Yes, I started this fic already. Normally, I wouldn't have started this yet, but I lost a bet to a friend, and he wanted me to write a ToS fic, so here we are. Keep in mind: I have not played ToS: Dawn of The New World, and because of this, if details in this story do not match up with details in that game, here's my answer: this is slightly AU. Either way, enjoy!
Defeating The Darkness
Chapter 1
The current time is only a month after the two worlds of Tethe'alla and Sylvarant were reunited thanks to the efforts of a group of nine heroes. With the flow of mana severed, the two worlds no longer cycled between flourishing and poverty, allowing mostly everyone to have a tolerable lifestyle. As an added bonus, travel between Sylvarant and Tethe'alla had become much easier, as the Otherworldly Gate could be opened by artificial means, although most people preferred not to. Currently, we find ourselves outside of the small town of Iselia, where life was starting to return to normal for three of the nine heroes.
"Man, I thought that lesson would never end!" Lloyd Irving complained with his arms behind his neck. Collette Brunel, the Chosen of Sylvarant, as well as Lloyd's girlfriend, giggled in response to his whining. The two of them, along with their half-elf friend Genis Sage, were moving through the forest on their way back to Iselia from the house of Lloyd's foster father, Dirk.
"Not even saving the world can change you, huh, Lloyd?" Genis mocked. "We might be heroes, but that doesn't make us exempt from an education." Lloyd just groaned again, getting another giggle from Collette. Suddenly, the blond girl heard a loud rustle from behind her and jumped.
"Who's there?" She asked, drawing her chakrams in defense.
"Whoa, hold up!" A voice said from the trees. From the direction of the rustle emerged a human: male, age 16. He was slightly taller than Lloyd, having purple hair shorter than that of the double swordsman, and a pair of grey eyes. He was dressed in a white shirt adorned with a big black star, purple pants, black shoes, and black gloves. No weapon was in sight on his person.
"Who are you?" Genis asked the unknown boy.
"My name's Drake. Drake Blackstar." The purplette answered. "Sorry for the fright. I didn't mean to scare you." Collette put her chakrams away. Then, he recognized the people in front of him. "Wait… I know you! You're Lloyd, Collette, and Genis! You helped reunite the two worlds!"
"That's us, all right." Lloyd said. "Haven't I seen you somewhere?"
"Hang on. I think I've seen someone who looked like you in Altamira." Collette spoke up.
"That makes sense. I'm from Tethe'alla, after all." Drake told them. "I came to Sylvarant looking for objects that need to be destroyed-gah!" His eyes widened, as if a jolt went through his mind.
"Hey, are you all right?" Genis asked.
"I sense the objects that need to be destroyed." The sixteen-year-old explained. "I'm trying to pinpoint them…" Suddenly he gasped… and pointed to the three. "You! You know where they are!"
"What do you mean?" Lloyd asked.
"The Devil's Arms! Hand them over!" Drake demanded.
"Wait. How do you know about the Devil's Arms?" Collette asked.
"I should be asking you the same question, since you seem to know about them."
Collette began to calmly explain. "Well, before our final fight, we were asked to be gather them by a man in Flanoir. His name was Abyssion, if I remember right."
"Abyssion?" Drake carried a hint of hostility in his voice. "Did he have long dark blue hair and grey eyes like mine?"
"Yeah, that was him!" Lloyd confirmed.
"I see. Continue."
"Okay… anyway, after we found them all, he asked us to bring them to Seal Room of the Temple of Darkness. When we did, however, he got souped up with this crazy dark power!"
"It would help if you could go into detail about this dark power."
"Allow me." Genis spoke up. "Abyssion used the power of the Necronomicon to revive the Dark Lord Nebilim." Drake cringed at the mention of that name. "He wanted to use the power to plunge the world into darkness, so we fought against him. It was a very tough battle, but we managed to defeat him. Nebilim then tried to possess one of our friends, but we freed her, and then I destroyed the Necronomicon."
"What happened to Abyssion afterwards?"
