Chapter 30

"Ion, when was the last time you got to rest?" Anise asked when they emerged back into the daylight, or rather what was left of it. There was no way they'd make it to the oasis before nightfall, let alone the next stop. They'd barely have enough time for dinner before the sky was too dark to see.

"I could use a break," he admitted.

"We're staying right here, then." Though Anise didn't sound too excited about it.

Raine, however, loved the idea. "The ruins are an excellent place to camp, don't you think?" With civilization too far to reach before nightfall, the place where they had some shelter would be best.

"I can see why you would think so," Natalia replied, "but not everyone is comfortable sleeping in a place like this." Then she looked around and sighed. "But I suppose you're right. It wouldn't be any more comfortable sleeping on the sand again." It was a sign of Luke's own exhaustion that he didn't complain, not even a grunt.

So they camped outside the ruins that night. Knowing what she knew about Luke, though, Raine watched him very carefully. Maybe it wasn't exhaustion after all.

They had killed four people today and fought with three God-Generals who had to plea for their lives before the fight ended. Sure enough, Luke poked at his dinner with enough lassitude that told her tonight was going to be a rough night. Especially since Guy had made chicken, one of Luke's favorites. Come to think of it, he probably made chicken on purpose. They had gathered enough chicken from all of those rustlets after all.

When they chose their places to sleep, Raine intentionally chose the spot next to Luke. He didn't say anything, but she could see it in his eyes. Luke already carried the shadows of nightmares and they hadn't even fallen asleep yet. Further still, he didn't make a fuss at her laying her blanket down too close to his.

Raine sat up. "You know, I'm not very tired. I'll take first watch."

"Fine by me," Jade said while Anise cheered, "Yay! That means I don't have to." Oh, Raine thought, I suppose it was her turn.

"Are you sure that's wise?" Natalia asked.

Offended, Raine snapped, "And why wouldn't it be?"

"Now that I think about it… You might go back into the ruins and steal more stuff," Anise replied.

"Stealing?" Natalia asked horrified. "I thought you were just exploring, not taking things." Then her face steeled into anger. "You should return those artifacts at once!"

But Raine shrugged. "Who else is going to use them? They don't belong to anyone."

"Natalia," Tear said, "that's really not the point here."

"Yeah!" Anise pointed at Raine. "She's going to abandon us while we sleep."

Raine sat up straight and huffed, "I am more responsible than that. I would make sure you were safely sleeping in the inn before wandering off." Such as at Balacruf. And Asgard. And Martel's Temple. And if it wasn't for that damn ocean ride in a washtub, she would've done the same at Thoda Geyser. But while Natalia simply glared, her arms folded across her chest, Guy looked at Raine with curiosity. "What? I'm really not going to leave." Not right now anyway. She couldn't make any promises for the future.

"It's not that…."

"What is it, then? Bothered by giving the artifacts a better home?"

He shook his head. "Don't take this the wrong way, but…. You volunteered."

"It's not that strange to volunteer," She replied, but he let it go with a sigh and laid down. Anise, however, had more to say about that.

"Yeah, it kinda is…."

Was it really that strange? Huh… The more she thought about it, the more supposed it was. She waited until they asked her to help before she did, such as with cooking. That's the way it was with Lloyd's group, when it came to cooking and laundry. Genis had conditioned her so, volunteering himself or someone else to do whatever so that they didn't have to deal with Raine's way of getting it done, which meant poorly. Maybe she should do better with that. But when it came to taking care of her group, she excelled at healing and teaching, neither of which were much needed here.

They had Tear to heal them. Perhaps this was a good thing. She could support them now and then leave without worrying about them needing her help. In fact, if it wasn't for the humans suffering in Akzeriuth, she probably would leave the party for Sheridan at Chesedonia. It would be heartless not to ensure they were taken care of though. After all, Lloyd wouldn't abandon anyone in need. Raine didn't feel like she could either.

One by one, the others fell asleep until it looked like only Luke and Raine remained awake. He shivered and shook, obviously traumatized by the deaths from today. She scooted closer to him.

"I'm sorry for making you suffer, but I figured you didn't want them to know."

He nodded his head. Just as she thought. In a low voice, she sang her lullaby to him, but this time, part-way through he reached a hand to her like a child seeking assurance. That's right… His kidnapping was what? Seven years ago? If he really was a replica, then no wonder he exhibited so many childish characteristics. He's most likely a child. There were a lot of things that he just plain wouldn't know from lack of experience and teaching. And then seeing Asch must've truly alarmed him. Did he understand what it meant? Or what was going on?

After she finished singing, he began to nod off, but then she brushed his bangs aside to see how awake he was. He opened his eyes. Whelp… he's awake now.

"Can I ask you something?"

