Tifa?" She eyed the girl askance. "You're really not busty enough for that."

"...what do you mean by that?"

"What other novels were there... What was the name of that one girl with the bird," Lilia muttered. "Chiri! No, wait, maybe that was the-"

"'Chiri' is fine," the girl interrupted.

"You're sure? I mean, I could check my library-"

"No, really, it's fine. If you want to call me that, it's fine."

"Chiri it is then! By the way, how are your injuries feeling?"

"My injuries?" She slid a hand over her shirt, pulling the top of it it closed quickly. "I, I'm fine now, thanks."

"Great." She looked over at the mook. Still punching the air. Twirling a finger in the air, she cast a sleep spell, dropping him quietly. "That takes care of that. Now give me a hand here." She went over to the floor with the scrap of cloth, investigating the seam. Sure enough, there was a door, but what triggered it? "There must be a latch, probably in the wall... Feel around for it."

"What are we doing this for?" Chiri asked as she obediently ran her hands along the wall.

"Because we're going to escape. We're going to catch up with my other friends and get out of here. You're fine with that, right? This place seems pretty lousy."

"I can... really come with you? Why do you want to help me?"

"Isn't it obvious? We're friends. Oh, wait, maybe it's not obvious. Sometimes it's hard to tell what you're missing, being created and all. Look, a friend is someone you like. You like being around them, eating meals with them, working on projects with them, or just talking about things. They're someone you help, and that helps you in return if you need it."

Chiri blinked at her. "I know what a friend is. I mean, why do you want to be so nice to me is all. Ah!" She jerked her hand back as something in the wall gave way, and the door swung open.

"Hey! Great job, Chiri!" Lilia pushed the door open, walking inside. Clearing away the little scrap of cloth, she said, "Let's go!"

Chiri followed her timidly. The path was a small, twisted hallway, the sound of machinery all around them. "This isn't so bad," Lilia said. "Reminds me of my lab."

"You have a lab?" Chiri asked, sticking close to Lilia.

"Oh! Yes. I'm a magic researcher," she explained. "It's a lot of fun. When we get out of here, I'll show you my lab. There's lots of machinery, and lots of books. A few cats, too. Locke is the most mischievous of the lot, he's always stealing little things. Edgar really likes to watch me work. And Sabin's a great mouser. Do you like cats?"

"I don't know. I've never met one. Ah, but I'm sure they must be nice," Chiri said with a wave of her hands.

"Well, you'll get a chance soon enough!" Lilia paused at a crossroads in the tunnel, not sure which way to go. Where would Edea have gone? Picking a random direction, she said, "So, were you born here?"

"I don't know... I guess so? I have memories, but I don't know if they're really mine... 'My name is Edea Lee. I'm one of the Warriors of Light. The other Warriors of Light are my friends'. I thought that's who I was, but then, that spell..."

"Spell, what spell?" Lilia was instantly intrigued.

"I don't know what it was. Something the dark knights made up. But it didn't work..." She put a hand to her chest. "The others... they died. I saw them die. I thought I would die myself... I don't know how I survived."

Oh, that explained the scars. "I guess it is kind of hard to watch your friends die," Lilia said. "But don't worry! I'm not going to die, so you won't have to worry about me!"

"I don't even really know if they were my friends," Chiri said. "All I have is those memories. The dark knights said I was just a replacement that didn't work. Maybe I am, but I'm not stupid. I can tell enough to know when memories and ideas were put into my mind that weren't mine."

"Oh, I guess that can be rough if you didn't want them," Lilia agreed. "I just had magical knowledge implanted in my mind, so that I could carry on my papa's work. It's not so bad." Lilia gave her a pat on the shoulder. "You're really serious. You think a lot about heavy stuff. You're not like Edea at all. Isn't that great?"

"Sorry. You must think I'm terribly gloomy." Chiri lowered her head. "I've just been thinking about this since I nearly died, and I haven't really had anyone to talk to about it..."

"Nah, you're not gloomy. You know, I used to think that Alternis was pretty gloomy, but it turns out he's not such a bad guy, once he takes off his helmet. I hate helmets."

"You know Alternis?" Chiri took a step back from her.

"Yeah, you'll like him. He's too serious and sometimes he's a real stick in the mud. And he's really bad about speaking his mind, and he's always harping on how great Braev-er, the lord marshal-is. But he's actually... a really nice guy. Oh, I guess he shows up in those fake memories of yours, but this Alternis isn't the same. Won't it be great to make some real memories?"

"No, it's not that. I think... I think I've heard that name before. In my real memories."

A sound above them made Lilia pause, drawing a little black magic in preparation. "What was that?" Chiri asked.

"Dunno. I don't like it, though. Let's hurry." Lilia took Chiri's hand, picking up her pace.

She only got a few steps before something fell out of the tubing above them, thrashing about. It resembled one of the water creatures she had heard of, but clearly had some kind of undead attribute, judging by the rotten fishy smell and the decaying flesh. Chiri let out a scream as the thing thrashed about, trying to bite at her. "What is that?"

"Some kind of monster. Stay behind me." One good Thundara would probably put the thing in its place, but Lilia wasn't sure she wanted to loose that much electricity around the airship's engine. Since it was a zombie, a holy spell would be fine, right? "Don't worry, I think I got this. Ho-"

Something else came down on the creature, striking it a powerful blow. It squealed, then dissolved as the intruder hit it again. With a wave of his weapon-a massive two-headed axe-the other person finally looked at them. "Hey, what are you doing down here? It's still dangerous, you know."

