Gravity

Author: Shaddowind

WARNING: General spoilers from the later half of Tales of Symphonia. If you haven't finished the game and you still want to be surprised… you might want to visit this story later.

Summary: Facing down the end of the world can never be easy. But when the heart is involved, everything is that much harder to escape. Regrets of the past and hope for the future can collide in the strangest of ways.

(A/N: This story takes place after the events of 'Chosen Identity.' While 'Gravity' can stand on its own, please feel free to take a look at 'Chosen Identity' for a bit more of the story.)

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia or any of the game's original characters, dialogue, or settings -- I just bend them to my will in this story.

Everything is going to change. Tomorrow.

Sheena clutched the pile of soft maroon fabric to her chest and stepped from the Mizuhoan chief's hut out into the cool night air. The thin door clicked shut behind her and she took a moment to close her eyes and allow her senses to soak in the sensations of the only place that had ever truly been 'home' to her. The scent of damp pine and smoke convinced her that it was real, not simply a wishful dream that she would wake from in a strange world and the sound of distant voices reminded her of how things had already changed. While Lloyd and Colette had returned to Iselia to spend the evening with their families, almost everyone else had opted to stay the night as honored guests of Mizuho – something even she would have laughed at the notion of happening not all that long before.

Almost everyone.

The ninja's eyes slid open with a sigh and a shake of her head.

What did I expect?

Pausing for a moment to allow her vision to adjust to the sparse lantern light of the village, Sheena considered joining the revelry with the others. Yet, even when the alternative was to be alone, she couldn't bring herself to consider following the path that would take her to the small town square where the others and the citizens of Mizuho were gathered. Not yet, in any case. There was much more to think about… much more that meant she couldn't join her people or her friends just yet. The ominous purple cast that the dark night sky held was just one more reminder of what they would face the next day and if they survived that… nothing would be the same again.

I can't celebrate with them… even if I went over there, I don't know if I could celebrate….

She began to walk through the village in the opposite direction from the voices, drawn by the call of dark quiet that the edge of the town seemed to promise her. If they survived and were successful, she would enter training to one day take over the leadership of Mizuho. She would be the one to lead the outcast village into a new and uncertain world. The thought almost made her laugh. I was almost thrown out myself… and now they want me to lead them….

Sheena hugged the kannazuki robes closer and hung her head as she walked. Even in her home, she had no blood-ties, but the ninjas of Mizuho had still taken her in as a small child – so small that she had no memories of ever having belonged anywhere else. The village adopted her and raised her – taught her to be proud and powerful.

And what have I brought them in return?

Ever since the village elders had sensed the Right of the Pact in her, she had carried the village's hopes and a part of their future on her shoulders. She was their link to their honored spirits as well as to the outside world.

And it was such a quick fall to being their biggest disappointment.

The summoner once again found herself standing before the small cemetery at the edge of the village. It was the one place in the world – even when her world consisted of Mizuho only – that called to her… that could so easily reach through everything she was told and taught to remind her how very small she truly was. The majority of those that rested beneath the flower-bedecked monuments had believed so deeply in her and what they had taught her that they had paid for that belief with their very lives.

Sheena crouched and shifted to sit on her knees, placing the robes that would mark her as Chief Igaguri's successor on the ground beside her before resting her lightly curled fists on her lap and bowing her head. She had worn out apologies to the spirits of those that accompanied her that day. That night, she simply sought their silent counsel… much as she had the day before she returned to face Volt with yet another party that placed its belief in her.

"I don't know if I can do this," she confided in the silent shrines. "Even if we survive tomorrow… even if we manage to undo what Mithos did to the world… I don't know if I have any right to be here – much less to lead." It was an honor that should have been reserved for heroes… and all of her achievements had come from the belief, sacrifice, and power of others.

"You, the coward who trembled before Volt and killed your comrades…."

Sheena winced as the words of the false Kuchinawa once again drew blood in her memories. Not that those words cut any deeper than those of her true former friend did, but they did show her how close such thoughts were to the surface. No matter how she ran or fought, they would be part of her for as long as she drew breath.

She had learned so much since that terrible day, as had her friends. The people of Mizuho, Corrine, and the group that had become yet another family to her… they had all given her the strength to learn from the past and to keep looking to the future.

