"I do not own Tales of Symphonia!" – I.K.A. Valian
"Clang!"
That sound resounded throughout the prison sector, signaling the closure of one of the cells within. Inside of the cell, it was dark and smelled of fresh earth. Gaar and Colette stood and looked down upon the sleeping form of a small girl. She had leaned her upper body on the cot inside the cell and fell asleep with her head lying upon her intertwined fingers. Gaar slowly approached the girl until he was standing directly over her.
"She cried herself to sleep," he said. Gaar leaned over and ran his fingertips over the mattress next to Esileif's head. "It's still damp." Colette moved slowly, unnaturally, to stand next to Gaar, her face facing forward and her body as stiff as a board. There, she tilted her bland, expressionless face to look down at the slumbering child. Esileif's eyes gradually opened until the sleepy haze lifted from her face and she focused on Gaar.
"Gaar!" she shouted with a guttural, throaty accent. She leaped at Gaar and wrapped her small arms around the older boy. Her shoulders started heaving and she sobbed into Gaar's shoulder. He slowly put his arms around his emoting assailants shaking form, his surprised expression softening.
Lloyd walked warily into the office he had run into his first visit to the Renegade base. He spotted two familiar men in the center of the room standing in front of a large, wooden desk and moved toward them. Lord Botta was talking to a blue haired man between him and the group. Lloyd assumed the blue haired man, whom he'd run into before, was the leader of the Renegades.
Genis and Raine looked about the brightly lit room, inspecting the finely adorned walls and upholstery. Raine's eyes sparkled at the portraits of a royally dressed human with a golden crown on his head. Below the painting the words "Cleo III" were impressed on a gold plate.
Sheena was the last to enter the office. She glanced around the room once and then came to a stop behind the others with a frown. In that glance, she saw no guards, no other Renegades, besides the two Lords in the middle of the room.
The Leader stopped talking with Botta and turned around. "I see you're finally awake. Eh- Where is the Chosen and that boy?"
"They were acting up and had to be taken to the Prison Sector," Raine explained. The Leader raised an eyebrow but remained stony and silent.
Lloyd coughed into his hand and then hesitantly asked, "Are you… the Renegades?" The Leader turned to face Lloyd, impassive features making him impossible to read.
"Correct," he nodded. "We're an underground resistance dedicated to fighting the Desians… or rather, the Cruxis." The room fell silent and the Leader crossed his arms and started tapping his fingers on his biceps.
"So," Lloyd crossed his arms and his face contorted painfully in concentration. "Cruxis and the Desians really are the same organization!" Lloyd shook his head as concentrating became too painful.
"Correct," Botta affirmed. "Cruxis controls the Church of Martel in the open, and operates the Desians from behind the scenes." Botta paused for a moment, his words sinking in. "The Desians are a subordinate organization within Cruxis."
"The Church of Martel is nothing more than an instrument created by Cruxis to rule the world. Those who call themselves angels are half-elves, who've evolved by using a special Exsphere called a Cruxis Crystal. They aren't gods or anything of the sort. Of course, the Church of Martel and the Chosen know nothing about that." The leader started tapping his fingers faster and then clenched his hand into a fist, willing his shaking hands still.
Sheena looked up and said, "They're half-elves, too!"
"Yes," Botta said at length. "Some of the Desians, as well as Cruxis and ourselves, are half-elves."
Lloyd was concentrating again. "What exactly is Cruxis trying to do? Are they doing all of this just to rule the world? And what about Gaar? What does he have to do with any of this?"
The leader clenched his fists again. "Do you intend to have us explain everything?" he snapped. "How about using your own head a little?"
Raine spoke up. "Then do they really are trying to resurrect the Goddess Martel? They send Oracles to those of the Mana lineage and control their marriages to create Chosens who become the vessel. It seems meaninglessly drawn out and complicated.
As far as Gaar is concerned, I'm not even sure he's from this planet. His Mana signature and his overall state of being are vastly different than Humans, Dwarves, Elves, or Half-elves. The demon inside of Esileif called him the Steward, a title that is only for those who watch over and care for some other person, place or object. But for what reasons would someone of such stature and power come to this planet?" The two lords of the Renegades wore a range of expressions from slightly amused to shock. Raine crossed her arms and waited patiently, giving the two Renegades her best teacher stare.
