Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Legendia

Chasing Despair: Will you Grant my Wish?

Perfect Enemy

"So where do I go now?" Norma sighed as she plopped back down onto the rock which she sat after leaving the Oresoren village, "I sent the letter, so now where to?" The sun was rising over the hills and she was tired, after having no sleep the night before. The treasure-fanatic yawned and stretched out her arms. Having not the faintest clue as to where to go, she set off down the long path back to Werites Beacon.

On her way back, the feeling that she needed to be somewhere kept poking at her, but she didn't know where. Then she remembered her dream:

Come see me in the Man-Eating ruins, there we will discuss your payment, and your dreams will be eternal…

"Ah!" Norma stopped. She remembered where she was going, to the Man-Eating ruins, where that voice had told her to go, "Any wish?" Norma said, thinking of the wishes she wanted to have come true, "I could wish JJ would love me," she shook her head, "Nah, even with magic he doesn't feel that way…" her voice trailed off. That's when she remembered all the things that everyone had said about her. Every last terrible word that each of her 'friends' had spewed about her, as if she were too dumb to notice. Well she did notice, and there was one person who had always been there for her, Grune. But she was gone now, if there were anything that could bring her back, Norma would do it. There was nothing else for her in the world anyway. Nothing else could make her false smile as real as she wanted it to be. Nothing but Grune's revival. Norma knew what she wanted, as she dashed off in the direction of the Man-Eating ruins.

"Jay!" Poppo, jumped up and down by the boy who was asleep by the dying fire, "It's time to wake up! You're supposed to be at Werites Beacon in an hour!"

Jay slowly opened his eyes, tired from a late night and the restless sleep that followed. In his disoriented state, he asked, "Is Norma still here?"

"Ors?" Poppo tilted his head, "Jay, she left a long time ago. Remember, Ors?"

Jay shook his head and headed for his bedroom, "Forget that. I'll be ready in a few minutes."

Poppo nodded and headed off to his workshop after saying goodbye to Quoppo and Pippo.

Meanwhile, Jay was changing his clothes in his room when he accidentally knocked over a box of old information requests. He put his purple jacket on the ground and went to pick up the scattered envelopes, "I knew I should have found a safer place for these when I was cleaning…" he muttered as he placed them back into their box. There was one yellow envelope on the ground though, that caught his eye. The return address on it was from an academy on the mainland about five years back, when Jay was first getting into the business of dealing information. It was strange, since no one on the mainland knew about him, except this one person who had sent him the letter. He opened the envelope and pulled out the small piece of pink stationary with the small message on it:

Dear Jay the Unseen,

I know you don't know me. I'm from the mainland, so you probably haven't seen me on the legacy either. I heard about you from a friend who lived on the legacy and she said you knew everything and that you were the one who helped her escape the captivity she was in and told her how to get to the mainland. I wanted to say, thank you. If it hadn't been for you, I would have never met her. I admire you soooo much because you are sooooo smart and can tell anyone about anything. Well, I have a small favor I'd like to ask you. If you don't want to do it, then its ok, but I trust you (I know, I know, I don't even know you) but I just feel like I can trust you already. Well here is my request; can you tell me why my parents don't care about me? That's all I want to know. Well, it would be really cool if I could meet you someday, so when that day comes, that's when I want my answer!

The name at the bottom was worn away, maybe because Jay had never pursued her request. But, instead of putting the letter with the rest of them, he put the letter in his jacket pocket once he had put it on. (I don't remember why I didn't pursue this request, but for some reason, I can't seem to just leave it alone now.) He thought as he headed out of his room, off to Werites Beacon.

Once he entered Will's house, it seemed everyone had been waiting for him. Senel was flicking paper bits across the table to Moses, who flicked them back. Shirley and Chloe were chatting in the kitchen, while Will seemed to be waiting for Jay.

"Sorry, for being late," Jay started as everyone looked at him in unison. Shirley walked over to the information dealer looked around behind him as if still looking for someone. Then she looked at him with her cascade blue eyes, "Where is Norma?" she asked nervously.

