Chapter 18

Damn it! More ships!

Raine watched the land disappear on the horizon with mixed feelings. Of course she wanted to stay on land, but after running into the God-Generals, it wasn't such a safe place to be anymore. Jade said something about reviewing the documents and that he would call them when he was ready to debrief them, and they dispersed.

But then Raine turned to Guy who rubbed his right arm where Sync had attacked him.

"Are you all right? Do you need healed?"

He shook his head as he picked at the new hole in his sleeve. "Nah. It stings a little, but I'll be fine." He dropped his hand to his side and focused on her. "What about you? Are you okay? They were kinda mean."

She shrugged and didn't say anything, rather turning her attention back to the sea. Truth was, she'd rather abandon this party and find Genis on her own, but they were all heading the same way anyway. There simply was no point in trying to leave them, especially now that they had some answers that she wanted, too. She never did answer him, so he took the point.

"Well, if you ever need to talk, you know I'm here for you." He smiled at her.

Actually, now that she thought about it, the whole group wasn't so bad. "Thank you. Your consideration means a lot."

Maybe Luke was on to something.

The doctors who examined him after his kidnapping suggested that he write in a diary every day in case the amnesia comes back. Now that Guy had heard Raine mention so many bizarre things, he wished that he had written down everything she told him just so he could review it and see if any clues emerged.

With Jade reviewing the results of the disc scan, everyone else had wandered off on their own to different parts of the ferry. Guy retreated to a room by himself. He found paper and pencil, rubbed the sting in his arm, and sat down to work on his own notes.

Writing full pages like Luke did wasn't his style, though. Instead, he wrote what he remembered in a small list.

Raine

Born in a village in the woods – where?

From Radessia? – I doubt it

Paranoid, highly guarded

Eckspheres ? – studied by Class I?

Stole Re-ard – flying machine, Albiore, why different name?

Lied about using fonons? – once she learned the theory, she used them just fine

Unicorn horn – not a uniceros horn, possibly from new species?

Except Guy wasn't a zoologist. Maybe an animal in Auldrant did exist with a horn like that. But why would she think it was a unicorn horn? Unicorns were a myth as much as elves were. Or… she might not have known what the animal was when she found the horn and thought it was a unicorn.

Sheena – traveling companion and apparent liar, mentioned Imperial Research Academy

Genis – lost younger brother

Abandoned by parents – why?

Thinks she's an elf – again, why?

No, she used being an elf as a guard. He scratched off that last entry and rewrote it.

Claims to be an elf – for better treatment

People treated her better thinking she's an elf than they did when they found out the truth about her. What did that even mean? Guy tapped his pencil against the desk as he thought about it. The idea that she might have been degenerated like Luke had been began to sound appealing. Maybe she had been kidnapped, too, and her kidnappers convinced her that she was abandoned? What about her other traveling companions? A few of them were students. How much did they know about her?

Lloyd – student and traveling companion

Colette – student and traveling companion

Mercenary – temporary traveling companion

Who was that? Guy sat up straight. Auldrant had several mercenaries, a few Guy had even heard of. What had she called him? He tried to remember, but no name came to mind. Did she even tell him the man's name? Hmm… He definitely didn't know enough about any of the people she talked about. He had only ever asked about Genis and even her answers about him were vague. Looking over this list didn't help clarify anything. Not only that, as he reviewed his list, he realized something else: Raine lied a lot.

Guy threw down the pencil.

"There has to be a reason for this."

"Attention escorts of the esteemed son of a duke—" Guy looked up at the speakers where Jade's voice came through, placing a special emphasis on "esteemed". Immediately, he heard Luke's upstart from the next room. "It is time. Please report to the colonel for new orders."

Guy smiled. "Well, that's one way to discreetly pass a message."

When Jade called for everyone to return, Raine walked into the meeting room with the others and took a seat next to Tear. Guy and Luke sat apart from them, and Anise stood near Jade. Ion sat in the chair on the same side as Tear and Raine. For once, everyone was quiet with anticipation of what was on the disc. Raine had her own theories and hoped, for the love of Martel, that she was wrong. Jade set the documents down on the table.

"So what's going on?" Guy asked. "Did you learn anything about what's on the disc?"

"It seems they were doing research on isofons." Jade said. Surprised, Raine gasped. It's not about Cruxis Crystals? Or was that another name for them? "The report also contained Lorelei's fonon frequency."

"Lorelei? Isofons? Fonon frequency? What the heck are you talking about?"

Raine privately thanked Luke for his curiosity, but she was struck by the response from everyone else. Isofons were common knowledge as well...? Raine stood up and turned her back so no one could see her confusion, especially knowing how much Guy liked to watch her.

"Lorelei is the name for the aggregate sentience of the Seventh Fonon." Tear said. Only Tear seemed sympathetic anymore. How odd, now that Raine thought about it.

Anise nodded, and added, "When a certain amount of a particular fonon gathers together, it becomes sentient. Control that, and you can perform high-level fonic artes."

"Each one has a name," Guy added, "The first fonon sentience is called 'Shadow', the sixth is called 'Rem', and so on."

Summon spirits, basically, Raine decided. But that didn't sound like exspheres or Cruxis Crystals at all. Why were the God-Generals studying summon spirits, and what did that have to do with Luke? Did it have anything to do with Luke? She faced them. "Not many people can summon them, though."

"I betcha Jade could," Anise said. "The Colonel can do anything!"

He shrugged. "Either way, Lorelei still hadn't been observed. Its existence is hypothetical." Hypothetical...? How could that be true? She forgot not to let them see her confusion.

"But if the others exist, why wouldn't Lorelei exist as well?"

