~*Those Without Pasts*~

Three years…How the world can change in such a time.

~*X*~

Despite how he felt—that time had stood still—the world had moved on and left him behind.

Luke fon Fabre had found this to be true, and as he stood outside of Borealis, he couldn't seem to think of anything else. He frowned to himself, green eyes tracing the lines of the city still in the process of being built before him. To the far north, that was where all the Replicas had gone. They had built a city underneath the Northern Lights (which was said to be caused by some kind of Fonon interaction) and were enjoying the relative solitude of the place. The only other human settlement even remotely close by was Keterburg, and thus far, they had enjoyed their prosperity unmolested.

It had been about one and a half months since he had shown up again, though exactly why it had taken so long he was uncertain. After crashing his own Coming of Age Ceremony he had caught up with his parents and promptly left with Tear, eager to see how the Replicas were faring.

Now, he had learned that the Replicas were doing well. A Replica of someone he didn't know, going by the name of Seta, was in charge of Borealis. She was aided by Princess Natalia—who was currently home in Kimlasca on business—Lord Guy of Malkuth, and Anise…once again a Fon Master Guardian, who often stood in for the Church of Lorelei.

"Guardian?" Luke had asked Tear with a confused expression. "Didn't she say she wanted to be Fon Master?"

Tear nodded. "That's still true, but…do you remember her friend, Florian?"

The other-other Ion Replica besides…well, Ion and Sync. Florian. Luke blinked in surprise. "Is he the Fon Master now?"

"Temporarily, or at least that's what Grand Maestro Tritheim says."

So that was how they ended up in Borealis, scarves wrapped around their faces, watching the Replicas move by in small groups. Luke didn't miss how Tear kept looking at him from the corner of her eye, as if checking to make sure he was still there.

"Tear, I'm not going to just vanish you know," he complained good-naturedly.

For a second, her stoic expression shattered and he got a glimpse of how startled she was. Then she was her usual calm self again, and she said in an almost believable tone, "What are you talking about?"

He turned to her, the tattered black cloak he had materialized in swirling around his heels. It stood in stark contrast against his white clothes, and the snow. "Every few seconds, you keep glancing at me." Following a moment of hesitation, he added sympathetically, "I came back. I'm here to stay."

Tear's blue eyes softened, however when she spoke, it had nothing to do with their current conversation. "The architecture here." She directed her gaze forward. "The Replicas actually took a bit of advice from Anise when they started construction."

Luke heaved a sigh but let her shift the subject unchallenged. "Yeah, I thought I detected a little Anise-ness around here."

She smiled very slightly at the wry way he spoke. "Come on. I'll take you to meet Seta."

The buildings seemed to ripple and flash as they walked amongst them, and Luke noticed that a lot of the structures appeared to be carved into familiar sigils, but he couldn't seem to remember what they stood for. They glinted strangely in the distant sunlight, as if they had been woven and carved and mashed together from crystal. Rainbow patterns slid soundlessly against their skin and sparkled off of the ice.

He might have asked this question before, but he couldn't remember. "Do your new duties as Commandant bring you here often?"

Tear rubbed her arms, though she didn't look cold despite the frigid bite of the arctic air. "Every once in a while. There are really enough problems back home to keep me rooted to the Daath Cathedral, but I make time to visit."

"The Oracle Knights are a mess, huh?" He didn't like not knowing things…and this was stuff he would have known, if he hadn't lost three years of his life for some reason he couldn't seem to recall. Why hadn't he come right back after freeing Lorelei…? He had vague recollections of golden heat, swarming Fonons; light…Asch's dying body cradled in his arms…

"You do that more and more."

Luke came to a halt, his shoes crunching the snow loudly as if in protest. "Huh?"

She sighed and shook her head. "It's nothing."

"Tear, what is it? What am I doing?"

Tear might, or might not, have begun to formulate a reply. She was saved, much to Luke's frustration, by a very timely interruption.

"Hey! Luke!" A familiar voice shouted.

Luke looked beyond a suspiciously relieved looking Tear to see Guy rushing at them. He skidded to a halt, spraying slush everywhere, grinning hugely. His blonde hair was sprinkled all over with white flecks.

