Hi guys! This is my new story, a continuation of Tales of the Abyss. I think the ending is awesome, but I always wondered why it took Luke over two years to return. He's obviously aged in that time, and is wearing different clothes than when he vanished, so he can't have just appeared out of the blue two years later like some people think. Having amnesia during that time kind of works, but is still slightly unbelievable - surely someone would have found him, since so many people were actively searching, and his red hair isn't exactly commonplace. So, here's my version of what happened!
Obviously, since it takes place immediately after the ending of the game, this story has full game spoilers. If you haven't yet played the game, I highly recommend you at least watch the anime adaption, so you have some idea of what's going on.
Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of the Abyss or any of its characters. If you like this story, please support the original creators, so they can continue to inspire writers like us. Thanks!
~o~
Chapter 1: A Final Gift
As Luke watched his friends leave, one by one, he felt his death approaching.
The same sensation he'd been feeling more and more frequently over the past few weeks crawled over his skin, like the icy fingers of the grim reaper. Everything around him took on a golden hue as his skin began to glow slightly, and he could almost feel his fonons separating from his body and drifting into the atmosphere. But for some reason, this time it didn't hurt.
Maybe because the pain in his heart was so much worse.
All of his friends were walking away from him now, hurrying so as not to get crushed when this place collapsed, and Luke knew he'd never see them again. He'd promised to return to them once he freed Lorelei, but he knew deep in his heart that he wouldn't live through this. He'd used too much power in that final fight, and now the only thing holding his fonons together was his own determination to complete the job.
Feeling his own mortality drawing nearer, he began to tremble. He quickly turned away, not wanting anyone to see his face in his moment of weakness. They all knew he was going to die, he could see it in their eyes as they said their farewells, but he still didn't want them to see him like this. He wanted their last memory of him to be a happy one.
At the last moment, he heard Tear hesitate, and whisper something under her breath – he couldn't quite make out the sounds, but in a moment of clarity, he understood anyway. I love you. He smiled softly, and the pain in his heart increased tenfold. If only they'd had more time...
But time was the one thing they didn't have. Eldrant was falling apart, and Lorelei was still trapped – if Luke didn't free it soon, the Score would continue on its path to destruction, and all of their hard work would be for nothing.
Steeling his resolve, he closed off his heart and waited for the sound of his friends' footsteps to fade into the distance. Once they were far enough away, he lifted the Key of Lorelei high into the air, filling it with Seventh Fonons, and struck it deep into the stone. As he slowly rotated the sword, an intricate glyph appeared on the ground beneath him, spreading out into graceful symbols and patterns. With a final 'click', the fonic seal was released, and the key began to vanish.
As he stood there, wondering what would happen next, the fonons that had composed the key rearranged themselves in the air around him, becoming a translucent blue barrier. Surprised, he reached out to touch it, but stopped when he felt his feet begin to sink into the stone. The platform around him shattered, sending slabs of stone raining down into the rooms below as the barrier drew him inexorably downward.
Room after room collapsed as he passed, and he briefly wondered if his friends had escaped in time. No, they must have – even if they couldn't find a safe path to the ground, Tear had her fonic hymns, and she would protect them.
As he continued to descend, he noticed a familiar figure falling from the floor above. As if being pulled downward by the same force as Luke was, the body landed on top of the barrier, and then passed through, landing gently in his arms. He stared at the limp figure in shock.
Asch. This man had the same face as his, because it was his – Asch was his original, the one he'd been replicated from seven years ago, and the one who had lost everything when Luke had been switched out with him after the kidnapping. He'd lost his life in battle less than an hour earlier, holding the enemy at bay so Luke could reach Master Van in time, even though Luke represented everything that had gone wrong in his life.
Luke already knew that Asch had died - through their mysterious connection, he'd felt the swords stabbing into Asch's body when it happened, and then he had felt Asch's remaining life force joining with his shortly afterward. He'd felt his presence in the final battle, lending him strength, and knew that he could never have defeated Master Van without him.
But it was still heartbreaking to see Asch's body lying there, pale and cold, and to know he would never move again. He looked so peaceful in death, so different from how he had looked before, and Luke couldn't tear his eyes away from him – it almost felt like he was holding his own body in his arms.
When he was finally able to look away, he realized that he'd descended far below the surface, and was now deep inside the planet's core. A massive amount of Seventh Fonons swirled around outside of the barrier, forming a vaguely humanoid shape that shifted and burned with unimaginable power.
Lorelei.
Free at last, the aggregate sentience of the Seventh Fonon paused in front of Luke. Its golden eyes bored into his, and almost seemed to smile.
"So the world did not vanish. To think, the future I saw would be rewritten. You have done admirably."
Luke watched as Lorelei's flames circled around him, then, with a note of exultation, it soared up into the sky. Finally, it was free of its earthly confines, able to watch over the world from the Fon Belt, high above the planet.
As soon as it left, Luke felt his consciousness begin to fade, as though Lorelei had taken the last of his life force with it. Asch's body grew heavy in his arms, and a tingling sensation spread over his entire body. His time was up.
In that moment, only one thought remained in his head. I don't want to die! I want to go back with everyone else, to see how much the world will change without the Score. I want to be with Tear, to stay by her side and maybe even grow old with her. I want to hang out with Guy, like old times, and complain about how unfair life is.
But...he'd never be able to do any of those things. He was only seven years old, but he'd been asked to shoulder the burdens of an entire planet, to save it from destruction. He didn't regret giving his life for the world, not really, but he still wished he could have stayed a little longer, if only to make sure his friends would be okay without him.
He sighed. Well, I guess I've done all I can do, Tear. The rest...is up to you.
Closing his eyes, he let himself go. The tingling feeling vanished as an incredible wave of heat engulfed him, washing away all of his other senses. He felt his mind spreading out, dissipating along with his body as he melted back into the fonons he was created from.
Suddenly, he was outside his body, looking in. He saw Asch's still form, now lying alone in the translucent blue sphere. The multicolored trails of memory particles swirled around him, while the crumbled pieces of Eldrant sank ever deeper into the core. His mind spread out, farther and farther, and he found himself back on the surface, staring down at his friends as they climbed out of the ruins.
He watched as Jade gave Tear a hand, and she stepped onto solid ground again. Guy and Natalia walked quietly off to the side, while Anise and Mieu ran ahead. One by one, they stopped a short distance away, then turned to look back at the center of the island, watching the platform where they'd seen him last.
A bright beam of light shot out from that spot as Lorelei emerged from its prison, and Luke felt his mind being pulled into it. Fonstones glittered all around him as his spirit raced up into the heavens. When he finally stopped moving, he turned and looked back down at the planet, and was amazed.
It was so beautiful. Blue oceans, green forests, brown mountains, white clouds - all encompassed in an enormous sphere, floating right in front of him. There was no sign of the miasma anywhere, and though he could clearly see the scars where the land had been lowered, he could also see the signs that it was healing.
Seeing the world like this, he knew everything would be all right.
Suddenly he noticed a golden form hovering beside him, watching his reaction. He smiled. Thank you, Lorelei. You let me see this before I died, right?
He sensed its agreement, tinged with joy and laughter, and turned to look back at the planet one last time.
Okay, I'm ready now.
The last thing he felt was his mind being pulled back into the core, and everything slowly faded to black.
~o~
