GAH! Sorry this was so delayed, but there are reasons. Number one: end of the school year with finals and financial aid for prom. Number two: prom just passed. Number three: Just finished typing up two new fan fictions, another chapter for Tales of the Aftermath, and then proofread this one. Hee hee. Yeah.

The next chapter might be up a lot sooner because I feel the story is moving a bit slow. But I'm weird like that. And yeah, it is a bit short again. Like I said, they'll get longer.

I do not own Tales of Symphonia. If I did, Sheena would have a red outfit to match Lloyd ♥

Chapter Five:

Tainted Presence

"Yuan's been late to meetings lately." A blonde child of fourteen sat in a chair. His eyes were closed; fingers drumming against their opposites like a mirror in an unmusical, monotone rhyme of annoyance. The room was dark to match his mood; if the lights were on, his silence alone would be enough to drown it out. In the shadows, his face smirked with irritation as he thought of the cause of his frustrations.

"Has he, My Lord?" Another feminine voice echoed in the small room.

"It's been more and more frequent."

"Are you suspicious?"

"He's hiding something. But he's my friend," he replied in a childish voice.

"As was Kratos," she reminded him, only adding fuel to the flames

He chuckled. "Don't worry. I've plans for Kratos once the Oracle is conveyed."

"Oh?" sang Pronyma.

"Yes, but as for Yuan..."

"If you put him on more missions, you can occupy his time."

"Hmm. Yes," he said mostly to himself. "I think I will."

- - - - - -

True to his word, Yuan stopped working a few hours later, although, it was reluctantly. His work was never truly finished; not until the institute of the Age of Lifeless Beings had been abolished permanently and the Chosens no longer had to sacrifice themselves for the sake of resurrecting the dead, even if she was Mithos' sister... and Yuan's fiancee. Still, he found time to set aside for the toddler, convincing himself that it was his role as a father to spend time with his child. Technically and biologically, Genis was not his child, but the boy had grown on him, despite the lack of blood relations. In a twisted world like his, torn so deeply by discrimination, those with tainted blood, a forbidden mix of human and elves, everyone was family; they had to stick together or they'd die apart.

"Botta, I'm leaving for a while. Genis needs more glitter and paint," Yuan muttered, still annoyed at letting a toddler talk him out of his important work.

"Alright, Sir," he replied with a laugh. "But what if Mithos should call for you while Genis is with you?"

"It is a risk. I'm sure he's more occupied with preparations for the Oracle."

He nodded, though Botta felt his Lord was being too laid back concerning the entire situation. "Understood."

Just then, an enthusiastic Genis came dashing down the hall to meet his uncle and father, bouncing off the walls like a rubber ball. "Daddy! Uncle Botta!"

Botta ruffled the toddler's silver hair and smiled. "Hey Genis."

"We're going out shopping, right, Daddy?" the toddler beamed.

"Uh huh." Yuan nodded and rolled his eyes.

"Very nice. Have fun. And keep an eye on your father."

Genis straightened his hand, stiffened his body, and saluted. "Yes, sir!" he exclaimed, imitating the subordinate.

He laughed and smirked playfully. "Very funny."

- - - - - -

Light came back as she blinked away the sleep and she looked around, attempting to find something familiar to locate herself. The room was silent, but the silence was thick; almost frightening. Her head was pounding with an insane migraine, casing her to hold her stiff hands to her head as she sat up. Her back cracked loudly in several locations and she tried to twist her arms in a position to sooth them, only causing more pain. Memory was faint, like a picture slowly coming into focus. But after a while, they came back belatedly, yet vividly. Painfully vivid.

The steel floor was cold, but a familiar cold that gave an unusual warmth. It was her cage and she concluded that she must have been thrown in, as indicated from the newly created dark bruise on her back, illuminated by the small stream of light coming from the only door in front of her. She didn't even want to think about what happened after Janet's violent outburst; she could still feel it.

"Ooooh," she moaned, rubbing her forehead.

"Raine," a voice called from outside a cage," you're finally awake." He bent down a little to view her. His eyes filled with sympathy for the girl.

She straightened her back a bit more, only to slump over again. Sharp pains struck every fiber of her legs and arms. "...wha.."

