Bloody Jack Lover is going to end up killing me after this chapter…I haven't done the scene she's been pestering me for! (It gets close though!)
Come on, why hasn't anyone reviewed the last couple of chapters?
Rydw i'n ddicllon achos doedd ddim 'review' 'da fi!
Ond, mae Mithos yn angel ô dan y coeden Nadolig!
Apart from my random ramblings in Welsh…
I don't own Tales of Symphonia. Just thought I'd clear that up with you.
We didn't actually land by the shrine, but I could see it from here. Night was soon approaching, and since I wanted a fire, we had a fire. Okay, originally it was Kratos' suggestion, but I wasn't exactly going to turn it down.
"Do you want me to light it?" He asked.
"I can do it myself." I half laughed and bent down to get the fire going.
I concentrated, but only the tiniest flame lapped at the twigs, and even that made me feel light-headed.
"Okay, I can't do it." I muttered, and let Kratos take care of it.
"Why don't you like accepting help?" Kratos asked.
"I accept other people's help." I said, slightly indignant.
"Rarely. I think you don't want to feel as though you owe someone."
I thought about that, and decided that it was true.
"I'm probably more stubborn than I realise. But…I think you're the same. You don't want to rely on anyone, in case they suddenly aren't there any more, am I right?"
"I wasn't always like that." There was something different about Kratos… "I accepted help and gave it in equal measures. But…" Kratos' voice was trembling and I was sure I heard the tiniest of sobs.
Was this actually Kratos…crying?
"I must be a heartless swine of the worst sort."
"What? Why?"
"What kind of father asks his son to kill him? It wasn't as if I've ever been there for him."
"Things can't be any different. I wish they could be." I felt now, more than ever, that I wanted to tell Kratos the truth. He's going to release the seal alright, but…
"Kratos…I know I'm not anywhere near as old as you, but you can do some really stupid things sometimes." I was struggling for something to say when I remembered an old saying. "You've probably never heard of, 'Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow, we die.' I never quite understood that until now."
"You mean, what's the point of moping over what you can't change?" When I looked quizzically at him saying so uncharacteristic things, he explained, "That's how Anna would have put it."
"Oh." I wasn't quite sure what to say while the topic was on Anna.
"Nia, in the time that I've known you, you have become…close to me. You are one of the few people I could call a friend."
"Thank you." For the first time since coming to Symphonia, glad tears filled my eyes. "Kratos, no matter where I go, or who I meet, I shall always remember you."
Silence ruled over the forest for a couple of seconds, neither of us sure what to say next.
"Heno, heno, hen plant bach…" I sung quietly.
(A/N This a slow lullaby, with 'heno' being two separate notes. He-no, he-no, etc…)
"Tonight, tonight, dear little child…I used to sing that to Lloyd when he was a baby." Kratos muttered.
I smiled.
The weak light of dawn broke over the forest while I was teaching Kratos some simple 'angelic' songs. (Mi welais Jack o daw, Holia cicia, Dau ci fach!)
Kratos suddenly got all serious. "Nia, I don't want you to be there when I release the seal."
"Kratos, I promise you that I will not be there when you die." I wasn't exactly lying, but I felt guilty all the same.
"I should wait for Lloyd. I want you to know, I am consoled by the fact that it will be a fair fight this morning. Lloyd is strengthened by his bond with his friends."
I didn't have the heart to tell Kratos that Lloyd would fight alone.
"I'd better get going if you don't want me to be there."
"Nia, one last thing. Remember you promised me you'd protect Lloyd? Don't forget that. Once this is all over, you can go back to whatever you do. But until then, please, look after my son."
"I will." I said solemnly.
I turned into a peregrine, the darkest coloured bird I could think of while still feeling comfortable.
'Fare thy well, Kratos Aurion.'
I flew off, caught a thermal and soared upwards. I scanned the ground for any sign of the group navigating their way through the forest. I truly felt sorry for everyone.
Random fact: Stress can deplete your body's store of Vitamin C. It can also cause spots. (Ah, the wonders of science!)
If that was true, then I was surprised that most of the members of the group haven't had scurvy by now!
Moving on, Lloyd had arrived at Origin's shrine. I was too far up to hear the words, but I knew that Lloyd was saying he'd fight alone.
Little purple blob and little red blob rushed towards each other, then moved very little, from what I could see. Little red blob suddenly moved from one side of little purple blob to the other, so I guessed Lloyd used Tempest. Then it went back to normal. The two blobs eventually stopped moving. Little red had won, as was dictated by fate.
I knew Lloyd had refused to kill Kratos himself, so Kratos released the mana in his body to release the seal.
Enter little turquoise blob. (A.K.A Yuan)
Yuan gave Kratos some of his mana to stop him from dying, then Kratos moans about not being able to die!
I would have palmed my face if not for the fact that bird wings don't bend that way, and even if I could, it would cause me to lose my balance and crash.
Enter really tiny, glowing red blob. (That would be Mithos' Cruix Crystal that Genis didn't destroy! What is the point of pity!)
Anyway, tiny red blob floats towards little red blob. And nobody comes to save Lloyd. Not one person. I wait; maybe someone will step out in the next second…
Flashback"Nia, one last thing. Remember you promised me you'd protect Lloyd? Don't forget that. Once this is all over, you can go back to whatever you do. But until then, please, look after my son."
"I will." I said solemnly.
End flashbackI hate emotional blackmail.
'Someone will come…one, one thousand, two, one thousand…aw, stuff it. I'll save him.'
