Tales of Symphonia © Namco

Beta: Synodic

"So this little statue is worth all that damage I made?" I offhandedly ask as I observe the statue. It's some woman dressed in formal robes, but otherwise it's nothing special; just a hunk of stone. It's immediately snatched out of my hands by Genis, who holds it up to the rapidly lowering sun. "Who's it, anyway?"

"Spiritua," Genis tells me. "She's the —" he pauses, lips settling into a frown. "Well, you probably know who she is, right? Tethe'alla must have her, too."

I cross my legs, ignoring the slight discomfort when I twist my body the wrong way. "Uh — um, yeah. I … Tethe'alla has her, too."

I'm almost 100% sure that she's a negative figure there, though, rather than the upheld and holy one she is in Sylvarant.

An Angel of destruction?

… Something like that.

"Mm," James agrees. "The Harbinger of Destruction."

'A what?' I question. 'Harbringer?'

"-Binger, not bringer —" James corrects. "A Harbinger. They're signs of something; a Harbinger of Destruction signals destruction."

'Oh.'

"So, uh — the Koton guy wants her statue … why?"

Genis rolls his eyes. "Uh, hello? It's a statue of Spiritua! Upheld by the Church of Martel; what collector wouldn't want her?"

I shrug, hunching my shoulders in embarrassment. "S-Sorry …"

What a stupid kid you are, It mocks. I feel the ache in my side grow stronger and immediately my breath hitches. Getting lectured by an eleven year old?

'I'm sorry,' I apologize, fighting back a wince. Each passing second makes the pain worse. 'Please numb it again. I'm begging, please —'

The pain dissipates until it's barely noticeable. I hear the thing scoff before it orders, Don't be so stupid if you don't want the pain.

I glance up, loosening the grip on my pants, and catch Raine's stare. She holds it for a second and right when I go to break it she looks away. I stare for a moment longer, before Genis says something else to me and I'm dragged back into my conversation with him.

I'm a bit nervous as we approach, and I make sure to keep my eyes on my feet the entire time we climb. When we finally reach the peak, I follow the group towards the shack. I attempt to stay a safe distance from all of the trinkets, but Raine ushers me over and practically forces me to accompany her into the shack. As we enter, I'm handed the statue.

It's even worse inside than outside, and I cough when some dust flies into my throat. Then I sneeze, because my cough dispelled more dust from the antiques. The entire process repeats itself twice before I finally get some mercy.

Koton looks up quickly, expression startled for only a second before it twists into an angry grimace. He stands up from his chair, hand gripping his cane tightly. His nails are cracked and discoloured and I look away in slight disgust.

"I see you're back," he practically snaps. "Have you brought my statue? You better have, or I'll —"

"Yes, Koton." Raine nudges me forward, her hand pushing on the spot that was broken earlier in the week. I straighten up, a sound akin to a whimper escaping my lips despite desperate attempts to keep it in. I stumble forward, shakily holding out the statue.

"H-Here," I stammer, ribs still pulsating from Raine's action. The numbing only helps if no one presses on the spot — I'm not entirely sure how that works, but all I know is that every time I push on it I hurt. Knowing my luck, the Exsphere is probably selectively choosing when to numb it and when not to.

Oh, It mutters. If it could sound offended, I'm sure it would. Or, at least, it'd pretend to. My bad. I didn't know I had to keep you numbed all the time.

Immediately I apologize, expecting to feel the numbness wear off completely, but to my surprise — and relief — the numbing simply increases. Then, my relief becomes worry, because I feel the numbness spread to the rest of my chest.

Koton swipes it from my hands, and after he examines it thoroughly practically cradles it in his arms. "Great," he says. "Great. You've held up your side of the deal, so I'll keep mine —" he narrows his eyes into a spiteful glare. "Get the hell out!"

I quickly follow Raine out the door and see everyone else standing around in different stages of boredom. We weren't gone for more than two minutes, but Lloyd already looks like he's been standing there for hours now. We regroup, and Raine asks me, "Did you get injured?"

"No," I immediately lie. I refuse to look her in the face, and instead stare back down at my feet. I don't need to trip again and break more things. "Stop asking me."

Raine frowns. "I'm simply concerned; your reaction in there wasn't normal —"

I whirl around, giving her the best glare I can muster. "Just — just leave me alone!" I snap, anger bubbling to life. "You —" I shudder, feeling the eyes of the rest of the group focus on me. "… Just … stop asking. Leave me alone."

The anger continues to simmer as I hurry to the front of the group, beside Genis. He gives me an irritated glare, obviously annoyed that I lashed out at his sister, but I can't bring myself to care.

He's not the one who was threatened. He's not the one who was put in danger, who was nearly kicked out, who was cornered and treated like some kind of criminal.

If he was me, he'd be angry too.

Anyone would.

Just tell yourself that.

Not everyone is as self-centered and baby-like as you. Your half-assed excuses make it more obvious how big of a baby you are.

I clench my hands into fists and resist the urge to react back to it. That'll only bring more pain; it'll just hurt me more.

I hear James make some kind of disconcerting noise and jump, and although he's quick to apologize I can't help but feel uneasy from the sound.

Not because it was weird or sudden or anything like that — no, it's not anything unusual; just a sound. No, the reason it startles me is because I recognize the sound —

I've heard it somewhere before, but no matter how hard I wrack my memories, I can't figure out where.

When we reach Asgard, the sky is completely overcast, making me worry that it'll begin to rain again. We've had too many wet days so far, and the more we get, the longer it'll take us to get to the Lake — and, by extension, back to Hima.

That means more camped out days; camped out muddy days.

Ugh.

