A/N: Yay chapter one! Tales of Symphonia is Namco's, of course. This isn't finished, but reviews are still very much appreciated. Enjoy!

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Kratos Aurion stood before his window, arms crossed across his chest, gazing at the inky blackness of the sky, pierced by thousands of pinpricks of silver light. Even here, thousands of feet above the ground, the sky calmed him, helped organize his thoughts. Only a few more preparations, and then everything would be ready. He would have the Ring of Pact forged and descend to the surface…for the last time. Just a little longer, Lloyd, he thought grimly. Once you make the pact with Origin, not even Mithos will have the power to stand against you. He idly wished he could be there to see his former pupil overthrown at last, but it was pointless to think he would survive the release of Origin's seal.

He sighed, absentmindedly reaching for his most treasured possession – the pendant – before remembering he'd left it for his son in Flanoir. "Don't die, Lloyd," he said to himself. "Don't you dare–"

"Pre-occupied enough not to hear me coming and talking to yourself?" A too-familiar voice chuckled. "Your senses must be failing you in your old age."

In one fluid movement, almost too rapid to follow, the auburn Seraph spun around, Flamberge drawn and pointed instinctively at the throat of…Yuan?

"You! …Give me one good reason why I shouldn't end this right now." It was taking every ounce of self-control the Seraph possessed – and after four thousand years, after enduring so much, self-control was something he had in abundance – to keep his voice steady and the fiery blade from plunging into the unprotected flesh of his former friend.

"One reason?" The half-elf laughed, albeit a bit nervously. He hadn't scene Kratos this worked up since… "I could give you a dozen, but I don't have the time. My presence here will be detected soon enough. Mithos might not kill me, but–"

"But I will, if you don't start talking." The muscles in the swordsman's arm were tensed. The blade didn't even quiver.

The blue-haired Seraph sighed. "Put it away, Kratos. I've come to warn you about your son."

Kratos' eyes hardened. "If anything happened–"

"Relax, old friend, he's fine, if somewhat imbecilic..." Yuan swallowed sharply as the blade inched closer, and hurried on. "I just thought you'd like to know that he and his companions arrived at the Tower of Salvation a short while ago."

"What?" The auburn angel stared incredulously.

Yuan glanced emphatically at the Flamberge, and was silent until Kratos lowered the blade but did not sheathe it. "That's right, Kratos. He got it into his thick head that he could launch an attack on Cruxis," he responded, with a casual toss of his indigo hair. He glanced around the small room his friend had taken up residence in since his return to Welgaia fourteen years ago, which was empty but for a simple chair and paper-and-book-strewn desk. "You never did bother to redecorate…"

"I told him to be patient," Kratos murmured, pacing. "He can't possibly hope – not without the Eternal…" A thought occurred to him. "How did they get in? Yggrdasill's tripled the guards. They couldn't have…"

"Ah," Yuan adjusted his cape carefully. "I, ah, led them to the secret passageway. They should be well on their way to the Hall–"

The half-elf gasped and choked as he suddenly found himself being crushed against the wall, Kratos' sword pressed tightly to his neck. The heat of the thing made him flinch as much as the sting of flesh being torn, if not so much as the fury pouring from the auburn's eyes. Damn, that man was fast…

"Why?" the Seraph growled. "Does he not have to be alive in order for you to blackmail me?"

Not to be defeated so easily, Yuan quickly formed a dense sphere of electricity in his palm and thrust it at the raging swordsman. He dodged the attack, but lost his grip on the half-elf, who slumped against the wall, taking quick, shallow breaths and cupping his throat protectively.

"You…are a fool," he said hoarsely. "The boy… is stubborn… to a fault." He coughed painfully. "And at least several… of his companions are… resourceful. It was… inevitable."

Kratos' angry expression faded, to be replaced with one of devastation. Lloyd… "I…can't…lose–"

"You don't have to," Yuan interrupted, and began coughing again. "The traps… the mazes… there's still… time."

The auburn nodded, devastation erased by steely determination. Sheathing the Flamberge, he buckled on his shield and turned to leave. As the automatic door slid open with a faint click and smooth hiss, he glanced briefly at his former companion. "… Thank you," he muttered, before heading to the teleporter. Lloyd, I won't fail you again.

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A/N: End of chapter one. This won't be too long - three or four chapters max, I think, but we'll see. I'll try to get the second one up either tomorrow or the day after - but no promises. I hope you liked it.