Tales of Symphonia:
Wonder Edition

.

.

Lloyd folded his hands behind his head, grinning as they walked up the path. They were making pretty good time. The Ossa Trail ran around and over the smallest of the hills and mountains dividing the coastline from the Triet Desert, making the trek roughly a day's worth of walking. Kratos took the lead while Raine and Colette followed along behind him, moving at a fairly sedate pace. Genis ran from one thing to another, checking out various plants, rocks and trees, exclaiming over every new bit of wildlife that happened to catch his eye. The brunet smiled wider, enjoying how everyone seemed to be finally taking it easy on this part of the trip. The air was cooler and fresher than the desert, and he didn't feel like flopping over every five minutes.

Adam jumped from boulder to boulder nearby, sometimes darting ahead before doubling back with a sunny smile on his face. He looked like he was having fun and Lloyd couldn't help but wonder what kind of chef needed to know how to leap distances like that. After all the chaos that had happened in the desert, with the Desian base and the Seal of Fire and both Colette and Adam getting sick, it was finally starting to feel more like a trip than some frustrating journey.

"Hey, Adam! Heh heh, all that jumping makes you look like a big red and green rabbit." Lloyd called out when the blonde leaped back among them from another run over the boulders and rock outcroppings. He blinked, surprised, then chuckled with a faint blush.

"Sorry. I need to keep up my training somehow." Adam returned and fell into step beside the dual swordsman.

"What kind of training has you jumping around on rocks? How is any of that part of cooking?" Lloyd asked, tilting his head. He blinked when the chef turned away, suddenly withdrawing into himself as he moved forward to pull away from the brunet. What did he say?

Lloyd hurried forward, hoping to catch up and try to figure out what he said wrong. He didn't get too far. A voice calling out for them to stop halted him in place in confusion. The group started looking around for the source of the voice, which soon came in the form of this weirdly dressed woman jumping down from the cliffsides above them. She touched down almost daintily before them and Lloyd had the strangest feeling that she would probably be running around on those boulders like Adam did.

"Huh?" the brunet questioned inanely, staring at the woman in confusion. What was with that weird outfit? Colette looked back at him with wide blue eyes.

"Lloyd? Is she another new friend you made?" she asked innocently. Lloyd snorted, eyebrow raised. Him? Friends with someone who dressed like that?

"Uh, not that I'm aware of." he returned cautiously. Well, with the way she moved, she might be a friend of Adam's, another cook come to get on his case. He looked back to check on the chef, blinking at his shocked expression.

"Is the Chosen of Mana among you?" the woman asked in a solemn and severe tone. Colette brightened and waved her hand at her before anyone could tell her to keep silent.

"Oh! That's me! Can I help you?" she chirped and the woman sharpened her gaze, turning in place as she lifted a hand, a slip of paper held tight in her fingers.

"Prepare... to die." she intoned gravely and, as the group started falling into battle stances, she darted straight for Colette, intent clear on her face. The blonde girl spun her arms as she lost her balance, startled by the speed at which the woman was coming at her, and fell back onto a lever half-hidden by plants and vines. The lever flipped suddenly and the woman pulled up short, crying out in shock when the earth beneath her fell open and she plummeted into the darkness.

"Uh-oh..." Lloyd, Genis and Colette all remarked collectively, the group rushing forward to look at the squared-off hole in the ground. Kratos sighed in what seemed like disbelief and exasperation.

"Oh no! What should I do? I did it again..." Colette whimpered, hurrying over to look down the hole as Adam scrambled to join her, eyes wide and face pale. Lloyd winced at his expression, turning his gaze aside to watch as the Professor walked up to lay a gentle hand on Colette's shoulder.

"You don't need to worry, Colette." she murmured evenly, "If she had not fallen in, you might have been killed." Kratos nodded in agreement, watching them all with impassive eyes. The two blondes knelt at the hole, gazing in with concerned gazes; Adam had reached an arm in, hand spread open as if able to grab the woman from far below.

