What if?: Mysteries of Symphonia

by Holyknightsteve

Have you ever wondered what if... during any part of ToS? What if some events were altered, thus creating a completely different outcome? This is a collection of one shot stories involving alterations of the game both minor and major.

1. Genis joined Mithos?

Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own Tales of Symphonia or any characters, places, items, or ideas linked to said game. Any characters, places, items, or ideas not found in said game are of my own creation and I do claim ownership to them.

Big Bold-Lettered Warning: Caution! Spoilers within! Do not read any of these stories if you have not completed Tales of Symphonia unless you want to ruin the story. You've been warned.

A/N: Looks like quite a few people wanted to see this, what I think is very original, "What if...?" series, so here we go. I got the idea for this when I as flipping through some very old comic books and I found an issue of "What If?" by Marvel Comics. Basically, each-issue was like a one-shot outside of any storyline, meaning it could stand-alone without having to read any prior material. In "What If?", Marvel took their super heroes and villains and put them in unlikely situations that would only come about if you asked yourself something like, "What if super hero X became super villain X? Or "What if super hero X was killed before a certain important event took place?". Stuff like that. This serves as the basis of my idea for "Mysteries of Symphonia". While most of the stories told in MoS will have a dark feel to them, this doesn't mean by any stretch of the imagination that we can't have any categories such as romance, humor, or w/e else. As long as it fits the "What if...?" criteria, then it's okay. What is said criteria, you ask? Ahem...

1. The situation must be something that did not happen in the game but it can still be connected to the storyline. What do I mean by this? Here's an example: In the game, Colette regains her soul shortly after Lloyd places his specially made crest on her. A "What if...?" for this event that did happen could be something like, "What if Lloyd's crest didn't work and Colette never regained her soul?"

2. Even "What if...?" stories have boundaries. They can not be too outlandish or silly. That's not to say that they cannot be so. Just not too much. What do I mean? Example: Zelos and Sheena having each other's personalities would be about as outlandish as we get. Having the entire party get abducted by aliens or something like that is... no. The Zelos/Sheena example is simply for humor value, thus giving it some breathing room concerning this rule.

3. There will be absolutely nothing barbaric, brutal, sick, or overly perverted in these stories. While the stories may be a bit "out there", we will maintain a sense of decency while writing them. Example: From the above example, Sheena having Zelos' personality is fine in the ways of perversion. Normal killings and levels of violence are fine. Descriptive sex scenes, rape, and excessive violence will not have a home here. No exceptions!

Why do I bother telling you this? Well, one reason is to let everyone who isn't familiar with my other works get an idea of where I'm coming from. Second is that I plan on making MoS a series of stories that never ends. That's where y'all come in. I'm asking everyone out there that's reading this to drop me a line sometime via reviews, email, or instant message and let me know what your ideas for future "What if...?" stories are. All ideas that I accept will be posted under the MoS listing on my profile page and the name of the person who suggested will be placed next to each respective idea. Every time you review, even if you don't have any ideas to suggest, I would like everyone to take a look at my profile page and vote on which story you'd like to see in the next update. Note: You may not vote for your own ideas. In the event of ties, I will choose which to write.

Okay, I think all of that will do for an introduction for what I hope is a never-ending series. If there's any questions about the criteria, you can always contact me. Without further ado, let's begin our first Mystery of Symphonia.

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"What if... Genis had joined Mithos?

Story idea by: Mooncannon

"So Genis," started the angelic overlord in an eerily friendly voice, "what do you say? Will you join me?"

Cold beads of sweat ran down the young scholar's face as he considered his options. On one hand, he had his friends and his sister; on the other, was Mithos Yggdrasill, the leader of the Desians and Cruxis… and friend of Genis. The former hoped to change the world for the better by somehow bringing the worlds back together and trying to stop racism without doing anything drastic to the masses, an overall foolish idea in the eyes of Genis. The latter's vision was far more realistic to him: revive the ancient hero Martel, sister of Mithos, and bring about an age of angelic but lifeless beings, thus making everyone in the two worlds the same and ending racism once and for all. For any good-souled person, the choice seemed fairly obvious: side with your friends, no matter how foolish the plan seemed. Even though Genis was not a bad person, he could not help but wonder if his friends' vision of the world was so far out of this world that it would be truly idiotic to not side with Mithos.

