Sebastian showed up in the foyer not long after we did, although he used a door.

"...Miss Edie?"

I waved from my spot on the hearth rug. I still had no idea what monster had been skinned for the sake of interior design, but it was soft, and I was the sort of exhausted where the best place to rest was on the ground. Corrine was examining his new form in one of the oversized hall mirrors, and my overstuffed bag of stolen documents was resting in more-or-less the spot we'd landed.

"Are you quite well?" Sebastian asked, betraying only mild concern.

"Not sure," I admitted. "But I'm just gonna kind of lie here until I figure it out."

"Might I bring you a drink? Tea or water, perhaps?"

I considered this. "No, thank you."

"I shall inform your companions that you have returned," he said, after a brief pause.

I nodded.

I felt - not bad, but not good, either. My body didn't seem to have any weight or substance to it, although I could see that it was here, and that nothing dreadful had happened on the trip over. I wasn't numb, either, because in my experience numbness came with a heaviness as the body resisted its own mass - this was more like the softness of waking after a very good sleep, except that my mind was clear. I wasn't sure that I could get up, now that I'd laid down.

Corrine padded over, huffed a breath, and dropped onto his belly.

"Well, at least we were able to get the information," he said, kindly.

"Yeah," I agreed. "Sheena's going to kill me."

"I think that's unlikely," he disagreed. "I think I will be able to explain things."

"Oh, good," I replied. "Why do I feel like I'm made of clouds?"

"...I'm not entirely sure," he admitted. "But I think it's because a large part of your physical mass has been converted into pure mana."

If I could have, I would have been up like a shot. As it was, I replied, "...Hm?"

"You're changing back now," he reassured me. "I'm not exactly sure how. When I was first Summoned, I had to rely on Sheena's magic to anchor me to the material world. I'd like to see her soon," he added, sounding almost worried. "I'm not sure I can sustain this form without her."

"Why are you all... talk good, now," I mumbled, latching onto something trivial to avoid having to think seriously.

"I am - more," Corrine theorized. "There is more of me to think, and that knows things. I can talk more casually, if it'd make you more comfortable."

"Am I dying?" I wondered.

"...I don't think so," he offered.

"What in the world-" Raine's voice drifted down from the balcony. "Edie? ...Corrine?"

"Hi," I called. Corrine sat up, tails waving.

"Is Sheena here?"

"...No," Raine replied, slowing as she approached us. Regal and Genis drifted a little behind her, at varying levels of interest and confusion. "She and the others are still out. We've been working here," she explained, unnecessarily. "I don't suppose you can explain..." She waved a hand at Corrine, "This?"

"Not really," I admitted.

"We were able to retrieve a great deal of information," Corrine supplied, nodding towards the haphazard pile of spilled papers. "Including what I think may be some of the poison and an antidote. Have you had any luck on your end?"

"...Er, a little," Raine said, obviously unsettled. "You... are Corrine, aren't you?"

"I am, and I am not," Corrine said unhelpfully. "Hello, Genis, Regal."

"Uh... hi," Genis said. "Why are you... big, now?"

"Why are you lying on the floor?" Raine directed at me, taking my approach and focusing on the more manageable problems. "There's a perfectly good sofa right there."

"It's soft down here," I said, by way of explanation. "The others aren't back yet?"

"No," Raine agreed, "But they were planning to do a great deal of... exploring..."

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" asked Corrine, concerned.

"...Not at all," Raine said. The silence stretched.

"Oh, no," I mumbled, "Raine, control yourself."

"What's the matter?" asked Regal, looking between Raine and Corrine with great confusion.

"Now, Corrine," Raine said, suddenly coaxing, "I know you dislike tests, but surely a sample or two wouldn't be out of the question-"

"I've got her," Genis cried, heroically seizing his sister by one arm, "Corrine, run!"

"I haven't even done anything yet!"

The rest of the party arrived back at Zelos' in the early evening.

"Another guest, Master Zelos?" Sebastian prompted. The group of 5 had, since this morning, become 6. The new arrival was shepherded into the foyer with exaggerated discretion - after all, a group of six people moving together could only be so covert, especially when that group included Lloyd and Colette. "Shall I have another room made up?"

"Yeah, do that," Zelos agreed. "Dinner?"

"It will be ready promptly," Sebastian promised.

"I - that's not really necessary," said the newcomer. She was pretty, but visibly roughed up - dark teal hair, smudged glasses, and a neat, practical outfit that had gone far too long without washing. Her shoulders were hunched in a way that suggested defensiveness, rather than poor posture, and her eyes were never raised above waist-height. Her bare wrists were bruised and reddened.

"Of course it is," urged Colette. "I can show you where the bathrooms are, if you want! They're really, really nice."

Sheena was the first to notice our arrangement near the hearth - books and papers strewn everywhere and Raine still visibly sulking. Corrine was stretched out beside me on the hide rug, tails flicking at odd intervals. He noticed Sheena at about the same time, and leapt up, black eyes wide with excitement. He bounded towards her, scattering the fresh arrivals like a flock of pigeons. Sheena, made of sterner stuff, or perhaps recognizing her partner, held her ground.

"Sheena!" he exclaimed, "You're back!"

"C-corrine?" Sheena asked, staring at him in amazement. She lifted a hand, and he pressed his long face to her palm, eyes closing in contentment. He seemed to become more substantial, extremities less translucent as Sheena stood there, bewildered. "What... You're Corrine, right? What - why are you big?"

"It's a long story," he assured her. "I'm sure we can discuss it after everyone has been settled in. I'm so relieved to see you."

"I - sure," Sheena said weakly. "I haven't been gone that long, you know."

"Speaking of which," Raine interrupted this touching moment, "Who is this?"

"Oh!" Lloyd brightened. "This is Kate. She saved us way back when we were arrested at Sybak."

"Kate was imprisoned because of our actions," explained Presea, expression grave. "We discovered from Sheena's friends at the Elemental Research Laboratory that she had been slated for execution. We could not permit such a thing to happen."

"I got to fight in the Colosseum," Lloyd volunteered. "Only the first round, though. Why is Corrine... huge?"

"Guys, guys," Zelos waved a hand. "Miss Kate's had a pretty crummy day. Colette, why don't you show her to the Rose Room, and then the rest of us can talk about..." He gestured helplessly at Corrine, "Whatever. Sebastian, a quick word?" Sebastian - who I had thought gone off elsewhere - nodded and retreated for a moment with Zelos, where they spoke quietly for a minute or two. Whatever it was, Sebastian soon departed, Colette and Kate following close behind. "Okay," Zelos sighed. "What?"

"You broke someone out of jail?" Genis asked, curious. "She's a half-elf, isn't she?"

"Her status is irrelevant," Presea said seriously, "She required our assistance, and we were able to give it."

"I wasn't saying-" Genis flushed. "It's good you guys helped her."

"To free an innocent from bondage is no small feat," Regal agreed.

I sighed. Regal could exhaust me in so few words.

"I suppose there had to be some repercussions," Raine observed. "I'd criticize you for being reckless, but there's hardly any point in doing so now. I trust you were able to carry out this... prison break," she said, eyebrow raised, "without drawing too much attention to yourselves?"

"Yeah, it was no problem," Lloyd said. Zelos waggled a hand to indicate otherwise.

"No one could prove for sure it was us," he offered, as a peace offering. "Look, they were gonna do it whether I agreed to it or not."

"I'm familiar with the phenomenon," Raine agreed. "At least everyone seems to have come through it in one piece. Were you able to achieve anything else today, or was it entirely a rescue mission?"

