Disclaimer: Tales of the Abyss and all characters therein do not belong to me. That honor goes to Namco Bandai. This story is for fun only, and I do not profit from it.

Nederim

Chapter 14 / Silence

"Two persons in a vista, the third one says she's hollow." - Theatre of Tragedy

"We should rest here before we take the ship," Tear said, once they arrived in Chesedonia once more. "It's been a long day."

"If we go to the Malkuth consulate, they should show us to the ship that will take us to Kaitzur," Jade said. "Let's do that tomorrow."

Cassia had no complaints with the plan. In fact, she was relieved that everyone else seemed to think resting now would be the best course of action. If traveling through the desert wasn't exhausting enough, then the events that occurred in the Zao Ruins would definitely make anyone tired. Not saying anything and simply giving a nod in agreement, Cass followed the group to the inn on the Kimlascan side of the city.

Right before Luke could reach for the door, he suddenly fell to his knees, grasping his head as he groaned in pain. Natalia was quick to go to his side, wondering if he was okay, when he just pushed her away and got up, taking slow, effort-filled steps away from everyone. Hesitantly, Tear took a few steps towards him to see if she could help, but what happened next Cass never thought would happen.

It was obvious that Luke had a temper; that much was clear to even Cass. And, while she had become a bit wary of him since his actions in the Zao Ruins, she would never even consider him drawing his weapon and turning it on Tear a possibility. But here he was, pointing the edge of the sword at the Oracle Knight. One hand stayed on his head, the other the held the sword remained stable, not even shaking like it used to.

"Luke, what are you doing?" Tear asked. Her voice was steady, but her tone changed slightly at the end.

"It isn't me!" Luke replied in a strained voice. "It's Asch, he's controlli—" he could finished before he collapsed into the sand. He didn't move again, nor did he make a sound. Guy quickly made a move to rush him into the inn, into a bed, so the noble could rest. Cass picked up the sword that was left in the dust, but made sure to place it away from Luke once he was placed in a bed.

"What's happening to him?" Natalia asked, her voice filled with concern.

Cassia glanced around the room at everyone. Tear was fairly expressionless, focusing on a small healing arte even though it couldn't have been effective; Jade, as always, was straight-faced; and Guy, Natalia, Ion, and Anise all had varying degrees of what looked like worry on their faces.

"I think I may know, but I'd rather refrain from commenting until I'm certain," Jade said. Cass frowned. "However I do believe Dist is the one behind this."

"Dist?" Natalia repeated.

"Another one of the God-Generals," Guy explained. "He must have done something to Luke back at Choral Castle."

There was a tense paused. Before Cass could open her mouth and attempt to make Jade announce his hypothesis, the princess was the one that broke the silence. "I was unaware that you stopped at Choral Castle when you were retrieving Luke, Cassia. Why was I not made aware of this in your reports?"

She didn't reply for a moment. "I did not want you to worry about Luke," she answered honestly. "He was the same as always after we left; I didn't think anything happened to him."

The younger girl crossed her arms. "Well, clearly that is not the case. May I have a word, Cassia?"

She knew by now that this wasn't a request, so she nodded. "Of course. However," she said, turning to Jade, "is there a reason other than lack of certainty you're withholding information about Luke's condition, Jade?"

The colonel smiled at her. "Of course," he replied. "Just like you, I wouldn't want to worry Her Majesty over something that may be trivial. After all, I might be wrong, and then everyone would have been concerned over nothing."

Cass's frown deepened. She felt like he was making fun of her rather than wanting to make sure Natalia wasn't worried about something that might not matter. She didn't say anything though, and instead turned away from Jade. Sharing a look with the princess, the blonde made her way out of Luke's room and waited just outside for Natalia to follow in suit.

"Let us return to our room for the moment," Natalia said stiffly. "You will draw me a bath and I expect a full report on the events this time, Cassia." Without waiting for a reply, the noble walked down the hall and into the second room they had bought for the night. The attendant could only follow after and do as she was told.

