Disclaimer: I Don't Own Tales of Symphonia or Any of Its Characters. I Do However Own Any Unrecognizable Characters
Aisu: Thank you Kitsu Kurasei, ShadowofUndine and firedragongirl for reviewing last chapter along with all you anonymous people who simply read the story!
I'm hyper because Anime Evolution is tomorrow! I can't wait! But I can't forget this story. A nice big chapter for you all! Though... I hope there's enough action because there's lots more talking... XD;
Anyways, enjoy!
Chapter 10: Flame Crest
"ZELOS!"
"See what happens when I try to be a nice guy!" Zelos shouted, currently being gripped by the shoulders in the dragon's talons, his voice fading as he got further away.
"Hang on! We'll come and save you!" Lloyd shouted.
"Thanks, Bud!" Now his voice was barely audible.
"Damnit!" Lloyd cursed as he watched helplessly as one of his friends was taken to the dreaded nest of Valcov. "We have to help him!"
"We will, Lloyd, along with the rest of the villagers." Raine said firmly. "We just need to get to those ruins and receive help from the people there."
Colette looked down. "I'm sorry, Lloyd. I was a burden to you all once again and Zelos was kidnapped for it…"
"Colette now's not the time to apologize for everything." Genis pointed out.
"He's right, plus it wasn't your fault anyways. We have to save Zelos and everyone else first so you can apologize later, okay?" Lloyd said with a kind smile.
Colette's face lit up and she nodded. "Okay, I'm sorry."
- X -
"Ow! Geez, watch the merchandise you overgrown lizard!" Zelos snapped as Valcov landed, he ended up being squashed under the giant dragon's foot. His bandaged wounds all but seared with pain.
"Quiet, human!" Valcov ordered with a snarl as he lifted his foot off the poor man and picked him up with his sharp claws.
As if he were throwing out the trash, Valcov then opened the top to a large cage and dropped Zelos in without a care, then closed it once again. The redhead ended up landing on his rear and rubbed it slightly to sooth the pain. He watched as Valcov flew back to his nest and lay down, and then noticed the rest of his surrounds. He was trapped in an iron cage that was sitting on a cliff edge in the middle of… somewhere. Wherever he was, it was toasty and there were pillars all over the place like the one Valcov's nest was resting on. He got up painfully and poked his head through the bars only to feel a large wave of heat rush against his face. He looked down and gasped. Lava and molten rock covered the ground, bubbling and melting any debris that crumbled towards it. He was in a volcano!
"Mr. Zelos?" Zelos yelped and fell back on his rear again at the sound of somebody behind him.
He snapped his head back to see many people standing there, so many that he felt a little embarrassed about rubbing his sore rump in front of them before. The person who had approached him was a young woman with brown hair, in a high ponytail, and wore a brown and yellow dress. She seemed so familiar to him… he almost had it…
"Chocolat, was it?" Zelos asked after staring at her for what felt like hours and she nodded. "How did a sweet cutie like you get caught by that ugly thing?" He pointed back at Valcov.
"Well, Palmacosta was invaded by these weird black alien things and Governor-General Neil ended up evacuating the entire town, just as we had finally finished rebuilding it. We heard rumor that everyone was evacuating to Hima so we followed the crowd. On the way though, that dragon swooped down and snatched some of us, including me, and dropped us here since." Chocolat explained.
"How long have you been in here for?" Zelos asked curiously. "Do they ever feed you at all?"
"We've been here for maybe a day or two now. And yeah, they do feed us whatever the smaller dragons didn't want to eat." She held up what looked like a giant rat turned inside out. "Skinned rabbit?" She offered.
Zelos almost gagged at the sight. "No… I can see why they didn't want to eat it though…" He hung his head outside the bars again, ignoring the heat, till something caught his eye in the dragon's nest.
It was a red jewel type thing that was nestled in the rocks by the large dragon. It didn't have much shine to it but it still made Zelos' face light up.
"The Elemental Crest! I found it!" He cheered and did his own little victory dance and theme song, much to the confusion of inhabitants of the cage.
