Mez10000: Me again, hoping you liked the last chapter!

Kira: Why do you write chapters three months before you post them?

Mez10000: My floppy disc drive is being temperamental, (Definitely the mental part!) and I don't have a time-consuming hobby, apart from playing my Gamecube. And I don't want to think about my homework…(glances up at pile 50m high.) I'll start on it soon…maybe.

Kira: Anyway, on with the fic…

Mez10000: Hold it. (Clicks fingers) Disclaimer, Kira.

Kira: Let me guess, or the Yuan doll gets it?

Mez10000: That's the one.

Kira: (Sighs) Mez10000 doesn't own Tales of Symphonia or any related characters. If you don't recognise something from the game, then it's probably one of my ideas that Mez10000 stole.

Mez10000: I didn't steal any ideas…. well, not off you, anyway…(I'm kidding!)

It wasn't dark! (I told you I wouldn't start every chapter like that!)We were on top of the mountain. Somehow we got through choosing our partners for the dragon trip, with Kratos and Colette going first, Lloyd choose Sheena (and Sheena's face went bright red!), then Genis quickly ran over to me, to avoid being with Raine. Raine flew alone (Everyone, 1, 2, 3…Aww.).

I had to stop Cyclone from going too fast; we couldn't get near Kratos without risking the time-continuum of this world, or something like that. The flight was going painfully slowly. I couldn't even do any flying tricks with Cyclone without scaring Genis to death.

"So…" I was stuck for what to say. "In the event on an emergency landing the exits are located here," I motioned, "and here. In the event of a crash over water…"

"What are you doing?"

"Um, it's kind of a joke, I guess."

There was a huge awkward silence.

"Look, thanks for earlier. Raine and I are grateful." Genis broke the silence.

"What? You mean being half-elves? Don't worry about it."

"You know, you could've stayed 'human', I wouldn't have told them."

"When they see me fight, they'll know for sure that I'm not human. This was the easiest way…in the long run. So, tell me a bit about yourself."

"Raine and I have lived in Iselia all our lives. We were abandoned; neither of us can remember our parents. Raine is a teacher in the local school, but before that she made a treaty with the local Desians, on the Mayor's orders, so that the village could live in peace. And I…broke the treaty. To save an old lady. But they turned Marble into a monster and attacked Isealia…" His voice faded in the wind.

"I'm sorry. I bet you were exiled from the village, right?"

"Yeah, but how did you know?"

"It's at those times that people in charge need to blame someone, and punish them. Their logic is that by punishing that person, they're destroying the risk of it happening again. It's not true, though. Remember that you and Lloyd weren't destroying the village. The Desians were. It's not your fault."

"Thanks."

Cyclone swooped downwards, but not as steeply as before. I think he didn't want to worry Genis. We weren't the last people to land, Raine was.

I was panicking about what was going to happen in the tower. I know we should win, but what if me being here changed something? What if…No, I had to control the doubt. Nothing would change just by me worrying about it. Besides, we had an extra two people on our side, Cyclone, and me. Which reminded me…

"You're going to help us, right? You've seen what's going to happen, and you'll be there, won't you?" I asked Cyclone.

"Of course. Remember the reason I came into a physical form? I want to help you."

"Thanks." By this time, we had come into the tower, and were about to use the warp.

I shuddered, just noticing the coffins, then stepped into the warp. I had felt similar feelings, but the teleport was definitely the worst. It felt like I was being taken apart and being re-built, atom-by-atom. Some of the pain that I'd expected was stopped. Maybe they have a painkiller built in or something.

The altar was huge. Despite myself, I was glad. To fight we would need a lot of room. Remial appeared, in a white light that took a…g…e…s…

"Now, my daughter. Release the final seal." Remial couldn't have sounded more 'evil villain' unless he added an evil laugh. "In doing so, you will complete the final sacrifice of your human existence; your heart and memory." After that the long speech got a bit long and repetitive. They were talking about obvious things, like you have to die to become an angel. I was feeling bored so I wondered why there's so many blue eyes in the party. (And yes, sometimes I do have that short an attention span!)

Colette's back started glowing…

"Wait, Colette's your daughter. Surely you don't want her to die either!" Lloyd was trying to find any loophole possible.

'Remial isn't Colette's father!' I wanted to scream at him.

Remial beat me to it, saying, "My daughter? Don't make me laugh. When I came down to play the role of guardian angel, you inferior beings just started calling me her father on your own. I merely placed the Cruix Crystal upon this sacrifice, who was selected to become Martel's vessel."

Lloyd jumped onto the raised altar. "Colette!"

Colette was silently telling him not to worry, if I remember correctly.

"Colette! If you realized what was going on, then why?..."

Colette said something else silently, which I couldn't remember.