"I see," Natalia acknowledged, arm held out as Cass scrubbed it clean. "These God-Generals might be planning something concerning Luke. Aside from the landship, Choral Castle, the border, Kaitzur, and that confrontation at the river, there was nothing else, correct?"

"Yes," Cass answered, letting go of her arm. It dropped back into the brown-tinted water and she reached for the princess's other arm. "As for your theory, no one seemed to care about Luke's presence, until Choral Castle." The blonde stopped for a moment, focused on cleaning Natalia, before she added. "It was an odd fon machine. Jade seemed to know what it was, but he wouldn't explain."

"For an emissary of peace, he certainly is doing a poor job of gaining my trust. You would think he would be more concerned about the well-being of the royal family," Natalia huffed. Cass agreed silently. "His Imperial Majesty must trust him, however, and I must have faith in his judgment. If not, then peace between the two countries will be all the more difficult."

"If you trust him, then I will," Cass said. "Lean forward, please." The princess did as she was told, and the pair sat in silence for a moment. "Natalia, did you find me in the desert? Or was I closer to Chesedonia?"

"It was rather close to the southern side of the desert, actually," Natalia answered. "Now that I think about it, you were fairly close to the Zao Ruins. Perhaps a few hours south of the oasis."

Her attendant hummed thoughtfully, wondering why she would have even been in the desert in the first place. "Does Luke have a twin?"

Green eyes blinked at the sudden question. "A twin?" she repeated. "No, the Fabre's only have a single child, and that is Luke. I can see why you would be curious," she acknowledged quietly. "That God-General—Asch?—he did look eerily similar to Luke…"

"I agree," Cass nodded. "I feel as though there's something… odd about Luke as well."

"What do you mean?"

"Well," Cass started, "he used to be frightened of fighting people. His comment to the God-Generals before they let us leave the ruins concerned me."

Another round of silence came over the two. "You also do not wish to harm anyone, correct? Is that why Luke's words bothered you?"

"I don't want to hurt anyone. I know that I need to, and I believe I will be able to kill someone if there's no other option, but… killing something when there are other solutions just doesn't seem right. Here's your towel." Natalia stood up and got out of the bath and Cass hastily handed over the towel so she could dry herself. "I feel as though there is something else," she continued. "I'm not quite sure what... perhaps it's just his temper from being in the desert for so long."

"I felt the same way ever since his kidnapping," Natalia told her. "It's like he's a completely different person, more so now that he returned to the capital. I guarantee Guy and that gardener are to blame."

The attendant didn't know anything about how Luke was before the kidnapping, so she couldn't say anything regarding that matter. Maybe she just wasn't paying enough attention until she left Baticul for Akzeriuth, but at first it seemed like that fon machine didn't do anything to Luke. After the events outside of the inn, though, clearly something happened, especially if Guy and Jade thought so; they actually knew some things about fon machines. But she had no clue what it could have been. Guy would have said something if he knew, and Jade refused to say anything at this point in time.

"Cassia?" Natalia said suddenly, halting her attendant's thoughts. Cass paused her work and waited for the princess to continue. "If what Luke said to those God-Generals truly bothered you, perhaps you should speak with him about it."

"I should," she acquiesced. She felt that she got along decently with the duke's son, and being wary of him wasn't something she wanted. They were friends—she thought so, at least—and despite how grating Luke's personality could be at times, she didn't want to just throw away any relationship between them right away. Getting out of the desert would probably be the end of any doubts she was having. The weather didn't agree with either of them, and even Cass had been more irritable as of late. And in the end, he might not have been serious about what he said. He did that often when training with Van—Imri called it bluffing. She was likely just overthinking things.

"Cassia, what are you doing? Hurry and clean up so you can escort me to the city."

"Ah, but, the bath is already drained?"

Natalia crossed her arms and frowned at the older girl. Cass suddenly felt incredibly stupid under her stare.

