I do not own any of the Tales of Series or any Namco works. Also, spoiler warning: it is rated T, so there will be no sexual themes and stuff. Also, this story is inspired by The Zombie Paradise Series by Sovereign64, so in case you're all new to this, go to his channel and check out his Zombie Paradise Series before jumping into this one. Anyway, enjoy the chapter.

Also, just to let you know, this whole story will be a prologue chapter, so there will not be any new chapters yet until the whole prologue is finished. But, other than that, please enjoy!

Prologue: Part 1

3 years ago:

With the bravery of Yuri Lowell, a former US Military Marine, he was able to rescue Estellise Sidos Heurassein, a scientist researcher who was able to find and created a cure for the deadly virus that infected many into monstrous zombies, as well as many other survivors who had been trapped in the islands for many years. Thanks to their efforts, the two islands, Cocoon and Stellar Island, and their people were freed and cured from the virus, freeing them of their monstrosity nightmare that had cursed them. With the cure in hand, the Us Military would be able to keep it safe with them in case a virus were to ever occur once again, and the whole world was brought to peace and prosperity. Or so they thought...

On an island called Aselia Island, a home of all paradise after the loss of Cocoon and Stellar, millions of people have come from all over the country to visit for vacation and explore the vast nature of the island. On this amazing tropical island, many have come to do what many do on vacation; having fun, play with friends and family, meet new and exciting people, have a romantic getaway, enjoy the beautiful beach, and so many more. And admittedly, it is also where many gentlemen could meet and have some fun with lots of fine beautiful women.

"Hey, babe." one jock called out to a girl in a nice two-piece swimsuit, "Wanna come and have some fun with me tonight?"

The girl giggled and said sweetly, "Ooh, I don't know~ Maybe~"

"C'mon, girl, it'll be fun!" the jock said.

All and all, it was a breezing and beautiful paradise.

Among those in the beautiful tropical paradise, is a young man named Cress Albane, a young military soldier-in-training who is out to patrol the wonderful island along with his fellow soldiers and military superiors. Cress is an adolescent male standing at 5 foot 7 with a lean yet athletic physique. He has dark blonde hair, gray eyes and a red headband around his forehead. His attire consists of a black bodysuit cropped somewhat at the biceps with a cropped breastplate covering his chest and leather around his waist, which allows him to carry his sword, which he brought with him to use in case of close range combat, as he specializes in swords better than combat knives, and partially surrounds his right leg. At his arms are black fabric and white metal wrist guards extending to his elbow. He wears finger-less leather gloves. Finally, his footwear consists of silver sabatons. He is considered to be a handsome youth. In his hands is the M395 Designated Marksman Rifle, as he goes around the places on patrol alone.

Cress was assigned to be in the island to be on patrol ever since the incident 3 years ago, as even though what had happened then was already over, military had to continue to patrol to be on a lookout and protect the island just in case such events happened again. Even though Cress was willing to do the job he was assigned to with his superior officer, Trinicus D. Morrison, or simply Morrison, he had wished that he had come along with his childhood and best friend, Chester Burklight, who was assigned to be on border patrol in Washington D.C. along with fellow military in training, Arche Klein and Suzu Fujibayashi, as well as their military strategist and superior, Claus F. Lester.

Cress sighed and said, "Well, it's not like I can complain or anything. Orders are orders. Besides, it's nice to be at the beach."

As Cress walks around on patrol, he watches as everyone that was having fun was enjoying the paradise, which made him smile to see that everyone was happy, men, women, and children alike.

"I said, no!" he suddenly heard someone shouted, "Leave me alone!"

Cress turned around to the source of the voice, and saw that there was a young woman, being hit on by three men, who Cress saw that they had perverted looks in their eyes. The woman that they were hitting on has light skin and long, blonde hair, and she was wearing a white two-piece bikini. From the way she was standing, she looked as if she was afraid of them.

"Oh, c'mon, babe." said one man, "You know you want to."

"Yeah, c'mon!" said the other, "Let's go have some fun!"

"Yeah, come with us, babe!" said the third, "Come with us real men and let's have some real fun!"

"I already said no!" said the woman, "Please, just leave me alone!"

"Ah, c'mon, don't be that way!" said one man, "I know you're gonna love it when you come with us."

