The Wild
"Lloyd, I still can't believe you ate all that!" Genis told his friend. "What? I was hungry." "Lloyd's amazing! I've never seen anyone else that could eat that much!" Colette replied, trying to defend him. Gwin smiled half-heartedly at their quarrel. Over the past few days, while traveling with her newfound companions, a sinking feeling had wedged itself into the pit of her stomach. Fits of shivering now affected her during the night, even though the temperature was warm and mild. It felt as if her heart was aching. Yet she did not want to trouble everyone else about her uneasiness. Would they see her as a nuisance? Would she be rejected again?
"Gwin? Is something wrong?" Gwin looked up to meet the deep blue eyes of Colette. "Ah, I… no. No, I'm fine." She tried to smile. "Is it just me, or has the temperature been dropping lately? I've been shivering at night," Colette asked suddenly. "I don't think it's the cold," Gwin replied, "but whatever it is, it's not normal." "Hey, what's taking you two so long?" Genis had fallen back from the rest of the party to check on his two lagging friends. "Um, Genis, have you noticed the nights getting colder?" "It's been cold at night? I thought it's been warmer than usual. Maybe you've been sleeping in the wind or something." "Oh, well, I guess so…" "Well, I'm going to go on ahead. We'll wait for you, if you want." "No, that's okay. We'll catch up in a bit." "O…okay." The blue-clad half-elf walked ahead towards the other travelers, muttering, "Girls… sheesh."
Rhine's Castle
Rhine completed the intricate symbols of her spell circle, drawn out on the cold stone floor with chalk. The flickering light from the six candles placed at each point of the pentacle reflected in her blue-gray eyes. Like chips of ice they observed the world, bitterly cold and sharp. Stepping into position, she began to chant.
"Wandering spirit of vengeance and hate,
I beckon thee!
Bound by rite of summon,
I command thee to appear!
Your sword of destruction is now mine to control!"
Energy crackled along the lines drawn on the floor, and a column of blinding light spilled forth from its center. A figure slowly began to appear amidst the swirling aura. He studied his body in wonder. "I'm alive again…? How…?"
Rhine smiled frigidly. "You have unfinished business, correct?"
The Wild
Colette suddenly shivered. Her hair stood on end, and she felt slightly dizzy and slightly nauseas. Gwin felt the same. "What's wrong, Colette?" asked Raine. "There's something ahead, something… wrong…" "I can feel this hate and anger… like electricity in the air. But there's an undercurrent of pain and sadness, too," Lloyd said quietly. Gwin nodded her head. "I have a bad feeling about this. You guys stay back; I'll go on ahead," Lloyd told his friends. He walked towards the clearing in the trees, only to find a familiar figure there to greet him.
"Hello, Lloyd. Miss me?" Zelos asked coldly. "But… you're… I…" Lloyd stammered. "Yeah, I died. You should know; you are the one who killed me. But there was no way my soul could rest in peace, what with you still running around with out a care in the world. So I came back. Resurrected, to be exact. Now we can finally end things between us." He drew his sword and pointed it at Lloyd. "I will get my revenge on you for killing me!"
The rest of Lloyd's companions had walked into the clearing by then, and heard Zelos' entire speech. "You two mustn't fight, you're friends!" cried Colette. "Shut up! This is just between me and him," Zelos yelled back. "She's right… I can't fight you, Zelos," Lloyd said quietly. "Fine, then! I'll just have to kill you anyway!"
Zelos dashed at Lloyd. He attacked furiously, barely giving Lloyd a chance to parry. "Why are you doing this?" Lloyd asked between dodging and blocking Zelos' fierce blows. "Why? Because nothing I ever did amounted to anything. No matter how hard I tried, you were always better than I was, in every way imaginable. Now, I will defeat you and prove myself!" His attacks increased in speed, pushing Lloyd back even farther. Sparks flew from the lethally sharp edges of their swords, each blow heavier than the next, nearly shattering Lloyd's arm as he deflected the aggressive strikes. Zelos' eyes burned with rage as unnatural strength and anger rushed through his veins.
