Me: Thanks tiger002, ShadowVDP, and SymphoniaFreak for reviewing!

Yuan: You haven't updated for awhile.

Me: Sorry, but unlike you I'm not a genius so I've been falling behind in school.

Tenebrae: How bout you use the powers of the dark?

Me: …what?

Tenebrae: You can hide in the dark from your teachers.

Me: Wouldn't they get madder at me?

Tenebrae: Of course not. They wouldn't be able to see you.

Me: That's a bad idea any way. Yuan, do the disclaimer!

Yuan: AquaticWings does not own Tales of Symphonia.

Me: Enjoy!


Traveling to the Fire Seal

"…I'm going to do my best for you too Lloyd." I slowly opened my eyes at hearing Colette's voice.

"Colette…," I sat up and yawned, "Why are you awake?"

"I'm sorry for waking you up Stella!"

"No, it's alright. Do you mind if I go outside for a while?"

"No, but don't get hurt, okay?"

"Don't worry about me Colette. Now go back to sleep, you need your rest."

"You're right. Goodnight Stella."

"Goodnight Colette." She got back in bed and I got out of bed. I've been asleep for a while actually. When Kratos and I came into the inn I was so tired I went to my room and fell asleep in my daytime clothes.

I put on my boots and left Colette's, Chikita's, and my room. Lloyd, Siryno, and Kratos were using a room downstairs. Raine and Genis were in the room next to us. I quietly closed the door and left the inn.

"Whine?" I heard Noishe and went over to him.

"Hey boy," I scratched his head, "How are you doing?"

"Whine!"

I smiled, "I wish I knew what you were saying."

"Whine."

"I feel like your trying to tell me something."

"Whine!"

I sighed, "I really wish I knew your language…"

"Stella, what are you doing out here? You should be sleeping." I looked behind me.

"I would ask you the same, Kratos." I looked at him. His hair looked like it hadn't even touched the pillow on his bed.

"I was unable to sleep."

"You answered your own question." I turned back around to Noishe.

"I see…" He stood next to me. Noishe rubbed his head on Kratos's chest.

"Whine…"

"Get off." Kratos shoved the animal away.

"Grr!"

I laughed, "He's mad at you Kratos!"

"Indeed." I looked up at the sky.

We didn't say anything for a while, but I broke our silence. "I've always liked it when the stars came out. Seeing them shining up there comforted me when I was scared."

He looked at me, "Do you know any constellations?"

I shook my head, "No, I haven't really studied them."

"You should. The pictures that the stars make are very beautiful." I nodded in agreement. The only sound after that was the wind, before Lloyd showed up. He approached us silently, and Kratos immediately assumed he was going to attack. He pointed his sword at Lloyd's neck. I covered my gaping mouth with my hands.

"Whoa!"

"Lloyd…," He put his sword away, "I'm sorry to have startled you."

"Kratos, I don't think you startled him, I think you made him scared for his life." Kratos looked back at me then at Lloyd.

"You'd best not stand behind me."

"I won't…" Kratos returned to looking at Noishe. I wonder if they're having a conversation in their head…

Lloyd asked Kratos, "Do you like animals?"

"Do you?" I added in.

"No, not particularly…"

"Well Noishe seems to be quite comfortable with you," Lloyd remarked. "He usually doesn't like strangers."

"He's not a stranger…" I murmured to myself. Lloyd didn't appear to have heard me. I hope Kratos didn't notice either… I looked at said man; he glanced at me. Great, just great. He heard me talking to myself. Kratos continued his conversation with Lloyd.

"I once had a pet, long ago."

"Really?"

"Lloyd…" Kratos turned to Lloyd and began staring at him.

Nervously Lloyd asked, "Wh…what? Why are you staring at me like that for?"

"…Your swordsmanship is unrefined. You should focus a little on your vulnerabilities." He went to go inside the inn, but stopped next to Lloyd and added in, "If you care about your life." He then left us.

"Grr! Just because he's a little better than me, he has to talk like he knows everything!" Lloyd sighed, "Well…a lot better than me."

"Are you talking to me, him, or yourself Lloyd?"

He looked back at me, "I forgot you were there…" I walked over to him.

