Ahh... Chapter Fourteen... It has been about a month since I last updated this story... longest pause ever. I've been debating how to write this chapter, but I finally came to a easy compromise so now I can get on with it.

Pit: "Come on, the suspence is killing me, what happened to Genis and Gaar? They obviously didn't die."

Inri: "Well, read on to find out, at least, in the end you'll know he's ok, right?"

Pit: "Ahhh... Okay, before this goes on any longer, On with the-"

Inri: "Let's not forget to thank our wonderful reviewers!"

Pit: Very quickly. "Yes, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! Now, On with the Story!"

"I do not own Tales of Symphonia!" – I.K.A. Valian

The shallow breeze was cool against his skin. He opened his eyes and squinted as he looked up at tall trees and a mid-day sun. Gaar sat up and looked around. Birds sang in the trees and also through the air when they left their wooden perches and soared into the sky. The scene was completely peaceful, until Gaar's gaze fell upon the unconscious elven boy next to him. Gaar's eyes widened in surprise. He jumped up and quickly moved over to Genis' side.

"Genis!" Gaar shook the boy but Genis gave no sign he had heard. "Genis! Wake up!" Gaar stood up when Genis still didn't make any kind of reaction. "This isn't good..." Gaar looked around the small forest clearing he found himself in. "What in the world happened? Where are we?" Gaar spun around several times and fell to the ground, holding his head. "I'm dizzy..." The world span around him and it looked like Genis stood up on his head and then walked around with his hair. Gaar shut his eyes and fell backwards holding his head. "Oww..."

"Gaar, are you alright? Did you're headache return?" Gaar opened his eyes and discovered to his relief that Genis wasn't walking on his hair. "Gaar, what happened? The last thing I remember was grabbing your hand."

Gaar shook his head. "I don't know Genis. I remember blacking out when I heard that awful noise in the Ranch. And then I woke up here. Uhm… why did you grab my hand?"

"You told me to!"

"I did?" Genis nodded. "Geez, I don't remember that." Gaar stood up on unsteady legs. "I wonder how we ended up out here."

Genis glanced around and said, "I've been wondering that too. Perhaps Raine and the others pulled us out here because we were out cold." Genis walked around the small clearing. "If they had to do that, then we must be out of Life bottles."
"Maybe..." Gaar walked over to a tree. "I don't know. Something doesn't feel right about this." Genis looked at Gaar questioningly. "It feels too, I don't know, it almost feels like a dream."

Genis shook his head and crawled up one of the slopes completely surrounding the two boys. "Gaar, I don't feel anything unusual, but the Mana here is very… I don't know, very… dry. Maybe that is what you're…"

"Yeah… that might be it." Gaar looked up at Genis, who was staring over the crest of the slope he had crawled to. "Genis?" Genis didn't move more than letting his mouth drop open. "Genis! What is it? Genis!" Gaar scrambled up the side of the hill and stopped next to Genis. Gaar looked at Genis' face until his right hand slowly raised and pointed at what he was looking at. Gaar slowly turned his head and took in the object that was holding his elven friend's attention so well.

"Wha… What's that? It's huge!" The two boys stared in awe at a building, a castle. It was so tremendously tall, that its tallest spires were shrouded in clouds. Around the castle and the town around it was a wall, a very tall wall that had four grand and enormous arched gates with dark wooden doors. Streaming into and out of one of the gates were crows of people, some with carts, some riding on horses, some riding in wagons drawn by horses. "That thing is enormous. It has to be five times bigger than the Asgard Ranch!"

Genis nodded his agreement and continued to stare. Shaking away his bewilderment, he crawled over the edge of the slope, stood up, and brushed the dust off of his clothes. "I've never heard of someplace this big in Sylvarant." Genis started walking toward the city. "We should find out where we are so we can find our way back to the Asgard region." Gaar scrambled over the hill and jogged to catch up to Genis.

Approximately Fourteen Days Later…
Steam filled the otherwise cold, dark, and damp room. The steam billowed out from under the stone roof of the only structure in the water filled chamber. The roof of the cavern bathed in darkness hundreds of feet above. A glowing blue light appeared where once an angel hovered. Soon the steam cleared away to reveal Colette standing in front of a large altar, staring up at the ball of glowing blue Mana.

