Rising Shadow: A Fanfic by Gyppy

Summary: The Dark Lord Nebilim is spreading the fog of death through the land; a swordsman by the name of Abyssion goes out to find out how to stop this miasma, and also to avenge the death of his parents.

Along the way, he stumbles upon the Eternal Swordsman, Lloyd, and his group, and they work together to help defeat Nebilim and restore peace and tranquility to the land.

Author's Note: This is in an Author's Universe, which means that the storyline has nothing to do with the storyline of the game. There may be a bit of out-of-characterness, and lastly, this is a crossover fic (the concept of miasma is from Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles). There may be a few Original Characters, which are characters the author came up with to put in the fanfic.

Also, there will be some hints at pairings in this fic (sometimes a little more than hints ;) ): the most notable will be LloydxColette, and there'll also be sprinklings of ZelosxSheena, GenisxPresea and, later on, maybe a little KratosxRaine. I won't spoil the rest for you.

There'll be plenty of game spoilers in this fic, however, it is in an Author's Universe, so much of the spoiler content will have to do with relations and such.

Thank you for the review(s).

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia, Namco, Final Fantasy or Squaresoft/Square-Enix. All I own is this storyline, this story and my pathetic, writer's-block-afflicted mind.

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Chapter 7: Fireside Discussions and Fears

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The group had decided to camp just outside of Lake Umacy for the night, since the next day they would have to head to the Balacruf Mausoleum to break the next seal. They all knew they had a long and arduous journey ahead of them.

Lloyd had trouble sleeping, so he, Abyssion, Kratos and Colette decided to have a chat by the fire.

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"I can't believe we're already this far," Lloyd said. "I mean, we already have two of the Devil's Arms. That leaves seven more to go."

"We've also broken two of the seals," Kratos said, glancing at Lloyd. "I'm... proud of you."

"It must feel nice to have your father acknowledge you after all this time," Colette said. "I mean, you've had fourteen... nearly fifteen long, hard years without your parents, and since you know your mother isn't alive, you at least know your father is."

"Yeah, I must admit, it does feel nice," Lloyd said. "But I suppose I shouldn't let it get to me."

"You both are descendants of angels," Abyssion said. "Lloyd is the descendant of a seraph, and Colette is the descendant of... a half-elven angel who ranks barely higher than all the others. It makes me wonder how Colette is so human..."

"Maybe I do have a small amount of elven blood in me," Colette said. "But then again... maybe not."

"An angel's child does not always carry their race," Kratos said. "Not even I understand the specifics, but... it seems as if somehow, the lesser race can be overwhelmed by the greater race's blood. I know of a number of angel's descendants who are pureblooded humans or elves."

"It doesn't seem like it would be allowed by physics," Abyssion said. "After all, the genetic code of both parents is involved in the creation of the child, and so I'd imagine any normal being born of a human and a half-elf would be at least one quarter elf."

"Maybe it's the Cruxis Crystal," Colette said. "Or... maybe if both parents have an Exsphere or Cruxis Crystal, the dominant race's blood overwhelms the other's, and the child is of the dominant race."

"It's not scientifically possible," Abyssion said. "You shouldn't be a pureblooded human... but you have the mana signature of a pureblood. Perhaps Kratos is right... maybe it's because you're the child of an angel that you're a pureblooded human."

There was a brief silence as everyone wondered how Abyssion could sense the mana signature.

Then Colette spoke up, saying, "Oh, that's right. You're a half-elf too."

"It took you this long to notice?" Abyssion muttered.

"I don't understand what you just said, but it sounded pretty interesting," Lloyd said. "I mean, that whole thing about genetic codes and dominant races really got me there."

"He's still as stupid as ever..." Kratos muttered, attempting to keep Lloyd from hearing it. However, Lloyd's senses had been enhanced by the Cruxis Crystal, and he picked it up with no problem, glaring at Kratos.

"I desire to ask a question," Abyssion said, interrupting the relatives' squabble. "Do you think collecting and sealing the Devil's Arms... is really the right decision? We don't know if we'll even be able to take Nebilim's sword..."

"It's okay," Colette said. "If you're worried about it now, you're probably just nervous. When the time comes, I'm sure we'll find a way to defeat Nebilim."

"Yeah, you're right," Abyssion said. "But still... I'm worried... I wonder if he'll be able to handle it..."

"Who?" Lloyd asked.

"My brother," Abyssion replied. "He's a few years younger than me, and he isn't in the best of shape... I hope he'll be able to survive alone for all this time."

"You seem like a strong person," Kratos said. "I doubt any relatives of yours wouldn't be able to hold their own... even in a place like Flanoir."

"I'm not so sure about that," Abyssion said. "My parents... and a few of my siblings were killed by Nebilim. They couldn't hold their own..."

"Nebilim's pretty powerful," Lloyd said. "Unless they were trained in combat, they probably wouldn't have had a chance."

"Yes, you're right," Abyssion said. "Me and my brother were the only ones trained in combat... and my brother can't fight because he's too sickly to do so."

"Just like with Seles," Lloyd said, his mind drifting to the Wilder siblings. "Seles wanted to help Zelos and the rest of us, but she's too weak to do it. I'm sure if she had the strength, she could come, but..."

"That's right," Abyssion said, glancing at Lloyd. "You know someone with a younger relative as well. I... think I will attempt to support Zelos in this journey. I know how he feels... if only slightly."