I swooped down in the characteristic falcon dive, gaining speed every second.
'It's still not too late to turn back…okay, now it is."
I flared out my wings, slowing myself down as I neared the ground. I turned half-elven, and grabbed the Cruix Crystal.
"Nia!" I heard Stephen shout.
"I can hide my memories from him." I said. I didn't add the 'I think', which would have worried him.
"Fine, I'll just take this body." I heard Mithos say before everything went black.
All around me was black. I couldn't move. The only way I knew I wasn't blind is that I could see my own hands.
Suddenly, Mithos appeared in front of me. Strangely, I wasn't angry. I knew that I'd need every drop of emotion, especially anger, later.
"Where am I?"
"It surprises me how little people know the interior of their own mind."
"Not that, mole. I was wondering where my body was." Saying mole to stupid people was a hard habit to break. It all started with someone at school whom everyone called mole. The only time I'd talk to him was when he was being particularly thick or annoying, so I called him mole.
"We're at Derris-Kharlan. Of course, those traitors died at your hands before we left."
I calmly inspected my fingernails. "Tell me all about it."
"It was a pitiful fight. Your strength overwhelmed them. Not to mention they clearly didn't want to attack you."
"Really?"
"You don't sound remorseful. Don't you care about them?"
"Yep, I care about them."
"So, why aren't you sad?"
"Because you are a pitiful liar. I've spent two years with an extremely good liar, and if I can see through him, you're nothing. A little pathetic, unimaginative little boy."
"If that's the case, how come I am the one currently controlling your body?"
"Because I haven't chosen to get rid of you yet."
"I think you're lying. Who would tolerate someone else in their body longer than necessary?"
"Believe what you will. It doesn't matter to me if you believe me or not."
There was a welcome silence. Then…
"That's…different." Mithos said.
"What? What is it?" I asked.
A square opened besides me, and through it, I could see one of my memories, which Mithos was currently looking at.
"Where should we go next?" Stephen had asked.
"Hmm, I'd like to go to the Edge world."
"Aww, not a book world!"
"Hey! You'd like it if you gave it a chance!"
"Darren Shan! Let's go to his world!"
I sighed. "That's a book world too."
"Yeah, but it's a cooler book!"
I gritted my teeth. "Ro-sham-bo, then?" When I saw Stephen's confused look, I clarified. "Rock, paper, scissors."
"Oh, okay. One, two, three…"
I had paper and Stephen had scissors.
"Darren Shan it is…"
"What was that?" Mithos asked.
I whistled innocently.
"I demand that you tell me!" Mithos shouted.
I kept my cool, disinterested appearance up, knowing that was what would annoy him most. Inside, though, I wanted nothing more than to give him a good slap.
"Fine, wallow in your own pain!"
Another memory opened up.
"Nia, it's your turn to wash up." My mother reminded me of my chores.
"I can't." I stated the two words calmly.
"Why not?"
"It hurts. The water hurts."
"That's never stopped you before."
"I've worn gloves recently."
"So, you can wear the gloves again." This was accompanied by a fake smile.
"There is a hole in them." I stuck to the calm, quiet tone of voice, no matter how much I wanted to yell.
"Then you'll have to do without."
I cried out in frustration, stuck my hand directly underneath the tap, and turned the handle.
I screamed in agony as the water burned through my skin, my blood, my bone, yet I didn't move my hand until a perfectly circular hole, the size of a coin, went straight through my hand.
I turned the tap off and brandished my hand.
My mother promptly fainted.
Recalling the pain as the water forced a path through my hand, I winced and subconsciously rubbed the palm of my hand.
"Surround yourself in misery!" Mithos shouted.
I was sitting on the grass outside, in school. My friends were watching the boys playing football. (Do I really need to explain?)
I was watching a buzzard flying over the fields. He had made it a routine.
From far off, I heard a shot and the buzzard plummeted.
I didn't realised that I was running until I got to the buzzard's, now dead, body.
I was shaking with suppressed anger and tears.
"Leave me alone!" I shouted at Mithos. "What have I ever done to you?"
"You betrayed our blood."
It took me a full five seconds to realise what he was talking about. I was a half-elf in this world, despite my being a human at heart.
"I'm doing what I believe is right."
"Nothing will change. Half-elves will never have a place in this world, unless we make it."
"Have you ever wondered about the half-elves that aren't Desians, like the Renegades, or just an average half-elf who wants an easy life? Because of the Desians killing humans, humans fear and hate the half-elves. It's a vicious circle."
"Tethe'alla was once like Sylvarant, remember. When the Desians left, they still hated the half-elves, even though all the ones that were killing were gone."
"I never said that humans were smart. Most of them are quite idiotic, and some of them will carry a grudge through the generations."
"Then what can the half elves do?"
"Hang on, you're asking me? I'm fourteen, and you are, what, four thousand and fourteen?"
A voice, unlike Mithos' or mine broke through the darkness.
And…cut.
Weithion roeddet ti'n darllen fy 'fanfic'; ysgrifennwch 'review'.
Now you've read my fanfic; write a review. (I used the respectful command…does that earn me any brownie points?)
For some reason, I don't like Welsh lessons, but I like the language! (and the scenery!)
Thanks to Sunfrost; she's reviewed three times in a row. Thanks also to Bloody Jack Lover, who wanted this chapter to be alot more Mary Sueish, and to Jana-Yggdrasil, who helped me come up with some of the Mithos-Nia arguements.