We check into the inn a couple hours before sunset. Usually I'd take this time to walk around, but with the high chance of rain hanging overhead I decide to stay in for the rest of the night. I opt to room with Colette this time around, so that I can give Sheena a break from me — and Colette a break from Raine.

I flash the blonde a grin as I hand the key to her, and she returns it with equal enthusiasm. It'll be nice to get some change.

As we enter into our room, I immediately move to the bed and stretch out across it. Colette sits down on the edge of her own, and I see her shoot a few looks towards the door.

"You can be with them," I say suddenly. Colette jumps, clearly startled, and I grimace. "S-Sorry. But, um, I mean —" I motion to the door, pulling myself into a sitting position as I do so. "Genis and Lloyd. You can hang out with them … y'don't gotta stay in here."

Colette frowns, and goes to reach into her bag for her notepad when I stop her. "It's fine — really." I curl my knees to my chest, crossing my ankles over each other. "You … you should be able to be with them as much as you want; you might not —" my voice cuts itself off, and I have to swallow back a lump as I continue, "— not be able to forever."

Colette's eyes widen, and at first I'm confused. Then it sinks in and I practically hit myself for my idiocy.

I'd been talking about my own situation — if I'd known I was going to be dropped into Symphonia, I would've been less hesitant about hanging out with my friends. I'd have gone whenever I had the chance, because now, there's a good chance that I'll never get to see them again.

But … Colette's becoming an angel. As far as she knows, she's going to be all alone.

I reminded her of it without even meaning to.

Slowly, Colette nods, her expression conflicted. She goes to get up, only to hesitate. I see her hand reach into her bag, removing the notepad, and she flips it open and removes the pen. After a few seconds of writing I see her place the pen on the bed table and hand the notepad to me.

"Do you know?"

I'm silent, contemplating my answer. Should I tell Colette the truth? Or should I lie? It feels wrong to lie to her, but … at least she'll have one less person to hide it from.

But … telling her the truth; that'll place the burden, the blame — when it all comes out — on me as well. I can't pretend to be ignorant when the rest of the group finds out about it all.

Don't do it, the thing hisses. You're just going to make her life harder. Don't be selfish.

James, however, is the complete opposite in his opinion; "You should give her someone to confide in, at least. With how badly you sleep, it'll make Colette's life harder if she has to pretend every time you get up."

The thing argues, it screams at me to ignore him, but I force myself to ignore that thing instead. James is right; as much as I'd like to pretend to be ignorant, it's not fair to Colette.

"… Yeah," I reply, after a long silence. I see Colette lower her nails from her mouth, and grimace when I see how low they've been bitten. "I'm sorry — I, I didn't really …" I shake my head, closing the notepad and standing up. I press it into Colette's hands, and then place mine on her shoulders firmly. "… I'm sorry. You … you're really suffering for Sylvarant; it's not right."

Colette gives me a sad smile, and I don't need to read what she writes to know what she's saying.

"I'm sorry. Please don't worry, I'll be okay."

"I —" my voice dies away. Slowly I lower my hands until they're limply hanging by my sides. "… I'm sorry, Colette."

Colette of course refutes my apology with one of her own and I force myself to not give my own in response. We'll be here for hours if I do. Instead, I muster up the best smile I can and say, "Just … enjoy your time with Lloyd and Genis, OK?"

Colette nods.

A few minutes later, it's just me. I lay back on my bed, turning on my side and curling up halfway. I rest one arm underneath the pillow under my head, and ignore how my insides are churning.

A fear settles deep in my stomach when I realize I'm actually alone. For a second I'm tempted to get up and lock the door so that no one can come in, but I quickly disregard that thought. Colette left her bag — and key — in here. I don't want her to get locked out.

They're going to come back. I clench the pillow between my fingers at the grating voice of the Exsphere. This time Lloyd won't save you.

Raine knows you're injured; how much you want to bet she'll hold you down and —

"Shut up," I snap. "Shut up, just — be quiet, stop talking, stop — stop …" I bury my face in the pillow and cringe, awaiting the pain that's sure to follow after my outburst. As the seconds tick on, though, I feel no pain. I pull my head out of the pillow, nervously looking around the room for any signs of something being wrong.

There's nothing, though; everything is where it was seconds ago. I swallow, and anxious ask, 'James? This isn't a — a slip, right?'

"No," he confirms. "You're still here." He pauses, and then asks, "The Exsphere is talking to you, isn't it?"

I go silent. I don't even need to respond, because James already knows— there's no way he can't. When my silence stretches on he sighs.

"What you're doing is a bad idea," he warns me. "The more attention you give it, the stronger it gets. The more influence it has over you; you're putting yourself in a lot of danger."

'I'm sorry.' I rub at my ribcage. It's tender, but I don't put enough pressure on it to cause any real pain. 'It's … if I ignore it, it gets mad.'

Stop talking about me, It warns. Then, out of nowhere, I hear a screech that instinctively I cover my ears at. It's useless, and the hoarse noise seems to echo before finally disappearing. I wait anxiously for another quip, only for there to be none.

The pain has come back full force though, and I suck in a breath that makes it hurt worse. "Don't talk to it," James orders me. His voice is uncharacteristically firm. "I don't care what it says. Don't. Talk to it. Do you understand?"

'Yes.' I force myself up, noticing how badly my arms shake underneath my weight. I push myself up fully, throwing my legs over the side of the bed and touching my feet to the ground. 'Ow. This hurts.'

"Get it healed," James laconically replies. "Take better care of yourself — you can't survive near-fatal encounters if you're already half dead."

I scowl. Moving is just as painful as it was when I got the injury, which is strange — it should have healed a little bit at least. Then I scowl even more.

Of course it's going to hurt; I've been straining it since the injury. Without feeling the pain of a broken rib, I haven't been trying to keep it from hurting more.

