Chapter 37

Raine had been afraid of dying several times on this trip already, but something about this place made the threat seem far more imminent.

And real.

Every fiber inside of her shivered with tightening knots of anxiety; even her fingers shook against the Tartarus's rail. Raine thought she was afraid of the ocean, but staring through the mud gave her a different sort of fear. No one and nothing was coming back from that. Even so, it was scarier to look up, with lightning flashing through the miasma threatening to storm and a pillar of light glaring from the distance. Without knowing what it was or what it was for, Raine could only guess whether seeing it was a good thing or a bad thing.

Yet even with every nerve trembling and every thought screaming about the danger she was still in, Raine couldn't help but wonder at the flagrant nature of what happened and what she saw now. All of this existed beneath their feet? How was this possible? How could there be so much space between the mud and the ground where they stood before? What was holding up the land if they could fall here? How did the land not fall before?! And most importantly… why did it fall now?

Now they all waited on a dead landship while Jade went to see what he could do to get it running again, but Raine couldn't face them all, not yet. Perhaps that was why it was preferable to stare at the mud beneath them, exposing her back to the others. No, it was more than that….

She couldn't do enough to rid her face of tears, no matter how she tried to wipe them all away. Thanks to the Tartarus, they survived. Unlike those who fell with them….

And John.

John had just sunk into the mud. What a horrible death for a child… for anyone. She cared for everyone who lost their lives, but there was something about meeting John first that made watching him die hurt that much more. He was so young, too. His excitement at being able to play with daddy replayed in her mind as did the echoes of him crying out for his parents, the fear and hurt in his voice made her heart break. And there was nothing she could do. For once, not only was she powerless, she was also too late. This wasn't like all of those times when she could still save people from disaster, like those at the human ranches at Asgard and Palmacosta. Like she had saved Genis on countless occasions from those who would hurt him.

Genis….

Was he still okay? If something happened to him, she'd never know it, especially if she never left this planet. A possibility that seemed inevitable now. He was probably looking everywhere for her, too, and even if he managed to come here, he wouldn't even know to look beneath the ground for her. No one she had met ever mentioned it. How many people knew about this place?

Not many, she suspected. After all, how many could've come down here and survived? Only Class M worked on flying machines as far as she knew and those weren't even finished yet. Who could possibly know they survived the fall? Judging from the miasma and the lack of land, no one lived here. Which meant… only this small group standing on deck and Jade who had gone inside could be the only people here, the only ones able to stare out at the empty nothingness surrounding them.

So what did that mean for their survival? There was nothing in sight and nowhere safe to go.

Raine sniffed. The tears just wouldn't stop. How was she ever going to retrieve the Rheaird now? Finding Genis never felt so far away, even considering they were on two different planets.

How could she ever see him again?

Was there even a way to return to the surface? Was there a way to survive? She knew how to live just about anywhere, but mostly because of her experience watching nature. In a place like this, her skills would be useless. So what would they do? What if Jade couldn't get the landship working? What would they do if he did? It looked like there was nowhere to go. Did they have any supplies? It was the Tartarus, after all. By the sheer size of it and what she knew about it, it was a landship built for war, complete with living quarters. She supposed supplies should be the first thing to check for.

That's right.

She needed to do what she could and mourning the loss of John wouldn't help her find her way back to Genis. There was nothing she could do for John now, but Genis was probably still alive. He needed her. He needed her to be strong. He needed her to return. He needed her to take action.

No matter how feeble her hope was, she had to keep going.

With one last swipe of the sleeve to dry her face, Raine turned around to face the others on deck. Just as she had been, the others remained absorbed in their own disheartened thoughts. Natalia stared up at the clouded sky and lightning, her expression betraying just how scared she was to see it. Luke sat huddled on the deck, shaken by all the dead bodies of soldiers that remained there. He hid his face to avoid looking at them. Anise had pulled Tokunaga from her back and hugged the doll as she sat next to Ion who didn't take his eyes off of Tear. Briefly, Raine wondered why.

Tear had said some weird things to Van, now that Raine thought about it. Something about preserving the Outer Lands? What did that mean? And why did Tear's demeanor, and even Ion's, both seem odd in comparison to everyone else's? Tear glanced around at everyone else bearing the same concern, though Raine suspected it was borrowed from them, judging by how calm she looked. Was that the soldier in her? It could've been. Kratos was a mercenary and had difficult stoicism to pierce when things got tough. Maybe Tear had the same training. Raine wondered if inside, Tear felt it as much as anyone else. Ion, though, Raine had no explanation.

