Author's Note: I'm here to put a screw in everyone's plans! ...Not really, I'm just bored. After a lot of thought and encouragement, I thought to make a SI story. It's probably stupid and people are gonna hate it, but I'm mainly writing this for fun.

I might end up putting in a lot of references to Berseria, mainly of the characters themselves and/or their weapons.

I hereby declare I own nothing except two characters in this fic.

There's always two sides to a story. A story that no one really seems to care about. Video games were passed off as merely fiction. The heroes of the story were all we learned about. We never learned about the villains unless we looked it up online, to see fan-made backstories and incorrect truths never released to the public at large.

The sky is a clear blue, and there's nothing around me except nature. Trees, grass... No signs of people anywhere. But it's choking, the pressure suffocating me. The sky darkens, and clouds appear as if summoned out of nowhere.

It's here that I meet him, the Lord of Calamity. My glasses stand up to the pressure, but I can barely move. I should be corrupted by now, turning into a hellion because of the malevolence. That was how the game worked, so... by all means, I should be a hellion.

But I'm not. I struggle to look at him, the lion-man named Heldalf. The hellion who caused the world's malevolence. He sneers down at me, and I can only cower. I'm weak, compared to him. Weak, frail and human. He picks me up by my hair, causing me pain, to get me level to his face.

The pressure I feel is immense and I choke as I try to speak, to tell him to let me go. He doesn't take notice. But he sees something that makes him drop me to the ground. I'm only able to cover my face as I land, preventing my glasses from breaking but not preventing the pain I feel.

Heldalf vanishes, and the malevolence goes with him. The world returns to normal and, like a normal human, I empty the contents of my stomach onto the ground. I hear a few voices, and footsteps crushing against grass, but my hearing hasn't unclogged yet. My eyes still work, so I look up. Green eyes are the first thing I see, followed by brown hair. Instead of saying anything, I dry-heave to attempt to expel anything else in my stomach. There's something given to me, and I try to push it away. But whoever's giving it to me then stabs my side and, as I go to shout in pain, shoves a gummy-like substance into my mouth. I instinctively swallow, choking it down.

My hearing clears, and sound's restored.

"It's odd for her not to have turned into a hellion. There was so much malevolence..." A female voice says

"Well, whatever it was, it's gone now. She can at least see me," the brunet I was looking st said, glancing back at me. He takes my hand, and writes in it.

It's not an alphabet I understand. I stare blankly at him before slowly pulling my hand away. "That tickles," I say, rubbing my hand. "Was that really...?"

I stop myself, understanding that here, in this world, I shouldn't comment on what the seraphim say. So I change tactics. "Was that really necessary? Once that gummy was shoved in my mouth, I could hear again." But my mind is on Heldalf, and why he'd shown himself to me. The brunet nodded, grinning.

"Yup! Gels always seem to do the trick!" He says. But then he frowns. "That was the strangest reaction to malevolence. Lailah, have you seen something like that before?"

I follow his gaze, standing up to my full height of a short five-foot-three. I can see the seraphim, but adjust my glasses slightly and look back to Sorey. I have to pretend I didn't see a thing, that I was from this place and not a world that presented their world as a story.

"What are you looking at?" I ask, knowing the answer. But I glance back at Lailah. She's radiant, like fire itself, and really gorgeous. The game didn't do her or any of these people justice. Sorey gets up, rubbing the back of his neck and chuckling nervously.

A movement makes me jump, and a redhead walks to stand by Sorey. Rose. That's when I looked behind me, to see if her "guardian angel" was there.

Nope. "He likes pretending that there are other people around instead of just us," Rose says, making me look back at her. I nod, slowly. My friend did that a lot, so I understood all too well. But, when the seraphim were real and I was pretending not to have seen them, it wasn't like that at all. But if they met another with resonance, what would happen? I had to keep a low cover. Get dropped off in the next town, find a weapon and start training like crazy to join them when they returned.

I look around me, noting Mikleo, Edna and Dezel. All much more beautiful than the game showed. Perhaps that was because they were like ethereal beings. I linger a bit too long on Dezel, and he notices.

