A/N: Ohhh man, lol, I swear this is the last time I'll be typing up such a monster chapter. It just about killed me. That being said, I hope you enjoy it. But know that the next ones will be considerably shorter- and hey- that means faster updates for all of you :)

Also, I've been known to abuse line breaks. This chapter is no exception- sorry ^-^u

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.

Chapter Five: Let's Get Ready Rumble!

When Luke woke, the darkness was gone and the air was filled with sounds of waddling cheagles and chirping birds. He laid on his back for several minutes, trying to place where he was and what was going on. The ground was hard beneath him and very uncomfortable. What the hell had he slept on last night?

The events from the day before flashed through his mind.

Oh. Cheagles, ligers, killer birds, rabid wolves, the Fon Master, John... Right.

The Cheagle Woods.

They were still inside it. And now they had to go make peace with a bunch of monsters.

Luke could already tell this would be a wonderful day.

He slowly sat himself up and brought his fingers to his face, feeling the ghost of cold hand. His eyes widened. "Asch..." he mumbled. He dispelled the thought. No, it hadn't been Asch. He remembered now; it had been himself. Luke shuddered and stopped touching his face. He could still feel the frigid . No dream should have left anything like that behind.

He really hoped it went away.

"Luke," his name was called. The redhead looked to his left to see the Fon Master.

"Ion," Luke said as way of a reply. He stood.

"Are you ready to leave?" Ion asked as he walked over, Mieu riding on his shoulder.

"Huh? What about breakfast?" Luke questioned.

Ion apologetically smiled. "We'll have to find something to eat on our way. I'm sorry."

"Well that sucks," Luke mumbled.

"I'm really sorry," Ion said again.

"Quit apologizin'," Luke said, embarrassed. He stretched his arms high above his head and tested the durability of his injured one. It didn't hurt save for a pang of pain here and there. He faced the Fon Master when he was done. "Alright, I'm good to go. Let's get this over with."

"Mieu! This should be fun!" the blue cheagle cheered.

A vein popped on Luke's forehead. "Shut up Thing! Nothing about this is fun!"

Mieu innocently blinked at the redhead. "Is Master upset?"

"Are you still calling me that? Whatever, forget it. These damn ligers better be willing to cooperate," Luke grouched as he stalked outside the tree grove. "I'm not making this trip out for nothing."

Ion sighed. "I hope they cooperate too." Otherwise we'll have trouble...

"That's a big tree," Tear commented aloud, her head tilted back. "I wonder how it grew to be so big..."

"Does it matter?" Asch scoffed, walking towards the large entrance at its base.

Tear resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him as she followed. "You've been in a bad mood since this morning, Asch."

"Of course I have," Asch irritatingly scratched at a bug bite on his arm. "We had to sleep in these stupid woods!"

"At least no monsters attacked."

"Yeah, well, whatever," Asch grumbled, having nothing to say in return.

They entered the tree grove, startling the cheagles inside and causing them to scatter and run off. Tear blushed intensely at the sight and had to forcibly restrain herself from reaching out and grabbing one. Her blush only deepened when she saw the odd look Asch was giving her.

"What's with you?" he asked.

Tear averted her gaze. "N-Nothing."

Asch squinted his eyes at her, about to pry further, but a hoarse voice stopped him.

"Back so soon? Did you forget something perhaps?"

Both Asch and Tear blinked before looking down. A cheagle, violet in color, looked curiously at them.

"Ah..." the cheagle tilted her head. "You are not the same as the one who came before. Mieu is not with you and neither is the Fon Master."

"Fon Master?" Asch fixed the cheagle with a sharp look. "You mean they were here? And who's this...Mieu?"

"He is a young cheagle I sent with the Fon Master and his redheaded comrade," the elder elaborated. "They left little over a half an hour ago in order to negotiate with the ligers."

Tear looked alarmed. "Negotiate? I'm sorry, but do you please think you could fill us in on the situation? We've been looking for our companions for quite some time now."

"Of course," the cheagle elder said. She gave them a brief overview of the events which transpired.

"I see," Tear said when she finished. "Thank you for telling us."

"It was no problem," the elder replied.

Asch could scarcely believe his ears. And Luke had the nerve to complain about taking detours? That dreck really did do whatever he wanted, didn't he?

"It doesn't sound like they've gotten too far. If we hurry we can catch up with them," Tear said, already turning to leave.

Asch gruffly crossed his arms. "It's just one thing after another, isn't it?"

Luke led the way through a grassy path, Mieu propped on his shoulder chatting the redhead's ear off.

"And then all the other cheagles ran off to play without even asking me if I wanted to come along. The Cheagle Elder said it was my fault because I brought the ligers here."

"Well of course it's your fault. You burned their home down!"

"Mieu...but not on purpose!"

"Look Thing- I could accidentally blow my house up, but it doesn't mean it's not my fault."

"But everyone's so mean to me! My friends won't talk to me anymore..."

Luke stopped walking, popping a vein. He turned his head to snap at Mieu, "I wouldn't talk to you anymore either! Your 'friends' are being hauled off by these stupid ligers as payment for what you've done!"

Mieu puffed out his cheeks. "I'm going to make it right! Watch me Master!"

"Yeah, whatever Thing..."

"I will, I will!"

During the course of this conversation, Ion had been trailing a couple of feet behind the redhead and cheagle. It wasn't because he didn't feel well or was tired from the walk; he was just trying to stay out of the way lest Luke irritate Mieu to the point where the cheagle would spit out another blast of fire at him. Ion barely dodged the flame the first time it happened- he wouldn't take the risk again.

But now as Ion walked, his eyes were trained on the redhead's waist. He had just noticed a black bag slung around him along with a sheath above it, though the sheath was empty. It answered the question of why Luke had never pulled his own weapon out during their unfortunate encounters with monsters, but it didn't answer what exactly the black bag was.

And Luke had never brought it up. The Fon Master had a half mind to think that Luke didn't realize he had it on.

"Master, master, will you protect me if the ligers attack?"

"The ligers aren't going to attack. We're going to negotiate with them, remember?"

"But what if they do?"

"Shut up will you? You're so annoying!"

"Luke..." Ion hesitatingly interrupted, looking at the black pouch strapped around the older boy's waist. "What's that?"

"Huh?" Luke brought a hand to where the Fon Master's eyes were trained. His brows flew high on his forehead. "I totally forgot I had this!"

Mieu opened and shut his large eyes. "I noticed you had it."

A vein began to throb on Luke's neck. "Shut up!"

"Is it something important?" Ion questioned.

"It's a pack with some medicine inside," Luke replied. And my diary... "I can't believe I didn't remember..." he dejectedly mumbled.

Ion smiled in exasperation. "Well at least you know now. Why don't you use some of the medicine inside to treat your arm?"

Luke blinked. "Good idea." A wide grin spread across his face. "Hey- you're pretty smart for a kid!"

A small vein appeared on the Fon Master's brow. "Smarter than you anyhow."

"Heh." Luke's eye twitched. "Good comeback, punk."

Ion smiled sweetly in return. "Don't you think?"

They stared at one another for several moments, then turned aside, hiding sounds of laughter.

After a couple of seconds, they continued on their walk through the Woods, Luke rummaging through his pack to pull out an apple gel. He had just fumbled one out when a low caw sounded ominously behind them.

Luke froze mid-step, a shudder racking his body.

He and Ion faced the source of the noise, Mieu hiding behind the Fon Master's legs.

A bird glared at them, opening and shutting its massive butchering knife-shapped beak.

"That doesn't look friendly," Ion said in a low voice.

"Trust me- it's not," Luke muttered.

This bird looked just like the one that had chopped off half his hair during his first day in the Cheagle Woods. It had the same maniac glint in its eye too. In fact... Luke slowly scowled as he noticed something else about the bird.

"Luke? What's wrong?"

"This thing... I've run into it before."

"I don't think it's the same one Luke," Ion sweatdropped. "The woods are filled with a variety of the same species."

"No," Luke took a step back, pushing the Fon Master with him, "this is definitely the same one."

"How can you tell? Ion was beginning to think his redhead companion was a bit paranoid. Then Luke raised a hand, pointing to the bird's butcher-beak where several strands of red could be seen caught on its blade. Ion blinked, his brows lowering soon after. "What are the odds..." he mumbled.

"There's not a lot of room to fight either," Luke noticed in slight frustration. He pushed Ion away from him, looking at the boy over his shoulder. "Stay here and don't move. I don't want that thing attacking you."

Ion frowned. "What about you?"

Luke glanced at the bird, annoyed. "I'll have to drive the stupid monster off. Otherwise it'll keep following us."

"...Right."

"Come on Thing," Luke said to the blue cheagle, holding out his arm. The cheagle jumped onto him and scurried to his shoulder, where it clung fearfully.

"Master, is that bird going to kill us?"

