A/N: Holy shit you guys I updated. WHERE DID THIS MOTIVATION COME FROM.
It's almost three in the morning here and I have to get up in three and a half hours. Oops. Well, I guess I won't waste time writing an author's note, then. Instead, here's some OC Brit fanart!
...DEAR GOD FFN WHY MUST YOU KILL ALL OF MY GODDAMN LINKS.
everyone just go to Deviantart and search up theT-chan and sylphwriter. They both did fanart. :D
Aaaaand without further ado, HERE IS YOUR LONG AWAITED CHAPTER. Something significant happens in this one, so look forward to that. B-)
"Sheena! To your left!"
I barely had time to bark the warning before the summon spirit was on her. Thankfully, Sheena had the reflexes of a cat, and was out of harm's way almost immediately. Gnome swung his shovel at empty air, leaving himself open for a split second, and I lunged.
"Heavy Tiger Blade!" The upward sweep of my sword met flesh, but Gnome managed to block my second swipe down with the handle of the shovel. He twisted, using the momentum to throw me hard at Genis.
The mage had been in the middle of casting a spell; he was unprepared for the sudden impact. We tumbled and landed in a painful heap, and he uttered a few expletives that he must have learned from me. Luckily his sister was distracted.
"Ray!" She cast the spell, and beams of light rained down on the summon spirit.
"Sorry!" I hissed to Genis, rolling over and getting to my feet again. "I've got you covered this time!"
"Yeah, yeah," he replied, brushing himself off and beginning to concentrate again.
Narrowing my eyes, I readied Kerberos and lunged into the fray once more. Gnome was an elemental, which meant Genis was our best bet right now. If he could just get a spell going…
Needless to say, there hadn't been much time earlier to deliberate over who was going to fight; Gnome wasn't the most patient of…er, mammal-things. I reluctantly volunteered since I hadn't been in a summon spirit fight yet, and Gnome seemed like one of the less menacing ones.
Of course, never judge a book by its cover. He was fluffy and cute, sure, but for the past twenty minutes he had slapped me around with that shovel enough that I was pretty sure I was going to wake up black and blue tomorrow. I wasn't quite as nimble as Sheena, unfortunately. She seemed to be doing okay.
Speaking of which…
"Oi, Sheena!" I yelled. She glanced my way, and I gave her a thumbs up. "Team effort time!"
She smirked, flipping backwards to avoid a Stalagmite spell. "The move we practiced? Roger!"
I ran at Gnome, drawing my blade back with both hands and building up some energy. Sheena appeared beside me, preparing her cards for a Serpent Seal.
"Dark—" She started, her seal glowing in the air before me.
"—Serpent!" I lunged through the seal, carrying dark energy with me in a Sonic Thrust. I ducked just in time to avoid the metal of Gnome's shovel, and managed to slash into his side. There was no blood, but he yelled out.
"My turn!" Genis exclaimed—perfect timing! He held up his kendama, blue runes glowing around his feet. "Tidal Wave!"
A mass of water hit Gnome head on, throwing him backwards and causing him to yell again. He was looking pretty ticked off now. Sheena and I exchanged a glance and ran at him again, not wanting to give him a chance to retaliate.
Too late. He held up the shovel, grinning. "Ground Dasher!"
Ah, crap! The floor underneath our feet began to crack and glow. We threw up our respective defensive techs, but it wasn't enough to fully take the brunt of the powerful spell. Jagged stalagmites rose and fell beneath us; one of them finally shattered my Guardian and slashed into my sword arm. Sheena took one to her hip, and swore loudly.
"Field Barrier!" Raine became our saving grace, her spell fending off the remainder of the spell until it was over.
"Spread!" Genis cried, and Gnome was engulfed with more water.
"Power Thrust!" Sheena and I shook off our injuries in time to prepare another unison attack, and after lunging past Gnome, I swung around and got ready to use Hunting Beast. My arm was leaking blood, but I could worry about that later—
"Nurse!"
"Thanks, Professor! Oi, Gnome! Hunting—"
"All right, jeez! Enough already!"
Huh? Oh, abort attack, abort, abort!
Gnome stepped to the side, huffing with annoyance, and I tripped in my attempt to stop and ended up falling flat on my face.
