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 rights to 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! Seriously, if I never got reviews, I would have no reason to continue writing. Keep 'em coming, and I will be a very happy fangirl
A/N: Okay... Sorry it took so long to update. I'll do my best to get it together from now on and do the edits myself so everything can run more smoothly. Also, apologies for the short chapter, but the next two more than make up for it, as they are both longer than usual. I actually had this written before NaNo, so the cliffhanger was meant to be there for a whole month, but you know, stuff prevented me from being able to post it.
I'll shut up now.
The ferry they boarded went by the name of Katsberg. It was a grand vehicle, the two paddle-like wings jutting out festooned with propellers. The deck was as ergonomic as the rest of the ship, but still open enough to be comfortable.
The ferry set out from Kaitzur Naval Port early in the morning. Luke whined about the hour at which they woke, but soon caught up with it tenfold on the lazy trip. Tear and Anise relaxed as well, and it seemed the colonel was the only one who was uneasy with a day of resting. He had been worried since they'd discovered the machine in Choral Castle. And then there was Guy. Now Guy was with the Oracle Knights? Jade had pondered the thought to great length. It was unlikely it was caused by a Curse Slot—he seemed to be doing it of his own free will. At least telling Luke it was a Curse Slot would ease the boy's mind.
On top of that, there was his own fon slot seal. The damn thing had to be one of the hardest puzzles he'd ever worked. He'd been solving it little by little ever since that day on the Tartarus, but it was immense. And for some reason, it seemed to be growing stronger, more suffocating, with every code he broke. No good would come of leaving it be, anyway, so he just kept at it.
The Malkuthian colonel picked at the complex lock as he went about getting ready that morning. They were to dock in Chesedonia and change ships, so it would make for a long, uneventful day, which meant more time for him to concentrate.
Fifth Fonons there. Surround them in Third—no, Fourth Fonons. A sliver of Sixth in the other corner. A glyph drawn in First, and the first level of the code shattered, another coming forth immediately. Fifth, Second, and Third Fonons all together at the same time, converging at a point encircled with even more Fifth Fonons. A pattern of Fourth there, and the next level broke.
Each level was not necessarily difficult to figure out—it was just time-consuming, and each little piece had hundreds of subcodes to solve. A thousand more, and his right hand might be just under a quarter of the way free. But maybe one more round before heading up to breakfast...
Sixth to start this time. A disc of Third through it, three bars of Fifth vertically. But of course this had to be one of the more difficult codes that involved more than two axes. Stripe of Fourth, block of Fifth, and... Seventh Fonons. It demanded Seventh Fonons. Jade gave it up with a sigh, picking himself from the chair in his cabin. It would change later, but he didn't want to wait for that now. He straightened out his jacket (though it was unnecessary) and headed out the door. As soon as he stepped out, he saw Anise and Tear waiting for him, worried expressions on their faces.
"Colonel, do you know anything about what they did to Luke yesterday?" Anise got right to the point. She must have been serious to skip the petty greetings of which she was so fond.
"Maybe," Jade teased.
"Colonel, this is serious!" Tear leaned forward, placing her hands on her hips. "You should hear him now!"
"Well, what's troubling the young master?" Jade inquired calmly.
"Just come on and see for yourself," Anise groaned flatly, pulling the other soldier's sleeve. She led him to Luke's room, which wasn't very far from his own, as Van had been kind enough to not only buy them ferry tickets, but to arrange for all their rooms to be near each other.
Tear didn't knock when they approached the door. She motioned for them to listen, but Jade didn't notice anything amiss.
"Well?" He raised an eyebrow expectantly.
Tear grew impatient. "Just a moment ago, he was talking to himself—saying very strange things about someone being in his head. Do you know what that could--"
Luke flung the door open, knocking Anise aside. He glared at the others, rubbing his head furiously.
"Hey, what are you doing out here?!"
"Luke, we were only--" Tear was cut off by the irate redhead.
"What were you doing? Huh? Jade, what were you doing to me?!"
"Master Luke," Jade gasped in mock amazement. "I do beg your pardon. The ladies dragged me here to hear whatever it was you were saying in your sleep."
"And what would that be?" Luke folded his arms.
"Only how much you loved Tear—it was quite amusing, really."
Tear and Luke simultaneously roared the colonel's name, blushing vividly. Anise giggled maniacally.
"I-I'm out of here!" Luke stormed past them, tromping his way to the deck, muttering about finding Van and having breakfast.
"Oh my, it does seem I've made him mad..." Jade shook his head worriedly.
"Colonel..." Tear started. She stopped, feeling powerless before the Malkuthian. Sighing, she turned and retreated to the galley as well.
"Really, Colonel..." Anise chided, wiping the tears from her eyes. "What if something really was wrong with him?"
"I doubt it. Lots of people talk in their sleep."
"Oh." Anise let her shoulders droop. "I'm going to find them. Poor Luke—I need to cheer him up!"
"Yes." Jade fixed his glasses absently. "You should do that..."
Instead of Van, Luke found Ion on his way to the ferry's small on-board restaurant. The boy greeted him pleasantly, oblivious to the other's anger.
"Good morning, Luke. Did you sleep well?"
"Hmph. I was fine until Jade had to go and wake me up like that."
"You mustn't be upset with the colonel. He's only kidding, you know."
"He could at least make it a little more obvious!" Luke huffed, glaring at the ocean waters, which, to his disappointment, refused to mirror his fury.
"But Jade is really a nice man—you just need to get to know him a little better."
"I doubt anyone as cold-hearted as him could ever..." Luke continued to focus on the water, losing himself as he realized how he was rambling. The sea had grown slightly choppier—the dense grey waves folding upon themselves endlessly. The hypnotic sight distracted the boy until Ion brought him back to reality.
