Reflections of an Assassin
A Tales of Symphonia fanfic
by: Shinigami Miroku
Heh... how did I allow myself to get mixed up with the Chosen and her group? I'm supposed to kill her, so I can save my world... so how...? Well, I needed their help to get into the Asgard Human Ranch, so that I could save Pietro and the townsfolk of Luin... perhaps it was a mistake? No, it wasn't... I wasn't going to be able to defeat Kvar alone, so I had no choice... so why am I still tagging along? It can't be just for the healing arts that could save Pietro, can it...?
Sheena, for her part, could not figure out how she got roped into taking the entrance exam to the Palmacosta Academy, but apparently Lloyd wanted to support Genis so no one had much choice in the matter. She could see Genis and the kid who had challenged him in the front row, scribbling on their paper so quickly she was sure they would catch fire. She couldn't see what Colette was writing, but she suspected it was a picture of a dog. Kratos and Raine, of course, were calm and collected as they filled out their own tests. Glancing over at Lloyd, she was barely able to keep herself from laughing at his horrified expression at the thick stack of papers. To be honest, she was looking at everyone else because she didn't want to even attempt the test.
After the time passed and the papers were collected and scored, the headmaster looked up and said, "I will announce the results. First, last place is..." He looked down at the score sheet and said, "Lloyd Irving, with 25."
"Whoa! 25!" Lloyd replied excitedly.
Colette smiled and said, "Wow, that's your best score yet, Lloyd! Congratulations!"
Sheena watched Genis' hand twitch as he avoided planting his face in the palm of his hand, which she realized meant that the test's maximum score was higher than 100.
"The rest follow in order. Sheena Fujibayashi: 190. Colette Brunel: 210."
Lloyd's grin immediately faded. "Huh? It's not out of 100?"
Genis could not keep exasperation out of his voice as he replied, "It's out of 400."
Lloyd's only reaction was to let his head collapse onto the desk, which Sheena silently snickered at.
"Kratos Aurion: 380."
Wow, he's a lot smarter than I thought, Sheena thought.
"Raine Sage: 400."
"Not like we expected anything but perfection from the Professor," Lloyd commented, to which Colette and Genis nodded in agreement.
"Now, I will announce the scores of Genis and Mighty," the dean said, ignoring all the comments. "Mighty Washington: 398. Genis Sage, 400."
"I did it!" Genis exclaimed, as if surprised that he managed to get perfect marks.
Mighty was as shocked. "That's not possible..." he muttered.
"Take that!" Lloyd exclaimed smugly. "Genis is amazing!"
"I lost..." Mighty turned to Genis, who was seated to his right, and said apologetically, "I'm sorry I made fun of you."
Genis chuckled and replied, "I can handle anything."
Genis... we don't talk much, but I can easily tell how knowledgeable you are. You know a lot of things even that idiot Chosen from my side doesn't know. It's too bad, though; despite being an elf, you might make it far at the Imperial Research Academy, though you already have a scholarship for that Palmacosta Academy place... which, despite being in the declining world, seems to be on par with the Imperial Research Academy. The same could be said about your sister...
Raine... we don't get along very well, but your intellect is being wasted here, too. With a little more training you could become one of the greatest scholars in all of Tethe'alla, and certainly one of the best professors at the Imperial Research Academy. Of course, I can't say I'm surprised since that idiot Chosen exists in Tethe'alla. You do seem to have an unhealthy obsession with ruins, though... I wonder if you're searching for something in particular...
Sheena watched from the thick of the trees along the Ossa Trail as she bandaged her wounds from the fight she'd picked with the Chosen's group. She could hear the teenagers talk from here, and as long as she didn't leak any killer intent the purple-clad mercenary would not detect her.
"Who was that girl from earlier?" the boy in red, she later found out was named Lloyd, wondered aloud as they traversed the few remaining feet of the Ossa Trail.
"I hope we get to see her again," the Chosen, whose name she would eventually learn to be Colette, commented, smiling happily as she seemed to do normally.
Lloyd looked at her incredulously and asked, "What are you talking about? She tried to kill you!"
