Chapter 8: . . . In a Country Far, Far Away

It was a two-day journey by sea to Japoness.

Faust had never liked using the submarine for travel, and he had the vague sense that his predecessors felt the same. He'd only used it once before, and that was a short journey to a seaside town to oversee the ground-breaking on a new kind of power plant that Hess had developed. Everything on the submarine was too cramped, the ceilings were so low that he had to duck, and he couldn't help wonder what would happen if something went wrong. The soldiers assured him that it was safer than driving, as did Hess, but Faust still harbored doubts. That, and his own chambers onboard presented difficulties from the start.

"Faust-sama, the bed's too small."

Panther's protest was only the beginning. Shortly after they had come on board, Luchs had led Tiger and Panther from one end of the submarine to the other. They scoured it for anything that they could use to make the quarters that he shared with them more comfortable and more like home. They'd ended up stealing mattresses from most of the soldiers' bunks in an attempt to make a bed the same size as the one back at the palace. When Faust saw their creation, he'd put a hand to his forehead and asked them to return the mattresses, as the new pile took up his entire room.

About an hour after that, Faust was sitting on the improvised captain's throne in the command room. The throne wasn't very comfortable and didn't have the majesty of the one in the palace, but he'd learned that he just had to accept the conditions on the sub.

"Everything is clear, fuhrer Faust," one of the soldiers said, glancing over his shoulder. "All conditions green for a smooth trip to Japoness."

Faust nodded to him. "Good," he said. "When will we get there?"

"About noon day after tomorrow," the soldier said. "There's a reef that we have to avoid, but that won't be a problem."

Faust drummed his fingers on the throne's arm. Nearly two days of travel, with little to nothing to do. Confined to a small space. No orders to give. And nothing, aside from him, to entertain the marionettes.

He made a mental note to have Hess start work on the next generation of his plasma-diffusion system, if only to create some kind of flying machine so he could get to the other countries more quickly.

Faust rose to his feet. "Let me know if anything comes up. Barring that, make sure my car is prepared at least an hour before we land in Japoness."

"Umm, fuhrer?" one of the other soldiers said from behind Faust. When Faust looked around to face the other man, the soldier cringed. "There's a problem with that, fuhrer."

"Really," Faust said, starting to frown. "What's the problem?"

"This submarine wasn't designed to hold one of your limousines, fuhrer," the soldier said, studying his boots. "There's only one bay for vehicles, and that's reserved for one of the tanks, just in case." He paused, and glanced at Faust, then quickly continued. "There was no order for a tank, and there wasn't one for a car. The bay's empty, fuhrer."

Faust paused, then sighed. He should have expected something like this would happen. The few remaining parts of the army were out of practice, and it seemed that they still followed their orders to the letter - only to the letter. "So there's nothing here that I can use when I need to get to the Shogun's palace?"

"I'm afraid not, fuhrer," the soldier said, still looking down at his boots.

"Fine," Faust said, gritting his teeth, "we'll walk." He stormed out of the control room, leaving a very frightened soldier behind him. He found Obiichi waiting for him just outside.

The man from Japoness was leaning up against one of the walls, his sword at his side. He looked both relaxed and ready, as though he expected to have to leap into action at any moment. "When in Japoness, fuhrer Faust, there is no dishonor in walking."

Faust paused, and raised an eyebrow at the quiet man. "What do you mean?" he asked, his voice flat.

"Most men cannot afford a motor-palanquin," Obiichi said, not moving at all. His eyes were half-closed, as usual. "Some of the elderly travel by handcart, but most simply go about on foot. If you are looking to make an impression on my people, it might be better that you walk."

"I see," Faust said, nodding. "I hadn't thought about it, it's been a long time since I read anything about Japoness." He started to smile, and shook his head. It was definitely easier to just charge into something, and he'd admit he liked working that way. But there were times when it was better to learn a little more beforehand. "Is there anything else I should know?"

"It will seem strange for your marionettes to be walking at your side," Obiichi said. "To some, that will be a sign that your ways are as bad as they've heard."

Faust started to glower. "I'm not making them walk behind me," he said. "They can say all they want, but that's not changing."

Obiichi raised his head just a bit, and gave Faust a faint smile. "I'm glad to hear that, fuhrer." He bowed, then turned and walked down the hallway.

Faust stood there for a moment, wondering just what Obiichi meant. He knew that the other man saw marionettes the same way he did, that was the main reason behind this entire trip. Faust had to admit, it was kind of strange to have someone around who saw things the same way. His advisors and the others around the palace were still getting used to the G-Models, and even after a few weeks, there were some who still had trouble getting comfortable with the emotional marionettes.

