I do not own the Tales of the Abyss characters, titles, weapons, or music. This is purely

fan-made to show how much I like this series. Legends: bold lettering = internal

thought, italic = past memory. A combination of the two means a significant past

memory. Italic andunderline = Fonic Arte incantation. Bold, Italic and underline

means powerful attack. If anything else bugs you about the story please tell me so that I

might fix it. Enjoy.

Chapter 7: The Deceptive Plot

At Baticul, monsters were indeed attacking once more. The people ran as shops were ravaged; the knights tried their best to defend their city but these monsters were stronger than the average goers that walk outside the city limits. Just like when the arena was attacked, the monster worked as a cohesive unit as if they were human. The knights did their best to defend the city once more from this attack but a much larger variety of monsters appeared. Eggbear's, mermen, black bats, a few griffons and larger ligers ransacked the holy city. What made the attack even fiercer was that a mighty Sword Dancer was just beyond the bridge that leads outside. The port was being blocked too by a Liger Queen and its children.

It seemed hopeless for those in Baticul to escape. Looking grim on this side of the continent, the Saviors of Auldrant have only just caught whiff of this attack.

"Baticul is being attacked again?!"

"It is as I feared." Jade began. "This was only a mere ploy to lure us away from the assault on the capital."

Luke growled. "Dammit!" After muttering, he dashed toward the main entrance. "We need to go now!"

"We're not gonna make it in time! LUKE!!" Guy yelled chasing after him.

Anise and Natalia were about to give chase as well but Jade stopped them with a firm motion of his hand. "Let them go. There is still the issue of Ms. Ion here. I trust that you know that you cannot be left here alone."

". . . I am prepared for the consequences."

Luke was like a man possessed. He couldn't bear the thought of his home being destroyed while he was away, nor able to protect it. His feet touched the cement street and before he could dash out of Belkend, Guy's hand, firmly, grasped his shoulder. Luke quickly brushed his shoulder to face his best friend, who was impeding his mad-dash home.

Luke growled even louder than before. "Why are you stopping me, Guy?!"

"You're not using your head! Do you really think you can run from here to Baticul and expect to make it in time to do anything?!" His best friend was trying to reason with him.

"But we can't sit and do nothing!"

"I'm not saying we do nothing! I'm saying let's think about this a little more!"

"There's no time!" He tried to run off again.

However, Guy stopped him again. "Relax!"

"Move!"

Suddenly, a familiar sound reached their ears and broke the argument between the duo. They both looked around for the source but nothing caught their eye at first. Since the sound was so loud, it had to have come from a large ship. 'Wait a second, this is-' Luke and Guy both had an epiphany, running to the main entrance. As they drew closer, they saw the source: A land ship similar to the Tarturus. The name on the side read "Imperial" in Ispanien and bore the Malkuth insignia.

"That's a landship!" The two exclaimed in unison.

"Ah, just in time." Jade's voice was heard not far behind them. Natalia and Anise stood in amazement as Rican stood with her head down, wrists shackled.

Luke blinked then pointed at the ship. "Jade you called that in?!"

"Not necessarily. Since the attack we have stationed mult-terrain landships in the area in case a faster mode of transportation was needed. I also informed our forces that if another attack was launched to send for me."

"Still thinking two steps ahead." Guy gave his usual grin and folded his arms, impressed.

"Well, let's not waste time! We have to hurry!"

Natalia shared Luke's sentiments but was more conservative at the moment. "Right!"

A hope was born within the Saviors as they entered the landship, Imperial. The situation with the "new score" was dealt with by putting Rican in caducity and with the news of another attack heavy on their minds, the Imperial would be the key to easing their worries and doubts. Luke was determined, now more than ever, to save Baticul. However, it seemed like something else was driving him, more than just defense of his home. What that could be remains a mystery, a mystery that Guy would seek out the answer for.

Help was on the way but until then the knights of Baticul were on their own. As the monster ravaged the streets, the knights did their absolute best to fight them off. The ligers were the most common of monsters and also the most annoying to deal with. They were fierce and attacked many knights in groups, corner the few and preying on the weak. The civilians were the easy targets but only a few were caught in their traps. The rest were held up in the shop area between the city square and coliseum.