"Hey, Lloyd and I did some real work this morning," Zelos protested. "We're pretty sure we know where Vharley is, to start with - sounds like he's being held in Altamira on treason charges, but who knows if they'll stick. Even if they do, and he gets shipped over here for trial, that's a lotta time for him to weasel his way out of things. He used to be a Papal Knight, too, by the way."

"Altamira," Regal mused. "If I'm able to make contact with the Lezareno company, I may be able to see that he's held in custody, at least until he can be expedited. Would you be able to post a letter on my behalf?"

"Yeah, sure," Zelos shrugged. "Shouldn't be a problem."

"I would like to visit Altamira when there is time," Presea volunteered. "I would like to visit my sister's grave."

"Of course," Regal nodded. "I'd like the opportunity to pay my respects as well."

"What happened to Corrine?" Sheena blurted, unable to go on any longer without asking.

"We aren't sure," said Raine, still sour that the course of scientific progress had been obstructed, "But we do have some theories."

"The short version," I said, when we had relocated once more to the Blue Room to eat and discuss, "Is that Corrine and I were trapped, and I tried to 'jump'," I put down my fork to make scare quotes and possibly some illustrative gestures, "To somewhere I couldn't see, but remembered seeing. Corrine had suggested it earlier, but it's really counter-intuitive, so I didn't actually try until there was no other choice."

Dinner was, again, excellent, but less interesting than the day's events. The others were seated more-or-less where they had been the previous night, except Corrine, who was wrapped comfortably around Sheena with his head on top of hers. It looked very cozy, and it had gone a long way towards helping Sheena deal with the sudden - no doubt upsetting - change. He took up nearly an entire couch, and provided mood lighting.

"There was another choice," Corrine pointed out, reasonably and correctly. "Arguably a safer one. But you proceeded, regardless."

"In retrospect," I allowed, "I'm very lucky that I didn't end up as a smear on the door, but I'm not, so, anyway, I imagined - well, actually I imagined the servant's entrance to the castle, from when we went with Presea, but instead I ended up in the... I've been calling it the Etheric plane. Niflheim has the wrong connotations for me."

"From my perspective," said Corrine, "It was as if I became more myself." He seemed to realize that this wasn't a very satisfying explanation, and went on. "I mean to say... Before, when I wasn't summoned, it was like sleeping. When Sheena summoned me, it was like being woken up from a dream. But this time, it was as if I was awake in the dream, and I learned how to... how it works."

"I'd posit that Corrine, having been physically forced to enter that... realm," Raine said, "He connected to the natural mana of this world, and grew in power - and in size- as a consequence of that. He was previously isolated, as an 'artificial' Summon Spirit, drawing on a contained well of mana. This is Corrine as a 'real' Summon Spirit, if you'll forgive my word choice."

"Oh," said Lloyd, suddenly, "So Corrine's like an acorn?"

Sheena made a face. "What?"

"I mean," Lloyd said, flushing a little, "He's still Corrine, but he grew 'cuz he got enough sunlight, or whatever."

"Not... exactly," Raine sighed. "But close enough."

"I am the Summon Spirit who has had the most contact with humans," Corrine explained. "Worship makes a Spirit powerful, but so does love, and I've been more loved than any Spirit before me. So while the Ethereal world may have provided the fuel, it was Sheena who provided the spark."

"I thought that Corrine was an acorn," said Presea, frowning. "'Fuel' and 'spark' are not applicable words in that context."

"Both work as independent metaphors," Regal explained, "I don't believe Corrine meant to extend the metaphor put forth by Lloyd, but instead provided his own, which he thought was more suitable."

"Ah," Presea nodded. "So it was his role as a companion to Sheena that permitted him to become more powerful, but sudden exposure to concentrated mana which instigated the process."

"Wouldn't that make Sheena the fuel and the mana the spark?" pointed out Lloyd. "Corrine said it was the other way around."

"I think both interpretations are acceptable," allowed Regal. "I'm not sure that the specific analogy matters in this case."

"So, then, isn't Corrine still Corrine?" Colette asked.

I glanced at Sheena. She'd been unusually quiet - but I couldn't blame her. Corrine was her best friend, now he was ten times bigger and having an identity crisis - one that she'd been absent for. I wasn't sure what the healthy response was to something like that, or if there was one at all. This was uncharted territory.

"I am still Corrine," said Corrine - "But I am also Verius, the Summon Spirit of Heart." Lloyd spluttered with laughter. Genis whumped him on the back of the head. "I cannot influence hearts, but I can feel them. I know that I unsettle some of you. But I'm still me," he said, more solemnly, "I hope that you still consider me a friend."

"Of course we do," Sheena spluttered, craning her head to try and look into Corrine's face. "You're still Corrine, and Verius. We'll call you whatever you want."

"Then I am Corrine," he nodded.

"That's great, and touching, and all," Zelos said, "But doesn't actually explain... Anything that happened."

Raine sniffed. "That's because it's extremely complicated."

"Try me," Zelos prompted. I sighed.

"To understand the nature of the Ethereal plane," Raine began, in the tone of someone steering headlong into a lecture, "One must understand the relationship between matter and mana." Not far away, Genis sighed, and Lloyd looked anxiously around as if searching for an emergency exit. Nearly everyone else was listening, although listening and understanding were very different. "Matter is physical substance - anything that takes up space and has mass. Energy is physical, too, although in a less obvious way - imagine a boulder at the top of a hill. It has a great deal of potential energy because of the relationship between its weight, the shape of the hill, and gravity.

"Theoretically, life can exist without mana," she went on. "Edie's memories are proof of that - but her world also lacks magic. That's because mana is the conduit through which magic moves and works; mana has no physical aspect, but it can be influenced by thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. Most spells use invocations because of the power of language to transmit or shape those thoughts, and therefore shape mana.

"A world without intelligent life may still have mana, but the ability to imagine, to think about something abstractly and communicate ideas is necessary in order to produce magic. And even that bears thinking about.

"Consider this: we say that only those with Elvish blood can use magic. How is it, then, that Lloyd and Presea can use Guardian? All kinds of martial techniques call for an application of 'willpower' or 'energy'. It's well below the threshold for the amount of mana consumed by 'true magic', which in this context I will call 'artes', as opposed to 'techniques', but it's still a way of manipulating mana. We don't know why our world needs mana, only that it does, and that it suffuses everything.

"What we know for certain is that mana isn't bound by the laws of physics - that is to say, it's only influenced by the laws of the material world through its conduits, namely people or animals. Raw, unaspected mana is unfettered by those natural laws, and only becomes so when called on by people, whether through magic or through persistent belief. That means that mana must, in some way, suffuse existence, and we choose to call that relatively uniform blanket of mana the 'Etheric' or 'Ethereal' plane."

She let that sink in.

Even I hadn't understood that, and I'd come up with half of it.

"What Raine is saying," I volunteered, "is that mana's everywhere, but because it can also be anywhere, 'location' and 'time' doesn't really matter. Mana does it's own thing. There's - we say 'world of mana', like there's a world where everything is mana trees and lakes and hills, but it's probably more like a natural force, and I only saw it as a place I could be because there are only so many ways my brain can take in information. Like-" We were running out of usable metaphors, "When a little kid only knows what a dog is, he might point to a horse and say it's a 'big dog', right?"

"When all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail," Presea said, after a long moment. "I understand."

"I don't," Sheena said. "But - you're saying that mana is everywhere, so unless it's being used for a thing it doesn't have one place it has to be, right? Like... Undine is in Sylvarant and Tethe'alla, but she can also take on a physical form when she's needed - but she doesn't have to have a form to be Undine."