"Yeah, once we become friends I'll have to ask her why she was doing that," Colette replied thoughtfully.
Lloyd's eyes got even wider due to shock. "Huh?! Are you kidding me? How do you plan on becoming friends with her?!"
Colette paused to think for a moment. "Hmm... what would you suggest?" she asked. Sheena, for her part, could barely restrain her mouth from curving upward in amusement at the exchange.
"Me?" Lloyd asked back. "How am I supposed to know?"
"Try to come up with a plan before we see her again," Colette replied, smiling knowingly.
I guess she's smarter than she sounds, Sheena thought.
"Wait, I have to come up with the plan?" Lloyd commented before sighing and dropping the subject.
Sheena heard footsteps behind her as she waited by the entrance to the village of Hima. Considering how many there were, she tensed up and turned around, fully expecting a Desian hunting party, only to see Lloyd and the Chosen's group. "You again!" she shouted.
Lloyd, for his part, seemed surprised as well. "That's our line!"
For the first time since falling into the cave Sheena blushed in embarrassment and fingered her weapons as she said, "... Sh... shut up! This place shall be your grave!"
Lloyd and the others, however, did not move as a civilian walked up to Sheena from the village. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Sheena!" she said. "It seems Boltzman's Technique is indeed in the Tower of Mana..." She then looked over at the group and, not recognizing them, asked, "Are these friends of yours, Sheena?"
"N... no," Sheena replied, ignoring the stab at her lonely heart at the admission.
"Yes," Colette, at the same time, replied cheerfully.
"Hey!" Sheena exclaimed, shocked that the Chosen would even say something like that.
Ignoring the two teens, Raine spoke up and asked, "What about Master Boltzman's healing technique?"
Lloyd looked on with a confused expression as he asked, "What's this Master thing?"
"You know Raine's healing arts, right?" Genis asked back. When Lloyd nodded, he continued, saying, "He's the person that discovered them."
"He's the originator of healing arts," Colette added.
"It's none of your business..." Sheena grumbled.
Sophie, the woman who had come out to greet her, looked at her and said, "But, Sheena, even if we find Boltzman's healing technique, if there's no one who can use it..." She then motioned to Raine and asked, "She's a healing arts user, right?"
"... Then you should ask these guys," Sheena replied with no small amount of bitterness. "I'll do it by myself. I just need to bring you Boltzman's healing technique, right?" With that, she began to walk off.
With his usual expression, Lloyd asked, "... What happened?"
Sophie gave the group a look of suspicion and asked, "Are you really Sheena's friends?"
Reflexively, Lloyd replied, "Yes, we are."
Unknowingly to the group, Sheena had hung back long enough to hear Lloyd's reply and felt confusion as she ran off, not wanting to deal with her emotions, which were begging her to reconsider her decisions.
Sheena was bleeding from several wounds on her arms, legs, and torso. While the cuts themselves were not fatal, she knew that unless a miracle happened, she would soon be dead herself. She tried to stand but the pain was too much and she collapsed onto the crumbling side of the fountain wall, which was spilling water from several deep cracks. I'll see you soon, Grandpa... she thought to herself before she heard more footsteps. Looking up, she saw the shocked expressions of the Chosen and her group.
"You! Now you're even here," the small elf named Genis said in an accusatory tone.
Lloyd, however, was more concerned about her as he asked, "What happened? You're badly wounded."
Smiling at the irony, she looked up and muttered, "... Oh, it's you guys. If you want to finish me off, now's your chance. I don't have any strength left to fight."
Colette, Sheena was surprised to see, was near tears as she said, "You're badly hurt." Turning to the older of the Sage siblings, Raine, she asked, "Professor, please... heal her!
Raine frowned as she gripped her staff. "... I will," she replied, "but first I want you to tell me what's going on here." At the questioning expressions on Lloyd's and Colette's faces, she added, "She seems to have companions, and this may just be a trap to catch us off guard."
"Professor!" Colette exclaimed, clearly distressed by Raine's attitude.