"Uh… Professor, what do you think that is?" Colette pointed at the glowing ball. "It appeared there after Remiel ascended back to heaven."

Raine walked up behind Colette and looked up at the sphere of Mana. "I believe that is the Undine, the Summon Spirit of Water." Colette looked back at the floating sphere, awe and wonder filled her eyes. "I remember reading somewhere that Summon Spirits only took human form to please the human eye, but their original forms resided somewhere else."

"That's right." Sheena walked to stand behind them and joined them in staring at the ball of Mana. "I was taught that the Summon Spirits can take on any shape they wish because their bodies on this plane are basically composed of concentrated Mana from the element they represent."

"If that were the case," Raine interjected, "Undine could take the form of a fish, or a bird, or even a rock, as long as it was composed of solidified water Mana."

Colette turned to Sheena and asked, "Are you going to form the pact with Undine now?" Sheena nodded, closed her eyes, swallowed audibly, and stepped into Colette's position as she and Raine moved back and away from the Altar of Water.

Sheena was about to say something but was cut off by a loud hissing. She watched, and felt, Water Mana being pulled into the floating, glowing blue ball until it was as wide as Sheena was tall. Then the sphere contracted in on itself and slowly molded itself into a humanoid shape. When the sphere had stopped shaping and moving, a beautiful woman with light blue hued skin stood, or rather hovered before the group. Her long, elegant, dark blue hair fell behind her frail looking shoulders and blended into her long elaborate blue gown. The hair actually seemed to become part of the gown at the lowest point. Finally, the Summon Spirit looked at Sheena.

"You who possess the right of the pact. I am one who is bound to Mithos. What is your name?"

Lloyd scratched his head. "Huh? Mithos? The hero of the Kharlan War?"

Raine shook her head. "It most very well could be someone else. At the time of the war, four thousand years ago, Mithos was a very common boy's name."

"Wow Professor, how do you know so much?" Raine gave Colette a rather cold and distant look.

"I read a lot of books." Colette's face fell a little from Raine's response.

Sheena closed her eyes and took a few deep breathes, then looked up at the floating Summon Spirit and said, "I am Sheena! I seek a pact with Undine!"

Without hesitating Undine replied, "As things stand now, I cannot."

Sheena reacted as though she had been hit physically. "Wh-why?"

"I am already bound by a pact. I cannot form two pacts at the same time. And there is no longer sufficient Water Mana in the world save for this cavern." Everyone stared at Undine as if she started hopping up and down and clucking like a mongoose. Even Kratos was staring at Undine in surprise.

"Insufficient Mana! Already bound by another pact!" Sheena turned around. "What am I supposed to do now? They never said anything about this at the research institute!"

"This turn of events is indeed troubling. Mana from each spirit should be covering the world evenly. To say that there is no longer sufficient Mana means that something else is taking its place. But what is the question." Kratos crossed his arms and started pacing back and forth across the room. Raine gave Kratos a curious look, but remained silent.

Lloyd turned to look at Kratos and then turned back to Sheena who had her arms folded while she her brow furrowed in deep thought. "Um… I'm not sure what insufficient Mana has to do with anything, but can't you just get her to cancel the old pact? That way, we could at least have the pact out of the way."

Sheena quickly shook her head. "How? We don't even have any idea where this Mithos person is!"

"A Summon Spirit pact requires a vow," said Kratos as he paced. "As long as the pact-maker upholds that vow, the pact remains valid."

"That is correct," Undine said as she floated above the Altar of Water.

Sheena sighed, "I know about that. The Summon Spirit approves the pact-maker's vow and agrees to the pact."

Kratos nodded and continued to pace. "Exactly. Therefore all you need to do is follow Lloyd's advice and request the annulment of the previous pact and form a new one. It's possible the previous pact-maker has broken his vow. Or he may have… already passed away."

"Wow," Lloyd laughed. "That's easier than I thought it would be."

"Not necessarily, if the previous pact-maker is still alive and hasn't broken his vow, then there's nothing we can do about it."

