Chapter 13: Rappigs are Not Stuffed Animals!

"So... what's going on?" Tear asked after spending about ten minutes doing nothing but hugging Luke half to death. She looked around, taking in her surroundings. "We're on the Albiore?"

"Yeah," Luke answered, helping her to sit up. "We found out you were missing, and came looking for you. Jade told us."

Thank Lorelei I told him when to start looking for me, or who knows what might have happened! Tear thought gratefully. Out loud, she asked, "So, how did you find me?"

Guy walked over and sat on the floor before them. "Earlier this afternoon, Jade told me what happened, and while we were discussing plans with Emperor Peony, Van showed up and offered to help."

"Van? He's returned?" Tear asked. "What's he been doing this past week?"

Guy looked uncomfortable. "Well... he's been secretly spying on the Replica Resistance Force, trying to find out who their leader is. But right now, he's with Jade, headed towards Cheagle Woods, looking for you."

"I see..." Tear bowed her head, not wanting to discuss a subject that she knew would make Luke upset. But the news about Van cheered her a little- she had been slightly worried about where he'd been.

"We don't have to worry about any of that now, right?" Luke said cheerfully. "Anyway, long story short, Guy came to get me and we flew out here, since we figured Mushroom Road and Cheagle Woods were the only two places you could hide. We went through the forest, saw some monsters fighting, killed them, and there you were. We got you aboard, swung over Cheagle Woods so Jade and Van would know we found you, and started heading towards Grand Chokmah." Here a little choke came into his voice, and he abruptly stopped talking. Luke was making light of the tale, refusing to show Tear just how scared he'd been when they had found her.

Tear turned her gaze on Luke curiously, but all she said was, "So we're going to Grand Chokmah now?"

"Yeah," Guy answered, for Luke was busy looking at the floor. "You're injured pretty badly, and what medical supplies we have won't do much. So we have to have a doctor look at you in the morning. Otherwise we would have picked up Jade and Van first."

Tear shifted her weight and stifled a groan- the cuts on her body still stung. "Probably a good idea," she replied, and glanced at Luke again.

Desperate for something to do, Luke reached over and grabbed Tear's bag, placing it in her lap. "Here, we brought your things with us."

"...Thank you, Luke," she answered, wondering why he was being so stiff all of a sudden. And then she remembered something with a shock that took her breath away. "My fontop? Where is it?"

"Right here. We didn't forget that either," Guy spoke up, sliding the case over.

Tear bit her lip and tried not to look worried, but it was too late. Both Guy and Luke had seen the expression on her face. "Tear? What's the matter?" Luke asked.

"My fontop." Tear opened the case and took it out. "There is a tracking device on it. I was hiding in Mushroom Road because the fumes from the spores blocked the signal. Now that we're no longer in the forest, Yulia City could be tracking my movements right now!"

Now Luke looked scared. "Tracking us? So they could follow us?"

"Yes," nodded Tear. "And capture me."

Guy, however, didn't look so much worried as he did excited. "Maybe not."

Luke and Tear both turned to look at him as he leaned over and took the fontop from Tear. "Maybe I can fix that little problem."

"You can remove the tracking device without breaking the fontop?" Tear looked doubtful.

"Well, I can try," Guy answered, looking over the device with gleaming eyes.

Luke laughed suddenly. "Why not? And if worse comes to worse, we can smash the thing and destroy the tracking device that way!"

The look Guy gave Luke was a mix of horror and disbelief, which made Tear laugh too, and she leaned on Luke's shoulder as they both tried to catch their breath.

"Well, Guy, if you think you can do it, go ahead," she told him when she could speak. "But try to do it before we land, if you can?"

"You got it!" Guy exclaimed, barely able to contain his excitement as he scrambled to the cockpit of the Albiore. "Hey, Noelle, where's the toolbox?"

"Under the seat," she replied without looking away from the controls. "We have about an hour before we land, ok?"

"Yeah, sure," Guy said absently, already prying off the back panel of the fontop.

Luke and Tear looked at each other and smiled. "He'll be busy for a while," Luke commented.

"Indeed. Hopefully he'll be quiet, too," Tear answered. "My head still aches a little."

