Disclaimer: Don't own Tales of Symphonia. My friend 'borrowed' it and has lost it…He has angered the sad panda.
Author's Note: Been playing Playstation half the morning and missing the boxy graphics.
-/-/
Once a man has won a woman's love, the love is his forever. He can only lose the woman. ~Robert Brault
-/-/
"The sea routes between Izlood and Palmacosta…I can't remember there being anything there." Genis said. "Can anyone else?"
Lloyd, Colette and Sheena shook their heads. "Professor?"
"Yes, actually. The Remote Island Human Ranch is in that area. And Neil did say that they were building something large on the ocean floor there."
"Could it be the Mana Cannon that Rodyle seems so interested in?" Regal suggested.
"My question is how he's building it." Zelos said. "It's underwater, isn't it? Do they have some kind of special technology?"
"I severely doubt it, Zelos." Raine answered. "Sylvarant doesn't have the resources—or if we do, we don't know where to find them—or the money to fund such a research project."
Zelos could believe that, especially since he'd heard about the washtubs.
They'd chosen to walk to the Palmacosta Human Ranch, just to make sure that it wasn't operational, after which they'd use their Rheairds to check out Rodyle's Ranch. Sylvarant was very different to Zelos in terms of the sharpness of shapes. Where everything in Tethe'alla was straight-edged and bold, Sylvarant was made of subtler, more natural shades. It was a much more down-to-earth place, something Zelos was beginning to appreciate.
It was still odd to not have people recognize him in the streets and the guards at the entrances to most cities didn't comment on the party's weapons (the few visible at least). They were apparently all ready to fight for whatever it was they had. As Zelos meets more people in Sylvarant and observes the way that they interact with each other, he thinks that perhaps it's no surprise that Sheena had found her strength here, that this was where she'd gotten her confidence back and honed her ferocity.
Genis was turning Mithos' panpipe over and over in his hands. A memento of his dead sister, Mithos had told him when he'd given it to him before they left. To play it when they were in danger.
"Is something wrong, Genis?" Regal asked him.
"I can't detect any magical properties about this flute. How could it help us if we were in danger?"
"Some things do not need to have magic to be powerful. You will find that that is the case with many things that have become close to people."
"And people themselves?"
Regal chuckled. The boy was certainly intelligent. Raine had told them that Genis had been able to attend the Palmacosta Academy and planned to after their journey was over. It was supposed to be the most prestigious school in Sylvarant, though Regal doubted that they had a better teacher than the Professor. "Especially with people."
"You look bothered, Zelos." Lloyd commented to the redhead.
"There's no casino, no bars and no girls. No one told me how tough a journey would be!"
"What's your point? The village I grew up in didn't have any of that stuff, but I had plenty of fun."
Zelos smiled wryly at him. "You're such a back-country bumpkin. You really think that kind of lifestyle suits me?"
"Not perfectly, but you don't fool around at places like that as much as you pretend you do." Zelos blinked at him, surprised. Lloyd continued, "After all, if you hated being on this journey that much, you'd have left already."
"You are sharper than you look, Lloyd. But, out of curiosity, what would you do if I decided to leave? Right now?"
Lloyd shrugged. "I can't stop you. It is your decision, after all. But it would get a little lonelier around here if someone left, even if that someone was you."
Zelos doesn't reply to that, mostly because he's not sure he knows how to.
-/-/
"Renegades!"
"Neil and the others couldn't tell the difference between the Desians and the Renegades, so they thought the Ranch was back in operation."
Botta stood from where he'd been leaning against a piece of debris. The damage that Raine had done when she'd invoked the self-destruct mechanism was impressive. Some craters dipped into the ground and several lines of trees had been scorched and knocked down. "We've been waiting for you."
"So you were expecting us to come here?" Raine said. "That's rather odd."
"Does it really matter? We have a more important thing to discuss, like joining forces."
"Unbelievable." Raine said as she shook her head, brushing her silver bangs from her eyes. "You expect us to trust you after what you've tried to do to Lloyd and Colette?"
"Circumstances change." They whipped their heads around to look at Yuan, who'd come out from behind a large pile of debris. "Do any of you know of the Giant Kharlan Tree?"
