Chapter 10:A Night in Japoness

The dinner went better than Faust had thought it would. Shogun Ieyasu had a very long table brought into one of the palace's dining rooms, and he sat at the head, with Hikozaemon at the foot. Faust and Obiichi sat at the center of each side, their marionettes gathered around them. They all sat on the floor, traditional Japoness-style, and Faust was glad for that. Obiichi's three marionettes seemed to want to be as close to him as possible, and Faust had the feeling that there would have been trouble if they'd been sitting in chairs. Tiger, Luchs, and Panther started off somewhat better behaved, though they did start trying to feed him partway through the meal. He ended up having to suggest that they take turns.

It was some time after the meal, when the shogun was talking to the six marionettes and asking them what they thought of their masters, that Obiichi pulled Faust aside. They walked to a far corner of the room, and Obiichi gave Faust a concerned look.

"What's wrong?" Faust asked, then grinned. "They're too much for you already?"

"Something like that," Obiichi said, and frowned. He glanced over Faust's shoulder, toward the table.

"Really," Faust said, his grin disappearing. "You're not having second thoughts, are you?"

"Nothing of the sort. I simply worry about my own abilities." Obiichi looked back to Faust, concern clear on his face. "They want to be loved, I can see," he said, his voice quiet. "And they have a great deal of love to give. I simply worry that I will not be able to show them all love equally."

Faust started to say something, then paused, and looked over his shoulder to Tiger, Luchs, and Panther. He wondered if he would have felt the same way, had he come to know them all at once. As he looked at each of them in turn, Faust found that he could understand Obiichi's worries, but he knew that there was nothing for him to worry about. The marionettes were different, very different, and so it was easy to love them in their-

He felt his heart lurch, and it took a second for Faust to steady himself. Despite everything, he'd never thought of them that way. With so much happening as leader of Gartlant, and with the idea of marionettes as more than just tools, as real companions, such a new one for nearly everyone in his home country, Faust could understand why he'd never taken the time to really think about how he saw them. Could it be? Did he love them?

Ieyasu's words came back to Faust, and he sighed. Perhaps, he thought, it was better not to think about it too much. No matter what, this was going to lead to him being hurt in the end.

"I think you're worrying too much," Faust said, turning back to Obiichi. "They'll love you no matter what, and I know you're not going to take advantage of that. So just learn to live with them. Things will work out."

Obiichi nodded, slowly. "I suppose you're right," he said. "It may be difficult."

"True," Faust said. "But I think it'll be worth it. Don't you?"

Before Obiichi could answer, Lime catapulted herself off of the floor and through the air, flying into Obiichi's arms. A second later, Cherry yelled "Lime!" and she and Bloodberry hurried to his side, both trying to hold him and pry Lime off of him.

"I'll take that as a yes," Faust said with a chuckle.

Faust returned to the table while Obiichi tried to extract himself from the three marionettes. Tiger, Luchs, and Panther leaned up against Faust when he sat down again. He looked to Ieyasu, who was chuckling.

"I can see that Japoness's marionettes are in good hands," Ieyasu said quietly, glancing toward Obiichi.

"It looks more like he's in their hands," Tiger said with a laugh.

Ieyasu chuckled. "Thank you, Faust, Tiger, Luchs, and Panther, for bringing him here. You've done Japoness a great favor."

"Of course," Faust said with a nod. "I trust that there's more our countries can do for each other. We were talking about that before he and Lime showed up, if you'll remember."

"Yes, yes," Ieyasu said. "But that can wait." He looked to Obiichi as he and the other marionettes sat down at the table. "I've had rooms prepared for all of you, the servants will take you whenever you're ready."

Faust looked around at his three marionettes, and nodded to himself. It had been a long day, and a long journey to get here. Sleeping on the submarine, alone, had been less comfortable than he'd preferred. It was definitely time to rest.

Faust stood atop the submarine again, though it was tilted at a bizarre angle. He looked around, and saw that it was strapped to a giant truck, and tilted back as though it was going to be launched into space. He put a hand to his forehead. This had to be a dream, there was no other explanation. He hadn't even left Japoness.

As if in response to his thoughts, the submarine started to shake, and a burst of fire came from its rear end. Slowly, the submarine lifted off, with Faust standing on its nose as though nothing was happening. It carried him high into the sky, blowing his long hair back from his face. After a few moments, the blue faded to black and Faust found himself looking around at the stars. He heard a mechanical hum from above. Looking up, Faust saw his destination.

