"I do not own Tales of Symphonia!" – I.K.A. Valian
After a long tim of not writing this chapter, I finally managed to convince myself to bite the bullet and do it. But it's not as long as I wanted because of school. But that's okay. I got in what I wanted to get in. Please, enjoy.
"Where are we headed to again?"
Zelos sighed, again. "You know, you're almost as annoying as the twerp… when he was younger."
"Watch it Zelos," Genis growled, "that twerp is walking right behind you. Not to mention that twerp's Eruption spell could give the Mana Cannon a run for its money."
"Eh… uh… right, still a twerp. Anyway, we are headed to the town of Inundea. It's in between here and the remains of that other town," Zelos explained to Alex for the fourth time.
"Why are we stopping there?"
"Because kid, we have to sleep, can't really see our way during the night, now can we."
"Oh… yeah, I suppose we can't. Wow, who knew artificial light was so useful."
"Yeah, so with that out of the way, can we have some peace and quiet around here? Or do I have to plug my ears up?"
"I don't know Zelos," I jibed, "How full of it are you?" I chuckled as I watched Zelos sulk in submission. "Awe, come on Zelos, you can't be that easy to beat!"
"Kid, I used to have more patience than this, but something horrible happened."
"Oh, and what was that?" When Zelos didn't answer, I turned to Genis who waved the older man off like a pest.
"He's using the same excuse Regal and Raine use." I arched an eye brow curiously.
"And that would be?" Genis made a noise that was a mix between a chuckle and a giggle.
"And that would be that he's too old." I couldn't help but grin like an idiot at that.
"Too old?"
"Yep!"
"No way! He looks too young."
"And I thank you for pointing out that my beautiful bod hasn't gone away," Zelos interrupted. "After all, I can still get a Honey like I'm picking fruit. And what luscious fruit indeed!"
"Say… wha? What are you talking about?" Zelos waved it off and Genis rolled his eyes.
"Never mind kid, we're almost there. And a good thing too, the sun's almost down and it's about time to prowl. I just hope this place has some bodacious babes for the picking cause I'm starving."
"Sure," I said, slowly edging away from the older man, "whatever floats your boat…"
"That's the spirit Al!" Zelos slapped me on the back a few times, knocking the breath out of me and causing me to stumble. "You don't mind if I call you Al, do ya?"
"Uh, sure," I gasped, "Not a problem." I glanced at Genis and watched him shake his head and walk into the small town. People were bustling about, pushing carts of goods this way, hurrying that way, and some times yelling at each other. A sense of progress seemed to be imbued in everything that was going on. It was as if each and every one of these people knew they were making a difference simply by doing their jobs frugally. The town seemed even more prosperous when the tree males walked onto the partially paved streets surrounding the tall central building. "This place is pretty busy. But it doesn't look anything like Asgard. Why aren't there any muddy streets?"
"There aren't any because this place used to only have a House of Salvation. But ever since the Church of Martel was dismantled, people just used those old places as hotels or museums of one kind or another. The market built up here because it's on the way to Iselia, which is now a growing sea-port. And during the winter months, such as now, the ships have a hard time coming into the harbor to offload their goods. So this town has become something of a trading center for the entire area." Genis looked around and gathered his bearings. Then he made a bee-line for a tall building toward the back of the small bustling village.
"Wow…" This place was bigger than I though it was. The town's small front belied the fact that there was a lot of construction going on behind the towering building in the center. When we were close enough to the taller building I saw a large sign post on the side of the wall. The board was very dirty so I could only make out the words 'House… Salvation… Chur… Martel'. Genis came to a stop directly in front of the large building and looked it up and down.
"This is the place," he announced. I let my eyes roam over the four story exterior of the building. I focused on the building materials being hauled to the roof with a crane and winch. 'They must still be adding floors to this building. Still,' I thought to myself 'these dinky little buildings are nothing compared to the ones in my time. Sky scrapers and super malls… not to mention the VG Tournament hall, yeah, these people have a long way to go to beat that.'
As we entered the wooden double doors of the hotel, Genis went up to the counter and started talking with the woman there. What I should say is that he started haggling with the person there; I guess heroes don't get a discount. While he was doing that, I wandered around the circular bottom floor, looking over a few of the objects on display. A small wooden tablet with a picture of a sword wielding man carved into it caught my eye. It wasn't the carving that stopped me but the name that was carved into the wood beneath the picture. "ConLing Aunter" seemed like it should be important to me, but I'd never heard the name before.
"Hey Al, what's up?" I nearly jumped when Zelos materialized next to me out of thin air. Somehow, I restrained my instinctual response to lash out with my fist.
"I was, uh… just looking at this carving."
"Does it mean anything?" I shrugged.
"I'm not sure, it just feels kind of important for some reason." I kneeled down and read the description inscribed into a plaque. "This wooden tablet is believed to portray a warrior of one of the ancient Balacruf Kings. This is one of the pieces that were discovered in the tomb beneath the Great Wind Seal in Asgard, discovered last year by the Great Professor Sage."
"Ah, yes, the beauteous Professor. Such a Hunny is the only one who could find things such as this."
