Disclaimer - Tales of Symphonia and all it's characters are property of Namco
Triple Agent - Chapter Two
Zelos tore through the tunnels as fast as he could, following the sounds of battle. He arrived in the large cavern that served as the angel's barracks in time to see Regal lunge into combat with a hoard of winged soldiers. Judging by the scores of fallen warriors and masses of down littering the ground, the Duke had been fighting alone for some time. Thrusting an armoured boot into the chest of an attacking angel, halting its advance, Regal turned to see Zelos hurtling towards him, drawing his blade. The convict took a defensive position, unsure of whether or not to take this new presence as a threat. Zelos took the hesitation away by lunging at the nearest angel and running it through in one swift pass. Accepting the aid for what it was, the Duke turned back to his winged assailants and dived back into the fray. Working in tandem, the two cut through the small army, Regal's grieves blurring with motion, Zelos' blade flashing with deadly intent. As the last angel fell motionless to the ground, the red haired man focused his magic into his hands and moved toward the larger man, who stiffly took a step backwards.
'Easy, El Presedenté, I'm just gonna heal you, alright?' Zelos assured the man. After a moment, Regal gave the barest of nods.
'Explain' he said simply in his deep voice, watching closely as Zelos released his healing light over him, soothing his numerous, but thankfully superficial wounds.
'No time' Zelos replied sharply 'the short hand is I'm still on Team Bumpkin, all that stuff before was an act for Cruxis eyes. I'd never betray you guys' Regal was silent for a long moment, assessing the sincerity in the younger mans words. Zelos shifted under the intense scrutiny of the cuffed mans gaze.
'Come on, old man, I didn't hurt your feelings did I?' he said, not meeting the blue haired mans eyes, feeling like a badly behaved child before a scolding parent. The businessman's stoic expression cracked as he chuckled, a low sound in his chest.
'Thank you, Zelos' said Regal, gesturing at the defeated angels with his bound hands, smiling slightly. The younger man let out a breath of relief.
'Yeah, yeah' he replied, waving his own hand dismissively 'and thank you for believing me, man' he added seriously. Getting back to business he pointed towards an opening on the far side of the cavern.
'Head on up that way 'till you get to a small room with a teleporter, the others will be along soon. Wait. For. Me. There' he emphasized heavily
'Yes, Sir' Regal deadpanned, taking off towards the tunnel.
'You got a bizarre sense of timing for making jokes, old man!' Zelos called after him, already heading in the opposite direction, more than a little surprised to hear the other mans laughter echo behind him. Shaking his head in his own amusement, the red haired man ducked into another passage, tracing the party's progress, hoping the others would be as forgiving as the Duke.
Zelos arrived at the location of the second trap more or less knowing what to expect. Mithos had retrieved and restrained a large chunk of the out of control great tree above a bridge in the room below, the gnarled root was left there to thrash madly, blocking anyone who wanted to pass over the bridge. He also knew that it was just as susceptible to the combined might of the Tethe'alla summon spirits as the rest of it was, and only one person in both worlds was capable of harnessing that power. Sure enough, when he reached the edge of the pit he heard sounds of a female someone straining and scuffling just over the side. Peering over, he saw Sheena clutched to the stone, attempting to haul herself up with little success.
'Well hey there, sweetness' he called down to her, brazenly. Her head whipped around to face him at a speed that must have been painful and he instantly regretted speaking.
'You bastard!' the ninja shrieked, apoplectic with rage, her exhaustion suddenly a distant memory. Trying to ignore her anger along with her multiple curses, the red haired man stretched himself over the ledge overlooking the abyss and reached out for her hand.
'Come on, reach up' Zelos said, waggling his fingers at her 'I swear I'll explain when you're safe' Sheena seemed to debate with herself, and Zelos was somewhat hurt that she was seriously deliberating between taking his hand and falling to her death.
'But then again' he thought, remembering his own harsh words 'I wouldn't be too inclined to trust me either'
Eventually the young summoner reached up and took his hand in hers, squeezing tightly. Grinning, Zelos hoisted her up to the ledge. She allowed him to help her to her feet carefully and look her over for injuries, all the while staring unflinchingly at him. When he was done he looked up just in time to see a fist flying towards his face. Her strike caught him across the cheek, snapping his head violently to one side.
'Okay…so I definitely deserved that' he said, rubbing the soon to be sore spot, gingerly working his jaw. Sheena's expression said that she wholeheartedly agreed with his assertion. She stood with her fists clenched, almost vibrating with rage, silently demanding a vindication.
'Alright, here's how it is' he started, taking a precautionary step backwards in case she decided to swing for him again 'I'm still with you guys, I just had to do all that so I could, uh, get behind enemy lines I guess. I can't explain it all right now, so if you have any trust left for me, any at all, now's the time to use it' he looked up to see how she was absorbing this information and was surprised to see tears in her eyes.
