And I'm back with the next chapter of World Defense Force. It took me about 3 months to get it going again, and here it is. This will focus on part 1 of Tales of Graces F Chapter 1. It's time WDF returns.
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters appearing in this fic.
Space
"The Multiverse started with the age of the dinosaurs. The dinosaurs had access to travel to multiple worlds millions of years ago. But as the Multiverse builds more universes, there are more than just dinosaurs. There were humans, animals, insects, robots, aliens, etc. But, darkness looms, and that darkness is known as the Endeavors. Our story starts on a different planet, which is the planet Ephinea." The narrator said.
Ephinea
We start out our story with a boy looking at the sky.
This boy has dark brown-red hair and blue eyes. He wears a green long-sleeve shirt, grayish-brown pants and gray boots. This is Asbel Lhant.
Asbel then turned around and saw another male walking towards him, seeming to have fear in his expression.
This boy has blue hair and blue eyes. He wears a tan-colored shirt with green long sleeves, darkish red shorts and brown boots. This is Hubert Oswell.
"Y-you're really going up there?" Hubert asked.
"Of course! Flowers bloom there all-year-round. Don't you want to see 'em? Come on! It'll be an adventure!" Asbel said, seeming to be excited.
Hubert came to Asbel, feeling concerned. "D-dad's gonna be really angry if he finds out… How many times has he told us to stay away from Lhant Hill? It's dangerous!"
Asbel shook his head. "You think I believe a word he says? Don't worry, it's fine. And besides, I'm 11 years old. I go where I want." He's about to walk away.
"W-wait! What about Cheria? Shouldn't we invite her too?"
Asbel stopped and turned around. "No, she can sit this one out."
"What? Why?!"
"She's sick, Hubert. It would be hard on her. Besides, one scaredy-cat slowing me down is more than enough."
"Hey! That's not nice!"
"...Anyway, let's go! I wanna see what's up there!" Asbel then walks off.
Hubert is hesitant, but he runs up to him anyway. They start their journey walking to the top of Lhant Hill. They ran into a spring.
Asbel drinks the water from the spring. Then turns to Hubert. "You should try some of this spring water, Hubert."
"I'm not really thirsty." Hubert said.
"The water is famous! Plus, it's really good for you. So come on. Have some. You'll like it."
"W-well, all right." Hubert drank some of the spring water as well. "Oh! Oh, this IS good!" He then notices something. "Wait, I thought you'd never been to Lhant Hill before."
"Huh. I guess Frederick knew what he was talking about after all. Here, gimme some of that. I wanna try it."
"Hey! I'm not your guinea pig!"
After that, they then continued on until they reached the top of Lhant Hill. The first thing they saw was a large tree at the edge of a cliff.
"Wow…" Hubert said.
"Whoa…" Asbel continued to look at the tree.
"Aaah!"
Asbel looked and saw Hubert with a surprised look on his face. "What's wrong?"
Hubert points at what he's seeing. "Th-there's someone there!"
Asbel looks at what Hubert is seeing, and what they're seeing is a girl lying on the ground peacefully.
This girl has lavender hair with long pigtails that reach down to her legs and lavender eyes. She wears a gray suit with a pink over-vest, large dark blue gloves and light pink shoes.
"It looks like a girl." Hubert said.
"Hey you! What do you think you're doing sleeping out here?" Asbel said.
Then, the girl slowly gets up. This shocked the both of them. The girl wakes up. They stared at each other for a minute.
"...I heard a voice." The girl said.
"You did?" Asbel asked.
"I was asleep, at one with this place. But then I heard your voice, and I woke up. Why was I awakened?" The girl asked.
Asbel blushes, and he looks away from the girl. "Well, well…Well you know it's dangerous to sleep out here. If you want to take a nap, maybe you should find a bed or something…"
The girl then notices a butterfly, then gets up and walks towards the butterfly, but she doesn't notice that she's about to walk off the cliff.
"Asbel! She's headed right for the cliff!" Hubert said.
Asbel ran to the girl and grabbed her hand before she fell off the cliff. "Hey! You'll fall! What do you think you're doing?!"
The girl turns to face Asbel. "...Fall?"
"Yeah, fall! Splat! You know what that means, right?" Asbel said.
"No. What does it mean?" The girl said.
"It means…Um, well…" Asbel tries to find an answer, but couldn't.
