Hehe... This part... Hehe...

And Jade's quote... Lol...

Third chapter today. Go back and read the others if you haven't already.

"I feel like we've been in this situation before... Except slightly reversed..." –Kairi

"We're all going to die." –Jade

And any doubt that I've got a few screws loose is now completely gone. –Kairi

Chapter 4.3 – For Want of Separate Roads
Part 39

"Halt! Who goes there?"

I resisted the urge to be snarky and kept a blank face. "Major Zephyr of the Intelligence Division. I caught this man attempting to reach the Fon Master without authorization," I replied. Guy was, predictably, unarmed and in cuffs, though where Anise had found them was beyond me. Useful for our little ruse, though, even if Guy was struggling not to fling himself away every few seconds.

The soldiers saluted and let me past, and I caught a glance of Tear up above as we stepped into the headquarters. She'd gone the other way, while Anise was heading up to Ion's room.

I wouldn't risk saying it out loud, but I was thinking it anyway.

So far, so good.

Dark and Sorylle were loitering around in the library until they got the all-clear from Twilight, who was subtly harassing some of the Oracle Knights. Arietta wasn't in town, so they didn't even have anyone to tell him to stop. They were waiting for Anise to come back down from Ion's room with the spare clothes.

Sync, as much as he would hate it, was going to have to dress up as Fon Master Ion in order to get out of here.

Tear was, of course, meandering around Oracle Knights Headquarters in an attempt at finding Natalia. She actually would have more time than Anise would.

We'd found out that Sync was on the second level of the prisons. We'd have to get Asch freed before Anise could get to him. Anise had said that there would be two guards at Asch's cell. Our plan? Knock out the guards and strip them of their armor. Guy and Asch would be returning above ground as Oracle Knights.

This next part was the reason why I was dressed up as Major Mirage Zephyr again.

Daath had, according to Anise, six levels of prisons, though she had mentioned that there was rumored to be a seventh (which would make sense, given that Tales of the Abyss does everything in sevens). Jade should be on the sixth, which was usually restricted to Maestros and above. However, the only two people in the Intelligence Division who qualified thus were Aerith Aurelius and Grand Maestro Mohs himself. Therefore, with Aerith currently in St. Binah (according to Pamela Tatlin) and Grand Maestro Mohs busy preparing for the executions, who was going to interrogate the Malkuth Colonel?

I just hoped the soldiers would fall for my bluff.

I paused when I noted just which cell Asch was in, and I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing. As it was...

I slipped the key into Guy's hand, and after jerking away from me, he proceeded to remove the cuffs. A sword was passed over next, my sword, not his, as I couldn't risk the rather more noticeable light from a wing pack, and the two of us looked to each other and nodded before racing toward the Oracle Knights.

One of them managed to cry out in surprise before Guy jabbed the hilt of the sword into his neck. The blonde handed over my sword, then knelt and started stripping armor off while I found the key and unlocked the all-too-familiar cell.

"...Guy? ...Kairi?!"

I chuckled. "I feel like we've been in this situation before... Except slightly reversed..."

I opened the cell only to get bopped upside the head for my comment. Guy stood and handed over the armor. "Kairi..."

"Jade, I know. Make sure these two won't be waking up any time soon, yes?"

Asch, who had slipped off to a different cell, returned, pulling out a rather familiar bottle. "You mind if we use a bit of this? Should keep them out of it for a while."

I nodded, then turned to Guy. "Remember our rendezvous. Ditch the armor as soon as you're able," I started before sighing. "We went over this half an hour ago, I don't need to tell you again."

Guy chuckled. "Just warn Sync on your way down."

I made a face. "Yeah... I'll do that."

"Wait, warn Sync?" Asch asked. I sighed and shook my head.

"Ask Guy. I have to go," I said, turning and heading further down the hall. The prison cells, unlike the rest of Daath, were actually rather easy to navigate. That said, it took me ten minutes to reach Sync's cell. Anise would be catching up within the next fifteen at the most.

"Sync?"

A too-pale face turned toward the hall after a moment, and Sync stood carefully. "I'm very glad you taught us how to flush poison," he stated, voice shaky. I frowned.

"Sit down and focus on getting your strength back up. Anise will be down here shortly to get you out. And... Don't kill her. The only way we're getting you out without attracting too much attention is if we pass you off as Ion."

