-the spotlight stops and the other characters are looking down-
Genius: P-Presea, it's your turn.
Presea: Ah. Is that so? Alright. -steps off the stage and sits next to Cat- Hello.
Cat: You know, I really think you're cute in the japanese Version.
Presea: Cute ..? -frown- Oh, yes. That complimental word. Genius said it to me a few times. .. Thank you.
Genius: -blushes-
Cat: Yeah, no pro. But in the english Version you just sound .. weird! Seriously, you sound like you're worse than an emo.
Presea: I see.
Cat: Which brings me on the subject of emos ..
Presea: Neko-san. The readers are waiting for my One Shot.
Cat: Oh, yes, right. I'll finish later. Presea's One Shot is about her past and an item that was important in the Drama-CD.
Presea: Neko-san uses a bit of the Drama-CD in each One Shot of the characters she has. Cat-Alin doesn't own Tales of Symphonia, nor Namco, nor the OVA. If she did, she would've changed most of the english voice-actors.
(The Zone is a place where everything is black-and-white, noiseless and in slow motion. It happens, when the Hypotholomus in your brain stops working)
"Ready or not, here I come!"
A young girl with bright pink hair, falling loosely over her back was cowering in a bush of a forest, making no sound at all.
"Where are you ..?" a girl-voice called out playfully.
The girl in the bush repressed a giggle.
"Found you!" A girl's head appeared through the thick bush, her hair shorter, but just as pink as the other ones.
The older looking girl sighed.
"Alicia, you sure are good at hide-and-seek." she said and crawled out of her hiding place. "You're th younger one-"
"And the cuter one!" Alicia grinned happily. "And smarter, and more loveable, my dear Presea."
"Aliciaaa ..!"
The older one started to chase the younger one around in the forest.
"Alicia! Presea!"
The girls stopped chasing and ran together to the big wooden house.
"Papa!" they called in unison.
"Come and drink something cold, it's very hot." the father said and went inside for a moment.
The two girls, obviously sisters, sat down on the shady terrace of the wooden house and let their legs hang from the edges. Their father gave each of them a glass with cold water and the two sucked happily from the straws.
The soothing, melodical sounds of a music box came from the inside.
"The hide-and-seek was fun, wasn't it?" Alicia asked and turned to her sister.
"Yes .. but next time, I'm going to find you faster!"
"You'll never!" The sisters grinned at each other and then gave a heartful laugh.
"Sis!"
Presea started and looked up from the block of wood she was carving.
"What is it, Alicia?" she asked.
Her younger sister was as big as Presea was, although she was two years younger.
"I found a job."
"But you're too young for a real job." the older one frowned.
Alicia giggled.
"It's not a 'real' job. Well, I get paid, of course." the girl smiled. "I'm going to a Nobleman and do some housework. I know it won't bring much money in, but at least I'm able to help, too."
Presea patted her sister's head.
"You are a help. You're such a bright little creature. Whenever you come in from collecting herbs or shopping, you bring with sunshine. Even if it's raining outside."
Alicia giggled again.
"Well, I'll do my best at the work. I mean, you help in the household and carve those little figurines. I can't look bad with such a great sister."
"Alright. Where is this place?"
"Mh, somewhere around the North-East, I guess."
"You don't know?"
"No. The person who employed me, the secretary, asked me to be at the coast tomorrow and he'll pick me up."
"Then it seems to be far away." Presea looked a bit sad. Her younger sister going far away for work. "Well, be careful outside. We may be safe, but still .. there are always Thiefs, Rogues or .."
"I'll watch out. And I'll send you a letter as soon as I can." Alicia calmed her older sister down. "And .. it's really okay if I take Mom's musical box with?"
"Of course it is. Mom would want you to have a little piece of home with you when you go away."
Dear Presea, Dear Papa,
It's me! Alicia!
I'm safely at my working place.
The secretary, Mr George, picked me up at the coast on that day. He's very nice.