Oh god — I've probably broken it even worse. Or — or caused some kind of bad internal damage, or bleeding; oh god, what if it punctured something?

'You'd be dead if it did,' I relieve myself. 'You'd be dead. It's not punctured.'

I slouch back down on the bed and reach for my Frodeg stone, only to remember that Raine still has it. Instead, I grab for my pajamas, deciding to change into them early.

As I strip out of my travel clothes, I move to the mirror hanging off the nearby wall. The high(er) quality inn in Asgard has mirrors in the rooms, which is surprising. Most inns don't have personal mirrors in the rooms; only in the bathroom.

I turn to my side and grimace at the ugly sight. My entire side is an ugly smear of bruises, ranging from dark purple — almost black — and blue, to red, to a greenish-yellow underneath. I suck in a breath, and watch as the skin pulls taunt, exposing part of the ribcage from beneath.

I hitch my sports bra up, shivering when my cold fingers brush across my skin. Another spear of pain rushes through me.

"Shit, that looks really bad," James mutters. "God damn. Why didn't you have Raine look at this?"

'She threatened me.' I lower my sports bra and stiffly make my way back to the bed. There's a rather ugly bruise to the side of my hipbones as well. 'I don't trust her.'

I pull my sweatpants on first, being careful to not jostle the injury any more. After I've tied the drawstrings as tight as I need I twist them into a loose knot and tuck them down the front.

I'm reaching for my sweatshirt when Colette opens the door. I turn around as quickly as possible, arms flying to attempt and cover the bruising, and nearly double over in pain. A silent scream escapes my lips and I see Colette quickly hurry over, eyes wide in worry.

"I-I'm fine," I croak, squeezing my eyes shut. "I —" I fold into myself fully, resting limply against the bed as I wait for the pain to subside. "Ohh god … oh god, oh god …"

I hear the door shut quickly, and Colette slides into a seating position right beside me. Her hand is light, resting over my back, and I can practically see the question on her face.

"I — I'm … I-I'm OK," I repeat, shuddering. "Ju-Just — ahg, ahh … f-fuck." My excuse dissolves into a stream of groans and occasional swears. I see Colette hurry over to her notepad and scribble down a frantic question.

I read it with one eye, and then immediately shut it again. "I-I, ugh ... n-nothing, nothing — just a bru-bruise …" my voice trails off, becoming airy at the end. "Do-Don't tell anyone."

She goes to write something else, but I stop her by practically slamming my palm on the notepad on accident. I meant to just rest it on there, but … yeah. That went wrong. "I-I know it's bad, but —" I lower my hand and straighten my back up the best I can. "Ahh … pl-please. Please, Colette; I-I'm keeping your secret, so … so please keep mine."

She bites her lip, looking incredibly torn, but eventually nods her head. I sigh in relief. "Th-Thank you … thank you."

She stays by the bed with me for a few more minutes while I wait for the pain to subside, and when I finally can move I struggle to my feet. I attempt to pull my sweatshirt on, only to feel another ripple of pain. Colette notices immediately and takes it from me.

To my absolute horror, I need her help to get it on.

"S-Sorry …" I mutter. "I-I'm sorry for the trouble, Colette."

She shakes her head, and then helps me lean back onto the bed. I rest my hands over my face, and wait for her to leave.

I feel the pen lightly tap my fingers, and when I look through them I see Colette has placed her notebook beside me. I pick it up and read, "Do you want me to tell the Professor you're asleep?"

"Please," I beg. "I … I can't go down like this."

Colette nods, despite looking incredibly uncertain. She writes one last message, before grabbing something from her bag and heading back out of the room.

"This is bad, Eden," James says, after Colette leaves. "Do you realize how dangerous a broken rib is? Especially with how active you are; you need to get that fixed."

'She'll hurt me,' I argue. 'She'll — the bugs will come back. And she'll bring Kratos, and he said he'd kill me if I lied, and he caught me lying James. I … I don't want to die. She'll kill me. She'll hurt me.'

James sighs. Then he sighs again. "I understand," he says begrudgingly. "You're scared; I know that. But you're placing yourself in danger leaving it untreated."

'I don't care,' I finally state. 'I don't care. I can't trust her.'

And then, despite James' next argument, I force myself to get underneath the covers and shut my eyes, forcing our connection closed until he's finally silent.

"Who are you?" I ask slowly, locking my eyes on the face of the person. He's tall, but not imposing; if anything he gives off a protective vibe. Something about him is familiar, but I don't remember where I've seen him."… Where am I?"

He looks behind him, as if someone is going to burst through the door at any second. When no one does, he answers, in an even voice, "I'm sorry. I can't tell you that."

I rub my belly. A deep cramp pulls at the muscles and I wince, clenching my body tight in an attempt to relieve the pain. Instead it does the opposite and I gasp back a groan, curling forward. The bed creaks underneath me, the stiff sheets crinkling noisily. A hand rests on my shoulder, pushing me back into a sitting position.

He stares me in the eyes and I notice that he's crouched now. "You need to be strong," he orders, after straightening my posture. It makes the cramping worse and I squeeze my eyes shut, my entire body shaking. "Do you understand?"

I nod, attempting to curl back in. He stops me. "I want a verbal answer — do you understand?"

"Yes," I choke out. Another pain rips through me and I scream. I feel heat rush through my body, and suddenly the taste of blood is on my lips. I feel it dripping out of my nose and sputter in disgust. "Wh-What's happening?" I ask fearfully, bringing one hand to cup my nose. The blood continues to flow.

The hands run through my hair, tying it back into a ponytail and brushing my bangs back before completely leaving my skin. "I'm sorry," he apologizes, face twisting into a remorseful expression. "You need to be strong, Eden. It's going to hurt a lot."