"Lloyd, how about we get better together?"

He perked up, "Great! But…"

"But?"

"You don't use a sword."

"That doesn't mean we can't help each other out. Lloyd, let's go back in and get some sleep, okay?"

He nodded, "Okay." And we did just that.

Morning…

"Stella!"

"What…," I whined. I turned over to look at her. She ran over to my bed, jumped onto it, and began bouncing.

"The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and it's time to get up!"

"A few more minutes…" I shoved her off my bed and buried my head into my pillow.

I heard heavy footsteps, then nothing. I felt someone staring at me and I began to feel uncomfortable.

"Um…," I mumbled, "I'm going to get up…" I sat up and yawned. I looked at the person who had been staring at me. Siryno stood there, continuing to stare at me. "I'm going to get dressed so you should get out of here."

"Alright, I'll see you in a few minutes then, c'mon Chikita." They left. I got dressed into my daytime clothes. I yanked a comb threw my hair, pulling out a lot of it. I grabbed a history textbook and one other book and put them in a smaller bag than the one I got from Lloyd. I also put my apple gels and orange gel into it. I put the bag on my waist and before I left my room I remembered my weapon.

I grabbed it, "Better not forget that." I walked down the stairs and as soon as I was lined up with Lloyd's bedroom door he came running out. He crashed into me, him falling on top.

"Ow! Get off of me!"

"Sorry," He held out his hand. I grabbed it and he helped pull me up. "Let's get going."

"Right!" We both dived for the door. We almost collided, but I tripped and fell on the ground outside of the inn. Lloyd stopped just in time.

He laughed, "This just isn't your day is it?"

"Shut up…," I pushed myself up and brushed the dirt off my clothes. Lloyd and I then walked over to the others. They all looked at us, but only Genis, Raine, Kratos, and Siryno grumbled.

Kratos sighed, "We can finally head out to release the seal."

Colette clasped her hands together, "Yes. I'll do my best!"

Raine began to speak, "The seal Remiel spoke of is in the Triet ruins southwest from here.

"Cool!" Lloyd exclaimed, "Let's check out that seal!"

"Yeah!" I exclaimed, pumping my fist into the air. But really, I wasn't that enthusiastic.

Genis looked at Chikita, "Want to bet to see how long it'll take for Lloyd to get bored?"

She grinned, "Sure!"

"How long you betting?"

"Hmm… five minutes."

"I'm going to bet four. If I win you give me a hundred gald, if I lose I'll give you a hundred gald."

"Deal," They shook hands.

I looked at Lloyd, "Does he always guess how long it'll take for you to get bored?"

He grumbled, "Yep."

"Oh," Raine exclaimed, "I just remembered. Let me give you this." She walked over to Lloyd and handed him something. Lloyd looked at it in dismay. "Gathering data on your enemies is useful for protecting the Chosen." I guess she handed him the monster list.

"I…I'm going to do it?"

"I'll help too, just think of it as homework," Raine reassured Lloyd.

Lloyd response was funny, "Eww…" I looked over at Siryno and Kratos. They were annoyed.

"We should get going," Siryno told us.

I grinned, "Let's go then!" I ran over to the gate of the town. Looking back at them I yelled, "You guy's coming or what?" Lloyd, Chikita, and Genis ran up to me. The adults walked. And then we began our adventure to the fire seal.

In the desert somewhere…

"Lloyd!" I yelled, "Give me the map! It's obvious you've got us lost!"

"Don't worry; we're going in the right direction!"

"I worry Lloyd!" We've been wandering in the desert for a while now. We were all hot, sticky with sweat, and miserable.

"Why'd we give Lloyd the map?" Genis asked me.

"I have no clue."

"I hope we get there before nightfall."

"Yeah."

Chikita walked up beside me, "I'm tired, can we rest?"

"That would be a wise decision."

I looked back at Siryno, "So can we?" He nodded and told Raine and Kratos of his decision. They both agreed. We all then collapsed in the sand. I grabbed my water from my bag and drank some.

Lloyd almost gulped down all his water but Kratos warned him, "Drink only some. If you drink too much water you'll feel sick and you won't have enough water for the trip."

