"Are you sure someone went and told him he's needed down here?" asked Zahra, visibly irritated as he paced.

Eunice sighed, again. "Yes, doctor," she answered in a droll tone, reassuring him once again while at the same time letting him know his behavior was exasperating her. "Under the circumstances I think you're expecting a lot for him to be out of bed this early. Be patient, he'll get here."

Zahra waved his hands dismissively, scoffing. "He can get off his bride long enough to come deal with the prisoner."

"I wasn't aware we had any prisoners," remarked Fret, clearly annoyed at hearing Zahra's comment as he walked through the doorway of the castle's medical clinic with Marica and Liu in tow. That was stacked on top of the annoyance at having been woken up by Nakil banging on the door to his room bright and early, saying he was needed down at Dr. Zahra's clinic.

Eunice shook her head. "Doctor, some day you're going to have to learn to stop saying inappropriate things."

Zahra shrugged as if to say, "what?" "The fact remains that I had to stay here last night instead of attending the shindig. Sounds like guard duty to me."

Fret yawned into his fist. "Anyway," he said, not having the energy to argue, "what's up that you needed me down here right away. Is she causing problems?"

"She keeps asking questions. It's bad enough that I have to treat my enemy's injuries," Zahra grumbled.

Fret nodded sympathetically, he could understand his discomfort. "Gotcha… Okay, we'll go talk to her." Truly he intended to do that this morning anyway, just not quite so early. It had been five days since they had defeated the Order Archivist and brought her back badly injured to the castle. He had learned from Eunice at the wedding reception the previous night that the lady had finally woken fully yesterday morning, but Eunice said she told Dr. Zahra that they weren't going to bother Fret and Marica with it on their wedding day, especially not when the lady still needed rest anyway and didn't need to be put under more stress.

The Order Archivist sat up on the edge of the bed upon hearing new voices, looking wearily over to the sources of them. She was past the point of impatience at no one coming to talk to her, and had quickly discovered that getting information out of the doctor was futile since he openly wore his contempt for her. After being put off on talking to the young leader of Cherem Company yesterday, she had tried again this morning to get some answers as to what was going on. That led to another glare from the doctor, and his assistant scolding him for being so hostile. The assistant did at least say she'd send someone to get the leader, which was better than yesterday when she'd been told there was no chance of talking to him.

She watched the company leader and two of his companions walk towards her. She recognized the tall thin white haired girl from the battle and other previous encounters. She didn't remember seeing the tattooed boy before, but she knew from his markings that he was from the tribe of Scribes like one of the others she fought the other day.

"Hey…" the leader said, forcing a weak smile as he extended his hand. "I'm Fret, and this here is Marica and Liu."

"Fret," she replied, nodding as she let the name roll over her lips. "I am Diadora. I would say it is nice to meet you, but I'd be saying it only to be polite. I have been kept rather in the dark about what is going on and what you intend to do with me."

"Do with you?" asked Liu in a surprised tone.

Diadora smirked. "I am your prisoner, am I not? Surely you have some plan for why you captured me instead of killed me when you had the chance?"

"Whoa, lady, you need to slow down," stated Fret, gesturing with his hands out in front of him. "First of all, we didn't capture you and you ain't our prisoner. You were pretty much near death after Sphiel unloaded on you. We brought you back here and had Zahra patch you up."

"Sphiel?" asked Diadora. "Oh… is that the blue haired mage with the rather uhhh… interesting appearance?"

Marica and Liu laughed. "That's one way of putting it," smirked Marica. "She's a bit of a loon."

"But insanely powerful," added Liu.

"Insane is probably the right description, Liu," Marica joked.

"Anyway," replied Fret gruffly, not in the mood for the bantering back and forth. "Are you okay?"

"What do you mean?" asked Diadora, eyeing him skeptically.

"Fairly obvious question, I thought."

"I-I… My wounds are healed if that is what you are asking."

Fret shook his head. "Look lady… Diadora… like I said, you're not a prisoner here, so this ain't an interrogation. Just trying to find out if you're doing okay is all. I am hoping we can talk without you threatening to kill us though."

Diadora broke eye contact, looking down at the floor briefly as she collected her thoughts. "So am I to understand you then that you will simply let me leave after I have answered your questions?"

