It's been literally 2 years since I've posted anything here, and let's have the first thing be, y'know, a Tales of Xillia 2 and Naruto crossover. Dreams are weird man. If anyone actually read the stories I posted two years ago, I am so sorry you had to witness that. Here's something I pulled out of my ass from a crazy dream.
I do not own Tales of Xillia 2 or Naruto Shippuden.
Before the two of them knew it, rain started pouring in the Drellin area. By the time it started to pour, they were not close enough to an inn or building. Ludger and Elle stood under one of the tents in the town. Elle was gripping Ludger's leg, rather tightly. Her hand was right near his chromatus, gaining a reaction. As it was, in actuality, her chromatus.
When thunder roared with a crack in the sky, the small girl couldn't help as she squeezed her eyes shut and let out a scream. Just as Ludger held the girl closer to her, he realized that Elle's emotion pushed too much of a reaction into the chromatus...and they were fractured-dimension-bound.
This was not Elympios or Reize Maxia. That much the two of them knew. Although being an Elympian, Ludger didn't feel any mana in the air. He knew the difference between Elympios and Reize Maxia.
"Ludger…" Elle was aware of this as well. The young girl stayed near him as they both looked around the town they appeared to be in. In the distance, a monument with carvings of faces. Unrecognizable. With that, the two continued to walk around. It was when they neared a large building that a name was finally learned.
Konoha Hospice, or Konoha Hospital. The town they were in was named Konoha.
"Sakura, this is my treat. You don't have to pay for any of it." Two people walked out from the hospital. There was a young woman with pink hair, which Ludger couldn't argue about the odd color. His own was silver. The woman called the pink-haired girl Sakura. And another older woman with blonde hair, a heavier figure. The pink-haired girl, to Ludger's surprise, spoke to him.
"Kakashi-sensei- oh, I'm sorry!" She immediately apologized. Elle tilted her head in confusion. What did that girl just call Ludger?
"Your hair reminded me of someone I know." The thought of another person with silver hair seemed ridiculous until now.
"It's alright." Ludger spoke minimally. He was rather mute, pointed out by everyone. He bowed his head in respect as they continued to walk. Elle was the only one who saw the blonde woman looking at the two of them suspiciously. It was sure they stuck out.
Ludger and Elle were not aware that the blonde woman was the Hokage, or in their terms, leader of Konoha.
Their attempts for find the divergence catalyst was to no avail. When the sun began to fall towards the mountains, and the sky's light faded, Ludger knew he needed to find an open area to think. Being surrounded by civilians wasn't very good for concentrating. Eventually, they found a nice open area. It appeared to have been used, but not at the moment. Ludger and Elle sat down by some rocks.
"I don't wanna be here forever." Elle looked saddened, which spread guilt in Ludger as well.
"We will find the divergence catalyst." He held a thumb over his chromatus. The young girl next to him looked at the chromatus.
"Will it even work here? This place is weird." It was indeed a good question. Ludger stood up, and luckily, transformed. He could use his weapons as well. There was seemingly no limit to his energy he used. This was at least good, he could fight and protect Elle.
"We'll get out of here." The last words spoken that night.
"They're asleep." A calm voice.
"Get them now, be careful." A voice in return.
Ludger thought he had awoken naturally. A panicked voice proved him wrong.
"Ludger, Ludger!" Upon recognizing the voice as Elle, Ludger shot up, only to let out a yelp out pain as shackles held him back.
"Elle!" He called out in a desperate tone. It was dark, leaving him without a thing to see.
"I'm right here!" Elle was right next to him, on his right. He could see now, her ocean eyes as she looked at him. They seemed to be in a jail cell.
"I heard voices. They're awake." The moment a new voice was heard, a door opened, flooding a small light into the pitch black room. There was a figure, masculine, with a mask over his face. Features were not recognizable at all. The male turned towards Ludger, holding up a very familiar item- Ludger's wallet.
"Your name is Ludger Will Kresnik." The masked male spoke. Mute, Ludger nodded. The male turned to Elle.
"Who is this girl?" With a commanding tone, he spoke. It was Elle who spoke up.
"My name is Elle Mel Marta." No stutter in her voice, however incredibly wary and shaky. The masked male pocketed Ludger's wallet, giving an odd signal out to his left. Another masked person came to the door, masculine as well. He had a key in his hand and quickly went to releasing the shackles that held the two of them. Strong hands gripped Ludger and Elle's arms, leaving Elle unable to grip onto Ludger like she usually did.
