Booyah
"I. Hate. Deserts!"

"We know." I would have glared at Genis if I had the energy, but alas, I did not, so I merely growled in what I had hoped to be an intimidating way, but wasn't, especially considering it came out as more of a groan.

My sweatshirt had long since been removed and tied securely around my waist, and my hair I had pulled back (with my ever-present hair thingies) into a ponytail, higher than its usual position at the nape of my neck. We had run into some Sidewinders and Scorpions, made quick work of mostly by the melee fighters, while I lingered in the background, sulking by all appearances, but actually carefully observing the two "elves" as they cast their spells, particularly Raine. I allowed myself a weak smirk. Won't they be surprised when I suddenly know various support spells.

We walked on.

After a while, I said, with my speech considerably slurred, "Y'know whah? I'ma jus sleep on m' feet here. Wake m' when w' geh there, and if I c'lapse, be a dear and dun jus leave m' there, mmkay?" There were various grunts of "okay, whatever" from my companions and I grinned stupidly. "Manneh tanks fer yer as't…as't...help, mee amiigos-sa." I giggled as I fell into a dose, still walking. I'm Italian…

Eventually I woke to a sharp pain in the back of my leg. I blinked my eyes open and glanced behind me. It was Genis. I yawned and stood there for a moment, watching him as I woke up completely and paying little to no heed to the continuing jabs at my calves.

Then I said, "You can stop kicking me now, you know."

He stopped, looked up at me, and blushed. "Oh. Got a little carried away there, I guess, hehe."

"Apparently. But I don't really blame you. I would kick me, too." I looked up and saw that we had finally reached the ruins, and stretched, now rested and thankful for the blessed shade cast by the large, intricately carved ancient stones around us. It was still hot, though.

Lloyd confirmed this. "Ah, so hot…man, I'm beat."

"See? You're already worn out," said Genis.

"I'm sick of this desert," he added, ignoring his short friend.

"Then that makes two of us," I told him.

"Three of us," corrected Genis.

"Four of us," added Kratos, though very quietly. I was holding back a snicker as Noishe whined.

"What's wrong, Noishe?" asked Lloyd.

Kratos already knew, having known the "dog" long enough to know he was like a cute, whiny monster detector. "Be on your guard, there are enemies about!"

I sighed and got into an awkward defensive position as two funky red balls (Fire Elements) floated out from…somewhere, quickly followed by a Fire Warrior. Yay. Ah, well. Seeing as these punks are a wee bit tougher than those egg-bearing snakes, I think I'll try out some spells.

And so I did. It took me a couple tries to get the hang of it, and even after I did, my form was decidedly gauche; but once the weird monster-things were down, I was quite proud of myself, though I did my best not to show it. I wasn't entirely sure why I wanted to hide it, but it just seemed appropriate.

"This is going to be a nuisance," mumbled Kratos.

"What is?" asked Lloyd, overhearing. Me, most likely.

"Ah, nothing." Can't talk to yourself with other people around now, can you, Kratty-boy? "Anyway, it would be a good idea to learn techniques to defend yourself."

"Are you talking about self-defense training?" inquired Colette. No, Colette, he's talking about ballet. Don't get me wrong—I loved Colette. It was all but impossible to not at least grow fond of her. It's just that she was kind of…stupid.

"Something like that," replied Kratos. "Techniques to raise your defense during battles. I'll show you how it's done. Once you grasp the theory, the rest should be easy." And…he showed us. Lloyd learned Guardian, Colette learned Damage Guard, the Sage siblings learned Force Field, and I learned Sanctuary. Woot.

"Okay!" shouted Lloyd over-enthusiastically. "I don't really get it, but I already feel stronger! I can't wait to try it out!"

"I think you're just imagining things…" I commented, and Genis nodded sagely, not realizing that I had just stolen his line. Haha. Me: 1. Genis: 0. …Not like we're competing, of course…

"Hmm, what happened to Noishe?" wondered Raine.

Lloyd looked somewhat startled. "You're right. He's gone. Ah, man, he's run off again."

"He's probably nervous about the monsters," said Kratos. "I think it would be best not to count on Noishe in places with monsters around." And you would know, wouldn't you, Kratos?

We approached the altar. Colette went straight to the pedestal next to the entrance. "Say, isn't this the seal? It has my family's crest on it…"

I could almost see little hearts around Raine as she clasped her hands excitedly. "Fantastic!" The others turned to look at her while she continued, "Look at this slab covering the entrance! It's clearly of a different composition than the surrounding stone!"

"Really?" I was interested in this sort of thing, actually.

She crouched, and I did as well, beside her. We both ran our hands over the surface. Raine laughed somewhat scarily. "It's just as I thought!"

"Isn't this polycarbonate?" I wondered, already knowing the answer and mainly wanting to gain some of Raine's respect. I'll work on them one at a time… I snickered evilly to myself.

"It is!" she confirmed. "Aya, do you know when this was developed?"

