Me: (Takes deep breath)
Lloyd: Oh boy...
Me: Yyyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!! Reeeeeeeeeeevvvvvvvvvvvviiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwww!!!!! I'm so happy! Thank you thank you thank you so much AnimeAngel809! That was just the motivation I needed. Sorry about no anonymus reviewing, but now I can thank you personally. I will continue this story even if you are my only reader! And, as promised, here's your virtual cookie. And, I made this one extra long, just for you. Enjoy!
Lloyd: It's only one review.
Me: ...Lloyd...
Lloyd: Shutting up!
Me: Good. Now for another muse. (Genis had to be sent to the hospital.) Wow. Only three chapters and I've already lost a muse. How sad. Hm... how about... Presea!
Presea: Hello.
Me: Presea, would you mind doing the disclaimer?
Presea: DragonLady24 does not own Tales of Symphonia. She just owns Aurora Sakkara, her OC.
Me: (Stares blankly at Lloyd.) Why can't you be like Presea Lloyd? It would make life so much simpler.
Lloyd: Then life would be boring.
Me: No, then life would be sensible.
Lloyd: (sighs) If you say so.
Me: You're catching on. Anyways. Enjoy the fic! XD
A/N: I've changed the layout of the seal to make things a little more... interesting. Oh, and sorry Raine fans. I mean no offense. She was my favorite female character too. But, she was just a great tool. Sorry! Well, enough of the entrance, let's get on with it!
Chapter 3: She's a Maniac
As the last few cinders from the fire were snuffed out by the sand, our heroes were just waking up. Well, five of them were. Kratos was already awake, as life would dictate.
"Man. I think that's the best sleep I've had for a while now." Lloyd yawned.
"It's a miracle! Lloyd isn't the last one up." Genis was making omelets over the dying fire. Lloyd threw a pillow at his companion and hit him square in the face.
"Shut up Genis!"
"Lloyd, get a better comeback book."
"Shut up- I mean... Quiet!" Lloyd protested. Genis sighed sliding an omelet onto a plate and handing it to his friend. The boy snatched it out of the half-elf's hand and, in about two seconds, had digested the whole thing.
"Heh. The boy's got an appetite." Aurora chuckled, stretching her arms out.
"Tell me about it." Genis rolled his eyes at the teenage swordsman and made him another omelet. "This time Lloyd, leave some food for the rest of us. We gotta eat too ya know."
"Quiet Genis."
"You were better off using shut up." The silver-head said cynically. Lloyd's face grew red.
"Oh, Genis. You're making omelets?!" Collette rubbed life into her aqua eyes and scooted towards the mage. She grabbed a plate off the stack beside him and held it out expectantly. "I love your omelets!" Genis smiled back at the flamboyant Chosen and served her some eggy goodness. She giggled and turned to Lloyd. "Oh, Lloyd. You're awake. It's good to see you up early."
"Do I really sleep in that much?" The brunette asked with his head down. Collette straightened up.
"Oh! I-I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry." She looked down at her half eaten omelet.
Seeing her deppresed state, Lloyd changed his attitude. "It's okay ya dork. I was just kidding. Stop apologizing all the time."
"Oh. Right. Sorry. I mean! Um. Ah- Sorry." The clutzy blonde struggled for words when a familiar voice entered the conersation.
"Good morning children. L-Lloyd! Is that you? You're awake already! T-That's wonderful." Raine slid on her orange coat and walked over to Genis.
"I'm not lazy! I just like to be well-rested! WELL-RESTED!" Lloyd yelled.
"Calm down Lloyd." Kratos said from his spot. It looked like he was in a corner. Kratos could make any wide space a corner.
"Fine." Lloyd sighed. He scooped up the last of his omelet on a fork and shoveled it into his mouth, chewing angrily. Aurora yawned and made her way towards the food as well. Genis smiled at her and ploped breakfast on her plate too.
"Thank you." She said before settling down to eat her meal.
"Aren't you going to eat Kratos? You'll need the energy." Genis called over his shoulder. The mercenary shook his head and pulled out his sword to clean it. Genis shrugged. "Suit yourself." The mage then piled an omelet on his plate and put the extra plate back in the bag. They ate the rest of thier meal mostly in silence. It was only broken a few times so Lloyd could make an irrelevant remark. After cleaning up the campsite and putting out the fire, they headed off to the first seal. Raine, once again, got all excited.
"What's got you so hyper?" Genis asked his sister.
"Hyper? Who's hyper? I'm not hyper. Am I?" The Professor rattled on. Aurora however, was walking towards the back of the group. The bile in her stomach was having a hard time digesting the contents of her stomach. She was very close to throwing up.
