Fifteen Days: Chapter 7

Chapter 7

When I turned around again, it was not a person who greeted me, but a wall. Kris had disappeared. He left behind all of his friends, and me, just to journey out alone. I looked down, and knew he told us to get ready just for him to go. My dress looked darker, as if the blue of the sky now reflected its color.
I beckoned everyone to go, and that I would finish, sending them all to their rooms for rest. I knocked on Lin's door, and she opened it sleepily. Lin rubbed her eyes, and slowly followed me back into the breakfast room. The house seemed so much quieter without all of the servants milling about.
"Sarah," Lin grumbled. "What's up?"
"Kris is gone," I said, looking at her sadly. "He left us on his own. I don't know where he went or when."
"W-Why?" Lin's eyes looked dull, as if I had just drained all their color.
"I don't know, all I know is that he left while we were packing. He may have head for a place to think, but he hasn't come back and took the ion cannon with him."
"I see," Lin's eyes now were watery, reflecting the ocean even more than her hair. "What have we done?"
"I don't want to know. I only asked you out here since you're the only one who I trust."
"What did you think I could do?" She was crying now, tears streaming down her face. It must have been hard, losing someone you have known and loved since childhood.
"You are the one I know who loves him. I am going to find him, no matter how far and how dangerous it may be. I want you to come with me, to comfort him when we have found him."
"But, how? How can a girl like me, one who's abandoned her family, help Kris?"
"I don't know how, but we need to try. Dry your tears, child. There's no hope to go on if there is none to begin with, right?"
"Right," Lin took the tissue I offered, and I looked hard into her eyes. Her ocean of hair had regressed, and I could tell that the thought of Kris being gone was already hurting her. Taking her hand, and her feelings, I held her tight. Lin looked up, and she saw that I was a person who would help her.
"I think we should leave now," I ordained. "We should go before anyone has the chance to know we're gone."
"But what about Tsu-" she stopped herself. "What about Mono?"
"I don't think that Kris cares as much about her as he does about you. Bring your things; I'm going to go to Balladia."
"Why Balladia, though?"
"It's the closest thing he has to home, and it seems like a place he would go."
"Okay. Is there anything I should bring with us?"
I thought. Balladia was dangerous for anyone from Aria, let alone a young woman. Even with me, there may be a chance of her getting hurt. I thought that a girl like her would be at a disadvantage even with a weapon to Balladian thugs, so it would probably be best if she took a weapon.
"Do you have any weapons?" it was an important question to ask, even though I did.
"I have a keepsake knife from Kris," Lin whispered, as if not wanting to tell me. "But would I have to use it?"
"No, such a thing shouldn't be used anyway. I'll give you something to use, just be careful with it."
"Thank you."
Saying nothing more, we both took our bags in hand and proceeded to the front door. Something caught my eye, I turned on a light to find a message pressed into the wall. It read a sad message to me, and I felt that he wouldn't come back. The message read the very words I hated.
"'Bye, guys'," Lin started. "'I'll miss all of you. I'm going far away from Aria. Don't follow me, I want to figure this out myself. Don't bother Mono, I think she'll eventually change back to being Tsukasa. Tell Lin I love her. Sincerely, Kristopher Nikos.' Why? Why are you leaving me, Kris?" Lin broke into tears, and I picked her up to carry her.
Walking out into the cold night, I saw a glimpse of the moon behind the clouds. The blue glimmer held a sliver of hope for Lin and me. I walked to my car, battered from combat, and put Lin inside. I drove straight to the airport, hoping the slight snowfall would not turn into a dark snowstorm. Lin had calmed a bit before we reached the airport, and I helped her along to the ticketing station.
Getting the tickets to Balladia, I then found an aeroplane platform and boarded the metallic beast. Arian aeroplanes were always empty, and ones to Balladia or Flynn were even quieter. We both sat at a booth, and I looked across the table at Lin. She had taken out paper, and was writing a letter, probably to Kris. I turned to look outside the window, and saw the aeroplane to Symphonia.
Inside, there were very few people, and only a couple of them weren't asleep. I saw a young man within, with hair as grey as Kris'. This man was sitting at a table with a suitcase, and was writing a letter. I only realized once I was falling asleep on the moving aeroplane that the man I saw was Kris.


After Sarah had sent us to bed, I felt as if something was missing. Something very important. Something important to us packing up was missing, and I could not place what that was. Shrugging it off, I then fell into a deepened sleep, it had been a long day. My dreams were nonexistent, and I knew that my mind had only wanted rest throughout this time.
