Partners for Life
Chapitre One
Arrested
It's my Tales of Symphonia story! – Gasp – You know, I had a ton of idea for Symphonia, but I never got it uploaded on since I was afraid it'd look odd. But now I'm rather proud of my grammar and writing abilities (only because people say it kicks ass) so yeah… I hope you enjoy this story!
Note: Alternate Universe, which means that it doesn't follow the storyline. At all. Got it? Good. And those who don't support/like Mithos x Genis (Oh dear God!) or, for the Niflheim of it, don't like shounen-ai press the back button. Then again, all my stories say what the couple is. You should be able to tell what gender they are. … Unless you're gender confused… Uhh.
Another Note: (I swear to God, someone will kill be one day for putting so many of these things. O.o.) Since this is also AU, some of the characters will be kinda off. Like Genis, for example. He curses a lot and is violent, not the wimpy kid he is in the game.
Disclaimer: Tales of Symphonia belongs to Namco-Bandai, the Tales Studios, and the person who created the characters. Was it Kosuke Fujishima? Something like that, right? I don't know; I have short term memory loss, darn it!
Summary: One rebel trying to free the half-elves. One boy leading a group of Anti-Discriminators. Both end up in a jail cell, only to free themselves and continue their pursuit of justice. And during the midst of all that, they were somehow chained together by fate as partners in crime.
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"You work with me, and we might as well get the hell out of here."
…
"Burn down the buildings! Save the half elves! Give them back their freedom!"
The shouts were yelled out in the intellectual town of Sybak, ringing through the near empty inn and wide buildings. Many people opened their windows to get a look see of what was going on. And they were shocked with what they saw.
A couple of people, not much older in their late teens, were holding white signs that had, in red paint, "No Discrimination against Half-Elves!" There was a shorter one among them, jumping up and down and shouting the loudest of them all.
"Let them go! They have the right to live peacefully in any town, not in some filthy basement as lab rats!" he screeched, his shrill cry making everyone cover their ears. He ignored the looks he received from the scientists and librarians, rambling on and on about how it was unfair to the half-elves.
"Go home, kid," one lady muttered as he walked back into the library. "You're disturbing everyone's studying time."
Others murmured in agreement, turning their backs at the commotion the group made at the centre of the town. The boy growled and his grip on his picket sign tightened until the wood dug so deep into his skin that he began bleeding.
"We won't give up!" There was a cheer behind them, where the people raised their picket signs once more. "Not until we get the freedom that God promised us!" People groaned and shooed them away, telling them that they were too noisy and just annoying.
"What do we want?"
"Freedom!"
"When do we want it?"
"Now!"
"How do we want it?"
"Like any other captive held in a prison would!"
…
Horses were mounted with leather saddles, all ready for a journey ahead of them. People were scrambling back and forth, getting bags and pouches of water, scrolls and weapons of all kinds. Among them stood two young men, eyeing everyone that passed by. One of them flipped their golden hair with a huff, rubbing his eyes in boredom.
"Yuan, when are we going?" the blond muttered, shooting the taller one a look. Said man shrugged and began playing with the dark cape draped over his shoulders.
"Just be patient, will you?"
"I can't be patient," the blond moaned as he clung to the man's arm, "because we're going to raid Sybak today!" Yuan rolled his eyes and shrugged the boy's scrawny arms off his own.
"Really; you're a fourteen year old mastermind, yet you act like a five year old at times," Yuan smirked, enjoying the reaction he got from the small blond.
"Five year old? Excuse me; you should know exactly how old I am, Yuan!"
The blue haired man laughed, throwing his head back as usual. "This conversation about your age never gets old."
…
How did this happen?
A second ago, the boy just closed his eyes for a brief second, and then there was a sharp pain in the back of his neck. Before he knew it, he fell forward and his world went black, blocking him out from reality for a while.
But then he woke up, and he realized that he wasn't on the grounds of Sybak.
