Disclaimer:I don't own Tales of Symphonia or Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World. If I did, I probably wouldn't be writing a fiction about it, or sitting at my computer wishing I that I did.
Author's Note: I'd like to give a special thanks to my reviewers for commenting on my first chapter and story. I appreciate the comments and compliments, as it does give me the motivation to continue writing. I'm happy that I'm able to write a story that's enjoyable to everyone. There might possibly be some original characters introduced if I manage to continue, and I also hope that everyone who continues to read will grow to like them.
Review Responses:
Twilightwolf8988 (Chapter I): I'm happy to know that I've got a reader hooked!
Sychotic (Chapter I): Don't expect too many frequent updates…
Lilyrose225 (Chapter I): I figured it would be interesting if there was some sort of "extended version" of the bad ending if the player won the final battle, so this is something to that effect. It would be pretty awesome if certain "bad endings" in role-playing games would continue the story further, so that's why I decided to model it this way. I'm glad everyone found it enjoyable.
All right, enough with that. On to Chapter II. Enjoy.
TALES OF SYMPHONIA - DAWN OF THE WORLD: A BIRTH ANEW
AN UNWELCOME WELCOME: CHAPTER II
The flames of the demonic realm spread forth from the gate, blasting out with unbelievable force.
Emil took cover on the steps below, shielding his face with his forearm as the flames licked the surface around the door. From the ancient lock, a flame covered figure emerged; its silhouette resembling that of a human. It walked forward, steps echoing in the sudden stillness.
"This cannot be!" Tenebrae shouted in disbelief.
"Lord Ratatosk…" The ethereal voice wavered to open ears in the flame lit room, sounding as if it were mocking him.
"Damn you…" Ratatosk seethed between clenched teeth.
Tenebrae floated beside him, the centurion preparing himself to defend his master with his life.
"I must thank you…" the figure said, still walking forward while lifting its hands up to adjust what appeared to be gauntlets on its arms. "Oh… and you too, 'Master' Richter." It giggled, obviously being sarcastic to the Half-elf.
Richter groaned, not pleased in the slightest with the unneeded gratitude.
"It brings me great joy knowing that you have finally neglected your duties as the gatekeeper of the Ginungagap. I appreciate it."
"I hoped to never have to see your ugly face again," Ratatosk said, and the figure stopped its pacing forward at the response.
"Oh? Is that how you feel, is it? And after all of this time I spent, gathering up the courage to be the first one out to greet you? That hurts so much. It really does." It chuckled, as the flames silhouetting the rest of its body faded away, revealing the figure in its entirety.
Tenebrae growled. "Lady Nebilim. I must express that it is an extreme displeasure to see you again."
Lloyd and the others lowered their arms from their eyes, and from what he could see as the figure's form came into sight, it filled him with a strange sense of dread.
The creature seemed to be nothing more than a small, petite young woman about Colette's height, to his surprise. The woman had clothed herself in an outfit similar to Ratatosk's, except most of the clothing was designed with black and gray fabric. She wore heavy silver plated greaves, gauntlets and shoulder pads in addition to a gray scarf fashioned around her neck. A strange emblem resembling that of a phoenix was imprinted on the fabric that she wore around her abdomen along with the gray scarf, the accessory blowing in the cinder-filled, fiery breeze in the same manner as her identical colored hair.
The young looking woman stretched her neck and cracked her knuckles, smirking at her petrified spectators in mirth.
"Tenebrae," she said, placing her hands on her hips as if she were disappointed in him. Though by her tone, it was obvious she was mocking him as well. "I'd have expected a much better greeting from you at least. How many long, infinite eons has it been?" she asked the Centurion of Darkness, a cheeky grin plastered on her face.
"Not long enough, I'm afraid," Tenebrae remarked.
Ratatosk stepped forward, swinging a hand back. "How the hell did you get through? Even with the gate opened, mana is—"
"Haven't you noticed?" she cut him off with a cheery response. "The mana levels have been on the decline ever since you've been in that little coma of yours. Even with the new great tree and your attempt to return to full power, the levels now are still nothing compared to what they once were before. You, nor the world tree, no longer posses the power necessary to restrain the demonic world any longer."