"Exactly," I said, aiming finger guns at her. "It's only a 'place' to me because I don't have another way to understand it. I don't have the faculties to understand it in any other way, so it's a 'place'. To Undine it's probably just another way of being, like being awake or asleep. She'll obviously understand it in a way I can't, 'cause I'm, you know. Mortal."

"Is that where you go when you teleport?" asked Colette, curious. "To the Ethereal plane?"

I shrugged. "I think... Again, I'm completely spitballing here, but I think that, before, because I always went between places I could see, my brain just kind of snipped out the part in between. I always would have this weird feeling of having actually traveled in space, but not having done it - it's hard to explain," I sighed, "But I think, because I could see where I was going, my body kind of stopped midway through the process to get directions."

"I think that's probably how warp pads work," Genis volunteered. "You're like a signal that gets passed from a sender to a receiver, but the conduit is mana. I kind of already knew that's how they worked, but it makes more sense now."

"Angels can do it too," Raine said, more darkly. "But I have reason to think it's a device or technology, rather than an inherent skill, with points of return anchored to preset destinations. You'll notice that warp pads and other teleportation we've seen leaves a momentary after-image, but Edie's is instantaneous - perhaps because she's affecting the change, rather than the change being effected upon her."

"It also explains why Cruxis can't just show up wherever they like," I said. "I'd wondered before why they would let Yuan 'get away' with us, if they could go anywhere they liked. It's nice to know they have some limitations."

Lloyd, who had been drifting alone for some time, returned at last to the stream of conversation.

"But if Edie can, isn't that super useful? She could go anywhere just by thinking!" he suggested excitedly.

"No, I can't," I said, apologetic. "I think I can only 'go' somewhere I can clearly remember, and even then, Corrine said something..."

"Being in the Ethereal plane for an extended period of time is dangerous for Edie," Corrine explained. "Even in the short time we were there her body began to decay into pure mana. I'm not sure how many times she would survive the process, and I think great distances would probably cause additional strain."

"Pure - you didn't tell me that!" Raine snapped, turning to descend on me at once. I was regretting sitting so close to her - especially with all this cutlery around.

"Yeah, 'cause of this," I replied, wriggling out of her grip. "I started 'turning back' when we got here, but it took like two hours. That's why I was so wiped out. When I was in the Etheric plane, it was like I was a ghost lugging around a corpse - it's not a good feeling, Raine."

"...What would happen if Edie did turn into mana?" Colette asked, frowning.

"Without a summoner or new vessel," Corrine said, oblivious to my ongoing wrestling match with Raine, "Her body and soul would return to the ether, and she would cease to exist." He nodded, content with this explanation. "I don't think it sounds very pleasant."

"That's one way to put it," Zelos said.

"Can someone please get her off of me?" I demanded.

Colette and Presea eventually came to my rescue - which was long enough for Raine's brief insanity to pass. She had the grace to be embarrassed, but I knew better than to let down my guard - if I wasn't careful, I'd wake up in the morning missing half my fingernails and a skin sample. Raine was perfectly reasonable 95% of the time; it was just that the other five percent tended to be the most memorable and dangerous to me, personally.

"So you probably shouldn't do it again," Lloyd said, obviously disappointed.

"Probably," replied Sheena, unimpressed.

"But... why can you do it in the first place?" asked Lloyd. "That's what I've been wondering. If even the angels need a machine to do it, it's gotta be hard."

I exhaled. "I think... it's because I'm not from here. I'm less... real. Not unreal enough to be a Summon Spirit or a monster, but not real enough to be a real person."

Presea frowned. "I think you are a real person."

I smiled, surprised at the tightness in my chest. "Thanks, Presea."

"The experience isn't a complete loss," said Raine, off in her own world. "If etheric space disregards distance and position, then Genis' idea of extra-dimensional storage isn't so far-fetched after all. We'll have to experiment, of course, but being able to dismiss and recall items as one does a Summon Spirit could be extremely useful - especially given that organic matter is unlikely to spoil when converted to mana."

"So not a person," Zelos said, "A walking refrigerator! You must be proud."

I sighed.

I didn't see Kate that night, and she didn't come down for breakfast, either.

"She's sulking," Zelos said, a little unkindly. "And with a spread like this - rude, honestly."

"She wanted to go home," Presea said, with a hint of reprimand, "But Ozette... is not a safe place for her to be."

"She's a grown woman," Raine pointed out. "If she's from Ozette, then I'm sure she understands the risks of returning home. I'm not sure that confining her here is any kinder than denying her passage, especially to somewhere she feels more comfortable. Meltokio can't be a very happy place for her, at present."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Zelos sighed. "Sebastian's looking into finding her a ride home, but - never mind."

I dimly remembered Kate having some bit role to play later on - but that wasn't really my business.

"So what now?" I asked. "We'll have to get into the archives sooner or later."

"Ah, don't you worry about that," Zelos said, "You got enough dirt on that guy to start a landslide. Me, Sheena, Lloyd and Miss Angel are gonna work on part two of my brilliant plan - all we gotta do is make sure that the King sees the evidence, and then it's just a matter of time." He sighed, and leaned back. "I don't think it'll be that hard, honestly - he's never liked the Pope to begin with."

"I found something... interesting," said Regal, slowly, "in the recovered documents." He hadn't been very chatty last night, and he looked like he had something heavy on his mind. "Zelos, do you know the name of the Pope before he was installed as Pope Locuples?"

"Pope who?" asked Lloyd, bewildered.

"Locuples," Raine repeated. "It's his... ceremonial name, I suppose. It's a tradition here."

How and when she'd learned that, I had no idea.

"So it's not his real name?" Lloyd frowned.

"Legally, the Pope is 'born again' under his new name - whoever he was before being elected is 'dead'," Zelos explained. "It's supposed to be so the Pope isn't 'beholden' to any inheritances or family obligations above the Church, and so he can't give out Church property to his kids or family or whatever, but I think it's just because the Papal name sounds better on paper. The current guy used to be... Lester Koenig, I think? Why?"

Regal sighed. "It may not be the same woman, but Vivian Koenig was a mistress of the last King, and an acquaintance of my family."

"...So, the Pope's got royal blood?" Zelos guessed.

"It may be more significant than that," Regal said. "Up until yesterday, I'd only known Vharley by his first name. Lester - Pope Locuples' documents refer to him as Vharley Koenig." he continued, face darkening. "The stint in the Papal Knights that you mentioned yesterday is one in a long string of expensive failures for the Koenig family. I gather that he was disowned, and his brother continued to support him until he found something he... excelled at."

"How... familial," said Raine, nose wrinkling. "No wonder he's so well-connected."

"Wait, Vharley's royalty, too?" asked Lloyd.

"I don't think so," Regal said. "He seems to be the only legitimate son of Vivian Koenig and her husband, although I'd have to see Church records to confirm it. Official Church records," he said, after a moment. "It is a small world, indeed."

"You say that," I interjected, "but both Sylvarant and Tethe'alla are probably about the size of my home country. It's not surprising the upper-crust are inbred. Er. Present company excluded."

"Is that true?" Raine asked, clearly more interested in the geography lesson than the dig at local genealogy.

"I mean, even when we had planes and trains and... automobiles," I paused, "Even with pretty advanced transportation, it'd take..." I squinted, trying to remember my vintage science fiction, "Eighty days? I know on a plane, which probably goes as fast as a Rheaird, it would take at least two days. We basically circumnavigated Sylvarant on foot, so it can't be that big."

"By that measure, your world would be enormous," Raine mused.

"But our gravity's the same," I said, "That's what's weird to me. Even if Aselia originally had the surface area of both Sylvarant and Tethe'alla, that's way smaller than my Earth."

