Fire and Ice by the-key-of-the-twilight
Disclaimer: Once again I do not own Namco, Tales of Symphonia, Sheena, Zelos, or "Ice and Snow" and probably never will. I also do not own D.N. Angel. :bows to Sugisaki-sama: Also some inspiration was taken from Fruits Basket and Chrono Crusade.
A/N: Thank you everyone for reviewing:bows: I'm very happy to actually get more than one review for just Part 1! Thank you Ocean Rose, ShinkuRoze, MoonCannon, and everyone else that has reviewed!
MoonCannon: I'm sorry, but I planned only to have Sheena and Zelos in this fanfic. I don't know… I might add a few others from ToS, but that's a might.
Rose-Wisteria: Thank you so much for reviewing! You don't know how happy you've made me! Thank you so much again!
Part 2 is really weird and confusing. I'm just warning you in advance. You can flame me as you please… :hides in corner:
Part 2: Ice and Dark
"Ya know, 'Ice and Snow' wasn't its real title," Zelos said, breaking the silence.
"What do you mean by real title?" Sheena asked, suddenly curious.
"Its real title was… 'Ice and Dark'…" he explained. "But many people are too scared to admit that to themselves…"
The snow kept on falling. Falling endlessly… as if snow never melted here… Here? Where was here? That, she didn't know. Sheena didn't know where she was. She was just standing there, amidst the falling snow. She reached out her bare hands to catch a few snowflakes. They left nothing, but puddles of wetness like tears. She could hear echoes from far, far away. They were faint and mystic as if spirits were whispering them.
"Freedert… Come back to me…"
At least that was all the summoner could make out of the echoes. They sounded so sad, and so lonely. She observed her surroundings, trying to find something new, but to no avail, everything was snow. Just pure white snow. It was cold and somehow… dark…
"You failed us…"
Sheena immediately turned as she heard this unexpected echo.
"Sheena… You failed us…"
The summoner abruptly turned and searched frantically for the owner of the voice.
"You failed us… Give us back our time…"
Sheena spun around again, looking from side to side. But there was only snow, just the same white beauty everywhere she looked. It suddenly became colder and she realized this, as she was able to see her own breath. She rubbed her shoulders. W- where am I? What am I doing here? Is this some type of game, she thought as she stretched out her hand. Sheena watched intently as bits of snow fell upon her skin. The snow sure feels real…
"Failure…"
It was that voice again! But it was different this time. Sheena jumped to the conclusion that the echoes were made more than one person. Wait, person? People, she thought questionably to herself. How am I so sure these are people?
"You will forever be a failure…"
Sheena closed her eyes and felt the frigid air blow at her face. Failure? Where have I heard that before…? She suddenly opened her eyes as she heard footsteps trudging into the snow beside her. The summoner spun around and stared at the figure.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" the figure asked, cocking his head so he could be seen behind the collar of its shirt. Sheena didn't know how to answer, so she just observed the mysterious figure that simply appeared out of nowhere. He was certainly a boy, probably the same age as Sheena, with short red hair and luminous blue eyes. His body was adorned with a tattered cloak, one that looked as if it had endured many battles. But it was not his appearance that caught Sheena's eye. It was the clock he wore around his neck.
"Are you here to destroy me?" he asked, looking blankly at Sheena.
"D- destroy you? Why would I do that?" she replied.
"Then what are you doing here?" The lass thought quietly for a while. Actually, she wasn't sure how she got here the first place.
"I don't know! Where the hell is here anyways?" she answered, knowing that it didn't help the boy in any way.
"This is my world… a world I created…" he said quite confidently.
"A world you created? How's that possible?" Sheena said, more like to herself, quietly.
"It's quite simple, really. But a mere human like you would never understand…"
"Mere human? Then what does that make you? You don't seem all tough and mighty to me!"
