Author's notes: It's about time I worked on this story again. I've been too busy with my other stories. Oh well, maybe now, people will actually leave reviews of the story. I hope they like this one. And now, disclaimer!
Lloyd: Raenef the 6th doesn't own Tales of Symphonia, Namco does though.
Me: True, the lucky bastards. On with the story!
We have been walking for awhile now, me in the back with Lloyd and Genis in front of me. We had just left Iselia after the whole ranch massacre and it looks like they're still feeling down about it. I suppose I would too, if my home was destroyed for some stupid reason like talking to a friend. We're a good distance away, but even so, I still feel a little sad myself.
I find it sort of odd for me to be so emotional right now. I've acted kinda…weird too. I've acted tough in the beginning, and then I switched from that to being a person of faith after seeing that dead preacher, then straight to angry at the mayor after Marble died. Normally when I play the game, I don't feel that way, but now it just seems so real now that it's become a reality. I should probably try to put those behind me so I don't become a hysterical wreck.
Speaking of wrecks, Genis himself was looking the worst of the bunch. I can't really blame him to be honest. He's lost his home that he and his sister owned, lost one of his only friends in the village, and was banished from the village. It's a lot for one kid to take. I'm surprised he hasn't gone all emo from these incidents, but maybe that's just his determination showing. Yet, as he walked, one could tell he was sad. His shoulders were slouched, and his head was hanging a little lower than it should be. He was dragging his feet too, making a shuffling sound as we walked onward. Someone needs to talk to the kid, and I guess I'll have to be that someone.
"Hey, Genis," I say, walking up to catch up with him. He turns his head at my voice. "Are you all right? You've been acting really depressed lately."
He turned his head back to the ground and muttered, "No, I'm not alright. In fact, I feel pretty horrible right now." He picked his head up and stared at the road in front of him. "All that stuff that happened back their, it's my entire fault. I dragged Lloyd to the ranch, where he got caught on their security system. And then the village got destroyed, and Marble's…" he faded off, unable to finish what he wanted to say.
It was just as I thought. He was still sad about all that happened in Iselia, and he was kinda telling the truth. I'm not saying that Genis is guilty and deserves to feel that way, but no matter how you look at it, it does seem that way. I sighed quietly, trying to think of how to comfort the guy. Yet I couldn't think of anything to say. It seemed as if I was trying to make good of a situation that was bad.
Hang on a minute. Didn't Raine say something to Lloyd when he talked to her about what happened at the Ranch? She said something about what they did was morally right, but not legally. What did she say?
"Look, I'm gonna be honest with you Genis," I said finally. Genis nodded his head to show he was listening, but he kept his gaze towards the road. "After hearing all this, I have to kind of agree with you about it being your fault; you did get caught at the ranch, which inevitably lead to Marble's death." Genis lowered his head in shame. "However, that doesn't mean what you did was absolutely wrong."
Genis jerked up at this and swung his head around to face me. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Lloyd paying attention as well. I guess he wasn't feeling up to par either with the way things have been going for these guys. I decided to continue with my explanation and hope that I don't screw up.
"What you did back at the ranch, helping Marble and all that, that was morally correct. You did that because you knew the difference between what was right and was wrong in that situation. You couldn't have known that this Forcystus guy would go so far as to attack your village, just to get back at you. If anything, this situation we're in was caused by circumstances outside of our control." I explained. I was about to resume when I caught their expressions. It was absolutely priceless to see Genis and Lloyd somewhat dumbstruck by the logic. Note to self: Don't use Earth psychology around game characters; they'll just go brain-dead on you.
"What I'm trying to say is that you shouldn't blame yourself for everything that happened. You need to move on and not burden yourself like this; if you do, it's likely it will only make your life worse if you stay all mopey like this. Think for a moment; if it was someone else who had been the creature you fought, would you feel as bad as you do now?"
Genis seemed to think about it a moment. I honestly hope he understands what I'm saying, because if there is one character I'd like to see be in a good mood, it would have to be Genis. He deserves some happiness, instead of the foolish oppression he receives from the world. He picked up his head as he spoke. "I…guess not. I mean…I'd still feel bad about the person dying and all, but aside from that, no, I wouldn't."