"Hm. Sylvarant and Tethe'alla must be denser than your world," she guessed. "How strange."

"Sylvarant's denser, at least," Genis quipped, "I mean, look at Lloyd."

While the more recognizable members of our party (two Chosens, Sheena, and Lloyd) went to the palace, the rest of us were stuck hanging around the mansion. I say 'stuck', but Zelos' mansion was full of interesting nooks and crannies, not to mention a stinking great library full of all sorts of books. A lot of them were probably inherited down the Chosen line, but there were also shelves upon shelves of novels, recent nonfiction and what boiled down to popular science.

"Regal," I asked, "Are there a lot of publishing companies in Tethe'alla?"

Regal looked up from his own reading. "I suppose so. The Lezareno company owns shares in Penguinist Books, which I believe is the largest."

"Penguinist Books."

"Yes?" he was bemused. "Penguinist quills used to be the preferred tool for writing manuscripts, if I remember correctly. That may be apocryphal, however."

"I - never mind," I waved a hand. "So are there also newspapers?" He nodded, a dark look passing over his face. "What?"

"There are a few periodicals - broadsheets - but none are what I would call reputable," he said. "Meltokio has several, as do Altamira, Sybak and Flanoir. They're primarily gossip rags, and tend to be quite cavalier with the truth. There are a few trade journals, if you're looking for recent and verified information. I wouldn't recommend seeking out 'newspapers' unless it is for entertainment value alone."

That had been a long speech, for Regal. It sounded like he'd had personal experience, which wasn't a surprise.

"So print, but no photographs," I mused. "You know, the difference in technology between here and Sylvarant is big, but the gap between Tethe'alla and Cruxis is huge. Does the Church have much of a say in stuff like research and development? I'm surprised you guys don't have steam engines, at least. Sylvarant is just getting into that kind of thing for transportation."

"The Church and Crown have a great deal of sway over what is taught and studied in academic institutions," Regal informed me. "There have been times in our history when steam has been used for manufacturing or power, but it's more common in rural areas with limited access to magitechnology. Some freighters are still steam-powered, but it's a legacy technology."

"But not trains?" He looked bemused. "I mean, you're in business. How do goods get shipped overland?"

Regal raised an eyebrow. "Overland? Wagons, primarily. Shipping by water is more common and more cost-effective, as well as faster. I know there are a few motorized vehicles, but they're not practical for long-distance travel on uncertain roads. Animals can cope with a more variable terrain, or so I'm told. And there are the velocipede carts, within city limits."

"You don't consider Tethe'alla's roads reliable?"

"In comparison to water travel? No. Remote areas are poorly maintained and undefended. Even a well-armed caravan is likely to encounter opportunists."

"Sheena said there were semaphore towers?"

"Along the Imperial Highway, yes," Regal agreed. "But they're not useful in all weather conditions, and require a great deal of training to operate. Depending on the information, it's often more efficient to send someone on a horse or dragon."

"So people do ride dragons," I said, frowning.

"They fly at a much lower altitude than the Rheairds," Regal said, apparently following my train of thought. "And they require special facilities. Most are much smaller than Rodyle's dragons, for instance."

"How about a telegraph?" I asked.

"I'm not familiar with the concept," Regal admitted.

I gnawed on my lip. There was an idea here, but I didn't have the words for it yet. "So if you've got to get from one major city to another, it's probably going to be by boat or carriage, right?" He nodded. "If you send a message, it's probably going to be a letter, but Sheena said that's expensive. Zelos said it'd take a while for Ozette to get word that we were wanted, and he was right, so... Cruxis isn't just hamstringing military technology, but transportation and communication? I kind of get it."

"Hamstringing?"

"In my mind," I said, beginning to pace, "People have a hierarchy of what they try with new technology. First, they see if they can use it to kill people, second, for communication or information-sharing. Tethe'alla is more advanced than Sylvarant, but your communications technology is basically identical, and your weapons technology isn't much more advanced. I think Cruxis must be doing it on purpose. Less communication, less advancement, harder to organize stuff."

"That's... an interesting idea," Regal allowed, "But how is it they would influence those developments?"

"Well, all the money's in the Church, right? Or the royal family?"

Realization dawned, and he nodded. "Allocating money or resources to certain projects, and censoring those that might be inconvenient to Cruxis. That is plausible."

"Have you ever met resistance from them in your work?" I asked. "Wait, doesn't Altamira have a roller coaster?"

He was distracted from the first question by the second. "Yes, at Lezareno Park. Why?"

"So you have a powered cart on rails, basically."

"Yes?"

"But you don't have trains, which are the same thing laid out over great distances."

"No. I hadn't considered the idea. Their access would be a problem; laying and maintaining tracks would be expensive. The roller coaster is modeled on a mine cart, which tends to be a smaller closed track. And we have a rail system between the islands of Altamira, but, again, it travels over water. The issues are the same as with overland travel."

"I guess there's no rule about what order things happen in," I said, "It's just interesting. We should talk at some point about infrastructure for Sylvarant and Tethe'alla, when this is all over and Cruxis doesn't have their fingers in it."

He blinked at me, and smiled. "Yes, I think that would be a good idea. A great deal will have to be done, if you and the others succeed."

"When we succeed," I said, smiling.

It was funny having long talks with Raine and Regal. They were both very, very intelligent, but with odd blind spots or misconceptions. Raine was more practical, but also more easily distracted. Regal was formally educated and naturally perceptive, but he was also sheltered and strangely naive. Zelos was sheltered, too, but quicker on the uptake and better at reading people. Genis might overtake all three, in time, if he learned to take himself less seriously.

I didn't dwell on how they might think about me - it wasn't likely to be flattering.

"You're confident we will?" Regal half-observed, half-asked. Did he need reassuring, or was he just curious?

"We've got a good crew," I said seriously. I knew he still didn't like me or Zelos much, but he'd come this far. He sure wasn't going anywhere as long as Presea was with us, and I couldn't decide if that was a good or bad thing. "Anyway," I said, eager to make myself scarce before I got on his nerves or vice versa, "Thanks for the info. I gotta go see a man about a horse."

Raine found me around noon. "I have some ideas," she said. She had a barely-suppressed mania in her eyes, which meant it was probably going to be unpleasant. "Your journey into Etheric space has brought to light some intriguing possibilities," she went on, dragging me by the elbow. I wasn't surprised when she led me into the yard, or to see Genis waiting there. "We've put together some tests to discover more about how you banish and recall objects."

"I did it maybe once," I said, as rote protest.

"Yes, but you assumed Etheric space was subject to physical distance. Corrine's account of your journey implies otherwise."

"And if objects turn into mana or become irretrievable?"

"I doubt they will," Raine waved a hand dismissively. "Corrine and I spoke a little more last night. With Sheena's supervision," she clarified, in a put-upon kind of way. "I believe that any deleterious effects would only be present on organic, sentient matter; a breakdown of connection between physical form and soul. Inorganic objects or objects lacking in a 'self' would be unaffected, as would spirits or other subjects who are inversely entirely 'self' without 'form'."

"You're completely jumping to conclusions," I pointed out. "You just want me to be a library."

"I am not completely jumping to conclusions," she argued, but she couldn't fully defend herself from the other accusation. "At any rate, today's tests will go a long way towards informing us. I'm just telling you my hypothesis."

"Oh, so not only are you sure you're right, you're informing your test subject about the results you want. How unscientific." She swatted at me, and I laughed. "I'm only teasing."

"Well, no, you're correct," Raine sighed, "It is unscientific. I shouldn't have told you what I expected," she went on, regretful, "Magic is largely shaped by expectations and terminology. I'm sorry. I'll try to be more cautious in future."