"I'm human, but not quite… Anyways, are you done with your questions yet?" he brushed a pile of snow off his shoulders and turned around. "Leave as soon as you can. Humans can't survive in this world for long…"
"Hey, wait!" Sheena called after him as he started walking off. "Where are you going?" However, the boy did not reply. Instead, he continued trudging his way through the snow. "Wait!" Her hand reached out for him and she started following him. She tried to run, but the snow was too thick. She would just have to slowly trudge after him.
"Why are you still following me?" the boy asked and stopping abruptly. Sheena panted and saw her own breath. His question angered her. "I thought you stopped a long time ago."
"Does it look like I know where I am?" she asked. "Can you please just show me the way out of your world?" There was a brief moment of silence. "Hey, did you hear what I just said?"
"Show you?" he chuckled. "How can I show you the way out? You got yourself into this world so only you can get yourself out. I have no power to control that…"
"What? What are you talking about?" Sheena asked and kicked at the snow. "How did I get myself into this world?" Again, the boy did not answer, in which angered Sheena quite a bit. He just walked on as if the summoner had said nothing at all. She decided to calm herself down and continued to follow.
It was quite a while until Sheena finally saw something besides all the snow. It was a large building, hardly visible through all the snow that covered it. A beautiful stained-glass window could be seen and a huge clock was right under it. The doors were large and bore unique markings on them. She watched as the boy walked up to the building and forced open the door with the palm of his hand.
After he had disappeared within the building, Sheena ran in just before the doors shut behind her. She sighed in relief, but realized that the boy was staring at her. The summoner looked up at him and saw that behind him was a giant block of ice.
"Why are you still following me?" he asked irritably.
"Why am I still following you?" Sheena repeated. "I need an answer from you! Now tell me how I got in here in the first place!" The boy was silent for a moment, but then spoke up.
"This is a world of eternal time… You can call it all you want, but it's still the same anyways… Freedert and I created this world…" he explained.
"Freedert? But that's… that's the girl from the story!" Sheena said. "Does that mean that you're…?"
"Yes, you're a bit brighter than I thought you were. The name's Elliot, also known as the Chock of Time," he replied, "Freedert is the Second Hand of Time. Is it getting too confusing yet?"
Sheena said nothing and put a hand to her head. Elliot looked up at the stained-glass window. It portrayed a sword with wings coming out from the sides.
"You must have been pretty depressed to come into this world… you probably came from your dreams…" he said.
"My dreams?" Sheena questioned. "You mean I'm dreaming?"
"But humans can't survive here for long… If you stay here too long, you'll never be able to wake up… You will die here and yet you'll live here eternally… That is because time is frozen here…" Elliot explained.
"Time is… f…frozen?" Sheena stammered. "But… that's not possible!"
"Yes it is… for the Guardian of Time that is…" he said.
"But… Freedert and you were granted Eternal Time, right? Doesn't that mean… that…?" Sheena started.
"Eternal Time and Frozen Time. Isn't that the same thing?" Elliot cut in. "Either way, you're at a dead end, isn't that right?" Sheena looked down and closed her eyes.
"But your story…"
"Our story? What do you mean?" he questioned and neared her. "Tell me… I'd like to know this story…"
"Lies! Lies!" Elliot cried, after hearing Sheena explain the story. "They're all lies!" The summoner stood there, astounded by the boy's anger. "This story… 'Ice and Snow'! It's all a lie!" He stomped around in a mad fury.
"Then what happened?" Sheena spoke up and the furious boy looked up at her. "I mean… what really happened?" Zelos wouldn't tell me…
"It's complicated…" Elliot simply stated, much more calm then before. "Really… but if you really want to know, I guess I could tell you…" His face expression darkened. "Okay, then…"
"When I was little, I had two close friends, Freedert and Kyle…" he started explaining. "My father was the duke, but he didn't seem to mind that I was a friend with a villager girl. Kyle, Freedert, and I had lots of fun back then… However, Freedert and I became closer and closer. It actually wasn't long until I realized that our relationship was more than it seemed…" Sheena listened intently to his story.
