Urg...things happened. D: 'Nough said. Gotta do something to keep me busy.
I checked back at some of my chapters. Holy cow... I fixed some of them. Including that 'thanks' back in the previous chapter.
Anyway, I thank my beta, Mieu. She's such a nice gal. :3
Disclaimer: I don't own ToA.
Chapter 8: Fon-tech Mode
"Guy!" Luke cried out to the blond. Guy acknowledged his presence with a nod as he took down the soldier next to me. I gave him a smirk.
"Why, thank you, Mister Knight in Shining Armor."
Guy gave me this weird look before continuing on his way. I sighed before grabbing Ion's hand and led him towards Luke and Tear where Guy took down their two guards again. Swift, awesome, courteous, kind, and afraid of women. A fangirl's dream of a man and Guy's worst nightmare. Too bad he wasn't real, he would die of fright from all of the raging and squealing fangirls.
"Ah!" came a female cry of distress. We all turned our attention to the source of the sound. Jade was pointing his spear at Arietta's neck while his other hand held her shoulder firmly. He held a cool gaze at Legretta.
"Arietta!" Legretta directed her attention to Jade and Arietta. She made no move to save Arietta but she kept a cautious stance, and her guns were still pointed in our direction.
"Now that I have your attention," Jade glanced at Legretta. The spear gleamed dangerously near Arietta's neck. "Drop your weapons once more and go back inside of the Tartarus."
After a possibly long consideration, Legretta dropped her weapons again and walked towards the Tartarus. She stood just at the steps of the stairs making a short eye contact with him before walking up the stairs, head held high and proudly. The Oracle Knights also did the same thing and made their way to the port hatch. Jade looked down at Arietta.
"You're next. Take your monster inside." Jade ordered her. She gave Ion a pleading look.
"Fon Master... I... I..."
Ion took a step closer to Arietta but Guy grabbed his arm to keep him from moving any closer to the monster that was next to the stairs. Ion looked back at Guy and then at Arietta. "Please do as he says, Arietta."
Arietta's eyes continued their silent pleading but she eventually nodded. Jade released his grip on her shoulder but he made no attempt on lowering his weapon. Instead, it moved to her back. He walked Arietta towards her monster where she patted the creature and led it up the stairs, with Jade right behind her of course. Guy moved below the stairs where he was keeping an eye on her and her monster, once she was inside the port hatch, Guy quickly punched a few buttons on a pad that was at the side of the Tartarus causing the door to the port hatch to close. Jade jumped down from the top of the stairs and he, too, did something to the pad and the stairs moved back inside of the Tartarus.
"All of the hatches should stay close for a while," Jade announced, walking towards the group but he kept his eye on the port hatch. Luke sighed happily.
"Whew, thank goodness. Good timing, Guy!" Luke lightly punched Guy's shoulder. The fist remained on Guy's shoulder as he grabbed Luke's fist and chuckled.
"I looked all over for you. Never thought you'd turn up in a place like this!" He held a large grin as he returned his own light punch to Luke.
Awww... Talk about brotherly love. Even though they weren't brothers by blood.
"By the way, Ion," Jade spoke up, "What happened to Anise? Anh said that she should be alive, but she also said something about falling to her doom." He turned his attention from the Tartarus to Ion.
"Oh, that?" Ion tilted his head to the side. "We were surrounded by some soldiers and she was trying to protect me when a soldier grabbed me. That's when they threw her out of the Tartarus through the porthole. But I heard soldiers say that they couldn't find the body, so I'm hoping she's all right."
"She should be, she had the letter..." I mumbled.
Jade nodded. "All right, then let's head for Saint Binah. That's our rendezvous point with Anise."
"Saint Binah?" Luke repeated with a confused look. "Where's that?"
"Anh, could you pass me your bag for one second?" Ion asked. I blinked a couple of times before complying. The rifle wasn't in the bag so Ion didn't have to deal with the heaviness. He searched through it and pulled out a square sheet of paper and unfolded it. Turns out it was a map of Auldrant. Ion walked up to Luke to show him the entire map. "St. Binah is right here. Our location should be here, so all we have to do is move southeast to reach the city."
Luke nodded, thoughtfully. "Okay. We just need to make it there, right?"
Ion neatly folded the map as Guy looked at Jade. "What about your troops? They're still inside this ship, right?"
Jade pushed his glasses up and shook his head. "I can't imagine there being any survivors aside. If they left any witnesses, it would lead to war between the Order of Lorelei and Malkuth."
Then why were we still alive?
"...How many people were onboard?" Luke asked, hesitantly.
"This was a top secret mission, so only half the usual number. Around 140 sounds about right." Jade answered, nonchalantly.
"Over a hundred people were killed..." Guy muttered. Luke lowered his head so that his bangs covered the expression he was holding. His fist balled up and shook so one would assume he was distraught by the news.
"Let's get going." Tear suggested. "If we get caught here, the war that follows will claim the lives of more."
Jade nodded. "I agree. We should leave before the Oracle Knights gain complete control of the Tartarus."
Guy nodded as well, he patted Luke's shoulder, looked up at Luke and nodded hesitantly. I gripped my weapon, giving my own nod to the group. Since there was no time to put the bag down and stuff the rifle in it, I was going to have to carry the darn thing by hand. Ah man, this sucked. My hands were going to be bruised, I just know it.
