Friday, May 6, 2005

   Chapter 3 is Here, Along with Helpful Advice
How come there isn't a hungry smiley icon? I am sleepy, but I'm hungrier than I am sleepy. Oh well. Chapter 3 is done!

*WARNING: THIS FANFIC CONTAINS TALES OF SYMPHONIA SPOILERS. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED*

Use the Find function on your computer to get to the chapter you want. Press Ctrl + F, and then type in the code in the box and click, “Find”. (e.g. xxproxx for the start of the prologue) Typing in the code for the Table of Contents will take you back to the top. You may need to click “Find” again if it doesn’t take you to the chapter right away.



Table of Contents (xxtocxx)
Introduction (xxintxx)
Prologue (xxproxx)
Chapter 1 (xxpch1xx)
Chapter 2 (xxpch2xx)
Chapter 3 (xxpch3xx)
Chapter 4 (xxpch4xx)
Chapter 5 (xxpch5xx)
Chapter 6 (xxpch6xx)
Chapter 7 (xxpch7xx)
Chapter 8 (xxpch8xx)
Chapter 9 (xxpch9xx)
Chapter 10 (xxpch0xx)
Part I (xxprt1xx)
Chapter 1 (xx1ch1xx)
Chapter 2 (xx1ch2xx)
Chapter 3 (xx1ch3xx)

Introduction (xxintxx)
In Tales of Symphonia, a software title for the Nintendo Gamecube, the hero, Lloyd Irving re-fuses two worlds that have been torn apart by a so-called “angel” named Mithos and his band of other “angels” called Cruxis. Lloyd did this with the help of his 8 companions: Colette Brunel, Genis Sage, Raine Sage, Sheena Fujibayashi, Zelos Wilder, Presea Combatir, Regal Bryant, his pet arshis Noishe, and his father Kratos Aurion. Together, they defeated Cruxis and harmony was restored once more. A giant tree that emanated energy (also known as mana) was planted so that enough mana was available to all life on the new world, Irmphitria.
NOTE: If you went through the “Kratos Storyline” in the game, then this is not a direct sequel to your game.
PROLOGUE (xxproxx)
These chapters are much shorter than the ones in the actual story, and never switch points-of-view until the next chapter. This makes for an easier to read prologue. Unfortunately, points-of-view will switch countless times during the story. I’m sorry if this causes any confusion.

Chapter 1 (xxpch1xx)

“Rogue!”
Rogue Shanirrim woke up suddenly. Wondering where he was, he quickly determined that he was in geometry class. Why Geometry? How come it couldn’t be at home, in his comfy bed, awakening from a nap? Rogue thought. He tried in vain to remember his dream. It had been such a good dream. The voice called once again: “Rogue, hurry! It’s your grandpa! He’s dying!” It was only at these words that Rogue finally lost all his drowsiness. “Grandpa Genis is dying?!?!” He was out of the schoolroom before he could even comprehend what he had said. Xiana was right behind him. When they finally made it to Grandpa’s house, there was already a small crowd of people surrounding Genis. Rushing up to his grandpa, Rogue realized that his grandpa, the only member of his family who actually loved him, was in his last moments of life. “Grandpa! No! Please, don’t go!” His grandfather spoke then what were his last words: “Rogue. Please...find Lloyd, and tell him...about...the...rising...of...cru---” Genis stopped there. Rogue was outraged. “Grandpa! Grandpa! No!” The crowd around them started murmuring about Genis’ sanity. “Of course, at 500 years old, what else would you expect? Ranting on and on about how he and some Lloyd person fused two worlds to form Irmphitria! Absolute rubbish!” Prof. Taisaine was saying, “I should know, I’ve been a history teacher ever since this village was founded---” Rogue was devastated. Grandpa Genis was the only member of his family he had ever liked. With him gone, Rogue didn’t know what he would do. Then an idea came to him. Before he could stop them, the words flooded out of his mouth. “I’m going.” “What do you mean?” asked Prof. Taisaine. “I mean I’m going. I’m going out to try and find this Lloyd person.” Rogue repeated. What am I doing? I don’t have any idea who this Lloyd guy is! Rogue thought. “I’m going with him” Xiana said. “I don’t care if you think I’m crazy, as well. Genis seemed to know what he was talking about when he told Rogue and James his stories. I wish to search for Lloyd as well.” Footsteps could be heard echoing from the stairs. A battered-looking James appeared at the top. “Thought you were gonna go without me, eh, Rogue? I’m going, too.” Prof. Taisaine seemed to still be in shock from Rogue’s statement. Three people believing Grandpa Genis seemed to be too much for him to cope with at once. “Now...Now, see here...” he began. “No, you see here!” Rogue yelled. “We’re looking for him no matter what you say, you got that? If you wanna stop us, them we’ll just fight back.” He drew his sword, a sword that Grandpa Genis had given him, saying that it had once held immense power over time and space. What had he called it? Ah, yes: The Eternal Sword. It had long since lost nearly all of its power and was nothing more than an average sword, but it was still the only proof Rogue had. “Fine, fine. But I swear you’re all making a grave mistake. I hereby give my permission for Rogue, Xiana, and James to leave the village in order to search for this “Lloyd”. Pack some rations and be on your way. Go now. I’ve got a pounding headache.” The Mayor said with obvious anger. As Rogue left Grandpa’s House with Xiana and James, he couldn’t suppress his curiosity. “Xiana, I never expected you to say that.” he said. “Oh, really?” Xiana sounded amused. “Raine has told me the same stories Genis told you. Although, Raine passed away a few years ago, I still believe as I did then the stories she told me.” Rogue was a little embarrassed that she had responded with such a personal reply. But then again, Xiana hardly ever revealed any information about herself, so perhaps it was a good thing. James was ready to go. “Well, he told us to get some rations, right? It’ll take a while to get through the Ahash Forest to Iselia.” “Actually, James, the nearest village would be Mizuho.” Xiana corrected. “We should head there first.” And so, the adventure began. Rogue, James, and Xiana stocked up on supplies and headed towards the northeastern exit of the village.



Chapter 2 (xxpch2xx)

Hey, what’s up? I’m James. James Remmington. I’m a little of a dramatic, but I think my creativity really adds to the story. When Xiana asked me to keep a travel log for us, I was more than happy to oblige. Then, after all my hard work, Rogue goes and complains that it’s stretching the facts too much! How am I supposed to work like this!?!? Oh well. This particular adventure happened just as we entered the Ahash Forest from Anastraunda--- “James, you aren’t supposed to make it a biography, you know.” Rogue, who was looking over James’ shoulder, said. “You’re just supposed to record our travels in a book. It’s not that hard. Like, maybe: We went to Mizuho through Ahash Forest. It doesn’t need any spicing up. It isn’t like anyone’s going to read it besides us.” James would have very much liked to say “like you know anything.” But seeing as how Rogue was the whole reason James was here, he decided to go along with it. “Okay, okay. Geez, I’m just bored. What else am I supposed to do?” “Hmm...I know! Let’s look through the rations you brought!” Rogue suggested and started to reach for the pack on James’ back. “I-I don’t think we need to...ah, I mean, I know I packed everything and---” James sputtered out. “Why are you acting all weird? I’m looking in that pack, James, whether you like it or not. Move over!” Rogue opened the pack with a jerk and several dozen books fell out. “THESE ARE YOUR RATIONS!?!?!” Rogue’s face was contorted with rage. “ARE WE GOING TO EAT THE PAGES OR SOMETHING!?!?!” James tried to think of some way out of Rogue’s rage, but there was no escape. Rogue’s eyes were blood-red, which didn’t mean anything good for James. “Now, now. Settle down, you two.” Xiana said suddenly. “If we hurry we should be able to make it out of this forest before dark, and find something to eat in Mizuho. The chief is kind, and is always willing to give hospitality to those who ask it. Perhaps he even knows of our mysterious Lloyd. Although I must express how foolish it was to pack books instead of food. If we weren’t so close to Mizuho, I may have gotten mad...and mad doesn’t do me any good...” Xiana seemed to think she had said too much, and stayed quiet for the a while. James almost had to stop himself from kissing Xiana as he picked up his books. He had had a crush on Xiana since he was 9 years old. Yet he had never had the courage to ask her out. She was only two years older than he was, but she had always been miles out of his league. A snake sped by them. James shuddered. He hated snakes. He supposed he would never learn to like them. Ever. 3 ninja stars speeding right in front of his face disrupted his thoughts. “What the?” he exclaimed and lost his balance, causing him to fall over. Rogue started clapping. “Very graceful, Mr. Remmington. Bravo, Bravo.” “Rogue, this is not the time.” He glanced in the direction the stars had come from but saw nothing. “I though I saw---” But what James thought he saw, Rogue and Xiana never did find out, because at that moment a girl with dark eyes, overly large canines, and long, almost claw-like nails appeared before them. “Who are you? And state your reasons for trespassing onto my land,” this girl said. “We are in search of a person named Lloyd. We wish to go to Mizuho for food and supplies.” Wow, James thought, Xiana doesn’t lose her head in a crisis. The mysterious wolf-girl went on, “My name is Kage. I will allow you to pass here only if you aid me in finding a certain snake.” “And if we decline?” Xiana asked. “If you decline,” Kage went on, “Then I will have no choice but to kill you all” Rogue, of course, said his favorite line: “Then we’ll just have to fight back!” “Wait.” Xiana’s calming voice stopped Rogue for a second. “She seems to have reasons for stopping us. Think about whether or not we should agree to help her for a second. Then decide.”


Chapter 3 (xxpch3xx)

“We’re attacking her, no matter what!” James replied. “Why not? You can’t be all that tough. You can’t even catch a stupid snake...” James shuddered at the thought of a snake. Kage was clearly mad now. James...why did you have to make her so mad? Xiana sighed. “Yeah, we’ll make you wish you hadn’t gotten in our way!“ Rogue was getting excited at the thought of his first battle with Genis’ sword. It was a marvelous blade, but it did need a little sharpening. Xiana took out her Meivo, preparing to battle. “Indeed. She won’t win.” Rogue and Xiana rushed towards Kage. James was doing all he could in self-defense. Everyone was low on health from lack of food. Xiana began casting First Aid. Rogue ran straight towards Kage, who was bombarding James, and used Sonic Swirl. Kage was knocked back a ways, and James received some time to recover. James began casting Fireball, just as Xiana finished casting First Aid on James. Meanwhile, Rogue kept walloping on Kage. “Fierce Demon Fang! Light Spear! Victory Light Spear! Super Lightning Blade!” Xiana was amazed that Rogue could use so many attacks in a combo. James cast Fireball, then Aqua Edge, and then Wind Blade. Xiana soon picked up that he was trying to find a weakness. She tried it, too. “Photon!” Kage took some major damage from that hit. So, her weakness is light, interesting...Rogue was starting to lose Magic Power, Xiana noticed. “Rogue! Pull out! You don’t have much Magic Power left!” “What are you talking about?” Rogue amazingly said through mouthfuls of special moves. “Demon Fang! Sonic Thrust! I’ve got plenty left! Light Spear Cannon! Double Demon Fang! Don’t worry about me! Lightning Blade!” Rogue kept on saying his attacks, but no attacks came. He was completely out of Magic Power. Xiana sighed. Rogue never took into account how much Magic Power his attacks used. “What the? I said LIGHTNING BLADE! Come on! Super Sonic Thrust! Work!” Rogue kept on trying, until Kage regained enough strength to begin attacking him again. “James, why didn’t you pack Orange Gels?” Xiana asked in exasperation. James hung his head. “I said I was sorry...” “Never mind. See if you can draw her attention towards you.” Xiana told him. James gave her a look of complete dismay. “Me?!?! M-Me? Why?” “Do you want Rogue to die? Now, hurry!” Xiana began casting Charge and James threw his spear at Kage. Kage suffered a direct hit, and Rogue escaped. Xiana cast Charge, and Rogue once again began using special attacks one after another. Xiana began casting Holy Lance. “Super Sonic Swirl! What the---Guardian!” Rogue was hit by an attack Xiana had never seen before. “Dark.....Synthesis!” Kage cast the spell at the same time Xiana finished casting Holy Lance. “Holy Lance!!!” Kage was wounded too much by that last attack to continue battling. She staggered away. Meanwhile, the effects of Dark Synthesis had made our heroes lose HP at a constant rate. That last attack...I’ve never witnessed anything like it before... Unfortunately, none of them had any strength left to make it to Mizuho. They all collapsed of exhaustion right there and then.

Chapter 4 (xxpch4xx)

Kage was confused. How could I lose? Kage thought, I am undefeatable, there’s no way I could lose...I sensed something about them the moment I met them...They WILL find that snake for me.... She decided to leave them be...for now. She needed to regain her strength, and train much more. Where had the group said they were going? Mizuho, wasn’t it? Well, in that case, she would just have to follow them, until the day that she had enough power to defeat them. Yes, that would work. And so, she went to her den and slept. In the morning, she smelled something. Wait... it’s a...CAT. I will make that cat start begging for death, Kage thought. With that last comforting thought to cheer her, Kage ran off towards the scent of the cat. But what she found wasn’t a cat. It was a girl, with cat ears. One red ear, one white ear. After getting over the initial shock of seeing a cat-girl, Kage followed her. Eventually, she jumped out in front of the cat-girl, who didn’t seem to notice Kage until she ran into her. “Ah!” the girl exclaimed, and fell down into the mud. “AAAAAAAAHHH!!!!” The strange girl began screaming and yelling and running all over the place. Kage now began to wish her wolf instincts hadn’t brought her to this girl. The girl then started to stand in one place, hissing at Kage. Kage to this day doesn’t understand what on earth was going on in that girl’s mind, but she didn’t like it. Suddenly, the girl stopped hissing. “Excuse me for not introducing myself. I’m Tama. Who are you?” Kage was now scared of this girl, and started to back away slowly. “I asked you for your name! Give it to me!” the girl sounded menacing. Kage broke into a flat out run. “Don’t you dare run away from me!” she shouted after Kage. The girl ran after Kage. She was much faster, and caught up to her in no time. “Hi!!” she said, “Why are we running?” Kage was so confused that she passed out. “Okay, you can take a nap! I like naps! Naps are fun!” the girl informed Kage as she continued on her way. Kage woke up a few hours later with a throbbing headache. She headed for her den, not realizing who she would meet when she arrived there.

