Chapter Ten:
Palmacosta: Sun, Sand, and Trouble
As soon as the small ship had been anchored and docked, the small group of four was up and away: the hunt for a doctor had begun.
Spotting a young girl out on the streets, Colette quickly hailed her.
"Um, excuse me, but do you know where I might find a doctor?" she asked, a definite edge of fear in her voice.
Glancing to the blonde, the brunette stranger shot her a worried glance.
"Yes, why? Is someone hurt?" she asked, concerned.
"Come with me, please!" begged Colette.
Nodding her consent, the brunette stranger found herself being hurriedly led off towards the pier. Upon arriving there, she discovered the source of the blonde's distress.
"Professor Sage! I found someone who can get us to a doctor!"
Glancing up from where she was supporting the unconscious teen, Raine nodded grimly. "Well that, what are we waiting for miss…?"
"Chocolat, ma'am," supplied the brunette quickly. "Now follow me."
Following the girl, Chocolat, quickly, they soon arrived at a large, officious looking building.
"In here, this is our hospital."
Nodding, Raine hurried in after the young girl, calling back to Colette as she did so, "can you go find Genis and bring him back here?"
Nodding, Colette hurried off to find Genis as Raine carried Lloyd inside.
Leading Raine inside, Chocolate pointed to a woman seated at a large desk.
"She can help you get someone to look after him…" Chocolat trailed off weakly as her eyes fell upon the boy in Raine's arms, catching a good look at him for the first time. "Oh dear, is he okay?"
Glancing down, Raine's eyes went wide as she, too, saw what Chocolat was looking at. Lloyd's face had gone completely pale. To the naked eye it appeared that his breathing had all but stopped, if it had not already done so. Immediately setting the boy down, Raine checked for a pulse and general heartbeat. Finding neither, she turned hurriedly to Chocolat.
"Go get someone! Hurry!"
Nodding hurriedly, the brunette teen took off towards the desk, presumably to get help. As the girl sought help, Raine quickly went over several other tests to check for life. Taking one of Lloyd's hands she pressed down on the palm to an unfavourable response—no blood was returning; it was staying white. Shifting him to a nearby chair, she gently tapped the pressure point on his knee. Thinking she might have seen something, Raine laid him back down again. Pulling back one eyelid gently, Raine took a deep breath. Maybe this was a long shot, but she had to try.
"Light! Photon!"
Using the spell, aimed well above them, to generate a large amount of light, Raine carefully watched Lloyd's eye from off to the side, where her shadow would not interfere. Letting out a long sigh of relief, Raine relaxed, though only slightly. There could be no doubt that Lloyd's pupil had shrunk; he was still alive.
Looking up, the half-elf let out a sigh of relief as she saw Chocolat hurrying towards her with several people she assumed to be medical staff. Straightening up, Raine waved them over.
As the strange men bent over to retrieve Lloyd, Chocolat motioned Raine over to where a solitary woman stood, overseeing the situation.
Once Raine had joined the other two, the strange woman wasted no time in speaking.
"Can you tell me, in detail, everything regarding his condition? I need to know, right down to exactly what happened to him.
Nodding, Raine launched straight into her explanation as they hurried after the others. Leaving nothing out, the half-elf explained everything in detail, right down to the mutterings.
Nodding her thanks, the officious woman smiled at Raine.
"Okay, thank you for your help; I'll take things from here. Why don't you go get some rest?"
Raine nodded weakly, suddenly feeling an overwhelming combination of relief and exhaustion wash over her tired limbs. Thanking the woman, the half-elf made her way back out into the lobby where she slumped down into a chair to await the arrival of her brother and the Chosen.
Kratos stood in stoic silence, patiently awaiting the arrival of an acquaintance. One hand resting on his sword's hilt, the purple-clad man cocked an eye off to his left as he heard footsteps approach from quite a distance. Eventually the footsteps revealed themselves to be a tall, redheaded man clad in pink. Snapping his left eye shut once again, Kratos addressed the man once he deemed him to be close enough.
"You're late, Zelos Wilder," he commented, eyes still closed.
Zelos jumped slightly before letting out a nervous laugh. He was certainly not afraid to admit that Kratos Aurion managed to creep even him out. Despite this, Zelos still refused to drop his act, although he knew he was walking a tight, dangerous line.
"Well, you know, it's those darn hunnies of mine again, always getting in the way of my secret missions."
Cocking an eyebrow, Kratos glared at him, not in the mood to deal with Zelos' behaviour today.
