Chapter 1: Noctis Xer


"Please... Run... You're the last hope everyone has left... Save... everyone..."

...

"...Uhh..."

The sun glared at the blue eyes of the awakened male. He pulls himself up with his hands, noticing how wet they are. He felt weight all around his figure as he managed to get onto his feet properly. Black covered his eyesight and he used his hands to part them, only to realize that those "black" were hair. He could hear the flow of water from behind him and he turned around. It was a stream of water, flowing away to the right.

"What the... where am I...?" The man takes in his surroundings, placing a hand on his aching head. He was surrounded by green. Trees towering above him. Lush grass his footwear pressed on. He coughed for a second. "...Water..." he looked back to the stream and walked over it, feeling the crunches of gravel as he stepped onto the riverbank. As he looked over at the river, he could see his reflection to see who he was.

He's a man at a height of five feet and nine inches with fair skin. Black hair with raven tints at the side were sprawled around his head messily. He wore a black knee-length turtleneck jacket with draconian markings on the shoulders and symmetrical black gloves on both hands, and black cropped trousers and black boots with brown soles.

In fact... he looked like a teenager... The youth bands down and scoops out some water with his hands. He felt the chill of the water before he brought it to his mouth. His eyes widened in surprise. Water has never felt so good before. He scooped up a few more drinks before he was satisfied with his fill of water.

The youth looked around. There doesn't seem to be any animals around here... He felt a sense of calmness. Well, with how soaked his clothes are, he wouldn't be able to run properly. The youth groans to himself and starts walking, knowing that the warm air will eventually dry his clothes.


The youth trudged around, turning his head left and right. His hair had already dried and he arranged it and found its' natural spiky state. "There has to be somewhere where people is..." He murmurs to himself. He took a look at his clothes. They were drying up, but at least he could move more easily now.

The youth looked back forward, seeing a majestic sight ahead of him. A mountain is by the right, and there are more plains by the left. The youth scanned through the plains... He couldn't see any sign of civilisation.

"Why does this happen to me?" He shakes his head before heading over to the direction of the mountains. If he had focused on the mountains earlier, he would have been able to see people at that moment.

...

"Umm... Are you sure this is the right way, Mr. Cole...?" A pair of brown shoes stepped on the rocky grounds.

"Sure I'm sure! This is a new path, and we haven't took it yet." A pair of white boots with blue laces stepped by the brown shoes.

"But... we've been here before... thrice... Mr. Thief-"

"I prefer the term, "Treasure Hunter", Kid!" Cole exclaimed after a loud clear of his throat.

"I'm... so sorry, Mr. Cole... But... can I lead this time?" The other voice said.

"...Sure, knock yourself out, Kid." Cole said.

"My name... is..."

"I know, Orniter. I'm just messin' with you." Cole let out a chuckle.

"...I'll lead the way, Mr. Cole." Orniter sighs. "We wouldn't be lost if you listened to Mr. Yuki's orders..."


The youth could feel the rough ground of the mountains as he stepped on it. He could feel the searing heat of the sun more intensely. He grumbles again, making sure he watched his steps so he wouldn't fall off from the mountains and plummet to a guaranteed death. He looked at the branching path ahead of him to cross over a large gap. There is a perfectly looking fine stone walkway on the left, and the other is a log with growing moss around it.

Looking to the stone pathway, which is obviously safer, he began to walk towards it...

"...Stop."

The youth jolts at the sudden call and turns around as the voice originated from behind him. Turning around, he saw a short gray-haired man slightly taller than him. He wore a light red vest with a green shirt and gray pants. There is a sword by his waist.

"Who... are you?"

"Ten seconds starting now, the stone bridge will give way. Take the other path, kid." The man speaks. The youth raises a brow. "What are you talking about? The stone path is completely safe." He turns back and took one step closer to the stone path...

"...One."

At the man's word, the stone pathway suddenly crumbles apart, shocking the youth as he watched the breaking gravel descending downwards, hearing it break apart. "You..." he turned back to the man with a gaping mouth. "...were right..."

"Not from around here, aren't you?" The man questioned. The youth stares at him blankly and was about to speak before he was cut off. "I expected as much. You should come with me. And if you want to question me for more, I would have killed you already if I saw you as a threat, kid."

The youth gulps at the sharp tongue of the man. The man nods. "Smart. Follow me, kid."

