I must write! Gotta write, gotta write. Sorry for the update delay! Y'know... school and crap. After this chapter, there are only going to be two more. (There was originally only going to be one, but I realized that I forgot about good ol' Altamira. Whoops.) Oh! And Corrine's making his presence known in this chapter! Yaaay- Regal: We must protect... Presea: ...this world... Sheena: ...with our own hands. Zelos: And speaking of hands, I think I'll put mine... Sheena: Ugh, idiot-
Disclaimer: I'm feeling lazy at the moment, so let's just say it – I don't own Tales of Symphonia or anything about it.
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The Quest for True Love/Chapter X: Foolproof – Ozette/
"Miss Sheena, please... Master Zelos has requested that I awaken you, so please rise quickly."
The summoner yawned, rolling onto her back so that she could look at Zelos' butler, whom was towering over her. "Sebastian, I'll get up," Sheena assured as though she had said it five times before... when really she had only said it three times, "You don't need to stay here and make sure that I do as I'm told."
Sebastian responded apologetically, "On the contrary, Miss Sheena, Master Zelos' exact words were: 'wake up my sweet hunny Sheena for me, and make sure that she's actually gotten up before you leave.' Therefore, I must remain here... for it is my duty." With that clarified, the servant stood his ground, determined not to betray his master's trust. Sheena sighed loudly; there was no point in objecting. She forced herself to overcome her drowsiness and sat up in the bed. "That is a good beginning, Miss Sheena... now you must get out of the bed."
Sheena groaned, glaring at the butler. "Out yourself!" she shouted, finally losing her patience. The Mizuho native grabbed a pillow and vigorously threw it at poor, poor Sebastian. Finally getting the point, the servant exited the room without complaint. Sheena sighed again and tiredly got out of the bed. She looked down at herself and noticed that she was still wearing the formal outfit from the party the night before. "Ugh," Sheena felt partially disgusted with herself for wearing that dress at all. She quickly got changed into her regular clothes while keeping an eye on the doorway at all times to make sure that Zelos did not peek inside. After getting her Mizuho clothing on, Sheena secured a pink ribbon in her hair and then left the room.
She wandered across the hallway and peered over the railing to have a view of Zelos' living room below. The idiot Chosen was conversing with Sebastian about some topic that was making the butler shift unnervingly in his seat. She could not help but smile; Zelos was probably just recounting some of the make-out sessions that he had had with "twelve and a half" noblewomen the night before, and Sebastian must have found it awkward to hear his master speak of such things. Or at least, that is what she presumed until she heard... "Ah, man, Sebastian! You should have seen it! It was beautiful! I mean, a simple little tug and an exposed chest! Damn, that was hot!"
Speaking of hot, that is exactly how Sheena's cheeks were feeling at that moment in a mixture of embarrassment... and mainly rage. Zelos was telling Sebastian about how he had 'accidentally' stripped Sheena of half of her dress. "You... you pervert!" she shrieked, her voice echoing through the spacious mansion. Zelos had a petrified expression on his face as he slowly and cautiously tilted his head up to catch sight of the 'violent demonic banshee', as he so commonly referred to her. "You said it was a mishap!" Sheena continued to scream, "And... and... you didn't even see anything! Now you're gloating about it!" It took a moment for her rage to sink in, but once it did, Zelos 'meep'ed, sprang up from his seat and dashed towards the door. "Get back here, you idiot!" Sheena shouted after him, heading down the stairs.
Zelos quickly glanced back and saw the Mizuho native advancing on him. It was like a bad horror movie as Tethe'alla's Chosen made an attempt to open the door to no avail, as the doorknob was not agreeing with him. "Crap, oh crap!" Zelos continued to struggle with the doorknob, pushing against the door with his foot for some form of aid.
"Zeloooos..." Sheena's voice rang eerily.
The Chosen squealed nervously at the sound of her steadily approaching. Sebastian was struggling to keep himself from sniggering at his master's sad display. Finally, after what seemed hours, Sheena stepped up behind Zelos. The swordsman saw her shadow stretch across the doorway in front of him, and it made him freeze right there. Gulping, Zelos turned himself around to face his punishment. Was it going to be something cruel and unusual, or just the normal whack over the head? Sheena began stretching her arm forward, and Zelos closed his eyes as though it were some form of shield. Seeing nothing but the back of his own eyelids, Zelos awaited the worse... and he waited... and waited... "Hey, what gives?" he questioned, opening his eyes again.
A smirk appeared on Sheena's face as she calmly twisted the doorknob that had caused Zelos so much trouble, and then pushed the door open. The inevitable result: Zelos fell backwards, down the stairs in front of his mansion, earning quite a few stares along the way. With a groan, he forced himself to sit up, only to be pushed back down as Sheena pressed her foot down on his chest. "Say you're sorry!" she demanded.
