Hello again people!
Like I said I wasn't going to post until either I get a beta-reader or feel like I need to, but well, someone finally applied! :D Though I still need one more, so please, those interested, read in my profile to know what I need for you to review about (which is grammar in the case you apply without even reading).
Anyway, thanks Maurice A. Nigma for the help!
Before we start, some extra warnings: since this fic is practically an altenate reality of the historical events in Symphonia, you have to remember the following: most of the heroes, save by those with family ties, don't know each other. So that means, don't hope to see any Emil fighting Lloyd or Marta angry with Colette scene. Some of them have new threats in their personalities too (remember, this is a demon ruled world, so you can't expact them to be exactly the same as in the games), but nothing that makes them differ that greatly from how they originally are.
Oh, and you'll notice I'll be using Lloyd's personality from the first game. Why? Because in the second he looked more like a mini-Kratos. Well, I suppose the directors of the game took the whole "like father, like son" to the letter there. Now enough of rambling, let's get on with this show!
P.S.: Seriously, I need a second beta-reader. This is not an easy project, you know.
Act I: A Shattered World
Chapter 1
Runaways in Luin
The sun shone brightly in the summer skies, which didn't have a single cloud on it. However, no one seemed to be paying attention to the weather, for the scenery around the town of Luin was becoming more depressing as the days passed. The woods near the city were withering slowly and the farms that supplied the region were suffering with the prolonged dryness.
To make matters worse, a crowd of Desians had been sighted coming to the village that morning from the nearby Human Ranch. With the commission came the leader of the ranch himself; Kvar, the Deadly Thunder.
Everybody knew that when Kvar and his Desians came, someone would be taken to the ranch and nobody would be able to stop it, for nobody was idiot enough to die a horrible death in the hands of the Desian Grand Cardinal. That was how the people close to the Asgard Ranch lived: suffering in silence and impotent against the Desians.
Some even tried to abandon the cities, going to the ones protected by Cruxis. However, demons roamed the roads, as well as some surviving species of monsters. So, few were really willingly to set out in the unknown with high chances of ending up as the meal of some crazed monster or a famished demon.
The Desian commission finally entered into the view of the people walking near the east entrance of Luin. Some immediately went inside the Inn, others to their houses, closing the windows. The few bystanders that didn't have anywhere to go scooted near the walls, as the figure of Kvar was finally clear in the Desian commission. Nobody had option, but bow to him as he passed, not sparing a look to the humans around, but very aware of his surroundings.
That was the torturous routine of the Desians' "visits." They would come, the people would be forced to bow to their "superiors," take some unfortunate chosen ones and go back to the ranch. After that, people returned to their activities like nothing had happened, trying very hard to ignore the absence and the loss of more of the town's people.
The Desian Grand Cardinal scanned through the crowd when he arrived at the commercial district and located a stand with apples on sale. The shopkeeper there was absolutely terrified when he saw the ruthless half-demon approaching. Kvar took one of the apples and bit it, tasting the fruit. He threw it back at the vendor after some seconds, hitting the man in the forehead with a mild force, but enough for the human shopkeeper to feel pain.
"Rotten.", was all that Kvar said to the man, taking another apple and tasting it, just to throw it back at the chest of the man. "Every...one...of...them."
"F-forgive us, L-lord K-k-kvar.", the man said, making a deep bow to the Desian, almost touching his face in the stand. "We h-have had a bad s-season lately with the dry and…", when the man looked up he saw Kvar's staff centimeters away of his face.
"I didn't ask for any of your pathetic excuses, inferior being.", Kvar said, an evil smirk making itself present as he charged electricity on his staff.
Before the man could utter another word, he was hit by a powerful electrical blast and thrown backwards. The strong charges caused the heart of the man to stop and he was dead before hit the ground. As the body of the poor victim twitched due to the last remnants of the electrical current cursing through his body, the people around the plaza of the district exclaimed in horror. Women covered their mouths as parents tried to hide their children, fearing another action from the Grand Cardinal.
Kvar then turned to the crowd, smiling at his deed as his soldiers laughed at the fear of people and the misfortune of the first victim of their visit. The half-demon known as the Deadly Thunder looked around, asking to the crowd:
"Is there any other inferior being that would like to whine about his problems?", a deadly silence befell the plaza. "Good. Just how you should be: silent and obedient, other than blabbering and rebellious, like in the War."
