Mike: Happy New year everyone!
Max: You have weird ideas you know.
Mike:Why thank you.
Max:(Shakes head) Why am I using some of his ideas...
Mathew: Cause it's kinda twisted.
Max: Which is quite unexpected coming from you.(Points at Mike)
Mike:(A halo could be seen on his head) Why do you say that?
Max:(Rips the halo off Mike's head and pushes back his hair, revealing two sharp points) Your horns are showing.
Mike:Heh... Heh... Heh... Not just mine...
Mathew:...
Max:(eye twitch) I'm almost afraid to ask what you two have done?
Mike Mathew: (mischievous chuckle)
Max: Forget I even asked. You (points to Jun) say the disclaimer.
Jun: What why me?
Max: You're the first person I saw.
Jun: Bull.
Max:I'll give you a cookie.
Jun: Fine. RadonMax Does not own Tales of Symphonia. Scott and Phos are owned by StorytellerOfDarkness. (Nibbles on cookie)
Ring! Ring!
"Lloyd can you get the phone?" Sheena called to Lloyd from the bedroom. She was examining herself and placed a hand on her bulging midsection. Her second child was due to arrive any moment.
Ring! Ring!
"Got it." he picked up the phone and started to talk with the person on the line. Halfway during his conversation he paled and found it hard to talk.
"Lloyd, who is it?" Sheena asked from the bedroom. When he didn't respond she got worried and came down the stairs. She went over to the phone to see if Lloyd was still talking with whoever called. When she arrived the phone was on the floor, as several blue-green feathers were also scattered on the ground.
"Hello? Hello?" she could hear that the person was still on the line waiting for a response. She quickly raced over to the phone and picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Mr. Aurion are you still there?" The caller had a deep, somewhat soothing, voice.
"Were you talking with Lloyd earlier?" Sheena asked confused by Lloyd's sudden disappearance and the amount of feathers scattered on the ground.
"Yes I was. Are you Mrs. Aurion by chance?"
"Yes I am."
"Do you know where your husband went?"
"No."
"He didn't tell you before he left?"
"No"
"Then you may want to sit down." the man calmly said.
"Why?"
"I have some important news for you."
"Why would I need to sit down?"
"General Assembly school was attacked today, around noon. Several of the children have gone missing." When she heard this she almost dropped the phone.
"What about Naomi?" she yelled into the phone.
"I'm sorry. We have people searching for them as we speak." She froze and slumped onto the ground, holding back her worries. She realized where Lloyd had gone. He had gone to the school to try to find their daughter. That moment Mithos had burst through the front door.
"Where's Lloyd? I sensed that someone used a spell." When she didn't respond he went over and grasped her shoulders. He was about to try to talk to her, when he felt something in the air. It was a sensation he hadn't felt in years. Mana. Not the small amount of mana from a tree, Max had planted to sustain them, but a potent amount filled the air. He winced in pain as his body tried to absorb as much of it as it could. This caused his wings to emerge as he felt a fraction of his former power return. The mana in the air suddenly started to fade just as fast as it appeared. He had to find the source before it completely disappeared.
"Sheena, if Collette comes here to look for me, tell her that I know where Lloyd is and I'm going to help him." Mithos stood and focused on the fading mana, using it as a guide to where he would warp to. When he arrived he found Lloyd in a fisticuff battle with a heavily armored person, broken weapons strewn across the battle field. Using Lloyd's attacks as a distraction Mithos formed a ball of mana in his hand and blasted their attacker. The blast had knocked him back about ten feet, he landed somewhat gracefully in front of a tree. Without any hesitation, he quickly turned and hit the tree at its base and broke it. As it fell he grabbed it and threw it at Lloyd and Mithos. Thinking quickly Lloyd grabbed one of the discarded weapons on the ground and split the large projectile.
"Lloyd look out!" Mithos yelled as the mysterious warrior appeared behind him. Lloyd quickly elbowed the guy on his helmet stunning him for a bit. The stun was long enough for Mithos to unleash his attack.
"Yggdrasil Laser!" a bright beam was emitted from the former cruxis leader and hit the man head on. The powerful blast had knocked the man deep into the forest, surely to be lost.
"W-Who was that?" Mithos gasped. The attack was potent but had used up a large amount of mana that he had gathered.
