Tales of the Abyss - Tiphereth 1
I realize that I'm not done with editing Nezach (or posting it here), but I'm running out of time and I want all of Tiphereth on this journal beforehand. So, uh, yeah, if you're reading the new edits of Nezach, don't read this. Tiphereth is its sequel.
The high pitched whine of the Albiore's engines was a remarkably dulled counterpoint to the sound of waves scattering in their wake. The fon machine didn't quite fly as it was intended to, but it served their purpose well enough as it skated its way across the ocean towards Keterburg. Sadly, there wasn't much they could do about its lack of altitude while the flightstone was in Dist's rather disturbing clutches. It wasn't that Luke was especially worried about their ability to retrieve it -at least, it wasn't much of a consideration-. The God-General, Dist the Reaper, while a self-proclaimed genius at fontech -and the complexity of his robots tended to point positively towards that fact-, wasn't much of a mastermind. He was a bit too... strange... and weird... and insane to come up with something they couldn't eventually work their way out of. No, it wasn't the retrieval of the stone that bothered him, it was wondering just what the hell that creepy bastard could do to it between then and now that concerned him. Noelle wouldn't be too pleased if it was damaged, much less her grandfather. Luke grimaced at the possibilities cropping up in his mind. No, no he definitely didn't want to get on Iemon's bad side. That didn't really seem like a healthy place to be. They would just have to rescue the flightstone from Dist post haste.
Unfortunately, this latest ridiculous train of thought led Luke right back to where he had been in the first place, namely: bored and mildly annoyed. The others were having nice, quiet conversations in various places around the cockpit, but he couldn't hear them well enough to join in; and he certainly couldn't move to do so, not since he was being used as a pillow once again. He didn't mind that really. In fact, he rather enjoyed it to a certain extent. Before... everything, being used as a pillow by a certain God-General had been so far from being a possibility that the very idea would have sent anyone even vaguely associated with either of them into hysterics. The concept was rather funny on its own, but the addition of Asch into the equation just made it that much worse in a sense. Of course, Luke didn't really care for the primary cause for why Asch would be using him as a pillow. certainly not. The trek to the Albiore, which had consisted of making their way through the Oracle Knight Headquarters, then Daath, and then the forest, had worn the God-General out more than he'd been willing to admit. The excitement that had been inflicted upon them beforehand hadn't helped either. He wasn't well yet, even though he did put on a superb front to the contrary.
And yet, regardless of the many reasons for him not to be very happy about it, Luke gleefully acknowledged the tiny thrill of joy he'd had when he'd felt a light weight settling against his shoulder, a weight that was swiftly becoming quite familiar and definitely more than welcome. He liked it that Asch was comfortable enough around him to do something like that without even thinking about it. It was... well, he couldn't really describe it properly. A lot of it was confusing and a lot of it just was. And frankly, he liked it that way. It was much better than everything that had gone on before, all the confusion and uncertainty, the doubts and recriminations. Granted, he'd more than earned the guilt that sprang up from the latter. His blind idiocy had gotten a lot of people killed and there was no way he could ever make up for it. He could only hope that whatever he did now would at least make it better for everyone else somehow. And in that way, perhaps he could atone. But... all of those knotted up feelings weren't quite as overpowering as they had been, at least not anymore. It was almost as if he'd found his way, or something to that effect. At the very least, he didn't feel so incredibly lost anymore. And that was... that was a nice feeling. So of course he wasn't annoyed about it.
No, that wasn't it. He was annoyed because he was beginning to discover little detrimental side effects that apparently came with being so closely linked to Asch. The one that was irritating him the most at the moment was the lethargy seeping through their connection, dragging down on him. Asch was asleep because he needed the rest. Luke did not need the rest so he certainly didn't need to be feeling like his head was going to fall off if he didn't follow suit. That was annoying. There was also the little fact that the lack of having Asch to talk to was boring the hell out of him too. Now there was a bizarre side effect if ever there was one. He was so used to talking to Asch now through their connection that the lack left him feeling a strong urge to start crawling the walls. Having to deal with this void of silence firmly planted in his mind would drive anyone insane. He needed something to do, a distraction of some sort, but there wasn't anything for him to do. So annoying!
