Disclaimer: I (still) do not own the characters of Tales of Symphonia, however much I wish to do so.
Warning: Yes, this fic will contain some more questionable stuff. That's why it's rated 'R'. So if you don't like mentions of sex or slightly offensive language, you're not old enough, or your parents would get you in trouble and kick you off of fanfiction forever if they found this, DO NOT CONTINUE. Thanks... Heh... I'm such a hypocrite.
Pairings: Sheelos, the regulars.
Yaaaay! More reviews! God, I hope this chapter keeps 'em coming.
Asuka Efreet: Ah... you're welcome... And thank you for reading it! Heh, is it bad that I know what Yutos is... and probably will like it? Hehehe!
potter29vo: Notice the new summary? All thanks to you, verily! Glad you're a fan of descriptions, 'cause otherwise that chapter would've been hell for you. And don't worry, the Sheelos action will come about, o Creator. But... it's a little fickle until the end... heh...
Rin: Yooooou'll get your Sheelos, don't worry!
Michelle of the Night: Thanks for reviewing! Heh, actually, I kind of modified the idea from something out of a manga I read once, but the light/dark transfer thing is all I took.
nickkang: I feel slightly insulted that you went through all the trouble of reading the summary and clicking on the little button just to—you know what? It's beyond words. I've written something already and your request is impracticable; if you want a Lloyd/Sheena fic, write it yourself, and get a spell-check beforehand.
jellybeanz225: Hehe, you know, before I got to that point in the game, I thought to myself that I'd make a story where Kratos turned out to be Lloyd's father (I saw the resemblance), but then I found out and it saved me the trouble! Damn, they think of everything...
countkata: Thank you! I take great pride in character work, so your comment hits close to my heart. Keep reading, it gets better!
Read on, people of the world. I hope nobody minds that I manipulated the timing for this chapter to occur.
--Trickssi
Chapter Four: Either Way
Sheena had received the notice to return to Iselia and made sure she traveled at top speed. She wanted to know exactly what had gone on without her. With her luck, she would have missed them already. But, she thought, why on earth would they get there faster if they were only a bit apart on the map and had the same vehicle? One which she drove faster, she added.
Ah, there it was now: the quaint little roofs under her feet. She veered down with the Rheiard; she loved that falling feeling. Landing outside the town, she left the vehicle and ran through the entrance, hoping she wasn't too late.
"Back so soon?" came a familiar voice.
"Raine!" Sheena shouted. It was she, standing by the schoolhouse on the right. "Is everyone still here?"
"Yes," the Professor replied. There was something melancholy about her voice that Sheena could not rightly place.
"Is everyone still... okay?" she further questioned. Raine nodded.
"They'll be all right."
"May I ask why you're here alone, and where the others are?"
"They're at Phaidra's dwelling," Raine directed with a gesture. "And I'm out here for Genis's sake."
"Genis? Is there something wrong with him?" Sheena asked. She was truly concerned that Raine wasn't giving her the full story; something in her countenance seemed less confident than usual.
"No," she said. Then looking at the ground, she changed her mind: "Well, there is something that has been bothering me since I came back here..."
Sheena planted her weight on her hip and stood firmly. "May I ask what?" Raine looked back up at her and it was clear by the redness of her eyes that tears had been there and tears were to soon return.
"I suppose you wouldn't know, but there's a horrible prejudice in this place since the Desians' first attack," the Professor began, voice lilting with dismay. "It's nothing yet, but the people of Iselia have just learned that Genis and I are half-elves. I've been getting stared at, and I can hear some of the whispers around me. They—they think I'm going to bring dishonor and malevolence here, and... Well, I can't imagine what would happen if the Mayor found out." Sheena was overcome with sympathy for the half-elf, watching and praying silently that the liquid on the rim of her eye wouldn't fall. It couldn't fall because these stupid humans harassed her so. It couldn't fall, because she wasn't a false traitor. Sheena saw herself reflected in the Professor so perfectly well.
"Don't, Raine, don't," she chanted encouragingly. "You can't think about things like that right now. It doesn't matter what these people think." She regretted these words as they left her tongue. It did matter what they thought, the people; at least, it had when the Volt disaster had occurred for her. Every glance was vicious. Every gesture was icy. She couldn't erase it now, but perhaps distracting Raine would benefit the both of them. "Hey, why don't we go inside for awhile? I can fix you a cup of tea..."
