Chapter 2: In which there is a lot of Walking

It was the longest walk Agatha had ever taken. The distance from the lake to the cabin seemed miniscule compared to this journey. Not to mention the ferry ride. Agatha winced at the memory, her hand moving to clutch at her stomach. Her first boat ride… and her first bout of seasickness. The Rotelro bridge had been destroyed, and Mr. Cecil had somehow managed to get a fisherman to give them crossing to the other side of the sea. Mr. Cecil had done his best, but his apparent fear of women had restricted his ability to help. Agatha had spent the entire boat ride hanging over the side of the ferry, trying not to puke, Mr. Cecil a few feet away, trying to help and failing. The only time that she hadn't been on the verge of throwing up had been when a precognition had come through, and that had been even more awkward to explain. She wised that she didn't thrash about when she got her bigger visions. Agatha had a vague suspicion that she looked like she was dying.

Agatha shook her head. Best not to remember that. Or the Engeve. Whatever a Scorer was, if it could get her through a town with no questions asked, then it was a good thing. The people had greeted her warmly, wished her the best of luck, and thanked her. Thanked her. Just for being a so-called Scorer. In a way, it disturbed her. Their almost hero worship of a woman who they had met that morning, just for being a Scorer.

"Hey Agatha, everything all right?" Mr. Cecil's voice called Agatha out of her thoughts. She nodded, and picked up the pace. Guy Cecil was a nice man, she had learned, even with his almost paralyzing gynophobia. A part of her had been relieved to learn that Guy retreated from all women, not just herself. The man couldn't tell her why he did so, just that it happened. Agatha accepted that, and kept her distance. She found that she could be about three feet away before he started to back away. Agatha tried her best to stay at least that far from him. She had no wish to antagonize him. Guy was the only link she had to figuring out why she was here. Agatha had no desire to alienate the only lead she had.

Guy watched the woman hurry up to him. She looked much more fragile than she actually was, especially now. The white ensemble did not help, and only served to make her look younger. Which was one of the reason why, he supposed that those bandits who had attacked them earlier had learned a lesson. He shook his head. Guy wasn't quite sure how she had pulled it off, but that trap she had sprung was quite amazing. He had been cutting down one of the mages, when a scream tore through the air. The swordsman had whipped around, to see the main bandit fleeing in fear as a swarm of hornets chased him. It seemed that Agatha had led the man straight to their nest, and had tricked the bandit into disturbing the nest. The results had not been pretty. With the humiliation of their leader, the other bandits had fled after him.

When he had asked the woman how she had known that the hornet's nest was there, she had just shrugged. "I just Saw it…" She had replied slowly, staring at him. That odd look was back in her eyes. It put Guy off, that piercing opaque stare. He hadn't ponder it long. Agatha accidently came too close, and his body had jerked back, out of the way, quivering. The odd look had disappeared, replaced by a look laden with curiosity and pity.

"I'm sorry," He had managed to get out. "I don't mean too…

Agatha shook her head, and had shrugged her shoulders. "It's okay. We should move on though. Your friend is going to need you… us soon enough." With her bit said, Agatha had moved on, leaving Guy to mutely follow in her wake.

She had trailed behind, scaring him once more, as they had trudged on. The two were making good time, having just passed St. Binah. It was mid-afternoon now, and their pace was starting to dwindle. Their forward advance completely halted when Agatha collapsed, contorting in odd ways. Guy was unable to do anything, only capable of watching. And listening. Whatever was happening… Agatha was mumbling throughout it. Guy had thought it was a stroke of some kind, but he had never seen a stroke that looked like this. It looked like she was dying, but also being born in a way. He was unable to approach her, his body betraying him.

As suddenly as it began, the attack, or whatever it was, ceased. Agatha sat up, that odd look in her eyes, and quickly began to examine her surroundings.

"Are you all right?" Guy inquired seriously, staring at his companion.

