Bijin: Alright... after painstakingly and mind-numbingly gone through and edited this story, I have decided to kind of re-submit it. People who read the previous version might notice some changes, including som major changes with Dr. Surah to deal with his issue. In the author's note at the end of Dr. Surah's chapter I will explain why I did what I did. So I hope you enjoy this... here we go again! Hopefully after this, I will be able to focus more on this story's sequal.
Either way, I hope you enjoy it!
IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED THE GAME COMPLETELY, DO NOT READ THIS YET! MAJOR SPOILERS!
Chapter 1: A Warning
At one time, there were two worlds- the world of Tethe'alla, and the world of Sylvarant. These two worlds existed on two different dimensional planes, and for four thousand years of existence, knew little of each other. Despite never having crossed paths, the two worlds were astonishingly similar. Each world had a chosen that would go on a long journey and by offering their humanity to heaven, would allow the world to regenerate and become plentiful once more. But on the side of Sylvarant, there was one chosen, whose friends were not satisfied with this sacrifice, and once they discovered the existence of Tethe'alla, and learned of the regeneration process that drained the other world of its life energy, they set out in search of a way to save both worlds.
Lead by the half-angel Lloyd Irving, this group was able to wield the Eternal Sword and defeat the angel that originally created the twisted battle for energy. In the end, a tree of infinite mana was created, germinated by Lloyd's efforts. The tree acted as a link between the two worlds and the worlds became one. This new world became known simply as the Neo World. The Chosen's group, consisting of nine people split apart, each going their own way. Two retreated to Altamira to work on revitalizing the new world. One went to Meltokio to assist in the abolishment of discriminatory laws. One went back to her own village to help it flourish and bring back their way of life. Two went on a journey of discovery, to found new cities and villages and hoped to eventually find a place they could call home. One boarded the infamous land of Derris-Kharlan to ensure that it never caused trouble for the Neo World again, hoping to dispose of its evil Exspheres into space. The final two began a journey of their own, hoping to collect and eventually destroy all of the Exspheres that had been distributed over the years since their discovery. Though the roots of discrimination that had given rise to the powerful force of Cruxis ran deep, they had begun to heal, leading toward a hopefully peaceful world.
That was three years and 135 days ago.
The town of Iselia had seen its share of fame. Having been the childhood home of the infamous Lloyd Irving- the young man said to have lead the team that saved the world- many people ventured a journey to see the village. The young leader of the village, one Colette Brunel, was a kind woman, merely in her early twenties, and often the focus of attention when these tourists would come for a look at the town that had housed Lloyd. For the young woman, in her mid teens, had been the powerful "Chosen One" destined to regenerate the world. People, though coming to see the town itself, were often drawn into Colette's tales of the adventure and stories of danger. She was quite the young hostess.
However, Colette noticed, the hustle and bustle only lasted about a month after she had separated from Lloyd and his journey to collect the Exspheres. At first she had thought it simply to be the excitement wearing off. But as more wanderers drifted into town, full of mesmerizing tales from lands far east, she began to see that that was not quite the issue. Nevertheless, Iselia was a peaceful town in a small rural area atop a hill. It was a tragically typical town. Nothing out of the ordinary happened on a regular basis. The same could not be said of larger cities like Palmacoasta as it struggled to expand, or Altamira with its casino and Amusement Park, but the lack of high-speed living suited the residents just fine. They had been very slightly affected by the happenings involving the adventures of the Chosen and Lloyd Irving, and after hearing of the danger it had entailed, they were perfectly happy with being left out. The largest thing that tended to happen every year or so was simply the arrival of two previously shunned half-elves, Genis Sage, and his older sister, Raine. The former had also grown up in Iselia, growing very closely with Lloyd Irving. The latter had been a teacher at the local school, an archaeological maniac of sorts. The two of them, after the rebirth of the Giant Kharlan Tree (now renamed as The Tree of Worlds), had set off on a journey to explore the unknown lands that surrounded several areas of both the Sylvarant part of the Neo World and the Tethe'alla part. They had founded several villages and towns since their journey began, but every once in a while, they decided the drop into the small village of Iselia to catch up on recent happenings. These visits were most likely the closest things to commotion that the village ever saw on account of the young Colette's energetic greeting.
"EEEEEEEE!" The squeal resulted in the shattering of one Asgard souvenir teacup as the maid dropped it to the floor in the kitchen. Why her mistress insisted on such a greeting, she could just not figure out. Of course, Colette had never been the shaking hands type of person.
Raine Sage couldn't help but smile as the blonde threw her arms around her neck in an enthusiastic hug. She certainly hadn't changed much. Physically, little had changed in the three years. She still had the innocence of a child written all over her face, though it had matured, losing its baby fat and turning her body into a slender beauty. Her blonde hair was caught in a low ponytail, the top of her head decorated elegantly with the different directions her hair had been pulled and gelled. Her outfit was as elegant as her hair, a simple white blouse and a knee-length skirt, tall boots covering the remainder of her legs. Her blue eyes still sparkled with the same laugher and smile that they had back when they had been traveling as the Chosen's group, and it caused her face to retain a child-like appearance.