"Um… Mr. Zelos? What's an Elemental Crest?" Chocolat asked.
Zelos was about to pull off a big finishing pose, but Chocolat's words had thrown him off his groove. "Aw man, that was going to be the best part… So what were you saying my Sweet Cutie?"
"What's an Elemental Crest?" She repeated.
Zelos wasn't the brightest bulb in the box so he had to think for a moment to get an answer. He couldn't reply right away like say the Professor. "Well… I don't know WHAT they are, but I know we're collecting them to amplify our power." He pointed at the sky towards a dot, which had surprisingly gotten a bit bigger since he last looked. "See that dot in the sky?"
"Yeah, I saw it one night with my mom and always thought it was a pretty star. What is it?" Chocolat asked.
"That's the Sithom Comet. It's broken through the earth's orbit and is now on a collision course. The impact will destroy all of Symphonia." He explained but got a little flustered once he saw the girl and everyone else in the cage start to panic. "B-But don't worry! We're collecting those crests to help us destroy the comet before it reaches Symphonia!"
Chocolat beamed and tackle hugged Zelos. "You're so brave to be doing all that to save the world! But wait a minute, you said 'we', who's we?"
Zelos at the moment had all but forgotten that they were trapped in a cage in a volcano being guarded by a dragon, because a girl had, at that very moment, willingly glomped him to the floor. "Me… and everyone from the World Regeneration…"
"Oh wow!" Chocolat stood up suddenly and got all sparkly eyed. "Because you were captured, Lloyd's coming to save us now, isn't he?"
Zelos frowned, silently cursing himself for giving Lloyd all those lady tips. "Yes… He better be anyway. I don't want to end up as lizard crap." He glanced over at the people at the other side of the cage, who had been silent all this time. "Aren't you all going to say something?"
They shook their heads.
- X -
It took a while, but they all finally reached the mountain that held the Frolen Ruins, and Raine was ecstatic. The mountain was tall in a reddish tinge, like the rest of the Hima Mountains in the region, and steep. If they hiked up the side and climbed a bit, they would be able to reach the platform of rock that looked like it was large enough to hold a small village. At the very top of the mountain, black with red-webbed wings could be seen faintly, meaning Valcov was waiting.
"I guess we should start climbing if we want to get there in time." Lloyd suggested and they started to trudge up the slope.
They hiked up the slippery slopes for what felt like forever till they reached a dead end, the mountain face too smooth to climb or grip.
"Well now what?" Raine whined. "I'll never see the ruins at this rate…"
"… Or save Zelos and the other people." Genis added to make up for his sister's temporary insensitivity.
Sheena scanned the wall then came up with a brilliant plan. "Why don't we fly up? Genis' staff can fly someone and Colette can also fly so why not?"
"That's a marvelous idea, Sheena!" Raine praised before stealing her brother's staff out of excitement.
She tried to make it extend from its compact form but it didn't work. She shook it a few times and still it didn't extend. Now getting quite frustrated, she threw it to the ground and Genis had to dive and catch it before it hit and got broken.
"Sis, you know it doesn't extend for you!" Genis snapped and easily made the staff extend and feathered wings grow. "I promised to try and stop breaking your stuff so you should stop breaking mine!"
Raine frowned and pouted to the side. Genis sighed and waved his sister over to mount. She did in record time. Colette's wings flared from her back in all their glory, but nobody noticed that the tips were now flecked with light blue for some strange reason. As Genis had gone up already, Colette held Lloyd under his arms and lifted him off the ground, increasing altitude as they went along. When she went to go get somebody else, Lloyd was shocked to see the change in her wings but couldn't shout in time to tell her. Genis brought up Presea and Colette picked up Sheena and soon they were all staring at the village, Lloyd's spontaneous short-term memory forgetting about Colette's wings. It looked to be of an ancient time, the houses were built with dried clay that cracked with age and small pillars lined the streets with small statues on top. The walls were covered in ancient writing, hieroglyphics and pictures of people and dragons and even warriors. The place appeared to be deserted, besides the few horses here and there.
