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

The city dies around him.

Smoke and ash choke the narrows streets and plunge the midday sun into the depths of night. All around him, panicked screams are drowned out by the chaos of the battle in the distance.

No.

"Battle" wasn't the right word.

The creatures that had descended upon the capital had laid waste to half the troops stationed there within a matter of hours. Evacuations of the civilians had begun far too late, and now the consequences of their failure lined the streets like morbid sculptures.

The sight should have stopped him cold, but adrenaline drives him forward, it's demand for action so insistent that he could not hesitate even had he wanted to. Irene lags behind him, injuries sustained in the initial conflict slowing her pace.

"Keep moving, Irene," he calls over his shoulder, meaning his words to be more supportive than they sound.

Had she the energy and focus to spare, she certainly would have hit him, but a flicker of pain passes over her face, changing her scowl into a weak grimace. "You're a thousand years too early to lecture me, Daath. Keep focused on what's in front of you instead of worrying about me."

He turns around reflexively just in time to see to see one of the creatures lumber by at the far end of the street. The creature looms ominously over even the tallest residential buildings, and its footsteps cause the ground to tremble momentarily beneath his feet. It pauses in the intersection up ahead and looks around, its face is disconcertingly devoid of any identifiable features but somehow it still seems able to sense prey.

Irene grabs him unceremoniously by the arm and pulls him into the alleyway between two nearby buildings until the creature has passed. "Now. Go."

Even though he is in the lead, Daath has no idea where they are headed. Irene had only mentioned a rendezvous point with the surviving troops but had not mentioned where it was. But he is surprised to see that instead of heading towards the center of the city where the monsters seemed to be congregating, they were leaving the city entirely.

Still, he doesn't dare broach the subject until they have slipped into the dense forests that surround the city. He turns when he hears Irene's footsteps stop behind him.

She has turned her back to him. Against the backdrop of the burning city, he knows that whatever she says next, it will not be good.

"If you're going back, I'm going with you," he says, stepping between her and the city as though he might actually be able to stop her from going to her death.

She meets his eyes and what he sees in them is not defiance but determination. "No. You have somewhere you need to be."

"And it's here! I'm not going to let you die."

"I won't die here. That much I can promise. But I need you to go find help."

For a moment, he is at a loss for words. "Where, exactly? If the Ispanian knights couldn't handle these things, who could?"

"You know exactly who." She hesitates, her gaze faltering momentarily. "I've watched you this past year. Eyes always on the horizon-mind a million miles away, I know you've regretted leaving her side, and as much as I hate to send you straight back to her, she's probably the only one who can help us at this point."

He hesitates, not wanting to admit that she is right.

"We need Yulia's power. She's seen the future. She probably knows a way to stop these things."

Of course he knows that. Once upon a time he'd liked to think that he knew the depth and breadth of Yulia's power. It wasn't until he'd stood against her that he truly began to understand. She wielded her desperation like a weapon, drawing out every last drop of her magic until it felt as though she were calling down the full might of the heavens upon him. He'd tried to convince himself that the first loss against her and the others had been a fluke; his conviction had wavered and as a result, he hadn't fought at full strength. But the losses kept piling up. No matter how he tried, he could not defeat his former comrades. It was as though every wound he managed to inflict upon them made them twice as strong while he became all the weaker.

Regardless of his efforts to prevent the full activation of all the Sephirot trees, Yulia and the others had succeeded in raising the lands and freeing the world from the threat of the miasma. And though, through some miracle Yulia had managed to survive using all the passage rings she had been rumoured to have been deathly ill for most of the past year. Daath had not let himself hear anything more than that.

"She could be dead for all we know."

The words hurt him to say.

"It's too dangerous to travel by air with these creatures roaming around," she continues, ignoring his last statement entirely. "You'll have to head to Oreis on foot and get to Mydeira from there."

She looks back at the ruined city and hesitates, the scale of the destruction making her resolve falter momentarily.

