To Kill An Angel: A Fanfic by Gyppy
Timeline: Based 2 years after "Rising Shadow"
Summary: After Nebilim's shadow was sealed away once more, Lloyd thought that they could all finally enjoy peace. However, he could not have been more wrong...
Two old servants of Nebilim, half-elven females who had once worked for the treacherous Dark Lord, set out to stop Lloyd and his allies. Their first target: the Eternal Swordsman's father himself.
Pairings: LloydxColette and SheenaxZelos primarily, with hints at GenisxPresea, SelesxOC and minor KratosxRaine. There will also be some PronymaxYggdrasill.
Author's Note: This is my sequel to Rising Shadow. It's gonna be quite a bit different from my usual fanfiction, though.
First of all, in case you're too lazy to go back and read Rising Shadow or if you just forgot the details, Abyssion was the main character in my previous fanfic, and Nebilim (the form you fight in the game) is his arch-rival. Abyssion has a younger brother, Leviathan, who falls for Seles (hence the SelesxOC). This fanfic focuses more around Lloyd, however. Colloyd and Sheelos will be the primary pairings.
With the chapter "Mithos, Coldhearted No More", there has been a slight introduction of MithosxOC. This will most likely show up more prominently later on.
And now, for the warnings. As with most T-rated fanfics on this site, there will be swearing, violence and some references to sex. The rating may go up later if I decide to pull a Lifelong Promises later on in the fic.
Also, as a side note, those of you who have read Difficult Journey (Rising Shadow's Kraine sidestory) will know that Kratos and Raine are officially a pairing in this storyline. However, there will be very few references to the pairing in the actual storyline. There may be a few Kraine moments, but I understand that there are many people who would hurt or even kill me for making Kraine references in a supposedly canon fic. I personally enjoy the pairing, and if you hate it, so be it. Don't be reading a Kraine supporter's fanfiction if you dislike the pairing. Got it?
As a side note, text like 'this' is in a flashback/dream or a voice in someone's head. Got it?
Thank you very much for the review(s).
I warn you of violence and blood in this chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia, Namco, Final Fantasy or Square-Enix.
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Chapter 11: The First Battle
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Slowly, the group wound through the dark floors of the Underworld. The winding pathways, each one leading to a new and even more treacherous platform, floated in a seemingly endless aura of dark mist, which seemed to shift colors according to the floor they were on. When the mist was of its classic cyan color, they found nothing but a few measly enemies hindering their steps. When the mist about them changed to an eerie blue, their path was obscured by intricate structures that, upon being touched with any sort of fire, would immediately light up and reveal the next pathway. When the mist seemed like clouds of pure blood, that was the signal to be careful - the enemies on that floor would be difficult to defeat, and defeating all of them would reveal the entrance to the next floor.
They passed through the third floor, where the mist about them was red. After their passage through that floor, they came upon a peculiar platform with a very different appearance.
And from the other end of that platform, an old nemesis stared back at them, her crimson eyes blazing with anger.
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Katrina's red-hot eyes glowed as brilliantly as the crystal upon her chest. This was no Cruxis Crystal she bore; it was a Crystal of the Underworld, the trademark sign of all fallen angels.
"You've come again, I see," the fallen angel said bitterly. "Remember the last time you came? You foolish humans had no choice but to give up your fight!"
"That's not true," Lloyd said. "You attacked on your own will. You were the one who wanted to kill Kratos. You were the one who attacked Vinheim in the middle of the night, nearly fifteen times, without any prior warning!" He growled. "And you won't get away with taking any more lives!"
"You can think what you like of me," Katrina said, a smirk falling upon her face. "But you're not going to accomplish your own foolish goal. I will kill you long before Nebilim has to!"
"Camille is dead," Kratos stated. "You no longer have any connection to this place. And yet you still listen to Nebilim?"
"You are foolish creatures," Katrina said. "You refused to give up your lives in exchange for the world. Since you so stubbornly fought against Camille, Nebilim and myself, you have single-handedly torn the world's fate out of your hands."
"Say what you like," Zelos said. "But an illegitimate child like you isn't even worthy of patrolling the streets of Niflheim."
Katrina snarled at the insult. "How dare you-"
"Now, now, don't get rough," Zelos interrupted. "It's true that you came about through rather undesirable means. And I won't lie that you got pretty damn high in rank for a demon. But I'll also tell you one more thing." He drew his sword, aiming it at her and smirking. "You don't stand a chance against all of us."
