Iiii don't own Tales of the Abyss :D But I love it. This is the beginning of my fanfiction, whoo! Hope I got everyone in character decently...please review if you like it! If you don't, lemme know what's wrong!

There is chaos in this world…A great fear…It has slowly spread through Auldrant like a virus, those dependant on the Score carry such fear and are consumed by a frightening dark.

The darkness is not malignant, but there are those who take advantage of such fear, and make use of it for power.

A new belief must be recognized.

I shall send my message to those who might acknowledge it—those who have benevolent power and wield it wisely.

I send you--my self, my image—to partake in this journey with blind eyes; to spread the new teaching properly, and dispel those who create a world of further chaos and fear.

Baticul

"Luke!"

"…"

"Luke!! Why are you still sleeping?"

An impatient knock rapped against the door.

"What…?" The red-head mumbled into his pillow.

"LUKE!"

"Okay, okay! I'm awake! Jeez…" He sat up groggily, running his hand through his long bed-hair before he stood up.

"Hurry up!" Now he recognized the voice since he was out of his sleeping spell.

"What for, Natalia?"

"Jade and Anise are here! And Tear is on her way! You better be properly dressed! The Colonel said that he has some news we might want to hear!"

Luke headed for his door, opening it so the princess wouldn't have to yell for the entire conversation. "What sort of news?"

"I'm not sure. He said that we should all be present when he speaks of it. Shall I fetch Guy?"

"Nah, I'll get him—wait for us in the castle. We'll be there in a bit."

"Alright." With that, she turned and headed out of the mansion.

"Hm. Even if Jade tells us, it'll probably be as confusing as ever…" Luke turned the other direction to head for Guy's room—which at Luke's request, had been remodeled and refurbished to something more royal for the sake of Guy's true title.

"Hey, Guy! Are you up?"

His good friend opened up the door, smiling warmly before nodding in reply. "Of course I am, Luke. It's pretty late in the morning—it's almost lunch."

"Oh. Guess I've gotten lazy lately. Sorry about that."

"No reason to apologize, my friend. What do you need?"

"Natalia woke me up—Jade and Anise are here. Apparently they have some news to share with us."

"Really?"

It had only been a month or two after Luke's return—after his coming-of-age ceremony and the whole mess with Master Van. Tear had been nearly glued to him until she was called back to Yulia City to settle issues about the unhealthy dependence of the Score in recent times. Jade returned to Grand Chokmah under the request of Emperor Peony the Ninth, and Anise headed back to Daath to request becoming a possible Fon Master—and if not, to return to her Fon Master Guardian role to follow the replacement of the late Ion—Florian. Natalia was oftentimes called as representative of the Baticul kingdom to Grand Chokmah—becoming a fast but very confused friend of Jade's over that time, remaining for days on occasion at Peony's request. Luke was invited too, at times, but his mother—after thinking that she had officially lost him—had requested that he remain home for just a couple of months. Thankfully for Luke, that time was almost up.

"Yeah, let's head to the castle."

"Sure."

Upon their arrival within the foyer, Luke was immediately thrown backwards as he was embraced tightly with an excited squeal. "Augh!"

"Luke! I've missed you sooo much!"

"H-Hey, Anise!" He managed to choke out. Before he could say he would die of lack of breath, she released him only to turn to Guy, who retreated back quickly enough to avoid her glomp.

"How's everything been, Anise?" He asked with a bright smile.

"Booo!" She pouted at his evasion, but quickly recovered a cute smile. "I've been working soo hard! Headquarters told me that since Florian's around, I've gotta fulfill my duties as a Guardian still. If I wanna be Fon Master, the poor guy's gotta drop!" She raised her shoulders, holding up her hands in a shrug. "But I'd never let anything so horrible happen to Florian! He's such a sweetie! And he learns so fast!"

"What do you mean?" Luke asked.