Sync took a deep breath, then sat down and cringed. "Well, at least I'll have the whole 'weak constitution' thing down," he mumbled. That was about the point where I started worrying about him. Even when he was feeling a bit off, he was still snarky and stubborn, especially where Ion was concerned. So why...?

"Sync, when did they...?"

"Last night, in my drinking water. I fell asleep right after, and... I think I caught it in time, but just barely," he admitted. I nodded.

"Alright. Be cooperative with Anise. She's got your disguise and knows where the rendezvous is. I have to go find Jade still."

Sync didn't even respond to that as I turned and walked off, further into the dungeons of Daath.

So, Asch was taken care of, Tear was still looking for Natalia, or maybe by that point had already found her, Anise would be getting Sync soon, and Dark and Sorylle would be going for Ion. That meant Jade was the only one who hadn't been accounted for.

I made it down to the fifth level and was about to make the turn that would send me down the steps to the sixth when I froze, having heard voices.

"He isn't talking, sir."

"Hmm... And here I thought, what with Asch's relationship with his sister, he would have at least considered giving up the information to postpone the boy's execution. Apparently he has no regards for the girl's memory after all."

I resisted the urge to race around the corner and attack Mohs. Murdering, manipulative bastard.

"Sir, what would you have us do?"

"I've asked for one of my Intelligence officers to come interrogate him, although I'm not sure when the officer will arrive. Unfortunately, I have to go see if that useless replica is dead yet before I finish preparing for Asch's execution," Mohs replied. I glanced around, slipped into a dark recess in the wall, and held my breath, watching as Mohs walked right past my hiding place. Once I was sure he was gone, I slipped out, quietly walked back the way I'd come for a bit, and then turned and headed back for the level six stairs, head held high and steps quick and steady.

I rounded the corner about five minutes after Mohs had left.

"Halt! Who goes there?"

I was certainly glad for the poor lighting which hid the twitch of my lip. I didn't think I'd be able to resist being snarky if I got asked that a third time.

"Major Mirage Zephyr, fourth platoon Oracle Knights Intelligence Division."

"Ah, the Grand Maestro said you'd be coming. Go ahead. The prisoner's cell is also guarded," the soldier on the right said. His companion had been the one to drop the cheesy line.

I nodded, a short, clipped movement, and continued down into the darkness. I made a left turn, then another left, then a right...

"Halt! Who goes there?"

"Tyto alba."

"Huh?"

Thunk!

I chuckled a bit and found the key ring the soldier carried. This one had two keys on it, one for the cell, and one for...

I unlocked the cell door and stepped in, noting the way Jade was blinking at me. "Tyto alba?"

"Barn owl."

"Why...?"

"Because that's got to be one of the cheesiest lines I've ever heard. People who say things like that need to be cracked upside the head."

"I take it that was the clank I heard?"

I couldn't help but chuckle as I unlocked the chains binding my older brother. It took him a moment before he sighed.

"Your sense of humor needs some serious adjustment."

I shrugged. "So? Alright, let's get out of here. Just lock this idiot in the cell behind us when we leave." I had slipped out of the maroon coat and sleeves, pulling on the off-white jacket instead and letting my hair loose, though Anise had given me one of Natalia's headbands (elastic, thank heavens) to keep it from getting in my face.

Jade nodded, dragging the unconscious Oracle Knight in and then following me out. I put a hand out, motioning for him to stay put, while I raced up the steps, both swords materializing. Two hilts were slammed into the backs of two necks, shutting the soldiers up before they could utter a protest.

I waved, and Jade ran up behind me. "Any idea where your equipment is?"

Jade sighed and shook his head. "No, sorry. Although Asch had most of our things in his wing pack. A few gels, a single Life Bottle, and my spear was all I had on my person," he admitted. I held out my sword.

"Not your favorite weapon, I know, but I'd rather you not be running around unarmed."

He smirked, accepting the sword without even a bit of protest. "By the way... Where did the other one come from?" I chuckled, continuing to race through the dungeons.

"I'll tell you later, yes?"

We made it to the first level of the prisons before hell started to break loose.

"Fon Master Ion has been kidnapped!"

"Two of the prisoners are gone too!"

"Did you hear? It looks like Daemione's back!"

