Vyser: I'm back.
Zeek: With a new chapter it seems.
Sane: What took you so long to update?
Vyser: Hey, I have school and other fan fictions.
Zeek: Can we please just do the disclaimer?
Sane: Vyser doesn't own Tales of Symphonia or the characters that you all own.
Zeek: Now the new guy is stealing my job!
Vyser: You snooze, you lose.
Chapter 16: Trekking the RuinsThe night came and passed too quickly, when morning came, Lloyd, Colette, Zeek, Sera, Zelos, Suzu, Jet, Sheena, Genis, Sane, Sage, and Elemmírë left using newly updated Drago Cycles. As the shortened group took to the sky, no one noticed that there was a campsite that had a specific enemy in it. In the campsite, many blood red skinned monsters with huge claws sleeping. Standing in the middle of the campsite, we find Fiend watching the group through binoculars. After he spots the group, he quickly enters a tent near him, when he enters he knells before the person inside, the light from outside shines in the guy's face, revealing Skull.
"Skull, Lloyd's group seems to heading towards the ocean," Said Fiend.
"They must be heading towards The Deep Ruins," Said Skull as he smiled. "Good thing Drag was ahead on this one."
"Skull, your orders?" Asked Fiend as Skull grabbed his nearby scythe.
"We attack when the sun falls," Said Skull as Fiend nodded, "Then the we'll let loose the dogs of war! Have the Skull Fiends ready themselves behind the trees!"
Meanwhile, Lloyd's group finally reached Deep Ruins, the ruins looked like nothing had changed, except for the damage caused by Zephyr and his beasts. As the group was walking through the ruins, many dragon type monsters attacked them.
"These are different monsters than the ones we fought before!" Said Zeek as he slashed a dragon with his dagger.
"Last time we were here, there were wolf monsters," Said Sera as she blocked a dragon's claw attack.
"Well, Claws was here last time, so someone who likes dragons must be responsible for this," Said Genis as he and Sage focused spells on the dragon monsters.
"Who do we know who is into dragons?" Asked Colette as she threw her charmkans at the dragons.
"We'll figure that out sometime I think," Said Lloyd as everyone finished off the dragon they were fighting. "Why didn't you help out Sane?"
"I'll help when I need to," Said Sane as everyone just sighed.
After defeating the dragons, the group continued to travel through the ruins, with Sane leading them to the center of the ruins. With the occasional attack from more dragons everything was uneventful until they reached the center of the ruins.
"Well now what?" Asked Jet as Sane was approaching a statue of what looked like dragon breathing fire in the center.
"Watch and learn my friends, watch and learn," Said Sane as he pushed the chest of the dragon statue. Suddenly the statue moved backward revealing a staircase. "Let's go."
As the group followed Sane down the stairs, the light was disappearing with each step.
"Can we shed some light on this situation?" Asked Elemmírë as suddenly a light came from Sane's hat rim. "Well that's handy."
"I depend on my gadgets, my light hat is one of them," Said Sane as Genis looked intrigued. "Oh guys, I've remembered something."
"And what's that?" Asked Lloyd.
"Be careful, these ruins could be filled with traps," Said Sane as soon as Colette staggered for a minute.
"You all right Colette?" Asked Lloyd.
"The ground just suddenly sank," Said Colette as suddenly a loud sound was being heard.
"I don't like this noise," Said Zeek as everyone was looking behind then suddenly a huge boulder was rolling fast towards the group. "Run!"
Everyone was running away from the boulder that was closing in on the group, suddenly Zeek tripped and fell to the ground.
"Zeek!" Yelled Sera as the boulder rolled over Zeek.
"Don't stop running!" Yelled Genis as the group came up to a fork in the fork in the ruins.
"Go left!" Yelled Sane as everyone ran through the left path and the boulder followed him or her.
"What's up this thing?" Yelled Elemmírë as the group was coming up to a dead end, quite literally actually.
"This isn't good," Said Suzu as everyone backed up to the wall.
"I'll handle this," Said Sane as he threw his poncho into the air and the boulder was a few feet away. Suddenly from Sane's poncho, two guns dropped into Sane's hands. "Take this!"
Sane shot his guns and as the shots hit the boulder, it just popped. Everyone was embarrassed on the prank boulder; from inside the boulder there was a sound system and a piece of paper too.
"Anyone else confused?" Asked Sheena as Zelos grabbed the paper on the ground.
"This says, 'Ha ha, got you good,'" Said Zelos as he showed the paper to everyone, "There's even a drawing."
The drawing was of a dragon with its tongue out and giving a peace sign on its right hand.
"So what happened to Zeek?" Asked Colette as Sane was putting away his guns.
As everyone was walking back to the regular path, when they got back to the fork in the path they find Zeek standing on the wall looking a little shocked on what just happened.
"It's good that you're okay," Said Sera.
"Thanks, say what was up with the boulder?" Asked Zeek as everyone was walking down the right path.
"Someone's bad joke," Said Genis.
The group then was walking down more stairs, at the bottom of the stairs was a pair of doors. When they open the doors they find a large open area with torches lighting the area, in the middle of the area was a huge temple with water surrounding the building.
"This is amazing," Said Colette as Sane turned off his hat light.