"Not now. Look!" Lloyd pointed off towards a part of the forest ahead of them. Using their angelic abilities they saw a pack of large black and blue wolves dragging people. Seeing who the people were, sent Lloyd and Mithos into a panic. Naomi, Gabriel, Ryan, Matthew, and several other children were being dragged by the wolves deeper into the forest. With out a word the two rushed towards the wolves. The sudden attack had taken the wolves by surprise. They had dropped their burdens and took off towards the denser part of the woods.
"Careful, they might come back." Lloyd said as he watched the creatures vanish into the shadows of the trees.
"They seem to have only a few cuts and bruises. Overall the kids are fine." Mithos said as he examined the children. Mainly his son. He had quickly taken note of the metal cuffs on all the children's left hands.
"Good. We need to find a way to get them to safety. The wolves might return any moment now." Lloyd said as he picked up some of the children and sat them against some trees.
"How are we going to get them back? The two of us are not strong enough to carry them back, without hurting them." Mithos said as a large wave of mana suddenly washed over the group. "Strange. I better make use of it then." with that he gathered the mana around them and warped everyone out of the forest.
When they had warped away, a darkened figure stepped out from behind a tree. Just as the armored man approached him.
"Have they all been equipped?" the figure asked.
"Yes they have. They will find it soon enough." the heavily armored person responded with a bow.
"Very good Gelu. Call the wolves and I will head to the next destination. I'll call you when I need you." With a wave of his hand a portal opened before him. A large amount of mana spilled from the newly opened portal.
"Dose that happen every time?" Gelu asked as he was stabilizing himself to the flow of mana, coming from the portal.
"Yes it does, since its source is anchored in Sylvarant." the figure reached up and adjusted his mask. Just then a white and green creature sprang out of the portal. This caught them by surprise. "You know that's not a bad idea." he masked figure said. "Have fun" he said as the creature dashed off into the forest.
"Is that really a good idea Max?" Gelu asked. I could only chuckle.
"Yes. And he will prove to be a good distraction."
"If you don't mind me asking. Why did you wait a year before putting your plans in action?"
"Timing is everything. Now I need to get to my destination on time." I said as I entered the portal. Gelu nodded and let out a sharp whistle. The wolves came running by him and jumped into the portal. He took a glance around before entering.
the world seemed to spin as Lloyd and the children appeared behind the hospital. A thud had gotten his attention and turned to see what had happened. He saw Mithos had collapsed and was barely breathing.
"Mithos!" Lloyd shouted as he ran over to his friend.
"I-I'm... f-fine" he barely stuttered "I us-used too much... mana. Just... let me... rest." with that said he lost consciousness. Lloyd gritted his teeth and looked around. He perked up when he noticed that they were at the hospital. He quickly got up and ran inside to get help. In moments a team of doctors and nurses came out the check on the children and Mithos' condition. Later that day he was sitting next the bed where his daughter was sleeping. A loud howl had woken him from his deep thoughts, on what the strange-looking wolves were doing, and had gotten his full attention.
"Mr. Aurion?" A nurse appeared in the door way.
"Yes?"
"You're the husband of a Mrs. Sheena Aurion correct?"
"Correct. Why did some thing happen to her?" a look of worry quickly spread across his face. First his daughter gets kidnapped and now something might have happened to Sheena.
"She had gone into labor a few hours ago, she was rushed here when it started."
"Really?" Lloyd was filled with excitement and worry at the news. A noise from the bed had split Lloyd's attention.
"Congratulations you have a healthy boy."
"Dad?" Naomi was looking exhausted as she looked for her father. She was too tired to notice the metal band attached to her wrist.
"Naomi! Your awake." Lloyd had pulled his daughter into a tight hug.
"Dad... can't... breath..."
"Oh. Sorry. Guess what?"
"What?" Naomi said as she tried to catch her breath.
"You have a younger brother." Lloyd could barely hold his excitement in. Nothing could bring him down. So he thought. A disturbance could be heard in the hall as Sheena appeared in the door way, completely out of breath. She had ripped out her IVs, the wires that were used to monitor her were dangling off of her, and looked completely exhausted.
"Lloyd!"
"Sheena! What are you doing? Your suppose to be resting." Lloyd ran over to his spouse and tried to support her.
