Chapter 78: Mercy on the Battlefield
A cold wind blew across the open field where the twin Albiores slept, sending a shiver across Asch's shoulders as he pulled his cloak tighter and inched closer to the fire he'd constructed. The moon over his head was a clear testament that he should heed the calls of his warm bed aboard the nearby airship, but instead he remained seated before the crackling flames.
Everyone had protested when he suggested setting up a campfire outside, and he couldn't entirely blame them. It had been cold even before the sun had set, and the temperature had only dropped from there. Asch hadn't really cared if anyone would join him though; he just wanted to escape the Albiore's confines. For some reason he found it much more stifling than usual and the claustrophobic atmosphere drove him outside in spite of his friend's sceptical glances. It was much better under the open sky, and with the fire he'd quickly constructed, he was comfortable enough.
Whatever had him feeling stuffed up inside the Albiore must have infected everyone else, because one by one they all came out to join him. Even Noelle arrived as scheduled and joined them around the fire. The blonde pilot had come at their request and was going to accompany them to the Radiation Gate. Once they shut off the Planet Storm and disabled Eldrant's defences, they would need to do a lot of very rapid organizing of both countries' militaries. Preparations were already underway, but based on the timelines both rulers had given him, and the pace their own group was moving, it would still be at least a week or two before they would be ready to attack.
It was almost hard to believe that they were so close... so near their goal that Asch could actually envision the outcome. After more than a year of challenges and of tests, not all of which he passed; it was all coming down to this one final confrontation. That he could handle, all the weight and responsibility that encompassed the final clash of Van's beliefs against their hope for the future could be dealt with; it was what would come after that Asch couldn't handle.
Asch stared at the crackling fire, missing the company of his friends who had all retreated back inside by this point. He didn't really want anyone to talk to so much as he just missed the comforting presence of another human being sitting nearby. It was so unlike him; normally solitude brought him comfort, now it was those moments when he was alone that all the dark thoughts he tried to escape would resurface.
"You still sitting out here all by yourself?" A voice asked from the shadows. A hint of a grin whispered across Asch's face.
"No, I'm sitting out here with Peony and all his rappigs, you idiot," Asch shot back. Luke emerged from the darkness still chuckling and sat down across from his sibling, inching closer to the fire until he was comfortable. "What has you out here?"
"Nothing in particular," Luke shrugged. "Why do you sound so surprised?"
"I just figured you'd stay inside with Tear," Asch said with a shrug. He poked the fire with a twig wondering what really brought his sibling out here. Lorelei knew it must be something monumental to tear him away from his girlfriend.
"I debated it," Luke admitted. "But I figured you'd be lonely out here alone."
"That would be a first," Asch muttered under his breath.
"What was that?"
"Nothing," Asch dismissed.
"I don't want to know what you said; I want to know what it was about." Luke demanded somewhat angrily. "I was trying to be nice and keep you company, what's your problem all of a sudden?"
"Maybe because that's the most you've spoken to anyone but Tear in a week," Asch shot before thinking. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he wished he could retract them. "I'm not the only one, you know," he continued in a calmer tone, determined to recover and not mislead Luke into thinking he had anything against Tear. He knew damn well it was probably the first thing that jumped into his sibling's mind. "Natalia, Anise... especially Guy, we're all kind of wondering when you'll remember we still exist too."
Luke opened his mouth but hesitated and thought about his reply a little longer. "I guess I have been kind of distant lately, huh?" He asked, directing his question more towards the fire at his feet than the sibling sitting across from it.
"Just a little," Asch shot teasingly, trying to lighten Luke's spirits. Why did he always have to ruin a good moment over such petty little things?
"I don't know... it's just that I-"
"You don't have to explain yourself," Asch cut him off. "It's okay, I remember what it's like."
"Really?" Luke asked incredulously. Asch shot him a sceptical look. "But, I mean-" Luke stuttered through his failed attempt at a recovery.
"You didn't take to well with my spending time with Natalia at first either, you know."
"I thought you and Natalia had always been together! Like... since you were kids."
"We were," Asch replied. "But it's one thing to be engaged, it's a completely separate thing to be in love. We've always been friends, but there was a point when it turned into something more than that. So yes, I remember what it's like to be newly in love and let's be honest, you didn't like it. So don't give me attitude about not enjoying being Tear's and your third wheel."
"Hey, I wasn't that bad!"
"So you don't remember sneaking out of the manor to sabotage our date?"
"No!" Luke protested. Asch cocked an eyebrow. "Okay, maybe a little... I remember hurting myself... and I think we were down in the harbour."
"Bingo."
"Okay fine, so I didn't handle it well. At least I was too young to know better."
"You weren't that young."
"Neither are you," Luke shot back.
"At least try," Asch said more seriously. "We're your family and friends too. I know Tear is important to you, and that the two of you are really close, but you have to find a balance."
"I will, thanks Asch..." Silence fell over the siblings. "So," Luke finally spoke up. "You ready to talk about what's really bothering you?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Asch asked suspiciously.
"Oh come on, we both know you only get angry about stupid things when something else is bugging you."
"So ignoring your friends is only a stupid little thing to you?"
"Come on Asch," Luke insisted. "Now you're avoiding the topic; I'm not that dense."
Asch raised an eyebrow.
