This is my first fic, so excuse any spelling errors and such. Ok?
It was the big day, for me at least. I was going to ask Selena to go to the formal with me, Cecil. We had been friends for a while, and according to "50 Ways to Tell if a Girl Likes You", she liked me. We both liked the same things; soccer, tennis, reading, and video games. Yeah, I know, it sounds like a stretch for a girl to like video games, but bear with me. We had continually tried to beat Niflheim on Mania mode in the game Tales of Symphonia for several weeks now. Every Tuesday she came over and we tried to beat it together, using the little known multiplayer mode. It was Tuesday today, and stormy. My mother had just gone out to "get some groceries, so don't do any funny business you kids," We assured her we wouldn't, then sat on the couch to try and best Niflheim.
We didn't get very far. An ADVANCED ALERT from my cell told me that there'd be a major storm over Haddon in 2 minutes. Damned technology… I decided to forget about it, and press on into the Second Sanctum. The storm raged on. Selena glanced out the window.
"Hey, Cecil, it's getting kind of stormy. Maybe we should stop?" I shook my head.
"My cell says that it passes right over us. It'll be fine," Selena gave me an 'I know you aren't telling the truth but I'll believe you anyway' look. Don't ask me how I know that look, I just do.
"Whatever," she sighed. Gotta love teenage dissonance.
We continued playing. She liked to charge in as Lloyd, then run away and use a gel, whereas I preferred to soften up the enemies with Genis' techs, then strike with Kratos, and run away. Anyways. We were on the 14th floor. Mother Nature seemed particularly pissed at the Earth today, because she was opening up. Buckets of rain poured down from the heavens, and lightning struck down. I was caught up in watching nature's fury that I didn't pay attention to what was going on.
"Uh…Cecil…" Selena was tugging my sleeve. I turned around and was greeted with…
"Aw shit." The GameCube was emitting sparks erratically. I rushed up to the power outlet to unplug it, but to my amazement, it wasn't plugged in, in the first place!
"This is bad," said Selena, panicky. "What do we do Cecil?"
"Don't look at me! I don't know!" It was right out of a fan-fiction. Selena apparently couldn't or wouldn't let go of the controller. The GameCube was working but not plugged in. I, stupidly, tried to rip the controller out of Selena's hands. Of course, then it decided to weld itself to my hands too. I looked up at the screen.
The screen was snowing over. It appeared to be moving back in the game, from the Derris Emblem, to Origin's seal, to Zelos' betrayal, to the Iselia Ranch, to the Tower of Salvation, to the Tower of Mana, to Sheena, to the Fire Seal, to Iselia. When I looked back at the controller I yelped. The controller- and mine and Selena's hand, for that matter- were gone, replaced by a gaping hole.
I, smartly, decided to reach in with my other hand to try and wrench the other one out. Of course, my other hand was sucked into this hole. I then felt a wrenching in my gut, and then all of my body was sucked in. I was falling, falling, falling…
You know, I'd love to tell you I had some spiritual awakening or deep revelation. But really? The only thing I thought was GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
I landed with a THUMP. I used a word that would get me slapped by my mother. I got up, stretching. I was on…
"Wealgia?" (Or Welagia, I don't have the energy to look it up- Author) The city of angels was right around me, from the soulless angels to the big vending machine things. There was a slight buzzing noise, which was becoming louder and louder. I looked up.
"Aw shi-" Something landed on top of me. Man she weighed a TON. Of course I wouldn't tell her that.
"Oof, Selena, you lummox, get off of me," I growled. Selena, for it was obviously Selena, hopped off of me. "Sorry," she apologized, helping me up. "Where are we?"
I sighed. "I haven't got a- got a- got-" Oh God… Angels were heading towards us, and they didn't look happy. Actually, they didn't look like anything. They didn't have emotions, you know? At any rate, the angels silently surrounded Selena and I. Dammit, what the hell is going on? The angels looked ready for a fight.
"Uh…hi guys. Wanna hear a joke? Ok, a rabbi, a priest, and a blind man walk into a bar. And the, uh, rabbi says…" My comedic styling had no effect. I whispered to Selena, "I'll distract them. You run." She shook her head.
"I lived in New York for 4 years before I came here. I can fight." I sighed. It would be no good to fight her, and she might as well die fighting. I decided to attack a little guy, not much taller than me.
I shuddered. Someone was watching me from above. I looked up. A flash of purple, and a thin saber crashed down onto the cobblestone street. Excellent. I had taken a couple of fencing electives at Haddon, and could use a saber with some decency. I hefted it up. God, it weighed a ton! But it was my only shot. I saluted the angels, as tradition dictates, and then charged.
The angels were actually real weaklings. After being sliced at once with this mysterious blade, they would scream, "Pain does not compute!" and explode. I'm not kidding. Similarly, when Selena sucker-punched an angel, it would crumple to the ground.
Despite all, it was no good. There were just too many angels, and the saber was getting heavier with every slice. Selena looked tired too. Have YOU ever punched 20 people in the stomach? It ain't fun. An angel with a mace was swinging it around. I had no energy left for a parry. He swung it at me, and thinking of the irony, I let it come.
