I do not own Tales of Symphonia
Okay, I know what your all saying, or think. 'Zelos-Celsius? What the hell?' and I can't really explain why I like this pairing so much. It probably stems from my fondness for Celsius. Did you know she finished 8th in the tales popularity contest out of all the tales characters? Pretty damn funny is you ask me.
You could say that I have planned this story for a very long time and had it in the back of my head even longer. The only thing was to actually put it down on paper. I've actually considered writing this in a different style from my others, but decided against it. Hope you like it!
PART 1: A SNOWY VISITOR
"Can I really do this?"
"Zelos! There you are!" Said Chosen looked over to see Sheena and Lloyd running towards him through the snowy city of Flanoir. "Where have you been?"
"There's no time for that. Quickly, we need to head to the doctor." Zelos replied, ignoring her question. Neither Lloyd nor Sheena argued with what he said.
After the discussion with the doctor, it was decided that Regal, Collete, Genis, and Presea would go with the doctor to Altessa's house. As the 5 people exited the office, the remaining ones look at each other.
"So…what now?" Zelos asked, wanting to hear any kind of suggestion.
"I suspect that they won't be back for awhile. It would be best if we checked into an inn." Raine put in.
"We might as well." Sheena said, shrugging her shoulders. She headed out the door, followed by Lloyd and Raine. Zelos hanged back for a few moments, running his hand through his hair.
"Unfortunately, I doubt I'll be getting any sleep tonight with the decision I have to make."
SUMMON SPIRT REALM
Celsius looked away from her ice mirror, letting the vision of Zelos dissipate. She stroked her chin for a moment, wondering how things would play out. "This could be very interesting." She whispered. Letting the mirror melt back into the ground. She was about to walk out of the Summon Spirit Grand Hall when a voice stopped her.
"You've been staring at that mirror a lot more often lately."
"Is there something wrong with that, Undine?" Celsius said coolly, looking over to see the Water Spirit walking through an archway.
"No there is not." She replied. She paused for a moment before going on. "I dislike how when I look for you I can't seem to find you in your own ice realm. Since its one of the smaller ones, it shouldn't be hard to find you, when your there. However, you've been spending a lot more time here."
"Of course. Its the best place to view both Sylvarant and Tethe'alla from." Celsius replied looking around the great hall. It was in a dome shape, with pictures constantly changing on the ceiling from epic battles to simple things like someone gardening. The 10 columns that held the dome up each represented a different Summon Spirit, and were designed accordingly. For example, Efreets was covered in a wall of flame, while Shadow's seemed to suck in all the light around it. "This is where our power is strongest. If I want to look at a certain event, I need to be here to focus in on it." Undine waved her hand at Celsius's explanation.
"I know all this, you don't need to tell me. I've been a Spirit much longer than you have." Undine reminded Celsius. The Ice Spirit scowled at what Undine said. She hated how the others would go out of their way to remind her how young she was for a Summon Spirit.
"Did you just come here to see what I was doing or do you actually have a purpose for coming here?" Celsius demanded, flipping some of her hair behind her ear. Undine pursed her lips before continuing.
"I've noticed that you have been watching them…a lot." Undine said vaguely. Celsius knew exactly what she was talking about, but decided to play stupid, just because she could.
"Them? I don't quite know whom you are referring to, oh wise water Spirit. Now, if you excuse me, I must take my leave." Celsius said formally, bowing afterwards. Undine gawked at Celsius's show of respect. Well, mocking respect. The Water Spirit quickly shook her head and slammed her foot down, cause water to come from now where and block the entrances from the great hall. The room also started filling with water.
"Do not play games with me Celsius. Why have you been watching the Summoner's group?" Undine asked, her impatience very clear. Celsius didn't bother to turn around and instead looked over her shoulder.
"It has always amazed me how fast your mood swings. To answer your question, why wouldn't I? We all can see that the fate of both worlds depend on them."