Raine shook her head, the silvery hair battering her face. The tears had fallen in streams. Damn. "No, no. I have to stay out here for Genis... If they find him instead, he's likely to be..." Her words dropped off for a moment; Sheena watched helplessly until the teacher resumed her speech, unwavering and strong. "I must stay, but you can go and check on Colette. You'll see what's happened to her."
"Happened?" Sheena asked. She immediately panicked. What had gone wrong with the angelic transformation, or had something not happened? Although fear subsided with the reasoning that Raine probably hyped up the comment to rid herself of company. "Oh, I'll go, then. If anyone tries to hurt you, though..."
"I'll be fine," Raine dismissed. As Sheena turned to go, she whispered, "Thanks."
Sheena uneasily strode to Phaidra's dwelling, whoever she was. She would have guessed a relative of Lloyd but soon recalled that Lloyd had no relatives. The Sages were out... Phaidra must be related to Colette in some way. She crossed the porch and went inside. No familiar faces sat at the table directly in front of her, save for the characteristic blonde hair that accompanied them. A man much older than she and an old woman instead replaced where she thought her friends ought to have been.
"Excuse me, are you Phaidra?" she asked the old woman politely.
"Indeed I am," Phaidra replied. Sheena was surprised that her vocal chords didn't strain as much as those of other aging people. "Are you one of Lloyd's friends?"
"Yes, and I've been told that Colette has been... well, that something happened to her while I was gone," the ninja replied. Phaidra nodded knowingly.
"I think it best that you discuss it with her," she advised. "I have heard what the entanglement of Cruxis and the Desians is, but I cannot seem to discern it myself. She's upstairs in her room."
"Thank you very much," Sheena said, and bowed her head in respect. She hurried up the stairs to her left, ribbons flying out behind her.
"That must be... who was it? The assassin girl," Phaidra acknowledged after Sheena left.
"She seems pretty polite for a former assassin."
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"Colette!"
As she reached the top of the stairs, Sheena noticed the figure of the girl propped up on the bed and rushed to her side. Colette opened her eyes toward her visitor and sat herself up completely.
"Sheena! You made it!" she said happily. "I was worried I wouldn't get to see you before we left Iselia."
"You were worried about me?" Sheena scoffed. "Look at yourself! What's happened to you?"
Colette glanced down at her clothing to make sure it was covering her telltale sign. "Nothing, it's nothing. I'm sorry I made you worry about me again. But I guess it made you come back faster, huh?"
They both laughed uneasily. "Yeah, it did. Where are the others?" Sheena asked.
"The Professor went out to see how bad the damage to her house was a little while ago."
"Yes, I... ran into her," she said, calculating. Raine had lied so Colette wouldn't get worked up about that as well as whatever ailment she had attained.
"Oh! How bad is it?" chirped the Chosen.
"It's—unlivable," Sheena lied. She had seen the condition of some of the other houses and figured that this would be an appropriate answer. "At least, that's what Raine said..."
"That's terrible," Colette said. "Well, we have a ways to go yet before she needs a home... Oh, the others, that's right. Let me think..." She paused, eyes wandering to the upper left corner of their lids. "Genis took Presea to the cute little pond by his old house (I think he really likes her!), and Regal went to get cooking ingredients for dinner. Lloyd said he needed to take a walk."
"Oh," Sheena responded. She was a bit disappointed that the person she had been waiting to talk to wasn't mentioned.
Colette giggled. "You're looking for Zelos, aren't you?"
"No! What on earth would give you that idea? I came here to check up on you, ya little ill-ness prone angel."
"Well he's out on the back porch if you want him," Colette sang with the tone of a teasing child.
Sheena sighed with a small smile. "That's fine. I can deal with him later. I would really like to know what you're hiding, though," she said.
"Okay, but he said he was going to wait for you..." Sheena snarled. "Ah! Okay! I don't really know what it is, but it's been spreading for awhile now." Colette pushed up her sleeve and showed Sheena the green crystallized pattern. Sheena recoiled. "It's ugly, I know."
