Well hi, I see you're back. Hungry for more? I certainly hope so:)

diety: Why, thank you:) I appreciate your reviews and hope you like this update!

BE: Okay, Sheena, you can try and redeem yourself and, by extension, the rest of the gang. Are you up to it?

Sheena: No.

BE: I have chocolate.

Sheena: MINE! I love chocolate! Nomnomnom. *stuffs her face* Blacksh Eyeth Sheven don't own Taleth of Symphonia, Namcoz doesh.

BE: Thank you. So dear reader, might I ask, what at you sting still reading this? You have a chapter to get to!

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Genis woke, but it wasn't where he expected. Instead, he found himself in an endless, white abyss. Am I dead? he wondered. A woman appeared, with long green hair and a white and black gown. Her dark green eyes sparkled, and something about her gave her a motherly quality.

"Martel?" Genis asked, his voice sounding muffled and far away. The woman only smiled.

"Genis. Come with me," Martel commanded in a gentle way. Her voice was smooth and pure, and it rang out like a clang of a church bell. Complying, the half elf followed her further into the abyss, noticing the unmarred whiteness growing darker. Soon it turned pitch black.

"Where are we?" Genis prodded, and again Martel did not answer. The boy saw nothing but black, and in a spilt second it was broken with a glowing light coming from Martel's staff. The woman's face could be vaugley made out in the dim light, and Genis watched as she spread her arms wide. The light from her staff went out, but the room was now filled with various orbs that played different scenes. Genis came closer to one in wonder. He saw Presea in Flanoir staring at a fireplace.

"Presea," he whispered, wondering where she was. Genis watched as her lips moved silently, talking to someone. That someone was...Genis. The mage backed up in confusion, wondering what these strange orbs were.

"Your favorite memories, Genis," the goddess answered, as if reading his mind. As the half elf looked around, he noticed something. They all had Presea in them.

"Why am I here?" Genis asked, determined to get an answer this time. "Did I die?" Martel's bright face fell, allowing a solemn expression to take its place.

"That is...a very difficult topic. Your heart has stopped, but you aren't in fact dead. Mana, as you know, is the force of life. Your body still contains a small amount, but that small amount isn't enough to keep your body functioning. So, technically you are dead, but not really. You could still be brought back with a very advanced healing technique. However, no one knows that skill except my brother, and..." Martel trailed off, shaking her head. Genis could not sit back and stay here doing nothing. He needed to know about the others.

"Where are the others? What are they doing now? You're a goddess, can't you let me see them?" the half elf pleaded, feeling his gut clench. Martel looked at him with a gaze that was heartbreaking. Her green eyes were darker than before, and full of pain. A frown tugged at her mouth, and her total expression looked like she was going to cry.

"Alright," she agreed in the same smooth voice, pulling a blank expression onto her face. The green-haired woman raised a hand, and instantly a large screen appeared in front of them. It was at least three times as tall as Genis and much wider than the space he and Martel took up. In the screen, he could see himself lying on the wooden table, unmoving. Everyone stood around the still Genis, all with different expressions. Raine was crying softly with a hand over her mouth; Lloyd was wincing, not allowing his tears to escape. Colette was crying freely, as was Mithos. Sheena, Zelos, and Regal all wore sorrowful expressions, and Altessa was covering his eyes with his hand, blaming himself for what had happened. Last, he saw Presea. She was standing over his motionless body, tears running down her face and screaming. What she was screaming, Genis couldn't hear. Their lips moved but no sound came out. The goddess waved her hand, and their voices became audible.

"Altessa! Can't you do something? He can't die! He can't!" Presea cried, tears dripping from her face. The sound of that single, high pitched noise rang out above everything else. Genis wanted to reach out and wipe the tears off her face. He wanted to kiss her and hold her and tell her it was okay, but he couldn't. He was in another dimension entirely. Altessa shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Presea. There's nothing we can do. I'm so sorry," Altessa apologized, looking down. The pink-haired girl gritted her teeth, and her face contorted to display the emotional pain she was feeling. It felt like Genis' heart was getting shredded apart. The girl he loved was suffering, and he couldn't do anything about it. The half elf cursed, and fought the urge to cry. Lloyd burst out suddenly in the display, keeping his real angst underneath the surface.

