Tales of Fate: The First Twist
By: Alex T. Wallman
Disclaimer: I don't own any of them, Doods
Chapter 1: We might break this before it even begins
Author's Note: I ain't taking a break or stopping Fate/HiME or LFWW; I'm just doing this on a lark. The reason I'm doing this is for the lulz. The cause for the shenanigans is Zelretch screwing around.
Another thing, although this is a predominately F/SN fic many characters from different games and animes will appear in the world of Tales of Symphonia. Here is a handy-dandy list of characters for you:
Emiya Shirou (UBW Good End) [Iselia]
Saber (UBW Good End)
Tohsaka Rin (UBW Good End)
Matou Sakura (F/HA)
Rider (F/HA)
Caren Ortensia (F/HA)
Bazett Fraga McRemitz (F/HA)
Neliel Tu Odershwank (Bleach) [Triet Desert]
Ikari Shinji (N.G.E – E.o.E-about 5000 years after 3rd Impact) [Ossa Trail]
Kirijo Mitsuru (P3)
Aigis (P3) [Palmacosta]
Seta Souji (P4) [Palmacosta]
Shirogane Naoto (P4)
The Reaper (Persona 3/4)
Kaine (NieR – Ending D) [Iselia]
Barinade (LoZ: OoT – Group of Weirdoes) [Triet Desert]
You want a character on the list? Smack a request in a review or PM. I'm also taking suggestions for their starting positions, of which only Shirou, Nel, Shinji, Kaine, Aigis, Souji, and the Reaper's have been set.
Also I know how unfair this is for Cruxis, but who's to say that they don't get inter-dimensional friends?
Shinji's potential as a game breaker is sealed by his slip sliding between madness and apathy, which will provide awesome, lulz, and horror.
Anyways, one of the reasons that Naoto is present is for sheer mood whiplash at Aigis and Mitsuru's expense (In this fic Minato followed the Mitsuru romance option) due to her resemblance and possible relation to Minato. Elizabeth and Margaret may appear.
As for Kaine, she deserves some goddamned happiness. This goes double for this scenario in which Yonah succumbed to the Black Scrawl very soon after she was rescued.
This is going to spiral out of control SO quickly. What, with the 'Emiya Shirou Inversion of the Law of Heroine Conservation', and how broken the good guy's team will be but they DO face the Slenderman in Altamaria. No seriously, play Tales of Symphonia and hang out in the Altamaria overworld area for a while and eventually a rare monster know as 'The Gentleman' will appear, It is tall, slender, has tentacles and no face.
Our Story starts with Shirou and Kaine in Iselia.
As always Read and Review!
~}{~
"Shit happens"-Somebody
~}{~
Emiya Shirou squinted at his surroundings in an attempt to give his eyes a chance to recover from the bright, rainbow coloured light that had engulfed him and brought him to his current location. He could smell the bitter scent of uncontrolled and seeping prana with an overflowing scent of pain. He summed his situation up in one word, "Fuck."
Next to Shirou, a young woman who was, to say the least, scantily clad, woke up with a jacket covering her. The woman, named Kaine, blearily took in her surroundings. She remembered that she had labored hard trying to keep Yonah alive as the Black Scrawl dug its claws into the girl. She remembered Yonah's final murmurings at the end of her life and what they triggered inside of her. 'Who was Yonah talking about… She never had a brother… Did she?' Kaine looked at the young man standing near her, surveying the area, and asked, "Who the fuck are you?"
Shirou looked down at the woman who was now standing up, and received his coat in his face. He caught as it fell and swung it over his shoulder, and asked, "I'm Emiya Shirou. Any idea as to where we are? Also it is polite to give one's name you know."
"Name's Kaine, and I figured that you had kidnapped me and taken me here." Kaine shrugged.
Shirou chuckled and shrugged, "I'd take offense to that but given the situation it makes sense. If I'm correct then what is currently happening is Zelretch's fault."
"Zelretch?" Kaine asked, puzzled by a name that she couldn't connect to a Shade or a person.