I woke the next day with my head throbbing, and I saw a waiting Kayla sitting next to me, tapping my forehead with a stick. Grasping her small wrist for her to stop, I turned and smiled at her. Her eyes showed no happiness, and she looked across me. I turned again, and I saw the girl Kris called Mono.
Mono looked down at me with grey eyes, frowning mouth, and long hair. She seemed nothing like the Tsukasa I knew, full of color and life. This Mono was silent and passive, and it seemed even pain only caused her body to react, not her mind. I didn't know who she was, but I knew she couldn't be human.
I wondered why they had come into my room, saddened by the news I was waiting to hear, and I finally shook myself awake enough to listen to them. Mono began with the root of the problem.
"Kris gone," she articulated, and waited for Kayla to bring it onward.
"Kris went away last night," Kayla exclaimed. "Along with Sarah and Lin, and only Kris left a note."
"What?" that's all I could think to say.
"Kris left the house last night, and the others left him afterwards."
"Where's Kris?" Mono said, looking up.
"He left for something to figure out himself, and I'm guessing that Sarah and Lin went out to find him."
"I need Kris."
"I know, Mono. But it seems that we need to find him first."
"Let's try Flynn," I spoke up now, finally catching up the conversation. "He seems like the kind of guy to face danger head on."
"Flynn, it is possible," Mono finished the conversation. We headed out, the virgin snow covering the ground like carpet. I wondered why they left, and what would be there when we made it. The aeroplane we boarded was almost full of refugees; all of Aria was trying to escape war by fleeing to the attacker.
We arrived in Flynn's residential area, in a small town call Bread. I wondered why the town was called that when I realized that the only people in the world I cared about now were Mono and Kayla. Somehow it unnerved me, seeming like I was protecting something dark, but at the same time I felt as if the ones I was protecting were the most precious to me.


I awoke in the skies above Symphonia, the great land stretching below me. Unlike in Aria, storm clouds, rather than snow clouds and sunlight darkened these skies. I looked below, I saw earth, scorched by war, and people huddled in dark corners. I knew that no happiness was had in Symphonia.
I needed no happiness; I needed to destroy Flynn, and all those linked to my friends and I. I wouldn't be known as Kris Nikos, I would instead be known as the man with nothing to lose. I needed no name; I needed only to be alone. As Sarah and Mono said before, my origin was Neutrality, and that neutrality is best kept by being away from influence.
The landing area of Symphonia wasn't anything more than a marked area in the dirt. The guards were volunteers, knowing that a bombing at an airport would just be a faster way to die than starvation. I saved no pity for them; after all, I was similar, being choked by the fact that I was alone.
I went for my first mission, and I began to search for sustenance and a place to rest my head. After I finished finding that, I would begin search for answers. I was away from all allies, which would help remove emotional input to my quest. I thought it best if I went to go for school, as a person my age would be suspicious without books and other items.
After entering the youth hostel, I bought boarding, which was unbelievably empty. The elevator on the first floor went down, and I knew this country had prepared even youth services for war. I had heard stories of the attacks on Symphonia, but even threatening the country's youth was too much. I set down my suitcase on the cot, and began to extract my clothing and my letters.
I read all the letters again, and prepared to send them off to my villa in Aria. Even if no one was there to receive them, I would send them just to relieve my nerves. The room I was in was not small, but not large either, and the concrete walls insinuated the fact that this place was secure. There was a bed on the far end of the room, and a table in the center, nothing on it but a vase with dying flowers.
As this boarding had multiple rooms, I began to explore the area around me, finding a kitchenette to my right and a small hall to a bathroom to my left. I didn't think it was an optimum area for training, so I mailed off an application for a school with several martial art teams.
I also gave myself a new set of clothing and cut my hair down after dyeing it black. Noticing how late it was already, I grabbed a few things of school supplies and a clock for my alarm. When I finally made my way into bed, I realized that this is how it is going to be. Until I finish what I needed to, I would be on my own.
Falling to sleep, I wondered what I could do to help my friends and I get through this the same as we used to be. Knowing that we would all change and be changed when I returned, I let my mind close in on itself. My dreams did not come immediately, and I slowly waned into the darkness.


Lin and I arrived in Balladia during the daytime, and the town we reached was nothing more than a few houses around a large industrial area. We immediately searched around for signs of Kris, and finding none, we decided to search for an information guru. Subways were the blood vessels of Balladia, and, similarly, of crime.
Many gangs were down in the subways, and all of the men looked at us as if we were scum in their rat-infested railway system. Lin stayed close to me, hand glued to the knife I gave her; I stayed with my hand ready to draw my sword. One of the men came up to us and asked us about our business in Balladia.