We ran south of the Tartarus with Jade and Luke in the lead, Ion and I in the middle followed by Tear and Guy. Tear and Guy were constantly looking behind them to see if any soldiers were following us and I was constantly looking at Ion. All of us, aside from Jade, were panting from the run. Ion was taking it the worse. He was doing his best not to look tired but then he suddenly started wheezing and collapsed on the ground. Everyone stopped in place while Tear ran up to Ion, rubbing his back gently. Luke approached him, panting a bit.
"Hey, you okay?" he asked Ion.
"Ion...You used Daathic fonic artes aboard the Tartarus, didn't you?" Jade asked.
Err...I never recalled Ion using any Daathic artes. Unless you counted opening the seal being one of them, but aside from that one, Ion hadn't used any artes on the Tartarus itself. Ion was still breathing in deeply to give an answer. Ah well, just go with the flow.
"That thing you did back at the cheagles' place?" Luke asked.
Ion nodded slightly. "I'm sorry. My body just isn't built to use Daathic fonic artes. A fair bit of time had passed so I thought I'd recovered but..."
"Let's rest for a while." Jade suggested. "At this rate, we risk shortening Ion's life."
Some time had passed and Ion wasn't panting like crazy anymore. We didn't plan to continue any further, in case Ion collapsed a second time. In the meantime, we sat there, weapons already put away and we talked a bit, explaining things to Guy since he was wondering what happened to Luke and why he was in Malkuth territory. He found out that it was hyperresonance that caused Luke and Tear to be blown so far away. He also found out about the cheagles and a talking Mieu. When Mieu said something to Guy, Guy had to (he just had to) take the Sorcerer's Ring off, and heard Mieu say 'mieu' instead of human language. His eyes widened and he began inspect the Sorcerer's Ring with fascination glowing in his eyes. Luke had to practically rip the ring out of Guy's hands so that they could continue where they left off before Guy got side tracked. Ion explained to him that the Sorcerer's Ring was a type of Capacity Core and Guy's happy face turned into a frown.
And...then he got side tracked...again.
"What about that?" Guy pointed to my bag where my rifle was kept. I blinked, pointing to the bag and he chuckled. "I meant your weapon."
"Ohhh, this?" I asked pulling it out. Holy cow, his face looked like that of a kid's face when given free candy. It was as bright as the sun and the grin he gave to me was a grin any girl would fall over and die of happiness.
"Anh...put that thing away." Luke waved a hand in front of me; another hand was up and in front of Guy.
Guy shot Luke a disappointed look. "I just want to ask her a few questions."
"Seriously, Anh. Put. It. Away." Luke repeated, stressing each word as if there was a bear that was about to attack me. I blinked twice before complying.
And then it happened.
The two of them dove for the rifle as soon as I pulled out the bag. Luke was the first one to grab it and he grabbed my bag in the process. I knew Guy faltered because I was female but once my weapon was out of my hands, he moved swiftly so that Luke didn't have enough time to put half of it in the bag. Guy ended up victorious and he wrestled the rifle right out of Luke's hand. Luke tsked and reached for it while Guy was doing his best trying to keep it away from Luke's reach. I sighed, rubbing my temple. There was no way I could get it back now...
"I only want to look at it, Luke...!"
"And I'm telling you, it would be better if you didn't!" Luke grunted, trying to swipe it from below.
"One inspection and a few questions! That's all I ask!" Guy moved back, and Luke missed it by an inch.
"How many times have I heard that back at the manor?" Luke asked, making a swipe from the side. "You kept saying that and then I never hear the end of it after you got what you wanted!"
"Don't be childish, Luke." Guy moved it behind his back
"You're the one that's being childish!" Luke knocked him over and the two of them hit the ground, rifle still in one piece and out of danger.
Jeez...Guy's obsession with fon machines was so bad to the point where he would keep it from being scratched. Now what would really happen if I did put a scratch on it? Most likely I would never hear the end of it from Guy as he cradle it in his arms. Tears flowing down his face as he would stroke the weapon without shame. Okay...the tears and stroking part wouldn't happen but that would be a very funny sight to see.
Back to the struggle... Guy was on his back, one hand clutching the rifle and another on Luke's shoulder trying to push him back. Luke, on the other hand, attempted to reach for it while the other hand swatted away Guy's other hand. Those two acted like two little kids trying to get rights to a toy. And by toy, I meant weapon. It was very cute in a way but...can I get my rifle back...?
As if answering my silent plea, Jade pushed his glasses up, stood up, and walked over to the two of them. He was standing a few feet from Guy's head as he knelt down and cleared his throat.
"Gentlemen," Jade spoke up, with one hand gripped firmly on the rifle. Both Luke and Guy stopped what they were doing and looked up at Jade. "If you don't mind, I would like this back. If this continues, you both will leave my Lieutenant Colonel weaponless. If there was any questions you have in mind, I would be glad to answer all of them, but first, may I have this back?"
"You hear that, Guy?" Luke snorted at him. "Give him the rifle."
Guy shot Luke a look before he released the rifle, giving Jade the rights over it. Jade handed the rifle and its bag back to me and looked back at the two of them. I looked at them as well. Luke got off of Guy as Guy sat up. The blond began laughing.