Had he seen her charging her spell? She wasn't sure that the adventure and boyfriend excuse would hold up a second time. "Sorry, we got lost. We'll return right n- Mr. Tiz?"

The man tipped up his hat, raising his eyebrows as he looked at her. No, this wasn't the Tiz she knew, for this man was older, and she didn't think he was a clone, either. "That's not the way out," he said. "Here, follow me. You should stay with me anyway, in case there are more monsters."

"Were you down here looking for them?" Lilia asked, peering at his weapon. There was definitely some kind of enchantment on it, she deduced. Judging by the energies held inside the metal, she was guessing that it stored the monster's energy.

"Yes, though they're getting harder to find. I'm worried about running out of energy."

"Ah, so you are collecting their energy. What for?" Lilia asked.

"To help power certain magical things we've got on the ship," he said. "You two escapees are going to come quietly with me, aren't you? I'd hate for this to turn into a fight."

"Oh, uh... You knew?"

"Everybody on this ship knows why we collect the monsters' energy. You will come quietly, won't you?"

"Sorry, no speak your language," Lilia said, dragging Chiri away. "Goodbye!"

He only let out a sigh in response. She didn't hear him cast the spell, but then something slammed into her back, knocking her over. "Lilia!" Chiri said in alarm.

She tried to get up, but her limbs were tingling, not responding to her commands. Drat! A paralysis spell?

The older Tiz walked over to her, putting her over his shoulder. "You should come too, clone Edea. I'm sure Alternis doesn't want you wandering down here alone."

"Don't go using my friend's name," Lilia snapped at him, trying to wriggle her way off his shoulder. "You're a bad Tiz."

"If you say so."

"I'll come," Chiri said. "Don't hurt Lilia."

By the time they emerged into sunlight, Lilia could feel the paralysis wearing off. Tiz set her down on her own feet, waving to someone. "Hey, Alternis. I found two of your escapees."

"I'm hoping you'll tell me it's two of the Warriors of Light." Lilia heard footsteps approach.

"No, just the bystander girl, and-"

"You!" Lilia pointed at the armored man that stepped around the corner. "You're the jerk who busted up my lab and kidnapped my friends! You'd better not lay a hand on them, or I'll spread your body to the four winds!"

He turned that helmeted head toward her. This was a person, she reminded herself, not a machine. A person, albeit not a very nice one. "Strong words for a little girl."

"Just try me." With a sudden movement, she grabbed onto Chiri, gathering enough ice magic in her hand to form a spike. "Let us go, or I'll start with 'Edea'."

"You won't do it."

He's a person, he's a person... "You think I'm bluffing?"

"If you're going to do it, then do it," the dark knight said. "I have no compassion to waste on a clone who failed her purpose."

Chiri turned her head away, as if she'd been slapped. Lilia let her go, debating what kind of wrath she could bring down upon his head. "Inferior," she said. "You're inferior."

"I don't care about your opinion."

"You should."

"Did you find them yet?" Another man's voice, but this time, one that was very familiar, if almost forgotten. The speaker poked his face around the corner of the building. "I've finished resetting, if we can gather together our Warriors of Light again."

All the fight left her. She might have fought her way through the inferior Alternis and Tiz, but this was someone she could not lay a hand on. "...Victor-papa?"

He glanced at her briefly, then back to Alternis. "Edea's going to check with Kamiizumi," the inferior Alternis said. "I'll meet up with her and see if she's had any luck. Oh, can you stop this one from casting? She's apparently a mage."

Victor raised a hand, but Lilia did as well. "Stillness, right? I can cast that well enough myself."

"Who is this girl?" he directed to Alternis as he looked her up and down.

"Some girl that was with the wanderer; we don't know any more than that."

"I'm Lilia V. Court," she said, raising her chin. "The 'V' is for Victor. Or Victoria, if you prefer."

Now she had his attention. "You're from this world, correct? What are you?"

"I was created by Victor-papa's research to try and cure Victoria's ill health."

"You were a cure." He stared at her. "There was a cure. Oh, if only she'd been able to last this long..."

"Snap out of it, Victor," Alternis told him. "We still need you."

"Shut your mouth, boy." The words were ice. "I don't follow your orders. I'm only here because of her last orders, and I'm only helping you because I have nothing better to do. Leave me to my grief for a small moment." Turning on his heel, he strode away from Alternis.

Lilia watched his back as he left, wondering why it made her want to cry. This wasn't her papa. This wasn't a man that she knew at all. But she knew exactly whose death was causing him to feel so much pain. "Oh, Victor-papa."

"You two come along with me, and don't try anything funny," Alternis said. "I'll meet up with you again in a bit, Tiz."

Lilia deliberately placed herself between the inferior Alternis and Chiri, shielding the girl with her back as they walked. "I'm sorry," she said to Chiri quietly. "I wouldn't have really hurt you."

"Why did you do such a thing?"

"Because 'Alternis' would have never let 'Edea' be hurt. I refuse to call that man Alternis," she said. "My Alternis is kind and caring. They're not even in the same league."

"Enough talking," Alternis told them. "Remember, you're prisoners. Don't resist, or things will be unpleasant for you in the future."