Disclaimer: I do NOT own Tales of the Abyss!
Also, this is a story I'd been thinking about. Jade being faced with the demons of his past in full force as he comes into contact with a Replica of himself. Also his hatred for the one who made this possible.

Eyes slowly opened to new surroundings. It was 1 in the afternoon at the Curtiss Manor, and a stranger curled up under the covers, cowering in fear of what was going to happen. When nothing happened, the boy relaxed. This didn't last long, as he immediatly curled up at the sound of the door opening.

A tall man in a blue military uniform softly closed the door behind him. He pushed his glasses up as he looked around the room. "My, I could have sworn I'd left him in here..." To any normal person, this would have sounded sincere. Walking around the room slowly, he stopped next to the bed. "Oh, playing hide-and-seek, are we?" Swiftly pulling the covers off of the yound man, he grinned. "Found you."

The young man yelped in surprise and looked up at the familiar voice. He'd heard it once. Eyes widening, the yound man couldn't help but shake a little. "You..."

Smile not faultering for even a moment, the man with the long dirty blond hair replied. "I am Colonel Jade Curtiss, Third Division of the Malkuth Military."

Before he could say another word, the young man moved away, stopping at the wall behind the bed. "No...I'm Jade!" He was truely unsure of what to make of these strange events. Looking all around, the boy shook. "W-where is he..."

Giving a skeptical look, the Necromancer inquired. "Where is who?"

"My...M-master..." Again, that fearful look, and it pained the Colonel to see it.

Stepping closer, Jade smiled softly, which was very uncharacteristic of him. "You mean...Dist the Runny?" Pushing his glasses up, something he often did while deep in thought, he sighed. "He got away. But that is not important." Reaching a gloved hand out to the injured boy, Jade sighed. "I'm not going to hurt you. Either way, I have arranged for a Seventh Fonist to take a look at you. If you would come with me, I can ensure that all your physical pain will be nothing more than a memory."

The boy was on his guard as he considered his options. Wait, options? Since when did he ever have options? Taking the hand before him, he got up and nearly fell. The older man caught him before he could hit the floor, and assisted him in getting down the stairs.

At the bottom, Jade was greated by a familiar voice. "Jade?"

The younger of the two tightened his hold on the elder. The Necromancer looked over to the one he knew as Tear Grants, and smiled. "Tear, I would like you to heal this boy." Bringing him over, he saw the confusion in her eyes. "I'll explain everything later. Just be careful with him."

Tear gasped when she saw the injuries, and Jade had to hold the boy in place so he couldn't run. Smiling, she offered a hand. "I'm Tear. I would like to heal your injuries, if that is alright with you." Brushing her hair to the side, she had the softest look in her eyes.

The young man weighed his options. Again, options. Why did he feel as if he even had a choice? He never had a choice. Convinced by the sincerity she showed, he slowly stepped forward. "Okay..."

Jade couldn't help but be reminded of his own past. He himself was a rather quiet individual, speaking only when he needed to. Just looking at the boy was enough to upset his stomache. Now he truely understood what Luke must have been feeling when he first saw Asch.

A bright flash indicated the beginning of the healing process, and the boy jumped a bit at the sudden display of light. Noticing his fear, Tear had an idea. Her Hymns always but people at ease. "Toue Rei Zue Kuroa Ryuo Toue Zue, Kuroa Ryuo Zue Toue Ryuo Rei Neu Ryuo Zue, Va Rei Zue Toue Neu Toue Ryuo Toue Kuroa, Ryuo Rei Kuroa Ryuo Zue Rei Va Zue Rei, Va Neu Va Rei Va Neu Va Zue Rei, Kuroa Ryuo Kuroa Neu Toue Rei Kuroa Ryuo Zue Rei Va, Rei Va Neu Kuroa Toue Rei Rei." As she finished singing, almost all the injuries were completely healed. The only thing left was the various scars from the more vicious things that had been done to the boy.

Looking up at Tear in awe, the boy gave a very light smile. "Your voice...It's beautiful..."

Tear blushed a bit at the compliment, but nodded just the same. "Thank you. How are you feeling?"

Tilting his head for a moment, the boy thought. "Actually...It doesn't hurt anymore. Does that song have some kind of healing properties?"

"You could say that." Tear answered sheepishly. She had a huge soft spot for anything cute, and the way the boy was acting at the moment was very cute indeed. "What's your name?"

Shrugging, the boy answered. "Jade."

Before anything more could be said, the REAL Jade turned and frowned. "No, you are not Jade. I do not care what that man told you. It's already bad enough having a Rappig named after me."

Tilting her head to the side, Tear inquired. "But...Then what IS his name?"

Thinking for a moment, the Necromancer sighed. "I suppose I'll have to give him one. Let me think on it." With that, Jade left the room.

Sighing, the boy looked at Tear. "That man...Why does he have the same name as me?"

Unable to answer, Tear shook her head. "I do not know." Not that she didn't really know. She had her suspicions, but she didn't want to get overly involved in matters she didn't fully understand.

-
Pacing back and forth, the Necromancer sighed. This really was a problem. He would have to inquire later about the things that had happened to him, but for now, he decided it was best to let him spend some time with someone capable of showing the feelings he needed at the moment. The more he thought about this whole situation, the angrier he got. It wasn't long before he was unconciously stomping across the room, brows knitted together in thought. One of the nearby maids who saw him knew better than to appraoch him in this state. It was extremely rare for the Colonel to be this angry, and the results could be disastrous.