"One of the missing prisoners is his employer, he's probably the one who took her."

"I heard he was the one that went after the Fon Master."

"That can't be right, I saw the Fon Master with one of his guards just ten minutes ago!"

I couldn't force down the grin that spread across my face. "Chaos. Absolute chaos."

Jade groaned. "We're all going to die."

It took every bit of my self-control to not laugh my ass off at his rather understandable hypothesis. Of course, what with all of the soldiers milling around... Ah-ha!

I grabbed Jade's arm and raced for an opening. Shouts of surprise rang out, and even though I knew we'd been caught, I ignored them, running as hard as I could. I hadn't set up any back-up plans in advance, this time. I hadn't had a chance.

Two Oracle Knights stepped into our way, and I swung Silver Clematis, the blade gouging one arm and then stabbing into another's side. The second wouldn't be a fatal wound, as the man hadn't been exposed to the blade's poison. The first, however, hissed in pain and stumbled. I kicked him out of the way and continued running, Jade on my heels. Rather than attempting to fight with a weapon he wasn't used to, he was simply keeping the sword between himself and the enemy weapons.

The two of us broke out into the open, and I finally let Silver Clematis fragment and reform on my arm. "Sword!" I yelled at Jade. He handed my sword back to me, then raced ahead, as there were less Oracle Knights that way.

I stopped once or twice to bat away swords, but as the crowds became a bit worse, the soldiers were forced to fall back, and my brother and I finally made it out of Daath. Jade took a moment to pause and catch his breath, while I reached out telepathically. One, two, three, four, five, six... seven, eight... nine, ten. Wait, where's...?

Twilight was still in Daath, but he was making his way out as we stood there, catching our breath. Everyone else was at the rendezvous, or close to it, anyway. I looked at Jade, and he nodded before the two of us started walking again.

By the time we reached Fourth Monument Hill, Twilight had caught up, and he offered to carry the two of us the rest of the way to the rendezvous. As Jade was exhausted from lack of sleep and food (Mohs had really, really wanted whatever information he could get out of the colonel) and my knee was hurting again, we agreed.

It wasn't quite noon by the time we met up with the others.

"You guys make it out alright?" Anise asked. I chuckled.

"Yeah, although we made a bit of a scene trying to fight through all of the chaos... Beautiful chaos... If anyone else had caused it, I'd have stuck around to laugh at it."

And any doubt that I've got a few screws loose is now completely gone.

Asch sighed, shook his head, and pulled out his wing pack, pulling out weapons, gels, and other items and distributing them among the people who had been captured. Between previous traveling experiences and Jade handing over a spare spear, Asch had plenty to go around. In fact, the only person who didn't have a weapon by the time he was done was Natalia, so I handed over my bow and quiver to the Kimlascan princess.

Once everyone was armed, we set off for Daath Bay.

"So, what are we going to do next?" Sync asked from where I had stubbornly deposited him on Twilight's back. It was a bit odd with Ion walking along next to him, because I honestly couldn't tell the difference between them.

"We should talk to Uncle and Emperor Peony, see if we can't stop them from fighting," Asch said, obviously not paying attention to what he was saying.

"Uncle?"

Asch made a face, and I sighed. "Might as well be honest. It's not like Luke's here to argue... And even if he were, given Sync and Ion..." I trailed off because Asch was glaring at me. He looked between me and Natalia, who was frowning.

Then her eyes widened, and Asch flinched. "You're a...? No! Luke! Luke's the replica! You're... Luke? Oh, this is confusing."

Asch groaned, while I grinned. "Welcome to life, Natalia. It's not supposed to make sense."

Natalia crossed her arms and glared at me. "You knew! You knew the Luke at Fabre Manor was a replica!"

I shrugged. "So? Luke is Luke. Asch is Asch. And they both have nasty tempers, although Asch is generally a bit more reasonable."

Asch shot me a grateful look, before smacking himself upside the head and digging around in his bag.

Then he tossed me a bottle, and the rest of us figured out what he'd almost forgotten.

Fun Fact: Jade's comment about Kairi's sense of humor is a reference to a running gag Tea, Tony, and I had a long time ago. Basically, someone says 'Who's there?' and the next person replies with a species of owl. Though Kairi decided to get all scientific here with her 'Tyto Alba' reply. Why owls? 'Hoot' can guess? :D