Issues of Post-Game Crossovers: Tales of the Abyss and Familiar of Zero

Chapter 3: Duel

Spoilers for all of Tales of the Abyss. Play the game, It's one of the greatest of all time. Available for 3DS, or PS2 if you can find it. Some head-cannon, but that's inevitable for some of this stuff.

This is planned to be a fairly short series since there is only one real season of Familiar of Zero (FoZ). The tone will be a little more serious and soul searching, but the comic relief will still be there.

I have no rights to either Familiar of Zero nor to Tales of the Abyss, and I make no money off of this work.

Text key

"Speech" "Thought" "SHOUTING" 'Non-bodied Beings' "Spells/Artes"

This story assumes familiarity with Tales of the Abyss, but can be read without. If you don't understand a term; you're already on the internet, look it up.

And with that, we begin

Asch sat across from the headmaster, with Siesta nervously fidgeting off to the side. "I'm going to train the maid. Will she still have a job when I leave, or will I need to support her?"

The wizened headmaster idly puffed at his pipe as he stared out the window. After a long minute he turned to them and jumped in shock. "What are you two doing here! Who let you in? Where is Miss Longville? What's the color of her panties?"

Asch slammed his hand down on the table. "Drop the act geezer! I have a duel with Valliere and I need a second."

Ancient eyes narrowed and the pretense dropped. "So you are as independent as the legends say… I'm afraid I cannot allow it. Duels between nobles are strictly forbidden, and a master fighting her own familiar is inconceivable. I cannot allow you to fight your master. You will simply have to swallow your pride and accept your fate. It's not as though you can return home at the moment."

"It wasn't my pride that was wounded, it was hers."

"Hmm?"

"It was Valliere that issued the challenge. She took offense at my curiosity. There's something that she can't move past unless someone breaks her out of it. I doubt she'll let this go, whether you approve the duel or not."

A lull rose as Osmond puffed his pipe and examined the familiar out of the corner of his eye. Eventually, he removed the pipe and sighed. "…I've forgotten what we were talking about. Refresh my memory; I think it was something to do with buying a maid."

Asch looked like he swallowed a bug, but many would say that was his normal expression. "I don't intend to stay here for long, and I have no desire to attract any sycophants before I leave."

A sad smile adorned the man's face. "I'm afraid those plans won't work, young one. Those runes on your hand mark you as Miss Valliere's familiar. As long as those runes remain, you are required to stay loyal to your mage."

Luke looked down at the runes on his hand and a memory rose to the surface. A tree made of light, the passage ring, obliterating the red circle; A trap on Eldrant, Cancelling the glyph. A light glow began to surround him. "What if I told you that I could destroy these Runes?"

Warring emotions crossed the headmaster's face, each followed swiftly by another. Shock, anger, worry, fear, respect and finally concern. "You were summoned here by Destiny! You can't just reject that!"

The glow intensified. "I reject Destiny with every breath I take. My death was foretold and overturned twice over. Destiny had foretold the death of all Auldrant, and I changed it. I have no respect for any kind of control over the future, and less for those that cling to it. I make my own Destiny."

Admiration settled over the old man. "You were a hero in your own land, weren't you?" He turned away and looked out the window. "Siesta is yours, but I only ask that you help Miss Valliere. Teach her to make her own Destiny."

-Academy Hallway-

"Louise, why did you do that?! You know you have no chance of beating someone who can really do magic!"

"He needs discipline, Zerbst! He was going to desert me." Her stone-faced façade showed barely a crack.

"Well, if he isn't what you want, then I'll take him off your hands." The red-head had no interest in the other girl's social mask.

Rage burned behind her eyes, barely restrained from erupting. "He's mine!"

Kirche merely gave a seductive giggle. "and you've obviously done a very good job of making sure he wants to stay with you. He's a noble, not a commoner. You have to make him want to stay if you want to keep him."

Louise gave a huff and turned away. "What's it to you? Just stay away from my familiar!"

Kirche shook her head and took a step closer to the smaller girl. "I'm a Zerbst and you're a Valliere. I can hardly have my rival floundering around so helplessly, can I?"

Louise clenched her fist with a shaking hand.

Her control slipped.

An open hand flew, powered by explosive anger.

Kirche von Zerbst held a hand to the red spot on her cheek. Louise stared in shock at her own action for half a second, before turning her face back into a mask and striding away.

-Dormitory Wing-

Louise hastily stormed her way back to her room. Kirche trying to fake friendship had her stewing in rage. The only thing barely managing to hold back the explosion was the thought of how childish it would make her seem compared to her opponent.

