Things you need to know before reading this chapter:
- Character thinking; Character reading; "Lloyd's language"
Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia and Tales of the Abyss
Chapter 20: As Comrades
Luke shivered in the cold morning breeze. It had been early summer when he last came to Engeve. The weather had been very warm, but not too hot, and he had felt very comfortable with his clothing. It was early winter now. He never imagined that Engeve could be this cold. Though it was nowhere near as cold as Keterburg, he should know better than to underestimate the weather.
He vaguely recalled being taught about how the northern area would have an overall cooler climate due to the position of the sun or something similar. It's time like this that he regretted not paying more attention to his lessons.
He sneezed as he watched people bustling around the city. The sun had only just risen, but the city had been very much alive since sometime ago. He knew some people even forewent sleeping to prepare for the upcoming evacuation ever since they announced it last evening.
Different from the time when they evacuated St. Binah, Engeve's situation was… chaotic, for a lack of better word. It can't be helped though, there had been quite a lot of soldiers stationed in St. Binah that had also helped with the evacuation, and most of the civilians had more or less expected something like an evacuation even before the official announcement was made.
However, this time, apart from the distinct lack of soldiers, people from St. Binah and Akzeriuth were still tired from having travelled all the way here. There's also the fact that nearly all of the people living in Engeve were farmers that never expected the need to evacuate. Not to mention that they also had to take their livestocks with them.
He sneezed again. He felt someone walking up to him from behind and placed a jacket on his shoulders. He turned around to see Tear smiling at him.
"Thanks."
"You are up early." Tear commented. Unlike some of the more concerned civilians, Jade had explicitly told them to rest up for the night so they could be at their best when they help with the evacuation.
Luke shifted his gaze back to the streets of Engeve. "It might be the last time for us to be here. I didn't have the time to do so for Akzeriuth and St. Binah, but I want to engrave the image of Engeve in my mind before it's destroyed."
He heard some shifting beside him and saw out of the corner of his eyes that Tear was standing next to him, also taking in the view of Engeve.
"It is only a little over six months since we were last here, yet it felt so long ago." Tear said.
"So many things have happened since then that it felt like a lifetime ago." He chuckled. "It's hard to believe that we have only known each other for half a year."
"Yes… so much have changed."
A comfortable silence stretched between the two of them as they continued to watch the scenes before them.
"I am glad to see you lovebirds up so early and getting along so well, but don't you think that there are other more pressing matters to tend to than just enjoying the view?" He startled and whipped around to see none other than the ever obnoxious Colonel standing behind them. He noticed that Tear also only fared a little better than him at the sudden intrusion.
"Colonel! We aren't-"
"Ginji should be back in a couple of hours to take the second batch of civilians to Grand Chokmah." Jade said, cutting off Tear. "Kratos is rounding up those that are ready to leave on the Albiore. I need you two to also start helping out with the evacuation."
"Right." Luke replied. He saw that Tear was no longer blushing and had regained the professional look of a soldier as she nodded beside him.
Without another word, Jade walked past them to the bustling street of Engeve and started to make another announcement about the evacuation.
"Let's go, Tear." He said and led Tear to their designated task.
They were lucky that they had Jade, Kratos and Elder McGovern, who had remained in Engeve while his son led the army away, to help organize the evacuation. It was also a great help that the Albiore could take the elders, children and those that were injured or too tired to make another trip so soon to Grand Chokmah. Though the Albiore could only take about eighty passenger each round, the round trip from here to Grand Chokmah only took four hours at most.
The plan was for the ex-Field Marshal to head over to Grand Chokmah with the first batch of civilians on the Albiore, which departed only hours after the initial announcement was made. Once there, he would explain the situation to the officials there and to get approval from Emperor Peony to let the refugees stay in the capital and to see if they could send some aid here to help with the evacuation. They had agreed that Ginji would stay in Grand Chokmah for the night and come back to Engeve in the morning with Elder McGovern and, hopefully, the reinforcement they had requested.
Luke stopped when the familiar feeling of someone pounding in his head overcame him. It was the sign of Asch trying to contact him. He closed his eyes and tried to relax his body while ignoring Tear's worried tone as she asked him if he's feeling alright.
The splitting headache he felt whenever Asch tried to contact him before lessened a bit as he opened the 'door' that separated him and Asch within his own mind. The voices from the outside world faded away as the 'door' disappeared and Luke saw Asch standing before him in his mind.
"Glad to know that even an idiot can learn."
Luke's eyebrow ticked at the insult. He would have make a comeback if not for his original's feeling of distraught passing to him through their linked mind.
"Asch, what happened?" He asked in a worried tone.
"Where are you?" Asch asked instead.
Deciding to go along with the other for the time being, Luke answered. "We are evacuating Engeve now. Asch, what happened?" He repeated his question.
"... we failed to stop the war."
He felt his jaw drop at the words. He didn't even think it was possible for Asch's group to fail. "It's Mohs again, right? What did he say to Uncle this time?!"
Luke felt his worry intensify when he saw the uneasy look on his original. "... he said that Natalia isn't the real princess and that the real one died at childbirth. He then placed all the blame of Akzeriuth on us." He drawled.
"WHAT?!"
"Mohs has solid proof for his claim… and the King agreed to use our death to start the war with Malkuth."
