A/N: I think I forgot to change the chapter number on the last chapter… Hehe, sorry! ^^' Here's the next chapter. A little shorter than the last one, but it is the calm before one of many storms.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Chapter 5

The Tartarus

"The Seventh Fonon hyperresonance came from the direction of the capital of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear and converged inside Malkuth territory near Tataroo Valley," Jade stared at the two teenagers from behind his glasses. Luke rolled his shoulders. That stare could probably stare straight through a wall if necessary.

"Now, if you two were the source of that hyperresonance, that would make you guilty of illegally crossing the border into our country, wouldn't it?" the longhaired man continued, his eyes still fixed on them. From behind him, the young noble could see Ion and his Guardian – Anise was the name of the pink dressed girl – watching the scene with interest.

They were in a little room aboard the Tartarus, the Malkuth Empire's newest land dreadnought, all filled with beds, boxes, a table and a sofa where Luke and Tear, with Mieu in her lap, sat. It was the place they had been taken to when the soldiers captured them some time earlier, and it was just hours later that Jade had decided to come and explain why the hell they had been taken.

"Tear, we already know you're with the Oracle Knights. But what about you, Luke? What's your full name?" The redheaded noble found himself disliking the older male more and more as the time went by. Still, this was probably the best chance he would ever get to clear up one thing that had bothered him as long back as he could remember.

"Luke fon Fabre. I'm the Luke you idiots tried to kidnap," he said as he crossed his arms over his chest. For once he might get a real answer to the whole kidnapping thing. Asch never wanted to talk about it, and no one else at the manor seemed to know anything beside that the two boys were taken by the Malkuth military.

Whether it was his name or the kidnapping fact that surprised his newest acquaintances, he didn't know, but whichever it was it left both Anise and Ion with shocked faces. Jade appeared rather untouched by what the noble said.

"The son of Duke Fabre, who married into the Kimlascan royal family?" the soldier stared at the redhead and waited for a confirmation.

"A Duke?" should he be afraid considering how the Fon Master Guardian sounded as she spoke his father's title? That was a little more than just cheerful.

"Why are you in Malkuth? And what's this about a kidnapping? That doesn't sound very pleasant," Jade drowned Anise's voice as he spoke, dragging the attention back to himself and away from the little girl. Luke frowned slightly. The other man had never heard of the kidnapping? That didn't sound right.

"We're here only because our Seventh Fonons caused a hyperresonance. It wasn't an act of aggression against Malkuth by House Fabre," Tear explained, dragging the conversation back to the main topic.

"Colonel, I believe Tear is telling the truth. I don't feel any hostility from him," Ion aided, smiling softly to the two on the sofa. The redheaded noble relaxed a little at his words and answered the smile with one of his own grins.

"Yes. It does seem he's lived a sheltered life, completely ignorant of the world outside," the grin faded away and emerald eyes glared at the Malkuth Colonel.

"Humph. Fine, make fun of me," Luke muttered as he crossed his arms and turned his head to glare a hole in the wall to his left. It wasn't his fault he had been locked up in the manor after losing his memories. Annoying old man.

"Actually, why don't we ask for their help?" Ion said as walked a few steps closer to the captured duo. Jade sighed.

"We're headed for Kimlasca under orders from His Majesty, Peony the Ninth, Emperor of Malkuth," the soldier explained, still keeping a firm look on Tear and Luke. To his side, Luke could feel Tear straighten in her seat.

"To declare war…?" she asked hesitatingly. That got the noble boy's attention. The redhead twisted around to stare at her with wide eyes.

"Wait, what? Are saying a war's gonna start?" he questioned. When had things gone this bad between the two countries? Sure, the coachman from earlier had mentioned something similar to this, but… Neither his father, Asch nor Natalia had ever spoken about a war!

"You've got it backwards, Luke!" emerald eyes turned towards the black haired Guardian, "we're trying to prevent a war from breaking out." The Colonel's stare switched from the duo to the little girl.

"Anise, that's not public information," he scolded, but that didn't stop the words from reaching those who should not have heard them.

