Insaneiac: If this is late, it's due to a malfunction in my wireless connection, but never the less, here it comes. Act 2. Questions have been asked, friends have been lost, and lines have been drawn. Is there a light at the end of the tunnel, or is the world doomed. And further more, what power does the Aeon Jewel truly have.
Disclaimer: Nothing owned by Namco is mine…ergo all I own is the idea behind the Aeon Jewel and the plot.
"Tell me about this thing Mithos…what is it?"
"What do you want to know? The powers…the curses…the hatred it entails…the abilities it bestows?"
"Tell me why it exists…why it must exist."
"Heh…very good. You see the first wall then, is not that it exists…but that we accept its existence."
"You haven't answered my question."
"Because it is a question that can't be answered by words…only actions."
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"I want to help him…Raine…I need to help him!"
"Who?"
"Who do you think?"
"Why would you care? He's not your brother or your family…why do you care?"
"Because, I love him. I refuse to let him suffer."
"…What makes you think he is suffering right now?"
"You can't tell me he enjoys being that bastard's puppet!"
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"You only want to help your son, yet he doesn't want your help Kratos."
"Then what…"
"He wants mine…he wants the help that only I can give him."
"Help! You call this help? All you are doing is killing the people he loves, isolating him from the world! HOW IS THAT HELP?"
"Because Kratos…Lloyd is just like me…truly alone."
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"The birthplace of this legend…the place where the Aeon Jewel was first forged."
"Yuan…what are you…"
"The original home and creation center…the place that sent us the information to begin with. Dear Goddess…it actually exists."
"Yuan…what the hell are you talking about?"
"…Thor…"
It is called an Aeon Jewel
It has been called a Godstone
It is the true Key to Power
Purest Unbound Hatred
Truest Eternal Love
This is truly the power of the Gods we fall at.
This is truly the power of the Demons we fear.
This is truly the power of the Universe embodied.
This is the true Key to Power
This is the ominous Godstone
This is the Almighty Aeon Jewel
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Faraway Promises: Act Two: The Almighty Aeon Jewel
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Chapter 1: The Aftermath: Raine and Yuan
In a mighty and seemingly endless field of grass and wildflowers, underneath a large willow tree, and in what seemed to be the dead of night, slept Yuan. He slept peacefully and without a care, letting the nature of the place ensnare and enrapture him. Slowly, a woman with an oak staff approached the sleeping half elf, each step causing a wave amdist the tall grass. When she finally reached the sleeping man, she thumped the end of her staff against the ground beside his head, and stared down at him. Slowly, a smile formed on her soft lips.
"Wake up silly." The woman spoke softly, stirring the blue haired man as he lay sleeping. A few small movements were all it gained though. He felt a foot start jabbing into his side, causing him to twitch and turn in the idea that if he moved the foot would go away. "Comon Yuan! You can't let the world just rot! Let's go!" The woman spoke again, as she gently kicked him a few more times.
"…The world will be here in a few more minutes…lemme sleep." Yuan slurred out in a tired, sloppy voice. Had the woman attempting to wake him been any other woman, she would have considered him drunk. Even his other two former companions might have thought the same. In essence, Yuan was simply feeling tired and lazy. When he felt the foot nudge him yet again, he began to try and mentally will away the mysteriously cheerful sounding Raine. Another nudge finally drew a new response from Yuan, following a long and woe-some sigh. "Go away Raine…I want to sleep…I need to sleep."
"Yuan, Raine wants you…she needs you." The voice responded. Confused at the response, Yuan's eyes fluttered open to see a woman standing above him, staring down at him analytically. Although he tried with everything in his might to make out the face, it was obscured by both his not-yet-awake eyes and all of her long green hair. Again, his mind was dealt another blow of curiosity. It was pitch black where he was, yet light seem to emanate from Raine.
"Raine…when did you get green hair…" Yuan muttered, as the woman kneeled at his side. Yuan's eyes opened as wide as plates when he finally saw her face. "Ma…MARTEL!" Yuan yelled, his bottom lip quivering in surprise. When the woman smiled in response, Yuan tried to wrap his arms around her, only to feel her press a hand against his chest and hold him down. It was at that time that he saw the sorrow that filled her eyes completely. It was enough to bring him down a couple notches on the happiness ladder, back to where he was when she died in Mithos' arms. Here was the woman he loved more than anything in the world, and yet she looked like she was about to cry.