I swear to God, I'll kick whoever in the ass that just stuffed me here… he grimaced, grinding the back of his teeth together dangerously. There were groans to his left and when he glanced that way, he gasped. One of the boys from the group was scrambled on the floor, picket sign on his back and blood seeping from one of the wounds on his arm.
"Lloyd, wake up!" he called, shaking his friend up carefully. Hazel eyes snapped open and Lloyd let out a shout, jumping to his feet and grabbing the boy by the neck. His sight cleared after there was a gasp coming from the strangled boy.
Lloyd's eyes widened in disbelief and quickly dropped his friend to the ground with a thump. "Genis, where are we?" he asked, whipping his head from left to right as he examined the cell they were in. The boy, Genis, rubbed his backside in pain from the fall.
"I get a feeling that we're somewhere in the Church in Meltokio," Genis replied with a grim look on his face. "I think someone just knocked me out and stuffed me into this cell."
"And that's exactly what happened."
The boys' eyes darted to where the voice came from, and in shock they saw an elderly man dressed in elegant clothes of the Church, wearing a silk crown that was placed on top his head. In his hands was a staff and a crystal attached with runes scribbled along the pole.
"The Pope!" The small boy jumped before the bars that separated him from the Pope and threw a blow at the elderly man, missing by a centimeter. Then there was a bigger, rougher hand that suddenly grabbed his forearm with such strength that Genis thought his arm broke in half. Quickly the man behind the bars, hidden by the shadows, twisted his arm completely arm, just to make Genis cry out in pain.
"Oh my God," he gritted out with his eyes shut closed tightly. With his arm still twisted completely behind his back, Genis slumped to the ground with his back against the bars. "Damn."
The man gave another sharp tug, earning him another cry from the young boy before he let go and kicked him deeper into the cell. "Don't try hurting the Pope again."
Genis tried getting up from his position but failed, falling back down weakly onto the ground without the support of his left arm. He groaned in pain, wiggling slowly towards Lloyd, where he sat down flabbergasted.
"But, Sire, why are you going against half-elves?" Lloyd blurted up, shaking his fist to express his anger. The Pope didn't respond and snapped his gloved fingers instead, drawing the two boys' attention to the door that opened and let in light. They squinted at the sudden brightness.
Then walked in a kid dressed in white and blue garments, with blond hair that went down to his middle back, being led by guards. Genis eyed the boy who held his chin up high, ignoring the spear that continuously jabbed into his ribs. Behind him was a scowling blue headed man, a few feet taller than the blond, trying to shoo away the guards.
"I don't deserve this," he scowled. "If only Kratos didn't kick me out of the apartment in Luin."
The Pope turned around, smiling in a darkening way as he pointed to another cell beside where Genis and Lloyd were. His men nodded once and unlocked the cage's door, shoving the two into the cell. Scowling, Genis got up and began kicking at the bars, yelling and cursing in words that the Pope couldn't make out.
"Silence, insolent fool!" the Pope barked as he took the end of his staff and harshly jabbed Genis in the stomach through a space between the bars. The boy fell back with a grunt, clutching his stomach with his right arm.
"Shall we take the human out, Sire?" a soldier asked. He glanced at Lloyd who was trying to help Genis back up and gave a nod of confirmation.
The same soldier faced Lloyd with a blank look on his face. "Lloyd Irving, adopted son of Dirk in Iselia, you have a chance of fleeing from starvation and death, as long as you don't return to rescue your friend Genis here."
"I can't do that!" Lloyd retorted, shaking his head. "Genis is my friend, and I won't leave him here." In return, Genis kicked Lloyd in the back side to cut him off. The brunet looked over his shoulder to find a distressed Genis swaggering side to side as he struggled to stay up.
"Fool, what do you think you're doing? Leave me; I'm the one who dragged you into this," Genis spat, his usually calm eyes glaring down at the Pope. "If you don't leave, you'll just be killed. Some people don't have mercy upon others."
Realizing that the last comment was directed at him, the Pope snorted. "Is that your final choice, Lloyd Irving? We'll promise you that both of you will die at the same time, so no one feels bad if one dies before the other."
