What hasn't been told   von Kawaii_Fruit
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                            Kapitel 1: Flashback 1
                            ----------------------


Sheridan it had been, he remembered. Such a long time had passed but he could
still recall every detail. It was the first time he had been that close to her
ever since he got kidnapped. With a sigh he laid back on his bed. The images,
sounds and her sweet scent mixed with the salty sea breeze came back to his
mind, just as if it had happened moments ago...

He felt her soft lips on his cheek and instantly froze. He kept staring at the
smiling face of the young, blonde woman right in front of him. Her face remained
just a few inches away from his. She frowned. "Asch? Are you all right?" 
He slowly shook his head, still not able to say a word. Why would she?!- 
"It was just a kiss on the cheek to say thank you, Asch. Remember, we used to do
that quite often as children. It didn't bother you then."
Finally he could move again and took a few steps back. "A-as children, yes! That
was years ago! We aren't children anymore! J-just don't do that so carefree!",
he muttered rubbing his flushed cheek. It wasn't that he didn't like it. In fact
he really had enjoyed it. But sadly it was not possible. He had already let his
past life behind. His family, his home... and  her.
Noticing her sad face, he regretted his reaction. Hurting her wasn't his
intention at all. It wasn't her fault after all. He cleared his throat,
suppressing the sudden urge to embrace the girl he always longed for. 
"Listen, Natalia. In our current situation something like this wouldn't work.
It's too dangerous... and too distracting. I need to destroy Vandesdelcas
disgusting plans before he can harm even more people." I just can't rely on that
stupid replica, he silently added in his mind. "But after that... I'll keep my
promise... you have been the one and only person who ever made me pinky swear
after all... I don't think such a promise could possibly be broken." 
A small smile appeared on her unusually pale face. "You always hated that,
didn't you?"
"I still do." He smiled back.

Back to reality he opened his eyes, wondering if she was still believing in the
promise he had made once again on that day. But it didn't matter anyway. He had
made his desicion. The dead should better stay dead...



                            Kapitel 2: Flashback 2
                            ----------------------


Asch rolled to his side. He didn’t get much sleep lately due to all the  
memories circling endlessly through his tired mind. Almost one month had  
passed since he and his more than stupid replica had been brought back   to life
by Lorelei. He still couldn’t entirely understand how Lorelei   accomplished
that. His body had been pierced with three swords after   all! But as much as he
tried to remember, all he could recall was waking   up near Hod. And to all of
that he found himself lying next to that   dreck. At least it seemed like he
really had managed to stop Van.   Staring into the darkness he sank into the
memories…

