Chapter 55: Hidden Deceptions

The sun shone brightly overhead, casting its light against the auburn cliffs that broke the horizon. Only a handful of passengers disembarked at Sheridan's small port, but among them were Luke with a small blue cheagle in tow. The others quickly dispersed, either catching a coach to the city or meeting up with family or friends. The young noble debated the coach option but decided he could use the air and time to think. The road to Sheridan wasn't all that dangerous or difficult anyway, not since all the extra soldiers had been stationed here. They had Master Van to thank for that.

"Master! Wait for me!" Mieu bounced along, scurrying in his attempts to follow Luke's quick pace.

"Sorry Mieu." Luke smiled apologetically at the young cheagle. "I'd like to get there before sundown; you can ride on my shoulder if I'm going too fast for you."

The small creature wasted no time taking him up on that offer, but decided on Luke's head rather than his shoulder. He knew the odds of getting kicked off were far less if he wasn't perched next to Luke's ear. "Thank you!" He squeaked happily.

"No problem," Luke muttered as if having been pulled from a train of thought.

"Master, what's the matter?"

"Hm?" Luke broke free of whatever ideas had ensnared him. "Nothing's wrong, why do you ask?"

"Well... didn't you tell Asch we were going to visit our friends? Why are we here?"

Luke bit his lip; so much for hoping it would escape Mieu's notice. He knew full well that he'd said he was going to visit the others and check on them, but how could Asch honestly think he could just drop everything like that and go play around? He wanted to go see them, Guy, Tear, Ion... and everyone. He longed to visit and chat with them like he once had; but now wasn't the time. There was too much else going on for him to just pretend none of it existed. The young noble just couldn't bring himself to ignore the problems they both had to face, so he was going to continue his research and keep trying to figure out the mystery that was Lorelei and what Master Van was up to, even if it meant he'd lied to Asch.

He had failed to get the Jewel... it was his responsibility to find it.

"And what about Ginji and everyone in Sheridan? They'd be pretty upset to hear you say that," Luke teased.

"Oh no! I didn't mean it like that!" Luke smiled as the cheagle continued to fret. Chatting with Mieu was a good way to keep his guilt from getting a good grip on him, and once he'd managed to reassure the small creature that no one in Sheridan would be offended, they succeeded in having a rather interesting conversation.

Sheridan slowly crept closer as the two continued to chatter, talking about pointless things, oddities Mieu had noticed around the manor. Luke couldn't help but laugh at Mieu's tales of his days fleeing the overbearing maids. Apparently they were worse than Tear when it came to loving cute things, or maybe they just didn't hide it, but either way it left Mieu as the victim of cuddling abuse... if such a thing even existed. Luke sighed at that thought. Tear...

He'd received a few letters from the melodist, which of course really told him nothing about herself or how she was faring. Through their correspondence he was slowly teaching Tear the difference between a letter to a friend and to her superior, but in spite of his efforts, he was still getting reports. Not that she'd likely tell him how her illness was faring if he was speaking to her in person, much less put it into writing. Still, her evasiveness of the topic when he'd clearly asked, told him far more than he really wanted to know. The world was saved, but she was still paying the price.

Before Luke had the time to change his mind, and thus his destination, he found himself knocking on the door to Sheridan's meeting hall. The door cracked open and he was greeted by a familiar smiling face.

"Luke! What a surprise!"

"Hi Noelle," Luke returned the gesture and accepted the pilot's invitation inside. "Sorry to drop by unannounced."

"Don't be silly!" the young pilot immediately dismissed his apology. "You're welcome here anytime. Besides, all these guys are doing is arguing. I could use someone civil to talk to."

Luke snickered at the sight of Class I and Aston all leaning over some plans at the far end of the table. He could definitely see what Noelle meant.

"Come on now Aston," Hencken argued. "If we're going to rebuild it, we may as well make some improvements to the core system. Why bother recreating a piece of junk when it could be something great?"

"I'm telling you, it doesn't need any improvements!" Aston shot back. "That was already the pinnacle of Class M's achievements. Your modifications will just slow the operating system!"

"But its accuracy will be ten-fold! If that's all Class M has, then it's a good thing we're here to help!" Cathy threw in.

"How long have they been at it?" Luke whispered.