Luke tried to reign in his overflowing emotion. "Where are you now?! Ho- how's Natalia?"
"We escaped with the help of the Dark Wings." Luke's eyes widened slightly at the mention of the group of infamous bandits. "We are on the Albiore now. And Natalia's… she needs some time, but I know she will get over it."
He wasn't sure he believed it when Asch told him that Natalia would be fine… it's just like when he heard that he's not the real Luke… but…
"Yes… Natalia is much stronger than me… if I can get over it, I'm sure she can too." He said in a soft tone.
"What about Ion and Anise?" He asked, noticing that Asch hadn't mentioned the two of them yet. "I doubt Ion would stand by when Uncle agreed to start the war."
Asch shook his head. "I don't know what Mohs said exactly apart from Natalia's identity, but it seemed that even Ion cannot persuade His Majesty."
Luke quirked an eyebrow at how Asch addressed Uncle.
"Anise is with us now. I'm not sure about Ion, but I heard that Ion told her to come with us."
Hi blinked in surprise. "Anise willingly parted with Ion?!"
"No, she didn't. She had been swearing non-stop ever since she boarded the Albiore."
Luke chuckled nervously at Asch's description. It sounded like Anise, though he hoped that the 'non-stop' part wasn't true and Asch was just exaggerating.
"With the war about to break out, we need to find a way to revert whatever it was that Van did to the passage ring. That's the only way to save the armies of both sides." Asch said.
"... Kratos told us last evening that the land around Shurrey Hill has already begun to fall. We might not be able to raise the land back up again."
Asch closed his eyes and swore. After a while, he opened his eyes to level a narrowed gaze at Luke. "What do you mean began to fall? It didn't drop to the Qliphoth like Akzeriuth?"
Luke shook his head. "Tear said that there's something called a 'dividing line' between the Qliphoth and the Outer Lands. It should take a few days for it to get past that line. The land would fell faster after crossing that line. And once it fully dropped to the Qliphoth, it takes another month or so for it to sink into the mantle."
Luke watched as Asch turned silent after his explanation, as if silently contemplating how the information could help them save the armies. After a while, Asch shook his head. "I can't think of anything... maybe you should go talk to Kratos and Jade to see if they know what to do."
Luke nodded, that's the only course of action they could do now. "Okay, I will go talk to them. We will wait for you in Engeve."
"What about the evacuation?"
After Luke explained their current situation, Asch agreed that they would first meet up in Engeve. Then, without any forewarning, Asch cut off their connection. Luke stumbled for a bit as the mindscape that had been surrounding him was suddenly replaced by the familiar sight of Engeve.
"Luke! Thanks Yulia, you finally responded." Luke looked around and saw Tear looking at him with relief.
"Sorry, Tear. I was talking with Asch. We need to gather the others, I have some bad news." He saw Tear's look turned serious at his reply.
Lloyd unclenched the fists he didn't know he made as he listened to Luke recounting the words Asch told him. It sounded ridiculous that the King of Kimlasca would do that to his own daughter. It shouldn't matter whether they were related by blood or not. He couldn't understand why any father would willingly do such a thing to the daughter he had been raising since babyhood. What about the years they spent together? Did that not matter to him at all?
If he had been there, he would have given the king an earful. Consequences be damned. At least they managed to escape Baticul… He clenched his fists again at the thought of Natalia and Asch being chased out of their birthplace. He was also once chased out of his birthplace, Iselia, and he could partly understand how devastating the two should be feeling at the moment.
"I guess it leave us no choice but to see what we can do to minimize the damage General Grands did to the Sephiroth Tree." Jade said. It's so like the man to skip over all the emotional stuff and direct them to the next course of action.
"Did the book Asch gave us mentioned how to operate the passage ring?" Tear asked.
"Yes. We need to use Seventh Fonon to operate it." Kratos replied.
"That won't be a problem then, we have several Seventh Fonists." Guy commented.
"But is it possible to raise the land back to how it used to be now that it has begun to fall?" Lloyd asked.
"I don't think that's possible." Kratos answered. "The situation might be different from Akzeriuth, but according to the book, once a Sephiroth Tree is destroyed, the only possible way to revive it would be to use the Key of Lorelei."
"Key of Lorelei? What's that?" Luke asked.
"It refers to the Sword and Jewel of Lorelei." Jade explained. "If I recall, it was used when creating the Planet Storm. I've also heard it referred to as the symbol of the pact between Yulia and Lorelei."
Tear nodded. "The Key of Lorelei is said to be a fonic weapon created by Yulia using the power of Lorelei. The Sword of Lorelei gathers Seventh Fonons, and the Jewel of Lorelei disperses them. It's said that the Key itself is made of Seventh Fonons. Supposedly, Yulia summoned Lorelei into the Key and freely commanded that power."
"Whether that is true or not, what is true is that it could control the Sephiroth." Jade added.
"But once the Planet Storm was formed, the Key of Lorelei was cast down to the core." Tear said.
Guy sighed. "So in the end, we can't control the Sephiroth…"
"We cannot freely control the Sephiroth, nor are we able to revive the Sephiroth Tree once it's destroyed," Kratos said, "but with the passage ring, we can still control it to a certain degree."
