On to the next thing... Blerg... -snuffles- I hate having a dry nose...

"Much as I know you like complaining about your old bones, Jade, get over it." -Kairi

I gazed up at the castle far over my head. "They're up there."

Asch sighed. "What about Florian? Chances are, Uncle won't listen to me and we'll have to get them out by force. I don't really want to risk him getting hurt if that happens."

I looked behind me at the group standing on the pier. Me and Asch. Ion, Sorylle, Florian. Selenia, Dark, and Jade. Seth and Flick. Twilight, but no Reighn. He and Aerith had been gone when Twilight made it back to the square, and he hadn't been able to track their scents in the Remday crowd.

We'd sent Noelle and the Dark Wings ahead of us to Belkend in case things did go bad.

I crossed my arms. "You're going to go talk to your father first, right? Take Florian with you, have your mother keep him at the manor. They'll have each other for company and King Ingobert doesn't have to know about it."

Ion nodded. "Yes, I think that would be best. But what about the rest of us?"

Jade adjusted his glasses. "I'm pretty much useless right now. I probably should have gone with the Dark Wings."

I sighed, trying to figure out what all needed to be done. Asch needed to talk to his father and uncle, but if he failed, then someone would have to go break Tear, Anise, and Guy out. And I don't think having Ion there would be a good idea. We'd need the White Knights and Baticul's citizens, so...

"Alright. Asch and Florian are Group 1. Jade, you're leading Group 4. Ion, Group 3. I've got Group 2," I said. "Sorylle, you're the other half of Group 3. Assuming Asch can't talk his uncle out of this, you're the one who's going to tell Pere to assemble the White Knights. Dark, Twilight, you're coming with me. We'll be getting Tear, Anise, and Guy out. Asch, make sure no one in the audience hall can interfere while we go to get Luke and Natalia."

"I guess that leaves me, Seth, and Flick with Jade?" Selenia guessed.

I nodded. "The people of Baticul love Natalia. If they found out she was going to be executed for a crime she didn't commit, they'd riot. I don't like it, but we'll probably need the chaos from that to cover our escape. If things go south, you guys have to make sure they find out."

"If they get between Natalia and the soldiers, they'll get hurt!" Ion cried. Asch crossed his arms, eyes closed.

"I hate to say this, but Kairi's right. We can't lose Natalia and Luke here. And they'll see it that way too," he said. Jade sighed.

"Alright. I take it we're all to keep in contact via Kairi, then?"

I shook my head. "No, I won't be able to reach everyone. My telepathy range relapsed after my replica data was taken. You, Jade, and Ion, Asch, and Luke, once I'm close enough to find his mind. The five of us are going to be the backbone of this... Much as I know you like complaining about your old bones, Jade, get over it."

My brother closed his mouth, the sarcastic comment I'm sure he'd been about to drop silenced on his lips. Ion took a deep breath and looked at Florian past Sorylle, then at Asch.

"Alright. Let's go then."

Asch turned, Sorylle and the two green-haired replicas following him even as I snapped all the necessary connections into place. Dark, Twilight, and I left next.

"Be careful," Seth whispered. Jade didn't comment on the fact that I could hear his replica through him.

The seven of us piled onto the lift that would take us straight up to the top, or at least, six of us did. Asch stopped, looking at me and Dark. "I'm sad to say I much prefer my last memory of watching the two of you stepping onto this lift," he said before reluctantly getting on with us. I crossed my arms.

"Natalia saw you, you know. She brushed it off, but it's a good thing you ran off when you did, or she probably wouldn't have," I said. Asch sighed.

"Yeah. I figured..."

Dark sighed, and I put a hand on his shoulder. "Sorry." He shook his head.

"No, don't apologize. There was nothing we could have done to stop it happening," he replied. Asch flinched, realizing what I had, and Sorylle growled something softly. Dark smiled, growling back, while Florian watched the exchange with wide eyes. I wondered how long it would take him to pick up the liger language. He'd taken quite a shine to Sorylle already.

The lift ground to a halt, and Asch started off, Ion, Florian, and Sorylle following right behind headed for Fabre Manor while Dark, Twilight, and I headed up to the castle. The men on guard moved to block our way, but Dark scowled.

"Don't even think about it, Corporal." One of the men fidgeted. "I might like bending the rules, but I'm still a superior officer," he said. The other looked at the first.

"Is that true?" I tilted my head to the side. He sounded almost... hopeful?

