Chapter 36: Running out of Time

Van let out a heavy sigh, dropping to one knee. He glanced around as his heavy breathing settled, glad that no one was in the immediate area. Weakness was a luxury he wasn't allowed anymore and he wouldn't let any of his subordinates believe any different. But things had proven to be more trying than he had initially anticipated.

His stomach lurched, more violently than the last time, but not unexpectedly. Curse these damn things. Yulia had been foolish in her designs, too naïve in believing they should never have to be used, or perhaps simply forgetting such an obvious source of contamination. She had overlooked such a simple matter, a blunder that impeded him now. But if it took every last drop of blood in his body, he would see this through to the end. Van forced his stomach to settle, refusing the dizziness that begged him to rest. He hadn't earned such a privilege yet. Not until that Score was nothing but a long forgotten nightmare.

It didn't bother him though, not nearly as much as the fact that this Score-forsaken illness was slowing his pace. He should have easily been able to have everything in place by now, and with that fool and the fool's replica following in his footsteps, he needed to work faster.

His lack of strength was limiting him, slowing him down and things were only getting worse. It had seemed simple to deal with the first couple, but now it took everything he had to get simply one of them in place. The amount time that he required to fully recover was increasing as well, not that such a break was unnecessary otherwise. There were many other things he had to ensure were set in place, projects to oversee, fools to deal with, so much needed to be done before his goals could be realized.

But he still had time, at least for now.

Asch's actions had proven to be unexpected, resourceful even, and it was starting to become bothersome. Though he was only stalling the inevitable for now, what concerned Van most of all was what he could eventually do, given what he'd already accomplished. Thankfully Mohs, and his idiotic devotion to the Score, was keeping the little monarch busy, but that wouldn't last forever.

The boy was foolish, blinded to a truth Van had been unable to instil in him over the years. But he would eventually see. Of that, Van had no doubt, and he would do anything and everything to make sure of it. He needed the boy and his unique abilities; there was no way around that. The Commandant cursed the replica who still had Asch in its clutches; because of it, the seed he'd planted had yet to sprout. He should have killed the thing in Akzeriuth himself and saved himself the trouble. He certainly wouldn't make that mistake a second time. Though it may involve the use of a trump card he had hoped to save for later, he was beginning to run out of time.

He still had time, but that time was swiftly running out.

---------

Raindrops crashed against white marble buildings of Malkuth's capital as everyone hurried towards the palace. Dark grey clouds hung low in the sky, casting an ominous shadow over the normally sparkling city that was now illuminated only by the periodic flash of lightning across the sky. Though his soaking red hair clung to his face and his wet jacket sat heavily on his shoulders, Luke couldn't help but feel cheerful, a fact that seemed to be antagonizing Natalia who thoroughly hated storms. But Luke had always loved the rain, and puddle jumping was still secretly on his list of favourite ways to pass the time.

Storms on the other hand, were just as exciting and the bright lights and loud crashes had always fascinated him, almost to the same extent they drove Natalia into her fiancée's arms. Though she refused to show any signs of weakness now, Luke could still see her cringe at every clap of thunder.

By the time they finally reached the palace doors, all seven of them were thoroughly soaked, including Jade, who was normally immune to the elements. Asch and Luke's jackets both fell heavily to the floor, splashing more water onto their respective owners as they were temporarily discarded.

But Luke and Asch weren't the only ones trying to get rid of the excess water. Not that Grand Chokmah was foreign to rain with all the water nearby, but at the very least they should probably try to look presentable. Anise finished extracting the water from her raven locks, the pigtails they were confined to giving her hair some semblance of order. Everyone else on the other hand, wasn't quite so lucky, including the Colonel. Apparently the seemingly untouchable Colonel only repelled water to a certain extent, after which point the elements won. Anise tried to stifle her laughter. She thought his hair had been straight before, now it hung like needles down in his face, hiding his rather annoyed red eyes.

"Colonel, you look like a wet cheagle," Anise managed through fits of giggles.

"What?" Mieu looked up from where he was jumping in the puddles everyone had created on the floor in the entryway. The furry blue creature was the only one who had managed to stay relatively dry, having taken shelter under Luke's coat. While it may not have saved him from all the rain, he was certainly in a much better condition than the rest of them.

"Not you, Mieu," Anise continued to laugh, joined by several of the others who couldn't deny the truth in her statement. None of them had ever seen Jade in any sort of disarray before; it was so unlike him, it was hilarious.

"I think it's a good look for you," Asch shot.

"You as well," Jade shot back, brushing his dripping auburn hair out of his eyes. "But we already knew that, didn't we?"