Luke pulled a face. "Let's hope not," was all he grumbled before running straight at the deadly creature. Luke wondered briefly where his own fear at facing a monster in battle had gone. Here he was unarmed and in danger for the third time, but less afraid than he'd been in Tataroo Valley. Maybe because he had someone to protect? Or was it that he didn't want to look bad in front of the Fon Master?

Either way- Luke wouldn't let himself be beaten!

The bird, though surprised at the frontal assault, danced to the side- and with reflexes faster than anything that size should possess- jumped up and made a slash at Luke's face. Luke barely jerked his head aside in time, the beak slicing a thin line into his cheek, and hacking off a chunk of the bangs which hung in front his brow.

Triumphantly the bird screeched and tittered on its feet a ways from the livid redhead.

Luke howled with rage, eyes murderous as they locked onto the prancing bird. "I'll kill that thing!"

"Are you alright?" Ion called from the other side of the path.

Luke didn't seem to hear him.

"My hair! Why the hell does it keep coming for my hair!"

Mieu saw his Master's clear distress and swung around to glare at the monster attacking them. "You'll pay for that!" he decided. "Mieu, mieu!"

The bird indignantly squawked.

"Mieu!"

Mieu and the bird charged at one another at the same time.

"Miiiiieeeeeeeeeeeuuuuuuu! I will protect Master and his friend!"

The bird almost ripped the cheagle's head off.

"Mieu!" Ion frantically exclaimed.

The cheagle smacked the ground, but rolled onto his tiny feet within the next second. He trembled in fright. "I-I'll go find some help!" he shrilly cried before vanishing through the trees.

"Oh a fat load of help that thing is!" Luke angrily snapped as the bird fixed its attention onto him again. "Damn... Looks like I have no choice." He began to sprint in the Fon Master's direction. "Ion!"

Ion opened his mouth as the redhead ran up to him. "Yes?"

"Give me this!" Luke growled, snatching the staff from the boy.

Ion held out a hand, an odd sense of deja vu working its way in the recesses of his mind. "Luke-" he started to say, then stopped. There was no point in trying to talk to the redhead now- he was already in the middle of the pathway again; far too worked up.

And so was the bird.

Luke and the monster stood locked in a battle of wills and glares. The bird reared its head and then cawed painfully loud. It kicked its leg backwards in a repetitive motion as if building up speed; shooting forward in the next instant.

But the redhead was more than ready this time.

He dodged to the side and pivoted on his heel, raising Ion's staff high above him. "Get outta here and don't come back!" Luke hollered, smashing the bird soundly on its head.

The bird shrieked in anger and skittered back five feet. It glowered and snapped its beak ferociously, looking from the redhead to the Fon Master, both who looked unwilling to give in. Deciding it wasn't worth the trouble, the bird squawked one last time at the pair before turning tail and running off.

Ion sighed and sank to his knees. "Thank Yulia..."

Luke suspiciously watched the tree trunks the bird had vanished in between to make sure the monster was gone for good. "I hate that thing," he said. "I really, really do."

"I'm sure it feels the same way," Ion replied. "Let's hope it doesn't come back."

"Yeah." Luke turned from the trees to look at the Fon Master. A small hint of worry crossed his features and he walked over. "Hey- are you okay?"

"I'm fine. All that commotion just wore me out."

"If you say so..." Luke noticed the troubled look on the boy's face and quickly changed the subject, planting a hand on his waist and loudly saying, "Heh. Bet you're glad I came along with you now, huh?"

"I am. Although I'm going to have to protest to you using my staff as a weapon again," Ion told him with a smile.

"Sorry," Luke grumbled, handing the Fon Master his staff back. He tripped over a strip of his ripped pants in the process and almost failed to regain his balance. When he did, however, the look on his face was anything but joyful.

Ion tilted his head. "What's wrong?"

"Man! My clothes are ruined!" Luke exclaimed, holding up one tattered end of his jacket. "Look at this!"

Ion exasperatedly smiled, seeing that nothing serious was wrong. "You should be glad that's the only thing that was torn off. That bird was vicious."

Luke cast him a sore look. "And whose fault is it that we didn't run away as soon as we saw it?"

"I honestly had no idea the creatures here could be so aggressive."

"The cheagles were aggressive and they're the most harmless things in this damn place!"

Ion finally stood, brushing what dirt he could from his robes as he balanced himself with his staff. He glanced over at Luke through thick green bangs. "Well you know what they say. You live and learn a little each day. Dying's only half of it."

"What?"

Ion brought a finger to his chin, looking off to the side. "Maybe I said it wrong...?"

Luke looked at him, brow twitching. "Maybe."

Ion lightly shrugged and dropped his hand. "At any rate, you and I are both alive."

"Yeah, whatever, I know," Luke grumbled. He grasped his hair with a scowl. "But would you look at this? It gets shorter every time! I can't fight like this," he continued to complain, holding the jagged ends of his bangs away from his face. "Ion- you have anything useful?"

"Useful?"

"Yeah. Like a band or something..."

"...All I have is this," Ion said, offering a gold ribbon from within his robe. "Anise gave it to me for safe-keeping, though I'm not sure why. Do you want to use it?"

"Anise?" Luke eyed the ribbon. He really didn't want to take it, but his hair was steadily growing worse.

"My Fon Master Guardian."

Luke thought back to the girl they met at the Inn in Engeve. "Oh- I met her!"

Ion blinked. "You did?"

"Yeah. I didn't get to talk to her much. She ran off looking for you."

"Ah..." Ion smiled. "That sounds like her. She mentioned being told where to find me by a couple of strangers. I didn't know it was you."

"Surprise," Luke said. He finally took the ribbon from the Fon Master, sighing as he tied his hair in a low tail. "So?" He reluctantly looked at Ion. "How do I look?"

Ion blinked, trying not to chuckle. "You look g-good."

A vein appeared on the side of Luke's head. "Really?"

Ion's smile grew wider. "Yes."

Luke pulled the green-haired boy into a headlock, the vein now throbbing. "What are you laughing at?!"

Ion laughed somewhat sheepishly in the redhead's hold, unable to keep his mouth shut anymore. "You hair looks like that bird we ran into."

"What!"

This time Ion let himself laugh heartily. "T-The bangs and e-everything!" he managed to get out.

Luke popped another vein. "Laugh it up you little-"

"Master! Master! I'm back! And look what I found!"

"Luke?"

A confused voice from behind the pair caused them to stop in their antics. Luke released his grip on Ion, the Fon Master straightening up and peering past the taller redhead to see who had spoken. Luke turned around to do the same.

His eyes nearly bugged out of his head.

"Tear? Asch?"

Sure enough it was them, Mieu riding comfortably on a blushing Tear's shoulder. The cheagle looked pleased with what he'd discovered while running from the bird, and jumped off of Tear to waddle his way to where Luke and Ion stood.

"Are you surprised Master?" Mieu innocently asked.

Luke's eyebrow couldn't stop twitching. "Yeah... you could say that."

Tear was stunned, to say in the least. She had expected to find Luke and the Fon Master at the mercy of monsters, not rough-housing it out. Especially the Fon Master! He looked so delicate and frail! But the two seemed well enough and very alive, even if they did look worse for wear. The Fon Master's robes were streaked in dirt and small blotches of blood; his face partially scratched. Luke, however, looked like he got the brunt of whatever attacks they had dealt with. His jacket was torn, his pantlegs shredded and one arm bandaged. There was more blood on his clothes than the Fon Master's; more cuts and bruises too. And his hair...

Whatever happened to his hair?

Asch barely recognized the shorter redhead in front him. He had an identical face, same as always, but his disposition was different than before. He wasn't slouching around waiting to be rescued; he didn't look defeated. He looked confident. The word sent a bitter rush through Asch and he scowled. Without further ado, he stepped forward and glowered at his twin.

"So you didn't die after all, dreck."

"Too bad for you, huh?" Luke shot back. He folded his arms across his chest, suddenly feeling all the positive energy he held disappear and replace itself with feelings of negativity. Standing here, face-to-face with his older brother, Luke found his mind flashing back to the night before. The redhead that showed himself in his dream, so similar to Asch, yet so different that Luke could only conclude that it had been himself...

Hearing Asch's voice here and now brought a torrential downpour of doubts on top him. Had that been Asch he dreamed about? No, it couldn't have been. The redhead had grinned; called him family. It had to have been himself he was listening to.

Or...

Luke frowned.

Had it simply been an un-manifested desire of what he wished his twin was really like?

Luke shook his head to clear the confusing thoughts.

"Luke?" Ion placed a hand on his uninjured arm, looking up at him. "Are you alright?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah. I'm...fine."

Ion didn't believe him but left the matter alone, removing his hand to look at the newcomers. "You're...Tear and...Asch?" He remembered them briefly from Rose's cottage and concluded that they must have come into the Woods looking for Luke. The only reason he knew their names was because Luke had said them aloud.

"Yes," Tear stepped forward and brought a hand to her chest, smiling lightly. "I'm Locrian Sergeant Tear Grants, First Platoon of the Oracle Knights Intelligence Division."