"Colette…I'm sorry! I couldn't save you…I'm so sorry!" Everyone, including me, could only hear Lloyd's side of the conversation, and they looked puzzled.

"I promised I wouldn't make another mistake, but it looks like I have again…" This was almost making me cry.

'Colette's not going to die…She's not going to die, I don't need to cry…' I thought over and over to myself.

After another silent reply, Colette's feet began to lift from the floor.

"Colette!" Lloyd cried.

Colette's wings came out, and she hovered into the air. Her eyes closed, and when they opened, they were demonic red. I still had enough presence of mind to remember the upcoming battle, and started to focus my mind.

Remial finally did the evil laugh, "Muhahahahaha! I've done it! It's finally complete! Martel's vessel is finally complete!"

'Cue evil music,' I thought.

"With this, I shall become one of the Four Seraphim!"

'You want a bet, Remial? Mithos only made the 'Four Seraphim' so that himself, his sister, Yuan and Kratos were higher in rank than the other angels.' I was starting to wish that I was sat in front of my Gamecube at home, so that I could at least say these things aloud!

After some more banter from both sides, (Shortened by your friendly neighbourhood authoress!) we launched into battle.

Genis and Raine instantly started their spells, whilst Lloyd, Sheena and I went in close quarters to hammer him in! Unfortunately, I couldn't quite hammer him in, so barbequed angel was on the menu! I summoned fire to my hands and attacked him with that. Remial noticed me, which I instantly thought was bad, because…

"Punishment, Photon!" Remial cast in about 0.2 seconds. In that amount of time I got extremely worried. It felt like a million daggers piercing my skin.

"Icicle!" Genis shouted, and an icicle stalagmite shot up from the ground, hitting Remial.

"Are you okay? First aid!" A warm feeling coursed through my body, healing my wounds.

"Thanks." I continued to fight. I was attacking from behind, knowing Remial couldn't reach all of us at once.

Genis used fireball, which was a brilliant help to us all!

Remial turned round and hit me with his light arrows, then cast Holy Lance on Sheena. Lloyd, who was close to Sheena at the time, also got hit.

He turned round to me again, who had recovered, and was currently attacking whilst thinking of ways to make my fire stronger. One Photon and First aid later…

"I'm going long-range!" I stood about ten metres away, and started an idea, which could get spectacularly mucked up. With fire still in my hands, I drew a swirl with the fire, and summoned another flame. My hands were shaking, and I was moving as fast as I could with this thing. Finally, I used the air to move my creation, swirling, towards Remial. I had created a fire tornado, about as wide as myself, and much taller.

"Wow," was the word everyone said at that instance.

"I'm quite pleased with it too." I then got back in the fray. About a second later, Lloyd fatally wounded Remial.

"How could…ultimate power lose?" Remial questioned. "Impossible…how can an angel, the ultimate being, lose to a group of humans?"

"Ignore the elven blood, why don't you?" I had always wanted to say that.

Lloyd, and everyone else, ignored me and turned to Colette. "Colette, come back to us! I'm going to restore you back to your normal self! I promise!" There was no answer from the soulless angel. "Colette…have you really forgotten me?"

Kratos stepped out from behind a pillar. I could see that he'd hoped he wouldn't have to do this. "You're wasting you time. Not only did she lose her memory, but she's lost the soul to listen to your words. Now Colette is merely a puppet, standing before death's door."

"Where have you been? What are you saying?" Lloyd had the truth, and he was wishing it wasn't true.

Kratos looked at me, almost pleading. "The Chosen desired the regeneration and choose this path herself. By the summoning of the Chosen to Derris-Kharlan, the seal will be broken and the regeneration will be complete."

"Kratos? What are you talking about?"

"It is what you wanted as well. We will take the Chosen as the new body for Martel."

"What are you talking about? Kratos…answer me!"

"Lord Kratos…please. Have pity on me. Lend me your aid." Remial pleaded with Kratos.

"Have you forgotten, Remial? I was once of the inferior race, a human. Does ultimate being seek help from that which he despises the most?"

Remial died. Lloyd moved in between Kratos and Colette.

"Move out of the way."

Lloyd asked the question on everyone's lips. "Kratos, who are you?"

After a moment, which seemed to last a lifetime, Kratos said, "I am of Cruix, the organisation that guides this world." He pulled out his turquoise wings. "I am one of the four seraphim, sent forth to keep close watch over the Chosen."

"Kratos is an angel too!" Genis asked thin air.

'Ten out of ten for observation!' I thought.

Sheena spoke, accusingly, "You deceived us!"

I blocked out the voices, and prepared myself for the next battle. I knew we didn't have to win, but I really didn't want to know what death felt like!

"You earnestly believe you can defeat me?" Kratos' voice was trembling slightly from emotion, although I barely heard it.