The Mesopotamia.

The ship looked much as it had in the old historical archives, though there was something dark about it, something faintly sinister. Faust frowned. This, he thought, was the machine that had carried his ancestor, the ship that had brought them all to Terra II. This was the thing that was going to take the marionettes from him. He wasn't surprised to be dreaming of it this night.

There was a loud rumble as the submarine docked with the Mesopotamia, and a steel hallway opened up in front of Faust, leading into the ship. He felt the hairs rise on the back of his neck, and tried to stop himself from entering. But he walked forward, not of his own accord, into the darkness.

He heard nothing but his own footsteps as he made his way toward the center of the ship, unsure how he knew the way. Lights blinked on and off around him, the last bits of life on the derelict vessel. Perhaps, he thought, not the last of it. There was something alive here, someone alive. And to keep her alive, he would have to make a sacrifice. They all would.

Faust sighed, wishing he could turn around. He didn't want to dream of this. Ieyasu had said that there was no way of knowing when the Mesopotamia would seek out Faust's marionettes. But Faust knew that, whenever it was, it would be too soon.

As Faust walked on, the hallway grew more brightly lit, and he could see hints of something up ahead. Whatever it was, it looked as though it was made of some kind of crystal. A dim violet light was shining, and Faust squinted, trying to see more. Another few steps brought him into a larger chamber, and Faust saw what was making the light.

Lorelei lay sleeping, suspended in a crystal tube that seemed more like a coffin. More crystals stuck up around her, growing from the floor and shedding pale purple light. Cables hung around her, some going through the crystal, looking almost organic. Faust's gaze was pulled aside against his will, and he saw something that made him gasp.

From the historical archives, he knew what the Mesopotamia's main computer looked like. The central dome, with three empty spaces around it, was familiar to him. As Faust watched, the empty spaces began to glow red, blue, and yellow, shades to match the marionettes' hair. Once they were glowing brightly, the main dome started to glow, and a strange kind of static passed over its smooth surface.

Faust glanced back at Lorelei, and saw no change in her. "Is this what I'm supposed to be afraid of?" he said aloud, challenging the dream. "Is this what I'm supposed to see?"

"Not the event," the Mesopotamia's computer said, its voice sounding strangely like Faust the Ninth. "See the sacrifice. See what you must give up, what you've lived your whole life to lose."

As Faust watched, Lorelei glowed bright, then split and faded, leaving silhouettes of Tiger, Luchs, and Panther behind. They lay stiffly, imprisoned in the crystal, while another light flickered down toward the floor. Faust's gaze was forced to follow the light. It formed back into Lorelei as soon as it touched the floor, and Faust watched the reflection as Ieyasu walked up to Lorelei. The two of them embraced, then faded.

Faust whipped his gaze back to the computer's dome, curling his lip in a sneer. "If you're trying to scare me away," he seethed, "it won't work."

"Couldn't you see?" the voice asked, still sounding like the old man. "Couldn't you hear it in his voice? Ieyasu loves Lorelei, he has for centuries. He only wants your sacrifice so that he can have her back."

"Really," Faust said dryly.

"Of course," the computer continued. "Why else would he tell you of the Mesopotamia, and the Maiden Circuits? He wants to prepare you to make the sacrifice! He would have found someone to take on Japoness's marionettes soon enough, but Ieyasu wouldn't want one of his own people to suffer, oh no. You're of Gartlant. They don't like you here, as much as they may smile diplomatically and stare at your marionettes. Better for you to suffer than any of their people."

Faust turned his back on the computer. "You are the old man, and I'm not listening to you," he muttered. "Can't you just stay dead?"

"Listen to yourself, Faust," the voice said. "You know it's true, I'm just telling you what you already think. Why would Ieyasu be so kind to you if not to soften the blow?"

Faust looked over his shoulder, and saw his own face in the computer's dome. It wasn't a reflection, it was like he was inside and looking down at himself. As he watched, his own face grew old and withered.

"This is what you'll become," his face said. "You'll grow old and grey, alone and lonely, without your marionettes. You know how much you depend on them, you've all but proclaimed it. Without them, you'll wish you were dead. They'll disappear, you'll suffer, and Gartlant will fall. The rest of Terra II wouldn't have it any other way."

Faust opened his mouth to yell, then gasped as he came awake. He jerked into a sitting position, throwing the futon blanket off of himself and the marionettes. His heart was pounding, and a cold sweat was beading on his forehead.

