It has been awhile, but my next story for the Symphonia fandom is here. This is not the novelization of Tales of Symphonia I have been promising, but an in-between story. This story takes place a little before the end of Cruxis Chronicles from Dirk's point-of-view. Honestly, I do not think Dirk is given enough credit for taken care of Lloyd before the events of the game and is often overlook in favor of Kratos. I hoped to change that a little with this story.

Unlike my other entries, you don't have to read Kharlan or Cruxis Chronicles to follow this story. There will be certain theories and ideas, however, I will assume you will already know from my other stories, but not too much.

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia. This property belongs to Namco and Nintendo. I will only lay claim to any OC within the story.

Chapter 1: New Home

"But remember, this is your home. You're still my son, regardless of blood."

-Dirk, Tales of Symphonia

He was alone now. Mommy and daddy were no longer with him.

Lloyd sniffed pitifully as he leaned against Noishe. His tears had long since dried, he no longer had any to shred. But, the pain remained. He didn't want to look at the ugly pile of dirt that his mommy now lied in. It wasn't fair. Mommy shouldn't be in heaven. Mommy should be with him and daddy.

Daddy, where was he? Was daddy even still alive? No, daddy was the strongest man in the world, mommy said so herself. No one could beat him, not even the bad man. Daddy will beat the bad man and come find him. He still had daddy.

"Lad, you should go inside." Dirk said gently. "It gets cold out here at nights."

Lloyd shook his head, burying his head into Noishe's fur. "I want to wait for daddy."

Dirk sighed in frustration. The boy has only been awake for a few hours and wouldn't listen to a word he said. He understood that he was a perfect stranger to the boy, but he should obey his elders nonetheless.

"Lloyd, this isn't a request." Dirk stated more firmly. "Go inside before you make yourself sick."

Lloyd responded by hugging Noishe tighter. Noishe gave a soft whimper.

"Listen Lloyd, your mother gave me the task to watch you until your dad comes." Dirk said. "Until he comes for you, I'm your guardian now."

"Guardian?" Lloyd repeated.

"That means I am your caregiver." Dirk tried to simplify.

"My daddy will come soon." Lloyd insisted. "He won't lose to the bad man."

"The bad man?" Dirk slowly repeated. He didn't say 'bad men' like one would expect a child when referring to the Desians. He either made a grammar mistake, which would be expected by a child no more than three, or he was talking about one particular individual.

Lloyd nodded. "Mommy and daddy said bad people were chasing us and I had to be careful. The worst of them was the bad man with narrow eyes and a mean looking face."

That was not enough information to base anything on. Lloyd could honestly be referring to anyone and he didn't know enough about the leadership of the Desians to make an educated guess. The only person he knew with any real power within the Desians was Forcystus, ruler of the Ranch here. Although Forcystus was as dirty as any Desian, it didn't seem like his style to chase a young family across the land.

Then again, the Desians rarely chase down individuals unless they had something of great importance to them. He wondered if that strange exsphere that woman protected had something to do with it. Desians were protective of their exspheres, but not to this point. Then again, there was something unusual about that exsphere.

Although he hasn't had too much experience with them in recent years, he knew by sight this one was different. Exspheres usually glow red, not blue. The aura around it was also much stronger. It kind of remaindered him of the Cruxis Crystal that radiated from Martel Temple.

How he wished he had gotten the chance to study exspheres and Cruxis Crystals more. Even though Cruxis Crystals were originally Dwarven's technology, its creation and study has long been taboo. It was feared that the studies of those crystals would lead dwarves to defect to Cruxis. Ironically, he often learned the opposite to be true.

In any case, the only thing he really knew when dealing with exspheres were how to make key crests. It was required by all dwarves to learn how to make them, along with the extremely rare ruin crest. He supposed it was their way of rebelling against Cruxis.

"Do you know why the bad man was chasing you?" Dirk questioned, wanting to confirm his suspicions.