"Zelretch is a type of being known as a Dead Apostle, or a Dead Apostle Ancestor, and he is one of the few who likes humanity and keeps the other Dead Apostles from wreaking too much havoc. Well, him and the Church. As for why he would be the one who sent us here, that is do to the magic that he possess: the Kaleidoscope, the ability to operate in parallel universes, meaning that he can literally pluck us from our own universes and drop us in another, well that and he takes great joy in screwing with people. Based on the differences in our attire I'm guessing that we probably don't come from the same universe." Shirou explained quickly, squinting into the depths of the forest as he tried to identify the source of the prana. He turned back to Kaine and asked, "Listen, something weird is going on in that direction and I'm gonna check it out. Seeing as we're both in an unfamiliar world it'd probably be best if we stuck together for now, what do you say Kaine-san?"
"Tch, fine. But what's with the thing you put on the end of my name Shirou?" Kaine asked, obviously puzzled by Japanese honorifics despite the fact that she grew up in Tokyo, wait you shouldn't know that so shhhhhh. Shirou just shook his head and said, "I'll explain on the way."
~}{~
Shirou has gained the title Insightful Wanderer: He may be lost, but he knows his stuff.
Kaine has gained the title Sharp-tongued Woman: She may have no clue where she is but her language never falters.
~}{~
"…And that's how Japanese honorifics work. Now I think I hear… Wow." Shirou said as he looked at the scene before him, he had traced Bakuya and Kanshou as he and Kaine had trekked through the woods and was now seeing the wisdom in the saying about always being prepared. Kaine wasn't surprised by the sudden appearance of Shirou's swords probably because she drew her swords seemingly from nowhere, the swordswoman stepped up beside Shirou and whistled, "That ain't something ya see everyday."
'That' was what looked like someone's attempt to fuse the Hulk, a dinosaur, and a gemstone together. It stood about eight feet tall, its skin mottled green and yellow, with red talons and growths projecting from its body, and a large, red, cyclopean eye graced its otherwise featureless face. The beast wore a ragged brown piece of clothing and was grasping a blue haired man, restraining him from attacking the two boys in front of them. The monster was an Exeblua that had been known as Marble when she had been human, now as an Exeblua, the result of someone's Exsphere being forcibly removed without them wearing a Key Crest, Marble's final act was to protect two boys who had tried to save her. She blew up like a Forretress that had used Explosion and the man, Forcyctus as the men in uniform called him, was dragged off by his comrades. Shirou and Kaine watched as the two boys were exiled from their village. Kaine and Shirou shared a look and followed the two boys out of their village.
~}{~
"OI! You two!" Kaine called out to the boys as she and Shirou approached them, the boys eyed Shirou and Kaine with mixed looks of suspicion and puzzlement. Kaine gave her best attempt at a reassuring smile while Shirou just shrugged and sighed, "We saw what happened and well, we're both trying to find our way back to our own homes so we were wondering if we could travel with the two of you until we found a way back. That fine with the two of you?"
"Well, not really no." The smaller silver haired boy, Genis, answered for himself and the brown haired boy, Lloyd. Kaine was severely nonplussed by this event and glared at Shirou like it was his fault, Shirou just snorted, "Oh like Hell it was my fault. I mean you're the one out of the two of us who looks the most suspicious, seriously if I was them and I had the choice between trusting someone dressed like you and someone dressed like me I would chose the person who was dressed sensibly like me."
"Whaddaya mean by that, asshat?" Kaine asked Shirou, her arms crossed under her chest in an indignant manner. Shirou sighed, "In my world your clothes would be considered 'Stripperific' whereas they might be normal in your world, but for the sake of argument lets say that this world has similar nudity taboos to those of my world. Therefore, it would be more likely that the people of this world would trust me more than they would trust you. See? It makes perfect sense. You two agree, right?"