"If that's what you want to do," Fret replied. "Though to tell the truth, even though I'm in the minority on this I'm hoping you'll end up deciding to join us instead of going back to the Order."

Marica frowned, looking away from him, while Liu fidgeted. Both of them had been opposed when Fret suggested trying to change her allegiance after they first brought her back to the castle, saying she was too dangerous to trust. The reaction of his companions wasn't lost on Diadora. "What is it you wish to know?" she asked tentatively.

"You seem different than the other Archivists we've come across, I mean you don't seem like you enjoy crushing everyone who stands in your way," explained Fret. "How'd you end up with that old kook Valfred anyway?"

Diadora sighed. She could tell her guard was dropping to the charismatic young man who was showing a lot more compassion than she had any reason to expect. But at this point she didn't care, the burden of the Magedom of Janam was still weighing heavily on her and she found herself increasingly questioning the chancellor's decisions. She decided that regardless of the outcome, she at least owed these guys honest answers in exchange for her life.

"I… well… perhaps this will be easier to explain if you let me have my staff back for a moment."

Marica scoffed. "So you can blast us with magic?" she asked sarcastically before backing down slightly under Fret's heavy glare. He called to Eunice to bring the Archivist's staff over, which had been stored in a closet after they brought her in. She retrieved the staff and brought it to Diadora.

Choosing to ignore Marica's comment, Diadora began to explain. "As I mentioned previously, my staff is also a Chronicle- the Chronicle of Endless Travels. From the powers I have seen you wield, I know you are Starbearers. I think if you touch my staff my story will become clearer."

Nodding solemnly, Fret stepped forward and grasped the staff. As Diadora expected, a white light flashed as the three Starbearers in front of her received a vision of death and destruction from the Chronicle. Liu winced from the vision, while Marica rested her head in her hands, waiting for focus to return. Fret grimaced as the vision faded, pressing his fingers to the temple of his head gingerly as he looked at Diadora expectantly.

"M-my world," began Diadora, "was one of the first ones destroyed by the One King. Endless Travels here is the Chronicle of my world."

"So those horrible things we saw in the vision happened to your world?" asked Fret.

"Yes," replied Diadora softly. "The One King has destroyed many worlds. That is what the Order of the One True Way has been trying to prevent happening to this world."

"How's that supposed to work?" questioned Liu.

"After merging other worlds to this world, the Order has been obtaining the Chronicles of those worlds, at least in most cases. Chancellor Valfred has discovered a ritual using 12 Chronicles that will enable us to fuse this world to the One King's world, saving it from the fate so many other worlds have already met, including my own."

"Wait, are you saying that the Order is sacrificing other worlds in order to save this one?" asked Fret incredulously.

"No, no," replied Diadora, shaking her head. "The worlds we have fused were ones already destroyed by the One King. Valfred somehow locates them using the True Chronicle of this world, using that information not only to fuse them here, but to direct the fusion to largely uninhabited regions."

"Right, like the 'largely uninhabited' Magedom of Janam?" snarked Marica.

Diadora sighed, shoulders slumping. "As I said before, Valfred felt that was a necessary action because of the threat the Magedom posed in bringing the One True Way to fruition."

Liu studied Diadora's expression as she spoke. He suspected that she was conflicted about the situation. "Diadora, you said that Valfred thought it was necessary. What about you? What's your opinion of all this?"

Diadora frowned, taking a moment to collect her thoughts. She sat back down on the edge of the bed and stared at the floor as the events replayed in her head. Fret was just about to ask her if she was alright when she finally began to speak. "This is… difficult for me. You must understand that all I have known since my world was destroyed and I ended up here has been the Order and the plans to save this world. I want to see this world spared the fate of my world, and I have believed for so long in the chancellor's desire to act for the good of everyone. That the sacrifices required to bring the One True Way to fruition were not just necessary, but pure-hearted…"

She paused again, the memories of her argument with Valfred flashing through her mind again. The others waited for her to continue, not wanting to interrupt.

