Eragonfanatic92: Hey everyone, this is (obviously) a new fic. It's a collab between Lunardragon2607 and myself. We'll be switching off between even and odd chapters. By the way, I like to go by Mieu.
Lunardragon2607: Hi everyone! I'm Lunar! Well, I had this random idea and I shared it with Mieu so we decided to make a collab fic. Now what? Oh! Pairings that will be in this fic! Mieu, get the paper.
Mieu: Uh…one minute…/starts searching through random pockets/ Uh…maybe two.
Lunar: Um…I'll say the disclaimer while you look then.
Eragonfanatic92 and Lunardragon2607 do not own Tales of Symphonia or Tales of Vesperia. If we did, we'd be filthy stinking rich.
Mieu: I can't find it!!
Once upon a time there existed a giant tree that was the source of mana.
A war however, caused this tree to wither away, and a hero's life was sacrificed in order to take its place.
Grieving over the loss, the Goddess disappeared unto the heavens.
The goddess left the angels with this edict: "You must wake me, for if I should sleep, the world shall be destroyed."
The angels bore The Chosen One who headed towards the Tower that reached up unto the heavens.
And that marked the beginning of the Regeneration of the world.
A boy stood in the back of a classroom holding two buckets full of water. He appeared to have nodded off near the beginning of the lecture, even with buckets in both hands. A short brown haired girl garbed in red stood in the front of the classroom, lecturing the students about Alexei, the Hero of the Kharlan War.
"Lloyd. Lloyd Irving, wake up!" a female teenage voice called.
Suddenly a chain looped over some exposed scaffolding and then wrapped around the boy's waist and he was hoisted up off the ground. Suddenly wide awake, the buckets fell to the ground with a splash, followed by a thunk.
"Professor Mordio! What are you doing!" He yelled, scrabbling around and swinging back and forth like a pendulum.
A boy with a large bag sitting in his desk a few rows ahead sighed.
"Rita, put Lloyd down," the boy asked.
"Why should I?" Rita demanded. "He was sleeping during my class again!"
She kept her hold on the whip as Lloyd hung absolutely helpless. The younger brother thought quickly on his feet, saying, "Then you won't finish the lecture in time!" Rita instantly released Lloyd, while he fell to the ground with an 'Oomf' before saying, "Then Karol, you answer the question," as she strolled back to the front of the room.
Karol stood up and replied, "Fine Rita. Alexei the Hero ended the Ancient War in the Holy Ground of Kharlan."
Rita crossed her arms and nodded.
"Yeah, that's right. After that, Alexei formed a pact with the Goddess Katherine, also known as Goddess Casey. He journeyed to seal away all members of the Blood Alliance, who caused the war," she said.
Lloyd crawled to his feet, slightly winded. "But the Blood Alliance came back, and are now causing everyone to suffer!" he yelled.
Rita sighed, before randomly picking up a book and twirling it in her hands.
"We already went over that in class a couple of days ago, remember?" Rita asked. "When the Seal weakens, the Blood Alliance breaks free and come back, just like they are now."
Lloyd sheepishly put a hand behind his head.
"I…I knew that. I…I just forgot," he stuttered.
Rita sighed before putting down her book.
"Today is the Day of Prophecy. It's a very important day. The Chosen of Mana will receive an Oracle from the Goddess. Now Chosen One…Estelle," Rita called out.
A girl with short bubble gum pink hair discretely shut a book and hid it under her desk. She was garbed in white.
"Yes ma'am. What is it?" she asked while standing up.
"Tell us about the journey of World Regeneration," Rita requested.
"It is a journey to seal the Blood Alliance. Upon passing the trials of the Goddess Katherine, the Summon Spirits that protect the world awaken, and the mana is restored," Estelle informed the class and Rita nodded in agreement.
"Correct. I suppose we should expect the Chosen herself to know the answer to that one," Rita smirked. "Mana depletion is the cause of the current food shortages and droughts. It is said that this occurs because Blood Alliance consume vast amounts of mana in their Human Ranches. The Chosen's Journey has two missions – to revive mana as well as defeat the Blood Alliance. Now, for the next question - "
Rita was cut off as a bright light flashed and filled the classroom.