"It's the legendary tree said to exist in the Holy Ground of Kharlan." Zelos said automatically, the answer having been ingrained in his mind from years of schooling and scriptures. "The tree of life that produces infinite mana."
"Before you all say it, because I know you will as you have such skeptics among you," Yuan looked pointedly at Raine and Regal. "The Giant Kharlan Tree isn't something out of children's tales. It existed, but the Kharlan War exhausted its mana, causing it to wither and die. The only thing left of it is its seed in the Holy Ground of Kharlan. It's known as the Great Seed."
"The Soul of Mithos?" Genis asked.
"Now that is a fairy tale. The Great Seed is absolutely vital to reunite the two worlds."
"Reunite them?"
"I've told you this before, but Yggdrasill created the worlds. They were originally one world, but Yggdrasill ripped it asunder."
"How is that even possible?" Lloyd asked. "Ripping a world in two?"
"It was very possible for Yggdrasill. The two worlds manage to survive by competing for the small amount of mana that leaks from the Great Seed."
"And that's the reason for the cycle of a flourishing and a declining world and why the Chosen goes on the journey of regeneration." Colette realized.
"Very good. But if the Great Seed were to germinate, than the Giant Tree will be restored and that cycle ends. But the Great Seed is nearly dead. To save it, we have to expose it to an extraordinary amount of mana."
"There's no supply of mana great enough to do that in either of the worlds." Raine said.
"That's not quite correct." Yuan objected. "Cruxis' base, Derris-Kharlan, is a comet, made from a massive amount of mana. It lies suspended in the sky high above this land. We could simply use that."
"If that was the case," Lloyd said slowly, "Wouldn't Yggdrasill just use that mana to do it himself?"
"No. All he cares about is reviving Martel and that is where all of Derris-Kharlan's mana is being directed. Using the powers of a Cruxis Crystal, Martel lives on as a part of the Great Seed."
"If Martel awakens, the Great Seed will be absorbed into her, disappearing entirely." Botta said. "But the reverse also holds true. So to stop that from happening, Yggdrasill protects the Giant Seed with the seals of the Summon Spirits."
"So you want Martel to be a good little girl and disappear?" Zelos said from behind Sheena.
"Martel is already dead." Sheena frowned mentally. Had she just imagined it, or had Yuan's voice grown a little rougher, a little harsher? "Had it not been for Derris-Kharlan's mana, her soul would have disappeared long ago." Yuan cleared his throat a little and said, "Yggdrasill believes that there are no summoners left in the world. We can use this to our advantage."
"So that's why you want us to join you." Sheena said. "Because of me. Before we can do anything, we need to know what side you're on, Yuan. Are you with the Renegades or with Cruxis?"
"I am with Cruxis. But I am also the leader of the Renegades."
"So you're a double-agent." Still feeling a little stung by last night, Zelos glanced back at Sheena before continuing. "A traitor, in other words."
He ignored the fact that she clenched her fists at the comment.
"We'll join you, Yuan." Lloyd decided. "You are putting yourself on the line, after all, telling us that you're a traitor from the start. We were going to Rodyle's ranch. Do you have any information for us?"
"Yes, we do. The ranch and Mana Cannon systems should be interlinked. You should disable the control room. If you'd like, we can even guide you to the entrance."
"Why do you guys need to go to the ranch?" Sheena asked.
"We need to be able to fire mana at the Great Seed." Yuan explained. "There's work we need to get done in the mana reactor." Yuan turned to leave, but looked back at them, specifically Raine. "Ah, before I forget, you all seem to have destroyed every other ranch you've been to. Don't destroy this one."
Sheena smirked. "Hear that, Raine?"
"It's not as if I destroy them for fun." She said flatly and Sheena and Genis both shook their heads, smirks growing a little wider.
-/-/
"I know why you've come here." Rodyle was saying. "It wasn't particularly difficult to figure out. You want to shut down my Mana Cannon. But you won't succeed because I have filled the corridor leading to the Mana Cannon with sea water!"