"The two of us eventually fell in love when we became older… and war broke us apart. I was sent off to battle and I asked Kyle to take care of Freedert while I was gone. However, unfortunately, I was struck by an arrow during battle and I died…"
"Yet, I was then resurrected somehow and I went back to the town I had loved. No one was there; it had been devastated. Only Freedert was there, and she was dying. I had then realized what she had done." Elliot lifted his head. "She had exchanged her time with mine. In other words, she sacrificed her life so I could live. But without her, what purpose would I live for? How would I ever manage on without my light - my love? Thus, I thrust the sword Freedert had given me through my heart, wishing to the Guardian of Time that I could exchange my time with hers…" The boy looked straight at Sheena.
"But, the Guardian could only exchange time, not create time. She could not create time that had stopped. So, she decided to freeze our time. Thus, she made this world, a world in which time does not move and does not end…" Elliot suddenly chuckled. "Did you get all that?" Sheena closed her eyes and pondered for a moment.
"So… what happened to Freedert?" she asked.
"She died sometime ago… along with her world…" he replied sullenly. "We do not die… however, if our worlds die then we die as well…"
"That's really sad…" she commented. "But isn't living for you horrible now? I mean, isn't it… tiring…?"
"Hmm? You really think so?" he laughed. "I thought all humans wanted to live forever…"
"Well, living for a long time is nice, but…" the summoner said, "living forever is like… punishment…"
"And why would you say that?"
"I actually don't really know… but it seems so cruel… to live on forever and never be put to rest…" she replied quietly. "It's just not right…"
"A lot of things aren't right about life," Elliot said, walking toward the center of the building that highly resembled a church. "But that's strange… I thought humans always wanted to have eternal life… am I right?" Sheena hesitated for a moment and clenched her fist.
"But- but I don't want to," she stated. "I wouldn't want this 'eternal' life… that would be..."
"Be what? Horrible? Horrendous? God-like?" he suggested as he stood in front of a humungous block of ice. She hadn't notice this before, but there seemed to be a sword embedded in the ice.
"Well yeah…" she replied and watched as Elliot raised his hand and felt the rigid edges of the ice block. "Life is only exciting if you have something to live for… and to know that there's no end to your life… it's just… so sad…" Sheena put her hands to her face.
"Sometimes I wonder why I was born… why I'm still alive while all those people in Mizuho were killed… why I'm still worthy to be human…" she stuttered. "I… I still haven't found the reason why, but… I'm sure I'll find it… someday…"
"And how are you so sure of that?" Elliot asked and continued to feel against the hard, cold ice.
"Because… everyone has a reason to live! But if everyone lived for eternity, there would be no point in life!" the summoner shouted with a sudden burst of energy. "Life is only important if we live for something… there would be no point if our lives were forever! It is only because death exists that people try to make the best of their lives!"
"And why is death sad?" he asked, almost in a whisper. Sheena set down her hands. Her eyes were filled with tears.
"Because… you lose everything that you love…"
Suddenly, there was a sound as if glass was breaking that echoed throughout the whole church. The piercing clatter rang in her ears and she felt as cold, as cold as ice. The grand block of ice and shattered into a myriad of pieces and all that was left was a single sword, standing upright and securely chained to the ground. Its blade gave off a luminous light as if it was glowing itself. Elliot slowly strolled up to it and grabbed the sword by its golden hilt.
" 'You're the reason that I live for'… I wish I could say that to someone again…" he sighed despondently and his head slumped. "Freedert's gone… and sometimes… sometimes… I feel like I just don't want to live anymore…" Sheena remained silent as tears streamed down her cheeks. "What do you think is more sad: having the both of us die or living on forever?" The invoker was quiet for a moment and mused with deep thought. Elliot gradually lifted up the sword over his head and grinned as he watched the blade sparkle radiantly.
"I… I think that living on forever is… more sad," she stammered and quickly wiped her tears of her face. She did not want him to see her as something weak and venerable.
