Cao - OHEMGEE! SECOND-TO-LAST CHAPTER! XD

Alex - . . .Right.

Cao - Hush. I swear to you, you'll get a part in the next one. XD

Alex - . . .

Cao - TO THE CHAPTER! (will try to get another today)

oOoOoOo

Chapter Thirty-Seven - Revelation

In Belkend, Commandant of the God Generals Vandesdelca Grants sat in his office at his desk, eyes trained on a diary before him, turning the pages in a bored manner. Standing beside him on his right was Major Legretta, her posture straight as she kept her eyes focused on something – or someone – in front of them.

The Commandant looked up, finally, and put his elbows on the desk top, resting his chin on his hands. His eyes were looking at a boy, but no ordinary boy. He had short brown hair, two side-bangs longer than the rest and framing his face. His eyes were crimson red, the pupils nothing more than slits and a small scar on his left cheek. He was smirking, revealing his pointed fangs. Aside from that, he wore normal attire, with a blood red, plain, short-sleeved t-shirt, black slacks, and dress shoes. Yet around his shoulders was a cloak, tied together with a simple string in a little bow. The hood was down, the overall 'body' of the cloak was just hanging cape-style behind him. On his wrists were silver bracelets, and his skin was somewhat tanned. The only abnormalities about this boy were three key things.

One was his nails; they were abnormally sharp, looking like they could cut through just about anything thrown at them. Another was the cat-like ears on the top of his head, the fur matching the colour of his hair and the inside of the ear a nice pink. The third and final thing was the small cat tail behind him, flicking every so often.

"So," Vandesdelca started, his voice echoing in the deathly-silent room, "to what do I owe this. . .pleasure?"

"What? Not even a hug? A 'hey, it's been a while!'? You're cold, Van," the cat boy sighed, ears drooping in mock hurt.

"Answer the Commandant's question," Major Legretta ordered, her patience wearing thin. All she received as an answer was the boy sticking his tongue out at her.

"The Higher-Ups aren't pleased, Van," the cat boy pressed on, looking back at the General. "They think you've forgotten about the plan. Do you even remember it?"

"Of course I do."

"So why are you trying to destroy all of Auldrant? You realize you'll be killing off the vitals, right? Replicas won't suffice; we need the originals."

"The world is bound by the Score. The only way to free it is to kill off the originals. If the Higher-Ups don't like that, then I'm afraid I'll have to part ways here."

"They won't like this, Grants," the cat boy warned, crimson eyes turning white. "You'll be marked a traitor. They'll make sure you fail, even if it means allying with our enemies."

"Then so be it."

Little did the threesome know, one redheaded God General lingered at the barely-open door, emerald eyes wide.

oOo

When Luke could finally see something other than white, he was staring into a mirror, obviously standing.

But. . .no. . .wait. . .

It wasn't himself staring back at him. It was Asch. Why was Asch looking back at him?

'What's going on?'

"Asch!"

The strangest of feelings crashed over Luke. He could watch his vision turning, could even feel the body moving. . .but he wasn't consciously controlling it. He was sure of that. He tried to, but was nothing happened whatsoever.

'Wait. . .Asch?'

He heard Asch, right? Yeah, he did! He didn't even hear his own name!

Luke soon saw Tear in his vision, the melodist obviously quite annoyed, for she had her hands on her hips and she was scowling at him.

"What?" he heard Asch's voice saw. And yet, where was Asch?

"If you want to get the Tartarus up, talk to the mayor – my grandfather – about it," she said, somewhat impatiently. "Just remember, I'm not going to go with you." And then the melodist exited his field of vision.

'What's going on?!'

'Can you hear me, Luke?'

Luke stiffened in whatever prison he was in. He couldn't look around, but either he was going crazy, or he'd just heard Asch's voice in his head!

'You've got it backwards. You are in my head,' Asch's voice said again. 'You are over here.'

Luke could see the scene change, and again, that weird feeling of moving yet not controlling it washed over him. What was even more bizarre was the fact that he was staring at his own body, lying unconscious on the bed!

'You and I,' Asch began again, 'are perfect isofons. You're a perfect replica, right down to your fonon frequency.'

Again. That word. 'replica'. If Luke could control a body, he would have flinched.

'I-I'm no replica. . .'

