Lloyd: Alright, next chapter! We were a little bored with just trying to write filler (and it really wasn't working) so the group isn't gone that long. Oh, well. And also, we got a new beta, Nightfoot! You rock for doing this. Seriously.
And, well, at least Oreo didn't starve since he had two good reviews... And luckily no one reviewed badly. Seeing as how we only got two... We aren't going to press this anymore, but please try and review, even if it's something like 'good job' or 'this sucks'. ...On second thought, I'd rather not have one saying 'this sucks' but any reviews would be nice. Okay, subject dropped now. No more pestering.
And also, one last thing before I shut up: Merry Christmas, everyone!
Genis: I'm also extremely lazy.
Not that I know why this pertains, but it's true.
Oh, and Happy Holidays!
After everyone had gone to bed, Caitlin stayed up well into the night, unable to fall asleep. It was a problem she generally had, and she'd always jokingly told one of her friends that he'd passed his insomnia onto her. However, tonight she was just getting fed up with it. Being unable to sleep while everyone else was already asleep meant she couldn't do much except lie there, and when that happened her mind tended to wander. Tonight it was wandering back to home.
The two girls had been there for nearly a week and a half - they'd left June 15th from home, so now it was about the 25th. Were their parents worried about them? Did the delegation leaders call to say that they'd left their hotel room and never returned? She knew her parents would be upset, and hated to think of how her nine-year-old brother would react. He had always been kind of a softy, and Caitlin knew that losing his only sister would be devastating to the poor kid. Heck, even her fourteen-year-old brother would be upset, and they were always at each other's throats!
Caitlin frowned at the thought of her family and turned onto her side, glaring at the wall as if it was its fault for giving her these things to think about. Hell, these thoughts were probably what was keeping her awake well past midnight! She groaned quietly and put a hand to her head, as if she could force the pictures away. But it was difficult. She didn't know if they'd ever be able to get home - not one of the multiple stories she liked reading on FanFiction ever got to the end of the story. Never. How could she know that it would work out? The past week and a half she'd kept herself busy, which had helped with keeping her thoughts at bay, but now it wasn't working too well.
Katherine, fortunately, had the ability to pass out as soon as she was under the covers and the lights were out. No staying up late, wondering about home for her. She was blissfully in dreamland. For now. When she was awake though, all those thoughts Caitlin was having now sat around in the back of her brain whenever she wasn't busy. They'd pop up every so often, and she'd start thinking about them, but then her attention would turn to something else and she'd lose her train of thought. Similar to how she'd yell out "Deddechi!" whenever she thought of Vesperia's loose plot end.
As best she could figure, (and she didn't want to assume that Symphonia time matched up with Earth time) they were maybe ... 10, 13 hours into the game? The only times she could remember getting were 6 hours to the Fire Seal and 40-some to Latheon Gorge. That was of course if Earth time synchronized with how long it took in the game. But that was always different, so that couldn't be it...but what else could it be? Even then, it'd still been around 13 hours, so it was already noon-ish at Stonehenge. How long had the whole game taken her the first time around? 60 something hours? That would mean that they'd return to Earth in less than 3 days. ...If she guessed correctly. And where would they reappear? Stonehenge? That made sense, if Stonehenge was a form of Otherworldly Gate. At least they spoke English there; Katherine could only imagine the chaos that would ensue if they suddenly appeared in a country where they didn't speak the native language. There were a lot of those in Europe. What if the Gate miscalculated or something and sent them to Germany, or somewhere else that they didn't want to end up? That was of course, if they could get back.
Eventually, Caitlin managed to drift off to sleep, and was consequently grouchy the next morning whenever Katherine woke her up for work. She enjoyed functioning on at least twelve hours of sleep, not five. So she wasn't in the best of moods when she went down to the kitchen with her friend for breakfast, though the bad mood lifted slightly when she noticed Lloyd, Colette, Genis, Raine, and Kratos down there as well. Lloyd seemed a little bummed about something, Kratos was as emotionless as ever, Colette also seemed a little upset, Raine looked like she was thinking about something, and Genis looked slightly nervous - at least, that's what it seemed to Caitlin.