"Not cool," I mumbled into the floor. I could hear Genis, Lloyd and Zelos all failing miserably in their attempts to stifle their laughter.
"Man, you guys play dirty…" Gnome remarked as I got to my feet. "What's up with that four-on-one garbage, anyway? Mithos, he did it by himself!"
"Wh-What?" Sheena blinked, taken aback. "Well—that's the way I was taught to do it…"
"By himself?" I heard Lloyd say in a hushed voice to Genis. "How tough was this guy?"
"Oh yeah? Well, whatever…" Gnome shrugged, rolling his eyes. "Make your vow already!"
The summoner bristled a little, but I could tell she was biting her tongue. Finally she spoke, matching his tone. "Okay, okay! For the sake of creating a place in which the two worlds no longer must sacrifice one another, gimme your power!"
"Yeah, all right. Done and done." He chucked a ring at her head, and she reached up to catch it just in time. "Call me if you need me! Later!" With that, he vanished in a burst of light.
"…Man, that guy was hard to deal with…" Sheena groaned, pocketing the ring.
"Are you all right, Brittany?" Colette piped up.
"She's fine," Raine replied for me. "The only thing that suffered was her dignity, I'm sure."
"Like I have any left," I mumbled, making a face. Lloyd and Genis started to snicker again.
"In any case," the Professor said, "I think we're just about done here. Let's head back to the House of Guidance and decide on our next move."
"Sounds good to me," I said with relief.
The walk back up to the surface was much longer than I wanted it to be. I was pretty sore all over from my fall and from getting whacked with a shovel multiple times, and I just wanted to lie down for a while. Not only that, my stomach was growling. My curry had been borderline inedible, so we'd essentially skipped a meal already. I was ready for some real food, dammit.
"Maaaan…" Lloyd groaned, slouching. "Can't we just teleport out of here? Genis, why haven't you learned a spell like that?"
"Why don't you try moving nine people at once with magic? It's not that easy!" Genis protested.
"Sure would be nice, though…" I said longingly.
The rock walls around us seemed to extend onward into eternity. I knew we only had another two miles or so until we were out of here, and it couldn't possibly take longer than an hour, but it still felt like forever. At least the monsters had been scarce. I was starting to feel pretty spent.
"Well, at least the battle went okay this time," Sheena said.
"Yes, it did," Raine agreed, looking thoughtful. "We've all come a long way since our early days in Sylvarant."
I knew what she meant; the four of us had worked especially well together since we had been around each other for so long. Sheena and I knew each other's moves very well because of how often we teamed up, and Genis and Raine were familiar with how to time their attacks to back us up. While Zelos, Regal and Presea were all skilled fighters, our group dynamic was still adjusting to accommodate for their presence. I couldn't predict their moves and communicate with them as well as I could the others.
Frowning, I made a mental note to watch those three fight when I could. Maybe during the summon spirit battles that I didn't participate in. It would be helpful to understand their fighting styles; we would have to be perfectly coordinated to take down someone like Yggdrasill.
"Those were some awesome unison attacks," Lloyd remarked, moving to walk between Sheena and I. "Hey, that was a Sonic Thrust, right?"
"Yeah," I replied.
"Sheena! Let me try it next time! Dark Serpent…that sounds so awesome!" He was grinning, excited as usual.
"Okay, okay," Sheena replied, her cheeks a little pink. "Don't get carried away. It's a pretty simple attack."
I smiled a little to myself, shaking my head as they discussed it. Though I was sore and exhausted, I was happy enough just knowing that today's trials were over. There'd probably be some nasty ordeals to face tomorrow, but I'd worry about that later. I was too tired to even bother thinking about what came next on our saving-the-world checklist. Hopefully next time I wouldn't, y'know, fall off a cliff.
For the rest of the walk, I lingered at the back of the group and was content to listen to everyone else talk for a while.
"Oh, hell yes…" I breathed a happy little sigh upon seeing the contents of the dish that had been set in front of me. It was a butternut squash and sweet potato gratin; fall on a plate. It smelled absolutely amazing. "Iron Chef Regal outdoes himself again. Am I dreaming? Somebody pinch me—ow! Dammit, Lloyd!"
"You asked for it," the teen snickered. Hmph, juvenile as ever. What? My rambling was totally mature and not silly at all.
