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.
Another day, another chapter. Ish. I've taken to writing in the dark with my smelly pen again, and I've also given Zelos a little nickname in the margins: Z-Lo! Except it's pronounced "Zay-loh". Of course. Thought up in the depths of algebra class as I doodled up my homework. Mm. It's always nice to look at a bishie in class when one needs entertainment. That aside, I hope you'll find the Sheelos in this chapter more fulfilling. Really.
starr: You are exceedingly fantabulous, miraculous, amazing. Thank you SO MUCH for finding that site for me! Not only does it show Zelos's background more than I got to see the first time 'round, but it provides a look into all of the other characters' thoughts. I've read almost all of them and they're going to help a whole lot. And don't you worry. Zelos will be loved. Eventually.
OCD: Thank you! Zelos was intended to act like an asshole, hehe. Watch and find out what happens neeeeext...
jellybeanz225: Ah, thank you again, as always! I'll try to update more. I swear!!
Rin: Heh, want to join my coalition against public schools? I'm glad you're excited! (It keeps you coming back, heh heh...) I've done my job, then. However, I think the only chapter that'll be of a redeemable length could be 2nd time around Heimdall and thereafter... Sorry!
potter29vo: Hehe, yep, next chapter! Man, I hate it when the computer crashes in the middle of writing! I usually have a written version of what I've typed, but lately I haven't been doing it as much... Whenever the programs stall it scares me... Have fun checkin' out all the other fics! They're getting better, the good ones; and as for newcomers... well... We're starting to have Mary Sues already. Something must be done!! Oh, and add me to the Sheelos list (I'm a gigantic fan, it's just not in the fic yet)!
Again, I'm sorry if nearly all of the dialogue is incorrect, though I doubt you guys'll care. I have no time to go back and play the game until that point and I like it better my way anyway. Continue... 58 chance of reading entire chapter... 36 chance of review... ::pouts in Presea mode::
--Trickssi
Chapter Six: Miscalculations and Trials
"Vharley..." Genis held out an arm to stop Presea. It was indeed the Exsphere dealer, standing unaware of the rather large formation of people in the shadows. Seemingly a figure from the church was receiving something from him, a vial of sorts.
"What the—? Oh god, why is the Pope involved in everything?" Zelos thought aloud.
"I trust the King will be dead within a week, then?" Vharley continued in his conversation with the Pope's servant. "No more of this waiting."
"Of course, of course. I'll get to that right away." The papal servant turned to hurry off. Sheena noticed Lloyd was tense, wide-eyed. He was about to do something stupid. Valiant, but stupid, as always. She wouldn't stop him this time; she didn't exactly love the King, but she respected him enough that she wanted him to live. Go ahead, Lloyd.
"Stop!" Right on cue, except it was Presea who broke the discussion with the head of her axe falling upon the cold stones. The broker and the servant watched as she appeared out of seemingly nowhere; that didn't stop the poison from escaping, leaving Vharley to the mercy of the group.
"Yo, what do you think you're doing?" Zelos asked threateningly. Sheena knew he had his own vendetta with the Pope, but she hadn't expected him to act out about it. He had always let everyone else do the work. "I knew something was wrong when the King got sick. He's never sick. How's it happening, through his food?"
Vharley's face warped wickedly. "Precisely. Never thought a hopeless Chosen like you would figure it out," he replied. Zelos's brow furrowed.
"You're not going to live to find out what happens next," Presea said, gripping her axe.
"O ho ho! What now, is my little experiment going to challenge me?"
The young girl snarled (which Sheena was unaware she was able of). "You stole my years, Vharley. I will never get them back. You deserve to die!"
"It is beyond wrong to use people like that," Regal said. "I was forced to kill the one I loved because of you."
"Fight me, if you will. You will perish."
Suddenly, Presea ran at him, weapon raised again. This was war. A battle ensued, but Sheena decided to stay out of it. Presea and Regal had to settle this themselves, with help from Lloyd who was just a kind person. Kind, yes; hers, no. Lloyd was property of Colette now but that didn't mean Sheena couldn't admire him still. After all, he was better than that perverted rascal, Zelos. Zelos, who fought alongside the three with a vengeance. She guessed he didn't like being called 'hopeless.' It was actually kind of amusing to watch him fight.
'He calls that an attack?' she thought. 'I hope his healing skills are better than that. Look, Zelos, he's open right there! Oh, Lloyd got him first. Too slow. What's the matter, can't take the heat of a stubby little brute? Jeez, I can't wait to see what happens when your kids grow up. You'll only be able to take care of 'em until they're what, three? Then even they'll have better attacks than you!' Then again, he was rather attractive when he fought. He wasn't ripped like Regal, sure, but he was muscular enough; and something about long hair turned her on. Not mullet-y hair like Regal's. Zelos's hair. If Vharley destroyed even a strand of that hair, it would certainly be his last day.
'Oh. Oh well, I guess it's his last day anyway...' Presea had finished him off with a slicing blow to the chest.
"I'll never get my years back," she said softly. Then passed a moment of silence; perhaps for lost time, or for the completion of revenge, or for all the pain that Vharley had caused her and Regal. Finally, the scraping of metal being sheathed was heard, and Sheena felt she could breathe again. It had been rather awkward being in a situation where she did not belong.
"So, are we going to head off that servant of the Pope or what?" asked the Summoner.
"That's a good idea," Lloyd replied. "We'll be able to save the King from further illness!"
Zelos shifted uneasily. "But it sounds like he's been poisoning the King for some time. We'll need the antidote, and I think only one person has that... the Pope."