"I… I don't know!" said Genis as he grabbed his. "I just don't know!"

Lloyd threw his arms outward, unable to believe what he was hearing. Was his best friend really considering joining Mithos? "C'mon Genis, what are you doing? We're your friends, right? What bout your sister? How would Raine feel if you decided to leave us and join him? Look at what he did to Altessa and the others!" Lloyd made a sweeping motion with his arm, displaying to Genis the unconscious bodies of Altessa, Tabatha, Kratos, and Yuan. "Altessa and Tabatha took care of Mithos while we were gone and Kratos and Yuan used to be Mithos' friends! Do you think Mithos will treat you any better?"

"Hmph," grunted Mithos. "You have nothing to fear Genis. They simply did not share my vision of the world. You do though. I can feel it burning within you: your hatred of those who would sooner slaughter us and our kinsmen than help us succeed. Do you really think that you can simply ask those that hate us to be nicer to us? Do you? What utter nonsense."

Raine stepped forward from her group of friends, a hurt look on her face. "Genis, please, don't listen to him. What kind of a world is filled with life-less beings? It's madness Genis! We'll find a way to co-exist with those that hate us. In time, I'm sure they will come to accept us."

Genis closed his eyes and lowered his head. "But what if they don't sis? What will you do then?"

"I-I…" Raine stuttered.

Genis shook his head and turned to Mithos. "I'm sorry everyone, but I think Mithos is right. We can't just ask the humans and elves nicely to treat us fairly. The only way to end discrimination is to make everyone the same."

Lloyd couldn't believe what he was hearing. He slipped past Genis' stunned sister and got right up into his best friend's face. "What about Marble? What about all of the terrible things Cruxis and the Desians did?"

"Every war has its casualties," replied Mithos. He turned to Genis, an eerily warm smile crossing his lips as he did so. "Shall we go Genis?"

Genis nodded and moved closer to his new friend. Unwilling to simply just let her brother go, she ran to him and grabbed his arm. "Genis, please don't go!"

"Get away from me!" he yelled. He lifted his other arm and shot an arc of low-voltage lightning at her, causing her to break away from him and fall to her knees. "Leave me alone sis! I don't want to hurt you, so please don't interfere. The same goes for the rest of you."

Mithos smirked evilly. "You had your chance Raine. Pity you didn't take it." With that, Genis, Mithos, and the unconscious body of Kratos disappeared in a dazzling flash of light, leaving the remaining heroes staring where the half-elves had once been and Raine crying, hands cupper over her face.

From the doorway of Altessa's house, the stone-faced Zelos stared in silence at the scene.

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With Altessa hurt, the remaining heroes flew to Flanoir in hopes of getting help for the injured dwarf. With the doctor found, the entire group save for Lloyd, Zelos, and a too-depressed-to-do-anything Raine left with the doctor to treat Altessa. That night, in one of the rooms of the hotel in Flanoir…

The red-haired chosen of Tethe'alla paced about his room, unsure of what to do. The events of earlier that day had laid heavily on his mind all day and he could not stopping thinking about it, no matter how hard he tried. When the party traveled to the Tower of Salvation tomorrow, he had planned to turn against his friends in favor of the side that he felt would win in the end, the angels of Cruxis, regardless of whether or not it was morally right. However, after witnessing the unexpected betrayal of Genis, long-time friend of Lloyd and Colette, potential suitor of Presea, and, most importantly, brother of Raine, Zelos had begun to question what he was going to do tomorrow. Genis' betrayal had greatly crushed the spirits of his companions. While most people would have given up, Lloyd and company were still prepared to keep trudging forward, even if they had to fight Genis in the process. The bravery and determination of his companions was astounding, but Zelos wondered if he also betrayed the party, even if he wasn't as well-liked as Genis, if it would fold under the pressure and finally give up all hope.

"Ugh, this is nuts," said Zelos as he finally decide to take a seat on his bed. "Lloyd and the others are sure to lose. It's really no wonder that Genis left his friends and even his sister behind. But…" He sighed. "They're just trying to do the right thing. The odds are stacked against them, yet they are still willing to risk their lives for the sake of a better world. Can I really turn on people like that? Even if I decide to help them no further, I can't just turn on them when they least expect it like Genis did. It would crush them. I'm sure Lloyd doesn't like me very much, but I guess it's the whole principle of the thing. Gah, what should I do!"