Asch did a double-take.

Ion blinked. "Oh- I've heard of you. You work under Grand Maestro Mohs' command, correct?"

Tear nodded. "Yes, that's-"

"Hold on a second!" Asch sharply intervened. His brows were furrowed deeply. "Tear Grants? Isn't that Van's last name?"

Tear reluctantly looked at him. "Yes... I'm his younger sister."

Luke, who had been paying little attention up to this point, now snapped to the ready, staring at Tear in disbelief. "What? You're his sister?"

She sharply eyed him. "I don't see why you sound so surprised."

"Of course I'm surprised! You tried to kill him!"

Tear averted her gaze. "That's...none of your concern, Luke."

"I'm sorry," Ion warily looked in between them. "Should I not have brought it up?"

"It's not something I want to drag anyone else into," Tear answered, forcing a smile on her face for the sake of the young boy. She really didn't want to reveal her complete identity to the twins, but it would be rude not to fully introduce herself to the Fon Master. He was someone worthy of her respect and she would show it to him. "Please, don't worry about it, Fon Master."

Ion gave her a small smile back. "Alright."

Luke remained disgruntled however, and gave the soldier the stink-eye. "I don't believe you," he said.

Tear narrowed her eyes at him. "Excuse me?"

"There's no way you're related to Master Van! He would've mentioned you or- or something!"

"Would you have mentioned Asch if I'd never met him?" Tear fired in return.

Luke made a face. Damn. He'd lost that argument. But speaking of his twin... He looked at Asch, a frown working its way across his battered features. His brother noticed him staring and scowled.

"What are you looking at?"

"Nothing," Luke defensively replied, beginning to glare. "Just wondering why you bothered coming into the Woods in the first place."

Distaste curled the older Fon Fabre's lips. "It wasn't to look for you, dreck, that's for sure. Though I didn't expect you to wind up bringing the Fon Master along with you."

"I didn't. I ran into him while searching for John!"

Tear tilted her head at the name. "John... we ran into a young boy while looking for you, Luke," she said to the redhead.

"You did? W-Was he okay?" Luke's face was one of partial guilt and concern.

If Tear was taken aback by the abrupt change in attitude, she said nothing and only answered his question. "He looked a little worse for wear. But other than that, perfectly fine. He went back to Engeve."

"Oh... good," Luke brought his gaze to his feet. To be honest, he had completely forgotten about the other boy, caught up in the situation with the Fon Master and cheagles. This did nothing to ease his guilt but the fact that he seemed to be fine lifted some of the weight off his shoulder. Maybe he could stop by and see Miriam and John when everything was done in the Cheagle Woods.

"The Cheagle Elder informed us of your mission," Tear went on to say, lightly breaking into his thoughts. "Are you heading for the ligers?"

"Yes!" Mieu excitedly chirped, finally able to get a word in. "We're going to ask them to leave the woods!"

Tear couldn't stop the blush from dusting her cheeks pink. "How thoughtful of you."

Luke rolled his eyes. "It's not thoughtful. The Thing's the one who burned their house down."

"Thing?" Tear looked offended. "Luke- you can't call him that! That's rude!"

"It's what he is," Luke carelessly replied.

Asch laughed under his breath, unkindly. "Yeah Tear, you don't see the dreck over here complaining about what he is."

Luke shot him a vicious look. "And what the hell is that?"

"Worthless; a piece of trash." Asch raised a brow at the angered expression his twin bore. "What's with that look? You've known this for how many years now?"

"That's not what I am!"

"Not a dreck then?" Asch cocked his head and let a slow smirk form on his face. "How about ill-omen? We haven't heard that name used in a while. I'd almost forgotten about it if that stupid stranger from that coach hadn't said it."

"Don't call me that!"

"It's what you are!" Asch barked.

"Shut up! I'm sick and tired of you making fun of me all the time!" Luke snapped. He didn't want Ion to think less of him; he didn't want Asch's insults to engrave themselves in the Fon Master's mind. Ion was someone whose company the younger Fon Fabre truly enjoyed, and he wouldn't let his older brother screw up the small friendship he had formed.

Asch scoffed, unimpressed. "Oh yeah? Well why don't you do something about it?"

"Maybe I will!"

"Then stop talking and come at me!"

"Please don't fight," Ion worriedly said, glancing at both redheads. Luke's hostility caught him off guard, and from the look Mieu wore, it was something the blue cheagle wasn't used to seeing either. And why would it be something they were used to? Luke had been nothing but kind, if a little loud and obnoxious at times.

"We should let them get it out of their system," Tear said, not looking entirely too concerned. "Otherwise we'll be stuck listening to them argue for the rest of the day."

"If you think that'll help..." Ion reluctantly replied. He and Tear walked out of hitting range, Mieu snuggled comfortably in the soldier's arms.

Luke glowered and folded his arms, jutting his weight to the side. "How is this fair? I don't have a weapon."

"Don't get your baby knickers in a knot," Asch retorted, unbelting his sheath from his waist. He pulled out his wooden sword and tossed it at his brother. "Use that. If you think it'll do you any good."

Luke caught the sword. "Why'd you give me this? Now you don't have anything."

Asch smirked and held up his sheath. "I don't need anything but this to thrash you."

Luke popped a vein.

Asch smugly beckoned to him. "Well?"

Luke twitchingly grinned, gripping the wooden sword in his left hand so hard his knuckles turned white. "Shut up you over-sized pampered melon head."

A pregnant pause.

And then they lunged.

They ran at one another, Asch with his sheath at his side, Luke with the wooden sword raised. They let out similar yells of rage.

"I'll end you!" Asch raged.

"Just try it!" Luke yelled.

Asch's sheath was surprisingly hard and more than enough to send Luke's vision spinning as it smacked him upside the head. Stumbling a bit, Luke narrowly avoided the next swipe at his face and swung the wooden sword around. A satisfied grin spread across his features as it slammed into Asch's side, leaving him thoroughly winded.

"Ha! In your ugly face!" Luke jeered.

"Dreck," Asch growled. "Don't get ahead of yourself!" He brought up his elbow and with a solid smash, knocked his twin's jaw in the opposite direction. As Luke reeled in pain, Asch raised his knee and drove it hard into the younger redhead's stomach. Luke gasped for air.

"How do you like it now?" Asch taunted with a haughty smirk.

Luke snarled something inaudible and staggered back a few steps, clutching as his gut with one hand, the other holding tightly to his weapon. "I'll knock that stupid smirk off you asshole!"

"Bring it you piece of trash!"

Ion watched the two go at it with a hesitant look. "Are you sure they're just sparring?"

Tear also followed the twins' movements, rough, unflinching. "I'm...not sure."

"Mieu...is Master playing a game?" the blue cheagle curiously asked.

Tear absently rubbed his head. "No Mieu, they're not."

Asch and Luke glared at one another for only a moment before racing forward and raising their respective weapons.

"Fang Blade!" they roared.

The twin artes collided in a deafening clash, illuminated the area in a bright blue flash. An explosion rocked the clearing and by the time the light cleared, both redheads could be seen flying on opposite sides backwards from the blast. Asch landed roughly on his spine as Luke slammed on his side, both letting out loud noises of pain.

The dust settled, and Tear, deeming it safe to intervene, walked in between them as they stood, prepared to attack again.

Asch rolled his eyes. "Oh what do you want?"

"Yeah," Luke snappishly agreed. "I wasn't done yet."

Tear gave them equally stern looks, setting Mieu on the ground. "That's enough 'sparring'. You're going to scare off the animals nearby."

"Good," Asch muttered. "They're annoying anyway."

"Just like you," Luke grumbled.

Asch punched him in the face.

-At the Coastline-

"I see. So you have no clue where he went either."

"He told me he'd be gone for a couple of hours. It's been a day."

"Well I'm sure he'll be back in time for the operation; he's probably on his way now. And he knows better than anyone that he'll have to do what the Commandant wants in order to gain his trust."

Legretta frowned at the casual words. "You don't seem bothered by his lack of loyalty to Van," she said.

"You seem too bothered by his lack of loyalty," Sync retorted. "That guy can do what he wants. After all, we all have our own reasons for becoming God-Generals under the Commandant, don't we?"

Legretta's frown grew deeper. "Well yes, but..."

Largo sighed and pushed to his feet. He rested his blade across his neck, starting to walk down the cliff they were camped on.

Legretta and Sync paused in their talk to glance at him.

"Where are you going?" Sync asked.

"Bathroom. I won't take long."

"Don't get lost," Legretta warned.

Largo paused. "That only happened once; it was extremely dark out."

Sync snorted. "Whatever helps you sleep at night."

Largo rolled his eyes at the pair but heeded their words. It really wouldn't do to get lost before such an important job.

The large God-General disappeared down the backside of the cliff which led to a forested area. Legretta and Sync stood in a brief quiet, then turned their attention back to one another.

