Okay, at this point, we do a bit of hopping back and forth between Kairi and Sync. This is partly so we know what's going on with both groups, and mostly because I wrote this during NaNoWriMo and was getting so sick of writing fighting scenes. Because I swear there's... –takes a moment to actually go count- ...Fifteen major fights. That's discounting all the fights with minor monsters/replicas/etc. in the last three Chapters.

Yeah. And then AEtA opens up with a minor fight followed by a major fight followed by Path and Ifrit driving me up a wall. Then I get a chapter of mini-Shandon-in-my-head supplying a bit of randomness. And then guess what? More fighting... –dies- I wanna get to Chapter 2 already... at least the fighting tapers off for a little bit...

Also, to Guest Reviewer V-Gurl: Three things. 1) 'The Brothers Ion' had me cracking up laughing. Congratulations, this is my new name for Zion and his replicas, because I don't like the current 'group name'. 2) You wanna know what sucks? Slight spoiler (since we'll know this soon anyway): Star and Mohs are the only majorly antagonistic characters from Re:ARitA/Re:AST that aren't already dead by the time we get to AEtT. When she does die, however, it will be epic. 3) ...I kinda wish you had an account so I could PM you these replies like I do everyone else... However, I am not turning off Guest Reviews. Nope. Never! -runs off on what appears to be a sugar high-

Yeah, I'm just gonna leave that there and stop poking it. –Sync

Chapter 12.10 – Out of Time
Part 107

Sync's POV

The moment York pulled out those boxes, I knew exactly what I was looking at.

"Um, my coat's still in perfectly good condition."

York chuckled. "Yeah, but we're under orders, so you're getting them anyway. And... It is actually starting to get a bit worn around the edges, so you'll have to excuse me if I'm not about to pretend I'm not noticing it."

I groaned. "Okay, fine..."

Noir laughed and then started handing out the boxes. I took mine and reluctantly retreated into the back. Yeah, I was wearing my old green coat, since the white one was just too nice to be wearing it all over the place. True, I wore it for all my duties in Daath, and I had a feeling it wouldn't last me as long as this green one had—especially since it hadn't been made nearly as well—but that didn't mean I was ready to give this one up!

I gave up on my mental complaining the moment I opened the box, because it really just made me smile. Green and black and white, just as always, and I'd have sworn I saw just a bit of silver. I knew what that meant—Ion had gotten the gold. Good. I didn't really like the gold and the only reason I'd tolerated it on my mask was because I'd known that it at least matched the rest of the accents on my old uniform.

I pulled the outfit out piece by piece and found myself admitting that York—or Emperor Peony, whoever had been responsible for this—was at least a good tailor. They were pretty good, and I admitted that I'd be able to wear them happily for quite some time.

Once I'd managed to pull the clothes on, I headed back out to join the others and smiled when I realized that Ion was wearing something not at all similar to mine except for the fact that there was a lot of green. Actually, he looked kinda like that girl Kairi had drawn the one time from one of the stories she knew from her home world... Oh, what was it called? Something about an airbender?

Eh, whatever.

I glanced around and raised an eyebrow at Seth. His outfit was distinctly darker in color and vibe than it had been, but to be honest... "Well, your outfit didn't change much."

Seth chuckled. "Actually, it fits me a little better. The other set was originally meant for Jade, and he is actually a couple inches taller than me, so they were kinda loose." He then turned to look at Flick, who matched him, though her outfit had accents of purple and red, in keeping with her usual scheme.

Dark wore something that looked vaguely similar, and yet, not at all the same. A white tunic, black vest and boots, and blue pants meant he'd kept to his usual color scheme, too.

"Got enough belts there, Sync?" the former-assassin teased.

I tilted my head to the side. "It took me a minute to get them figured out, but I think I'm gonna like 'em."

York chuckled. "Yours was all on the Emperor, little buddy. Same with Ion's. I had a small hand in Flick's and Seth's, and I did Dark's myself, but..." he trailed off. I nodded.

"I'll have to remember to thank him."

Ion nodded. "Me, too. Rialle's fairly talented, but she's not great with stitching the fonic glyphs needed to keep clothes from wearing too badly, and I really didn't want to be wearing my robes everywhere," he said. I snorted. No kidding. Talk about impractical, especially in a fight. How Seth could fight so easily even with that long cloak was beyond me... Huh. And Flick didn't have one?

Maybe it has to do with the fact that Seth's a fonist. Yeah, I'm just gonna leave that there and stop poking it.

"We're only about fifteen minutes out from Chesedonia," Noelle announced. "Where are the ligers?"

"They're waiting in one of the cabins for us to land," Dark answered easily. "We figured they should probably get some rest before we land, since they're likely going to get overheated if they're too active once we're in Chesedonia. Their thick fur doesn't do them a lot of good in the desert, not during the daytime, at least."

"You have a point, and since we're all going to be meeting back here, we should let Noelle have a couple days off. It's going to take a little bit for the others to finish at the Tower of Rem. Then, keep in mind, they'll have to go to both gates. That right there will take a few days, at least, especially since they're south of Kaitzur and are planning to go to the Absorption Gate first." I paused here and shrugged.

"We might as well all relax and take it easy while we still can," I pointed out, nodding toward the girl piloting the Albiore. "Noelle especially. She and Ginji are going to have the difficult job of getting us into Eldrant when the attack starts in a week or so."

Noir gave me an odd look. "Why can't you just go do that now, if there are two groups running around?"

I shook my head. "Planet Storm. They're using the Planet Storm to protect themselves and there's no way for us to get through that. Also, there's way too much anti-air fire for us to take it head on. We'll need the backup that'll be arriving in a couple of days.

"Right. And to top it all off, we still have to clear out the miasma in our systems, again. Why did Kairi put this rule into place, again?" Flick complained. I chuckled.

"Oh, that? I don't think that's Kairi's fault. That reeks of Asch being overprotective to me. Those two can really go at it sometimes, I swear."

Noir found this as amusing as I did. "Yes. Kairi likely agreed to it only because she didn't want to keep arguing. Besides, it's going to keep her alive a little longer, isn't it? I'm not an idiot," she added at Seth's surprised look. "I know she'd been taking in way too much miasma from operating the passage rings and she's probably lucky to be alive right now."

I frowned. "Yeah."

"We're on our way down, guys!" Noelle called in warning. I braced myself against the wall behind me, noting everyone else doing something similar.

The now-familiar bump of the Albiore landing made me smile slightly. I loved being in the air, but sometimes I loved being on the ground just as much. Or more, even, on increasingly rare occasions.

We all filed off of the Albiore, Dark going to fetch the ligers as we were at it, and I noticed Noelle following us off. I smiled. "Taking my suggestion?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I love flying, but it's been a while since I've been able to run around somewhere other than in Sheridan. So if you all don't mind, I'm going to go look around for a bit."

Ion smiled up at her. "Okay. We'll be at Astor's mansion if you need us."

Noelle nodded, then turned and walked off, and the rest of us headed to the mansion... Well, with the exceptions of York, Noir, and Urushi. When exactly those three slipped off, I don't want to know. I know where they slipped off to, but not when they'd done it, and while it bothered me a bit, I let it slide this once.

I'd made a very good point, and not one I really wanted to acknowledge. We needed to prepare ourselves for the battles we'd inevitably face in Eldrant. And... Well...

"Eldrant... I hate that place. It's where Asch died... Where you died."

Ah, but Kairi said I'd wanted to die then. I hadn't had a purpose, hadn't had a family.

I stopped in the mansion's garden and let the others walk on ahead. Flick paused and gave me an odd look, but I waved her on, and she nodded and turned to follow Seth. I looked to the sky, noting the ugly color the miasma had turned it.

I had no intention of dying. Maybe I'd died in Tales of the Abyss. Twice, sort of, from what Kairi had said. But I didn't want to die now.

I had Mom. I had Kairi. I had Asch.

I had Selenia, too.

My friends, my family... I felt like dying would hurt them more than anything else. And I knew Kairi was responsible for all of it, but... I couldn't help but feel a little bitter. Not because she'd saved me. Not because of everything she'd given me... Because I suddenly couldn't understand.

Why the hell would I have wanted to give up everything? Even with Cantabile dead... I could have kept going. I should have kept going. Kairi had said they'd tried to reason with me. Anise, especially after Ion's death, would have reached out to any other Ion replica she could find. Florian... and me.

If no one else had tried to save me, she would have... I could ask Kairi about it, but I knew I wouldn't have to, but that's just who Anise was. She was clingy, and loud, and annoying as all hell sometimes... But she couldn't stand to watch someone suffer.

I sighed and sat down. Thinking like this wasn't going to get me anywhere, that's for sure. No, I don't want to die. But at the same time... I'm not the Sync Kairi knew from her damn game. And I don't ever want to be.

"Oh, here you are."

I looked up. "Done already?" I asked, surprised. I couldn't have been lost in thought that long, could I?

Ion tilted his head to the side, a decidedly worried expression on his face. "Sync... We were in there for almost an hour."

I sighed. Yeah, I guess I really was that distracted. "Okay. I guess I had more on my mind than I thought. Well, I'm done clearing my head out, anyway, so what do you want to do while we wait?"

Ion smiled. "I was talking to Dark about seeing if we could—"

"Guys! Guys, come quick!" Noelle yelled, running up to us.

I frowned. "Noelle? What, is something wrong?"

"The traveling Scorers!" she said. "They're here! The traveling Scorers are here, in Chesedonia, they're trying to get people to come with them for Score readings!"

I scowled and looked over at Ion. "Looks like we don't get to relax after all," I said. I looked up at Dark. He tended to take over in situations like these, and this one was no different.

"Let's go. We've got to stop those people from having their replica data taken, especially given how often people get hurt from it," he said. I smiled to myself. Natalia had definitely found her match in willpower. Now, to see if we couldn't get King Ingobert to be less of an ass about it... Hmm. That would be tricky... I'd have to talk to Kairi about it.

I ended up leading the way through the crowds as we sought out the traveling Scorers.

Sure enough, the moment I saw them, I knew we'd been correct.

Mirage wasn't a perfect copy of Kairi. Her hair was more a dulled brown-orange, and her eyes lacked the gold I'd always loved watching fluctuate, but she was certainly her replica. They looked almost identical... And Mirage was wandering around in the same Intelligence Division uniform Kairi had worn before swapping it out for the black and blue one she wore now.

Meryl, on the other hand, had obviously had her data tampered with. Rather than Natalia's blonde hair, she had light brown hair, a few shades lighter than Mirage's. Her hazel eyes hadn't been changed, though her skin tone was a shade or two darker.

If you asked anyone who didn't know Kairi and Natalia, they wouldn't have thought twice of assuming these two were the sisters they claimed to be.

"All those wishing to hear the Score, follow us!" I heard Mirage shout. Meryl was playing sweet and innocent, it looked like, while Mirage, the slightly-less-approachable-looking, was drawing the attention.

It was a good act, and probably drawing in far more people than I'd been able to in Tales of the Abyss. Which meant they were also probably leaving behind a much larger body count.

I pushed my way through the crowd. "Let me through. The Order of Lorelei has called a halt to all Score readings."

Mirage and Meryl both stopped looking around at the crowd, and the accuracy with which they turned their gazes on me was rather disturbing. The crowd parted around us, and I noted that Ion had ended up in the back.

"And who are you to tell a couple of Oracle Knights to stop doing their jobs, huh?" one of the citizens asked.

"We wanna know the Score!" another added. I stepped to the side, since Ion had finally worked his way up to where he was right behind me, and I took a moment to be grateful that his current outfit could pass for semi-formal if it had to, while still being practical.

"I am Ion, Fon Master of the Order of Lorelei. This is Sync, my Chief of Staff and the commander of the Fifth Division of the Oracle Knights," he said. And as usual, I couldn't help the flash of envy at how easily he spoke. Dark could do the same thing... Guess it just goes to show, I wasn't meant to be a leader. "The Order called a halt to Score readings for a reason. I cannot disclose that information just yet, but I promise, everything will make sense soon. In the meantime..." Ion turned to look at me. "As the elder of these ladies wears the uniform of the Intelligence Division your aunt commands, I believe you would know better than I would whether she truly is one of ours or not."

It took a lot of control not to smirk. "She isn't. There are only three women in the Intelligence Division, one of them being my aunt. As for the other two... One is blonde, the other has black hair. This woman is not an Oracle Knight of the Intelligence Division, if she's an Oracle Knight at all."

Mirage's eyes narrowed, and I braced myself. I knew that look. Far too well, if I were being honest with myself. Because Kairi made that face whenever she was about to lose her temper with someone... usually an enemy.

That was the face Kairi made right before attacking an enemy.

And, much as I'd expected, Mirage moved to strike.

I ducked, rolled, and started running, heading for a courtyard I knew was hidden behind these buildings. I heard Dark order the crowd to disperse, and sighed.

Now we had to fight...

Fun Fact: Follow the trail of paperwork, and Sync really is Kairi's nephew... sort of. By the time we get to the later arcs of AEtT... well, he's still her nephew. There's just a much shorter trail of paperwork to follow.