Tales Of Symphonia © Namco

Beta: Synodic

An awful pain shoots through my head, accompanied by a strange static buzzing that draws a groan from my mouth. Faintly, I can hear a few voices mumbling, and reluctantly I crack an eye open, wincing when a sharp pain spreads through the back of my head and eyes.

"She's waking up!" There's a cloth resting on my forehead, and I breathe out slowly, grimacing again. "Mom, come quick!"

I open my eyes again, staring blearily at the face hovering overhead. He blinks down at me, blue strands of hair falling over his ears —holy shit why are they pointed— and he opens his mouth to say something else only to cry out in pain, his face retreating from above mine. "What was that for!?"

The second voice sighs, and when she speaks her tone is noticeably quieter than the boy's. "You're being too loud."

I blink slowly, bringing a hand up to rest limply against the cloth. A door opens, and when I turn my head to look an older woman approaches, her hair the same colour as the boy's and tied into a tight bun. When she sees the two squabbling at my side her expression hardens.

"I thought I told you to be quiet," she says sternly, directing a scathing look at the boy. He crosses his arms and looks away haughtily, and the girl at his side simply sighs. Turning to look at me, the woman's face softens. "It's good to see you awake."

I spare another look around the room. "… Where am I?" I ask, noticing how sore my throat is. I do my best to hide my panic, averting my eyes and attempting to sit up. Immediately I'm stopped by the girl, and the older woman sighs, shaking her head.

"It's best if you don't strain yourself … you're still quite sick." She kneels by the bed, placing down the bucket of water she was carrying and removing the rag from my head. As she dips it in the water, she answers my question with, "You're in Midgard; we found you on the outskirts of town, unconscious."

I frown. "Midgard? Where's that?"

Her expression flickers in confusion, becoming grim, though it is quickly replaced by something more neutral. "Have you lost your memory?" She asks, as she wrings out the excess water and rests the rag back on my forehead. I jolt in surprise. "Midgard is located on the outskirts of Sylvarant."

I flinch this time, my entire body going rigid before relaxing. Sylvarant?

'… What the fuck?'

"Sylvarant?" I repeat, "that's —"

"Mom, do you think she's from Tethe'alla?" The boy interrupts. "She looks weird."

His mother frowns, shaking her head slowly. "I doubt it, Jin. Her build is not one of a soldier, and the Tethe'allan citizens would not dare venture here."

Tethe'alla? What the fuck? What the hell are they talking about?

"Um …" The three of them look towards me, and I once again attempt to sit up. I'm not stopped this time, and the still-wet rag drops from my forehead onto my lap. "What are you talking about …?"

The girl's eyes widen and she cries out, "Oh! Mom, I know — maybe she has amnesia? Yuan was telling me about it; it's when someone forgets their memories!"

I shudder, not really listening to the conversation that the girl's comment causes. Instead, I focus entirely on the name she mentions; Yuan. One of the side characters from a game called Tales of Symphonia, which takes place in two separate, but linked worlds, called Tethe'alla and Sylvarant.

A game; it's a game, and yet here I am, sitting in a bed with people who apparently live in a world where those names aren't planets, but … maybe continents? Nations? Countries?

There are only two times when the names Tethe'alla and Sylvarant aren't the names of the planets; during the Kharlan War, and after the main events of the story. Feeling somewhat sick, I swallow hard, my arms trembling and my breathing becoming shallow.

I never played the sequel; it looked wholly underwhelming, and the reviews gave me similar ideas that lead to me never even buying it. However, I know for a fact that there wasn't ever a town named Midgard in the game; sequel or original.

Midgard … what the hell is that?

"Do you know your name?" I'm snapped from my thoughts when the woman addresses me again. I meet her eyes with my own terrified ones, and I see them widen in alarm. "Are you alright?"

"I — I don't know where I am," I say, slightly panicked. "I've never heard of a Midgard."

Misinterpreting my answer (though it's not like I expected her to understand what I really meant by that statement), the woman immediately attempts to console me. "It's alright; I'm sure you'll remember. You were quite out of it for the last few days. Do you know your name?"

I nod, practically blurting out the answer like it burns me. "Avery. Who are you?"

"I'm Mei," the little girl replies. "And my brother is Jin."