Hubert walks to the edge of the cliff to see how far she could have fallen, and is quite shocked. "Whoa!" She could have fallen into the river. "That's a long way down. If you fell, you'd be in big trouble…"
"See? You get it now? If you fell, you'd…" Asbel let's go of the girl's hand and turns away, looking not happy. "Oh, nevermind. Look, just stay away from the cliff…Understand?"
Hubert walks to Asbel. "So…Where do you think she's from? I've never seen her before."
Asbel turns to face the girl. "Hey, what's your name?"
Silence
"Ah, right. That's rude. I should introduce myself first. I'm Asbel Lhant. This is my little brother, Hubert."
Hubert bows. "Hi, it's a pleasure to meet you."
"So, tell us your name." Asbel said.
"My name?" The girl tries to think. "What was it? What was…My name…"
"Hey! Don't tell me you forgot your own name?" Asbel said.
"Well then, I know. How about this? Can you at least tell us where you're from?" Hubert said.
"Where I'm from…?" The girl looks around, and spots purple flowers.
"Seriously? You don't remember that either?" Asbel said in disbelief.
"Asbel? I wonder if maybe she has amnesia or something. They say that people with amnesia have trouble remembering things." Hubert said.
"Amnesia, huh?" Asbel turns to the girl. "Hey…So you really can't remember anything?"
The girl just looks at Asbel.
"Well, you know Hubert…You may be right." Asbel said.
"So what do we do now?" Hubert asked.
"We bring her back to town." Asbel said.
"What?!" Hubert said in shock. "Are you serious? Can we even do that?"
The girl saw a butterfly and saw it flying around her.
"Well, what else can we do? We can't just leave her here. And besides, maybe she'll remember something once we get back." Asbel said.
The butterfly landed on the girl's pointer finger and she was willing to let it land on her.
"Oh. Yeah…I suppose that makes sense." Hubert said.
"Hey." Asbel said.
The girl turned to face Asbel.
"Why don't you come back with us?" Asbel asked.
The butterfly flew, leaving the girl. She noticed that.
"There's no point standing around here by yourself." Asbel said.
The girl nodded.
"Great! We'd better get going, then." Asbel said.
Hubert nodded. The girl looks down at the flowers again.
"...You like flowers?" Asbel walks to the flower and grabs it out of the ground. "Here. Take one for the road."
The girl walks to the flowers, crouches down and grabs a flower out of the ground, then looks at it.
"It's just a flower, you know. You're weird…Well, never mind. Let's go!" Asbel said.
"Um, Asbel?" Hubert said.
"What?" Asbel turned around, and saw a marine girl, Karen Walden. "Who are you?"
"I don't know where the hell I am, and I'm finding a place to stay." Karen said.
"A place to stay?" Asbel asked.
Karen nodded.
The girl is confused.
"I'm Asbel Lhant. And this is Hubert."
"Karen Walden." She sees the girl. "And this is?"
Hubert turns to see the girl. "We don't know. We think she has amnesia."
"Well I'll be damned. Well then, shall we go on?" Karen said.
The girl gets up. Then, they left Lhant Hill, then went to North Lhant Road. They ran into sparkly things on the ground.
"There are sparkly things on the ground." The girl said.
"If you search around those you sometimes find really cool stuff!" Asbel said.
"Why are they there?" The girl asked.
"Um…I dunno." Asbel said.
"I'm sure people accidentally dropped them. We should be careful not to make the same mistake. Especially you, big brother. I'm tired of being blamed whenever you lose something." Hubert said.
Karen chuckled. "How stupid can you get?
"But that's…It's because you're always…" Asbel trailed off.
Hubert chuckled. They left the sparkly thing behind and they made it to the city.
"So, what do we do now?" Hubert asked.
"Hmm…" Asbel thinks.
"Hey! Asbel!"
Asbel then sees a girl a few distance away from the trio. "Uh-oh! It's Cheria!"
Cheria Barnes has short bright red hair and brown eyes. She wears a light green dress with white short sleeves and darkish red boots.
"Care to explain why you decided to leave me behind?" Cheria asked.
They're scared, except for the girl and Walden, who are unfazed.
"Y-you're in trouble. She's really mad!" Hubert said.
"R-run!" Asbel said.
"Don't you move a muscle! I'm not gonna let you run off without me again!" Cheria ran to the trio. But, unfortunately, she only just ran a few miles, then stopped, catching her breath.