"You know everything don't you?"

"No, that would be Siryno, but I like to put these things into practice."

Genis looked at Siryno, "Do you really know everything?"

"Not everything, but the majority I suppose." I got bored of the conversation so I took out my book. It was Lloyd's history book.

"What are you reading?" I looked up at Lloyd.

"Your neglected history book."

"Why are you reading that? It's so boring."

"To you, but I find it all fabulous."

"What have you learned so far Stella?" Raine asked me.

"I learned that…

A few minutes later…

"At that's what I learned."

"You learn quickly."

"Yeah- uh… Lloyd?"

"Zzz…" I looked at Lloyd snoring. He was sleeping while standing up. I wonder how he does that…

"Lloyd! Wake up!"

"Zzz- wah? Ah!" And again he fell on me.

"Lloyd!" I shouted, "Stop falling on me! This has been the second time today!"

"Sorry!" He quickly got up and I sat up, glaring at him. The others, I noticed, were staring at us.

"Are you both all right?"

"I'm fine Colette; you don't need to worry about me."

"Alright."

"Siryno, how about you take Stella and train."

"Alright. I have a question for you though; did you give her her weapon?"

"No."

"As if I believe you. Come on Stella, let's go."

"Alright."

Training…

"Let me first show you how to shoot a bow and arrow." He took the weapon and got into a position. "Try to copy me."

"Ok." I took it from him. I placed it in my hands, trying my best to copy him.

"Loosen your grip." I did so. "Now here's the arrow." He placed it on the bow. "Pull the string back ward, then let the string go." Well… I did what he said, but the result was…

"Amazing… I didn't expect you to shoot that far." The arrow was still sailing through the sky, but I could only see the red feather. I saw it fall into the sand, and then it appeared back on the bow. "Now let's see how you do on aiming."

"How about we don't? I'm terrible."

"You can't be that bad."

"You want to bet?"

"No, I don't do bets. Let's just practice aiming and you'll learn eventually." He took an apple out of his bag and put it on the ground. "Shoot that." I readied my arrow, but instead of hitting the apple I hit Siryno who had been standing near it, but not beside it.

He took the arrow out of his leg, "Aim at the apple and not me please."

"I told you I have bad aim!" Then I calmed down, "Are you alright? You're not bleeding, are you?"

"I am a little, but save your magic."

"…alright. I'll try again." I shot the arrow a second time, but it sailed way over the apple and landed several feet behind.

"Here," he placed his hands around mine on the bow and positioned it differently. "Now try shooting." I did, but it landed a few inches before the apple.

I looked at him, "You're fault."

"No, you didn't put enough power into it. You're going to try again and again until you shoot the apple, alright?"

"Fine with me."

He smiled knowingly, "Oh. I see what you're doing. You're trying to avoid going to the seal of fire, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not. I really want to go there. It'll be so exciting!"

"You're scared."

"I'm not."

"You are."

"I'm not!" I shot the arrow and cut the apple beautifully in half. "Let's go." I turned around and walked back to camp, Siryno following me. I knew he was worried, but I didn't want anyone to see my fear. Everything went more smoothly without those kinds of complaints.

Traveling in the desert…

"I wonder what the fire seal will be like." Chikita said. We were walking again to the fire seal. This time though, Kratos lead us. Soon we were standing before the ruins.

"Whine!" I looked behind us. I always forgot about Noishe.

"Has he been with us the entire time?"

"I don't know," Lloyd replied.

"He hasn't," Genis answered my question.

"Well anyway," I looked at Noishe, "What's wrong?"

"Be on your guard," Kratos warned.

"Yes, there are monsters about." Siryno looked about, looking for the monster. They came toward us.

"They're fire elements," Raine said, "Their weakness is ice." Siryno and Genis began casting. Chikita turned a few pages in her book. She stood behind Siryno, studying whatever is written on the page she was looking at.

She began to sing a melody, "palielināsies no zemes un klausīt uz manu gribu. Nogalināt mans ienaidnieks, Ice Fang!" Ice appeared on the ground and rushed toward the monster.

Siryno cast the usual, "Icicle!" I put my arrow on my bow and aimed at the monster. I shot the arrow, but hit almost hit Kratos.