"Well, well." Botta murmured. "I am impressed." He looked at the Leader who sighed and nodded.
"There is another world beyond Sylvarant," said the leader slowly. "The two worlds compete for Mana."
"Tethe'alla," stated Lloyd.
"Yes," agreed the Leader. "And the one who created this twisted world was Cruxis Leader, Yggdrasill."
"What!" shouted Genis. Everyone in the room except the Leader covered their ears, wincing. "Create a world? That's ridiculous! No one can do that!"
The Leader's right eyebrow began to twitch. The calm exterior on his face was quickly brought back in place however. "If that is what you believe," he said, "then our conversation ends here." The Leader turned and walked away.
"Wait," shouted Lloyd. The Leader stopped and turned his head to look over his cape clad back. One eye studied Lloyd through the blue locks of wispy hair, waiting for an answer. Lloyd continued his plea, "If Yggdrasill was the one that created the two worlds himself, what can you possibly hope to do against someone like that? And that's not all. You tried to kill Colette and me. You're certainly not on our side. Yet for some reason, you saved us. Why?"
The Leader turned around, smirking, and said, "You're not as stupid as you seem."
Lloyd's hand immediately went to his swords and he said, "Excuse me!" Then he let go of their hilts, clenched his hands, and let them fall to his side. Behind him, Raine released the hold she had on her staff, though her form remained tense. Genis looked over at her and then back to Botta as he began to speak.
"Our goal is to stop Martel's revival," he said. "Therefore, the Chosen, who would become her vessel, was an obstacle. We believe your friend, Gaar, was brought in by Yggdrasill to provide the necessary power to carry out the process, and therefore we attempted to kill him as well." The room was silent for a moment.
The Leader then walked forward to stand in front of Lloyd. "Unfortunately, the Chosen completed the Angel Transformation. The Chosen is now a lethal weapon whose only goal is self-preservation. We wouldn't dare lay a hand on her. And Gaar, heh, no longer has the power he once did." Lloyd stared at the Leader's face and then slowly stepped backwards. "But now we have the key to stop Martel's resurrection," the leader continued. "We no longer need to eliminate the Chosen!"
With a pressurized hiss, the door behind the group opened. In stormed several Renegade Foot Soldiers and Evil Warriors. They pulled out their assortment of weapons and brought them to bear, pointy end forward, upon the group. Outside the door, a few Raybits hovered about, their red optical sensors glowing as they trained their gun muzzles on Lloyd. Several red circles appeared above Lloyd's ear.
Lloyd looked around, finding a Renegade in every direction he looked. "What?"
He was about to pull free his twin sabers when he was grabbed from behind by the Leader. "What we need is you, Lloyd Irving!" The leader whispered into his ear. Lloyd struggled to break free of the strong as steel grip.
"Me!" Lloyd shouted. He writhed about in the bear hug that would not quit. "What's so special about me?"
"That's none of your concern!" the leader responded, then he turned toward Botta and said, "Kill the rest. Leave the ones in the Prison Sector there to rot." Botta nodded grimly, and turned back to face the other three who now stood back to back. Genis was awkwardly holding a Kendama too small for his hand, Raine held a nasty looking battle hammer, and Sheena had her Mana infused cards in her hands.
Lloyd wiggled about, flung his head back wards, even stomped as hard as he could on the blue haired guy's foot. All the leader did was grunt. In a final attempt to break free, Lloyd slammed his elbow into the Renegade Leader's gut as hard as he could.
At first nothing happened. And then the veins popped out of the Leader's head followed by his eyes. His grip on Lloyd loosened enough for him to break free. As he separated himself from the Leader, Lloyd kicked the blue haired man as hard as he could in the gut for good measure. The man went flying backwards several feet and landed with a groan.
"Lord Yuan!" shouted several of the Renegades surrounding the group. Several of them ran to see if their leader was alright. Botta was already at his side.
Lloyd rejoined the rest of his friends and eyed the Raybits outside of the door and the remaining Renegades in their way. The Renegades stared at the group and the group stared back, neither moving, both daring the other to make the first attack.
