The Second Ending
It was a bright oasis that suddenly appeared out of no where. They thought it strange that such a barren wasteland could have so much life. Haru figured that it was probably the only green Symphonia had. If Elie's memory were someplace around there, they would be likely to have some difficulty finding it. The worst part was that they weren't even sure what Elie's memory looked like.
Elie felt slightly familiar with the place, although she wasn't sure why. Maybe her memory was some place in the area. She wandered away from the others, following a path she couldn't see. Tall trees towered over Elie, and long grass flowed at her feet. The oasis was nice, but where was the water supporting so much green?
A twig snapped behind her and Elie twirled around. Suddenly, an old bag of bones jumped out at her. With red eyes that burned into Elie's, it raised its skeleton arms to get her. Heart racing wildly, Elie fell to the ground. She gazed up at the skeleton and screamed.
Haru was the first to act. He gripped his sword and ran in the direction of Elie's scream. He found Elie and her bony friend by a fallen tree. The skeleton quickly turned from Elie to Haru. Haru raised his sword before him in case the thing attacked. Even Elie pulled out her tonfas. The skeleton shrieked loudly and soon skeletons were all around them. Elie carefully crawled to where Haru was for protection. The head leaped at Haru, who struck out with his sword. The skeleton landed behind Haru and ran into the bushes. The others followed, leaving Haru and Elie alone.
"They went in the direction of the others, "Haru realized in alarm.
"We have to stop the monsters, Haru!" said Elie.
Haru nodded at Elie, who grabbed her guns. They hurried through the bushes. Haru stopped suddenly and turned in a circle. He looked around with a confused face. Elie stared at him curiously wondering why Haru had stopped.
"Haru, shouldn't we be going to find the others?" she asked.
"I think we're lost," sighed Haru.
"What do you mean 'lost'!" cried Elie nervously.
Cries suddenly rang in the air. Elie and Haru knew the voices well enough to know whom they belonged to. Musica and Let's battle cries let them know the skeletons had found them. But above all were the sounds of Ruby and Griff's cries of terror. Haru grabbed Elie's arm and pulled her after him.
They made it to the clearing where the others were. Let, Musica, Sieg Hart, Griff, Ruby, and Plue were surrounded. Haru held up his sword and charged. Strangely, the skeletons ignored Haru and closed in on the others. Elie backed Haru up by firing at them with her tonkas. The skeletons were unaffected by Elie's firing and even Haru's sword. Musica gripped his silver spear and sung it at the leader. It continued advancing on them, unharmed by any of their attacks. Haru thought desperately about how to stop them by some other means.
Then, out of no where, a bright flash of purple blinded everyone for a moment. Haru blinked until he could make out the head skeleton crumbling to dust. A girl, about Elie's age, stood up from her kneeling position. She had long black hair with bangs that almost covered her violet eyes. The girl was similar to Elie, but unlike Elie, she gripped a long sword in her hands.
In confusion, the other skeletons ran around in circles. They crashed into one another, got back up, and kept on running. One skeleton was stupid enough to go near enough to the girl that she struck out at it, turning it to dust. They shrieked in terror at another's destruction, and ran from the clearing. The girl chuckled and pointed her sword down. She walked up to Elie, who had also fallen to the ground. Elie panicked and fired her tonfas. Haru gaped as he saw each bullet miss. He quickly dodged a miss fire and he ran to Elie's side.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
Elie stopped firing and bit her lip as she looked up at the girl. She turned to Haru and smiled, nodding her head slowly. Musica's silver grabbed the girl's sword and pulled away. Let and Sieg Hart approached Elie and helped her to her feet. Plue walked over to Elie, shaking furiously and saying his normal 'plue'. Elie put her tonfas away and put out her hand towards the girl.
"Sorry I did that," apologized Elie, "I'm scared of wolves,"
"Elie!" cried Haru; "She doesn't even look like a wolf!"
Elie pouted at him, putting her hand down. Musica swung the sword around as Elie and Haru argued. Elie argued that her attack was fast, she was dark and mysterious, so she had to be a wolf. After Haru convinced Elie that the girl was indeed not a wolf, Elie decided she was a vampire. They were all most tempted to try putting a wooden stake in the girl's heart if Musica hadn't intervened.
"Who are you anyway?" asked Musica.
"I'm Viola," smiled the girl, "I am a dumb boring person, you know, a girl,"
"Are you sure you're not a vampire?" asked Elie, curiously.
"Of course she isn't!" cried Haru, "Right?"
Musica looked at Viola curiously then slowly handed her sword back. Viola sheathed it and looked down at Plue, who had been quiet for quite some time.
"I got lost out here," she explained, "Hello, Plue,"
Plue shook crazily and replied in his strange speech. Viola smiled and looked back up to find every one staring at her. Sieg Hart noticed this as well and turned away. There was something strange about this girl that he wasn't sure of. He felt bothered by how she had defeated the skeletons, yet none of them could. Plue tapped Haru's ankle with his carrot nose. Haru looked down at Plue and carefully picked him up.
