Namco owns the rights to the Tales of Xillia character.
I'm merely using this as an expressive way to 'correct' pairings, heehee.
Ludger and Jude landed in Marksburg's harbor on the Elympios side.
This place looked identical to the one in their dimension, but there was something different about the atmosphere. Despite being the connecting location between Elympios and Rieze Maxia, it was completely deserted. No merchants loudly proclaiming about their fresh produce to entice customers to swarm to their little stands and no potential customers that called to friends they saw in the crowd. It was somewhat late in the day, the sun was setting, but that was never a time when this place was devoid of people. It wasn't just because this looked so unfamiliar to them, there was something in the air that gave it a creepy aura to it.
"Let's hurry and find the divergence crystal..." Jude said and Ludger nodded.
They were walking through the connecting passage to Rieze Maxia's side, which was just as deserted. The shops weren't properly closed, though. The doors were wide open, even a few of the usually straight aligned shelves were crooked, some merchandise having fallen to the ground. It looked like it had been all abandoned in a hurry.
Both shot quick glances at each other, both intending to rush through this area and head to the other side. Whatever was going on, it was best to not linger here and, with any luck, they would find something out over there. They ran through the empty passage, but just when they reached the gate that led to the other side, they stopped.
Strange noises came from up ahead, with the familiar clanging of metal on metal and obvious yelling and screaming. Clearly, there was some sort of fight going on up ahead. Glancing at each other again, they proceeded with a bit more caution. The sun's light was reflected from the glass walls and blinded them for a second when they stepped through the gate. And something dark blue streaked past them on the left and disappeared behind the building over the water.
"M-Muzét?!" Jude gasped, thinking like he had recognized her.
He was right. Muzét, her arms littered with gashes and bruises, flew past them, her arm glowing as she began chanting a spell. As she moved, a loud shot rang out and the spirit flinced mid-flight. Then, when the initial shock of being hit passed her, she kept charging. And while Jude was still trying to comprehend what he saw, he felt Ludger tap his shoulder and made him focus on up ahead.
There certainly was a fight going on. And it had already claimed victims.
Against the glare of the sunset, Jude saw a tall figure lying on the ground, with their upper torso having slipped over the edge of the ground and dangling above the water. They dressed in dark colors, so any wounds were difficult to see on the body, but blood was pouring from an obvious bullet hole from their forehead. Was that... Rowen?
Before he could focus more on that, he noticed someone else. Someone was slowly crawling on the ground towards another figure. Instinctively, he wanted to rush over and heal them, as he was wont to do with injured people. But he barely got two steps in, before Ludger grabbed him by the shoulders and stopped him. Jude wanted to snap at him, but followed the other's gaze.
And he recognized the two figures. This dimension's Leia was crawling towards an injured Jude.
"J-Jude..." he could hear Leia say, her voice shakey.
Jude's eyes went over his other self, quickly noting all the injuries, and did the same with that Leia. Her arms were shaking like crazy and there were several dark red circles on her back, obviously from bullets shot at her, with two of them around her shoulders. They must have cracked, if not broken her shoulderblades. Her hands and knees were full of scratches and dirt from crawling. She was leaving a trail of blood behind her. The injured Jude was lying on his stomach and still on the ground, like he was already dead, but his back was still moving with breathing. His labcoat was stained with red and his arms were full of deep gashes. One of his legs was twisted at a weird angle, definitely broken. He clearly hadn't moved from where he had fallen, given his condition and the puddle of his own blood he was lying in.
They were both goners. Jude knew it. And they knew it themselves, both of them having studied medicine.
"Jude...?" Leia gasped, sounding worried and near tears, then saw his hand twitch.
"L... Leia...?" the other Jude mumbled almost incoherently.
"Jude...! I have to..." she crawled close to him and put her hand onto his, gripping it tightly.
"What about... Milla...?" he asked.
Leia's eyebrows furrowed together. She didn't move, but the two observers looked behind her and tried to make out Milla from afar. It was difficult, with it getting steadily darker. But they did make out long, blonde hair draped over the side of one of the benches. Milla was slumped on one of them, her sword just barely still in her mangled hand that looked like it had been crushed by something heavy and her short, white dress drenched in red blood. Then movement caught their eyes and they looked away, focusing on Muzét who was still busily fighting the assailant. Whom they recognized.
Ludger?!
Jude and Ludger looked at each other in disbelief and turned back, but their attention was pulled back to Leia and the other Jude.
"She's still fighting." Leia answered and the other Jude gave a small, relieved smile.
"Good..." he said and held Leia's hand tighter. "How... badly are you... injured...? I can't see anymore..."
"Pretty bad..." she admitted, hearing the strange rhythm of Jude's breathing. His lung must have been punctured. "There's something..."
She started to talk but stopped, her knuckles turning white as she shook and tried to ignore the burning pain that was spreading through her whole body. Jude must have noticed, because his hand gripped hers and tried to pull her closer. Then she gasped, forcing herself to bear the pain and keep going. Her other hand trailed along Jude's arm and held onto his sleeve.