"Don't try to pull anything. You're suspicious enough." With that, the masked men took them up a flight of stairs. Full light eventually met their eyes, and there was the woman who they had seen before. To Elle, the lady who was giving them mean eyes.
"The male is Ludger Will Kresnik and the girl is Elle Mel Marta, Lady Tsunade." The first masked man explained. The blonde woman, now Tsunade, nodded.
"Thank you, Wolf."
Tsunade tried to make sense of the names. They were unheard of surnames. Except for Kresnik, which she swore she heard somewhere in her life. Something like a fictional story, perhaps mythology.
"Mare, find any scrolls you can under the name Kresnik." The other masked male nodded with a quiet "Yes, Ma'am." and left the room. Ludger was surprised to hear about his last name. Were they aware of chromatus-bearers after all? Was this place, perhaps, Elympios in the far future?
"What region do you come from?" Tsunade asked, placing her hands under her chin. This might be a rough conversation. With hesitation burning at his tongue, the quiet Ludger spoke.
"Trigleph Region." Judging by the look on the woman's face, she did not know what or where Trigleph was. Her sky blue eyes shifted from Ludger to Elle, and back to Ludger, seeming to notice how they both carried the similar color of ocean blue in their eyes. She changed the subject from region to Ludger's chromatus.
"I have been told that you were able to transform your being. Is this true?" Her next question proved something to Ludger. Himself and Elle had been watched. As Ludger nodded, Elle pouted next to him.
"Yeah he can. So?" Her tone was bitter. Ludger smiled lightly, and Tsunade chuckled, to their surprise.
"I would like to see this transformation." She proposed, earning a shocked reaction from Ludger. He turned to Elle for a moment, and nodded with a small noise of agreement. Wolf grew to a less relaxed stance.
Ludger held out his chromatus, rubbing his thumb over the shining gold color. Circles in the shape of gears spread around him, spreading over his body until they turned to the color black. Senses were enhanced, and he spun his spear with ease. Suddenly, Tsunade stood up. Her serious gaze spread to mix with suspicion. Elle moved closer to Ludger. Him being in his chromatus form made her feel safer.
"You're not using any chakra to transform." Her words made no sense. Chakra, the unknown word. Was "chakra" common in this fractured dimension?
"You… both of you don't have chakra at all!" The air was thick, and Ludger's pointed fingers gripped and released his spear out of nervousness.
"Well, I don't know what chakra is, but we don't have it on Elympios." Elle crossed her arms fumbling over the word chakra. Ludger nodded. He found himself pretty pathetic that she was doing all the speaking for him. But, quote Rowen, he was a "rather silent partner." The other masked man returned with two scrolls in his arms.
"Lady Tsunade, Croatian Mythology." There was a silence as she glanced at the scrolls. Ludger took this moment to transform back, seeing as his chromatus form was unnecessary. He was still yet to find the divergence catalyst.
"It is only a name and this information is more than likely unreliable…" Tsunade mumbled to herself. The writing said that a Kresnik was a vampire who transformed into an animal every night to fight their other self. It was clear that the male was no vampire. She put it to her own thoughts that Ludger was facing an "other self", as detailed in the writing. This transformation of his explains a part of it as well. But there was the part to remind her that the writing was likely not accurate.
Tsunade came to a decision.
"I will keep the both of you under ANBU watch. Be wary of what you do." After she concluded, Ludger and Elle met eyes. Even if they were to kill the divergence catalyst, the fractured dimension would break apart before anyone could capture them. But Ludger didn't want to underestimate everyone else that could stop him. The two nodded, Ludger locking eyes with Tsunade's sky blue. They were led out of the room.
As Tsunade watched them leave, she let a thought fall from her lips.
"That Ludger…he's a rather silent one."
It wasn't long until the duo realized something.
They were starving and their currency was not the same as the currency here.
"That's not fair! We can't get stuff? You can't get anything to cook!" Elle had began to get a bit crabby. Ludger took the last part as a compliment towards his cooking. He had quite a large sum of money for paying his debt, as his wallet had been returned, but it was more than likely useless. The two could only sit on the swings of a small park, trying to hide the urge to grab their stomachs and scream.
"Sakura, you are way too nice." Ino said, watching the silver haired male, attractive she must admit, and the young honey blonde girl.