"Shhh," he cooed, "don't speak. I'm sure you're in a lot of pain."

"What happened?" she asked.

The man sighed. "Heh," he chuckled nervously, deciding whether or not it was wise to inform the girl of her punishment.

"What happened?" she repeated, her voice a bit more stable.

"You must have really upset her. The Mistress went insane." For the safety of her emotional well being, he suppressed Raine's notion to reveal all the details of the attack. It was bad enough that he had to watch Janet lash out at the half elf with his own eyes, but the man's heart still ached remembering that it was in fact Raine whom felt the pain.

"I figured that," she replied, sarcastically. "But what did she do this time?"

"She..." He turned his head from side to side, as if even retelling the horror would somehow cause the girl to have a relapse, "... beat you a lot. More than she should have. It took about three people to restrain her and rescue you."

"I would have settled for losing dinner or something." Raine tried to laugh, but pain struck in her chest. She beveled over, gasping for air. "Thanks for saving me again."

The man attempted to crack a smile. "No problem, Raine. But just watch what you say to her, okay? The Mistress has anger issues, you know that."

"She beat me for stating the truth," Raine remarked.

"Look, we all know," he moved in closer to the cage, as if there were someone else within earshot, "she's an evil witch, but you can't tell her. What will happen to you if she does it again and no one is around? Not like you can use magic."

Raine moaned, realizing he was correct. Shortly after she came, the girl was injected with several different needles, suppressing the magical abilities of her elven heritage. The points of entrance still scarred her arms; no less than five large holes decorated her one beautifully vibrant skin. "... okay, okay. I'll be more careful."

Temporarily satisfied, he grinned and stood to his feet before his legs fell asleep completely. "I'll try to find something for the pain. Might be some apple gels in the storage closet."

"Lemon would be nice," replied Raine in a soft voice.

"Haha," he laughed, "alright. I'll try to find lemons."

"Thanks."

"Be right back. Get some rest if you can. No telling when Janet will pop in here." With that, he waved to girl and left the room, closing the door behind him quietly.

- - - - - -

Their first destination was Flanoir since it was the closest. That way, the half elf figured, if Yggdrasill summoned him, he could easily drop off the toddler with Botta and be on his way to Derris Kharlan. Even after arguing with himself, Yuan was forced to use a rhieard. Genis insisted that he was enough to polit one alone, though the boy couldn't even pronounce the words labeling the controls.

"Daddy!" he pouted, stomping his feet on the ground. "I can do it myself!"

Yuan folded his arms under his cape. "I wasn't asking you, I was telling you," he muttered.

"It was an accident!" Genis held his head down. "It wouldn't happen again. Promise."

"I know," the Seraph replied, "because you wouldn't be driving."

"But w-"

The angel shot around on his heels at lightning fast speeds, causing a squeaking noise to echo in the hanger. It earned the attention of the Renegades occupying the room and some thick silence. Everyone who knew Yuan well knew that something bad was going to happen. Tension congregated as all waited for a reply.

"That's it... Not another word from you, understood?" Though his eyes were shut, the look on Yuan's face gave away his growing irritation.

Finally, the boy realized he was the source of the disorder. "I'm sor-"

"Shut up!" snapped the angel with a voice strong enough to break the Tower of Salvation. Some of the workers jumped as if they were directly in the line of fire. "I'm doing you a favor by wasting MY precious time taking YOU to Flanoir and Altamira! I'm so sick of your constant complaining!"

Genis' face went pale as a chill shot down his small spine. His lips quivered uncontrollably. He was ready to burst into tears, but that would be embarrassing. Even more embarrassing than being yelled at by Daddy in front of the Renegades? At that point, the boy really didn't care anymore.

Yuan left the boy to sulk in inaudible pity as he prepared a rheiard for departure. "Get back to work!" was all he said after an eternity's worth of silence.

"I-I..." Some sounds escaped his lips in between the sobs.

The angel sighed as his once harden facial features soften. Slowly, he was realizing the harsh nature of his words. "... Damn..." He stopped pushing buttons and turned to look at the boy, analyzing the damage. "Genis.."

"I don't want to go anymore!" Turning on his heels, he screamed and ran away, forcing his way through a few Renegades blocking the door.

