Meaning

Luke awoke slowly in a bed he didn't know, without Asch to his left. At first he was startled, followed quickly by fear, but Lorelei calmly assured him everything was alright.

When the weight shifted, and Asch's unruly bed head came into view, Luke could finally believe Lorelei's words. Asch groggily smiled at Luke before curling up into his brother's side.

Upon closer inspection, Luke noticed that Guy had managed to drag his unconscious form all the way to the nearby town, though he was still unsure as to its name. The blond was curled up asleep on the other bed; all of the few belongings Guy had managed to gather for their departure were pilled on the floor near him.

Lorelei hummed contently in the back of Luke's mind, but his communication to Lorelei was much freer, the strange resident representing Luke's power seemed to respond to every fleeting question to cross the redhead's mind.

"Go back to sleep Luke… It is still the dead of night… And your family traveled through the harsh daylight to bring you to safety…" Lorelei's words made Luke's eyes feel heavy, as deep within, Luke was sure he desired to fall asleep with his twin, and Lorelei never failed to bring these desires to the surface.

'Please Lorelei… Make this journey easy for my family… They have given up a lot for us…' Luke felt Lorelei's smile as he closed his eyes, allowing himself to be encompassed in his brother's warmth. He pulled the thick blankets over his brother and himself, for goose bumps were already beginning to surface on his pale skin.

Even in the darkness of his dreams, Luke could feel the power of Lorelei's mysterious hyperresonance (as Ion had called it) when it lit up the room. But it was late as his other self had so kindly reminded him, and maybe the colorful escape of his dream world wasn't as bad as it sounded.

Tear had checked out two rooms in her name earlier that day, instructing the kindly woman behind the desk to give her 'companions' one of the rooms upon their arrival.

They moved slow though, Tear had commented to herself as she finally arrived, following her trip to Daath. Jade had intercepted Yulia and Tear as they made their escape, but Tear was no match for the Colonel.

She silently cursed as she pulled off the gloves she wore to protect her hands from the wooden staff she carried. It was standard issue, as were the gloves, but she desired a steel staff, with an adorable pair elegant gloves. She did have an affinity for cute things after all.

Tear soundlessly slipped into her night clothes, her ears trained on any disturbances in the room nest to her.

Although Jade had removed Yulia from her care, Tear still had the mission of protecting the sacred flame, and eventually to destroy her brother.

They were Yulia's orders, and they were absolute. The fleeting regret Tear would feel over killing her brother was just that… fleeting. Yulia was more family to her now, and her only family was dying, caged in the very Order she helped establish. After Jade's banishment, Tear was all the remained, but even she was unable to prevent the caging of her aunt, in the name of 'safety' as Mohs had put it.

Tear cursed the name of her superior as she crawled into her bed, leaning gently against the wall that separated her from her unknowing charges. By morning, the power of Lorelei that had gently flooded the room would have faded, and she would have another full day of tracking to do.

It had taken her many hours to find the sacred flame, even with her unique anilities and his unique fonon signature, but he was a stronghold of defense towards him and his proclaimed family, the two he traveled with. Only when the flame of Lorelei's active powers died out was she able to see them, cleverly disguised as the surrounding forest, until the small tree fell over, and it's humanity revealed itself.

"No wonder Van was able to move so effectively with the child, his abilities are unthinkable…" Tear whispered to herself, allowing herself a simple sigh as she realized the only way to ever overpower the child was to knock him out.

"And Van has the ability to do just that…"

The family's hymns were no doubt a gift, a bloodline ability they had gained and discovered unknowingly one day, generations ago. But when Van caught wind of the Order… Even the powerful Jue family had its glory seized.

"Would you mind explaining to me why you tried to escape Yulia?" Jade sighed heavily, settling against the heavy door he had secured behind him. Yulia fumed from the other side of her desk, rearranging the trinkets she had gathered with her for her escape.

"I can't stay here Jade. I want to see Ion… I want to see him and tell him everything before I die…" Yulia hid her face in her hands, the picture of the only living Ion her only comfort.

Jade was shocked with Yulia's confession, but he shook his head anyway.

"I know you want to leave Yulia, but this is years of work you don't want to throw away! You have to remember Yulia; Ion is not your brother." Jade huffed, moving to stand across the heavy wooden desk from Yulia. "You aren't dying either, why do you believe that?"

"I can't sing in here, and it's in my blood to carry the hymns! The longer I remain trapped, the more I feel like I'm worthless." Yulia's head rested on her desk, her entire body was slumped dejectedly as she carefully eyes Jade out of her visible eye.