Jay looked slightly confused. Something was off. Norma, if in her usual mind, was turned away from a mission she would have gone straight to the others to complain. But she wasn't even here to try to further push the issue. Did he really scare her last night? Instead, he just shrugged, "Norma isn't coming. I told her last night."

Chloe got a somewhat surprised look on her face, "Why did you not allow her to come?"

Senel got up and stood next to Shirley, "Yeah Jay, why not?"

Jay shook his head and replied sternly, "If Norma will not even bother to participate in any of our discussions then I see no point in taking her along."

"But, Jay," Shirley started, a little upset that Norma wasn't coming, "Norma has always come with us-"

"Shirley," Senel interrupted, "I'm sure Jay has his reasons for not wanting to bring her along."

Moses, who had been sitting on the couch, finally got up to join the others, "I think we'd best be on our way now!" He smiled, "Norma will still be here when we get back. Then we can talk some sense into her."

Jay nodded, "She needs to be a little less self-centered," he looked at the ground and shook his head, "But for now, we should go to the Man-Eating ruins."

Everyone nodded and headed out of the door. As Chloe began to take a step out, Shirley tapped her on the shoulder, "Chloe?" she asked.

Chloe turned to face the Merines, who looked uncertain and full of doubt, "Shirley, is something wrong?"

Shirley tilted her head to the side and sighed, "I just feel like something bad is going to happen."

"Are you worried about Norma?"

Shirley nodded, "She didn't return to her room at the inn last night."

Chloe's eyes widened, "S-she didn't?"

Shirley just shook her head, "I went to the inn this morning and the innkeeper said she hadn't come back."

Chloe put her reassuring hand on Shirley's shoulder, "Then we must keep an eye out. I promise, everything will be ok…"

But Chloe sounded unsure…

Norma entered the back of the Man-Eating ruins where she sought out the mysterious voice. The room was hollow and deserted, just like it always was. But this time, a grim feeling loomed in the air and made a shiver run down her spine. Norma folded her arms across her chest and took a deep breath, inhaling the deadly air. She sniffed the air and stepped back. A repulsive smell of rot and decay wafted through the air. That smell wasn't there before. The treasure hunter opened her mouth about to say something, but she was stopped by another voice.

Norma Beatty, so pleased to make your acquaintance

Norma gasped and spun around, as if about to run

Please don't run

A black mist grabbed Norma as the figure took on a physical form. She was a girl with floor length, shapeless black hair that veiled her face. Her figure was bone thin and as white as Jay and she wore a black dress, "You have come so far. Please sit down," she shoved Norma to the ground, "Now tell me, what is it you wish for?"

Norma shook violently throughout her body. She wanted to run, no longer be a part of this demonic plan, "I-I don't want anything…"

The woman stepped over to Norma and lightly traced her face with her fingernail, cutting open the skin slightly, "But you must make one. You are the one promised to me."

Norma quavered, trying to back away from her, but the figure would not allow her to escape, by sending two vines to tie up Norma. Norma sobbed silently in her vulnerability, "Who promised me to you?"

The woman once again stepped over to Norma and hissed, "The world has sacrificed you to me. Your mother and father sold you to me to pay back a debt the owed," she chuckled venomously under her breath, "Your friends say that you are a burden. They have sold you to me with their words of hate."

"They sold me…with hate?" Norma mumbled under her slow breaths, "W-why would they do that?" Tears still steamed from her face as she thought of the betrayal she faced.

"They have hurt you, haven't they?" the woman whispered, "They never listened to your problems. They ignored you!" Her voice rose in anger, "No matter how many times you have tried to reach out to them, they slap you away! They take nothing about you seriously! No matter how many tears you shed alone-" she stopped and silence filled the room, then she scowled and started again, "No matter how many times you have asked for…oh what was his name again?" she held out her palm and a small bell appeared on it.

Norma's eyes widened, "That's Jay's bell!"

The woman smirked, "Jay? Ah, so that is his name. Such a vicious man to do the things he does to you. The way he hurts you, the way he makes you suffer for him, then turns around and abandons you. No matter how many times in your life you have counted on him, he has never come through for you. Yet look how you love him, with all your heart. You trusted him before you knew him. And yet he has become a part of your meaningless existence. Yet he has sold you to me!" she punched the wall above Norma's head, "I know what you need Norma. I know how to bring back Grune."