Mel, you idiot! He reads the wind, he can tell you're staring at him! I chide myself mentally, trying to see what was past him. A tree. Trees litter this place, as if overtaking it, and it's a relief. I also spot the ruins where the Sparrowfeathers used to be, or still were at the moment. According to this, I was at the point where Rose has just become Sorey's Squire. But still, I'm staring right at Dezel and he's actually getting uncomfortable.

"Hey! Stop staring!" He snaps. I pretend not to notice. "She can see us. She's staring right at me."

"She might be looking behind you, Dezel..." Sorey remarks.

"Huh? Dezel?" I act dumb, looking back at Sorey. Then I look at Rose. "Your friend seems to have an active imagination."

"She's lying," Dezel pointed out. He's perceptive but, then again, he reads the damn wind. Edna walks up and jabs me in the side. It hurts, and I yelp before facing her.

"Don't do that!" Well, there went my cover. Edna smirks, proud of herself. The reaction is instantaneous. Everyone's looking at me, and I shrink back, glancing to the ground.

"Why lie about something like that? I don't get it," Rose says. I shake my head.

"I didn't want to... be a freak..." I mutter. Dezel scoffs. "It's unusual for people to see the seraphim so... I thought if I pretended not to, I wouldn't raise suspicion."

"Well, that makes sense," Mikleo says. He folds his arms against his chest. "Although Sorey forgot and insisted on talking to Lailah."

Sorey laughs nervously. I can't help but start to laugh. Hearing Mikleo chide Sorey in person was about a hundred times better than hearing it from a TV screen. Lailah clasps her hands together. I see it in her eyes, the want to make me a Squire. But I don't comment. It's knowledge that I shouldn't have. To explain how would be to give out information that I wasn't from here. But my clothes would definitely give it away. Shorts and a tank top with velcro shoes and ankle socks. It's possible my glasses would, too, but I didn't know.

"Sorey, why not make her a Squire too?" Lailah asks. This is my chance.

"I'm dead weight and you really don't want me to drag you down! I'm a civilian, I don't know how to fight!" I protest.

"And we don't need dead weight," Dezel says. "She's right. All she'll do is drag us down and get us hurt protecting her."

Harsh. But it's the truth.

"Let's just leave her here. She can find her own way back," Edna says. "Humans cause problems, and we can't trust her."

"We'll take her as far as Lastonbell, then. That's the closest place to here," Rose comments, ignoring Edna.

"But, if she makes the Squire pact, she can armatize with one of us until we reach Lastonbell," Lailah points out. "I can dissolve the pact with her once we're there."

"That's only if she can armatize. We were lucky with Rose, but what if it releases? She'll pass out," Mikleo argues. "We can't risk it!"

I sigh, rubbing my forehead. "I'm Melanie, or Mel for short," I say. "Can't I have a say in this? If this... armatization will help me fight, then I don't see why not... As long as it's temporary!"

But I hate the armatization look. It's too frilly for my tastes. I pray that I don't get the same look as Rose. But, with my luck, I'm going to end up in it. Sorey opens the Celestial Record, looking for something. Lailah takes our hands, and recites the familiar Squire's pact.

I receive a true name, and the flames dissolve.

This is too fast, but I don't complain. I'll need it when I rejoin them the moment they return to Lastonbell. I didn't know how long they'd take, either. Lailah looks expectantly at me, and enters my body. A raging flame overtakes me, and I armatize with her. The sword is light despite the size, and I thank the heavens silently.

But it's awkward with Lailah within me. I silently freak out, and hope that I don't accidentally un-armatize. I don't look at my armatization, the frilly armbands being enough to tell me I have the same outfit as Rose when she armatizes. We head off through the forest, heading for Lastonbell.

We find a hellion and I suck at fighting it, relying on the spells the armatization lends me. But after the battle, the world vanishes from view as the armatization disappears. I pass out immediately.

We haven't moved from the spot I passed out in. The trees are still here, and they're talking about a stump. I sit up slowly, realizing they were enacting the skit about the big tree stump we were near. I tune them out, having heard it enough to say it word-by-word. Edna's the first to notice I'm awake, rolling her eyes and jabbing Sorey in the side with her umbrella.

"She's awake," Edna says.

"We can see that," Mikleo retorts.