"Although we received word that the operation was to take place today," Legretta started to say, "There was never an indication as to a specific time. Would you happen to know anything about that?"

"Apparently the Tartarus is sitting empty in the middle of a field near Engeve. Neither Jade nor the Fon Master seem to be present. Once Arietta arrives, you should be able to move in close and monitor the landship's movements."

"And then?"

"Once the Necromancer and Fon Master return to the ship, that's when you'll attack." Sync walked over to the edge of the cliff, watching the clouds float by. "Any problems with that?"

"Where will you be?" Legretta asked, hand on her waist as she watched the boy.

Sync looked over his shoulder. "The Commandant needs me for something I'm not obliged to say."

Legretta slowly narrowed her eyes, having an inkling of an idea of what the Van wanted done. "Do you feel well enough?"

"Does it matter?" Sync turned his head back to the front, lowering his chin. "Ah. Here's Arietta."

Sure enough the pink-haired girl flew up on the back of a mighty griffon, a liger curled casually next to her. Her hair flew about her wildly as the griffon swooped higher into the air, circling the premises before landing lightly in the center of the cliff. Legretta walked over to her as Arietta slid off the griffon's back.

"How is your mother?" she asked, more out of politeness than anything else.

Arietta smiled up at her as her liger companion hopped off the griffon to stand beside her. "Mommy is doing fine. The eggs should hatch without problem," she said. She looked past Legretta to the taller green-haired boy at the cliff end. "Sync?"

He turned around and cocked his head. "I'm sure everything will turn out well."

Arietta nodded. "Largo is here?"

Sync nodded back. "He'll be back in a couple of minutes."

"Okay. Arietta will call her friends then," Arietta decidedly said.

Sync raised a brow beneath his mask, whirling around only after a piercing shriek sent his ears ringing. His eyes widened slightly. The clear blue sky that had once been void of anything but clouds, now swarmed with a mass of griffons, ligers perched at the ready upon their backs. Sync couldn't help but smirk, a hand on his waist as he glanced in Arietta's direction.

"You've outdone yourself," he said.

Arietta's face shone at the praise. "Arietta's friends are always willing to help!"

"Mind if I borrow one?"

Arietta shook her head and let out a soft whistle. One of the closer griffons deposited the liger onto the cliff ground before settling next to Sync.

"Thanks," Sync said, climbing on top.

Legretta watched him begin to fly off. "Take care of your mission well!" she called after him.

Sync waved a hand behind him. "Make sure you do the same!"

Then Sync was gone and Arietta and Legretta were left to wait for Largo. Silence hovered overhead for a couple of seconds, broken only by Arietta's curious questioning of:

"Where did Largo go?"

Legretta blinked. "Largo? He went to the bathroom."

Arietta blinked in return. "How long ago?"

Legretta brought a hand to her forehead. "Ten minutes..."

"...You don't think..."

"Probably," the blonde God-General sighed in light exasperation. "Of all the times to get his zipper stuck..."

-In the Cheagle Woods-

It was now the afternoon.

The rest of the treck to the Queen Liger's nesting area was spent catching one another up on recent events.

Meaning Ion and Tear explained to one another what happened over the course of two days while Luke and Asch bickered in the background. Mieu rode on top of Asch's head, holding tightly onto his soft crimson hair so that he wouldn't fall off everytime the older Fabre whipped his head in Luke's direction to bark out an insult.

If Asch noticed the cheagle on his head, he said nothing about it, too caught up in his argument.

"When I take control of Kimlasca, you'll be the first one I send to the dungeon!"

"Mother would never let you!"

"I'll be the new ruler! What I say goes!"

"Oh I can't believe we even share the same face!" Luke snapped.

"I can't believe we share the same blood!" Asch snapped back.

"That's enough!" Tear snapped, coming to a halt. She set her hands on her hips and turned to face them. "The Liger Queen is just up ahead. If you want to irritate her with your childish bickering and get your heads torn off, then by all means go ahead. The Fon Master and I will gladly stay here with Mieu."

The blue cheagle perked at hearing his name, though his ears drooped significantly. "Mieu... I want to stay with Master though."

Tear flushed. "W-Well..."

"Hey look what you did," Luke said, furrowing his brows. "You made the thing sad!"

Tear's flush turned to one of annoyance. "Luke for the last time, Mieu is not a thing!"

But Luke was paying her no more attention, walking over to Asch to reach up and rub the blue cheagle's fluffy head. He grinned and laughed a bit, saying, "It's okay if I call you Thing, isn't it? If I call you by your name, I'll end up feeling like a human cheagle."

Mieu's eyes brightened. "Yes Master! I don't mind if you call me Thing!" he chirped.

Asch lifted his own hand and set it on top of Luke's, which had yet to remove itself from Mieu's head. Luke blinked and glanced at his older brother, startled. Asch stared at him, mouth pressed into a thin line.

Tear and Ion exchanged a baffled glance. Looking at the twins, standing basked in a ray of warm sunlight that had broken through the thick tree leaves above in such close proximity; Mieu flapping his ears adorably on Asch's head as he glanced in between the two brothers... well- it was utterly disturbing.

The only time they had ever been in close contact was when they were trying to kill one another.

Seeing this was certainly a change of pace.

"This is...different," Tear murmured.

"Is this really that unusual?" Ion lowly questioned. "Surely they don't always argue."

Tear sighed. "No...they do."

As if on cue, Luke released a high-pitched shriek and struggled to pull away from Asch- who was gripping his hand hard enough to shatter the bones inside. Asch's stare had turned into a dark glower, Mieu's ear flapping frantic.

"Master! What's wrong?"

"Aargh! Let go you bastard!" Luke yelled, trying in vain to tug away.

Asch narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip. "Don't touch me again."

"What are you- stupid? You're the one touching me!"

Asch scoffed and finally relented his iron grip on his twin, watching with his nose turned up as Luke rubbed his throbbing hand and cast his older brother a poor look. Then he glanced at the Fon Master and soldier who looked at him a bit startled. "Hey- are we near this stupid liger area yet?"

Mieu was the first to respond, energetically nodding his head. "We're here! We're here!"

"We are?" came the simultaneous response.

"Yup! It's just down that hill!"

Four pairs of eyes, three green, one blue, followed the cheagle's line of sight to a fairly steep dip in the earth to their right. They could see a large circle of lush trees and bushes surrounding a wide clearing, and now that they were no longer bickering or talking, could make out a faint noise, similar to the sound one might hear if they were sawing through a boulder.

"...What the hell is that noise?" Luke was the first to ask.

Mieu flapped his ears once. "That's the Liger Queen!"

"Queen? Are there others with her as well? Ion asked.

Mieu thoughtfully listened. "Mmm... nope! It's just her!"

"Odd..." Ion murmured, but no one heard him.

"Jeez... sounds like Asch when he sleeps," Luke muttered.

"Don't confuse me with yourself," Asch snorted.

Luke rolled his eyes but said nothing else, opting to start down the hill instead. Asch grumbled something inaudible and followed with Mieu now anxiously bouncing on shoulder. Tear and Ion exchanged a short look before catching up with the pair.

It didn't take long for the group of five to reach flat ground, and it took them even less time for them to head inside the clearing, Luke at the forefront. They had been walking in silence, listening to the Liger Queen's snores grow louder. And although none of them would admit it aloud they all felt some trepidation.

Luke pushed aside a particularly large leaf blocking his view inside the Queen's resting ground- and paused.

"Whoa...she's huge!" he exclaimed.

Asch and Tear agitatedly stopped behind him, almost mowing the younger redhead over because of his sudden stop. Ion, in the rear, wasn't too bothered, and peered around Asch and Tear to gaze at the slumbering Liger Queen.

"She seems to be resting," Ion said after a while.

"Obviously," Asch uttered, watching the way the Liger Queen's massive side rose and dropped. He trailed his gaze from her to the large nest beside her. His brows lowered. "That's a lot of eggs," he said.

"Huh?" Luke was confused at his twin's words. "Ligers lay eggs?"

Asch shot him a scathing look. "What are you- blind? There's a nest of them right there."

"Shut up!"

"Shh!" Tear sharply glared. "Do you want to wake her and make her angry?"

"We have to wake her anyway don't we?" Luke asked, expression disgruntled.

Asch scoffed at the two. "Ion's already handling that."

Tear and Luke froze. "What!" they exclaimed, turning as one in the direction of the Liger Queen. Sure enough, Ion was already walking in her direction, face set in determination and Mieu at his side.

"Ion!" Luke half whispered, half shouted. "Get the hell back here!"

The Fon Master ignored him and glanced down to the blue cheagle instead. "Mieu, do you think you could wake her up without angering her?" he questioned.

"Um..." Mieu furrowed his cheagle brows. "I can try." He waddled forth towards the giant beast. "Mieu...mieu, mieu, mieu..."

