Okay... Poll is now down. Thank you to the TWO people who voted. :/

Anyway, thanks to Coren024 for beta'ing this.

Um... Nope. I'm done. Wait!

Chapter 3 is already over. After the 19-Part Chapter 2, a nice, average-lengthed 8-Part chapter is nice. And it's followed up by the 11-Part Chapter 4. Which is cool. Okay. Now I'm just rambling.

Enjoy!

"Did she fall asleep sitting like that?" –Asch

"I went ahead and did something probably very stupid." –Sync

Chapter 3.8 – Akzeriuth
Part 36

I woke up slowly, and blinked a few times as I looked around. It looked like... Tear's room. But, I thought we were in Fallen Akzeriuth?

"Oh, you're awake."

I sat up carefully, noting how numb my body felt, how sluggish I was moving.

"Careful! Asch was keeping you sedated until we got here. The morphine's just now wearing off... though where he got morphine is beyond me," Tear said, running over to me to help me up.

I huffed. Leave it to Asch to keep me knocked out simply for fainting.

"Um... Would you like something to eat? The others are all wandering Yulia City right now while the Tartarus is being repaired," Tear said. I looked up at her, confused.

"Repaired?"

The melodist smiled slightly, apparently happy that I was speaking. "There was some damage from the fall into the Qliphoth, and they're trying to see if they can't get the mud out of the machinery as well. They're also attaching a device so they can use the sephiroth to get the Tartarus back up to the Outer Lands," she explained. I frowned.

"I see... How long have I been out?"

Tear fidgeted a little. "Almost two weeks... It took us eleven days to get here from Akzeriuth. Asch barely left your side the whole time. He kept going on about the miasma..."

I sighed and let myself fall back. "You mentioned food earlier?"

Tear nodded. "Yes... I've got some ingredients... Actually, I asked Guy, Natalia, and Dark to go buy more, since it looks like we'll all be here for a few more days. Still, I have some broth, I should be able to make some soup. You probably shouldn't eat too much, anyway."

I frowned. "Ramen?"

Tear giggled. "I can try... Asch copied all of your recipes down for me when I asked."

I smiled and let my eyes close. "I'll be down in a little bit. I need to finish flushing the excess morphine from my system."

"Excess?"

I shook my head. "I'll explain later."

I slipped onto the second plane then, and watched as Tear shrugged and headed downstairs before I turned around and started poking around my own body. I'd been on the morphine for a while now, so I knew what I was looking for and was able to start breaking it down.

By the time I was done, I was able to move about freely, and I headed downstairs, noting that Tear's room was one of five in a hallway, with my wing pack in one hand. "Um, Tear? Where's the bathroom?"

Tear flushed pink and pointed me in the right direction, and I thanked her before stepping in.

Between ditching the God-Generals, racing to Akzeriuth, and everything else, I was filthy. Not exactly a new occurrence, but an irritating one nonetheless. So it probably shouldn't have surprised Tear when I stepped out of the bathroom wearing plain, tight black pants (with my knee brace, because it was hurting again and I didn't want to fight with Energies right now) and a strapless green top.

But she looked at me like I'd grown a second head anyway, while I debated on what to do with my wet hair.

"Oh... I suppose you haven't gotten to take a shower in a while... I hadn't even realized. I'm sorry," she said, putting a bowl in front of me. I smiled and simply tossed my hair back over my shoulder.

"Yeah... I'm going to have to trim my bangs again, but I'll do that after I eat. I'm starving!" Tear laughed along with me as I started slurping up noodles. Her ramen wasn't as good as mine, but it was ramen, and food, and I was hungry. I didn't really care.

Jade was the first one to walk in on us, sometime after I'd finished the first bowl, trimmed my bangs (Tear had trimmed the rest of my hair for me), and started on the second.

"It's good to see you up and about again," my brother said, stepping over to the table and sitting down. There were only four chairs around the small table, so I was starting to wonder who'd occupy the last one.

"Her appetite's intact, at least," Tear said, amused as I ignored Jade in favor of ramen. He sighed and shrugged, then frowned.

"You're going to make yourself sick if you keep that up," he said, noting the way I was devouring the noodles. I shook my head and swallowed my most recent mouthful.

"What happens when a fonist spends hours casting artes almost constantly through use of Orange and Pineapple Gels?" I asked.

