I've read the Tales of Destiny and Tales of Destiny Director's Cut manga, as wel as seen subbed gameplay and skits for DC. I've never played the game, though, but I've got the personalities down. For this story, Chaltier shares artes with Leon.
Leon grunted as he managed to pull the lever down, the emergancy lift in the Libra IV slowly rising. He turned to see that Stahn had run up to the edge of the lift, a look of desperation on the his face.
"Leon! LEON!" the blonde shouted before he was lifted out of sight. Water began flooding into the mine, flowing over towards Leon and swirling around his ankles.
"At this rate, I'll drown," the raven-haired teen murmured, going down on one knee. He grabbed the hilt of Chaltier, pulling the Swordian out and staring at the Core Crystal. "I'm sorry you have to come with me, Chal."
The Core Crystal on Chaltier's hilt glowed yellow as the sword spoke. "I will follow you wherever. You are my young master."
Leon let a small smile grace his lips as he turned himself around, sitting back against the wall. "This... this should be good enough. Right, Marian...?" he said, closing his violet eyes as the mine rumbled violently, the ceiling caving in as water poured down, enveloping Leon and Chaltier.
"...ster..."
Leon groaned as he felt himself being shaken roughly. The voice he heard sounded faint, yet insistant.
"Young Master, please wake up!"
This time the voice was much louder, almost right in his ear. Leon slowly cracked open his eyes before shutting them quickly as light blinded him.
"Young Master!"
"Chal...?" Leon muttered, dully recognizing the voice that had been calling out to him. He once again opened his eyes, sitting up slowly and rubbing his head. He saw multiple buildings around him, all in a style he'd never seen before. To his right was a towering white wall. He turned his head in the direction of where he had heard his Swordian's voice. That's when he noticed something was off.
In front of him was Chaltier in human form. Leon normally saw from time to time the transparent spirits of the Swordians next to their masters; Dymlos' blue hair standing out the most, constantly berating Stahn, Atwight looking like a ghost with her pure white clothing, fawning over Dymlos and scolding Rutee for being overly greedy, and the old man Clemente sexually harrassing poor Phillia 24/7. But this time Chaltier wasn't transparent. Leon couldn't see the walkways through Chaltier's light blue overcoat. The young man was full-blooded now, his sky-blue eyes glittering with relief as he gave a sigh, a few locks of his dove-gray hair falling into his eyes as he lowered his head a bit. Leon glanced down at his waist, seeing his sword gone. He gasped when Chaltier suddenly embraced him, squeezing him tight.
"I'm so glad you're awake, Young Master!" the young man exclaimed with glee. Leon struggled a bit in the hug, the original Swordian Master being too far into Leon's personal space for the swordsman's liking.
"Chal, I can't breathe!" Leon gasped out. A look of surprise flashed over Chaltier's face and he backed off.
"I'm sorry, Young Master! I was just so happy to see you're alive," Chaltier explained. Leon sighed, running one hand through his raven hair.
"What the hell is going on here? Why are you alive?"
Chaltier's eyes widened and he looked all over himself, not realizing this fact until now. "What in the world? How...?"
Leon closed his eyes, trying to conjure up what had happened before he was woken up. It was a bit foggy, but the memory of the events that transpired in the Libra IV came back to him. He was fighting Stahn and the others and ended up losing. Then the mines began flooding with water as the party rushed to the emergancy elevator Leon had pointed out, the teen heading for the lever and Stahn insisting he get on. He remembered telling Rutee the truth; that she and Leon were in fact brother and sister. He remembered the look of horror and despair crossing her face. He remembered pulling the lever, the water reaching Leon as the lift took the others out of sight. And he remembered saying farewell to Chaltier before the ceiling caved in, the area he was in soon full of water.
"...Are we even still alive?" Leon murmured. Chaltier's gaze fell to the ground.
"Come to think of it, we should have died in the Libra IV."
"I think we did," Leon replied, glancing over at his friend. "We last remember the Libra IV flooding with us in it, we wake up to find ourselves in some strange place, and you're not a sword anymore."
"So...you're saying this is the afterlife?" Chaltier murmured.
"Well, I can tell this isn't hell, though that's where I should be for everything I've done," Leon said, a sad smile on his face. Chaltier grabbed Leon's shoulders, turning the teen so that he was facing the young man, Leon's violet eyes widening in surprise.
"You didn't have a choice, Young Master," Chaltier told Leon sternly. Leon was taken aback. Chaltier was meek in nature, and this was the first time he's seen the dove-haired man talk to him this way. "Hugo forced you to do all those things by threatening Marian's life! I know you wouldn't steal the Eye of God, or try to kill Stahn and the others if you could help it! You proved that by helping them escape the Libra IV!"
