Hope you enjoyed that first half of episode 1. Now, here's the second half, where Jade and Anise make their first appearances, as well as the God Generals.
Not much else to say about this really, except please read and review.
Disclaimer: I do not own Tales Of The Abyss.
"TEAR! SNAP OUT OF IT! WE'RE IN TROUBLE HERE!"
Luke shouted into the megaphone as loudly as he could, but Tear still wasn't snapping out of the funk. He had tried everything- drums, cymbals, alarm clocks, gongs, bagpipes and even those trumpet things that seem to have become popular ever since the World Cup. But she was still spacing out over the Cheagles. Not the best situation when being surrounded by Ligers. They were already chasing after the Cheagles- or, from their point of view, lunch, while another group were surrounding Luke and Tear.
"So cute…." Tear continued her trance like state.
"Grrrr, what's it gonna take?" Luke continued to get annoyed by the increasingly desperate situation.
"Roar." The Ligers continued to close in on our heroes, choosing not to attack for whatever reason.
"Great." thought Luke. "Now I gotta get these things away from us…."
Luke looked down to see a Cheagle wandering around, seemingly unaware of the chaos that was going on around it. (Probably blind if you ask me, but you didn't, so…..) Luke quickly picked up the hapless creature and waved it in front of the Ligers, their eyes following it as he did so.
"Hey!" he shouted, whistling. "It's this little guy you're after, right? You want him? Sure you do. You want him? Go get him!"
Luke threw the Cheagle deep into the forest. The Ligers looked in it's direction for a few moments, then decided they couldn't be bothered to chase after it and pounce on Luke instead, mauling him. It really wasn't his day.
"Owowowowowowow! This SO isn't my day!"
See? What did I tell you? But just when things seemed at it's bleakest (Or most painful, I forget which….), the blue Cheagle appeared and launched itself at the Ligers attacking Luke. It was a surprisingly powerful attack, as it knocked them all flying! Now free of the monster's constant mauling, Luke dusted himself down and looked at his tiny saviour.
"Mieu mieu?" the creature asked.
"You saved me…" said Luke. "Uh…. Mieu, wasn't it?"
"Mieu! Mieumieumieu!"
"Uh huh. You're going to be a real pain in the butt, aren't you?" It was almost as if Luke felt this little guy would be travelling with him in the future.
"Mieu?" said the creature, tilting it's head to the side. By now, the Ligers had recovered and were now dashing towards Luke and Mieu. Luke looked at them, knowing he'd have to fight them now.
"Okay Luke," he thought to himself. "You can do this. Just remember everything Master Van taught you…"
The Ligers pounced, but Luke jumped into the air and pulled off an impressive roundhouse kick. Jackie Chan would have been proud. Maybe.
"Awesome! Did I do that?" asked Luke, understandably pleased with himself.
"Mieu mieu!" said Mieu.
"Quiet Thing!" Luke snapped back, now getting considerably annoyed at Mieu. Not that there was much time for insults now, as more Ligers were attacking. Luke fended them off as best he could, using more of the moves Van taught him. But there were too many of them, and Luke began to get tired. Bet he can't wait until he becomes an Abyss Ranger!
"Damn it…. This looks bad. I can't fight this many…"
"TURBULENCE!"
An unfamiliar voice sounded, followed by an enormous and powerful gust of wind. Luke shielded his eyes from the blast as the Ligers were all blown away from him. Luke lowered his arm and saw a mysterious looking man with long hair. He was also wearing glasses and what looked like an important uniform.
"How disappointing." The man said. "I was hoping that Arte wouldn't wipe the whole lot out…."
As he adjusted his glasses, another Liger appeared and pounced on him. But before it was able to land on him, a giant doll dropped down from the trees and landed on it. Luke looked at the big yellow doll and shuddered at how creepy it was. It WAS pretty damn creepy…. On it's back was a young girl, not that much older than 12 or 13. She was wearing a pink uniform, while her brown hair was tied in pigtails. The man turned to her.