"I'd rather they not starve!" A hissing whisper from Sakura. She was about to approach the two, until she noticed the young girl hurt herself while getting off the swing.
Elle's outburst snapped Ludger from his heavy thoughts, and he noticed her hand was red. He didn't bother looking around for anyone, for his first priority was Elle. In a flash of green, he summoned his sledgehammer, and the girl knew what he was doing. She got closer to him. Sakura and Ino watched with curious eyes. Ludger slammed his sledgehammer into the ground, creating a circle of blue with bubbles that rose into the air.
"Psychic Restoration!" He called, and the bubbles attached themselves to Elle's hand. It was healed in an instant, and the young girl smiled. Another flash of green magic, and his sledgehammer was gone. It seemed this male could do lots of things without hand signs...and chakra.
"Woah…" The two girls might've voiced their amazement a bit too loudly. With a gasp, Ludger turned to where they stood. They just saw him use an arte. And, he noted, the ANBU who is watching them.
"Sakura-" Ino glared at her friend, earning a glare in return. The two approached Ludger and Elle.
"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation earlier." The pink haired girl crouched down to Elle with a smile on her face. She pressed a satchel full of money into the young girl's hand. Upon opening it, Elle's face lit up. It was money, which meant food.
"Thank you!" Elle let joy wash over her, and she hugged the pretty pink haired girl. Ludger blinked in astonishment; the girl was far too nice.
"Goody-two-shoes is Sakura Haruno. My name is Ino Yamanaka." The blonde introduced the two of them, and Elle smiled as she prepared her own nickname for Ludger.
"Mr. Quiet is Ludger. I'm Elle Mel Marta." She pointed to herself proudly. Ludger's face flushed red, and he held his hands awkwardly up.
"L-Ludger Will Kresnik." Where had that nickname come from so suddenly?
Sakura invited to show them good places to eat, and they accepted happily. Eventually they decided to eat at a shop called Ichiraku Ramen.
"Ludger cooks too!" Elle told Sakura and Ino before slurping on her noodles. Ludger rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, expecting the next comment from Elle:
"But not as good as daddy." He couldn't help it but chuckle as she said so. The young girl turned to him, face sour.
"What's so funny?" She demanded, but Ludger shook his head in response.
"That jutsu you used...it used no chakra." Sakura spoke to Ludger, as Elle happily talked to Ino about their hair. There was that word. Chakra. And other: jutsu. Ludger knew this meant his arte.
"I don't have chakra." That conversation seemed to get everyone's attention. Elle knew Ludger was speaking minimally, and she would have to step in.
"Ludger uses artes, like when he healed me!" She explained. Sakura interpreted that as "artes are their jutsus". Artes do not require chakra, which these two do not have at all. They are not from this world, and Ino and Sakura knew that much.
After bidding farewell to Ino and Sakura, the duo rented a room at an inn. They took this time to get clean and relax for a bit. This was the longest they had been in an fractured dimension, and it was getting to their heads.
Were they ever going to find the divergence catalyst?
The next day, the two of them couldn't help but overhear rumors that were whispered among the town of Konoha.
A man named Naruto Uzumaki was returning to Konoha. And judging by the fame he had, the two hoped he was their divergence catalyst. People had begun to gather at the gates, and Ludger and Elle were hidden among the crowd. The ANBU watching them grew more serious. Did they pose as a threat to Naruto?
"Naruto!" Calls of his name came from almost everywhere. He was a tall blonde, whose hair spiked in many directions.
A static noise echoed in the duo's ears. Toned skin turned obsidian, and bright blue eyes flashed crimson.
They had found their divergence catalyst, this Naruto Uzumaki.
There were many people to stop them, seeing as the gates were crowded, but Ludger now knew who to tail. As they were leaving, the two picked up on a punch from Sakura that launched Naruto a good few meters away.
Ludger was certainly going to have to be careful.
It was midday when Ludger and Elle got to meet Naruto for themselves. They, of course, were introduced as the two without chakra.
"Yeah, and Ludger can do cool artes too!" Elle said proudly. Naruto scrunched up his face in confusion at the word "arte". Sakura, who was there as well, let herself smile.
"Artes! Like, uh- those jut- whatevers." The young girl couldn't remember what word they used for their artes.
"Oh! Jutsus!" Naruto knew that. Ludger nodded. Elle looked at him for a moment; a look that said "when will it happen". Which the answer was "not right now".