"Everyone must be hiding because of Valcov." Presea said.
"Yeah," Sheena agreed and pointed at craters in the red-tinged earth. "And judging by these craters he could've been sending down fireballs to scare the villagers."
"Well it certainly worked." Lloyd said, crossing his arms and examining the destruction that had been done to some of the homes.
"It's horrible…" Colette muttered.
Genis looked from side to side. "Where's Raine?"
"Damnit, she must've gone in without us." Lloyd scowled.
"HEY! Give that back, lady!"
They all looked up just in time to see Raine running towards them with a large intricate vase in her grasp. She dove in behind them and hid. Just as she did this, a large man with black hair and a mustache ran around the corner and confronted them.
"Did you happen to see a silver-haired woman run by here with a large pot?" He asked and pointed at Genis. "She looked a bit like him, but wearing orange." The party separated, revealing Raine in her lame hiding spot. "There you are! Give back that vase, lady!"
Raine glared at him, a slight crazed look in her eye. "No, it's mine!" She shouted childishly.
Genis waved the Earth Crest, which he had just stolen now, in front of his sister's face. "Raine… you want this back, don't you?" He then threw it into the distance, knowing full well she could catch it in time. "Then go get it!"
Raine shrieked and abandoned the vase to go get the crest then come back so she could throttle her brother.
The man looked a little weirded out, but accepted the vase back from Colette. "Um, thanks… I shouldn't really be out here right now, but I had to get this back."
"Sorry, the Professor's a little nutty when it comes to ruins and artifacts and stuff like that." Lloyd laughed.
The man blinked. "By the way, what are you all doing here? Nobody's dared to come here since Valcov awoken."
"We are here to slay the dragon and free all the people, including our friend." Presea said monotonously.
"Oh! I received a message that you were coming!" He said and shook Lloyd's hand. "My name is Daishou, and I was instructed to help the Eternal Swordsman and his companions when they got here."
Lloyd scratched his head sheepishly. "That's cool, messages sure travel fast around here. I'm Lloyd and these are my friends Genis, Colette, Sheena, Presea and Professor Sage is the one who stole the vase." He said pointing at each of them respectively.
Speaking of the Professor, she had just returned like a furious bull and was now chasing Genis around the village, screaming.
"Um… I was going to bring you to my home to assist you all, but seeing as they're-" Daishou started but was cut off by Sheena.
"Don't worry they're always like this. They'll be able to find their way eventually." She said.
Daishou looked unsure but led the way anyway. They walked for a few moments, passing damaged streets and homes along the way, some of which were also fairly charred. He told about their village along the way like how their ancestors found it after the Kharlan War exactly as it was today. The many pictures and writings on the walls were tales of people from long ago who had fought Valcov and sent the beast to a deep slumber. Unfortunately, the rest of the story had worn away so they couldn't find out how to make Valcov sleep again. The red earth didn't look like it was rich enough but surprisingly it was excellent land for growing crops and farming. There was even a natural fountain nearby. As they walked though, they couldn't help but see all the villagers peeking from their windows to stare at them all incredulously.
"Well, this is my home." Daishou announced and they came to a stop to admire it.
It was another clay home, like all the others, but had some grass and trees growing nearby it. It was slightly larger than the others and looked like it could sustain a fairly large family. There were three large horses outside the home as well; one was a male that was bay colored, brown with a black mane and tail, another male was a pinto, white with brown splotches all over, and the last was a female palomino, with a white mane and tail. The door suddenly opened and out came a woman and two children.
"Daishou, hun, are these the people you told me about?" She asked, now obvious she was his wife.
"Yes, this is the Eternal Swordsman and his companions, two others will be here in a moment." Daishou said.
"You don't have to call me by my title," Lloyd said embarrassedly. "Just call me Lloyd."
"Okay, Lloyd, this is my wife, Lilly Kinomiya, and my son and daughter, Takao and Rei." Daishou introduced.