'Idiot' was all she said as she slowly stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around his middle in an unexpected hug
'No arguments there, honey' he said, rubbing her back as he returned her hug gently, grinning ear to ear now he knew that she believed him again. They stood motionless for a moment, each glad to have the other back, before Zelos spoke up again;
'Not that I'm not enjoying that body of yours so very close to mine, we are on a schedule here…' he joked, trying to lighten the heavy tension that had fallen over them.
'Sorry…' the woman replied, drawing away from him and swiping away her tears before they had a chance to fall '…just thought you were really gone, y'know?' she mumbled, eyes on the ground.
'As if I'd miss my calling to save the day' Zelos replied, tipping her chin up with his hand so that she would look him in the eyes 'don't you know how many more chicks I'd get as the saviour of the world?' Glad to finally see a smile back on her face, the man motioned for her to follow him, leading her to a hidden transporter through the rubble.
'This thing will take you to where Regal should be waiting' Zelos said, hitting a few buttons on the console by the wall 'wait for me there while I round up the others, then we can go kick Yggdrassil's ass, got it?' she nodded and hopped gracefully onto the round disk.
'Be careful' she said so quietly he almost missed it. He inclined his head in a courtly bow and sent her on her way with the push of a button.
'That's two for two' Zelos thought, staring at the empty podium for a moment before sprinting off down the tunnel the others had gone down.
Zelos' heart was pounding in his chest as he raced towards his destination. The passage through the next room was blocked by three automated doors bound by heavy locks, the only way through was to bypass the security device using the console placed nearby in the centre of the area. Mithos, with his twisted planning, had booby trapped the controls and rigged the tunnel to collapse if they were tampered with. Raine was the only one besides himself who could operate the machinery, which meant she was in dire peril. Coming to the closed doorway he hit the release button and waited.
'Come on, come on' he muttered edgily. The door shifted open slowly and he squeezed himself through the increasing gap. There was Raine in the centre of the room, clutching the infernal console that had doomed her, the last floor panel beneath her about to give way. Reason being the farthest thing from his mind, he dived across the gap, landing behind the silver haired woman. He wrapped his arms around her body, exsphere burning in his chest, and with a mighty leap, bore them both back to the safety of the open doorway. The two lay there on the ground, gasping for breath for a long moment. Zelos pulled Raine tighter to his body, her back to his chest while she clutched onto his arms.
'It's okay, you're okay now, you're safe' he soothed, trying his very best not to think about how close she had come to falling and how close he had come to losing her.
'Zelos?' she murmured, almost too softly to be heard. She turned in his arms to look at him with wide eyes 'you came back' she said with wonder, tears sliding down her cheeks.
'Baby, I never left' he whispered taking her face in his gloved hands, drying away her tears with his thumbs. Suddenly she was kissing him, with more intensity than she ever had before. Relief burning through him like a fire, Zelos kissed her back, matching her fervour. Her tongue darted between his open lips and she rolled him onto his back, straddling his hips. His hands stole under her white shirt, massaging her back and she moaned into his mouth. The feelings of her hands on his skin almost made him lose control and he brought his hands to her hips to hold her steady.
'Raine…' he said, reluctantly turning his head to break the kiss, chuckling as she almost caught a mouthful of his red hair. She pulled back with equal reluctance. 'We have to move, now' Zelos insisted, lightly stroking her cheek with the back of his fingers. Raine rose up off his form and stepped back, giving him space to push up to his feet. As soon as he was standing he pulled the scholar into a tight embrace that she readily returned.
'I thought we had to move?' she asked quietly, twisting a strand of his long hair in her fingers, with a smile that he heard rather than saw.
'Yeah, yeah, just a second' he replied, pressing his lips to the side of her neck, eliciting a light giggle from the professor that he was happier to hear than he cared to admit. 'Almost lost you back there, y'know' he added softly, squeezing her tightly.
'I thought I'd lost you when you left' the teacher returned, drawing back to look him in the eye, which he avoided guiltily. She cupped his cheek in her hand and gently turned his head, so that he would face her. 'But when you looked at me, right before that…woman took you away. And I knew you would come back to us…' she smiled up at him '…to me.' Zelos was moved by the sincerity in her voice, and he covered her lips with his own again.
'Can't tell you how glad I am that you still believed in me' he murmured against her lips. The two stood in silence for a long moment. Zelos dropped his lips onto the top of her head while she fisted her hands into his pink jacket. She pulled back slightly.
'What happened to your vest?' she asked, slightly confused, and Zelos let out a bitter sigh.