Lloyd shielded his eyes, and gasped, "What was that?"
Estelle covered her eyes as well. "That's…" she started to say.
"Everyone calm down," Rita ordered. "It looks like that's the Oracle. I'll go exa- I mean check the chapel. Everyone, stay here and study on your own. And you better do it or I'll fry you!" She called as she ran out of the classroom.
"Professor, wait! I'll go with you!" Estelle said, as she stood up and stumbled over to the classroom door.
"No Estelle. If it's the Oracle, the priests will come and get you. Wait here with everyone, and don't leave this classroom," Rita told Estelle.
Estelle nodded, slightly disappointed.
"Yes ma'am," she replied and begrudgingly returned to her seat and sat down.
It wasn't long before Lloyd got bored and decided to leave the classroom.
"Lloyd! Where are you going? Don't tell me you're sneaking out! Rita will hang you by the neck and blast you with Fire Ball if you don't listen to her!" Karol protested. Lloyd sighed as he said, "Relax. They always talk about the Chosen of Regeneration and the Day of Prophecy, but no one tells us what really happens."
Karol's knees started shaking.
"But my sister said to stay and study by ourselves!" he argued.
"It's research." Lloyd simply said.
"That's just an excuse! What happens if you get attacked by monsters?" Karol asked.
"So? That doesn't matter. All I've got to do is beat them. You're coming too, right? Estelle, want to come also?" Lloyd asked his friends.
Estelle shut the book that she was reading and looked up.
"…Huh?" she asked.
Lloyd shook his head in amusement.
"You love books too much. Come on."
Estelle walked over and asked, "What are we doing?"
Lloyd shook his head as he answered, "What else? We're going to where the light came from! You're involved in all of this, aren't you a bit curious about what's going on?"
"Hmm…Are you curious about it?" Estelle asked.
"Of course!" Lloyd replied, a big grin plastered on his face.
"Okay, then I will be too!" Lloyd looked over to Karol and gave him a big smirk. "See? Dwarven Vow #4: Don't depend on others. Walk on your own two legs. Okay then! Let's head on over to the chapel!" Lloyd proclaimed as he and Estelle walked out of the schoolhouse.
Karol groaned in disapproval before grabbing his bag and following Lloyd out the door.
The three of them walked side by side, until they reached the front of the school. "Hey, where is everyone?" Karol asked, looking around nervously.
Just then, a blonde man approached them, a grim look on his face.
"Father!" Estelle called out.
"Frank!" Lloyd waved.
"Estelle! Thank goodness you're safe." Frank gasped in relief.
Karol glanced at Frank before looking around some more.
"What happened to everyone?" he asked.
"They're all hiding. The Blood Alliance invaded the village a short while ago. Thankfully, no one was hurt. They passed through the village and headed for the Chapel," Frank informed them.
Karol nervously put a hand on his bag.
"Why?! Iselia has a non-aggression treaty with the Blood Alliance! They're not suppose to come here as long as we leave the ranch alone!" he shouted.
Estelle nodded to Karol's words and added, "Yes, Grandmother said it is to protect me… Oh! Where is Grandmother?"
Frank shook his head.
"Phaidra is in the chapel preparing for the ritual," he said, a tone of regret in his voice.
Lloyd suddenly appeared alert and worried.
"Phaidra's in the chapel? But that's where the Blood Alliance…" he gasped. Frank held his hands up in a calming gesture.
"The priests are there with her. There's no need to worry," he said, even though his tone said otherwise. "Now Estelle…"
The pink haired girl's head bobbed up and down.
"I know. I promise to fulfill my duty as the Chosen One," she said.
Frank nodded solemnly. "Good luck, Estelle. Lloyd, Karol, you two should go on home. It's much too dangerous with the Blood Alliance running around," he asked of them.
Lloyd firmly stood his ground, slightly ticked at Frank's words.
"I'm worried about letting Estelle go by herself. She could get hurt. I'm going with her," he announced.
"Uhh…I think I'll be going home. Y'know, so I can make sure they didn't take anything from my house…" Karol muttered, attempting to walk away.
