A/N: Hey guys! After a while, I'm finally bringing out a brand new story into the Xillia fanfic community. Of course in order for this story to work, I had to make some adjustments. In particular, Julius and Ludger's age. I believe Alvin's age in the story did not change from the original.
In the original Xillia world, I believe Julius is eight years older than Ludger, being 28 in ToX2 while Ludger was 20. So in order for this story to work, I'm making Ludger, being only four years of difference now.
So in this chapter, Julius is 8, Alvin 7 and Ludger 4.
Anyway that's all I have to say. Let me know what you guys think about the idea of this story and how you think the story will progress :)
CHAPTER 1: A WAY OUT
The S. S. Zenethra was docked on the Elympion harbor, preparing to set sail for a cruise around the seas of Elympios. The passengers hurried on board the cruise ship, dragging their suitcases behind them. On the deck, the ship's crew was busy for the departure, making sure all equipment was functioning.
Among the many passengers, one influential family of Elympios was on board as well to enjoy the cruise. The Svent family. The Svent family possessed a number of businesses in Elympios, research institutes and even power plants that supplied energy to the world. It was no exaggeration to claim that the Svent family was truly a powerful and influential family in Elympios.
"We're really on a cruise ship!" A seven-year old Alfred Vint Svent cried while trying to contain his excitement.
"Alfred, please behave yourself." Leticia reprimanded her son.
"Leticia, let the boy go." Gregory Vint Svent, the head of the Svent family, said to his wife, "He's just so full of energy. He needs to release all that pent up excitement."
Leticia sighed, "Dear, I think you're too soft on Alfred."
Gregory simply laughed it off, obviously guilty of his wife's accusations. The couple watched their son continue to run amok around the deck of the Zenethra, laughing at the top of his lungs. Honestly, both did not know Alfred could have so much energy in such a small body. Ah, the wonders of youth.
While Gregory and Leticia were busy watching their son, a boy approached Gregory. Gregory noticed the boy and turned to face him.
"Thank you for inviting me along for the cruise, sir." The boy said humbly.
Gregory waved it off, "Julius, how many times do I have to tell you to just call me Gregory?"
Julius, son of Bisley Bakur, laughed, "I'm sorry sir… I mean, Gregory. I'm just used to it."
Gregory looked at the eight-year old Julius with a smile, "Well its fine. And you don't have to thank me for inviting you. After all, I appreciate all the times you came to babysit little Alfred and his cousin Balan for us. So this is a reward for always helping us out."
"It's nothing much, really. I'm just happy to help."
Gregory did not approve of that, "Nonsense! Leticia and I are just so busy with work, so you really helped us a lot with watching over our son and his cousin. The least I could do is offer you to join us on our cruise."
Julius nodded gratefully, "Thank you."
Gregory smiled. He really appreciated the help that the young Julius provided. Even though he was the son of the Bisley Bakur, the young lad did not let his father's reputation affect him. For the son of Spirius Corporation to babysit Alfred, Gregory had to do something in return and this cruise was it. He even used his connections to help convince Bisley to let him go.
Gregory was removed from his thoughts when he saw Alfred running back towards him and Leticia.
"Alfred, what's wrong?" Leticia asked with a worried tone. Apparently she already sensed something was wrong. A mother's instinct was scary.
Alfred pointed to his waist, "My tummy hurtssss!"
"That's why you shouldn't run around so much after eating!" Leticia chastised, "I told you, didn't I?"
Alfred groaned in pain, "I'm sorry… I won't do that again…"
Leticia sighed and held Alfred's arm, "Well come on. Let's go see the ship doctor. You're lucky Doctor Mathis is already on duty, so he can give you something for your cramps." Leticia sighed once more, "Really Alfred, I told you not to run after eating… you should have listened to me!"
Leticia walked with Alfred towards the medical bay where Doctor Mathis would be. Gregory and Julius watched the two walk away, with Alfred still complaining about his stomach pain.
Gregory chuckled softly, "Honestly… that boy can be quite a handful."
Julius silently agreed.
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Since most of the ship's crew was too busy with managing the passengers on the deck, Claudia Kresnik was able to sneak into the ship's cargo. And with her was her four-year old son, Ludger Kresnik. The only reason she snuck onboard this ship was because she got wind that some Spirius agents were looking for her. If they found out that she had a son, no doubt they would report this to Bisley. No, she would not have that. She did not want her son to be involved with the Kresnik's curse! She managed to hide Ludger's existence for four years and she was not going to let her effort go to waste now.
The cargo hall was filled with boxes of different sizes. Some were small, others large and one or two that occupied at least a few meters of space, probably a vehicle of some sorts. But what were inside these boxes meant little to Claudia. What was important was that with these many crates and boxes, they would help her remain hidden. If the Spirius agents tried searching the ship, she had many places to hide.
"Mommy… where are we going?" A confused four-year old Ludger asked Claudia.
Claudia kneels down, "Ludger… we're going to play a little game, okay? We're going to play hide-and-seek."
Ludger grew excited, "Hide-and-seek? Grandpa Marvin always plays that game with me!"
Marvin Kresnik was Claudia's father and helped to watch over Ludger and help hide Ludger's existence. And the routine of playing hide-and-seek with Ludger was an idiom to distract Ludger with this game while they hid from Spirius agents that were nearby. Now in this ship cargo, they had to play this hide-and-seek game again.
Claudia nodded, "That's right Ludger. We're going to play hide-and-seek. That's why, we have to stay hidden and be quiet, okay? Or else, they're going to find us."
Ludger nodded with enthusiasm, "Okay!"