Genis looked down at the pitifully small toy in his hands and sighed. "This won't work anymore," he muttered. Lloyd looked over his shoulder at the Elf with a critical eye as Genis threw the toy with a grunt. It sailed through the air and smashed into the head of a Foot Soldier, who coincidentally had a bruise on the side of his face. The blow was strong enough to knock the Renegade off his feet and into the wall behind him. He slid to the ground unconscious.
Genis turned to Raine. "Hey sis, do you mind if I borrow your staff for now." Raine nodded. She unhooked the bejeweled staff and tossed it at Genis, who caught it, expertly twirled it around, and finished by holding it at a defensive diagonal in front of him. "That's better," he said, a satisfied smile splitting his face.
"No," hissed Botta, "It's his wound from Hima!" Everyone in the room looked over to the downed Yuan. Except Raine.
She watched the Renegades around her look away and took the opportunity to lunch forward, swinging the large hammer down on the Renegades hands. No longer able to use said hands, the Renegade stared at them for a few seconds and then ran out the door crying.
In the few seconds that it took for those events to occur, Sheena had downed another three Foot Soldiers with well placed Pyre Seal explosions. Genis started chanting. And Lloyd launched into a flurry of stabbing motions and slices. He ripped holes in the belly of a fat Renegade. Chopped the hands off of another. It was a very bloody ordeal.
"Damn you Kratos…" moaned Yuan, "How many times must you get in my way!" Raine looked around. The Raybits were the only things left in their way. Lloyd paused and faced Yuan.
"Thunder Blade!" shouted Genis. Sparkling purple Mana erupted from the tip of the staff he was holding. It streaked toward the Raybits at the speed of light and slammed into the floating machines like a freight train hitting a watermelon. And then, as if that obliterating blow weren't enough, an enormous blade formed from the electrical charge left in the air and completely destroyed the pieces of the Raybits that were left.
"Wound from Hima?" Lloyd asked. "Are you telling me that the one who attacked Kratos was?..."
"Lloyd!" Sheena shouted from the door. "What are you doing!" Lloyd took one last look at the downed Lord of the Renegades. Then he turned and bolted out of the door, the Renegade soldiers still in fighting shape hot on his tail. As he passed Sheena, she shouted, "Corrine!" Smoke exploded in front of her, causing the Renegades pursuing Lloyd to stop and warily eye the smoke cloud. Sheena turned and ran out the door, leaving a small, growling, tan colored, blue tailed creature facing the dozen or so Renegades.
The walls of the Prison Sector shook, sending dust and dirt to the floor. The lights flickered on and off a few times before stabilizing. Gaar, still holding Esileif, looked outside of the cell bars. Then he sat down on the cot, grabbed Esileif by the shoulders, and looked her straight in the eye.
"Esileif, we're going to be breaking out of here. I need you to stay close to me, ok?"
"Jà Gaar" she responded, wiping the tears from her cheeks with the backs of her hands. She grabbed onto his arm as he stood up and faced Colette.
"Colette." She turned her blood red eyes and straight, emotionless face to look at Gaar. "We need to find a way out. It looks as if the meeting with the leader didn't go as planned. We have to get out of here and meet up with Lloyd and the others." Colette nodded slowly and turned around. Gaar walked over to the bars and looked around the outside. It seemed like there used to be a switch next to the door just beyond reach, but the controls there had been badly burned.
Grabbing the bars, Gaar shook them trying to get them to move, but they didn't even budge. Colette then moved next to Gaar and grabbed the bars. The metal groaned and buckled under her angelic grasp. Then the two bars she was holding onto snapped off of the door. Colette slowly looked down at the bars in her hands and then at Gaar. Gaar half grinned and laughed half-heartedly
"Vér ugga austrvegr Kona," Esileif whispered hiding behind Gaar.
He frowned and said, "It's okay. She's on our side." Esileif took another look at the emotionless Colette, who turned her head to look at her, before she quickly buried her head into Gaar's back with a small moan. Gaar reached behind his back and patted the small girl's head lightly. Colette looked at the bars again and then walked out of the hole in the cell door that she had made. She rounded the corner and entered the main processing room, leaving Gaar and Esileif in the cell.