He showed me what my job was - I'm mostly in charge of dusting shelves and keeping the documents in the archive in order.
Sometimes it's hard, but at least I'm helping. And I like helping.
Oh, my Boss, a Mr Bryan, he's a bit scary. He's got this darkblue hair, it almost looks black!
And his beard! It's like a jungle of hair!
But he's very fair. And two times a week we all, you know the Maids, we get free in the afternoon.
I mostly spend my time at the beach, the sand is so clean! Everybody seems to work very hard here.
Maybe you could come visit at some time? Of course, only, if we have enough money.
Mr Bryan's son is nice!
He's about seventeen, maybe eighteen, I think. He sometimes helps me and two other maids with the documents in the archive.
He's going to take over the company from his father some day.
Well, I've been away only for two weeks, actually .. but it feels sort of like I've left a long time ago.
But I'm not really sad. Sure, I miss eating Papa's famous Stew or paint the figurines you make, Presea.
But here .. it's just so great! Altamira's beach is wonderful, the water is so clear and blue and .. oh!
You do have to come over some time and visit!
Actually, I should go now.
It's almost evening.
I wanted to tell you that I'm safe and no worries.
Everything is fine,
See you,
Alicia
Presea kept smiling and chuckling to herself while reading her sister's letter.
Alicia even wrote so childish, yet so 'sunshiney' that it would cheer anyone up.
Presea trotted towards the forest near the village.
Her father was chopping some wood, getting ready for cold nights and for making usefull items or furniture.
"Papa!" Presea called.
The man stopped with the axe in mid-air and looked.
"Presea-chan! What is it?"
Presea stopped in horror, when she saw the almost chopped through stumpf of the tree fall the wrong side .. towards her father
"Papa, watch out!"
The man looked, his eyes widened and he jumped away.
Not in time.
His foot was stuck underneath the tree.
"Papa!" Presea kneeled next to him.
"Ow .. Presea .. run to the village. Get some help." her father said, trying to remain calm.
Presea nodded, got up on her wobbly knees and ran back to the village.
She didn't have to think.
She knocked the door of the armor shop open and asked the broad man for help. The next person she got was the retired weapon blacksmith.
Those were the two strongest men in the village.
The three ran back, accompanied by the men's sons and they all did their best to lift the tree up, so that Presea's father could crawl out from underneath.
"Papa?" Presea looked carefully into the working and sleepingroom.
Her father was on his bed, his foot wrapped in cold towels.
He told her to come closer.
"What is it? Papa is feeling better. The cold is helping against the swelling."
Presea came closer and held the letter in her hand.
"Um, Alicia wrote us." she said and gave it to him.
Her father read it and smiled just like Presea did all the time.
"Ah, Alicia is such a cheery person." their father sighed.
"Papa, how long will it take for the swelling to go down?"
"About five or six weeks. But that's not a long time." he patted her on the head.
Presea was quiet.
The cold nights were drawing closer and they only had about half of the storage of chopped wood they needed for that time.
Sieg, Presea's father, seemed to be getting better.
The swelling went down, although the ankle and foot itself were still looking a bit blueish.
But that time only went on for a short time.
He got a fever.
And every day he got weaker.
"Papa?" Presea asked, getting a headturn as a reaction. "I'm going to go out and chop the wood. You're too weak and we need more wood. I can do it."
Her father only moved his hand a bit, not having the strength to speak.
Presea lifted the axe .. and set it back down.
She sighed.
"I'm too weak, too .."
Maybe trying to chop the wood was a bad idea. But it had to be done!
The nights were getting colder and the days shorter.
If they didn't have enough wood, the whole village would suffer.
The Combatirs had been taking care of the village's supply of wood for decades.
And the people of the village were nice people.
"Oh, I do wish I could use the axe .." Presea sighed, lifting the big, heavy axe from the ground.
And put it back down a few seconds later.
A man, probably a merchant from his clothing, approached her, having taken a walk around the village.
"Little Girl, what is the problem?" he asked. His voice was gruff and it sounded rather violent.
