VGA:Here's Chapter Nine. I'm hoping that this fic's gonna be at least fifty chapters long, or more.
AD:Whoa, are you serious!?
VGA:Hey, I've seen fics that are like over a hundred chapters long, and they're still in progress.
AD:Well, it's gonna take a lot of commitment, especially for you...
VGA:I know that. Now go make yourself useful and announce the next chapter.
AD:Fine. Selfish bitch.
VGA:Say what?
AD:Here's Chapter Nine!
Disclaimer:I don't own Tales of Symphonia. If I did, the characters would of gone to Disneyland at the end.
Chapter Nine
The group decided that the most reasonable thing to do would be to restock on supplies. The previous ones had gone down with the ship. It was a good thing that Zelos had decided to tag along, a lot of their cash was also gone, and we all know that Zelos is loaded (He lives in a mansion for Christ's sake). Lloyd was currently sitting on a bench alone with Noishe while the others were shopping. Margarita's words had replayed in his head several times as he pet the dog's head.
Let me just tell you this Mr. Hero. You're not always gonna have us to back you up.
What had she meant by that? The statement had come out of nowhere, and she seemed to have been dying to tell him that for quite some time. Did she think Lloyd was weak, and unable to take care of himself? It sure sounded like that... Maybe she was just giving him some advice. But for what? Margarita seemed a lot like someone he knew. Like... like...
Lloyd yawned and stretched, but stopped when a person outside had caught his attention. This person had dark brown skin and blue hair, along with pointed ears. The strange elf. He was walking around, looking very out of place and earning strange looks from pedestrians. Lloyd tensed and stood up, debating on what to do. The guy hadn't noticed him yet, maybe he could slip away and hide in a shop... but that seemed so pathetic and undignified. He was the Eternal Swordsman, the one who had reunited both worlds and resurrected the Yggdrasil Tree. No way he was going to wuss out, and then be the laughing stock of Margarita's cruel jokes. But wait, why should he give a damn about what she thought? Screw her! But there was still his dignity...
Lloyd snapped back to earth and wiped some drool off the side of his mouth. That always happened when he thought too hard. Now then, back to the elf dude...
Man, this place is too damn cheerful, the strange elf thought miserably. Why'd I have to go get this Lloyd dude? Why couldn't they send Tyr instead? That blockhead never has to do anything. It sucks being the youngest... Hey, a fruit stand!
The elf then walked over to a fruit stand that had caught his eye. I should bring something as a souvenier for everyone. To hell with that stupid Tyr. As he was browsing, he became aware of a presence next to him. His hand instantly flew to his weapon, but stopped when he realized that his 'enemy' was actually a small little girl dressed in tattered clothing, looking hungrily at the luscious fruits.
"..." without even thinking, the elf reached out and grabbed a ripe apple off the stand. He held it to the little girl, who took a step back.
"You're hungry right?" the elf said. "Take it." The little girl stared at him for a while, then reluctantly took the apple. She ran off, looked over at the strange elf, and then took off again. The elf smiled slightly, and was about to walk off, until he felt a hand clamp heavily down on his shoulder. He turned around to meet the face of a very ticked off looking man, who obviously owned the stand. There were two scary looking knights standing close by.
"I hope that you plan on paying for that," he said, eyes narrowing.
"Oh, yeah. Sorry," the elf began to search through his pockets. He then pulled out a handful of foreign looking coins and gave them to the man. He gave them a scruntinizing look.
"What is this? This isn't money."
"...It isn't?"
"No. What are these, bottle caps?"
They must have a different form of currency here, the elf thought.
"Well, this is all I have. I hope you accept it."
"The only thing we accept is real gald, not these conterfeit fakes."
"... Gald?" What kind of a named is gald? These people are so primitive.
"Are you one of those pathetic half elves who live in the slums? If so, maybe you need someone to teach you where your place is." The two buff knights that were standing close by stepped forward, cracking their knuckles murderously.
"Stupid idiots. Do you know who you're messing with?" The elf drew out his baton-sized weapon.
"Aw look," one man taunted. "The priss is gonna cheerlead!"
The elf raised his weapon and was about to make it convert to a long staff, when someone said cheerfully to him, "Hey Cuz! There you are!" The elf froze, the voice was familiar. He turned around to see-
"You...!"
"I've been looking all over for you!" Lloyd said with a goofy smile.
"???" (You'd be freaked out too)
"You know eachother?" The fruit guy said skeptically (I give them awesome names, don't I?).
"Uh huh. We're cousins! Right Cuz?" Lloyd slung an arm around the elf's neck, like a close friend would. The elf was too shocked to respond. "He's a bit on the retarded side, so yeah."
"Excuse me?" the elf sneered, offended. (Like Lloyd had the nerve to talk)
Lloyd whispered lightly into his pointed ear, "Play along."
"Cousins?" asked the fruit guy.
"Uh huh!"
"You two don't even look alike."
"We're distant cousins!"
"Whatever, your 'cousin' owes me some cash. Are you gonna pay for it?"
"Sure!" Lloyd dug out some gald and gave to the man, who bit a coin to make sure it was real (I don't get why they do that).
"You're clean," he said nonchalantly.
"Well, we should get going." Lloyd led the elf away, who said, "What the hell was that all about?"
"Hey, I was just helping you."
"I didn't need your help, and why would you want to help me?"
"I dunno. Why would you want to help that little girl?" The elf tensed and looked at him.
"You saw that," he muttered.
"Why are you so gloomy? You did a good deed. You don't seem like a bad guy."
"..."
Meanwhile, Noishe was still at the fruit stand, eyeballing a juicy mango.
"Get away mutt," the fruit guy spat, while counting his gald. Instead, the furry dog thing stood up on his hind legs and snatched the mango with his teeth, along with the the blanket the fruit was on. He made a mad dash toward his owner with the blanket trailing from his mouth, making him resemble Super Dog. The whole cart was knocked down, smashed fruit strewn across the cobblestone floors.
"Why you-!! Get those brats!!"
The knights began to run towards them. Lloyd turned around, said, "Oh shit!" then began to run, Noishe and the elf close behind. Lucky for them, the knights' heavy armor slowed them down dramatically, giving the three a good head start. They ran, not really thinking about where to go specifically, just to get as far away from their pursuers as possible. When they had turned one sharp corner, they stopped and settled down.
"Man that was close," Lloyd commented, panting, but with a smile on his face.
"Where is this place?" the elf asked, looking around.
Lloyd took in his surroundings, and said, "The Meltokio Slums."
Indeed, they were in the danky, dirty slums of Meltokio, close by the small stream coming from the sewers. Something anguished seemed to flicker into the elf's eyes, just for a second, then they held the same stoic appearance.
"The little girl probably came from here," Lloyd went on. "I wonder where her family is. Like I said, you did a nice thing."
"..."
"Well, I should get going," Lloyd turned to leave. "The others are probably-"
"You're not going anywhere."
Lloyd turned to face the hard expression of his 'enemy', who had drawn his weapon. "Even if you did assist me, I still have a mission to complete."
"I figured that. That's why I came prepared. Noishe, fetch!" Lloyd then threw a piece of mango at the confused elf. On cue, Noishe ran forward and headbutted the elf in the stomach, sending him straight into the mucky stream.
"Good boy!" Lloyd pet the dog's head. "Now let's go find the others." Lloyd saddled himself up on Noishe, and took off.
AD:Noishe likes mangos?
VGA:Yeah
AD:Okaay... Why?
VGA:Don't know. I went to a farm once and they had golden retrievers that fetched and peeled oranges, so yeah...
AD:...
