Hello, and welcome to Tales of Zoids. This is really my first attempt at any kind of crossover, so please be nice. All criticism is welcome, I probably need it ; This ties sort of indirectly into Past Crimes, Future Times, the Zoids fic I'm currently working on. Continuity does strange things to me .-.;
All that being said, I do not own Tales of Symphonia or Zoids. I merely own Emily and Cerberus, and this somewhat twisted…thing. Flaming Dragon Thief proudly owns Storm and Dragon. Not to mention Moon and General Lee the Nacho King.
Enjoy--
"I tell you Dragon, the KingLiger wears the red-white-and-gold color scheme sooooo much better than Bladey Mirage."
"As if! Moon so pwns your little wannabe kitty." Setting down a half-eaten piece of toast, Dragon glowered across the kitchen table at her friend, who was doodling a very bad impression of her beloved Blade Liger Mirage on a napkin. Intentionally, of course.
"King's not a wannabe… He's older than Moon! He's got seniority!" Emily protested, flipping back a strand of her long blonde hair and adding some final touches to her little comic. "A couple thousand years under the sand will do that to ya…"
"Then that means General Lee reigns supreme over everybody." Dragon smirked, chomping down on her toast once more. Emily shook her head and tossed the napkin in the trash.
"But of course. The Nacho King is unmatched in terms of blindy orange…"
-Unless someone happens to get an Armored Gator- Storm yawned from under the table, settling his head onto crossed paws. The blue wolf organoid heard similar discussions like this every morning under the breakfast table, and he grew quite tired of it. Some mornings he wondered why he bothered to come down to the kitchen at all.
-Indeed. Cut the nonsense, you two. We all know your Zoids are "the bomb"- Huddled in front of the door, Cerberus rustled his tail irritably, green eyes bored slits. -Besides, don't you both have work to do somewhere? Lady went after Leo again yesterday, his lower legs have a frightening amount of holes now. And I don't even need to mention what she did to Riku…-
"Ah, that's right. She tore his Vulcan right off his back, didn't she?" Emily chuckled wryly. "If that silly Fox doesn't get those romantic ideas out of his head soon he's going to end up in serious trouble."
"You try telling him that." Dragon muttered, getting up from the table. "That silver joke of a war machine is convinced she'll come around eventually..."
Following his owner, Storm rose and stretched before slinking out from under the table, ears flopping with boredom. Emily moved aside to give him ample exit room, then sighed as she dumped her cereal bowl in the sink and followed Dragon out the door. Cerberus grunted as he untangled himself from the tiny space between the refrigerator and the door frame, long legs almost getting in the way as he heaved himself up and padded after Emily.
As the four set off down the hall to the base hangar, there was a bright flash and then they were gone.
With varied yelps, howls and cattish screeches, two people and two organoids materialized in midair and dropped hard to the ground right in the middle of the village of Iselia. Passersby stopped at stared at these new arrivals, mostly because of Cerberus. Giant shiny red-metal cats weren't exactly common in that area. Storm got a few passing glances because he was blue, and the people were ignored.
"Ow, my butt! Where are we?" Dragon muttered, standing up and brushing herself off. Next to her, Storm's tongue flopped out as he panted nervously, looking around and whining.
-You know, I get the strangest feeling I've seen this place before… Why is that?- Cerberus wondered, tail tip banging on the ground as he sat up and looked about along with Storm, shiny red exterior gleaming in the sunlight. Dragon shrugged, before bending down and waving her hand in front of Emily's face, the only member of their party who hadn't gotten up from the ground yet and was staring straight ahead with a vacant expression.
"Hello, Zi to Emily… Anybody home?" Dragon questioned. The answer was entirely unexpected.
"Dragon, I need you to hit me."
"What? Why?" She squeaked, even as Cerberus smacked his owner on the side of the head with the flat of his tail blade. "Cerberus, have you gone crazy!"
"OW! That hurt…" Gingerly rubbing the side of her head, Emily gave her organoid a grateful look. "Thanks boy. Now I know this isn't a dream!"
