Excellent and a pleasure to read. You had Zelos' voice down pat.

The way you have Zelos describe things is just *infused* with personality, and it keeps me reading on just to see what he'll say next. This is a great way to keep the reader captivated. The only problem is, it's not quite Zelos' personality. You write him a little out of character compared to the game-mostly in how often he swears. I get that you're imagining what he'd be like without the filter of the video game rating, but it just doesn't come off as true to the character as the reader knows him. The way you've written him, changes him from being fun-loving and silly yet angsty to just being angsty. And hey, while I love Zelos angst as much as the next fan, I don't appreciate that he's dropping f-bombs casually to show how much he doesn't care. It just ain't canon.

That said, the cheerful ending brings up the tone and feels really satisfying. You've done a great job picking out times in the storyline that Zelos was particularly affected by Colette and what he thought of her. Oh, but also you could have mentioned that the trap on the Fooji mountains-Zelos was the one who led them into it to get captured by Cruxis, because he was working for Cruxis at the time. It would play off the second betrayal nicely.

Keep it up! :)

Beautiful. I'm definitely a Zelette fan, and this was really well done. I love how you characterized Zelos. Sarcasm, anger, a bit of angst... Too perfect. Amazing. Great job :)

So compelling! I chose to read it as a friendship piece rather than shippy, but it has meaning either way. Regardless of pairing, Zelos and Colette ARE the only ones who have been through the Chosen. I love the way Zelos's brain works in this piece. He really responds like the calculating, intelligent man he is. Thinking that the other Chosen would be a man? Priceless. Where Colette has a childlike trial-and-error way of getting through her Chosen status, Zelos has been hardened by the position he's in, essentially jaded by abuse from Cruxis. His mind darts around to remind him of all the things he's blaming himself for.

My favorite part is the idea that Colette is the only one who could have stopped him at the Tower of Salvation. Lloyd, despite being the end-all harbinger of justice, doesn't really understand Tethe'alla or the way it manipulates the system enough to reason with Zelos, who's seen it all. Raine and Regal have been out of the loop, although they likely see his act as childish regardless. And despite the fact that I think Zelos's thing for Sheena was mostly serious, I don't think there would have been anything she could say to stop him (plus, her crush on Lloyd really gets him down). Colette is the natural choice as well as the best one to point out his error in attempted sacrifice. She's been there, too, by a similar fear.

... Ooookay, and I'm a sucker for the way she calls him by his name every time. It's not every day that Zelos is just Zelos, and not the Chosen!

Fantastic read! I might end up stalking your other works now :)

Yay! Another Tales Of Symphonia Colos fan!

Colette X Zelos! :D