He opened his eyes, blinking confused. So this is death?,   he thought, staring
at the bright stars covering a clear dark nightsky.   He certainly had expected
something utterly different. With relief he   noticed he could move normally,
even if it hurt a little. His body felt   heavy, almost as if something big kept
sitting on his chest. Taking a   deep breath he pressed his hands into the damp
grass and pushed himself   into a sitting position. Wait-, it crossed his still
dizzy mind, I’m breathing?. His confusion growing with every second passing he
pressed his index finger to his throat. A pulse? How is that even possible?!  
Unbelieving his hands started to feel around on his chest. The painful   wounds
were gone! Just as his former clothes were … They had been   replaced by a
black shirt and pants, both covered with red lines. Over   that he wore a dark
coat, cut open from the waist down to his ankles. A   little similar to the
clothes Luke had been wearing all the time, except   to the fact that his new
clothes looked kind of ragged. What in   Loreleis name was going on?! 
“Heed my voice!...”
The familiar sound sent a shiver down his spine.
“You, who became the leftover ashes of the sacred flame…”
Lorelei?, he answered. His mind was circling by now, not able to grasp a single
clear thought. 
"I   am the one you call Lorelei. You overturned the score I foretold and  
saved this world from destruction. Accept your life as a sign of my  
gratitude.”
You say… I’m not dead? I’m alive?!, he burst out, still not sure if he
wasn’t dreaming. Then what about the replica! And the others! Are they okay?!
"There is no further need… for me to communicate with you… I need to
restore… my power… Please protect the world… you created…"
And with that the connection was gone, leaving a terrible headache. 
 Lorelei?, he asked once again but was responded with silence.
Rubbing his hurting temples he tried to settle the chaos of thoughts swirling
through his head.
So   he wasn’t dead. Lorelei had resurrected him somehow and needed to rest  
now. He could see Hod from where he was sitting. Probably he wasn’t far   away
from Tataroo Valley. Eldrant had been floating close to the   Ispanian Peninsula
before he… well, got stabbed. 
A sudden whining   sound made him look around in surprise. And there he was,
lying right   next to him, blinking into the moonlit scenery, adjusting his eyes
to   the faint light of the starry sky. The man who had stolen his place in  
this world. Luke fon Fabre. Why hadn’t he noticed that dreck earlier?  
Gritting his teeth Asch rose to his feet, stumbling in a lack of   balance. He
caught himself from falling back to his knees and silently   cursed his legs for
their unfamiliar weakness. Just how long had he been   sleeping to lose this
much strength?!  
“Asch?”, he heard the replica ask. “Am I dead?... I have to be… Since
you are here…” 
“No,   we aren’t. You’re alive and I’m as well. Even though I don’t
understand   how that is possible. Lorelei brought us back.”, Asch responded
with a   slight annoyance. Explaining everything to that stupid trash was the  
last thing he needed to do now. He watched Luke sitting up. At least it   looked
like he wasn’t the only one having problems to control his own   body. 
“We’re alive?”, Luke repeated looking around in unbelief.   “Wait, how
long have we been sleeping?!”, he suddenly cried out, his   eyes widening in
horror. 
“How should I now?”, Asch grumbled,   following Lukes sight - and
immediately understood what the replica   meant. The complete ruin of Eldrant
was covered in vines, moss and even   bushes. It must have taken years to grow.
In silence both kept staring   at the huge complex that once had been floating
in the air. Asch was the   one to break the silence. “I’m leaving for
Sheridan.”, he announced.   Luke turned around, looking at him in surprise. 
“Sheridan? Why that?   Why don’t we go straight to Baticul? Natalia and the
others will likely   be there!” Asch shot a piercing glare at his replica. 
“That’s   exactly why I’m not going there. We’re both most certainly
believed to   be dead. Do you really think it would be a good idea to walk right
into   the capital like nothing happened? Adding to that we don’t know
anything   about what happened in our absence. I’ll gather information in
Sheridan   and decide what to do after that.” Luke still seemed to be in some 
 state of confusion. It took him some time to answer but finally he   opened his
mouth. 
“Do what you want, Asch. I will go to Baticul. I promised my friends I’d
come back and I’m going to keep my promise!” Asch narrowed his eyes, peering
at the defect right in front of him. 
“I don’t care what you‘re doing but you better don’t - even - try to
make me feel guilty. Breaking promises is not my intention. Don’t tell anyone 
 you met me here. This is nothing for you to decide.”, he growled  
forcefully. Without paying further attention to the replicas dumbfounded   face
he turned around and slowly started to make his way up the hill   covered with
hundreds of Selenia flowers. It wasn’t like he didn’t want   to go back to
Baticul at all. He really didn’t intend to break the   promise he made to
Natalia. But considering the long time that had   passed since he had left this
world involuntarily everything may have   changed. There wasn’t any guarantee
he’d be welcomed back to Baticul if   as nothing had happened. If someone is
considered to be dead…, he thought to himself, there   will likely be no one
waiting for him to come back… people tend to move   on… to forget what is
gone… and to replace it by something new. He   had been replaced once. Back
then he had made the mistake to come back   without any mental preparation and
he had seen his replacement play and   laugh with his family, with his fiancée,
taking away his life. And it had hurt. He wouldn’t repeat that mistake…



                            Kapitel 3: Flashback 3
                            ----------------------


Sheridan had been a good choice for his body to recover. Day by day he gathered
more of his former strength.
Still   Asch shuddered while thinking about the journey to Sheridan. He had  
travelled all over Auldrant before but this time it had been a torture…

His   body felt awkwardly numb and exhausted. It didn’t surprise him at all.  
He had heard of this before. Often people who had been in a coma for a   while
weren’t even able to stand on their own. But he didn’t have any   other
choice anyway. 
It was a blessing in disguise Lorelei hadn’t   taken away the little pouch
filled with gald, he kept hidden under his   clothes. Thanks to his former
journeys around Chesedonia he knew the   favorite campsites of travelling
merchants. It didn’t take much time to   locate one of them near Tataroo
Valley. He convinced the merchant to   sell him some of his supplies and left
without any further rest. He   didn’t have time to waste.
After some terrible days and nights of   stumbling around through the landscape
of the Ispanian Peninsula, nearly   fainting several times, he finally reached
Chesedonia. He really could   consider himself more than lucky for not running
into many monsters.
With   all of his remaining strength he dragged himself to the inn. Barely  
awake he entered the room he had reserved for the night just a few   moments ago
and collapsed onto the bed. Maybe I should peek into that defects mind… , he
thought,  just to check where he is now. 
He tried to concentrate but without any success. Overwhelmed by exhaustion he
fell into a deep, dreamless sleep…

