Tales of Destiny

As I Fade Away

Fading...fading into nothing. I cry out, but no one hears me. I'm all alone now, everyone is gone. You're gone, living a content life as the naive boy I love so much. I want to see you again, but I know she's there, basking in your loving warmth. I want to hate her, but I know that's impossible. She's done nothing wrong. On the contrary, she's done everything right. She has your heart, something I'll never have. I threw away each and every chance I had, and where did it get me? What did I get? Nothing. Nothing but a huge void in my heart that can never be replaced. Without you, I'll just fade away.

As I fade away, my heart thinks of you

As I fade away, my body cries out to touch you

As I fade away, I'll never know

As I fade away...

-?????

"Zzzz...."

"Stahn!" A voice called out from beyond Stahn Aileron's bedroom door.

"Zzzzzzz..."

"Stahn!!!" The voice called out again, louder in tone.

"Gudskzaxd....zzzzz..."

"That's it! I'm coming in there!!!" The voice threatened.

Stahn continued to drift along in the world of dreams. A world where there was no Aether Wars, a world with no Kronos, and a world where his friend Dymlos was still alive. Sure they had saved the land from the King of the Aetherans and the Eye of Atamoni, but at the price of the lives of Dymlos, Clemente, Atwight, and Igtenos, the Swordian allies whom they had entrusted the very task of saving the world to. They performed their task flawlessly, but at the ultimate cost...

Stahn was then pulled from his sleep, rather forcefully and by the ear, by his younger sister Lillith Aileron.

"Ow ow ow!!! Cut it out!!!" Stahn yelled, fending off Lillith.

"That's what you get you zombie!!!" Lillith yelled. "Now get up! You've got work to do!"

"I do?" Stahn said confused. Lillith slapped her face in frustration.

"Yes!!! You were supposed to go get that shipment of fish for the market!"

"I was?"

Lillith narrowed her eyes evilly at her big brother. Stahn laughed nervously.

"Uhm...oh yeah! That's right! I'll get to it right away...!"

"Good!" Lillith applauded.

"...Just five more minutes..." Stahn said as he laid back down. Lillith readied her frying pan...

Later that day...

"Oh Stahn! There you are!" A voice called out to Stahn.

"Hi Ilene!" Stahn said cheerfully.

Since the whole ordeal with Kronos had ended, Ilene quit her job at the Oberon Corporation and decided to live a quiet life in Liena as a fish saleswoman. Sure it wasn't as exciting as her previous line of work, but she was never in it for the excitement anyway. Besides, working here meant she got to be near Stahn, the savior of her shattered life, and that was worth any line of work, no matter how degrading or filthy it may be.

Ilene cocked her head a bit. "Oh my Stahn...overslept again?"

Stahn rubbed the red, pan shaped mark on his head.

"Uh...yeah...man that hurt...Lillith really needs to calm down."

"Well you need to stop oversleeping and making her mad silly." Ilene said with a playful giggle.

"But that's just the way I am, jeez..." Stahn said.

"I know, that's one of the things I like best about you. You kinda remind me of a big Bush Baby."

"Err...thanks...I guess?"

"Hahahah, that's a compliment Stahn."

"It is? I knew that! Really!" Stahn yelled in frustration.

"Suuuure you did..." Said Ilene with a playful smirk etched on her face.

Ilene walked over to Stahn and wrapped her arms around him, kissing him on the forehead.

"Uhhh...Ilene...you know we really shouldn't be doing this out in public..."

"Hehe, I know."

Ilene moved to Stahn's side, keeping a firm hold on his hand.

"So are you going to get that shipment of fish in Neuestadt today?"

"Yep. I sure wish they'd deliver it here though, makes my job easier."

"Oh!" Ilene said flusteredly as she slapped Stahn on the head. "It's not that hard! Besides! There's no port around here for ships to dock!"