"I need to... tell you..." she went on, clenching her teeth when she inhaled. "And this... is really a now... or never moment..."
While she braced herself, the Jude from the prime dimension stared, a horrible feeling in his gut. Even if this situation hadn't been such a shock to him already, he was almost dreading letting this little scenario in front him continue. He wanted to rush over, to heal their injuries or put them out of their misery, despite knowing what could happen upon getting too close to an alternate dimension's version of himself.
"Jude, I... I love you..." Leia finally said and looked at her injured and dying friend. "For a long time..."
Tears were spilling from her eyes and wiping clean trails in the dirt on her face, before dripping onto the ground. But despite her injuries, despite this horrible situation, she did her best to smile while confessing. Yet, Jude didn't answer. He was lying still and Leia began to look terrified, forcing her last little strength to squeeze his hand.
"...Jude?" she asked, worried that he might already be dead.
"I... see..." he slowly answered.
Leia looked relieved for a few seconds, but then her face fell in grief and she laid her head next to Jude's. She had noticed. His back wasn't rising or falling anymore. He had stopped breathing and was dead. At the very least, she had managed to tell him and get her feelings acknowledged. Before it was too late.
And only a little away from them, Jude was staring in complete horror at the two on the ground, with Leia having died mere seconds later. Jude's view was getting smaller and his heart was hammering so hard that the sound pounded in his ears. He was only dimmly aware of hearing Ludger transform and confront his alternate self, destroying the divergence crystal. The scenery in front of him shattered and a strong pull transported the two back into the prime dimension.
Still, the image of the two dead bodies was remaining in front of Jude's eyes. He was frozen in place, staring at the ground. Ludger stepped next to him and gave him an encouraging pat on the shoulder. Nodding slightly, Jude began to move, following Ludger back to the inn.
"Oh, back already? That was fast." Alvin said with a grin.
The group was sitting in the eating area of Marksburg's inn, mostly just sitting around and drinking now, waiting for Jude and Ludger to return. Ludger had gotten a call about a fractured dimension earlier and the two had decided to quickly take care of it.
"...what's with Jude?" Alvin asked.
Jude was standing next to Ludger, his shoulders slumped and gaze still fixated on the floor, which it had been the entire time. His eyes were rigid and wide open and his face had a sallow, grayish tint to it. He didn't seem to blink as much he'd normally would, either. Ludger glanced at his friend, unclear how he should tell them what had gone down.
"Jude...?" Leia asked and began to get out of her chair. Suddenly, Jude moved. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards him, putting his arms around and embraced her tightly. He hid his face in her shoulder and silently stood there. It wasn't clear if he was crying, but slowly, hesitantly, Leia put her own arms around him and hugged him back.
"What happened?" Milla asked, her eyes wandering away from the two and looking at Ludger.
Slowly, Ludger began to tell them what had occured in the fractured dimension. How his equivalent had attacked and killed the party, though they hadn't figured out the reason why. He did hesitate, glancing at Jude, when it came to recounting the deaths of that dimension's Leia and Jude. He didn't want to tell them that final conversation they had overheard, but Jude was refusing to move from his clinging hug, so he couldn't somehow ask if he was okay with it being revealed. So Ludger decided to remain silent about it.
He did tell them, though, that Jude had seen himself and his oldest friend die in front of him.
Milla nodded slightly, when Ludger stopped talking.
Hours later, Leia was standing on the balcony of her hotel room. There was a slight, cool wind going.
She felt shaken up from the news of that fractured dimension, though she was sure that the others were, too. In one dimension, 'she' was dead. Although she had known it was a possibility, somehow learning that it did happen in one dimension, made it feel more real. Leia Rolando had died in that dimension, even if the dimension didn't exist anymore.
Leia suddenly felt a hand running along her back.
"Wah!" she gasped and turned, seeing Jude behind her.
He must have entered her room, which she hadn't locked for the night yet, when she had been deep in thought.
"You had so many bullet wounds..." Jude mumbled sadly.
Leia looked at him, the way he was frowning and his mouth was turned down, obviously still fighting the image of seeing the two of them dying. She wanted to cheer him up, even if it was a little, but she wasn't sure how to.
"That Ludger must've known I didn't die from one bullet wound, so he made sure." she said jokingly. But Jude flinched and he frowned worse when she said that. Clearly, he felt like making fun of a previous close call of hers was not appropriate for now. "Sorry."
Leia turned towards the city again and leaned against the banister, looking at the sky. She felt a slightly strange atmosphere between them. He probably was here, looking for comfort, and to see how she was doing. But there was also something in the air that told her there was more. Something that he needed to get off his chest. She had noticed Ludger hesitating earlier. Maybe more had happened there.
"Leia," Jude started. "there's something... In that dimension..."
"Did something happen? When we died?" she asked and earned a nod from him.
"You... she..." he stuttered, unsure which pronoun to use. "said that... she loved me... Jude..."
