Fukachi no Rin is a happy authoress today! Well, I have been one for the past two weeks, just have been too darn busy to update. Thank you for the five reviews for the last chapter (six in total since the last update) to everyone! I'm going to be giving specific review responses in a second...

Chapter 14 was fun to write. Only because I was debating about what to do. To anyone who thought that Alexa was over her killing issues, guess again! No appearance of the Chosen group in this chapter folks, sorry. That'll be coming next update, probably, along with a few more... surprises. :D

flood125: Happy (very late) Easter to you! The killing another human being is something I honestly think should always be looked at, mostly because in reality, not everyone can kill another person. And then if they do, it usually takes years of therapy or in a mental institute to stabilize the person. Alexa has no access to either, unfortunately, and she's going to have to deal with it by... Haha, I won't spoil. Also, I've never played Tales of Vespeira, so I honestly do not know what Rita's power is... ^_^

ShadowVDP: Appreciate the feedback, friend! I really needed that advice, seriously. Thanks for the suggestions; I'll be keeping mind to them for a while! Thanks for reviewing!

whatsername427: Thank you for reviewing too! Alexa handles it well... for now. Hehehe... Sheena has appeared (confetti flies), but in an odd sort of way. Sheena is amazing, but she's still an enemy... -.- Oh well.

Jeanesis: I don't know how I managed to miss that last grammar mistake. My English teacher would kill me if she saw that right now... She'd also probably kill me if she found out I doodle through out most of her class, but she doesn't have to know that! Thanks for the review! And I like keeping them suspicious. Or else this would be a very boring fanfiction to read and write...

BlackRose-FlowerofDeath: Thanks for reviewing too! And I can hardly wait to see how this plays out. It's fun to write - especially when you have those scenes planned out that you honestly can't just wait to write. I've got a few of those, some coming next chapter. ;)

Once again, thank you to everyone who reviewed! I hope this chapter lives up to your standards!

~Fukachi no Rin

I should've never agreed to the terms of this last agreement. Never, ever, ever should have left the party to treat Lloyd. Should had Kratos bring him, or maybe Genis… Raine? Colette? One of the any above; most of them would probably last longer against Sheena than myself (Colette would first attempt making peace treaties, Genis would be knocked off his feet before he even got a chance to finish a spell….)

Sheena narrowed her eyes into the full-fledged glare, reaching behind her with her right arm. She drew out a handful of spell cards, fanning them out in front of her chin, before she pointed each at me. "I won't let my guard down this time," she warned darkly, a glint of anger passing through her eyes.

…Yeah, I was totally screwed.

I reached for my side, for the sword still strapped to my belt. Bruises from the earlier battle caused me to flinch, and sent dull pains through my body.

I assumed Sheena took note of this, for she paused for a minute, and her eyes suddenly softened. "You're… hurt?"

I didn't answer for a moment, for I was trying to comprehend her words. Sheena, ninja-assassin, sent by Tethe'alla to assassinate the Chosen of Mana, was wondering if one of the Chosen's companions was hurt? Well, for a first time players perspective, this probably wouldn't make any sense, but from a full player… Well, we would remember Sheena had a fairly large heart, right?

"Um… yeah," I replied soundly, trying to keep my cool. "Kinda got mobbed by a group of Desians – you know, those assholes who wreak terror on this world until the Chosen of Mana sacrifices herself." Images of the dead began shooting, replaying through my head. The sword, plunged into their body, the blood splattered everywhere, the last gasp of the slaughtered man… I dug my nails deep into my palm, trying to get a grip on the reality.

"You were attacked by Desians?" Sheena repeated, her voice confused.

"Y-yeah…" I continued, eyebrows scrunching. "Lloyd, he got one of them, and I k…kil-" I found my tongue having issues forming the last word, my entire being having trouble accepting that fact. The images were coming back, running through my dim mind.

"So you killed a man," Sheena observed. "And from the sounds of it, it was your first."

The man hit the ground, loosing their last breath. There was lots of blood everywhere… Running down the corners of his mouth, leaking onto the grass, soaking the front of his uniform, even dripping down the silver edge of the blade. It wouldn't…. no, it wasn't ending. It was a river, and the man's jaw remained half opened in awe, as if frozen by this overwhelming occurrence.

I grabbed onto the wall of the inn, about to fall over my feet. My lungs were beginning to tighten in my chest, and a dull throb was coming from my head. The inn floor, the planks of closely fitted wood, begun to blur and tremble underneath my vision. My eyes blinked a few times, trying to stabilize my sight. Finally, I took in a breath, my stomach sinking lower, before I looked up.

