Disclaimer: Well, let's see. This happens to be on and also a story about Tales of the Abyss. Fan. Okay, point is, I don't own the game, the characters, anything—as much as I wish I did. So, if anyone honestly thinks I own the game, I give the rest of the world permission to throw large, blunt objects at said offender. Because that's seriously offensive to the REAL creators of the game—comparing them to me, that is ;) You get the point.

Thanks to all who gave me ideas for this fic. And, of course, to all who review. Much appreciated! No seriously, I'm not just saying things. I know I've been horrible as to replying to reviews, but I'll do better! I mean it:)

A/N: Okay, I'd like to thank Medomai (Apakoha) for much help with this chapter... Sure, she won't admit it, but she's gotten me out of a lot of tight spots... :)

I'll shut up now.

The next day, the party arrived at Fubras River by noon. After much convincing, Jade finally allowed them to pause for a break when Tear argued that they should avoid being active in the heat of the day.

They had set up an impromptu picnic. They ate sparingly from the supplies they'd bought in St. Binah, as they didn't have much; they had saved their money for the high prices in Kaitzur. As it was right on the border, the town had issues with restocking the few stores available, so the prices were incredible.

Luke had finished his portion first, and he sat staring up at the cloudless sky framed by the pillars of rock that bordered the river. Guy watched over him closely, but didn't say anything. After the abduction on the Tartarus, no one had questioned his disappearance, though they were all curious as to why they'd been released so easily. Jade's logical reasoning was something along the lines of "If he's not telling us, they must have told him to keep it a secret and threatened to lock him in a room full of women to make sure he upholds it."

Regardless of past events, all five were in a relatively good mood. Until now, there was always someone mad at something, but for now, even Jade and Luke were at peace. The crisp day coupled with the light banter they exchanged only helped the matter further.

Luke stood up from his comfortable position on the ground.

"Hey, Luke, where are you going?" Always on the alert, Guy was quick to monitor Luke's every movement.

"Just going check out those rocks." The noble swung his arms absently, trotting off closer to the water's edge. The spires of stone were indeed impressive, but Guy would hear none of Luke's putting himself in unnecessary danger.

"Oh no, you're not," warned Guy. "The water is extremely dangerous—even if the current doesn't look like much, it's a lot swifter than you think."

"Come on!" The other three groaned inwardly at Luke'sresponse; it looked like this would last a good while.

"Fine." Guy was too tired to argue any further. "But wait for me."

Luke rolled his eyes, ignoring his servant. He had no right to order him around like that! The attention was nice and all, but sometimes, Guy just treated him like a baby. If only he could just--

"LUKE!" Tear could honestly say she had never seen the blond swordsman run so fast and scream so loud. He tore across the field to the noble's side in an instant. She touched her lip hesitantly. Anise looked about ready to die laughing, and Jade's grin was peerless in grandeur.

"Luke?! Luke, are you okay?!" Guy held Luke carefully as the oblivious noble realized his stupidity and obliviousness in one horrifyingly sickening instant.

"My, Luke, did you have to look that close to see the rocks?" Even with Jade's permanent smile, it was apparent he was especially amused now. "See what you've done now? You've given poor Guy an aneurysm, and yourself a sizable bruise, for that matter."

Luke's face was flushed an indescribable shade of red as he rubbed his forehead angrily. He shoved Guy away harshly and kicked the tower of stone that was no more than six inches from his face.

"Shut up!" he shouted, drowning out the ever-growing laughter.

"Do you need me to heal you?" Tear replied in as steady a voice as she could muster.

"NO." Luke snorted, angrily flinging Guy away as he advanced again, a look of genuine concern on his face.

"Are you sure, Luke?" Jade confirmed, almost on the verge of laughter himself. The colonel never laughed unless it was for the benefit of making fun of others, which wasn't very often. Anise was beyond all hope of salvation. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks as she collapsed backward to the ground. With each second of this, Luke's rage built even further.

"Everyone just shut up!" The bruise on his head was barely visible next to the blood rushing to his face.

"Master, is Luke all right?" Mieu questioned Guy innocently.

"Yes, Mieu, he's juuuuuust fine."

"Luke, should a young noble such as yourself really be acting in such a manner?" asked Jade.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Anise righted herself as much as possible. "Luke is a noble? As in rich?"

"Yes, he is." Jade pushed his glasses up slightly. Knowing Anise, Luke was doomed for sure now if he wasn't all ready.

"Oh, Luke," Anise said loftily. "You poor thing! That must hurt a lot!"

"W-What's with her?!"

"Aw, don't worry, Luke!" Anise darted to the boy and gave him a sudden hug before he could resist. "I'll make them stop making fun of you!"

"Hey!" Luke pulled the girl's arms from his waist. "Guy... Do something about her!"

"No way!"