"Yes, but there is nothing we can do to affect that. We may only help in fights when Summoned and that is all. Everything else is out of our hands. So says Origin." Undine intoned. Celsius whirled around after hearing for the millionth times that Summon Spirits couldn't interfere in the human world.
"Why the hell not? We can't even go down there to just talk to people. Just to talk!" Celsius bellowed, as that was a rule that had always bothered her.
"It has always been that way and always will be. End of discussion." Undine said, the finality in her tone very evident. With that being said, the water slowly went away, until there was only a small amount of residue. "You will not go to human world, are we clear?"
"What makes you think I was going to? Just because I have an interest in something doesn't mean I'll break the rules for that interest." Celsius replied, sounding very bored. Undine simply nodded.
"That is good. Otherwise you would incur Origin's wrath." Undine left with that final comment. As she left, Gnome, the Summon Spirit of earth, came sauntering in.
"I take it you heard everything?" Celsius asked rhetorically.
"You betcha." He replied, nodding vigorously. "So I assume your going to the human world then?"
"Hell yes! I wasn't sure if I was going to go until Undine came along. She's really the only one that pisses me off to no end. Like hell I'll listen to anything she says." She stopped and looked over at Gnome, raising one of her eyebrows. "I assume you'll cover for me?"
"Honestly, do you really need to ask?"
INSIDE THE FLANOIR HOTEL
Zelos was lying down on his bed, looking up at the ceiling. He had been doing so for the last hour. He finally had a room to himself, but he wasn't able to enjoy it. Many things weighed heavily on his conscience. His previous actions of betraying his friends over and over were starting to affect him more and more lately. Now it was all coming to a head. Would he betray his companions for Cruxis, or would he refuse?
"Dammit, I can't stand being alone right now. I need to talk to someone, anyone." Zelos said before replaying what he said in his mind. "Well, maybe not anyone…Raine will most likely figure something is up if I talk to her, and I wouldn't be surprised if Sheena would just think I'm not serious and blow me off. So that leaves just one person." With that, the Chosen opened his door and headed for Lloyd's room.
As he rounded the corner that would lead to Lloyd's room, he saw that Sheena was already at Lloyd's door. For some reason, Zelos's natural reaction was to duck back around the corner, as not to be seen. He heard several knocks and Lloyd say something before he heard the door open and close. As he poked his head around the corner, he noticed that Sheena was no longer at the door.
Zelos scratched his head before putting two and two together. "She must have gone into his room. I wonder if Lloyd will get luc-" Zelos was interrupted when he heard the door open again. He retracted his head just in time, as he managed to hear a few of the Summoner's words.
"That's odd, I thought I saw something for a moment. Ah well, come on Lloyd, lets go see the snow."
"Sure." Lloyd said, being pulled along by Sheena. After they rounded a corner, obviously heading for the entrance to the hotel, Zelos stepped around the corner.
"As much as I want to see how things play out, I shouldn't eves drop on a precious moment that those two might have."
"Wow, I never knew you could be so considerate."
Zelos whirled around at where the voice originated from, but didn't see anything. He scratched his head for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. He was about to walk back to his room when on a sudden impulse he decided to exit the hotel through the back way and go for a walk.
As he exited the hotel, he was greeted with a vast expanse of snow. In the distance, he could see a frozen lake with trees scattered around it.
"Nice view huh?" Again, Zelos turned around to see nothing.
"Okay, I think I'm getting creped out now. I would shout, 'Who's there?', but I doubt that would help now would it?"
"You would be correct." The voice again came from behind him. He turned around, but again, didn't see anything.
"I think I'm losing it. Maybe I should go asleep…" Zelos mused. He was about to do just that when he saw that there were footprints in the snow. A smirk played across his face. "Or maybe I should go for a walk in the city…" As Zelos walked towards the entrance to Flanoir, taking the long way around, the invisible voice materialized into Celsius. She was very pleased with herself.
"How could I resist messing with him? It's my first, and probably only time here, so I might as well have fun before I leave. I doubt this will help him, but then again, it will keep me out of trouble if I don't help him. After all, a decision this important is something that he needs to make on his own." Becoming invisible again, Celsius continued to follow the Chosen.