Sheena snorted bitterly and replied, "You're as devious as you look."
"Call me what you like," Raine replied, clearly unperturbed.
Sheena motioned to the village, and it was easy to figure out what had happened. "Take a look at the city," Sheena said through the pain. "Everything's in ruin. The Desians... invaded."
"What!?" Lloyd exclaimed.
"Do you know about the human ranch northeast of here? The people of this city had been hiding some folks who had escaped from the ranch," Sheena explained. "The Desians found out about it, and not only was the entire population forced to go to the ranch, but the city was destroyed."
"So, how were you injured?" Colette asked.
Sheena's face flushed with embarrassment. "It's nothing. I was just a little clumsy." This met with dubious expressions from the rest of the group, as it was obvious Sheena had tried to fight the Desians but had been overwhelmed.
Their conversation was cut off as someone screamed from behind them. A man appeared from the other side of the town, being chased by a Mantis. "Help me, please!" he shouted as he tried to stay far enough ahead of the monster to avoid its scythe-like arms.
Sheena jumped up, ignoring the sharp pain coursing through her body, and moved between the man and the Mantis. "... Dammit," she muttered in pain, before drawing her weapons and shouting at the Mantis, "Get back, you monster!" However, this proved to be incredibly stupid as the monster turned its scythe-like arms toward her and struck at her, knocking her back despite her hastily-formed defense. "Ugh...!"
Lloyd launched a Demon Fang, and the shockwave knocked the monster off enough to chase it away. They then ran up to Sheena, who could barely kneel there as blood continued to pool underneath her. "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.
Kratos looked at the pools of blood, and then at Sheena's pale complexion, and commented, "She's lost a lot of blood."
"You're right," Lloyd agreed as he turned to Raine. Professor, please heal her."
"Professor, please!" Colette insisted.
Raine sighed in resignation. "... Fine. But I swear," she said as she began to cast her healing arts on Sheena, "you're all way too softhearted for your own good."
Sheena could feel strength return to her as her wounds closed and the pain began to dissipate. "... Why... why did you save me?" she asked, unable to understand why her enemy had taken pity on her.
"Probably for the same reason you saved that man," Lloyd knowingly replied.
"... Thanks," Sheena replied. I hope I don't regret this... "I know it's a selfish, unreasonable thing to say at this point, but um... I have a favor to ask," she said as she struggled to her feet; even though she was no longer in pain the post-battle soreness remained.
This surprised Lloyd. "A favor?" he asked.
"I owe these people for food and lodging," Sheena explained, her expression a pleading one, with a vocal tone to match. "Please. Help me save these people. If you do, I'll declare a truce with you and help in any way I can."
Lloyd smiled as he replied, "Alright."
Raine's eyes widened in alarm. "Lloyd, are you serious?" she asked, clearly distressed about having an assassin who had been targeting Colette join them.
Colette smiled happily as she said, "I agree with Lloyd."
"Colette, not you too," Raine exclaimed.
Lloyd looked over at the otherwise silent mercenary and asked, "What about you?"
Kratos, as unreadable as ever, merely replied, "I see no problem with it." Raine sighed, knowing that she had just lost the one person she thought would be able to see her perspective on the situation.
Genis, for his part, looked understandably nervous between Raine and Lloyd, before finally saying, "Ah... um... I'm sorry, Raine!"
"Fine!" she said, finally giving in. "Do as you wish. I suppose if you look at it another way, it means we can keep an eye on her."
Sheena smirked at the elf and playfully replied, "You better watch out so you don't lose your head while you sleep.
Magnius, the Grand Cardinal of the Palmacosta Human Ranch, stood atop a gallows where a woman awaited execution for refusing to 'offer supplies' to the Desians (who had wanted the supplies for free). He was just about to signal for her execution when a rock flew from the crowd and hit him in the cheek. His eyes blazing in rage, he hopped down and stomped toward the child that had thrown the rock. "You... disgusting little vermin!" he exclaimed before a shockwave knocked him off-balance. "Ugh!"
"Stop! Let him go!" Lloyd shouted as he sent the Demon Fang technique toward the Grand Cardinal.
