(no subject)
Originally posted at akai_kitsune on March 11/07.
Title: Picking Up the Pieces
Fandom: Tales of the Abyss
Word Count: 1893
Spoilers: Entire game, pretty much.
Summary: After an old friend comes home, Guy returns to Eldrant to see what's left.
Notes: At the end of the fic.
Tataroo Valley was quiet and beautiful in the early-afternoon sun, the light glinting off the leaves and flowers still damp from the rain that had fallen only hours before. Situated near the tip of the continent stood two figures, both studying the overgrown remains of a collection of broken buildings and crumbled land, the leftovers of an old friend's ambition.
"The way I see it," spoke the first, hands lifting to motion towards each area, "A lot of the construction was probably preserved when it broke apart. The support pillars fell outwards, right? Away from the explosion. Some of it could have come out in decent condition."
"You're pretty confident," the other responded with a faint smile, brushing back crimson bangs and looking back at the wreckage. "A lot of the buildings inside collapsed. Most of it's just rubble now. I don't know if you can get much out of it."
Gailardia Galan Gardios of Malkuth merely grinned, cuffing his companion's shoulder. "Stop being such a pessimist, Luke!" he chided. "I'm no builder, but I'm sure that's good quality stone. All that material would be wasted if we left it here. And look at the land! Malkuth lost a good chunk of territory thanks to Hod being recreated. May as well take it back."
The younger man, who was and wasn't Luke fon Fabre, crouched down in the grass, lifting a small piece of shattered granite and studying it. "It's going to take a lot of work," he finally replied, his tone doubtful.
He felt a hand ruffle playfully - and scoldingly - in his hair. "You think that'll stop me? C'mon, you know me better than that."
Luke stood again, pulling back his arm and tossing the stone towards the mess of stone and foliage. "And you're looking for help."
Guy took a few steps forward, hands on his hips, lifting his head as a bird soared above the highest pillar, disappearing inside. "I can't petition either Kimlasca or Malkuth to support it," he responded after a moment. "Both of them are still trying to recover their economy, as well as looking after the replicas. Plenty of the researchers are studying alternate power sources... the whole world is too busy to start a project this ambitious." He grinned again. "But me? Anyone can walk rappigs, and Jade can play gopher for Peony for a while." He reached out a hand, pressing it against the cool stone. "Replica or not, this was Hod. My home. I want to try and fix things, out of respect for that."
Luke was silent for a while, watching him. He knew that look Guy wore, despite such a long separation after that last battle with Van - he'd seen it often enough, even before he learned the history behind it. Hod was the turning point of Guy's existence, the very core of a simplistically complicated person. The one who smiled and laughed and shrugged aside everything, who had never cried, not once, in all the years Luke had known him.
He'd come close, though - Luke was certain he'd heard it in his voice - only twice; seeing Mary, and his home, for the first time since both had vanished from Auldrant in the Hod War.
"What do you need me for?" he murmured.
Glancing over at him, Guy smiled faintly, a glimmer of thanks in his eyes. "Keep me sane?" he answered, only half joking. "I've asked Aston if he's willing to help me modify some old salvaging fonmachines. I can do the majority of the construction myself, and I can afford it just fine, but I need some important materials from Belkend." He lifted a brow, giving his friend a pointed look. "I could use the support from House Fabre."
"It's yours," Luke said easily, his eyes on Hod. He'd destroyed it, freeing Lorelei. It had been necessary. They both knew that.
But Guy had been forced to watch Hod fall for the second time, and he'd caused that pain.
"As long as I don't have to actually do anything," he added with a cheeky grin. The expression was painfully familiar to those who had known him before, but Guy didn't even blink.
"You don't want to help me build one last fonmachine?" Guy tossed back without a moment's hesitation, giving Luke a light shove. "Don't tell me you got lazy again since you came back!"
"I am not lazy!"
The two stared each other down for a while - one grinning, one pouting - until they finally gave in and shifted their gaze back to the ambitious project before them.
"His Majesty thinks it would be good for me," Guy spoke quietly when he broke the silence, an odd look in his eyes. "Recovering the land we lost to Eldrant would gain a lot of favour for me in the House of Lords. He wants that before he can name me as an heir." He smiled at the sharp look he received from Luke at that. "Heh, you're surprised? I was too, until I thought about it. You're going to be king someday. What better way to preserve peace than to put two best friends on the thrones?"
