Finally an update and it's pretty much as long as the previous chapter! If you think my paragraphs are kinda too wordy, let me know and I'll try to revise them a little better.Because honestly, I dislike how my writing looks like it goes on and on. XD Also, I'm kinda getting tried of calling the main character "Wanderer" every time now. XD So it'll be just "Wander" for now on, with exceptions to those who address him as "Wanderer" and such because theydon't know his "real" name yet.
Thank you to those you have been reading and reviewing my story!
Enjoy!
P.S. The poll for this fic is still open in my profile! Please vote!
Chapter Three
Listen and Learn
Wander, Celosia and Cenobia headed down the ledge of Valus's mountainous domain, leaving him in peace to rest comfortably. Cenobia was still agitated, his anger easily showed when he landed on the ground with a heavy force and growled at every lizard that crossed his path. Celosia sighed, not at all impressed with him as usual while Wander was doing his best to not even look at the lion colossus.
"Not even a battle to settle with him?" Cenobia said to himself, kicking a rock aside with the swipe of his right paw.
"Give it a rest!" Celosia called to him, "It is up to the other colossi to choose how they will deal with Wander, not you!"
Cenobia ignored her and continued grumbling to himself, "Maybe Quadratus has something better in mind..."
After they left the enterance gates of Valus's domain, they stopped at the fruit tree behind a small cliff on the plains that surrounded the Shrine of Worship. Celosia rested on the edge of the cliff as she watched Cenobia march about in small circles around the area, making sure Wander wouldn't run off. Without notice, he even stepped on the tails of several passing lizards, making them squirm about and flee, leaving their broken tail appendages behind.
Wander walked around the fruit tree he had once climbed in the previous life. With his bow and arrows, he could effortlessly shoot down the fruits from the branches. Its nutrients provided much health for him and it was very delicious, too; Agro even liked it. Circling the tree once more, he could have sworn there was someone hiding among the branches. Definately not a bird or lizard; it was far too large. And he saw colors ranging from dark umber to ivory hidden behind the earthly tones of the tree top.
An orange-colored fruit dropped down from a branch, landed on Wander's head, and fell to the ground without a crack. "Agh!" he yelped. That must be really tough fruit. He looked up for a moment to see if anyone was really hiding up there and called out, "Hello? Anyone there?"
"Sorry, my fault!" a voice called above from the tree top. It sounded young and feminine and as if the speaker hadn't reached an adolescent age yet. The leaves and branches shook as "person" climbed down lower, revealing to be a young, short girl with wavy brunette hair and an ivory and light umber dress. "I'm Shamira," the girl introduced herself before he could say anything. She jumped down from the branches, landed on her sandle-worn feet, and took a good look at Wander. "You look really hungry! After slaying the colossi and all..." She picked up the hard fruit and tossed it to Wander, who caught it his clumsy hands. "What's your name?"
Wander could only look at her surprise. He was for sure that there was no one else in the afterlife of the Forbbiden Lands, except for the "deceased" animals and colossi. "It's Wander," he finally replied, looking at the hard fruit in his hands before looking back at Shamira. "...How do you know I was the one slaying the colossi? You weren't around when I went after them."
"Oh, I was, Wander. You just didn't know," Shamira said with an innocent smile and fiddled with a long stand of her hair. Wander tried not to buy this. "So what'cha been doing, especially with your "victims"?
"Shamira, now is not the time!" Cenobia barked at the young girl as he marched up at her, "The Wanderer needs to finish up his tasks to redeem himself...or otherwise we'll kill him!" Celosia glared at her brother and shoved him by his left side as roughly as she could, making him topple over on his right side. Cenobia growled fiercely at her, warning her not to do that again.
"Redeem himself?" Shamira asked, "Who said so?"
"Avion, Dirge, and Quadratus said so," the lion colossus replied, "Because Wanderer had slain us in the previous life, they suggested that he should pay his debt by performing any task we colossi ask of! And I'm hoping the many of them would want a rematch in fighting him!"
Shamira seem to grimace at what Cenobia said before walking up to him and pat him on his stone muzzle. "Oh, Cenobia...it's always revenge with you," she said with a smile. "Can't you be more forgiving of others often?"
"You sound just like Avion..." Cenobia commented, not bothering to growl at her anymore. "We need to get the Wanderer to Quadratus at this moment. The sun is starting to head towards the west and he still has a long way to go before he is finished with his redemption to us!"