"I meant yourself. You're covered in blood and sand and I will not allow you to walk through a crowded area like that."

The Chesedonian sun somehow managed to leave Cassia's now-clean clothes mostly dry by the time she finished cleaning. Tear and Anise were nowhere to be seen in their shared room, but Natalia remained in the room. The moment the attendant stepped out, Natalia stood, informing the older girl that they were to leave immediately. After all, Cassia 'would not make any progress on getting her memory back if she did not search the city.'

She complied, like usual, and the duo left right away, the taller girl trailing behind the princess obediently. They'd pass a multitude of stalls, and Natalia stopped at each one, looking at the wares they were selling. All the vendors tried to persuade the pair to buy something, but Cass never would and Natalia was resilient to their words. She did pay for a small charm, though. It was plain and simple, and Cass tried to read what was written on it but didn't have the time to.

"You were taking quite a bit of damage during that battle," she told Cass, stick the charm out for her to take. Cass grabbed it from her hand gingerly. "This will help improve your agility and strength. Sync seemed to be rather resilient to your usual combat style."

She nodded. "Yes, that's true… thank you," Cass said, getting a closer look at the little charm. It had the word 'ballacido' inscribed on it. Natalia had something similar, so she knew what it was. She just asked what 'ballacido' meant.

"It means 'vigorously' in Ancient Ispanian," she explained shortly before changing the subject. Natalia's voice quieted. "Have you remembered anything?"

Just in case, Cass took another look around the market place. "Nothing," she said, shaking her head. "However… I don't think I'm from Chesedonia." She gestured around to the people in the market. "Everyone is rather tan, and I'm not. Also, the heat isn't something I'm entirely fond of."

Natalia nodded in agreement, but looked slightly disappointed. "I figured as much. Finding you near here may have just been a coincidence. After all, Chesedonia is a neutral city; you might even be from Malkuth."

Cass shrugged in response. "Guy seemed to think I might be from Daath."

"What brought him to that conclusion?"

"Well, Lorelei was familiar to me, as were fonon frequencies," she explained. "I spoke with him about it… and he suggested that remembering that, along with being from a higher altitude, made it seem like I was from the mountains around Daath."

"I see… that does make sense," Natalia agreed, walking to a different stall. Cass followed. "You should speak with those Oracle Knights about Padamiya. They should know the area rather well." She wrinkled her nose a little, "Or, perhaps the Fon Master would be better."

Cassia gave her a look, wondering what she meant, but Natalia either didn't see it or ignored it. She followed Natalia as she looked around the remainder of the market, but neither of them bought anything else. They headed back to the inn at sunset, receiving a half-hearted greeting from Anise and Tear.

The older Oracle Knight was organizing newly bought supplies, while the younger was sitting in the middle of one of the beds, sewing up her doll's arm. There was a pile of stuffing sitting next to her, and she took care to make sure Tokunaga was stitched up perfectly.

Once Anise looked over her worked with a critical eye and deemed it acceptable, Cassia decided to do as Natalia suggested and ask the pair about Daath. Nothing about the city itself sounded familiar, but the climate seemed like it would be pleasant. Aside from that, nothing about the girls' description of the area stuck out to her. Conversation seemed to fade into silence, and there was a silent agreement that they should all head to bed. With hardly another word, the four split the beds—Natalia and Cass in one, Anise and Tear in the other—and became dead to the world.

"Do you think you're ready for this, Cass?"

It was a valid question. She'd learned about it from her father, but regular combat training was on a completely different level from the artes she would need to use. Even if she wasn't ready—and she was beginning to feel like she wasn't as prepared as she could be—there wasn't anything she could do about it. It was time.

Cass nodded in affirmation instead of vocally answering the question. The sun was bearing down on the three of them with no remorse, and she thought it wise to preserve what energy she had, no matter how little.