Why didn't Ion look more panicked? Did he have the same kind of training?

Then she saw Mieu cowering next to Luke. The cheagle looked the most worried, glancing at everyone else in turn with childlike innocence and confusion. When Mieu saw Raine, she waved him over, and he ran over as fast as he could instead of using the Sorcerer's Ring. He must've had too much fear to float. She bent and reached a hand out to pull him close.

The little cheagle shivered against her chest. Through his own body shivering, he probably didn't notice that she felt the same way. At least she hoped he didn't.

"Don't worry, Mieu," Raine said with more conviction than she felt. "We'll be fine." She glanced up.

And of course, Guy leaned next to the door of the Tartarus where Jade would eventually emerge with either good news or bad. Guy surveyed the deck almost like a sentinel keeping watch, but Raine could tell he was just as disturbed as everyone else by what happened. It was something in the way he held his posture, somewhere between tense and relaxed as if he forced himself to remain composed for everyone else's benefit.

She suspected that as much as the curse slot bothered him before, it was nothing to what he felt now. Just like her, he did his best to hide his true feelings; he looked right through them all, lost in his own plight. He had forgotten to make his rounds in comforting them as he had done before.

Raine tightened her hug on Mieu.

Then the Tartarus rumbled in an earthquake, thrusting Raine back to the memory of the land falling out beneath her feet. Clinging to Mieu was her only solace until she realized this vibration wasn't as severe as the one at Akzeriuth. And she still stood where she was on deck. The land wasn't falling and neither was she. That and seeing Guy light up with excitement, she knew this was a good thing.

Though it did take her brain a moment to register it.

The Tartarus was working! The door on the Tartarus opened and Jade emerged. It was like the whole party suddenly came to life with everyone turning and converging in front of him. He no longer cradled an injured arm; Raine had taken care of everyone's injuries with the unicorn horn before he'd gone inside. "It looks like it will still run. But unless we get it repaired, sooner or later it'll break down."

"Break down?" Anise asked. "How are we supposed to survive out here?"

"Don't worry," Tear said. "If we head west, we'll arrive at a place called Yulia City. If we could just get there, I think we'll be okay." Yulia City? Raine wondered. So there were people down here? How did they manage to survive? And how did Tear know this? Though it did explain why she seemed less panicked than everyone else if she knew about options. But what about Ion? Raine suspected neither of them probably would've panicked unless Jade had come back to say he couldn't get the Tartarus going.

"Will the Tartarus make it?" Raine asked Jade. He shrugged.

"We can hope. It really depends on the distance to Yulia City and the resiliency of the Tartarus." Well, Raine thought, it survived the fall… Perhaps it would survive this, too. "I'll set the autopilot and get it going then."

"But what will do in the meantime?" Natalia asked before Jade could turn and go back inside. She'd had enough of staring into the sky. Not that Raine blamed her.

"We could explore the Tartarus," Guy suggested with obvious hope for permission. Was this his first time on the Tartarus, too? Raine wondered. "It's better to know if there's anything we should be aware of."

"Aware of? Like what?"

"You just want to see it!" Luke snapped. Guy blushed. It was true, apparently. Raine did catch that curious edge in his eyes. Well, she could help with that….

"I was actually thinking we should see if the Tartarus has any food stores." It had been a while since anyone had eaten anything, and she could tell now that the stress of what happened died down a little. Her own stomach rumbled from being empty far too long. If anything could bring some hope and spirits, it was food, as reflected on nearly everyone's faces.

"Yeah, I'm starving!" Anise spoke for everyone.

"It would be helpful if we can find food," Tear agreed.

"I'll catch up to you," Jade said. "Be careful in the cafeteria."

"Careful? What's there to be careful about?" Anise ran ahead, but Raine hesitated. Yes, it was her idea to find food, but now that Jade mentioned it….

Anise led the way to the cafeteria, having engraved the layout of the Tartarus into her memory. She stopped next to the door and presented it with a high "ta-da! Here is where we can find food!"

Or what's left of it. Raine thought.