"Hey, are you okay?!" Asbel ran to Cheria, and so did Hubert.
"What the hell just happened?" Walden ran to Cheria.
Cheria breathes heavily.
"You know you shouldn't be running like that." Asbel said.
"You guys went to Lhant Hill, didn't you?" Cheria asked.
"Um…Uh, where's that?" Asbel pretends to not know what she's talking about.
"Oh, don't play dumb with me! It's the hill where the flowers bloom all year round! You must have promised me a dozen times you'd take me with you when you went there!" Cheria said.
"I'm sorry. But look, if I brought you there, you'd be too tired to walk back. And then I'd have to carry you on my back again…" Asbel said.
"And you always get really angry whenever Asbel has to carry you." Hubert said.
"Well that, that's because he's so terrible at it!" Cheria coughed.
"You have a cold, do you?" Walden asked.
"See, what did I tell you? …Here, hop on." Asbel crouches down. "I promise I'll try to be more careful this time."
"Uh…That's all right. I can walk on my own." Cheria then looks at Walden. "Who are you?"
"Karen Walden. I'm part of the military."
"Military?" Cheria wondered
"Hey…where did that girl go?" Hubert asked.
"What girl?" Cheria asked.
They looked around, and they saw the girl at the same spot as where the two boys and Walden were before.
"Huh? Why is she still there? Go get her, Hubert." Asbel said.
"Uh…Right!" Hubert goes to the girl and carries her to Asbel and Cheria.
"Hey there! So why didn't you follow us?" Asbel asked.
"That girl told us not to move." The girl said.
"Not to you." Walden said.
"Asbel? Who is this girl?" Cheria asked.
"I don't know. We found her on the hill and brought her back here." Asbel explained.
"Why did you do that?" Cheria walks to the girl and examines her. "Hmm…She seems a little bit older than me…So, is this the kind of girl Asbel likes? Hmm…" She looks at Asbel suspiciously.
"Come on, Cheria. Don't stare at her like that. You two should try to be friends!" Asbel said.
"Hmph…Oh I was wondering…What's with that flower you're holding, Asbel?" Cheria notices the flower Asbel is holding.
Asbel is shocked that she noticed.
Cheria walks to Asbel. "Wow, it's just beautiful! How lovely. So did you bring this flower back…for me?"
"Actually…I am…" Asbel trailed off.
Hubert walks to Asbel and whispers to him. "Just say it's for her! It'll make her feel better."
"Uh, yeah. Something like that." Asbel said.
"Oh, Asbel!" Cheria grabs the flower from Asbel. "Well, since you were kind enough to bring me a flower, I guess I can forgive you just this once." She looks at the flower. "This is a Sopheria, isn't it? They don't normally bloom this time of year. I guess the stories about that place are true."
"Yeah, the hill had flowers blooming all over the place." Asbel said.
"Aww…" Cheria looks at the flower more.
"I've never seen any flower like that before." Walden said.
"Your world must be different, huh?" Cheria said.
"My world is actually a war zone." Walden said.
"That's sad." Cheria said.
"Yeah. Although I wouldn't mind flowers myself." Walden said.
"That's good." Cheria looks at the flower more.
"That one little flower sure is making her happy, huh Asbel?" Hubert said.
"Happy…?" The girl looked at her flower, then gave it to Cheria.
Cheria turned around and saw the girl holding the flower to her. "Oh! Uh, you're giving me one too?"
The girl nodded.
"Th-thank you. That was really nice of you." Cheria grabs the flower from the girl.
"Happy…" The girl only said.
"I understand." Walden pats her back. "I know how that feels."
"So…what's your name? Where are you from?" Cheria asked.
"We asked her the same thing earlier, but she doesn't know. We think she might have amnesia." Asbel explained.
"What?! Oh my gosh, that's terrible!" Cheria said.
"We were hoping she'd remember something if we brought her into town." Asbel said.
"Well? Has seeing the town helped you with your memory at all?" Hubert asked.
The girl looks around, but looks confused.
"Guess not…Maybe we should try asking around or something." Hubert suggests.
Cheria turns to Asbel. "Oh! Maybe we should go and ask my grandpa! He knows pretty much everyone around here, you know?"
"Oh, good idea. I bet Frederic would know something. Let's head back to our place." Asbel said.
They go down to the house where a butler looks at the flowers. He noticed them coming. "Welcome back, Master Asbel, Master Hubert."
