Start at 53 if you didn't yet.

Oh, one other thing I haven't mentioned yet. Cleaning up a fryer that hasn't been cleaned PROPERLY in over a year is absolutely disgusting.

Yes, that is what I'm doing, in between getting updates ready. All of them are going up at the same time, but I'm taking breaks between making Author's Notes to scrub down the fryer.

It's gross. Don't ever let a fryer go for more than a few months without a bath. (I'm sure there are safety reasons too, but it's really gross anyway.)

Hehe... Tales of Symphonia is awesome. Just saying. XD

Also... Sorry Jade. One of your nightmares is about to become reality...

Now, on to the unfamiliar material! (Also, back to Kairi. Finally! It's only been... nine parts since we've heard from her.) Enjoy! Er... as much as you can. (Also, there will be two CR chapters from Kairi's POV that will be posted... whenever I write them, at this rate.)

I was rather grateful that Lloyd didn't exist in Tales of the Abyss. Van would likely murder him. And I would be sad. –Kairi

Chapter 6.3 – Conflicts and Sidequests
Part 56

I scowled at the back of Van's head. "Really?"

"Yes," came the blunt reply. I growled something that was probably not at all flattering and crossed my arms, walking along behind him without another complaint.

Sealed fonslots, Zion blasting my Energy control every time I tried to used those to cast artes, no weapons... The only time I was allowed to use Energies at all was when I was helping Luke learn to use fonic artes. And even then, I couldn't cast artes myself, just keep track of what Luke was doing.

Needless to say, I was irritated.

I sighed and looked around. We'd been traveling non-stop since Meggiora Highlands, making a pit stop in Tataroo Valley on our way through. They'd sealed off the passage ring there, or tried to, at least. It hadn't taken much for me to completely irritate Van by changing my part of the lock before he could do anything more to the passage ring. And, while Zion did know I was from another world, he had no idea what Tales of the Abyss was... Let alone Tales of Symphonia.

"So, what does Lloyd Irving mean?" Luke had asked sometime later, when Van wasn't within earshot. I was rather grateful that Lloyd didn't exist in Tales of the Abyss. Van would likely murder him. And I would be sad.

"It's a person." That was all the explanation I'd given to Luke. And he had let the matter drop. He was getting better at figuring that out.

Then, of course, he had started asking about Asch. I'd reluctantly started telling him the whole story, from the beginning. Meeting Nephry, saving Sync, pissing Asch off, being teleported to Aramis Spring via hyperresonance (I left out being stuck in the same body, as usual)... I'd only tell him when Van was preoccupied, so I was just getting to our second visit to Grand Chokmah, but Luke didn't seem to mind.

Still, it amused me to be back in the Cheagle Woods. Zion said we were just passing through on our way to the Northern Forest. Didn't Star say they had a base up here? Guess that makes sense.

Zion, who had been talking to Van, groaned and walked over to me. I looked up at him, waiting patiently for the complaint that was sure to come. "Can you use that bow to hunt as well as fight?" he asked. Yep, definitely irritated.

I nodded. "Yes. Why?"

He walked off for a moment before returning with my bow and three arrows. "Let's go. We're running out of meat."

The bow was practically tossed at my face, while he was nice enough to at least hold the arrows out. I grabbed everything and settled into my usual stance, turning and heading off into the darkening forest.

Zion followed behind me, wise enough to not make a lot of noise. I kept close track on his Energy Core as I slipped halfway onto the second plane.

A couple of small Energy Cores darted here and there, but glances told me those were cheagles. While I doubt Zion or Van would have any problems eating a cheagle, Luke, who really did like the little blue one that was almost always hiding in his bag nowadays, wouldn't be so open to such a thing.

Then I spotted a much larger Energy Core, and I stopped, holding the nocked arrow and the two extras in place with the hand holding the bow while the other came up in what was pretty much a universal 'stop' sign.

The footsteps behind me paused, while I considered my prey. I'd never brought back anything larger than a wild cat before. This was a... well, I wasn't sure what to call it. It looked... almost like a miniature giraffe... with a slightly shorter neck.

I poked Zion telepathically, and he reluctantly let me open a channel. *Yes?*

I sent an image of the animal to him, and felt, quite clearly, his surprise. *Sure... If we don't kill it, I'm sure the ligers will. How the hell did that get here...?*

I smirked, raising my bow and aiming for the animal's heart. Three, two...

Twang!