I looked to Lloyd to see if he was still following. "Lloyd, how about you? Would you still feel as bad as I described?" I asked him.
Lloyd put on what I could assume was his thinking face, his eyes closed and crossing his arms. I observed that while he thought, he kept on walking, and I just found that to be creepy. 'How can someone close their eyes and keep walking like it's nothing?' I thought to myself, making a note to ask him about that later.
Lloyd finally opened his eyes and replied "I don't really know. I would still feel bad about the person dying, but maybe not as much if I didn't know them." He then turned his head to me and asked "How do you know so much about stuff like this? Has it happened before to you?" Genis looked at me as well, with a curious expression on his face.
Crap, crap, crap! How do I get out of this!? I knew I shouldn't have acted all Dr. Phil on them like that! Think, Tren, think!
"Uh, well…" I floated off, trying to think of a suitable answer other than just saying "Because" because it would be totally cheap and suspicious.
"I mean, you don't have to tell us if you don't want to, if that's what you'd like." Lloyd said, unknowingly allowing my mind to scream hallelujah to the heavens for sheer dumb luck.
"Yeah," I finally answered, "It's probably better you didn't know how I know these things. You know mental trauma and all that." There was silence for a moment before Lloyd asked "What's mental trauma?"
I was about to smack myself in response, reminding myself that I was dealing with Lloyd after all, when Genis beat me to the punch with a loud smack to the forehead. He then answered Lloyd's question. "It's another word for headache, Lloyd."
Lloyd nodded his head and refocused on the path ahead of us. I looked forward as well to see a clearing where we could possibly stop. "What do you guys say we take a break for a minute? We've been walking for quite awhile now. We can stop at that clearing." I spoke, pointing to the said clearing ahead.
"Yeah, I agree. I could use a break after all this." Genis responded, shifting the bag over his shoulders to make himself feel more comfortable. I could feel my shoulders cheering in victory as we all settled down for a moment to rest. I massaged my right shoulder, it's been killing me ever since that last fight.
"So," I said, rubbing my shoulder to get the soreness out. Yay for the soothing of muscles! "How far are we from reaching Triet, you think?"
Lloyd pulled out the map given to us by Frank and Phaidra and dragged his finger down across it. "It looks like we're still a few miles away from reaching the desert, let alone Triet. It'll be awhile." He answered, rolling the map up and storing it back inside his knapsack. I finally stopped massaging my shoulder, satisfied by the feeling of muscles at ease, and finally laid back on my rock to relax.
I can't believe all this crap that's happened already. I wasn't even supposed to know about Genis being a half-elf, and I've already blabbed it out! Then, I get banished from Iselia along with Genis and Lloyd. Now we're stuck out here in the middle of nowhere, trying to catch up with a group of people who are way far ahead of us. Not to mention the desert we have to cross…
Yep, I officially declare us three guys to be boned beyond help.
Hey, Tren. You got a sec?
Oh, great. And now the lazy spirit wants to talk. This just gets better and better.
'Yeah, what is it?'
What's the matter with you? Last I checked, you were all talkative and cheery-like. Now you've gone and got all grumpy for some reason. Care to elaborate?
'Oh, it's nothing really; I'm just having a little difficulty dealing with all the BULLSHIT that YOU THREW AT ME!'
Like what? I didn't do anything wrong.
'Oh really? Let's see, there was the dark me I saw in my sleep, the whole destruction of Iselia, getting left behind by the chosen's group. Should I continue?'
Okay, okay. I get the point. I just wanted to notify you that you're dark powers are starting to manifest.
This perked my interest. Then again, having the power to cause mass destruction at will is pretty entertaining for any guy like me, so I decided to ask. 'Okay, how'd that happen? You said that they wouldn't appear for a long time.'
I didn't say that! I said they would appear in time. But regardless of that, I'm trying to figure that out myself. Have you experienced a bunch of emotions lately?
Hmm, let's see. Anger at the mayor and Forcystus, sadness over Marble's death, and also the all the adrenaline from my fights and exercise. I'm pretty sure that qualifies as emotions. 'Yeah, what does that have to do with anything?'
Well, if you've been experiencing a bunch of emotions lately, that might have set it off kilter a little bit. It seems to be responding mostly to your emotions; your anger the most. It's still gonna be awhile before anything actually materializes, so don't worry about it.
