Judas' scowl could have split rock. Seriously, regardless of how weak he might or might not be, he was still strong enough not to appreciate a threat about being tied down. Not that he thought she would, or even could, go that far. Sure, she might be able to push him around, but tying him up was another matter entirely.

Immediately after Tear left, Judas sat up, trying to decide what to do. His body certainly wanted to sleep, however there was that nagging curiosity in him that wanted to know exactly what had happened at the coliseum. He was also more than a little concerned about the spectators. He hoped none of them had been injured in the attack. In fact, there was a part of him that wanted to go down there and check out the situation first-hand. If there was any way he could help, he wanted to do so.

In fact, he decided that was exactly what he was going to do.

Hopping out of bed, Judas grabbed his sword and looped the scabbard over his belt. He then collected the boots that had been left for him, and pulled them on, before slipping over to the balcony. Stepping out onto it, he saw to his relief that he was not all that far up, and the castle's rocky surface would make scaling the side a breeze.

So that was what he did. Slipping over the railing of the balcony, he slid into the shadow of the overhang, and began his decent. Honestly, he found it too be a lot more work than he had anticipated, due to his exhaustion, and he ended up slipping part of the way down, and scraping his shins and elbows. Yet he did make it down in one piece, and that was what mattered.

Once his feet hit the ground, he slipped away, knowing that it was now only the simple task of getting out of the grounds. Maybe now he could learn what he wanted to learn, and be away without ever having to set foot in the castle again. The place was too stuffy for his tastes.

When the servant arrived a few minutes later to an empty room, she frowned at noticing the balcony doors had been left ajar. Setting the food aside, she hurried away to tell Natalia. She did not know what it meant, but she figured a higher-up should know.

OoO

Luke's head popped up at the sound of a knock on the solid, pine doors that lead to the small sitting room. Motioning to one of the servants to open them, he greeted Tear with a small smile and a nod.

"Tear, I'm glad you came...where's Judas?" he asked upon realising the dark-haired male was not with Tear. He could see it if the other man had needed some food or rest first, however. The guy had looked pretty run-down after that fight. He certainly would not blame the other male if that were the case. Luke himself probably would have passed out after that.

OoO

"Tear, good to see you again," Natalia greeted as soon as the brunette songstress entered the room. "Luke filled me in on what happened. I'm glad you weren't injured. "I apologise for letting you put yourself in danger like that. I should have been down there, so I thank you for your work." The princess has not been raised to be ungrateful, and she was not about to start not. Tear deserved a great deal of recognition for her efforts, and especially her role in saving the poor man's life. The very fact that Judas had gotten out alive was going to be a selling point on saving the coliseum. It was too important for anything else.

Before she got a chance to say more, however, a knock sounded at the door, causing Natalia to raise an eyebrow. "Let them in," she called to the guard.

OoO

"Judas is resting, or should be resting" Tear said in answer t Luke as the guard let a serving maid in. The maid gave the Princess and her fiancé a courteous greeting and informed them that she had found the balcony doors ajar in one of the rooms. She then turned to Tear and gave her a half curtsy as well. "Miss, I brought the food you requested to the guest room." Tear's stomach grumbled at the reminder that she hadn't eaten, but she was more interested in what the girl had said previously.

"Did you say the balcony doors were ajar?" she asked, and the girl nodded. Tear frowned, wondering why Judas would have gotten up to open the balcony doors when he had clearly been cold. "Was the young man still in bed?" she asked, and the maid gave her a blank look. "He has dark hair, about this long" Tear elaborated, measuring the approximate length of Judas' hair as she spoke. "Pale skin, he's wearing one of the green and white guest outfits?" The maid shook her head, claiming that she hadn't seen anyone in the room. Tear frowned again. Had Judas gotten up and come after her? He wouldn't have known where to go, so if he had he was probably wandering the halls of the castle now. "Please tell the staff to keep an eye out for him. He should have been in there" she instructed the maid.

Turning back to Natalia and Luke she said "I'm sorry to come in and go right back out, but I forgot I ordered lunch brought up. I haven't eaten yet." Her stomach gurgled again, quite loudly this time, and she flushed slightly. "I am also wondering where Judas went if he's no longer in bed" she admitted. Although she hadn't meant it when she had threatened to tie him down, now she wondered if she should have taken precautions against him wandering off. The castle was an easy place to get lost. However, even if he had come after her, that still didn't explain why he had opened the balcony door first. Excusing herself, she followed the serving maid back out of the room, heading toward the room she had left Judas in. The bed was definitely empty. She felt a small pang of worry, knowing he was in rather poor condition. At least when Luke had been unconscious after the destruction of Akzeriuth, she had known where he was. Judas, on the other hand, could be anywhere.