"Yes." Jade agreed. "The Sephiroth flow should still be rising. If we use that power, we might be able to lower the land slowly, like an elevator. After that, we can use the same principle to keep it afloat on the mantle."
"That's great! We can save both the armies and St. Binah this way!" Luke exclaimed. "So all we have to do now is wait for Asch and the others to arrive."
Jade tsked. "I am disappointed, Luke, did you forget about the evacuation already?" He commented as he feigned disappointment.
"Who's going to forget about it?!" Luke protested. "Of course I will continue to help until Asch arrives!"
"I suppose it's a good thing that the council agreed to send help here, otherwise some of us might have to remain to help with the evacuation." Guy said.
"Yes. We can leave the evacuation in the capable hands of Field Marshal McGovern." Jade said.
"When they will arrive?" Lloyd asked.
"Asch said they will arrive in the afternoon." Luke answered.
"Did he say how Natalia's doing?" Tear asked.
"He just said that she needs some time… but I'm sure Natalia will be fine." Luke said.
"It won't be easy for one to get over such an event. We should probably consider what to do with her based on her condition when we join up. It could be better for her not to travel with us anymore." Jade said.
"Colonel?!" Tear gasped.
"What the heck are you talking about?!" Luke bursted out.
Jade adjusted his glasses, unfazed at Luke's outburst, before elaborating. "We don't know what to expect in Shurrey Hill. And after Shurrey Hill, we might have to notify the world's leaders of the crisis the world's currently facing, that means eventually meeting with King Ingobert again. If the King should reject Natalia, that could be an even greater injury to her psyche."
Luke closed his mouth at the explanation and had a conflicted look.
"Even so, we should let her make her own decision." Kratos said after a moment of silence.
"Well, of course." Jade shrugged. "I don't mean to make it sound like we are to omit her personal feeling on the matter."
Kratos glared at Jade for a bit before directing his attention to the rest of the party. "I will inform Elder McGovern about the change in plan." He said curtly and proceeded to leave the room they had been using as a pseudo meeting room.
Lloyd stared at the back of his father as he left the room. He could feel the displeasure that had been rolling off the man in waves. It had been quite some time since he last saw his dad like that, not even when Akzeriuth was destroyed. Though he supposed his presence helped to soothe the rage and pain his father must have felt at the time.
It's understandable that his dad would feel angry at how the King treated Natalia. Family had always been a sore topic for him. He himself had met some pretty shitty fathers before, especially when the child in question was a half elf, and he could more or less see how such shocking news could have clouded the King's judgement, but, as a father himself, he was also pissed at the King.
And there's also Asch… if it's before, he would probably feel irritated that his father was acting like this on others' behalf, but now…
He might have subconsciously avoided Asch in the short time they spent in Sheridan, but he didn't dislike him, well, maybe just a bit… but still, Asch was just a kid compared to him… and he was the one acting all childish because of this stupid ugly feeling called jealousy.
His dad had briefly mentioned the circumstances that led to him taking Asch under his wing. He shouldn't envy Asch when the kid had such a harsh past… he couldn't even begin to imagine how Asch must have felt back then. And when he finally found the courage to face his past after seven years, he was chased out again.
He knew his dad wanted to go with Asch to Baticul, he even overheard the man talking to Asch about it, but he had refused, saying that they needed more people to help with the evacuation in Engeve and that he would be fine.
He could only imagine how his father must have been feeling at the moment.
"Lloyd, is Kratos feeling alright?" Tear asked.
"He looks scary just now." Mieu commented.
"Mieu, that's rude!" Luke scolded the cheagle.
"That's fine Luke, Mieu. I'm sure dad is just feeling angry at how Natalia and Asch were treated." He answered. "Dad always gets angry when it comes to stuff like this."
"For a father to reject her own daughter like that... I am worried about Natalia ." Guy said.
"I hope she would be able to sort out her feelings." Tear said.
"Yes… I hope Asch would be fine, too." Lloyd said.
"What do you mean?" Luke asked.
Lloyd raised an eyebrow at Luke and gave him an incredulous stare upon realizing that Luke really didn't understand what he meant. "You serious?! Baticul is the birthplace of both Asch and Natalia. Surely Asch would also be affected."
Luke widened his eyes and gaped at him in silence.
"Yes. The circumstances are different, but this would be the second time that Asch had to leave Baticul unwillingly." Jade said.
Kratos tilted his head upwards at the sound of engine and saw the Albiore getting closer. His gaze followed the flying machine as it grew to a size that was visible to the other members of the party.
"They are here!" He saw out of the corner of his eyes Luke pointing at the direction the Albiore was coming from.
It wasn't long before the machine got closer to their location and started to land. The party got closer to the landing location to wait for the aircraft to finish landing, eager to hop on so they could get to Shurrey Hill as soon as possible. Apart from the urgency of needing to operate the passage ring, he was sure the others also wanted to see how Asch and Natalia were doing.
He had heard the words Lloyd told the others after he left to see Elder McGovern. He was proud that his son managed to not let jealousy cloud his judgement and was glad of the way he reminded the others that Asch was also only human. It wouldn't do if the others were so focused on Natalia that they omitted Asch's feeling on the matter.