Asch grumbled at being reminded of his defeat in the Cheagle woods, but chose not to retort, especially since Jade wasn't the only one having fun. Luke, Asch and even Tear were all fighting with the long hair that still clung to the backs of their necks and sides of their faces sending more water cascading down onto the outfits they had just wrung out. It was a completely hopeless venture.

"Natalia?" Asch began, having gathered all his crimson hair into his hand. The young princess looked up and must have guessed at what her fiancée was going to ask her, for she immediately began digging in her small pack. A moment later she pulled out a pair of hair ties and passed them over to the redhead, who then forwarded one to his sibling.

"Thanks," Asch replied with a smile. Both he and Luke quickly pulled their unruly hair back and bound it in a ponytail. It was good enough for now, at least until it dried.

"You two don't look to bad like that," Anise commented. "You should let me braid it sometime. Ion's hair isn't long enough to do anything fun with."

"No way," Luke protested. "At least not until it's dry."

"Why's that?" Tear asked, finally managing to get her own hair relatively free of water.

"He let Mother do it once while it was wet and it ended up wavy for days," Asch explained with an evil grin.

Tear burst out laughing and Luke sent Asch an evil glare. Tear felt bad laughing, and she had fully intended not to, but the thought of Luke with wavy hair was just too funny! Luke grumbled and stomped inside followed by Asch, Jade and Ion with a cheagle on his shoulder, leaving the girls alone in the entry hall.

"But you know," Anise said slyly. "If she braided Luke's hair, what are the odds she braided Asch's too?" Natalia burst into giggles.

"Probably pretty good," Tear managed. All three of them were in stitches picturing the twins with varying degrees of wavy hair.

"We'd better get going," Natalia finally managed, still trying to catch her breath. It had been ages since she'd laughed like that. "The boys will be wondering what's keeping us."

"Yes," Tear agreed. "And we have important matters to attend to as well."

"Well nothing says we aren't allowed to have any fun along the way," Anise commented.

"You're right," Natalia agreed. "But let's hurry along before they send a search party, shall we?"

"Man, those guys are so uptight sometimes," Anise pouted.

Natalia laughed, "Yes, boys will be boys."

---------

"I see," Peony contemplated, sitting back in his throne. They had just finished telling him their story, and quite frankly, the young ruler wasn't too sure what to make of it. It was really quite the story. But he liked these kids, those twins in particular. They had that air about them that had him eating right out of their hands. A sincerity about their manner that you didn't see all too often these days. The real question is what would the rest of the council make of it?

"This is folly!" Nordheim protested once Asch had finished speaking. "You mean I am to believe you, the heir to the throne, would betray your own country? You would turn on your own people to bring us news of war? Your majesty, this must be some sort of scheme!"

"Well Asch?" Peony looked the youth straight in his emerald eyes. "Nordheim has a point, what do you have to say?"

"Your Majesty, I don't believe that I am betraying my people," Asch replied. "My Uncle is being misled by Grand Maestro Mohs who, for some reason wants a war between our countries. I sincerely hope that this war doesn't happen at all, but of that, I am starting to become doubtful. I believe that by reporting this information, and by allowing you to be prepared to defend yourselves, less innocent lives will be lost, both for Malkuth and for Kimlasca. I don't report this with intent to do harm, only with hopes to protect those who shouldn't have to be involved in our political games."

"But many lives will still be lost," Peony pointed out. "More Kimlascan soldiers will die than would have, had we been unprepared for their initial assault."

"It's war, of course lives will be lost," Asch conceded. "Soldiers serve with the knowledge they may have to lay down their lives for their country, which is why we have to protect as many lives as we can; to save the places and the people that they are willing to die for."

Peony smiled, he certainly was well spoken, and he'd expect no less from the young noble. He would make for a great leader someday. "I couldn't have said it better myself," Peony finally spoke up when neither of his advisors issued any further protests. "Unfortunately, what comes next is up to the council. Nordheim. Sesseman." The ruler nodded to the two men at his side.

"Yes, your Majesty, we'll summon the council at once," both men replied in unison before excusing themselves from the audience chamber.

"I gotta say, I'm pretty impressed," Peony replied with a grin once the men were gone. "You guys really went beyond your call on that one."

"It was no trouble at all your Majesty," Luke replied.

"Something is bothering me though," Peony's face grew serious. "From what you guys told me, it seems like Mohs knew you were in the city, and not just in the city, he knew exactly where to find you."

"Yeah, we know," Asch replied, losing the formal tone he had just moments ago. "We're still not sure exactly how that information got to him."

"Well as long as you're careful," Peony shrugged. "There's no way that guy's getting in this court again after what he pulled, but it's looking like he's still got quite the hold on Kimlasca."

"I'm afraid so," Asch admitted.

"Don't be so down, you tried your best. It sucks, but things don't always work out the way you hope they will. A good leader is someone who can turn something like that around, and still pull through in the end."