The corporal was quiet for a moment before chuckling and getting out of the way. "I'd forgotten, but yes. Go on in, Lieutenant. If you're here to do what I think you are, you won't find us getting in your way coming out."

Dark blinked. "Harvey?"

The man nodded and chuckled, his partner backing off as well. "Go, Dark. You've got maybe an hour before they deliver the poison. From what I've heard the maids say, it's a fast one," that man said. Dark glanced at me, then grinned.

"Thanks Harvey, Aro." The second soldier chuckled, apparently amused that he'd finally figured out his identity. I relayed the info on the poison back through to the others and then the two of us headed inside.

Dark looked around. "Can you contact Luke and Natalia now?"

"Yeah, they've been within range since we made it up here," I admitted, nudging the both of them.

*Kairi!*

I smiled, noting that both of them were in Natalia's chambers.

*Good to hear you both,* Asch said.

*Asch! You're here too?* Natalia asked.

*Everyone but Reighn, Sync, and Cantabile is here. Something happened with Aerith back in Daath, which is why Reighn's missing,* I explained. *Natalia, you remember what I taught you about flushing poison?*

*Yes... Don't tell me they're going to—!*

*We're nobility, Natalia,* Luke interrupted. *It was actually the most likely choice.*

*Harvey and Aro said we've got an hour at most. Natalia, teach Luke what you can just in case they come before we can get to you. We still have to bust Tear, Guy, and Anise out, and they're in the other direction,* I said.

*Father and the White Knights are ready if the talk with Uncle doesn't go right,* Asch added. *And Florian is safely tucked away in Luke's room, for lack of a better place to put him right now.*

*Who's Florian?* Luke asked.

*We'll explain later,* Asch said. He shot something that wasn't so much an order or feeling at me as it was an imprint of one, and I nodded, turning and heading for the prisons.

*Twilight, stay here,* I ordered. He nodded, stopping and lounging next to one of the columns as if he'd been there his whole life. Dark smirked.

"Sad how used to ligers the men around here have gotten," he commented, following through the door I was holding open. More than once, soldiers tried to get in our way, but a stern reminder from Dark of his rank got us past most of them. I had to knock a few out, because they outranked him, including the one guarding the door to the prison cells. Dark took the keys off of him and glanced at me, while I listened to the argument in the audience hall above.

It didn't sound like it was going well, especially since Mohs had just had Natalia's nanny (her grandmother, actually) confess the crime. Asch argued that it was her fault and not Natalia's, but Mohs would hear none of it. And where was...

*Alpine's here with the poison!* Luke cried through the link. I scowled, and so did Asch. Ion raised the alarm at Fabre Manor, while I motioned for Dark to release the three in the cells below us. There weren't any soldiers down there, so I wasn't worried about him being attacked. I turned most of my attention to Asch.

"You're not listening to me at all, are you?" I heard him ask. "You don't care, because you've already sent the poison!"

"Wha-what?! How did you—" Mohs was spluttering. Asch turned, running back toward the door.

"Stop wasting my time!"

"Stop wasting his."

*Asch, look out!* I yelled.

Asch's sword was out of his sheath in a moment, blocking the crystalline blue blade that had nearly slashed his chest open. His eyes, and mine, widened as a silver shaft shoved him back, the redhead being so shocked that he completely lost his footing. A moment later, Asch was back on his feet.

*I thought you said—!* he started.

*I never thought—!*

*Asch, behind you!* Luke yelled, having heard what the rest of us had missed in our shock. Asch backed up and turned, sword lashing out at the soldiers that had tried to sneak up on him.

Another mind brushed my field, not a familiar one, but I let it latch on regardless.

*Is that blue-haired man on our side or Van's?*

I heaved a sigh of relief, even as I started running again, Dark, Tear, Guy, and Anise on my heels.

*I don't have a fucking clue anymore,* I replied. A moment later, I saw our surprise enemy jumping to the side to avoid a sword coming from behind him. A sword held in the hand of one Duke Fabre. No longer having to worry about being surrounded, Asch turned to him.

"Reighn! What the hell are you doing?!" he snapped.

Reighn's expression was grim as he spoke... gibberish. Well, it sounded like gibberish to me. Between Asch and Jade, the translation echoed back to me.

"Clan above all. The Heir's burden is the Clan's burden. The Heritage cannot be lost."

*Ancient Ispanian?* Natalia asked in surprise. I got the impression that she was on the second plane... ah, healing Luke from the poison.