Ratatosk threw his head back, and laughed. It was bitter sounding, almost mocking. Gha ha ha ha ha!
"I may not have enough power to stop the demonic world," he said, speaking with a certain resolve, "but I sure as hell have enough strength in me to kill you!"
At that, he rushed towards the woman with his blade drawn, only to have himself bounce off a bubble-like barrier that appeared instantly to surround her.
Nebilim sighed and shook her head, bringing her hands up in a surrendering manner. "Tsk, tsk." She shook a finger at him. "Such an unnecessary temper. Didn't anyone teach you any manners at all? I would think that the Lord of Monsters would have had some at the very least. I'm disappointed in you."
"What the…?" Ratatosk said, wide-eyed. "You shouldn't have this much strength, this soon after awakening again… What…" he choked out, "What did you do?"
"I didn't do anything. We owe that all to Richter!" she said, pushing a lingering strand of her long hair out of her face. "By forming pacts with demons and making this world suffer, our strength has improved considerably." She eyeballed the person in question, with Richter returning an even darker look.
"I should have expected that he would betray father and I though. After all, Humans, Elves, and Half-elves are no more trustworthy than we demons." She laughed, and Richter scoffed. "Though, I must say, our power would have returned much sooner if it were not for those fools burning that book…" she trailed off, waiting for someone in the room to speak up and take the bait.
Colette's eyes widened. "What? What book…? No… You can't mean…" she stopped, not wanting to believe that she might be correct in what she thought.
"The Book of the Underworld," Lloyd answered the blonde, his eyes not wavering once from the demonic woman standing before them. "The cursed book that we managed to destroy two years ago using the Sacred Stone. According to Origin, by burning the book, we stopped the demons from turning this world into the demonic realm and breaking through to Aselia."
"So… that book was just an attempt for you to return here? To harm our world?" Genis asked her.
Nebilim looked down at the silver-haired boy, acknowledging him, and nodded. "Yes, but there were several other attempts too. Let's see…" She began to count on her fingers, lazily floating upside down in a sitting position near the stairway cross-legged. "There was the book thing, then there was a rift from the demonic world to this one, our orders to the sword dancers, then there was Abyssion, um…"
"Abyssion…" Presea said, the familiar name giving her an eerie unshakable feeling.
Nebilim scratched her head in thought, returning to the stairway and sitting upright again. "I don't remember them all or the details, but father has been busy…" she changed her tone of voice to a much darker one at that, "…and so have I."
She stood up and stepped down to Ratatosk, stopping only a few feet away from him. The Lord of Monsters stepped back in recoil, readying his blade with a scowl on his face. She only giggled, and placed her arms behind her back to look past him at Lloyd's group.
"I must say, this is quite a motley crew… Hello? What's this?" she asked in surprise, walking past Ratatosk and motioning to Sheena with a hand. "Are you from Mizuho by any chance?" she asked, looking somewhat serious.
Sheena hesitated, but managed speak. "Y-yes… I am."
"I see!" she said. "I figured you were, you really do look just like her," Nebilim commented, her voice even cheerier than before. She closed her eyes and clasped her hands in front of her. She took a deep breath, and after a moment, snapped her eyes open as if she were possessed.
"You'll be the first to die then," she declared.
Nebilim lifted a single finger, and a crimson colored glyph formed into existence at her feet. Snapping two of her fingers together, a strange dark aura enveloped Sheena's body, and she began to levitate by several feet into the air as Nebilim raised her upturned palm.
Sheena's feet dangled far from the ground, and Nebilim smirked in satisfaction.
"Wha… What?" Sheena wiggled her limbs in midair, wanting to return to the ground. It was no use however, as she continued to float in midair while everyone else could only watch.
"Stop!" Richter commanded Nebilim, but she ignored him.
Lloyd turned his head back toward Nebilim, clenching his gloved fists. "What the hell are you doing to her? Put her down, now!" he said, readying his blades along with Ratatosk and Richter.
