Hikaru: I'm so sorry for the long wait! Schoolwork's been piling up . . .
Raine: Why are you complaining?
Hikaru: Why else? I hate homework!
Raine: I don't see how that's possible when you currently have four A's and three B's in all of your classes.
Lloyd: I envy your academic ability.
Hikaru: Look, just because I have good grades, doesn't mean I like homework!
Raine:has her textbook: Hikaru, state the properties of the mineral adamantite, its uses, and how it is formed.
Hikaru: Professor, the mineral adamantite is scrap diamond used chiefly by dwarves as a sharpening tool for their crafting utensils. Adamantite is formed when a diamond's atomic structure is strengthened by the means of magitechnology machines.
Raine: See! You like studying mana and magitechnology!
Hikaru: Well, I'm writing a book that has to do with mana and mythology . . .
Raine: So what's so bad about your homework at school?
Hikaru: Huh . . .I don't know . . .
Raine: See? You loved doing homework in elementary school!
Hikaru: And how did you know that . . .?
Zelos: Oh, we just had Sheena use Mizuho's intelligence network . . .
Hikaru: ZELOS!
Zelos: And I also happen to know that you like to dance . . .
Hikaru: What are you implying?
Zelos:goes off-screen and comes back out in his formal outfit with a rose in his mouth: Come and get some!
Hikaru: I'd rather dance with Noishe.
Zelos: Oh, that's so cold!
Hikaru: I wanna dance with Kratos! Oh, Kratos!
Zelos: . . .okay . . .
Gem-Katz: Meow! Hikaru doesn't own Tales of Symphonia.
Genis only stared, despite of the impoliteness staring merits. The person he saw standing before him was obviously male; he wore a white trench coat with black pants and a white shirt, he had curiously green hair, which matched his eyes, and he held in his right hand a lightweight short sword, which bore the word "truth" in ancient elven letters inscribed in the blade. The reason Genis stared at the stranger so was because of his long, pointed ears that were furry and speckled with white and green. The stranger had the honor of speaking first.
"Genis?" he asked, almost uncertainly.
Genis' jaw dropped a few feet.
"Um . . .have we met?"
The other boy, appearing at least a year or so older than Mithos was, pouted, much like Lloyd would have.
"Oh, come on! You're a child prodigy, and yet you can't even recognize the world's one and only Protozoan?"
Genis' jaw, if possible, dropped even lower this second time.
"N-Noishe! You evolved again?"
Noishe nodded proudly. He brandished his short sword around, an idiotic grin etched in his features.
"Yep! I am Noishe, the one, the only Protozoan!"
Genis sighed, lowering his previously raised kendama. Noishe quit the hysterics, and instead focused on Genis and their current situation.
"Hey, Genis, did you by any chance get separated from Raine?"
Genis nodded.
"I know she's in this general area, but I can't find her. One is because of the darkness, second is because there are shape shifting monsters called Nemespawn running around."
Noishe returned the nod, although the action was lost in the dark.
"Well, if we run into any monsters, they won't last long! After all, now that you've got a melee fighter on your side, you can cast spells without a problem!"
At this, Genis smiled. He felt Noishe place a hand on his shoulder.
"C'mon, Genis. We'll find Raine together!"
"Yeah!"
"I'm gonna be sick, I'm gonna be sick, I'm gonna be sick . . ." These words Artemis muttered under his breath over and over, squeezing his eyes shut. As of now, Colette had Satsuma and Artemis in her arms, flying throughout the base and asking Artemis questions every now and then regarding which way to go. Eventually, Colette dropped the two teenagers she previously held on the floor.
"Ow! Colette, what the hell are you—"
"Shut up! Is this the place where Genis said he found Hikaru?"
Artemis got to his feet, straightening out his outfit. He took in the surroundings. Indeed, the juvenile Summon Spirit had dropped them off at the entrance of the secret hallway. Muttering continuously, Artemis began the long descent down the narrow stairwell, Satsuma and Colette following soon thereafter. Artemis felt his way along the wall by the means of his hands. He yelped when his foot slipped, and down the stairs he fell.
"Ow! Hey! What's going on!" His fall was stopped when Colette threw her arm forth, thus catching the previously doomed Artemis. He gave a weak smile.
"Uh . . .thanks, Colette."
The Summon Spirit set him on his feet. "Don't worry about it."
Artemis took a deep breath, and quickly, but carefully, continued the journey down the staircase.
Raine once again lit her lantern, providing light so that she and her two companions may see their surroundings. Lloyd spoke, nervousness obvious in his tone of voice.
"Uh . . .shouldn't we be getting out of here?"
Standing beside Raine, Hikaru nodded earnestly. Raine sighed.
"I agree. Let's go."
