For those of you who came here first, get your butts back to the first chapter and read it!

If you were good and did that already, you probably noticed two things. First off, the quotes. Tea and I have pulled out what we feel are the most amusing quotes of the chapter and we are presenting them to you out of context as a bit of a teaser. Second, the Fun Fact at the end. These are brought to you mostly by me, though Tea may or may not join in. Any titles earned will also be placed at the bottom, along with the names of any Colored Ripples chapters I make to go along with these.

Also, if at any time you want me to write a scene from the POV of a CR cast member, ask! I don't bite. I actually enjoy the challenge.

Um... I think I'm done rambling. I need to send more chapters to Tea anyways. Enjoy!

Laughing at cheagles in front of the Fon Master of the Order of Lorelei would not be a good way to end the day... –Dark

Chapter 1.2 – A (False) Peace
Part 2

Dark's POV

I took a deep breath and sighed. Luke was wandering around with Tear under strict orders not to buy anything. The reason for that order?

"So you really don't mind if I come along to see the ligers?" Luke asked. I shook my head and he grinned. "Great! Um..." I sighed, giving him a pointed look. "Do you mind if we leave tomorrow? I kinda want to check this place out! It's my first time out of the manor, not counting... erm..."

I sighed. "I get it already," I told him, looking over at Tear. She smiled slightly, seeming to understand that I had been on vacation to get away from Luke and his cousin.

"I'll keep an eye on Luke. You take your time," she ordered, already hauling Luke in the opposite direction.

I had to admit, I was grateful for Tear. The woman was definitely good at redirecting Luke's attention, and as long as Engeve was still standing at the end of the day, I really didn't think Duke Fabre would have too much of a problem with me watching Luke while we were out. I knew he wasn't used to the outside world, though, hence my firm order earlier for him to not buy anything.

Of course, when I said that, I hadn't expected him to try stealing something. Well, he wasn't exactly trying to steal. The problem with being in a grocer's village like Engeve was that the food was just kind of sitting there, and Luke... Well. I sighed, watching Tear explain shops to Luke and then walked over once it seemed her explanation was finished.

"We picked up some gald from the monsters, remember?" I heard her say. Luke blinked a couple of times before his eyes widened and he started digging around in one of his pockets.

"Oh, right... I never carry any around, so I completely forgot about it," he said, pulling out a few coins. To Luke's credit, he did know how to count money, and handed over what I'm sure was a little more than necessary. My suspicions were confirmed when the man tried to hand some back. "Keep it for the trouble," he told the merchant, walking away before the man could hand the extra gald back anyway. I smiled, leaning against a nearby storehouse and stuffing my hands in my pockets, fingers brushing against a small wooden object on the way.

"Nicely handled," I said, catching Luke's attention. "But didn't I say something about not buying anything?"

Luke's face turned a shade just a little lighter than his hair. "Sorry... I forgot what you said about paying before eating, and..." he started. I sighed, shaking my head.

"It's alright. Just try not to make that mistake again. I don't need people thinking you're some common thief," I said. He nodded, taking another bite out of his apple and walking on with Tear right behind him. I smiled, grateful that at least someone was watching out for him. Maybe I could talk her into becoming Luke's bodyguard? She was obviously a trained soldier, because I recognized her uniform. Oracle Knights Intelligence Division, and a Locrian Sergeant, if I'd seen the designs correctly.

I shook my head then and pulled my hands out of my pockets, intending to walk away from the storehouse only to bump into someone. "Hey, watch it!"

"Sorry, wasn't looking where I was going," I said quickly, picking up the goods the man had dropped and holding them out for him. He looked me up and down with a critical eye before accepting his vegetables.

"Pay a little more attention next time, then, right?" he said. I nodded, walking off down the road a ways. It was little more than an hour later when I heard the commotion start up, and I decided to investigate, just to make sure it wasn't Luke.

Just my luck, it was. I sighed, falling into step behind Tear. "What did he do this time?" I asked. She sighed.

"We were in the wrong place at the wrong time, and Luke made a comment he probably shouldn't have," she answered. I rolled my eyes, deftly slipping away from the tiny mob and pulling my hood up. People tended to stop noticing me if I just stood still in a corner with my hood up. I was hoping I could still pull it off as Luke was shoved head-first into a relatively fancy house.

"Rose, we've got trouble!" one man said. Rose, Rose... Ah! She was the mayor...