"Come on! There has to be something we can do! There has to be a w-"

"There is no way! He's dead! Stop trying to fix the impossible!" Raine shouted, letting all her contained emotions out in that single, untamed outburst. The whole group stared at her.

"This...can't be," Mithos muttered, still in denial. Presea yelled in outrage and hurt, and everyone braced themselves to hold her back in case she went out of control. Instead, she sunk to her knees, clamping her hands over her ears and squeezing her eyes shut.

"Why does everyone I love get taken away from me? How cruel can life be?" Presea asked, more to herself than anyone else.

"Presea...I'm sorry. I know this was especially hard for you, but please just calm down. It will be okay," Sheena cooed, her usually fierce voice softening into the caring tone she almost never used. The ax-girl stood up harshly, and Sheena backed up slightly in fear. Presea's initially angered expression softened into one a of sadness and angst, and finally she replied.

"Sheena, how can this be okay? I'm grateful for you trying to make me feel better, but I can't right now. Everyone I love is gone. My daddy, my mother, my sister, and now Genis. My hometown rejects me, and even though you all have been so kind to me, I have nothing left to fight for. I'm sorry." Presea ran from the room, unable to hold up a calm facade any longer.

"I'm sorry, Presea. I couldn't be there for you," Genis whispered, feeling the hot tears well up in his eyes and start to tumble out. Martel came over and wrapped her arms around him softly, trying to comfort him. Her embrace was calming, and Genis suspected it was her magic.

"Martel...can you please show me Presea?" he requested polietly. The image shifted, and Genis saw Presea running through the forest with her axe. A furious yell erupted from her, and she swung her axe into a tree. This was nothing like what she usually did to cut down trees, one calm, synchronised cut after another. This was more like she was doing it to let her feelings out, and one huge slice sent the tree falling to the ground. Tears coursed down her face, and she stumbled to the ground as all of her energy left her. It had all been used on tears and anger. She fell over with a soft thud, lying there and not getting up.

"Presea!" Genis shouted, frustrated he could not do anything. He looked over frantically to Martel, pleading with his eyes. "You're a goddess, bring me back to life!" Martel shook her head.

"I cannot."

"But I have all my friends back there! My sister too, who will be alone without me! And Presea, she has no one left!"

"I cannot."

Genis pounded his fist into the ground.

"Martel...you care about the world. I need to get back and save it," he told her quietly. Hurt flashed across her eyes, and something snapped inside of her.

"I...

"...will try. I will try to send you back," she finally agreed after several moments of silence. Without giving Genis even a moment to thank her, she thrust her staff into the air, and Genis was torn from the room. Very far away, he could barely see his motionless form on the table. The half elf began to fall into his body, like when you have a dream and you fall into yourself, waking up when you make contact, except for real. When Genis made contact, all he saw was blackness. There was no feeling whatsoever, and suddenly his eyes snapped open. He jolted upright, feeling the hard wood underneath his hands and the cool air wrap around him. Genis scanned the room happily, confirming that he was alive again. The monitor that was registering his heartbeat started to beep at what was a normal rate. Tearing the wires off of him, Genis burst out of the room with a large grin plastered on his face. The whole group was outside, and their faces turned to him. A collective gasp was heard before shouts of joy rang. Lloyd ran over and glomped him, followed by Colette, Sheena, and Raine. The boy nearly fell over.

"What...Genis...how?" Raine sputtered, unable to wrap her mind around it. Genis smiled.

"I met Martel," he replied vaguely, earning a look of utter confusion from his sister. At that very moment, Mithos came out. The loud noises had peaked his curiosity, and eventually he was drawn out of his room.

