Tales of Destiny
Thicker Than Blood

by Elwen Skye

Disclaimer: Tales of Destiny belongs to Namco and probably a lot of other big companies that could potentially sue my ass off. I make no claims of ownership on the series or its characters. I write this fanfic merely for personal enjoyment and the entertainment of others, no profit is derived.

Warnings: This story begins from the second half of the game and roughly follows its storyline (with one big difference), so be careful of spoilers.

Prologue: Escaping Death

Leon Magnus surveyed the faces before him, thinking briefly over the long path that had brought him here, barring the way of the heroes he had once traveled with. In the momentary silence, he could only hear the dripping water that had shaped the cave below Libra IV over the course of millennia.

Garr Kelvin's handsome features were set. Leon could easily imagine that the young ruler of Phandaria cared only about recovering the Eye of Atamoni that he had seen wreak such destruction in his country. A former companion was not too great a sacrifice to secure such a terrible weapon.

Next he met the eyes of Philia Felice, pleading behind round glasses. She had not grown less naïve since they had parted, and she silently begged him to come to his senses and be forgiven by her Goddess.

Stahn Aileron's expression was a mixture of shock and uncertainty, and he glanced in concern at Rutee as often as he forced himself to keep his eyes on the enemy. Hadn't Leon warned the poor fool that people would always deceive him? At least the boy seemed to accept it, however regretfully, unlike the priestess.

And finally, Leon looked into Rutee Katrea's unreadable countenance. He had tired of her arrogance, so he had finally shared what he had known all along: she was his sister, and Hugo Gilchrist, who had just stepped through the archway behind him to destroy the world, was their father.

Well, they had had enough time to think about it.

Leon took a step forward. "Well, my kind sister," he prompted, "Can you still kill me now?"

Apparently coming to a decision, Stahn leapt to Rutee's side, as if to defend her from his words. "Stop it Leon!" he cried. "You've said enough already! Don't say anything else!"

"Oh, how chivalrous, like a knight. It really suits you." Leon resisted the urge to roll his eyes. They were the ones who had tried to reason with him. All he wanted was a simple fight to decide matters. "Well, I can kill anyone," he said over Stahn's surprise. "I'll kill my parents, brothers, or sisters to protect what's important to me!" And making good on his word, he went straight for Rutee.

The battle was brief. Numerical odds meant little to Leon, whose skill had never been exaggerated. His sword slashed ruthlessly, while Rutee and Stahn hesitated to do much more than defend themselves. Garr, with a look of resignation, set in, but Leon sensed that the man was not quite comfortable with his weapon. He had begun easily wearing away at his opponents when he heard Philia shout, "Holy Lance!" and felt searing pain course through his body. He collapsed to the damp floor, breathing heavily. The others backed off.

Leon climbed to his feet, leaning heavily on Chaltier. The pain did not grow less, which meant that he was still alive. He knew Philia's power, knew that her spell should be lethal, but he saw the answer in her eyes. He couldn't believe that even now, after he had tried to kill them, she would still try to save him. Confess his sins to Atamoni? That was a joke.

Leon stumbled up the steps toward the archway. "Not yet... it's not over yet..." he gasped, almost to himself.

"Leon, stop." He heard Stahn's voice behind him, quiet, desperate.

He turned around when he reached the small landing. "I can't let you come after me..."

Suddenly, the whole cavern began to shake. Feeling his vision dimming, but now certain of his victory, Leon watched calmly as the heroes debated what to do. The Swordians urged their instant flight, but they were unwilling to turn their backs to the defeated foe. Still standing in front of the archway, Leon closed his eyes briefly, knowing that it was the end. 'Farewell... Marian...' he thought silently.

He heard the torrent's roar a moment before the water pouring from the archway struck him from behind, instantly pushing him under. He had a second to choke in the swirl before a hand firmly grabbed his wrist, and he felt Chaltier slip from his grasp. He breathed air again and briefly caught a glimpse of yellow hair that identified his savior. Then the world exploded into darkness as the water threw him against stone.

o

Stahn grabbed a railing as he was swept past the loading bay, pulling Leon and himself out of the incredible current. The entire cavern was flooding, and it seemed that the island of Libra IV was sinking into the sea. The others emerged at about the same time, Rutee with a long cut across her forehead where she must have hit something sharp. She scowled when she saw Leon's unconscious form, but she walked over and knelt beside him.

"He'll live for now," she declared after a brief inspection, "but I can't do anything for him here."

"It's a matter of time before this place sinks," Garr said grimly. "Let's escape on the Draconis that Hugo was using."