"You're right, thank you, your Majesty," Asch replied with a small bow. Peony laughed.

"My, my, corrupting your future competition? Shame on you, your Majesty," Jade said in a mockingly scolding voice. Everyone in the throne room laughed, the mirth echoing off the walls and lightening everyone's spirits.

"Well the council will probably be gathering soon, but before I go, I have one last tidbit for you," Peony winked.

"What's that, your Majesty?" Luke asked curiously.

"Frings is coming back with a report on St.Binah's condition," Peony grew serious again. It was amazing how he turned his carefree attitude on and off like that. But either way, if Peony was serious about something, it must mean that it was really bad. "If he's coming himself and not sending it through the usual means, it's probably not good news," Peony confessed. "He'll due to arrive by tomorrow at the latest, so if you want to stick around to hear his report, you're more than welcome to. I'll also be able to fill you in on the council's decisions that way."

"Thank you, your Majesty," Natalia said with a bow.

"Yeah thanks, we'll take you up on that," Asch added.

"Well in that case, why don't you snatch a couple rooms here at the palace? It'll save you going back out in that storm-"

"Please!" Natalia jumped on the emperor's offer.

"Well, well, I'm honoured," Peony replied with a mischievous grin that could give Jade and the twins' a run for its money.

"Your Majesty is too kind, to offer such beautiful young women a place to stay," Jade taunted. "Certainly you aren't planning to take advantage of such a situation-"

"Shut up, you sleep outside," Peony cut Jade off.

"Your Majesty," Norheim returned an hour or so later, interrupting everyone's conversation when he called from the entrance to the throne room. "The council has gathered!"

"Well," Peony stood up. "That's my cue. I'll try and catch up with you guys for supper, okay? I'll have a couple of the maids prepare the guest rooms for you. Jade knows where they are. In the meantime, feel free to relax. You guys deserve it."

"You don't really think he would…." Tear trailed off as she watched Peony leave the audience hall.

"He would what?" Asch asked.

"Well…" Tear stuttered. "You know…like the Colonel said… take advantage..."

"Nah," Asch shook his head. "The only old man we have to worry about is standing right next to us."

Everyone simultaneously turned their head to the left, including Jade who was on the leftmost outskirt of the group.

"Where? I don't see anyone," Jade replied in his mocking tone.

"Find a mirror, you'll figure it out," Asch shot back.

"My, my, and here I was thinking of giving you a tour," Jade replied as the group made their way down the stairs.

"I'll pass thanks; you'll probably be busy setting up a bed outside," Asch added with a malicious grin.

"Okay you two, enough is enough," Tear interjected before Jade had a chance to reply. The Colonel simply shrugged and continued along leading everyone down the main staircase and into the left wing.

"So where are the bedrooms?" Asch haphazardly inquired. "I would love to get into something dry. Thank Yulia for waterproof packs."

"Yeah rub it in," Anise grumbled. Her pack had a hole and water had leaked in so even her spare uniform was wet. But at least it was drier than what she was wearing.

"I wonder if they have any hot chocolate…" Luke wondered. Other than a towel, that was probably the one thing he'd love to see the most right about now. Their wet clothes had all of them chilled to the bone, except Jade who, despite having succumbed to water, had yet to be defeated by temperature.

"That would be wonderful," Ion agreed.

"Well, once we get changed we can head over to the kitchens and inquire," Natalia suggested.

"That sounds like a plan to me," Asch nodded in agreement.

"First things first, we need to find the guest rooms," Tear pointed out.

"True," Asch agreed. "So old man? Where are they?"

"I thought you didn't want the grand tour?" Jade taunted.

Asch grumbled in defeat.

"Shut up and walk."

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The soft melody gently flowed out of the room, entrancing the few souls that happened to walk by. Luke stood outside the door, his hand resting on the handle, happily listening to the gentle music. They really were beautiful. Tear's voice melded with the ancient melody and the resulting hymn put his heart at ease. He hated to interrupt her song, so he waited for her to come to the end of the second hymn to knock on the door.

The gentle knock was drowned out as the melodist continued on into another hymn that Luke hadn't heard before. Didn't Tear only know the first two? There was no doubt it was Tear's voice that was singing… Luke really didn't want to interrupt her, but if he waited much longer, everyone would be waiting on the two of them to eat. Luke knocked a little bit harder this time, and successfully drew the melodist's attention.

"Who is it?" Tear's voice sounded startled. Luke softly opened the door and peaked in. "Oh Luke, come on in, I didn't realize you were out there."

"Sorry to bother you Tear, but I heard you singing and… well…"

Tear chuckled. "You could have knocked sooner."

"I didn't want to interrupt you," Luke confessed. "I really do like your hymns, they're so pretty."

