A/N: Before you read anything, know that this story takes place on earth, with some of the ToS characters. Until the story begins, they are just normal people, or as normal as Genis and Lloyd could get. I keep the characters histories as similar as possible without making things completely unrealistic.
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters but the world to a degree and the story I do.
"Genis come on, nothing bad will happen," Lloyd told his friend.
"I don't know Lloyd, Raine will get mad at us if we sneak out," Genis replied.
"Come on, she has been asleep for over an hour. We just sneak out the window, and make sure we don't stay too long and then get back before she gets up in the mourning," Lloyd said.
"Maybe, but something could go wrong and she would find out."
"And maybe a tornado could come and destroy this room. If we leave then we will be safe," Lloyd countered.
"Do you have any idea how absurd your argument is?" the younger boy replied.
"Do you have any idea how dull you are being? School starts next week and we need to have some fun before it begins."
"School can be fun," Genis said.
"You're kidding me, right?"
"More fun then Raine's punishment if we get caught sneaking out."
"It's not like we are doing anything bad. We are just going to the supposed haunted cemetery." Lloyd went to the window and opened it. A warm summer's breeze filled the room. "So you sure you don't want to come?"
"No, it's just not worth it," Genis said firmly. The older one would not be beat so easily.
"Well if that's the way you want it," Lloyd said walking away from the window and back to his friend sitting on the bed, "then I am taking you anyway," he said as he grabbed the boy's waist and lifted him of the bed. He ran to the window and jumped, and the two of them went through the window. Lloyd's knees bent sharply as they landed on the ground, after falling two stories.
"You idiot, what are you doing?" Genis yelled once they were out of the house.
"Going to the cemetery with my best friend," Lloyd answered with a smirk across his face. The younger boy sighed. "You can't go back yet. You know you can't get back through the two-story window without my help and you don't want to wake your sister up by ringing the doorbell.
"This better not take long", the silver haired boy said.
"Don't worry; this will be fun." Genis wasn't sure that he would enjoy this as much as Lloyd thought.
They walked through the dark streets with their path illuminated only by the stars and moon. Genis, and his older sister Raine, lived away in the suburbs, away from the big city. She was a respected teacher at the local high school where Lloyd attended. Genis would be starting at the school in the fall, even though he was only 13. Lloyd lived less then a mile away from them and had become friends with Genis shortly after the siblings moved into town about 8 years ago.
The two arrived at the rusted front gate of the cemetery. Through the dim moonlight, they looked across the graveyard. Everything seemed normal. An orderly dirt path led to the graves with the fancier tombs lining the front.
"Let's go Genis," he said, motioning his friend to follow.
"Uh… Alright," he responded with his voice shaking.
"What are you worried about? Nothing bad will happen."
"You say that now."
They slowly walked into the foreboding cemetery with Genis following a few steps behind his friend. Surrounding the cemetery was a dreary forest. Many of the trees near the forest had long since died, adding to the aura of fear that encompassed the place. As the two were investigating the graveyard, an ancient branch swung in between the two. The unwilling companion was filled with dread at the sight and unsteadily crept backwards until tripping on a protruding root. With the loss of his balance, Genis fell and slid along the rough ground several feet until knocking his head against a tombstone. After his breath returned to him, he sat up and moved his hand to the back of his head. He was thankful to feel no blood but he knew that the pain would be there for a while.
Lloyd laughed at his clumsy friend, walked over, and offered him a hand up. As Genis rose to his feet, he decided to never go along with Lloyd's ideas again.
"Can we go home yet?"
"Just a little bit longer. We haven't seen any ghosts yet."
"You say that like it a bad thing. It is all probably just a superstition."
"Then why are you so afraid of this place?" Lloyd asked.
"I'm not afraid," he lied. Lloyd was satisfied with the response and continued to explore the graves. After inspecting the tombstones along the perimeter of the graveyard, Lloyd lost interest in the place.
"This is boring," he commented.
Genis was relived at the comment. "I'm surprised that you lose interest so quickly in things," for once Lloyd's short attention span was a good thing. "I thought for sure you would want to explore the large tomb in the back." Lloyd turned to look at the large monument behind him and Genis hated himself for that last comment.
