Broken Valentine
Amazon Bunny- Welcome to "Broken Valentine: My Magic Mirror". You've read far enough to reach the last chapter!
Zelos- I'm taking Kratos' place right now, he's still crying his eyes out over the last chapter!
Amazon Bunny- Oh, spare me...
Zelos- Well, my little hunny bunny...
Amazon Bunny- Sheena wouldn't be too happy to hear that now would she?
Zelos- You see, violent demonic banshee isn't here right now...
Sheena- WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?
Zelos- 'runs away' Amazon Bunny does not own Tales of Symphonia!
"And?" the Seraphim felt his heart plummet. "What happened?"
"And...and...Dad...She didn't make it." At those words, he broke down. "She didn't make it, Dad. She's dead."
There was a brief, strangled silence, where Kratos could hear his own head buzzing. At first, the news didn't register. "D-dead?" He whispered, eyes wide. The Seraphim laughed nervously and sunk to the ground, his head in his hands."She can't be...She can't be...It's impossible..."
"Dad..." Lloyd tried to say comfortingly. "Dad..." It pained him terribly to see his father- his unshakable, unbreakable father- like this.
Kratos didn't hear him. He was still muttering tohimself. "She can't be...She can't be..." At last, he looked up, his eyes brimming with tears. "Lloyd...she's not...Raine's not..?" He couldn't say the word'dead'.
His son didn't answer, and the horrible truth sunk in.
"Dad, follow me..."
"Damn it...first Anna...now you, Raine..." the auburn haired angel hissed.
At the door, Lloyd pressed his ear against the wood surface and listened. "It's quiet," he whispered. "Are you ready, Dad?"
Kratos only shuddered.
The door creaked open. 'Quiet' was an understatement, however- The gang was crowded around the bed, Regal leaning against the vanity, one hand over his head, shielding his eyes and rubbing his temples, as if he had a headache. Zelos was holding a sobbing Sheena, his head on top of hers. Traces of tears was visible on his cheeks, while Sheena's head was smothered in his pink attire. On the other side of the room, Presea was staring out the window, her reflection clearly showed that she was on the brink of tears. Colette, on the other hand, was crying into her hands, strands of her blonde hair over her face. But the others' grief was nothing compared to Genis'- he was crying uncontrollably into the bedsheets, one hand grasping the sheets hard enough to rip holes into them, the other pounding the mattress, his face buried in Raine's orange jacket.
They didn't seem to see Kratos or Lloyd- They were in their own little world of pain. However, that worked well for Kratos- He didn't want their sympathy. The Seraphim walked trance-like to the bed; Raine looked both beautiful and ghastly at the same time. Her silver hair framed her face, spreading out against the pillow. Her blue eyes were closed, never to open again to see the shining sun. Her skin was pale-too pale- Kratos thought.
"Raine..." he whispered, falling to his knees against the bed. "Oh Raine, I'm so sorry..." He bowed his head, one hand grasping her's. It was cold and stiff. Tears streamed down his face now. Memories flooded his mind...
"Raine!" Genis pouted, tugging on his sister's hand. "How come YOU had to cook today?"
"Because Lloyd-" the Professor jerked her hand over her shoulder at the unconscious boy, "-was...practicing...with his sword skills earlier today and threw his sword up into the air and the hilt hit his head. Now he's unconscious. And Colette was running around in circles after Lloyd hit himself in the head and tripped...now she's unconscious too..." She paused. "And Kratos cooked yesterday-"
Kratos' listened intently, feigning sleep. Her conversations with Genis were always amusing.
"What about me?" Genis complained. "I don't want to have to eat your cooking again! Remember last time, what happened? Lloyd was over at our house and you thought it'd be nice if you cooked, and then Lloyd was stupid enough to try some of your beef stew-"
"That was because you thought it would be funny to put some of Dirk's sweaty socks in it!"
"No, that was his Dwarven Potluck Surprise!"
SMACK.
The mercenary opened his eyes just a bit. Evidently, Raine had been tired of Genis' accusations and smacked him across the face. Now there were three unconscious party members. Raine sat alone, fuming, and stirring the substance in the pot.
"You know that now we'll have a harder time if a monster appears on our campsite," said Kratos, no longer trying to pretend sleep.