"Th-Thank you," Tear stuttered.

"Were all those hymns Yulia's?"

"That's right."

"I don't remember ever hearing you sing the last couple," Luke commented. "How many of them do you know?"

"I only just recently learned the third and fourth hymns," Tear explained. "When I was in Yulia City, a friend of mine found one of my brother's old books." Tear went to the table next to her bed and pulled out a worn, leather-bound journal from her pack. "There were some notes on the last couple pages that we hadn't seen before. From that I was able to decipher the next couple hymns. I'm still working on the last three though."

"It sounds like Master Van was a pretty good brother," Luke said gently.

"He was," Tear smiled. "He was away a lot when I was younger, but he was always so kind to me." She gently fingered her sibling's faded writing next to the hymns' lyrics.

"You'll figure those hymns out, I know you will."

"Thanks Luke," Tear smiled and put the book away.

"You should sing them more often, they really are beautiful," the redhead said with a smile. "But we'd better get to the dinner table or Anise is going to eat it all without us."

Tear laughed and accepted Luke's arm. Walking with him, feeling the warmth of his arm within her own, put her heart at ease and the worries that she had been trying to drown in her songs so easily succumbed to his presence. It was times like this that she truly believed that everything would be alright.

----------

Their stay in Grand Chokmah ended up proving to be rather… unique. Between a herd of uniquely named rappigs, several pigsties (that ironically belonged to Peony and not his favourite pets), more information over dinner than any of them ever wanted to know, and an incident in the girl's bedroom involving a lecherous ruler and several conveniently placed mirrors; everyone was glad to find themselves back in the audience hall the next morning with sun shining in through the window. Though the storm had lasted through the night and kept most of them from getting any extensive sleep, things had cleared up nicely and the sky was a deep azure, unlike anyone had seen in quite awhile.

"I am General Aslan Frings," a man with silver hair stood before them and introduced himself. His adorned blue uniform confirmed him to be a ranking member of the Malkuth military, and of a higher rank than Jade. He had an air of pride about him, but not one of conceit. "My troops are currently stationed in St. Binah. I have already presented my report to the council this morning, but his Majesty has asked that I give my report to you as well."

"Thank you very much General Frings," Asch replied. "This means a lot to us."

"It's no trouble at all; in fact, I'm hoping that you might be able to shed some light on this new weapon Kimlasca is using."

"New weapon?" Luke looked up confusedly, an expression that swept through the rest of the group.

"We had originally suspected that Akzeriuth's fall was due to some new weapon Kimlasca had built," Peony explained. "Of course, we know now that isn't the case, but word hasn't exactly gotten out. You'll have to forgive me for not spreading it around, but I think you know why."

"Most people would be unable to accept the truth," Natalia provided. "I must admit, had I not been in the Qliphoth, I might not have believed it myself."

"Your Majesty?" Frings looked back at the emperor in search of an explanation.

"Please continue with your report, Aslan," Peony requested. "I'll fill you in on everything once we're done."

"Yes, your Majesty." Frings returned his attention to the people before him. "Lately the land surrounding St. Binah had begun to sag. We thought little of it at first, but it has reached the point now that several of the streets have begun to crack. Though that may be partially due to the earthquakes that have been happening more frequently as of late, we aren't sure at this time. Many of the citizens are quite anxious, but we dare not abandon the city with war so close. Kaitzur is filled to capacity with Kimlascan forces, therefore abandoning St. Binah now is simply not an option."

"So you see my dilemma," Peony interrupted. "Thanks Aslan," the ruler nodded to the young general who bowed and returned to his place beside Sesseman. "Thankfully, with the information you brought us yesterday, the council has become more willing to take your word at face value, and we're willing to abandon St. Binah. The problem is, that with reinforcing all our other defences, we don't have the troops to spare for the evacuation. Are you sure that St. Binah is going to fall like Akzeriuth did?"

"If left alone, yes," Asch replied who was subsequently supported by a nod from Jade.

"I believe he is right in that assumption," the Colonel agreed. "St. Binah was partially supported by Akzeriuth's Sephiroth which no longer exists. It has likely only been hanging on by drawing on the strength of the other Sephiroth, but with them weakening, it isn't all that unreasonable to believe it would fall into the Qliphoth."

"Is there anything you can do to stop it?" Peony inquired.

"We don't know, your Majesty," Asch admitted. "But we intend to try."

"Your Majesty!" Luke spoke up.

"What is it Luke?" Peony acknowledged the second young noble.

"You don't have the extra people to evacuate St. Binah, right? Let us handle the evacuation with the troops that are already there. If we use the Albiore, we can speed things up a lot, and can make sure that everyone gets out, even if we don't succeed in stopping the land from falling."