"Ow Ow Ow Ow OW...!" Stahn said as he fought back tears of pain, once again rubbing the spot where Lillith, and now Ilene, had hit him.

"Whoops! I'm sorry Stahn!"

"Yeah yeah...well I guess I'd better be off."

"Ok, be careful."

"I will, don't worry about a thing."

Ilene let go of Stahn and he began making his way to the entrance of Liena. Along the way, he was stopped by the town bully, Rufus.

"Yo Airhead-ron! Where you going today?" Rufus jeered.

"You know, the usual stuff Doofus. Gather fish there, bring it back here, yadda yadda."

"Hah! Man I can't believe you! You saved the world and now you've been reduced to an errand boy! Whatsa matter? Can't say no to that silver haired chick over there?"

Rufus pointed at Ilene, who was busy congregating with other villagers.

"It's called being polite Doofus, and if you learned how to do it, maybe, JUST maybe, I'd set you up on a date with my sister."

"R...really?! You'd do that Airhead-ron?!"

"Yup, but you're Doofus, you don't know how to be polite. Kind of a shame too, Lillith gets kind of lonely now that I spend alot of time with Ilene..." Stahn said teasingly.

"W...wh...whoa wait a second Stahn! I can be polite!" Rufus said.

"So I'm Stahn now am I? Hmm, nope, not good enough. Call me Mr. Aileron and I'll think about talking to Lillith."

"What?! Are you nuts?! Not a chance!!!"

"Fine then." Stahn said as he turned to leave. "I wonder if Lillith would like someone like Garr?"

"NO NO NO!!! Ok! You win Mr. Aileron!" Rufus pleaded. Stahn turned back to face him with a mischevious smile on his face.

"Good, now if I get back and see you've proven yourself to be...well not you, I'll MAYBE mention you to Lillith."

"Alright! Thanks bud!" Rufus said joyfully. Instantly the ex-bully dashed to Stahn's Aunt Maggie's garden and began pestering her about ways to help. But despite Maggie's constant rejections of his aid, he persisted. Stahn had to hold his hand over his mouth to keep himself from bursting out laughing.

"I should get going." Stahn told himself, but took one last look at Rufus, who now had a bag of fertilizer in his hands. But being the clumsy ox he was, he tripped as he was carrying it, causing it to rip open and spill all over Maggie's plants. Now he was running for his life from an infuriated Maggie carrying a shovel of doom.

"Good luck Doofus, you're gonna need it!" Stahn called out as he left Liena.

The trip itself was an uneventful one. There weren't any more monsters along the way, so Stahn had to keep himself entertained by whistling a cheerful tune to himself. That made him think of Karyl Sheeden, the wandering troubadour. One thing led to another, and soon Stahn found himself thinking about all his comrades.

"Heh, I wonder if Chelsea ever got Garr to notice her? Man that girl is persistent, kinda scary at times too..." Stahn thought as he remembered one of the Torn's fierce temper tantrums. She had her mature side yes, but she was still young, and this was still very evident in her constant outburts when she didn't get her way.

"Baldy's probably still gloating about how he's the greatest fighter in all of Fitzgald, maybe I oughta pay him a visit and show him who's the REAL best."

Stahn felt the throb on his head again.

"Erm...maybe some other time...I uh...wouldn't want to make him wet his pants or something if I showed up unexpectedly."

A pitiful excuse yes, but Stahn didn't care.

"Philia. I sure hope she decided to give up that whole Priestess thing. Doesn't make much sense to still believe in that kinda stuff." But Stahn knew Philia wouldn't ever stop believing, because being a Priestess in the Straylize Temple was the only life she ever knew, her exact words.

"Heheh. Mary. She has her moments of absentmindedness, but if you rile her up, expect a severe beating to come right after. I wonder if she and Rutee still stay in contact?"

Stahn stopped walking.

"Rutee..."