A voice calling her name made her stop before entering her room. She turned around and saw the maid from the other day dressed in a strange blue military uniform obviously meant for a male. The maid opened her mouth, but Louise cut her off. "What are you wearing?"

The commoner blushed and looked away. "Lord Fabre gave me these clothes. He said that my work clothes wouldn't work so he gave me these. They were worn by his world's greatest mage!"

Louise eyed the buttons strained by the maid's chest with a twitching eye. "What was he thinking, giving her those clothes?"

The maid broke eye contact and gave a nervous bow. "My apologies for my dress, but Lord Fabre has appointed me as his second. He formally accepts your challenge."

Louise pulled herself together and put on her noble face. "We accept. The duel shall take place tomorrow night. Let that dog know that I expect him to be obedient once We have defeated him." She defiantly turned away and closed the door behind her. The moment she was alone, Louise crumpled to the floor. "What am I thinking? I'm just a failure, I can't fight him!"

-Luke-

Luke and Asch stared at each other in amazement over their latest compromise. "Did… did you just dress up that maid in one of Jade's outfits?"

"It was your idea, Drek! I certainly wasn't going to let her wear any of Natalia's clothes! No one but her gets to wear them!"

"And I'm keeping Tear's clothes safe!"

"But why did you take her maid outfi… you pervert… We're still engaged to Princess Natalia, and you can't reject that."

"I just thought that since we're here, I thought it would be a nice gift for Tear when I go back."

"Idiot! There isn't just a 'you' anymore! It's us! We need to marry Natalia when we go back and continue the Royal line."

"But Tear…"

Asch stepped forward and placed a hand on his hilt. "Tear is nothing! The last remaining child of a bloodline that the world would be better without! No true nobility! No family! Nothing left to add to the world! Let. Her. Go."

Luke felt his hand tighten around his sword.

He released the blade.

"What is Natalia, then?"

"What did you say Drek?"

"What is Natalia! She is nothing on her own! The child of a God-General, adopted only because of the score! She has no nobility, adds nothing to the royal line, and her father nearly killed us multiple times. Natalia is nothing…"

Asch drew his sword. "Replicaaaaaa!"

Luke dodged to the right and imbedded a knife into Asch's shoulder. "Yet you consider her to be worth more than the whole world, because you love her." He withdrew the knife and Asch slumped in temporary defeat. "And I love Tear!"

"Bastard. This discussion isn't over…"

A knock pulled Luke out of his mental conflict. Siesta nervously stepped into the room and stood at attention. "Lord Fabre, Lady Valliere accepted the duel and set the time to tomorrow night." She closed her mouth and her eyes as tightly as she could manage. She had heard tales of what happened when nobles purchased servants.

"Thank you. Get some sleep. I'll start training you tomorrow evening."

Half relieved, and half frightened; worried and uncertain, she approached the bed.

A hand stopped her. "Don't you have your own bed? I thought that you would get to keep your own quarters."

"I-It's customary for-I thought that- I was told that nobles normally demanded that!"

Luke looked at her in confusion. "Demanded what…?"

Her mumbled response made his face flush.

"Wha- No! I'm taken! I love someone else! I'm engaged even!"

Siesta fled the room in furiously blushing embarrassment.

-Next Day-

Luke sat in the classroom, comparing the teaching to what he had learned through Asch.

"Transmutation… they're messing with the contamination effect with no more explanation than magic… wait, what is she-"

A sudden explosion knocked him from his thoughts and onto the ground. The Valliere girl had attempted to shove a mass of seventh fonons into the clay without any thought or direction. It's hardly surprising that they reacted so violently. Did she honestly know nothing of how to use her power?

The other students poked their heads out from the desks that gave them cover, one of them was kind enough to offer a hand to the downed noble. "I pity you, getting stuck with someone like her. She fails every spell she tries. With a fantastic success rate of zero percent, that's Louise the Zero!"

Luke accepted the offered hand out of politeness, and took in the sight of his supposed "master." Despite her genetic nobility, her actions portrayed a vulgar immaturity that was more fitting of the child she looked than the noble young woman she was supposed to be. Natalia was more noble then her by leagues, and the princess didn't have a drop of royal blood. Even comparing the pink haired girl to Anise or Arietta left him disappointed. "She's stubborn, utterly selfish, and thinks that her position as a noble justified abusing those below her. Add her temper and lack of social graces and she's about as bad as I was before Tear showed up. She doesn't even have the power to back up her anger. It's clear that I'm going to win the duel, but how do I break her out of this mindset?"

-That Evening, Duel Ground-

"I'll start your training now. Tell me what you already know about magic, Siesta."