"She's only his half-sister," Kratos said. "She's only his sister on his father's side. But it seems he cares about her nonetheless... and she seems to care about him as well."

"Say, what will happen if we gather and seal the Devil's Arms?" Lloyd asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"Nebilim's power will be greatly reduced," Abyssion replied. "If we don't kill him our first time around, we will definitely kill him the next time if the Devil's Arms are sealed. Also, if we manage to obtain all of the weapons and seal them... the miasma will disappear."

"Are the Devil's Arms really the source of miasma?" Colette asked.

"Part of it is the Devil's Arms, yes," Abyssion replied. "However, Nebilim controls the Devil's Arms, and since sealing them will reduce Nebilim's power, it would most likely put an end to the miasma as well."

"Ah, I see now," Lloyd said. "So Nebilim is using the Devil's Arms to increase his strength, which in turn allows him to create the miasma. And since sealing the Devil's Arms will reduce Nebilim's power, he will no longer have the power to create the miasma, thereby causing its depletion and eventual disappearance."

"Precisely," Abyssion said. "However, it is said that the Devil's Arms are loyal to their master. Once we reach Nebilim, we will most likely lose possession of all of them until we can defeat him."

"And we can't seal the Devil's Arms without having all of the pieces," Colette said. "Since Nebilim is in possession of the final piece, we'll have to fight him to obtain the last piece so we can seal them, which means... we're going to have to fight Nebilim at full strength."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Kratos asked, turning to Lloyd.

"Yeah," Lloyd replied confidently. "We're going to take this Nebilim guy down, and return him to Niflheim where he belongs!"

Everyone stared at Lloyd confusedly.

"Ah... never mind," Lloyd said. "I think I overheard the Professor saying that Nebilim came from Niflheim. I'm not exactly sure what that is, but that's a bad place, isn't it? I mean, after all, Nebilim is from it..."

"It's just a legend," Kratos said. "However, it is believed that Niflheim is the Underworld, where demonic beings dwell. Nebilim was probably born in this world, and raised in Niflheim, if it does indeed exist... there are no humans, elves or half-elves in Niflheim, merely the empty souls that were once pure-hearted."

"So Nebilim is technically a demon," Lloyd said. "You said that there are no humans or elves in Niflheim, but Nebilim is always depicted as a half-elf. He may have died while he was still young, but was reincarnated in Niflheim in his half-elf form and... somehow managed to come back to Symphonia in his demon form."

"Perhaps that is true," Kratos said. "After all, I cannot imagine how a human or half-elf would be able to live in Niflheim without being killed by demons." He glanced up at the sky. "It's getting late... we should all get some rest."

"I thought angels didn't need to sleep," Lloyd said.

"They don't," Kratos said. "However, it is a good way to replenish one's mana after a battle. It would be best to get some rest before attempting to fight again. And besides..." he glanced at Abyssion. "...not all of us are angels, remember?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Lloyd said. "I just have one question. Can I... sleep with Colette tonight?"

"You may do as you wish," Kratos replied. "Just... don't do anything you'll regret."

"Huh?" was Lloyd's confused response.

Abyssion sighed and said, "I suppose it is for the better that your mind doesn't stray into that realm. I wish I could say the same about myself."

"Ah, never mind," Lloyd said. "Good night, both of you."

Once Kratos was sure Lloyd and Colette had taken their leave, he turned to Abyssion.

"What did you mean by that?" he asked.

"Ah, nothing," Abyssion replied. "It was just... a stupid decision I made back when I was a lowly teenager."

"It must've been pretty damn stupid judging by how you speak of it," Kratos said. "May I ask what happened?"

"Yeah, it was pretty stupid," Abyssion said. "I slept with some girl I thought I was in love with, but then we broke up after I got her pregnant." He looked down at the ground. "I'm still unable to find out the whereabouts of her and the child, but I'd assume she's returned to her hometown."

"So you're a father too," Kratos said. "Well... sort of. Just promise me you won't go around leaving bastard children behind, alright?"

"One is enough," Abyssion said, laughing. "You're lucky you know where your son is." He turned to leave. "I'll be going now. Be sure to get some rest yourself... it's gonna be a long day tomorrow."

As Abyssion left, Kratos had one thing on his mind.

I wonder what happened to her...

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Author's Note: In case you all were wondering (for those of you who have done the Devil's Arms sidequest), 'Abyssion' is the 'human' form you see outside of battles, and 'Nebilim' is the one you fight. You're technically fighting Nebilim in that battle... remember Abyssion's words?

And... yep, Abyssion had a problem that's quite common among teenagers nowadays (well, at least, American teenagers ;) Quite the 'Land of the Free', isn't it?). Don't ask why Kratos was acting so OOC in that scene. And also, don't ask why he didn't know what Abyssion was talking about. Yeah, he's just naive or something. Yeah. Where do you think Lloyd gets it from? Huh?

...okay, you can smack me now. (braces self for smacking)

Oh, and... PLEASE REVIEW! I'm so sick and tired of people coming in and reading this for no apparent reason, only to leave without a review! I might not be able to continue this fanfic if I don't get any reviews! I suck enough at action anyway, but I'm going to continue this fanfic as practice, until I get so damn blocked I can't write a paragraph more.

Well, see ya next time! Peace out, man! ;)