"We're looking for information," I said with authority. "We need to find a friend."
"I see," the man said. He smelled of smoke and refuse. "Well, if it's information you want, it's the Black Stars you're lookin' for."
"Black Stars? What's that?"
"The Black Stars are a gang that got into every little thing goin' on in Balladia. Sadly, their leader was offed by some guy who knew a thing or two about swords. They may be… unwilling to deal with Arians."
"Well, do you know where we could find this group?"
"I do, but if you want anywhere in Balladia you gots to do some… persuasion," the man had a gleam in his eye and a smile on his ugly face. Knowing what kind of persuasion the man had in mind, I drew my sword toward his throat. "Woah hey, hey! Little lady, if yous packin' heat like that everyone's gonna have beef with you."
"It looks like this is not the most private area for some 'persuasion.'"
"Sarah," Lin pulled on my sleeve. "The other people are watching. It'd do best if we moved this argument elsewhere."
"I agree," and I began to push the man into a workroom. The room was filthy; cracked mirrors lined the wall and graffiti decorated where the dirt couldn't reach. I sheathed my sword, and held the man with my hands. "Now, what sort of 'persuasion' did you have in mind?"
"Ma'am, I had no idea that you was violent," the man was groveling on the wall he stood against. "Please let this poor soul go."
"If you think begging is going to save your soul from all you've done, you've got another thing coming. Now, let's have a pleasant afternoon talk."
"Anything, Miss, anything you want I'll get you."
"I want answers. Tell me where this group is, or I'll slice out your throat."
"You don't look like the person who would do that," he said with strong emotion. It seemed he truly thought that a woman like me couldn't kill someone. The mirror I was standing next to was quickly smashed with the head of the man, and I then broke the concrete underfoot with a smack of my sword sheath.
Lin was staring at me strangely, as if I were a beast, something that wouldn't stop until the man was dead. I cared little for her outlook on me, as long as I found Kris for her. I pulled the man back up, and pressed him against the wall of graffiti. He coughed and spat blood onto the floor, obviously not wanting to incur my rage further.
"Now, tell me where the Black Stars are," I said politely, similar to a young girl asking for flowers.
"Ma'am, if I could tell you," the man whimpered. "I would, but the only one I know who knows a thing about the Black Stars is Juanita, and she ain't gonna take violence lightly."
"Well then, where is this Juanita?"
"In the ghettos past the subways, I'll take yous two there if you don't hurt me anymore."
"That wasn't so hard, was it?"
"Sarah," Lin sobbed. "When did you become such a mean person?"
"You wouldn't think that I could be a protector of a Nikos just by looking pretty, did you?"
"I guess you're right. Just try not to be so violent around me. Please."
"Fair enough. I wouldn't want your virgin skin to be coated with blood so early on," and I threw the man over to the door. He rubbed his temples where they hit the mirror, and continued forth. Noticing the amount of people staring now, seeing two women following a beaten and battered man, I kept my sword out far enough so they could see the steel.
The subway opened up into a smoky and rundown district of the city, and the man walked forward a few steps, and knocked on one of the tin doors. A slot pulled away, and the man said something in a hushed tone. He beckoned for us to come, and we entered the building.
"Follow him," the man said. "He'll lead yous to Juanita. I'm gonna go find some bandages an' ice."
We saw a man, cloaked in shadow, at the end of the hall. I pulled Lin along with me, and I kept up with the man. The man led us through the entire warehouse, eventually coming down a large hallway with a door at the end. When we came up to it, the man rapped on the door a couple times, and a slot opened.
"What do you need?" a voice said, metallic but human.
"These two gots a deal to make," the man's voice came, and I realized that the man standing before me had only recorded what the subway man said. "They say they got to find the Black Stars. Please talk to 'em Juanita, they done nothin' wrong. Please input orders."
"Alright. 'I'm waiting at the door for others to come.'"
The man turned, and I saw that he had no face, just a large metal screen. He walked away, all the way back to the door, obviously ready for standing. The door opened, and we walked into a large, well-lit room that hurt our eyes in contrast to the journey's darkness. Nothing greeted us when we came in except another robot.
This robot was nothing more than two hands on the frame of a man, with similar form to the droid outside. It beckoned for us to come, and we headed for the door alongside it. Whenever we reached the door, the robot put its hand out for us to stop, and turned towards us.
The screen on the humanoid being lit up. On it, the face of a woman came up. She was young, and stood in another well-lit room, but she looked weak, as if she hadn't left this place for a long time.
