Two Destinies: Chapter 2

Author's Notes: All right, I apologize for some bull**** I might be putting in this part of the story. Tales of Destiny 2 never really explains why normal humans are able to use magic, so I'm coming up with my own piece of **** theory… Plus, I'm not exactly sure if the light blue orb on Kyle's belt is just an accessory or has some kind of purpose aside from keeping his belt together and keeping his pants up, so I'm gonna say it's actually a Lens…: P (Hey, it kinda looks like one, so my theory isn't completely out in left field!)

As for Arte names, I'm borrowing some from a friend of mine who's also writing a fiction, too. (Though not in this part, since all the Artes I'm using in this part have canon names already either because they've been in other games *coughazureedgecough* or they have Katakana names, such as the spells.) I've asked, don't worry. My friend in question is Jtblitz on the Tales Series Forums, in case you're wondering… And for Reid's Arte names, I'm going to go with the Post-Symphonia names since they are more canon. So Sonic Blade = Demon Fang, Swarm = Sword Rain, Demon Hammer = Tiger Blade, etc.

As usual, write reviews! (And for those people who read The Third Chosen, I haven't abandoned that project! I'm just kinda stuck right now… _;)

The sun was getting low in the sky over the heads of the six adventurers of Eternia, now with the addition of Kyle and Reala, two individuals from another world not connected to either world in Eternia. Reid yawned and stretched his muscular arms into the air…

"Geez, I'm really tired, Meredy…" Reid groaned. "Can we rest here tonight?" Everybody turned to face the complaining hunter. Farah put her hands on her hips.

"Reid!" She scolded. "You're always tired! Let's keep going!" She turned around to continue walking, but another loud yawn stopped her. Farah turned to Reid and frowned. Reid shrugged.

"Wasn't me…" He said… Just then, Kyle's blond hair started bobbing up and down as the boy stretched his arms as well.

"Sorry, Farah…" Kyle said quietly. "I'm quite tired myself…"

"Perhaps camping here would be a good idea, then…" Reala responded. Keele groaned.

"But the sun's still up!" He started nagging. "We can travel a little more, you guys! The wilderness is dangerous!" Meredy shook her head.

"Imen too far to get to before sun go down." She said in her broken English. "Meredy also think we should rest here."

"Four against two…" Reid said. "Besides, Keele, you can always use one of those Holy Bottles of yours if you're so paranoid…" Keele growled.

"You have to bring up the Holy Bottles every time…" Keele grumbled something about not being paranoid. "…Fine… I'm not happy, but it looks like here it is… Let's set up camp." And so, camp was set up in no time at all, and the six adventurers got to sleep…

…But it wasn't for long. A few hours after sunset, there was rustling of grass, followed by some eerie sounds that did not fail to awaken the sleeping travelers. In one tent, Reala had awoken to the sounds and upon clinging close to Kyle, she awoke the usually-impossible-to-awake teenager.

"What's going on, Reala?" He groaned, still half asleep. As he rose from his slumber, Reala wrapped her slender arms around Kyle's chest.

"I hear something…" She said, still attached to the blond teen. "I think there's monsters outside this tent…" Kyle yawned, then looked at his friend.

"Hey…" He said consolingly to Reala. "If it'll help, I'll go fend off any monsters that are out there, okay?" Kyle's warm smile was enough to assure Reala that there was nothing to fear.

"All right." She said. "Please be safe…" Kyle gave another assuring smile and Reala couldn't help but smile back. Kyle stood up, picked up his satchel to fling onto his back, and left the tent, and as soon as he had exited the tent…

"Kyle!" The boy spun around upon hearing his name. There was Reid, with sword unsheathed and a shield upon his arm. "You think you could help me with these Beetles?" Reid pointed with his sword at three Purse Beetles approaching the tent. Just then, Reid remembered that he had never seen neither Kyle nor Reala with a weapon before. "Oh, CAN you help me?" He asked. Just then, much to Reid's surprise, Kyle withdrew a sword from a sheath on his back (Reid hadn't realized that the satchel on his back was actually a sword sheath.)