"Hmm, well I wouldn't count on it," Raine said, continuing to stir the pot, which now a grey smoke began to billow from. She peered curiously into the pot."Well, now, that's strange..."
Kratos joined her, and looked into the pot and his characteristic "..."
What had become of her cooking was a complete mystery. What was supposed to be spaghetti turned out to be a blackened, tangled mess at the base of the cast-iron pot.
"How about I cook instead...?" Kratos volunteered slowly.
"Well, alright," sighed Raine. "Considering my cooking is no good."
"It's...okay. It's got remarkable texture and flavor..."
The Seraphim was shook out of his memory when he heard Regal mutter that he could be found in the lobby. Following Regal's absence, the rest of the group began to leave later on; Zelos and Sheena, who said they would be in the park, where Sheena could get some fresh air; Lloyd and Colette very much later, to join Zelos and Sheena; and finally Presea, who thought Genis needed some alone time. So, all that was left in the end was Genis and Kratos.
It was totally quiet, except forthe young mage's occasional sniffles.
"Genis...I'm sorry," Kratos said gently,sitting up, but not letting go of his beloved's hand.
"No...It's not your fault," replied Genis softly, not looking up. "It's mine...I let her read the book...It's all my fault..."
"It is no one's fault," the 4000-year old angel admonished softly, "but the cursed book. If it is what caused her this suffering, then let us be rid of it. I am sure that Raine would want no one else to suffer the way she did."
"I will destroy it," Genis sniffed. "I'll destroy it...I'll make sure no one else will read it!"
"You will not be alone," said Kratos. "I will help you."
"Thank you..."
There was a silence, where they remembered Raine, and her passion, her courage.
"What I wonder," Genis finally said. "Is why I never thought to destroy it at first...until...now..."
"We cannot dwell on the past, Genis," said Kratos, lifting Raine into his arms. "For now, we will find a place where we can put Raine. Then we will find a way to destroy the book."
"Yes," the mage agreed.
When Raine was safely resting in Zelos' guest room (Zelos had volunteered it), the two headed back to Iselia, which was now nothing more than ashes and stumps. Genis lead the way back to his remnants of a home.
"The library should have been here," he said, standing in the middle of a dark rectangle, with downcast eyes. "It was Raine's favorite room."
"I would imagine so," said Kratos softly, his eyes watering. Determined not to let Genis see them, he concentrated on shifting aside the ashes to find the book. His eyes slid out of focus, as another memory came into mind...
It was yet another fight. This time, with several thieves and a witch. They had taken two of the thieves and the witch down, and now only one of the villains was left.Lloyd and Colette seemed pretty much unhurt, slashingaway, Raine in the back casting healing magic. Kratos had a gash across his forehead from one thief who had useda thick stick on the ground as a means to defend himself, and thrown it atthe mercenary's head.
"Are you ready?" Kratos shouted, ready to issue a unison attack upon a thief (before Raine could cast First Aid). "Super Lightning Blade!"
"Photon!" Raine cried, raising her staff.
"Whirlwind Rush!" said Colette, slicing the thief with her chakrams.
"Raining Tiger Blade!" Lloyd called, slashing the enemy.
Now for the combo attack, Kratos thought. Surely, Raine and I would be able to use Plasma Blade...
"Follow it off!" shouted the mercenary. His eyes met hers, they were ready...
"Photon Blast!"
Too late. Colette had thought she was going to finish off the thief, and had attacked the foe with a mighty swing of her chakram.When she noticed Kratos and Raine's surprised expression, she raised her eyebrows. Raine had already cast Photon, ready for Kratos to fuse his powers with it, before the blonde had used it for Photon Blast. "Whoops," she apologized. "I'm sorry, Kratos. I thought I was going to do the combo this time. I'm sorry."
"It's okay, Colette," Kratos shrugged, feeling annoyed.
Lloyd gave the thief a final slash and came to join them.
"Hey," he said in mock anger. "While you guys are over here having a nice little chat, you forgot that the thief hadn't died yet!"
"Sorry, Lloyd!" said Colette."Hey,Kratos, that gash on your forehead looks prettynasty."