Asch had mostly acted fine outwardly, but he knew the boy still had the emotional scars from Van's betrayal and his family's indirect rejection of his existence. He could only guess how recent events would have further affected the boy's mental state. It wouldn't do for this group, a group that Asch only recently started warming up to, to further injure his psyche by inadvertently pushing him away.
He followed behind the others as they climbed the stairs to board the Albiore. Anise was the only one that greeted them as they entered the aircraft.
"Anise, where are Natalia and Asch?" Luke asked the moment he got into the cabin.
"Booo! How about greeting me first? And after I specifically came to greet you." Anise pouted.
"Sorry, Anise." Tear smiled apologetically at the puppeteer. "Thanks for coming to greet us."
Anise sighed. "Natalia and Asch are in the cockpit with Ginji."
"Thanks." Luke said quickly before hurrying off to the cockpit, Lloyd and Tear following close behind.
Jade pushed the button to close the cabin door before also following after the others to the cockpit, though at a much slower pac, leaving Anise, Kratos and Guy behind.
"So Anise, how are you? I heard that you have to leave Ion unwillingly." Guy asked.
"Yes, I am fine, Guy." Anise looked up at Guy with a cheerful expression. "You are such a gentleman!" She said before making a move to grab the waist of the blonde swordsman.
"Aahh!" Guy 'squealed' as he narrowly evaded Anise's hug.
"Ah! I forgot…" Anise covered her mouth with a hand.
"Th- that's fine." Guy stuttered.
"Anise, could you tell me what happened in Baticul?" Kratos asked after Guy had settled down.
"Huh?" Anise looked at Kratos quizzically and tilted her head to the side. "But I thought Asch already told Luke what happened?"
"He only told Luke a short summary. I want to know the full story."
Asch glared at the empty air in front of him. He didn't know what had gotten into his replica, or Lloyd for that matter. He could hear the hurried footsteps even before they stepped into the cockpit, but once they arrived, they suddenly paused as if they didn't know how to proceed.
The three of them had approached Natalia to ask how she had been feeling. After some brief exchange between those three, Tear and Natalia left for the cabin, where Asch supposed Tear would further console the emotionally unstable archeress. And that's a good thing too, for all he wanted to help his childhood friend, all he could do was be a silent support for her.
Anise had also tried to cheer her up before and had managed to bring a smile or two to the distraught girl's lips. Although what happened couldn't be undone and it would never be the same again, but with Tear's help, he was sure Natalia would be back to her old self in no time.
He had thought Luke and maybe also Lloyd would also follow the girls to the cabin, but no, those two had remained in the cockpit. He wasn't sure about Lloyd as they didn't have much interactions before and he had this feeling that Lloyd had been avoiding him, but what Luke did had surprised him.
Luke had timidly asked him how he was doing. Not in the way of a normal greeting but in a way like he thought he needed support. As if he was a weakling that needed his replica, of all people, to fuss over his well being. And not just him, Lloyd had also been looking at him with something akin to worry laced in his gaze.
He had been having this staring contest with Luke when the door to the cockpit opened and Jade entered, telling Ginji that he everyone's aboard the Albiore and he could take off whenever he's ready. After that, he had grunted out the word 'fine' before taking a seat and started to pretend that the others weren't here.
But, even after his clear 'back off' message, he could still feel the stares of both Luke and Lloyd boring holes into the back of his head. And he's willing to bet that those were worried gazes, too.
His glare softened and a small sigh escaped his lips as he recalled something similar happening before. He never had to tell the others what he was actually feeling, yet Kratos, Dist and Noir would still be able to tell the moment he was feeling distraught… well, Dist didn't really cound. That man could even tell when Kratos, who had this poker face twenty-four seven, was feeling a bit under the weather.
He only told Luke how Natalia was accused, he didn't omit the part where he was accused as a replica because he didn't want the others to know. In fact, he didn't think he could keep it a secret even if he wanted to, not with Natalia, Anise and Ion also within the vicinity when that happened. He just… didn't have it in him to say it out loud.
But even if the others knew about it, he had thought that only Kratos would be worried about him. Never had he thought that his replica and the others would also worry about him… but…
"Wh- what is that?!" Asch's thoughts were interrupted by Ginji's outburst. He whipped his head around to see what happened.
"The war has begun." Jade said in an eerily calm tone as he stared down at the lands below them through the windows, next to him, both Lloyd and Luke were also looking downwards with a horrified expressions.
Asch quickly followed the others' example and looked at the land below. They had been too high up in the sky for him to really see what was happening down there. But the clashing of the sea of red and blue told him all he needed to know. They were too late. The Rugnica Plains was already turned into a battlefield.
Cantabile dragged her feet towards the memorial cemetery for Oracle Knights that was located on a small hill just outside Daath. Her katana strapped to her waist as usual, but her hand was not resting on it like she usually did. Instead, her hands were currently holding a small bouquet of flower. Her expression grim.
It was early afternoon when she arrived at the cemetery. She smiled bitterly at the sight of the numerous people paying respect to their own loved ones. The sight was not uncommon. In fact, she could recognize some of the people that came to the cemetery. Today was the third anniversary of the end of the Battle of Northern Chesedonia after all.
She heard earlier today that war had finally erupted in the Rugnica Plains. How ironic that a war started on the same day where another war ended three years ago. But it would be different this time. Neither of the countries would be victorious this time.