"We don't know. We thought he was dead, so we left him in the Seal Room and took the Devil's Arms. They are still demonic weapons that gain power from drawing blood. My sister has been trying to find a way to enchant them and turn them into normal weapons."
"A futile effort." Drake told them. "The Devil's Arms are made of pure dark energy. No amount of holy energy can change their composition. Cursed weapons that absorb the power of the lives they take: that is all they will ever be."
"Okay then, but why do you want to destroy them so bad?" Collette asked.
Drake stomped his foot on the ground. "They need to be destroyed!"
"You really hate these things, don't you?" Lloyd just had to ask.
"Yes I do! They remind me of that insidious Dark Lord!" Drake let out a loud growl and accidentally unleashed a Dark Sphere spell at some nearby trees, reducing three of them to ash. After seeing what he did, not to mention the slightly scared expressions on the heroes' faces, his demeanor quickly changed. He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "Oops. Sorry about that. Looks like my anger got control over me again."
"Just… don't get that way towards us." Lloyd said cautiously. Drake nodded. "We'll help you out. No worries."
"Thanks, guys. So, where are the other Devil's Arms?"
"Five of them are back in Iselia with my sister and Presea." Genis explained. "The other four are with the rest of the group."
"Hmm… in that case, we'll need to let them all know. I doubt they'll give me the weapons if they don't know my reasons."
"I understand completely." A voice said from nowhere. Walking towards them was none other than Kratos Aurion.
"Dad? What are you doing back in Sylvarant?" Lloyd asked.
"I sensed an evil power in both worlds, so I came to warn you." Kratos explained. "Apparently your new friend knows about this power." He turned to Drake. "I believe this is one of the weapons you are looking for." He pulled out an odd dagger.
"Yes, that's the Fafnir!" The purplette exclaimed.
"Don't move…" Another voice droned. Three dark clouds formed in front of the group of five, and from each cloud, a form appeared. They looked like Rogues, but something was off about them. "That weapon belongs to our master. Give it to us now."
"Do they really think they can take us?" Collette wondered.
"Don't get cocky, Collette." Kratos told her. "Their power levels are much higher than what would be expected from Rogues."
"The energy they are giving off… I'd recognize it anywhere." Drake stated. "Those are servants of Nebilim!"
"What? But we destroyed Nebilim!" Genis exclaimed.
"I'll explain later. For now, we have to fight!" Drake turned to the Rogues and stepped forward. "You will never possess the Devil's Arms!" He held out one arm, the palm of his hand pointing downward. A dark blue magic circle appeared on the ground in front of him, and he thrust his arm toward it, his hand vanishing into the circle. He drew his hand back, pulling out a three-foot-long black rod. When it fully emerged, it was revealed to be a long handle, as attached to the end of it was a large scythe blade. Kratos sheathed the Fafnir and pulled out his other current weapon, the Laser Blade. Lloyd, Collette, and Genis drew the Material Blades, Stardust, and One World (respectively) as well.
"Prepare to die…" One of the Rogues moaned as they all drew what looked like long black swords.
"Let's go!" Lloyd shouted. Genis stayed behind to cast spells while the rest of them dashed ahead. Lloyd clashed swords with one Rogue, but out of nowhere, Drake swung his scythe at that Rogue, knocking him away with the solid part of the handle. The purple-haired fighter flashed a thumbs-up before dashing toward another.
"Scythe Wheel!" The scythe-wielder started spinning vertically, his scythe somehow moving him across the ground, slicing the Rogue six times. Then he landed and unleashed a familiar move. "Resolute Infliction!" He twirled his blade in a vertical motion with one hand, slashing the Rogue with two moon-shaped swipes, then unleashed a third attack, knocking the enemy away… towards Kratos. "He's all yours!"
"Light Spear Cannon!" When the Rogue got near him, Kratos jumped, knocking the enemy up with his sword, nailing him in the air three times. Then he quickly dropped down, and when the Rogue fell low enough, Kratos stabbed him with a beam of light from his sword, dealing three more hits. However, the Rogue flashed black, and then he quickly jumped back and up into the air.
