Authoress's Notes: Hi!! This fic is for those LukexTear fans out there! (waves arms around) Oh and for Fox of Anubis too!!
For those who haven't played it yet, they won't be able to understand it, I guess… Well, I did say it would happen in the post-game. XP Well, whatever. Let's just get this show on the road! Oh and regardless of what season and when (but I hope the section comes before Christmas…) I will post my TOA Christmas fic when the section's up. :D Hope you guys will enjoy it! Even though it's a bit long….. XP
Disclaimer: Nope, do not own Tales of the Abyss. (cries in a corner)
"Normal Speech"
Thought (if its in a normal speech, like: "blah blah blah blah blah" that's still a thought)
(Authoress's notes!!)
Peace
It was one word that you could describe Auldrant right now. No major wars or plotting to destroy the world. Nothing. Just a regular world with a regular status. No more, no less. Some people have returned to their normal lives. Some have returned back to their families or relatives. Some continue their duties in sake of their country, or because it promised to a lost loved one. Some use their own abilities to help other people. Others look back at the past, wondering. Why some things happened, why people tend to be misunderstood and ignored. Preferably, most would think this.
Why did he have to die?
It's not like he deserved it. True, he has done some awful things in the past. But it was in the past. It had already happened. Nobody knew that he would be manipulated that way. After he sank Akzeiruth, he changed—no, he wanted to change. He wanted to for the better. He changed so that people can learn to trust him not as a Fabre, but as a single person who cares for the protection of the world. To rely on him wholeheartedly and for no worries or doubt to make them feel secure and safe… But dying in sake of thousands—even millions? No, it will simply not do. That will not make this woman happy.
It's not that she didn't expect it. Her brother did want to replicate the world and free the shackles that held them to the Score. She prepared herself for whatever outcome, whether they would die defending the world, or killing her own blood line. She prepared herself physically and emotionally, ready to strike whenever she can with precision and dexterity. But she was too busy preparing for that to be prepared for the next.
…
Tear shook her head. She thinks too much. Or maybe to keep her mind from thinking of some things that she wouldn't want to remember? Shaking her head again, she sighed. Even now, she can't give herself peace and quiet. She was back in Yulia City, sitting on her bed. She had nothing to do today, so she decided to take a break. Out of boredom, she nearly fell asleep when she heard someone open the front door. Curious, she peeked to see who it was. "..!!"
Were her eyes deceiving her? Is it really Luke who came through her door? "Tear? Are you in here?" his voice resounded in the air. She was too dumbstruck to notice that he saw her. He went up the stairs and faced her. She was too busy descrambling her own thoughts to notice him there. He waved a hand in front of her and snapped his fingers. "Hello..? Anyone there?"
Her senses snapped her back to reality when she felt Luke grab her hand and tug her downstairs. "Luke? W-where are we going?"
"Just come. I have to show you something." he said, smiling at her and dragging her to the Albiore.
Luke blindfolded Tear before getting off the Albiore to their destined place.
"What's the blind fold for?" she asked while he guided her to walk.
"Relax, would you! It's not like I'll kidnap you or som—"
"Whoa!" Tear kicked something by accident and fell forward, but not feeling the hard ground. Instead, she felt two hands trying to prevent her from falling. "A-ah, I'm sorry Luke!"
"Uh… I-its okay.." Stuttering a bit, Luke helped her up and continued walking a bit farther. When they reached their destination, he took off her blindfold.
Once her eyesight was regained, Tear opened her eyes and looked at the surroundings, only to notice they were somewhere familiar…
"Tataroo Valley?" she asked back at Luke.
"Nope. We're in a field near Baticul." he answered her.
"I've never seen this place before…" Nor have I noticed it…
"Well, we don't run through this place often, so I guess that's why…." He sat down on the grassy fields. "Come on."
At first, Tear gave him a confused look. He smiled and stared up at the sky, before she got the hint. She walked over to him and sat down with him under the afternoon sky. "It seems so well taken care of. If no one passed through them, then who's been keeping an eye on this field?"
He answered another question of hers. "I told it to Pere. While I was gone, I asked him to take care of this field for me while I was gone."
"I see…" Tear sighed and watched the sunset. She didn't notice that her head fell down on Luke's shoulder. He didn't seem to mind, given the fact that he placed an arm around her shoulder to keep her close. She smiled at him and closed her eyes, only until the sunset was over.
Luke noticed that she had closed her eyes. To rest, or to just let time slowly pass in the midst of tranquility? He looked at her while she looked like she was sleeping… She's so beautiful… He thought as he brushed off a stray strand of her hair away from her eyes. He pulled his hand back when he noticed her stir, thinking that he woke her up. He sighed in relief when she didn't wake up. Phew… That was close…. I guess I should stay here until she wakes up…
After some time, Tear opened her eyes again. At the exact same time, Luke turned to look at her. He was a bit surprised and quickly turned to face the other side to hide his blush. She looked down on the now snow-white selenias field to hide hers.
