A/N: Hello my lovely little readers! Welcome to the prequel of 'The Fight for Power'! This can be read as a stand alone (as it's a prequel, so no previous knowledge is needed), but it may be easier to understand certain aspects if you read the first one. For those of you new to the series, please not that some important things have been changed, though I don't want to ruin it for you :3

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of the Abyss. It is the property of Namco Bandai and its affiliates.

Tear was sitting in Yulia's office, working on some homework. Her mother sat at her desk, easily writing through some documents. It was peaceful and quiet, and Tear was enjoying the serenity of the afternoon just being in Yulia's presence.

Yulia suddenly glanced up before singing a single verse from her Fonic Hymn, a shield going up. Tear looked up in confusion then watched as the door was thrown open, Luke rushing in with a laugh. Asch and Lorelei came in after him, attempting to soak him in water.

As the two of them threw their water at him, Luke dodged out of the way. The water harmlessly hit the shield, but Yulia shot them a withering glare anyway.

The three boys hesitated before beating a hasty retreat, with a quick "Sorry!" to go with it. Tear rolled her eyes, finishing off her assignment before stretching and watching Yulia take the barrier down.

"They're such troublemakers sometimes," Yulia sighed, signing another piece of paper and moving onto the next one.

Tear nodded, considering something. "Hey, Mum?"

"Hmm?"

"How did you and Lorelei meet?" Yulia looked up, confused, and Tear motioned to the door. "He acts so childishly, and you're so grown up. It just seems weird that you two could ever be friends."

"Hmmm...I suppose so. It's not really a secret, so I suppose I might as well tell you. Though I think I'll tell you about Lorelei more, seeing as you might understand him a little better if you know."

Lorelei's mother and father were part of two very strong families. Their control over Seventh Fonons was almost legendary, and eventually their parents decided they should be married.

Luckily, the two of them fell in love almost instantly. His mother was extremely beautiful, having a serene grace about her. His father was stern and cold, but loving when he wanted to be - mostly around his wife. When she fell pregnant, they were very happy, deciding their life couldn't get more perfect; they had amazing partners, wealthy families, and would soon have their own child.

However, it didn't turn out as they expected. The birth was rough, and by the time Lorelei was born, his mother died from the strain. His father, overcome with grief, practically abandoned the child to the wetnurses and servants of his manor home.

Eventually his family grew fed up with his grieving, and distanced themselves from him, feeling that he brought shame upon their family name. Lorelei, at this time three, was starting to understand the world a little better and seemed to realise that something bad had happened, and that it seemed to be his fault.

Lorelei was used to waking up to hear his father either breaking a bottle, drinking, or snoring loudly after having passed out. He preferred the mornings when he was asleep or drunk; on the mornings he was angry, he would usually beat Lorelei before the young boy could leave the house.

Many times he'd asked his father why he hurt him so much, but it seemed his father didn't really have a good reason for his rage. The best he'd ever gotten was 'You look too much like your mother', but seeing as Lorelei knew nothing about her, he couldn't really relate. Instead, he grew up hating this man who seemed to hate him, and who got pleasure out of hurting him.

However, the only good thing about his father was that he wasn't stupid. All kids were required to go to school, so if Lorelei didn't attend at all, they would know something was wrong. Five days a week, Lorelei was able to stay out of the house for most of the day, avoiding at least six beatings.

Lorelei loved school. A lot of kids complained about it, moaning about how they wished it was the weekend so that they could play, or making jokes about how they wanted to burn it down; but to Lorelei, it was a true home. A place he could learn, feel safe, and had kind people around that protected him. He grew especially close to the cook, who was constantly fussing about him and giving him extra helpings because he was 'too gangly for his own good'.

The only downside to school was the other students. They all avoided him, mostly because he was pretty aggressive. If he wasn't also pretty antisocial, he'd probably had ended up getting into as many fights as he got beatings.

If the school thought something was wrong, however, they didn't mention it. Lorelei had wanted to tell someone for a while, but he wasn't sure if it was a normal thing and didn't want them to get worse if the school reported it.

It was the end of a normal school day, Lorelei having stayed behind to help the teachers pack up and the janitor to clean. Now the school was being locked up, so he had to go home.

As he wandered down the street, golden eyes gazing up at the setting sun, he suddenly...felt something. Another presence seemed to appear behind him, and he turned in surprise.

A girl about his age stood there. Her golden-brown hair was rather long, and she had a pretty face. She smiled gently, her blue eyes shining.

"Hello," she said.

Lorelei eyed her suspiciously. "What do you want?" he asked.

"I just wanted to talk to you. I can see the future, you see, so I know everything about you."

Lorelei snorted. "Oh, really? Alright then, tell me," he challenged, turning to face her with his arms folded.

The girl considered. "Well, your mother died when you were born, and your father abuses you daily. You want to leave, but you're afraid he may hunt you down or hurt you more. You're bad at making friends, but very lonely, and this just makes you more aggressive."

Lorelei stared at her, a little worried. No one knew that much about him...What if she told someone?

"I'm in your class, too. You don't really hang out with anyone, do you? Actually, thinking about it, you do rather badly in Fonic Artes, right?"