Nebilim looked back at the warrior, while she herself floated off the ground.
"If that's what you want," she cooed, shoving her outstretched arm to the left.
Mimicking Nebilim's movements, Sheena's body was tossed to the side like a rag doll, ramming her into the wall above the gate to Niflheim. A few rocks broke from the foundation, and Sheena, along with the debris, fell to the floor.
Zelos stared on, wide-eyed. "Sheena!" He tried to run to her, but Niflheim flashed in front of him, posed in the middle of the entire group.
"Sorry… I can't let you do that, Chosen," she said, and stretching an electrifying finger out while floating backward, blasted an orb of pure energy at the Tethe'allan Chosen.
In the blink of an eye, Zelos brought his blade up in front of him, deflecting the beam and sending it to the ceiling. He looked up from his sword, returning her grin.
"Sorry…" Zelos began, "Even though you are pretty cute," a shining blue energy began to gather into his palm, "I won't give you the chance to hurt anyone else," he said. "Spread!"
The chosen jabbed his hand into the earth, and a massive geyser of water erupted from below Nebilim's feet twice as Zelos back stepped away from her in a flash.
Ratatosk and Lloyd ran near the geyser, waiting for the aftermath of the spell. When it cleared, the same barrier that had protected Nebilim before surrounded her once more. She looked angry, her arms crossed over her chest.
Zelos groaned. "No effect… What the heck is she?" He stepped back a little, sensing that she would retaliate.
"Nice try," Nebilim said, "but you can't hurt me."
With an effortless stretch of her hand, she levitated the Chosen and flung him back toward the wall, his body smashing into it hard.
She blew him a kiss, winking afterward. "I appreciate the flattery though."
Finished with her work, Nebilim turned around to look at the remaining members of the group.
Genis, Richter, and Colette were preparing powerful spells meant for her. Raine knelt next to a still unconscious Marta with Tenebrae floating overhead, covering the brunette's stirring body.
Regal and Presea took up defensive stances to protect their casting comrades, with Ratatosk and Lloyd running at her, their weapons drawn.
Nebilim gave a loud sigh. "You're all hopeless."
"Double Demon Fang!" Lloyd cried, sending two shock waves tearing through the earth at the silver-haired woman, and Ratatosk leapt up into the air, striking her barrier with his Raining Fangs arte, following the technique up with a Ravaging Tiger in the same combo. The attacks only cracked the surface of the barrier before it reformed in less than an instant.
Nebilim raised her arms into the air, and the both of them flew away, tumbling backward.
Lloyd stood up and rubbed his head. "No good. What the hell is that barrier made of? Neither of our attacks could even dent it!" He looked at her from afar, watching as the spells from Genis and Colette made contact, without any damage being done to her at all. Richter and Regal charged her, but they were thrown back to the wall in the same manner as the others.
Ratatosk shook his head, clearing his blurry vision. "I don't have a clue…" he said, standing up. "I've never seen her fight with this much strength before. The technique looks familiar but…"
"Your memories haven't fully returned yet, have they? It's my fault, isn't it? …I'm sorry."
Nebilim assaulted Presea, attempting to strike the pink-haired girl with her fists at a maniac speed as she defended against the blows with her axe. Energy surged from the attacks as Nebilim made contact with Presea's weapon. She floated back, and tried to blast her, but Presea deflected the beam with her large axe by swinging it at the energy like a bat making contact with a baseball.
Nebilim pursed her lips. "I guess appearances can be deceiving. You seem to be the strongest of them all." She smiled at her pig-tailed foe. "I'm impressed."
Presea only stared back at her with an emotionless expression on her face. "I won't let you hurt my friends," she said. "No one hurts my friends."
Nebilim squinted her eyes. "We'll see about that."
With a wave of her hand, she flashed in front of Raine and prepared to blast her with an energy charge.
Raine only eyed her.
"So you would even attack a defenseless woman?" she said, still crouched next to Marta.
Nebilim brought a hand to her chin, in mock thought. "You know me well." She fired, but Raine brought her staff in front of her, shielding herself and Marta from the blow with her Force Field arte.