"Pleased to meet you." Lilly smiled warmly and the kids clung shyly to her dress.
"I do not mean to be rude, but we have to hurry." Presea informed.
"I'm sure Zelos is alright, but I have to agree with Presea." Sheena sighed.
"Why did you bring us here?" Colette asked.
Daishou scratched the back of his head. "From here on out, you'll be unable to hike the trail. I noticed a couple of you flew up here before but they probably won't be able to sustain each of you for the long distance. Plus, we were going to offer you some armor," He picked up a scrapped up breastplate that looked like it was going to fall apart at any moment. "But I see you already have a fancy set of armor on each of you."
Sheena laughed nervously, trying to be polite. "Uh, thanks for the offer though…"
"How are we going to hike the trail if we cannot get up by foot?" Presea asked, always being one with the task at hand.
Lilly patted the creamy mare's long neck. "You're going to borrow our horses for the journey up the mountain."
"Oh wow!" Colette beamed and went up to the horses. "They're so cute!"
"I wonder if they'll be like riding Noishe." Lloyd thought out loud as he inspected the bay colored horse.
"I'm glad you like them." Daishou said smiling. "Just keep in mind you have them for the ride up. They won't go near the entrance to Valcov's Nest so you'll have to let them find their way back. Don't worry though, it's easier to come down then it is to go up."
"I've never ridden a horse before. We never had them in Mizuho." Sheena said patting the pinto's splotched nose.
"Genis and the Professor have returned." Presea announced as she peeked from behind the large animal.
The sorcerer had gained a few lumps on his head and the Professor did not look impressed as she walked with her hands on her hips.
"Professor! We get to ride horses!" Colette called out like an excited child.
Raine blinked. "Horses?"
"Yup, our family's pride and joys." Lilly pointed out.
Genis went face to face with the bay colored horse that Lloyd was patting. "They look safe enough. Are we just going to ride them as they are?" The horse sighed through its nose.
"Don't worry, we'll tack 'em up and send you on the road ASAP." Daishou said and went into the small barn beside his house to get the equipment.
Little Rei and Takao walked away from the safety of their mother to go to the horses that were being examined by the heroes. Rei tugged at Presea's black coat to get her attention.
"Please be careful with Xai, she's my horse." She said and rubbed the palomino's nose.
Presea quickly realized that Rei was talking about the palomino, which was apparently called, 'Xai' (Pronounced: z-eye). "We will not harm them. They will be released once we reach our destination."
Though Rei didn't understand a thing that Presea said, since she was around six, she still felt reassured by her words. "Thank you."
"Same goes for Rambler!" Takao shouted as he hugged the bay colored horse.
Lloyd and Genis smiled at him. "How about we go and give Daishou a hand?" Lloyd suggested as he watched the said man hobble through the door with a large saddle.
They walked into the barn and picked out the saddles as directed by Lilly. The girls carried them with ease while the men struggled a bit, so they ended up getting the bridles, and the beautiful feeling of humiliation. The poor horses were torn away from their happy lives of grazing and led to the house where they were tacked and strapped up in all their gear. The saddles were leather with worn gold plating here and there outside the seat. It had a large horn at the front and a long seat, fit for two people at a time. The bridles were also worn leather but fit comfortably and strong around the horses' heads.
A thought struck Lloyd's mind. "Wait a minute, there are only three horses and six of us. "
"You'll have to ride in pairs then." Daishou stated.
"I'll ride with you Lloyd!" Sheena said suddenly and Colette looked surprised.
"But I probably can't handle a horse by myself; I need someone stronger to help me." Colette said with a hint of miff in her tone.
Sheena and Colette stared each other, neither one really the type for fighting each other so they sent messages to each other through their expressions. Genis looked back longingly at Presea then back at the confused Lloyd, sensing the tension between the girls, and made a decision that he did not want to make.
"How about I ride with Lloyd? That way, everyone's happy!" He laughed nervously then added silently to himself, "Except me…"
After glancing at each other once more, Sheena and Colette silently agreed that if one of them couldn't have Lloyd, then neither could and took partners with the other two women.