"Good idea," Lloyd said as Genis hit himself in the face. "Come on Genis," he said as he ran to the large tomb. Genis reluctantly followed, being careful not to trip over any more roots.
When they reached the large grave, the noticed that it stood over 10 feet tall. Using the pale moon light, along with their hands to examine it, and they noticed that it was made of smooth stone. The dim lighting made it difficult to make out any writing on it but they saw a faded inscription. When they reached the side that was in the tombs shadow, Genis noticed an opening in the stone.
"Lloyd, look," he commented. The older boy moved his hands down, and noticed the hole as well. It reached nearly three feet off the ground and was about half that distance across.
"Well go inside," Lloyd said.
"Why should I do it?" he sternly said.
"Because you are the shorter one and could fit easier."
"It's your idea."
"Fine, but you have to follow me or I will leave you outside till morning," Lloyd threatened. Genis agreed knowing that he had no other choice. Lloyd dropped to his knees and crawled through the small opening. Inside the monument, not a shred of light could be seen and Lloyd did not know what was an inch in front of his face. "Wow it's dark in here," he commented.
"And here I thought a light would just turn on when you entered," Genis said sarcastically from outside.
In an attempt to remove the darkness, Lloyd reached back to his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He opened it and the light illuminated his path. He saw that he was standing on a platform and in front of him was an old looking, flight of stairs. He saw that it led somewhere in the distance but the light did not shine far enough to notice its length. Briefly, he considered the safety of going down the stairs but he quickly disregarded the thought, and instead he turned and told Genis to come into the grave with him. Lloyd crawled down a few steps to make room for his companion.
Genis mumbled something about the lack of Lloyd's common sense as he entered the room. After Genis saw the small part of the path illumined, he wondered where it went. "This is strange," he said curiously.
"Told you this could be exciting," Lloyd said as he continued to crawl down the stairs while holding out his phone to illuminate the path. He found that crawling down stairs with only one hand was difficult and nearly lost his balance several times. Genis followed behind Lloyd but only needed to crouch while walking down the steps instead of crawling, due to his smaller size. He routinely mocked the taller boy's size and difficulty. After climbing down about a dozen or so stairs, the ceiling leveled off some, while the steps continued to descend. This made the arduous climb slightly more comfortable.
"What could be down here?" Genis asked.
"Some kind of treasure I bet. Just think about it, we will be rich. It has to be something good if they would hide it like this."
"This place still creeps me out."
"We will be fine. What is the worse that could happen?"
"This whole place could cave in on us," Genis stated.
"Even worse, Raine could find us." Genis chuckled at the comment, but acknowledged its truth.
"Hey Lloyd, you charged your phone recently didn't you?" Genis asked.
Lloyd's eyes widened greatly at the question. "Yea, of course," he said, not admitting his forgetfulness.
"Well if the phone ran out of power when we are down here, we would have no way to see our way out."
"Come on Genis, you worry too much," Lloyd said. Even though he refused to admit it, the same worry came over him.
"Well okay," Genis said, "I just don't want to this be like the time we were stuck in that tree for 4 hours because of someone's phone running out of power."
After a descent that seemed like a short eternity, the ground below them leveled out. The path widened and they stood in a small room. The room revealed its age, with cobwebs abounding and a think layer of dirt covering the stone floor. At the opposite side of the room, lay a coffin. It was made of gold and shined brightly when Lloyd focused the light of his phone on it. The two walked across the room and to the object to examine it closer. It appeared to be crafted by a master with many decorations. In the middle of it an inscription was carved.
The brightest flame and the crimson streakUnited shall perform the greatest feat.
As silver comes where love shall be
The bond shall awaken and all shall see
"What do you think it means?" Lloyd asked, baffled by the words.
"I don't know," Genis said.
"I thought you knew everything."
"Just because I actually like to learn, does not mean I know everything."
"Well maybe there is a hint around here somewhere," Lloyd said as he walked around the coffin to examine for any odd features. Genis continued to contemplate the inscription as he kneeled down and felt around it for anything unusual. Lloyd gave up on finding anything and kneeled down beside his friend, deciding to just let Genis decipher it.