"Hey, Frederic." Asbel said.
"You ran off on me again, Cheria." Frederic said.
"I'm sorry, Grandpa." Cheria said.
"Please forgive her, my young masters." Frederic bows. "I've instructed her that you are not to be bothered, yet she refuses my council."
"Oh, don't worry about it. It's no bother at all. Anyway, we were wondering if you've ever seen this girl before." Asbel said.
Frederic walks to the girl. "This young woman?"
Asbel nodded.
Frederic looks at the girl and thinks. "Mmm…No, I don't believe I have."
"Grandpa, this girl has amnesia." Cheria said.
"You don't say? That's quite the dilemma. Perhaps I should make a few inquiries around town." Frederic said.
"No, that's all right. We'll do it ourselves." Asbel turns to his friends. "C'mon guys, let's head into town."
The girl raised her hand.
"Do strive to return before dark, yes?" Frederic said.
"You got it!" Asbel said.
"And you, strange woman, you make sure they return. You seem trustworthy enough." Frederic said.
Walden saluted.
They then walked off from the house, then walked to the bridge in the town.
"So…you really don't remember your name?" Cheria asked.
"No…" The girl said.
"Oh…You poor thing…"
"Why…? What's so poor about not knowing your name? Does having a name make you happy?"
"Oh, I-I'm sorry! It doesn't feel good to be called that, does it…I have a sickness, too, so I know how you feel. I'm really sorry." Cheria said.
"Seems like Frederic trusts you." Asbel said.
"Maybe because I'm made for combat and I'm good at protecting the ones I love most." Walden said.
"I can still take care of myself." Asbel said.
"Let's see." Walden said.
They continued on. They stopped next to where a militiaman is.
"I'm getting kinda hungry." Asbel said.
"Let's pick some apples before we go." Hubert walks to the apple tree, and tries to get the apples off the tree, but couldn't. "Ngh! Nuuurrrggghh! …I can't reach 'em."
"You're hopeless! Here, watch out. Lemme do it." Asbel said.
Hubert turns around, then goes to the trio.
Asbel walks to the tree, then tries to jump to get the apples, but can't. "Gynaaaa! Hey! What?!"
"You can't reach them either!" Hubert said.
"Shut up!" Asbel said.
"You're a bitch. Let me try." Walden goes to the tree, and tries, but she couldn't do it. "Goddammit."
"You kids want some apples?" The militiaman asked.
A minute later, he got some apples for them. "Here ya go."
"Thank you very much!" Hubert said.
"Yeah, thanks mister." Asbel turns to the girl and walks to her. "Here, you have one too."
"Okay." The girl grabs the apple.
"I'm sorry for all that. I'm a military woman, and I can't understand why I can't reach apples on a tree." Walden said.
"You're fine." The militiaman turns to the boys. "Now boys, I heard you've been wandering around Lhant Hill on your own."
This worries them, except for the girl, Walden and Cheria.
"Wh-where did you hear that?!" Asbel asked.
"In that case, why not take this along? You'll learn a whole lot, and you might even have some fun, too." The militiaman said.
"Wait. You're giving us a present?" Asbel asked.
The militiaman gives him a book.
"Oh, wow! A Discovery Book!" Hubert said.
"What's that?" Asbel asked.
"It's a book that chronicles each region's rare products and places." Hubert said.
"Whenever you find one, you can record it in the Discovery Book!" The militiaman said.
"Hey, let's try it out! Hmm…Something rare…Something rare…" Asbel looks around for something rare. "Aha!"
This confuses Hubert. "...Asbel, you're not going to record the girl with amnesia, are you?"
This surprises Asbel. "O-of course not!"
"Lie." Walden said.
"Let's just record the apple tree instead." Hubert suggests.
"Right. I'm on it!" Asbel goes to the tree and records it in his Discovery Book.
"Look at all those apples!" Hubert said.
"Apples?" The girl asked.
"Apples! That guard just gave you one! …Don't tell me you don't know what an apple is?" Asbel said.
"I don't think so, no. I haven't seen one before." The girl said.
"Wow. You really aren't from around here, huh? Wherever you come from, it must be pretty far away…" Asbel said.
"Maybe?" The girl questioned.
"Maybe? Ah ha ha…Haaaa…" Hubert is not sure.
"Wherever you came from, you will know what your origins are." Walden said.
"Is that so?" The girl asked.