Chapter 5 (xxpch5xx)

It was still dark when Tama arrived next to the group. Seeing a perfect opportunity, she immediately started searching their bags. She found only books. Hey, these could still be worth a couple Gald from some book addict, she thought, but I was really expecting more than this. Disappointed, she began to continue on her way, when suddenly one of the group, a half-elf by looks, awoke. Tama was amazed he could make himself heard through the human’s horrendous snoring. “Ugh, wha..? Hey, you! Get back here with our stuff!” he shouted. Tama ran as fast as she could, forgetting why she was even running. The half-elf was fast, but not as fast as she was. With slight smugness, Tama entered the village before sunrise. She found some books in her pocket, and wondered how they got there. When she went to the chief's house, and the vice-chief bought them from her, he gasped as he read the first sentence. When asked where she received it, she said she couldn’t remember. “Well, my young lady do you realize that this is the legend of Lloyd Irving, the hero who created Irmphitria? The whole village of Mizuho has been searching for proof of this story for longer than I can remember, ever since the legendary Chief Sheena passed away. What is your name?” Tama was very surprised to be asked this, of all questions. Hardly anyone had ever even bothered to know her name. She was considered a freak by everyone, ever since that experiment. The experiment that had caused her to have cat ears, clumsiness, and very short-term memory loss. The experiment had been an attempt to fuse her with some dead girl’s soul, and ever since then she could hardly remember anything. After a moment’s surprise and thought, she replied, “Tama. Tama Kudurugi.” “Well, my dear Tama, we’ll need to get you into some respectable clothes, for tonight we celebrate the revival of history!!” The festival was wonderful. It had many sparkling lights, candy, and other wondrous things. Tama almost passed out with excitement. And best of all, she was the one the people were celebrating! Her, of all people!! Several different people arrived that day, and she seemed to remember three of them slightly. Excited, and hoping that her memory was finally coming back a little, Tama was able to enjoy her festival time to the fullest. Near the end of the celebration, as all of the guests were gathered around the bonfire, several people pointed skyward. Explosions and flashes were obvious against the black sky. A single star, unique because it was purple, was glowing in the sky. It seemed to have turned all of the others off by its appearance. Tama thought, as many others did, that this was only a performance designed for this celebration. How very wrong she was. A single star, dwarfed by the purple one, fell from the sky. It hit the separated seconds before it hit the ground in the Ahash Forest. Tama was surprised that the forest didn‘t catch on fire. No one spoke for a long time, until the chief finally broke the silence with a chilling remark. “Cruxis has risen again.”


Chapter 6 (xxpch6xx)

Jack ran, but he couldn’t escape it. The explosion was going to engulf him, and he’d never see the light of day again. Not that he saw it very often as it was, but that wasn’t the point. Mithos had finally done it. He had finally blasted Derris-Kharlan out of its orbit. Despite his and Kratos’ efforts to stop him, Mithos’ strength had prevailed in the end. Kratos was running right beside Jack. Jack was wondering if he’d ever live to meet this Lloyd that Kratos always talked about. He sounded like an amazing person, he could learn a lot from him. Jack’s thoughts were disrupted by a sudden shattering. He turned around, expecting to see Mithos, but he saw instead a hole in the side of Derris-Kharlan. “Kratos! Let’s jump! It’s our only hope to escape Mithos!” Jack yelled at Kratos through the noise. Kratos remained indignant. “No!! You go on without me!! I promised Lloyd that I’d stay here!” “Kratos you’re coming with me whether you like it or not!” Jack yelled back. He practically pushed Kratos out of the comet, and then jumped out himself. He and Kratos pulled out their angel wings, causing an extremely bright light. It almost blinded Jack, who even had angel senses. I guess it’s brighter here, since there’s not atmosphere or something, Jack thought, Man, I hope that no one on Irmphitria sees this, or they’ll be after us. Jack wondered if discrimination had disappeared from the world over the near 5 centuries that Kratos had spent in Derris-Kharlan. Jack was only 18, but he was unique for one reason. Ok, maybe two. Reason number one was because he could remember his past life. Everyone has a past life, but only a select few can remember it. He was one of them. He used to be an alchemist, but he didn’t know very much of it anymore. Reason number two was because he had never lived a human life. When he had been born, he was immediately transported to Derris-Kharlan for reasons still unknown to him. Kratos had raised him like a son, and he had learned many angel techniques. Mithos was still his only rival. Mithos, unfortunately, had also been one of those select few who remembered their past lives. He had been born, and had known all about attempting to bring his sister, Martel, to Derris-Kharlan. Maybe, if Irmphitria was free of discrimination, Mithos could rest in peace. Maybe... Jack’s came back to earth with a jolt (literally). He thought of his parents, and wondered if he would be able to see them for the first time while he was down here. He was suddenly aware of a horribly aching pain all over his body. He looked around for Kratos, but he knew that they must have gotten separated during the fall. He had to tell someone about Mithos, before it was too late. But he hadn’t the strength to move, and nobody was around. He had no doubts that he was going to die right then and there. Kratos was probably half a world away from him.

Chapter 7 (xxpch7xx)

Kratos could sense Jack’s mana from where he laid. Jack couldn’t be more than a few miles away. If only his body would do what he told it to, he could go and help him. He also sensed the mana of one other who shouldn’t even be alive anymore. He sensed the mana of Sheena. No, don’t delude yourself, Kratos reasoned, she couldn’t be here anymore. She should be dead already. You must be imagining things. The mana, however, seemed to get closer. Sheena’s mana seemed as strong as it had been the last time he had seen her nearly 500 years ago. The scent of Sheena’s mana seemed to get closer and closer, until it was right next to him. He couldn’t resist the urge. He called out, “Sheena! Show yourself! It’s me, Kratos! Please help me!” He felt a great surge of helplessness. He was crying for help from Sheena. Well, at least it wasn’t Zelos. A voice answered him: “Who are you talking to? I will aid you, but if you are planning an ambush then I won’t relent from killing you.” Kratos couldn’t help but think that if she had survived all these years, then she may have lost some of her memory. Perhaps the name Kratos wasn’t familiar to her at all. He would accept her offer, though. “I am planning no ambush. I am in dire need of health, and my companion is most likely dead. I thank you for your hospitality. If you are not Sheena, then who are you?” Sheena’s voice sounded amused. “I am called Kage. And don’t think that I’ll help you out for free. No, if I agree to aid you, you must aid me.” This seemed so familiar to Kratos that he almost laughed, but didn’t dare take the risk. “It would seem that you have left me with no choice. I accept your offer.” Kratos supposed that he could help Sheena/Kage and then could go on a search for Lloyd once he regained enough strength. If he could get Sheena/Kage to get back her memory, then maybe she would join him in his search. He would at least inform her about Cruxis. “Well then, let’s get going, tough guy.” Sheena/Kage lifted him easily with one hand, and carried him somewhere. He didn’t have enough consciousness left to figure out where. When he awoke he found himself underneath some blankets among some rocks. Sheena/Kage was cooking fish over a fire when he awoke. “Here. I don’t usually cook my food, but I thought I should at least give it a try. If I burnt it then don’t complain, because that’s all you’re getting until the sun is in the middle of the sky.” One look at the “fish stew” told Kratos that this was indeed Sheena. What he had in front of him was Sheena’s famous curry, except with fish instead of meat. There was even a pineapple. “I don’t know why,” Sheena/Kage said more to herself than to Kratos, “but that came really easily to me, even though I’ve never cooked anything in my life...” She immediately resumed her current activity and didn’t seem to realize that she had said anything. “We should get going soon, if we’re going to find that group. They said they were going to Mizuho, and that cat slowed my progress down a few hours. We’ll lose track of them if we wait any longer. Are you coming?” Kratos had only just started his seafood curry, but he downed it in a gulp. “Fine. Let us go now. Why were these people headed to Mizuho?” Kratos wondered aloud. “Oh, they said that they were looking for somebody named Lloyd, whoever that is. They were even strong enough to beat me, so they should be strong enough to catch that wretched snake.” She trekked on, leaving Kratos dumbfounded. He at least knew he was in the right place, although he did worry about Jack. He hurried and caught up with Sheena/Kage, hardly believing his good fortune.

Chapter 8 (xxpch8xx)

Krystal groaned. She hated mountain climbing more than any other kind of journeying. Especially climbing mountains that were tall. The Fooji Mountains were proving to be quite an obstacle. If it weren’t for that wretched space rock, she would’ve lived a quiet life in her village, with parents. Unfortunately, she was the sole survivor of that incident, and no one knew she existed. Such a shame, too. She could’ve been rich. The Imperial Research Academy had discovered a link between her and Zelos Wilder, some hero from ancient times. His reputation is still well known in Meltokio, and the whole population was surprised to discover that she was the only known relation to him. He was supposed to be her only existing blood relation (if the rumors that he was an angel and had eternal life were true) excluding some kid in Meltokio that no one knew about. That’s why she had been searching all over Irmphitria: To find Zelos if he still existed. Finally pulling herself up to a ledge, she saw the most fantastic thing in the world. She didn’t know it, but she actually had the best view in the world of the imploding of Derris-Kharlan. She watched the two stars fall from the sky, and one of them flew right above her, and she actually felt a breeze when it sped past her, and could’ve sworn that she’d heard screaming. And what an enormous gust it was!!! It nearly blew her off of her ledge. The spectacular show didn’t last very long, and if Krystal ever wanted to get over the Fooji Mountains, then she needed to move on. She could Meltokio looming in the distance. She hoped that she’d find some clues about Zelos there. Well, she wouldn’t get anywhere just standing there. She continued on her way to Meltokio.

Chapter 9 (xxpch9xx)
Meanwhile, in a place far away from anywhere important in this prologue:
Cruxis
Human
Analyzing
Morpher

That’s what I’m called...but you may call me Cham...excuse me, but may I ask who you are?



Chapter 10 (xxpch0xx)

His pen hit the table with a clatter. Blake listened hard, but heard nothing. He could’ve sworn that he’d heard something, but it must’ve just been some idiot fan screaming his name. It happened a lot. But it had caught his attention, and that was saying something. Being the only alive descendant to the great Zelos the Chosen, he was always busy signing autographs. When he had finally returned to his hometown of Meltokio, he had been bombarded by fans screaming his name when they first saw him. Of course, he had to agree that he was the most stunning piece of man in this city ever seen since the great Zelos himself. People said he had had a sister, but she had died in some village when it blew up. The doors to the Great Hall flew open, knocking an unfortunate fan nearby unconscious. The woman who walked in wasn’t alone. She walked with a girl, about his age. Blake rushed over to her by instinct. “Ooh, who are you, gorgeous? You certainly look outrageous.” The woman cleared her throat. “Master Blake, it would be wise to stop flirting for one second to find out who this girl is.” Blake knew something serious was going on now. Nobody ever stopped Blake from flirting, not even the King. Yet this woman, this unknown stranger was telling him to stop flirting? Ridiculous. Just to prove her wrong, he started to kiss the girl. The girl’s reflexes were sharp, though, and she slapped him hard in the face. He still had a red mark there. “Jerk!!! Are you sure that he’s MY brother? I hiked all the way from Luin, nearly dead from the explosion, even over the Fooji Mountains, just to see THIS loser?” The woman awkwardly nodded her head. “Omigosh, you’re serious? This isn’t some joke?” Blake was experiencing mixed emotions, completely torn between joy, sorrow, anger, disgust, and embarrassment that he had tried kissing his own sister. “FANS!!! OUT!!!” He pointed at the door to emphasize his words. Most of his fans couldn’t get out fast enough, after seeing the look of confused rage on his face. “I...uh...think we set off on the wrong foot there, ah... I’m Blake. What’s your name...?” Blake laughed nervously. The woman finally announced who she was. “Master Blake, this is your sister: Krystal. As you know, in this city, women have power over the men, so you must realize that she outranks you.” Blake couldn’t believe that, he wouldn’t believe that. “Oh come on. There have been thousands of claims to blood-ties with Zelos. How do you know she’s a real descendant? Did you do a DNA Test?” Blake knew the answer before it reached his ears. “I’m afraid so, Master Blake. She arrived just this morning, half-starved. We cleaned her up, and fed and watered her, and then--” “You treated me like a slave, is what you did!! Cleaned me up, yeah right... I should fire you for spilling lies to my brother, and in my presence, too! Yeah, that’s right, Blake. They put me in a dungeon and fed me measly little portions of cheese and bread, and then gave me about 4 sips of water from a grimy cup. The even whipped me when I mentioned Zelos. And until I told them I was from Luin they wouldn’t even do a DNA Test. The idiots...” She seemed to be enjoying her new seat of power in Meltokio. She pointed at the woman. “I can tell him myself, okay? So just get out of my site before I fire you.” Hearing this isn’t good news for anyone in the castle, especially from a noble barely lower than his Majesty himself. Krystal went on, “Listen Blake,” She said his name as though trying it out, “I hereby order you to accompany me in a search to find our ancestor, Zelos, who has supposedly lived since the regeneration of the world. You don’t have much choice. That’s an order.”

AND SO ENDS THE PROLOGUE...
BUT THE JOURNEY HAS ONLY BEGUN...