"Could I advise you not to cut it so close next time, Anise?" he said. So that was the girl's name.
"Sorry, Colonel, I kinda got distracted by these things!" The girl replied.
"No matter. I believe we have them on the run anyway."
Even more Ligers attacked, but the man just smirked at them. Suddenly, he made a spear appear out of thin air and twirled it, knocking down several of the beasts at once. The remaining Ligers pounced, but he defeated them just as easily. What a powerhouse!
"Who….. IS this guy?" Said Luke, amazed at what he saw. What was left of the Liger hoard could now see that they stood no chance against this newcomer, and they all ran away. Everyone was safe! Hooray!
"That'll teach 'em!" said Anise. "And don't come back!" As the Ligers left, Tear snapped out of her trance.
"H-huh? Did I miss anything?" she asked.
"Thanks for joining us…." snarled Luke, who was pretty angry that Tear had only snapped out of it now. I mean, seriously, why didn't she do that when everyone was in trouble? Luke looked around and saw the mysterious man having a chat with the talking Cheagle. In the meantime, Anise was playing with Mieu, as I suppose most young girls would do….
"I see. So young Mieu here tried to practice his fire breathing and burned down the Liger's territory by accident. In any case, they shouldn't come back now." said the man.
"Yes, thank you for your help." said the Cheagle.
"Hey! I helped too!" said Luke.
"Yes, but only a little bit." Said the man, rather cuttingly. "Still, you're lucky to be alive. Ligers are very fierce."
"I didn't ask for your opinion…" said an understandably narked Luke. Tear approached the two.
"If I may ask, what's an officer from Malkuth doing in a place like this?" she asked.
"Huh? This guy's from Malkuth?" Said Luke.
"Indeed I am." answered the man. "Anise and I came here to investigate the Liger attacks. You see, Cheagles are sacred animals, and we simply can't have them being attacked like this."
"Well, it looks like the problem has been solved now." said Tear. The talking Cheagle begged to differ.
"Not quite. We still have to punish Mieu for his role in this whole mess." Mieu's ears drooped in a sad way after hearing this. Tear nearly tranced out again seeing this, but Luke stopped her with a single "Don't you dare!"
"Aww, but he didn't mean to burn the forest down…." said Anise.
"I know, but that still doesn't excuse the damage that was caused. So, Mieu, I hereby banish you from these woods for one cycle of the seasons." said the Cheagle. "Further more," it continued, pointing to Luke, "you will spend that cycle in the service of this man here."
Luke looked aghast.
"What? Why me? Why not Mr. Happy over here?" he said, pointing to the man.
"I don't know," he replied, "he does seem to be more attached to you than me."
"Shut up…."
"One more thing." Said the Cheagle. " I will give my ring to you, Mieu, so you can communicate with your new master. Farewell."
The Cheagle removed it's ring and placed it around Mieu's waist.
"Okay! I can talk now! I'll do my best for you, Master!" said Mieu. Luke was instantly annoyed by Mieu's high pitched voice.
"Geez, as if you weren't annoying enough already…." he groaned. Tear slapped him.
"Luke, be nice to him!" she yelled. "But in any case, we should get going now."
"Yes, I couldn't agree more. Said the man. "I'll lead."
"Wait, since when were we going with you?" Shouted Luke.
"Unlike you, Anise and I actually know how to get out of these woods." replied the man, calmly. "So, shall we be off?"
Begrudgingly, Luke set off with Tear and his new companions. After much wandering (and an unfortunate incident with a bird that Luke made everyone promise never to talk about again), they finally reached the exit.
"'Bout time we got out of here." said Luke.
"You're welcome." said the man, smiling.
"Yes, thank you for your help." said Tear. "But we still don't know who you are."
"Oh yes, how rude of me not to introduce ourselves." said the man. "I am Colonel Jade Curtiss, Third Division, Malkuth Imperial Forces. But you can just call me Jade. This here is Fon Master Guardian Anise Tatlin….."
"Hi!" said Anise, just as a group of Malkuth soldiers arrived on the scene.
