A/N: I was looking over whatever synopsis notes I had written down, and there's a lot of extraneous stuff I planned that aren't realy necessary for the overall plot XD On the one hand I liked being really accurate to the Abyss story, but then again, considering my copy of the game doesn't work anymore, that's become something of a moot point.

"This place reminds me of Meltokio."

"Getting homesick?"

"Nah, not really ..."

Lloyd stood across from Zelos on the air car, riding their way up to the Baticul castle. They'd flown from Grand Chokmah,
to Baticul, to inquire in the Kimlascan court whether the kingdom had in fact been responsible for attacking the Malkuthian forces stationed around Chesedonia. But with testimony from General Frings, it was likely it hadn't been Kimlasca at all.

The General said that the soldiers were ill equipped, and used suicidal tactics that, Tear had agreed, weren't the strategies a national army would use. If Kimlasca hadn't attacked Malkuth, then who had attacked, and why? The two world powers had just recently signed their treaty agreement, and yet these kinds of things still persisted.

War had been averted, so someone else with ulterior motives was attempting to pull the strings into starting another one.

Why?

He didn't understand.

"...I think I may understand Mithos's view on things."

Zelos gave him an incredulous look.

"What brought this on?"

"This world. It's so ..."

The Chosen cut him off before he could get any further with that train of thought.

"It's so what? Twisted? Misshapen? Something's wrong with every world, Bud. Ours was pretty twisted for a long time. A long, long time."

Lloyd stubbornly shook his head. Zelos wasn't understanding. He hadn't lived on this world long, he hadn't seen the things the dwarf-raised boy had. Hadn't experienced what he had.

"Different worlds. Different people. But through all this ... human nature hasn't changed at all. People are still fighting over nothing, still dying like they used to. This ... what does it matter? Why, why do people have to kill each other like this? Never mind just killing, outright destroying!"

As Lloyd spoke, venting all these pent up feelings he'd been developing over the course of his stay on Auldrant, Zelos could only look on, genuinely stunned, mouth agape in ... surprise? Horror? This didn't sound like the Lloyd he knew at all. It hadn't been that long ... had it?

"Lloyd ..."

"Four thousand years Mithos had his way with the worlds. It was true, he saved them by splitting them, but he refused to help the Great Seed germinate. He was sacrificing the world just to save Martel. And this world ... what makes a person?
What makes a human being, and not a replica? I don't see the difference, and this Score? Ugh. I'm not even going to pretend to even try to understand the thing about it here. I wouldn't be surprised if it was just a lie, just like Cruxis, the angels, the goddess Martel ... it was all a big lie, and this is no different!"

He ended with a near shout, and he realized belatedly that his fists were clenched, and shaking. Zelos chose his words carefully, this was thin ice they stood upon.

"What are you saying, Lloyd? That this world is bad? That it doesn't deserve your help? Or the people living in it?"

"No! It's just ... I don't understand why people can't get along!"

This time he did shout, and if the people going on their way in the streets of Baticul heard him, they didn't show it.

"This guy thinks the Score is trash, so what's his plan? Destroy everyone and everything, start from scratch by somehow replicating everything and everyone! He can't even have the decency to stay dead! Is everyone on Auldrant this insane?"

"Lloyd, calm down!" Zelos put up his hands, in the universal 'don't hurt me' gesture. "Think of your miasma, you don't want to get yourself worked up! You have something to tell to that hunny princess, don't you?"

Lloyd took in deep breaths, Zelos was right, of course. He took in Tear's miasma from her body into his own, he had to be extra careful, medicine be damned. They came to Baticul for a purpose, and while it was unexpected that Zelos had come along to join the ride, it was something Lloyd was extremely grateful for.

He liked Luke's friends, he really did ... but that was the problem.

They were Luke's friends.

Not his.

Zelos hadn't been on Auldrant long, and he while he took pains to learn everything he could, aided by the letters Lloyd wrote him during that month long stay at Duke Fabre's manor, he was far from an expert on what was going on in the world, never mind the people that lived in it.