OoO

Jade had questioned everyone who worked at the coliseum, and some of the guests who had been present when the monsters had been released. Everyone claimed that there had been no one down near the cages, since the monsters which had been scheduled to fight had already been brought up to the ring at the time. Most of the people who had been present had dispersed, although Jade had instructed people to question anyone they had seen earlier that day in case someone knew something.

Overhearing one of the coliseum workers complaining about the damage done in the stands by Luke's lost Fon drive, the necromancer pinned the man with a piercing stare. "Your King-to-be did that to protect his people. The costs to repair a small section of seating are nothing compared to the reparations that might have been needed had those monsters escaped the arena." He turned away, shaking his head slightly at the idiocy of some people sometimes. Did no one stop to think before they opened their mouths? He left the arena in the care of the owner, since he had already questioned everyone present.

Fortunately very few people had been injured in the attack. People's instinct for self preservation was much more prevalent than their curiosity to see how the fight between the lone man and the horde of monsters. Of course, there had been exceptions, and those who had lingered had been taken to the nearby medical center for healing. Civilians had no place on the battlefield, but for some reason some people just didn't seem to understand that. Jade headed back for the castle, intending to report his findings to Luke, Tear, and the others. However, along the way he caught sight of a dark-haired man that looked very similar to the one who had been attempting to single-handedly wipe out the monsters. He was very pale and looked exhausted, but the attitude in his face was the same. There was also the fact that he was wearing the colors of the royal family, clothing that Jade himself had been subjected to wearing at least once before. The necromancer started to call out, and realized he had never actually gotten the man's name. Still, he wanted to talk to him.

"Excuse me" he said, falling into step beside the man. "If I'm not mistaken, you are the one who neutralized the majority of the monsters in the Coliseum earlier, correct?" he asked, eying Judas' tired face. "My apologies, but I didn't catch your name." He noticed that the dark-haired man was headed away from the palace and not accompanied by anyone, which was rather odd. After that show earlier he had expected Tear and Luke to keep the man at the castle for questioning. "I'm afraid there is not much to learn at the Coliseum" Jade added, noticing where the other man seemed to be heading. "Do you still have business there?"

OoO

Tear did not know it, but her fear was far from unfounded. Not long out in the sun, and Judas found himself seeing spots, the bright light upsetting his vision and giving him a rather splitting headache. Which in turn was messing up his vision. Just wonderful. Perhaps this little foray had not been a good idea after all.

Still, he was out now, so he was going to make the best of it.

As he wandered further into town, in what he dearly hoped was the direction of the coliseum, the long-haired male was hard-pressed to suppress the urge to lean on his sword like a crutch. Walking just seemed so arduous without support. Hell, even with support he was not sure how far he would be able to make it.

Still, he managed to press on, and eventually he found himself in the company of Jade, the colonel Luke had mentioned in his introductions earlier. He was not about to complain about the turn of events, however, as it meant that he did not have as far to go in an effort to find his answers.

"Judas," was all he said by way of introduction. He really did not have any other name to give. "And yeah, I was just wondering how things were down there." As he spoke, Judas nodded in the general direction of the coliseum...or what he hoped was the general direction, anyway. "Thought I'd see if anyone needed help, or anything. I was worried people might have been injured. I tried to keep civilians from getting hurt, but..." Sighing, he trailed off for a moment to gather his thoughts.

"I guess I just want to know what the hell happened back there that almost killed me... That would have killed me had Tear not shown up. I might have been able to kill the lot of them like I did, but I probably would have bled to death after." Shrugging, he sighed. "So what did you find out?"

OoO

When Tear took off, Luke had a quick word with Natalia before trotting off after his friend. It was a worrisome prospect to think of Judas lost in the castle. After all the man had done, the last thing the royal couple wanted to do was lose him. Especially if his health was poor, as Tear had mentioned.

The balcony business was worrisome, too. What if someone had snuck in and done something? Especially with Judas now missing, the whole thing did not look very good. Of course, there was also the slim chance that Judas had slipped away himself. As unlikely as that seemed, it was not impossible.

Arriving at the room, Luke knocked before slipping quickly inside to see Tear looking around, clearly upset about something. He figured that that something had to be a certain black-haired male. Tear was a good caregiver; she would never want a patient of hers off wandering around while his or her health was poor.

"I'm here to give you a hand," he told her, glancing around the room. "Natalia's already passed the order off for the servants to keep an eye out for him.

"So, did you learn anything? I can't imagine he's gone very far, wherever he was headed. Not unless he had help..." he mumbled the last bit, staring at the now-closed doors.

