Hello Everybody! Not much to say for this chapter. R&R and I hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN TALES OF SYMPHONIA!!! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU!!!???
Izoold
August 14th
9:45 P.M
A figure stared at the burning house with wide eyes.
"Amaya... Amaya!" The man yelled, as he rushed through the cracked door. He looked quickly around the house, scared that she could already be dead. While normal people would have succumbed to the flames already, he and Amaya we not normal.
When he reached the kitchen he saw her. He saw Amaya against her fridge, arm bleeding, eyes closed. He dashed to her side, and checked her pulse. The man dropped her wrist.
"You aren't going to die now Amaya. We are Elementalists. We don't die to petty flames like this!" He yelled, picking her up. He turned to run out of the house when he heard a voice.
"H-Hoken..." He looked down at Amaya, whose eyes were now opened slightly.
"Don't worry, you're going to live. No matter what." Hoken said, smiling slightly, and continued out of the burning house.
Camp Site (Triet)
August 15th
7:30 A.M
"This is delicious!" Lloyd exclaimed, swallowing another bite of the breakfast that lay in front of him. Kaze shrugged.
"Thanks. But I didn't do much." Kaze said. Lloyd shook his head.
"At least your bacon isn't green." Lloyd replied with a grin, which was removed by a quick backhand by Raine. Kaze chuckled lightly and looked at Kratos.
"So when are we leaving?" Kaze asked. Kratos stared at him.
"Eight Thirty. That gives us enough time to eat, pack up, and for you to tell us about the rest of your organization." Kratos said. Kaze choked on some egg. He had forgotten about that.
"Oh... Right. I guess I should continue then. Pick an element." Kaze told the group. Lloyd stood up first.
"Fire! Tell us about fire!" Lloyd exclaimed, jumping up and down.
"...I told you about Hoken yesterday." Kaze said facepalming. Lloyd looked down, slightly embarrassed.
"Oh... Right. How about.... Ice?" Lloyd asked. Kaze nodded.
"Yukiko, the Ice Elementalist. Uses an axe called Avalanche. Prefers to do Scouting missions, solo and in groups. She never told me where she was born. Somewhere with a lot of snow probably. Only the commander knows." Kaze explained. Colette tilted her head.
"Commander?" Colette asked.
"The person that gathered the Elementalists in the first place. No one really knows much about him." Kaze said. Genis looked at him.
"So you told us about Hoken, Amaya, Kioshi, Yasu, and Yukiko. All there is left is Wind, and I'm guessing that's you, Light, and Lightning." Genis said.
"I'll tell you about me first. I'm the Wind Elementalist, in case it isn't obvious. I use two daggers, and various throwing knives. My daggers are called Cyclone, and Hurricane. I prefer either Scouting, or Assassination. Of course, when I'm working with Hoken, we end up doing Elimination. We just use a Fire/Wind combination attack and the whole place is destroyed." Kaze said. Genis nodded.
"I see. How about..." Genis started, when Raine finished the statement with, "Light, if you could."
"Okay then. Mistukai, my best friend and the Light Elementalist. She uses a staff called Martel, after the goddess. She's our healer, and therefore has little to none close combat skill. So she only does Information Hunting, and Scouting by herself. In groups however, she'll do anything, mainly Rescue Ops." Kaze explained. Kratos raised his eyebrow.
"So your teammates get captured at points I take it?" Kratos asked. Kaze snickered and shook his head.
"No. We have an Informant in every town, some travel around the region, and we just managed to get a spy in The Asgard Ranch." Kaze said, obviously proud. Lloyd stared at him.
"You have a spy in the Asgard Ranch?!" Lloyd asked him. Kaze nodded.
"Next time you see him, could you ask him about my mom?" Lloyd asked. Kaze thought about it.
"Possibly. What's her name?" Kaze asked back.
"Anna Irving." Lloyd answered. Kaze stared at him.
"Anna Irving. Got it. Now then, I guess I have no choice but to talk about the cocky bastard, Raidon." Kaze said, sighing. Raine glared at him.
"I would prefer if you didn't swear in front of Genis." Raine said. Kaze shrugged, ignoring her comment.
"Raidon, The Lightning Elementalist and the cocky bastard. Thinks he's the toughest and deserves to be the leader of the Elementalists, yet lost to Kioshi in about.... 257 spars. And that was after I got joined. His uses two greatswords named-"
"He wields TWO greatswords?" Lloyd asked, surprised. Kaze nodded.