'How do you know my name?' I want to ask. Instead I shakily nod my head, unable to force the words from my lips. They're replaced by a different question — "Why? Why is it happening?"

"To save your life." He stands up from his crouched position. "It'll all be over soon. Don't freak out, the pain will go away."

I want to believe him, but find it impossible when another cramp tears through my body. Another scream is dragged from my body and my head pounds mercilessly, until it feels like I'm going to split in half.

He returns the next day. The bleeding has long since stopped, but the pain has stayed stagnated. I notice the way his shoulders slump as he turns my head and checks the side of my throat. The suction there is beginning to itch, but when I ask him to remove it he refuses.

"Does it hurt again?" He asks, when I shakily breathe out through my nose. I nod in confirmation and he sighs. "I'm sorry. It'll be over soon."

"When?" I mumble. The white is beginning to blind me. My vision is blurry without my glasses and I let my eyes slip closed in an attempt to relieve the burning. "I want to —" my words catch in my throat and I shakily continue, "I-I want to go ho-home."

"I'm sorry," he whispers. "I'm so sorry. You'll go home eventually."

The next day is the same. And the day after that, and after that, and after that, until I lose track of the days. He continues to visit despite the obvious weariness in his expression. I want to apologize; ask what's wrong, but speaking is too painful now.

Everything is too painful; I'm drained of energy and weak from pain. When he checks my neck, the pain becomes worse.

I want to go home.

"You'll be leaving, soon," he says one day. My hand twitches and I weakly turn my head to look at him. His dark skin is paler than it was the first day. I notice the dark, bruise-like bags under his eyes. "Are you ready?"

I try to shake my head and when I fail I whisper, "I … I'm scared. Where are my family?"

He ignores my question. "You'll have to stay still, when they come for you. I promise it won't hurt, so just stay still. Can you make that promise for me? That you'll stay still?"

I scrutinize his face for signs that he's lying and find none. "O —…" I swallow dryly. "O-OK …y-yeah, I can; thank you."

Three days later, they come like he said they would. I haven't seen him since then.

He lied to me.

When the nails dig into my throat and rip the suction off, I screech in agony. Pain rushes through my body, numbing every other sense and making me wish that I could die. I writhe and buck in an attempt to push the hands away from my throat, from my arms, from my chest; something sharp digs into my chest and I sob.

My eyes throb behind the thin skin covering them. My chest is burning and I feel blood trickle from my nose, running down my cheeks and into my ears.

The blankets crinkle again.

When I finally open my eyes, I'm surrounded by more white; a light overhead, people surrounding me.

In the background I swear I hear him speak but when I attempt to look for him, one of the people surrounding me replaces the suction cup and I spiral into oblivion.

"Ugh …" I follow close behind Lloyd, wheezing slightly. "I hope we're almost there …"

"Me too," he complains. "I'm so sick of walking."

I sigh in agreement. Genis sighs as well, but for a different reason.

"Jeez; Eden, I think you're hanging out with Lloyd too much," he says. "You've been complaining a lot lately."

I shrug. "It's boring …"

In reality, I've been complaining to keep my mind off of my broken rib(s?). They don't hurt as badly anymore, which I'm guessing means that they're healing, but I definitely can feel them aching with our traveling and battling. I've been doing a lot less in terms of fighting; compared to before, at least.

The Exsphere had been helping a lot, as much as I hate to admit it, despite not hearing it at all since Asgard.

'Did you kill it?' I ask James as we make our ways through the trees. I duck underneath a branch and continue walking. Lloyd walks straight into a different branch and it snaps into his face. 'Where is it?'

"God, no," James replies. I hear Lloyd groan and rub at the forming welt on his cheek. "I just shut it up for awhile."

'How?'

James scoffs. "Does that really matter?"

'Yes,' I finally reply in irritation. It's hard to be irritated in your thoughts, but I must manage to convey it well enough because I hear him sigh.

"Listen, just don't worry about it."

I attempt to push him for more answers, but he cuts our connection off before I can. I silently fume, clenching my hands into fists and resisting the urge to kick something.

He always disappears when I ask for answers.

"We're getting close to the Unicorn," Raine informs us, a few minutes later. "Remember not to make any kind of scene … we don't want to disturb it more than necessary."

I see her eyes glance at me as she says that, and I bite my lip, keeping my eyes on the ground.

Before long though, we do reach the lake. Lloyd approaches the edge like before, crouching down and swishing his hand in the water. "Hey, Professor — why is this water warmer than the streams?"

"The Unicorn's Mana, most likely," Kratos answers for her. Raine crosses her arms, giving the mercenary a pointed look.

"Yes, Kratos is correct," Raine confirms. "The bubble encasing the creature is pure Mana; it has seeped into the water as well."

Lloyd nods slowly, and then bounces to his feet and turns to face Sheena. "OK, Sheena; go on, do your summon thing and ask Undine to bring us over!" He grins to himself, swaying on his feet in excitement. "I can't wait to see it! It's gonna be so cool."

Sheena's cheeks flush lightly and she turns away quickly to hide it. "Right." She removes a seal and shifts her feet apart when Kratos interrupts her.

"Wait. That's not going to work."

Sheena turns to look at him, as do the rest of the group. "Why?" Genis asks, rocking back on his heels. "Is the Summon Spirit only going to let Sheena go because she's the pact maker?"

"No — the Unicorn can only be approached by a pure maiden," Raine explains. She takes a quick look around the group, her eyes straying a moment too long on Sheena.

Kratos picks up for her. "At the very least, Lloyd, Genis, and I are unable to go."

"Huh?" Lloyd huffs. "Must be a pretty picky Unicorn if it only wants to talk to girls."

I poke at his arm. "Um … that's not what she meant."

"What'd she mean then?" Lloyd asks.