"Yuan…my love. I know you mourn my death endlessly. I know." Martel muttered, bringing the hand off of Yuan's chest and lightly grabbing his hand. "But you've lived four thousand years, blaming yourself. There is no fault of this inside you Yuan. Please, do not continue hurting yourself in payment over what happened to me."
"Martel…I can't." Yuan muttered as he lay on the ground, tightly holding Martel's hand. It had been millennia since he last held her hand, and he missed it too much to just let it go. "I could have leapt into the way, or struck him down then and there…but I didn't."
"Yuan…you were different then. You were innocent, far more than you are now. You've grown cold…lonely." Martel spoke. Her words will as soft as could be, but each seemed to take another chunk of Yuan's life as she spoke them. "Yuan. It hurts me so much to see you suffer so. So I want…no…I beg of you a favor Yuan. Consider it my truest final request to you, my love."
"What do you want of me then? Ask me anything and I promise you I'll do it Martel. Whatever it is you ask."
Martel remained silent for a moment, lowering her head to Yuan's, and gently kissing his lips. The two closed their eyes as the moment began far too slowly, and opened them when it ended far too quickly. "Let me go. I'm dead Yuan…I'm part of Mana herself now." Rubbing her free hand along his face, Martel gave Yuan the warmest smile she could, gazing deeply into his eyes as she stroked his cheek. "I loved you then Yuan, and I still do…but you are too kind a person…to beautiful a soul…to continue torturing yourself over this endlessly." She could see the tears forming in his eyes as she spoke, knowing all too well that this was something she had to do.
"But Martel..."
"Yuan, I'm gone now and forever. Fall in love anew Yuan, please. Nothing would make me happier than to see you love again." Martel spoke one last time as she stood up, and began back away. Yuan tried to push to his feet, tried to go after her, but he could not. His mind was willing, fiercely willing even, but his body would not budge. She took two more steps backwards before turning her body away and continuing, stopping only to turn her head towards Yuan. All he could do was lie there and stare at her, silently crying as she crept away, each step drawing out more and more silent tears.
"I'll always love you Yuan, but our time is over. Yet you can still find happiness, still find love. I died four thousand years ago, and you haven't let a day go by without hurting yourself because of it. Now you can let it go and start anew. If you love me Yuan…if you truly love me…then let me go and find new love. Please." Martel finished, a small tear rolling down her left cheek. With her final message out, Martel turned and fled, quickly speeding from Yuan's vision. He never screamed out her name, which caused him to cry even harder. He had very simply let her fade away, back into the echoing emptiness that was his happy memories. Finally, Yuan began to push up, trying to sit up. He was trying to get up to his feet and give chase. To chase after her into the encompassing shadows that surrounded him.
That was when he felt something different. Propping open one eye, albeit slowly, he saw a bountiful amount of silver hair resting on him. Taking a very quick pair of blinks to try and clear up the image, Yuan found himself in a rather comfortable bed, with thick covers that rested up to just above his chest. On his stomach rested the aforementioned head of silver hair, seemingly asleep. Upon simply moving arm to try and wake her up, he found himself in a miserable amount of pain. He didn't grunt or yell or scream like anyone normal would have, he just silently tossed about in agony…without the tossing. Upon further inspection of the room, he could see a few candles along the dresser, very slightly lighting the room. With his hand finally free, he gently ran a hand through Raine's hair, his mind absolutely lost to why she was in here with him.
"She's been sitting there for the better part of three days Yuan." A mature voice spoke. Yuan shifted his head to where the voice had come from and barely saw Kratos standing by the door, nodding his head towards Raine. "She's slept beside you, took care of you, healed you…" Yuan's attention turned to the sleeping half-elf, a fairly stunned look resting behind his solid eyes. Not many would have been able to make it out, but then again Kratos was unlike many people. "She refused to leave your side for three days."
"…Why?" Yuan muttered, turning his head to Kratos.
"I'm sure she is going to say it was because you saved her life…but I have a feeling that that is not the honest case." Kratos enounced, turning to the door.
"Wait." Yuan spoke, his voice a little louder than usually. He felt Raine stir on his stomach as his voice reached her ears, causing her to move a little bit before going back to sleep. "Kratos…I'm sor-"
"Yuan, we will speak later." When Kratos turned around, his eyes were deathly cold and brutally unforgiving. "Allow me to very simply end this by saying, our friendship has taken many bumps along the way…but this time I doubt its ability to recover fully." Yuan flinched at the hidden acid within his voice, before he marched out of the door, closing it with authority. Yuan's head fell back onto the pillows as he felt the silence overtake him again. Aside from the steady, almost rhythmic breathing of Raine, Yuan was encased in a box of silence.