"You would kill all those innocent people working on it just to stop us?" Lloyd's voice was a quiet kind of anger, something that didn't quite fit right with his personality. It sends shivers up Sheena's spine.
"They are inferior beings and therefore expendable. Once I get my hands on the Cruxis Crystal, then the Mana Cannon will be completed." Unthinkingly, Sheena's eyes darted to Zelos, who'd paled just a shade. His sister… "With that at my disposal, Yggdrasill and Cruxis will beg for mercy! But I finally have a Cruxis Crystal!"
Zelos' heart stopped at those words. Had they gotten to Seles? Was she alright? His eyes couldn't focus on what was happening as Rodyle equipped himself with the Cruxis Crystal. But a sudden firm warmth on his upper arm made him look at its source. Sheena's grip was tight enough so that it was just on this side of pain.
"It's not your Crystal he's got." Sheena whispered swiftly. "It doesn't look like anything like it." She'd managed to catch a glimpse of it in Rodyle's hand and it wasn't the warm orange-red color that she remembered from the year or so that she'd seen Zelos wear it before he'd given it to Seles. This Cruxis Crystal was a dark, violent purple.
The relief in his eyes was indescribable. But they were both distracted by the grotesque monster that the Cruxis Crystal had turned Rodyle into. They pushed each other out of the way as his tree trunk-sized arm slammed down between them. The monster was slow, but its attacks were almost overwhelmingly powerful. Zelos had to apply his small amount of healing magic to everyone as they didn't manage to avoid every hit.
The monster stumbled down the stairs of the control room, landing on one of the many pieces of machinery. "I refuse to die alone! I'm taking all of you with me!"
Raine recognized the alarm with its accompanying red warning lights. "He's activated the self-destruction! We have to stop it!"
"We won't be able to do it in time." Presea said. "The only one of us who can handle this machinery is Raine."
"Most Tethe'allans don't study the details of magitechnology very much." Though Zelos made a mental note to start to once things calmed down.
Botta and a small squad of Renegades burst through the doors. "We'll take care of this." Botta assured. "Escape through that hatch."
Just as they were outside, the hatch sealed behind them. They watched, horrified, as the water level inside the control center began to rise around the Renegades' calves.
"The hatch door won't budge!" Lloyd reported.
"Move!" Regal commanded as he charged at the observation window, kicking it powerfully.
"Botta did this on purpose." Raine realized. "He knew that the water was coming and locked it from the inside. If he hadn't the water would have flooded this area as well and there's a dome above us. No room for the water to escape."
"We've…stopped the self-destruct system." Botta's tired voice came over a loudspeaker.
"Botta!" Lloyd yelled. "Open the damn door! We can just destroy the dome-"
"Our goal was to modify each ranch's man reactor so that it would fire mana at the Great Seed. Now that we've finished reprogramming this control room, our mission is complete. We need you to get this message to Yuan: we have succeeded."
"Tell him yourself! Open the door!" Lloyd began hacking desperately at the observation window, to no avail. Botta watched calmly, eyes as dark and fathomless as the space between the stars.
"We pray for your success in regenerating the world. Please, see to it that Martel is allowed her eternal sleep, for Yuan's sake as well." A shield came over the window, forever blocking Botta and the Renegades from their sight as they died.
They could only stare at the shield, not wanting to imagine the death of their allies, but their minds betrayed them and did it anyways. Zelos automatically, numbly, began flipping a dagger, but it stuttered halfway through the roll and clattered to the ground.
"Everyone, turn around!" Presea warned. They did and they were staring into the faces of hungry-looking dragons. The same ones they'd seen with Rodyle the past two times they'd seen him.
They fought them—as if they had a choice—but, standing in pairs back-to-back, Sheena said everyone's thoughts aloud. "There are way too many of them. We don't stand a chance."
"But if we lose, Botta's message will never get passed on to Yuan." Colette reminded them.
Genis dug hastily through his pocket. "Mithos' flute!" He played a quick tune, not knowing what else to do with a panpipe.
Not a moment later, light rained down from the sky, breaking the dome and striking down the dragons. They all immediately look skyward and saw a golden bird soar over head.