Zelos looked over at his pack and decided to pull it over. He rummaged through it for a bit a bit and pulled out a picture that a photographer at the Meltokian Ball took of the group. Everyone was in their dinner-party attire and looking very good. Presea was standing next to a red-faced Genis, upon whose shoulder was Raine's hand. In the dead middle of the back row were Lloyd and Zelos, one arm rapped around the other's shoulders, making the two look like they had been friends for life. Naturally, everyone was smiling. To those outside of the party, they truly looked like an inseparable group of friends. Over the past few months of adventuring, they had grown to be almost like family.

Zelos took a deep breath and put the picture back in his pack. "I know what I have to do now: I have to tell Lloyd and Raine. I just have to." He stood up and put on a much warmer set of clothes. Once finished, he made his way out the door and down the hall to Raine's room. From within, he could hear crying and a voice that sounded like Lloyd's.

"She must've broken down," said Zelos to himself. "Poor woman." He didn't want to disturb the two, but he knew that he had to tell them about what he was going to do. With a heavy sigh, he knocked on the door twice.

Raine sniffled as Lloyd said, "Who is it?"

"It's me bud," said Zelos. "Can I come in?"

Whispers that Zelos couldn't make out could be heard from within. A moment later, Lloyd said, "Okay, come on in Zelos."

Zelos opened the door and saw both Raine and Lloyd sitting on the bed. Raine was still trying to wipe the tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry to disturb you guys, but I wanted to talk to you. It's important. Can we step outside?"

Lloyd looked at his long-time teacher. "Professor?"

Raine sniffled and nodded her head. "O-okay. Just give us a moment to get properly dressed."

Zelos nodded and made his way for the door. "Gotcha. I'll meet you at the balcony in front of the church."

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"So what's up Zelos?" asked Lloyd as he and his long-time teacher approached Zelos on the balcony outside of the church.

Zelos turned to his friends, an empty-looking smile on his face as he did so. "Hey guys, thanks for coming out here. I know it's cold out here, so I'll try to be brief."

Raine shook her head. "Don't worry about it Zelos. Take all the time you need."

"She's right Zelos," said Lloyd. "That's what friends are for, right?"

"That's what friends are for, huh?" said Zelos to himself. He turned back to the wonderful scene overlooking over the snowbound city of Flanoir. He took a deep breath of the refreshingly crisp arctic air and began to speak once again. "Guys, I haven't been completely honest with you." He lowered his head and sighed. "In fact, I've only been slightly honest with you."

"What do you mean?" asked Lloyd.

"I've… I've been selling information to the Renegades… information about us and our journey."

Nobody said anything for a moment as the thought sank into their minds. The silence was almost deafening. One could almost hear the sound of the snow falling upon the ground.

"You've been selling information to the Renegades?" asked Raine.

Lloyd shook his head. "But… we're more or less working with the Renegades now so it's not so bad, right? I wish you would've told us sooner though."

Zelos turned back to his friends as a frown crossed his lips. "That's not all guys."

"There's more?" asked Raine.

Zelos took another breath. "I've also been selling information to Cruxis."

"WHAT!" yelled Lloyd. "You've betrayed us too!"

Raine grabbed her head and took a few steps backward. "No, this can't be! First Kratos, then Genis, now you! How many more people are going to betray us!"

Zelos took a step backward and leaned against the railing of the balcony. "When we got to the Tower of Salvation tomorrow, I was supposed to kidnap Colette and then fight all of you to the death. Everything needed for "reviving" Martel is ready to go except for the host-body: Colette."

"You bastard!" yelled Lloyd as he drew one of his blades. "You'll never lay a finger on Colette so long as I'm alive!"

Raine put a hand on Lloyd's shoulder. "Wait Lloyd. It doesn't sound like he's done yet. Let's at least hear him out and then we can decide what to do with him."

"B-but…" stuttered Lloyd. He looked back and forth between Raine and Zelos, sighed, and sheathed his blade. "Fine. Go ahead."

Zelos nodded. "Thank you. I know I don't deserve your time, considering what I've been doing and what I was going to do, but all I ask is that you hear me out."

