Chapter 7: Drawing Parallel

"Whoa…check it out!" Luke ran awestruck through the gates of the citadel known as St. Binah. The small city's walls almost shone in the mid morning light, providing structure and protection to its populace who were already well about their daily business. Small stands lined the cobblestone streets and the flowers that grew along the roads and in the gardens made the whole city come alive in a way Baticul never could.

"Luke! Slow down and wait for the rest of us!" Tear called after him.

Luke let out a sigh for being reprimanded by Tear yet again this morning. She had been on his case all morning since he hadn't been looking where he was going and ended up spilling her water all over her. He had apologized, and had even given her his water skin in exchange. What more did she want? Luke waited for the others to catch up.

"I would have thought you'd have learned your lesson when those monsters ambushed you this morning. Stay with the rest of us!" Tear continued her reprimand once they were all safely within the city.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Of course she had to bring that up. Just because he thought he saw something, ran ahead, and ended up under attack by a wandering pack of ligers; Tear was going to be on his case for the rest of the week. And what made it that much worse-

"Yeah well, you don't see Asch running off like that." Luke cringed as the words came out of her mouth. Did she think that all she had to do to get him to listen was compare him to Asch? Sure Asch had some decent traits but it's not like he was perfect either. Just because they were twins, didn't mean that they wanted to be identical. He had his own brain and intended to use it thank you very much.

"So why the huge stone walls?" Luke inquired of Guy, completely ignoring Tear before he said something he'd regret. "Something like that would have been useful in Engeve to keep bandits and monsters out."

"Well, St. Binah is a citadel, sort of like a miniature military headquarters," Guy explained. "The stone walls are here since St. Binah is a more likely target of an enemy military strike. Also, stone walls would be impractical in a place like Engeve where access to the fields outside of town is important."

"And speaking of military headquarters," Jade interjected, "I'm heading over there now to see if I can get any information on Ion or Anise."

"Anise? Why would the military here know anything about Anise?" Luke asked confusedly. The little Fon Master Guardian was becoming more and more interesting by the second.

"St. Binah is where we were supposed to meet up with Anise and Ion if anything should happen. Though I imagine with Ion in the hands of the God Generals, she wouldn't have stayed here for very long. Anyways, I'm heading over there now; I'll meet you back at the inn later."

"You know, he acts pretty high and mighty for just a colonel," Guy noted once Jade was safely out of an earshot.

"Just a colonel huh?" Asch interjected, "I wouldn't bet anything on that."

"He's right!" A nearby guard jumped into the conversation upon which he had been eavesdropping. "Colonel Curtiss could have easily attained the rank of Lieutenant General already, but he's never accepted a promotion."

The group eyed the guard suspiciously, causing him to apologetically back off. The four of them shuffled over so they wouldn't be overheard.

"Hey Asch, how did you know that?" Luke inquired.

"I didn't, but he's pretty well known in the military. He's also rumoured to be a personal friend to Malkuth's emperor."

"I suppose that would make him the logical choice for the peace negotiations then," Guy commented. They had filled him in on the details of their little escapade the previous night over supper. "Then I guess we'll be heading for Kaitzur next?"

"Yes," Tear added, speaking for the first time since yelling at Luke, "That would be the most logical route. However, Luke and I don't have passports."

"Neither do I, I took off without mine." Asch added. Guy just didn't ask. He decided he didn't want to know what Asch had done to get across the border the first time. But considering the state Asch had been in when he left the manor, it had probably involved a lot of yelling, violence and probably more than a couple death threats. Guy didn't want to know. Asch was very scary when it came to dealing with Luke's wellbeing, especially when said wellbeing was potentially in danger.

"Well," Guy finally spoke up after thinking it over, "Dorian General Grants went through Chesedonia and is searching from that direction. If he follows through there, he should end up in Kaitzur, though maybe a bit sooner then we'll get there. He has extra passports with him from Duke Fabre, so if we can catch up with him, it should solve our problem."

"Master Van came looking for me too?" Luke perked up. Wait, why would Master Van come looking for him rather than Ion like he was going to? Maybe he got word that Ion was okay. Regardless, it made Luke happy to know that Van cared enough to join in the search personally when he probably had many other things he could be doing.