Just when the lower level knights were getting overwhelm; a large voice roar from the elevators. It was Goldberg, Cecil and the White Knights. With no need for inspiring words, Goldberg thrusts his blade in the air and the White Knights respond with battle cries in defense of their Kingdom and home. The tides slowly started to turn as not even the replica soldiers were able to mount a proper offense against the reinforcements.

Cecil was cornered by two replica knights, three ligers and one giant eggbear. Her blade was still and outward as if waiting for the opportunity to strike at her opponent's weakness. One of the replica knights was foolish and tried to rush in. Within a moment, Cecil disarmed him of his blade and struck him done without a thought. The three ligers jumped at her and she slide toward the last knight using Sonic Thrust to not only avoid the pounce from the ligers but also eliminate another threat. The ligers were still recollecting themselves from the failed attack, giving the Lieutenant the chance she needed.

Using Azure Edge, the ligers were stunned, momentarily but this left her open to the eggbear that was waiting to tear her limb from limb. Cecil is just too fast, however, and rolls behind the monster and used Sword rain. This blasted it back and landed right on the ligers. She jumped into the air and shot toward them at angle, hitting the huge Rising Falcon.

Goldberg was using his strength to his full advantage, lifting the smaller monsters and throwing them toward his other opponents. He barely used his sword but when he did, it sliced an enemy in half with one stroke. Four ligers dashed toward the Brigadier but Goldberg heard them coming. He turned used a standing Destruction Field and wiped out the ligers. It seemed like the monsters were thinning out more and more with the arrival of Goldberg and his white knights. The Liger Queen would cut the thought of victory in two. She roared and called out to more of her children and more ligers came from nowhere, elevators, and the rail cars and even from outside the city.

"Damn! They just keep appearing out of nowhere?! How many of them do we have to kill before this is put to a swift end?!" Goldberg yelled, cutting down a Griffon.

Cecil used another sonic thrust to avoid certain death and blocked a strike from a replica knight. "Not enough it would seem!"

The morale was slowly dwindling and fatigue was sitting in. Things were looking bleak, once again, for Baticul. Again, just when it seemed like all was over, an angel graces the battlefield from the elevators. "O melody beckoning toward the abyss..." A familiar hymn was being sung by this maiden, who held a staff in one hand and a customized knife in the other. Suddenly, a large number of the monsters went to sleep. Long, flowing brown hair, deep ocean blue eyes and a voice that made the field of battle resonate. Tear Grants had entered and she was just as much the woman she was when she left.

Suddenly, Tear ran and killed the sleeping monsters with her knife. An eggbear tried to cut her attack short but she merely used Pow Hammer to stun and Nocturnal Light to finish it off. Goldberg was astonished to see Tear appearing in such a way that he didn't see three ligers about to rip him apart. The seventh fonist caught sight of this and three daggers at the Ligers, the metal tools of death finding their place deep within the skulls of the rabid beasts. With a swift turn, she used Banishing sorrow to blast away a liger that tried to sneak up on her. She sighed and turned to Goldberg.

"This seems to be quite the circumstance. I'm sorry I couldn't get here sooner."

"Don't worry about apologies. Just continue to offer us your aid. We were moments away from being overrun."

"Yes, I see that. These monsters are mostly from the near-by area, however some seem like they're from a different location." She spoke and began walking toward the elevator to the port. "Mainly, these ligers . . . there number is alarming. That must mean a Liger Queen is near as well. I will find it and kill it, have your man maintain stability here!"

Goldberg scoffed before rising. "She hasn't been back long and already giving orders? I guess my pride won't allow me to let someone like her do so without such thoughts."

Tear made her slow descent to the port in the elevator. Before the elevator doors could open, it was instantly swarmed upon by ligers. She steeled herself and pulled out three knives, swiftly throwing them through the slips. The ligers fell as the doors opened and before her eyes was the Liger Queen, surrounded by her children. This one seemed fiercer than the one in that laid in Cheagle Woods. 'The last time I fought one like you I had company with me . . .' Her thoughts drifted off for a moment. 'Luke . . .'

Just as quickly as Tear was lost in thought, a roar brought her back to battle. Seemingly on impulse she pulled her wand and began to chant."Thou, who wouldst take revenge, carve here thy holy seal. Eclair de Larmes!" Suddenly an 'X' appeared on the ground where the ligers were and a blast of light and fire destroyed them. Not giving anytime for the enemy to mount an offense, Tear ran through the dying flames and jumped using Severed Fate. Two more ligers fell as she slowly made her way to the Liger Queen. The Mother of the Ligers growled and lunged at Tear while she was helpless in mid-air.