I launched into my second major fight of the hour, wishing I'd saved my strength. Before going in, close-quarters, I quickly drank a lemon gel, which tasted almost neutral, apart from a slight sour tang.

I figured a mistake of my last battle was knowing what everyone else was doing, so I 'blacked out' the others in my mind. There was only Kratos and I in this room, no one else. I summoned flames to my hands. Kratos noticed, and guarded. I craftily swept my foot underneath his shield, breaking his guard and attacked with my flames. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sheena and Lloyd taking opportunity of his broken guard, not giving any chance for him to retaliate.

Eventually, Kratos got a hit in. First he used Fierce Demon Fang, followed by Light Spear on Sheena. With her too weak to battle, he turned to me. He used his Grave spell, which, if you can't tell, hurt. A lot! Take being buried alive and cross it with being crushed with about a ton of earth and then add the spiky points at the end. I was definitely not getting up after that. As I lay there, only able to see what was going on, I wondered if I was dead. I felt nothing. Kratos quickly rid of Raine and Genis with Thunder Blade, and then attacked the only one left standing, Lloyd.

He must have left Lloyd for last, hoping he would have given up. Being Lloyd, he didn't. Kratos was forced to slash him, but refused to use any techniques. They circled, locking blades, but it was clear Lloyd was losing. They were near my corpse(?) when I felt pain rush through my body.

Pain meant life, as much as I hated it. Someone had used a life bottle! I had little time to dwell on who used the life bottle, as Lloyd was on his knees, exhausted, and his father holding his blade above Lloyd's head. Kratos hesitated, as I knew he would. I dragged myself to my feet, ignoring the pain that was everywhere in my body. I reached Kratos, 'stopping' him from bringing his sword down on Lloyd's head. (Stopping, as in, kicked him in the stomach!)

Having used up any and all energy, I collapsed. I was dimly aware of a spell being cast, and glanced at Kratos. He had a red magic circle around his feet.

'Red? Hang on…I thought Grave was brown, and only took a second to cast?…' Then I figured it out. 'Kratos was the one who used the life bottle! And now he's casting a fire spell.'

To Cyclone, who was somewhere in my mind, I thought frantically, 'Cyclone, need help NOW! Carry Lloyd a safe distance away from me. Kratos is going to use Explosion!'

Cyclone swooped out of nowhere, and grabbed Lloyd just as Kratos had finished casting his spell. I was aware of red, glorious red, in front of my eyes as fire and blood. The warmth coursed through my body, filling me with energy. But I knew why Kratos has chosen that specific spell.

"Kratos, you would have killed me, if not for your poor choice of spell," I said; with as much fake venom as I could project into my voice at the man who had just saved my life.

I ran over to Raine, first giving her a life bottle, then a Melange Gel. Raine started healing the rest of the group, as another white light came down, s…l…o…w…l…y.

Yggdrasil appeared, with his (not as cool as Kratos') wings.

"I guess even you couldn't bring yourself to fight against such an opponent."

Kratos stayed silent, and I assumed he hadn't got the energy to speak.

"Are you Lloyd?" Yggdrasil asked.

Lloyd was probably trying to annoy him when he said, "Give me your name and I'll give you mine."

To my surprise, Yggdrasil laughed! "People need not introduce themselves to a dog."

"What did you say!"

"Ladies, ladies. Take your little catfight out side!" I said. Well, it shut them up!

Probably more to impress them than anything, Yggdrasil said, "I am Yggdrasil. Leader of Cruix and the Desians!"

(By the way, now may not be the best time, but there are spoilers in this fanfic! I had to tell you after the Kratos scenes, didn't I!)

For some reason, everyone thought this would be the best time to attack him. I knew that either way, we weren't going to win this battle, but hey, I wasn't going to tell everyone else that depressing fact. I contemplated the best way to commit suicide/fight Yggdrasil.

He got rid of Lloyd and Sheena by using Outburst. They didn't get up. Raine got attacked by Holy Lance while she was trying to cast Resurrection, and Genis and I got killed by Ray.

"How sad," was the muttering that I thought Yggdrasil had said.

Yggdrasil summoned the Eternal Sword, and using it's awesome power he…knocked Lloyd against a pillar. Admittedly, the force of the impact broke the pillar, but couldn't Yggdrasil have been a little bit more imaginative!

"Kratos, I trust you have no objections?"

Kratos was still unable to speak after our battle.

"Farewell."

Yggdrasil was about to shoot a ball of mana at Lloyd, when Yggdrasil was the one shot at! I looked weakly behind me. It was Botta and some Renegades.

"Damn! The Chosen has already become an angel! We have no choice. We're taking her back with us alive."

As a Renegade came over to me, I gathered my energy. "Don't worry about me."

'Will you accept help? Please? I don't want to see you dead because of your own pride!' Cyclone shouted at me.