"You're acting like children," Raine said for what was probably the millionth time. "Eat your food before it gets cold."
I needed no further convincing. Smiling, I popped a bite into my mouth, and thought I was going to die of sheer happiness.
"By the way," Genis spoke up. "What is 'Iron Chef' supposed to mean, anyway? You've said that before."
"Oh, well…" I swallowed my bite of food, looking thoughtful for a moment. "It's a contest back on Earth. I never really watched it much, but it's like…a bunch of chefs compete in a set amount of time with a certain main ingredient. Whoever produces the best dish wins the contest."
Regal nodded. "I see. I've seen similar contests before, though I've never competed in one."
I grinned. "Well, there you have it, one of my confusing references explained. The more you know! Oh wait, that's another…I give up." Shrugging, I just rolled my eyes and started shoveling my food down.
A few moments passed as everyone tried their food, and then Genis looked up, impressed.
"This is really good," he said. "It's sweet, but…you didn't use brown sugar, right? What's the extra ingredient?"
The convict smiled, pleased. "I decided to try white satay for a bit of a different effect. I'm glad you like it."
"Not bad, pops," Zelos said cheerfully. "I didn't think my taste buds survived being fried off earlier, but I guess you proved me wrong."
I almost made a face at that, but decided to ignore the comment. Eating seemed more gratifying right now. My food never judged me! …Wait, that sounded really pathetic. I eat because I'm unhappy, and I'm unhappy because I eat…enough with the references, brain!
"Now that we're all settled," Raine said, catching our attention, "I think we should start seriously considering our next course of action."
"Right," Sheena said. "There are still a lot of pacts left to make."
Hnngh…I really didn't want to worry about that right now, but it couldn't be helped. It was still only early evening; we couldn't just shove off to bed right after this, even if we were safely back at the House of Guidance.
Just as it had taken us around two days to get to the Temple of Earth, it had taken us two more to get back to the House of Guidance. We could have discussed all of this on one of the nights we had camped out, but we had elected to come back here and worry about it then; the Temple of Earth was so out of the way that we would've needed to come back in this direction anyway. Not only that, it could never hurt to stock up between temples. Personally, I was enjoying the advantage of having access to a fully stocked pantry.
"So we still have…the Temple of Darkness and the Temple of Ice, right?" Colette asked, tilting her head.
Sheena nodded. "Shadow and Celsius. That's it for Tethe'alla, anyway."
"Darkness and ice, huh…" Lloyd leaned back in his chair, frowning. "Which one should we do first?"
"The Temple of Darkness is on the same continent as Meltokio," Sheena explained. "It's at the continent's southernmost point. The Temple of Ice is up on the Flanoir Continent."
"That's where the Renegade base was, right?" Genis asked, and received a nod in reply.
"They're both about a day's travel away," Sheena replied.
"I propose we get the Temple of Ice out of the way first," Raine said. "We'll need warm clothes for the journey, and we might not have the opportunity to buy them if we wait. I'll have to see what I can find here."
"We should be able to find plenty of things in Flanoir," Sheena mused. "But yeah, I guess we'll have to find something suitable for the trip up there, too. I don't want a repeat of our escape from the Renegade base."
I shuddered. No kidding…and that had just been on the outskirts of the continent. The areas right around Flanoir had to be even colder, and the Temple of Ice…ew. I wasn't a huge fan of snow or ice or winter in general.
"So the Temple of Ice and then the Temple of Darkness…and then what?" Lloyd had a troubled expression on his face. "How are we getting back to Sylvarant, anyway?"
Raine shook her head. "Don't worry about that right now. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
His face brightened immediately. "...You're right, Professor. I'm sure we'll find a way."
"Hmm…" Regal was frowning, but he seemed to be keeping his thoughts to himself. I glanced in his direction, but let it slide. Once again I decided that food was more important, and resumed stuffing my face.
"All right," Raine said. "We'll head out tomorrow after I've made the necessary preparations. How does that sound?"
Boo…the plot strikes again. There went my happy moment.
"Yaaaay," I said in a flat tone, offering a weak fist-pump. Sheena rolled her eyes, and Lloyd pinched me again. Oh, the joy of having friends.