Genis, the first to notice the two Earthlings, perked slightly at the sight of the girls. Katherine assumed it was because they had practically(if they hadn't actually) become the new best friends of the poor, socially-deprived half-elf. "Hey guys!" The rest of the table (except maybe Kratos. No one can tell what Kratos does.) noticed the girls' presence and shifted, in both mood and position, in reaction to that fact. Lloyd and Colette both cheered up almost instantly, and Raine looked like she had finally come to a decision.
As the girls sat down in the now open spots, Raine turned to the girls and began to use the teacher voice. "Caitlin, Katherine. As I'm sure you know, Genis has been requested to attend the academy here in Palmacosta. Due to certain...circumstances, there is now the opportunity for him to attend the academy. The decision has been made that Genis will remain here to study rather than continue on the journey with Colette. Seeing as how the two of you have...bonded with him so quickly, I believe that you posses the ability to care for him when I cannot. Can you do that?"
Oh. That's what everyone was so down about. Once Raine mentioned the academy, the moods of Colette, Lloyd and Genis perceptibly dropped. Colette tried to keep a smile on her face, but she was obviously sad about Genis. This was definitely an...interesting twist to the story. Did this happen because they were there?
"You could've said that in fewer words," Caitlin mumbled, rubbing her eyes as she still tried to wake up entirely and yawning. "But sure, we can do that. We make enough Gald that it'll work." She found it a little strange that they were leaving Genis behind, since obviously in the game he accompanied the group. What would happen to the story without everyone's favorite little mage around? He didn't really have that important of a part to the story... The first thing she thought of was that he befriended Mithos which might've helped with something, but she didn't see much of a need to have him in the group. Would it really be that bad if he was left behind after all?
"Now you get to go to the school, right, Genis?" Lloyd said, trying to sound cheerful though failing a little bit. It was clear that he didn't want one of his best friends to be left behind, yet he still tried to be happy for Genis. "Then we can come and visit you whenever we come back to Palmacosta!" he promised, looking a little more enthusiastic at the prospect.
Genis laughed, trying to remain upbeat. "I'll be fine, but how will you do without me? You won't have anyone to do your homework for you."
Katherine looked at Raine for a while before speaking. "Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, he is your brother, and you guys barely know us. Are you okay with that?"
Raine looked back at Katherine, her eyes obviously upset with the prospect of leaving her brother behind for the first time in twelve years. She'd raised him, but at some point she needed to let him go. "Yes. This journey is a dangerous one, and if he can stay here to study, then that would be the best way to protect him." Her gaze flicked to Colette quickly, but returned to Katherine just as quickly.
The banter continued for a few minutes--long enough for the two girls to munch some breakfast--before Kratos stood up. "Chosen. We need to move quickly. Time is always of the essence."
Colette blinked for a moment. "Oh. Right!" She stood as well, and started to move out the door to the rest of the inn. "Let's go!"
Everyone else got up as well. "You're awfully happy, Colette," Lloyd mentioned, smiling at her just a little bit. The slightly hyperactive Chosen stopped and looked back at him, looking apologetic.
"I'm sorry. I was just trying to cheer everyone up," she said.
"What are you doing that for? No one needs to be cheered up." Genis tried to smile, but to anyone who paid attention, it failed miserably. "I mean, I was going to come here eventually anyways. Thanks for letting me tag along on the journey so far. Good luck you guys. And don't let Raine cook."
Raine narrowed her eyes at the last comment, but moved closer to the door, her attention fixed on the exit. "Stay out of trouble Genis."
"I will." And with that, the Chosen and her entourage of friend, teacher and bodyguard left the inn, leaving the mage behind at the same time.
Katherine rolled her eyes and laughed. "Wow Genis. You don't have to make it sound like this is a death sentence."
"I did not!" Genis retorted. "I'm just...a little jealous is all."
"I doubt going on that journey would be all that great. It'd probably get really boring," Caitlin said, still not really wanting to follow everyone on the journey - when the chance came up again. It was a very long journey. Couldn't there be some other way to get home? It's not like anyone else had thought about it... Even though she had absolutely no idea how else to get home herself. "Anyway, we should go. We're supposed to be at work," she said, the last comment directed at Katherine as she headed out of the inn as well, looking like she did not want to go to work.