Norma's eyes widened, tears falling like rivers down her face. Everything this woman said sounded so…real…as if she were strumming reality with her skeleton fingers, as if she knew Norma inside and out. And now she could bring back Grune? Norma was already sold to this woman, but she could have Grune back. Norma sighed as the life drained from her eyes, "What do I have to do?"

The woman smirked victoriously, "Kill them…I want them all dead. The world is evil and must be annihilated. Even if in the end, we too must be gone, this is the prophecy given to me. We have been sold to despair by the world and now, we seek revenge." She untied Norma from the vines and held out her hand, "Do we have a deal? I give you Grune; you become the new Sovereign of Calamity."

"Sovereign…of…Calamity?" Norma whispered. Suddenly she felt empty,

"You must join me either way," the woman said, "You belong to me now. Either you join me, or I take your life. The choice is yours."

Norma hesitated and sighed. But anger filled her body and out of the rage inside of her she took the woman's hand, "I-I'll do it…" she whispered. The woman laughed, and then Norma began to glow a black aura and with that, all emotion was washed from her heart. All the love, replaced with hate. All the happiness replaced by anger. All the Serenity vanished beneath apathy. The color drained from Norma's eyes and a cryptic tattoo ran up the right side of her body, from her toe to her face. Finally, the yellow pompom fell from her hair and her yellow attire turned into a tight black dress with a long black cape. Her brunette locks faded into a raven black that fell to her hips. She no longer looked like Norma, but like a monster straight out of the darkness.

"Perfect," the woman sighed, "And now I shall grant your wish." With that, she snapped her fingers, making Grune fall out of a cocoon of vines onto the ground.

Grune stirred a little bit as she tried to sit up, but in weakness, she fell back to the ground and fell asleep. Norma rushed over to Grune's side and sat beside her. She took Grune's fair hand into her own and sighed, "It is ok now Grune, I am here. We will be ok." Then she created a large crystal fissure around her friend and headed out of the ruins to meet Senel's group.

"Jay, are we almost there?" Moses complained as the group tried to make their way to the depths of the ruins. They had been going around and around in circles for the last two hours and no one knew where they were.

"This is strange," Jay muttered, ignoring Moses, "We have been here at least two times but for some reason these ruins seemed to have altered."

"I see," Will nodded, "That would explain the peculiar strength the monsters possess."

Senel looked over at the two trying to figure out where to go, "We should probably just keep going, we will have to find it eventually."

Chloe turned around to Shirley who was shivering, "Shirley?" she started. Everyone turned to see Shirley almost in a state panic, "Shirley?" she continued.

Senel rushed over to the Merines and put his hands on her shoulder, "Shirley! What's wrong?" Shirley jolted her head up to face Senel. She pointed a weak finger at the entrance to the next room. Everyone's eyes followed Shirley's finger to where she pointed to a figure standing by the doorway to the next room. The figure had long black hair and a tattoo up her right side. She looked to be about sixteen or so. Jay stepped closer to her out of curiosity and asked, "Who are you?"

The girl turned her head to face him, shadows covered her eyes and she moved her mouth, uttering the words, "….die…."

The party drew their weapons preparing to fight. The girl also drew her weapon, a fighting straw which she used to begin casting magic spells. Jay stopped and looked at the girl's technique and gasped. The others must have noticed too, because they had all lowered their weapons. Jay took his dagger and pointed it at the girl. (It can't be…) he thought to himself, (Could it?)

His suspicions were confirmed when another girl stepped out of the doorway. Everyone gasped as Grune entered the room and stood next to the girl. The girl looked up at Grune and threw her arms around her, "Grune…I am glad you are awake! You are my only friend and you always will be…"

Jay's eyes widened and his dagger clashed to the ground. He took two steps away from the two standing in front of him as his jaw dropped open. Everyone starred blankly too and Jay uttered the name he wished would never define his enemy, "N-Norma?"

Me: Hah! Cliffhanger!