It would take time, Faust knew; everything took time. He just hoped that something good could come out of this trip. Otherwise, he'd be spending two days cooped up in the submarine for no reason.

Shortly after the submarine surfaced, Faust climbed out and took his first look at Japoness.

The city looked much as he'd seen it in the tapes and histories that he remembered from growing up. Many of the buildings were done in the pagoda style, with one roof for every floor, while some were more modern. The river that the submarine emerged from had an old-style wooden bridge running over it. Something about the place seemed brighter, cleaner as compared to Gartlant. . . . He couldn't help but notice that the air seemed fresher, and he already smelled cooking from somewhere in the city.

So, he thought, this was the place that had been first on the old man's list of countries to invade. This was the place where they were still worried that he would try to take over. Faust had to admit, if he was going to strike at any country, Japoness would be a good place to start. There was an air of ease here, of good life and simple times.

He took a moment to steel himself. As pleasant as it might seem, this was also the place where people saw him as a tyrant. Faust knew he was safe with the marionettes at his side, but he also knew that he would have to keep his eyes open. The earlier Fausts had their ways to foil assassination attempts, though if he remembered right, there hadn't been one since Faust the Third. He doubted something like that would happen here. Still, it wouldn't hurt to be prepared.

"Tiger! Luchs! Panther!"

The three marionettes, standing at the base of the ladder that led up to the submarine's top hatch, looked up at him. He smiled down at them. As always, they were ready.

"Come on," he said, "it's time to go."

Faust climbed down the side of the submarine's small tower, and stood on the wet deck, still looking out at Japoness's capital city. As the marionettes came out to join him, a small crowd started to gather, both on the bridge and on the road next to the river. Faust wondered how many of them knew who he was, and what they thought if they did.

Tiger, Luchs, and Panther came to stand at his side. They had chosen to wear simpler outfits for this trip, as Faust himself was wearing a more modern suit of a New Texas design, one that would give him less of a militaristic image. The marionettes' outfits were still somewhat unusual, but they lacked the ties and large shoulders, and for that Faust was grateful. Tiger, of course, still wore her hat.

Obiichi was next to come out of the submarine, and he stood a respectful distance from Faust, also looking at the city. Faust wondered what was going through his mind, though he knew he couldn't ask. He wondered if he'd ever truly be able to understand.

"It's an interesting place, Faust-sama," Tiger said from beside Faust.

He glanced down at her, and nodded. "Not what I expected," he said, "but it seems all right so far."

"Those people are staring at us," Panther said, looking over at the bridge. "I know you said to be nice, Faust-sama, but can't I hit one?" Faust gave Panther a look, then smiled when he saw her grinning at him. "Kidding, Faust-sama."

"Better now than in the palace," Luchs said. Her eyes were glowing behind her bangs, and a second later, she looked up at Faust. "I've found a map for the city, and it's not too far to the palace. How do you think we should get there, Faust-sama?"

"Whatever way shows off Faust-sama the most," Panther said with a wide grin.

"I like that," Tiger said. "They're already staring at us, we should enjoy it."

Faust chuckled at that. "Luchs," he said, looking at the blue-haired marionette, "how long will it take us to walk to the palace?"

"About twenty minutes, Faust-sama," she said. "Twenty-one if someone tries something foolish."

"You think it'd take us an entire minute to defend Faust-sama?" Panther asked, glancing over at Luchs.

"I was being generous," Luchs said. She smiled up at Faust. "If you're ready, Faust-sama, they'll lower the ramp."

"Lower it," Faust said with a nod, then looked back to the people gathered on the shore. "Let's go meet the people of Japoness."

A ramp unfolded from the side of the submarine and extended until it reached the shore. Faust stepped onto it, then strode to the riverbank, watching the gathered people. They seemed more curious than anything, though he did see some angry faces. He kept watching them, and saw that after a moment, they started looking past him, to the marionettes. Some of the younger men were whispering, and Faust smiled to himself.

Once the marionettes and Obiichi had joined him on the shore, Faust stood tall, and spread his arms as though he was going to give a speech. "Greetings," he said, and grinned. "I'm here to see the shogun."

"Japoness will never give in to you!" an old man near the back of the crowd yelled.

"Good!" Faust called. There was a general murmuring from the crowd. Not bad, he thought. "I like this place already," he said quietly to the marionettes. "Luchs! Lead the way."

The crowd parted for the small party, and they headed down a street toward the center of the city. The place was full of small shops and restaurants, and there were men out and about everywhere, working or relaxing. The entire place had an air about it that reminded Faust of some of the factories he'd toured - people worked hard here, but they took pride in their work, and they knew how to enjoy themselves on their time off.