"Raine, I was joking," I assured her. "You're my best friend. I'd be sad if you didn't talk at me."

"I don't talk at you," Raine objected, and then went a very fetching pink. "Best friend?"

"Well, yeah," I said, suddenly embarrassed. I forgot, sometimes, how socially isolated Raine was, and how naive she could be, in her own way. Moments like this reminded me of that. "Feeling doesn't have to be mutual, but you're important to me."

"It's - not at all, we're just a little old to be using terms like 'best friends'," she said, trying to sound dismissive but red to the ears.

I grinned. "No such thing as 'too old'. You'd better watch out or it'll be Best Friends Forever, with hearts around it."

"Hey, can we start?" piped up Genis, looking both amused and frustrated. "Some of us are busy."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Busy? You're twelve."

"And you're asking for it." He could really channel his sister, sometimes.

"Okay, okay," I said, "I'm sorry. Let's go, then. What do you need me to do?"

It was a fun way to spend the afternoon, if you left out the poking and prodding. Genis gave me objects of varying size and composition, and I sent them away. It was interesting; Genis hadn't just gone for testing quantity and distance, but complexity and control. Raine was keeping track of what I had squirreled away at any one time, and kept moving me around the field to see if I could still recall it unchanged.

One of the items was a little cardboard box with an orange inside. Genis asked me to banish the orange, but not the box.

"Still there," I told him, rattling it around. "Sorry."

"No, I expected that," he said. He was a different person when he was solving problems. "Can you send the box away, but keep the orange?"

I tried. "Yes, as it turns out. Why does that work?"

"I don't know," he admitted. The box was returned, and this time Genis taped a pencil to the inside before closing it. "See if you can send it away but leave the pencil behind." I did, and nothing remained. "Okay, so if they're actually adhered together it's harder."

"Harder, but not impossible?" I asked, catching the box on its return journey.

"Well, I don't know if anything is impossible," he said. "Like, you can take someone along when you're teleporting, but you also used it to rip Kratos' arm off that one time." I was impressed he could recount the memory without emotion. Either it had been long enough, or the purely academic context had softened the blow. "I think it probably has to do with focus and intention."

I nodded. "Okay, just a second."

I tried it again. About half a pencil, sheared down the length, dropped. "In my defense, it's hard to figure out where one ends and the other begins, and I was paying attention when you closed it. It was like trying to cleanly cut a string I couldn't see."

"You had to imagine where it was in the box?" Genis asked. "You couldn't 'feel' it in another way?"

I made a face. "Feel? No. It's a pencil. It doesn't change the mana enough, and besides, I couldn't work off just that. There's no sixth sense, or anything. And I definitely wouldn't have been able to work with more than one separate object." I tried a few more times, with varying success. Good thing Zelos had spare pencils. "It's a mental image thing," I admitted. "It's not instinctual, sorry."

Genis shrugged. "The point is to find the limits."

After that, we tried send-and-retrieve in a different way: I would banish the item from my hand, as usual, and then resummon it at a distance. Useful, perhaps, if I wanted to drop a potted plant on someone.

"I can do it," I decided, "But it's aiming again, like with teleportation. More distance, less accurate. I think I could do better with practice, but it's not something you'd want me doing with delicate stuff. It feels," I thought, trying to quantify the experience, "It feels like trying to aim a catapult, but I can't see the catapult, just feel it? That's not a great explanation."

"We'll practice it," Raine promised me. I sighed.

Next up was the inverse: could I banish an object without being in physical contact with it? The answer was: not really. "It's too far away," I said helplessly. "Like, I can't grab on to it. Magically or otherwise."

"You can stretch your invisibility," Raine pointed out.

"Incrementally," I replied, "and I've practiced that a lot. I'm trying, I am, but it's like stretching muscle I didn't know I had. I can't attach to it, and if I can't do that, I don't think I can banish it."

More notes were taken, and we moved on to the next test: scale.

"Obviously we can't have you banish a person," Raine said, in a regretful tone, "But I propose we work our way up until we find the outside limit. I'm assuming any limits we encounter will be in what can be sent and retrieved, not what can be stored."

"Again, not big on saying 'stored'," I said, although I went along with things anyway. "I'm not a cabinet."

"Not yet," muttered Genis.

"I never said you were," Raine continued, prim. "I'll be marking things down by mass and volume, in case it makes a difference."

It did. I could 'banish' two dozen pillows tied up in a bedsheet (we'd have to apologize to Sebastian about the grass stains) but if something was too heavy for me to lift, it wasn't going anywhere. It was the same trouble I'd encountered with the earth-mover at Toize; magic might be amazing, but my body was still only meat. If anyone wanted to move a two-tonne statue of Martel, they'd have to do it the old-fashioned way.

"Too bad," Raine remarked, "That could have been useful." I couldn't tell if she was kidding.

I stretched. I was achy, despite how little actual work I was doing. "What next?"

"Next," said Genis, "Is long-term. Something that can spoil, so probably fruit or vegetables. Also, we should keep a list of what you've banished, because if you forget what it is or what it looks like you may not be able to get it back without going there. Then we'll see if you can retrieve the item when we're somewhere far away, and see if it's been affected by time at all."

"I kind of expected Raine to load me up on books first thing," I admitted. "I'm glad you're at least patient."

"I'm not that foolhardy," Raine scoffed. "What if we lost them?"

"Not denying that it's your eventual plan," I pointed out.

Raine smiled. "Would I lie to my best friend?"

"Best friend?" I repeated. "What are we, ten?"

She hit me for that, but I deserved it.

The Castle party returned in the late afternoon. We reconvened in the living area of the foyer, and swapped information.

"It worked!" Lloyd announced. "There was a lot of standing around and double-checking things and calling people in to talk about boring stuff, but we're 'cleared of all charges'! They really wanted to know where we got all the papers from, but Zelos said something about an anonymous source, and also Colette scared some people?"

"I didn't mean to," said Colette, looking genuinely distressed. "I just fell a bit."

"It's hard to argue faith when I've got a real-life angel on our side," Zelos explained, patting her on the shoulder. "It went great. Colette was cute, Sheena was scary, and Lloyd did his speechifying thing in front of everybody. Great stuff. The Pope tried to make a break for it, but His Majesty was pretty pissed." He paused. "His Majesty's still kind of testy about the whole 'treason' thing, but he'll get over it. The point is, he was too busy being mad at the Pope to get mad at us, so successes all around."

"He agreed to sit down for talks with Mizuho again," Sheena pointed out. "That's going to be big for my people. If it's okay, I might take the evening and tomorrow to go check in with the Chief and brief him on the situation."

Raine nodded. "Of course."

"Any news of Vharley?" asked Regal.

Zelos gave an inconclusive hand-wave. "Not really. His name is plastered all over the documents, and he probably won't be able to wriggle out of it if he's extradited here, but there's a lot of ocean between Meltokio and Altamira. Still might be a good idea to swing by and put a word in the right ears, if you know what I mean."

"What of the left ears?" asked Presea. Zelos took a moment to process, and Regal actually opened his mouth to explain, but hesitated, which was long enough for her to give away the game.

"You made a joke!" Zelos said, exuberant. "Well done, little Rosebud."

Presea smiled. "It was a play on words."

"We'll be able to access the Archives?" asked Raine, gently nudging the conversation back on course.

"Yep, got some assistants coming in and everything. It's a big library," said Zelos, by way of explanation. "It's kind of a repository, too, so there's all kinds of old stuff in there. Even with eight of us, we're gonna need some help if we're gonna find one specific book in good time."

"There are nine of us," Genis pointed out.