Well, there was something else to do if the others would just talk loud enough for him to hear whatever it was they were discussing. He knew they were trying to not wake Asch up, and he could appreciate that. Asch really needed the rest, but he did not. And he seriously doubted they'd be able to wake him up anyway. The sensations leaking across were pretty rock solid. Hell, they were almost substantial enough to put him to sleep. But he was not going to sleep! Why couldn't they just talk a little louder? Was that so much to ask?
"Really Luke, there's no need to pout." The aforementioned redhead did his best to not scowl as Jade's amused voice rose above the others. Damn. It just had to be Jade, didn't it? None of the others could notice his discontent first. Oh no, it had to be Jade. Just his luck. Rotten luck. "I'm sure that one of the others wouldn't mind serving as an impromptu pillow if you would rather be somewhere else."
Luke gave up and allowed the scowl to come through full force as he crossed his arms petulantly. The others had stopped chatting amongst themselves at Jade's comment and were now giving him their full attention. "That's not the problem and you know it."
Guy smiled indulgently at the rather classic Luke fon Fabre defensive mannerisms. Some things never changed; and well, Jade had an amazing knack for bringing the worst and most juvenile parts of their psyches out to play with just a little poke here and there. "Bored, I take it?" he asked cheerfully.
"Unbearably," Luke grumbled as he gave his best friend a sour look. "There's nothing to do and I have no one to talk to. You're all so quiet and he's asleep."
"We're trying to be considerate and not wake him up," Tear explained oh so helpfully as far as Luke was concerned. She did give him something that possibly resembled an apologetic smile though, so he'd let it slide. This time.
"Yes yes, I know that too," Luke almost growled back. He was in a snit and knew it and didn't care. At least he wasn't throwing a temper tantrum! He was being an adult about this, sort of. Maybe. "It's just, I can't talk to him because he's asleep and I can't talk to you guys because you're all over there being considerate. And in the meantime I'm just sitting here getting boreder and boreder with no way to alleviate the problem anytime soon. It's frustrating."
"Border is not a word," Natalia chided gently, though her amusement at his predicament was more than obvious, "At least not in the way you're using it."
"Whatever," Luke groused and rolled his eyes in mounting annoyance. Trust Natalia to make things worse with her old habit of having to correct him on every single, little inconsequential detail. Why did she always have to be so irritating? Couldn't she just not talk for once? "My point still stands."
"Well, I'm afraid there's not much to be done about it," Jade said pleasantly and shrugged indifferently. "He is still a bit weak and thus requires all the rest he can get. Your capacity as a pillow serves well enough to ensure that. And by all appearances, you don't seem to mind it all that much either. So really, there's not much you can complain about, now is there? You, after all, would know better than any of the rest of us just how much he is in need of rest."
Luke flushed slightly at the pointed, if amused, look Jade was sending his way. He knew that. Of course he did, and he certainly didn't need Jade reminding him about it. He was just... so damned bored and, well, antsy. It's not as if he were complaining about his predicament- Well, okay, maybe he was, but still. It just... he just... Actually, he wasn't really sure what the main problem was. Part of him was dreadfully sleepy thanks to the weariness trickling across their connection; and part of him didn't know what to do with itself now that Asch wasn't available to distract himself with. So he was just sitting here, playing pillow, with far too much time on his hands to worry over stuff.
Wait.
That was it. He was worried. Why the hell did it take him this long to figure out something as simple as that? There were a lot of things to be worried about: Mohs, the Score, the other God-Generals, Van, the Sephiroth, Ion's health issues, stopping the core's vibration and then lowering the land, screwing up and making yet another mistake that he could never take back, retrieving the flightstone, making sure that everyone was okay, and avoiding Jade's unique brand of humor at all cost. Though, that last one was probably a hopeless cause at this point. And all of that was just off the top of his head, there were so many other things left to consider. And then there was the veritable mountain of new concerns thanks to the addition of Asch into his daily life.