"Zelos, you're being taken advantage of! Can't you see?" Lloyd asked desperately, gasping for air. "So what? As long as you die, it's good enough for me!" Lloyd remained silent, still defending against Zelos' onslaught. "Do you really hate me that much? Do you… really want me to die?" He jumped back, distancing himself from Zelos and his gleaming, deadly blade. Sheathing his own weapons, he held out his arms, open for attack. "What are you doing, Lloyd!" Genis cried out. "Zelos, if you really want me to die, then do it. I'll be happy in my death, knowing it put your soul at rest. Kill me."
"Fine!" Zelos shouted, and charged. Lloyd closed his eyes, waiting for the blow. Zelos swung his sword.
A dark crimson stain spread from the gash in Lloyd's upper arm. Instead of delivering a deathblow, Zelos had hesitated.
"I knew you couldn't do it."
Zelos turned around, a confused look clouding his face. "Lloyd…? What're you…? I'm supposed to be…" His confusion turned to horror as he saw Lloyd's wound and the blood tinting the edge of his own sword. He dropped it and stepped backward. "Lloyd, did I…?" Lloyd gripped his bleeding arm. "It's okay. You're back to your normal self, right?" "Yeah… But why was I…?"
"You said that because of me, your soul couldn't rest in peace."
"Actually… that's right. But it's because… I wanted to apologize for making you kill me. I couldn't do it myself… I was so weak, I couldn't even take my own life. I had to depend on someone else just to end it. Even then, I was still only running away. I was a fool, so caught up in myself I couldn't do what I had to. Even now, I was absolutely pathetic, letting myself be used like that. So… I'm sorry…"
Lloyd was speechless. "Zelos, I…" "I can understand if you won't… can't… forgive me."
Colette ran over and promptly hugged Zelos. "Why hello, my little angel," he said, surprised. "I'm so glad you're okay!" Colette told him fervently. "Don't give him any ideas, Colette," said Genis as he, Raine, and Gwin walked over to join them. Almost immediately, Zelos slid back into his usual smooth demeanor, in stark contrast to his former serious attitude. "I don't believe we've met before, hunny," he said to Gwin. "You can call me Gwin," she replied, and extended her hand for him to shake. Instead, he eloquently kissed it. "And you can call me the Great Mysterious Swordsman Knight of-" Lloyd glared at him, "...or just Zelos." Gwin took his hand and clasped it between her own. "You poor soul," she murmured, "your spirit couldn't find peace, and then Rhine used her for own hateful purposes. You've been dead for… almost a year, right?" Zelos smiled sadly. "Yeah, I'm dead. But now my soul can find peace and be at rest." He turned to face Lloyd. "You'd better leave me a piece of the action, bud." His body began to dissipate, fading away to the slowly setting sun. "Bye, everyone." Soon, nothing was left of Zelos, their once dear friend.
Lloyd rubbed away the tear sliding down his face. "So he really is gone forever… I… I couldn't save him this time, either… Dammit Rhine! I'll make you pay dearly for what you've done to my friends! I'm coming for you!"
Eeeeek! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in such a long time! I've been swamped with Science Olympiad, and seventh grade assesments are coming up... I've been absolutely exhausted the past few weeks, since I hardly ever get enought sleep. Ooookay, stuff I must explain about this chapter... First off, Namco owns pretty much all of the Tales of Symphonia stuff, Gwin and Rhine are the exceptions. I made them. But I think you already knew all that.Second, and I know this may be a spoiler, but Zelos only dies if you choose the Kratos ending. I just wanted to clear that up. I felt a bit guilty for choosing the Kratos ending, even though it was the second time I had played it over (I got the Zelos ending the first time), so I wrote him into my story. Third... It will probably take a while for the next chapter to be written. Please don't lose faith in me! I'll get it written if it's the last thing I do! Just... I don't know when. And finally... a little short teaser for the next chapter! (Which I haven't even started yet...)
As the confrontation with Rhine draws slowly yet inescapably nearer, more is revealed about the nature of Rhine, Gwin, and death itself. But with these answers come even more and bigger questions... Will Lloyd be able to piece the shattered bits of puzzle together before it's too late?