Waking   up Asch groaned. Every inch of his body was aching. He felt like if a  
herd of giant rappigs had trampled right over his entire body while he   had
been asleep. Biting his lower lip he carefully sat up. In this   condition he
definitely wasn’t able to reach Sheridan any time soon. He   could feel happy
if he was able to just go out of the inn to buy some   more supplies. He gritted
his teeth and stood up. Staggering a few steps   forward he tried to regain his
lost balance. Finally standing still he   straightened his clothes and took a
deep breath. Precariously he made   his way down the stairs and left the inn.
Blinking into the burning   midday sun he wondered about what to buy first. As
he decided   medical-supply had the highest priority in his current state of
health,   he dived into the crowd of people, eagerly hurrying around to get
their   shopping done. Looking around for the pharmacists market stall a  
familiar face caught his attention. 
Just a few steps away a young   man was observing several different pieces of
clothing. His ash blond   hair had grown a little since he had met him last.
Suddenly realizing   his problem of travelling to Sheridan had probably been
solved, he   started following the young pilot with some safety distance. Trying
to   talk to him now would only end up in drawing undesired attention. After  
checking a seemingly endless amount of different stores, the young male  
eventually left the market. Clearly short of breath, Asch caught up with   him
near the town’s southern exit. 
“Excuse me-“, he panted grabbing   the blonds shoulder. “There isn’t any
possibility you could take me   along to Sheridan, is there, Ginji?”
The young man whipped round, facing the red-haired with a quite startled
expression.
“Who are-“, he began but suddenly fell silent, looking like he had seen a
ghost. 
“You’re   – How – Why- That’s impossible-!“, he stammered, his eyes
widening in   disbelief. Asch silently nodded and motioned his counterpart to be
  quiet. “I’ll explain everything to you as soon as we enter the Albiore.”
  
Ginji hesitated for a moment, still scanning the familiar man with a wary gaze.
Then he agreed.

Shortly after they both were sitting in the Albiore, facing each other.
“So it wasn’t just a rumor.”, the blond began, now a rather curious
expression on his face.
“A rumor?” Asch narrowed his eyes, wondering if Luke had already blabbered
out his secret.
“The   people of Sheridan were whispering about the son of Duke Fabre. They  
said the hero of Auldrant came back to life right on the day of his   coming of
age ceremony.”
So I’m officially an adult now…, Asch thought. This means I missed nearly
two years.
“But Asch, tell me, how is this possible? You’re both alive, am I right? How
did you come back?” 
Torn from his thoughts, Asch looked back up at Ginji and shrugged.
“You’ll   have to ask Lorelei about that. We both woke up near Tataroo
Valley a   few days ago. Lorelei told me our revival was some kind of sign of
his   gratitude for saving this world. I don’t know more myself. But how the  
hell did that replica reach Baticul that fast? His state of health   wasn’t
any better than mine.” 
Ginji was smiling by now. “I guess   that’s thanks to my sister. Noelle flew
to Baticul a week ago. She had   promised, she would take your and Luke’s
friends to Tataroo Valley while   your coming of age ceremony was held at the
manor. They all refused to   celebrate the ceremony in front of a grave.”
“So that’s why…”, Asch grumbled. “They must have arrived right after I
left.”
“Why   didn’t you go straight to Baticul anyway?”, he heard the young
pilot   ask. Watching him turn around to start the Albiore, Asch sat back in his
  rather comfortable seat. 
“I need to recover for a while.   Furthermore I will gather some information
first.”, he mumbled as he   closed his eyes. “Say Ginji, what happened in my
absence? Any major   changes?”
The engines began to roar as the Alboire III slowly lifted   from the ground.
Clouds of dust shot up and kept whirling around its   wings.
“Well…”, the pilot pondered. “Kimlasca and Malkuth both   revived their
research on fomicry. – Not to create any more replicas of   course!”, he
quickly added catching Asch’s slightly displeased glare. 
“They   are trying to make this world a better place for originals and their  
replicas. If I’m informed correctly they currently are working on a   solution
for the so called ‘fonon disassociation’. I didn’t understand   what they
meant, but I overheard some of Sheridan’s researches talking   about it.” 
Asch frowned. Fonon disassociation… Until now he had   totally forgotten about
it. Hopefully the solution would be found before   the terrible pain would show
up again. It really was kind of ironic.   Just brought back to life a few days
ago he was already worrying about   dying once again. Looking back up, he
noticed Ginji peering at him. 
“What’s wrong?”, he asked, slightly alarmed.
The pilot cleared his throat and seemed somewhat nervous.
“I guess there is one more thing I need to tell you.”, he started,
apparently searching for fitting words. 
“Our dearly beloved princess Natalia, well, may become the queen anytime
soon.”
It hit Asch like a punch right in the face. Natalia becoming the queen? That
meant-
“What about King Ingobert?!”, he burst out.
“The   King suddenly fell ill some time ago. The doctors said it was nothing  
fatal. But still they prescribed him to rest. He isn’t allowed to be   exposed
to any kind of mental or physical stress right now. Since   princess Natalia is
the only heiress, he decided for her to become the   rightful queen of Kimlasca
as soon as possible.”
Utterly shocked Asch   stared at the young pilot. Natalia becoming the queen…
that inescapably   led to the fact she would be searching for someone to support
her and   to help her in always finding the right path. For someone to keep
their   promise in his place. For someone to become her king!