He blushed. "What?" He asked sharply. Apparently, he didn't like being woken up again. Not that she blamed him.

"What did you think when you saw Asch?"

He barely withheld a growl. "Why do you want to talk about him?" But then Luke went silent, hesitated, and sat up, having changed his mind. "Why did he have the same face as me? I don't understand." Should she tell him? After all, she was sure that's what happened, but she didn't know for absolute. Was it fair to make him believe something if she wasn't completely sure it was true? What if it turned out she was wrong? She'd give him an unnecessary existential crisis.

"I can only imagine how shook you feel," she said finally. "I'd be so confused to see someone who looked so similar to me and not know why."

"Yeah." Something was different about him. Raine recognized it immediately. She'd seen it in Genis far too many times not to know. He was vulnerable and scared, but for the moment, a sense of calm erased his defensiveness. Luke felt he could trust her, at least in this moment.

"Do you have any theories?" She asked.

Then his barriers returned. "How should I know what's going on?"

"Relax, I was just asking," Raine smiled at him. "I didn't expect you to know for sure."

"Then why bother asking?"

"I just wanted to know what you thought is all."

"Can you just shut up and leave me alone?" He curled back up on hard ground. Well, she supposed anger was better than fear. "Don't stop singing," he muttered, "until I fall asleep." Heh. Telling her to shut up and sing struck her as odd. But she complied, singing. After a while, she sang softly for her own benefit. Looking up at the stars, she missed Genis all over again.

Her night watch shift was mostly uneventful, but for the shadows slipping past from the Zao Ruins into the desert. Raine watched them, ready to alert if necessary, but true to their word, Asch, Largo, and Sync walked by without saying anything. Interesting that they'd show integrity. Somehow, she felt it came from Largo, with his hollering advice about teamwork to his enemies during a fight.

Asch glared at Luke as he passed and then shook his head as he followed the other God-Generals. Even with his silence, Raine knew he was still angry about something, and judging from the glare, perhaps his kidnapping wasn't his idea at all. Well, she supposed seeing the kid that was living your life for you would piss off anyone. Even so, Raine could still be wrong about that. But if she was… how could to the two look exactly the same?

Seriously, sand could just disappear. They'd traveled all day from the Zao Ruins towards Chesedonia and they still weren't there. The stupid sand fangs and rustlets they kept running into didn't help speed things up at all. So when they came across yet another flock of rustlets, Raine cast Fonic Ray and sent different threads to slash the wings of several at once.

Fonons were so much more efficient!

Everyone turned to look at her standing at the back after dropping all five by herself. They flapped and wriggled on the ground, so Jade finished them off with a stalagmite.

"What?" She asked. "We're in a hurry, aren't we? Let's just go." Maybe she should try using fonons even after she found Genis. Were fonons accessible there? It was weaker here, but there was a mana signature from the elements, after all. Perhaps now that she knew what fonons felt like, she could search for them in Sylvarant and maybe bring Sylvarant back from the effects of mana depletion. Hmm….

"She's such a freak," Anise whispered to Ion. "How did she go from useless to that?" Judging from his expression, even Ion wasn't sure what to think.

"It was pretty impressive watching the fight," he replied.

"Ah, it's such a relief to know we don't have to carry so much dead weight anymore, isn't it?" Jade quipped. Raine wanted to knock him in the back of the knee, but for now, she'd have to deal with him. Breaking his ability to walk would've only slowed them down further.

That and he was stronger than she was. He could whip her in a fight by using just his spear, never mind his fonic artes.

"Still," Tear said, "It's nice to know we have another seventh fonist. You'll come in handy when we get to Akzeriuth."

Raine smiled. "Didn't I tell you I could heal?"

"Yeah, but why should we believe that when you couldn't even use fonons at all?" Anise asked. True enough, Raine supposed.

"Well, it was no surprise to me," Natalia said pompously. "She's an elf, after all. Whoever heard of an elf that couldn't heal?" So, that was Natalia's idea on her race, huh? Elves, Raine knew, carried the same variety of aptitude towards magic as these humans did. Some were very strong in certain elements, and others could barely wield any element at all. They just had the blood that enabled to them use it without any kind of support, which again, Raine stared at Jade's back. Why was he able to use so many elements without elven blood? Whatever these people used, it was pretty effective... for some people.

"Whoever heard of an elf that's real?" Guy muttered.

"What was that, Guy?"

"Nothing! Nothing at all." He scratched the back of his head as Natalia turned her nose away, then he eyed Raine just in case she heard him. She played it off as if she hadn't and didn't react at all. Of course, he was right. This world had no elves. But it was sure interesting that Natalia didn't seem to think it was odd that Raine claimed to be one. She wondered why that was. Was Natalia just that gullible?