Genis glared at Lloyd. "Way to save your ass, eh?"
Lloyd blinked. "You swear?"
Genis groaned at Lloyd's obliviousness, but decided to humor him for once. "I picked up the habit when Raine and I separated for a while. I earn triple the smackings when I say it around her."
Lloyd laughed as he examined the stirrup on the saddle, wondering what it was for. "You actually tried around the Professor!"
"It slipped out!" Genis flared, remembering the time he slipped out an 'F-Bomb' when he stubbed his toe. "And you put your foot in that thing to pull yourself on top of the horse." He added, noticing Rambler was getting annoyed with Lloyd's constant pulling on his side.
"You mount like that? Why don't you just hop on top like I do with Noishe?" Lloyd as he gripped the edges of the saddle, readying himself to jump up.
Genis panicked. "No Lloyd! Wait until we get help first! I don't want to read a headline tomorrow entitled: 'Eternal Swordsman, Lloyd Irving's Death by Horse!'"
Lloyd scowled and ignored him. "Relax, quit being such a goody-goody."
He went to heave himself and his weight caused the saddle to slowly slide its way down the horse's side, causing it extreme discomfort and glared back at Lloyd. Daishou came by and smacked his forehead.
"Lloyd, we don't have as nice quality stuff so it won't fit the horses quite as snuggly as a newer one. You need assistance before you get on the horse and you have to make sure you are well balanced or else that'll happen again." He explained and went to work fixing the saddle once again.
Genis and Lloyd stood back a bit. "Told you, Lloyd..."
"Shut up, Genis."
The others had already gotten on the horses in pairs, Sheena and Raine on who they learned to be Aries, and Colette and Presea on Xai. Raine and Presea were leading and trying out the horses, a little clumsy with them. Raine kept on backing Aries into Xai who had a spat for a moment before following Presea's orders again. Once Lloyd and Genis finally got on, Rambler ended up being lazy and ate grass while Lloyd tugged at the reins and kicked in vain. Daishou, Lilly and the kids all watched from the side as the horses walked in random directions and Lloyd cursed and shouted at his horse, Genis making fun of him the whole time.
"These are the kids who saved Symphonia?" Daishou said in disbelief as he went to assist the two boys.
"I'm sure they're wonderful." Lilly said, trying more to convince herself, as her children shouted words of wisdom to the 'heroes'.
- X -
The redheaded swordsman sat at the edge of the cage, his head hanging through the bars. Hunger had overcome him at some point during the day and he regretfully took Chocolat's offer of the 'rabbit'. He had only taken one bite, ended up getting violently sick and had been sitting there ever since, Chocolat kneeling beside him rubbing his back soothingly and holding back his hair just in case. Valcov hadn't been too impressed with the smell so he held his head outside the volcano into the fresh air, muttering curses and ordering his servant dragons to cook the leftovers a bit next time.
"Are you feeling any better?" Chocolat asked for the fifth time that day.
Zelos had been feeling better for a while now, but he enjoyed the attention too much to say he was. "A… bit…" He fakes groaning.
The other people in the cage hadn't said a single thing or moved an inch. They were just there to fill up space in the cage he guessed. Zelos had been bored most of the time since Chocolat didn't have much to say. So believe it or not, he decided to form a plan incase the others didn't get here in time. He had known he could easily escape from the cage, but he couldn't take on four dragons at once and come out alive, so he thought gravely that he would have to be the decoy and somehow get the Flame Crest to Chocolat before he was done for. He hoped that things wouldn't come to that and that he could get out of this alive. Valcov's head perking up caught his attention as the large dragon spoke to its underlings and then they flew away, leaving the only the large dragon. Zelos assumed he had sent the dragons off to look for food or something, but this time was as good as ever to attempt to escape.
He stood up startling Chocolat. "Mr. Zelos? Are you okay?"