Realizing the direction his thoughts were going, Jade chose something else to mull over. He had yet to give the young doppelganger a name. He refused to call him Jade, as that name was his own. After a few long moments of thought, he headed back to the room where they were.

Making a sound to get their attention, the Colonel looked them both over. "Well, I trust you've calmed him down?" It actually hurt to see the younger man look at him in fear, yet he couldn't quite understand why.

Peeking out from behind Tear through crimson eyes, the boy frowned. "I-..." It seemed the boy was thinking of saying something, but no words came.

Before Tear could intervene, the Necromancer motioned her to stop. "Lucian Curtiss, it's about time we got you cleaned up."

The young man that was newly dubbed with the name of Lucian tilted his head curiously. "Lu...cian?" Lucian had realized by the serious gaze he received that he was the one in question. Looking back to Tear one last time, he followed Jade out of the room.

Once they arrived at the bathroom, Lucian looked inside and hesitated. Jade motioned for him to enter. "Go get cleaned up. I'll be back with something your size." Without another word, Jade left to look through his belongings. He still had some of his clothes from his younger days, and after finding a matching suit, he headed back only to find that Lucian was standing in the bathroom doing nothing. The boy was looking around frantically as if expecting something to jump out at him.

He jumped when the Colonel entered the room and closed the door behind him. Sighing, he pushed his glasses up. "Lucian, take your clothes off." The response he got was quite alarming. The boy stepped back with a disgusted look on his face. The Necromancer chuckled. "I see. Rest assured, I will not harm you." Reaching for a towel nearby, he held it up. "You are filthy. As long as you are in my manor, you will not walk around like that. Now hurry up and get undressed so you can take a bath." Holding the towel between them, he sighed. "There. I can't see you. Now go ahead."

Lucian hesitantly began removing his dirty clothes. Once finished, he looked around. "Now what...?"

Dropping the towel to the floor, Jade walked over to the bath. "You climb into the water and sit there." Again, he felt that anger rising inside him. Lucian was clueless. Just how exactly had he been treated?

Doing as he was told, Lucian climbed into the water and sat down. He flinched at the warm feeling of the water enveloping his lower body, then relaxed.

Jade grabbed a few things from the shelves before returning to his side. "This is for your hair. Don't get it in your eyes."

It was a while before they finished, Jade having to instruct him through the process. After, he helped him step out of the bath and stopped when he saw his back. Lucian shivered when Jade ran his hand down the rather greusome lines that still remained. "Master Jade...What are you-"

Before another word was said, Jade spun him around to look straight at him. His quick actions and merciless gaze no doubt scared the boy out of his mind. "Drop the honorifics. I am not your Master. You belong to no one." Noticing the hurt expression he received, he sighed. "What I'm trying to say is, have a bit of pride. The Curtiss family bows to no one." Passing the clothes he had previously retrieved to Lucian, he turned away. "Put those on."

Doing as he was told, Lucian began to put the articles of clothing on. He had to look at Jade a few times to figure out what articles went first, but he eventually got them on. "Done."

Turning to look the other over, the Necromancer nodded in approval. "Very good." Motioning the other to follow, he lead the boy out into the main room. There stood Emporer Peony, and several other important Malkuth figures, as well as Tear.

Peony stepped forward, unable to contain a small chuckle. "Ah, Jade! And if it isn't Jade Jr."

Jade frowned at the joke. "His name is Lucian." After bowing, he looked over to Lucian to do the same.

Tilting his head, Lucian hesitated. "But...The Curtiss family bows to no one...right?"

"Right." Looking over to the emperor, Jade sighed. "I suppose you're here to inquire about the incident." The Necromancer motioned for the guests to sit wherever they liked. Turning to a maid, he sighed. "If you would, please make Lucian something to eat. Something filling." He motioned for Lucian to follow the maid out of the room before turning to his guests.

Peony was the first to speak. "Jade, have you gone to Belkend for an examination?"

Sitting in a chair opposite of the emperor, Jade groaned. "No, and I don't plan to at the moment. I have my hands full as it is. And before you say anything more, I know better than any of you the side effects of Fomicry. I assure you, if something happens, I will go to Belkend."

Sighing Peony gave up. "Always the stubborn one. Anyway, about the incident?"

Jade had been hoping to avoid this conversation for as long as possible. Sighing, he began his explaination. "I found Lucian at the lab." The very memory burned inside him. His younger self, cowering in the corner, with Dist atop his mobile chair working on several formulas until he caught sight of the Necromancer. "I have yet to interrogate the boy, but I'm fairly certain this is the work of Dist."

The meeting lasted quite a while, with the Necromancer revealing as little as possible. He hated stating facts that he himself was unsure of. Once his guests left, he let out a sigh of relief. "Tear, if you like, you may leave as well. It's been a long day." Not waiting for an answer, he left the room in search of Lucian.

The manor was decently sized, but Jade had a fairly good sense of direction. He didn't often return to the manor as he had no need. As he passed one of the rooms, a maid stepped out to greet him. "Master Jade, Lucian is resting now. I've ensured that he received a decent meal. If you'll excuse me, I have other matters to attend to." The maid hurried off for her next task.

Jade slowly opened the door as not to wake the sleeping Lucian. Sofly closing it, the Necromancer pulled a chair up to the bedside. He decided that he would spend this time thinking of what he should do next.
-

Note: Not sure if this is any good, it was just a thought I was having. If you all like it enough, I might just continue it. :/

Basically revolves around the idea of Saphir making a Replica of Jade to take his frustrations out on, and getting said replica taken away. Or something. I have it all planned out. Kinda...