PART I (xxprt1xx)
The Chase

Chapter 1 (xx1ch1xx)

The troll was getting away. He had to act fast before it reached its group, because he didn’t want to know what his friends were like. It was generally his luck to end up chasing the weakest troll, and when he got his friends, the small army of trolls was a force to be reckoned with. “13th Hellfire!!!” He shot arrows of darkness out of his hand, but all 13 arrows missed the troll. His claws weren’t generally very good for long-range battling, so he saved those for the actual slaying of the troll. He followed the troll for a while, occasionally shooting out attacks at it. But despite all of his efforts, each and every attack missed the troll. He was feeling a little drowsy, so he came to the conclusion that that must be what had been holding back his aim. He turned to return to his village, but found his way barred by a giant wall. He had seen this sight way too many times to be tricked. 7 trolls, side-by-side, were smiling down on him. The one he had been chasing joined their ranks. The 8 trolls had him surrounded, and everyone knew what happened to someone who was surrounded by trolls. His only encouraging thought was that the trolls may kill each other while fighting over his bones. All of the trolls attacked at once. There was a flash of white light, and then complete darkness.

Rogue awoke with a start. His nightmare had been so vivid, it had almost seemed real. He glanced around the camp, if you could call it that. It was really only three sleeping bags crammed right next to each other. The padding of footsteps down the path roused him back into reality. Thinking it was Kage, he quickly hid himself in his sleeping bag and pretended to be asleep. Who he met, however, was not Kage, but a strange girl with pointed ears. One red ear, one white ear. She was very peculiar, and Rogue immediately took notice when she began digging through James’ pack. All that was there were books, but they could at least sell them in Mizuho. Besides, they contained Grandpa Genis’ stories, and he didn’t want to lose those. He tried to yell out at her, but his mouth didn’t seem to work. His head was throbbing, and he longed for more sleep. He finally managed to blurt out, “Ugh...wha?” and the girl ran off. He had no strength left to run after her, so he fell back asleep, exasperated. He awoke some time later to the horrified scream of James. “AAAAAH!!!! Those evil cheating conniving thieves!!! I’ll rip them apart limb by limb once I find them!!!” James enforced this comment with violent gestures of his arms. “They can’t have gone far,” Xiana reasoned, “We’ve only been asleep for 3 hours at most. They couldn’t have gotten farther than Mizuho. We can catch up to them if we hurry.” Rogue knew James wouldn’t say no to Xiana, but he knew that James needed rest. “We can get to an inn once we get to Mizuho, how does that sound, James?” he suggested. James nodded and picked up his near empty backpack. There were still some books left, but not many. The ones that were left were too damaged to be readable. James grumbled and put them back in his pack, murmuring, “We can at least use them for firewood....” Rogue was sure that James would never burn his precious books unless he was forced to, which you would never read about in any of those books. And James has quite a large array of books. He must have been hard set to pick his favorites for the journey, but when the time came to pack supplies, he found that no room was left for the supplies. James probably loved his books almost as much as he loved Xiana, although he would never admit to it, Rogue felt it was obvious that James liked Xiana. Xiana, on the other hand, probably had not interest in James at all. In fact, Rogue wouldn’t be surprised if James annoyed her. Although, Rogue was waiting for the day when James asked Xiana out. He would laugh so hard when Xiana smacked James, it’d take him a few minutes to recover. He had imagined this incredible scene many times throughout his life, each time funnier than the last. Now it featured James begging Xiana to marry him, and Rogue was just getting to the punchline when James interrupted his line of thought. “Rogue, are you coming or not? Geez, hurry up!” James could be so irritating sometimes. “Coming!” he responded, and the three hurried off towards Mizuho.


The group made it to Mizuho around nine o’clock, but the city was so lit up that it seemed like it was noon. There was singing, dancing, free food, fireworks, and too many other things to list here. It looked like a party, and a pretty good party at that. James took a moment to absorb all of the decorations. He wished that he had about 12 more eyes. There was so much to see! The thing that really caught his eye, though, was a book sitting on a beautifully decorated pedestal. James recognized the book instantly, but when he tried to get a good look at it, he realized that half of the whole village was crammed right over there to peer at the book. Rogue and Xiana had already gone off to different parts of the party, so James hurried over to the crowd. After what seemed like an hour of shoving through the group, he finally made his way up to the front of the crowd where the chief, his wife, and some weird cat-girl that looked quite shocked to see him were sitting in very comfortable-looking chairs. Just as James was about to speak up, the sky lit up as bright as the fireworks had. Several explosions dotted the sky, and all who were watching this spectacular show of light were dazzled. Halfway through the single second that the event had lasted, James recognized the place where the light was emanating from all too well. The way Genis had described it had been so vivid, how could he forget? That was Derris-Kharlan. There was no sugar-coating it. The end of the world was near unless Lloyd Irving, the hero, appeared out of nowhere and saved the day (again), or a new hero was born. The chief stood up and confirmed James’ suspicions by saying, “Cruxis has risen again.” A devastated silence followed. Half of it was out of shock, half out of anger, and yet another half (it’s a figure of speech, so don’t even say it) out of confusion of what in the world a Cruxis was. James was still in disbelief. He completely forgot about his book. The chief had a grave look on his face. The brilliant light that had separated itself from Derris-Kharlan was coming closer and closer, and split in two just before it hit the town. The stars crashed on either side of Mizuho, starting fires in some parts of the forest. Wow, James thought, I guess it’s a good thing we made it into the village. I occurred to him that he should be panicking, like everybody else in the area. He was just thinking about whether to act panic-stricken or not when a voice called to him, “Help...” It sounded faint and distant, but James could tell the direction it came from. Curious, he turned around towards the forest. The voice came again, quieter this time, “Help me....please...” It was obvious to James that whoever this was, they were in trouble. He ran out of the village and into the forest, which panicked the villagers even more if that was even possible. The forest was dark, especially this late at night. The voice kept calling, growing softer still. Frantically, he ran about in the darkness, searching for whoever was calling. “Help.....” He tripped and fell on something. When his ear hit it, he discovered that that something was breathing and there was a pounding heart in its chest. He could actually hear in his ears, not his head, its cry for help. He picked up the person, who was surprisingly light for someone their size. He tried in vain to find the way back to Mizuho until he could search no more. He was just sitting down in despair when he could clearly hear footsteps coming closer. He greatly hoped that it would be Rogue and Xiana, but instead he saw the wolf-girl he had met earlier. He was reasonably sure that he was dead meat. He couldn’t defend himself alone against this girl. She was too strong, and he doubted that she would ever forgive their group for defeating her. She, however, spared him one glance and then quickly darted away. Several minutes passed, and James began to worry for this mysterious guy’s safety. He was still breathing, but who knew how long that would last? He had to get this guy to the village, and fast. But how? He didn’t have any idea where the village was. He chose the simplest way to determine where he should move. He stood up, and stuck his arm out. He then began spinning around in circles until he was dizzy. After overcoming his dizziness, and resisting the urge to throw up, he picked up the person he had rescued, and continued on in the direction his outstretched arm had indicated. It wasn’t exactly the most accurate way to decide where to go, but hey, it worked.

When Xiana awoke the next day, the search parties were still searching. She had been wondering for the longest time what had possessed James to leave the village so suddenly. Also, the search parties couldn’t search long, for they needed to prepare defenses for when Mithos attacked, assuming that it was Mithos who was once again leading Cruxis. Eventually, she and Rogue had no choice but to continue on their way. Luin was closest, but if the rumors held true, then the village had been obliterated by an explosion, and everything was destroyed completely. So they were going to see what they could find out at Altamira, which was several days away. She hoped that they would meet James along the way. They found James’ books, and the thief, but they hadn’t had the chance to ask her about them. The option arose that very morning, when the search parties returned, along with the girl. Xiana walked up to her, and asked, “Excuse me, but where did you get those books?”. She asked this as politely as possible. The girl responded, equally politely, “I don’t remember. I’m sorry I couldn’t be helpful. Umm...how do you spell chicken?”. This confused Xiana very much. “Ahh...C-H-I-C-K-E-N, but why would you ask something like that?” “Ask what? Did I say something? No, I couldn’t have. And why are you spelling chicken? You’re weird.” She sounded like she really thought she hadn’t said anything. Xiana was even more confused, but she would never give up. “Did--“ she didn’t get to finish, because the girl interrupted her. “Hey, can I join your group? I’m good at...uhm...let’s see...uhh...I’ll think of it eventually!!!” Xiana couldn’t figure out whether this girl was sane or not. She figured that it couldn’t hurt to have a “mentally ill” girl in their group, and it would make things a lot more fun. “Sure, you can join us. We’re going to Altamira next. Could you bring your books with you?” “Uhh...join your group? Sure...but, why did you say that all of a sudden? I mean, I’ll join you but how did you know that I wanted to? You must be psychic or something...weirdo...”

Jack woke up dazed. He tried to recall what had happened, but couldn’t. All he remembered of the last day was falling from Derris-Kharlan. He couldn’t remember what happened once he hit the ground. He saw a fire and realized that someone had found him. That was good to know. With some effort, he managed to stand up. He started to walk towards the other end of the camp, where a person lay. Standing up was one thing, but walking was entirely different. He almost made it there, but collapsed of exhaustion right on top of the person, who was understandably startled. The boy got up and yelled, but seeing Jack, he quickly helped him into a sitting position. “What’s your name?” the boy asked. “Heh, give me your name and I’ll give you mine.” The boy was startled to hear these lines, and said “Are you Lloyd?!?” Jack didn’t think anybody would recognize that line, but maybe it was overly clichéd down here. “No, I’m Jack. Jack Bencher. How did you recognize that line? Lloyd said it, but I didn’t think anyone but those from his group would know it. Kratos told me it was one of his favorite lines.” “Hold up!!! You know Kratos!?! That’s Lloyd’s dad!!! Where is he now?” “To be honest,” Jack said, “He’s probably dead. He and I fell from Derris-Kharlan not too long ago. Perhaps a day previous. Now give me your name!” “I’m James,” the boy said, “James Remmington. Nice to meet you, Jack.” They shook hands, and at that moment an incredible friendship was forged. These two had been destined to meet. Although they didn’t know it yet, this friendship would be broken by the most trivial of things. But that is another story and shall be told another time.


Chapter 2 (xx1ch2xx)
It was impossible. Krystal and Blake had reached yet another dead end, and it had taken them a while to reach this one. Once again, it was a wasted effort. They hadn’t found many clues as to where Zelos could be, and the ones they had weren’t that easily understood. For example, how were they supposed to interpret, “Under the orange waterfall”? Who had ever heard of an orange waterfall? Was there even such a thing? Most of them were probably just false rumors, but you never knew. Now, they had searched every single area around Meltokio with no new leads. Blake was ready to give up, but he had been from the start. Krystal wouldn’t give up for anything. Well, maybe for some things but she wouldn’t let Blake know that. If he did, then he’d just poof them up out of thin air. He had a habit of doing that with things he needed. At any rate, they would have to leave the Meltokio area through the Iselia Forest, and then they’d go to Sybak. With any luck, Zelos would be in one of those chambers that freezes the body, and then Krystal would be happy. The two trekked on for a while, unspeaking. It was usually like that, because Blake would usually end up flirting with Krystal somehow, and then she’d slap him. Blake’s cheeks were now red with hand marks on them from the constant slapping. He had learned to keep his mouth shut, but it was a little hard for him sometimes. Maybe it was instinct. Who knows? Krystal found her mind wandering to the fantastic space fireworks she had seen in the Fooji Mountains. She had never had seen anything so beautiful in her life, and nor did she think that many other people had. She could remember vividly how the star had almost hit her, and she had felt the wind blow in gusts behind it. With a sigh, she continued towards the forest with Blake.

Halfway through the forest, Blake felt something nagging at him. He kept going over the history of how Zelos had saved the world in his head, and particularly the part about his faithful companion, Bud. It was said that Bud was from the world next to Zelos’ world, and that he met Zelos first in Meltokio, hoping to cure one of his friends who had lost her soul. But he was trying to remember the early history of Bud, before he came to Meltokio. He finally decided that Bud had come through this very same forest at some point. He brought out his map and compass, and checked his map. The Earth Temple lay to the north, and the Summon Spirit Gnome might greet them if they went there, and maybe provide them with supplies. Their rations were horribly low, and their meals weren’t exactly filling. He suggested going to meet Gnome to Krystal, and she eagerly agreed. She had obviously never seen a Summon Spirit before. Unfortunately, Blake spoke a little too much, and a hand connected with his face not too long afterwards. His own sister was ruining his face. He couldn’t stand much more of this.