And why was Anise smirking?

They stopped to rest again. Now that they had Ion with them, they wouldn't be traveling at such a decent pace. Walking in the sand was difficult enough without having a weak constitution. Raine watched the others and noticed Guy circling the group, unable to rest with them. He would glance over at Luke and then Ion, throw a confused expression to Jade, cast another quick glance at Raine as he walked. Was he thinking about what Raine told him? She hadn't bothered to bring it up again, but she had noticed that Guy kept his distance lately, with a gaze directed anywhere else but close by.

After all that wanting to show his support, it seemed strange. Maybe he finally decided to back off? Something about that didn't sit well with her. After all, he'd shown a lot of curiosity about her. Now she found herself curious about him.

Raine got up, dusted off the sand, and walked up to him. "Care to follow?" She smiled at him and meandered away from the others, all of whom noticed. She didn't care though. They wouldn't know anything about the topic. Guy barely nodded and followed.

As they walked, Raine saw how automatic his movements were. Something was on his mind, and she found herself curious about it.

"So, back at the oasis, you ran into Gee." She checked his reaction. Nothing. Okay…. "Anyway, I got a little curious about this fighting style that you and Luke seem to share, but only you know about the particulars. He's not allowed to know what you know."

"What? Luke isn't…." Albeit confused, he did finally engage, though Raine had a suspicion Guy almost said something he didn't want to say.

Aha! Raine smiled. Something was there. Could it be related to his origins? "Well, I've noticed that while the techniques you both use aren't exactly the same, there are a few similarities. I know I'm not supposed to know much about it, but I am curious about what you're willing to share."

"I just learned a little bit from everyone around me is all." His eyes still wandered. He was only half paying attention. Something was definitely on his mind.

"Some of it from family when you were young."

"Of course, but nowadays I learn from watching Van."

Hm… Interesting. So Van taught both Luke and Guy? She supposed that would explain it, but still… why would Luke not be allowed to learn what Guy learned from Gee? She'd had a feeling for a while now that Guy wasn't who he claimed to be, but she didn't know enough about him to form a proper conjecture. Where Brigadier General Cecille was part of the military and not nobility, and Guy was very much related to her somehow, she surmised that Guy didn't belong in the Duke's household. That much she knew. But where did he come from?

She pulled McGovern's map out of her bag and unfolded it. There really weren't many options…. He hadn't been to the Meggiora Highlands, so Raine could safely rule out Sheridan, but then again, Guy was so young when he left home that it still could be a possibility. After all, who would let their small child wander the desert highlands? No, it seemed much more likely he came from a lower level of Baticul. But his interest in Class I and Class M could be an indication he was from one of those places. Or, that he went to the same school. That was likely in Baticul, wasn't it?

"How did you come to be working for Duke Fabre?" Raine asked suddenly.

"Hm? Oh, I had stuff I wanted to do, and… Ramdas said I could watch Luke. It seemed like a decent arrangement."

"Stuff you wanted to do?"

"I also learned from Miyagi, the guy we went to before—" He paused. "Oh, wait, you didn't go with us. There's a guy in Baticul you can learn sword skills from. What I didn't learn from Van and—erm family, I learned from Miyagi. But anyway, Miyagi…."

Hm? Well that wasn't much help. He completely glossed over her question and carried on talking. Must've been a pact invocation. Yes, he definitely felt he had to hide something about his origins. Raine felt a little excitement as she listened to him that had nothing to do with what he said. He certainly presented his own intriguing mystery. Was this feeling why he was so interested in talking with her all this time?

It took her a moment to realize that he quit talking. Not because she wasn't listening anymore but because he himself stared at the horizon again. He probably trailed off and didn't realize it. Hopefully….

"How long have you trained under Miyagi?" She asked. He might've said, actually. She'd quit listening and wasn't sure.

"It's been a while, but I don't stop by as much as I used to."

Raine puzzled over the map. "Did you study with him when you were little?"

"Nah, just when I—Wait…" Guy seemed to notice. "What are you doing?"

"You mean aside from perusing this map?" He apparently didn't like that answer and furrowed his brow. Best to be honest, she supposed. "I'm learning more about you."

"Hey." And then he laughed. "That's not fair. Why should I give you straight answers?" Okay, fine. But she laughed, too. He had a point. She, however, had a purpose for this conversation. Raine folded up her map and put it away before peeking over shoulder to see if anyone had followed. The others completely ignored them and rested where they'd decided to stop.

When she was satisfied about the inability for anyone to eavesdrop, she asked, "So… You seem a little distracted."

"Nah, I was just…" He scratched the back of his head.

"I can tell when you're about to make stuff up, you know that, right?"

Guy frowned. Apparently he hadn't realized that, but his nerves gave him away every time he scratched his head.