As soon as Guy opened the door to the cafeteria, he took a step back. The Tartarus had been shaken like a can, and this room definitely looked like it. Cabinet doors were opened and dishes shattered, pans and pots lay scattered all over. While the spoons and spatulas looked simply tossed, some forks and knives stood up as if someone had been throwing them at specific targets while failed attempts rested on the floor. Even some of the food, bruised from the fall, had a sour smell to it, but that was probably from it looking more like a brutal slaughter than the buffet the former occupants had no doubt been used to. Raine's eyes rolled up to check on the ceiling and sure enough, the splattered stains from everything colliding dripped onto the floor.

"Man… what do the sleeping quarters look like?"

"This probably," Raine said. "Now move from the doorway before I decide to shove you clear of it myself." He jumped back. Even so, she didn't wait to enter, nearly shoving him aside as she brushed past.

Raine sifted through the remains of fruit, vegetables, pans, and ceramic fragments looking for anything that was still edible, even if it was mushrooms. She found tomato skins flattened with the pulp and seeds spread out around it and a bruised banana spilling out of its peel. Hmm… Raine had eaten much worse before. She picked up the banana, peeled the rest of it, and ate it, mushy bruises and all. After all, it didn't look like anything dangerous had pierced its skin.

"Be aware of anything that's touched raw meat," Tear said. "I don't know if we can cook in here, and we don't want to risk getting sick either."

Luke stood in the doorway looking disgusted. "There's no point! What is there to eat in there?" Raine sighed. Luke had apparently never starved a day in his life. If only she and Genis had that kind of luxury. She scooped up a head of cabbage and peeled back the outer leaves. The core should be okay since the head was mostly intact.

"How did anything survive that fall?" Guy wondered aloud. He, too, seemed to struggle finding anything edible and finally started picking up anything he decided was at least partially unbruised.

"Oh! This bread is still good!" Anise cried, holding it up like a prize. It was covered like everything else in the remnants of slaughtered food, and had a daikon radish skewered through it, but Raine agreed. It certainly looked more edible than the squashed tomatoes did.

"Here," Natalia picked up a few pans and a massive wok. "We can use these for the food we do find since the plates are… well…."

"In fragments?" Anise finished for her.

With all they could find to eat and save for later, they formed a rough oval in the hallway, using frying pans with broken off handles as plates and the wok in the center for storing their find. At least they didn't have to starve. For now.

Raine thanked Martel for this bizarre meal that only Luke seemed ungrateful for. He leaned against the opposite wall on the other end of the group from her and picked apart food with his fingers looking for the least offensive bite. Mieu snapped up Luke's rejected pieces like this was his last meal; it didn't matter what was set in front of him as long as it wasn't ceramic shards. Natalia sat next to Luke in the middle of the hallway and put as much propriety as she could into it, opting to use one of the forks she found and cleaned with the cleanest cloth she could find. Judging from its shape and color, it probably came from her own clothes. Like Raine, Tear, and Guy didn't seem to care and didn't bother with utensils. With his back to the wall next to Luke, Guy was a little closer to the wok. Anise sat across from Natalia with Ion beside her, though only he could lean against the wall to rest. They were both just happy to have something but even they tried to eat like this was normal.

Jade had filled some canteens with water from the storage tank and brought them back to the makeshift hallway dinner table. He passed them around before settling on the other side of the cafeteria door and next to Tear, where he reached for a dented pan and whatever was closest to him in the main wok. Raine took a drink and marveled at how clean the water still was. "The water isn't contaminated?"

He shook his head. "No. They designed the Tartarus to withstand certain degrees of damage. It also helps that the water tank is fairly low."

"Yeah, it wouldn't bode well for those on board for water to get into the circuits," Guy added.

Ah. She could see why that would be a priority and applauded their foresight. With this, they should be fine for a while. "Even if the water's low, I assume there's enough for us."

Jade nodded. "The Tartarus was built for six hundred people. For just us, we have enough to reach Yulia City no matter how far away it is." Inside, Raine breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the Tartarus held up, anyway. No, don't think like that. Breaching the surface of the world was another matter entirely, but she'd worry about that more when they reached Yulia City. For now, she wanted to lap at every moment of hope she could dig up.

"You must be feeling a lot better," Guy said. Raine paused with her leaf of cabbage almost touching her lips. Oh, he's back to that is he? Well that was a good sign. He's feeling better himself.