Lloyd had a strange feeling that everyone was expecting him to say something, a decisive statement of some kind. It usually came in the form of an itch around his Exsphere mount, and he absently rubbed around the metal as he looked between the blondes, his teacher, and the mercenary. How did he feel about what just happened? Was he like Raine and Kratos, unconcerned that the weird woman had fallen into a trap hole and could be seriously hurt? Or was he like Colette and Adam, worried for her safety even though she had been trying to kill Colette? Whose life was more important?

Actually, was that even a good question to ask? Lloyd felt a little ashamed thinking that of the scene before him. Who was he to decide which life was more valuable?

"I kinda feel sorry for her." he finally spoke up, walking forward and ignoring the frowns set upon him by both Raine and Kratos, "She probably wasn't expecting Colette's little 'miracles'." Colette nodded, still worried, and Adam looked up at him in surprise before giving him a small smile.

"I hope she's okay." the Chosen added, looking over at Lloyd, her eyes shining with concern. Genis sighed and walked over to join them, looking into the hole himself.

"Even assuming her weight to be 45kg, and this hole to be 10m deep," he pointed out in that matter-of-fact tone that made Lloyd's eyes cross slightly, "and calculating the gravity constant to be 9.8, the impact shouldn't have been fatal." The smaller boy looked around at his friends while Lloyd rubbed at his head, mind straining to understand what was just said. No use, it was like Genis had just spoken in some foreign language. Adam seemed to have understood all that; he looked more relieved and pulled his hand back.

"Gravity... constant?" Lloyd echoed uncertainly, "I don't really get what you said, but she's still alive, right?" He looked at Genis in hopes that he would get the idea that he needed to stop using so many big and complicated words so fast. The smaller boy rolled his eyes as Adam tried to hide a smile behind one hand.

"Probably." Genis replied sarcastically. Lloyd let it slide, walking up to look down the hole himself with a grin of his own. Now that he knew the woman would be all right -and good thing, too, or else he'd be stuck with having to deal with Adam's quirks again- he could afford to have a bit of fun at her expense.

"Still, man, she's got some bad luck, standing on top of a trap door and all." he chuckled. He tilted his head, wondering if he might be able to hear the woman shuffling around down there.


"It's not a trap." Raine corrected, holding back a smile at the surprise in Lloyd's expression when his gaze pulled away from the depths of the hole to her face. "It's a hidden maintenance passage for the mountain path." she finished explaining. Kratos moved past them all, walking ahead on that path before turning to look back at them with a faint look of irritation.

"We should get moving." he declared in that cool and aloof tone that made Raine wonder if he was really necessary in the group. That kind of coldness and distance seemed to draw out her suspicions, the same as Adam's awkwardness and rejection of the history of the world.

Lloyd straightened as the three kneeling around the hole looked up in collective surprise. The brunet had a scowl on his face. "Hey! Shouldn't we try to find out who that woman was?" he demanded. Raine found herself silently agreeing with him. It would be useful to gather information on their assailant so they could be better prepared to deal with her, should she attempt another strike at Colette's life. Kratos leveled a glare at the dual swordsman that seemed to speak volumes for what he thought of that.

"She'll come after us again on her own." he pointed out and gestured at the area by sweeping over it with his eyes, "This area is too confined, the footing is poor, and we would be at a great disadvantage to her obvious speed and agility. It would be wise not to linger if more like her choose to attack in her place."

Lloyd huffed and turned slightly to look at the young chef with them, and Raine followed his gaze, wondering why he thought to seek him out. "Adam kinda moves like that woman does. If she were to fight, I bet he'd be able to stand up to her here." he pointed out.

'He does? How had I not noticed, what with his moving ahead to scout for us? And if he was scouting, why hadn't he told us about that assassin?' Raine thought to herself in surprise.

"What? Me?" Adam blurted out in protest, "Lloyd, I don't think I can do that. How many times do I have to tell you? I don't even like thinking about killing a person!"