"We made it to the temple but don't relax yet," Said Sane as he began walking towards the temple.
"Let me guess, there is a guardian," Said Zelos as everyone was following Sane.
"Maybe, but if the trap was replaced," Said Sane as he shook his head. "Let's not think about that now."
Soon the group entered the temple, everyone was expecting that there would be traps and puzzles. However, everything was already completed, the temple was covered with gold and jewels. Sera had to pull Sage away from the treasure a couple of times. Soon everyone had reached the warp that led to the summon spirit's place. Instead of finding the spirit, a huge statue of a dragon with horns stood where the alter where the summon spirit was.
"I like the statue," Said Zeek.
"You don't think were too late do you?" Asked Genis.
"I thought so," Said Sane as he was observing the statue. "Someone beat us to the punch."
"Who could it be?" Asked Suzu.
"Who ever it was, has a bad taste in art," Said Sheena as the entire room started to shake.
"Now what?" Asked Elemmírë as the dragon statue began to crack.
Suddenly, the statue of the dragon shattered and revealed that the dragon was real. The dragon let out a horrible roar that shook even the ground. Everyone drew his or her weapons; the dragon lowered its head to the group.
"Well, this is bad," Said Zeek as the dragon seemed to laugh.
"Fools," Said a voice as everyone was looking around for the voice. "I'm in front of you."
Everyone was shocked to see that the dragon was talking.
"I am Dais, loyal follower of Drag," Said Dais as he raised his head.
"How'd you get in here?" Asked Sera.
"Magic is strong," Said Dais. "You're too late, master Drag took the summon spirit to his kingdom."
"So, you're here to make sure that we don't get to Drag," Said Lloyd as he was getting ready to fight.
"Correct, you shall not live," Said Dais as horns and spikes appeared over his body. "Whose first?"
"We don't have time for this!" Yelled Sane as he threw his poncho upwards and dropped two guns in his hands. "Eat lead!"
"You can't defeat me!" Yelled Dais as he charged at Sane.
Just as Dais was charging, his horn on his head was suddenly destroyed. Dais backed off when this happened. Smoke was coming from the barrel of one of Sane's guns.
"You broke my horn!" Yelled Dais as he threw his claw towards Sane.
"Some people never learn," Said Sane as jumped onto Dais' claws and surprised Dais.
Just as Dais was about to slam his second claw onto Sane, Sane quickly put one of his guns away and pulled out small metallic orb from his poncho and threw it into Dais' other claw. Dais yelled in pain as a small explosion came into his hand. Sane then jumped from Dais' claws and pulled his second gun from his poncho, then it was like slow motion, and Sane kept on firing shot after shot from his guns. The shots kept on hitting their target Dais. When the final shot was shot, Dais fell to the ground. Sane then landed on the ground on his feet, and then he blew the smoke from his guns and put them away.
"Sweet," Said Zeek as everyone else put away his or her weapons.
"How'd you do that?" Asked Lloyd as Sane just grinned.
"Training," Said Sane. "Well, now our next objective should find this Drag."
As Sane as heading towards the warp gate, Dais quickly got up and charged at Sane with his teeth. Sane was taken surprised by this and could draw his weapon fast enough. Just as Dais' teeth was about to take a bite out of Sane, a powerful blast of silver light blasted Dais in the neck and sent Dais crashing into the nearby wall. The attack was from Zeek.
"Hey I've been training too," Said Zeek as everyone was starting to leave the room.
Lloyd's group decided to set up camp in the Deep Ruins, even from the ruins you could tell that the sun was beginning to set. Meanwhile, outside the Renegades base many red blood skin monsters with huge claws are standing behind trees outside the base, Skull standing behind one tree with Fiend right next to him. In Skull's hands his scythe as he polishes it.
"Two minutes till sun down," Said Fiend as Skull grinned as he raised his scythe in the air.
"And thanks to Drag, we don't have to worry about Lloyd and his friends to interrupt us," Said Skull.
"Sir, you still haven't told us what the plan is sir," Said Fiend.
"Simple, capture all of them, I'll say who you can or can't destroy," Said Skull. "But leave the one who stopped Claws to me, capture the rest."
The sun had just set; Skull pointed his scythe towards the headquarters. At the same second all the monsters charged.
"I said it once and I'll say it again," Said Skull as the monsters passed him. "Let loose the dogs of war!"
Vyser: I'm finished with this chapter. I still am safe!
Zeek: Well; now this seems to be going good.
Sane: Hey I was cool in this chapter with my guns.
Zeek: I finish Dais off you know.
Dais: Hey Vyser, weren't you going to have another announcement?
Zeek: I thought you were dead?
Vyser: He was, but then he seemed to be a good writing assistant.
Sane: I take it I'm
the one to give the announcement.
Dais: Yes.
Sane: Okay, it time for you reviewers to choose another chapter. Vyser will put one just in front of the other, but he wants you to chose, which one goes first. Your choices are Chapter 17: The Scars of Skull or Chapter 17: Drag's Paradise.
Zeek: Review soon. Hey, wait a minute why did you have the fake boulder run over me!
Vyser: Run!
Vyser, Sane and Dais quickly run from Zeek who is using spirit cannon to hit them.
