Broken Valentine
Amazon Bunny- I lied. Not last chapter...I might have a lot more to come!
Zelos- Psh...You and your lies...
Sheena- She only says stuff like that because she can't think of anything to write.
Amazon Bunny- SHUT UP! It's 2:10 AM! Of course my brain should be shutting off by now!
Sheena- Whatever...You're just doing this because you got in trouble earlier...
Zelos- And you got kicked off the computer...
Sheena- And yelled at...
Amazon Bunny- SHUT UP! I don't own Tales of Symphonia! 'cries'
"We've gotten it, Genis," whispered Kratos. "We found it."
It was strange, since he had burned the book earlier, to find it in one piece, as if nothing had happened to it.
"Stand back, Kratos," the half-elf said, holding up his kendama. "I'll take care of this..." With that said, Kratos left the book on the ground and stepped aside. "Burn...Erruption!"
For a fleeting moment, it seemed his spell had worked- the 'Magic Mirror' crumpled and became a pile of ash. However, after a few moments, there was a blinding flash, and the book was back in one piece. Soon, Genis was summoning up every spell he knew.
"Drown! Tidal Wave!..Explosion! Raging Mist! Ground Dasher! Dammit! I call upon thee in the land of the dead, to unleash thy fury of judgement...Indignation!"
However, the little mage's spells had absolutely no effect.
"Damn..," Genis panted, sinking to his knees, panting."Not even a scratch..."
"Here,"Kratos said and tossed Genis a Pineapple Gel. "Perhaps the way to destroy the book is not by force. We need to consider our options."
"What other options do we have?"the silver haired boy flared. "It's not like we can just say 'O Great Magic Mirror, please go away and bring back my dear, departed sister'! Or pitch it off a cliff into the sea and hope no one finds it...or...or..!" Tears welled in his eyes. "We have to destroy it! For Raine's sake!"
"I know," the Seraph said bitterly. "Damn it, I know! If there's a way, we'll find it. But it's getting dark. For now, I'll keep this-" he scooped up the book and stuffed it in his pack. "-and I'll drop you back off at Dirk's. It's too late for you to be flying all the way out to Altamira," he said grudgingly, seeing the look on Genis' face. "You're going to Dirk's."
"Oh yeah? And who are you to be lecturing me on this?"
"Would you rather me leave you here?"
"...Grrrr..."
"It's settled then." Kratos grabbed Genis by the back of his shirt and flew (with his angel wings) to Dirk's.
"Genis!" The lights turned on inside the house. "How nice to see you! And Kratos! It's been a while. What are you doing out in the forest this late at night? The monsters may have disappeared, but nowadays, bandits plague the forest."
"Dirk," Kratos said slowly. "I need you to take care of Genis for tonight, if you will. It's late, and he's too young to fly out to Altamira at this time of night."
"That's fine, no problem," the dwarf said helpfully. "I'll watch this little tyke-"
"Hey!" Genis complained.
"-for tonight. Then I'll drop him off wherever he needs to go tomorrow."
"Thank you, Dirk."
The wind ruffled his already-messy auburn hair as he flew to the Great Tree of Yggdrassil. It was still a miniature tree, but he could tell it had grown quite a bit since it had sprouted. He stood, watching the tree, his eyes glazed with unshed tears.
"I suppose you know where Balacruf Masoleum is, Mister-I-Know-Everything?" Lloyd turned grumpily to Genis. Earlier,the little mage had laughed at the Eternal Swordsman's meager test scores at the Palmacosta Academy. Of course, when your score was 400, and another was 25, it was rather hard to control yourself.
The group had just finished deciphering the ancient tablet in Asgard, and were spending the night in the House of Salvation. Lloyd sat on the edge of one bed, the one with the dark blue plaid coverlet, and Colette sat on the edge. Genis sat, unwillingly, on the bright pink bed.Of course, it was not his choice, just his height, that would land him in such an unfortunate spot. Raine and Kratos each had their own side to a bed (A/N: they're not sleeping together, they're just sitting there!).
"And what if I told you I would if I had the map?" Genis brooded.
"So you don't know where it is!" Lloyd accused brutally.
"Shut up or I'll-" Genis threatened, only to find a hand flying at his face and then-
WHACK!
"Oww, sis!" Genis wailed. "That hurt!"
"It's going to hurt more if you don't get ready to go to sleep. You're twelve years old, Genis, you're supposed to sleep," Raine said curtly. "Or else if you don't and we run into some monsters tomorrow, you're on your own."
"Kratos can heal me!"
"DO YOU HEAR ME?" Raine bellowed at the bunch. Immediately, Lloyd and Genis hit the bunks like bullets against a shooting target. And almost immediately, false snoring filled the air."And you'd better stop the snoring!"
The fake snoring ceased, and Colette said good night.
"Finally," Kratos sighed, once thethree party membershad finally fallen asleep. "Do you know where Balacruf Masoleum is?" His eyes gave the slightest twinke.
"Of course I do," Raine said airily, tucking a pack of apple gels into her bag."What, you don't know the way either?" She teased.
"Yes, I was just wondering," he said quickly. A little too quickly, he thought to himself.
There was a brief moment of silence and-
"Aren't you going to go to sleep yet?" Raine asked timidly. "You are the most important fighter." Of course, neither knew Lloyd would one day overcome his father...yet.
"No, I don't sleep much." Kratosresumed cleaning his sword.
"Oh..." Raine looked around the room. "Aren't there any spare blankets?"