Things went as planned. I had been kind of hoping Raine would have trouble finding clothes for us to wear, but she did manage to scrounge together a few things. All the priests at the House of Guidance really had were thick robes; they were warm enough to last us for the ride, but it was still pretty damn cold for the last hour of the trip.
We set out the next morning, bright and early, and arrived in Flanoir after dusk. It had been a long day, most of it spent traveling over ocean with nothing to really look at. If I hadn't been so cold, I might've fallen asleep clinging to Lloyd. I was still afraid of heights, but fortunately I was starting to get a little more used to the Rheairds; I still wasn't ready to drive one, though. Ugh, hell no.
Flanoir…how to describe it? It certainly was a pretty town. Despite the frigid climate, it had a quaint, cozy feel to it. Children ran about, laughing and playing in the snow as adults passed us by dressed in warm winter clothes.
The large Church of Martel on the northern end of town was a beautiful piece of architecture as well. I was pretty sure it was second only to the cathedral in Meltokio; I hadn't seen anything else like it here in Tethe'alla. Part of me wanted to take a look inside, but I just couldn't bring myself to. Too much distaste for the religion itself. I already felt bad enough being around the priests at the House of Guidance, knowing that they were living their lives out for a lie. It was fortunate that they were kinder than the 'divine beings' they worshipped.
We checked into the inn and ate a late dinner, and then had the rest of the night free. I went out exploring with Sheena and Presea for a bit, while Lloyd, Genis and Colette looked like they were having a snowball fight on the other end of town. Heh, kids. I was glad Colette was enjoying her regained sense of touch to its fullest, though. Personally I wasn't in the mood to be any colder than I already was. We weren't going to get our heavy winter gear until tomorrow morning.
Raine had retired to her room to do a bit of reading, and Regal had spent some time in the kitchen helping the other cooks tidy up. They had been a little wary of the shackles, but had loosened up after seeing how he behaved. It really was impossible not to like Regal after being around him for a bit—he was so well spoken and polite. If I hadn't already met Zelos, I might've attributed it to being a nobleman thing.
Speaking of Zelos, I hadn't seen him once since we had eaten dinner.
…That was troubling…but at the same time, I wasn't surprised. This was Flanoir. There was snow everywhere. He was probably brooding somewhere. Zelos, brooding…that just sounded wrong. He always stopped other people from brooding…who was going to be there for him, though?
I let out a quiet groan, flopping backwards on to my bed. It was just past midnight now, and I knew I needed to just shut my brain off and sleep. But still…I couldn't, not now that that stupid topic had come up. His name had popped up and now all I could do was think about all the crap that had been bothering me.
It had been just over a week since our fight. It felt like it had been a lot longer, especially considering everything that had happened since then. Renegades, dragons, summon spirits…it was nuts.
I couldn't stop thinking about the things everyone had told me. Colette and Sheena had both said they had faith in me as a person, and they both seemed to have faith in him too…and Lloyd was always the kick in the ass I needed. As he had said, nothing was going to change if we just spent all our time avoiding each other.
Reaching up, I pressed a hand to my forehead and sighed. I didn't have this kind of time. That was what it all came down to; we risked our lives every day, and none of us knew for sure if we'd make it to the end of the journey. What if I died tomorrow? What if he died? Was I really okay with leaving things like this, when anything could happen?
No, I wasn't. And as much as I had been telling myself he was a jerk, when nights like tonight came, I still worried about him.
…Well, this was ridiculous. I didn't even know why I was trying to sleep. My mind was still wide awake; maybe a quick stroll outside would settle me down a bit. The warmth of a bed always felt nicer after freezing your ass off outdoors, right?
Huffing a bit, I got to my feet and tugged on my coat and the robe I had gotten back at the House of Guidance. As an afterthought, I grabbed Kerberos too. It wasn't like I was going beyond the town limits, but it was late enough to make me a little paranoid.
The path outside was covered with a fresh dusting of snow. I walked slowly, taking care not to slip. My hometown in upstate New York had had more than its share of nasty winters; it was known for being one of the most depressing places to live in the U.S. because of it. On one hand, being in this town reminded me of my old seasonal depression, but at the same time it was sort of nostalgic.
Strange, to find more reminders of home here. As a kid, I remembered waking up almost every morning in the winter and immediately checking the TV to see if we had a snow day. And if we did, my friends and I would always meet up and celebrate by spending almost the whole day out in the snow.