"Lloyd, hold your phone up to the inscription again."
"Like this?" he said as the phone illumined the words.
"Yea," he said as he lifted his hand to feel it again, "All the words are smooth and around it is too. However there are two small grooves right above it," he said as he held his hand up to them. "They feel like some kind of latch but they don't budge when I try moving them."
"So if we manage to move them then something will happen."
"Probably, but I have no idea what it might be."
"Well let me try then," Lloyd said. The two stood up and Lloyd handed his phone to Genis, who held it while Lloyd tried pulling against the latch. After exerting the most powerful force that he could, the brown-haired person gave up with no progress. "It won't budge," he mumbled.
"Maybe it's not meant to be moved," Genis suggested.
"We can't give up yet. It has to be here for a reason. Why don't we each try grabbing onto one?"
"I guess it can't hurt," Genis said as he walked to the one on the right and Lloyd took the latch on the left. Genis set the phone on the ground between them.
"Okay, on the count of three. One," They grabbed on with both hands, "two," Lloyd held one foot against the coffin for more power while Genis gave him a strange look, "three!" They pulled with all the force that they could muster. As they did this, the coffin itself began to glow in a faint red aura. "Keep going," Lloyd said. The continued to try pulling up on the object, but once again nothing moved. The two's hands simultaneously slipped of the handle, throwing the pair back slightly as they fell over. The glow faded and nothing seemed to have changed. Then Lloyd said, "It seemed like we were so close to someth"
"Lloyd!" Genis screamed interrupting him. Lloyd turned and saw Genis' hand was on fire. Genis was franticly shaking his hand in the air and against the rock to put out the fire. The blaze soon faded to their relief.
"Genis are you alight?" Lloyd said panicked as he ran over to his friend. *crack* the dim light swiftly faded from the room.
"You just stepped on the phone didn't you?" Genis asked, knowing the answer.
"Maybe," Lloyd replied.
"So do you have any idea how we will get out of here?" Genis asked.
"So is your hand okay?" Lloyd asked, trying to change the subject.
"Yea it is. I don't know why but the fire did not burn me any. I would know more if I could see in here," he answered.
"Well try setting your hand on fire again," Lloyd said jokingly.
"How did that happen the first time?" Genis wondered. The young boy placed his hands on the tomb trying to find the latch again. A word came to his mind that he had never heard before. "Noxap," he said, and once again, his hand became incased in fire. As with before, the flame caused him no harm.
"How did you do that?" Lloyd yelled. He walked back to the tomb and tripped on an object. Genis walked over to his friend's side. The younger boy mentally focused on the flame and it steadily stayed covering his right hand.
"Where did that sword come from?" Genis asked the one laying on the ground. Lloyd got up and noticed a sword sitting on the ground. Its steal shined brightly, and unlike the surroundings, was free from any dust or dirt.
"I don't know but I'm taking it.
"You are robbing a grave?" Genis asked smacking his face with his non-enflamed hand.
"I doubt that guy will want it anymore." Lloyd said pointing to the coffin with the blade.
"You are not coming back to my house with a weapon like that. I know you, and you will brake something, or more likely, me."
"Fine, I'll just leave it here." Lloyd dropped the sword to the ground.
Genis continued to carefully focus the flame as they ascended the steps. The seemly endless climb physically fatigued the two, and the mental concentration required for Genis' flame made him mentally exhausted as well. When they became closer to the top, once again the ceiling contracted on them. Genis released his focus from the flame, once light from the outside began filtering in.
After an excruciating climb, the pair made it out of the tomb and collapsed onto the ground. As they lay, Lloyd looked up at the sky and noticed the dark was starting to fade into a sunrise. He poked Genis in the side and pointed up at the sky, beginning to loose its blackness.
"Do you know what this means?" Genis asked, quickly rising to his feet.
"That we are one day closer to returning to the torture of school?"
"No! Raine is going to wake up soon." Lloyd cursed as he jumped to his feet and the two exhausted teenagers ran as fast as they could, back to the house, hoping they would make it back in time.
A/N: First chapter done. Any questions or thoughts you have please put them in a review.