"Sheena…she'll probably try and kill me…" Yuan muttered to himself, pulling a hand to his head and rubbing his temples. "That little brat Genis too…even Colette will be angry. I'll be lucky if one of them doesn't finish the job Llo-" Yuan began, pausing as he felt the boy's name begin to leave his lips. "…Mithos…You bastard." Yuan growled. "I knew you were insane, even tyrannical, but I never doubted that you had a limit. Even I thought there was still some good left in you. How…how could you do that to Lloyd? To manipulate his emotions so you could take over…what kind of sick bastard are you…and why does Martel care so much about you." Yuan muttered into the air, his voice picking up in tempo as he went along.
Which is why it surprised Yuan severely when he felt a surprisingly warm hand grasp his, causing his head to shoot up. He came face to face with a slowly awakening Raine, who even though probably didn't know what continent she was on at that point, was wearing a warm and reassuring smile that seemed to calm Yuan a great deal. For a moment, Yuan was completely and totally motionless as he watched the half-elf wake up. It struck him in a weak spot when he realized that he was doing the very same thing he used to do to Martel. He was watching Raine, one of the pushiest, most stubborn and infuriating women on the face of Symphonia awakening. It further surprised him when he realized that she seemed to wake in a very similar method to Martel, scratching her head slowly before swiping any hair out of her eyes and then rubbing each eye, first the left one and then the right one.
"Yuan…you're okay!" Raine spoke rather sloppily, frowning as she realized her mouth wasn't quite awake yet. "You…are okay right?" Even in the low light, Yuan could clearly see the concern that raged like a bonfire within her eyes. It hurt him that she cared so much about him.
"Why Raine?" Yuan asked, even before he realized he said anything. The odd look that formed on Raine's face prompted him to speak on. He felt her hand leave his, something that caused him to feel a little depressed. After one good shake of his head, and a sharply sucked in breath of air when he realized that shaking his head hurt like hell, Yuan continued.
"Why did you take care of me?"
"Why did you attempt to offer yourself in exchange for me when…" Raine trailed off, turning her head to the side. She couldn't ever say his name anymore. "I couldn't just abandon you Yuan. Even though you are probably the single pushiest, most stubborn and infuriating man on the face of Symphonia." Raine muttered. She didn't see the smile that filled his face, but she could tell he was smiling none the less. "I'm sorry Yuan."
"What are you apologizing for Raine? In the course of roughly four days, I drug the savoir of the world, turn him into the freak that originally split the words asunder, and got you almost killed, twice. Not only that, but I'm fairly sure that the instant I step out of this room, any one of Lloyd's former companions will try and slaughter me…" Yuan recounted before he pushed up on the bed, getting into a sitting position. Yuan prided himself on being very tolerant with pain, and even though moving felt like he was tearing a limb off, he showed very little pain registration on his face. "…Even Kratos seems to hate me now. I mean, I've tried to kill him, I've used his son against him, I've done everything bad a person could do to him and he still remained my friend. But now…" Raine could hear Yuan's voice change as it went on. Like a child who began to realize something was hurting, Yuan began to lose control of himself, spiraling downwards as his mind jumped from scene to scene.
"Yuan…"
"I brought back the one person that I tried my hardest to eliminate over the thousands of years I've lived. I did everything in my power Raine to stop that madman from destroying the worlds. And then…within four days time…I undo four thousand years of hard work and bring Mithos back into this world." Yuan sulked, tightly grabbing the covers of his blanket to try and distract himself from crying, almost as though he was about to tear the cover in half. "I ruined my best friend's son's life, I doomed the planet again, I failed Martel…I'm useless Raine." Raine remained lead-faced as Yuan continued to get louder and louder. "I did everything I could to stop him, and yet in the end…after he was killed and beaten…I open the door for his return and roll out the damned red carpet. Mithos is right…I'm pathetic." Yuan finished, locking eyes with Raine. Seconds later, skin met skin as Raine slapped the flavor out of Yuan's mouth, the sound loud enough to wake the dead.
Yuan prided himself on an incredible level of tolerance for pain. The moment Raine slapped him, though, she could see that she had hurt him very much so. He didn't hide it at all, nor did he make even the slightest attempt to mask it. Slowly, Yuan turned his head back to face Raine, his bottom lip quivering as he made eye contact.