Colette struck Nebilim's barrier with one of her chakrams, and the boomerang-like weapon bounced off of it with a tink, returning to her hand.
Nebilim looked over her shoulder at the blonde. "Well, that was silly of you, Miss Blondie." She charged a surging energy mass from both of her hands and fired it at Colette.
"Ahh!" Colette screamed, the energy streaming toward her as she tried to scramble away from it.
"Colette!" Lloyd hollered, and tried to sprint toward her, but the distance was too great for him to cover. The attack created a huge explosion, enveloping Colette in the smoke from the blast.
Genis rushed to her as fast as his legs would let him, and when the mess cleared, she appeared to be lying on her back, her legs tucked behind her.
"Colette, are you alright?" Genis asked, as Colette sat up on her knees, covered in dirt.
"I'm fine!" she said. I think I tripped though. Sorry." She scratched her head and stuck out her tongue.
Genis sweat-dropped, and Lloyd sighed.
"Take this, you scum!" Lloyd heard Ratatosk scream out, and he turned, seeing the blonde smash his sword onto Nebilim's barrier. Nebilim cackled as Lloyd ran to attack, with the evil woman sending the Lord of Monsters onto the floor, skidding on his back many yards with a stronger force. He ended up next to Marta.
Marta stirred from the noise. She rolled over on her back, facing him.
Raine kneeled next to Ratatosk and waved her staff over his body, healing his wounds.
"Are you alright?" she asked him, and after a moment, she answered the unspoken question. "She's fine, don't worry."
"Marta…" he looked at her and whispered, brushing a strand of her hair out of her face. "I'm sure he's sorry… and… so am I."
The brunette opened her eyes at the touch, looking at him in a daze. "Emil…?" she said. "You're… alright? Thank Martel…"
"Marta… I am… sorry."
Raine looked to Marta. "Can you stand?" she asked, as Marta rolled over onto her front.
The brunette pushed herself up using her hands, and stumbled to her feet. She looked back to Raine, and performed her signature jump.
"Of course!" she exclaimed, bringing both of her arms to her chest, pumping them up.
"Marta, are you alright?" Ratatosk asked, rising to his feet. He held his head down, looking away from her.
She looked back at him for a moment in consideration, then nodded. "Yes… I'm fine."
Ratatosk sighed. "Good."
He and Marta looked at the ongoing battle in the distance, watching Regal duck a sweep from Nebilim and roll underneath her. Lloyd struck her barrier with his Blazing Tempest arte, and Presea smashed her axe into the woman's defenses, sending her back.
"Emil… What can we do?" Marta asked.
Ratatosk shook his head. "I wish I knew." He clenched his fists. "I can't return to full power now that the gate is open."
Tenebrae floated beside them. "It is good to see that you are unharmed, Lady Marta."
Marta nodded to the Centurion in response.
"Lord…" Tenebrae began, then looked to Marta and back to Ratatosk, shaking his head. "…Emil. It is impossible for you to seal the door again in your current state. The demonic energy radiating from the gate is much too powerful to contain now, even by Richter's method. The demons will soon take over."
Ratatosk looked away, jerking his head. "I know all of this already," he seethed.
Tenebrae continued. "However, there is another method. I cannot guarantee its success however, and in order for us to try to prevent this disaster, we will need some assistance from a friend." Ratatosk and Marta looked up at him in surprise. "I am sure that by now, he has already neared toward his intended destination, fortunately for us."
"A friend, is that right?" Raine thought, eying Tenebrae.
Ratatosk looked thoughtful. "I see… then first…"
Tenebrae nodded in understanding. "We must do away with our current disturbance."
"Marta." Ratatosk caught the brunette's attention, and she looked at him in question.
"Yes?" she asked. "What is it, Emil?"
"Can you still use that spell of yours? Can you try to dispel her barrier?"
Marta only stood, with Ratatosk and Tenebrae waiting for her answer. She stepped toward Lloyd and company, who were still clashing with Nebilim. She turned to face the both of them with a look of determination on her face.