"Max!" She forced her self to say.
"What?" Lloyd had a worried and confused expression. How could Max be here? They were on Earth and he was in the other world.
"Max! H-He was here! He took Alex!"
Earlier
I had secured my target from the hospital nurse and was making my way out of the hospital. I figured that the nurse wouldn't be able to recognize me. So I casually took care of my business. I ended up passing a room with a familiar looking person resting in the bed, since the door was open we could see each other. I gave Sheena a smirk as I passed. Her eyes lit up in recognition of who I was; then in horror as she realized what I was carrying, in my arms. "NO!" I heard her yell as I vanished from her line of sight. I knew that in her current condition she wouldn't have been able to chase after me. So I made my way to the exit, and to add a little more spite, I waved at the security camera. Once I was out of the hospital I made my way towards the woods south of the town.
By the end of the day I had reached the heart of the forest.
"This is a good spot." a shadowy limb materialized behind me, and at my whim had cleared a segment of the forest before me.
"Now then..." I raised my free hand and pointed towards the forest. Where I pointed the world started to warp out of figure. It bent and twisted before it formed a portal. As soon as it opened I could feel the mana rush out of it and into the world. After some time getting use to the surge of mana, I was about to step through when I heard someone behind me.
"Holy Lance!" I had jumped back in time for me to see the ground, where I was standing, get skewered by several beams of light.
"I don't think your going anywhere with that child." A woman's voice said. I turned around and faced my attacker.
"Hello Raine. It's been quite a while." I said with a smug look on my face. She just glared at me as she held her staff, ready to strike.
"Crescent Moon!" again I had just barely dodged an attack.
"Hello Regal." I dodged another of Regal's attacks as the child stirred in my arm. "Careful, you don't want to wake him." I said with a twisted smirk on my face.
"What do you want with that child?" Raine questioned me as she charged an attack.
"Oh nothing. I just got bored." I said as I dodged Raine and Regal's attacks.
"Your sick." Raine shouted at me.
"Your right. I've been better before." I jested at her insult.
"You will answer our questions." Regal said just as he hit me. I staggered a bit and checked on the child. He had to remain healthy for my plans to follow through. I had an adversary to raise.
"Don't you have more important things to worry about? Like your son currently in the hospital?"
"Collette and Presea are watching him for us." when Raine said that. It kinda caught me off guard and open for another attack.
"You and Regal are married?" I said as I pointed at her.
"Indeed we are" Regal said as he tried to land another hit on me.
"Congratulations on your partnership. I'd love to stay and chat some more, but I have a world to rule." I easily stopped Regal's attack with my hand. Quickly I checked and saw that the child I held onto was still sleeping. I griped his leg and threw him into the air. I instantly made a beeline to the open portal. I dodged another volley of Raine's attacks. "If you want to play a little more, I can arrange it." I snapped my fingers and Gelu stepped out of the portal. "Entertain them for me. I have some business to finish."
"As you wish lord Max." With that I went through the portal, to the world I had remade.
"Now then. By lord Max's wishes." He pulled out a strange-looking whistle. "I am to 'Entertain' you." The sound the whistle produced seemed to reverberate with the portal, right behind him. The portal then split into three separate portals. A large wolf had stepped out of one of the portals, as a large green bird flew out another, and a golem rumbled out the last. "Shadow, Venus, Ingot. Entertain our friends." Without another word the wolf roared as it charged at Raine. It lunged at her. Regal had quickly intercepted and kicked its side, sending it flying into the trees. Raine said a silent thanks and took advantage of the mana pouring out of the portals and prepared a spell. Regal had charged at the large avian creature but had to dodge as the golem tried to strike him down. The impact of the golem's attack left a good-sized hole in the ground. Even in his advancing age Regal was still quite acrobatic, seeing that he was dodging attacks left and right from both the golem and avian creature. "Holy lance" Raine shouted as several spears of light fell from the sky and embedded themselves in the golem. Letting out a low rumble the golem fell to pieces. Regal gave a swift kick to the avian creature's neck causing it to break, it collapsed in a heap into the hole the golem had made.
"Now where is that wolf?" Raine said just before she saw it in the corner of her eye. The wolf had lunged at Raine. It far was too late for anyone to intercept the attack, she had braced for the impact of the creature. Just then something fell out of the sky landing on the wolf's head crushing its skull and killing the creature. Standing on the dead creature Lloyd surveyed the scene.