Agatha looked confused. Her head tilted to one side, examining him. "I'm fine." She stated tersely, after a few seconds pause. Rising to her feet, she brushed off her clothes. "We need to hurry. Your friend Luke is up ahead, on a ship that runs on land. He and his companions in trouble." Her eyes narrowed. "We need to set a trap."

Guy was confused. He'd never met a Scorer who acted like this… but it wasn't like he knew many Scorers. Perhaps it was just a quirk. "What do you mean?"

A small smirk grew on Agatha's face. "Let me explain…" She began, and quietly began to explain her idea to Guy.

--The Auldrant Report--

Luke looked down at the approaching trio through a small peephole. A blonde woman, a knight, and Ion. He heard Jade's statement vaguely. "Right on time." His stomach churned a little, at the thought that he might have to kill somebody.

"Master, you're crushing me!" A high-pitched squeak emerged from the creature that rested in Luke's hand. Mieu stared up adoringly at the red-head.

"Shut up thing," Luke snapped as he saw the ramp extend. Never-the-less, his grip loosened slightly on Mieu's head, as he raised the cheagle to eye level. As the door slide open, he roared at the creature. "Now Mieu!" The Cheagle let out a stream of fire, knocking the knight to the earth below. Inwardly, Luke flinched. Sliding down those stairs in a suit of metal, had to hurt. He was running down the stairs now. Jade had engaged the blonde woman now, even though she had fon-guns. Luke had to give it to the old man. He might be an annoyance, but he was a damn good fighter.

Luke beaned the knight over the head, just to make sure that knight wouldn't get up. A smirk crossed his face. They were doing it! They almost had Ion back. Now just to have Tear knock them out…

That was when things went wrong. Tear hesitated. "Major Legretta?" she gasped. Luke blinked. Tear knew the blonde? The pause was long enough to do the damage. A liger accompanied by a pink haired girl attack Tear then, lightning sparking out and throwing Tear to the ground. The blonde, Major Legretta, capitalized on the opening, kicking Jade and recovering her guns. The weapons were immediately pointed at Jade's head.

Luke felt a sword prick on his throat. He cursed, lifting his arms into the air. Mieu was still held in one of his hands. While the Duke's son had been watching the other events occurring, the downed knight had taken his chance. The knight had risen to his feet, and drawn his sword, rapidly getting it into a position where Luke couldn't move.

Legretta was quick to get the situation back under her control. "Arietta, take them back aboard the ship." Her gun was still trained on Jade, preventing the Colonel from making any sudden movements without receiving a bullet in return. The Colonel kept his eyes trained on his opponent regardless. Tear was held in check by the liger. Luke was stopped by the knight. Things did not look good.

There was a large clunking noise, and the knight slide to the ground, a rock bouncing away after connecting with the knight's head. A form sailed through the air, sword extended. Guy landed on Legretta, knocking the air out of her, and grabbed Ion, pulling the Fon Master out of harm's way. Jade took the opportunity to pull his spear out once more and place it against Arietta's throat, taking the young girl hostage.

"Go back on the landship." A quiet voice vocalized. Luke practically jumped. The slim woman had come out of nowhere. She was holding a sword in her hand. The knight's sword. It looked like she was about to drop it. "Peacefully. Please. I, at least, would like the least amount of bloodshed." The woman gestured with the sword. It almost slide out of her hands.

Legretta had no choice. Arietta was held hostage, in the hands of a man who would kill her if it came down to it. She had no backup, the knight was unconscious. She dropped her weapons. They hit the ground with a faint thump.

The group stared up at the door to the Tartarus as the stairs slide back into the landship's side. The group had converged near where the stairs had extended to. Luke let out a sigh of relief as he slid his hands behind his head. "Whew. Good timing Guy!" Luke smiled at his friend.

Guy shrugged. "I looked all over. Luckily, Agatha was able to tell me where you were." The group looked over at the woman clad in white. She stood off aways, staring mournfully up at the landship.

"What's with her?" Luke asked after a moment's pause. "Why's she doing that?"

"It's just the way she is. She's a Scorer. She does that every so often." The group was silent for a moment longer, as Agatha made her way back to the group. She glanced around the group.

