A/N: So, my initiation as a ToS fanfic writer has begun. I must write (OH GOD NO) a self-insert!

So, yes. OC and I share names. She's not like me in every single aspect, but she's close enough. And yes. That is EXACTLY where my game dies. Without fail. Every time. Siiiigh… Ah well. There's always eBay, if I ever earn enough money~


I never figured I would end up doing anything other than mashing buttons that night.


"Faith! Shut the damn thing off!" My step father's irritated bellow sounded from his and my mother's bedroom, echoing through the house. I glared over my shoulder, suddenly very tempted to turn the TV up a couple notches. However, I knew that it was a school night and my little sister was (hopefully still, after that nasty shout) asleep. So, instead of rebelling and turning the volume up just to piss him off, I stood, placing the Gamecube controller on the coffee table and grabbing my earphones.

It felt weird to plug them into the large flat screen TV in our living room and I chuckled mildly as I inched my arm chair closer to the large, illuminated pause screen, picking up my controller once more, and pushing the ear buds into my ear canals. Immediately, I winced as the sounds came through much louder than the speakers and turned the volume right down to a comfortable level. Once that was done, I returned to my game.

I was about to beat Aska and Luna. For, like, the fortieth time. Damn scratched disk. Every time I beat the two of them, (thank GOD it was relatively easy because I used my common sense and leveled the crap out of my party) the big dramatic shaking would happen, the last mana link would be severed and Yuan and Kratos would run up those stairs, each exclaiming "You did it!" and "No!" I enjoyed seeing them run up together. Hell, I enjoyed them together. They were pretty…

Then the screen went black. Again. The 'Gamecube cannot read disk. Please remove the disk and turn the power off. See the Gamecube Operations Manual for assistance' screen flashed, mockingly repeating the same section of rumbling over and over in the background. My fingers twitched, clenching the Gamecube controller so hard it almost hurt. However, reminding myself that at two in the morning, in my house's family room, it was completely inappropriate to scream curses at inanimate objects, I simply put the poor squeezed controller down and leaned forward, pressing the Power button on my Wii to restart the system.

Yeah. I was playing Tales of Symphonia on the Wii. I'd gotten the sequel for Christmas and played an hour or so of it before realizing that I couldn't remember what happened in the first game. It took a couple hours, but I finally managed to fish the offending game out of a box in the corner of my room and popped it in my Gamecube, sitting regally on my entertainment system.

The large G whirled around, taking me to the systems menu for the Gamecube itself. Right… I forgot that the disc was scratched enough that my poor, old, well-loved Gamecube wouldn't read it anymore. Instead, I took it out to the Wii, which sat in the family room, unused and unloved unless we had company over or the little sister held a slumber party, which wasn't often considering how hard she was trying to be just like Justin Bieber, including turning into a boy.

Shuddering at the thought of the Biebenator, as my family lovingly calls my sister, I huffed in frustration as I hit Eject, pulling out the slightly tattered and flawed disc and inspecting it closely. That toothpaste had definitely done its job, since before I gave the game disc a good fluoride buffing, it hadn't even been able to get me into the Tower of Mana. However, now it was mocking me by giving me a whole boss battle before it decided to die. I gave in to frustration, blowing on the surface of the disc and taking the cloth my mother had lent me from her glasses case. I gave it the gentlest, most loving polishing I could and then cautiously slid the disc back into the system.

This might as well have been open heart surgery with the delicacy that I waited for the Wii to recognize that it was going to run one of its ancient childrens' disks and set it up accordingly. Once the familiar ditty began to play, I eagerly pressed start, discarding the Wiimote in favor of my bulky, purple controller.

The screen went blank… and then the Wii turned off.

"Dammit!" I snarled, shoving the controller back onto the armchair's, well, arm, and standing, turning the Wii back on via the power button on the Wiimote. This time, I thought, This time it has to work. The little snippy Gamecube tune played again and I sighed, letting it fully set itself up. I could hear the machine in itself whirring away, trying to figure out just what madness I had fed it. Figuring it would be smart to let the game spin in there for a minute or so and hoping that in doing so, the disc would run better, I stood, grabbing my mug and taking it back into the kitchen that attached to our family room.