Hikaru drew her twin daggers, taking up the rear position of the band. Lloyd took the lead, whereas Raine kept in the center. Lloyd, sure-footed as a goat on a steep mountain slope, led the two half-elves the way the girls had come, keeping his twin blades out lest a shape shifter or more attacked. Hikaru anxiously looked about, not used to having to fight in such a narrow setting. It didn't take long for the first Nemespawn to find them.
"Rising Falcon!" Lloyd leapt in the air and dove back down, thus driving away the beast, which had chosen to take the shape of a wild boar from the Ymir Forest. Panicking, Hikaru sought to protect Raine from any interruption as she raised her staff in preparation to cast a spell. The young swordswoman repeatedly slashed and hacked at the boar, which charged forward. Hikaru, caught in the attack, was flung onto her back. She cried out loudly. Lloyd saw her plight, and helped her to her feet just as Raine finished her spell.
"Holy Lance!"
Multiple, transparent white lances materialized out of thin air, driving themselves into the Nemespawn. Since these shape shifters had stronger attributes than the original being they took the shape of, the boar look alike didn't even flinch. Hikaru bit back another scream when the boar charged again. She held her ground, rising up her daggers.
"Guardian!" She yelled, her feet skidding on the smooth metal floor. She opted for an attack.
"Demonic Chaos!" Her voice echoed throughout the hallway.
Raine finished casting her next offensive.
"Light . . .Photon!"
A sphere of yellow light consumed the beast shortly before exploding, delivering massive damage. Lloyd ran to the boar.
"Tiger Rage!"
The Nemespawn's blood flowed from the countless slashes Lloyd dealt it, shimmering a translucent light blue. Hikaru moved in for the kill.
"Omega Tempest!"
The Nemespawn's body was ripped asunder, dying at last. Lloyd bent down, picking up the sparkling purple crystal from amongst the glimmering blue gelatin substance that was forming from the dead shape shifter's body parts.
"Hey . . .isn't this its heart?"
Raine walked toward Lloyd, taking a look at the crystal he held.
"Now that you mention it . . .that written file did include some brief information regarding a crystal . . ." Raine swiped it from Lloyd, studying it and mumbling under her breath.
Hikaru sighed with evident relief. Straining a grin, she sheathed her daggers, and her gaze unconsciously fell upon her leaf crystal. Its paranormal green light radiated a small distance, lighting up her hand. Would something awful really happen to her if she didn't have a Key Crest? Hikaru chuckled. She imagined herself turning a tree monster. She turned to Lloyd and Raine.
"C'mon, let's go. We don't want to get attacked again, do we?"
Still devoting herself to the Nemespawn heart, Raine followed Hikaru, Lloyd in tow.
The very instant Artemis felt the metallic floor level out, he broke into a sprint. Satsuma gasped in surprise, not hesitating to follow. Grinning idly, Colette unfurled her magenta angel wings and flew on ahead of Artemis. Before long, the carefree juvenile Summon Spirit collided with a few people.
"Ouch! Watch where you're going!" She yelled irritably.
Artemis and Satsuma skidded on the smooth metal floor to a stop just before mowing over Colette. Artemis' claret eyes widened at whom Colette flew into.
"Genis! You're all right!" He ran over to meet his friend.
Genis nodded, rubbing his head, mussing up his silver hair. The other boy that stood beside Genis caught Artemis' eye.
"Who's that?" He asked.
The stranger grinned widely. He flaunted a short sword about wildly.
"I am the last Protozoan in human, elven, dwarven, half-elven, and maybe even half-dwarven existence, Noishe!"
Artemis only stared. At his side, Satsuma coughed, obviously hiding a laugh. Colette, using her angel wings, hovered back a few inches above the floor, straightening her hair and biting her lower lip gently. Noishe had to laugh, and quite loudly he did. Genis chuckled softly, a ghost of a grin pulling at his lips.
"I'm glad I found you, Genis. I thought you were gonna die." Artemis sighed.
Genis shook his head.
"I have Noishe with me. Besides, we should really focus on finding Raine and Hikaru right now."
Satsuma nodded fervently, her hands involuntarily gripping her pistol holsters.
"Yes . . .They might be—" Her voice was cut off at the loud sound of a battle quite nearby. A faint voice was heard crying, "Tiger Rage!" Noishe gasped.
"That's Lloyd's voice! Let's get going!"
Genis faltered at this. Wasn't Lloyd supposed to be dead? Nonetheless, he sported after the running Noishe down the hallway. The remaining people said nothing and followed.
"Guardian!" Lloyd leapt back, the heat of the current battle getting to him.
