Hello! This is my first stab at a full-length Tales of Symphonia fanfiction. I'm branching out from my native Slayers fandom, and in doing so, I'm realizing how similar writing for this one is. Like Slayers, with its novel, anime, manga, and game continuities, Tales of Symphonia is a video game with a plot that relies heavily on the player's choices, so there are so many different outcomes and events. Generally, instead of trying to explain ahead the parameters of the world I'm writing in- "universe where all the Flanoir scenes happened" or "universe where Kratos didn't go to Derris-Kharlan," I've found that it's best to trust the reader in their ability to follow along without being spoon-fed all the details. You guys, the readers, are the real MVPs of this whole fanfiction business, and I'm thrilled to be a part of this. As with all my fanfiction, I don't own anything. I'm just a fan writing some fiction. I hope you enjoy!

(A note on the Dwarven vows: I've studied Scottish Gaelic informally for a while using various published resources, but I haven't taken any formal lessons and am not fluent in any sense of the word. If anyone is more knowledgeable and notices issues with my translations, please let me know. Taing mhòr!)

Dwarven Vow 12:
Abair ach beagan agus abair gu math e.
Say little and say it well.

1-

"Hello? You wanted to see me?"

Kratos tapped his boots against the floor, trying to shake the mud off of them as he closed the door behind him. Outside it was rainy and cold, but inside a fire burned warmly in the hearth, illuminating a cozy room full of books and astronomical instruments. The materials so crowded the room that their owner was practically hidden behind them, and so it took him a moment to welcome his guest. A figure stepped out of the corner, a candle illuminating his face from below as he spoke.

"You've kept me waiting, Kratos. I'm a patient man, but even patience has its limits when it comes to matters of such grave impor-"

"Can we not with the theatrics right now?" Kratos walked past Yuan and sat down by the fire, removing his gloves so that he could warm his hands. "There's already not enough time left for preparations. Myrddin's Comet might not be visible in the sky for another week, but the effects are already starting to take place in the equatorial regions. You can't expect me to come running so far north on such short notice- especially when you won't tell me what's going on. 'It's very important' is not enough to convince me."

Yuan pouted. "But it's really important this time, I swear!"

"That's what you said about the penguinists thirty years ago,"

"W-well-"

"and about the barley rice incident seventy-two years ago,"

"This isn't-"

"and the-"

"LISTEN TO ME!" Yuan interrupted, slamming the candlestick down on a table with a clatter. "I found them."

There was a brief silence, and Kratos' eyes shot open. His expression was one of genuine disbelief only for a moment before it furrowed into skepticism.

"All of them?"

"I believe so."

"How?"

"W-well, the method is too complicated to go over right now. What you need to know is that your hunch was right. It looks like they've been taken as far north as the roads go."

Yuan grabbed a piece of paper off one of the nearby tables and handed it to Kratos. It was a world map with several circles drawn on it. Kratos' eyes followed the circles until he reached the point where all three converged. "Flanoir," he spoke.

"Yes, just to the north of it. I thought that whoever is hiding them might have wanted to go somewhere uninhabited, but I did some research, and found out that the area is right in between several large ski resorts." Yuan was pacing back and forth as he spoke. "That area is home to some large warehouses from which they ship supplies for the individual hotels. Anyone with the means to rent a private space could have stashed anything they like there. It's the perfect place."

Kratos frowned and handed the paper back to Yuan. "Too good to be true, if you ask me, but I'll investigate. If this is the case, we're going to have a serious situation to deal with. We're not even sure of our enemy's intentions."

"Or if they're truly our enemy."

"You think someone who'd do this has the happiness and well-being of the world's people in mind?" Kratos grumbled to himself as he placed his gloves back on. "I'll go up to Flanoir and see what information I can come up with. I suppose you're staying here to refine your calculations?"

"Yes. But speaking of information- don't you think you should let some others know about this? Lloyd, at least. It wouldn't hurt to warn him to keep his exsphere on him at all times, no matter what-"

"I'm not worried about Lloyd." Kratos shook his head. "He knows the importance of Anna's sacrifice, and he doesn't take it lightly. It would take a great force to part him with his mother. Though…" His gaze darkened a little, in reserved melancholy. "I suppose I should go to Luin after a few days in Flanoir, just to let him know that I won't be able to spend the Myrddin Festival with him like I promised."

Yuan was silent for a moment.

"You should probably get going, then. It would be rude to stand him up."

"I'm sure he'll understand." Kratos stood up from his spot by the fireplace, his expression once more regaining its impassive state. "It's a periodic comet. There'll be another Myrddin festival soon enough."

"That's true… but will Lloyd still be here in eighty years when it comes around again?"

Yuan's words cut through the humid air like an arrow. Kratos turned around and started for the door.

"Lloyd is too stubborn not to live to be a hundred. We'll see the comet again together someday."

"LLOYD IRVING. BREAK ROOM. NOW."

A soft chuckle moved through the diners at the Lake Sinoa Cafe, where hearing Lloyd's name yelled by the owner was an almost daily occurrence, and was put up with by the patrons as part of the dining experience by that point. Lloyd smiled at his coworkers as they understandingly took his spot at the counter temporarily. "Looks like my lunch break's starting early, huh?"

"Be careful," one of the coworkers warned. "It's only ten minutes until your break, so Miss Lucia might make you go back to work ten minutes early."

"Or she'll lecture me until it's time for my lunch and then let me have the full hour."

"Keep dreaming, Lloyd."

The woman waiting for Lloyd in the back room of the cafe looked unimposing from a distance- short, with springy blonde hair and a petite frame- but all those who'd been in Luin for any stretch of time knew that Miss Lucia Orla was a goddess, and not the benevolent kind either.

"You wanted to see me, Miss Lu-"

"Lloyd Irving, you are an enigma."

She didn't even wait until he'd finished speaking to begin lecturing him. He hunched his shoulders, giving a sheepish smile.

"Is, uh, an enigma a good thing, or-?"

"The things you're good with, you excel at. However, for all your skills in many areas, some other areas are sorely lacking. Namely the ability to FOLLOW. THE CUSTOMERS'. DIRECTIONS."

"Is, uh, this about… the hot drink thing again…?" Lloyd felt an odd discomfort creeping up his spine, the way it did whenever he was being scolded. "I was sure that I followed the directions, and-"

"One more time. I told you. If it happened one more time, you'd be hearing from me, and it would not be good." Lucia crossed her arms and approached him, looking up at him with a scowl on her face. "I do not take lightly to mishaps in my restaurant. Chaos in a cafe is inevitable- it's what a cafe thrives on- but it must be organized chaos. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Miss Lucia." Lloyd looked down at his feet before taking a deep breath and raising his head again to look at her. "I'll do my best! I know I said that last time, but this time I mean it! No more assuming- I'll ask the customers specifically!"

"How can I be sure you'll do that when you say you will?"

"B-because… I swear it! On my honor as Lloyd Irving!"

Lucia considered his statement for a few moments and frowned. "Just because someone can talk big doesn't mean they're skilled at what they do. If you can't get the temperature of the customers' drinks correct, I'm going to have to ask you to step down from your current position. Do not make me ask that."

She walked out of the room, tapping him on the shoulder as she left. He watched her go out the door, glanced at the clock on the wall, and started for his belongings that were hanging in a bag on one of the racks-

"You have five minutes until your lunch break. Get back to work."

Lloyd hadn't realized that Miss Lucia was still watching. He stiffened and ran back toward the counter. "Y-yes ma'am!"

"And when you get back from break, I want you bussing tables. Miranda and Phil will handle the counter during the afternoon shift."

"Y-yes ma'am…" Lloyd's reply that time was much less enthusiastic. He stole a sidelong glance over at his pack. "Could I wear my exsphere for that? I can carry so many more plates with it-"

"You can also break so many more plates. After what happened the first time, I do not want you wearing that in the restaurant. Ever. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Miss Lucia…"

Lloyd trudged past her back out toward the counter. As he did so, she put a hand on his shoulder, holding him in place for a moment.

"I know it's important to you, and I promise I won't let any harm come to it. No one gets in or out of that break room without my permission. You can put it back on the second you walk out, understand?"

For once since the lecture had started, a small smile spread across his face. "Yes, Miss Lucia."

Working the counter for only five minutes felt pointless, but Lloyd wasn't going to argue. His coworkers were busy taking orders, and he thought he heard a familiar voice responding. By the time he looked up, the pair on the other side of the register had almost finished their order.

"-alright, two green tea lattes, hot or iced?"

"Have Lloyd surprise us."

Lloyd gasped as he caught sight of the two smiling faces.

"Colette? Sheena?"

"Oh man, I can't believe you guys came for lunch!" Lloyd was busy stuffing his face, but that wouldn't stop him from conversing with his friends. "How long has it been- a month? I've missed you guys coming around! You've been in Meltokio, right Sheena?"

"A bit, but I've been in Iselia for the past week. I'm delivering a report back to Meltokio, and Colette is coming with me to visit Seles, so we thought we'd stop by on the way." She responded with a nod. "By the way, your dad asked us to deliver this to you. Something about the Dwarven Vows-"

Lloyd snatched up the paper before Sheena could finish. "Oh, fantastic! Thanks so much! These are the next ten I need to learn by the time I visit home next month."

Colette finished a sip of her drink and placed it back on the table. "I thought you already knew all the Dwarven Vows."

"I do, but I'm learning them in the original Dwarven language now. See? Dwarven Vow number 52: Cha do dhùin doras nach do dh'fhosgail doras. When one door closes, another door opens. My, uh, pronunciation's probably a little off, but you get the idea."