"Too bad. If you were a little bit taller I would be in trouble back there!" Guy winked at Luke, emphasizing 'little bit' part with a small pinch in the air.
"What's with you and my height?" Luke shot back at Guy. "I will grow taller than you."
"Like I said, good luck~" Guy smacked Luke on his back before swinging an arm over Luke's shoulder and around his neck. He looked at Jade even with Luke in his headlock. "I didn't know Malkuth created things like these." His head flicked towards the rifle in the bag.
"Malkuth doesn't specialize in fon technology unlike Kimlasca, but even we can do a few things here and there to impress Kimlasca." Jade gave Guy a sadistic grin even as Luke jerked himself away from Guy. Guy put a hand under his chin as he pondered about it while Luke took a seat across from me and beside Ion.
"What about the bullets?" Guy asked. His face brightened even more causing Luke and I to groan loudly. Tear facepalmed while Ion smiled.
This was going to take forever...!
Jade answered all of Guy's questions calmly. To the ones where he doesn't want to answer, he just worked his way around them. Eventually we got back on track where it was Ion's turn to explain to Guy about the Order, how he had escaped from Mohs with Jade and my help, and that he needed to deliver the letter to Kimlasca before war started. When asked why Mohs wanted war, Ion replied that 'it's confidential'. Luke huffed, placing an elbow on his thigh and resting his head on the open palm.
"Whatever his reasons, this war must be avoided. We won't let Mohs interfere." Jade said.
"You've sure gotten yourself wrapped up in a mess here, Luke." Guy gave Luke a smirk. Luke started to protest to Guy and it ended up in friendly bickering. Ion looked back and forth between Guy and Luke with interest.
"Sorry to interrupt but..." Ion spoke up. Guy and Luke stopped what they were doing and looked at Ion. Ion faced Guy and gave him his usual friendly smile. "Who are you?"
Guy blinked a few times before he stood up and flicked a thumb towards his chest. "Oh, right, I haven't introduced myself haven't I? I'm Guy. I'm a servant in Duke Fabre's manor."
Ion stood up, walked up to him and held out his hand. "You already know me as Fon Master Ion."
Guy grinned and shook his hand. Next was Jade who did his whole shpeal about him being the Colonel of Third Division of the Malkuth Imperial Forces. Like Ion, Jade was also holding his hand out. Guy shook his hand as well. And then Tear came up with her introduction and she, too, held out her hand. Instead of getting a handshake like the other two, Guy, with wide eyes, took many steps away from Tear while letting out a loud 'aaah!'. His arms flew up in front of him as a protective barrier between him and her. He left a large trail of dust clouds behind him as everybody stared at him with confused/shocked and befuffled looks. Mine was more amused than either of those looks. I would have guessed Jade's reaction was intrigued since Guy was acting like a child just a few minutes ago. I was in the back of the group; no one can see my reaction except Guy, who was turning his full attention to Tear.
"...what?" Tear asked innocently.
"Guy doesn't like women." Luke explained as he stood up and dusted his pants.
"I'd say it looks more like a phobia." Jade stated his own opinion.
"Gynophobia to be more exact." I nodded with my arms crossed. "The fear of women."
"S-Sorry..." Guy stuttered. "It's nothing personal... It's just..."
"If it helps you, you don't have to think of me as a woman." Tear told him. She took a step closer to him, forcing him to take a step back. She paused a bit before taking another step and Guy took another step back. I giggled.
"It's no use, Tear. He's completely terrified by anybody's that's female." I giggled again as I showed my point. I walked up to him while he was completely distracted by Tear, who was still advancing on him, and poked him on the arm. Guy looked over at me and then...
"Aaaahh!" Guy screamed as he ran behind Luke for cover. He was eyeing the two of us, completely terrified. His shaking did all the explaining.
Tear sighed, placing a palm to her forehead as I walked up to her side. "...Fine. I'll be sure to keep my distance. Will that take care of it?"
Guy nodded and turned his attention towards me. I held up my hands, innocently.
"Okay, I'll do the same. Happy?" Obviously, I was so not going to keep my distance. A fangirl gotta do what a fangirl loves. If teasing was a must then teasing it will be! I felt like cackling internally.
"Sorry..." Guy apologized, relaxing.
"An interesting servant you have there, Luke," Jade commented. He turned to Guy. "If you serve House Fabre, you must be from Kimlasca. Did you come looking for Luke?"
Guy nodded, he was back to his usual self. "Yes, under orders from Duke Fabre. We knew he'd disappeared into Malkuth territory. I went by land from Chesedonia, while Dorian General Grants crossed the sea and started searching from Kaitzur."
Tear and Luke gave shocked looks at Guy. Luke's expression was more of a mix of shock and happiness though.
"Master Van's looking for me, too?" he asked, excitedly.
"...My brother is here?" Tear murmured, her gaze was lowered to the ground as she pondered to herself.
"Your brother?" Guy's brow furrowed. "You mean..."
He was interrupted by the sound of metal shoes. Everybody was tense as a handful of Oracle Knights approached us, and by handful I meant at least ten, with their weapons drawn and ready for a fight. Guy and Tear ran to the front of the group to confront the soldiers.
