Disclaimer: I own nothing Tales of Symphonia. It belongs to Namco Tales Studios Ltd.

A/N: Chapters 1-3 will likely focus on Martel, Mithos, Yuan, and Kratos. Anna, Lloyd, and everyone else will come along in later chapters. Also, modifications are being made to Anna and Lloyd may get a twin sister.

Tales of Symphonia

What If?

Chapter 1

One day, Mithos Yggdrassil, his sister, Martel, and their two friends Yuan and Kratos were walking through Gaoracchia Forest. It was a beautiful sunny day with only a few white puffy clouds in the sky.

Mithos asked Kratos, "Kratos…when can we train again? I really wanna get stronger than I am now, to protect my sister better!"

Kratos smirked, "Soon, Mithos. How about after we get back to your house, we train in the back yard? Would that be acceptable?"

Mithos smiled, "Okay." He looked to Yuan, "Yuan, don't think I haven't noticed how you've been hanging around a lot lately. What's going on?"

Martel and Yuan both blushed at Mithos's question.

Yuan told him, "Well…I…we-we're engaged."

Martel smiled at Yuan and kissed him on the cheek.

Mithos blinked, "Eh? What does that mean?"

Martel laughed a bit, then told him, "It means we're going to be married, Mithos."

Kratos smiled over at his two friends and told them, "Congratulations to the both of you, then. This isn't much of a surprise though. You two have been dating for what…three years now?"

Yuan shrugged, "Something like that." He tensed, hearing footsteps coming from behind them, "Heads up, Kratos. We're being followed."

Kratos nodded, taking out his sword and turning around.

Mithos told Kratos, "Ooh…I wanna help. Let me help, Kratos! Please…"

Kratos shook his head, "You just stay close to your sister and protect her. Yuan and I can probably take care of this."

A few moments later, a number of bandits leapt from the trees and surrounded the four friends. One of them said, "Give us the pretty lady and all the money you got and you won't have any trouble, half-elf scum."

Kratos glared at the bandit, "Forget it. There's no way in hell we're giving you anything, so you'd best be on your way."

Yuan added, "That 'pretty lady' is my fiancée. There's no way I'll let the likes of you touch her."

Mithos nodded, "Yeah, and she's my sister! I won't let you near her!" He took out the small sword Kratos had given him and stood in front of Martel protectively.

Martel commented, taking a step forward past Mithos, "We were just going for a walk in the woods. Why can't you just let us go?"

The bandit that had spoken before told her, "Cause, we don't let no one go until we have their women and their money. So unless you're surrendering yourself, half-elf wench…"

Kratos and Yuan both walked in front of Martel.

Yuan shoved the bandit back as he took out his double-blade. He narrowed his eyes, "There's no way we'll surrender. You'll just have to fight us."

The bandit smirked, "Oh, that can be arranged, half-elf vermin." He took out a sword as well and charged at Yuan.

A different bandit had a longbow and put some distance between him and the group. He was standing behind Martel and Mithos.

Yuan blocked the bandit's attack, then leapt forward and stabbed him through the stomach in one swift move, "Pathetic." He muttered.

Kratos had cut down a few of the bandits as well. Other than a mild cut on his cheek, he was all right, "Did we get them all?" He asked, looking around.

The remaining bandit, the one holding the bow, smirked, "Heh…not quite." He muttered as he fired an arrow at Martel.

Kratos's eyes fell on the bowman and he saw the arrow headed for Martel. Too late to be able to block it, he did the next best thing. He jumped into its path and it hit him in the shoulder. He cried out in pain as the sharp end of the arrow pierced the ligaments and muscles inside of it. Blood flowed freely from the wound.

Mithos heard Kratos's agonized cry and turned around. Seeing the arrow in Kratos's shoulder, he looked around for the person who had hurt his teacher. When his eyes fell on the remaining bandit, he yelled, "You jerk! How could you injure one of your own kind? You'll get it for hurting my friend!" He ran too fast at the bowman and cut him down with one swift swipe of his sword.

Yuan knelt down next to his only human friend, "Kratos…how bad is it?" He asked.

Kratos replied, "…It's very bad. This arrow is poisoned. I could smell the poison as soon as it hit." He was already starting to feel a bit weak.

Yuan's eyes widened, "…That is bad. Hang in there, okay? I'll see if Martel can help." He looked to Martel, "Martel, do you have any antidotes? Or ingredients to make one?"

Martel shook her head, "No…why?"

Yuan replied honestly, "…Kratos was just hit with a poisoned arrow. It's difficult to say how long he has before it will…"

Mithos gasped, "No….Kratos will be okay! We just need to get an antidote or the ingredients to it, right?"

Martel carefully removed the arrow from Kratos's shoulder and began to tend to the wound. She sighed, "Yes…but the nearest village is Ozette, and I'm not sure if they'll have what I need to make it or one that has already been made." She wrapped Kratos's shoulder with a roll of cloth bandages she had brought along, just in case, and tied it off.

Yuan shrugged, "It's worth a try at least. If we don't find anything there we can always go to Meltokio." He asked Kratos, "Can you walk?"
Kratos nodded, "For a little while."

Yuan nodded back and helped Kratos to his feet.

Kratos muttered, "Thank you."

The group of friends continued toward Ozette.

Just as they were getting close to Ozette though, Kratos collapsed to his knees, panting.

Martel gasped, "Kratos…" She walked over to him then placed the back of her hand against Kratos's forehead. He had a bad fever, likely an effect of the poison. She asked Yuan, "Yuan, Kratos is getting worse. Can you carry him?"