"Hmm…" Asch's train of thought followed similar tracks as his brother's. However, he doubted that word would have reached Van as to Ion's safety, well, what had been his safety. Now he was in the hands of the God-Generals. There was something else that bothered him. The God-Generals were in fact led by none other than Dorian General Van Grants. However, it was possible that Grand Maestro Mohs had been giving them orders. He was well within his boundaries to do so. This was more of a mess than he wanted to sort out, but he still wouldn't have any peace of mind until it all made sense.

"Haven't made it back to the inn yet I see?" Jade said, seemingly appearing out of nowhere and causing Luke to practically jump out of his skin, something in which Jade apparently took great pleasure.

"No," Guy replied, managing to hide his startled reaction much better than Luke had, "We were just discussing our next course of action."

"And? What did you come up with?"

"We figured it be quickest and most efficient to head through Kaitzur." Tear answered him.

"Ah, I wouldn't count on that route if I were you."

"Why is that Colonel?" Tear asked curiously.

"It seems that several small conflicts broke out around Kaitzur. The border is temporarily closed until those conflicts can be resolved."

"Hmmm, so things are even worse than we thought." Asch stated.

"Yes," Jade agreed, "At this rate war could break out any day now."

"Any news on Ion?" Luke inquired, finally settling down again.

"Yes. Rescuing Ion should be our first priority," Tear agreed, "Without Ion, peace talks won't even begin."

The awkward silence that ensued her statement confused her a bit. The lack of any comment from the three boys also piqued Jade's interest but he did a much better job of hiding it than Tear ever would.

"We have to save Ion!" Luke pleaded, breaking the silence, his eyes never leaving Asch as if the sole decision was up to him. There wasn't a decision to be made though, Tear shook her head. They needed Ion or there was no way they could get Kimlasca's king to listen to them. Tear highly doubted either of the Fabre boys held quite that much sway over their uncle.

"Yes I know that." Asch finally answered exasperated. "We need to get Ion back or there won't even be peace negotiations. That doesn't change the fact that we aren't any closer to finding out where he might be. By now they probably have the Tartarus functioning again, they could be anywhere in Malkuth for all we know."

"Oh but we do know where to go," Jade whispered tauntingly into Asch's ear. Rather than jumping like Luke did, Asch shooed him away like some kind of bug.

"What's that supposed to mean old man?" Asch demanded.

"Nothing. Except I might know a general direction in which we might be able to search." Jade offered baiting them with every word. He had forgotten how much fun this could be.

"Wait, you know where Ion is?" A bite. Luke was proving to be the most fun of the lot.

"Not exactly. It appears that Anise stopped by here as expected and after, shall I say, discussing a few things with the guards; it seems she headed towards Akzerieuth. If I know anything about our young friend, I would say it's a safe bet that that's the direction Ion was taken in."

"So I take it we're headed through Akzerieuth then?" Guy confirmed.

"It would be the most logical and efficient choice." Jade answered unable to resist the taunt.

Luke ran a few paces before turning around to see the group following him, "Then lets go-" Luke choked on the last word as he was yanked into the nearby bushes. "Hey what-

"Shht." Asch hushed him, and Luke was immediately silent catching onto his brother's seriousness.

"What is it?" Luke finally whispered, his gaze following where the rest of the group's was and fell upon three individuals standing at the entrance.

"I want a report," the smallest of the three commanded. His spiked green hair added a couple inches to his height, but despite his small stature he easily commanded the group behind him. "What's our mission status?"

"Currently Arietta still has Ion, according to reports, they've experienced a couple delays, but are still more or less on schedule. The Special Operations team and their commander are working on the Tartarus and almost have it running." The second man said, the familiarity of his voice drawing Luke's attention. It was Largo. He had survived.

"You mean temporary Special Operations commander. She's hardly fit for such a position." The third person added. "I still don't see why that woman and her band of buffoons were given the job of fixing the Tartarus. Such a delicate job should have been left to one as refined as myself, Dist the Rose."

"It's Dist the Reaper, get you own title right." The first one replied. "What happened to Legretta?"

"Shut up Sync!" Dist protested.

"I believe she returned to the Tartarus to assist with its repairs." Largo provided.

"Is she still trying to show her up?" Sync shook his head, "Fool. Anyways," Sync continued dismissing his previous thought, "I want you to post a watch here for the night."

"Just for the night?" Largo questioned. "That hardly seems efficient."

