The aftermath of the previous chapter. Please read on.

I don't own anything (I mean it, anything) except the concept of the story.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: TOWER OF DAMNATION

Up the stairs, in the highest room, in the tallest tower, the group just saw a huge tower emerge from the sea. Overhead they heard a voice saying that it was called the Tower of Damnation. Of course, by now, they knew who the voice belonged to.

"Ganondorf!" Link yelled at the ceiling. "Show yourself!"

The voice just laughed. "Mwhahaha! The great Hero of Winds! It has been a long time, hasn't it?"

"Come out here you spineless coward!" Tetra yelled.

"Well, isn't it her majesty Princess Zelda. You're as ignorant as ever. I see not much has changed…"

"What the hell is going on?" Kratos asked.

"If you bothered to stick around, you could have been a part of my grand master plan…"

"I didn't like the benefits, okay?"

"I am curious myself," Wilder said. "What purpose does this tower have to you, Ganondorf?"

"That's Lord Ganondorf to you…filthy vermin. I feel no need to explain myself to the likes of you."

"Whatever it is, it can't be good," Genis replied.

"Lloyd!"

"Yes, Lord Ganondorf?" Irving replied.

"The time has come to reveal the next phase of my plan…"

"Yes, Lord Ganondorf."

"You must meet me at the Tower of Damnation."

"As you command…"

"And do not forget the Crown of Heaven, as it is instrumental in my plan…"

"Lord Ganondorf, what of--"

"Colette? Leave her. A sinful Chosen like that is completely useless for my New World Order. She can't even save the world. She poses no threat. She lost her power. She even puts her allies in danger. What a pathetic Chosen."

"………you are right. She is…as you put it…a pathetic Chosen…"

"Lloyd…I'm waiting…"

"I'm on my way." Irving opened his wings and flew through and open window, carrying the Crown of Heaven in his hands.

Meanwhile, back in the Forsaken Fortress, Raine has just recovered her gauntlet from the control panel of the Mana Cannon.

"Colette," she whispered. "You're back…"

No response from the gauntlet.

"Colette? Are you there?"

"……I'm here…" Colette replied sadly from the gauntlet.

"Colette? Are you okay?"

"………you should have just left me behind…"

"What?"

"Lord Ganondorf always thought of me as an annoyance. I knew he was going to get rid of me one way or another. But still…it's hard to swallow…"

"What's hard to swallow?"

"That he…that my family…thought as me as…useless…"

"You are not useless! So what if those two thoughtas you as useless, it doesn't matter what they think! To me, you're special! You're my family, and don't you ever forget that!"

"………Raine…thank you…"

The others (besides Link, Kratos and Aryll) were looked at Raine as if she was crazy. "So…I'm guessing she's talking to her imaginary friend?" Genis asked.

"I guess so," Tetra replied.

"Isn't Raine a little old for imaginary friends?" Wilder asked.

"Can't you hear her words?" Aryll asked. "Colette is really, really sad and Raine's trying to cheer her up."

"Aryll, they can't hear her," Link replied.

"Why can't they hear her?"

"She hasn't revealed herself to the others, haven't they?" Kratos replied.

After Raine finished her conversation with Colette, she turned to the others (who were still thinking that there was something wrong with her).

"What?" She asked.

"That story Aryll told us…about that spirit inside the gauntlet," Tetra said, "I still can't believe it."

"Aryll told you about her?"

"I couldn't lie to them Raine," Aryll replied. "I had too…"

"Do you believe her?"

"Although it seems unbelievable, it sounds true…" Wilder replied.

"I don't believe it," Genis replied.

"What!" Rain exclaimed. "But…but…"

"I won't believe it until I see it with my own eyes."

Link's Pirate's Charm started to glow. He took it out. It was the King of Red Lions saying, "We must get to the Tower of Damnation, quickly! Who knows what evil Ganondorf is planning…"

"I concur," Wilder replied. "We must depart from this place and head to the tower as quickly as possible."

"But first…" Genis said. "We must blow this place up."

"You enjoy doing that, don't you?" Kratos said coldly.

"In a way…yes…"

"Alright, I am seriously disturbed right now…"

"We don't have time for that," Link replied. "We got to get to the tower now! We'll destroy it after we deal with Lord Irving."

The group headed to the entrance. Wilder's ship pulled in. Presea and Captain Bryant wanted answers to their questions.

"What was that a minute ago?" Bryant asked. "First, there was a tower coming up a few ways from the fortress. A blinding light and the Tower of the Gods were gone! Then another tower emerged from where the tower was and started to emit some darkness all over the Great Sea!"

"What darkness are you talking about?" Link asked.

"Can't you see it?" Presea asked. "Look at the new tower!"

Everyone looked up to the sky. Sure enough, there was a darkness emitting from the Tower of Damnation. It was covering the whole sky.

"What is Ganondorf up too?" Link asked.

"Let's go to the tower and find out," Raine replied.

The two ships warped (using the Ballad of the Gales) to where the Tower of the Gods used to be. There was a pad made of stone. The group disembarked onto the small stone pad. When they got onto the pad, there was a problem. Separating the pad and the entrance to the Tower of Damnation was a huge gap. To make matters worse, a seal blocked entrance to the tower. Near the top right corner of the pad was a structure (the oracle stone).

"How are we gonna get across?" Aryll asked.

"The piton guns won't work because there isn't anything to grapple onto," Kratos added.

"If we clear our minds, we will think of something," Wilder said.

"We have no times to clear our minds!" Tetra exclaimed. "We got to get to Ganondorf, fast!"