"Eh? So you say…" he said in almost a teasing-like manner and brought down the sword to eye-level. "So you think that living a relatively short life is better off than living one that lasts forever?"
"Will you stop asking the same questions! I said yes, now deal with it!" Sheena suddenly yelled and was surprised at how angry she sounded. She had no idea what emotion she was experiencing right now. She didn't know if she was sad, mad, confused, or just plain frustrated. This boy was driving her mad! She stared angrily at him and he did nothing but smirk back. However, suddenly, he lowered his sword and it rang as the blade tip made contact with the ground.
There was complete and absolute silence. Sheena scanned the area warily as if something was going to ambush her. When she finally made sure that there was no danger whatsoever around her, she stared back at the boy as he stood motionless with his sword. However then, for a split second, she swore that she had just seen another boy, in the same exact spot Elliot was in now, holding the sword gallantly and grinning evilly at her with his bright azure eyes. She opened her mouth, but could not find her voice to speak. For a second, she felt lost and could not think. Her thoughts, like birds, seemed to have just flown away like all her hope. All she knew was that boy before her was the spitting image of the Chosen she had known for several years, the same Chosen who always joked with her, and the same Chosen who tried to hide all his pain deep inside his heart.
"Zelos…" she whispered, for that was the one word that escaped her lips and it echoed throughout the building.
"Zelos…"
The red-haired Chosen looked over to see his beloved summoner mumbling in her sleep. He laid a hand on her temple and sighed. She's probably having a fevered dream…, he thought to himself and glanced toward the opening of the cave. The snowstorm's much better than it was before… it looks as if it'll settle soon… He then picked up a nearby stick and started to draw images in the dirt while entertaining himself by humming a little tune. After a while, he gasped as he came to realize what he had drawn. He quickly erased the portrait of Sheena with his hand and blushed in embarrassment.
Man! Do I always have to think about her, he asked himself slammed his hand against his forehead. Why am I always so stupid?
Perspiration slid down her face and she watched as before her, images of many people appeared. Worst of all, she recognized every single one of them. Standing with a friendly smile was Kuchinawa, and behind him were several others who all bore welcoming smiles. At Kuchinawa's feet, Corrine appeared and Sheena's eyes widened.
"Ku- Kuchinawa! Corrine!" She scanned the group of people nervously. "Everyone!" She would never forget the faces of her allies that she couldn't save. "I'm sorry… that time with Volt… I couldn't save you guys…" Tiny tears slid down her cheeks as she lowered her head. Shame overwhelmed her. "I'm really sorry… It's all my fault…"
"Don't apologize," a voice rang out. The summoner looked up and found her Summon Spirit speaking to her. "It's not your fault… we all decided on our choices and sacrificed ourselves for you." A woman behind Corrine stepped up.
"Don't be so hard on yourself, Sheena. Do you think we sacrificed ourselves just to have you live in distress and suffer with self-guilt? You have done no wrong; remember that… We are your friends and allies and we will forever be by your side." She gently smiled at her. "I don't wish to see you cry…"
"We gave our lives to you, Sheena. We entrusted you with our precious memories and wanted you to live the life we weren't able to live," a man with dark hair said. "Do you understand? We want you to make the best of your life for us." Sheena give a slight smile and turned toward her childhood friend.
"I apologize for my harsh words for I now know the pain in your heart they have caused you. We may have parted ways, but does not mean I have spite toward you," Kuchinawa said and smiled. Sheena stared at him in surprise. He apologized! "I have actually… learned much from you… your words and actions made me think about what I was doing… and how it was harming others around me…" More tears came to the summoner's eyes.
"You're… all such wonderful people… thank you," she said while slowly wiping her tears away from her face. "Kuchinawa… Corrine… everyone… thank you so much… I'm very happy now… I have no regrets…"
Suddenly, they all disappeared. It was as if they were just illusions and vanished before her eyes. But Sheena knew those people were not just images; she could feel the warmth of souls among them.