Thoras emerged into a large field full of much debris and rubble. It looked like it could have once been a house, but it had exploded and all that was left was random pieces of wood. His warp spell had worked, but it wasn’t very powerful because his Magic Power was low. He had 3, maybe 4 MP left. Because it wasn’t very powerful, it merely warped him a few yards away from the trolls. He had escaped, but only just. And it might not even matter soon, since these trolls were faster than any he had ever slain. They weren’t the average troll. He was dead if no one else appeared to save him. And since this place was full of debris, he doubted anybody would come to his rescue. Almost as if reading his mind, he heard a nearby yell and a crack. Maybe someone was coming by in a horse-driven carriage? He called for their aid, and instantly two people barge in through the bushes. They were both teenagers, they couldn’t do anything to help him. He noticed one was rather red in the face. Why would he be embarrassed now? The trolls were gaining on him. He stopped running and waited for death...but death never came. The ground beneath the trolls shook, and blasted open, sending the trolls flying through the air. One landed next to Thoras, and he could look close enough to know that these weren’t trolls. These were Krelm. The Krelm were an evolved version of troll, created by man. The entire race had turned against the humans, and from that moment on, humans and Krelm were sworn enemies. A man, clothed in light green, emerged form the opening in the ground. He pointed at it, and the hole closed up. The man walked right to Thoras and said, “Hello, Thoras.” He held out his hand to shake, but Thoras wasn’t done questioning. In fact, he hadn’t even begun. “Hold on! How the heck do you know my name?!?” Thoras asked. “You won’t even shake my hand? Fine. I will take your little survey. But in return, you must join me and these two young people. Thoras couldn’t believe it. This psychopath expected him to do that? But he did owe this guy his life. “As to your first question,” he said, “I can read minds. You, over there, are Blake, and your sister is Krystal. Blake, your face is red because you keep flirting with your sister and she is always slapping you. You take after your father, you know. Ah, and the young Krystal. You really take after your mother. But I’m sure you get that all of the time. No? Oh well, carry on, Thoras!” The first answer had been strange enough, but Thoras was willing to ask one or two more questions. “How did you make that place blow up like that?” The man glared at Thoras for a moment, and then finally said, “I will not reveal my training to a Troll-Killer. I will merely say that I had a good teacher. That’s all.” It figured. Most sorcerers nowadays didn’t care about “revealing their secrets” because the y didn’t really use actual magic. That just proved that this guy was all business, and you didn’t want to mess with him. Finally, the last question: “What’s your name?” The man smiled. “I was waiting for you to ask that,” he said, grinning broader still, “I am Noishe.”

There was an awkward silence afterwards, which was broken by Blake, saying, “Noishe? What kind of a name is that?” Krystal slapped him, and Blake shut up immediately. “Noishe,” Krystal explained in the tone of one explaining that 2 and 2 made 4, “Is the first life born on this earth. He was a legendary arshis, and had been thought to be extinct for more almost 500 years, since the last one disappeared after the great Lloyd’s journey.” Blake still seemed confused. “Lloyd? Who the heck is Lloyd?” His stupidity was rewarded with a fresh smack in the face. “Honestly, do they teach you anything in Meltokio?” She turned to Noishe with an air of surprise in her voice, “Erm...it is a pleasure to meet you, Sir...Noishe...” It was incredibly strange talking to someone you knew had once walked on four legs. Noishe was all business, and didn’t seem to take notice that the other three were staring at him. “I see some of you know me. Let’s get going. I know where every member of the 9 heroes is. However, it is unfortunate that only 5 of them remain alive. We must find all 5 of the remaining heroes before Mithos reaches Irmphitria. We must make haste, for the journey ahead of us is a long one. You will be pleased to hear that both of your parents are still alive. However, your mother has lost her memory. She has already died once, only to continue living as a ghost. A demon found her, and she prepared herself to fuse with the demon. She could control the demon well enough, but a magical snake disrupted the fusion partway through. She was unable to transfer her memories, and she still looks a little like the demon. Once the magical snake is dead, then the fusion will complete itself immediately. This snake has eluded her for much too long, and she is gifted with eternal life, so it may take even longer still. Do not underestimate the snake, for it has powers even I don’t have. As for your father, he awaits my visit at the Earth Temple. He will be most pleased to see that I’ve brought you two along. And it won’t hurt you, Thoras, to come along with us, now would it?” He said all of this very slowly, so that everyone could absorb the information. Krystal’s mind was bursting with questions. “Wait...was our mother one of the Great 9? And which 4 have died, and which 5 remain?” “We must depart. I’ve wasted too much time already. Everything will be made clear when we reach the Earth Temple. Gnome’s power will protect us from there. We must hurry before our current location is determined. Yes, you were being followed.” He spoke the last words before Krystal could even open her mouth to ask. He really could read minds. Thoras had remained silent the whole time. Now he spoke with a slight eagerness to his voice. “Well then, let us be on our way! If we leave now, we may make it to the temple before nightfall. I will help you, but only because it is to save the whole world, and not some minor problem at all. You have my aid.” And so, they set off through the forest. The Earth Temple wasn’t that far away, perhaps a mile or two through the forest, but it seemed like the longest mile or two Krystal had ever walked. Questions flew lazily around in her mind, taunting her. All of them would have to wait until they reached the temple, but every time she dismissed a question, about 20 new ones arose. By the time they had reached the temple at last, a million questions were buzzing around in her head as if it was a beehive. Noishe led them into the temple, and then stopped at a bridge that looked like it had fallen from the floor above, a long time ago. Krystal wondered why they had stopped, and then looked down to see a little miniature Gnomelette, blocking their path. She couldn’t think why Noishe didn’t merely step on him. Noishe spoke foreign words, probably part of some ancient language. The Gnomelette seemed to understand them, and he let them pass. There was a blinding flash of brown light, and a full-sized Gnome appeared in front of them. “Hey, Noishe! What’s up? I haven’t seen you in ages! Where’ve you been? And you’ve grown hands! Hey, lookin’ good!” Krystal decided that this wasn’t the greatest Summon Spirit for her to see first. He was annoying. Even if he said something elegant, his high-pitched voice would still make it annoying. “We wish to speak with Master Zelos. Tell him I have brought his two children,” Noishe said. Gnome was surprised, and looked at Noishe questioningly. “Man, are you sure? I’d say he’s a troll-killer by his looks, but Zelos’ son? Geez, he fools around too much---” “Not the troll-killer, the teenagers!” Noishe yelled at Gnome. “Teenagers? Oh! Those two! I didn’t notice them. Why is the guy’s face all red? Is he embarrassed or somthin’? It doesn’t look like he’s blushing...or did he just get slapped?” Gnome was more intelligent than he looked, and sounded. “Sadly, the latter. And several times, too,” Noishe told Gnome. At this, Blake turned even more red, this time out of embarrassment. “Well, I guess I can let you guys see him. But here‘s a tip for ya: Watch out for the Gnomelettes. They’ve finally evolved enough to have gotten a sense of taste, and now they keep buying Potion left and right. Some of ‘em are drunk, and there’s nothing worse than a drunk Gnomelette, believe me.” They left Gnome, with Noishe saying “We’ll keep that in mind.”

Chapter 3 (xx1ch3xx)
Kage stopped. The snake was nearby. She could sense it. They had been following the group for a week, and Kage felt ready to go. That group was powerful, and with her new servant, Kratos...how did she think of that? She hadn’t even heard his name once. Or had she? If she had, she hadn’t been listening. It didn’t really matter, anyway. He was strong, and he wasn’t even at full strength. She would just use him, and the group of three to get rid of that wretched snake once and for all. But Kratos seemed...familiar. It seemed like she knew him from somewhere, but couldn’t recall where. Every time she strained her memory at night, she came up with memories of being hunted, nearly killed, and then meeting a bright light that spoke to her, and then remembered the snake attacking them. Since then she had been filled with one sole thought: The snake must die. It didn’t matter how it died, it just had to. When it died, the bright light would return, and Kage would be her old self again. She could hardly remember her old body, but it was much better than this clumsy one. Who walks on two legs, anyway? You’ll just fall over again and again. She could’ve easily killed the snake in her old form, but this weak-fleshed life form was extremely hard to maneuver. But now, this was her chance. The group of three (the confusing cat-girl was with them, unfortunately) was right behind them. The snake was hiding to their left. The snake emerged from the bushes, just as the three appeared behind them. Kratos gasped.

As Rogue entered the clearing with Tama and Xiana, he saw Kage and a man staring at the bushes to the left. Kage glanced at them, and yelled “Kill the snake or else I’ll kill you!” Rogue did some quick thinking. If they eliminated the snake, then Kage would be in their debt. Maybe she would help them. Then again, maybe she wouldn’t. Nevertheless, he didn’t want Kage as their enemy. She could be dangerous, especially with that man. He looked like he wasn’t the guy to mess with. “Xiana, I think we should get rid of the snake. We don’t want them as our enemies,” he said. “Well...don’t you remember that Kage already tried to kill us? But I’ll fight, because I agree. Tama, what about you?” “Umm...well, I’d like to avoid doggies if I could, but...fine,” Tama said with more than a little reluctance, “Just make sure that the doggy doesn’t hurt me. EEEK! A SNAKE!!!” Tama ran off into the bushes. Rogue knew that there was something seriously wrong with that girl. Maybe they’d find out how to help her in Altamira. It looked like they couldn’t count on Tama helping them out. It was just him and Xiana. The man nodded at them and drew his sword. It looked like they’d have some help after all. Rogue ran towards the snake, and Xiana started casting Holy Lance. Rogue was just thinking what a shame it was that the only element they had was light, when Kage started casting Dark Synthesis, and the man Thunder Blade. All three attacks hit at once, and it looked like the snake was finished off already. He hadn’t even gotten to use a single attack, and he had been practicing some magic techs. He had almost mastered Fireball. Then the snake reappeared amid the smoke and dust. It wasn’t even scratched, it just looked annoyed. It morphed, and it was then that Rogue realized that it wasn’t a snake at all. It was some sort of morphing demon, disguised as a snake. This would be tougher than he had thought. The demon morphed into something resembling a human shape made out of blue fire. It grew 8 extra hands, however, and walked on 3 legs. It was a very disturbing rendition of a human. It mimicked casting a spell, and a giant blade of thunder missed them all quite a few yards. Then the demon let out a high-pitched squeal, almost like a laugh. It was making fun of them, Rogue thought. Then, it stuck out its “hands”, if you could call them that, and arranged them in a circle surrounding it. It let out a blast of one element out of each hand. It spun around in a circle, until you couldn’t even see it. It stopped suddenly, and for a moment Rogue thought nothing had happened. Then a horrible pain struck him, like a million needles striking his whole body at once. He was mad now. Xiana lay on the ground, barely breathing. The man had tried using Guardian, but it didn’t help him any. He was holding on to his sword for support. Kage had stopped breathing altogether. She lay on the ground, motionless. There was no doubt about it: She was dead. Anger welled up inside of Rogue. He stood up, strengthened by his anger, and charged at full speed towards the demon. The demon saw him and smiled. It finally had an opponent that might make things interesting.

They had reached Zelos’ room. Zelos sat at a table, quietly twiddling his thumbs. 4 people entered the room, and Zelos was overjoyed to see his very own son and daughter standing right there in front of him. He ran up to them and hugged them. Blake seemed red in the face, so Zelos released him a little quickly. He didn’t want to embarrass the kid. He glanced at the man dressed in green, and knew in an instant who that man was. “Wait a minute. are you--” he began, but was suddenly taken by tremendous grief. He grabbed his head and screamed, his body undergoing violent spasms. He screamed and screamed, “SHE’S GONE!!! NOOOO! SHE’S GONE!!!! SHE‘S GONE!!!!” He tried to draw his sword to end his pain, to end his suffering, to end it all, but he found his hand stopped by Krystal. He gave her a look of despair and abandonment. She looked so much like her mother. It was a shame her great figure was being wasted wandering all the way out here. His sadness overwhelmed him, and he fainted on the spot.

The monster shot a blast at Rogue halfheartedly, but Rogue easily dodged and shouted in his fury, “DIVINE JUDGMENT!!!!!” Blinding blue light filled his eyes, and he passed out.

Greanth saw the half-elf charge towards him with red eyes full of rage, and thought he might be as close to a threat as he’d ever get to fight. Unfortunately, there was no way the half-elf’s strength could compare in any way to that of his own. He halfheartedly shot a fiery blast at the half-elf, but he dodged easily and shouted, “DIVINE JUDGMENT!!!!!” Greanth knew that that was the end. As the blue light hit him, all of the souls he had ever absorbed fled out of his body, returning to their bodies, or going to eternal rest. A strangely fused one that he had obtained quite recently, maybe just 100 years ago, flew right in front of him to the dead body of the wolf girl. The portions of souls he had absorbed from the other three went to their hosts. He was nothing. He knew he was defeated. As his body disintegrated, he thought of how long he had lasted, and how many souls he had absorbed. He must have broken many, many world records. Maybe he was the world champion soul-stealer. He would never know now. He had lost two legs, and the third was going fast. Maybe he would only lose his legs. He was corrected when the bottom half of his stomach began to disappear. Oh well. He felt strangely peaceful, especially for one whose arms were being destroyed. He still had 4 arms left. No wait, three. His head wouldn’t go away until all of his arms had gone. He wondered why he had to wait for death to come. Why couldn’t it just be quick? But no, it had to be dragged out and painful. His mouth was gone. He supposed you couldn’t really call it a mouth, though. But that wasn’t the point. He never used it much, anyway. He only used it for laughing. He wasn’t mad at the half-elf, but was in envy. He had finally found a worthy opponent. If only I had a second chance...That was his last thought. His whole head was gone. Greanth was no more.
Kage opened her eyes. So the snake had gotten the best of her. She had thought that she would be able to live long enough to defeat it. She thought she would be able to have her proper body once again. She had thought wrong. Then she noticed that she had overlooked one detail. She could still think. Maybe she was in the spirit world. She tried to move her fingers, but she couldn’t. Apparently spirits didn’t have fingers. She didn’t even feel any pain, but of course spirits couldn’t feel pain. Trying to stand up, she was surprised to discover that her legs still worked, but she fell down right afterwards. She would have to use her hands, too. Kage got up on all fours and looked around. She was still in the clearing, but it was dark. The elf woman was kneeling over the half-elf, who seemed to have passed out, and was healing him. Kratos was merrily chatting with a woman who Kage didn’t recognize. As she crawled up to the woman, she realized that the woman was the bright light that she had met in the forest. The woman spotted her, and took off her ring. It grew larger, and she put it around Kage’s neck. It formed a collar, although Kage couldn’t feel it. Kage knew what the collar meant. Kage was now bound to the woman, and must serve her until one of them died. She didn’t mind, though. She had almost wanted to be with her. It was almost as if she was connected to her. She knew all of her deepest secrets, and the woman knew all of hers as well. Kage was happy for the first time in her life. Happy just to be with her...with Sheena.
*WARNING: THIS FANFIC CONTAINS TALES OF SYMPHONIA SPOILERS. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED*

Use the Find function on your computer to get to the chapter you want. Press Ctrl + F, and then type in the code in the box and click, “Find”. (e.g. xxproxx for the start of the prologue) Typing in the code for the Table of Contents will take you back to the top. You may need to click “Find” again if it doesn’t take you to the chapter right away.