"Was that a Summon Spirit, Sheena?" Genis asked.
"I-I've no idea. I didn't get a real good look at it."
"Raine! Genis! Everyone! Please, get on these Rheairds, quick!" Mithos guided several of the flying machines down into the dome.
They didn't question further as they climbed on and taking off with a hot burst of air.
"Mithos!" Genis grinned at his new friend. "I can't believe it! What was that attack just now? And how did you get your hands on the Rheairds?"
"I asked the Renegades to let me borrow a Rheaird."
"And the attack? It was so powerful…" Colette said.
"I don't have any better idea than you guys do. I heard the flute and I just, just wanted to get inside. So I began blasting the dome with fireballs. Then, all of a sudden, a golden sparkling bird appeared and helped me."
"A golden, sparkling bird?" Sheena repeated. She'd only ever heard of tone thing that could fit that description and it had been in the old scrolls she'd studied in Mizuho, long before she'd ever been sent to Meltokio as an ambassador. "Could it have been Aska?"
"It couldn't possibly…" Raine protested. "Why would a Summon Spirit want to help someone who isn't a summoner?"
"Could Genis have called Aska by playing the flute?" Lloyd suggested.
"Perhaps, but to know for sure, we'd have to investigate the flute itself further." Raine said, tilting her Rheaird towards the ground as she could see Palmacosta's port.
After they touched down, Genis got Mithos' attention. "I need to give you back your flute. Oh…no…Mithos, I am so, so sorry. I know how important it was to you."
Mithos stared wordlessly at the cracked and broken remains of the flute in Genis' palm. "…No, it's alright. The flute might be broken, but my memories of my sister are still intact."
"I could try and fix it." Lloyd offered.
"It's fine. It was very old. But thanks for offering."
"Does this flute have any special powers at all?" Raine questioned.
"Honestly, I don't know. I remember something that my sister told me once, though. It's supposed to be made from the nut of a tree that became extinct long ago."
"Hm. That doesn't do us much good right now, but we should keep it in mind just in case." Raine looked over at Lloyd. "Well? What's the plan?"
"We have to tell Yuan about Botta and ask him about the transfer between the worlds so we can get Mithos back to Tethe'alla."
-/-/
"I'm getting confused again." Lloyd confessed to Colette over dinner. "I said I didn't want any more victims, but I couldn't do anything but watch as people died right before my eyes."
"Well, I think you should do what you think is best."
"I don't think I know what the best is anymore."
"Well, I believe that Botta did what he thought was best. Even if it's painful, we have to do the right thing."
Lloyd poked his steak around his plate. "I suppose that's all we can do."
-/-/
"There's no real snowy places in Sylvarant…is there?" Zelos asked as they were climbing up the stairs before they diverged to their separate rooms. The air was still uneasy between them, but the anger was mostly gone.
"Like Flanoir you mean?" Sheena thought about it for a moment. "Now that you mention it, there really isn't. It snows in some places during the winter, but there's no version of Flanoir here."
"Then Sylvarant is a better place than Tethe'alla." Zelos declared.
Sheena looked over at him as she stopped at her door. "…You don't really mean that."
"Is that a question?"
"You know what it was." Sheena's smile was a little wistful. "I did the same thing, now that I think about it. Thought about what Sylvarant had that Tethe'alla didn't and I thought that Sylvarant was better. But it's like that choice that you told me, remember? In some philosophy class that you had to take? Whether you'd rather lose your eyesight or your hearing? It's an impossible choice."
Zelos leaned his shoulder against the wall, not quite meeting Sheena's eyes. "So…when we separate the worlds, where will you go?"
"Mizuho wants to move to Sylvarant."
Zelos shook his head. "Not what I asked, darling. Where will you go?"
"I…I don't know." Sheena admitted. "It doesn't…feel right…to be stuck in only one world now that I know of Sylvarant, that I've spent time here. It would always feel like there's something missing."
Like another half, like a best friend.
Zelos nodded, pushing himself off the wall lightly. "I see. Good night, Sheena."
