Introducing chapter eleven! This is the first chapter of my "new writing style." You'll see once you start reading. Anyway, if you're bored waiting for new chapter updates, go read Angelic Sacrifice: Them That Remain or one of my other one shots. But Angelic is what I consider to be my best so far.

I do not own Tales of Symphonia. If I did, every Desian would have sexy, red dreadlocks like Maginus. Vermin!

Chapter Eleven:

Painful Retention

Sheena approached the door to her room, still pondering the suspicious words of Raine. The Professor wasn’t the type to ramble such quarrels without a reason; she had to be worried about something, but knowing her, Sheena would probably be forced to learn herself. In Raine’s attempt to give Sheena comfort, she ended up half scaring the girl, as well as utterly confusing her. She expected an assassin to pop out from the window and try to kill her. Ironic for an assassin to murder an ex assassin.

Grabbing the door knob, she twisted it to the side and opened the door. Sheena stepped inside, viewing her surroundings; yet another uncontrollable habit the summoner picked up while growing up in Mizuho. Everything was as she left it: bed nearly made, lights off, a few windows open. The blinds blew in the mellow wind patterns outside coming through the open balcony.

As dark eyes scanned the scenery, something about the sky caught her attention. It was dark and well into the late evening, for packing Colette’s things had taken longer than she expected only because her mind was preoccupied during the process. Stars brightened the nighttime sky like tiny candles from the heavens and the moon sat in a position that suggested the time was somewhere between ten and eleven.

Slowly, thick masses of clouds joined together and blocked out the light of the stars, and eventually, the moon itself. Nighttime became darkness, turning into thick shade of pitch black. She wasn’t afraid of the lack of light; that wasn’t the reason for her growing worries. It was the color of the clouds that caused her concern. Even through the growing darkness, it was clear they had hints of purple and light grays, the strange ensigns that meant only one thing.

“Oh, no! Please! Not tonight!” whispered Sheena under her breath, as if she would accept this form of weather another day. She wrung her hands so hard she nearly dislocated her wrist and her skin turned red, swelling from the sudden pain. It was then that she wished Colette hadn’t gone to sleep in the Professor’s room. She’d even settled for the possibly un-potty-trained Genis if only for his familiar presence and company. Anyone to make her feel safe.

She dared her feet to move closer towards the balcony and they accepted the challenge. Sheena ascended the first three steps, resting her left foot on the fourth as if she intended to go further. “... Ma-maybe it’ll pass.” Her hopeful eyes scanned the atmosphere for a sign to validate her optimistic wish, finding only the starlight being snuffed out by even darker clouds.

Then came the sound she feared; the one that resembled a distant drum from a battlefield. Soft at first, the drum escalated into a rattle, proceeding to a rumble. Violet streaks of light jumped traveled across the face of the clouds, illuminating the area for a moment as the rumbles grew louder.

Sheena backed away and her boots scuffed the floor, causing a loud squeak against the marble. Thought the sound was irritating, she ignored it for it was the least of her worries. Wind speeds began to pick up, as indicated by the rapid, audible movements of the curtains covering the balcony windows and the papers blowing around her room. Even the air’s scent had changed from one that could be described as refreshing to one which brought back painful memories; this scent gave her a bad feeling, telling her to run away for her own safety. Something in the back of her mind, once dormant, had awakened and was prepared to wreck havoc by any means necessary.

A sharp pain took over her chest and her stomach turned soar, as if rotting from the inside out. Shaking her head in disbelief, she ran to the door and searched for the main light, rubbing her sweaty palms against the wall until she hit what she believed to be the switch. She fiddled around the plastic switch with her fingers and forced it upwards into the on position.

But the light didn’t turn on. Frantically, Sheena jerked the mechanism up and down, with no positive results. The room remained dark and she concluded that the power must have been knocked out. The sky rumbled, as if upset at her for seeking solace from artificial light. She jumped back; a yip escaped her shaken lips and retreated from the switch, back against the farthest wall opposite the balcony.

“Why tonight?...” she questioned the sky. Its reply was an ear piercing crackling, resembling lightning hitting an unsuspecting tree. The sight of smoke indicated that nature had indeed been destroyed by the indignation of the clouds. Bright orange flames flickered outside the window and accompanied the growing smoke, becoming darker and darker by the moment.

Sheena gasped and ran to the balcony with amazing speeds, grasping the railing as to stop her body from diving over. She turned her vision to the right; a group of trees outside the restaurant were ablaze, showing no signs of subsiding without force and no one in sight. Then again, it was well into the night; not many were awake.

She chewed her inner cheek and growled, realizing nothing would change unless she did something. The summoner reached into her obi and pulled out a card. Throwing it into the air, it fell for a moment before halting in place, hovering a few inches from her chest as it spun like a top. Mana swelled to her firmly set feet, forming into a circular imprint on the ground, glowing an intense shade of blue.