Walden nodded.
The girl thinks. "Alright."
They traveled in the city, asking people about the girl, but they didn't know her. Asbel records a windmill on his Discovery Book. They climbed up the windmill and walked to the fenced edge.
"Wow, check out that view! I hope you're okay with heights." Asbel said.
"Why?" The girl asked.
"Why?! Um, because we're really high up and it would hurt if you fell?" Asbel said.
"Oh. That sounds bad." The girl said.
"What?" Asbel said.
"Hey Asbel, what is this?" The girl asked, pointing at the windmill in the book.
"It's a windmill! See, the eleth in the wind powers the blades, which is cool. The adults around here call this mill 'Lord Windegarde', but I'm not a big fan of that name, so personally I prefer to call it…" Asbel noticed the girl was not there. "Hey, where'd she go? …I guess she really is afraid of heights, huh?"
The girl got down from the windmill.
"Scared of heights?" Walden asked.
The girl shrugged.
"Understood." Walden said.
Asbel got down from the windmill, then they asked more people around. They got to the house that is Lhant Manor. Asbel records a family portrait in his Discovery Book.
"Is that you in this picture, Asbel? You look different." The girl said.
"Yeah, I was probably around nine years old back then. My father had some artist paint it." Asbel said.
"Nine?"
"I'm 11 now, so that would have been…two years ago? Oh, but hey! How old are you?"
"I don't know. Maybe, 14?"
"Really?"
"Ooooh."
"Are you sure you're older than me?"
They left Lhant Manor and they asked more people, but none. They then headed to West Lhant Road.
"I've never been down West Lhant Road before!" Cheria said.
"We come this way all this time to look at boats." Hubert said.
"...Boats?"
"If you keep going down this road, you'll reach the western port. They have boats from all over the world!"
"Hee hee! I guess you really are a boy if you love boats!"
"H-hey! What's that supposed to mean?!"
The four then found a tree with seeds called Gel Seeds. The girl eats one of the seeds.
"How nice! Those look yummy. I'll take one of them, too." Cheria said.
"I already picked some! What are you gonna do with more?" Asbel said.
"Maybe I want my own Apple Gel!" Cheria snapped.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Asbel asked.
"If you bring a Gel Seed and an apple to a merchant or a Turtlez, they can turn them into an Apple Gel." Hubert said.
"Wow! I didn't know that! I thought you just ate 'em." Asbel said.
"You shouldn't do that, Asbel. I don't think they're good for you raw." Hubert said.
The girl is still eating the seed.
"Err…" Asbel said.
Walden eats one as well. Then… "This is raw."
"Um…" Asbel said.
They traveled down the road more, and they came across a Beastmaster and a chick-like monster.
"You there! Approach and bear witness to the rare and mysterious arts of the Strahtan beastmaster!"
Asbel shook his head. "Hey, do you recognize this girl?"
"Not in the slightest! Is she lost?" The beastmaster said.
"No, she has amnesia." Hubert said.
"Ahh…How very unfortunate. Perhaps what she needs is to witness the astounding feats of a beastmaster!" The beastmaster said.
"Hmm…Okay, sure. Let's see what you've got!" Asbel said.
"Great. Prepare to be astounded! Ahem…Abracadabra!" The beastmaster said.
Nothing happened.
"...Hocus pocus, front flip, go!" The beastmaster said.
"Um, he's not moving…" Cheria said.
"Urgh! This isn't supposed to happen!" The beastmaster said, frustrated.
"Here, let me try." Asbel said. "...Abracadabra, front flip, go!"
The girl then gets in the center of them and she did a front flip, which shocked them.
"Holy moly! Hey, what other tricks can she do?" The beastmaster asked.
"Uh…Woozie wozzle, back flip, go!" Asbel said.
The girl did just that.
"...Front flip with a twist!" Asbel said.
The girl did just that.
"Uh…jump really high!" Asbel said.
The girl also did that.
"Now spin! Spin around and around, and then stop!" Asbel said.
She did that also.
"That. Was. INCREDIBLE! Wow, thanks for the great show, kids! Your friend must be an acrobat from the circus! Or maybe an assassin femme fatale trained by a secret organization…! Well, either way, it was pretty impressive. I hope you were paying attention, Puffy. Our act is gonna need some serious work! Let's get going." The beastmaster said.
The chick-like monster gets up and both of them leave.