"D-did I fall asleep..?" I hope I didn't… Please tell me I didn't…
"I-I think so… Why? Did you have something to do?" Please say no… Not just yet…
It's not like I'll just leave you here alone… After that thought, she blushed again. Luke gave her a questioning look. She noticed this and tried her best not to blush while talking to him or stutter.
"N-no… Not really..." I thought I said I won't try to stutter… Argh…
"…I see…" Darn it… Now would be a good time to tell her but… Argh! I hate this! I'm backing out at the last moments!
Tear noticed the change of scenery. "This is a selenia field?"
"Yeah…" he replied as he watched some of the flowers fly by.
The two of them stayed like this, plainly enjoying each other's company. No words were needed to be exchanged, nor were gifts and such of those. All they needed was somewhere peaceful and quiet to sit down on. Luke, now that his blushing has dissipated, looked back at Tear, who was also back to normal and looked off at the ocean in front of them.
Silence nearly took over them before Tear's voice drifted in. "You know…" Luke looked at Tear with an asking look. She looked back at him. "I've been having these weird nightmares lately…"
"How weird?" he asked.
"Like… Once, I was in a life threatening situation… Like, I was going to die because someone would shoot me or something…. Just before I would die…" she stopped there, reluctant to continue. The sudden halt made him look at her.
"Hm? Then?"
Tear gave him a surprised and confused look. Why is he interested in my dreams now..? She sighed, knowing she couldn't avoid the question.
"Well… Just before I would die… Its always you who saves me."
Luke gave her a stare. Tear shrugged and looked across the ocean. I would always save her…? Does that mean…..
"Yeah. I remember one of my dreams was that I jumped off the Albiore. I didn't know why I was there in the first place but… the Albiore was about to explode because of a system malfunction. I jumped off, waiting for hard land and grass to come contact with, but instead…" she thought again. I don't know why I'm even telling you this… I don't get it… then she stopped there. True… those times that we spent traveling… We never hid any secrets from each other… He was always the one to make me feel at least a bit better… Will telling him my dreams make me feel any better..?
"Then what?"
Tear shot Luke a smile and said. "Before I fell, you caught me…"
"I see…" she sighed that being said. Silence crept up again before Luke spoke again.
"But you know… I'd do the same, if I was given that situation."
"What…?" she asked, kind of like being cautious. Did he just say he'd catch me when I fall..?
"Well, yeah. I would. Taking what happened earlier for example…"
"Hm. Well, I just hope you do."
Short silence.
He looked up and said. "The sky's so beautiful, eh?"
Tear looked up too. "Yes. Stars twinkling up in the peaceful night sky… Maybe, even with the one you hold dear the most.. With only the comforting moonlight to guide you…"
I hope it guides me to say it… "Yeah… Just looking at it makes you feel at peace…"
Silence once again. No matter, it contented each other, just spending your time with the one you love.
Luke looked on over to the direction of Baticul. He sighed in defeat. Tear noted this and looked at him with a worried glance. She stood up with his help.
"It's time…" he muttered under his breath. It was a chilly night as a light breeze cooed by. Tear shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. Luke embraced her to stop her shivering. She was surprised at the sudden action, but soon eased herself in his arms. If only… Please, let this last longer… Tear prayed. She had the bad feeling that he was going to leave again. I don't want him to leave… I-I just saw him again! At least, not so soon… she bit her lower lip to prevent the tears from falling.
The breeze was still a bit strong, and Luke held onto Tear like he was going to disappear or something. Or maybe to make her stop shivering. She just leaned herself on him, wanting to feel safe and secure in his grasp… He looked up and sighed. "Well…" I've made up my mind. This time, no backing out… Luke sighed, and mustered all of his courage to whisper something into Tear's ear. Her head shot up as he gave her a warm smile. "Honest." Was all he said.
Damnit, say something! She screamed at herself. Her thought were swirling around her mind, confusing her on what to say. "Luke, I…" she didn't notice the tears that she was crying. When she noticed, she didn't bother to stop.
"Shh... Everything's gonna be alright now..." Luke tried calming Tear down. She tried to, but she couldn't. She just couldn't…
"I-I'm sorry… I'm getting your clothes wet, aren't I…?" she muttered loud enough. Luke didn't respond. He just held her tight and wiped the tears off her face with his handkerchief.