The Desian soldiers laughed louder at that. They simply loved to throw at the humans' face why they were in that situation in the first place and how they were now being oppressed by the ones that they had oppressed during the Kharlan War. It was a psychological tactic the Desians and even some demons used to further crush the people's moral.
The Desian group then resumed their walk around town, apparently selecting people for them to take to the ranch. Meanwhile, in a nearby alley, a young man, wearing a white shirt, red jacket with silver, metal buttons along the zipper, black pants, red boots and a red scarf around his collar observed the Desian commission, with a scowl and hatred in his eyes, especially when they befell over Kvar.
He would like nothing more than to simply walk into the plaza and stab Kvar several times in different vital points and the urge to do that was almost unbearable. However, he reminded himself he had promised he wouldn't do anything rash or stupid. He knew Kvar was far out his league, so all he could do was to train and…
"Hey, Lloyd.", a voice called for the brown haired young man. Another boy, this one blond, and a blond girl came to Lloyd, both bearing arrogant expressions on their faces.
"Caio… Mellani…", Lloyd regarded the two, who looked to the plaza, where they could see the Desians leaving.
"Death glaring Kvar again, huh? That's not going to take you even close to beat him, you know.", Caio said.
"Oh, don't be so harsh, brother. What else could a troublemaker like Lloyd actually do?", Mellani said in a snicker.
Lloyd sighed. Those two simply loved to make fun of him. Not that he cared anyway. Few people in the city seemed to actually do any effort against the Desians. The most they did was to try to forget the fact there was a ranch near their city and that part of their families was being held there. That was the kind of people the citizens of Luin had became since Kvar turned into the leader of the region.
"Why do you keep doing that Lloyd? You know you'll never defeat Kvar.", Mellani said.
"If I train hard, I might…", Lloyd started, but was interrupted by Caio.
"Train? With those two swords? Man, I don't know if you're more of a weirdo or an idiot."
Lloyd sighed again, now in annoyance. People often mocked him because of his choice of weapon, but at least he was doing something other than being condescending and forgetting those suffering in the hands of the Desians.
"Someone has to do something.", Lloyd said, in a stern voice.
"You're just going to end up bringing more trouble to Luin.", Mellani said. "Just because you can beat one or two Desians, that doesn't mean you're up to take out the big ones."
"Yeah, but there are people who would agree with me. That's why I'm training to become stronger."
"You mean the Vanguard?", Caio asked, a sly smile on his face. "So you sympathize with them?"
"Why wouldn't I? They fight to give people hope and…"
"That was all we needed to hear.", Caio said, a wicked smile making itself present on his face. The tone of the young blonde made Lloyd get in alert.
"What do you mean?" the dual swordsman asked.
"We've pledged our loyalty to Lord Nebilim sometime ago.", Mellani began to explain, with a smile similar to her brother's. "He doesn't recruit humans too often, you know? So it was really like a life-time chance."
"And guess what? He gave us our first mission: to kill a sympathizer of the Vanguard or the Renegades we know. And you're the one we choose. Congratulations Lloyd.", Caio said, in a mock compliment.
Lloyd's eyes widened at hearing that. He knew Caio and Mellani could be real jerks, but to hand over their lives to Nebilim, the leader of the demons and, consequently, Desians, was a completely different thing.
"You can't be serious!" Lloyd said, his tone raising.
"Oh, but we are quite serious.", Caio said.
"Then you're completely crazy. Did you forget what is the price to ally with the demons? Did you forget they are the reason we're suffering like this in the first place?"
"We're just making sure we have a future in this world.", Mellani spoke. "And if for that we have to side with the demons, so be it. Better that than being killed by them."
Before Lloyd could react, Caio reached for the brown haired young's neck. However, the arm of the blond boy had transformed when he did so, growing in length and gaining some muscles, ripping his sleeve. The skin of the boy had also gained a dark red tone.
"Now what are you gonna do, huh?", Caio said, his tone turning almost sadistic as he threw Lloyd to the ground. The dual swordsman skidded in the dirt ground before recover. "Why don't ya go crying for your daddy, huh? Oh yeah, I forgot…", the half-demon said. "Your father abandoned you, didn't he?"
