Yup, yup, here's the next chapter. It is now nighttime on the same day. Then it fast forwards to before the Radiation Gate at the Ketterberg Casino. You'll know it when you see it.
Oh, forgot to mention it before, but if you haven't already guessed this has spoilers…so, yeah.
Disclaimer: Tales of the Abyss- I love it, don't own it, end of story.
Ugh, latrine duty… Guy trudged slowly back to his room. He shivered as he recalled the horrifying experience of cleaning the feces of the other inhabitants. Of course, the fact that the stomach virus was going around, and the toilets were backing up with Yulia knows what, didn't help at all.
Opening and closing the door to his and Pere's room quietly, Guy collapsed upon his bed and laid there. Moonlight spilt down through the window and spread out on the floor. The door opened again softly, and looking up, Guy saw Pere stroll in and sit on his own bed.
Facing the teen he spoke kindly, "So, the favorite punishment for naughty boys who skip out on chores?"
"How could you tell?" Guy didn't hold back on the sarcasm.
"Well, at the rate you're stinking up the room, you might have to sleep outside tonight."
The both of them laughed heartily at that.
When they were done, Pere spoke up, "So, helping out the young master Luke, eh?"
"How did you know?" Guy sat up and regarded his teacher with curiosity.
"The boy told me himself," Pere shrugged, "Kept saying how you'd both made some great presents for the Parent's Day."
There was a pause of speech between them. Guy lay on his bed staring at the ceiling, and Pere sat on his staring at Guy. The sound of cricket chirps riding on the warm air filled the room from the window.
"Gailardia…you still intend to kill him, correct?" Pere's voice was strong, but Guy could detect a slight fatigue in it.
Guy rolled over, facing away from him and mumbled, "My family…must be avenged…"
Pere continued to look ahead, "Rest assured. If you give the order, I will exterminate him and anyone else I can take down. I will do as you command…"
Pere took a deep breath and let out an even deeper sigh, "….He is a good boy. Albeit, not the brightest in the land. But…he has a kind spirit; as does many in this manor, in this city, and I sure, in this kingdom." Pere chuckled lightly, "I suppose age can make even a seasoned warrior such as I soft. When I see the smile my flowers bring to Luke, I'm reminded of how I've…become fond of him…and I can't help but wonder if you have too…"
Again came the silence, this time broken by Guy pulling the covers over his head with a muffled 'good night'.
"Good night, Master Gailardia."
The next day…
"Oh! Luke! How beautiful!"
Lady Susanne had opened the box and was now holding the pendant up to the light to admire it.
"Is it not splendid?" she asked a maid who was standing off to the side.
"Very elegant, my lady," she bowed her head and smiled.
"Happy Parent's Day!" Luke hugged his mother around the waist, who squeezed him tightly in return.
"Thank you, Luke. I will treasure it always…" she pulled away and looked sadly at her son, "…I am sorry your father could not be here. He has important business at the palace. I have sent him the gift, and I am sure he will like it very much."
Luke's smile dropped a little, and said, "Oh...okay."
Lady Susanne took her son's hand in her own and said, "Come, let us go have breakfast."
"I'll be right there, mama. I gotta do 3omething' first," Luke ran off as his mother looked confusedly after him.
Luke came bursting into the entrance hall, nearly knocking down a gaggle of passerby. By the front pillar that adorned a beautiful blade that his father called a 'trophy', was Guy helping Pere move some new gardening equipment that they had just bought. Running up to them, he stopped before Guy, huffing and puffing. The two looked at the boy curiously as he caught his breath.
"I've been lookin' for Guy everywhere!" Luke finally said.
"Ah! I just remembered! One of the girls asked me to help out with some rodent or other in the kitchens," Pere exclaimed. He placed his pots and spades by the pillar and waved to Guy, "See you later."
"Uh…okay…"Guy scratched his head and put down his burden as well. He then turned to Luke, "So, what's up?"
Luke reached into one of his pockets and withdrew something clenched in his fist.
"Mama was very happy wid the present," he said, still keeping the object hidden in his hand.
"Hmm? Oh, that's nice," Guy wasn't sure where this was going.
Luke thrust out his fist, still clenched, "A present. For Guy."
He opened his hand and quickly thrust the object into Guy's.
Guy, not looking at his hand yet, asked, "As a thank you?"
"No," Luke shook his head, "As a Parent's Day gift."
Guy's eyes widened and his mouth gaped, a…a Parent's Day…gift?
"Guy says he doesn't have a mama and papa to give gifts to, so Luke will give gifts to Guy instead! 'Cause Guy is like Luke's parent! Luke's papa!"
Guy stared wordlessly at Luke, his mind numb with mixed emotions. He looked down to his open hand and saw the gold glint. There was Luke's good luck medallion, attached to a lime green ribbon with a necklace clasp.
He held it up and let it dangle in front of him.
