Navi: Hey! I have a bone to pick with you!
Me: Ugh, what now?
Navi: So I finally started playing the game like you said, and your story is WAY off.
Me: Well I changed a few things, but I though...
Navi: It's not even close! You're missing main charactors, the locations are out of order..
Me: uhhh...
Navi: And why are we following Lloyd? He's the bad guy!
ME: What game are you playing?
Navi:Tales of Symphonia, Dawn of the New World
Me: ... Thats the SECOND game, I'm doing the first one!
Navi: Wait! Theres two? ... Does that mean no Emil?
Me: No Emil.
Navi: ... I hate this story.
(That conversation actually happened)
The sun was beginning to sink below the horizon as the group made its way up the mountain trail into Hima. They hadn't stopped all day, just as Kratos had instructed, and he had pushed them on at a steady pace so as to reach the town before nightfall. The journey would not have been so bad had it not been for the dark cloud that seemed to have fallen over everyone.
Since the encounter, Link had grown distant, saying nothing and walking separate from the others. Raine was in foul mood and kept an extra close eye on both Colette and Genis, never letting either get too far from her side. Colette continuously shot worried looks over her shoulder towards Link while Lloyd seemed to be constantly lost in thought.
Like Colette, Genis kept stealing glances in Link's direction. Something that Shadow Link had said stuck in the back of his mind. He had called him the 'Hero of Time' and claimed that Link had once failed to save the world. He had gone over in his mind every history lesson he could recall but could think of no one who matched such a title. He glanced over his shoulder at Link again; how could someone so young have tried to save the world?
As they reached the plateau on which Hima was build, the sound of voices pulled him out of his thoughts. He had never been to Hima before but Raine had while on one of her ruin hunting expeditions. From what he had heard, it was barely large enough to be considered a town; just a large inn, a shop, and a couple of small houses set further back. It was mostly just a stop for travelers on the road between Luin and Izoold, known mostly for having a view of the Holy Grounds of Kharlan and now the Tower of Salvation.
"What's going on here?" Raine asked to no one in particular as they came to a stop. Several large wagons packed full of various trade goods were scattered around the Inn. Around the wagons were dozens of hastily set up tents and shelters as countless people milled about in the growing twilight. There were all kinds of people scattered about from rich nobles to simple farmers, merchants displaying their goods while a pair of Martel Priests offered prayers to those they passed.
As they stood taking in the sight, a young woman with a badly stained apron carrying a basket filled with cloth bandages came running up to them.
"Oh dear! Are you more refugees?" she asked half out of breath, trying desperately to keep her messed-up hair out of her face. "Are there any injured among you?"
"We are travelers," Raine said, giving a quick glance in Colette's direction. "We are on a pilgrimage and were stopping for the night. What has happened here?"
The woman shook her head, "It was terrible. These people were pilgrims and travelers on their way to Palmacosta. They joined a merchant caravan bound for Luin after the Desians blocked the sea routes." She looked over her shoulder, "Me and my father were among them. About a day's journey north of here we were attacked. The Desians came out of nowhere. They killed the caravan guards, and anyone who resisted or tried to run." Her head fell as her shoulders began to shake uncontrollable, "It was so frightening."
"Desians!" Lloyd cursed. "Why do they have to make everyone suffer like this?"
The woman wiped her eyes, "They said they were taking us to the human ranch and began gathering everyone up, but then that strange woman appeared."
"Strange woman?" Kratos asked.
"Yes. Several Desians suddenly died and there was a cloud of smoke and fire. She just appeared out of thin air and started attacking the Desians. Some of them ran away to the north, probably to get more men. At first I thought she must be the Chosen come to save us, but she said she was just a traveler who was passing nearby. She must be from far away though because she wore the strangest clothes and carried these funny looking paper cards."
Raine and Kratos shared a look. "Could that be the a—" Lloyd started.
"Possibly," Kratos answered, cutting him off. "What happened next?"
"There were lots of injured people," the woman said gesturing towards the inn. "It's practically full. We were too far from Luin and afraid we'd get attacked again, so the woman, Sheena I think her name was, offered to escort us back here."
"Is she still here?" Raine asked.
"I think so," the woman replied. She glanced over her shoulder again. "I'm sorry, but I have to go. The inn keeper might know where she is." With that, she turned and rushed back off towards the wagons.
"Do you really think it's her?" Raine asked as she watched the young woman run off.
"Most likely," Kratos replied flatly.
