Chapter 68: The Endless Cycle of History
The floating land of Eldrant was boundless, its expanding borders now stretched further than the eye could see from a single vantage. The sky that had once closed it in stretched out of reach and with its expansion birthed their dream, a slowly growing reality that no one would deny them. So long had Legretta imagined this day, the results of fruitful words made tangible, the day she could watch the future unravel before them. The image had dangled in her mind, in every moment she'd ever struggled to find meaning in her actions, to find reason to persevere beyond the obstacles life would put to her... it was always this moment, this goal that pushed her forward. Reality however, was not so kind a master.
Legretta's steps echoed, each stride in perfect sync rapping like the seconds of a clock, precious seconds flying away on the soft spring breeze. It was so hard to think of time here in this frozen eternity. Time had no value, no meaning at times. An endless spring, an endless rebirth; but the seconds still counted down and she continued to walk. Tick. Tick. Tick.
No... things were not how she'd always envisioned they would be, but such details were irrelevant. It was the end result that mattered; the end and not the means that would count for centuries to come. In the rewriting of history, her petty worries would never merit any concern, nor did they deserve any. It was unbefitting a soldier. Though this truth was one she knew, that repeated endlessly in her mind, the God-General remained unsettled. Doubts she had long since forbidden herself festered like the pit in her stomach that surfaced when she thought on the issues that plagued her. But she denied them; she would deny them as long as was necessary. The new world was not ready to be completed yet; there were still obstacles to surmount and challenges to be met. Then and only then, would she be able to properly rest.
"Commandant." Legretta greeted her commander, announcing her presence to the man who sat alone, seemingly meditating; only the expression on his face belying the cause of his focus.
"Commandant!" she repeated, betraying an edge of concern. "Are you alright? Is it Lorelei?" It wouldn't be the first time the being strained him, the first time it threatened his still unstable existence. They couldn't afford to lose him again. She couldn't afford to lose him again.
"Legretta," Van replied, his voice flatter than usual, completely passing over her inessential worries. He'd thought better of her; she'd no ability to focus of late. "What's your report?"
"Commandant, you haven't been long out of the core, Lorelei is clearly still straining your body; you should leave the worrying about mundane matters to us."
"You're too incompetent for me to leave them to you!" Van snapped.
Legretta knew full well the Commandant hadn't been in the best of moods recently, Lorelei's constant resistance to its imprisonment strained him more than he'd admit; not to mention the fact he hadn't returned to full health yet. His use of Yulia's hymns had saved his life, for Lorelei had no choice but to respond to the covenant he'd made with Yulia, but it bound the ancient being no more than that. True her failures of late were unacceptable, and there was no reason for them not to have the Sword of Lorelei in their possession; but to hear such harsh words from him, Legretta still felt as if someone had stabbed her. She had always been his most trusted... the tone he'd taken with her was one reserved for the lowly... the disregarded; those whose loyalty meant nothing to him.
Whether her surprise had been apparent or not, Van quickly regained his composure and sighed deeply. There was no remorse in his tone, no sign he regretted what he'd said, but he continued as she'd expect of any meeting with him.
"Your report Legretta," he said sternly. "Since you are here, what is Cantabile's status? Where are the Sword and Jewel of Lorelei?"
"Cantabile..." Legretta hesitated. "Cantabile hasn't officially reported in since Arietta's death," she said solemnly.
"Officially?" Van cocked an eyebrow.
"No one has seen her," Legretta clarified with a touch of uncertainty in her normally confident voice. "We can't confirm whether she's actually returned to Eldrant at any point or not but her whereabouts are currently unknown. Largo has reported that Mohs is dead. At that time Asch was still in possession of the Sword of Lorelei. However, due to the chaos that Mohs created with the Seventh fonstone, there was no opportunity for either Largo or Sync to retrieve it from him. For the time being Sync will continue to gather replica data, but his actions are slowly being restricted in many of the major cities. Without Mohs spearheading the image of the New Order, we can assume that this situation is unlikely to improve."
Van let out a frustrated sigh. "Why was I not informed that the Seventh Fonstone had been located? Who told Mohs where to look?"
"We believe he blackmailed Kimlasca into providing him with its location in exchange for not revealing their involvement with fomicry. Dist is the most likely to have provided him with the information necessary to do this and is also currently missing. I will organize a search for him and Cantabile immediately."
"You've more important things to search for."
"Cantabile is-"
"Her whereabouts are unknown and can't be counted upon."
"A search wouldn't take long to conduct, Dist-"
"Is no longer necessary! He has served his purpose, leave him to do as he pleases. I doubt we could guarantee his cooperation at this point, especially if Mohs surrendered what he sought from us."
"Regardless!" Legretta protested. "Such furtive actions cannot be trusted!"
"If he does anything to compromise us, he can be dealt with. The same goes for Cantabile; if they won't contribute to our cause then I've no use for either of them," Van stated harshly, shutting Legretta's argument down where it stood.
Legretta stood there for a moment, uncertain what to make of the situation. She'd always known there had never been any love lost between Van and the eccentric researcher, but even Cantabile? Hearing the Commandant say such things about his subordinates, about someone she'd believed he cared for, still caught her off guard. While at the back of her mind, Legretta knew that each of them had their own reasons for partaking in the new world the Commandant was building, and there were plenty of reasons he may know of that would make forcing Dist and Cantabile to return futile, Legretta remained unsettled as ever. The harshness of his voice, the coldness of his eyes... this... this was the man that had murdered her brother, not the noble commander whose ideals and compassion had overturned her heart and shattered her plans for revenge.