"Are we done?" The girl asked.
"So she's either from a circus, or an assassin…" Asbel said.
"Really?" Cheria asked.
The girl shook her head. "I don't know. But those movements felt familiar. As if I'd done them before."
"Hmm…Maybe the beastmaster lady was right?" Asbel said.
"From the look of her, she could be an assassin. I can't see her being a circus performer." Walden said.
"You think so?" The girl asked.
"Maybe." Walden said.
"We should head home. I doubt we'll find anything else here." Hubert said.
They're starting to head back to the town.
"Ooooh…" The girl seemed to say.
"Um, you know, Asbel…you could try giving me commands, too." Cheria said.
"Huh? No, I'm good. Let's just go." Asbel said.
"Seriously, it's okay! Let's try it. You can give me any command you want!" Cheria begs.
"Oh, fine. Um…Abracadabra! Go…be quiet for a while." Asbel said.
"..." Cheria says nothing.
"Oooooh…" The girl notices.
"Mmm…" Cheria still keeps quiet, looking at the girl.
"Oooooh…" The girl is confused.
"What are you two doing?" Hubert asked.
"Come on, Hubert, let's go." Asbel goes on.
"Hey, wait up!" Hubert goes, and so does the girl, leaving Cheria behind.
"Have fun." Walden leaves Cheria behind.
"Hey! Don't leave me here!" Cheria runs to the four.
They then returned back to town, they reached Lhant Manor, and noticed Frederic talking to a woman. This woman has blue hair and blue eyes. She wears a red long-sleeve long dress that reaches down her feet. This is Kerri Lhant.
"Oh…Mom!" Hubert said.
"Hi, Mom." Asbel said.
"Hello, boys. Your father wishes to speak with you." Kerri said.
"He's gonna just yell at us again. He doesn't know when to quit." Asbel said.
Kerri shook her head. "Asbel, you shouldn't speak so of your father. He thinks only of you and your brother's best interests."
"Ugh. Not this again…" Asbel doesn't like the sound of that.
"Your father is waiting in his study. Hurry along and see what he needs." Kerri said.
"All right, all right." Asbel goes to Cheria. "Hey, Cheria? Can you keep an eye on her until we get back?"
"Huh? Oh, sure." Cheria said.
"You must forgive my son, Cheria. He puts you through so much trouble." Kerri said.
"Oh no! It's no trouble!" Cheria shook her head.
"Regardless, you should rest. You must be exhausted after all that Asbel put you through." Kerri said.
"I didn't put her through anything!" Asbel yelled.
"You are the heir to the Lhant lordship, Asbel. You must learn to think more carefully about those around you. From now on, you are forbidden to take Cheria with you when you play. Do you understand?" Kerri said.
They all gasped, except for the girl.
"No! Lady Kerri, please! I'm fine!" Cheria said.
"Cheria." Frederic said.
"This is ridiculous. Dad's bad enough, but now you? I'll play with whoever I want, so you can just butt out!" Asbel said.
"Asbel!" Kerri says, looking at him strictly.
Cheria coughs.
Asbel turns around. "Cheria?!"
Frederic ran to Cheria.
Walden is behind Cheria. "She is sick. I can tell."
"Oh dear. You should take her home, Frederic." Kerri said.
"Come along, Cheria." Frederic said.
"I…I'm sorry." Cheria and Frederic walk off, and so does Kerri.
"Cheria…" Asbel felt ashamed.
Hubert turns to Asbel. "We should go see what Dad wants."
Asbel turns to the girl. "Hey…you want to come?"
"Yes." The girl said.
The four then go inside Lhant Manor, go into Asbel's dad's room and they have gone to his dad.
His dad has reddish-brown hair and reddish-brown eyes. He wears an orange long-sleeve shirt, gray gloves, dark gray pants and brown boots. This is Aston Lhant.
"You certainly took your time, Asbel." Aston notices the girl. "Hm? Who's the girl? And who's that woman?"
"We met her outside town. She seems to have amnesia. She doesn't remember who she is or where she's from." Hubert said.
Aston gets up from his seat. "Oh?" He thinks. "Well, we can worry about such things later. As for the woman?"
"Karen Walden. Military woman."
"You seem to take care of my children well." Aston said.
"Thank you, sir." Walden said.
"Anyways, Asbel, I need to speak with you." Aston walks to the window.
"What is it now?" Asbel asked.
