A/N: Heyaz! I know that I'm FAR from finishing Zelos OneHalf, but the holiday season's coming up, and I just can't pass up this opportunity! My sister helped me out on this, so some of the credit goes to her, even though we kept disagreeing over who would be who. But it's settled now and that's all that matters!
Summary: While playing Scrooge in 'A Christmas Carol', Kratos gets a second chance at life with his wife and son, as well as everyone in the game getting their own Christmas miracles…
And now…the disclaimer! Starring Noishe!
Noishe/whine/
Diana: Uh…sorry, what was that?
Noishe/whine/
Diana: I should have picked a different disclaimer…- -;
Noishe/whine/
Diana: Okay, I'll do it. I, Diana Artemis Irving, do not own Charles Dickenson's play A Christmas Carol, OR Namco's Tales of Symphonia. But that doesn't mean I can't ask for its ownership for Christmas!
Noishe/whine/whine/whine/
Diana: Hey Noishe, why are you acting so scared?
Noishe/whine/runs away/
Diana: HEY! COME BACK HERE! …was it something I said…?
Kratos walked along the streets of Flanoir, watching as people put up Christmas decorations, went about their Christmas shopping, song carols, but also; he saw the impoverished.
There were many who held out cans, asking for money, and he even saw one lady have to sadly pull away her child from a store display, telling her not to get her hopes up this year.
Most people who see this would feel saddened, sympathetic, or at the very least humbled; but Kratos was the exception. He walked by indifferently, a letter held in his hand. It was from the terror that had her heart set on owning Tales of Symphonia, Diana. It was an invitation, actually more like a threat, to come to the Flanoir Cathedral.
"Everyone will be there, so it's not like you're the only one in trouble..."
By everyone, he assumed she meant Lloyd and the rest of his friends who reunited the two worlds. He hadn't seen them for awhile, so he supposed that was what really convinced him to come here.
As the cathedral came into view, Kratos stopped and looked at the balcony where he had talked to his son about his past. Now that he thought about it, it seemed both as if it wee yesterday, and at the same time as though it were years ago. He might have stood there for awhile longer, but reminiscing was not something he would allow himself be caught doing.
Besides, the noise coming from the cathedral was nearly impossible to ignore, What the hell are they doing in there!
So he then opened the door, and almost wished he hadn't.
The altar at the front was gone and replaced by a stage, where various people were trying to hang the curtains. Various other people were scattered throughout, painting sceneries, building props and sets, and sewing costumes. And yet more others were sitting or standing in the pews, practicing from packets Kratos could only assume were scripts.
"Oh hell no..."
"Oh hell yes!"
Diana walked towards him with a rather smug look on her face, followed by her sister Ana (NOT to be confused with Anna!)
Before she could say anything to him, Kratos shook his head, "There's no way I'd help you with your play."
This only caused her to beam, "You're a poet and you didn't know it!" She then scribbled something onto a pad of paper, "You've got way too much talent for me to waste you as a mere stagehand..." She then ripped off the top page and handed it to him, "Here's your number; you're auditioning."
Kratos gave her an indignant look, "This is the most harebrained scheme you've pulled yet!"
"Nah, it's not harebrained; Zelos is." She pointed over her shoulder at Zelos, who was doing an impersonation of a rabbit, "Seriously though, this part is well suited to you. I think you might learn a few things from it..."
Ana then handed him a copy of the script and the two walked off to start the auditions. Kratos sighed, knowing there was no way out of this if he wanted to keep his ears looking even slightly human. But just as he thought things couldn't get any worse...
"Kratos-chan!"
He only dodged in time as a hyperactive Yuan came hurtling out of nowhere, "Kratos! Kratos! Kratos! Kratos! Kratos-!"
"Enough, Yuan! What are you doing here?"
Yuan tried to keep from grinning as he attempted a serious face, "I can ask you the same thing!"
Kratos sighed; obviously, somebody had been feeding his friend a bit too much cheese...
"Hello there, Kratos! I never thought you'd show up, of all people."
He turned to find Mithos standing there with a script in hand, "So who are you trying out for?"
Kratos glared, "I am not trying out for anything! And I thought you were dead!"
Mithos shrugged, "Diana was short on people for a production of A Christmas Carol, so she asked the actual goddess for permission to temporarily resurrect a few people; me being among them."
Kratos narrowed his eyes suspiciously; some people killed in their quest had been better off dead, "Like whom?"
"Oh let's see...the Five Grand Cardinals...Pronyma...that angel Remiel...the Renegade dude Botta...oh yeah, and some girl named Anna-"
"Anna! She's here!"
Mithos suddenly realized what he said, "Uh...there's some other guy too! And there's-"
"Where is Anna!" Kratos grabbed Mithos's shoulders and began to shake him violently. Mithos, shocked as he was, could do nothing but point weakly in the direction of the stage, "She's trying out..."
Without another word, Kratos dropped Mithos there and ran to where he had pointed, causing a few people to stare. Yuan, who had just come out of his hyperactive reverie, stared soberly after Kratos, "Poor guy...and you said this was temporary, right Mithos?"
Mithos got off the ground and dusted himself off, "Yeah, we're not supposed to be alive; this is just a special favor since Diana really needs a lot more people in her cast."
Meanwhile, Diana was reading off the names of people, who had made it and their parts,
"Alrighty then! Lloyd Irving gets two parts: Scrooge's Nephew and Young Scrooge!"
Lloyd grinned not-so-modestly as people applauded and Collette beamed proudly at him, "Yay Lloyd! I knew you could do it!"