"We don't have a choice. We currently lack the resources to maintain any kind of extensive watch. Also, as it stands we can't afford to unnecessarily antagonize the Malkuth military. Things are unstable enough as it is, not to mention that we are currently in custody of one of their landships. A little caution would be well advised." Sync argued. "If they don't show up here by morning, you can assume they've moved onto Kaitzur, I'll go ahead and set up a watch in that area. There's no way they could have gotten that far, and with the bridge out, the only way to Chessedonia is to catch a ship from the Kaitzur naval port."

"Oh all right." Dist conceded, "But you are to notify my at once if you capture that beastly Jade, I am the only one who can defeat that monstrosity."

"Yeah whatever." Sync replied, acknowledging that he had heard the man. He'd never hear the end of it until he did. That man had unhealthy obsessions with everything that piqued his interest, the Necromancer being one of them. Sync had much more important concerns at the moment, namely finding the group that escaped the Tartarus; there would be grave consequences for more than just them if he didn't.

"So Largo survived." Jade noted once they had safely snuck away from the entrance and back into the city and under the cover of its populace.

"It'll take a hell of a lot more than that to kill a God-General moron." Asch tossed in.

"Well, one can always hope." Jade shrugged off the insult. "But, Largo or not, it looks like we're spending the night."

"Yeah, we won't be getting far if the God Generals are watching the city." Tear added.

"But just what did you do to the Tartarus? It's been well over a day and it's still not running." Asch inquired incredulously.

"It's only meant to be inoperable for thirty minutes or so, an hour at most." Jade shrugged. "Well with any luck, Dist will get involved with its repairs. Then we'll be able to pick it up where we left it on our way back home."

"We should have just taken them on!" Luke shouted.

"Please tell me that was a joke." Asch rolled his eyes at the stupidity of his sibling's suggestion.

"No, come on, we can probably still catch them! Then maybe we can find out where Ion is or at least what they're planning to do with him."

"Don't be stupid, you'd get creamed." Asch couldn't believe he was even having this conversation.

"No, you'd get creamed." Luke taunted, "I on the other hand-"

"Don't even try." Asch cut him off. "They are way beyond you. One of them alone is enough to wipe the floor with all five of us."

Jade coughed. "I beg your pardon..."

"No you don't beg my pardon Mr Fon slot seal. They would cream all five of us. Easily." Asch retorted.

Jade let out another indignant cough, but let the issue go. Even he knew better then to take up a lost battle.

"He's right Luke." Tear scolded, "You should try to think things through like Asch does."

This time Luke felt Asch tense up behind him too. Why did everyone have to dangle the other in front of them like some kind of prize to be had, or goal to be achieved? Luke couldn't stand it, neither could his sibling, even if he was the one being glorified. Well, there was one sure fire way to put a stop to it, provided Asch was willing to help him out; and judging by just how tightly Asch's fists were clenched, that wasn't going to be a problem.

"Good morning, Asch." Tear stifled a yawn as she exited her room. Getting up at dawn so consistently was starting to wear on her, though she was still far from her limit. Her tiredness was simply a reminder to herself on how lax she had become with her training recently.

"Good morning," he replied from where he was leaning against the wall in the entrance of the inn, patiently waiting for everyone else to get up.

"Where's Luke?"

"Still getting out of bed," he answered trying to keep his annoyed tone to a minimum. This time it was a laugh not a yawn that Tear stifled.

"He certainly is lazy; he could stand to be more like you."

She got no reply however, as a still somewhat tussled Luke came out of his room still rubbing the sleep from his eyes. His hair was a mess and his jacket hung messily off his shoulder. Asch just shook his head amusedly, saying nothing of the sorry state his not-such-a-morning-person brother was in.

By the time that Guy and Jade joined the three in the main lobby, Luke had fixed himself up and was more than ready to get on the road. Once they were sure that the God-Generals had indeed moved on, they gathered what supplies they could from the shops that were open that early in the morning and set off. At best, the journey would take a few days, not too bad considering they were on foot, but the road they would be travelling took them through the mountains and would be far from easy.

And it would be long, Jade thought as he looked at his companions who were now tied up in a friendly conversation with each other. Though they were too far away for him to hear exactly what they were saying, from the way Tear had one hand on her hip and the other pointing at Asch while speaking to Luke, he could easily guess the topic of this particular discussion. He could only hope that wouldn't be the sole topic of conversation on this trip. Travelling with youngsters was such a headache.

