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

QUIZ START:
"This...is troubling..." Raine admitted. Aura was lying in the only bed in the room; her complexion had gotten even paler.

Raine had removed the girls 'sleeves' and everyone was shocked to see the grotesque scars on her right arm--however they decided to try not to mention it until Aura found the nerve to tell them...
"What's wrong, Professor?" Lloyd asked,
"...Aura's mana...It's not restoring itself."
"What do you mean?" Colette asked,
"Mana, the source of life, is also used often. And then, after use, Mana will restore itself," she explained, "However Aura's mana isn't doing that."
"Maybe it's just taking a little while..." Sheena asked,
"No." the Professor said, "This is serious..."
"Maybe Sheena's right." Regal voiced, "Let's allow Aura to rest for tonight. Perhaps the extreme loss of mana came as a shock, and it will take some time to get readjusted."
"...I suppose your right..."
"Wait--!" Zelos demanded, "Hello! Cruxis is still after Aura--they've gotta know we're in Sylvarant now!"
"He's right..." Lloyd agreed reluctantly, "Let's have someone keep an eye on Aura tonight."

The clock in the lobby chimed 1 AM. Genis was sitting in a chair near Aura's bed, going from looking outside to looking over at his friend... He had opened the window because the room was getting stuffy-- besides, it was a nice night outside.
"......" a figure landed silently on the roof of the Inn, waiting just above Aura's room. The gentle sea-breeze ruffled his hair and clothes, however he didn't notice. The breeze blew a faint wisp of a cloud in front of the moon, the darkness now hiding his features. He pulled a stone from his pocket; a pale green stone on a thin leather strap like it was some form of necklace... The stone was used to record sound; it couldn't record much, but the three minutes of recorded sound were more than enough. He willed his mana into the stone, and a song began to play; he had recorded Aura singing... the song was called Angelic Lullaby, a powerful song which had the power to put people to sleep almost immediately. The stone began to glow as the melody floated down and drifted all throughout the Inn.

Genis raised his head slightly when he heard singing,
"Huh...?" he perked up hopefully, "Ha...! A-Aura--! You're awake--?" he looked towards Aura hopefully, the voice he heard singing was hers... But she wasn't awake, "Huh? A-Aura...?" Aura's voice continued to sing the song, however Aura wasn't singing...she was still sleeping. "Wh-what...?"
"...." the girl was motionless, as the song continued to play. Suddenly Genis' eyes began to close;
"Uh--?" the boy squeezed his eyes shut as he shook his head, trying to stay awake. But when he opened his eyes again he couldn't believe what he saw... Many glowing feathers falling all around the room, "Wha...?" his eyelids felt heavy as a song continued to penetrate his ears. The boy suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to just sleep... "What... the...?" he began to lean to one side as he fell asleep, "Wh... Uhh..." the boy fell asleep, falling from his chair. However even the hard landing on the floor didn't wake him.

"Time for my shift, time for my shift..." Zelos muttered mockingly, walking towards Aura's room. One hand rested in his pocket, his other carried a candle which lit the hallway in front of him, "I swear, sometimes Regal can be such a..." he heard singing, "...nag...?" his eyes began to feel heavy as glowing feathers fell in all around him, "?!" he dropped the candle, the wick extinguishing when it hit the floor. He clamped his hands over his ears to block the noise, however the song penetrated through his hands, "W-what--? What's going on...!? What's this... song...!?" he fell against the wall as he tried to stay awake, "Angelic... singing...!? Cruxis...! Someone from Cruxis is....here... Damn--they must be... after Aura...! Shit...!" he fell to the floor. A weak smirk crossed his lips, "Heh, I....I guess they're pretty...good...ugh..." he closed his eyes.