Lloyd and Genis both nodded in agreement with Shirou's statement and Lloyd said, "I think we can trust them. I mean if they were trying to kill us, they wouldn't have gotten into that whole debate over who would be more trustworthy based on their clothes, they would have just killed us."
"Or that could be an act for them to catch us off guard and kill us when we're unprepared." Genis sighed, exasperated at Lloyd's gullibility. Shirou chuckled, "Oh believe me, if it was my intent to kill one or the both of you I would have had no trouble dispatching you now or the moment I laid eyes on you. I can't speak for Kaine-san, but if I was sent to kill you then you'd be filled with steel by now."
"Heh, what the jackass said. You'd have a popsicle's chance in Hell against me, seeing as the both of you look like novices in your fields of combat while I've had lotsa training with my weapons." Kaine grinned at the two boys, her arms falling from their crossed position beneath her breasts and her hands resting on her hips in a cocky manner. Lloyd nodded and said, "See Genis, if they were trying to kill us they would have already. I say they should come along!"
Genis just sighed and shook his head, "Whatever…"
~}{~
Shirou has gained the title Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: He may not look or act like much of a threat but watch out for him when it comes time to throw down. There is nothing that will be able to hold back his true ambition when the time comes to play his true hand.
Kaine has gained the title Stripperific: Her clothes serve one purpose, to distract her enemies while she cuts them down. Many a foe has fallen to her blades before.
Lloyd has gained the title Drifting Swordsman: The boy sets out on a journey, bearing his sins. Do not forget the past, but never falter because of it.
Genis has gained the title Only Sane Man: He is a man of perfect logic and reasoning… amongst many clearly insane people, which leads us to wonder if he's the craziest one of them all.
~}{~
After two hours of traveling the quartet found themselves in a clearing with nightfall approaching, Shirou scanned the surrounding area for any monsters and asked the others, "Do you guys want to stop here for the night or keep moving? If we keep moving, we're more likely to catch up with your friends but there'll be a higher chance of predators. I don't care either way so it's up to you guys."
Kaine shrugged because she was used to long journeys and had the stamina to keep moving either way, Lloyd and Genis on the other hand had fought for their lives earlier that day and were justifiably worn out to the point that both of them sighed, "Let's stop here for the night."
Shirou set about setting up a fire and had Genis light it when he had the branches he had picked up, and started preparing the rabbits that he had caught to be eaten. Of course, he hadn't anticipated a wolf jumping out of the woods and clamping its teeth down on his arm, this warranted surprise from the rest of the group and the author who's writing this – not even he saw that coming. The wolf was not, as it turned out, alone instead it had four other wolves and an octet of zombies with it. Kaine surged to her feet, her swords in her hands almost as quickly as Shirou had traced Bakuya and Kanshou and thrust latter into the throat of the wolf on his arm. Genis and Lloyd followed suit, Lloyd unleashing a technique that he called Sword Rain on one of the wolves that had taken a leap at he and Genis, rendering its skull to a chunky mess of flesh and bone while the aforementioned silver haired boy cast a Fireball spell and reduced a wolf that was trying to attack Kaine from behind. Kaine eviscerated the last two wolves, the shreds of wolf that fell to the ground were about the size of beef jerky strips, with her saw-like swords and turned to join Shirou against the zombies but stopped dead in her tracks just as Lloyd and Genis had when they saw what was happening to their unfortunate enemies. The undead were all writhing on the ground and shrieking in pain as their flesh blackened around where the swords that were most likely thrown by Shirou had impaled them, the blackened flesh slowly disintegrated leaving the swords to drop to the ground. The swords, known as Black Keys, were the favored weapons of the Church's Burial Agency when it came to hunting the Dead, a Dead Apostle, or any other non-human, they were forged to hate anything that was not human and that hate was what caused them to eat away at the flesh of anything non-human. Of course, powerful enough beings can just shrug off the Black Keys and suffer only minimal damage and minor corrosion. Kaine was the first to voice her confusion when the Black Keys faded from existence, "What the fuck Shirou? Where the fuck did those swords come from and where the fuck did they go? Also, the fuck happened those corpse assholes who were prancing about?"