"Welcome back, Professor Sage!" She cried excitedly, taking a step back and looking the teacher over. She was dressed in an elven dress, rather unsurprising, and her feet covered in small thin shoes. Her sleeves were rather unique, having holes cut out to show her shoulders, but continuing down as bell sleeves past her hands. The dress was engraved with the intricate designs of the elves, the kind of embroidery that declared their long-lived lifestyle. They had the time to make that sort of thing. Her silvery hair was as out of control as ever and hung around her face wildly, giving her a slightly eccentric look. "How have you been?"
Raine chuckled. "I've been alright. And what about you, Colette? How have you been fairing?"
Colette had to blush and pause as she turned to embrace Genis. The young man certainly had grown. His hair had been left alone, not only allowing it to hang in his face, but also allowing it to be pulled back into a ponytail similar to her own. His outfit was rather similar to his old one, the one he had traveled in. He was dressed as an elven warrior, and his height and physical maturity brought that fact out. The top was buttoned and intricate, designed similar to his sister's, and long baggy dark pants over thin shoes. She wrapped her arms around him (more difficult than it used to be...), and motioned for them to sit down. They obliged and Colette offered them what meager food was on the table at the time. "Help yourself to the snacks," she invited.
"So, how's life in Iselia been?" Raine inquired, declining the snacks and simply content to sit back and relax.
"Uneventful to say the least," Colette answered. Her tone was not bored. She was being honest.
"Anything new?" She continued as Genis nibbled at a cookie.
"Well... a bunch of my villagers wanna move over to the new village just south of here. You probably saw it... at least the last of the construction crews. The Dike village?" Colette sighed and motioned to the window.
"That's rough," Genis chuckled.
"Ah it's not that bad. Most people are quite happy here. Just a few of them. Some new families that need bigger houses and stuff," she shrugged.
"Speaking of which, the village sure has grown. Dirk's house looked like it was part of the village now," Raine commented.
"Yeah. We needed to expand and I decided to expand toward Dirk's house. He helped us a lot in the journey, so I wanted him to feel more like a member of the village," Colette gave a traditional smile.
"But you are looking rather normal," Raine said, motioning to her. "Wings are gone too?"
Colette nodded. "Yep. It's all gone now. Took a little over two years for the forced angel transformation to wear off completely, but it finally did. Just Colette Brunel now."
Genis reached for another cookie. "You miss being an angel?"
Colette shook her head. "Not really. With all the issues going on with angels right now, I'm glad I'm not one anymore." A weight entered her eyes and she looked down.
Raine opened her mouth to comment, though was interrupted by a weak knock on the door- one quiet enough that, had Raine spoken, it would not have been heard. Colette leapt to her feet and dashed to answer it. She gave a squeal of surprise as the guest tumbled awkwardly into her arms. She gave a sharp respiration. "Kratos!" She cried. "Genis! Help me get him inside!" Genis threw down his snack and darted to the door, taking the weak angel from Colette's arms. Kratos' eyes opened shortly, his eyes rolling around. Genis gently laid him on the couch and called to the maid.
"Vicara! Get me a cold rag." She looked back to Kratos. "Kratos, can you hear me? What's wrong?" The summoned woman rushed in, handing the requested item to the blonde, then hurried back out. Colette pressed the rag to Kratos' forehead as he opened his eyes.
He gave a few shallow breaths before speaking. "Derris-Kharlan... coming..."
Colette stood and looked to Raine. "Can you help him?" She requested, inviting her to his side.
Raine knelt against the couch, placing a hand over his chest, her eyes closed in analysis. She smiled as she opened them again. "He's fine. He's just very tired. He must've flown here all the way from Derris-Kharlan."
"What did he mean by Derris-Kharlan coming?" Genis began, plopping back into his seat. He chuckled at Colette. "You look nervous."
Colette looked up and gave a typical laugh. "Yeah... I suppose. I still get nervous when Lloyd's not around."
Genis chuckled. "That's nostalgic." He shook his head, then looked up. "Where is Lloyd anyway?"
Colette's blue gaze hit the floor and she sighed. "Lloyd... I suppose he's on the run."
"On the run?" Raine repeated. "Why? What happened?"
Colette was silent. Genis leaned foreword. "Colette please..."
The blonde gave him a long look, then sighed. "I was traveling with Lloyd for about six months on his journey to find and collect all the Exspheres. He hadn't come up with a way to destroy them yet, but... we had gathered quite a few by then. But then... I came here to lead Iselia, and... Soon after that... the Angel hunts began."
"Angel hunts?" Raine inquired. "What's that?"
"You guys have been kind of separated from civilization with your travels, so you probably wouldn't know. Angels were the creatures that made up Cruxis and nearly destroyed this world, weren't they? The people around here became afraid that the angels would come and try to finish what Cruxis started. Angel hunters are rare, since there hasn't been a killing of a single pure-blooded angel these past years, only a few innocents mistaken for angels, or those with partial angel blood due to having an exsphere for too long, but the stories that Lloyd brings about cause a lot of commotion and keep a few angel hunters going. I have managed to keep hunters out of Iselia in case Lloyd ever comes back, but he never has. I hear stories about him all the time, but... he's never actually come to Iselia." Colette gave a sigh.