I stumble for an answer, and thankfully am saved when Genis blurts out, "So then just Raine, and ..."

"I won't be going," Raine quickly says. I tilt my head at her, and she stares back at me. "Eden, you'll be going with Colette."

Sheena immediately turns, her face growing red in indignation. "Hey — are you saying I'm not qualified!?"

"I don't want to go," I whine. "Raine's afraid of water so she won't go. Why do I gotta?"

Raine gives me a piercing look and I flinch. The pain in my side flares to life and I'm left breathless. "Fine; then Sheena will go with Colette, if you're really so insistent in staying."

"Wait," Lloyd interrupts, "Why can't the Professor go?"

Raine goes completely silent. Then, after an incredibly drawn out pause she replies, "Because I'm an adult."

I hear James snort, and am completely and utterly confused as to why until it hits me. Then my face flushes and I cup my cheeks between my fingers, trying to hide my embarrassment.

I didn't even realize that was the reason.

"Hmm ..." Lloyd muses, and goes to say something when Sheena turns back around and whips her seal back out.

"L-Let's just do it," she quickly says, obviously uncomfortable with the way the conversation has gone. "I'm going to summon now."

"Oh." Lloyd nods. "Right." He backs away until he's beside me and Genis, who is watching Sheena summon Undine with fascination in his eyes. "That was weird, right?"

"Mm," I agree. When the Summon Spirit appears I look away, leading James to laugh at me. I hear Lloyd groan under his breath and sink to the ground. I sit beside him.

Suddenly, the branches and rocks surrounding the unicorn lift, and it rises to its feet, floating to the surface. The bubble bursts when it emerges from the water, and I blink quickly at the sudden thickness in the air.

Colette and Sheena are led across the water by Undine, and when they begin to speak to the unicorn it's too far away for me to hear. Their conversation goes on for about a minute, before its horn begins to glow. Six balls of lights emerge, twisting around each other and rising further and further into the air until they combine in a flash of white. As the light lowers itself into Colette's hand, the body of the unicorn becomes increasingly transparent until it's see-through; on top of that its horn is gone, leaving it looking like a fancy horse.

I snort at the thought. Lloyd looks at me strangely, and so I share that thought with him and Genis. Both of them groan at me.

"A fancy transparent horse," Genis comments. "Jeez. What kind of horse has a long mane like that?"

'A show horse,' I think to myself. "Dunno," is what I respond with, along with a half-hearted shrug of the shoulder. "Just put a saddle on it and bam —" I slam the heel of my palm into the palm of my other hand, mimicking a collision. "You gotta fancy horse that you can ride."

"Oh goddess," Genis mutters. "Stop talking about this already; you're such a kid sometimes."

"Says the kid," I throw back. He glowers at me and I just laugh.

Lloyd gasps suddenly. I look up, and notice the unicorn has disappeared. Colette and Sheena stay rooted to their spots, completely motionless, until Undine carries them back over. Sheena thanks the Summon Spirit weakly, and I hold my hands out to Lloyd when he gets up.

"Help," I complain, attempting to pass it off as laziness when in reality, it hurts too much to get up on my own. "I've fallen and I can't get up."

He rolls his eyes, but grabs my hands and hefts me up anyways. I bounce as I stand, and give him a shaky grin of thanks before walking towards the two girls.

And then I freeze in place. Sheena glances up as I approach and I see tears glistening in her eyes. Immediately I'm on edge, and I quicken my pace until I'm at her side. "What's wrong?" I ask, in slight panic. "A-Are you alright?"

She's quick to wipe away the evidence, but that doesn't change that I saw it. "I'm fine," she replies. I notice the stoic and careful tone of voice, and feel a wave of discomfort fill my body.

Sheena doesn't cry — she's too tough, too … I don't know, strong for that. And yet here she is, wiping away tears; tears that she manages to hide from almost everyone. I hear Genis ask Sheena if she was crying, and I'm quick to turn on my heels and snap, "She's not."

Sheena gives me a grateful look. She takes a moment to compose herself before explaining, "The Unicorn gave us its horn."

Kratos nods. "So it is dead, then."

Sheena turns to him, her fists clenching tightly and back straightening. "You knew?" She snaps, her tone accusatory. Raine cuts her off before she can go on.

"When a unicorn loses its horn, it dies. By dying, a new unicorn is born somewhere." She glances at the lake, which is uninhabited besides a few fish. "That's why the unicorn is the symbol of death and rebirth."

"I-I thought that was a phoenix?" I say quietly, frowning. Raine gives me a pointed look.

"Real phoenixes don't exist, Eden." She brushes imaginary dust off of her robe. "They've been long since extinct; the Mana levels in Sylvarant are far too low to sustain such a fragile creature."

"I-I see."

Lloyd gently takes the horn from Colette's hands. "This unicorn … it gave us its horn at the cost of its life. We have to make good use of it."

Then, out of nowhere, Raine plucks it out of his hand. He jumps, crying out in protest, but Raine simply rests it in her pocket and explains, "That's why I'll be the one to hold onto it, Lloyd."

"Aw, no fair," he complains. "Can't I just look at it, Professor? This horn is gonna heal Colette!"

Said person bites her lip, looking conflicted. She reaches out, tugging at Lloyd's leather jacket, and when he turns around she shakes her head.

"Huh? What do you mean, Colette?"

Colette struggles for a moment, before she reaches into her bag and writes down something to the best of her ability. Lloyd reads it aloud — "I'm not done regenerating the world yet, so please use this to heal Pietro and Clara — before his face falls into a frown.

"Colette ..." he trails off. She shakes her head at him, before hesitantly taking her notepad and flipping it closed before placing it back in her bag. "... Alright. If that's what you want."