Table of Contents (xxtocxx)
Introduction (xxintxx)
Prologue (xxproxx)
Chapter 1 (xxpch1xx)
Chapter 2 (xxpch2xx)
Chapter 3 (xxpch3xx)
Chapter 4 (xxpch4xx)
Chapter 5 (xxpch5xx)
Chapter 6 (xxpch6xx)
Chapter 7 (xxpch7xx)
Chapter 8 (xxpch8xx)
Chapter 9 (xxpch9xx)
Chapter 10 (xxpch0xx)
Part I (xxprt1xx)
Chapter 1 (xx1ch1xx)
Chapter 2 (xx1ch2xx)
Chapter 3 (xx1ch3xx)

Introduction (xxintxx)
In Tales of Symphonia, a software title for the Nintendo Gamecube, the hero, Lloyd Irving re-fuses two worlds that have been torn apart by a so-called “angel” named Mithos and his band of other “angels” called Cruxis. Lloyd did this with the help of his 8 companions: Colette Brunel, Genis Sage, Raine Sage, Sheena Fujibayashi, Zelos Wilder, Presea Combatir, Regal Bryant, his pet arshis Noishe, and his father Kratos Aurion. Together, they defeated Cruxis and harmony was restored once more. A giant tree that emanated energy (also known as mana) was planted so that enough mana was available to all life on the new world, Irmphitria.
NOTE: If you went through the “Kratos Storyline” in the game, then this is not a direct sequel to your game.
PROLOGUE (xxproxx)
These chapters are much shorter than the ones in the actual story, and never switch points-of-view until the next chapter. This makes for an easier to read prologue. Unfortunately, points-of-view will switch countless times during the story. I’m sorry if this causes any confusion.

Chapter 1 (xxpch1xx)

“Rogue!”
Rogue Shanirrim woke up suddenly. Wondering where he was, he quickly determined that he was in geometry class. Why Geometry? How come it couldn’t be at home, in his comfy bed, awakening from a nap? Rogue thought. He tried in vain to remember his dream. It had been such a good dream. The voice called once again: “Rogue, hurry! It’s your grandpa! He’s dying!” It was only at these words that Rogue finally lost all his drowsiness. “Grandpa Genis is dying?!?!” He was out of the schoolroom before he could even comprehend what he had said. Xiana was right behind him. When they finally made it to Grandpa’s house, there was already a small crowd of people surrounding Genis. Rushing up to his grandpa, Rogue realized that his grandpa, the only member of his family who actually loved him, was in his last moments of life. “Grandpa! No! Please, don’t go!” His grandfather spoke then what were his last words: “Rogue. Please...find Lloyd, and tell him...about...the...rising...of...cru---” Genis stopped there. Rogue was outraged. “Grandpa! Grandpa! No!” The crowd around them started murmuring about Genis’ sanity. “Of course, at 500 years old, what else would you expect? Ranting on and on about how he and some Lloyd person fused two worlds to form Irmphitria! Absolute rubbish!” Prof. Taisaine was saying, “I should know, I’ve been a history teacher ever since this village was founded---” Rogue was devastated. Grandpa Genis was the only member of his family he had ever liked. With him gone, Rogue didn’t know what he would do. Then an idea came to him. Before he could stop them, the words flooded out of his mouth. “I’m going.” “What do you mean?” asked Prof. Taisaine. “I mean I’m going. I’m going out to try and find this Lloyd person.” Rogue repeated. What am I doing? I don’t have any idea who this Lloyd guy is! Rogue thought. “I’m going with him” Xiana said. “I don’t care if you think I’m crazy, as well. Genis seemed to know what he was talking about when he told Rogue and James his stories. I wish to search for Lloyd as well.” Footsteps could be heard echoing from the stairs. A battered-looking James appeared at the top. “Thought you were gonna go without me, eh, Rogue? I’m going, too.” Prof. Taisaine seemed to still be in shock from Rogue’s statement. Three people believing Grandpa Genis seemed to be too much for him to cope with at once. “Now...Now, see here...” he began. “No, you see here!” Rogue yelled. “We’re looking for him no matter what you say, you got that? If you wanna stop us, them we’ll just fight back.” He drew his sword, a sword that Grandpa Genis had given him, saying that it had once held immense power over time and space. What had he called it? Ah, yes: The Eternal Sword. It had long since lost nearly all of its power and was nothing more than an average sword, but it was still the only proof Rogue had. “Fine, fine. But I swear you’re all making a grave mistake. I hereby give my permission for Rogue, Xiana, and James to leave the village in order to search for this “Lloyd”. Pack some rations and be on your way. Go now. I’ve got a pounding headache.” The Mayor said with obvious anger. As Rogue left Grandpa’s House with Xiana and James, he couldn’t suppress his curiosity. “Xiana, I never expected you to say that.” he said. “Oh, really?” Xiana sounded amused. “Raine has told me the same stories Genis told you. Although, Raine passed away a few years ago, I still believe as I did then the stories she told me.” Rogue was a little embarrassed that she had responded with such a personal reply. But then again, Xiana hardly ever revealed any information about herself, so perhaps it was a good thing. James was ready to go. “Well, he told us to get some rations, right? It’ll take a while to get through the Ahash Forest to Iselia.” “Actually, James, the nearest village would be Mizuho.” Xiana corrected. “We should head there first.” And so, the adventure began. Rogue, James, and Xiana stocked up on supplies and headed towards the northeastern exit of the village.



Chapter 2 (xxpch2xx)

Hey, what’s up? I’m James. James Remmington. I’m a little of a dramatic, but I think my creativity really adds to the story. When Xiana asked me to keep a travel log for us, I was more than happy to oblige. Then, after all my hard work, Rogue goes and complains that it’s stretching the facts too much! How am I supposed to work like this!?!? Oh well. This particular adventure happened just as we entered the Ahash Forest from Anastraunda--- “James, you aren’t supposed to make it a biography, you know.” Rogue, who was looking over James’ shoulder, said. “You’re just supposed to record our travels in a book. It’s not that hard. Like, maybe: We went to Mizuho through Ahash Forest. It doesn’t need any spicing up. It isn’t like anyone’s going to read it besides us.” James would have very much liked to say “like you know anything.” But seeing as how Rogue was the whole reason James was here, he decided to go along with it. “Okay, okay. Geez, I’m just bored. What else am I supposed to do?” “Hmm...I know! Let’s look through the rations you brought!” Rogue suggested and started to reach for the pack on James’ back. “I-I don’t think we need to...ah, I mean, I know I packed everything and---” James sputtered out. “Why are you acting all weird? I’m looking in that pack, James, whether you like it or not. Move over!” Rogue opened the pack with a jerk and several dozen books fell out. “THESE ARE YOUR RATIONS!?!?!” Rogue’s face was contorted with rage. “ARE WE GOING TO EAT THE PAGES OR SOMETHING!?!?!” James tried to think of some way out of Rogue’s rage, but there was no escape. Rogue’s eyes were blood-red, which didn’t mean anything good for James. “Now, now. Settle down, you two.” Xiana said suddenly. “If we hurry we should be able to make it out of this forest before dark, and find something to eat in Mizuho. The chief is kind, and is always willing to give hospitality to those who ask it. Perhaps he even knows of our mysterious Lloyd. Although I must express how foolish it was to pack books instead of food. If we weren’t so close to Mizuho, I may have gotten mad...and mad doesn’t do me any good...” Xiana seemed to think she had said too much, and stayed quiet for the a while. James almost had to stop himself from kissing Xiana as he picked up his books. He had had a crush on Xiana since he was 9 years old. Yet he had never had the courage to ask her out. She was only two years older than he was, but she had always been miles out of his league. A snake sped by them. James shuddered. He hated snakes. He supposed he would never learn to like them. Ever. 3 ninja stars speeding right in front of his face disrupted his thoughts. “What the?” he exclaimed and lost his balance, causing him to fall over. Rogue started clapping. “Very graceful, Mr. Remmington. Bravo, Bravo.” “Rogue, this is not the time.” He glanced in the direction the stars had come from but saw nothing. “I though I saw---” But what James thought he saw, Rogue and Xiana never did find out, because at that moment a girl with dark eyes, overly large canines, and long, almost claw-like nails appeared before them. “Who are you? And state your reasons for trespassing onto my land,” this girl said. “We are in search of a person named Lloyd. We wish to go to Mizuho for food and supplies.” Wow, James thought, Xiana doesn’t lose her head in a crisis. The mysterious wolf-girl went on, “My name is Kage. I will allow you to pass here only if you aid me in finding a certain snake.” “And if we decline?” Xiana asked. “If you decline,” Kage went on, “Then I will have no choice but to kill you all” Rogue, of course, said his favorite line: “Then we’ll just have to fight back!” “Wait.” Xiana’s calming voice stopped Rogue for a second. “She seems to have reasons for stopping us. Think about whether or not we should agree to help her for a second. Then decide.”


Chapter 3 (xxpch3xx)

“We’re attacking her, no matter what!” James replied. “Why not? You can’t be all that tough. You can’t even catch a stupid snake...” James shuddered at the thought of a snake. Kage was clearly mad now. James...why did you have to make her so mad? Xiana sighed. “Yeah, we’ll make you wish you hadn’t gotten in our way!“ Rogue was getting excited at the thought of his first battle with Genis’ sword. It was a marvelous blade, but it did need a little sharpening. Xiana took out her Meivo, preparing to battle. “Indeed. She won’t win.” Rogue and Xiana rushed towards Kage. James was doing all he could in self-defense. Everyone was low on health from lack of food. Xiana began casting First Aid. Rogue ran straight towards Kage, who was bombarding James, and used Sonic Swirl. Kage was knocked back a ways, and James received some time to recover. James began casting Fireball, just as Xiana finished casting First Aid on James. Meanwhile, Rogue kept walloping on Kage. “Fierce Demon Fang! Light Spear! Victory Light Spear! Super Lightning Blade!” Xiana was amazed that Rogue could use so many attacks in a combo. James cast Fireball, then Aqua Edge, and then Wind Blade. Xiana soon picked up that he was trying to find a weakness. She tried it, too. “Photon!” Kage took some major damage from that hit. So, her weakness is light, interesting...Rogue was starting to lose Magic Power, Xiana noticed. “Rogue! Pull out! You don’t have much Magic Power left!” “What are you talking about?” Rogue amazingly said through mouthfuls of special moves. “Demon Fang! Sonic Thrust! I’ve got plenty left! Light Spear Cannon! Double Demon Fang! Don’t worry about me! Lightning Blade!” Rogue kept on saying his attacks, but no attacks came. He was completely out of Magic Power. Xiana sighed. Rogue never took into account how much Magic Power his attacks used. “What the? I said LIGHTNING BLADE! Come on! Super Sonic Thrust! Work!” Rogue kept on trying, until Kage regained enough strength to begin attacking him again. “James, why didn’t you pack Orange Gels?” Xiana asked in exasperation. James hung his head. “I said I was sorry...” “Never mind. See if you can draw her attention towards you.” Xiana told him. James gave her a look of complete dismay. “Me?!?! M-Me? Why?” “Do you want Rogue to die? Now, hurry!” Xiana began casting Charge and James threw his spear at Kage. Kage suffered a direct hit, and Rogue escaped. Xiana cast Charge, and Rogue once again began using special attacks one after another. Xiana began casting Holy Lance. “Super Sonic Swirl! What the---Guardian!” Rogue was hit by an attack Xiana had never seen before. “Dark.....Synthesis!” Kage cast the spell at the same time Xiana finished casting Holy Lance. “Holy Lance!!!” Kage was wounded too much by that last attack to continue battling. She staggered away. Meanwhile, the effects of Dark Synthesis had made our heroes lose HP at a constant rate. That last attack...I’ve never witnessed anything like it before... Unfortunately, none of them had any strength left to make it to Mizuho. They all collapsed of exhaustion right there and then.

Chapter 4 (xxpch4xx)

Kage was confused. How could I lose? Kage thought, I am undefeatable, there’s no way I could lose...I sensed something about them the moment I met them...They WILL find that snake for me.... She decided to leave them be...for now. She needed to regain her strength, and train much more. Where had the group said they were going? Mizuho, wasn’t it? Well, in that case, she would just have to follow them, until the day that she had enough power to defeat them. Yes, that would work. And so, she went to her den and slept. In the morning, she smelled something. Wait... it’s a...CAT. I will make that cat start begging for death, Kage thought. With that last comforting thought to cheer her, Kage ran off towards the scent of the cat. But what she found wasn’t a cat. It was a girl, with cat ears. One red ear, one white ear. After getting over the initial shock of seeing a cat-girl, Kage followed her. Eventually, she jumped out in front of the cat-girl, who didn’t seem to notice Kage until she ran into her. “Ah!” the girl exclaimed, and fell down into the mud. “AAAAAAAAHHH!!!!” The strange girl began screaming and yelling and running all over the place. Kage now began to wish her wolf instincts hadn’t brought her to this girl. The girl then started to stand in one place, hissing at Kage. Kage to this day doesn’t understand what on earth was going on in that girl’s mind, but she didn’t like it. Suddenly, the girl stopped hissing. “Excuse me for not introducing myself. I’m Tama. Who are you?” Kage was now scared of this girl, and started to back away slowly. “I asked you for your name! Give it to me!” the girl sounded menacing. Kage broke into a flat out run. “Don’t you dare run away from me!” she shouted after Kage. The girl ran after Kage. She was much faster, and caught up to her in no time. “Hi!!” she said, “Why are we running?” Kage was so confused that she passed out. “Okay, you can take a nap! I like naps! Naps are fun!” the girl informed Kage as she continued on her way. Kage woke up a few hours later with a throbbing headache. She headed for her den, not realizing who she would meet when she arrived there.