"Lloyd, stop," Rained warned him. "Do you want to turn this city into the next Iselia?"
"It's not the same," Lloyd insisted. "This city doesn't have a non-aggression treaty with the Desians. How can we go on a quest to save the world if we can't even save the people right in front of us?"
Colette gripped her chakrams and stepped forward. "Lloyd's right! I can't just stand here and let this happen!" she shouted.
When the Desians realized that they were the criminals wanted for the 'assault on the Iselia Human Ranch' and their attack was blocked by Genis, who used his mana to project a forcefield as Kratos had earlier, Magnius shouted, "Dammit! You worthless idiots! Enough of this!" as he turned back to the gallows and made the signal to drop the platform. "I'll take care of this woman first!"
Colette, however, would have none of it as she threw her chakram at the gallows, slicing the rope that the woman was hanging from and allowing her to drop to the ground, otherwise unharmed though clearly gasping for air and lucky to have not had her neck snapped.
Chosen... Colette... how can someone as pure as you be dragged into this whole thing? You should not have to go through the pain of the world regeneration ritual, though you pray for it more than anyone I know of. Part of me is glad about that, since it makes it difficult for me to kill you. The other part of me wishes for the continued prosperity of my people, so it is irritated by the fact that you're so pure. I wonder, are you in love with Lloyd? You certainly seem attached to him, and considering your nature it wouldn't be surprising. But, why do I get the feeling he thinks of you as just a best friend...?
A red-headed half-elf shouted orders to his men, but before anyone could react Kratos was in front of him, knocking away the weapons of the Desians to either side while making a cut in the half-elf's stomach, all in one swipe of his sword. He then stood at full height as the man kneeled in pain. "Let us respect the wishes of the Chosen," he coldly ordered.
Magnius, the Grand Cardinal of the Palmacosta Human Ranch, clutched his stomach in pain as blood continued to seep from the heavy wound Lloyd had left him. "Ugh... How!? How could a superior half-elf like me...?"
"It's because you are a fool, Magnius," Kratos calmly replied. "Cruxis has accepted Colette as the Chosen."
"... What?" Magnius gaped, the full weight of that statement dragging his down to his knees.
"That's right! Colette is going to regenerate the world!" Lloyd added. "We won't lose to someone like you!"
"So... you're... Then... I was... deceived..." Magnius mumbled to himself as he fell to the ground, losing consciousness.
The group had managed to sneak into the Asgard Human Ranch. On a screen on the wall to one side, crates could be seen being loaded with Exspheres. "It looks like this is an Exsphere manufacturing plant."
"So it would seem..." Kratos agreed, though his voice seemed to have an edge to it, as if being in the place had, unlike every other location they had been to thus far, unnerved him.
"These are all Exspheres?" Lloyd asked. "Incredible." It was indeed, as they could see dozens of crates moving along a conveyor belt.
Suddenly Colette spoke up. "Shh... I hear voices in the next room."
"I don't hear anything..." Genis commented.
Lloyd, however, was instantly on alert. "Be careful anyway," he said. The door they had been walking toward suddenly opened up and three people ran in. Two looked like the same Desians that had been working at the ranch, but Lloyd and the others recognized the leader. "Uh-oh, these are the Desians we ran into in the Triet Desert!"
One of the grunts chuckled. "They still think we're Desians..." he commented.
The other said, "Sir, this is the perfect chance!"
Kratos's hand tightened on the handle of his sword. "... Are you looking for a fight?" he smoothly asked.
The leader held up a hand and replied, "Wait. Kratos is with them. We'll retreat for now."
All eyes turned toward Kratos. "... You know each other?" Lloyd asked.
Without missing a beat, Kratos replied, "I suppose, if you mean the fact that we ran into them at Iselia and Triet."
The leader realized what was going on and said, "I think it would be in both our best interests for us not to fight here."