Man, those were better days. Sometimes I wished I could just go back in time and be a kid again, when life was simpler and the world was a brighter, more exciting place.
Just as I turned a corner to head down a different street, my thoughts were immediately cut off. Someone else was on the path. He had been heading my way, but stopped the second I did.
His blue eyes met mine, and we stared at each other for a few seconds. Zelos.
Uncharacteristically, he didn't brush off the tense moment with an obnoxious remark. Tonight he had a more solemn set to his face, which basically confirmed what I had been thinking earlier—he had been brooding.
My stomach was curling in on itself. This wasn't supposed to happen so soon! I had been thinking about confronting him tomorrow, or maybe the day after…but now? I hadn't seen this coming, I wasn't ready—
"I need to talk to you," I blurted out, cutting through the thick silence.
There. It was out.
Zelos stared down at me for another moment, his face unreadable. The seconds seemed to stretch on into eternity. Then, finally, he started walking again…and walked right past me.
Hearing his footsteps behind me, I felt like I had been punched in the gut. That was his answer? Just…just walk away? I…I understood, then. That was how he wanted to…h-how could he…
"Are you coming?"
My head jerked up, and I turned to look at him in shock. He had stopped, staring over his shoulder at me.
"…Yeah," I said, feeling a short rush of relief.
He began to walk again and I followed him, concentrating on dissolving the lump that had appeared in my throat at the prospect of him completely blowing me off. As for what I was going to say to him, well…I still had no idea.
Catching up, I drew closer until we walked side by side down the path. The snow fell softly around us, blanketing everything. The world seemed to have come to a standstill; not a soul was out and about other than us.
We didn't say a word to each other on our way back to the inn. I had to force myself not to steal glances at Zelos; it was still so unsettling to see that serious expression on his face. I didn't like seeing him like this. I knew the other him was just a mask, but…but this Zelos was even more closed off.
After a minute or so of walking, we made it back and went inside. I followed Zelos through the doorway to the main living room of the inn; it was a large room with a lot of sofas and coffee tables, designed for rest and relaxation. There were bookcases against the back wall, and the east wall was dominated by an enormous fireplace that dwarfed the one I had sat next to at the House of Guidance. There was no fire right now, just a pile of glowing coals.
Zelos closed the doors behind us and took a seat on the sofa facing the hearth. I hesitated for a second, and then sat down next to him. We were quiet for a bit as I attempted to sort out my thoughts.
There really was no good way to approach this. He had said some awful things to me, but I had been just as bad; I had used my knowledge of him to hit him where it hurt most. Was this really salvageable? Right now it seemed like I was attempting the impossible.
But Colette had said I should try…
He had saved me back at the Renegade base, hadn't he? That was worth something, right?
The silence stretched on. I chewed on my lower lip, watching the glowing coals. It was time to say something. Anything.
"I'm sorry," I said abruptly.
There was silence beside me. I stared stubbornly ahead, attempting to register my own words; once again I had spoken without really thinking. Why had I said that? It wasn't anything close to what I had thought I was going to say.
"What?"
I turned my head to look at Zelos. His serious expression had completely melted away, and now he was staring at me in shock. And just like that, all of the words came rushing out, everything that had been building up over the past week.
"I was really mad at you for a while," I murmured, staring down at my knees. "But I realized that it's because you saw right through me and it hurt to hear the things you said."
I took a shaky breath, letting it out slowly. "Being from Earth…it's made me pretty arrogant, I guess. I know I didn't ask to be brought on this journey, but it's not like that somehow makes me special. It's not like you asked to be the Chosen; Cruxis has screwed up your life pretty well, too."
Even though I didn't always say it, I knew sometimes I had thought it—that I didn't deserve this. There were times when I pitied myself because I was just an average girl from Earth and this was a crazy video game world. But the thing is, I wasn't a regular civilian anymore. There was no place for that kind of thinking now. I was fortunate compared to everyone else in this group, and I needed to stop taking that for granted.
"And even worse, I told you I trusted you, and then turned around and accused you of selling me out." I shook my head, running a hand through my hair. "If you're still pissed at me…I get it."