I rinsed the large black mug out and dumped some more hot chocolate powder into it, adding plenty of milk and boiling water. Then, going to the cupboard, I grinned as I saw my package of handmade peppermint marshmallows. I could practically hear the holy chorus singing as I yanked it out and chopped one of the marshmallows into smaller pieces, dumping the fragments of minty goodness into the mug. Finally, I was content with my drink and late night snack and I took the package of marshmallows and the mug back to my little armchair nest in the family room.

Munching on the little bundle of sugar and peppermint I had just plucked out of the plastic bag sitting in my lap, I grabbed the Wiimote and pressed the Start button once more, taking a deep breath. Then, just as I thought the game was about to laugh in my face once more by turning the Wii off again, (something the Wii had decided to do whenever it deemed my beloved disc too hard to read,) the screen flashed and began going through the opening titles. I heaved a huge sigh of relief, picking up my controller and shoving the rest of the marshmallow in my mouth.

As I chewed, I looked around me at my space. My cell phone was in my hoodie pocket, nestled right next to my iPod and my house key. I had my blanket on my lap, which was orange and had wolves on it. It had been a gift from my grandmother the Christmas after my half-wolf, Kya'tu died. I sighed softly, stroking the soft blanket with a smile as I stretched my legs out in front of me and listened to the opening music, keeping an eye out for my favorite characters, namely Sheena, Raine and Zelos. I noted I was still wearing my big goth-stomper boots with the buckles up them and I mildly wondered if they would fit in around the worlds of Symphonia. I chuckled as I thought of Genis decked out in goth clothes. The image was just too silly to try and take seriously. Not that the rest of what I wore was gothic. A Hedley concert T-shirt, blue plaid hoodie, blue skinny jeans, my raver goggles, and my charm bracelet I got from my pen pal. I had the one with the tag that said "Best." Hers was the one that said 'Friends." Finally, my shoulderbag containing my pencils, erasers, sketchbooks (I had two of them going), and a few other things sat in my lap, left there after fishing my DSi out of it earlier.

I glanced down with a soft frown as I turned on my iPod Touch, scrolling down the internet page I had open on my browser until I found what I was looking for.

Boss: Luna

Hp: 18,000

Tp: 720

Aska

Hp: 19,650

Tp: 600

Exp: 6730

Gald: 7600

The walkthrough told me to go after Aska first, and to frequently block, which I did, like always. Luna I left to Sheena and I hoped at the back of my mind that Genis would keep her busy too. I glared at Raine, watching her run around uselessly before finally picking a spot out of the way to cast one of her healing spells. God, I wished I had Zelos in this battle instead of Sheena. The game was mean in the way it MADE me use characters I didn't like to battle with. I yawned as I used a Pineapple Gel to keep Lloyd's TP up. My eyelids were starting to droop, but I shook my head stubbornly. No. I had to beat this.

Eventually, after enough sword pounding and spamming Psi Tempest and Rising Falcon, Aska falls over and I go to whack Luna around a bit. Finally, she falls over and I sigh, watching the post-battle screen pass by. I stretch my hands out as I watch Luna agree to the pact and the shaking begin. Here we go… I thought as Yuan and Kratos ran up. Yuan's voice rang out rather happily, while Kratos spoke with a tone of distress.

My eyes slipped closed as the anime cutscene began, but then the sounds all turned off and I let out a soft sigh. Guessing that no amount of polishing was going to fix the poor disc, I stretch my body, arching my spine and open my eyes…

… to see nothing.

Absolutely nothing. Blackness. Everywhere around me.

I immediately began shaking, hating the dark. What the hell was this? I couldn't move, I couldn't speak, I couldn't see anything, not even myself, and I was so overcome by fear, I could barely even speak. In other words, I was about to wet myself.

I needed to get out.

NOW.