"Yeah, I can help!" He said, running over to where Reid was standing. "I'm kinda surprised you're a swordsman, too…"

"Same here…" Reid responded. "Now, let's take care of these things!" The slimes were nearly upon the two swordsmen. The Purse Beetles made weird sucking sounds – apparently they were hungry for human flesh. Reid and Kyle ran at the enemies, making various slash and thrust attacks to keep the Beetles at bay. The insectoid foes didn't seem too injured from the attacks, though.

"We're gonna need elemental attacks to beat these guys…" Kyle said. One of the enemies crawled toward him while Kyle's sword began to glow blue. "Azure Edge!" Kyle slashed the air and a blue beam of energy hit the slime, making it flinch a little, but once again, it starting crawling toward him.

"Super Lightning Blade!" Reid's blade pierced the hide of one of the Purse Beetles, and then a lightning strike came down on the beetle, killing it. Reid looked at Kyle. "Two more!" He said. Kyle grinned, and faced down the remaining two enemies.

Just then, there was a sickening sound. It was a screech that was obviously not from the Purse Beetles was emitted from nearby. There was a short moment of silent panic between the two swordsmen. "Dammit!" Reid cried out eventually. "Looks like they've got reinforcements…"

"I have an idea!" Kyle cried out. "Just give me a minute!" He ran back a little ways, and then stood still, holding his hand at shoulder height, sword pointed in the air. He wasn't moving at all.

"Hey!" Reid yelled. "Why are you just standing there, Kyle?!? I need help! Two of these guys are hard to fight alone!" He just barely dodged a tail sting from one of the Purse Beetles and nearly tripped over another.

"That's it, I've seen enough…" A voice from nearby called out. The owner of the voice stepped out of the third tent. It was a very annoyed Keele. He walked toward the still-motionless Kyle, but then he stopped. There was an eerie red glow that shone from Kyle's belt buckle, and it intrigued Keele. "What?" He wondered. "What's going on?" Just then, Kyle swiftly shot his arm into the air and his belt buckle glowed even brighter, but with a deeper red color, now.

"Burn Strike!" He yelled out at the top of his lungs. A red glow shot out of the end of Kyle's sword, and then became a giant rain of fireballs that fell toward the earth. Reid, who had been temporarily distracted by the scene, finally realized that if he didn't move, he was going to be toast. Fortunately, Reid was fast enough to move out of the way of the incoming spell. When the fireballs hit the ground, they exploded into small meteors of flames, engulfing everything around them. The fires died away quickly, leaving only scorched earth behind. The enemies were nowhere to be found, apparently incinerated by the spell. Keele was absolutely stunned.

"H-how did you do that?!?" Keele asked Kyle, still quite shocked. "You don't have a Craymel Cage, do you?" Just then, instead of answering the question, Kyle put a hand on his head and began to sway a little bit.

"Whew…" He said quietly. "I've never felt dizzy after using that spell before…" Reid walked up to the blond-haired kid and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"You all right, Kyle?" He asked. Kyle did his best to grin as widely as possible.

"I'll be okay." Kyle said, smiling in his usual fashion. Just then, the weight on Reid's arm suddenly increased, and he realized that Kyle had just fainted and was now dead weight. Reid sighed.

"So much for being okay…" He said. He picked up the younger boy, and was surprised by how little he weighed for his height. It wasn't easy for Reid to carry Kyle, but it wasn't impossible, either. Keele walked over and examined the boy in his childhood friend's arms. He was particularly interested in the belt buckle that had glowed so brilliantly in the battle. Puzzled by the mysterious object, he sighed.

"Looks like I'm not going to be finding out how he used that spell any time soon…" Keele said. Reid laughed.

"He'll probably be okay in the morning." Reid said. "We should just let him rest right now. You can ask him tomorrow." Keele sighed.

"Fine…" He said. "I'll be sure to ask him first thing in the morning…" And upon saying that, he left for the tent where he and Meredy were sleeping. Once Keele had disappeared into his tent, Reid was left alone with the unconscious child. He's powerful… Reid thought, looking back again at the scorched ground. But maybe he's too powerful… Perhaps he has the ability to use powerful spells, but his body isn't strong enough to handle them… Reid scanned Kyle's body over with his eyes. He couldn't help but note how slender the younger boy's frame was, and that he looked rather emaciated and pale, especially in the moonlight. Will he be a burden to us? Just then, Reid heard a sound from nearby. He turned around to see Reala standing in front of her tent, one hand placed across her chest.