"Thank you, Luke. I thought it would be too much of me to ask you to save the people of your enemy."

"Your Majesty," Natalia interjected. "I do not believe that Malkuth is Kimlasca's enemy, and I sincerely hope that we are not considered yours. Our people travel across our border as if it were nothing."

"I agree," Asch supported his fiancée. "People aren't denied food or shelter because of their nationality, because, in the end, we're all still people. I stand by what I said before; it's irrelevant what country a person is from, lives are lives. If that truth can't hold now, it never will, and we'll be at each other's throats forever. It's our job, as the nobility, to help those in need of it and to set an example for the future."

"Well spoken," Peony smiled. "For that I thank you. I hope once all this is sorted out we can work on our countries' relations."

"I sincerely hope for that as well," Natalia replied with a courteous bow.

"But time isn't on our side, we should get going," Jade pointed out. "I doubt the city's condition has improved in the time it took for General Frings' report to arrive."

"Could I ask a favour of you?" The General in question spoke up.

"What's that?" Asch asked.

"Could I accompany you on your journey to St. Binah?"

"Of course," Asch replied. "I'm sure you're concerned about your men, and we could use all the help we can get with the evacuation."

"Thank you."

"I wish you the best of luck," Peony said, ending their audience. "Please save them, they are my dearest people."

"Don't worry, your Majesty. We won't let anything like Akzeriuth happen again," Asch reassured the monarch.

Luke clenched his fists, but chose not to voice his thoughts that ran along the same lines as his older brother's. It was just like Akzeriuth, he was being sent to help save the people of St. Binah, and without their help, they would probably die. But this time he wasn't going to make the same mistakes, he was going to save them.

It was the only thing he could do for the shadows that still haunted his dreams.

----------

Luke couldn't really identify why he had a pit in his stomach as he watched the Albiore fly off into the sky, but something within him was unsettled. Was it because everything was so like Akzeriuth? Was he afraid of screwing up again? That more people would die?

"Do you think Noelle will be okay on her own?" Anise inquired.

"She'll be fine," Jade replied. "General Frings will recruit the help of General McGovern and his father, who was also in the military, to assist him. They'll be more than capable of getting the evacuation underway. We have more important things to take care of here."

"Yeah, but…" Anise trailed off. "Where are we going to find a passage ring around here? We're in the middle of nowhere!"

The Fon Master Guardian had a point. Though Ion had been able to provide the general area, the local forests had limited Noelle's ability to land and they had to settle for a field slightly south of where they wanted to be.

"I'm certain this is the area," Ion reassured them. "Shurrey Hill is just north of here."

"Then let's hurry so we can be ready for when Noelle comes back," Asch replied.

'What's the matter?' Asch finally asked his sibling. Though, for the most part, they had been walking in silence, Luke seemed to be exceptionally quiet, and had spent most of their walk staring at the ground.

'Do…Do you really think we can save St. Binah?' Luke inquired hesitantly. He didn't want to ask… probably because he was scared of the answer.

'We won't know unless we try,' Asch answered comfortingly.

'But what about the people in St. Binah? What if we screw up!'

'Luke, right now, the best thing we can do for these people is to find the passage ring, and try to keep the land from falling. Frings understood that, and he's putting his life and that of his men in our hands. We owe it to them to do our best.'

'You're right, I'm sorry.'

'Try not to worry,' Asch put his hand on his little brother's shoulder. 'We just have to do whatever we can, and hope for the best. There's really nothing else we can do.'

'We have to stop Master Van,' Luke's statement caught his sibling off guard. 'He's the one doing this, isn't he?'

'Yeah, probably.'

'Why? Why is he putting all these people in danger? Why is he trying to drop all the Outer Lands?'

'I wish I had the answer to that for you, Luke,' Asch admitted. 'But I don't. For now, let's make sure these people stay safe and alive.'

'You're right, thanks Asch.'

'You're welcome, now get your butt in gear, we're falling behind. Nothing's going to get started without you.'

'Nothing's getting started without you either,' Luke pointed out.

'Maybe,' Asch chuckled as he jogged ahead. 'But I'm not the one falling behind.'

"Hey!" Luke called after his sibling and began to give chase, quickly sending both redheads flying past their comrades.

"It's nice to see them in such good spirits," Ion commented as the two boys had begun playfully sparring ahead of them.

"It is," Tear replied as she watched the small scuffle. Even in their games Asch clearly had the advantage. Tear recalled the last time their blades had met, and it sent a shiver down her spine. Only now, when she thought back on it, did she realize the harsh reality of Luke's condition at the time. They had to save St. Binah, they had to stop her brother. She didn't want either of them to have to go through anything like that ever again.

"Now as long as they don't wear themselves out before we get there," Jade commented with a defeated sigh.

"I still like them better worn out than depressed," Anise pointed out.

