Scarpaw here with her third Tales of the Abyss story, Monster I've Become! I hope you guys like it! n.n

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of the Abyss

Prologue of the Prologue

Things go bump in the night. They always have, always will. It's just a fact of life, and nothing you can do is ever going to stop it.

Of course there are different types of the things that go bump in the night. There always has been, and that's just simply another fact of life.

There are the things that are just in your head, like the man in a cape that's really only a sweater hanging in your closet. The gnarled hand hitting against your window, wanting in, which is really only the branch of the tree outside your window clacking against it. There's also the creepy shadow creeping down the hall which is really your little sibling sneaking out of bed after bedtime for a late night snack.

Then, for every good thing, there is a bad one. The shadow in the hall could really be a robber slinking through the night, ready to steal all of your valuables and maybe kill your dog. The gnarled hand may actually be a freak with a knife, trying to break into your room to slit your throat and let your blood run in rivulets on your pristine white carpet. The man in a cape? He's your very own Count Dracula, hiding out in your closet, ready to suck out your blood in a moment's notice. No Edward Cullen in this reality.

So, as the sun sets over the horizon in the west, you best be locking you windows and doors and turning on your Winnie the Pooh night light, because something always goes bump in the night in somebody's house.

And tonight, it may just be yours.

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Prologue (Real One)

It was a cold, freezing night, and the wind howled furiously as the full moon peeked behind dark black storm clouds, brewing for a terrible storm. It was a horrible night in Baticul for anybody to be out walking the streets.

Too bad Luke fon Fabre wasn't just anybody.

Yes, one Luke fon Fabre was out walking in this weather, Yulia knows why.

It's been three days since the Outer Lands have been lowered, and since Luke and company had defeated Van and sent him spiraling down into the core.

Three long, painful days that Luke had been separated from his friends.

Tear was back in Yulia City with Teodoro, her grandfather, helping out there.

Guy had quit his job as a servant in the Fabre household and was currently rebuilding his family's mansion with help from Peony, and (much to Guy's dismay) Jade.

Jade was back in Grand Chokmah doing whatever work he had to do as a Colonel, as well as helping out Guy (much to his dismay).

Anise was in Daath, helping Ion to try and stop the reading of the Score.

Natalia was off going all around the world with her duties as Kimlasca's princess, and although she was at home for times, Luke rarely got to spend naught even five minutes with her before she had to leave again.

Ion was in Daath, doing his duties as Fon Master, as well as trying to get everybody to stop reading and following the Score.

Then there was Asch.

This made Luke sigh unhappily.

Asch was out doing something that more than likely pertained to anything that did not include his useless good for nothing replica who couldn't do anything right.

He could barely even kill his own master.

A howl ripped through the night, chilling Luke to the bone even further than the wind was. What was that howl? It didn't sound like the wind.

No, it was far more animalistic than the wind. The Behemoth from the marsh, maybe? No, it couldn't be the Behemoth, Luke told himself, not so close to the city. It didn't even venture outside of the marsh. Could it be a wolf?

Another cry ripped through the air, just as animalistic as the last one. Luke could practically feel his bones chattering in their sockets at the sound. Where was it coming from? It sounded close to the city now.

Luke's hand moved instinctively to where his sword sheathe was- well, where it should have been. He had left it up in the manor, seeing as he hadn't planned on being attacked or running into something on the lower levels of the city.

Something scraped on the cobblestones behind him.

Luke visibly jumped, and turned around, eyes frantically looking everywhere and anywhere to find a weapon, pipe, anything that would at least defend him for a moment. He couldn't find anything.

Then, just at that moment, a small little tabby kitten popped out purring, from behind a wooden crate. Luke let out a sigh of relief, and kneeled down and beckoned the young cat towards him. The orange kitten did so with excitement, and rubbed itself against Luke's outstretched hand until Luke started petting it himself.

"You scared me, you naughty little thing," Luke sighed in relief towards the cat, relieved that it wasn't something else- something more horrible than a little kitten. The kitten only responded with a loud purr.

"Where's your owner?" Luke asked the kitten, looking at it intently as he petted it.

"You don't have a collar," He mused, looking at it as the harsh wind ruffled its fur and his hair. "Are you a stray? Or did you just happen to lose your collar, get free of it?" Luke immediately laughed at himself and what he was doing.

He was talking to a cat. A being that couldn't even understand or reply to him, a human- I mean, a person that could actually walk on four legs and communicate with people.

He wasn't human either. He was just an item that was supposed to be used and then thrown away when he had been used for his value.

Another animalistic growl ripped through the air, causing Luke to stiffen, but he didn't jump in fear for fear of driving away the kitten.

It sounded extremely close this time. Where was it?

Luke had barely any time to react as the crate the kitten had appeared from blew apart and something leaped out from behind it.

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Yeah, I'm sorry if it's really horrible...

Please read and review and tell me how much you did or didn't like it.

-Scarpaw Signing Out-

P.S.- I don't own the above mentioned names of Count Dracula or Edward Cullen.