"Oh dear," Jade sighed as he whipped out his spear. "It looks like we've run out of time to chat. Anh, bring Ion and Mieu to safety."
"No arguments there." I turned around and grabbed Ion's wrist and pulled him into the nearby forest. Mieu was already clinging onto Ion's staff so I wasn't worried about grabbing the cheagle. We were just hiding behind a few trees, giving us a good view of the battle. Well...we would have had a good view if a certain Malkuth Colonel wasn't blocking the view with his big ass body.
Nice ass though...
Wait, what? What the hell was I thinking? I slapped my cheeks with both of my hands while Ion gave me a concerned look.
"Is something wrong, Anh?" he asked me.
"Don't mind me," I told him as I pulled my bag over my head and took out my rifle. I loaded a bullet into the rifle as I scanned through the battle. Guy and Tear were taking down most of the soldiers while Jade was taking down whichever ones were attempting to enter the forest where we were. Luke...was trying to avoid contact as much as possible. Not that I blame him or anything. I looked through my scope as I looked for a good opening to shoot. I closed my finger around the trigger, but for some reason I wasn't able to pull it. Okay, it was now or never. I had to deal with this sometime. It had to be now, it just had to be-
"Anh!" Ion shouted, pulling me away from my train of thought. I felt a pull on my rifle and my finger squeezed the trigger instinctively. The sound of the rifle echoed through the trees and I swore I heard a thump not too long after that sound. It wasn't until after the sound of a fired rifle dulled that I realized something had happened.
In front of me was an Oracle Knight, slouching against a tree as he gasped for air. Blood was oozing from the damaged neck, staining his grey uniform. He was having difficulty breathing and it didn't help him when he spat out blood. The partially shattered helmet revealed his bloodied mouth and the sound of his rasp was extremely loud. My gaze lowered onto my rifle and my eyes widened in horror. On my rifle was Ion's hand, who was also shocked. His gaze was on neither the rifle nor the soldier. He was staring down at the ground with wide eyes.
"I-I'm sorry," he apologized, he released his hand from the rifle. I didn't know who he was apologizing to. "He just... I..."
Then it hit me, Ion was trying to warn me about the soldier that was coming. The others must have missed this one since he probably was concealed in the forest hoping that I would draw Ion into it. I was too concentrated in the battle outside of the forest that I wasn't able to see him. Ion pulled on my rifle and I pulled the trigger by accident. Oh God, I just...
"As long as you...the Fon Master..." the soldier wheezed as he coughed up some more blood. "We will..."
And then he died. Just like that. His eyes glazed and his head fell lifelessly to the side. The blood continued to ooze out of his wound, creating a large pool around his lower body. Blood had also trickled down his mouth, staining his teeth and his chin and adding a darker shade to the already stained uniform. A firm grip grabbed my shoulder and I screamed, struggling in that person's grip until they turned me around and gripped my other shoulder so that I was face to face with the person. I stared at crimson eyes that were staring at me steadily.
"J-Jade?" I sputtered before tears welled up in my eyes. "Oh God, I just... It was an accident... I didn't mean to-"
I clung onto him, sobbing uncontrollably on his chest. He let me cry for a brief second before he pulled me away from him when someone else screamed.
"Now is not the time for tears," Jade said, before he turned around and returned to the battlefield. Ion patted me on the shoulder and he led me outside just when Tear fell to the ground with a pained look on her face. Luke was also on the ground on his bottom as he stared at Tear with a startled look. Blood came out of Tear's arm where she was gripping with her other one.
"T-Tear...I-I..." Luke started to say but he was unable to finish his sentence. He received a faint 'idiot' from Tear who then fell unconscious. Luke reached for her only to be pulled back by Jade.
"This is no time for hesitating. Anh, bring me the bandages in your bag!" Jade ordered, moving Tear's hand away from her wound. I flinched a bit before dropping my rifle and frantically searching through my bag for the bandages. I was a bit unsuccessful since my mind was in a distorted moment but with Ion's help I was able to find it.
"She should be fine for now," Jade said as he laid Tear on a sheet that was given to him by Guy. "It appears that we have to make camp for tonight. Guy-" Guy's head flicked up and he moved his hand away from Luke's shoulder. It appeared that he gave Luke a few words of encouragement or something to that effect. "-we will need firewood for tonight."
Guy nodded, solemnly. He patted Luke's shoulder a couple of times before he head back up the path where we faced the soldiers. Jade muttered something to Ion while I sat beside Tear's sleeping figure with my knees to my chest. I rested my forehead on my knees as I inhaled deeply.
The scent of blood and iron invaded my nose. My nose crinkled before I removed my head away from my knees. The smell was disgusting, it nearly made me want to hurl. The scent of blood reminded me of what had just happened earlier.
I murdered someone. Tears welled up in my eyes as my nose began running. I quickly blinked them away but they kept returning and eventually fell down from my face. Why was it always the case where tears fall whenever someone was near me and never when I was alone? God, I hated that part of me.
"Myuu...Anh's crying..."
"Shut up, Mieu." I told him.
"Anh?" another voice spoke up. I looked up to see Ion looking a bit sad and I forced myself to look away while wiping my tears away. Another wave of tears came up and I started hating myself even more. Seriously, what the fuck was wrong with me?