This, coupled by the fact that he had not drawn his weapon, made Kratos relax. "Do as you wish," he replied as he and the others stood to the side, allowing the leader and his two grunts to escape. Just after they ran by, though, another door opened, this time behind Colette and Kratos, and the three Desians standing there quickly cast Fire Ball at the group. Without so much as a pause, Kratos brought up his blade and focused his mana, creating a shield that the fire dissipated against. This, of course, allowed the three to escape scot-free.
"Colette! Kratos!" Lloyd exclaimed as he ran toward them.
"I'm okay," Colette replied, despite the corners of her outfit letting off bits of smoke from having been touched by the fire.
"No time for that! Look behind you!" Kratos shouted as the door next to the viewing screen opened up.
A blond half-elf, hair slicked back, looked at the group and frowned. "Well, this is a surprised," he sneered. "When I heard we had some rats, I assumed it was the Renegade, Botta, but instead I find the wanted inferior beings... But I must say that I'm quite impressed you're still alive after that attack."
"Who are you!?" Lloyd blurted out.
"You barge into my ranch and then demand my name?" the blue-suited man retorted.
Genis had a deadpan expression on his face. "Wow, Lloyd," he commented, "isn't this usually the other way around?"
"Genis! This is not the time!" Lloyd warned him, any humor that might have been found at the situation lost as the man continued to glare at them.
"He's Kvar, one of the Five Desian Grand Cardinals," Kratos answered.
An eyebrow quirked as he spared Kratos a look and laughed knowingly. "I see that some of you know me..." He then looked down at Lloyd's left hand, where an Exsphere sat, waiting to be utilized. "It's just as Forcystus said. That Exsphere is without a doubt the result of my Angelus Project!" As if sensing a command, the three who had attacked them earlier moved to flank the group, but Kvar quickly found himself diving to the side as a circular blade came flying toward his head, missing his neck by inches.
"Good job, Colette!" Lloyd said. "Let's go everyone!" With that, the group fled deeper into the Human Ranch. No more than a room inward, however, they were stopped by something they did not expect. In a distant room, they could see captured humans moving along a conveyor belt. Where it turned to move toward them, however, all they saw were the shipping containers. "Wh... what is this?" he asked, as if he could not believe what he was seeing.
Kvar, unharmed by the attack, strolled up behind them, flanked by several guards, and replied, "This is where the Exspheres are removed from the host bodies."
"Do you mean," Raine asked as the color drained out of her face, "Exspheres are made from human bodies?"
Kvar sneer grew, if that was possible, as he coolly replied, "Not exactly. Exspheres are dormant at first. They extract nourishment from humans to grow and awaken. Humans ranches are Exsphere manufacturing plants." His sneer took on a sadistic, almost maniacal look as he added, "Why else would we spend our time raising and taking care of these inferior beings?"
Genis's hand moved unconsciously to where he had mounted Marble's Exsphere. "That's terrible!" he exclaimed.
"Terrible?" Kvar replied. "No, 'terrible' is what you've done. Stealing and using Exspheres that we've invested so much time and care in creating." Now his sneer took on a menacing twist as he added, "You deserve to be punished." With that said, the Desian grunts began to advance on the group, pushing them back toward the edge of the platform they were standing on.
"Damn, we're surrounded!" Lloyd muttered.
Kvar shifted his gaze toward Lloyd and, with a voice dripping with hatred, he said, "Lloyd, your Exsphere was to be a present to Lord Yggdrasill. It's time you gave it back."
"Yggdrasill... I suppose that's the name of your leader," Raine commented.
"Yes," Kvar confirmed. "Now, for the sake of our great leader Lord Yggdrasill, and for the sake of my own success, I need that Exsphere!"
This made Lloyd even more confused, even as he tried to wrap his head around everything that had been revealed. "Again?! What's so special about my Exsphere?"
Kvar appeared to be very irritated at the question. "That is the result of years of time-consuming research. I can finally reclaim what was stolen by that filthy female host body." No one saw Kratos tense up, his hand shaking from barely restraining himself from attacking the Grand Cardinal.
"What are you talking about?" Lloyd asked. "The female host body..." His eyes went wide as a fleeting thought flashed across his mind's eye. "You don't mean...!"
