A/N: here goes another attempt at a Tales of Symphonia fan fiction…

A fierce breeze rustled the dark trees of the Gaoracchia Forest as a swordsman, clothed in red walked through one of the many paths. It was about midnight, not that you could tell the difference between night and day in the Gaoracchia Forest. Lloyd Irving drew one of his swords as he took another step towards the forked clearing up ahead.

Lloyd stepped into the clearing and stopped in his tracks as another figure appeared from a different path, the path coming from the hidden village of Mizuho. He brushed a long strand of red hair behind his ears and smiled at Lloyd.

"Hey, Lloyd!" he said, beaming crazily. "Long time no see!" He took a step closer, as if to embrace his former companion, but stopped moving when he noticed Lloyd's fire sword pointed at his face. "Whoaaaaaa there, Lloyd," Zelos said, taking a few cautious steps backwards. "All I was gonna do was hug you!"

"Don't take another step." Lloyd hissed, his tone dark and his facial expression deadly serious.

"So, uh Lloyd, why'd you make me come here?" Zelos asked, remaining where he was standing.

"I know what you've been up to, Zelos." Lloyd said. "Don't try to hide it anymore."

"What the hell are you talking about, Lloyd?" Zelos said, crossing his arms. "For the last six months since the Journey of Regeneration I've gone on a few pricey dates with Sheena and worked with the king! That's all!"
"Don't mess with me, Zelos. I've come to end this, and I was going to make it end quickly. But if you wanna mess with me, I can make your death nice and easy." Zelos gulped.

"Ok, so maybe I was up to a little something…" Zelos said, taking a step backwards as Lloyd crept closer.

"You moved!" Lloyd yelled, and he jumped off the ground. He raised the orange sword over his head and swung downwards as he landed right in front of Zelos. Blood sprayed from the wound as Lloyd jumped backwards and Zelos drew his sword.

"So you wanna fight, huh?" he said, going into his battle position by raising his shield over his newly bleeding chest.

I can't believe I'm actually doing this, Lloyd though. He drove those thoughts out of his head. This was for the sake of the regenerated world, for the sake of the Great Tree.

Lloyd ran closer to Zelos and swung the sword once again, trying to cut Zelos in the same spot on the chest. Zelos reacted to the attack quickly, moving his left arm over to the spot where he had been cut before and blocked the attack. As Lloyd's blade collided with his shield, Zelos took the opportunity to slash at Lloyd's arm. The blade entered the skin, but Lloyd took no notice. He quickly drew his other sword and swung at Zelos' shield, slicing it into two pieces.

Zelos let them fall to the ground and cowered in fear as he awaited his fate.

"This is the end, Zelos." Lloyd said, putting his other sword away. "This is your end. The end of the great, perverted ex-Chosen Zelos Wilder. Also consider this payback for making Sheena think I was a peeping tom." Zelos smiled at the memory but his smile disappeared quickly as Lloyd took his blade and pushed Zelos backwards.

"You have the wrong man, Lloyd!" Zelos pleaded. "Trust me! We're friends, right?"

"There was a time when we were friends," Lloyd said. "But then you betrayed us."

"Yeah, but then I helped you again!"

"But you still betrayed us in the first place," Lloyd said. "No matter what you do, you can't change the past." Lloyd gripped the hilt of the sword harder. This was it. There was no turning back from this point on. "This is my final goodbye, Zelos Wilder." Lloyd repositioned the sword in his hands and thrust it downwards into Zelos' chest.

Lloyd quickly pulled the newly bloodstained blade out of Zelos' chest, sending another wave of pain through his body. He fell to the ground, his chest wound bleeding crazily. He barely managed to turn his head towards Lloyd as he coughed up blood.

"Lloyd…" he said, his voice was weak and his breathing ragged. "Tell Sheena that…I love her." With those final words, the ex-chosen Zelos Wilder closed his eyes and drifted off into the afterlife.

Lloyd dropped down onto his knees, his bloodstained sword still clutched between his gloved hand. He raised his other hand to his face and a single tear drop fell to the ground. Lloyd's one tear was followed by another, and soon Lloyd was crying softly.

"How could I do this?" he said to the open air. "How could I kill him? He was my friend…DAMN IT!" he screamed the last words, making a few birds fly away. Lloyd picked himself up off the ground and dried his teary eyes. "It was for the world," he said finally. "I have no regrets." Lloyd quickly busied himself preparing a grave for his friend. He had killed him, so he should at least bury him properly.

About an hour and a half later, Lloyd stuck the blade of Zelos' sword downwards into the new mound of dirt. Lloyd smiled at his work. It was a pretty good grave for the materials he had on hand.

Lloyd brushed the dirt off his hands and stepped out of the dark forest. It was about 1 AM now, and a full moon lit the sky. Lloyd pressed a button on his shoulder and a silver Rheiard appeared at his side. Lloyd mounted the Rheiard and took off into the night sky, heading back to Altamira, where the group had been brought back together ever since the business with Zelos had begun.

As he flew over the ocean, Lloyd brought his Rheiard down close to the water, and pulled his bloody sword out. He dipped the blade in the water as he continued to fly, cleaning off the blood.

It was then that he arrived at Altamira. Lloyd dismounted his Rheiards outside the gate and stepped inside the night life of Altamira. But something felt different this time. There was no Zelos with a girl wrapped around each arm, pockets bulging with gald won at the casino. Lloyd no longer felt the sense of excitement he had felt on previous visits to the wonderful seaside resort.

"It's for the sake of the world," he reminded himself. Even if it was for the sake of the world, something still didn't feel right about Zelos' murder. Lloyd stepped inside the large resort and nodded to the girl at the reception desk. The elevator door opened automatically as Lloyd neared it, and he stepped inside. He pressed the button for the fifth floor and rode the elevator in silence. Lying to the rest of the group would be difficult, especially at this stage of the plan. But he would have to go along with it as best as he could.

Lloyd stepped out of the elevator and into the room, where Sheena, Raine, Colette, Genis, Presea, and Regal were gathered around a table playing some sort of game.

"Any luck?" Sheena said, rushing over to Lloyd. Lloyd sadly shook his head. He hated lying to everybody. They believed that Zelos had disappeared mysteriously, and Lloyd had received a note to come and visit him tonight at midnight. Of course, everything was set up by Lloyd. Zelos didn't even know what was truly going on. He had accepted the vacation to the newly rebuilt Ozette happily, saying there were many pretty girls there.

"Did he even show up?" Sheena asked next. Lloyd shook his head again. "That damn Chosen!" Sheena yelled. "As soon as we find him, I'm gonna beat the living crap outta him!" Lloyd didn't laugh with the others. He just shuffled around the room and finally went to bed. He wanted to forget the events of tonight, but knew that he would be clouded by nightmares of the murder until he told the truth…or died.

A/N: Mysterious! Why did Lloyd kill Zelos? I dunno yet either. I got this idea from a picture on photo bucket, so I dunno if people will like it or what. Umm review and I'll probably update…unless I get flames, which I probably will. Ummm Seeya next time! (if there is a next time)