Tales of the Abyss: Oddities of Fate

Chapter 1 - So We Meet Again.

Sunlight. The first of it Luke had seen-From within his own body-For the last day or so as they departed from the caverns of Aramis Spring. Tear and Guy's footsteps sounded out from behind him, Mieu rested on his shoulder, now free of his hair-His long red locks had been cut short by himself, as a sign of his resolve.

And who should come running up to the group at that moment other than Jade? Luke almost reared back a couple steps as he ran up to the group. Guy seemed just as surprised.

"Good. I was afraid I'd missed you." There was a decent amount of chatter. According to Jade's explanation, Mohs had gotten ahold of Ion and Natalia, planning to use them as pawns to start a war. All the meanwhile, a girl sat unnoticed in a tree, hiding and injured. ... That is, until several different monsters caught her scent. Mieu, with his big ears, heard the sound of the monsters snarling.

"Mieu?" The little cheagle chirped, looking to the source.

"What is it, Mieu?" The question was posed by Tear.

"I hear monsters... Lots of them... Over there!" He hopped over in that direction... And promptly scrambled back with a cry of 'Mieu!' as one of the wolflike creatures aimed for him.

"There's someone up there... Nice work, Mieu." The cheagle looked happy at Jade's comment. Now that he saw the person trapped, she did seem rather familiar... Upon looking, he saw she was injured... No wonder she had been spotted, the monsters must have caught the scent of blood. He quickly casted an arte as one of the wolves headed for him. There were quite a number of them, though it didn't take long to defeat them.

Jade heard something like wind from behind him as the final one nearly struck him from behind. That girl had casted that. She found the strength to leap to the ground-Or, try to... But she slipped, and the one nearest to her was Jade, who wasted no time in catching her, watching as she gripped his uniform. Her eyes open, and as she saw she had been caught, she grew a bit flustered before getting to her feet. Jade was certain now-This was that girl from Saint Binah...

"I-I'm sorry for putting you through that trouble... Thank you though."

"You don't need to apologize. Are you alright, miss?" She nodded. Tear had already taken to healing her wounds, prompting another thank you, and a smile.

"Now I am... Hey, wait..." She looked at the group. "I... Saw you in Saint Binah... But, you were..." She grew a little pale. "How did you survive?" She suddenly shouted.

"Please, calm down... May you start by giving us your name?" Tear asked. The woman took a deep breath.

"I-I'm sorry, that gave me quite a scare... My name is Alice. Alice Claud. Who might you all be...?" She asked, still seeming a bit shaken.

"I'm Luke. Luke fon Fabre." ... Or, at least, he'd thought he was... The girl who had healed her spoke next.

"Locrean Sergeant Tear Grants." Alice smiled. The third to speak was the male she'd compared to her beloved.

"Just call me Guy." Alice nods to each of them as they give their names-And cue her yelping as Mieu suddenly pops up in her face.

"My name is Mieu! It's nice to meet you!" He squeaked, and Alice gave a wide grin.

"Aww, hi, cutie!" She promptly hugs the cheagle, who looked very happy at the affection, ears wiggling in delight. She then glanced at Jade, her smile fading. There was something about him in particular... A certain aura about him. He put on his signature grin.

"Colonel Jade Curtiss." Alice seemed surprised at the name. And clearly it showed, because Jade gave a slight tilt of his head.

"Why do I feel as if... I've heard that name before?" Ah, so that's it, Jade thought. She knows of my other title. "As in... The Necromancer?" Jade still looked perfectly calm-He gave another nod, and the girl's eyes lit up. Alice never let go of Mieu, who didn't seem to mind at all. He was getting hugs, so it was just fine. "I've... Heard quite a lot about you." Her smile almost seemed a bit... Different. Jade tried to read her a bit more.

"Anyway, we should get to Daath... We need to save Natalia and Ion!" Luke suddenly butted in. The small group began to walk away, but Alice stopped them for a moment again with a shout of "Wait!"

"... May I come with you? I was aiming for Daath in the first place..." The group glanced at each other. Jade was the first to speak.

"I don't see why not, seeing as you appear to be capable of combat. But, do be careful." Alice gives a nod, following behind the others, Mieu still in hand.