'So you're basically telling me to act like how Kratos does around Lloyd?'
…Well, yeah that pretty much sums it up. Just be careful since this is all still a little unstable. See you later. He then cut off the connection, leaving me alone in my head again. Ahh, the sweet peace…
Oh, wait a second. I forgot something.
So much for peace.'Dammit, what is it?'
Make sure to ask Genis about how to cast magic. If you want to learn how to wield spells, you might as well start now.
'But…Humans can't cast magic.'
You can.
'…I can?'
Yes, you can.
'Really?'
Yes, really.
'…Really, really?'
YES, DAMMIT! NOW ASK!
'Alright, fine, I'll ask. Now buzz off, you're giving me a headache like all the other times you've visited me.'
Fine…ungrateful bum…
'I heard that, and I'm not a bum; I'm a teenager who likes to relax just a little too much.'
Trill finally left, leaving me to finally think on my own. It's not like I've got anything against Trill, it's just annoying how he just bumps into my head all the time. No, annoying isn't the right word. More along the lines of irritating, probably. Leaning up from my relaxed position, I looked to see Lloyd already asleep and Genis reading the map. Kid must want to make sure he catches up with his sister.
"Hey, Genis. Can I ask you a question?" I said, ignoring the fact that I had just asked a question, so I've answered myself and…you know what? What do you care, just keep reading!
"You just did. What is it?" Genis replied, looking up from the map. I felt my eyebrow twitch a little, but ignored it.
"I was wondering something. How exactly does one go about casting magic?" I asked carefully, not wanting my true intentions to be known. Genis would probably be the best teacher for me right now, so it'd be best if I was on his good side.
"Why do you want to know? Humans can't cast magic." Genis questioned me, putting the map down to focus on our discussion.
I quickly put my hands up in defense. "Well, I've got a liiiittle Elvin blood in me. And no, it's not that. I'm just curious is all. I've always wondered how it exactly worked."
Genis seemed to think it over a moment before saying, "Are you sure you want me to tell you? It would take quite awhile to explain fully." I guess the kid's being careful, too. Maybe he doesn't want to give away information he feels only he should know?
I shifted in my seat to get comfortable and show that I was willing to listen. "That's fine by me. With Lloyd out, we've got plenty of time to talk. So how does it work? Do you just call out the spell's name or what?" I said, putting my full attention on the midget mage. Who knows, maybe I can benefit from this other than learning the basics of magic.
Genis moved around in his seat until he sat in a new way with his legs set Indian-style, focusing on me with his eyes as well. "To begin with the explanation, you must first understand what mana is. I trust you know what mana is, don't you?" He started.
I racked my brains for a good answer. "Let's see. It's the magical force that exists within our planet; it acts as the life force of living things and is basically even more important than water?" I ended, hopeful that my answer was correct.
Genis smiled and nodded. "That's correct. Mana is basically the energy we use to do everyday things. Mana is created in nature, by living things' positive energy. This energy is slowly fed into nature, allowing it to spread to the planet and its beings. Normal people who don't train or practice magic like me and Lloyd do tend to have an average amount of mana in their bodies. Some people have more than others, but not enough to make a significant difference. There's a difference among races too.Elves and Half-elves have what's called either spiritual or elemental mana. Spiritual is light-based and elemental is, well, elementally-based."
He was about to continue, but I had a question. "Wait a minute. What do human beings have then?"
"Well, they have what is called physical mana, and has no base." Genis replied.
"Why is that though?" I asked, earnestly curious to the details.
"Well, it's because we have different blood types." Genis answered.
Wait a minute. That confuses me. In the game, they mentioned something about Half-elves and elves having different blood types than humans, but that doesn't explain anything at all. I think I'm beginning to sympathize with Lloyd now.
"That doesn't make sense to me. How does having a different blood type have anything to do with the type of mana in a person's body?" I asked, now officially curious. I could hear quiet writing in my head. Apparently, Trill was curious too, and was taking notes. It feels slightly satisfying to know that not even he has all the answers.
