This was getting incredibly out of hand, to say the least.

Jude leaned on the rail of the ship, watching the ocean waves roll by as the sea breeze tossled his hair. He sighed, tightening his hands into fist and closed his eyes. Murmuring.

How did he get himself in this situation? Here he was, a former honor's student, so close to getting his doctorate, to an X-Marked criminal. He dropped his head into his arms, calming himself with long, controlled breathes. In reality, it was no one's fault but his. So there was no point in pouting about it. That wasn't going to fix anything.

So for now, he'd just have to make himself useful.

He blinked, wondering…

'To who?'

Milla's voice, calm and resilient, was behind him. Speaking with the mercenary who had come to his rescue earlier. Alvin.

Jude sighed, letting his hands and his heart relax. Something in his eyes sparked. He had promised the Four Spirits he would look after the woman. So he will.

It wasn't in his nature to break a promise.

When they arrived at the next Seahaven, Jude sprung to make himself as useful as possible, sprinting over to give a nearby map a quick look. After gathering their bearings, Alvin took it upon himself to help Milla learn more about using a sword, and to give a tutorial or two-

Wait, 'tutorial'?

"Don't think about it too much." Celsius mumbled.

"Oh, Celsius-" Jude caught himself, lowering his voice before it caught anyone's attention. Instead, he mumbled under his breath "You're awake! That's a relief. How about the others?"

"Here." Shadow confirmed in his quiet voice.

"I'm here as well, Jude." Aska said, his voice strained and not-quite awake.

A series of 'Bzzrts' were head, confirming Volt's prescence.

Jude smiled, happy to hear that his friends were all still with him. Incredibly tired, from the sounds of it….But they were still WITH him.

He couldn't help but ask.

"How are all of you?"

"Er….I wouldn't mind a nap." Celsius said. In his mind's eye, Jude can see what he imagined Aska looked like nod.

"We are all quite exhausted. But we will survive." He said.

"Good." Shadow whispered.

Another series of bleeps and bloops.

"SPEAK NORMALLY HE CAN'T UNDERSTAND YOU!" Celsius snapped. A high-pitched whine was heard, followed by a hushed, almost robotic, voice.

"I AM OKAY TOO."

Jude chuckled "Glad to hear it."

Alvin strolled leisurely, his head pillowed on his folded arms. He cast glance after cynical glance at Jude, his frown deepening. The three of them were on their way to complete their task, and the roads were quiet for the most part. Milla lead the way, letting the two men trail behind her.

As Jude seemed to be drawn deeper and deeper into his mental conversation, Alvin quickened his pace to stand next to Milla. He leaned over so his head was by hers, and whispered:

"Hey, what's up with the kid?"

"Hm?" Milla blinked. She looked at the mercenary a moment, then behind them where Jude was mumbling to himself "Oh yes. I noticed that as well. He seems to have a lot to say."

"Okay…." Alvin mumbled "So WHO is he talking to?"

Milla suddenly stopped, crossing her arms and paying no mind to the startled gasps of her two companions.

"Milla, is everything all right?" Jude asked, frowning. The frown took on a comedic effect, however, as Milla abruptly shorted the distance between them, leaning forward so her face wasn't so much as a foot away from his. A blush crept across Jude's face. "um….."

"Who ARE you talking to?" She asked, tilting her head. Alvin avoided looking at Jude in a failed attempt to draw attention away from himself.

"Er…" Jude blushed. He gripped his wrist, avoiding the woman's gaze. Milla waited for his response patiently. So patiently that Jude simply sighed, forgetting about trying to change or avoid the subject. Instead, he gave a smile. "My friends?"

"Your 'friends'?" Alvin repeated, raising an eyebrow at Jude.

"You have invisible friends?" Milla hummed. She back up. "That is quite fascinating. I was not aware humans were capable of being invisible."

"OOOORRR, he's just crazy." Alvin shrugged.

Jude chuckled awkwardly "That's…also a possibility."

Alvin gave him a flat glare "Hard to get a rise out of you, ain't it kid?"

Jude gripped his wrist "Well I just kind of…accepted the possibility."

"What?" Celsius mumbled.

"Sorry!" Jude giggled, no longer hiding his voice from his companions.

"Hello, Jude's invisible friends." Milla interrupted

…

"Hello."

"SHADOW!"

Jude chuckled again, catching it in his fist to clear his throat. Not being able to keep his voice incredibly steady, he stammered "O-one of them says hello."

Alvin mumbled something under his breathe along the lines of 'how did I get dragged into this insane asylum?'.

Milla however, simply tilted her head "May I have that one's name?"

"She may." Shadow said.

Jude blinked, frowning a bit but obliged his response. "His name is Shadow."

"Shadow?" Alvin muttered, raising a brow. Milla put a hand on her hip, turning to look at the mercenary.

"Is the name familiar?" she asked.

Alvin shrugged "Sure, who hasn't heard of a 'shadow'?"

"Smartass." Celsius muttered.

"Well, hello again, Shadow." Milla greeted. She tilted her head, observing Jude closely "So from how you were hiding it, I take it this isn't normal."

Jude shook his head "U-uh, no. Not really." He smiled awkwardly.

"Hm." Milla mused to herself, crossing her arms "Jude, would these friends of yours-" She abruptly cut herself off, shaking her head "Nevermind, it's not important."

"Oh. Um…. Okay." Jude blinked, tilting his head. The two of them studied each other for a few moments before Alvin rudely yelled out:

"Or he's INSANE."

Milla barely had a reaction to his, simply looking at him over her shoulder and saying "I listened to the voices in my head as well, when I had them."

Alvin stared stupidly at her. With a sigh, he shrugged in defeat "All right, okay. We all got invisible friends. Good for us."

"You should probably see someone about that." Jude smiled innocently.

A/N

I bet you all expected a longer update. I did too. Oh well. Maybe next time.