Tear barely avoided the attack and noticed a red field of fonons on the ground. Again a handful of ligers blocked her way to the Queen but she had a plan. Pulling out six knives, three in each hand, she took a breath and took a stance. "Pierce Cluster!!!" She hurled them three at a time and jumped over the downed ligers, landing right in the middle of the fonon field. 'Just in time! Ready?!' She said in her head before preparing an attack. "Burn to ashes! Searing Sorrow!" A large fire attack was aimed right at the Queen. The large liger took the attack but was pushed back still. The melodist jumped to the back of monster and summed yet another fonic spell. "O divine spear, run my enemy through! Holy Lance!"

The Light attack damaged the already injured Queen and knocked it down. Tear closed her eyes and swiped her wand down with authority. In her mind, she was defeated; therefore, the other ligers would no longer be a problem. However, she was caught off guard by a dash attack from two ligers. Tear fell to the ground and rolled against the stone pavement. She shook her head and began to stand seeing that the Queen was no longer on the ground and nowhere in her sights. 'I was careless!' She thought quickly before back stepping away from an aerial dive from the Liger Queen.

Meanwhile, the Imperial was closing in on the monster infested city, Baticul. Luke was on the main deck, watching his home come closer into view, however something else caught his eye. A Sword Dancer stood right in front of the bridge that leads straight into the city. 'What the?! Didn't we take care of that thing before?!' Guy went to check on Luke and saw him jumping from the Imperial. He sighed before running back to alert the others what his foolish friend was doing.

Luke pulled the Key of Lorelei from its sheath and ran toward the towering Sword Dancer. He jumped and before he could even perform an attack, the large monster attacked with its quick-draw katana. Barely blocking the sword strike, Luke flew away from Sword Dancer, landing on his feet. Grunting, Luke sent off two Demon Fist's and ran right behind the land bound attacks. They both collided with a larger blade but Luke was able to slip under, using Fang Blade to burst through Sword Dancer's guard from the inside. Making Sword Dancer stumble, Luke went heavier on the offensive, attacking relentlessly before unleashing a Sonic Thrust, followed by Sonic Blast.

This gave a small boost to the noble's ego but he was soon blast away with two quick strikes. Falling flat on his back, Luke flipped right back only to see three lances make their way toward Sword Dancer. They were blocked but then six arrows came from above. The barrage of arrows and lances over took the monster before it was pushed back.

Luke chuckled. "I had it under control guys."

Suddenly Guy landed next to Luke and grinned. "C'mon, Luke, no need to take all the fun."

The Imperial slowed to a halt, allowing Anise, Jade and Natalia to exit. Jade sighs. "And yet again, the foolish Luke rushes in."

"Shut up!"

"Let's save the talking for later! Baticul is in danger!"

"Right!"

Right after they all finished speaking, Sword dancer wasted no time in going back on the offensive. Using a dark Demon Fang, the group scattered away. The numbers game was certainly in the Savior's favor but Sword Dancer was a powerful being. Guy went in to use White Tiger Strike but it was deflected with a Double Demon Fang. The second Demon Fang slammed into Guy, knocking him down. While he recovered, Anise set up a Healing Circle and Jade prepared a fonic arte for added supported.

Luke and Natalia were next up to bat. As Natalia provided cover, Luke tried get inside his guard again. The constant attacks over and over, chipped away at the Sword Dancer's guard before Jade finished preparation. "O maddening gale of the spirits of the earth... Stalagmite!" Rocks blasted Sword Dancer's guard wide open and that's when Luke saw the opening.

"Follow me!" He called for a change in plan. Moving swiftly, he used Raging Blast to knock it back. "Guy!"

Suddenly, Guy jumped over Luke, shining in over-limit, and was once again in mid-air coming down for his mystic arte. "O noble conflagration! Incinerate all! Razing Phoenix!" He rose upwards bring the fires of his phoenix with him. Sword Dancer hung in mid-air a while longer. Anise ran toward the monster, throwing Tokunaga out and using Cyclone Shot in one direction and quickly used Cyclone shot in mid-air two more times before flipping out of the way. Natalia shot Piercing Line that shot right Sword Dancer and followed it up with a powerful Astral Laser.

