A/N: This chapter includes a brainchild of Raven Tsurara for the Symphonia Side! I just love how she's balancing Genis's emotions and bringing so much life to it. Please show her some love because she is working so hard on helping me out. :D You go, Lady! (Plus, now this chapter isn't so achingly short.)
Chapter 22 Part 2, AKA: Chapter 23
At the bottom of that elevator, Raine sniffed, finally finding the courage to stand up straight and face everyone. She cleared her vision again, but tears still poured down her cheeks.
Everyone else watched her, even those who weren't part of the party. "I'm fine now," she said simply, raising her chin with a mustered air of grace. When the elevator stopped, everyone got off, but not everyone went to the next elevator. Everyone who knew her, though, they all moved as a group towards the next elevator to take them to the bottom levels of Baticul. She kept to the back, moving slowly. Suddenly, the people ahead of her didn't seem like the same traveling companions she's had for the last several weeks. They looked foreign, new.
Unfamiliar.
Even Guy.
They boarded the second elevator and it began its descent. They might not be hostile to half-elves now, but she realized she couldn't let on anything else about herself. In fact, Guy had even told her there were no elves. She'd already done too much damage telling them she's an elf. Wait—
That's what everyone's confusion was.
They must have thought she was insane trying to convince them she was an elf. No wonder they behaved so weird when she said she was. What else did she mention?
The Rheaird? Oh, but those weren't too common.
What about mana? No wonder Jade thought she had teachings from an ancient tutor. Mana had been converted into fonons so long ago that even if she mentioned it, very few people would know what it was. She was lucky Jade had heard of it before. Extremely lucky. Strike that word out of her new spoken vocabulary.
Did she ever mention the Church of Martel? She thought back. No, not until she asked about Martel a moment ago. But the actual church? Maybe not.
The exspheres? …Oh, no. She mentioned those to Guy. She felt the panic rise again. But she had convinced him that Class I had knowledge about those. Maybe that wouldn't come up? Then again, even if he did remember her mentioning them, he had no idea what they were. No wonder he gave her a baffled look when she mentioned them. How likely was he to ask Class I about them? He did love technology.
She clapped a hand over her wrist. It would be absolutely vital that they never find out about it.
Guy stepped forward. "You seem a little more calm."
Raine might have seemed calmer, but she didn't feel it at all. He approached her and she lurched back against the elevator railing, surprising everyone.
He retreated. "It's usually me jumping away. Now I know what it looks like…."
She didn't say anything but waited until the elevator hit the ground floor of Baticul. The door opened and she was the first to get off.
"Anyway, shall we be going?" Jade said as if nothing happened.
Raine bolted for port, racing past people, but then she stopped. She turned around and found herself in the middle of a crowd. She didn't know anyone. The others had apparently fallen too far behind. Shaking her head, she continued walking.
This wasn't her first time going somewhere new. It was just her first time going without someone she could partially trust. A fresh wave of anxiety took hold and she boarded the aircar back to the port. As soon as the aircar arrived, her heart stopped. Even from the aircar, she could see knights stopping passengers before they could walk the piers to the ships. Were they checking passports?
She dug through her bag. Yes, she still had hers. Clutching it tightly, she stepped off the aircar and followed the winding path around. She took slow, deliberate steps. Memories of being chased by the knights as a child returned in full force, and she found herself frozen to the spot. What would they do to her? Were they looking for her? She couldn't remember seeing them when they had first arrived.
No, they weren't there before. It was just the two soldiers who welcomed them home to Baticul. No one was checking passports back then.
Raine's mind worked furiously. Why would these knights be here then? Taking a step back, she hesitated. Mohs seemed to relax when she said she wasn't going with Luke. What if he laid a trap for her? What if these knights were here for her? Didn't someone say something about Oracle Knights blocking the port? Oh, why didn't she pay more attention to what they were saying?! Were they coming this way or not?
Without knowing what to do, she simply stood indecisive.
Should she go on ahead to Belkend? Or should she try going back to the king? Should she see if they were taking a ship? Or should she look for Guy again?
