A/N: Please bear with me and my pet character, Elizabeth. I'll make my other OCs a little less stereotypical. Or not. Maybe I'll make EVERYONE really stereotypical on purpose. That might be fun.
5,430 words! Enjoy!
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Genis stomped out of the room, his face turning bright red from the shame of being treated like a child. He stopped once he had traveled down a few flights of stairs, breathing hard from running and still unable to keep his temper in check. He grunted once, punching the hotel wall and then bracing himself against it, resting his forehead against the plaster. The worst part was that Raine had refused to let him see Presea, or help with the operation. Wasn't he capable enough to handle it when his friend was injured?
"Damn it!" he stepped back and kicked the unfortunate wall. Wiping at his eyes with his sleeve, he slouched to the elevator and went the rest of the way down in silence. Soon he was outside and blinking in the oppressive Altamira sunlight, with happy, vacationing people walking all around him, oblivious to the struggle for life that had transpired in the hotel looming above them.
"Howdy."
Genis's head whipped around to fix his meanest glare at the woman enjoying a cigarette near the hotel. "Why are you still here?" Genis asked.
Elizabeth shrugged. "That's a good question, sweetheart. Honestly though, I just want to see if my girl gets any better." She smiled around her cigarette at him; long fingers already busy wrapping the tobacco in a new strip of paper. She inhaled and blew the smoke upwards, letting it settle in a cool gray haze around her.
"That is so bad for you," Genis muttered.
Elizabeth looked confused for a moment before realizing that Genis referred to the vice in her hands. "Oh, this," she said, holding it up to him. "It relaxes me. If I don't have it I get all jittery. Mmmmm," she took a long drag, closing her eyes in apparent bliss.
The teenager frowned, crossing his arms and looking away, tapping a single booted foot in a steady, nervous rhythm. He knew he was being irrational for his dislike of the woman, for being jealous of her being the one to rescue Presea. He should be grateful to her, he knew, but-
"That is merely logic. Logic does not move people."
He winced and compulsively clutched at his Ex-sphere, the way he always did when he thought of Mithos. The dead boy had haunted most of his waking thoughts for months after the World Reunification Journey. Then, when real life and people who were living and breathing demanded his attention and interaction, he began to let go of the pain until at times he could actually go days or weeks without memories of Mithos.
And then times like this would come, and it would feel as though he could never let go again.
He shifted his hand, clutching now at his heart like an old man as it beat out of control. If things kept on this way he would have a panic attack here, in front of this woman. Those had been happening too often lately, too, too often. Mithos's death- the death of yet another person he had given a piece of his lonely heart to- that had been the moment when Genis snapped. He couldn't save his friends- none of them, not Marble, not Mithos, and now not Presea, either.
Genis's first few days in the new world were spent in a state of hysteric grief. Things hadn't gotten much better after that.
"Hey kid, are you all right?"
Elizabeth's voice- the voice of a living person, here, right now, demanding his attention and interaction and continuation of life. It brought him back and made him realize he was hunched over and his free hand had balled into a fist so tight his ragged fingernails cut into his palm. He was still grabbing at the patch of shirt over his heart.
He would not keel over in front of this woman. He had had enough shame for one day. Forcing himself to get a grip and standing up straight, he rubbed at his chest once before letting his hands fall to his sides. "My name is Genis Sage," he said. "And I'm fine. The heat was just getting to me."
Elizabeth looked at him from behind her protective cloud of smoke. Her eyes searched him, and she thought for a long moment before she responded. "I can tell you're under a lot of stress," she said. "Your friend's situation hurts you."
Genis stood rigid for a few moments and the only thing he could think was that somehow she knew about Mithos. Then he realized she was talking about Presea- and he thanked any God that would listen to him that she was living, breathing, here, right now, and needed him to continue living too.
"Yeah," he said quietly. "I guess it still does."
Then the sky darkened, as if the clouds had covered the sun. Only there was no clouds- it was a beautiful day. The winds picked up around Genis and he looked up to see three Rheiards descend from the skies to land right there in the middle of Altamira, in front of the hotel. Unsurprised, he walked up to the flying machines and impassively greeted the riders.
"Sheena," he said, nodding to each of them in turn. "Zelos. Kratos. Hey."