"Very well Zelos," said Raine. "Now then, why are you telling us this?"

Zelos lowered his head and turned his back to his friends. "I'm not as bad of a person as you might think I am. After I saw what Genis', forgive me Raine, betrayal did to all of you spiritually, I knew that I couldn't go through with betraying you as well."

"Zelos…" said Raine.

Zelos laid his hands back on the railing as he continued. "Since the beginning of our journey, I've always felt that Cruxis, not you guys or the Renegades, would be victorious in the end. In the beginning, I didn't care who won, as long as I was with them. By selling information to Cruxis and the Renegades and by traveling with all of you, I felt that I had all of my bases covered. As time passed, I… well, guess I kinda got attached to you guys. Until today, I was at the point where I was hoping you guys would win but was still unable to pull myself away from Cruxis. Now, that's all changed."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Lloyd.

Zelos turned back to his friends, his expression unchanged. "After seeing how strong all of you are even after losing someone as close to you as Genis, I finally realized that I do want to fully support you guys, whether we win or not. I've never said or done anything like that in my life. Before he abandoned us, my old man told me to never go with the underdog. For the first time in my life, I want to go against that advice."

"Zelos…" started Raine, "…you mean you want to-"

"If you'll have me," said Zelos, interrupting her, "then I would like to see this through to the end with you guys. If you don't want me around anymore, I understand. I'll stay behind in Flanoir or wherever you want me to." For the first time during the conversation, Zelos' lips curled into a sincere smile. "So, how about it guys? Mind if the "Stupid Chosen" tags along for a bit longer?"

Lloyd looked at Raine, unsure of what to do. "Professor?"

Raine nodded. "Alright then Zelos. We believe you. If you still wish to travel with us, then you may do so."

Lloyd nodded as well. "Fine with me." He walked forward and extended his hand. "Thanks for being honest with us Zelos. What you did before was very wrong, but I'm glad you confessed to us. You aren't such a bad guy after-all."

Zelos took Lloyd's hand and shook it firmly. "Thanks guys." He shivered and chuckled. "Heh, it's getting' a little cold out here. Let's head back in, neh?"

They all nodded and made their way back to the inn, ready to get a good night's rest before they set out the next day.

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The next morning, the party reformed and made their way to the Tower of Salvation, prepared to put an end to Mithos' plan for an Age of Lifeless Beings. By mid-morning, the party was within the main hall of the Tower Salvation…

"I don't trust this," said Sheena. "I was expecting a trap or something like that."

Regal nodded. "Indeed. Surely they would not leave their front door unattended. Something's not right here."

Colette looked to either side of her. "Um, where's Zelos? Wasn't he here just a second ago?"

Everyone began to look around except for Raine and Lloyd who simply lowered their heads.

"Zelos," whispered Lloyd. "Did you really betray us after-all?"

"Something… is coming through the teleporter," said Presea as she pointed.

When the light from the teleporter subsided, everyone gasped when they saw Genis of all people crawling on his knees towards the party. "H-help me," he said weakly. "Please help me."

"Genis!" yelled Colette as she ran to her long-time friend. She kneeled next to him and tried to help him up. "Are you all right?"

Genis smirked and immediately sprang to his feet and placed the palm of his hand onto the small of Colette's back. "Never been better!"

"Genis!" yelled Lloyd as he drew his blades and rushed toward Genis.

Genis' free hand began to glow as he said, "Don't move Lloyd unless you prefer toasted Colette! You wouldn't want anything to happen to your girlfriend, would you?"

Lloyd gritted his teeth as he halted dead in his tracks. "Damnit Genis! Let her go! She's your friend!"

"Friend? Hmph," grunted Genis. "If she was any kind of friend, she would've understood my pain and joined me and Mithos. She still clings to your foolish idea of ending discrimination with Mithos' vision! You all would rather try to help people you don't know rather than me, your once long-time friend?"

"Genis, we still believe in you," said Colette, the fear in her voice apparent.

Genis gritted his teeth and hit Colette in the small of her back with his palm again. "Bah! Be quiet!"

From behind Genis emerged Zelos, a large grin on his face. "Hey guys. Sorry about this, but you know how things are, eh?"

Raine brought her hands to her mouth. "Zelos! It can't be!"