They... hadn't really talked much after escaping the thoroughly unwelcome confrontation they'd all been forced into enduring back in Daath; and it wasn't just because they'd been doing their level best to get the hell out of there either. Their father's presence had dredged up a lot more crap than either of them were ready to face, and that was assuming they ever would be. He certainly didn't feel like he would be, not for a long time. And Asch... well, the way Asch had just shut down like that had frightened him more than he'd realized at the time. That feeling of emptiness, as if there was nothing there, had absolutely terrified him.
Luke wasn't really sure -frankly he wasn't sure about a lot of things anymore-, but he didn't think he'd be able to cope if Asch ever went away like that ever again. It was just- It had been horrible. He didn't- he didn't want to feel that awful void of nothing ever again.
"He'll be all right now though, right?" The hesitant query cut through Luke's morose turn of thoughts, effectively jolting him back into the here and now. Curious, he glanced up and discovered that Noelle was giving him, or rather Asch, a somewhat worried look. She smiled weakly as their combined attention, and his in particular, focused on her. She didn't exactly fidget, but there was air of nervousness about her as she explained further. "When Colonel Curtiss told me to move the Albiore, things weren't exactly looking good. I was kind of expecting the worst since I didn't hear anything for a long time. And then today we're back to the usual of running away from scary people. So everything turned out all right, I guess?"
"Ah, my sincerest apologies for not keeping you better apprised of the situation, Noelle," Jade interjected smoothly as he tented his fingers together in front of him. "But yes, our dear God-General is well enough for most activities thanks to certain unexpected intervention."
Luke blinked in confusion at the almost severe expression Jade cast his way. What was that all about? He hadn't done anything wrong. Lately. More than the usual. Right? Crap. Judging from the look Jade was giving him, he must have done something monumentally stupid. He just couldn't remember what. What could it be? Luke wracked his brain for something, anything he might have done in the recent past that would upset Jade. But the only thing he could think of was Akzeriuth, and as much as his own guilt would like him to believe otherwise, he really doubted that was it. Jade only harped on stuff if it amused him. Akzeriuth didn't amuse anyone. No, it had to be something else. Just what the heck had he done?
"Do you really think this is such a good idea?" Guy ventured cautiously, frowning unhappily when Jade arched an eyebrow at him. Even when the Colonel didn't say anything, his demands for an explanation were impossible to miss. "Well, it's like you said. He's well enough, but we're not exactly the easiest people to travel with. Is it such a good idea to be dragging him around everywhere when he's not at a hundred percent?"
Luke glanced down worriedly at Asch. Guy did have a point, as unpleasant as that point might be. Even at the best of times, the passage rings weren't anywhere near being safe places to tromp around in. The monsters and fiends kept them constantly on their toes, and that wasn't even taking the security systems dotting the structures into account. It was blatantly obvious that random people were not meant to be blithely walking around such vital machinery. They never had been. And yet, they still had to make their way through every single one of them. Too much depended on it getting done as soon as humanly possible, and there was no one else to do it. They had to keep going regardless of anything else.
Jade closed his eyes and hummed thoughtfully. "You do raise valid concerns, Guy," he conceded at last. "Unfortunately, there is little to be done about it. If the option were available to us, I would have him shipped off to Grand Chokmah at the next available opportunity. But we all know he wouldn't stay there, at least not of his own volition. And even if I were to have him incarcerated for his own good, it would just make it that much easier for a certain Commandant to find him again."
He paused briefly, as if to allow them a moment's time to stew over the morbid uncertainties present in his last statement, then continued on as if he had never stopped in the first place. "I don't believe I need to stress just how much of a threat Van Grants is to Asch at this point. The man went very much out of his way to do this, and there is no doubt in mind that he would do it again if given half a chance." Frowning severely, Jade reached up and slid his glasses further up his nose before surveying the group. He'd successfully silenced every single one of them, and quite effectively destroyed whatever good cheer they might have found during their trip back to Keterburg. Sadly, it was something that had to be said. They needed to be fully prepared for any eventuality that might arise from here on out. "I have no intention of giving him that chance. Thus, regardless of his state of health, it is best for Asch to travel with us. That way we can keep an eye on him and prevent any further unpleasantness."