"Hours," Noelle answered and both of them laughed.

"Say, Noelle, is Spinoza still around Sheridan?"

"Yeah, he's been talking about moving back to Belkend now that Van's gone, but he hasn't done it yet. I think he likes the energy."

Luke laughed, "I get it, but I don't."

"Same here, I can only take so much of this at once."

"Do you know where I'd find him?" the young noble inquired.

"Sure, I'll show you the way."

"Thanks Noelle."

"No problem!"

Luke and Mieu both followed the blonde pilot through Sheridan. Luke was overjoyed to see the repairs that had taken place over the past couple months. The mourning city had almost regained its former vigour and life was slowly returning. Sheridan was healing... but it wasn't just them, the entire world was recovering from the upheaval it had been put through. Luke hadn't thought about it at the time, because all that had mattered was keeping everyone alive, but there had been more than a few drastic repercussions of their actions in lowering the Outer Lands.

Spinoza's makeshift office was in a building not far from the Albiores' hangars and Noelle cheerfully greeted the aging researcher before introducing her guest.

"Luke! What brings you all the way out here? Last I heard you and Asch were busy as bees in Baticul."

"We were, or I guess Asch still is; I came because there are some important things I wanted to talk to you about."

"I'll just wait over here," Noelle smiled apologetically, indicating the next room. She could tell from Luke's tone it was probably something private or at the very least personal; and it wasn't any of her business.

"Thanks Noelle," Luke nodded, a grateful expression dawning on his face. "I can find my way back; you don't have to wait on me."

"I don't mind, like I said, I need a break from those three, so just take your time." Then, without another word, she left the room, a blue cheagle happily cuddled in her arms. Luke grinned; one more person to add to the list of people Mieu might have to watch out for.

"She's a real sweetheart that one," Spinoza commented.

Luke stuttered a little, unsure how to respond to the researcher's unexpected comment, but Spinoza simply chuckled at the reaction he'd incited. "So, what is it you wanted to talk about?"

"Dr. Spinoza, how much do you know about Lorelei?"

A serious air fell over the researcher. "Not much I'm afraid; there is very little known about Lorelei. If the two of you weren't proven to be isofons of Lorelei and hadn't had that encounter with him, I'd say he's entirely theoretical. I do have a couple books that may give you some more information," Spinoza continued, handing the young noble a couple of texts. "But I'm afraid that's all I can offer."

"I've read these already." Luke handed both books back, "there's a copy of them in the castle library."

"Why the sudden concern with Lorelei? Are you and Asch having problems?"

"Well, not problems per say..." Luke launched into an explanation of Lorelei's predicament and the Sword that Asch had been given. He was careful to exclude Lorelei's exact message and the parts about Master Van... instead dwelling on his failure to receive the Jewel for longer than he probably should have. "I just don't understand," he finally concluded, a melancholy settling over the previously cheerful replica. His eyes met those of the man before him, almost pleading for an answer. "We're both perfect isofons of Lorelei, so why did Asch get the Sword but I didn't get the Jewel?"

"Well, it's the fact that you're perfect isofons that allowed Lorelei to send you something in the first place. I can't think of any reason for one of you to receive the item but the other to fail unless there was some kind of mistake or distraction on the part of-"

Spinoza cut himself off but he could tell by the look on Luke's face he'd already put his foot in his mouth and the young replica had gotten the gist of it. He cursed his tendency to ponder things aloud. But really, what other options were there unless... no. The implications of the second option were almost crueller.

"Really Luke," Spinoza tried. "It isn't your fault. I doubt anything you could have done would have changed matters or affected the outcome."

Nothing.

"So... Luke," the researcher decided on a different tactic. Distractions could work wonders. "What do you think about the recent changes in the Planet Storm?"

"What changes?" the redhead looked up at him confusedly, his face beset with even more concern then before. Strike two.

"Haven't you heard? I'm sure I sent a letter to you and Asch as well as one to your father informing you of the matter. Even if they went astray, the countries' leaders should know; everyone has been monitoring the Planet Storm to watch for any effects from the lowering of the lands."

"No... no one's told me anything."

'Asch?' Luke asked accusingly.

No answer. Of course he was asleep, Luke rolled his eyes but quickly sighed in defeat. It was late... but Asch had some explaining to do in the morning. Why hadn't his sibling said anything?