The youth follows behind the gray-haired man after crossing the log. After a few minutes of walking, the man speaks. "Erik Shallost."

"What?" The youth asked.

"My name. Erik Shallost." The man replied. "And... you probably would need this."

The youth blinked before Erik suddenly drew out a sword and threw it at him. The youth hastily manages to catch it by the handle. "Know how to use a sword?" Erik questioned. And before the youth could further ask, Erik had drawn out the sword from his waist and lunged at him.

"Ah!" The youth blocks against the repeated horizontal slashes Erik made. "Wait! Sto-" he found himself disarmed of his sword, watching it spin and stab into the rocky wall before he saw Erik point his sword at his neck. "What's your deal, man!?" The youth screams angrily. He studied how Erik's sword looked rather different than the one he is given. There are a lot of metal segments for that blade.

"...You will at least be able to hold yourself for a few minutes against Dulleds before I return, kid." Erik replied with a shake of his head as he sheathed his blade and walked over to the sword, pulling it out easily before immediately turning back to the youth and throwing the sword at him again.

The youth stares at him incredulously. "...What."

"Just follow me, kid. What a rescue assignment this is..." Erik turns around and walks ahead of the youth. The youth groans and follows behind him. The youth trudged beside Erik, feeling uneasy from how the guy treated him for the past ten minutes...

"...Tell me if you see a woman anywhere, kid."

"Huh?" The youth blinked at Erik's sudden speaking again.

"...The rescue mission consists of rescuing Stella Fleuret. She was supposed to return here after a search mission, but has not done so for 7 days, 8 hours, 26 minutes and 5 seconds as of now. As for the lady, she is four inches shorter than you. She had long blond hair with side-swept bangs, round pale blue eyes with purple aspects around the iris. Her attire is a black top, skirt, and belt, and a white sleeveless bolero." Erik explained to him, turning around. "Got it all memorized, kid?"

"Err... Yes..." At the youth's response, Erik nodded. "Good. Or... perhaps that won't be necessary." As Erik closed his eyes, the youth stared at him before he saw him reopen his eyes. "Stella Fleuret is a kilometre ahead from our location."

"Okay, I got it. Ahead of us." The youth walked, ready to find this Stella. The youth never noticed Erik suddenly stopping while he walked. When he notices that there is no shadow, he turns around and found himself shoved by Erik.

"What was tha-"

A loud crunch was heard as something burst out of the rocky wall, ramming into Erik. He gave a shout as he was thrown off the mountain. The youth's eyes widened when he saw Erik fall. "Erik!" he shouted. At that, he saw Erik's attacker. A large bestial quadruped with gigantic horns above its' face. It had yellow skin with brown spots all around and had three nails from each of its' feet. It bares out its fangs, revealing their sharpness.

It growls at him before charging at the youth. The youth shouts and ducks to the side. As he rolled, he manages to draw out the sword Erik gave to him before seeing the beast charge at him again. He scampered and jumped to the right., watching it slam against the rocky wall and leaving a spreading crack.

"At least I know for sure if that beast lands a hit on me, I'll be killed on contact!" the youth gets back on his feet. The beast once again charged and he dodged again. And again. And again. 'This isn't much of a fight! All I can do is dodge!' the youth thinks. 'Wait... maybe...!'

He steps to the edge of the mountain, gulping as he saw the beast look at him. He watched it charge... and he jumped to the side. He quickly looked around and his eyes widened. The beast stopped itself just before it would have charged right off the mountain to its' death.

'It didn't fall off! That monster isn't as stupid as I thought!' The youth sweats as he watched the beast leer at him. He could feel his hands tremble, knowing there was no way out of this alone. He will die. Right here.

However, he saw something shoot out from the edge of the mountain just before the beast gets ready to charge at him. It was a whip with blade segments. He could hear whirling before, much to his shock, Erik soar above the beast before landing on it. "Erik" The youth exclaims. "Told you that you'd hold yourself long enough for me to come back, kid!" Erik said to the youth. "Now, go! I'll take care of him!"

Erik pulls his whip blade around the beast's waist, hearing it roar out and begin trashing around in an effort to throw him off. "Not gonna fly, Tauricorn!" he shouts back. He was flung around again as the beast increased its' efforts to throw him off, nearly skewering him with its' horns in a few instances, but he flexibly spun and kicked it in the face, adding to its' frustration. Erik manages to catch sight of the youth, remaining in his spot.

