Aaaaand we're back with chapter one!

Colette: Wow, it's really long! I hope everyone enjoys it!

Sheena: So, the fourteen years in sporadic intervals?

For the most part. Oh, I forgot to mention this too, duh: OoCness might be possible and spoilers run rampant! Then again, is there any SI that doesn't have spoilers?

Sheena: Don't answer that question folks

Colette: RoyalFanatic doesn't own us, Tales of Symphonia, Anna and Spice, and four other characters that are going to appear eventually, but she does own the fiction, her personal ideas, herself, Calvin, and the OC she switched lives with.

And let's see how Mary-Sueish I am. (/sarcasm) Away chapter one!

Of course, as soon as we got there, Mithos was kind enough to let me know that Kratos was…out. Most likely keeping tabs on the two Chosen.

So let's see…fourteen years before the game…Colette was two, and Zelos was…shit, how old was he in the game? Twenty-two? Twenty-two from fourteen…if anything, he was at least eight, maybe younger.

Damn, I actually had to think about that; looks like my math skills are still my own.

Wait…I know I have her memories and all that jazz, but what else? Well, I probably have her magics and skills; do I have the ability to use them? What of my strength; work has been helping me slowly but surely gain some arm muscle.

Well, if I still had my math skills, maybe I still have some of my other skills and talents as well. It's a good thing I'm not jumping straight into the Regeneration Journey! Fourteen years isn't four thousand, but I'll try my best.

But the way Mithos was looking at me…seriously, what crawled up his ass and died? I know we never really got along; jealousy perhaps? But really, he was acting colder towards me than I thought he would.

What had happened that I'm not aware of?

We were able to find Yuan, though. The cobalt was wandering around with an armful of papers. Beware the dreaded paperwork.

"Lord Yuan!" Calvin shouted, waving. I watched with interest as Yuan looked our way.

Oh the look on his face! If I wasn't the one who died and came back, then I'd totally be laughing right now! Granted, I'm not Martel, but something, instincts I suppose, tell me that I'm as important to him as Kratos is. The paperwork dropped to the floor and he ran over towards us.

"Wha-Cecilia!? I heard you were dead!" He placed his hands on my shoulder and observed me. "Kratos was completely devastated! Calvin, does he know about this? Did he see her?"

Calvin, who had gone to gather up the paperwork, shook his head. "We were told Lord Kratos was sent out when we returned. We do not know how this miracle came to be, but when I went to get her body, she was fully conscious."

"Honestly, I'm not too sure what happened either," I said, deciding to throw my two cents in. "I do remember the pain from the knife; it hurt enough to kill…" From my memories, I can hear the knife plunge itself into my throat; I could hear my barely audible gasps as blood and air leaked from my wound. Frick. "There was nothing for a while, I suppose. Then I woke up."

"I used First Aid, but I think that's the best the wound will heal," Calvin added as Yuan's eyes drifted to my neck. "Doesn't Kvar have some sort of magic in his boot knife?"

"I don't care about the Cardinals," Yuan said bitterly. "Unless I hear they're dead." He patted my shoulders and went to take his paperwork from the other angel. "I have things I must do, so I better get to them."

"Of course, Lord Yuan," Calvin bowed.

"Cecilia…" Yuan turned back to me. I had the sinking feeling I knew what he was going to ask. "I'm sorry to do this to you, especially since you've just come back from the dead, but if Yggdrasill needs me…"

"Step in for you, I know," I commented absentmindedly. I'm not overly fond of getting my ass kicked by Yggy's magic, but hey, I'm earning my debt to join the Renegades. Even though I know Lloyd's living, there are still some benefits from me joining.

Even if I'm not fully sure what they are right now.


How long has it been since I rejoined Cruxis? I think I lost track of time. Calvin told me there was a Chosen attempting to save Sylvarant; Colette's mother… Unless she succeeded or failed, I wouldn't be seeing my uncle anytime soon.

Well, I'd like to think it's been a year or two. My skills with my rapier are…almost completely horrible though. I wish I had the ability to take fencing before I came here!