Luke's brow furrowed. "But Tear..."
"Relax, Luke." Guy offered a mild grin. "It doesn't matter who you marry."
"I-I never said I wanted to marry her!"
"Right, right." His friend waved him off with a laugh, ignoring another indignified pout. "Anyway, like I said, it doesn't matter. Kimlasca's looking for a king with red hair and green eyes. Always has, always will. And you're it. Whether or not you decide to marry Natalia won't change that fact."
Luke didn't respond to that. Watching Guy as he spoke, he honestly didn't know what he wanted.
Sensing somehow that Luke wasn't going to say anything, Guy merely carried on. "I'm not doing this because I want to be the emperor."
"Of course not, Guy." Luke frowned, shaking his head. "I'm sure no one thinks that."
"No one knows," Guy admitted. Anyone else would have looked at him, told him to keep it a secret. Luke was touched, but not surprised, that his friend hadn't said another word about it. That was just how things were between them. "I asked him to wait until I was able to get this project well under way - just in case."
"In case people protest?"
A nod. "I'm pretty new to the whole nobility thing, and I just got my title back a few years ago. His Majesty's pretty informal himself, and he thinks that me having been a servant will give me citizen support - not only that, but I know a lot about Kimlasca, which would reassure people, even though we're going to uphold the treaty. But there are a lot of young nobles who have been vying for the Emperor's favour. They won't be happy if someone like me steals it from right under their noses. Some might act against me."
Luke's eyes widened, instantly concerned. "Guy..."
Guy gave him a sidelong grin. "Don't worry, I don't plan on dying. It just means I have to watch my step until I've earned myself more support."
"What about Jade?"
"You know him," Guy shrugged his shoulders, resting a hand comfortably on his sword. "He's pretty content just being a colonel, like always. He seems to support the Emperor's decision, though." He smiled playfully. "He said I'd be the best candidate for keeping you in line."
"H-hey!" Luke bristled, taking a moment to settle down. "... What about your phobia? Isn't that going to be a problem?"
His former servant's smile tightened. "That one, I'm not sure about. Emperor Peony was never forced to marry, but that doesn't mean I could get away with the same thing. I'm sure they'll want to go back to passing the crown via blood relatives instead of chosen heirs. Salvaging Hod might not be enough."
"...." Luke stepped closer to stand at his side, expression softening. "It'll work out, Guy. You'd be a good leader."
"Hey, I'm supposed to say that to you."
Another cheeky grin. "What, you mean I beat you to it this time? The great Sigmund tactician?"
Guy raised an eyebrow, sharing the grin. "And I'll say again what I told Jade - I don't expect to have to be on guard around my allies!"
"No... just your friends."
The one he considered his best friend in the entire world laughed at that, and suddenly the serious atmosphere was completely gone. Good.
Luke was quiet for a long moment, content to stand in silence, watching Hod - and watching one of the last survivors. Then, reaching into his pocket, he offered something out to Guy, dropping it into the other man's gloved hand.
Guy lowered his gaze to look, and his eyes widened at what he saw. A small circle of gold rested in the palm of his hand, dusty, a little dirty, and in desperate need of some polish.
"You dropped it in Eldrant," Luke glanced sidelong at him, gaze a mixture of annoyance and nostalgia.
"Dropped it?" Guy echoed, lifting it by the top hook, dangling it in front of his friend with an almost victorious smile. "I left it there for you to find. It's hard to serve you when you're not around, you know!"
"Idiot," Luke pursed his lips, unwilling to voice the thought, What if I'd never come back?
There was no answer for that; Guy had always known he would.
"Idiot what?" Guy chuckled softly, hands lifting to attach the medallion to his collar again. Luke watched as he did it, unable to keep from smiling. Guy hadn't looked quite the same without it. "I left it right outside! It was impossible to miss!"
"I almost did," Luke retorted dryly. "What would you have done if I had?"
"... Called you an idiot and made you buy me another one, of course."
Luke snorted. "Of course."