"Guy! What are you up to now?"

The Malkuth nobleman shrugged helplessly. "I'm just assisting some of the locals like usual. Got to keep that promise Natalia and I made."

"It wasn't just you, it was all of us," Luke chided. "The progress you guys have made…this is amazing!"

"Thanks, Luke. I'm sure the Replicas and Natalia will be pleased to hear it. What brings you here? I'm surprised your folks let you put a foot out of the Capital since you're prone to disappearing." He grinned to take the sting out of his gentle jibe.

"I'm grown up. They can't legally detain me." Luke waved off the comment at the end. "Tear just said she was taking me to see Seta."

"Oh, well, now's a good time. She's not busy, though you'll probably run into Florian and Anise on the way there." Guy checked a ticking display screen on his wrist. "Gotta run, things to look into before I can take a break. Later!" He waved at them and jogged off, with Luke and Tear smiling after him until he turned a corner and was lost from sight.

Tear set off again, but Luke was determined not to let the matter go. He matched her stride and continued to glare at her until she finally heaved a huge breath. The stream of ivory fog made her look almost like she was about to start breathing fire any second.

"Ever since you got back, you—"

"Hey! It's Luke! And Tear! C'mon, Florian!"

Luke was not-so-surprised to see Anise come tearing down the street towards him, dark pigtails flowing behind her. One of her hands was gripping Florian's and the boy was running as fast as he could to keep up with her.

Florian stopped before he collided into Luke, but Anise wrapped her arms briefly but tightly around the redhead's middle before she stepped back, grinning enormously. Luke made a big show out of checking his wallet after that, counting to ensure all of the Gald pieces were safely tucked away.

"Boo." Anise stuck her tongue out. "What's up, you two?"

"Luke, Tear, it's good to see you again." Florian added in a much more civilized fashion than his Guardian.

"You too, Florian, Anise. We're just going to see Seta." The redhead clapped his hands together in an attempt to bring some warmth back to his numb fingers.

"That's right," Tear agreed.

"Seta's nice, but she has a real tendency to just ramble on. She's pretty naïve too, the Colonel makes so many stealthy insults that it's all I can do not to laugh," Anise snorted.

"Anise," Florian reprimanded. "It's not nice to laugh at others."

"No, I guess not." She lifted one shoulder and let it fall. "But I don't laugh, remember? I just snicker."

Florian rolled his dark green eyes, but he was smiling nonetheless. To Tear and Luke he said, "Seta will be going to a meeting soon, so let us not hold you any longer."

"Right, right. Have fun talking to the airhead." Anise took Florian's hand again and set off down the path with a spring in her step that Luke had never seen before. Even the stuffed cat on her back, Tokunaga, appeared to be grinning wider than ever.

The traveling twosome started their short journey again at a slightly faster pace.

"Is there something between her and Florian?" Luke inquired curiously, his intention of getting Tear's secret out of her forgotten for the moment.

"I can't say for sure," responded the soldier slowly. "You'll have to ask her yourself."

Or figure it out on my own…Luke imagined that Anise wouldn't be coy about having a boyfriend, and wasn't she like, sixteen now? If Florian wasn't with her, she probably had several suitors if only for her exalted position as one of the heroes that saved the world.

Seta's home was a spiraling crystalline monument similar in design to a short tower. It wouldn't be unreasonable to say it resembled a big, purplish dragon-like creature with two coiling tendrils of dark smoke leaking out from the "nose".

Tear knocked on the door lightly, and a cheery "Come in!" resounded from inside. Luke followed his friend into the interior, and he couldn't help a happy exhalation as the heat of the two fireplaces in the wide, circular room hit him.

"My stomach was cold," he snapped a little harsher than he meant to at Tear's glance. All she did was smile.

The gemstone-ish chamber caught the light and made everything gleam and glisten. Desks, chairs, shelves, and floor were all covered in books of a million different designs. Embossed letters winked at him in a dozen colors. Standing in front of a plush orange armchair that stuck out like a sore thumb was a young woman with a massive smile on her face.

