Hey Everyone! Back with an all-new story!
A little over a month ago, the localization of Tales of Xillia II was released and, of course, being a huge Tales fan, I was on that like white on rice heh heh.
Anyway, I was absolutely broken over the endings given in the game and here, I decided to write my own "post-Xillia II" story. It's going to be a hefty one so please bear with me you guys ^^
DISCLAIMER:
-I own nothing but the plot. The characters, setting, and other elements belong to the creators of Tales of Xillia I-II.
BEFORE YOU READ:
-This WILL contain spoilers (so yeah, if you plan on playing and don't want it spoiled, please hold off on reading)
-This is another yaoi/same-sex pairing (and will contain graphic sexual material in later chapters) so if you do not like, please refrain from reading (No hate please)
-This story takes place 5 years after the events of the game, hence the age differences in characters.
-Pardon my mistakes, please and thank you ^^
I think that is about it ^^ Enjoy, you guys!
Chapter 1: A Wish Granted
Milla's POV
Ever since that memorable day in the Land of Canaan, peacetime had made its place in both Rieze Maxia and Elympios, and the spirit realm was able to coexist with the humans with little dissension. My friends and I had fulfilled our grand mission and I, along with my older sister, Muzét, were able to return to the spirit realm to rule. However, in the time we spent traveling with the humans, I, as well as Muzét, have grown accustomed to many human-like habits and when we have some downtime, I often find myself engaging in their practices such as cooking food and playing card games.
"Undine, do you happen to have a five card?" I asked the aquatic member of The Four, who, though in a sitting position, was hovering inches off the floor, along with other three and myself.
The azure spirit peered over her hidden deck. "Hmm? A five you say? Why, yes I do!" she pulled the card from her deck and magically transferred it to over to me in a sea of cyan sparkles. It was now her turn.
"Efreet, do you have any kings?" asked Undine, shooting a hard stare at the fire being, who was trying really hard to keep his—well—what the humans would call a "poker face".
The efforts of the spirit were futile and, in a fit of rage, threw his cards down before him, charring much his deck.
"Darn it, Efreet! Now we don't have a full deck!" huffed Sylph, throwing down his deck as well.
Rendering the game over, I lifted myself to my feet.
"Ah well, perhaps I'll get more cards when I return to Rieze Maxia." I suggested with a chuckle.
The Four looked at each other and then looked at me, a little puzzled.
"You know, sometimes it's hard to believe how human-like you've become." Undine noted, a comment that effectively ceased my laughter.
Suddenly, a loud rumble was heard followed by two rays of light zooming clear across the atmosphere of the spirit realm, only to disappear in a dark void a spilt second later. Was it just a couple shooting stars, or possibly a figment of my imagination? Either way, I wasn't going to let it go unnoticed.
"Lady Milla, what was that?" asked a startled Gnome.
I looked at him with a stern face.
"I don't know, but I'm going to find out. Those beams of light went into a void, surely they could be headed for Rieze Maxia or Elympios!"
The idea pained me greatly. Five years had passed since the miasma was sealed and if a threat was to be at large once again, there was no telling if I could stop it, not without him.
"I have to go to the human realm!" I proclaimed, now looking at The Four before me.
"We are coming with you, Lady Milla," insisted Undine, followed by a collective head nod from the other three spirts.
"Alright then, let us depart!"
The Four morphed into their orbs of spirit energy and absorbed themselves inside my body. As I was about to set forth, I heard a familiar call from above.
"My, whatever are you doing, little sister?"
Muzét came floating down, seemingly light as air. She passed me one of her iconic cheeky grins.
"Your timing is opportune, Muzét. I think we may have trouble."
Muzét gasped.
"Trouble? What trouble?!"
"Muzét, you were in the air at the time. Did you not hear the rumble or see those two ominous lights shoot by?!"
The floating spirit continued to smile.
"Oh those?! Oh, um, don't be silly, Milla. That wasn't anything bad, those were just umm….shooting stars!"
I was not buying it and my patience was wearing away rather quickly.
"Muzét that was something unlike anything I have ever seen before! I'm going to the human realm to investigate. Are you coming?!"
"Milla, please, I assure you, nothing is wrong…"
It was evident that the older spirit was hiding something, but I did not know what. The whole confrontation was growing rather frustrating and whether she was coming with me or not, I was going to Rieze Maxia and Elympios.
"Muzét, I do not have time for you to play coy. Are you coming with me or not?" I barked rather impatiently.
The floating one bowed slightly with heavy eyes, as if the motion had strained her.
"Y-Yes…I'll be along. Let's go." She replied in soft grimacing voice.
And with that, we we're off. The first place we were to inspect was Rieze Maxia. Muzét pulled a dagger from her body and quickly slashed at the air. Within that instant, an ominous void of blue and black appeared before us, just like the ones we had seen in our past excursions.
"This will take us to the Temporal Crossroads and on the other side, we will reach the Nia Khera Hallowmont." The elder spirit spoke.
I nodded and proceeded to enter, no telling what awaited us around the corner.