"So you aren't tearing yourself up over the Impostor I created for you then?" Jade sighed, his hands gripped the edges of Yulia's desk. He knew it was unfair, she shouldn't be trapped in this place like she was, it wasn't even healthy for her to never see true sunlight!

"I can talk to Ion, he is like Tear… They are the family I can't have any longer. I just wish I was free, I want Mohs gone, it's me or him now Jade…" Yulia was dead serious when she made her threat. Jade knew the tone of voice she used was rare, which put him a little on edge.

"And how do you plan to go about this? I can't simply walk out there and tell him you desire him to leave and never come back." Jade shivered at the thought of all the guards he would definitely have to fight when Mohs caught sight of him in the Order again.

"We gave Ion full knowledge of Project Lorelei, as a backup incase something ever happened to the plans, correct? He is the only one who knows the truth about that boy; you did code your work, correct Jade?" Yulia smirked dangerously, an idea suddenly popping into her head.

"Are you saying that perhaps Van does not know something that we may or may not have programmed into out little Ion?" Jade's own curiosity skyrocketed when Yulia mentioned Ion's birth.

"We did fill the boy's head with all sorts of nonsense, but no doubt his latest mission has him questioning him knowledge. I sent him to awaken the sacred flame's power." Yulia grinned dangerously, pulling herself out of her self-imposed depression.

"And how did it go? No doubt the self-defense seals resisted your attempts." Jade smirked; it was a dangerous game he was playing with Yulia now.

"Actually, the mission report was quick surprising. One of the seals was already broken, no doubt entirely an accident, but with one gone…" Yulia cheerfully hinted Jade in the correct path, producing the mission report Ion had left, different from Anise's.

"So he used to Earth Fonim to erase his old name? Was Lorelei aware of what he was doing at the time? I'm sure he must have been seeing as he initiated hyperresonance." Jade curiously studied the mission report; the findings were no doubt monumental to him and his long time research partner, Yulia.

"Then the transfer between Asch and Luke still remains a mystery, but we can only hope that he still responds to his innate behaviors. Lorelei isn't a dominant force, he has no free will which is the only reason Luke exists." Yulia was proud of her knowledge, she was able to prod Ion for everything he knew once he returned from the mission with Anise, and the resulting information had successfully jogged her own memory.

Jade was a different story, as Yulia wasn't sure if he ever forgot about Van's outstanding betrayal or not, but the way his eyes flicked back and forth over the mission report stated otherwise.

"It's a very sloppy report, but the information he was able to collect is astounding!" Jade smirked, setting the report back on Yulia's desk, and facing his partner head on for the first time since her attempted escape.

"He did recently use the power of the Earth fonim to escape from the manor, as Tear reports. They were able to travel underground with Lorelei's help." Yulia paused, mulling over what she could say about what happened at the manor to elicit their escape.

"So the hyperresonance really worked then? I never thought it was possible, even if we created a will for Lorelei, I never thought he could pull it off." Jade adjusted his glasses, still wondering about how Lorelei had managed to discover that useful ability in his arsenal.

"What does it do really? Tear cocked her head to the side, as the vital details of what Lorelei's ultimate power was had never fully been discussed.

"While researching the fonon signature of the will-less Lorelei, you and I discovered that he could never exist without a will, a driving force, he would essentially cease to exist, with no purpose, Lorelei would return to the fonbelt." Jade removed his glasses, cleaning them on a rag he had produced from his pocket. "I never told anyone I had discovered hyperresonance… And I'm glad I didn't. It has the ability to use fonons to do things normal people and normal fonic artes can't… like altering appearance and clairvoyant abilities. It's terribly hard to control, which is why I doubt Lorelei will become an issue…"

"It's Luke you are worried about... Even the childhood innocence we tried to give him will be corrupted someday… He won't stay young forever…" Yulia watched Jade's movements curiously. The Colonel replaced his glasses atop his nose where they belonged, but the light for the horridly ugly lamps Yulia despised was blocking his eyes with that horrible glare.

"His mind will continue to grow beyond his body, which is why I fear he will use the hyperresonance to artificially age him and his companions. If Lorelei controls the process, all should go over well, but I'm afraid of the consequences, as well as the true meaning behind that power… behind the hyperresonance…"

A/N: Through the ages we will be pioneers! Man, I'm in a good mood. I haven't really read this chapter through, I'm too busy rocking out to I'm A Pioneer from Tenchi Muyo. I finally got around to writing my Naruto story. I was really disappointed with the way it turned out, but I'll accept it. I called it 'I'm a pioneer' :D

LEAVE ME REVIEWS I'M SO LONELY. I GET ALL THESE HITS AND NO REVIEWS D: D: D:

It makes me so sad D: