Here you all go! I decided these last three chapters were best posted all at once. And, warning, there's a lot of text in italics because they spend most of the chapters on the 3rd Plane.

By the way. There is yet another large hint as to the thing foreshadowed in Part 111 in this chapter. Really, if ya'll don't have it figured out by the time I've posted Part 2 of AEtT, I may just have to start tossing frying pans around.

"If we succeed in following Sync to where he's wandered off to mentally, don't be surprised if you suddenly have four comatose people to watch. And I suggest finding reading material. We'll likely be very boring to watch." –Dark

Chapter 13.10 – End Game
Part 120

Dark's POV

It had only been a couple days since the incident at the monolith of Syal, and we'd run into a new problem, in addition to the mess Luke had brought us to deal with.

We had met up with them the morning after Danté's sacrifice, and had flown back to Chesedonia to report on everything that had happened. Not only to each other, but to the three militaries. Though at least Luke had gotten to explain Lorelei's vision while we were on the Albiore. That wouldn't have been fun to hear about for the first time in front of the soldiers... And, well, he'd wanted to ask us how much we should tell them.

So we'd had to have our own little conference on the flight between St. Binah and Chesedonia, which included the topics of Lorelei's vision and what had happened to Kairi. Then we'd had to deal with the generals, Cantabile, and everything else. That right there took about a day and a half.

That night, Sync had fallen asleep next to Selenia, hands clasped. It was the only way to keep him calm, it seemed like, since he started tearing up whenever Selenia wasn't there, either crying on him or telling him everything was going to be okay. They'd fallen asleep just like they'd done the night before...

Sync hadn't woken up.

He wasn't dead, thank gods, but it didn't take long for Jade to proclaim him comatose.

"Son of a bitch... Of all the times for him to go comatose for no apparent reason!" Flick cursed. I sighed, sat down, and drew myself out of my body. Maybe a look on the second plane would find me an answer? I was no expert in this, not by a long shot, but... Dammit, we couldn't lose Sync! Not after... not after that.

Dull, emotionless green eyes met mine, and I found myself comparing us again, just like I'd done so many times in the past.

But oh, we weren't identical anymore. Oh no. Danté's eyes were ringed with shadows, proof of a lack of sleep. His cheekbones stuck out almost jarringly on a sickly-pale face, and his hair, usually wild but glossy enough to hold a nice shine, was stringy and limp.

I'd heard Kairi describe someone as looking like 'hell warmed over', and the description seemed to fit here, assuming we were going with a version of hell that was icy instead of fiery, like most would...

I knew I looked loads better by comparison, even if I was underweight from missing more meals than I probably should—Natalia was still trying to get me caught up on those—and was covered in all sorts of bruises, cuts, and scrapes that I didn't feel the urge to waste Gels or a healer's energy on.

There was something in those deadened green eyes that struck a chord deep within me.

This... this was how I would look if someone had just killed Natalia.

Arietta.

That's why he'd been so on edge lately. That's why he'd just followed her at Eldrant instead of trying to keep attacking us.

And he was offering us an out.

"Let's go."

Danté seemed to realize that I'd seen something, and I noted the brief flash of respect before I turned and started moving away. We needed to get clear—where was Asch?—before he could cut Kairi loose, or else we'd still be dead. And that would defeat the entire purpose of this.

Damn... I'd thought the knowledge of a dying Kairi hurt, but... losing a brother hurt like a bitch.

The moment I saw the flow of Energies around Sync, I knew something was up.

I snapped back to my body. I didn't have the expertise to figure that out, and Kairi... with any luck, Kairi was back on Earth, living out her life with her mother and friends there. We could pretend she was happy and safe.

But Sync was another matter, and he needed someone who had even half a clue what he was looking at to go look at him.

I found Asch in a corner of the room he'd been assigned to with Luke. The hope had been that Luke would be able to keep him from getting suicidal or something of the sort. Well, he hadn't tried to kill himself yet, but it was hard to get any sort of a response out of him. Most of the time, he'd just sit there and stare off into space.

The wasn't one of those times. He was still sitting there and staring, but he was staring at an open page in Kairi's sketchbook. He'd retrieved her wing pack—mostly unharmed—and had taken to pulling the sketchbook out on occasion and finding one picture or another to stare at when he wasn't in the mood to stare off into space.

I thought it was a strange way of mourning, but Sync had said last night he was happy Asch was mourning at all.

It meant he was still alive, at least.

"Asch."

Not even a twitch. I sighed, quickly getting fed up with this, and drew a gun. I didn't need to kill him, just get his attention.

The shot rang past his ear, and I was glad I was on the opposite side of the room, since Asch had immediately grabbed for Ultimatus and then made ready to stab whoever the hell had interrupted his brooding.

"Well. If you're done with your private pity-party, maybe you can help me figure out what the hell's wrong with Sync all of a sudden."

Asch cared for Sync. Sync was a little brother to him and Kairi both.

Mention of Sync had Asch on his feet and abandoning Ultimatus and the sketchbook in an instant.

I should have followed after him immediately, but I couldn't help but stop and glance back at the sketchbook. Odd... It was a picture of Asch sitting under a tree? And in his Oracle Knights uniform, no less. Huh. Why would Asch sit and stare at a picture of himself...?

I shrugged it off and headed to Sync's room, and wasn't at all surprised to find Asch laying on the other bed, the one Selenia had slept in the night before.

I slipped onto the second plane easily, and Asch barely glanced up at me before going back to looking over Sync.

Jade joined us a moment later, having finally figured out what we were up to. Natalia, the only other one who seemed to have realized it, then started ushering people out of the room. With the exception of Cantabile, this was done without problems—and what was with that extra little bundle of Energies right under her Energy Core? Ah, I'm getting distracted...

*Any ideas?* I asked. Asch hummed.

*One. But I don't get it. I usually feel it when she... Oh.*

*Asch?* Jade prompted when the redhead trailed off, looking like he'd just seen a ghost.

*Kairi didn't initiate it this time. Sync went by himself... to try to find her.*

I frowned and crossed my arms. *A little context would be nice.*

Asch sighed. *There are three planes of existence.*

*The physical first plane, the spiritual second plane, and I'm guessing the third plane is mental,* Jade said. Asch nodded.

*When Van knocked Kairi out and gave her amnesia, he caused a blockage of Energies to form. Those allowed her to finally bridge the gap between the first and third planes, and she's found her way there multiple times since then. The first time, she thought she and Sync were both dead. The second time, she knew she was alive, and I was alive, so she wasn't sure why she'd seen Sync,* he said. *She decided it must have been because the third plane is one even the dead can reach.*

*Can it?*

Asch shook his head. *I'm not sure. But if it can... then, theoretically, it should be able to bridge the gap between Auldrant and Earth too, right?*

I glanced back at my body, then at Asch. *So, since you've apparently been there before, how are we supposed to get to the third plane?*

Asch sighed. *That's just it. I'm not entirely sure. Kairi always just kinda pulled me and Sync there...* Here, he trailed off and stared at Sync for a while. *Jump back to your bodies and find a slightly more comfortable position. I think I've got an idea.*

*You think, or you know?* Jade asked warily. Asch shot him a nasty look, and I felt a tiny spark of hope. Yes, that was good.

Asch wasn't going down without a fight, and neither was I.

I snapped back to my body, glanced at Cantabile, and sighed. "If we succeed in following Sync to where he's wandered off to mentally, don't be surprised if you suddenly have four comatose people to watch. And I suggest finding reading material. We'll likely be very boring to watch."

The nice thing about Cantabile was that she could at least appreciate humor under duress.

"Be careful... and bring him back."

I nodded, then laid down and closed my eyes again, hoping and praying that Asch's idea would work. Then I felt something on the edge of my consciousness, much like Kairi's telepathy, and prodded it.

*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*

It became obvious, rather quickly, that Asch's idea either hadn't worked, or hadn't been well-thought-out.

I opened my eyes to find myself alone in a cavern that rather reminded me of Aramis Spring. A bit of looking around revealed that no, no one was anywhere near me. I groaned and started walking. Well, might as well start searching, because standing around here wasn't going to get anything done, and I figured Asch and Jade were probably in either the same or a similar predicament.

It wasn't long before I found myself completely and totally lost, and I huffed. I just had to find Asch, damn it! How hard was that when he had bright red hair?!

Something sort of tugged on me, and I started walking, following that tugging feeling.

Then it ceased, and I eyed the dark archway I'd been about to step through warily. But... oh well. Nothing to lose, I suppose.

I stepped through, and was almost immediately met by the sight of something I'd really, really wanted to see.

"Ah, there you are."

Asch turned to look at me, and breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, good. Damn, how'd you find me? Kairi's mindscape isn't nearly this hard to navigate..."

I shrugged. "Well, I was just focusing on finding you." I paused and focused on Jade now. Because there was no doubt the man was just as lost as I'd been. I smiled when I felt the tugging come back. "Come on, this way." Asch followed without complaint, though I noticed he was looking around almost constantly.

"This... Is this my mindscape?" he asked after a while. I shrugged.

"Who knows. Reminds me a bit of Aramis Spring, personally, but... Ah, through here," I said, having felt the tugging stop.

We stepped through the archway and found Jade with ease, looking just as lost as I'd expected to find him. He looked at us curiously.

"How did you two not get lost finding me?"

I shrugged. "I seem to have a talent for finding you people."

Asch paused. "Or... maybe a Talent."

I could hear it in the way he said it. He was talking about Kairi's kind of Talent, like her telepathy and the timing thing.

"So, now what?" Jade asked. Asch crossed his arms.

"I'm pretty sure this is my mindscape, which means we need to find Sync, who will probably be in either his own mindscape, or somewhere else."

Jade and Asch then both turned to me, and I sighed and focused on Sync.

This time, the tugging was fainter, but it was there, and I started walking.

It took a while of backtracking at one point, but we finally stepped out of the caverns of Asch's mindscape and into—

"Mountains? What the hell?" Asch murmured. I looked around. Mountains, the tops of clouds obscuring everything more than a few hundred yards down from the tips, rope bridges all over the place...

"Damn this place looks complicated," I grumbled. Jade frowned.

"This must be Sync's mindscape. It's too different from Asch's to be a part of his."

I nodded, then started feeling for Sync again. The tugging was stronger now...

We crossed far more rope bridges than I cared to count before we finally found Sync, looking about ready to panic.

Well, to give credit, he did panic when he saw us.

"How did you get here?! What are you even doing in here? Oh, forget that, where are we?!"

I sighed and let Asch take care of the messy job of trying to explain everything to Sync. Meanwhile...

'Kairi. We need to find Kairi next.'

I was mildly surprised to feel the tugging come back.

By the time Asch was done explaining, I was rocking back and forth on my feet. "Are you two done? Because I can lead you to Kairi next."

Sync looked utterly baffled. Looks like Asch hadn't explained my ability to find people yet, so Jade took over doing that while the four of us traversed the many mountains and rope bridges of Sync's mindscape.

"Makes me wonder why it looks like this..." Sync said, looking around. He looked over at Asch. "What did yours look like?"

"Aramis Spring. Except a hundred times more complicated and without all the monsters."

"Huh. So, any guesses as to what yours might look like, Jade?"

"Do you really want to know my opinion on this whole thing?" he asked. His tone told me I didn't want him to continue. "Because to be quite honest, I'm utterly terrified of finding out what my mindscape looks like."

How did I know something like that was coming?

We reached a mountain path that led down into the cloud cover, and I paused. The tugging had let up yet again, which meant... "Down here."

"We're about to jump into another mindscape, aren't we?" Asch asked. I nodded, then steeled myself and stepped forward.

I walked out of the mist into what could only be described as a fantasy land. It looked almost like the eastern Rugnica Plains, where the grasses grew tall, wild and unchecked, but the grasses were blue and violet. Colorful wildflowers—some even in green!—dotted the vast area. I noted the starry sky above us, filled with almost more stars than I thought were possible.

"Where are we...?" Sync whispered.

"We're in the TimeStream, the space between worlds that exists everywhere and nowhere all at once."

The moment I heard the voice, I knew. "Kairi."

She looked different. Not as fit, with duller hair and, of all things, glasses, but it was definitely Kairi.

She was alive, or at least here.

I grinned.

Fun Fact: So... The TimeStream is from an original story of mine that will likely never be published. I'll admit that it's mostly pointless, save for one small thing that you'll be finding out about in the final chapter. Now then... Everyone having fun with the mindscapes? Hehe... And yes, Dark does have a Talent for finding people in their mindscapes. Dante has a similar and yet opposite Talent. Which will greatly irritate Kairi over the seventeen years between, well, here and when Dante makes a reappearance in AEtT.