"Are you haing second thoughts?" Kratos appeared beside her causing her to jump. "Why are you so surprised about me talking to you?"
"I-I'm not! H-Having second thoughts, I mean. A-And about talking to you." She mumbled out quickly.
"Mm-hm." He replied skeptically. "If you have any doubts on this journey, you will surely die. Be on your guard at all times, or leave now." He stated. Aurora nodded quickly and walked a little quicker, catching up with the younger part of the group. Raine (even in Ruin-Mode) Saw an opportuniy and slowed her footsteps to walk beside Kratos. The mercenary was indifferent as ever.
"Oh, hi Aurora. 'Sup?" Lloyd greeted the cripple.
"Nothing." She replied swiftly. A bead of sweat trailed down her brow.
"Hey, Aurora."
"Yes."
"There was something I wanted to ask you."
"Ask away."
"Where did you learn how to sword-fight?"
Aurora chuckled and tried to silence her upset stomach with small-talk. "I've fought with swords since I was little. Five maybe? The blacksmith in my village, Gregory, trained me in longswords. I do miss him."
"Oh. C-could you train me?"
"But Lloyd, Kratos is training you, right?" Collette asked confusedly. Lloyd almost glared at the girl, but he didn'y have the heart to.
"Y-Yeah, but, I don't think he would mind. Besides, I don't think he likes me anyway. So. Please?"
"I don't know." The blue-wearing girl said. "A swordsman pupil is very important to him or her. I wouldn't want to steal you from Kratos. But, I may be able to offer some pointers."
"Aw. C'mon."
"I don't think that would be a good idea..."
"Pleeeeaaaaseee!"
"Lloyd, you sound like a whining child. She said no. So no." Genis remarked.
"Nobody asked you!" Lloyd's face grew a dark shade of red.
Aurora sighed. "No. It's okay. I, guess I could help you, but, only occasionally."
Kratos could hear this converstion with his angelic hearing and sighed.
"Are you alright Kratos?" Raine asked, putting a hand on his soulder. He gently took it and brushed it off. Raine blushed at his touch.
"Yes, thank you for your concern."
Raine was itching with curiosity. "Um, so, what do you think of Aurora?"
"She's a person just like anybody else. What else is there to think about?"
That's not what the Professor wanted to hear.
"W-Well, I mean. She's slowing us down!" She replied.
"Really? How?" The red-head countered.
"Well, she's blind. She won't be able to navigate through the puzzles in the seals, and, what about traps, or an ambush?"
"I think she could deal fairly well with the dungeons and ambushes, but you have a point on the traps."
"Yes. Of course."
"We'll just have to assist her when the time comes."
"W-What?"
"Hm?"
"Nothing." Raine sighed and watched her boots for the rest of the way.
The group reached the seal after a short thirty minutes. This seemed to up Raine's spirits.
"WONDERFUL!" She darted past Kratos, Aurora, and the rest of the gang to a large, black, slab in the middle of the plaza. "Yes! It's surface is so delectably smooth. Ahahaha!" The rest of the group stared in either shock, or horror, or embarrasment at the once calm, cool, and collected Professor.
"Genis. Is this normal?" Lloyd asked, inching away from the crazed lady.
"Mwahaha! The carvings! This is ancient Trietan. So intricate! It must be wards against magic, developed-"
"Is it?" Kratos inquired. The little half-elf was sweating buckets. Then sighed in defeat.
"Only around ruins." He looked down and noticed a chunk of the slab was missing. It looked suspiciously like Raine's black lump she'd brought back the other night. "Raine... What did you do last night?"
Raine paid him no heed.
"Heh. She's a Ruin Maniac." Aurora smiled slyly in the direction of Raine's cackling. Genis rolled his eyes and walked up beside his sister.
"Okay Raine time to-"
"Here! Here! Collette! Place your hand on this pedastal. Yes. This one right here!" She was pointing, laughing, and talking at the same time. Collette reluctantly obeyed, keeping a safe distance from the maniacal woman. Carefully, as if her touch would crumble it, she placed her hand on the indentation in the stone. Raine giggled gleefully as the slab slid sideways (Alliteration!) to reveal a staircase. Collette gasped putting a hand to her mouth.
"Wow! I guess I'm really the Chosen after all."
"Gee. When did you figure that out?" Genis said to himself.
"Alright! Let's go inside!"
"Are you sure you'll be able to maintain that enthusiasm Lloyd?" Kratos asked skeptically.