"Please leave all weapons here," she said, and the robot gestured to a table behind it. "I won't let you in otherwise, and using violence on my droid won't make me more cooperative."
"I'm not going to give up my sword," I said, and pulled it closer to me.
"If only a sword comes in, I better see that no blood stains it on the way out."
"Fair enough. Lin, drop your knife," Lin pulled out the weapon and put it on the table. I took out both of my knives, my hand axe, spear, bladed whip, staves, and my steel nails, and put them on the table. I did this slowly, making sure that this woman saw that I could use anything to kill her.
"That's everything. Can we come in now?"
"Yes," the woman said, and the robot's screen went dark. It plugged its left hand into a console on the wall, and the door opened. Inside the room, there was an office with a window across the wall, which overlooked the entire city. I wondered how we had gotten so high up without realizing it.
The woman sat at a desk at the far end of the room, and I figured that it was Juanita. She didn't look as frail as she did on the robot, and she wore a business suit. The recording on the robot was very old, I guess. Juanita stared at us intently as we walked in, as if trying to tell who we were.
"Sarah Shin-Tosa and Lin Saphiré, yes?" she mused, seeming to read our minds.
"How did you know?" I asked, eyes widening.
"I had cameras on you as you walked in, and the airport tips me off about anyone I ask for. What did you want?" Juanita's voice was slow and interrogative, seeming like she was the head of a great mercenary group.
"I'm surprised you don't already know."
"The thing I don't know is the reason you want that group."
"Your man said they knew something about a swordsman."
"That piece of filth is not 'my man.' And the Black Stars know about a number of swordsmen."
"The man said they had a recent change of power in the group, said that one of their higher-ups got killed by a young man."
"Yes," Juanita picked up and took a puff of a cigarette before continuing, "A young man who had no name, but held quite a large title for his age." After she said this, several screens in the room lit up with camera feeds. They showed a large man clad in armor facing off against a man wearing a Flynn-colored pair of pants.
"Is this your man?" Juanita breathed, clearly examining our reaction to the tape.
"No," Lin whispered. "Kris has grey hair, and isn't Flynnan."
"I did hear something about an Arian boy arriving in Symphonia, but no one knew much else. Maybe for a favor I can get my information flow started."
"What kind of favor are you thinking of? Lin and I are in no mood for games, Juanita."
"Oh, such a harsh tone. A voice like that is going to get you hurt one day, Ms. Shin-Tosa."
"You're going to be hurt today if you don't tell me I what I want."
"Sarah stop," Lin spoke up, trying to calm me down. "She won't listen unless we're nice to her."
"I don't want to be nice; I want to find my master."
"Miss Tosa," Juanita lifted up a dark hand toward me. "I don't want to talk to you any longer. I'm going to have to ask you to go."
"I'll go, but I'm not leaving Lin defenseless."
"Give her that katana; I'm sure it'll protect her from dangers that don't even exist."
"Sarah, go," Lin said, turning and smiling. "I'll be fine. I promise."
I looked back and forth between Lin and Juanita, and walked out of the room, shaking my head. "Suppose it can't be helped. I'll leave this to you, Lin." I turned and pointed accusingly at Juanita. "If you do anything to Lin while I'm gone, I'll make you wish you stayed with tinkering with robots."
"Bye," Juanita waved, and the doors slammed shut. I couldn't hear anything inside, and I immediately felt that Lin was in danger. I banged on the door futilely, but when my fists became bruised and bloody I had to stop. The droid at the door instructed me to come, and I followed him to a waiting room. No one was in there but a young, red-headed man sleeping.
I hoped that Lin would be okay, and I started to think of what to do now.


After the doors closed behind Sarah, I turned to face Juanita. I wondered if that was her real name, and if she was really human. I saw that all the things around me were technology, but she was not. After the doors were shut, Juanita stood and walked in front of the desk.
"You know," she began. "You seemed like the more forceful of you two, because you were the prettier one. Looks like not everything comes from looks…"
"If all you're going to do," I said, clenching my fists, "is flirt with me, then I think I'll be going."
"Honey, I don't need any more human contact now. I get enough people walking in proposing to me as it is."
"That doesn't surprise me, you seem like a nice person, and you're prettier than some of the Balladans I've seen."
Juanita seemed surprised at this, and burst out laughing. "So I see we have mutual respect for each other?" She gasped after she finished her laughter.
"Well then, what can you tell me about Kris?"
"Kris this, Kris that; you follow him around like a dog, you know? Maybe you should try forgetting about him. If I were you, I'd be batshit insane already."
