Crystal Feathers: A Fanfic by Gyppy
Timeline: Based 2 years after 'To Kill An Angel'
Summary: After Niflheim was sealed, Lloyd thought the evils of the world to be dead. The group split up, expecting peace and quiet to reign around the world.
However, they were all in for a big surprise. Two years after Niflheim was sealed, the rising shadow that once concealed the world began to rise again... and now, Lloyd and the others must go on a journey to uncover the cause of the Rising Shadow and seal it away forever.
Pairings: LloydxColette and ZelosxSheena primarily, with some MithosxOC, YggdrasillxPronyma and GenisxPresea. There will also be hints at SelesxOC, YuanxMartel and KratosxRaine.
Author's Note: For the sake of keeping true to the storyline of Rising Shadow, there will be (as probably expected) very few hints at KxR. This is primarily to avoid offending all those random purists out there. I know that most of the purists will end up hating this story because of a few other pairings, but KxR seems to be the most hated of them.
As you all probably know, I'm a big fan of KxR. It's an official pairing in this storyline, though it will be rather rare. This fanfic will mostly focus on the action, though there will be some fluff inserted here and there.
This fanfic is based two years after 'To Kill An Angel', four years after 'Rising Shadow'. Therefore, Lloyd is 21, Colette is 20, Zelos is 26, Sheena is 23, Genis is 16, Presea is 16, Raine is 27, Abyssion is 27, Leviathan is 20, Seles is 18, Allurya is 8, Mithos is 16 and Karina is 15.
Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia, Tales of Destiny/Tales of Destiny 2, Namco, Final Fantasy or Squaresoft/Square-Enix.
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Chapter 3: A Mysterious Acquaintance
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Lloyd had felt that same adrenaline rush so many times before. The foe that stood before him was one all too familiar, one he had encountered many times in his past battles. It was a sand worm, a massive creature that lived exclusively near Triet and would tunnel relentlessly through the sand, coming to the surface only to feed.
The worm's hot breath scorched the Eternal Swordsman, who leaped forward and out of the range of the stream as quickly as he could. Lloyd brought the Flamberge down upon the worm's soft flesh, causing the massive creature to flinch.
The only difference about this battle was that he was alone with Colette. There were no other combatants on the battlefield.
Another stream of scalding-hot air shot from the worm's mouth, striking Lloyd's companion and pushing her back. Lloyd called upon his wings and leaped into the air, floating high above the worm and using the winds of the desert as leverage.
Three magnificent pink mana missiles cut through the air and sliced the worm's skin, much to the relief of Lloyd. He descended once again and performed Guardian to block yet another breath attack from the worm.
However, the worm had decided to try a new tactic. In the blink of an eye, it disappeared beneath the sand, much to the dismay of both Lloyd and Colette. In the blink of an eye, both companions had been knocked down and almost out by their foe, who had risen out of the ground and struck them powerfully with a blow that neither would ever forget.
As Lloyd was recovering from the attack, a sudden, unexpected pulse of energy struck the sand worm, forcing it to fall back. Once Colette had recovered, she launched Pow Pow Hammer and was surprised to see the worm go down in one hit.
The air around Lloyd and Colette shifted to a much cooler, soothing air, with magical wind swirling about the companions and restoring their strength back to its maximum. Moments afterward, out of the shimmering air that surrounded the seraphim, a figure approached.
It appeared to be a male human of about sixteen years of age, with jet-black hair and stormy violet eyes. Most of his face was obscured by a complex helmet-like mask, with the appearance of the skull of a drake or some other sort of bizarre apparition. From a beaklike front which covered the figure's nose, three bars swept back, meeting at the back and extruding a pair of long, thin, powder-blue feathers. The two bars that went around his head were crested with a pair of thick, short and slightly curving horns, which were swept forward, one on either side. On the top, there was a pair of similar hornlike projections, except much thinner and longer, with the one in the back being significantly longer than the one in front. In the front of the mask, the figure's eyes were surrounded by a pair of bony 'eye sockets'. A jawbone, like one from a dragon, protruded from the base of the mask, effectively caging what little of the person's face was exposed.
His clothing was as black as the night, and a silhouette of a dagger, pointing downward, was emblazoned on the front of his shirt. Blue markings in a similar light blue to the one seen on the front traced across the rest of the uniform, especially prominent tracing over his sleeves and his left pant leg. A long, dark purple cape flowed out behind him, whipping in the intense desert wind. From the slits in what was evidently the overcoat's sleeves, there could be seen row after row of pink frills, which looked rather delicate in contrast to the rest of the uniform. Unlike the rest of the outfit, his shoes were relatively mundane, looking rather ordinary for such an extraordinary individual.
In the person's left hand, there was a shortsword, which was held in such a manner that it seemed to be protruding from the back of his hand, rather than the front. The longsword in his right hand was arranged normally, however.
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"Who are you?" Lloyd asked, stepping up to the mysterious new human.
"Am I really that hard to identify?" The human's face twisted into a smirk. "You may call me Judas. I've been looking for someone with the ability to fly for quite some time."
"Judas, huh," Lloyd said. "Well, I think you've come to the right people. I'm Lloyd, and this girl over here..." he motioned to Colette, "...is Colette."
The one called Judas raised an eyebrow, a gesture that was barely visible through his mask, and sheathed his swords. "...Very well. Can you take me to Derris-Kharlan?"
"What?" Lloyd jumped back in surprise. "Y...you want to go to Derris-Kharlan?"
"You heard me right," Judas said coldly. "Can you take me to Derris-Kharlan? I have something I'd like to tell to the leader of Cruxis. Although, I suppose if you don't want to do it, then... that's that."
"Alright then," Lloyd said. "I'll take you to Derris-Kharlan. But in the meantime, I'd like you to explain yourself."
"I can explain myself once we reach Triet," Judas said. "Since the sun's starting to go down, I'd advise not traveling anymore tonight. Let's head back for now."
Lloyd nodded. "You're right. Once we reach Triet, though, you'll explain yourself, right?"
Judas merely nodded in response, and then motioned for the group to head off toward the Desert Oasis.
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Once the group had reached Triet, Judas explained himself to them. Apparently he was a mercenary from the Iselia region (that bit surprised Lloyd), but he would be making an exception for them, since they had promised to take him to Derris-Kharlan.
Judas said that his mask was to conceal his identity. Apparently, his past self had done something treacherous, and he wished for the people of Symphonia not to know of what was amiss. At the mention of Forcystus, he seemed interested but denied any contact with the Desians. Lloyd, however, could tell he was lying.
Judas had only broken his mask once before, and that was when he had performed a technique that nobody had ever heard of before. It was a technique that was so powerful that it often failed, and if the user did indeed succeed, they could end up seriously injured. After that event, Judas had sworn never to use the technique again, as it was simply far too powerful to continue to use.
However, Judas did state the name of the technique. He had heard it from a Mizuhoan a few years back. The name was forever emblazoned on the memory of those who had seen it: Majin-Rengoku-Satsu.
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Author's Note: If you still have trouble picturing Judas, look up Tales of Destiny 2, specifically the Japanese version.
Speaking of which, there might be a few ToD/ToD2 spoilers later on in the fic. I think pretty much the only thing I've covered so far is Majin-Rengoku-Satsu. That will pretty much be the only tech Judas is capable of using outside of the ones that are in Tales of Symphonia. Think along the lines of a cross between Abyssion and Lloyd for Judas' techs, except generally toned down a few notches.