"…But I… I did not agree with his decision to use a world fusion as a military action against the Magedom. I told him that the purpose of using the True Chronicle to manipulate the fusion locations was to save people, to direct the fusions to areas where few people would be affected. Of course, that was after it had already happened, none of us knew beforehand. I argued with him, but he insisted that preserving the future of the One True Way was too important to risk continuing to fight against the Magedom in conventional ways, especially alongside the growing threat from… well, Cherem Company. I… challenged him on it, telling him he was going down a dangerous road in deciding that not everyone was equally worth saving anymore. He said I was naïve in not seeing how the Magedom of Janam and Cherem Company changed the rules of the game."

"Game! This is just a game to him!" asked Fret angrily.

"It was just the turn of a phrase, he did not mean it literally as a game," Diadora explained, waving her hand. "Honestly, I think your company's ability to defeat even the Order's elite soldiers and Archivists scared him, caused something in him to snap. Before Cherem Company came into existence, the struggle between the Magedom and the Order was close to a stalemate. We made some inroads in Magedom territory, and they took back some of our gains. It went back and forth like that for quite awhile, but we were not worried because the Order was still growing as we expanded into other regions and towns throughout the continent. But since Cherem company split from the Magedom approximately a year ago, our growth has almost completely stopped and overall we have lost ground. As long as I have known him, Valfred has always been very passionate about the One True Way, but he has become increasingly fanatical. It is like the One True Way to him is no longer about saving as many people of this world as possible, it is more like a personal mission to bring about. He even seems to care less about the welfare of his strongest supporters than he once did. I do not know why the One True Way is so personal for him, he has never explained it. But it is obvious to everyone around him that the only thing that matters to him is the advancement of the One True Way, no matter the cost."

Liu looked at Diadora thoughtfully. "I can sort of understand the purpose of fusing worlds to get the Chronicles needed to perform the ritual, but what does the whole predetermined future have to do with it? Why can't the Order let people live their lives while still saving the world through the ritual?"

"Good point, Liu," said Fret. "Why does the Order need to control people's lives to save them?"

Diadora nodded, understanding this question was the heart of the resistance to the One True Way. "We have gotten a small glimpse of the One King's world from the Chronicles. As his name would suggest, the One King determines everything. In the One King's world, the past, present, and future is what he decides it is. Those who do not accept his will as their own perish. The principles of the Order of the One True Way are not for the purpose of the Order controlling people or determining their futures, but rather to prepare people for what life in the One King's world will be like. The reason we say only people who accept the Order's principles can be saved is because it is true, though it is often misunderstand because we have not revealed the truth of the One King to the masses yet."

"Why even bother bringing the One King here and trying to join our world to his?" asked Fret. "I mean, who wants to live in a world like that anyway?"

"I can see why you say that," Diadora replied, "but it is not so simple. What the Order is doing is a preemptive attempt to save this world. You have to understand, hundreds of worlds in the Infinity have fallen to the One King already, with more being wiped out on a weekly basis. Left alone, it is only a matter of time before he targets this world."

"And we'll take him down when he does!" declared Fret defiantly.

"What makes you think you will be successful where all these other worlds failed?" Diadora asked in an accusatory tone.

"If we quit without trying then we've already lost!"

"And you think throwing your lives away, and the lives of everyone else in this world, is better than accepting a predetermined future and living? Does that not mean anything to you? Fighting a battle you cannot win is meaningless!"

"Our lives have meaning because they're ours," Fret countered. "Not the Order's, not the One King's!" Voice rising, he continued, "How dare you claim the lives of the people on destroyed worlds were meaningless just because they lost! Those people fought for something they believed in! They died for freedom over slavery! To show all of us that win or lose, we don't have to accept the One King's future!" At this point Fret's voice had reached a crescendo as he screamed passionately, "The future is not predetermined! The Order says it's already decided that the One King will either destroy or rule us! I say nothing is decided, no one can say that's how it will go, 'cause we'll never know until we try! Win or lose we're fighting until our last breath to save this world, we're not just giving up and letting the One King have it! And if I die defending my friends, then so be it! If I die defending the right for people to be who they want to be and love who they want to love, then so be it! And when I die no one will say my life didn't have meaning!"

