Ranting Author of doom: First things first, I don't own Tales of the Abyss. Just so you know that. I don't want any lawsuits against me for not stating that. Second, I don't want any complaints on the cheesiness. It's sweet, in a sense. Be sure to leave a review of whether or not I should continue. Thanks. Even if you don't leave a review, it's okay. Just be sure that you don't fall asleep.
The police will never find your body.
Just kidding, partially.
"Attraverso il portello, ha passato."
Chapter I
What was that? It didn't even seem like a monster. Was it a monster? Maybe it wasn't, Luke concluded, thinking to himself. They had encountered a strange creature at the doorway into this abandoned facility, and now, there seemed to be more of them, but not where they were. Nothing appeared in this area, it seemed. Tear had told him that they were just experiments that had gotten loose, and that it was nothing to worry about. In his mind, he had pushed the thoughts aside and had kept going, but now, they seemed more and more…human, as time went on. The only thing that kept him from claiming that the creatures were human, was the fact that they all had wings, for some reason. Like angels. The others did not seem fazed by this.
Guy sighed, feeling anxious, and glanced back at the other people in whom he called his allies. They never really understood his love for Fonic Technology. His face twisted to show an amazed expression at the contraptions in the area as he slowly turned to face the others with an eager grin.Natalia caught on quickly to his sudden mood change and shook her head while the others chattered to themselves about trivial things, at least in his opinion. She smiled at him and laughed quietly. "I don't know why you're still here," she began in a gentle voice, "You're always the first to run off."
Guy chuckled an waved his hand, gesturing towards the aisle that led to huge machinery, "Well, I thought I'd stick around and make sure you guys didn't need me to help out with anything before I browsed through the area." He flashed a brilliant smile at the other. "The least I can do is lend a helping hand. Besides, I don't want to see is one of you beautiful young ladies getting hurt in some way from my carelessness. "
Of course, Guy's comment brought up a slight flush in the young princess, but other than that, it was hard to tell that the comment affected her in any way. "Well...Just go on, Guy." She turned away quickly and began strolling back towards the others, leaving Guy to stand there looking dumbfound.
"Did I say that wrong?" He wondered after observing her mood change. "Well…Alright then." The young noblemen spun on his heels and raced towards a nearby machine with symbols of their language written on it. Then scanned up and down the aisles, looking for anything that stood out, until his eyes fell upon a strange door at the end of the pathway furthest from the entrance, blocked by beams of metal and wires that had previously fallen from things higher up. Guy approached it, squinting to read the writing through the bars of metal. "Huh? Hey guys, come here." With curiosity in his eyes, he began to toss aside the stray parts, clearing out a way to the blocked door.
Jade's grin widened as he chuckled heartily behind the blond swordsman as the others neared. "Oh. It seems as though you've found something. Luke. If you would…" The colonel glanced at the redhead, and gestured toward Guy; practically saying 'you get to work too'.
"Why don't you help out too?" Luke growled, shooting a glance at the older man.
Jade shook his head and shrugged as he made his sarcastic comment, "Would you really make me work? You see…these days, my back problems have been—"
"Don't worry about it Luke. I'll do it," Guy answered, interrupting them as he continued to work, his eagerness giving him a load of energy.
Natalia glared at her aggravating cousin, as did Tear and Anise. The princess then neared the concealed door herself and pushed debris away, tossing the smaller pieces aside. Tear followed her into assisting Guy.
The working young man glanced at the two young ladies helping him, and stopped what he was doing. "W-Wait. You don't have to help me. This isn't much to clear." He sighed. "You might get hurt."
The blond young woman looked at him, smirking and shaking her head, then began working once more. "Oh, don't think that just because I'm a girl that I can't do manual labor. We're just as good as Luke."
"Maybe better," added Anise, a mischievous grin on her face.
Luke sighed and rolled his eyes. "Right. I get the picture," he responded with annoyance in his tone as he began helping with the chore. Truthfully, he just wanted to leave. He did not know why, but there was something wrong with that place.
Guy glanced at Natalia as she began trying to lift something much too heavy for her. Her knees buckled under the weight after every step of trying to move it away. "Now, now, Natalia," Jade began teasing from a distance, "You should get Guy or Luke to do the serious handling."
Tear stared angrily at her grinning companion. "Colonel, if you're only going to tease us on this…"
"Oh, not at all, Tear. I was only acting on Natalia's best interest. After all, I don't want her to end up with severe back problems like myself. She's much too young for that." Jade smiled innocently.