But he spoke also gently with his words ..
"My papa is sick and can't take care of the woodwork, and I myself am too weak to use the axe." Presea told him.
"Ah, Little Girl, I can help you!" the merchant smiled widely. "I know a man, who can give you a little thing that will help you get stronger?"
"He does?"
"Of course. He's not very far from here. Shall I take you to him?"
Presea hesitated for a moment.
She didn't want to leave her father alone, especially without telling him.
"I will tell my papa that I'll be gone for a bit. Then I'll follow you." she said and ran into the house.
"You can help me to get the strength?" Presea asked.
The man was rather pale and wildish purple hair sprouted form his head.
He seemed like a giant turtle in his green suit with the wide cape over it.
"Yes, I can. But there is one thing .. I will have to do a little test, you see. Not everybody can use our Crystals without trouble." the man said.
He indicated to her to sit on a chair and while Presea sat quietly, he ran a little staff over her head.
It glowed and the merchant took some blood from Presea.
A woman with a distinguishable face and glasses, very young she seemed to be, was in the back, preparing the stone.
Presea stared at the little red oval underneath her collar bone.
They had told her to swallow a little red-purpleish ball and a few seconds later, Presea had felt like her throat was burning.
And that little red thing had appeared.
"This .. little thing will help me?" she asked, wondering if it could work.
"Why yes. Go home and try to lift the axe. It should be easy for you, now."
Presea muttered to herself and went back to the village.
The axe was still lying there, where she had left it beforehand.
She grabbed the hilt with boths hand .. and lifted it.
It was so easy to lift!
Like it wasn't made out of darkwood and a double-layer of steel, instead, out of plastic.
She let go with one hand .. and it was still so light.
With more confidence now and over the first surprise, she went and chopped wood, layering it in the basement of the house.
Even the wood was light.
Although her arms weren't very long, she was still able to carry about fifteen of them at the same time.
Before, she could only carry about seven, eight, if she rested her chin on the pile.
Night was already at it's peak and Presea was outside of the house, looking upwards.
Towards the ocean of stars and the thin, glowing curve of the moon.
Her hand went over the little red bump on her throat.
It was weird.
This little thing had only been on her for three days and she had the strength to chop loads of wood and to do this for several hours without getting tired.
She already had the full supply for the village.
Everyone had been surprised.
But one thing was bothering a bit .. she wasn't getting tired.
And she started to eat less. Everyone would be ravinously hungry after a day of chopping wood.
What was wrong with her?
"Papa!"
The figure in bed stirred a bit, as if he was waking up violently.
Presea looked worried for a second.
Her father only ate soup or other soft things and slept most of the other time.
"What .. what is it, Presea?" he asked with a raspy voice.
"Alicia sent another letter." his daughter told him. "Do you want me to fetch you some water?"
"No. No .." he was quiet for a moment. "Read the letter out loud? My eyes are too tired to read."
Presea sat onto the little stool next to the bed and read the letter.
Her father listened and smiled, hearing about his little girl.
"Papa, I think she's in love with the president's son. 'The president's son is so nice! He helps me with my chores, but he also likes to spend time with me on my free afternoons.'" Presea finally said. "She mostly writes about him."
"It seems so. She may be young, but she's getting older." the father coughed. "It's not surprise .. that's she's falling in love .."
Presea nodded.
She folded the letter together, put it on a table and went back out to get some fresh air.
It was all a bit weird ..
Everything seemed to be in a haze around her.
It felt, like she was in The Zone.
She still had the colors and she could understand whatever someone was saying, but ..
It all seemed to pass slower than it should.
But also that she wasn't really "living in time".
And whenever she came home .. it was the same situation ..
"Papa" Presea said, her eyes halfclosed, looking tired but a smile on her face. "there's another letter of Alicia."
The figure in the bed didn't move. Ever.
It just lay there.
As if she were sleeping.
Presea sat on the stool.