"I know," Zelos agreed, "but Lloyd never learned to read."

Genis cackled, and high-fived Zelos.

I didn't see that coming. Since when were they getting along?

"I think you're smart, Lloyd," Colette said, patting his arm. Sheena had to turn her head away to keep from laughing.

Lloyd took it in the spirit as intended. Apparently getting teamed up on softened the blow, rather than the opposite, or maybe his ego really was just that resilient. "Maybe that's why my memory is so good," Lloyd said, cheerful, "I remember a really long and interesting conversation we were having last night. I bet the girls would wanna hear about it."

Genis, after a moment, went fire-engine red. Zelos, bucking expectation, turned a faint pink.

"Excuse me?" asked Sheena, voice dangerous.

Lloyd grinned. Colette and Presea were confused, and Raine was tired. Lloyd ducked and whispered something in Genis' ear that made him go even redder and charge. Lloyd fled up the stairs, and the others gave chase; Sheena wanted to know what it was that had been said, Zelos wanted to keep Lloyd from spilling the beans, and Colette and Presea had simply been swept up in the excitement of play.

"Having so many teenagers in one place is exhausting," she decided.

"You're gonna have to have the Talk at some point, Raine," I muttered. "I bet he doesn't even know why they're embarrassed."

"It wasn't that kind of conversation," Regal sighed, taking me by surprise. I had a bad habit of forgetting he was there. "They were discussing hair products."

I half-turned to him. "Seriously, though," I waved a hand, "At some point they need to be sat down and talked to. Presea's either too old or too young, and I think she understands that, but Genis and the others are young adults. I don't think any of them are going to be sneaking off to canoodle, but in the event they do? They need to be informed."

Now Raine was going pink around the ears. She didn't like talking about this. "I can hardly sit the boys down for a chat. Genis is my younger sibling, and Lloyd won't understand anything put in clinical terms."

"I could speak to them, if you like," Regal volunteered. "Unless you'd prefer Zelos make the attempt."

My face must have done something, because he smiled.

"I assumed not. I'll speak to them," he decided, "sooner, rather than later."

"Can you explain informed consent to them?" I asked, distant and terrible memories of mandatory health classes surfacing. "It's not that I think you wouldn't, you seem like a reasonable dude, I just wanted to make sure."

"Yes, of course," he assured me, as if he were making some kind of grave oath. "In that case, perhaps Zelos should be included."

"He isn't actually that much of a lech," I observed, "I think he only acts out when he remembers it's expected of him. That said, Sheena did say something about it." My mood darkened a little. It was hard to reconcile Zelos, my friend, with someone who would grope people in the dark. But wasn't that always how it went, with guys? "Yeah, take him with you, even if you have to sit on him. Make it clear that there are consequences."

"You're that concerned?" asked Raine.

"Horseplay is normal with you guys," I said, because it had only been an hour or so since she'd whacked me upside the head, "But that isn't."

Regal had snagged on a different part of my speech. "You think he's feigning his bad behavior?"

I shook my head. "Nah, he's still a brat, but he plays dumb. I guess Lloyd and I have spent the most time with him, out of everyone? He's..." I paused, unsure if this was my place to share, and then shook my head. If I was going to be meddling, there was no point in going halfway. "He's more sensitive than he lets on. Try not to be too mean."

"You're very bossy today," Raine said, but she was smiling.

"Well, you weren't gonna do anything about it," I said, bumping her elbow with mine.

"I presume the two of you will handle the girls?" Regal suggested, looking between the two of us.

Raine seemed to shrink again. I didn't like the idea, either, but someone had to.

"Yeah. Sheena and Colette are way too..." I waggled a hand. "It's better if we actually talk about it."

His expression twisted slightly. "Forgive me if this is inappropriate, but what do you plan to tell Presea? Since Altessa's, she has referred to herself as an adult, but she's still very much a child. I worry that..." He trailed off.

"Yeah, I know," I agreed. "She's more a kid than she is an adult, that's for sure."

He sighed. "Somehow it feels wrong to leave the saving of the world to a group of teenagers."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, laughing. "It's practically traditional."

I was serious about the Talk. It had been a long time since we'd been in a place where we could be in separate rooms and out of earshot without that being a danger to us, and now we had Regal. All the relationships in the game had been chaste, but this was real life. I also didn't like the idea of the kids working things out through trial-and-error.

"Does Sylvarant not have health education?" I asked Raine, as we washed for dinner.

"Yes, but as I've said, it's normally imparted by the same-sex parent."

"Running low on parents around here," I said. She flicked water at me.

"Yes, I'm aware." She sighed. "It's not been intentionally neglected, there's just never been a good time."

"I know," I agreed, meaning to reassure. "I feel incredibly weird having to bring it up, but it's just... unsafe for them, not knowing. They're gonna be famous when all this is over. What if people try to take advantage of them? What if they mess around with one another? It's not pleasant to think about, but it still might happen."

"I was a teen once, you know," Raine said.

Out in the wild, you couldn't afford to be squeamish about bodies. People sometimes had to use the bathroom, and you had to pretend not to hear it. I didn't even want to think about Kratos and Colette in that capacity; it was simply too yucky. Raine, Sheena and I had all suffered periods on the road, but it wasn't something one discussed except by necessity. I understood avoidance, but a lack of information could have consequences.

"I know," I agreed. "I wasn't even thinking about it, but then Lloyd said the thing and now... Anyway. It's just the conversation and some questions, and after that we can go back to never, ever discussing sex, under any circumstances."

"None at all?" asked Raine, smirking. It shocked a laugh out of me.

"Fine, but only in impolite company."

After dinner, Regal corralled the boys. Apparently we were doing this tonight.

"We're meeting in my room," Raine decided, addressing the girls. "The five of us need to discuss something in private."

Presea and Colette followed without question. Sheena had the presence of mind to look worried. We shepherded them into Raine's room, and Raine locked the door, which really wasn't reassuring.

"What's this about?" Sheena asked, once we had gathered in a loose circle on the carpeted floor. There wasn't room enough on the canopy bed, and there weren't enough chairs. Floor time it was.

"Nothing bad," I said, but my tone must have given it away.

"Edie," Sheena pleaded.

"Okay, fine, we need to talk about the birds and the bees. And safety."

"Beekeepers often wear protective veils," offered Presea. "I am not informed on methods regarding ornithology."

Sheena went completely red. "I don't - you're serious."

"Why is Sheena upset?" asked Colette. "What are we talking about?"

"Sex," I said, at the same time that Raine said, "Intimacy and intercourse."

Sheena dropped her head into her knees and gave a muffled scream. I patted her on the shoulder, sympathetic.

"It's okay, Professor," said Colette, "Our neighbors had goats! I helped deliver a little baby once."

"That's all well and good, Colette," said Raine, amused, "But there's more to talk about. I know not all of this will be applicable, and you'll know some of it already, but I believe it's always best to start with the basics. I already locked the door, Sheena, you'll just have to sit through it with the rest of us."

I'd expected an hour, but the Talk went on much longer. Colette and Presea had questions, and Sheena had some very unfortunate misconceptions. I was side-tracked by a discussion of sexual diversity, which led into an explanation of gender as a spectrum and some customarily thoughtful silences from Presea, who had been blessedly understanding about the whole 'no hanky-panky until you look your age' thing.

Cruxis didn't teach abstinence, but there was still some shame and hesitation around the discussion of sex, and more than once I had to take over because Raine was too embarrassed. She took over once more when I was derailed by an explanation of love languages, and so on.