There was another silence, broken only by the light metallic jingle as Guy fiddled with the medallion, getting used to the feel of it against his skin, and the cry of a monster in the distance. They both tensed briefly - an instinctive reaction to danger neither could really help - relaxing only when they deemed their situation safe once more.
Guy was wearing the sword of his father, Luke noticed, not for the first time, inwardly grateful his own father had finally surrendered it to the rightful owner. He lowered his hand from the Key of Lorelei and thought, ironically, that the Jewel and the Key truly were bound together, in more ways than could ever be known by anyone but them.
"Let's change our countries together," Guy said suddenly, with no warning whatsoever, and once again, Luke had to look at him, eyes wide, unable to voice exactly why he was so startled by the words. His friend was still staring at Hod, but it was easy to tell that he was looking beyond it - at his goal, at what it could be. He wasn't sure what Guy was envisioning, but... it would be beautiful. He knew it would be.
"Yeah," he replied simply, following his former servant's gaze. "Let's do it."
He caught a glimmer of that dream shining in the light of fallen Eldrant, and he smiled.
----
Got this idea while watching the ending movie for the billionth time. I felt so sorry for Guy, ^^; having to watch his home go 'splodey. Replica or not, I think he'd want to fix things... maybe it's just me...
There's tons of theories about who exactly comes back at the end - Luke in Asch's body, Asch with Luke's memories, Asch's body and both of them combined - it could go on forever, and there wasn't much to go on considering he only got two lines. I left it somewhat vague in this, if only because I haven't yet decided on a theory I myself want to follow... but because I haven't really had a chance to write Asch yet, the personality is primarily Luke's. If he was around Natalia he'd probably be more Asch... ish?
Guy: I noticed in the video that the medallion was missing from his neck! I was so traumatized (because you just know it says 'Property of Luke' or something) I had to write this. I find it amusing that the entire fic was based on that tiny part of it that may or may not have been a mistake on the animators' part. As for the heir thing... who else could do it? Guy's reasoning is pretty good, o.o; Plus Peony likes him. ♥
This started out as pairing-free, tried to become Luke/Tear, then sort of became a mesh of "OH GOD JUST PICK ONE". Now I have no idea what happened.
Title: Picking Up the Pieces
Fandom: Tales of the Abyss
Word Count: 1893
Spoilers: Entire game, pretty much.
Summary: After an old friend comes home, Guy returns to Eldrant to see what's left.
Notes: At the end of the fic.
Tataroo Valley was quiet and beautiful in the early-afternoon sun, the light glinting off the leaves and flowers still damp from the rain that had fallen only hours before. Situated near the tip of the continent stood two figures, both studying the overgrown remains of a collection of broken buildings and crumbled land, the leftovers of an old friend's ambition.
"The way I see it," spoke the first, hands lifting to motion towards each area, "A lot of the construction was probably preserved when it broke apart. The support pillars fell outwards, right? Away from the explosion. Some of it could have come out in decent condition."
"You're pretty confident," the other responded with a faint smile, brushing back crimson bangs and looking back at the wreckage. "A lot of the buildings inside collapsed. Most of it's just rubble now. I don't know if you can get much out of it."
Gailardia Galan Gardios of Malkuth merely grinned, cuffing his companion's shoulder. "Stop being such a pessimist, Luke!" he chided. "I'm no builder, but I'm sure that's good quality stone. All that material would be wasted if we left it here. And look at the land! Malkuth lost a good chunk of territory thanks to Hod being recreated. May as well take it back."
The younger man, who was and wasn't Luke fon Fabre, crouched down in the grass, lifting a small piece of shattered granite and studying it. "It's going to take a lot of work," he finally replied, his tone doubtful.
He felt a hand ruffle playfully - and scoldingly - in his hair. "You think that'll stop me? C'mon, you know me better than that."
Luke stood again, pulling back his arm and tossing the stone towards the mess of stone and foliage. "And you're looking for help."
Guy took a few steps forward, hands on his hips, lifting his head as a bird soared above the highest pillar, disappearing inside. "I can't petition either Kimlasca or Malkuth to support it," he responded after a moment. "Both of them are still trying to recover their economy, as well as looking after the replicas. Plenty of the researchers are studying alternate power sources... the whole world is too busy to start a project this ambitious." He grinned again. "But me? Anyone can walk rappigs, and Jade can play gopher for Peony for a while." He reached out a hand, pressing it against the cool stone. "Replica or not, this was Hod. My home. I want to try and fix things, out of respect for that."