I stand, a bit wobbly but soon become steady. "Sorry! I... I didn't mean to..." I trail off, suddenly becoming disgusted with myself. But I push it away, not wanting to breed malevolence. "To hold you up."

"Well, it was your first time in armatization. So it's okay!" Sorey says. I nod.

We start heading for Lastonbell again, and I'm glad for the temporary pact. I don't armatize this time, and merely dodge around hellions as I do my best to stay out of the line of fire. When the forest's behind us, I realize that time with them is short.

It'll probably be months before I see them again.

We stop to rest, the seraphim appearing from their vessel in a flash of light. The discomfort on Sorey's face vanishes, and he starts chatting up Mikleo. I guess it's uncomfortable, having your childhood friend reside in your body. I remember the armatization and shudder as I linger where I stand, a few feet away from their rest site.

I'm not a part of their group, nor will I ever be. I'm a stranger that Sorey's taking pity on, despite my lies earlier. Everyone's sitting and chatting, so I decide to walk ahead a bit to see which way we were going. Sorey was going to be fighting Sergei soon, and I was going to remain behind as they left on their way to Pendrago.

I remember Symonne, and I lower my head. I know what's coming, and I can't change a thing. Sorey's going to lose Dezel and gain Zaveid later. Edna's brother, who rested on the Spiritcrest, would be killed because Zaveid used up his bullets fighting hellions and "killing" them.

Edna wants her brother back, Zaveid wants his friend back. There's little someone like me can do but, if I try, I could change the history of the game.

I don't notice when Edna approaches, but she doesn't let me ignore her. "Brooding all alone? That's dull. At least try to act like you're grateful."

I shake my head. "I am grateful. I just have a lot on my mind, Edna."

Edna looks at me funny. "That's weird. I never introduced myself to you."

Shit, shit! Abort! "A-ah, welll... I heard them say your name..."

"...Funny, they haven't said it since we met. Just who are you?"

I hear Sorey call for us. Edna sighs. "I'll keep an eye on you. For all we know, you could be working for the Lord of Calamity. If you are, I'll bury you myself." Her threat isn't empty, and I shiver as she vanishes.

"Ready to go?" Sorey asks. I nod.

We reach Lastonbell, and Lailah is true to her word. The pact is dissolved as we step into line, and I'm left without any means to defend myself. I'm not too certain, but I faintly remember this check being because of war.

"Are you kidding me? I don't have time for this!" The man ahead of us grumbles.

"An inspection?" Sorey asks. The man turns to face us.

"It's the army! What do you think? There's going to be a real war going on, real soon!" He looks Sorey over, grinning. "Odds are they'll be detaining you, I bet."

"Huh?! Why me?!" I glance at him. The knights tell us to pipe down, and Rose gives an exaggerated apology.

"You've heard the rumours of the Shepherd, right?"

"You mean how the church branded the Shepherd a heretic?" I cut in, speeding up the conversation. "We've heard it."

The man looks at me, nodding. The knight calls for the next person, and he turns away. "Looks like I'm up. On that note, watch your backs out there."

The man leaves, and we're left to ourselves.

"There's also mysterious happenings in town... or talk. I don't know which," I offer, looking to them

"Huh. Might be worth investigating," Sorey says. Rose nods.

"Next!" The knight calls. The three of us head up, but the knight stops us. "One at a time."

"I'll handle this." Rose steps up, showing her identification. "We're with the Sparrowfeathers."

The knight nods. "Right. Sorry, ma'am. We can't be too careful."

He lets us in, and I realize this is where we'll part. As we walk up, Sergei comes to meet us.

"I am Sergei Strelka. Captain of the Platinum Knights. Defenders of the glory of the Rolance Empire. In cooperating to ensure the empire's peace, you prove your gratitude as much as your loyalty!" Sergei says. I have to admire his dedication.

"Is he always like this or are his boxers chafing him?" Edna asked. I have to fight back a giggle and the urge to correct her.

Rose pulls out the identification she used earlier. "Here you go! Our Merchant Guild pass. We've come to Lastonbell on business, specifically the collection of a bill," she says before pulling me over. "And we're also dropping off a resident. Her name's Melanie."