Yuan laughed at me as I attempted old strikes and thrusts I'm sure he was used to me performing flawlessly not too long ago. "I thought you knew how to use that thing. What happened?"

"I do," I said bitterly, finally unleashing Demon Fang, Hurricane Thrust, and Freeze Prye one after another. I was pleasantly surprised to see that my acrobatics were up to shape, but the ice ball conjured by the Freeze Pyre technique missed the dummy I was aiming at. "I think it was when I died; some things have changed."

"They have," the cobalt Seraph agreed. "We got that weapon of yours filled in, and you're holding it with ease! You've gained some upper body and arm strength."

Not that I could wield an actual sword as easily as Kratos, of course, but I've found that the Terragrinder was too light for my tastes and had it filled. I'm sure Razerglaze can be refilled as well, and Yuan will probably fill Featherglow with lead before passing it onto me.

"Maybe not with ease," I countered, hefting the earth rapier up and glaring at it. "But I'm not having too much trouble." Fricking piece of shit that the fricking madman gave me…

…I guess I still have my profanity-happy speech too. Did she curse a lot? I kinda hope she did.

With another breath, I lunged for the dummy and attacked again; it was reckless rushing and striking attacks though…I guess I understand how Lloyd feels. Sonic Thrust, Lightning Blade, Demon Spea-whoa!

Yuan laughed again as I lost control of my spinning and crashed onto the ground. "I forgot you used to do that! You haven't used that or Victory Light Spear in forever!"

I hated Demon Spear in the game; Victory Light Spear too. I'm glad I don't have to worry about using them. "Light Spear Cannon actually hits things, and I have no clue why I decided to use Demon Spear…"

The other Seraph walked towards me. "You know, it seems you need to relearn the basics before you do anything else. Here, let me show you."

Yuan wasn't skilled with a blade himself; he had his precious Swallow. But he did have some knowledge of the basics of sword-using; I wonder if he picked them up from Kratos when he was teaching Mithos. I drilled the strokes, thrusts, and blocks into my mind as the hours whittled away.


"Okay, let me see your magic."

It's been five years since Aunt Anna's death, and I'm proud to say that my skills with my weapon are better than they were before! Not that I'll ever achieve her skills anytime soon, but I'm slowly but surely getting there!

We haven't heard from the Chosen, and anytime she's mentioned, Yuan frowns; I don't think he managed to kill her yet. I wonder what's taking her so long.

Unless she died anyway, leaving Mithos to order Kratos somewhere else; maybe over to Tethe'alla to check up on the young Zelos, who should be ten years old. Or something.

I didn't dare dabble with my magical talents until I was better with my rapier and sword techs. I still can't do Demon Spear to save my life, but I don't need it. Sometimes Freeze Prye's ice ball misses my targets too…but that's not really my fault. Sort of…

But at long last, Yuan decided that it was time for me to see how much of my magical prowess I still have. This…this I'm worried about.

Did I ever mention that I'm in my Cruxis uniform? I really hate this thing, you know. It's all white, well, minus the black belts and purple sash around my middle. White sleeveless dress shirt and white dress pants with a white jacket with sleeves that reach the elbows. No more gloves either. I still wear Aunt Anna's ribbon around my neck like a choker, however; most of the time I keep the scar hidden, but sometimes I can get away with exposing the mark while wearing it.

Terragrinder is resting near my right hip as I listen to Yuan's commands and focus ice mana through my hands and the hilt of the blade. My eyes are closed in concentration, but I can feel the glyphs around my feet; there's a chill hanging in the air around me. "Everglade frost…Icicle!" I brought the rapier up and swung in a downward arc; the spell hit the dummy I was aiming at! Hurrah!

"You took less time charging than that Aqua Edge," Yuan commented. "I think you still have your connection to the ice element."

She was naturally gifted with ice magic and resistance, which means I'm now that naturally blessed. I wonder if Celsius blessed me when I was a child or something. Maybe my mother's family was linked to ice…

…but wait, if it hadn't changed, and I doubt it did, Rodyle eventually is born into my mother's family. So much for that theory.

"But let's test it out," he continued. "Try Fire Ball."