It had been quite a while since Alice had last been in Daath, many years, in fact, so it was no wonder she'd gotten lost on the way there. They came up to the cathedral, and all of a sudden a little girl in pigtails came rushing at them from the side. Scared the crap out of Guy, confusing Alice. There was a bit of banter, such as why Luke was there instead of Asch (who the heck was Asch?) and Ion and Natalia's whereabouts. After a moment, the little girl notices Alice.

"Who's this?"

"That's Alice. She got lost on her way here so we brought her here." Luke says, gesturing to her with a smile. Alice gives a smile and wave to Anise, before looking down briefly. When she looked back up, she appeared serious.

"If it's okay... I'd like to help you find your friends! I can fight, so you don't need to worry." Anise gives a nod and a little grin, before rushing ahead. Alice was surprised at her energy.

"She's always like that." Guy tells her. "Oh yeah, and... For future reference, please don't get too close to me. It's nothing personal." She tilts her head.

"You're afraid of women? I understand. I'll make sure." Guy gives a smile and nods his thanks. She then moves over towards Luke, noticing he seemed... Distant.

"Is there something wrong, Luke?" He turned to her, shaking his head.

"Nah, I'm alright." Alice nodded, before realizing something.

"Oh, also... I noticed that these guys-Or, at the very least, Anise and the Colonel-Don't seem to like you. Did something happen, or...?" He looks even more sad as she says this, to which she promptly apologizes.

"It's okay, Alice... Huh?" She smiles at him after a moment's pause as they walked toward the massive cathedral.

"I honestly don't care if they don't like you or whatever. From what little I've seen of you so far, I like you, and feel like you can be trusted." Luke looked visibly shocked at this, before he turns his head with a blush.

"Th-thanks..." He scratched his cheek in embarrassment, Alice stifling a giggle at his innocent demeanor. Not that she was much better. The group's chatter continued, Alice acquainting herself more with the group as they continued on.

It took an unexpectedly long time to reach any door that looked like it could hold the people the group was looking for, but once they did, Alice almost stood back in a way as the group approached. The comment "Sorry for not being Asch" left Luke's mouth at one point, prompting a look of worry from Alice, who still wasn't aware...

So, Ion was crucial to these Six God Generals' plan, and Natalia was needed to begin a war...? This sounded really serious... Even if Alice didn't quite understand yet.

"You seem a bit familiar..." Natalia commented as she spotted the girl. Ack, she was trying not to be noticed... She sighs and steps forward.

"You did meet me once before, yes... My name is Alice. I assisted Luke and his friends in helping you... Since I'd been heading for Daath anyway." Natalia steps forward.

"I am Princess Natalia of Kimlasca." Alice gave a look of shock, before bowing slightly.

"I apologies for not recognizing you sooner. And I would assume you are Fon Master Ion?" Ion gives her a nod.

"You don't need to be so formal, Alice. You're friends with Luke and the others, right? That makes you a friend of mine too." Alice smiled brightly.

"Well, more acquaintances than anything... But, thank you, Fon Master." To think such a young child was the Fon Master... It was amazing.

A few more words were said, and then the group left the cathedral. Thankfully, without too much trouble.

Among the banter as the group moved to leave Daath, there was mention of their reunion being Lorelei's will from Ion, and as the topic moved to how different Luke looked, Alice listened intently.

"Well, he's had a lot to think about. Pity it's far too late to make any difference." Alice almost glared at Jade as that was spoken. Luke seemed to agree with her, giving quite the annoyed sigh.

"Well, people don't change overnight, after all." Anise commented. Alice was about to agree before Ion chimed in.

"Anise, Jade... I'm afraid I cannot agree with you. Luke has always been kind. He just hasn't known how to express it." The redhead blushed at this...

"No, Ion, it's okay. They can just watch me and see for themselves." Alice looked over, hesitating to speak.

"Um... Has he not always been like this?" She grew embarrassed as the group stared at her a bit.

"Well, she is just growing acquainted with us, you know." Jade said, first to speak actually. She pouted at him a bit. But she was grateful to him for breaking the silence. "I suppose if it is alright with everyone, we could explain a bit more in-depth?"

"Ah, um... Thank you, Colonel..." Jade gave her his typical grin and a nod in response. She didn't say anything else until they reached the Fourth Monument. And even then, she wasn't sure whether or not she would like the explanation of what was up with Luke...