"I received a letter from a very important man in the capital. His son is coming to visit Lhant." Aston explains.
"A visitor from the capital, huh?" Asbel said.
"That's rare, isn't it, Dad!" Hubert said.
Aston turns to face the trio. "This boy is around the same age as you, but you are not to approach or speak with him. He hails from one of the most powerful families in the Windor Kingdom. We cannot be seen to show him even the slightest disrespect. If something were to happen, it would be a blight on the Lhant name. Do you understand, Asbel?"
"Why are you just asking me?" Asbel asked.
"Do you understand?" Aston asked.
"...Yes." Asbel said.
"Good. As for the girl, I shall hand her over to the authorities. I'm confident they will be able to find her family. This is the best thing we can do for her now." Aston said.
"What? Huh?" Asbel said in shock.
"This plan should put your mind at ease, yes?" Aston asked.
The girl shook head. "I want to be with Asbel."
"You do?" Asbel asked.
Aston walks to the four. "What is this about, Asbel?"
"You don't want to go?" Asbel asked.
"I don't know…But…I want to stay with Asbel." The girl said.
"Are you in some sort of trouble?" Aston asked.
"Of course she isn't! …Um, right?" Asbel said.
The girl is confused.
"She isn't." Walden said.
"Well, she cannot stay here. I will contact the authorities and make arrangements for her transfer." Aston said.
"Don't worry about it. I can take care of her." Asbel said.
"What?" Aston said in shock.
"I can take care of her!" Asbel snapped.
"This is foolishness." Aston said.
"I'm serious!" Asbel said.
"Do you even understand what you're saying? You are a powerless child who couldn't possibly be entrusted with such responsibility." Aston said.
"How will you know if you don't let me try?!" Asbel said.
"Asbel, calm down." Walden said.
They heard the door open and closed, and saw Frederic standing in front of the door. "My Lord, a messenger has arrived concerning our guest from the capital."
"Right. Send him in." Aston turns to Asbel. "Asbel, we shall continue this conversation later. Until then, stay out of trouble."
Asbel looks at the ground. "Dammit…"
"Come on, Asbel…" Hubert gets interrupted.
"I'm going to help her, and I don't care what anyone says!" Asbel turns to walk out the door. "Let's go!"
"O-okay…" Hubert said.
The girl and Walden leave. Hubert looks at Aston for a moment, then goes with the duo. Aston shook his head and sighed. The trio leaves the Manor.
"Seems like all Dad knows how to do is treat me like a child! I can't stand it! And why am I the only one he ever yells at?!" Asbel pouted.
"He has to have a reason for that. But you need to calm down. I understand, but you shouldn't just blow up on him like that." Walden said.
"Hmph." Asbel said.
"W-well, you're the oldest. And that means you'll be the lord of Lhant one day." Hubert said.
Asbel looks at Hubert, then to the ground. "I'd rather be a knight in service of the king. The capital has a special training school for knights. Did you know that?"
"I've heard of it. But Asbel, can you…can you really take care of this girl?" Hubert asked.
The girl looks at the flowers, but then, she turns to see the boys looking at her, curious.
"Yeah. I don't have a choice. I have to show Dad that I'm not just some useless child." Asbel said.
"Well, yes, but…" Hubert trails off.
The four turned and saw Cheria at the stairs, hiding, then she came to them.
"Hey, Cheria! You feeling better?" Asbel asked.
"Oh…yes. I'm fine. So did your dad decide what to do with the mystery girl?" Cheria asked.
"Yeah, I'm gonna take care of her." Asbel said.
This shocks Cheria. "WHAAAT?!" She breathed.
"Don't shout like that! You'll make yourself sick again." Asbel warned.
"It's your fault! What do you mean, you're going to take care of her?" Cheria asked.
"I just mean I'll be responsible for her until we find out who she is." Asbel said.
"What if we never find out?!" Cheria asked.
Asbel thinks about it. They waited. "Well then…I'll be with her for the rest of my life!"
Cheria puts her hands over her mouth. "The rest of your-" She shook her head. "No! You can't do that! Are you kidding?! You just can't!"
"Too late! I've already decided." Asbel said.
Hubert shook his head, then shrugged. "Let it go, Cheria. He'll never change his mind now."
Cheria facefaulted. "Un-believable…"
"That is unbelievable. What are you gonna do, marry her?" Walden said.
"What made you think that idea up?!" Asbel asked, surprised.