Sheena was just… staring at me. Her cards were no longer drawn up; she had lowered her arm. Her mouth was turned into the slightest of frowns, and her eyebrows had woven into the center of her face. I met her gaze for the briefest of moments, trying to look for some sign of her true emotion. The ninja assassin turned her torso, looking away.

"My orders were to kill the Chosen specifically, not all those who assist her. If I did, I'd have entire cities to assassinate, seeing as how blindly the people follow their religion here. I'm not a butcher; I have honor. Besides…" Sheena inched her head partly around, one of her eyes barely visible. "You were the weakest of those who traveled with the Chosen. I will not slaughter you, especially in the state you are in right now. Next time, however-" Sheena flicked her wrist, her cards forming one stack. "I won't hold back."

Sheena turned on her heel, marching fluidly into the first room. She didn't look past the entrance, as she stepped in and clicked the door shut behind her. I took a deep breath, straightening out my abdomen before trying to regain full capacity of my lungs. There was a thin layer of sweat over my face and neck, building up on my arms as well.

"Miss?"

I spun around, facing the woman standing outside the third door. "Your bath is prepared, Miss. But the night is cold, and it might be a good idea to wash before the water cools."

"Oh. Th-thanks," I stuttered. The woman smiled back, clasping her hands in front of her and bowing the slightest. I rushed past the woman, trying not to stumble as I clicked the inn room silently behind me.

It was very dark.

The entire surroundings, everything, was almost hopeless. The skies had been blotted by the endless blanket of clouds, deepening the depth of the atmosphere. Anything left uncovered by the blackest clouds was not a clear blue, but rather a blood red. Back to my original statement, it was very dark.

I blinked once, adjusting carefully to my surroundings. I was on a hill of some sort, barren of any verdant foliage that usually would accompany it. Everything, in actuality, was barren here – the ground, the sky, the air, just… everything… I took a deep breath, shifting my weight onto my other feet.

So I had come to the conclusion I was somewhere. Wohoo. Watch me do the Riverdance in such a triumphant discovery... I kicked my feet off from the ground. Mind, body, and all, I was here. At the same time, I found myself doubting that fact. The last thing I had remembered was sitting in the piping hot waters of a washtub in the Hima Inn, trying to wash the layer of grime out of my hair. Now I'm here.

Either I had a real bad case amnesia, or I was delusional.

The sounds of sobs filled the air, carrying over the wind. I squinted against the dead leaves being thrown into the air, shielding my eyes with my forearm. The gale was suddenly becoming brutal – my hair was being thrown back from its force. The crying continued to carry on, and my legs started carrying myself up the hill.

At the top, a large gnarled tree stood, hanging over the ledge. There was a blur of gray, as well as a figure dressed all in black. She was the one crying, I realized, as I came to a stop at the top of the hill.

"Are you okay?" I asked carefully. The woman shook her head, burying her face into the white handkerchief. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

The lady… sneezed into her handkerchief. Her dark hat was hiding most of her face, and a dark net had covered the rest. "He… was my brother," she whimpered, gesturing to the stone. I turned my head, observing the small stone protruding out of the earth.

"A… gravestone?" I whispered, eyes set on the blank face. No name or date was etched into the surface. Only a blank tombstone rested here on the top of the hill. A small bouquet of flowers was laid at its base, the only object accompanying the lonesome marker for a grave. "I'm… sorry…"

The woman let out another cry, and suddenly she was… latched onto my arm. Not so much that; her face was sorta buried in my shoulder, something I was trying to figure out how she had managed with the massive height difference between the two of us. Whatever, no need to be an ass right now.

"He… he only wanted to help us…" she sputtered, her voice muffled. "It… it wasn't his fault… We were like this since birth… and he only wanted to help…" Her whole form was shaking – she sounded very weak, at the same time. "He tried… following them… So that all half-elves… could live a better life…"

The last sentence hit the pit of my stomach, and I stepped away from her quickly. "He was a Desian?" I gasped.

"Didn't you know?" she asked, her voice suddenly taunting. "I assumed you did, since you killed him."

I started backing away immediately. "That's…"

"You killed him," she sang in a deranged tone, sauntering closer to me. I continued to back away. "Poor little Alexa. You're becoming such a dangerous murderer…"

I shook my head, body quivering. "That's…"

"Did you think just because you were here, that death would mean nothing?" Blood was beginning to pour out from underneath her feet, and the only exposed parts of her arms. My spine hit the trunk of the tree, ending my escape path.

