Disclaimer: Don't own TotA, sadly.
A/N: Those who noticed may now point and laugh. Thanks to darkangel, who was the first to have the joy of... noticing. Yeah. :shot:
The rest of the day had passed in a whirl. Luke was still very much confused and as tired as when he'd woken up. Jade made some wry comments about not being able to travel at all that day, but he seemed to be seriously concerned. Van ended up staying with them, and both Tear and the colonel were astounded as to his ability to keep them occupied for so long. Jade was probably the most distraught, but he surely didn't let on to it, the only indication that he was in his excessive kneading of his brow. Jade still wasn't quite sure how he'd let the day slip by so easily; it had to be Van's amiable conversation with Luke upon just meeting up with him again followed by an extensive description on the Seventh Fonstone, the Order of Lorelei, and various other matters for the benefit of the noble. By then, it was two hours past noon—it was then that Jade deemed the day lost. There was no way they could make it all the way to Kaitzur Naval Port in half an afternoon, so here they were. At least they'd made it to Kimlasca with the help of the passports Van had brought for them. Jade made a mental note to wake them up an hour early the following morning to make up some of the time they'd lost.
Tear was still fuming that night. She could have sworn her shoulders hadn't relaxed an inch the entire day. Her shoulder was still excruciatingly painful, but it was healing. If it hadn't been for the awkward poultices strapped around her chest that needed to be changed twice a day, she wouldn't have had Van out of her sight for a second. He didn't deserve trust from anyone. The others seemed relatively comfortable around them, and she was often concerned that perhaps she was the one that was wrong to still doubt him. She pushed the thought from her mind. No, his terrible plan was all too real, and Van was a brilliant man. He knew who could know what and only gave just enough information to keep everyone safely on his side. She scowled, mentally reminding him that he'd be minus a sister in whatever crazy plot he was fabricating.
The following morning wasn't much of an improvement. Anise had everyone up earlier than even the colonel, banging on doors and hollering about finding Ion. As Luke pulled himself out of bed, he wondered whether the young Oracle Knight was competing with Jade to see who could have more of them up earlier. It was getting easier to wake up by the day—his body was getting used to the lack of sleep coupled with the mass amounts of walking, and Luke was relieved when the soreness in his calves finally showed signs of fading. Though he didn't notice, the other soldiers he was traveling with were equally grateful to be spared the whining.
The forced march du jour was extremely boring and uneventful. Even Luke grew tired of the monsters they encountered on the plains, the fights becoming as automatic and redundant as walking. Luke was especially disheartened to find out that Van had headed out before them to get to the Naval Port as soon as he could. He'd been excited to travel with him for the first time he could remember, but a simple interrogation of the guards on duty near the gate to the town confirmed Van's departure. Despite this, Luke's level of complaining was estimated by the others to be just below the rank of its normal obnoxiousness.
They arrived in Kaitzur Naval Port sometime around late noon. When they entered the city, the first thing that caught their attention was the intimidating tower of inky smoke that rose from the docks. Plumes of brilliant fire licked across the only boat that happened to be docked, virtually clawing at the hull. Luke dashed to the site, followed by the other three, and he immediately spotted Van.
"Master! What happened--"
"Arietta!" Van had his sword point trained on the pink haired girl. "Who told you to do this?!"
"I-I... Commandant," she stammered. "I had to... Asch asked me to..."
"Asch?!" Van flicked his broad sword back into its sheathe. "What the hell was he thinking? And why did you--"
"That one knows what to do." Arietta abruptly jabbed a finger in Luke's direction, and the commandant turned to them. The beast tamer summoned a hawk-like monster, and it plucked her from the dock and took off to the eastern skies. Van held her in his vision as he spoke to Luke.
"What is she talking about?"
"I have no idea!" Luke folded his arms. "How should I know what that little freak wants?!"
"Are you certain, Luke?" Jade questioned him.
Luke suddenly remembered the message he'd received from Guy. His face became grave with denial, soon giving way to a twisted frown. "Guy! I can't believe you'd actually!..." He snatched the paper from the pocket of his coat, crumpling it in the process:
Meet me at Choral Castle. Don't tell anyone, especially Jade. --Guy
Jade adjusted his glasses, grinning at the noble's discovery. "Yes, that did seem rather suspicious, did it not?"
"You stupid!--You knew about it, didn't you!?"
"What do you mean?" Tear let her attention drift to something other than her brother for the first time since their arrival. "Why did Guy leave so suddenly?"
Jade gave Van a suspicious glare, and the commandant rushed to defend himself.
"I don't know anything about it either—I had no idea he'd left the manor in the first place."
"Is that so..." mused Jade, pretending to consider the plausibility of his story. "Well, in that case, we have no choice but to investigate the matter further."