"Well… I'll be seeing you." He said. Her eyes shot up. Azure met Emerald as a strong gust of wind blew that she had to close her eyes. She tried holding onto Luke, but when she opened her eyes again , she was still at the selenia fields.
But Luke was nowhere in sight.
Damnit…! She mentally scolded herself. "Luke!" she tried shouting his name. Again and again. Nothing. She looked around. Still, nothing. She sat helplessly on the selenia field, thinking. Damnit, why couldn't I say it! Its only three words! Even Anise can say it! She frowned at herself, feeling dissatisfied with what happened. She gripped the grass to help her control herself from strangling herself. She didn't want to die just yet.
She scanned the field for any clues to where he's gone to. Hey eyes laid on a notebook on the far north. She stumbled to stand up and walked towards it, picked it up and scanned the pages. "..! Wait… this is…." She stopped scanning the pages and turned to one page. "..!!" It was Luke's handwriting…. From what the content was, it looked like his diary… (A/N: Okay, the diary Tear found is DIFFERENT from the one in the Synopsis. Kinda like the "inbetween-the-lines-lines". You get?)
She didn't want to read it, but maybe Luke left it there for her to find… She opened it from the beginning and started reading. A lot of pages later, she shut the red diary close
Feeling a bit discontented, she scanned the book again. She found nothing. She sighed, and looked at the back pages. There were some written at the back…
(I dunno what date… OO)
Finally… I thought I'd never know what was happening… Basically, Van is plotting to destroy Auldrant now and produce a replica of the whole world. He started with Hod to make his home base. It floated near Tataroo Valley. Tomorrow, we would be going there. Right now, I guess it's a bit free time for us… I guess this is how it is in the military. You get a day free before your death… -sighs-
Guy and Natalia spent the day together. I saw them when I was at the Albiore. From the scenery and their faces, they're talking about Asch…. Its kinda obvious from Natalia's look. I guess she must be worried about him. I wouldn't blame her. I know that Natalia loves Asch dearly. I just hope Guy manages to comfort her, even just a bit. If she will feel better on whatever Guy will say, I'm sure it'd be a good help. From a far off observation, I assume that he likes her a bit. But hey, who am I to say?
Anise tagged along with Jade to the bar. She's too young to be drinking, so I guess she's just there to keep him company.-shrugs- Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if Jade came out fine after how many drinks. Anise won't be able to get a chance. After some years, sure. I wonder if they're talking about what's gonna happen…
Noelle took me and Tear out in the sea. It was a full moon and the sea breeze was so soft. I looked up at the moon and thought, After we set Lorelei free…. What'll happen to me? If I do manage to survive, I'll eventually die because my isofons are unstable… I'll disappear after some time… Either way, I'll end up leaving them. But I have to save the world… I'm scared, but I have to do it, I'm the only one who can. I don't want another Akzeiruth to happen. If my life would be the equivalent of the whole world, I'd be scared but… I'd die.
I just hope they managed to forgive me… I decided this on my own without them knowing. I don't even think Jade or Guy knows. If they do, they'll do everything in their powers to stop me. But maybe they wouldn't. Besides, it was my decision. They had nothing to do with it. But I do hope they understand… I have to die to save the world. But I didn't want that just to be the reason of my life… I know that isn't the only reason in my life…
Footsteps interrupted my thought as I looked to see who it was. –phew- It was only Tear. Strange, I was kinda expecting Mieu to be with her... –shrugs-...Not that I mind being alone with her. We talked for a bit and then looked at the starry sky together. The sea painted the sky on itself, giving off its beautiful reflection… Beautiful like Tear…. Whoa, wait, back up. Rewind and freeze. Like… -blush- Did I just say that? I guess being so close to her and sharing secrets had me liking—maybe even loving her. What? Tell her? Are you kidding me?! At this time? …the scenery would be perfect, if only we didn't have to fight tomorrow. For once, I've thought thoroughly about this. I've shared many secrets with her and she's done the same, but this will be the only secret I will keep from her…
Why? Well…. -thinks- I wouldn't wanna hurt Tear.
Tear stopped for a moment there. Didn't want to hurt me..? she shook her thoughts and continued reading.
Hurting Tear would be like killing a million people. Okay, Akzeiruth excluded since that was different in another way. I remembered when I destroyed Akzeiruth. I couldn't handle the burden of killing so much people who had families to go back to. I couldn't handle it alone. But everyone left me… That's why I wanted to change. I hated that feeling of regret and loneliness, I didn't want anyone else to feel the same way. I changed so that I can make people feel secure and safe. That would be the same reason why I'm not telling her. I didn't want to hurt her… If I did, I wouldn't be able to die in peace. Not telling her is not only to my extend… I mean, I would say I love her before I die? If I was given that situation, then she should've never told me she loved me. No, I'm not selfish. I'm just… protective, I mean….. But if I didn't tell her… it might make her even more sad…Argh! I'm so confused… But I do know one thing… I love Tear and nothing will change that.