"I-It's not my fault...I just can't control them properly..." Lorelei muttered.

The girl smiled. "Don't worry. It's because you're only made of Seventh Fonons. No one at our school teaches us how to use Seventh Fonons, and you can't really control any other fonons if you don't have them, so that's why you struggle."

Lorelei looked hesitant. "How do you know all that?"

"Like I said, I can see the future. Usually it's not very clear, but yours is much clearer for some reason."

He shook his head. "You...You freak!" he snapped, turning and rushing off. The girl blinked, her smile fading, and clasped her hands together.

"Right...Mummy said people don't like knowing that type of stuff..." she murmured to herself.

Lorelei avoided the girl from then on. If he saw her, he would blank her and actively ignore her if she tried to talk to him. When she realised how resolute he was, she seemed to stop trying, and he occasionally saw her sitting by herself.

After a while, he found himself constantly seeking her out, watching as she moved hesitantly around everyone else. She didn't seem to have any friends, and most people would yell insults at her when she walked by them. Lorelei found himself wondering if he had acted too harshly, and decided that yes, yes he had. She was probably just lonely, like him, and simply tried to make friends using the only thing she knew how to do.

Seeing the future was a bit weird...but it probably had it's uses. And it probably didn't make her life any easier, either. Finally, he decided he'd work up the courage to talk to her again, and waited for an opportunity

His opportunity arrived a couple of days later. At lunch, everyone was pretty much kicked outside. Lorelei was sitting, reading a book about Seventh Fonons, when he heard yelling. Looking up, he saw a large circle of students. Confused and curious, he stood up and joined them. The students near him quickly moved away, giving him a clear view of what was going on.

Two boys stood in the centre of the circle, the girl on the opposite side. They both looked ready to fight her, shouting insults and jeering at her. She tried to calm them down, looking ready to cry, but that only made them tease her more.

"You can see the future, right?! Well then, I bet you can dodge this!" taunted one of the boys before lunging out with a punch. It easily caught the girl, sending her stumbling back to hit the floor. She rubbed her cheek, looking up with barely withheld tears.

"Crybaby! Crybaby!" chanted several people, laughing.

The girl stood up, hugging herself. "Please, just leave me alone..." she mumbled.

"When you dodge one! Try this!" He lashed out with a kick, hitting her side, and she fell to the floor with a sob.

"You're fine, jeez! You can heal yourself after all, right?" pointed out the other guy, pulling her up and leaning back to punch her again.

The girl flinched as the punch flew at her, before it was easily caught. The crowd went silent, looking at Lorelei hesitantly. He paused a moment, glaring at the boy.

"Isn't it a little stupid to pick on someone weaker than you?" he snapped, throwing the boy back.

"Oi, keep out of this rapunzel! It's got nothing to do with you."

Lorelei raised an eyebrow, straightening and easily placing himself between the girl and the two boys. "Really? I thought I'd already gotten involved."

The boy on the right gritted his teeth. "You think you're so cool? There's a reason no one here likes you, you freak!"

Lorelei gazed at him with cold eyes, and the crowd drew back slightly, nervous. Then he shrugged. "Did you really think that would offend me?" he asked, looking genuinely confused.

One of the boys rushed forward, punching him. Lorelei easily blocked him, lashing out with a kick and easily engaging in a pretty one-sided fight with the boy. While Lorelei was distracted, the other boy rushed past them, murmuring an incantation for a Fonic Arte. Water flowed around his palm, before he thrust it out at the girl.

Lorelei spotted the attack out of the corner of his eye and scowled. Throwing the boy off, he easily leapt infront of Yulia. He thrust his palm forward, and suddenly power shot forth, crashing against the attack and easily quelling it. The power slammed into the two boys, sending them flying back so that they skidded across the ground.

Lorelei lowered his hand, blinking in surprise. He glanced at it a moment, then watched as the two boys stood up. They gazed at him hesitantly before backing off, looking scared. The other students also fled, leaving Lorelei and the girl.

"Thank you," the girl murmured, nursing her cheek. She murmured a brief incantation before a glow appeared around her injuries, healing them. Repeating it, she lifted her hand to Lorelei, and he felt his various bruises - even those he recieved from his father - fading.

"You don't need to thank me. Actually, I should really thank you...and I'm sorry about how I reacted before. I was just a little weirded out, I guess, but that doesn't excuse how I acted," he murmured.

The girl blinked before smiling. "It's alright. I feel a little honoured, actually; you used your Seventh Fonons to help me, right? You've never used them before."

Lorelei glanced at her, then nodded. "Yeah. It was just instinctive."

"The first time usually is. I suppose I better get going," she said, giving a brief wave before heading off.

"Hey!" Lorelei called, and she paused, looking back. He fidgeted slightly, then rubbed the back of his head. "What's your name?"

The girl blinked, then smiled. "I'm Yulia."

"...Nice to meet you, Yulia. I'm Lorelei."

"I already knew that. But it's nice to meet you too, Lorelei," she replied, giggling before heading off.

A/N: So, how was the first chapter? I admit, it doesn't seem much like recounting a memory, but hopefully it's acceptable anyway.

Review?