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"I don't know why, and I'm not certain who they are, but there is a group of people dead set on eliminating each and every one of us," Kratos said, standing with his hands pressed flat on the table as he looked out at the heroes' faces one by one. They were in Regal's conference room, and all wore the same expression- disbelief mingled with concern.
Except for Elizabeth. She raised her hand, the picture of perfect innocence.
The seraph hesitated, confused at the schoolgirl action being carried out by a grown woman, and then: "Yes?"
"Why the hell would "they" be after me?"
Kratos frowned, no doubt puzzled by the fact that Elizabeth was even in the room. "...No. Not you. I was referring to those of us who had fought together in the World Reunification Journey."
Genis's hand shot up. Feeling oddly ridiculous, Kratos gritted his teeth and said, "Yes, Genis?"
"Why the hell is she even in the room?" Genis snapped, glaring daggers at Elizabeth over the table.
"'Cause your darlin' sister asked me to join ya'll, seeing as how I'm already involved in this here situation," Elizabeth said, and hers was the only smiling face at the table. Everyone else looked blankly at Raine.
The Professor shrugged, coolly uncaring and her eyes closed as she spoke in her cold, scholarly voice. "She's a highly skilled mercenary and she's already proved her worth. As you all know, I am no fighter and Genis is just a child-" Genis growled- "So I took the liberty of hiring a bodyguard in the case that one of "Them" decides I'm to be the next victim."
Raine opened her eyes, looking out at the table. "Is there anyone here who finds fault in this plan?"
Zelos reclined in his chair, hooking his hands behind his head. "Nope. It sounds good to me, and besides, there's no one who's going to disagree with you when you're acting like this, Rainie."
Raine's hand, which had been lying on the table, clenched. "Don't call me Rainie. This..." she sighed, shaking her head. "All of this- this is too terrible for words. Presea almost died today. It took everything in me just to keep her in one piece! None of you can realize how close she was to the brink, not like I do." Her voice became uncharacteristically loud, and she needed a moment to check herself and regain her composure. "So don't any of you take this lightly. And that does include you, Elizabeth," she added when the mercenary began to raise her hand again.
Sheena cleared her throat, deciding to be heard. "I think I might be able to find out who "they" are," she said.
"How?" Raine said at once.
The ninja made a face, wondering how to go about telling everyone about Kuchinawa.
"Basically," Zelos said, "Sheena kicked Kuchinawa's ass and now he has to do anything she says, and since I was already attacked he mentioned something about knowing the woman who attacked me, only now he's probably still in Meltokio because Sheena told him to get rid of Nyoka's body- Nyoka is the lady who attacked me, by the way- but she didn't specify when he was to return to her, and then Kratos showed up and we found out Presea was attacked as well so we high-tailed it outta there and hoped that Kuchy knew where the hell we'd be in the next twenty-four hours."
He smiled, and looked at Sheena. "Did I forget to mention anything?"
"That has to be the longest run-on sentence in the history of run-on sentences," Sheena said, flushing.
Raine, annoyed that no one seemed to realize the gravity of the situation, could only sigh in defeat. "And so now we're all together again... that lessens the danger somewhat, assuming "they" want to get us one by one. But Colette and Lloyd are still wandering around the world, and by the time we beep their Rheiards..." she trailed off, lost in thought.
"But what are we gonna do?" Genis asked no one in particular, rubbing his forehead to stave off a tension headache. "We can't be holed up in Regal's hotel forever. Either "they" will attack us all in force or "they" will wait until one of us loses our guard and goes somewhere alone. And now the only person we know of that could help us figure out who "they" even are is in Meltokio."
"So what do we do?" Regal echoed, and felt as though the scars on his wrist were burning.
"We go to Meltokio," said a hoarse voice from the doorway. Presea, pale, weak, and gaunt, was leaning against the frame. Elizabeth half got out of her chair but Genis beat her to it, running up to the small girl and holding onto her elbow to give her some support.
Regal was on his feet as well, his expression torn. "Presea," he said. "You are supposed to be sleeping."
Presea shook her head. "Some of us will stay here. Someone else and Sheena will get Kuchinawa." She tried to take a few steps into the room and stumbled, leaning heavily on Genis. "I think I might..." she closed her eyes, resting her forehead against his shoulder. "Maybe, I'll stay here..."
"You think, huh?" Genis said, trying hard to keep the bite of sarcasm out of his voice. "Come on, you are going right back to where you came from."