'A perfect replica and its original can connect via their fon slots. Yours were adjusted in Choral Castle so they'd be open for me. You've heard me several times since then, right?'

'N-Now that you mention it. . .then. . .that my voice is inside your head. . .that means I'm really. . .!'

'Not just your voice. I could control your whole body. Of course, I doubt dreck like you could pull that off.'

'S-Stop making fun of me! Just you wait; I'll be able to do it!'

Asch only chuckled, ignoring Luke for now as he decided to turn around and head downstairs, explaining to his replica where they were and where the others were. What they were doing and what they planned to do. Luke had been shocked, at first, when he heard they were heading to the Outer Lands, almost outraged, but Asch shot him down, explaining to him that there was nothing to be gained from staying down here.

Luke felt his conscience eat him alive when Asch mentioned Guy and Alex, knowing full-well that it was his fault the poor boy was suffering. And Guy. . .Guy was emotionally attached to him in a lot of ways. Truth be told, so was Luke, but he'd never admit it. At least. . .not back then.

Asch made a small noise of annoyance, elbow resting on the railing separating him from the miasma mud, as he could feel his replica's emotions start to overwhelm him. At least the idiot was guilty. But that didn't mean he wanted to deal with it, especially when he needed to concentrate with this. Besides, he could feel Natalia's gaze on him, with the Kimlascan princess not being too far from him right now.

'Do you want to see him, dreck?'

'. . .Yeah.'

And so, Asch allowed himself to move again, entering the main building, where the entrance to the conference room, housing district, and other rooms were. Yet he didn't take any of the obvious doorways, much to Luke's confusion. The God General went to a carefully hidden door in the massive building, somehow managing to avoid Jade, who was talking with some of the residents.

From what Luke could tell, it was a medical ward, with probably only one doctor and two nurses, nothing more. The entire place was relatively empty, save for the unconscious or sleeping person.

'From what I've heard, they keep all the severe miasma cases in this place,' Asch informed, filling in a few blanks for his replica.

'Severe?'

'Cases that have a low chance of survival.'

Asch swore quietly when he felt Luke almost snap. He had always been blunt about things, and always would be. The dreck had to grow up and accept it! But. . .damn. He had to admit, even he was a little worried. The original decided to continue into the room, passing most of the empty beds. It was then that Luke noticed who was in the farthest corner, just barely seen from behind a curtain that was hiding one occupant of a bed.

As Asch came closer, Guy was fully revealed, sitting on a stool as close to the bed as he was allowed to, elbows resting on his legs, hands clasped together, and chin resting on top of his hands, He looked so tired. A lot more tired than Luke had ever seen him before, and there was worry etched all over his face and in his eyes. On the opposite side of the bed was Tear, along with another healer. While the nameless healer was sitting and whispering chants to healing and curing spells, Tear was murmuring the soft songs of the hymn Luke recalled as Revitalize.

The restless occupant of the bed was Alex, pain evident on his face. Whatever he was trying to achieve by constantly tossing and turning, he obviously wasn't getting it.

"How is he?" Asch asked, startling Guy a little. He had to give the two healers credit for not reacting at all.

"He's. . .he's alright. . .for now," Guy answered hesitantly, looking back at Alex for a moment then back at the floor, a troubled look replacing his startled one quickly. "But. . ." The blond obviously could not continue, closing his eyes and brows furrowing in worry.

'Is. . .is there something else?' Luke asked hesitantly, trying to keep him cool.

Asch ignored his replica, simply turning and heading on out of the medical facility. He stopped when he was near the exit, looking at Jade out of the corner of his eyes. The Malkuthian colonel was looking right at him, but it didn't matter; Asch didn't shy away, simply waiting as the man came towards him.

"Well, well," Jade started, hands in his pockets as they always seemed to be. "You've provided us quite a bit of information. Though I get the feeling there's more to it."

"Are you ever satisfied with the answers you get?" Asch asked, somewhat annoyed.

"Not if I know there's more to it than that."

'What did you tell him?' Luke questioned.

'The truth. What else?' Asch shot back.

'About. . .how I'm your replica. . .?'

'Only the others were surprised. The old man just had his suspicions confirmed.'

'What!'

"Well?" Jade asked, crimson eyes burning into Asch. "What else are you hiding?"

"Everything else is about that damned kid you're so curious about," the redheaded God General snapped back, scowling at the colonel. "If you want to find out about him, either ask his guardian or figure it out for yourself."