Drawing his blades once again, Lloyd yelled, "You bastard! It was still a trick after-all!"

Everyone else could say nothing as they stood in shook, mouths hanging wide open. Zelos chuckled as a pair of golden spectral wings sprouted from his back. "Of course it was. I'm not stupid."

"Zelos… is an angel too?" asked Presea.

Genis turned to the red-haired angel and smirked. "Heh, good timing Zelos. Just look at the stupid looks on their faces!"

Zelos shook his head and laughed. "Priceless. Now then, I'm sure you don't need me, but I'm here to help you anyway. I'll take Colette off your hands and take her to Mithos. Less for you to worry about, neh?"

Genis cocked an eyebrow and nodded. "Huh, never thought I'd actually hear a compliment from you. Okay then, take her. Last thing I need is extra baggage." With that, he shoved Colette over to Zelos who had his Ether Blade ready.

Once Zelos got a hold of Colette, he smiled warmly at the fear-stricken blonde-haired Chosen. He closed her eyes and gave her a slight shove in Lloyd's direction. "Run along Colette."

Everyone, including Genis, gasped at the same time. "W-what are you doing Zelos!" asked Genis angrily.

"Simple," replied Zelos. "I've chosen a side: the right side. These people have treated me with respect even when I deserved none. Besides, I'm not particularly keen on the idea of living in a world where I'm surrounded by soul-less goons."

"Zelos!" cried Colette happily. "Y-you're not with Mithos after-all?"

He shook his head. "It's like I told Lloyd and Raine last night: I'm with you guys all the way." He looked over at the healer and warrior and grinned. "Heh, you should have more faith in me. Just because I'm with you guys full-time now doesn't mean that I'm not still a trickster."

"Lloyd, Raine, you knew of this?" asked Regal, confused.

Lloyd said nothing and scratched his head. Raine simply replied, "We'll talk later. Let's focus on the task at hand."

Genis stomped his foot and growled. "Traitor!"

Zelos faced Genis and wagged a finger at him. "Speak for yourself."

"That's it!" yelled Genis as he unleashed a bolt of lightning at Colette.

"Ah!" cried Colette as the lightning arced towards her.

"Colette! Move it!" yelled Zelos as he shoved Colette out of the way, taking the hit for himself. "Gah!" He hit the ground, the acrid smell of slightly burnt flesh fresh in the air.

"Zelos!" yelled Lloyd as he helped Colette to her feet.

Everyone began to run towards Genis at once, ready to take him out. Desperate, Genis pointed a glowing hand at Zelos' fallen body. "Come no further, unless you want me to finish what I started!"

"Genis, stop!" cried Raine as she tried to reach out for her brother.

Genis huffed. "Not a chance, sis! Now then, if you want "Stupid" here to keep breathing, you'll hand over Colette! No tricks, or you'll regret it!"

Lloyd pointed one of his blades at Genis. "No way Genis! We'll never-"

"I'll go," said Colette solemnly. "Zelos just tried to save me. Now that I have the chance to save him, I have to take it."

"That won't be necessary," said a voice from behind Genis.

Genis whirled around to see who it was but he was too late. The scabbard of a sword smacked him across the face, sending him tumbling down the stairs leading up to the teleporter. "Ah! What the-… you!"

At the top of the stairs stood Kratos. His left hand was already extended towards Zelos, a white light emanating from it as it did so. A moment later, Zelos got back up, not looking the least bit hurt.

"Da-… Kratos!" yelled Lloyd. "Does this mean you're-"

Kratos nodded. "Indeed. I was touched by your conversation last night."

Zelos looked over at Kratos. "You mean you were listening?"

Kratos nodded again. "Embarrassed?"

Zelos shook his head. "Bah."

Genis finally stood back up and growled. "Have both of you lost your minds! You threw your loyalty behind Mithos last night!"

Zelos could tell that either Raine or Lloyd were going to ask about that so he took the initiative by saying, "After you two went to bed last night, I decided to pay Mithos, Kratos, and Genis one last visit. Figured it'd be my last chance to gain any useful information. Looks like it worked out well, eh Genis?"

Kratos began to walk down the stairs towards Genis. "It's over Genis. You may be a powerful magician, but there are still eight of us. You can't win."