"Ozette?" she asked, and he was surprised to hear a note of pure curiosity in her voice. She was completely out of it- it was a miracle she made it to the conference room.
"No, dummy," he said, feeling odd. Taking care of someone else was a total flip of his normal life. "Your bed. Come on. We'll let these other guys go to Meltokio, cause I'm staying right here until you're better."
"OK..." she said, and he led her off.
"Ooh lah lah," Zelos and Elizabeth said at the same time. They blinked and looked at each other, and perhaps they saw something of a kindred spirit in each other's eyes because they grinned. "OK," Zelos said. "I'm with the Sheena party. I go with her to Meltokio. Who's with us?"
"I must stay here with Presea," Regal said. "Genis can not take care of her all the time."
"I'll go, since I'm assuming Raine will want to stay with her brother," Kratos said.
Elizabeth nodded. "And I'm with Professor Sage, seeing as how I'm her new bodyguard and all." She stood up, assuming the meeting was over, but the Professor reached out with one hand and stopped her.
"No," she said. "Kratos, you stay. I'm going with Sheena and Zelos. I think Genis is old enough to be without me."
"Then I'm going on a trip to Meltokio," Elizabeth corrected herself. "I'll go get my things."
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"How is she?" Regal said, hovering over Genis's shoulder to look at the sleeping girl. The others had already gone.
"Asleep," Genis said. "Raine had drugged her up, so she was saying some pretty crazy things for a while, but she was out soon enough."
"Crazy things?" Regal asked. The half-elf shrugged. "Well... what do you propose we do when she wakes up again? If it were up to me, I would keep up a steady dosage of medication. Presea needs rest, but would never willingly stay bedridden."
Genis shook his head. "Why are you asking me? You live with her."
"I value your opinion, Genis," Regal said.
Genis didn't know why the feeling of pride in him became so strong when Regal said that. He shrugged again, trying to play it off, and stood up from his chair. He had been sitting at her side for the last few hours and his joints were becoming stiff. "It's not fair to make a decision like that," Genis said. "When she wakes up, it'll be up to her whether or not she wants to get up and walk. I'm going to go take a break."
Wisdom from the mouth of babes, Regal thought. The boy didn't let emotions get in the way of his sense of justice- a mix of Raine and Lloyd, if there ever was one. Both of them had taken such a huge part in his development as his own person, so it shouldn't have been as surprising as it was.
"Don't leave the city gates," Regal warned him.
Genis smiled charmingly and looked up at the man. "Don't worry," he lied. "I won't."
OoOoOo
"All right you ugly bastard," Genis muttered, kicking Zev onto his back. Not that Zev really was an ugly kid... now that he was back in his human form, Genis could see that the boy was handsome in an oddly androgynous way. And if you ignore the crossbow bolt sticking out of his eye socket, and the unnatural way his head was twisted.
Driven by curiosity and a desire to examine his dead enemy that would have made Raine proud, he had come to the place where Zev had fallen."You're not so tough-looking," Genis declared, to hide his feelings of unease. The body showed no signs of decay, not one. And besides the wounds that had killed him, Zev's corpse was untouched. As if the scavengers were afraid of him still. Feeling foolish, but unable to stop himself, he placed two fingers against the boy's neck to reassure himself that there was no pulse beating beneath the surface.
He waited.
The flesh was stiff and leathery under his fingers, lukewarm due only to the heat of the day. It smelled unpleasantly of mold. Utterly still.
"He's dead for sure, you know," said a nervous, female voice behind him. Genis whirled around, pulling out his kendama at a shivering, pale body supported by the long, impossibly stick-thin legs of a pre-teen girl. She curtsied to him, but her gray eyes focused on Zev.
"Who are you?" Genis asked, suspecting the worst.
"I am from the Family," she said. "I'm Micro, the Messenger. You'll find no games with me, I'm here to tell you what I have to tell you."
Well, that was surprisingly straightforward. Genis lowered his weapon and took a few steps away from her with his Kendama-wielding side facing her. "Spit it out, then," he said, pulling his silver hair out of his eyes with his free hand. Raine hadn't cut his hair in a while, not that he enjoyed the crew cuts she inflicted on him, but in times like this he wished it wasn't always in the way.
"My master wants only to warn you now that you are all going to die," Micro said, pulling a pink silk shawl closer to her body as a bout of shivers hit her. Closing her eyes, she let it run its course before continuing. "Th- the- there are n-nine of us, specially designed for you nine. To test us. To see if we Family members are fit for fighting."