The redhead drew his sword and was about to concentrate for a spell but Valcov's booming voice caught his attention. "Don't try it kid. Even without my underlings, I can devour you within moments." His golden gaze turned on the magic swordsman with a glare.
Zelos grinned. "I don't care!" He jumped into the air and focused his flaming determination to his sword. "HELL PYRE!" He swung his Excalibur, causing a large fireball to form and sent it flying into the bars, instantly melting them apart. "Get out of here! I'll distract, Lizard-Breath!"
The remaining people did not waste any time dashing out of the cage, seeing as the dragon's main focus was on the redhead. Chocolat was hesitant staring back from the exit as the Zelos jumped in to attack the dragon. She noticed that he wasn't actually going for Valcov, but the red jewel-like object in the nest. Zelos hopped along the pillars that stuck out from the lava, each threatening to fall as he pushed off one foot after the other. He glanced back to see Chocolat standing there in awe, much to his displeasure but more to his delight. If he could get the crest, then he could get it to Chocolat and she could take it to his friends. Chances are it wasn't for him anyway, like the previous crests were for his hunnies. Valcov blew out fire at him, narrowly missing him each time, but he was too quick to be caught and finally reached the nest. He outstretched his hand hoping he could reach for the crest in time…
…but Valcov's tail hit him first, sending him plummeting towards the pit of lava.
"ZELOS!" Chocolat screamed, feeling tears well up in her eyes
She stared down into the crater of the volcano hopefully. Something caught her eye just meters away from the fiery pit that made her cry out happily. At the last second, Zelos had plunged his sword into the side of a pillar and was hanging there catching his breath and sweating heavily, molten ash entering his lungs. Quickly, he withdrew his sword and pushed off the pillar to another close by, making his way up and sticking his sword in the sides for support.
Valcov grew bored quickly and flew down after him. "You just won't die will you?"
Zelos panicked as the gaping jaws grew closer to him then got a last second idea. He pushed off the pillar as hard as he could, narrowly escaping those needle teeth, but his jacket got snagged on one of its scales and he was forced against the dragons back as it flew. His original plan was just to land on its back but things don't always work out as planned with Zelos. He shouted as the dragon flew in the air, outside the volcano, and performed twists and turns in vain attempt to get the boy off his back.
"STOP THE RIDE I WANNA GET OFF!" Zelos wailed clinging to one of the scales, as Valcov dove straight down.
"Then let go!" Valcov snarled and halted in midair.
Zelos, dizzy from all the aerials, managed to catch sight of three horses coming up the side of the mountain with his companions riding each of them in pairs. He knew he was going to regret it, but how often was he going to be suspended in the air staring down at his friends from on top of a dragon? He did a foolish thing. He waved.
"HEY BUD- AHHH!"
Valcov had taken advantage of his distracted form and dove down once more, leaving Zelos to freefall to his doom. Zelos could faintly hear the rest shouting out his name over his own screams. There was nothing he could do. Anywhere he could land would be fatal and he was too high up for Genis or Colette, who were flying up to him, to reach him in time. He looked down to see that Valcov had his mouth open, awaiting the taste of his flesh. Death seemed inevitable. Unless…
Something sparked into his mind, something that would definitely save him. He didn't like it though but there was no other choice. He closed his eyes and tried to remember the prayers that Colette had muttered before.
"Oh Goddess Martel, great protector and nurturer of the earth, GRANT ME THY STRENGTH!" Zelos shouted the last bit out desperately.
It worked. He could feel his Chosen Mana flowing through his back, sprouting the orange feathered wings he damned so much, but never had he been so happy to have them. He had barely managed to change course away from Valcov's mouth, grabbed the Elemental Crest and tossed it to Chocolat immediately.
"Lloyd and the others are coming right now! Take the crest and get out of here NOW!" Zelos commanded as he raised his sword just in time to block Valcov's claws.