"Yeah, but he cuts his speed down by more than half. He prefers to do Elimination missions solo, and in group missions...." Kaze stopped himself.
"...Well?" Kratos asked. Kaze sighed.
"Raidon only did one group mission during his entire stay, and that was with me. We were assigned to eliminate a group of thieves that had been stealing from Iselia." Kaze began explaining. Raine nodded.
"Yes, I remember that, those men stole some of my priceless artefacts." Raine said. Kaze smirked.
"You mean that jewelled crown from the Sylvarant Dynasty?" Kaze asked. Raine nodded.
"I was allowed to keep that item." Kaze said. Raine glared at him.
"I'll give it back at some point. Anyways, just as we finished killing the grunts, the leader appears, hold a little girl no older than four years old in front of him. When I looked over to Raidon to ask him what to do, he was charging up an energy blast, strong enough to pierce the Leader... and the girl." Kaze explained, looking at the ground. He heard Colette gasp. When he looked up, his face snapped to the side. He looked at Lloyd, who was staring angrily at him.
"You... You...." Lloyd said preparing another punch.
"She's still alive." Kaze said, causing Lloyd to lower his hand.
"B-But..." Lloyd started.
"Just as Raidon shot the blast, I rush and pushed the girl out of the way. I took the blast, which pierced my body and killed the leader. Raidon stared at me, then walked away without a second thought. I was lucky that Mistukai and Kioshi were scouting The Iselia Ranch, otherwise I would've died." Kaze explained.
"That bastard!" Lloyd yelled. Kaze shrugged.
"Yep." Kaze said, shrugging.
"How is he still an Elementalist?" Genis asked. Kaze shrugged again.
"I have no clue." Kaze answered truthfully. Raine stared at him.
"Very well. I just want to ask you one thing." Raine said.
"Yes. Me protecting the chosen was indeed a mission assigned to me by the commander. Why however, I have no clue. I still think Kioshi or Yasu would be a better choice for this." Kaze answered. Colette looked at him.
"So you're not doing this because you want to, but because you have to." Colette said, upset at his statement. Kaze sighed.
"I didn't say that. I wanted to back then and I still want to. However, my style of fighting is tough to use with a lot of allies around. In battle, I protect myself more than my ally, knowing that they can handle themselves." Kaze said. Colette looked at him and smiled.
"It's okay!" Colette said happily. Kaze shook his head.
'I will never understand how she can be so cheerful all the time.' Kaze thought, before turning to Kratos.
"We should get ready to leave now. We have to leave soon if we want to reach the seal by noon." Kratos said, turning to pack up his sleeping bag. Everyone followed suit and fifteen minutes later, they were off.
Triet Ruins
August 15th
11:55 A.M
"I can't take this desert anymore!" Lloyd exclaimed as they walked past a crumbling arc.
"Deal with it. We still have to go through the Ossa Trial which is on the other side of the desert. We have at least 3 days left before we leave the desert." Kratos said, causing both Lloyd and Kaze to groan. Raine turned to Kaze with a cocked eyebrow.
"You dislike the desert also?" Raine asked. Kaze nodded, and drank some water from his canteen.
"Yeah. I've been forced to come by the desert due to missions." Kaze answered.
"Why don't you just turn down the missions that bring you by the desert then?" Genis asked. Kaze turned to him with fake shock.
"I can't do that! Refusing a mission shows weakness in the eyes of the commander and my teammates!" Kaze exclaimed. Genis stared at him.
"O...kay.... then." Genis said, before turning around to the ruins. Kratos took out his sword.
"Be on your guard! There are enemies about!" Kratos shouted to group, causing Kaze to dash towards Kratos, daggers out, and causing Lloyd to move and protect Colette. Genis and Raine rushed behind Lloyd and began casting, and Colette began to take out her chakrams.
Kaze stared at the enemies with a confused look. In front of them were two floating brown spheres with various symbols all over. The middle of the spheres then separated from the enemy, and a magic circle appeared under each of them. His eyes widened.
"They're using magic!" Kaze yelled to the group, running to one of the enemies. Kratos nodded, and rushed the other. Lloyd brought his swords into a defensive position, despite wanting to join the fray, and awaited the attack.
"Ray Thrust!" Colette cried, tossing a chakram towards one of the elementals, cancelling its casting. Kratos used this moment to close the remaining space between him and the elemental.
"Wind Blade!" Genis yelled. Blades of wind slashed at the other Fire Elemental, but not fast enough. Three balls of fire flew towards Colette from the elemental, before it began getting damage.