And no, she wasn't, but she wouldn't correct him on that. Until she saw the path of returning to Genis again, she wouldn't feel better, so she finished chewing the leaf first. "As long as the Tartarus is moving, I'm fine," Raine replied after swallowing. "I'd rather not despair in the face of the hope we do have." Yulia City was down here, meaning people lived here, and that meant maybe they would be okay after all. But Raine thought it was curious that Tear seemed to know about this place. She formed her own conjecture, and she felt optimistic of its implications, but she didn't want to truly throw her belief behind it until she had more information.

"Yeah… it certainly seems like nothing should be down here. Even the remains are already gone." Guy turned to Tear who seemed to be the only one who understood the situation and where they were. "…Are we really underground?"

Tear set down her own fork and nodded. She didn't bother with another bite, instead taking a drink from the canteen, likely sensing an incoming interrogation. Sure enough, Jade turned to her.

"I think it's time you explained yourself."

"You lived here once," Raine suggested. When Tear spoke to Van at the Sephiroth, she mentioned Outer Lands. Raine had no idea before, but now she figured it could mean the world above this place. Maybe she could learn more.

"Yes," Tear said. "There are people who live down here. We call this place the Qliphoth."

"Qliphoth?" Anise asked. Everyone stopped eating, even Luke. Except, Raine realized, Ion. Apparently, Ion knew about this as well. He was the only one who didn't seem surprised by this news and he certainly didn't seem as panicked before either. How did he know? Raine wondered. Was it his rank?

"Down here," Tear continued, "the place you live in is known as the Outer Lands, the world's outer shell."

Ion swallowed and added, "The Outer Lands is a floating land supported by pillars called 'Sephiroth Trees' that extend from the Qliphoth." Then that pillar was a good thing. Raine's stomach clenched. Did the mean…?

"I… don't understand," Natalia said, so Ion clarified for her. Raine listened closely.

"The Outer Lands used to be here in the Qliphoth. Two thousand years ago, the miasma enveloped Auldrant and infected the land." Auldrant? Where was that? She really wasn't sure. Raine fished in her bag for her map as she listened. "Its source was unknown. That is when Yulia read the seven-part Score and proposed a plan that was based on what she read, finding a way to escape the destruction and bring prosperity: They were to raise the planet's crust using the Sephiroth."

Raise the planet's crust? She found her map but didn't pull it out of her bag. Instead, Raine reached for a bruised apple from the wok. Auldrant had to be the planet's name. She didn't remember seeing that name on the map and she'd never heard that name before. It would make sense.

"And that was the beginning of the Outer Lands," Guy said. "Huh... that's quite a story." He picked up a slice of bread for a makeshift sandwich. Raine had no idea what he put in the middle of it, but it looked pureed whatever it was, almost like he had scraped it off the floor or the ceiling, which of course he didn't, right? Curious, Raine watched him.

"The world we live in is suspended in the air?" Natalia asked as she paused from raising her fork so she could look up at the ceiling. Not that there was anything to see but metal. "Unbelievable…"

"Wait a moment," Raine said. It was a gamble, but one she could make for a final answer without raising too much suspicion. "They raised the entirety of Auldrant's crust to escape the miasma?"

"Yes," Ion replied. "All except the plot of land where Yulia City remains." Auldrant really was the name of this world! But was something like that really possible? It must be, she supposed, based off what she saw outside. The land certainly hung in the air around them and they fell some distance by the looks of it. Technology here really was incredible. Then again, the Renegades built the Rheairds out of need and it sounded like the ancient people of Auldrant did the same. Perhaps technology was simply based on the requirements the people had at the time.

"But why was Yulia City the only place left behind?" Raine asked.

Ion shook his head. "I don't know why. Only maestros and above in the Order know about Yulia City and the nature of the Float Project. As do those born in the Qliphoth." Raine clenched the apple in her fist, turning its bruises to mush. Of course! More secrets of the elite. Would this ever end? How many more surprises did this stupid planet have?! Between that and fomicry, the Score, everything changing—augh, she just wanted to scream. But she didn't. She took her frustration out on a bite of the apple instead, not that the lack of crunch really helped.

"Then, you're from the Qliphoth, Tear...?" Anise asked, finally getting over her own shock. She fished in the main wok for her next bite and pulled out a broken carrot. She eyed it with suspicion and then peeled it with a questionable knife. It peeled easily enough.