The Liger Queen stirred, cracking a large eye open to stare at the intruder. Upon realizing it was a cheagle, she bared her teeth and raised her head from where it rested on her front limbs, snarling loudly. She rumbled out low, short responses.

Mieu's ears drooped. "Mieu, mieu, mieu, mieu, mieu, mieu." He paused. "Mieu, mieu."

This struck a chord within the great beast. She released a giant roar and pushed to her feet, growling fiercely at the blue cheagle, her hackles raised in fury. Mieu flew back from the force of her roar, Ion kneeling to steady him as the others ran over.

"What? What did she say?" Luke frantically asked, not liking the sudden turn of events.

Mieu trembled uncontrollably. "She's really mad that I burned down her home. She said she's going to kill us- and feed us to her liger babies once they hatch!"

Tear and Asch's eyes turned to slits.

"This isn't good," Tear said.

"Yeah," Asch glanced to the nest of eggs. "Those things can't be allowed to be born here."

Ion nodded and looked to Mieu. "Could you ask her to relocate?"

"Y-Yes..." Mieu bravely waddled forward a couple of steps. "Mieu, mieu, mieu...mieu, mieu."

The Liger Queen's response was to roar again and stomp her clawed feet on the ground. The tremors from the action sent Luke fumbling for balance. Tear and Asch remained steady, though both had drawn their weapons and lowered into defensive stances. Luke was confused.

"Wait- what are you guys doing?"

"We have no choice but to fight," Tear replied. "The Liger Queen doesn't look like she plans on retreating."

"But what about the eggs?"

"Moron!" Asch barked without ever looking in his direction. "Ligers feed on human flesh. If those things hatch, they'll wipe Engeve out."

Luke stiffened. "W-What?"

The Liger Queen snarled and started to approach.

Luke ran in front of Ion and Mieu, not knowing what else he could do. He didn't have a weapon but he couldn't leave the only two in the clearing with a less chance of survival than him on their own. Ion was his friend and Mieu- well Luke really didn't want cheagle blood on his hands. Luke scanned the expanse of the clearing, his mind working furiously to find a means of escape should things get out of hand.

And then he saw it.

Stuck in the grassy earth just beyond the nest of eggs with rust built hard around the the hilt and half its wide blade, was a cutlass. Just like the one he wanted in Engeve! Luke glanced quickly to where his older brother and Tear stood, the latter beginning to gather her fonons. It looked like Asch was trying to figure out how to best strike down the Liger Queen with his wooden sword- without losing a limb in the process.

Luke bit his lower lip in indecision. He could go get the sword while the giant beast was distracted and join in the fight. But Luke knew better than anyone else- even if he didn't want to admit it- that Asch was the stronger fighter. He wasn't as clumsy and always fought to kill (although the only times Luke had seen Asch fight was against him so that might just be a thing between them).

Damn it... Luke thought. I don't want to be left out of this fight but...

The Liger Queen attacked, swiping a massive paw at Tear and Asch. They dodged, just barely.

"Asch!" Tear called, a fonic glyph appearing at beneath her feet. "Distract it so I can use my fonic artes!"

"Distract it?" Asch muttered with half-smirk as he studied his foe. "We'll see how well that turns out."

Luke kept looking from the cutlass to his brother, biting his lip to the point where it started to bleed. Behind him he heard Ion take in a sharp breath and Mieu let out a small whine. The Liger Queen was stomping left and right, her main focus Asch who was whacking the beast in vain anywhere he could. Even when Tear cast her fonic artes to momentarily halt the Queen's movements, Asch could do little to wound her.

It was all looking very bad.

"Oh screw it," Luke huffed. He looked over his shoulder at the Fon Master and cheagle, saying, "Stay here and don't get in the way."

"Luke?" Ion's eyes grew wide.

"Where are you going Master?" Mieu loudly asked, calling after the redhead who had already taken off for the cutlass. "Master!"

The shrill cry caught the attention of both Asch and the Liger Queen, and they swung their heads in unison towards the younger Fon Fabre. The Liger Queen growled seeing her nest of eggs being approached so quickly and went to charge at him, moving faster than she had before.

Asch's eyes widened briefly. "Stupid dreck!" he cursed, slashing fruitlessly at the Liger Queen's back Liger Queen roared and kicked her hind leg backwards, catching Asch in the stomach and sending him tumbling a good ten feet away. He cringed and tried to push to his feet, clutching his ribs. That stupid beast was strong. Using his wooden sword for balance, Asch struggled to get to his feet, spitting a wad of blood from his mouth. Through scattered bangs, he saw Tear cast a fonic arte at the Liger Queen, stopping it from getting any closer to Luke.

"Crap, crap, crap," Luke muttered as he circled the wide nest of liger eggs. He skidded to a halt in front the cutlass, and keeping an eye on the Liger Queen, yanked the sword out the ground.

Or tried to anyway.

"Whoa!" Luke stumbled slightly, his grip on the cutlass growing tighter. "It's stuck?"

"Luke!" Tear shouted. Her arte released its hold on the Queen. She hurried to re-gather her fonons as the Liger went back to her charge. Too slow!

Luke stood in terror as the Liger Queen loomed in front her nest and raised a paw teeming with sharp claws. "!"

The Liger Queen's howl echoed for miles; Ion started to run over.

Luke was smashed aside. "Aaaugh!" Blood splattered across the field.

"Luke!" Tear exclaimed.

"Master!" Mieu started to waddle over. A snarl from the Queen stopped him in his tracks. "M-Mieu!"

Asch growled in annoyance, irritated that the situation had grown even worse from the intervention of his thick-headed brother and the fact that it had taken him this long to shake of the pain from the Liger Queen's earlier attack on him. He pushed his bangs out of his face and stalked towards the giant beast. A blur of green caused him to pause. A crease appeared in his forehead.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me," he grouched. This was turning into a nightmare.

Luke lay behind the nest, grabbing at his previously wounded arm which now bled profusely through the dirty bandages. The cutlass, having been knocked loose along with a good portion of the redhead's brain cells, was at his side. Tear had moved in on the Liger Queen from the rear, same as Asch, intending to use her bladed staff and get in close contact with the beast. As for Ion...

He was standing in front of the Liger Queen's nest, arms spread out. If the Queen wanted to take a swipe at Luke again, she'd have to go through him and her nest of eggs to do it.

"Fon Master- what are you doing?" Tear shouted in alarm.

Asch picked up his pace. Maybe he could hit the Liger Queen on her backside and draw the attention of this fight back to him?

"I-Ion...get out of the..." Luke held a hand out as if he were going to forcibly drag the boy down.

The Fon Master remained unyielding, staring without hesitation into the Queen's eyes. His shaking fingers betrayed his fear.

"D-Dammit Ion! Move!" Luke pushed to his feet with a surge of adrenaline coursing through his veins and lunged across the nest of eggs, grabbing the Fon Master by the collar of his robes and yanking him backwards. They collapsed onto the eggs harshly, a sickening crunch resounding throughout the clearing. But Luke wasn't thinking about this. He was watching the Liger Queen tremble in rage and prepare to pounce. Luke scrambled to his feet, kicking egg shells and dampening his pant legs as he went, hauling both himself and the Fon Master out of the nest.

The Liger Queen's paw destroyed the part where they had previously been laying.

Luke stared wide-eyed at the damage, thankful that it wasn't them who'd just been crushed. Then he scowled and glared down at the Fon Master beneath him, a headache pounding at his skull. He ignored it in favor of shouting, "Hey! What the hell were you thinking?"

"I'm sorry Luke," Ion frowned. "But you were in danger. And you're hurt."

"Tch. Nothing I can't handle," Luke muttered, though in truth his arm was throbbing so hard he could barely lift it, and his vision swarmed.

"Quit talking you two and move out the way!" Asch shouted at them from on top the Liger Queen's shoulders.

Luke and Ion blinked. Tear had once again stopped the Liger Queen's movement, enabling Asch to climb aboard.

"Dreck!"

Luke looked at his brother as he herded Ion in the opposite direction, a frown tugging at his lips. "What?"

"Toss me that sword!"

Luke noticed Asch's eyes fixed on the cutlass. He didn't really want to take orders from his brother, but this was hardly the time to make a big deal out of something so small. With a short nod, Luke ran to pick up the cutlass, running in between the legs of the Queen to do so. He bent at the waist, right under the shadow of the Liger Queen's head, and grabbed a hold of the hilt with his uninjured hand. He was about to leave the underbelly of the beast to throw the sword at his twin when someone loudly yelled his name.

As Luke turned in the voice's direction there came a mighty growl and small cry. Tear had been struck by the Liger Queen, down for the count. And now Asch was stuck on top the beast, digging his fingers into her fur to keep himself on as she threw her head viciously side-from-side. Luke watched unable to move as the next event played out.

Asch brought up the wooden sword still in his possession, then jammed it hard into the crook of the beast's neck. The Liger Queen tossed her head once more as she crippled under the force of the blow, collapsing to her knees.