"Is he all right?" Her delicate voice asked, looking at the unconscious boy in Reid's arms. Reid smiled.

"He just fainted after using a spell…" He said. "He'll probably be okay with a little rest. Don't worry, he's not dead." Reala's face showed relief.

"Oh, good…" She said as her hand that had been upon her chest moved down to her side. "I don't know what I'd do if I was separated from Kyle…" She walked over to Reid. "You don't mind bringing him into our tent, do you?" Reid smiled.

"Sure, I will." He said. "And then, it's back to bed for me." He walked into the tent with Reala, set Kyle down on his makeshift bed, and left the tent, ready to sleep for a long time due to how exhausted he was.

The sun was already well on its way up toward the apex of the gray sky of Celestia when Kyle finally awoke. Upon awakening, he once again placed his hand upon his head. "Oww…" He muttered. "What a terrible headache…" He groped around the tent and his hand finally found the tent flap. He flung it open, and sunlight poured in, making Kyle's headache worse. "Aah!" He yelled, cringing away from the light and protecting his eyes with his hand. After his eyes adjusted, he looked outside to see Reala giggling at him.

"You're finally up, sleepyhead!" She giggled. Farah came into view and placed her hands on her hips, yet still had a smile on her face.

"We decided we'd let you sleep because you had a rough night last night…" She said. "But now that you're up, let's head to Imen!" Meredy spun around.

"Hweel!" She said. "Imen not far from here. We should go!" Just then, there was a loud rumble. Kyle groped his stomach and a strange look crossed his face.

"Ugh…" He groaned. "I'm so hungry…" Farah grinned.

"Well, it is about lunchtime…" She said. "I'll go whip us up some lunch!" Kyle shot up onto his feet.

"What?!?" He exclaimed. "It's already lunchtime?!? But I didn't have any breakfast!" Just then, Kyle's stomach rumbled again, and he slunk back down onto his knees and groaned in hunger. Farah sighed.

"You're almost as bad as Reid when it comes to food…" She said, shrugging. "Fine. I'll whip you up some brunch, while the rest of us have our lunch." Meredy looked at Farah. "Don't worry, Meredy…" She said to the purple-haired girl. "After lunch, we can go to Imen." Meredy smiled.

"Okay!" She said. "Meredy fine with that." She skipped out of sight of the tent opening. Almost as soon as Meredy was out of sight, Keele appeared in view and walked over to where Kyle was sitting. He kneeled down to take another look at the blond-haired boy, now that he was awake.

"Is there something wrong, Keele?" Kyle asked innocently. Keele rubbed his chin.

"Tell me…" Keele said. "How exactly can you use magic, Kyle? You don't have a Craymel Cage, do you?" Kyle shook his head.

"Nope!" He said, looking down at his belly. "It's all because of this!" He placed a hand on his belt buckle, and it seemed to shimmer upon being touched. Keele was even more puzzled. He had examined the buckle last night, but his findings had been inconclusive.

"What is it?" Keele asked. "How does it work?" Kyle smiled.

"It's a Lens." He said. "This one is powerful enough to change surrounding magical energy into power I can tap into with my sword. All I do is focus on what spell I want to use, and the Lens creates the magic energy needed for the spell." Keele scratched his chin again.

"Then I wonder why you fainted when you used that spell last night…" Keele pondered. Kyle scratched his head.

"I think it's because I couldn't sense any usable energy when I had been charging for the spell…" Kyle said. "So the Lens converted MY energy into the energy for the spell, and I was so drained that I fell unconscious… I'm lucky to be alive… I've heard stories about people dying when that happens because they use up too much of their energy to live…" Keele put his hands on his hips.

"Why didn't you tap into the energy of the Craymels, then?" Keele asked. "They have lots of energy you could use!" Kyle shrugged.

"I don't know how to use Craymel energy…" He said. "Remember, I've only been exposed to Craymels for a short period of time… Their energy source is kinda foreign to me…" Keele rubbed his chin, then after a moment of thinking, he snapped his fingers.

