Cat-Alin: Hell and welcome to my new story ..
Shihna: You don't have a title yet?
Cat-Alin: I do, too! I just .. ok, I don't have one. This story just popped into my head this morning.
Shihna: I thought you had migraine.
Cat-Alin: I do! Now say the disclaimer Shihna - I'm making you my muse - and shut up.
Shihna: FINE! Cat-Alin doesn't own Tales of Symphonia, nor Namco. If she did, Kratos would've stayed in the party all the time.
Cat-Alin: You only have him like 10 hours if you follow the storyline straight through!

Haima:

The wind blew sharply over the barren land, but the mercenary on the edge of the cliff didn't mind. He didn't feel it at all. He just stared out into the distance, following his thoughts.

"Kratos?"

The mercenary flinched over the oh-so-familiar voice and turned. A young boy, still a teenager in the later teenyears, was looking at him a bit worried. The boy was dressed in a red jacket, followed with darkblue pants and horrible brown suspenders, his hair standing up straight, before it fell over his right eye a bit. Kratos knew him. Far longer than the two had been on the journey, which had taken a few weeks now.

"You okay?" the boy asked, stepping closer.
"Why do you ask, Lloyd? Everything is just fine." the mercenary answered, leaning against the banister and crossing his arms over his chest.
"Well .. it's just .." Lloyd said, rubbing his neck, searching for words. "I mean, I just saw you there, you know, standing at the edge and just staring outwards .. you looked sort of .. sad."
The mercenary shifted his weight onto his other knee and just looked intently at the boy.

He knew the boy longer than since the beginning of the journey. When Kratos had first found out that this boy .. had Kratos' wife's grave at his house, Kratos had realized that that boy was .. in fact .. his son. Kratos still had some trouble realizing that, but the longer he thought about it, the prouder he got, when he saw Lloyd fighting the monsters .. the way Lloyd was teasing Genius, a half-elf friend - although he claimed he was a full elf .. or the way Lloyd seemed so thoughtless sometimes, yet so idealistic. Kratos had started to believe that he had, indeed, found his little boy Lloyd again, with whom he had spent the happy years, together with his wife, Anna.

"Kratos?" Lloyd asked again and caught Kratos' thoughts ouf of his mind.
"It's nothing." Kratos said and turned again. "You seemed depressed though. You should be happy. Your long journey has finally ended."
Lloyd joined him on the banister, leaning on it with his arms.
"It's not what I hoped for." Lloyd said, sulking. "I wanted an end, where everything was fine .. no more people having died because of the Desians, Collet still having all her senses, not to mention her voice."
Kratos looked over at the boy. He was still shocked about how the Chosen, Collet Brunel, a close friend of Lloyd's, had lost her sense of tasting, sleeping and feeling over the journey. But most of all, he had been stunned by the fact, that the Chosen couldn't talk anymore.
"One never gets what one desires." Kratos said, uncrossing his arms. He then put his hand on Lloyd's head and ruffled his hair a bit. A gesture Kratos had done a lot when Lloyd had been a small boy. "Don't worry. I believe the Chosen will get her senses and voice back, when she has fulfilled her destiny as the Chosen to regenerate the world of Sylvarant."

That was actually a lie Kratos was telling the boy, but he couldn't tell him the truth. How the Chosen has lost her senses and her voice to become a perfect marionette, the perfect vessel for a girl older than the Chosen was herself, the girl having been dead for a few millenia.

"Kratos ..?"
"What is it?" Kratos asked.
"Could you take your hand off, please?" Lloyd said.
Kratos flinched and quickly took his hand, which had been lying on the boy's head for a while, away. "I'm sorry."
"Hey, no problem." Lloyd grinned.

The grin reminded Kratos of his dear wife, Anna. She used to grin the same way. The same broad, heartily way. She used to be such a happy women, never put down by her grieve past in the Human Ranch.

"Say, Lloyd."
The teenager stopped in his tracks, about to leave. He turned back to the older one.
"Hm?"
"You said in the end you wanted nobody to die.." Kratos hesitated for a moment. Then he smirked. "You don't feel bad about killing Kvar, are you?"
Lloyd looked stunned, then grinned embaressed.
"No, not at all!" Lloyd rubbed the side of his nose. "I mean, he's responisble for killing my mom, so I don't mind him being dead. He deserved it .. slimy bastard."
"Watch your language, Lloyd." Kratos burst out suddenly.
Lloyd grinned even more, stretched himself.
"I'm gonna lie down."

Kratos should really watch out. Or else Lloyd would figure out by the sound of Kratos' voice and his behavior towards Lloyd would figure out that Kratos was his father. But then again, according to Refill's moaning over Lloyd's bad grades and wisdomless, Kratos shouldn't worry much.

"KRATOS, WATCH OUT!!"
Kratos unsheathed his sword with a sudden movement and slashed the masked person next to him.
"Argh!"
"Wait!!" Kratos yelled, but the Masked One already teleported away.
The steps hurried towards Kratos and Lloyd looked at him worried.
"Kratos, you okay?"
"Thank you, Lloyd." Kratos said, sheathing his sword again.
"No problem!" he grinned. "You know who that was?"
"No." Kratos smirked. "But he'll remember me. He has that wound I inflicted on him."
Lloyd looked a bit surprised.
"Lloyd." Kratos said and looked with his usual serious gaze at Lloyd. "Do not die."
"Whaaat?" Lloyd cocked his head to the side. "Whatever. I won't die."
Kratos smirked a little and went back into the inn.

Kratos meant it seriously, when he warned Lloyd. The truth coming towards them in the Tower of Salvation would not only crush his soul, but if his hotheadedness would get the better of him, Lloyd would most likely fight somebody he wasn't strong enough for yet .. like Kratos himself ..