OoO

Jade frowned at Judas' question. "I'm afraid I didn't learn much..." he said, thinking about the answers he had been given. "No one seems to know anything about how the monsters got loose, or how they managed to escape the underground care area and get into the arena. They also had no idea how the creatures made their way into the stands, since there is no way to get from the arena ground floor directly into the stands." The necromancer glanced over at his companion. "Speaking of getting rid of them though, that arte was unfamiliar to me. Where did you learn it?"

He noticed that Judas' steps were rather unsteady and frowned again. Why had Luke and Tear let him wander off if he was in such poor condition? "You don't look very good. Perhaps we should go to the inn if we are to continue our conversation? I need to book a room for this evening anyway. " Although he was sure there was probably an open invitation to stay in the Palace, Jade was not particularly fond of the fuss of castle life. He got enough of that in Malkuth, thanks to Peony.

"If you are not adverse to the idea, I'll book you a room as well. I doubt the coliseum staff will be willing to pay you after the amount of damage that was done, so allow me to thank you in their stead for neutralizing the threat to the general populace." Jade knew it wasn't really his place to make such an offer, since he wasn't even a citizen of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear. However, the staff was likely to be tight-fisted and Judas looked as though he wasn't exactly rolling in riches. The necromancer had taken an interest in the strange young man and would rather keep him close by for observation, so offering him a room seemed the best way to go about it at the moment.

"Of course, I am sure the Princess and her fiancé would be glad to let you stay free of charge in their guest room if you so desire. They will want to thank you for your assistance." Somehow Jade didn't think Judas was the type to enjoy that sort of thing. Perhaps it was how uncomfortable he looked in the guest clothing meant for nobility.

OoO

Tear gave Luke another half-hearted smile, but she picked up something off one of the trays the maids had brought. "Thank you Luke. I hope he hasn't gone far. He really didn't look well…" Worry was clear in her voice as she spoke, and she found her gaze inadvertently drawn to the balcony door again. There was no way Judas could have gone out that way, right? She couldn't think of a reason he would want to leave, unless perhaps she had upset him by treating him rather like a child. She hoped that wasn't the case, as she didn't want to drive him away. Taking a bite of her lunch, she found it oddly tasteless.

"I guess I'm not as hungry as I thought," she said, setting the bowl back down. She returned her gaze to Luke. "I'm not sure what you mean by 'learn anything' though. Judas and I didn't talk much before I told him to get some rest." She sighed. "It's terrible that he has to go through something like this on top of losing his memories…"

OoO

"Well, I suppose it was asking too much for you to know anything this soon," Judas said with a shrug. "I'm just glad the monsters didn't get away and demolish half of the city."

At the mention of his arte, Judas shrugged lightly and frowned. "I really have no idea," he replied honestly. "Although, it might have something to do with..." Frowning, the black-haired man shook his head and sighed. "No, never mind. That's stupid." There was no way the...thing was the only word for it, that he had on his person back in Kaitzur could have anything to do with it. In fact, he really should just get rid of it. Yet he could not seem to bring himself to do it.

When Jade began talking about staying at an inn, Judas could not stop a stab of guilt from assaulting him. The offer was sorely tempting, yet he already felt terrible for just running off without a word to Tear. Sure, he had no real obligation to her (minus the healing, food, and place to stay...), yet it still bothered him. Perhaps he should go back... There was always the small matter of Tear's invitation for dinner, too. Although, in light of recent events, he was not sure it was still standing.

With a sigh, he shook his head slowly, reluctantly. "As tempting as your offer is-" and it was tempting "-I left without telling anyone. I'd rather not worry Tear," he admitted, pointedly averting his eyes to the buildings they were passing to hide his minute blush. On his pale face, small as it was it would still be noticeable. "So I should probably go back there. At least long enough to let them know I'm okay."

OoO

Luke furrowed his brow for a moment before understanding dawned on him. "Oh, well, I was just wondering if you had figured out where Judas had taken off to, not if you had learned anything from him. I wouldn't be surprised if Jade came back and told us what the monsters had for breakfast. And Judas, too."

Tear's later comment caused the redhead's eyes to widen. "H-he lost his memories?" he asked. It was just like him...well, the memories part. At least Luke had had his family. Or, well, Asch's. Support had made it easier, but Judas seemed pretty alone. "What's his last name? Maybe we can find his family." Eyes widening further, Luke realised something. "Is...is Judas even his real name?" Suddenly the man's pointed lack of formal introductions made sense. Did Judas even have a name? Or was he...

"Do you...is he a replica?" It would be odd for a replica to have that sort of power. Odd, but not impossible.