"Well, it's kinda hard to explain. Human beings are born with a blood that is not entirely in tune with nature. Since nature is basically where mana exists, human beings receive a different type of mana that they are capable of wielding. Half-elves like me and Raine have blood that is acutely tuned to nature. This allows us to wield the different types of mana unlike human beings can. We can even sense the mana of other beings as well. It helps when we…never mind." Genis ended sadly, looking at the ground. One could tell he was thinking of the times when he and Raine have been oppressed because of their race.
This is getting ridiculous. These guys couldn't have honestly been oppressed for this long, could they have?
"Genis, it's alright. You don't have to say it if you don't want to. Anyway, you were explaining what mana is exactly right?" I said, making sure to change the subject so the little guy doesn't get depressed. His face erased his sad expression and replaced it with a grateful one, lightening the mood a little.
"Yeah, I was. Anyway, thanks to our special blood type, we have access to a different type of mana, allowing us to easily cast magic. The same can be said of Elves. Humans can't because they have a different type of mana than we do.
I nodded my head, taking the information in slowly. "So let me get this straight. Mana comes from nature, as positive energy from living beings, which is passed on to other beings. Is that all?
Genis nodded his head and smiled. "Yep, that's right. You take this up pretty quickly. I tried explaining it to Lloyd, but all he got was a headache according to him."
I laughed a little bit at this, picturing Lloyd taking aspirins after hearing a lecture from Genis and Raine. Then, another thought occurred to me. Genis had said positive energy was used for mana. What about negative energy? What does it do?
"Hey, Genis. You said positive energy was used for mana, right?" I waited for him to nod. "Well, what about negative energy? What does it do?"
Then something strange happened. The happy expression that Genis wore quickly faded into one of fear. He audibly gulped and stuttered out, "Ne-Negative energy? Wh-why would you want to know about that?" Okay, this is creepy. Genis is acting like his sister just found a way to slap him harder or something. What the hell?
"Because you only talked about positive energy. You didn't explain about negative energy." I stated calmly. Either this negative energy is really freaking awesome or really freaking evil. Probably the latter, but who knows or even cares for that matter?
Genis looked around quickly before continuing in a small whisper. I had to lean forward to catch what he said. "The reason I didn't tell you about negative energy is because it's a dark energy. It's the opposite of mana, equal to it, except in the aspect of what it does to living beings. A living being is equally balanced when it comes to positive and negative energy. Usually, the being is in an area with positive energy, allowing the positive energy to be dominant over the negative." Genis stopped and looked around again to make sure no one else was listening, as if mentioning what he was about to say would bring an evil being to life or something.
He stopped looking and continued. "But if that being is in an area of negative energy, then the negative side takes over, turning the creature into an evil being." He shuddered when he stopped, as if a breeze had blown to chill him.
I wasn't entirely sure as to why he was acting all scared. Maybe Raine told him a bedtime story when he was younger that got etched into his memory that dealt with negative energy. I don't know. I pressed on. "Genis, you sound like as if you saying this will curse you or something. Calm down, would you?"
Genis leaned forward more and whispered even quieter "Have you ever heard of the legend of the Dark One?" Shaking my head, he continued. "He was a being that was immersed in negative energy. Some say that he's the actual source of the world's negative energy. There are stories about him I've heard that may sound ridiculous to you, but they seem true. Stories about how he killed armies that dared to challenge him, about how ruthless he was. He even had a name that still exists today." Genis stopped as if to wait for me to ask.
I nodded my head and he continued. "The name that the Dark One was given was Erebus. It means 'God of Darkness'. And for good reason. It was said that he was one of the only beings in existence that had a complete mastery over the powers of Darkness. There's proof he existed too. For example, there's a temple in the Asgard region that was once used to worship him and make sacrifices so that the people wouldn't be harmed. The temple still stands today, though no one goes to it anymore. Everyone believes it's haunted by his spirit."
I leaned back taking all this in. It sounded far-fetched to me. For a being that powerful to exist, it sounds like someone who would make Nebilim look like a sissy. Still, considering that something like the Eternal Sword and Mithos to exist, what he says might be true. I was about to speak when I hear Lloyd rouse from his sleep. Yawning, he looked back at us and said sleepily "Hey guys. Ready to go?"
He got up and stretched his arms, extending them towards the sky. Looking back at us, he catches Genis' expression of fear and looks at me. "What's with Genis? He looks like he just saw Raine with a flamethrower or something?" He asked.