"Trying to prevent a war…?" the noble asked, completely ignoring the Colonel's words to the girl, "Are relations between Kimlasca and Malkuth really that bad?" It sounded a lot worse than what the coachman had said. By the way this group sounded, one could almost expect a war to break out any second. Why didn't you tell me, Asch, Natalia?

Tear watched him from the side; those blue eyes were hard not to notice.

"I think you're the only one who doesn't know," she said, but the boy was too lost in thoughts to answer her. From across the floor, red eyes followed those on the sofa. A hand lifted glasses back up on the nose.

"We're going to release you now. I'll grant you permission to enter any area you wish, apart from those containing military secrets," Jade said, causing the two teens to flinch slightly and stare at him with huge eyes. They had not expected to be released so quickly after the capture, definitely not by the man who stood in front of them.

"First, learn a little about us. Then, if you feel you can trust us, we'd like to ask your help. So that we might prevent this war," which was probably the most honest the man was ever going to be with them. Luke crossed his arms and struggled to keep from tapping his foot on the floor. What was the problem with being honest about this whole war-peace-thing?

"If you want us to help you, why don't you just tell us what's going on?" he questioned with annoyance clear in his voice. The man answered with a slight smile.

"If we were to explain and then you decided not to cooperate with us, we would be forced to hold you captive," that nice-sounding voice didn't match him at all. Wait, the hell had he just said?

"What?" they had to hold them captive if they didn't cooperate after hearing the whole truth? That was just ridiculous. Besides, he did want to help bring peace to his home country, the country two of the people most dear to him one day would rule. Even though one of them could be rather annoying at times. Scratch that, both could be annoying as hell.

"This matter is a state secret. That's why I'm urging you to make up your mind. I hope we have your understanding," Jade left the room without a second glance on them, leaving his final words to hang in the silence that followed his departure.

"I'm sure they'll tell you the details after you agree to help. I'll be waiting," Ion said with a soft smile after what seemed like hours of complete silence. With that said, the green haired Fon Master decided it was time for him to follow the Malkuth Colonel. Luke stared blankly out in the room, lost in thoughts of war and siblings, and didn't notice Tear's movements before she stood right in front of him. If he should judge out form her face, he would say she had been standing there for a while already, even though he could have sworn Ion just left.

"Why don't we take a walk around the ship?" she asked once she was sure he had his attention at her, "I think even you'll start to get an idea of what's going on in the world." That hurt a little. He wasn't that oblivious to his surroundings. The only reason he didn't know about the war was because no one had told him about it, damnit!

"Let's go exploring, Master!" Mieu squeaked as it landed on his right shoulder. A little too close to his ear. The redheaded noble pushed the little blue thing away, causing it to hit the floor with a soft thud. He regretted it just a second too late, and the hurt look the thing sent him didn't help, but his pride stopped him from picking the thing up again from the floor.

"Luke!" the brunette scolded as she knelt down to do the job he should have done. Luke sighted in annoyance and irritation, and let the girl handle the cheagle as he started to walk toward the door on the other side of the room. He should apologise, but not now. Not when he was still irritated, both by the sudden attack on his hearing and by the scolding. Later. He would save it for later.

"Hey, Luke!" oh, he had forgotten the Fon Master Guardian was still in the room. The little girl, who had been standing right by the door, stopped him in his tracks and smiled widely up at him. Dark eyes shined in the weak light of the cabin.

"I can show you around if you like!" she offered. The wide smile, however, faded away the minute Tear caught up to them and placed herself by the boy's side.

"Um… Maybe I would just get in the way…"

The brunette shook her head and gave the girl a light smile.

"Not at all. We'd appreciate it," she said, her eyes not once landing on Luke. Mieu was safely placed in her arms. The boy crossed his arms and glared at the door next to him. If she wanted to be like that, then fine.

"So, Luke… Where do you want to go?" the pink-clad girl asked as she jumped into his field of sight, a wide smile covering her face. Apparently, Tear didn't matter to the girl even if she had been the one to answer her request to guide them.