Faust glanced over at Obiichi, and wasn't surprised to see that the other man walked with his head down. He wondered if this was difficult for Obiichi, returning to the country he called home after being violently thrown out. While the marionettes could keep anyone from attacking Obiichi again, unless he was welcomed back by his own people, he wouldn't be able to call Japoness home again. Faust frowned, and looked back to the city. He wished he'd known the Maiden Chip would lead to problems like this.

Not that he would have done otherwise, Faust thought. The chip had done too much for Gartlant for him to even think about going back on his decision to have it made. He hadn't thought that there would be problems like Obiichi had gone through, but hopefully this trip would make up for that.

They continued through the city without incident, though they had drawn a huge crowd by the time they neared the palace. People were lined up on both sides of the streets, talking and looking. Faust heard the word 'marionettes' more than once, and wished that he could tell what they were saying. He wondered if they were surprised to see marionettes showing emotion, as Tiger, Luchs, and Panther had been smiling and waving to the crowds. Some of the children he saw were staring, their eyes wide. Faust grinned. Maybe, he thought, there was hope for this place.

The shogun's palace stood five stories tall, behind a high wall with wooden gates large enough to drive a tank through. Faust and the others approached the gates, and he frowned at seeing them still closed. By now, he'd have expected word of his arrival to have reached the shogun, and the fact that the gates were still closed didn't bode well.

Without a word from him, Panther leaped over to the gatehouse and leaned down to look into the window. "Open the gate!" she said loudly. "Fuhrer Faust of Gartlant is here to see the shogun!"

The man inside the gatehouse stuck his head out the window, glaring at Panther. "Look, you obnoxious marionette, I don't care--" He looked past her, and his mouth dropped open. He yanked his head back into the gatehouse, and a moment later, the gates started to swing open.

"You should let me do this more often, Faust-sama," Panther said as she returned to Faust's side.

"If Faust-sama let you do the talking all the time," Luchs said, "we'd be going to war."

Panther turned and grumbled at her. Faust looked down at Tiger, and they both smiled.

They entered the courtyard of Castle Japoness. A traditional Japoness-style garden grew on both sides of the stone path that led to the castle's front gate. Faust saw a koi pond off near the wall, and a statue of a woman pouring water from an urn stood at the center of the courtyard, the path bending around her.

As they passed the statue, all three marionettes stopped to look at it. Faust and Obiichi paused, and Faust gave them a curious look.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"There's something odd about this," Tiger said, and reached out like she was going to touch the statue. "It seems . . . I'm not sure."

"Familiar," Luchs said, and Panther nodded. "It's like I've seen it before." She shook her head, and turned back to Faust. "I know it doesn't make sense, Faust-sama, but that's what it feels like."

Faust looked over the statue. He didn't see anything strange about it, and didn't recognize the image from anything he'd read about Japoness culture. He looked over at Obiichi, who shook his head. "Strange," Faust said. "I'll ask the shogun about it, if he feels like talking."

The group followed the path toward the front door of the castle. The door stood open, and Hikozaemon was there, flanked by a group of twelve combat marionettes clad in pink kimonos. The old man was scowling like Faust had just kicked his dog.

Faust bowed his head to Hikozaemon as he approached. "I was starting to wonder if I was going to get an escort," Faust said, starting to smile. "So, is the shogun going to see me?"

"Faust, this is highly unorthodox," Hikozaemon said, sounding like his teeth were half-clenched.

"That's how I work," Faust said with a chuckle.

Hikozaemon's face started to turn red. "If you're here to pressure Japoness--"

"That's not why I'm here," Faust interrupted, holding up his hand, his smile gone. "Look. I know you remember when we talked, it was only two days ago. That's why I'm here." He motioned for Obiichi to step forward. "This is Soemon Obiichi. We're here to talk to the shogun about your marionettes."

Hikozaemon glared at them both, but eventually turned. "Follow me," he said over his shoulder, and walked into the castle.

Faust and the others followed Hikozaemon, looking around as they entered the palace. It was done in traditional Japoness style, and Faust found a kind of simple elegance in the design. Then again, he thought, almost anything would be better than the stark black walls of Gartlant's palace.

They took an elevator to the fifth floor, where the shogun's chamber was. Hikozaemon made them leave their shoes outside the room, saying that boots were not to be worn on tatami mats. He gave them all one final dirty look, then entered the shogun's meeting room before them and made the introduction. When their names were called, Faust walked alongside his marionettes and Obiichi into Ieyasu's chamber.