"Oh… Shoot…" Lloyd looked at Sheena. Her determination burned clearly in her eyes.

"Okay, I'll give it a shot." Sheena turned back around to face Undine. "Undine! I am Sheena! I ask that thou annulst they pact with Mithos, and establish a new pact…" and then almost under her breath she added, "with me."

Undine sighed, sadly it seemed. "As I said before, I am unable to form a pact, because there is no longer sufficient Mana. Even without a previous pact I would still be unable to form a new one."

"Dammit!" Lloyd's voiced echoed through out the chamber. "Isn't there anything we can do, we really need your power Undine."

Undine looked at Lloyd. "I am sorry, but there is nothing that can be done, unless you find a source of untainted Mana to form the pact."

"Untainted Mana?"

Undine turned to Kratos. "Yes. Though it is there, the Water Mana now covering the rest of the world is tainted by Water Mana that is not naturally produced. The new Mana has come from another source. If I were to use this Mana to form a pact, then the Water Mana in the rest of the world would become as poisonous acid. It is all I can do to purify the Mana so that it will remain as it is. Therefore, there is insufficient Water Mana to produce a pact."

"It looks like we won't be able to form the pact." Sheena sighed and started to trudge back toward the warp pad, her shoulders slumped.

Colette jumped in front of Sheena. "You can't give up now, there has to be a way, besides, we need Undine to bring us to the Unicorn. Without the Unicorn's Horn, we won't be able to save Pietro or Clara. Please Sheena, don't give up."

"Colette, there isn't any way for us to make the pact right now, you heard what Undine said." Colette turned to Raine. Raine shook her head and followed Sheena toward the warp pad. "We'll just have to find another way to save those unfortunate people." Colette sighed, defeated, and followed Raine and Sheena onto the warp pad. The three women disappeared in a sparkle of lights.

Lloyd sighed and walked up to Undine. "Is there anything that can keep the new Mana from mixing with the old Mana?" Undine looked at Lloyd with a sad expression as she shook her head.

"Lloyd, we're leaving." Lloyd looked back at Kratos and sighed again.

"Sorry Pietro, Clara…" Lloyd turned and trudged back toward the warp pad. Kratos had just disappeared when Undine gasped loudly. Lloyd turned quickly and saw that Undine, previously calm and serene, was now rigid and tense. Lloyd slowly walked toward the altar until he stood where Sheena had before. "Undine…"

"He comes!" Undine held her hands out in front of her and a large blue spell ring appeared on the floor just behind Lloyd. Lloyd turned around and had to shield his eyes from the extremely bright light that shone from the spell circle. The room became eerily silent as the amount of power running through the spell circle grew more intense. Wind exploded into Lloyd's form, buffeting his body and pushing it against the altar. Then the sound came, a first it was low and went unnoticed, but it was violently ramped up into a very loud and annoying tone that caused Lloyd's ears to bleed. Slowly, very slowly, the light faded, the sound died, and the wind bled off. When the light had completely disappeared, Lloyd lowered his arm. He then lost the ability to speak.

Moments later, Kratos reappeared on the warp pad. He took five steps forward, his mouth was half open as he prepared to scold Lloyd, but he stopped and stared. Lloyd suddenly shot a hand to his ear and brought it forward to find his hand coated in red. Wincing, he reached into his pocket and pulled out two balls of a clear red substance. He swallowed these quickly and the blood stopped seeping from his ears.

A few moments after that Sheena appeared on the Warp pad and saw Kratos standing a few feet away. "Kratos, what's the matter. Kratos?" Sheena moved around the side of the mercenary and saw his source of confusion. Lloyd wiped the blood off of the sides of his face with his sleeve.

"Sheena, Kratos, can you help me move them." Lloyd's request jolted the two out of their stupor and into forward motion.

"Hold." Everyone turned to look at Undine. "I believe there is now a way to form a pact. Do you still wish to form a pact Sheena?"

Sheena looked down and then up and said, "I do." Lloyd looked back and forth between the Summon Spirit and Sheena, clearly confused.

Undine nodded. "Before I can allow the formation of a new pact, I must test your worthiness as a pact-maker. Draw your weapons."

