Ayame: Hello everyone, and welcome to Eternal Chronicles! Which will soon be the number one Phantasia and Symphonia crossover! With your hosts... Ayame! And~
Kazea: Kazea~ It's an honor to have you all he—wait... Ack, you got me doing it too! Ayame, we sound like Zelos and Jade on Viva! Tales of…
Ayame: You're not supposed to say anything~ We are sorta like hosts, after all. ...Okay, writers. Hm, maybe I should've used that instead. Anyway~ This is our crossover. Kazea, explain!
Kazea: ...Now I'm Guy? Sheesh. *shakes head* Well, thank you for taking the time to view our story! This little idea was born when one obsessive fan met another! We realized that there was a way to actually do a crossover that would unfold into an excellent tale if written by two minds such as ours... You may refer me as the leader of the Symphonia Cast in this story, as I write all of their viewpoints and chapters.
Ayame: And I'm the head of the Phantasia cast~ I write their chapters and stuff.
Kazea: You could call us, as our joint penname implies, the biggest fans of the Tales games in the Aselia timeline. We're big Tales fans in general of course.
Ayame: That's right~ For those who couldn't guess, my favorite game is Phantasia and Kazea's is Symphonia. Speaking of! We didn't introduce ourselves appropriately. See, this is why we should've done the Viva! Tales of thing properly /ok
Kazea: *sweatdrop* Fine, fine... We'll steal Jade's and Zelos' jobs in the next chapter-even at the risk of being pelted by magic.
Ayame: We still need to do introductions in this one! I'll start~ I'm the super-cool Ayame Majikku! Perhaps you know me from the largest story in the Phantasia section and its sequel: Teishi ni Hikkakamasu and Syukuzen no Teishi. Or perhaps you know me from my Archester story that people like even better than that, Two Hours. Or perhaps you don't know me at all and are wondering why I'm still talking T.T' But either way, I hope you enjoy my Phantasia chapters! I'm going to do my best on them!
Kazea: ...I'm Kazea Tetsujen. I don't...have any stories worth mentioning because I'm still new and don't have stories with hundreds of reviews like Ayame. u_u;; I've written a couple of stories in the Symphonia section, and one for Ayame's birthday in the Phantasia section. I'm the proud creator of Ratatosk's missing six Centurions, who are highlighted in both Syukuzen no Teishi—Ayame's story—and Cyclone Scourge which is written by me about Centurion Ventus... But, you people probably don't care about this stuff and are waiting for this author's notice to end. Still, I hope my Symphonia chapters can live up to your standards if anything.
Ayame: Your stories are still awesome, and you have a great grasp on the Symphonia characters~ Speaking of, chapter 1's a Symphonia Side chapter, so~ Please enjoy, everyone!
Kazea: Heh, thank you Ayame. ^^ On that note, I am the author of this first chapter. I hope it is enjoyable!
Disclaimer: We don't own the Tales series. ...Yet. One day we shall both work at Namco! (Though on opposite sides of the sea). But for now, enjoy our fan work.
Ayame and Kazea: Jikai made!(Until next time!)
The desert sun was proving to be more brutal than any monster prowling it as two travelers continued to cross the ocean of scorching sand. It had been a rough morning on the both of them and the large oddity of a dog that had accompanied them as a companion. They were searching for their friend Colette—the Chosen of Regeneration and the one with the entire world of Sylvarant's eyes on at this time.
"Ah, over there," Genis said to his older friend as they stopped walking, the silver haired boy pulling his face out of a map to gesture at a town less than half a mile away. "That's Triet over there. Guess those people at the House of Salvation were giving us good directions after all."
When nothing came back in response he flicked his cobalt gaze up at Lloyd, shrugging his shoulders when he noted the seventeen year-old reading the same letter he'd received from Colette for about the seventh time today. For anyone that knew the dual-swordsmen well, one may have debated that it was the most he'd ever read anything in his entire life.
"Lloyd, reading that much might overload your brain… Give it a rest already!"
Lloyd didn't appear to hear his comment. He was far too enthralled with the neatly written letter in his hand. Every word on the page seemed to know the exact way to punch him in the gut until it hurt absolutely everywhere. Since leaving Iselia—banished as a result of the mayor believing him to be the reason Desians had burnt it to the ground—he had not only dragged along Genis with him, he had also been left behind by Colette as well.