"Oh wow!" Colette sat up a little straighter and clapped her hands. "That's amazing! I've heard that Dwarven is a difficult language to learn."

"The way Professor Sage talks about your grades in language arts, I'm surprised you'd pick up a second language."

"Sheena!"

"No, it's okay. She's right." Lloyd shook his head. "It is hard, but I feel like I'm getting the hang of it. Besides, Dad knows how to make it fun for me- he's even taught me some jokes! Wanna try? Knock knock!"

Sheena and Colette glanced at each other before Colette began and Sheena joined in slightly delayed. "Who's there?!" "…who's there?"

"Hammy!"

"Hammy who?"

Lloyd grinned the way he always did before delivering a punch line. "Tha mi a'fuireach!"

There was a pause.

"…ha mee… ufoor-" Colette tried to repeat the phrase as though she'd understand it better if she said it herself, but Lloyd cut her off.

"It means I'm waiting. As in- I'm waiting for you to open the door…? …get it? Because I'm knocking…?"

"Oh, I see." Colette responded with a smile, but not the laugh that Lloyd had been hoping for. Sheena chuckled, but it seemed she was laughing more at him than at his joke.

"It's probably funnier in Dwarven."

Lloyd blushed and looked down at the table. "It is."

Sheena cleared her throat and began again, tracing around the outside of her glass absentmindedly. "So what's Luin doing for the Myrddin festival? It's only a week away now, right?"

"That's right!" Mention of the upcoming festivities put a smile back on Lloyd's face. "There's going to be a huge festival setup- games, food stalls, the whole shebang! Luin has a lot of tourism nowadays, so they're trying to attract as many people as possible. I'm working part of the time, since the cafe will be going nonstop, but I have a couple of days off in the middle so that I can spend them with my dad- er, Kratos. He promised to come, since it's been a while since we've spent time together."

"I'm so happy for you. That sounds exciting!" There was a twinge of disappointment in Colette's voice as she answered. "I had been thinking about what to do for the festival myself, and I considered perhaps spending it with you here in Luin, but… I don't want to intrude on your father-son time."

Lloyd waved his hands dismissively. "Don't worry about that! The more the merrier. We'd be thrilled to have you, Colette. How could I be upset to be joined by my best friend?"

There was a pause, and he realized what he'd said, considering that Sheena was there too, and so he quickly amended the statement by speaking to her directly.

"That being said, uh… does my other best friend want to join us too?"

"Sorry, but I have plans in Mizuho." Sheena answered without looking up from her glass, so Lloyd couldn't quite see her face. "The coming of Myrddin's comet is a spiritual time for the people of Mizuho. Rather than throwing festivities, we use it to reflect on our lives and the influence of emotions on our decisions and ideals. The comet, in our culture, represents loyalty; the ability to commit to a cause and return to it even after a long time of separation. There is only one elder left in the village who was alive during the last pass of the comet, so she's the one who's going to lead the ceremonies."

"That sounds amazing." Lloyd smiled. "It seems like everyone's going to be happy during the festival. I just can't wait!"

"Be careful with that enthusiasm," Sheena looked up from her glass again, and this time she had a genuine smile, much to Lloyd's relief. "Kratos might not be able to keep up."

The group spent most of the rest of Lloyd's lunch break chatting about various things- how Colette and everyone were doing in Iselia, what preparations were being made for the festival in Meltokio, a joking bet to see how many coffee stirrers Lloyd could fit in one of the café's soup mugs (the answer was fifty-six, as they couldn't find any more), and eventually a fond but melancholy goodbye as the girls needed to continue on their journey and Lloyd's lunch break was almost up. He gave Colette a farewell hug and Sheena a firm handshake as they left, and then went back toward the break room. As he passed by the counter, a coworker mumbled something about his interactions with women that, had Lloyd heard, he wouldn't have dignified with a response. But Lloyd was totally in his own world, head spinning with excitement about spending time with the people he loved, enjoying the upcoming festival.

A few others were on lunch break as well, but none of them were in the break room when Lloyd entered. He'd removed his tie for lunch and was struggling to put it back on. Needing the help of a mirror, he moved toward the back where there was a small area with a mirror and sink enclosed by a curtain. However, as soon as his hand brushed against the fabric, he heard a small 'eep!' noise and a voice he didn't recognize.

"Is someone there?" the voice asked.

Lloyd stepped back in surprise. "I, uh, think that's my line," he responded. A moment passed, and a young woman peeked her head out from behind the curtain. She didn't look to be more than a few years older than Lloyd himself was, but her face- as best he could see behind unruly locks of long, brown hair- held a look of pure confusion. "I've never seen you around before. Are you new? Who are you?"

The woman didn't answer any of his questions. "Who are you?" she repeated.