It couldn't be true, he thought. It was just a dream, just old memories and the stress of everything he'd learned today. Ieyasu might be a stern ruler sometimes, but he wasn't a cruel man. Faust took a deep breath. He had to believe that. Anything else would be crazy.

He looked around in the dim candlelight. The three marionettes were still sleeping peacefully, piled on the four futons they'd pushed together. They must have been more tired than he was, he thought, if his surprise hadn't woken them up.

Faust lay back down and closed his eyes, trying not to think about what life without them would be like.

When the knock came on his door the next morning, Faust barely stirred. After the disturbing dream and the trouble he'd had returning to sleep afterward, he hardly felt rested. At the second knock, Tiger stirred next to him. At the third knock, Faust called out, "What?"

The door opened, and a servant peeked in. "Forgive me, fuhrer Faust, but--" The servant's eyes widened.

Faust couldn't help smiling. He knew they must look rather odd. For him to be lying in a pile of blankets on four futons was one thing. But sharing the makeshift bed with the three marionettes must seem very, very strange to anyone looking in. With Tiger in her overlong nightshirt, Luchs in her lingerie, and Panther in her tank top and boxer shorts, Faust knew they had to be quite a sight.

Faust leaned up on his elbows, mustered up as much dignity as he could while half-naked, and asked, "Yes?"

"Forgive me, fuhrer!" the servant said, bowing his head. "Shogun Ieyasu sent me to inquire as to whether you were ready for the morning meal."

Faust looked around at the marionettes. Panther was still snoring loudly, while Luchs had only stirred enough to wrap her arms around his waist and use his stomach as a pillow. "It seems," Faust said with a grin, "that I have no choice but to have our meals sent to my room." Tiger stood on her knees behind him and draped her arms over his shoulders, then giggled. "Please give the shogun my regrets," he said.

"Yes, fuhrer Faust!" the servant said with another bow, then quietly closed the door and hurried off.

"Do you think we scared him, Faust-sama?" Tiger asked, then kissed him on the cheek.

"Maybe," Faust said, raising a hand to stroke her hair. "Maybe."

A small group of servants returned about ten minutes later, bringing both the morning meal and a stack of papers. Faust and the marionettes ate while looking over a series of proposals for treaties between Gartlant and Japoness. Most of them were fairly standard, Faust noted, though he was glad to see that the last one detailed trade of G-Model marionettes. It seemed that his trip here had done more than he had planned, more than he could have expected.

He knew that not all of it was good. Far from it. But Faust pushed those thoughts aside, trying to keep his mind on the present. Some said the future would deal with itself, but he was already forming plans to deal with the future in his own way.

"Faust-sama?"

Faust blinked, and looked to see Tiger, Luchs, and Panther all looking at him. They all seemed concerned, though in their own ways. He shook his head. "Sorry," he said. "There's a lot to think about here."

"It seems fairly standard, Faust-sama," Luchs said. "I've read it all and stored it, if you wish to look at it later."

"Good idea," Faust said with a nod. "It'd probably be better to go over this with the advisors back home." He stood and stretched, then looked to the marionettes. "Let's go meet with the shogun. He's probably wondering why I'm still in bed."

"I bet Obiichi isn't," Panther cracked. "Bloodberry said she was going to make a man out of him three times last night."

Faust wore a grim expression, though it only lasted for a second before he smiled. "He's pretty strong, I'm sure he survived the night," he said, "though I'm not sure how well."

It took a while, but the four of them managed to get dressed and prepare for the day. Traditional Japoness clothing had been left in the room for the four of them, but Faust decided to wear his own garb. With the treaties packed up for review back in Gartlant and Obiichi with his own marionettes, Faust knew his work here was truly done. As always, there was still more to do back home.

A servant was waiting outside the room's door, and he led Faust and the marionettes back down to the shogun's chamber. Ieyasu and Hikozaemon were there, as were Obiichi and the three Japoness marionettes. Lime greeted Faust and his marionettes enthusiastically, the others more calmly. Once they were all seated, Ieyasu began.

"Good morning, everyone. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes," Faust said quickly. While he couldn't say he'd become used to the bizarre dreams, he knew that he didn't feel like sharing them with anyone, especially Ieyasu. The last thing he wanted was to ruin Gartlant's new relations with Japoness because of a single paranoid dream.

"Bloodberry snores," Lime said, sniggering.

"Lime!" Cherry scolded, while Bloodberry glared at them both.

Ieyasu chuckled, and asked, "I take it the accommodations we'd prepared were enough?"