Surely it was nothing, stress was abound at this crucial time, and her failure was beyond excusable. Between ensuring that all the cogs of his plan fell into place and keeping the centerpiece of it all, Lorelei, imprisoned, the Commandant had more than reason to be short with her. He'd suffered, still struggled for their goals and she had delivered him nothing. She couldn't even take a simple sword from one little boy.
Legretta shook her head. It was beyond the time of doubt; she had long since committed herself to him and his ideals regardless of the consequences that would come. Legretta knew she would remain at his side, no matter where that path would lead.
They would create a world for the future, and then their time would pass.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
Even though the sun had set hours ago, the air in Choral Castle was still hot and humid. So humid that it was going to be forever until anyone started to dry off from the shower they'd just stepped out of. Great. While their ordeal with the Seventh Fonstone had finally come to an end and the last couple replicas were on their way back to their not so little tower, the weather didn't show any signs of letting up. A midnight walk, well past midnight by now, but a walk in a creepy old mansion and some acid rain courtesy of the miasma, just what Anise had always wanted... she rolled her eyes. At least it washed the mud out of their clothes... and the blood.
A shiver flew up Anise's spine and she bit her lip so hard she could taste the unmistakable taint of the overly familiar red stuff. She was so stupid! For how long now had she dreamed up Mohs' death, wished for it more than anything else? That good for nothing pig was finally gone, and got exactly what the dirty bastard deserved: to be stabbed in the back by someone he thought was his ally. Or... to be precise, stabbed in the front. That was... That was just... gruesome, even by her standards, and Anise had always figured she'd a creative imagination. Well she definitely had a healthy new respect for Largo's weapon. Another shudder. She'd spent weeks dreaming of Mohs' death, and somehow now she had a feeling that the sight of his innards half hanging out of his dead body would be the subject of many nightmares to come.
The steady patter of rain against the few remaining windows was the only thing that broke the silence not that anyone was too eager to strike up a conversation. In fact, the bit of silence was nice. After all, their lives had been nothing but chaos lately; everything was just... it was too fast. So many things to say... topics that had once seemed so important, that would be brought up at the first possible opportunity, had become impossible to pull out of the recesses of her mind. Maybe once they'd had some sleep. Even Mieu was too tired to bother jumping in the puddles their dripping hair left laying about.
Luke rung the water out of his jacket, one of his longer ones that must be awfully heavy soaked through to the bone like that. He tried to fix his hair but the unruly red strands were a complete mess and he gave up on them after a few attempts. Anise peered over her shoulder, debating trying to wring Tokunaga out but decided against it as quickly as the idea had come to mind. Too much effort to bother; she was used to the giant slop of muddy water on her back anyway and it's not like it did her weapon any harm. It had been made durable; she could definitely attest to that.
"How are you feeling Natalia?" Tear asked gently, being the first to break the spell that hung over them all. The Princess in question was standing meekly next to her fiancé with said fiancé's arm curled protectively around her. Any friction that Asch's actions at the Tower of Rem may have caused had been forgotten for the time being. Hell the whole issue seemed forgotten for the time being, but Anise wasn't going to be the first to say anything. No, if anyone deserved the first shot it was definitely Luke, and even he had enough sense to tell this wasn't the time or the place. Maybe on a few more hours sleep... when there was some chance that the argument wouldn't end in bloodshed. Besides, Natalia kind of needed Asch in one piece right now.
"I-I'm fine," Natalia managed, but she betrayed her real answer by sinking further into Asch's gesture.
"Better, at least?" Anise piped up with a sceptical look reminding her no one believed a word she was saying. Natalia nodded a reply. "Good!" Anise continued with an unhealthy level of cheer. Silence was nice but got boring so fast. It was too damn dreary when everyone was all clammed up like that. It left too long to think about the less than pleasant things, something Anise had discovered she did better off avoiding. "How about the psychic duo over here? I for one would like to know what the heck that was all about in there. Like since when do you two read the Score? You guys sure picked a bad time to be M.I.A."
"What are you talking about?" Luke asked confusedly, only managing to extract the fact that Anise was referring to him and Asch from the mumbo jumbo that had come out of her mouth.
"What happened to you two in there? You went all... weird."
"We did? I... don't know," Luke confessed. "I kinda... blacked out, I don't remember anything beyond my head being on fire."
"Wait- but what about that stuff you were saying?"
"Saying? I don't remember saying anything..." Luke trailed off. The ensuing silence unnerved him. "Why? What's the matter? Did I say something stupid?"
"Don't worry about it Luke," Guy supplied, cutting off his best friend with a bit of a chuckle. "Everything is fine. You didn't say anything stupid."
"I don't know, I just... have a really bad feeling about it all," the younger redhead replied hesitantly. "Whatever it was, it wasn't good."
"What I want to know is what's going on," Asch cut in. "Why did we black out like that?"
"I don't think you need to be concerned about it right this second," Jade intervened. "It's unlikely to occur again anytime soon; I'd like to save such a discussion for a later time. For now we'd best be out of here. The remaining guard is undoubtedly waiting for an explanation of our actions."