Stahn thought back to the day of the heroes' first reunion. It was in Stahn's hometown of Liena. They had all come to visit him one year after they saved the world. They hadn't changed a bit, except for Rutee. Sure she still had her country boy jokes and lazy comments, but something seemed different. This became very apparent when they had all sat down for dinner at the Village Chief's house. Ilene, with the help of the Village Chief's daughter, had prepared a glorious feast for the group. As they were taking their seats, Rutee sat on one side of Stahn, and Ilene sat on the other. While the dinner itself was calm, Stahn noticed Rutee shooting dirty looks in Ilene's direction the whole time. Ilene never noticed as she calmly and elegantly ate her meal, but Stahn on the other hand did.

Then came that night...

The visiting heroes had been arranged lodgings at the Village Chief's house, while Stahn retired to his own home. Everywhere he went, Ilene followed him, almost like a lovesick puppy. When the party had all said their goodnights, Rutee walked to her room and slammed the door shut. Stahn wasn't sure of what was going on at the time, and dismissed it as one of Rutee's little hissy fits. Little did he know how wrong he was. As Stahn made his way to his own house Ilene, who was still in tow, stopped him just before he opened the door.

What's the matter Ilene? Stahn asked innocently.

Ilene said nothing and just moved her face close to Stahn's, planting a loving kiss on his lips. That was the first time Ilene had kissed him. Naturally his face became as red as a tomato, and he couldn't do anything but stutter like a clueless moron. Ilene then silently left and went to her own home, leaving Stahn there with his face still shining a bright crimson color.

That was the final nail in the coffin for Rutee. Once again she had followed Stahn as he made his way home. She saw everything: the kiss, Stahn's reaction, all of it. Tears began to fall from her face like a waterfall, but she stifled her sobs until she was safely away from Stahn and back into her room. She buried her face into her pillow and cried herself to sleep. But Stahn never knew any of this, and still does not to this day.

Before Stahn knew it, he was in Neuestadt. The townspeople there greeted the hero from the isolated village warmly. Some men came up to shake his hand, some women blushed and giggled coyly as he walked by. Stahn just scratched his hair earnestly at their affections.

Making his way to the port, he came across the fishmonger that Stahn's hometown vendor did business with.

"Oi! Stahnny mah boy!" The fishmonger yelled. "'Bout time ya showed up! Overslept again didja?"

"Yeah yeah..." Stahn said. "Just gimme the fish..."

"Righto!" The fishmonger pointed to a large crate. "There they be."

A sweatdrop formed on Stahn's forehead. "Th...that???"

"Yup! Didn't ya bring something to carry it with?"

"Uhh...no..."

"Oi! Sucks to be ya!"

"You said it..."

"If ya start now ya might be able ta make it back by nightfall!" The fishmonger jeered.

"Why me...?" Stahn groaned.

Stahn took hold of the crate and started dragging it along the ground. It weighed a ton, so carrying it was out of the question. Stahn grunted and strained, perhaps moving the container an inch every 5 minutes. An hour later, he had gotten it into the middle of town, when he decided to sit down next to it and take a quick rest break. He then overheard a conversation between two familiar kids.

"Did you hear?" The boy said.

"About that one girl who stuck up to those rich kids for us?" A girl replied.

"Yeah, they said she's really sick."

"That's really sad. Was it food poisoning or something?"

"Nah, I heard she just started acting like that a while ago."

"Huh...?" Stahn mumbled.

"She gonna be ok?"

"I dunno. They said she just walks around her home with no energy at all. Kinda like a zombie."

"Scary..." The girl shuddered. "I hope she'll be ok."

"Me too."

-clunk-

"What was that?" The boy said. They walked up the stairs and saw a crate of fish standing in the middle of the road, its rope handle hitting lightly against its side...

Author's Notes: What is Stahn going to do? What will Ilene do? What will Rutee do? And...who's going to move that crate of fish?! Stay tuned!

Mics. Notes: All Tales of Destiny characters, places, and events belong to Namco.