Lloyd paused in thought. "The bad man wanted mommy's crystal. Daddy said that the crystal was important to mommy and she would get sick if someone took it." He got a strange look on his face, like he was trying to forget something horrifying.

Something told Dirk that Lloyd saw first hand what happened when an exsphere was removed given his expression. To save the boy from further trauma his mind had most likely blocked the event from his memory. He had seen it too many times in adults who has survive Desian's encounters. It was most likely for the best. Some things were best left forgotten.

"Daddy fought against the bad man several times and won." Lloyd continued, once he regained his voice. "He won't lose now and he will come for me."

His father was either very brave or a fool, but the two tended to go hand and hand. Although, it looked like his luck had finally ran out. Dirk didn't want to tell Lloyd that there was a possibility that his daddy had joined Origin as well. How much pain could a mere boy take, especially in one day?

"Well, you're still with me until your dad comes to find yea." Dirk finally said. "So, please go into the cave. I'll fix you up a nice meal and get you cleaned up."

Lloyd stared at him and made no effect to move.

Noishe suddenly got up and began to walk towards the cave instead. Not wanting to be separate from his only friend, Lloyd followed without protest.

Dirk sighed as he rubbed his hand through his hair. It was a bad sign when a child would listen to their pet before him.

For the rest of the day, Dirk continued his work on the tombstone until it was close to sunset. His mind was not so much on his work, however. He would have to go to Iselia soon and get the boy some new clothes, blankets, a bedroll, and a lot of other things he couldn't name at the moment. He didn't know the first thing about raising a child, let alone a human child with trauma issues.

It might be wise to consider leaving Lloyd in Iselia and letting the town raise him if his father never returned. They could provide his needs and give him moral support that he lacked. He would also have other children his age to play with. Given time, he may learn to like his new life.

That idea, however, was at best a dream. Despite the village being an important landmark for the Church of Martel, the people were not as welcoming as one would expect. The villagers were very suspicious of any strangers and tended to give them the cold shoulder. It took the villagers the better part of five years to become somewhat friendly with him and he was lucky since his skills were what broke the ice. Given that it would only take the knife of one person to end the salvation of the world, he could understand why they would be on edge.

If he attempted to unload Lloyd at the village, the people would most likely have him sent to an orphanage somewhere in the city. Although the orphanages meant well, he wouldn't sent any child to live in one. The children were more like numbers than people and it was hard to become adoptive once one reached a certain age.

Given Lloyd's age, however, he shouldn't be in an orphanage too long. Maybe it was his own bias that was keeping him from sending Lloyd away. The Church of Martel ran all orphanages and all families were vetted to ensure that they were all devoted followers of the faith. Lloyd, like all the other children, would be raised to believe that Martel was the only road to salvation and to put all trust within the Chosen.

He didn't know what Lloyd's previous religion was, but he would cut his beard before he allowed Lloyd to follow in that hoax of a religion. It maybe narrowed minded, but he truly didn't care. He would never tell Lloyd the truth, but he wouldn't become one of Martel's sheep who waited for salvation on the blood of an innocent. Especially when it was all a lie.

That, of course, led back to his original problem. He wanted to honor the boy's mother wishes, but he didn't know if he could. Perhaps he could find some advice in the village tomorrow. The trip may also do Lloyd some good. Staying here by this mom's grave was not going to help his recovery.

Dirk decided it was best to end his work for the day. Normally, he worked well into the midnight hours, especially since he was behind on his other projects. But, he had another life to think of besides his own at the moment.

He walked steadily into his cave and turned up the lanterns so he could see better. The caverns were very roomy for someone his size. Where an average human would be cracking their skull on the ceiling and would start to feel cramp, there was still a nice amount of space for Dirk to move.

It was nothing special and it was pretty much a recreation of his original home. There was only one sleeping area and dining room attached to the kitchen. The biggest area in his home was his workshop, which took up nearly half the space in the cave. The ceiling was also higher and would allow a human to sit comfortably.

