Just Like Her
Tales of the Abyss



“Look, Jade… It’s just like her….” Dist said softly, his voice quivering slightly with anticipation for his idols reaction.

The Necromancers’ brow furrowed as he eyed the white-haired mechanic before him. Saphir was as scrawny, dolled up and stupid looking as usual. Everything was so meticulously placed on him—from the light shade of purple across his lips, to the very way his clothing hung from his body. Jade hated the way his eyes always followed Saphir’s sickening feminine curves. It was absolutely nauseating.

“Jade… It’s her. Look…” That whiney, annoying voice that secretly drove Jade insane sounded in his ears again and he had the urge to throw some degrading line at him to see him flail about in annoyance.

Instead, Jade stepped around the idiotic man and looked towards the elegantly dressed up bed in the corner. Jade was vaguely reminded of something from a fairy tale—Sleeping Beauty, was it? With the high hanging see-through veil that fell around the bed, with just a tiny area where the curtains parted to allow one to enter and leave the bed—or in Sleeping Beauty’s case, give her a little kiss on the lips to bring her back to life.

Jade frowned slightly at this thought. Who was it that Saphir was talking about anyways? The Colonel felt a sudden sinking feeling settle in his stomach and he frowned further as he walked towards the silly purple drapes. He took hold of the veil and lifted it.

His crimson eyes fell upon a very familiar face. A face that often haunted his dreams and had once been the root of all his obsessions.

Nebilim.

Jade blinked in surprise, once, twice. His lips parted slightly and a slow breath escaped from him. He slowly straightened, his fingers curled tightly around the thin veil as he stared quietly down at the woman who lay soundlessly in the bed, as if asleep.

“Saphir…” Jade whispered softly, and his voice was venomous. “What have you done?” The Necromancer felt rage bubbling in him. How did Dist succeed where he failed so miserably? No… There was no success here.

Jade didn’t quite remember launching himself at the petite man who had been smiling hopefully at him a moment earlier—nor did he remember actually striking him—but finally Dist’s high shrieks and wails for him to stop finally registered and the Necromancer blinked in surprise.

Jade had Dist on the ground, having straddled his legs at one point. The Colonel had him by the collar and his other arm was poised back—ready to strike the white-haired man in the face once again. Dist’s glasses were bent on his face and one lens was actually broken. Blood ran from the younger mans spilt lip and he was sobbing quietly, his face turned away, shaking.

“Jade…it’s not… it’s not what you think… I…she’s…” Dist dared to look up at the Necromancer who was scowling down at him. “Not real! It’s... a…” The white-haired man actually placed both hands on Jade’s chest and slowly pushed him aside, and even more surprisingly, Jade allowed him to do this. Dist crawled to the side of the bed where ‘Nebilim’ laid and then smiling encouragingly back at Jade, he reached around Niblim’s shoulder and unhooked the dress.

“What are you doing?” Jade snapped, now standing directly behind his former friend.

“Just...wait…”

Much to the Colonel’s surprise, the front of Nibilim’s body opened up and swung out wide to reveal a mass of wires and beeping lights.

Dist smiled up at his childhood friend, “She’s a machine!” He stated proudly. “And she has all the memories of us… when we were kids. I put in memories of us growing up too, so she knows what we look like now… I just need to turn her on.” Dist pressed several buttons and then snapped the chest back into place.

A moment later, Nibilim’s eyes fluttered opened and she turned her gaze to Dist and smiled, “Good morning.”

“Good morning, Professor!” Dist greeted, smiling brightly to her. “I brought Jade.”

The fact that it spoke wasn’t what startled Jade so much—it was the voice. It was the same one he remembered as a child. Jade blinked slowly before reaching up to push his glasses further back onto his nose, shaking slightly. He looked at Dist, the idiot was smiling so proudly up at him.

Jade scowled back and then backhanded the other across the face. “You idiot.”

“Please, don’t fight, boys.” Nebilim chimed in, sitting up. Her hands—fake hands—reached out to lift Dist’s bloody face and in a comforting way brushed back his hair. “You’re always so rough with Saphir…”

“Dist.” The mechanic sniffed, wiping the blood from his lip. “Remember, Professor? It’s Dist.”

“Yes, yes… Dist.” She doll smiled and then reached out for Jade who quickly stepped out of her reach. The fake frowned. “What is wrong, my little Jade?”

“…” Jade shook his head slowly. “You are not Professor Nebilim.” Was all he could say—defensively? Part of him, however, wished desperately that she was the Professor.