"Jade's right," Guy agreed, beginning what he had a feeling was going to be a very long walk back to the entrance. "We should regroup and get things settled. Once we make sure this isn't going to spark an international incident, we can figure out what to do next."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
It didn't take long to establish, if only from the empty hallways, that the Kimlascan and Malkuth soldiers had retreated from more than just the immediate vicinity. The sole company being that of the corpses lining the hallways made the walk eerie and Tear silently wished there was more sounds than simply the echoing of everyone's footsteps. Not that she could think of a suitable conversation starter. Poor Natalia was tired of the attention focused on her after her little ordeal. The poor girl, she felt bad enough without being constantly reminded of how helpless she'd been. Not that anyone would dream of blaming her for such thing; it wasn't like she'd had any sort of military training, and even if she had, it took someone... well someone like Jade to keep their head in that sort of situation.
Yet, even the Colonel hadn't had his head completely about him in that last battle. It bothered her; Tear always knew Jade as calm, level-headed amongst even the most chaotic mayhem. Nothing shook him; ever. Not Akzeriuth, not Sheridan, not Ion's death, or even Asch's declaration at the Tower of Rem; never once had he faltered.
That last battle was different though; through and through it had shaken him in some way. It couldn't have been Natalia's ordeal; nor was it Luke and Asch, he'd dealt with Lorelei in the core without batting an eye. Was it the revelation of Yulia's final Score? No, that didn't seem right either; Jade never exhibited any kind of attachment to the Score or the system it supported. Besides, the near panic had begun before Mohs started to read the Score. What had gone on that had the power to make even the Colonel so frantic?
There was only one time Tear could remember him being unlike himself and that was back before their encounter with Van in the Absorption Gate. Back when he'd taken Ion and gone to Keterburg of his own accord, the reason for which no one had ever really ascertained. Could that be what this was about? Ties to the history of the man they knew so little about? The professor he supposedly murdered? Did something about all of this have to do with Jade's past?
"I once witnessed the outcome of a Fonist who couldn't control the Seventh Fonon but attempted to use it anyway..."
It was an answer Tear suspected she would never get.
They heard the laughter before they saw the lights, though the two elements came in quick succession. Triumphant and prideful, muttered words interspersed between the cackles beaming out of a room of green lights. The once casual stride that had carried them this far suddenly became a cautious and slow pace, everyone on full alert for the sudden presence of an intruder. Once they'd come closer a second sound accompanied the first, it was a familiar whirring, that of a fon machine. Someone was in the fomicry lab, and with a laugh like the one that now clearly rung in her ears, Tear knew exactly who it was.
Jade was the first to round the corner and Asch was quick to follow in his steps. The narrow hallway opened into the vaulted cavern that the older redhead could have traced with his eyes closed for the number of times he'd visited the damn place in nightmares. Just like in those nightmares, a green light reflected eerily from the stones, glittering as it bounced from the puddles of frigid water that always lingered in the old manor. The air was stifling and the heat from the fon machines had taken the humidity and turned the room into a veritable sauna, tightening his chest in an all too familiar fashion. Though the cavern didn't shake him like it once had, Asch still hated it here. So why did it piss him off so much to see that Dist had set up camp here?
But the crazier of the two old men had definitely set himself up, and given the fact that they'd just passed through here no more than a couple hours ago, and the soldiers even less than that, Dist had been a busy little boy. He was planted in front of the controls, oblivious to the intrusion muttering something to himself. Asch hissed a curse, knowing full well what the God-General was doing; after all, those controls only served one function, but with the tier of the fon machine where the original sat empty, Asch couldn't help but wonder what the hell Dist was trying to replicate.
"What the hell!" Anise called in surprise at seeing the massive room aglow.
"Anise!" Guy hissed but it was too late. Dist noticed their presence.
"Jade!" Dist called excitedly. Doubtless any and all other presence in the room hadn't penetrated the man's remarkably one-track mind yet. His tone was a bit different than usual though; less hostile than it had been in previous encounters. It seemed surprised, yet satisfied at the same time all mixed into one creepy obsession that Asch feared might be ready to bear fruit. "You've come!"
"What are you doing here Dist?" Anise asked with a sneer that was, in spite of its snotty tone, far more contained than what the former Fon Master Guardian would like to have showed. This was the absolute last thing any of them wanted to deal with. It had to be at least 1 or 2 o clock in the morning and dealing with Dist took far more than the patience of a saint. "I thought it was past the reaper's curfew," she shot.
"What am I saying, of course you've come!" Dist continued to ramble on, ignoring the jab completely, if he'd heard it at all. There was a light in his eyes, a creepy twisted kind of exuberance in him that left everyone on edge. What the hell did he have cooking? "Fate brought you here. Nothing could keep you from this miraculous day!"
"What are you talking about?" Jade demanded, the harshness in his reply worrying Asch. It wasn't like him not to make a taunt or join in the mutual harassment of the God-General, especially when Dist spewed that kind of fluffy crap. In fact, the look in Jade's ruby eyes was downright dangerous. This situation was going to get ugly, especially since Jade still wasn't quite over what Mohs' stunt had forced him to relive.
"Don't have such a sour face," Dist continued, oblivious as always to when his life was in mortal peril. Just shut up, why couldn't Dist just shut up? Asch did not look forward to picking up the remains of the God-General's innards from the cavern floor when Jade was done with him. How had Dist lived this long without any survival instincts to speak of?
"You should be happy, after so many years, what you wanted, what we've always wanted is about to become a reality!" The God-General announced. "I'll make your dream come true!"