"I'm not the only one trying to find him you know."
"But I know that you're the only one looking for him."
"Wait, what do you mean?"
"I mean that the only one who wants to find such a man is you. All the others don't want to find a man; they want a weapon."
"What about Sarah, though?"
"She may seem to be a nice person, but even when the Nikoses were young, she was teaching them high-level military training." A few screens lit up, showing rows of people firing handguns. One of the screens zoomed in, and I saw that it was Kris. A screen to its left zoomed on Sarah, watching as he shot.
"What? What is this?" I gasped.
"Do you know about the Gemini project?"
"Yeah, Sarah mentioned something about that yesterday."
"Don't you find it strange she knew so much about it, even if it was a Flynnan project?"
"Yeah I did, but- wait, you're saying she was planted by Flynn?"
"Mhmm, and I bet she wants to give him back to Flynn. He's much too dangerous to everyone."
"But, why? Why is he so dangerous?"
"I have a few dossiers I want you to read. They're about Kris and the others in the Gemini project. Here," she tossed me a folder of papers, and I opened it quickly. "There was one hundred candidates for Gemini, but only eight of them survived. Seven of them were done at the same time, and an eighth one in secret."
"Who are they, and what are they?"
"Numbering from one to eight, there are eight Gemini subjects that have powers, potential or otherwise, and seven mediums, used as a carrier of Gemini agent. The first to awaken was the star-of-one-point, a woman only known as Page. She carries the power of Metal, but since she was the first subject, she does not have a medium, but a payment to use her power.
"Second on the list is John Weatherstone, a Balladan who controls Fire. His medium is Ashe, a red-haired woman who is an awakened medium. Third is Imogen Are, a Flynnan who controls Water. Her medium is Sorrow, a blue-haired man, not awakened. The fourth to awaken was Harold West, an Oceanian that can control light. His medium is Sol, a golden-haired girl that was once his daughter.
"The fifth one to awaken was the first of the True-Star series, whose power can be drawn in one burst. He was Taylor Jameson, a Symphonian with an affinity to darkness. His medium, Umbra, is a dark-haired teenager, his cousin. Sixth to awaken was Oswald Reiuka, an Oceanian. He controls wind, and his white-haired medium is Lightning.
"Even though you know, I'm reading this word for word. The seventh star, Kristopher Nikos, of the Daedal branch, is an Arian that controls nothing. His medium, Mono, is a silver-haired medium that was originally aware of itself. The last to awaken was the forbidden star, similar to Page. We don't know if it's a girl or a boy, but we do know it has no medium, and no payment. Its name is Orphan."
"Orphan," I trailed off. I didn't know what I was going to say anyway. "At one point, I was awake at night, and I heard something about Kris' origin being Neutrality. What does that mean?"
"Origin? I haven't even heard that in reference to the Gemini project. I think that it means what the medium or the subject feels at any given time. Kristopher's is apparently neutrality," Juanita wrote this down on a paper, and continued talking. "So he must not have any thought of taking sides."
"Oh," I began. "I remember the Fire-Star. He always seemed to be angry, to the point of sarcasm. I think that the element they control is related to emotion then."
"Possibly, but we need proof," she picked up a telephone, and began to tell someone something. "James, I think that we may be correct about the emotions. Research 'origins,' and find the seventh star. This girl may be our only connection to him that isn't hostile."
"Wait, what about Mono? What would happen if Kris and Mono got separated?"
"How far do you mean? Like, a wall, or an entire world?"
"Whenever we left Aria, we left Mono, James, and Kayla behind. Kris had left before, and we couldn't tell how far he'd gotten…"
"I don't think anything will happen, but the medium might develop other emotions if kept away for too long," she talked to James again, but it was too fast for me to comprehend. Something about Kris and Mono being more than just partners. "Did anything happen between Kris and Mono?"
"Not that I know of, but after our fight against Flynn, Kris and Mono both went to Kris' room."
"I doubt that after an attack from Flynn that anyone could develop a physical bond to their medium. How soon after this did he develop his power?"
"Mono had already changed from Tsukasa before the fight, and by the time Kris got the ion cannon prepared, he was teleporting around the battlefield, setting up targets to fire."
"He must have developed the power before he got the cannon ready then…"
"Is there anything I can do around here to help?"
"Yes, there is quite a few things I need help preparing for our operation. But first, I need to get rid of that Flynnan spy," Juanita called up a camera, and beckoned me to come to her. Holding me in her arms, the feed started, and I saw Sarah in a waiting room. She turned, and immediately drew her sword on the robot.