"Why? What's going on with the Planet Storm?" Luke finally asked.

"It has increased in intensity. Rumour has it that investigations to the Absorption and Radiation Gates showed signs of others having been there, but I've no one who can confirm that."

"The God-Generals!" Luke suddenly concluded. He should have known there weren't just going to give up because they believed Master Van was dead. "What kind of consequences could the increased force of the Planet Storm have?"

"Right now, my biggest concern is the miasma. It was trapped in the core but with more fonons being forced through there, the chances are much greater that it may begin seeping back out. There are other more long term consequences depending on whether the velocity continues to increase or not. If the vibrations caused by the Planet Storm continue to grow at the rate they have, then the Tartarus won't be able to neutralize the vibrations in the core anymore."

"That's terrible!"

"I'm not entirely certain of this; to be honest I would have like to have spoken to Colonel Curtis about it."

"Can you write your theories down?" Luke asked.

"I could, why?"

"I'll bring them to Grand Chokmah and have Jade look them over. There are a few things I'd like to ask him too."

"Certainly," Spinoza nodded. "I'll get that done tonight. Are you sure about going all the way to Grand Chokmah?"

"Yeah, I was heading there anyway," Luke lied. Well it wasn't entirely a lie. He had said he'd go visit his friends, and he did have friends in Grand Chokmah... The young noble opened the door to the office allowing himself and the researcher out.

"Going to Grand Chokmah?" Noelle asked with a smile, enjoying the confused looks she got. "Sorry, you guys were getting loud."

"Yeah," Luke replied.

"Do you need a ride?"

"In the Albiore?"

"No, I have my own personal ferry we can sail in," Noelle shot back tauntingly.

"Sorry," Luke chuckled. "Stupid question."

"Is it okay if we head out first thing in the morning?"

"Of course," Luke answered, taken aback by the fact that the perky pilot had even considered departing tonight as an option. Now that he was out of the office, he could see why Asch was asleep; the sun had long since disappeared from the horizon.

"I'll see you in the morning." Noelle smiled, passing the redhead a sleeping blue cheagle.

"I'll make sure to have what you need by the morning then," Spinoza stated with certainty.

"Thanks," Luke replied. "Sorry to put you to work so late at night."

"No, I should apologize for dragging you into these affairs again." Luke simply shook his head. "Really Luke, it isn't your fault." Spinoza offered one final smile before returning to his office.

The young noble watched him and wondered if he was really that easy to read. The lack of the Jewel still weighed heavily on his mind and the researcher's apology only intensified the guilt that was starting to brew within him. They weren't getting him involved; it was the other way around. They were his friends; the last thing he wanted was to see them hurt in his mess.

And there was no saying just how dangerous this journey was going to get.

The several day trip to Grand Chokmah from Sheridan with Noelle was fun, and Luke thoroughly enjoyed the chance to catch up with the blonde pilot. The Albiore seemed freakishly quiet with just the two of them (three if you counted Mieu), and to be honest it was kind of nerve-wracking. The fact that he hadn't managed to contact Asch didn't help much in that regard. Luke cursed the ridiculous schedule his brother was forced to adhere to. Asch really hadn't been kidding when he said he'd be busy for the next little while. Thankfully, he and Noelle managed to fill the silence with conversation and Luke was glad to hear things in Sheridan had been lively as ever and that Ginji was doing well. Still, the young noble was relieved when they finally touched down in a field just shy of Malkuth's capital.

"Are you sure you don't want to come?" Luke asked.

"That's okay," the pilot replied with her usual degree of seemingly eternal cheer. "I'll wait for you here."

"Alright," Luke called back with a wave. "I shouldn't be too late!"

Noelle's reply was lost in the morning breeze and Luke continued to walk towards the sparkling city in the distance. Even from this far away, you could see the glimmer as the sun danced off the endlessly flowing water upon which the capital dwelt. But the glittering white marble was broken by three figures rapidly approaching him, and it didn't take a genius to identify them as members of the military. The way their strides were all in unison gave them away long before their uniforms were visible.

What did catch Luke off guard was the way the three of them immediately broke their formation and surrounded him.

"What's going on?" Luke asked as calmly as he could, instinctively taking a defensive stance.