"Here, you should rest some more before we get to Grand Chokmah," Luke told her, drawing her over so her head could rest in his lap again. Tear didn't object at all, and settled down right away.

The only sounds that could be heard for a few minutes was the engine of the Albiore, and Guy's tinkering with the fontop. Luke closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall, and a moment later he felt Tear's hand slip into his. Smiling, he grasped it gently.

"Luke?" he heard her whisper.

"Yeah, Tear?"

"Thank you... for coming to find me."

"What did I tell you?" Jade told Van as they neared Theor Forest to pass through it on their way back to Grand Chokmah. "Tear's been found by Luke, just as I thought."

Van shot Jade a glare. "Colonel Curtiss, are you insinuating something?"

"Why, no," Jade grinned. "I just don't want you to be surprised when we return to the city."

"I won't be there for long," Van said as he looked around. "I'll make sure Tear is all right, but then I'm leaving again."

"Still not finished with your spying?"

"No, of course not. I still intend to find out who is leading that cursed group of people. Wouldn't it make your job easier, Colonel?"

Jade shrugged. "Of course it would. However, I'm only thinking of what your sister might say if you suddenly went missing as she did."

Van shot Jade a look again. "I'm capable of taking care of myself."

"And you said the same thing about Tear, if I recall."

With that smug look on Jade's face, Van found it very difficult to keep himself from saying something insulting. After a moment he asked, "Do you torment everyone you know this way?"

"Yes, I do, However, I torment prisoners and people I dislike even worse."

I think I feel sorry for them, then... Van thought, leaving the conversation at that.

Meanwhile, at the palace in Baticul, Natalia couldn't sleep. All she could think about was what happened earlier that evening. Just after supper, a soldier brought the news that Guy had arrived and left quickly, taking Luke with him. A note had been left, saying that Tear was in danger, and Luke was going to find her. After that, he would remain in Grand Chokmah.

Unable to bear tossing about any longer, Natalia quietly rose from her bed and went to the open window, feeling the cool night air on her face.

"Have I not fulfilled my duties correctly?" she quietly asked herself. "Maybe if I had taken a different course, Luke wouldn't have had to do this. Now... now his parents are more worried than ever, and we won't know if he's all right until he contacts us." She looked up at the sky, hoping the sight of stars might soothe her.

But it didn't. Instead, for some reason, she thought about Asch. Somehow, she knew that Asch wouldn't have done what Luke did. He would have stayed in Baticul and solved his problems his own way, while at the same time helping her to deal with her own issues. Natalia didn't like comparing Luke and Asch this way, but she couldn't help it.

Bowing her head, Natalia closed her eyes and sent a prayer to Lorelei, asking for Luke and Tear to arrive safely at their destination. And then, she addressed Asch, hoping that somehow, he could hear her.

Asch... if you were here now, what would you do?

By the time the Albiore landed in Grand Chokmah, it was three o'clock in the morning. Luke looked down at Tear, who had fallen asleep in his lap a while back. Not wanting to wake her, he lifted her as carefully as he could and stood up. Then he walked over to where Guy was cleaning up the mess he had made. To Luke, it looked as if he had disassembled the whole fontop and put it back together again.

"Did you get it?" Luke whispered.

"You bet I did!" Guy looked as happy as if he had just discovered water after being in the desert for 3 days. "And the fontop should still work, too!"

"Great... so what did you do with the tracker?"

Guy held it up. "I deactivated it after I removed it from the fontop. Yulia City won't be using this to track anyone down anymore."

Luke nodded and grinned. "I guess your obsession with fontech is a good thing after all."

"Hey!" Guy jumped up, but Luke shushed him, nodding to Tear. She sighed in her sleep but didn't wake up.

"Well, come on, let's get off this thing and go to sleep." Luke led the way toward the door.

"Yeah, where are you going to sleep?" Guy asked him. "My place is being renovated, or I'd have you stay with me, and Jade's not here either."

"Um... the inn?"

Guy shook his head. "It's been booked solid most of the week. I doubt they have any empty rooms left at this time of the night."

"Well, we can try, right? Anything's better than staying at Peony's, I think," Luke mumbled as he entered the city.

"You've got a point there," Guy grimaced.