Before Karol could escape, Lloyd grabbed the back of his shirt.
"Don't be chicken, come on!" he said.
Karol sagged in defeat and reluctantly agreed.
Frank had a worried look in his eyes.
"But…All right. Please be careful. Thank you. I'll wait at the house. Come back immediately if anything happens," he ordered them.
"All right. To the chapel!" Lloyd shouted as he pumped a fist in the air.
He ran for the village exit, but stopped dead in his tracks when a zombie approached him.
"Whoa, it's a monster!" he exclaimed, very surprised.
"M-monster? I thought monsters in this area only were in the Iselia Forest! Besides, monsters shouldn't be near sanctuaries. Why would they be over here?" Karol stuttered as he cowered behind Lloyd.
The zombie stumbled around appearing drunk.
"Perhaps this is part of the trial. Katherine's trial involves battling monsters. I remember reading about it in a book," Estelle said.
It took notice of the three children and held its arms out towards them, while stumbling forward.
"We don't have time to talk! Let's get this thing!" Lloyd said, yanking his swords out of their sheaths.
He started out with three quick swipes before Karol came in from the side and pulled out a sword that appeared to be twice his size. He swung around many times, almost loosing control and hitting Lloyd. Lloyd awkwardly blocked an attack from the Zombie before slashing at it some more. It nearly scratched his face, but he leaned back at the last second to evade it. "Whoa!" Estelle came from behind the zombie and dropped a red squeaky hammer, yelling "Pow Hammer!" as she did so. The monster wavered in his spot and dropped down dead.
"Quick, let's go before any more monsters come!" Lloyd yelled, sheathing both swords and dashing out of the city followed closely by Karol and Estelle.
After walking at a brisk pace for half an hour, they were approached by two rabbits and a wolf. Lloyd and Estelle attacked the wolf at the same time with a shockwave of energy.
"Demon Fang!" Lloyd called as he swiped his blade across the ground.
"Star Stroke!" Estelle proclaimed as she slammed her blade onto the ground as well, following Lloyd's example.
Both shockwaves hit the wolf head on, killing it. They both proceeded to attack at the same time, while Karol spun in circles, crying out "Punishing Smash!", hitting both hares. The monsters were quickly taken care of as they approached the chapel.
As they got closer to the temple, Karol took the opportunity to ask Estelle a question.
"Estelle, why do you call Star Stroke 'Star Stroke' when it's pretty much identical to Lloyd's 'Demon Fang'?" he asked.
"Yeah, that was bugging me too," Lloyd added.
"Star Stroke sounds so much nicer than 'Demon Fang'! Demon Fang makes me think of evil creatures' teeth! Star Stroke sounds much more sophisticated than Demon Fang. In fact, you should probably call your attack Star Stroke!" Estelle answered.
"Uh...No...I'm good..." Lloyd responded. The two boys sweatdropped before quickening their pace to get to the temple.
"Whoa, that light really is coming from the temple!" Lloyd said, shielding his eyes from the intense light coming from the Katherine Temple.
"Then an oracle is going to be conveyed. Estelle's going to be the Chosen of Regeneration," Karol said.
Karol and Lloyd both glanced at Estelle.
"It's really bright! I wonder how they did that? Perhaps one of Professor Rita's books can tell me," she said.
The boys sighed and sweatdropped.
"Say, Estelle…when the oracle is conveyed, you'll become the Chosen who will save the world, right? You're going to be like the hero Alexei! So maybe you should act a little more…you know, Chosen – like…" Lloyd told her.
Estelle perked up.
"Yeah! No problem. No problem." Estelle chirped.
"H-hey, there's a lot of commotion coming from up there," Karol noticed.
Attacks could be distinctively heard, even from the bottom of the staircase. "You're right!" Lloyd gasped.
"Chosen One!" a priest yelled from up the stairs.
He was holding his stomach, and there was fresh blood flowing from a cut in his robe. He stumbled down the steps before tripping on the last few, landing on his back. "Pastor!" Estelle cried as she ran to him.