"You're under arrest; you are to come quietly or we will restrain you by force."

"What? On what charges? I haven't done anything! I'm just going to Grand Chokmah to visit a friend."

"Your lies won't fool us! You are clearly a high ranking Kimlascan. All spies will face inquisition before the court to be tried as his Majesty sees fit."

"I'm not a spy!" Luke yelled in outrage, but he may as well be arguing with a wall. The three men surrounding him looked more eager to fight him than to back down. 'Tried' his foot! They wanted to take him out here and now despite their orders, they just needed an excuse. Figures. What worried Luke more was why the military believed that Kimlasca would be sending spies. This wasn't like during the war... they had a peace treaty!

"You're clearly not planning on coming along quietly," the leader of the soldiers declared a, a smug grin spreading across his face as he drew his blade. Luke cursed under his breath; this was the worst possible situation he could get himself into. The other two soldiers drew their swords as well. With a nod from the leader, all three attacked.

Luke dodged their hits, fighting against his own instincts to draw his blade. He couldn't; he had his position to consider after all. He may not be as high ranking as Asch was, but he knew full well there was no way he could get caught attacking Malkuth soldiers in their own territory and not cause problems. They had finally managed to form a tenuous peace between the countries, and it was far too fragile to test now. Damn it all!

The soldiers who had challenged him didn't prove to be exceptionally skilled and Luke caught himself critiquing their form, it distracted him, but noting their weaknesses helped him avoid their continuing assault. Now if only there weren't three of them he could probably keep this up. Still, he couldn't do this indefinitely, and the soldiers were getting more aggressive, angry that he was mocking them by dodging their attacks. Honestly, Luke rolled his eyes, you'd think they expect him to stand there and be impaled. The young noble sidestepped another strike, reading these three was easy. Wait! One... two... Where was the third?

Damn it!

The sound of metal on metal rang out and Luke was forced to draw his sword to save the arm he might have otherwise lost. Of all the... why was simply visiting Jade so difficult? That man's attitude managed to seep into absolutely everything involving him in some way and it was far too easy for Luke to picture Jade snickering in his office.

Now that his sword was out, the soldiers were even less of a challenge and the redhead was easily matching their strikes, all the while trying to figure out what to do. No doubt if he surrendered they'd claim he attacked them first and his word didn't mean much. Killing them was absolutely out of the question, but maybe if he knocked them out their memory could be considered questionable? That was the best thing he could come up with.

"What's going on over here?" Luke cursed again. A fourth voice and the sound of a sword being unsheathed... just what he needed. In a swift motion, the young noble disarmed and threw back all three of his opponents, throwing himself around in time to meet his newest opponent's strike. Time froze as Luke found himself looking past steel blades into a pair of very familiar blue eyes.

"Guy!"

"Luke!" Both combatants lowered their weapons. "What in all of Auldrant are you doing here? And what's going on?"

"I was just coming to visit and to talk to Jade about something but I was attacked by the soldiers here."

"He is obviously a high-ranking Kimlascan!" The soldier's leader argued, doing his best to keep face after his humiliating defeat. "Orders are that he is to be detained. No exceptions!"

"Then I'll take him into my custody," Guy replied. "You'll come with me, right Luke?" The noble nodded, still completely lost as to what was going on around him. "Is that suitable?"

"Yes, Sir," the soldier grumbled in agreement before retreating with his companions.

"I swear all the new recruits are nothing but glory hogs," Guy muttered under his breath. "Sorry Luke, looks like you're going to have to come to the palace with me. We'll get things sorted out with His Majesty there."

"That's fine," Luke answered still watching the soldiers retreating in the distance. "But what's all this about in the first place? Why are Kimlascans being treated like enemies and potential spies?"

"You mean... you don't know?"

"I don't know what?"

"If you don't know anything about it, then maybe it's best you come to the palace after all. Come on, let's go."

Luke nodded and followed his best friend, all the joy he had found in their reunion completely overshadowed by the looming thoughts that wouldn't loosen their hold on him. After everything he'd gone through over the past couple months, there was still so much he didn't know and didn't understand... and he hated it.

What was Asch hiding from him now?