"Why so silent?" It was an innocent inquiry, and it startled the group into motion once more.

"By the way, Ion, where's Anise?" Calm Jade shifted his attention to the Fon Master.

The Fon Master was quick to reply. "The enemy stole the emperor's letter. Anise went to get it back, and a monster knocked her out of a porthole. But I heard the Knights say that they couldn't find the body, so I'm hoping she's all right…"

"She's fine. We'll met up with her evenutally." Agatha laid a hand on the Fon Master's shoulder. "Anything else?" There was a soft smile on her face.

"No, thank you." Agatha nodded, and stepped back, her gaze swiveling around. "We should hurry though… the Knights are going to come after us." She thought that was the proper term for them. The Knights.

"Then let's head for Saint Binah. That's our rendezvous point with Anise," Jade suggested. "We should be safer in the city than out here."

The group nodded. although Luke was confused. As they began to walk away, Ion explained where Saint Binah was to Luke. It took some time.

The trip was silent. The losses at the Tartarus weighed upon the group(a hundred and forty men lost), and the knights pursuit of the group made the air tense. They made their way along, ridding the path of monsters as they encountered them, Luke and Guy with their swords, Jade with his fonic artes, and Tear with her hymns. Agatha hung out by Ion, guarding him with Mieu. His flame breath was useful. She always made sure to apologize to the little guy. He was really cute.

The journey continued thusly for another hour. Ion collapsed. Tear had hurried and knelt next to the Fon Master. Agatha had caught him, and had slowly levered him to the earth.

"Hey, you okay?" Luke turned around, concerned. Ion looked so pale… The entire group's attention was focused on the diminutive form of the Fon Master.

"Ion." The serious tone in Jade's voice drew the attention of all to the Malkuth Colonel. "You used Daathic Fonic Artes, aboard the Tartarus, didn't you?" Agatha blinked. Daathic… fonic… artes? There were different types? She had learned what fonic artes were when the group fought for the first time together. Her eyes had widened in awe as she watched Jade chant and cast a fonic arte, and must have gasped in awe when the explosion went off. Ion had laughed at the expression on her face. The Precog was learning more about this place, even in the short span that she had been with these people. The thought was growing in her mind, stronger and stronger, that she was not even on Earth anymore. When Agatha had first woken up in Chesedonia, she had though in the back of her mind, that she had somehow been transported to somewhere else on the globe. But… the more time she spent here, the more she realized that she was somewhere else entirely. She gulped. That thought… scared her. What was happening with the Twins? Would she get back to them? How had she gotten here? She forced herself to calm down, and paid attention to the conversation before her. There was no need to rush her thoughts. No need to jump to conclusions.

Agatha had missed most of the conversation. Jade was suggesting that they rest, because they risked shortening Ion's life. Agatha glanced down at the boy she knelt beside, a look of abject horror in her eyes. Shortening his life? She heard the others move to sit down, moving to sit in a circle. The only one who didn't sit was Jade, who remained standing.

Ion must have seen the look in her eyes. "Don't worry. I'll be fine." He smiled sweetly up at her. He was so innocent.

Agatha smiled tentatively back at the young Fon Master. "That's what they all say," she replied, a mournful tone in her voice. A hand rose to her forehead, and she winced. "And then they die."

There was silence. A bird was heard out in the distance. The group stared at Agatha for a moment, before Guy broke the silence. "So… you're an emissary on a mission to prevent a war? But why would Mohs want to start a war anyways?" He was staring up at Jade when he asked the question. Agatha vaguely remembered the two speaking in terse tones during the race from the Tartarus. Perhaps this was what they had been speaking about.

Ion avoided the question, pleading confidentiality. When Guy's gaze turned to her, Agatha shrugged. She had no clue who Mohs's was, let alone why he would want to start a war. Luke wasn't too happy about Ion's answer.

Jade lectured him. "Whatever his reasons, war must be avoided. We won't let Mohs interfere…" Agatha began to zone out, resting the tips of her fingers against her head. It was pounding.