As they made their way around the outskirts of Flanoir, Zelos would periodically look over his shoulder from time to time. When they were finally at the entrance of Flanoir, Zelos stopped abruptly and whirled around and stuck up his right. Celsius also stopped a few yards away and looked at him in confusion.
Suddenly, a ball of fire erupted under flew from his hand, striking Celsius in the stomach, making her visible to the naked eye. Zelos eye's widened and pointed his finger at her.
"Y-You?" Celsius had other things on her mind than Zelos's question.
"I HATE FIRE!" She bellowed. She ran up and punched Zelos in the face. Unfortunately, it didn't send him flying as she hoped. Zelos slowly pushed her fist to the side and cast a quick healing spell.
"Under normal conditions, I would be more than glad to see you, but with what's on my mind, the mood I'm in, and getting a punch in the face has not put me in the best of Spirits." Zelos deadpanned. "So might I ask why you are here?"
"Oh, I'm just visiting."
"Oh really? I didn't know Spirits could visit. I've only really seen them in their respective temples. Except for Aska." Zelos said.
"Were really not supposed to visit. In fact, it's forbidden." Celsius answered. Zelos simply nodded.
There was a long moment of silence. Zelos looked to the snowy city before looking back at Celsius. "Do you…want to go for a walk?" Zelos asked, not sounding really sure of himself. Celsius was slightly taken aback by the question, but recovered quickly and nodded.
"I don't see why not." Celsius replied.
IN THE SUMMON SPIRIT REALM
Luna walked into the ce realm, where Celsius resided. She had heard from Undine that Celsius had taken an interest in the Summoners group, Sheena's group, and that she talked Celsius into not going into the human world.
Undine was a fool if she thought she made the situation any better.
Luna knew that Celsius tolerated Undine, but that was it. She didn't dislike her as much as Efreet, which Luna felt was a very illogical dislike. Herself and Shadow got along fine, as did Volt and Undine, as well as the Sylph sisters and Gnome. That was beside the point though, Luna desperately needed to find Celsius.
"Celsius? Celsius are you here?" Luna called out, waiting for any kind of response. She frowned when she got none. She had already looked around the general areas like the oasis and Garden of the Gods. "Don't tell me she's already gone there…there's one person who would know for sure. Gnome."
Luna didn't even bother to float when she was looking for Gnome. Walking was faster anyway. She found him in the great hall, looking into a dirt hole.
"Gnome, what are you doing?" Luna asked, knowing well what he was doing. Gnome quickly stood up, waving his shovel over the hole, making it disappear.
"Oh, nothing really."
"Gnome, where is Celsius?" Luna asked calmly.
"Why do you want know?" Gnome asked, answering a question with a question.
"Where is Celsius?"
"What makes you think I know?" Gnome countered evasively.
"Where is Celsius?" Luna repeated.
"Now listen-"
"Gnome, you will tell me where Celsius is or I will proceed to hurt you. I'm not quite sure when I'll stop." Luna stated casually, like she was talking about the weather. Gnome opened his mouth to answer, but quickly shut. "Gnome, you know you can tell me." Gnome looked away. He then did a quick glance around the grand hall before speaking.
"She went the human world." He whispered. Luna closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
'"Knowing her, she went to visit that group." Luna said, knowing it to be true. "What am I going to do with her…I'm going down to get her." Luna said. She started to dematerialize when Gnome grabbed one of her arms and stopped her from going.
"Luna, why don't you let Celsius go on this one? I know that you're the closest thing to a mother that she has, but if she's willing to risk getting in trouble by going down there, she must have a good reason." Gnome said, sounding very serious. Luna thought for a moment before nodding.
"I'm impressed…you actually sounded serious there. All right, I'll let her go this time. When she gets back though…"
IN THE CITY OF FLANOIR
Even though Flanoir was the closest city to the cave where Celsius resided in Tethe'alla, she had never actually been to the town itself. Sure, she had looked at through her ice mirror, allowing her to glimpse what was going on, but that was it. Being there in person was a completely different story.