“Oh, Jade. Ever the pessimist.” The fake-Nebilim said, laughing. “I remember when we were growing that bonsai plant…and you were so convinced it wouldn’t grow.” She laughed, as if thinking back to the time, “But it did. With love, care, and a little tweaking in the green house, it grew just fine.”

Jade’s mouth went slack. “How….” He shook his head, reaching up to touch his temple as he winced from the sudden throbbing headache. “…would you know that…”

“I put memories into her…” Dist said, looking up at the Colonel. “…Remember?”

“…Fake memories, for a fake person.” Jade retorted. “This is not natural. You will destroy it, Dist.”

“No!” The little man yelled jumping to his feet. He was far shorter than Jade, and was by no means menacing. “I won’t! I worked so hard on her!”

“Then I’ll do it.” Jade snapped. He brought his hands together and a bright light snapped and crackled and he drew his hands apart, his spear following.

“No, you can’t! Jade!” Dist cried, tears standing in his eyes as he clawed feverishly at the other man.

Jade shoved the mechanic away with his forearm and then drew his spear hand back ready to drive it into the woman’s chest—where below, he knew, housed turning, beeping and winding gears inside.

“You’ll kill me twice, Jade?” She said softly, hands folded neatly in her lap. “Once is really enough, don’t you think?”

“…” Jade hesitated, “…I don’t need your forgiveness, because you are not the woman that I cared for and loved. You are just a machine that looks like her.”

From somewhere behind him, Jade could hear Dist’s shriek of protest.

But it was too late. The spear drove right through the dolls breast. There was a flash of electricity and the grinding of gears, but the fake Nebilim didn’t quite go still yet. He had pinned her to the bedpost, but her eyes still raised, staring, silently. Jade drew back the spear and parts of the doll came flying out with it. He stabbed it again, and again, over and over, ignoring the parts of the doll that spun away in the air like flecks of blood. Something popped and grinded together causing a stream of smoke. The light in the eyes flickered and went dim.

Breathing heavily Jade pulled the spear back and let it dissipate into the air. He stared quietly at the broken doll, ruined where it lay.

“J…Jade….” It was Dist. He had crawled out from behind the bed and now knelt at the Necromancers side. His gloved fingers trembled as they reached out to touch a gaping hold in his precious ‘replica’ of the Professor. “I… can still fix her… She’s…”

“No.” Jade stated flatly, grabbing the smaller man by the collar and jerking him to his feet. Dist clumsily found his footing. “You will give this up, Saphir. It was not meant to be. I killed Nebilim. She is dead.” He was surprised to find his voice quivered with emotions and tears stung his eyes. “If you don’t… If you do not cease your absurd antics of trying to revive something long dead, then I will have no choice but to kill you myself.”

Dist did something then that Jade didn’t quite expect. He began to cry, hard. Jade’s face fell slightly and his grip on the others collar loosened. Dist sobbed harder trying to cover his face with his hands, but Jade’s arms were in the way so he could only lower his head and hope that the Necromancer couldn’t see his running nose and pink face.

“I just…” Dist hiccupped between his sobs, “wanted everything to go…back to before.”

Jade made a face. Idiot. Stupid idiotic… “Saphir…”

“Dist, Dist the Rose!” The white-haired man protested angrily.

“…I don’t know what you expect from me, Dist, but it will never be the way it was before.”

“I…just…” Dist’s hands trembled as they reached out, hesitantly at first until he launched himself forward and with all his strength wrapped his arms around his not so secret love obsession. Jade felt his eyebrow twitch upon the embrace, but he simply knelt there and said nothing. Dist continued to cling to him, sobbing quietly and after a while Jade felt a little sorry for him and loosely—to not spur any hope, wrapped his arms around the other. Dist tensed at the touch, more out of surprise, but quickly melted against the Colonel, sighing.

“…You will give up your research about Nebilim.” Jade said coolly, doing his best to change the subject and the all-around uncomfortable atmosphere. Dist was a good pet—a fun pet. He’d like to keep him as that and nothing more… even though a part of him… Jade jerked the other away to cease the coming thoughts and Dist blinked widely up at him in confusion. “…Do you understand me?” Jade said quietly, in the voice that sent shivers up the spines of anyone who heard the man talk in such a tone.