Jade adjusted his glasses. "Their body redistributes energy away from replenishing their magicks. Why?"

I swallowed the large bite I'd taken while he was explaining. "Energies act similarly. I've already used them since waking up to flush the excess morphine out of my body, but since Asch has had me practically comatose for two weeks without an IV line, I've got to eat to keep my body from tearing itself apart for the energy."

Jade blinked a few times, then sighed. "You're still going to make yourself sick."

"Nope. I'm actually quite used to doing things like this. So long as I take a break of about fifteen minutes between each bowl, I'm fine."

As if to prove my point, I picked the bowl up and downed the broth, along with the rest of the noodles that had escaped me. Putting it down and standing, I took a moment to think. "There was a garden outside the room upstairs, wasn't there?" I asked, as if I really needed the confirmation.

Tear nodded. "Yes. Are you going to want more?"

I sighed. "I'll answer that in a little while. For now I just need to relax a little. Much as I hate doing that." I stepped around Jade's chair and headed up the stairs, bare feet barely making a sound on the floor. I paused in the hallway, wondering what the other four rooms were, but not wanting to intrude.

I knelt in the garden and closed my eyes, intending on simply meditating. I hadn't had a chance to do so for so long...

"Kairi?"

I inhaled as deeply as I could before breathing it out and looking up at my brother. "Yes?"

"There's a large amount of miasma in your body, isn't there?" Jade asked, sitting next to me quietly. I noted absently that he was now barefoot, and he'd left his coat and gloves elsewhere too. I faced forward, letting my eyes close again, and simply focused on my breathing for a few moments.

"Yes."

Jade was silent, and I realized after a moment that he was trying make his uneven breathing match my slow, steady breaths.

"Do you know how long you have until..." Jade stopped and took a shaky breath, then simply focused on that for a while. I didn't respond for a time.

Quite a time, it seemed.

"Did she fall asleep sitting like that?"

I couldn't help it, I started laughing. Jade started laughing too, as the absurdity of the whole thing sank in. Of course, our laughter quieted after a few moments as Asch sat in front of us, making something of a triangle.

"You said you wanted to talk to us, Jade?" he asked. Jade glanced down at me, then looked at Asch.

"I take it you two found out about the miasma while with the God-Generals."

Asch blinked a few times, then looked at me.

*He just knows there's miasma. He doesn't know how much, or the source,* I told him. Asch sighed and let his head droop.

"Kairi was getting her arm checked after the battle on the ferry. I was practicing the scanning arte, and the medic looking her over wanted me to confirm something he'd found..." Asch started. He shook his head, unable to look up at either of us, and I sighed, while Jade frowned.

"Asch feels guilty because he's the one who told me about the miasma. Idiot."

Jade sighed, then took a deep breath. "What about what I mentioned earlier?" he asked.

I frowned. "No idea."

Asch looked back and forth between us, but I just closed my eyes again and went back to focusing on my breathing. Then my stomach started growling... loudly...

I opened my eyes to find Jade and Asch both staring at me, though Jade seemed a bit more shocked than Asch. I ducked my head. "What?"

"You just ate two bowls of ramen half an hour ago!" Jade said.

I shrugged. "Yeah? I told you, I have to eat a lot after things like that happen."

Jade let his head fall for a moment before standing and heading back inside. "I'll tell Tear you'll be eating with the rest of us after all."

I smiled and watched him go, then moved so I wasn't sitting on my knees anymore. My legs were starting to hurt... my right knee, especially. Of course, as soon as Jade was gone, Sync walked in and sat cross-legged in the space my brother had just vacated.

"Now that everything's calmed down a bit... Guard my body for me?" Sync said. I looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, Asch echoing me. Sync looked a bit sheepish.

"I found another spirit Energy back at Choral Castle. And, remember what you said about Talents?" he started. I nodded, and he closed his eyes, almost immediately slumping to the ground. My eyes widened, because standing a little ways off from the rest of us, insubstantial and glowing ever-so-slightly green, was Sync. I blinked a few times, before realizing what was going on.

"Astral projection?"

*Uh... I guess?*

Asch and I stared at him for a few moments. His mouth had moved like he was talking, but his voice had been in our heads. I frowned. "How far away can you go?" I asked. Sync shrugged.

