A/N: Everything's coming to a head, people!

Everyone could feel the pressure. There had been an enquiry as to why none of the Daath students had gone to the Infirmary as instructed, but Van claimed that he had received no such instructions. He couldn't explain why no one from Daath had collapsed, and suspicions rose.

Tear could feel that it was going to come to a head soon, and poured herself into learning the Fonic Hymns Yulia had given her. She still hadn't heard or seen her mum, and was starting to get a little worried.

"Oh, this one is a lot like Heal," Tear realised, giving herself a small cut then singing.

"Ryuo Rei Kuroa Ryuo Zue Rei Va Zue Rei.."

The cut glowed, then faded, and she grinned. "Alright, four down, two to go..."

She had only just begun to look at the fifth one, realising quite suddenly and randomly what it meant, when she heard Natalia scream from the hallway.

Leaping up, Tear managed to grab her sheets and stuff them in her pocket, grabbing her spear before leaping out into the hallway. A large liger stood there in front of Natalia, growling.

Tear jumped forward, placing herself between Natalia and the liger. The liger gave a soft snarl, then sniffed her before becoming docile and sitting down, tongue lolling out. Tear looked confused, then saw a letter around its neck.

Reaching out, she took it and rolled it out.

'Tear,
I'm sorry that this is so sudden, but I didn't know who else to turn to. Master Van has ordered us to remain in our dorm, and insists we get ready for battle. He's been giving speeches on how Kimlasca and Malkuth are planning on destroying Daath, but that the heart of the problem is the Headmaster.
I think he wants us to kill everyone else.
He was the one who got everyone sick before. He made everyone in Daath take a pill the week before, then put something in the food served to the students that made them all get really ill.
I'm really worried. I don't want to fight you all, but I'm scared Master Van will make us. He keeps going on about how we have to stop Mr Lorelei from destroying us all. He says that Mr Lorelei is angry with everyone from Daath, so he's going to kill us, but I'm sure that's not true. I tried to tell Master Van that, but he wouldn't listen.
Tear, please, please, you have to stop Van. A lot of us don't want a fight to start, and I'm scared it'll turn into a full-scale war if Van gets his way.
- Arietta
PS: My liger will take messages for you. Just tell him who the recipient is, and he'll find them. Please use him if you need to.'

Tear reread the message several times, then gritted her teeth.

"Natalia, stay here. Get into the clothes you wear for training, and make sure your bow is ready. It sounds like a fight is about to start," Tear ordered.

"Where are you going?" asked Natalia, worried.

"I'm going to show this to Mr Lorelei. Hopefully we can sort this all out before anything comes of it. Oh, and warn everyone else as well. The liger will take messages for you, you just need to tell him who to take it to. Explain it to them as well though, I don't want any misunderstandings."

Natalia nodded, watching as Tear strode off. Then she looked at the liger, considered, then nodded.
"Liger, I need you to take a message to Aslan and Guy.."

Lorelei read the letter through quickly, his brow furrowing further as he read it. Finally he placed it down, steepling his hands and staring off into the distance. Tear stood in front of him silently, waiting for him to decide what to do next.

"...You told Natalia to alert the students, correct?"

"Yes sir."

Lorelei nodded. "Alright. Head back to the dorms and get ready. I'll get Luke and Asch ready."

"Yes sir."

Tear turned, heading out of the room. She glanced back in as she left, and saw the slightly upset look on Lorelei's face. She sighed as she headed out. It must be difficult, knowing you had to fight your own students.

She reached the grounds, hurrying across the grass towards Kimlasca's dorm. It was quiet, and she shivered at the ominous air that surrounded the academy. Picking up her pace slightly, she rubbed her arms, eyes flickering around.

It came without warning; one minute she was looking towards the Malkuth dorm and wondering if she needed to warn them, the next strong arms were wrapping around her middle and pinning her arms to her side, lifting her off the grass. She instinctively kicked out, catching the figure in the stomach with her heel, but they just responded by squeezing tighter. Gathering her breath to scream - she was close enough that someone would hear her - the person suddenly clamped a hand on her mouth, muffling the sound. She struggled against them, shocked at how they could restrain her with only one arm.

"Mystearica...If you had only chosen to come to Daath, it may not have come to this," a voice murmured, and she watched as Van walked into her line of sight, Legretta at his side. She stared at him, wide eyed, then struggled even more against the person holding her.

Van nodded his head and they started walking, heading past the Kimlasca and Malkuth dorms to the newer Daath dorm. Legretta held the door open, bowing her head, and Van crossed through, the person holding her following. The dorm was silent, and they went into a little side corridor that could easily have been missed if she wasn't heading down it.

Slowly the corridor grew darker, lights being attached to the walls to provide a little light. They reached some rooms, and Tear was surprised to see that they resembled jail cells.

Van pressed his hand against something, and the energy bars faded. The person threw Tear in, and she crashed to the floor. Picking herself up, she turned to leap out but Van removed his hand, causing the bars to appear again. She drew back, glaring at him.

"We'll let you out when this is all over, Mystearica. Until then, remain here," he said simply before turning, walking off.

"Van! Let me out!" she shouted, but he ignored her. She heard a door slam shut and bit her lip. How was she supposed to get out? She shuffled forward, hesitantly reaching for the bars then flinched back as they sparked, causing a little shock through her fingers. She looked for whatever Van had pressed, but couldn't see it, and it was unlikely to be somewhere she could reach it anyway.

She attacked the bars with her spear, which they hadn't taken off her for some reason, but it bounced back. Chanting, she sent a Fonic Arte at it, but that also fizzled out. She tried one of the Fonic Hymns she had learnt before quitting Van's class, but it failed as well. Getting irritated, she started pacing the cell. She needed something powerful enough to get her out of the cell...Suddenly an idea came to her, and she straightened, facing the bars.

"Va Neu Va Rei Va Neu Va Zue Rei...Judgement!"

An explosion rocked the cells, and Tear ducked, covering her head. Smoke crowded around her, blinding her for a moment before it began to clear. She stood up, coughing, and headed out of the cell.

"Tear? Is that you?" a voice called, coughing lightly, and she turned in surprise.

"Mum?" she called, hurrying towards where the voice was at. Finally she reached another energy cell, with Yulia sitting inside it. A choker was around her neck, and she looked pale, but smiled as she saw Tear.

"Tear...I didn't expect to see you here," she said.

"I didn't realise you were here! What happened?" Tear asked, concerned, as she started looking for the switch to the door.

"Lorelei asked me to investigate what Van was up to, but I had barely gotten through the door when they grabbed me and brought me here. They put this collar on me, and it meant I couldn't use my Fonic Hymns or any other abilities..."

Tear found the switch and pressed it. The bars faded and she reached in, helping Yulia up. She came out, Tear removing her hand. The bars appeared again, and Yulia sighed in relief.

"Thank you dear," she murmured.

"Hang on a minute," Tear said, reaching up for the collar. She grasped the edges, feeling a little notch and pressing down as she pulled. It came off with a buzz, and she threw it to the floor as Yulia rubbed her throat.

"That's better...Now, we better hurry. I'm worried about what Van plans to do," Yulia murmured.
Tear nodded and the two girls turned, running down the hallway.

A/N: Well...Van's getting a little rough, isn't he? Then again, I suppose it's less violent to throw your sister in a cell than to strangle her...

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