"Where?" the redheaded noble relaxed enough to let his arms fall to his side. He had never been aboard a ship before – not one he could remember, at least – and what sort of facilities they had on these things were unknown to him. Natalia had once spoken about her tour with the cruise liner bearing her name, but what she said she had done there he couldn't remember.

"Well, uh, I don't know anything about this ship, so… What's on it?" he answered, emerald eyes placed on the dark haired girl. When the hell had she gotten a hold of his left arm? He tried to shake her off, but the girl's grip just tightened by the action.

The smile faded away a little as the girl placed a hand beneath her chin and gained a thoughtful look on her face.

"Let's see… There's the bridge, there's the lounge where all the soldiers relax, and there's the cafeteria too…" she stopped, her face dropping a little, "well, a small one, anyway. Then there's the big room they use for meetings, and a bunch of rooms for everyone to sleep in." Luke raised his eyebrows.

"That's it? Doesn't sound very interesting," and Natalia had said this things were fun? She really had to reconsider her definition of that word.

Anise held out her hands, finally letting go of the arm she had clung to with one of her own.

"Well, the Tartarus is a battleship, so it can't really compare to a cruise liner…" fine, maybe the princess was correct, then, "Oh! How about the engine room? It's great if you're into fontech," the Fon Master Guardian grinned as she completed her sentence. It would probably have been amazing for Guy, who he knew loved fontech, but the redheaded noble lacked his friend's interest and understanding of those things. Tear didn't look too interested in going there, either.

"Uh, no, that's okay. I don't know any of that stuff anyway," Luke said, which was entirely true. Guy might have tried to explain it to him – and Asch – but it had failed completely in entering the twins' heads.

The dark haired girl opened her mouth to say something, probably a reply to their conversation, but got interrupted by a loud growl. The four in the room twisted around, trying to find the source of the sound. The room, however, was completely empty beside the four of them. When the growling sounded one more time – a little too close -, Mieu jumped out of Tear's arms and sought refuge in the mass of red hair hanging down Luke's back.

"It's a monster, mieu!" it cried while clinging to the back of the noble's jacket. The boy placed his left hand on the hilt of his sword, prepared for whatever might come their way. Tear had tightened her grip on her rod, her face cold and emotionless. The third growl, not so loud and close as last time, made the redhead turn his head in it's direction, only to stand face to face with the brunette. Then, Anise burst out in laughter, which caused the two teens to blush. The possibility of her laughing at them was far too realistic. It didn't help that the young girl fell to the ground and rolled around for a good minute before she sat up again. A hand still rested on her stomach.

"What the hell are you laughing at?" Luke could feel his face starting to match his hair more and more as the seconds went by. Tear wasn't fairing any better, though the colour of her face resembled Asch's hair-colour more than his. And it was no fair that the girl laughed of them.

"I think the cafeteria is where we are going, 'cause you two sound like you haven't eaten in months!" Anise laughed, her voice rising in volume as two red faces just blushed even more.

*~^:^~*

The cafeteria aboard the Tartarus was rather small compared to the ones Tear was familiar with from her previous trips to military mess halls. The room was lit up with the use of fonstones, three above each of the five long tables reaching almost from side to side. It was completely empty beside the two captured teens, the cheagle, their guide and a man sitting all alone a little further away on the table they had taken a seat by. Those who made the food were either on the kitchen or gone to bed.

Tear's blue eyes were locked on the blue cheagle – a boy cheagle, which they had learned earlier when Luke accidentally called Mieu a girl – and the one he called master. She was still a little angry at the redhead for how he had thrown the cheagle to the ground without apologising afterwards, but they seemed to have made up with each other somewhere along the way to the cafeteria. At the moment, they were both enjoying supper; a bowl of soup in Luke's case and vegetables for Mieu. The brunette was a little embarrassed about how she could have forgotten to stop for breakfast earlier that day – mostly because the boy had gone his own way before she even could consider it – and make lunch during their little adventure in the Cheagle Woods. They had ended up going the entire day without anything to eat, and by the time Jade released them, it was already too late for anything other than supper. Not that it bothered her much; the soup was rather good – the empty bowl stood in front of her - and the noble had yet to complain about it not being what he was used to. Watching cute Mieu eat his food also made it all worth it.