I returned Terragrinder near my hip and poured fire mana from my hands into the hilt of the blade. The heat from the glyphs hangs around me…and oh shit it's fucking-holy-shit-you're-really-burning-up hot! My hands are heating up; the hilt is burning like hell and I gotta let go of this thing or the mana now!

"Fire Ball!" I all but tossed the rapier; the three fire balls completely missed the dummy and flew into the ceiling, wall, and floor of the training arena.

See, Welgaia also has a physical and magical fitness center; there were weight rooms and training arenas and coliseum arenas and everything. Despite what you may think, there are plenty of angels, soulless or not, that actually use these rooms. Right now Yuan and I were in one of the magical training arenas.

I finally drop Terragrinder and look at my hands; the shape of the hilt was burned into them, over scars I realized were from previous spells, when I actually had to eject the damned things from my hands.

"Owww, frick!" I shook out my hands and winced; my body temp hasn't gone down yet. Damn fire mana…

"Yep; you've got your resistance and weakness," Yuan said, looking sheepish and handing me a bright blue bottle; an Elixir. "I apologize for having you do that. Just pour a few drops on your hands and drink the rest."

I complied, sighing as the marks on my hands faded to nothing and my body temp dropped back to normal. "Thank you."

"Now, I'd like to see your magic casting without the rapier," Yuan said. "You never know when you'll be disarmed, or if you need to cast a spell without a blade in your hand."

Honestly, I had no idea how she used to do it, but I had a neat idea. You see, one of my professors in my old life told us how if you rub your palms together for a bit, you can build up energy. Cup your hands, as if you're holding a ball, and if you're lucky, you can feel that energy between them. I know I do; my hands and arms shake sometimes!

So that was what I was going to do. Closing my eyes, I felt for my lightning mana and began rubbing my palms together. I could feel the static electricity hanging over my body as I parted my hands and held the mana like a ball. I knew it was working; I could feel my arms shaking rapidly. Bringing my hands back towards my chest and forward in a push motion, I knew what to do next. "Lightning!"

It struck the dummy! I opened my eyes to see the thing starting to smoke. It worked! Yes!

"That was new," Yuan commented, making me turn towards him. He was smiling though. "Pulling the mana out and turning it into a ball. I just wonder if you can do that with gloves on."

"I don't see why not," I insisted, shrugging. I flexed my fingers, cracking knuckles as well, and got into stance again. I repeated my past actions, and forced the ball of mana between my hands again.

The static energy around me was much heavier than I thought it would be, however, and I was now starting to doubt if I could cast Spark Wave. I think Yuan was worried too; I felt his hand on my right shoulder as I forced my hands apart with a yelp; the spell backfired and struck us instead.

"Cecilia…" Yuan sighed. "Why did you do that?"

"I…uhh, wanted to see if I could do it?" I asked, coughing. Oooh, the wondrous smell of burnt half and quarter elves. Yum. My hair felt weird too. Apparently I had all her magic weaknesses and strengths after all. "I guess lightning mana's still too sporadic for me to handle."

"It takes a lot of time and practice. But I don't think you need to worry about any of the more advance lightning spells. If worse comes to worse, you can just have Kratos kill the damned thing."

"Yeah."

We continued for another hour; alternating between my hands and Terragrinder, I unleashed Aqua Edge, Aqua Laser, Wind Blade, Air Thrust, Stone Blast, Grave, Icicle, Freeze Lancer, and Lightning with no problems.

I did try Fire Ball, but my body always heated up, not to mention with or without the rapier, my hands were still hot as hell! Out of using it ten times, I was able to hit the dummy with one fireball. One fireball out of thirty. My hands were overly scarred too.

Yuan offered another Elixir, which fixed me back to normal. "It must be your elven blood; you haven't forgotten your spells at all."

"What about my angel techs?" I asked.

"I suppose we can try them out."

Purge, Holy Song, and Sacrifice. And then I also had two of those secret skills. You know, like Falcon Crest, Indignation Judgment, and Holy Judgment? I had two. Well, I'd have to say technically one; Sacrificial Song isn't the best one to use unless it looks like we're reaaaally going to die. I don't even know why I have it. And I could really only use Subzero Hellstorm if I'm in critical condition.