Uh-huh…, Anise thought, staring uninterestedly at her superior officer from where she sat. Helping with the moving would just be too hard on her, or at least, that was the excuse she would give if anyone had asked. But no one had, and so she was grateful. She then glanced over at the sleeping creature dubbed Mieu. Had it really fallen asleep? Under all this noise, he could sleep? She took the time to gently place him into the item bag to keep him warm.
After minutes of work, they all finished with clearing the trash from the door. From where Guy had seen it last, it appeared that the door had been made of wood, but on closer look, it was completely metal. No doorknob or any way to open it was present, but that was the least of his problems, at the moment. There were plenty of ways to open it.
Guy sighed in relief as his grinning expression returned. He strolled casually towards the now clear entrance and put a hand on it before turning back to his friends. "Thanks for the help. Now. How do we get inside?"
"Huh? You mean you don't know how to open it? Isn't there some sort of directions somewhere?" Anise asked in an irritated voice, putting her small hands on her hips then turned her attention to Jade.
"I don't know either," he answered, wandering over to Guy to observe the area. "Well. There's something written here, but I can't read it." He pointed towards the bottom of the door.
Natalia tilted her head in question and headed towards them both. Guy leapt out of the way wildly, while Jade simply sidestepped to let her pass. She kneeled by the written and squinting until it became somewhat clear. "Sylvarant."
"Sylvarant?" Tear echoed. "I'm not familiar with that word."
"Neither am I," stated the colonel, as he passed by Anise and the others to reach the end of the aisle. He stopped, eyes scanning the area for something, but then he turned back to them. "Perhaps we should look for other doors and whatnot."
"Booo." Anise frowned. "Can we go now? It's starting to get a bit cold here. We are near Mt. Roneal, after all. Let's just call it a day and come back tomorrow before we all freeze to death."
"Yeah," agreed Luke. "We've been here long enough."
"Oh? Are you frightened of something? Was it that monster we encountered upon entering this facility?"
"I-I'm not scared. I was just ready to go."
"If you're not up for it, then say so Luke. We can head back anytime," Guy declared, smiling warmly at his friend.
"All right, all right. Let's go find the stuff then." The redheaded heir hiked over to the older man, and turned a corner, heading back in the direction they came. Tear sighed and hurried after him while grabbing the item bag with Mieu inside.
Anise giggled and skipped over to Jade while Guy approached them, as well. "Well, I guess I could help too. There might be some pretty valuable things down here. Let's go, Colonel."
"Still trying to get rich…" Guy chuckled.
"Of course!"
Jade nodded, and smiled. "Oh, yes, Natalia. If you would, please come sooner or later. We'd hate to leave you behind."
"I'll be right behind you," she replied, glancing over her shoulder as she stood and brushed off her clothing.
"Hurry up. It's dangerous around," Guy added.
The three began walking towards the entrance, but Natalia stared at the word for a while longer. Hmm…I wonder why I've never heard of this place. Surely father can tell me, she decided.
"Natalia!" Someone called, snapping her from her trance and glancing around, "Let's go!" It sounded to be Luke.
"C-Coming!" She stumbled and began sprinting towards the end of the passageway. Something, a light perhaps, flashed behind her and she turned her attention back towards the door. It was now open for some reason. All that could be seen of the other side was darkness. Nothing looked to be there. "What was that? Huh? It's open?" Natalia felt herself nearing the door once more until she stood in front of the open passage, staring into the infinite space.
"Natalia!" Luke called once more, with the addition of Anise's voice.
"Give me a moment!" she responded, never taking her eyes from the space.
Luke sighed from where he was with the others. Guy leaned against a wall with his eyes closed an arms crossed. Jade smiled, just like always, just seeming like he was being patient, and amused, as he watched Tear stare into the item bag blushing at the sleeping Mieu. Anise grinned at Tear, but was obviously slightly annoyed at the fact that she was waiting and not already gone.
Natalia reached out into the darkness, looking to touch something, but could not see anything to grasp at. She felt a presence behind her and gasped, turning to face the person. It was only Luke, standing a few feet from her. He did not seem to notice the door was open.
"Hey. Let's go already."
"Very well, Luke. If you insist." She crossed her arms.
He raised an eyebrow and turned, walking away. Another set of footsteps rounded the corner to reveal the faithful servant, Guy. "Well, it's about time—hey, the doors open…"
"Huh? Really?" Luke glanced back behind Natalia, an uninterested look on his face. "Well isn't that interesting." The non-existent excitement just leaked through his sarcastic tone. He turned back around, continuing to walk. She followed.