"Judging by your gawking, I would say that you have never been here before?" Zelos said. Celsius gave the Chosen a skeptical look.
"I would watch your mouth mortal. I am still as powerful as when we last fought." She said coldly. She shook her head briefly and decided to answer the question. "Yes, this is my first time here. I'm not even supposed to be here, as it's a rule not to come here." Zelos nodded.
"So, are you stuck in…wherever you live?" Zelos asked awkwardly, not really sure how to put the question.
"Yes, we can only stay in the Spirit realm. It's called Avarland by the way. It's a nice place, with each Spirit having a smaller realm that suites their desires. It can get slightly boring there though." Celsius responded. They continued to walk through the snowy streets, stopping every once in awhile to let her look around.
"So, your basically confined to the Avarland, as you call it? Does each Spirit realm have a specific name." Zelos inquired as they continued to walk through Flanoir. Celsius kicked a little snow on the ground as she answered.
"Yeah, but it's a deep secret that very few other Spirits know. You only share it with people you are close to."
"So what's your realm's name?" Zelos asked. Celsius only snorted.
"Last time I checked, this is the first time I talked to you. What makes you think I'll tell you?"
"Interesting point, but let me say this. You did follow me, meaning you did have some interest in me. Which-"
"Enough." Celsius said, her voice carrying a strong finality to it. "I will not tell you the name of my residence. So drop it, okay?" Zelos nodded, not wanting to push the issue.
"Does it ever get boring be confined to Avarland? It sounds like your trapped in one small area." Zelos inquired. Celsius nodded at what Zelos said.
"You could put it that way, but its not all that bad…at times. Now that I think about it, isn't your sister confined to that Abby? It's kinda like that." Celsius asked, remembering how she watched Zelos enter into the Abby and the way he talked to his sister.
"I'd really rather not talk about my family." Zelos said quickly. However, Celsius would not drop the subject.
"What's the matter? Does Zelos have family issues? Maybe a sister complex?" Celsius said mockingly.
"At least I had a family!" Zelos shot back. "Sorta."
"What makes you think I don't have one?" She retorted. Realizing what she said, she cursed. Zelos looked at her stupidly.
"Summon Spirits have families? I mean, you have a mother and father?" He inquired, as the whole idea seemed foreign to him.
"I don't see why I should discuss this subject with you."
"Oh come on Celsius, we'll probably never talk like this again. Its not like it would hurt." Zelos responded. Celsius tilted her head to the side, giving Zelos an appraising.
"If you wish to hear my story then you need to tell me about your own family."
"Deal." Celsius was slightly taken aback by how quickly Zelos had agreed, but she did not let it show.
"Fine, fine, I'll go first. While I do not have any parents that I'm directly related to, I do have a mother figure." Celsius took a deep breath as she had a feeling that Zelos might laugh. "My mother figure is Luna. Don't laugh dammit!" Celsius bellowed when Zelos face took on a very comical look, his face trying to hold his laugh in.
OVER WITH SHEENA AND LLOYD
"Did you hear something Sheena?" Lloyd asked, looking around slightly.
She most certainly did, but she was not about to let it interrupt this moment. "No I didn't. So listen…"
BACK WITH CELSIUS AND ZELOS
"You can stop laughing now." Celsius deadpanned, tapping her foot impatiently. "What's so funny anyway? I swear if you make fun of her I will kick your ass." She threatened. Her threat fell on deaf ears, as Zelos was too busy chuckling. When he was finally finished, he was still grinning from ear to ear.
"I'm sorry, it's just that you two are so different. Luna is formal and respectful while you are…well, your you."
"Just what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Celsius demanded, stomping her foot. Zelos put up his hands in defense.
"I'm just saying that you're different!"
"Oh, so if Luna is formal and respectful, than what am I?"
"Wrong choice of words. Lets forget that I said that, shall we?"