"Hmmph," Anise snorted inelegantly as she crossed her arms and stared pointedly at the slumbering subject of the discussion. "Good luck with that. He's not exactly the type of person to sit on the sidelines, you know."
"Oh I wouldn't worry about that too much, Anise," Jade replied silkily as his gaze traveled from one redhead to the other. "I'm sure that we can come up with something to keep him occupied in the meantime. We are, after all, nothing if not resourceful."
Luke blinked as Jade's attention settled firmly upon him. What's with that look? Surely he didn't expect Luke to be able to keep Asch in check. There was no way. He hadn't even managed to convince Asch to not fight in their earlier argument. Though, at least they'd managed to come to some sort of agreement -as unsettling as it had been-. But that didn't mean Asch would appreciate any further suggestions about curbing his actions. He sure as hell wouldn't appreciate them. Why should Asch be any different?
Tear resisted the urge to flinch as her gaze dropped to the floor of the cockpit. She knew that this sort of conversation was something of a necessity, and that it would probably crop up many more times in the near future. But still- It was a hard thing to hear other people, much less friends, speak about Van in such a frank manner. It'd been hard enough to reconcile the loving brother she had known as a child with the man he had shown himself to be at Akzeriuth, and that was even after having personally experienced what he had done. But this... She just didn't know anymore. It had been so much easier to simply label him a traitor and be done with it. His crimes had warranted his death, and she'd been resigned to delivering it herself. But she couldn't think of him that way anymore. He'd gone to such lengths in proving himself to be something more akin to a monster than anything else. She couldn't even think of him as her brother anymore. Her Van didn't torture and kill people just because they were inconveniencing him.
No. Her brother was dead. She'd lost him somewhere along the way, and all that was left now was a gaping hole where he ought to be. She'd have to fill it with something else eventually, but not just yet. They weren't done yet. He still had to be stopped. At least in that, there was a small measure of atonement to be had. It wasn't much, but it would have to do.
---
The high pitched whine of the Albiore's engines was a remarkably dulled counterpoint to the sound of waves scattering in their wake. The fon machine didn't quite fly as it was intended to, but it served their purpose well enough as it skated its way across the ocean towards Keterburg. Sadly, there wasn't much they could do about its lack of altitude while the flightstone was in Dist's rather disturbing clutches. It wasn't that Luke was especially worried about their ability to retrieve it -at least, it wasn't much of a consideration-. The God-General, Dist the Reaper, while a self-proclaimed genius at fontech -and the complexity of his robots tended to point positively towards that fact-, wasn't much of a mastermind. He was a bit too... strange... and weird... and insane to come up with something they couldn't eventually work their way out of. No, it wasn't the retrieval of the stone that bothered him, it was wondering just what the hell that creepy bastard could do to it between then and now that concerned him. Noelle wouldn't be too pleased if it was damaged, much less her grandfather. Luke grimaced at the possibilities cropping up in his mind. No, no he definitely didn't want to get on Iemon's bad side. That didn't really seem like a healthy place to be. They would just have to rescue the flightstone from Dist post haste.
Unfortunately, this latest ridiculous train of thought led Luke right back to where he had been in the first place, namely: bored and mildly annoyed. The others were having nice, quiet conversations in various places around the cockpit, but he couldn't hear them well enough to join in; and he certainly couldn't move to do so, not since he was being used as a pillow once again. He didn't mind that really. In fact, he rather enjoyed it to a certain extent. Before... everything, being used as a pillow by a certain God-General had been so far from being a possibility that the very idea would have sent anyone even vaguely associated with either of them into hysterics. The concept was rather funny on its own, but the addition of Asch into the equation just made it that much worse in a sense. Of course, Luke didn't really care for the primary cause for why Asch would be using him as a pillow. certainly not. The trek to the Albiore, which had consisted of making their way through the Oracle Knight Headquarters, then Daath, and then the forest, had worn the God-General out more than he'd been willing to admit. The excitement that had been inflicted upon them beforehand hadn't helped either. He wasn't well yet, even though he did put on a superb front to the contrary.