"I give him five minutes." Genis said smuggly as he followed the ecstatic brunette down the staircase. Collette skipped along behind them. Aurora shrugged and followed thier footsteps. Raine awkwardly made her entrance.
"... What have I gotten my sorry-self into?" Kratos asked himself.
A little ways into the temple...
"Okay. This is boring-"
"Hah! A minute and forty-two seconds. Congradulations Lloyd." Genis smirked.
"Qui- Shu- Argh!" Lloyd struggled for a rebuttal. Collette giggled.
"Don't worry Lloyd. You'll get better." The blonde patted him on the back. Blood crept up the swordsman's neck.
"T-Thanks."
Raine had stopped her little rant about halfway in after noting the look Kratos was giving her. She'd realized how she had acted in front of her crush, and now tried to avoid him. Five minutes and they faced a challenge. Two doors were at the end of the hallway. Lloyd stood there, blankly staring into space.
"I choose... the right one!" He zipped inside.
"Wait!" Genis and Collette ran after thier idiotic friend.
"Children. Don't get seperated from the group!" Raine scolded. Aurora ran after them, but as soon as the Professor cleared the thresh-hold, a large stone door split the group in two. Aurora froze in her spot. Oh-no. She was now alone with Kratos. Her stomach tightened into a knot.
"Hey!" Lloyd shouted from the other side. "When did this get here?"
"When you blindly ran through the door, imbecile!" Genis yelled at the older boy.
"Oh-no!" Collette moaned.
"Argh! Lloyd, you idiot!" Smack. Raine sighed. "Kratos... Aurora, you two take the other passage. We'll meet up at the end." She mumbled some more things, but they couldn't be heard behind the stone door. Kratos turned towards the other entrance.
"Come. We'll need to hurry." He stated. Aurora quickly followed him through the door so it wouldn't close on her, and then kept a fair distance between herself and the mercenary. Thier path led them to a circular room surrounded by a lava moat. An exit was barred off at the other end. A crest-looking hole was in the wall beside it. Kratos stepped forward cautiously. "Be careful. I don't like this place." They had gotten to the center of the room without anything to suspicious happening.
"What's the trick to this?" Aurora asked to no one in particular. She turned her head, as if trying to observe the room. She could still see the faint glow of the lava, her eyes allowed her that much. Rasing her head towards the ceiling, she gasped. A bunch of glowing dots filled her mind.
"What?" Kratos asked.
She pointed directly above them.
Fire birds.
A single shriek pierced the air followed by more. Aurora froze in her spot as the dots got bigger, and closer.
"Move." Kratos commanded. What? was Aurora deaf now too? "Move!" He reaced out to push her, but she snapped out of it and rolled to the side, narrowly dodging a barrage of flaming beaks. Both warriors drew thier swords. Kratos short, swift strikes killed two at a time. Aurora's attacks were jumpy, making her miss a few times, but she made progress. Slow progress.
"What are you doing?" Kratos shouted across the cavernous room. A bird flanked the swordswoman. Kratos quickly chanted "Lightning!" A few birds pecked him as a result. He dealt a few more killing blows. One of his prey dropped a red crystal. He quickly snatched it up and examined it. He looked from it, to the door. You could almost hear his mind click. "Aurora! Follow me!" He barked and charged at the exit. Aurora didn't need to be told twice. Kratos shoved the crystal into the hole and ran under the raising bars. Another stone door similar to the last two slowly descended. "Hurry!" He called.
She could hear the stong grinding. Reality hit her in a wave. If that door closed, there was no escape. She would be stuck in here with hundreds of fire creatures. Adrenaline pumped rapidly through her viens. the door was a foot away from the ground now. All of the birds had their attention set on her. She jumped for it and slid under the stone, it barely scraping the soles of her shoes. She sat there for a second, panting.
Bam. The ground under her shook as the flock of birds slammed into the door. A few shrill cries could be heard from the other side.
"What did you think you were doing back there?" Kratos was seething.
Aurora jerked her head up.
"I had to waste valuable mana back there to keep you alive."
The woman sunk back. "I-I've just had a bad experience with fire. That's all." She muttered.
"If you're going to let the past hold you back, then you should go home. Now." He turned to walk the other way. Aurora winced.
"I don't have a home." She whispered to herself. Kratos paused for a second.
"After this seal is released, I want you to leave. My instinct was right from the beggining. You are just slowing us down."
Aurora sighed, a tear slipped out from under her headband. Oh, if only her tear ducts were damaged.
Meanwhile...
"There... and... there! Done!" Genis finished the puzzle on thier side of the seal.
"Way to go Genis!" Lloyd punched his friend's shoulder.