"Colonel...are you sure?" Tear transferred her frown to the other soldier. "It could be a trap."
"By the way," Anise butted in. "Where's Ion?"
"Rumor has it the God-Generals were taking him elsewhere—I'm not sure where, exactly, because they wouldn't give me a straightforward answer."
"Hmm..." Jade hummed. It was clear he had an idea as to where the Fon Master could be, but he said nothing more about him.
"I want to see Guy!" Luke piped up, throwing his hands forward to Van.
"You may go, Luke. But I have to stay here to meet the training ship that's due here shortly."
"But Master!--"
"Luke!" Tear grabbed the boy's arm and pulled him back from her brother. "We don't have time for this!"
"But!"
"Don't worry, Tear." Van pronounced the Seventh Fonist's name carefully in his liquid voice. "It will be a while yet until the ship is back—you have time to go there and get back. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must meet with Count Almandine to discuss our next plan..." The Oracle Knight stepped over to the nearby meeting hall and knocked politely before being admitted.
"Well, now..." Jade's voice was cheerful, but his expression belied the fact that he was concerned about something. "Shall we get going? The more detours, the better."
"Shut up!" Luke turned his head at the Malkuthian colonel snottily.
"Oh no! What are we gonna do about Ion?" Anise groaned.
The colonel's grim response set everyone on edge. "He'll turn up eventually..."
Guy sighed and gazed over the roof of Choral Castle. The sun spilled over the calm waters, creating a dazzling sparkle over the water. The day was nice enough, if a tad bit warm, but the sea breeze kept him cool.
His mind was still clouded by his conscience. He felt guilty for leaving Luke, but every time he spoke with Ion, he knew he was doing the right thing. After all, the Fon Master had given no reason to be branded untrustworthy. Ion was as innocent as Mieu when it came down to it.
"Why are you out here?"
Speak of the devil. Guy turned to greet the young ruler. And he'd be damned if he ever thought poorly of the kid—he was just too darn cute to be evil, simple as that.
"Just relaxing. What have you been up to?" Ion trotted over to where Guy was standing and peered over the low wall.
"Thinking," Ion whispered.
"Hm? What's up?"
"You...You aren't comfortable with joining the Order, are you?"
Guy frowned at the ocean's blackened depths that bellied out from the pillars of rock far below. "Don't worry...I'm with you."
"You're still worried about Luke, aren't you?" Ion kept his eyes on the horizon. "You'll see how well he can manage on his own when they come."
"I hope so." The soft wind picked up briefly, tossing the blond's unruly hair to the side. Ion shook his head regretfully. Even if no one deserved to die as young as Luke would, that boy was only alive for the purpose of dying anyway. And here was Guy doting on the lad like an old widow. He'd have to detach them if Guy were to stay fully on their side.
"You need to challenge him, you know."
"I know!..." Guy spun, pushing himself from the railing and to the center of the roof. "I'll fight him."
"Excellent." Ion's wicked grin was invisible to all but the placid sea. "As for this..." The Fon Master kicked a small form huddled at his feet. It gave as much of a shriek it could muster through the gag that was bound across its mouth.
"Hey!..."
"What's wrong, Guy?" Ion faced the man. "Do something about it." He pushed the object across the rough stone with his foot.
"You don't have to hurt him!" Guy bent to pick up the creature, tearing the rag from its mouth. "Mieu, are you all right?"
"Show your subordinates no mercy. Otherwise you'll come across as weak." Ion swept the cheagle up by its ears and held it to his face. "I learned that the hard way."
The monster gave a timid squeak.
"But this thing will be of value once it's trained properly," he scoffed, hurling the helpless beast into the stone wall. "And this will as well..." Ion twirled the Sorcerer's Ring around his finger. "If you can turn your blade on Luke, I will trust you to join us as an Oracle Knight." The Fon Master's foot was resting lightly on the cheagle, preventing Guy from rescuing it.
"I'll do as you wish, Fon Master."
Luke burst from the stairwell ahead of the others. He blinked in surprise when the dank walls around his opened to pure sky, then immediately forgot, falling back in shock.
"Guy?!"
The servant narrowed his eyes, drawing back his heavy sheathe. The blow he dealt to the clueless noble knocked him out instantly, and Guy caught him as he fell forward.
"Hey!" Tear emerged next, closely followed by the other two. A blur of gold flashed in front of her, and she stumbled. Luke was gone, but Guy was standing before her. What the hell?...
"Ion!" Anise made a dash for the Fon Master. Guy swiftly extended his sword, resting it on her forehead, and she ground to a halt.
