Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia so please don't sue.

NOTE: As of 2/26/11, this story has been edited slightly.

An Impossible Choice

What to do? Mused Zelos as the group split up in Flanoir.

After Mithos had revealed himself at Altessa's house and injured the dwarf, the group left to find someone more able to heal him. They had found a very good doctor and four people had elected to accompany him to Altessa's house leaving the other four to spend the night in Flanoir.

Upon arrival in the city, Zelos was contacted by Cruxis. He easily slipped away from the rest of the group and pulled out the transmitter.

It was Kratos. "Chosen One, there's something I need you to do for me. Not as a member of Cruxis but as Lloyd's father."

"And what would that be Kratos?"

"There is a special ore known as Aionis. Without it, Lloyd will fail, for it is needed to craft the Ring of the Pact and without that, he cannot wield the Eternal Sword. I need you to obtain it for me." And with that, the transmitter shut off.

"Aionis, I've heard that name before." Zelos murmured, "Aionis is that weird rock they had me ingest. Use that to make the ring of the pact…hmm. Can I…really do this?"

Suddenly, Lloyd's voice rang out. "Zelos! There you are! Why are you mumbling to yourself?"

Hiding his shock, Zelos quickly changed the subject. "What? Lloyd, you're late. The hospital's right here. Come on, hurry up."

It took some work, but the doctor was finally convinced to take a look at the old dwarf. The group split with Lloyd, Colette, Zelos, and Regal staying in Flanoir while Raine, Genis, Presea, and Sheena accompanied the doctor to Altessa's. Colette went to speak with Lloyd, while Regal decided to stay in the room. This left Zelos with plenty of time to think.

What should I do? If I choose Cruxis, then I will finally be free from the wretched curse of being the Chosen. Seles will finally be able to leave the Abby and actually live. But if I do, then all that's been done will have been for nothing. Rescuing Colette, stopping the Mana Cannon, everything. Do I have the strength to do this? And, do they even have a chance? A chance of changing this system which has been in effect for over 4,000 years? At first, I thought they were crazy. I thought that they were bound to fail. But now, I think they might actually be able to do it. Lloyd's got a lot of fighting spirit and wants to find a way for both worlds to live peacefully. He's got the determination to see this through. It's strange, but he's one of the only people I can trust. I've never been able to be myself around others, but Lloyd, there's something different about him. I wonder though, does he trust me?

The next day, Raine and the others returned. Altessa would live.

Lloyd was relieved. "Good. I need to speak with everyone. The world is never gonna change if we just wait for Cruxis to make the next move, right? So this time, we're going to strike them first."

"Well, so you're finally ready to do it!" Zelos looked at the red-clad swordsman expectantly. "We're gonna raid Cruxis!"

He nodded. "Yeah. I have two objectives: Prevent the establishment of Mithos' new Age…and release Origin."

"But if you release Origin, what about Kratos?" Genis asked hesitantly.

"…I don't really know yet." Lloyd admitted. "We don't know for certain that he'll actually die. We also don't know if he'll side with us or not. We don't have the time to worry about things we're not sure of."

Then Raine spoke up, "What do you intend to do about the Eternal Sword? Even if you break Origin's seal, you can't wield it, remember? And I doubt either Genis or I would be able to handle a sword…"

"Don't worry about that." Zelos interjected, "I've got it covered."

"What are you talking about?" asked Lloyd, clearly puzzled.

"Why do you think I can use magic swords? I received magic injections with the latest in Tethe'alla technology." There was pause as the meaning of Zelos' statement set in. "In other words, I'm a human with elven blood in me. That should work, shouldn't it?"

Raine nodded. "Then I guess this will be the final battle."

"Understood." Presea said. "Let us end this."

Regal face shone with determination. "…For the sake of uniting the worlds."

Genis looked towards Lloyd, "…Yeah."

"I'll do my best, too!" Colette chirped.

"All right," Zelos shouted, pumping his fist in the air. "let's go kick some Cruxis butt, Lloyd!"

As they left Meltokio, Lloyd quietly stated, "…Zelos, I trust you."

"Wh…What are you talking about?" Zelos asked. "Well, of course, I can understand that you're counting on me. Just place your faith in me!"

"Faith, huh." Lloyd murmured, almost to himself, "I hope so."

"Yeah, yeah," Zelos said, "Come on, let's go!"

A few miles out of city, the group stopped to check in on Altessa.

"Everyone" the old dwarf croaked, "…thank you. I owe you my life. I still can't believe that Mithos is Yggdrasill…"

"Altessa" Lloyd's voice was strong. "…We'll settle things with Mithos."

"I see… You're going to Derris-Kharlan."

The swordsman nodded. "Yeah."

The dwarf was silent, before saying, "…Lloyd. There is a way for you to wield the Eternal Sword."

Lloyd was astonished. "…What?"

"Despite being a human, Lord Kratos is able to wield a magic sword because of Aionis, which can only be mined in Derris-Kharlan."

Raine looked fascinated. "Aionis has that kind of power?"

Quietly, Zelos left the room and made his way out of the house.

He waved to the ninja. "Hey, I'll take care of things out here. Why don't you head inside?"

"Of course, Chosen One."

As soon as the man was gone, a hologram of Kratos appeared, looking expectantly at Zelos.

"I guess you want an answer to your question in Flanoir." Zelos stated. "...Okay...I'll do it."

A/N: And we all know how it goes from there. This is my first story so please don't flame me. However, constructive criticism is welcome.