"Oh, Guy..." Anise edged closer to the servant. He took an equal number of steps in the opposite direction.

"Get away!"

"Ugh, these men," Tear huffed, finally regaining her composure. "Stop playing around, you two, we need to get going."

"Must we spoil the moment?" Jade shrugged unhappily. "They are having so much fun."

"Be that as it may, we can't linger here all day. Sync and Arietta could show up any minute now."

"That they could," Jade agreed, his smile fading. "It would be best to move out."

"Boo, Colonel," Anise pouted.

"In all seriousness, we should never have gotten so distracted. They could ambush us at any time." Jade gathered their supplies hurriedly.

"Right." Guy nodded. "Are you ready, Luke?"

There was no answer. Guy spun, nervously glancing around the immediate vicinity. "...Luke?"

"You shouldn't have pushed him like that," Tear muttered to no one in particular. Raising her voice, she continued to search for the redhead. "Luke? Luke, we didn't really mean--"

Tear was knocked back by a large form hurling itself from the cover of the nearby forest. She stumbled back, grappling for her knives. Her wound made her flinch as the creature swatted her back with its tail. Jade was in action, dropping the supplies. The beast had a wingspan of about six feet, and it was baring down on the group. Jade was just about to strike it when he saw it had Luke in its claws.

"Luke!--"

Luke was unconscious, and the great bird had no trouble hefting its load past the colonel and through the clearing. Guy and Anise had their weapons ready, but it had gained too much altitude, and soared just over their heads. All four sets of eyes followed the monster as it ripped through the sky just past them and to the other end of the river.

"Luke!" Guy tore through the water, heedless of all else besides the monster and its charge. The others followed, though not as recklessly, calling for him to slow down.

"Guy, wait!" Tear panted to keep up with the other four, her injury still slowing her down.

"Guy," Jade barked sharply. "Hold up, Guy. It could be a trap!"

The blond halted suddenly, and the others had trouble matching it. It was a sight none of them wanted to see, and they only hoped it would not end in a battle.

But that was highly unlikely.

Sync the Tempest and Arietta the Wild held Luke captive. The eagle dropped him to a liger's back, and Guy could barely hold himself back from running to him.

"So you came. We were expecting you." Sync scowled at the party.

"You'll pay for killing Mommy and my friends!"

"Arietta, we never killed your mother or anyone else! What are you talking about?" Anise shot back.

"You killed her! You barged into her home in the Cheagle Woods and just killed her right there! You even killed my brothers and sisters, too!"

"In the Cheagle Woods?" uttered Jade. "Do you mean the liger queen and her nest, by any chance?"

"That was Mommy!" Arietta wailed.

"That's right," Anise spoke up. "Gloomietta was only admitted as a God-General because she can communicate with monsters. They say she was raised by them, too, ever since she lost her parents."

"What do you want with Luke?!" Tear growled defensively.

"None of your business," Sync sneered.

Jade took his opportunity. Sync was only distracted in the slightest, but Jade lunged, his spear outstretched. Sync sidestepped, but not enough to dodge the blow entirely. The keen blade sliced through his uniform, drawing blood easily.

"Damn!" Sync leaped aside more quickly once he felt the steel, and he perched on a nearby boulder. "I'll kill you!"

The famed Tempest launched himself from the rock, gathering fonons. He drew the glyph from one of the tags attached to his arm and scored the array into Jade's right arm as he passed. It all happened in one quick motion, but no one registered the attack as anything more than a near miss. God-Generals did not become God-Generals by making simple mistakes.

"Jade!" Tear knelt by the colonel, who had fallen to his knees shortly after Sync's assault. "Wait, I'll heal you."

"We don't have time!" Jade nodded to Arietta and her beasts, who were moving out swiftly.

The sky seemed to shake suddenly, and it took all five a moment to realize it was not the sky that was moving. The ground rumbled, and the crust split in jagged ridges.

"The miasma?!" Tear identified the poisonous mist that poured from the crack that had formed. Arietta was caught just near a rift, and she gave a hollow scream before being overtaken by the fog. The liger carrying Luke fared no better, and it also passed out on the spot.

"Arietta!" Sync hissed angrily. He swept her from the danger zone, but left Luke and the liger in his haste.

"Tear, what are you doing?!" Guy charged for Luke, shouting over his shoulder at the melodist. Jade stopped him with a firm hand.

"Fonic hymns, Yulia's fonic hymns?! I thought they were too difficult for anyone to decipher!"

As the melody finished, a cage of fonons formed around them, then faded, the miasma with it.

"It won't last long!" she gasped, her ever-present wound punishing her every action, pain shooting through her upper body despite all her efforts to heal it.

When the obscuration dissolved, Sync was nowhere to be found.

Please review!

Thanks to my beta, Lanane, for much valuable help with editing and making this fic a little easier on the eyes!