Sergei accepts the pass, looking at it. He then looks at me. "May I see your identification?"

"Sure, if you can find the thieves who mugged me and left me to die in the Volgran Forest," I lie. "If it weren't for these two, I'd be dead."

"I understand. I'll make this exception only once." Sergei steps aside, allowing me to pass. I look back at Rose and Sorey after taking a few steps.

I wave, and I head into Lastonbell.

The first thing on my mind was procuring identification. Since most Tales worlds ran off of Earth-world names for their characters, with some exceptions, I knew my name would work here. Finding a place that made identification was hard, but I found one. They, however, charged 1,000 gald for replacement identification! How was I supposed to procure that much gald?

I sat on the bench I found, grumbling to myself. Someone stopped in front of me. I looked up to see a purple-haired seraph.

A bag of gald was dropped at my feet. She grinned. Symonne.

"A down payment on your services. Bring the Shepherd to the darkness, and you'll get so much more!" Symmone says. Bring the Shepherd to darkness? But that would go against everything Sorey was about!

I nudged the bag with my foot, intending to give it back, but she was gone before I could. Left with no other alternative, I picked up the bag. Inside was a bunch of gald and identification papers with my full name on them. Heldalf was using Symmone to buy my services, using her to pull Sorey to the darkness. I grit my teeth and stood up.

A fist collides with my chest and knocks all the air out of my lungs. I gasp, choking. My trainer grins, bouncing back and forth like he was in a boxing ring. It's been a week since I'd come here and this man, Aevar, has taken me as his apprentice. He's a good man, but sometimes I wonder if he's got a few screws loose. He lets me recover and I attempt to kick him, but he blocks and shoves me back, making me stumble and fall.

"Alright, that's enough," Aevar helps me back up. I breathe... and then punch him in the chest. Aevar stumbles back, eyes wide, but he starts laughing afterwards. "Guess I've gotta keep my eye on you! You still serious about rejoining the Shepherd?"

"Mhm," I nod, following Aevar into the kitchen. He makes Draco Stew this time for dinner, and I assist. "There's no harm in helping someone you're indebted to."

"Wise words. Have you thought of a weapon? This book," he pulls out a book from the shelf, walking back to me. "It tells a story of the sea. But, more importantly, that a man used a bracelet to amplify his strength. I think I still have it somewhere..."

I cover the pot as he tries to sneak a bite before the food is done. "Wasn't that a Seraphim relic?"

"More like a human's. They could see him. Anyway, if you use it... maybe it'll help," Aevar says, pouting. "I have it in my room."

"In that mess? Good lord..." I blink, and he laughs before walking off. I go back to cooking, preparing the meal as carefully as possible. I try not to think of whose bracelet it is. But if it's a certain hellionized dragon seraph's bracelet, I think I might scream.

"Found it!" Aevar calls a few minutes later. I glance at him and he raises the bracelet. My breath catches in my throat. The design, colour and shape are the same. Aevar places the bracelet in my limp hand, blue eyes shining with glee. "Put it on!"

I swallow, but comply. It somehow fits on my right arm if I push it up enough to get it to not slip off. But, unlucky me, it clatters to the floor as soon as I lower my arm. "It won't fit."

"Huh. Try your left!" Aevar puts it on my left arm, and the bracelet grows warm as soon as it reaches my wrist, fitting like a glove. I pull the pot off the stove and put it on the table. Okay, so I might've slammed it down. This bracelet wasn't mine, so it was like I was stealing it. I knew who it belonged to, I knew what happened to its owner.

"Edna's going to kill me," I say, collapsing into a chair. "Edna's going to bury me alive. She's going to end me."

"Who's Edna?" Aevar asked.

"Someone who's going to murder me the moment she sees this bracelet on my wrist."

Whooo, got that out of the way! Due to Mel's interference, some things have changed in the storyline. Plus, she's already got an enemy in the form of an Earth seraph! But I don't think she can change much more... Or can she?

Berseria reference 1: Eizen's bracelet. Because Eizen's arm is slightly bigger than Mel's, it doesn't fit right until put on the appropriate arm, in which it reacts. Why does it react? You'll find out in a later chapter.

This chapter may be revised at a later date.