Alvin's POV
The glass half empty and mind evidently full, I watched as the kid as he stirred his cocktail, completely uninterested with what should have been such a glorious night. Jude Mathis, the goodie-two-shoes honor student I met when he was just a meek teenager in Fennmont about six years ago, had reached the tender age of ultimate freedom—the big 2-1! To celebrate the occasion, I booked the Film Noir Bar in Duval for him and his spyrite research buddies, y'know, to take a load off after several hard years of research. Everyone, including my nutty cousin, Balen, took a moment to enjoy the taste of some of Noir's finest foods and delicious beverages. Everyone was having a good time—everyone except Jude. He stared down at his lap, clutching his GHS firmly in his right hand.
"Jude…?" I looked at him with concerned eyes.
He shot a stare at me, not of aggression or hostility, but of absolute sadness. He put his hand on the table, exposing his opened GHS, showing a screensaver depicting him with the man who will never be forgotten; the man who saved us all—Ludger Kresnik. I sighed sadly as Jude continued to stare at his phone.
"Has it really been five years…?" he spoke up, his voice breaking being words.
I slumped back in the booth, turning my head from Jude, sighing with the ultimate feeling of loss aching in my chest. I wasn't really good with words and managed to push out a low grunt, agreeing with him.
"Alvin, you know sometimes, I still hear it. It rings in my head like a virus. No matter what, I can't shake the pain I feel."
I looked at the dark-haired boy, very confused. He hung his head, now loosely gripping his GHS as he set his numbing limb gently on the table.
"What do you mean, Jude? What is ringing in your head?"
Suddenly, the bar seemed to go dark, all except for the booth in which I and the scientist were sitting, the sole light in the space being the orange tinted table lamp, creating a tense yet trusting aura around Jude and me. The boy continued to hang his head. I couldn't see his face as his long spiked hair somewhat obstructed it. Suddenly a low hum could be heard coming from him—a hum of familiarity to me, to him and the rest of our friends, living and deceased alike.
-Hmmmm hm hm hmmmm hm hmmmmmmmm-
"Jude….?"
Jude continued to hum "The Hymn of Proof" the best he could, it was evident it was hard for him to do it, as he was choking up the entire way through, tears crashing into his unseen lap. As he concluded the melody, he looked up at me with dark, bloodshot eyes.
"I think I'm going to go for a walk, Alvin…" he said, trying to force a smile on his face as he looked upon my heavy eyes looking back at him.
"Would you like some company?" I offered, pulling out my checkbook to pay for our share of the drinks.
"No…I would very much like to just go by myself…please?"
I slipped my funds back into my inner coat pocket and rested my arms deeply on the table.
"Of all of us, you are really taking his death hard." I forced out, "no offense, but honestly it seems like Elle is getting along a bit better than you are. You are such a mess and I feel terrible that I can't do anything about it."
A frown immediately formed of his face.
"The time we were with him, I felt like we really got to know each other very well. He was one of the first people I met traveling here alone. He was kind to me, and was always there to help me out when I was starting to doubt myself."
I hung my head upon hearing the raven-haired boy's tone. I never Ludger had that big of an impact on him. It really must have been a true friendship.
"I-I'm sorry. I didn't know he had such a big impact on you," I stammered.
"It's alright, Alvin. It's my fault…"
The boy got up from the table and placed some gald down on top of it.
"Will this cover it?" he asked me, his eyes still plenty red.
"Kid, don't worry," I smiled, "the drinks have already been paid for."
"Well then, consider this as payment for buying me drinks."
He slid the currency over to me and turned to leave Film Noir. His hands plunged deep into his lab coat pockets, he made his way out without a word.
"Jude…"
Jude's POV
The rain came down hard on Duval that early Sunday morning. I stood outside the bar for a mere few minutes, pondering where I should go next. I was tired, heartbroken and slightly intoxicated from the late-night rendezvous at Film Noir. Though it was a really kind of Alvin to do that for me, drinking was never really my thing, even if I AM legal now. There was one place I wanted to be….but knowing he wouldn't be there stopped me from ever going near that place. The pain was rushing through me indefinitely and I really wanted to get out of town. Since it was almost 1am, the streets were in complete lack of light aside from the bright crescent moon looming above me. The trains were inconveniently closed for the night, leaving me with the sole option of getting to Trigelph via the Alest Highroad.
I walked up the muddy road with difficulty, as the rain continued to pour and there was no light on the highroad either. Luckily for me, there were no monsters about so it made my journey a tad bit safer, albeit still relatively difficult.
"Great, just great! This is a great way to spend my birthday." I thought to myself as I made my way up the muddy path.
It wasn't long before I made my way to the intersection in the Trigelph Residential District. Here there were a few dimmed lights to aid me slightly as I breathed a sigh of relief of finally having made it to the main city safely.
"Whew, that was some trip," I said to myself as I began to look around.
My luck had ran out a moment after. Soon the remainder of the lights in the area started to extinguish and the moon, still glowing ahead of me, shone on me like an arched spotlight. I turned my head up to the street signs before me, and let out another sigh, this one of slight sadness and reminiscence.