The room fell silent again. I was too afraid to look over at him, so I kept watching the fireplace, trying to distance myself from my emotions. The lump in my throat had gone away, but I was sure the slightest trigger would bring it back. It was so hard, waiting for a response.
Finally Zelos let out a sigh. "I can't believe you're apologizing."
I frowned. "Why wouldn't I?"
"Uh, maybe because you have nothing to apologize for?" A small, humorless laugh. "This is messed up. I feel like a world-class bastard right now."
Now I had to look at him, my brow furrowing in confusion. He was smiling, but it was strained, without the usual cheer. "What are you talking about?"
Zelos averted his gaze. "I'm supposed to be the one apologizing. I mean, I'm not gonna lie; I meant some of the things I said. But who am I to talk? Everything that's wrong with you is wrong with me, too. And here's the best part—I'm worse."
He raked a hand through his hair. "No, that's not it. I was wrong about you. I don't think I could've thrown myself in front of Sheena like that."
"Zelos…"
He shook his head, still smiling, though now it had a bitter quality to it. "'Course, that's usually how it goes. The second you said you trusted me, I was waiting for it to fall through. I never had any intention of trusting you back, so what right did I have to get mad?"
"Hey—"
"I don't even know why I'm telling you this now. People aren't supposed to try to get close to me—not unless it's in bed, anyway. You weren't in keeping with the status quo, so I called you a whore and solved that little problem."
"Listen," I tried a third time, and Zelos finally fell silent and gave me his full attention. With those blue eyes focused on me, I blanked out for a second and lost what I was going to say. Then I just sighed, and tried to think of Colette—I needed to speak right from the heart.
"I'm not angry," I said earnestly. "Look, I know you're not a bad person."
He snorted skeptically.
"I'm serious!" I frowned deeply. "Zelos, I like you because you're human. We've both made mistakes. And you said it yourself—we're pretty alike in our flaws, too. I can relate to you better than anyone else here. Sometimes I feel like you're the only one who's ever on the same page as me. Maybe we're both just a little too cynical…or maybe everyone else is naïve. I don't know."
"I guess what I'm trying to say is…" I sighed and gave him an imploring look. "Can we just stop this and go back to being friends? This past week has been miserable."
Through my whole speech, Zelos had been staring at me hard, his brows drawn together. Then he rubbed the back of his neck, looking away. "Man…how the hell am I supposed to say no to that face? You're almost as cute as I am, my little spitfire."
It felt like a huge weight had lifted from my shoulders the second I heard spitfire. I realized that ever since our fight, he'd very rarely used the nickname. It was a term of affection. It meant that things might actually have a chance of being okay after all.
He smiled weakly. "I'm tired of the doom n' gloom, too. Everyone's so damn angsty around here. It's a real drag."
Finally, I managed to smile back. "Heh. I missed you, Zelos."
Then his expression sobered. "Look…I'm okay with going back to the way things were, but I still don't know if I can really trust you. I know I sound like a hypocrite because I don't think anyone trusts me either, but that's how it is."
My face fell. How could I have forgotten? Despite everything, there was still a huge barrier holding me back here. Zelos was on to me. He had been on to me for a while. And for me to really be his friend, trust was pretty freaking important. He knew I was hiding something—how could I just smile and lie to his face?
Fuck.
Fuck!
An old fear resurfaced, a churning in my stomach. I had told Kratos, but Kratos I could run away from; not only that, I knew it wouldn't benefit him in any way to tell Yggdrasill. Zelos was someone I couldn't avoid. I would have to answer his questions and deal with the repercussions of telling him—and worse yet, I couldn't predict his actions. He was the only person here that was immune to my foreknowledge, because of the multiple endings to the game. He might tell Yggdrasill or even Yuan if he decided not to side with this group in the end.
But if I just left things like this, not only would we never truly be friends, but he might die. The thought of Zelos actually dying, of having to fight him at the Tower…it made me sick.
He was watching me. I looked him in the eyes and hated that this journey had to involve so much pain. What the hell was I supposed to do?
Maybe all you have to do is show that you trust him, and he'll understand.
…That was it. There was only one answer. Part of trusting someone…was leaving yourself completely vulnerable. I had to place my faith in him or I would never be able to truly reach him.
"I guess it's about time I fessed up, then," I finally said.