"What are you doing, Lin?" Sarah said, not liking the side I took. "She's dangerous. Get out of there, now."
"Sarah," I said, tears starting to flow with realization. "Tell me the truth. Are you Flynnan?"
She seemed to pause before replying. "Of course not! Why would I lie to you, child?"
"You would, for the same reason you're lying to me now. Are you trying to use Kris?"
"So she told you already… Well then, since the jig is up, I'm going to have to tell the truth now, won't I?"
"You should've told her the truth in the first place," said Juanita, voice dripping with acidic hate. "It's wrong to lie to allies."
"Yes, I am a Flynnan government worker, helping with research. I needed Kris so I could study emotional responses, and it's been very… informative."
"Did you call the attack on the villa?" I said, now starting to get angry. "Did you make Tsukasa into a demon?"
"Not a demon, heaven's no! The attack on the villa was called so we could awaken his powers and see how he used them in a combat setting alongside friends. We needed something to happen to the medium so that the subject would be more inclined to wander away from friends."
"So you're the one who tore me and Kris apart?"
"It was my next assignment. I was told to see his reaction to great emotional stress, hinging mostly on separation from love. We predicted that he would fall in love with you, rather than Tsukasa, and wanted to see his reaction to see you in danger. We didn't think the results would be like this, I did not expect him to go from his medium as well as human partnership."
"What's going to happen to Tsukasa now?" I was practically crying now, each of her words bringing more sorrow.
"She'll probably have a mental breakdown, followed by death. This anomaly on the original experiment will be interesting. We attempted to do the same with Imogen, but the user broke down, so it was determined that men were a better subject for this."
"Since you've obviously betrayed me more than anyone else," I was furious. If I could have, I would have taken her sword and slaughtered her. "You can just go to hell. Goodbye, you bitch."
"I think not. I bid thee farewell, 'tis obvious I have no role left." I heard guns warming up through the camera; Sarah looked to her left and drew her sword. Before anything more happened, Juanita cut the feed. I heard gunshots and screams of agony in the other room, and I was happy Juanita did what she did.
"Now, child, what am I going to do with you?" Juanita looked me up and down. "You're too fragile for work, too small for recon, and too pretty to be on the streets. I think you can be my assistant in research."
"How can I?" I didn't think that a young high school dropout who ran away with her best friend could help a genius who had all the help she needed.
"Well, first, we need to get you some Balladan clothes. You stick out like a chicken in a pig pen with those Arian rags. Want to go shopping?"
"Can I? I mean, can you? Being so important?"
"Honey, just 'cause people know my name doesn't mean they know what I look like. I may be Juanita V-IIX here, but outside, I'm just Juanita San Amos. Come on, let's go!"
"O-okay," I said hesitantly while she pulled me along. Obviously I had made a friend, but a friend whose influence is immeasurable and still likes to go shopping with her friends is quite odd.


We were looking for answers in the most obvious place. Looking for answers, but no answers were here to be found. Flynn wasn't a dictatorship, nor a democracy, but something far different. From what I could tell, it gave its power to regional areas, but how those areas were ruled differed over the landscape.
Flynn's capital had lax government, with the only laws against crime and other such things; it had low taxes, high buildings, fair wage, and it seemed like an ideal place to live. The only law Flynn placed over its country was that all men must serve in the military for at least five years after their twentieth year.
Some regions did have a dictatorship, enforcing many men to serve life in military deployment; these regions made up much of Flynn's army. We were thankfully in Flynn's capital, Char, and it would've been the best place for information about Kris if the officials weren't so uptight.
We had been here for two days, and we couldn't find a single shred of information about this "Gemini" project. Kayla had checked many of the books in the libraries, while I had to be the one to make sure Mono didn't disappear, if that was possible. Mono spent most of her time sulking about Kris and whatnot, which puzzled me.
I wondered what sort of person Kris really was, and one day, I had it in my mind to ask Mono. I wanted to know, but for some reason, I never could ask her; maybe I thought that a piece of Tsukasa still existed within Mono, but maybe I just wanted to know why Tsukasa doted on him so.
"Ts-Tsukasa?" I said, somehow expecting a response. "Why is Kris so great?"
Mono had looked up on the first word, as if remembering something, but her eyes held no emotion. "Kris is nice."
"How is he nice?" I elaborated. "Is he nice in looks, personality, what?"
"He has good heart."
"What do you mean by a good heart?"
"He feels without judgment."
"Elaborate, please."
"I would like unlocked voice."
