Cavalyn: Haha, oh my, that'd be something interesting to share now wouldn't it? Sorry, that I updated so late. Perhaps I should get an acquaintance to text me everyday.

Aquamarine Silvertail:Oh, you'll find out soon enough.

The Fool Arcana: Hahaha, I know right? Shhhh. I hope you had some Happy Holidays too!

Airyl: Ahhh, thanks so much. 3 Oh, I think everyone is waiting for that. Artemis is 21

Pianist707: (Ch2) I'm glad. Thanks for reviewing. ;)

SummoningShadows18: Oh, my, how flattering. I'm ecstatic that someone's referenced my story in real life interactions, ha ha! Thanks for reviewing, kudos to you~.

anonymous t: thankss

Kiyiamayu: Ahahaha, yessss, poor Guy. I should give him some mercy soon.

Ahhh, I added a new poll on my profile! I hope you guys know that I will be moving to a new account as soon as these stories here are done (TeeSquared). Any new stories will be posted there! Ah, should I move these stories there as well? What do you think?

ALSO I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW MANY REVIEWS YOU GUYS HAVE LEFT ME. Haha, I never looked at the number till just now...

summary: Artemis Niels is a part-time topographer, gel maker, and merchant, with some medical talents just for kicks. Dressing as a male comes naturally. but she never thought she'd be dragged on a quest to save the world. 'Tales of the Abyss is not my property'

Page 12:

Artemis jumped back when the God-General's fist suddenly came from his other arm. She looked at him disdainfully.

"Getting all worked up because of something I said?"

He growled at her, "Shut up!"

Before she could speak again she heard movement behind her and spun around in order to see the glint of a black sword crashing down on her. She rolled out of the way just in time. Angry sparks shot off from the contact of the blade and some stones from the cave. A thin line was made on her lips in disapproval. The sound that the metal had made against the stone was something grating to her ears…and she didn't very much so appreciate it. She walked back a few steps to stand some ways away from the two God-Generals. The third was watching carefully. She made note to watch him.

The two offending men were glaring daggers at her, well, she couldn't see the Tempest's eyes, but just the scowl on his mouth was enough.

Artemis sighed deeply and shrugged her shoulders.

"I haven't done anything wrong."

"Shut up!"

Her green eyes rolled to the side and she let out a another sigh, "You are making me feel old here...," she said in reference to her string of sighs, "How unprofessional."

The Tempest growled at her but Largo intervened. He stepped in between them.

"I know who you are, now," he said looking down at her evenly. She returned the look with half-lidded eyes.

"Artemis Niels."

"The map maker?" the red haired almost shouted. He couldn't believe he was getting mad at some prissy, map making merchant.

"Yes, but perhaps it'd be more accurate..." his look on her was set like stone, "to call him a runaway slave."

They stared at each other for a few seconds. The silence multiplied the time.

She smiled emptily at him.

"I can only imagine how you would know that information, Mister Black Lion."

His eyes narrowed at her, "What are you doing, Peacock Eyes...traveling with them?"

She swiftly pulled out her sword from her satchel and pointed it at him. She looked at him with almost a hurt look.

"I'd say that's something for me to know and you to not."

"Hmph." Largo closed his eyes and grabbed his scythe. He opened his eyes and charged.

She grated her teeth against her bottom lip before sliding her teeth against each other.

So troublesome.

"...He's gone."

"Could he have gone back into the ruins?" Tear asked.

"That idiot!" Luke growled.

"Should we go back in and look for him?" Ion started.

Jade shook his head, "We'd be going against our agreement if we did. We'll have to continue on our course and just hope he catches up."

Guy gritted his teeth together and looked back at the cave. It happened again. They were separated again without any notification. Did he disappear on purpose? What about his responsibility for the Kimlasca-Lavaldear Treaty? Did he get taken? Was he attacked by bandits? What was going on? Why was the man so elusive?

"We should stay at the oasis for tonight then head straight for Chesedonia afterwards."

He watched as Artemis Niels spit out some of his own blood. He had a deep cut on his thigh and a smaller cut on the side of his throat. Largo was standing in front of him. He was also cut up some and had a gash across his chest along with a deep cut along his arm.

"You seem much less able compared to the last time we fought, Peacock Eyes."

The other green haired man swiped his hand across his face to remove the blood that had dripped onto his chin.

"It's a shame isn't it," he spat, "This is what happens to slaves. No surprise."

Sync stepped over, "Largo. Enough of this; what are you doing?"

Largo turned his head to see the smaller God-General.

"Artemis Niels, is a slave from five years ago," Largo said.

"What!" Asch exclaimed, "Slaves with Peacock Eyes have never survived before! At the most he should only have been alive for a month."

The ex-slave started to laugh under his breath. He looked at them and forced a smile, "You think someone like me would die like this? I'm not some unintelligent criminal."

They all were quiet, each side looking at its opposing side.

"And look at where it's brought you now," Largo said, "If anything we can return you to-"

A sudden crazed look passed in the runaway slave's eyes. He shot up with renewed vigor and lunged at the taller God-General, preventing him from finishing his sentence. He never got to make contact though as the darkness around them glowed with a pinkish light. He hissed in pain and grabbed his hand where the pink light was escaping from the back of his hand.

"So the seal did get marked on you as well," Sync almost smirked.

Asch looked over them, "When did you manage a Curse Slot Seal on him?"

"It was from before," he replied shortly.