"Humph, that was unexpected," Elliot murmured. "It seems that your friends are quite loyal to you… Who would have thought…?" He lowered his blade and walked toward Sheena. "Then I have no choice… if you're so against living an eternal life here in this world, I'll have to end your life for you."
Sheena gasped in surprise. "Wha- what do you mean?"
"You're trapped in this world, don't you see? There's no way out unless you answer my questions correctly!"
"But you said I could leave! When you first met me, you said I needed to leave as soon as possible! Argh!" She grabbed at her hair. "Why is everything always changing in this world? It's just so confusing and… and irritating! I- I just want to get out of here, okay! I want everything to be normal again… I just want everything to be the same again… that's all…"
"Like I said, you can only leave this world if you answer my questions correctly," Elliot spat. "But at the rate you're going, you're never gonna to get them right! It's because you've never went through all the pain I have!" He lifted his shimmering blade and pointed it toward Sheena. "So, according to your answers, you would rather be killed than to live on forever, am I correct? Or do you wish to change your answer? It's your choice."
She stared at him with her deep brown pools and clenched her fist. Quivering from nervousness, she closed her eyes tightly and she swallowed. I have to be brave! For Kuchinawa! For Corrine! For… Zelos… Sheena suddenly opened her eyes as an image of the Chosen appeared in her mind. I… I… can't die… because… I want to see him again!
"No," the summoner spoke, "I'll take neither answer!" A look of surprise appeared on Elliot's face. "I want to go back! Back to Tethe'alla where all my friends are waiting! I want to leave this horrible place!" Tears formed in her eyes. "I- I want everything to be normal again… not all this insane talk about 'eternal life' and 'death'… and… and… I want to see him again…"
All of a sudden, the luminous blade began to crack and before Elliot could do anything, it shattering into numerous pieces like shimmering glitter. The golden hilt dropped to the ground and all Elliot did was stare.
"How did you- ?" he started, but then fell to his knees. With hope that she had finally defeated him, Sheena stood up and walked towards him. She reached out a shaking hand and laid her hand on the side of his face.
"You… you remind me so much of Zelos… I just don't know why…" she said as she stroked his cheek. With one hand, he moved the clock around his neck aside and loosened his clothes so that his upper torso was exposed. The summoner gasped as she saw that a ruby jewel was implanted on his chest. "What?" she breathed, shocked. Red-orange light erupted from the boy's back and slowly took the shape of bright, beautiful wings.
"You're- " she began, but gasped as Elliot pulled her hand away and she realized that her hand was disappearing. "What?"
"You're going back now… I guess you were strong enough at heart to leave after all…" He said as he slowly let go of her hand. Then, he gave a sad smile. "I'm so stupid to think I could've kept you here… what was I thinking…?" His voice now dropped to a whisper and Sheena had to strain her ears to hear him. The boy stared towards the ground and his fine crimson locks hid his eyes.
Not only had she started to disappear, but also the distance between her and the boy had been dramatically increased. She desperately reached out a hand, longing to touch his face for some strange reason, afraid of what was going to happen… but then, she heard his voice… a voice much… different than it had been before.
It was not an arrogant and obstinate voice, but one that was forlorn and remorseful.
"I'm sorry… I don't know what got to me…
It was a mistake all along… to have kept you here…
Now you can go back and see your friends…"
"I- I actually don't know w- why I chose to bring you here…
W- what was I… thinking?
W- was I just stupid or something?
Or… was it really jealousy that got me?"
"W- was I jealous because of your friends?
Or was I jealous b- because of the strength of your heart?
I- I think I envied both… but the thing I envied the m- most about you…
Was the reason you had to live on and to see the new day…"
When only her face and fragments of her hand had remained from the process of fading away, she felt hot liquid roll down her cheek. She did not know why she felt sympathy for the boy who had baffled her completely and thrived to keep her in this world and she did not know why she loved his innocent and lonely soul. As she was about to disappear completely, she saw tears stream down his face.