"But how could she have gotten ahead of us? And why not attack us earlier instead of running ahead?" Lloyd asked with growing anger.
Kratos slowly surveyed the crowd "Most likely she was looking for a site to ambush us again. Or, she simply passed us without realizing."
Colette clasped her hands in from of her. "If she helped save these people then she must be a good person!"
"Whatever her motivations, we must be cautious. For now, I think it best if the… if Colette keeps her identity secret," Kratos said as he started towards the Inn.
As they wove their way through the collection of people, Genis glanced around at the various items that some of the merchants had set up. Some were selling food, others clothing or household items. He paused for a moment to glance at the titles of some books that were on display by one wagon. One, a short old woman with a small hand cart, had a variety of musical instruments on display.
The inside of the Inn was as packed as the outside. As Kratos began speaking to the Innkeeper, Genis heard a door bang open upstairs followed by a pair of voices.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes! I saw them outside! Hurry!"
He looked up and saw someone running down the stairs. As they reached the bottom, they came to a skidding halt face-to-face with the Colette.
"You!?"
"Hey!" Lloyd exclaimed. "You're the one who atta-Owww." Lloyd winced in pain as Kratos gave his arm a hard squeeze.
"Sheena, I presume."
The assassin blinked in confusion. "H-How do you know…"
"Oh thank goodness you're ok!" Colette beamed.
Sheena's eyes went wide. "Stay back!" she took a step backwards, her eyes darting to the floor. "Don't move! Don't touch anything!"
"Are these … friends of yours Sheena?" the inn keeper asked, looking between the two in confusion.
"No!" "Yes!"
Sheena gave a Colette an angry look. "We're not friends!"
"Oh! That's right! We can't be friends until we've properly introduced. I'm Colette."
"I'm not… I mean I don't… Argh, you're so infuriating!"
"Oh, I'm sorry." Colette said, looking a little hurt.
"Stop apologizing!" Sheena shouted. "Ugh, forget it, I'm leaving."
"But Miss Sheena! Your room is paid for the night!" the inn keeper called after her.
"Give it to them," she called over her shoulder before ran out the door.
The room wasn't very big, clearly not intended for six people. Raine stared out the window with her arms crossed as Genis set his bag down in the corner.
"Kratos, you said once we reached Hima…" Raine said flatly without taking her eyes off the window.
"Patience," he replied as he leaned casually against the opposite wall, his eyes focused on the door.
Raine spun to face him, her hands balled into fists. "My patience is running out! How can you be so calm with everything that's happened?" Her eyes darted around the room. "And where is he anyways?!"
Genis looked around the room and realized that Link wasn't with them. "He was right behind me when we got to the inn."
Raine turned back to the window with a heavy sigh. "Kratos, you know what I'm going to ask."
"Yes," he answered after a moment, his eyes still focused on the door. "But I still must insist against it. Sending Link away will not help the situation."
"Wait! You want to send him away?!" Lloyd sat up straight on the bed. "But Professor! He's just a kid!"
"Professor! You can't!" Colette insisted.
Raine ignored them. "When you asked that he join us, I relented. When you asked me not to pressure him for answers, I reluctantly agreed. But since we found him there have been strange monsters, a second guardian in Triet, an assassin, and now the shadow warrior in the woods. I know Link is involved in all this. There is too much at stake to ignore it any longer!"
"All the more reason to keep him close," Kratos pushed himself off the wall and strode to the middle of the room. "Link may have knowledge of what is occurring. Sending him away will only deprive us of that information, or worse, he could fall into the hands of those who would use it against the Chosen."
"That Desian in Triet said he was looking for Link!" Lloyd added. "And he was working with the ones who attacked the temple."
"Then we need to know what's going on!" Raine demanded. "The longer he remains silent the more danger we're in. If he's not going to tell us what we need to know then he should- !" She spun back to face Kratos and froze. The anger on her face drained away as her eyes widened in shock.
Genis followed her gaze to where Link stood in the open doorway. His left hand was still on the handle while his other was clutching a small round object. His eyes locked with Raine's as an uncomfortable silence fell over the room. After what felt like hours, Link dropped his eyes to the floor and backed out of the room, pulling the door shut behind him.
"Nice going sis!" Genis snapped and darted after him. He pulled the door open and darted into the Hallway, but Link was already gone.
"Genis! Wait!" Raine rushed into the hallway after him.
"Why would you say something like that?" Genis demanded. "After all he's done for us, why?"