Lloyd squeezed his eyes shut, his frame shaking slightly. "Fine," was his weak reply, and he opened one eye to glance back at Genis. The brunet gave him a smile, tilting his head to the side.
"I'll come back to save you," he whispered just so Genis could hear was he was saying. The boy struggled to give back a wavering smile, nodding at Lloyd as a farewell. One soldier stepped up and unlocked the door, quickly grabbing Lloyd by the arm and tugging him out, slamming the door shut once more.
"All right; escort him back to Iselia now; don't let him wander around!" the soldier called out, locking the cell with a key. He nodded at the Pope and turned to leave the basement as well with his fellow comrades.
As soon as they left, the Pope let out a dark chuckle, one that sent uncomfortable shivers down Genis' spine. "And you know that all those half-elves who don't agree to work under the Church will either be executed or put as enemies in the coliseum, yes?"
Genis muttered a "Yes", not daring to look up at his defiant eyes. The Pope laughed again, tapping the tip of his staff on the cold, dirt floor.
"Very well. As for you, Mithos Yggdrasill," the high priest grunted, pointing the crystal end at the blond boy in the next cell over, "you will be automatically executed with no choice. Let's see how your 'Anti-Discrimination' group stands then, huh?"
Yuan, the blue haired half-elf, snapped back at the Pope. "As long as they have the willpower to free all half-elves, they will succeed!"
Mithos said nothing however, clamping his mouth shut and closing his eyes in silence. The Pope grinned at his silent reaction.
"I take it that you understand. Your execution will be in two days; so pray with all your heart to the Goddess Martel to cleanse your sins in the next forty eight hours," he grinned lethally. He left with that final statement, opening the door to let in a brief ray of light, until he slammed it shut and locked it from the outside.
Genis let out a sigh, throwing his arms up in the air.
"So, what're you arrested for?" the blond asked quietly, his eyes still closed shut. One of Genis' eyes glanced to the left where Mithos sat and he arched an eyebrow. For a kid who was going to be executed, Genis thought, he was pretty calm about death.
"For leading the whole 'free the half-elf kind' uproar in Sybak." Genis laughed to himself as he reflected on what seemed like a futile effort back in the town to free the half-elves in the academy.
Mithos' eyes opened that time and he immediately crawled toward the bars that separated Genis and him. "Free the half-elves? You mean you're against discrimination?" he asked with a tint of surprise and amusement deep within his voice. In response the short kid nodded. He was too tired to say anything back.
"Mithos, it seems as if the young half-elf is tired. Let him rest," Yuan spoke up after a long moment of silence, dragging the boy away from Genis.
The blond smiled to himself as he slumped down the wall in boredom.
"Tomorrow, we'll think of a plan to escape. You'll help, right… Genis?"
Genis' eyes widened and he stared at the blond.
"You've gotta be kidding-!"
"Good night, Genis."
…
He didn't like this at all. Not one bit of the plan seemed amusing to him.
Genis Sage, proud brother of the archaeologist Professor Raine Sage, did not want to help this evil, mastermind of a kid.
"It's simple," Mithos drawled, waving his hand in the air as if it was nothing. "I've escaped small jails before, and this is nothing! They're all built the same, so I know the weaknesses of each structure. Believe me, Genis Sage; this escape will be as easy as pie."
However, digging a hole without getting caught and killed in the ground near the bars was rather difficult to him.
Why did I join this plan again? Genis thought to himself, tapping his chin with a finger. Oh right. It went just like this.
"Genis Sage, don't doubt me! You help me and I'll help you. Together, we'll be partners in crime," Mithos announced, flipping his hair over his shoulder with a grin. Genis rolled his eyes at his pretty boy act.
"Look, I don't think I can-."
"You work with me, and we might as well get the hell out of here, Genis. If we work together, we might have a chance of bringing half-elves from shame."
So that's what got my attention. The whole half-elf business, he thought grumpily, attacking the soil with his aching fingers.