The shogun was sitting, and so Faust knelt, as was the standard for one coming to see Japoness's ruler. By the look on Ieyasu's face, Faust could tell that his action had surprised the other man.

"Fuhrer Faust," Ieyasu said after a moment. "This is an unexpected visit. I welcome you to Japoness."

"Thank you, Shogun Ieyasu," Faust said with a small smile. "I like what I've seen of your country so far, I wish I'd had reason to visit earlier."

Ieyasu raised a hand to Hikozaemon, keeping the old man from saying something. "Hikozaemon has told me why you're here. I admit, I didn't think you would go this far for one man, especially one from Japoness." He looked over to Obiichi. "Soemon Obiichi, I've been told what happened to your marionette. Is it true?"

"Every word, shogun," Obiichi said, his head bowed. "My Koyuki was killed because others believed her to have a Maiden Chip. I went to Gartlant to seek out one for her, so that she could be repaired and given a chance to smile."

"Ah." Ieyasu looked back to Faust, and asked, "Was she beyond repair?"

"Sadly, yes," Faust said with a nod. "Hess, my head technician, said that she'd been damaged for too long to put her back together, and that she'd lost all her memories." Faust watched Ieyasu's face, hoping for some sympathy. This was going well so far, he thought, Ieyasu was actually listening.

"And this brings you back here," Ieyasu said. He paused, and sighed, looking more upset than Faust would have guessed. He looked at each of the marionettes in turn. "What about you three, what do you think of all this?"

"I think I'd like to smack around the people who killed his marionette," Panther said quickly. "You should have seen her, you could hardly tell what she used to look like."

"Panther," Faust said quietly.

"She's right, shogun," Tiger said, her voice quiet. "We - we helped him bury her in one of the palace gardens. We didn't even have to dig a very big hole for her. I still . . . try not to think about it."

"There was no way she could have been repaired," Luchs said, though Faust could see that Ieyasu was surprised at what Tiger had said. He knew that Ieyasu wasn't used to being around marionettes with emotions, but Faust didn't think that was all of it. "It was strange, and sad, to see a marionette broken like that."

Ieyasu nodded, and held his head bowed. He was considering it, Faust thought. Now was the time.

"When we talked, shogun," Faust began, "you said that Japoness had marionettes like Tiger, Luchs, and Panther." He paused, watching the marionettes to see if they were surprised. They looked at him, but didn't say anything, so Faust continued. "I told Obiichi I would bring him here, and that I'd see what I could do to help him meet them. He's agreed to this."

Ieyasu raised his head. "You shouldn't make promises with others' property, Faust," he said, frowning.

"Forgive my interruption, shogun, but fuhrer Faust never made it a promise," Obiichi said, his head still bowed. "Faust said that he would do what he could, and that he would try to talk to you about it first. He continued to try, even when you wouldn't speak to him. I doubt that he would have made this sudden visit had there been any other way."

"You speak well of someone who--" Hikozaemon began, but Ieyasu held up his hand, and the old man fell silent. He was still glowering, though.

The shogun did not speak, and so the room was quiet. Faust watched Ieyasu's face carefully, but he seemed to be even better at hiding his thoughts than Obiichi. After a long moment, Ieyasu sighed, and looked at the three marionettes.

"There comes a time," the shogun said, "when a leader must know what is best. Not for himself, but for others, and for his country." He turned his head a little to look at Faust. "Fuhrer, I do not agree with what you have done in creating the Maiden Chips, but I will tell you why, in time. But first. . . ." He looked to Obiichi. "Soemon Obiichi?"

"Yes, shogun?" Obiichi asked without raising his head.

"Go to the Japoness Pioneer History Museum. If you are the right man, you will find what you are seeking there. Come back when you have."

Obiichi sat up all at once, his eyes wide. "Shogun?"

"Go," Ieyasu said, waving his hand. He was starting to smile. "Trust me, if you find her, you'll know what I mean."

Obiichi slowly rose to his feet, then bowed deeply to the shogun. "I shall return, shogun. Thank you for your kindness."

Ieyasu said nothing as Obiichi took his leave, but then turned to Faust. "Come, Faust," he said, rising slowly to his feet. "Walk in the garden with me, and I will tell you about the Maiden Circuits."

Faust stood, as did the marionettes. They looked to him, and Faust looked to the shogun. "Do you want them to come?" he asked.

"It's better that they stay here," the shogun said, shaking his head. The faint smile was still on his face. "Hikozaemon, entertain the marionettes."

Holding back a smirk at the old man's sputtering, Faust followed Ieyasu out the room's back door, toward the palace gardens.