Two armies surged at each other, one clad in blue, the other in red… blood was everywhere, a veritable sea of it… men went after men, landships sailed through the plains launching their attacks…

A man in white whispering to an older gentleman on the throne, a smug smirk firmly placed on his lips…

A mine, covered in a purple cloud. A town surrounding the mine. The city was…

"…servant in Duke Fabre's Manor. And this is Agatha. She's a Scorer I met in Chesedonia. She helped me to find Luke."

Agatha slowly came back to the present as the others looked at her. She nodded slowly. "A pleasure to meet you all," She stated quietly. Ion smiled at her. Jade… the Malkuth Colonel, stared at her, scrutiny in his eyes. Luke, stared at her confused. Tear smiled warmly at her.

"It's nice to meet you too," the girl said quietly, proffering her hand to shake. Agatha lightly grasped the hand and shook, smiling at the brunette. Tear looked like the man in the vision that Agatha had had right before waking up in Chesedonia. She wondered idly if the two were related.

As Tear moved to greet Guy, Agatha glanced behind them. She winced. "Hiya! I'm Mieu!" Agatha glanced dow at the small cheagle.

"Hello Mieu. It's a pleasure to meet you too." Agatha smiled as the small cheagle bounded into her lap.

He stared up warmly at her. "Are you all right? You just used a bunch of Seventh Fonons!"

Blinking, Agatha tilted her head. "No…" Seventh fonon? Fonon? What was that? "I was just… thinking."

Mieu looked confused now. "Oh. Okay." Agatha rubbed his ears. At least, she thought they were his ears. An "aaah!" drew her attention back to Guy.

He had screamed when Tear tried to get close to him. Agatha had to stifle the urge to giggle. Guy was doing it again…

"Guy doesn't like Women…" Luke stated, glancing over at his friend. There was a 'you're-so-pathetic' look in his eyes.

An different look was in Jade's eyes. One that leaned closer to an observational glance. "It looks more like a phobia to me…" he stated calmly, staring over at the blonde man, who was standing a foot away from him.

"S-sorry… It's nothing personal… It's just…" Guy had a miserable look on his face. Agatha felt bad for him. It must be rather horrible. From what Agatha could tell, Guy couldn't control it.

Tear was having nothing of it. "If it helps, you don't have to think of me as a woman." Agatha was forced to bite her lip to keep from laughing. Now that was pretty near impossible. She bit down harder when Tear tried to approach Guy once more, and shake his hand. Guy kept jumping back every time Tear advanced. Eventually, Tear gave up. "Fine, I'll keep my distance, will that take care of it?"

Agatha rose to her feet, letting Mieu rest in her arms. Approaching Tear, she offered her own words of advice. "He did the same thing when I met. He's all right, as long as your about three feet away from him…" She glanced over her shoulder again. "We should move on. The knights are getting closer."

"You're just being paranoid." Luke brushed off her warning with a wave of his hand. "We've left them far behind."

Agatha shrugged, and looked nervously over her shoulder. They were close… She couldn't concentrate on conversation before her. Agatha shifted her weight nervously. They had to move. Now. Mieu glanced up at her. "What's wrong Aggie?" Agatha's head snapped down to look down at the cheagle. "They're coming. We have to move."

The others were talking to Guy, about how he had found Luke. He was talking about how she had come up to him, and how they had traveled here. It had been several minutes. She couldn't take it any longer. She interrupted Guy. "We need to move. Now. The knights are…" Agatha was cut off by the sound of clinking metal. "Here."

Jade pulled his spear out of nowhere. In the back of her mind, Agatha wondered where he kept it when the blade wasn't out. "Oh dear… it looks like we've run out of time to chat…" he commented drolly.

Agatha had grabbed Ion's arm. "How can you be so calm?" She asked, scared. Too many memories… John fighting his fellow officer's… Burgess murdering her… Agatha shook her head. Not now. NOT now.

Luke seemed hesitant too. "Th-those are people…" he commented quietly.