This time, the countries that foolishly partook in the war would learn the despair that was brought by following Yulia's Score and finally, finally their plan of ridding the world of the Score would proceed. Yes, the world that they envisioned for so many years would come to be.
Her steady steps slowly brought her towards her destination, the gravestone of her beloved fiance, Marcel Oslo. She paused mid-step when the gravestone came into view. It wasn't the sight of the gravestone that made her pause, but the small bouquet of flower that was sitting in front of it.
Emotions came rushing at her as she stared at the bouquet of flower. She took a shaky breath to steady herself and adjusted the hold she had on her own bouquet. She tore her sight away from that bouquet before closing the distance between her and the gravestone.
She untied her katana and placed it on the ground next to her as she slowly knelt down on one knee before the gravestone. Her eyes lost focus for a split second when she noticed how clean the gravestone was compared to, say, the dusty gravestone that was sitting directly behind it.
She lightly placed her own bouquet of flower so that it leaned against the gravestone. She removed her gloves and began to lightly trace the engraving on the stone. The ring on her middle finger glinted in the sunlight. She smiled tenderly as happy memories of their past flooded her mind. Her subordinates would surely be scared if they saw the look on her at the moment.
She didn't know how long she had been lost in thought while remaining in the same kneeling position. It had been quite sometime since she had the time to reminisce about their happy days before everything broke apart.
She hung her head and glanced at the other bouquet of flower. She never thought herself to be a sentimental person, but…
Her thought was interrupted by approaching footsteps. She tensed slightly and started reaching for her katana on the ground. She relaxed once she recognized the footsteps that were coming towards her. She grabbed her weapon and slowly stood up. She suppressed the urge to groan at how her legs were feeling from kneeling for so long as she restrapped the blade on her waist.
She was putting on her gloves when the person behind her spoke. "Seems I am the last one, again." She turned sideways to see Legretta walking up to the gravestone to place her own bouquet of flower on the ground.
"I heard you were chasing after Asch. How's it?"
"He escaped again. I only got back from Sheridan just now."
Cantabile nodded absentmindedly at her friend's words. In the back of her mind, she knew that Marcel would never approve of her manhunting for Asch. But it was necessary if they were to free the world of Score.
"I missed my chance again."
She smirked lightly at Legretta's muttering, knowing that she wasn't talking about missing the chance to capture Asch. "Even if you came back earlier, I doubt you would be able to catch that person."
A glint of amusement flashed in her eyes as she watched Legretta scowl. "You know who it is, right? Why can't you just tell me?"
She answered with a mysterious smile and kept her mouth shut.
Legretta had always thought that the two of them were the only ones that would come to pay respect to her brother, seeing as Marcel's other friends also died in the Northern Battle of Chesedonia. She still remembered the look of surprise on the gun-wielding woman when she first saw the third bouquet of flower.
Legretta had even once timidly asked Cantabile if her brother had another girlfriend. It had taken a couple of minutes before her laughter finally died down. She could see why Legretta would think that, seeing as that person always came before them and cleaned up the grave. After that, Legretta had employed different tactics to uncover the identity of that mysterious person to no avail.
It wasn't like she was keeping the secret just for the fun of it, but it had been hilarious how Legretta still couldn't guess who that person was. Though to be fair, she supposed he would be the last person Legretta would think of. But, to her, it's quite obvious who that person was, after all, that third bouquet of flower only ever consisted of red and white roses.
"This place looks just like the one in Akzeriuth." Anise commented the moment they stepped into the Sephiroth in Shurrey Hill.
"These places with the passage rings feel so strange." Guy said.
The Sephiroth was indeed strange. The entrance to the Sephiroth was located at the foot of the hill. When they passed through the entrance, it was like entering a tunnel through the mouth of a mountain cave. But the interior of the Sephiroth was nothing like a mountain cave.
If Asch had to use a word to describe this place, he would use the word hollow. Whereas there were trees, grass and flowers outside, the Sephiroth only consisted of metals, glasses and plastic. Everything here was artificially made, even the 'monsters' roaming the area. He more or less knew what to expect as he had been to both the Radiation Gate and the Sephiroth of Akzeriuth before, but he couldn't shake off the feeling of hollowness.
"That's probably because they're from the Dawn Age. They were made to protect the Sephiroth Tree." Tear said.
"So this has been around for two thousand years." Luke said.
"Indeed." Jade's hands were shoved into his pockets as walked at the front of the group. He looked to be quite relaxed, but Asch knew it would only take a split second for the demeanour of the Necromancer to change to one of a fiercesome soldier. "The technology in use seems to be quite advanced. We can't build anything like this with our current knowledge."
"So civilization was more advanced two thousand years ago?" Luke asked with a tone of awe.
"So they say." Tear replied. "Even in Yulia City, we don't understand how most of the facilities work."
"I don't like this place… it feels kinda sad." Lloyd said.
Asch supposed it's expected for Lloyd to use the word sad to describe this place. The interior of Sephiroth felt too much like Welgaia, the city where only soulless angels resided.
"Sad?" Luke questioned.
"There's no living being here. Even the 'monsters' here are just machines." Asch replied.
"Those machines are the guardians of this place that have been guarding it for two thousand years." Kratos said. "And they will continue to guard this place after we leave."