-So I wasn't imagining things- The big cat purred, looking pleased. -Perhaps we should tell Dragon, she looks quite lost-
"Yes, please." Dragon said, arms crossed with one foot tapping the ground. "Enlighten us, why don'tcha?"
"I'm surprised you don't recognize this place." Emily chuckled excitedly, getting up and giving the scenery another fond look. "Dragon, we've landed smack in the middle of Iselia!"
"Iselia! Get out." Dragon scoffed. "You can't be serious. We're not in the middle of-"
"Oh, but we are." Emily cut her off, climbing onto Cerberus' back and settling between the base of his neck and his boosters. "That means only one thing… Time to find us an Eternal Swordsman!"
"Ohhh, I hate it when she does this!" Dragon griped as Cerberus took off running towards the South Gate into the woods, surprising the guards as he blew past. That left poor Dragon and Storm the only option of running in attempt to keep up, seeing as they didn't quite know their way around Sylvarant yet. "Storm, why couldn't you have been big enough to ride!"
-Don't blame me, it's not my fault- the wolf whined, panting heavily as he loped beside Dragon, the two of them taking a right once leaving the gate and heading towards a dense path of woods where a flash of red shone.
Emily and Cerberus were waiting for them when Dragon and her wolf showed up at the entrance of the Iselia woods. Panting heavily, Dragon groped for something to hold her up, failed miserably, and flopped down on the ground. Storm fared not much better, wheezing through artificial nasal passages as he padded through the trees, tail dragging. The two non-tired ones gave them pitying looks, before Emily shoved Dragon up onto Cerberus' back and decided to walk along with Storm.
"So, where are we headed, anyway?" Dragon asked, once she'd got her breath back. Emily grinned.
"We're going to Lloyd's house, so I can beat the crap out of him."
-And then she's probably going to try and smother him with love- Cerberus grumbled, laying his ears back. -Stupid fangirlism…- Storm sneezed, wrinkling his nose.
-Been there, done that, glomped this guy… It's all the same-
"I'm glad you guys are so supportive." Dragon muttered sarcastically, before reaching up to yank on Cerberus' ears. He yowled, wrenching his head free and shaking it back and forth to try and shake off the feeling. Emily laughed evilly.
"That's what you get for dissing our game crushes…"
Storm edged nervously away from the two rabid fangirls as they tormented his friend. A flash of gray caught his eye, and he looked up to spy large stone walls. -Say, what's that?-
"Looks like the Iselia Human Ranch," Emily mused, giving it a thoughtful look. "Storm, would you mind flying up and giving us a status check?"
-Well, alright- the blue wolf muttered, boosters popping up from his back fur as he rocketed up a small cliff. Dragon watched her organoid go with worry.
"Will he be alright? What if he gets attacked?" She whined, nervous. Emily shrugged.
"That's a risk we have to take. If Storm ends up getting chased by Desians, we all high-tail it to Lloyd's house screaming our lungs out."
-Some plan- Cerberus grunted, tail flicking back and forth. But Storm was back a minute later, unharmed and somewhat frisky.
-The place is deserted- he informed them, -Completely empty. Plenty of loot lying around, though. Lots of strange metal and smells. It stank of dead people- Storm then whined, shivering. Dragon bent down from Cerb's back to scratch his ears and comfort him.
"Its okay, Storm. You did well," Emily sighed, looking up the path with relief. "The ranch is empty, so we have no problems now. I guess this means that they've already defeated Yggdrasill. At least, I hope so…"
Since Dragon and Storm had no idea what Emily was rambling about now, they urged Cerberus on and the big red cat padded off again, leaving his owner in the dust for a few minutes before she yelled a curse and ran to catch up.
It was just underneath the fallen tree that they encountered the bear.
"Uh-oh. Hide!" Emily hissed, scurrying in the opposite direction, but it was too late. The bear had spotted them. Dragon hurriedly slid off Cerberus' back and skittered after Emily behind a nearby tree to watch the action in relative safety.
Growling menacingly, the giant brown bear advanced on the two organoids. It towered over Cerberus, and the big cat stood nearly seven feet tall. Storm was only about four feet at the shoulder, and this didn't look too good. Both organoids bared their fangs, Storm snarled while Cerberus let out a panther's yowl, teeth flashing.
Allowing itself a grunting roar, the bear brought one massive paw swiftly down onto Cerberus, while using the other to swipe at Storm. The blue wolf yelped and ducked away, darting behind the bear and nipping at it whenever he got the chance. Meanwhile, there was much groaning as Cerberus strained upwards, counteracting the force of the bear's blow with his shoulders. Bracing himself and digging his claws firmly in the dirt, the organoid's tail blade flashed up and out with a bright golden light, slashing the bear deeply across the chest. Blood spewed out, drenching Cerberus as he reared up and shoved at the bear with his front paws, pushing it over onto the ground. Snarling, Storm then jumped on top of it and started to rip out the throat, tearing out hunks of fur in the process.
"Is it over?" Dragon whined, scared, as she crouched behind her tree. Behind her, Emily cautiously peered out from around the trunk and grimaced at the gore covering her organoid and littering the ground. On top of the bear, Storm had apparently hit the jugular because a fountain of blood suddenly spurted out, showering down all over the place.
"I'd say so. If you have a weak stomach, don't look, cuz' your wolf is now more red than blue."
Dragon glanced out from behind the tree and promptly made a face. "Disgusting! Storm, go clean yourself off!" Whining, Storm started to lick himself clean with long strokes of his tongue. "No Storm, I meant wash it off in a river or something…"
-There's one this way. Come along- Cerberus growled, striding off stiffly with shoulders bent. He was apparently still suffering some aftereffects from the force of the bear's strike. Emily noted this and frowned, despite being a mechanic she still had little to no idea how organoids worked. Cerberus would just have to work through that on his own without any help…
"Eww. Are we sure this isn't overkill?" Dragon drew their attention back to the dead bear, lying right in the middle of the path and bleeding all over the place. Emily shrugged, and then pointed.
"Look, it's starting to disintegrate. Give it a few minutes and it'll be gone," she said, turning away to follow the footprints of their organoids to the river. "C'mon, let's find our bathing beauties and get to Lloyd's before it gets dark."
"Sure thing. These woods are giving me the creeps." Dragon muttered, following after her friend down the path.
The organoids were found splashing around in the river without a care in the world. Upon seeing Dragon, Storm clambered out on the bank and welcomed her by shaking himself off right in front of them, flinging water everywhere. "Ack! Storm! Do that somewhere else!" Dragon shrieked, running away from her sopping wolf as he followed, whining. Emily laughed as she watched, wiping tears from her eyes.
-Dogs. Such disgusting creatures- Cerberus muttered, climbing out onto the bank. The water easily slid off his metal skin, meaning no shaking was necessary. Cracking his tail like a whip to rid it of excess water, Emily did a final check to make sure all the blood was gone, and then the two of them hurried to catch up with Dragon and Storm.
"Is this it?" Dragon asked curiously, standing at the end of a rough log bridge to look over another river into a clearing, where a little log cabin stood. There were two stories to it, a dog pen on the side, and a gravestone in the back. Storm whined as he cautiously clambered onto the bridge, testing the sturdiness of the logs.
"Yes it is. Oh, how I have dreamed of this!" Emily exclaimed, positively drooling. "Actually seeing his house in the flesh…somebody pinch me! I must be dreaming!"
-I can knock you into the creek, if you'd like- Cerberus growled conversationally, and ended that little matter.
Crossing over the bridge, the four crept towards the house as quietly as possible, eventually leaving Cerberus and Storm near the back so they wouldn't be seen. The two peeked into a window, and the next moment Dragon slapped herself in the forehead as Emily tipped over backwards in a near-faint.
-Stupid fangirl- Cerberus snorted as he poked his head around the house to watch, whiskers twitching in amusement. -I should've thrown her in the creek after all-
"Emily…wake up." Dragon muttered, shaking her friend roughly. "We can't go on like this if you keep fainting every time you see your favorite characters…"
"Hey, do you guys hear something outside…?" Dragon froze in terror. Oh, this was just great… Behind the house Cerberus hissed at something the humans couldn't see, while Storm growled. A silvery-green dog the size of a small horse was coming towards them, whining and trying to be friendly.
The front door flew open, leaving Dragon to duck out of the way and just avoid getting missed by the edge of the door. Grumbling about inconsiderate people who have no respect, she looked up and nearly did an Emily. It was to be expected…considering who opened the door.
"Why hellooooo my hunnies! Lloyd, check out who's stalking me now!"
"Who is it, Zelos?" came the call from inside the house.
"There's this cute chick with wild hair and this blonde babe right outside your door! You ladies wanna come in?" He added with a friendly wink at Dragon. She gave him a don't-push-it sort of look.
"Go take a long walk off a short pier, freak. STORM!" The organoid in question barreled around the side of the house and slid to a stop in front of Dragon, bristling and snarling to raise the roof. Zelos quickly stepped back from the angry wolf while Dragon smirked.
"Woah, easy hunny, call off your dog…" Hands up in surrender, Zelos slowly backed into Lloyd's house as Storm snarled. During that little interval Emily happened to regain consciousness and sat up to an interesting sight.
"Ohmygosh its Zelos! Storm, quick! Castrate that pervert before he can do anything!" She yelled, quickly scooting away from the door and standing up, brushing herself off. Dragon followed suit, edging away from the Reject Chosen.
"Well, it sounds like someone out there has the right idea…" Another voice floated out from the house, which Emily identified as Sheena's. Moments later, He Whose Hair Defies Gravity stuck his head out the door behind Zelos.
"C'mon, stop flirting before that thing eats you-"
"LLOYDIE!" Dragon covered her ears to protect them from the supersonic onslaught as Emily shot past and tackled Lloyd, wrapping herself around his neck and squeezing. "ZOMGI'VEWANTEDTOMEETYOUFORSOOOLONG…" As Lloyd turned blue Emily suddenly switched tactics and started throttling him instead. "YOU MORON, YOU'VE BEEN PLAYING WITH THE ETERNAL SWORD AGAIN HAVEN'T YOU!"
"Emily, maybe you should stop…like…killing him?" Dragon suggested innocently. There was a disgusted snort, and then Cerberus padded into view, ears back as he gave his owner a completely hopeless look.
-Come on now, if you incapacitate him we'll never get home… He has to be conscious to use that sword thing…- The red cat growled, gently reaching over and using his tail to dislodge Emily's death grip.
"Yeah, you're right…" She sighed, seemingly defeated, but that all changed with the sighting of a Seraph in purple. "KRATTY!"
"What did she call me- Oomph!" Kratos staggered back as he became the subject of another bone-crushing hug, administered by a now-certifiable rabid fangirl. Dragon could only sweatdrop helplessly from outside along with the organoids, and watch her friend make a complete fool of herself.
"How does your hair defy gravity? Is it an inherited trait? Where'd you meet Anna? What'd she look like? Where was Lloyd born? How old are you really? Where'd you get the Flamberge? How'd you meet Yuan? Is it true Mithos is gay? Why do you hate tomatoes? Can I have your- OOOO, YES! I'VE GOT HIS CAPE!" Stepping to the side to avoid getting run over, Dragon shook her head in embarrassment as Emily streaked past, wearing Kratos' swallow-tailed cape. She was followed by one very angry angel who happened to want his clothing back.
"Did she…say that all…in one breath?" Lloyd rasped, massaging his throat as he stared after his father, who was chasing Emily in circles around the yard.
"Yup," Dragon replied, "And I have no idea who that girl is. I have never seen her before."
-That makes two of us- Cerberus sighed, considering digging a hole in the ground and sticking his head in it in shame.
"So, my wild beauty," Zelos said, having apparently gotten over his initial fear of Storm, "How about coming inside? It's getting dark out."
"Well…alright." Dragon said after considering it for a moment. "I do suppose you need an explanation for your near-death experience…"
"And why that crazy girl stole my dad's cape!" Lloyd coughed, going back inside his house to flop down on the floor with the other people in there. Dragon gave the inside and it's occupants a cautious look, then shrugged at the organoids.
"Are they allowed in the house?"
"If you want them to be," Zelos replied merrily as he put an arm around Dragon's shoulders and steered her into the house. Storm snarled angrily at this, but kept his cool as he padded inside, followed by Cerberus (who found it a little hard to squeeze through the door). After a moment Kratos came back in, having clearly admitted defeat to the strange girl who'd swiped his cape.
"What is she?" He panted as he flopped down on the floor next to Lloyd. "I've never had anybody outrun me except Mithos and Yuan…"
"She's a hopelessly rabid fangirl," Dragon stated dryly, "Who is positively nuts about you two." Pointing at Kratos and Lloyd, she sighed. "And I suppose I should call her back in now, Emily should be relatively subdued now that she has your… cough cape…" The two Aurions exchanged horrified glances at this, and both retreated up the stairs to huddle near the top and stare down fearfully at the door.
-Get in here- Cerberus snarled out into the yard, reaching out with his incredibly long tail to grab Emily by the leg and drag her into the house. She protested little, and immediately looked around for her favorite characters upon entry.
"Give it a rest; you've scared them into hiding." Dragon sighed, reaching up to pull her friend down to the floor. "Now would you mind telling me who these nice people are and how we're going to get out of here?"
"Hunh? Oh, sure," Emily shrugged, putting her search for the Aurions on hold. "The dwarf is Dirk, the ninja in lilac is Sheena, the pervert is Zelos, and where are those-" Cerberus smacked Emily upside the head with his tail blade again and managed to end that bit of conversation for the moment.
"Thank you Cerb. Now, just how the heck do we get out of here?" Dragon asked, roughly around the same moment Sheena opened her mouth to speak. "Just who are you people, and what are those…things with you?"
-Watch who you're calling 'things'- Storm snarled, ears twitching. Dragon shot her organoid a look.
"Down boy. No sense in getting into fights we can't win…"
"Hear, hear." Emily chuckled. "Though I would like to see who would survive in a fight between-" Three death glares sent her way ended that statement too. "Fine, I'll stop. Anyway, I'm Emily, that's Dragon, the red cat is Cerberus, and the blue wolf is Storm. We're humble Zoid pilots from Planet Zi, and the metal things are organoids."
"You're from another planet?" Dirk asked, amazed. All four 'aliens' nodded vigorously. Zelos drooled.
"Wow, I need to go see this 'Planet Zi'…" Sheena slapped him across the face.
"Like heck you do!"
"Like heck he does!" Emily chimed in enthusiastically. "Why haven't you castrated that reject Chosen by now, Sheena? Surely there's some secret ninja art that'll allow you to do that…"
Sheena grinned evilly. "Well, now that you mention it…" Zelos cringed and slowly slunk away towards the stairs, where the other frightened males were hiding.
While the two anti-Zelos fans plotted horrible, HORRIBLE revenge, Dragon was talking somewhat rationally to Dirk. "So, how'd yeh manage to get t' this planet?" The dwarf asked, giving Storm a careful look. The blue wolf whined at the scrutiny, and hid behind Dragon's legs with his ears back. He didn't like people staring at him like that…
-Help, I think I'm about to be dissected- he whined over at Cerberus, who yawned boredly. Being large and armed with a blade nearly two feet long on his whippy tail, the cat organoid was managing to stay largely unthreatened.
-Relax, Storm. Dirk only makes things, not take them apart- Whiskers twitching, Cerberus suddenly flinched as he remembered something. -But if the Professor comes, we have to hide. Or pretend to be inanimate-
-Why…?-
-She's RABID about that sort of thing… We'd be in thousands of tiny little pieces before we could blink- Storm howled in despair and immediately started to wash his tail.
Dragon gave her organoid a strange look. "To be honest, I'm not sure how we got here…" Looking over her shoulder at her friend, Dragon called out to Emily. "Say, how did we get here again?"
"Ah yes, that's right." Emily said, breaking off from her evil-torture plans with Sheena. "I believe SOMEONE has been playing with the ETERNAL SWORD…AGAIN…" A moment later there was a yelp, and then Lloyd fell down the stairs to land in a heap at the bottom.
"Dad, have you gone crazy!" he yelped as Emily swooped over, only to be stopped by Cerberus placing a firm paw on the end of her cape and pinning it to the ground. "She's gonna kill me...!"