'You just had to be the one to notice that little detail didn't you?' he replied, laughing humourlessly 'I'll answer any questions you have once we're out of here, I swear' he said seriously. Taking her hand he guided her down the tunnel to the transporter he had arrived on. Quickly setting the co-ordinates he helped her up onto the metal disk.
'I'm sending you to Regal and Sheena' he said, still holding both her hands 'I'm going to find Presea and your brother, I promise. Then I'm not letting go of you for a long time' he added earnestly.
'You better not' Raine replied, trying to smile, knowing that he was heading back into danger 'I'll see you soon'
'Better believe it' he responded, releasing her hands and hitting the button to send her to safety. He committed every inch of her being to his memory as she faded out of existence in bright waves of light. When she was gone he sagged against the wall, allowing his relief to flood his system
'She's safe' he thought, unable to keep the beaming smile off his face 'we're not out of the woods yet, but at least she's safe' with renewed energy, he backtracked to the room Raine had sent the last of their party through.
'Two to go' he muttered, staring at the gaping hole in the ground, forcing the image of Raine falling out if his mind again. Exsphere blinking to life in his chest, Zelos leaped from the ledge to the wall perpendicular to the pit, kicking off hard with his leg he launched away from the stone, gaining the necessary velocity to clear the gap. Landing, he stepped forward to absorb the shock of the descent, idly thinking how much easier all this would have been if he had wings like Colette. The thought immediately reminded him that his Cruxis crystal was still in Raine's possession, and knowing that train of thought would drive him to distraction, he pressed on to the transporter waiting at the end of the passage. Pushing the buttons on the nearby controls, the disk hummed to life. Refocusing his mind, Zelos stepped onto the pad, the world around him fading away as he continued his pursuit.
Coming out of the teleporter at a run, Zelos skidded to a halt in front of a large metal door. Peering at the ground he saw a metal grate and tracing his gaze upwards, he observed a small vent.
'No way am I getting through that' he mused, turning his attention back to the door. He scratched away at the overgrowth on the right hand side of the metal. 'Bingo!' he said aloud as he uncovered a small panel of buttons. Inputting a combination he cursed as a low beep sounded and the device flashed an angry red. Zelos wracked his mind for the codes he had memorized on his previous visit. After seven more flares of red, there was a high pitched sound followed by a welcome green light.
'Booyah!' the red haired man whooped as the door slid open smoothly and he slipped through. At first glance the room appeared empty, the heavy blast doors in their closed position on one side and a mass of gnarled roots in the corner of the other. Looking at the ground, Zelos was disturbed to see several scuffs and scratch marks, as though someone had been dragged forcefully across the room. Following the marks from the heavy doors to the tangle of roots, the man moved closer to the heap, eyes narrowed.
'There!' he cried wildly, thrusting both his arms into the plant, towards the flash of pink that had darted across his vision. Rummaging through the dry vines, he felt a pair of small hands grab onto his left forearm.
'Hold on!' he yelled into the undergrowth, feeling blindly for the owner of the arms, finding a small waist he hauled as hard as he could while taking as much care as possible. Panting, Zelos could just make out a pink pig-tailed head and with one last heave; the rest of Presea emerged from the roots, coughing heavily. As soon as she was free, the plant, or whatever creature it was, went haywire and tried to grab back what it had lost. Zelos kicked it it away, holding Presea close to him. Retreating rapidly, he freed up a hand and focused inwardly, finding his centre. His magic responded instantly, a fireball leaping into his hand, wasting no time he hurled the flaming orb into what he hoped was the body of the plant. Immediately it burst into flames, its vines flailing uselessly and Zelos watched it become reduced to nothing more than ash with no small amount of satisfaction before looking down at the girl tucked under his arm.
'Well hi there, rosebud' he said brightly, breathing heavily from the exertion, and for the first time the pink haired girl realised who had rescued her.
'Zelos' she said, looking up at him with those big, calculating eyes of hers. 'You did not betray us' she stated rather than asked.
'No, little one, I didn't' he replied, smiling at her 'You'd all get killed without the Great Zelos' Presea giggled softly, truly sounding like the age she appeared for a moment. Standing up Zelos carefully set her down on her feet, looking at her bruised arms with concern. Hovering his hands over her he focused his magic again, this time to heal. Presea squirmed slightly and giggled again, and Zelos quirked an eyebrow at her in question.
'Tickles' she said, shyly fidgeting while the red haired man finished his work. Zelos beamed at her;
'All done, cutey' he declared, patting her small shoulders, he then made a show of checking his pockets 'The lollipop might have to wait though… mind taking an I.O.U just this once?' Presea smiled that small smile of hers and held out her hand. Taking it in his own gloved one, Zelos approached the console beside the blast doors. He quickly inserted the code he had used on the adjoining door, fully expecting a negative reaction from the machine. He was pleasantly surprised by the huge doors opening with nothing more than a loud hiss.