Luke was silent for a while, watching him. He knew that look Guy wore, despite such a long separation after that last battle with Van - he'd seen it often enough, even before he learned the history behind it. Hod was the turning point of Guy's existence, the very core of a simplistically complicated person. The one who smiled and laughed and shrugged aside everything, who had never cried, not once, in all the years Luke had known him.
He'd come close, though - Luke was certain he'd heard it in his voice - only twice; seeing Mary, and his home, for the first time since both had vanished from Auldrant in the Hod War.
"What do you need me for?" he murmured.
Glancing over at him, Guy smiled faintly, a glimmer of thanks in his eyes. "Keep me sane?" he answered, only half joking. "I've asked Aston if he's willing to help me modify some old salvaging fonmachines. I can do the majority of the construction myself, and I can afford it just fine, but I need some important materials from Belkend." He lifted a brow, giving his friend a pointed look. "I could use the support from House Fabre."
"It's yours," Luke said easily, his eyes on Hod. He'd destroyed it, freeing Lorelei. It had been necessary. They both knew that.
But Guy had been forced to watch Hod fall for the second time, and he'd caused that pain.
"As long as I don't have to actually do anything," he added with a cheeky grin. The expression was painfully familiar to those who had known him before, but Guy didn't even blink.
"You don't want to help me build one last fonmachine?" Guy tossed back without a moment's hesitation, giving Luke a light shove. "Don't tell me you got lazy again since you came back!"
"I am not lazy!"
The two stared each other down for a while - one grinning, one pouting - until they finally gave in and shifted their gaze back to the ambitious project before them.
"His Majesty thinks it would be good for me," Guy spoke quietly when he broke the silence, an odd look in his eyes. "Recovering the land we lost to Eldrant would gain a lot of favour for me in the House of Lords. He wants that before he can name me as an heir." He smiled at the sharp look he received from Luke at that. "Heh, you're surprised? I was too, until I thought about it. You're going to be king someday. What better way to preserve peace than to put two best friends on the thrones?"
Luke's brow furrowed. "But Tear..."
"Relax, Luke." Guy offered a mild grin. "It doesn't matter who you marry."
"I-I never said I wanted to marry her!"
"Right, right." His friend waved him off with a laugh, ignoring another indignified pout. "Anyway, like I said, it doesn't matter. Kimlasca's looking for a king with red hair and green eyes. Always has, always will. And you're it. Whether or not you decide to marry Natalia won't change that fact."
Luke didn't respond to that. Watching Guy as he spoke, he honestly didn't know what he wanted.
Sensing somehow that Luke wasn't going to say anything, Guy merely carried on. "I'm not doing this because I want to be the emperor."
"Of course not, Guy." Luke frowned, shaking his head. "I'm sure no one thinks that."
"No one knows," Guy admitted. Anyone else would have looked at him, told him to keep it a secret. Luke was touched, but not surprised, that his friend hadn't said another word about it. That was just how things were between them. "I asked him to wait until I was able to get this project well under way - just in case."
"In case people protest?"
A nod. "I'm pretty new to the whole nobility thing, and I just got my title back a few years ago. His Majesty's pretty informal himself, and he thinks that me having been a servant will give me citizen support - not only that, but I know a lot about Kimlasca, which would reassure people, even though we're going to uphold the treaty. But there are a lot of young nobles who have been vying for the Emperor's favour. They won't be happy if someone like me steals it from right under their noses. Some might act against me."
Luke's eyes widened, instantly concerned. "Guy..."
Guy gave him a sidelong grin. "Don't worry, I don't plan on dying. It just means I have to watch my step until I've earned myself more support."
"What about Jade?"
"You know him," Guy shrugged his shoulders, resting a hand comfortably on his sword. "He's pretty content just being a colonel, like always. He seems to support the Emperor's decision, though." He smiled playfully. "He said I'd be the best candidate for keeping you in line."
"H-hey!" Luke bristled, taking a moment to settle down. "... What about your phobia? Isn't that going to be a problem?"