"Well, I still don't see revenge, even at the slightest form, to be a good idea, but fine. I'll see you around, my friends. I'm going to visit Barba," Shamira said cheerly before she dashed off into a run southward to the gorge that lead to the Southern Plains on the other side.
"Who was she?" Wander asked as he climbed onto Celosia's back. After meeting her, he had the feeling that he and the girl aren't the only humans in the afterlife. And not only that, it seemed as if she had been watching his every move since he had began his journey to bring back Mono.
"She was once a living residence of this land, before it became the Forbidden Lands," the tiger colossus replied as she and her brother headed toward Quadratus's home, "And she is the daughter of the woman who created Avion..."
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Quadratus stood by the lake located by his domain, his ponderous hooves were sinking slowly into the wet sand that were washed by the greeting waves of the cold water. He looked down upon his reflection in the rippling surface, peering closer to look at more of his details. Little calm, blue eyes glared back at him from a dark complexion, looking rather sullen. He saw his right horn broken, still in its damaged state, even in the afterlife. He wondered why it hadn't grown to become a full horn? Celosia and Cenobia had their armor shattered when they fought Wander, and after death their armor reappeared like new. Quadratus found it to be unfair, though he had pondered why. Maybe it was designed to be like that. Who knows? But the bull colossus began to feel shameful argueing with himself about unimportant matters, like a broken horn.
Quadratus sighed and looked away from his reflection, where he then caught sight of three other figures's reflections. Slightly startled, he looked down at his feet and saw Celosia, Cenobia and the Wanderer. "I see you all have arrive..."
"And we brought the nusinance, too!" Cenobia growled, glaring at Wander. In his mind, he prayed that the giant bull would at least make Wander stand still while being stepped on a giant hoof numerous times.
"Yes, Cenobia, I can see that..." the giant bull colossus replied, backing up a few heavy steps away from the shore and laid down on the sand with a heavy earthshake that rattled the walls of the canyon. His massive hooves that glowed light underneath were carefully rested on the ground as he sighed deeply. His eyes even went blank for a few seconds.
"What are you doing!" Cenobia yelled at Quadratus, dashing up to his great muzzle and pawed him wildly, "Fight him! Anything!"
Quadratus seemed unaffected by the smaller colossus's angry fits and just looked down at him from two calm, blue eyes. Cenobia gave up on him and walked away, growling to himself as the giant bull turned his massive, horned head to the small human standing at the left. "It seems like I can never acquire my right horn back...you know how that is, yes?" Quadratus asked Wander, who was taken by surprise.
"Urm...yeah, I guess...it's like I never be with my love again," Wander replied, walking right in front of the stone behemoth. A wonderous creature Quadratus was, even at rest. And he could feel the warm, soft gusts of breath that escaped from his hidden mouth with each word he spoke. "Aren't you going to attack me, like you should?"
"When I first saw you from behind the wall of my cave, I had a feeling you came around for a reason. I did not know what it was but you came here through your own free will. You were looking for a fight and I did what I could to give you one. But now, I feel no need to fight because you are not real threat anymore. You were told to come here and face me again...and it was not by free will. You tell me now, Wanderer, why would I want to fight you again?"
"I'm guessing you were angry at me for killing you and would want revenge because you didn't want to die so unexpectedly..." Wander replied as he sat down on the soft sand beside Quadratus's left hoof, "And probably every other colossi would like to fight me again as well..."
Quadratus coughed to himself gruffly before replying. "My death was not unexpected, nor were the others's since you had killed Valus. Your presence signaled a change that was to shift our fates from our punishment. I do not wish to fight now since there is no good reason to. You can bet some of the colossu would want to fight, but heed this; we are all dead to the previous life and fighting out of revenge will never help us return..."
Wander glanced away from Quadratus, admitting to himself that the giant bull was right. He sighed before looking back and said, "I don't get this afterlife deal. What is the point if you can live another life but can't be seen?"
"I understand what you mean, but I am not knowledgeable of this next life. Very strange what this state of being a spirit is. We could still interact with our enviornments, but never with living beings. Do wish you miss that?"
"A whole lot, really. I never knew that after killing the colossi, I would have to face death in the end. And now that I am dead to Mono, I can no longer protect her...she won't be able to see me anymore. And the rest of my family...I can't remember the last I saw them."
