Tales of Symphonia Story, Tethe'alla Chronicles (3)

QUIZ START: As you all continue to fly farther from Yuan's base, you look back over your shoulder. *...Thank you... Big Brother...* you think, then look back forward again. You'd noticed that when you flew on Rheairds, or flew with the aid of your wings, the height didn't bother you. Hm...
"I'm so glad you're alright!" Lloyd told you, he was flying slightly ahead of you,
"Yes...We all are." Raine agreed. You smile slightly, glad for your friends,
"Thanks for helping me, guys." you tell them sincerely, "Now, let's go save Colette!"
"Yeah!" was the common response.

After about half an hour you wind up on a huge floating island, with three tube-like things that had sprouted from the ground. Colette was standing in the middle of the island; she was inside some kind of force-field cage, standing on a weird circle-thing.
"Colette!" Lloyd exclaimed, glad to finally find her,
"Colette...!" you add in a sigh of relief. After landing, Lloyd started to walk to her,
"...No! Lloyd! Stay away, it's a trap!" Colette asked, "Aura, please get out of here! You're in danger! You have to get out of here before Rodyle tries to kidnap you!!"
"!" you stiffen,
"What...?" asked Lloyd. Suddenly Rodyle appeared, Presea readied her ax, glaring coldly at Rodyle,
"You will pay for using me!" she exclaimed "Let Colette go, and leave Aura alone!"
"Presea...?" you mutter. Presea charged at Rodyle, swinging her axe. It hit him-- or it would have...if he hadn't disappeared...
"!"
"An illusion?..." muttered Raine. Rodyle reappeared a little wase away,
"Hahaha! You can have that worthless Chosen!" he exclaimed, "Now I understand why lord Yggdrasill left her alone."
"Worthless?!" growled Lloyd,
"Absolutely." Rodyle told you all, "A sinful Chosen like that is completely useless for my Mana Cannon. She can't even save the world. She can't merge with Martel. She even puts her friends in danger. What a pathetic Chosen. But..." he cackled evilly while looking at you, "Hahaha...I can still use Lady Aura! Yggdrasill would do absolutely anything to get her back now! Hahaha!!" your hand shot right to your sword handle. However Regal stood in front of you,
"Regal?..."
"Stop blaming Colette for things she did not do!" Presea exclaimed, "And do not consider Aura to be any kind of tool!"
"Indeed. It is enough that I alone bear the weight of sin. You and I are the epitome of sin! I'll drag you down to hell with me!" Regal told him venomously.
"Take me to hell!?" laughed Rodyle, as if Regal had told a joke. "You inferior beings and your silly jokes." your hand tightens on your sword handle
"Regal..." you ask "Let me get by...! Let me fight, too!"
"No." he responded. "Just stay behind me."
"..."

Everyone had taken a step towards Rodyle, ready to attack him again despite the fact that he was a hologram.
"Everyone!" Colette pleaded, "Please, run!"
"Now, my darling pets! Feed on the flesh of these wretched beings!" Rodyle yelled, almost gleefully, "But! Bring me the girl with brown hair, Lady Aura, alive!!" then the hologram disappeared,
"Dragons!?" you exclaim,
"The transport dragons...!" Raine gasped when dragons swooped down towards them, "Those are the dragons Rodyle used to kidnap Colette and Aura!"
"Don't try to fight them!" Colette begged ,"Run!!"
"Winged dragon, a subspecies of dragon. Carnivorous. Excels at the pursuit and capture of prey. The probability of successful evasion on this small platform is one percent." Presea informed you all.
"Give me a break! I'll pass on dying, thanks!" Zelos exclaimed. Lloyd drew his sword, glaring up at the flying creatures,
"All we have to do is defeat them before they can kill us!" he explained
"I'm with you, no matter what!" you say confidentially. You draw your sword, turning it into a staff,
"Indeed." Regal agreed "I have no intention of becoming a part of the food chain without a fight."