"Looks like I got here in time." he said with his goofy grin.
"Don't think you've won that easily." Gelu said as he blew into the whistle again. This time the portals merged back into one as no less than thirty monsters came out. They were followed by a gigantic dragon like creature. It's two heads searched back and forward each one looking for a meal to eat. "Similitude, Attack!" Gelu said before he disappeared into the portal.
"Get ready!" Lloyd said as he drew his swords. As if a silent signal went off, Lloyd and Regal rushed into the mob of monsters killing anything in their path while Raine supported them with magic and healing. What felt like a solid hour of fighting, fatigue had caught up to Regal and Lloyd was being overwhelmed by monsters. Lloyd suddenly froze and shouted "Everyone shields!" Just as everyone had put up their mana shields pillars of light came crashing down upon the mob of monsters killing them, until only the two-headed dragon was left. For some reason the dragon seemed to have resisted the attack. Using his advanced senses Lloyd noticed a small crystal embedded into the creature's chest. Thinking fast he rushed at the dragon while avoiding the fireballs that it shot off. Each attack that he dodged scorched the land and left a trail of destruction. The dragon quickly caught onto what Lloyd was trying to accomplish and set the land before it ablaze. Not wanting to risk being badly injured, Lloyd took one of his swords and had thrown it like a javelin. His sword had fully impaled the dragon, shattering the crystal in the process. When the crystal had shattered an energy field could be seen dissipating from the dragon.
"I hope I get this right." Lloyd said as he reviled his wings and gathered the mana around him. "Struggle against these holy chains! Shining Bind!" A large magic circle appeared underneath him as the mana, he collected, erupted from the circle blasting the area around him. The dragon tried to defend its self, but the magnitude of Lloyd's attack ended up destroying it and a large portion of the forest, that stood behind it. The attack had left Lloyd close to unconsciousness, since there wasn't enough mana coming from the portal to sustain it, the attack ended up only being a fraction of its original strength. As they settled down after the attack Raine and Regal went to check on Lloyd, when they heard some shout out in pain. It was odd since the cry of pain came from above them. They wondered who it was for a moment until they saw Mithos flying behind Colette, who was gripping his ear.
"You almost hit them!" Collette yelled as she tugged on Mithos' ear.
"I said I'm sorry!"Mithos pleaded as they flew down to the group. The group had gathered to check for damages. Raine was the first to notice something odd.
"What the?" was all she said as she headed to the far edge of the clearing, where Gelu was standing. She reached out and touched something. Instantly the area where she touched rippled and revealed a swirling mass. The group quickly gathered around the portal not noticing the rustling noses coming form the bushes. A green and white creature quickly ran out of the forest. In a blink of an eye it had ran past the group and strait towards it's target.
"What-?" was all Lloyd said as he was quickly taken down by the creature.
"Lloyd!" everyone yelled as they ran to help their fallen friend. As they got closer, they noticed that there wasn't any signs of a struggle, and Lloyd was laughing.
"Ah-pbh-Noishe-get-geh-OFf!" This left them confused as they watched Noishe get off Lloyd and nuzzle him. "Its good to see you too, pal. But I need to find Alex." Lloyd's demeanor changed from being happy to serious as he turned to the group. "Where did Max go?"
"He took Alex into this portal." Raine said as she studied the swirling mass before her.
"I'll call the hospital and check on the kids and Sheena." Regal said as he pulled out his cell phone and dialed the hospital.
"You left a portal open for them? How stupid can you get!" Jun seemed perturbed when she found out about the portal.
"Heh Heh Heh. Would it ease your thoughts if I told you I did it on purpose?" I said.
"What?"
"It's simple I want them to chase after me... Right into my trap... Yeah my Trap." sweat could be seen on my brow.
"What trap? You haven't set anything up in the past year." Jun's tapping foot was echoing in the marble hallway.
"Are you sure? Besides in their current state, they pose no threat. Yet."
"Yet?"
"I've grown bored with the predictable movements of the Renegades and Vanguard. I thought that they could use some help, from some former heroes."
"Are you sure thats a good idea?" Jun said semi-distracted
"I hope it will give our enemies a fighting chance."
