Chapter 4

Our Next Stop!

Ottava was sitting in the seat across from me eating a tuna sandwich that Adagio had made for her, next to us was Adagio herself, examining the blade we had found in the monster.

"Hmm what an odd weapon, despite it containing strong First Fonons it is completely dormant. I don't think you will be able to find much use out of it as a weapon," she handed the weapon back to me as my eye twitched.

For a moment I thought moved as my hand still shacking took back the blade. For some reason I disliked the weapon's aura, it felt like it was going to crush me for holding it for too long.

"Um, anyway...how do you two know one another?" I glanced at the small pink-haired girl who quickly swallowed her bite.

"Adagio was the friend I was talking about before! I don't actually remember much before I met her, but she took me and my friends in when we couldn't remember anything!" She grinned at Adagio who replied with a warm smile.

"Oh, so you were like me?"

"No..." Adagio said, "their condition was far worse. Not only couldn't they remember anything about themselves, but they weren't able to speak or even eat properly. It was like raising a bunch of toddlers..." Adagio sighed as I shivered.

I was probably the lucky one, at least I was able to make my own coherent thoughts. Not being able to speak sounded horrifying.

"Well, anyway, what are you two going to do now? I don't think you found anything at the hills did you?"

I shook my head, outside of the sword it was a complete waste of time. It wasn't a big deal, but I felt like I wasn't any closer to finding out about who I was than when I first started.

Adagio sighed as she tapped her lip, it was almost as if she was holding back information. I looked at her, without saying a word, I tried to convey my feelings just with my face. I truly, desperately wanted to know who I was and my place in the world. Even the smallest piece of information would put my mind at ease.

"...I know I'm going to regret telling you this, but I think I know a couple of people who could help you,"

"You do!" I smiled as Adagio ran her fingers through her long brown hair before nodding sadly.

"Yes...One of them goes by the name of Jade the Necromancer, the other Dist the Reaper..."

"Necromancer...Reaper? Sounds like a really bad horror book," Ottava smiled, finally finishing her sandwich.

"They just don't sound scary, they are pretty horrifying, the Necromancer will probably kill you on the spot. However, they are the only ones that know what is happening here,

I froze for a moment, someone that would kill me on the spot...that is scary, really scary. I couldn't imagine someone wanting to kill me just because, but I knew Adagio probably wouldn't lie about something like this. I wondered if it was even worse going after him knowing that information. I held my chest for a moment and took a deep breath, Nephy words entered my head.

I wasn't going to back down now.

"Where can I find these guys?"

Adagio frowned, she was probably hoping I would just give up after hearing such a tale, "If you insist on going after them, your best bet would be Belkend and then Daath. Sheridan port luckily will probably take you to Belkend, I have a feeling that will be your next stop,"

I smiled, "Thank you...Adagio," once again, I meant that from the bottom of my heart.

"Hyu, Hyu, Hyu. That's perfect, I was planning on going there next, Tonic is there so it would be great!" Ottava held her stomach and gave a loud laugh. I gave a small smile, I almost picked Tonic as my name thinking about it.

"Well, the ship doesn't leave until tomorrow morning and it is getting quite late. Why don't you two stay one more night? Plus I have something for you Cadenza, but it probably won't be done until tomorrow,"

"Something...for me?" I tilted my head slightly as Ottava puffed out her cheeks.

"Hey, hey, hey, what about me?!"

"Don't worry I have something for you too...now," Adagio got up and brushed off her dress. "I best get to work if I want you two gifts to be ready before you leave tomorrow. Why don't you show Cadenza your room Ottava? I'll also leave dinner to you!"

Ottava grinned as she nodded. With those words Adagio left the room as Ottava lifted herself from her seat as well.

"Hyu, Hyu, Hyu, it's been almost a year since I've been home! I wonder if everything is in the same spot!" Ottava quickly grabbed my arm nearly pulling me out of my chair. However that wasn't what was on my mind.

She called this home, this was Ottava's home. It never really dawned on me until now, but that thought for some reason filled me with a certain warmth. This was a home, even if it wasn't my home.

Ottava dragged me into her room, which of course was filled with a bunch of small dolls. Some made of fabric, some made with glass and wood, they were all well crafted and not a single one of them had a speck of dust on them. It seemed that Adagio had been keeping the room clean while Ottava was away.

"Truly the best room ever, I wanted to turn my bed into a giant doll, but it probably would look too tacky..." Ottava hummed as she looked through each of her dolls. She was certainly a little girl if I ever saw one.

"Oh, before I forget...I wonder if they are still here?" Ottava opened one of the drawers in her room digging through it. She then pulled out what appeared to be six strange devices with six numbers on them. Each one was labeled with a number as well as she gave me one. Mine of course was labeled number 2.

"Hyu, Hyu, Hyu...put your ear to it!" She smiled as I looked at the device. I slowly placed my ear to it as she clicked 2 on her device. "Can you hear me, well of course you can hear me you're sitting in front of me. I mean through the receiver!"

It was an echo, "yeah, I can hear you...double..."

She laughed again. "I knew it! They still work, these are my super awesome Ottava contractors. They only work with one another, but you will be able to contact anyone no matter how far away they are,"

That was...amazing, even if I had only a basic understanding of how this world work. Being able to contact anyone from anywhere regardless of distance was an amazing feet. "D-did you invent that yourself?"