Wings or no wings? Well, I don't need them out; Kratos doesn't all the time, at least, so I guess I'll keep them intact for now. Without a weapon, I suppose I could just keep my hands pressed together in prayer, but I actually preferred Terragrinder in my hands. Returning the blade back to its position near my right hip, I felt for the angelic mana running through my veins.

"Beams of holy light…gather around your foes and strike." The incantation effortlessly flew out of my mouth; I could feel the feathers flying upward around my body even with my eyes closed. Bringing the weapon up and swinging in that downward arc, I let the spell run free. "Purge!"

It's basically a Prism Sword version of Judgment; beams of light strike the outside corners, and then a much larger beam strikes the target itself. Satisfied with the outcome, I readied my stance again. This time I would unleash Holy Song.

"Thy servant faithful asks for your blessings. Honor us with your splendid song! Holy Song!" I let the rapier fly in front of me; you know about Colette's pink shockwave? Mine's just purple. Yuan let out a laugh from next to me.

"As always, my speed and magic seem to have been boosted." He flexed his right hand and unleashed a lightning spell; the dummy actually caught on fire. "I don't think you need to practice Sacrifice."

"Same here." Nah, I'll let loose all my mana and get restored by a life bottle or something another day.


I glanced in one of the weight rooms; the place was strangely empty. It's been at least ten years since Aunt Anna's death…

A heavy sigh escapes me; I'm amazed with how complicated my mind is. I have no problems with speaking about both of them as I properly should, or with thinking about Aunt Anna as my aunt, but Kratos…

You see what I mean? No "Uncle Kratos" or just plain old "uncle". Just…Kratos…

Maybe it's because Aunt Anna's dead, as morbid as it sounds. Or maybe it's because I never really met her. I had the memories of the past, of course, but I never met her personally. Meanwhile with Kratos…it's the opposite. I haven't had the chance to see him face to face yet, but I still met him before. During the "game". Mithos is doing an amazing job of keeping him away from Welgaia; the stupid madman.

Well, the room didn't have to remain empty forever; might as well occupy my free time somehow; only four more years of this.

Honestly, it's going differently than I though; other than standing in for Yuan, and occasionally being called in myself, Yggdrasill's been avoiding me. I do remember one time blacking out before him and three times waking up in my room to a worried Calvin and/or Yuan, but that was it.

It's given me more time to sharpen my skills and magic, however, and I'm taking every chance I can get to do just that. I haven't actually exercised in a long while; I might as well see how many push ups I can actually do.

So I found myself an isolated part of the room, got on my hands and knees, and began working out. Up, down, that's one. Up, down, that's two. Three…four…five, aww damn; my arms are starting to hurt now…six…seven…eight…nine…ten…eleven…twelve…

I reach twenty before my arms finally give up on me and I collapse to the floor. Overall, that's not too bad! I think my previous memory of doing push ups like these was ten; a nice improvement.

Pulling out my wings, I decided to ignore the pain in my arms and do a few more; this time in a handstand position. Using the sparkling frickers, I managed to balance myself on my hands. Focusing my eyes on the floor, I vowed to get at least five…come on Martel…let me have five.

Down…and up…that's one. Again…that's two. Again…and that's three. Again…for four. And one…damn…more…for five. Agh, my arms hate me now. Look ma; I'm floating upside down in midair!

"You've really improved." Oh shit I'd recognize that voice anywhere. Even with upside down vision, I glance towards the doorway, and sure enough, it's Kratos standing there with a genuine smile on his face. Had he been there the whole time?

"Well, what else is there to do here?" I asked, flashing a grin, rolling forward, and landing semi-awkwardly on my knees. "I think I traded strength for skill during that…brief interlude there."

"Of course."

Wooow, I'm actually having a decent conversation with him. Of course I would; I'm the last of his family. Or at least, that's what everyone around here thinks.

I know Lloyd's alive…but something inside me told me to keep that fact quiet; it's too big a secret to say, things would get ruined. Besides, it's only four more years anyway.