Then suddenly, it was as if I was in a paper bag and somebody had begun crumpling it with a vengeance. Loud crackling noises erupted around me, finally wrenching a scream from my throat. What was going on? I whimpered, biting my lip. Maybe I was having a seizure? The logical part of my body spoke up. After all, I'd been sitting awfully close to the TV, and some people don't know they're epileptic until late into life when they suddenly get an attack. I wished that that were true as I endured the pressure growing all around me, compressing my body and making me whine with discomfort. Then, out of nowhere, I felt a large thump to the back of my neck.

Even the blackness around me faded away.


Ouch. How big was the semi that hit me?

The first logical thought I had and it was about a freaking truck running me over. God, I love me when I'm morbid. Groaning softly, I gripped the fuzzy blanket around me, recognizing it as my own and taking comfort from it. However, my body had another idea. Rather than comfort, it preferred to send me up onto my knees as I heaved my dinner, dessert and hot chocolate out of my stomach.

It burned and it felt awful. Tears began to leak from the corners of my eyes as I vomited hard, my whole system taking its revenge for putting it through… whatever I'd gone through. For a few minutes, my mind shut off and all I knew was the acidic burning that came with emptying my stomach of all its contents.

I moaned weakly, shivering as I tried to get up, but was immediately shoved back to my knees by a fresh wave of nausea and dry retches. My hands scrabbled over the surface I couldn't force my eyes to focus on and I continued to retch for another good few minutes. Finally, completely spent, I gave a massive shudder, a sob breaking my throat. That… had been hell. I clumsily wipe the corners of my mouth and my lips before dragging myself away from the puddle of sick. The scent set my stomach into jitters again, and so I grabbed my blanket, pulling it over me and drifting off again, shaking and shuddering with pain.


I awoke to green light on my face. For a moment, I laid there with my eyes closed, wondering if I'd woken up in the world of Harry Potter and I was being cursed. I chuckled mirthlessly as I carefully pulled the blanket off of myself and opened my eyes.

All I saw was leaves above me.

For a moment, I stopped. Everything about me stopped. My breathing, my movement, my sight, everything except that which was absolutely vital to my life stopped. Everything except my brain, anyway. That raced. It raced faster than I could believe, retracing my steps and trying to figure out why I would be looking at leaves instead of my bedroom ceiling. Stepdad yelling, ear buds, game crashed, hot chocolate, marshmallows, boss battle, game crashed… Wait. Did it? My mind stopped and rewound itself slowly. I had closed my eyes, listening to things breaking on the game…

And then everything had stopped. An unsettling thought crossed my mind. If the game had crashed, the rumbling of the cutscene would have continued, even through that evil error screen... But all I could remember was silence. I shook, realizing that was where my memory cut off. Had I been kidnapped? It was possible, since where I lived was surrounded by forests. Perhaps some sicko had kidnapped and raped me?

I shifted my body, noticing no pain in regions that would give hint to rape. Cautiously and thankfully, I sat up and saw my blanket draped over my legs. Incredulous, I picked it up, rolling it. I'd never been to anything that would teach me how to survive in the wild, so I stood up quickly, looking around. A fetid smell wafted past my nose and I grimaced as I realized it was a very, very large puddle of vomit. Had I done that?

I kept my distance from the puddle of ruined dinner and searched the rest of the area. I quickly found my package of marshmallows and my shoulderbag and tossed my bag of sugary snacks inside, not wanting to look at them. The gremlin of illness had begun to creep up my esophagus again, tasting of acid and bile so, to distract myself, I checked my pockets. My cell phone was there, but my iPod was missing. Checking my phone, I flipped it open, immediately seeing the 'No Signal' symbol on the screen. Funny. Where could I have been taken where there wouldn't be signal?

Unless I was high in the mountains or something… But even then, the forest wouldn't be so thick. The higher the altitude, the thinner trees get as earth becomes less and less fertile. I silently thanked my Geography class and tucked my blanket under my arm, deciding I should leave before my captor returned. I set off at a slow jog, glancing around me. Thick forest as far as the eye could see. However, I was lucky, swiftly stumbling across a path wide enough for a car and a half to drive down it. I took to the path, taking in the sights as I continued to move.