"Why do you want to give them a fighting chance? Why not just crush them?" every time she spoke she seemed to get irked more and more.
"Because it's important for them to have a strong force. So I can kill some of my boredom. Eliminating a weak rebellion is not that exciting." I said with a sadistic smile growing on my face. The thought of the carnage I would inflict excited me. I quickly cleared my head of those thoughts. Maintain control Max maintain control.
"And what about this... Thing?" Jun was referring to the child she was holding for me as I looked at the clock tower.
"That thing is very important, and your going to watch him while I check on my projects."
"But-"
"No buts. Your going to watch him and that's final!" With that said I turned and headed towards what was left of the tower of salvation. I could hear Jun's cry of frustration from where I was headed, soon followed by crying, as Alex woke up.
I had gotten half way to the tower when a wave of pain washed over me. I griped the sides of my head, where most of the pain had focused. I could feel them, growing under my skin, little hard nubs had started to form, where I was gripping. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a few purple crystals. I could barely hold them as several had fallen onto the ground. I crushed one in the palm of my hand and felt myself absorb what was released. The pain subsided as the nubs shrank. "Damn. Why dose it seem to have a mind of it's own." I picked up the stray crystals and put them back in my pocket. Letting out a sigh I resumed my journey.
I reached the tower late in the day and the sun had started to set. It was difficult to tell time around the tower, since the sphere of mana constantly emitted light and would interfere with any kind of timekeeping device. Passing through the front door of the tower, one could feel that something wasn't right. The very entrance didn't seem to fit the expansive green room. As one would look into the infinite green space, that somehow was contained within the tower, a transparent walkway could be seen leading to a floating island. This was where Yggdrasil's alter, with all the former chosen, once stood. A large crystal could be seen hovering in the center. As I approached, the crystal opened up reveling a luxurious room.
I had entered the crystal and could hear it seal up behind me. In the center of the room a small sphere hovered, while runes skittered across its surface. I touched the sphere as the runes seemed to organize. I spun the sphere, in what looked like a random fashion, until all the runes lined up in a specific order. A holographic menu then appeared, above the sphere, with a list of numbers. If they saw this on earth people would barely recognize it as an elevator. Instead of pressing one number I hit several. '08''67''53''09' when I hit the last number the elevator started to descend.
The elevator came to a stop at an unlisted level. The door opened revealing two squads of angels guarding a large vault door. I dismissed the angels and opened the vault. Entering the darkened room my foot steps would echo loudly in the darkness. I stopped when I came across a small gem, hovering in the air. Lightly touching the jewel activated a large machine. As it whirred into activity, the lights came on illuminating the chamber. In the middle stood two cylindrical stasis pods. The protective covering was pulled into the floor bathing the room with a blinding light. Peering through the light a child could be seen floating in the stasis pod. His jet black hair was obscured by his radiant aureolin wings, which were wrapped around him like a blanket. The second shield had revealed pieces of a shattered sword suspended in the container. Pulling out a shard of metal, from my pocket, I placed it into the stasis pod that held the fragments. "Soon when I find all the fragments, you will be remade, Talim."
Realizing the irony of what I was doing, I just started to laugh silently. I was trying to reforge her almost like how Mithos was trying to resurrect his older sister. The difference was that I wasn't looking for someone to sacrifice, but a person with the skill to reforge her. My hunt had lasted over a decade and several different eras, but was unsuccessful. In the process I ended up taking control of all the major powers that governed the world, either by brute force or black mail. Or was it the hunger for power that drove me forward. Either way I kept taking over region after region. Soon I had the world under my control and could do anything I wanted.
I resealed the chamber giving one last look to Talim and the sleeping child. "When will the dream end?" echoed in my memory as the child vanished from my view.
Max: First off I know that Lloyd's Mystic Arte is Divine Justice/ Falcon's Crest. Bun in order to use those techs he has to have the eternal sword, which is currently in my possession. So I decided to give him his father's tech because it seems to fit.
Mike: Or you just like it.
Max:(Ignores Mike) Anyways I hope I entertained you with a little of my madness.
?: Madness?
Max, Mike, Mathew:(facepalm and throw the guy out a window.)
Max: Until next chapter, Take care.
Jun: Please leave a review. Max says I get cookies when he gets reviews. I promise I'll share!