The pink light glared furiously against Artemis' eyes. It glared brighter for a moment before it did something unexpected. Light glowed from the curse seal and shot up the length of her arm and spread out from there.

"What's going on?" Asch asked while covering his eyes.

"The seals he had previously must be synching with the new curse slot seal."

The glowing line separated and started to make the outline of a seal over his shoulders. The lines shot of from there to the other seals on the man's body. When the seals stopped moving finally, Artemis gave a shuddering spasm before collapsing onto his hands and knees.

Sync's eyes went to his side when Largo started to walk forward. He bent down to observe all the seals that had been revealed to them.

"...So these are the seals that you'd been cursed with."

He looked over the seals that glowed over Artemis' thighs, "The seal that gives slaves speed and endurance;"

the seals on his shoulders, "the seal that gives slaves unnatural strength;"

the seal over his waist, "the seal that takes away a slave's need to eat;"

the seal over his forehead, "the seal that steals away a slave's emotion and sense of pain."

Largo moved to kneel in front of Artemis and pulled his head back. He held Artemis' chin and forced his mouth open to reveal the seal on his tongue, "the seal that increases the other four senses."

The Black Lion sighed and stood up and put a hand over his bleeding arm.

"And now you have two Daathic Seals on you."

Sync eyed what he presumed was the first Daathic Seal. A glowing circle floating above the back of his neck. The oddest part of it was the miniature set of wings opening and closing on it. It was a Guardian Seal. So the man was a Guardian Slave. The only question was for who. It couldn't have been that other replica, Ion, because Artemis had been a slave for five years when they had only been around for two years. So a Fon master from before...perhaps even their original. His eyes narrowed and he looked at Artemis' face. Then for what reason would they have an illegal slave created for a Fon Master?

The ex-slave's eyes rolled over to him and Sync was almost startled by his eyes. So this was what Peacock Eyes looked like. They truly did draw people to them...no, it was probably better to say that they drew people's fonons to them.

"So the Peacock Eyes don't last the whole time?" Asch walked over to the kneeling man.

Sync watched as the red haired man stopped before Artemis. He reached down to touch the glowing wings floating above Artemis' neck, but when he made contact it broke like glass and faded like sand before reforming as if Asch had never touched them.

"I would assume, they are only activated when the Seals are activated?"

Artemis scoffed barely startling the Generals that had thought he'd fallen unconscious by now, "If that were the case, I'd be glowing half the time. That sounds hardly efficient for someone trying to stay under the radar."

Largo hmphed, "...Asch, if you would."

"Pleasure," he mumbled under his breath and punched Artemis once in the gut. He let out a choking sound as the air was forced out of his lungs before slumping over. The glowing seals all shattered, but reformed in their respective places on ex-slave's skin like tattoos.

Asch threw the man over his shoulder and made his way to exit of the ruins.

"Let's get moving already."

"I can carry him," Largo said.

Asch scoffed and pointed at his wounds, "Why don't you worry about your own wounds. I'm not carrying you if you faint."

"I see. In that case," Largo put away his scythe and started to follow the red haired general.

Sync pulled his knee closer to himself. He tilted his head a little more just to the point before his hand would slip out from under his chin. If boredom was a disease he definitely had it, the only question was if it was contagious. His eyes rolled over to the unconscious man on his bed.

Artemis Niels.

Just who was this man? They had taken him aboard the Tartarus, but what now? Who made him a slave? And was there really anyone out there that could have made a Daathic Seal for slaves? Just where these slaves being made? Slave camps had been banned for years...

Largo should know. It sounded like he knew the man earlier.

He slid out of the chair and walked out of the room. The door made a resounding click as it locked behind him.

Artemis waited for few seconds and opened her eyes. This was not what she had wanted to happen. She sat up and looked outside a nearby window. At least they seemed to be following Ion, so they'd surely meet up again.

Her eyes turned down to her hands where she fell into the rhythm of clenching and unclenching them. She clenched them tightly one final time and released the pressure slowly as she took in a deep breath. She exhaled. All of the seals didn't feel nearly as restricting now, and she knew exactly why: It was because of Sync the Tempest. Because he was a replica of Evenos.

She pulled her knees up and rested her head on them while looking at the locked door. She thought she would never feel a fraction of this sort of peace after he disappeared. The merchant had no idea that the seals would react to replicas as well. She had first figured it out with Ion who she was sure was a replica now. She closed her eyes again and sighed.

She make a break for it as soon as they hit the next town.

...Ah, she wondered what everyone was doing. Probably following Luke's frantic attempts to regroup with his master. She sighed. Whatever they were doing, it was probably more interesting than being cooped inside of a room. It was just like a prison. There was absolutely nothing to do either.

She was bored.

Largo linked his hands together under his chin.

"I suppose you're here to learn about Niels?"

Sync nodded once curtly, "Fighting Slaves were banned years ago; how is he a slave?"

Largo sighed, "Truthfully, I don't really know any of the details." He unlinked his hands and pulled himself up in his seat. "I was recently assigned to guard him when he escaped from the camp."

"You a guard?" Sync asked while covering his growing curiosity.

The Black Lion nodded his head, "I was assigned by..."

AND CUT. ahahaha, i love you guys, please spare my life. This chapter was more or less just so i could let you guys know exactly what seals artemis had and what not

Also, for the sake of simplicity, i shall pretend that evenos was the originalllllllllllllllll(because i dont know who was).- and then artemis died and everyone got on with their lives...the end.

Current Leading:

Jade: 21

Guy: 19

Sync: 13

Other: 2