Incidentally on Luke.

"Oof!"

Asch rolled off the Liger Queen's shoulders, glancing at the fallen sister of Van and the Fon Master who had run to her side along with Mieu. Satisfied that Tear wasn't dead and the others weren't in danger, he glanced back to the beast. His twin was completely hidden from sight, buried under the Liger Queen's weight.

"Idiot! Get out from under there!" Asch shouted, vein throbbing.

"You think I'm under here for fun?!" Luke shouted back, voice muffled, a vein of his own popped.

"You have a sword, don't you? Use it!"

Oh. Right. Luke's eyes narrowed as the Liger Queen slowly began to rise off him. When he had enough space to act, he tore the cutlass through the belly of the beast, grasping what little fonons he could. "Fang Blade!" he yelled.

With a blast, the Liger Queen stumbled back, allowing Luke room to get to his feet and limp to his brother's side. His legs had almost been smashed. Asch and Luke now stood side-by-side, looking at the wounded Liger Queen turn on her paws to face them.

"Tch. She just won't die, will she?" Asch uttered.

"Is Tear okay?" Luke asked, casting his brother a sideways glance.

Asch looked at him from the corner of his eye. "She's fine. Give me the sword."

"Since you asked so nicely," Luke sarcastically said, holding the cutlass up with his good arm. His twin snatched it from his hand and replaced it with the wooden sword. Luke looked at the weapon he'd been given. "You're giving me this thing again?"

"In case you get in the way again," Asch scoffed. "Don't break it."

The Liger Queen released a series of roars and growls. Her stomach had yet to stop bleeding.

"We can't let her charge this way," Luke worriedly said. "We can run away but it looks like Tear can't."

"Then we'll make the stupid monster attack us on the opposite side!" Asch said, taking off. He ran around the Liger Queen's left side and it wasn't long before Luke followed, running around her right. They met back up behind the beast who had taken to angrily facing them once more.

"Alright moron, here's your chance to be useful," Asch began to say, eyes on the Queen. "Get out there and act as bait. While she's distracted, I'll cut her down."

"What? No way!"

"Either that or I'm pushing you. Your choice!"

The Liger Queen ran at them.

"I'm not getting killed by that thing!"

"Too bad!" Asch shoved his brother forward, feeling a slight pull of particular fonons as he did so. "Hey!" he called to his twin as the younger redhead went to confront the Liger Queen.

"Shut the hell up! I'm not talking to you!"

"Use your fonic arte as many times as you can!"

"What?"

"Are you deaf? Do it!"

"Che. Annoying bastard," Luke grumbled, sweating as he looked at the Liger Queen. She looked just about ready to take his head off. At any rate, the wooden sword wouldn't do the damage he wanted, but his Fang Blade should keep the monster at bay- for now anyway.

Asch bided his time as Luke sent one fonic arte after another at the Liger Queen. He saw behind the scuffle, Tear get to her knees and take in the situation. Her eyes met his and sharpened immediately. She raised her bladed staff and shut her eyes, murmuring an incantation.

A field of fonons appeared under Luke, burning a bright green.

The strong pull of fonons sent Asch's own fonons into a frenzy. "Alright!" he ran towards his brother, gauging the amount of leverage he'd need for his attack. There should be just enough if he...

Luke craned his neck behind him at the sound of approaching footsteps. His eyes popped. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Feel the roar of lightning!" Asch shouted, ignoring his twin as he pushed off his back. He somersaulted towards the Liger Queen's head, swinging down his fonon-powered blade. "Lightning Tiger Blade!"

"Bastard! I'm not out of this yet!" Luke exclaimed, charging forward. He jumped from the ground and swung Asch's wooden sword up. "Fang Blade!"

Asch and Luke made to pass one another, Asch towards the ground, Luke towards the sky. Their narrowed gazes clashed.

"Stupid dreck!"

"Shut up jerk!"

The two attacks slashed deep into the skin of the Queen, one cackling with electric energy, the other a sharp, fierce cut.

Asch landed long before his twin, watching as the Liger Queen roared and shook her head. She stumbled, narrowly avoiding taking Luke out as he finally came back down from his arte. Asch growled, gripping the arm of his twin and yanking him out the way staggering beast. The Liger Queen made a last swipe at them, causing the two to stumble and fall in a tangled mess.

As he toppled backwards, Asch reared back his arm and threw his cutlass with deadly accuracy, sending it soaring into one end of the beast's neck and out the other.

Ion's eyes widened, blood splashing across his face.

Luke and Asch blinked slowly at one another before shoving each other away and sitting up- just in time to witness the collapse of the Liger Queen.

Straight on top of Tear.

Asch and Luke stared at the unmoving body of the Liger Queen, then at one another.

"Oh my God..." Luke's eyes were wide in disbelief. "You killed Tear!"

"Shut up!" Asch snapped, though his expression relayed his own stunned state.

The brothers stood and hurried to where the soldier was last seen. Ion and Mieu were already trying to figure out ways to remove the massive beast from her.

"Mieu! What do we do?"

"It doesn't look like we can push the Liger Queen off her," Ion noted. He brought a hand to his chin. "I'll have to use a Daathic Fonic Arte then..."

Asch and Luke stood on either side of the Fon Master.

"Daathic Fonic Arte?" the younger Fabre repeated. "Is it strong?"

"It's an arte only Fon Masters can use," Ion replied, eyeing the dead Liger Queen. "However if I try and use it, Tear may end up getting hurt as well."

"I can sing a fonic hymn," Tear's muffled voice said, "to protect me if needed. Do what you must, Fon Master."

"Alright." Ion raised his hand, gathering blinding fonons in a swirling mass of energy. Then he brought his hand down on the Liger Queen, an intricate fonic glyph spreading beneath them. There were two blasts of light, a wide column from Ion and a dome from Tear; Ion's arte destroying the Liger Queen and Tear's protecting her in a glass-like shield.

The light over the clearing settled, and Ion sunk to his knees, trying to regain his breath.

"Ion!" Luke went to help him up.

Ion waved him aside. "G-Give me...a minute..."

"Thank you," Tear said to him, sitting.

Asch offered a hand which she gladly took.

"Are you okay?" Luke asked.

"I'm fine," Tear murmured as she was brought to her feet. "Though next time, it would be nice to have a warning tossed my way."

"Yeah Asch, you hear that?" Luke obnoxiously said.

Asch debated whether to punch or kick the snotty look off his twin's face. "As if you can talk, dreck! You're the one who almost killed the Fon Master!"

The accusation had Luke scowling. "I- w-well shut up!"

"Good comeback, moron."

"I'll show you a good comeback!" Luke heatedly began to yell. "When I shove my foot up your-!"

"Please... don't fight," Ion panted, slowly standing. "I'm really... perfectly alright."

Asch sent the Fon Master a skeptic look, Tear frowning slightly, and Luke fidgeting with guilt. The exhaustion and pain was clear to see on the boy's pale face, his breathing uneven and arms trembling. But no one said anything else on the subject.

Tear glanced at the rest of the party. "Is everyone else okay?"

"Fine," Asch grumbled. The ache in his ribs returned.

"Yeah, me too," Luke said.

No one believed them either.

Tear sighed, her hair falling in further in her right eye. "At least it's over. It didn't turn out the way we wanted... but at least Engeve and the cheagles will be safe."

"Right. The Liger Queen's eggs were broken during the fight," Ion said.

"Good riddance," Asch sourly said.

Luke, however, looked as if someone had just slapped him across the face. "Ah! The eggs!" He worriedly ran over to the nest. His face dropped. "No..." There, lying in a crumpled mess of shells, were the Liger Queen's eggs. He hadn't been thinking about it at the time; he hadn't even cared. But gazing at them now they were nothing more than a sorry mess, and batch of lives crushed before they could even live. They're...all destroyed...

Ion frowned. "Luke..."

"This...leaves a bad taste in my mouth," Luke mumbled.

"You did what you had to," Tear said turning away. She looked unsteady on her feet. "No one can fault you for that."

Luke continued to gaze at the broken eggs, chewing his lower lip. "Yeah..." But it's still my fault.

His older brother scoffed. "Congratulations. You're a murderer."

Luke's eyes widened.

"Asch!" Tear sharply said. She gave him a disappointed glare. "If killing monsters makes someone a murderer, then you are too. You're the one who struck the Liger Queen down."

Asch harrumphed. "Che."

Ion looked in between the trio hesitantly, not wanting to cut through the thick tension, but knowing that he had to. "We...should report back to the cheagle elder. She'll want to know what happened."

Tear glanced his way. "Yes. You're right, Fon Master." She addressed the Fabre twins next. "You heard him. Let's not waste anymore time."

Luke turned from the shattered eggs and devastated nest, feeling sickened and weary all at once. Any adrenaline or triumph he might have felt from the battle was long gone, squashed by the word of his older brother.

Murderer.

The word left him with a horrible feeling.