"Cut it out, Wilder. I'm not in the mood; I'm already late to meet with my son, and Sylvarant's Chosen, thanks to your little games. Now tell me, is everything in place?"
Dropping his façade, Zelos shook his head as he said, "no. That's why I was so late, actually. We're having some…problems setting things up and could use your help, Lord Aurion."
Nodding his head in reluctant consent, Kratos scowled, 'damn.'
Raine found herself shaken gently awake some hours later. Opening her eyes slowly, the half-elf sat upright, glancing about as she did so. She had not even realized she had fallen asleep, yet had clearly done so not long after sitting down. Seeing that Colette and Genis had returned, Raine smiled with relief. Genis sat to her right, leaning over the young half-elf lay with his head in his big sister's lap, silver hair scattered about. On Genis' other side Colette was settled back in her chair. Head tucked into her chest the blonde girl also slept peacefully.
Meeting the eyes of the person who had woken her, Raine rose carefully, gently laying her brother's head in the spot that she had just vacated. Without a word the silver-haired woman followed the newcomer down the hallway in silence. Eventually her guide halted in front of a door. Motioning for Raine to enter, the redhead man quickly departed back down the hallway with nary a word.
Steeling herself, Raine tapped gently on the door, only to be greeted with a sharp, "come."
Opening the door, Raine stepped into the dim room. Once her eyes had adjusted to the dim settings she hurriedly made her way to where the doctor from earlier stood, alongside a bed that was occupied by Lloyd. Glancing down to where the brunet lay, Raine sucked in a sharp breath. Last she had seen of the teen, he had been barely breathing—she would even go so far as to say he had stopped—and now he lay here, looking even more dead. The boy's face was an ashen white, giving his skin an almost ghastly, pasty appearance.
Tentatively, Raine reached out to stroke Lloyd's cheek, almost afraid that his skin would crumble away under even the softest of touches. Allowing the backs of her fingers to touch his face, the half-elf shook her head ever so slightly. He felt so…cold.
"How…how is he?" asked the half-elf tentatively, unsure of whether or not she wanted to know the answer.
The doctor paused momentarily, as if choosing her words carefully. "He…he's alive. I can't say much more than that though. There is a definite chance that it will not remain as such for long. I would be forced to say that we have done all we can and that now it's up to him."
Raine nodded her head slowly as she listened to the woman's words, a frown slowly growing to crease her features.
"Is there anything we can do to help?"
Once again, the doctor paused before nodding her head in affirmation. "I would say just stay with him; let him know he's not alone. Do you know of any family that he has?"
"No, I would have to say we just kind of found him. He claims to be away travelling the world," the half-elf replied with a shrug.
"Claims? Why do you say that?" the doctor inquired. She herself was experiencing a growing skepticism about the boy. So any uncertainty between the woman and boy was most interesting.
Raine's only response to the inquiry was a shake of the head. She was certainly not going to express her concerns to this stranger. It was unnerving that the woman would even pry so far. The question did serve to reaffirm Raine's own belief, however. If even the doctor was getting unnerved by Lloyd, then maybe her own suspicions were not so unfounded after all.
Realizing that the silver-haired woman was not going to reply to her inquiry, the doctor stood, smoothing her pants as she did so.
"Well, for now the best we can do is wait. Talk to him if you'd like, it often helps if they hear a familiar voice."
Nodding politely to the doctor as she left, Raine quickly slipped out of the room and made her way back to where Colette and Genis still slept; there was no way she was going to wait this out alone.
Genis paced restlessly about the small hospital room, occasionally sparing a glance to the prone figure situated on the small bed. It had been nearly two days since they had arrived in Palmacosta, and quite frankly, Genis was getting rather sick of the colour white. It seemed be about all he ever saw in this bloody building. Neat, white-washed tiles, which rang with each of his echoing footsteps, lined the floors. The plain, white walls seemed to be mocking him, daring him to give them some semblance of colour. Anything, anything but white! The half-elf had never been quite so happy that his hair was not just a little lighter.
They had all opted to take turns watching Lloyd. This would leave the other two free to investigate the city and catch up on sleep in their room at the inn. Unfortunately for Genis, his watch had only just begun and it would be several more hours until someone else would come and allow him to return to get some sleep. None of them had been able to have much of that in the past three days, and it was beginning to show in all of them.
Stifling a yawn, Genis spun gracefully on his heel and was about to continue his pacing when he was startled by a soft groan from Lloyd. Abandoning his tireless pacing, Genis hurried over to the brunet's side, hoping against hope that this could be a sign that the boy was coming around. It was the first sound that Lloyd had uttered since they had arrived in Palmacosta, so hopefully it could be taken as a good sign.