"... Hmm, you don't know anything, do you? That Exsphere was cultivated on host body A012, human name, Anna," Kvar replied, smirking as he added, "your mother." If it was possible, Lloyd's eyes grew even larger as he continued. "She took it an escaped from the facility. Of course, she paid for it with her life."
Lloyd could immediately feel rage boiling inside as he exclaimed, "You killed my-!"
"Now, now," Kvar replied, "don't blame me. I'm not the one that killed Anna. Your father did."
"Liar!" Lloyd shouted, unwilling to listen to the half-elf any longer.
Kvar sniffed haughtily. "Please. When her Key Crest-less Exsphere was removed, Anna was turned into a monster... and your father killed her. Pathetic, don't you think?"
"... Do not speak ill of the dead!" Kratos interjected.
This made Kvar laugh. "Who cares? They were just a couple of filthy humans. Worthless maggots."
"Don't you ever talk about my parents like that!" Lloyd shouted. However, he knew there wasn't much he could do as the Desian grunts closed in on them.
Stepping between the two groups, Sheena stood firm. "I'll handle this," she replied as she discreetly wove handsigns. "I'm going to use the last one, Grandpa." With that, she threw a talisman in front of the Desians, which summoned a large monster that engulfed the entire platform with smoke. The group suddenly found themselves outside the ranch and made their getaway.
"Kratos," Colette softly commented as the group made their way back to the Ranch, "you have a really scary look on your face."
"Yes. Did something happen?" Raine asked, feeling nervous as well.
"No. I'm the same as usual," Kratos replied.
Genis looked up at him and said, "... You're lying. Anyone can see you're mad about something.
"I am not angry!" Kratos insisted, his voice a mere decibel short of a shout. When he saw the group flinch, he sighed and said, "... I'm sorry. Please let me be alone for awhile.
"I desire to fight Kvar," Kratos stated as the group began to split up. His expression almost had an earnestness to it as he asked, "Please take me with you."
Lloyd looked at the others and nodded, knowing that he would need Kratos's skill and abilities to take on the Desian Grand Cardinal. "Alright, we'll fight together."
"Thank you," Kratos replied. "Let's defeat Kvar together.
Kvar was lying on the ground, having been taken out by a dual Sonic Thrust attack by Lloyd and Kratos. He looked down at his Exsphere and mumbled, "... I did it, Mom. You've been avenged."
The moment he was distracted, Kvar, who was barely clinging onto life, lurched to his feet and used gravity to bring his bladed staff down toward Lloyd. Colette, who had noticed, shouted, "Look out!" and jumped in front of Lloyd and gasped in shock as the blade cut into her back.
"Colette!?" Lloyd exclaimed as the girl fell into his arms, her expression one of shock and relief.
"Lloyd, are you okay?" Colette asked.
"Yeah, but you're-" Lloyd replied.
Colette looked up at him and smiled, saying, "I'm fine, really!"
As Kvar tried to use this as a distraction to get away, Sheena appeared in a smoke cloud, cards drawn and ready to strike him down. Lloyd handed Colette to Raine and turned to Kvar, shouting, "You bastard!" As Kvar turned back to him, he thrust one of his swords into the half-elf's gut. As this happened, another sword appeared and was thrust in as well.
"Kratos..." Kvar sputtered hatefully even as his life force drained onto the floor, "you pathetic, inferior being!"
Kratos's eyes were blazing as he withdrew his blade and slashed to the side, cutting Kvar's throat open. "Feel the pain" he began before slashing downward, cutting the man open from shoulder to opposite hip "of those inferior beings," he added as he flicked the half-elf's blood off his sword and sheathed it "as you burn in hell!" he ended as the bloody, eviscerated form of the Desian Grand Cardinal fell to the ground, dead as dead can be.