"Say Daath."

"Yeah?"

"When this is over, you owe me a drink."

. This was her usual remark before they headed out on any mission together, and he cannot help appreciating the bit of relief that this meaningless exchange brought to an otherwise ominous parting.

"Dammit, Irene. If we make it through this, I'll buy you the whole bloody bar."

She laughs. It is bitter and tense but still counts. "I'll hold you to that. Now I think it's time for me to take back my home. You. Go and find your girl."

He hesitates.

"I'll be back. I swear it."

"Then you'd better be going."

And with that she is gone, leaving him to continue on his journey alone.

Yulia knows that weeping is futile, but she cannot stop the tears that fall as the injured child goes limp in her arms. She ignores her own wounds, pouring more and more of her healing magic into the child trying desperately to save him.

The attack had come out of nowhere. At least it would have seemed that way to everyone else. She had not known precisely when, but she had known it was coming. She had tried to warn the Mydeiran council, but it seemed that when her prophecies did not promise good fortune they were summarily ignored.

It only gets worse from here, my child, Lorelei whispers in the back of her mind.

She hates knowing that he is right.

Despite her power, there had been a time that she had dared hope things would have turned out differently.

When she first met Daath, she had honestly thought things would change. He grew to be her most steadfast companion, just as Lorelei's prophecies had foretold. He will betray you, her visions had taunted, but she just couldn't believe it was possible.

Until the day he'd stood against her, weapon at the ready, gaze unwavering swearing he would stop her from activating the other passage rings by any means necessary. And there at his side as though she belonged there was that dreadful assassin, the bastard child of the Ispanian king. She did belong there, Yulia knew. The kingdom that came of their bloodlines would stand strong for thousands of years while Yulia would only be turning in her grave at the thought.

Yulia knew she had no place in Daath's future. Though the activation of the all the passage rings had not killed her, what came next surely would. Regardless, she had held on to some small hope that things would change. They had to. After all, shouldn't knowing the future be enough to prevent it?

She knew and had tried to warn the church what was coming, but blinded by the promise of the prosperity that the Planet Storm would bring, had failed to heed her warnings. And now they had arrived, just as Lorelei had warned her, and she would have to give everything to stop them.

Hopes and dreams? They were all futile in the face of fate. She had learned that lesson the hard way.

As the city burns around her,Yulia bows her head and weeps.

"Relis, I've found her!"

Lucas has to shout to make sure the engineer can hear him over the chaos that now chokes the city.

"Where?"

"In this alley!"

Relis clambers over the debris that separates her from the knight and makes her way over to him. When she finally spots the seeress, she is slumped, motionless in the shadows of the nearby buildings, her white robes smeared with crimson.

"Yulia!"

Relis rushes forward and gives her friend's shoulder a light shake which receives no response. "Yulia!"

Lucas moves in and checks her pulse. "She's alive, at least. But we need to get her out of here."

He passes some makeshift bandages to Relis. "Bind up her wounds, and then we'll head for the cathedral."

Relis mutely does as he asks but knows in the back of her mind that it would take more than a few bandages to save their friend.

"Damn it, where is that bloody priest when you need him?"

Neither of them have seen Edgar since the attack began. Besides Yulia, he was their only other healer left following Daath's unceremonious departure.

"We need to get her out of here. Can you carry Yulia, Rels?" Lucas asks, pushing himself to his feet.

Relis looks at him confused. "Sure, but why?"

He does not look at her.

She is on her feet in an instant. "I am not leaving you behind!"

"We may not have a choice," he replies quite calmly. "If one of those monsters shows up, it may be the only way to save you."

She knows the "you" is plural, and her heart aches because of it.

"Besides," he continues, his voice wavering, "the world needs its saviour, right? I'm leaving you a big job, Blondie. Make sure you don't botch it up."

Cautiously, Relis hefts Yulia onto her back and tries to be brave. "As if I would."