He let his anger get the best of him yet again and punished himself for it silently. But this time, it was aimed towards someone who may have deserved it, yet could not handle the burn that came with the fire. His had a tongue that could pierce through stone, and fully aware of it, but not always in control; sometimes he was the slave, not the master, choosing the wrong victims to vent on. Then again, were there every any "right" victims? Did anyone rightfully deserve the hostility of his nature or did they just understand that, deep down, he was only did it as a result of being pained; the side effect of loving and losing, of life and death, of pain and suffering.

He pondered upon himself for a while, trying to distract his conscious by busying his fingers with preparations for departure. He didn't even realize that he was muttering things that sounded like random nonsense to his own ears like a madman. Sighing heavily after settling his internal strife, Yuan finished fueling the rhieard and set the controls to charge while he sought after the boy to give a well deserved apology.

- - - - - - -

Raine's ears perked up when she heard the door open, rather wildly, as if the person on the outside were angry. She expected it to be the lemon gels, or apple, ready to relieve some of the pain and squinted her eyes from the sudden invasion of light, trying to make sense of the movements and faces that entered the holding room. Unfortunately, it was not, but something much different.

Three men wearing lab coats stepped inside, some of whom the half elf recognized to be workers. They were yelled; one commanded the other two to hold the "thing" tightly and they grunted, saying they were doing their best. Whatever they were holding didn't appreciate it and was rocking back and forth violently. Raine caught glimpse of the rebellious figure. She jumped back in shock upon spotting a tail, no-, three tails... and some blue... three blue tails? A bell jingled in the room- could it be a puppy? Why would the Academy have animals?... They wouldn't be so cruel as to experiment on defenseless animals as well.

"We should have used the tranquilizers!" one exclaimed, grasping the object's tails firmly.

"It's too late now. Just put the damn thing in the cage!" Another grumbled and snatched a ring of keys from his pants, sorting through until he found the right one and opened the cage directly across from Raine. Then he looked to the side. "You got a roommate, half elf," he smirked and laughed.

Raine didn't bother to reply; she was more curious as to learning more about her new "roommate." She scooted closer to the bars of her own cage, trying to get a closer look at the cause of their struggle.

Somehow, they managed to drag it to the cage. Counting to three in unison, the men threw the small creature inside and locked it quickly. Another moment's delay would have spelled freedom.

The creature growled like a lion, scratching its small magenta paws at door in a futile attempt of escape. It charged at the cage a few times, seeking to bend the bars, but they were incredibly solid and refused to contour. "Grrr! Let me out of this cage! NOW!" it roared. Whoa, it speaks!

"Shut up, already!" a lab worker commanded, hitting the cage with a metal bar. The reverberating sound was torturous; the vibrations irritated the creature's ears as well as Raine's. They both expressed their torment. The girl covered her ears with her hands and her roommate buried its head under its paws, trying to rub out the pain.

"Come on, let's go. I'm so hungry." The men laughed and left the room, slamming the door shut.

Once the vibrations died down enough to handle, Raine turned her attention to the cage on her left. "... Um... hi..."

The creature looked up curiously. "Who are you?" it asked, still sounding aggravated.

Raine stuck her lips out and sat down with her legs crossed. "I'd like to ask you the same."

"Those idiots call me Corrine, but that's not my real name." Feeling a bit safer, it moved closer to Raine's cage to get a better look at her.

"Corrine. That's a nice name," she replied, nodding. Since she couldn't shake hands like she was properly taught, nodding would have to do. "My name's Raine."

"Well," replied Corrine, "nice to meet you, Raine."

The half elf smiled for she had made a new friend, thought this was the last place a friendship should blossom: separated by metal bars, locked in cages, in the cold, dark room. "Why are you here though? Are you a puppy?"

"Probably the same reason you are, and, no, I'm not a puppy. I'm a Summon Spirit."

Raine gasped and scooted even closer to the bars. She stuck her face between them as much as she could without reshaping her head permanently. "No way! I thought Summon Spirits had temples and stuff. That's what the books that I read said, at least. Plus, how could you be here? "

"I'm a man-made Summon Spirit."

"Ooooo!" sang the girl with wide eyes. A Summon Spirit as a roommate? How lucky could she be?