"Genis…"
"He helped me and Lloyd in Isellia, and he protected Colette at the seal and the Ossa Trail. He nearly died to save her!"
"Genis, he's dangerous! You were nearly killed just be being close to him!"
"That wasn't his fault!" Genis shouted. "You once told me that keeping a secret from your friends was the hardest thing to do, but you're wrong. Sometimes telling a secret that could make your friends hate you is harder. You should know that!"
Without another word, Genis ran down the stairs and outside. He wove his way through the crowd of people, not looking back to see if Raine was following him. He had to find Link. He reached the edge of town and looked down the trail but could see no one. He gave a small sigh of relief knowing that he hadn't left. He turned back and surveyed the crowd before him, looking for any sign of his friend.
As he stood there, a soft breeze blew down from the top of the mountain. When the cool breeze washed over him he thought he heard a strange sound, like a faint whistling noise that faded away as the wind passed by. He looked around for the source when his eyes suddenly fell on the trail that let up to the peak. Another breeze swept down from above and again he heard the strange sound. Genis immediately broke into a run, tearing up the trail as fast as he could. As he climbed higher he began to make out the sound more clearly; it was music. Slowly the sound and notes became clearer, a strange sensation washed over him. He felt as if he was running through a dense forest of towering trees rather than up a mountain.
Genis slowed as he reached the top, a small flat peak that offered a sweeping view of the Tower of Salvation. Link was sitting on a short fence, swaying back and forth in time as he blew into a small round object in his hand. His eyes were closed as he faced the Tower in the distance. The strange music swept across the plateau as Navi slowly hovered over his shoulder.
The notes slowly faded away as Link glanced up at his fairy companion. "Anything?"
"No, I'm sorry," Navi replied, her wings drooping.
"It was worth a try," Link rolled the instrument back and forth between his hands. "But even with your essence, it's still just a toy."
He suddenly glanced over in Genis' direction, almost as if he knew he'd been there the whole time.
"That song, is it from your home?"
Link nodded silently and turned back to look into the distance. Genis climbed up onto the fence and sat down beside him. The sun slowly sank as the two of them sat in silence, staring out towards the tower.
"I didn't know you could play a flute."
"An ocarina," Link corrected. "My friend taught me, a long time ago it seems. But I left mine behind when I… ended up here."
"Can you play another song?"
Link sat silent for a moment then slowly brought the ocarina to his mouth. "This one's called Zelda's Lullaby."
Candle light danced off the pages as Raine stared blankly at the book before her. Genis had never really had a friend besides Lloyd and Colette, so it was no surprise that he would defend Link in such a way. He knew what it was like to be looked down on just for being different, and frankly, so did she.
She looked up as the door creaked open. Genis slipped into the room with Link following shortly behind. She looked up at where Kratos stood silently against the wall. His face showed no expression as their eyes locked, but she already knew what he would tell her. With a heavy sigh, she closed her book and slid it back into her bag.
"Link," she started without making eye contact, "about what I said earlier…"
"It's alright," Link answered. "You were right. I do know some of what's going on. I never said anything before because I wasn't sure, but now I'm almost certain that Ganondorf is here. And if what Shadow Link said is true, that he has taken an interest in the Chosen…" Link shook his head. "You need to hear the whole story."
"Who is this Ganondorf person?" Lloyd asked as Genis sat down on the bed next to him. "Is he a Desian? And what does he want with Colette?"
Kratos brought the second chair from the table over and set it down against the wall. Link sat down as Navi flew out from under his hat and landed on his shoulder. "He's not a Desian," Link said, looking at the floor. "It's kind of a long story. I'm not even sure how much of it you will believe."
"Why don't you start at the beginning," Raine suggested as she pulled one of her notebooks from her bag. It was the one she kept her notes and observations on Link in.
Link stayed silent for a while, silently tracing the marking on the back of his hand. "The place I'm from," he said finally, "is called Hyrule."
"I've never heard of a place called Hyrule," Genis replied. "Is it a town?"
"It's a land, a whole place. There's a forest, a lake, towns, mountains, even a desert."
"I've traveled this world more than once, and I have never encountered such a place," Raine replied skeptically. "I've also studied history extensively and have never heard of such a name. Where is this place?"
Link shook his head. "I… don't know."
"Why not let him tell the story, the full story?" Kratos suggested. "We can save the questions for the end."
Link nodded, and took a deep breath. "It all started when I met Navi…"
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