So they went to the inn, expecting to be turned away, but received a mixed blessing instead.

The good news was that there was one room left, since they'd had an late cancellation.

The bad news? The room only had one bed.

Luke and Guy looked at each other. Luke looked slightly agitated and nervous. Guy... well, Guy looked as if the whole thing was a joke. As Luke gently set Tear on the bed, he heard Guy say: "It's a little soon to be living together, don't you think?"

Turning on Guy furiously, Luke snatched up a pillow and threw it at him, but he had already backed out of the room and closed the door behind him. "Have a good time!" he called before his footsteps were heard going down the stairs.

Man, he's been hanging around Jade WAY too long... Luke thought angrily as he flopped down on the bed, forgetting that someone was already on it. Which resulted in Tear being jolted awake in pain, because of a heavy weight on her stomach.

"What? What's going on?" she cried sleepily, pushing the weight off her, which turned out to be Luke's head. He jumped up quickly.

"Oh... I'm sorry, Tear. I forgot you were there for a second..."

She blinked and looked around. "Where are we now?"

"The inn at Grand Chokmah," he told her. "But there's only one room, so..."

Tear immediately understood where this was going. "We have to share a room for the night?"

Luke nodded, glad that the lights were out, so Tear couldn't see his blushing face. Although if he had known that she was blushing as well, maybe he wouldn't have felt as bad.

Tear was silent for a moment, and then she slowly sat up, stifling a groan, then looked around. "There's only one bed."

"I know," Luke answered sheepishly. "I... I'll be okay on the floor, if you'd rather not..."

"No, it's all right," she said quickly. "You must be tired from everything you did today. We... we can share the bed."

He watched her carefully. "Are you sure?"

She nodded. "We did once, remember?"

Then Luke did remember that night, when their relationship had really begun. Only a few weeks ago, and yet it seemed like months.

"Luke?" He quickly snapped out of his thoughts to see Tear watching him.

"What?"

"Aren't you going to lie down?" she asked him.

"Oh... right..." he grinned sheepishly, and sat down on the bed to pull his boots off. Then Tear realized she was still wearing hers as well, and reached out to pull them off. But when she stretched out so far, she cried out softly and fell back against the pillows.

"What? What's the matter?" Luke turned around, alarmed by her cry.

"Nothing... I'm just more banged up than I thought." Tear shook her head, cursing herself for making Luke worry about her more. If only I wasn't so tired, I could just heal myself...

"Here, let me do it," said Luke, reaching over and slowly pulling off her boots, letting them drop to the floor. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, thank you," Tear smiled, and pulled the blankets over her. Luke shed his coat and hurried to do the same. For a while, they lay on their backs and looked up at the ceiling, listening to the ever-present sound of rushing water outside.

"What about you, Luke?" Tear spoke up suddenly.

He turned on his side to look at her. "What about me?"

"Are you all right?"

Luke was confused for a moment before he realized what Tear was talking about. "You mean the whole issue with the resistance force?" Tear nodded, and he sighed in response. "No, I'm not really okay with it. But that's why I'm here. I figure everyone will be safer if I stay in Grand Chokmah."

This took Tear by surprise. "You mean... you're staying here?"

"That's right. And so are you." Luke took her hand protectively. "I'm not letting any soldiers get their hands on you if they're going to drag us apart again."

"Luke..." Tear was even more surprised by this statement.

"I mean it!" Now he sat up, leaning on one elbow so he could look down into her eyes. "More than ever now, I want to stay with you. I don't intend to let anyone or anything separate us ever again, if I can help it." And before Tear could say or do anything else, Luke had bent down low and kissed her.

When he straightened up, still close enough so Tear could see the blush on his face this time, she smiled. "That makes me very happy, Luke."

Luke smiled as well. "Good. Let's keep it that way, then." He bent over her again, but before their lips touched, a sound in the room made Luke jump up and Tear sit up.

A very odd sound. More like... a grunt.

Luke and Tear looked at each other, confused. Neither of them had made the sound. Tear looked down at the floor on her side of the bed, then glanced back at Luke. He quickly understood, and leaned over his side to look underneath.

"What the..." Luke sat up slowly.

Tear looked worried. "What is it?"