"I don't see how that's possible as you still seem to be breathing," Jade shot, the coldness in his tone adding a sharp edge to the taunt. It was clear they'd finally found end to Jade's almost infinite patience. What lay beyond that, Asch was almost afraid to find out. Of course, Dist continued regardless.
"After all this time, we finally have everything we need. We can finally revive the Professor! Rejoice! She's here, being born as we speak!"
Jade was dead silent.
"What the hell are you talking about you stupid dingbat?" Anise demanded. "Hello! The Colonel doesn't want to replicate anything; if he did he wouldn't have banned it!"
"As if a simpleton like you could possibly understand!" Dist protested. "Only I know what it is Jade truly wants. Only I really comprehend..."
"If you wanted to die so bad you could have just asked," Asch shot, for once actually meaning the words behind what otherwise seemed like the usual exchange with Dist. He warily eyed Jade, clueless as anyone who tried to figure the Necromancer out was bound to be, only fearing the look he saw on his comrade's face. He knew better than anyone what it was like to face the shadows of one's past. What he didn't know is what Jade would do about it, and just how that would impact the man he had come to respect.
"What have you done..." Jade's voice was hard, and his closed fists came as close to trembling as they ever would. "Saphir!"
Jade launched himself at the researcher from the second level. He narrowly missed Dist landing hard on the stone floor, but wasting no time, he spun around and launched a second blow. Blood flew, the attack connecting with Dist's arm, but only grazing it. The God-General made no move to retaliate, but his evasion skills were not to be underestimated, dodging each and every one of Jade's consequent flurry. Fonons flew every which way as artes were exchanged; Dist's pitiful in the face of Jade's exceptional talent. Jade hadn't been called a prodigy for nothing; the researcher just couldn't keep up. He wasn't dead yet though, and that could be considered impressive in and of itself when the Colonel was most definitely going for a kill.
Everyone stayed on the ledge, stunned at Jade's impulsiveness but mesmerized but the ferocity of his attacks, still graceful for all of their recklessness.
"And I thought that was my department," Asch muttered under his breath the hint of a smirk on his face. "Come on," he commanded. "We have to put a stop to this. We can't let Dist finish whatever he's making."
Anise momentarily snapped out of the trance she'd been in. She'd hand it to Dist, he was pretty damn good at dodging those attacks. Not once had she ever considered Dist to be capable physically. Like, come on! The man secluded himself in a lab for days at a time and could probably count on one hand the times he'd voluntarily exposed himself to the light of day... He'd built himself a floating chair for crying out loud! But he was holding his own... if you could call not dying while the Colonel attacked you holding your own. Still, something was freakishly backwards about this whole scenario. Why was Jade so worked up, and why did Asch seem to know exactly what was going on? For Yulia's sake, what's with all the damn secrets?
"But wha-"
"Now!" Asch cut Anise of without giving her a second look. Fine, let him be that way, Anise sneered as she followed him down the steps. Him and the Colonel... jerks, the both of them.
"D-Don't worry Jade," Dist said as he scurried to evade the Necromancer's assault. "Soon she'll be reborn! Everything will go back to normal, they'll be how they once were, you'll see! We can go back to how things were, to how you were... things will be right again!"
"You're a fool Saphir!"
"Jade!" Luke called out, distracting him long enough for Dist to slip out from under the assault and towards the cavern wall.
"Don't interfere," Jade replied, his voice calmer than anyone expected it to be given the rashness of his actions. "This is my mistake; I shouldn't have let things go on like this, leaving him and his foolishness to go unchecked all these years. I will see that amends are made."
"Not without us you're not," Asch butt in, taking a defensive stance between Jade and his opponent. Following his lead, everyone else also added to the barrier separating the two opponents. Asch could feel the discontent against his back and part of Asch was glad he couldn't see the look on Jade's face. "Guy!"
"We have to stop the machine," the blond declared, running towards the controls, sending a wave of panic through the scrambling researcher who would never cut through the group in time to stop them.
"Not so fast!" Dist pulled a small metal device from one of his pockets and held it out threateningly. Everyone froze in their tracks. "This is a detonation switch! I have explosives set up all around this cave! Come any closer and I'll set them off!"
"You wouldn't!" Guy shouted. "You'd be buried alive in here with us!"
"But he would," Luke realized with a dawning horror. What was going on here had finally clicked; after Asch'd probably had it all figured out since they got here of course. Luke silently cursed but pushed those feelings aside. He'd deal with that crap later, Dist had to be stopped. Before he finished his replica, and before he brought the entire mansion down on their heads.
"Jade," Dist pleaded. "You know this is what you want; I know that this is the course you truly desire!"
"It's time you stopped these foolish games!" Jade shot.
"Never! Once Professor Nebilim is revived, you'll go back to your old self! You'll see! Together we'll relive that golden era!"
Jade shook his head. "This is entirely my fault for letting you go this long, but rest assured it's not a mistake I intend to repeat. This all ends now!"
Jade moved unbelievably fast, so fast Asch didn't even have time to consider how he might stop him, much less consider whether or not he really should be getting in Jade's way. This was his fight, his past that the old man had yet to settle... and he was clearly intent on settling it now.
The spear flew at impossible speeds through the air, leaving the Necromancer's hand hardly a split second after he'd gotten through the barrier his companions had erected. With a howling scream, the weapon pierced Dist's left shoulder sending the God-General reeling back towards the stone wall, already decorated with his spattered blood. The detonation switch flew harmlessly from his hand, landing with a clink on the ground.