"You're kidding," Genis said, twirling the kendama in his fingers to loosen them up and prepare for a fight. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard! This bozo almost killed Presea, and you're telling me it was only to test to see if he was strong or not?" he kicked Zev, in case there was any doubt who he meant. "What do you even need a freak like him for? Tell me what you're really planning!"
The girl could only shrug, her palms facing the sky as she carelessly rolled her shoulders. But the spreading of her arms away from her core allowed the cold to seep in again because she began to shiver once more despite the oppressive tropical humidity. She turned away and began to walk deeper into the jungle, and it was a moment before Genis realized she was finished with what she had to say.
"Wait just a second, you! Answer my question!" Genis took off after her. She started once she realized she was being followed and picked up the pace, her fragile frame not all that it seemed as she catapulted herself into the air, bouncing along the tree branches and taking to the canopy to evade capture. Growling, Genis whipped up his spell casting arm as he ran alongside her down below, pointing his Kendama at the tiny figure.
"Fireball!" he shouted, and three of the spells erupted from the tip to lock onto the girl. They collided with the base of the tree branch she had been standing on but missed her by the scarcest of inches, sending her tumbling down to lower branches. She collected herself last moment, stumbling along with her arms wide for balance that used to be certain. Genis cursed under his breath to see his favorite spell fail. He hacked at the shrubbery around him, struggling to cover the same amount of ground as the girl who flew along the tree tops. "Fireball" he cried again, burning straight through the obstacles in his path. Barreling through the still-hot embers, he slapped at his singed blue shorts and caught up to Micro.
"Come get some! Air Blade!"
Leaping into the air, he slammed down on the flat of the shimmering blue mana blade, steadying himself with one hand as the air wave rocketed towards the fleeing Micro. She threw a scared glance over her shoulder and suddenly darted off in another direction, propelling off of a springy branch to soar away through the canopy. Genis, unable to steer, let the air blade continue on to slash a straight path as he veered off to follow Micro. Falling and swinging along as best as he could, the teen went deeper into the jungle, shooting off spells as he did so. "Eruption! Stone Blast! Whatever will stop this bitch, I summon thee right the hell now!"
In a stroke of luck, as if the Goddess had heard Genis's cry, Micro tangled herself in a passing whiplash branch, her pink shawl almost strangling her. Genis, seeing his chance, pulled himself up alongside her and pinned her against the thick tree trunk with one hand, his Kendama at the ready. His fingers closed around her throat, his eyes narrowed and vicious.
"Who are these "Family" members?" he demanded, shaking the girl. She seemed even smaller than Presea. "Why are you fighting us?"
"Let...!" she clutched at his wrists with both hands, her eyes squinted shut. "Me...!" Suddenly releasing him, she twirled her open hands in a few rapid signals, her gray eyes flying open. "GO! Stalagmite!"
The ground roared and twisted, wrenching upwards in a solid sharp spike. Genis twisted out of the way, falling through the canopy towards the ground as he reached out for anything to hold onto. But the earth grew closer and the air cleared of tree branches around him, and there seemed no hope. He shielded his face with his arms, wincing in fear just before he shouted-
"STOP!"
Ploop!
Stretchy, pliant, barely solid air broke the half-elf's fall. He floated in the miasma for a few confused moments before the bubble popped and he belly flopped onto the loam. He groaned once before scrambling to his feet, looking up at Micro's pale, pinched face high above him.
"I am the Messenger!" she said again, her voice shrill. "Father promised! He promised, I would be the Messenger, no one would harm me!" She bit back a sob, her bony fingers wiping away at the tears. "Genis Sage, leave me alone!"
"I'm not letting you go that easy!" he shouted back to her, his head whipping around for another way to get back up into the canopy. "Just sit still for a moment, would ya? I wouldn't have to hurt you if you'd do as I say!"
"I only follow Father's orders," she shot back, snorting back a runny nose quite audibly. "You're not the boss of me, you stupid half-elf."
"Watch your mouth!" With his feet spread and his Kendama held tightly in both hands, he pointed straight down. "Geyser! Hyyyyargh!" Like the literal act of nature it was named after, a gush of water spewed from the tip of Genis's Kendama, launching him through the air again. With a frightened squeal, Micro took off through the canopy with Genis hot on her heels once more.