His eyes widened a little; then he seemed to compose himself. "Are you talking about what I think you're talking about?"
"I know why you can't trust me. I'm going to tell you why I couldn't trust you, okay?" I gave him a solemn look. "I'm going to trust you now, for real. If you tell anyone what I'm about to tell you, it could put me in some serious danger."
Now he was very interested. He looked like he wanted to ask a question, but then the gravity of my words seemed to settle on him. "…I'm dying to know, but are you sure you want to tell me this? Is being my friend really that worth it?"
"If it wasn't, I wouldn't even be talking to you," I said, frowning. "Listen up, because this is important. It's not really believable, but nothing about me is, anyway."
I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself, and then I met his gaze. Here goes. "Zelos…this whole thing—Sylvarant, Tethe'alla, Cruxis, everything—on Earth, it's just a fictional story. It's called Tales of Symphonia."
His eyebrows shot up. "What?"
"That's why I've been able to predict everything. Every time you challenged my convenient knowledge, you were right. I mean, haven't you wondered? Even if I was working for someone like the Renegades or Cruxis, there's no way I could've known some of the things I knew."
Zelos shook his head, floored. "Just…a fictional story. Some kind of fairy tale?"
I bit my lip. "It's…more complicated than that. But essentially, that's all it was to me when I first arrived on Sylvarant. I thought I was going crazy, that it was some kind of nightmare. Zelos, I knew who you were before I even met you. I knew we were going to meet you by bumping into you in the square in Meltokio. I knew the Papal Knights were spying on us in Sybak. That's why I tried to get Genis and Raine out of there before they were arrested."
Another deep breath. "…And Ozette, too. I knew Colette was going to be kidnapped."
"That's why you attacked Rodyle," Zelos murmured. "And Sheena?"
I shook my head. "It was Corrine who was going to die. He was supposed to jump in front of Sheena, not me."
"Holy crap," he breathed, shaking his head again. "You're actually serious. I think I might even believe you."
Then his back went ramrod straight, and he gave me a harder look. "Wait a minute. The reason why you couldn't trust me—"
"—is because I know you're a triple agent," I said in a much quieter tone. "And that's not a speculation—it's a fact. You set up the trap on Mt. Fooji, and you reported to Yuan while we were at the Renegade base. That's what happened in the story, anyway. It hasn't been wrong yet."
His eyes darkened and his brow furrowed. "…Why are you telling me this?" he asked in a flat tone.
"I'm explaining why I thought you had sold me out to Cruxis," I said.
"You think I didn't?"
"It doesn't matter to me if you did or didn't," I replied. "If you did, I forgive you. If you didn't, then I'm sorry for doubting you."
He seemed to mull this over for a few seconds. The darkness suddenly lifted from his expression, and he gave me another surprised look. "You knew this whole time. Why didn't you tell anyone?"
"The story's outcome can vary; you might side with us, and you might not in the end," I replied vaguely. "You're the only person here I really can't predict. And…I really want you to choose us." I paused, staring at my feet. "…I won't presume to know what it's been like, having to be the Chosen. I can't say I would've acted any differently if I were in your place. But I know we can stop Cruxis, and I want you to be there when we do. That's why I'm not going to tell anyone your secret…even if you choose to use that against me. I'm willing to take the risk."
Zelos shook his head slowly, raking a hand through his curls again. "…You're crazy. You know that, right?"
"Yeah, that's old news," I said dryly.
For once, he looked like he didn't know what to say to that. He was still giving me a look of disbelief.
"So you're basically okay with me running around behind everyone's backs. You're not even mad. And you're just gonna let me keep doing it?"
"I have faith that the guilt will overcome you eventually," I replied, chancing a smile. Inside I still felt intense apprehension. "Then you'll tell Yggdrasill to suck it."
He laughed, covering his face with one hand. "I don't get you at all. But…for what little it's worth…my lips are sealed. Okay?"
My smile became genuine, and I let out a tired sigh. There—it was out. It was done and I couldn't take any of it back. Now, finally, I could relax and let things unfold as they may.
"That's good," I said. "Now would be a bad time for you to start laughing maniacally."
That got him to grin. "Oh, admit it, spitfire. I could probably pull off a sexy evil laugh if I tried."
"Don't. You'll embarrass both of us," I replied, stifling laughter. Was he actually joking around with me? The relief was making me giddy.