"N-No!" said the woman.

Cress, seeing what was happening, did not like where this was going, so he left his post for a moment to go and approach the men that were hitting on the blonde.

"Hey!" he shouted at them, alerting the men, as he then stepped up to guard the girl before he said with a deathly glare, scaring them, "Didn't you hear the lady?! She said no, so leave her alone!"

"W-What?!" said one man, stammering, "W-Who do you think you are, fucker?!"

"Y-Yeah!" the other stammered as well, "C-C-Can't you see we're inviting her?!"

"Can't YOU see that you're scaring her and making her uncomfortable around here!" Cress shouted at them, before he pointed his gun at them, threatening them, and shouted again, "Now, FUCK OFF!"

Seeing that Cress pointed his gun at them shocked and frightened the men as they backed away from him scared, before they said as they began walking away, "Okay, okay, okay! We're leavin'! We're leavin'! Jeez!" "Motherfucker...!"

As soon as the three men were all gone, away from Cress's sight, he sighed in relief, glad that the mess was over with. Then, Cress felt a hand tapping his shoulder before a soft voice said, "U-Umm...e-excuse me...?"

As soon as Cress heard that, he turned around to see the young woman he had just saved, giving him a better view of what she looks like. The blonde woman in front of him has a face that looked cute and vulnerable, as if showing she was a shy type, and her eyes that are bright blue like the ocean. Seeing her made Cress blush, as he couldn't help but thought, "Uh...w-wow...s-so cute..."

"U-Um..." said the woman, with a soft spoken voice, "T-Thank you...for saving me just now...uh...sir..."

"O-Oh! Uh...i-it's...it's no problem, ma'am." Cress managed to say, "J-Just...glad I could help. So, uh...are you okay?"

"Oh, yes, of course." she said, reassuringly, "Thank you...uh..."

"Cress." he said, "Cress Albane. And you?"

"Oh, I'm Mint." she introduced herself, "Mint Adenade. Nice to meet you, Cress."

"Yeah, likewise." Cress smiled.

"So, Cress," said Mint, "Are you...perhaps a U.S. military soldier?"

"Oh, heh, I wish." said Cress, rubbing the back of his head, "I'm just a rookie. I'm only here on patrol because my superior told me to come. So, what about you? Are you on vacation with your family?"

"Oh, yes, I am." Mint smiled, "I'm on vacation with my mother." Her smiled faltered a little before she said, "We were walking together out in the beach, but then I got lost and I ended up being chased by those men from before."

"I see." said Cress, before he offered, "So, Mint, do you need some help looking for her? I can help find her for you."

"O-Oh, no, no, no!" said Mint, "There's no need to do that. It's okay. I already know my way around the resort, and I know where my spot at the beach is, so if either of us ever get lost, we could go back to our spot."

"O-Oh, I-I see." said Cress, "Well, alright, that's good then."

"Umm...thank you, though." said Mint, with an innocent smile on her face, "It was...really sweet of you, to offer your help. You're a really good man."

Cress blushed from that smile she made, before he quickly tuned around and said, almost nervously, "O-O-O-Oh, no! No! It's...uh...no problem! I, uh...I just...I like to help people and all! And, well...uh...I-I-I...I just...think you're cute, that makes me wanna help you."

Mint gasped softly at what he said as she began to blush, before she said nervously, "O-O-Oh, um...d-do you think so...?"

"Uh...yeah." Cress admitted, before he nervously laughed and said, "Well, uh...a-anyway, I gotta go, and...get back to work! Can't leave my post hanging without it's patrol."

"O-Oh, yes, of course." said Mint, "I-I-I'm sure that...you must be very busy, with military work and all."

"Uh...yeah." said Cress, "Well, gotta go now, bye!"

"Oh, Cress, please, wait!" said Mint, stopping him for a bit.

"Huh?" said Cress, turning around to face her, "Umm...yes, what is it?"

"U-Umm...uh..." said Mint, nervously, as she began fidgeting her body, showing signs of nervousness, before she finally said, "Umm...C-Cress, i-if it's okay with you, c-can I...uh...can I...can I see you again, sometimes?"

"H-Huh?" said Cress, surprised and confused.

