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

QUIZ START: After boarding the Rheairds it took you all of the twilight to reach the site of the Otherworldly Gate. There were many stones sticking from the ground; the tallest stones were arranged in a small circle; the smaller were in a larger circle outside. Gratefully, you saw...
"Professor!" Lloyd exclaimed, followed by,
"Professor Raine!" from you. You all quickly run to her, glad to see that she wasn't hurt.
"Everyone!" she gasped, "Why are you all here?"
"Why do you think we're here? We were worried about you!" Genis exclaimed,
"It's dangerous to come here alone." Mithos said, "As a fellow half-elf, I can't just leave you here by yourself."
"Not just because he's a half elf," you agree, "Him...Us...! We came because we were worried about you!"
"Why did you come to this place?" Colette asked.
"This is where Genis and I were abandoned." Raine admitted, turning back to the tall stone in front of her.
"!!"
"Tethe'alla...?" you murmur, "Like me...?"
"What are you talking about?" Lloyd asked, "You two are from Sylvarant."
"No." the teacher corrected, "I happened to catch sight of this place when we rescued Colette and it's been on my mind ever since." she sighed softly and then continued, "Then, when I heard the story about the two poles which connect the two worlds, I became certain. The images in my memory...the ruin I've been searching for all this time is this place."
"I...don't understand..." you murmur, feeling your head begin to throb, "Two poles..."
'The same world, split in two...' Kratos' voice echoed in your mind, 'It's contacts with one another are few...if any... It's incredibly difficult to facilitate traveling from one dimension to another unless you have Cruxis' technology.'
'But what Is one of those contacts...?' your voice questioned,
'If you can approach at the right time... The Otherworldly Gate will transport you from Tethe'alla to Sylvarant... We are yet to find a way back without our technology.'
"How...?" you murmur again, "I...know..." the Professor noticed your expression; you weren't just confused, you almost looked scared.
"So what are you saying?" Sheena asked slowly, "You and Genis were born in Tethe'alla?"
"It can't be!" the little boy insisted, "All my memories are of Iselia! I don't know this place at all."
"We were born and raised in the village of the elves," the woman told her brother, "From which we were eventually ostracized. We were abandoned here because this place was said to be the path to the legendary Sylvarant."
"The village of the elves?" Mithos asked, perking up slightly at the mention, "The secret village said to be off-limits to anyone except elvenkind?"
"Yes." she confirmed, "I don't know the details of what happened, but Im positive that I was left here along with Genis when he was just a newborn. And we eventually ended up in Sylvarant."
"Then this time, let me send you to hell instead!" Kuchinawa's voice yelled. You heard the clinking of armor all around you
"No...!" you gasp.
"Who's there?!" Lloyd demanded.

Kuchinawa appeared at the edge of the outer ring of stones. Papal knights surrounded the rest of the circle.
"Kuchinawa!" Sheena gasped, "What are you talking about?"
"My chance to avenge my parent's deaths has finally arrived." the man growled, glaring at Sheena. They closed in on you all slowly,
"Avenge your parents?" Sheena asked,
"Sheena, what's he talking about?" you ask,
"That's right, Aura wasn't at Volt's temple," Genis said, "She didn't hear the story..."
"Story...?"
"If we have a chance," Regal said, "We will explain later."
"You won't get that chance!" Kuchinawa yelled. He then glared at Sheena, "You will die for killing my parents along with countless others of our village when you failed to control Volt!"
"Wh...what?!" Sheena gasped. You were utterly confused as to what they were talking about, but decided that now wasn't the time to ask questions.
"That was an accident!" Lloyd insisted, "Why are you doing this now?"
"Accident?!" the Ninja cursed, "I could have accepted things if she just failed to make a pact with a Summon Spirit. But then, she failed to assassinate the Chosen of
Sylvarant, thereby placing Mizuho in danger." he glared at Colette, then looked back to Lloyd "Yet look at her now. She's made pacts with Summon Spirits just like that."
"You have it all wrong!" Colette insisted,
"Do I?!" he demanded, "I think she wasn't really trying during the first pact-making! Because of that, she killed my parents and our people."
"How can you say that?!" you demanded, "So what if I don't know what happened, but...She's gotten better! She's had time to improve!"
"I-I did the best I could! I..." she trailed off,
"Sheena..."
"Enough excuses!" he yelled. Three papal knights ran forward. Regal dealt with on by delivering a kick to the neck, and knocking him to the ground; there was a crack when the man's neck broke.
Zelos took care of the next, dodging blows and slashing the knight across the chest, cutting clear through his armor.
Presea dealt with the final, the man crumbling under a strike from her axe. But then the rest approached,
"There're too many..." you murmur as the knights surrounded you.
"Kuchinawa! Please!" Sheena pleaded, "Don't drag them into this! I'm the one you despise right? Then I'm the only one you need to kill!"
What?!" you cry, jerking your head back to look at her; everyone stared at her in the same manner, eyes wide,
"Sheena, stop talking like that!" Lloyd demanded, "Its okay." she murmured, then called, "Kuchinawa...please!"
"Fine." the man agreed.