Raine pats the pocket with the horn in it carefully before she says, "I should be able to use several of the artes from Master Boltzman's book because of this horn."

"We have to heal Pietro," Sheena says firmly. "We made a promise."

Lloyd curls one arm to his chest and rests the other one in the space between his bicep and forearm, stretching the limb. "Hopefully he's doing good still," he says. "We should get going."

Hima is cold and windy, like you'd expect it to be. Despite being here on two separate occasions now I can't help but shudder at the weather. It never gets easier to walk around in these clothes.

"It's gonna rain tonight," Genis says as we enter into the Inn. "Probably tomorrow too —"

Raine rests a hand on his shoulder, grasping it firmly. "Kratos and I have decided that we'll take one last day off before heading to the Tower." She glances at Kratos and from the scowl on his face it's obvious that he'd rather not do that. "Don't worry about the weather, Genis."

He bites his lip, but reluctantly nods.

Sophia is at the desk when we enter, and I see her face — sleep deprived and pale — light up when she sees us. "Sheena — have you found the cure?"

"We have, Sophia." Sheena gives a tired smile to the girl. "Is Pietro …?"

Sophia looks away. "He's … gotten worse." Her hands clutch the fabric of her apron tightly and I notice them shaking. "I don't know how much longer he has left."

"I'll check on him," Raine quickly offers. She's up the stairs before anyone can stop her and I see Sheena and Sophia hurry after the healer. I exchange a glance with the rest of the group, and I see the trio disappear up the stairs as well, leaving just me and Kratos.

I get up immediately, intending to follow after them, when Kratos blocks my way. I swallow nervously, trying to hide the way my shoulders and hands quiver. "Wh-What is it?" I whisper, trying desperately to calm my shaking voice. "I-I gotta go up the-there. Please let me through."

He fixes me with a hard stare. I try not to flinch, and manage to hold it back for a few seconds before I lose the battle. A silence stretches on, and I'm preparing to say something else when Kratos turns on his heel and says, "Prepare yourself for the Tower," and moves up the stairs himself. I'm left there dumbfounded, unable to move for a few seconds.

By the time I'm upstairs, the healing process has already happened. Pietro sits up on the bed, talking to Sophia and Sheena, and I stare at the mercenary's back.

I slide up next to Lloyd, whose face is creased into a frown. "What happened?" I ask, lightly tugging at his arm to get his attention. He jumps in surprise, turning his head to look at me before looking back at Pietro.

"... Apparently, there's this thing —" he swallows nervously and continues, "it's … it's called the Angelus Project. And they're trying to use a canon or something to do it."

I look down at my feet. "Oh."

A few minutes later, we leave the room to give Pietro some privacy. Compared to the last time I saw him he looks so much better — but he's still bad; his cheeks are sunken in, his eyes are bruised with dark bags from illness and stress. From a lack of sleep.

He looks terrible.

But at least … at least he looks like he's alive now.

"Don't think too much about it."

For once, I listen completely to James.

"What's the difference between 'dore' and 'dare'?" I ask Sheena, after dinner. We're still lounging in the kitchen while Genis and Colette wash up the dishes. Lloyd has disappeared somewhere with Kratos; probably to train. Lloyd did say Kratos made him train no matter what; I doubt some rain is going to stop the mercenary.

Sheena looks up from rearranging her seals with a surprised expression. "Oh — well, quite a bit I guess." She plucks one of the cards out and places it somewhere else and continues, "'Dare' is used to ask who someone is; or, you can use it to specify someone. 'Dore' is for a why question."

My eyebrows furrow in confusion, and she covers up a laugh with a cough. "Here, I'll give an example —" she places her cards down, and takes a few seconds to think. "'Dare no baggu desuka?' would be, 'Whose bag is this?', while 'Dore ga anata no baggu desuka?' would be, 'Which bag is yours?'." She pauses. "Does that make sense?"

I lean back, and pat my hands against my hipbones. "... Not at all," I say slowly. "What's anata?"

"You," she replies. "Don't break it into syllables; say it straight through. 'Anata.'"

"Anata," I mumble. It comes out a bit better. "This is hard. Doesn't Mizuho speak any Aselian?"

Sheena shrugs. "A little. Most of the villagers only know Mizuhoan; me, the vice-chief, and some of the higher ranked guards know Aselian, but … I probably am the best at it." She glances down at her seals, doing one last check before putting them away. "I spent a lot of time in Sybak and Meltokio; I had to learn."

"Oh." I nod. "... I guess I'll have some trouble, won't I? If they even let me in."

Sheena gives me a look. "Of course they'll let you in — your parents lived there, after all."

My stomach churns. "Y-Yeah ..."

"Anyways," she continues, not noticing my hesitance, "I'll try to teach you some more things, alright? It won't be hard."

I scrunch my nose in frustration. "Says you."

Sheena continues to rattle off some words to me and despite my desperate attempts to memorize them it's useless. She notices my frustration and I see her lips twitch before she speaks entirely in Japanese.

"That's no fair," I whine, leaning forward to prop my chin up in my hand."I don't get it."

She says one last thing in Japanese before breaking off into a laugh. "Sorry, sorry," she manages, after her laughter has died down. "That was mean of me."

I huff. "No kidding."

Sheena motions for me to hand her my notebook. When she has it, she retrieves a pen off the counter from when Raine was writing something down and draws a chart on the page. "Maybe you should learn the alphabets first."

I groan again.

Thirty minutes later I shove open the door to my room and toss my notebook and bag onto the bed. The bed creaks under the sudden weight, and I strip my sword off and go to lock the door when it opens on me.

My entire body goes stiff when I see Raine — and then, when Kratos joins in I flip.

