FULL GAME SPOILERS FOR TALES OF SYMPHONIA AND TALES OF THE ABYSS.
(Revised Prologue posted 3/7/2015; original posted on 9/16/2008.)
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Tales copyright or the characters; I am merely a fan who enjoys writing about them. All rights belong to Namco; character designs (c) Kosuke Fujishima.
.:Just Across the Fon Belt:.
Prologue
It had happened all so suddenly - the summon, the lightning, the flash - and then, like magic (pun intended), there they were.
Stuck.
On a tower.
On an island.
Which was, without much exaggeration, in the middle of nowhere.
"Where are we?" Genis wondered aloud.
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For a year following Mithos' defeat, Lloyd and Colette had gone on a journey to collect and destroy the remaining Exspheres, and, thanks in part to Regal, had had decent success, at least in that area. Genis and Raine had gone on their own journey, one with the goal of gaining acceptance for half-elves. Things were getting marginally better, but even with Zelos' assistance, they were not anywhere near what they should have been. Zelos himself was working to abolish the Chosen title, and Sheena was an emissary of peace. Presea continued to help Regal, in keeping with what she knew to be her late sister's wishes.
However, other, new problems had arisen which they had never anticipated; things none of them had considered or even known about, when they first set out to reunite the worlds.
First off, there were the numerous geographical and environmental issues: since the reunification, maps had been rendered nearly useless; even combining them, the maps of Tethe'alla and Sylvarant were not accurate. Another concern was the weather: there were certain areas in which it had been drastically changing, and rapidly. One of the most glaring examples was Triet. It was definitely still a desert, but one of snow and ice rather than scorching sands. Celsius' power had completely taken over.
Yet another problem was the growing monster population: since reviving the Tree, monsters had been steadily increasing, both in numbers and in power. Before, they would have owed it to the Desians or the Chosen's trials, but those were no longer a factor. Unfortunately, between Cruxis' control of records, Yuan and Kratos disappearing, and their own lack of knowledge, there weren't all that many clues about what could possibly be causing such a thing.
Of course, all of this paled in comparison to their number one concern, which was, by far and large, the people of both worlds.
For four thousand years, Sylvarant and Tethe'alla had been separated...and in the former, much information regarding its other half was nothing more than rumor and legend. Tethe'alla presented little problem in that way, having learned of her sister world beforehand, but its people nevertheless looked down on that of Sylvarant's, due to their lack of technological advancement...and the people of Sylvarant were intimidated by those of Tethe'alla for exactly the same reasons. Even with Neil on their side, negotiations were a delicate thing.
To complicate these matters even further, factions had popped up: people who were against the reunification and hated Lloyd and his companions for bringing it about. Most were dealt with rather quickly, but there was one particularly troublesome group that had proven itself quite resiliant. They called themselves the "Vanguard", and were most certainly a force to be reckoned with: they took advantage of the growing monster populations and used the creatures to help them fight. Not only did they hate Lloyd, but they'd been against negotiations of any kind, and would stop at nothing to get their way. After many months and many meetings with Neil and King Tethe'alla, a decisive blow was finally struck to the troublesome group. They had not since reappeared; it seemed that they had finally been disbanded.
The defeat of the Vanguard was a huge burden off of everyone's minds. There were still some difficult things to be worked out, but without the...*ahem* action that the Vanguard had so generously provided, their tasks began to go just a little smoother. The defeat had become one of the groups' biggest successes as of late, and this in mind, Colette thought that a little celebration was in order. Invitations were sent to the other seven heroes, asking them to meet at the World Tree, and was delighted to receive seven RSVPs in return. They would all be there.
It was a happy group that met near the sapling Mana Tree that day, laughing and telling stories, basking in the rare company one only finds among the truest and closest of friends. It was this very gathering, however, that had paved the way for the situation they currently found themselves in.
While recalling some of their more cherished times, the name of the one person absent from their merry gathering - a certain Kratos Aurion - was inevitably brought up. Lloyd had known it was impossible for him to be there, of course, but still, he hadn't realized that having his absent father's name mentioned would sting so much.