"How can you be so sure?" asked the second voice, and Cass turned around to face the source. Sonel's light hair and clothing nearly made her blend in with the never-ending desert landscape, only the color of her skin kept her from vanishing into the desert background. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest and she stood tall and proud, almost looking down at Cass despite the fact that the other woman was taller. "Kano was much more… skilled than you when it was time for his coming of age ceremony. I am not sure you will be able to do what you need to."

"Well, that's why we're here, right, Mom?" the first voice said, shooting Cass a tight smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Cass is only going to turn twenty once, so she has to go through with the coming of age ceremony."

Sonel sighed deeply but uncrossed her arms. "I suppose you have a point, Levi. We are here to assist when you require it, Cassia."

Cass didn't like how she worded the sentence and wished that someone would have more faith in her, especially since she was beginning to doubt herself at this point. Sonel was never helpful in that aspect of her life, so that was expected, but Levi could have been a bit more supportive. He seemed to be doing his best, however, and that was all Cass could ask for.

Her eyes drifted over to Levi's, looking for more reassurance. Knowing what she wanted, the boy shifted his weight around slightly before crossing his arms over his Oracle Knight regalia and nodding in approval at her. "Do what you have to do, Cass. We'll be… right behind you." Cass let the corners of her mouth twitch upwards at his words and nodded once more. Turning away from the two once more, Cass took one, two, three steps toward her destination.

A blast of fire shot up her spine and she gasped out in pain and shock.

"What are you doing?!"

Something shot from the ground, nearly going straight through her leg as she tried to whirl around as quickly as she could.

"It's what I need to do! You feel the same, don't you?"

A heavy weight seemed to engulf her and she winced, dropping down into the sand. Not even thinking at this point—just reacting on instinct—she brought out a weapon and tried to find some sort of purchase in the sand to get back on her feet. Only hearing muffled shouts at this point, she ran in the direction she thought the fonic artes were coming from.

There was a clash and she didn't know what caused it, only that the vibrations travelled down her arm and made her tense.

There was a tearing sound and another wave of warmth, but different from the fifth fonic arte. More foreboding, more absolute.

The shouts became monotone drones.

She was back in the sand, air knocked out of her.

Something collided with the side of her face.

And her eyes shot open from the impact.

"Honestly, how you can sleep for so long is truly astounding, Cassia," Natalia huffed, ripping the blankets off of the blonde that was still in the bed. "It is your job to wake me, is it not? Have you had someone else get you out of bed these past few years?"

Cass didn't know how to reply. She was still reeling from the dream, and wasn't exactly sure what was happening. She was sleeping. Natalia woke her up? Were they leaving?

"What?" she asked eloquently.

Natalia sighed, "It's been nearly ten hours. You were supposed meet everyone in the lobby fifteen minutes ago. Even Luke is there."

They were supposed to catch the ferry this morning! Cass got out of bed instantly, ran a hand through her hair without much consideration before throwing on her clothes and heading downstairs. Everyone was downstairs, even Luke, and she pursed her lips in disappointment at herself.

"It's about damn time!" Luke said once she reached the bottom step of the inn. "We've been waiting forever."

"My apologies," Cass said, taking a spot next to the princess. "I suppose… yesterday was more eventful than I'm used to." She wanted to take the time to write in her notebook about her dream, or talk to Natalia, but everyone else was clearly more than ready to leave for the Malkuth consulate. Not wanting to delay them any more that she already had, Cass remained quiet as Jade led them to the Malkuth consulate. Here, a woman in a military uniform informed them that Van already left to Akzeriuth with a unit.

Luke groaned. "Great. Now we're even more behind than we already were…"

"There's already a ferry in the harbor that can leave to Kaitzur today. Shall I begin making the arrangements for it to depart within half an hour?" the woman asked. Jade nodded. "Please wait here while I let the crew know," she said before heading out the door.

It was the perfect opportunity to collect her thoughts. Once the woman had left the room, Cass immediately grabbed her notebook and found a spot that was out of the way to sit. Taking up her pen, she began to write.