"Yes, dear Anise, so do the God-Generals," the Colonel taunted.

"We should be arriving soon," Ion stated with a bit of a chuckle at Jade's comment. As true as it was, he had to agree with Anise. He hated seeing his friends as upset as the two of them had been since they had lost their comrade a few weeks ago. It had really only been in the past week or so that they had started to smile again, so while what Jade said was a valid point, he wasn't going to be the one to stop them, and he suspected that the Colonel wouldn't either.

After all, now came the hard part: saving St. Binah, if it even could be saved. The people, Ion didn't doubt would survive, so long as the evacuation finished in time, but he feared that the city itself may be a lost cause. Time was working against them, and for all he sincerely hoped they would make it, something told him that their time had already run out.

----------

If there was one thing Luke would give Yulia credit for, it was designing these passage rings; assuming she was the one that built them of course. Just how she had figured out the best way to hide them all, he'd never know. But the array of devices and tricks that she had utilized were nothing short of awe-inspiring. Then there was the decor, though whether it had been Yulia's design, or just a result of the fonons that gathered so readily, Luke wasn't too sure, but he loved it.

For all that the passage rings filled him with dread and turned his stomach into a twist tie, he couldn't deny their beauty. Like the previous two, glyphs whirled around the rooms in an array of colourful lights, drawing onlookers into its eternal dance. Tear in particular seemed in awe of it all, but who could blame her? Especially since she'd never seen a passage ring other than Akzeriuth, and something told Luke she hadn't exactly had the chance to take in the sights.

"It looks like the Yulian seal has been broken here as well," Jade commented, having been the first to investigate that fact.

"Not surprising seeing as Van's already been here," Asch commented.

"True," Jade conceded. "Tear, do you by chance know anything about breaking the Yulian seals?"

"No, I'm afraid not," Tear replied.

"But Tear, aren't you and Master Van descended from Yulia?" Luke asked. "I thought that was why Master Van knew how to open them."

"If it was a knowledge passed down through my family, then Van would be the one who knows," Tear explained. "My parents died just after I was born, and my brother never liked to talk about the past."

"I'm sorry," Luke apologized.

"It's alright," Tear smiled

"Well as much fun as I'm sure you two lovebirds are having flirting and all," Anise commented slyly, eliciting a blush from the two teens to whom she was referring. "I think we'd better get working. We don't exactly have all day, and they could probably use our help with the evacuation."

"She's got a point," Asch shrugged, all too amused at Luke's reaction to Anise's taunting. He laughed outright when Luke noticed the grin on Asch's face and turned bright red. But with his attention so focused on his younger sibling's embarrassment, Asch failed to pay attention to where he was going and ended up walking right into the melodist. Tear was sent staggering backwards before crashing to the ground next to the pedestal that had been Asch's destination before running into her.

"Sorry Te-" But the words hadn't even come out of his mouth. Above where the young oracle knight was rubbing her shin that had taken the brunt of the fall, the pedestal was open, and the passage ring was active. But how? She wasn't even touching it.

"Now this certainly is interesting," Jade commented.

"What's interesting Colonel?" Tear inquired as she stood up and returned to join the group. As soon as she stepped away from the pedestal, it slammed shut and the passage ring returned to its slumber.

"Tear, could you stand near that pedestal again?" Jade requested. The melodist did so, and as soon as she did, the pedestal opened once again.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," Asch muttered under his breath.

"I wonder why it reacts so readily to you…" Jade pondered aloud. "Any Seventh Fonist can activate it, but perhaps it's more sensitive to your fonon signature because you're a descendant of Yulia? At any rate," Jade continued without waiting for an answer. "I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to hold that open for us."

"C-Certainly Colonel," Tear hesitantly approached the pedestal and placed her hands on it, stabilizing the flow of Seventh Fonons. She watched Jade take a step back and ponder the glyphs that had appeared on the ceiling. Her gaze shifted, and she was taken aback to find herself under Asch's judging, and rather hateful glare.

"Um, Asch… i-is something the matter?" Tear finally asked. Jade took his attention away from the ceiling for a moment to judge the situation before returning to the glyphs.

"Oh don't mind him," Jade commented as he continued to decipher the many messages that had appeared. "He's just jealous. When he had to hold that pedestal open, he ended up passing out from the effort." The colonel felt Asch's foot come crashing down on the toe of his boot. It was a shame they were reinforced with metal, perhaps next time.

Luke snickered as Asch continued his intense scrutiny of the melodist. It wasn't often Asch got shown up, and he was obviously a sore loser in that regard. But now that Tear knew the reason behind Asch's rather childish jealousy, his gaze no longer innerved her and she too attempted to make heads or tails of what the passage ring said.