In the boy's room, Lloyd was sitting in a chair next to the windowsill, leaning against it; one arm folded under his chin, the other dangling out of the window. Regal was leaning against the wall,
"...I wonder if the girls can sleep?" the brunette mumbled,
"Hm?" Regal perked up when he heard a song, "What's this singing?" he asked glancing around the room,
"That sounds like Aura..." Lloyd agreed.
"!!" they both gasped when they saw glowing feathers falling around them,
"What the--?" Lloyd asked, jumping up from her chair. He shook his head roughly, but he still found his eyes half-lidded, "What's going on...!?"
"Cruxis...! It's Cruxis!" Regal cursed, "Someone must be--!" he tried to go towards the door but fell to his knees when he suddenly felt exhausted, "Damn...! Cruxis is after Aura...! Zelos...was right...!"
"Wha...What's going on?" Lloyd asked, barely able to remain on his feet, "Why am I so...tired?"
"This song...Its Angelic singing... Its sole purpose must be...to... put your foes... to... sleep..." the blue haired man fell to the floor, succumbing to the song. Lloyd dropped back into his chair, also falling asleep; he muttered a,
"...damn...!" under his breath before he was lost.

"Think the boy's can sleep?" Sheena asked. She was lying on one of the four beds in the larger room. Her hands folded behind her head, the girl stared out of the window. Colette was playing jacks, leaning back against the wall. Presea was sitting on the edge of her bed, swinging her legs absently. Raine was reading a book at the desk,
"Who knows." Raine responded,
"Hey, what's that song?" Colette asked, "It sounds...pretty..." her head drooped slightly,
"Wh-what?!" Sheena jumped up.
"These feathers...!" Presea gasped, "Angelic singing...!?"
"Raine, Colette!" Sheena ordered, covering her ears, "Don't--listen?" Colette was already sleeping.
"Cruxis...Certainly is getting..." Raine cursed, trying to stand, "...efficient...!" she collapsed back in her chair, her head resting on her open book.
"!!" Sheena looked to Presea, "Presea!!"
"Too...late..." the pink haired girl mumbled, collapsing on the floor, "Sheena...they're after Aura...! Hurry...!" was the last thing she got out before she fell asleep. The black-haired girl shook her head roughly,
"Damn!" She cursed, feeling herself falling asleep, "I've gotta...get everyone...!" just as she made it to the door she collapsed, "No...!" she clutched the doorknob tightly, trying to pull herself up, "Dammit... damn...!" the Summoner, too, fell to the floor; fast asleep.

Now that all of her friends were knocked out, there was no one to stop the member of Cruxis whom had come for Aura...

A figure landed almost silently on the windowsill; they then stepped down onto the floor. He tucked the recording stone back in his pocket, its song finished. He was confident that everyone in the Inn was fast asleep due to the Angelic Lullaby; and, regretfully, it wouldn't be called overconfidence.
The clouds in front of the moon finally moved; moonlight fell across his features, lighting his auburn hair and glinting on his auburn eyes when he glanced back outside....Kratos...

He approached Aura's bed slowly; he noted that, indeed, her mana wasn't returning.
"..." he stood next to her bed, staring down at her with cold eyes; he raised a hand, reaching towards her. It appeared as though he was reaching for her neck as if to strangle her--however his hand moved at the last second. His hand brushed under her bangs, and he rested his palm on her forehead, "...." his hand rested there for a few seconds, then moved. The angel held the back of his hand just in front of her nose to feel her breath. "...." Kratos glanced down towards her arm and a shuddered involuntarily when he saw that the cloth was gone and her scars were freely visible. He picked up her hand, turning her hand palm up; he pressed his fingers against her wrist and took her pulse. "...no fever, slowed breathing and a slowed pulse..." he mumbled, setting her hand back down on the bed. His fingertips brushed regretfully against her scars...
"...." but Aura didn't stir. Not in the slightest. Worry clenched the Angel's stomach when the girl's sleep wasn't disturbed; she lay so perfectly still she almost looked...dead. Kratos wouldn't admit it aloud, but the thought of Aura dead brought him endless horror.
"...if this keeps up she won't last..." he mumbled, "...her mana needs to regenerate...and soon..."

Kratos was reluctant to admit that he couldn't tell why Aura's mana was regenerating... He cast a glance back at her hand and noticed an odd glint on her Cruxis Crystal;
"...!" he recognized that glint. He hadn't seen it often, but... "Hmm...So...he did." he mumbled, picking up her hand and examining her Cruxis Crystal "So he honestly didn't think that she'd try to go back to Sylvarant...?"
"..." there was an odd grunt as Genis choked mid snore; however the man didn't even flinch.