You all manage to win; though with a few close calls and one or two bad injuries due to lack of room to move. After the dragons had fallen, the orange thing that Colette was standing on spread out to all of you
"!!!"
"No!" Colette exclaimed "It's to late!"
"What is this ominous light that threatens to engulf us?!" exclaimed Regal. You try to take a step,
"Guah!!" you could barely lift your feet at all, and your whole body felt stiff, and hard to move. "W-what happened!?"
"Arrgh... I can't move!!" Sheena agreed.
"It's Colette! The mana from Colette's body is flowing out towards us!" Genis told you all.
"It's caused by the magic circle beneath her!" Raine added,
"Colette!" Lloyd called "Get out of there!"
"I can't. I'm chained to it. I-I can't move." Colette explained sadly, hanging her head, "I'm sorry. I'm just a Chosen who couldnt even save her friends, much less the world. Maybe I'm just like Rodyle said, 'a pathetic Chosen.'"
"Don't you ever say that again!" you tell her,
"!"
"Aura is right!" Presea agreed. "Colette, don't delude yourself. You haven't done anything wrong. What's wrong is this system that demands the sacrifice of the Chosen!"
Presea dragged herself forward, moving slowly, inch-by-inch, until she was close to the barrier. She raised her ax, and struck the barrier, destroying it. But then she was surrounded by a strange glow,
"Ahhh!!!"
"Presea!" you exclaim as she collapsed. The barrier disappeared, as did the circle under all of you.
"Presea! ...Thank you..." Colette told her, smiling a little. When a violent shake racked the whole floating island
"Whoa, what's up with the ground?!" asked Zelos,
"Th-the island!" you exclaim, "The island is going to fall!"
"What?! What are we still doing here then?!" the redhead demanded
"We have to get out of here!" Lloyd ordered. You all nod in agreement, and run to the Rheairds. Colette and Lloyd lagged behind for a second, before following you on their own Rheairds. And you all sail away; as soon as you left the island it literally fell to pieces, and fell to the ocean beneath it.

You all sail through the air for a long time, before landing near a huge canyon. You brace yourself for a headache, knowing that you would get them almost anywhere in Tethe'alla...
"...?" nothing happened. There wasn't anything familiar about this place; had you... never been here before?
"Is everybody ok?" asked Lloyd worriedly,
"I'm okay." you assure,
"I'm still alive!" Zelos exclaimed,
"It looks like everyone's all right." Sheena agreed.
"But for what purpose did that Rodyle character kidnap Colette? ...Or need Aura..." asked Regal,
"He said he needed a Cruxis Crystal in order to control the Mana Cannon. But apparently, mine didn't work." Colette explained, "And... he needed Aura so that Yggdrasill wouldn't interfere with the Mana cannon."
"Mana Cannon?" asked Lloyd,
"Pietro, the man we saved in Hima, also spoke of this Mana Cannon." Raine commented,
"Yeah, I remember that..." you agree, "Didn't Kratos call it...'Thors Hammer'...?"
"Presea's waking up!" Genis exclaimed from where he was standing near the girl.
Presea woke up, then sat up from where she was lying on the ground,
"Colette," she asked, looking towards the blonde, "Are you okay?"
"Yes, thanks to you." Colette sighed with a smile,
"..." she smiled. Presea actually smiled.
"!" that surprised you, you had never seen her smile.
"Presea smiled!" Lloyd exclaimed, smiling as well,
"She resembles her, just as I thought." Regal muttered to himself,
"Okay then, now that my cute little Presea smiled," Zelos said, "It's a good time to start thinking about the next step."
"Yeah. We got Colette and Aura back, so what now?" Genis asked,
"What else? We're going to separate the two worlds!" Lloyd exclaimed, like that was the obvious answer.
"So we're gonna form pacts with the Summon Spirits of both worlds." Zelos filled in *...* this... all sounded familiar, despite the fact that this seemed like the first time you heard it. *...mana links...* the two words trailed through your head. *Hmm...* you think, *What's a 'mana link'...?*
"This is where I come in, right?" asked Sheena, "How about we start with the Summon Spirit, Gnome? He should be near here."
"All right, that sounds good." Lloyd nodded, "Professor? Is that okay with you?"
"What? Um, y-yes sure. That's fine." Professor Raine responded in a distracted voice,
"Professor Raine...?" you ask,
"Professor? Is something wrong?" asked Lloyd,
"It's nothing. Anyway, let's get going." Raine assured.