He simply nods, looking up at his mother. "Can I go play now? I did what you wanted."

She sighs but reluctantly agrees, and Jin barrels from the room, slamming the door as he goes. Mei puffs her cheeks out in annoyance, and after shaking her head the older woman replies, "My name is Yue, it's a pleasure to meet you, Avery."

I nod, going silent. Yue looks at me in concern, raising a hand to press against my forehead. I force myself not to flinch, though my body stiffens, betraying my nerves. "Your fever has gone down a bit," Yue murmurs. "Still warm, but after another day or two of rest, you should be good to go."

"… Go where?" I reply back. "I don't know where I am …"

A hand brushes my bangs from my face in a tender fashion. "Have you heard of the nations of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla?"

'God, yes. Too many goddamn times; they just weren't nations at the time.' My answer is completely different.

"… No." I keep my eyes locked on my lap, twisting the blankets between my fingers and clutching onto them like they're a lifeline. "I'm sorry … I've never heard of those."

The hand retracts from my head, thankfully, only to push me back gently. I force back against the action, but my eyes meet Yue's and her look cows me. Reluctantly I lie back, and the rag is removed from my lap and placed back into the bucket of water.

"It's alright," she soothes, pushing my bangs back again. "You had a pretty nasty head injury on top of it. I'm sure you'll remember soon."

Well. That explains the awful headache I've had since I woke up, though it doesn't explain the awful crawling sensation under my skin. It's like a complete, full body itch.

Releasing a sigh, I scratch at a spot on my stomach where the feeling is uncomfortably bad, though it does absolutely nothing to help ease the feeling. "Um … ma'm?" I start, unsure if it's a good idea to ask her. She pauses in her motions.

"Please, call me Yue," she replies. Reluctantly I nod, before continuing.

"Alright. Yue —" I'm cut off by the sound of both Jin and Mei screaming, though the noises quickly dissolve into laughter. I see Mei's shoulders relax at the noise, and not even three seconds later the door is thrown open.

"Mom! Yuan's back!" Jin shouts, completely forgetting the apparent order to be quiet. He pauses, looking over at me, before turning to look over his shoulder. "Yuan! Mom's in here!"

An awful chill settles in the core of my belly, and I practically disappear under the covers, feeling tremors wrack my body. Thankfully Yue's eyes are focused on the doorway, and when a tall figure steps past Jin I see a smile break out on her lips.

Yuan is … tall, to put it simply. His expression is hard and stern, and he holds himself proudly, just like he did in the game, though the trademark cape is missing. I see his eyes flicker across the room, landing on me, and he frowns.

"Mother," he acknowledges. "I'm glad you're well. Who is this?"

"That's Avery," Mei replies, hanging off his side. "She's got amnesia. We found her a few days ago."

I see his eyebrows raise. "Amnesia?" He repeats. "What makes you think that?"

"She doesn't know what Midgard is," Jin answers, craning his head to look up at Yuan. "Or Sylvarant, or Tethe'alla. She's pretty dumb."

Mei immediately smacks him across the arm. "It's amnesia, idiot!" She snaps. "That means she forgot it, not that she doesn't know it!"

"Don't call me an idiot!"

Yue sighs, shaking her head at their antics but not moving to break it up. "I apologize for the children," she says to me. Thankfully I've gotten my shaking under control, and I attempt to return her smile, though I'm pretty sure it comes across as more of a grimace than anything. "It's been awhile since they saw their brother."

I look at the three of them, immediately noticing the resemblance, though it looks as if there is at least a fifteen year difference between Yuan and Mei. Taking a glance back at Yue, I frown. She can't be older than thirty five, and yet Yuan looks like he's at least in his mid twenties. "I … I see."

Then again, Yuan is a half-elf, right? If his mother is an elf, then it makes perfect sense for her to look so young. So then …

I look at Jin and Mei, who are still arguing about something to one another. Are they half-elves too? Or are they elves?

"Don't worry, Yuan," Yue attempts to relieve. "She's no threat. If it wasn't for us finding her, she'd be dead on the outskirts of town. Her fever only recently came out of the danger zone."

"Mother, you shouldn't be so careless — Tethe'alla is becoming increasingly desperate." His voice is harsh as he speaks. "It wouldn't surprise me if they've been planting spies."