That was enough for Lloyd to lose his patience with those two. He quickly drew his two metal swords and positioned himself for combat, crossing his blades in the diagonal, one pointing to the ground and the other to the side. Lloyd then spoke, anger dripping in his voice:
"Don't...ever...talk about my father like you know anything about him!"
"Whatever.", Caio said.
With a last smirk, the half-demon transformed completely, turning into a dark-red demon with black claws and golden spikes replacing his blonde hair. The transformed creature lunged for Lloyd, who prepared to fight.
When demon-Caio was almost at attacking range, several wind blades collided with his back in sequence, at first just making him flinch, but soon his defense was broken and they cut his back. The half-demon stopped, clutching his wound.
"What the…?", demon-Caio said, his sister and he looking back to see a brunette girl in the other end of the alley.
Lloyd noticed the girl had one arm stretched and on the back of her hand she had some kind of metal disk which was stopping to spin. The girl then looked to the two half-demons, with what seemed disgust in her eyes.
"Hey, you big bully, why don't you mess with someone your size?", she said.
"What did you say?", Mellani spoke in anger.
"You heard me. What's up with you people anyway? Got so scared of the demons that you would join them? Or did you just think it was an easy way to get power? Let me say this: joining them just prove how weak you are.", the brunette's tone was one of scold.
Caio gritted his teeth and advanced to the girl. Lloyd shouted for the girl to get away as the rampaging demon went to her. However, the girl simply smiled, crouching slightly as the half-demon came to her.
Caio tried to smash her with a punch, but the girl jumped at the last second, avoiding the attack. She spun in the air, several times, swinging her spinner, leaving gashes on the arm of the transformed human while describing an ark in the air. When she was near demon-Caio's head, her spinner started to spin faster.
Wind seemed to gather around the weapon, creating a spectral extension of the edge. The girl then swung it in the neck of the half-demon, effectively decapitating him. The brunette then landed on her right knee, "closing" her spinner as the head of her monstrous adversary fell, together with his body.
"Brother!", Mellani shouted. She turned to the girl that had defeated her corrupted brother. "You! You're gonna pay for that!"
A green-poison aura surrounded Mellani, as her eyes shone in a cruel, yellow color, Lloyd knew she probably was about to transform into her demon form too. It was then a blue blur passed near the brunette fighter that had defeated Caio and rushed to Mellani, right when her canines started to grow.
Before the corrupted girl could complete her transformation a large blade pierced her chest, exiting by her back as all she could do was to gasp and look surprised. Facing the girl was a blonde boy with green-emerald eyes, wearing one of the strangest clothes Lloyd ever saw.
"Sorry, but I'm not letting you kill innocent people.", the boy said, as Mellani coughed blood.
The blue clad young took his sword out of the corrupted girl as her demon-brother started to disappear in several green-poison dots. She then dropped to the floor. The blonde swordsman sheathed his sword as the brunette approached him.
"There you are. What took you so long?", the brunette girl asked to the swordsman, in a friendly tone.
"I was trying to avoid the Desians.", the boy answered.
Lloyd approached the two, making a sound of clearing his throat to call their attention. The two turned to him, seeming a little curious. The dual swordsman then spoke:
"Thanks for… saving me."
"It was nothing.", the girl said, with a smile on her face, which soon turned into a neutral expression. "We don't like guys like that anyway. Killing people for their benefit."
"Well, it wasn't like I would sit and let they rip me apart.", Lloyd inputted, looking to the side.
The girl giggled, knowing Lloyd's manly pride had probably gotten the best of him. The blond swordsman then noticed Lloyd's sheathed blades, but stayed quiet. He called his female companion's attention, but hesitated, trying not to sound impolite in the front of the swordsman they had just saved:
"We…should get going."
"Oh, right.", the girl replied, looking to her companion. She turned to Lloyd and waved a bye as they started to go to the plaza.
Lloyd watched the two go when he felt he should return them the favor, after all, they did save him from those two corrupted teens. Lloyd ran and caught up with the couple, asking them:
"Are you going to the Inn?", the two nodded in answer. "The innkeeper was taken to the ranch two months ago. It's been closed since then." the two, young warriors showed worried expressions at that. "If you want, you can come to my house."