"Genis!" he exclaimed, running over to give his friend a hug. Mithos looked at him, relief and disbelief showing in his eyes.

"Martel...saved you?" he asked quietly, very shaken by this.

"Yeah...she saved me," Genis told him, watching an unidentifiable emotion flit across Mithos' dark blue eyes for a moment. Then, a grin spread across the blonde half elf's face, covering up any other emotions.

"I'm glad you're back."

Genis received a few more hugs, and then it hit him like a ton of bricks. The smile dropped off his face and his eyes widened.

"Presea!" he yelled, breaking out of the room and running through the woods to find her. After stumbling around for a few minutes, he finally found her like he had seen in the vision: lying on the ground, no energy left.

"Presea!" he yelled to her. The beautiful light blue eyes, like the sky on a clear cloudless day, opened slowly.

"Genis?" she whispered, unable to believe it. Pushing up off the ground, the pink-haired girl stumbled away. "You can't be Genis! He's dead!"

"No, I promise it's me! Martel...she brought me back. I watched you all, unable to do anything as I saw you run out into the woods. I pleaded with her, and she complied! I'm here, it's me, I promise!" Genis shouted, watching Presea warily. The ax-girl had her hands over her ears and she was shaking her head.

"No! I watched him die! You...are not him. Martel, why do you torment me with ghosts?" Presea cried, clearly very upset. Against his better judgement, Genis walked up to her. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Genis knew she could slice him to pieces in an instant. However, the more prominent thought was he needed her to believe him. Genis grabbed her wrists and pulled her hands away from her ears, making her look at him. Tears ran down her cheeks and the pain in her eyes felt to Genis like he had just been stabbed through the chest with a knife. You don't deserve to be suffering, he thought.

"Presea. Look at me. I am here, no ghost. I've been to Hell and back," he told her, watching the struggle fade from her movements. Releasing her hands, Genis stood still as she let them roam to his face, gently feeling his hair and touching his ears. She caressed the plains of his face, and traced his lips softly. A faint blush, a tint of rosy, warm life spread across his cheeks

"It...it is you!" she burst out finally, wrapping her arms around him.

"It's me," Genis murmured into her ear, letting Presea calm down.

"I was so frightened," she hiccuped, still very much in shock. Genis stroked her back soothingly.

"I know...I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you." After a few minutes spent like that, just holding each other, Presea pulled back.

"Genis...surely you did not go to Hell," she commented, remembering what he had said earlier. A smile stretched across his mouth.

"True, but there is no Heaven if you're not there," Genis told her, causing her to grin as well. Their lips connected, warmth spreading through both of them.

"I love you," Presea told him, feeling whole again.

"I love you too," Genis replied, kissing her again.

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When the two arrived back at Altessa's place, the room erupted in cheers. Presea smiled, something that the group had not seen for a very long time.

"I told you it would be okay, Presea," Sheena smirked, the usual fierceness back in her tone.

"Yes. I'm sorry for reacting that way." Sheena just shrugged.

"It's alright. I know how hard that was for you." The two hugged, and it turned out Raine, Colette, Lloyd, and Mithos weren't done hugging Genis yet either. This time though, the half elf really did fall over. They all laughed and broke apart, happy tears welling in their eyes.

"Genis...I'm so happy you're okay," Raine told her brother, giving him one last hug.

"Enough hugs, Sis!" Genis complained from underneath her crushing arms. However, after Raine stepped away he smiled.

"I missed you, Raine," he told her.

"Did you miss me too?" Zelos yelled from the corner, grinning.

"Ya know, can't say that I did."

"Brat."

Genis laughed, and grinned widely. It's good to be back.

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Man, I remember how much fun this chapter was to write. I hope it was fun to read! I know Martel was a little too easily swayed but oh well point is Genis is ALIVE :) Thanks so much for reading, please review! Bye bye,

BE