"Well, it's not all the much fun for me! All they do are weird and painful experiments; no matter how much I fuss, they never listen!" Corrine laid down and curled into a ball, his head resting on his paws.

"..." Raine's interest drained a little bit and was replaced with sympathy. He was yet another victim of research. "They do it to me too."

"But aren't you a half elf?"

"... n-n" What use was there in lying now? She was already captured and her identity exposed. Maybe she was afraid she'd lose her only friend because of her bloodline.

"I can sense elven blood in you. It's okay; I don't hate half elves. We're just alike."

"R-really?" She lightened up a bit, eyeing the Summon Spirit for any hints of lying.

"Trapped in cages, tested on, treated badly: sounds like a match to me."

"So we are friends?"

Corrine's bell jingled as he nodded. "Yup."

Raine smiled and reached out her hand to pet the Spirit. "Okay!" she replied.

Just then, the door opened again and the two went silent. Entered a man; his hands obviously occupied with something delicate as he carefully closed the door behind him and turned on a mall light hanging from the center of the room.

Corrine whined and darted to the back of his cage, kneeling into an attack position; ready to pounce on any fool brave enough to open the door. "Get away!" he yelled, though the man was over ten feet away, showing no signs of having any intentions for approaching the hostile creature.

"Oh, they put Corrine in here, I see."

"Yeah. He just came today. He's a Summon Spirit!"

"I know, Raine." The man walked over to the half elf's cage and proceeded to shove brightly covered gels through a slot at the bottom of the door. "Sorry it took so long. When I went into the storage the first time, Janet was in the area. She'd ask questions I shouldn't answer. Had to wait for her to leave."

Raine grabbed a random gel package. "It's okay and thanks." She removed the protective wrapper, plopping the gooey gel into her mouth with a sigh of relief. It immediately took affect; the pain in her chest began to subside.

"Feeling a bit better?"

"Bla-" She coughed and swallowed the remaining gel in her mouth before replying. "Yeah," she replied, her mouth feet of any obstacles. Then she turned to Corrine who was still in the corner of his cage. "He wouldn't hurt you, Corrine."

"He's one of the people that experiment on me!" Corrine shot back.

Raine looked to her laboratory friend in shock. "What?!"

He sighed, for what the Spirit said was true. "It's not like I want to experiment on you... I do it because I have to."

"Says who?" she asked, rather upset.

"... That information is classified. But believe me, none of us half elves want to harm anyone in any way."

The answer didn't satisfy her but she knew he wouldn't go into any further detail at the moment, especially if it were truly classified. Sometimes he said that to protect her from the truth.

"I'm sorry, but it's time for me to depart." He stood to his feet after pushing the last gel through. "Hide those gels. If Janet comes in, she'll snap."

"Oh, right!" Raine seized the pile, carefully placing them in an area near the back of the cage, under her pillow.

With that, he departed once more after saying giving a farewell to both occupants of the room. He received none in return from Corrine, and Raine was too busy devouring a third apple gel.

"They're not all bad people..." Raine said after a moment of silence, following her friend's exit. "He's not a bad person, really. The bad people are those like Janet, my head mistress. But people like Jeremy aren't bad. He helps me a lot; like bringing me apple gels."

Corrine huffed. "Whatever."

"Honest."

"I just can't wait to leave."

She couldn't argue with a statement like that. "Me too." After staring at her remaining gels, she retrieved a red one and throw into the Summon Spirit's cage.

"What's that?"

"An apple gel."

"... for what?"

"It heals you."

"The only healing I'm looking for is running away and never coming back." He sniffed the gel curiously.

"I'd give anything to leave this place. I wouldn't care how either; if this place set on fire and all the doors opened, allowing everyone to escape. Or if someone robbed the Academy. I wouldn't mind being stolen... by someone nicer."

Corrine licked the gel and pawed it around his cage. "Be careful what you wish for."

Oh noes! Yuan yelled at Genis! The brat kept bothering him, but he hurt the boy's feelings. Bad Yuan! -smacks hand- And Raine met a new friend! How sweet. She didn't go Ruin Mode because it wouldn't be right. Plus, she's in a cage. Okay. Maybe one or two more chapters with Raine and Genis' lives before moving on to more fun stuff. Stay tuned for the next chapter!