Hikaru tried her best, but the party of ninjas that were presumably Nemespawn knocked her aside. Raine, panting for breath, cast another Revitalize spell. She was running out of mana, and the ninjas that they crossed weapons with didn't show any signs of weakening. Two of them were guardian users, like Sheena, one of them preferred hand-to-hand combat, and the last two used shruiken and knives to do their bidding. The ninjas were dressed in maroon ninja uniforms, a sign of their ranking in Mizuho. In fact, Raine thought that these ninja, if they weren't Nemespawn, were strikingly similar to Kuchinawa . . .Her musings were put to an end when one of the guardian users used Pyre Seal on her, and she was flung back, hitting the floor.
At this, Lloyd was angered. Growling low in his throat, he lunged for the nearest ninja.
"Raging Beast!"
The ninja cried out as he was put out of action. Lloyd looked left and right wildly. One down, four to go. Hikaru rose to her feet, slicing the ninja that knocked her down apart with a Tempest attack. Unfortunately, the ninja here also used healing skills, so Hikaru's attack was basically all for nothing. The martial artist struck her aside once more.
"Augh!"
Lloyd thrust the Flamberge sword through the fighter that attacked Hikaru.
"Hurricane Thrust!"
Raine strained to stand. She had enough mana for just one more spell. She decided to make it Revitalize. Alas, the only guardian user left drained her of her mana with Spirit Seal. Anger roared as a great fire would. She whacked him with her staff, knocking him out cold. However, the final three, although they didn't use the fighting cards, still had guardians. The martial artist thrust a hand forth, where he clutched a white spell card.
"Come forth, Lightning Guardian!" he hollered.
The familiar blue sacred beast materialized, accompanied with swirling white mist. Hikaru swore under her breath. Raine kneeled on one knee, her mana nearly extinguished. Lloyd nearly buckled. Nearly, but not quite. He charged at the guardian. Hikaru gasped. She reached a hand after him.
"Lloyd! No, that's what they want you to do!"
Growling, Lloyd paid no heed to Hikaru's words. His assault resulted in the Guardian knocking him aside quite violently. Gears in his head turning quickly, Lloyd flipped in the air to avoid falling to the floor. He stood his ground, blocking an attack from both the Guardian and the ninjas.
"D-dammit . . ." he grunted as his defense broke.
Hikaru couldn't move for fear. The Lightning Guardian turned its oddly shaped head in her general direction. Hikaru gasped loudly. The sacred beast made to move toward its new prey, but a severely violent shaking of the earth caused it to stand still. The ninja also stopped attacking in fear of the earthquake. Suddenly, giant thick tree roots speared through the metallic floor from all over the place, through the walls, the ceiling, you name it. The plant life coiled around the Lightning Guardian and the ninja, binding them tightly. The bark of the roots hardened instantly once the enemies were bound beyond the ability to breathe properly.
Heart rates skyrocketing, both Raine and Lloyd snapped their gazes back to the frightened Hikaru, who knelt trembling before the catastrophe unfolding. Raine noticed Hikaru's leaf shaped crystal glow brightly, its green aura blinding. Hikaru gasped once she realized what was happening.
"No!" She screamed, trying to hide the green aura with her other hand.
Lloyd swore he saw tears streaming down Hikaru's face. Without warning, more thick tree roots shot up through the metal floor, pinning Lloyd to the wall. He shouted in pain. Raine gasped in alarm as another batch of roots cornered her where she knelt. Hikaru's breathing became ragged, and she sunk to the floor, unmoving. One would assume she's fainted. Lloyd knew better than to try to break free. These plants were so much stronger, it was likely he'd lose a limb if he tried to break its grip on his body. Finally, the shaking stopped. Manifold voices called out to him.
"Hey! Lloyd! Are you all right!"
"Hikaru!"
"Raine! Sis, you here!"
"Raine, are you all right!"
Lloyd gave a weak smile when he saw Genis, Colette, and Noishe with two other unfamiliar people sprinted to the scene. The latter of the group gasped when they sighted the tangled web of tree limbs, all of which were impossibly thick. Noishe sprinted to Lloyd, hacking and slashing at the incredibly thick tree root that bound him. Genis, taking a pocketknife, went to his older sister's rescue as he mimicked Noishe's strategy. Raine smiled when she saw Satsuma and Artemis. The black haired boy cursed nosily.
"Shit! What the hell happened here!"
Raine cast a glance toward Hikaru, whom Satsuma immediately rushed to.
"I just don't know."
Hikaru: Whew! That took a few hours!
Lloyd: Six pages! Good job!
Zelos: Now will you dance with me?
Raine: Hikaru, shall we get back to your math work?
Hikaru: Zelos, save me:runs to Zelos:
Zelos: Yay! Let's dance!
Lloyd: Oh, so you don't wanna dance with me!
Noishe: Wouldn't you rather dance with me, Hikaru?
Hikaru: Please Read and Review!