*Nice going, you two. Natalia, can you hold them off for two minutes?* I asked, noting Twilight getting up and joining us in our mad dash to Natalia.

*Yes.*

"What?! Why the hell are you reciting the old Clan Precepts?!" Asch yelled. Reighn shook his head.

"Aurelius was originally one of the six major Clans that all either disappeared during the Dawn Age or who were adopted as major Houses by the two countries. Aerith's done some digging around. Aurelius, Fende, Gardios, Cecille, what's left of Balacruft in the form of the remaining Balfours, and the four surviving Darigans, though only two are aware of their heritage. The men and women who wrote up the agreements to become Houses of Malkuth or Kimlasca left loopholes to reach back to the Clan Precepts," he said. By this time, I was almost to Natalia's chambers.

Tear stopped and started singing, and I watched through Natalia as Alpine and the two soldiers slumped to the ground.

"What does that have to do with you betraying us?" Asch asked, apparently having difficulty restraining himself.

"Everything," Reighn said simply. He glanced back toward the door, then at Asch. "Aerith and I are the last of House Aurelius, the last of our Clan. I have no choice but to act for the sake of that Clan. If I don't... Aerith will." His hand started moving as he spoke, and while none of the men at the far end of the room saw it, Asch and Duke Fabre did. Asch's eyes widened again, and Reighn nodded almost imperceptibly.

*I missed it, what did he—*

*Tataroo Valley, north of the sephiroth, east wall.*

*Directions,* Jade realized. *He's giving us directions. He knows we don't have a clue what he's talking about.*

I lifted Luke to his feet and frowned as he swayed. "They weren't kidding about it being fast-acting," Natalia said, looking up at me worriedly. I shook my head.

"No time. Let's go." I forced Luke up onto Twilight's back and then started running again. *Ion?*

*The Kimlascan soldiers managed to disable the direct lift before we could get there, but we got one of the others. We've cleared a path down to the ground level, but once we're on the lift, we're in the citizens' hands. Assuming more soldiers don't come,* he said.

*Citizens? What?*

I cringed, remembering a bit late that I'd had Natalia connected still.

*Asch, go,* Duke Fabre ordered.

*But—*

*You don't have the time to be arguing. Get your brother and cousin out of here.*

Luke, who was also still connected, was just about as shocked as Asch was. The original took a deep breath and nodded, slipping past his father and taking off down the stairs into the lobby, catching up to us just as we ran past. Asch and Luke exchanged a look, before Asch looked up at me, and I smiled.

"Come on. Ion and Sorylle are next. Then the others on the ground level."

"Ion's still here?!" Anise asked. "Man, if you had to bring one of them, why not Sync?!"

I rolled my eyes. "We didn't have the time. Besides... None of us really likes it, but Ion's not the burden he used to be."

No one mentioned that circumstances had forced Ion to become as much a killer as the rest of us. Tear, Guy, and Anise didn't know, and the rest of us wanted to put that conversation off as long as possible.

I started severing connections as I ran down the steps out of the castle. They were quickly starting to tax me, so I eventually ended up with just Asch, Twilight, Dark, and Jade connected.

Sorylle and Pere stood by one of the lifts, a number of Kimlascan soldiers unconscious or dead nearby. Sorylle growled to Twilight. "Ion waits on the next level. Good thing Dark handed over the extra ammo. I've heard him shooting a lot more than I know he'd prefer."

Twilight growled something that wasn't speech so much as a grim confirmation that he'd heard. We all started piling onto the lift, and I didn't miss Pere's comment to Guy as the blonde ran past.

"Be careful, Master Gailardia. If Aurelius is invoking the Clan Precepts again..."

"I know. You watch out too, Pere," he said. His blue eyes met mine, widening slightly before I smiled and prodded him mentally.

*Relax. Everyone still connected already knows.*

The lift headed down, and I couldn't help the way my fingers were twitching. I could still hear fighting below, which meant that more soldiers had shown up.

The lift stopped, and the timing couldn't have been worse. A solider ran for Ion, Anise crying out in horror.

The replica turned, aimed, and fired.

The soldier dropped.

Ion didn't even flinch.

Fun Fact: In Tony's Bloodline Trilogy, Valon (replica 6, who will be making an appearance in Re:AST) is an assassin. In Re:AST, he's a mercenary. He uses guns in Bloodline, and a dagger and shield in Re:AST. Ion uses guns in Re:AST... and a staff and shield in Bloodline. Twee... Let's play swap the weapons, shall we? -is shot-