..and that was it. Pages after that were blank. And so was Tear's face. "…you idiot.." she muttered. She wiped her face with her hands. She was crying again. She looked up at the sky. "You could've asked for my help!!" she shouted, crying. "Damnit! Why did you have to do everything alone?!" she tried to stop crying, but she couldn't… She looked up at the starry sky and gazed at one star. I... I wish to the starry sky... I want to see him again... I just want to see him...
Suddenly, someone fired lightning at her. Unprepared, she flung in the air. "Damn!" she muttered, before she felt herself falling…. Falling…
Falling into her death…
"Aahh!" Tear jerked up. She gasped for air as she looked at her surroundings. She was still in her room. After realizing she was safe, she sighed with an annoyed tone. She really thought that she would meet him again…. She was half-thankful that it wasn't. That would've been one of the lousiest days of her life. Still…
"Tear!" someone slammed the door open to her garden. She jerked up to sit strait again and stared at her guest. Her eyes were seeing fine but its her mind that wouldn't accept the fact that Luke was standing in front of her, panting for air.
"Tear, are you okay? I heard you shout. Is there something wrong?" he asked worriedly and sat at the edge of the bed. He pressed his hand against her forehead, then beside her neck. "You don't look sick or something…"
Those words hit her on the head as she snapped onto reality again. She blinked to get her eyes clear, and they were. "What are you doing here, Luke…?"
"I guess you didn't know, huh…. Aren't you a bit glad to see me…?"
"I…. I waited so long, but…" she tried to begin…
"I know you did…. But now--"
"Damnit, I don't know what's real anymore!" she shouted, crying.
"Tear…"
"I just don't! I've had a lot of nightmares and the ending is always the same! No matter how hard I try to change my dreams, it doesn't matter!" she shook her head, as if disagreeing.
"What always happens?" Luke asked in a calm tone, holding her still by her shoulders to make her feel calm.
This was it. Now she really couldn't hold her feelings bottled up anymore. She had to release some tension too. "Y-You would always disappear… You would always say "It's time" before you leave… After so many dreams of seeing the same ending, I didn't know if you would ever come back…" she was still crying. "I hated having those dreams that I wished I never slept! Or sometimes I would think, "Why couldn't we just let someone else release Lorelei?! Why did it have to be you?" but still! It didn't make me feel any better… Not more on the times when we spent together…."
He sighed and took her in his arms. She was still crying, but she didn't know why. Maybe its because she's afraid that when she opens her eyes again, she'll find that this is a dream too. She didn't want him to go again, but she wanted to find out if this is real or not. She couldn't decide in time before Luke brushed all the tears away and looked at Tear. At least her crying stopped… he thought.
"Tear, you do want to know if this is real or not, right?"
She blinked. "I do, but…"
"Do me a favor and close your eyes." She gave a quick questioning look, but shrugged and closed her eyes anyway. Three seconds after she did, she felt something against her lips… She opened her sight only to see Luke kissing her.
She looked at his calm face with a shocked look. W-what…? After seconds of dumbly staring at Luke, Tear started closing her own eyes slowly…
He parted lips from her, blushing. Looking away, she asked. "Is that enough proof?"
She blushed too, but smiled at him. "Yeah." which, in the end, caused him to blush more. She poked him teasingly.
"Hey!" he told her. She giggled.
Downstairs, a set of people there were smiling too.
"Success!" a young woman herself started.
"It worked out well!" a young man jumped in the fray.
"Mission complete!" a girl jumped up in success and had a grin on her face. She looked at the older man beside her.
"Oh, I don't think so. Mission complete, yes. Mission done?" the older man complied, pushing his glasses up.
Authoress's notes: GASP! 9 pages! I thought I'd go up to 10! Then that would have been too long…. If you're still with me up to the last page, I CONGRATULATE YOU!!! –shake hands- To my POV, 9 pages are a long read!!! I wouldn't expect anyone to read it to the end… LOL. So??? Didja like it? Did it suck? Was it bad? Awful? Not what you expected? Well? WHAT?! Give me a review to let me know! I'd be glad to take constructive criticism, and flames will be thrown in the fireplace along with my idiotic classmates. They bug you to DEATH. (singing) THEY BUG YOU TO THE LEFT! THEY BUG YOU TO THE RIGHT! (stops singing) Like ants… or anything annoying… I'll be waiting for that review! TOODLES!
What did Jade mean at the end, eh??? (wink) Okay, how many words did I type?! (falls off chair laughing)