"Anymore," Luke amended with a mock scowl. Asch scoffed but there was an unmistakable look of defeat in his eyes, a weariness that tread deeper than Luke wanted to know. He had to know, though; as Asch's little brother, as his family and his support, it was Luke's job to see the things no one else noticed. He was starting to understand that more and more lately... as he continued to learn just how silently Asch knew how to suffer.
"I don't understand you anymore," Asch said quietly. "I always thought I knew you... better than anyone, sometimes even myself, but I just don't follow. How can you go on like you do? How can you just act like nothing's happening?"
"That makes two of us," Luke shrugged haphazardly with a goofy grin. "I've got no idea what you're going on about."
"Stop that!" Asch's voice rose. "Stop acting all innocent and naive! Damn it all, you just said it yourself, you're not that dense! So stop pretending like the world is all peachy! Don't you get it? We're going to die, Luke! Die! How the hell can you know that and still play around like nothing's wrong!"
Luke fell silent and for a long time the two brothers sat under the night sky, staring at only the fire before them. Then after several tense minutes, a sad smile broke through Luke's solemn expression.
"Remember when I was four and we tried to make that bonfire in the courtyard?" Luke asked.
"What are you talking about?"
"I do," Luke continued. "I'd spent all day trying to gather the dried wood without being noticed. I snuck it one log at a time from the fireplace in the drawing room to your room. You got so mad at me; you spent the next week trying to clean up the bark from your blankets."
"Yes, I remember," Asch conceded grudgingly.
"But you know, that night, when we stacked it all up and lit it, none of that stuff mattered. I remember we tried roasting a snacks over it. I'd never roasted marshmallows before."
Asch chuckled in spite of himself. "I remember you kept burning them one after another. You weren't patient enough not to stick them right in the fire. I had to make them all for you."
"And then Pere came out to see what the commotion was," Luke continued.
"We got into so much trouble," Asch chuckled. "I still remember Father yelling about how we could have burnt down the entire manor."
"But he did put that fire pit in the yard not long afterwards," Luke pointed out.
"That's true; he probably figured we'd try it again if he didn't."
"He was right," Luke conceded. Asch offered his sibling a fond smile, but the confusion in his eyes was unmistakeable; Luke sighed solemnly.
"My point is, when you think back to that time you can remember it two ways: either you remember the fun we had, or you remember Father yelling at us. How you see things is entirely up to you. Yeah we got into a ton of trouble and got grounded for a week but if I had the chance to go back I wouldn't change anything about it. I can still remember... that it's about the good things in life, not the bad ones. Sometimes I think you've forgotten that."
"That's..." Asch began but trailed off. Deep down he knew how all too true those words were.
"I may smile," Luke continued, "but the truth is I'm really scared... no more than that, I'm utterly terrified. The thought of losing everyone is almost more than I can stand; it's enough to make me want to curl up in a corner and never come out again. But that's not how I want to spend the rest of my time, however much I may have. I decided for myself that I'm not going to spend the last of my life worrying about when and how the end will come. If you think about it, everyone has to die someday, so everyone knows they're going to die. It's no different for us, it could be 10, 20 even 50 years before anything happens, we just don't know. So I refuse to stop living because I'm going to die someday."
"Luke, that's great to think and all but-"
"It's not as complicated as you're trying to make it out to be you know," Luke cut his sibling off abruptly. "It all boils down to a simple choice. You can choose to remember the bonfire, or choose to remember the punishment. Happy or miserable: it's your decision. I've made mine."
Asch sighed deeply, feeling Luke's words weigh down on him more heavily than they ever had in the past. He looked up and found his brother's eyes locked firmly in his gaze. For the first time he felt completely transparent in front of his sibling. Luke was looking right through him.
"What are you going to regret, Asch? The things you did? Or the ones you didn't do?"
"You're strong," Asch admitted softly, barely a whisper into the night. "Stronger than I'll ever be..."
"What?"
"Nothing," Asch dismissed with a shake of his head.
"It didn't sound like nothing," Luke prodded suspiciously.
"You're imagining things," Asch shot back.
"Yeah whatever you say."
Asch sat back, balancing his weight on the stray log that was slowly putting his legs to sleep, and contented himself watching his little brother play with the dying fire. The words spoken played over and over again in his mind.
What are you going to regret? The things you did, or those you didn't do?
When had Luke grown up so much? When had the little boy who once so eagerly clung to Asch's sleeve for dear life become so mature, so completely independent that Asch found himself as the one desperately hanging on? Asch had known it though, slowly watched their roles reversed until he couldn't pretend anymore; it wasn't he who was defending Luke, it was Luke's existence that was keeping him afloat. How long had Asch played on his false sense of superiority? Found excuses and reasons to keep him in the place he had long since decided was the only one where he belonged anymore... but Asch was no longer just Luke's big brother, and sitting across from him was not someone he had to protect but an equal who was Asch's support as much he was Luke's, maybe even more so. It left him uneasy. Eight years ago he had found himself a place again, a spot in the world that no one else could fill when everything else had been ripped away. If he didn't have that anymore... what did he have left?
Asch feared that answer more than anything.