"Hmmm...at least they are probably alive and that is good to know. The rest of us have no loved ones to look after, except each other..."
"Hmph, colossi always stick together..." Wander said, sounding a bit grouchy. "Don't they?"
"It is how we manage to stay together. How else did your race manage to survive for so long ever since they were created?" Quadratus asked, which made Wander think a little more again. "You are a wise one to stop and listen, Wander, and I thank you for that. Now, onwards to Gaius, for he should be expecting you."
"What the task you were to assign me?" Wander asked as he stood up and dusted the sand off his clothes, "Valus just told me to looked over to the rock mass that was once his body, I remininced about our battle...and that was it. No duty given."
"You and I engaged in a conversation we both were able to keep alive and remembered the battle with Valus so you could learn something from it. Those were your first two tasks you have completed today! This task was diffcult indeed, for Cenobia never manages to catch at least one word when I try to speak to him..."
"Hmph!" Cenobia growled at the larger colossus and turned his head way stoutly. He'd have to admit, he never took joy sitting down for a miniute and talk away. He was built to be strong and wild and he was very proud to be so. And could he really be blamed for having such an impatient nature? Celosia would definately accuse him of such.
Wander gave Quadratus a small smile and a low bow, and the colossus bowed back in return. The young knight turned away but his eyes caught the earthly mass of Quadratus's fallen body. He walked up to it, seeing that lush vegetation had grew all over it as if it were there for thousands of years.
"A fallen body will become part of the land from which it had bared it," the giant bull said softly, "Do not believe you have slain us to bring back your loved one. Something that has past away might provide great benefits for those still alive..."
A hawk landed on the horn of Quadratus's fallen body in the previous life, a screech emitted from its sharp, curved beak. It looked over to a white doved flying down to rock mass and greeted it with a chirp. The dove fluffed up its feathers as it laid down on a nest of small eggs located on top of what was once Quadratus's left shoulder.
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Wander, Celosia and Cenobia headed up the ledge that lead the exit out of Quadratus's canyon and leave him peace. Cenobia was irritated at the fact that two colossi had let Wander off the hook from combat and, instead, gave him life lessons? Surely, he could bet on Gaius to deal with the human with the slam of his powerful tower sword of a right arm.
The group journeyed to the northern lands, into a dark and silent gorge and arrived at Gaius's dwelling. "We can't go any further. You'll have to go alone and confront Gaius on your own," Celosia said as she stopped before a vast lake, where a great temple stood at the center, suspending a wide, round platform from its top. It was slightly slanted to the left and near the edge to the right, Wander could see Gaius lying down.
Wander dismounted off Celosia's back, walked to the edge of the lake and stop there for a moment. "This doesn't make since...why can't you come?" he finally asked after a bit of thinking.
"Are you blind? Gaius's temple is surrounded by water. The bridge to get there is halfway submerged underwater and is far too brittle for Celosia and I to walk on it. And even if was strong enough to hold us, how would we reach it? The water's too deep and we can't swim!"
"When you two chased me from the Shrine to Quadratus's canyon, I saw Gaius along with the rest of the other colossi outside their domains. If Gaius is on top of that temple right now, how could he have gotten down from there before?"
Cenobia and Celosia exchanged looks for a moment, giving Wander's question a good thought. Most of the colossi looked physically trapped in their domains, unable to even carve out an exit of their own. But possible ways do exist, but should never be spoken of to anyone but the colossi themselves.
Cenobia finally looked away from his sister and growled, "You're a curious, little human, aren't you?" Wander scowled at him, but the lion colossus ignored it and gave the young warrior a rough push into the lake with a splash. "Now get going! Gaius is probably sleeping by now!"
Fustrated, Wander began swimming towards the structure, shivering from the water's temperature along the way. This Cenobia was starting to get on his nerves, for he thought this colossus's unchained rage to ram pillars and towers was bad enough. And he didn't get his question answered.
"And don't even think about running away!" Cenobia warned him as loudly as he could, which earned the lion a smack on the face by Celosia's paw.
It took Wander quite a while to reach the top of the bridge and jump onto the massive temple. He fell a couple times into the cold lake, drenching himself in freezing water. He would have never thought that most bodies of water were frigid in the afterlife. To his left he headed up a stair case and climbed onto the platform, griping the grass with his hands before standing back up. At the other end of the platfrom laid Gaius in the form of a mess of towering, intricate stones. He looked like a building that had crumbled apart and have been neglected over time. Gaius was indeed asleep and was ever so comfortable in his spot. The first time Wander encountered the colossus, the behemoth abruptly awoke from his sleep once he had set foot on the temple.