But what he wouldn't give to be able to keep that sweet memory of Princess Natalia Luzu Kimlasca-Lanvaldear throttling Jade Curtiss alive in his mind forever!

It began innocently enough. The rest of the group met up with Lloyd and Zelos off the air car station, at the top of the city's tiers, where King Ingobert's castle loomed over the rest of the city. Together they walked, to the double doors of Ingobert's castle. Natalia's name was mentioned, and as if it were a summons, she appeared, escorted by a platoon of soldiers.

She asked if they had called her, and needed her for anything, but not before she dismissed her escort. Then, as if she forgot something, she ever so nonchalantly approached Jade.

And proceeded to choke the living daylights out of him.

"Everyone in Chesedonia stared at me like I was the devil! It was insulting!"

Immediately Zelos wished that Tethe'alla had princesses like Natalia. Don't get him wrong, he didn't have anything against the exquisite hunny Princess Hilda (but oh how he wished she'd hold something against him!), but there was just a certain kind of charm about a king's daughter that wasn't afraid to take things into her own hands.

It really did take a certain amount of ovaries to be laying hands on an officier of what could be the enemy country.

"That's what we came here to talk about, Natalia." Luke said by the door. "Could you get us an unofficial audience with His Majesty?"

"Certainly. Let's discuss the details in Father's room." She gave a quizzical glance to Lloyd and Zelos; the first she knew was familiar,
and the second, she had seen him visit the Fabre manor, but other than that, he was a new face.

Zelos spent the time during the meeting with King Ingobert in the castle's entrance hall. Lloyd supposed the Chosen didn't feel as if he had been around long enough to get in on such details, but that was absurd, wasn't it? Jade himself had agreed to bring Zelos along, if only for the possibility of fighting the God-Generals again, and for the fact he could use healing artes. Whether Natalia would be allowed to journey again was still up in the air.

In the meeting with the King, Lloyd was a little surprised, for not one but two reasons: that the Kingdom of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear hadn't attacked the Malkuth military was no surprise, it was expected. But Kimlasca had also been attacked by this mysterious military. The how was apparent,
the armies had been ambushed, with suicide bombing tactics, while the Malkuth military had been on training exercises, no less. They were by no means prepared.

The Kimlascan forces had fared much better than the Malkuth ones, but the fact remained: neither Kimlasca or Malkuth had meant to wage hostilities against one another. But who ...?

"I have issued no orders to attack Malkuth."

"Indeed," Natalia nodded in agreement with her father, "my country is innocent."

"Then who was it that attacked General Frings?" Guy asked; like the others in attendance, he wasn't surprised that the Kimlascan royal family had been framed-or, whoever was behind this, tried to frame them.

Lloyd didn't really know who might attack both countries, so he remained silent. Jade, on the other hand, seemed to know.

"He said the eyes of the unidentified soldiers were like those of the dead ... that concerns me."

"Does that mean something to you?" Luke asked, although he looked as if he knew the answer, even as Colonel continued.

"Similar cases have appeared in connection with fomicry experiments. With the God-Generals involved, it's possible they have created replica soldiers."

Luke's eyes went wide, and he turned away. "Replicas ... the same as me ..."

Lloyd's fists clenched, and his eyes narrowed. "No, they're not the same as you, Luke. Those replicas, if that's what they are, were created for the sole purpose of fighting, of throwing their lives away. You have your own life, you lived your own life, you're not like them."

Here Luke gave a wry smile. "I was created to be thrown away for the sake of Van's movement of taking down the Score."

"Luke," Tear's voice had a warning tone. In response, he shook his head.

"I'm not saying that I believe that ... not anymore. But, still ... me, and Ion ... could have ended up just like them."

"That's ridiculous and you know it." Natalia said, folding her arms as she glared in Luke's direction, olive green eyes narrowed. Her expression was like when she used to scold Luke, and it would have been comical if not for the topic at hand. "I could say I have no place here, either, not having any royal blood. But Father and the others accepted me. Just as we have accepted you, and Ion. So please don't say things like that."

Lloyd had to blink; Natalia wasn't a real princess? He hadn't heard of that before. He kept his silence on that matter, it sounded as if that had been over and done with, and if he were to speak up about it now, it might be rubbing wounds raw.