-/-/-/
Yuan's form of greeting as they entered his office was, "…You're back." He was seated in a chair surrounded by mountains of paperwork and he looked like he hadn't slept well.
"Yuan," Colette began, "Botta-"
"Is dead." The Renegade leader finished.
"Yeah. He asked us to tell you that he completed his mission."
"…I see. Then we'll activate the dimensional transfer system. You can travel between the worlds all you like."
"Is that all you have to say?" Lloyd demanded and Yuan looked at him like he'd seen a ghost. Lloyd resembled his father so much at times like this. "Botta gave his life for the Renegades and all you can say is 'I see'?"
"Lloyd!" Regal reprimanded. "This isn't our place to speak. He has been with Botta a long time. Nothing we say could make a difference."
As they turned to leave, Raine remembered and said to Yuan, "Our companion borrowed a Rheaird from you, so we'll return it now."
"One of our Rheairds?" Yuan asked perplexedly.
"Is something wrong?"
"…No. I'm sorry. I spaced out for a moment. We'll take it." After the door had shut behind them, Yuan said to himself, "But all of our Rheairds are in the hangar. What is going on…?"
-/-/
"I'll be praying for your good luck in avenging your sister." Mithos told Presea as they were dropping him off back at Altessa's.
"Avenging her sister?" Regal asked. He hadn't joined them when they went to Altamira, choosing to wait outside the gate. He had a strange aversion to the city.
"Is it really a topic we need to drag out right now? It's not that important." Zelos said, knowing he sounded like a terrible person, but he didn't want to hear about dead sisters and revenge. Not so soon after the scare of his sister being in danger or dead or worse because of his Cruxis Crystal. Because of his being the Chosen.
Genis glares daggers at him. Zelos ignores him. He was always good with daggers. "What are you talking about? Of course it's important! Presea's sister was killed!"
"Killed? What's going on?" Regal asks.
"Yes. We were told that Presea's sister worked under a noble named Bryant. But then Bryant…"
"He's a monster!" Sheena said angrily. "How does someone just kill a child?"
Regal's eyes widen and he looks back at Presea. "Sister? What was her name, Presea?"
Presea looks at him as though she's not sure why it matters now. "Her name was Alicia."
"…I see."
Lloyd rolled his eyes. What was it with people wanting to say that today? "Do you know something about this?"
"I might know who the murderer is. Please, take me to Altamira."
-/-/
They were on the roof of the Lezareno Company to see Alicia's grave once more when they heard a rough voice demanding, "Tell me the password to the inner area of the Toize Valley Mine!"
The old man with the mustache that had originally told them about Alicia was shaking his head. "I don't know anything about it, Vharley!"
Regal strode into the garden. "How about I tell you instead?"
Vharley smirked. "So the president himself decided to pay a visit."
"The route to the Toize Valley Mine opens by my voice print and cornea scan. If you were to force it open, I'd wager that the Exsphere mine area to collapse."
"If that's the case, Regal, you'll just have to come open it for us. If I don't get some more Exsphere soon, I'll be out of business."
"Rodyle is dead. There's no one left to unload huge numbers of Exspheres on."
"Are you idiotic, Regal? I don't need Rodyle when I have the Pope himself on my side. And there are plenty of people who'd love to get their hands on some Exspheres, what with all the monsters appearing and such."
Presea moved forward threateningly. "I cannot forgive you for killing an innocent person!"
A cloud of smoke had them squinting their eyes for a second before they recognized the man in red.
"Kuchinawa!" Sheena gasped. It was almost a physical pain to see her old friend-turned-traitor in the powerful Altamira sunlight. "What—don't tell me you're working with this guy too?"
Kuchinawa glanced at her. "It's none of your concern. Soon, the King will be dead and the Pope will be taking over."
He ran to Vharley in a movement almost too fast to see and another cloud of smoke enveloped them before they disappeared.
Regal went up to the old man, searching for injuries. "Are you all right, George?"
"Yes, Master Regal. Thank you. And if you don't mind my asking, what is it that you're doing here?"
"I've come to clear up a few things." Regal took a deep breath and turned to the group. "My name is Regal Bryant. I was granted the title of Duke by His Majesty and I am also the president of the Lezareno Company. Although," Regal looked at Zelos. "It would seem that you already know me."