*I tested it a couple of times while we were trying to get here. As long as I can picture a place I've been, I can appear there. It's tiring to go far away for long periods of time, though,* he said. I nodded.

"Like it's tiring for me to use my telepathy long-distance for a length."

*Yeah. I'm heading up to St. Binah. I don't know the area around Kaitzur well enough to try to go there, but... I figure, if I'm going to hear anything about survivors of Akzeriuth, it'll be there,* he said. I smiled.

"You're going to see if Reighn made it out."

Sync nodded, then disappeared in a green flash. I smiled at the afterimage left behind before turning back to Asch. "So... Hungry?"

Asch sighed and ended up flopping out on his back with a small smile. It faded eventually, leaving me to wonder what he was thinking about, though I forced myself not to ask and simply closed my eyes again, going back to meditating.

Sometime later, I heard footsteps approaching again. I didn't move, though. I was more preoccupied with trying to figure out how to replicate what Ion did in the game without killing myself.

"Teodoro says we'll be ready to leave by tomorrow afternoon, if we're ready." I frowned a bit. Jade didn't sound too pleased about that.

"Are we going to leave as soon as possible, or...?" Asch trailed off.

"I don't particularly care, though I worry about the state of things on the surface as things stand right now. With both Luke and Natalia missing and Akzeriuth destroyed, Kimlasca and Malkuth are probably just a few wrong words away from war."

"They're already making preparations in St. Binah," Sync said. "Ow..."

I opened my eyes and looked over at him. "Any word?" I asked. Sync sighed and shook his head.

"No, but I... I went ahead and did something probably very stupid. I asked Selenia to send me word if anything happened," he said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. I crossed my arms.

"So Selenia knows you can astral project yourself."

Sync nodded. "Yeah... Though, the first few groups of refugees from Akzeriuth have made it to St. Binah. If Reighn made it out with one of the later groups, it may be a few more days before he reaches the city."

Jade adjusted his glasses. "You're being awfully optimistic about his survival."

I snorted. "This, from the pessimist who actually thought Asch had killed a miner in tunnel fourteen."

Asch made a face. "Why would you...?" he started, looking at Jade like he'd grown a second head. My brother sighed and shrugged.

"CoD was a blade to the throat, and it was too wide a wound to be a knife. As far as I was aware, you, Sync, and possibly Kairi were the only ones in that tunnel. I hadn't been told Van was hiding in tunnel fourteen." He gave me a pointed look along with the last sentence.

I sighed and shook my head. "And what would telling you have done? Van and Zion thrashed me, Asch, and Sync in less than two minutes, and you don't even know our signals."

"Didn't," Sync corrected me, subtly telling me that they'd started explaining our system while I was out.

I rolled my eyes. "Even if we'd taken Reighn and Twilight, both of whom know the signals... That reminds me, I have another two to teach everyone... We still would have lost. Van wasn't going to be talked down. The only thing we could do was evacuate as many as possible and then deal with him... And Luke screwed that one over when he walked down there and destroyed the passage ring."

Asch crossed his arms. "We did what we could. No use grumbling about it now. It's over and done with," he said. Jade sighed.

"Speaking of done... Dinner, anyone? Ion and Anise have already eaten, though Natalia and Dark seem to have gotten lost somewhere in Yulia City. Guy and Tear literally just left to find them."

I smirked and stood, wincing a bit as I moved my knee, since it didn't seem to be pleased with me for the sudden movement. "Alright."

Sync stood as well. "When are we going to leave, though?"

Jade sighed. "If we don't go off-course this time, the trip from here to where Akzeriuth used to be should only take eight days, or maybe seven if all of us work in shifts," he said. Asch looked over at me as he stood, then up at Jade.

"Let's leave early the morning after tomorrow. I... I want to check up on some things, and..." he trailed off, eyes drifting over to me again. Jade nodded once, while I sighed.

"I'm alright, Asch. You didn't have to keep me knocked out the whole way here."

Asch let his head drop. "Sorry."

Sync looked back and forth between us. "Food, maybe?"

We nodded.

Fun Fact: It took a lot of prompting for them to go get food. Apparently I was in one of my 'I'm hungry but I'm not' moods when I wrote this... (And yes, food in this story in mostly based on what I'm hungry for when I write about it. Or if I'm eating.)