He nods. "Good. Let's go."

The interior of the cathedral is painted ochre by the flames. Edgar knows that the fearful people huddled here need to be evacuated but doesn't know anywhere that could be safe for them with those creatures roaming around outside. Instead he focuses on doing what he can, namely healing the injured.

Yulia should have been here too.

Ordinarily, in the absence of her bodyguard, she would have been confined to the cathedral. That had been a moot point since Daath's departure. She had refused all other guards since, choosing instead to remain secluded in her room. It had taken her several months to even see her former allies again.

He remembers the day when everything changed, when Relis had returned red-eyed to announce that Daath had left them. Yulia had said nothing but had slowly begun withdrawing from the group ever since. She spent a majority of the time on her own-communing with Lorelei she had said even though they all knew better. When she did speak, it was in short, perfunctory sentences that left no room for interpretation.

They all knew she missed Daath but was just too stubborn to say it, instead choosing to cling to Lorelei's prophecies as though that was reason enough to never have expected otherwise. And as much as they all hated to admit it, they had expected better of Daath. But life was full of things that one could never hope to expect, Daath's departure and the creatures' attack among them.

A commotion on the other side of the room draws Edgar's attention back to the present. He looks up to see two of the cathedral guards approaching him.

"Edgar Valsee?" one guard asks.

Edgar nods solemnly and pushes himself to his feet. "What is it?"

"You're needed to maintain the barrier."

Edgar frowns. The clergy were currently maintaining a barrier to help defend the cathedral. The barrier was far from perfect that the building still shuddered with the force of the enemy attacks, but it was the best they had at the moment. Still, maintaining the barrier was a difficult task even given the number of people currently working on it, and it wasn't surprising that someone had collapsed from exhaustion.

"I see. Is there any news on Lady Yulia's whereabouts?"

Yulia's return to the cathedral would have made the barrier maintenance much easier. They might have even had a chance at fighting back with her power on their side. Unfortunately, the guard shakes his head. "Not as of yet."

"Very well," Edgar replies schooling his features into his usual dispassionate mask. "Lead the way."

"Relis, just go already!"

Relis hesitates at the far end of the street weighing Yulia's life against her companion's. Despite herself, she knows that Yulia's life is more important but can't bring herself to accept that fact. For a moment, she wonders if this is how Daath had felt that day at Radiation Gate when he had held the unconscious priestess weighing the life of the person he loved against the greater good just as she was now weighing Lucas' life against Yulia's.

"I'm not leaving you!"

"Go! Before it's too late!"

Lucas' face is twisted with pain and fear as he readies his weapon. His arm is unsteady owing to the deep bleeding wound on his side. He can barely stand but is forcing himself to his feet.

"But you'll die! Just run away!"

Lucas scowls. "I will AFTER you go!"

But she doesn't believe him. There was no way he'd manage to escape in this state. He was going to die unless she abandoned Yulia.

The moment for her decision passes too quickly. The wounded monster is getting back up. She either has to leave now or stay and fight.

Carefully, she sets Yulia's prone form down in the shelter of a doorway and pulls her pistols from their holsters. "Sorry, Yuls." She runs forward to join Lucas. "I'm fighting with you!"

He sighs. "Dammit, Rels. I hope you know what you're doing."

Daath had expected Mydeira to have been badly damaged by the monsters' onslaught, but the sight of the city aflame stops him in his tracks. He had expected Mydeira to have fared better than Ispania if only because of Yulia's presence here. For a moment, his own words come back to haunt him. She could be dead for all we know.

No. He had to think positively. He would find Yulia and-then what? Would she even help him save Ispania? Sure these creatures-whatever they were-were a threat to the entire world. She would help people for the sake of helping them, but there was no guarantee she would prioritize helping the two people who had tried to stymie her efforts to raise the lands.

He hesitates.