Lloyd jumped in front of the spell, and blocked what he could with his blades. Each blade blocked a fireball. The third one however, flew underneath his blades and flew into his stomach. Lloyd grunted in pain and collapsed on one knee. Raine noticed this and began casting a First Aid.
Kaze leaped over the elemental's attack and charged him as his right dagger began to glow.
"Cyclone Thrust!" Kaze yelled, thrusting Cyclone (right dagger) towards the enemy. As the dagger dug into the spherical enemy, blades of wind slashed away at the foe. Kaze pulled his dagger out, and the elemental fell into pieces.
Kratos avoided a piece of rock that flew at him and with thrust his sword into the elemental, turning it into pieces as well. With a shrug he turned to Lloyd, who was now standing, courtesy of Raine.
"This is going to be a nuisance." Kratos said, facepalming. Colette tilted her head.
"What do you mean?" Colette asked.
"Nevermind. Anyways, I think it would be best if you learned a type of defensive technique." Kratos said. Kaze shrugged.
"I already know three different defensives techs. So I don't really need the training." Kaze said, backing up. Kratos nodded and turned to the others of his group.
Kaze watched Kratos attempt to teach them the defensive spell that suited them best. Genis and Raine had learned quickly, and were now able to use Force Field. Colette took a little longer, but eventually learned Damage Guard. And then there was Lloyd. Lloyd didn't seem to be able to hold the spell longer than a second before is dispersed. Kratos sighed and turned around.
"You must be able to use this spell in case we have a repeat of the last battle." Kratos told him sternly. Lloyd sighed.
"I'm trying! But I don't get it at all." Lloyd snapped back. Kaze stepped in before Kratos could harm him. After all, Lloyd had helped him in the past.
"I'll take care of this Kratos." Kaze said. Kratos stared at him, before nodding, and heading to discuss something with Raine. What exactly, he didn't care.
"I just don't get it! I'm trying to learn guardian but..." Lloyd started but Kaze cut him off.
"I know what the problem is. You're just like me. You need what the commander would call.... motivation." Kaze said, slightly grinning. Lloyd had a bad feeling. His bad feeling was right, when he saw Kaze casting a spell.... towards Colette. Lloyd dashed towards Colette, drawing his blades while doing so.
Kratos looked over and saw what Kaze was doing, then looked to Lloyd who was right in front of Colette, who was now confused.
"Tempest Gale!" Kaze shouted, shooting a single blast of wind towards Lloyd. Lloyd knew what that spell could do, and put his swords up to his front.
"Guardian!" Lloyd cried out, just as the shot of wind hit him. Lloyd closed his eyes, expecting his guardian to disperse before the spell finished and the remains of the spell to blast him back. When no pain appeared, he opened his eyes to see a ball of mana had encircled him, and was taking the attack.
As the spell stopped, his shield disappeared, and he sighed with relief. Then he turned to Kaze angrily.
"What was that for?!" Lloyd asked, pissed off at the Elementalist standing before him.
"I told you that I was going to use motivation. I had to go through the same thing nine years ago, except the person I was defending was sleeping, and the spells were constantly being sent towards me. That spell wasn't even casted properly. If you had failed, you would've only gotten a bruise." Kaze explained. Lloyd glared at him, still angry at the method's that he had used.
"That still doesn't justify what you did!" Lloyd snapped. Kaze ignored him, paying more attention to the ruins.
"Shall we continue?" Kaze asked cheerfully, despite the recent actions. Raine nodded.
"Very well." Raine said, before running to the ruins.
"MARVELOUS!!!" Raine exclaimed loudly, rubbing her hand over what looked like stone. Kaze looked at Genis.
"Is she always like this?" Kaze asked. Genis nodded.
"I pity you." Kaze said, before smirking. Genis glared at him.
"This is polycarbonate, created during the ancient war to repel magic. Feel it's smooth surface! It's Wondrous!" Raine continued. Kaze turned to Genis again.
"I repeat, I pity you." Kaze teased, causing Genis to raise his weapon.
"This isn't just to cast magic you know!" Genis threatened. Kaze only shrugged.
"Of course it isn't. You can also use it as a toy!" Kaze said cheerfully. Genis glared at him again.
"I really dislike you right now." Genis said.
"Ah, cheer up. I'm only teasing you. Consider it you and I bonding." Kaze replied calmly. Genis stared at him and pulled him back from the group.
"Raine told me that you know about me and her... being.... you know..." Genis said, cutting himself off.