Luke reached under the bed and seemed to poke something, and then to Tear's astonishment, a rappig crawled out from under the bed on her side and stood there, blinking at her.

"A... a rappig?" Tear resisted the urge to pet it, while Luke sat up again.

"This makes no sense." He shook his head. "What's a rappig doing here?"

"I have no idea," Tear replied. "Guy told me a few days ago that all the rappigs belonging to the Emperor had been found, and this is certainly one of his." She pointed to the collar around the rappig's neck.

"Maybe one escaped again while Guy and I were gone," Luke suggested.

"That has to be it," decided Tear, beckoning the rappig closer so she could get a good look at the collar. She studied it for a moment, then stifled a giggle.

"What?" Luke asked her.

She turned to him, looking amused. "The collar on this rappig says 'Luke'."

"You're joking!"

"No, I'm not. This must be the rappig Emperor Peony named after you." Tear couldn't resist patting the rappig's head this time. He responded by flapping his ears happily and nosing her hand.

"Well, what are we going to do about it? It's too late to take him back to Peony," Luke pointed out.

"I know. He'll just have to stay here with us until morning," replied Tear.

Luke made a face at this. "He'd better not make any noise, then."

Tear patted the rappig again, and then tried to send him over to the corner. But it didn't work. Instead, Rappig Luke put his front legs up on the bed and looked at her. This puzzled her, and Luke sighed.

"I guess Peony really does let his rappigs sleep in his bed," he commented.

"Oh, is that what he wants?" Tear glanced at Luke before turning back to the rappig, who clearly wanted to be let into the bed.

"Tear, no! The bed will be too crowded!" Luke pleaded.

She blinked. "Crowded? The bed's pretty big. He could fit at the end of it, as long as he doesn't move around."

"But Tear..."

Suddenly it dawned on her. "Do you dislike animals in your bed, Luke?"

"No! But I don't think I want a rappig in my bed..."

"Our bed..."

"Our bed...when, you know..."

Wait, hold on here! Tear's brain screamed a warning. What is he thinking?

"Luke... were you perhaps thinking that there are things you can't do if there's a rappig in our bed?" She glared at him slyly.

"Huh? Um..."

He's not answering- I was right! Tear huffed a little. "Well, in that case, the rappig stays." And before Luke could protest again, Tear pulled Rappig Luke up onto the bed and shoved him over toward Luke.

"Hey, you said he could sleep at the end of the bed!" Luke complained.

"I changed my mind," smiled Tear. "It will do you good to sleep with an animal for once, especially if the animal is just like you."

Luke didn't reply to that- he had no idea what Tear was trying to say with that remark. So he rolled over on his other side, facing away from the rappig, while Tear cuddled up against him.

Let that teach Luke a lesson about such things... she thought as she fell asleep.

Luke, meantime, lay awake for a while longer, wondering why Tear had acted that way.

The first night we see each other again... and she won't even let me hug her while we sleep...

Soon enough, however, all three of them were asleep. Tear, dreaming about how wonderful it would be if Luke wasn't such an idiot sometimes. Luke, dreaming about how much he would like to be closer to her than he was now. And the rappig. Who knows what he was dreaming? Whatever it was, at one point he kicked Luke in the back, causing him to move over closer to his side of the bed and think sleepily: Rappigs should never be stuffed animals... what's wrong with Peony anyway?

To answer his question, Peony was busy searching his room top and bottom."Where is my cute little Luke?"

Rappig Jade just looked at him indifferently and went back to sleep.

That was a fun chapter to write. Poor Luke. Originally, this part of the story was a lot crazier, but it wouldn't make any sense if I wrote it. Peony was supposed to come looking for his rappig, and then a riot would occur outside the inn, involving some angry citizens. Causing Peony to spend the rest of the night with Luke, Tear, and his rappig.

I bet you're all glad I changed it. I am. Because that scene is just... creepy.

Anyway, I was so happy to see all the reviews I received for my previous chapter! I really feel like the story is coming together, especially as I'm using less of the actual happenings in the chats and making up more of the scenes. I hope you all continue reading- this fic isn't over by a long shot!

Oh yeah, and Peony's rappigs like reviews. Feed them!