A/N: I’m not sure as to how long everyone had to wait for Luke’s return. Some say one or two years, but I chose two…for reasons I’m not aware of. I guess I just felt like it took that long.

Disclaimer: Namco owns Tales of the Abyss.

Our Radiant Future

By: Kannono

“It’s too cold out here…”

A cloud of breath rose up into the gray, overcast skies of the Sylvana continent. It was the result of the cold temperatures.

Anise Tatlin stood on the steps of the Tool Shop of the sparsely populated Keterburg Bay. The young girl was leaning against the right brick wall of the cozily lit store, awaiting the return of the green-haired boy traveling with her, Florian. He had run into the shop just moments ago, saying something about having to ‘purchase more supplies’. But why would he need to go and do that? Both of them were heading back to Daath on a tightly guarded Oracle ship, so there was no such need to carry around a bag of gels or panacea bottles.

Sighing heavily, Anise kicked absently at the frozen clumps of snow at her feet, watching them fly and land onto the road. As soon as she was about to follow Ion’s replica into the building, something had prevented her from grabbing the iron handle of the door; a simple feeling in herself that said to stay and wait outside in below zero temperatures.

Great.

So she obeyed her conscience. She had rarely done so in the past, what with that fool Mohs holding her parents hostage. But now, she was free from that pressure. She had been for almost two years. The brunette folded her arms across her chest, shivering slightly.

When was Florian going to come out of there?

“Ion never took that long…” she grumbled. “When he was still-”

Anise stopped herself from saying anything else. The word ‘alive’ floated in her thoughts for a moment before she forcefully erased it.

Ion’s death did not depress her as much as it used to. It did not make her cry any longer either. However, it still left the girl rather guilty and saddened.

A single, white snowflake found itself on the bridge of Anise’s nose, cold and tiny. Quickly, it melted into water, and she lazily batted at the damp area with her long, pink sleeve. The last Fon Master Guardian imagined her precious Ion once more. He was the original Ion’s seventh replica, but he had a slightly different personality from the original.

From Ion’s death at Mt. Zaleho, she learned to move on though; to turn towards a more positive outlook. That’s where her dream had been born: to continue Ion’s legacy; to reform the corrupt Order of Lorelei.

The darkwood door behind her creaked open and a high-pitched bell sounded. Anise looked expectedly in its direction, half relieved and half impatient. To her dismay, it was not the person she had been waiting for.

A slim woman clothed in a heavy, black coat waltzed out, her head held high. Anise eyed her as she descended down the small flight of stairs and into the street.

“Hm?” the young girl grunted as she swiftly bent to take a peek into the Tool Shop. Sure enough, she spotted Florian walking towards the counter. Well, it appeared he’d made his choice. At least they would be able to leave soon. If not, she was sure the cold would kill her. “Thank goodness…”

Then there was another fleeting thought.

The woman who had exited a while earlier, from the back, reminded her of someone else, one who resembled Ion in almost every way possible. In fact, he was Ion, yet at the same time was not. The fifth replica, Sync the Tempest.

Anise looked down at the wet door mat sadly with a frown. It pained her to think that Sync had been so twisted. He’d hated the world, the Score, and Van, yet continued to live in it, thinking that he was just a piece of garbage. What had he been faithfully fighting for? She felt so much pity for him, and somehow wanted to help, but she couldn’t now, could she?

Sync was dead. He’d died on Eldrant, leaving this life with the hopes that the Commandant would destroy the Score.

Perhaps he had finally found peace?

The image of Ion in her head was joined by an image of the God-General who always wore a mask in order to hide his identity, as well as the ever cheerful face of Florian. The sinking feeling she’d been overcome by earlier slowly faded. Anise sighed again, this time contentedly. Along with Luke and the others, she had faced Van Grants so as to put an end to the chaos and to avenge both Ion and Sync -- and succeeded.

“I made it.” Anise mumbled to no one in particular, a weak smile forming at her chilled lips. “…didn’t I? Van’s gone now. Meanwhile…Luke is-”

Her sentence was left unfinished as the store entrance swung open once again, done so in an energetic and excited manner. Florian burst out in a rush, his white robes fluttering as he ran by. Anise had to call out his name to signal him that she was still there.

“Florian!” she yelled, cupping her gloved hands to her mouth.

Coming to a halt halfway across the nearly deserted road, the carefree boy turned to look at the pig-tailed girl grinning down at him. He flushed a light shade of red, and said, “O-oh, Anise! I’m sorry if I ran into you”. Apparently, he had not noticed that his friend had stepped to the side.

Anise followed after him, hands planted on her hips. “Nah, you missed me all together! No harm done.” she replied casually.

Florian nodded, shifting his weight nervously as he attempted to hide a brown package behind his back. The brunette craned her neck to the left, trying desperately to catch a glimpse of whatever the other was hiding. Eventually, she smirked slyly.

“What’re you hiding there, hmmmm?” she teased.

“I-it’s nothing!” Florian insisted, taking a few steps backward, but it was no use. Anise would not stop pestering him and asking what he had bought. He didn’t want to tell her, not at the moment at least. The boy anxiously glanced around, searching for something, anything to divert her attention so that he could escape.

The warehouse? No. Men fishing by the dock? Definitely not.

Finally, his eyes focused on the large, hulking mass of the Oracle ship. “Hey, Anise! T-the boat is going to leave soon! We’d better get onboard before then!” he piped up, pointing to the vehicle.

“…Yeah, I guess so.” The brunette shrugged, still grinning. Suddenly, as if on cue, that grin was replaced by a look of pure horror.

“What is it?” the replica queried, worried.

Anise jumped, a shriek escaping her. “Oh no! I totally forgot that Luke’s coming-of-age ceremony is coming up! I have to meet everyone in Sheridan…to take the Albiore and…GAH! C’mon Florian! To the ship!”

Letting the young girl drag him towards the docks, Florian made sure that the package was successfully hidden from Anise’s distracted sights. However, he’d failed to mask the card, which dangled from the paper bag like a sore thumb, reading:

To: Anise Tatlin

Happy Birthday!

From: Florian

Meanwhile, Anise was contemplating on other matters as the two walked up the ramp, where they were met by two Oracle Knights.

Ion and Sync; they’d never come back, they’d never return, but their memory lived on inside of her, the last Fon Master Guardian, Anise Tatlin. And she knew that. That’s why, as the ship left the chilly harbor of Keterburg Bay, Anise looked up at the gray clouds, which tediously parted to reveal the clear, blue sky.

It was a symbol of a radiant future, a future which they’d all been hoping for.

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Thank you very much for reading! I feel good for venting out those feelings of mine while writing this fic, and at the same time, I thought of how everyone’s future brightens up sometime in their life.

Kannono