"Hush!" I heard a woman chide the men. "We've got an important guest from the military here." The men obviously weren't listening, because the one in front picked Luke up by the back of his jacket and held him up.

"How can we be calm?! We caught him! We caught the guy stealing food!"

I finally managed to catch sight of the 'guest from the military' and wasn't sure if he was going to choke on his tea laughing or walk over to a wall to bang his head against it. I couldn't blame him, because I was now one hundred percent certain that he was Jade.

"I'm telling you, it wasn't me!" Luke insisted. The men didn't listen.

"Rose! This guy may be with the Dark Wings!" one said.

I rolled my eyes at that one. Yeah, sure...

Luke finally managed to wrangle himself free of the man holding him. "I'm telling you people, I'm not your damn thief! Do I look like I'm going hungry to you?!" I pressed two fingers into my temple and tried to massage out the headache. A little off-base, Luke...

"My, my, what a lively boy. Let's all just settle down first, alright?" Rose suggested. Jade nodded.

"Yes, please do."

"Colonel..." Jade handed over his teacup and the saucer and slipped his hands into his pockets. Luke scowled, obviously in a bad mood, and that boded ill for everyone assembled.

"Who the hell are you?" he snapped.

I moved away from the wall, speaking even as Jade opened his mouth. "Colonel Jade Curtiss, Third Division, Malkuth Imperial Forces."

Jade's crimson eyes locked on me, and I took a deep breath. I had a suspicion as to who had killed Kairi, and she'd been in Grand Chokmah at the time, so... Let's see what he knew...

I lowered my hood quietly, and if the flash of horror and hatred weren't answer enough, I don't know what would have been. Except, I made sure to push my bangs away from my right eyes, and the hatred was clouded over by confusion.

And then it all faded, his eyes as stony as the rest of his expression. "And you are?" he asked. I stuck my hands in my pockets.

"Dark," I answered simply. "My cousin, Luke, and his friend's sister, Tear."

Jade's eyes darted around the three of us before locking back on me and raising an eyebrow ever so slightly. I nodded discreetly at the sword strapped to Luke's back, and he nodded. No one else seemed to notice our little conversation.

"See, look! Two men and a woman! They must be the Dark Wings!" the man in front grumbled. I sighed.

"Colonel, I believe you have personally met the female among the Dark Wings, and if you try to tell me it's Tear, I am going to have to have a very serious conversation with one of your sisters the next time I see her," I stated.

Jade adjusted his glasses, and if that wasn't the slightest upward quirk of the lips, I'd sell my guns. (Which was never going to happen, by the way.) "The Dark Wings were last seen fleeing toward Kimlasca, and with the Rotelro Bridge out, it would be difficult to return so soon," he said.

Rose, however, looked baffled. "What is all this about, Colonel?" she asked. He sighed.

"Dark is an acquaintance of my sister's, and she used to be in contact with one of the Dark Wings. It kept them out of Malkuth then, knowing the military could catch up to them the moment she told me where they were. Not so much anymore... We were forced to pursue them to Rotelro Bridge earlier today," he explained.

"They don't appear to be mere food thieves, either."

I shouldn't have turned around. I shouldn't have. I'd mailed Nephry asking after Sync and Asch after learning of Kairi's death and I shouldn't have done that either.

Sync was dead. He was dead and here was Ion, standing there and looking fucking identical to the mischievous kid that I'd met and started to like.

I turned away from him again, but I turned the wrong direction this time. Luke and Tear stood there, near Ion, and for a moment, I saw Asch, Kairi, and Sync again.

I was the only one who heard the sharp intake of breath across the room, and even then, I only heard it because my ears had adapted to hearing the miniscule differences in the growls that made up the liger language.

I glanced over at Jade, seeing that stony mask falling back into place. Not before I caught that sliver of heartbreak, though, and I knew he'd seen what I had. It wasn't hard, when Ion and Luke were identical to Sync and Asch.

"I was a bit curious, so I investigated the food storehouse," Ion was saying, completely oblivious to the pain his and Luke's combined presences were causing me and Jade. Lucky kid... "I found this in a corner of the room," he continued, holding out a handful of... fur. That was fur...

"Monster fur..."

"This is from a sacred cheagle!" Rose realized. I blinked a couple of times before biting my lip and turning my head away.

"Yes, a cheagle is what probably raided your food stores," Ion said. I bit my lip. Must not laugh, must not laugh...