And the letter she read, she always put onto the big table in the mainroom.
And the next day, she'd come home and see that exact same letter on the big table and think it's a new one.
And she'd sit down on the little stool and read the figure the letter out .. all the time.
Every day.
For how long she did it, she didn't realize.
Her name got more popular and the merchant who had once brought her to the scientist who gave her that stone in her throat, his name was Vharley .. he gave her jobs to do.
First easy ones like getting the supply of a different city or village for wood.
And it went bigger, until she was told to chop the Sacred Wood and bring it to the empirial city.
"P-Presea, wait!" someone called.
The girl stopped in her tracks, holding the bar of the cart carrying the Sacred Wood, and turned around.
A boy with a silver mane called her, two girls and another boy, probably late teenager, were with him.
"Hello." the older boy greeted her. "Better introduce ourselves first .. My name is Lloyd. This is Collet" he held his hand towards the younger girl with long blonde hair and black eyes. "and this is Raine-Sensei" the older woman had silver hair like the boy. "and he is-"
"I-I-I am G-genius!" the boy squeaked the last word high.
"Why are you so red ..?" Lloyd asked.
While Genius tried to stutter an explanation to Lloyd, Presea waited.
What did they want from her?
Were they from a village and wanted to ask for her help to get enough wood?
Perhaps they were messengers from Ozette, telling her her father was feeling better .. No, she would've known their faces, if they were from Ozette.
"Um, could we help you carry the wood?" Genius asked, trying to keep his voice steady.
Why?
It wasn't very heavy.
Nothing seemed to be heavy anymore. Everybody knows that .. usually.
She could wield axes about twice her size without trouble. Of course, it was in a wingpack of hers for storage.
She was strong. And she didn't feel much like eating or sleeping. But she didn't mind.
It was okay.
"You see .." Lloyd said, feeling uncomfortable. But why? "Our friend's live depends on the help of the king. And we're not allowed in, so we thought .."
For her help?
Was she supposed to help their friend?
"Sorry, this may seem rather wild." Raine said, chuckling about her students being unclear. "You see, we have a letter for the King and would like to give it to him as soon as possible. Could we help you get the Sacred Wood inside? We'd appreciate it."
Oh, they wanted to get into the castle .. very well.
She was usually alone, but perhaps they wouldn't mind so much if they pretended to be with her.
Presea nodded and let go of the bar, going a few steps ahead.
"P-presea?" Genius asked.
"Carry the Wood, please." she said and waited for them to catch up.
The two boys tried their best, taking the wood from each side and lifting it.
But it was too heavy for them.
Presea sighed silently and grabbed the bar again, pulling the wood after herself.
The group caught up with her quickly.
"Who's there?" the guard asked, looking through his armed head.
"We're bringing the Wood." Presea said.
".. Who are they?"
"Helpers. It's an important task .." Presea muttered quietly and the guards opened the door, letting them in.
Inside the castle, the group was first astounded by the distance between the floor and the ceiling, the golden and white ornaments on the walls.
The red carpet going through the whole castle was thick and soft, their steps making no sound on it.
"What are we supposed to do with the Wood?" Lloyd asked.
"Leave it here."
"Lloyd, it would be best if we looked for the King now." Raine told him. "But we should take Presea with us. It would look suspiscious, if we came in with her and just walk around freely without her."
Lloyd agreed with her and asked Presea, if it was okay if she went along with them a bit more.
She agreed, although Presea was wondering to herself in her mind.
Why were they talking to her, as if she was still a child?
She didn't quite know how much time had passed since she got that stone in her throat.
But it must've been a while. The two kids she used to babysit were getting bigger.
So, she, Presea, must've gotten bigger as well.
"Hmm .. thank you for handing over the letter." the King said, leaning with one arm on his cane. He was pale, but looked like he was still in charge. "I will attend to you in a minute."
He told a servant to bring them to the Crimson Room.
"I hope they understand our situation .." Raine muttered to herself. "Although, most likely they are going to kill us on the spot."