"It's locked," Tear stated, not realizing everyone already knew that was likely to be the case. "My brother closed off the valve so we won't be able to operate the Sephiroth!"

"That's not my primary concern," Jade replied.

"What has you worried Colonel?" Anise asked. The tone in his voice meant that it must be really bad.

"Wait a second!" Luke jumped in. "Why are there four red rings?"

"Zao ruins," Asch ticked each location off his fingers as he listed the locations. "Shurrey Hill, Megi-" Asch cut himself short when he realized what Luke was getting at. "We already dealt with the one in the Meggiora Highlands, and Akzeriuth is gone, so there should only be two!"

"But there are definitely four," Anise stated. "Can you tell what passage rings, Colonel?"

"The ones supporting Daath and the area near Tataroo Valley," Jade provided. "I can't determine the actual location of the Sephiroth from here."

"But Ion, I thought you only opened four of them!" Anise protested. "They didn't make you open any when they kidnapped you from Grand Chokmah did they?"

"No, I'm sure only four of them should be open," Ion confirmed.

"So how is the Commandant accessing the other passage rings?"

"I don't know, but we don't have the time to worry about that now," Jade replied sternly.

"He's right," Natalia agreed. "This is a matter we can address later. For now we have an obligation to the people of St. Binah."

"I don't think there's much we can do but get them out of the city," Jade stated.

"What? Why not?" Luke demanded. "Can't we do the same thing we did last time and stop the land from falling?"

"It's no good Luke," Tear spoke up. "My brother put in some kind of code that's blocking it of. We can't do anything."

"This Sephiroth is already past its breaking point," the Colonel explained. "There's no way of saving it, if you tie it to another, you'll drag them both down."

"So St. Binah is just going to fall and sink into the miasma like Akzeriuth? And we can't do a thing about it?" Luke shook his head violently. "No! I won't accept that! There has to be something we can do!"

"Luke…" Tear wanted to go comfort the young noble, but was stuck keeping the passage ring open.

"We can't stop the land from falling, but is there anyway to at least keep it from sinking?" Asch suggested. Jade pondered for a bit, his eyes still fixed to the glyph overhead.

"That might be possible, though it will be far more complex a task than last time. Do you think you'll be up to it?" Jade fixed his ruby eyes on the redheads.

"What do you think Luke?" Asch asked. "Think you can save it?"

"I'll try," Luke replied with a firm nod. 'But are you sure you don't want to?' Luke asked privately. 'You probably have a better chance at succeeding, seeing as you're better with your hyperresonance.'

'Not really, you're the one who's done this before. You go for it. I'll be here in case you don't think you can handle it all.'

'Okay.'

"Alright then Luke, listen carefully." Jade began a series of complex instructions, but with the odd intervention from Asch over their connection, Luke was able to grasp the most of it. He didn't really like it, but it was much better than the alternative. Basically, Jade's plan was to let the land fall on it's own, but to inscribe a glyph that would reactivate the Sephiroth after the land had fallen. Though it wouldn't be able to raise the land again, it would be enough to keep it afloat on the sea of miasma.

Tear watched from afar as Jade spoke with Luke, just softly enough that the others were unable to hear their conversation. Just what did they think they were going to do? With what Van had done, they couldn't do a thing. Did the Colonel figure out some way around it? There certainly wasn't one that she could see.

"Okay Luke, you're up," Asch stated as his twin took a spot in the center of the platform, with the others all safely standing near the wall.

"What are you guys planning?" Tear demanded, suddenly drawing everyone's attention.

"We're going to keep St.Binah from sinking into the miasma once it falls," Anise provided.

"But how? This passage ring can't be operated. I've been trying to tell you, my brother closed it off! We can't operate the Sephiroth at all."

"Ah but that's where you're wrong," Jade retorted with a sly grin. "Our boys here have a little trick that should get the job done."

"Luke, what are you going to do?" Tear was completely baffled. What kind of trick did the Colonel mean?

"Just watch," Luke replied with a bit of a mischievous grin. The young noble returned his attention to the ceiling. Jade had been right when he said this was going to be harder than before. There were a lot more complex instructions and commands that had to be carved, but he could do it. Luke took a deep breath. Now focus…

It took everything Tear had not to let go of the pedestal in shock when Luke slowly raised his arms and a soft golden glow enveloped him. Was he- but that was impossible! She turned her gaze to the giant glyph on the ceiling where several sets of ancient Ispanian commands were being forcefully carved. Nothing short of a hyperressonance could do that… but- but how?

Tear heard Anise snickering from the other side of the room. Suddenly she realized her mouth was hanging open and she was leaning so far in that she was ready to topple right over the pedestal. The melodist looked over towards Asch, obviously the others had known about this, but what about him? Jade had implied both of them earlier. Could he do this as well?