"You're living with her for the rest of your life." Walden said.
"Yeah, but…" Asbel said.
The girl walks to Cheria and pats her head.
"Hey, you're with us now, okay? Don't worry. Everything's gonna be fine." Asbel said.
The girl turns to Asbel. "Okay."
"But if you're gonna be our friend, we need to give you a name." Asbel thinks. "Hmm…How about…Tiger Festival!"
This made Cheria mad. "You idiot! What kind of a girl would like a stupid name like that! Un-believable!"
"My brother's not very good with names…" Hubert said.
"Wow. He must be an idiot then." Walden said, sarcastically.
"Shut up. Fine, then. What do YOU want to call her?" Asbel asked.
"Um…Well, I don't know…" Cheria said.
"We found her in a meadow, right? So maybe we should name her after a flower." Hubert suggests.
"Cheria, what was the name of that flower I gave you?" Asbel asked.
"Hm? It's called a sopheria." Cheria said.
"Sopheria…Ah-hah! I got it! We're gonna name her Sophie!" Asbel said.
"Sophie…Ooh, it's kind of pretty." Hubert said.
"I agree. It's a good name." Cheria said.
"All right, from now on, your name is Sophie! Is that okay…Sophie?" Asbel said.
The girl thinks. "Sophie…"
"Well? Do you like it or what?" Asbel asked.
The girl looks at Asbel. "My name is…Sophie."
"Nice to meetcha, Sophie!" Asbel said.
Sophie nodded.
They then turned around.
"Hurry! This way!" They heard Aston say.
They saw Aston and some Lhant militia men walked out of the Manor. The three ran, Sophie just stood there.
"Come on! Sophie!" Asbel said.
Sophie followed them. They saw Aston and the militia men running off to the town.
"Where are they going?" Hubert asked.
Frederic came to the four. "Forgive me, young masters, but did Lord Aston perchance come this way?"
"He just ran by a second ago. It seems like he was headed out of town. What the heck happened?" Asbel said.
"The Turtlez Transport containing our young guest is long overdue. Lord Aston fears they may have met with tragedy on the road." Frederic bows, then walks off.
"That must be the boy Dad was talking about." Hubert said.
"We should go to take a look for ourselves!" Asbel said.
"Don't be silly. What can we do? We'll just get in the way." Cheria said.
"We won't know for sure unless we try! The kid's coming from the capital, so we should head in that direction. All right, everyone! Let's get this show on the road!" Asbel said.
"Here we go again." Walden said.
They then went out of town, and they reached East Lhant Highroad.
"This is the road that a visitor from the capital would use, right?" Cheria asked.
"Hmm…?" Sophie wondered.
"This road that we're now on is called East Lhant Highroad. It connects Lhant with the capital city of Barona, and is primarily used to transport cryas gathered from the Lhant region and-" Hubert says.
Sophie goes to Hubert and pinches him in the cheek.
"Ow! Don't pinch my cheek! It hurts!" Hubert said.
"I think she's heard enough, little brother. But you know, Sophie, Cheria's cheeks are great for pinching, too…" Asbel said.
Sophie goes to Cheria, while the latter tries to get away from Sophie. "N-no, Sophie! Stop!"
"No time for foolishness. Let's just go." Walden said.
"You need us." A boy and a female came to them.
The boy has brown hair and he wears a black and red long-sleeve shirt, red gloves, gray pants and gray fuzzy boots. This is Arran.
The female has red hair and wears a white sleeveless shirt, gray pants and black boots. This is Nikki.
"Who the hell are you two?" Walden asked.
"I'm a knight, and she's a sorceress." Arran said.
"We're taking you to the site." Nikki said.
"Alright. Let's go." Walden said.
Asbel, Hubert, Cheria and Sophie nodded. They head on.
What they don't notice is that an alien bug with big blue eyes and a human-like mouth looks through her binoculars and spies at them, and notices Sophie. "What is Sophie doing here?"
And that's with this chapter.
These are the characters that debuted in this series:
Asbel Lhant, Hubert Oswell, Sophie, Cheria Barnes, Frederic Barnes, Kerri Lhant and Aston Lhant from Tales of Graces
Arran from Nightcaster
Nikki from Pandemonium
Next time, Chapter 1 of Tales of Graces F continues as they tried to save the guest from whatever fate it is and more.
Come back here for the next chapter of World Defense Force.