"But I guess I have to do it. Otherwise, everyone's sacrifices will have been for nothing."

The reasoning was as familiar to her as her own name and it had been that way since the night after those that had given their lives to protect her from Volt's fury had been laid to rest. Orochi had been the only one to see through the cloud of his own grief and loss to realize that she hadn't returned to the hut she shared with her grandfather… he had been the only one to find the girl seated before the fresh graves with the thin blade clenched in her shaking hand. Though he wasn't much older or bigger than she was, he had been the one to take the dagger from her and wrap his arms around her as she sobbed and begged forgiveness – both from him and from the lost souls that surely wanted vengeance on her. Orochi – and sometimes Kuchinawa – had been the one that stayed with her – and he was the one that had convinced her to accept Tiga's plan to seek the help of the Elemental Research Laboratory. He had been the one that had tried to convince her that her gifts were just that – and not the curse that the others of the village muttered about when they thought she was out of range.

Her village had been the reason she had gone back to the lab time after time and endured every test and disappointment those trips had brought her until she finally proved her ability to pact with Corrine. It had all been for the village she had failed so miserably, just as her acceptance of the role of assassin – a chance to lift her people in the eyes of a world that had shunned them.

Not that that was a blazing success, either.

Yet the decision to not kill Colette and to pursue the path that led them to where they were was hers and hers alone, made by choosing to live by what she had been taught of right and wrong – and with a prayer that she was doing right by her people.

I guess most of them approve so far, she mused and let a hand fall to the neat pile of fabric beside her. If I live long enough to wear these… to become Chief… all of this will become a lesson for future generations.

The future.

Just the idea betrayed that her thoughts went well beyond the next day – an implication that she planned to return and one day wear the mantle of leadership for Mizuho. But the same concept scared her if she let it slip too far from her control. She and the others would become legends – not unlike Mithos and his companions – and in that, she would be the summoner by which all future bearers of the Right of the Pact would be judged.

Sheena Fujibayashi… pact bearer of Undine, Efreet, Sylph, Luna and Aska, Gnome, Celsius, Shadow, Volt, Maxwell, and Origin. It sounded obscene, even within the confines of her own thoughts. But it was the truth and it was evidenced by the fact that she never truly felt completely alone anymore. She could sense each of her pacts – a presence just at the edge of her thoughts but never any further away than a command. They might not have been friendships like those she shared with Corrine or the others of her group that had helped her win the pacts, but they were support – power to call on when she needed it most. And while 'alone' still felt comfortable, she couldn't help but wonder what would happen if they won.

Lloyd wants to collect Exspheres… Colette, Presea, and Regal will help. Raine and Genis will work to help the half-elves. Zelos will…. She huffed and shook her head. Zelos will do whatever strikes his fancy. And me…. She would train to lead the ninjas of Mizuho… perhaps back into a relationship with the outside world. It would be rewarding… fulfilling…

… and lonesome.

She had no doubt that the village was behind her, but she also knew that forgiving was easier than forgetting – and that her past… the failure that the entire village was still scarred from... would always pull at her with its unbreakable grip. It's an honor, but I don't' know that I'm worthy. Sheena sighed and stroked the robes that she had already accepted. I could do my best… but would it just hurt the people of Mizuho? Maybe Orochi would be a better choice. Kuchinawa would be happier. The thought of her childhood friend exiling himself because of her and having to fight him still hurt deeply, but it was what needed to happen – at least for Kuchinawa. Sheena knew that giving up her own life wouldn't bring back those that were lost, but what would serve as justice for them?

"Man, Sheena… sometimes you are such a downer…!"

The groan was almost obnoxiously out of place for such a sacred place, and though Sheena jumped at just the fact that someone had crept up on her, she refused to turn around simply for the fact of who it was. She dipped her chin and clenched her jaw. "And you are a disrespectful jerk," she bit back quietly. "I thought you had…" she paused to choose her words, given where they were, "… something to do back in Meltokio…?"

The redhead behind her stepped out of the pool of light cast by the single lantern that marked the edge of the path and sat down beside her. "Yeah, but it didn't take all night… plus there was supposed to be this big blowout here. So I came all the way back and I find my ninja hunny camped out in a cemetery?" Zelos softly clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth before the sound became a chuckle and he slid an arm around her shoulders. "We really have to do something about this dark side you have going here…."