"This is far enough." She sat down in the sand and watched him. Ugh, sand wasn't comfortable to sit in. Not that it mattered half as much when they've already spent so much time with sand in their clothes. She really could use a bath. "You can invoke our pact if you want." He stood for a moment before deciding to circle her instead. He was definitely considering it, should he speak up or just keep it to himself?

"I got to thinking about it..." He stopped just long enough to stare back at the others. "What you said."

"What I said?"

"About Luke."

"Oh? So you do think Luke might be a replica." She was right! He had been mulling it over. But was that what he pondered on a minute ago? That didn't seem likely.

"Pretty confident, yeah..." He walked around her, she was a little surprised to see, at a closer range than usual. "When Luke first returned, he had no memories of anything. He couldn't speak or walk, and he didn't seem to recognize anyone. I brushed it off just like everyone else did, but even back then, I wondered."

"A part of you knew, I'm sure." Raine said. "The God-Generals just had that much interest in the research."

"Yeah, Dist and Sync were definitely involved. I'm not sure how many others. In fact, I think there's more than just Luke."

"Oh?"

Guy paused, staring at her with an expression she couldn't quite read. What was it? Was something wrong? Something about his expression sure made it feel that way, as if he half expected some kind of reaction out of her. She must be missing something. Finally, he sighed, continued walking, and said, "Ion and Sync are the same, too." From Raine's questioning look, he elaborated. "I saw Sync's face at Choral Castle. When I saw them again at Zao Ruins, I became sure."

Interesting. Sync was a replica of Ion, too? How many replicas were there? Just Luke and Sync that she knew of, but it began to sound like there could be more. "What reason is there to make replicas of humans?"

But Guy had other things on his mind. "Why do you keep calling us humans?"

"Is that not what you are?" Raine asked.

"Well... yeah, but—I mean, why do you think you're—" He caught himself before he could ask. Obviously frustrated, his pace picked up. But she knew. He wanted to finish with some variant of "not a human."

Seriously? You have to be kidding me. Elves don't exist! That's what he had told her back in Choral Castle. From his perspective, it made no sense to him for her to call herself an elf, and yet... she didn't want to lie about being a human. She'd never tried to pass herself off as a human before. The thought just felt too jarring, too weird. But telling him what she really was, how would he react? Was it safe? She turned away. No, she couldn't tell him the truth. He would either change his attitude about her or be just as confused about her being a half-elf as he was about her being an elf. Neither scenario would benefit anyone. She supposed she would just have to stick to her claim at being an elf. It was the most natural for her, after all.

But apparently he had his own theory. He stopped walking. He seemed to have made up his mind about something as he glanced at the others way over there. Then he sat down near her in the sand before saying in a low voice, "It's not just them, though, right?"

"Huh?" What did he mean by that?

"Don't get upset, please. I promise I won't hurt you." Oh, no… What had he figured out now? He continued, "You're a replica, too, right? Why would that mean you're not human? You think of Luke as a human, so why would you be different? Copying a human only creates another human."

Replica…? Is that what he thought?

…

Is that what was going on?! He interpreted her strangeness and ignorance as the same as Luke!

Actually, that made a lot of sense…. She could pretend to be a replica and that would explain so much about her. Oh, what a perfect disguise! Could that really work?

"I lost you again, didn't I?"

"Huh?" Raine had forgotten to respond. "I'm sorry, I… was just surprised that…," but Raine's voice faltered. Did she really want to lie to him about that?

"That I figured it out?" Guy nodded and stood up to continue walking. She would've been amused by the sand clinging to his clothes if she didn't feel so bad. "You have certain limitations that kind of suggested that. Lack of common knowledge, for example."

Like Luke. Was that how he decided she was a replica? Why else would he think that?

"And learning how to use fonons."

But Raine's heart sank a little. "Yeah, that too." She'd lied to him plenty of times already. Why did this suddenly feel wrong? "Um, Guy…."

"See, I just don't think it will matter that much. His Majesty wouldn't hurt you just because of that. I mean, he wouldn't hurt Luke…. Why would you think he would hurt you?"

The answer to that was obvious, and one she could answer honestly. "The Score."

"The Score? Seriously?" But she didn't answer. Instead, she turned away, so he asked, "Why are you worried about that?"

"Ignorance is fear, I suppose." After all, she didn't know enough about it and yet it was pervasive. That scared her. What if she said something wrong to a native and it meant immediate punishment or… or… death? Or… what if she wasn't in it? Did they have tolerance for that? Her very existence could create a ripple effect in a small way that led to something huge. Surely the Order understood that.

"Uh… I suppose so? Look, it honestly kind of sounds like you missed out on a good education, with fonons and geography, and…" He blushed as he said it. "Actually, I guess I can see why you'd ask."