"I think it was during the Ancient War, to defend against magic," I said. PH34R MAH KNOWLEDGE! I laughed.

"Very good! Where did you learn this?" asked Raine. I just blinked at her, and she slapped herself lightly on the forehead. "Oh, right." She turned back to the slab. "Oh, feel the smooth surface! It's wondrous!"

"Wow," I marveled genuinely. "It feels like stone, but is smoother than steel…however that's possible…"

"…Are they always like this?" asked Kratos quietly while we excitedly examined the stuff around the entrance.

"I don't know about Aya, but Raine…" He turned to Genis. "…Is she?"

The short mage sighed. "…I've been trying so hard to hid it, too."

Raine and I huddled around the pedestal. I lightly fingered the writing on it. "What's this? I can't read it. Is this the angelic language?"

"Yes," confirmed Raine. "This depression…it reads, 'oracle stone.'" The backed away and beckoned Colette to come over. "Colette, place your hand here. That should reveal the entrance."

"Really?" asked Lloyd.

"This stone is enchanted with magic designed to identify the Chosen. There's no question about it.

"But how would that work?" I asked. "Would it somehow sense the her bloodline?"

"I suppose," said Raine, as Colette placed her hand on it and the door opened.

"It opened!" she exclaimed. "Wow! I guess I'm really the Chosen after all!"

"Yes, I think we all know that already," said Genis.

"It must be nice to have some sort of confirmation, though," I said, and she nodded.

Lloyd rubbed his hands together. "Okay! Now it's getting exciting! Let's hurry up and go inside!"

As we walked inside, Kratos commented, "…I hope you'll be able to maintain that enthusiasm."

Raine and I squealed as we darted around the corridor, the heat all but forgotten… as were the monsters. As I fingered some sort of image carved into the stone wall (it looked remarkably like Kratos), I noticed the back of my head and neck was suddenly hotter than the rest of me.

"Aqua Edge!" I turned to see a Fire Bird getting hit by Genis's recently learned magic attack. "Aya, pay attention!"

"There are monsters in here, too, you know," said Kratos.

I glared at the rather beautiful creature as I dodged an attack. "I'm busy! Leave me alone!" I swung my maces up into my hands and whacked the thing on the head repeatedly.

Raine bonked a Fire Element with her staff. "You're interrupting important research!"

"…Don't those two usually stay on the sidelines?" Lloyd asked Kratos, who shrugged.

"…It seems they don't like to be interrupted," he said, distractedly vanquishing an aptly named Brown Pot.

"Damn straight!" I yelled as I KO'ed the Fire Bird and promptly whirled around to kick a Fire Warrior in the armored shins. I ducked to avoid its blade, then screeched indignantly as it lodged itself in the wall. "I was looking at that, damn you!"

Even though it didn't have eyes, I got the distinct impression it was giving me a weird look.

"You better not have damaged any inscriptions, or so help me…!" I gave the thing a great shove and backed up a bit, out of the monster's range. Then I clutched my maces in front of me, and ran and jumped at it. The jump was unusually high, as powered by my Exsphere. Once above it, I brought my maces down hard, using my weight as effected by gravity along with my Exsphere-enhanced strength to make the blow harder than usual. "Falling Star!" I stepped back as the Fire Warrior collapsed, not to get up again, vaguely wondering to myself how much EXP I had just earned and half expecting to see the answer pop up above my head.

Then, looking around, I realized: not only had I just beaten the last monster in the area, but I had also just learned my first tech.

I blinked.

I blinked again.

Then I broke out into an idiotic victory dance "Oh yeah! Booyah! I kick ass so bad!" I pointed victoriously at my fallen enemy. "I just laid down some major smackdown, yo! Don't be messin' wit' me! I'll kick yo' sorry ass into next week, dawg!" I resumed my dance, chanting to myself something along the lines of, "Oh yeah, oh yeah! Who's da woh-man? I'm da woh-man! Oh yeah!"

Then I stopped suddenly and, perfectly calm, glanced around at my staring companions.

"What?"

They just shook their heads and we resumed our journey into the UNKNOWN! Or something.

I allowed myself to go on auto-pilot as we continued, absently defeating various monsters as we went. With my adrenaline rush faded, I again stayed on the sidelines, away from the fighting, and cast various support and healing spells. I was thinking.

I'm… a pacifist, I thought to myself. Why was I fighting so enthusiastically?

"You're entitled to some enthusiasm."

I jumped and looked around, only to realize that the voice was coming from my Exsphere, entering my head without bothering to pass through my ears first. But I'm a pacifist.

"Yes, you've already stated that fact."

But what kind of a pacifist am I, to fight like that?

"It was in self-defense."

So?

"I have, as we've been together, been getting to know you. I can see, hear, and feel your thoughts and memories."

…I feel violated.

"The point is, while nonviolent for the most part, you yourself believe that self-defense is acceptable when necessary."

…Well, yeah, but…

"No buts. It is your own policy."

But I killed those things. If you know my policies, you know that I can't kill even the tiniest ant.