And yet, regardless of the many reasons for him not to be very happy about it, Luke gleefully acknowledged the tiny thrill of joy he'd had when he'd felt a light weight settling against his shoulder, a weight that was swiftly becoming quite familiar and definitely more than welcome. He liked it that Asch was comfortable enough around him to do something like that without even thinking about it. It was... well, he couldn't really describe it properly. A lot of it was confusing and a lot of it just was. And frankly, he liked it that way. It was much better than everything that had gone on before, all the confusion and uncertainty, the doubts and recriminations. Granted, he'd more than earned the guilt that sprang up from the latter. His blind idiocy had gotten a lot of people killed and there was no way he could ever make up for it. He could only hope that whatever he did now would at least make it better for everyone else somehow. And in that way, perhaps he could atone. But... all of those knotted up feelings weren't quite as overpowering as they had been, at least not anymore. It was almost as if he'd found his way, or something to that effect. At the very least, he didn't feel so incredibly lost anymore. And that was... that was a nice feeling. So of course he wasn't annoyed about it.
No, that wasn't it. He was annoyed because he was beginning to discover little detrimental side effects that apparently came with being so closely linked to Asch. The one that was irritating him the most at the moment was the lethargy seeping through their connection, dragging down on him. Asch was asleep because he needed the rest. Luke did not need the rest so he certainly didn't need to be feeling like his head was going to fall off if he didn't follow suit. That was annoying. There was also the little fact that the lack of having Asch to talk to was boring the hell out of him too. Now there was a bizarre side effect if ever there was one. He was so used to talking to Asch now through their connection that the lack left him feeling a strong urge to start crawling the walls. Having to deal with this void of silence firmly planted in his mind would drive anyone insane. He needed something to do, a distraction of some sort, but there wasn't anything for him to do. So annoying!
Well, there was something else to do if the others would just talk loud enough for him to hear whatever it was they were discussing. He knew they were trying to not wake Asch up, and he could appreciate that. Asch really needed the rest, but he did not. And he seriously doubted they'd be able to wake him up anyway. The sensations leaking across were pretty rock solid. Hell, they were almost substantial enough to put him to sleep. But he was not going to sleep! Why couldn't they just talk a little louder? Was that so much to ask?
"Really Luke, there's no need to pout." The aforementioned redhead did his best to not scowl as Jade's amused voice rose above the others. Damn. It just had to be Jade, didn't it? None of the others could notice his discontent first. Oh no, it had to be Jade. Just his luck. Rotten luck. "I'm sure that one of the others wouldn't mind serving as an impromptu pillow if you would rather be somewhere else."
Luke gave up and allowed the scowl to come through full force as he crossed his arms petulantly. The others had stopped chatting amongst themselves at Jade's comment and were now giving him their full attention. "That's not the problem and you know it."
Guy smiled indulgently at the rather classic Luke fon Fabre defensive mannerisms. Some things never changed; and well, Jade had an amazing knack for bringing the worst and most juvenile parts of their psyches out to play with just a little poke here and there. "Bored, I take it?" he asked cheerfully.
"Unbearably," Luke grumbled as he gave his best friend a sour look. "There's nothing to do and I have no one to talk to. You're all so quiet and he's asleep."
"We're trying to be considerate and not wake him up," Tear explained oh so helpfully as far as Luke was concerned. She did give him something that possibly resembled an apologetic smile though, so he'd let it slide. This time.
"Yes yes, I know that too," Luke almost growled back. He was in a snit and knew it and didn't care. At least he wasn't throwing a temper tantrum! He was being an adult about this, sort of. Maybe. "It's just, I can't talk to him because he's asleep and I can't talk to you guys because you're all over there being considerate. And in the meantime I'm just sitting here getting boreder and boreder with no way to alleviate the problem anytime soon. It's frustrating."
