I don't own Tales of Symphonia

Kratos braced himself and meet his son's eyes. They were full of burning rage and hatred. He didn't look away. Four thousand years of experience helped him keep his face blank and one would think he'd grown used to feeling pain by now. And he thought he had…Yet, when he gazed upon the features of his seventeen years old son, the son he'd abandoned, the son he'd deceived and betrayed, the son who was now being held at the point of his own sword, he wanted to scream at the irony of it all. Why did it come to this? Why couldn't he just kneel down and pull Lloyd into a hug then tell him he was his father? When did everything become this complicated? Kratos knew, though, that he'd lost his right as a father since the moment he gave up on finding Lloyd all those years ago. Even so, he couldn't stop himself from despairing over the situation which he'd been expecting from the very beginning of this journey.

His hands were shaking uncontrollably. What could he possibly do now? Kill his son? His numbing brain refused to process those words, yet no other solutions turned up in his mind. He was frozen in place in what seemed to him like forever. In reality though, it were barely more than a few seconds until Yggdrasill's voice jolted him back to his sense:

"As I suspected, I guess not even you could bring yourself to fight again such an opponent"

Kratos turned to the owner of the voice and bowed deeply, feeling a chill running down his spine that made him shiver. Things had just taken a turn for the worst. What was about to happen was totally out of his control. Yggdrasill came in person. That didn't bode well. It never did. Beads of sweat started to slide down along the side of his face. He lifted his head and tried to decipher the expression of his lord, but all he could see was the madness that seemed to have been permanently etched onto Yggdrasill's face.

The leader of Cruxis raised his hand. With a crash, Lloyd was slammed into the pillar behind him with such a force that the stone cracked and fragments went flying. Kratos whirled around as his son fell down on his knees and dropped onto the ground, unconscious. His heart sank.

"Kratos," Yggdrasill addressed him with a hint of amusement in his voice "Do you have any objections?"

Kratos bit his lip. What kind of objections could he voice out now? Yggdrasill wasn't asking for his opinion, he was taunting him, waiting for the reaction that'd come from the father whose child he was going to kill. What could he do in his current position? He looked at the lifeless form on the floor that was his son.

Yggrasill was preparing for the finishing blow

His son…

A bright light was forming in the blond angel's hand.

Lloyd…

Kratos finally snapped. To hell with everything. He wouldn't watch his son die. Not like this. Not after all these years. He wouldn't let him go this time.

And he jumped forward, right in front of Yggdrasill, steeling himself for the oncoming spell. It hit him squarely on the chest, thus blasting him off his feet. Excruciating pain spread down his body, leaving him gasping for air. His eyes watered, his vision blurred.

But from what little he could see, a light was still hovering above him.

Another spell. Still aiming straight for Lloyd.

He quickly rolled over to his son, trying to ignore the pain that flared up as he did so, even though it was nearly blinding him. Pulling Lloyd closer to him, he shielded the boy with his own body. Two more spells hit him, on the back this time. His lungs felt like they were on fire. He couldn't hear what Yggdrasill was shouting, though it was something that sounded like "betray" and "pay for it". He didn't particularly care anyway. However, if thing kept going like this, he would end up dead soon, for it seemed that in his outrage, Yggdrasill had forgotten that Origin's seal was based on his life and decided to kill him as well. That didn't trouble him either; he'd stopped fearing death long ago. But Lloyd…

The spells kept on coming one after another.

Kratos eyed the teenager he was holding with regret. He wished they could have reunited under a different circumstance, suffering excluded. Were their fates to die here together? He hadn't never been there for his son, and now he was about to meet his end with him. If only…

A bright flash behind him plunged Kratos into the darkness completely.

This story may or may not be updated, depending on the responses I get (as well as my exam schedule). English isn't my native language, so please excuse any grammar or setting error. I wish I had an editor for this kind of stuff.

This is based on the manga. The idea's probably overused, but I can't have enough of it.