"Really? Won't it be an inconvenient for you?", the blond boy asked.
"Nah. It's the least I can do for you two saving me."
"Well, I really don't want to sleep in the ground this time, so…", the girl said, smiling again. "Thank you for the offer. By the way, my name's Marta."
"I'm Emil.", the blond swordsman presented himself.
"I'm Lloyd, nice to meet you. Now let's go before the Desians come here."
The three left for the east exit of Luin. Lloyd told the two travelers he lived in the outskirts of the city, so they wouldn't be bothered by the Desian mob in the town. Marta and Emil seemed really relieved about that, though they tried to hide it. They soon arrived in a cottage, near the forest.
Lloyd took his keys and opened the door. As the trio entered, Emil and Marta noticed the place was very organized. It wasn't very bright, but it had a cozy atmosphere. In the center of the living room was a table and at its left a kitchen. In the opposite wall there were two doors, probably leading to the rooms, as well as one at the right.
"I know it's small, but…" Lloyd started, but Marta interrupted.
"I think it seems very comfortable, like the type of house a man built for his woman and kids to live in."
"Actually, my dad did build it."
"Really?", Marta asked. Lloyd nodded, glad that someone appreciated the house his father built for him. "Wow! That's so romantic!", Marta said, clasping her hands together, putting them near her face while she closed her eyes. Her tone was the one of someone daydreaming.
"That must have taken a lot of work.", Emil mused.
"Emil!", Marta said, reverting from admired to slightly annoyed. "That's not a nice thing to say!", Emil flinched when Marta's face came close to him, with a startled expression on his face. Marta then reverted to her dreaming and romantic state, putting her clasped hands at the side of her face while speaking in a shooting tone. "There's nothing more romantic than a man building a house for his wife with his own hands. You should learn from Lloyd's dad example.", Marta went back to her annoyed state at the last phrase.
Lloyd didn't know if he should laugh or be amused by Marta's mood swings. He chose to remain with a neutral expression on his face for Emil's sake, who lowered his head, apologizing. Thinking it would be better for them to change the subject, Lloyd spoke:
"Anyway, here's the guest room.", he went to the door at the right side of the house and opened it. "There's a bed and a couch, but we don't get many visitors, so there's only one bed."
"In that case, you should take the bed while I sleep in the couch, Marta," Emil said.
"Do you really have to? I don't mind sharing with you.", Marta said with a smile, inclining herself forward, with her eyes closed. Emil, to say the least, was beet red at the proposal.
"Uh… are you guys… ?", Lloyd asked, starting to feel a little awkward at being in the middle of that talk, a sweat drop falling by the back of his head.
"N-no! W-we're not like that!", Emil rushed to say, still with his face completely red.
Marta seemed a little down at hearing Emil deny that, but Lloyd could just look from one another. It didn't take a genius to know what the girl's true intentions towards her partner were. Lloyd decided not to talk about it, it wasn't any of his business.
"I'm going to cook something. You two can set your things in the room.", Lloyd said, breaking the awkward silence. His guests nodded to him and entered the small room while Lloyd went to the kitchen in the living room.
The dual swordsman could hear some talk from the guest room. That made he feel more at ease than he had in a long time. Silence often gave him the impression that something was stalking him from the shadows, waiting for its opportunity to attack. Some people that he talked to in Luin had the same opinion.
According to some elders, ever since the demons came, the world had been quieter and quieter. Some said it was because life was slowly seeping away from it, just like mana had. Others because many people were dying at once, day by day. Anyway, Lloyd was never one to get worked up on philosophic talks. The only thing he needed to know was that it was good to have some company in that house again.
Minutes passed and the young man called his two guests, who came from the guest room with their noses up in the air, sensing the smell of the steak Lloyd had just cooked. It was one of his best dishes.
"This look delicious.", Marta said, looking at the piece of steak with hungry eyes, like she hasn't eaten for what seemed days.
"Wait until you taste it.", Lloyd said. He was never one to praise himself, but if there was one thing about himself that he feel proud about were his skills in surviving by himself.