Still, Asch knew that it wasn't Luke's nonchalance or his lack of attention that had been bothering him; the irritation and anger was directed entirely at himself for not being able to live as whole-heartedly as Luke was. He wanted to smile as his sibling did, to laugh and to go on like everything was normal, but he just couldn't see past the burdens he'd been carrying. No matter what the reason, no matter what excuse he came up with, it didn't change that Luke was right. It was all a choice, and he'd chosen to suffer. It shouldn't be any surprise, wasn't that the same choice he always made? He'd always been the coward and taken the easy way out. Maybe, just maybe, he could find the courage to make the choice Luke had, the decision to simply live.
However, there was still one thing Luke had wrong. Perhaps they didn't know how much time they had left, but Asch wasn't so optimistic as to believe they had years. With all the strength it would take to free Lorelei, and the power they would need to face the challenges ahead, their chances of seeing beyond this journey's end... were very slim.
"Geez!" Anise exclaimed. "And I thought the Absorption Gate was creepy... this place puts creepy on a whole new level!"
"You could say that again," Guy chuckled in agreement, while pulling his cloak a little tighter around him. The Radiation Gate wasn't only eerie, but it was every bit as cold as its counterpart in the north. The blond didn't blame Anise for having the willies; the lighting was minimal at best and it was dead silent making the entire place seem almost haunted. Everyone was on guard against an ambush, forget being worried about how they were going to find their way to the deepest level if it was pitch black inside. To add to it all, everywhere you looked, bones were scattered about, some so small they turned to dust when stepped on, others so large they seemed to be part of the Gate's infrastructure. There were no signs of Dawn Age technology, none of the elegance or beauty that graced Yulia's other creations... if it weren't for the massive amount of fonons radiating into the darkened sky, Guy would have thought they were in the wrong place.
"At least Ginji pulled in a little closer this time," Anise commented. "I just want to get in and get out of here."
"I doubt it's going to be that easy," Jade commented. "Given the forces posted at the Absorption Gate, I expect we will encounter similar resistance here, and with not so honourable a commander."
"Yeah, I guess we're down to either Legretta or Sync," Guy commented.
"It's gotta be Sync!" Anise declared.
"What makes you say that?" Luke asked.
"Oh, that's right, I guess you wouldn't have been there," the dark-haired girl realized. "We ran into Legretta on our way up all those Yulia-be-damned stairs back at the Tower of Rem. She took quite the beating, there's no way she recovered that fast. I mean Asch must have broken three of her ribs."
"At least," Asch confirmed.
"True," Natalia said. "But we also can't rule out the possibility of it being Van himself."
"I somehow doubt that," Jade interjected, adjusting his glasses with his forefinger. "Throughout all of these ordeals, the Commandant has yet to show himself. Our only confirmation that he is, in fact, alive is the words of the God-Generals and Lorelei's message to Asch and Luke."
"Yeah, you're right," Anise realized. "We haven't seen him since he fell into the core. Don't you think that's kind of weird? I mean, he isn't the type to leave all the dirty work to others while he sits pretty on Eldrant. He would get involved when he had to."
"Correct," Jade confirmed. "From this we can draw two possible conclusions: either our actions pose little or no threat to him, or he is unable to risk leaving Eldrant to engage in battle. I suspect it may be the latter, from what Luke has said it sounds as if Lorelei has no intentions of accepting his imprisonment quietly."
"That would leave us with Sync to contend with," Natalia concluded.
"Likely, yes," Jade agreed. "However, we shouldn't completely rule out the possibility of Legretta's presence. Even injured she could serve her purpose from a distance."
"A sniper, huh?" Anise mumbled. "That really doesn't seem her style."
"Her style is whatever will make Van happy," Asch remarked snidely.
'Asch,' Luke jabbed displeasingly.
"Sorry Tear," Asch added.
"No, it's alright," Tear replied sadly. "You're probably right. Growing up I always saw her as the perfect soldier, but now I understand that there must be more to a person than that, and I've seen her devotion to my brother. She would be willing to do almost anything for his sake... I'm sure that's why she offered to train me when I was young."
"Don't think like that," Luke argued. "She cares about you too. If she didn't she wouldn't have spent so much time trying to get you to change your mind. She doesn't want to fight you any more than you want to fight her."
"Hey, you two," Guy cut Luke off curtly. "Save it for later."
At the tone of his best friend's voice, Luke immediately fell on the defensive and it wasn't a minute before he spotted what had his former attendant on guard. The entrance to the Radiation Gate was faintly visible in the distance and against the outline of the massive bones piercing up through the earth, Luke spotted the silhouettes of a handful of soldiers.
"How many?" Asch asked.
"Six that are clearly visible," Jade stated his eyes carefully scanning the horizon, "Another three that are only partially visible, and likely five to eight that are hidden."
"So about fifteen give or take?" Anise asked.
"On top of the four behind us!" Asch shouted, spinning around, he and Jade simultaneously unleashed an arte. One of the soldiers was crippled by the twin Thunder blades while his three friends split up and launched themselves at the group.
"Bet you thought you were being real sneaky!" Anise taunted as one of the remaining Oracle Knights met Tokunaga's arm and fell crippled to the earth. A huge grin spread across her face, satisfied that she'd noticed the hidden soldiers and had been smart enough to actually play along with Asch and the Colonel as they lured them into striking range.