He wasn't upset with her really. He understood why she'd done it. Even so it wasn't failing in making him feel awful. He groaned under his breath and caught himself rereading the text yet again.
Dear Lloyd,
By the time you read this, I will have already left on my journey. I'm sorry
for lying to you. The world regeneration journey is full of peril—many Chosens
have failed. I care about you too deeply to let you get involved. I'm going to
do my best to stop the monsters and the Desians, so I want you to live a happy
and peaceful life in the regenerated world. Thank you so much for your
friendship and kindness all these years. I'm really lucky to have met you.
Farewell,
Colette
"Why," he thought, gripping the paper unknowingly tighter. "Why did you leave without us, Colette? We…we promised we'd go together. I promised I'd protect you."
"Lloyd!"
His attention was yanked out of his mind and back into the real world. He glanced to the side at Genis' half irritated and half worried expression, Noishe behind him tilting his head curiously. The warrior folded up the letter, carefully pocketing it away as he ran a gloved hand through his brown hair apologetically. "I'm sorry, Genis. I've got a lot on my mind."
The mage sighed. "I know you're worried about Colette but she's got Kratos and Raine with her. I'm sure she'll be perfectly fine whether we find her or not."
"I will find her," Lloyd breathed, locking his focus on Triet as he began towards it with a determination that may as well have been visible.
"H-hey, wait for me!" Genis cried exasperatingly as he ran to catch up, Noishe right on his heels after a quick bark.
It wasn't long before the duo and dog reached the gates of town. The city was entirely surrounded in a rock wall, years of being slammed with sand having cloaked it in desert dust. Multiple signs of bustling activity became obvious straight away as they took a few steps into the square. They could see a marketplace to the left of town, as well as many strings of shops along the north as well.
It wasn't really the shops to the north that really made their interest jump though.
A ring of Desians in red standard uniform stood a ways away chatting. Both Lloyd and Genis were painfully in sight, too much so for their comfort zones. The two ducked behind Noishe, the green and white canine very perplexed as the both of them pushed him forward to an animal pen near the inn to hide. Both peaked out between the wooden framing of the pen to eavesdrop on the conversation being had.
"This is an order from Lord Forcystus! A human named Lloyd is on the run with an Exsphere. His identification code is unknown. Form a cordon in all areas immediately," a first Desian declared.
"What does this Lloyd look like?" another asked.
"His likeness and description are on the wanted posters. We're counting on you."
"Yes, sir!" The rest saluted at what was assumed to be their commanding officer. One Desian, instead of taking patrol like the others, sauntered over to a billboard and tacked something upon it. Even from where Lloyd stood, he could easily tell what it was from what he'd learned.
"Man…wanted posters and search parties." Lloyd whispered over Noishe to Genis, "They're really serious."
The twelve year-old nodded. "We need to hurry and find Colette."
The swordsmen couldn't help but groan lightly, awkward. "Hey, I thought we were looking for Colette to protect her… This is more like we're looking for her to get help."
"Does it really matter why we're looking for her?" Genis glared at him, crossing his arms. "You think too much when you don't have to!"
"Alright I get it. Sheesh," the older male relented, not in the mood for an argument. "I think they're far enough away so let's ask around. Somebody in this place must have seen Colette at some point."
He slipped out the pen after telling Noishe to stay put, Genis waving at the canine as he followed suit. It was unsurprising that the first place they ventured to was the billboard. Lloyd just had to see that wanted poster. What they saw on the poster, however, was rather shocking—perhaps even scary. The picture was appalling, as if an infant had been hired to draw it. In fact, it barely passed as a warped caricature.
"Is this the wanted poster?" Genis muttered sarcastically, very unimpressed.
Lloyd grimaced as he stared at it. On the outside, he couldn't manage to worm out of the blank shroud that had settled over him. On the inside it was quite the opposite. He couldn't believe how inaccurate this picture was. Desians had just plummeted even lower on his hate list—if only for their heinous artistic view of him.
"…Am I this ugly?" he asked finally.
"It's good." His elven friend shut his eyes as he thought on the question a moment. "They'll never find you with this…I think."
The young man whipped to the side, pointing at the picture. His inward infuriation had been let loose. "What do you mean 'you think'?"
"Do you really want me to elaborate…?"
"…You know what, fine. Let's just go already before everything begins to sting from the sight of this…thing." He immediately took off toward the market after the last word left his lips.
