A/N: Update 2014

I have finally grown as a writer to where I don't hunger for concrit as much as I used to. Feel free to review if you'd like, but that's entirely up to you. :)

Another story idea brought to life from my adventures in Symphonia. I was curious how they had all fallen for such a ridiculous thing. Enjoy!

Duped by Fighting Spirit

by Baby Kat Snophlake

"Hey, check this out! Luin's new weapon shop is open!" Lloyd pointed excited towards the reconstructed town's newest addition. The weapons they had all been using had been wearing down and just weren't up to par enough to keep up with the growing strength of the monsters. It was about time they looked into an upgrade. Genis followed closely behind Lloyd as they both hurried into the shop to see what was in stock. Presea and Regal brought up the tail end behind Sheena, Colette, and Raine, while Zelos led the way.

Raine shook her head upon noticing the youngest three boys dancing around the counter, anticipating what the shop keep had available to interest them. She muttered beneath her breath about how the new weapons weren't going anywhere. Sheena raised an eyebrow but said nothing when the shop keep finally brought out his best arms.

"So, what kind of weapon do you normally use, young man?" He asked Lloyd.

"I like to use two swords!" He answered ecstatic. "What have you got?"

"Well, let me ask you this, do your swords tend to get a little heavy?" After a quick moment's pause, half from surprise of the question, the other half to think about the answer. He finally nodded. "Well, I have a solution for you. Feather light arms with ease to carry. If you ever get tired of carrying them, I will buy them back!" Lloyd's eyes widened, impressed.

"Yeah! That sounds good!"

"Hey, what about me?!" Zelos demanded, butting in.

"What do you normally carry?" The shop owner relied.

"Just one sword! A broadsword!" He rubbed his hands together wondering what kind of feather light sword he was going to be recommended.

"A broadsword? Oh, boy, I have something better than that! This weapon is perfect for beating off offenders, it makes demons out of the meekest women! Just imagine what it could do for you!" Drool dripped from Zelos's lips as his eyes glazed over. "Or if that's too much for you, I do have a little sword that is much sharper than you'd think. You can easily catch your enemies off guard!"

"No, the first sounds good!"

"What kind of kendamas do you carry?" Genis shoved Zelos aside. If this man had such good things for the other two, surely he had something for him too!

"Oh, kendamas! I have one with a hypnotic effect, people will feel like their dreaming every time they look at it. You wouldn't even have to fight with it!"

"Oh cool! But are you sure that won't backfire on me?"

"Oh, don't worry about that, it only works on your enemies…" But Genis didn't notice the man's eyes blink and his sudden urge to scratch his nose.

"Do you have anything for a healer?" Raine asked. The man's eyebrow raised.

"Well… I don't carry much for women… but let's see…" He glanced to the side as if in deep thought. Suddenly, his face brightened. "Ah yes, actually I do have something you might be interested in. You might say you could sweep away the pains of your friends in just a single stroke! Also, if you find yourself desperate, it really does a good job brushing aside your enemies."

"Hmm… that does sound interesting."

"Do you have any fighting rings to replace my spinners?" Colette placed her old ones on the table for the man to look at.

"Well, I think I do have something. Tell me, do you like music?"

"Oh yes! Very much!" She smiled warmly.

"Oh good! It plays music!" He seemed excited about her enthusiasm.

"What about me?" Sheena was curious. "What have you got for me?"

"My, my aren't you a beauty? You might like a weapon that helps keep the men away, don't you?"

"Will it work against Zelos' new weapon?" Her eyes narrowed in suspicion towards the Chosen who still seemed lost in his own mind.

"My dear, of course it will!" The shop keep answered, though he had no clue whom Zelos was. "It's perfect for beating away any unwanted persons." Sheena grinned.

"I wouldn't mind something," Presea stated simply, coming forward. "I use an ax."

"Ah, young lady, I have just the thing! The Pow Hammer DX!" He tried his best to sound excited, but the young lady just shrugged her shoulders.

"As long as it does the job better than my current ax, I don't care."

"Oh, I'm sure it will! It's got DX in the name, doesn't it?"

"What about greaves?" Regal wondered aloud. "I don't know if you have anything to put on your feet?"

"Actually I do. I have a weapon worthy of a king! It's the ultimate honor to wear and use!"