Was it really safe to say? Would Guy have the leniency of ignoring her not existing in the Score? He did think she was a replica after all. She shook her head. "That's part of why I'm so concerned. Luke is lucky, he's mentioned in the Score." And for good measure, she added, "I'm… I've never had it read, so I don't know if I am."

"Aha! I knew there was a reason you couldn't trust His Majesty." He seemed really proud of himself. It would be cute if this topic wasn't so serious. "You're right, he does follow the Score closely, we all do, but I doubt that includes killing people because they're not in the Score."

How could he be so sure? "What if the Score says someone was supposed to die?"

A dark shadow flicked across his face. Even his voice darkened with his response. "I suppose it depends on what that person did wrong." Raine watched his eyes mold into anger. Whoa, something happened. Was he wronged personally? Or was it related to his moving away from home? Either way, he didn't truly believe what he said and that unsettled her even more. "Then again, they don't read death scores to the general public."

"How does the Score work exactly?"

"It's pretty straightforward," he replied. She watched the dark gradually dissipate as his normal self emerged again. "In essence, it's the planet's memory. The Scorers read the Score and tell us what we're supposed to do. If we follow the Score, we'll receive the promised prosperity."

Uh oh. She didn't like the sound of that. Promised prosperity sounded similar to what the Church of Martel offered, too, and all of that was a lie hidden by a ruling organization. What would the Order of Lorelei do if things weren't going the way they said it should? "Where does it come from?"

"Man, you read all the time. None of this came up in your studies?"

Raine glared at him. Of course not! But she couldn't tell him that she was still learning to read. The words contained foreign spellings and sounds and were barely phonetic. Learning was very slow without someone to help her. Even so, she wasn't currently reading about the Score. Elder McGovern had given her books on Malkuth, at least as far as she could tell. "Never mind." And she stood up, dusted the sand off of her, and marched back towards the others, though through sand, the slogging was slow with a lot of effort.

"Wait," Guy reached out to her. She stopped and turned around. "The memory particles can be read by anyone who uses the Seventh Fonon. Our current Score was read by Yulia Jue and written onto seven fonstones," he continued hurriedly as he moved to catch up with equal difficulty. Wait, seven? Didn't the king ask Tear to read the sixth? How many years were contained on one stone? "It's said that hers is the most accurate Score, so hers is the one we follow, hence Yulia's Score." Huh… well, that much made sense.

"How detailed are they?" She sort of remembered the reading Tear did back in Baticul, but not clearly enough. Raine was busy making sense of what was going on and trying not to freak out at the time. There was a lot of that Score that she had missed.

"That depends, I guess. Sometimes they're vague, pointing to something happening later that year and other times they're specific enough to tell you what you want to wear that day. I imagine major events, like this trip to Akzeriuth, can give a lot of details."

Oh, no…. That's pretty specific for someone traveling with the "Chosen Youth". "So… would Mohs know who is coming on this mission?"

He gave her a weird expression and began pacing again. "You don't think Mohs would have a problem with you coming with us, do you?"

"I don't think I had much choice," Raine replied, "But he did seem relieved when I said I would go to Belkend. I don't know the consequences of changing my mind… or of not being in the Score."

"Nah, I'm sure you're in the Score. I mean, Luke is."

Raine scoffed and gave him a disapproving look. "You need a better argument than that."

"How about this then?" Guy waved a hand at her. "The Score is literally the planet's memory. So what's happening is all written in the Score, including you. You're here, ergo you're in the Score." Hm… that could be one way to look at it, but…. "And besides, if you weren't, His Majesty and the Grand Maestro might've indicated a problem with you showing up the morning they sent us on this journey in the first place. If you weren't written in the Score to show up, and yet you did, I imagine they would've—" He cut himself off, but Raine knew what he meant.

Removed the aberration, might be one way to put it.

"Actually," realized what he said, he rushed his speech to make up for it, "I'm not sure what they'd do about it, but they didn't do anything." Guy turned his head to look elsewhere. Raine's senses detected a lie. Either that or he wasn't sure he was right. "So why would it be a problem now?" She nodded, but she still felt uneasy. If the Score truly was the planet's memory, then the fact that she was here could mean she was in the Score, too. Unless the planet didn't remember her. How likely was that, for an alien?

"And besides," Guy continued as if something just occurred to him, "if someone in the Score created a replica, why wouldn't the replica be in the Score, too?"

True, it remembered Luke and by extension, it surely remembered Asch. Otherwise, how would Asch be in the Oracle Knights? But that logic only supported replicas being in the Score…. And she couldn't tell him the truth. "Yes, I suppose you're right," she said without conviction. "I'm probably in the Score." After all, there was the way Mohs looked at her the day he returned to the castle. If it wasn't because she was an anomaly, then what was it?