"Speaking of which, Collette Brunel won the part of Scrooge's Nephew's Wife!"
Collette blushed a huge shade of red, which she hoped no one noticed. Lloyd returned the favor to her however, by giving her a quick hug, "Alright! I knew you could do it Collette!"
"And Genis Sage wins the ever-so-famous part of Tiny Tim!"
Cries of 'Go Genis!' and 'Congratulations, man!' were heard as Genis grinned, "Aw, it was nothing!"
"Yeah, it was nothing! Sorry kid, but I'm going to steal the show!" Zelos, like Lloyd, faked no modesty.
"Oh yeah! You don't even have a part yet! Fireball!"
And that is why Zelos could be found later pouring a bucket of water over his slightly-charred behind.
"And his older sister Raine Sage gets to play the part of The Ghost of Christmas Past!"
"Yay Professor! You got an awesomely cool part!"
"Why thank you Lloyd, but that's not going to get you an A on your failed Mathematics test..."
"Damn it..."
"And Sheena Fujibayashi is Martha Cratchit!"
"Yeah! That's my favorite hunny!"
"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME ZELOS!"
Zelos, luckily for him, was able to survive her wrath since his name was called next:
"Zelos Wilder shall play the Ghost of Christmas Present!"
"Oh yeah! Beat that, you little brat! I got an important part!"
Further argument was prevented as Ana drew her ultra-long staff, "...quiet..."
The rest sat down quietly and obediently.
"Uh...thank you Ana..." Diana shifted uncomfortably since the really-dangerous-staff was still out, "Um...Presea Combatir wins the part of Fan!"
"Yeah Presea! Congratulations!"
Presea smiled slightly, "Th...Thank you Genis..."
"Hey Genis...why are you blushing?"
"I'm...I'm not! Shut up Lloyd!"
"That aside, Regal Bryant shall play Marley!"
He nodded politely as his fellow cast members applauded, "Thank you."
"Come on there, Regal, my man! Ya got a big part, you know, being a character and a narrator and all!"
Sheena narrowed her eyes at Zelos, "You're just trying to suck up to him again, aren't you?"
"Mithos will play Peter Cratchit!"
"YAH! GO MITHOS-CHAN!"
Yuan suddenly stopped cheering when he noticed people staring at him oddly, "...was it something I said...?"
"And Yggdrasil will play Old Joe!"
The other cast members exchanged looks, "Huh? Aren't Mithos and Yggdrasil the same person?"
Diana shrugged, "Sorry, they're under different names! Now, Cacao will be playing Mrs. Cratchit."
"Yay mom!"
Lloyd turned and saw to his dismay that Cacao and Chocolat were in the pews with the other cast members. When he heard that some dead people they had met would be resurrected, he hoped one of them would be Marble; but as far as he knew, she was still dead.
"And Chocolat will play Belinda Cratchit!"
She looked happy to hear that she had won a part, and Lloyd quickly turned away from the scene. He hoped desperately that they wouldn't be on stage together; even after the worlds were reunited, they still couldn't get along. Nothing could change what he had been forced to do.
"Pietro will be playing Dick!"
There was polite applause as Pietro nodded, acknowledging them. Lloyd remembered how he had been one of the few to escape the Desians' human ranches and had been rather helpful to them later on.
"Forcystus, Magnius, Rhodyle, Kvar, Pronyma, Remiel, Frank and Phaidra Brunel, as well as various other Flanoir citizens will be playing assorted parts. And now...the moment you all have been waiting for...Scrooge will be played by none other than...Kratos Aurion!"
Kratos's eyes widened as people applauded, "Wait, I did not try out for that part, let alone any other!"
Diana smiled secretly, "But you got it anyways, didn't you? Which reminds me; we still have one more part to announce!" She waited until everyone had settled down and read off the paper, "And Scrooge's Lost Love will be played by Anna Aurion!"
There was applause again, and as she stood up, Kratos felt his heart stop. After all those years...he could finally see her again. She looked the same, her smile at least was still the same; and her unique ability to melt his ice-cold exterior apparently had not diminished either.
"Well that's it! Come back here tomorrow for the first rehearsal, and have a safe trip home!"
As the other cast members got up from the pews to leave, Kratos pushed his way through the crowd to find Anna, "Anna! Anna!"
She turned to see him, and for the two, it was as if the rest of the world had melted away. The emotions held in their eyes were innumerable; happiness, sorrow, betrayal, passion, but also a strange sort of joy.
"Kratos...?"
Before she could stop herself, she collapsed on the floor in tears, "Kratos!"
Oblivious to the now-gathering crowd around them, Kratos ran forward and gathered her up in his arms, "There, there Anna...I'm right here..."
"Dad? Mom?"
They both turned and saw that among the crowd, Lloyd was there. Collette was with him, but slowly backed away; shooing others as well, knowing it was a moment meant only for the estranged family of three to share.
I'm so happy for them! They're finally together! They can be a family again, and just in time for Christmas!
Collette, being her usual optimistic self, was in high spirits as she helped Diana and Ana prepare the cathedral for the next day's rehearsal, It'll be great; they won't have to be sad when they think of each other anymore! This will be the best play and the best Christmas ever!
A/N: Hmm...is Collette right? Or is she way off the mark? Find out next time in TOS Presents: A Christmas Carol! ((...now I feel like the weird DBZ announcer Ana thinks is hilarious...- -;;)) By the way, I personally don't think this chapter was that great; but this is the beginning! You all know how this will turn out with the TOS characters performing…