Author's Note: This story was inspired by a bonus chapter in the Tales of Symphonia manga. And it does contain SPOILERS. All future readers are forewarned. The story takes place before the group heads to the Tower of Salvation for the final time. (After the battle with Origin and the kidnapping).

Summary: Before the group heads for the Tower, intent on rescuing their friend, Mithos foils their plans by returning an Innocence long forgotten.

Disclaimers I do not own own Tales of Symphonia. It belongs to its respective owner, the lucky one...

Prologue

He fell to the ground hard. Pain shot up his leg as he sat up, searching around him. He spotted a large figure in front of him, contorting in agony. What remained of its clothes were torn over its body, its green and yellow skin visible. It raised its large, clawed hand and brought it down inches from him. He stared at the monster, his heart pounding heavily in his chest. Even if he wanted to yell out, his voice failed him. Even if he wanted to move, it seemed as if he was rooted to the ground, unable to do anything. He felt tears fill his eyes and quickly overflow onto his cheeks. The monster lashed out at him once again and the tip of its claw made contact with his small body, sending him sprawling onto the ground several feet away.

He sat back up with much difficulty, turning his head slowly towards the monster. His tears clouded part of his vision as he stared in horror at it. Suddenly, the pounding of footsteps echoed around him and men in armor burst through the tree line, swords drawn and ready to use against the monster. He watched as they were thrown aside as flies by the monster, blood dripping from its long claws and splattering around the clearing. However, some of the men were able to injure it before it took them out with another swipe. Once all the men were dead, strewed across the field, the monster headed once again towards him. He cried out in surprise and tried to back away. However, pain shot back up his leg reminding him of his injury. His leg throbbed and, after a moment, not being able to take it any longer, he collapsed on the ground, his tears unable stop. Mom…

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Lloyd Irving sat up in his bed, clinging tightly to his sheets. His breathing came in short, quick gasps as he tried to calm down. Cold sweat drenched his back as he closed his eyes, remembering all too clearly his nightmare. It was when his mother was turned into a monster and was killed. He stared at his hands, then at the exsphere attached to the top of the left hand. Mom…he thought, closing his eyes tightly. A lump was stuck in his throat, a remainder of his nightmare. His heart was still beating heavily against his chest as he counted in his head.

After a moment, he slowly opened his eyes and looked around the room. His companions had not noticed his waking and were still peacefully sleeping soundly, all except Genis. His childhood friend had been kidnapped by Mithos several days ago when the fallen angel's Cruxis Crytstal attached itself to the younger boy. The half-elf had disappeared, surely to Derris Karlan, the enemy's base.

Lloyd shook his head, trying to clear it. They were headed there and would reach the tower of Salvation, the entrance to the planet, the next day. However, that night, they had decided to spend it at Altessa's, several minutes from the tower. Knowing he would be unable to fall back to sleep any time soon, Lloyd got out of bed as quietly as possible and put his red jacket on, leaving it unbuttoned. He pulled on his red boots and grabbed his gloves and swords.

He tiptoed out of the room and crossed the main area towards the door. He looked back a moment, wondering if anyone heard him and decided to follow. No one did. He took a deep breath and opened the door and left quickly, not wanting the cold night air to enter the house. However, once he was outside, he buttoned his jacket in haste, the frosty wind biting into his exposed skin. Once he had pulled on his gloves and buckled his belts where dangled his swords, he started to walk away, wanting to clear his head.

His feet brought him further into the forest near the house as his mind wandered to the upcoming battle he and his friends would have to face – the one against Mithos. Even if wanted to change the world to one without discrimination, he went at it the wrong way, thought Lloyd as the light from the moon disappeared as he went deeper into the forest. We're pretty much the same until there, until that decision, deciding what to do to achieve our wish.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a faint rustling in the bushed nearby. His hand reached automatically for his sword as he stood perfectly still, waiting. His eyes darted around the area, wondering where the noise had come from exactly. After a moment, the rustling started again and a shadow moved across the bushes on Lloyd's right side. Unsheathing his swords without a sound, he faced the sound, ready to attack at any moment.

The shadow moved closer, tripping over the roots of the bushes. Once it reached a thin ray of moonlight, Lloyd gasped in surprise. He recognized his best friend's long silver hair and his grip on his swords loosened, letting them fall onto the ground.

"Genis!" breathed Lloyd, relieved, moving towards his friend.

"Lloyd," replied the half-elf softly.

However, before he reached Genis, several hands grabbed Lloyd violently making him fall backwards. He was pinned to the ground, two pairs of hands holding his arms and another imprisoning his legs. He tried to break free but he found that he could not. They dragged him further away from Genis and slammed him into a tree trunk, knocking the breath out of his lungs. He groaned as he looked up, wondering what was taking his friend so long to help him. However, once the half-elf approached, crossing another thin ray of light, Lloyd spotted an evil smirk on his face.

"No…," he whispered, realization hitting him.

"Yes, actually Lloyd," laughed Genis, his voice different from what it had been. "It has been a while, hasn't it?"

Lloyd tried to glare at Mithos but, by doing so, he was automatically glaring at his friend and he could not find the strength to do so. He may have been angry at some points with the younger boy but never to the point of staring at him with such hate and repulsion. He could not bring himself to do so, not after everything Genis had lived through.

"And I do know about your little plan on infiltrating Derris Karlan and fighting me, this is why I have decided to stop you. Oh, but I won't kill you," laughed Mithos, leaning close to Lloyd, "then your friends would come storming up the Tower. No, I plan on doing something more… fun."

The smile on his face sent chills down Lloyd's spine, too many thoughts passing through his mind at that moment to what Mithos would do. However, Genis reached into his pocket and pulled out a small vial of potion. The smile did not leave his lips as he opened it and brought it close to Lloyd's mouth.

The swordsman refused to open his mouth, making Mithos smile even more. He kicked him hard in the stomach, making Lloyd gasp in pain. Seizing the opportunity, the enemy emptied the content of the vial into the boy's mouth. Before Lloyd could just spit it out, Mithos forced his mouth closed and lifted his head, obligating him to swallow. After a moment, he could no longer breathe and gulped down the liquid.

The first sensation that passed through Lloyd's body was a sudden chill which was quickly replaced by a burst of heat. He felt his energy sap and the hands holding him down were released. He slumped further down the trunk of the tree, his vision clouding over.

"Have fun for the next few days Lloyd," laughed Mithos, turning around and walking away.

Before Lloyd could even think about going after his friend, an intense pain shot through his chest. He took a quick intake of breath, his vision darkening completely. A second later, another pain shot through, more powerful than the previous one. He yelled out in pain, his cry echoing throughout the forest, disturbing every living creature in it.

He lost consciousness before he even hit the cold ground.

Author's Note: Oh! What will happen? Dum dum dum... Next chapter soon. Reviews are welcome and those who do will get a Lloyd plushie. Thank you!