They climbed aboard and took off, just in time. Through mist, smoke, and debris, the party watched what followed in silent shock, and when the three elements had finally settled, it all seemed like a nightmare but for the damning evidence. A deep circular crater north of Cresta, where the brine had finally stopped sloshing about. The smooth water where the island of Libra IV had once sat, the smoke from the explosions still clearing above it. An ominous, web-like shadow that spread across the land. Belcrant had been revived, powered by the Eye of Atamoni, and it would tear at the surface until the Aethersphere covered all in darkness.

In hushed voices, the four decided to return to Darilshield to report to the King. With heavy hearts, they pointed the Draconis southwest, toward the kingdom that had failed its duty to guard the Eye of Atamoni.

o

"Oooohhhhuuurghhhooowwww..." Leon moaned in his sleep. He dreamt that he was being buried under an incredible weight, and the only one who could help him stood in the shadows a short distance away. He reached, but could not move, he called, but had no voice, and finally, darkness fell.

"Where am I?" he suddenly asked, opening his eyes and staring at the ceiling. There was a dull ache all through his prone body, and he could feel a heaving, up and down motion that normally would have made him sick, even without his injuries. He was lying on a soft bed in a small chamber. Its decorations seemed vaguely familiar...

"Oh, you're awake."

The voice seemed familiar, too. He turned his head to one side and saw Rutee sitting at a desk next to the bed. She wore a bandage around her head. He tried to sit up, but that was when he noticed that his hands were tied to the bedposts.

"What's the meaning of this?" he demanded.

"They were to keep you from thrashing around and aggravating your injuries," she replied, her back to him. "It was Garr's idea to leave them there. At least he was less trusting than that softie Stahn."

"But more so than you."

She whirled to glare at him. "Of course!" she almost shouted. "Just because you turn out to be my brotherno, that just means I have even more reason to hate you. You knew, you knew all along, and you still treated me like trash, like a worthless prisoner."

"I didn't ask to be saved..." he sighed, closing his eyes. "If you hate me so much, why are you even here?"

She shot a frustrated look too late for him to see. "I'm the healer, aren't I? I was just checking on you."

"So I'm here at the generosity of just that boy," he murmured.

"And Philia," she corrected. "What bleeding hearts!"

Just then the door opened and a blond, spiky-haired young man entered. "I heard your voice, Rutee, so I thought he must be awake," Stahn began. "You should go to your room; you've been here all night."

The girl flushed bright red. "Shut up about that," she hissed at him as she brushed by. Stahn only looked after her in confusion.

After the door closed, Leon finally acknowledged the boy's presence. "Don't expect me to thank you for saving me," he said, without turning to look.

"No, I didn't. But I can't leave someone to die like that, even if he is not exactly innocent."

Leon ignored his explanation. And then, suddenly, a terrible realization dawned upon him as he recalled the sequence by which he had survived. "Chal..." he whispered. "You didn't take Chaltier!" He turned to Stahn a face of genuine horror.

"There was nothing I could do..." Stahn apologized, but his eyes showed that the words failed to comfort even himself.

Leon knew that Stahn was right, but it didn't exactly help him forgive the boy for dragging him somewhere he had never wanted to be. "Go away. Leave me alone." And he faced away before anyone could see him cry.

o

The four heroes gathered around the desk in the captain's chambers. The limping Draconis had finally landed just outside Darilshield, but even Garr agreed that they should spend the night aboard before seeing the King in the morning. They would need rest before dealing with all of the recent developments.

"And then," Garr said, "we need to figure out what to do about Leon."

"What do you mean, 'what to do'?" Rutee asked. "Turn him in."

"We could do that," he conceded. "For stealing the Eye of Atamoni, he'd probably be condemned to death, maybe life imprisonment if the King decides to consider his earlier heroics. But, of course," he added, "that was all for the purpose of stealing it again."

Philia looked horrified. "We can't let him be killed! He helped us! We all fought together before..."

"Yeah, and look what good it got us," Rutee muttered.

"I also think we would be hasty in turning him in," Garr said. "There's no one else who knows more about Hugo's plans, and whatever twisted motives he had. Philia's right, he is as experienced as we are in this matter, and that is not something to be lightly ignored."

"I have an idea," Stahn spoke for the first time. "Wasn't he trying to save that woman, Marian? Maybe he would help us for her sake."

Garr nodded. "I was thinking the same thing, Stahn. For the time being, at least, our purposes are the same: to find Hugo, who is in Belcrant. Shall we go and consult him?"

Rutee glared at him in stubborn silence. The rest stood up and trooped to Leon's room. Before entering, Stahn knocked politely, but there was no reply.