"Well, I explained to you about Dead Apostles Kaine-san, hopefully you remember that talk. Anyway Dead Apostles can't be killed through normal means and the majority of the people who they suck blood from turn into mindless walking corpse slaves called the Dead, as such the Church has come up with specialized weaponry for the sake of hunting down Apostles and their slaves, the blades that I used were called Black Keys and they were forged specifically for the purpose of hunting things that aren't human. Personally, I think the Church is too strong in their hate of all things non-human, but they are excellent for making short work of things like zombies. As for where the Keys came from, that would be my magecraft, what others would refer to as magic. You see my magecraft is a unique magecraft in that I can create exact replicas of any weapon I see, this is regardless of whether or not the weapon is a Noble Phantasm, an item or technique that gained such fame that they ascended into legend along with their wielder and became artifacts of great power. My magecraft is rather unstable and, if used improperly, it can kill me." Shirou explained to Kaine as well as Lloyd and Genis who were more or less confused about the Dead Apostle part. Genis being the model student that he is, asked, "Wait! Magecraft? Dead Apostle? What are you talking about?"
"Ah that's right, Kaine-san and I haven't entirely filled you in on who we are. You see, based on the fact that we woke up in a strange forest with strange animals and that magic seemed to be common knowledge here, we deduced that we were no longer in our home universes. I came to the conclusion that Kaine-san and I were sent here by a being known as Zelretch, one of the twenty seven Dead Apostle Ancestors and the wielder of the Second True Magic known as the Kaleidoscope. The Kaleidoscope is also known as the ability to operate in parallel worlds and as such, it is possible for Zelretch to send others to parallel universes. A Dead Apostle is a creature from my universe that is similar to a vampire, well if you have those here, if not then Dead Apostles are beings that suck human blood and can only go outside at night due to a magical aversion to the Sun. Dead Apostle Ancestors are more powerful then regular Dead Apostles and are usually created by a True Ancestor, a being that is directly related to the Type Moon, or in the cases of Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg and Merem Solomon turned into Dead Apostles by the Type Moon. The Type Moon is nothing you need to worry about, because he is dead well he could come back because I know from experience that things don't always die when you kill them. Magecraft is what magic is called in my world; well anything that can be done through work is called magecraft, such as my Tracing magecraft, whereas impossible things are known as True Magics, such as the Kaleidoscope or the Blue. I hadn't really met Kaine-san until today and she hasn't told me anything about her world." Shirou explained with a shrug, scanning the trees for any remaining monsters. Kaine and Lloyd winced at Shirou's info dump while Genis took it in stride and said, "I think we should keep moving. I don't want to risk any more monster attacks."
Shirou and Kaine both began shaking their heads, and Shirou said, "It'd be better not to, you'll be falling asleep on your feet once the adrenaline wears off. It would be wiser if we slept in shifts tonight."
"True, but what do you reckon about moving a bit more Shirou? They said that we'll be heading in to a desert soon so it would make sense for us to switch from moving during the day and sleeping at night to sleeping during the day and moving at night." Kaine pointed out as she scratched the side of her head. Shirou shrugged, "Alright, but the moment that one of you yawns, we're going to start camp there."
And so, the quartet marched on into the night.
~}{~
Shirou has gained the title Hunter of the Dead: All ye who walk the skin of the world in search of the blood of the living be warned. This man has more then enough blades to deal with you.
Genis has gained the title Top of the Class: His ability to stand head and shoulders above other students lies in his ability to process all the information thrown at him.
~}{~
"It's hot!" Lloyd complained as the group travels through the desert, the harsh afternoon sun beating down upon them. Shirou and Kaine turned back to Lloyd, both of them had soon realized just how tough it was to travel with the youth on the morning of their second day of travel when Lloyd started complaining about how bored he was. Shirou opened his mouth to tell Lloyd to man up when he noticed a small cloud of sand heading towards them at high speeds. Shirou reinforced his eyes and was surprised to see a small child running from a horde of monsters while bawling her eyes out and the horde was also being chased by a woman in a cloak who was… swinging a hammer around? This puzzled Shirou but he turned to the others in the group and said, "Well, the cloud appears to have been caused by a child who is being chased by some monsters and the monsters are being chased by a woman with a hammer."