"Watch for the other ones," Guy shouted at Natalia as he dispatched the third soldier. "The noise will draw them."
"We're on it," Natalia and Tear said in unison, both taking off for a higher vantage point while the twins dealt with the last remaining soldier. Natalia raised her bow, focusing on the mass of Oracle Knights that had begun to mobilize. A quick count put their total number at sixteen; was it wrong for her to wish Jade would be wrong once in awhile? How does one give so accurate a count to hidden forces?
"Ready?" Natalia asked, receiving a quick nod and a faint smile from her best friend.
Natalia fired, her arrow whistling through the air, plunging into the neck of the first soldier. Without a moment's hesitation, she grabbed a second arrow and fired again. Her shot missed and a retaliating arrow came sailing her way. The Princess didn't so much as flinch, reaching for another arrow as the enemy's shot crumbled seemingly in midair. Tear's beautiful voice floated through the shimmering air, her shield providing every measure of protection for the archer. Natalia's third shot connected and took out the enemy marksmen.
From her perch, Natalia watched as their forces and the enemy's collided. She could no longer fire in quick succession; each shot had to be carefully aimed so as not to hit her allies, but it didn't appear as if her assistance was direly needed. She could easily see as her companions devastated the enemy forces, an unusual event in and of itself. However, the battle seemed odd somehow different than their usual skirmishes and it took a great deal of effort for Natalia to pin down the source of her unease. It was the lack of hesitation in their opponents, she finally decided. When one of their comrades fell, not a single man so much as bat an eye, they didn't become more aggressive or emotional, they didn't react at all. Either they were a gathering of Daath's most war-hardened individuals, or they lacked an emotional response altogether; judging by their skill level, it was likely the latter and Natalia didn't like the implications of that realization.
"Is everyone alright?" Tear asked, sliding down from the small ledge she and Natalia had been fighting from.
"Yeah," Asch replied. "Doesn't look like anyone was hurt for once."
"Is it just me, or was that whole fight just a little weird?" Anise asked.
"It's not just you," Guy agreed. "Something was different about those Oracle Knights."
"It's because they were replicas," Luke replied.
"What?" Anise shouted.
"Luke's right," Jade concurred. "Their lack of reaction to the deaths of their comrades and lack of emotional response to their worsening situation makes it likely that they were replicas. A human force would at the very least tried to adjust their strategy or would have had some change in their mentality when they were losing."
"Replica soldiers..." Guy muttered once they'd begun moving again. "That explains how Van's been doing so much with only the rebels that left Daath with him. I was starting to wonder where his endless supply of troops was coming from."
"Is it that hard to fathom? We've known this was likely the case since discovering the facility on Feres Isle," Jade pointed out.
"Yeah, but I didn't want to believe it," the blond replied. "The thought of creating and using replicas like that makes me sick."
"Yes," Natalia said. "The thought of using replicas in such away is a terrifying idea. Can you imagine a war with replicas as soldiers? Where neither army could deplete their reserves? Even if you were to ignore the moral implications, such an event would be a monstrocity."
"Losing lives in war is sad," Luke agreed. "But it's because those precious lives are lost that we hesitate to start wars in the first place. If you take away the consequences... then there would be wars over every little transgression."
"That's why we're never going to let something like that happen," Asch agreed.
"I think there's a lot of work that needs to be done surrounding the existence of replicas to address that matter," Natalia pointed out.
"Someone needs to advocate for the rights of replicas as human beings, not objects," Tear added. "Rules need to be established, with a force in place to enforce those rules."
"Perhaps, but that is something for the future," Jade spoke up. "Might I remind you to keep your minds on the present as to avoid any further ambushes?"
"It is awfully dark in here," Guy agreed, keeping his voice down. Thankfully it wasn't pitch black as he'd feared it might be; the odd fonstone let out an eerie glow, and there was a bright light ahead that lit the cavern pretty effectively. It was probably coming from the Passage Ring itself, and all the glyphs Guy knew would come with it.
So far there was no sign of other soldiers, though Guy wasn't sure if he should take that as a good or a bad sign. All things considered, he'd like to try and get out of here without having to face the same kind of resistance as the Absorption Gate, but he knew that wasn't likely to happen. Taking on a God-General was always risky. They hadn't earned that title for nothing, and Guy was always worried that the next battle they fought wouldn't see all of his friends come out in one piece. One step at a time... that was all they could do. Couldn't hurt to hope though, he supposed.
The Malkuth noble took another scan around the room, while there seemed to be less of the bones and other oddities that had adorned the outer walls, there was no shortage of boulders or other stone structures that littered their path. At one point they had probably been statues, but the elements left them as nothing but unidentifiable rubble. Unfortunately it made the perfect cover for potential enemies. Two large cliff faces ran along their sides, stretching several feet over their heads but not completely touching the ceiling, leaving light to filter through the opening betraying the Passage Ring that couldn't be very far ahead.
It was so faint; Guy dismissed it completely when the glimmer caught his eye, probably one of the glyphs that were now all around them. Just ahead he could see the stairs that led down to the Passage Ring proper and the massive fon machine consumed the entire cavern into which they were about to emerge. He should have noticed it, he should have sensed the danger... but it wasn't until Anise shouted that Guy realized exactly what he'd caught a glimpse of.