I felt myself growing weaker, and now the Renegades were leaving!

'I'm here for you this time. Just...accept help in future.' Cyclone appeared, grabbed me and flew me into the teleport, just a second too late!

"Cyclone, any other ideas?"

"Yeah. Get out of here as fast as possible?"

"Good plan. Now go!"

Cyclone, with me in his talons, flew out, dodging a couple of mana blasts from Yggdrasil.

We were free, out into the open air. With one small problem.

"What the hell am I going to do now!"

"Well, you know where they're headed, right?"

"Yeah, Tethe'alla. But at the moment I can't get through worlds!"

"And how exactly do they get to Tethe'alla?"

"The Rheairds!" (A/N Does anyone else say 'Rheard'?)

"Next stop, Triet Desert!"

"Finally, my kind of place!"

We flew from the Tower, to Triet. I regained my strength on the journey. The desert I landed in probably helped my recovery.

"I'm just going to knock on the front door, am I?" I asked sarcastically. Cyclone had already disappeared inside my head.

Since I had no knowledge of a second door, I barged in through the front door. Or I would have. The door was locked!

"No chance that they would have a key hidden out here, is there?" After quickly looking round for a possible hiding place, I decided that Yuan might not be that stupid.

I saw a sign saying, "All visitors, push the small button below."

Below the sign, I saw the button, so I pushed it. After all, how many choices did I have? The door creaked open. Very carefully, I walked through the doorway, on the lookout for a trap.

I was in a corridor with only one possible direction, forwards. Going through the door in front of me, I realised I was in the room with the Huge, Silver Gamecube! (HSG) Struggling to remember where to go next, I turned right. It was locked!

'Brilliant, just brilliant. Wait, I haven't got the sorcerers ring!' I was stumped. 'Damn security features. How do I open the door? I'm stuck because the game hasn't given me something I should have!' I only stopped because I heard someone coming.

I hid out of the way, in the shadows. A Renegade came along. He was about to open the door, using a sorcerers ring! I got out of my hiding place.

"Please, give me the ring." I already knew it wasn't going to work, but I had to give him a chance.

"W-who are you? Are you one of the new recruits?" I had a slight glimmer of hope.

"Um, yeah. I rang the doorbell, but no one answered."

"Alright. I'm supposed to give you a membership pack, and I'll need to know your name."

"It's…"

'Make up a name, make up a name!'

"Samus Aran." I had to stop myself from giggling.

"Okay, if you'd just come this way, I can get you your membership pack." He turned to leave.

"Um, sorry, but I'm having second thoughts. Is there any way you could just, give me the ring?"

"You aren't a new recruit are yo-" He was cut off by a kick to the most vulnerable male area. While he was crouched on the floor in agony, I managed to take the ring off him. After opening the door to the right…

I found myself in another corridor! I just went straight ahead, to the room where you first zap the robots.

Sheena, Raine, Lloyd, Genis and Colette were in front of me, talking about where to go next and how to escape.

"Hello again!"

All four heads, minus Colette's, turned.

"Nia, where have you been? We thought you were dead!" Lloyd said.

"Cyclone was going to fly me into the teleport, only he was a little slow. We just decided to get out of there and find you."

"How did you know where we were?"

"I…Actually, I don't know," I quoted Mithos (And yes, I do know half of ToS off by heart!). "Cyclone was the one who flew me here, I'll try asking him later."

"Anyway, it's good to have you back! We're going to Tethe'alla now…and this could be your last chance to turn back." Lloyd was hesitant about the turning back part, as if he didn't want me to leave.

"Are you kidding? I'm definitely coming with you! You're stuck with me!"

"Okay, so now we just need to find the Rheairds!"

Then there was silence, as no one knew where the hanger was, and I couldn't tell them. We traipsed around the base for a while, just getting rid of Renegades when it was necessary. Eventually we found the hangar, and Raine ran over to the computer.

I was curious, so I looked at the screen. It was exactly like a normal computer, with Windows XP on! (Me no own Microsoft!)

Raine managed to find the Rheairds by going into, Start, Programs, Base Functions, and finally, Rheairds.

The Rheairds lifted out from the ground, and we all grabbed one. I was back in the air again! And about to crash into the Fooji Mountains, but hey, might as well enjoy the ride!

Me: I decided to leave the chapter that long, instead of doing until night. Well, tell me if you enjoyed it. I'm only going to keep writing if people did! And those were my first 'real' battle scenes; so if people could find ways to make those better, please say. Oh, if anyone knows Pronyma's attacks off by heart, could you tell me them, as I never know the names (I just concentrate on defeating her!)

Another note, ice-creams (imaginary chocolate flavour!) to who ever gets some of my obscure gaming references.

Well, keep reading!