Yue's voice immediately turns hard. "Yuan —"

"Yes, I know." He sighs, the harshness in his voice dying down. "No talk about the war. But still, you should be more careful about these things."

I shift uncomfortably, unable to ignore how awkward I feel. "If it's a problem, I can leave …" I say, hesitantly, already moving to sit up. Before I can even push the covers off, though, Yue stops me. "Really — it's not a big deal."

"Avery, you don't even know where you are." She glares sternly at me, in that way that only mothers can. "You have no weapon, and the clothes you were wearing are definitely not appropriate for this season. Going back out as you are is a death wish!"

I frown, looking over at Yuan, who crosses his arms over his chest. "But …"

"Don't you worry about Yuan," she orders, placing a hand on my shoulder. "He's just a big grump. Besides, this is my house."

Reluctantly I nod, shooting another look at Yuan. He simply sighs, shaking his head, but he doesn't argue with Yue. I shiver, itching at my arm; the sensation is getting worse by the second. "Mother, did you have a medic look her over?"

"Only the town doctor," she replies offhandedly. "Why?"

His fingers tap against his arm in a pattern and he takes a long moment to reply. "… No reason."

Yue rolls her eyes, but doesn't press the subject any further. She stands up from her knelt position, resting her hands on her hips. "Well then; if you're done complaining about our guest, come help me with dinner, will you?"

When the four of them finally exit the room, leaving me in peace, I sink into the mattress, staring up at the ceiling blankly. No matter how much I scratch, the sensation under my skin doesn't go away, and it takes all of my effort to not start madly scratching everywhere. Fuck, it's awful, but when I throw the blankets off my form and examine my skin, I find nothing there to cause it.

"OK … OK, shit." I swing my feet over the edge of the bed, shuddering. "Shit, this is bad."

Doing my best to ignore the very obvious panic growing, I get to my feet, only wobbling a little. My body feels off, like I'm walking on clouds, and my legs tingle worse than the rest of my body, sans my stomach. I use the walls as support, and when I peer out the window I see snow covering the ground.

Snow … OK. That definitely means I'm not anywhere close to home; it never snows where I live. Or anywhere within fifty miles.

And there's no town named Midgard, or nations called Sylvarant and Tethe'alla, and … and …

Damn; I'm really not at home, am I?

I move a hand to the back of my head, probing at the spot. There's a rather large bump, and pushing at it only makes it more painful. I curl my fingers around the window sill, taking a deep breath before pushing it up.

Immediately I'm assaulted by a gust of cold air, and my hands fly to my arms, rubbing desperately in hopes to gain some heat. I duck my head out, and notice that I'm on the first floor. It's pretty dark out, and the streets are pretty much deserted.

I shoot a look back at the door, and then down at myself. The clothes I'm wearing are … definitely not ideal for this kind of weather; a black tank top and knee-length shorts, and no socks … I'll just have to be quick.

I do my best to ignore the pain in my head, and when my bare foot touches the snow I shiver. The sting of the cold helps cover up the tingling under my skin, though, and I take a deep breath before venturing away from the house and further into the town.

With only the moon and a few dull street lamps — who would've thought? — to lead me, I'm practically stumbling my way through the town. It doesn't help that my feet have become practically numb, and I curse myself for my idiocy.

"Midgard … Midgard. What do I recognize here?" I murmur, approaching a flight of stairs leading to the upper area of the town. I hiss as I ascend the steps, and when I reach the top I observe the area, noticing a large cave that is strangely familiar. As quickly as I can I make my way over, finally able to step out of the snow. Torches line the walls, leading a bit deeper, and I look up at the pictures and engravings.

It's too dim for me to make out, and I sigh, sinking to the ground and pulling my knees to my chest. I hold my feet between my hands, grimacing when a sharp pain shoots through them. I can still feel them, which means I'm not going to get frostbite anytime soon, but …

"What are you doing in here?" I jolt at the voice, a swear flying out of my mouth before I can stop it, and immediately I scramble to my feet — or attempt to. Yuan stands at the entrance of the cave, arms crossed over his chest and mouth set into a scowl.

"I —" I swallow hard. "How'd you find me?"