"Hey, are you alright?" Lloyd said at the same time.
"The Blood Alliance broke the non – aggression treaty and attacked the temple…Chosen One…quickly…the oracle…" he choked out.
"I know." Estelle said with determination.
Karol's eyes started watering at the sad sight.
"Please… be careful… I regret that I will not … be able to pro…tect… the… Cho…sen," he said with his dying breath.
"Pastor, hang on!" Estelle cried, holding her hands out, desperately using her healing artes to save him.
Lloyd somberly shook his head as he checked for a pulse.
"It's no good. He's…gone," he grimly reported.
"No!" Karol cried before sobbing into his hands.
Estelle wiped away some tears before standing.
"…I'm going." she announced, trying to stop the tears.
"Estelle, wait! It's dangerous to go by yourself!" Karol choked out.
"Yes…but I have to go. I'm the Chosen." Estelle said quietly. "It's my duty to accept the Oracle. Both of you wait here, okay?"
Karol's mouth was agape in disbelief.
"Lloyd, are you going to let Estelle go by herself!? There are Blood Alliance members up there!" he pleaded, not wanting Estelle to walk to her death.
Lloyd held up a fist.
"I'm going too. I can't let you go by yourself," he said.
Estelle turned around, saying, "Are you sure?"
Lloyd nodded and said, "Dwarven Vow #1: Let's work together for a peaceful world. I'm coming with you and I won't take no for an answer."
"I… I'm coming too! I'm worried about Rita! She may be tough, but anything could happen!" Karol added.
"O…Okay…" Estelle stuttered.
They ran up the stairs together, only to be stopping when they saw a skinny man, midget, and a man who held himself with dignity were speaking to Phaidra.
"I say, where is the Chosen?" The tall skinny man asked in a raspy voice.
The older woman backed up, not saying anything. She then noticed Estelle, Karol, and Lloyd.
"Run, Estelle!" she said.
"Lieutenant Leblanc, there she is!" the shortest of the bodyguards proclaimed.
"I say, Chosen, your life is mine!" the tall man sneered.
Lloyd growled at his opponents and unsheathed one of his swords. "I won't let you Blood Alliance get away with anything!"
The man who had yet to talk laughed. "Blood Alliance? …Hahaha!"
Karol had a puzzled look on his face. "What's so funny?" The ignored him.
"Well then, die at the hands of the Blood Alliance you so hate. Adecor, Boccus. Eliminate them," Leblanc ordered.
Both of Leblanc's subordinates then ran forward at the same time.
"I'll take care of this." Boccus, the midget, proclaimed while running forward, his spear aimed at Lloyd.
"I say, I will take care of this." Adecor, the tall man, replied as he past his ally, his sword aimed at Lloyd as well.
An argument soon ensued, and the three friends glanced at each other. Lloyd and Karol took this opportunity to smash in both of their faces and knock them unconscious. The lieutenant groaned in disapproval.
"Vidarr, get out here!" Leblanc ordered.
A large man with too many weapons started thumping out of the chapel.
A faint "Hey! Get back here!" could be heard from inside, but was barely noticeable over the clanking Vidarr made. The gorilla of a man named Vidarr swung his mace around his head, stating, "Do not get in our way." He slammed his war hammer into the ground a couple of times, effectively knocking the kids over.
"This guy's strong!" Karol stammered, shaking a bit, his trembling hands barely holding his weapon.
Estelle was simply too scared to say a word.
"Man, this guy is really tough!" Lloyd groaned.
He watched as the oversized monkey swung his mace menacingly, before squeezing his eyes shut as the ball approached him. The professor's chain is nothing compared to this.
Mieu: Found it! …The chapter's over already? Lunar? Where'd you go? Helllooooo?? Fine then. Anyway, we have a general idea on what the pairings are going to be, but the reviewers can vote too! Lunar doesn't want any Yaoi pairings though. So far this is what we've come up with:
FlynnxEstelle
YurixJudith
KarolxNan
Yes, it's very short. These can be changed at anytime, so if anyone wants to propose some pairings, go right on ahead!
Review and get Lloyd and Estelle shaped cookies!