A hand patted my shoulder and I flinched.
"Anh, about the soldier..." Ion spoke up.
"Ion, don't." I sobbed. "I don't want to talk about it."
"But please understand..."
"No! I don't want to!" I cried out. "I just killed someone, Ion! It wasn't on purpose either! I never wanted to kill him in the first place!"
"Please keep it down, you'll wake up Tear..." Ion pleaded, he was gesturing me to keep it down with his hand. "Besides, it wasn't your fault. It was mine."
"Oh, stop being the saint, Ion." I told him. "I was the one that pulled the trigger, not you. I killed him, okay? There's nothing that could change that. Even if it was an accident, I fucking murdered him. I just...killed him. Just like that. What difference does it make?"
"He probably killed more people than you did..." Ion pointed out. "And...by killing him, you prevented him from killing more."
"But that means I had to kill more people."
Ion opened his mouth to say something but he closed it and looked away. I sighed, hoarsely, and stood up. "Sorry, I just want to sit somewhere by myself before I bitch at someone again."
Without giving him a chance to respond, I strode away from the campsite. I found myself a nice spot and just plopped my butt on the soft grass. I sat there in my usual position, with my knees to my chest and my arms were wrapped around them as I stared blankly at the ground. I just thought to myself. Ion was right, if I hadn't killed that soldier, what would had happened to those that would be killed if he was alive?
What was the point?
I had to kill more than just that one person. The fact that I just killed him and knowing that I had to kill more made my stomach churned. The smell of blood came back as vomit rose up my throat. I had to force myself to swallow it, forcing myself to erase the images. It didn't help. The bloodied face, the smell, his dying breath. All of it just came back. What would Tear say at this moment if she saw me in this state?
Breathe in and out?
Damn. That would be something she would say... She sucked at cheering people up. She was good at pointing out faults and making people feel guilty and then let them see the light all at the same time. Why does she have to be unconscious at a time like this? Now I was stuck with three hot men, one of them being a pure sadist, another afraid of women and the last was a pure asshole with long hair, and a male loli. Great. Just great.
While I was pondering to myself, a pair of footsteps came up to me but I didn't bother looking at who it was. Whoever it was, stood there for a brief second before they set something down and sat beside me. I looked to the side to see that it was Guy, and...he was keeping his distance from me. He sat there with one leg stretched out in front of him and another knee up, one hand was hanging from that leg while the other one was on the ground, supporting him as he leaned back.
Neither of us spoke to each other until he decided to start it. "So, you're Anh?"
I didn't uttered a single word to him. Instead, I just nodded, returning my attention to the ground in front of me.
"I heard from Ion that you're Jade's second-in-command," he continued. "Though, from his side of the story, he said that it was just a title by name. I guess you don't have much experience, do you?"
Again, I nodded.
"You seemed a bit down, would you like to talk about it?"
I shook my head this time. Someone should take the hint that I would like to be alone. Damn it, Ion! Did you set him up for this?
Guy sighed. "Well, this isn't going anywhere..."
I heard him put something onto the ground and pushed it near me. I looked over to the side to see a metal box. Curiosity took over me, and I reached over to it to see what it was. I turned it over a few times, only seeing that it was some metal cube-like object.
"What is this?" I asked, after looking at it for too long.
Guy chuckled, his eyes immediately lit up and I regretted asking that question. "It's called a Wing Pack. It's a fon technology device that allows you to keep your items in it. It's light, it stores a lot of stuff inside, including Gald, and it's an ideal travelling kit if someone is travelling for a long distance by themselves. It's pretty convenient for any travelers since it stores any types of objects the user wants to put it in. The object can be large or small and this little guy can still pack some more. Here, pass it to me so that I can show you how it works."
Great. No stopping him now. He was already holding out his hand, gesturing that I should give him the fon tech. I passed it over to him, dropping it in his hand so that we don't make contact with each other and have Guy freaking out. He pushed a button and the machine split opened, a couple parts of it flew in the air and a blue-green screen appeared in the middle of the two parts but just above the main part that was in Guy's hand.
"You see this?" He pointed to the screen. "This shows you what part of the Wing Pack you are looking at. This sorts items into different categories like weapons, armors, items in general, food ingredients, and many more. All you have to do is push the sides that are floating to view each category. For example, the default category is items whenever you open the Wing Pack. That carries gels, bottles, and you get the point. So, to put an item in..." He paused for a bit and looked around. He pulled out my bag and searched through it, pulling out a couple of gels and bottles. "Ah, these will do. So you just hold it in front of the fon tech, just like what I'm doing with this Apple Gel, and...There you go! It's gone! It's in the Wing Pack now. If you noticed, the number of Apple Gels went up by one since I just put one into the Wing Pack. But you should know that-"
"Guy..." I spoke up. Guy stopped what he was doing and he stared at me. "I know you're trying to cheer me up but..."
"Eh? Oh, uh, right. Sorry, I got carried away." Guy laughed a bit with one hand behind his head. "Feeling any better?"
I paused to think about it. Then I tapped his arm, which caused him to drop the Wing Pack and increase the distance between us. I laughed. "Now I'm feeling much better!"