"Hey you!" they heard Darius say from the other room. "How'd you get out of your cell? Wha-what are you going to do with those bars?" A short pause and then. "No! S-s-stay back! Don't come any closer! Ahhhh-BOOONGGGG!"
Colette came back around the corner, minus the metal bars. Gaar swallowed and then said, "I guess that means you took care of the guard." Colette nodded slowly and then turned and walked off slowly.
Gaar reached around and grabbed Esileif's hand and lead her out of the prison cell. As they passed the scene Colette had created, Gaar leaned down and whispered into Esileif's ear, "Aren't you glad she's on our side." The small girl nodded, clutching tightly to Gaar's hand.
Before he completely left the room, Gaar saw a glint out of the side of his eyes and stopped. Looking back he saw his bow, quiver, and the red jewel that he thought was in his pocket. "Can't forget these," he said, picking up the items.
"Koma Gaar!" said Esileif while tugging on his sleeve. "Skynda Gaar!"
"I'm coming, I'm coming," he managed to get out as Esileif dragged him up the ramp and out into the large open room with the circular machine in the middle. On the ground were pieces of the robots that were patrolling earlier. Across the room, Colette was bashing the door they had entered from with one of the robots. After several loud and what looked like powerful blows to the door, the bashed in metal gave way with a loud groan and fell into the hallway.
Colette then flung the Raybit she was holding over her should and walked into the mechanically into the hallway. The Raybit smashed into the wall on the opposite side of the large room and fell to the ground in many pieces. Gaar and Esileif moved to follow Colette when several more Raybits flew from the hallway into the room and slammed into the exact same spot as the first one, leaving a dark black soot mark on the wall and a smoking pile of electronics on the ground. The two stopped and looked at each other, and then continued toward the hallway.
When the two got into the hallway, the lights lining the walls were blinking on and off at irregular intervals. Standing in front of the T-junction was Colette, waiting calmly for them to catch up. Sparks and electricity exploded above Colette, but she didn't even act as if any thing had happened. Her blood red irises seemed to glow unnaturally in the sparkling light. Gaar shuddered.
When Gaar and Esileif reached Colette, she turned and walked down the hallway toward the door with the image of a machine plastered on it. Inside the room, the three came face to face with five Renegade Foot Soldiers. They all had their faces plastered to a computer console, so they only noticed the intruders when the door hissed shut.
"Who are you?" asked the first Foot Soldier.
Gaar thought for a moment and then said, "I guess you could call us fugitives, I mean we did break out of jail. But then again, you are the ones who were holding us against our will. So I guess that makes us," Gaar lowered his head until his eyes were level with the Renegades', "your worst nightmare."
"Oh yeah," said the second Renegade. "Well there's five of us and three of yo-"
"Ah, ah, ah." Gaar said, wagging his pointer finger back and forth. "I believe that my friend here is the angel that you were told by Botta to be wary of, correct?" The Renegades immediately stiffened up, all drawing their swords. "Now, I believe that he described to you what they could do with a paper clip, am I right?" The Renegades nodded slowly, still staring at Colette. "Well it just so happens that I have a paperclip right here." Gaar reached into his pocket and pulled out a paper clip. "I picked it up when I grabbed my stuff. I wonder if what Botta said was true." Gaar handed the paper clip to Colette. The Renegades all swallowed loudly. Colette took the paper clip and then, holding the small wire at arms length, she approached the five Foot Soldiers at an enticingly slow pace.
Well, there ya have it. Action, Plot, More action... hmmm and Colette is a total killing machine...
Colette: . . . (Translation: "I'm sorry!")
Well there ya have it. Colette, the appologetic killing machine.
Colette: . . . (Translation: "I'm really, really sorry!")
Inri: I wonder if I can learn to do those moves.
Pit: Well first you'd have to become a zombified angel... wait... Yes, I think Inri should do it to.
Inri: I think I'll pass on the Zombiefying part thank you.
Pit: Awww...
I wonder how my readers are enjoying this story so far. It sure would be nice to know. So, in an effor to get more reviews, I'm going to give Colette the name and address of all the readers who don't review and a paper clip... Just kidding. But seriously, I'd like to know if you likes me story, so, Please review!