Serendipity

By: seraphimstarlight

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Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of the Abyss.

Author's Note: A fic to celebrate the long-awaited opening of the Tales of the Abyss category!! This takes place right at the beginning of the story after Asch attacks Luke onboard the Tartarus. AU because Natalia is in the party for this fic. Also, there's probably some OOCness for Asch though I tried my best to keep it to a minimum.

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He hadn't expected to see her there. In fact, he hadn't even seen her at first. One minute he was poised to deliver the finishing blow against that foolish replica who had stolen his life from him, and the next thing he knew, she was there.

At first, he thought that he was hallucinating—that, somehow, that dreck had managed to finish him off. Needless to say, he quickly dismissed that as impossible. His next thought was that the Necromancer had somehow snuck up on him. As far as he knew, however, Largo had hit the man with a Fon Slot Seal, effectively crippling him for the time being and allowing him to be contained by a sufficiently large group of Oracle Knights. Maybe that hymnist had sung him to sleep, and this was nothing more than a dream that would fade upon waking. After all, there was no other explanation for why she would be here before him.

Even if she was shielding that bloody replica.

He should have let the blade fall—become a death knell for them and put the both out of his misery. At least that way, the replica would die, but, then, so would she.

He could not permit even the thought.

In a motion so swift he was not even aware of it, he flung the sword aside with a deft flick of his wrist, sending the weapon skidding across the deck of the Tartarus, the metal blade singing against the hull.

For a moment, her emerald eyes widened in shock, and he had the half-delirious thought that she might remember him—that maybe the years of separation had done nothing to weaken the bond between them—that maybe the changes brought about by the years meant nothing in the face of that bond.

And change them the years certainly had. The last time he had seen her they had both been seven years old. She had had longer hair back then—glossy, golden curls that fell past her shoulders. And her endless eyes had then been so innocent, not filled with the rage and hatred with which she now stared at him.

Dimly, he wondered what she thought of what he had become since they had last seen each other those many years ago. Did she even realize he was the same person who had "proposed" to her so long ago?

Judging from her venomous expression as she pressed the blade of the replica's discarded weapon against the side of his neck, he assumed not. When she had picked up the weapon and turned it on him, he didn't know.

"You knave!" she seethed as she pressed the blade harder against his neck, "You dare turn a blade against my fiancé?"

Fiancé. The word stung him so much more than he dared admit at the moment.

The blade trembled against his skin. "Do you even know who I am?" she demanded, shifting her position slightly.

Sensing a weakness in her stance, Asch took the opportunity to grab hold of her wrist and force the blade away from his neck. She strained against his grip, trying to regain control over the weapon but was no match for his strength.

"Let go of me!" she hissed.

Really, he could have let go of her. After all, he already had control of the weapon; there was no need to maintain his hold over the princess. Still. After all this time, she was here, so tantalizingly close. Something within him wouldn't let him surrender her now.

Instead, he used his grip on her arm to pull her closer when she did not move. Ordinarily, he would never have forced her to do anything against her will, but this situation was quickly going out of his control.

From his position closest to the door, he could hear the Oracle Knights he had left to herd the prisoners from the control room to the makeshift brig below decks advancing steadily down the hallway, undoubtedly accompanied by Largo the Black Lion or Arietta the Wild. And, were either to find her here, she would be locked away with the others. And though her safety was assured for the time being even if she were to be captured by the other God-Generals, he would certainly lose the opportunity which now presented itself—the chance to explain things to her.

He leaned towards her.

"Listen," he said as calmly as he could manage, given that their faces were scant inches apart, "you have two choices right now. One, I can hand you over the other God-Generals and they can do with you as they see fit, or, I can take you with me."

"And why is one better than the other?" she hissed.

The anger in her words made him flinch involuntarily. "Because I do know you," he said, his voice more emotional than he would have liked, "better than you could ever imagine."

For a moment surprise flickered across her face—whether from his words or simply his tone, he could not tell—only to be quickly replaced by disbelief. "What do you mean by that?" she asked, incredulous.

He pulled back and shook his head. "Not here. The other God-Generals will be here any minute."

She studied him carefully. "You'll just ransom me to Kimlasca," she said at last, "or maybe just kill me outright."

He drew in a sharp breath. She may as well have just punched him in the gut with those words. "No, I won't," he said, his voice shaking slightly, "I swear it."

She eyed him cautiously. "How can I trust you to keep your word?"

The footsteps in the hallway were getting even closer. If he were going to convince her, he would have to do it now. He would have to play his trump card.

"Because," he said drawing in a deep, steadying breath, "I swear on my name as Luke fon Fabre."

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Author's Note:

I actually came up with the idea for this fic a while ago and put off writing it because of And the Clock Struck Twelve. Don't worry, I'm not giving up on that, I just wanted to get this down before I forgot it. Also, sorry about the fast pace of the story. I'll try to slow it down next chapter.

This story will probably be short (about five chapters or so at most) and will either be written very quickly or be written inbetween chapters of the other fic. Umm, anyways, until next time.