"This is an outrage!" Ingobert sounded it, even seated at his desk. "What could they hope to gain by using replicas to impersonate my kingdom?"

"Perhaps they're trying to cause a war between Kimlasca and Malkuth." Tear's idea sounded spot-on. There was no other possible explanation.

"That's no different than Mohs."

Grand Maestro Mohs, of Daath, Lloyd recalled from a previous story-telling. "He wants to fulfill the Score by making Kimlasca and Malkuth fight, right?"

"That's right ... Dist took Mohs away." That was the entire reason Guy had been to Daath in the first place, to tell Fon Master Ion that Mohs was broken out of jail by none other than Dist the Reaper, the only God-General that had been thought to survive the avalanche on Mt. Roneal. He nodded to Lloyd's question. "If Mohs is involved, that's probably what he's trying to do, restore the Score by making us fight."

"But that doesn't make sense!" Lloyd protested. "War sucks, I've seen it firsthand. Why do it if it means destroying each other?"

"The Score promises prosperity, that's why." Anise answered, as-a-matter-of-factly. "It's ... safe, living according to what's written."

"But that doesn't make it right." Natalia turned to King Ingobert. "Father, please allow me to go to Daath. The world has veered off Yulia's Score, yet countless people still live bound by it."

But Anise was undeterred on her own feelings about it. "Yeah, it's scary not having it ..."

The princess continued as if she hadn't heard. "I believe we should hold a summit regarding what to do about the Score. Whether this was Mohs' doing or not, we cannot allow any more foolish actions in its name."

Foolish actions in the name of the Score ... foolish actions in the name of Cruxis, of the Goddess Martel. Lloyd wasn't sure whether to feel jealous of Auldrant right now. Their leaders were thinking about their own crises, and using their own heads to decide what to do about it. The same ... could not be said of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla. Sylvarant was never a unified power in Lloyd's lifetime, and apparently hadn't been for centuries. Tethe'alla had their king, but he couldn't do anything about the struggles for power in his own kingdom, never mind over both worlds.

Everything ... that anything had changed at all in the two worlds was solely because of Lloyd's group.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by King Ingobert's voice.

"Then I shall permit your departure, Natalia."

"Thank you, Father!"

"... So, we're going to Daath ..." Anise's voice lacked her usual energy and enthusiasm, and she hung her head, looking at her feet. Lloyd quirked a brow, Anise, sad?

"I think we should." Tear spoke. "We need to inform them that ... my brother may still be alive as well."

Lloyd remembered that happy discussion. The others had been annoyed at Luke, perhaps rightly so, for not repeating what Lorelei had told him after Van had fallen in the planet's core. But the fact remained: Van was trapping Lorelei somewhere, and the tools needed to free it were the Sword and Jewel of Lorelei. Asch had the Sword, trapped in his body, but still had it. The Jewel ... was nowhere to be found. Asch thought that if Luke didn't get it, then it must have come out one of the Sephiroth trees somewhere around the passage rings.

But with the Sword still trapped in Asch's body ... they couldn't exactly hunt for it. Yet, should they be worried? The God-Generals couldn't hunt for it, either,
could they ...?

"I told them that in my letter." Anise said to Tear, with a somewhat chipper voice. Somewhat too chipper ... "So let's pass, okay?"

Anise had written Ion a letter before they departed from Grand Chokmah, something that had apparently irked Jade, but Lloyd didn't see the problem; Anise was Ion's attendant, after all, and the two were the best of friends. It was also best that Ion stay informed about what was going on around the world. So what was Jade's problem?

"What, you don't want to go home?" Luke sounded more bewildered than anything else as he looked at Anise.

"... No, it's not that."

"Okay, then we're off to Daath."

King Ingobert looked up, royal eyes meeting royal eyes. "Luke, take care of Natalia."

"Y-yes, Your Majesty."

On the way out of the castle, Zelos had slung an arm around Lloyd's shoulders, whistling a tune. Thus caught up, the two of them fell somewhat behind the others as they walked.