The sound of gunfire echoed throughout the cavern. It had been the reflection of light off one of Legretta's guns.
Like the start of a race, the gunshot triggered a flurry of movement that Guy was quick to retreat from. Suddenly a mass of Oracle Knights swarmed around him and the blond was hard-pressed to get on the defensive quickly enough not to wind up injured himself. Anise hadn't been so lucky; the shot landed cleanly in her shoulder. She was a mess, and struggling not to show the pain she was in, but for the extent of the injury, it wasn't half as bad as it would have been if she hadn't pushed Asch out of the way.
Guy saw Natalia quickly move in, swatting away the otherwise hovering monarch who still refused to go any further than on the two girls' defence. With the look in Asch's eyes, Guy was surprised any of the soldiers even dared to try attacking the injured girl, but then he promptly remembered exactly what kind of soldiers they were facing. No amount of killing intent in the world would likely deter them; if one fell, another would replace him... all the more reason to find their boss.
Within the second it took Guy to sort out what had just happened, Jade had cast an arte, erupting from the earth and sending half the cliff face tumbling down into the clearing. The rock slide buried a pair of enemy archers, but the Colonel's true target darted from the falling boulders and skid to the back of the battle area, taking cover behind her forces. Even in those rapid movements, it was obvious Legretta's wounds from their previous battle hadn't healed. She lacked the fluid grace with which she normally moved and her speed was nowhere near that which earned her the title of "Legretta the Quick".
Legretta didn't waste a moment and she'd barely rolled onto her feet before she'd loosed a round at Natalia who was far too busy tending to Anise's injuries to evade. Tear's barrier caught the bullets Asch's sword missed. A second round flew towards the older redhead, but prepared this time, he blocked them all before retaliating with an arte that fell short of its target. The God-General knew her distancing well, and with an ample supply of soldiers to keep her foes at bay, she remained well out of harm's reach.
"Major Legretta!" Tear called out, her voice full of confidence and an authority her former teacher had never heard in her before. "Stand down!"
"I don't recall you having the authority to give me orders," Legretta stated. "You don't honestly believe I would obey such a foolish command? I thought you smarter than that Tear Grants!"
"I'm not ordering you; I'm asking you to please stand down!" The melodist re-iterated. "I don't want to watch anyone else important to me die like Major Cantabile did!"
"If that's the case, then you chose the wrong side!" Legretta answered, firing shots into the fray. Two narrowly missed Guy while the third was blocked by Jade. The Colonel's retaliating arte made it further than Asch's but still fell short of their opponent.
"No, there are people on both sides who are dear to me," Tear explained. "I understand now why you fight, and why you feel you have no other choice. I understand what it's like to stand behind someone who means more to you than the world itself, to want to see them smile more than anything... so I know why your answer will be 'no' no matter what I say to you, but still, I can't accept that we've come to this. I refuse to accept that there is no other choice."
"If you hate the fate that did this, then you know why the Score must be destroyed at all costs, why the Planet's Memory can't be allowed to exist!"
"That's not true! It is because of the choices I've made, the people I've met and the promises I refuse to break that I've come here. Chance, luck, fate... call it what you will; it has nothing to do with it. For the sake of those dear to me and for all those who have sacrificed so I could come this far, I cannot back down now. If that means that I have to face you, then so be it."
"Well well, it seems you've finally learnt something of value. What changed?"
Tear was silent, flowing with the tide of battle without offering any kind of reply to her mentor. Legretta raised her weapon and fired at Luke. Tear's barrier dropped the bullet midair.
"Someone important to you," Legretta scoffed in realization of the truth she sought. "Are you talking about that worthless replica? Surely you can do better for yourself than a failed replacement."
"Luke is not a failed replacement!" The melodist fired back avidly. "He's not just some creation or experiment meant to serve the purpose my brother decided on for him! He's a person, like you or me; he has every right to live his own life and chose his own path!"
"Tear watch it!" Luke sent his sword through an Oracle Knight who motioned to attack her, pulling the blade from between the soldier's armour and crippling the man. Feeling Luke's back against her own, Tear felt a renewed wave of conviction wash through her.
"I won't let anyone speak less of him," Tear announced. "He may not have been born like the rest of us, but he has the same heart!"
"That's a quite the drastic change in opinion," Legretta commented, ducking behind a boulder to dodge on of Natalia's arrows. She retaliated and grazed the Princess' leg, knocking the young archer over in the process. "You weren't saying such things a few months ago."
"I know there are many wrongs in my past that are related to fomicry," Tear conceded. "And maybe it is true that if the invention of fomicry had never occurred, my family wouldn't have suffered as it has. But I know now that pointless hatred of anything, be it fomicry or the Score or even the Planet's Memory, won't make anyone happy. Think Major, is destroying this planet really what you want? Is this the path you truly believe in?"
"Tear, you of all people should understand why the Commandant acts as he-"
"I didn't ask what my brother believes! I know what he believes, I know how he feels. I asked what you believe Major Legretta!"