"Well… if you put it like this…" Anise glanced backwards at one of the machines that they had destroyed less than ten minutes ago.
Asch also glanced backwards, not at the machines, but at Natalia. She hadn't said a word since they left the Albiore. But her expression looked considerably better than when they first boarded the Albiore outside Baticul.
Jade had, not so subtly, told Natalia that she could stay in the Albiore if she wanted, saying that they had enough Seventh Fonists to operate the passage ring. But the archeress had insisted on coming with them. She had said with conviction that, even as a commoner, she had the duty to help make sure that the soldiers of her country, and also those of Malkuth, wouldn't die a meaningless death by falling into the Qliphoth, especially now that the war had begun.
He held his gaze with Natalia when she noticed his staring and gave her a slight smile. His smile became just a bit more genuine when Natalia returned with one of her own beautiful smile. He shifted his gaze back to the front, content to know that his silent support managed to bring another smile to his childhood friend's lips.
It had taken them another twenty minutes and three battles with the artificial guardians before they finally arrived at the deepest part of the Sephiroth, where the passage ring was located.
The only other passage ring he had seen was the one in Radiation Gate, back when they fought with Rem. It had been years ago, but he still vaguely remembered all the memory particles that were being continuously pumped up from underground to become the Sephiroth Tree.
The concentration of memory particles back then had been much higher. When compared to the one in Radiation Gate, even he could tell that something's amiss with this passage ring. It was apparent that Van did something to block the flow of memory particles. Or maybe it was because Radiation Gate was also the place where the Planet Strom started that the it's normal for the concentration of memory particles to be higher there?
"It is huge." Anise commented as she tilted her head upwards to look at the top of the passage ring.
"This is the machine that's used to support the whole Rugnica Plains. I would be surprised if it's any smaller than this." Guy said.
"To think that this alone is what's supporting the whole Rugnica Plains… Yulia was really an amazing person." Natalia said.
"And I destroyed such an amazing machine…"
Asch raised an eyebrow and glanced sideways at his replica at the softly spoken words. Luke was looking down at his own clenched fist.
"Luke…" Tear took a step towards Luke.
Luke shook his head before raising his head to look at Tear. "I'm fine." Then he turned towards Jade, who had been inspecting the one of the glyphs on the ground. "So how do we control it?"
"This glyph here should be the Yulian Seal." Jade answered. "It was deactivated. I suppose General Grants was the one that removed the seal. We should be able to open the console by pumping Seventh Fonon into this device." He walked over to a weird looking fonstone situated directly in front of the passage ring.
Luke walked over to Jade and the device. "So I just release my Seventh Fonon here?"
"Yes."
Luke placed his hands over the device, but before anything happened, he dropped his hands back to his side and lowered his head. "I… I don't think I should be the one to do it…"
"Why?" Lloyd asked. "I thought you want to be the one to save St. Binah and the soldiers?"
"Yes… but when I tried to gather Seventh Fonon, I remembered how I suddenly lost control over my power in Akzeriuth… and I…" Luke trailed off.
"Luke, I can coach you on how to do it if you want." Tear said.
Luke shook his head. "I had only been gathering Seventh Fonons like how Master Van told me to do during practice that time too, but I… I still screwed up…"
"How did you lose control?" Kratos asked.
Luke turned around to look at Kratos. "I… I don't know, one moment everything was fine… then suddenly, when Master Van said those words… I… I suddenly can't control my power anymore…"
"What did brother say?" Tear asked.
"I… I don't remember…" Asch raised an eyebrow at Luke's answer, his tone sounded more like he didn't want to remember instead of not being able to remember. But even if they didn't know what the words Van told Luke were, this sounded like...
"Luke, have you also lost control before?" Jade asked.
"Yes… when we were going to Chesedonia from Kaitzur."
"You mean on the ferry?! Why didn't any of us know about it?" Anise asked.
"Master Van helped me get it under control." Luke replied
"Do you remember what happened back then?" Jade asked.
Luke tilted his head to the side and glanced sideways, a faraway look on him. "I had another headache and lost control of myself… my body started to gather Seventh Fonons on its own… then suddenly I heard Master Van's voice telling me to listen to him and relax. I think I fainted sometime after that, and when I regain consciousness, I was already lying on the floor with Master Van kneeling beside me."
Asch noticed that most of the others were looking at Jade expectantly, waiting for the elder man to divulge his deduction to them.
"Luke, have you ever heard of hypnotism?" Jade asked.
"Wait, Jade, are you saying that Van-" Guy paused and stared at Jade with narrowed eyes and clenched fists.
"What is it?" Luke asked, the previous expression on him replaced by a confused look.
"When in a relaxed state, like falling asleep or, in your case, losing consciousness, it is possible for a conditioned reflex response to be implemented in the human mind. When the condition is repeated, the brain would subconsciously bring forth the response, like a reflex reaction. In your case, the condition would be the trigger word that Van implemented in your mind when you lost consciousness while being overwhelmed by Seventh Fonons, and the response would be the act of gathering and releasing an excess amount of Seventh Fonons." Jade explained.
Luke's eyes grew as he listened to the explanation. "You mean…" His opened and closed his mouth a few times but no other words came out.