"But…Luke this is your…"
"Nah, it's okay! I want you to have it!" Luke quoted Guy.
Guy started in surprise. Luke had never used 'you' before. He mostly spoke in third person. It was like Luke was talking straight to him. Directly. So that Guy knew he meant it.
Still speechless, Guy took the necklace and fastened it around his neck. When he drew his hands away, the medallion sat more like a choker than a necklace.
Luke smacked a hand to his forehead, "Aw! It's too short! There was lots of lace, but I kept messing up and it got shorter and shorter…I thought maybe it was still okay, but…" He glanced at it, "I guess I should have asked for help…but I wanted to make it by myself."
"Luke…I…" Guy began.
"I don't wanna hear anyhtin' 'bout being a servant!" Luke said defiantly. Then seeing Guy's doubtful face he added, "Fine. Then, if Guy's not gonna listen, let's make a bet. I'm gonna grow up to be someone Guy can really respect! Someone who deserves to be called Guy's master! And then, Guy will listen when I say he's family!"
For what seemed an eternity, the two held each other's gaze, neither speaking or moving. Slowly, a smile crept on Guy's lips.
"Okay then. I will await the day," he said, holding out his arm.
Luke beamed a smile back, and took Guy's hand and they shook on it.
An unbeknownst to the boys, an observer watched through a crack in the door. Pere chuckled and stood straight, "Well, that turned out better than I thought." He turned and walked down the hall, a smile on his face, "I better go work on those 'rodents', hehehe."
Years later…
"Ah! Luke! You lost another game of poker?!" Anise wailed melodramatically.
She stood behind him, watching with forlorn as he handed over the precious money he had just lost in his poor display of a poker game. Then again, it could hardly be called a 'game', since he had started loosing the moment he put down a bet.
"Hey! Give me a break! This is one of my first times!" The old Luke would have added a 'shut up!' or some other rude remark, but now he merely smiled jokingly and teased, "I don't see you doing any better."
"That's because I'm under aged!!" she wailed again.
"Well, technically, so am I."
She whipped around to the Colonel who she knew would be enjoying this much more than he should be, "Colonel! Couldn't you just convince them to let the adorable Anise play?"
Jade, letting his devilish smile show full force, said, "So sorry Anise, but I'm afraid I couldn't. Even had I wanted to."
"Liar! You're the Colonel of the Malkuth Imperial Forces, Third Division, the brother of the Governor of Ketterburg, and the best friend of the Emperor!" she put her hands on her hips and pouted.
Jade's normally stoic face slipped oh so slightly in annoyance as he said, "I would prefer you not flaunting that last title about."
"Forget it Anise. Watching you squirm like this is just too good to pass up for him." Luke had long abandoned the poker tables and was now standing beside the comical pair.
"It sounds as if you make me out to be a person who takes pleasure in others' strife," Jade said with mock hurt, though his face showed no such thing.
Luke merely sighed and ruffled his hair, which was much easier when he had short hair.
"So you don't mind him loosing all of our hard-earned money then!" the young girl scowled.
"Oh, that's no problem," Jade shrugged nonchalantly and pointed to the machine where you pick numbers, "Guy can win it all back for us in spades."
Sure enough, there was Guy, along with Natalia and Tear, and beside him there was a bucket nearly filled with coins. The trio walked over in time to see Guy add to his stash."
"My! All the right numbers again!" Natalia exclaimed as she looked down into the bucket, "You are quite good at this Guy."
"Oh, Guy! That's wonderful! Much better than Luke!" Anise jumped up in joy and ran over to hug him, and predictably, he flinched and ducked behind Luke.
"Ah, you're welcome,' he said shakily. He still wasn't used to the whole female interaction thing.
"Hmm, come to think of it, Guy has had good fortune for the longest time," Natalia pondered.
"Well, that's to be expected," Guy winked, "I've got a good luck charm."
"What? Really?" Anise was overflowing with curiosity.
"I didn't know you were interested in those sort of things," Tear mused.
Guy simply said, "It's special. From a person dear to me."
"That medallion on your choker, I presume?" from Jade it was more of a statement than a question.
Guy was used to the Colonel by now and wasn't at all surprised, "Yep."
"Ooooh, is it from a girl?" Anise smiled mischievously, "She confessed her love to you, but alas, you couldn't be together until you conquered your fear. So instead, she gave you a charm to protect you."
"Wh-what?!" Guy stuttered.
"Now, now Anise. It's not nice to tease Guy like that," Jade smirked.
"Well, I think I'd rather have it from her than you," Guy sighed.
"Do either of you know who it's from?" Tear asked Natalia and Luke as Jade and Anise continued to tease Guy in the background.
"As a matter of fact," Natalia frowned in concentration, "I just recall that one day he started wearing it all of a sudden. Shortly after Luke's 'kidnapping'. He never told me where he got it from."