Mithos drew his own sword, its shimmering blade glowing in the light of the candles that burned at each corner of the arena. "You may have beaten us once, but I'll be damned if you can beat us twice!"
"Members of Cruxis have no right to say things like that," Katrina said confidently. "All I need to do is remove your Cruxis Crystal and you'll be powerless."
The shimmering blade of the Excalibur was drawn from its sheath, Abyssion glaring at his foe defiantly. "If there is one thing we do not need in this world, it's stubborn people like you who refuse to listen to the guardian of the world."
Kratos drew the Last Fencer, its elegantly forged blade slicing through the air of Niflheim. "Are you ready?"
"Go ahead, bring it on," Katrina said, drawing her own sword and watching as her opponents took up their weapons. "You won't live to regret your decision!"
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Quite suddenly and unexpectedly, Katrina loosed a Raging Mist spell that covered the ground of the entire group. Karina, whose eyes were closed in concentration, was barely affected by the spell, but Mithos, who was standing beside her, found himself falling back at the intensity of the flame.
Not one to give up, Mithos loosed Demonic Chaos. The triple shockwaves struck Katrina with blinding force, knocking her back momentarily. The demon responded by loosing Spiral Flare, which cut through Mithos like a hot knife through butter.
Seeing that Mithos was injured, Raine cast a quick healing spell on him, then loosed Holy Lance. At the same time, Karina cast Spread, which launched the foe a considerable distance into the air.
Katrina's Air Blade struck Lloyd square in the chest, throwing him against a wall violently. He struggled to get up, and once he'd succeeded, he rushed at Katrina and performed Omega Tempest.
Not one to be left out, Zelos used his own Judgment Blade spell. He rushed over to Katrina and used Light Spear Cannon, followed by Super Lightning Blade, then Hell Pyre. Then, he ran back and cast Spread, which caused Katrina to fall back for quite a span of time.
Sheena's Demon Seal caught Katrina off-guard. It blew her hard against a wall, and the guardian user quickly followed up her attack with Mirage Seal Pinion, then Spirit Seal. The latter did very little to Katrina, but it drained some of her mana, making her slow down for a short period of time.
Katrina got up again, only to be caught by Yggdrasill's Prism Sword. Brushing the attack off, she loosed Dark Judgment, which tore into everyone on the battlefield and forced most of them to fall back.
Kratos was by far the worst injured, with a gash running down his back and numerous slash wounds on his arms and legs. Lloyd was also badly affected, with a patch where his skin had been ripped clean off, and numerous other injuries looking like those that could only be caused by a sword. Mithos was holding his left arm, which had three parallel slash wounds that looked as if they'd been caused by claws, and he also had a gash on his right shoulder and a much smaller one across his forehead. Yggdrasill was reeling, with a slash wound on his chest and three on his back, not to mention the extremely painful wound that cut through his right leg. Raine had managed to get off lucky, and she was barely affected; however, there was a significant slash wound running the length of her left arm. She made a mental note to treat that profusely after the battle.
Genis was not as lucky as his older sister. He was battered and bruised to an extent, with a few slash wounds running across his arms, and one across his left leg. Sheena had fallen to the ground, bleeding profusely from a wound on her right arm. Zelos had managed to avoid most of the dark blades, but there was one rather grotesque slash wound that ran the length of his back, from his right shoulder to his left leg. Abyssion could feel a stinging sensation as he gripped his sword, realizing there must've been a wound on the inside of his hand; however, he also bore other signs of injury, including identical slash marks on his legs. Colette was gripping a bleeding shoulder, and there was a wound that was becoming more and more apparent by the second on the back of her neck, though it had obviously not sliced through anything vital. Presea had been thrown into a wall, knocked unconscious, with a rather apparent slash wound on her right leg.
Allurya and Karina had managed to avoid harm. Mithos glared at the two young girls, thinking, Lucky them.
"That was pretty good," Lloyd panted, leaning on his swords for support. "I'll have to admit you're good at fighting dirty." Then, suddenly, he started glowing with a renewed energy, and his wings exploded from his back. "But how about fighting clean?"
Lloyd made a mental note to smack himself for that pun later as he summoned forth water mana from the walls of the ethereal realm. Sheathing the sword in his right hand, he started calling upon the spell he was casting, and the Eternal Ring glowed brilliantly against the bizarre landscape.