Kratos removed Aura's Cruxis Crystal, setting her hand back down on her bed. The man examined her Cruxis Crystal, then removed an odd...item. It looked like a Key Crest that had been tampered with; like a Key Crest which had been colored dark purple, a few strings of mana flashed within it briefly before disappearing...that was Aura's mana.
"That's it..." he mumbled, examining the strange Key Crest, "...it must have activated when she traveled through the Otherworldly Gate... Sapping her mana... Now it won't allow her mana to regenerate." he put the tampered Key Crest in his pocket before returning the girls Cruxis Crystal to her hand. Kratos rested one hand on the girls arm, the other on her forehead. A soft blue glow emanated from under his hands. The glow was the light of mana; resulting from him pushing his mana into her body.

"...so...he did come to help her." a voice said from outside the door, the person's mouth changing to a smirk, "I knew it...I was right." they flipped their crimson hair behind their shoulder, "My shift has started but...eh... I can wait a little longer." he chuckled softly, idly tossing a pair of earplugs in one hand, "...to think, all I had to do was enforce these with mana to block out that song...Too bad I'm still kinda..." he yawned, "Under...its effects... a little..."

Soon the blue glow faded,
"...that should be enough..." Kratos mumbled, deciding that he had given her enough of his mana to help her. However as he began to pull his hand from her forehead, he brushed the backs of his fingers against her cheek. "...." his eyes saddened slightly as he allowed the backs of his fingers to stroke her cheek again. The man flinched when he looked at the scars on her arm and mentally cursed his leader.

"I don't expect you to forgive me..." Kratos told Aura softly, "Just know, I'm sorry..." he stroked her cheek once more before pulling his hand away; his eyes lingered on her face, "...I'm sorry..." he mumbled. The Angel turned, stepping over the sleeping Genis, and walked to the window. His sparkling royal blue wings appeared on his back, he sent one more look back towards Aura, and then flew from the window.

The figure outside smirked slightly, then walked in,
"Hey, Genis." they said, kicking the sleeping boy in the shoulder playfully, "You're supposed to be watching Aura! Wake up!"
"Ow!" the boy sat up, clutching his shoulder; he glared up at the person who kicked him, "Zelos...! Ow! Why'd you kick me?!"
"What're you sleeping for?" Zelos asked, "On the Floor!"
"I--I heard a song...!" the boy insisted, "I-I-I---It--It put me to sleep! I saw glowing feathers everywhere-! You've gotta believe me, someone was singing a song or something!"
"Yeah, uh-huh," Zelos said, folding his arms over his chest, "Sure, Genis, sure..."
"Oh--shut up!" the boy growled,
"Right...whatever, go away. It's my turn to keep watch." the little boy left and Zelos walked to the window, smiling knowingly at the moon. He crossed his arms, leaning his elbows on the windowsill. "So...I was right...Kratos," he glanced back at Aura who was still sleeping, then looked back outside, "You still love her."

"Mmm...." you woke slowly, feeling that you were lying in bed. You had rolled on your side at some point during the night, your cheek buried in your pillow. "Mmm...mm..." you cracked your eyes open reluctantly. You were facing a wall, early-morning sunlight form a window behind you washed over you, "Huh...?" you're surroundings weren't exactly familiar... "Where am...?" you sat up slowly, rubbing your forehead. You noticed Zelos sleeping in a chair situated between the bed and the window. You got up slowly, picking up your belt from the floor. You buckled your belt around your waist again, your sword hanging behind your waist, tilted slightly to the right so you could draw it with your right hand. Then quickly fastened your sleeves back into place.

You approached the redheaded Chosen,
"Zelos...? Zelos, what happened?" you ask, putting a hand on his shoulder and shaking him,
"Huh...? Ah-hahh! Woah!" the Chosen leaned back in his chair to try and stretch, however that resulted in the chair falling over backwards, "...Ow..."
"Zelos...!"
"Nah, I'm okay." the teen insisted, sitting up and rubbing his head, "Just glad to see you up again."
"Where are we?" you ask,
"Palmacosta." he responded, "What, you don't recognize it?"
"W-we made it?!" you gasp hopefully, "We're back in Sylvarant...!?"
"Yup, yup." Zelos confirmed, standing, "You passed out in the Otherworldly gate. We brought you here so you could rest for a little bit."
"..." you looked out of the open window, recognizing the seaside city, "We're really back..."
"C'mon, let's go meet everyone in the lobby." he asked.
"Right." you agree with a nod.