"I asked you first."

"I asked you second."

Seeing that it would be difficult to argue further with the strange girl, Lloyd sighed and took a step back. "I work here. My name is Lloyd. You might've heard my name before- y'know, the Lloyd Irving who's always getting yelled at by Miss Lucia?"

"Can't say I have."

"You know- the Lloyd Irving who can't get the customers' drink orders right?"

The woman shook her head, hair falling further in her face as she did so. "I don't know what you're talking about."

It was an odd sensation that Lloyd couldn't describe, but he got the feeling that the conversation wasn't going anywhere. His attempts to make conversation had thus far been brushed aside, and he couldn't tell if the girl was joking or being serious.

"I'm guessing you're not from Luin, then? Or at least haven't been to the cafe much."

"Where's Luin?"

"It's where you are right now. On Lake Sinoa, in Sylvarant."

"I don't know where those are."

"I-is there anything you do know?" Lloyd was growing more and more frustrated. "Who are you, and where did you come from? How did you end up in here?"

The woman looked down at the floor for a moment as though she were examining the wood grain. "…I don't know the answer to any of those questions."

As she looked down, the curtain brushed past her side, and Lloyd realized for the first time that she didn't seem to be wearing anything at all. He jumped back in alarm, trying to look everywhere except at the girl. "Wh-wh-what happened to your clothes?!"

"My… clothes? I don't know."

He should've figured that would be the answer.

"Well, uh, I have a back-up uniform with me, if you'd like to borrow it. It'll be a little big on you, but it's better than nothing. If I spill something on mine before my afternoon shift is over, I'll just have to deal with it. Is that okay, uh…" He tried to recall her name for a brief second before realizing that even she didn't remember it. "…if you don't know your name, can I just call you Ida?"

"Ida?"

Lloyd spoke without looking at her, busy fishing through his bag for his spare uniform. He found the shirt, at least, and handed it over without averting his gaze. "Y'know- like, Ida Know? It sounds like 'I don't know?' It's the punch line of a knock-knock joke- Ida who? Ida Know, ask somebody else."

The girl laughed, which was oddly satisfying. It was certainly a better reaction than Lloyd had gotten to his Dwarven knock-knock joke earlier.

"That's funny! Ida. I like that name. And you're Lloyd?"

"Right." Lloyd cleared his throat, still unwilling to look at her but eager to know more about how a confused, amnesiac woman had ended up in the cafe's break room. "So, uh, what do you remember about yourself? Can you tell me that?"

Ida didn't answer right away. It took her some time, and when she finally did answer, her voice was quiet and unsure.

"A few minutes ago, I was just… here. I don't remember anything about why I was here or where I'd come from or anything that happened before then. I'm sorry, Lloyd."

"No, I'm the one who's sorry." Lloyd shook his head. "I'm the one demanding answers from you when you're obviously sick or under some kind of curse or something. What you need is help finding out who you are and where you're from."

"You'd do that for me?" Ida gasped.

"What kind of person would I be if I just left you here alone? Besides, I know what it's like, not knowing anything about your family or your past before a certain point. It's the least I could do to help reunite you with your family. That's important." He had fished the extra pair of pants out of his bag, and turned back around to Ida with as comforting a smile as he could muster. "Dwarven vow number twenty-three: 'S math an sgàthan sùil caraid- 'a friend's eye is a good mirror.' It means that sometimes you have to rely on other people to learn important things about yourself."

Ida had pushed the curtain aside, and now Lloyd could see her better- at least, what of her that wasn't obscured by her impossibly long hair. He momentarily regretted not calling her Rapunzel instead; it looked like her hair hadn't been trimmed in years, and was pooling on the floor around her feet.

"Um, Lloyd? I think I skipped a button somewhere. There's one more button, but no buttonhole for it… My fingers hurt, so this is kinda tricky."

"Yeah, I see it. Let me help." Lloyd took the button from her, noticing the way her fingernails were broken down to the quick. "I do that all the time- skip buttons, I mean. It's a pain, especially when I'm in a hurry and don't even realize it until I'm behind the counter-"

"LLOYD IRVING, YOUR LUNCH BREAK ENDED FIVE MINUTES AGO. WHERE ARE YOU-?"

The door to the break room swung open, and Miss Lucia was standing on the other side. Her originally stern expression faltered a moment as she took in the sight before her, and Lloyd panicked. He realized how this probably looked, and no matter how Miss Lucia might interpret this, it didn't look good.

"Lloyd." Lucia closed her eyes, practically breathing her question as she strained to hold back her anger. "Who. Is. This?"

"…" Lloyd froze where he was, not even bothering to take his hands off the shirt buttons. "…this is Ida."

"Ida who?"

"Um… Ida Know?"

That was the wrong answer.

((Updates will be weekly on Wednesdays. Thanks for reading!))