"If I do, it'll be by accident! And then I'll commit hara kiri later, okay?" Emily tried to reassure him while shoving at Cerberus in attempts to get him off the cape. "Move, ya brick…" Meanwhile, Lloyd stared with a scared look on his face before trying to scramble up the stairs again, but Kratos shoved him back down.
"Dad, c'mon..!"
"No! Lloyd, this is your punishment for bringing such a thing here to Symphonia!" There was a miffed snort, and then a mutter... "Fangirls. Of all things he could have summoned, he had to get fangirls…"
"So, um, if this Eternal Sword thinger brought us here, can't it send us back?" Dragon asked, somewhat rationally. There was silence for a moment, and then Lloyd scrabbled for his Material Blades.
"ORIGIN! Save us from this menace!" he yelled, blending the fire and ice swords together. There was a bright glow, and then a large translucent purple sword materialized in front of Lloyd, who eagerly grabbed the blade.
/Yes, Pactmaker Lloyd/
"Woah. Dude, the sword talks," Dragon commented, shielding her eyes from the light. Zelos shook his head, having reappeared from wherever he was hiding.
"Nope, that's Origin talkin' hunny. He's king of the Summon Spirits." He explained, trying to sneak an arm around Dragon's shoulders. Storm snarled and snapped at him, and ended that little endeavor. Not to mention Sheena slapped him afterwards.
"Origin! I need you to send these people and…things…"
-We're not THINGS, dammit! We're organoids! ORGANOIDS!-
"Cerberus, calm down…"
"…er, organoids, back to their home planet of Zi! Can you do that?" Lloyd asked, staring hopefully at the sword. There was a long moment of silence. "Um…Origin? Still waiting for an answer here…"
/I cannot send them back, Pactmaker Lloyd/
"What? Why not!" Lloyd squeaked, causing Kratos and Zelos to cover their ears and cringe from the high-pitched noise. Origin seemed to wince as well, fidgeting with his four arms.
/They live on a strange and different planet which is very far away/ The Summon Spirit King explained, casting his gaze around the room. /It took most of my energy to get them here, and I am simply too tired to send them back/
"SO YOU CAN'T SEND THEM BACK BECAUSE YOU'RE TOO DAMN LAZY! ORIGIN, DAD AND I ARE GONNA DIE IF THEY STAY!"
"Sheesh Lloyd, overreacting much?" Sheena grimaced, stepping away from the rabid Eternal Swordsman. "You're not going to die if they stay a night. Chill out."
-Storm and I promise to keep Emily away from you- Cerberus added, whiskers twitching wryly as he curled his tail around his owner's legs and made her fall over.
"It's not a problem, Origin! Heck, take a vacation in Hawaii for a year for all I care!" Emily called happily from the floor, and then set to disentangling herself from her organoid. Cerberus gave her a patronizing look, then curled his tail tighter and set to looking the other way.
/Well, if that's all I will be going then…/ Origin shuffled uncomfortably, and then poofed out back to his little stone tablet thing in the middle of the Torrent Forest. Lloyd glared daggers at the spot where the spirit had been.
"Man, he's no help… Now what do we do?"
"Apparently, we wait." Everyone in the room jumped, for Kratos had somehow snuck downstairs without being noticed, and now swiped back his cape from Emily.
"No! Give it back!" She wailed, jumping for it as Kratos swept the purple thing out of reach and falling over on the ground again thanks to Cerberus' tail's death-grip on her legs. "Nooo…"
Those that were still somewhat sane and not obsessed with Lloyd and Kratos twitched. It was going to be a long night.
Yes, day one of the insanity has been completed! Tomorrow, Cerberus and Storm meet Raine and Genis… Sheena gets overly jealous over something stupid, Emily beats up on a certain blonde Chosen, and Dragon proves her mettle in battle! As for the Aurions…well… -coughs- We'll just have to wait and see how they fare, won't we?
Chapter two (or part two, day two, however you prefer to look at it) should be along semi-shortly, providing I don't get fizzled by writer's block. Inspiration for events is welcome, I'll try and fit them in.
I apologize if anybody seemed OOC –coughKratosandLloydcough- I try to cut down on that.
Please review?