Katherine laughed on her way out the door. "And if we have to be at work, you need to be at school!" It had hurt so much to see the group leave, especially without Genis. They needed to join up so that they could get home. It was kind of funny, Katherine thought, that now that they were in the world of one of their favorite games, their only goal was to get home again. Whatever happened to actually enjoying their time here?
Caitlin was waiting for the two at the entrance to the academy, leaning against the wall with her chin on her chest. It looked very much like she'd dozed off against the wall, and she was very near it as well. It probably didn't help that she was exhausted and had the odd ability to sleep anywhere anytime - the reason why she'd fallen asleep in so many of her classes before, actually. But because of that, she didn't even notice when Katherine and Genis caught up to her.
After catching up, Katherine rolled her eyes and bopped Caitlin on the head. "Wake up, sleepyhead!" Once she entered the academy, she turned back to Genis. Pointing weakly at her destination, she said, "Aaaaand, this is where we go to work and you go to school! Maybe we'll see you at lunch; that would be cool. Other than that...I guess we'll see you later..."
Genis was skeptical. "...Right. I'll see you later." Slumping his shoulders, he trudged up the stairs as the girls walked to the cafeteria. Once they were safely out of hearing distance, Katherine poked Caitlin's shoulder. "What do we do? What do we do? What do we do?"
Caitlin yawned and batted Katherine's hand away. "Well...is there anything we can do, except try to make everything work out?" she asked, looking back to where Genis had gone a little sympathetically. She'd feel bad in his position - ditched by his friends, being taken care of by two people he barely knew, and probably not really understanding quite what was going on. "For now let's just get through the day and worry about it when we get back to the inn."
Before Katherine could answer, she entered the cafeteria's kitchen to get ready for work. Since she was still half-asleep, she tried to force herself awake. Just because she was tired didn't mean she should do poorly at work - not when she was starting to get the hang of it. That would just be dumb.
As soon as they got back to their room in the inn, Caitlin flopped onto her bed, before grumbling to herself about her swords. She and Katherine had just gotten off work and met up with Genis, who had been waiting for them at the entrance while reading. They'd instantly gone back to the inn, having no where else that was necessary to visit. "So, Genis, how was your first day at the academy?" Caitlin asked, adjusting her swords underneath her so that the sheaths weren't hurting her back.
Genis shrugged. "Pretty boring really. It was mostly getting me caught up with the rest of the students, even though I've already proven that I am." He sighed, obviously a little resentful about being left behind. "And how was your day?"
Caitlin just grunted in response, clasping her hands behind her head. After a second she got around to answering with words. "Boring. Annoying. A whole lot of not fun," she said with her own little shrug, before lifting her head up slightly to look at the small half-elf. "Are you alright, Genis?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
For a while, Genis was silent, and wrapped his arms around his knees. "No..." His voice caught slightly, but he continued. "This is the first time that I haven't been with Raine. She's been with me for as long as I can remember, but now I'm on my own. The only reason I'm even here is because of what happened in Iselia..."
Katherine glanced at Caitlin. They hadn't heard about that, had they? Urging the half-elf to continue, she asked, "What happened?"
Caitlin sat up, feeling bad for Genis. She hadn't thought about the fact that he and his sister hadn't been separated ever, so she guessed it would be hard for the kid. She crossed her legs and looked at him questioningly, waiting for the little half-elf to answer Katherine's question.
Unfortunately, it was a long wait because the half-elf avoided the question. He just outlined the basics of their journey so far, starting with Colette's birthday and the Temple of Martel and going on to Triet and the Fire Seal, and ending up with Sheena (still just that 'weird assassin') and the boat ride from Izoold. From the sounds of things, everything went similarly to the game.
"You seem to have had a rough journey so far, Shorty," Caitlin said, reaching over and ruffling his hair with a smile. "But at least you don't have to worry about getting hurt, and Raine is happy because of that, and you get an awesome education while staying with people who are friends - or at least going to be," she pointed out, her smile turning into a grin. "That's worth something, right?"
"I'm not short! But, I guess you're right..."