"Your loss," he said, snorting. Then he leaned forward into my personal space, his eyes gaining a mischievous glint. "Hey, so since you know the future and all…am I gonna get laid tonight?"
A blush spread across my cheeks—wow, it had actually been a while since he'd gotten to me like this. I just rolled my eyes, forcing myself to ignore my hormones.
"Not with me, Casanova."
"Aw, c'mon! We had the heart-to-heart and everything!" He gave me a pouty look, but his eyes were full of mirth.
"Yeah, that was touching and all, but I think I'm going to go to bed," I replied, pretending to stifle a yawn when I was actually trying to hide my grin. "You should, too. To your own bed, I mean."
"That sounds so much less appealing," he said with a melodramatic sigh. "Well, I guess I could stand to get some actual sleep, if you insist."
"I know, I have some good ideas." I turned towards the doors, and then hesitated. Then I turned around again, facing him; he had stood up as well. "…What's the verdict, anyway? Friends?"
"Well…lemme think about it for a sec. I think we could be, but on one condition…"
I raised my eyebrows, curious. "What is it?"
He smirked. "We can't kiss and make up without a kiss, my little spitfire."
Now I rolled my eyes again, turning to leave. "Good night, Zelos."
"Come on! Don't leave me hanging! Just a kiss on the cheek, that's all! Harmless enough, right?"
A kiss on the cheek? I frowned, turning around again to see that Zelos was beaming at me. Oh, jeez…I couldn't believe I was actually thinking about this right now. But he was right…it was pretty harmless. A quick peck, that was all. I wasn't that much of a prude, was I?
I sighed, walking over to him. "All right, fine. If it'll shut you up."
Then I placed a hand on his shoulder, standing up on my tiptoes. I could already feel my cheeks turning pink; when was the last time I had been this close to a guy? Well, that answer was simple—never. Oh…oh crap, I could smell his cologne from here, and he smelled good.
I quickly pushed away those thoughts, annoyed with myself. Then I leaned in, closer, closer…
Zelos turned his head at the last second and pressed his lips to mine.
For a second I froze, but then I immediately jerked back, my eyes wide. "Z-Zelos!"
He was laughing, a completely shameless grin on his face. "Oldest trick in the book, and you fell for it! You're so cute, spitfire!"
My face was beet red by now. I couldn't believe…how the hell…he had just…I had just…
That was it, my brain was going to short-circuit. Zelos had just stolen my first kiss. The thieving bastard.
That just wasn't fair. I hadn't even seen it coming. And it probably wasn't anything serious for him, but I had kind of wanted it to mean something when I first kissed a guy, and—agh! Why was I thinking about this? Zelos was just getting more and more amused by the look on my face.
"Not friends," I declared.
His face fell. "What? Come on—really?"
"No. Mortal enemies." I scowled stubbornly at a spot above his head, only half-serious but wanting to broadcast my displeasure all the same.
"You don't mean that. You love me," he said, leaning forward to force himself in my line of vision.
"Good night, not-friend," I said, turning on my heel and trying to hide my blush.
"What? Spitfire! Was the kiss not good enough or something? I can make it up to you! Come back to my room! Come on—don't walk out! Hunnyyyy!"
Ignoring the sound of Zelos' whining, I walked out the door and headed for the stairs leading to my room. As I walked, I pressed a hand to my forehead, chuckling despite myself. This was the guy I had fought to be friends with, huh? Maybe I was a little crazy after all.
But I had to admit…even though he was obnoxious, even though he had his flaws…
It sure was good to have him back.
A/N: Yeah, that was a lot to throw at you at once. I wrote almost the entire Zelos scene in one go, and you have NO IDEA how long I've been waiting to write it. I pretty much word-vomited on to the document. XD (or rainbow-vomit? whichever you prefer, durrhurr)
I haven't had a chance to proofread this more than once, so excuse any typos or grammatical errors. I'll try to go over it in the morning if I'm able to think clearly. XD
Well, then...I await your reviews. I'm anticipating some interesting reactions to this turn of events. XD
Oh gawd I'm ridiculously happy right now, I can finally write Zelos and OC Brit being obnoxious and annoying again...:'D
Next time: Moar summon spirits! Woooooo.