The metal shattered mercilessly beneath a navy boot; the equally pitiless Necromancer approached his crippled opponent. The green glow of the fon machine cast an eerie glare on the pair, hiding Jade's blood red eyes behind his glasses. His stride was steady and calm, exuding an overwhelming level of authority and condemnation. Dist simply babbled nonsense, his voice so pained no one could figure out what he was saying. He was pleading, begging for his life as his blood pooled around him. Taking one end of the spear, Jade clasped it tightly and with a second blood-curdling scream from Dist, jammed it through the rock effectively pinning the God-General to the wall.
Dist's breathing was laboured, the injury and blood sending his head spinning and lending an all too familiar ringing to his ears. No, he wouldn't be defeated here... he had to stay conscious. Soon everything would be right again. He'd dedicated his life, his entire existence to restoring things to how they should be. They'd been happy once... Jade had been happy once. He would not be denied the right to witness that moment in all its glory. Not when it was this close! Things would be right, Jade would be right again... no matter what, he would be here to see it. He just had to... he just had to...
"Guy," Jade spoke up, the tone in his voice foreign; instilling a rather significant degree of fear in all of them. "Stop that machine." No one would dream of doing anything but.
"I c-can't," Guy answered. "It won't let me."
"You're too late," Dist choked out. "It's inevitable; no one can stop her birth now. You'll see, you'll be back to... your old...self."
"Jade..." Anise called warningly.
"Don't bother," Dist spat, though his voice was barely above a whisper now. "He remembers where his heart lies."
"Can it you overinflated bag of hot air!" Anise shouted back. "Nothing you can pull out of a fomicry machine's gonna mess with the Colonel. Between the seven of us we'll-" Anise found her way blocked by Luke's arm. The redhead shook his head but never offered an explanation. No one else made any motion to move either. Maybe this really was the Colonel's fight... but still! What had they come all this way together for if they were just gonna abandon him now?
Luke watched on not sure what to do. Professor Nebilim had been someone really special to Jade, to have a replica of her around would be so cruel... but that alone didn't deny the replica its right to live. After all... Asch had been precious to people too, it didn't mean they should get rid of him. Maybe having her around would help Jade deal with what had happened to her original. Jade had said a replica couldn't give him the forgiveness he sought; that was true but... could she give him atonement? Luke almost laughed at himself. Asch was right, he was naive... but he'd rather be naive and hopeful than what Asch had become. So Luke would hope that something good could come of this, but there was a darker side deep within him that was winning, and the redhead had a feeling he already knew the answer to his question.
Asch couldn't even fathom a guess at what might be running through Jade's mind; even they, who likely knew him better than anyone other than Peony and his sister had no clue the emotions that ran like rapids far below his ever impenetrable surface. Yet there was no doubt they did as that eerie reflection of his past climbed down from the fomicry machine.
Asch had never gotten a proper description from Jade, but somehow Nebilim fit the redhead's image of her. Short spiked white hair framed a smaller round face and her bangs hid her left amber eye from view. Her frame seemed small but not so much that Asch would mistake her for being weak. Though the arms and legs that were visible from beneath the tattered cloth that covered her were skinny, she had an air about her in the same way Jade did. You thought twice before crossing her path.
Everyone was dead silent as this strange woman examined her surroundings. She seemed harmless enough, curiosity looking to be her only character trait; but Asch hadn't forgotten Jade's story. The last replica he'd made of her had been a painful failure, one that had almost killed him before he'd been forced to kill her. The future monarch didn't doubt that if replicating her was as simple as this, Jade himself would have succeeded over the course of the twenty odd years he'd spent refining the process.
Dist didn't seem to have programmed her to any great extent, he probably hadn't the time; or maybe even in his delusions he expected her to emerge into this world as her original had left it. He definitely sounded like that's what he figured was going to happen. Like time was just going to ignore the past twenty-odd years just because he made a replica, as if anything were that convenient. No matter how much anyone wanted it, time didn't go backwards.
Time did, however, seem to like to stop these days, and it definitely felt like it had, watching the white haired replica place one foot unsteadily in front of the other bringing her closer to them, closer to Jade who would be the first person she'd encounter. Asch almost held his breath; the tension was palpable. The replica of Nebilim stumbled; Jade instinctively reached out to catch her.
"Jade!" Luke called out, the tension snapping and he quickly bit back his outburst.
"J...Jade," the replica repeated, her amber eyes meeting his. The Colonel froze.
"Jade," she said again, this time louder and running a hand along Jade's shoulder, fingering the material that made up his navy military uniform.
A twisted smile spread across her face.
"Jade!"
Asch had never heard Jade scream or even cry out, not even once. He was the only one who never seemed to get hurt, or at least not badly. Even if he was in pain, he never voiced it, not so much as an 'oww' unless it was in jest. But Jade screaming was a sound Asch was never going to forget.
Razor sharp nails dug into the Colonel's chest, rattling sickeningly as they ran down his ribcage, spraying blood all over his attacker. Jade stumbled backwards clutching his chest where his uniform was steadily darkening in a steadily growing pool of blood. The replica stood there staring at the hand that had caused the injury, taking a revolting degree of pleasure in it.