There is no option now but to try. The memory of Irene's face as she returned to the burning Ispania haunts him. This past year has been difficult. Irene had her own issues to deal with, but had helped him in his mad quest to save Yulia without a word of complaint or asking anything in return. He didn't feel right leaving her like that especially given that she had stood by him. The only thing he could do now was to find Yulia and hope he made in back to Ispania before it was too late.

He makes his way carefully through the ruined city, ducking into destroyed buildings to avoid the monsters. As much as he wished he could help the people of the city he on his own was no match for even one of those creatures. He couldn't risk dying now-not when someone was counting on him.

In the distance a low, hollow sound like the tone of a massive bell rings out, and when Daath looks up he sees the cathedral's incandescent shield shimmer ominously before shattering under the weight of the creatures' onslaught.

For a moment he can't breathe. If the cathedral falls, there is no hope. If she were anywhere, Yulia would certainly be there protecting the survivors of the attack. She would surely die before she let anything happen to them.

One of the giants rears back preparing for another attack, but thankfully the barrier flares to life just seconds before the attack connects. It flickers before stabilising, and Daath breathes a sigh of relief.

"I've got to get there. Now."

He continues moving through the ruins, this time more quickly than before. He takes the main avenues now as he will reach the cathedral more quickly this way. He's been gone for little over a year now, but in the rubble he can still see traces of the city he once called home. He pushes the regret aside and continues forward.

He can almost see the entrance to the cathedral when an explosion of magic power sends him flying. He pushes himself to his feet, spitting gravel and blood and turns to see one of the monsters bearing down on him. He draws his weapon fearing that there is no choice but to fight when he hears the tell-tale sounds of gunfire. Shots pepper the side of the monster's head but serve no other purpose than to draw the creature's attention. A shout rings out moments before a knight in bloodied armor charges the monster.

Daath is moving to intercept the monster before the command fully registers in his brain. He knows these people. The knight is clearly Lucas, and the gunfire can only mean that Relis is around here somewhere. They must be mad to try to take on one of these creatures by themselves. That, or they had no choice. Fear shoots through him with pain keener than any bullet, but the adrenaline silences it.

The monster takes a swing at Lucas with its giant arm. Though the creature is powerful its size, thankfully, slows it down and even the injured knight is able to stagger out of the way. Another hail of bullets effectively pins the creature in place during its follow-through motion, and Daath takes this chance to strike.

As his blade sinks into the monster's flesh, there is only a moment in which the surprise his former friend's face can register before the rage consumes him.

He's had enough of this nonsense-of these creatures that quite literally seemed to fall out of the sky to lay waste to what remained of the human race-that forced him to choose between protecting the person he loved and his closest friend. Even if he can't destroy them all, this one will surely die.

"Your end has come!"

The blade seethes spirals of fire and light hot enough to sear flesh. The creature roars in agony, but Daath does not relent and pushes the blade deeper.

"Be consumed by the divine light! Exorcismus!"

The blade burns even brighter and slips easily now through the creature's flesh. A few well placed strikes and the creature disappears in a cloud of smoke and ash. All that is left of it is a scorched patch on the cobblestone.

Exhaustion hits him as quickly as the rage had, and it is only through sheer willpower that he manages to stay upright. Irene had always warned him about using too much power right at the start of a battle. Surely she would have scolded him if she had seen this.

The sound of footsteps in a nearby alleyway-Relis, he presumes-draws his attention back to the knight before him only to find that Lucas has raised his weapon preemptively.

Daath sighs and shakes his head. "Put that away, Lucas. I'm not here to fight you."

Lucas scowls. "As if I'd believe that."

Relis emerges from the alley and makes a bee-line straight for Lucas. "Are you all right? How-?"

Her gaze quickly falls upon Daath. To her credit, the engineer doesn't miss a beat. "You're here. Good. We could use your help."

Her words are neither bitter nor sarcastic, either of which Daath had expected in this moment. "What's going on? Why aren't you guys in the cathedral protecting Yulia?"