"Ha… hahaha…" laughed Genis. "You think you know so much. This is far from over!" He pulled back a piece of cloth under his collar revealing what looked like a Cruxis Crystal. When he touched it, his body began to glow and spectral feathers began to fall all around him. "My friend has entrusted me with the power of the angels. I won't let him down!" A flash of light followed his last word and, when the light subsided, flapping behind Genis' back were a pair of blue-grey spectral wings. "What do you think of that!"

Not wanting to believe what she was seeing, she stumbled backwards and nearly fell over. "Oh no. Genis… you really have left us, haven't you?"

He smirked. "Yup, and that's not all!" He threw his hands toward the sky and yelled, "Gatekeeper! Send thy flights of angels to my aid!"

Just as Genis had requested, nearly two dozen angels descended from the top of the tower led by a rather large and very powerful looking angel, quite possibly the Gatekeeper Genis referred to. The large angel floated in front of Genis and asked, "What would you have us do, Lord Genis?"

"Lord… Genis?" asked Presea.

Genis smiled, brushed his hair aside, and pointed at his friends. "Kill them! Kill them all!"

Lloyd crouched into a fighter's stance, ready to engage in battle. "You guys take care of the angels! I'll try to stop Genis!" A hand rested on Lloyd's tense shoulder and he looked back to see who it was. "Pro-professor?"

"Lloyd, let me take care of this," said Raine quietly. "I know he's your best friend, but he's my brother. It should be my responsibility to deal with him."

"But…" protested Lloyd. "Genis is really-"

"Powerful?" She shook her head. "I know, but that doesn't matter. If anyone can reach him, it's me. I'm the only family that he has left."

"Professor…" said Lloyd.

She grasped her staff with both hands and closed her eyes. "No more time for that. You have to help the others defeat the angels." Her eyes opened once more and she swung her staff from side-to-side. "I'll take care of Genis!"

"You? Ha!" sneered Genis. "I was hoping for Lloyd, Kratos, or even Presea! But you? Please! This will be too easy!" He drew his kendama and swung the ball at Raine who managed to knock it away with her staff.

"Genis, you have to be stopped!" yelled Raine.

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The battle dragged on for nearly a half-hour. Initially, it was a stalemate but as more time passed, the angels began to lose ground and slowly fold under the might of the heroes. However, the battle between Genis and Raine was a different story. Even from the beginning, Raine was no match for the now angelic Genis. Now that she was tired and running low on mana, this proved to be even more true. Things seemed to be hopeless for Raine. She did not care so much about the fact that she might die, rather, as the battle progressed, she further realized that there really was no turning Genis back, no matter how much she pleaded with him or lectured him.

Raine's breathed with great difficulty as she kneeled on the ground. She felt that she could not fight much longer and figured that her friends would not be done with the angels until it was too late for her. Looking up, she saw a smug look on the seemingly victorious Genis. His spectral wings fluttered as his hands glowed with power.

"This is it Raine," said Genis with confidence. "It's really too bad that you didn't join us." He brought his hands together, then slowly spread them back apart. As he did so, white lightning arced between his hands, creating an almost blinding light between them. "Goodbye Raine. Divine Indignation!"

A large arc of the same whitish-lighting that Genis held shot forth from his hands and screamed towards Raine. Calling up the last bit of her strength, she held up her staff and yelled, "Ray!" A pure-white beam of light shot forth from her staff and slammed into Genis' own magical attack. However, hers was not nearly as powerful as her brother's and, as such, was slowly getting pushed back toward Raine.

Having dispatched the last of the angels, Lloyd's group could finally pay heed to what was happening between Genis and Raine. Seeing that Raine was going to lose, he began to run towards Genis. "Stop it! Stop it right now!" he yelled.

Kratos' strong hand grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him back. "No Lloyd! Let them go! She has to do this or she will never forgive herself!"

"But she's going to die!" retorted Lloyd!"

Kratos closed his eyes and shook his head. "Patience, Lloyd. Believe in them."

"Them?" asked Lloyd, confused. "You mean the professor and Genis?"

Kratos nodded. "Genis will not kill his sister."

Lloyd threw his arms outward. "What! How can you be so sure?"

Saying nothing, Kratos turned back to the battle between the two half-elves.