Jade fought off a wave of nausea and weakness. Foolish! He had been completely deceived, by no one other than himself and the whimsical lie called hope. A second wave of dizziness came and he could feel his posture weaken. He'd known this was impossible, known that the replica could be nothing more than a bloodthirsty creature but he'd dared to believe otherwise. It hadn't been so many years since he'd faced her ferocity, felt her wrath, her claws tear at his flesh were it nothing. His memory was not so poor as that. He'd let ill-considered emotions cloud his judgment and he'd paid the price dearly.
She was a monster; she would always be a monster.
"Jade!" Tear and Natalia were at the Colonel's side faster than anyone could blink. Panic swept through everyone. Jade was bleeding; he was bleeding a lot... from his chest. His normally perfect hair was in disarray and the blood spattered on his face and glasses only made him look worse. Damn it! Asch put himself between Nebilim and Jade in case the bitch decided she wanted another shot.
"Jade," Natalia spoke as gently as she could, trying to keep her voice steady while Tear worked. Bless her for being able to be so unwavering in these sorts of situations. The princess couldn't keep track of how often she found herself grateful to the melodist. This was certainly one of them. A huge sigh of relief escaped her when she saw the injury. The replica hadn't pierced his heart, but it did look like one of his larger arteries had taken a hit. "Jade, I need you to try and breathe as shallow as you can while maintaining consciousness. The muscles in your chest will tear open again if you take deep breaths." Jade made no sign of acknowledgement but his compliance to her request reassured the princess that he'd heard her.
"What the hell is the deal here?" Guy asked, standing defensively beside Luke and Asch.
"It's berserk," Asch provided. "She'll attack anything and everything until someone stops her."
"But... she was just born," Guy argued.
"Yeah well that doesn't seem to matter much," Asch replied with a flicker back towards Jade. "Don't underestimate her. She looks awkward, but there's no saying what Dist gave her for programming. She looks like she knows her vital spots."
"She was going for his heart..." the blond muttered, keeping his voice as low as he could. It did little to assuage the horror of the realization, and even less to keep the statement from reaching Jade's ears. Not that the overly astute Colonel hadn't realized that already.
"I don't get it!" Luke protested, raising his voice. "Why... why is she like this?" The younger redhead shook his head in denial but didn't move from his spot between the replica and his companion. It didn't make sense, replicas had no memory of the past, or of other replicas that came before them, why would she attack Jade like that. Why was she so strong, so apt to do harm and to enjoy it so much? Why did everything have to be like this? Jade didn't deserve this! He may be a jerk sometimes and liked to pick on them in his oh so one-sided way, but he was still a good person. Luke respected him. He deserved to be happy too!
"It's inevitable," Jade's voice came from behind him.
"Colonel, please don't try to speak," Tear protested immediately. "You'll just keep tearing open your wounds."
"The fault likely lies... in the replica data itself."
"Jade, stop," Natalia tried cutting him off.
"She was the first living being to have its data extracted; the process wasn't standardized as it is now. It was once merely... a fonon based arte. The arte... could very well have been influenced by the emotional turmoil of the one doing the data extraction, resulting in corrupt data."
"Colonel, you're opening all your wounds!" Tear said fruitlessly. "If you keep this up you're going to end up losing too much blood!"
"Last time she was replicated, she went berserk. She killed many people... No sane replica of her could ever be-"
"Jade, shut up!"
Asch's command silenced the entire room.
"I don't know what the problem is; I don't want to know what the problem is; I frankly don't give a damn!" the redhead continued. "If you don't want to see this, then I suggest you look away." Asch cocked his sword taking an offensive stance, his unwavering gaze fixed on the replica. "Because you're about to get a flash from the past."
Asch charged Nebilim, but whatever awkwardness she'd demonstrated completely evaporated once her survival instinct kicked in. She leapt gracefully, dodging the swing and landing on the blade throwing Asch completely off balance. Guy struck, forcing her to defend and drawing her nails from Asch's eyes. The blond didn't fare much better, her constant motion made her impossible to hit and the sporadic nature of her attacks left her a difficult foe to assess.
She had no logical pattern to her movements, no plans; Nebilim attacked on a whim and her dodging seemed effortless. Having felt her attacks, Asch could see now how nothing but her nails had practically torn Jade's chest open. She had a surprising level of strength, her almost dagger-like nails didn't help matters much. But if her claws were the greatest of Asch's concern he'd be content. No, much like her student, Nebilim's true strength lay in her artes and it was looking like the replica had inherited the greater portion of her predecessor's talent, with raw instinct filling in the gaps.
The only thing he was thankful for was that it seemed her array of artes was the same as Jade's; or rather, Jade's array was the same as hers. Whatever way around it was, they were familiar. Having fought alongside Jade for over a year, Asch knew the man's fonic artes inside and out, and had plenty of experience in staying out of their way. He could read the flow of fonons in the air, and knew where not to be. Thankfully her artes were no more focussed than her movements, executed more like a burst of fonons than the control and precision he'd come to expect of the Necromancer.
Natalia watched the fight from the sidelines, more anxious than she'd ever been. More than anything, she hated feeling so completely helpless. But her bow had been snapped earlier when Sync had taken her hostage and without it she'd little to offer other than a sparse range of supporting artes. Her level of exhaustion was quickly starting to become apparent though and while she did her best to try and help Tear, she knew there was no way she could completely free the melodist, especially with such an injury as Jade's. Just stemming the major bleeding had been a chore, but the muscle damage was extensive and healing muscle was tedious at best, forget at some obscure hour of the morning after dealing with the ordeal they'd just experienced.