"U-Umm..." said Mint, nervously, as she kept fidgeting, "W-W-Well...y-you see...t-tonight, there's...going to be a party...a-at the ballroom. A-At the resort hotel that...I-I'm staying at, with my mother. A-And so...u-umm...I-I was...w-wondering if y-you could come over...at the ballroom party together with me?"

"H-Huh?!" said Cress, completely surprised by the invitation of the girl he'd just met.

"Umm...i-i-is it...is it asking too much?" Mint asked, worriedly.

"O-O-OH, NO! NO!" said Cress, as he quickly motioned his hands, signaling her no, "O-O-Of course not! It's just...uh...well...why me, though? I'm just a rookie, a private. There's nothing really special about me."

"No, that's not true!" said Mint, "It's not true at all! You're...I think you're really special! Because, the way you protected me from those men, it felt...like you had good intentions, like you want to keep me safe, and it makes me happy. You're a good man, Cress, and...I feel like I can trust you. That's why I asked you to come, because...well, I need someone to be my bodyguard at the party tonight."

"Huh?" said Cress, surprised, "M-Me? Your bodyguard?"

"Yes..." said Mint, softly, "It's just...I-I'm scared that those men from before, or maybe even men like them, might come and hit on me like they tried to do before, and...I'm scared of what they might do to me if they tried to take me..."

"Oh, I see." said Cress, understanding what she meant, "Yeah, I can see your point."

"Yes..." said Mint, "So, that's why, Cress, will you...come over to the ball party tonight, to be my protector for tonight? Can you...keep me company until...it's over?"

Cress looked at the shy and innocent look that Mint was giving out, and he couldn't help but blushed and thought how cute she was being. Then, Cress managed to snap out of it and cleared his throat before he said, "Uh...well, uh...I-I'm not sure yet. Uh...I-I'm gonna have to go ask my superiors for permission to see if I can. It...probably won't be easy, but...I'll see what I can do."

"Oh..." said Mint, sounding a little disappointed, "I-I see..."

"Oh, but don't worry!" said Cress, reassuring her, "I-If I can, then I promise I'll come over to the party, and I promise I'll be there to see you."

"R-Really?" said Mint, "You promise you'll come?"

Cress smiled before he placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "Yeah, I promise I'll be there."

This made Mint smiled out of joy, happy to hear what Cress had said to her, before she smiled back and said, "Okay! Thank you, Cress!" She then stepped back and said, "Well, I have to go now, my mother must be worried about me right now. Cress, I'll...see you again."

"Yeah." Cress nodded, "See you again, Mint."

Mint happily nodded before she turned around and began to walk away, going back to the beach to find her spot. After that, Cress went back to his duty on patrolling the beach resort.

Later:

All of the U.S. military soldiers, including Cress, were assembled at the briefing room to have a meeting with their military superior, as well as Cress's mentor, Captain Morrison. Morrison was middle aged man with red hair and black eyes. Like most U.S. military soldiers, he wore his military outfit, but his looked far superior than the rest, including Cress's, with his hat signifying him as captain, as well as his military superior badge which was silver. He was giving out briefings on what to do as well as giving orders to each of the soldiers as to what their jobs and duties will be. Most of them were simple, such as being on guard while out on patrol, while a few were a bit complicated, such as looking for anyone they see suspicious.

Once the briefing was done, Morrison said, "That is all! You're to do as I said to you, and do your duties! Remember, be vigilant! Dismissed!"

"Yes, sir!" every soldier, including Cress, shouted, before they began to leave one by one.

"Oh, and, Cress." said Morrison, stopping Cress a bit.

"Huh?" said Cress, as he turned around to face his captain, "Yes, sir?"

"Listen, I have a job for you to do." said Morrison, "There is a party at the ballroom where millions of guests are attending tonight, and I'd like for you to be on guard to watch over the guests there. You'll fill in for me."

"H-Huh?!" said Cress, surprised, "Wait, seriously?! I-I will?!"

"Yes." Morrison nodded, "The reason being is that I need to go and make a call back to our mother country, make a report about today's activities, so I won't be going to the ballroom party. So, I'll need someone to fill in in my stead. Besides, it's just a basic job. Just stand around and be on guard while twiddling your thumb. Nothing major."