"I don't think you have anything to worry about," he continued. No, this felt wrong, but she couldn't let him know the truth. "I bet you are."

"What if I'm not?" She found herself clinging to his answer, eager for some comfort there.

He shrugged. "I mean, you're still human."

Human? She nodded weakly. Sure. A human anomaly in the Score could be tolerated, she supposed.

"Er! Elf, I mean. Sorry."

"It's okay." But what if she wasn't? What if aliens were another thing entirely?

"Eh?!" The surprise on his face was proof enough. This sudden change startled him into confusion. He seemed disappointed, frowning as he stared at his hands. "But…?" Never mind. She let him stew in his confusion as she worked on her own discomfort. The natives following the Score might have a problem with an alien that doesn't appear in the Score, but it was also true that they didn't do anything the morning they sent Luke on this mission. They had a chance to quietly kill her…. Instead, they sent a maid to summon her. If she truly wasn't supposed to be there, why would the king summon her to an important meeting? Why wouldn't they arrest her instead? And why would they ask her to go with Luke and his party saying she would be an asset?

"You're right." She wore as authentic a smile as she could muster. Mohs and King Ingobert hadn't done anything to her, that was true. Perhaps she'd cling to that thought. "Anyway," she began, fishing for a new topic, "I'm still trying to figure out their motives for replicating Luke."

Guy hesitated to join in discussing that, but after a few more steps in the sand, he said finally, "I don't get it either, why replicate people at all?"

"There's some agenda going on," Raine said. "I can't decide if Jade is a part of it, but he definitely knows more than he's letting on."

"What, Jade? Nah, he doesn't know anything, does he?"

"He recognized the machine back at Choral Castle, and he claims he doesn't know anything about Luke's kidnapping seven years ago. He's close to the emperor, how could he not know about the kidnapping if he knows what that machine is?"

Guy stopped in mid-step and set his foot down, as he once more looked back to the others resting. He seemed surprised by the news. "That's why…." Why what? Raine wondered. He shook his head. "No, I think Jade was genuinely surprised, even if he did know what it was. I mean, that's where Luke was found. If he was involved, he wouldn't be so surprised to see it there, would he? He would've known it was there."

Raine thought about it. Maybe he was right. "Either way, I think he knows something about replicating humans. I've wanted to ask him about it, but I'm—"

She didn't finish her thought, but Guy caught on anyway. "Too afraid he'll hurt you?" She lowered her chin and muttered a small affirmative. "I don't think you'll have to worry about that. Jade doesn't seem the type to let stuff get into his head like that."

"But I'm—"

Atypically for Guy, he cut her off. "Letting fear intervene." Startled, she glanced from Guy to Jade who sat watching them. Luke already stood up, pacing just like Guy had been. Even from this distance, Raine could tell he was losing patience with this break. "Have you seriously seen anything in him that says he'll kill you for asking a question?"

"No, of course not." In fact, he came to her for questions and allowed her to ask her own. She started back towards them. Guy cut his pacing and followed her. "But this kind of question might put me in danger with him. There are no consequences if he tried to kill me."

"That's nonsense. If Luke has any say in what happens, Jade would be as successful in killing you as he was with Arietta. And as far as I know, you'd give him less of a reason than betrayal."

Huh. He was right. Jade wasn't even serious about killing Arietta because he knew Luke would object to it. And he pretended to try twice. Would it matter if the topic was fomicry? Perhaps she could test this theory.

Ozette was on top of a big old tree. From what Sheena could tell them, people who didn't like the busy life of the cities and academies went there to live quietly and without any care for what happened outside of the forest. It reminded Genis of how much Iselia was isolated from the rest of Sylvarant; perfect to protect a Chosen for sixteen years if the Human Ranch wasn't right beside it. The hike was tough, though not as much as when they first visited Hima. Guess all the running from the Desians, Papal Knights, and angels paid off.

When they arrived at the entrance and came into view of some of the villagers, Genis immediately sensed the hostility. The second they laid eyes on him, they glared, not that he wasn't used to that. Presea left them without a word. Genis called for everyone to follow. As they did, more stares fell onto them. Whispers started to fly around but Genis paid no attention, he just ran trying to not lose sight of Presea. He followed her down another giant trunk.

A house stood at the bottom of the tree, looking like it had seen better days. The wood was old and falling apart, vines were growing around it, the windows' glass was broken and scattered everywhere. There was no way anyone was living there. Yet Presea approached it calmly. In the porch, a man with purple hair stood in wait, a grin in his face.

Genis recognized him. The weird man from Meltokio. What was he doing here?