Raine sighed as she paced on the wooden dock. "What could be keeping them?" She stopped walking and started tapping her foot. The wooden "plap" sound coming from under her leather boot-sole clearly conveying annoyance. "It shouldn't take this long to leave a seal." Raine sighed again.

"Maybe they found a way to make a pact with Undine." Raine gave Colette a sour look. "Or maybe Undine was telling them how to get a new source of Mana."

"Honestly Colette, how do you manage to be so optimistic?"

"Hehe, I just am!" Colette giggled. Raine sighed, but smiled in spite of herself.

"It has been a very long and tiring journey. I'll be happy when all of this is over."

Colette's smile faded slightly and she found the ground interesting. "Yeah," she said. Suddenly Colette's head shot up and she stared at the cave entrance to the cave.

"Colette, what's wrong?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I must be hearing things again." Raine shook her head. "I could have sworn I heard…"

Raine raised an eyebrow. "Heard what?"

Colette smiled and giggled. "Nothing, nothing. It must have been the wind that's all. After all, this has been a long and tiring journey, so my mind must be playing tricks… on me."

"Colette?" Colette looked at Raine innocently. "What did you think that you heard? I know when you're trying to avoid answering one of my questions. You always did the same thing in class when we were in Iselia. Come on, out with it."

Colette sighed nervously, slouched her shoulders in defeat, and shrugged. "I thought I heard Genis' voice coming from the cave." Raine's body visibly stiffened and she turned to face the ocean. "I'm sorry Professor, I shouldn't have said anything. I'm really sorry."

"No Colette," Raine sniffed. Tear drops fell through the planks of wood and made little sploops in the water. "It's alright."

Colette turned her head again and stared at the cave. "But… that's… not possible…" Colette pushed away from the stone wall she had been leaning against and moved up the ramps of inclined stone. She stood on the higher platform and stared at the cave. "I'm sorry Professor, but I have to go." Colette took off toward the glowing rainbow colored ramp that stretched over the boiling hot geyser.

"Colette!" Raine shouted. She turned and wiped the tears from her face. She then ran up the stone incline and followed the blond girl into the cave. Raine stopped just inside of the cave and looked over the side of the ledge. She could hear Colette's quick footsteps, and when her eyes adjusted to the relative darkness, she watched Colette jog toward the tunnel opening that lead to the seal room. Then Colette stopped and gasped. "Colette, what's wrong?" Colette didn't answer though. Instead she her legs started shaking and then she fell to the ground with a hand over her mouth. Raine leaned over the edge to get a better look, but whatever Colette saw, it was out of Raine's range of vision. Colette raised the hand she wasn't using to cover her mouth and waved at whatever it was she was staring at. "Colette! Answer me!" Raine leaned farther over the edge as Colette craned her head up to look at her. Raine saw it in the girl's eyes, eyes of tortured emotion and a tearless face. Raine slowly, begrudgingly turned her head to look back at the tunnel and gasped herself. Standing there in clothes that were not his own, in a body that had grown and was far too old, was Genis looking up at her sheepishly. "Genis?" She whispered disbelievingly, for if she said it any louder, she feared he was dissolve back into the recesses of her mind reserved for unfulfilled dreams and fantasies.

Genis chuckled nervously, but sounded exhausted. "Heh, hi sis, long time no see…" he said in a slightly deeper voice. Raine fainted with an audible sigh, her eyes closed, and she fell from the ledge she was leaning over. "Raine!" Genis shouted in surprise as he sprung forward.

Inri: "So, what do you think?"

Pit: Slack jawed. "How did Genis get so... so... OLD? And what about Gaar? What's with that Castle? And, and, where were they in the first place?"

Inri: "Well that would ruin the story, and the plot you've blown up that had to be pieced back together. Suffer in your ignorance, Mwaahahahahahaha...ha..."

Inri, you know it isn't nice to taunt your brother, and besides, the readers are in the same situation, your taunting them too...

Inri: "Oh... sorry readers:)"

Pit: "Hey, what about me?"

Inri: "I need not repent for hurting you!" Stalks off.

Pit: Sniffles. "I have feelings too..." Stalks off.

Ugh... what a family I have created... Please Review! And thanks if you do!