The impending journey was not the only thing on the Colonel's mind as they passed through St. Binah's gates that morning. Something else was bothering him... something that wasn't quite right, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Asch?" Jade caught the older redhead's attention from where he was watching Luke try to evade their female companion and her seemingly endless tirade regarding his untoward behaviour.

"What do you want old man?"

"Do you remember that Oracle Knight you killed on the bridge back on the Tartarus? The one at the controls?"

"What are you taking about? I didn't kill any Oracle Knight; the man at the controls was one of your soldiers."

"Right, my mistake. My apologies." Asch simply rolled his eyes and continued on.

"What was that about Jade?" Guy asked.

"Nothing." Jade's eyes followed the boys as they started onward towards Akzerieuth.

"Nothing at all."

"How much further is it?" Luke whined as he kicked a rock up the path only to have it roll back down the path at him. "At this point, I'd be perfectly happy to never see another rock in my life."

"Oh come on Luke, its not that bad. You don't see Asch complaining." Luke cringed but continued on ignoring the words intended for him.

It felt good to just complain about things that bugged him and just get it out of his system. It was also nice to be able to whine without getting in trouble. Well, almost. The expected glare came from Asch, and he stopped for the time being.

"Don't worry Master!" Mieu bounced along beside Luke flapping his ears as he jumped. "We're almost there! So just hang in there!"

Luke eyed the little blue-green thing bouncing beside him, and then looked down the slope they were climbing. He was in the lead, followed by Jade and Guy, then Tear with Asch taking up the rear. He caught himself wondering if Mieu would bounce down the hill as well as the rubber balls he used to play with as a kid, and realized he was very tempted to try and find out. He was sure someone behind him would catch the thing before it got too far…

In all fairness, the stupid little thing really hadn't done anything to deserve it. In fact, it tried so very hard to be useful. Unfortunately, it somehow managed to royally screw up pretty much anything it got involved with, including last night's supper. The charcoal they had to choke down, for lack of anything else to eat, was a painful reminder of why they refused its assistance when offered, and never let it near another of their meals. It tried so hard, but was so annoying.

"Luke!" An outraged Tear yelled as Luke's fist nearly came crashing down on the young cheagle's head mid bounce. Everyone froze and Mieu only softly bumped his head against the motionless fist and stumbled as he landed on one of the many rocks that lined the steep path they were climbing. Hardly the reaction Luke had been hoping for.

"Honestly Luke! What do you think you're doing? Grow up! You don't see Asch harassing the poor little-" Luke didn't even let her finish before spinning around continuing up the path. He didn't even want to hear it. "Where are you going? Listen to me when I'm talking to you!" She was cut off again as Asch brusquely walked passed her. Jade too, continued to move on, opting to stay out of this one.

"He's so immature… and rude… and ignorant." Tear stated to no one in particular.

"And Asch isn't?" Guy surprised her with a response.

"No, he's not. He's polite and considerate." Tear raised her voice to be sure Luke could overhear her. He chose not to acknowledge that comment.

"Look, Tear," Guy started hesitantly; "I know you mean well, but lay off it a bit would you?"

"What do you mean Guy? Are you suggesting we just let him run wild like that?"

"Well, first I wouldn't exactly call that running wild, its just typical Luke behaviour. You get used to it after awhile."

"So are you saying that its okay?"

"Not at all, but that wasn't the part I was getting at. I agree that Luke needs someone to put him in his place every once in awhile, but stop comparing him to Asch. They both really hate it when people do that… so if you need to scold Luke go ahead; just stop constantly telling him to live up to Asch."

"But they're the same age and had the same upbringing, really there's no excuse for Luke to display that kind of behaviour when Asch is able to handle things responsibly."

"Look, Asch isn't perfect either, and they get enough of people constantly comparing them because they're twins. You're Van's little sister right? Didn't people ever compare you to him as an Oracle Knight? How did that make you feel?"

"That was pathetic, Tear. By your age, Van could have completed that course in half the time!"

"I'm- I'm sorry!" she managed through heavy breaths. "I'll do it better next time Major Cantabile, ma'am!"

"There is no next time on the battlefield! If you need to say 'I'll do better next time', you're as good as dead."

"I'm sorry."