Chapter 5 (xxpch5xx)

It was still dark when Tama arrived next to the group. Seeing a perfect opportunity, she immediately started searching their bags. She found only books. Hey, these could still be worth a couple Gald from some book addict, she thought, but I was really expecting more than this. Disappointed, she began to continue on her way, when suddenly one of the group, a half-elf by looks, awoke. Tama was amazed he could make himself heard through the human’s horrendous snoring. “Ugh, wha..? Hey, you! Get back here with our stuff!” he shouted. Tama ran as fast as she could, forgetting why she was even running. The half-elf was fast, but not as fast as she was. With slight smugness, Tama entered the village before sunrise. She found some books in her pocket, and wondered how they got there. When she went to the chief's house, and the vice-chief bought them from her, he gasped as he read the first sentence. When asked where she received it, she said she couldn’t remember. “Well, my young lady do you realize that this is the legend of Lloyd Irving, the hero who created Irmphitria? The whole village of Mizuho has been searching for proof of this story for longer than I can remember, ever since the legendary Chief Sheena passed away. What is your name?” Tama was very surprised to be asked this, of all questions. Hardly anyone had ever even bothered to know her name. She was considered a freak by everyone, ever since that experiment. The experiment that had caused her to have cat ears, clumsiness, and very short-term memory loss. The experiment had been an attempt to fuse her with some dead girl’s soul, and ever since then she could hardly remember anything. After a moment’s surprise and thought, she replied, “Tama. Tama Kudurugi.” “Well, my dear Tama, we’ll need to get you into some respectable clothes, for tonight we celebrate the revival of history!!” The festival was wonderful. It had many sparkling lights, candy, and other wondrous things. Tama almost passed out with excitement. And best of all, she was the one the people were celebrating! Her, of all people!! Several different people arrived that day, and she seemed to remember three of them slightly. Excited, and hoping that her memory was finally coming back a little, Tama was able to enjoy her festival time to the fullest. Near the end of the celebration, as all of the guests were gathered around the bonfire, several people pointed skyward. Explosions and flashes were obvious against the black sky. A single star, unique because it was purple, was glowing in the sky. It seemed to have turned all of the others off by its appearance. Tama thought, as many others did, that this was only a performance designed for this celebration. How very wrong she was. A single star, dwarfed by the purple one, fell from the sky. It hit the separated seconds before it hit the ground in the Ahash Forest. Tama was surprised that the forest didn‘t catch on fire. No one spoke for a long time, until the chief finally broke the silence with a chilling remark. “Cruxis has risen again.”


Chapter 6 (xxpch6xx)

Jack ran, but he couldn’t escape it. The explosion was going to engulf him, and he’d never see the light of day again. Not that he saw it very often as it was, but that wasn’t the point. Mithos had finally done it. He had finally blasted Derris-Kharlan out of its orbit. Despite his and Kratos’ efforts to stop him, Mithos’ strength had prevailed in the end. Kratos was running right beside Jack. Jack was wondering if he’d ever live to meet this Lloyd that Kratos always talked about. He sounded like an amazing person, he could learn a lot from him. Jack’s thoughts were disrupted by a sudden shattering. He turned around, expecting to see Mithos, but he saw instead a hole in the side of Derris-Kharlan. “Kratos! Let’s jump! It’s our only hope to escape Mithos!” Jack yelled at Kratos through the noise. Kratos remained indignant. “No!! You go on without me!! I promised Lloyd that I’d stay here!” “Kratos you’re coming with me whether you like it or not!” Jack yelled back. He practically pushed Kratos out of the comet, and then jumped out himself. He and Kratos pulled out their angel wings, causing an extremely bright light. It almost blinded Jack, who even had angel senses. I guess it’s brighter here, since there’s not atmosphere or something, Jack thought, Man, I hope that no one on Irmphitria sees this, or they’ll be after us. Jack wondered if discrimination had disappeared from the world over the near 5 centuries that Kratos had spent in Derris-Kharlan. Jack was only 18, but he was unique for one reason. Ok, maybe two. Reason number one was because he could remember his past life. Everyone has a past life, but only a select few can remember it. He was one of them. He used to be an alchemist, but he didn’t know very much of it anymore. Reason number two was because he had never lived a human life. When he had been born, he was immediately transported to Derris-Kharlan for reasons still unknown to him. Kratos had raised him like a son, and he had learned many angel techniques. Mithos was still his only rival. Mithos, unfortunately, had also been one of those select few who remembered their past lives. He had been born, and had known all about attempting to bring his sister, Martel, to Derris-Kharlan. Maybe, if Irmphitria was free of discrimination, Mithos could rest in peace. Maybe... Jack’s came back to earth with a jolt (literally). He thought of his parents, and wondered if he would be able to see them for the first time while he was down here. He was suddenly aware of a horribly aching pain all over his body. He looked around for Kratos, but he knew that they must have gotten separated during the fall. He had to tell someone about Mithos, before it was too late. But he hadn’t the strength to move, and nobody was around. He had no doubts that he was going to die right then and there. Kratos was probably half a world away from him.

Chapter 7 (xxpch7xx)

Kratos could sense Jack’s mana from where he laid. Jack couldn’t be more than a few miles away. If only his body would do what he told it to, he could go and help him. He also sensed the mana of one other who shouldn’t even be alive anymore. He sensed the mana of Sheena. No, don’t delude yourself, Kratos reasoned, she couldn’t be here anymore. She should be dead already. You must be imagining things. The mana, however, seemed to get closer. Sheena’s mana seemed as strong as it had been the last time he had seen her nearly 500 years ago. The scent of Sheena’s mana seemed to get closer and closer, until it was right next to him. He couldn’t resist the urge. He called out, “Sheena! Show yourself! It’s me, Kratos! Please help me!” He felt a great surge of helplessness. He was crying for help from Sheena. Well, at least it wasn’t Zelos. A voice answered him: “Who are you talking to? I will aid you, but if you are planning an ambush then I won’t relent from killing you.” Kratos couldn’t help but think that if she had survived all these years, then she may have lost some of her memory. Perhaps the name Kratos wasn’t familiar to her at all. He would accept her offer, though. “I am planning no ambush. I am in dire need of health, and my companion is most likely dead. I thank you for your hospitality. If you are not Sheena, then who are you?” Sheena’s voice sounded amused. “I am called Kage. And don’t think that I’ll help you out for free. No, if I agree to aid you, you must aid me.” This seemed so familiar to Kratos that he almost laughed, but didn’t dare take the risk. “It would seem that you have left me with no choice. I accept your offer.” Kratos supposed that he could help Sheena/Kage and then could go on a search for Lloyd once he regained enough strength. If he could get Sheena/Kage to get back her memory, then maybe she would join him in his search. He would at least inform her about Cruxis. “Well then, let’s get going, tough guy.” Sheena/Kage lifted him easily with one hand, and carried him somewhere. He didn’t have enough consciousness left to figure out where. When he awoke he found himself underneath some blankets among some rocks. Sheena/Kage was cooking fish over a fire when he awoke. “Here. I don’t usually cook my food, but I thought I should at least give it a try. If I burnt it then don’t complain, because that’s all you’re getting until the sun is in the middle of the sky.” One look at the “fish stew” told Kratos that this was indeed Sheena. What he had in front of him was Sheena’s famous curry, except with fish instead of meat. There was even a pineapple. “I don’t know why,” Sheena/Kage said more to herself than to Kratos, “but that came really easily to me, even though I’ve never cooked anything in my life...” She immediately resumed her current activity and didn’t seem to realize that she had said anything. “We should get going soon, if we’re going to find that group. They said they were going to Mizuho, and that cat slowed my progress down a few hours. We’ll lose track of them if we wait any longer. Are you coming?” Kratos had only just started his seafood curry, but he downed it in a gulp. “Fine. Let us go now. Why were these people headed to Mizuho?” Kratos wondered aloud. “Oh, they said that they were looking for somebody named Lloyd, whoever that is. They were even strong enough to beat me, so they should be strong enough to catch that wretched snake.” She trekked on, leaving Kratos dumbfounded. He at least knew he was in the right place, although he did worry about Jack. He hurried and caught up with Sheena/Kage, hardly believing his good fortune.

Chapter 8 (xxpch8xx)

Krystal groaned. She hated mountain climbing more than any other kind of journeying. Especially climbing mountains that were tall. The Fooji Mountains were proving to be quite an obstacle. If it weren’t for that wretched space rock, she would’ve lived a quiet life in her village, with parents. Unfortunately, she was the sole survivor of that incident, and no one knew she existed. Such a shame, too. She could’ve been rich. The Imperial Research Academy had discovered a link between her and Zelos Wilder, some hero from ancient times. His reputation is still well known in Meltokio, and the whole population was surprised to discover that she was the only known relation to him. He was supposed to be her only existing blood relation (if the rumors that he was an angel and had eternal life were true) excluding some kid in Meltokio that no one knew about. That’s why she had been searching all over Irmphitria: To find Zelos if he still existed. Finally pulling herself up to a ledge, she saw the most fantastic thing in the world. She didn’t know it, but she actually had the best view in the world of the imploding of Derris-Kharlan. She watched the two stars fall from the sky, and one of them flew right above her, and she actually felt a breeze when it sped past her, and could’ve sworn that she’d heard screaming. And what an enormous gust it was!!! It nearly blew her off of her ledge. The spectacular show didn’t last very long, and if Krystal ever wanted to get over the Fooji Mountains, then she needed to move on. She could Meltokio looming in the distance. She hoped that she’d find some clues about Zelos there. Well, she wouldn’t get anywhere just standing there. She continued on her way to Meltokio.

Chapter 9 (xxpch9xx)
Meanwhile, in a place far away from anywhere important in this prologue:
Cruxis
Human
Analyzing
Morpher

That’s what I’m called...but you may call me Cham...excuse me, but may I ask who you are?



Chapter 10 (xxpch0xx)

His pen hit the table with a clatter. Blake listened hard, but heard nothing. He could’ve sworn that he’d heard something, but it must’ve just been some idiot fan screaming his name. It happened a lot. But it had caught his attention, and that was saying something. Being the only alive descendant to the great Zelos the Chosen, he was always busy signing autographs. When he had finally returned to his hometown of Meltokio, he had been bombarded by fans screaming his name when they first saw him. Of course, he had to agree that he was the most stunning piece of man in this city ever seen since the great Zelos himself. People said he had had a sister, but she had died in some village when it blew up. The doors to the Great Hall flew open, knocking an unfortunate fan nearby unconscious. The woman who walked in wasn’t alone. She walked with a girl, about his age. Blake rushed over to her by instinct. “Ooh, who are you, gorgeous? You certainly look outrageous.” The woman cleared her throat. “Master Blake, it would be wise to stop flirting for one second to find out who this girl is.” Blake knew something serious was going on now. Nobody ever stopped Blake from flirting, not even the King. Yet this woman, this unknown stranger was telling him to stop flirting? Ridiculous. Just to prove her wrong, he started to kiss the girl. The girl’s reflexes were sharp, though, and she slapped him hard in the face. He still had a red mark there. “Jerk!!! Are you sure that he’s MY brother? I hiked all the way from Luin, nearly dead from the explosion, even over the Fooji Mountains, just to see THIS loser?” The woman awkwardly nodded her head. “Omigosh, you’re serious? This isn’t some joke?” Blake was experiencing mixed emotions, completely torn between joy, sorrow, anger, disgust, and embarrassment that he had tried kissing his own sister. “FANS!!! OUT!!!” He pointed at the door to emphasize his words. Most of his fans couldn’t get out fast enough, after seeing the look of confused rage on his face. “I...uh...think we set off on the wrong foot there, ah... I’m Blake. What’s your name...?” Blake laughed nervously. The woman finally announced who she was. “Master Blake, this is your sister: Krystal. As you know, in this city, women have power over the men, so you must realize that she outranks you.” Blake couldn’t believe that, he wouldn’t believe that. “Oh come on. There have been thousands of claims to blood-ties with Zelos. How do you know she’s a real descendant? Did you do a DNA Test?” Blake knew the answer before it reached his ears. “I’m afraid so, Master Blake. She arrived just this morning, half-starved. We cleaned her up, and fed and watered her, and then--” “You treated me like a slave, is what you did!! Cleaned me up, yeah right... I should fire you for spilling lies to my brother, and in my presence, too! Yeah, that’s right, Blake. They put me in a dungeon and fed me measly little portions of cheese and bread, and then gave me about 4 sips of water from a grimy cup. The even whipped me when I mentioned Zelos. And until I told them I was from Luin they wouldn’t even do a DNA Test. The idiots...” She seemed to be enjoying her new seat of power in Meltokio. She pointed at the woman. “I can tell him myself, okay? So just get out of my site before I fire you.” Hearing this isn’t good news for anyone in the castle, especially from a noble barely lower than his Majesty himself. Krystal went on, “Listen Blake,” She said his name as though trying it out, “I hereby order you to accompany me in a search to find our ancestor, Zelos, who has supposedly lived since the regeneration of the world. You don’t have much choice. That’s an order.”

AND SO ENDS THE PROLOGUE...
BUT THE JOURNEY HAS ONLY BEGUN...