A nice, liquid-sounding thunk told me I'd hit home even if the animal had gone to jump away. I ran in, already collecting Energies.

One hoofed leg almost caught me in the knee before I dropped down on top of it and put my hand around the arrow. The animal lay still then, heart stopped by the sudden influx of earth Energies.

"Nice. And Van said letting you hunt was a bad idea..." Zion commented, walking up. I smirked and noted that my arrow was gone. Probably back to the quiver. In that case...

I stood, nocked both arrows, and aimed for a nearby tree. One hit it, the other hit a tree behind it. I didn't care, really, since they both disappeared a moment later. My bow was then tossed to Zion, while I tied off the animal's legs and lifted it. Zion crossed his arms.

"You could have asked for help, you know."

I gave him an irritated look. "March."

He apparently decided that arguing with me wasn't the greatest of ideas at that moment, and turned to walk off. I followed him quietly.

Luke and Van looked up from their sword practice, Luke practically dropping his sword when he spotted the... whatever it was... over my shoulders. Van raised an eyebrow, but nodded appreciatively.

"Luke, work on your fonic artes with Kairi. Zion and I will prepare dinner."

I rolled my eyes and pulled the redhead off to the side to start practicing. Of course, we weren't doing that long before a low growling caught my attention. I froze and looked around, spotting the gray fur almost immediately.

It took every ounce of my self-control to not race over to the liger and throw my arms around it. A good thing, too, as the warm brown eyes I'd usually associate with Koran were clouded, cold, and more of a red-brown than the soft brown I missed.

Beyond that, there didn't seem to be any difference between this liger and Koran. Everything, from the colors to the jagged markings, was identical.

So, Koran was a replica as well as Dark.

I reached out telepathically, only to find a wall of hatred and pain between me and this liger's mind.

"Enough, Kallig."

My eyes shifted as a familiar figure in black stepped out into the open. Danté. I should have figured. Venomous green eyes locked on me, before Danté walked over to the campfire, kneeling next to Zion. I let myself drop to the ground, wandering over on the second plane where I wouldn't be noticed.

"Rhunön's got everything set up," Danté said. Zion nodded, then frowned.

"She said you were leaving on a personal venture."

"Yes."

Zion sighed. "Which means you left Dark half-dead again. Yes?"

"No."

Zion and I both seemed confused, although Zion didn't know I was there.

"Kairi's going to have some company, at least. Well... Assuming the replication process doesn't kill the girl before we get Kairi there."

Zion huffed. "You took the princess."

Danté smirked. "You objecting?"

It was quiet for a while before green-haired teen replied.

"If Natalia dies at our hands, we could have a lot of trouble to deal with."

"So find a lab somewhere in Malkuth and dump her there."

"Blame it on Malkuth... Yes, that could work."

I'd heard enough, and I snapped back to my body and opened my eyes. Luke was crouched in front of me, looking conflicted. Damn. He could give everything away. Of course, he could also be my best ally. Curse him for being so irritatingly indecisive.

"Well?"

"They've replicated Natalia. She may not survive the week. They're planning on dumping her body in a Malkuth lab to blame her death on Malkuth scientists," I replied. I decided almost immediately that I'd made the correct decision.

"So how are we going to get her out?" he asked.

I frowned. "If she's still alive when we get there, I should be able to help. There isn't much I can't fix while on the second plane, given enough time. But if she's already dead when we get there, you have to get the replica out."

Luke nodded. "I should probably grab her and run regardless of whether you can heal Natalia or not," he said. I stood and looked over at the campfire before sighing.

"We should head over," I said. Luke nodded, reluctantly following me. We'd timed it just right. Van had just finished our dinner for the night, and had, after a few moments' contemplation, given some extra meat to Kallig.

I found myself waking up to the familiar feeling of morphine wearing off. It bothered me that it was now familiar. No thanks to Asch being paranoid... Wait. Asch wasn't in the group.

I slipped out of my body faster than I'd done in weeks, turning and flushing the morphine within a few minutes. Then I started looking around.

I was in a cell. It wasn't just a hole in the ground this time, it was a real prison cell. Albeit, one with one wall that was entirely metal bars with a door breaking the monotony of it.

I stepped through the bars, ignoring the shudder that ran down my spine at the feeling, and started looking around. I didn't make it far before a door slammed somewhere above me and the flickering light of a torch caught my eye. I noted the direction the torch was coming from before reluctantly wandering toward it.

Then I saw her. She was flickering, but she was still alive. And conscious.