"I don't think so." Celsius ran at Zelos, as if she was going to punch him in the face. Unfortunately for her, Zelos stepped out of the way and tripped her, causing her fall flat on her face, into the snow.
"Oh, I'm sorry. It seems you tripped over my foot." He said as if he didn't do it on purpose. As Celsius turned over, she saw that Zelos was offering her a hand. She grabbed his hand, but did not use it to get up. Instead, she used her superior strength to yank Zelos to the ground while pegging his face with a snowball in her other hand.
Zelos looked up from the snow. "I will get you later." Celsius just rolled her eyes.
"Riiiiiight. Are you ready to hear my story or not?" Celsius asked.
"Sure." Zelos responded, rolling over so he could look at the night sky.
"There's not really much to tell. When I first became a Spirit, I was a little wild and wouldn't listen to the others all that much. However, one day I caused quite the ruckus in Luna's realm. She caught me in the act, but didn't report me or anything."
"What were you doing when she caught you?"
"I was about to freeze a pond when she came up behind me and hugged me." Celsius said fondly. Zelos turned his head to see that Celsius was smiling.
"Then what happened?"
"Well, when she hugged me, she told me about how I may have been trouble some to the other Spirits, but that she would take care of me as if I was her own daughter. She was the first person to reach her hand out to me, so I instantly looked up to her and listened to her. I didn't become a goodie-goodie over night, but Luna taught me all sorts of things and would bail me out of trouble." Celsius said.
"Did you ever find out why she reached out to you?"
"Nope, and in all honesty, I don't really care anymore, I'm happy with the way things are."
"Sounds like your leaving out a lot, but who am I to say that you're not telling the truth. Is it my turn yet?"
"Yeah, yeah, go ahead." Celsius answered waving her hand to signify that she was done.
"Well, like you, there's not really too much to tell. I loved my mom, and didn't get along with my father."
"You make it sound like their both dead." Celsius interrupted. Zelos nodded his head.
"They are. My father, the former Chosen, is dead, making me the current Chosen, while my mother was assassinated when I was younger. Its kind of ironic how it all happened." Zelos deadpanned. "Since my father was Chosen, he needed to continue the Mana linage, so he ended up having multiple wives.. He fathered two children, myself and Seles."
"Ah, I get it. If one of the children dies, then the other child would take the dead ones spot." Celsius tone was very calculating, and somewhat unnerved. Zelos, but he went on anyway.
"Yeah, so one night, much like this one, I was out playing in the snow with my mother. I was having fun at the time, building a snowman, but the snowman collapsed and red snow started to fall. It ended up being my mother's blood. She was killed by magic that was meant for me, the future Chosen. It was Seles's mother that was trying to kill me. Because of what she tried to do, Seles was moved to the Abby."As Zelos finished his tale, he looked over to see Celsius looking straight into space.
"I'm sorry to hear that." She whispered. Zelos stared up at the night sky.
"As my mother was over me, her blood making way onto my body, she said 'You never should have been born…'. After that, she collapsed on top of me…and that's my tale of my family, or the event that really defined it at least."
"Wow…that's some heavy stuff." Celsius said solemnly. Zelos nodded, still looking at the sky.
"You could say that. I've learned to deal with it over the years though. I've probably only came to terms with it because of meeting Lloyds ." Zelos said.
"Speaking of Lloyd's group, you have a big decision to make, don't you?" Celsius said, standing up. "I don't suppose-" Celsius stopped talking as she felt something cold and wet on her face.
Zelos had thrown a snowball at her.
"I did say I would get you back, didn't I?"
"Prepare to die." Celsius stated, sounding very much like a robotic death machine.
Zelos figured it would be a good time to start running right now.
END PART ONE
And that's it for chap one. I actually have the second chapter ready, but I feel that as of right now it's a little silly and needs some work. Reading over this story so far makes me realize what a freaking sap I Am. Not that that's a bad thing, I just didn't realize it till this was down. This is like a side project to my main project, which is First Love. My full note will probably be at the end of chapter 2.
Hope you enjoyed and leave any comments that you have.
Vrtrahex