"Flood this foe's soul and drown their true power in thy everlasting oceanic vortex!"
He let the spell fly, as everyone gaped at him.
"Tidal Wave!"
The entire arena filled with a brilliant vortex of water. The wounds of those who had been injured were cleaned out and restored by the water, while the enemy was battered mercilessly by powerful waves within the whirlpool.
Once the water had faded, Kratos gazed at Lloyd in awe. I didn't realize his power would make him able to cast advanced spells...
"Damn you, human!" Katrina shouted, raising her sword. "I will not be outdone by the likes of you!"
The fallen angel rushed forward and brought up her sword. As she swung it down, it was caught in the aura of cold that radiated from the Vorpal Sword as it was brought up to block the attack.
"You little brat..." Katrina muttered, trying to force the blade down.
"Eat this!" Lloyd shouted, swinging the Flamberge down.
He ran the blade right through her, its tip coming out the other end.
But when he withdrew it, there was not even a drop of blood on it. There was no mark on Katrina's body.
"I thought you knew the laws of fighting," the fallen angel said, smirking. "Fire is resistant to fire, and it is also effective against ice!" She brought down her sword again, and it once again collided with the Vorpal Sword.
"Ice is also effective against fire," Lloyd said. "Neither of us are gaining ground here anyhow, so I guess I'll just have to force my way through."
Katrina's eyes widened as she realized what Lloyd was about to do. He was summoning mana before him, and from what it looked, it was not going to be a small spell.
"Gravity Well!"
Lloyd jumped back just in time to avoid the crushing black hole that was created around Katrina. It seemed to shake and pulsate with its hidden fury, and the ground beneath it shook, causing a mild earthquake to add to the chaos within.
When the attack faded, Katrina staggered back, looking rather defeated. However, she was not ready to give up yet.
"Atlas!"
Lloyd was suddenly caught up in a whirling fury of blades, composed of wind and water, that surrounded him and then tore at his body with the fury of a thousand longswords. He fell back to the ground, badly injured but still alive.
Karina didn't look too happy herself. She started calling upon mana for a spell, remembering her enemy's strengths and weaknesses.
"Ground Dasher!"
The floor beneath Katrina suddenly displayed a mark much like the fault line's fissure in an earthquake. The ground started vibrating, first lightly, then with an intensity unmatched by anything the demon had felt before. The shaking was so intense it forced her to fall back, but even when the spell faded, she still decided she wasn't over with the group.
"Thunder Arrow!"
Lightning encircled Kratos, and he was struck with what seemed like a million searing volts of pure electricity, caught up in an intense tempest of static that overrode his nervous system and knocked him unconscious.
"Give up now, or face your death," Katrina said, her willpower having increased so that she wasn't running on pure energy anymore. "I think it'd be best if you did the former, since I'm sure you people wouldn't exactly appreciate dying."
That does it, Karina thought. She's hurt Mithos, and she's damn well gonna pay for it.
The young mage began summoning forth mana for a spell.
She's gonna pay with her stinking, pathetic, worthless life!
Karina held out her hand and prepared to loose her spell.
"FREEZE LANCER!"
The pure fury that radiated from Karina almost caused Mithos to pass out. A circle appeared in the air above Karina, and from it there flew numerous spears of ice, slicing through flesh and drawing blood with their sheer fury. The unrelenting blizzard continued to pelt Katrina for nearly a minute, and then it finally faded, Karina's rage having been spent.
"That... was nice," Katrina said in a voice barely above a whisper. "You're... impressively strong... but you won't defeat me next time..."
With that, the fallen angel called upon her wings and cloaked herself in their whirling feathers of fire. She soared up to unknown heights, ascending the floors of Niflheim.
"Dammit..." Karina muttered, her spent rage coming back in full force. "I could've killed her right there... but no, I just had to hold off... what is wrong with me?" She lifted her head to the nonexistent sky and screamed her rage into the depths of Niflheim. "WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?"
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Author's Note: Wooh, things are starting to get krezzeh from here on out.
I wish Zelos knew Spread in the game. It's such a cool spell, y'know? Ah, well, whatever. There's nothing I can do about it... -.-
And yep, you did read that right. Niflheim goes up, not down. Don't ask me why, I sure as hell don't know why I decided to make it like that. -.-'