"You're so smart Genis. No wonder you got a scholarship to the Palmacoasta Academy!" Collette beamed at the mage. Genis lifted his head and puffed out his chest.
Collette looked over her shoulder and noticed that Raine was moping at the back of the group.
If only I would've stayed closer to Kratos. I would be the one alone with him. Not that stupid cripple. How could she get so lucky. She wasn't even good enough for him.
"Um, Professor, are you okay?" Collette cocked her head. Raine was jerked back to reality.
"Oh. Yes, Collette. Is Genis through with the puzzle?"
"Yeah sis. Let's go!" Genis hurried through the door. The two groups met in the warp room. As soon as Raine spotted Aurora with her head down, she grinned. Ha. Rejected. Did she really think Kratos would take a liking to her? How pathetic. Kratos approached the acciddent prone blonde.
"Are you ready Chosen?" He asked. Collette smiled and nodded her head. "Good. Then let us go." He walked into the purple glow of the warp and materialized on the other side.
"Here we go!" Lloyd said as the three children teleported together. Raine smirked before walking into said warp. This left Aurora alone to herself. She let her more malevolent thoughts take over. Nobody ever understands. I'd like to see them deal with being blind. Rejected by society and thrown out on the streets. Go without a decent meal for weeks, and fight off bandits constantly. Sigh. Calm down Aurora. Let's go. She looked behind herself, like a convict on the run, and stepped into the warp pad.
She materialized on the top room without seconds to spare. The glowing red light above the alter erupted, revealing a giant, magma cat. Purple spikes made thier home in its spine and tail. It roared before charging full speed ahead at the group. The rest of the group sprang into action. Aurora let her pack slide off her arm. She slowly grabbed her swords hilt, and slid it out of the sheath which was strapped upon her back. She took a deep breath, spread her legs apart, letting dark thoughts fill her mind. Fast and fluidly, she sped towards the beast, hacking away at it, dodging the spikes and fireballs as fast as she could. Her attacks were useless though. The creature seemed to have a forcefield surrounding it that only magic could penetrate. The other melee fighters had stepped back, protecting Genis when necessary and Kratos threw in a spell or two, here and there. The cat-like creature paid no attention to the group however, only Aurora. She tried to gain distance, but to no avail. A claw shot out and ripped her mid-section. She clutched it, doubling over in pain.
"Aurora!" Collette shrieked. "Raine. Heal her!" She pleaded. Raine glared at the blind woman, enjoying the moment. "Raine!" Genis yelled to his sister. "What the heck are you doing! Help Aurora!" Kratos snorted in disgust at the teacher's lack of compassion. Then he sprinted forward, thrusting his sword, catching the cat's ankle. It whipped its head around to face the mercenary. If not for the force-field, Kratos could have taken it down easily.
Aurora wobbled a bit before planting her feet in a defensive stance. She chanted softly. Her murmers seemed to suck the air from the space around her. A dark blue glyph circulated under her. "Oh, pure and holy water, purge this world of darkness..." She knew this would drain up all of her mana, but it was all she could do to help. "CLEANSING!" All the water in the atmoshpere was sucked towards the cat and encased it in a sphere of water. The water then took on a sickly green color. The beast made a deafening screech as its body dissolved inside the acidic substance and all that was left of the once mighty creature, was a tiny pile of cold lava and a puddle a water.
Aurora dropped to her hands and knees. It was so tempting to pass out right then and there, but she knew if she did, the only one strong enough to carry her was Kratos. She definetly wasn't going to be helped by that man. He'd just scold her about being a burden again. In all the exitement, she forgot about her wound. She looked down to see three ghastly claw marks. Blood pooled around her quickly. She wrapped one arm tightly around it, keeping most of the blood in so she wouldn't go unconscious from blood loss.
"Aurora!"
"Are you okay!"
"Say something!"
Lloyd, Collette, and Genis rushed to her side.
"S-Stay back. I'm f-fine. Don't touch m-me." Her voice was breathy and uneven. Genis called over his shoulder.
"Raine! Raine! Please come heal her." He pleaded with his sister.
Raine put on a tired facade, leaning against the wall. "I-I can't Genis. I drained my mana healing you guys."
Kratos walked over to the girl as well. He reached down to help her up, but she jerked her body away. "I-I'll be fine. D-Don't touch m-me." She was shaking now, barely able to keep herself up.
"Ridiculous. Let me help you." He said.
"N-No. I don't w-want you to t-touch me." All four of the people around her stared at her strangely. "J-Just don't." She turned away from them.
"Collette." The small blonde turned her head towards the altar where Remiel was waiting. She nodded and stepped forward. The rest of the group followed her, since Aurora obviously wanted to be left alone.