"Yeah. Don't worry, I don't hate half-elves if that's what you're thinking. I hate all desians. Up until two days ago, I thought all half-elves were desians." Kaze said. Genis looked at the ground.
"Then I met you and your sister. You aren't desians, and are willing to fight them. So I'm now trying to make my mind hate the half-elves that are desians and like the half-elves that aren't." Kaze explained. Genis looked up at him.
"Thanks... for trying."Genis said, smiling only a little bit. Kaze nodded.
"Hey! We're going in now!" Lloyd called over to them. Kaze looked over to them and smirked.
"Let's go!" Kaze told Genis, before running over to the seal. Genis nodded and ran after him.
Kaze looked at the ruins.
"These ruins could collapse at anytime." Kaze stated casually. Raine stared at him.
"These ruins have been like this for a long time. If they collapse today, we'll be unlucky." Raine told him. Kaze only shrugged.
"Whatever."
As they reached the end of the hallway they saw three paths to take.
"Which way should we go?" Lloyd asked, unable to decide. Kaze shrugged.
Thinking about it, we could split up. But I doubt you guys would agree to that." Kaze answered. Kratos looked over to him.
"That is true. We should remain as a group though, in case we face an enemy that we could have difficulty with." Kratos replied.
"You mean like a Fake?" Kaze asked. Raine turned to him.
"A Fake?" Kaze nodded.
"Fake. A type of monster that looks like an ordinary treasure chest. Is known to have many rare items inside it. However, it is quite rare, and cannot be hurt by physical assaults, and magic does barely anything. Class A monster." Kaze explained, as if reading from a textbook. He looked over to see Raine writing down this information. Genis nodded.
"How rare is it exactly?" Genis asked.
"Quite rare. We'll probably never have to fight one. Just in case though, we should prepare a strategy for fighting it." Kaze answered. Kratos nodded.
"In any case, we should pick a path to take." Kratos said. Kaze looked to his left.
"But first, we have company!" He announced. Everyone turned to see two flying birds of pure fire and a one eyed monster with a sword.
"Genis, Colette, focus on the birds! Kratos, stay back and cover them! Lloyd, we're going to take down that one-eyed freak! Raine, stick with healing!" Kaze shouted out. Kratos nodded, slightly annoyed that he was taking charge.
Kaze and Lloyd rushed towards the giant monster, as it began to swing it's sword. Kaze sidestepped to evade, while Lloyd stopped the blade with his swords, making sure the monster couldn't pull it back. Kaze stepped on the monster's arm, and plunged Hurricane (left dagger) into the monster's eye.
The monster cried out in pain, forcibly pulling back his sword, causing Lloyd to hit the ground, swords sliding to behind the monster. It tossed Kaze to the side, sending him crashing into the wall. Kaze looked over to the monster with hazy eyes, and saw that it was about to cut Lloyd in half. He grunted as he got up, and dashed towards Lloyd.
Lloyd stared at the monster that was about to slay him.
"I'm sorry.... Dad..." Lloyd managed to say, before the monster slashed down. Lloyd awaited pain, but like last time, no pain hit him. He looked up and saw Kaze, whose left arm was hanging to the side holding back the sword with... wind?
"Sylph's.... Protection...." Kaze whispered. Lloyd forced his body up. He had to kill that monster before it killed Kaze. He saw his swords, but realized that by the time he reached them, Kaze would already be dead. Lloyd then saw it, glistening from one of the bird's flames.
Kaze mentally thanked the commander for teaching him this move. Guardian wouldn't have lasted as long as this spell and his other one wasn't even mastered yet! But he couldn't hold it for much longer. He silently prayed for a miracle, despite the fact he didn't believe in the Goddess Martel. Just then, he spell dispersed.
The sword fell upon Kaze, but never hit him. He was now looking at the back of Lloyd Irving, who had one of his daggers in the monster's arm, stopping the slash. The other was in the monster's chest, right through the heart. At least, he hoped it had. When the monster collapsed, he decided that he was right. Lloyd turned around and helped Kaze up.
"You okay?" Lloyd asked worried. Kaze smirked.
"Yeah... I'm fine... we'd better go and help them out." Kaze said. Kratos walked towards them.
"No need. We finished off the birds just now. Lloyd, grab you swords. Me and Raine will attempt to heal Kaze." Kratos said, helping Kaze towards Raine. Colette and Genis were there immediately.
"Are you okay?" Colette asked, about as worried as Lloyd. Kaze nodded.
"Yes. I'm fine. Just remind me to pray to Martel every night for now on." Kaze joked. Raine smiled slightly.