People stopped in the street to stare at the feuding friends. Zelos gave a nervous smile, "Sh-Sheena... can't we discuss this somewhere else?" Needless to say, his choice of words simply peaked the interest of the nobles passing by... that and the fact that Sheena was holding him down so easily. There came no reply from the summoner, and she only pressed down harder on his torso. "Ow! Ow! Ow! Fine, I'll say it!" The curious strangers leaned closer to have better earshot as the renowned Chosen caved, "I... I'm sorry for lying to Sebastian about seeing your melons..." Sheena gave a disapproving look and pushed him against the ground even more. "Ah, ah! Bare chest!"
"That'll do," Sheena declared, allowing the Chosen to get to his feet. He dusted himself off and acted as though nothing had happened. "Come on, if we're headed for Ozette, then we'd better leave as soon as we can to arrive before sundown." Zelos nodded in agreement, covering up the piercing pain that his chest was in.
After a prompt farewell to Sebastian, they were on their way to Ozette. As they travelled through Gaoracchia Forest, Sheena warned Zelos, "Don't wander off, okay? You could easily get lost in..." her voice trailed off and she stopped walking. There were no sounds of Zelos following her. Sheena sighed deeply, "Oh please, you've got to be kidding me." The ninja's suspicions were confirmed when Zelos' scream rose through the dark forest. "Damnit, Zelos!" Preparing for the worst situation, Sheena pulled out a few spell cards, "Come on, Corrine!"
A shroud of mist appeared in front of Sheena, and a small creature emerged from it. The animal called Corrine was yellow and cat-like with three aqua coloured tails. "What's going on, Sheena?" he questioned, "You haven't summoned me for a while..." The tone of the spirit's last comment was rather gloomy.
"I'm sorry, Corrine," Sheena apologized sincerely, "I've been busy... but you're help is really needed now. You see—"
"Oh, for the love of Martel, it's going to eat me!"
Both Sheena and Corrine sweatdropped as they looked off in the direction that the voice came from. "I see what you mean," the tiny summon spirit stated, "Don't worry. I'll help the guy out." Corrine dashed off along the pathway, and Sheena followed at her own pace. She was confident that Corrine could take care of things on his own.
The summoner finally caught sight of Zelos and Corrine up ahead, and... a pumpkin-head monster? Sheena shook her head slowly to herself upon realizing that it was only the weak monster that had terrified Zelos. That was not the only thing that Zelos was afraid of, however. Corrine effortlessly took out the monster and then turned to face the Chosen, "You okay, strongman?" the summon spirit asked tauntingly.
"Ahh, what are you!" Zelos shouted, "G... get back!" He kicked at Corrine, forcing the animal to retreat to Sheena. She sent a glare in Zelos' direction, which confused the Chosen. "Huh? Why are you angry? What is that thing?"
Sheena clenched her fists to suppress the annoyance that she was feeling. "That thing, as you put it, it a summon spirit! And my best friend, I'll have you know!" she yelled.
Zelos looked at Corrine and blinked, "That's... your best friend? Aw, Sheena! That's so sad! You look to an animal for companionship – you really need a man!"
"Oh, shut and follow me, you idiot! And don't get lost this time!" Sheena stormed off, Corrine at her heels. Still perplexed as to why Sheena was so upset, Zelos could only follow her obediently until they arrived at Ozette.
As soon as the small group entered the forest-bound town, they could see why it was nicknamed 'the quiescent village'. In fact, had it not been known that Ozette was indeed a place where people lived they would have assumed that this was some abandoned ghost town. Zelos outstretched his arms, yawning loudly. "Man, just the mood of this place is making me bushed," the Chosen commented in the midst of his yawn.
"Too bad!" Sheena snapped, "You wanted to come here to find a girl, then you're going to find a girl!"
"Is this you're weird way of encouraging me, Sheena?" Zelos asked slyly as he turned to face Sheena, an unwavering grin present on his face, "Aw, I appreciate it! Hey, let's work on finding you a hot guy here, too, okay?"
The summoner frowned and shoved Zelos backwards, "Don't be stupid!"
"Fine, fine... I'll let you man-hunt on your own terms..." Considering that Sheena had expected such a reply from Zelos, she merely ignored him and pressed on further into the village. Zelos and Corrine, once again, followed without uttering a sound. It took a fairly long walked before any civilization even came into view... What was this civilization? A man. Zelos did not like this. "Aw, jeez! We hike along this dingy path for, like... twenty minutes, and what do we get? Some old dude in a hat that greets every person that's pathetic enough to come out here!"