He scoffs, motioning with his head to the outside of the cave. "Fresh footprints."

I swallow. "Oh."

Neither of us move for a few seconds, and I turn to look at the walls again. These are the walls from Asgard, if I remember right … the ones that tell about the ancient history, or something. I can't remember exactly.

Asgard … maybe Midgard burned down sometime during the next 4,000 years and was rebuilt as Asgard or something. The town does look drastically different than it did in the game after all.

"Why did you leave the house?" Yuan asks, when it becomes clear I'm not going to say anything else. "Do you have some kind of death wish?"

I shake my head, biting back a rude response. "I wanted to see if I recognized this place," I mumble, after taking a second to think. "And the cold helps me forget about the fucking god awful itching."

"Itching?"

I grimace, motioning down at myself with my hand. "My skin. It's tingly and itchy, like there's something under my skin, and no matter how much I scratch it doesn't go away."

Yuan is silent. I shift in place, rubbing at my toes again. They're starting to hurt a bit less, and I dread walking back to the house. I don't even remember the way back. The silence stretches on, and I go to say something, anything to break it, when Yuan sighs. "Get over here."

I stay where I am, giving him a wary look. He directs an irritated glare in my direction, and I reluctantly get to my feet, but don't move in his direction. "Why?"

"Do you want to stay here all night?" He snaps, obviously becoming annoyed. "I can always tell mother that I couldn't find you."

Immediately I shake my head, moving to his side, directing a look of dismay at the growing snow outside. "Damn, sorry. Didn't know it'd piss you off so much if I asked a fucking question."

Yuan ignores me, though I swear I see his eye twitch in irritation, instead crouching down. I freeze, confusion and shock melding into one. "What are you doing?"

"Get on." His tone is final, and I scramble to obey. Climbing on his back is a bit awkward, but once I'm on he stands up, looping his arms under my knees and heading out into the snow. Immediately I shiver, tightening my hold around his neck and hiding my face in the collar of his clothes.

"So your name is Yuan?" I start, when the silence becomes awkward. "What do you do? And what's the war you were talking about earlier?"

He scoffs. "You don't need to pretend. I know you haven't lost your memory."

I scowl, tightening my hold on his neck in retaliation. "Fine, be a dick about it. You don't have to believe me, but I really don't know anything about the war."

He ignores me, and I shiver when a gust of cold air passes through. "But you never answered my question — what do you do? Are you some kind of mercenary?"

No response. I try again from a different angle; "You're tall and stuff, and you're strong enough to carry my fat ass; you could probably punch someone in the face and knock their teeth out. Or in, I guess — until they spit them out. But then there's blood on your hands, and that's pretty fucking disgusting and —"

"I will drop you," he threatens, his voice becoming thin. "And watch your language. Mei and Jin don't need to pick up on it."

He loosens his grip on me and immediately I obey, swallowing back the response that had risen into my throat. We pass through an alleyway of some sorts — one that I know I didn't pass through on my way to the cave, and I crane my head back in hopes of seeing something I recognize.

We reach the house only a minute later, and after opening the door and stepping in he practically drops me. I barely manage to stay standing, though he's nice enough to grab onto my arm and keep me upright. "Thanks," I grumble, pulling my arm out of his grip. The warmth in the house is a welcome change from the chilly weather outside.

Yue appears in the doorway across from us only a second later, and relief crosses her expression. "I'm glad you found her," she says to Yuan as she approaches. He steps away, allowing his mother to examine me. I resist the urge to slap her hands away, instead biting back a somewhat rude comment.

"She was at the western caves," he informs the woman. "Before you ask, no. I didn't make her walk back."

Yue nods. "Thank you, Yuan." Her expression turns stern in an instant, and she immediately begins to scold me. "What in the world were you thinking!?"

"I was just, uh, exploring." I quickly reply. "I wanted to see if I recognized anything."

"Exploring!?" She shakes her head at me, scowling. "It's snowing outside!"

"Sorry!" I cry out in an attempt to appease her. "I didn't really think about that — and I'm fine and all, y'know? I-It's no big deal!"

I pointedly ignore looking at my freezing, red, and wet feet, instead staring at something hanging on the wall. It's a picture of the family, but before I can actually examine it Yue is grasping my arm firmly and leading me down the halls. Immediately I pull away, but her grip is firm and unwavering.