"Border is not a word," Natalia chided gently, though her amusement at his predicament was more than obvious, "At least not in the way you're using it."
"Whatever," Luke groused and rolled his eyes in mounting annoyance. Trust Natalia to make things worse with her old habit of having to correct him on every single, little inconsequential detail. Why did she always have to be so irritating? Couldn't she just not talk for once? "My point still stands."
"Well, I'm afraid there's not much to be done about it," Jade said pleasantly and shrugged indifferently. "He is still a bit weak and thus requires all the rest he can get. Your capacity as a pillow serves well enough to ensure that. And by all appearances, you don't seem to mind it all that much either. So really, there's not much you can complain about, now is there? You, after all, would know better than any of the rest of us just how much he is in need of rest."
Luke flushed slightly at the pointed, if amused, look Jade was sending his way. He knew that. Of course he did, and he certainly didn't need Jade reminding him about it. He was just... so damned bored and, well, antsy. It's not as if he were complaining about his predicament- Well, okay, maybe he was, but still. It just... he just... Actually, he wasn't really sure what the main problem was. Part of him was dreadfully sleepy thanks to the weariness trickling across their connection; and part of him didn't know what to do with itself now that Asch wasn't available to distract himself with. So he was just sitting here, playing pillow, with far too much time on his hands to worry over stuff.
Wait.
That was it. He was worried. Why the hell did it take him this long to figure out something as simple as that? There were a lot of things to be worried about: Mohs, the Score, the other God-Generals, Van, the Sephiroth, Ion's health issues, stopping the core's vibration and then lowering the land, screwing up and making yet another mistake that he could never take back, retrieving the flightstone, making sure that everyone was okay, and avoiding Jade's unique brand of humor at all cost. Though, that last one was probably a hopeless cause at this point. And all of that was just off the top of his head, there were so many other things left to consider. And then there was the veritable mountain of new concerns thanks to the addition of Asch into his daily life.
They... hadn't really talked much after escaping the thoroughly unwelcome confrontation they'd all been forced into enduring back in Daath; and it wasn't just because they'd been doing their level best to get the hell out of there either. Their father's presence had dredged up a lot more crap than either of them were ready to face, and that was assuming they ever would be. He certainly didn't feel like he would be, not for a long time. And Asch... well, the way Asch had just shut down like that had frightened him more than he'd realized at the time. That feeling of emptiness, as if there was nothing there, had absolutely terrified him.
Luke wasn't really sure -frankly he wasn't sure about a lot of things anymore-, but he didn't think he'd be able to cope if Asch ever went away like that ever again. It was just- It had been horrible. He didn't- he didn't want to feel that awful void of nothing ever again.
"He'll be all right now though, right?" The hesitant query cut through Luke's morose turn of thoughts, effectively jolting him back into the here and now. Curious, he glanced up and discovered that Noelle was giving him, or rather Asch, a somewhat worried look. She smiled weakly as their combined attention, and his in particular, focused on her. She didn't exactly fidget, but there was air of nervousness about her as she explained further. "When Colonel Curtiss told me to move the Albiore, things weren't exactly looking good. I was kind of expecting the worst since I didn't hear anything for a long time. And then today we're back to the usual of running away from scary people. So everything turned out all right, I guess?"
"Ah, my sincerest apologies for not keeping you better apprised of the situation, Noelle," Jade interjected smoothly as he tented his fingers together in front of him. "But yes, our dear God-General is well enough for most activities thanks to certain unexpected intervention."
Luke blinked in confusion at the almost severe expression Jade cast his way. What was that all about? He hadn't done anything wrong. Lately. More than the usual. Right? Crap. Judging from the look Jade was giving him, he must have done something monumentally stupid. He just couldn't remember what. What could it be? Luke wracked his brain for something, anything he might have done in the recent past that would upset Jade. But the only thing he could think of was Akzeriuth, and as much as his own guilt would like him to believe otherwise, he really doubted that was it. Jade only harped on stuff if it amused him. Akzeriuth didn't amuse anyone. No, it had to be something else. Just what the heck had he done?