I considered telling Lloyd what we talked about, but decided against it. I didn't want the whole world to be learning about me and what I do. "It's nothing. We were just talking is all and he got to thinking about his sister. Right, Genis?" I reply, looking at Genis, quickly winking an eye to give him the message.
Genis nodded and smiled at Lloyd. "Yeah, it's nothing to worry about. We should be on our way now." He said, picking up his satchel and getting off his rock. I mentally sighed with relief, glad that I had a good friend in this crazy place. I picked up my bag and we moved onward. I did however have one last thought as we left the clearing.
'How the hell does Lloyd know what a flame-thrower is, and how does he associate her with one?'
One day later
Note to self: When Trill appears next time, kick him in the groin, repeatedly, with Iron bound boots, followed with a few shell-bullets as well.
My wonderful new attitude with Trill is partially due to us currently crossing the desert right now. We had gotten here after stopping at the inn to rest for the night. We had a good meal and a decent night's sleep, so you'd think I'd be alright with crossing the desert, wouldn't you?
If you do, then I'm afraid that you are DEAD WRONG! Sorry, shouldn't get mad at you. What could you do, laugh at my misery of crossing a desert on foot?
For one thing, the heat was unbearable. I had to take off my jacket and wrap it around me like when you were in second grade around your waist, you know? Looking ahead of me, Genis seemed better off with only a t-shirt and shorts on, yet I could tell he was fatigued by the long walk. Lloyd was obviously overheating; every few seconds he pulls on his collar and I swear that steam comes off his body. So as you can see, we're not in the best of positions right now.
Then there came the scorpions. All they were was just kindling to add to the fire, no pun intended. There was about five of them that tried to assault us, but we easily took them out, mainly because I went into anger frenzy after one of them scratched my shirt. Mind you, I like my clothes the way they are. Afterwards, we went on our way, only to be stopped again by bandits who thought we were some lost travelers. Does someone have a grudge against us or something, aside from the desians and the Iselia villagers?
When we came across them, they tried to surround us. It partially worked with them properly covering the area. However, there were only three of them, leaving one for each of us to handle on our own if needed. There was silence a moment before one of the thieves, supposedly the leader, spoke aloud, saying "Going somewhere? You're in our territory so if you have any money, I suggest you hand it over."
I wasn't in the mood to be nice, so I replied for Lloyd who was about to speak. "I have an idea. How about you let us go, and we won't kick your asses for bothering us. That way, it works out for all of us, and no one gets hurt." See, I'm trying to be nice to them. Not cocky, nice.
The leader laughed and said "You beat us? Yeah right, and I can summon Efreet. Since you won't cooperate nicely like we asked, we'll just have to take your money by force. Let's get'em, boys." They each drew out their long knives and took a stance I assumed was a fighting stance. I pulled out my gauntlets and said quietly to myself "Well, I did try to be nice just the same." Let's say that I took out some of my rage on these guys, and we'll leave it at that. Please don't watch as I repeatedly kick my guy in the groin when I knocked him down, probably smashing his crown Jewels.
A few minutes later, and it was over. The bandits were lying on the ground, moaning in pain. Oh, wait a minute, that's my guy, holding his crotch. My bad. As we walked away, I noticed the leader, whom Lloyd had taken out, had a slightly bulging pouch on his hip. I quickly walked over to it and picked it off him. Not like he needs it, now does he?
"Sorry pal," I said as we walked away, "You mess with the best, and you fall like all the rest." (What, I can't brag that we kicked their butts? Just be quiet and read!)
Once the whole fight adrenaline had settled down, I felt pretty calm afterwards. I even lost my anger at Trill a little for putting us out here without a ride. Even a camel would have been nice, but we're stuck with only our feet to use. Great job Trill. Has anyone figured out I hate deserts yet?
We had been walking again a few minutes after the incident with the bandits, and I could feel my anger returning with each step. It's as if each little dosage of heat I got from the sand was fuel for it.
Step. 'Stupid heat'
Step. 'Stupid desert'
Step. 'Stupid Trill'
All this brought us to where we are now, still crossing the desert trying to catch up with Colette and the others. I was bored, partially due to the consistent image of only sand and rocks to look at, and also due to the silence that accompanied us. No one was saying anything, as if saying something would cause the temperature to go up 10 degrees. Now if Genis cast a spell to make the temperature go up, then it would make sense. Otherwise, everyone's just too tired to talk. I decided to break the silence by asking the most annoying question on a trip such as this: "Are we there yet?"