"Colette went to themanagement earlier. They're all out. Apparently, they've lent themall out to the House of Salvation by Iselia."
"But...but...," Raine blushed.
The seraphim looked around and saw the source of her embarrassment.The drawers had been searched, all the blankets distributed (each party member had one, except Genis, so Raine let her little brother have her's).
"This is unexpected," the angel flushed for a moment. "Perhaps I'll stay up tonight."
"..."
"What?" asked Kratos, seeing the slightly disappointed expression the healer wore. "You're not thinking..."
"Huh? Oh! No! No, no no no no!" Raine blushed a brighter red. "I wasn't thinking we were going to share a bed! Surely you need your sleep; I'll stay up tonight."
Kratos eyed her slyly. He knew that wasn't all that was going through her head. Her expression, for a moment, had been almost fox-like, entranced in a vision he dare not want to see...
Or did he?
He was so desperately confused. Of course, being the two "parents" of the group, they had an unspoken bond between them, never mentioned, never shown. But they had felt it; the way they could trust their life on the other, with their desicions. He had felt the connection he had not felt for fourteen years, and yet, part of him denied it. He felt compelled to be with Anna. While his heart said Raine was the one, his mind told him she was not.
"Kratos?" A silver-haired healer came back into focus of his brown eyes.
"Huh...wha?" the magic swordsman said sleepily. "Oh...it's just you..."Raine decided not to tell him about the funny expressions he had. When he moved his lips soundlessly, did a double-take of Raine, and then shrugged and smile slightly, all in a matter of moments.After a few minutes of silence, Kratos turned around and noticed that the half-elf had fallen asleep.
It was then that he realized how sleepy he had gotten, too.
And soon enough, both were lying on opposite sides of the bed, sound asleep.
Kratos blinked back tears. That memory was particularly hurtful, since it bore such a bonding between them. That night, he realized their unspoken love for each other. Of course, he had never told her that, to her face. He had practiced it once in front of the mirror. Twice. Or three times. But in the back of his head, there was always the guilt for Anna. Lately, the guilt ebbed away, so there was little consciousness to the matter. All he cared about right now was Raine. He would sort out his feelings later.
The Seraphim recounted the ways to destroy the "Magic Mirror".
First, he tried burning the book in an ordinary fire. The result was failure.
Then, Genis tried to destroy the book with magic. Failure.
Then he tried to slash the book up. Failure.
Brute strength was not the answer, he told himself. Is there an answer?
He looked up to find himself on the outskirts of Ozette. Thinking quickly, he thought that he had probably flew absentmindedly to the little woodlands, lost in his thoughts. The angel shrugged and entered the city.
To my wonderful reviewers...
Hamano Ayumi- lol I hope you will like the alternate conclusion...It will come soon, and I'll put it up very very soon. It will be a very sad ending...but the alternate will be a happy ending. heheheheh...nuff said.
Scarlet Kratos: eheheh, thanks. You're Raine's tears? Are you also Raine's Tears? SWEET! Heh, you updated Roadtrip Rampage (sort of). Now get the third chapter up!
RavenGhost- Thanks! I'm glad you liked it; I was almost sure everyone was gonna be mad I killed off Raine. Like really mad and hate my story. But I thought it would be a bittersweet ending, and I like sad endings and happy endings...so I have 2 happy endings, and I will have a sad ending for this one. I'm not sure about Forbidden or What is This Thing Called Love, yet.
ManaMage- Thanks! Hope you liked this chapter! And sorry it took so long to update!
Final Prayer- Yeah, I guess you're right. But I wanted it to be that way, because he didn't think it was fatal...And because he knew Raine was strong, I guess he thought she would recover? I mean, if the guy can beat up his son to please his boss, than I guess anything's possible, lol
MidnightEclipse713- I'm sorry...Uh...I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Cathree- Maybe, stay tuned, lol and thanks for the review!
Karina Gomez- Thanks! You're one of the few who think that, I'm afraid, though, lol I meant to put in the flashbacks to kind of help with the sadness of the story.
A Fading Shadow- Sorry I made you think that was the last chapter. I lied, lol
Fire Dragons- Thanks! I love it when they're meant for each other! SQUEE! They are, lol Kraine forever!
Can't-Think-Of-A-Good-Name-So-This-Will-Do: Wow! What a long (and cool!) name! lol Puts mine to shame! I mean, Can't-Think-Of-A-Good-Name-So-This-Will-Do compared to Amazon Bunny? I mean, come on! Your's totally kicks mine's toosh. lol thanks for the review!
Elvyn-Light- heh well thank you! I'm still unsure of how the book will be destroyed, and deciding on whether ornot it will be destroyed. Depends on my mood. When the book is not destroyed,im in a bad mood, and viceversa. lol well hope you enjoyed it!
HealingWind- Thanks!I hope you liked this chapter! Andglad you could review for all my stories, lol Or was it you? (confused)
Amazon Bunny: Oi! Finished with this chapter! WHOO!
Zelos: Whew, for a moment, I thought you were gonna kill us all.You're worse thanViolent DemonicBanshee!
Sheena: ZELOS! THIS IS NOT THE TIME!
Zelos: Alright, alright, my voluptuous hunny bunny-kins...
Amazon Bunny: ...Bunny...kins...(eyes flare) NO ONE DEFILES MY NAME!
Sheena: HUNNY BUNNY-KINS!
Zelos: Eep!
Amazon Bunny: Stay tuned, and review!