He hoped he would never be called one again.

Luke was just about to leave the nesting ground completely when a small snuffling noise caught his attention. He glanced to see if the others had heard it too, but they had disappeared from the clearing. It seemed as if they couldn't wait to get away. Luke didn't blame them.

The snuffling noise came again.

A small crease appeared in Luke's forehead. "The heck is that...?"

He turned and scanned the area, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. Suspiciously, he brought his eyes to the nest of liger eggs. His mouth dropped. Struggling to push its way from the bottom of the pile was a baby liger, blind and coated in blood. One of its back legs was twisted. Luke hurried over, pushing aside the other egg shells. His fingers grabbed a hold of the baby liger, slippery as it was, and hauled it over the edge of the broken nest.

Luke landed on his backside lightly, the liger plopping onto his lap with a squelch.

"W-Whoa..." Luke was baffled. How did this thing survive all that? Though it didn't seem to come out without severe injuries. The liger's crimson eyes were covered in a pale film, unseeing, and he doubted it'd be able to move without a permanent limp. Luke took no pleasure knowing he was the cause.

"Okay... I can handle this," he mumbled, finally putting the black pouch strapped around his waist to good use. He slipped out what he believed to be an Apple Gel and held it before the baby liger's muzzle.

The liger tentatively sniffed and peeked out the tip of its pink tongue to lick the item. Seeing it wasn't dangerous, the liger opened its mouth and swallowed the gel whole.

"I-I'm glad you're alive," Luke quietly said, rubbing the damp fur of the baby liger. He paid no attention to how dirty and slimy his hands were getting, too overcome with relief to mind. "Now the question is...what to do with you..."

The liger nuzzled its nose into his palm, snorting contentedly.

Luke frowned and lowered his eyes. Swallowing hard he set the liger on the ground. "I-I'm sorry. I...can't bring you back with me." He stood and ran from the clearing without ever looking back, hands still wet with newborn life.

Just outside, Luke found that the others had waited for him.

"What were you doing back there?" Tear asked, brow raised.

Luke forced out a laugh, scratching his neck. "Just...saying a prayer for the eggs and stuff."

A soft blush settled over Tear's cheeks at the redhead's words. How cute...

Ion smiled at him. "How kind of you, Luke."

Luke's smile felt fake, even to him. "Yeah." He hesitantly glanced his twin's way to see if he had noticed anything out of the ordinary- and froze. Asch was staring back into the clearing with narrowed eyes, his expression pensive as if he were mulling over a problematic thought. Then Asch glanced away and fixed his gaze onto Luke.

Luke held his breath, certain his brother would rat him out.

But Asch only moved his hard gaze onto Tear and Ion, and said, "Let's go already."

"Right."

"Of course."

The three turned and started to walk, leaving Luke to trail behind and wonder at his twin's actions.

When they got back to the giant tree where the Cheagles nested and stayed, they found more cheagles roaming around outside than before, in considerably better moods.

"Cheagles can sense other monsters," Ion explained after Luke asked about the change in attitude. "They must have felt the remaining ligers leave the area and the disappearance of the Liger Queen."

"I guess..." the word 'liger' sent Luke's mind back to the baby one he'd come across. He shook his head and frowned. "Oh yeah. That fonic arte you used- what exactly did it do to the Liger Queen?"

"Yes- I'm curious as to what happened as well," Tear said, walking alongside Luke. Asch sidled closer on the Fon Master's other side.

"I broke down its fonons and dispersed them back into the atmosphere," Ion explained.

Luke stared. "You can do that? Cool..."

Asch rolled his eyes. "If only he'd use it on you."

"Shut up!"

The group of five entered the tree grove of the large cheagle tree and were greeted by a warmly smiling cheagle elder.

"I can sense that the Liger Queen is gone," she started to say. "It is good to know that she threatens us no longer."

"We were glad to help," Ion said, "though I wish it could have gone better."

"What's done is done," the cheagle elder said, "and we are eternally grateful. And now that the main problem has been handled- Mieu," she addressed the blue cheagle on Tear's shoulder. "Though we are safe, you are still entitled to punishment for ever allowing this to happen. As is such, you will be exiled from the clan for one cycle of the seasons."

Mieu's ears drooped low. "I-I understand..."

"That seems too cruel," Ion said with a frown.

The cheagle elder faced him. "If left alone, he will grow thinking that wrong actions have no consequences."

Ion continued to frown. "I suppose..."

Mieu hesitantly looked at the four faces of the humans around him. "U-Um... do you think I could come with you guys on your journey?"

Luke blanched. Sure the thing was cute, but it was also annoying and held the potential to burn an entire forest down.

Asch had taken the straightforward route, with a clear and loud, "Hell no."

"Mieu..." the blue cheagle sulked.

Tear turned red at the adorable sight, glaring at the Fabre twins. "I don't see why not. Mieu hasn't caused us any problems personally."

"Yes," Ion gazed imploringly more at Luke than anyone else. He didn't think Asch would budge as easily. "Cheagles are sacred beasts of the Order of Lorelei. I'm sure your parents would love to have one."

"I- I'm not too sure about that," Luke scratched his cheek and looked away. His mother would love it for sure. His dad on the other hand... The thought made Luke's eyes brighten. His dad would hate to have the cheagle around. Perfect! "Alright," he decided. "The Thing can come with us. We can keep it as a pet."

Asch glowered at his twin. "What!"

Luke turned his nose up. "Well it'll follow us out the Woods either way."

"Thank you Master!" Mieu chirped. "I'm so happy!"

Luke flushed. "A-Ah! Shut up!"

"Thank you," the cheagle elder said. "Would you and your friends like to stay the night? It's quite a ways out these Woods."

Luke blinked then looked to the others. "Should we?"

Ion wearily smiled. "If you don't mind."

Luke glanced from him to Tear to his scowling brother and then down at himself. They were all pretty bruised from that fight with the Liger Queen. And he didn't want to push Ion if the boy felt tired...

"Okay," he said. "We'll stay the night."

The sun was starting to set anyway.

"Tch. I feel like we've been in this stupid place for days," Asch grumbled, stalking off to his own corner of the tree grove. Mieu bounded after him and climbed up his leg onto his head. "What are you doing?" the older Fabre snapped.

"Settling down for the night!"

"On my head?"

"It's very comfortable!"

"Is all you do shout? Pipe down!"

Tear had slumped against her own side of the tree grove wall, disapprovingly listening in. "If you two dare start a fight I'll..." she drifted off, falling asleep right away.

"Man," Luke stared at her. "She must have been pretty tired."

"She fought hard today," Ion noted. "All of you did. Will you be going to sleep now too?"

Luke sighed. "Yeah. I'm...pretty beat."

Night fell swiftly shortly after, and by then, the cheagles within the tree were snoring away.

Tear was peacefully dozing, Luke lying sprawled several feet away with drool leaking out the corner of his mouth. Ion was nearby, his hands folded neatly on his stomach as he laid on his back. Asch might have thought he was dead had it not been for the slow rising and falling of his chest. The older Fabre sat quietly in the dark, Mieu still sleeping on his head.

Sleep wasn't coming to him easily this night.

The ground was hard and his ribs continued to hurt. One might have been fractured. In the morning he would have Tear look at it. Trying to get her to do it earlier was something he wasn't so heartless to do. She had worn herself out, like the rest of them, and needed to regain her strength. Same for the Fon Master and...Asch supposed the same went for his idiotic twin.

He sure as hell wasn't lugging around the dreck's body if he passed out.

Speaking of Luke...

Asch wasn't an idiot. Luke praying for a bunch of eggs was about as likely as Asch getting married to Guy- which wasn't likely at all. He knew something went on in that clearing after he, Tear, and Ion left. But he'd been too tired to push the subject, and at that time, wanted nothing more than to leave. He was sick of being dragged around places.

Would they ever get back to Baticul? It sure didn't seem like it.

Sure the manor was stuffy and he disliked the restrictions he had when it came to leaving its walls, but it was somewhere he was familiar with. Somewhere he knew Natalia and his mother would be should he want to see them. Out here there was nothing but strangers, annoying creatures, and an even more annoying brother.

Not to mention this ordeal with the supposedly missing Fon Master, Tear trying to kill Van, and us being in enemy territory, he inwardly griped.

Asch frowned, sliding his eyes shut. It was all so tedious! He hadn't realized he had fallen asleep until the cheagles' snoring vanished from his hearing range and his brain cast him into a deep, dark sleep.

When he woke again morning had come, and with it, a headache from all the buzzing cheagles flitting about the inside of the tree.

Asch pried his eyelids open and groggily sat up from the ground. His ribs didn't hurt as much which was good, but they still hurt, alerting him to the fact that they would definitely need to be looked at. A pat to his head revealed that Mieu had gone off somewhere, and a further glance around the area showed that the Fon Master had disappeared as well.