Tear rushed forward, past Luke, and ordered him. "Luke, stay back! You know you won't be able to kill them!"

"You won't get away!" the leader of the knights bellowed, charging forward. His two companions followed suit. Jade and Guy rushed forward. Guy used his speed to rush an enemy, with Jade following up with a thrust of his spear. Tear began to sing one of her hymns, and Luke slowly entered the fray. Agatha let out a yelp, and pulled Ion back. The Fon Master was light, she noted absently. Her eyes roved the ground. There. Hefting a rock in the palm of her hand, she chucked the rock at Luke's opponent, a sonorous tone emerging as the rock connected with the man's helmet, making him woozy. Luke cast a grateful look in her direction, and returned to the fight. Agatha scowled. The rock hadn't worked this time.

Agatha's eyes scanned the area around her. What to use, what to use… The battle was almost done. Jade and Guy had taken out one of the men, and were working on the second, and Tear alternated between artes and hymns. With a brutal stab, Jade finished the man he was attacking, and called out to Luke. "Finish him!"

Agatha watched as Luke hesitated… and was disarmed. Her heart lurched as the knight launched himself at Luke. He was just standing there. "LUKE MOVE!" Agatha screamed as Guy yelled "Luke snap out of it!" Guy charged at the knight. Tear moved as well, shoving Luke out of the way, and took the brunt of the knight's attack.

"Tear!" Agatha ran up to the other girl, while Guy cut the knight down. She knelt down beside her and began to look at the wound. Luke sat on the ground nearby stunned. He tried to say something to Tear, to explain his actions.

Agatha fiddle with the opening to her bag, absently listening to Tear's reply. She bit her tongue to stop the slightly hysterical giggle that rose when she heard Tear's reply. "…You idiot."

Pulling out an apple gel, Agatha applied it gently to Tear's wound. "You're a very brave person," she stated quietly to the other girl. I couldn't have done that." Tear made no reply.

--The Auldrant Report--

The group spent the night there. They rested and healed, and prepared for the rest of the trip to Saint Binah. Agatha made no attempt at small talk. She sat near Tear, and the two spent the evening together, silently. The only time Agatha moved was to let Tear and Luke have a little privacy. She figured that they were talking about the events earlier today. Agatha wouldn't intrude.

The Precog avoided Jade. The man had an odd look in his crimson eyes whenever she found him looking at her, rather like that of a cat who had a mouse in its sight. He scared her. He reminded her of the scientists at the Pre-Crime division, cold and cruel, poking and prodding her and never leaving her alone. She shivered, and prayed that Luke and Tear would finish their conversation soon, so that she could escape the man's steely gaze. Even when the two were done talking, Agatha could still feel Jade's gaze on her.

She did not sleep well.

The morning was bright and sunny, the road had no signs of yesterday's fight. The group set off after a brief strategy meeting. Luke said that he would kill people, if it came down to it. Agatha admired his resolve. She wasn't sure if she could… if it came down to it. Yes. She thought that she could. But now… right now… she was unsure. The though of killing people bothered her the entire way to Saint Binah.

It took them most of the morning to reach the walled town. Agatha sighed in relief, Mieu cheering her arms. Luke looked happy, as did Guy. Tear was stoic, and Jade cut the celebrations short by pointing out the company.

The gates to Saint Binah were guarded by the Knights.

Disclaimer: I own naught but my own ideas. Abyss belongs to Namco and Agatha to Spielburg. Or however you spell his name.

Author's Note: Yet another chapter done… I'm going to try to update every two weeks or so. That is my goal. I have busy weeks coming up… tech week for the school musical and the actual performances… Anyways, many, many thanks to my reviewers, Anakerie and the fifth kazekage, along with a special thanks to my Beta, Lady Kat. I appreciate your support!! They all have some very good fics published, so if you have some free time, you should go read them!

Thank you so much for reading my story! Reviews are appreciated, but so are the silent readers. I'm just happy that my story is being read! Thank you so much!