That's when a familiar feeling hit him. He's a half-elf! But it can't be, I didn't feel anything in Meltokio. Had he been too tense back then to pay attention? Or maybe the man had a way to hide it. His pristine robes and golden accessories showed status, so having the means wouldn't be impossible.

Both Presea and the man turned to the party.

"Presea! We have to make a Key Crest for you!" Genis said.

Presea shook her head. "My job awaits. Goodbye," and entered the house without looking back.

Inside Presea's house was just as unkempt as the area outside. Furniture strewn around and broken, giant cobwebs in the corners, more glass on the floor, everything covered with dust. The only thing that showed use were the tools Presea had gathered in the table. The party walked further to the back where there was a room with beds. One of them had a lump covered by sheets that looked like they hadn't been washed in years.

An awful smell filled the house, expected due to lack of cleaning, but it was more noticeable in that room. He noticed Lloyd step back when he entered the room. Then, Genis covered his mouth and gagged.

"That smell," Lloyd gasped.

The party saw Presea running from the occupied bed to a cabinet that had lots of small items, mostly bottles, on the top. Sheena approached the cabinet but refrained from touching anything because Presea's eyes were on her.

"Medicines. They're empty though," Sheena turned to the bed.

Dread filled Genis. The lump wasn't moving at all, not even a hint of breathing. Didn't Presea notice? He approached the bed. Inside it…

Genis screamed.

Someone dragged him away as fast as they could. He hadn't noticed falling on the floor. How could he? The sight was too ghastly. Genis was bewildered he didn't faint there. Still, his terror hadn't done anything to alert Presea; she just kept watching the cabinet. Everyone's looks ranged from disgust to pity.

Genis clutched his fists. Cruxis is unforgivable. He really wanted to run outside to escape the smell and that view, yet his worry for Presea kept him rooted to the spot.

In the middle of all the horror, Genis didn't notice who dragged him away. He turned and saw Colette, whose hands were hovering over his shoulders. When he looked closer, her arms were trembling, and her eyes were holding back tears. How has Colette been feeling this whole time? She was indirectly the closest to this situation, having been a victim too, and Genis couldn't imagine the powerlessness that filled her after seeing this. He nudged at her, but Colette didn't notice as she was lost in her thoughts.

"How could this happen?" Sheena said.

"It's probably the exsphere…." Zelos replied while covering his nose. The smell was starting to become unbearable for everyone. "And there's a chance she has no idea what happened here."

Regal approached the cabinet. "Presea, are you not coming with us?"

"I must do my job," Presea turned and answered automatically.

Regal's shoulders slumped and let out a short breath. "We should leave her here," he said dryly.

Genis frowned. How could this guy start making decisions for them when he had barely joined? Unlike everyone else, Genis still wasn't cozy with having a former enemy—Sheena would always be an exception to him after everything they went through—join like nothing happened.

And he wasn't the only one, apparently. Colette and Lloyd looked at Regal in shock. Genis got up from the floor and glared.

"Are you serious? Here?!" Lloyd yelled.

"There's no way we're doing that!" Genis joined.

"Regal, we can't do that," Colette finished.

The three had their own reasons to speak up. Genis's was he couldn't leave Presea alone in such a place. When had he become so stubborn? That was Lloyd's job.

"What if something happens to her?!"

"We can't take her against her will," Regal said calmly.

"Leaving her alone would be much worse. You saw how people looked at her when we entered this place."

"I doubt anyone will try anything if they've seen her use that axe."

"But what about that guy who just left?" Lloyd raised his concern. "He could have someone come and take Presea prisoner while we're gone."

"He could be with the Church of Martel, too," Colette said. "Presea is strong but she's vulnerable to orders from them."

"Guys," Sheena interrupted. Everyone turned to her. "I get it, I'm worried too, but… it would be faster if we go to Altessa's place and get the Key Crest repaired."

"Sheena!" Genis yelled. "Are you really going to listen to him?"

"Genis, it's not—"

"It's not that, brat," Zelos spoke for Sheena. Genis directed his glare at him. "Remember what Kate said, she's just like sweet Colette was. Unlike her, though, we don't know how much longer Presea can afford to stay that way. It's better we leave right now."

Lloyd grimaced. "Yeah, but…"

"The church has a need for her. They won't harm her," Regal added.

Genis's frown grew deeper. He didn't like Regal. The interest he showed about Presea's wellbeing didn't help either. Genis wanted to help her too.

If Raine was here, she would probably declare this whole argument pointless when they all wanted the same thing and call Genis out for being so petty.

"I know but maybe it's better she comes with us," Colette said.

His sister wasn't here though.

"Colette is right! We can't leave her anyway!" Genis argued.

"It'll be much faster to take her to Altessa's house rather than—" Lloyd started but got interrupted.

