Author's Note: It should be noted that I changed a couple things in the last chapter. Namely, the letter from Guy (because I realized I messed up my time frame), and the description of Veronica (because it sucked). So go back and reread said parts if you want a full understanding of what's going on.

Also, please do not hesitate to tell me of any spelling, grammar, or consistency errors you find in my writing. I very much want to know if they're there so I can fix them.

And reviewers, you are still awesome.

And the site needs to hurry up and be fixed; this whole not being able to submit documents thing is very uncool.

"Shouldn't they be here by now?" Luke asked, the familiar hint of a whine in his voice. "I'm sick of standing here."

"They're only a few minutes late," Tear responded briskly. "Be patient, Luke."

"Make me."

Natalia smiled to herself as her friends bickered lightheartedly. She made no effort to intervene, knowing that the two of them would easily work it out on their own. Instead she continued to watch the skies above the water that stretched endlessly away from Baticul Port. Before long a speck appeared on the horizon, quickly growing into the shape of a familiar airship.

"Here they come now," Natalia announced, indicating the distant vehicle.

Luke and Tear turned their attention away from each other to watch the Albiore II make its approach. In only seconds it was close enough to hear the whirring of its engine. Its propellers turned downward as the vehicle dipped and landed gracefully on the water's surface. It slid effortlessly over the water the rest of the way into port, coming to stop at the perfect distance from the pier for allowing passengers on or off. It was a landing that showed off the incredible skill and experience of the pilot.

No sooner had the hatch opened when a black-haired girl came bounding out to meet them. "Hey guys!" she cried, coming to a halt in front of Luke.

Luke laughed; at nineteen, she still hadn't lost any energy. "Hey Anise," he said cheerfully, "Fon Master yet?"

Anise's demeanor immediately changed; her smile fell into a scowl, and she crossed her arms indignantly. "No. The old folks in Daath are having a fit over the idea. Some of them think Florian should be Fon Master, since he technically has the abilities of one already. But he's even more out of it than Ion was! Besides, he wants nothing to do with it. Mohs traumatized him by forcing him to read the Score."

As quickly as it had gone, Anise's chipper expression returned. "But don't worry about me. My cuteness will win them all over eventually!"

"I have no doubt," Tear said amusedly. "Now, we'd better get going. We don't want to arrive any later than we have to."

A flight from Baticul to Grand Chokmah used to take several days at least, but Aston had made upgrades on the Albiore since the time it was used in the effort to save the world. Those upgrades, coupled with Noelle's expert piloting skills made it possible to make the flight in only a day. But it required leaving early and arriving late, and being trapped in an enclosed space for all the time in between.

By the time they reached the palace at Grand Chokmah, it was well into the night. Guy came out to greet them. He had wanted to come with Noelle to pick them all up, since he reveled in any opportunity to fly in the Albiore. However, Emperor Peony had come up with other jobs for him to do, so he had been unable to come.

"GUY!"

Guy barely had time to realize that his friends were there before Anise all but pounced on him. "Did you miss me?" she asked sweetly from on his back.

"Gaah!" Guy cried out and hastily shook the woman off of him.

"Oh, come on!" Anise complained. "Don't tell me you still haven't gotten over that!"

"Hey, it's not that easy!" Guy said defensively. "And it has gotten better."

Natalia spoke up next. "Guy, it's nice to see you again. I'm sorry I missed you in Baticul."

"Nah, don't be," Guy assured her. "You were busy, and I wasn't there for very long. But yeah, it's nice to see you, too."

For a few seconds Guy looked uncertain of himself, then he held out his hand toward Natalia. She looked a bit surprised at first, then smiled and reached out to shake it.

"I see you have recovered a little," Natalia commented.

Guy smiled sheepishly and looked about to respond, but he was not given the chance.

"Well isn't this nice, seeing everyone get along so well."

They all turned to see a familiar man in a blue uniform standing in the entrance of the palace.

"Hey Jade," Luke greeted him. "I guess we're all back together again, huh?"

"Oh?" Jade responded. "But where's Anise?"

"Colonel!" Anise cried indignantly, "I'm right here!"