"And these are the soldiers who will be arresting you." said Jade. "Have a nice day!" Jade and Anise walked off, looking somewhat smug.
"Huh? Hey, wai-" Luke started, but he was cut off when all but one of the soldiers started to beat him up in a comical manner. The remaining soldier put handcuffs over Tear's arms.
...
"Luke…. I know you've been through a lot today, and I'm sorry you got caught up in all of this…."
Tear was trying to make conversation with Luke, but he was giving her the silent treatment. They were currently in one of the jail cells on board the mobile fortress known as the Tartarus. Luke was just sitting there, arms folded, and his eyes in slits. He really wasn't happy. At all. Nonetheless, Tear continued.
"But…. I have to admit, you handled yourself quite well out there. For someone who hasn't been out of his mansion for so long, you do have a keen survival instinct."
Luke kept silent, but Tear didn't let that get her down. She spoke again.
"Can you…. forgive me for putting you through this? I honestly never intended to involve in all of this, and for that, I am truly sorry."
Luke still wouldn't say anything. Without changing his expression, he slowly raised his arms, extended both his index fingers, and put them in his ears. Tear sighed.
"Does Master hate you?" asked Mieu.
"I guess so. I don't blame him, either…"
Just then, the cell door opened, and Anise was waiting on the other side.
"Okay! The Colonel will see you now!" she giggled.
We now change the scene to an interrogation room where Jade was sitting down. Anise sat Luke, Tear and Mieu down opposite him.
"Good evening." greeted the Colonel. "I trust you are finding your cells adequate?"
"I suppose so." said Tear.
"Good. Now, perhaps we should start with your explanation on what a noble from Kimlasca is doing in Malkuth territory?"
"We teleported." snapped Luke. "Something to do with a Seventh Fonon, according to her. There, you happy?"
Jade thought for a moment.
"Hmmm. A Hyperresonance, from the sound of it. I trust you can both use the Seventh Fonon then, yes?"
"Yes, we can." said Tear. "Though I must ask- how do you know Luke is a noble? He never said anything about that…"
"Well, there have been reports that the son of Duke Fabre went missing earlier today. They say he was last seen with a woman who matches your description, Miss Grants. And yes, I do happen to know that you are Dorian General Grant's sister. Still, teleportation or not, you are still trespassing on Malkuth territory…"
"Trespassing is a really serious crime, you know!" said Anise, following Jade's words.
"So, I suppose you're going to torture us, or something…." said Luke.
"Nonsense." said Jade. The Malkuth Empire doesn't resort to such revolting methods. We will simply sacrifice you both to the great god Imhothep…." Luke and Tear looked uneasy upon hearing this. Jade smirked.
"No, I'm just kidding. We're not at all like that."
"That's a relief." said Tear. "So what do you intend to do with us?"
"Oh, you'll see, once we reach the Imperial City…" said Jade, chuckling.
"Okay, this guy is really starting to creep me out now…" said Luke.
Suddenly, the Tartarus began to shake. Just when things were starting to get interesting too!
"W-what was that?" asked Tear.
"It seems we're under attack." said Jade. Really? No kidding, Sherlock! A Malkuth soldier opened the door to the room, looking panicked.
"Colonel Curtiss! The Tartarus has been hit by a high impact attack! We have reason to believe it was caused by a dragon!"
"A dragon?" Asked Anise? " But how- unless…"
"Yes." said Jade. It does rather sound like it's being controlled by Arietta."
"Who?" asked Luke, being Mr. Clueless again.
"Arietta The Wild." said Jade. "One of the six God Generals." God Generals…. That sounded familiar to Luke.
"Hey, those are the guys Master Van said have been attacking random cities! They're here?"
"It would appear so." Jade replied. But what do they want here, exactly?"
"We can worry about that later." said Tear. "We should try to stop them first!"
"I couldn't agree more." said Jade.
"Okay. Let's kick their butts!" said Luke, totally pumped up.