Katherine slyly grinned. "She is. After all, what could possibly go wrong here?" Barring Magnius, Desians in general, that whole lack of mana thing and of course, the Giant Kharlan Tree/Bush. "Maybe your friends will come and visit sometime later?" If they could. Having a full-time mage, because Kratos only counts as half of a mage, is really handy, especially when dealing with things with elemental weaknesses, like the seal guardians. Without Genis, how well would they do? Of course, this was still just in terms of the game, so there might not really be any problem at all.
"Yeah..." Genis didn't really look like he believed the girls, but maybe his trust issues were masking how he really felt. He started to stand up, and informed the girls that he would be studying.
"I thought you were ahead?" Katherine didn't get this kid. Not at all. Studying? Really? This is Tales of Symphonia! Besides, who studies anyways?
"Yeah, what do you need to study for?" Caitlin asked, laying back down and looking at Genis curiously as she spoke. She could kind of understand it, with Genis being so into school and all, but if he was ahead didn't that mean that he got to relax while the other kids studied? It didn't make much sense to her. Then again, studying never did.
Genis rolled his eyes. "Even if I'm ahead, I still have to study to stay ahead. Obviously." With that, he left the room, adding "I'll see you guys tomorrow, alright?" as he left.
"Who studies anyways?" Katherine muttered. Heading in the general direction of bed sounded like a good idea. A very good idea for a sleepy Katherine. Caitlin shrugged in response to her friend's question, crossing her legs while still laying down and closing her eyes.
The two girls eventually fell asleep as well, hoping that the next day would prove better and more cheerful than this one.
The next few days progressed in about the same manner - the girls would work, Genis would go to class, and they'd meet back up again at the end of the day. Nothing really changed much, except for Genis' behavior, which Caitlin was personally very glad for. He was slowly starting to warm up to the two girls and didn't seem as upset about being left behind as he was at the beginning. Caitlin liked that, since he was a little more enjoyable to be around now, and not quite as bratty and harsh as he had been, even though he still retained those qualities.
As June started to come to an end, she started to wonder when the group would come back - when Cacao would get hung by Magnius. Surely it had to be pretty soon, even though she noticed that time was kind of...skewed from the game. Otherwise the Regeneration Journey would actually be done by now if game time was anything to go off of. But she hoped it would be soon. Waiting around Palmacosta was so boring, and she knew Genis would perk right up as soon as he saw his friends and sister in town again.
A little more than a week had passed since the group had left Palmacosta, and it seemed to be a pretty average day. It was lunch time at the school, so the two girls were hurrying around trying to get people's orders filled. Suddenly, a loud noise from outside halted conversation, and some people moved to the window to see if they could notice anything outside. It was the sound of people marching on the cobbled streets, and a voice shouted out, "Out of the way! Lord Magnius approaches!"
Caitlin's eyes widened and she quickly went and grabbed her swords from the back room, not caring that she had no way to hold the sheaths in her waitressing uniform. "Come on, we gotta help," she said to Katherine, and the two girls hurried outside before most people comprehended what was going on. Outside, a group had gathered around the hangman in the square, where Cacao stood with the noose around her neck, looking frightened. Desians were lined up along it, probably to keep people back and form a path for Magnius.
"It's Magnius from the eastern ranch..." the girls heard a man mutter, and the Grand Cardinal turned to look at who'd spoken. Caitlin had to stop herself from snickering, since he looked so ridiculous - he'd looked even more comical in the game, being all chibi-fied, but he still looked pretty funny now. His dreadlocks were bright red, like in the game, and his purple vest made him look like he was trying to imitate Zelos, but doing a very poor job of it. His boots were really pointy and she thought that he could totally ditch his axe, kick someone he didn't like, and still manage to kill them. At least, if they were small enough.
"That's Lord Magnius, vermin!" he barked, and the girls smirked at what was very definitely his catch-phrase. Surely he could come up with some other word like the usual 'filthy human' or something to that effect. Though the looks disappeared as soon as he reached over and broke the guy's neck in one swift motion. Katherine gave a little squeak and looked frightened, while Caitlin's eyes widened and she covered her mouth, gulping. Okay...maybe mental insults were not the best thing.