"R-Really?!" said Cress, surprised and excited, "O-Oh, wow, Captain Morrison, I-!" Cress suddenly stopped as he realized he was being informal, so he quickly cleared his throat and properly said, "Uh, I mean, yes, sir! I'll be sure to do that, sir!"

Morrison nodded and said, "Good. And I expect you will not disappoint?"

"I don't plan to, sir." said Cress, "Besides, I was thinking of asking to take the job, anyway."

"I see." said Morrison, as he looked at Cress suspiciously, "And your reasons?"

"Huh?" said Cress, confused at first, before he realized what he said and then quickly said so that he wasn't being suspicious, "O-O-Oh, uh...nothing! Nothing. Uh, no reason." He then looked back at Morrison and asked to change the subject, "Uh, more importantly, sir, why do you need to make a call back to America, aside from making a report about today?"

"Well..." said Morrison, looking around their surroundings a bit, before he motioned for Cress to come closer for him to whisper, and Cress did, before Morrison whispered to Cress, "There has been recent reports that has led to my superiors to believe that there is a terrorist here within the resort."

"Huh?" Cress whispered, shocked, "A terrorist? Who?"

"I'm not sure." Morrison whispered, "We've been looking into what we could find about the terrorist, but we found nothing in the report. However, I have been led to believe that the reason why there are no clues as to who it is is because...there is a traitor among our ranks."

"H-Huh?!" Cress almost shouted, before Morrison quickly covered his mouth to keep him quiet.

"Not so loud!" Morrison whispered, "We can't let anyone hear about this! There is no telling who could be listening!"

Both Cress and Morrison looked around to check for a moment, only to see that everything was clear, before Morrison removed his hands from Cress's mouth.

Cress sighed before he whispered, asking, "But, who could be the traitor?"

"I'm afraid even I don't know who it is." Morrison whispered, "That's why I need to look into it. So, Cress, I need you, for now, to be cautious, and don't bring up what I have just told you. There is no telling who among the soldiers could be a traitor. Be on guard, and make sure nothing happens to the guests here at the resort. The reason I'm telling you this is because I know you are not a traitor, and you are someone who I can trust, so should anything happen to me, you'll have to see through to the end that nothing goes wrong and nothing terrible will happen here. Understand?"

Cress looked at his superior captain, before thinking about it for a moment. Then, after enough thinking, he said, "Yes, sir! Leave it to me."

"Good." Morrison nodded, "For now, you need to go to that party. Otherwise, it'll be left unguarded. Go and make sure that our guests are safe."

"Right." Cress nodded, "Yes, sir." Cress then turned around and left to go get his weapons to get ready.

At the ballroom:

In the party, the ballroom was filled with people, wearing fancy clothes and nice jewelries, with the whole ballroom, saved for the dance floor, filled with tables covered in fancy sheets, a flower on each table for decorations, plates filled with lots fancy and unique meals to eat, and glasses of champagne. All and all, everyone in the party were enjoying themselves, as everyone paired and danced together on the dance floor, as well as enjoying the delicious meals and champagne that were being served.

At the corner of the ballroom, Mint, dressed in a beautiful white dress with gold trimmings, and a white hat, was standing there looking around the ball, while waiting for Cress to arrive. Mint felt anxious, as if it feels like she's on a date, waiting for her partner to arrive.

"Oh, no!" Mint thought, nervously, "Even though I know it's not a date, it really feels like I'm about to be! Oh, I feel so nervous!"

Mint, dear." she heard a soft voice, "What's wrong?"

Mint turned her head to see her mother, Meryl Adenade, who looks just like Mint, except much older than her, as she gave a worried look to her daughter.

"Is something wrong, dear?" her mother asked, worriedly, "You look nervous about something?"

"O-O-Oh, no, no!" said Mint, waving her hands, "N-Nothing, mother! It's nothing! I-I'm just...I'm just waiting for someone to come, and meet with me, that's all."

"Ohhh." said Meryl, now understanding her daughter, before she smiled and asked, "Is it your boyfriend, dear?"

"H-H-HUH?!" Mint stammered, blushing at what her mother said, before Mint denied, saying, "N-N-NO! No, it's not! Uh...well, I-I-I-I mean, yes, it's...it's a boy, b-but he's not my boyfriend!"