The pair were waiting to see if Louise would show for the duel as the sun dipped below the horizon. Siesta fidgeted in her ill-fitting clothes before finally answering. "Only what everyone knows. There are four elements and the nobles wave their wands around to do whatever they want."

Luke swept his eyes across the empty grounds before addressing his student. "Four, huh. I guess our first lesson is fonons, then. Fonons make up everything, and they are the essence of magic. There are seven types; darkness, earth, wind, water, fire, and light are the basic six, with shadow giving power to the second and fourth, and Rem to the third and fifth."

"What about the seventh?" The voice wasn't Siesta's, but Luke continued on nonetheless.

"The seventh fonon is sound. It is rare, but very powerful. But what concern is it to you, mage? Are you spying for your friend?"

Kirche gave a sultry smile and leaned forward to offer an enticing view of her open shift. "Is it so bad to help a friend? Isn't it a second's job to try and resolve tensions? If you'll drop this, I'll help you resolve yours~!"

Siesta turned away from the sight as she tried to get herself back under control. Luke wasn't sure if she was shaking from anger or laughter, but he allowed himself to step back and let Asch take the lead. "What do you want, girl?"

The noble's eye's widened in shock at the cold refusal. In under a second the smile was back, and wider than before at the challenge offered. She placed her hands over her heart, and used her arms to accent her assets. "Louise has been pretty harsh on you. How about you come be My familiar instead; I'll be sure to treat you right~"

Asch grabbed the girl's shoulder to stop her leaning any further in, and moved his face to glare into her soul.

Of course, that isn't what Louise saw. She saw her familiar grab her rival and come in for a kiss.

She didn't even attempt to hold back the explosion.

But in an unprecedented occurrence for her, no explosion came. As she opened her eyes, she saw only her familiar facing her direction with the jeweled hilt of his sword facing her.

"Is this what passes for noble behavior in this world? How is it that the daughter of a nursemaid is the perfect princess while the daughter of a duchess is less mature than a child?" Tears welled up in the girl's eyes as Kirche and Siesta backed away. "That's why you challenged me, isn't it? You're so insecure that you couldn't live with the thought of a mere commoner being more noble than you. You're worse than the drek was, at least he suffered his arrogance and insecurities separately." Loise frantically attempted to cast spell after spell with no visible effect. "You have no control over your powers and no grounding for your claim. The Jewel of Lorelei scatters the fonons you gather before they can explode like you are so hoping they will. You have lost before this fight even began."

"That's enough!" Kirche grabbed Asch's arm and vainly tried to pull him away. "Sure, she can't do anything except cause explosions, but isn't it your job to help her with that? You're her familiar after all!"

Silence fell for half a second as Asch shrugged off the Germanian girl. "The issue is your attitude. The drek destroyed an entire city because of his idiocy, and that's without any training. I won't be a slave to this petulant child!"

A burst of power and light flowed out of his body. The runes lit up, and began to gather the energy.

Then Luke stepped back into the body as well. 'I'm here, Asch! Hyper-resonance!'

Another wave of power surged out and pushed the runes of the familiar off of his hand.

An anguished and enraged cry escaped the defeated Valliere. Louise was in the process of seeing the only thing she had ever accomplished on her own power as a mage being destroyed in front of her eyes.

She had to act. More power than she had ever felt gathered in her wand. Venting all of her fears and rage, she threw it at her fiercely glowing familiar.

What happened next was impossible to decipher. She remembered the peasant girl sprinting toward them as Kirche ran to get a teacher. Then a brilliant flash blinded her, and she blacked out.

-?-

"Louise Valliere, wake up!"

The pink haired girl groaned and rolled over on her bed of soft grass.

"Louise!"

She didn't even respond to the second call before a chunk of ice made itself known on her face. She jerked awake with a shout and quickly took in the sight of her no-longer familiar and his peasant apprentice in peasant clothing.

Then a bundle of clothes bowled her over. "Get changed. Your development begins now."

Louise was about to protest, but something caught her eye. Beyond the cliff on which they stood was nothing. She slowly stepped closer to the edge and peered over. Nothing was below the cliff. They were on Albion. They were blown onto a floating Island that was revolting against their nobles. Asch stood behind her and placed a hand tightly on her shoulder.

"You will either learn by the time you return home, or I will take it into my own hands to prevent you from recreating Akzeriuth."

Louise could say nothing.

Chapter 3 end. The curtain finally closes on the first act. Louise sets out on her own journey of development. I hope to be able to see it through, this is turning out way better and more interesting than I first expected. Thanks to everyone who reads and gives a review. Sorry for slow updates, but hobbies are hobbies. Original, if nothing else.