"Professor," Lloyd began, "I was wondering..."
"Lloyd, no," she said, knowing immediately where he was headed. "There's not a way to bring him back. I doubt even Origin's power extends that far. I'm sorry." She smiled to let him know she wasn't angry. Lloyd smiled back but it was a downcast smile.
"I know," he said. "I just...isn't there any possibility the teleporter still works? Or...something? He should be here...even...even if it's just for today. There's no way we'd even be here if he hadn't been helping us all that time. The old Tower's teleporter isn't very far...couldn't we at least...try?" He paused, briefly lifting his head to look at the others, before staring at the ground again. "I'm sorry, you guys...I know today was supposed to be about the old gang getting together...but...Kratos is a part of it, too. Even if it doesn't work, I..."
He lifted his eyes once more, noticing with relief their smiling faces.
"If it is that important to you," Presea began, "then, as your friends, are we not here to help?" The others added their assent. Zelos wasn't exactly thrilled as he had never liked Kratos much, even less so for all the pain he had put his son through, but he slung an arm about Lloyd's shoulders.
"Just don't expect us to throw a welcome-home party, okay?" the ex-Chosen smirked.
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Despite all it had been through, the teleporter had remained in decent shape; despite all of Raine and Genis' efforts, it absolutely refused to make any connection whatsoever to Derris-Kharlan.
"I'm sorry, Lloyd," Raine said, "I just don't think there's any more we can do. The controls seem to have been destroyed, and the power supply is very low."
"No!" said Lloyd, absolutely refusing to give up, "There has to be a way!" He hurried forward and gave it a couple bangs.
"Lloyd, stop! Don't touch it!" Raine warned. The boy turned around to look at her.
"Well...maybe it doesn't know we're here?"
"Lloyd, the teleporter is fine," Genis said, "Derris-Kharlan is just probably too far out for it to reach..." But Lloyd didn't appear to be listening.
"Maybe it needs a charge...hey, Sheena, try summoning Volt!"
"No!" the half-elven siblings cried. With a zap of lightning, Volt had appeared.
"Volt, do you think you could power this enough to get it to Derris-Kharlan?"
"Sheena, wait!"
But it was too late - Volt had already sent a huge blast of power toward the machine. The teleporter lit up brightly...and brighter...and brighter...and...
"Woah-woah...WOAH!" Such immense power...and it was swallowing all of them!
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Zelos was the first to awaken. The others soon followed; the sky was lightening above them, indicating that dawn was coming. The teleporter's remains had vanished completely, and in its place was...wait, where were they? They were definitely inside - no, on top of - a building of sorts...but it wasn't the Tower of Salvation...was it?...Could it be...?
"Did we make it to Derris-Kharlan?" Lloyd asked. "This doesn't look like Welgaia."
"That's because it isn't," a deep, familiar, voice responded, and Lloyd felt an excited hope rising within him. "We're not on Derris-Kharlan, not anywhere near it."
They turned toward the sound of the voice, and sure enough, there stood a purple-clad mercenary: the very member they of their group they'd been trying so hard to reach.
"Dad!" Lloyd cried happily, running over to the man. Kratos could only stare: the ancient man was much surprised at his son's enthusiasm and happiness at seeing him. But he could not help feeling happy and excited himself. His precious son, so long ago lost, then found, and then Kratos was forced to leave him once more...but some twist of fate had thrown them together again. Joy rose within him, and he smiled warmly at his son.
"Lloyd," Kratos responded, reaching out to ruffle his hair, "It is...wonderful to see you again." Lloyd's smile was so bright it could have lit the way to Aselia and back.
"But what are you doing here?" Raine asked, bringing them back to the matters at hand. "I understood that-"
"I'm not entirely certain, myself," Kratos responded, pre-empting her question. "I heard a noise from the teleporter and went to inspect it. Then it activated, somehow - and now I find myself here with the rest of you."
"Then do you know where we are?" Genis asked.