"What?" Genius squeaked. "But .. why? All we want is a little help to get Collet's soul back!"
"Remember, Genius, the Chosen of Sylvarant is a a hinderance for them to keep their flourishment."
"Then .. then we should at least let them free Presea! She doesn't have anything to do with it."
Presea looked over to the boy.
He was right. She didn't belong to them.
She only helped them to get into the castle. Nothing more.
Besides, now that she had delivered the Sacred Wood to the castle, her duty was done.
She could go home.
"Wait a minute!" Raine stopped the guards from getting closer. "I want to make something clear to you."
"What is there to get clear?" the pope snapped at her. "You're from Sylvarant, bringing the Chosen along. Clearly, you want to make sure Tethe'alla is being destroyed!"
"No. Our goal right now is to get Collet's soul back into her body. Therefore, she will not have fulfilled her duty as the Chosen One and your Tethe'alla is safe."
"I see .." the pope understood and scratched his moustache.
"Do you mean we should abandon Sylvarant?"
"Alright, we'll do it." Lloyd said and got snapped at from Genius. "Once we get Collet's soul back, we don't know what's going to happen."
"Very well. We will give you help to get your Chosen's soul back. But I will let the Chosen One of Tethe'alla follow you." he turned to the young man with the long curly, red hair. "Make sure they do not go back to Sylvarant, Zelos."
Sybak ..
Something was wrong with her ..
Her whole body shook. She felt her temperature rising and sinking rapidily.
But she couldn't put her finger on it.
"I .. don't like this city." Presea suddenly said. "Let's go."
"Sorry, Rosebud." Zelos said and smiled. "It won't take long. We'll get you back home, soon."
They had agreed to get her back home, but Collet's soul was priority number One.
While Lloyd was busy carving a new charm into the keycrest, after hearing what exactly those Exspheres are, they all had nothing to do but wait.
Exspheres nourish from their host until nothing except the body is left like a shell.
If they weren't taken off in time, with a keycrest, the Exsphere produged from the host's body and fell off.
The body, without it's own mana protecting or stabilizing it, turned into a ravaging monster, killing everything and everyone at sight.
In the cellar lab there were two scientists, both half-elves.
The group had their hands tied, seen as criminals now, Genius and Raine taken away because they were half-elves.
The woman of the two, Kate, looked at them, pushing her glasses up.
"You were born humans. Why throw your freedom away?" she asked them.
"We didn't do anything wrong." Lloyd growled, angered that his hands were tied.
"Um, you did try to get back to Sylvarant and that was a No-No." Zelos reminded him.
The discussion went on, until the woman's eyes fell onto Presea and she gasped.
"Presea?"
"You know her?"
"Yes .. she is part of the Angelus Project." Kate told them and wanted to ask Presea something, extending her hand.
Presea flinched, slapped Kate's hand away and quickly went to the corner of the room.
Her thoughts were racing and she felt cold, then hot and cold again.
"Let her die because of that Exsphere?" Lloyd snapped. "How can you do that sort of stuff?"
"How can you treat Half-Elves like that?" Kate countered.
"I treat them like everyone else!"
They eventually got freed by a woman with black hair, who got introduced to Presea as "Shihna".
Kate tried to keep them in, but Lloyd started to argue with her.
"I suggest a deal." she finally said. "I will let you go. But you have to come back, once you've got your friends. If they really are half-elves .. I will tell you how to release Presea from the experiment."
Presea flinched.
Experiment? Get rid of it?
That stone in her neck? Why?
Sure, it was going to kill her .. but if she lost it, she'd be weak again and useless, her father still not having recovered.
Ozette .. her home.
Finally, she was back!
She quickly dispatched herself from the group and ran down the big moss covered treestem and saw the man who put the stone on her in front of her house.
He was asking her for something and as soon as he got it, the others had caught up.
".. Friends?" he asked.
"Carriers."
"Ah. Thank you for helping her." the man said, sneering. "She's the only one strong enough to cut the Sacred Wood."