"You're not getting cold feet, aren't you, kid! Run!" Erik snaps at the youth. The youth stares at the beast and Erik. Based on how it was going, Erik wouldn't be able to hold on long... He saw how the beast charge around repeatedly... and he found it.

The youth runs to the wall and shouts to Erik. "Send it to me!"

"Kid, you lost your brain!?" Erik shouts.

"Trust me on this!" the youth tells.

"...If you haunt me for this, I will get back at you, kid!" Erik grits his teeth and does a sharp pull, hearing the beast cry out and it saw the youth and charges towards him. The youth remained on his feet, watching their distance lessen. Erik loosened his whip blade around the beast's waist and slashes it repeatedly before it slams itself into the wall again and sprayed dust all around. Erik kicked off from the beast from the impact.

'The best time to attack... is right after it charges!!' The beast suddenly catches sight of a sword below its' head. "Raaaaaaaaaagh!!" the youth shouts, swinging the sword up and tearing through the beast's skin and flesh until he reaches the end, decapitating the beast's head from its' body. Blood gushed out of the stumps and the beast's body collapses without a brain to function. The youth collapses on his butt and pants heavily. He managed to kill it...

"...Not bad, kid. No newbie was able to handle a fully-grown Tauricorn without living to tell the tale." Erik said. His tone had a bit of surprise and amazement. The youth gets back on his feet. "You think so...?"

But that was all the whipblade user gave to him as he grunted, holding the left side of his rib. "Friggin' Tauricorn... Cure!" He grunted again plenty of times as green energy flowed from his hand before he relaxed. "...Much better. Let's go, kid."

"Can you stop calling me 'kid'?" The youth finally had enough of the consistent 'kid' calling.

"Because I realized I never asked for your name, kid. What is it?" Erik said.

The youth breathed. Finally, those 'kid' comments will come to an end... if he had remembered his name. "...I don't know..." Erik just stared at him silently. "...Kid, we're going." He turned and headed ahead of the youth. The youth quickly hurries on his feet and catches up with Erik.


The duo depart from the mountains, entering a forest. Erik looked around, seeing the vegetation around them. "...Two paths." He said, looking at the branching paths. "...We'll split up. You check the left and I check right."

"Split up!?" the youth shouts. "That's not a good idea! I nearly died from that... Tauricorn!"

"There aren't any monsters, I can assure you that." Erik told him and went off to the right pathway, ignoring the youth's shouts at him. The youth groans. Great. His main source of protection is gone. He turned to the left and walked over there. The youth continued on the path, looking around and hoping that Erik was right and he wouldn't end up a dead man this time. He felt a gentle breeze ahead of him and saw a clearing ahead of him. He approached it and as his eyes adjusted to the light, he let out a gasp.

It was a beautiful field of flowers. He watches petals swerve up into the skies and was generally amazed. He looks ahead of him and saw something. Walking closer, he saw that it was someone. A woman with fair skin, long blond hair and side-swept bangs laid on her back. She wore a sleeveless white bolero, a black top, skirt and belt. She wore white heels on her feet. Beside her, is a rapier with a ancient design which intrigued the youth. The youth could hear her breathe; a sign that she is alive.

'That woman... she's so beautiful... and pretty. It's like she's a princess...' The youth thought to himself. He reaches out to her and shakes her shoulder. "Are you alr-"

The woman's eyes open and saw him, letting out a gasp of surprise and showing her pale blue eyes with purple aspects around the iris. She lands a kick on the youth's chest causing him to gasp out in pain as he fell back. The woman's left hand grabs the rapier and she points it at the youth with one knee beneath her and one leg standing.

"W-whoah!" the youth shouts. "Let me explain! I just want to help!"

The woman doesn't reply, not lowering her rapier at all. He saw that her eyes were looking at his bloodstained sword. She tries to get up, but groans as she remained in her positon.

"A-Are you alright!? Let me help!" the youth approaches her carefully, in case she decided to swing her rapier at him and cause unnecessary wounds. But he was stopped at the call of voices.

"I see Stella over here! C'mon, Vivi!"

"Stella!"

"What the-Vivi!"

"Okay! Blind!"