"Chal..." Leon whispered, unsure of how to respond.
Chaltier's gaze softened. "Just remember what I said, Young Master; I'll follow you anywhere."
"I can't believe you're still willing to come with me after all I put you through..." Leon sighed, shaking his head.
Chaltier released Leon's shoulders, standing up. "You've had it the worst, Young Master." He held out a gloved hand. "Here."
Leon whispered a thanks, taking the young man's hand and letting him help the teen to his feet. He looked around a bit. "I wonder if Marian's here somewhere, too."
Chaltier's eyes narrowed sadly. "I'm not sure, Young Master. But I'm certain Stahn, Rutee and everyone else will be able to save her."
Leon gave a dark chuckle. "That hick Stahn is a complete and utter dumbass, and Rutee's no different. But even so, I've got a feeling they'll be able to stop Hugo."
"You really trust them, don't you? They are good friends. The other Swordians chose their masters wisely."
Leon snapped his head to face the dove-haired man, about to berate him for implying something as ridiculous as the teen recognizing the others as friends, but sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right, Chal. So what do we do now?"
"I don't know myself," Chaltier admitted. Leon turned and stated walking, Chaltier's eyes widening in surprise as he rushed to join the swordsman.
"Marian may be here. If so, I'm going to find her," the teen explained.
"B-but, she could still be alive, Young Master!" Chaltier protested.
"Hugo's ruthless. He might have killed her after we died," Leon muttered, violet eyes downcast. He stopped, standing still for a few moments, Chaltier staring at him in confusion.
"What is it?"
"I wonder what Marian thinks of me now..." Leon said in a barely audible voice. "I wonder if she hates me after everything that's happened..."
"You looked up to her as a mother, so I can see why you're worried. But Marian was alway concerned for your wellbeing. I'm certain she still cares about you," Chaltier said. "Just remember that no matter what happens, I'll always be at your side."
Leon gazed at the dove-haired man, a smile gracing his lips. "Thank you, Chal. For everything."
A few days passed, Leon and Chaltier asking anyone they encountered about Marian. However, none knew anything. Through this, they learned that they were in a place called the Soul Society and were currently in the 3rd district of the west Rukon. However, hunger caught up to both of them. There weren't very many places to get food, and even then neither had the money to pay for any.
"D-dammit...!" Leon growled, his stomach letting out another rumble. "I don't have much strength left..."
"Do you think...it's possible we could die again?" Chaltier asked, stumbling a bit. "I mean, we've already died once."
"I...I don't know..." Leon murmured. He took a step, but his legs buckled beneath him, the teen falling forward to the ground.
"Young Master!" Chaltier exclaimed, crouching down and taking one of the swordsman's arm, wrapping it behind his neck and used his free arm to wrap it aroung Leon's waist, hoisting the knight up.
"I'm sorry, Chal...I don't have any strength left..." Leon whispered, his eyelids drooping.
"Young Master, please stay awake! I'll find us some food soon!" the young man replied in a panic.
"Chal...stop trying to act tough...I know that you're...just about out of energy too," Leon said. It was true. Despite Leon being light for his age, Chaltier was finding it difficult to carry his friend with his current level of strength. He knew he's never felt hunger, being a sword for over 1,000 years. But the Swordian's each contained a piece of their original masters' souls, giving each sword the memories and personalities of their respective masters. Thus, the feeling felt familiar.
Chaltier took a few steps, stumbling a bit and jarring Leon awake. The teen's gaze traveled up to meet Chaltier's sky-blue eyes. "Chal...that's enough...you don't have enough strength left...Just leave me...and preserve your own life..."
"I can't leave you behind, Young Master..." Chaltier panted, wincing as a strong hunger pang sliced through him, causing him to fall to one knee, groaning. He collapsed, his face meeting the ground and Leon falling off him. The man grit his teeth, trying to force his body to stand up again. But all his strength was gone, his entire body feeling weak. Just as he was starting to lose hope of survival, a feminine voice sounded.
"Hey, you two! Hang in there!"
Chaltier lifted his gaze slightly as a loaf of bread was offered to him. The one holding the bread was a girl with short black hair and wearing a black shihakusho.
"Give...it to him..." Chaliter groaned, motioning over to where Leon lay. The girl nodded, going over to the teen and gently shaking him awake. She offered him the bread and he took it more than willingly, finishing it in no time and weakly sitting up. The girl went back to Chalter, taking out another loaf and handing it to him. The man ate it, feeling his strength starting to return as he sat up.
"So you two have spiritual powers, huh?" the girl asked. The two boys stared at her in confusion.
"Spiritual power?" Leon echoed. The girl nodded.