And with a cackle he left.
"Presea, come with us? We got to see Altessta for your keycrest."
She shook her head.
The keycrest wasn't important at the moment.
What was important, was, that she finished the carved statues she was told to make and bring them to Sybak.
"I got to do my job." she muttered and left with a slight bow.
They followed her inside, flinching when the door closed and they smelled the area.
Why they were so surprised or, rather .. shocked, she didn't know.
Perhaps it was gloomy?
Or dirty. She hadn't gotten the time to clean for the last few days.
"Urgh .." Lloyd held his hand over nose and mouth. "How come she never noticed?"
"Perhaps it's the parasitism of the Exsphere." Raine wondered.
Notice what?
And they'd better not be too loud, Papa was asleep.
He slept a lot, but it was okay. They say that sleep is the best medicine.
"Presea, are you coming with us?" Regal, who was an escaped prisoner and wanted to have a talk with her, asked her.
"No." Presea shook her head. "I need to do my job."
They left, leaving Presea back.
Presea flinched.
She was in Ozette and two dragons were flying off, one having an unconscious Collet lying in it's claw.
"I .." she muttered and looked at the group. "W-what's going on? .. Papa?"
She ran down the moss covered treestem again, banging the door open and storming into the bedroom.
The others were at her heels and she slowly tapped to the bed, shivering slightly.
All she could was mute a gasp that rose in her chest.
The thing in the bed wasn't a person anymore. It was a skeleton, dirty and filthy, still parts of decaying flesh on it.
Her father ..
"W-what .. have I done ..?" Presea muttered.
And finally the scream inside her throat rose and it got out.
Presea turned to the group. She felt drained and as if she had just woken up from a deep sleep.
"Great many thanks to you for helping me with Papa's grave .."
"You feeling okay?" Raine asked worried.
"Yes ... I'm sorry. I've been a burden on you the whole time."
"So you remember?"
"Most of it."
"Presea," Regal said and looked more serious than he did before. "do you have any other family?"
Presea shook her head.
"No mother or elder siblings?"
"No. I got a younger sister. She left for work, and the last I heard of her was in a letter. And my mother died when I was a child."
"When? You still are." Zelos said bluntly.
"Oh .. you're right .."
That was perhaps the thing that had shocked her the most.
How long it was since she lost herself she didn't know. But her body hadn't matured at all.
She was still the small, slim figure she was when Alicia left for that nobleman's maison.
It was great to be back with all her senses .. but what good was it?
Now she knew why everyone had avoided her so much .. for how many years had she been staying the same?
And now she could live normal again .. if you could call it .. not in the body you were supposed to be.
Out of her thought trail, Presea noticed that they had just finished another pact.
They were close to Meltokyo and Shihna had just finished defeating the earth spirit, Gnome.
Before, they had flown over to Flanoir where Celsius had been.
Presea tugged Collet's sleeve. The Chosen had gotten her soul back through a keycrest.
"Collet-san, I want to apologize again. It's my fault that you were captured."
"It's okay, Presea-chan." Collet smiled. "It's my fault that I'm such a hopeless Chosen .."
"You're not." Presea insisted, having told this to Collet already. "It's not your fault that your life was more important to your friends than the world's regeneration."
"You're right." Collet chuckled and smiled even wider.
Another thing she couldn't do herself anymore .. Smile.
She had managed a tiny smile a while ago, but .. it wasn't the same as those years ago ..
Perhaps, if she met Alicia again the two of them could laugh and joke around like when they were small.
".. No!" Presea screamed, running the few meters still to the big flame that was Ozette.
From afar they had seen a burning village and, to Presea's intuition, thought that it was Ozette.
They were right.
The entrace to the Inn was blocked by a piece of the roof beam having crashed down on it, the houses were crashing down and folding themselves together.
Presea dashed forwards, just barely getting missed by burning wood falling or flames licking her feet.