Guy.
Maybe it would be safer to stick with him after all, even if they were headed back to Malkuth. If nothing else, Luke would be going and she could learn more about their world by being around him. Was that really the best option? Should she really go to Belkend? But Genis wasn't there…. Which meant…. Oh, no….
There was no reason to go there anymore.
Oh, she made such a huge mistake!
Raine ran back for the aircar and boarded, hoping she wasn't too late. Which way would they go? She wasn't paying attention when they mentioned sending Luke on his mission. Logically, the fastest way anywhere was a ship, but she was sure someone said something about problems at port. Would they still go this way? She hadn't seen them, though. Did the Oracle Knights affect their plans? Without a method of travel, she wouldn't know if they were leaving by ship or by land, and least of all, where they were headed. The only thing she knew was that it was a city in Malkuth that was accessible via Kimlasca.
She pulled out and unfolded her map. Where would it make sense?
The aircar stopped and she stepped off, still searching the map. Chesedonia was over here... Saint Binah was there. It looked like another town might be nearby, south of Saint Binah. She couldn't quite read its name. But if she had to travel by foot to get there, she'd have to head back for Chesedonia first and then take a ship to Kaitzur. If the others weren't going by ship, would they go that way?
What should she do?
A shadow fell across her map. "Are you lost?"
Raine lowered her map and looked up.
Luke seemed to really enjoy Miyagi's lesson. Jade thought it sounded interesting. But Guy's attention was on Raine. She had just run off and he'd never seen her so upset before. She fell apart when he told her he'd never heard of Tethe'alla. But what was Tethe'alla? Why was she so upset that he'd never heard of it? Even so, he didn't want to leave her in that state of terror, the same terror he saw when he approached her on the elevator. The woman was definitely too vulnerable to be left alone.
He stepped out the door and towards the port. Should they go make sure she got on board safely? After all, Oracle Soldiers were at sea blocking that way out. Would they let her through even though she was associated with Luke's group? Somehow, he doubted it. But what could he do? They had their own mission. They couldn't escort her to Belkend.
"I think we're ready to go," Jade said. "What about you, Guy?"
Guy knew what he wanted to do, but Raine's objective sharply clashed with theirs. She wanted to go find her brother and they headed for Kaitzur, though he had a feeling not even the Oracle Knights could stop her from getting there. She did have a legitimate passport.
He knew it would come to this, that she would go her own way once they reached Baticul. Why did this matter so much to him? "Yeah," he said finally as he turned around. "I'm ready to go."
The sight of the Grand Tethe'alla Bridge sent shivers through Genis' spine. Just a few days ago, he had crossed that bridge towards his death. He had dreaded the idea, more so because the only witnesses would be humans cursing his existence until the bloody end. Genis shuddered.
It's okay, I'm safe now.
Yet a good thing happened too because Lloyd accepted who Genis really was. It felt so surreal. He spent many years overthinking how he and his sister would be persecuted and ousted from Iselia, his mind cruelly conjuring Lloyd and Colette amongst the prejudiced crowd, then the two vanished in a puff of smoke when Lloyd proudly called him his friend. Some doubts still hung over him, not all humans would be kind and understanding like Lloyd after all, proof of that wasn't difficult to find. That said, Genis couldn't ask for a better friend.
The bridge wasn't why they were there though. With the bridge out of order to ensure the party would not be able to escape to the other continent, they needed to find another way to reach Sybak. Lucky for them, their pursuers hadn't counted on Sheena and Zelos's amplitude of connections in Meltokio. Thanks to the scientists in the Elemental Research Laboratory, they acquired an Elemental Cargo, EC for short, to be able to cross the sea.
Ignoring the dreadful sight, Genis followed the party towards a door on the side of the railings. It was locked though that didn't stop Lloyd who took a pin out of his clothes for lockpicking purposes. Genis snorted. Leave it to the son of a craftsman to carry something so random in his pockets. At least he's good for this kind of thing. Zelos took his snorting as a cue to tease Lloyd, making everyone minus Presea giggle at his expense.