The floating city of Grand Chokmah was as majestic as Luke remembered it being and his initial apprehension about his less than warm reception slowly abated as he caught up with his best friend. Luke hadn't realized just how much he had missed his former attendant until the two of them got talking. Talking with Guy lifted such a huge weight from his chest, and Luke was genuinely happy for the first time in what felt like forever.

The two of them made a brief detour and Guy showed Luke around his manor. It was really nice, not as big as Luke's home in Baticul, but in some ways was much nicer. Luke smiled at some of the familiarities he noted: furniture arrangements, the choice of decor in some rooms that seemed to mirror his own home and the redhead couldn't help but wonder if it had been intentional or not. As sad as Luke was that Guy wasn't around Baticul anymore, seeing his life here made Luke happy for his best friend. He was glad Guy had managed to find himself a place, even if his only job was, by Guy's own confession, walking Peony's rappigs.

Now, the two of them were making their way to the palace.

"You know," Guy spoke up. "You were pretty impressive back there."

Luke eyed his best friend suspiciously. "What did I do now?"

"I was talking about that fight you got yourself into."

"Hey, I did not start that. Those soldiers attacked me."

"Well at fault or not, you totally schooled them. I expected you to have gotten a bit rusty without a sword instructor." Guy elbowed Luke jokingly.

"Actually, Father has taken over our sword training."

"Oh, Asch must be loving that," Guy replied sarcastically.

"He wouldn't know, he never shows."

"Really?"

"Yeah, he always makes up some kind of excuse about being busy, even though Father goes through the trouble of making sure he doesn't have anything else going on during practice."

"I imagine your father would be a bit different than Van," Guy commented.

"Yeah," Luke agreed. "But Asch is just being stupid."

"Well he always was stubborn, he'll have to come around eventually."

"I hope so," Luke trailed off.

Training with his father really was different than Master Van and it wasn't until the past couple months that Luke realized just how much he'd been fostered by his former teacher. His father always pushed him well past the point of exhaustion and nights of their training sessions always had him asleep before his head could hit the pillow. Master Van had always been satisfied with halfway, and had spent a good deal of the time boosting Luke's ego. With Father, there was always criticism, nothing was ever done perfectly and there was always room to grow. Praise from him meant infinitely more, because he wasn't so quick to simply dish it out. He was harsh, but it was through that he encouraged Luke to be better. Master Van had wanted him to be good, not as good as Asch, but good enough. Father wanted Luke to be the best he could be.

Asch just couldn't see that. All Asch saw was harsh criticism and a man who felt his sons could never live up to his expectations. What was going on with Asch lately? For all Luke had spent all his time with his older brother, it had taken him leaving to finally see the drastic changes that had taken place. The two of them would have a few things to talk about when he got back.

The throne room was just as Luke remembered it being, right down to the spirited emperor on the throne and the advisors that stood nearby. The only difference was that Luke didn't have near the support standing behind him that he'd had before, but he refused to let that stop him.

"Your Majesty," Guy bowed before the emperor. "This is Luke fon Fabre, son of Duke Fabre; he was spotted approaching the city and attacked by a group of guards acting on the orders to detain any ranking Kimlascans." Peony nodded, dismissing the formalities but allowing for a tense silence to fall over them all.

"Luke," Peony was the first to speak. "What brings someone like you here of all places?"

"Please, your Majesty," Luke replied. "I came to Grand Chokmah because I wished to speak with Jade concerning a few matters and to visit my companions that live in the city here. If I may, why are there orders to detain any ranking Kimlascans? I was under the impression our countries had achieved a state of peace."

"You dare speak of that, you treacherous filth!"

"Nordheim!" Peony snapped at his advisor who immediately backed off. "Forgive us, but you'll have to understand that our actions are in response to your recent breach of the treaty."

"What breach is that?" Luke asked, his eyes alight with concern. Just what was going on?

"Recently the Kimlascan army has made several attacks on Malkuth troops," Peony explained. "The death count has been quite high and we've no choice but to act."

"Your Majesty, Kimlasca hasn't ordered anything like that!" Luke cried out before realizing where he was. "I've been at the castle almost daily, if there were any operation of that nature, I would have at least heard about it!"

"Luke," Guy interrupted. "You're nobility, but even you aren't privy to everything that goes on. Asch doesn't tell you everything."

