~Notes: Seeing as how Lloyd is the apparatus to which a lot of characters open up, I thought I'd do some LloydxCharacter fics. I was going to post them separately, but I don't want to spam this site. Instead, I will break them up and post 5 in here. Also they're in no particular order.

This particular fic takes place 4 years after the game, when Lloyd's 22. You may be asking: "Wait, since when does 17+4=22!? Oh yeah, it DOESN'T." Well, yeah, it doesn't. I'm assuming the Journey of Regeneration took a few months, making Lloyd at least 17 and a half, if not 18, when it ended. Of course, I'm also assuming that the ToS world uses our calendar as well.

*Oh yeah, I haven't played --and will never play-- ToS2, so there isn't anything relating to that game.

~Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia, nor the characters encased in this entire fic. Don't sue me.

~"Infractus"~

-Broken-

It had been a long journey for Lloyd and his fellow traveller, Noishe, --his literally life-long companion-- who stuck by his side. The pair were finally returning home from their Exsphere-hunting voyage, which was wholly successful. They surpassed many challenges together, overcoming anything pitched at them from irate citizens who refused to give up their Exspheres without compensation. Lloyd and Noishe couldn't be happier to have triumphed over the goal they set.

Now trudging up the homeward bound path in the heart of the Iselia Forest, the wind began to pick up. It played with Lloyd's long locks, almost tousling them out of his loosely pulled ponytail. He rolled his roan-red sleeves down to ward off the chill he was beginning to feel. He looked up ahead at the cozy hut that had been his home for many years, feeling a sensation of contentment. Using his angelic eyesight, he inspected the exterior of his home. It didn't look like anyone was there; the small building had no lights illuminating the few rooms it possessed. Though, something caught his eye. Moving closer, Lloyd saw an off-white piece of paper tacked to the door. In unrefined, obviously quickly written printing, it read:

Gon for bisness

be back in 8 days!

-Dirk Irving

10/9/3

Lloyd frowned slightly at the brief note. That was…six days ago, he mentally calculated, being unable to help but feel a little saddened that he was incapable of seeing his father for a few more days. Turning to Noishe, he murmured, "Oh, well. I guess we'll just have say 'Hi' to Mom instead." The protozoan tilted its head to the side, question floating in its eyes. Lloyd quickly figured out why. "Ah, I guess you can't read from here…o-o-or at all, I mean," he laughed nervously and continued, scratching the back of his head. "Dad put up a note saying he isn't here and won't be back for a while." Noishe yipped in response.

Resting his travel gear on the bench near the stream, he strolled to his mother's grave-site. His travelling partner followed close behind, tail wagging energetically as the grass crunched beneath its paws.

Kneeling in front of the site, Lloyd gazed down at the sword that lay shimmering in the fading sunlight: the Flamberge. A smile tugged at his lips as he marvelled at it. Despite being left to rest to deal with any harsh weather nature might have thrown at the weapon in his absence, it was in the same pristine condition as he left it. The grip was free of tears and gashes, the hilt as lustrous as always. Lloyd could feel the heat radiating from the wave-shaped blade like the embers of a freshly made campfire.

"Dad…"

Looking at the sword only made Lloyd's contentment morph into wistfulness. Shifting his gaze, he looked up at his mother's gravestone.

"Mom…"

Noishe whined from behind Lloyd as he slowly ran his hand along the headstone's rounded top, feeling the rough granite. Although the upright slab was fairly weathered, the few intricate designs on it were intact, as was his mother's name. Stretching out his pointer finger, he traced the fancily carved "ANNA" on it. The detail of the name, done by Dirk himself, was quite the contrast to the crude writing on the note on the door.

"Just one more to go…"

A spark of pain ran through his chest as tears of yearning threatened to fall from his eyes. Noishe only whined louder as Lloyd brought his Exsphere-bearing hand up to eye level. He inspected the cobalt-blue jewel set upon his key crest.

Twelve long years he had had his Exsphere.

Twelve years ago, he christened it his most valuable possession.

Twelve years ago, he was told to keep it from sight.

Twelve years ago, he began using the stone to train towards being the mighty warrior he had dreamed of becoming.

Four years ago, he found out its actual history.

Four years ago, he wished to throw it away, but thought against it.

Four years ago, he avenged his mother.

Four years ago, he became that "mighty warrior."

