Title: Links

Summary: Sharing a body between two souls will always cause some kind of conflict, worse when neither is fighting for it. Drabble about Lambda and Asbel's relationship during and after the game.

Occurs two years after the end of the first section of the game

Chapter 15

Asbel stared at the paper before him in confusion, he didn't know why he was. The words and sentences were all structured just right but he had a strong gut feeling that something was hidden within the depths of those words. Just what that was though, he couldn't quite put his finger on. It made sense, all of it. He couldn't find anything outright unusual to point to nor could he see anything that would place Lhant at a disadvantage. It was… strange.

Regardless, he just couldn't bring himself to sign the document, his fingers wouldn't move, and he momentarily glanced up towards the man that had brought the paper in. The man, Marco, was the leader and strategist from the town over. He was well known for convincing people to follow him in a state of worship. It was obvious that he has gaining a steadily increasing amount of popularity, and not only from the people in his town but also from the surrounding villages. People were becoming his devoted followers and bending to his ideals. Still, Asbel couldn't help the horrible, unpleasant feeling rising in his chest as he sat in front of Marco and looked upon the paper. The treaty he had in his hands was simple; it would greatly benefit both towns, allowing them to prosper effectively. It was a treaty that Asbel and everyone else would like, but there was something that just didn't feel right, he didn't like it. Hence why needed to get to the bottom of it before he did something stupid.

'Don't go with it,' Lambda spoke in the background, his presence moving up to the surface where he could get a better chance to see and hear everything. 'It's a trap.'

'Huh? How?' Asbel tilted his head to the side as he tried to reread over the document once more

'I didn't notice it at first either, but there are some key words there that are quite misleading. On the surface it seems like both towns would be equal in ability and status, but that's a lie. This fool's town would gain profit from us, thus becoming more powerful. It's a trap that will make us hand over some of our goods free of charge.'

The redhead narrowed his eyebrows at that and leaned over to read again. However, he couldn't see what Lambda was talking about. It was impossible. Everything just made sense to him. Lambda sighed from within, knowing exactly what was going within Asbel's mind. He could hear his thoughts after all.

Marco didn't notice the shift and spoke, "Well? Do we have a deal?"

Asbel peered up and bit his bottom lip to concentrate, not sure how to answer. He knew Lambda was right - when was he not? However, he didn't know how to respond without expending unreasonable accusations. It would reflect negatively on his part as a leader than anything else. He felt his friend shifting within him and suddenly shoved him aside as he sought control of their shared body. 'Eh?' Asbel felt himself immediately losing control of his limbs, feeling a void that was quickly filled by his partner, and was placed into the background where he could only watch and listen. 'Lambda?'

The eyes shifted into their purple color, the presence of 'Asbel' had shifted into something menacing. Marco noticed it immediately, but didn't understand why or how it happened. Regardless, the other town leader took a defensive step back. Lambda huffed and tossed the document back with enough force to hit the other man on the forehead, not caring how it appeared. He ignored the arguments in his mind about his action and concentrated on the fool before him. "Leave and don't ever come back. I'm in no mood to bother with such idiocy. Did you really think you could trick me?"

"T-Trick you? Of course not! I'm not trying to trick you."

"That's bull and we both know it. It's quite clear to me while reading that document. You want it so that we give you our provisions and get nothing in return." Lambda folded his arms, glaring at the idiot with such a cold expression that, if it were able, would freeze everything in its path. "You might have gotten the other towns to follow along with your plan, but you won't get us – me - to do so as well."

"Us?" Marco raised an eyebrow at that, questioning the odd way of reference.

Lambda almost cursed at accidentally letting slip a habit gained from being within Asbel for so long, instead he went for a cover. "The townspeople and myself."

"I see." Marco stared at the leader of the Lhant suspiciously. It was quite obvious that there was a difference between the personality of Asbel and Lambda. The aura they gave off through to their habits was almost complete opposites yet, despite the conflicting nature, the two knew how to work and bend to their demands. The eye colors would have been the main give away in telling the difference, but people rarely saw it. "You're acting strangely…"

Lambda's purple eyes narrowed. "So what? My decision is final. I won't go with these plans. Leave now."