"No more than you do, I'm afraid," Kratos said. "At the moment, all I know is that we are on a very tall tower, though it still dwarfs in comparison to the Tower of Salvation. The glyphs themselves seem familiar to me, but I cannot recall what language they are in. It is neither Common Tongue nor Angelic."
"So...the end of it is, we're stuck on a tower with no clue where the tower is. Typical," Zelos muttered.
"We should find our way out of here and have a look at the surrounding area," Regal spoke up. "Perhaps there is a town nearby where we can inquire." The others nodded their assent.
"Now to find a way o- Professor?" Lloyd looked over to where Raine was (gleefully) examining a circular area in the ground.
"...It's an elevator," she announced, as the others walked over. "I believe we have found our way out."
The elevator ride, though long to some, was nothing to the Aselians. But it was intriguing, as they rode the lift down, watching the floors pass by, to see machines and designs that they had never seen before.
"Fascinating!" Raine's eyes sparkled, and she nearly pressed her face to the window. She was in full-on Ruin-Mode, to the amusement of her companions (and discomfort to Lloyd and Zelos). However, Kratos' eyes caught a more alarming sight: that of excavation tools. This tower was occupied, and being studied. They were, in all likelihood, in an area they weren't authorized to be.
"We must exercise caution when we exit," he warned. Raine pulled away from the window long enough to follow his pointed finger. "We are, it seems, in an area of interest, wherever that is. If we haven't already drawn attention to ourselves, we must be careful when we leave," he said.
"A group this large will have a difficult time acting as though we didn't know anything," Regal said, and the others nodded.
The elevator stopped and the doors opened. Kratos went out first, hand on hilt, ready to draw his sword at any time. But there was nobody around.
"That's...odd..." he said, looking around the bottom floor of the tower. "I know- ...Shh."
"What?"
"Voices," Kratos said. "About 100 yards away."
"Do you think we should see if they can help us?" Genis asked. Kratos thought for a moment, then looked to the group.
"I must admit I am reluctant," he said. "I am concerned that we, being in what appears to be an off-limits area, would only create more trouble for ourselves. We must have a look around and find out more about where we are in a less conspicuous area."
"How do you suggest we proceed?" Regal asked.
"Let us exit the tower and head south a ways. The voices were coming from the north and east. Then I shall fly off and scout around."
"Will our wings still work?" Lloyd asked.
"They should," Kratos answered. "They are formed from our internal mana; even if a world lacks it, we carry ours with us."
"Oh. But wait...magic uses mana, right? So what'll happen if Genis or the Professor...?"
"That's still different," Kratos said. "We don't normally draw on our own mana to cast - though there are exceptions - but instead merely harness and/or control that which is around us." Lloyd still looked somewhat lost, though, and Kratos sighed.
"I will explain it later," he said. "For now, we must take our leave."
They walked out of the tower; indeed, its very design was unlike any they'd seen before. Neither Raine nor Kratos recognized it, which was worrisome to the rest of their group: two people who knew pretty much everything there was to know, and if they didn't know what it was...
"The voices grow louder," Kratos said, listening again. "Quickly, let us go south."
Thank you so much for reading; I hope you enjoyed it! Please leave a review; reviews are great because they let me know what people liked and what they didn't, and/or what I can improve on.
The original version of this prologue is available on my DeviantArt account, for anyone who's interested. The original prologue isn't much different; however, the next chapter will have some significant changes because that's when we'll meet Luke and a resurrected Asch! :)
ETA for Revised Chapter 1 is Late March.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Some of you may be wondering why this is not in the crossover section; this is because eventually there will be more than two Tales games interacting, and the website doesn't let you list more than two games/movies/etc for crossovers. So I set my crossover stories in the category of whatever world it physically takes place on, which in this case is Auldrant. I have plans for at least three sequels for Just Across the Fonbelt, including a triple-crossover with Tales of Vesperia. (Jade versus Raven, that'll be a laugh to write! *laughs maniacally*.) Hence, why this is posted in the regular Tales of the Abyss section rather than in the crossovers section.
Thanks again! Until next time~ MoonlightTyger