"Another reason not to stay." Kratos chose that moment to cut in again, "The Wonder Chef would be useless in decisive combat." He ignored the dual cries of 'Hey!' from both Lloyd and Adam and began walking on again. Raine sighed as she began to follow as well, beckoning Colette to join her and leaving the boys to tag after them on their own. It didn't take long for Genis to scamper up to her side, an uncertain expression on his face.

"Why would anyone want to kill Colette? What did she ever do to that lady?" he questioned softly, "I don't understand humans sometimes." Raine sighed and brought her younger brother close for a small hug.

"People don't always act sensibly when monumentous events are happening." she murmured, "We just have to be more careful and do our best to protect Colette."

"Stop poking me!" Adam suddenly complained rather loudly from behind them and Raine closed her eyes and sighed the sigh of the long-suffering as Lloyd raced past them with a whoop and laughter, followed quickly after by the young Wonder Chef, whose red face suggested that he'd tolerated Lloyd's prodding for a short time despite his discomfort. Somehow, Raine knew that Lloyd had pressed his luck on purpose; the two of them seemed to be about the same age and even though he was very good friends with Genis, Lloyd seemed to be glad to have a boy his age to horse around with and be friends.

He'd tried with Colette when they were younger and was reprimanded severely for it; she was the Chosen, after all, and the village didn't want to see their hope for regeneration get hurt because of his mischievousness. Raine felt a little sorry for that, but as things stood now, her heart went out to Colette's situation more.

She had to focus on her and her trials, not Lloyd and his self-imposed mission to make the Wonder Chef as uncomfortable as possible.


They had to deal with wild bears and crazed man-sized flowers that could move about and tried slapping at them with roots and vines. Colette's Angel Feathers was highly useful in attacking from a greater distance than her normal chakrams. She was glad to feel less of a burden now, after that trial she went through to start her transformation into an angel made her so sick. The monsters and wild animals weren't too troublesome, and other travelers on the path smiled and thanked them for defeating them.

There were hugs and the embracing of hands and murmurs of gratitude and praise for the Chosen and the Goddess Martel. Colette accepted the kind words humbly; it was the way she was taught to accept anything and everything. She then smiled and giggled as Lloyd seemed to suck up the praise and strut around proudly before being pulled into service as human shield for Adam. One traveler had proclaimed him 'an adorable little cook' and thrown her arms around him in a hug, prompting him to panic and run to hide behind Lloyd.

Colette ignored the strange little feeling that curled in her stomach at seeing that, and it was made easier when any embraces that went in Lloyd's direction spooked the chef into joining her and shrinking behind her. She giggled again, turning her head to smile brightly at the blushing boy.

"It's all right, Adam. They just want to thank us for helping them." she told him. The other blonde gave her a weak grin in return.

"I know, Colette, but I wish they could do it without the... touching..." he mumbled timidly.

They moved on, hurrying along the path to reach Izoold before dark. At noon, they stopped by the side of the trail and had a small lunch. Colette noticed the sad look on Adam's face when he gave her a plate of fruit sandwiches, the portion much smaller than before. She gave him a questioning look, puzzled by his expression. Did he somehow know that she wasn't eating very much and gave her small portions to help?

"There has to be another way." he whispered suddenly, "What's happening to you... it just isn't right." Colette gasped softly and reached out without thinking, her fingers closing over his hand as he froze in place.

"Do you know why I haven't been hungry lately?" she asked, eyes wide. He bent his head and turned aside, eyes hidden by shadow and the blonde fringe of hair he kept combing over his face.

"Not really. I don't know much about this whole angel transformation process," he spoke slowly, carefully, like he was trying to make sure he didn't say something wrong, "but I believe that anything that makes it hard for you to enjoy the little things in life, like eating a delicious meal, shouldn't be called 'right'." He turned back to her and managed a small smile, and she wasn't so dumb as to not notice how he slipped his hand out of her grasp. "Oh, what do I know, right? I'm just the Wonder Chef; all I have to worry about is cooking and the like."