Corrine looked up at Zelos challengingly, "So you mean to say pathetic people like us?"
"Oh, keep your trap shut, furball."
Sheena muttered to herself, yet loudly enough for Zelos to hear, "You're picking a fight with a summon spirit. That is pathetic." Hurt, Zelos sulked silently as he wandered deeper into the discreet village. "Well, Corrine, what do you think about the situation I've gotten myself in?"
Never taking his eyes off of the Chosen, Corrine replied with a question of his own, "...How in Tethe'alla did you end up in this scenario, anyway!"
And so, while Zelos went off on his own mini-quest to find interesting women in Ozette, Sheena finally filled Corrine in on everything that had happened since she recounted the swordsman in Altamira. They sat on the branch-like trail that led up the town's item shop as Sheena spoke; from that spot, they could keep an eye on Zelos at all times, too. Finally, after Sheena finished describing the most recent goings-on at Meltokio, Corrine gave his input: "You... told him that if he could find a woman, he could see you naked?" The ninja blushed furiously as she lowered her head, nodding it slowly. "Sheena, what were you thinking? I don't even know this guy I can tell he's a total pervert!"
"Well yeah!" Sheena agreed without query, "But, I mean... I had a plan. I just can't really recall it..."
Corrine slowly shook his head, "Oh, Sheena..."
"Cut it out, Corrine!" she snapped, "You don't have to act like you pity me!"
"But I'm not acting," the summon spirit looked up at his summoner, "I really, truly feel bad for you." Groaning, Sheena propped her elbow on her leg and rested her head on the palm of her hand. "So what are you going to do now? Keep travelling with this psychopath?"
"He's not a psychopath, Corrine," Sheena defended, "Just a pervert, as you stated the first time." Her tone suddenly changed as she asked, "Oh, what have I gotten myself into?"
The animal sighed, getting himself into 'reassuring mode'. "Don't worry, Sheena," he 'reassured', "After this town, there's only one left, right? He's not going to find anyone, so you'll win the bet and be on easy streak! ...Right?"
Rubbing her forehead exasperatingly, Sheena murmured, "I hope so..."
Then, Zelos made his grand re-entrance. The door of the item shop swung open and Zelos bounced out gleefully, a bag of supplies in his hand. "Hey! You two still moping around out here?" he questioned, strutting over to where Sheena and Corrine sat. Sheena simply shook her head to herself. "Fine. Be that way. I came up with a foolproof way to spy out a woman's intentions!"
Although Sheena could tell that it was going to be some ridiculous plan, she was compelled to ask: "What is it?"
"Well, since you asked..." Zelos began as though he would not have even bothered saying had she not inquired, "You know how in order to find out a monster's foibles, you use a magic lens, right?" Sheena nodded sceptically; for the love of Martel, what went on in this man's mind? "So I figure, people have never even tried to look at a human through a magic lens!"
"Zelos, are you sober?" Sheena questioned quite seriously. Did Ozette even have any pubs that he could get wasted at?
That idiotic grin on his face, Zelos replied matter-of-factly, "No. What ever gave you that idea?"
"Oh, just a hunch..."
The Chosen of Tethe'alla reached into his bag of supplies and pulled out a magic lens, "Now, to give this sucker a try..." He held the lens in front of his eye, looking through it at Sheena, "Hmm... using the ol' Card of Water, eh?"
Sheena jumped slightly, startled, "What the—Give me that!" She bounded up from her seat on the ground and went over to where Zelos was, making a move to snatch the lens from Zelos, but he quickly jerked back. Holding the item over his head, Zelos smirked as Sheena continued trying to get it from him. "Oh, come on! You have me curious now..."
"Hehehehe," Zelos chuckled, dropping the magic lens into Sheena's hand, "Go ahead. I bought plenty more! After all, there are many ladies to be educated on." He began walked down along the branch pathway, but stopped and turned around as he reached the end, "I'm just gonna go and check out the remainder of the women on my own, mm-kay? You and Corrine can continue your little girl talk."
"I'm a boy!" Corrine yelled.
"Of course you are," Zelos agreed absent-mindedly, "See ya later!"
Corrine ran a few steps after the Chosen, but stopped short, deciding that it would just be a waste of time to chase him. "Forget about calling him a pervert, I have a better nickname," the summon spirit looked back towards Sheena, "From this day forth, he shall be The Manwhore!"
"Don't be harsh..." Sheena scolded monotonously, her mind focussed on something else, "Wow. You have a lot of hit points."
Her companion was confused for a moment, until he noticed that... "Sheena! Why are you sinking to his level and abusing that magic lens' powers?"