"Hey! Are you listening!" asked Lloyd. Still receiving no answer, he turned back to the battle and watched with great anxiety.

"It's… it's no good!" Raine said to herself. "I can't beat him. I just didn't want to lose my brother… he's all that I have left." Tears began to run down her cheek as the great mass of arcane energy inched closer and closer to her. "I'm so sorry Genis…"

The smile that Genis once wore slowly faded as he, somehow, heard his sister crying over the noise of the magical battle. He closed his eyes and shook his head. "Wha-… what am I doing? Am I really going to kill my own sister! She's been more of a mother to me than our real mom ever was! Mithos is my friend, but… this just isn't worth it. I should've stuck with my family. Not just Raine, but all my other friends as well. Lloyd and Colette have been like a big brother and sister to me. They helped Raine raise me since I was a baby. Everyone, I… I'm so sorry. I wish I could just give this up, but there's no way to break off this energy now without hurting or even killing someone else." He listened to his sister weep a bit longer before he finally decided on his course of action. "There's only one thing left to do." He dramatically reduced the output of mana from his hands and slowly lowered his arms.

Not noticing the drop in arcane power coming from Genis, Raine's Ray quickly overpowered what was left of Genis' Divine Indignation. Genis' magical energy dispersed, Raine's Ray immediately engulfed Genis, torching his very soul with holy energy.

"Genis!" yelled a horrified Lloyd as he witnessed his best friend getting slammed by the Ray. Just before Genis was fully engulfed, Lloyd could've sworn he saw Genis looking at him with an eerily calm smile. Bright light filled the room, blinding everyone who was watching.

Moments later, the tower dimmed once again and everyone could see Raine kneeling on the ground, cradling her dead brother in her arms. She leaned down and kissed him on the forehead, letting her tears splash down on his emotionless face.

Everyone lowered their heads in respect for their fallen companion and Raine's loss. They couldn't stay long though and Lloyd knew this. He began to walk toward Raine and was grabbed once again by Kratos. He turned to face his father who was shaking his head.

"No, Lloyd. Leave them be," he said. "Her role in the final battle has come and gone. We shall take care of the rest."

Lloyd wanted to protest but even he realized that his father was right. He took one last look at Raine and waved his arms towards his friends, motioning them to move along. The party vanished in the teleporter, leaving the half-elven professor to look after and mourn her little brother.

The remainder of the party, with help from Kratos, managed to defeat not only Pronyma but Mithos as well. With no one there to spare his "soul" (Genis in the game), Lloyd had Mithos' Cruxis Crystal destroyed, thus ending any threat of Mithos coming back. The journey ends at Origin's Altar when the party not only forms a pact with Origin but also subsequently re-unites the worlds with the power of the Eternal Sword. Genis was buried in one of the deepest parts of the Torrent Forest where his grave was unlikely to be bothered by anyone. Once a year, Raine comes by his grave to lay down a wreath of Genis' favorite flowers. Afterwards, she leaves just as wordlessly as she came.

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Cue the Twilight Zone music, please…

Okay, first "What if?" is done! After each story, I'll display a list of how the real game would've been affected if these events actually took place. Without further ado…

How the game changes as a result of this what if…
---Genis forever leaves the party at Altessa's place, just before the Flanoir scene
---Zelos, as a Flanoir scene, confesses about his dealings with Cruxis and the Renegades
---Kratos joins the party sooner than he normally does and replaces Genis as a permanent party member, rather than having to choose between Zelos or Kratos.
---Genis and The Gatekeeper are fought instead of just the Gatekeeper or Zelos
---Colette is not re-captured by Cruxis and is never possessed by Martel
---Genis is killed by Raine

---The game ends at the Tower of Salvation with the joining of the worlds after the pact with Origin is formed and the ring of the pact is made, rather than at Vinheim Castle. The final battle with Mithos takes place in the Great Seed Chamber and not in Vinheim.

And there we go. Okay, so how was everything? Minus A/Ns, This story was 5,000 words long, longer than any other single chapter I've written. Assuming y'all liked this one and want to see more, I would like you to please visit my profile page and look for the "What if?" listing. I would like everyone to vote on whichever "What If?" you would like to see next. Remember, you can't vote on anything you suggested. Thanks a bunch everyone!