Chocolat caught the crest shakily and looked back in shock as Zelos was sliced at and batted into the wall. She felt the tears fall as she ran in shame. Zelos watched her go as he wiped the blood from his mouth and peeled himself from the Zelos-shaped hole he had just made. His wings, unlike Colette's, took a lot of mana to maintain because he hadn't drawn them since that fateful day when he was young. Still, he had to stall long enough for the others to get there.
He pushed off the wall and held his sword in front of him, ready to strike Valcov. "You better hurry up and get here guys, or else I'll haunt you all in your sleep if I die!"
- X -
"He's okay!" Genis shouted as he and Colette flew back to meet the others who had pulled their horses into trots, seeing as that was all they could really do at the moment. "He managed to summon his wings at the last second!"
"He's still in trouble though, we have to hurry!" Colette cried as she landed back on the saddle behind Presea.
"Damnit!" Lloyd cursed as he kicked Rambler to go faster, now bringing it to a canter, even though the horse was already pushing itself to its limits, while Genis flew by his side on his staff.
"The entrance is up ahead! I can see it!" Raine shouted, and let Sheena point for her since she wouldn't dare let go of the reins at this velocity.
There was indeed an opening to the mountain and they pulled the horses to a halt before they ran into it or any of the people running out. They dismounted quickly and left the horses to do whatever they needed to get back down the mountain. They were just about to enter when somebody skidded to a stop in front of them.
"Chocolat!" Lloyd gasped. "What are you-?"
"There's no time!" She sobbed and hugged the crest to her stomach. "Zelos is fighting back there and losing! He told me to come and get you all!"
Presea wanted to question about the Elemental Crest but decided against it, seeing Chocolat so scared. "Lead the way." Saving Zelos was their first priority at the moment.
As soon as they entered the cave, they all felt the heat wash over their bodies and sweat drip. The walls were covered in black shiny stones that reflected the red coming from the end of the tunnel. Molten ash and soot was all that could be inhaled causing them all to cough. Once it all cleared they could see the horrifying scene in full play. Zelos was burnt, beaten and bloody, his wings flickering weakly, as he hung in the dragon's iron grip, barely conscious. His grip on his sword was loosening but he continued to hang on. Valcov threw him aside and swung his tail to send his battered form back into the wall, but Colette got there first and caught him, Chocolat and Raine running over to him.
"Damn you!" Lloyd shouted and drew his blue-hilted blades. "You'll pay for this!"
Valcov roared in laughter. "That fool told me himself that he didn't care about death, so he foolishly made the attempt!"
"We will see who finishes this then!" Presea said rather hoarsely for some strange reason as she drew her axe and coughed.
Genis looked at her worriedly before he subconsciously cleared his throat and felt a little light headedness coming on. He tried to ignore it though as Sheena made the first move, concentrating her Sylva Seals to send Lloyd the needed ice element reinforcements before drawing her ice-enchanted Ofuda and heading in. Genis began to cast his ice element attacks, finding it rather difficult to concentrate, and Presea found her axe to be a little heavier than usual. Cockily, Valcov had landed on the ledge they were all standing on so they could try their pathetic attempts at harming him.
"Zelos!" Chocolat cried not getting any response from the unconscious knight.
"Zelos, please wake up!" Colette joined in shaking his shoulder.
"Colette, I want you to join the fight. You have the Water Crest now and that may give you an advantage or a new spell like mine did for me." Raine commanded as her staff glowed a soft hue of green which surrounded Zelos. "I have everything under control here."
Colette looked hesitant, but rejoined the fray, drawing her Angel's Halo chakrams. Lloyd was hacking away at the massive dragon's scales, freezing bits and pieces of its black scales with his ice enchanted swords, but was thrown back when a blast of fire was blown at him, throwing up his shield in just the nick of time. Sheena jumped to the side before Lloyd hit her and threw several of her cards into the vital parts of the dragon. They only got stuck in Valcov's scales but then they burst into giant balls of ice that surrounded the specific parts.
"Now Genis!" Sheena shouted noticing Presea's weak attempts to do damage.
"Okay, ICE-" Genis found it oddly painful and breath-taking to shout and ended up coughing violently, his ice spell drifting around the dragon like a cool breeze instead.