His former servant's smile tightened. "That one, I'm not sure about. Emperor Peony was never forced to marry, but that doesn't mean I could get away with the same thing. I'm sure they'll want to go back to passing the crown via blood relatives instead of chosen heirs. Salvaging Hod might not be enough."
"...." Luke stepped closer to stand at his side, expression softening. "It'll work out, Guy. You'd be a good leader."
"Hey, I'm supposed to say that to you."
Another cheeky grin. "What, you mean I beat you to it this time? The great Sigmund tactician?"
Guy raised an eyebrow, sharing the grin. "And I'll say again what I told Jade - I don't expect to have to be on guard around my allies!"
"No... just your friends."
The one he considered his best friend in the entire world laughed at that, and suddenly the serious atmosphere was completely gone. Good.
Luke was quiet for a long moment, content to stand in silence, watching Hod - and watching one of the last survivors. Then, reaching into his pocket, he offered something out to Guy, dropping it into the other man's gloved hand.
Guy lowered his gaze to look, and his eyes widened at what he saw. A small circle of gold rested in the palm of his hand, dusty, a little dirty, and in desperate need of some polish.
"You dropped it in Eldrant," Luke glanced sidelong at him, gaze a mixture of annoyance and nostalgia.
"Dropped it?" Guy echoed, lifting it by the top hook, dangling it in front of his friend with an almost victorious smile. "I left it there for you to find. It's hard to serve you when you're not around, you know!"
"Idiot," Luke pursed his lips, unwilling to voice the thought, What if I'd never come back?
There was no answer for that; Guy had always known he would.
"Idiot what?" Guy chuckled softly, hands lifting to attach the medallion to his collar again. Luke watched as he did it, unable to keep from smiling. Guy hadn't looked quite the same without it. "I left it right outside! It was impossible to miss!"
"I almost did," Luke retorted dryly. "What would you have done if I had?"
"... Called you an idiot and made you buy me another one, of course."
Luke snorted. "Of course."
There was another silence, broken only by the light metallic jingle as Guy fiddled with the medallion, getting used to the feel of it against his skin, and the cry of a monster in the distance. They both tensed briefly - an instinctive reaction to danger neither could really help - relaxing only when they deemed their situation safe once more.
Guy was wearing the sword of his father, Luke noticed, not for the first time, inwardly grateful his own father had finally surrendered it to the rightful owner. He lowered his hand from the Key of Lorelei and thought, ironically, that the Jewel and the Key truly were bound together, in more ways than could ever be known by anyone but them.
"Let's change our countries together," Guy said suddenly, with no warning whatsoever, and once again, Luke had to look at him, eyes wide, unable to voice exactly why he was so startled by the words. His friend was still staring at Hod, but it was easy to tell that he was looking beyond it - at his goal, at what it could be. He wasn't sure what Guy was envisioning, but... it would be beautiful. He knew it would be.
"Yeah," he replied simply, following his former servant's gaze. "Let's do it."
He caught a glimmer of that dream shining in the light of fallen Eldrant, and he smiled.
----
Got this idea while watching the ending movie for the billionth time. I felt so sorry for Guy, ^^; having to watch his home go 'splodey. Replica or not, I think he'd want to fix things... maybe it's just me...
There's tons of theories about who exactly comes back at the end - Luke in Asch's body, Asch with Luke's memories, Asch's body and both of them combined - it could go on forever, and there wasn't much to go on considering he only got two lines. I left it somewhat vague in this, if only because I haven't yet decided on a theory I myself want to follow... but because I haven't really had a chance to write Asch yet, the personality is primarily Luke's. If he was around Natalia he'd probably be more Asch... ish?
Guy: I noticed in the video that the medallion was missing from his neck! I was so traumatized (because you just know it says 'Property of Luke' or something) I had to write this. I find it amusing that the entire fic was based on that tiny part of it that may or may not have been a mistake on the animators' part. As for the heir thing... who else could do it? Guy's reasoning is pretty good, o.o; Plus Peony likes him. ♥
This started out as pairing-free, tried to become Luke/Tear, then sort of became a mesh of "OH GOD JUST PICK ONE". Now I have no idea what happened.