Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia, or any of its themes or characters. If I did, things would be different...
A/N: It's about freakin' time I got writing this thing! I promised my readers an interesting story based on the Fake Chosen's group! So, by golly, I'm gonna do it!
Now, for easy reference, I have made up names for the group. I know that only one of them was actually given a name, so I made the rest up. Lets go:
Jude - the Fake Lloyd. He wears silver armor and brown clothes. He has spiky red hair, and damn proud of it! He is rather hot-headed, but watches out for the rest of them. (18)
Christopher - The Fake Genis. Jude's brother. He has brown hair, and a muscular build. He's rather shy, and really sensitive. He's also a smart-ass. (14)
Catherine - The Fake Colette. She has long, blonde hair and always wears her blue witch outfit. She is almost the exact copy of Colette (clumsy, cheerful, sensitive, annoying...). (16)
Rachel - The Fake Raine. A blue-haired woman with plain yellow dress. This woman is very strict and is mean most of the time. She doesn't speak much, as is rather withdrawn. (24)
Note 1: This story may or may not make any sense whatsoever. Just a heads up.
Note 2: Jude and Catherine are love interest, cuz' I'm strange like that.
Note 3: This story takes place after ToS has ended.
Note 4: This has absolutely no ties to my other stories.
Lousy Impostors!
Chapter One: Jailed
"This sucks," Jude said, pointing out the very obvious. The entire group was locked up in a prison in Palmacosta. The group had been separated into two cells and were now waiting to be taken to a 'secure facility' in Luin. The group had been arrested for impersonating the Chosen's group.
"Actually, this double sucks," Jude said, looking around the room. His cell was a dirty stone room with iron bars for a door. He didn't even have a window. The only good thing was that he got to share this cell with Catherine.
"And hold it, wait for it..." he said, taking a good luck at the clogged up toilet in the center of the room. "Yeah, I was right...this triple sucks, too."
"Would you please shut up!" Christopher said, leaning against the wall of the cell opposite Jude's. "At least you don't have share a cell with the wicked witch of the est!"
"Shut up," Rachel said, punching him in the gut. Christopher fell over, gasping for breath dramatically. "And stop being so dramatic or I'll make it dramatic!"
"That doesn't make any sense..." Christopher said, trailing off as Rachel kicked him between the legs.
"I told you to shut up..."
"Oh, please stop fighting!" Catherine said, hating to see two of friends hurt each other.
"Yeah, save it for the guards..." Jude said, laying down on his dirty, brown bed. "How are we gonna get outta this one?"
"Um..." everyone faked looking like they were thinking. They all knew that Christopher was the only one capable of actually doing that.
"You don't get out of this one," said a mysterious voice. The group looked up to see a man dressed in extravagant robes and wearing a long cape. He had dark green hair and an air of command. It was Governor-General Neal.
"I've been trying to track you four traitors done for a year!" he said, looking Jude straight in the eye. "And I don't intend on letting you escape any time soon."
"But we didn't do anything!" Catherine pleaded, looking all sorts of sorry. "Please, we committed no crimes!"
"You impersonated a group of heroes! You tried to steal money by pretending you were the Chosen!" Neal said, staring at Catherine now. "Ans don't try to say YOU are the Chosen, because I happen to be very close friends with the Chosen's group!"
Catherine sighed and sat down next to Jude. She began to sob quietly, and Jude had to get up to wrap his arm around her affectionately. He held her close as she cried into his shoulder.
"Just what were you four trying to pull off anyway?" Neal asked. "Why did you do it? Nothing else to do? Trying to get rich and famous? Did you do it on a dare?" he laughed. "Teenagers..."
"We did it because we're poor!" Christopher said. "We needed the money!"
"Right, sure," Neal said. "Even if you four were poor, and I doubt it, I will not let you go. You are my prisoners now." With that, Neal turned and left, the guards following him. Catherine just continued to sob into Jude's shoulder.
"Can't you shut her up?" Rachel asked, looking at the couple with spite. "I'm trying to get some sleep!"
"Ah, blow it out yer ass..." Jude said, hugging Catherine tighter. The fact was, everything Christopher had said was true about them. They were poor. Jude and Christopher were orphans from Triet. The two had lost their parents when Bandits had attacked them. Jude still remembered that scary night.