OoO

Jade raised an eyebrow questioningly at Judas as the young man admitted that he had left without telling anyone. Somehow he had suspected that might be the case. If Tear had realized he was gone, she probably was worrying. "I see." He altered his path a bit, now heading for the castle instead. Reserving a room could wait. "I'll walk with you then."

The city was surprisingly quiet considering the time of day, so the two had the street to themselves as they walked. Jade assumed that word of the monsters escaping had spread quickly and the citizens were confining themselves to their homes until they were sure it was safe to venture outside again. As they walked, Jade eyed the strange bracelet-like object Judas wore. He had never seen craftsmanship like that, and it certainly didn't look as though it was part of the young-man's borrowed attire. He wondered where Judas had gotten it.

OoO

Tear furrowed her brow at Luke's questions. She had no idea if Judas was his real name or not, and she wasn't sure if Judas himself would know either. "I don't think he is a replica" she said after a quiet moment. "There's a certain…difference with him, if you know what I mean." She looked over at Luke, who had told stories of his earliest memories. Judas did not seem as though he had only recently learned to talk, and his fighting skills were certainly not the sort of thing one could pick up without years of training. "I don't know if Judas is his real name, or where he's from, or if he has loved ones who are searching for him."

She thought again about how lonely that life must be, cut off from all memories of people and places that were dear to you. She would hate to lose the precious memories she had gathered over the years. What sort of treasured moments might Judas have lost? At least when Luke had been learning as a newborn replica he had been with a family who loved and supported him. Although Judas wasn't a replica, at least she didn't think he was, he still had nothing of the sort. An empty road with only his sword as a companion was the only thing that lay behind him, and unless things changed it appeared to be his prospect for the future as well.

Tear felt a pang of sympathy at the thought. People couldn't exist on their own; they needed the support of friends. She decided that when she saw Judas again, she would apologize to him for treating him like a child. If there was anything she could do to help him, she wanted to do it. Perhaps he would accept her friendship and leave the lonely road behind.

OoO

Judas walked alongside Jade in silence. He was somewhat relieved for the lack of conversation, as it gave him time to think. Logically, he should just take the chance to leave. A good night's sleep at an inn, a good meal, and then leave in the morning before anyone got a chance to stop him. It all seemed like such a perfect plan. Yet instead here he was, giving up his freedom to follow Jade back to the castle. A castle he really did not want to go back to. A castle that Tear was currently in, so a castle he was going back to. It was a stupid reason, but that was the truth of it.

He was getting entirely too fond of the woman to be healthy. She was clearly in love with Luke, so what was the point? And besides that...he recognised that his own reaction to her might well be just because he was lonely. He was lonely, as much as he hated to admit it. He knew virtually no one in the world, and Tear was the first person to really extend such a great degree of kindness to him. It was all too likely that his growing affection for her was because of that kindness, and that was dangerous to both of them. If the feelings were not real, then they would die with time. It was troublesome. Then again, none of that really mattered in light of the fact that Tear was very fond of Luke... Sure, he might be getting married to someone else, but that would likely leave Tear heartbroken for quite some time. Except...well, except that she had not rejected him when he had kissed her earlier. Which was potentially troublesome in and of itself. She might well be rebounding to him and...

Ugh, it was giving him a headache. For now, he would just see where life took him, and at the moment that meant not running off to never see her again. It meant going back to the castle. The castle, he realised, he was now standing before. Apparently he had zoned out for the entire walk. He fell back into the background as Jade got them invited in, and then they were off, walking to wherever it was that Luke-and hopefully Tear, too-was.

OoO

"We should look, then," Luke replied, determined. After having spent the first seven years of his existence not knowing anything himself, he felt pangs of sympathy for the lost swordsman. If Judas needed help, then the redhead was going to be all to willing to give it. Nobody deserved to be left behind by life.

"After...after the wedding we can start looking, if he wants. I don't know how well it'll work, but I'd be more than willing to try for him." A moment later, a knock sounded at the door. Frowning in confusion, he made his way over to and opened it to reveal a slim maid.

"Hm? Oh, okay! That's good news. Thank you." Turning back to Tear, Luke shot her a reassuring smile. "Come on, let's head back downstairs," he told her, already keeping to his own words. "Apparently Jade just arrived, with Judas in tow." He was not really sure how the black-haired male had gotten free of the castle, but he was glad Jade had brought him back. "We're going to have to keep a better eye on him. I wouldn't want him getting hurt because he's pushing himself too hard." Not after all Judas had done for his city.


So, I might possibly have forgotten about updating this. Can you forgive me, excellent readers? D: But really, don't ever be afraid to poke me, or something. Like I said before, there's a tonne written, it's really only a matter of posting it. I have no excuses, then.

Anyway. Hope you enjoyed!