"At any rate," Ion said when Tear didn't respond, "we've fallen down here. We were saved, thanks to Tear's fonic hymn." That's right, Tear called them to her and she began to sing. Everything after Raine's stomach bottoming out was a blur, and with so much happening that seemed beyond reason, there was just too much to process.

With everyone in power hiding so much from those who weren't, she had to question the validity of anything she, or any of these people, knew about how things were. Looking around at the others, she could tell they were rattled by this news. It was understandable given how she felt to find out the Church of Martel was a façade that worked with the Desians. Even Jade held a shiver in his eyes that he refused to release to any other part of his body. As much as he wanted to remain cool and calm, he, like her and Guy had, kept his true feelings inside where the others couldn't see it. Rather he squeezed what little juice remained from a lemon into a strange salad he had in his pan. Raine didn't even want to know what he made for dinner.

But when her eyes turned to Luke who still sifted for more edible bits of food in the wok, suddenly it made sense why a replica was needed. Van clearly wanted Asch alive, as evidenced by his giving up Ion in order to rescue Asch who wasn't supposed to be there. Mohs likely allowed Ion to go because Van would be there to rescue him. Was Van and Mohs perhaps working together? Something felt off about all this….

"Guy said that the Order doesn't share the Score when death is predicted, right?" Raine asked. Everyone turned to her. "Did they know this was going to happen? That Akzeriuth was going to fall?"

"Well, the Score did drop off before it told us what would happen there…." Tear admitted as if she only just realized the possibility. "But I just assumed that's where it stopped."

Did they send us here, knowing this was going to happen? Raine wondered. Suddenly the food seemed less important and she set her pan down away from her. And worse… if they did know, that would mean that they intentionally sent these people to their deaths. Why would Van allow his sister to get so close? He didn't… Raine remembered that Tear had been pulled away before they could go into the mines. The feeling she had when it happened still poisoned her veins.

She scanned the group still lining the hallway. Was everyone here just bodies to kill for the sake of the Score? Some of them seemed like odd choices to send, now that she looked at them. The Kimlascan princess? The Duke's son? The Fon Master? Anise was expendable, as was Jade apparently. The only people anyone intended to save were Tear and Ion. Raine looked to Ion. "Did you know?"

He shook his head. Raine balled up her hands into fists. Of course not. Ion was just a figurehead, and this proved it. Everything was Mohs's doing. Mohs was behind sending them here. He was the one who wanted them to come to Akzeriuth no matter what. Then why on earth was Mohs so relieved to find out she didn't want to come with them?!

"I don't think anyone knew," Guy said with Natalia nodding in agreement. "Why would they send us if they knew it would be destroyed? It doesn't make sense." Tear looked down at her food and frowned.

Raine opened her mouth.

"Regardless," Jade said before she could speak. The expression in Jade's eyes changed as he watched her, as if he steeled himself. For a moment, Raine thought he realized something. No. It was a warning. One that effectively silenced her. Then he turned back to Ion. "Why did this happen? You said Akzeriuth was supported by a pillar, correct?"

Wait, that's what he was thinking about? Confused, Raine just stared at him, but he kept his eyes on Ion.

"Yes," Ion replied, "but... that pillar disintegrated."

"How?" Anise had asked, looking to Tear instead.

Tear finally looked up, directing her attention to Luke. He noticed and set the bite he was about to eat back on his makeshift plate.

Everyone else turned to him too. They knew the answer. As soon as Raine entered the cavern, she saw Luke collapse at Van's feet just as the light in front of them dissipated, not to mention Luke's later confession of using his hyperresonance…. Raine still didn't understand how the hyperresonance worked, but she knew the strength of it. She'd felt it before at the Zao Ruins and on the ferry, though at the time she didn't know what it was. If the pillar was there and then it wasn't, there could be no doubt it was him.

But Luke sensed the judgment without anyone having to say a word.

"What? I-I don't know anything about it!" Luke shouted. "I was just trying to neutralize the miasma! He told me that if I caused a hyperresonance there, the miasma would disappear!" Raine sighed. Yup. Definitely him. That fool.

Tear hid her face behind her palm. "My brother deceived you. And you destroyed the pillar that supported Akzeriuth."

"No! That can't be..."