"No," The other leader continued to stare in question, the skepticism never leaving his mind. "You're completely different compared to when I was first talking to you." Lambda ground his teeth together, knowing that the man before him wasn't stupid. It was obvious considering how Marco had gotten the other towns to follow through. He was beginning to unravel the mystery behind Asbel's success on many things. "If I didn't know better, I would think you had a split personality. One is Asbel, but who is the other, the one I'm talking to right now?"

'Damn! Lambda, he's going to find out!' Asbel screamed from the background, but didn't fight back for control. He wanted to see what his companion would do first, trusting Lambda with the decision completely. He knew that when it came to smarts and outwitting people, the other was better. It was only through their combined beings that Lhant had been so successful in moving up and out of its war-torn state.

'Hmm, this is bad. This fool is too smart, that's probably why he's both the leader and strategist of his town. He's like your brother in a way, figuring out everything despite not having all the pieces.'

'Then what should we do?'

'For now? Talk. I'll see if there's something I can do or figure out in the meantime.' Lambda stepped around the desk, making his way towards Marco with his usual serious outlook. His sword wasn't at his side, but he didn't need a weapon to fight. "And pray tell, what would you do if you found out something like that? Use it against me? Tell the world?"

Marco smirked. "You know exactly what I would do."

"I see, blackmail. Still, one would wonder whether that's a smart idea considering who his close friends are. You seem like the type of person who does his research, so you should already know. However, I'll remind you: best friends with King Richard, a brother who is a major in the Strahta military, an instructor who is Fendel's ambassador, to name a few. Pissing me off will gain their attention and they would be more than willing to back up my claims against you or against anything you throw at me." Lambda could see the other wavering as he listed the names; the King's receiving a stronger reaction. Any normal citizen of Windor would cower at the thought of having the King as an enemy.

"Not to mention me. I will admit that you're quite brilliant in being able to deduce that there was something going on with Asbel, however, since he's my… friend and companion, I will destroy anything that so much as threatens him. If you'd like an identity to go along with me, then my name is Lambda. Although you may know me as the being that threw the entire world in discord two years ago, the being that created a massive amount of creatures that nearly destroyed everything you knew. Asbel stopped me and in the process saved me before I could do any real everlasting damage on the planet," Lambda stepped forward until he was only a foot away from Marco, a sinister smile plaguing his lips. The aura he gave off pressed into the crevasses of the room, sucking all the oxygen out of the air until Marco forgot to breathe. For each step forward, the other town leader took one back in fear. "So, are you sure you'd like to turn someone such as myself against your town? With a single strike, I can annihilate your pathetic town until all that remains is rubble. Then there's no possibility of you saying anything because you'd be dead. But, if you somehow managed to survive then it'd just be the babbling of a man who had lost everything. You'd have no proof that I was the cause either. No one would listen to you. They will simply believe that you've lost your mind to madness from all the trauma you suffered."

The other leader just stood there as he allowed to words to settle and within seconds, went running out the room, fear clearly expressed. The door was slammed open and then there was a following silence. A maid, having heard the commotion, peeked in and with a wave of his hand, she closed the doors behind.

Lambda snorted and tilted his head to the side, his arms folded against his chest. The evil look he had donned on was gone, now replaced with his normal seriousness. His lavender eyes tinted with a small hint of smugness. "Well, that takes care of that."

Asbel remained quiet within their shared mind space, unsure of how to respond, 'You know, remind me to never get on your bad side. You can be quite scary.'

'Wasn't I always scary? One would think you would be more concerned about whether what I just did was a smart move.'

'I trust you Lambda and you're better at this than me. As for the scary part: was, not anymore. You're one of my closest friends, but even my friends can scare me at times. By the way,' Asbel smiled as a brilliant radiance began to surround him, floating closer to the surface to get closer to Lambda. 'You really do care for me, don't you?! I'm really happy to hear you say that!'

"S-Shut up!" Almost immediately, Lambda's face heated up and he stomped towards the desk, flopping down like an angry child. He yelled out into the air, "You have no proof!"

Laughter was heard following Lambda proclamation, leaving the being in silence as his face turned as red as his hair.

I'm still taking requests. Sadly, since this story only has 5 more chapters, I might not be able to get to all of them but hopefully, you'll enjoy the rest of these chapters.