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 11: Truths of Leviathan

Third-Person P.O.V.

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Just as Abyssion had thought, Levi had returned to their home in Flanoir. Abyssion enjoyed finally being in his hometown, around what was left of his family.

However, this time he had no time to contemplate. He wanted to speak with Levi as soon as possible.

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"Leviathan," Abyssion said, taking a seat in the corner. "I thought I told you never to leave Flanoir."

"Seles was suffering," Levi said, crossing his arms. "I couldn't just let her suffer, could I?"

"Yes," Abyssion said. "However, I'm older than you are. You should listen to my orders."

"I know that," Levi said. "But... Seles was suffering. I couldn't just let her suffer. It would've pained my very eyes to watch her suffer like that."

"Hey, what's Seles to you?" Zelos asked as he paced around the room. "She's just my little sister. She doesn't deserve attention from a random half-elf who doesn't even know her that well."

"I saw her about two weeks ago," Levi said after a brief pause. "She's... my friend. I befriended her not long after I met her. And... I couldn't just let her suffer."

"Levi," Abyssion said sternly. "You have had friends before, and you would never leave Flanoir for their sake. Tell me now... why did you disobey my orders? You never behaved like this before, not even towards other half-elves... not even towards me. You risked your own life to save Seles. And you've never behaved like that before..."

There was a long, hard silence, and all eyes turned to the teenager who now sat cross-legged on the floor, his eyes closed.

"...Seles loved me," Levi finally said. "She didn't seem to at first, but... the first time we met, five months ago... she seemed oddly attracted to me. She continued to come over every so often, and she eventually admitted to liking me... since you were the only one I knew in life, I figured that was a good thing."

"Seles isn't one to love," Zelos muttered. "She was always a loner from the time she was born. Except for me, she didn't really care about anybody. She must've been lying."

"I could feel it in her," Levi said. "I knew she was telling the truth... by her aura that day... it was just so calm and peaceful, unlike anything I'd ever felt before. She doesn't act like that normally... I don't see why she'd love me, but I definitely loved her back. She's... special to me."

"I suspected this from the very beginning," Abyssion said. "I... suppose it's alright that you wanted to protect her, but at least make sure you truly love her before you do anything with her."

"Ah, yes," Levi said. "I remember that tale. Don't worry, I'll be sure. Trust me."

"This doesn't make any sense," Zelos said. "Why the hell would Seles like anybody in that way? She never behaved like this before..."

"Maybe she picked it up from you," Sheena said, smirking.

"Ah, well," Zelos said. "I guess it's a good thing she's finally realized what the hell that thing called love is. We'll live with it."

"Levi," Abyssion said, looking at his brother. "I apologize for treating you so harshly."

"I'm the one that has to apologize," Levi said. "I left without your permission... I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Abyssion said. "You did it for the one you love. I'm glad you have the guts to be that dedicated to someone."

"Thank you," Levi said, rising. "You've been a great help to me."

"As have you," Abyssion said. "I... haven't had the joy of experiencing such a thing as pure love."

"Yes, I remember," Levi muttered, turning toward the doorway. "I'll take my leave now. You guys don't get into trouble, okay?"

"I won't," Abyssion said quietly, watching Levi leave.

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"So, apparently, Leviathan is in love with my sister," Zelos said. "This'll be an interesting journey."

"It certainly will be," Kratos said. "However... we can't be certain that there is true love there. We'll have to wait and see."

"Let's just hope everything turns out all right," Lloyd said. "We'll have to keep an eye on Seles as well. We don't want her getting into trouble, now do we?"

"Levi can keep an eye on Seles," Zelos said, laughing. "I'm gonna go ahead and take her to Flanoir. Maybe he can keep her for a little while, at least until I come back."

"That should work out," Abyssion said. "I hope he'll be careful about her, though. There are monsters around Flanoir, and we've been attacked once or twice since we started living there."

"You said he knows how to fight," Zelos said. "I think I can trust a man who can hold his own in battle, even if he's a little weak."

"He has an Exsphere," Abyssion said. "He can fight to some extent, certainly enough to fend off a monster or two." His tone darkened. "However, if Nebilim attacks Flanoir while I'm gone, he's doomed..."

"Don't worry, I've got that covered," Zelos said. "Trust me, Nebilim won't be attacking Flanoir anytime soon..."

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The group decided to head to Asgard to stay the night; once the others had fallen asleep, Genis and Presea decided to head out and stargaze for a bit.

The sky was clear that night, revealing endless twinkling stars as far as they could see. The moon shone brightly on the land, illuminating the sleeping city with an almost perfect light. The quiet whispering of the wind could be heard, blowing through the city ever so silently.

After a time, Genis fell asleep in Presea's lap; she looked down at him, smiling softly as she watched his features. He was so young, so innocent, so naive... and so wonderful.

Holding her most beloved companion close, Presea silently whispered words that were carried off by the wind, barely heard by anyone.

"I love you."

Then, she, too, fell to the warm embrace of sleep, her dearest friend so close to her.

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Author's Note: I LOVE CUTE FLUFF! I think it should be obvious enough by now that I like Gesea, and I always will... heheh. There wasn't enough fluff in this story, so I decided to spice it up a bit. I love Asgard.

And... hmm... a new relationship has started. Could this be the beginning of a beautiful love? Or will Seles betray Leviathan, just like Abyssion's former love did? I guess we'll find out...

Oh, and in case you're wondering, Abyssion's around 23, while Leviathan's 16. Seles is supposed to be in the 14-15 range in this fic, which would make the ship perfectly legitimate.

I'm going to be going on vacation in October, so don't expect to hear from me for a while. Unfortunately.