"Ge-Get out," I stammer, overtaken by panic. Immediately my eyes dart around, looking for some kind of escape. I notice they don't lock the door this time, but it doesn't ease my fear.

They're back to hurt me — to kill me. They're really going to kill me this time.

"No, no —" I stumble back over the bed and practically slam myself into the headboard, pulling my backpack towards me for protection. "G-Go way, go away."

"We're not here to hurt you," Raine attempts to soothe me, but I see right through her. She's trying to get me to lower my guard. Lower it so Kratos can run a sword through my body and leave me to bleed to death.

Out of nowhere, the numbness on my side comes back, allowing me to make a sharp dive off the bed when Raine moves towards it. I back myself away until I feel a corner behind me. Internally I curse myself; now I'm really trapped.

Mhm. I jolt when I hear its voice; it's been awhile. Isn't the numbness nice? At least you'll have a little less pain when you die.

"Leave," I rasp, my legs trembling. I'm not sure who I'm talking to; both of them, probably. I feel sweat drip down my face and hastily wipe it away. Neither of the adults have approached any further but I keep my eyes alert regardless. They're just waiting for me to lower my guard. "Ge-Get out, this — i-it's not your room."

Raine places her staff down against the wall by the door, holding her hands up defensively. "Look — I've put my staff down. I'm a healer, Eden; I don't want to hurt you."

"Liar," I spit. "You — you did, you tried to; Kratos —" my eyes dart to the mercenary. He's expressionless and stiff and I swallow back my words and change the topic. "You're lying to me."

Raine sighs, lowering her hands to her side. "Would it make you feel better if Kratos shed his sword as well?" I look at Kratos, whose eyes narrow at the comment. Slowly and cautiously I nod.

Reluctantly, after Raine prods him multiple times to do so, Kratos unhooks his sword and places it against the wall as well. I relax just slightly — he can't stab me now, but he could still break my neck if he wanted to.

I heard that's painful, it muses. Imagine your spinal cord snapping like that.

And then, without my control, an image of just that flashes through my head. I grimace, feeling a phantom pain from the thought, and Raine catches it.

"We left off on a poor spot last time," she starts. "I apologize. I overstepped my boundaries."

I give her a wary look, unbelieving of her confession. She has to be lying now; there's no way Raine would regret her treatment towards me. She's cruel, she wants to kill me — why would she care about 'overstepping her boundaries'?

"However, that's not why I'm here." She takes a step forward and I push back into the corner, causing her to retreat back a few steps. "I've noticed you're … you've been more stiff lately."

"So?" I snap, immediately going on guard. "That doesn't mat-matter."

"Except, it does." She crosses her arms over her chest. "It's affecting your ability to fight."

I bite my lip, but don't say anything; she's right. It's hard to fight — don't even get me started on how hard training is in the mornings. The flexibility thing is … on hold, for now. I told Sheena I pulled a muscle and she was willing to — reluctantly — put it on hold until it gets better.

Apparently I complain too much about it for her to push me anyways.

I glance at Kratos. He's standing impassively in the same place he was before. My eyes dart back to Raine and I ask, "Why's he here?"

Raine purses her lips and lies, "Security."

"Liar."

I see her eyebrow twitch, but she restrains any comment or scolding she wants to give me. It giggles in my head, reminding me of the caw of a crow. A shudder goes through my body.

"How'd you hurt yourself?"

Despite my earlier silence I argue, "I didn't. It's just — ju-just a muscle pull. A strain, I-I don't know."

"You're lying," Raine scolds. "Tell me the truth; how'd you injure yourself?"

I give her the harshest glare I can muster, but she doesn't even flinch. Raine's gaze just remains inscrutable and calm. I angrily step away from the wall, and head towards the door, mustering up all my courage as I approach Kratos. "Go — go away. I don't have to tell you anything!"

"I am the healer!" Raine finally snaps back. "It is my responsibility to ensure everyone is healthy and I cannot do that if you lie to me about the extent of your injuries!"

"Go to hell!" I scream. I back up and suddenly Kratos is behind me, his chest bumping my back. I whirl around, swiping at him with my fist in an attempt to gain some distance between the two of us. He catches it in his own and immediately all my anger vanishes, dissolving into fear. I scream again, yanking away from him. He doesn't let go. "Let go! G-Go away, go awa-away, go AWAY!"

I kick at him, and then swing with my other hand in a desperate attempt to get away. I feel his grip tighten and cry out in frustration. My stomach grows tight, a cold sweat forming and a shudder crawling up my back.

I'm in danger; Kratos is going to kill me, he's going to kill me and I'm not safe here and Raine is going to kill me too, she'll heal me right before death and then it'll repeat, and repeat until I'm drained of blood and oh god, let me go, I can't die here I can't die here —!

When he finally releases me I tumble straight to the floor. At the same moment, all of the pain from rushes me again and a scream fills my brain, bleeding into my own mouth until I'm screaming as well. My hands fly to my ribs in absolute agony, and I hear the door slam open as Sheena and Lloyd crash through, followed shortly by Colette and Genis. Despite my pain, I shove myself up to my feet, staggering dangerously.

They're all here, it informs me in a hoarse singsong voice. They're all going to partake in killing you.

'They're my friends,' I protest weakly, but despite my words I struggle to believe myself. Raine approaches me, her staff in hand, and I shove away from her. My feet barely keep me standing and I hear Sheena angrily ask what they're doing. 'See? Sheena cares.'

She's asking so she can know what she needs to do, it corrects me. You're so stupid and naive.

Whatever Raine's response is, I don't hear it; all I hear is the screaming in my ears, the sound of chittering and snapping and everything is too loud and then it bursts when a pair of hands lock around my arms. I jerk back, screaming and kicking and I can feel its nails digging into my skin and injecting the bugs in. Images of flayed flesh burn holes into my brain and they reach towards me, intending to rip me apart.