Kratos... you are, without a doubt, the most mysterious person in this group. I can tell that you know a lot more than you let on. For instance, knowing about the summoning arts that no longer exist in this world... hinting at knowing about the Desian Grand Cardinals... which reminds me. Do you have a past with Kvar? You certainly acted very strange when we went to confront him the first time, and when we defeated him you turned particularly vicious, cutting him down mercilessly... and with much pain in your voice. Did he do something to you...? Also, why do you focus so much of your time training Lloyd? Do you know what's going to happen at the end of this journey? What is Lloyd to you?
"... lla will suffer," Sheena quietly said as she knelt in front of the altar, her hands clasped in prayer. "Please help me save everyone."
The group had walked into the House of Salvation on their way to the Balcrauf Masoleum and heard the tail end of her prayer. Lloyd frowned thoughtfully for a moment before turning to the others and softly saying, "Let's leave her alone."
Sheena heard him, however, and quickly rose to her feet, exclaiming, "Wait! This meeting shall be your end! I shall defeat you right here, right now!"
"This is a place of prayer," Lloyd replied, not even bothering to tense up for a battle, which surprised the other four. "Let's not start that here."
"O-okay..." Sheena replied, lowering her weapons.
Lloyd decided to take a risk and said, "My name's Lloyd. What's yours?"
Sheena blushed. "What...?" she asked, clearly caught off-guard.
"Lloyd?" Genis asked, also surprised by his best friend.
The group had made a stop at Luin before continuing their trek toward the Tower of Mana, where they were to get the book containing Boltzman's technique. Having split up, Lloyd could hear the giggling of children from the far side of the village and decided to investigate. Rounding a corner where a fountain sat, Lloyd watched mirthfully as Sheena, the assassin who had tried to kill Colette, played hide-and-seek with the local children.
"Alright, alright, I'll be it this time," Sheena was replying happily to one of the children, all of whom cheered and scattered. When she turned around, she saw Lloyd standing there with a smile on his face and blushed furiously. "Wh... what are you looking at?"
Lloyd had meant to say that she was actually a lot nicer than she had been trying to come across, but what came out of his mouth was, "I was just thinking how cute you look." His eyes went wide in shock as he realized what he said.
If it was possible, Sheena's face got even redder. "You've got to be kidding me!" she exclaimed. Ignoring the flutter in her stomach, she said, "Don't think saying stuff like that is going to change anything! You're still my enemy!" With that, she again disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving Lloyd to stand there, his brain unable to work again for several minutes as it attempted to process what had just happened.
When Kratos had attacked Magnius and forced him to retreat, the townspeople began to whisper among themselves about Colette. Raine, desperate for some logic, turned to the group and asked, "Do you all realize what you are doing? If you defy the Desians, this town may be attacked just like Iselia."
Sheena, who had her cards out and ready to fight the Desians, replied, "I don't know what happened at Iselia, but I do know that I can't just ignore people who are suffering."
Lloyd nodded in agreement. "She's right! And I know full well what I'm doing! I won't repeat the same mistake again. I'll destroy them all, the entire ranch!" he shouted, his voice filled with venom for the people who had made others suffer.
"In order to fight against the Desians, we are always training," one of the guards in front of the Governor-General's office explained to Lloyd when he had asked why the defense forces were not in town when Magnius and the Desians had shown up.
"Maybe I should train some, too..." Lloyd thought out loud; it was not something he would admit, but he knew that his own skills needed to be sharpened.
"If you're serious, I will train you," Kratos said, a ghost of a smile appearing on his face.
Lloyd looked up at the mercenary in surprise, and before he could say anything, he thought about the numerous times that Kratos had proven himself the superior swordsman. "Please," he simply replied.
"Very well," Kratos said as he led Lloyd away from the town. Sheena debated tailing them, but decided to let them have their training time together, and decided to keep Genis and Colette busy in the meantime.