"How the hell do you live without chakra?" That seemed to be an occurring question. Ludger merely shrugged his shoulders.
"Ludger, you should show him your artes!" Elle encouraged. It seemed she was pushing for Naruto to be revealed as a divergence catalyst. Which, it was a good plan. With a small chuckle, the man summoned his dual blades.
"Demon Fang!" Quickly pulling a dark magic from the ground, he spread the wave until it hit a nearby tree.
"Woah, you weren't kidding." Naruto was amazed. There were no hand signs to be done, which was possible, but required lots of training.
He was distracted.
"And-" Ludger started, pulling out his pocket watch, Elle's chromatus. Golden gears and lights built onto his chromatus form. There was a quick spin of the spear, as Naruto's being began to fracture into what he really was. A divergence catalyst. This was even more to Ludger's benefit.
His spear was at Naruto's chest. At long last.
Clench. Crash.
As his back landed with a heavy thump onto the ground, Ludger couldn't believe he forgot about the ANBU watching him. He rolled himself over and flipped back up, directing Elle to stand away as he faced Wolf, Sakura, and a divergence catalyst Naruto. There were distant shrieks in the distance, but Ludger kept his calm composure.
"What- what the hell, man!?" Naruto rubbed his eyes and scratched at his hands, trying to get rid of the charcoal mass that spread across his skin.
"What did you do to Naruto?" It was clear Sakura was trying to keep a level head and not grow enraged. She placed black gloves over her hands. Ludger knew that Elle wanted to leave this fractured dimension. It was getting to their heads even at the moment. He attempted to go towards Naruto again, only to be blocked by Wolf.
His only option was to defeat everyone else.
Ludger began to strike, building up his energy until he felt a click.
"Hexentia!" Voice in a loud shout, he created a circle of dark blasts that knocked everyone off their feet. This time, Ludger would have it right.
Elle screamed, the shriek causing his body to glow with a bright light. He should've known that she would've been safe once the fractured dimension was destroyed.
His attention flickered to her: there was a masked man holding her, his grip making a clear red mark.
Ludger failed once again to kill Naruto. Strong fingers were pressed against his neck and a heavy pressure to his back, leaving a golden light to cover his vision before a black curtain took over.
Ludger was empty. Something was missing from him.
Not the light in the room, or the freedom of his hands, but something inside of him that left a twisting dread in his stomach and a storm in his head.
Ocean eyes looked around the pitch black room, widening as he finally realized what he was missing.
Elle was missing.
"Elle!" A call for her name in vain, all while continuing to look around the room. His chromatus was gone, more than likely stolen. It was then he heard a familiar voice. Over the walls of the room near him.
"Ow! Owww!" Upon hearing a painful high wail, an emotion crawled up Ludger, swirling in his head, a bomb seconds from exploding.
Rage. White, blind seething rage.
They were hurting Elle, and he would not allow that.
Ludger's teeth clenched together, forming a growl in his throat.
"Huh? What the-!?" He was nearly deaf to those voices, standing up as his emotions broke the barrier between himself and Elle. The shackles shattered, but his anger-pressed face remained. Pain pricked his limbs as his chromatus transformed his being this time, an unnatural reaction.
"Grand Cleaver." Through his teeth, a muttered arte that broke the cell door into pieces. Ludger immediately went to the room where Elle was held, with an open door. Two masked men went to attacking him. The ones who hurt Elle. His growl released from his throat, opening into a shout as he blocked the first incoming attacks.
"Edge Crusher!"
That was not Ludger's voice. Rather, a voice he had not heard in so long, almost feared to hear as the time came along.
His brother, Julius.
Julius's attack finished the masked men, and he stood in front of his brother and the released Elle.
"You sure went far." He took in a breath. "Don't scare me again." Worry took over Julius's features for a moment, returning to a serious gaze as he held up his swords. Ludger had many questions, the most important being how in the world did Julius find us? Time didn't give him the luxury to ask. There were many more battlers who had come to protect their village from the new terror.
It was inwardly agreed that they were of little importance, and now with Julius, Ludger knew now he had to find Naruto to kill him. He bent down, picking up Elle and placing her on his shoulder. A silent nod to Julius, and the two escaped the interrogation and test building.
With the awakened divergence catalyst bouncing from their chromatuses, it wasn't difficult to find Naruto. Kept safe in the tower in the middle of Konoha.