Luke had at some point found a rubber band he used to keep his long, red hair from getting in the food. She almost wished she had hair like that. Such a beautiful colour with those adorable golden edges, and the length! Once, when she was a little girl, she had always dreamed of having hair that reached down her entire back, but that was before she realised just how boring her brown colour was and how stupid it would be to grow it any longer than she already had. Not that she hated her hair; she loved it, really, but it was just so normal compared to others. Especially when one stood beside those adorable red locks of hair, or sat as she did.

"Hello, Tear, are you listening?" blue eyes moved from the eating boy to the Fon Master Guardian sitting right in front of her on the other side of the table. Anise had hardly done anything besides talking since they started to move toward the cafeteria, and the older girl couldn't remember what they had talked about before she turned her attention towards the eating duo.

Luckily, she never had to answer as the only other person besides them in the cafeteria decided that was the perfect time to create an explosion. Anise twisted around to glare at him, obviously surprised by the sudden sound, and she was not alone in doing so. Tear felt her own attention getting dragged to the poor man, who looked guilty there he sat with his hands in front of him and his eyes locked on the table.

"Gah! Recruit Tony! Did you do it again?" the dark haired Fon Master Guardian yelled, her eyes piercing through the man. His head turned so he could face her, and the look in his eyes grew depressed.

"I-I'm sorry!" he answered, lowering his hands so they rested against the surface of the table.

"What were you doing?" the redheaded noble had switched his attention from his food to the poor soldier, a curious look in his emerald eyes. With the teenager's interest turned towards something other than his food, Mieu took the opportunity to steal some of the vegetables from the boy's soup. Tear blushed slightly. The cheagle was far too cute for his own good there he sat munching on his food.

The soldier who had caused the explosion cleaned his throat before he gave the watchers a small smile.

"I want to become a fonist, so I was practicing fonic artes," the smile turned a little sad before he continued, "fonic artes are big in our country, so a soldier who cannot use them is an embarrassment…" Being a fonist herself, Tear knew next to nothing about how it must be for those who was not. What would life be like if she did not have her fonic artes? Maybe she did depend too much on them, but they were handy and useful.

"How do you use fonic artes, anyway? Can I use it, too?" the brunette blinked. Had no one taught the young noble about fonic artes? Not that his sudden interest in the subject surprised her; she had seen the passion he held for his sword and how much he practiced with it, and earlier that day she had heard him ask Ion about the fonic arte he used before they showed up. Anything that could be used to make someone stronger seemed to gain the redhead's attention.

Apparently, the question didn't bother the soldier either. If anything, he seemed happy to be able to explain something he obviously was interested in to someone who hardly knew anything about the subject.

"You take fonons from the fon belt into your body and then collide your fonon frequency with their own, generating special power," Tony explained, holding his hands out in the same position he had had them right after the explosion. The noble, however, tipped his head to the side and looked just like a question mark, eyes confused and lips slightly parted.

The Oracle Knight sighed. It would probably be for the better if she took over.

"The fon belt is a layer of fonons that surrounds the planet," she said in a soft voice. He didn't deserve that she got irritated because of this, not when he couldn't remember due to amnesia. "By opening your body's fon slots, you draw in fonons and then join them together using a fon verse…" and the boy just looked more confused than ever.

"Huh? I have no idea what the hell you're talking about!" frustrated, he ruffled his own, long hair, completely forgetting about the rubber band and thus making the hair stand out in every direction.

Cute.

"Okay. Basically, a fonic arte uses a spell – a 'fon verse' – to control elemental powers called 'fonons'," Anise took over the explanation, hopefully having some more luck with the boy than the two others. Luke still didn't seem like he understood anything of what they had tried to teach him. Tear would explain it better for him another time where she could show him what she meant as well. This was something that most likely needed to be viewed for someone to understand it better.