                            Kapitel 4: Flashback 4
                            ----------------------


And there he was, lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. 
Replaced once again,   he thought with a bitter laugh. It was ridiculous. Maybe
it would have   turned out different, if he had chosen to go back to Baticul.
But he   hadn’t. It is better for her this way..., he kept telling himself,
still pondering about the past few weeks…

Right   after their arrival in Sheridan, Asch had run off to the inn. Now  
sitting on the bed he tried to get rid of all the chaotic thoughts   circling
through his mind. Sending off the Dark Wings to gather   information had become
futile by now. Noelle had informed her brother   pretty well about everything
going on in the Capital of Light. She had   gotten quiet close to the group in
his absence. Even though nothing was   officially announced until now, Natalia
had told her about everything. 
Maybe   it would have been better, if he had gone straight to Baticul as Luke  
and Ginji had suggested. Trying to calm the anger he felt rising, he   started
wandering around in the small room. He was already mentally   prepared for a
situation like this, but being honest to himself, he had   been hoping he
wouldn’t have to face it. Ever since he had seen that   replica replacing him
about ten years ago, he had sworn to leave   everything behind. Not only for
himself but for his friends and family. 
Even if it isn’t me… it’s fine…,   it echoed through his mind. Clenching
his fists he pushed away the   painful memories. But what if everything repeated
itself? What if   Natalia had already chosen someone else, someone new she
wanted to be   with?
If that was the case he would only make her suffer by showing himself to her. 
Taking   a deep breath he closed his eyes, intensely concentrating. He needed to
  know. Natalia was the only person he had not been able to forget. As   hard as
he had tried, she always came back to his mind. Especially since   he had met
her again after their long time of separation. There was no   doubt. It didn’t
matter if he wanted to or not. He still loved her.
Come on, replica,   he thought, focusing on his opened fon slots. Suddenly his
foggy sight   cleared and he was looking right into a young man’s face through
his   replicas eyes. Silently he kept watching. It took him a moment to  
realize Luke was talking to Guy. 
“Luke? Are you all right?”, he heard him ask with a worried look, followed
by a wince and a nod on Luke’s side. 
“You still have those headaches?”
Luke   rubbed his temples. “Actually this is the first time since I came back 
 here.”, he murmured. “I guess I’d better get some rest.”
Guy nodded in agreement. “I’ll be leaving then. See you later.”
With that he left Luke’s room.
Luke seemed to be waiting for him to be out of hearing range, then he relaxed.
“Asch?”, he asked a little insecure. “Is that you?”
No, this is Emperor Peony. - Of course it’s me! Who else?!”,   his original
answered, clearly annoyed by the stupid question. He had   accepted Luke as a
separate being after their fight on Eldrant. But that   still didn’t make him
less annoying in some points.
“Don’t be so mean.”, Luke pouted. “Anyways, what do you want?”
Suddenly unsure about his precipitous action he fell silent. 
Well-, he began and nervously ran a hand through his hair. Ginji told me that
the King is ill. How is he now?
“Uncle feels a little better. But he’s still very weak.”
Asch paused for a moment, biting his lower lip. 
What about Natalia?..., he finally managed to ask, making it sound as casual as
he could. Luke frowned.
“There   wasn’t much time for me to talk to her. She is very busy taking
over   most of her father’s work.”, he answered, his usually cheerful voice 
 laced with worry. 
“I’ve seen her wandering around in the castle a   couple of times though.
She looks really tired and kind of… sad. When I   came back she really seemed
to be happy for a short time. But since   then… it almost feels like she is
avoiding me for some reason.”
As Asch stayed silent, Luke continued his report. 
“Well, I guess since Guy is comforting her from time to time she will be
okay.”
Guy is doing what?! 
Startled by his originals sudden outburst Luke raised his eyebrows. 
“Comforting her? Well, like cheering her up, I guess. He visits her quite
often.”
I know what comforting means, you dreck! Are you really that stupid?!, Asch
snapped back.
“Well, it must be the genes.”, Luke countered.
Oh just shut up!, Asch snarled at his replica and cut off the connection. 
Fighting down his rising anger he clenched his fist and hit the wall. 
“Guy   Cecil?! Why he of all people?!”, he growled. Sinking back on his bed 
 his anger turned into desperation. What in Lorelei’s name was he   supposed
to do now?...




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