Wander slowly walked up to the sleeping giant, careful to not awaken him like before. The knight colossus did not stir when the human approached him closer and stood standing right next to his right shoulder. Still hadn't awakened, Wander climbed onto Gaius's slate-colored fur on his shoulder and sat on his neck, hiding behind the stone, spiked collar the giant wore. A long neck he had for a humanoid colossus...and it began to crane foward, in Wander's direction. His eyes were dark, like endless pits for a moment, but slowly, faint blue dots began to grow larger, signifying that Gaius had awaken.
Gaius rose his head to see what was that light pressure on the base of his neck, and he found the human to be sitting on the spot from behind the gaps of the spikes of his collar. Not a word escaped Gaius mouth for a moment, allowing awkward silence to creep between the colossus and the human. "Who are you...?" the giant finally asked in a slurred voice. His vision was cloudy at the moment, so he couldn't tell who Wander was yet.
Wander was hesitant to reply. He bit his lower lip nevously and tried to look away for a moment, but he could never escape Gaius's stare. "I'm Wander, the warrior who is to visit you and perform whatever task it is that you wish so that I may redeem myself..."
"Redeem?" the colossus asked, puzzled in the least. "Why must you, Wander, redeem yourself by coming to me, Gaius, and ask for a task?"
"Have you forgotten already? Avion suggested that I must do so since I have killed you all in the previous life."
It was then that Gaius suddenly remembered, seeing a flash of memories in his mind when Wander invaded his home, wielding a shining stone made of metal, and slayed him without mercy. The giant knight abruptly sat up, causing Wander to fall off and hurl straight down on his backside into the ground. "You were the ONE who slayed me! Shouldn't be running away from us by now? Surely, you dislike us more than enough! Why would you be doing us favors anyway!" he bellowed, his eyes turning into a bright orange shade with fury.
Wander tried to respond, but the impact onto the hard surface of the platfrom struck him hard enough to make him black out for a short moment. Pain traveled all along his nearly fractured spine as he tried moving in vain. Is it possible to die in the afterlife? he thought to himself as he closed his exhasted eyes.
Gaius remained quiet for a moment, looking down at the much younger knight and wondering if that fall actually killed him. His burning eyes reverted to their calm blue state as he peered closer at Wander. The human didn't seem to move at all. Gaius reached down to the small being with his left "hand" and touched Wander's arm with a blocky finger. Still hadn't move. Carefully, the giant brought Wander into the palm of his great hand. "Wander...?" he said softly, sounding concern...and much to the surprise of himself.
A groaned escaped as eyelids tried to flicker open. "At first I didn't want to, but I had no choice..." Wander finally managed to say before sitting up after strength slowly found its way back to him. "I ran when you and the colossi chased me into Quadratus's canyon and I was given a second chance by Avion. I have to make atonement for the things I have done to you and that's what I am going to do. No matter what I must perform, I do it. And even when you refuse, I will insist..."
"I am only the third colossus you have visited today and already you have learned much..." Gaius commented before sitting down and gently setting Wander down his knee, "I have no challenging duties in mind for you to perform. Suppose just talking will do for a task?"
Wander shrugged and nodded. For a time, he told the knight colossus about Mono, his adventures through the Forbidded Lands, and what the world looked like beyond it. Gaius, intrigued by the human's stories, listened carefully and patiently. It had been decades since he had heard such exciting stories and tales. In return, the colossus told his visitor of the time when he was free to go wherever he wished and a time when there were more colossi roaming about. When there were more who looked like himself, save for the various, distinguishing characteristics most of them had, and how he was the "bravest" of them all.
Wander had no idea that the colossi actually had real lives that they lived long before he was born. Questions flooded his mind, but which to ask? Gaius had asked many questions moments ago, including one asking what was an Agro? "Why and how were the colossi created? Who created each one?" the young warrior asked.