"What I believe is irrelevant," Legretta replied. "I once believed many things. I believed that the Commandant was a terrible person; that he was cold and unfeeling and evil. I believed him to be no more than the heartless commander that sent my brother to die in a battle he could never hope to win. Foolish as I was, I swore revenge and I fought to get close to him so that I could do right by my brother's death. But when the opportunity came, I stayed my hand. I had seen how foolish all my so-called "beliefs" had been. I'd seen how he sacrificed for his subordinates, how he suffered for the sake of others who would never understand or even think to thank him. I swore then that his beliefs would be my own, that his goals were mine to fulfill. As long as there is breath in my lungs I will fight for his cause. If he requires my life, I will give it without a second thought. That is what I believe."
Tear's reply was cut short when one of the many Oracle Knights broke past Luke and swung his blade down. She nimbly dodged the blow, spinning around in the same graceful move her staff crashed into the back of his head, sending him stumbling forward where Luke's blade met him. As his body collapsed her eyes met Luke's and they shared a mutual look of determination. They'd both known it would come to this... that Legretta wouldn't be swayed, but at least they knew that they had tried. Now they could face forward with no reservations.
Tear's melody flew from her lips, blending flawlessly into an arte that ravaged the enemy army. Light crashed to the earth like pillars of lighting, glistening as they vanished in the wake of their destruction. The replica knights fell in masses before her, each blow opening a path to the Major. Legretta scrambled to dodge the attack, but her movements were impaired by her injuries and the unpredictability of the arte left her struggling.
But that same unpredictability was a double-edged blade and Tear knew her control of the hymn was minimal at best. Her allies were as cautious as her enemies. A stray hit ravaged the nearby cliff face, shaking the entire cavern. A boulder dislodged from the ceiling; Tear's eyes flew up at the sudden threat coming down on her.
"You're open!" Legretta shouted sending a flurry of shots at the melodist. Tear cursed in her brief panic. She couldn't block both the gunfire and the assailing rocks with the same barrier!
"Tear!" Luke's voice rang in the cavern. From the corner of her eyes, Tear saw a golden glow and in a burst of light the entire boulder exploded into shimmering lights that flickered and then faded as the fonons dissipated. Luke let out a breath as he composed himself, Tear's barrier expanded covering them both from Legretta's assault.
Tear didn't have the time to spare for thoughts beyond the battle at hand, but she still couldn't shake the speed and precision of the hyperresonance Luke had just put forth. Certainly she knew after all the work with the passage rings he'd developed a mastery of such a forbidden skill, but only now did she realize why his and Asch's existence held such potential for war. Such a destructive power was not to be taken lightly, and she knew it wasn't lightly that Luke had used it in the midst of battle.
As the fight progressed, Tear started noting just how much her former instructor was relying on the forces accompanying her. They continued to fall before her friends' attacks, and it was becoming more and more difficult for her to continue evading. Legretta's counterattacks, once seemingly flawless grew sloppy and laced with openings. Distance was still her greatest asset, and her efforts concentrated on preventing Jade or the twins from casting any artes. Luke and Guy were both preoccupied with the remaining soldiers and Asch's guilt refused to let him stray from the other girls' defence. With Natalia still caring for Anise who had just now succeeded in removing the bullet as well as her own injury, Tear knew if anyone was going to be able to get through to Legretta, she was the one.
"Major, do you really think this path will bring you what you desire?" Tear's knife flew as fast and sharp as her words but missed its mark and found bullets chasing her in reply.
"I've no desires save to see the Commandant succeed. No dreams other than to have his efforts come to fruition. I want nothing but to see him happy!"
"You're wrong, you do have your own dreams, your own desires! You just said so yourself, you want to see my brother happy. You want his approval, his gratitude... you want him to return the feelings you offer to him!"
"That is absurd!"
"You're no different than Major Cantabile, fighting for him because you care about him, because you want to protect him and his dreams, but you don't have to die like she did! There's no reason for you to throw your life away too!"
"If I can't at least show the level of devotion she has, then I could never look the Commandant in the eye. I will never earn his respect in that manner!"
"Major, stop living to please others! Whether you're trying to best Major Cantabile or trying to earn my brother's feelings, you never do anything for yourself. Love isn't like that! Love doesn't mean sacrificing everything you want for him! You shouldn't have to earn his feelings, or prove yourself by sacrificing your life for his cause!"
"Don't speak as if you know anything about me!"
"My brother loved you once," Tear stated. "I truly do believe that, but to love someone doesn't mean dying for them; it's living no matter what the odds are so that you can return to them once everything is over!"
"You're wrong, Mystearica," Legretta shouted through a rain of gunfire. Tear's barrier dropped the bullets from the air, falling to the stone floor like a spring shower.
"No Major, I'm not. I know now that it's wrong to blindly follow someone you care about; if you truly care for them, then you stand up for what you know to be right and help them find the right path. If you loved my brother as you claim to, then you would have tried to stop him when he was sacrificing himself at the passage rings, you would have stopped him from doing things you know to be wrong!"
"Hmph," Legretta scoffed in disappointment. "Of all the people to lose themselves to naivety, you were never one I'd have thought. You were once a realist, logical, able to see the truth clearly."
"Maybe I am naive," Tear conceded. "But this world is one of choices, and that is the choice that I have made for myself. Can I say as much for you?"