"Y-y-y-you're welcome...!" Came his reply. The last bit of his sentence sounded really high pitched. I laughed again and picked up the Wing Pack.
"So how do you take something out?" I asked him, loudly. Hopefully he heard me.
He did. And he was back into Fon-Tech Mode. Fear forgotten.
Guy and I returned to the group after a long session. When Guy talked about fon technology, he just had to make sure that he covered every single detail and I literally meant every single detail. An example would be when the Wing Pack was crushed or tossed into a body of water. He had to show that to me by doing those two things. It turned out that the Wing Pack was virtually indestructible. Be it water, lava, heavy objects or just plain goofing around, it won't be broken nor would the supplies be damaged. How did they made it like that, I had absolutely no idea. I sighed as I took in all of the information, Guy was happily in his own little world as he explained it all to me.
Tear was still resting in the makeshift bed except now, she had a blanket over her. Both of her gloves were taken off and one of her arm was bandaged around the bicep. Luke was sitting beside her, keeping an eye on her but his eyes said that they were in a world of his own. Ion was also with Luke and Tear while Jade was nowhere to be found. Ion saw us return to the group and his eyes brightened. He stood up and walked over to us.
"How are you feeling, Anh?" he asked. I rubbed my temple.
"Feels like I had just returned from a long seminar in which the professor won't just shut up." I answered. I flicked a thumb over to Guy. "This guy knows how to talk but thanks to him, I'm feeling a lot better."
"Thank you, Guy, for going after Anh," Ion thanked Guy. I laughed.
"Yeah, thanks, Guy!" I patted his arm in which he immediately fled behind Ion. The Wing Pack that was in his hand flew up into the air and right into Ion's hands. Ion blinked at the object as Guy uncontrollably shook behind him.
"S-sure thing...!" Guy managed to utter.
I turned towards Ion. "And thanks Ion. You tried cheering me up even though I was being a total bitch...ish...back there. I'm also sorry."
"I'm just happy that you're feeling much better than you were before." Ion said. "Anyway, I think it's time for you to keep an eye on Tear, Guy," Ion changed the subject with a nervous smile. "Luke looks like he needed a break like Anh."
Guy rested a hand underneath his chin. "Is he still being upset about that? I think I should have a word with him again."
"Actually, would you both mind if I did the talking instead?" I volunteered myself. I hadn't had a chance to talk to Luke ever since he agreed to Jade's offer to talk to his uncle. I think the two of us needed some bonding time. After all, Guy doesn't understand how Luke felt when he did his first kill. Mine was almost the same as Luke's so I think we could manage a decent conversation.
...Then again...I was a horrible person to chose to cheer someone up...
"I think that's a good idea," Ion nodded. "That is, if you don't mind, Guy."
"Of course not."
"Thanks guys."
Guy walked up to Luke and said that he was taking over Luke's post. Luke just nodded and he walked off toward the area where we encountered the Oracle Knights. I followed him, of course. He seemed to had taken notice my presence but he decided to ignore it. I frowned slightly and walked up to his side. In front of us used to be where corpses lay. Now it was just a splotches of blood all over the place. Someone had taken the bodies away. My money would be on Jade...
"Mind if I sulk with you?" I asked him.
"Who said I was sulking?" Luke huffed.
"Your face did." I answered, pointing to his face. He smacked my hand away in an irritated fashion.
"Would you just leave me alone?" he snapped at me. "I don't need you to be my babysitter."
"And I don't want to be a babysitter. I thought that was Guy's job. Speaking of Guy..." I placed a finger on my cheek. "He sure loves Fon machines."
"Yeah, he wouldn't stop talking if someone mentioned it to him."
"Yeah..." I agreed, crossing my arms and tilting my head to the side. "Him and his Fon-Tech Mode..."
"His what?" Luke raised an eyebrow at me.
"Nothing~!" I said in a childish tone. Luke recoiled and looked away.
"Tch. Whatever. What do you want anyway? Are you here to make fun of me?"
"I don't see a reason to make fun of you," I admitted with a shrug. "After all, everybody has their reasons to sulk around."
"I said I'm not sulking!"
"You are too!" I argued back at him. "I sulked, too, before Guy came along and cheered me up. Things just happened and...I never really killed anybody until today."
"Hmph, you liar."
"No seriously, Luke." I walked in front of him so that he was staring at me. I placed both of my hands on my hips as I gave him my upset expression. "I thought you knew when I told you about my false title. I never actually killed a person. Sure I dissected a crayfish, a cow heart and its eyeball, sheep's eyeball, dogfish and a pig. But I never really killed anything besides bugs up until now. And...it terrifies me to know that I will kill more than that person back then."
"So? Go complain to Jade or someone. Just leave me alone."
"Listen, you!" I shouted, stomping my feet. "I'm not here to complain! I just wanted to... Just wanted to..." I felt myself crying again. I tried to wipe away my tears as I turned around. "Oh great. Why do I always feel like crying in front of someone and not by myself?"
"H-Hey...!"
"Oh my, making a girl cry? How disheartening of you, Luke." A new voice spoke up. I looked up to see Jade approaching us from the forest.
"It's not like I was the one that made her cry!" Luke protested.
"Gah! You're so mean Jade!" I cried out. "I bet you were eavesdropping the entire time!"