"Rising Falcon!" All of a sudden, the Rogue stuck his sword out and dashed right toward the orangish-haired angel. Kratos quickly moved, but he suffered a bad cut to his right side.
"How is this possible…?" Kratos wondered. "He just endured three powerful attacks, and he's moving like nothing happened!"
"Master has made us stronger than you know." The Rogue said. Suddenly, his head turned to the blond-haired angel, and a red spell circle appeared beneath him. "Take this. Eruption!"
"Collette, watch out!" Kratos warned. Collette looked down and saw the spell getting ready to strike.
"Damage Guard!" She yelled, surrounding herself with a green energy field. A surge of lava shot out from under her, striking her three times, but the damage was greatly reduced due to Damage Guard. Unknown to her, the third Rogue had snuck behind her.
"Super Sonic-"
"Pancake time! Grave!" Genis's voice rang out before a sharp stone came out from the ground, sending the Rogue into the air. Then, four more stones jutted out, stabbing the enemy in the air. As he got up like nothing happened, he heard another attack being launched.
"Hunting Beast!" The Rogue felt a blade slam him down, and then he was knocked into the air by another attack before being slammed back down and knocked away by an energy shockwave.
"You're good, but not good enough." The Rogue said to Lloyd before rolling away and flipping back up to his feet. "Over Limit!" A dark aura covered the enemy.
"He can activate Over Limit at will?" Lloyd exclaimed.
"Yes. It's very handy." The Rogue said evilly before going back on the attack.
Meanwhile, Drake was charging energy in his scythe for a powerful attack. The charge sequence was taking a while. 'Come on, charge faster!' He thought. He looked to the side and saw the first Rogue approaching him. 'Aw, crap!'
"Holy wings, I beg of you to reveal thy glory. Angel Feathers!" Collette fired three rings charged with pinkish-purple energy, which attacked the Rogue and got him away from Drake.
"Thanks for the save!" Drake called out. Suddenly, the blade of his scythe glowed a dark purple. 'Yes, it's ready!' He looked at the twin swordsman, who was currently battling the Over Limit Rogue. "Lloyd, lure him over to me!"
"Got it!" Lloyd turned back to the enemy. "Are you fast? I bet you can't catch me!" He quickly backflipped and ran in a different direction, laughing cockily, the Rogue following him. The enemy was too focused on Lloyd to care where he was being led. Suddenly, Lloyd stopped. "Thanks for the exercise, idiot!" He activated his wings and took to the sky, revealing Drake holding his scythe up to strike.
"With this strike, I condemn you to an afterlife of suffering! Soul Cleaver!" The purplette unleashed a large slash, cutting right through the Rogue's torso. The enemy screamed in pain, but then he glowed the same purple as Drake's scythe, and then… poof. The Rogue disintegrated into a bunch of tiny energy particles. Drake was breathing heavily. "Man, that takes a lot out of me."
"I'll help you, Drake." Kratos said, charging a healing spell. "Don't overdo it. First Aid!" His spell replenished some of Drake's strength, and the scythe-user thanked him. Then he noticed a Rogue with what looked like a Darkness spell circle beneath him.
"There is no hope for recovery. Healing Lock!" Strange dark energy chains shot out from the ground under Kratos and wrapped around his arms. The chains were not connected to the ground, so they didn't restrain him. "My Healing Lock spell will prevent you from using any healing spell you know."
'Keep that guy away from Raine…' Genis thought.
"I know more than just healing magic, fool." The angel retorted. His angel wings appeared on his back, and he began a chant. "Sacred Powers, cast your purifying light upon these corrupt souls. Rest in peace, sinners! Judgment!" From the sky, rays of light shot down in random locations, managing to strike both of the remaining Rogues.
"All right, Dad!" Lloyd cheered.
"Do you give up yet?" Kratos asked the enemies.
"Never." One Rogue responded.
"We will retrieve the Devil's Arm you possess for our master." The other added. Two spell circles appeared beneath them: one Wind, one Ice.