“I call upon the Maiden of the Mist. I summon thee: Come, Undine!”

That’s when the mana shot through the card and it ceased spinning. She grabbed it in her hand, before stepping backwards. Moments later, that same mana, along with bit of her own, condensed into a ball, and a flash of light blinded all within range. Sheena blinked the blindness from her eyes before coming face to face with the Maiden of the Mist herself, levitating in the breeze.

“You who possess the right of the pact, you have summoned me?”

“Yes, Undine.” Still a bit drowsy from the draining task of summoning, Sheena nodded and pointed to the group of trees, still ignited. “Please, extinguish the flames.”

Undine responded with a nod of her own. “Very well.” Turning to face the fire, the spirit lifted a hand to the air and extended her fingers. A few moments of silence before, “Spread!” The ocean rumbled just as loudly as the still violet drenched sky and its waters rushed acrimoniously. Waves rocked back and forth, only to swirl around, heading for the area in question. Then, the water shot from the ground up, dousing the flames as requested. Sheena gasped as she was sprayed with some of the water, an aftermath of the spell.

She didn’t complain. “Thank you, Undine.” With that, she dismissed the Spirit and Undine disappeared.

The sky didn’t lighten up; it merely got darker. Now that the fire was out, it was almost impossible to see anything farther than the vision from her arm’s length, but the clouds were just as thick and gray. There were no signs of relief and she slowly tried to come to terms with the truth.

By this time, the fatigue from summoning and lack of sleep were beginning to catch up with Sheena. Her clothing was still wet; her ribbon sagged on the ground and made her body feel too heavy for her legs to carry, her once lilac kimono turned a deep shade of plum and stuck to her body as if plastered, and her boots squished with every sleepy step she took. She knew she had to get changed for the now incensed breezes made her shiver as they hit her wet body, but the energy allowing her to do so could not be found. Almost reluctantly, she leaned forward and dropped to the ground, landing on her hands and knees as she panted like a dog with her tongue hanging out of her mouth. Her limited vision became blurry and she found herself unable to focus onto anything for more than a few seconds.

She hadn’t made it off the balcony; her left hand was on the top step, knees on the marble, and right hand against her chest feeling the intensity of her heart pounding against her chest. Growling in annoyance, she tried to stand, failing miserably.

Suddenly, lightning flashed again. Her eyes widened in amazement for the high contrast between her shadow and the illuminated balcony indicated its location was close, far too close. Sheena screamed and released all of her muscles, falling to the floor, as a sharp, burning, intense pain struck her. It was familiar, bringing back memories that would have been better off at rest, but nonetheless excruciating. For a moment, all she could do was lay there, moaning, and feel as if her flesh would melt off her skin as she attempted to regulate her breathing for it was weakening by the second.

She chuckled to herself, closing her eyes to break the small stream of tears flowing from her eyes. These tears weren’t from the pain; they were from an internal enlightenment for she had finally realized something.

“... heh... I guess this is how Orochi and Kuchinawa’s parents felt like.” Her voice was barely above a whisper and her throat was hoarse, making the words barely audible.

Sheena thought about her past failures; all the faces that looked upon her in shame, some wishing for vengeance, others too stern to read, but they all revealed a sense of disappointment. In that moment, she truly felt she could understand Kuchinawa’s position, even if she couldn’t match his hatred. Not like she failed on purpose or intended to cause the population of her only home to decline drastically. Maybe this was her own form of redemption.

“I guess I’ll die just like them too...” She opened for eyes only to find the room was just as black as before. Her body’s temperature was still slowly decreasing and she began to notice her teeth chattering.

In the distance, she could hear hastened footsteps coming from the hallway. Two knocks sounded, but even if she wanted to, she was unable to force her body into a standing position to answer the door. A part of her wrongly suspected it to be room service, but why would they come so late at night?

“Sheena?! Are you alright?” called a voice from the outside.

She gasped and looked towards the door, everything within her wanting to reach out and grab it. “Lloyd!”

Although faint, he heard her reply, finding a bit of comfort.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

Something in her voice told him otherwise. He fumbled with the door, only to conclude it was locked from the inside. “Sheena, answer me! Please!” His words dripped with concern.

Sheena remained silent, occasionally groaning on the floor. The last of her energy was being drained and she could feel mana seeping from her body.

Lloyd grunted, giving up on the doorknob. Hands on the hilts, he erected his swords and grasped them tightly. He stepped back twice and aimed them at the door. “Tiger Rage!” His stance resembled a tiger ready to pounce on prey. Right foot first, he charged at the door before leaping into the air. One sword sliced up, cutting through the wooden door like paper, and the other charged downwards, slamming the mass bitterly. The door shattered to pieces; shards flew everywhere at blinding speeds, some landing on and next to the summoner’s body.

