Disclaimer: I do not claim to own anything that is from the Tales of Symphonia franchise, and only claim ownership of my OC(s) and the plot, where ever it goes. All rights to the game belong to Namco and the writers of the Tales series.

~Prologue~

She knew that this goodbye wasn't going to be like the others, and her little brother seemed to have understood that as he clutched her waist, refusing to let go. That young boy had some how gotten it into his head that his big sister's newest adventure would take her away from him forever. The lady knew that such was a possibility in her quest for answers to questions that her brother may never understand. She needed to discover if her father was still among the living first, and if leaving the only family she could remember was the first step, then so be it. Getting started on said new "adventure", however, was proving to be a bit problematic.

Heaving a sigh, the young woman began gently detaching her brother from her person, but like a leech, he did not want to let her go.

"No!" Lloyd exclaimed, clutching onto the fabric of the woman's clothes tighter. "You can't go without me! You promised!"

"I can't take you on this one Lloyd, it's not safe for you." She tried still prying her brother off. "When I come back, you can tag-along on the next one."

"No!"

Finally succeeding in getting her little brother off, she knelt on the ground in front of him, a hand on either of his shoulders. "When you are a bit bigger then you can come, but while I'm away, can you take care of Noishe for me? He'd be all alone if we both go on this adventure." Lloyd refused to meet her eyes but nodded firmly. "Alright, now be good for Dirk while I'm gone, okay Lloyd?"

The woman stood and faced the gruff dwarf with saddened auburn eyes. "Look after him for me? You know the mischief that he can get into."

"I will lass. Be safe on your travels, you hear?"

"Of course." The woman shouldered her pack and adjusted the worn sword at her hip.

"And remember Skylar, that you have a home here with people waiting for you." The young woman hugged the dwarf firmly as he said this, knowing it would be some time before she would see him again.

"I will come back Dirk. Come hell or high water, I will make sure to return." She stepped back from the dwarf and ruffled the dark brown locks on her brother's head. "I'd best be going. Stay safe without me, Lloyd, and don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

With one last smile at the two she was leaving behind, she committed their faces to memory to hold onto during the long nights ahead before setting off. Now was the time for the adventure to begin!

A/N: Alright, so after so many years of leaving this story of where it was, I have decided to revisit it and see if I cannot salvage and improve upon what is here. Past readers are going to probably notice a DRAMATIC change in content, while new readers - Welcome to the show!

If you spot any issues in verbiage, spelling, or grammar, feel free to let me know and I will do my best to fix any issues found. I am currently rewriting without a beta so it's as good as it's going to get at this point in time.

Thank you for reading everyone and if you like please leave a review!

Rewrite posted: 12-8-15