"Van ordered you to stand next to the passage ring," Ion said as he shoved his own pan away. "Those passage rings are what produce the pillars... Tear is probably right. I was careless, I never dreamed that Van would make Luke do such a thing..." No kidding. Raine didn't know Van very well, but she never thought the things that didn't make sense or had no explanation would lead to something this severe. Even given what she learned about Cruxis and what they were up to. How could this world have people who would let others die just because a prophecy said so? The implications of that for her own survival was pretty bleak. Raine shook her head. She couldn't focus on that.

"Ion…" Anise didn't know what to say either.

"I wish Luke had at least discussed it with us beforehand," Jade said. "Neutralizing the miasma could have waited until the residents were evacuated... of course, there's little point in saying that now." Indeed. Why didn't he speak up sooner?

"Yes... Akzeriuth is gone." Natalia lost her appetite, too, looking downright sick. "Thousands of lives, lost in an instant…." The feeling in the air changed, back to the moment before Jade started up the Tartarus. The feeling of loss. Despair. Hopelessness. Raine hated this feeling and hoped Genis never felt it.

Luke upstarted, dumping his picked-through rations to the hallway floor as he stood up. "A-are you saying it's my fault…?" No one wanted to look at him. "It's not… It's not my fault!"

"I'm afraid it is…." Raine said gently.

"But! Master Van said... yeah! Master Van told me I'd be a hero if I'd do it! I had no idea this would happen! No one told me! It's not my fault! It's not my fault!"

Jade scowled and set his own makeshift bowl aside to stand up. "I'm returning to the bridge," he muttered. "If I stay here, I'll just be irritated by some ridiculous ranting." He stepped around the wok and Raine's extended legs, brushed past Anise, and headed off down the hallway.

"What's your problem?" Luke hollered after him. "I tried to save Akzeriuth."

Natalia had enough as well, and huffed as she, too, set aside her food to stand up. "Ever since you lost your memory, you're like a completely different person.…"

"You all couldn't do anything either," Luke snapped at her. She turned around and stormed down the hallway for one of the sleeping quarters.

"You're right. I'm powerless, but still…" Ion lowered his eyes to the food on his lap.

"Ion, don't even bother talking to him. He's not even worth it." Anise dragged him to his feet and pulled him away by carefully stepping around the pans in the middle of the hallway. One of them, Ion nearly tripped over but definitely dumped scraps to the floor.

Raine watched them leave, one-by-one, sensing the same thing Luke felt. Except he had a mix of desperation that she didn't have. Unlike him, though, Raine understood why they felt the way they did. "I-it's Master Van's fault, not mine!" Luke turned to Guy. "Right, Guy?"

"Luke… Don't make me think even less of you." He shook his head and rose to follow Natalia's lead, heading to one of the sleeping quarters. Crushed, Luke's knees went weak and he collapsed to the floor.

"I was stupid for starting to think you had some good in you." Tear stood up as well and followed Guy.

Finally, it was just Raine, Luke, and Mieu. Mieu looked to Raine unsure what she would do; when she did nothing, he crawled up on Luke's shoulder. "I can understand how you feel, Master. Many of my people died because of me." But Luke clapped his hands over his ears, shaking.

"No! Don't compare me to you! Don't compare me to… Augh!"

Luke hollered as Raine finally got up and stepped closer to him. She gently picked up Mieu and cuddled him against her chest. She wanted to reach out to Luke, but she knew better. He'd only smack her hand away again.

Luke, your education failed you. And yet… it wasn't just Van. Everyone around him failed him. Everyone just assumed he'd remember his past and treated him like he should already know everything he needed to, that he just forgot, that maybe some day he would remember everything. Not that they knew any better….

No, there was more she could've done personally. She could've tried talking to him a bit more. She could've tried asking more questions of him, of exploring deeper Van's motives, why Luke was replaced, why his education was so bad, why no soldiers in the mines, why remove Tear, just why. Why? WHY? Why didn't she pursue her curiosity rather than endlessly muse as a way to forget worrying about Genis? Why did she allow herself to fall in trouble, this time literally?! Why didn't she try harder to get to know him?! There was definitely a lot more she could've done. So why didn't she?

In her heart, she knew. Who wanted to get close to a human sand fang?

He cleared his vision with his arm and noticed her. "What do you want? Are you blaming me, too?"

Inside, of course she was. But this was also inevitable. "I share some of the blame as well," she said finally. "I should've done more."