"My apologies," Jade said, "I just couldn't help it. You both seemed to enjoy each other's company that I find it hard to interrupt you two at that moment."
"Arrgh!" I balled a fist into my hair and stormed back to the campsite. I faintly heard Jade saying 'why so serious?' to Luke as they started a new conversation. Stupid Jade. Stupid Luke. That stupid tsundere red-headed idiot!
Tear woke up by sundown. She was a little bit dazed by the fact that she rested until sundown. Nevertheless, she healed her wound and everybody's wounds if we had any. Soon we all agreed to move on to St. Binah in the morning since monsters might attack around this time. So we had dinner, made by Guy surprisingly enough. He even had me help him by getting the ingredients from the Wing Pack in which Luke sighed saying 'there he goes again...'
There was a bit more stuff in the Wing Pack than I thought there would be. An entire kitchen was in this tiny thing. Knives, pots, ladles, spoons, forks, heck, there's even dishes and dish soap and cloths to clean the dishes! What the hell? Anybody could just live in the wilderness with just a Wing Pack and money. Yeesh, talk about being prepared...and I thought I was prepared for any situation. Guy certainly proved me wrong. There was three blankets, pillows and a large sheet. Guy had brought enough for him, Luke and probably Tear. Being courteous, he let Tear, Ion and I to take the makeshift beds while the other gents sleep on the ground much to Luke's dismay.
After dinner, Tear volunteered to wash the dishes using the excuse of her wanting to do something after she had slept for the entire day. She left with the Wing Pack as everybody else sat around the fire. I, on the other hand, decided to follow her. Tear found out halfway, but she didn't mind the company. We made it to a small stream not too long after. I sat there and watched her wash the dishes in the stream.
"I heard from Ion..." she said, her eyes still on the dishes. She set aside the washed dishes and moved onto the utensils. "It must be hard on you."
I nodded slowly. "It just happened and..."
"I understand, but now is not the time to hesitate." Tear looked up from her dishes and she stared at the bushes in front of us. "Any moments of hesitation might mean your death. Even though you are a soldier by name, you have to stay strong."
"How can you do that?" I asked her. "I mean...you're a soldier and you just kept killing."
"I have my reasons." Was Tear's answer. She placed the still damp dishes and utensils into the Wing Pack and stood up. "I'm heading back to camp. Are you coming?"
I shook my head. "Tell them I'll come back later. Thanks Tear. If I needed a shoulder to cry on, I'll come to you."
"And don't expect me to give you comfort when that time comes." Tear gave me a small smile before she turned around and returned. I waited for a few seconds before glancing at the stream. The water was flowing smoothly and the sound was soothing. But there was one thing that was still stuck on my mind.
Blood.
I hastily scooped up a handful of water and threw it onto my face. My face felt hot, the cold water did little to cool it down. I gasped at the cold feeling and rolled up my sleeves, scooping another handful of water, this time rinsing out the blood stuck on my hair. I rubbed my hair between my palms trying to wash out as much blood as I could. I even dumped my entire head into the stream, pulling it out and running my hand through my hair to find out if more blood was found somewhere there. Hot tears trailed salty paths down my face. I was glad that there was no one here and water was still dripping down my face.
"What are you doing?" a male voice asked me. I turned around to see Luke there with a lantern in his hand. The light from the lantern danced in those wide emerald green eyes.
"What does it look like?" I returned his question. I sniffed and wiped the moisture on my face. "I'm washing the blood out." I continued rubbing my hair between my palms. "Anyway, what are you doing here?"
"Tear came back and said that you were still at the stream so..."
I raised an eyebrow when he said that. "Okaaay..."
Luke looked away and tsked. "Look, I just want to ask you a question."
"Fire." I told him as I twisted my hair, letting the drops of water fall back into the stream.
"What was that Fon-Tech Mode you mentioned earlier?"
"Oh...uh..." I paused, trying to explain that mode in the simplest terms. "I just happened to know someone who absolutely loves ruins. Every time she saw ruins, she has this thing where she goes crazy about the ruins to a point where she didn't sound like herself. So...everybody called it Ruin Mode. Guy was almost like her except with Fon Technology so...Fon Technology Mode! Fon Tech Mode for short."
Luke looked to the side trying to say something to that. It wasn't my best explanation but...describing Raine meant that I had to show everybody her. Er...Now how would that work? Bringing someone from Symphonia to Abyss? I don't think so. Hell had to freeze over before that happened.
There was times where I wished some people would just be like Lloyd. He doesn't get it but he'll just go along with it.
"Look...just go with it..." I sighed, rubbing my temple.
"How did it felt when you killed someone?"
I paused, shocked by the sudden question. That was unexpected. I looked around the area, nervously as I tried to find the answer to that question. How did it felt when I saw the blood coming from his face and neck? When his eyes fell on me with a shocked look? When his gaze just glazed with bliss? When death embraced him allowing his suffering to end?
"It felt horrible and I was scared." I answered, finally. My throat felt tight, almost as if something is crushing it. "Scared shitless. Paralyzed with fear. I thought that I could do it, but when I accidently pulled that trigger, I immediately regretted it. But...at the same time, I felt relieved that I was alive and not in his place. Why do you want to know?"