Sheena walked towards Kuchinawa, not listening to reason. However then a beam of moonlight hit the tallest pillar; a warp portal lit up on the ground,
"The gate's open--!" you call,
"You've got to be kiddin' me! Enough of this, Sheena!" Zelos yelled, "Aura gave us these ribbons because they mean we're supposed to stick together!" he said, grabbing her arm, "You're doing the exact wrong thing!"
"Ahh!"
"Lloyd! Come on!" he yelled, pulling Sheena with him as they ran into the portal. You all were quick to follow him.
"Everybody into the gate!" Lloyd urged, urging everyone to hurry.

The air felt exactly like it did when you traveled on the Rheairds.
'Will we make it if we go this way...?' your voice asked,
'We have no choice...We can't risk them finding us.' Kratos' responded
'But...'
'They know we're in Tethe'alla...if we escape to Sylvarant then...'
'I see...then let's go.' It felt as though your energy was suddenly drained as you saw a light in front of you. You didn't want to fight your exhaustion this time, you let yourself slip into darkness as you all fell...

With a flash everyone fell about a story, landing in a grassy area. However Zelos quickly noticed that Aura wasn't awake. He leapt over the fallen Lloyd, catching the girl,
"Woah-- Gotcha!" he said to himself. One arm under her knees, the other behind her shoulders; he held her the way a groom would carry his bride. The girls head slumped against his chest, "Wow, what happened to you?" he mumbled.
"Aura-!" the brunette gasped,
"Zelos, let me see her." Raine ordered, approaching the Chosen. The Professor put a hand on the girls pale forehead, "...hm..."
"How is she?" Presea asked,
"It seems as though all of her mana is gone... Like traveling through that portal drained her, somehow. But don't worry, she'll be fine."
"Good to hear..." Colette sighed. Regal looked around,
"Where are we?" he asked
"Probably on the outskirts of Palmacosta." the Professor said. Colette stood, dusting herself off.
"We're back in Sylvarant?" she asked. She and Lloyd were the only ones who hadn't landed on their feet.
"The mana level seems to have risen," Genis commented. He paused, and then nodded, "But it's definitely Sylvarant."
"Phew, man," Zelos sighed, setting Aura on the ground, "I never thought I'd wind up coming over to this side like that." Raine kneeled next to the girl, putting an arm behind her shoulders. Zelos stood; stretching while Raine made absolutely sure that Aura was alright.
Sheena stormed towards Zelos, clearly angry,
"Zelos, why did you butt in?!" she demanded. Zelos folded his arms and gave Sheena an annoyed look,
"Excuse me? Don't tell me you actually wanted to die back there?"
"W-well..." she mumbled.
"Besides," the redhead said simply, "Those guys would have come after us regardless of whether or not you died. Popes orders and all."
"Are you saying Kuchinawa is working for the Pope?" the Summoner asked.
"It's likely." Raine admitted. She had finished checking over Aura, grateful to find that the only thing that had happened to her was her mana disappearing, "Those assassins he had with him were the Popes men, aren't they?"
"I'm certain of it." Regal agreed.
"Sheena, please don't do something like that again." Colette asked, "Don't make the same mistakes I did. Nothing good will come of you sacrificing your life." she held out her hand showing the ribbon on her pinky, "These ribbons mean that we're all in this together...what will we do if you just go sacrificing yourself...?" Sheena glanced meekly at the ribbon around her neck.
"Colette's absolutely right." Lloyd agreed, "You should thank Zelos, Sheena."
Th...thanks." the Summoner thanked reluctantly.
"Come on now," Zelos asked, smirking, "Would it hurt you to give me a kiss or two?"
"...Zelos, you're horrible." Presea told him. The Chosen flinched slightly
"...Oh...ouch."
"But what are we gonna do now?" Mithos asked, "I mean...Aura has to rest and we don't know what to do."
"Well, since were back in Sylvarant, why don't we find out what the Desians are up to?" Lloyd suggested,
"What about Mithos? We can't drag him into this." Genis asked
"Maybe we could ask the Palmacosta government to take care of him for a while." Colette suggested,
"Neil, huh?" Lloyd asked thoughtfully, "Hmm...I guess that's a good idea."
"I wanna fight, too!" Mithos insisted,
"What are you saying?" Genis demanded, "This journey is dangerous even if you had an Exsphere."
"He's right, Mithos." Raine agreed gently, "We do appreciate your sentiment, though."
"...I suppose you're right. I understand." the boy sighed.
"For the time being," Raine said, "We should go to Palmacosta so Aura can rest..." she looked towards the setting sun, "It's only twilight here...I guess Sylvarant's clock is a few hours behind Tethe'alla's...We'll speak with Neil tomorrow."
"Right. For now let's let Aura get some rest." Lloyd agreed,
"Zelos, if you would?" the woman asked,
"Sure thing." he agreed. The redhead picked up Aura the way he had held her before, "Alrighty, I'm set. Let's go."