A female servant scared the life out of us two hours in, delivering snacks and drinks on the suspicion we might need it, and after that it became more like an educational slumber-party. It'd been ages since we'd had a chance for 'girl talk', and Colette and Sheena were taking advantage of the context to speak more casually with Raine, who they thought of as an authority figure.

They didn't seem near so bothered with me, no matter how many times I pointed out that I was older.

"You had a girlfriend?" asked Sheena, shocked.

I nodded. "I met her when I was about your age. Things didn't work out, but we really cared about each other."

"Do you only like girls?" asked Colette, with great interest.

I shook my head. "It's about the person for me, not the body. Where I come from, a lot of people my age have had more than a few partners. I'm actually pretty prudish by those standards."

"It seems both our worlds put a great deal of emphasis on marriage and two-parent families," Raine observed. "I don't know that I've ever heard doctrine condemning same-sex couples, but a marriage without hope of producing children would certainly be seen as irresponsible or wasteful. There are more similarities than differences, at any rate."

"I'm definitely part of a subculture," I admitted. "Some of my friends are in relationships with multiple people. It's not a secret thing, and it seems to work well for them."

"What? Don't they get jealous?" asked Sheena, incredulous.

"No, it's all discussed. It's all about communication," I explained. "If someone's getting jealous, then either they aren't feeling valued, or they're being too possessive. That's how I understand it, anyway. The point is that people use their words - you have to say what you want, or you aren't going to get it, right? That applies to platonic relationships, too," I said, because Raine had gone funny.

"I wasn't going to say anything."

"Yeah, right."

"So it's like the love languages thing," Sheena deduced. "I get it. It's weird, but I get it."

There was a moment's comfortable silence.

"If we have been sequestered for this discussion," said Presea, "Then has the same been done to the male half of the party?"

I grinned. "Yep."

"You let Zelos explain stuff to Lloyd and Genis?" asked Sheena. "Really?"

"No, Zelos is a pupil in that particular lesson," Raine said, looking smug. "Regal is in charge."

Sheena grinned, too. "Suits him right."

I sobered. "Sheena, if he ever does anything you don't want, tell us, okay? Zelos is our friend, but you're more important. I know you guys get at each other, but if he's crossing the line..."

Sheena flushed and waved her hands. "I know! I know. I'd tell you. He just runs his mouth, honestly, but he's always been like that. He's a creep, but I don't think he'd ever... I'd tell you," she promised, catching on to my mood. "I'm not afraid of him, and I don't think he'd do anything, but I'd tell you." Her expression twitched. "Well, I'd tell you where to find the body."

I burst into laughter.

"The same goes for any of you, regarding anyone," Raine said. "Shame shouldn't prevent you from finding help."

They nodded solemnly. A moment passed.

"So, anyway," I said, reaching for a shortbread cookie, "Regal's getup - did he pick that out on his own, or what?"

I woke up to not one, not two, but three brand-new sets of clothing, a full set of shiny hardened-leather armor, a professional sharpening kit, and a lot of new underthings and socks. There were new boots, mysteriously well-fitting, a new belt, and new backpack. I probably didn't need all of it, but it was still better than Christmas morning. Zelos didn't want us looking shabby on our visit to the Palace, it seemed.

I dressed and went down; the boys and I had agreed on some sword practice last night at dinner.

Zelos was there, but not Lloyd. He swiveled at my approach, and pointed an accusing finger in my direction.

"You."

"Me," I agreed.

"You told Regal he could sit on me?"

I laughed. "Did he?"

"Yes," Zelos whined, "It was terrible! Literally the worst three hours of my life. Three hours, Edie!"

"I'm surprised he ratted me out," I admitted. "He agreed that it was good for everyone to get a refresher."

"Huh," Zelos said, thoughtful. "Well, at least everyone else suffered."

"That's the attitude. Where's Lloyd, anyway?"

"Oh, doing the ironing. What do you think? He's asleep."

"Was it really that bad?"

"Yes," he said, feelingly.

We'd never practiced together before, but there were training swords, and I followed Zelos through whatever routine he was doing. Then we started sparring, for want of something better to do, but not with any ferocity. He was using a shield, and encouraged me to do the same - the angel-killing blade was not necessarily two-handed - but I kept forgetting where it was and banging myself in the forehead with it.

"I can see why you do daggers," he said, when we'd gotten bored and Lloyd still hadn't showed up.

I rubbed at what would be a new bruise. "It's like trying to move my arm with a kite on it," I said, dropping the shield. "Give me a minute, and we can go again. Me with daggers, you your stuff, no magic?"

"Sure," he agreed. "I'm still annoyed, y'know. Lloyd wouldn't shut up, once he got going. I can't believe that kid's eighteen."

"I know," I sighed. "I was kind of hoping Kratos would handle it, but..." I shrugged.

"He's been a deadbeat this long, why stop now?" replied Zelos.

I laughed, and then the words actually settled. I pointed at him, eyes narrowed. "You said that accidentally on purpose." I was sure of it. Zelos wasn't the kind of person who made such obvious slip-ups. Unless he was, and I was overthinking it.

"Ha," said Zelos, just as triumphantly, "You did know."

"It's not my business," I grumbled, "Or yours."

"You don't think he'd wanna know?"

"Of course he would," I agreed, "But would anything good come of it? It's not like amends are being made. Just leave it."

"What else do you know?" he asked, picking up his sword again.

He was testing. There was something about his face that I hadn't noticed before. Did he want me to call him out? Or was there something else he was implying that I just didn't remember? The latter half of the game was just too blurry in my memory.

"I know that you're my second favorite person in Tethe'alla," I decided, "And that you know how to pick a winner."

He went white, and then gray, and then schooled his features.

"And you think we've got a winning team?"

"Guarantee it," I said, answering the question as seriously - and as cryptically - as it had been asked. "And I think we're better with you than the other way around."

He smiled, but it was the ugly, unhappy one, more of a grimace. "Seriously. All this time? And you're just cool with it?"

It was hard having a conversation where you're talking around the subject, not about it.

"Yeah, so? I'm not psychic, dude, you still do you. I'm just saying that I like you, and I think you'll pick us, 'cause we're better and cooler."

I couldn't read his expression.

"Do you want a hug?" I asked. That startled him.

"Hug from a pretty lady?" he asked, slipping back into character. "How could I refuse?"

I hugged him. He dropped the practice sword to wrap his arms around my shoulders. He was about a head taller than me, and wider, but something about the motion made him seem frail and small. I rubbed his back, feeling old and a little light-headed. The hug went on for longer than was polite, but neither of us made to move.

I wondered - when was the last time he got a hug? Just from a friend? The last few days had gone to so many unexpected places. I hadn't imagined that I'd be hugging Zelos today, or that he'd be holding on so tightly.

He did, eventually, disentangle himself. His eyes weren't red, and he had his lopsided smile on again. I smiled, too.

"Thanks," he said, voice a little croaky.

"No problem, bud." I reached up and pinched his cheek. He wriggled away, clutching at the spot like I'd slugged him full-on in the jaw.

"Ow, what's wrong with you?" He massaged his face, and then paused, and narrowed his eyes at me. "Second favorite person in Tethe'alla?"

"Raine's first," I explained.

"Well, can't argue that," he said, eyes sparkling. "Let's have that fight, huh?"

We did.

I was right about the clothes; everyone had new duds.

After breakfast, we set out for the castle, and, more importantly, the Archives. Raine was vibrating with excitement, but almost everyone else was tired. Sheena and Colette were in a very chirpy mood, Presea thoughtful, and the boys more-or-less sullen. I walked with Regal, unusually eager to hear his perspective on how things had gone.

"As well as can be expected," he told me. "Zelos was actually quite helpful, after a fashion, and reasonably respectful."