"How do you know Plue?" asked Haru.
"Siva and I are familiar with one another, so it's only natural that I be familiar with Plue," Viola smiled.
"What were you doing out here?" asked Musica, "Symphonia seems pretty deserted to me."
"Hey, if you've been here for a while, then maybe you've seen Elie's memory!" cried Haru.
"Elie?" asked Viola, confused.
Haru realized that none of them had been introduced, so he took it upon himself to tell her who everyone was. He went around pointing to Let, Musica, Ruby, Elie and himself. Viola seemed pleased to meet them and smiled warmly. She wasn't used to so many kind people and was glad she was no longer alone. When she met Elie, she sadly told Elie that her memory wasn't anywhere in the oasis. Sieg Hart listened and watched her until he could stand waiting no more. He pushed past Musica and approached Viola slowly.
"How did you defeat the skeletons?" he demanded.
Viola's smile faded in the heat of the moment. Everyone went silent when they heard Sieg Hart talk. They listened intently, interested in what the answer would be them selves. Viola pulled out her sword and watched as it glowed a light purple. She held it before her for Sieg Hart to see, gazing at the ground.
"It's a spirit shredder, known to destroy souls." Viola admitted, "You were also with Haru and Elie, so your powers could not affect them."
"Why not?" Sieg Hart continued.
"This is a sacred place to Ethelion, Recha's gravesite, the only place untouched in Symphonia," Viola muttered.
Elie gasped, glancing towards the symbols on her arm. If this was Recha's gravesite, could her memory really be here? All Elie wanted was to remember who she was, as well as the past she couldn't remember. Haru glanced at her wanting to talk to her, but he couldn't find the words. Elie suddenly sprinted back out into the center of the oasis. She had to have her memory back, and prove to everyone that she could be good. Haru started after her, but Musica held him back. Viola watched Elie disappear, and decided she had best go after her. The others watched Viola follow Elie further into the oasis.
Running as fast as she could, Elie refused to stop. She stumbled a few times, but kept getting back up. Viola chased her down until she caught up to Elie. Motioning Elie to follow her, Viola went into a clump of brush. They walked for a few minutes, passing areas that were all so similar. It seemed as if they were going in circles, and would never stop. Elie was amazed at how large the oasis really was. They soon came onto some rubble that looked like old stones, laid in a circle. An old, worn down wall reached out on one side. Elie gasped when she saw a statue of some kind in the center of the circle of stones. Viola ignored her and walked up to a large marble stone, perfectly preserved. On the stone read Recha Valentine's name; carved into the marble itself. Tattered rags lied in front of the stone and Elie moved closer. She recognized them as an old military uniform that was probably once Musica's size.
"That's Siva's old uniform, the one he wore at the final battle," sighed Viola, who looked around, "He fought to get her buried here, by this fountain. It was their meeting spot and her favorite place to dance,"
Plue came up behind Elie and sadly approached the stone. He looked up at Elie briefly, then turned back towards Recha's grave, tears in his eyes. Elie dropped to her knees beside the uniform. She gently placed her hands across it, a tear falling on it. Viola watched them; unable to feel the same pain they felt. Coming to the site wasn't what she had planned for, but Elie deserved to see it. The truth was, Viola knew, was that Elie would never get her own memories back, because the Ethelion inside of her killed those memories. The only thing left for Elie was to learn the truth about Ethelion. If only Recha could be there to talk to her, but Viola knew it was impossible. Viola knew all these things to be true, that Elie would hurt before the end, just as Recha had.
"The symbols on your arm stand for where you came from," Viola said sadly, "Your memory will never come,"
"Why?" asked Elie, shaking.
"You didn't exist until a year ago, when they found you." Viola said, "Actually I should say created, since you didn't exist,"
Elie's heart beat wildly in her chest, with a pain Elie could only remember feeling twice. She slowly backed away from the grave, looking up at Viola. Elie was scared of what she might hear next. What Viola was saying confused her a lot, it all seemed like riddles to her. An ache in her heart pushed Elie to learn what Viola meant. It was impossible for her to have not existed until a year ago, right?
"What do you mean?" trembled Elie.
"You are a reincarnation of Recha, an exact copy of her when she was a teenager," said Viola.
Elie stared at Viola in shock. She looked at Recha's grave and the shaking Plue who continued crying by the old uniform. The world seemed to spin so fast, and it wouldn't slow for Elie. Darkness began to take over Elie, and she never felt herself hit the ground. Viola and Plue quickly ran to her and cried for the others to come. They came as fast as they could. They dragged Elie back to the cart, preparing to leave. Haru convinced them to stay a little longer so he could see the grave for himself. The others waited as Haru said a few words to Recha. No one knew what he was saying or just how hurt Haru was by the grave and by Siva's old uniform. They waited patiently until Haru was ready to leave.
Me: I came up with the idea of this story because the last episode I saw was probably around 50, so I never say the end. I decided that maybe it would be better to make up my own ending, so I started where I left off on the show. Please R&R and I hope to have the next chapter up soon.