She sighed. "Aya, something about this world that I don't think you quite understand yet is that these…creatures we find in places such as this do not truly count as living beings."

That makes no sense.

"The world doesn't make sense, dear." I scowled at her patronizing tone, but otherwise chose to ignore it. "These things we fight are creations not of any divine being, but of chaos."

I'm agnostic anyway.

"That is beside the point!" I could hear her getting exasperated. "With the exception of the more basic, animalistic creatures, like those abnormally violent rabbits that somehow carry beef, these…things are fluctuations of reality! They should not exist! They are born of chaos and destruction and so on, and, simply put, need to be destroyed. It is their nature."

…Fine. But that doesn't mean I have to like it.

"Of course not. And now I am afraid I have used up my energy and cannot converse with you any longer." Her presence in my mind faded, and I snorted at her rather rude departure.

"Um, Aya?"

I turned, startled, to see Colette cautiously coming up beside me. "Oh, what?"

"Well, you seemed out of it. I was getting worried."

I smiled warmly at her. "No, I'm fine. Don't worry about me. I was just thinking about some things."

She returned my smile. "Oh, good. We're coming up on the seal, too. Remiel, an angel, is going to come, and, you know, I wouldn't want you to miss him…"

I gave her a swift hug. "You're such a sweet girl, Colette." She giggled, as Raine exclaimed something about magitechnology in the background. As we approached the seal, it began to react strangely. Everyone except Kratos seemed startled, and I forced myself to act surprised, as well.

Out came the Ktugach, flanked by two Ktugachlings. I hung out in the back with my spells, and didn't really get much of a chance to observe the others as they fought. I mainly concentrated on staying out of the way and keeping up the others' health, healing them when they needed it and casting support spells with leftover mana. In between my spells, I would run up and physically attack one of the Ktugachlings to the best of my ability, more to get my TP back up than anything else, though the damage I caused was certainly helpful, if minimal.

At last, the guardians of the seal were dead. A new voice met my ears as its owner descended from an opening in the ceiling above the seal. "You, Chosen, of Regeneration. Offer your prayers at the altar."

"Yes, my lord," said Colette, but I wasn't really listening.

"…Muffin," I muttered, and failed to suppress a snicker. As Remiel did his thang, I continued to snicker until Lloyd glanced at me.

"What's so funny?"

"Muffin," I said.

"What?"

"Muffin," I repeated.

"What are you talking about?" said Genis, who had wandered over, apparently bored by the angel's pompousness.

"He's a muffin," I clarified.

"Who? Lloyd?"

"No, the angel guy." Genis glanced at Lloyd, who shrugged. We looked back towards the altar to see that the aforementioned angel guy had vanished and Colette… was floating. Well, hovering, more like, as she had wings. She descended to the floor.

"Colette…has wings!" Lloyd helpfully pointed out.

"The muffin gave them to her," I said, equally helpful.

"And I can put them away, too," said Colette. She demonstrated.

"Oh, wow! That's so cool!" Genis and I ran over to her and she flapped her wings indulgently while the other members of the party talked. We were probably amused by it a little too much, but who cares? It was cool.

Lloyd was the one to ruin our fun. "Okay, you three, we get it already. That's enough."

"Okay," said Colette.

"Okay," said Genis.

"Spoilsport," said I.

We left the interior of the ruins.

A/N: Yo. I had some stuff to say, but I forgot what it was. Oh, yeah: review. Chapter 3 got 70 hits and 3 reviews. Come on. If people read as far as that, they obviously must have liked it, so why didn't they review, hmm? If I read to the latest update of a fic, I try to review it. It's just common courtasy from one author to another.

01/27/05 edit

Yo. You might have seen that lovely, lovely little flame someone left me. As unnecessarily nasty as it was, it DID address a couple potentially negative aspects of the fic.

First off, I want to explain that there is nothing special about the maces. They are just wooden maces, and yes, maces do come in wood. I did a Google image search, combined some of the things I found, and the result was Aya's maces. Also, because they are wooden, they are not extremely heavy, and with the weight not an issue, how hard can a mace be to weild? Aya did not magically know how to use them. It doesn't take much skill to just bonk something over the head. Come on. They are very simple weapons, and diliberately so.

Second, the magic. That was a slip-up. I found the explaination of magic somewhat confusing all three or four times I played through the game, and seeing as that was a while ago as it is, I completely forgot that humans can't use magic. I'm changing that. However, humans CAN heal. Raine said at some point the Boltzman believed healing to be its own kind of magic, and therefor not subject to the normal rules. Note that Regal can heal. Support spells, in my book, are in the same branch of magic as healing.

Third, Aya is me. I know she's annoying. So am I. She is me, end of story, so it's pointless to complain about her because that's just the way she is.

Fourth, she is still clumsy. She still cannot fight very well, but again, hitting something over the head does not require all that much skill. The Expshere improved her stamina and strenth, as Expsheres generally do.

Fifth, if you don't like it, don't read it. Sheesh.