"Whoa, Raine, you believe in them?" Anise asked. Even Tear seemed a little surprised. Raine felt the flush of panic. Believe in them? Why wouldn't they believe in them? She really needed to quit talking.

"Of course she does," Guy said. "That's why she's studying ruins around the Sephiroth. She's looking for the spirit seals, remember?"

"Standing up for her again, Guy?" Anise smirked. He blushed and looked away.

Still, something didn't make sense to Raine. "But, Guy, you just said they had names."

"Well, yeah, but…."

"So it's just Malkuth that has turned its back on them," Raine said.

"I didn't say that..." Guy muttered.

"Malkuth?" Anise asked. "I didn't know that anyone tries summoning them."

"But you just said you thought Jade could..." Again, Raine felt desperate for something to make sense. How could Tethe'alla have the Journey of Regeneration without the summon spirits?

Anise dropped her little-girl attitude and stared at Raine. "I was joking." She said flatly.

"They're stories from ages ago," Guy said "No one's seen them in centuries. That is, if it's true anyone has seen them." Again, Raine recalled how Jade accused her of reading some ancient books. She turned to see him watching her carefully, purposefully, as if asking the silent question she knew was on his mind. Mana was ancient knowledge, too. She supposed it made sense that summon spirits were, too.

"But Sheena does summon the spirits." Not that anyone really knew who she was.

"I'm beginning to think this 'Sheena' is toying with you," Anise said. "She sounds worse than the colonel." At that, Anise smirked at Jade who, Raine noticed, frowned. She suspected it wasn't because of what Anise said.

Raine looked to Guy. "You're from Kimlasca, correct?"

"I've been in Baticul for years." He hesitated to say anything more.

Confused, Raine let it go and went quiet. It's not that she had fully expected them to know Sheena, but it was odd that neither Luke nor Guy had heard of her despite their close connection to the king. What was going on?

Besides, summon spirits were earth science. No one could realistically dispute the existence of the spirits that support the planet's life.

"Well, they're more intertwined with the world than you'd think," Raine said finally breaking the silence. She watched Ion's expression as well, though he seemed too deep in thought to tell what he was thinking. "Their existence is vital for life on this planet to exist. Not believing in them is fine, but that doesn't mean they're not there. Humans believed in them once." She thought she deciphered the days of the week as summon spirit names. It should be safe to say, right? "Your calendar proves it."

"I suppose that's true," Jade said and she exhaled a breath she just realized she held. "For there to be enough fonons to sustain life, there should be some source for the fonons." But even as he spoke, Raine could tell he wasn't thinking about what he saying. Something else was on his mind as he watched her. At least none of them contradicted her about the calendar. She must be on the right track there.

"That," Ion said, "and even myths have a grain of truth in them somewhere. It would make sense that over time of not summoning them that we'd forget they truly did exist."

"Huh... How come all of you know this stuff?" Luke asked.

"Well... It's actually common knowledge." Guy said.

"It's okay, Luke." Tear said. "You can't help it. Just keep learning from here on and you'll be fine."

"Is it just me... or are you being a lot nicer to Luke all of a sudden?" Anise asked. "Playing knight, too?"

"I-I don't know what you mean." Tear turned back to Luke. "Oh, also! All matter emits a fonon frequency. They're like fingerprints; no two frequencies are the same."

Fonon frequencies must be the same as a mana signature. That would make sense given the similarities between how fonons and mana worked. Raine let out a small breath. At least some things aligned.

"Way to change the subject. Very smooth."

"Be quiet, Guy!" Tear snapped and returned her attention to Luke. "Isofons are two entities that have the exact same fonon frequency. They don't exist unless artificially created."

"Of course, if isofons were common," Jade said, "we'd have our hands full with hyperresonances all over the place. Isofon research holds potential for weapons development, so naturally the military has their eye on it." Hyperresonance… That was the energy that shot Luke and Tear into another country. If energy like that came from isofons, why did it happen with Luke and Tear? Raine shook her head. This was too confusing.

"That 'fomicry' technology they worked on a long time ago can make isofons, right?" Anise asked.

"Yeah, fomicry is like a copy machine," Guy added with a slight airy distraction to his voice.

A copy machine? Raine thought back to the giant machine at Choral Castle. Was that what it was? She stared at Luke. Why were they interested in him? Were they trying to make a copy of him? They couldn't possibly make an exact copy, an isofon, could they? It sounded like they were certainly trying to.

"No," Jade answered. "Replicas created through fomicry are mere imitations. A replica may look identical, but its fonon frequency is different. One can't produce isofons that way." Ah, Raine thought, so it's just copies they were worried about. Still... why create a copy of Luke? What purpose would that serve?

"Gah! What the hell are you all talking about?!" Luke shouted. "Enough of this complicated stuff. Jade can read those documents on his—"

A soldier called over the intercom. "Sir! An unknown fonon signature is approaching and we're being attacked!"

A/N: I had to break up this chapter because it's pretty long, but that means the update isn't a long wait! I do have one question for feedback. I struggled so hard with Jade's announcement over the loud speaker. What did ya'll think? Did it sound like Jade? Or could I have done better? I am accepting suggestions for tweaks if anyone thinks there's a better announcement there because that was just a perfect Jade moment and I wanted to do it justice. :)

A/N Revision: Yeah, I edited Jade's announcement based on feedback. I agree that it was too direct. Thanks for the feedback, everyone! I also revised Guy's note a little bit to make it more accurate to what he learned.

Okay, now the next update will be in a couple of weeks so that I can ensure I am not doing too many updates too quickly. Thank you so much for your support and for reading this story. I'm super excited that you love it as much as I do.

~~Kat