Legretta huffed, her chest weighing like lead against her heart as she stared down her student. Each of her soldiers lay lifeless on the floor; her defences gone, the outcome of this battle was obvious but she couldn't retreat. Van wouldn't stand for any more failures. She had to hold her ground here, if he could face all he had and still hold fast, then she had to do at least this much. No matter what it meant.
Time exploded back into motion and the God-General jumped back as two swords came her way. The blond was quick and her retaliating shots hit nothing but air. A second round forced the replica back only to find an arte flying her way from his original. Ducking under the swipe of his sheathe, Legretta landed the hilt of her gun cleanly in the blond's chest. He reeled backwards as the air fled from his lungs. The space surrounding her was completely empty, and the reason for her enemy's sudden retreat hit her a split second too late.
Fonic circles appeared from the earth, rising around her in the moment it took her to draw her breath. Using the momentum she still held from her previous attack, she swung around and flung herself from the center's core just in time to evade the massive flow of lightning that plunged down from the heavens. Mistiming the landing, Legretta tumbled across the ground.
Legretta may have dodged Jade's arte but no one noticed the way she suddenly looked like she'd taken an invisible punch to the stomach. Her legs barely held her weight and to say she was breathing heavily was a massive understatement. Her guns still hung weakly from her hands and she struggled to raise them.
"It seems one of those broken ribs has punctured your lung," Jade surmised. "This battle is over."
"Not yet it isn't... Necromancer," Legretta managed. "You want to get to this Passage Ring, it will be over my corpse."
"Have it your way then," Jade conceded.
Legretta wasn't as quick the second time around and the fire arte caught her leg. Bursting into flames, the God General screamed in agony as she collapsed under her own weight. The fire vanished in an instant, leaving her leg black as charcoal, weeping and raw as its owner fought to contain her screaming before passing out completely. Every fibre in Tear's being made her want to run to her former instructor's side but she stayed where she was. Legretta had made her choice, and Tear had to let her walk the path she'd decided upon. Even knowing that Legretta's injuries were completely beyond her skill to repair, it still hurt to see someone she once looked up to so avidly lie seemingly lifeless on the floor.
"Enough," Luke stood between Jade and the fallen God-General.
"Luke..." Jade stated warningly but Luke raised his arms, forming a blockade.
"N-Naive," Legretta coughed out. "You once would have followed us... but you were... misled." Legretta barely managed, gaining some small strength through her words. "Once you would have shared our beliefs... but I see now. If it's this replica that's blinding you... then I'll destroy him as well!"
"Luke! No!" Tear screamed.
Legretta's shot grazed Luke's cheek, a stream of blood trickled down from the bullet's trail. Behind him, Asch's hilt connected with the back of Legretta's head, knocking her out cold. With a frustrated sigh Jade stepped forward but Luke moved over to intercept him.
"Luke, enough is enough," Jade stated sternly, his eyes angrily glaring down on the young replica. "Your sentimentality just about got you killed. You should be thankful your brother isn't quite so foolish. Now step aside."
"No," Luke refuted, staring Jade straight in the eye. "She's not a threat anymore. To kill her now would just be murder."
"I know this may be foolish but..." Tear began. She sighed unable to finish, she really didn't want to see Legretta die, but she knew as a soldier that was for the best. Death was the only guarantee she wouldn't be a threat anymore.
"Honestly," Jade sighed in frustration. "If we leave her as she is, she'll die in a matter of hours. It would be kinder to put her out of her misery then to leave her die as she slowly suffocates."
"If she lives or dies now is entirely up to her own will and desire to live," Tear replied. "If possible... I would like to avoid any more meaningless death. I think at the very least we should return her to Daath to be treated, and if she doesn't survive the trip then it would be no different if we were to kill her here."
"Baticul would be closer," Natalia pitched in.
Asch caught his fiancée's glance, surprised by her offer. She instead reiterated, this time her hazel eyes never leaving his, "Tear is right, there should be no more meaningless deaths. No one should have to lose someone close to them if it can be avoided." Asch sighed but smiled.
"They've got a point," Asch said with a shrug. "Besides, all the Seventh Fonists in the world doting on her won't have her mobile enough to be a threat for a long time."
"You all realize that this is a great deal of effort for naught. Her chances of surviving until she reaches Baticul are next to zero."
"Yes, but as one of her students I feel I owe it to her to at least give her that chance," Tear answered with conviction.
"Alright," Jade conceded.
"Well we'd be best to split up then," Natalia said. "Time is of the essence. How to move her though? Nothing we have would be suitable for keeping her motionless."
"Tokunaga would work," Anise offered from her beloved doll's back.
"But what about you?" Tear asked.
"I'm okay to walk as long as I don't have to do any fighting," the young girl replied.
"I'd better come along too then," Tear offered.
"As will I," Natalia stepped in. "If we're going to have Noelle take us to Baticul we'd may as well kill two bird with one stone and get the military organization underway. I presume the rest of you can deal with matters in Grand Chokmah after finishing up here?"
"Leave it to us!" Luke reassured them.
"Yeah, we can handle things here," Guy agreed.
"Actually Guy, I believe it would be best if you would accompany them," Jade stepped in. "There may still be soldiers about and with our Princess more exhausted than she's letting on, they will be in need of the extra fighting strength." Natalia averted her eyes but Guy could see that Jade was right on the money and Natalia was in no way up to any serious battles.