Her hand shot forward, grabbing the base of my throat. "Death has meaning here, child," she coaxed, her fingers digging into my skin. Suddenly, her skin was beginning to darken, fall apart. A horrid scent filled my senses, and her body continued to rot away. "Never belittle that fact, my dear." Her nails dug deeper into my neck, and fresh blood flowed from the new punctures.

I shut my eyes as tightly as I could.

And my scream echoed across the dead land.

My eyes shot open, and the first thing that hit me was water. And it wasn't the normal dark-lake-drowning water. It was the soapy kind. I shot out from underneath the surface, taking in deep gasps of fresh air. Air from this reality, from this world. Out of my dream, in Sylvarant.

It was only a dream, I felt my mind assuring myself. A very realistic, painful, and scary dream. Perhaps I shouldn't fall asleep in bathtubs anymore... I thought silently, as I rubbed the roots of my hair. My fingers through the tangles of my far from clean hair. It was the closest to clean I would get, I guess. A few weeks in Symphonia, and the bad hygiene was already beginning to affect me.

"Thank goodness you woke up, else you would've been a drowned rat."

A voice. A voice I recognized very well, not echoing through my head but coming from my side. From my side. I felt my face turn red, and I craned my neck to my right. "Dude, what the hell are you doing in here!??!!?" I half screamed. "I'm TAKING a BATH!!"

"I noticed," my Muse responded politely, raising one of her blue eyebrows. Green tennis shoes, worn denim jeans, and a black sleeved, white baseball tee, she was dressed the most "Earthly" I had seen her since the day I met her. "Ignore the clothing," she said, reading my expression. "I'm extending my wardrobe, to all styles of the universes. Even if it's this horrid get up such of this…" She made a face, pushing back her blue locks.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" I roared, my hands clenching into the tightest of fists.

"Calm down," she sighed, blinking her eyes shut. "I came here to clean your clothing, and give you a friendly offer."

I snorted. "A friendly offer? Why don't you do me a favor instead and get the hell out of my Inn room before I scream pedophile!"

"Would you like to hear my offer or not?" The annoyed Muse didn't wait for a response. "Good. Hurry up then. I'll be back in ten minutes – I expect you decent by then." She dropped on the ground the folded clean clothes, and in a group of sapphire sparkles, she flew off.

I gritted my teeth together, fists hitting against the washtub. One day, I was going to find out where that mystical figure lived and beat the crap out of her with my petty skills.

;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:

I twisted my hair into the towel, plopping it onto the top of my head. My eyes were still stinging from the soapy water, but I really couldn't find myself to care right now. "What's this friendly offer?" I asked tentatively. Ten minutes later, and I had managed to calm down my rage from earlier.

"I'm here to help you." My Muse – I needed to ask her for her name one day – linked her hands in front of her face, amethyst eyes soft. "I've noticed that your fighting… well, in the least eloquent of terms, your fighting sucks. Sorry," she apologized after noticing my cringe. "I understand that you're new, still trying to learn your swordsmanship style, but if this continues on…" She shook her head. "You're not going to live past this week."

"Thanks," I replied, sarcasm dripping from my voice. "Maybe you should've thought about that before you sent me on the hard path."

"I'm just being honest here," she defended, raising her hands into the air. "For example, if Sheena hadn't been such a softie, you would've been completely and utterly defeated. Fortunately, Sheena has been experiencing conflicts with her own morals, thus why you are still alive and not a corpse lying in the middle of the hallway."

"Thanks for the pleasant imagery," I briefly spoke. "What do you want me to do? Can't you tell I'm trying as hard as I can?"

"I know this, but let me tell you, it isn't enough. Now-" She began pacing slowly across the room. "I have a question for you. Have you noticed anything odd about your fighting skills?"

I swung my legs over the edge of my bed lightly, hands gripping on the red quilt. "Besides the fact they suck?" I inquired.

"There's more than that."

I looked at her, my expression confused. "Well, I don't use a shield or anything. Actually, I haven't been using any armor ever since I came here…"

"Look past the defense, and at the offense."

"Um…" I made a face. "I can't land a solid blow half the time. If it weren't for Kratos' intense training and the Exsphere, I would've been skewered multiple times by various enemies-"

"You're closer," she hinted. "Think more about your style of fighting."