"The attack earlier blasted a hole through the side of the Tartarus." said the soldier. "Chances are they're trying to get in through there."
"Alright. Thank you." said Jade. The group headed in the direction of the hole. (Despite not actually being told the exact location of the hole…. I'll just say that Jade is psychic…)
"Mieu! Wait for me!" called Mieu. Yes, I had almost forgotten about him!
The group made their way to the hole, and were immediately confronted by a huge green dragon.
"Whoa! Can we actually beat this thing?" said a rather surprised Luke.
"I don't think it's here to fight, exactly." said Tear. "More like…. drop someone off."
"You're sharp. But still not as sharp as I taught you to be!" said a female voice. A blond haired woman jumped down from the dragon. She was dressed in black and carrying a pair of handguns. Tear immediately knew who she was.
"Major Legretta…I should have known…." said Tear.
"After everything I taught you, you still turn your back on us?" said Legretta, pointing one of her guns at Tear. Luke was, as usual, confused.
"What's she talking about, Tear?" he asked, but before Tear could answer, A big, deep voice called out.
"Are we going to talk all day, or are we actually going to capture the Tartarus as planned?"
A very large man dropped down, carrying a huge scythe. He was joined by a young green haired boy wearing a mask.
"I suppose not, Largo." said Legretta, talking to the big man. "You're right, we do have a mission to complete. Are you ready, Sync?"
"Of course." Said the boy, striking a battle pose. This is Sync, in case Luke hadn't figured it out already… Suddenly, another voice rang out.
"Stop! Stop stop stop! I haven't felt my wonderful presence felt yet!"
"Oh dear, not him…" groaned Jade. It seemed like he knew that voice…. A camp looking man wearing glasses descended into the area in a floating chair.
"No, Dist, we weren't going to start without you." sighed Sync. "Aren't you going to come down too, Arietta?"
A young girl with pink hair dropped down as well, clutching a doll. It had to be Arietta.
"Yes, of course." she said. "But Asch isn't here yet."
"We can start without him." said Largo.
"So, these are the God Generals…" said Luke, looking at the five warriors.
"Indeed." said Jade. "Legretta The Quick, Sync The Tempest, Dist The Reaper-"
"ROSE!" shouted Dist. "It's ROSE!"
"Sorry." said Jade. "Dist The Runny, Arietta The Wild and Largo The Other One."
"Why do they always forget my name?" groaned Largo.
"The one who's missing is Asch The Bloody." said Anise. "He's a really nasty piece of work!"
"And you drecks will see that first hand!" came a familiar, yet kind of angry sounding voice. Turning around, the group could see a man with his back turned to them. He had long red hair, and was dressed in black, but that was all they could see of him.
"So that's Asch…." said Luke. "But if he thinks he's gonna wipe the floor with us, he's got another thing coming!" Luke rushed towards Asch and tried to attack, but Asch dodged at the last minute.
"Pathetic." said Asch. "If that's the best you have, then you can die right here!"
Luke turned around and saw Asch's face for the first time. And it was a familiar one. Cue dramatic music!
"Hey…." said Luke. "Where have I see that face before? Ummm…. I can't seem to put my finger on it…"
"Oh, for the love of…." moaned Asch.
"Um, in case you haven't realised, Luke- he looks just like you." said Tear.
"Huh?" said Luke, taking a better look at Asch. "H-hey, you're right. He DOES look just like me! How…."
"I'll spell it out to you, dreck." said Asch. "My name used to be Luke Fon Fabre. But then you came and took all that away from me- Replica!"
Luke paused for a moment. Then he realised what Asch said.
"WHAAAATTTTTT?"
And on that bombshell, it's time to end this episode. Is Luke really a Replica? Why are the God Generals trying to capture the Tartarus? Can our heroes stop them? Will Mieu get more screen time? And how many more times will Luke be punched, kicked, mauled, scratched and generally set on fire throughout this series? Find out the answers to some of these questions in the next exciting episode of Dragonba- Um, I mean, Tales Of The Abyss Rangers!