Based on what the doctor's told her years ago, she had to be around twenty-three now if that was her coming of age ceremony. The question that conclusion brought up was why she was in the desert. It certainly seemed important, even disregarding it as being her coming of age ceremony, but she had no idea what reason she could have had for being in the desert.

Second, the possibility of her being from Daath—or at least that continent—was looking more and more likely. While it may not have looked similar to Tear's or Anise's uniform, Levi was certainly wearing Oracle Knight clothing; the designs on it matched some of the fonists she had encountered a few months ago. If her other dreams were memories, that meant she grew up with Levi. If he joined the Oracle Knights, it was possible that she could have been part of it before as well. She was unsure if that was the case, however, and simply made a note that she might have only lived on Padamiya.

Next, she now had a general idea of what happened before Natalia found her. Even if she had written this all down the moment she woke up, Cass was certain that the details of the end of the dream would have been just as fuzzy. Someone had attacked her before she had been able to do what she was supposed to. She wasn't sure who it was, but based on previous dreams and actions in this one, Sonel seemed like the culprit. After using fonic artes, she must have hit her over the head and left her in the desert… probably to die.

There was a battle going on at the time, after all. Even if Cass managed to make Sonel retreat, leaving an unconscious Cass in the field of battle should have been all that had to be done to get rid of her. But why would someone want her dead? Sonel clearly didn't like her and seemed to think that Cass wasn't able to do… something. Would that be enough reason for wanting to kill someone? She didn't think so, but didn't know much about Sonel's personality at this point to make an assumption. She put a star next to these questions and continued.

Then there had been that name: Kano. It had a warm sort of feeling associated with it, so Cass guessed that he must have been important to her in some way. Her father, maybe? That made sense, seeing as Sonel made a comment about he was more prepared than she was for the same task.

Cassia skimmed over her notes again, pleased with herself. This was a lot of progress! Yes, there were still questions she had to answer that would be difficult at this point in time, but she felt that she drew all the right conclusions from what she knew. If she was from Daath, it might be possible that someone would recognize her. Levi was in the Oracle Knights; Ion, Tear, or Anise might know someone with that name that matched his description.

The military woman came back soon after, informing the group that the ferry was ready. Cass stood up, putting her things away, when Guy suddenly collapsed, grasping at his arm. Cass almost made to head over to him to see if he was all right, but remembered that she would probably just make things worse. None of the Seventh Fonists moved either, and Luke took it upon himself to see if he was fine. The redhead got down to Guy's level, putting his hand on his shoulder and asked what was wrong, but the blond just shoved him to the ground.

Luke groaned from the impact. "Don't tell me Asch is controlling you now, too!"

Guy shook his head and tried to get back to his feet. "I don't think so…" he replied, breathing labored. "I don't hear any voices…"

Ion inhaled sharply before turning to Jade. "We need to get away from here as quickly as possible," he said. "I think I know what's happening to Guy, but it would be best if we leave Chesedonia before I explain."

Luke nodded. "Fine," he agreed, moving one of Guy's arms around his shoulders to help bring him to the ferry. Jade took the other side when it became apparent that Guy's body wasn't moving as he wanted it to. Once they made it, the ferry disembarked immediately.

Ten minutes into sailing, Guy's complexion returned to normal and he didn't look like he was in pain anymore. Just to be sure, Ion asked how he was feeling.

"I'm doing fine now," he replied. "After we left Chesedonia, the pain just vanished."

Ion nodded. "I thought that might be the case," he said before turning to the rest of the group. "I've been worried about this since the last time we were in Chesedonia, but I believe Guy has been affected by a curse slot. It's a type of Daathic fonic arte that reads a person's memories and controls them. You must have been resisting its control very well, Guy. Where did the pain originate from?"

Guy tapped his left forearm, "Right here. Sync was the one that cut my arm like this. Does that meant he's the user?"