The redhead was standing with his arms crossed over his chest; all traces of his prior amusement were completely gone. He solemn look continually shifted from the job Luke was doing, to Luke himself, then to Tear, and back to the glyph on the ceiling. One more person that knows. Though he knew that Tear was bound to find out eventually, the thought still made him uneasy. Not that he couldn't trust Tear… but then again, who was to say who he could trust and who he couldn't. Someone had told Mohs where to find them, and while he didn't actually think it was one of them, after what had happened with Guy, Asch just didn't know who he could believe in anymore.

After an achingly long moment of tense silence, Luke finally let out a deep breath and allowed the excess Seventh fonons to dissipate. "How's that Jade?"

The Colonel stepped forward and examined Luke's work. "Well done," Luke smiled at the Colonel's praise. "I think that should work just fine."

"Then is it okay if I let go over here?" Tear inquired. She was starting to see why Asch had passed out; the passage ring was really starting to sap her strength. "We should probably get going if we plan to help with St. Binah's evacuation."

"No, wait," Asch interrupted stepping in to take a closer look. "We have a much bigger problem than St. Binah."

"Why? What is it? What's the matter?" Mieu bounced several times but was unable to draw anyone's attention away from the lights on the ceiling, so he returned to his perch on Tokunaga.

"Yeah, what's up?" Anise inquired.

"This Sephiroth doesn't just support St. Binah, but all of the Rugnica plains," Asch replied.

"But doesn't that put Engeve in danger as well?" Natalia stepped forward and joined everyone else.

"If Engeve is going to fall then we'll have to hurry and evacuate them as well," Ion spoke up.

"You're right," Luke agreed. "We can't let them die either!"

"How much time do you think we have before the land falls?" Asch inquired.

"I don't know for certain, but I doubt we have very much," Jade replied. "A week, two at best."

"That's going to be pushing it, even with the Albiore," the young noble contemplated.

"But what about Noelle?" Jade pointed out. "She's already busy helping with St. Binah. She may be talented, but I doubt she can be in two places at once."

"Then we'll have to detour to Sheridan and hope that the first Albiore is done with repairs," Asch decided. "Didn't Noelle say they had gotten the transmitters working?"

"Yeah, she said that they were almost done with repairs," Luke provided. "But couldn't we just ask Ginji to meet us?"

"That's a good idea," Jade agreed. "It would save us a great deal of time, time that we don't have to begin with."

"Sorry Tear," Asch apologized. "You can let go now."

"Thank you," Tear removed her hands from the pedestal and stepped away allowing it to slam shut and the glyph above them to fade. Without its glow the room seemed unusually dark. Tear stumbled and was caught by the eldest redhead who offered her his hand.

"Are you alright?" Asch asked concernedly.

"I'm fine, just a bit tired, that's all."

"You did better than me," Asch said with a chuckle. Tear looked him in the eye. He and Luke really were alike; their eyes both had that same mysterious light in them. "But do you think you'll be okay to move?" Tear shook her head as his inquiry brought her back to reality.

"I'll be fine." Tear smiled, punctuating her point by straightening her posture and dismissing Asch's support.

"Good, because the old man is right, we haven't got time to waste."

"I know," Tear agreed. "Come on Luke," the melodist called to the redhead who was the only one who had yet to begin towards the exit. "Don't worry, we're going to save them."

Luke looked up at her, and only now did she see how broken up he was. His emerald eyes were shining in the soft light of the dancing glyphs, and his tightly clenched fists were trembling. Tear came over and placed a hand comfortingly on his shoulder.

"But it still won't be the same."

"What do you mean?" Tear asked softly.

"Yeah, maybe we can save them, but they're all still going to lose their homes, their town. We've been there Tear! All those places, they're all going to be gone!"

"Luke, you've already saved those places. You made sure that they won't be destroyed by the miasma. You should be proud of that."

"I just wish there was more we could do."

"For now, we've done all we can. The only thing left is to make sure everyone is evacuated before the land falls."

"I know you're right," Luke said softly. "But still…"

"Then we're going to find a way to stop my brother, and to restore the lands that are in the Qliphoth, but if we want to do that, then we have to act now. There isn't any time left for regret."

Tear was right. Luke shook his head violently trying to shake off the fear and the doubt that still clung to him. He wouldn't do anyone any good here, and for all that Luke felt like he was drowning, he knew he didn't have time to give to such petty feelings as regret and feeling sorry for himself. There would be times later, once Master Van had been stopped, to properly mourn the people lost in Akzeriuth, the sunsets, the mountains, the wonders that had all been devoured by his foolish mistakes and a sea of poison. Any time spent now would be paid for in lives, because there was so precious little of it anymore.

Things had been set in motion, and there would be no stopping them.