Leia blushed and looked away. So, that had happened. Apparently that Leia had used her final moments to confess her love, that had been just as longstanding and likely unrequited as hers, to Jude. To not regret not telling him earlier. She felt curious now and wanted to ask a lot of questions. Had she said a lot? Or cut to the chase? And how had that Jude reacted? Had they had enough time to confess and answer?
"I see..." she finally said lowly.
In spite of himself, Jude snorted.
"What?" Leia asked.
"No, just..." he admitted. "That's what I... that Jude said to her confession."
Leia reached out and put her hand on his arm. He put his own hand over hers, looking like there was still more bothering him. He gripped her hand a bit tighter and looked at her.
"I'm wondering if... the same applies in this dimension?"
She looked at him a bit confused, but then realized what he meant. Clearly, he wanted to know if she was in love with him 'here', too. Blushing furiously, Leia avoided meeting his eyes and studied their shoes, instead. And took a deep breath.
"...yes."
The silence between them was heavy. Even the wind seemed to stop blowing. The city's usual nightlife was going on beneath them, people walking around, calling to each other and sitting outside of restaurants or cafés, enjoying some fresh air. But here, their world was challenged. The relationship they've had up to now changed, even without an answer on his side.
"Urgh..." Leia went, leaning on the banister and putting her head on her hands. "This wasn't how I wanted to confess...! Eventually..."
"Sorry. For making you-"
"It's okay." she interrupted him, lifting her hand.
"Sorry," Jude repeated. "I was just wondering... and now I worry. How many other dimensions there are, how many more Leias might..."
"Jude. Don't worry about it so much." she told him. "I know it's not a nice thought, but you shouldn't feel guilty. You don't have any control over what happens in the other dimensions... As for what happened in that dimension, well..."
She hesitated, looking for the right words.
"Well, I think that 'I'... that this Leia was happy. Of course, it didn't have a happy ending. But she did manage to tell him how she felt and, given what you said earlier, Jude acknowledged them. So, even if he didn't share her feelings... I think that was enough for her."
Jude stared at her for a while, lost for words.
Leia shifted her weight a bit. While the topic wasn't overly pleasant, the mood between them was still good. Its typical closeness, even a shade of emotional vulnerability, but comfortable about it. And she thought that she might make use of it, even if it might lose part of its weight. Since she had technically already confessed to him.
"Jude, can I... is it okay if I properly confess to you?" she asked, blushing slightly.
Jude looked at her and slowly nodded, taking her hands into his.
"...I love you, Jude. And I have for a very long time." Leia confessed, her face burning bright red. She knew that she could have said a lot more. Maybe should have said, trying to explain the depth of her feelings. How being with him had always been able to calm her down or cheer her up. How she missed him, when he left for the Talim Medical School. How the tiny, golden earrings he had given her for her eight birthday were among her most treasured possessions. But she didn't. Somehow, the idea of trying to use words seemed difficult to her. As if the right words for how much she loved him hadn't been invented yet and the others just didn't quite fit.
Jude looked at her, then gave her hands a squeeze and opened his mouth.
"Leia-"
"Relax." she interrupted him, taking her hand out of his grasp and held it up. "I didn't expect an immediate answer. In fact, I wasn't aiming for an answer from you to begin with. Of course, an answer would be great... but I don't want you to force yourself into one. If you want to answer, then take all the time you want. I just... wanted to really be honest with myself. And properly confess."
The two stood in silence for a while, both flushed with embarrassment. Eventually, slowly, Jude embraced her again and held her close. Leia hugged him back, a small part of her wondering if this was his answer. Though she doubted it. And didn't want it to be.
"I'll stay with you tonight." he whispered.
"Mh." she went, knowing what he meant. Regardless of her confession, too much had happened today and he wanted, needed comfort. She knew that and actually felt somewhat the same. Just something to hold onto and likely be there, in case a nightmare or horrible memories were to haunt them. She nodded, understanding him.
They went back into the room, the balcony and room's door being closed and locked for the night. A few clothing pieces taken off, all the lights except the one next to the bed got turned off and they slipped beneath the covers. Jude leaned back and turned the last light off, before settling down and put his head onto the pillow, pulling Leia close. She snuggled up to him and enjoyed the feeling of his hand slowly running across her back in a soothing manner.
The room was quiet for a bit, both trying to fall asleep.
"Leia...?" Jude asked, breaking the silence.
"Mh?" she went, almost asleep, and tried to stay awake long enough to listen.
"This isn't my answer, but... I don't know if I love you in that way," he said quietly. "but I do know, that you are my dearest friend. And I don't want to lose you."
Leia blushed slightly at those words and nodded.
"I know." she said and cuddled up against his chest, falling asleep peacefully.
Yeah, I should tell you. It'd be best to not expect a lot of Milla chapters. At least, not a whole lot that have her as the main character. I find her difficult to write, though this may be just a practice thing, and I'm unsure if I could keep my personal dislike for her out of my writing all the time. Hope you enjoyed this one.