Down the moss covered treestem, she almost got close enough to grab the door and run in when a pair of gloved hands wrapped around her waist and pulled her back.
"Don't, Presea!" Lloyd warned her, tightening his grip when she struggled.
"Lloyd-san, let go!" Presea struggled, screeched and tried to wrestle herself free, getting into her home. "I need to get in!"
"You're going to die, if you try!"
"Let go, I need to get the-"
"And .. it's really okay if I take Mom's musical box with?"
Presea blinked, stopped struggling and just lay limp in Lloyd's arms, staring at the roof burning, faded memory slipping through her head in fast motion.
She forgot .. Alicia had taken the music box of their mother ..
Presea clenched her fists.
Something .. was wrong ..
She felt so .. weird .. like there was a storm in her small little chest and it wanted to break free.
Her head spun and hurt.
Perhaps .. she was .. angry? At whoever was responsible for the destruction of her village.
Because that fire wasn't a natural one .. everyone was certain of that ..
B-bmp
What was that?
It was loud ..
B-bmp
It sounded familiar, like she heard it a long time ago but she couldn't recognize it.
B-bmp .. B-bmp, B-bmp, B-bmp ..
The others went a bit ahead to Altessta, the dwarf who refused to make Presea a keycrest.
B-bmp .. B-bmp, B-bmp, B-bmp, B-bmp
The sound was getting faster, but also it steadied itself for a while, then went faster again when she thought of the destruction of her home.
Lloyd was hanging behind a bit of the others and Presea took a chance and pulled his sleeve a bit.
"L-Lloyd-san?"
"Mh?" Lloyd stopped and turned around, looking at her.
"U-uh .. th-there's this .." she stuttered, her hand still tugging Lloyd's sleeve, the other one on the left side of her chest. "There's this .. this beating .. and it's fast and won't .. it won't stop."
Lloyd looked at her for a moment, surprised and disbelieving, but then smiled a bit.
"That's your heart. It beats all the time, you need it for living."
"A-ah .."
Lloyd caught up with the others, Presea tagging behind him, slower and clutching her chest.
Her .. her heart.
B-bmp
She needed it .. but .. it hadn't ..
B-bmp
It hadn't beaten for a while ..
B-bmp, B-bmp
At least she doesn't remember hearing a beating of those sorts when she didn't have a keycrest.
So this thing ..
B-bmp, B-bmp
it was ..
B-bmp, B-bmp
counting off her time ..
B-bmp, B-bmp, B-bmp, B-bmp
It should stop!
It was beating of her time for living, every second it beat, the fewer she'd live and die!
B-bmp, B-bmp, B-bmp, B-bmp
It had to stop!
It had been better, before she got the keycrest!
She didn't have a home anymore ..
It burned down .. Papa and Mama were dead ..
Presea got an idea. She could go and live with Alicia at that nobleman's place.
She was good at housework. Not as good as Alicia, but still able to help.
Alicia was definitely grown up now .. perhaps.
She'd tease Presea because of her height and pretend that she, Alicia, was now the older sister.
Good old Alicia ..
".. Dead!"
Presea was in shock.
Her sister, her younger sister, had dead!
Several years ago, too!
Why .. why .. there was no question that could form in her head now.
But she had lost everything now .. Mama, Papa, her home .. and now she had no little sister anymore.
She was completely alone ..
"Take this." the old man in the red coat said, handing her a card. "Alicia's grave is on the top of the Lezareno Company's building. I'm sure Alicia would be pleased to get a visit of her younger sister."
And while the others were wondering how Alicia could be Presea's younger sister, if Presea had made clear that she was the older one.
Presea clutched the card and heard her heart beating loudly in her ears again.
She tapped onto the elementary track with the group and drove to the Lezareno Company.
Regal had said that he would wait for them outside of Altamira.
The guards at the elevators wanted to see their cards, so Presea showed them the card they got from the old man.
"Oh, that's Mr George's card. Very well, go on."
The secretary, Mr George ..