The mental image of a small, pink ball of fuzz trying to carry a full crate of watermelons (don't ask why my imagination supplied watermelons) made me put a hand to my mouth, and Luke was giving me a look. I just didn't care. Laughing at cheagles in front of the Fon Master of the Order of Lorelei would not be a good way to end the day that had been going... fairly well.

Must not laugh...

"See?! I told you I wasn't a thief!"

I couldn't help it, I groaned and buried my head in my hands. I was doomed. I was so going to be murdered before I could leave Engeve.

"Well, sounds like that takes care of that. I think you all have something to say to this boy and his friends?" Rose said, diplomatically stepping in to break everything up. The man in front sighed.

"I'm sorry. With all the burglaries lately, I've been a little on edge," he said. A series of apologies came around after that, and Rose smiled.

"Do you think you can forgive them, boy?"

Luke sighed, temper finally dulling down a little. "I'm not a boy," he grumbled. I rolled my eyes, a series of different sarcastic remarks all nice and lined up for that one.

"I'm sorry. Luke, could we let bygones be bygones?" Rose tried again. Luke shrugged.

"Fine."

"Glad to hear it. Now, I have business with the colonel. I'll figure out a way to stop the cheagles, so all of you just go on home for the day," she said. The men filtered out, followed by Tear, then Luke, and then me.

"Dark?"

I paused in the doorway and looked over my shoulder at Jade. "Are you staying at the inn tonight? There's something I'd like to discuss with you regarding..." he trailed off, his mouth open for one more word, but when it wouldn't come out, he closed it, and I nodded.

"Yeah. I'll be there... Keeping Luke out of any more trouble, hopefully..." I told him. He took a deep breath, and I closed the door behind me, walking after Luke without a word.

"Oof!"

"Gah! What is it with me running into people today?!" I grumbled, pulling the girl off of me. Her face turned red.

"I'm so sorry. I have to go find Ion, bye!" she said quickly, already taking off toward the house I'd just left behind. And her tabard...

"A Fon Master Guardian, huh? So this wasn't the sneak-out mission I was starting to think it was..." I muttered. Then I stepped into the inn to see Luke and Tear at the front desk.

"Sorry about earlier. You can stay here free tonight. It's the least I can do," the man said. Luke smiled and turned, then waved me along as we headed into a room.

"So... Jade is Kairi's older brother?" Luke asked once we were settled in. "He looked like he wanted to murder something for a moment there, when you let your hood down, and then when Ion walked in, I seriously thought he was going to break down crying."

I blinked. "Really?"

Luke's face turned red. "Maybe I was just imagining it..."

I shook my head, smiling now. "No... See, someone delivered a message to me and Natalia, told us Kairi was murdered, that it wasn't an accident. I was starting to get the suspicion that it was my brother. We're identical twins, except for my right eye. Since Kairi was in Grand Chokmah at the time..." I trailed off, trying to see if Luke could catch my train of thought.

"You used yourself as bait to see if the colonel had seen who killed his sister, and if it was your brother," Tear said. I nodded, and Luke bit his lip.

"But why'd he look so torn up after Ion walked in?" he asked. I sighed. This one, I'd already half-explained, but...

"You remember me mentioning that you look like Asch? Ion looks like Sync," I told him. "And Kairi isn't the only one of those three that's dead. Sync died not a week later. Monsters got to him while he wasn't paying attention, apparently. And Keterburg... That's the last place you want to be caught off guard. The strongest monsters in the world are just north of Keterburg."

Luke clenched his fists and looked away. "We reminded him of Kairi's best friends," he said. "And... His mind probably tried to substitute Kairi for Tear, huh?"

I crossed my arms and looked away. "Mine certainly did."

It was silent for a moment before I headed back toward the door. "Jade wanted to talk. I'll be back later. Get to bed, I don't want to have to deal with your grumpy ass in the morning," I said, not bothering to look back as I headed out to wait for Jade on the steps.

The lost expression on his face told me all I needed to know, though. He didn't really want to talk.

He just needed the company of someone who understood.

Fun Fact: The 'series of sarcastic remarks' comment Dark makes was actually me forcibly not letting Dark say "You realize you pretty much just said you're a girl, right?" I figure, Echo already launched that comment (or something very similar), and as appropriate as it is for the scene... Well, I can't take the credit for it.