"Be careful!"

"Sorry!" The arrow appeared on my bow again, and I shot again. It hit the ground unfortunately. "I hate moving targets!"

"Get used to it," Siryno told me, "All our enemies will be moving."

"The apple didn't move…" I grumbled. He looked at my as if I had three heads. "What?"

"Nothing, now concentrate on your target." He began casting again. I sighed. I aimed this time, and shot not the fire element but Lloyd.

"Ow! I'm bleeding!"

"First aide! Sorry about hitting you Lloyd!"

"Maybe you should stick to magic!"

"Good idea, except I only know first aide!"

"Then don't fight!"

"Ouch," I mumbled. I should've fought with a sword instead of a bow and arrow.

'How about I lend you a helping hand?'

'That'd be great.'

'In order for me to help you'll have to let me take over your body. Now, just think and feel nothing.'

'Ok…' I did so, and then I was back in that white empty space I had been when I was knocked out by Marble. I imagined myself in a field of flowers with the blue sky and bright sun over me. Immediately after I thought of it it appeared. Daisies, tulips, and pansies surrounded me. I laid down and stared at the sky. It was as if it was really above me, but I knew I was just imagining it. I wonder what she's doing… I closed my eyes and when I opened them I saw everybody staring at me.

"Why are you staring at me?"

"Well…," Genis started, "One minute you're terrible at aiming and the next you're an expert."

"How'd you do that?" Lloyd asked me.

"Um… Shouldn't we be going inside the fire seal?" I wanted to get the attention off of me.

"Yes," Kratos agreed, "But first it'd be a good idea for Siryno and me to teach you techniques to protect yourselves."

"Are you talking about self-defense training?" Colette asked him.

"Something like that."

"We'll show you how it's done," and Siryno and Kratos proceeded to teach us. My technique was called Spirit Protection. All I had to do was imagine a sphere around me and I'd be protected by that sphere.

Lloyd smiled, "Okay! I don't really get it, but I already feel stronger! I can't wait to try it out!"

Genis sighed, "I think you're just imagining things…"

"I feel stronger too!" Chikita exclaimed. Her technique had been called Song Guardian.

I looked around, "Anyone know where Noishe is?"

Lloyd looked annoyed, "Ah man, he ran off again!"

"He's probably nervous about the monsters," Kratos told Lloyd, "I think it would be best to not count on Noishe in places with monsters around." W e then walked up and onto the ruins.

I looked about, "Wow! This place is so beautiful!" I leaned down and rubbed the entrance, "The surface is so smooth! I bet it's made up of something that not stone! I could keep rubbing it forever!"

"The material used to build the entrance is made up of polycarbonate! It was developed during the ancient war to defend against magic!"

"Amazing! I wonder if I could get a sample of this…?"

"Um, Stella? What's so fascinating about the entrance? It's just an entrance."

"Just an entrance?!?" I walked toward Chikita, "It is made of material designed during the ancient world! If I could study this perhaps I'll be able to reproduce it!"

Lloyd sighed, "Good luck with that."

Raine looked at me, "It's good to know that someone else cares about history!"

"I want to learn everything there is to know!" I exclaimed happily.

"That's good to hear. If you want I could teach while we travel."

I began jumping up and down, "Really?"

"Of course. I am a professor."

"Thanks Raine!" I ran up to her and hugged her.

"You're welcome Stella." The others stared at the two of us.

"And I thought it was just my sister who went into ruin mania…"

"Raine's always been like this?" Lloyd asked the miserable little brother of Raine.

Genis sighed, "And I tried so hard to hide it…"

Me: Hmm…

Tenebrae: What's up?

Me: It's near Christmas and I want to do a short Christmas story, but I'm not too sure what to write.

Yuan: That's easy to solve.

Me: It is?

Tenebrae: Readers, if you have an idea of a short good Christmas story then put the idea in your review.

Me: Thanks for solving the problem Yuan and Tenebrae, now I'm going to go eat a candy cane!

Tenebrae and Yuan: Oh dear.

Yuan: We should probably leave her to her sugar.

Tenebrae: Good Idea, I don't want to watch her bouncing off the walls!