PART I (xxprt1xx)
The Chase

Chapter 1 (xx1ch1xx)

The troll was getting away. He had to act fast before it reached its group, because he didn’t want to know what his friends were like. It was generally his luck to end up chasing the weakest troll, and when he got his friends, the small army of trolls was a force to be reckoned with. “13th Hellfire!!!” He shot arrows of darkness out of his hand, but all 13 arrows missed the troll. His claws weren’t generally very good for long-range battling, so he saved those for the actual slaying of the troll. He followed the troll for a while, occasionally shooting out attacks at it. But despite all of his efforts, each and every attack missed the troll. He was feeling a little drowsy, so he came to the conclusion that that must be what had been holding back his aim. He turned to return to his village, but found his way barred by a giant wall. He had seen this sight way too many times to be tricked. 7 trolls, side-by-side, were smiling down on him. The one he had been chasing joined their ranks. The 8 trolls had him surrounded, and everyone knew what happened to someone who was surrounded by trolls. His only encouraging thought was that the trolls may kill each other while fighting over his bones. All of the trolls attacked at once. There was a flash of white light, and then complete darkness.

Rogue awoke with a start. His nightmare had been so vivid, it had almost seemed real. He glanced around the camp, if you could call it that. It was really only three sleeping bags crammed right next to each other. The padding of footsteps down the path roused him back into reality. Thinking it was Kage, he quickly hid himself in his sleeping bag and pretended to be asleep. Who he met, however, was not Kage, but a strange girl with pointed ears. One red ear, one white ear. She was very peculiar, and Rogue immediately took notice when she began digging through James’ pack. All that was there were books, but they could at least sell them in Mizuho. Besides, they contained Grandpa Genis’ stories, and he didn’t want to lose those. He tried to yell out at her, but his mouth didn’t seem to work. His head was throbbing, and he longed for more sleep. He finally managed to blurt out, “Ugh...wha?” and the girl ran off. He had no strength left to run after her, so he fell back asleep, exasperated. He awoke some time later to the horrified scream of James. “AAAAAH!!!! Those evil cheating conniving thieves!!! I’ll rip them apart limb by limb once I find them!!!” James enforced this comment with violent gestures of his arms. “They can’t have gone far,” Xiana reasoned, “We’ve only been asleep for 3 hours at most. They couldn’t have gotten farther than Mizuho. We can catch up to them if we hurry.” Rogue knew James wouldn’t say no to Xiana, but he knew that James needed rest. “We can get to an inn once we get to Mizuho, how does that sound, James?” he suggested. James nodded and picked up his near empty backpack. There were still some books left, but not many. The ones that were left were too damaged to be readable. James grumbled and put them back in his pack, murmuring, “We can at least use them for firewood....” Rogue was sure that James would never burn his precious books unless he was forced to, which you would never read about in any of those books. And James has quite a large array of books. He must have been hard set to pick his favorites for the journey, but when the time came to pack supplies, he found that no room was left for the supplies. James probably loved his books almost as much as he loved Xiana, although he would never admit to it, Rogue felt it was obvious that James liked Xiana. Xiana, on the other hand, probably had not interest in James at all. In fact, Rogue wouldn’t be surprised if James annoyed her. Although, Rogue was waiting for the day when James asked Xiana out. He would laugh so hard when Xiana smacked James, it’d take him a few minutes to recover. He had imagined this incredible scene many times throughout his life, each time funnier than the last. Now it featured James begging Xiana to marry him, and Rogue was just getting to the punchline when James interrupted his line of thought. “Rogue, are you coming or not? Geez, hurry up!” James could be so irritating sometimes. “Coming!” he responded, and the three hurried off towards Mizuho.


The group made it to Mizuho around nine o’clock, but the city was so lit up that it seemed like it was noon. There was singing, dancing, free food, fireworks, and too many other things to list here. It looked like a party, and a pretty good party at that. James took a moment to absorb all of the decorations. He wished that he had about 12 more eyes. There was so much to see! The thing that really caught his eye, though, was a book sitting on a beautifully decorated pedestal. James recognized the book instantly, but when he tried to get a good look at it, he realized that half of the whole village was crammed right over there to peer at the book. Rogue and Xiana had already gone off to different parts of the party, so James hurried over to the crowd. After what seemed like an hour of shoving through the group, he finally made his way up to the front of the crowd where the chief, his wife, and some weird cat-girl that looked quite shocked to see him were sitting in very comfortable-looking chairs. Just as James was about to speak up, the sky lit up as bright as the fireworks had. Several explosions dotted the sky, and all who were watching this spectacular show of light were dazzled. Halfway through the single second that the event had lasted, James recognized the place where the light was emanating from all too well. The way Genis had described it had been so vivid, how could he forget? That was Derris-Kharlan. There was no sugar-coating it. The end of the world was near unless Lloyd Irving, the hero, appeared out of nowhere and saved the day (again), or a new hero was born. The chief stood up and confirmed James’ suspicions by saying, “Cruxis has risen again.” A devastated silence followed. Half of it was out of shock, half out of anger, and yet another half (it’s a figure of speech, so don’t even say it) out of confusion of what in the world a Cruxis was. James was still in disbelief. He completely forgot about his book. The chief had a grave look on his face. The brilliant light that had separated itself from Derris-Kharlan was coming closer and closer, and split in two just before it hit the town. The stars crashed on either side of Mizuho, starting fires in some parts of the forest. Wow, James thought, I guess it’s a good thing we made it into the village. I occurred to him that he should be panicking, like everybody else in the area. He was just thinking about whether to act panic-stricken or not when a voice called to him, “Help...” It sounded faint and distant, but James could tell the direction it came from. Curious, he turned around towards the forest. The voice came again, quieter this time, “Help me....please...” It was obvious to James that whoever this was, they were in trouble. He ran out of the village and into the forest, which panicked the villagers even more if that was even possible. The forest was dark, especially this late at night. The voice kept calling, growing softer still. Frantically, he ran about in the darkness, searching for whoever was calling. “Help.....” He tripped and fell on something. When his ear hit it, he discovered that that something was breathing and there was a pounding heart in its chest. He could actually hear in his ears, not his head, its cry for help. He picked up the person, who was surprisingly light for someone their size. He tried in vain to find the way back to Mizuho until he could search no more. He was just sitting down in despair when he could clearly hear footsteps coming closer. He greatly hoped that it would be Rogue and Xiana, but instead he saw the wolf-girl he had met earlier. He was reasonably sure that he was dead meat. He couldn’t defend himself alone against this girl. She was too strong, and he doubted that she would ever forgive their group for defeating her. She, however, spared him one glance and then quickly darted away. Several minutes passed, and James began to worry for this mysterious guy’s safety. He was still breathing, but who knew how long that would last? He had to get this guy to the village, and fast. But how? He didn’t have any idea where the village was. He chose the simplest way to determine where he should move. He stood up, and stuck his arm out. He then began spinning around in circles until he was dizzy. After overcoming his dizziness, and resisting the urge to throw up, he picked up the person he had rescued, and continued on in the direction his outstretched arm had indicated. It wasn’t exactly the most accurate way to decide where to go, but hey, it worked.

When Xiana awoke the next day, the search parties were still searching. She had been wondering for the longest time what had possessed James to leave the village so suddenly. Also, the search parties couldn’t search long, for they needed to prepare defenses for when Mithos attacked, assuming that it was Mithos who was once again leading Cruxis. Eventually, she and Rogue had no choice but to continue on their way. Luin was closest, but if the rumors held true, then the village had been obliterated by an explosion, and everything was destroyed completely. So they were going to see what they could find out at Altamira, which was several days away. She hoped that they would meet James along the way. They found James’ books, and the thief, but they hadn’t had the chance to ask her about them. The option arose that very morning, when the search parties returned, along with the girl. Xiana walked up to her, and asked, “Excuse me, but where did you get those books?”. She asked this as politely as possible. The girl responded, equally politely, “I don’t remember. I’m sorry I couldn’t be helpful. Umm...how do you spell chicken?”. This confused Xiana very much. “Ahh...C-H-I-C-K-E-N, but why would you ask something like that?” “Ask what? Did I say something? No, I couldn’t have. And why are you spelling chicken? You’re weird.” She sounded like she really thought she hadn’t said anything. Xiana was even more confused, but she would never give up. “Did--“ she didn’t get to finish, because the girl interrupted her. “Hey, can I join your group? I’m good at...uhm...let’s see...uhh...I’ll think of it eventually!!!” Xiana couldn’t figure out whether this girl was sane or not. She figured that it couldn’t hurt to have a “mentally ill” girl in their group, and it would make things a lot more fun. “Sure, you can join us. We’re going to Altamira next. Could you bring your books with you?” “Uhh...join your group? Sure...but, why did you say that all of a sudden? I mean, I’ll join you but how did you know that I wanted to? You must be psychic or something...weirdo...”

Jack woke up dazed. He tried to recall what had happened, but couldn’t. All he remembered of the last day was falling from Derris-Kharlan. He couldn’t remember what happened once he hit the ground. He saw a fire and realized that someone had found him. That was good to know. With some effort, he managed to stand up. He started to walk towards the other end of the camp, where a person lay. Standing up was one thing, but walking was entirely different. He almost made it there, but collapsed of exhaustion right on top of the person, who was understandably startled. The boy got up and yelled, but seeing Jack, he quickly helped him into a sitting position. “What’s your name?” the boy asked. “Heh, give me your name and I’ll give you mine.” The boy was startled to hear these lines, and said “Are you Lloyd?!?” Jack didn’t think anybody would recognize that line, but maybe it was overly clichéd down here. “No, I’m Jack. Jack Bencher. How did you recognize that line? Lloyd said it, but I didn’t think anyone but those from his group would know it. Kratos told me it was one of his favorite lines.” “Hold up!!! You know Kratos!?! That’s Lloyd’s dad!!! Where is he now?” “To be honest,” Jack said, “He’s probably dead. He and I fell from Derris-Kharlan not too long ago. Perhaps a day previous. Now give me your name!” “I’m James,” the boy said, “James Remmington. Nice to meet you, Jack.” They shook hands, and at that moment an incredible friendship was forged. These two had been destined to meet. Although they didn’t know it yet, this friendship would be broken by the most trivial of things. But that is another story and shall be told another time.


Chapter 2 (xx1ch2xx)
It was impossible. Krystal and Blake had reached yet another dead end, and it had taken them a while to reach this one. Once again, it was a wasted effort. They hadn’t found many clues as to where Zelos could be, and the ones they had weren’t that easily understood. For example, how were they supposed to interpret, “Under the orange waterfall”? Who had ever heard of an orange waterfall? Was there even such a thing? Most of them were probably just false rumors, but you never knew. Now, they had searched every single area around Meltokio with no new leads. Blake was ready to give up, but he had been from the start. Krystal wouldn’t give up for anything. Well, maybe for some things but she wouldn’t let Blake know that. If he did, then he’d just poof them up out of thin air. He had a habit of doing that with things he needed. At any rate, they would have to leave the Meltokio area through the Iselia Forest, and then they’d go to Sybak. With any luck, Zelos would be in one of those chambers that freezes the body, and then Krystal would be happy. The two trekked on for a while, unspeaking. It was usually like that, because Blake would usually end up flirting with Krystal somehow, and then she’d slap him. Blake’s cheeks were now red with hand marks on them from the constant slapping. He had learned to keep his mouth shut, but it was a little hard for him sometimes. Maybe it was instinct. Who knows? Krystal found her mind wandering to the fantastic space fireworks she had seen in the Fooji Mountains. She had never had seen anything so beautiful in her life, and nor did she think that many other people had. She could remember vividly how the star had almost hit her, and she had felt the wind blow in gusts behind it. With a sigh, she continued towards the forest with Blake.

Halfway through the forest, Blake felt something nagging at him. He kept going over the history of how Zelos had saved the world in his head, and particularly the part about his faithful companion, Bud. It was said that Bud was from the world next to Zelos’ world, and that he met Zelos first in Meltokio, hoping to cure one of his friends who had lost her soul. But he was trying to remember the early history of Bud, before he came to Meltokio. He finally decided that Bud had come through this very same forest at some point. He brought out his map and compass, and checked his map. The Earth Temple lay to the north, and the Summon Spirit Gnome might greet them if they went there, and maybe provide them with supplies. Their rations were horribly low, and their meals weren’t exactly filling. He suggested going to meet Gnome to Krystal, and she eagerly agreed. She had obviously never seen a Summon Spirit before. Unfortunately, Blake spoke a little too much, and a hand connected with his face not too long afterwards. His own sister was ruining his face. He couldn’t stand much more of this.