"Luke? What was that?"
"Oh!" Luke wondered why Ion had such a way of making him feel peaceful just being around him. He shook his head absently. "It was nothing. You want to get something to eat?"
"No, I'm just coming back from breakfast. I was just heading to meet with you guys." Ion smiled to him through his innocent-little-kid face. "But I'll go back if you have no one to eat with..."
"I-I'll just go find Master Van," Luke stammered, brushing past the boy. How the kid always managed to make him blush, he could never quite understand.
"That's fine, then..."
The trip through Chesedonia was more than rushed. Jade hurried them through as fast as Luke's curiosity could be hindered by his snappy comments. Luke wanted to explore the new city, but even he had to agree that they needed to catch up to the God-Generals soon. Eventually he gave in under the opposition of Jade's logic: They needed to hurry to catch the next boat, sand was getting in places he'd rather not have it, the shops were overpriced, and there was not much else of interest in the town, anyway. On top of all that, three words from Van had Luke on his master's heels like a needle to a magnet, so his whining was staunched thereafter.
In fact, Luke soon found the other benefit to hurrying to Baticul in the next ship ride. He was allowed to sleep through the night, but the peculiar headaches he'd been having woke him an hour in advance regardless. Still convinced it was Jade's doing, he'd flung the door open, but no one was there, contrary to what he'd expected. Grumbling about something or another, he'd slumped back in bed, embarrassed.
An hour or so later, he was woken by the headaches again.
The pain was almost scalding as he fought to ignore it. Sighing and fussing irately, he decided it had been long enough and reluctantly trudged outside. The salty breeze was refreshing, and Luke wandered over to the railing of the deck to wake himself up properly. The waves had grown in intensity since yesterday, and he could only wonder if the sky was about to unleash its load on them all at once. The atmosphere was coated in an alabaster-white mist, full cloud cover hanging low over the slate-colored ocean as it trailed aft of the ship. The waves' white crests broke in heavy bars of liquid restlessness, and all traces of its normal cheer were gone.
Luke stared down into the water. His shadow was nothing more than a blurred opaque splotch on the turning foam that spiked up at the stern of the boat. Turning to the lavishly adorned ornaments that ran around the rails of the ferry, he noticed his reflection looking back from one of the great steel beams that led straight to the head of the boat. He suddenly felt dizzy looking at himself there, and thought for a fleeting moment—was that really him? Of course it was. Stupid.
The headache came back, slamming into him like a club. His knees buckled, and he fell, but then he heard the voice—that eerie, echoing voice that planted burs of pain in his mind with each syllable.
"I have reached you! Show me your power—the same power as mine!"
"What the?!--" Luke staggered to his feet and felt his arms forced out in front of him, almost touching his reflection on the beam. He shut his eyes tight and turned away, terrified. "Who the hell are you?! Why are you controlling me?!"
"Luke?" Ion plodded around the corner. "Who are you talking—Oh, Luke! No!" The young Fon Master ran to Luke's side and grabbed his arms.
Luke tried to say something, but gave only a hot, rasp breath.
"Hold on! Just relax, Luke. I'm here. I'll help you...See?...It's nothing, Luke..." Ion kept repeating encouraging phrases to him until the noble's arms finally slacked, and he stumbled against him.
"What...the hell?..."
"Luke... just catch your breath, I'll explain everything."
"No! Tell me what the hell was going on!" Luke coughed raggedly, clutching his stomach even though the pain was in his head.
"I'm sorry! I'm a terrible Seventh Fonist if I can't--"
"I said, don't worry about me!"
Ion took a step back from him. "I-I'm sorry, Luke..."
Luke staggered up and reached to steady himself on the beam. As soon as he found it, he jerked his hand away as if it had been singed and gazed back at the metal. There was a perfect hole through it right at eye level—not burned, cut, nor punched by force.
"Luke..." Ion gently placed his hand on Luke's shoulder. "It's okay. Don't--"
"Just tell me what the hell happened!"
"It was a hyperresonance," Ion said, a hint of coldness in his normally placid voice.
"Didn't Guy mention that in the valley?..." Luke pondered, not taking his eyes from the ring.
"Valley?" Ion blinked. "Anyway...Incomplete hyperresonance does have the power to transport matter, but this power is complete hyperresonance—the power to destroy matter itself."
"...What?"
Ion sighed. He must be patient, now especially. This was possibly one of the most important roles of his mission, and he must not ruin it. "You, Luke, are the only person in the world capable of causing a hyperresonance on his own. Normally, it takes two Seventh Fonists, and it's extremely rare."
"But...I can do that on my own?"
"Yes, it would be valuable in war. The Duke and His Majesty both know this."
"Wait, what's that supposed to mean?!"
"You've been held captive in your own home for the sake of warfare, if the world comes to that. That's probably why Malkuth wanted to kidnap you, as well."
"No..." Luke turned, balling both hands into fists and beating the railing resolutely. "I won't be some weapon for them!..."
"Your engagement to Natalia was also most likely a ploy to keep you in the castle even after you come of age."
"So she was in on this, too..."
"It's unreasonable." Ion nodded agreeably. "But I think I have a way out of it for you."
"W-What is it?!"
"If you can somehow aid the country and then spread word of it, you may be allowed to leave as a hero. Say perhaps you played a big part in the formation of the peace treaty..."
"Oh, I get it! I have to become a hero!" Luke brightened. "So, how do I do that, anyway?"
"First of all..." Ion took a deep, but quick, breath of the sea-laden air. "You'll have to trust me."