"We can't just go out on a limb to reveal the Pope while time is being wasted on Colette's recovery," Raine said, nearly stealing the words from Sheena's mouth. Although it would have sounded like arrogant banter if she had said it, it was true.
"I think it's the only way. We need permission from the King to access the documents we need, and he'd think better of me if I showed him the Pope was misjudging me."
"Well then, let's head to the Martel Cathedral!" Lloyd shouted excitedly. Always ready for a new adventure, and then getting jaded five minutes in.
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"What a wuss," Zelos sneered through his teeth. They had just skewered a couple of Papal Knights who had attempted to cover for the Pope's escape.
"Got any plans, genius?" Sheena asked cynically. Seriously. It was time to get permission for those documents, and now. Even this precious hour of running around could have affected Colette.
Colette...!
She had fallen backwards again, right onto her bottom. Her wings came forth in a burst of light. "Colette! Are you all right?" shouted the voice of the Professor.
"Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry about me," Colette replied, brushing herself off and standing up.
"S-S-Spiritua!" one of the Knights shrieked. "It's the second coming of Spiritua!"
"The rumors must be true! We have condemned the Chosen too profusely!" the other agreed.
Zelos suddenly had an idea. Nobody else knew the difference between the Angel of Death and Colette, the evolved Chosen of Sylvarant. Hell, nobody here knew about Sylvarant at all. Perhaps it would gain them permission to the documents. "O... Of course they are! Here she is, Spiritua herself! And it's all because you're shunning me."
"Zelos!" Sheena hissed. "What do you think you're doing?"
"I'm not—" Colette began. She rose to a level higher than everyone else, trying to get a better view of the situation.
"O Great Spiritua! We will do whatever you desire!" the Knights pleaded. Zelos turned to Colette.
"Just do as I say, okay? Play along," he whispered. "Tell them that you want me to be accepted into the church."
"Um, let Ze—the Chosen into the Church of Martel," she repeated warily. The Papal servants groveled.
"Yes, O Great Spiritua! We shall eradicate any prior marks on the Chosen's record."
"Good! Now," Zelos continued in place of the angel, "your beloved Pope has been giving the King poison. And that's not very nice. As the Chosen, with all my god-given good looks and irrepressible powers, I demand that you arrest the Pope for attempted assassination."
"As you say, Chosen!" one of the Knights assented. He and the other high-tailed it in the direction the church's headmaster had fled, and Zelos turned to the group smugly.
"Well, that oughta do it for them. Thank Martel."
"Wow, Zelos! That was amazing! How did you do that?" Colette asked in slight wonderment. She retracted her wings as they were now unneeded.
Zelos ran a hand through his immaculate hair characteristically. "Oh, you know. It's a little myth going around in Meltokio about the second coming of Spiritua, the Angel of Death. It happened once (long time ago of course) and especially the church is freaked out about it. I just used the situation to my advantage." Sheena noticed that she had been rather impressed with the redhead's manipulation of the system. She also noticed she was blushing, something she tried to cover up by pretending she needed to fix her hair. Her face was downcast as her hands retied the ribbon.
'What's wrong with you, Sheena? Honestly, first Lloyd and now... him of all people. He just lied to the church! You don't find something wrong with that? Lord, you must be PMS.'
Sheena's thoughts were broken by Lloyd's nearly pre-pubescent voice. "Come on! We have to get the antidote to the King right away!" The others nodded and they began to walk about the palace; Sheena stayed near the back to let her thoughts wander.
'So maybe that's why Zelos is such a bastard... Shunned by the church because of the fact he was born. I can't imagine being his family. How could you let such a cute kid lose self-esteem from the church? ... Not like I've ever seen him as a kid. I don't thi—'
"na... Sheena... Hey, sexy!" Zelos shouted to get her attention. Luckily she didn't really pay attention to that last comment.
"Um, yeah... What is it this time?" she said, trying to gain her verbal footing. He had dropped to the end of the cluster to talk to her and she might as well attempt conversation.
"Eh, you just looked like you were thinking. I like a hunny with brains." She glared. "No, really, what's on your mind? You got a problem with the Pope, too?"
"No, it's just that... I was... impressed by your display of application back there," she replied bashfully.
"Really?" Zelos asked. It surprised even him that he wasn't wholly sure of this admiration. He didn't quite know what to say next. Was Sheena serious? "Uh, it was nothing. Just using people to my advantage like always, heh heh..."
"No, it was very clever. I mean... for a philanderer like you who only knows how to use a woman," Sheena retorted curtly. This was indeed awkward; she was being coerced into revealing a little more than she wanted to. Not that there was anything to reveal. Was there?
"Sticks and stones, my lovely," he replied. "Suit yourself." He pushed his way to the front again, a mite discouraged.
There was something different about him then, something... Sheena shrugged. It beat her why he didn't try to keep bothering her after she insulted him. Maybe it was because she wasn't really insulting him. But did he know? Everything was so... confusing. He seemed distant, but he never was really that close. She had to investigate. Worries about Colette on hold, she would have to find out if this little jump in her heart was trying to tell her something...
Maybe she had underestimated Zelos.
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Sorry, another shortie. Couldn't help it. I know, it's boring for me, too.
Hm. It's like... I get a sudden rush of inspiration and I could write for days, and then when I'm called to do so, I can't. Maybe I should stop writing the end of the story first, 'cause now I have to go back and do all the boring bits. I think you'll like the coming chapter 8 or 9, that's Flanoir. And then of course what comes after that will be interesting, you know. Somebody make me SWEAR that I'm going to finish this. I can't disappoint you guys... It's fluffy at the end!
--Trickssi
PS—Please R&R! I looooove yooooou...
PPS—In writing a chapter that follows, my smelly pen... ::sniffle:: has died.