"I know, but how do we open it?"
"The unlocking comes from the heart."
"Can only Kris unlock it?"
"No, anyone who has heart can."
"Hmm… what is Gemini?"
"Gemini is a program of human advancement."
"What kind of enhancement?"
"Enhancements like life, strength, loss of human morality."
"Morality? What the hell?"
"They say humanity is doomed if following morality."
"How is that true?"
"Humankind needs science to progress, but it's called immoral."
"What is the number of your repeated verses?"
"Odd."
"Argh. Where is Kayla already?"
"Library."
"I know that. I just wish you had a heart, and emotions." After I said this, Mono gasped, and I turned towards her. She was holding her throat tightly, as if something was struggling to get down it. I looked at her eyes, and they were wide with pain, and I saw that her nails were digging into her neck.
Trying to lessen the pain by pulling away her hands was futile, she just pushed even tighter, and I saw small blood streams flowing down. I tried to make her comfortable by leaving the room, and after a short time I heard a yelp. I rushed back into the room to find Mono on the ground, quivering while a puddle of blood formed by her head.
I ran over to her, and checked her pulse. She was barely alive, and I wonder how Kris was faring with this, as he was connected to her by spirit. I then realized that it could have been Kris that had done this, and I wondered what Kris was doing. He'd been gone for a while now, and I could tell that Mono truly needed him.


Having a knife hit your throat isn't very pleasing, and the bastard who did it was going to find my reaction much less agreeable. The man stood in front of me, watching my throat bleed out as his friends watched him do it. I held up healing to my arteries, and then I set up a fighter's stance.
His friends laughed, wondering if I could actually stand a chance against them. I could tell that my opponent was wondering how I was still standing, with my neck sliced open. I put the projected light into potential use, and waited for his move. His friends were worried now, since he never made a move for a long while.
"What are you," he asked me. "How the hell did you do that?"
"Do what?" I asked, and kept my guard up.
"Your throat… I just tore it open. You should be dead."
"I should be. But now, me being alive should be your greatest threat."
"You're a demon! You will die!"
"Go ahead, attack me. I dare you."
"Maybe I will. You seem to be bored if nobody attacks you."
"Hmm… Then maybe I should just tear your bodies apart then strew them throughout the city and your homes."
"And what would you do if we attack you?"
"Not tear you to pieces. I'll knock you out though."
"Let's see you try!"
He led the charge, and his friends, armed with sharp objects, all converged on my position. I released the energy inside, and let it billow outward from my clothes. The gang was thrown away from me, and they all rested on the concrete they recently stood on. After the gang was finished, a flow of students began to come, and I adjusted the grey gloves on my fingers.
A few students saw the scene, and began to run to see what happened. I turned before they caught up, and projected myself onto the school roof when they arrived at the scene. They looked around, and as this was the first day of school, they didn't know my face.
I was in class, something that felt nostalgic to me. I refused to speak beyond introductions, and it seemed that the class realized that. Though a few people tried to talk to me, a menacing glare and a few times more and they would be talking behind their books about what kind of person I was.
I was fine with this, as long as I didn't make friends they Symphonian country would be fine. Lunchtime came and went, and I ate silently. I wondered if there was an area for me to train my powers, and I realized it would be beneficial if I face another Gemini if I knew how to fight.
I enrolled into the kendo class at school on day one, and as I came home I enrolled in several martial arts classes. I noticed that as I made it to the hostel, a couple of people were following me. A young girl from my class was following me, accompanied by a few of the stronger members in our class.
I stopped looking back at them, and went around the back of the hostel to begin training. It worried me not on whether they knew of my power. I placed the ion cannon, folded, onto the ground, and placed a few stone slabs for me to use. These slabs were higher quality than in Aria, designed to be harder than average training stones.
I summoned the light, and instead of projecting it, I infused it into my arms, and it seemed that the parts exposed were tattooed with pale power. I walked over to a stone after taking a glance to see the girl looking around a corner. Looking at my hand, I made a fist, and then pulled back before impaling the obelisk.
My fist hit the stone, and I felt it enter as dust billowed from the impact. I opened my hand to grasp some of the rock, and pulled it out in a cloud of dust. I let it fall through my fingers as I walked back to unfold the ion cannon.
"Well," I said aloud, hoping they would hear. "It looks like that stone wasn't strong enough in the end. I wonder what is stronger that ismuthian obsidian…"
I pulled up the ion cannon, and began to use telekinesis on it. I lifted the cannon up with one hand, and readied the target designator. Pulling the trigger, the cannon automatically reoriented itself and fired. I fell back as the shockwave carried out, and as I hit the wall I struggle to keep the ion cannon from the ground.