"No, Colette! It's just that I think you're... crystallizing," she replied, alarmed.
Colette flashed a grim grin. "I know. We're going to see Altessa as soon as I feel up to it. He has to make me a Rune Crest for it to go away."
"But you'll be okay, right?" Sheena asked. Colette pulled the sleeve down.
"Yeah, as soon as it's on," she answered. "You know, Sheena, I really look up to you." Despite the fact that Colette's raised bed was higher than Sheena's knees allowed, she took those words to heart.
"Y-you mean that?" she asked, blood rushing to her cheeks. "I'm really no role model."
"Of course you are! You're strong and brave, and a better fighter," Colette pointed out. "I could never be as great a person as you are... You want to keep on living and doing good." A slight pout formed on her lips.
"Well, yes, for Corrine's—Are you saying you don't want to keep living?" Sheena asked, panicking again. She stood up though her legs had fallen asleep. She didn't really care about that.
"No, I do," the Chosen quickly said. "It's just that... after my soul came back, after all the seals, I really liked being me. I didn't want to die for anyone anymore; but because of that, no good can come out of me anymore." Colette grabbed her arm in the place it was hard as rock. "Karma..."
"Don't say things like that!" Sheena yelled. "Good can come out of you! You've given hope to people all over the world."
"Not anymore. They blame everything on me. They want me dead, Cruxis wants me dead, this crystal wants me dead... I wish I could go on fighting, like you. You've come up against so much, but you haven't backed down. You never falter. I wish I were like you," Colette cried. Sheena felt a wave of guilt. She wasn't who the Chosen idolized; she was a lying, cowardly killer who couldn't even make it all the way through a journey without having to replenish her light mana. And even so, she never thanked or apologized to the person who had helped her. She was weak.
"Whoa, no! Colette, you've got it all wrong. I'm not as good as you think I am," she warned. "I've used so many people to get to where I am. You don't want to be like me." She took the corner of the blanket and offered it to her; Colette accepted and wiped her tears upon it. "Besides, you've done greater things than I. You were willing to sacrifice yourself for the whole world. You contain more love for life in your little finger than I do in my entire body!"
"I—I do want to help the world. I do want things to be good," Colette said.
Before she could say anything else, Sheena continued: "Then you can't let this disease take you over. It's the crystal that's making you think this way. If you let it crystallize completely, we won't have our bright little angel to keep us happy."
Colette nodded. "I guess you're right," she admitted.
"Good. You ought to get some rest, then," Sheena advised. Colette smiled.
"I'll do my best," she said. "Thank you for visiting me." Sheena returned the smile and patted her on the head before returning to the stairwell.
"Get better!" she called, looking over her shoulder still. Once she returned her eyes to the stairs, though, an unexpected sight caught her off guard. "Zelos..." She rushed down the steps to meet him.
"There you are, my little vixen," he addressed her. "I've been waiting for you."
"Enough with the psycho pet names, Chosen. I didn't come back for you," Sheena spat as he tried to take her in his arms. "I have to talk to you."
"You sound stressed," he said with a raise of his eyebrows. She knew what he was indicating and would not go for it, especially with... Where was Phaidra? She glanced around the room, but no glimpse of the old woman was to be found.
"Where did Colette's family go?" she asked with demanding authority.
"There seems to be something going on with Raine outside. I didn't want to deal with it, so I came in." She grabbed his hand and led him to a chair.
"Sit," she ordered. He did so, and she sat opposite him, hands folded beneath a stern chin. "No nonsense, honestly. I first want to say that I was not amused with your little joke yesterday morning. You knew it would upset me; we agreed silence on the matter."
Zelos sat back. "Yeah? Sorry. I wasn't going to say anything anyway," he apologized half-heartedly. Sheena was thoroughly not amused.
"It wasn't funny."
"Geez, sorry already! You're starting to live up to your real name," Zelos remarked with the frustration of a child. 'My real name, hah,' thought Sheena. She knew he was referring to her title of Violent Demonic Banshee, but he had no idea that it worked doubly for her true Mizuho-given name.
"I guess you don't understand, though," she continued to lecture him. "I didn't tell you the reason why it's so important for you to shut up, or why I had to use you in the first place."