"A kid is being chased by monsters which are being chased by a woman with a hammer?" Kaine asked Shirou who just nodded in response. Then Kaine realized that neither she nor Genis and Lloyd could see that far and asked, "How the hell can you see that?"
"Magic. I'm going to help the kid, what are you guys going to do?" Shirou responded as he traced Bakuya and Kanshou into his hands and ran towards the group, reinforcing his legs to the limit and crossing a kilometer in just a few minutes, swinging his arm out just as he passed the child, and cutting the tail off the largest scorpion that he had ever seen outside of a museum. The animals, a collection of snakes and giant scorpions, all turned their attention on Shirou and began to attack him. The nearest snake launched itself at Shirou only to have itself in two pieces of laterally cut snake by the handiwork of Bakuya, the scorpion that was now missing the top of its tail found Kanshou lodged through its brain. The second and third snakes both jumped at Shirou, who cut both of their heads off and turned to deal with the last scorpion only to see the mystery woman crush it with her hammer while yelling, "I AM BARINADE!"
The child turned to Shirou, her hood slipping down to reveal a head of green hair and skull mask on the top of her head. The girl looked at the animals, looked at Shirou, smiled, and said, "Thankth, Nel tried to thtop playing tag with them a while ago but thothe guyth wanted to keep playing and nobody tried to help Nel.
"That is incorrect! I, BARINADE, attempted to help this child but I, BARINADE, found it hard to keep up in this new human body that I, BARINADE, am unaccustomed to. It is a good thing that I, BARINADE, still possess the precious and my electric powers." Barinade the former mystery woman said as she swung her hammer onto her shoulder and looked about. She then noted, "Although, I, BARINADE, will require some more of your human clothes. This cloak alone will not suffice!"
"What?" Shirou asked incredulously as he looked at the jellyfish turned human who had just admitted to only wearing a cloak. At this point Kaine, Lloyd, and Genis had arrived to look over the child and woman. Shirou shrugged and introduced himself and the others from their group, "I'm Shirou Emiya, the woman there is called Kaine, the brown haired boy is called Lloyd, while the silver haired boy here is called Genis. It's a pleasure to meet you Barinade-san and I believe you said your name was Nel, correct Nel-chan?"
"That'th right, Nel'th name ith Nel but Nel ith kinda lotht cauthe one thecond Nel wath in Hueco Mundo playing tag with Pesche and Dondochakka an' then I wath here an' there'th a Thun here an' it changeth from night an' day here. In Hueco Mundo it wath alwayth night tho Nel knowth that thhe ithn't in Hueco Mundo anymore." Nel said as she nodded her head. Barinade was also looking rather speculative when she asked, "Was there a rainbow coloured flash? Because I, BARINADE, was traveling with Bongo Bongo and the Twinmold fairies and then I, BARINADE, was consumed by a rainbow coloured flash and I was in this human form."
Nel nodded her head in affirmation as Shirou sighed, "Looks like Zelretch got the two of you as well. I'll give you the short version, Kaine-san and I were also brought here in flashes of rainbow light and due to the similarity to the power that a being in my universe that is known as Zelretch possess to the circumstances that brought us here I have come to the conclusion that Zelretch sent all of us to this universe from our own which begs the question: why did he send all of us to the same universe?"
Everyone else shrugged but Lloyd said, "Maybe he sent you here to help with the world regeneration!"
Everyone shrugged again.
~}{~
Nel has gained the title Tastes Like Diabetes: She is so cute that she induces diabetes in you if you look at her for too long.
Barinade has gained the title BARINADE: This is the greatest title, there is no need for any other.
~}{~
Happy New Years!