"I'm pretty sure I saw you at one of the Princess' birthday parties." The parties had been little more than glorified dinners-and-a-show, but Zelos remembered it so well because it was the first of the Princess' parties that Sheena had gone to and she'd sat beside him, both making comments on the show under their breath.
"Oh yeah…" Zelos glanced at her. Did Sheena remember too? But Sheena was smiling lopsidedly at him. "I'd forgotten that this guy's actually a member of high society too."
"Then Alicia's killer, Bryant, was really…" Raine was putting the pieces together in her mind.
Colette shook her head. "No, it can't be Regal."
They stepped back as the Exsphere on Alicia's grave glowed, her ghostly self returning. A smile broke out on her face. "Master, I'm so happy to see you again before I disappear!"
"I'm so sorry, Alicia. Even after death, you still suffer."
"It's all right, Master. It was never your fault."
Feeling the confused stares of everyone, Regal elaborated, but never looked at them. "Alicia and I were in love."
George spoke up from the back. "Then I interfered, though I knew it wasn't my place, and forced them apart."
"Alicia was handed over to Vharley. He wanted to use her in an Exsphere experiment. It seems that they were attempting to create Cruxis Crystals, but the experiment failed…" A look of pain twisted Regal's features. "Alicia was turned into a monster….and begged me to kill her."
Alicia spoke then, her voice gentle and slightly hesitant. "Master Regal killed me to save me. It was the only way. Master, I'm so glad I got to see you in the end. I've no regrets now. So please, Regal, please stop punishing yourself. There's no need for those shackles. You've suffered enough."
Regal looked at the semi-transparent Alicia. "I took the life of the one I love. These handcuffs are the symbol of my crime as well as my punishment."
Lloyd finally spoke up, pain tightening his voice. "Genis and I once experienced the same thing you did. And I imagine it was just as painful…for my dad. When my mom turned into a monster and he struck her down, he must have also suffered."
"Your father did the same thing?" Regal said it as though he'd never been able to imagine someone doing something like that.
"That's what I've been told and I don't know if the decisions you or my dad made were correct, but I don't believe that my mom would have wanted my dad to punish himself and live the way you have."
"Yes," Alicia agreed. "It's just as he says. I cannot speak for anyone else, but I at least don't want you to live like that."
"…All right. But I vow to never use these hands as tools of death. And once we have destroyed those who use Exspheres to toy with people's lives, I shall remove these bonds as well."
"Thank you for that, Master. And Presea, I think I can finally rest in peace. Please, destroy the crystal before I'm completely absorbed into it."
"W-why?" It was the first time any of them had ever heard Presea stutter. "Can't you just stay like you are now?"
"If I was to stay like this, I would live on forever. An isolated consciousness, unable to even speak and existing for eternity. That would be a true hell…"
"Presea, Regal, you guys have to make the decision." Lloyd said. "What do you want to do?"
"Please," Regal asked, "Set her free."
"I agree. Goodbye, Alicia."
"Presea, all I can ask of you now is to please forgive Master Regal. Please." Alicia's voice was beginning to sound tired as she faded.
Lloyd drew his blade and shattered the Exsphere in one smooth movement.
Regal breathed deeply once more and they all pretended that his voice didn't sound a little shaky as he said, "I am sorry I never said anything about this until now. This is the reason why I am in shackles and why it is that I am a criminal. I confessed to killing her and went to prison of my own will. While I was in prison, the Pope promised to capture Vharley if I kidnapped Colette. I believed him and agreed."
"And that's why you were after us." Colette finished.
"Yes. I ask that you postpone my final judgment until we defeat Cruxis."
Lloyd smiled, though there was some effort behind it. "Of course. We'll work together to defeat them and save the Giant Tree."
Presea looked at Regal. Really looked at him. She saw the shadows behind the blue eyes, saw the tiredness in the few premature lines. "I will…try…not to think of you as my enemy. It will be difficult and I'm not sure I can change right away, but…it was Alicia's last request, so I won't say anything about it anymore."