"Well, Ion had been so trusting, you know?" She glanced down at the floor in all seriousness. "I'm trying to teach Florian to have some good amount of caution and defense. He can't just let everyone walk all over him, or order him around like he's a soldier. He's the Fon Master! And deserves a lot more respect than even King Ingobert or Emperor Peony!"

"That's true."

"Jade!" Luke grinned in welcome. The Colonel nodded with his usual all-knowing smile. "Anything exciting happen to you?"

"Besides the fact that one of Emperor Peony's dear little rappigs past away, not really. But I've recently heard rumors that everyone would like to hear—especially you and Natalia."

"Why? Has something happened?"

"We'll have to wait until we're all here."

"How come Tear isn't here yet?"

"The port has been very busy lately." Natalia said, walking over from her own room. "I hope she isn't overwhelmed by the crowds. There's been so much business and trade, it's wonderful to see so much, but it becomes a little chaotic down there…"

"It wasn't too bad; I just had to walk behind all the stalls."

Everyone turned around, Luke the quickest of all. "Tear! You made it!"

"Of course." She smiled at him, both of them seeming to stare at each other for a while before she shook it off, blushing slightly. "Sorry I'm a bit late, everyone."

"It's quite alright, Tear. You need not worry." Jade smiled; then continued on. "Well, now that everyone is present, I suppose we should find some place to discuss recent matters."

"Will my chamber suffice?" Natalia asked. "I can ask for the maids to be excused for now."

"Perfect. Let's go."

"So what's going on, Colonel?" Tear inquired, seated on a couch with Natalia and Anise.

"Is something wrong?" added Natalia.

"Calm down, now. It's nothing catastrophic. It's simply news—rumors, even."

"What is it?" Luke remained standing. "It's a bit surprising considering that you're interested in it, Jade."

"Oh, I'm not really. I just thought it would be exciting for you to know—you and Natalia."

The princess sat up straight. "What do you mean?"

"Some of my men have been exploring the Sephiroth—which, since we linked them together a few months ago—have remained idle." He paused rather dramatically, though his face grew a bit serious for some reason. "…Until now."

"'Til now?" Anise repeated. "You mean someone's messing with them?"

"Perhaps not tampering…but improving them. Has anyone noticed fonon activity?"

"…" The rest of the party remained silent.

"I suppose not." Jade sighed almost hopelessly. "Nevertheless, I have noticed that it has increased—rather than fade as we expected—even a few months should have shown a slight decrease. However, it is quite the opposite."

"…And? Is that a bad thing?" Luke rested his fists on his hips, tilting his head a bit.

"Contrary to that, it's a positive outcome. I simply want to know just who is doing it. My soldiers have possible sightings, or perhaps they started rumors."

"Did they see the man that's altering them?" Guy, in his usual position against a wall, walked forward to join the questioning fray. "If it's beneficial to Auldrant, maybe we should leave him be."

"I would like to know who it is though." Natalia interjected. "We could thank him properly—why would he do it quietly, without telling anyone?"

"He could be the quiet and shy type." Anise pointed out with a smile. "Maybe he's just one of those selfless good guys!"

"Well, that matches the description of him a bit." Jade said off-handedly, catching the others' attention.

"Your men saw him?" Standing up slowly, Tear stared at Jade. "What did they say? Or maybe we could find out which Sephiroth he's heading to next!"

"They told me he had short red hair, and wore dark clothing under a white cloak."

"Red hair…?" Natalia and Tear both glanced at Luke, who held out his hands and shook his head.

"My hair's long! And I haven't left Baticul since I came back!"

"True." Jade agreed and pressed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. "So then…who else would have red hair?"

The room fell silent again—Natalia gaining a hopeful glitter in her eyes, clutching her hands together. Luke seemed to grow a bit brighter as well, though not as obviously. Guy frowned a bit, looking doubtful. "It couldn't be."

"Asch?" The princess immediately added. "You think it could be Asch?"

"But…" Luke ended up changing his expression to match Guy's. "He…died though. How could he…?"

"Technically you died as well, Luke. If you came back, it is quite possible that Asch could have as well."