He walked away before she could protest, going over to Raine in another attempt to get her to stop putting lemons in the sandwiches, and then fleeing from a wicked slap upside the head. Colette sighed as she made herself eat a few of the small sandwiches. It was all going to be okay. She had to believe in that. This was all part of the regeneration. She would have to suffer a little but it was part of her trials. She could live with eating a little less and knowing the food didn't taste so good.

Even if it was the Wonder Chef's cooking.


It was nearing sunset when they finally reached the base of the Ossa Trail, on the side that would lead them to the path to Izoold. Genis had forgotten about the woman from earlier, striking up a conversation with Adam about their now-shared misery in trying to either teach Raine how to cook properly or keep her away from their ingredients. Lloyd was bothering Kratos about sword-fighting or something -Genis didn't really care too much about that stuff anyway- and Raine was looking after Colette, staying close by her side.

When Adam's expression changed from the cheerful smile that came about from talks of recipes to sudden confusion as he turned his head towards a wall of wood that blocked off the entrance to the underground maintenance passages, Genis was the first to realize that it meant something was behind that decrepit wall. He was right.

It shuddered and fell forward, slamming into the earth and kicking up a cloud of dust with such sudden force that the whole group halted and spun to face it, alarmed. Just within the entrance, and covered in dirt, scratches and cuts, was the very woman that had fallen into the passage hours ago. She glared at them, huffing and puffing as she rubbed the sweat from her brow.

"W-wait!" she yelled, and Lloyd stared at her from where he stood. Genis wondered what inane thing he was going to...

"...Wow, she caught up with us." the brunet remarked in surprise, like she was some stray animal that followed them in hopes of a meal. Genis sighed and shook his head. Typical Lloyd.

"Oh! Thank goodness! You're okay!" Colette exclaimed with heartfelt sincerity and the half-elf added a palm to his face. And typical Colette, worrying for the well-being of her would-be assassin. Could humans really be any dumber? Speaking of the assassin, the woman seemed to be put off guard by the remarks, gaping at Colette for a few seconds before shaking herself off and taking up a battle stance.

"D-don't move!" she warned breathily, apparently winded from the effort of pushing down the barricade of wood. Or maybe she had been racing around in that passage, trying to get to this entrance? Genis looked past her; it seemed pretty dark in there, with a dim light that hung from the ceiling several feet beyond her.

"A wise decision..." Raine mused aloud almost tauntingly, her eyes sweeping over the condition of the woman, "You may already be injured; if you exert yourself any further, I can't say for certain what may befall you."

The assassin fumed, her face turning bright red, and Genis wished his sister hadn't gone and done that. "I won't be caught off guard this time!" the woman declared and raised her hand with another of those weird pieces of paper, "Prepare to die!" She darted straight at them and Genis yelped as he reached for his kendama, starting up a spell to fight back.

Raine and Colette ran back to join him as Lloyd and Kratos both dashed ahead to meet the woman head on. The assassin flipped over them and threw out the piece of paper, which exploded in a blast of white smoke to reveal some weird monster that startled Genis out of his casting. It looked a bit like a big red bird with arms instead of wings and no feet, and a giant wooden wheel with foreign characters decorating it floated just behind its body.

While Lloyd and Kratos tried their best to pin the swiftly moving woman and her strange attacks kept disorienting the brunet, Genis and Colette turned their attentions on the floating monster that rushed at them. It lashed out with its arms, nearly bowling the blonde girl over had she not been floating around on her wings. Genis cried out in alarm and set back to working on a familiar spell, Icicle. Maybe he could freeze it in place and make it easier to beat?

"Adam! Dispel any magical attacks that thing may use!" Raine barked out, her focus going to healing Lloyd and Kratos. The assassin had landed a few good hits in on them with her explosive cards, but she was taking damage herself from the sheer amount of Demon Fangs being hurled in her direction. The pink ribbons from the giant bow on her back were getting tattered and torn, and Genis figured it wouldn't be much longer before she finally gave out.

"Oh holy wings, I beg of thee to reveal thy glory. Angel Feathers!" Colette called out from beside the Wonder Chef, who kept his fork pointed at the floating monster in anticipation. Her wings glowed, sending rings of angelic power flying out to hit the creature.