"I have an idea!" He proclaimed. "Why don't I supply you with some Craymel energy to start off with? Once you're used to using it, then you can use Craymel energy from outside sources." Kyle blinked twice in confusion. Keele sighed. "Here's the deal…" He explained. "I'll summon the two Greater Craymels that are in my Craymel Cage, and I'll ask them to give you some of their energy. Sound fair?" Kyle crossed his arms.

"Why are you being so nice to me all of a sudden?" Kyle raised an eyebrow. Keele stood up.

"Because I want to know more about how to use magic from Lenses, and you're the only way to find out!" Kyle stood up as well.

"Hey, I'm not the only one here who uses a Lens to cast magic!" He said. "Reala's necklace has a Lens pendant on the end of it, and she uses Lens magic, too!" Keele harrumphed.

"I already asked you, and I'm also giving you more of an opportunity to be useful in battle…" Kyle had heard enough. His face was filled with rage.

"Hey, I am NOT useless!" He said. "Don't you DARE think you can just cast me aside like yesterday's laundry!" A sly look crept onto Kyle's face. "But I don't think you even know what laundry is… I haven't seen you wear anything besides that one cloak of yours…" Just when Keele was ready to punch Kyle in the face for that insult, Farah called out.

"Guys!" She yelled. "Lunch is ready!" Kyle's face brightened up to a hue that had not been seen since yesterday.

"All right! Lunch!" He said, grinning. "I'm starved!" Keele was still pissed off, though. However, he suppressed his indignation as he walked over to have lunch, as well.

After lunch, things had calmed down, and once again, Keele tried to talk to Kyle about enchanting his Lens with the Greater Craymels' energy. And this time, Kyle was more receptive to the suggestion.

"So you're saying you're going to get me to be able to use Craymel energy by letting me start off with a certain amount stored in my Lens?" He said.

"And from there," Keele said, "You'll be able to use less energy from within the Lens and more from the outside. Eventually, you won't even need the energy stored inside the Lens. Plus, you'll be able to use your spells again without potentially dying or falling unconscious."

"Hmm…" Kyle thought. "So how exactly do we get the Craymel energy into here?" He placed a hand on his belt buckle. Keele smiled.

"Like this…" Keele whipped out his Craymel Cage and held it skyward. "Come, Sylph! Come, Efreet! Enchant this boy's Lens with your power!" Just then, two glowing lights appeared around the Cage, one green and one red. The lights grew to the size of golf balls, and then quickly ricocheted towards Kyle's belt. As soon as the lights touched the magic Lens, they disappeared, and the Lens began to glow green and red. Kyle was a little dazed.

"What just happened?" He asked as the glow faded. Keele grinned, and then put away his Craymel Cage.

"I did exactly what I said I would." He said. "I enchanted your Lens with the Craymels' power. Go ahead – try using the Craymel energy to cast a spell." Kyle nodded. He unsheathed his sword, and, like the day before, he held it at shoulder height to gather energy. The Lens on his belt glowed green this time.

"Wind Slash!" He announced, protruding his blade skyward. A small orb of slashing blades of wind appeared, and just as quickly vanished. Kyle sheathed his sword, and then looked at his hands, then his belt. "Hey, I'm okay!" He said happily. "I don't feel dizzy or nothing! It worked, Keele!" Keele grinned. Reala and Reid walked over to where Keele and Kyle were.

"You guys done?" Reid asked. Keele nodded.

"Yep." He added. "And now Kyle doesn't need to worry about fainting when using his spells again." Kyle grinned.

"Do you think you could do that with me sometime soon, Keele?" Reala asked. "I'd like to be able to use my spells again, too." Keele nodded.

"But for right now…" He said, "Let's head to Imen. Meredy's been waiting for us long enough." Everybody agreed, and they all started walking to where Meredy was so that she could lead the group to Imen…

Author's Nota Bene: Okay, Okay! I promise that I'll get going on the story come next chapter! The team's FINALLY going to get to Imen in Chapter 3, so look out for it! Please excuse the B.S. I had to come up with to make this part work, or even just tell me how you thought it came out. In other words, write reviews, please and thank you! :D