The blue clad swordswoman grabbed her pack and dug around for and apple gel. Finding one, she lifted up her shirt revealing just how gruesome the cuts were. She whimpered a little as she rubbed the red geletain on her stomach. It didn't do much, but it help the pain a little. But just a little. She looked over her shoulder to see Collette obtain her purple and pink angel wings. Smiling, she used most of her strength to stand up. Her body wasn't ready for walking just yet.
After being "gifted" by Cruxis, the group was teleported outside the entrance. Collette took a few steps, then collapsed.
"Collette!" Lloyd exclaimed. He grabbed her by the wrist and helped her up.
"I'm (cough) fine guys. Aurora's the one (cough) we should worry about." Collette forced out the sentence.
"Nonsense." Raine said. "You need to be taken to doctor. Let's head to Triet." Raine hoped to lose the cripple on the jouney back to the desert town.
"It's best not to move Collette. Remeber the angels words." Kratos interjected. "The angel transformation is painful. It is best if we rest her tonight. Besides, I don't think Aurora could make the trek across the desert."
Raine whispered as low as she could. "That's the plan." Kratos picked that little tid-bit up with his angelic hearing. His brow furrowed, creasing his forehead. He had always seen the Professor as a kind, level-headed woman. Who was Raine Sage really? Pushing those thoughts aside, he turned to Lloyd. "Lloyd-"
"Firewood. Gotcha!" He ran off towards the tropical grove a little ways off.
"I'm on the food!" Genis said, grabbing the pots and pans out of a large bag.
"Raine, you help Aurora."
Raine shrugged. "I would if I could, but, I don't have any mana left." Kratos glared at the woman.
"Collette, you should rest." Kratos ordered the girl. "Aurora-"
"Don't tell me what to do." She snapped before he could say anything else. She limped over to Genis and asked to help with dinner. The mage raised an eyebrow, but shrugged. Might as well let her have her way. A couple hours and the campsite was ready. The sun had already gone down, leaving the air without warmth. Genis and Aurora had prepared curry for supper, (Aurora skipped the meal to get some sleep.) even though they were missing some ingredients. Lloyd accused Raine of cooking it, but changed his mind after recieving the end of the teacher's glare. Genis laughed at that earning a smack.
"Are you sure your not hungry Collette?" Lloyd asked.
"Mm-hm. I'll be fine. Don't worry." She looked up at the moon. "I'm going to take a little walk." She announced.
"Want me to join you?" Lloyd asked.
"No, I'll be fine on my own."
Lloyd stared after the girl's white overcoat in disbelief.
"Haha! You got RE-JEC-TED!" Genis howled with laughter. When his laughing ceased, his face scrunched up in confusion.
"What is it Genis?" Lloyd asked.
"Raine?"
"Yes Genis?"
"That right there... was rude. I could've woken Aurora up." He motioned towards the lifeless blue lump Noishe was curled around. "But, you didn't smack me like usual."
"Yeah. You've never really scolded us when we're rude around her."
Raine was at a loss for words. "R-Really? I've never noticed." She shrugged and ate another spoonful of curry. The boys eyed her suspiciously, not buying one bit of it.
Soon, everyone except Kratos and Raine were asleep. They sat on opposite sides of the fire.
"Rough day today eh?" Raine tried to spark a conversation. Kratos looked up at her.
"You need to learn how to preserve your mana better." He said. This took the professor by surprise.
"What do you mean?" She eyed him suspiciously.
"There was no excuse for you to run out of mana today unless you used too much to heal us? Are you saying that you lied about running out of mana?" He questioned.
"N-No. You're right. I should've been more responsible." She turned her head away so he couldn't see her face blush. Kratos sighed deeply which made her look back at him. He was staring at Aurora a few yards off. She could hear him murmur something.
"First Aid." He whispered. A green light engulfed Aurora's body and at least sealed up the cuts, if not heal them completely. Raine's eye twitched in frustration. How could he heal her.
"W-Why did you do that?"
"Do what?"
"Heal her."
"She needs to be healed whether she wants help or not. She doesn't have to know. It won't kill her."
Raine huffed. "Good night." She slid inside her sleeping bag.
"Good night, Raine." He sighed. Oh well. Guess it's time for another long night watch. He thought as he gazed at the stars.
Me: Holy crap...
Lloyd: What?
Me: So close to five thousand words. I'm so HAPPY!
Lloyd: Run! She's gone ma-
Me: (glare)
Lloyd: Nevermind...
Presea: Review please.
Me: I've still got more cookies!