Genis growled, his eyes cast to the floor. "So... as soon as discrimination against half-elves starts to diminish, discrimination against angels begins."
"Perhaps Mithos was right in some way... unless all people become the same race, discrimination will continue." Raine muttered.
"No... I think Regal had the right idea. Human nature fears that which is different." Genis grumbled. "Even if we all became the same species, people would still find things to discriminate against."
"I suppose so." Raine sighed.
"Hasn't he even written any letters?" Genis inquired. Colette shook her head.
"The only way I even know he is still alive is the stories that people constantly come and tell."
"Lloyd won't die," Kratos' weak voice interrupted. "I won't let him die before I do."
Colette turned and knelt by the couch. "Kratos, are you alright? What's going on?"
Kratos put a hand to his forehead. "Derris-Kharlan has left its normal orbit around the 'Neo World' as I hear you call it. It's heading straight at us."
There was a long pause as the three took the information in. Finally, Raine spoke softly. "Wh- what?"
"I don't know who did it... and I don't know how they did it. All I know is that a few days ago, two explosions on the planet itself caused it to careen back toward the Neo World. It'll be here in a matter of weeks at the speed it is going."
Raine collapsed back into her seat. "It would be bad enough if Derris-Kharlan was simply another world, the Neo World might've survived the impact. But... Derris-Kharlan is a mass of mana. That kind of power slamming into the Neo World will literally detonate the entire thing."
Genis gulped. "So basically... if Derris-Kharlan hits the Neo World... it'll explode."
"Yes." Raine shivered. "But what could possibly have reversed the direction of its orbit? That mana mass is as big as a planet."
Kratos shook his head. "I have no idea."
"Well... we can't very well just sit here and wait for it to come at us... we need to do something!" Colette insisted.
"I know we do... but what can we do to stop a planet from crashing into ours?" Genis demanded quietly.
"Well... I suppose we'll need the rheairds for this one." Raine muttered.
"Huh? Why?" Colette raised an eyebrow.
"It may truly be impossible for us to stop Derris-Kharlan, but remember that us stopping Yggdrasil and his plans was impossible. But we did it. We are capable of doing the impossible... the nine of us are... and I think it's time we got together again and tried something out. It can't hurt to try," Raine explained.
"Sounds good to me." Kratos agreed.
"But wait! What about Kratos? He's not well enough to travel yet!" Colette stood.
Kratos grabbed Colette's wrist. "I'm alright, Colette. Angels heal faster than humans. I'll be fine by tomorrow morning."
"Are you sure? You flew a long way." Colette kneeled next to the couch again.
"I'm positive. And even if I'm not in fighting condition tomorrow, I'll be fine to travel. We don't have the time to be hanging around here. We need to find everyone," Kratos assured her.
"But we know where everyone is. We'll be fine. We can wait a day or two for you to recover." Colette offered.
Raine shook her head. "We know where Zelos, Regal, Presea, and Sheena are, but Lloyd is another matter. Lloyd could be anywhere at this point, and it's going to be tough tracking him down. If angel hunters haven't caught him by now, it's certainly not going to be easy to find him. He'll have made it his business to know how to disappear when you don't want to be found."
Colette sighed. "Fine then... we'll leave tomorrow." She stood and called into the next room. "Vicara, could you please ready two rooms for our guests?" She inquired. The young woman said nothing, but bowed and dashed upstairs to her assignment. Colette turned to Kratos. "Kratos... could you please hide your wings? It would be rather... a problem if people saw them."
Kratos nodded and the colorful appendages vanished. "I heard your discussion about the angel hunters. To be honest, I'm not surprised. People are paranoid about your Tree of Worlds. After finally gaining relative peace, they want to do everything they can to keep it safe. If they feel threatened by anything, in this case, angels, the reaction against them will be furious. And so it seems it has. Not to mention that the only glimpse the people have seen of the angel race was a group attempting to wipe out humanity. They've never seen a kind angel before, so they naturally believe us to be evil."
Colette nodded. "We shouldn't run into problems around here. I've made it a point to all the villagers here that no hunters may enter the village, but fear can do odd things to people."
"Yes, it can." Kratos sighed and closed his eyes, dozing until he eventually was called to his room. There, he fell into a dream-ridden sleep, his mind wandering over such subjects as their attempts to stop Derris-Kharlan's decent, failure or success, Lloyd's whereabouts, and even the cause of Derris-Kharlan's change in direction. Even in unconsciousness, the night was long.
To be continued...
Bijin: Okay... believe it or not, I do have a perfectly logical (though weird) reason for the whole planets moving thing, but don't thinkg I'm going to give it up easily. Hope you enjoyed the first chapter and hope you look foreward to the next! Review and see ya!
Next Chapter: Prince of Meltokio