With the door out of the way, the party moved to descend the stairs until something caught his eye.
"…Is that…" Genis couldn't finish. Everyone followed his sight towards the bridge's base.
"Are those Exspheres?" Colette finished his thought.
Zelos moved closer to the railing. "That's right, Colette. That bridge is operated by Exspheres." Genis grimaced.
The rest, at least the ones that could, imitated his reaction. Genis felt sick. So many lives sacrificed to power up a stupid bridge. He couldn't help but imagine Raine's reaction to this view. Although his sister was the more pragmatic of the two, Genis doubted she would agree to using Exspheres this way. No matter how much she loved ancient technology and ruins and their benefits to the world, Raine was not a monster who would murder millions for it.
The thought of his sister dejected Genis. The sea reminded him of when they rode the washtub to Thoda Geyser. Raine tried so hard to mask her panic at the time, but the high-pitched cry and her stiff moves gave away everything. He smiled somberly at the memory of his proud sister crawling out of the washtub. Her antics even got the ever-stoic Kratos to chuckle. If she was here, complaints would have flied out of her mouth all the way there until the last minute before begrudgingly boarding the EC. If she was here, Raine would have caught his jest and smacked him for making fun of her aquaphobia.
He preferred that to constant worry.
Raine, wherever you are, I hope there's not a sea surrounding you. Genis prayed in his heart.
"Genis, are you coming?" Presea called him in a robotic voice.
His heart skipped a beat, the sorrow being pushed to a corner for the moment. "Ah, yeah! Wait for me, Presea!"
The two descended the stairs together to where the rest of the party was waiting alongside Kuchinawa. Lloyd was playing with the wing pack he received from one of the scientists, making the EC appear and disappear in thin air. Genis couldn't contain his wonder and ran the rest of the way.
"Wow! How does it work?!"
"Pretty cool, huh Genis?" Lloyd boasted.
"Do it again, do it again!"
"That's enough goofing around," the two turned to Kuchinawa, whose eyes were lowered. "How about getting on your way?" Lloyd didn't like his fun being cut but nodded.
His smile came back. "I can't wait to use this EC! This is great!"
"You'll just get bored with it in no time." Genis sighed at his friend's antics.
"Yay, we get to go out to sea!" Colette was the first to board the EC, admiring the clear water over the rail.
The rest did the same, proving quickly why this thing wasn't used to transport passengers. It was already too cramped on the small deck. Genis doubted the cargo space and the control cabin were any better. Colette and Presea went inside it anyway, Lloyd following right after to take charge of the wheel. Sheena was the last to board after receiving something from Kuchinawa.
"Off to Sybak!" Sheena exclaimed with a sailor-like pose on the deck.
Lloyd apparently heard her because he started the engine right away. Sheena summoned Undine, the summon spirit sending her mana towards the EC to allow it to surf and off they went.
Genis turned a last time to look at the bridge, hoping to never see it again, and the water surrounding them, Raine still in his thoughts. He repeated his prayer but added another one. Let's meet soon, sister.
The Goodwill Ambassador
Gnomeday, Gnome-Decan 2, ND2018
I was worried it'd be back to the old boring days, but when I woke up I was told to go to the castle because Natalia was calling me. It looks like I won't be confined again after all. I wonder what happened to make them let me out...? Well, whatever the reason, at least I get to go out. I wonder if Natalia's heard anything about Master Van? Guess I'll hit the castle and find out.
I ran into Tear and Mohs whispering something to each other at the castle entrance.
They were saying something about the Seventh Fonstone... Is that the Score that Tear's looking for? Then Mohs noticed me, but he seemed to be in a better mood than yesterday. He told me Jade was in the audience hall. He REALLY bugs me.
I entered the audience hall with Mohs and Tear, and Jade was waiting inside. Uncle and Father were both there, and they told me to go to the town of Akzeriuth in Malkuth as a goodwill ambassador from Kimlasca.