It laughs wildly, the sound distorting and cracking like a bad satellite signal. You're dying, you're going to die, it cheers, between each laugh. I sob, stiffening my entire body and preparing myself for the pain that's sure to come. I've died once already — hopefully this one will be just as quick and painless as the other one.

You don't even remember it. I don't think it was very quick, or very painless, just so you know.

The bugs crawl up through my veins, up into my throat and I cough in an attempt to dispel them.

Heat fills my body and a light flashes in my eyes; there's a screech of tires and then pain, and more pain, and I can't see anything but white.

"Shh." A familiar voice reaches my ears, breaking through the white and the bugs and I see a face in the white. Dark skinned and angled; dark eyes that, when they meet mine, make me cry harder. I can see my brother in those eyes. "It's alright. It'll all be OK now."

"Please don't let me die," I beg weakly. "I don't want to die, don't let him kill me, please, please, please I don't want to die yet, I can't — can't die ..."

"You're not going to die. I promise. I won't let you die." Another pair of hands, this time on my face. The bugs escape through my nose and I hiccup, a sob of relief pulling from my throat. "Trust me. Can you trust me? I won't let them kill you. I'm here to protect you, Eden. Do you remember my promise? I promised I'd protect you."

"Mom," I croak, ignoring the words. The face is different but I still call out for her. Maybe this person — this person with my brother's eyes can bring her to me. "Mom, help me — they're gonna kill me … mom, mo-mom …"

White pulls at my vision and whisks the face away. I feel my soul drift out of my body and I watch as my body floats, eyes half opened and dull. Pale skin, dark bruises under the eyes.

It isn't me. That can't be me.

I can show you what happened. I turn and see the monster standing beside me. It's just as mangled as it was before and the shredded lips are curved into a deep and twisted grin. If you make a promise to me.

"What?" I ask. I want to wrap my arms around myself, but I'm just a ball of light. I have no body. "What's the promise?"

It chuckles. Then it leans over, cupping its hands — I notice that three fingers are missing completely, and two others are half torn off — around its mouth, like it's sharing a secret, and then it whispers to me.

The wind smashes into my face, blowing hair into my mouth, and I spit it out to the best of my ability. My hands tighten around the handlebars of my bike and I'm filled with confusion.

I wasn't here just now, was I? Something is off; it feels like … like I've been thrown into a different place than I left off on. I hear my brother shouting at me to slow down, and I suddenly remember where I am; what I'm doing.

I have to beat him home.

"Catch me if you can," I yell over my shoulder, before speeding up my peddling. The unease is still lingering but I do my best to ignore it. I'm approaching the crosswalk, and I laugh to myself.

If I beat this light, it's a sure win for me; no dishes for me tonight.

I hear my brother yell something else and ignore him. I pass the street light, heading straight into the street. I notice a few police cars on the other side of the road, and a taped off portion of the street with two wrecked cars, and slow down just slightly to observe the scene. A few police officers are walking around, and although there is no ambulance I see a man hunched over the side of the sidewalk, his arms resting on his thighs and head cupped in his hands.

'Weird,' I think, before I'm knocked off my bike and thrown to the ground.

At first, there's nothing; I feel a tight pressure on my chest and it's not until I attempt to breathe that the pain fully hits me. I scream, the noise curdling in my throat and coming out so violently that I feel sick and my vision flashes white, streaked by tears and blood.

The white dissolves into walls and I'm wandering a facility. A man is holding my forearm tightly, practically dragging me along. My legs are sluggish and it's hard to move; it feels like I'm walking on clouds and my unfocused eyes slide across the dull walls.

"Keep up," he orders. I lean against his hold, bringing my own free hand to hold onto his arm. My eyes slide closed and I rely on him to guide me through the building.

I hear a door open, and crack my eyes open as we step through. It slides shut with a hiss, and the man leads me to a bed before lifting me up and setting me down on a bed. My head droops forward, and I hear another person approach.

"Is she …?"

"Drugged to hell and back." The man who lead me sounds smug. I hear him chuckle, and I want to stare at the newcomer. My eyes are too heavy. I want to lay down and sleep. I want to go home.

Through the fog, I hear footsteps. A pause. Then, "That's terrible," from the new-stranger. "She's barely able to sit up; what did you give her?"

I don't hear the response. It isn't until a pair of hands cup my face and lift it that I manage to push my eyes open. Everything is blurry and cloudy and I blink. A dark face is in front of me, his eyes lowered in regret, and I lean into the hands. It feels nice to feel another person; to know they're there.

It's more than I've had the last few … whatever. Weeks, maybe. I don't even know anymore.

"You're Eden, right?" He waits for me to nod before continuing, "That's good. I'm going to be taking care of you from now on."

I attempt to ask who he is, but my lips don't work and my tongue simply flaps around uselessly in my mouth. My mouth is stuffed with cotton and my entire face is numbing rapidly, making me even more sluggish and exhausted. He must know what I try to say, though, because he pushes a hand across my forehead, fixing my bangs, before he answers, "My name is James."

A/N: Dun dun dun.

Sorry for this really really late chapter; my computer broke again, almost immediately after I posted the last chapter and I didn't get it back until around a week ago. I'll try to churn out another chapter so there'll be three this month, but please don't hold me to that! A lot is happening in the upcoming chapters.

I debated for a bit on whether I should call the game's equivalent of English 'Aselian' or 'commons'; in the end I'm just going with both. Aselian being the more formal name (which Eden uses since that's what she's read in books) while regular citizens would be more likely to call it 'commons' since it's the common language.

Please review! Whether it's just a simple review or in depth, I love feedback; it really encourages me to write quickly. Thank you for reading!