Even if I didn't know where I was, for some reason, I felt at peace. If it turned out I was in a band of forest just outside of town, then that would be fine. I could head home, let my mother and stepfather know I was safe, and return to life as usual. No problem at all.

I sighed, continuing to fuel myself with these happy thoughts as I ran. However, the edge of the forest was nowhere in sight and by what I guessed was an hour later, running was no longer an option, even at a slow jog. I panted, moving off the path to sit under a nearby tree and rest a moment. As I stared blankly out at the path in front of me, I frowned. Why hadn't a car passed yet? I was running down a quiet forest road, perhaps between two big properties, but still… It was a road, and I'd been on it for about an hour.

Surely there would have been at least one car.

Foreboding began to grow in my stomach again, but I shut my eyes tight and willed it down. No. No no no no no. I was always the pessimist. This time, I couldn't just let myself drown in self pity. My life was at stake this time. Getting up cautiously, I headed back toward the road, ready to continue on.

Noises made me stop, freezing up in fear. A low, sharp growl echoed from behind me, then a snarl sounded and I blinked, very, very cautiously turning around. My heart began to thump in my chest as I laid eyes upon the rather large wolf crouched on the stump not far behind me. I took a soft, shaky breath, my mind flooding with warning signals and telling me to run. However, something else broke through the panic and my lesson on how to calm a wild dog came back to me.

My granddad had taught me using his wolf, Mishka. The dog came up to my waist as a twelve-year old, but he had been well trained and was quite the big love-puppy. I remembered the lessons clearly.

First step: turning head to the side. It showed that a dog was not comfortable in the situation. Carefully, I turned my head slightly, inclining it away from the wolf and being sure not to look it in the eye. The wolf's growling quieted slightly as it watched me move and my heart leapt as I thought that perhaps it was working.

Second step: Yawn. Yeah, it sounded funny, but dogs do it when they're uncomfortable and scared, and it's a well-recognized signal. I opened my jaw wide, letting air rush in, and then out. I added a squeak to the end, for hopeful good measure. Knowing winging it was dangerous around a wild animal, I wished immediately that I hadn't and prayed that the wolf wouldn't become angrier.

Third step: Turn the body away. Still averting my eyes, knowing that looking at that dog would only provoke it, I carefully angled my body away from it until it was more beside me than in front. By this point, the growling had halted completely and I could feel my heart start to slow. I just needed to convince this dog that I wasn't trying to impose upon its territory.

Oh, god.

My nose was beginning to tickle.

I scrunched up my nose in an attempt not to, but…

"WAH-CHOO!" the sneeze echoed around the forest and I ended up doubled over, glancing up in fear as the wolf suddenly jumped forward, snarling dangerously again. Dammit! I was so close! My body went into immediate panic mode and I screamed, lunging into a full sprint away from the animal that skidded on dead leaves, regained its bearings and then began to chase me again. My boots were heavy and I whined, knowing they would slow me down. I could hear the wolf's quiet footfalls behind me, but it's growls and snarls weren't so quiet, nor was its maddened panting.

Tears leaked out of my eyes again as I realized the situation. I couldn't outrun a wolf! Certainly not such a big one, either! I had no chance. Nothing I could do… I stumbled over a log and through a patch of sharp plants, and then stopped as I noticed something a little different.

A thorn patch. Surely I could hide in there! Darting toward it, I stopped and skid under a layer of thorns, scratching my arms, legs and cheek in the process. I army crawled backward as far as I could go and then stopped, simply waiting for my attacker. The padding of paws came closer and closer and finally, just as my heart felt like it was going to burst, the wolf let out a wistful howl at obviously not being able to locate its prey. I sighed softly and watched as those paws moved away from my hiding place, feeling very relieved, and also very warm. What exactly was this sensation?

Pushing the warmth out of my mind, I watched the wolf move around the area, sniffing here, growling there… It wasn't planning on leaving, however. It could clearly still smell me and would stay until I had to come out. I bit my lip, shaking my head. This dog wasn't dumb! I closed my eyes, quietly hoping the wolf would grow bored. However, this wasn't the case, and a least an hour, if not two, later, there I was, clutching my bag to me, in my comfort clothes, burning up in a thorn bush in some forest in the middle of nowhere…

The wolf had long since settled down, keeping a watchful eye out around it and I resisted the urge to sigh impatiently. Meanwhile, my temperature was only getting higher, and I wondered if I was being smothered by the bush I was lying under. Closing my eyes for a moment couldn't hurt, could it? I took a deep breath and let my eyelids fall shut, simply listening to the things around me.