"What are you doing?" I ask warily. The women in the game seemed to have a thing for hitting people. Hopefully she's not the same — I mean, this is 4,000 years into the past; and I am her guest.

She stops in front of the furthest door in the hallway, cracking it open and leading me inside. There's a deep bathtub pushed against the wall, covered by some plastic looking top, along with a shower head attached to the adjacent wall. "I'll go grab you some towels — just give me a moment."

She leaves the door wide open as she leaves, and I stand there dumbfounded, unsure on what to do. She returns a few seconds later, and after placing the towels down by the door begins her explanation. "Just use the shower head to clean off. The bath is already run, so just get in when you're done, and don't drain the water when you finish."

I blink. "Uh, alright. Isn't that kind of gross, though? I'm sick."

"Well," she starts, "just don't sneeze in the water and it'll be fine."

I frown at her reasoning, but shrug. If she's really not concerned about it, then I won't worry either. "Alright," I reply. "Thanks. Uh, for letting me use it."

"Of course. I'll leave some clothes by the door for you; you won't get any better if you walk around dressed like that." She looks at my clothes disapprovingly and I grin sheepishly, offering a quick 'thank you'.

I strip out of my clothes after she leaves, throwing them in the direction of the towels, and then I twist the knob of the shower head.

The clothes I'm wearing remind me of my brother's clothes, and unless they've got a third son between the ages of thirteen and fifteen I'm amost positive these are Yuan's old clothes.

He even had the nerve to look startled when I walked into the kitchen wearing a black long sleeve and sweats, and I purposely avoid his gaze. It's not my fault I've grown out of children's' clothing. If I'd been stuck here three years ago maybe I could've fit into Mei's clothes. Maybe.

"Mother," he starts, sounding a mix between exasperated and furious. "Was it really necessary to bring those back out? You couldn't have given her some of Mei's clothes?"

Yue shakes her head. "Yuan, she's fourteen; not ten."

"It's not like I've got cooties y'know," I start, only for my thoughts to come to an abrupt halt at Yue's statement. "Wait, what?"

She gives me a curious look and I stuff down the urge to squawk. "I'm eighteen!"

Her eyebrows furrow. "Oh; are you? My mistake. You'll appreciate it when you get older, though — looking young is always a good thing, you know."

"But —"

Mei pops out from behind me, startling the living hell out of me, and I jump. "Shi—!" I bite back the curse, frantically searching for some kind of replacement when Yuan's eyes narrow dangerously, "—zzznit, y-you scared me!" The look takes a step down, from glowering to simply glaring, and I press a hand to my heart.

"Sorry," she apologizes. "Wanna play with me and Jin?"

I glance over at the boy, attempting to figure out what exactly they're playing with. "Uhh … what are you playing?"

"We're doing a puzzle." She frowns, crossing her arms over her chest. "Jin's not very good, though."

Yue shakes her head, bringing over a somewhat large plate of what looks like some kind of pork and vegetables. "Mei, it's time to eat; go wash your hands."

Obediently — and damn, she didn't even argue in the least — Mei trots over to brother and pulls him along with her. He protests enough for the both of them and I wince at the noise, feeling entirely out of place in here. I'm a stranger; I shouldn't be here.

The awkwardness is cranked up a notch when Yuan gets up from the couch he's sitting on and begins to help Yue put down plates. I watch, dumbfounded. The Yuan from the game didn't ever seem like the kind of person to help out; what's next, he's going to crack a joke?

As it turns out, he's not that different, but dinner is still incredibly awkward and my appetite is all but absent. I feel awful for not taking very much, but I'm having trouble finishing the small amount I've taken, and I'd rather take too little than take too much.

A wave of dizziness hits me halfway through and I raise a hand to my head, wincing. The room spins, and I grip the table with my free hand, squeezing my eyes shut. "Avery?" Yue starts, her tone worried. "Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah!" I reply, and I curse the way my voice shakes. "I — ugh … I'm sorry. Can I —" my head is pounding and it's as if someone has lit it on fire and holy shit I think I'm going to be sick —

I choke back bile, forcing myself to relax in my panic; remind myself that I'm in someone else's house, that I can't go making a scene — even if it feels like I'm going to either pass out or throw up or both — until it's just me.