"This woman defied the wishes of the great Lord Magnius and refused to provide us with supplies," one of the Desians announced, sounding a little smug about the fact that they'd gotten her for such a charge. And some of it probably had to do with the fact that she was about to be killed just to prove a point.
Another Desian picked up where the last left off. Caitlin wondered if they'd rehearsed it. "Therefore, while the designated death count has been exceeded, we have been granted orders to carry out this woman's execution!" As the Desian declared that, Genis slid silently up by the two girls, glaring at the Desians in front of them.
Over across the courtyard, Chocolat made her appearance, running out toward her mom. She looked almost as frightened as Cacao did. A Desian stopped her from coming closer by shouting, "Stop right there, woman!" He had one hand on his weapon, looking quite ready to use it if it was necessary.
"If you interfere, we'll make you suffer in ways that will leave you begging for death," another threatened in a kind of creepy voice, one of those reserved for the bad guys in horror films or cheesy action movies. Chocolat seemed to go from looked scared for her mom, to pissed that they'd even try such a thing.
"You think Governor-General Dorr will let you get away with this?" she asked, half-yelling as her hands balled into fists at her side. Magnius smirked, which was a pretty creepy sight in itself, and laughed, which was even worse.
"Dorr?" he asked, amusement deeply evident in his tone as he laughed. "Don't get your hopes up, woman!"
"No!" Chocolat yelled, right as a little kid drew his arm back and chucked a decent-sized rock at Magnius' head. It struck with pretty good aim, and the Grand Cardinal turned around to find the kid with murder clear in his eyes. Caitlin gripped her swords tightly, starting to build up enough mana for a decent-sized Demon Fang as the Cardinal turned to kill the kid.
Just then, Lloyd moved forward a bit so that he wouldn't hurt anyone in the crowd and yelled, "Stop right there!" Magnius paused, allowing the two dual swordsmen to Demon Fang him at about the same time, letting him get hit from both sides of the courtyard, which just served to piss him off further.
Raine came out to talk to Lloyd, and they started talking about how Lloyd didn't want this town to become the next Iselia because of a Desian attack. Obviously Colette agreed with them, and the very convenient conversation was halted by another Desian. It was lucky that Magnius was still trying to recover his composure from the Demon Fangs or else the conversation would have ended a lot sooner.
"You! You're wanted criminal #0074...Lloyd Irving!" one of the Desians accused, pointing a finger at the male dual swordsman. Lloyd got a slight, "oh, shit," look on his face, but didn't manage to say anything before Magnius did.
"Well, now! So you're that boy with the Exsphere! Hahahaha! This is perfect! After I take that Exsphere from you, they'll make me the leader of the Five Grand Cardinals! Get them!" the ranch-owner shouted, pointing almost a little too dramatically at the group. One of the guards cast a spell, which was hastily dodged since Genis wasn't there to cast Force Field and block it. That was quickly changed when Genis decided to head over and help his friend. Worried about the small half-elf in the middle of the courtyard of Desians, the girls followed.
Magnius growled with the show of reinforcements for their side, and glared at his men before going over to Cacao, who had almost been forgotten in the whole "that's Lloyd Irving!" deal. "Dammit! You worthless idiots! Enough of this! I'll take care of this woman first!" Before anything bad could happen, Colette acted, her chakram severing the rope around Cacao's neck and allowing her to drop to the floor, which was much safer. "What the?!" Magnius asked in shock as the Chosen caught her weapon again.
Almost as if he needed a part of the fight, too, Kratos came forward and slashed at Magnius, wounding the Grand Cardinal. "...Let us respect the wishes of the Chosen," he said in a deadly serious tone, giving Magnius the patented Aurion Glare. Everyone was clearly surprised by his statement, since they started muttering amongst themselves about Colette being the Chosen. Caitlin tried to ignore them, wondering why they'd even care when they had a pissed off Grand Cardinal right in front of them, shifting her swords in her hands. Katherine had armed herself with a few rocks, like the boy, knowing that she'd need them. So far, no one had had time to question why they were also fighting Magnius right now. She looked back and saw Raine and Lloyd talking again, the red-clad swordsman vehemently expressing his opinion on what was going on.
