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.

I might introduce more Tales of Destiny 2 characters later on.

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 7: Sorrowful Truths

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Dark, sorrowful laughter echoed through the abyssal dimension's darkest cave as the figure rose from her sitting position and walked over to a small statue that lay before her. The statue was of a young boy, no older than sixteen years, who had short and unkempt black hair and eyes set with amethyst.

"Soon, my dearest brother..." the figure whispered, her laughter fading into the depths of the dimension. "Soon, I shall meet you for the first time in eighteen years... and this time, your closest shall have her revenge..."

The person started laughing again, and the shrill cry of a voice not her own also seemed to laugh along with her...

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Judas shivered as he stepped into the final plane of the dimensional shift. Somehow he knew something was familiar about this place...

"Hey Judas, what's wrong?" Lloyd had taken notice of Judas' odd behavior.

"...Nothing," Judas whispered, though loud enough to be heard in the cave. "Nothing... perhaps it was just the aura of this place."

Lloyd could again tell that Judas was lying through his teeth, but chose not to make anything of it.

The two swordsmen advanced deeper into the cave of the abyssal dimension, Judas' obvious unease only growing stronger. He seemed to almost be exhausted by the effort of continuation, but still he pressed on, even when he had to stick his swords in the ground for support.

Then, his ears perked up and he lifted his head at an all-too-familiar sound. It was the sound of laughter... not sweet and innocent like that voice had once been, but dark and malicious, tearing through his very heart and soul. He flinched at the sound.

Lloyd had noticed this difficulty as well. "Tell me... what's wrong?"

Judas made no response. Instead, he suddenly took off running in the direction they had been going, sheathing both swords for speed. Lloyd, confused, followed the younger swordsman, though he kept his swords drawn.

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'So, you've come.' A peculiar voice echoed through the cavern, one that sounded shrill, almost like the scraping of metal against metal.

Judas practically threw himself through the makeshift door, and he came face-to-face with a person he hadn't seen in eighteen years.

However, the swordsman's eyes quickly fell on the statue that lay beside the woman. It looked almost exactly like he had before he donned the mask.

"I see your attitude hasn't changed," Judas muttered dryly, his eyes lifting back to the woman who stood before him.

"And neither has yours," the woman said. "Don't you remember me, Leon? Don't you remember who you once cherished more than anyone else in the world?"

Judas flinched at the name. "D...don't call me that... I'm not Leon anymore..."

"Oh, but you are," the woman said. "Or... perhaps you'd rather be called by your true name... Emilio...?"

Judas shook his head. "I... I'm not Emilio! I'm not Leon! This is Judas... this is the new me... I thought you... I thought you loved me... Rutee..."

Lloyd raised an eyebrow at the conversation that was going between the two.

"I loved you many years ago," the woman named Rutee said, walking slowly forward and placing herself before Judas. "Back when you loved me back. But you abandoned your own sister for that filthy female Marian!"

Judas shook his head again, rising to face Rutee. "You... you're lying... I still cared for you... you just didn't realize it...!"

"Wrong answer." And with that, Rutee drew a sword from her backside, its curved blade gleaming in the faint light emanated by a stalactite above them. "Let's see what Atwight has to say about you..."

"No, I'm serious!" Judas exclaimed, jumping back. "You... you're my sister! Of course... of course I cared for you! You... can't just abandon me like that...! You can't... you can't abandon Kyle like that...!"

The sword began glimmering with an eerie blue light. 'Yes, Leon... you still care for Rutee... but never did you care for her as a brother does!'

"Back off, Atwight!" Judas snapped, bringing up his longsword in case of an attack. "You can't truly call me a friend if you can't agree with my ideals!"

"And what foolish ideals they are," Rutee said. "You say you still care for me, yet you hardly ever look at me anymore... all I have to remember you by is that statue!" She swung the sword forward in a magnificent display of agility, its blade contacting that of Judas' sword. "How can you call yourself a sibling if you can't even defend your own?"

Lloyd moved as if to step in, but Judas shook his head in response. "No, Lloyd... let me handle this."

And with that, the masked swordsman began pushing back with a new strength, one that surprised even the sword Atwight. He managed to break the guard, and slipped in a painful blow to Rutee's right shoulder.

Rutee quickly fell back, holding the injured shoulder. "You... you little brat!"

"Now now, don't call me that," Judas said, smirking. "I thought you were the kind and caring older sister I once knew."

'She was,' Atwight whispered. 'But now, she no longer needs a 'little brother'. She can live by herself without one!'

And to confirm her sword's words, Rutee lashed out at Judas once again, Atwight's blade brushing against the fabric covering Judas' left shoulder. Though the fabric was torn, Judas didn't even flinch, and he prepared to strike back...

"Stop!" Lloyd called out suddenly. "You... you two don't need to be fighting! You're siblings, remember? Family shouldn't fight amongst itself!"

Judas nodded, and turned away. "I apologize, Rutee. We'll have to finish this fight the next time we meet..."

Lloyd turned to follow Judas, and the two disappeared back into the seemingly endless dimensional shift.

'Seems like we beat him this time,' Atwight whispered. 'Nice one, Rutee.'

Rutee laughed. "Now now, don't be too happy yet... we still have yet to start the main event."

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Author's Note: And so the plot thickens... into a gooey paste. Judas' older sister is the one behind at least half of this, and it seems like she's being possessed by a talking sword!

Read on to find out what happens. ;)