"I like my 'dark side' as it is, thank you," Sheena grumbled and shrugged out of his grasp, all while still never looking over to him. "And if you don't, you should go back to the others. I didn't ask you to come after me. Besides," her eyes slid closed, "… you wouldn't understand why I'm here anyway, so… just… go away."

Zelos turned his head enough to watch her out of the corner of his eye, but otherwise didn't move. "Ah. Yeah. I can't understand why you would come visit the graves of the people you feel responsible for on the night before we're going to become heroes to a whole world or destroy it all in trying," he murmured and shifted his weight back onto his arms, looking up through the trees to the purple-burned night sky. "Yep, you're right. I'd never understand that."

Sheena bristled, but otherwise didn't respond. The cemetery had always been a sacred place to her – a place she knew that she had no right to pretend to be anyone other than who she was in the face of what she had done. No matter the circumstance of her visit to Mizuho, she always found her way back to that place above all others.

"Oh, quiet place. Oops. Sorry," Zelos sighed. "Silly me. I thought tonight was going to be a reminder that we're alive and why we're doing this tomorrow. Didn't realize you were rehearsing your acceptance speech as Queen of the Dead and all," he huffed. "You know, you're going to fall on your face if you keep looking back while you're trying to walk forward."

"What do you know?" the summoner snapped as she glared at him. "You always act like the past is gone and forgotten! We can't all live as carefree as you do! And… and…" she faltered as he looked over to her, his smirk not quite reaching his eyes. "And I'm still mad at you. So you should just go back to the others."

His expression brightened immediately and one eyebrow shifted to arch at her. "No way. I'm not waiting around for Lloyd to get his head out of his butt and figure out that you've got the hots for him," he snickered and simply learned back, making no attempt to look away.

Sheena, on the other hand, could only stare back as she felt her cheeks heat. The 'hots' for Lloyd?? Sure, the swordsman was cute, sweet, and innocent… and idealistic in a way that she wished she and countless others could be… but… 'hots'?? "I don't…" she stammered her objection, but much to her horror, it only increased the size of his grin. Oh, Goddess….

"No? Huh… must have been reading into that whole explanation of Mizuhoan names, then," Zelos' face scrunched in a deliberate show of curiosity as he tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Huh. Wanna tell me why you're so mad at me, then?"

The ninja turned away from him and willed the night air to take the heat from her cheeks and keep it. "Does it matter? You're going to do whatever you want no matter what I say, so I'd just be wasting my time."

Zelos tapped his chin as his expression became a mask of forced seriousness. "Hmm. Well, since you've barely spoken with me since that little incident at the Tower of Salvation –"

"Little incident??" Sheena blurted out, turning to stare at him in angered disbelief. "You just handed Colette over to them! You just barely stopped short of slapping a bow on her head!"

"Huh. Maybe I shoulda thought of that… it might have been a nice touch. You know… that I cared enough…." His voice trailed off into a chuckle as the grinding of the summoner's teeth became clearly audible and he held his hands up in a show of peace. "Hunny, you need to relax! The great Zelos had it all under control –"

"Don't call me hunny," Sheena snapped and quickly turned away again.

The redhead sighed. "Fine. My Violent Demonic Banshee… is that better?" he asked with a dramatic roll of his eyes. He didn't bother to leave her time to respond. "It was a plan – and it got Lloyd what he needed to help end all of this. I was the only one that could do it, plus…" he shrugged. "I seem to remember hauling all of you out of your heroic little predicaments afterwards. I swear, none of you knew how to get along without me, didja?" he chuckled and shook his head.

Sheena groaned and stubbornly stared into the woods directly ahead. The worst part of his reasoning was that she could see he was right. He had positioned himself precisely to be of use to all of the factions. How long he had worked to do so, she couldn't guess, but no matter how she hated it, he did very well at his part. The problem was that she had no idea how to be around him. She found herself constantly watching for how else he might stab them in the back if left on his own. "Yeah, you're the big winner… the man with the plan. Now go see if the others are in a mood to tell you how great you are." She kept her tone as flat and as serious as possible – she had almost let him close once before… and she meant what she had told him when he had turned on them: underneath it all, she did believe he was a good person. She hadn't even regretted opening up to him ever so slightly the night of the dance – not until he had turned that self-righteous grin on them to put on his show for Pronyma.