"They're only after Colette and me anyway," she heard him say. "And besides, we have the Chosen on our side! The savior who will regenerate the world! Right, Colette?" Colette smiled and nodded.
"Yep! I'm going to fight for everyone's sake," she promised, looking very pleased.
"I give up. You're all hopeless... But I'll help, since I'd be worried about you otherwise," Raine said resignedly, shaking her head. Lloyd's face lit up with her comment.
"Professor Sage! Thanks!" he said cheerfully, and right then was when Magnius decided to interrupt again. He'd had a pretty long recover time there... Despite that, though, he still wanted to show his cowardly side.
"Damned little...enough of this crap! I'm leaving them to you. Get rid of them!" he barked at his men, disappearing from the scene. It was almost ninja-like the way he did it... Apparently he was a Zelos and Mizuho ninja impersonator.
"How dare you lay a hand on Lord Magnius! You're all dead!" a Desian threatened. The crowd quickly moved out of range of any attacks, not wanting to get hit in cross-fire, and took shelter in the nearest buildings. The group of about ten Desians didn't even notice and all charged the opposing group.
Instantly, Caitlin sent a Demon Fang their way, smacking into one of the Desians who was headed for Genis. The small half-elf was casting, the kendama he had been carrying everywhere moving rapidly and his eyes closed. The dual swordsman's tech was enough of a distraction for Genis to finish his spell and send a load of fireballs at the Desian.
Not wanting to be caught defenseless, Katherine stood back near the hangman, throwing her rocks as best as she could and collecting more as necessary. It would have been a very good idea for her to follow her friend's example and carry her sword around everywhere, though really she hadn't thought she'd need it. But at least rocks served well enough to throw the Desians off momentarily.
Kratos didn't seem to be having much trouble with the fight, and he kept an eye on Lloyd and Colette both, who were each up against two Desians. Colette threw a Pow Hammer down on one of their heads and then pulled her wings out and flew out of range of their whips. Lloyd was blocking one of the attacks with one sword and slashing a little awkwardly with the other. Obviously, even though he'd fought before, he had yet to get down some of the better techniques.
Caitlin glanced around, noticing the Fireballed Desian getting up and heading back toward the little mage. Quickly she ran over there and put herself between the man and the half-elf, who sent her a look of thanks before he started casting. The Desian flicked his whip hard enough to leave a pretty nasty cut if it connected and Caitlin instantly raised a sword to block it. The whip wrapped around the blade, pulling taut as the edges caught on it. She gave a clumsy slash with her other sword, barely grazing the guy's stomach and not doing a lot of damage. The small amount of blood made her bite her lip, though - sparring was a whole lot different than actually trying to hurt someone. She didn't really like it that much.
A Desian went toward Katherine, who was still trying her hardest to help out with her rocks. Of course they weren't doing much more than ticking the men off (unless she got off a really lucky shot), so she was clearly a good target for any kind of attack.
Katherine squeaked again when the Desian got closer and quickly moved out of the way. She really didn't have to though, as Kratos Demon Fanged the man, tripping him up and turning his attention away from the annoying, rock-throwing girl as he went after Kratos now. The girl moved back and resumed her measly attempts to help while watching her friend carefully. One of Caitlin's swords had been pulled away by the whip and was now lying out of reaching, forcing her to use just one sword to keep the Desian at bay.
The Desian Caitlin was fighting whipped at her again, the material digging into her arm and making her bite her lip in pain as it cut into her. She slashed at him clumsily, feeling very unbalanced without her other sword, and the blade connected with the side of the man, cutting in pretty deeply. It wasn't enough to kill him, though he was pretty badly wounded. She prepared for another attack before Genis finished his spell, sending another wave of Fireballs out. Luckily, that was enough to send the man into the realm of unconsciousness.
It seemed as if the fight had finished as soon as that last Desian fell. Kratos calmly wiped his blade off and stowed it away in his sheath; Lloyd just shoved his weapons into his sheaths without much of a care; Colette touched back down on the ground and pulled her shiny pink wings in while replacing her chakrams. Caitlin went and retrieved her sword from where it had fallen while saying, loud enough for everyone to pick up, "Well, that was fun."