"So, Bud, did ya tell the hunny Princess 'bout your you know what?"

His voice was somewhat low, so the others didn't overhear, but Lloyd knew what Zelos was talking about: his wings. Before, at the Absorption Gate, the only ones who knew about his wings were Luke, Guy, and Jade. Then, during the battle with the God-Generals at Shurrey Hill, Tear and Anise saw them when he used them to save Asch's falling body. Out of Luke's group, that left only Natalia that wasn't in the know. He didn't think the others would tell Natalia about something like that, and ... he wasn't sure how the princess would take it. Besides, was now truly the time to be worrying about that?

But ... if the time came where he had to use his wings again, and only Natalia hadn't known ... that wasn't fair to her. Not at all, not one bit.

"Not yet ... but I'll tell her, before we reach Daath."

At Daath, she would be busy conversing with Fon Master Ion, and there was a chance that Malkuth would send over representatives, or even the Emperor himself to discuss the Score. There was no doubt Natalia was a princess that genuinely cared for the well being of her people, of her country. Of the well being of the world itself. In a way, she reminded him of Colette. He'd never hid anything from Colette, and even if he couldn't pour out his entire life story to Luke's friends, they deserved to know what they could know.

Natalia deserved this much, to know that Lloyd had wings.

The problem was exactly when to tell Natalia. As they were heading for the Albiore, it was a sure guess they'd be going straight to Daath, it wasn't that long a journey from Baticul to the Padamiya island chain, after all, not by the fonic vehicle. He couldn't just pull her aside, drop that bomb on her and expect her not to be shaken or just a little skeptical as they went on their way. And she had the summit to think about.

"How do I tell her?" Lloyd whispered to Zelos, the Chosen was always confident in his ability to talk to women, even though ninety percent of his conversations with them tended to go badly. "I can't just pull her aside right now and drop this on her, and I don't think she'll believe me right away, either."

Zelos took his arm off Lloyd's shoulders, thinking. "Hmm ... maybe you don't have to tell her right away. Maybe it can wait until after we go to Daath and talk to Ion."

"Maybe ... but what if I have to use them before then?"

"Y'know, Bud ..."

"What?"

"I told you before, but I don't think you should keep using your wings. You got all that miasma to think about, remember?"

Lloyd heaved a sigh. "I know ... I know. But emergencies can't be helped, I was fine before-"

"Before then, you only had half the miasma you're holding now. Do I have to give you one of your own speeches that you gave to Colette?"

The twin swordsman only glared. "No. No, you don't."

Luke, meanwhile, was fretting about telling Natalia a little secret of his own. How was he going to tell her that Asch was with them ... and yet, not? That was going to go over well, he could just feel it. What would he say to her? Hey, we found the man that you've obviously been in love with all your life, and he's kind of unconscious and residing in my head until we can get this kinda sorta Daathic fonic arte off him to get the Sword of Lorelei, how do you feel about that?

Not to mention this fiasco regarding the Jewel. Ugh, he could feel another headache coming on ...

"You all right, Luke?" Guy asked, falling into step beside him. They were near the Baticul docks now, where the Albiore awaited them. Ginji had pulled in at the docks instead of by land at the bridge, they thought it was too dangerous considering their group could be trapped on the bridge en route to the plains outside of Baticul. Not to mention that the Albiore itself would be vulnerable on an open plain. The ocean was still dangerous, given Arietta the Wild's command over monsters, but as far as they could tell, she couldn't command aquatic monsters, so docking in the ocean was the safer landing.

Luke looked over his shoulder, at the others trailing behind him. In the event they were attacked in a city-doubtful, but possible nonetheless-they walked in a spread formation that allowed the most advantage and recovery time, where no fonist went unaccompanied by a melee fighter. They had Lloyd and Zelos, too, to bolster their numbers and the both of them could use strike and healing artes, so that tipped the scale further into their favor.