Luke sat down, beside the stream. He set the lantern between us and I, too, sat down. "I don't get it how Tear and Jade can just kill without regretting it. I don't get how any of them kill without remorse or mercy."
"They had more experience than we do." I told him, my palms where balled into a fist on my lap. "They do what they have to. And I..." I opened my palm and stared down at them. "...I'm not exactly sure what am I suppose to do."
"And I think it would be better if you didn't act like them." Luke snorted. "If you want to cry, then cry. And if you have to kill, then kill. I don't want to be responsible for dragging your corpse to your family."
"I think that would be Jade's job." I sighed. As if he was ever going to find my family in the first place.
"Look, all I'm saying is that...don't get yourself killed."
"I'll try, Luke, I'll try." I gave him a fake smirk. And then I looked away. "I'll have to since I'm a soldier. I agreed to become Jade's aide of my own free will. I accepted this uniform and I have to be a soldier. If I have to be a soldier then I will kill. I'll do what I have to to live."
Luke snorted again. "Like someone like you could ever be a soldier. You're better off hiding in a mansion or something."
"You're so mean, Luke," I lightly punched his arm. Luke gave me a droll look.
"You see? That didn't even feel like a punch. I bet Ion could punch harder than you."
"Ha ha, I'm laughing so hard that I'm falling over to my side." I fell to the ground, still faking it. My head turned to the side so that Luke couldn't see my face. Wait a second...What was that little lump there? Must be knots. "My sides are hurting so much that-Oh my God, it's a spider!" I shot right up, smacking the spider from my hair and grabbed Luke's arm, knocking over the lantern. The lantern fell into the stream with a thunk! and the spider fell harmlessly to the ground near my feet.
"Spider? Where?" shouted a new voice. Guy appeared out of nowhere with one hand flicking out his sword and his other hand holding out another lantern. He was scanning the area as if there was a monster present and instead of that I was pointing to my calves. An arachnid with a white body and black stripes about the size of a person's thumbnail was making its way from the ground and up my boots.
"There there! It's crawling up my leg...!" I swatted the arachnid from my leg and back onto the ground. I gripped Luke's arm even harder as Guy bend down to get a good look at the spider. "Someone kill it before it crawls on me again!"
"Okay, it's dead now..." Guy declared with a sigh as he rubbed his foot in one spot. "And here I was, getting all worked up about a monster..."
"I was, too..." Luke murmured. He was eyeing me and I made a small whimper. "Looks like someone's afraid of spiders."
"Shut up!"
"What's with all this loud noise?" Tear asked, making her presence known. Like Guy, she was holding up her own lantern. Behind her was Jade and Ion who seemed to had tagged along with her. Oh bloody hell, the entire party was here now.
Jade pushed his glasses up. "It seems that Luke and Anh were having some private time with each other, we should leave so that they can continue what they were doing earlier."
"What are you talking about, Jade? We were just talking!" Luke protested.
"Of course you were."
"Stop making it sound like it was a bad thing!"
"Who's making it sound like that?"
"You are!"
"Why would I say something like that? Dear me, Luke, you are just interpreting things wrong."
"I give up..." Luke declared with a sigh. "I'm going to sleep before another word comes out of his mouth."
"Good night, Luke." Jade said as Luke walked off to the campsite. Luke stopped for a brief second, shooting dagger-like glares in Jade's direction and then left. Jade, who was completely unfazed by the glares, gestured to Ion and he and Ion headed towards the campsite as well. Guy chuckled.
"Something tells me this journey isn't going to be very dull."
Tell me about it...
Nighttime came. Everyone retired except for Guy and Jade who was taking turns watching the campsite. A hand shook me from my sleep. I was half-asleep when I opened one eye to see that it was still dark and closed my eye again. Something pulled my blanket away from my body and cold air replaced the warm air. I shivered as I sat up in search of my blanket.
"Wha...What time is it...?" I yawned as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes.
"One hour before sunrise," came my answer. I sighed irritably at the person who said that. He always, always ruined my day somehow.
"Lemme go back to sleep, Jade," I yawned again, settling back into my makeshift bed without the blanket. "I'm tired. Do you realize how early it is? Wake me up when we're about to leave..."
Of course, he didn't let me continuing sleeping. He suddenly stripped me of my pillow and my head fell onto the hard ground. Now I was wide-awake, and very irritated.
"He-Mmph!" His hand covered my mouth to prevent me from saying anything loud.
"I would keep my tone down, if I were you." He said to me. He removed his hand from my mouth and handed me my bag. "Now that you are awake, we should begin practice."
"Practice? Practice for what?" I asked, getting up and running after him. Jade turned around and gave me a grin. There was no light to give a gleam on those lenses of his but there was enough shadow to cover the expression on his eyes.
"Your training of course. Didn't you say 'you do what you have to to live'?"
Oh...Bloody hell. This would go badly, this would go very badly.
Wow...Too much talking with the party. Ah well. Talking done! Abuse...in the next chapter! XD
Up next: To St. Binah! ...Or not...
And there was a lot of ToS references. Hooray for those! :D
On another note! I finished Tales of Innocence! Now onto my next distraction... *plays Tales of Hearts* T_T I want my lappy back...There's a picture of Spada that's screaming at me to lineart him and upload him.
Please review and see you all in the next chapter!