"Alright then, you three be careful," Guy called, his sceptical look landing on the twins.
"We'll be fine," Asch dismissed him casually. "You watch your back; we'll see you in Grand Chokmah."
Turning his back on his friends, Asch followed Luke and Jade as they slowly made their way down into the depths of the Passage Ring. Once he was sure Guy and the girls were out of an earshot, he let out a deep sigh. He wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but seeing as Jade had conveniently gotten the two of them alone for awhile, he would bet the Sword of Lorelei that Jade wanted something from them, or was waiting to give them a good scolding. Or both.
Honestly, Asch couldn't say he was entirely upset with how things had turned out with Legretta. Okay, so maybe he wasn't happy that Luke had turned his back on an enemy that was obviously still conscious, and that Luke had almost gotten a nice bullet through the skull as a result, but he was glad that they hadn't killed her right there and left her to become monster food. He understood Natalia's point perfectly; Legretta was like family to Tear, and Luke was right, she wasn't a threat. Even if she survived, that leg wasn't going to recover, half the muscle had been incinerated; Legretta would be permanently disabled. It was funny how quickly perspectives could shift; suddenly Asch was realizing just how valuable a commodity life really was, now that it was slowly slipping through his fingers.
"Luke," Jade spoke up, breaking the silence, "What did I tell the two of you about using your power?"
"Not to," Luke answered with all the disdain of a child being scolded.
"And how are you feeling now?" He continued.
"Fine, actually."
"Luke, what you do is your own choice, but I will not have you lying to me," Jade replied sternly. "Between your heroics and that Jewel you've been using, you're putting far more strain on your body than you should be. I would not be surprised if you were feeling unusually tired or drawn out."
"I mean it!" Luke insisted with a burst of frustrated energy. "I don't feel anything I haven't felt since the Tower of Rem. All things considered," he continued a bit more calmly, "I actually feel pretty good."
'You still suck at lying,' Asch shot playfully. He didn't get a response. 'Luke...Luke!'
'Huh? What?' Luke sounded startled, like he'd been woken from a daydream.
'How bad is it really?'
'It's really nothing, I'm fine.'
'You don't look fine!' Asch snapped. Asch couldn't believe he'd been so wrapped up in his own little world that he hadn't noticed how pale Luke was compared to usual. Sure they'd just fought a really intense battle, but there was a level to his weariness that was unusual. Then there was the Jewel, another factor the young monarch hadn't even considered. Here he was with the Sword that attracted the fonons, probably protecting him, while Luke fought against the effects of the Jewel every day. 'Luke... you look awful, are you sure you're really okay?'
'It doesn't matter, does it?' Luke replied. 'We still have to shut off the Planet Storm...we don't have a choice.'
'How about I trade you the Sword for the Jewel for awhile?' Asch offered.
'Nah, Jade already told me its effects are minimal unless I'm actually using it. He probably only said that cause he was trying to scold me.'
'Well then why not let me shut off the Radiation Gate? It'll save you the effort at least.'
'No, let me do this. You need to save your strength to free Lorelei. I know I don't have enough left in me to do it myself without disappearing.'
At those words Asch felt his heart seize up. Reality taking a bitter toll on him, but like he'd always seen his little brother do, he swallowed all that pain and instead shot Luke a playful smile.
'What happened to those 20 years of yours?'
Luke chuckled weakly. 'You lie to make me feel better all the time, why can't I every once in awhile?'
'You're an idiot,' Asch scolded but Luke smiled.
"All done now?" Jade asked and Asch scowled. He missed when their connection was a secret, not that it was ever really a secret from Jade. Still, he missed the days where Jade pretended.
"Well regardless of what the two of you settled on for the party line, I would at the very least like to give Luke a good check up once this is over with to ensure he's still holding up alright."
"I'll be fine," Luke uttered quickly. "Really, I'm feeling okay; I don't need a check up. I've got plenty left in me yet."
"You may feel that way, but there's no way of being certain," Jade pointed out.
"If he says he's fine, he's fine," Asch interjected. "Besides, weren't you the one who said you only specialize in autopsies?"
"Precisely."
Luke and Asch simultaneously shuddered.
"Well then," Asch interrupted as they rounded the final corner, entering a room identical to the one they'd seen at the Absorption Gate. "I take it this is it?"
"Yeah," Luke agreed, stepping forward alone.
Asch watched solemnly as Luke took his place at the center of the massive glyph. Luke's long red hair flowed around him, pushed by the motion of the fonons as they rose from the core. The air around him seemed to glisten for a moment until the light converged and the Jewel of Lorelei appeared before him. He'd completely mastered Jade's arte of using the contamination effect.
In a burst of light, the Jewel sent a pulse throughout the room, deadening the air as fonons ceased to move. All time around them froze for a moment and then in a burst the entire glyph evaporated sending the masses of fonons scattering about the room.
Asch ran over to Luke just in time to catch his sibling as he collapsed. The Jewel almost rang as it rolled across the floor, halting at Jade's feet. The Necromancer picked up the item and brought it to the twins where Asch accepted it. Luke's face was almost deathly pale, a fact that had certainly not escaped Asch's notice. Still, with more strength than Jade knew Asch would admit it required, he looked up and firmly looked Jade in the eye.
"This is it; now there's no turning back."