"Oh...I'll fix it later," said Kratos hastily. "For now, it's best if we head for the House of Salvation- we're not far away. If we hurry, we can make it there right before sunset." He could feel Raine staring at the back of his head.
Later that day, when the group was safely resting inside the House of Salvation, Raine was polishing her staff, before Lloyd had decided to wander around the lower level, accompanied by Colette, Genis, and Sheena, the newest member of the party. After telling them not to leave the area as they descended down the stairs at break-neck speed, Raine turned to Kratos. He was sitting on one of the beds.
Kratos had spread out in front of him a roll of gauze, some medicinal herbs, and an apple gel. It was obvious he had run out of magic and was resorting to crude healing methods. Of course he didn't want to bother Raine and say "can you heal me", so he left her alone.
"Here, put that stuff away," Raine said, sitting on the edge of the bed, raising her hands. "I'll heal you."
She placed one hand on his forehead, on the gash, and the other by his cheek, to hold him still. He flinched as her hand met the wound.
"Sit still," she said softly. "This will only hurt for a little bit." She closed her eyes. "First Aid," she said, and removed her hands.
For one fleeting moment, before he chased the thoughts away, Kratos had wished she had left her hands there. His eyes darted from her serene face to her hands (now in her lap) and to the wall.
"Thank you," he murmurred.
"No problem," she said, before turning back to her staff. Now he was the one staring at the back of her head.
"Kratos! HEY KRATOS!" Genis was practically screaming inthe Seraphim'sear. Kratos jumped, and realized what was happening. He was also shifting ashes mindlessly- he could have already passed the book and not noticed! "Sorry to wake you from your La-La Land,"Genis said irritably, once he had gottenthe angel'sattention. "But I found something. It's stuck, and I need your help."
"Yes...of course," Kratos stood up, brushed himself off, and followed the mage. Indeed, there was a strange-looking object sticking out from it's ashy grave. "Is that it?"
Genis nodded. "Yup, that's it."
Kratos squatted down and tried to pull the strange object out. It was lodged in something, he thought. Setting his teeth, he gave one last, final pull, and the object came out.The Seraphim landed on his back, holding the once-stuck item in his hands.
"That's it! That's the book!" Genis screeched, pointing at Kratos' chest. "That's it!"
Kratos held it up.
Jackpot.
He now held in his hands Magic Mirror.
duDe- Thanks for the review! lol I updated...not as long as I wanted it, but still...the rest will come!
Great Beaver- It's longer, now, lol Thanks for the review!
Cherry Grove- Wow! Thanks for the review! I appreciate it!
Karina Gomez- Thanks for the review! lol Good to know you remembered my story, lol
Cathree- lol you and I are the same; we both hate opera, lol I heard too much bad opera from mediocre singers...
A Fading Shadow- thanks for the cookies! runs off with cookies
Raine's Tears- Erm...I hope this has enough pain and torture stuff, lol ignore me if I mis-interpreted your review, lol
Vocal-sama- Thanks for the review! You rock, too!
Miss Raine Sage- Thanks! lol You have fun at school; it's good for you! 'gets shot by anti-school people'
Hamano Ayumi- thanks for the review! And don't abandon your story! I'd like to see some more one-shots, too, now that you mention it...They're so cute! Oh, and see you on the forums! Hey, you're on right now, lol
SPECIAL THANKS:
Rice: You're an awesome president! KratosRaine forever!
To everyone back at the forums: You guys rock! Thank you all, you're like a big family to me, you've given me inspirations and encouraged me to continue this story! Ice Cream! Thanks for all the tips for TOS and all the help you've given me for anything else I forgot to mention...I love you all!
Amazon Bunny- That concludes Broken Valentine: Chapter 7! I hope this was angsty enough or flashback-ish enough for you all!
Zelos- Man, that was sad...
Sheena- 'bursts into tears'
Zelos- There, there, my voluptuous hunny...Don't cry...
Sheena- But...Raine...died! And who knows what that...that...MANIAC...will do to the rest of us!
Amazon Bunny- 'whistles' Hmm? What? I don't plan to do anything mean to anyone else except one or two of you...
Sheena- 'cries'
Zelos- HELL PYRE!
Amazon Bunny- 'runs in circles as flames errupt all around' REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!