Everyone in the room stared at Fret in stunned, awed silence as he finished his rant. Even Asad, Nakil, and Hafin, who had come in from their usual hangout spot outside in the hall. Marica slipped her arms around his waist from behind and pressed her face into his back, wetting his shirt with the tears his rousing speech had moved her to.

After a prolonged silence, Diadora softly spoke. "You really believe that, don't you?"

"With all his heart," said Marica hoarsely, answering on his behalf while he simply nodded affirmatively.

"You have given me a lot to think about," admitted Diadora. "I think I need a little time to sort things out."

Fret nodded again. "We'll leave you to it then. Like I said before, you're not a prisoner here. You're welcome to wander around the castle, talk to whoever you want. If you're hungry, Logan should have breakfast going by now. That's in the tavern on the first floor. If you need to find me later, best talk to Moana. She's almost always in the main entry hall on the 1st floor, where the stairs and lift are. If for some reason you decide to leave, do us a favor and let us know first? We won't stop you or anything, but I'd just like to know if that's what you decide to do without having to guess what happened to you."

Diadora nodded, smiling slightly at the young man's demeanor. "Thank you for your hospitality. It is a pleasant surprise."

"May I ask one more question, Diadora?" asked Liu.

"You may…"

"You have these memories still of your world, and of what this world was like before the fusions. That wasn't the case with other Order Archivists we've run into. I mean, like with Fergus and Conon, who seemed to have no idea that Flesaria Forest wasn't always here. And we know Dirk has no memories of it either. Does that mean you are a Starbearer too, or did you get that knowledge in some other way?"

Diadora frowned briefly, looking down. "I… I guess I have always been a Starbearer, both on this world and previously in my own world. I was one of the few that escaped to another world after the One King descended on us."

Liu nodded. "I figured as much, you've got all the characteristics."

Diadora looked at Liu quizzically. "I know you are from the tribe of Scribes, do you know much of Starbearers then?"

Liu shrugged. "Not so much from being the Elder Scribe, it's really from just how many we've recruited into our company."

"So you have a number of Starbearers in Cherem Company then?"

Chucking, Fret replied, "You could say that. I think we're up to what, Liu, 80? 85?"

Diadora's eyes widened in shock. "80 to 85 Starbearers?"

"Yeah, everyone in Cherem Company is a Starbearer. So if you join the club you'll fit right in," Fret jested.

Diadora shook her head in disbelief. Smiling slightly, she replied, "No wonder your company is so powerful… You have certainly surprised me, in more ways than one. I need to think about some things, but I will seek you out later to continue our conversation."

"Fair enough," stated Fret. "As far as I know I don't have plans to go anywhere today, so I should be around here somewhere. Talk to you later then." With that, Fret, Marica, and Liu excused themselves and left the room.

It was later that day, early afternoon, when Erin came up to Fret and Marica outside on the castle grounds. The two were sparring, continuing Marica's training in melee fighting. Marica's natural agility enabled her to quickly get the hang of the basic techniques Fret had taught her, so today he had introduced a few more advanced techniques to attack with both blades simultaneously. He was impressed with her progress, but made sure to temper his enthusiasm so she didn't get too overconfident in her abilities.

"Hey guys," said Erin, smiling as she approached her friends. "Moana said that woman from the Order is looking for you. Well, looking for Fret specifically, that is. She's waiting over by the gateway."

Fret nodded, panting slightly from the workout. "Thanks, Erin. Come on Marica, you might as well come along with me."

"Definitely…" grumbled Marica. She didn't trust Diadora at all, and thought Fret was being very naive in the level of trust he was giving her.

Fret rolled his eyes, knowing what she was thinking, but remained silent as the three walked over to the castle's gateway.

"You wanted to see me?" asked Fret as he approached Diadora with Marica and Erin alongside him. Erin didn't really need to be there, but she didn't have anything else to do at the moment and her friends didn't mind her tagging along.

"Yes, thank you for coming so quickly. I have been thinking about what you said earlier, and about the direction Chancellor Valfred is taking the Order. I have come to the conclusion that I cannot support what the Order is doing any longer, and that I would join your company if you will still have me."

Fret smiled. "Sounds good to me, welcome aboard! By the way, we don't really have a system for assigning rooms in the castle, it's kind of been first come first serve as to who rooms where. Erin here can probably help you get settled in, or you can just look around and see what's available."