"Never mind, we're done for today. I'd better see some improvement next time we run through this course. You're still a long ways from comparing to Van. Catch ya later kiddo."

"I'm sorry…." Tear said to the now empty room.

I'm sorry I'm not my brother…

"Tear?"

"Never mind, it's nothing. You're right; maybe I'll apologize to them later."

"Sounds good to me, now let's get moving. I doubt they plan to slow down to wait for us."

Tear stifled a small laugh. "No, that would be considerate."

The small mining town of Akzerieuth was alive with activity. Though it was by far the smallest place they'd been to, it seemed the busiest of them all. Unlike all the other places, it wasn't alive with people; it was alive with fon machines.

Guy's eyes lit up at the sight, he had always had an undying passion for the Dawn Age technology and this small mountain town was a treasure trove for an enthusiast such as him. Running along tracks in and out of the hundreds of mines that dotted the mountain walls, lifting and lowering rocks and metals throughout the different levels, there were fon machines of every shape and size, every function and design, and certainly enough to keep Guy amused for a couple of lifetimes.

Clusters of houses sat on the far edge of the small crater that had slowly grown through the continued excavation of minerals. A small inn and a shop also sat near the houses providing supplies for the workers and rest for the families that came to visit.

"Don't give me any of that! I know he was through here so spill it before I spill your guts!" A very familiar voice came from the entrance of the nearest tunnel.

"I-I- swear I didn't see anyone. All I saw was a couple of ligers in the lower mines, but that was yesterday and no one has seen them since," the watchman stuttered. Apparently the young dark haired Fon Master Guardian had some unique skills when it came to retrieving information.

"You'd had better hope so," Anise replied sadistically before noticing the group standing behind her.

"Oh Luke! Asch! It's so good to see that you're both okay!" Anise ran up and clung to Asch who simply stared at the girl that was now hanging off of him. "I was worried something had happened to you guys when you didn't show in St. Binah."

"Oh come now Anise, you only waited in St. Binah for 20 minutes," Jade stated as he brushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose.

"Don't be silly Colonel; I waited as long as I could. Besides, how could you have known that?" She whistled sweetly.

"We may not have been there, but the guards you harassed divulged quite a bit of information regarding you and your brief stay in the city."

Anise glared at the Colonel before snuggling closer to Asch. "You know I wouldn't do anything like that, don't you Asch?" Asch looked down at her one eyebrow arched.

"I wouldn't put it past you." Luke said stifling a laugh.

"Oh yeah, well…" Anise stuck her tongue out at Luke.

"Ah so you've chosen your favourite brother," Jade teased.

"It was love at first sight." Anise giggled and held onto Asch even tighter.

"That's good, I was worried you were going to try and marry them both."

"Hey!" Anise objected before resuming in her sweet tone of voice, "Don't worry, my heart only belongs to you. My one and only!"

"Wow, I'm so jealous," Luke commented sarcastically. Asch glared back before proceeding to detach the Fon Master Guardian from himself.

After a moment of effort, Asch managed to get Anise off of him and shooed her towards Guy. The resulting scene that played out had all four of them in stitches as Anise discovered the extent of Guy's strange 'phobia'.

A dull roar in the distance caught Jade's attention as everyone else was still laughing. Well, everyone but Guy who was still quivering from behind the safety of a rock. In retrospect, it had probably been too late to warn the boys that they were standing on the tracks of the mining carts that were consistently exiting the nearby tunnel, though even had it not been, he wondered if he would have said anything anyways.

The empty cart ploughed into Asch knocking him into it before coming to a halt several feet down the tracks. Luke reacted at the last second and got out of the way, though not in time to spare his sibling's dignity.

Of course. It was so obvious now that he knew what it was. Three days and several random interrogation sessions later, he could finally put his finger on what bothered him that morning in St. Binah and only laugh at the sheer cleverness of it all, and of course at himself for not cluing in sooner.

"I'm impressed, to think you had me going this long…" Jade muttered to himself.

"What is it Colonel?" Anise gave him a very confused look. Like, did anything that came out of his mouth ever make sense?

Rather than answer Anise, he looked straight at Luke. "Having fun are we, Asch?"

The innocent worried expression on Luke's face melted away into a devilish smirk. "I'm impressed," Asch said to Jade, "You're the first person to ever notice."