When they opened the door, Leon's face was turned away. There was a large damp spot on that side of the pillow where his tears had fallen, but there was little other evidence that he had been crying.

"What do you want?" he asked, turning to look at them balefully.

Garr presented the group's idea in his most diplomatic, business-like manner. "We have arrived at Darilshield. However, we think it will be more beneficial to all if you would help us instead of forcing us to turn you in."

"Why should I do that?"

"It seems to me that for the moment our goals are the same."

"And what would those be?"

"We want to recover the Eye of Atamoni. You want to save Marian." Here, Leon hissed sharply at hearing the name. "Both must be achieved in the same way: go to the Aeropolis and find Hugo."

"What difference would it make to you?"

"Please," Philia broke in. "We used to be friends. I don't want to see you be punished. And you could help us... you know what Hugo was doing, and you have already proven to be a great fighter."

Leon shook his head. "You assume a lot of things. Friends? I have none. And Hugo never told me much, only used me to his own ends. As you seem to be intent on doing as well."

"And you let it happen for Marian? For the sake of some woman? That's a bit uncharacteristic," Rutee said as she walked in, surprising them all. "What's so special about her?"

"If only you knew," he said coldly.

She shrugged. "Well, if you seem so eager to die, I don't see why we should be stopping you." She looked around at the rest of them. "Why don't we go talk to the King and have someone come pick up our little traitor here?"

"Rutee..." Stahn stared at her.

"What?" she demanded. "We're trying to save the world here, in case you didn't notice. We don't exactly have time to stand around negotiating for the help of someone we can't trust anyway."

"She's right, you know."

Stahn turned to stare at Leon as well.

"You shouldn't trust me. You were always too trusting. You saw what happened last time. Go on, turn me in."

Before anyone else could respond, Atwight's Core Crystal sparkled. "Look here, young man," her lecturing tone echoed in their minds. "I knew Chaltier well, and I know he'd be quite disappointed in you right now. To think that the one he'd chosen was moping around, urging others to let him die, that's just too much. I don't trust you one bit. But I trusted Chaltier to choose someone with a bit more spine."

"I can't win, can I?" Leon said with a sigh. He felt a headache coming on. Why did he always have to put up with these people and their heroics! "You'll just goad me into going along somehow. Fine, I'll go with you, tell you all of the nothing I know, even fight with you without stabbing you in the back. Doesn't seem like there's much else for me to do anyway."

"That's fine," said Garr. "When we see the King tomorrow, we shall simply make no mention of your participation in any of the events." He turned to the others. "Let's get some rest tonight. We shall need it in the days to come."

As the warriors filed out one by one, Stahn stopped in the doorway and turned to Garr. "What about...?" Stahn glanced back at the bed.

Garr blinked for a moment, then his expression flashed from startled to sheepish. "Ah yes, we will, er, untie you now," he said to Leon.

In the end it was Philia who ushered the rest of them out and went back to the bedside. She was silent as she worked at the bindings. She could recognize Rutee's skill: extremely firm knots, but simple to undo if you knew just how; a snug fit, but not tight enough to cut off any circulation. Clearly, a lot of care had been put in. Unusual for the brash girl, the priestess thought. And after treating Leon's wounds, Rutee had immediately begun making another preparation upon hearing from Stahn that her brother was prone to airsickness. But all of these observations Philia kept to herself. She finished and left as wordlessly as she had worked, closing the door softly behind her.

Leon lay back after she was gone, absently massaging his wrists. What kind of people had he been keeping company with? Crazy enough to save the guy who'd betrayed them. Crazy enough not to turn him in. Crazy enough to make him just a bit crazy too, he concluded ruefully.

To be continued...

o

Notes:
Mmmm... Leon tied to a bed. So much wasted opportunity, Rutee!

A joke! A joke! It was a joke! Waaaah! ((runs away from rotten tomatoes))

Anyhow, this chapter was conceived and largely written a looong time before the rest of the fic, and rather captures much of my reason for writing it: why did Leon have to die in the actual game? It was so contrived, and it would have been so easy to save him and develop his character further. So that's exactly what I intend to do.

Some of the dialogue in this chapter was taken directly from the game, but I'm probably not going to continue doing that very much. As also demonstrated in this chapter, paraphrase and summary are necessary to keep this fic from reading like a script. (Plus, I'm too lazy to transcribe any but the most momentous and interesting scenes.)

FFnet's handling of HTML is all picky and wonky now. I tried to fix it as best I could, but if you want to see a more faithfully formatted version of this fic, you should visit my site. ((shameless plug)) Or not. It's the words that are the most important, anyway.

Last thing... lame and obvious title is subject to change. v.v;;