Tower of Salvation:

Kratos stood over the whole scenery, watching how Lloyd and the others were beating Remiel, who had told them the truth about the Worldregeneration. Lloyd had done incredible progress during the journey. He started to watch his opponent's movements before charging in to attack.

Lloyd looked up to Collet, who was silently floating over them.
"Collet ..!"
"Spare your breath." Kratos said, stepping towards them. Everybody stared at him, surprised to see him.
"Kratos .. where were you?" Lloyd asked, looking at the mercenary confused.
"The Chosen has lost her soul. It is locked deep in her body and won't return." Kratos said, ignoring the boy's question. "She is a marionette, standing in the path of the portal of death."
"What!?" Lloyd snapped. "What the hell are you talking about!?"
Kratos merely shrugged his shoulders. "You wanted it as well, the world's regeneration. If we take the Chosen to Derris Quaran and fuse her with Martel's soul, Martel will be resurrected and the worlds will be saved."
Lloyd's gaze changed, it smoothened for a moment, then turned into a worried look. Almost as if he didn't believe what he was hearing.
".. What are you talking about?" Lloyd asked.
".." Kratos didn't reply, just looked at what was happening.

This was exactely what he had feared all journey long, since Lloyd had joined in. He had tried to avoid this situation, trying to persuade Lloyd to go back to Iselia. Or to his adoptive-father, the dwarf Dirk. Kratos had tried to keep Lloyd away from this place, this situation, this person - himself - so he would never get caught into such a vicious circle of betrayal. Kratos regretted that he hadn't manage to persuade Lloyd to leave. He should've tried harder. Then again, if he was anything at all like his mother, he wouldn't have left. He would've stayed on the side of the Chosen.

"Kratos .. who are you really?" Lloyd asked, his voice shivering with fear. ".. ANSWER!!"
Kratos sighed and revealed his iceblue wings.
"I am a member of the worldleading organization: Cruxis." he said, everybody staring at his wings shooting out of his back.
The boy stared at the wings, then at Kratos. The icecold, blank stare in his brown eyes. Fixed onto Lloyd.
"This .. can't be .." the boy mumbled so quietly underneath his breath that nobody except him heard it. "You won't get Collet!!"
Lloyd jumped onto the platform, unsheathing his swords and charging at the mercenary, who parried the first hit with his own sword.

The boy fell onto the knees, the fake mercenary over him, the latter's sword at the boy's throat. Lloyd glared at Kratos, then just fell loosely onto the floor, letting the final strike hit him. Kratos slowly took his sword away and sheathed it. Lloyd opened his eyes again, seeing Kratos' gentle gaze on him and wanted to ask, what he was thinking of doing, when a light came from above. Another angel came, this one with long blonde hair and pink feathers.

Kratos swore underneath his breath. He had hoped he could get them to leave before the leader would come.

The blonde angel stared and Kratos kneeled down.
"Yggdrasill-sama .." he said.
The other angel smirked and looked at Lloyd, who had sat up.
"You are 'Lloyd' .. are you not?" he asked.
"I don't give my name to the likes of you!" Lloyd hissed, grabbing his swords again.
Yggdrasill laughed.
"Neither would I to you." he replied and grabbed a big purple sword, ready to swing it at the teenager and his companions.
"W-wait!" Kratos suddenly called and Yggdrasill stopped.
Yggdrasill's eyes went over to his loyal seraphim.
"What is it, dear Kratos?" he asked.
"I may not have a right to stop you from your plans, but .." Kratos said, not able to finish it.
Yggdrasill smirked.
"Don't worry." he said and swung his sword at the opponents.
Lloyd was thrown against one of the pillars.
"Argh!!" Lloyd yelled, spitting the blood out of his mouth and sliding down the pillar onto the floor.
Kratos gasped, when he saw the pillar starting to crumble, right onto Lloyd.
"Lloyd!!" he called and was next to the boy in a heartbeat, stopping the pillar with one arm falling onto the boy. "Lloyd .."
The teenager was unconscious.
Yggdrasill smirked.
"I will leave them to you, Kratos." he said and disappeared in the same light he came from.

Kratos stemmed the pillar off of his arm and it crumbled into many heavy pieces.
The others were watching him - semi conscious - how he got up and picked Lloyd up into his arms.
"W-wait!" Shihna, the summoner, hissed and stemmed herself up a bit. "What are you thinking of doing!?"
"Where are you taking Lloyd!?" Refill hissed as well, sounding really pissed off. "How dare you try to kidnap one of our-"
"You don't understand!!" Kratos yelled at them.
Both the girls flinched, staring at the mercenary, who held Lloyd in his arms closer to himself, as if he was searching for a long lost closeness.
"You don't understand .." the mercenary muttered again and turned towards the altar.
"W-w-wait!" Genius called, struggling to get up, grabbing his kendama. "A .. Ai .."
"Lie back down .. you're badly hurt .." Kratos muttered, his back to the group.
"Aishikaru .." A pitiful little ice piece appeared behind Kratos, who had already reached the altar, Genius cursing to himself before falling to the ground again.
Quick and heavy steps came towards them and Kratos half turned towards the group again.
"You are saved .." he said.
His gaze met the one of the leader of the group, Botta, one last time. It was a sad, but happy look. And Kratos teleported away with the unconscious boy in his arms.

Cat-Alin: Yes, I had the idea for this story in the morning with migraine and lack of sleep.
Shihna: Well, you shouldn't stay up that much talking with 'Mikey'.
Cat-Alin: Shut up! We can't see each other before easter! We have to talk!
Shihna: You're tired and sick, go back to bed. Reviews, please?