Arriving at Lloyd's side, Genis was shocked to see that not only was Lloyd coming around, but his eyes were already open.
"L-Lloyd! You're awake! How are you feeling?"
Blinking slowly, Lloyd worked to focus his vision. All around him harsh lights glared, complimented by the bright, white walls. Slowly the brunet was able to focus on the one who had addressed him.
"G-Genis? Wha-? Where are we?"
"Huh? Oh, we're in Palmacosta. I guess you wouldn't really remember the trip up," Genis joked weakly.
At Genis' words, Lloyd froze. Of course! They had finally arrived in Palmacosta. That meant his father would be joining them! Attempting to sit up, Lloyd was rewarded with a sharp pain—one he likely should not have been able to feel—in his gut. Latching onto his side, the teen squeezed his eyes shut as he hissed softly in pain.
"Lloyd! What are you trying to do?!"
"I…I've got to go, Genis."
"Go? You're not going anywhere! Do you realize how close you came to dying? Now, I'm going to go get a doctor, don't move! If you do, I'll freeze you to that bed, got it?"
Sighing in defeat, Lloyd nodded. He could wait a few more hours until nightfall…whenever that was. Come to think of it, he had absolutely no idea what time it was, or how long they had been there. He would have to remember to ask Genis that whenever the boy returned. Yet for now he would use this time to make his plans.
Silence had long since settled over the hospital as Lloyd crept cautiously from his room. Thankfully the others had all decided to leave him alone for the night, giving him the freedom to carry out his plan. He had already tried the window in his room, unfortunately finding it locked. He would have to find another way out, yet he would also have to be quiet. That left only one option; his wings of course. Unfurling the cerulean objects, Lloyd, cautiously raised himself up off of the floor. Silence was necessary, right? Plus he really wanted to fly.
Arriving at the front doors of the hospital, Lloyd carefully fiddled with the handle. Frowning at finding the door locked, he floated back slightly. He was going to have to get out somehow. This clearly meant mana usage was necessary. This, however, brought about the issues of how much, what spell, and where. Examining the door, Lloyd frowned slightly. He really was not sure just which spell he should use to unlock a door. Too much would risk waking others up and leave behind too much evidence. Not enough and he was not going to be going anywhere.
Closer examination of the door revealed to Lloyd another factor in his escape, and one he was glad that there was no one around to see. The door was locked, yes, but from the inside. Mentally beating himself over the head, Lloyd quickly snapped the lock up and let himself outside. He was really very relieved that his dad had not just seen that.
Once he felt the cool, night air of the coastal town upon his face, Lloyd took off, soaring just high enough to clear the houses. Truthfully he knew what a risk he was taking, but he also realized that trying to walk throughout the town with his injuries would not get him very far.
Allowing his keen eyes to pierce the darkness, the half-angel looked around tirelessly. He hoped to spot his father somewhere amongst the many buildings lining the streets. The town was not all that big anyway, no matter what the people of Sylvarant might think. Meltokio made Palmacosta look like a backwater village.
Catching the sound of several people shuffling quietly through the streets, Lloyd thanked his angelic hearing as he quickly dove into an alleyway, immediately recalling his wings. Crouching amongst the shadows, he watched as a group of four, not unlike his own group, meandered on by his hiding place.
"I still can't believe we actually pulled that off today! Great job Colleena!" came an excited voice from the group. Intrigued, Lloyd tuned in to their conversation. Eavesdropping did not count when they spoke that loudly. Well, it was loud to him anyway.
The comment was followed by some soft laughter and a soft voice, "thanks again, Jude!"
"Still, I can't believe that Governor Dorr was stupid enough to just hand over his family treasure like that," the one called Jude observed, biting back a chuckle as he spoke.
At this, the shortest member of the group shrugged. "W-well, he was giving it up to help the Chosen, or so he believed. I would do the same…"
"Ah, who asked you, Christopher?"
Christopher just shrugged in response, shrinking back slightly at Jude's tone.
"Just be quiet and get moving all of you," came a sharp hiss form the oldest member, a woman clothed in all white. "You never know who could be listening. Besides, we need to get out of town tonight, before that idiot Dorr realizes we're not the Chosen's group."
At this the other three fell silent and hastened their walking, leaving Lloyd to ponder what he had just learned. What had those four taken, or been given, that was so valuable? Why were they masquerading as the Chosen's group and what did they hope to gain from it?