Sheena had, out of growing concern for Raine, joined her and Lloyd as they traveled to Thoda Island, a remote island south of the Palmacosta Human Ranch where the priest had said he'd lost the authentic statue of Spiritua by dropping it while watching the geyser. The entire time, the elf looked as pale as her silver hair and had chosen to cling to the ninja while Lloyd paddled, his Exsphere-enhanced muscles allowing him to move at a pace that matched Kratos's, as he had taken the other tub with Genis and Colette. What made this unique was that instead of seaworthy boats or even rafts, they were all huddled in large, circular washtubs. She could not believe it when they had found out; even Lloyd was perturbed at the sight. In fact, the only one that almost seemed to expect it was Kratos, though everyone chalked that up to having used them before due to his having traveled a lot, as expected for a mercenary. Once Lloyd docked the tub, he and Sheena climbed out. "We've... finally... arrived..." Rained muttered, trying to keep from freaking out completely as she stood in the center of the tub.
"That was fun, wasn't it, Lloyd?" Colette chirped.
"Sea water leaked in, and I thought it was going to sink!" Genis exclaimed, not noticing his sister blanching again.
Lloyd noticed and took Raine's hand. "Here, Professor," he said.
Raine noticeably calmed down as she took Lloyd's hand. "Ah, right, thank you," she muttered.
Kratos had another ghost-smile as he said, "... That was a rare experience."
Sheena looked down at the tub and muttered, "I felt like I was on the roller coaster at Altamira."
Colette, who now had good enough hearing to hear people from far away, looked at Sheena and asked, "What's Altamira?
Sheena realized her lapse and blushed, replying, "Ah... nothing."
Lloyd... you're definitely an interesting guy... saying some weird things sometimes, and yet also being so strong of heart and mind, and never wavering from the path that you chose to follow. I remember that you called me 'cute' once, back in Luin... did you mean it, or were you just teasing me? You seemed sincere, but 'he' seemed sincere at first, too... did you know your friend, the Chosen, seemed surprised and a little jealous when you said that? No, I don't think you did... you can be so dense sometimes, but I'll admit that it's one of your best qualities... speaking of which, your bravery knows no ends, or perhaps stupidity? Maybe both... risking your life to obtain some statue of Spiritua, the angel of death, so we can find the final seal... wait, are you slipping!?
"Lloyd, hold on! I'm coming!"
Ah... I managed to catch you in the nick of time... that was way too close. I'm glad I caught you... wait, why am I glad? Does he... mean something to me? No, my only friend is Corrine... but... maybe, just maybe, some part of me is hoping you'll be there for me when I slip and fall... Well, we got the statue, so we need to get back to Hakonesia Peak. I'll wait a bit longer and see how things turn out... I really don't want to betray them, but I don't want to betray Tethe'alla either...
I'm going to tell them. They at least deserve to know the truth about the worlds, and the Journey of Regeneration... I just hope they understand...
AN: This is supposed to take place if you take Raine's suggestion to go the northern land route and get Sheena much earlier in the game than normal (granted that you still have to fight her twice before you actually get her as a party member, once at Ossa Trail and once at Balcrauf Masoleum, but neither fight requires you to cross over to Palmacosta). I decided to use some of the time I actually have now to update this, seeing as those who have reviewed said it was too short and focused just on Sheena's thoughts. Looking back, I realize that I needed to give those thoughts context. Also, I moved Colette to be further down, since throughout the last half of Sylvarant, after Sheena joins, she still has a lot of screentime compared to Raine and Genis, who I decided to lump together because most of their scenes work in conjunction with each other, and Sheena would not have had much interaction with them compared to Lloyd and Colette. Kratos got so many because, 1. It's difficult to isolate many of his interactions from the rest of the story given his role, and 2. his role in the overall story is vital, so he got a LOT of foreshadowing and other scenes.
Also, as a side-note, I want to say that, given how Lloyd's thought process works, some of the Affection-affecting choices through the game do not fit him at all, but the one he gets when they find Sheena at the pre-destroyed Luin actually fits him no matter which one you choose, where he chooses whether to call her cute (which is valuable as it lowers Colette's score and thus makes it slightly easier for later characters like Presea and Regal to compete) or to comment that she's nice (which makes sense given the context, as she's playing with children, but lowers Raine's score and so really isn't useful gameplay-wise).
One more thing. I want to thank wdarkk for his LP of the original Tales of Symphonia. It really helped fill in some blanks since I haven't owned or played the game in over two years. *cries*