"Let us see here..." Gaius thought for a moment, gathering up his memories to tell the story. "This region of which we reside at this very moment was once far more vast than it is now. The humans that have lived here centuries ago and build great settlements across the land, including the great bridge that was linked from the enterance of this world to the doors of the Shrine of Worship. With much more of the terrain untouched, the humans thought they should share their home with another intelligent race, a race crafted by the most determined artisans ever...and thus, the birth of colossi took place. Each individual constructed just one colossi, and with the help of fellow humans, they gave heart and soul to one of the largest creations on this world. Over the course of ten years or more, as I remember, I think there were more than a hundred colossi alive. The colossi and their creators shared a strong bond with one another, and no force could ever break such a relationship..."
"Wow, I should have listened more to that old man back at my village..." Wander said, wondering what it was liking walking side by side with a colossus. He could even recall that he had heard that his grandfather had a colossus of his own. "Who was your creator?"
The colossus stayed silent, trying to summon up the answer. "His name was Chevalier..."
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The young girl looked up at the towering, lanky, living statue before her in both fear and awe. The creature seemed as if his body alone could block out the sunlight. The girl kept on staring at the giant, curiousity grew inside her about what this creature is that her father was introducing her to.
The giant looked back down at the smaller being at his feet, for he too was curious about this human girl his creator had introduced him to. She was the smallest human he has ever seen; she looked so fragile. Blue eyes peered down at the girl, tilting his spiked head to the right.
Terrified, the little girl doved back into her father's safe arms and tried to make sure that "monster" could not see her. "I'm scared!" she whimpered to her father.
"Come now, Kemena. He won't hurt you," her father, Chevalier, said with an encouraging voice. He knew she was frightened, but he knew deep inside that her fear of the colossus will soon disappear. "Here now, his name is Gaius," he said as he took his daughter from his arms and turned her around to face the behemoth. "Gaius, this is my daughter, Kemena."
Gaius kept on looking straight at Kemena until he suddenly knelt down onto the grass, carefully placing down his tower-sized sword and bending over to come face-to-face with Kemena. "Hello...Kemena," he spoke with a deep, echoing voice.
Kemena ran back to her father with a frightful scream. "NO! He's scary, father!" She gripped her father's woolen vest, making sure he won't be able to pry her hands free from him.
Feeling that he had upset the his creator's offspring, Gaius tried comforting her as brought his left, stone hand and very carefully touched her shoulder. Kemena seemed to flinch at his touch and dared not to look back at the colossus. Gaius withdrew his hand and peered closer at the young human. He looked around for a moment before a feild of flowers caught his attention. Bringing his left hand to it, he picked out a small, yellow flower was held between his blocky fingers and brought it to Kemena, offering it to her as an apology for frightening her.
The young girl then worked up the courage to look back at Gaius when she saw the flower the giant was giving her. She nervously took it and smiled at him, feeling no reason to fear this being.
"Always remember, Kemena, do not judge others upon their appearances and their acts alone. Strive to discover what makes them who they are and judge carefully from there..."
Kemena reached out and touched Gaius's immense hand and gazed up at his blue eyes, "Hello...Gaius..."
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"...Gaius?" said a voice that abruptly clicked the giant's mind back to reality. Gaius shook his head lightly as he regain awareness and saw Wander looking up at him, puzzled. "So whatever happened to the other colossi that used to live here?" Wander asked him.
Gaius kept quiet for a moment, taken slightly aback. Once again, he took another journey into the depths of his memories, but this time it was a more on the grimly aspect of his past. The images kept flashing his mind as if he was experiencing the events all over again. Blood...pain...hate...never to be forgotten...he whispered in his head. Those screams from his remaining fellow colossi; he could never escape them. Once the images were through, Gaius slowly looked down at Wander, remembering his question. "I cannot bear to tell anymore, Wander...it is too much for me to speak of for now. Perhaps the other colossi will tell you, for some are not as light-hearted as I..."
"Horrible past?" Wander asked the giant knight, who responded with a slow nod. "I can understand how that is...no can live completely peaceful lives."
"It is always been a part of life...never forget that. Bad things happen often when you forget about them," Gaius then laid down on the platform to rest his head, deep in thought before his blue eyes faded away into darkness. "Never to be forgotten...ever..." he murmured before slowly falling asleep.
Wander looked at him for moment, jumped off the colossus's knee, and as quietly as he could, left the giant knight in peace and headed down the platform. "Goodbye for now..." he whispered.
A/N: Gaius's personality was inspired by the Iron Giant from the movie of the same name. Just wanted to let you guys know.:)
Disclaimer: I do not own Shadow of the Colossus. I own the OC Shamira and others not mentioned in the game, though.