"Get 'er! Fireball!"
Three more fiery orbs shot through the sky, burning through branches with all of Genis's willpower behind them. This time they didn't miss, all three hitting their mark on the girl. But Micro fell to her knees, her arms wrapped around her head as a transparent blue bubble sprung up around her, absorbing the impact.
"Force Field!"
Once more, Genis was forced to re-think the merits of his favorite spell. He followed up with another few fireballs, barraging the force field with sheer strength as he caught up to Micro. Everyone knew you couldn't move and hold up a force field at the same time. Basic magical strategy said you needed to either be adept at close-quarter combat or have a partner who would distract the opponent while you readied another spell. Force Field in any other case only belated the beating.
"Mjollnir!"
He flung his Kendama at her, the hammer-like toy spinning through the air before colliding with the force field, electric sparks skimming across the blue surface. The barrier finally gave way under the pressure, unleashing the voltage as it caved in on Micro. She screamed and convulsed, suspended in the air by the power of the electric attack before arching back and falling to the earth, singed and broken. The Kendama whooshed back to Genis's outstretched hand, clattering and sizzling from the leftover electricity. Genis swooped down, hitching a ride on another Air Blade to catch Micro and leaping off of the blade just before it smashed into the ground with a vortex of mana-induced wind. Genis looked down at Micro, her smooth hair like flowing chocolate now singed and burning. He was utterly without remorse.
Looking at her, all he could see was Presea crumpled and weak, bleeding her life out.
Maybe now that they had a captive, the nine heroes could get some answers from this little girl. Micro groaned, her arms hanging limp by her sides as Genis carried her back out of the jungle, his Kendama safely strapped to his back. He used the giant Ferris wheel as a guide, since it could be seen from just about anywhere on the island and he was now thoroughly lost after his chase through the forest. It wasn't long before she began to stir- not surprising, since normal little girls didn't leap through the trees and deliver weird death threats. Genis's pointed elfin ears twitched as she began to mumble under her breath, the same phrase over and over again:
"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm so sorry..."
"Sorry?" he said, though he doubted she could actually hear him. Slashing through the undergrowth with a few spells, Genis trudged back the way they came. He realized that Micro's stalagmite spell had actually ripped a long gash along his leg. Strange. He hadn't felt it during the chase, but now the going seemed so much slower. "Sorry... won't bring your friend back. Sorry won't make Presea better. If you're really sorry, you should do something about it." He tripped over a large root, and though he caught himself the jolt made Micro whimper.
"Ow," she mewled in between tears. "Please, let me go home. Please."
Well, she was lucid again. Genis huffed, narrowing his eyes and ignoring her. Her shivers had started up again, even though she was hot to the touch. Scorching hot, in fact. Genis decided that she had a bad fever, and judging by the way he could feel her bones jutting out from stretched skin she wasn't very well fed. Regal knew a few healing spells, though, so all he had to do was get back to the resort and get Micro's wounds tended to. It was more than Zev would have done for Presea, he knew, and scowled darkly.
"You're pathetic," he said to her. "Just shut up and keep still before I tie you up and drag you back. Like an animal."
Micro's eyes welled up at the very thought. "Please don't do that, Genis."
"Then shut up already!"
Her head fell. Hot tears dripped from her eyes, but she were silent. For a few minutes, in any case. She spoke up again as they began to reach the place where Zev had fallen.
"Let me go! I am the-"
"The Messenger, I know." Genis set her down against the base of a tree, stretching his arms high above his head. Like he thought, she didn't move very much. The electricity was still playing havoc on her nervous system, and all she could manage were a few ill-attempted, comical flops. He gazed at the shining gates of Altamira "You've only said that a few million times. So how about this? I have a message for you. You are to tell Regal Bryant everything you know about this Father of yours and the Family. That sure sounds like a message to me..." he turned to favor her with a humorless smile. "Don't you think?"
She didn't answer.
She was on fire.
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A/N: Now that's a way to end a chapter! Have someone EXPLODE! I know I don't update as much as I should... but I'm a lazy bitch. Sorry. Next chapter: More Genis! More Elizabeth! More Raine! And Kuchinawa sheds some light on their unusual situation! NEXT TIME ON DRAGONBA- I mean uh TALES OF SYMPHONIA: SHEENA'S PROBLEM!