Luke stared at the floor, his mind overcast by the harsh reality of what had been said. Guy was right... there was so much going on and Asch hadn't told him any of it. The Planet Storm, the problems with Malkuth, and then there were all those meetings Asch had that he spent sitting in the library. Just what else had his wayward other not told him?

"Even so," Luke finally said. Asch may have a lot to answer to, but Luke still trusted him and everyone else at the castle. "Kimlasca desires the continued peace between our countries; they wouldn't have organized those attacks."

Peony eyed the boy standing before him suspiciously, but Luke's determined gaze never wavered. The emperor grinned. "So you're here to talk with the old cod?"

"Sir," Luke said with a smile.

"Sesseman, please send someone to get Jade out of that stuffy office of his."

"Your Majesty," the second advisor bowed and immediately left the room.

"The question remains, if it isn't Kimlasca's doing, then who is attacking our nation?"

"Isn't it obvious? He's lying." Nordheim interrupted. "There are no other forces who could oppose us, especially given that Daath is neutral."

"Other possibilities should at least be explored," Peony argued.

"What of Mohs?" Guy pointed out. "The timing would fit with his escape."

"Escape?" Luke asked.

"Yeah," Guy replied. "When Ion returned to Daath the first thing he did was sack Mohs." Luke had to suppress his laughter; oh how he would have loved to be there for that. "He charged Mohs with using his position to mislead the world leaders and cause a war. He was imprisoned and sent here to face the charges issued by the nations, but he escaped custody. We think it was Dist that helped him get out, since he had escaped himself just a few days earlier."

"Given Mohs' past crimes, his involvement is a strong possibility," Peony agreed.

"Impossible, the enemy was seen flying the Kimlascan banner!" Nordheim argued.

"Ignoring its source for now," Peony diverted the accusation, "be it Mohs or Kimlasca, what should be done about it?"

"I believe that the best thing for both Malkuth and Kimlasca would be to sort things out through talks," Luke suggested. "I'm sure that this is nothing more than a misunderstanding. Look at what happened last time there was a misunderstanding: our countries ended up in a full blown war and countless people needlessly died. The innocents paid the price for our rash actions. We can't let that happen again!"

"You don't simply expect us to submit ourselves to attack, do you?" Nordheim asked. "Defensive actions must be taken!"

"Of course, I would expect no less," Luke answered. "It may not be Kimlasca, but someone is still attacking you. You have a duty first and foremost to defend your people."

"He has a point," Peony said, the look on his face almost one of pride.

"Well, after all that, there certainly can't be much left for him to talk to me about."

"Jade!" Luke spun around to see his companion leaning against the door frame. The Colonel entered the throne room and took his place near Peony.

"What took you so long?" the Emperor demanded tauntingly. "Did you leave your cane in your office again?"

Jade coughed indignantly. "Perhaps it would be best if his Majesty returned to the task at hand," he suggested.

"Right well, I'm willing to consider talks with Kimlasca if they'll concede to them as well," Peony said, a grin slowly working its way across his face. "I put way too much work into this peace treaty to have it fall apart now! Jade, Guy, I'd like the two of you to deliver my request to King Ingobert."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Guy bowed.

"Well, Luke." Jade adjusted his glasses. "It looks like we've need of your social status again."

"Of course," Luke answered.

"Good," Peony nodded. "This way you can talk with Jade about your personal matters over the trip, is that okay?"

"That's fine. Thank you, Your Majesty."

"I wish you a safe and less eventful journey than last time," Peony called after the three.

"Let's hope so," Guy managed once they'd left the throne room and were standing in the entryway.

"Yeah no kidding," Luke agreed. "Getting that last letter home was no cake walk."

"You keep surprising me," Guy commented with a pointed look at his best friend.

"What now?"

"You handled yourself really well back there. Asch must be rubbing off on you."

Luke laughed. "Yeah well, when all you do is follow Asch around all day, you don't really have much choice."

"Don't get cocky just yet," Jade intervened. "We're only just beginning. Let us sincerely hope that these endeavours won't end up in quite the mess that the last ones were."

"No kidding," Guy agreed.

"Now, Luke." Jade adjusted his glasses. "I'm told you had some problems to discuss?"

A chuckle escaped the redhead masking the exasperated sigh that accompanied it. "Where do I even start?"