"We might have a chance of bringing half-elves from shame!" Genis muttered in a mocking tone, eyebrows furrowed together. However, Mithos caught onto what he said.
"Excuse me, Genis?"
"Nothing."
Panting, the boy dug deeper, glancing up every five seconds to make sure that no soldier, or even the Pope himself, came in to do a daily roundabout in the basement. Digging hurriedly, Genis winced as one of his nails scraped against a big rock deep within the soil. "Ow," he hissed, pulling out his finger and inspected his throbbing index finger. "Man, I didn't expect myself to get this dirty."
Genis glanced to the side and swore he felt his lower jaw drop to the floor as he saw Mithos already done with a four foot wide, three foot deep hole near the door. He frowned and stared at the eight inches by eleven inch hole he made. Somehow, the great, rebellious leader of his group seemed pathetic compared to Mithos.
Noticing his struggling, Mithos laughed loudly, his chuckle alluring and twinkling. "Having trouble there, Genis?" he asked in mockery, a dirty smirk kicking into place. Genis rolled his eyes and shrugged him off, continuing his digging.
After a few moments of dirt scraping against fingers and panting, Genis let out a shout of frustration. "That's it!" he yelled out, turning around and, with his right arm, grabbed at the picket sign that the soldiers didn't take.
"Idiots," he sneered, inspecting the sign. "They didn't take everything away from me."
"Exactly," Mithos added as he watched the half-elf start digging a hole furiously with the end of his picket sign. "The weakness of every jail is the soldiers; they have no brains whatsoever."
"I finished!" Yuan exclaimed as he shrugged off his cloak and stuffed it through the bars. "Mithos, I'll go through first and try getting a shotgun. I'll knock the guards out without anyone noticing, got it?" The blond simply nodded an affirmative, making way for Yuan to crawl through the hole.
The blue haired man reached down for his cloak and secured it tightly around his neck as he managed to get to the other side. Rummaging through one of the nearest closets, Yuan snickered as he found a shotgun and several keys alone, free to take. "Bingo."
Cocking the gun, he stuffed it into one of the hoops of his belts and made way back to the cells. Genis was too busy trying to dig his way through to realize that the door swung open before him. Mithos had to tap him on the head to catch his attention several times. His silver bangs whipped up at his face as he glanced upwards, shock replacing all looks of determination.
"B-But how? When? Did you just-?"
The blond coughed and pointed at the door swinging open freely to the right, chortling behind his hand. Genis flushed a bright pink, picking himself from the ground and dusting off all dirt on his blue shorts. "Right."
…
"So you made me dig a whole just to test me strength?" Genis snapped quietly as he watched Yuan knock out several guards with his gun.
"Yep," Mithos replied casually, following Yuan quietly as backup, holding a silenced gun in his hand too. "Here, you might need this." The blond tossed a spare shotgun at Genis, who caught it hesitantly.
"You want me to shoot people?"
"Yep."
Several guards caught sight of the three with guns and immediately called for help. "Three intruders with weapons! Get-!"
The guard fell forward without another word, dropping his spear onto the carpeted ground with a soft thump. Mithos grinned wickedly.
"Nice aim, Sage."
"Thanks."
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Meh… There goes my first Symphonia story. Y'know, I don't think the story will come out that badly, since 1. I love half-elves and 2. I love Genis and Mithos. I wonder… will Lloyd return? What happened to Yuan as he got kicked out by Kratos? Will any other character jump in out of no where?
Who knows?
Please review; drop a comment, or constructive criticism. Reminder: I finished this in a day and well, it's not the best of all my works out there so far. I put almost every other story on hiatus (except for like, one Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE story) so I'll have time writing this.
Edit One: I changed the jail area to the one in the Church/Castle area. Y'know where all the captives are held? Yeah, that place.
I can tell that this'll be fun.
Genis: You're not going to torture me anymore, right?
Me: … Uhh… right?
(Wow, I haven't done that before. O.o)
-Muffinizer, squeak