"I use a sword without a hilt," I began guessing. "I only have a single edge blade, I only use one sword, um…"

She sighed. "You're focusing too much on Earthly notions."

"Earthly notions?" I repeated. "What the hell do you me-"

And then it hit me. How long had it been since I had been dumped in Sylvarant? Three, four weeks? I would have to sit down and calculate this, of course. And how long had I not noticed the complete lack of this skill, of any skills… "I don't have any techs," I abbreviated.

"Exactly," my Muse confirmed, nodding her head. "Usually, Exspheres awaken the artes, the dormant abilities laying deep inside of you. Your Exsphere has been doing that this entire time. However, it has been only supplying you with mana, seeing as how your body has a complete lack of the component."

"Thanks for telling me this," I groaned, face palming. "Life sucks…"

"And that's where my offer comes in," my Muse said, her voice light. "I can awaken those abilities for you, those dormant "techs" that you have. The only problem is that there are a few consequences to giving you the artes, all which affect you directly."

"Can't get any worst than how things are right now," I responded, annoyed.

"Actually, yes it can. First of all, awakening your abilities will take away my ability to speak to you telepathically."

If anything, that was a plus. But I wasn't about to tell her that to her face. "Second, I can't predict what abilities you'll get."

"Fun.... Is that it?"

"No, there's a third." She scowled. "Because your body doesn't have a decent supply of mana, any spells you receive are more than likely to consume substantial amounts of mana. Meaning, you can only use them a few times a day. Along with that, well…" Her scowl darkened. "Remember how I mentioned that your Exsphere has been only focusing on filtering mana into your system?"

"You just said something about it five seconds ago – I fail to see how I could forget."

"Well, if you use up all your mana, or huge amounts at a time, you are at high risk of passing out." My eyes widened. "Your Exsphere has been working day and night to keep your body filled with mana. However, if you were to suddenly loose a large proportion of that mana, your Exsphere kicks in. It's almost like loosing oxygen," she elaborated, waving her hands in the air. "When you get either too much or too little, your body shuts you down until your levels are regular. The Exsphere does the same: it knocks you out cold until your body regains all the mana it can hold."

I blinked. "You're kidding me, right?"

"That's how it works," she replied. "That's life. Or your life, anyway." She folded her arms in front of her chest, pacing quietly over and staring out of the window. The sun – almost setting in the distance – was the only thing keeping light in this inn room. "That's my offer."

I stared at her, trying to process every aspect of the information. "But what if I need to talk to you?" I asked. "I mean, if something completely wacko happens, I would like to know that I can somehow get in contact with you-"

My Muse snapped her fingers. "Here's a little something." She reached into her jean pocket (I really missed jeans…) and pulled out a thin cord, with a green gem on it. "I may not be able to speak to you telepathically," she began. "However, if you carry this, I will be able to speak with you through this stone."

She placed it in my hand, and I felt a sudden rush. It was almost like those times Raine used First Aid on me – it was magic pulsing into my veins, through my body. "Kinda like the Gossip Stone from Wind Waker?" I connected it to one of my old games while staring at the green crystal.

"In a way…" she replied. "So, that's it."

"So, you're offering to 'activate' my dormant abilities?" I summed up.

She closed her eyes. "Are there any issues?"

"Well..." I thought about it. "I dunno, it seems a little risky."

She sighed, opening her eyes. There was a new glint of energy in her eyes, some sort of new emotion. "It wasn't really an offer..."

My eyes widened. "Say what now?"

"I meant to propose it as an offer. However, if you did not comply..." She began walking towards me.

"You have got to be kidding me!"

Her hand, it was beginning to glow a faint white, mana practically streaming out of it. "I should warn you, after I awaken your mana, you'll be unconscious for a few hours."

"Wait, wha-" Her palm made contact with the top of my forehead. There was another rush, a rush of power, pulsing through my veins. At the same time, there was a dull throb, rising to my forehead. Her palm began to feel very hot, outrageously hot actually. The white light started to fill my vision, everywhere around me.

And I passed out.

To anyone who is thinking "Oh, Alex is getting skills, she's going to be total kickass now and have no problems whatsoever fighting enemies for now on," think again! :D Next time, on Raconteur's Ripple: Alexa has found herself with new abilities, some that she hadn't expected herself. How will the rest of the Chosen's group react? Will they still trust her? Or will their (namely Kratos's) suspicions grow further? Find out next time, on Raconteur's Ripple!!!