Seta had dark hair that was braided down her back, and it ended with a gaudy red ribbon tied in a knot. She had on white polar clothes that looked like someone had stitched it together haphazardly from monster fur, and even her brown eyes seemed unusual. They practically burned with something Luke didn't have a name for.

"Welcome! Oh, you must be Luke fon Fabre! The Hero of the World! You give all of us Replicas hope, you know!" Seta exclaimed, running to him and shaking his hand furiously. "You know, they told me you had short hair." She shot Tear an accusing look.

"He did," she explained patiently. "But…"

"Now he doesn't, obviously." Seta sniffed. "It's nice to finally meet you! Would you mind telling me what happened? I love a good story."

Luke shrugged helplessly, a lazy roll of his shoulders. "Um, sure. Where do you want me to start?"

"From the beginning, of course!" Seta sat down in her armchair, long fingers tapping her cheek. "All the best stories do."

~*X*~

"She's crazy," Luke grouched as he sat down on the bed with a groan. "I've never had someone ask me such stupid questions!"

"Luke," Tear commented acidly. "Don't forget that, as a Replica, she's only three years old."

"Ion was two, and he wasn't that—"At her sharp look, he bit his tongue and stared at his hands, ashamed. "I know, I don't really have any reason to be complaining."

They were at the only inn in Borealis, a place called Aurora Breeze. The decorating was a little over-the-top in some places, and way too muted in others. Tear had said that the Replicas were still trying to establish who they were in society, and some thought that standing out would be ideal, while others figured that the best approach was to be as invisible as possible.

"She called me a Replica hero." Luke let the statement hang in the air for a while. When his companion didn't respond, he went on. "Why is that, when I killed ten thousand of their number?"

Tear was busy examining something outside, as if the world beyond the frosty window was fascinating. She remarked without any change in her stance, "That wasn't your fault."

"I didn't say it was." Luke sat up and sighed gustily, leaning back on the heels of his hands. The bed creaked under the pressure. "Do you have any idea?"

"…It's because they saw you—see you—as a martyr of sorts. You're a Duke's adopted son, a close friend of the Princess, and you have very important friends in both Malkuth and the Order of Lorelei. Your sacrifice to free Lorelei was considered, at the time, to be the ultimate sign of acceptance in society."

"Death shouldn't be acceptance," he grumbled, squeezing the covers of the bed between his fingers. He thought of Natalia with a slight smile, and something warm stirred in his chest that he thought didn't belong there. The feeling puzzled him, because usually it was associated with Tear, and when he thought of her the same…

As he sank deeper into thought, he felt the bed shift and he blinked himself out of his reverie. Turning his head, he saw Tear sitting beside him, hands in her lap, head tilted to the side in that inquiring manner she had.

Then, he understood.

"This must be what you mean, huh?" Luke took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, watching the invisible wind ruffle his dark bangs. "Keep going off into my own little world."

"What do you think about?"

"Lots of things, actually." He shook his head. "I feel like there's two lifetimes worth of memories in my head, maybe even a third, and that one goes on forever." He directed his eyes towards the window as he spoke, and he thought he saw the same person pass twice. Maybe they had, or maybe it was simply one of the many Replicas of one person. After all, Ion had had seven at one point.

Tear spoke softly. "Do you feel like yourself?"

"Usually. Sometimes, though, I don't. And…that…that scares me."

"You're you, Luke. No one else, no matter what you may feel at the time. Just…just remember that." She pointedly stared off into the other direction, but he noticed she was blushing slightly, and he smiled.

He felt an unexpected twinge of sadness. "Three years. How many days is that?"

Tear ran through some mental calculations in her head, and then she simply shrugged. "Too many."

Luke found a sudden and spectacular interest in the red-green pattern on the sheets. "Are you mad at me?"

That made her look. She turned to face him. "W-What? Why would I be? I said I'd wait. And you came back."

He struggled to fight through the weird haze in his mind—a little of Asch, a little of Lorelei, maybe—back to the cataclysmic moment when he had told the others to leave so he could free Lorelei from its prison at last.

"You said something. I couldn't quite catch it but…you definitely said something before you left. What did you say?"