Shaking my agonizing arms out, I stood and turned to face him. So, no fourteen years of heartless abandonment like I had in the fanfic; instead it's ten years of forced separation. I think I like how things are going now better.

Of course, in a total blink of an eye, I find myself swept in a hug. Oh. Martel. Kratos was hugging me. It's the end of the world, isn't it?

"You…you really are alive…" He was worried I was a ghost? When was Yuan finally able to tell him I was here? What happened to Colette's mother? What the freaking hell was he doing for ten years anyway!?

"Well, either death didn't want me, or father kicked death's ass and forced him to send me back." Oh dear, could I get away with a joke?

There was a soft chuckle; I got away with it! "Sounds like something Haze would do."

I threw my arms around Kratos; hey, if I can get away with hugging him and not dying, I might as well take the chance, right? Damn…memories are surfacing; being hugged by my father when I was younger. But Haze Aurion was no longer alive; I could never get hugged by him again…

This was a close second though. "I missed you, uncle. I'm glad to see you're back."

Eventually the hug was over, and Kratos turned towards the doorway. "Yuan told me your skills with your weapon have dulled. I think it's time a master whipped you back into shape."

Was that a challenge? I was never good at backing down from challenges… "Then teach me, O Great One." There was some playful sarcasm hidden in there; I was totally going to get my ass kicked.

But hey, not everyone can get their ass kicked by Kratos via training, right? I might as well take the chance!

Eventually I found myself mock glaring at Kratos in one of the training arenas, Terragrinder unsheathed and waiting by my side. I really do wish I had Razerglaze; a battle, training or no, between the fire sword that is his Flameberge and the ice rapier that was Razerglaze would be extremely epic. There was a small audience gathered too; apparently Calvin, Remiel, Yuan, and a bunch of lifeless angels wanted to watch us spar. Fantastic.

Okay, time to focus on the battle at hand. No wings, no skills of any sort; just weapons singing in the air. And oh shit oh shit he's charging towards me!

I parried his first strike and tried to counter; he blocked it. Damn. Flameberge rushed towards me again; I raised Terragrinder and blocked it. He was holding back on me; seeing how much I knew from my basics training with Yuan and my own personal skill.

I wasn't doing too badly as we traded blow after blow, but I found myself slowly starting to crumble as he kept getting harder and harder on me. I swung my weapon in a horizontal arc, and managed to hit him! Oh wow, I managed to strike Kratos before he hit me!

My personal victory was very short lived, however; the blunt side of the sword collided with my side, and I crumpled. I gotta tell you, that sword being pointed at your neck is not a good feeling. Especially if you have a stronger weakness to fire than the average person.

"You have lost your former skill," Kratos said, pulling the fire sword away and helping me back up. "But I can see the desire to regain what was lost; just make sure to keep practicing, and you'll be fine."

"Of course, uncle."


And wow…time has flown for me. It's hard to believe Kratos left to meet Colette two weeks ago. Of course, it's not like the oracle actually took place, but Yggy wanted him on Sylvarant before the oracle. Don't ask me why, though; I barely understand the madman even with my past memories and seeing him face to face.

Yuan's completely disappeared too; today makes it a full month. Was he back with the Renegades? I'd get to see him soon enough though.

Was fate smiling at me? Or was it spitting at me? Here I was, outside Welgaia, destroying weak versions of the skeleton monsters and angels in order to pass the time, in my Cruxis uniform and all. This is how it was in the fanfic…I would leave this place soon enough.

Well, I'd come back for the mana fragment, and then with Colette after Zelos' betrayal, but today is the last day I ever pledge official loyalty to Cruxis. It's…a really weird feeling.

The last monster crumpled before me; a few white feathers were all that remained. Picking them up, I let them drop into the abyss; a prayer whispered in angelic.

"Lady Cecilia." Oh shit it was Calvin. "Lord Yggdrasill has summoned you."

I nodded. "Very well." Oh goody; it was time to teleport again!