Sighing, Lloyd silently let his tears fall freely. His shoulders began to shake as he attempted to quell the sobs that advanced through his body. Even though he knew what he had to do, Lloyd couldn't bring himself to destroy what was once a part of his mother, as well as himself. He felt ill and more than a little crestfallen.

"They would be proud of you, you know."

Startled, Lloyd grabbed the Flamberge and jumped up, spinning to confront the owner of the voice. He came face-to-face to none other than Yuan, who had on an amused smirk.

"My, my, nice reflexes there. However, honing your angel senses need work. Noishe has been whining the entire time you were bawling, trying to get your attention for me."

Lloyd stepped back a bit. "I-I'm not 'bawling'!" Turning away, he rubbed his eyes briskly on his sleeve before pivoting back. "See? I'm fine."

Yuan scoffed. "Riiight." He folded his arms in front of chest, his right over his left. "As I was saying, Kratos and Anna would be proud. You have done good, Lloyd."

His mocking tone switching to a soft, light one surprised Lloyd, who replied, "…You think so?"

The older man nodded. "Of course. You set goals for yourself and completed them, making the world a better place...twice." He paused, then whispered, "Your mother would definitely be the happiest of them both."

Lloyd looked away. "You act as if you knew her…"

"I did." Lloyd looked back at the Seraph promptly. "…I met her briefly, anyway. She was nice, but she had quite a temper. You are actually a lot like her, you know."

"Yeah…Kra…Dad told me that a few times."

"Hmm," Yuan hummed. His eyes scanned the younger man's face for a moment before he pointed to Lloyd's left hand. "You were looking at your Exsphere a while ago. Are you not going to destroy that one, too?"

"Yes," Lloyd answered robotically. The word lingered in the air for a short moment. "I want to set Mom free, but…it's hard, y'know?"

"Do you need…help? We could do it together…"

Lloyd's features returned to a surprised look. "Y-you'd do that? For me?"

Yuan nodded. "I believe that this is not something that you should do on your own."

Lloyd gripped the Flamberge tightly as he contemplated. On the one hand, there was the possibility that Lloyd wouldn't have the willpower to fulfill his last duty. On the other, though it may have sounded selfish, it would feel right if it was he alone to destroy his Exsphere; he wanted to be the one who gave liberty to his mother. Finally making up his mind, he shook his head. "Actually, it's fine," he said with surprising strength. He was happy his voice didn't portray how weak he truly felt. "I think I can do this on my own."

"If that is what you choose, I will not stand in your way." Following his words, Yuan backed up to allow the dual-swordsman room.

The roan red-clad man smiled weakly. He took a deep breath and unequipped his Exsphere from his key crest, resting it at the foot of his mother's headstone. A wave of what felt like energy being drained from his core coursed through Lloyd's body. He ignored it, however; it was now or never. Raising the sword of fire above his head, Lloyd hesitated, for there was one more thing yet to do. He mouthed words of thanks to Anna for protecting him, even in her absence.

With that, he was ready. Lloyd brought the blade down edge-first with a powerful vertical swing, slicing through the air before impacting the Exsphere. The stone shattered into several shards of varying lengths, each one reflecting the dying rays of the sinking sun.

And Lloyd's heart shattered along with it.

It would have been a beautiful sight, the sparkling pieces, had they not held such a negative connotation. Lloyd's knees trembled feebly, and his legs gave way. The brunet fell hard on his knee caps, but no pain passed through his body. He felt numb, --tremendously numb-- as if he were swimming in the frozen waters of Flanoir. He didn't even notice the steady stream of salty tears that began to flow down his cheeks. Noishe, alternatively, did notice his tears and came closer to nuzzle Lloyd's cheek, wetting its muzzle with the saline liquid.

Yuan, who was a spectator to the short-lived ordeal, wavered before weaving around the protozoan to get to Lloyd. He kneeled to put his arm around the young man as he wept. Though Yuan wasn't the one person Lloyd might have wanted beside him, nor was he there to replace that someone, he still offered whatever solace a stone Seraph such as he could give.

"It's alright," he whispered soothingly, holding the brunet tightly. "They would be proud, Lloyd...they would be proud."

~End Notes: Actually, this one's more about Lloyd than any one of these fics *shrug*. I don't know much about Yuan, and therefore froze when he showed up in the fic. He's just kinda there here, no?

Eh…this one was hard to complete, but it's done. Hopefully, you enjoyed it! Please review!