Danté stopped in front of her cell, holding the torch aloft.

"Dark won't let you get away with this!" Natalia said, trying to sound indignant, I'm sure. But her scratchy voice and breathlessness took away the effect. Danté snorted.

"I'd like to see him try," he scoffed, already turning and walking toward me. I jumped to the side, avoiding being walked through by an inch, and then followed him.

Danté stopped in front of my cell, pulling a ring of keys out of his coat pocket and unlocking the door. I frowned as he stepped in, set the torch in a holder in the wall, and then hefted my body over his shoulder, keeping me in place with one arm while taking up the torch again with the other.

Given my options, I really had no choice but to follow him. Still, it bothered me that he was so casually carrying me through these halls. Especially if...

Realization hit me like a freight train, and I ran up ahead a little bit before coming to a crossroads. I cursed, forced to wait for Danté to choose the correct path.

He made a turn to the right, and I ran down that hallway. Down some steps, still no doors... crap!

I froze, backpedalling a few feet and forcibly re-stabilizing my Energy Core. I'd almost run right out of my range. Damn...

I started moving again, walking at about the same pace Danté had been moving at earlier. There was another turn up ahead, but it wasn't a split in the path, so I was able to safely take the turn.

This hallway was lit with torches every five feet or so. I paused a moment, noting doors here and there. I didn't want to keep going if Danté was going to go through one of them.

The assassin put the torch he'd been carrying in one of the empty holders near the turn and shifted my body from his shoulder so he was carrying my bridal style. He didn't seem interested by any of the doors in this hallway, continuing to walk down it like they didn't matter. I went ahead again, finding another turn, a short hallway, and then a third turn. At the end of that short hallway was another door. Danté was close enough, so I reluctantly stepped through the door.

What I saw on the other side confirmed my initial concerns. A woman with short brown hair and gold eyes sat in a chair (thankfully not a floating one) in front of a console similar to those in Yulia City's underbelly.

An all-too familiar machine stood nearby, while a girl with red-streaked light brown hair stood near the woman. The girl looked familiar... And then I realized why.

*Natalia... You're her replica? But why...* I trailed off, realizing that the woman had to be Rhunön. So, she'd modified Natalia's replica data. But what else had she done? The streaks were obviously from Asch's hair color. Her eyes were Natalia's hazel, but... The brown hair?

"Where's my sister?" the Natalia replica asked, sounding much younger than Natalia did. Rhunön turned and looked at her with a smile.

"Don't worry, Meryl. We have to remove your sister from the woman imprisoning her first. Then you'll have Mirage back."

I felt ice run through my veins. Mirage... That was the name Zion had given me when Van gave me amnesia. And Danté was bringing me, my body, here...

Jade's fears were about to come true.

"Big sister!" The Natalia replica (hadn't Rhunön called her Meryl?) ran over to Danté as he walked in. Danté scowled.

"Move, Meryl. We can't extract Mirage if you're in the way."

Meryl stepped to the side, and I crossed my arms. Wait, what was going on? This replica wasn't acting like a newborn. In fact, she was acting like...

"Meryl, why don't you go get the clothes we prepared for your sister?" Rhunön suggested. Meryl smiled and ran off through the door, while Rhunön's smile turned into a scowl. "A month, Danté. It took me almost a month to write up all of the false memory coding for the Otherworlder's replica, and then you just had to throw a wrench in the plans by having me replicate Natalia."

Danté smirked, placing me on the platform. "You're complaining? I'd have thought you would enjoy the challenge."

Rhunön huffed. "If I'd had more than a week, yes. I'm glad Meryl is happy enough with our little amnesia ruse. But just doing that meant I had to change half a dozen lines of coding for Mirage." She turned back around and went back to typing. "Remind me again why I never use this?"

"Because memories are a pain to code," Danté intoned boredly. Rhunön rolled her eyes and looked over at my body.

"She'll be out for another few hours, right?"

"Assuming her body hasn't developed more of a tolerance to morphine than Zion is aware of," Danté said. I snorted. If I thought I could slip past these two, I would.

Rhunön tapped a few buttons and the fomicry machine lit up.

I screamed, dropping back into my body as the machine tore me apart.

This is a Doppelganger body.

It's not sturdy enough for this.

I lashed out in fear.

Fun Fact: I changed Meryl's hair color from what it was originally. She was supposed to have Largo's slate-colored hair... then I realized that if she looked nothing like her 'sister', we'd probably have a couple of very suspicious replicas on our hands. O.o