Luke had since taken up alongside the boys and Anise was having a difficult time getting in the fray. Instead she positioned herself in front of Dist who still sat helplessly on the sidelines, offering artes whenever she could. A good decision on her part; though with Jade's spear still in his shoulder, Natalia doubted Dist was going anywhere any time soon, it was best they ensure he not try anything. No... the Princess knew he wouldn't try anything. The man sat there in complete horror, stultified by how events had played out, perhaps even by the fact that Jade was so severely wounded. It was clear nothing had occurred as he'd imagined it would.
The fact that the spear remained in his shoulder seemed to have stemmed the bleeding though not halted it completely. The researcher had been fortunate; judging by the degree of blood loss and the fact that he remained conscious, the weapon had missed any major blood vessels. Then again, perhaps it had been Jade and not luck. Their Colonel certainly knew his anatomy enough to have pulled it off. Of course the researcher's joint had still taken quite the hit, only the skill of the healer that tended to the injury would determine how much motion he'd regain in his arm.
"Damn it! Luke!"
Guy's cry returned Natalia's attention to the battlefield just in time to see Luke misstep, taking Nebilim's arm to the stomach. What normally should have sent him stumbling a couple steps instead launched him clear across the cavern. What incredible strength! She still couldn't help but cringe at his landing, half controlled but not enough to eliminate all the damage and she could see a good gash on the side of his arm.
"Natalia," Tear began.
"Of course, you stay here," the Princess replied before Tear could say another word. It was already taking all of her focus to try and heal Jade, forget how weary she was growing. Oh she'd never say as much, but she must be as, if not more, tired than Natalia herself was. The least Natalia could do was tend to her cousin and give the melodist some peace of mind. She could handle that much.
"Sorry Natalia," Luke said, wincing at her touch. The cut wasn't too deep but he'd gotten a rock in it which would have to be removed before she could do anything about the injury.
"Don't apologize," she replied, stealing a glance at Asch and Guy, both who seemed to dance around the replica. "She's a formidable opponent. I suppose we shouldn't expect any less of someone who trained Jade, now should we?"
"Yeah... wait you-"
"It's not that difficult to deduce," Natalia replied with a smile. "Given the rashness of Jade's actions and the fact you and Asch know what's going on. I may not know the particulars but we aren't blind, deaf and dumb."
Luke managed a chuckle. "I'll keep that in mind."
"You could have sai-"
"I don't have a death wish, thank you."
Natalia simply smiled at the truth in the matter. Jade was certainly... well Jade. Luke winced again. "I'm sorry," Natalia apologized. She was far from gentle, it was taking all the energy she had just to keep her hands steady. "I'm almost done."
"Please hurry," the redhead urged, his worried eyes following the fight. Nebilim was a tough opponent at the best of times, and this most definitely wasn't the best of times. Everyone was exhausted and lacking on sleep, even from where he was Luke could see Asch and Guy slowing down. Even with Anise contributing her artes, it was only a matter of time before their sluggish reflexes put them in the line of fire. The only real question would be who would slip up first.
It was Asch.
"Asch look out!" Luke screamed.
"Jade, what are you-" Tear's outraged cry was cut short as she fell to the ground.
"Fangs of hell come forth!" Jade's incantation rang in the cavern, opening the ground from below and launching spires at Nebilim. Surprised by the arte, she stumbled, losing her balance for a split-second. It was all he needed.
Nebilim's scream seemed to completely halt the flow of time in the cavern, silencing all noise, painting a bloody tableau for all those who watched on. For that moment in time, only two beings existed. Jade stood firmly, in his hand was Tear's staff, the end of which had been driven through the replica. She bled in his arms, limply hanging over the Necromancer, her chin weakly resting on his shoulder.
"This is the third time I've killed you," he whispered. Silence encompassed the two. "...I'm sorry."
Jade yanked the staff from his opponent and she fell to the ground, a lifeless corpse, her tattered rags stained red to match the pool in which she lay.
"Honestly Jade!" Natalia chastised, breaking the overly awkward silence. "We told you to stay back; it's difficult enough to heal an injury like that without having you re-opening it at every given opportunity."
"I assure you, your concern is vastly misplaced," Jade replied coldly.
"I highly doubt that," Natalia said. "Really now, you're worse than Asch is! See you've opened them again."
The fact that Jade actually clutched the fabric over his chest concerned Natalia the most. After having made such a comment, he would most likely be doing everything in his power to prove her wrong and not betray signs of injury... she just kept forgetting that even Jade's strength wasn't endless. He likely tore it more than she'd suspected, and she didn't even want to fathom what might become of him should that strength run out before he was properly tended to.
But injury or not, Jade made his way over to the controls of the fomicry machine. With the push of a button he pulled a disk from it and with the most dangerous look any of them had ever seen on their companion, he turned to Dist.
"Is this the only copy of her replica data?" His tone alone sent a shiver down even Asch's spine.
"Y-Y-Yes," Dist managed.
Lifting it over his head, the Colonel threw the disk down on the hard stone, shattering it into a thousand small pieces that glittered in the pale light the fonstones provided.
"No!" the God-General cried out. "Why did you do such a thing? Perhaps this was a failure, but we can fix our mistakes next time! I'm sure if we work together we could figure something out! There's still time, the machine should still have her data input," he desperately pleaded. "We can still save her, bring her back and make things right again! We can still go back to those golden days!"