"Thank you for that. I do have one other thing to discuss with you."

"Sure…"

"I am sure you remember from our previous… encounters… that I was able to summon gateway portals with my staff. I can do that to bring things to my current location as well as to return to nearly any location I have previously been."

Memories flashed through Fret's mind of the times they fought Diadora, both several days earlier and back in Pharamond, when Diadora enabled the Archivists to succeed in stealing four of Cherem Company's Chronicles. "Yeah… we remember," stated Marica flatly.

"Well, I can use that power to take us from here right to the Chronicle room at the top of the Tower of the One True Way. We can grab the Chronicles and gateway right back to here before anyone notices us."

Fret's eyes grew wide in excitement at the possibility. "Awesome idea! Let's get a plan together to send a team through to snag the Order's Chronicles!"

Diadora shook her head. "We do not have the time to spend planning. If we are to do this, we need to go now and it can only be a couple of people… you and me."

Alarms were going off like crazy in Marica's head. "What's the big rush?" she asked suspiciously. "And why only you two?"

"I have been gone for what, 5 or 6 days now? Valfred will begin to become suspicious, and it is only a matter of time before he learns my allegiance has changed. We have to go now before that happens, while we still have the element of surprise. Once he knows I have left the Order he will prepare for something like that and it will be too dangerous too attempt. As to why only two of us, I have to go of course, otherwise it is a one way trip for whoever goes through the gateway. And while I would like some help, more people increases the likelihood of being caught." Diadora continued to explain, "I picked Fret simply because he is the only one so far who has shown a willingness to trust me."

Fret nodded, contemplating what she said. "Well, that makes sense I guess. Alright, let's go."

"What?" shouted Marica incredulously, glaring at him. "You can't be serious, Fret!"

Fret raised an eyebrow quizzically in response.

"You… you… how can you trust her like that? You're just going to take her word for it that she's had a change of heart and isn't leading you on a one way trip right into the chancellor's hands?"

"Marica…"

She was beginning to get frantic. "Fret! Listen to me! You can't do this! It's too dangerous! Please!" She looked him in the eyes, silently pleading for him to come to his senses.

"Marica, I… I don't think she'll betray me… us. It'll be okay."

Marica was on the verge of tears, knowing she was losing this battle and scared of losing him. "Please…" she whispered hoarsely, "don't do this."

Diadora sighed. She understood the girl's hesitance to trust her, and she also noticed how the girl clung to Fret's side. She wondered how close they really were, it seemed like she had a lot of influence with him. "Marica…" she began. "I know you have no reason to trust me at this point, but I assure you anyway that I am being forthright and honest with you. I will not betray Cherem Company."

Fret hugged Marica, who buried her face in his chest as she fought the urge to cry. "Hey…" he whispered. "It'll be fine, just a quick in and out and we'll be right back. We probably won't even be gone more than half an hour. Trust me, okay? I'm pretty good at judging people."

Marica looked up at Fret, staring into his eyes. Blinking back the tears, she kissed him briefly on the lips before pulling away. He knew from her action that however reluctantly, without actually saying anything she was giving him her approval to go.

Fret nodded at Marica. "Alright, let's go," he said to Diadora.

The now former Order Archivist waved her staff and opened up a gateway portal. "This will take us into the Chronicle room in the tower," she said, beginning to walk toward it. Fret started walking towards it as well.

"Diadora?" asked Marica, her voice still wavering slightly.

"Yes?"

Marica took a deep breath. Exhaling, she said, "Keep him safe. I swear if you bring any harm to him you won't live long enough to enjoy the smug satisfaction of it."

Diadora flinched noticeably from the threat, but only nodded silently and stepped into the portal. Erin placed a reassuring hand on Marica's shoulder while the pair, along with Hotupa nearby, watched Fret disappear through the portal after Diadora. A few seconds later the portal vanished, right around the same time it dawned on Marica that Fret hadn't taken his swords with him and hadn't put on his regular battle armor. She fought to suppress the panic that was threatening to well up inside and consume her. She bit her bottom lip and tugged nervously at a bang of hair, knowing all they could do at this point was wait, and hope he would be back soon.