He found Lloyd huddled up in his bed with that pet of his taking up almost all the space in the living room. If they were all going to stay here, he would have to dig more living space. It would, however, be better to dig an entire new cave since Lloyd would eventually out grow his home if he stayed here. Maybe he should consider building a traditional human house instead.

Dirk then reached into his cooling box and pulled out leftovers from the previous day. He always made sure to stock up in case of a cave-in or a Desian's attack. It didn't take long to warm the food, which was a simple bowl of soup. He was not too sure if Lloyd was ready for more solid foods and didn't want to risk him regurgitating anything.

He walked slowly into his room, which brought Lloyd out of his thoughts.

"Here lad, thought you should eat something." Dirk said gently.

Lloyd shook his head. "Not hungry."

Dirk gave a short sighed. He had allowed the boy to skip lunch earlier, but he couldn't go the entire day without eating a thing. "Lloyd, you have to eat something. You must keep your strength up."

Lloyd looked like he was ready to protest again, when he caught Noishe's eyes. The Protozoan began to give short whines.

After a moment, Lloyd broke his stare with Noishe. "I'll eat a little."

Deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth, he handed Lloyd the bowl of soup. Lloyd carefully picked up the spoon and began to slowly sip the soup. He then suddenly recoiled and stuck his tongue out in disgust.

"Too hot, lad?" Dirk asked when he saw the violent response.

"It taste like metal." Lloyd said, his tongue still sticking out.

"Really?" Dirk questioned as he took Lloyd's spoon and sipped his own soup. He tasted nothing unusual. It was the way he always made it.

Then again, Dwarves liked more iron in their meals. He wasn't sure what human's taste was like, except humans tended to like sugar and salt.

"It taste fine, you're just not use to it." Dirk assured.

"But, soup isn't suppose to taste like metal." Lloyd defended.

"Well, what does soup usually taste like?" Dirk questioned.

"Like soup." Lloyd answered.

That's what he gets for asking a three years old. Looks like he had to get cooking tips from the villagers as well. He really got himself into some mess.

"Just bear with it for tonight." Dirk said. "I promise I'll cook you a better meal tomorrow."

Lloyd stared at the soup. "My daddy was a good cook, so was mommy. Mommy used to make the best beef stew."

Dirk stroked his beard in wonderment. He had forgotten that humans tended to eat animals. For dwarves, animal and monster's hides were exclusively used for craftwork. They lived on a diet of mineral they grind from rocks and plants they personally grew.

"I'll see what I can do." Dirk answered.

Lloyd slowly ate his soup until nothing was left. Despite the awkward taste, he was still very hungry. The soup did managed to somewhat fill him despite being so light.

"You should go to bed now." Dirk advised as he took the bowl. "We have a big day in the morning."

Lloyd gave him a curious look.

"We will be heading into the village tomorrow to pick up some supplies." Dirk answered the unspoken question.

Lloyd looked down at the empty bowl. "Do...do you think my daddy would be there?"

Dirk paused for a moment. "There's a chance." If he was still alive, that would be the likely place he would be.

Lloyd gave small smile, the first Dirk had seen from the boy. "Daddy is there. We'll find him tomorrow."

Dirk was not too sure what to say to that. He didn't want to get the boy's hopes up, but he didn't want to completely destroy it either. The lad was far too fragile at this moment to be told such a harsh truth.

"Lets us pray to Origin that is the case." Dirk chose to say. "Now, you must rest."

"Where are you going to sleep at?" Lloyd suddenly asked.

Good, question. Lloyd was currently in the only bed in the cave. He didn't think it was right to share a bed and he was not going to let Lloyd sleep on the floor.

"I will be in the dining room sleeping." Dirk said. "I will just be in the next room."

Lloyd nodded. "Okay." He then cuddled under the blankets.

Dirk got up and walked to get the spare blankets out of the closet. He actually didn't mind sleeping on the floor. The bed was something he had put in fairly recently in the event he got sick. He had been sleeping on rock and steel since he was born, so it was natural for him.