"Oh, you poor thing …" I hear Yue mumble, before she pushes back her chair and gets up. "Why don't we get you back to bed?"

I peek up at her through half-screwed up eyes, and she gives me a sympathetic but warm smile that reminds me so much of my mother that I freeze.

My mother, my mother is she alright? Has she noticed I'm missing? The last thing I remember —

… Wait, what is the last thing I remember?

"Avery?" Yue calls out, sounding more worried than she did seconds ago, "Avery? What's wrong?"

I'm shaking and heaving but I can't stop, I can't do it because where am I — where did I go wrong, how did I get here? Why can't I remember? Why, why , why —

I'm being pulled up and someone leads me along; I barely realize it until I'm being gently pushed back onto something soft — a bed? My bed? — and a hand flutters across my forehead, soft enough that I don't react.

Yue mumbles something before getting up and leaving. Immediately I roll onto my side and off the bed, landing harshly on my knees. I barely feel the impact. "Shit," I whisper, my voice filled with terror as I wrack my brain desperately. "Where was I? What was I doing?"

There was graduation, the pictures, my parents and family congratulating me — there was the celebration afterward; the school's way of keeping us sober and our last real chance to be around all our classmates and friends, and then —

Then what?

I grasp my head between my hands, breaths coming out in desperate pants as I attempt to breathe through stifling panic. "No, no, no what was I doing? Where was I what was I doing?"

Tears burn my eyes and I immediately wipe them away, pulling at the skin of my cheeks desperately. Maybe it's a trick, or a hallucination or maybe I'm dreaming, maybe this is some awful dream that I'll wake up from soon —

The harder I pull, though, the worse the pain becomes; but I don't wake up. I ball my hand into a fist, raising it into the air and slamming it down on my thigh, but I don't wake up. I repeat the action again, and again and again and again and againand just wake up already why won't you waKE UP—

"What are you doing?"

Someone grasps my arm, stopping its decent, and suddenly everything shatters. I look up tearfully, noticing the stern expression and confused eyes that meet mine. Yuan's grip on my wrist tightens just barely, more than enough to keep me from lashing out.

But I won't.

I can't.

I drop my head, ignoring the awful, disgusting sobs retching from my throat. "I — Yuan, I-I can't remember; I don't — what was I doing? I can't — can't remember anything, just — just —"

What happened?

"It has to be a dream; a fucked up, sick, disgusting, awful dream, but I —" my voice cracks, growing weak, "I can't remember. What I was doing … I can't — where am I?"

If it's not a dream, then what? What is it?

Yuan looks over his shoulder and I follow his gaze, my heart sinking when I see the two small figures watching in horror. How long were they standing there for? How much did they see?

"I — I'm sorry," I whisper, my voice creaking under my tears. The pit in my stomach grows larger and suddenly I want nothing more than to leap back out the window and disappear.

Yue quickly herds the children away, grabbing the door as she does, and I hear Mei ask, "Mama, why is she crying?" before they get too far to hear.

Yuan gives me a wary look, but when I don't make any further movements he releases my wrist. Immediately I drop it to my leg, hissing in pain when I prod at it gently. I'm going to be bruised as fuck tomorrow.

Yuan watches me for a moment, and when he sees that I'm not going to start punching myself again he gets to his feet. "Now that that spectacular display is over with," he drawls, "I'd advise you to head to bed."

"B-But —"

Yuan scoffs, shaking his head. "You've worried my mother enough for one day. I didn't come home to watch her work herself ragged over a stranger."

The words hit harder than they should, but they do the trick. Reluctantly I rise, grimacing when pain flares to life in my leg, and haul myself back onto the bed. Yuan nods, turning to leave, and I call out to him.

"Yuan?" He doesn't turn around, his hand wrapping around the door knob. "Are you a soldier?"

He pauses for a moment before twisting his wrist pushing open the door. "Yes."

I swallow hard, desperate to figure out something, anything to figure out where I was in terms of the plot … thing, whatever this is. "Can you —"

"No," he replies curtly, not even allowing me to finish, before he exits the room and closes the door behind him.