Genis sighed with a small smile. Sometimes being the swordsmen's cohort could be very exhausting.
The market was extremely busy, various items being sold left and right. After asking around, they'd learned that the activity in Triet was actually less populous than it used to be due to the Desians. The town was already so lively that imagining it more so was practically impossible. It was very tempting for the two to join in themselves. Some stalls had some very handy and interesting materials or equipment on sale. Everything was too expensive though, and they were only here browsing for information anyway.
After gathering a nice tidbit from a salesman about a fortuneteller that may be able to help them to the north of town, Lloyd and Genis tried to weave their way back to the square—only to pause when they noticed something very peculiar.
…And very familiar…
They'd stumbled upon a small home with a mysterious human shaped hole in the front wall. Genis fumed as he studied it, his fists tightening. The man who owned it, however, seemed very happy about his household damage. He was almostshowing-off the hole to the public. Lloyd found that strange until he observed the hole again. Something clicked in his brain and everything made sense. He felt his sweat drop.
"Look, the Desians did this too! I can't stand all the damage they keep doing to this place!" Genis spat harshly.
"No, this is…" Lloyd had to smile affectionately at the realization this time. "…this has to be…"
Genis blinked at him, at a loss. The owner decided to answer his unspoken question. The man's demeanor had to be on cloud nine as he bragged. "Isn't it amazing? This is the shape of the Chosen of Regeneration. It's going to become this city's next tourist spot."
The mage settled into a knowing yet unemotional state, facing the wall again. He ran his concentration over it one too many times for Lloyd's growing impatience.
"…Oh right. This is like the schoolhouse… Colette..." he said at last in a sudden downcast. He missed his friend's clumsiness.
"Hey, we'll find them soon." Lloyd patted his head. "Let's go talk to that fortuneteller first."
The younger male cheered up a little, nodding as he and Lloyd started off again—making sure not to become distracted by anything this time.
It didn't take long to reach the north path, the two boys deciding to jog there since the dirt road went around the town's famous oasis. The fortuneteller's tent was hard to miss. It sat at the end of the trail, and strangely, it had no line. If they weren't in such a hurry it would be very suspicious.
"Hello?" Lloyd called out as he parted the fold of the tent, taking a few steps in.
"Welcome to the House of Fortune," a woman in very cliché shaman clothing beckoned as the two travelers entered. "What would you like me to divine for you?"
The inside of this place wasn't huge, lined with many strange boxes and objects. There were some colorful blue drapes set up around the tent at least. Not something one would call professional though.
"Well, I'd like to know where Colette…where the Chosen is now," the swordsmen said, resting a hand on one of the scabbards of his twin blades.
She contemplated and then smiled. "Understood. That will be 100 Gald."
Lloyd's eyes widened. "That's expensive!"
"…Did you say something?"
"Ah, n…no, I…" He offered a questioning glimpse over to Genis, who could only shrug. Shaking his head, Lloyd reached in his pocket for the money, reluctantly handing it over.
As soon as she was paid, the fortuneteller gazed into her crystal ball. She made many fake sounding noises and facial emotions as she waved her hands around the sphere. "Mmm…I can see her! The Chosen is heading for the oasis that is said to have been destroyed when Efreet went out of control."
"…Is that true?" the mage queried skeptically.
The woman only smiled again. "The Chosen's companion said so, so there's no doubt!"
Lloyd's brow furrowed instantly. He'd had quite enough of Triet's nonsense today. He thrust his arm forward, his palm upturned. "I want a refund…"
Genis was able to drag his friend out of the tent before the phony mystic could slap down her ridiculous policy on him. He was sick of this place too to be honest, so much so that he ignored Lloyd's ranting the entire time they walked back to get Noishe. He was far too eager to get out of here for anything to bother him now.
Luck was not with them. As soon as they retrieved Noishe and reached the entrance again, a voice forced them to a halt.
"Wait!"
The party turned around and recoiled at the source. Three Desian soldiers had spotted them leaving.
"Damn," Lloyd thought, wrapping a hand around one sword hilt just in case.
The Desian on the left turned to the one to the right. "Doesn't he look like the guy in the wanted poster?"
"Let's see…" The rightmost Desian examined the poster from earlier and then Lloyd, smirking. "Yeah, he looks just like it!"