"Take this. Air Blade!"
"Take this. Freeze Lancer!"
A green laser of wind energy shot out toward Kratos. He quickly threw up Guardian to reduce his damage, but it was only a diversion. When the defensive move faded, he was pelted by numerous ice crystals, dealing some harsh damage.
"Time for the finishing touch." One Rogue jeered, dashing toward the weakened angel. "Super Sonic Thrust!" He shot his sword straight through Kratos's chest, causing him to shout in pain. The impact of the attack sent flying backward and into a tree. He landed back on the ground, not moving an inch, the Healing Lock chains vanishing.
"Kratos, no!" Collette cried.
"Any energy signals from him?" The attacking Rogue asked his partner.
"Not a one." The other answered. "He's officially down and out." Both of them started laughing loudly.
"DAD!" Lloyd shouted.
"Don't worry about him, Lloyd! I'll help him out!" Drake called to him.
"Huh?"
"How can you help someone who's dead?" One of the Rogues asked tauntingly. Suddenly Drake smirked and held his scythe to his right side. He held his left fist in front of him, and a Darkness spell circle appeared beneath him.
"What's he doing?" The other Rogue asked. Then, Drake uttered a chant.
"Restore this innocent soul who was wrongfully sent to the depths of the Underworld! Dark Revival!" As he spoke the spell's name, the purplette pointed to the fallen warrior. Various dark lights identical in shape to those created by Raine's Resurrection spell formed around Kratos, covering him with a purple glow. Then, he rose to his feet, slightly weak.
"I'm… alive?" He wondered.
"Raine's not the only one who can bring the dead back to life." Drake explained. "My mastery of Darkness spells awakened the ability to use it for healing purposes." He created another Darkness spell circle beneath himself. "The darkness will aid you! Healing Shadows!" Pointing at Kratos again, Drake's spell created a black version of the Healing Wind spell around the angel, healing his wounds. When the spell faded, he felt strange.
"I feel stronger than before." Kratos said.
"Healing Shadows not only heals you, but you also get a slight power boost." Drake told him. "It'll be effective when I combine it with this!" He began charging a third spell, this one also Darkness. "Corrode the souls of these fools! Acid Rain!" A downpour of red rain showered the field, causing damage to the Rogues as well as rusting the armor they wore. Lloyd and the others, however, were unaffected.
"This is going to be fun." Lloyd mused. "Collette, Genis, Dad, let's go! Unison Attack!" The three blade-wielders rushed toward their targets, and Lloyd initiated the maneuver with an opening slash.
"Sonic Sword Rain!"
"Hammer Rain!"
"Cyclone!"
"Light Spear Cannon!"
When the attacks finished, Lloyd and Collette stood back-to-back, and then jumped into the air. "Stardust Rain!" An array of stars fell from the sky, which got lucky and scored a lot of hits. The Rogue was overwhelmed by the damage and dropped to his knees.
"Darkness! Dark Sphere!" When Drake's voice finished, the weakened Rogue was engulfed by a ball of dark energy. The prison exploded, sapping whatever strength he had left. The enemy collapsed, dead.
"Two down, one to go!" Lloyd exclaimed.
"It matters not that I am alone." The Rogue said. "I can still destroy you all." An Earth spell circle appeared beneath him. "It's over. Earth Bite!" A sphere of electricity appeared around Lloyd, zapping him a few times, and then spikes of earth came up and chomped him, doing heavy damage.
"AAAAGGHH!" He screamed in pain.
"Lloyd, NO!" Collette cried.
The Rogue rushed toward Lloyd, grabbed him, and tossed him up. "Heavy Tiger Blade!" The Rogue performed an upward slash, sending him slightly higher. Then he jumped up and slammed him down hard with a downward slash. The Rogue stepped back to see what his attack had done.
"Nnngh…" The injured swordsman moaned before falling unconscious.
Collette just stood, horrified at what she had just watched. Suddenly, she felt something spark within her, something she didn't often feel: anger. She let out a low growl.
"Now to finish the job." The Rogue raised his sword to stab Lloyd.