"No problem!" she said, and pointed to herself with a thumb. "Just leave it to me!"
Ratatosk smirked. "Good then. It looks like we've still got a chance!" he said, readying his blade once more. "Then, on my signal!"
He charged out toward Nebilim, getting her attention away from Presea and Lloyd by attacking her once more, thrusting at her with a Sword Rain Alpha technique.
Nebilim frowned, starting to look irritated. "Haven't you learned by now? You can't beat me!"
She outstretched her hands again, firing a flurry of violet energy beams all over the area, knocking free several pillars.
Lloyd ran for cover, scooping up Presea by the waist and grabbing Colette by the arm to save them both from a falling boulder, while Genis and Regal dealt with the rest by blasting them off to the sides of the chamber. Raine protected Richter by enveloping him within her force field, and Zelos struggled to his feet, moving away from the falling debris by limping.
Ratatosk ran forward and leapt into the air once more, bringing his sword above his head with both hands as he fell downward to her, preparing to strike with everything he had.
"Lady Marta!" said Tenebrae. "Now!"
At the Centurion's command, Marta released the spell. A soft yellow light enveloped Nebilim's barrier, and it dissipated. Nebilim looked around in shock as the barrier broke.
"What? No! How did you—"
Ratatosk laughed. "What was that about us not being able to beat you?" He slashed at her hard, but his blade didn't make contact with her at all.
"You can't," Nebilim said, as yet another barrier appeared to surround her, and Ratatosk's eyes widened. "It's as simple as that."
She smirked, and flung Ratatosk back again. He landed some feet away in a crouching position. His fists balled, and they grew red from the pressure.
Raine clenched a fist. "It regenerates far too quickly…"
"No…" Marta whispered.
"You never had a chance." Nebilim cackled. "I'm a pretty good actor, don't you think?"
"And so am I!" a familiar voice screamed out.
Sheena appeared as if from nowhere behind Nebilim in a puff of smoke, and thrust her hand into the barrier. She slapped what appeared to be a Guardian card onto the woman's back, and flipped backwards off, landing in front of Nebilim with a gentle step. The card's energy surged through Nebilim's body, shocking her and making her convulse.
"Ahhhh!" Nebilim screamed, trying to grab the card off of her back. "Damn you!"
Sheena laughed. "How do you like that? I called your bluff the moment I saw that technique of yours. Nice try though, but I'm not impressed." She looked to everyone else over a shoulder after she finished her speech, grinning.
"Sheena!" Colette called her name in surprise, and the raven-haired ninja waved back. "You're unhurt!"
Sheena smiled back at the blonde. "That was just a doppelganger, Colette," she said, pointing to the area where she had appeared to fall earlier after being thrown, and in its place was a simple white card. Then she motioned to Nebilim, who was still madly struggling with the card on her back.
"As for this spell of hers…" Sheena said, looking at the screaming woman, "It's an ancient forbidden Mizuhoian technique that uses demonic energy reserves from inside the body to repel earthly substances from its user. But the card I used was infused with its own form of positive demonic energy to counteract hers. Fortunately, with the demonic energy looming around this place, I was able to gather the energy required to use it in time. She won't be able to use that technique on us anymore."
Regal scratched his chin. "A very clever plan…" he mused.
"No!" Nebilim screamed, no longer floating. "You'll pay for this!"
"Yeah, right!" Sheena retorted, readying her cards. "Now, Lloyd!" she called to the warrior, and he appeared beside Nebilim, charging at her, swords ready with a big cheeky grin on his face.
"It's over, Nebilim!" he yelled.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Author's Note: Man, that took forever to write, but that's the price I have to pay when I've got to be tedious and review the same chapter over and over again about twenty times.
I don't know when the next update will be, as school and work is currently consuming much of my time.
Talk about major action though. I love writing for Lloyd and Sheena, they're both so cool. I could totally imagine Sheena's theme playing right as she surprises Nebilim.
It seems that the Symphonian gang may have a plan to stop the evil Nebilim and her intent to destroy Aselia. Check out the next segment in the soon to be posted Chapter III.