But if the God-Generals were foolhardy enough to attack them in a city-if they could track their targets that far-there were the soldiers within that city to think about, too. But if Mohs was working with the God-Generals and had a replica army ... Luke shook his head. It was too stupid to be attacking them in a city. Mohs might be that stupid, but not the God-Generals. The Oracle Knights were probably the best army on the face of Auldrant, they wouldn't do something if they weren't confident in their ability to carry it out.

"I'm fine ... just wondering how I should tell Natalia about ... Asch."

Asch's consciousness was at minimal awareness at this time, something that Luke likened to sleeping, without actually being in his body, it must be tiring. He had been in control of Luke's body for a while, too ...

Guy clucked with his tongue. "Ah ... that's a tough subject. She'd be overjoyed at the prospect of seeing him again ... but not like the way he is now."

Luke nodded in agreement. "Yeah ... so I'm wondering how to tell her. I can't keep it a secret from her forever, everyone else knows, it's not fair to her."

"Some people might say it would be kinder to keep her ignorant," Guy frowned, thinking back on his time with Luke in the manor. "But see how well that turned out for you. Ignorance may be bliss, but it's definitely not kindness."

"No ... it's not kindness at all." The Fabre let out a sigh. "I don't want to distract her from talking to Ion when we get to Daath, either ..."

"You could tell her after we talk to Ion, there'll probably be some time after that. We still have to find the Jewel, but we can't search for it without the Sword,
according to Asch. And Emperor Peony wants to use the Sword to calm down the Planet Storm ..."

"Yeah," Luke replied, chewing on his lower lip. "That's all important, but we can't accomplish it right away ... I don't see a reason to worry her before we get to Daath." Thinking over it some more, he nodded. "Yeah, I think I'll wait until after we get to Daath. Thanks, Guy."

The blond swordsman smiled. "No problem, Luke."

Anise would be biting her nails with anxiety if she weren't wearing gloves. And she'd never bitten her nails in front of everyone else before, either, so it would probably be better if she didn't show any more strange habits than she had to. She was pretty sure the Colonel at least was catching onto something. She could fool anyone she had to, it was almost easy just acting like nothing was wrong ... but fooling the Colonel? It was only a matter of time before he suspected something and found out.

But what could she do? There was nothing she could do, she knew that for the longest time. If she didn't do what Mohs told her, her parents would get thrown out of Daath,
onto the street, or even worse. Mohs was a wanted criminal now, but he still could get at her parents if he was working with the God-Generals. Which was more than likely,
seeing how Dist had broken him from the ferry carrying the Maestro to his doom.

She walked in the agreed upon formation when they were in cities, she used to be just a fonist before Dist made her Tokunaga the way he was now, so she doubled as a fonist and someone who could protect other fonists. Tear could defend herself at close range, and the Colonel still had strike artes, too, but his real strength lay in fonic artes, aided by his fonic sight. So ... she was walking alongside the Colonel.

Not terribly close, though, if they were all scrunched up together, that defeated the purpose of their city formation in the first place.

"Anise," Jade's voice startled her and sent shivers running up and down her spine, and not necessarily in a good way. "Is there something bothering you?"

"Bothering?" It took all her effort not to stutter. "No, not at all, Colonel. Why do you ask?"

He looked at her, remaining silent for a time. Those blood red eyes behind those glasses, there was something about that look that just chilled you to the core, and Anise was no exception. Finally, after impossibly long moments that seemed to last years, he resumed talking.

"You do know if there is something wrong, you can always talk to us about it." He looked ahead of their path now, approaching the Baticul docks. He looked so nonchalant,
with his hands in his pockets like that. "I don't know if I can go so far to call us all friends," Jade said stiffly, in that comical tone of voice he had whenever he admitted something that grated against every fiber of his being to admit, "But we are comrades and companions. We're here to ... help each other out, so to speak."

Anise had a couple of choices. One, she could break down and tell the Colonel everything about everything right here and now. Or, she could cover up and turn this around on him, take the opportunity to tease him, thereby taking the focus off her. But it wasn't as if he wouldn't catch onto that right away, no matter how subtle she could manage to make it. What would she do? What should she do?

She laughed.

"Oh, come on, Colonel, don't tell me you're getting soft in your old age, take that however you like."

Jade remained silent.