"We have to find him! Which Sephiroth has he not altered yet?" Natalia demanded, nearly shaking with excitement. "We could offer him assistance! Or invite him to return here, or—"

"Calm down, Your Highness." Guy suggested. "We can't just go running off to search for him—there's seven Sephiroth, how are we supposed to choose which one to go to?"

"Supposedly he's been in Shurrey Hill for the past couple of days. His next stop is probably Mount Zaleho." Said the Colonel.

"Really?" Anise said. "He's going to Daath? The Order will recognize him then!! We could confirm it if we go!"

"Asch…I—we could see Asch again!" Natalia smiled brightly. "Let's go! We should hurry before we lose him!"

"I have the Albiore ready to go, I'll notify Noelle so she can be ready when we leave."

"We'll gather some supplies then." Guy offered, looking to Luke. "If it is Asch, though. Will he have changed?"

"He must!" Natalia crossed her arms over her chest with a slight huff. "He'll have changed for the better, you'll see!"

The princess stomped out of her own room to gather her things from the armory.

"…Excited, don't you think?" Anise giggled a bit while Tear sighed lightly. "I think I understand how she feels."

"Come on, let's go." Luke said—the two girls nodded before following the three men outside.

Shurrey Hill

"I can't see…Why is it so dark? My eyes are…o-open…I can't see my hands…"

A young girl stood up slowly, sighing heavily at the weight of the heat all around her. "Where am I? It smells…old."

She fumbled around for a while until she reached a wall, cool against her cheek—contrasting against the heat all around her. "Wall…" Taking a few steps forward, she felt around for varying objects. "Floor…R—ow!! Rock…" She winced as she tripped, standing up without another complaint to pat her clothes from dust. "I—I'm in a…a cave? I have to get…to the surface…Do what—What I was…asked to do."

Moving backwards, she ended up reaching the Sephiroth hidden within—unbeknownst to her, though she didn't find the stale air any more pleasant. "H-Here…I was…here earlier." She stepped forward to rest her hands on a partition again. "Wall…wall…um…pillar? And…" She seemed confused as she felt her hands grab a handful of cloth—which moved quickly away and slipped out as soon as she did. "Ah—"

There was silence—but she had heard boots clack when the fabric shifted so quickly. She stood slowly, sensing a tense presence before her, but could not see anything.

The quiet made her grow nervous and she shifted her head to the side. "H-Hello?"

"…" Why wasn't the presence speaking?

"I—I…"

"Who are you?" The stiff voice asked finally. Wincing a bit as if she were in trouble, the girl responded.

"…L…L-Lorei. Lorei Gaia."

"What the hell are you doing down here?" It demanded—He—Lorei recognized the voice to be male.

"H-Here? I—I don't even know where 'down here' is…B-But—,"

"Are you blind?" The man drawled it out as if he meant to use 'stupid.'

After careful consideration, and one more test of waving her hands in front of her eyes—opening and closing them as well, Lorei looked up towards the voice with a great amount of hurt in blank but teal-colored eyes.

"Yes."

At that reply, the silence returned, but grew more awkward than it had been intense before. It was as if the man regretted his question.

She shivered slightly, not enjoying the silence—he had just been speaking before, why stop? "Pl—Please keep talking. I don't…I don't like it being quiet."

"…You're in one of the Sephiroth—the one in Shurrey Hill. How did you get here?"

"I don't know…I just woke up and I could smell how old the air was."

"Tch. Great," The voice let go of an exasperated sigh before a hand suddenly snatched hers up from her side. "Come on. I'm taking you outside before you end up killing yourself."

Lorei nearly tripped at the speed he was walking, rather concerned about her well-being, as he didn't mention anything about himself. "W-wait!" She tried to pull her wrist out of his fingers, arguing with pulling, "I—I have to help, I have to do what L—!" until finally she succeeded after using every last bit of strength she had. Stumbling backwards, she ended up slipping over her own feet and colliding with some sort of wall edge as she did so, knocking herself out, the black of her sight, if possible, growing ever darker.