"Oh?" said Meryl, surprised by her daughter's answer, "It's not?" She then smiled and said while giggling, "Oh, dear me, I was sure that my dear Mint was already growing up to meet some nice boy and be on dates. I apologize, dear. Oh, but tell me, who is this lucky man that you've met?"

"H-Huh?" said Mint, nervously while blushing, "Oh, uh...um, well...i-it's...it's someone from the military..."

"Oooh!" said Meryl, now more interested, "Who is this someone from the military?! Is it a superior officer?!"

"Oh, no, mother, it's not." said Mint, "It's...just a private, a rookie."

"Oh, I see." said Meryl, "So, Mint, is he sweet?"

"Oh, yes, mother, he is." Mint smiled, "He's...a very kind person, a really good man. In fact, he even saved me on the beach this after noon. I wish you had seen it."

"Really?" said Meryl, surprised, "He did? My, he must be a very good officer."

"Yes, he is." said Mint, "Well, anyway, I asked if he could come and meet with me in the ballroom tonight, so...that's why I'm waiting for him."

"Ohh." said Meryl, before she smiled and added, "So, you're on a date with him, then!"

Mint immediately blushed even harder, before she said while stammering, "N-N-N-NOOO! I-I-I'M NOT! I-I-I-I just...I-I needed someone t-to be my...m-my bodyguard f-f-for t-tonight, t-to keep me company, and...t-to protect me! T-That's all! T-There's nothing...n-nothing more to it than that!"

"Oh?" said Meryl, with a sly smile, "It sounds to me that my daughter is in love. Must be love at first sight."

"N-No, I'm not!" said Mint, "T-There's no love at first sight in any of it!"

Meryl laughed and said, "Mint, dear, it's alright. You don't have to hide it from me."

"M-Mother...!" Mint whined, "I'm not..."

Meryl stopped teasing her daughter before place a hand on her shoulder, as she gave out a gentle smile to her and said, "Mint, dear, listen. It's alright to like someone that you've just met. You're already at the age where you can find someone you can fall in love with. If meeting someone you wish to love makes you happy, well then it makes me happy."

"Mother..." said Mint.

"Besides, dear," said Meryl, "There will come a time where I won't be able to stay with you forever, and you'l need to find someone who can take really good care of you, no matter what. And, I'm sure that whoever this boy is, I'm sure he'll be the one to care for you."

"Mother..." said Mint, as she took in what her mother said, before she nodded and said, "Yes, you're right. But..."

"Mint," said Meryl, "Don't think about it too much, and don't worry. Even if I may not be with you anymore, I'll always be in your heart. I love you, Mint, and I always will, my daughter."

"Mother..." said Mint, taking in what her mother had said to her, before she smiled and said, "Yes, of course. Thank you, mother, and I love you, too."

Mint and Meryl then looked back to watch people enjoying the ball, until suddenly-

"Eek!" a woman screamed, "Security!"

Mint and Meryl, along with everyone else at the party, turned to see a woman wearing a red dress coming over to a staff member and two security guards with him. The woman's arm was bitten and had blood coming out of it, and there was a man right behind her. For some reason, the man was walking very slowly, his arms was drooping, and his legs were standing crooked, and he seemed to have blood around his mouth.

"Mother, what's going on?" Mint asked, confused.

"I don't know, dear." said Meryl, just as confused as her daughter was.

Everyone in the ballroom watches as the woman quickly came over to the staff and security.

"Sir, you've gotta help me!" the woman cried, as she showed her bleeding arm, "This man here is completely insane! He just bit me in my arm!"

"Don't worry, ma'am." said the staff member, "We'll take care of this. You two, deal with him!"

"Yes, sir!" said the security guards, as they went over to the man.

One of them, a muscular one, grabbed the man by the collar and said in a threatening tone, "You, sir, are in REAL big trouble for that! What do you have to say for that?!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, take it easy!" said the other, who was the skinny one, "Relax, man! We may be security, but we're not violent to people."

Then, suddenly, the man, showing his colorless eyes and disfigured face, roared out loud before he grabbed the muscular security's arms and bite him, causing blood to come out and sprayed everywhere, while the muscular security screamed out in pain and agony as he let go of the man and fell to the ground.