Luke was just as clueless, "Beats me. He's been wearing for as long as I can remember."
"Actually, for longer, it seems," Guy clapped Luke on the shoulder, "You wouldn't remember, would you?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Luke cocked his head.
Guy shook his head, "Don't worry about it."
"I suppose it could be 'lucky'," Natalia interjected, "He had obtained it at around the time a nasty stomach virus was going around. And everyone in the castle and manor area had gotten it. Except Guy that is; he was perfectly healthy the whole time." She then turned to Luke, "Though as I recall, you had the worst time of it Luke. You had not gotten it until later, but when you did, you were bedridden for almost a week."
"Aw! Poor Luke!" Anise latched unto his arm.
I still feel guilty about that, Guy thought as he put a hand to his face, he got it that bad because he gave me the medallion. For the week after, he had nothing but bad luck.
"Hey, Anise, it's not like I can remember that anyway," Luke waved a hand through the air.
"A-anyway," Guy bent down and picked up his winnings, "Who wants some dinner? It's on me tonight."
"Alright!" Anise cheered, "Let's go someplace fancy!"
"Careful, Guy," Luke joked, "She'll probably order the most expensive thing on the menu."
The group laughed merrily as they exited the Ketterberg Casino.
That night…
The breeze was gentle, and the cold night air was refreshing. Small specks of snow had begun to fall upon the silver city.
Guy brushed the flakes out of his hair and leaned forward on the railing to the balcony of the hotel. The girls had all retreated to their rooms soon after dinner, and Jade and Luke had sat down in front of the fire to chat. Wanting to get some fresh air, Guy had stepped out to the balcony, and was now staring out at the landscape.
The sound of the door opening behind him caught Guy's attention and he turned around.
"So sorry to bother you," Jade said, closing the door.
"No, you're not," Guy smiled.
"Guy, why would you say that?" Jade asked innocently.
Guy rolled his eyes and turned back to the scenery.
"It was, Luke, wasn't it?"
"What?" Guy side glanced at Jade, who was also looking out over the city.
"He was the one who gave you the medallion."
"You really do know everything," Guy turned so that his back leaned against the rail.
"Sometimes a little too late…" Jade muttered, eyes downcast.
"Hey, we all make mistakes," Guy shrugged, "If you're talking about the whole replica thing, don't sweat it. Sure it was used for some…less than good intent, but without it we wouldn't have our loveable Luke, or our good friend Ion."
"We would not have a homicidal/suicidal Sync, a temperamental Asch, a mentally unbalanced Van obsessed with mass genocide, or an army of replicas who resemble our dearly departed (Guy winced as he thought of Mary)," Jade retorted sharply. He couldn't help but think back to Professor Nebilim as well.
"I'm probably being selfish, but I think his life is worth all of the hardship," Guy looked up to the sky, "And many other good things came out of it: we got rid of the miasma, right?"
"At a cost," Jade said stoically.
"…" Guy watched Jade, then said, "You feel responsible for them, don't you? The replicas."
"…"
Guy stood straight and rested a finger on the medallion, "Y'know, I really had planned on killing Luke when I was younger, and hungry for revenge. I had so much hate, I was prepared, but…he grew on me. Now I'm quite fond of him, as I'm sure you and everyone else is." Guy folded his arms in front of him, "He may not remember giving this to me, or the promise we made, but I'll be there to remind him if he needs it."
"I suppose, just as we do not often remember our early childhood, he does not remember right after he was born," Jade shrugged, shook his head, and sighed, "Indeed, replica mental growth is intriguing. He could probably speak and have advanced thoughts as well, even though he was technically a year old. They are…intriguing."
"If you're referring to Luke is, then yeah he is," Guy agreed, "And for him, I am grateful to you, as we all are."
"Well, that's enough cit-chat," Jade turned to go inside, "These old bones are getting tired. It would be wise to get some rest."
With that he walked in. Guy heard Jade slip into the bedroom, and decided to go in himself. He made sure the door was shut tight so no cold air could come in, then strode across the living room area.
He stopped himself in front of the fire place as he noticed someone in one of the chairs. By the dying light of the embers, he could make out the figure of Luke, sleeping soundly.
Guy couldn't help but chuckle lightly to himself. Then, he noticed Luke's head resting on a small pillow, and a blanket draped over him. The blanket must have recently been put on him, because he had not tangled himself up in it yet. Guy smirked as he tucked in the blanket about Luke and ruffled his hair.
Haha, Jade you big softie, he thought.
He grabbed a blanket and pillow of his own and laid down on another chair.
"G'night Luke."
Yoshi! Alright, there ya go….you know what's coming….here it is….REVIEW!…yeah, and if you get the chance, tell all your friends ;D.
For those who like Tales of Symphonia, I also have one called Genesis of Infinity, if you're interested.
Well, see ya next time. Shiroyanagi, out.