"Okay, that's it!" Sheena raised her voice, her eyebrows and eyes in a scowl. Genis got startled; Sheena rarely directed anger at anyone that wasn't Zelos. "Did you guys forget in what state Presea is? If we try to move her now, she will retaliate."

"But—" Lloyd, Genis and Colette spoke at the same time, yet both got shut down immediately by Sheena.

"No. Yuan told us that day what will happen. If we do anything she considers a danger to herself, she'll attack. Are you prepared to fight Presea head-on if that happens?"

Genis's face paled. He was pretty sure Lloyd and Colette had similar reactions.

"Wait, you mean like when Colette almost sent me flying down the stairs in Meltokio?" Zelos's eyes widened in slight terror. "No way, I don't want my beautiful face to get hurt!"

"Shut up, idiot Chosen!" Sheena breathed deeply. "The point is you guys need to calm down. I know you want to help but fighting like this is not the way to get what you want."

"Sheena, that's not it…" Lloyd spoke weakly.

"Stop it. Regal is right. We're leaving Presea here because I refuse to put any of you in danger over misguided feelings."

Colette grimaced. "It's just… I feel so sorry for her. This is unfair."

Sheena sighed, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Colette, this isn't your fault."

Colette nodded with a smile, though her downturned eyes said a different story, and left the house. Lloyd went after her.

The tension got cut after that. Genis's nose was irritated and his head throbbing. He understood Sheena's feelings but… Genis didn't know when to stop sometimes. There was a last thing he could try, even though it made him sick to his stomach to do it.

"That man we met is a half-elf."

Revealing the man's secret without asking was wrong, Genis would have never dreamed of exposing another fellow half-elf like this. He still had to try though, Presea wasn't safe here no matter what everyone else said.

Despite those feelings, something about the man rubbed Genis the wrong way and it was best to let the rest know anyway. With the significant influence Cruxis had in both worlds, he couldn't cross out the possibility the man had ties with them.

Sheena didn't look taken aback by this information like the others. "That could explain some things. He smelled of blood. If he's got some ulterior motive with Presea, we should hurry."

Nothing, huh? Guess I won't convince them.

This wasn't right. A rift was starting to appear in the party, and Genis didn't understand why. Even with all the disagreements they've had in Sylvarant, it never felt this hollow. Not even Sheena joining them after Raine healed her in Luin per Colette's pleas or their discovery of the exspheres' creation had made any of them fight like this.

At least with Raine and Kratos there had been a strange sense of union between all five of them. Here, without his sister or the mercenary—Genis should drill in his head that Kratos almost killed them and no amount of help after the fact would change that—that union was still missing. Worst of all, Sheena was forced to assume a role that clearly wasn't for her. If at least Raine was here, Genis was sure she would keep them all, especially the kids, in line and none of this would have happened.

Zelos sighed and also left, his nose red from pinching it close due to the smell. Sheena looked between Genis and Regal, something clearly bothering her, but shook her head.

"Let's go," Sheena turned and left.

Genis checked on Presea. Even through all the arguing, she never moved from her place in front of the cabinet nor stared. Her mind was somewhere else, the presence of the party that had brought her back home became unnecessary to recognize. Genis started to wonder if their helping Presea was the right choice. When she was freed from the prison her heart was in, how would she react? If Zelos's assumption was right… I still want to help Presea. They all wanted to, then why couldn't they agree on what was the obvious choice?

Genis swore he would make up to her for all the trouble she went through for them, that hadn't changed. So, when Presea was able to feel and speak with emotion, when she saw what became of her house and village, he would make sure to be there for her, not as a protector, but as a friend.

"Genis."

Regal was about to leave but called for him. Genis didn't reply, instead approached Presea. "We'll be back soon, don't worry." He then turned towards the exit, never giving Regal a look.

"About what happened—"

"Who went and put you in charge?"

Genis ran outside.

A/N: Hello, My Peeps!

I LOVE this chapter, especially Raven's heated argument among the party. OMG, I can only hope ya'll enjoyed as much as I do. I was hemming and hawing over a couple of lines and whether I wanted to keep them or not, but then I decided to keep them. They add flavor. :) Such as Natalia freaking out over Raine stealing things. '' By now I think the whole party is hoping Raine doesn't come to visit them in their homes. I would probably go to a neighbor's house instead. "And this is where I sleep *cough*when an earthquake smashes my home into theirs*cough cough*"

Thank you for reading and kudosing and commenting and overall being amazing! I hope your week goes well and that you all stay well. :D Oh, and don't worry... we'll be out of the desert soon. Next chapter, I think? * checks * Yeah, the next chapter is the last desert one. Phew!

EDIT: Okay... something was off about the formatting. I got it all fixed up!

~~Kat =^-^=