"I'll make sure. First Aid!" Raine said, and Kaze immediately felt his wounds heal, only slightly however. Kratos followed her First Aid with his own and Kaze asked him a question that was bugging him.
"How can you use magic when your human, Kratos?" He asked curiously. Kratos stared at him.
"I'm guessing that I have elven ancestors somewhere in my family tree." Kratos answered. Kaze nodded, accepting that answer.
"What about you?" Colette asked. Kaze smirked.
"It involves the organization, so don't ask." Kaze answered. Raine sighed, knowing that he wouldn't answer.
"Can you move your arm?" Raine asked. Kaze attempted to move it, and was able to, although wincing at the pain.
"Yeah. Hurts like hell when I move it, but other than that, yep." Kaze answered, still in pain. Raine nodded, and began casting another First Aid.
Kaze looked over to see Lloyd walking over to the group.
"Are you sure you're okay Kaze?" Lloyd asked. Kaze sighed.
"I'm fine. It'll hurt in the morning, but I'll be fine for now." Kaze answered. He stood up and felt a small shock of pain, causing him to stumble. When Colette went to help him, he shook his head.
"I'm fine. I've dealt with worse. The only thing that still hurts is my ego." Kaze joked. Kratos looked away.
"We should continue on." Kratos said. Kaze nodded at the statement.
"Yeah... but which way are we going?" Kaze asked. Everyone turned to Colette, who looked at them.
"Umm.... Left, maybe?" Colette suggested, not sure of her decision. Everyone nodded.
"Left it is. Let's go!" Lloyd exclaimed, taking the left route. Kaze was about to follow when he stumbled over the hilt of the monster's sword. Just as he was about to fall over, a pair of hands grabbed him. He looked over to Raine.
"Ugh... Thanks." Kaze said. Raine smiled at him.
"No problem. But until you fully recover the injuries, you're staying in the back as a spellcaster." Raine said. Kaze was in no position to refuse, and besides, he was going to suggest he did that in the first place.
"Okay then..." Kaze said. Raine looked away and casually smacked him across the head.
"What was that for exactly?" Kaze asked.
"For being an idiot and climbing on the monster's arm. That's what." Raine answered sternly.
"I am twenty you know. I can make my own decisions." Kaze said.
"Yes, well I'm a concerned friend. And I have the right to scold a friend for doing something idiotic." Raine backfired. Kaze nodded.
"Very well. I'll accept that logic. Mainly because I don't want to be smacked again." Kaze said jokingly. He was smacked again.
Izoold
August 15th
1:00 P.M
Hoken looked at Amaya. After finding her, he rushed her to the nearest hospital, which turned out to be a clinic. He stared into the doctor's eyes.
"Will she be okay?" Hoken asked him. The doctor looked at him.
"Thankfully yes. One more minute in that fire and she would've died. She will however, be unconscious for at least a week. At most, a month." The doctor answered. Hoken stared at Amaya's body.
"I'm glad. Amaya's a good friend of mine, and to a lot of others too." Hoken explained.
"The cause of the fire is a mystery however." The doctor said. Hoken shook his head.
"I already know. It was Arson. By a former ally of ours. Her boat was also burned. Obviously, he didn't want her sailing..." Hoken said, remembering his mission.
"What is it commander? I thought we get a week's break before we get to go on another mission." Hoken asked.
"I know that. However, Mistukai has been called in for another mission, and Yukiko just got back. You however, have been here three days without a mission." The commander explained.
"What about Raidon? He's been here for five days without a mission." Hoken complained. He could've sworn he saw the commander glare.
"This mission involves Raidon, yes. But not in that way." The commander answered.
"What do you mean?" Hoken asked, anxious about his answer.
"Your mission is to get to Izoold, and warn Amaya. Afterwards, go to the Ossa Trial and wait for Kaze to appear with the Chosen and her comrades. Warn him about the same thing as Amaya, and accompany him through the remainder of the trip, up until he reaches Izoold." The commander said.
"Warn them about what?!" Hoken asked irritably.
"Tell them... that Raidon had betrayed the Elementalists, and now has a K.O.S order on his head." The commander said.
Hoken stood from his chair.
"Keep a close eye on her. There's a chance the person that burned her house will return." Hoken said, before leaving.
"Why don't you?" The doctor asked curiously.
"I have to warn a friend.... about the traitor."
This chapter.... broke 4000 words. I am proud of myself today. I know I said that the boss battle would happen this chapter... but if I did that, then this chapter would have to be posted next week. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter. AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!!!!