"Watch it Zelos…" Zelos froze and slowly turned his to look down at Genis. The dark look he was giving the older man sent shivers down my spine. "That's my sister you're talking about. And I don't like it when you talk about my sister, or don't you remember the last time it happened."
Zelos forced himself to laugh and smile. "Well, if it isn't Genis." He started heartily slapping the young half-elf on the back, smiling merrily. "So good to see you standing right there behind me where you could hear everything I was saying. Well… did you get us a room?" Zelos' attempt to quickly change the topic was not unnoticed by Genis, but he let it slide with a nod.
"Yes, I got us a room. They won't let us stay for free. I said that you, the great and mighty Zelos, were staying with us too, but that didn't have much of an effect. They said that it was impossible for them to give us a discount because one such as mighty as you could never possibly exist. I think they just need to see your might for themselves."
"Heh, you got that right. Stand back and watch the master at work." Zelos puffed up his chest and started strutting up to the girl behind the counter. Genis grinned like a Cheshire cat and started making his way stealthily up the stairs.
"Hey, Genis!" I called. Genis paused half way up the stairs and turned to face me.
"Yes?"
"I was just wondering what that was all about. You didn't seem to be complimenting him. …So why did you do that?"
Genis grinned again, glanced at Zelos chatting it up with the lady behind the desk, and then whispered conspiratorially to me, "I did it so that I wouldn't have to pay the bill." With that Genis spun around and quickly scaled the rest of the staircase.
"Aww! Come on! Can't I even get a little discount? Please!?" I turned around and saw the lady behind the counter giving Zelos, who was on his knees begging, a stern glare.
"I'm sorry, Mr. 'Former Chosen'" she said, making quotes in the air with her fingers, "But we don't make exceptions with the rates. You will pay the full amount or you're sleeping in the gutter."
Zelos clenched his hands and then yelled up at the ceiling, "You'll pay for this Genis!" I listened carefully and could hear someone laughing maniacly from the floor above. "Grrr, stupid twerp!" Zelos got to his feet and started fishing for money in one of his pockets. I was trying to hold in my laughter, but the look on Zelos' face threw me over the edge. I swear, he looked like a constipated old woman.
The next morning was a normal morning, if you can call anything I've been going through for the past few months normal. While the others were getting breakfast, I looked around the market as it slowly came to life. Shop owners were slowly making their way to their stalls, maids and servants were cleaning households and dumping the dirty water into the gutters, sparse amounts of people wandered about.
I stopped my wandering in front of a shop that was already set up and ready for the morning rush of customers. "Ye ole Enchanted Items," I read on a sigh above the stall. The stall owner noticed me standing in front of his shop and started hobbling out toward me.
"Greeetings! Greeetings, young traveler. Might I interest you in the purchase of an enchanted item?" I looked down at the slightly crippled, hobbling old man that was addressing me.
"Uh… I don't really-"
"Non-sense, young man, take a look and then tell me which one strikes your fancy. Go on," he said, giving me a push into his shallow stall, "take a look." I rubbed the spot where the old man roughly pushed me. Then I took a look around the small, but completely packed stall of stuff. Half of it looked like garbage and the other half didn't look any better. "I know what you're thinking, young man. You must be in complete awe of the wondrous things that surround you."
"Uh.. actually…"
"So, have you decided which one you like the most? You know, they say that magical items choose their owner before the owner was even born."
"Sure, mister… um…"
"Oh, just call me Old-man, everyone else does."
"Okay." Just then a small dagger caught my eye. There wasn't anything remarkable or exciting about it. In fact, when I picked it up, I found out that the edges were dulled and that the tip of the blade had been chipped off. The hit looked well used, and the pommel was jagged with rusty spots.
However, the moment I picked it up, I felt a small jolt of electricity shoot from my finger tips where I was touching the dagger, throughout my body. 'What was that?'
"Hey look," Zelos pointed at a small grouping of blackened buildings in the distance. "We're almost there."
"Thank God," I said, "We've been walking for over twelve hours."
"If you think this is bad, wait till we get to the Triet Desert. I don't know if you remember it, but that's where you almost died."
"Wha- so that's where Efreet lives? Why didn't any one tell me that?!" I yelled and threw my hands into the air for emphasis. Zelos and Genis grunted and kept moving forward. 'I can't believe this. I have to go back into that freaking death trap! Oh, thank you so much Mr. Origin. Jerk!' Then another though struck me and I asked, "What kind of spirit is Efreet anyway?"
"Oh, he's the Spirit of Fire, heat, and all things boiling lava hot," Zelos said happily.
"Oh… great," I groaned.
"He's actually not that bad," said Genis. "At least he can speak. Volt on the other hand is one of the most anti-social spirits I've ever seen."
"Yeah, I remember Volt. That's the Spirit that gave Sheena all that trouble years back, right?"
"Sheesh Zelos, how could you forget that?"
"Hey Twerp, I didn't forget, I just wanted to make sure you hadn't forgotten. Besides," said Zelos, suddenly getting a lot quieter, "I don't think I could forget."
"Hey, do you guys see that?" I pointed toward several moving objects in and around the burned down town.