"But they're not nearly as much fun as you are," Zelos pouted playfully and scooted a little closer to her.

The ninja was on her feet in the next instant. He just keeps pushing! "What is wrong with you??" she demanded, her arms going rigid at her sides as she glared down to him. "I don't want you here! Go back to Meltokio to your … your floozies… or whatever! I don't care! Just stop playing with me!!"

The breath rushed from her lungs as her expression went blank. What… did I… say??

For just a moment, his expression matched hers. Then, he slowly climbed back to his feet and took one small step closer to her, his smile gradually returning as he looked down to her. "But it's so much fun…" he replied, the words implying more of a whine than his surprisingly quiet tone.

Staring for only as long as it took to draw another breath, Sheena pulled back, planted her hands on his chest and pushed him back. She desperately needed the space… especially considering how easily she was letting him get under her skin. Sheena had watched him leave for Meltokio – she had let down her guard to make peace with whatever the next day would bring… and it left her scrambling to rebuild her defenses. "It shouldn't be…" she snapped, trying to sound more annoyed than flustered as she kept him at arm's length. "You don't get to act like nothing happened – not after turning your back on your friends!"

The redhead made no move to step away – nor did he force his way closer. He merely stood and watched her – perhaps measuring her… perhaps trying to decide how much further he could push her. But, no matter his reason, he remained silent.

To Sheena, it was almost as bad as if he had jabbed at her again.

"Well? Say something!" she demanded, glaring even more fiercely up into the annoyingly placid eyes that matched the smile on his lips. The black-haired young woman's sigh bordered on a growl as she shook her head. "Or just leave me alone. I'm tired and –"

She started to drop her hands from his chest to turn away from him, but he suddenly moved – a startling motion compared to his previous stillness – and caught her left hand, keeping it captive along with her attention.

"I'm sorry."

Two little words momentarily unraveled her world. Sheena stared back at him, part of her expecting him to finish his statement with some cheesy pick-up line or some further dig at her expectations of him. But nothing else came. There was only silence as she was caught in a blue gaze that held an unthinkable level of earnestness.

"Isn't that what you wanted to hear?" he finally asked, slowly releasing her hand until it fell away and he offered her a shrug. "It all would have been easier if none of you had placed any kind of faith or belief in me, yeah… but I did use what I've built for years to get us as much of an advantage as I could. I was hoping that would count for something."

Sheena couldn't bring herself to look for the joke in his words… perhaps for only the second time in their relationship – and it had been the first time that had made his betrayal hurt that much more. It had only been a dance – a single dance – at the Princess' party, but it had shaken the impression her mind had built up of him over years. And now, she found herself inexplicably wanting to believe him all over again. "Zelos…."

"Oh, and Meltokio?" he interrupted her, still watching her but not attempting any contact other than their eyes. "Yeah. The 'floozy' was my kid sister. I had to make sure that – if everything goes to hell tomorrow and we don't come back – she was taken care of for as long as these twisted wrecks of planets have left." Then he finally looked away. "No matter how I screwed up, I still wanted to spend what might be my last night with the only people that ever actually put any trust in me." He glanced down to the graves and sighed as a sad chuckle slipped away from him. "I thought you might feel the same… but I guess you opted to remember how things went wrong instead of how – maybe – they just might go right this time."

What… am I supposed to say to that…?

The ninja faltered, words utterly failing her as she stared back at him. Zelos Wilder was the last person that she ever thought would be lecturing her – and actually having the grounds to do so, as much as she hated to admit it. When he had left to return to the Imperial City, it had been a given to her that he was just seeking hollow comfort in the arms of the nameless bimbos he had always kept close. But she just couldn't bring herself to doubt him this time. Bimbos would be something he would brag about… and even admitting that he cared about his sister would be something he'd never admit to without some sort of macho joke. Sheena blinked, watching him closely. He's telling the truth….

"Why do you keep coming back to this place?" Zelos asked after a few more moments of silence had passed. "Do you think that they gave their lives so that you would keep living in that day?" he huffed and turned to watch her. "I think… if it had been me, I'd want to see what you did with the chance I helped give you."