Jade summoned his Lance and jumped right into a green field of fonons, pulling the winds to his hand. Luke rolled in front of him and nodded. Jade smirked before Sword Dancer came plummeting down toward them. Fonons spiraled around them just like with the Combination Attack with Guy.

"Light Spear Impaling Heaven!!"

They shouted as Luke's sword and Jade's spear found their place in Sword Dancer's armor. Not able to take the damage it sustained, it dissipated Luke didn't use that time to take it easier, however. In no time, he ran across the bridge, everyone else following behind him. Bats, again, came from the depths of the Baticul but Luke simply cut through and sped up so he could assess the damage with his own eyes. Upon enter the main square, a battle was still commence between replica knights and the White Knights.

"Alright! Guy, go help Cecille! Natalia, I need you to find and protect the civilians! Jade and Anise, assist Goldberg! I got the port!"

Everyone nodded and ran off to do take their assignments. Guy saw Cecille cornered by three replica knights; she looked exhausted and barely able to lift her blade. With a Tri-Demon Fang, they fell to their knees, allowing the noble to cut them down. He gave a smile to Cecille who returned it, graciously. No time for words here, more enemies were closing in and Guy couldn't allow time to slip by him.

Goldberg was doing okay on his own, but his men were struggling against the newly added salamanders, which left some knights petrified. He snarled and snorted before slamming his blade in the ground and running toward one of the dark purple salamanders. He grabbed it and hurled it into the sky, allowing it to hit the ground so he could his elbow down. Rolling away, back to his blade, he found himself surrounded. "O sword of conviction, loose the might of your brilliant colours! Prism Sword!" Jade's voice resounded as the brightly colored attack annihilated the monsters around Goldberg. Anise jumped right in the Light field of fonons. Crashing into a pack of ligers with an Eagle Dive, the puppeteer used Dual Dragon Surge to clear the area of black bats that suddenly swooped in. As Anise and Tokunaga took out more of the enemy forces, Jade stuck back near Goldberg to take out enemies from a safe distance with his spear, leaving the Baticul general in shame.

Women and children were cowering inside of a house near the elevator. The door was being bashed relentlessly and it was moments away from breaking. Suddenly, a replica soldier flew in from the small window, an arrow in his arm. While he struggled to get it out, three more arrows found their place in his body. Natalia nimbly entered through the window and took stance in front of the civilians. Salamanders, black bats, an eggbear and two apparitions came storming in and fell victim to the Princess' Gallant Barrage. Firing arrows to finish off any remaining enemies, she turned her head, when giving the chance, to see if anyone was injured. The monster's fell and she instantly turned. "O regenerative power, abide here! Healing Force!" A green aura surrounded the townspeople and healed their injuries, to Natalia's relief. She took her stance once more and quickly exited the house to check on the next place.

Luke knew that his friends had everything handled well on the main floor and was concerned mainly about the port. Quickly hopping on the Rail Cart, he began his descent to the port. More black bats came to meet him only to meet a swift end, though the cart made it tough to pull off any artes. The moment the cart stopped, Luke jumped out only to see a mess of ligers growling at him. He smirked and stuck out his hand. "Pour forth!! Icicle Rain!" The powerful shards of ice pierced most of the rabid beasts, allowing Luke to continue onward.

He thought he saw a Liger Queen in back behind all the ligers but it was hard to see. Scoffing, he raised his blade and used Swallow Fury to Rising Falcon to gain distance and still defeat enemies. Now he could see more clearly, it was a Liger Queen. 'What the hell?! I guess they're more of them but this just doesn't make sense! This is the fourth monster that we've seen that we've defeated once before!' Quieting his thoughts, he sliced through the remaining ligers around him and proceeding toward the Queen. The closer he got, the more it looked like the Liger Queen had someone cornered. This pushed him to get there even more. He cut down two more ligers, using Radiant Dragon to clear the way, and caught sight of the Queen's paw rose for an attack but he also saw glimpse of the person who was cornered. It was none other than Tear. 'N-no!' No more thoughts moved Luke's body, he just moved. He sheathed his blade to move quicker, hopping over and side stepping ligers left and right. He slid underneath the Liger Queen and for a moment Tear's and Luke's eyes met. For that instant time stopped but suddenly brought back with a strong slash to Luke's back.