"Yeah, I wonder who that could be," mused Zelos.
"You don't think they could be working with those men that put the girls in comas and kidnapped Lloyd, do you?" I stopped walking and looked at the expressions that Genis and Zelos had. "You two don't look very convincing, you know that?" The two looked at each other with their shared grim expressions and nodded.
"Alright," said Genis. I turned to face him next to Zelos, forming a circle. "We've got approximately six miles between us and the remains of Neudon. I say we wait for the cover of darkness and then sneak in along the tree line over there." Genis pointed off into the distance toward the edge of a dark forest. "If those men leave before night, then all's well. If not, we find out what they're up to, as well as if they actually have anything to do with what's going on."
"In the mean time," added Zelos, "I suggest we take stock of what we have in order to be battle ready if a fight is ahead." I stared at Zelos incredulously. "Hey," he said to me, "don't give me that look. I don't like being unprepared is all."
"Sure could have fooled me!" I joked.
"Yeah, that's what I wanted." Zelos then ignored my astonished glare and said, "I only have my traveling sword with me, I left all the good one's at home."
"That's okay," said Genis, waving it off. "I've got my magic, that should be enough."
"Hey," I interrupted. "What about me? I want to-"
"Sorry kid," Zelos ruffled my hair. I threw his hand off in annoyance. 'That's the second time he's done that. Arg!'
"We're battle hardened heroes," he said. "We don't have time to train you or get you a weapon. So you'll just have to sit this one out."
"Sorry Alex, but agree with Zelos." Then under his breath, Genis muttered, "I can't believe I said that."
"Fine. But if you get your butts handed to you buy a bunch of V-tech wielding jokers, don't blame me. I wish I had the Eternal Sword with me." I reached to my waist and fingered the hilt of the small dagger attached there. It made me feel better knowing that I at least had something to protect myself with, even if it was nearly useless as a weapon.
Our planning done, Genis lead the way. We trekked onward through the rest of the day, and by time we reached the forest the sun was just beginning to dip beneath the horizon. When the sun finally retired for the night, we were just coming up to the edge of the village.
"Okay," said Genis. We were all hiding behind a blackened wall of a building that looked like it used to be the Inn. "From what I can see, these guys don't look very powerful. They don't have any armor on."
"Don't let that kind of thing fool you. Remember, Yggdrasill didn't have any armor on, and he was hard as hell to defeat."
"Zelos, these guys' are not Mithos. Plus, he had a Cruxis Crystal attached that forced his body to heal almost as fast as we cut him. That was a form of armor, you know. And besides, we don't even know if these guys have anything to do with that other group. So before we start a fight, we should make sure of their intentions."
"Well then, let's split up. I'll go left, you go right, and we'll meet up in the middle." Genis nodded at Zelos. Feeling left out, I touched both of their shoulders and caused them to look at me.
"Alex, you should stay here and wait for us to come and get you. If you see or hear someone coming toward this spot, find someplace-"
"Don't worry Genis," I said, waving him off. "Just go kick some butt will ya."
Genis grinned and with a nod, he was off, jogging around the perimeter of the burned down village. Zelos did the same, disappearing around the other side of the wall we were hiding behind.
I waited for several minutes, during which the only thing I heard were bugs. 'Thank God they're not the giant variety.' I shivered. 'I still can't forget that enormous grasshopper that nearly pulled my insides out. Thankfully, Kratos was there.' I leaned back and looked up at the stars while listening to the night time sounds. 'I wonder if they made it out alright. The last thing I saw was Kratos running toward Kvar right after he shot me. I hope nothing bad happened to them.' Then realization dawned on me. 'Hey, if this is the future, maybe I can find out what happened to him. I mean, obviously, I must succeed if Lloyd survived to become the savior of the world. I should ask Lloyd what happened when I meet him. What in the world is taking them so long? I've got to have been here over an hour by now!'
I slowly stood up and moved closer to the edge of the black crispy wooden wall I was hiding behind. When I peaked around the corner, the only thing I could see was a single lit torch lighting a small area in front of the building. I looked over the small alley between the building I was hiding behind and the one next to it to make sure that no one was hiding in the shadows. Satisfied that no one was there, I slowly crept along the blackened, fire smelling wall until I could look past the blazing torch and into the center of the village.
I saw them. There were four of them. Men from the looks of it. I couldn't make out what they looked like because they were all standing in the shadows. Finally, a fifth man, this one holding a torch, walked into the clearing. What I saw made me gasp. Genis was standing behind a badly beaten Zelos, holding him up by the shirt. What really caught my attention the most was that Genis' eyes, along with everyone else's but Zelos', were glowing.
All the men and Genis gathered around Zelos' broken body and joined hands. The point where their hands connected began to glow as well. Finally a bright light filled the sky and shone on Zelos. After a few seconds had gone by, the light faded. I watched, never taking my eyes off of Zelos. Finally, the redhead slowly stood up, his eyes now glowing.
Mwaaaaaahahahahahahahahahahahahahaaaa... cliff hanger.
If you want this little hang up to be resolved, then please review.
And of course, thank's for reading.