"Most likely," the Fon Master said. "The trip to Kaitzur will take a while, Guy. You should rest."

Guy nodded, "Right. I'll do that," he said, leaving the deck to one of the ship's rooms. No conversation followed, so Cass made her way back to the deck to watch the ocean. Ion joined her at the railing moments later without Anise at his side.

"The weather today is rather pleasant isn't it?" he asked and Cass frowned slightly at the question.

"I suppose," she acknowledged, not really noticing the weather. With the desert on the horizon now, it was certainly better than it was not too long ago. "I just like the ocean. It's very soothing."

The Fon Master nodded in agreement. "Yes, it is. I had a view of it from the cathedral in Daath, but I've never spent so much time sailing before. It's a really wonderful experience."

"You didn't sail often?" she asked, curious. "I would think that the Fon Master would need to travel between countries often."

The boy shook his head, but the smile didn't drop from his features. "I'm more of a figurehead than anything else. People respect the Fon Master because they respect the Order. It's not really me they care about…" There was a pause, and Cass watched the smile fall and turn into a solemn expression. "I'm just… a regular boy from Engeve."

"Ion's important," Cass said. "The Fon Master is as well, but Ion is just as important."

It was poorly worded, but Ion seemed to understand what she meant. The smile reappeared on his face. "Yes, you're right, Cass. Everyone is important in their own way, no matter where they're from or the circumstances that made them."

She nodded to herself, deciding that she liked that. Natalia was the princess, and that by itself made her important. Her duty to her people made her all the more special, and those that served her like Cass did were important because they helped Natalia in whatever way they could. It may not be much. They might not be making shelters for the poor, or renovating areas of Baticul, but they were helping someone that had the ability to do so. Cass didn't do much, wasn't nearly as important as Natalia or Ion were, but she did what she could. And as long as she was able to help, that's what she wanted to do.

The sound of waves being broken by the path of the ferry echoed around the pair on deck, letting both Cassia and Ion immerse themselves in their thoughts. She was the one that interrupted the white noise with a question. "Do you think that, if I describe someone, you may know who they are?"

"I can try," Ion answered. "I wasn't allowed to leave the cathedral much, but I do know a few faces in the Order."

Cass nodded and started, "He has silver hair and amber eyes. Maybe around… this tall," she gestured a little bit taller than herself, "and tanned skin. His uniform was black and gold with…" she paused again, not really sure how to describe it, "designs like this," she settled on, moving her pointer fingers diagonally from either shoulder to the center of her chest, before swirling them around in symmetrical designs that ended at her stomach.

"I'm sorry, the appearance doesn't sound familiar to me," Ion replied. "The uniform sounds like it's designed for fonists, though. Maybe a Scorer…" he paused and shut his eyes in thought. "The design on it is for the Second Division Oracle Knights. Did you see this person recently?"

The blonde shrugged. "In a memory… I think."

"A memory?" the Fon Master repeated, glowing. "Cass, I'm so happy that your memory is returning! I was worried your amnesia was similar to Luke's."

Cass just smiled a little at him before turning back to face the ocean, letting the ocean fill the silence once more. She had never spent much time in the company on Ion, probably had never had a conversation with him alone before, but she rather enjoyed his company. He was pleasant and helpful and seemed to truly want the best for the world, just like Natalia did. That resemblance helped her warm up to the Fon Master, and she was happy that she was assisting in something that was helping both Ion and Natalia at the same time. Yes, she might not be as influential as Natalia or Ion, or as strong as Jade and Anise, but she was doing what she could.

The growing feeling of complacency drowned out any further questions she had for the green hair boy. She didn't ask what a Daathic fonic arte was, despite still not knowing when she first heard the term a few months ago. She didn't wonder if Guy's condition was a rare occurrence, or if he would be permanently all right with the curse slot on him. Even with Sync the Tempest returning to the story, she didn't think about who he was or why he looked disturbingly like the boy standing at her side.

Right now she was helping, and that made her content.