~Flashback~
"You were the one who said you wanted to cover this event, Leia. Balan had to call in some favors just to get you a ticket…..Me?! I can't write the article for you! Besides, I don't even know which train they are using for the ceremony."
-Dial tone-
"Great. She hung up on me. Now what am I supposed to do?
"Want me to show you? I'm going to the station."
"Well, yeah sure. If you don't' mind. Thanks a lot…You're a lifesaver. My friend just left me in the lurch."
~End Flashback~
I looked at my GHS again, shielding it from the now-drizzling rain. I stared teary eyed at the photograph of me with my late best friend.
"This is where it all began…"
I looked up at the sky again, the clouds that surrounded the moon started to dissipate and I was able to see the stars again. The rain was lightening up more and more, giving me a reason to smile for a moment. The stars, as I had never seen them before, seemed brighter, more vibrant, and were rocketing every which-way, like the spirits were playing a game of dodgeball with the endless sea of sky diamonds and, for some reason, gave me a newfound feeling of hope. Then, I remembered. I remembered the wishing method Celsius taught me years ago.
"People used to say that if you wished upon a shooting star before it vanished, your wish would come true." she told me.
I clutched my opened cellular device and held it close to my chest as I walked over to the playground just outside of Balen and Ludger's buildings. It was time to test this "superstition".
"I don't often wish on stars, but tonight, I must humbly request one." I called to the cosmos, "For five years, I've lived with the pain of losing someone so dear to me. I humbly ask…please…please return Ludger Will Kresnik to this world. We need him…I need him. Such a good man did not deserve to go so fast. I'll give anything to have him back…"
I sat there quietly, tears rolling down my cheeks as I stared at the unchanging skyway. I fell to my knees, letting my GHS slip from my unfeeling hands.
"L-Ludger…."
Suddenly a burst of light erupted in the sky light an ominous firework. The bright sphere started to twist and contort until ultimately spitting out two beams of light, one after the other, before disappearing. I watched in horror as the light rays came hurdling in my direction. What were they? Comets? Meteors? Some sort of astrological spirits, perhaps? I was unsure and the velocity of their approach made me grow more and more uneasy. Now flat on my butt, I crawled backwards extremely freaked out at this point. But, to my surprise, the lights were not headed towards me but instead, corkscrewed over towards the uppermost floor of Ludger and Julius' apartment building, completely dissolving as it made contract with the structure. After a moment of silence, a blinding yellow light shined bright about the complex and beyond, forcing me to shield my face briefly before the place returned to the tranquil darkness it was ten minutes prior.
"What in the hell was that?"
I picked my phone up off the damp pavement and dashed into the apartment buildings. Despite it being almost 2am, the lights in the hallways burned brightly. I hurried to the elevator, my tennis shoes squeaking, leaving muddy footprints as I treaded. I made my up to the Kresniks' home which, to my surprise, was completely immaculate, as it had been since before we left for Canaan. There no sign of disturbance or life in the place. A little disappointed, I turned to leave but before I took another step, I heard a low, pained moaning from the younger Kresnik's former room. Something—or SOMEONE was in the house and I was determined to find out what. I crept up to the room, anxiety rushing through me I forced my way there. I opened the door slowly and peered in—
-GASP-
Author's POV
The quiet manor in Sherilton was warm and inviting. The third hour was upon them and the residents fast asleep. Driselle, Lady of the house and city after the passing of her beloved brother, Cline, slept soundly in the master suite the first floor. However Elize, now a young woman of 18, laid in her own suite in the east wing of the establishment. All was quiet until—
"Elize…Elize?!" called a high-pitched voice, who entered the bedroom quietly.
The teen made her way to the bed and shook the unconscious body vigorously.
"Elize, please wake up! It's important!"
The young adult moaned a little before turning to face the girl, rubbing her eyes as forced herself awake at this unsightly hour.
"Elle, what is the matter?!" she squinted, trying to read the grandfather clock on the other side of the room, "it's three in the morning!"
"I wouldn't come barging in if it wasn't important...look."
The strawberry blonde reached into the top of her nightdress and reveal the pocket watch Ludger gave her prior to his death. She looked at the older girl in horror.
"That's the pocket watch Ludger gave you," Elize said, tilting her head, "what about it?"
Elle shook it, growing impatient with the elder girl for not noticing the obvious change in the timepiece.
"Don't you hear it….?"
"Yeah, it's ticking…?"
There was a moment's silence between the two girls and then, the light bulb went off in Elize's head.
"ELLE, IT'S TICKING!"
"Yes, I know! Do you know what this means?"
"Ludger…Ludger's alive?"
"LUDGER'S ALIVE, ELIZE! LUDGER IS ALIVVE!"
Trivial Notes:
-The flashback Jude has between him and Ludger derives directly from the game as cutscene when Ludger first meet Jude.
-The quote from Celsius also derives from the game featured in a side quest featuring the spirit.