He shook his head at the three, who were echoing his name again. Still silent, he leaped gracefully from the roof and descended via the jagged pattern of rocks that surrounded the castle. At the same time, a muscular liger bounded from the stairwell and cornered the group.
"Give back Ion!" Arietta the Wild panted beside the monster, and eagle also following her.
"No way, Gloomietta!" Anise clenched the Fon Master's arm irately.
"Please don't..." Ion begged meekly.
"Stop it, Anise!" the pink-haired girl shot back.
Ion put on his best terrified expression, cowering behind Anise with a slight whine. If he was overdoing it, that didn't matter now.
"We have to find Luke," Jade commanded sharply.
"Why would they want him?..." Tear brandished her weapons uneasily, as if unsure whether to attack.
Jade gave her no reply which, if she knew the colonel, meant he probably had the answer.
Luke jolted awake. There was something there... It was creeping through his body and every fon slot that comprised his being, pulsing softly. And why couldn't he see anything? All that heavy blackness, that heavy void, pressed on him from all angles, getting stronger and stronger until--
He opened his eyes. The blaring light before him made him wince. Green glyphs, patterns, spinning circles, rolling lines, and a text which he could not comprehend flashed past his line of sight and burned themselves into his eyelids.
And then the voices came! Like groaned, the gurgle in his throat amplified to an earsplitting level. The voices echoed in his clouded head, and they made no sense at all—it was all just more noise, more pain!...
A noise dulled, and he hadn't even noticed it until it died. The grating on his ears was nullified just enough for him to understand the voices.
"Synchronized fon slots?..."
Had it not been for the chains of binding arrays encircled around him, Luke would have sat bolt upright at Guy's tone.
"Yes. It will come in useful whenever Asch needs to..." Sync abandoned his statement mid-sentence, changing it abruptly. "Oh, this idiot's finally waking up."
"What the hell did you do to me?!" Luke gritted, struggling against the cage of light and metal.
"I see no reason to answer that question," Sync taunted.
"Marvelous! I can't wait to analyze this data!" another voice came, but Luke was unable to place this one to anyone he knew. At least whatever that damn machine was had finally shut off.
A clatter of footsteps came from above.
"Dist!" Jade charged forward, drawing his spear. "What are you doing here?!"
"We have to get out of here," Guy told them anxiously. "Van's coming soon."
"What?!" Sync snatched the fon disc from Dist. "Hold them off or something, Dist. I need to get Arietta out of this."
"Give back Ion!" The girl in question appeared behind Jade's group, riding on her liger friend.
"Give it up, Gloomietta," Anise growled, pointing at her with her mace.
"Grr! You won't get away with this you little--" Dist fumed at Sync, unhappy with his role as a scapegoat.
"Stop complaining! Arietta, come on!" Sync motioned for the girl to follow, and she and her monsters made haste.
"Wait!" Tear tossed a knife, but it fell just short of the Tempest as he slipped around the corner. It happened to strike Guy, who was just behind him, and the blond flinched, but kept running.
"Wait, Sync!" Dist floated to where the God-General had disappeared. "You can't just leave me here knowing Van is on his way!"
"They got away..." Anise stated the obvious as Dist's chair receded behind the stone wall.
"No matter." Jade brightened up. "Ion is safely with us, now, so there's nothing to worry about."
"First Aid!" Tear chanted, healing the redhead, who was still collapsed over the fontech apparatus. Luke gasped for breath, sitting up slowly.
"Guy?" he coughed, the pressure's lingering force still present. His chest felt as though it had collapsed and been stretched back too far, and now it was just sore as hell. "What did he?..."
"It seemed," Jade stated calmly, pushing his glasses up. "He was under the influence of a Curse Slot—the way he refused to speak was a key factor."
"I see," Ion said thoughtfully, folding his arms.
"Fon Master?" a booming voice sounded from the other corridor. "What are you doing here?"
"Master Van!" Luke choked in air raggedly. Van had to know something about all this; he was their commandant, after all.
"Luke! It's getting late! Why are you still out here?"
"I could ask the same of you." Jade shrugged lightly.
"Yes...Why did you come, Van?" Tear demanded, her lip curled in a hostile sneer.
"Tear, calm down. I was only coming to see if you were okay. It's not that long of a walk back to Kaitzur Naval Port. Shall we head back?"
"Yeah, I'm sick of this place!" Luke dusted his coat off moodily.
Jade agreed, Tear nodded, and Anise was willing to follow Luke anywhere. The four chatted a bit as they set out. It was only just past noon, so they had plenty of time to get back to the port before nightfall. Jade allowed them to slow their pace to allow Ion to walk comfortably and not tire himself.
But not even the Necromancer noticed the wicked smile that passed from Fon Master to commandant.