Jade took the compliment for what it was. He gained more than enough satisfaction from the shocked expressions on all the other's faces. Luke, who had climbed out of the cart was brushing off the dirt from Asch's jacket and had made it back rejoin to the group.

"So you're telling me that Luke is really Asch and Asch is really Luke?" Tear was the first to manage to form words.

"Precisely. A clever little trick you two concocted there." Jade replied. The twins answered with a grin. It never got old, it really never did.

"But how- Since when?" Tear cried outraged.

"Since the night in St. Binah," The real Luke provided.

"But…but Luke was complaining the whole way here."

"So?" Asch replied "You think I never have anything I want to complain about?"

"And…and Asch was up early and ready before anyone else every morning," Tear continued confusedly.

"What? You think I can't get up and ready when I want to?" Luke answered both he and Asch still wearing matching amused grins. Tear's face was now only a couple shades shy of Luke's hair, and the way it was going, it would match Asch's quite nicely in about 20 seconds or so.

"You know, just 'cause Asch is more responsible and less fun than I am doesn't mean I can't be responsible and he can't be fun when we want to be." Asch kicked Luke in the shin.

"So wait wait wait…let me get this straight," Anise interrupted. "You", Anise pointed at Luke dressed in Asch's attire, "are really Luke, and you," she continued pointing to Asch dressed as Luke, "are really Asch?"

The boys confirmed it with a smirk and a nod.

"What was that you were saying about love at first sight?" Jade taunted in her ear.

"Shut up Colonel!" Anise said her face a nice twin to Tear's.

"You-you two idiots!" Guy yelled causing them both to simultaneously cringe. "You know what the Duke and his Majesty would say if they caught you doing this again!"

"So?" The real Luke nonchalantly put his arms behind his head, "They didn't."

"And technically neither did you," Asch threw in.

"That's doesn't matter! You two know better than to be pulling this again." Guy sighed, defeated. "Look, just go borrow a room at the inn and switch back before I consider telling the Duke." The boys shrugged off the threat but still did as they were told. It wasn't any fun once everyone knew they were switched anyways.

"So I take it they've pulled this stunt before?" Jade inquired more than amused at how the situation had played out.

"Yeah," Guy reluctantly admitted. "It was their favourite game as kids. And of course, they look so alike that no one could ever tell they'd switched places."

"So, in the end how would you tell they had switched?" Tear inquired, looking for almost anything to keep her from ending up in a situation that embarrassing ever again.

"No one ever could. We only ever found out when one of them slipped up. Its been a few years since they pulled it, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it's more a case of them getting good enough not to get caught rather than them actually stopping."

"That's kind of sad," Anise added surprising the others with her comment.

"Sad? How so?" Guy inquired, surprised at the Fon Master Guardian's take on the situation.

"Well, I mean no one could ever tell them apart? I don't know...it just seems kind of sad to me. You'd think if someone knew them well enough, they could still tell, you know?"

"Yeah," Guy agreed, "and it's funny, it's the one thing we could never get them to stop doing either. No matter how much they were yelled at or punished, they never stopped, they just got better."

"So Anise, any luck on Ion?" Luke asked as he approached the group, ending their conversation.

"Sorry Luke, wait…you are Luke right?"

"Yes he is." Asch answered for him as he too joined in the discussion.

"Wait, how do we know for sure you're not lying?"

"Like this." Guy punched Luke sending him crashing to the ground.

"Hey! What the hell was that for?" Luke sat on the ground rubbing his cheek where Guy's hit had landed.

"Yep, that's Luke." Guy confirmed. "Oh, and you can consider that your punishment for switching places when you know you aren't supposed to." Guy added as he helped Luke off the ground.

"Wow, so how did you know by hitting him?" Anise inquired.

"Because Asch would have caught or dodged it." Guy said simply. "And even if it had landed-"

"I would have beaten the crap out of you." Asch finished Guy's sentence for him.

"What he said." Guy added nervously.

"So now what?" Anise interrupted anxious to get away from the topic of the twins, "We have no idea where Ion is or where they're planning to take him."

But she got no answer; everyone was staring in the direction of one of the mining tunnels. The stark contrast between the twin's expressions was weird. They were so alike just five seconds ago, and now they looked completely different.

"There's no way….." Asch mumbled, his expression dark and suspicious.

"What on earth…" Tear also muttered with a similarly dangerous look.

Luke's face however lit up as he called out.

"Master Van!"