Genis turned to look at me. "What'd you say?" He asked.
I wiped the sweat off my brow and repeated my question. "I said, are we there yet?"
Genis shook his head and replied "No, we're not. We should be close though."
I groaned aloud to express my displeasure at this statement. I threw my hands arms up in frustration when I caught a whiff of something. I quickly checked myself to confirm whether or not it was me. Yep, it was official. I needed to wash up, bad. I don't care if I have to jump inside that stinking Oasis at the town to do it; I just want to clean up, dammit! Okay, maybe the whole Oasis jumping thing is a little crazy, but for that, I blame the heat and my current unseemliness.
I decided to use the time between now and when we got to Triet to think about just random things so as to keep me from being bored. Hmm, I still remember that whole lesson that Genis said he was going to teach me. We only got to cover the basics of mana before Lloyd woke up and had us get moving. Maybe I should ask him about it now.
"Hey Genis, why don't you tell me more about casting spells now?" I called out to him. He looked at me a moment before replying "I'd like to, but I can't think straight right now. Once we get to Triet, I can tell you more there."
Darn. Spoilsport, ruin my blatant attempt at breaking the boredom, why don't you? I retreated back into my place and tried to think of something else. Hmm, I could talk to Trill, but he might not have anything to say either. Oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained right? 'Hey, Trill. You there?'
What do you want now?
'I was just wondering if there is anything you wanted to tell me.'
No, not really. Nothing to worry about right now, just carry on.
'Trill, the last time you said that, I nearly got hacked in two. I'm having a little trouble believing you.'
Really, it's nothing to worry about, I'm completely honest here.
'Alright, I'll take your word for it.'
Yeah, he's perfectly fine.
'Who's perfectly fine?'
No one, no one at all. Then he cut off the connection. AGGHH! I'm still bored!
We finally arrived in Triet, covered in sand and dust, ready to just quit and go home. Of course, that meant going through the desert again, and that's not an option. We checked into the inn to reserve a room and proceeded outside to look around. I decided to go to the market to shop for anything we might need. Lloyd went with Genis to go seek information as to where our friends were.
I walked around the marketplace and noticed everyone staring at me. I guess that they aren't used to seeing someone dressed like me. Most people as far as I can see were wearing turbans and other desert clothing…stuff. Anyways, I'm walking around when I see a weapon's shop. It had the usual weaponry, the swords and the…Frisbees? What the hell?
I walk up to it and get a better look. Yep, they're Frisbees all right. How someone can die from a Frisbee I don't know, but it works somehow. I was about to walk off when I saw a pair of gauntlets lying on a display table. I picked them up and saw that they were pretty new. They had something that looked like bumps on the knuckles. I looked around for the salesperson, and found him in the back, getting a drink of water.
"Hey, excuse me!" I called out. "How much for these gauntlets?"
The shopkeeper walked up and had a look at them. "Those? Those are the stud gauntlets. They've got refined metal around the knuckles to provide more damage on impact. They're worth 500 gald." He then took a swig of water and looked at me.
I felt my mouth open of its own accord. "Fa…fa…five, hundred?" I said, gaping at the price. I bet I don't even have 300 gald! Opening my pouch, I just hold it out to the man and ask him to sort it out himself. He opens it and sorts through it, looks at me, and says "What a coincidence. There's just enough in here to cover it. I'll just take this bag off your hands then." He started to walk away when I heard Lloyd's voice say "Hold on a minute!"
I turned to see Lloyd and Genis walk up to the stand. "That bag had at least 2,000 gald in it! Give him his change back!"
I turned around in rage at the shopkeeper. I'm pissed off now. "Give my money, before I kick your ass, NOW!" He quickly picked out a few coins and gave back the bag in a hurried manner. "Th-There, that's all there is, I swear!" the man said, eager to get away.
A few minutes later, we were walking back to the inn, new equipment in hand. Lloyd had gone ahead and bought the Knight's sabers, and Genis had bought his new Kendama as well. We were about to turn in at the inn when Lloyd stopped walking. For Lloyd to openly ignore the chance for sleep, means we've got trouble.