Gailardia simply smiled. "Well, I guess we can check it out tomorrow then, since someone is anxious to leave." He shot a wicked grin at his friend and Luke frowned in response. "Say Natalia, how'd you get it—" Guy's eyes widened in horror, and Luke stared at him in confusion, not knowing why his buddy had that expression on his face. Then, he heard a bloodcurdling scream come from behind him, sounding like the princess he knew so well. Luke whipped around to see his beloved female friend disappearing into the shadows beyond and the door beginning to close quickly.
On an impulse, Luke charged towards the exit with Guy behind him.
"We're not gonna make it," Guy yelled.
"We'll make it!" Luke retorted.
Guy passed the other in running, hoping that his current speed was enough to make it. As he dashed towards his quickly closing destination, he heard her call out different names. Luke. Jade. Anise. Tear. Him. Asch. Her father. Most likely everyone on her mind at this horrible moment. Her voice was disappearing, like it was getting further away.
He reached out to grab anything and took one final leap, trying to grasped anything—something that belonged to her, so that he could bring her back from there whatever was dragging her in.
"Natalia!"
He didn't make it.
The door closed. Natalia on the other side, her loved ones on the other.
Guy shut his eyes tight and banged on the door, calling out to her, but no answer came from the other side. He looked frantically over to his companions that just arrived.
Anise stared wide-eyed at him, tears welling up in her eyes.
Tear looked away, seemingly deep in thought, but with a sympathetic expression.
Jade was already with them, standing next to an upset Luke, but kept his sight on the one closest to the door. His face was riddled with distress.
"Where is Natalia?" Tear's scanned the upset youth with her tranquil blue eyes, then to the other.
Without saying anything, they both looked towards the closed entrance.
A set of footsteps could be heard coming their way. Immediately, Jade materialized his spear and Tear readied her daggers, prepared to strike at whatever came into view. Guy turned back to the door and rests his forehead against it, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. Natalia, he opened his eyes and gripped his sword's hilt in his right hand, I'm sorry. He turned, drawing out the Jewel of Gardios with determination in his eyes. Whatever was there, he would defeated—kill if need be, and then find some way to get Natalia out of her prison.
"It comes." Anise reacted to Jade's voice, transforming Tokunaga into its bigger form and mounting it while Luke drew out the Key of Lorelei.
The figure came into view, revealing itself. Luke's eyes widened at seeing his original and they reflected nothing but pain and agony. He had come. However, Asch was too late.
The young noble slowed to a halt as he reached them, panting somewhat, but then took a deep breath. He scanned the area, as if searching for something.
"Where is she, Replica?" Asch asked, his angered gaze falling upon Luke.
Luke did not answer. He looked away, not understanding anything currently. How had Asch known? And so soon, at that. "Where is Natalia?!" He turned his attention to Jade. "Where is she!?"
"If you insist on asking, she's right over there," Jade answered, gesturing towards the doorway. His calm façade could lead anyone to believe that he was not fazed by the moment. "Just through that door."
In seconds, Asch was at the doorway, feeling around slowly for any signs of buttons or anything to let him though. Luke made his way over to where Tear was and out of the blue, she had hugged him, trying to calm him down. He stayed in that embrace with her for quite the while, but then let go when he heard Anise sniffle.
After a few minutes of searching, the God-General became frustrated and glared over at Jade. "Just how do I get inside?"
"We don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know?"
"Natalia was the one who opened it," Guy finally spoke up from where he was, leaning against the wall. In an instant, Asch had grabbed the dejected Guy by the collar and pushed him harder against the wall.
"She had to have gotten in somehow. Weren't you with her? Wasn't anyone with her?"
"Asch!" Tear called, taking a step towards him. "Blaming Guy will get us nowhere. We need to think on as to how to open that door." They stayed like that for a moment, stuck in a stalemate, until finally Asch released the other and returned his concentration to the door.
"I'm going." The God-General drew out his sword, gripping it in both his shaky hands. "I'm breaking this door down, and I'm going to find Natalia."
"Is that right?" Jade raised an eyebrow, "I wouldn't advise that."
"Arrivederci il mio amore più caro." To be continued…
Ranting Author moment revised: It seems as though this came out longer than I expected. Perhaps I should have cut it in half.
Well, no sense in dwelling on that. I've already begun the second chapter, but I don't exactly know when I'll post it. Just like my Bleach fan fiction, I've got most of it done, but…I just never get around to uploading it.
Now, onto the story details. This is more or less a [Natalia x ????? Fan fiction. I haven't decided on whether to make it Guy or Asch. I'm leaning more towards Guy, just because it's a rarity.
As for this whole thing about the second chapter, I made it into a crossover with Tales of Symphonia and I wanted to know, should I continue? I personally liked how it came out, even if it is a bit cheesy. Aw, well. I guess I'll finish it someday and post it.
-Vincentre
