A Hero's Welcome
Introduction
Summary: Luke returns in a time of peace. But is it truly peaceful or is there a threat lurking in the shadows?
Disclaimer: Namco owns Tales of the abyss.
Today was a day unlike any other, for more reasons than any one person could count.
Among those reasons is the fact that it is the coming of age ceremony of Luke Fon Fabre. It had already been a year since his death on Eldrant, which had crashed into Tataroo Valley. The ceremony also served as a formal funeral for him since his parents were reluctant to hold one upon the destruction of Eldrant. At first they believed that he would return, however as the months passed their conviction continued to weaken, until today when they finally decided to give up. They were force to accept the idea that their son was never coming home again.
Even though his own family had lost faith in his return, there were people who hadn't. Those people were his friends, Lord Gailardia Galan Gardios, Fon Master Guardian Anise Tatlin, Colonel Jade Curtiss, Princess Natalia L.K. Lanvaldear and Tear Grants.
This is what brings us to another aspect that contributes to the day's uniqueness.
The normally quiet and remote Tataroo Valley had been disturbed by the presence of humans, five of them in fact. They had shattered the absolute silence that usually reined the area.
What broke the silence was a beautiful song, sung by an equally beautiful female voice. It was a wonderful melody, passed down from generation to generation by Yulia Jue's descendents, the Grand Fonic Hymn.
The Hymn could be heard from anywhere in the valley, and surely enough it had awoken a certain redhead, who had only appeared on the planet moments ago.
As soon as the newly reborn man had risen from his slumber, he immediately recognized the song and the person singing it. When he got back up to his feet, he checked his surroundings and came to the conclusion that he must be in Eldrant's remains. He then started walking to the source of the singing, in order to find his way out of ruined city. The singing stopped soon, but he was able see the exit by then, so he quickly got out.
By that time the only thing illuminating the field was the moonlight, which only served to intensify the beauty of the now blooming selenia flowers.
When he stepped out onto the field he found just what he expected, his friends were there. They couldn't see him though, they had their backs turned to him and it looked like they were about to leave.
The others had already started walking away when Tear glanced behind her hoping to catch a glimpse of Luke, and so she did. She gasped, causing the others to turn to her. And they were all shocked to see a man with red hair coming towards them.
He stopped in front of Tear and she asked him:
"Why are…you here?" She seemed to be struggling to keep herself from breaking down.
"This place has a nice view of Hod." He answered while looking up at the sky.
"And also…I promised someone." He added, this time looking her in the eye.
Upon hearing his last statement Tear couldn't hold her emotions in any longer, she cried. She allowed the tears to stream freely down her face like she hadn't done in such a long time. She then went up and embraced him, along with the others who had done the same. With the exception of the Colonel of course, who merely stood in the back and smiled as if to say 'welcome back'.
They all started talking to Luke at the same time which made it impossible for him to understand what they were saying exactly. Suddenly Jade spoke up:
"Well then, perhaps we should go to Baticul to announce your return? Noelle is waiting for us on the Albiore, we can talk more there."
Luke looked at Jade and nodded, then started heading back towards the albiore.
Suddenly Luke caught Tear's arm, which made her turn to him as he said:
"And by the way, I love you too."
She smiled at him, took his hand and they followed everyone to the albiore.
A/N: Well, that's the end of this chapter. I want to thank the people who read and reviewed my first story and I hope you enjoy this one as well.