"What is it?" I asked eager to wash up and get some rest. I have had enough deserts today and am ready to hit the hay. And I wasn't about to let Lloyd stop me from getting there.
Lloyd merely pointed towards the wall on the side of the inn. I followed his finger with my gaze and saw it pointed towards what looked like the town notice board. There was random papers nailed to it, but what caught my attention were the new posters that were applied there.
They each had a picture of us, sort of like those jail cell pictures you see when someone's arrested, except…they were horribly drawn. I walked toward them and saw mine. Mine showed me, except with an evil grin, but that wasn't what stood out. They had me having a HUGE nose! My pride was injured by this picture. I quickly ripped it off and stomped it into the ground, muttering "I don't have a big nose."
"Hey, get away from those!" a voice rang out. I looked back to see the townspeople running away, giving way for three desians to walk forward. "You can't just do as you please here! We had our best artists draw those, and post them there in every single town! You guys are gonna get hurt now, and then we'll take you to Lord Forcystus!"
I could feel my eyebrow twitching as he said this. I pulled out my gauntlets and started to walk forward away from the board. I put them on before I spoke. "You're best artists drew those?" I asked quietly. I cracked my knuckles as I walked.
Lloyd stepped beside me as I walked. "Tren, wait a minute. You can't take those guys on by yourself, you'll get hurt!" I ignored him and kept walking. No one, absolutely no one, gets away with confusing my face with that piece of shit they call artwork.
The desians stepped back after seeing me start to walk forward. One of them, I guess the leader, stepped forward and said "You're criminal #0075 aren't you?"
I lifted my eyes up to look at them. "And if I am?"
The Desian smiled under his helmet and said "I'm afraid you're going to have to come with us." He and his friends pulled out their whips. (Oh, the poor fools. They have no idea what's about to happen.)
I stopped walking and took a stance. I was about to launch myself when I heard a voice in my head say "Do it." Okay, I'm hearing voices in my head aside from Trill. Weird. Oh well, time to kick ass.
The first guy charged at me and cracked his whip, aiming for my arm. I see it coming, but in slow-motion. My eyes widen at this. Since when in the hell do I have matrix powers? Last I checked, this was Tales of Symphonia, not "The Matrix Reloaded"! I'm not Neo, dammit! Moving back to the battle.
I grab the whip, much to the surprise of everyone, and jerk it in my direction. This causes the holder of the whip to be thrown forward towards me. I cocked my fist back and connected with his stomach. He choked and fell to the ground unconscious. Everyone gasped at this, and I looked back up at the remaining two. "Next." I say, ready to take them on. As you can see, no one insults the nose.
The next two guys charged forward, apparently eager to end this quickly. I charged forward as well, going into slow-motion again. Note to self: ask Trill what the hell is going on here, because I really want to learn how to wield this. I put my arms out to my sides to clothesline them. The one on my left saw it coming and ducked just in time. The other wasn't so luck as I hit him full on with a stiff arm. He fell to the ground, leaving his partner alone to fight me.
He put up his whip and pulled out his sword. I could see his mouth under the protection of his helmet. His teeth were gritted and one could tell he was nervous. He charged forward and swung it down in a horizontal slash. I caught it on my arm and held it in place. He gasped when I did this; apparently, desians aren't used to having their butts whooped. I cocked my other fist back and cried out "Shell Bullet!" My fist connected with his helmet, causing a loud "POOONNNG!" noise to ring out. The guy wobbled back, showing a large dent in his helmet. I kinda grimaced at this; I didn't think I had hit him that hard. He fell to the ground, ending the clash.
I turned to face Lloyd and Genis, a satisfied expression on my face. I looked at them to see they're mouths agape. "What, you guys haven't seen-" I was cut off by a sudden weakness I felt in my body. My whole body was sore and aching, as if I was a crash-test dummy. I fell to the ground amid cries of "Tren! Wake up! Tr-BZZZZZZt" Lloyd's voice was cut off by the sound of something like electricity. I would have tried to get up, but I gave in to fatigue and fell to darkness.
Author's notes: That was my longest chapter yet! Quite the cliffhanger! What will happen to Tren now that he's knocked out? Keep reading and find out! Read and Review!