The Liger Queen was breathing heavily, her claws dripping with Luke's blood. Tear's eyes were still wide as she stared at Luke; a look of pain filled his face. He grunted and turned his head toward his enemies. "Bring it on!!" He shouted before his body was surrounded by seventh fonon's and over limit. "AAAAAAAAH!!" His right hand filled with Hyperresonance, turning his body to attack. "NOW DIE!!" No hesitation laid in his being as he slammed the ball of energy right into the Liger Queen. She blew back, smashing into her children and laid on the ground, in great pain. Breathing heavily himself, Luke fell to his left knee.

This shocked Tear right out of her mode and she moved, swiftly, over to the downed Liger Queen, singing a Hymn: "O violent strains that render demons to ashes..." As she sung, she spun in the air and when her magnificent song concluded, she landed and Holy Rain was casted.

Finishing off the Queen and the remaining Ligers, she ran back to Luke. "LUKE!"

He was on the ground, stomach first in great pain. "Ah . . . T-Tear . . ."

"Don't talk. I'll heal you. Just wait a moment."

Luke simply nodded as Tear slipped him a pineapple gel to recover his strength. She began healing him as the gel took effect. The wound was pretty deep and the added stress on his body and mind did not help either.

"Tear . . . it's really you right?"

"Of course it's me, you idiot. Now quiet down, I'm almost done." Her tone was stern as usual but this time it was to cover her true concern, care and anxiousness.

It had been a year since they last saw each other and Tear felt so relieved to see that Luke was alive and well. She had not much contact in the outside world and worried for her one and only idiot. Finishing up the healing process, Tear sighed and helped Luke up. He seemed a bit taller than before and his hair was still as long and as crimson as she remembered. His eyes still had their gentleness and yet now held more of a mature shine to them as well. A smile crossed their faces but soon Luke took a few steps forward.

"We . . . have a lot of catching up to do, Tear. But as it stands, we got some business to take care of first." He turned and grinned. "Would be nice to have some back up."

Tear smiled, it was truly a great feeling to feel, hear and see him after all this time. "Back up?" She said suddenly in a stern tone. "Your form is still sloppy after all this time, you'll need more than just me to save you."

"Ouch, you never let up." He smiled softly before returning his gaze back up to the main level of Baticul. "Let's go Tear!"

Meanwhile, up in the castle, King Ingobert was sitting his chambers worried about the outcome of the battle down below. He sat in his chair, waiting for a report and a knock from one his servants, or Goldberg, himself. His eyes closed and prayed for the safety of his people, his city and those who pledge themselves as Knights of Baticul.

"Hello, King Ingobert." A dark sinister voice echoed in the room.

Shocking the King, he rose from his seat, looking around with concern eyes. "Who's there? Show yourself!"

He was about to reach for his sword but he soon found a scythe around his neck. Fuai loomed over him with obedient eyes lying on the man who suddenly appeared before him. The Masked Lord, Roin. "A pleasure to finally meet you . . . now let us talk, shall we?"

- End of Chapter 7 -

I hoped you enjoyed this action packed Chapter! So now All the Heroes of Auldrant are

assembled but what of the King? What of the mysterious Ms. Rican Ion? Find out next time in

Tales of the Abyss: The Fonic Affair - Chapter 8: Royal Blood!

Skit:

Who has the best Artes?

Guy: Whew!

Luke: Wow, you've gotten better with your sword, Guy.

Guy: Thanks but you've gotten good as well. Your sword reminds of Van a lot.

Luke: Really? Heh.

Jade: Yet the question is; who is better?

Natalia: What?

Luke: Oh no, not this again.

Anise: It's true! You two have the most similar style but I say Guy is better!!

Jade: Yes, Guy is more experienced but Luke has improved exponentially.

Anise: I guess. Natalia, who do you choose?!

Natalia: What? Me? I . . . uh . . .

Guy: Jeez, what now? Those three seem to be deeply interested in this "contest"

Luke: We could always battle it out again.

Anise: YEAH, DO IT!!

Jade: This shall be interesting, indeed.

Natalia: D-don't get hurt!

Luke and Guy: 1, 2, 3!!! *throw down hands in rock, paper, scissors*

Guy: A draw.

Luke: One more time!

Anise: Boooo! I wanna see a real fight!

Jade: Seems like I have been outwitted here.

Natalia: You mean you were trying to get them to fight for real?!

- Skit End -