"HOLY SHIT!" said the skinny security guard, before he knelt down to check on him.

Everyone in the ballroom looked horrified at what they had just seen in front of them, including Mint, who covered her mouth with her eyes wide in complete horror.

The staff member, after seeing what he just saw in horror, quickly took out his radio and said, "Hello?! Men! We have a lunatic on- GAAAAAHHH!"

Suddenly, before the staff member could finish, the woman from before came onto him and wrapped her arms around his neck, before she started to bite him in the neck, making him screamed in agony. Then, the muscular security got up and grabbed the skinny security guard and bit him in the neck, causing him to scream, making everyone in the ballroom even more horrified. Then, before everyone knew it, they began to bit the nearest people, and then, people began to bite each other.

Mint had her eyes widened, even more horrified at what she was seeing right in front of her, taking a few steps back before she began screamed in complete horror.

"WHAT IN THE WORLD'S HAPPENING?!" Mint thought, horrified, "WHAT IS GOING ON?!"

Cress had just finished preparing himself, with his battle rifle and his sword at hand, armed and ready, before he closed his locker, looked at himself in a mirror for a bit, before nodding in satisfaction.

"Right, all set." said Cress, satisfied, "Now then, time to go and-huh?"

Suddenly, his radio on his side started beeping, signifying that someone was calling him on the radio. Cress took the radio, pressed the button and answered, "Hello?"

In response, however, there was a loud screeching static sound that was so loud it hurts the ear, making Cress winched from the sound and backing away from it, before looking back at the radio.

"What the hell?" said Cress, confused by this.

Through the statics, he could hear there were really loud screams coming out from the background, as if there was a panic going on at the other side of the radio, as if some chaos was happening, while also strange roars that were sounding out along with the screams. Then, all of the sudden, the connection with the other radio was cut off, making it go completely silent.

"What the hell was that all about?" said Cress, confused.

BEEEEEEEEEEP...

"Huh?" said Cress, as he looked up to hear the radio in the hotel about to make an announcement, "Okay, NOW what's going on?"

"Attention, everyone in this hotel, there has been a fight that has just broken out of the ballroom in this hotel. I repeat, there has been a fight that has just broken out of the ballroom in this hotel."

"Huh?!" said Cress, even more confused, while also concerned, "A fight?! What the hell's happening?!"

"I advise for you all to remain calm, follow our staff members' instructions, and evacuate the hotel, immediately. I repeat, I advise for you all-"

Suddenly, a sound of a door was heard on the background, and a strange sound as if it was a monster was being heard on the background.

"Huh? W-W-Wha...what're you doing?! You can't be-! No! No, no! Don't come near me! Stay away! Stay away! Oh, dear god, somebody! Somebody, please help! Somebody, help me! Help me, please! God, some- AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Cress's eyes widened in complete horror, as the last thing that was being heard was the sound of the announcer screaming in pain, followed by the sound of biting and blood splattering, as well as the sound of loud roars being made, until finally...the announcement broke, and everything was in complete silence.

There was a moment of silence as Cress took in what had just happened from the announcement, with his jaws dropped and his eyes widened in shock and horror after what he-no, everyone in the hotel just heard.

"Wha...what in the hell...?" Cress thought, "What was that...?"

Before Cress could think about what was happening, the sound of everyone screaming in horror was being heard outside of the locker room, along with the sound of running as if people were running around like a stampede, snapping Cress out from his thoughts and making him look at the door where the screaming and panicking was happening outside.

Then, as if Cress had suddenly remembered, he gasped before he thought in horror, "Oh, no! THE BALLROOM!"

With full force, Cress broke out of the door of the locker room and quickly began running as fast as possible, passing by and ignoring the people who're running pass him or get in the way, as he ran as fast as he could to get the ballroom, where he knew Mint was at. He kept on running, hurrying himself to go to Mint on time.

"Mint!" he thought, as he kept running, "Hold on, I'm coming! I'm on my way!"

No matter what, Cress had to get to Mint! He had to go find and save her!

So, what do you guys think? Please, be sure to leave a review for me on what you guys think of the story! I hoped you all enjoyed it. Don't be shy and don't just read the story, REVIEW and tell me what are your thoughts of the story!