"Get them!" A rather revealing call, leading the two chromatus bearers to face a group of battlers. Ludger's Apocalyptica proved useful, knocking them all back and leaving them weak to be finished.
It was then Ludger realized how much damage he had done to a single fractured dimension. He had defeated a number of people, but it had to be done. He couldn't let himself get attached. Once they entered the tower, the brothers noted that it might be similar to the Spirius Training Grounds, a new challenge every floor.
Always putting Elle's safety first, Ludger and Julius went to defeating the challenges that awaited them. Their first enemies were a silver haired man with a mask covering three-fourths of his face, along with a black haired man wearing a bit too much green.
"Let's be partners again, Kakashi!" The black-haired man was enthusiastic about it all. Kakashi- it was a name Ludger knew. The name Sakura had accidentally called him. Now wasn't the time to drawl over his memories. Kakashi nodded, pocketing the book he finally stopped reading.
Kakashi's visible red eye widened for a moment, returning to it's bored look right after.
"So these are the ones without chakra. And there's three instead of two." Those were the last words said before the battle started. Deciding not to waste their charge in chromatus forms, Ludger and Julius returned to their normal state, linking and jumping apart as the black haired male jumped at them.
There was something so soothing about fighting with Julius instead of being forced to fight Julius. It gave Ludger the reassurance that he needed. That someone was still on his side. Because everyone else knew he was the enemy.
Kakashi indeed had smart tactics, but in the end both him and the black haired male were left knocked out.
The next floor, two people who looked very similar. They were obviously related, one male and one female. Their eyes were white, blank like an untouched canvas. Their demeanours were fast, leaving Ludger and Julius to trap them into link artes and defeat them that way.
"Naruto…" The girl's face could only crumple in defeat, a breathless whisper.
They had finally reached their divergence catalyst. Julius stayed behind the doors, nodding to Ludger with a look that said I have a plan. Naruto looked helpless, as he had been told to stay back from Tsunade's sharp tongue. Sakura, and another man were there as well.
"We will not let you touch him!" Sakura's hands were lit with a blue fire, and she immediately charged. Ludger hardly had time to get Elle to a safe place. He was punched in the gut, the sudden impact sending him flying to the wall.
"G-Gah!" He coughed, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment: the exact moment Julius flickered into the room, running his dual blades through the first figure he saw- Sakura. He spun around, using the bloodied blades to block attacks from Tsunade and the white haired man. Ludger knew he couldn't stray. He summoned his sledgehammer, spinning a blue circle with his foot.
"Psychic Restoration!" Wiping the blood from his mouth, he returned to his dual blades. Eyes scanning the room, he Naruto sneaking around, definitely planning an attack on Julius. In a flash, he pressed his back against his brother's, blocking Naruto's leap and dismissing the blue sphere he had held.
Everyone seemed to be holding out well. The Kresnik brothers weren't sure how long they could last. Until Ludger glanced at Elle.
She gave him a spark of energy, just by eye.
"I'm going to finish this." A deep mutter, holding out his chromatus. Julius took the time Ludger stunned the others to injure them grievously.
A white fire sprouted from Ludger's chest: his Overlimit. Smoke filled the room, revealing a sight that caused the fractured dimension travelers to freeze.
Naruto had made clones of himself.
Which one was the real one?
He was running out of time.
Apocalyptica made many pop into smoke, but it was as if Naruto were a hydra; the clones kept returning. Ludger's Overlimit had to fade soon.
He couldn't fail. Not again!
"Grand Cleaver!" A strained shout. A shift in vision.
Light spears were formed, golden light and gears. The Kresnik leapt off his feet, aware that the other could not move. Spear after spear, he thrusted them into Naruto, hearing the sound of bit-back pain.
He was going to finish this.
Ludger lifted his spear, enlarged in size, and drew it back.
"Form Destroyer!" In his shout was a visible crack. The spear drove through Naruto, impact sending him lurching forward and stumbling back. Darkness faded away, leaving to show the room once more. There were no more clones. He had not failed.
It was over. Pointed fingers grabbed their spear one last time, ripping the spear from the fallen's chest.
Once the soft sound of a clock filled the room, time froze.
Tick.
Sakura gave up on healing her wounds. She felt her own vision crack like shattered glass.
Tick.
Tsunade and the white haired man were blinded. They weren't aware that their world was dead.
Tick.
No longer was the light that shone in Naruto's eyes. Though wide open, those lifeless eyes showed betrayal: a wound that could not be healed.
Crack.