"Icicle!" Genis added in, timing his spell to hit at the same moment the rings impacted. The monster shuddered from the double attack, then twisted in place, bringing the floating wheel around to face them. He uttered a little shriek of horror at the garish and pale face mounted in the center of the wheel, moreso when it opened its mouth and spewed fire right at him. "Aaagh!" He staggered backwards from the flames, feeling it lick at his exposed arms and singe his hair and clothes.

"Adam!" Raine snapped in the chef's direction as she turned to redirect her healing efforts towards the half-elf mage.

"That wasn't a spell!" Adam returned in realization, eyes wide as the giant fork in his hands failed to shimmer with stolen mana, "I can't use the Wonder Fork on it if it isn't a real spell!" The monster turned the wheel around and aimed the burst of fire at Genis again.

"Then do something else!" he yelled and threw his hands and kendama forward defensively, "Force Field!" The bubble of mana rushed over him in time to shield him from the flames, the fire wrapping and flowing over it and leaving him relatively unharmed for the moment. "Hit it with your frying pan or something! Hurry!" Genis added with a wail as the bubble began to shrink all too fast for his comfort.


Adam did not like how this fight was going. Lloyd and Kratos were pressing their attacks on the woman assassin, Raine had healed Genis and went back to focusing on the swordsmen, and Genis was now huddled in his shield, the target of the creature's attack. This left him and Colette to their own devices. The Chosen was already gripping her chakrams, determined look on her face as she began to fly forward to rescue him.

Think, think, think! The fire wasn't a spell, not really; he hadn't been able to detect it and absorb it using the Wonder Fork, so it must be some innate skill. It was coming from the mask on that wheel, so what if he broke the mask?

"Colette, keep it distracted! I've got an idea!" he told the girl as he pulled the frying pan from his pack and harnessed the Wonder Fork. The pan was still a bit heavy for him, he hadn't gotten nearly as much training with it as he would have liked, but he'd regret that later, not now.

"Okay, just be careful!" Colette called out as she rushed the creature and started lashing at it with the spiked chakrams in her hands, "Whirlwind Rush!"

Adam circled around the battlefield, moving as swiftly and stealthily as he could while keeping an eye on the battle between the Chosen and the floating bird-monster. Its attention had to be entirely on her so he could sneak up and smash the mask. He chanced a quick glance over at Lloyd and Kratos, wincing at the attack from the woman that threw Lloyd backwards with a blast of smoke, fire, and a small spray of blood. Raine was already working on healing him, Kratos slipping into place to keep the assassin from finishing him off, putting forward the flat of his blade as he raised his own Guardian shield.

"Aah!" Colette cried in pain, her arms raised defensively as the creature backhanded the girl with a sweep of one arm. She flew backwards, wings fluttering to halt her movement and keep her upright while it rushed forward to press the attack. Adam gasped in horror and darted forward, raising the frying pan for an overhead strike. He couldn't let Colette get hurt, not anymore, not when he was risking everything to keep her alive, whole, human.

As he brought the pan down on the mask, the grotesque face's eyes flipped open, bulging out at him. The chef barely had time to express shock as the heavy iron pan smashed into its forehead and cratered it with a multitude of cracks when the creature spun around with a shriek of fury and slashed across him with the long, thin fingers of its hand. Pain sent him reeling as Adam was thrown aside, sprawling with all the finesse of a discarded doll after crashing against the rock around the mountain passage entrance.

Dimly, he heard his name being yelled, but he wasn't sure from who. Earth and sky spun and blurred, and he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. Training hadn't prepared him for this. Even then, Adam tried to push himself up, to shake off his dizziness and get back into the battle. When vertigo began pulling him back down, he closed his eyes and tried to orient himself without them.

And it was then that he picked up on something coming up behind him from within the opened passage. His ankle was snagged in what felt like rope or vines and he was jerked back to the ground, crying out in panic and pain before hitting his head against the fallen barricade of wood. He was lost to the world after that.