"If Van is the one that made Luke destroyed the passage ring, then-"
Jade pushed the bridge of his glasses up his nose as he cut off Lloyd. "It is true that Van manipulated and, from what we learned just now, controlled Luke to destroy the passage ring, but-"
"I know." Luke said with clenched fists. "I am still the one that provided him the means to do so."
"Luke…" Tear walked towards the distraught redhead and placed a hand on one of his clenched fists. "The past could not be changed, but now that we know how brother had hypnotised you…"
Luke relaxed his clenched fists and smiled at Tear. "Now that I know about it, I can take another step forward and learn how to control my power. Thanks, Tear."
Tear removed her hand and bring it back to her side. "So do you want me to coach you on how to-"
"Ah!" Anise exclaimed suddenly and pointed at Tear and Luke.
"Anise, what is-" Natalia paused her question as she also looked at the direction the Fon Master Guardian was pointing at. "Tear! Could you walk closer to the device?"
Tear and Luke looked questioningly before also turning around to look at the now half opened device.
"How…?" Tear muttered as she stepped closer to the machine and saw the two foldings at the top of the device continued to open like opening a book.
"Maybe the device is responding to the blood of Yulia in Tear." Kratos deduced.
"That's amazing, Tear! So you really are Yulia's descendant!" Luke exclaimed.
Asch narrowed his eyes slightly when he noticed a slight wobble in the Oracle Knight's steps just before she stopped in front of the now fully opened device. He supposed it's normal for her to feel stressed, be it mentally and physically. Mentally because it meant that her presence would be compulsory if they wanted to operate other passage rings in the future. Physically because he was sure a fon machine on such scale would require quite an amount of Seventh Fonon to operate.
Multiple translucent screens materialized out of thin air above the device. Moments later, a large glyph appeared above the passage ring. The word 'warning' was written in red across the large glyph above them. Jade walked up to the screens and started to study the various wordings and diagrams displayed.
After several long minutes, Jade glanced upwards at the large glyph. "You've really outdone yourself this time, General Grants." He said with slightly narrowed eyes.
"My brother did something to it?!" Tear asked.
Jade shifted his gaze towards the party. "He's closed the valve, making it impossible to control the Sephiroth Tree."
"What does that mean?" Lloyd asked with a frown.
"He used a code to render the passage ring unusable." Jade answered.
"Is it possible to break the code?" Kratos asked.
Jade tilted his head back towards the large glyph above. "If I could use Seventh Fonon, I'd break it myself. But…"
"What if I use hyperresonance to erase the code?" Asch asked. He held his gaze when the Colonel stared at him with an unreadable expression.
After a while, Jade nodded. "If you could erase just the code, that might work."
Without another word, Asch stepped forward to where Jade and Tear were standing. He looked up at the glyph.
There were nine circles in the glyph. Eight of the circles formed a ring structure that surrounded the ninth circle, which was also the largest circle. Amongst the eight smaller circles, five were outlined by a red line. And one of the red-outlined circles had the words 'third Sephiroth' on it while there wasn't any word on other circles. It was apparent to Asch that the red outline was Van's code and the third Sephiroth was the one controlled by the passage ring of Shurrey Hill.
"So I just erase the red part of the third Sephiroth?" He asked.
"Impressive. I doubt anyone could have grasped what the diagrams represented just by looking at it."
Asch rolled his eyes. Despite what the man had said, his tone didn't sound impressive in the slightest. And what about himself? Didn't he also grasp the meaning of the diagrams just by looking at it?
He took a deep breath and held his hands up. His palms facing the glyph above.
He could relate to Luke when he admitted that he was scared of his power running out of control. His own control over fonons had always been good, that's why he decided to take up fonic arte training alongside swordsmanship training. But even he had been a bit scared when he first tried to contain the power of hyperresonance under Kratos' guidance. It helped that Kratos had brought him to the labyrinth that was only resided by monsters in the lower levels of Derris Kharlan to practice so he didn't have to worry about the consequence of a runaway hyperresonance much.
He relaxed his body and started to concentrate. He was no longer scared of causing a hyperresonance now. Thanks to Kratos, he now had full control over his power. The not-so-familiar feeling of Seventh Fonon washed over him as he gathered the required energy for a miniature hyperresonance and directed the power to his palms. It had been quite a while since he last caused a hyperresonance.
He could feel beads of sweat forming on his forehead as he stabilized the output of the hyperresonance and slowly erased the red outline of the third Sephiroth.
After what felt like an eternity, when in fact it was only two minutes, Van's code that was represented by the red line enclosing the third Sephiroth was removed. More and more memory particles started to flow upwards. Asch let out a breath and lowered his hands.
"So now we can use the passage ring to make the Sephiroth Tree lower the lands slowly?" He asked.
"Yes. We can write the commands in the glyph to operate the passage ring now."
"Shall I take over?" Kratos asked.
"No." Jade replied. "We're erasing the code through brute force, so we can't write using the normal controls. We have to forcibly carve it in using hyperresonance. Next, we'll enter the commands. Write the words 'Tree ascent. Triple speed. Hold.' in Ancient Ispanian on the third Sephiroth."
Asch nodded and raised his hands again. It was easier this time around. He had to pay extra attention to make sure none of the other wordings or diagrams were removed by his hyperresonance just now. Writing words on the glyph was considerably easier.