The quiet was soothing, despite being able to hear my pursuers relaxed panting, but then I frowned as I picked up on a strange noise.

Thun, thun, thun, thun…

It sounded like footsteps. Footsteps that were steadily growing closer.

Thun, thun, thun, thun, thun.

I heard the wolf shift and I realized I didn't have the energy to open my eyes. I was so exhausted, and so I decided I would just listen.

Thun, thun, thun, thun, thuh…

Grrr…

Shwing!

Suddenly, the wolf gave another howl, this one sounding… off somehow. Then, I heard a thump of something hitting the ground. Confused, I frowned slightly, trying to open my eyes. However, the energy was fast leaving me. I finally gave into the insistent urges of sleep, just as I heard branches moving.

I could have sworn I felt sunlight on my face.


My head hurt… In fact, all of me hurt. I immediately decided 'hurt' was a word of many faces. 'Hurt' could mean sting, or it could mean ache. It could mean striking pain, or even burning pain… I realized that of all of these, I had at least the first two. Instead of opening my eyes, I whined softly and shifted on the bed. Immediately, I heard a shift mirror my own of a person somewhere beside me. I froze up and pretended to be asleep again.

"Relax. You're safe now, kid." A handsome sounding voice reassured me. I almost smiled in relief at the sound of it, but then remembered I was pretending to sleep and refrained. "Found you in the forest. You were pretty messed up and… Well… Rest up. You'll feel better soon."

The shifting changed to footsteps, moving away and getting quieter before a door was closed with a click. Cautiously, I opened my eyes and frowned as I saw only an off grey color. Reaching up, I discovered it was a damp cloth placed over my eyes and forehead. Once I'd removed it, the room became visible and I looked around. Nice, well furnished but… strange somehow. I sat up slowly, grunting as I realized that the aches in my body were worse than I'd thought. I also noticed I was completely naked, save for a white, cotton night gown and my underwear.

"What the hell?" I exclaimed, before yelping and clutching my head, which was now successfully throbbing. "Owowowow…" I winced, but then blinked, looking up from my sudden pain as a door was opened and somebody appeared in the doorway.

"So you were awake." The stranger said with an amused smile as he tilted his head. I drank in his appearance, raising an eyebrow. Was it just me, or did he look a bit… weird? He does… I thought, as I noticed his bright red hair and handsome features, wearing a brown tunic-like shirt that was accompanied by crisp black pants, red boots and a bandana would around his head clumsily. He completed the look with a thick black eyepatch that covered what I supposed was where his left eye wasn't. What… the hell? I blinked at him once, twice, then gulped comically. Had I been dropped straight onto a pirate ship or something?

"I… I-I… Where…" I began, realizing I had a voice and I should probably use it while this male still appeared friendly. The red-headed stranger came over to the bedside, walking softly until he was crouched next to me and gently placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Relax, friend. You're in the city of Meltokio. Capital of the Fooji continent. Most importantly, you are safe. I swear." He said softly and kindly to me. I stared at him, my brain clicking and whirring away. Meltokio…? Had… Had he said Meltokio?

"M-Me… Mel… Meltokio?" I nearly sprang out of the bed, but then decided otherwise as my head bludgeoned me back down to the mattress with a series of throbbing, aching pains to somewhere right behind my eyes. "What do you mean Meltokio? I was… I was…" I shivered, looking at this stranger in dismay. And then, what do you know?

The room spun.

My head grew heavy.

The stranger went in and out of focus.

And I blacked out…


Aaaand boom! Chapter one is finished! An impressive length for me. I never write this much!

If you liked, PLEASE review and tell me how much? Reviews let me know that people are actually reading my story, and I love knowing that. It makes me all warm and tingly inside!