"Don't you dare." A low voice spoke. Before he could turn around, Collette flew right in front of him. "Triple Ray Thrust!" She threw three chakrams at the enemy, one after the other, striking every time. "Para Ball!" Collette then threw two spheres that made contact and shocked the Rogue with lightning. "Whirlwind Rush!" The blond angel rushed forward, hacked at the enemy three times, and then spun the rings around her, dealing even more damage. Still, the Rogue got to his feet, although he was very weak.
"It will take more than that to defeat me." He said.
"Good thing I have more than this." Collette retorted in a low tone. An Angel Attack field appeared around her, but her wings glowed white; something that didn't happen with any of her other attacks.
"What is this?" Kratos asked.
"The winds of Heaven shall engulf your evil soul! Holy Hurricane!" Collette's wings reared back, and then with a hard flap of the wings, a massive glowing tornado shot forward and completely surrounded the Rogue, causing him massive pain in the process. The whirlwind receded, and the Rogue landed on the ground with a loud thud. It was clear that he wasn't getting up. Collette let out a huge sigh, and her wings vanished, causing her to land on her feet. Genis, Drake, and Kratos were amazed.
"Okay… I am never getting her mad." Genis said.
"I never thought she was this strong." Drake commented.
"Collette… where did you learn that?" Kratos asked.
"I don't know. I was just so mad at that Rogue for what he did to Lloyd, and it just appeared." Collette tried to explained. Then she remembered. "*gasp* Oh, no! Lloyd!" She rushed over to the swordsman's side, the other three warriors on her tail. She kneeled down next to him, a few tears in her eyes. "Lloyd…" Drake and Kratos looked at each other, nodded, and they both charged a spell.
"I won't let you die! Healing Wind!"
"The darkness will aid you! Healing Shadows!"
The green and black winds swirled around Lloyd eliminating his wounds. Collette looked on as the spell did its job. "Don't worry, Collette." Genis assured the blond. "Lloyd will be fine." As if on cue, Lloyd's eyes started to shake, and he let out a groan. Then, his eyes opened to see the angel's face.
"Collette…?" He moaned. He managed to sit up, but Collette immediately embraced him.
"Oh, Lloyd… you're alright." She sobbed. Lloyd returned the embrace, stroking her golden hair.
"Don't worry, Collette. It's over now." He cooed to her. They pulled apart to look at each other, and then Lloyd leaned in and kissed her. Collette returned the kiss, which only lasted a couple of seconds. Kratos couldn't help but smile at his son's tender moment. The couple pulled apart, and Lloyd helped his girlfriend up.
"You might have said it was over, but that could not be more wrong." Drake said solemnly. "It won't be over until we destroy the Devil's Arms." His scythe dissapeared in a dark cloud.
"How exactly will destroying the Devil's Arms get rid of Nebilim?" Kratos asked.
"Once we acquire them all, I will tell you everything. We need to find the rest of your friends since they have the rest of the weapons."
"Let's start by going back to Iselia." Genis said. "That's where five of the Devil's Arms are."
"You're right. I'm not familiar with this area, so lead the way." The group nodded. Everyone headed in the direction of the village, Lloyd, Collette (who was holding Lloyd's hand), and Genis at the front, followed by Kratos and Drake.
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and stay tuned for more! Here's some info on the unique attacks in this chapter:
Scythe Wheel - A 6-hit technique that looks like Tempest, but Drake's scythe moves him across the ground.
Soul Cleaver - This powerful scythe slash has a slow wind-up and a high TP cost, but if it makes contact, the target is instantly killed.
Healing Lock - Prevents the target from using any healing spells.
Dark Revival - Effectively the same as Resurrection, but it looks different.
Healing Shadows - Healing area spell, similar to Healing Wind. Heals slightly less than Healing Wind, but gives those healed a boost in attack power.
Holy Hurricane - Angel skill. Nails the enemy multiple times with a glowing tornado. Carries both Light and Wind Elements.
Computer Voice: Vile, logging out.