"Why you had to use me! Hunny, seriously; I know I'm the best screw you can get." He arrogantly ran his hand through his hair, characteristically. Sheena rolled her eyes.
"Yes, that's true, but it's not like that," she said. "Remember I told you I had to do this for business."
"Yeah, call it what you like. Fucking is fucking," he said bluntly. Never missed an opportunity to worship himself.
Sheena slammed her palms down on the table. "Dammit, Zelos! There's this thing in Mizuho; warriors and scouts and leaders have this thing where they contain two types of mana at once, light and dark, and I'm the same way!" she shouted, vying for his attention. His eyes finally concentrated on hers. "You see, I get stressed out because my light mana was being overcome by dark from making pacts. And I had to use you because it's the only way to erase the dark mana."
"Hey, were you stealing from my mana?" he questioned.
"I said, 'erase'. You're like the pink part of the pencil," she mocked.
"Sheena," he sighed, annoyed. "I think I understand what you're saying... I think I've heard of this somewhere before. I also think that you're treating me a bit caustically, so could you please..."
"You're just saying that because you want me to like you again!" Sheena was furious. She'd seen his plots before, and heard what he'd said to girls in Meltokio, and felt his hands in places they shouldn't be.
Zelos was intrigued. "You liked me before?"
The ninja turned beet red. He found a way through her anger to calm her down, like he always did; except this time it just threw her mind off of the subject of his immaturity. "I—I never said that!" she denied. "And I never liked you anyway. I just didn't hate you before is all."
"You can't hate me, Sheena," he said. "I can make or break your reputation as a lady. I'm the only one."
She glared at him. "Why you conniving bastard!" she muttered, raising her fist. He caught it and suppressed her strength. She saw his power play, but didn't really believe he could do it; besides, she also had Raine in the know of her act. Raine would deny it. "I—I guess either way I choose I can't win, huh? I have to choose between my reputation and fronting loathing," she said in thought.
Zelos let go of her hand. He really wanted to win her over in some way, and not wickedly. He could see his method wasn't working. Sheena wasn't the easiest target, either; but he had to have her, and more securely than any of the other tramps he imagined he fancied. This was something different, he thought. "Hey... I wanted to ask: was Colette all right when you saw her? It kind of sounded like she was upset," he pitched. She bought into it.
"Well, she was worried that—" Sheena began. She lowered her voice so he could barely hear her. "She was worried that everyone wanted to kill her outside of us."
He nodded. "That's what she was worried about when I came in a few hours ago. But she wouldn't talk to me about it. Did she talk to you?"
"Yeah, I straightened things out," she said calmly. "Colette... she said I was her role model." Sheena blushed again. "I mean, I guess it's not really a good thing, but it feels weird to be admired."
"I think you make a great role model," Zelos said. Ah, yes, just where he wanted to go. "You're beautiful and steadfast; and I guess the screaming banshee in you might scare the enemies."
Then came a sound he was unfamiliar to: laughter. It was Sheena's. High, ringing laughter; he decided he rather liked this. "You are incorrigible," she said.
"So, will you accede to be on my side, or shall I begin to spread rumors?" he asked anxiously.
She smiled. "What choice have I otherwise? And I think... I think if you're sincere about compliments, I might be able to stand you."
"Great. I'm going to go check up on the half-elves!" he shouted enthusiastically, jumping out of his chair and the door before she could say otherwise.
As he left, Sheena rose as well. She hoped he would stay true to the deal; and then she realized that she hadn't gotten to explain everything she wanted. She'd have to hunt him down again... and some luck doing it. She began to march out of the house.
'Bastard changed the subject...'
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Um, I think that's the longest chapter, but also the worst-written. But I made sure to include some Sheelos in this chapter. I'm trying to keep the characters "in character" without too much fluff, because I'm sure after all their verbal slap-fights they wouldn't get all cuddly. Actually, sometimes it's all I can do to keep them from killing each other during this story... heh... But things will come together, I swear it.
Expect an update within the next week or so; school starts tomorrow
--Trickssi
PS—Please R&R! A habit for some of you, but I would like to hear of the others out there! I want to know who you are and what you think of my story!