She nodded "Yep, took me awhile, but like I said the current limit is only six people, I would have to recreate it from the ground up for more. I'm planning on giving one to all my friends so I can talk to them anywhere!"

It seemed that Ottava was completely oblivious to the practical use of what she had just created. To her it was merely a tool so she could keep in contact with the people closest to her...but maybe that was for the best. Just a innocent tool for a innocent girl.

"Are you sure you want to give this to me?" We had just met, and it seemed like a rather important object.

"What are you talking about, you're my friend, plus I had an extra one. I can't think of any other person to give it to other than you, I'll give Adagio's her's tomorrow before we leave!"

Friend...she said that before huh, those words...the also felt warm. Like something got lifted off of me when she said it. I don't know why, but I couldn't help but smile.

The rest of the day was completely uneventful. Ottava kept showing me her dolls and she made dinner. Of course it was tuna sandwiches. Before I knew it, it was way past dark and we were in bed. I decided to sleep in Ottava's room on the floor. I was planning on talking to her a little longer, but the moment she hit her sheets she was asleep.

I sighed as I stared at the ceiling, tomorrow for sure would be the time that I left. There was no turning back once I took step on that ship. I slowly closed my eyes and let my dreams take me.

"You got the first...re-leas, at th- gre...too Daa-th, the se-con...will be-foun"

Those words banged on my head as I felt a large pressure on my stomach.

"HEY, WAKE UP!" A loud shout as I jolted up, before I felt an impact on my forehead.

"Owowowow,"

"Ouch!"

I rubbed my head as I slowly opened my eyes. There was Ottava holding her own head still in her pajamas.

"Y-you could have just nudged me a little, you didn't need to jump on me!" My head was still ringing as Ottava laughed.

"No way, you need to be sharp if you are going to be traveling with me. Come on and get dressed! I want to see what Adagio has for us!"

With those words she got out a rather large backpack, I simply sighed.

We both got dressed in what I assumed to be our traveling gear. I put on the only set of clothes I had as Ottava did the same, despite appearing to have plenty of clothes to wear. Perhaps that is simply what she felt the most comfortable with, or maybe she had more packed.

We exited Ottava's room to see a drowsy Adagio sitting down. Her hair was messy as she noticed us. She quickly shook her head and smiled, in front of her on the table was two items. One looked like a jewel attacked to a necklace. The other looked like a bracelet attached to some sort of stone.

"Oh, sorry!" Adagio yawned slightly before rubbing her eyes. She ran her fingers through her eyes as she set a pack in front of us. "I took some time to pack some items for your trip. You'll find some gels and a few extra set of clothes for you Cadenza," she smiled as I frowned.

She most likely spent all night setting everything up for us, I made a mental note to repay her when I got the chance.

"Well, anyway, I suppose the important thing is I give you two these..." She handed me the bracelet and Ottava the necklace.

"These are special Capacity cores that I created, they are very experimental and have a special effect no other core has. I packed 4 and I would like you to deliver them to the rest of your group...though Tonic's is a bit different," I assumed she was talking to Ottava at that point as the pink-haired girl's eyes widen.

"Really what do they do!" Ottava was giddy as Adagio nodded.

"Well, they make your artes activate somewhat slower as well as reduce the damage of those artes for about 10-15%"

I frowned, "these don't sound helpful at all!"

"Please let me finish," she gave me a stern glare as I shut my mouth.

"It's true that they do make you slightly weaker, they also have a secondary effect...no matter who you are fighting, no matter how weak or strong. It is impossible to kill them while having these cores equipped,"

I simply looked at her...it seemed that Adagio was a true pacifist, someone who wouldn't kill no matter what.

She then placed her hands on my shoulders and smiled. "I-It is up to you if you wish to use them or not, I know it will be a burden, fighting like this. I won't judge you if you destroyed them right now, but I truly believe that the world isn't kill or be killed. So...I wanted to give you the choice, the option...some say to fight. To bend your beliefs is a sign of strength, but I also believe that never compromising your ideals is just as important."

"Adagio..."

She shook her head and smiled. "No matter what you choose, I know it will be for the best, but please...try not to kill or be killed,"

Before I could respond Ottava gave a large laugh. "Don't worry, as long as we're together, I don't a situation will come up where we will have to do something like that!"

Ottava had confidence, I nodded and smiled as well. "Yeah, we're always going to find a way out of a situation without killing anyone. This just made it too easy!"

Adagio gave us a warm smiled before giving us both a big hug. I started to tremble, but for some reason I felt this before...I almost wanted to cry as she finally handed me the large bag.

"You two best be on your way..."

Before we could leave Ottava quickly dug into her bag and pulled out once of her machines. "Here, this is so you can always keep in contact with us!"

Adagio eyes widen for a moment before sadly shaking her head, "no...keep it, this is probably the best time to walk your own paths. I don't want you two to be calling me and second guessing yourselves,"

Ottava frowned, "b-but,"

"Come on now, don't give me that look. Now hurry up and go to the port, if you don't hurry you'll miss your chance!"

Ottava nodded, "okay, but I'll visit again alright!"

We both headed to the front door, Adagio waving to us. I didn't know her long, but it felt like I was leaving a piece of me behind as I took another step out. This time knowing for sure we most likely weren't going to see her again for awhile. Though, perhaps that was the point, I didn't have a lot of memories, so this was one of my first. It felt like I was waving goodbye to my mother, and that made me truly sad.

Author note

Cadenza's character development will be the exact opposite of Luke's not in a bad way, but it's going to be different.