Strangely, I did not crumple to the ground and die of massive blood loss. I looked up. The angel was twitching on the ground, and his fellows had backed up. What the… Kratos was standing in front of me, with a grim smile.
"Get out of the way," he intoned. I obeyed, dragging Selena, who had been knocked unconscious, out of the way.
Kratos then released his angel wings with a burst of blue, and commanded,
"I am Lord Aurion. Be gone angels!" The angels scrambled. It was a good thing Selena was knocked out, or else she would be "glomping" Kratos. The angel turned to me.
"Come with me. Bring your friend." I decided a bit of servility would be called for here, so I said,
"Yes, Kratos." Wrong move. Kratos drew his sword, the Flamberge, and held it against my throat.
"How do you know my name?" I swore inwardly. I said nothing, thinking of my options. I couldn't really think of any but come clean.
Kratos pressed the blade tighter. "How?"
I sighed. How would I begin? "Well, where I come from, a place called Earth, this place- and Sylvarant and Tethe'alla- are all part of what's called a video game. A video game is an electronic view of usually fictitious events. And if you get that sword out of my face I'll tell you more, Kratos!"
He didn't take the bait, or remove the sword, so I used my ace in the hole.
"Oh yes, I know all about you, Kratos Aurion. And your wife and son, Anna and Lloyd. Now put the sword down." He grudgingly sheathed his sword.
"That's much better. Now will you help me carry her or what?" I said, jerking my head towards Selena. He said nothing, only nodded toward a warp portal and started walking. I dragged Selena over the portal. Now what? I thought, waiting for something to happen. Kratos barked a word, and a swooshing feeling in my chest told me I was being transported.
We appeared outside a mini-mansion of sorts. The Seraphim palace, I guess. Kratos appeared to be hoping no one would see him. He sighed as a blue-haired half elf came running toward him. Yuan.
"Kratos, I-" he noticed me, bruised and bleeding, and Selena, knocked out.
"Yuan, nobody needs to know about this," said Kratos urgently, "Especially Mith- Lord Yggdrassil." Yuan appeared to understand. He, thankfully, helped me carry Selena into the mansion.
The mansion was much bigger on the inside than the outside. I tried to wrap my head around everything that had happened. It gave me a headache, so I stopped.
Kratos stopped in a grand dining room. Yuan helped me hoist Selena into a chair and left, mumbling something about Rheairds. Kratos sat down as well, gesturing me toward a chair next to him.
I told him everything- about how I got here, about the game, everything EXCEPT how the game ends. I had read enough science fiction to know what would happen if a person knew his future. They would explode or something. As we talked, it grew dark, and Selena did not wake, although she did murmur and stir occasionally. And eventually the talk turned to me.
"So what are we to do with you Cecil? We cannot keep you in Wealgia." I had been thinking about this for a while.
"Could I come with you on the journey of regeneration?"
"Me too!" I jumped. Selena had woken up, or had been feigning sleep and taking in every word. I guessed the latter. Kratos sighed.
"You may, but there is a catch. One of you must become an angel."
"How? Through a Cruxis Crystal?" Selena asked.
"Yes, and also a Rune Crest and a chunk of Aionis. (Or however the hell it's spelled- Author) It will not be a pleasant experience. The Rune Crest is to control the crystal and the Aionis is for controlling the angelic abilities. You will temporarily lose your senses and voice. I do not minimize the pain and suffering that you will feel."
Selena looked away. I sighed.
"Fine. Just do it quick." I stood up, as did Selena and Kratos. He headed toward a door marked "Seraphim Only", and flung it open. Inside was a storage room, filled to the brim with shelves and boxes.
"We're gonna have to go through all of these, aren't we?" Selena sighed.
"…"
"I'll take that as a yes."
We looked through the boxes, which was all the fun of watching paint dry and watching grass grow combined in one package. Eventually Selena cried out that she had found the crystal and I found the Rune Crest hidden under what looked like copious bottles of hair gel. I suspected Kratos. I also found a small rock, which I guessed to be Aionis.
We returned to the dining room. Kratos looked into my eyes.
"Are you sure about this?"
"Do I have much of a choice? Just attach it already!" He pushed the Cruxis Crystal onto my chest. Instantly I felt stronger. I also felt an explosive feeling in my shoulder bones, like something was pushing out. I looked over my shoulder. "Holy…" I had shining purple wings on my back fluttering serenely. Kratos held out the Aionis.
"What am I supposed to do with this? Swallow it?" Kratos nodded gravely.
"Are you serious? I was only joking!" I sighed, and swallowed the stone. It tasted like burnt crayons, with a side of stringy asparagus. I nearly choked, but forced it down.
"You both should get some rest. The angelic transformation will not be easy, and you need sleep while you still can."
We had decided that Selena and I would sleep in the servant's quarters, and if anyone were to question us, we would say that we were apprentices of Kratos. I had hardly made it to the bed when I collapsed. I fell asleep immediately, like a log.
Author's Note- Please review! Seriously, anything you write will be taken into consideration.
And I need a good story name, if anyone would like to suggest one. The best title suggest-er will receive a cookie of their choice. And everyone gets a cookie for just plain reviewing. So review!