Jade looked down at her, feigning shock. "Oh, I'm sorry Anise. I didn't see you down there."

Anise put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "I've grown taller. But I see you haven't changed at all. You're as mean as ever."

"I'm terribly sorry," Jade replied, not a hint of remorse in his voice. "In my old age, I'm afraid I've become quite set in my ways."

"Well, shall we be going inside?" Tear chimed in. "It's been a while since we've seen the emperor. It should be interesting to talk to him again."

Everyone turned to stare at her, and she blushed, uncomfortable with all the attention. "...What?"

"You just want to see his rappigs again," Anise teased.

Tear's blush deepened. "N-no, that's not it..."

Luke smiled at her fondly. "Alright, let's go inside. Just remember, you're not allowed to take any of them home."

After speaking with Emperor Peony for a bit (and visiting his rappigs), the members of the group split up and headed to their separate rooms. The party (which the emperor refused to give details on) would take place the next day, and they were all given rooms to stay at in the palace for the night.

Tear entered the room that she and Luke were to stay in. She examined the various decorations throughout it, vaguely curious if there was a story behind any of them. Luke came into the room behind her and took a quick glance around, but didn't seem to take any of it in.

Tear suddenly felt tired. Very tired. She looked at the bed, but could not seem to bring herself to move towards it. She stared at the intricate patterns on the sheets, and thought to herself that it was a bit odd when the lines began to blur and shift...

"Tear!"

Luke's panicked cry snapped her out of a state of half-consciousness that she didn't even realize she had entered. Luke was beside her now, with one arm around her for support. When all her senses returned she realized that she was leaning all her weight on him; had he not been there to catch her, she would have fallen to the floor.

The moment of dizziness gone, Tear stood on her own and repositioned herself so that she was facing Luke, who regarded her with a look of incredible concern.

"Tear, what happened?" he demanded, his voice fraught with worry. "What's wrong?"

The experience had somewhat shaken Tear, but she kept her voice level. "I'm not really sure. I felt a bit lightheaded, but it's gone now. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about."

Luke did not look at all convinced. "But you almost passed out! How can I not worry?"

"I'm just tired from all the traveling," Tear insisted. "I should be fine in the morning."

"You've been tired a lot lately," Luke pointed out, still unconvinced. "Are you sure you're not getting sick or something?"

"Luke, really, I'm fine. I don't feel sick at all. Just a bit tired."

Luke gave up arguing, but none of the concern left his features. "Okay. But make sure you get some rest, alright? And please, don't push yourself. If something doesn't feel right, tell me."

Tear smiled a little. She hated making him worry about her, but it was nice to see how much he cared. "I know. I will."

Luke lay wide awake, watching the woman that slept soundly beside him. He was exhausted, but could not calm his mind long enough to achieve sleep.

He tried so hard to tell himself that whatever was wrong with Tear was probably trivial, but his imagination would not allow him to extinguish the doubts that plagued him. He kept thinking up horrible things that could happen to her.

Whatever she had, it did not appear to be a common cold. And it was possible that she had more symptoms than what he saw, but she was not sharing them. He sighed, wondering why he even bothered telling her not to push herself. He supposed it was in the hope that someday she might actually listen to him.

His mind kept wandering back to when she was sick with the miasma. There was no reason to believe that she was somehow contaminated again, but the damage had been done. The doctor had mentioned the miasma was weakening her organs. If that was true, even though she was cured there might have been permanent damage. What if she had been injured worse than anyone thought, and it was just now catching up with her...?

No. There was no reason to believe it was anything that serious. She was fine. Everything would be fine. They had been through too much in order to be together. Nothing would tear them apart now.

But what if...?

Luke strove to get his mind off the horribly negative track it was stuck on. Thinking about Tear's death made him physically sick, and did nothing for his mental stability. He was being paranoid, a condition which he seemed prone to at night. He was sure his exhaustion was not helping at all either.

He focused his attention away from his thoughts and back to her physical form. As he listened to the gentle sound of her breathing, a desperate plea raced through his mind.

Tear, please be okay... I don't know what I'd do if I lost you...