"It is very difficult," Tony said as he stood up from his seat, eyes locked on the redhead. "Colonel Jade can do it as if it were nothing," he grinned a little, "he's a genius." With that, the soldier nodded once to the little group before he headed towards the door and disappeared out of the cafeteria. As he left, Anise stood up and came to sit beside Luke, clinging to his arm as she tried to explain the fonic artes subject to him.

The brunette, however, was too lost in thoughts to even care about the conversation going on by her side. Something in the man's voice kept Tear from forgetting what he had said right before leaving. He was proud, she noticed, proud of being a part of the team that travelled with the Colonel, proud to be at the same place as the older man. Apparently, Jade held a lot of respect among the soldiers working beneath him.

Speaking – thinking, more like it – of the Colonel.

"Well, well, Luke. A lovely lady on each arm?" Jade stood right in front of them, Ion by his side, and watched the three on the other side of the table. Mieu had slipped out of view, most likely to sit in Luke's lap.

Tear could feel her face burn all over again. Had it not been enough with the whole growling-stomach-incident?

"Oh, Colonel…" Anise's giggling voice didn't help much either. The red eyes stared straight into Tear's blue ones. Was that a teasing look?

"I… I'm not… We're not…" why wouldn't her mouth form any words? And had she just called Luke cute earlier? Wait… He called her lovely? And a lady? Those were words female soldiers hardly ever heard.

"I'm sorry for getting you involved in this," the Fon Master said as he sat down right across of Luke. The redhead's face was matching his hair again, and he had to swallow before he could find the words to answer the boy with.

"No problem. If you'd at least tell me what's going on…" Luke didn't sound demanding despite his words. Just a little disappointed. Maybe he was used to not being told everything about what was going on. That would explain his surprise when they told him that Malkuth and Kimlasca were close to war with each other. The green-haired Fon Master gave them an apologising smile.

"I'm afraid I'm influencing the situation as well. That's why Jade is being so cautious," he said.

"Because the Order of Lorelei is acting as a go-between?"

Ion nodded.

"Yes, that's part of it, but… I'm afraid I can't tell you yet," he did sound sorry for not giving them the entire thing straight out, but Jade's keen stare and the situation alone stopped him. The young noble muttered something beneath his breath, but Tear didn't quite catch it no matter how close she sat. Whatever it was, she doubted it was important, otherwise he would have said it louder.

"Now, Luke," the Colonel's voice gained the attention from all in the cafeteria, " what's this about a 'kidnapping' you mentioned earlier?" he asked in a voice filled with curiosity, but it only served to annoy the young noble.

"How should I know?" he said, waving his hands in frustration and glaring at the man still standing in front of them , "you people from Malkuth are the ones who kidnapped me and my brother!" that got the Malkuth soldier to frown.

"Your brother?" Tear doubted anyone but her – and maybe Ion - had heard the man's low question. She blinked. What was so strange about Luke having a brother? Most families she knew about had two or more children, it was rather strange for her to hear about those who only had one.

"Well, I'm afraid I don't know anything about it. Did it happen during the previous Emperor's reign?" the man said in his normal voice, but the eyes never left the youth in front of him. Luke crossed his arms and turned his head to the side, refusing emerald eyes from meeting ruby coloured ones.

"Beats me. Thanks to that, I lost all my childhood memories."

Tear felt bad for him again. It couldn't be easy, not remembering any of your past memories. No wonder the boy got frustrated and irritated over things he should remember, but didn't.

"I'm sure you have your grievances, but I do hope that we can obtain your cooperation." Was it just her or had the Colonel been silent for a little too long when Luke finished talking? Probably just her imagination.

"Very well, then, I will let you think it over tonight and talk to you again tomorrow morning," without another word of goodbye, the long haired soldier turned around and left the cafeteria.

The five left behind – if one counted in Mieu – sat in silence for a few minutes, before they decided to turn in for the night, letting Ion and Anise guide the two previous-captives to a room they could use for the night.

*~^:^~*

A/N: The calm before the storm. Not my favourite chapter, but oh, well. Hope you enjoyed it anyway^^