Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia or any characters, items, or events that take place within it.

Chapter One: Symphonia in Shadow

My mother leads me away from our still-smoking house, clutching my hand as if to never let go of it. She holds me close, her gnarled hands grasping mine. Her once-beautiful face is burned and scarred, her clothes ripped and torn. Tears begin to well up in my eyes at the sight, but she smiles and wipes them away-ever so gently. "We must not make a sound," she whispers. I gaze at our home, now reduced to a pile of smoldering ash. Mother turns me away. "Don't look back," she croons softly. "We must look ahead to the future." I nod in agreement.

We continue down the dirt road, my eyes growing wide with horror. Countless buildings were being set aflame-their occupants still trapped inside. Their shrieks of pain and terror are echoing throughout Iselia. Maniacal laughter is heard as well—fiendish little cackling that fed on victim's despair. We quicken our pace to a run. Don't look back, I tell myself.

The village's exit is nearly in sight! We WILL escape from this hell on earth! We'll start our life over again, we'll-

Suddenly, my mother has stopped moving. I attempt to see what has happened, but she shields my eyes.

"Run," she says softly.

I stare at her, my tears flowing out unchecked. She would never tell me to leave her... unless it no longer mattered.

"Run," she repeats, more firmly this time.

And then I see them. Armored in only the finest steels and sporting cruel whips, the demons advance on us. They speak to each other in their native tongue, their heads bobbing up and down in anticipation of the kill. Monsters in half—elven form!

"RUN!" my mother yells, giving me a firm shove in the opposite direction. The monsters jump to attack.

"COLETTE!" I hear my mother shriek. "RUN!" She lets out a deafening screech as the whips crack on her back—once, twice, thrice!

I hear her scream and falter for just a moment...

Just a moment was all it takes for the demons to grab me.

I kick and scream but I can't seem to break free of their grip. They whip me as hard as I can but the pain doesn't matter anymore...nothing matters but HER...

And I stare at her lifeless form...they grab me again, and I don't even try to escape...they don't matter anymore...

"MOTHER!"

Locked away in a small chamber inside Iselia's human ranch, Colette Brunell awoke with a start.

Clad in a peasant's gown and covered in naught but the most ragged bed-sheets, the unfortunate girl brushed her long platinum tresses out of her face. She breathed deeply. "Another nightmare…" she murmured. "That's all it was, just another nightmare."

And suddenly she was all smiles.

"Marble!" she sang happily. "It's time to wake up! Today's a very special day, after all!"

"Please, child…" came a wizened old voice from a hammock in the corner of the cell. "Just a few more minutes, just a few more…I was having the most wonderful dream…."

"OOOH!" giggled the blonde. "Was it about…a BOY?" A grim old chuckle resounded throughout the chamber as Marble stretched, yawned, and slowly reached for her walking stick. "Ah, child…so naïve, ever so naïve…well, naivety and youth go hand and hand, I suppose. Come now, Colette, the Masters will be upset if they're kept waiting."

As if a little light bulb went "DING!" in her head, Colette's eyes opened wide. "Oh, that's right! I'm so sorry!" she gasped. "C'mon, let's go! I'm really sorry!"

A bell rang throughout the sector, signaling that the prisoners were to report to their meeting hall. From there they would be sent to their day's labor, after which they would receive their rations for the next day, and be sent back to their cells, where they would sleep until the bell would ring once more. This was a tedious lifestyle, to be sure, but Colette didn't mind. After all, this was a very special day indeed! Today was the day of Marble's Transformation.

As every Host Body knew, Transformation was what the Desians called the final reward, in which the lucky host was to have their Exsphere activated, sending their soul straight to the Goddess Martel and leaving their body to be absorbed into the mass of Lifeless Beings. An effective means of establishing complete authority over the so-called inferior beings, to be sure—taking away souls and leaving bodies for naught but brute labor, unable to raise a finger to stop their tyrannical overlords.

Marble knew this, of course, and she had no objections. She was to die as she had lived…a decent, hard-working slave. Her body would be left to her former owners, but her soul would fly free—free, free! Higher and higher it would soar, where the half—elves could never catch her.

Perhaps these were the final thoughts of all of the unfortunate Hosts before their bodies were twisted into monsters and their souls went straight to hell.

WOW, cliffhanger! What do you all think of it so far? Good? Bad? Okay? Be sure to R & R!

And nooooooowwwwwwwwww it's time fooooooooorrr…

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