Sheena hung her head. Zelos was admittedly an accomplished swordsman, but it appeared that he could wield the truth with deadly accuracy as well. "It… would be wrong to forget them," she replied, her hands curling into the hem of her tunic. "I don't know how many others feel the same as Kuchinawa… that I let them die. I didn't, Zelos. I just –"

"You didn't have the whole story… or Raine, for that matter. I know. You did the best you could with what you had been taught," he countered before she could finish her defense. "No one had pacted with Volt for over four thousand years… details like language are going to fade away after that much time. Only the ignorant can blame you for that. Everyone else will see that you sucked it up, went back, and kicked his butt."

"With the help of everyone else," Sheena sighed. "Zelos, what you're doing is… sweet… but these people… the people of Mizuho… have always been behind everything I've done. This is how I pay tribute to them… how I let them know that I haven't forgotten."

Zelos groaned softly and let his shoulders droop. "Funny. I felt wrong believing in anyone but me… and you just can't believe in yourself for anything. I guess we really are opposites," he muttered and then turned to grasp her shoulders. He made certain he had her wide-eyed attention before he drew another breath. "You don't need to constantly be drawn back here! Don't forget, but don't let what put these people here keep you here, too! You're alive and you do have a say in if you're going to stay that way!" His grip tightened a little. "If you're so concerned that they're mad at you, then discuss it with them after you've lived your life and died a beautiful, kind-hearted old lady that leaves behind a legacy that no one can hope to touch and a few generations of mini-ninjas to carry on for you. If they've waited this long to be angry, they can wait longer." He waited only long enough for her jaw to fall open before he chuckled and tilted his head. "You know, you're really cute when you're speechless."

The summoner's cheeks heated quickly and beyond any hope of hiding it from him. Is it really that easy? It had never been something she had thought of… it simply was… she had always driven herself to make her people proud. But how much of it was an attempt to justify that she had lived while others had died? She could only stare back up into the blue eyes that occasionally caught flecks of lantern light until coherent words finally formed. "Why… do you care?"

"Huh?" It was Zelos' turn to be confused, but it only took a heartbeat for his expression to melt into one of thoughtful puzzlement. "I guess… because somehow, we end up being tossed together, no matter what happens. I mean, seriously…." he chuckled uneasily and offered her a shrug. "With me as a Chosen and you as a ninja, there really aren't many excuses for us to know each other well enough to have these kinds of conversations, you know?" He allowed another moment for his logic to settle and then shrugged again. "I guess if we're going to keep being thrown together, I just don't want to see you so tied down to what happened then. I know I don't want to spend the rest of my life – no matter how long it is – thinking about everything I screwed up. I just can't believe that you want to do that, either. So… just let it go, okay?"

Once again, Sheena realized that he was right. It was an unnerving feeling having to admit it to herself multiple times in the same night, but it didn't change the fact that Zelos Wilder was suddenly making perfect sense. By the rules of their society, they truly didn't have any business knowing each other by name, let alone well enough to be angry at or lecture one another. Somehow, their separate lives seemed content to orbit each other and occasionally collide. But if those collisions granted them enough insight to open each other's eyes… could she truly complain? Her lips started to curl into a hesitant smile as she arched an eyebrow at him. "You've been waiting a long time to find something to lecture me on, haven't you?"

"Hunny, you have no idea," Zelos laughed and finally released her shoulders as he knelt to pick up her kannazuki robes and then rose to press them back into her arms. "We should go find the others, but don't forget these. They're a good color for you," he smirked and drew back to waggle his eyebrows at her. "Man, Mizuho's gonna have a hot Chief one day…."

"Ah. There you are," Sheena rolled her eyes slightly and shook her head. "You didn't hit on me for the space of an entire conversation. I was almost worried." It was a small step back to normalcy – or at least what passed for 'normal' between them. She was grateful… she knew it would be something that she needed, especially with how he had opened her eyes. I won't let any of us down… not those that believe in me… or myself, she swore to herself as she spared a quick glance back to the graves, sighed, and then turned, ready to accompany the redhead back to the celebration that was still hopefully going on.