"Do you really think this is such a good idea?" Guy ventured cautiously, frowning unhappily when Jade arched an eyebrow at him. Even when the Colonel didn't say anything, his demands for an explanation were impossible to miss. "Well, it's like you said. He's well enough, but we're not exactly the easiest people to travel with. Is it such a good idea to be dragging him around everywhere when he's not at a hundred percent?"
Luke glanced down worriedly at Asch. Guy did have a point, as unpleasant as that point might be. Even at the best of times, the passage rings weren't anywhere near being safe places to tromp around in. The monsters and fiends kept them constantly on their toes, and that wasn't even taking the security systems dotting the structures into account. It was blatantly obvious that random people were not meant to be blithely walking around such vital machinery. They never had been. And yet, they still had to make their way through every single one of them. Too much depended on it getting done as soon as humanly possible, and there was no one else to do it. They had to keep going regardless of anything else.
Jade closed his eyes and hummed thoughtfully. "You do raise valid concerns, Guy," he conceded at last. "Unfortunately, there is little to be done about it. If the option were available to us, I would have him shipped off to Grand Chokmah at the next available opportunity. But we all know he wouldn't stay there, at least not of his own volition. And even if I were to have him incarcerated for his own good, it would just make it that much easier for a certain Commandant to find him again."
He paused briefly, as if to allow them a moment's time to stew over the morbid uncertainties present in his last statement, then continued on as if he had never stopped in the first place. "I don't believe I need to stress just how much of a threat Van Grants is to Asch at this point. The man went very much out of his way to do this, and there is no doubt in mind that he would do it again if given half a chance." Frowning severely, Jade reached up and slid his glasses further up his nose before surveying the group. He'd successfully silenced every single one of them, and quite effectively destroyed whatever good cheer they might have found during their trip back to Keterburg. Sadly, it was something that had to be said. They needed to be fully prepared for any eventuality that might arise from here on out. "I have no intention of giving him that chance. Thus, regardless of his state of health, it is best for Asch to travel with us. That way we can keep an eye on him and prevent any further unpleasantness."
"Hmmph," Anise snorted inelegantly as she crossed her arms and stared pointedly at the slumbering subject of the discussion. "Good luck with that. He's not exactly the type of person to sit on the sidelines, you know."
"Oh I wouldn't worry about that too much, Anise," Jade replied silkily as his gaze traveled from one redhead to the other. "I'm sure that we can come up with something to keep him occupied in the meantime. We are, after all, nothing if not resourceful."
Luke blinked as Jade's attention settled firmly upon him. What's with that look? Surely he didn't expect Luke to be able to keep Asch in check. There was no way. He hadn't even managed to convince Asch to not fight in their earlier argument. Though, at least they'd managed to come to some sort of agreement -as unsettling as it had been-. But that didn't mean Asch would appreciate any further suggestions about curbing his actions. He sure as hell wouldn't appreciate them. Why should Asch be any different?
Tear resisted the urge to flinch as her gaze dropped to the floor of the cockpit. She knew that this sort of conversation was something of a necessity, and that it would probably crop up many more times in the near future. But still- It was a hard thing to hear other people, much less friends, speak about Van in such a frank manner. It'd been hard enough to reconcile the loving brother she had known as a child with the man he had shown himself to be at Akzeriuth, and that was even after having personally experienced what he had done. But this... She just didn't know anymore. It had been so much easier to simply label him a traitor and be done with it. His crimes had warranted his death, and she'd been resigned to delivering it herself. But she couldn't think of him that way anymore. He'd gone to such lengths in proving himself to be something more akin to a monster than anything else. She couldn't even think of him as her brother anymore. Her Van didn't torture and kill people just because they were inconveniencing him.
No. Her brother was dead. She'd lost him somewhere along the way, and all that was left now was a gaping hole where he ought to be. She'd have to fill it with something else eventually, but not just yet. They weren't done yet. He still had to be stopped. At least in that, there was a small measure of atonement to be had. It wasn't much, but it would have to do.
---