George? The name sounded familiar, the longer she thought about it.
So .. this George was the seceretary of Alicia's boss. Then this is where Alicia worked.
Where she lived. Had written letters to her father and Presea.
Standing before Alicia's grave seemed so surreal.
Like it was all a bad dream.
Or an illusion. She'd find out soon that Mama had died, yes, but Papa had recovered from that crushed bone that day and Alicia was coming home for a few days ..
"An exsphere?"
"What?" Presea asked, looking at Lloyd, who was pointing at the grave.
Indeed, in the middle of the grave, underneath the flourishing 'Alicia Combatir', but above the 'She lives on in beloved memory' was an exsphere engraved.
"But .. why?" Presea muttered, wondering if her sister had gone through that whole procedure with the exsphere, like she did.
A big part of her hoped that she didn't.
Finally, when Presea thought she couldn't think straight anymore, they left and went through the elevator down, but landed in the president's office instead of on the groundfloor.
Fine, soothing tones were heard and Presea blinked.
She got off the elevator, the others following, wondering where she was going and why.
On the shelf right across from the president's desk was a box, the lid open.
It had a rectangular form, made out of wood, hand-made, the carvings and dents marked with a deep red color.
The music was coming out of a little plattform inside, little sticks rising with the melody.
"That's Master Bryan's most treasured object." George told them when he noticed them. "He polished it every day and .. when the incident happened .. he asked me to do it for him, since he couldn't."
"Master Bryan?" Presea asked.
He's got this darkblue hair, it almost looks black!
And his beard! It's like a jungle of hair!
"A middle-aged man with darkblue hair?"
"No, Master Bryan Senior, sadly, passed away several years ago. But his son has taken over."
"What's so special about the music box?" Zelos asked.
"Nothing." George blunted. "But Master Bryan Junior treasures it, because he got it from the person he loved the most."
"Promised Land .." Presea muttered and turned to the group. "It's from my family. I know the melody, Promised Land, the carvings were hand-made from Papa. He must've gotten it from Alicia, she took it with as a keepsake when she left."
"Ah, I see-Oh, Master Bryan!" George looked over at the elevator.
Regal came into the office.
"Regal?"
Regal nodded slightly, looking ashamed.
"I wanted to visit Alicia's grave and I saw you from the elevator .."
"You're Alicia's ..?"
".. Yes." Regal sighed. "Alicia and I were in love. The music box I got from her shortly before .. Vharley had wanted the rights to the mine, taking Alicia hostage to blackmail me. I gave him the rights, but when he returned Alicia to me ..."
Lloyd and Genius knew what he meant.
Anyone who got an exsphere without a keycrest, and then removed - or if no compatibility was there, the owner turned into a blood-seeking monster.
"I .. She begged me to kill her .." Regal finally got out. "I turned myself in and got sent to jail .."
"I had feared something like this would happen." George told them. "I asked the two to leave each other .."
"But we didn't." Regal smirked in spite of himself.
Presea felt how her eyes got moist, but her lips stretching just a little tiny bit.
"Alicia was always stubborn with that .."
"Presea, if you'd like the music box back it would be no problem for me." Regal told her. "It belongs to your family and you have every right to take it back."
"No .." Presea shook her head. "Alicia gave it to you and she wanted you to keep it. It's okay."
And she smiled.
Cat: Yes, finally I got the second One Shot done!
Presea: Neko-san, you should go to bed. It's past midnight.
Cat: I know and I'm tired and my legs are swollen from the heat and blabla, but I wanted to finish this.
Presea: She got stuck for a while.
Cat: A LONG while. The song "Promised Land" is actually fully called "Taiyou no Rakuen Promised Land". It's from Mermaid Melody and I mean the musical box version for this One Shot.
Presea: We hope you enjoyed reading this One Shot.
Cat: Who's next? And I left some scenes out, but, personally, those are some boring scenes to me.
-Spotlight spins again while Presea goes to the break room-
(If there's someone specific you want, say so in the review)