After all the stones were annihilated, I refolded the cannon and put it back into my case. I adjusted my gloves again, then my jacket, and moved my fingers through my now black hair as I glanced to my company. The girl had fallen over in shock, and the others just stood wide-eyed.
I walked past them as they stood and stared, and I used my telekinesis to pick the girl back up onto her feet. She turned towards me as I walked away, and I wondered what she could have been thinking. Was I a monster, or a human wearing monster's skin?


Juanita dragged me out to a nearby store, and she said that I should pick up whatever I'd like. I thanked her, and she escorted me over to the clothing section of the store. She said she had some errands to run, and she left me there to ponder over clothes. I started to wonder what would be good to wear as an assistant when I realized where I was. Balladia, a country foreign to me, dangerous, even, yet I would be living as one of them.
There were mirrors all around me, and rows and rows of clothes for my choice. No one came here, I could tell, but Juanita said that this was pretty popular during opening hours. The mirrors showed my image, but it looked distorted somehow, as if something had changed it a little.
I looked myself up and down, and realized that I was much thinner than I was in Aria, and my eyes looked a little less full. It seemed that crying had left my eyes without much comfort other than the stars and Juanita. I looked around one last time, and darted for an empty changing stall.
Here I thought about what had happened, and if it could have been any different. Would things have stayed the same if Kris hadn't gained this power? Would the war eventually tear us apart, leaving nothing but cracked photos and broken hearts behind? I pondered over our childhood together, all the fun being with Kris and Tsukasa now drifting farther and farther away.
I felt wetness flow from my eyes, and I let myself cry again. It isn't like the tears would have much effect now. I cried over my loneliness, Tsukasa's loneliness, and the fact that I had started to despise her after she confessed that she loved Kris. I thought I was the only one, and that fateful day had changed all of our destinies.
I hated Sarah now. I wanted to go down to hell, and drag her back up to beat her and tear apart her body. After I had finished, I would send her to heaven for fifteen seconds so that she would realized what she'd lost when she crossed us. After her trip in heaven, I would send her to the very core of hell, so that she may be with Satan, which she was so similar to.
Looking to the mirror, I saw Kris standing behind me, holding my shoulders as I cried. I rubbed my eyes, and when I looked again, Tsukasa's petite frame held me tightly. She smiled weakly, and Kris came from behind her and sat beside me. Tsukasa sat on my left, and I remembered a time when we were still kids.
We were in a park outside of the central city, playing in the abundant snow. This was the last time we would do this, because the snow became bothersome to us after then. There was so much snow that day that we couldn't figure out what to do with it. We made a snowman, and had a snowball fight, and we even were able to make an igloo with some of the snow.
I was standing, watching both Kris and Tsukasa as they made snowballs. We were going to have a snowball fight, and I was already done with my share of the pile. Kris was close to being done, and I knew that he would stay and help Tsukasa make hers. A small cloud of air blew out in front of me, obscuring my vision, and I looked down to my gloved hands.
My hands were small, but my coat was big. We had to bundle up heavily when snow came down harder than in summer. My purple gloves were coated in ice, and I was chilled to the bone. Kris had finished his pile and his share of Tsukasa's pile when he came over to me.
Holding out his hand to me, he smiled shyly when I looked up. I smiled too, and reached toward his hand.
"It would be nice," Kris said quietly. "If we could do this again next year."
"Yeah," I replied, taking his hand. "I wish we could do this forever."
"So do I. I wonder if the snow will ever stop, though. So we could watch autumn leaves fall like in other countries."
"Hmm. I hope that your wish comes true. I hope that one day, we could watch the leaves fall from the trees."
"Hey, guys!" Tsukasa got our attention. "I'm done!"
Kris and I walked hand-in-hand to Tsukasa, and we readied the rules of engagement. After we had decided on it, we all walked to a corner of the park, and made a fort. We had a count of three and we started the snowball fight. I don't remember the fight at all, but I remember that we walked to the center of the park, covered in snow, just so that we could say that it was fun.
Tsukasa was called by her parents then, so we bid her farewell as she walked away. Kris and I walked home together, and when we reached my house, he stopped for a few minutes to say goodbye. One last time we wished that we could watch the snow again next year, and he went away.
I was brought back to reality, and I still sat in the same stall, but now I was alone. I thought about going to find clothes, but instead I just sat and stared at the mirror. Juanita would be looking for me, I knew, but I thought it better to get some rest from all of the tears.