While the others were busy arguing, Raine was called over to the stone.

"Raine…" Colette spoke through the gauntlet. "Release me…"

"Why?" Raine asked.

"The stone…it calls to me…"

"Alright, if you think you can help…"

Raine released Colette. Colette laid her hand onto the structure. Almost instantly, stairs appeared connecting the pad to the tower. Also, the seal blocking the entrance dissipated.

"Look!" Aryll exclaimed. "Raine made stairs appear!"

"Good work, kid," Kratos added.

"Uh…thanks…" Raine said, slightly blushing.

"Let's go!" Link exclaimed.

After making their way inside, the group headed to the front of the hallway. They saw a warp pad. When they stepped on it, they appeared in a large room (you know, the room where the Eternal Sword is). After reaching the foot of the stairs, a voice cackled. Lord Irving appeared in front of them, except this time, Irving was possessed by Ganondorf.

"So the forsaken Chosen and her entourage of vermin have finally arrived," Irving said.

"For--saken?" Kratos asked.

"You got it all mixed up, Lord Irving," Link said. "You're the one that's forsaken. Your time here is up."

"Hahaha! Just like a bunch of stupid vermin! I know your every move. A wasted effort! Everything you've done is meaningless!"

"How so!" Genis asked. "We'll save this world after we take care of you!"

"You can't be serious. Thinking you can defeat me."

"We can and we will!" Raine yelled.

"And what is this? The failed Chosen's master challenges me?"

"What do you mean by 'failed Chosen'? Who is this Chosen person anyways?"

"My dear…you don't know anything, do you."

"Then why don't you try explaining yourself?" Link asked.

"Humph. Alright then, see if you can comprehend my words. Ever since you defeated me, I grew in power. When that rusty old sword released me, the first thing I did was create a portal to view other worlds. One world interested me. The world of Symphonia it was called (I'm not sure what the combined world of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla is called. Please, if anyone knows, tell me!). In this land, a great war had started. This war happened between two races: the elves and the humans. However, this war consumed mana, the very source of life energy these races thrived on. The war consumed so much that the tree that provided an endless supply of mana had withered away. In order to replace it, a hero had to be sacrificed in order to take its place. However, their goddess, Martel, was grieved by the loss and ascended towards the heavens. She left the angels with this edict: 'You must wake me, for if I shall sleep, the world shall be destroyed.' The angels bore the Chosen One who headed towards the tower that reached up unto the heavens. And that marked the regeneration of the world..."

"Nice little story, Lord Irving," Tetra smirked, "but I still don't get what it has to do with Raine."

"Oh? Not the little girl," Irving/Lord Ganondorf smiled.

"Then who is the Chosen?" Link asked.

"How did you think that Colette was able to open the tower's entrance?"

"Colette's the Chosen…" Raine whispered.

"Correct."

"But how is Colette the chosen? She's in this world not the world of Symphonia!"

"The world, and any other world, has a law: Everything is connected. From the smallest creature to people like us, we are intertwined in the web of life. This could also apply to a connection to a larger scale. A larger planetary scale."

"I'm afraid I'm not following you," Wilder said.

"Where do you think I got the characteristics of Kratos, Yuan, Lloyd and Colette?"

"The world of Symphonia," Kratos replied.

"Exactly. We are all connected. When I created those four, I made sure Colette and Lloyd had the same characteristics as their counterparts in Symphonia. They are connected by a 'mana link'. This mana link is able to link the powers of anyone's counterpart. One example would be the Colette in this world and the Colette in Symphonia. Since Colette is the Chosen of Mana, her attributes is transferable to the Colette in this world. The reverse also holds true."

"Why did you need Colette?" Raine asked.

"To open the entrance to the tower. Lloyd and I can enter but my darknuts cannot. Now that the tower's entrance is open, this is now my new base of operations."

"And why did you need the characteristics for Lord Irving?" Link asked.

"For this…"

After speaking, a huge, dark sword with a golden hilt appeared in the middle of the room. Lord Irving grabbed it and swung it around. Shockwaves sent members of the group flying.

"What the hell?" Kratos asked.

"Symphonia was two worlds joined together. The Lloyd in Symphonia was able to unite the two worlds using a mystical sword, this sword. The Eternal Sword. By using this sword, not only can I take over the Great Sea but the world of Symphonia as well!"

"You're a greedy, sick, twisted, bastard!" Wilder exclaimed.

"Flattery will get you nowhere. Now, if there isn't anymore questions…"

Lord Irving signaled the darknuts to advance on them. Suddenly, the Crown of Heaven started to glow ominously.

"What now?" Tetra asked.

"Ah, I see that fool Xavier activated the Crown of Earth."

"Crown of Earth?" Raine asked. "What's he talking about, Genis?"

"The other half of the relic," Genis replied. "Xavier must have figured out a way to activate it…"

A portal appeared. Lord Irving stepped in and said, "And now, I must bid you adieu."

"Oh no, you don't!" Raine yelled as she charged for the portal.

"Raine!" Genis exclaimed, running after her.

"What are they doing?" Kratos asked.

"We must follow them!" Wilder replied. "Make haste, Kratos!"

The two of them also ran into the portal.

"Raine!" Aryll yelled and jumped in after them.

"Aryll!" Link yelled. He was about to go in but Tetra held him back. "Look, it's too unstable!"

She was right. If Link was to go in, the portal would have closed on him halfway. All that was left was Link, Tetra and the Crown of Heaven that lay on the floor.

Whew! That was a long chapter to write. I'm just exhausted reading it. I spent a long time on this so please, nothing hurtful. Please R&R.