Thoras emerged into a large field full of much debris and rubble. It looked like it could have once been a house, but it had exploded and all that was left was random pieces of wood. His warp spell had worked, but it wasn’t very powerful because his Magic Power was low. He had 3, maybe 4 MP left. Because it wasn’t very powerful, it merely warped him a few yards away from the trolls. He had escaped, but only just. And it might not even matter soon, since these trolls were faster than any he had ever slain. They weren’t the average troll. He was dead if no one else appeared to save him. And since this place was full of debris, he doubted anybody would come to his rescue. Almost as if reading his mind, he heard a nearby yell and a crack. Maybe someone was coming by in a horse-driven carriage? He called for their aid, and instantly two people barge in through the bushes. They were both teenagers, they couldn’t do anything to help him. He noticed one was rather red in the face. Why would he be embarrassed now? The trolls were gaining on him. He stopped running and waited for death...but death never came. The ground beneath the trolls shook, and blasted open, sending the trolls flying through the air. One landed next to Thoras, and he could look close enough to know that these weren’t trolls. These were Krelm. The Krelm were an evolved version of troll, created by man. The entire race had turned against the humans, and from that moment on, humans and Krelm were sworn enemies. A man, clothed in light green, emerged form the opening in the ground. He pointed at it, and the hole closed up. The man walked right to Thoras and said, “Hello, Thoras.” He held out his hand to shake, but Thoras wasn’t done questioning. In fact, he hadn’t even begun. “Hold on! How the heck do you know my name?!?” Thoras asked. “You won’t even shake my hand? Fine. I will take your little survey. But in return, you must join me and these two young people. Thoras couldn’t believe it. This psychopath expected him to do that? But he did owe this guy his life. “As to your first question,” he said, “I can read minds. You, over there, are Blake, and your sister is Krystal. Blake, your face is red because you keep flirting with your sister and she is always slapping you. You take after your father, you know. Ah, and the young Krystal. You really take after your mother. But I’m sure you get that all of the time. No? Oh well, carry on, Thoras!” The first answer had been strange enough, but Thoras was willing to ask one or two more questions. “How did you make that place blow up like that?” The man glared at Thoras for a moment, and then finally said, “I will not reveal my training to a Troll-Killer. I will merely say that I had a good teacher. That’s all.” It figured. Most sorcerers nowadays didn’t care about “revealing their secrets” because the y didn’t really use actual magic. That just proved that this guy was all business, and you didn’t want to mess with him. Finally, the last question: “What’s your name?” The man smiled. “I was waiting for you to ask that,” he said, grinning broader still, “I am Noishe.”

There was an awkward silence afterwards, which was broken by Blake, saying, “Noishe? What kind of a name is that?” Krystal slapped him, and Blake shut up immediately. “Noishe,” Krystal explained in the tone of one explaining that 2 and 2 made 4, “Is the first life born on this earth. He was a legendary arshis, and had been thought to be extinct for more almost 500 years, since the last one disappeared after the great Lloyd’s journey.” Blake still seemed confused. “Lloyd? Who the heck is Lloyd?” His stupidity was rewarded with a fresh smack in the face. “Honestly, do they teach you anything in Meltokio?” She turned to Noishe with an air of surprise in her voice, “Erm...it is a pleasure to meet you, Sir...Noishe...” It was incredibly strange talking to someone you knew had once walked on four legs. Noishe was all business, and didn’t seem to take notice that the other three were staring at him. “I see some of you know me. Let’s get going. I know where every member of the 9 heroes is. However, it is unfortunate that only 5 of them remain alive. We must find all 5 of the remaining heroes before Mithos reaches Irmphitria. We must make haste, for the journey ahead of us is a long one. You will be pleased to hear that both of your parents are still alive. However, your mother has lost her memory. She has already died once, only to continue living as a ghost. A demon found her, and she prepared herself to fuse with the demon. She could control the demon well enough, but a magical snake disrupted the fusion partway through. She was unable to transfer her memories, and she still looks a little like the demon. Once the magical snake is dead, then the fusion will complete itself immediately. This snake has eluded her for much too long, and she is gifted with eternal life, so it may take even longer still. Do not underestimate the snake, for it has powers even I don’t have. As for your father, he awaits my visit at the Earth Temple. He will be most pleased to see that I’ve brought you two along. And it won’t hurt you, Thoras, to come along with us, now would it?” He said all of this very slowly, so that everyone could absorb the information. Krystal’s mind was bursting with questions. “Wait...was our mother one of the Great 9? And which 4 have died, and which 5 remain?” “We must depart. I’ve wasted too much time already. Everything will be made clear when we reach the Earth Temple. Gnome’s power will protect us from there. We must hurry before our current location is determined. Yes, you were being followed.” He spoke the last words before Krystal could even open her mouth to ask. He really could read minds. Thoras had remained silent the whole time. Now he spoke with a slight eagerness to his voice. “Well then, let us be on our way! If we leave now, we may make it to the temple before nightfall. I will help you, but only because it is to save the whole world, and not some minor problem at all. You have my aid.” And so, they set off through the forest. The Earth Temple wasn’t that far away, perhaps a mile or two through the forest, but it seemed like the longest mile or two Krystal had ever walked. Questions flew lazily around in her mind, taunting her. All of them would have to wait until they reached the temple, but every time she dismissed a question, about 20 new ones arose. By the time they had reached the temple at last, a million questions were buzzing around in her head as if it was a beehive. Noishe led them into the temple, and then stopped at a bridge that looked like it had fallen from the floor above, a long time ago. Krystal wondered why they had stopped, and then looked down to see a little miniature Gnomelette, blocking their path. She couldn’t think why Noishe didn’t merely step on him. Noishe spoke foreign words, probably part of some ancient language. The Gnomelette seemed to understand them, and he let them pass. There was a blinding flash of brown light, and a full-sized Gnome appeared in front of them. “Hey, Noishe! What’s up? I haven’t seen you in ages! Where’ve you been? And you’ve grown hands! Hey, lookin’ good!” Krystal decided that this wasn’t the greatest Summon Spirit for her to see first. He was annoying. Even if he said something elegant, his high-pitched voice would still make it annoying. “We wish to speak with Master Zelos. Tell him I have brought his two children,” Noishe said. Gnome was surprised, and looked at Noishe questioningly. “Man, are you sure? I’d say he’s a troll-killer by his looks, but Zelos’ son? Geez, he fools around too much---” “Not the troll-killer, the teenagers!” Noishe yelled at Gnome. “Teenagers? Oh! Those two! I didn’t notice them. Why is the guy’s face all red? Is he embarrassed or somthin’? It doesn’t look like he’s blushing...or did he just get slapped?” Gnome was more intelligent than he looked, and sounded. “Sadly, the latter. And several times, too,” Noishe told Gnome. At this, Blake turned even more red, this time out of embarrassment. “Well, I guess I can let you guys see him. But here‘s a tip for ya: Watch out for the Gnomelettes. They’ve finally evolved enough to have gotten a sense of taste, and now they keep buying Potion left and right. Some of ‘em are drunk, and there’s nothing worse than a drunk Gnomelette, believe me.” They left Gnome, with Noishe saying “We’ll keep that in mind.”

Chapter 3 (xx1ch3xx)
Kage stopped. The snake was nearby. She could sense it. They had been following the group for a week, and Kage felt ready to go. That group was powerful, and with her new servant, Kratos...how did she think of that? She hadn’t even heard his name once. Or had she? If she had, she hadn’t been listening. It didn’t really matter, anyway. He was strong, and he wasn’t even at full strength. She would just use him, and the group of three to get rid of that wretched snake once and for all. But Kratos seemed...familiar. It seemed like she knew him from somewhere, but couldn’t recall where. Every time she strained her memory at night, she came up with memories of being hunted, nearly killed, and then meeting a bright light that spoke to her, and then remembered the snake attacking them. Since then she had been filled with one sole thought: The snake must die. It didn’t matter how it died, it just had to. When it died, the bright light would return, and Kage would be her old self again. She could hardly remember her old body, but it was much better than this clumsy one. Who walks on two legs, anyway? You’ll just fall over again and again. She could’ve easily killed the snake in her old form, but this weak-fleshed life form was extremely hard to maneuver. But now, this was her chance. The group of three (the confusing cat-girl was with them, unfortunately) was right behind them. The snake was hiding to their left. The snake emerged from the bushes, just as the three appeared behind them. Kratos gasped.

As Rogue entered the clearing with Tama and Xiana, he saw Kage and a man staring at the bushes to the left. Kage glanced at them, and yelled “Kill the snake or else I’ll kill you!” Rogue did some quick thinking. If they eliminated the snake, then Kage would be in their debt. Maybe she would help them. Then again, maybe she wouldn’t. Nevertheless, he didn’t want Kage as their enemy. She could be dangerous, especially with that man. He looked like he wasn’t the guy to mess with. “Xiana, I think we should get rid of the snake. We don’t want them as our enemies,” he said. “Well...don’t you remember that Kage already tried to kill us? But I’ll fight, because I agree. Tama, what about you?” “Umm...well, I’d like to avoid doggies if I could, but...fine,” Tama said with more than a little reluctance, “Just make sure that the doggy doesn’t hurt me. EEEK! A SNAKE!!!” Tama ran off into the bushes. Rogue knew that there was something seriously wrong with that girl. Maybe they’d find out how to help her in Altamira. It looked like they couldn’t count on Tama helping them out. It was just him and Xiana. The man nodded at them and drew his sword. It looked like they’d have some help after all. Rogue ran towards the snake, and Xiana started casting Holy Lance. Rogue was just thinking what a shame it was that the only element they had was light, when Kage started casting Dark Synthesis, and the man Thunder Blade. All three attacks hit at once, and it looked like the snake was finished off already. He hadn’t even gotten to use a single attack, and he had been practicing some magic techs. He had almost mastered Fireball. Then the snake reappeared amid the smoke and dust. It wasn’t even scratched, it just looked annoyed. It morphed, and it was then that Rogue realized that it wasn’t a snake at all. It was some sort of morphing demon, disguised as a snake. This would be tougher than he had thought. The demon morphed into something resembling a human shape made out of blue fire. It grew 8 extra hands, however, and walked on 3 legs. It was a very disturbing rendition of a human. It mimicked casting a spell, and a giant blade of thunder missed them all quite a few yards. Then the demon let out a high-pitched squeal, almost like a laugh. It was making fun of them, Rogue thought. Then, it stuck out its “hands”, if you could call them that, and arranged them in a circle surrounding it. It let out a blast of one element out of each hand. It spun around in a circle, until you couldn’t even see it. It stopped suddenly, and for a moment Rogue thought nothing had happened. Then a horrible pain struck him, like a million needles striking his whole body at once. He was mad now. Xiana lay on the ground, barely breathing. The man had tried using Guardian, but it didn’t help him any. He was holding on to his sword for support. Kage had stopped breathing altogether. She lay on the ground, motionless. There was no doubt about it: She was dead. Anger welled up inside of Rogue. He stood up, strengthened by his anger, and charged at full speed towards the demon. The demon saw him and smiled. It finally had an opponent that might make things interesting.

They had reached Zelos’ room. Zelos sat at a table, quietly twiddling his thumbs. 4 people entered the room, and Zelos was overjoyed to see his very own son and daughter standing right there in front of him. He ran up to them and hugged them. Blake seemed red in the face, so Zelos released him a little quickly. He didn’t want to embarrass the kid. He glanced at the man dressed in green, and knew in an instant who that man was. “Wait a minute. are you--” he began, but was suddenly taken by tremendous grief. He grabbed his head and screamed, his body undergoing violent spasms. He screamed and screamed, “SHE’S GONE!!! NOOOO! SHE’S GONE!!!! SHE‘S GONE!!!!” He tried to draw his sword to end his pain, to end his suffering, to end it all, but he found his hand stopped by Krystal. He gave her a look of despair and abandonment. She looked so much like her mother. It was a shame her great figure was being wasted wandering all the way out here. His sadness overwhelmed him, and he fainted on the spot.

The monster shot a blast at Rogue halfheartedly, but Rogue easily dodged and shouted in his fury, “DIVINE JUDGMENT!!!!!” Blinding blue light filled his eyes, and he passed out.

Greanth saw the half-elf charge towards him with red eyes full of rage, and thought he might be as close to a threat as he’d ever get to fight. Unfortunately, there was no way the half-elf’s strength could compare in any way to that of his own. He halfheartedly shot a fiery blast at the half-elf, but he dodged easily and shouted, “DIVINE JUDGMENT!!!!!” Greanth knew that that was the end. As the blue light hit him, all of the souls he had ever absorbed fled out of his body, returning to their bodies, or going to eternal rest. A strangely fused one that he had obtained quite recently, maybe just 100 years ago, flew right in front of him to the dead body of the wolf girl. The portions of souls he had absorbed from the other three went to their hosts. He was nothing. He knew he was defeated. As his body disintegrated, he thought of how long he had lasted, and how many souls he had absorbed. He must have broken many, many world records. Maybe he was the world champion soul-stealer. He would never know now. He had lost two legs, and the third was going fast. Maybe he would only lose his legs. He was corrected when the bottom half of his stomach began to disappear. Oh well. He felt strangely peaceful, especially for one whose arms were being destroyed. He still had 4 arms left. No wait, three. His head wouldn’t go away until all of his arms had gone. He wondered why he had to wait for death to come. Why couldn’t it just be quick? But no, it had to be dragged out and painful. His mouth was gone. He supposed you couldn’t really call it a mouth, though. But that wasn’t the point. He never used it much, anyway. He only used it for laughing. He wasn’t mad at the half-elf, but was in envy. He had finally found a worthy opponent. If only I had a second chance...That was his last thought. His whole head was gone. Greanth was no more.
Kage opened her eyes. So the snake had gotten the best of her. She had thought that she would be able to live long enough to defeat it. She thought she would be able to have her proper body once again. She had thought wrong. Then she noticed that she had overlooked one detail. She could still think. Maybe she was in the spirit world. She tried to move her fingers, but she couldn’t. Apparently spirits didn’t have fingers. She didn’t even feel any pain, but of course spirits couldn’t feel pain. Trying to stand up, she was surprised to discover that her legs still worked, but she fell down right afterwards. She would have to use her hands, too. Kage got up on all fours and looked around. She was still in the clearing, but it was dark. The elf woman was kneeling over the half-elf, who seemed to have passed out, and was healing him. Kratos was merrily chatting with a woman who Kage didn’t recognize. As she crawled up to the woman, she realized that the woman was the bright light that she had met in the forest. The woman spotted her, and took off her ring. It grew larger, and she put it around Kage’s neck. It formed a collar, although Kage couldn’t feel it. Kage knew what the collar meant. Kage was now bound to the woman, and must serve her until one of them died. She didn’t mind, though. She had almost wanted to be with her. It was almost as if she was connected to her. She knew all of her deepest secrets, and the woman knew all of hers as well. Kage was happy for the first time in her life. Happy just to be with her...with Sheena.

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