Genis couldn't pass up the opportunity to poke fun at this, holding in a burst of laughter. "Good for you, Lloyd. They say you're good looking."
"Do I really look that bad?" the swordsmen whined, effectively reminded of his annoyance at that stupid poster.
The soldiers approached them. The leader in the middle brought up his whip in threat. "You must be Lloyd!"
"…Yeah, that's right"
The elven boy tipped his head in surprise at his companion's choice of words. "Hey, what about your usual 'Who are you to ask for my name' thing?"
"I'm not gonna even bother."
The rightmost soldier suddenly laughed. "Heheh… I guess you can't run away with a poster of your face everywhere!"
That pushed hard on Lloyd's anger button. He drew one blade up slightly. "…You're really starting to piss me off!"
The three men shared aggressive glares, slamming their whips into the sand. "Get him," their leader commanded.
A whip was lashed out, aimed to strike Lloyd's arm. The swordsman was much more agile in his actions thankfully and drew his blades hastily enough to have the whip end up coiling around one sword instead. The dual-wielder shoved his arm back, pulling the Desian forward by his weapon just in time to be driven into his other sword.
"You inferior being! How dare you!" the leftmost solider screamed, landing a strike across Lloyd's right leg. He dropped to a knee in pain, his defense shot down for enough time to be severely injured. The man ran up, preparing to thrash him across the face.
"Wind Blade!"
Small sharp wisps of wind stopped the Desian from getting any closer. It shredded up his clothing, even leaving some cuts into his armor and helmet. Lloyd looked behind him to see Genis holding up his kendama. He gave him a nod. No matter how basic the mage's current skill was, he was not to be underestimated.
"Okay!" Lloyd muttered to himself. He used his position to spring up at the tattered Desian, who still dizzy from the spell, the gained speed making his attack even more powerful. He thrust his sword through the soldier, a distinctive energy drilling into the man. "Sonic Thrust!"
He fell to the ground next to the first of his group, leaving only the leader left. The remaining man hesitated for only a moment, charging with a feral cry at Lloyd, who countered the whipping motions with cross slices and upward swings.
"Genis," he signaled, "now!"
The leader flinched, realizing he'd been caught up by a distraction. He had no time to say anything as the magic-user finished casting, a flow of blue mana surrounding him after a glyph flashed under his feet. "Aqua Edge!"
Discs of razor water homed in on the soldier, the first making contact as soon as Lloyd jumped safely away. It wasn't long until that Desian joined his counterparts on the ground, defeated. That hadn't been so tough, all considering.
Lloyd relaxed after he was sure of their victory, rubbing under his nose with the top of one hand, grinning. "Heh. All talk."
"Lloyd, don't let your guard down, or you'll regret it," Genis warned, keeping his weapon in hand.
He shook his head at his friend, lowering his swords. "I'm not letting my guard down. It's just that they were so pitiful…"
As if out of nowhere, a condensed orb of electrical energy flew out at the swordsmen, moving too fast for Genis to have time to tell him to dodge. It hit him square in the back, exploding all over his body in a web of lightning. The numbing pain surged from his every nerve, shooting up his spine and shutting down all his senses.
"W…w-whoa….w-wha…t…is…th…" Lloyd's vision waned, becoming blurry and dark as he felt his swords fall out of his hands. His hearing was also fading out. Genis' frantic cries became inaudible to him as he made out the mage backing away with Noishe. There was someone or something behind him that had done this. He couldn't check though because he was unable to move.
He fought hard against the shocking to stay strong. He didn't want Genis to handle whatever had happened on his own. However, the warrior's wish was denied. His vision abandoned him then, mind shattering as he felt himself sink into total blackness. Thoughts ran dry. His voice plugged. Strength drained out of him. He was at the mercy of his attackers.
Lloyd's unconscious form plummeted into the sand near his blades, kicking up a small sand cloud. Would he die here? Could he die here? All that could be determined at this point was that his fate was in the hands of uncertainty.
One always hopes that in tales such as this, the normal is to occur and go as expected…
…But tales like this can change unexpectedly…
Sometimes, it takes the power of one story to bring out the truth in another.
Until the return of his consciousness, all Lloyd could do was wait—unaware of what the future held in store for him.
Lloyd received the title of Wanted Swordsmen. The Desians are really going all out to catch me... If only they had the artistic skills to hunt me down in a proper fashion.
Genis left the party.