"It's why you guys became hungry. Normal souls never need to eat, but those with high spiritual powers do. I have more food, too, so help yourselves." The girl took out a few more pieces of food, the two eating up gratefully.
"Thank you so much," Chaltier said.
"Don't worry about it. By the way, I'm Rukia Kuchiki from Squad 13. What are your names?"
"I'm Leon Magnus."
"Pierre de Chaltier, but I normally go by Chaltier."
"I see," Rukia said. "You know, if you two enter the Soul Reaper Academy and are able to become Soul Reapers, you'd be able to by food yourselves."
"Where is it?" Chaltier asked.
"In the Seireitei, which the Rukongai surrounds. I can get you two in so you can apply. You're just in time, too; enrollment will start soon."
"I have a question, Rukia," Leon said. "What brings you here?"
"I was going to where I had trained with my old lieutenant," Rukia replied. "He- -"
She was cut off when a loud howl sounded, Rukia's eyes widening, turning to face the hills ahead.
"What the hell was that?!" Leon exclaimed, getting to his feet, Chaltier doing the same.
"A hollow!" Rukia exclaimed. She faced the two. "Stay here. I'll be right back!"
As she took off, Chaltier faced Leon. "Shouldn't we help her?"
"How?! We don't have any swords!" Leon retorted.
"But we have to do something!" the man insisted, taking off after Rukia.
"Chal, wait! ...Damn him! How can we help?!" Leon growled, hurrying after Chaltier.
The two finally made it to where Rukia was. Two monsters were there, as well as a few dead bodies. Both of them wore a white mask over their faces. One stood up on two legs, four large arms succeeding in blocking Rukia's attacks. The other had the appearance of a centipede, large spines running down it's back.
Chaltier picked up a katana laying next to an unconscious man, Leon hesitating, but doing the same. Rukia noticed them almost right away as they rushed over to help.
"What the hell are you two doing?!" she demanded. "These hollows will kill you!"
The centipede hollow lunged at Rukia when she wasn't looking, aiming for her throat, it's jaw open with rows of sharp teeth. In that instant, Leon moved himself in between the hollow and Rukia, swinging the katana.
"Majinken!" The burst of energy slammed into the hollow, sending it flying back. At the same time, Chaltier charged at the other hollow whom Rukia was still trying to defend against, slicing off one of its arms. The hollow cried out before swiping at the man, but Chaltier was faster. He leapt up, landing on the arm as it passed under him before slashing its chest, blood splattering to the ground as the swordsman leapt away.
'Those two aren't even in the academy, yet their speed and reflexes are almost on the same level as a Soul Reaper's!' Rukia thought. She gripped her sword harder, leaping up and cutting the mask of the hollow Chaltier was fighting after it was staggered, the monster fading away.
"Garyuusen!" Leon's shout got the two's attention, both seeing the knight slash the centipede hollow's side. It lunged at him, but Leon held the katana up, stopping the hollow's attack.
"Young Master!" Chaltier exclaimed, rushing over to help the teen.
"Aim for the mask!" Rukia shouted as she followed him. "That's how you defeat hollows."
"Got it!" Chaltier replied. "Majinken!"
The man's attack hit the hollow's head, cracking the edge of the mask and knocking it away from Leon. The raven haired teen used this chance to charge at the hollow, bringing the katana down and ripping the mask in half. The hollow cried out as it slowly faded away, Rukia coming up to the two."
"You two definitely have skill with a sword, I'll give you that. But for now, I need to get the survivors to the Squad 4 barracks. Give me the zanpakuto you used."
"Zanpakuto?" Chaltier questioned. Rukia facepalmed before pointing to the katanas they were holding. "Oh. Here you go."
Rukia took the zanpakuto before taking out a device, pushing a few buttons before holding it up to her ear.
"This is Rukia Kuchiki of Squad 13. There was a hollow attack in District 3 of West Rukon. We have injured Soul Reapers and I need Squad 4 to treat them," Rukia was saying. After a few moments, she took it away from her ear, putting it away.
"What was that?" Chaltier asked.
"My soul pager," Rukia replied. "It can work like a cell phone, too."
"A what?" Leon said.
Rukia stared at them for a few moments before speaking up. "How long have you two been in the Soul Society?"
"I don't know. A few days, I guess?" Chaltier replied.
"If that's true, I don't get how you wouldn't know about cell phones. They're commonplace in the world of the living nowadays," Rukia said. "Come to think of it, you two are dressed very oddly. I've never seen those clothing styles in my missions into the world of the living." Rukia narrowed her eyes. 'Could they be from the sealed world?'
"At this point, I don't know anything anymore," Leon grumbled, running his hand through his hair. "Or what to do."
Rukia took a step toward them, staring the two in the eyes. "Then enlist in the Soul Reaper Academy and become Soul Reapers."