Seventh Fonons dispersed from his hands as he finished. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and returned his hands to his sides. He had wanted to ask if he should also proceed with the removal of the red lines enclosing the other Sephiroth, but it did took quite a lot out of him. He doubt he would be able to use another controlled hyperresonance to do anything now.
It was at that time that the ground started to tremble.
"Earthquake?" Natalia asked. It didn't take long before the shaking stopped.
"It looks like it's begun to descend." Kratos said.
Jade nodded. "Let's wait beside the passage ring until it finishes, just in case."
"But how do we know when it finishes?" Lloyd asked.
"We should feel another earthquake once the land stopped its descend." Kratos replied.
"But what if it takes more than a day to descend?!" Anise asked with raised voice.
"Then we'll set up camp here." Luke said.
"Don't worry, Anise, we have brought enough supply to last for two days." Guy reassured.
Anise pouted.
"Asch? Are you feeling alright?" He shifted his gaze towards the melodist at the out of the blue question.
"Yes." He suppressed an eyebrow at the barely concealed worry laced in her tone. What had gotten into them? First it were Luke and Lloyd, and now even Tear? Their attitude was confusing, but… it felt good to be worried about… and maybe, just maybe, with this group, he could...
~ Skit: Asch's feeling ~
Luke: I am such an idiot…
Tear: Luke?
Luke: I always thought that Asch is so strong that…
Tear: You didn't think it is possible for him to feel sad in any way.
Luke: Yes…
Mieu: Master...
Lloyd: I get what you mean, there's also been a time when I thought dad was this all-powerful superman that could handle everything thrown his way.
Luke: Still, Asch is also one of us… and I even felt his distress when our minds were connected...
Tear: It's not just you, Luke. I was also so focused on Natalia that I…
Luke: Tear…
Tear: Thanks for pointing it out, Lloyd.
Guy: But it kind of amazes me that you would be able to consider Asch's feeling like this.
Lloyd: What do you mean?
Guy: I thought you don't like him.
Lloyd: It's just… if dad thought of Asch as a student or a son, then I am something like his elder brother… and as an elder brother, I- (stopped when he realized the others staring at him weirdly) Wh- what? Is there something on my face?
Luke: No… it's just...
Jade: You brought up the closeness of Asch and Kratos without throwing a fit.
Lloyd: (coughed embarrassedly) I am jealous of Asch… but now's not the time for it, and I also understand that my jealousy would make dad feel troubled, so...
Tear: You are so mature, Lloyd.
Lloyd: (embarrassed) Well… (scratched the back of his head) I also have two kids and I wouldn't want them to start fighting for my or my wife's attent-
Luke: Wait, what?! You have kids?!
Lloyd: Yes. Did I not mention it before?
Luke: No! … wait, you also have a wife?!
Jade: I'm pretty sure Lloyd wouldn't have children if he doesn't also have a wife. Unless, of course, he's a single parent.
Luke: (embarrassed) I know that!
Mieu: So Kratos is also a grandfather!
Guy: I have always thought that Kratos is a bit too young to have a son your age, but to also be a grandfather?!
Jade: At this rate, it wouldn't surprise me if Kratos is still alive when his great-great-grandson is born.
Lloyd: (laughing nervously)
Luke: So Lloyd, where is your wedding ring?
Tear: Luke!
Luke: What? I haven't seen it before, I am curious!
Lloyd: I put it on my ring finger before I put on my glove. I don't want to drop it when I fight. (Took off his left glove) See?
Guy: So that's why we never noticed…
Luke: By the way, what is that crystal?
Tear: I thought it's a decoration of your glove, but it's actually mounted on your hand? Why?
Lloyd: Oh, that… that is my mom's momento.
Tear: I'm sorry. It was insensitive of us to ask about that.
Lloyd: It's okay, don't worry about it.
(Lloyd, Luke, Tear, Mieu and Guy left)
Jade: Did no one realize that Lloyd didn't say why it's mounted on his hand? Children these days are so easily distracted.
Author's Note:
Windsbane - You're welcome. It's good to hear that you like that scene. I myself had my preference on what characters I like to write more and Natalia was quite low on my scale, so it was a bit difficult for my when I wrote that scene...
ShinKyu - Thanks. I did enjoy all the gatherings, too bad I ate too much so now had to do more exercise to keep fit...
Flakeblood - Thanks for the wonderful reviews! And you reviewed three chapters in one go! I really appreciate the feedback! I am glad to hear that you like the character interactions and that you agree that it's better to stick to a single person's POV. Thank you for also letting me know that I managed to keep Jade in his character. Sometimes it's just so hard to come up with the thoughts that goes on in his mind or how he should interact with others. As for Asch, I guess this chapter partly answered your question on what he really felt.
Everytime I hear that someone is re-reading the whole fiction I had this feeling that I needed to rewrite the whole thing just so the early chapters could look better… I have plans to start rewriting the whole series, and I mean from the prologue of Fonic Interruption, but that would have to wait as I am sure my readers are more interested in what comes next. If I really am to rewrite the whole series, I will have to make sure that it won't affect my current schedule for Crystalline Disturbance.
Thanks again for reading this chapter and please review if you like it! Until next time~
Uploaded on 25 Mar 2018.