Disclaimer: GreenMagicite does not own Tales of Symphonia or Namco; this is just being written because the game lacked more Sheloyd scenes.
GM: Yes, I am back. Dreams really do come true.
AGM: This means more Sheloyd
DGM: However, this one-shot, is, for once on the ToS fiction, NOT humor.
GM: What's with that?
AGM: Well, we couldn't explain a way for Lloyd and Sheena to end up in a vat of chocolate, so we had to go away from humor until the dry spell went away.
DGM: …
GM: This takes place before Flanoir Scene, right before the Luna Summon-Quest
Sybak, city of learning, city of experiments, the city where young and old, interested in most fields of science, came together. Raine, unable to pass up an opportunity on learning, asked, demanded, really, that they stop there. A meeting was being held to discuss the evacuation of a ruin, which Professor Sage specialized in.
"Aww, Professor!" Lloyd complained, having sat through several of Raine's lectures, each becoming more and more complex. "Why do all of us need to go with you, anyway?"
"I've explained this several times, Lloyd." Raine, exasperated, replied. "We're safer as a group than as single targets, and we've certainly spent enough time with Zelos' stops." She looked at the red-headed Chosen, who was, as always, bothering a certain summoner.
"Come on, Sheena, we'd be conserving water!" Zelos looked at the ninja, who had a look on her face that was filled with deep loathing.
"I WILL NOT TAKE A SHOWER WITH YOU! YOU PERVERT! GO GET ONE OF YOUR FLOOZIES TO 'CONSERVE WATER' WITH YOU!" The ninja slapped him, leaving a red imprint on his face.
"She is correct Lloyd. There is a higher rate of survival of unexpected attack by Cruxis if we are all together." Presea's monotone voice cut into the Red Mage's indignant remarks. "Genis, would you please stop following me?" She directed her attention to the silver haired mage, following her.
"P-Presea, I just wanted to ask if yuh-you wanted t--" the mage choked at the end, his voice no longer making any sound.
"We can enter the city now." Regal saved the mage from any further embarrassment in front of his crush, "The archeologists have stopped blocking the entrance."
The group entered the city, Raine running at full speed, everyone following her at a safe distance, occasionally stopping to apologize to people she tossed out of her way in her desperate rush to the University. A few remarks from Zelos, their anger vanished. Which was one of the advantages of having a Chosen with you; they can weasel out of anything if they wish to.
As they neared the Central Square, Zelos grabbed Lloyd, "Come on, let's go check out some of the nerd babes! My Beauty the Professor proving that chicks can be hot AND smart!"
"Then why do you need me?" Lloyd looked at Zelos, bewildered.
"It's always best to have another guy to take out the one who you don't want. Though I'm not picky, I still have standards…."
"Such as?" Sheen cut in, voice still full of rage, the rage needing an outlet, which went against her assassin training of being emotionless; they said you couldn't make rational decisions if you were full of emotion.
"They have to be 18 or above." Zelos responded happily, not noticing the twitch in Sheena's eye, or Presea desperately trying to restrain her from leaping to strangle him. "Of course, occasionally a beauty below 18 will catch my eye, like my Angel Colette." Zelos cheerfully looked back, and saw an angry Sheena, being restrained by Regal & Presea, trying to lunge at him. "Let's go, Lloyd!" He dragged off the Berserker to the library.
"Zelos really pisses me off!" Sheena was no longer struggling, and sighed in exhaustion from it. "There really isn't anything fun to do here…"
Genis piped in, his voice trembling a bit, "Pr-Presea! Do you want to go and look at the University with me?"
"I… do not like that place." Presea looked away, saddened at the memory. "Do you think Lloyd would mind if we played with Noishe?" She looked at the remaining adult, Regal, who she was beginning to forgive.
"I'm sure he would not mind at all. Noishe would enjoy it, I assume." Regal looked at the small girl, he was glad to give her an opportunity to get away from the place that had taken her age. "Take Genis with you, alright?"
"Thank you, Regal. With Genis, survival rate has increased dramatically." Presea gave a small smile, Noishe and his paws. She started off, then looked back, "Are you coming, Genis?"
Genis looked at Regal, who was chuckling, "I'm coming Presea!" he ran after her, Colette giggling, and even Sheena had a smile on her face.
"Why don't you two reserve the rooms?" Regal turned to Colette and Sheena, "I am going to go inspect the Cafeteria, perhaps buy some ingredients."
"And start a war on school food." Sheena said as Regal was out of hearing distance. "Well, I suppose we should go get two rooms, and then we can look around town. Sound good?"