The shouts caused the man to turn around and he saw a black fog strike him. It didn't hurt that much, but when he opened his eyes, he couldn't see anything. He tried to look for his sword, but halted when he realized he could harm the woman blindly. He felt someone wrap their arm around his neck before feeling a knife's cold blade touching his throat. He could hear voices with his vision blinded by that fog.

"I got him! Vivi!" a mature voice said.

"R-Right! Stella, here..." a child-like voice said.

He heard munching and gulping for three minutes. He stopped hearing the sounds as he heard the first voice speak.

"Who are you?"

"I didn't mean any harm! I was just trying to help her!" the youth shouted. "Now... let go of me...!"

"I said, what's your name?"

"I don't know!"

"Hm..." he could feel the knife getting ready to slit his throat.

"Erik! Help!" the youth cried out. He felt the knife stop moving. "Erik? How do you know Shallost?"

"Because I met him." It was Erik's voice.

"M-Mr. Shallost!" the child's voice exclaimed.

"I met him and know he's too much of a newbie to be able to harm Stella. Release him." Erik's voice said.

"...Okay." He finally felt the arm release around him. The youth clutches his neck, turning around before screaming as he felt water splash around his eyes. "What was that for!?" he screamed. "Eye Drops." The mature voice replied. "It removes blinding effects."

The youth blinked repeatedly and it was true. The blackness is gone. And with that, he saw the owners of the two new voices. The one who sheathed his knife back into red sheaths had about the same height as him with light brown hair and a wiry build. He wore black pants and an open jacket with blue patterns over a white t-shirt. He wears a blue and yellow bandana, white boots with blue laces, and a brown belt with a patterned blue sash.

The second one... was, well... odd-looking. He only stood below four feet. He wore a large tan pointy hat, a blue jacket with small red ropes tying the jacket close, green and white stripy trousers, red and white gloves, and brown boots. His skin... it was completely black and his face had two big yellow eyes. There is no visible mouth.

Erik cleared his throat. "I believe we haven't given some introductions to you, kid. The thief over th-"

"Treasure hunter." Interrupts the knife-wielder.

"...Treasure hunter, is Locke Cole. And the punty little guy is Vivi Orniter." Erik said.

"D-Did you have to call me that...?" The small boy looks down.

"Come on, it's a joke, Vivi. He may be small and about nine years old..."

"Nine years old!?" the youth shouts.

"...I would like no one to interrupt me. He's a great black mage for his age. And the woman you see over here, who you should know from my description, is Stella Fleuret. But... we can't leave him here. The portal doesn't allow anyone without names to come by in Unita." Erik turned to the other three.

"Then, just give him a name." Locke said.

"Remember it does not work that way, Locke. Makoto said so." Stella tells Locke.

"T-then... umm.." Vivi quietly looked at the youth. "...night..." he murmured. "His clothing reminds me of night..."

At the sound of 'night', the youth's eyes widened. He... had found out his name.

"...Noctis..."

"Hm?" The four looked at him.

"My name is... Noctis Xer."

"Noctis Xer..." Stella said. "That's a nice name."

"With that said... are you prepared to enter Unita?" Locke asked.

"I'll open it." Erik told them. He raised a palm skyward and a blue circle formed above them.

"Huh...?" Vivi kept staring at Noctis. "What?"

"His Crystal Powers..." Vivi murmured. "I... sense two of them..." Stella and Locke's eyes widened; Erik's eyebrows rose. "Two Crystal Powers like Stella?" Locke said. Vivi nodded. "It's... Darkness and... Lightning..."

"Darkness.. the power of Fear... and Lightning... the power of Honor." Erik said.

"Wait, what's a Crystal Power?" Noctis asked. The light above them started to intensify. "We'll tell you everything soon." Stella told him as light took them.

"Wha-" Noctis didn't get to finish his line as he was whisked away like them.


Well, I can say that when I named the main "main" characters Noctis and Stella, I realized that there was VS XIII. And I have to say that I was peeved at how it got turned into an okay XV. But, Luna had zero character development during the story, which really sucks.

Enough of that ranting...

This is mainly a crossover of Final Fantasy, Pokemon and Persona series. (Which are my main favorite game series in here). And if you're wondering, yes, Tales of Faith (ToF) is related to here as well.

And I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do.

(Honestly, I didn't know what to name the story at all and somehow, Servant of the Crystal rang in my head.)