Apparently there's a bunch of miasma coming out from underground there, and the people of the town are in bad shape. The road to Akzeriuth on the Malkuth side is unusable and it's only reachable from Kimlasca, so Malkuth was asking for help. They said that if we save Akzeriuth, it would be a good step toward peace.
To be honest, it sounds like a real pain and I didn't want to accept it, but they said they'd free Master Van if I did, so I gave in. Then Uncle told me something unbelievable.
He said I'm the hero read in Yulia's Score.
Yulia's Score contains the world's future, and a part of the Sixth Fonstone that contains that Score is held by the Kimlasca-Lanvaldear royal family. According to it, one of the royal family with red hair who inherits Lorelei's power will lead the Kingdom of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear to prosperity.
In other words, me .
If I go to Akzeriuth, Yulia's Score will come true, and Kimlasca will prosper. This is why they were keeping me in confinement, too. So if I go along with this and become a hero, I'll no longer have to be imprisoned in my own manor. Sounds good to me!
It's not just me going to Akzeriuth-Tear and Jade are coming too. And they said I could take Guy and Master Van along with me too. Yes! Now I can finally go on a trip with Master Van! He's in the underground cell-I can't wait to see him!
When I got to the underground cell, Master Van had just been released. There, I found out the true meaning of the Score.
There was more to Yulia's Score than what I'd heard in the audience hall. It says my power will cause calamity, and be used as a weapon of Kimlasca. So that's why Master Van said I was being held as a weapon...
The Order of Lorelei seems to believe that my presence will cause a war between Malkuth and Kimlasca, and Master Van was trying to keep me from being used as a tool of war. Here's his plan.
First, I'll go to Akzeriuth as a goodwill ambassador. The Score says that the war happens when I move people out of Akzeriuth, so instead of doing that, I'll use hyperresonance to destroy the miasma in the town. Then, instead of returning to Kimlasca, I'll follow Master Van to Daath. That way, Kimlasca won't be able to use me.
Master Van's great! He's always thinking of me. I asked him why, and he told me about something from my past that I've forgotten.
When I was young, I was put through lots of cruel experiments because of my hyperresonance power, and so I asked Master Van to take me to Daath. He tried to take me from the manor once to fulfill my wish. So that kidnapping that everybody says was Malkuth's work was actually Master Van trying to save me.
Master Van said he'll make sure we get away this time. So I promised to keep the plan a secret, and we headed out of the castle to rejoin everybody else.
When we got outside, we found Raine sobbing near the fountain. I asked Guy what happened but he shrugged his shoulders and said he didn't know. Then she just took off. Jade had a real downer for us. He said the Oracle Knights were patrolling the sea, and that it was probably Mohs trying to stop me from getting to Akzeriuth. Man, what the hell! What a pain... What's with those guys?
Jade suggested putting out a decoy ship and traveling over land to Chesedonia instead.
Master Van agreed, and then said he'd ride on the decoy ship with the rest of the aid team. He said that it would make the decoy more convincing, but I want to stay with him!
He wouldn't listen to me, though, and we ended up having to travel separately. So I'm stuck with the four-eyed devil, the cold-blooded girl, and Guy... It doesn't get any more boring than this. We should be able to rejoin Master Van once we get to Chesedonia, so we'll have to hurry.
On the way out of Baticul, we ran into Anise. She said Ion's disappeared. According to an eyewitness, the Dark Wings kidnapped him and took him out of the city. Those Dark Wings sure like to cause trouble! Anise tried to leave Baticul to find him, but Sync is keeping watch over the exit.
So now if we tried to leave Baticul, Sync would notice us and the Oracle Knights would know the ship's a decoy.
That left us without a way out, but then Guy suggested going to an abandoned factory in the old city. We might be able to get outside through it. He said there's an aircar that we can ride to the factory. Anise decided to come along to search for Ion, so the five of us headed for the aircar platform.
A/N: I ended up breaking Chapter 22 into multiple chapters, so here is its continuation! :D Part "three" AKA Chapter 24 will come up in a few days again. I'm just too excited to make ya'll wait long. =^-^=
~~Kat =^-^=