Colette nodded, and they headed to the inn.
At that moment, Zelos and Lloyd had arrived at the library, after stopping for Zelos to flirt with a few girls. Then their sisters.
"Oh come on, Bud! You only live once, you know! Might as well spend it pleasurably!" Zelos winked at one girl who was staring at him. "Besides, we might as well make the most of the Gorgeous Beauty's delay. It isn't like the mana link is going to come apart itself. We've got plenty of time!"
"But Zelos isn't it better that the world is together? People are suffering as we just sit here…. How many more exspheres are being made right now?" Lloyd looked in the direction of the Renegade Base near Flanoir. He had yet to forget Chocolat and what the Desians did to Marble.
"You're too much of an idealist, Lloyd. The world isn't going to change right now, so let's just do what we can now, and, now, I can seduce hunnies and tell them half elves aren't always evil." Zelos' smile grew larger, "Besides, worrying all the time kills part of you. You need to relax, maybe go to the beach, saving the world isn't easy. You DESERVE time to relax."
"…But Zelos, if the world is ruined, there would be nothing. So isn't just a bit of work now worth it to save blood in the future?"
"Lloyd, you're so boring…" Zelos & Lloyd entered the Library, Zelos immediately spotting a few risqué books. "Hey! Come on, Lloyd, let's check these out!" He essentially dragged Lloyd to the bookshelf at the far end of the corner. "Now this is learning material!" he reached out for the book, when a flash of smoke appeared.
"I am the Wonder Chef!" The Wonder Chef appeared, transfiguring from the books, "And I shall teach you the recipe of Fried Rice!" Zelos was staring in disgust at the Wonder Chef, surprised that it wasn't what he was looking for. "For this recipe you will require Rice-type foods, and an egg! You can also use Meat-type foods, Bell Peppers, Black Satay, Carrots, and Onions!"
"Well, Zelos, I'd love to stay, but wouldn't you know it? Bell Peppers and I just don't get along." Lloyd left his perverse friend dealing with the great Chef, laughing as he left the library. He spotted Sheena coming out of the Inn, and, bored now, wanted to have a friend to talk to. "Hey Sheena!" He called to her.
"Lloyd?" Sheena looked through the college crowd, spotting him. She cared deeply for Lloyd, but was too afraid to display her affection for him. Rejection would only damage her repairing, defenseless heart to a point of destruction.
"Do you want to look around Sybak with me? Zelos is busy in the library, and it's boring to be alone…" Lloyd looked at the assassin, who he had become friends with, even though she had tried to murder Colette. Colette forgave her, and their relationship slowly grew from temporary ally to friend.
"Choosing me out of desperation, Lloyd?" Sheena regretted this as soon as the words came out as she saw the look on Lloyd's face of surprise.
"Sheena, I wouldn't choose you out of desperation! I just--" Lloyd began to stutter, similar to Genis, as he tried to explain what he meant. He wouldn't choose her out of desperation! She was his friend, and they'd become closer after Corrine had been struck down by Volt.
Sheena quickly started talking, "It was a bad choice of words, and I know you wouldn't choose me out of desperation…" She grabbed his arm, "Come on! Let's look around!" She wasn't about to pass up an opportunity with Lloyd, especially with Colette away. She didn't have anyone to talk to, with Corrine gone & Colette away.
Lloyd… how can I tell you?
The pair of fighters looked at some of the things in the pawn shop where they had gotten the key crest earlier. A ribbon caught her eye, "Lloyd, can we get this?" She held it out to him, the ribbon being the color blue.
Lloyd looked from her, to the ribbon, "I don't see why you need it. You look perfect just the way you are!" He smiled as she turned away quickly, then he went back to browsing.
Sheena blushed, which is why she turned, Lloyd had just told her she was perfect. Maybe not the way she wants it to mean, but still… he called her perfect. She felt her heart flutter as she thought of this, putting back the ribbon & no longer paying attention to the merchandise.
"I HAVE DONE IT!" A student ran through the streets, followed by a large crowd of his peers, and a few teachers. "I have managed to capture the Mana of Celsius and use it! Watch!" He opened a jar, and a burst of light blue energy burst out, swirling around, snow falling on the ground. The crowd began to cheer, when the mana turned violent, hail falling, large icicles dropping. The crowd's cheers became screams, and they ran away, crying out in terror. The mana, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy it, and in the process of chasing a screaming child, it ran into Lloyd, disappearing, and turning him into ice.