"There are no records of the Kinjo family left, them having all been burned those seven or more years ago. And his 'guardian' doesn't have the faintest idea of who or what he really is."

"You talk about him as if he's a runaway science experiment. . ."

"For all I know, he could be."

'How could he say that?!' Luke exclaimed, unable to contain himself.

'He's a scientist. It's natural for him to think like that. Try and put yourself in his position,' Asch growled back to his replica, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "Well, old man, I can promise you that he's definitely a regular kid—"

"Aside from him being a scion to one of the sentiences?" Jade interjected.

". . .Right."

"Do tell me why you and your companions felt the need to kidnap him, though. And how do I know you can be trusted?"

"Look," Asch growled through gritted teeth, his patience wearing thin. This man and his endless questioning. . .it wasn't like he knew everything! "All I know is that the kid's from some family by the name of Kinjo, which is known for its control in the Third Fonon. I don't know details. Van's the one with all the answers. Everything I know is just stuff that was deemed alright to tell me."

'"Is"? I thought they were killed off!' Luke exclaimed.

The redheaded God General could see the Malkuthian Colonel's brows furrow in concentration, and he instantly regretted what he'd said, cursing under his breath especially when his damned replica point it out. Before Jade could question any further, Asch turned and walked straight on to the Conference Room, where he recalled Tear had said the mayor of Yulia City would be.

'Asch, what're you hiding?!'

'Shut up, dreck!'

Luke was certainly surprised by his original's actions, so much so that said original could feel the emotion himself. And he didn't like it the slightest bit.

True to Tear's word, as soon as Asch had walked through the light that was the door to the Conference room, he saw an old man sitting on the far end of the massive table, looking at him as though he'd expected him.

"What do you think of the Qliphoth?" the old man asked once the redhead was within earshot.

"It's just as I'd heard," Asch answered, stopping beside the Mayor. "Not very pleasant."

"It's no place for human beings to live. The land is covered by the miasma and the Outer Lands, and the land is a liquefied crust flowing over the mantle."

'Then why would these people live here?' Luke questioned, temporarily forgetting that he could not be heard.

"Why not move to the Outer Lands, then?" Asch said, voicing his replica's question.

"You know our role. We are watchers. We cannot leave this land," the old man replied gravely.

'What are they watching. . .?'

"I heard there may be a way to raise the Tartarus back up to the Outer Lands," the redheaded God General pressed on, this time fully ignoring his replica.

"We've attached a fonon activator similar to the ones from the passage rings onto the Tartarus," the Mayor responded. "It should be able to stimulate the Akzeriuth's Sephiroth to raise a tree one final time."

"And we ride the Sephiroth all the way back up."

"But are you absolutely sure you need the landship?"

"I wouldn't have asked if we didn't."

"Alright. Then would you like me to lead you to the Tartarus right now?"

"Yes."

"Alright. Then let us go. I'll have my informants send for the others accompanying you."

The old man got up from his seat, his height rather short compared to Asch as he led the way to the landship.

'Are you really leaving?' Luke asked, prodding at his original again.

'Yes.'

'What about Alex! And Tear and Guy!'

'Tear told me already that she's not going. The brat's in no condition to even stand, let alone attempt a trip on the Tartarus. He almost died.'

'What about Guy, then?! He'd never leave Alex behind!'

'What about you?'

'. . .huh?'

'Think about it, dreck,' Asch stared, scowling as he arrived at the Tartarus, told to wait until the others came. Jade had spotted them and followed along, and now the man was eying him suspiciously. 'You can either follow along with me until your body's healed up. It probably won't take longer than a day or two for that without your consciousness in it. But you can also stay here and wait for the damned kid you nearly killed.'

'I didn't—'

'He never would have gone after you so frantically if you hadn't been stupid enough to go into the mines on your own. You did.'

'. . .'

An annoyingly long silence echoed through his head as he waited for both his companions and for an answer. He spotted Natalia coming up to him and the Malkuthian Colonel next to him, closely followed by that Fon Master Guardian, Anise, and the Fon Master himself. And yet still, even after they'd gathered and Jade had told them all to go inside and wait for Guy, he didn't receive an answer.

'Well, replica? What's it gonna be?'

oOoOoOo

BR/N: Oh my! Awesome ending! Sounds so like him!