Eliannora: Okey dokey.
HealingWind: The excellent pairing will live on!
Bballstar42: In order for the pairing to work…poor Sheena must be with Zelos :D
Arianna: Yes ma'am:P
mercy-angel-09: Of course, I'll watch with both eyes! Not that it's usually just one eye…
Rose-Wisteria: How can anyone not know the person who started a C2 community for the worlds greatest pairing of Sheelos? In any case, I'm glad you took the time to read this…thing I call a story. I get what you mean about the description, I'll try and add more during the "heartfelt" moments but I'm still working on a way to add it into the regular scenes. I can give you this much about the plot; I don't want to go into too much detail about anything other than the things that revolve around Zelos' past. Though I really get what you mean, like in all those shows on T.V where every little thing adds up to the grand finale. And on a final note to this long reply, I would love to join the Sheelos community; I'll wait for the note. Anything to keep this pairing going :D
silverfox09: I agree! It may not be an in-your-face obvious in the game, but they give enough hints for it to be possible. More people should think like this…
bluenight: Thanks for the tip.
jiri-chan: I dunno, but I've got to find one.
StrawberryEggs: Ninetales? You know what? That's quite possible. Feisty yet pretty, could work.
Jinxie: Sheena's one tough cookie, she won't give in so easily…at least I won't let her…yet.
Sami: Yup! I can't imagine her wanting to kill wittle penguins.
lugiamania: Don't worry, the penguins are safe…for now.
The healing art of compassion
Sheena prepared her spell cards as the circle of angry Penguinists drew closer, "Zelos! We don't stand a chance, they completely out number us. Even a blind man could see that!"
Zelos simply twirled around his sword deciding just where to attack, "Heh. I know, but I'd rather die trying."
She began to panic, "You're always saying, 'I'd rather not die.' Why the change of heart now?"
"Well, I say that kind of stuff before we're faced with real danger. Now that it's glaring back at me I'd prefer to die with dignity…wouldn't you?"
"I'd prefer not to die at all. Funny, I always thought I'd perish at the hands of something a little more...frightening. So…how're we going to go about this?"
Zelos grinned, "Strike from above."
Sheena dropped her attack position in surprise, "…that's…all?"
"Those hoodies of theirs prevent them from seeing straight up so if you attack from there they won't have a chance to retaliate. Plus they have a pretty weak attack."
She smirked and brought her cards back up again, "I can't imagine how much of a thinker you are."
"Learn something new everyday hun." He crouched down ready to attack, "Remember, from above."
"Wait! We don't have time to get them all; we'll be caught in the storm if we don't get back to the inn fast enough!" Sheena grew worried watching the flurry of snow floating about her, "If the monsters don't kill us this weather will."
"Ah, don't you worry. We just have to stall them so we can get out of here. After we're done with them, they won't think twice about following us."
She still hesitated, but since it wasted time she clutched her cards tightly and wordlessly jumped up and pounced on the nearest Penguinist.
"That's my girl! Go get 'em!" Zelos aimed his sword and dug it into the snow in time for one of the penguins to come smashing straight into it, "Pheh! Stupid as ever…"
"Iiiieeeeeeee!"
"Zelos watch out!" despite her warning she lunged at the bird about to sneak up on him, "Don't even think about it!"
The man flashed his companion a wide grin, "Aw, thanks hunny! I owe you one!"
She refused to be kind, "Idiot! You had to go calling them stupid? Now they're angrier than before!"
"Oh, but they are—ack!" Zelos flew towards the ground as a pink penguin tackled him head on, "Get off me!"
Sheena would have helped but she was caught up in her own little fight, "Zelos! You've got to be more careful! Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
"What? No way." he glowered at the fiend attempting to drain his energy, "You know what? Only I can wear pink…and pull it of looking good."
He kneed the creature and whacked it away with his sword, sending it flying into two other Penguinists, "Boo-ya baby! That's what I call killing two birds with one stone!"
"Don't get cocky." The summoner warned getting out a different set of cards, "It'll be your greatest downfall."
"Oh, touchy…" Zelos wiped his long bangs from his face, the constant downpour of snow causing it to stick to his pale skin, "Iye, too much…interference."
The Penguinists took this opportunity to charge at him. Zelos barely managed to jump back in time, watching the penguin's trip over their feet. They struggled back up but were forced back down again when a second batch of birds crashed straight into them.
Sheena giggled in spite of herself, "They really do have a tendency to bump into things don't they?"
"Oh yeah--"
"Hey Zelos, watch my back will you?"