Emil and Marta sat in the table while Lloyd produced something for them to drink. He didn't have much; just some old juices, water and a wine from his parents. The last harvests of the nearby farms hadn't been good, so he didn't have much in store. He decided to pick some of the fruit juice that was still good.
The blond swordsman was eating some of his piece of the steak, his face lit up in what seemed amazement, as he served himself another portion and eat with more enthusiasm. Marta seemed equally hungry. Lloyd looked at the two, wondering when the last time they had a decent meal was. Good thing he had cooked for four people, since he by himself was always the hungry type.
"This is very good.", Emil said, after swallowing what he had in his mouth. "Who taught you to do this?"
"My mom. Dad also tried sometimes, but he was never very good at it.", Lloyd explained.
Marta ended her plate and gave a sigh of contentment. She then looked to a desk near a bookshelf, which contained objects and photos other than books. One particular photo in the desk called her attention: It showed a brunette woman, hair the same color has Lloyd's, and a man with a posture and expression of someone that had seen many things in his life. In the photo, the man was smiling. Between the two, in the arms of the woman, was a little boy.
"Those are your parents?", Marta asked, pointing to the photo. Emil and Lloyd (who was already serving himself and eating all in his plate in a fast pace) looked to where she was pointing. The young man swallowed his food before answering:
"Yeah, that's them."
"Where are they?", Emil asked, seeming really curious.
"My mom was killed by the Desians…", Lloyd said, in a somber tone.
"Oh, I'm sorry for asking.", Emil said in a legitimate sorry tone.
"It's ok. I still have my dad.", Lloyd said.
"And where is he?", Marta asked.
"He left one year ago to join the Vanguard and the Renegades."
"Really? Don't you get lonely here, all by yourself?"
"It's ok for me. My dad and I have trained swordsmanship since I was little and he and my mom traveled with me a lot.", Lloyd decided to omit the fact they were actually on run from the Desians. "So I kinda learned how to take care of myself in any situation."
"Seems like your father was preparing you for the day he left.", Emil stated.
Lloyd got a little surprised that the young blonde had made such an accurate analysis with so little information. The brunette young man nodded to Emil, saying he was right about it.
"Someday, I'll also leave this village and go after dad to fight together with him against the Desians and the demons. I didn't do it when he left because he said I was still too young and inexperienced. So I train to improve my skills and get ready to join the Vanguard and the Renegades.", Lloyd said.
"So that was why those two were pestering you back there. You do want to join them.", Marta spoke.
"Why not? They're fighting to restore people's hope."
"What about Cruxis?", Emil inquired.
Lloyd caught the undertone in the other swordsman's voice. He couldn't blame Emil for being wary around him, though. In truth, he would do the same thing, since they just met.
"I don't…really like them. I know they are very strong against the demons and all, but…they can be as violent as the Desians against people that don't follow them.", Lloyd said, looking Emil in the eyes the entire time, like trying to read what would be the blond swordsman's answer before he spoke it.
"I understand. I think just the same.", Emil said, without faltering on his answer, his eyes mirroring his honesty.
Marta looked from one boy to another, feeling the tension in the room. Suddenly, the two boys smiled to one another and returned to their plates. Marta sighed in relief. For one instant, she feared the two would get in a fight.
After eating the rest of their dinner, Emil offered to do the dishes, though Lloyd tried to protest, saying he was the one that invited them, so he wouldn't ask them to do house chores. Emil insisted once more and an argue broke between the two. Not exactly an argument, more like a friendly discussion. Marta got tired of hearing the two trading different arguments and got up, taking the plates before they could even ask her what she was doing.
When the petite brunette was near the sink, she said:
"I'm going to do the dishes and you two better not even try to protest.", her tone was one of command. Lloyd and Emil gulped and nodded to her, wordlessly.
After that the trio went to sleep, each one saying their "goodnight" to the other. Lloyd laid down, feeling like the house wasn't just an empty, wooden space again, now that he could hear and feel people walking around.
He was still a bit curious about those two, as to why they were traveling alone in roads full of demons and rampaging monsters, not to mention about how easily they took Caio and Mellani out, like they had already fought against people like that. Shrugging, Lloyd decided to guard those questions for tomorrow…