"Well, that's good to hear," I said, bemused. That had apparently been the extent of his report, but it felt rude to leave off at that. "You've been to the castle before?"

He nodded. "Several times. The last was at the Princess' birthday party, when she turned sixteen."

I tried to do some mental math. "She's in her twenties? She doesn't look it."

"Neither do you," he said, but it wasn't flattery. It was observational. "I'm sure she rarely goes out-of-doors without a shade, and to my knowledge does no physical labor. If circumstances had been different, I could have mistaken you for a member of the upper class. Very different," he allowed, glancing at my chin, which had the most visible of all my scars. "I'm sorry," he said, after a moment, "I, of all people, should not be commenting on others' physical appearance."

I shrugged. "It's fine. I look my age to me." People did live harder in Tethe'alla and Sylvarant, but in Tethe'alla, the difference wasn't so extreme. The Princess probably had aestheticians to lean on, but I just had chubby cheeks. "Also, I got this scar because I fell, not in battle. A bunch of people saw me and it was incredibly embarrassing."

"Ah. Well," Regal said, "Still a kind of battle-scar. Social humiliation cuts deep."

"You said humiliation, not me."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply..."

"I was joking," I assured him, waving a hand. "Never mind." A thought occurred. "So, why the crop top?"

"Crop top?"

"Your shirt," I gestured. "There's no torso bit."

"It's what I was issued," he said, looking down as if he'd forgotten about the foot or so of bare skin left open to the elements. Maybe he had. "I suppose I have become comfortable with it. It's certainly less restricting than what I was accustomed to."

"Suits and stuff?"

"Yes," he agreed. "And stuff."

"I thought you just liked showing off," I admitted.

I expected him to blush, or scold me for being inappropriate, but he smirked.

"That's certainly an upside."

The Archives were huge.

I'd expected a library - a place used for reading and studying, but this wasn't that. It was, as Zelos had said, a repository, a storage space for all those written documents accumulated by the Royal Family over the last millennia. It wasn't just books, either, but contracts, deeds, writs of ownership, peerages and pages upon pages of accounts, long past relevance. There were also damaged or unreadable books, nonetheless preserved because of some historic value. It was a lot.

I was happy we had the assistants, but it still felt like an impossible task. They had a card catalogue, but the Archives had been built back with the castle, and whatever organization system they'd used was just as ancient. Even the assistants, two of whom were 'Royal scholars', admitted that it was a mess.

"It's really a last resort," one of them explained. "If you can't find it in Sybak, it's probably here, but unless you know exactly what you're looking for..."

I didn't know exactly what we were looking for, even with foreknowledge. I didn't remember how they found it, or what the title was - only that there was some book in here that would tell us how to cure Colette.

Raine and Zelos lead the effort to search by rough category - Mithos, Martel, Exspheres, Cruxis, Unicorns - and the rest of us assigned shelves and resorted to brute force sorting. If anything sounded vaguely related to the topic at hand, it went on the pile, where Regal (he was a damned quick reader) would skim for anything worth handing to Raine. The good ones went into yet another, smaller pile, and the others went in the quickly-growing 'no' pile.

It was exhausting. The books were heavy, the pages thin and delicate, and the print invariably small. Or in cursive, or both - and quite frequently in tiny, cursive Angelic.

After two hours, my eyes began to ache. After four, my neck was throbbing.

Snacks helped a little, but after six, I was going cross-eyed.

"Is there a law of the universe," I mused aloud, "That anything you read, academically, has to be done on paper that has a glare?"

"Might as well be," grumbled Zelos. "They should make this a form of punishment."

"I think we all need a break," sighed Raine.

"Sorry, everyone," said Colette, fidgeting. "You're all working so hard for me."

"Of course we are, you dork," Lloyd replied, mussing her hair. "You're important."

A memory resurfaced.

"Hey, Colette," I said, slowly. "I have a really stupid idea."

Colette was immediately all smiles. "Really? Is it funny?"

"Maybe, maybe not," I said, putting aside the volume I'd given up reading. "If it works, it'll be hilarious. If it doesn't work, you can all laugh at me. I think all this reading is making me insane, anyway." I was, speaking frankly, at the point where I would have tried anything, if it meant not reading. Words had lost all meaning, even as I spoke them. What were words? What was I doing with my mouth? "It's worth a shot?"

"What is it?" Lloyd asked.

"Colette," I said, mind sluggish. "Can you do this?" I crossed my ankles and did a quick, smooth turn, arms out and hands flexed. It wasn't ballet, but it was footwork, of a sort.

"Hm?" Colette blinked at me, already lifting her hands in preparation. "I'll try!"

She crossed her ankles, started to turn, wobbled, and then, arms pinwheeling, fell sideways into the bookcase.

I winced as she made impact, because clumsy or not, pain is pain, and hurried forward, feeling stupid. "Shoot, I'm sorry," I said, fussing - had she hit her shoulder? I'd never forgive myself if this had somehow irritated the infection, and neither would anyone else. There was another sound, too quiet for me to identify until it was too late. Pages fluttered, and the spine of a very, very heavy book made contact with my skull.

Pain turned my vision white, but only for a moment. There was a thump as the book slid off my head and onto the floor, and I rubbed the crown of my head.

"Ow," I said, mildly. I wobbled sideways, but I was already kneeling, so there wasn't far to fall.

"What was that?" demanded Raine, a hand under my cheek. Colette was there, too, looking down at me with wide, worried blue eyes. Why was she worried about me? I'd tricked her into falling over.

"Book," I replied. "Ow."

"Look at me," Raine said. "You have a concussion," she sighed.

"S'okay," I said, "Had one before."

"That makes it worse!"

"No way." That was Zelos.

"What?"

"The book," he went on. Raine shifted overhead. "Ancient elven?"

"What? Crystallus... This may be it!"

"Yay," I said.

"Well," said someone, "I didn't expect that as a viable method, but here we are."

"Colette's clumsiness is actually blessed."

A hand hovered over my forehead, and the world seemed to make marginally more sense. Zelos gave me a bemused smile and propped me up against his shoulder. Raine had entirely forgotten that I existed, but that was alright - she had the book she needed. Colette would be okay. After she recovered from her fall, anyway. "I kind of hate that it worked," I said, "Sometimes the memories do help."

"You did it on purpose?" asked Sheena. "Seriously?"

"Double Martel power," I said, reaching up to Colette for a high five. She gave it to me, smiling.

"I think you still might have a concussion," Genis said. "Anyway, how could that possibly work?"

Colette brightened.

"Remember at Thoda? I could remember where the Oracle Stone was, even though I hadn't seen it. It wasn't a real thought, but I was drawn towards it. Maybe it was like that!"

I rubbed at my head. It was taking a beating today. "Actually, that's not insane. Sympathetic magic, right? Like pulling towards like? Or affecting like, whichever it was. I wasn't paying attention." My beginning magic lessons had been a long time ago, and I'd sustained at least a few head wounds since then. I could be forgiven some forgetfulness.

"...Okay, fine, maybe there's a resonance there, if Colette's mana is really similar to Martel's," Genis admitted, "But it's still stupid."

"Sorry I made you fall, Colette."

"It's okay! I probably would have fallen eventually, anyway."

"The concussive method of academic research," observed Regal. "What a world we live in."

"Does that usually work?" Presea asked. "Perhaps I should be a librarian."

"I don't think that's... that was a joke," deduced Zelos. "You are way too good at that."

"I've been informed that a straight face is invaluable in comedy," said Presea.

"Well, it's working on Edie," Genis observed. "I think she's crying. That could be the concussion, though."