A/N: Hey guys, welcome to my first Tales of Symphonia Fan Fiction. So basically after playing ToS I fell in love with Kratos (sorry to all my other fictional crushes...). So naturally- what any major otaku would do- is do their research on such a topic. I've played the game through and took good notes on how Kratos would express his feelings. If you've ever taken a psychology class, or are familiar with the Myers Briggs Test, you would figure that Kratos would be an INTJ type. I recommend taking the test, it's a lot of fun and you can develop characters a lot better that way- sorry getting off topic here. Anyways, mainly I created this story cause I wanted to tell a story of Kratos' past with Lloyd and Anna. Just warning everyone, that a lot of the dialogue I took from the manga/game, so if you aren't into fan fictions that follow the story step-by-step then I'd recommend reading another story... However, if you are alright with that, then by all means I hope you enjoy this fan fiction.

This fan fiction contains MAJOR SPOILERS, so if you haven't finished the game, I'd get that done and then read this fan fiction! :)

Once upon a time, there existed a giant tree that was the source of mana. A war, however, caused this tree to wither away, and a hero's life was sacrificed in order to take its place. The Goddess left the Angels with this edict. "You must wake me, for if I should sleep, the world shall be destroyed." The Angels bore the Chosen One, who headed towards the tower that reached up unto the heavens and that marked the beginning of the Regeneration of the World.

Fragments

"Get back!" Lloyd shouted as his friend, the proclaimed Fledgling Chosen, entered the battle to aid him. She was about to make her move, but cried out as soon as the large soldier was about to crush her. Lloyd quickly ran over to help her. "Colette!" He screamed and managed to block the soldier's attack in time. However, he was shortly knocked backwards by the soldier's brute strength. His back had hit the wall of the temple and thought everything was over.

"Die!" The soldier screamed as he raised his weapon high in the air.

'This is it…' Lloyd thought and closed his eyes expecting his very life to end. He could hear the swooshing of the weapon coming down towards him and then a clank. He opened his eyes and there stood a man who easily had blocked the soldier's fatal attack. 'What? This person…' Lloyd looked at the man's back and was baffled by it. 'That back… Where have I…'

Before he could finish his train of thought, the man in front of him interrupted him. "… This opponent is too much for you." The man stated. He turned his head back to Lloyd, revealing his face. "Step Back."

"What?" Humiliated, Lloyd could only question what this man was implying.

"You fool!" The soldier's voice cried out. The man's attention went back to the opponent. "You must have a death wish…" He cried out and was ready to attack him again.

Once again the man blocked his attack without any effort. Lloyd looked at the man with bewilderment. The man moved back and sprinted towards the soldier, releasing a fatal attack on him.

"In… Incredible!" Lloyd's elven friend Genis shouted in amazement. "That person… In an instant…!" Lloyd stopped listening feeling a sense of rejection towards his friends.

Soon Lloyd, his friends, and Colette's grandmother, Phaidra, were standing in front of the man, praising his aid.

"… Thank you so much for saving the chosen. How can we ever thank you…" Phaidra said with much relief in her voice.

Colette bowed her head towards the man. "Thank you for saving me!" She raised her head back up with her usual smile. However, Lloyd was able to see that she was wounded from the fight.

"I see." The man stated. Lloyd directed his attention back towards him. "So this girl is the next chosen."

"Yes… Ah!" Colette remembered the reason of why she was there. "That's right! I have to go accept the oracle…" She said.

"But the priests that were to accompany you on the trial all fell at the hands of the desians." Phaidra interjected.

"Then I'll take on the job of protecting Colette." Lloyd said, volunteering himself for the job.

Colette turned her attention to her friend. "Lloyd…"

"Is it alright with you?" He asked.

Colette smiled and nodded. "Yes! Thanks!" She replied.

Colette's grandmother frowned at this idea. "Lloyd… I would be uneasy with just you…"

Outraged by her comment, Lloyd spurted at the elder woman. "HEY! THAT'S RUDE PHAIDRA!"

"It's true…"

The man looked over towards Lloyd feeling trapped at the possible idea in his head. "… Your… Name is Lloyd…?" He asked.

Lloyd turned back at the man. "…Uh, Yeah." He admitted. However still angered by him he continued on. "You should state your own name before you ask for someone else's." He stated.

The man looked over towards the side. "… I'm Kratos. A wandering mercenary." Answering Lloyd's request. "As long as you can pay me, I'll accept the job of guarding the chosen." He finished.

Phaidra thought it through. "…Hmm… It can't be helped. Please do…" Is all she could say, since the thought of Lloyd protecting Colette alone troubled her a lot more than placing her in the hands of the strong mercenary in front of her.

"Of course you'll come too, Genis!" Lloyd said volunteering his friend without consent.

Genis stepped back a bit. "Eeh? I... I have to come?"

Kratos looked over at the two boys and shook his head sighing. "…This isn't a field trip, you know…" He said not looking forward to the task of watching these two boys.

Pissed off at Kratos, all Lloyd could think was 'That guy's so full of himself!' However he continued to look at the man's back. '…But what was that feeling I had just now…?' He asked himself.

Kratos walked inside the temple and looked at the ground. "Lloyd…" He muttered the boy's name. 'The same name and roughly the same age…' He looked back up and shook his head. 'No, it's impossible for him to be alive...' With that thought taken care of he turned around and watched as the two boys and the Chosen enter the temple so that the Chosen can accept the oracle and begin the Journey of World Regeneration.

A/N: Yeah if you couldn't tell... This whole chapter was practically from the manga/game, with a tad bit of creativity given by me... towards the end. This is more of an introduction, the next chapter is going to have a lot more wonderful creativeness (and more dialogue from the manga/game)! So stay tuned and review~! :D