"And how much does it cost?" Regal brought up the one question no had even thought of. The others stared at him, finally broken from their various reveries. Then they turned their attention to the shop keep.

"Only… thirty-six grand each." He answered simply. The jaws dropped on every member of the party.

"Do we have that much on us?" Zelos dug through his pockets, while everyone else turned their pockets, backpacks, and their secret money stashes upside down.

"Well, let's see, I have barely enough for mine…" Lloyd counted.

"I have enough to help someone get theirs…" Raine offered, holding her extra out.

"Hey, Sis, can I borrow some?" Genis reached out to take what Raine had in her hand, and she let him.

"If anyone doesn't have enough, I can mark it off as a business expense," Regal announced.

"Actually, yeah, umm, can I pay you back later?" Sheena wondered.

"Yeah, me too?" Colette chimed in.

"Well, it looks like we have enough," Zelos gathered up the money from everyone and left it on the table for the shop keep to scoop up. After he had put all the gald away, he told them to stay where they were so he could gather their weapons. He returned a moment later with a large box, and set it down in front of them on the counter.

"Now, just remember, these are very powerful weapons, though they may not seem it at first. Take them outside to have a look." Excited, the group gathered the box and moved it outdoors to have a look. They tore open the box only to be surprised by what they found.

Lloyd held up a pair of giant paper fans, large enough to keep even the largest of animals cool in the summertime. He figured they were his because they were the only ones that came in a pair. Great, I can paper cut people to death like Sheena does.

"The hell?" Sheena picked up a small bag with a long leather strap that said, "Gald Purse, really packs a whallop!" written in fresh black ink. She wrinkled her nose in disgust, but filled it anyway with what she had. With Regal offering to pay the whole price, she decided to save up, but now it suddenly didn't seem worth it.

"A… deck brush?" Raine fingered the bristles with anger. "I am NOT just a housewife good for only cleaning! I am a valued member of this team! A healer!" She shook her fist at the weapon shop.

Colette was the only one who seemed excited at her new weapon, a tambourine set that did indeed play music. She forgot that she was supposed to be fighting with it. Genis just stared at his new kendama, muttering beneath his breath, "I will do whatever you ask," obviously hypnotized by the thing.

Zelos cheered at his baseball bat, swinging it around, enjoying himself. When asked why he was so pleased he replied, "Hey! I've had many women use this thing on me! It hurts! Now I can fight back!"

Presea only stared blankly at her Pow Hammer DX until she hit it against Zelos. They were both surprised to hear a loud "squeak!" emerge from the large plastic hammer.

"Hey, don't hit me with that!" Zelos whined, holding his baseball bat behind his head as if ready to retort physically.

"It's not like it hurt," Presea returned simply, yet sternly. Zelos thought for a moment.

"Well, I suppose it didn't…"

Regal held up his new greaves with a mildly disgusted look. They were designed to please the eye that was for sure, but he was curious about how well they really worked. He glanced around at the mixed expressions of the rest of the party. They each had something that would be ill-suited for war, but for some reason, in their own way, he could see how each weapon could be dangerous. Well, except the Pow Hammer DX, and the tambourines, but maybe they could be good for something. What's more, he was impressed at how they all had been duped by the shop keep. He hadn't lied to any of them, they had received what they were told they were getting, but the shop keep was quite a salesman to manage selling them this kind of stuff. He was briefly curious if the man wouldn't mind working for him as a salesman, but then changed his mind. The man could easily talk anyone into just about anything, and this time, he had cheated these guys out of almost three hundred, thousand gald. He wasn't sure about the others, but he wanted his money back!

Sheena and Raine teamed up against the front door with the new deck brush and money bag, because the door had been locked sometime after they left, but before their return, as if someone had known angry people were going to beat this door down. It didn't take them long to break the door off its hinges, and for the whole party to storm the weapon shop. They wandered up and down the stairs, the front part of the store, and the back, but the owner was nowhere to be seen. He had taken their money and fled out the back door.

"Well, damn, it looks like were are stuck with these." Lloyd stared down at his paper fans. "Meh, might as well use them since we paid good money for them." He shrugged. The others nodded in agreement, but decided that next time they were going to make a purchase, they wanted to see what the money was going towards before handing it over. Then as they left the town, they donated more gald to the remodeling of the reconstructed Luin as if they hadn't lost enough to unknown means.

-Kat