"Yuan…stop feeling so damned sorry for yourself." Raine spoke, her words harsh, sharp and very true. "True, you may have drugged him, but that is where your fault ends. The rest we can blame on Mithos and Lloyd." Raine replied strongly. "Mithos for doing whatever he had to do to get free and Lloyd for not being strong enough to defeat Mithos." Yuan sighed, about to let his head drop away when a hand rested itself underneath his chin, keeping him in eye contact with Raine. Although it was softly keeping his head in place, the hand itself was motionless and unmoving. "And you are not pathetic."
"I'd really like to see you give that speech to his friends."
"Like it or not, I am still the mayor of this town. If they have a problem with it, they'll deal with me." Raine spoke, her words very sharp and very swift. "And I can be a whole world scarier than any pink wearing swordsman, or any violent summoner."
"Why do you care Raine?" Yuan spoke, still slightly offset in tone. He was well aware that he just about shattered the old image he used to have. The tough-as-nails, unbreakable and down right strong Yuan had been pushed aside from an emotional and depressing shell. "What is it about me that you actually give half a damn about?" Yuan half spoke, half sobbed.
Raine's steady face faded back into a comforting smile as she took her hand from his chin. "Yuan, Mithos was about to kill me. You were willing to sacrifice yourself and your pride to keep me alive, and I know that had to be the single most painful thing you could have ever done." Raine replied, sighing deeply. "I owe you my life Yuan…"
"Raine, you owe me nothing." Yuan shot back, his soft eyes suddenly rock hard. It slightly shocked the eldest Sage, who in turned, rested a hand on the side of his face. She had expected him to pull away from it, but instead he let it rest against his face, finding comfort in its warmth.
"Why are you so afraid of anyone trying to get close to you?" Raine asked, Yuan's head turning away and breaking eye contact. This time, Raine made no attempt to move his head back, letting her hand drop away from the half-elf male. "Yuan." Raine muttered, before standing up. She might have gotten one step in before she felt her hand get grabbed. Raine spun around and looked at Yuan, who had his hand wrapped around her's.
"Raine…Thank you." Yuan muttered chokingly at best. A long sigh escaped him before he continued. "I mean that Raine…thank you." And with that, his hand slipped from her's, and Yuan rolled over onto his back.
"Yuan?"
A small exhalation of breath made its way past Yuan's lips, though not one of impatience or depression. "Yes Raine?"
"I'm sorry I got you hurt so badly…I never meant to get in the way." Raine muttered, her voice dropping considerably in tone.
"Raine…I'm fairly certain that if you had not helped, I would be a dead man right now. I think if anything Raine…I owe you my life just as much as you owe me yours."
"I'm guessing you want to call it even then?" Raine replied. She grinned when she heard Yuan chuckle slightly, though it sounded like he was killing himself by doing so.
"Let's just leave it at we owe each other our lives…it has a much more dramatic ring to it." Yuan finished, glancing at Raine. For a brief moment, the two froze in time and simply stared at the other. Five days ago, it seemed unlikely that either of them would have even given the time of day to the other. Now, however, both of them were smiling at the other and, although neither of the two knew it thanks to the poor lighting of the room, blushing quite potently. Finally, Raine turned to face the door and opening it. Moving her head to gaze back at Yuan, Raine watched him turn over. A final smile and a single tear later, and Raine had shut the door, leaving Yuan to himself and his own thoughts.
"…I won't let Mithos do this…not to Lloyd." Yuan growled, as he very slowly took the cover off himself and swung his legs over. "I don't care how much I have to work…I am not letting Mithos do this."
Yuan sucked in his breath as he felt loads of pain tear through his body. He was angelic though, so he'd heal quickly. Chances are, must of it was just stiffness that would wear off from walking. Shaking his head, Yuan raised a clenched fist into the air, holding it beside his face.
"For Martel's sake…and Raine's."
A/N: And so, we see the second seeds of romance slowly begin to bloom. Yes, that is right folks. Anyways, the second chapter is not going to be as warm as this one, with plenty of anger directed towards Yuan. Also, keep those small exchanges of dialogue close by, as each is a very potent piece of stages to come. I won't say much, but I will say this. By the fifth chapter of Act 2, one of the original eight saviors' lives is going to be completely and totally tossed onto its head. Peace.