He scratched his chin thoughtfully, "My pleasure…"
She growled, "Not like that! I mean, I need you to distract the remaining Penguinists while I prepare to summon Efreet."
Zelos sighed, his rising hope falling rapidly, "Yeah, yeah, sure. But aren't you a little too beat up for that kind of high level stuff?"
She appreciated his concern but wouldn't dare confirm it, "What, you think I can't do it?"
He was quick to cover it up, "No, no! You go ahead I'll take care of these chumps."
"Thanks." Sheena quickly ran from the battle scene focusing wholly on her ability to summon.
He watched her disappear before turning to the remaining flock, "Alright kiddies…come to papa!"
On impulse they dove right at him but missed when Zelos jumped into the air, "Can't beat this!"
They squawked angrily at him and waited till he landed back down. Zelos readied his sword and took a clean swipe at them, observing how quickly they tumbled back down. He wasted no time attacking with whatever energy remained, seeing it was tiring keeping this up.
Once again he plunged his sword deep into the ground using it as his support to jump up and kick the Penguinist in the head, it stumbled backwards into another pink penguin, "Oh yeah, who's your daddy now?"
In the short while he was mocking the fallen penguin's one shocked him by shooting tightly rolled balls of snow directly at his back. Zelos misplaced his footing on a patch on black ice and fell with a thump. Seizing their chance the beasts gathered snow in their fins and began tossing it at the helpless man in the middle. Some working on snowballs that would become nearly as large as themselves.
Zelos clutched his throbbing ankle, "Aw, crap…how ungraceful was that?"
He brought his shield over his head as a temporary defense tactic against the heavy snowballs that never seemed to stop raining on his head. In the distance he thought he heard the voice of salvation.
"I call upon the Red Giant, the Ruler of Hellfire! Come! Efreet!"
Efreet appeared, in all his glory hovering above Zelos, glaring at the tiny life forms before him.
Zelos gulped nervously, "…am I seriously going to die like this?"
Almost sensing his discomfort the summon spirit of fire swooped down near the Penguinists, sending them scuttling in different directions. He then proceeded to cast explosion in random corners, frightening the poor creatures away.
It was then Sheena chose to run up to Zelos, who was still sitting on a pile of snow, "Zelos, you can get up now. We'll be leaving."
He smiled nervously, "You see…I would if I could…"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Looking down he pointed to his ankle, "You see…I've got myself into quite the predicament."
Sheena sighed and slumped down beside him, "What did you do to it? Is it broken?"
"The great Zelos never breaks anything…it's merely sprained."
"Can you at least manage to walk?"
Lifting up his right arm he shook his head, "No can do, you'll just have to carry me."
She snorted in disbelief, "Don't get your hopes up."
"Then can you help me get up? My butt is frozen…"
She bent down slowly and let him wrap one arm around her shoulders as he tried to get up, "There's no way we're going to make it back in time like this…"
"I saw a cave up ahead when we were coming here." he pointed out limping with difficulty as she helped him walk, "We could rest there until the storm blows over."
"The ice caves?" she questioned looking up at him.
Zelos returned her gaze, turning to face her, "No, another one built into the mountains. We should be there in a while."
Staring at him, Sheena realized how close their noses were to touching. Blushing, she quickly turned away, "Alright, I'll keep an eye out for it."
They walked on in an unbearably slow pace, feeling the weight of his body increase with time as she shifted her stiff shoulders. She didn't want to complain, even if it was just Zelos. Stealing a quick glance at him he looked so exhausted, she would have to thank him later for helping her. As bad as he could be at times, he made one hell of a fighting partner.
"Hey Zelos?" she asked after a while.
"Yeah?"
"Did you get anymore Penguinist quills?"
He looked down, thinking if he saw any, "Now that you mention it…I don't think anyone of those little pests carried one."
Sheena smiled slightly, "That's okay, I'm sure the others found some."
"So that…bell really means a lot to you, huh?"
Her smile faded and was replaced with a somber look of longing, "Yes…Corrine meant the world to me…it's all I have left to remember him by."
Zelos felt a pang of guilt for brining up an upsetting subject but refused to let it show, "I see…so material values mean a lot to you?"
She frowned, "It's more than just an item. It still has Corrine's spirit in it."
"Hmm, okay." he said no more about the topic.
"Didn't you ever have a material possession that meant something to you at some time?" Sheena wasn't through with him yet.
Zelos searched his memory, all the way back to the early days of his lost childhood.