"Yes, shogun," Obiichi said, as calm and collected as ever. Faust wondered if it was possible for anything to truly ruffle the man's feathers. Surely, if anyone in this country could deal with the affections of three marionettes, it was him.

"Good," Ieyasu said with a nod, then looked to Faust. "Have you had time to look over the treaties? I had my men prepare those last night, as I thought you might want to read them as quickly as possible."

"Thank you," Faust said, "and I did look through them." He paused, forcing himself to be diplomatic. "If it's not any trouble, I'd like to take them back to Gartlant and go over them with my advisors, to be sure that everything is as it should be."

Faust watched Ieyasu's face carefully, looking for signs of upset. He guessed that some part of Ieyasu still watched for the old ways, the old Faust. However, Ieyasu merely nodded again. "Of course, of course," he said. "I'd expect nothing less. When you're ready to discuss them, we'll arrange a meeting."

Faust grinned. Sometimes, all it took was making a personal visit.

"How long will you be staying in Japoness, fuhrer?" Ieyasu asked. "If you want to see more of the country, there are several different tours that we can arrange."

"I'm sorry to say that I'll have to head back to Gartlant today," Faust said, trying to sound like he really regretted it. As nice as Japoness was - and he did want to see more of the country, some other time - he knew that he had a lot of work waiting for him back in Gartlant. "This trip was sort of a surprise, so I left a few things going that need my attention."

"I understand," Ieyasu said. "It has been an honor to have you here, Faust. Our doors will be open to you whenever you wish to visit."

Take that, old man, Faust thought. If there was any better proof - aside from the G-Models and the major improvement of Gartlant as a whole - that his ways were better than his predecessors, this was it. Negotiating with countries that had been nothing more than war targets for centuries was something that the Fausts before him could never have done. If he had to live his whole life being compared to them, then the comparisons should always favor him.

Later that day, Faust met with Obiichi at the inner gates of Castle Japoness, where the two men clasped hands. Obiichi then bowed deeply to Faust, asking his marionettes to do the same.

"Thank you, fuhrer Faust," Obiichi said sincerely. "I don't think I could truly express my gratitude for what you've done."

Faust started to say something overly diplomatic, then just grinned. "You already did, Obiichi, when you came to Gartlant for a Maiden Chip. That was enough. I'm glad that everything's worked out for you here."

"So it has," Obiichi said, and stood straight from his bow. "We've decided to make our home here. The people of this city may be accepting of marionettes as more than just tools, after they meet these wonderful three." Obiichi gave a faint smile, looking over his shoulder at Lime, Cherry, and Bloodberry. Cherry put her hands to her cheeks and started to blush, while Bloodberry just grinned and Lime looked very happy.

"And if they don't, just kick 'em around until they listen to you," Panther said, grinning at Obiichi. "You ever going to come back to Gartlant, so you can keep up with the lessons?"

"I'm sorry, but I doubt I'll be traveling again soon," Obiichi said. "I do plan to start a place here where I can teach the martial arts. If any of you wish to visit, you will of course be welcome."

Panther looked over to Faust, then to the other marionettes. All three of them nodded.

"We wouldn't travel without Faust-sama," Luchs said. "But we might be able to convince him to come back here sometime."

"I'll see what we can do," Faust said. "Let me know how things go for you over here, Obiichi. I'll be hoping for the best."

"Thank you, Faust," Obiichi said, bowing again.

They said their goodbyes to Obiichi and the marionettes, and started the short trip through the city and back to the submarine. Faust wanted to walk again, to see the place and remember what his predecessor had planned for it. It seemed such a shame, he thought, to only see places as targets, to completely ignore everything else that they held. Keeping Gartlant strong was important, he knew that. But he didn't have to build up his own country on the ruins of others.

When they returned to the submarine, Faust looked back at Japoness's capital city one last time before descending. As he reached the bottom of the ladder, he found Tiger, Luchs, and Panther waiting for him, looking concerned.

"Are you all right, Faust-sama?" Tiger asked.

"You've been quiet ever since we left the castle," Luchs said. "You keep looking around like you're waiting for something."

"I think he was just waiting to get some time alone with us," Panther said with a wicked grin.

Faust chuckled. "Something like that," he said, drawing the three of them close in a hug. "I've just had a lot to think about, this entire trip has been like that."

"What do you mean, Faust-sama?" Tiger asked, her voice somewhat muffled as she held him.

Faust shook his head. "It's nothing," he said. "Come on. It's time to go home."