Author's Note: Finally, everyone is together! Whew! Now the real story can begin...

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of the Abyss.

Chapter 13

Lunaday, Gnome-Decan 39, ND2019 – 11:35am local time (Sheridan)

Jade finished tacking his map of Auldrant to the back wall of the Albiore's flight deck and turned to face the group. "We need to choose a destination," he began. "Everyone, please take a look at this map. This is a summary of all the disasters we know about."

"Wow," said Anise. "I knew Keterburg was having a bad winter, but I didn't know about the Zao Desert. What are these little lines all over Central Rugnica, Colonel?"

"Guy will explain," Jade replied lightly.

"Me?!" Guy exclaimed. "Oh man... Here we go again..."

Tear, Anise, and Natalia all giggled. Florian just looked baffled. Jade smiled slightly at the boy's confusion. Well, now, he thought. This will be fun... someone new to tease. And so innocent, too. Oh, the possibilities!

Guy drew a deep breath. "All right. Here we have Keterburg's unusually harsh winter," he said, pointing to Keterburg on the map. "Then there's Mount Zaleho's eruption, earthquakes in the Zao Desert, tornadoes all across Central Rugnica which will hit Engeve sooner or later, and cloudy weather killing the plants in Saint Binah. Anything else, Jade?"

"No, that's all we have so far," Jade replied.

"So far?" Tear echoed.

"It's possible that other problems are occurring, and we simply haven't heard about them yet. Also, more issues could arise in the future," Jade clarified.

Anise groaned. "Ugh... whenever you say things like that, Colonel, something even worse always happens."

"My apologies. It's merely the truth," Jade stated flatly.

Florian stared at the map, wide-eyed. "I had no idea so many bad things were happening!" he exclaimed.

"You can still go to Yulia City, you know," Anise told him.

Florian shook his head. "If bad things are happening all over the world, then Yulia City isn't safe either."

"Yeah," said Guy, nodding. "No one is safe anywhere, until we find the source of these disasters."

"Why are you assuming that there is only one source, Guy?" Jade asked sternly.

"Oh." Guy looked embarrassed. "Right. Sorry, Jade."

"I suspect there are multiple sources: namely, the Sephiroth. The cause, however..." Jade trailed off, adjusting his glasses.

"The Sephiroth are the planet's fon slots, right?" Florian asked. "Then..."

"Darkness," Tear murmured, tapping her finger on the map near Saint Binah. "Earth," she continued, tapping the Zao Desert. "Wind..." she stopped short. "But the tornadoes – really, tornadoes?" She looked at Jade in astonishment.

Jade nodded grimly, remembering the wreckage of Third Division's training camp. Ninety-seven dead, one hundred and forty-two severely injured, forty-three with minor injuries including myself, and approximately two million gald worth of equipment destroyed. At least my back has stopped hurting, thanks to Natalia. Unfortunately, Cure doesn't prevent flashbacks or nightmares.

"Those are occurring in Rugnica, not Tataroo Valley," Tear continued.

"Yeah, I wonder what's up with that," Guy agreed. "If Jade is right about the Sephiroth, then Rugnica doesn't fit the rest of the pattern."

Natalia spoke up. "Even so, my father may be correct. Perhaps these disturbances are a side effect of lowering the land, stopping the Planet Storm, or both."

"I wouldn't be surprised if that was true," Jade replied. "But if that's the case, why would the Sephiroth react to the absence of the Planet Storm...?"

"So, where should I take you?" Noelle called from the pilot's seat.

"I suggest we investigate Tataroo Valley," Jade said immediately, before anyone else could speak. "Although the tornadoes are affecting Rugnica, the damage observations indicate that most of them were moving from west to east or southwest to northeast. Therefore, the Sephiroth in Tataroo Valley may be the storms' point of origin. If so, we must protect Engeve before it's too late."

There was silence as no one argued or volunteered any alternatives.

"Tataroo Valley it is, then," Jade concluded with a satisfied nod.