"What the hell?" Lloyd thought out loud and ran to his friend who had dropped to one knee and sounded like he was having an asthma attack. "Genis, what's wrong!" He demanded skidding to his side.
Genis couldn't get anything vocal out and his eyes widened when Presea was knocked back with them, looking to be having the same problem as the sorcerer. Valcov had broken out of the ice prison and had taken flight away from Sheena's reach. Knowing he wouldn't be able to fight like this, Genis weakly took his staff and summoned the small wings to grow larger and held it up to Lloyd who was trying to help Presea.
Lloyd looked horrified. "Genis… You can still fight, can't you?" The sorcerer shook his head. "But I don't know how to use your staff, let alone do magic or fly."
Genis gave him a look that clearly said, "Trust me", along with a reassuring smile before he fell back unconscious.
"GENIS!" Lloyd shouted and saw that Presea had fallen out as well. "PRESEA! PROFESSOR, HELP US!"
Raine wasted no time getting over there as she and Chocolat dragged Zelos' body over. Sheena, Lloyd and Colette were able to distract the dragon while Raine checked their vital signs and the regular procedure she used till she came to a conclusion.
"They've been poisoned…" She held her staff up for a Purify spell but it had no effect whatsoever. "What the, why isn't my healing working..?" She also noticed that Zelos' wounds were beginning to bleed profusely again and came to a decision she didn't want to make. "We have to retreat for now! We have the Elemental Crest so we've done what we came to do!" Raine shouted and they all abandoned the battle.
Raine picked up her brother, Lloyd took Presea and Colette handled Zelos on her own. Along with worry for their friends, their main thoughts were of having failed the people who had expected the dragon to die at their hands.
"I don't think so!" Valcov snarled and left the volcano from the top to meet them all as they left the volcano and blasted a large ball of fire at them from its mouth.
Colette heard something weird, a drip of water, before she noticed that her Water Crest was flaring to life. She felt a sudden power wash over her and handed Zelos to Sheena, who reluctantly took him, as she floated before the giant ball of hellfire and began chanting words she never knew she knew.
"Oh, Maiden of the Mists, Undine, spirit of the waters, grant me thy power!" She opened her eyes and her wings turned pure liquid blue and she held her arms out in front of her. "TSUNAMI!"
Clear blue mana swirled around her body and shot out in a giant burst which drenched the fire into nothing and ended up hitting Valcov in the process. The dragon re-orientated itself and was about to snarl a string of curses at them when he realized they were all gone. With a snort, he flew back to the volcano to rest seeing as he had taken some damage during the fight. He would get his revenge… some day…
- X -
Aisu: I bet you were all thinking it was going to end up like the other chapters and have the Guardian defeated then move along. Well, not quite, but they still got the crest. Instead, the Guardian is still alive and can come back when you least expect it, three party members are down, AND they have no clue where the next crests are. Fun, eh? Just some things I want to NOT have any critique on:
Poison: It'll be gone over next chapter.
Zelos' 'Bright' Idea: I could just see him wanting to wave. The chant thing was probably unnessessary but that'll be gone over next chapter as well.
Colette's Attack: I thought it was appropriate, had a prayer and everything. At least its better than my idea for Raine's.
Horses: The horses actually exist in real life. Rambler is my horse -hugs him- while the others are a few of my favorites at the barn. Therefore, I don't own the other two. I had to imply horses somehow in this story. XD;
Colloydna: Yes, I have no clue what I like better, Colloyd or Sheeloyd. So I made a bit of a triangle in this story. You can see more hints in the future. Only hints, no real romance since I suck at it!
Kinomiya Family: A cookie to anyone who can figure out what anime I was referring to when I made this family. Ignore Daishou and Lilly and focus on Takao (Tyson), Rei (Ray) and the last name Kinomiya (Dubbed it's Granger).
Yes, I'm rushing this because I'm supposed to be in bed right now, sorry! Next update next Friday as usual! Please leave a review, I always appreciate them!