She closed her eyes. "…You idiot. You're going to make me repeat myself, aren't you?"

"But I want to know. Tear," he took both of her gloved hands in his and grasped her firmly. Ignoring the blush that dusted her cheeks, he continued urgently. "It was you. You called me back. When you sang that song, back in the Tataroo Valley, I just…I could hear you. It's the only thing that's there between when we split up and when we came together again."

"The Grand Fonic Hymn?"

"That was it, I'm sure of it. So…what did you say? Because it was your voice I hung on to when I started the spell to release Lore—"

"I love you," she interrupted looking away.

Luke felt his heart skip several beats, and his mind froze up with shock. "Wait, what?"

"I love you. That's what I said earlier." Tear looked absolutely embarrassed for some reason, and he would have laughed, had he not been so giddy with joy.

He had meant to tell her. That night, back in Chesedonia when Noelle—bless her heart—had taken them up in the Albiore. He had wanted to tell her, but had seen little point in it since his body had been disintegrating. It'd just put her in more pain, he had reasoned.

But…but now, when the doctors were saying that he was in tremendously good health, surely now it would be okay to tell her? Mieu, safe in the Cheagle Woods at the moment, would likely have started cheering him on if he had been there.

"Luke?"

With his metaphorical bubble popped, Luke returned with a jolt to the moment at hand. He felt his cheeks burn as he stammered, "That…I…Tear, I l…I meant to tell you—"

He was silenced by a single finger to his mouth. Still, without looking at him, she murmured quietly, "I know. You don't have to say it." She let her hand drop, but Luke caught it in his own and twined their fingers together.

The fireplace that sat between their beds popped loudly, creating a miniature geyser of orange embers.

Luke noticed that she was blinking hard, and every time she reopened those beautiful eyes of hers, they seemed to glisten brighter.

"Tear…" He put his arm out and draped his black cloak around them. He hadn't really noticed how close they were sitting. "It's okay to cry," he said as kindly as he could. He could think of no one kinder than Ion, so it was his tone he tried to emulate.

He had expected something like her merely shaking her head, or ignoring him, or something. What he hadn't expected was her turning and burying her face in his chest and crying so softly that it was nearly inaudible. He could feel her tears through the fabric of his tunic.

Hesitantly, unsure what to do, he went with instinct. He stroked her hair with tentative fingers, the strands smooth against his skin. "It's okay. I'm back now. You don't always have to be so strong."

As swiftly as it had come, it was gone. Tear was her usual composed self again. Pulling away slightly, she wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry."

"What for? I like it when I can see more of the real you."

She blushed a little more, but now her composure was back and she straightened a bit. "Thank you, Luke." Tear studied her hands, which were back in her lap, and Luke thought of something peculiar then.

He was a complete stranger to romance. No matter which way you sliced it, truth was he had only been alive for seven years, almost eight, not counting the years he couldn't remember. He had heard of it from Natalia, from Anise, from Jade even, but never from Tear. Why? Because she was a soldier, and she rarely showed emotion. Things like this…had to be as foreign to her as it was to him.

And, bizarrely, this gave him enough courage to do what came next.

He put the tips of his fingers underneath her chin and tilted her face up so that blue eyes met green. And then, he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. It was a short kiss of around four seconds, and it was brazen and unpracticed, but it was there and when he leaned back, he felt all the better for it.

Internally, he had the feeling that those two lives he had never lived were celebrating his daring, one a tad more reluctantly than the other.

Tear's entire face was flushed red now, and with one hand on her chest, she turned and looked away. Luke, feeling foolish, was about to apologize when he caught a glimpse of a sideways smile before she rested her head on his shoulder. Her eyes were closed in contentment.

Every breath he took seemed to create a plume of electricity that made every one of his nerve endings hyper-sensitive. "Tear…are you still going to watch me?"

She opened her eyes halfway. "Always. I said I would."

The news made him happy, but he wasn't surprised. "I think I understand now. It doesn't matter what kind of past you have, or any at all. It matters what you do with the future."

Mystearica took his hand and showed Luke their intertwined fingers. "Finally, you understand."