The shock of the noise alerted Sheena. She tried to speak, only causing more pain to rage through her body. Lloyd noticed her on the floor when a flash of lightning struck outside. He replaced his swords and darted to her, taking the girl in his arms. Blood stained his clothing and he examined her wet body, concluding she needed medical attention immediately. Sadly, Lloyd was untrained in the area of healing arts.

“Hang on! I’ll go get the Professor!” he said and pulled her hair away from her face. Through the flashes, he could see that the girl’s eyes were glistening and the pupils dilated, something that usually signaled death. “I said hang on!”

With that, he stood to his feet, bent down, and lifted Sheena’s bleeding body as carefully as he could. She cried out in pain during the process, trying so hard not to. He apologized for the pain he was causing her and lead her body to the bed, laying her on top and throwing a blanket over her cold body for he had not the time or the indecent desire to undress her.

“I’ll be right back.” Lloyd ran out the door, making a hard left turn when he reached the hallway.

Even through her barely conscious state, Sheena could hear the sounds of the boy’s rapid knocking. An inaudible conversation was heard as Raine’s door opened. Sheena only caught stray words of the dialouge; her name was mentioned a few times in Lloyd’s voice with a rather urgent tone. Raine gave him a confirmation and ran back into her room before joining him to Sheena’s.

The Professor and Lloyd appeared in the doorway after what felt like an eternity. The swordsman moved to the side and allowed Raine to reach the body. She lit a candle, handing it to Lloyd who placed it on the nearest table. Orange light dances against the walls and illuminated Sheena’s badly injured body. She reviewed the damage before lifting her staff and waited for the mana to activate.

“Are you okay? First aid!”

Some of the bleeding clotted on her body, but the pain was still vivid. Sheena shifted her weight just to alert the two she was still alive, even if barely.

“She’s still in pain! Professor, please, use a stronger spell!” Lloyd pleaded.

Raine nodded. She moaned in annoyance upon remembering her mystic symbol was not on her person. Well, not like she slept with it on every night; but this was one night she probably should have. “Alright.”

Standing to her feet, she paced herself and took in a deep breath. She gripped her Crystal Rod, a special gift from Meltokio’s Colosseum, with both hands and tapped into her elven blood, calling for the aid of Mana’s healing powers. A mana circle formed under her bare feet and her silver hair blew around despite there being no breezes in the room.

“Root of all creation, grant us the breath of life! Revitalize!”

Still, it was not enough to completely heal the summoner nor did it regulate her still decreasing body temperature. The girl’s skin clammed up and her finger tips felt like ice cubes. She reached out to touch the person closest to her, which was Raine. The feeling of her chill worried the Professor and she cast Revitalize a few more times, nearly collapsing from mana exhaustion herself. Raine healed to the point where she felt comfortable the girl would survive the night and reassured Lloyd. Relief was minimal, but it was all they could do for her at the present time.

It was about one at night when things settled down enough for them to relax. Both were fatigued severely, but their concern easily outweighed the desire for sleep. Sheena’s breathing became a bit more stable and her heart rate, though it decreased at times if only for a moment, rose to a pace Raine trusted.

“Sheena will make it through the night. All we can do now is let her rest.” Raine stood from her kneeling position, looking over her body once again. She did her best to hide the doubt in her voice.

Lloyd nodded hesitantly before standing himself. “... Al-..alright.”

The room was silent for a moment; even the raging storm outside had subsided. The clouds were still present and a small rain shower began to downpour on the area.

“I’ll look over her for the night, I guess,” offered the Professor. She sighed, tightening her robe around her body.

“What about Colette?”

“She’ll be fine. Sheena requires immediate attention.”

“Yeah..”

Raine stretched her arms as a yawn escaped her lips. She dropped her staff to the ground carefully. “Lloyd, go to sleep.”

The swordsman looked up for his eyes were on Sheena, inspecting the damage with a rather concerned gaze. “But-”

“No,” Raine replied, shaking her head. “Don’t worry about me. Besides, I’ll need you wide awake tomorrow for Yuan since you know more about Colette’s post-Journey behavior than I do. I’m sure he’ll need to know things like that.”

Reluctantly, Lloyd sighed. “Okay. Thanks, Professor.” He rubbed the girl’s hand and whispered something into her ears that was too low for Raine to comprehend, then made his way out of the room. “Call me if you need anything or if she wakes up.” With that, he trekked to his own bed to attempt to find solace in slumber.

The half elf turned her attention back to Sheena, whose eyes were closed, most likely sleeping herself. She threw another blanket over the summoner and fixed the pillows in a more comfortable manner to relieve pressure on her already swollen neck. “Good night, Sheena. I know you’ll wake up in the morning. You’ve a promise to keep.”

Raine didn’t expect Sheena to hear her faint words, but she did. And in her own way, she replied that she would indeed rise with the sun, for she indeed had a promise to fulfill.
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Awww, how sweet! I mean, how painful to be struck by lightning saving a tree! Oh wells, she should wake up in the morning. Lloyd would be devastated if she died. Stay tuned for chapter twelve!