Flashback
"Here you go darling...this precious item has been passed down from my great grandmother to me."
"What is it mommy?"
"A locket." The woman smiled watching the boy open it wide, "It holds a picture…"
"…of you and me." he finished
"Thank you mommy." the small boy fingered the gold locket, tracing its heart shaped curves, "But why are you giving this to me?"
"So you may never forget me."
End flashback
Zelos furrowed his brow, "No."
The curtness of his voice told the ninja she would be wise not to pry further, "Oh…"
"I see the opening."
Sheena glanced in the direction Zelos was looking towards, sure enough there was a wide opening dug deep into the snowy mountains of Flanoir, "You sure nothing nasty is waiting to creep up on us?"
"Positive…I think." he looked around nervously and kicked a small rock inside, wincing in pain, "Yup…positive."
Sheena let out the breath she was holding and led him inside, "I suppose this will do for the time being. Sit here, I'll get a fire going."
He nodded and carefully slid down the rock wall watching Sheena search various corners for lose sticks. When she had enough she neatly placed them in pile and pulled out a small flint from within her robes. Zelos eyed her curiously but said nothing.
Pressing the objects sides together produced a tiny spark. Sheena kept trying with applied force until one spark hopped spontaneously, igniting a small flame. She bent down and blew on it gently, spreading the fire. When it seemed big enough she put more sticks on top of it and leaned back to observe her creation.
Zelos whistled softly from beside her, "Didn't know you're such a handyman."
"When the electricity in Mizuho fails we have to be prepared to back it up with another source of light." she explained while rubbing her cold hands together, "I guess I just picked it up from the others."
"Does it fail often?" he asked flicking the dust of his pants.
"Yes…Mizuho's not the richest village around and the fact that we try to cut ourselves off from Tethe'alla means we have no support. We keep our wires running underground so…it corrodes over time and those sewer rats aren't much help either."
"I see…whatever you can do to keep on hiding." he leaned back into the cold wall, "Some life that is."
Sheena lowered her gaze, "It's the only life I know of…"
He moved forward to get closer to the fire but his injured ankle only got in his way, "…damn…"
The woman beside him shifted so she was facing him, "Can't you just use your first aid spell on it?"
"Not until I regain some of my energy...those critters may be small but they sure are destructive." Zelos spoke with difficulty, the sudden pain the cause of his speech defection.
Sheena turned red, "L-let me see it."
"Huh, what for?"
"I…used to bandage wounds all the time back in Mizuho." she stuttered, the floor beneath her suddenly very interesting, "It would help to have something on it…"
"Alright." Zelos nodded and lifted up his pant leg, "Ugh…would you look at that."
There was slight swelling in his ankle indicating a possible sprain, "It's hurt pretty bad…"
Sheena looked around for something to bandage it up with; she thought about his shirt but in this weather the more layers you had on the better a chance for survival would be. The cave was barren except for a few sticks tossed around and lose rocks, nothing of great importance. Finally her eyes came to rest on the pink sash she had on, snuggly tied around her waist. She blushed furiously debating whether or not she should remove it.
"Um…Sheena?" Zelos waved his hand in front of her, "What's up with you?"
The pink tinge on her cheeks burned into a bright red, "Turn around and don't look at me."
"What? Why's that?"
"Just do it." she ordered while looking away from him.
"Okay then…" he obeyed and turned his head, eagerly waiting to find out what she was planning to do.
Sheena fidgeted with the bow behind her back, deliberately taking longer than she needed to untie the knot. After a while of tugging it came lose in her hands along with her robes, revealing a lot more skin than she originally bargained for. Still she bent down and proceeded to wrap it around his ankle.
Not looking back at Sheena, Zelos peered down to see a long pink ribbon being woven around his ankle. He didn't get why Sheena would be making such a big deal about something as simple as this.
Her skilled fingers continued to work until the entire ribbon was used up, "There…all done."
Before Zelos could turn around she slid her knees up, covering the length of her exposed stomach and chest area.
"Sheena?"
She turned towards him, the blaze of the fire showing off her flushed cheeks "What is it?"
He smiled gratefully, fingering her pink sash, "Thanks."
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Chapter four done! Well, people, I can't thank you enough for your support this far. I'll try and get the next chapter up soon, which will have…I think, the entire time focusing on their 'bonding' in that dingy little cave, until Colette and Lloyd come to get them.
We'll see, and you'll have to review to find out ;D
Be a dear and review? Please?
Oh! That little flashback part may not seem too important now but it leads up to another conversation between Sheena and Zelos.