Harmonic Sync

Chapter 23: Goodbye, My Friend

I waited for Mohs and the others to show up. I finally say Anise, Mohs and Ion coming out from the tunnel.

"I won't let you make Ion read the Planet Score! I made a promise that I intend to keep. Even if Anise is a traitor." I pointed back to the prison where her parents had been.

"Where are my parents?" She asked worried.

"I had them teleported away from Daath. You have no reason to continue to follow Mohs. Help me and we can free Ion together." I held my hand out to her.

"Anise, kill her!" Mohs ordered.

"Anise please, you're my friend. I don't want to fight you; Ion is your friend. Do you really want him to die?" She looked down.

"Shut up!" She growled as she charged me on her puppet.

"Anise..." I jumped away from her and looked towards Ion, who was reading the Score. "Ion!" I called out but Anise punched me away towards the edge of the volcano. I could feel the heat of the lava around me.

I had to be careful or else I wasn't going to be around much longer.

Jade and the others rushed towards us.

"Jade! Stop Ion!" I called out and jumped on Anise.

"Let go of me!" She yelled out.

"I don't think so. Anise, I will never forgive you if Ion dies. I will never trust you again. I will hate you." She looked at me shocked. "He is my friend, but more than that he is the last person I have that shares his face. I won't let you take him away." She looked at me with tears in her eyes.

I saw Ion drop to the ground and then start glowing.

"No..." I let go of Anise and rushed towards Ion's side. "Ion..." He looked at me and then Tear.

"I will take your contaminated fonons with mine." I watched as Tear's miasma filled fonons went into Ion's body. I could see him starting to disappear.

"Ion..." I heard Anise say.

"Goodbye...my precious..." He went limp and then finally disappeared. I felt tears stream down my face. I stood up and walked past everyone.

"Zora, where are you going?" Jade asked.

"I can't be near her right now, or I'll kill her." I continued walking away from everyone and back inside the chapel.

I'm sorry Ion, I couldn't keep my promise to you...forgive me. One day I will avenge your death, but for now I'll keep her alive a little while longer.

"Zora." I turned my head and saw Arietta standing there.

"Arietta." She held out a hand to me.

"Come back to the God-Generals. We can get revenge on Anise together." I shook my head.

"I can't Arietta, as much as I wanted to kill Anise for killing Ion...I made a promise to Ion that I will not break, not now and not ever. But when you see Sync could you tell him I'm sorry for that day." She looked at me confused.

"What do you mean that day?" I shook my head.

"Only he will know. Goodbye Arietta." I walked away from her.

"You're my sister, I really don't want to fight you. You're the only thing I have left in this world."

"Then stay with me, don't go back to Van. I promise you I will protect you." She shook her head.

"I don't want to abandon Van and the others. They have given me a reason to live." I sighed.

"Then I will see you on the battlefield, Arietta. My precious sister, stay alive." I went to the chapel and knelt to the ground putting my hands together to pray, but not to Yulia, to the Goddess herself.

Please, if you can hear me. I ask for your help; I need to be able to help my friends. I have your powers but I feel as I there's more I could learn of the Goddess Fonic Hymns. I need to be able to use those powers for the fight that is coming. Lorelei mixed together with Van will only bring the downfall of this world. I ask for the assistance of goddess above, the one that watches over the world and her descendants. Please grant me the strength I need to help my friends protect the world that we love...

"Zora, are you praying?" I heard Guy ask as he walked into the chapel. I stood up and looked back at him.

"Yes I was. Times are hard and I felt like I needed to." He nodded and looked at the ground.

"Are you doing alright?" I shook my head no.

"Ion was my friend...I can't bring back replicas...if I could then he would be back right now." He nodded once.

"Yeah, it sucks really. Ion was everyone's friend, but unfortunately people have to be used in this cruel world we have right now. We have to stop Van and the God-Generals from destroying more things we love." I looked back at the alter that I had seen Ion at so many times in the past six months.

"Yeah, we do. For Ion's sake."

Thank you, my friend. I promise to stay by your side until the very end and when it is time for us to be reunited I hope that we can both say we did everything we could to save our world.

I heard lightly in my head. I felt a tear slide down my face.

"Goodbye Ion, I'll see you again someday." I followed Guy out to where everyone else was and I saw Anise sitting down on the steps looking at her feet. She turned her head and looked at me.

"Zora, I..." I looked away from her and at Jade.

"What do we do now?" I asked.

"Let's go to Grand Chokmah, the general had something he wanted to tell me when I got back." I nodded and turned back towards Anise.

Please don't blame Anise...Zora.

I sighed and walked over to her. She looked up at me and I saw the glimmer of tears in her eyes. I bent down next to her.

"I'm sorry Anise." She looked at me shocked.

"Why are you apologizing, I'm the one who killed Ion." I shook my head.

"Ion doesn't blame you, I can hear him still. I can't bring him back unfortunately but you were his precious friend, don't doubt that Ion cared about you a lot Anise." She let the tears fall from her eyes and I hugged her gently.

"She killed Master Ion and you're telling her it's alright?!" Arietta growled from the chapel doors.

"Arietta..."

"Anise, I challenge you to a duel." Anise stood up.

"I accept." I sighed.

"I will give you a location at a later time and you better not try to run." She got on her liger and it jumped over me. "Zora, Van has forgiven everything. If you ever choose to come back to the God-Generals just know it's always open for you." I looked back at her as she charged away.

"Arietta, you idiot..." I looked down at my feet before taking a step towards the entrance to the city.

"Zora?" Jade asked.

"Let's go to Grand Chokmah, maybe his Majesty will know something."