'Must be my lucky day…' he murmured, looking down beside him at Presea, who stared blankly back 'never mind, sweetness. Let's get out of here.' The two passed quickly through the now open doorway to the teleporter waiting for them on the other side.
'I'm sending you to the others, alright?' Zelos said, hitting more buttons as Presea clambered onto the platform 'I'll be bringing Genis along in just a little while. Think you can keep them all from going crazy with that sunny personality of yours?' this coaxed a slightly larger smile out of the girl and she nodded the affirmative, treating him to a tiny wave as she vanished from his sight.
'Watching people I care about disappear through those damn things is getting really old…' Zelos whispered to no one with a sigh, savagely inputting the co-ordinates last used on the teleporter controls. Jumping up onto the disk he waited as it buzzed back to life and the light picked up once more around him. 'One more to go' he murmured, before the device spirited him away.
Zelos stepped off the transporter slowly, squinting at what he saw in the gloom of the tunnel. Four fields of energy were blocking a crossroads in the passageway, and looking closer, the red head could make out the blurred shape of Genis Sage curled up on the ground in the centre.
'This isn't going to be easy' Zelos thought to himself, peering at the sniffling boy's back. Children were not the easiest of people to rationalise with when they were trapped, terrified and alone.
'Hey, squirt' the man called out softly, trying to coax the small mage out of his fear. Genis jerked around sharply to see Zelos' distorted image through the barrier, and with a choked sob he scrambled backwards, trying to put more distance between them.
'You've come to kill me, haven't you!' he cried wildly, his voice quivering, pointing an accusing finger at the man.
'No' Zelos returned sternly, holding his hands up in what he hoped was a peaceful manner 'I'm here to get you out' he turned to the console at the edge of the tunnel and pressed the necessary codes to deactivate the barrier. Genis started as the walls of shimmering light came down around him.
'You're lying!' he yelled, stumbling to his feet and attempting to flee from the swordsman. His small foot caught in an upturned stone slab and he fell, sprawling to the ground. 'You're lying!' he repeated, tears welling up in his eyes at the pain of his unexpected fall. Zelos moved slowly towards him as though approaching a cornered animal, separated from its mother, deciding to play his trump card.
'Genis, I've come to take you to back to Raine' he said carefully. That got the boy's attention.
'Raine?' the half-elf asked, fear momentarily forgotten 'she's okay?' Zelos smiled warmly at the familiar sound of hope creeping back into the silver haired boy's voice.
'Yeah, she's fine, they all are' the tall man said gently
'So you haven't…' Genis started, swallowing back his fear, beginning to wrap his head around what was going on '…really betrayed anyone?'
'Absolutely not' Zelos replied firmly '…well, Cruxis might disagree, come to think of it. But I reckon it's about time someone pulled the wool over their eyes for a change, am I right?'
'Yeah…' the little mage sniggered, his terror finally leaving him alone. His cheer suddenly vanished as his eyes focused on something over Zelos' shoulder. Whirling around, the swordsman saw a platoon of angels stepping through the portal he had so foolishly left open, presumably sent by Pronyma to secure their prisoners. The soldiers looked from Zelos to Genis and the red haired man could almost hear the gears turning in their soulless minds.
'Traitor' said their leader, a stocky warrior with a golden tint to his heavy plated armour, in a monotone, his visor covered face staring at Zelos, 'Prisoner escape, initiating pursuit'. As a unit, the angels freed their weapons and marched towards the pair, wings slowly starting to unfold. Knowing in that instant that he wouldn't be able to countermand their intentions, Zelos turned swiftly and ran for Genis. Scoping the exhausted child into his arms he ran the opposite direction to the angels, toward the second teleporter Lloyd must have left through. Reaching the input console on the wall, he punched in the co-ordinates leading to the rendezvous spot he had sent the others.
'Duck!' Genis suddenly screamed. Heart jumping, Zelos did so as a pair of arrows pierced the stone above their heads. Transporter humming into existence the man lunged towards it and the safety it would bring. Just a few meters short of sanctuary, an arrow sank into his thigh and he dipped to one knee in a haze of pain. Seeing no alternative, the wounded man hurled the boy in his arms with all his might towards the light of the open portal. The mage streaked through the air in a blur of blue and silver and disappeared through the beam of light. Exphere glowing in his chest Zelos forced himself onto his good leg. Hearing a whoosh of wings behind him he knew he guards were almost on top of him and with one surge of energy he launched himself toward the shimmering disk. Turning in the air he focused a handful of lightening into his hand and thrust it through a gap in the descending angels at the control console. Before he could see if his spell had hit its mark, his attackers and their surroundings faded away.
Chapter 3 coming soon