"Sheena."
A voice was beckoning to her, calling her.
"Sheena."
It called again. And all of the sudden, the voice was entirely recognizable.
"Sheena!" the Chosen called as he shook the summoner's shoulders.
"Wha-?" she replied blankly and rubbed her eyes. Suddenly, she stood up and in the process knocked Zelos down. "Huh? What? Where am I? Where's Elliot?" If it hadn't been that Zelos was worried about her, he would have burst out laughing after hearing that Sheena was asking for a fictional character.
"Elliot?" he said in surprise, but then shook his head. "Ah, never mind that. Are you okay?" As she tried to reply, she suddenly felt extremely weak and her words came out dry and hoarse.
"I- I'm alright… I think…" she tried to sit up since she didn't want to trouble the Chosen with her weight leaning on him. "Ah!" she yelped in pain as her muscles ached badly as she attempted to sit.
"Sheena!" Zelos said and pulled her towards him. His hand lifted and felt her temple. "Look, you're sick, okay? You had quite a fever a while ago… but you're going to be as good as new once you get some rest… Gee, don't scare me like that, I thought my hunny was going to leave me!"
"That's not funny, Zelos," Sheena mumbled and huddled closer to him, regardless of how idiotic she thought he was. She then looked down and noticed that she was wearing Zelos' jacket. He must have tried to warm me up…
"Okay, okay, that was lame," he laughed and looked towards the cave entrance. "But the good news is that the snowstorm's died down." At his words, Sheena looked out as well and to her relief, the snowstorm had indeed ceased, but it was still snowing.
"It's… pretty," she murmured, more to herself than Zelos. The Chosen was taken aback. Whoa, now when did she start using words like 'pretty' again?
"Huh?" he replied, raising an eyebrow in confusion. Is this the same Sheena from a few hours ago?
"Ah… it's nothing…" she muttered and closed her eyes. I'm so tired…
"Sheena? Shheeennnaaaa…" Zelos called and shook her a little bit. The summoner had fallen asleep again. He smiled a little and looked outside. "Let's go back to Flanoir, okay?" He looked back at the sleeping beauty and to his surprise, flushed. After dressing her and himself in their semi-dry clothes, he gathered her up in his arms and kissed her forehead softly. "You'll get better as soon as we get back; I promise…"
And with Sheena in his arms, Zelos headed back to Flanoir, as the soft snow continued to gracefully fall. However, right before entering the snowy city, he paused and stared up into the sky. Elliot, huh? Was it you that caused that snowstorm? He glanced back at the sleeping summoner. The snow… it's like… flower petals…
"Freedert… You snow falls… so slow… and silent.
Pure and undefiled…The snow that I know to be you keeps falling…
In the dark of the night, on dark's wings, deep in my heart… silently…
Your snow keeps falling…"
He remembered when his mother had read him those lines. He had memorized those lines by heart. Is this your gift? Freedert? Elliot? The Chosen grinned and pondered these thoughts. 'Ice and Dark'…I personally prefer 'Ice and Snow' but then again, it's your story, Elliot. And I have my own story to write as well… Suddenly, he noticed what he was doing. Wait, how the hell did I get so philosophical all of the sudden? He put one hand to his temple. I'm probably getting a fever, too… well, better get Sheena to the doctor before I faint on someone's doorstep… He chuckled a little at his own joke.
Well, all I know now is that, Sheena, your snow will always keep falling… silently… deep in my heart…
For all eternity…
A/N: Ahhhhh! This chapter was horrible! I'm soooo sorry I haven't updated in nearly a year and that this chapter is utterly terrible! Flame me all you must! It's bad, and I know it; I totally messed up everything… I changed my mind so many times during this chapter which shows how unorganized I am and many parts of it are weird… ah, I'm sorry… I've failed you all!
Hopefully, the last chapter will make up for this poorly written chapter!