Sweating nervously, Sheena lowered the lens, "It's cool!" she defended her, "I mean... I-it's useful to, umm..." Sighing, the summoner threw the lens to her spirit, "Go and hide it somewhere where I'll never find it and use it again." Nodding, Corrine ran off with the magic lens and proceeded to bury it in a random spot. The two friends then made their way to Ozette's inn where they would be staying for the night.
Of course, all the while, Zelos was wandering around town while spying on people with a magic lens. Inconspicuous? I think not. "Chosen, what in the name of the goddess Martel are you doing?" a woman asked, giving Zelos a curious look.
"Erm..." Zelos glanced from the girl to the magic lens, and then back to the girl again, "You mean... with this magic lens?" She nodded. "It's, uh... a fashion statement!" he responded quickly, "You wear it as... a monocle!"
"Okaaay..." the woman humoured him, "People always tell me that the Chosen has such good fashion advice... What's gotten into him?"
Scratching the back of his head awkwardly, Zelos stammered, "Ah... I'm sorry to leave you so hurriedly, but I really must be on my way, Alanah." How did he know her name? Magic lens! Of course, she did not even consider that... and was confused. "Bye!" With that, Zelos swiftly got the hell out of there and made his way to the inn to avoid making any other lame excuses. He would end up ruining his reputation, and that simply could not happen. After granting the innkeeper a description of Sheena, the woman pointed him towards the room that he would be staying in that night. When he entered the room, he saw Sheena sitting on one of the beds, reading a book, and Corrine was nowhere to be seen. Zelos gathered that the summon spirit must have gone to... wherever summon spirits go when they are not summoned. Without so much as a word, Zelos plopped himself down on the other bed and yawned loudly.
"Find out anything interesting?" Sheena inquired, taking notice of his entrance.
"Nah," he replied, "This place really is the boondocks. Nothing interesting here. You know what that means, don't you?" Zelos had a mischievous tone in his voice as Sheena cautiously shook her head. "We're going to Altamira!" he beamed.
Sheena's eyes widened and she dropped her book to the floor, "Nooooo!"
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Poor, poor Sheena... she probably thought that she'd escape the quote unquote "gaudy resort". So much for that, eh? Mwahaha... Here are the responses to reviews (well... some of them. I had a lot this chapter, which is a good thing!):
To Justin T. Melanson – Yep, yep. The side of Zelos that dislikes Meltokio... Blows your mind, eh? Of course, he doesn't seem to fond of the way things run in Ozette, either... Heh.
To Hurricane – Dude! The author 'Hurricane Legault' on this site is you! (had suspicions about it before) Heehee. Glad you like the story.
To Zelos Rocks! – Yay! I have been told I rock! That must make it true! XD I hope you keep enjoying the story.
To TetsuoTsubushi – Trust me, trust me. I know where I'm going with the time setting that I've chosen. (smile) Have faith! It shall work out!
To Freakyleaf – Woohoo! Did this chapter manage to keep you laughing, too?
To SmileBeHappy – Hooray, I have been the receiver of a first ToS review! (feels special) And it was a good review, too. Yipee!
To jellybeanz225 – Sheena was the 1/2 woman that Zelos kissed? How so? (is now curious if she implied something) Hmm... perhaps I shall bring Jean-Christophe back in the next chapter for a little appearance...
To ObviousMan – Fear the magic of butlers! They have strict, magical powers that make them capable of anything!
To Rose-Wisteria – Your review made my day! (back when I first got the review, of course.) Thanks so much for all of your praise; it in itself is enough to keep me writing! Heh. You'll get to see how the 'mystery pairing' of this story will play out very soon—two chapters from now to be exact!
To Adriatic – I can never get enough grade for the x10 exp. feature... Oh well! Lloyd has an eyepatch in his pirate outfit! (felt the need to say that... because it's funny) Heeheehee... I'm picturing the ending of the game, and Regal wearing his chef's outfit during it. That's just awesomely hilarious. Yay for pinching Genis' nose! During my first couple of playthroughs, I felt too guilty to pinch his nose... but eventually I did, and it was great. (smirks) Nooo! Don't let Kratos into your party! If you do, he will... it's too terrible! (goes into corner and rocks back and forth)
To Silver's Shadow Tamer – Ew. Tests. School... both such disgusting things. But I'm glad that you found the time to read my fic and review! (smile) Thanks!
To sunny-san – Eep! I've updated, I've updated! Don't shake that fist at meee... (cowers) In all seriousness, thank you for your review! I'm happy that even someone whom senses Sheelos-ness and dislikes it can find amusement in my story.