Dist, however, smiled. Jade stared down at that silly smile, the dried blood running down his chin and the broken glasses sitting awkwardly on the mechanics face. Jade sighed softly and reached out pulling the glasses off and touching his gloved thumb on a swelling area just under Dist’s lavender eye. Dist didn’t flinch, he simply stared up, relishing in the thought that Jade was looking so intently at him—noticing him.

“I’m not sorry I hit you, because you deserved it.” Jade stated flatly, looking at the bent glasses. “But I am sorry I broke these. You must have more than one pair?”

“…I…yes, somewhere… I’m sure…”

Jade frowned at the other and stood. He frowned down at the pathetic scrawny man kneeling quietly on the floor in front of him. Jade sighed before offering his hand to the other. He did notice how the others eyes lit up and eagerly he took his hand before standing. Jade also noticed how Dist held his hand so tightly, staring intently at it and seeming to not realize he should be letting go.

“…I’ll dispose of that thing you made, Dist.” Jade said quietly. Dist’s fingers clenched his hand more tightly and Jade narrowed his eyes watching the others face scrunch up into a pained expression. “Go clean yourself up. You look like trash.” Jade stated before pulling his hand free.

“I-I? Dist the Rose cannot look like trash! I am beautiful! Gorgeous! I-I…” Dist trailed off, frowning deeply before he sniffed loudly, brushing at his nose. “…What are you going to do to her?”

“…” Jade looked over his shoulder and the look in his crimson eyes was positively terrifying. Even his greatest follower couldn’t quite brush that look away. The mechanic dropped his head, nodded solemnly, and then shuffled quietly out of the room. The Necromancer watched him silently before turning back to the broken and lifeless doll that looked so sickeningly like the woman he had once tried to save.

Jade sighed quietly and reachedup to pull the veil further away from the bed, staring at the gears and wires protruding from the holes he had put in the dolls fake body. He knew it wasn’t real, yet it still stung, thinking back to the dolls last words.

”You’ll kill me twice, Jade? Once is really enough, don’t you think?”

Twice? No. Thrice. He will kill her a third time. When he found that monster that he had created… he would kill her once more.

Jade closed his eyes and raised one hand, “Grant mine enemies a final rest. Flame Burst.”

It wasn’t said with as much enthusiasm as he did in battle, but the effect was still the same. The doll’s body, engulfed with flames began to sizzle and bubble. The eye sockets bulged and hiss, while the fake skin literally melted right off the iron face underneath. Wires began to curl and spark and Jade was aware of the smell of burnt hair and plastic. He was a skilled Fonist, and the body was the only thing to burn, leaving nothing but a tangled mass of metal and ashes.

Jade continued to stare quietly at the bubbling mess. Dist would be upset… but that was fine. He did amazing work, Jade had to admit… Yet he put all of his efforts into things he should not. The Colonel pushed up his glasses and turned to leave, yet his eyes caught the glint of his former friends spare glasses. The little man had somehow snuck back into the room and stood quietly in the corner, his lavender eyes searching Jade’s face for something that would tell him everything would be all right.

Jade narrowed his eyes, “You have no more chances, Dist. I’ve restrained from killing you simply for the sake of Nephry and Peony. Next time you so choose to divulge yourself in such asinine acts, I will destroy you.” His voice was quiet, even and deadly.

Dist knew that he meant what he said, but even so, he couldn’t help but smile, “Were you happy to see her? Even for a second?”

Jade frowned and his gaze dropped to the ground. His hands clenched at his sides. He thought for a moment, and then finally he sighed. “No.” The flatness in his voice made Dist flinch. “It made me very… sad.” He let his gaze meet Dist’s and the white-haired man looked away, ashamed. “If you truly care for what Nebilim stood for, and for what she taught us, you’ll stop trying to resurrect her.”

“…I won’t give up on her.” Dist muttered quietly, sniffing.

“…Then you are dead to me.” Jade retorted and turned towards the door.

“Wait!” Dist called. Jade, however, ignored him and departed the room swiftly and loudly slamming the door. Dist sniffled loudly, slowly lowering himself to the floor where he blinked tearfully at the door. He smiled quietly after a moment; remembering, however briefly, Jade had held him and how good it had felt. Shaking the mechanic wrapped his arms around himself, hunching over and clinging to his own body as if trying to re-enact that blissfully comforting feeling of having the others arms around him. Once again, Dist the Rose allowed himself to cry painful sobs that raked his entire body.

His unrequited love was becoming all the more painful over the years, yet Dist was convinced it was worth it. He would make Jade Curtiss smile one day. He swore it.

[Ramirez]



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