"Naw, don't be too worried about me. I haven't changed any…" Zelos snickered and turned in the path beside the lantern to face her. "Matter of fact, I thought of another reason I care if the first wasn't enough," he grinned, waiting for a response to his implied question.

Sheena stopped in front of him and sighed. "I should have known," she groaned and propped a hand on her hip. "I really shouldn't ask, should I?"

Zelos chuckled again. "Oh, but this one is even better," he grinned and offered her a quick wink before he drew a long breath, almost as if preparing a speech – or maybe to run before she could smack him.

The ninja froze, her instincts telling her to brace herself. It was a pattern that she was starting to hate – just when she thought they might have found common ground, his next words completely took her off-guard and left her angrier with him than before. Her gaze narrowed on him as he leaned down slightly, keeping her gaze with the same self-assured smirk that grated on her nerves every time she saw it. Her hand tightened into a fist as he paused and her mind raced to anticipate how he was going to taunt her.

I can see it in your eyes… just say it… let's get this over with.

As if he could hear the thought, she saw his eyes twinkle by the lantern light with just a bit more mischief. But instead of speaking, he only lifted his right hand to place a few fingers beneath her chin… tipping it up with a surprisingly gentle touch that stunned her just enough to not fight him.

Before that shock could even start to wear off, the Tethe'allan Chosen dipped his head and pressed his lips to hers.

No coherent thought would form in Sheena's mind – she couldn't move as all of her senses screamed at once, though she couldn't react to any of them. It was slow, sweet, and worshipful – and somehow, pushing him away just wasn't an option that would form anywhere near enough to consider.

How long it lasted, she couldn't be sure, but when her world finally began to right itself again, it was when he had broken the kiss and pulled back. Sheena only realized then that her eyes had closed, and when they opened, all that she could see were those impossibly blue eyes – and that grin that she knew couldn't belong to anyone else.

"But we can talk about that more after we've kicked Mithos' butt into next year, m'kay?" he winked at her and straightened, unwrapping his arm from where it had snaked around her waist.

She didn't remember him doing that, either.

A faint tickle of familiar annoyance began to itch in her thoughts – at how casually he acted as if he had made his point so clearly… and at how her cheeks were burning. "Zelos…" she murmured, cringing at how her voice shook because she knew he would hear it. "What…?"

"I told you," Zelos answered quickly, a playful smile on his lips as he pressed a finger to hers. "After. Things are gonna get crazy and I'm gonna need something to look forward to – even if it is you knocking me out cold… so… after."

Everything is going to change.

Sheena was only starting to grasp how prophetic the thought was as she watched him – seeking any sign that he was going to laugh or turn the moment that had passed between them into some meaningless joke. While he was smiling, she did see a slight waver in his eyes – one that looked to her like nervousness. He's waiting on my answer… as much as I'm waiting on his…. It was a leap – one that scared her almost as much as facing Mithos or leading her people.

"After," she replied with a nod, still studying his reaction after the word fell from her lips – and it felt like she had walked off a cliff. To say he had taken her by surprise would be an understatement, but it was intriguing enough for her to want to know why. And if she had to wait a bit longer, so be it. She tried to gather up the last of her scattered wits and crossed her arms over her chest, hugging her robes closer to her. "But don't you dare forget."

The nervous edge to his smile evaporated with a chuckle and the redhead pushed his hands into his pockets. "No way, hunny." He laughed and shook his head as he turned to continue down the worn dirt path into the village. "I'm just happy you didn't knock me out cold, right at the moment."

Sheena blinked at his reply… and slowly, a smirk of her own started to form as she followed him, her steps just quick enough that she could walk at his side so he'd see her shrug. "You said you wanted to wait until after, didn't you?" she asked as innocently as she could, making full note of how his smile flickered before he chuckled again.

Nothing was set and there were no promises. There was simply the possibility that the changes could go deeper than she had ever guessed. If she was pressed, Sheena knew she'd have to admit that the idea was enough to drive her to fight with everything she had even more than before. But that wasn't something she'd just blurt out in the little game that the redhead had started.

She smiled and walked beside him back into the village in an oddly comfortable silence, content to leave questions of fate alone for the time being.

After all… he said he wanted to wait. Tomorrow isn't that far away… and I'm not going to forget, either.