They had been walking through the desert, out towards the ruins. Their dad was a professor that had insisted on taking them to study the ruins. The family had gone about half-way there before they were ambushed by bandits. They killed their mother and father. Luckily, Jude had been 14 at the time, so he was prepared to fight. He ended up saving his younger brother by fighting the bandits. It had been four, long hard years since that fateful night. He and Chris had traveled the continent together, trying to get money to support themselves. That's how they found Catherine two years ago. She had run away from Izoold after her parents divorced. After calming her down, she asked to travel with them. She didn't want to live as she did then, with her parents hating each other. The two brothers had agreed. The three had left the continent behind to find life elsewhere.
And that's how they found Rachel. She had been a failed teacher at Palmacosta. Apparently she had hurt some of her students when they pulled a prank on her. The Academy fired her and refused to pay her or give her shelter. She was living as a hobo in Palmacosta when the three found her. Since then, Rachel had traveled with them, acting like the boss. She was older than they were, and she was also smarter. But she was mean and cruel.
It had been Rachel's idea to impersonate the Chosen. She realized that Catherine was an almost carbon copy of the Chosen. And Jude looked so much like Lloyd, some Desians had almost arrested him. They thought he WAS Lloyd! She also thought that she could be an excellent Raine , as she was also a teacher and older than the rest. She just had to make do with Christopher...
So, the four had become impostors in order to get money. And it had worked, too! They had gotten thousands of gald for just being there. It was the best! That is, until the REAL Chosen group came along. They had run into the group four times since then, and they had talked to Chris. Apparently, Christopher had taken a liking to them, and convinced the rest to stop being thieves. Everyone had agreed to stop. Except for Rachel. But, they ignored her. The only problem was that they had been recognized by someone in Palmacosta two months after retiring their life of crime.
And now, they were rotting in a Palmacosta jail, awaiting whatever punishment Neal deemed appropriate. Rachel's snoring could be heard in the cells, echoing down the hallway.
"Man, she snores loudly!" Christopher said, covering his ears. "I'm never get any sleep at all!"
"Oh, calm down," Jude said. "It's only snoring. At least she's asleep, instead of bossing you around."
"Oh, like you're one to talk," Christopher said. "You and your girlfriend can just get comfy and sleep together if you like..."
"Shut up," Jude said, his ears burning red. He knew he was blushing. He looked down to see that Catherine had fallen asleep on his shoulder "I told you, she's not my girlfriend..."
"Yeah, because you haven't ASKED her to be," Christopher said, sighing. "It's pathetic watching you two. Both of you drop the largest hints, and yet both of you are completely oblivious to the other."
"I said Shut Up, Christopher!" Jude said, standing up. Christopher immediately shrunk back, forgetting that he was in a different cell.
"Okay, okay, sorry..." he said, turning away. To be honest, he was afraid of his older brother. The redhead was quick to anger, and very tough. But Christopher was nothing like him. He just acted like he was like his brother. Truthfully, Chris was a very shy child, and was too sensitive to insult or fight anyone but his brother.
"Still," he said, looking around. "All things considered...it's kinda nice here. Quiet."
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Jude said, savoring the deep silence. "No guards after us, free food, free shelter..."
"Save for the lack of privacy..." Chris said, looking over at the drooling teacher laying next to him.
"Yeah," Jude laughed. "I could get used to this..."
A deep silence ensued. Somewhere, in the distance, a dog barked. A cricket chirped. An old woman died, making a loud racket as she fell down the stairs of her house. But other than that, it was silent.
"So, how're we getting out of here?" Christopher asked, looking over at his older brother. Jude laid back on his bed, Catherine curled up next him.
"I have no idea..." he answered, putting his arm around the blonde. "I have no idea..."
A/N: So, what do you think? I've wanted to write a story about the Impostors for months now, but I only just now got down to doing it. Yeah me! I made their names easy to remember for you all. Their names start with the same letters of the person that they were faking. RachelRaine, CatherineColette, etc. See? Christopher and Jude are the only exception, as they were the only ones named in the game. I want to thank Lloyd Aurion Irving and Krazy Kor for providing me with Christopher's and Jude's real names. What would I do without you guys!
Now, EVERYONE PLEASE REVIEW. I love reviews! They let me know how you like my story. And the more reviews I get, the faster I update...
I just want everybody to know that my other story, "Heart of Darkness" has priority over this story. However, if you see that "Heart of Darkness" has been updated, you may want to check on this one, too. I may update on the same day. Be ready for Chapter 2: The Escape, coming soon to a computer screen near you!
REVIEW AND PEACE OUT!