Their gazes falter, falling away towards the ground like the ash that hangs thick in the air.

"We can't use the seventh fonon," is all Relis says, and the words make his blood run cold.

"Take me to her."

Relis nods, but Lucas steps between them. "Don't trust him. Who knows what he'll do."

"We don't have much of choice, Lucas," Relis pleads. "She'll die if we don't do something."

Lucas hesitates, but Daath pushes easily past him. "Is she there?" he asks, pointing to the alley from which Relis had just emerged.

The blonde nods. "Follow me."

He does not recognize Yulia when he first sees her. She is small, pale almost drowning in her own robes. Were it not for the blood that stained the fabric, he would not have been able to tell where the cloth ended.

He cannot stand beside her, so he kneels. How frail she looks now. He knew she'd been ill, but hadn't known it had reached this stage. Whether she had needed him or not, he shouldn't have left her side when she was suffering so terribly. Instinctively he wants to heal her, but the magic just won't come. The battle earlier has left him almost drained, and the sight of her has left his mind in chaos. He reaches deep into his reservoirs, searching desperately for something, anything that could save her but finds nothing.

Behind him, Relis watches wide-eyed. "Hurry up and heal her, Daath! She'll die if you don't!"

He knows that but can do nothing.

As a knight of the church, Daath was necessarily religious, but these past few years had tested his faith. Watching Yulia sacrifice herself for some divine mandate had broken him in ways he couldn't fully explain. But in this moment when his own strength failed him, he could think of nothing else to do save pray.

"Lorelei, if you're even listening, ask of me what you will. Whatever you ask in return, I will obey. I beg you, just please save her! And if not, then at whatever cost, please give me the power to do so!"

There is only silence, exactly as he expects.

"Damn you, Lorelei. I'm not surprised that you won't listen to me. But Yulia-she's done nothing but sacrifice for your sake. If anyone deserves your mercy it's her. You owe her, and you know it!"

And what if I refuse?

He does not so much as hear the words as he feels them resonate in his mind. At first they're not even words so much as the vague impression of a person with a smirk on his face. He knows it's Lorelei, and despite the fact that the aggregate sentience of the Seventh Fonon is actually deigning to speak to him, Daath can't resist the urge to spit in the sentience's metaphorical face.

Metaphorically of course.

"Then I'll make you."

He can feel Relis' confused gaze lingering on him but is too focused on Lorelei's response to be bothered by her.

And what if I say it is her fate to die here?

"I'm sure you know exactly how I feel about you and your so-called 'fate'."

Yes, young one. You have made your disdain quite clear. Unfortunately, my Oracle suffered greatly because of it.

The words sting, but Daath cannot deny their truth. "I wanted to save her. To protect her. It's what I've always wanted."

You cannot.

"I will."

And just what are you able to do on your own?

The words stop him short for a moment. So far he'd been able to do nothing except cause Yulia more suffering than she ever deserved. But...he couldn't just leave things like this. Even if nothing would change, he had to at least try. "I couldn't protect her. I know that I bear responsibility for what has happened. I don't even know if I can change things but damn it, I have to try!"

You will fail.

"I won't know unless I try."

Lorelei chuckles, the sound rolling like waves across his mind. Well then, face me, child of man. Your blood will pay the price of your arrogance!

…to be continued

Author's Note: Just two quick things of note. This chapter is split in too just because it was getting too long. But the next chapter will be the final Luke/Tear chapter (but they will have the epilogue) and there will be one more Yulia/Daath bit, likely as part of the epilogue as well. So basically two more chapters until this story is done. Second thing of note, it will be done before November of this year (even if the quality suffers a bit) because my Nano project this year will be the follow-up story. Whatever I get completed during Nano will just be posted as one giant batch (separated into multiple chapters) some time in December. Also, I guess I lied cause there is one more thing. This Yulia/Daath stuff does have a purpose, but it won't become completely clear why until Thirteen.