Once Sheena's brain had processed what had happened, which took a few seconds from shock; she walked over to the boy, who was also in shock. "What the HELL did you do?" The boy backed away, visibly scared, "I SWEAR if this is permanent…" She didn't need to continue, the boy was near tears.
"I'm sorry! I didn't know! It-it was a test! I had no idea it could do that to a person! If I had some of Efreet's mana, maybe, but I'm afraid your boyfriend will have to wait…" Sheena stared at the boy in shock, he called Lloyd her boyfriend. Normally she would just let herself go into thoughts of it; her and Lloyd together somewhere romantic like Flanoir, just spending time together, letting their relationship grow. He'd take her hand, face her, look into her eyes, tell her that he loved her and wouldn't stop loving her…
Unfortunately, now was not normal. Now was 'Lloyd was turned into ice'. "Ugh! I'll do it myself! And you should try to contain your experiments before they do this again!" She stormed back to Lloyd, who was, predictably, still frozen. Damn it… if I can't summon Efreet in the town… I need somewhere private; at least, I suppose the Inn would work.
She lifted Lloyd up, struggling with the weight, and slowly carried him to the inn, into one of the rooms that she had reserved. "I call upon the Red Giant, the Ruler of Hellfire! Come! Efreet!" The summon spirit appeared, thankfully not burning the place down.
"What is it you wish, summoner?" He looked at Sheena, as if there wasn't a frozen Berserker next to her.
"I want you to cancel out your opposite's mana and save Lloyd." She looked at the summon, "Without burning down the inn."
Efreet gave a slight chuckle, "As you wish." He moved to Lloyd, and simply tapped him wish his hand, the ice fading away, "If that is all, I will retire." Efreet left without saying another word.
If Sheena had not been standing next to Lloyd, he may have fallen. She stopped his wavering back and forth, his clothes damp from the ice. She moved him to the bed, and had him sit down, sitting as well, holding him close to her, grabbing a blanket. "Don't worry, Lloyd, we'll get you dried off…" She put it around them; savoring the closeness to the man she cared about.
"Th-thanks She—Sheena," Lloyd stuttered through, the cold getting to him. "What wo-would I do without yu-you?" He asked, and felt her arm around him. It felt nice to be close to her, and for one of the few times since the beginning of their journey, he felt safe.
"You'd probably be stuck in the Renegade Base, remember?" Sheena felt Lloyd become less tense, and she smiled, "I'm glad you trust me."
"Do I have a reason not to? Sheena, you didn't kill Colette, you're making pacts with summons… You're amazing Sheena, and I trust you with my life." He leaned against the bed frame, weariness taking him.
Sheena blushed madly, he trusted her so much? The one who tried to kill him on several occasions? "You can sleep, Lloyd… I've got you." She saw him nod, and soon light snoring followed. "Lloyd… I care for you, I do. You're honorable, courageous, you see past people's heritage to see them… you display random bursts of intelligence… And you care about everyone. I know you can't hear me, which is good."
She stopped for a moment, considering what she just said. Is what I feel love?
"Lloyd… I'm such a coward, I can't even tell you how I feel when you're awake, I resort to waiting for you to sleep…" She felt weary now, from all that had happened, summoning isn't exactly refreshing, you know. She put both her arms around him, rested her head against his shoulder, and then closed her eyes, letting gentle sleep take over.
Hours later, Regal returned from the Cafeteria, having bought several types of fish he wanted to experiment with. He entered the Inn, taking it to the room. When he opened the door, he found Sheena sleeping next to Lloyd. This brought a smile to his gruff face. Lloyd, Sheena… you two will have a wonderful relationship eventually. I take it that this was accidental? Judging from Lloyd, I would say it was. When you two are finally ready to admit it to each other, and find unconditional love, do not hesitate to come to me… I wish you all the joy I had with Alicia, Lloyd, and much more.
Regal headed back downstairs, leaving the Assassin and Berserker to their sleep, "Do you happen to have an extra room?" I shall not intrude upon such a moment in your relationship, my young friend.
GM: Well? What'd you think? I thought it was a bit roughly written in the beginning, but got better.
DGM: ….you wrote it, you don't critique yourself…
AGM: Please review, it helps to know what you like about the story, so even if it's just that Sheena & Lloyd spend time together in a loving way, do not hesitate to say so.
GM: Yeah, I've changed my view on Regal and Zelos. Regal is now going to be helping Lloyd & Sheena along the way. But that is a story for another time. Until later, farewell, and I hope my work has brought you enjoyment.