Raising a brow, Asch slowly stood. He noticed his twin brother on the other side of the tree grove, awake but not making a move to get up from where he was sitting. Asch's brows furrowed and he reluctantly walked over.

"The hell is wrong with you?" he snapped. "You can't get your lazy ass up or what?"

Luke raised both eyebrows at him. "Sorry if I want to relax for a little longer. You were the one storing like a bear when I woke."

"Tear's still out?" Asch muttered, looking away to the sleeping soldier. She was quite clearly knocked out, resting on her side next to his twin. Strange. Weren't they sleeping farther apart earlier?

"What do you expect?" Luke muttered back. "You dropped a liger the size of a damn boulder on her."

Asch scoffed. "You really piss me off, you know that?"

Luke snorted, leaning his head against the wall. His eyes closed. "The feeling's mutual, believe me."

Asch narrowed his eyes at his twin, unable to wipe the disgust from his face and not really making an effort to. How could he? Looking at his stupid younger brother, covered head-to-toe in scratches and bruises; nothing more than a pathetic mess after a couple of days in the Woods. His jacket was as tattered as his pants, the left coattail completely torn off. The bandages on him arm had started to unwravel, and Asch noticed that his twin had tried to tie it back.

"Stupid," Asch muttered, turning around. He took a step forward, and paused. An image flashed through his mind, of an adrenaline rush, of the heat of battle, of him and Luke striking down the Liger Queen- together. In that moment they had been one and the same, with only one goal in mind. Survival. The short look they shared after she fell and the strange feeling that had overcome him, he now knew what the sensation had been.

Satisfaction.

And the desire to pat Luke on the back.

The thought made Asch want to gouge himself in the head.

But now, standing here in the present, he didn't want to stab his newly acquired cutlass into his skull. He wanted to stab it through Luke's instead. That stupid, stupid dreck! He was nothing but trouble!

"Asch?"

The redhead glanced to the side where the Fon Master suddenly stood, Mieu cuddled snuggly in his arms. "What is it?"

Ion smiled a little. "You must want to leave the Cheagle Woods by now. Should we go?" he asked.

Asch folded his arms. "I'd like nothing better, but Tear is sleeping," he replied.

"I see..."

"We can carry her," Luke said, having gotten up. He approached the two without ever casting his older twin a second look. "I want to get out of here as fast as possible too." And it was true. Not only did he have a feeling that killing that Liger Queen would have terrible reprecussions, his guilt over crushing her eggs had yet to fade. Even if one of the ligers had managed to survive... well it was best he didn't think about it. As well as the fact that his clothes were near unwearable at this point, his hair was still an ugly wreck, and he felt and smelled like a piece of garbage.

He'd never wanted a shower more in his entire life.

"Good idea Luke," Ion said. "I'm sure she won't mind."

"So long as she's unconscious anyway," Luke mumbled. Somehow, he didn't think the soldier would like being carried.

Asch rolled his eyes and started walking towards the tree grove exit. "Fine. But you'll carry her dreck- since you offered."

"Don't call me that," Luke snapped.

"Whatever, stupid."

"Don't call me that either!"

The walk away from the cheagles' habitat was very quiet. Neither Asch nor Luke felt it right to argue in front of the Fon Master, something they were surprised they felt embarrassed about when they had no qualms about it before. Both chalked it up to the fact that Tear wasn't there to interrupt, as she was sleeping quite heavily on the younger redhead's back.

None of them expected the teasing voice that suddenly broke the delicate silence.

"My, my, what a lovely scene. Carrying your bride, are you?"

Mieu squealed and buried himself in Ion's arms, as Asch tensed and Luke jumped, dropping Tear like a sack of potatoes.

"How kind of you," Jade dryly said, eyeing the unmoving girl. "I'm sure she'll thank you when she wakes."

Luke flushed. "S-Shut up!"

"What are you even doing out here?" Asch demanded to know.

"Me?" Jade lightly heaved his shoulders. "Oh nothing in particular. It was such a nice day to go out on a walk, I simply couldn't resist. How about you two? You certainly look as if you've been doing more than going on a mere walk."

"Can it four-eyes," Luke grumbled.

Jade put a wounded look upon his face. "I'm so very hurt."

Ion stepped out from behind Luke, his small brows lowered. "They were helping me, Jade."

"So this is where you were. You ran off so suddenly at night that we had no idea where you were," Jade said, though it was obvious to all in the area that the Colonel knew he'd find Ion here.

Ion lowered his eyes to the ground. "I'm sorry. I wanted to get to the bottom of the cheagle theft."

"And you carelessly involved civilians, putting both yourself and them in danger. How thoughtless. That isn't like you."

"I- I know..."

"You look quite worn out as well. Don't tell me you've been using Daathic Artes as well? The doctor strictly prohibited you from doing so."

Ion's brows dropped. "Yes...well-"

Luke scowled, finally butting in. "Hey, lay off already will you? He said he was sorry, you don't have to bully him!"

Jade looked amused. "Bully him? I was merely scolding."

"Yeah right!"

"At any rate," Jade said, "I've finished the lecture. Now onto other matters."

Asch was suspicious. "Like what?"

"Like your arrest." As Jade spoke the words, the bushes around them rustled and a group of armed Malkuth soldiers formed a tight circle to prevent their escape. Bringing up the rear was a small pig-tailed girl, her hands on her waist.

"I brought the men you requested Colonel," she announced. "The Tartarus has also been brought to the entrance of the Cheagle Woods."

"Well done, Anise. I appreciate it."

Ion frowned in her direction. "Anise..."

"Ah! Ion!" the Fon Master Guardian sheepishly looked down, twiddling her thumbs. "I hope you don't think bad of me for following orders~"

Ion's frown deepened, but it wasn't directed at her. He glanced at Jade.

"What's the meaning of this?" Asch demanded, peeved.

Luke looked at Ion, expression unreadable. "Did you- did you plan this all along?" he asked, feeling stupid for ever going along with Ion's adventure.

"No Luke, I-"

"You're under arrest for trespassing illegally onto Malkuth territory." Jade interrupted. He pushed his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose, smirking. "I do hope you don't mind. It was quite the hassle, pinning you three down." His eyes wandered to Tear momentarily as he said this.

"Jade," Ion sharply started.

"Now, now Fon Master," Jade reassuringly said. "I have no intentions of harming them- assuming they don't resist."

It was clear to see however that neither of the twins were going to go without a struggle. In moments, the guards trying to grapple them were on the ground, brought down by surprisingly violent blows to their heads and stomachs. Both Luke and Asch stood in the center of the fallen soldiers, eyes wild and stances tense. They didn't seem to realize that they were standing back-to-back, supporting one another.

"Oh dear..." Jade sighed.

The twins looked at him, the look on their faces causing him to pause. Luke looked completely terrified, glancing from Jade to Ion with a betrayed expression. Asch, on the other hand, was gripping the hilt of his rusted cutlass so hard, the Colonel began to wonder if it'd break under the pressure. Unlike Luke who seemed more frightened and bewildered than anything else, Asch was much more hostile, a dark look in his eyes; ready to rip the limbs from Jade's body should he make any sudden movements.

Interesting, Jade inwardly mused. One would think he'd been taken hostage before. But nevertheless...

"I can't say I appreciate what you did to my guards," Jade told the pair. A fonic glyph appeared beneath his feet faster than the twins could react, and he raised a hand.

Ion frowned. "Wait a minute-"

"O' maddening gala of the spirits of the earth-"

Asch's eyes widened briefly before he started to charge.

"Stalagmite!"

The ground beneath the redheads' feet trembled violently before jutting upwards in thick, jagged spikes. As expected, Asch and Luke moved out the way. That is why Jade sharply turned his head and called, "Anise!"

"Right," the small girl firmly nodded, slinging her puppet off her back. It expanded in size, catching Luke and Asch off guard who had been barreling in her direction with the intentions of running by. "Sorry- orders are orders!" was all she exclaimed before smacking one of her puppet's arms into Luke. The blow was more than enough to send him crumpling to the ground. Asch, having quick enough reflexes to dodge, jumped back- straight into the Colonel's waiting hands.

Jade twisted the older redhead's arms behind him in a vice-like grip, letting out an exasperated breath. "You two certainly are troublesome. I think I threw my back out," he said.

Asch snarled and struggled to break free. "Let go of me you four-eyed bastard or I'll-!"

Jade easily knocked him out with a well-placed blow to the redhead's neck.

Ion looked at the Colonel incredulously. "Jade!"

The Colonel shrugged as if he had no choice in the matter. "I did warn them." He condescendingly pat the unconscious Asch on top his head. "Now let's get moving."

A/N: I just wanted to say thanks for the reviews again! It was such a long time since I last updated that I thought no one would read this anymore. But it's good to know you're all so interested and curious to know who the 'third' Fon Fabre is.

In response to a particular review- yes, I have read Reflections! Among others in this fandom that I enjoyed just as much.

Let's hope the next chapter comes out within the next week.