He got his place set up for the night and bunkered down for a night's rest. This was the earliest he has gone to bed in a long time, but he found himself asleep as soon as his head hit the ground.

He was sleeping pretty deeply when a scream woke him from his dream. He jumped out of his covers and looked around, his hand instinctually going for his hammer. He stopped short, however, when he saw Noishe attempted to console Lloyd, who was screaming bloody murder.

Lloyd was yelling and kicking furiously in the bed, wrapping himself in the covers. Dirk could see tears running down his eyes as he pleaded to the phantoms in his dream. "PLEASE LEAVE MOMMY ALONE! DON'T HURT MOMMY!"

Noishe began to whimper and cry himself, unable to snap Lloyd out of his night terror.

Dirk ran to Lloyd's side and took him into his strong embrace. "It's okay, lad. I'm here."

Lloyd was beyond his words as he continued to scream. "DON'T HURT MOMMY! PLEASE DON'T HURT MOMMY!"

Dirk could do nothing as he held Lloyd tighter. He had heard of this kind of night terrors. Those who lived through the worst of the Desians often suffered from it. He believed it was called Post Trauma Stress Disorder. It was a horrible mental disordered that had led many good men to their deaths by their own hand. The night terrors and the waking nightmares were the worst of them.

This lab was too young to go through this kind of thing. He was not supposed to experience such evils in this world at such a young age. Damn those Desians and the system that created them.

"MOMMY DON'T PLEASE!" Lloyd's pleads began to changed. "DON'T HURT DADDY ANYMORE. DON'T HURT DADDY!"

Dirk froze when he heard these pleads. His heart slowed in terror as the revelation of what happened to that woman came to him.

"TURN BACK MOMMY, TURN BACK!" Lloyd screamed. "DON'T BE A MONSTER ANYMORE. PLEASE STOP FIGHTING DADDY!"

` "Those ungodly bastards." Dirk muttered with dark anger. A part of what was tempted to march to that Ranch with his hammer and revisit the same terror on them that they had inflicted on this boy.

It explained why the blade that struck her down was not filled with malice or hatred. This boy's father was forced to strike down his own wife to protect his family. It was the worst fate that one could inflict on anyone. To murder a love one while the ones who caused the mess watched in satanic delight.

Noishe licked the boy's tears away as he began to calm down. It, however, had nothing to do with their effects. Instead, Lloyd's body was too exhausted to scream anymore and he was once again lured to the confines of deep sleep.

"Daddy, mommy comeback." Lloyd mourned. "I don't want to be alone. Please, come back." He finally faded into sleep and his body relaxed.

Dirk continued to hold Lloyd as Noishe sat his head on the bed. He wanted to avenge the boy. To take the lives of every single Desian that did this to him. But, he knew it was a foolish endeavor. He didn't know the specific Desians who caused this tragedy and he was not willing to take his rage on any Desian that happened to cross his path.

He also knew that any conflict with the Desians here would put Iselia in danger. Although they were under orders not to harm the Chosen, that wouldn't stop them from killing everyone in the village or taking them to the Ranch, which was a fate worst than death as far as Dirk was concern.

Even if he did manage to find and punished the ones responsible it wouldn't bring this boy's family back. It also would not erase the terror that was now apart of Lloyd until the day he dies. It would also not be justice since they were plenty more Desians who would do just the same to another person. The cycle of hatred would just continued without end.

Dirk gave short sigh as he gently place Lloyd back on the bed, mindful not to wake him. He was not sure what the future holds, but his boy was badly damaged and he was not sure if he was enough to fix him.

Noishe's whines caught Dirk's attention. It was strange, but it was like the creature was telling him that they would pull through this together.

It was silly, but he felt a comfort and hopeful for the first time that day. Maybe together they would be able to pull Lloyd through this.

Well, that was a hard first chapter. That was a lot of information, but I hope I did not lose anyone. I really wanted to show the culture different between human and dwarves since the dwarves has such little attention in my stories.

Until next time.