I have been practicing my teleportation skills, for your information. Both Yuan and Kratos have been giving me instructions. But still, to let your body become like the air itself, and warp from place to place…I actually threw up at first. I was assured that I did this in the past, when learning how to do this for the first time, but still, weak…

When aware of actually being again, and the nausea wave settled down, I found myself before Mithos' chambers. With a heavy sigh, I wandered in and flew towards the throne.

"Cecilia, you're late." Frick, he was a child. Could I please kick him!?

"Apologies, my lord," I knelt. "I was outside, training." Apparently not. Damn.

"Remiel has told me that this Chosen is the one," Mithos said.

"Her signature is close to Martel's?"

"I want you to go down to Sylvarant and join Kratos. And make no mistake," the leader of Cruxis glared down at me; I'm surprised the room didn't freeze over, or that I fell to the ground dead. "If either of you fail, heads will roll."

"My power is the Chosen One's," I said, rising to my feet, bowing, and flying away. I knew he was whispering to himself, but I chose to ignore him; there was too much to be done.

I worked my way to my room and changed back into my old travel gear. Once my evil white clothing and Terragrinder were safely hidden under the bed, I turned to my satchel. Inside were spare gels, gald, and…

What. The. Fuck?

My iPod was in there. How the…who the…I picked it up; it had a white protective covering around it; Kratos was on the back. Holy shit…when did this get here!?

I'll admit I've truly missed music in my past life; this place is extremelysilent. And Guitar Hero, but that is beside the point. I turned it on, and not only does it look like it works on mana, but there were different play lists than before: Guitar Hero Mix, Guitar Hero II Mix, Guitar Hero: Metallica Mix, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Mix, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Mix, Guitar Hero IV: World Tour Mix, Rock Band Mix, Rock Band II Mix, and Rocking Songs Mix.

I had every single Guitar Hero and Rock Band song, even though I don't know all the songs on all the games. And then there were misc. songs from home in that final play list…

I flipped to the World Tour Mix, and put on 'Living on a Prayer'; it was like I had a pair of invisible headphones on. From start to end, it sounded exactly as it did in the game. I switched to the Legends of Rock Mix and played 'Black Magic Woman'; same. Exact. Thing.

Well, I'm glad to have my music back. And it's nice to have a little piece of my old home with me. If I could get my hands on one of the guitar controllers, I'd never want to return again.

Well…I do miss my friends; I hope she's taking care of them. And my folks. And damn I miss bowling too…

I'm sure I'll start missing technology in general too; Sylvarant is in decline. No more showers, which will be a bad thing. Other hygienic stuff's going to be hard too.

Come what may and hell to pay; I swear I'll cope. If I do get a chance to go back…well, we'll see how I stand. Even though I doubt there'll be that chance; we died, after all.


A genuine blue sky…I haven't seen it for fourteen years…the wind felt nice too; it looked like it was spring. Yeah, I could see Colette as a spring baby. Lloyd and Zelos were probably summer babies, Sheena and Regal autumn babies, Genis and Raine winter babies, and I can see Presea as a spring baby too. Huh.

"My lady, is it truly time for you to go?" Calvin was standing behind me, wasn't he?

"I apologize, but yes."

"You're…no longer working for Yggdrasill, are you?"

I turned to him and nodded. "Enough is enough, and the Hero is here; I know it. So I'll do my duty as Champion and fight at his side."

"Reclaim the Eternal Sword to unite the worlds, and use the Great Seed to link them together," Calvin said. "So, where will you be heading?"

"To Triet." And Yuan.

"Ahhh, I have this for you then," Calvin handed me a folded note. "It's from Lord Yuan; he told me to give it to you should you decide to leave."

"Oh gee, I wonder why," I pondered sarcastically. I gave Calvin a hug. "Be careful up there; just stay neutral and don't let Yggy have his way with you."

"Of course."

We broke apart, and I turned and teleported away.

It was time for the journey to begin, at long last…

Regal: And that puts an end to chapter one.

Zelos: Wow! That was looooong! But very informative! You think the other chapters are going to be this long too?

Regal: We'll find out when the time comes.

Zelos: That we will. So, friends and hunnies, that is all from us! We hope you enjoyed!