Climbing to his feet, Lloyd crept carefully towards the exit of the alley, intending to follow the imposters. He did not make it more than a few steps, however, when he was racked with mind-numbing pain from his gut. Falling to his knees and then his side, he allowed himself to retreat into his own consciousness, a merciful escape from the pain.
It was a cheerful and well-rested group of three that set out from the Skipper's Haven the next morning. Upon entering the hospital they were greeted to a flurry of activity as nurses and other hospital staff flittered to and fro in a hasty frenzy.
Intercepting one of the nurses as she trotted by, Raine asked, "what on earth is going on here?"
"It seems one of the patients disappeared from their room last night…"
Genis felt a cold grip in his gut as he stepped forward cautiously. "What was the patient's name…?"
"I believe it was Lloyd, Lloyd Aurion. Now if you'd excuse me, I really must be going."
Watching the nurse trot off, Genis sighed, "of course it has to be Lloyd."
Colette nodded her agreement as she spoke, "well, at least he's feeling better!"
"I guess we should go look for him then," Genis muttered, ignoring Colette's cheerful prattling.
Colette nodded her agreement as the three redirected their route outside. More searching, just what they needed.
Raine pondered the issue at hand as they walked. She knew that there was something she was missing, but what? She was going to have to be sure to glean more details from the hospital staff later; after they found Lloyd.
"Lloyd! Lloyd! Llooooooyd!"
Lloyd was jolted back to consciousness be Genis' voice yelling his name from not too far away. Staggering wobbly to his feet, Lloyd stumbled out into the main road, using the building as a support.
"H-hey Genis, what's up?"
Startled, Genis whirled on Lloyd, eyes wide momentarily before they narrowed to slits.
"'What's up?' Is that all you have to say? Do you have any idea how worried we've all been?" demanded the half-elf. "You pass out for two days, then go and run off when you finally come around? What were you thinking? Were you thinking? Do you even know how to think?!"
Flinching back slightly at Genis' yelling, Lloyd chuckled weakly. "Yeah, I guess I deserved that…"
"You guess? Do you realize how worried we've all been?! Come on! I'm taking you back to the hospital!" That being said, Genis began leading the way back towards the large building, stopping only when he realized Lloyd was not following. "Well? Come on!"
"That's all fine and good, Genis…but I don't think I can walk that far."
Genis was ready to fall over at Lloyd's comment. "Then how on the hell did you get out here?"
Deciding that saying 'I flew' would likely not go over very well, Lloyd settled for, "I don't know. I must've walked, but I don't really remember too well."
"Fine, whatever, just stay here while I go get help," Genis grumbled, too irate to bother questioning Lloyd's reply.
Lloyd was not about to argue as he set himself down upon the ground to work on his story, it was going to have to be good if he wanted to convince Raine. Despite this, however, half of his thoughts drifted to another, more important issue: where was his father?
I fail and I know it. Seriously. By the time I made it through my IB exams and went to Animé North, I was conscripted to work full-time, since I was the only student NOT writing exams. Then the full-time thing kinda stuck and I'm working thirty-forty hour weeks. Between that, a life, riding and RPing with Mantarou, I've basically been pretty occupied. So occupied, in fact, that I had to force myself not to RP until this chapter was done. I'm going to go back to trying to get out a chapter a week, so I'm hoping to see a new chapter every three weeks or so for this story. Hoping. In terms of the fact that this chapter probably sucks: well, I felt bad for taking a long time to update. So I decided to just post it even though I have yet to hear back from my beta, whom I e-mailed two days ago. I'll be revising it when she does get back to me though.
Now for other news: it's official, Tales of Symphonia: Knight of Ratatosk is due out for the Wii sometime next year. It will take place two years after the ending to the first and feature the original cast, although whether or not they will be playable is questionable. So yeah, I hope you're all happy, you got the game. I can't say I'm thrilled. Symphonia ended perfectly fine in my opinion, seems to me the world can never just leave well enough alone though…
In closing, I've been replaying Symphonia for the past month or so in a frantic attempt to reaffirm what I recall of the storyline, and get the names of the four imposters. I got three, as you can tell. So if anyone knows the name of the fake Raine I'd love you forever if you'd let me know. I completed the sidequest, but never saw the name. So I just don't know. My game has been a bum lately. Like…it won't let me finish rebuilding Luin…and I can't get Raine's costume either (actually, it wouldn't let me get that last play even). So yeah, they say they go to Hima…but do they really? Oh gosh, I'm treating you guys like gamefaqs…
So yeah, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and see you in chapter Eleven! Review! XD