With that, the young Ludger held onto his mother. Claudia wrapped her arms around Ludger and Ludger burrowed himself into his mother's shoulder, sniffing the enchanting smell of his mother's hair. And with the premise that this was a hide-and-seek game, the two stayed inside the cruise's cargo in silence.
To Claudia Kresnik, this ship cargo was her safe haven from the Spirius Agents. But once the ship returned to Elympios, it was back to hell.
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Several hours have passed and the S.S. Zenethra was already in open water, several miles away from Elympios harbor. Since it was just the first day, not much activity was planned. That was all reserved for the following day. For now, the passengers were leisurely enjoying the many facilities that the ship possessed while others simply basked in the sun and strolled through the deck of the ship. With excellent weather, today was a good day.
The Svent family was on the deck as well, enjoying their time together. Julius excused himself earlier, saying he had things he wanted to do on his own. Even though he was only eight-years old, a year older than Alfred, he was way too matured for his age. Gregory wondered if that was because he was the son of one of the most powerful corporations in Elympios.
"Brother, I've been looking for you." A familiar voice was heard.
Gregory turned to face Gilland, his brother, "Gilland! I almost thought you didn't make it for the cruise."
Gilland ignored his brother's warm words, "You know this trip isn't all pleasure. We have business to discuss."
Gregory rolled his eyes but Gilland was right. While this was a holiday with his family, he still had to attend a few meetings with clients regarding a business deal. Fortunately, the clients were more than happy to move the meeting to this cruise trip.
"Alright, fine. I guess it's best to get it out of the way as soon as I can." Gregory said.
Gilland narrowed his eyes, displeased, "I sometimes wonder why you're the head of the Svent family."
"Because I'm the first-born." Gregory answered with a grin, "Now before we go into another debate, let's-"
But Gregory never completed his sentence. Suddenly just above the S. S. Zenethra, a flash of light pierced through the air, sending mild shockwaves and shaking the Elympion waters, causing the ship to shake wildly. Most of the passengers lost their balance, falling down and many of the women cried out with surprise.
Gilland slowly got back up on his feet, "What on earth was that?"
Gregory rushed towards Leticia and Alfred, "Are you two okay?"
Leticia nodded, "W-We're fine. What happened? What was that light?"
Gregory shook his head, "I don't know… but whatever it is, it's headed for… the schism, isn't it?"
The schism was the invisible barrier that separated the world of Elympios to another world, a world that many assumed to be legend. Whatever it was, everyone in Elympios knew about the schism and that it was forbidden for anyone to go near it. But now, that flash of light was headed in the direction of where the schism was located.
And then, an explosion.
The flash of light made contact with an invisible force in the distance, exploding with a powerful blast that threw the surrounding water high into the air before returning downwards like a natural giant fountain. For a few seconds, nothing happened. Only the sound of the violent waves splashing against the ship's body was heard.
After that, the ship started moving again but Gregory could sense something was off. It didn't feel like the ship was moving. No, it felt like something was pulling it. And it was being pulled in the direction of where the flash of light was located.
Then, the ship's alarm started ringing.
The ship's intercom activated and the Captain of the ship spoke, "Everyone, this is your Captain speaking. This is an emergency and we require all passengers to make their way into the interior of the ship and hold on to something tightly. I repeat, we require all passengers to make their way into the interior of the ship and hold on to something."
Gregory did not hesitate and quickly grabbed Leticia's arm and Alfred, pulling them to him and quickly ran for the entrance of the ship's interior. Other passengers also hurried, some on the verge of panic as they all rushed for the safety of the ship's interior.
Inside the ship's bridge, the captain was busy giving orders to his crew to diverge the ship's course but so far, nothing was working. Even at full power, they were still being pulled towards where the flash of light disappeared. Towards where the schism was located. And the force of the pull got stronger the closer they neared the schism, the more violent the ship started to shake. No doubt the passengers must be frightened at what was happening. The ship's captain didn't blame them. He was terrified as well.
"Captain, we've lost all controls! The ship isn't responding anymore!" One of the sailors cried out.
The Captain grew silent. He tipped his hat over his head and held tightly to his seat, "Everyone… brace for impact… or whatever that is going to happen."
In front of the S. S. Zenethra, a deep, gaping tunnel was before them and the ship was being pulled into the darkness of the abyss. And after that, the ship was no longer within the world of Elympios.
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In the world of Rieze Maxia, a harsh battle was raging between the army of Rashugal and Auj Oule. A twelve-year old Erston Outway was leading the Auj Oule's vanguard, charging the frontlines with vigor. Despite Auj Oule having the edge on this battle, Erston could not help but feel something was wrong. An ominous threat looming around them.
Just a few moments ago, Erston spoke to the King about this but the King refused to listen. Instead he ordered Erston to return to the battlefield and even though Erston still felt something was amiss, he obeyed the King. That was his role.
Suddenly, the sky above Fezebel Marsh cracked and a hole split open. The S. S. Zenethra was thrown through the opening and started falling downwards. Before long, the S. S. Zenethra crashed into the ocean and due to its size and weight, it created shockwaves that threw the ocean towards Fezebel Marsh with tremendous force. It created a giant Tsunami.
Before long, the tsunami reached the shores of Fezebel Marsh, washing away the armies of both Rashugal and Auj Oule like ants. Erston Outway managed to get away because he felt something was off from the beginning. Thus, the battle of Fezebel ended with no victor, due to the tsunami.
Unknown to the inhabitants of Rieze Maxia, the cause of the Tsunami was the arrival of citizens from Elympios. However this time… Julius and Ludger Kresnik… were among the passengers.
CHAPTER END