Jade stepped away from the controls towards Dist. "Guy."
"Yes, Jade."
"I don't want a single remnant of that machine in existence. Do I make myself clear?"
"A-absolutely," the blond stuttered.
"J-Jade," Dist pleaded. "What are you going to-" Dist cried out as Jade ripped the spear from his arm. The God-General sank all the way to the floor, cradling his injury.
"Stand up," the Necromancer commanded.
"Jade..." Asch began. "You're still bleeding. What are you-"
"Stand up!" he said, his voice booming across the cavern. Dist scrambled but only made it to the sitting position. "We end this here and now."
"Y-You can't possibly mean..." Dist quivered.
"Jade, no!" Asch put himself in the Colonel's path, arms outstretched in pure refusal. "You're hurt, you are in no condition for a duel. Tear and Natalia can only patch you up; you need to be seen by a doctor."
"I'm not going to a doctor, these wounds are superficial; they'll heal on their own. Get out of my way."
"No. You are getting on the Albiore, and you are going to see a doctor."
"I said no."
"And at what point did I make it a choice?"
"Asch fon Fabre, remove yourself or I will remove you."
"Tear, Natalia... I'm sorry," Asch muttered.
But before anyone could inquire the cause for his sudden apology, Asch's fist landed squarely in Jade's stomach. Blood spattered, leaving crimson droplets on the young monarch's face and the Colonel sank limply over the teen. "Don't worry," Asch whispered. "We'll make sure everything is taken care of here."
"Anise, I could use a hand," Asch finally managed.
"Oh! For sure," Anise hurried over and had Tokunaga easily throw Jade over his shoulder. "Wow I'm really impressed, how the hell did you knock the Colonel out?"
"It's only because he was actually listening to Tear and Natalia's instructions," Asch explained. "He's taken nothing but shallow breaths for a good fifteen minutes now, he didn't have much air in his lungs to begin with. Add that to the pain of his wounds all splitting open again and even someone like Jade would pass out."
"It still impressive," Anise replied. "But what do you want me to do with him?"
"Take him to the Albiore, we'll head to Baticul and get him in with one of the doctors at the castle. It's closer than Grand Chokmah and we should be pretty safe there."
"Sure thing!"
"Tear, Natalia, could I ask you to go with him?"
"Of course," Natalia replied.
"Yes, we'll work on getting him patched up," Tear agreed with a weary smile.
"Sorry," Asch offered an apologetic look. Really, he'd pretty much just put them back at square one.
"Hey, don't run yourselves ragged either," Guy reminded the girls.
"We won't," they both agreed.
"They will," Guy sighed once they were gone.
"And then some," Luke agreed. "So what are we going to do with him?" the redhead asked with a nod of the head in Dist's direction.
"Jade didn't seem too keen on keeping him alive," Asch pointed out.
"Wait a sec-!"
"Relax Luke, we're not going to kill him unless he makes us," Guy intervened. "I've got an idea if you two can stay civil for a few minutes and guard him while I run and arrange something."
"Yeah, whatever," Asch shrugged.
"He won't go anywhere," Luke stated.
"Okay," Guy said and hurried off, but didn't fail to notice neither sibling made eye contact. "Oh and you two," he added as he was almost out of the room. "We've had enough blood tonight, no more until I get back."
"Just go!" Asch shouted impatiently.
"What are you going to do with me?" Dist demanded.
"Don't move," Asch pulled his sword out and held it at the researcher's throat. "And don't look at me, looks like Guy's going be your disciplinary."
"I don't understand... this wasn't how things were supposed to be. Why... why would Jade risk his life to kill me?"
"I don't know; you're a pain in the ass?" Asch tossed out, his patience for the God-General had apparently reached negative numerals.
"You don't know him at all," Dist spat.
"Apparently we know him better than you do."
"Ever since he was little, he's always looked out for himself," Dist continued. "He would never do anything that would put him at a disadvantage, no matter what it meant for anyone else. There's no reason why he would put his life at risk to kill me! We vowed! We'd sworn that no matter what we'd revive the Professor together. She returned... but he still..."
"I don't know, it seems pretty obvious to me," Luke said simply, his tone lacking the harsh edge his brother's held.
"What do you mean?" Dist demanded.
"It's because you're so obsessed with the past," Luke explained. "That's why you and Jade aren't friends anymore; it has absolutely nothing to do with Professor Nebilim. Jade's grown, he's moved on and put everything that happened behind him... but you haven't. You've clung so hard to the past that you got left behind."
Dist's mouth opened ready to fling a reply, but no words came. His brows furrowed in frustration but sank back in defeat. For once, the overly confident God-General had absolutely nothing to say... he couldn't even find grounds on which to protest. He had absolutely nothing at all.
The cavern remained silent until Guy returned.
The sound of clinking armour announced the blond's return before anyone saw him, but when he did finally re-appear; he had at his side a handful of Malkuth soldiers.
"Arrest him," the blond ordered.
The men moved quickly, without needing any further instruction and bound the God-General. Dist didn't try to resist, he didn't even make a fuss when the men hauled him to his feet despite what such rough handling must be doing to his still bleeding shoulder. Dist had lost, through and through.
Asch chuckled.
"I can't think of anything that could possibly be funny," Guy said with a cocked eyebrow.
Asch grinned, dismissing the last of his chuckle with a shake of his head.
"I just keep forgetting that you're nobility."