"Then why didn't you?!"

"It's fine. You can blame me, too."

"That doesn't help!" Luke yelled, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"I know." He was, after all, a child, a replica that had no understanding of who or what he was and learned the truth in the worst possible way. Raine had known it for a long time. Jade knew and so did Guy, and yet not one of them saw fit to properly teach him. Now, Luke kneeled in the Tartarus's main hallway, restraining his sobbing as best he could until he just couldn't anymore.

As much as she felt disgusted with his behavior like everyone else, she couldn't shake that thought from her mind. He really was just a child, barely older than John.

And she didn't know what to say.

So she sang.

A/N: Hi, Everyone!

A day early! :D See? It can happen.

Wow, thank you all so much for your patience with me. Unfortunately, I was delayed by such a heavy heart. Raine is my main character, but I have also have a feline named Raine who disappeared on me in January. I haven't seen her since. It was incredibly difficult to work on this story without thinking of her and it took some time to separate the character from my feline.

No, the irony isn't lost on me. :) I just have a better taste of how Genis feels because Raine was my therapy cat, my greeter when I came home, everything. It was tough, but I managed. I have since adopted a pair of siblings that are now settling in, so I do have a new therapy cat. I named her Rinwell and her brother is Hootle. Not a Tales fan at all...

Anyway, I finally got this posted. Part two will have a piece from Raven, and I'm not sure when we'll both have our pieces ready, so please hang in there. I really appreciate everyone's support! Thank you! :D

Have a fabulous weekend!

Update 9/24/23: Sorry for the intenstely long silence... I wanted Rinwell and Hootle to have a catio and well... I thought I could build it myself. It took me half of spring and all of summer. I finally got the damn thing finished and now I can focus on the story again. For those who still continue to check so often for updates (seriously, your dedication is really something! Thank you!), I thought I'd come back and tell you that I'm planning on posting by the end of October 2023. In the meantime, have a treat. I really like this scene but it adds nothing to what's going on and I decided to cut it from the story. It would've happened in chapter 39 if I had kept it though, so it's not too far into the future. :) Enjoy!

Something about Tear's demeanor felt off to Raine the moment Tear rejoined the group. Somehow she didn't think it had anything to do with what just happened between Luke and Asch. It really wasn't Raine's position to pry, but seeing a normally stoic soldier turn so downcast bothered her. Raine watched Tear from just over her shoulder, debating whether to say anything or not.

"Shall we head over and talk to Teodoro?" Jade asked. "Or do we want to wait for Luke to wake up again?"

Asch scowled. "Waiting would be a waste of time. Let's just go talk with the mayor."

"Didn't you say the mayor was your grandfather?" Raine asked Tear as they headed out.

"Sort of. He was the one who took in Van and I when our mother passed away."

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Tear replied. "I didn't know her at all. She died just after I was born." Just like Genis…. He never met his mother either.

"So your family is from here in the Qliphoth. Didn't you have anyone else?"

"Van and I were the only survivors."

Survivors? Raine wondered. "I take it living in Yulia City isn't any easier than living on the surface." But looking around, Raine couldn't see what the problem was. As far as she could tell, this looked like a fairly safe place to live. Especially if there was some way to get to the surface. Whenever she and Genis were found out, they could come down here and escape the tyranny from above. So long as the people here didn't hate half-elves, too. But that was irrelevant.

"There's nothing wrong with living here, other than being cut off from everyone else I suppose."

"Why did you leave?"

Tear didn't answer right away, but stared off to the side. Raine suspected it had something to do with Van. Hadn't she tried to attack Van when they met him in Kaitzur? That was the only thing that made sense. Luke had been ripped away from his manor and it was Tear who did it though Raine didn't know the details of what happened. She just knew Tear was responsible. Raine nodded.

"It was because of Van, wasn't it? You learned he was up to something."

Tear nodded, frowning. "I didn't know he was planning this."

"Do you think he's finished?"

She shook her head. "I don't know."

"Clearly he does love you."

"What? Oh. Yes. I know he does."

I promise, I will post by the end of October. The next one shouldn't be too far behind that one. :D Thank you all so much for your support. And I also promise that I won't take on such a massive, time-consuming project like that again. It was too much. It took too much time. I like my writing time. I need my writing time. I cannot lose so much of my writing time again.

Have an amazing day!

~~Kat =^-^=