Yuan nodded, "Sure." He walked over then knelt down in front of Kratos.

Martel helped the poisoned, injured, and sickly mercenary onto Yuan's back, "Hang on, Kratos." She murmured quietly, "We're almost there."

Yuan stood again once Kratos was securely on his back and headed into the village as fast as his feet would carry him. He wasn't going to fail his best friend.

Mithos was managing to keep up with Yuan. He asked, "…Kratos will be okay, Yuan, right?"

Yuan nodded, "Yes…all he needs is an antidote and some rest and he'll be just fine."

Martel remained silent as she kept up. She was worried about Kratos, though she was grateful that he had risked his life to save hers. She'd have to remember to thank him once he was better.

They finally arrived at Martel and Mithos's house in Ozette.

Yuan went straight to a bedroom, laying Kratos gently on the bed.

Kratos shifted a bit to get comfortable, but remained otherwise quiet and still. He then blacked out, eyes closing in sleep.

Martel soon came into the room with a bowl of cool water and a cloth. She got the cloth wet and placed it on Kratos's forehead. She looked to Yuan, "Will you go to the store and see if they have any antidotes, or ingredients for me to make some with?"

Yuan nodded, "Sure…Mithos, why don't you come with me? We can't have you getting in Martel's way."

Mithos shook his head, "No…I'm not leaving Kratos."

Martel sighed, "Mithos…please go. I don't think Kratos would appreciate you seeing him like this. Please, just go with Yuan." She smiled, "Besides, it will give the two of you time to bond before our wedding."

Mithos looked at the ground, "But…what if Kratos thinks I abandoned him or something?"

Martel gave a bit of a laugh, "I doubt he'll think that, Mithos. But if you're really worried about it, I'll tell him that you went to the store with Yuan."

Mithos smiled back sadly, "Okay…I'll go. Please, sis, do everything you can to keep him alive."

Martel nodded, "You can count on me, Mithos. I won't let anything happen to him."

Mithos nodded back and he and Yuan went to the store to get the needed antidote or the ingredients to make one.

Martel took the cloth from Kratos's forehead and soaked it in the cool water once again. After about a minute, she took it out and placed it back on his forehead.

She then removed his cape and tended better to the shoulder wound, cleaning it with a separate bowl of warm water before re-wrapping it with a clean bandage. It still hadn't healed completely, but that was due to the fact that Kratos was weakened by the poison. Once the poison had been taken care of, it might not even take a day or two for the injury to completely heal.

Kratos groaned and woke up again, but didn't move. He looked to Martel, and whispered, "Thank you."

Martel smiled, "You're quite welcome, Kratos. And don't worry, Mithos and Yuan have gone to the store to get antidotes…so we should be able to get rid of your poison."

Kratos nodded, giving a small smile, "That's good to hear." He coughed a bit. He looked frightfully pale, another side effect of the poison.

A short time later, Mithos and Yuan returned with the ingredients to make a very strong antidote.

Mithos handed Martel the ingredients, "Here sis, go get started on the cure! I'll sit with Kratos."

Yuan shook his head, "No, Mithos, I'll sit with him. You should go help your sister."

Martel giggled, "This coming from the guy who thought Mithos would just get in the way if he stayed here. Just let him stay with Kratos, Yuan. I want you to help me." She kissed his cheek.

Yuan blushed and fell silent.

Mithos laughed a bit then sat down at Kratos's bedside, "Go on, lovebirds." He said jokingly.

Martel nodded, giggling at her brother's joke, "Okay, okay, we're going." She headed into the kitchen to make the cure for Kratos.

Yuan followed her, shooting a glare at Mithos for his joke, a silent way of telling him, 'That wasn't funny.'

Mithos shrugged and looked at Kratos, "So…are you feeling okay besides the poison and stuff?"

Kratos nodded his head and answered quietly, "For the most part."

After about 45 minutes, the cure for Kratos's poison was complete.

Martel came into the room with a steamy mug of the cure and set it on the stand next to the bed Kratos was in. She looked at Mithos, "Will you move?"

Mithos nodded, "Sure." He stepped out of his sister's way and watched worriedly as Kratos slowly sat up.

Martel grabbed the hot mug and held it out to Kratos, "Careful, it's hot." She warned.

Kratos carefully took the mug and nodded. He slowly drank down all that was in the mug then went into a deep restorative sleep.

Mithos left the room shortly thereafter, to give Kratos some peace and quiet.

Martel carefully removed the cup from Kratos's hand so as not to wake him then took it into the kitchen.

Yuan asked her, "So, Kratos will be okay then?"

Martel nodded, "Yeah, if he gets enough rest over the next few days and proper nutrition, he'll be right as rain."

Yuan smiled, "That's good news. Thanks for helping him." He gave her a quick kiss on the lips then pulled away.

Martel smiled back, blushing a light pink, "No problem, Yuan. He's done so much for me and Mithos that I would've helped him even if he wasn't your friend."

Yuan nodded, smiling at her, "That's good to know." He then took Martel into a deep, passionate kiss. The couple then proceeded to make out.

After about 15 minutes of passion, Martel pulled away, her face as red as a tomato when she noticed Mithos walking into the room. She cleared her throat nervously, "Oh…uh, hi, Mithos…"

Mithos laughed a bit, "Hi, sis. What were you and Yuan doing?"
Yuan blushed just as red as Martel, "…Spending time together." He managed to answer.

Mithos rolled his eyes, "If you guys were busy doing adult stuff, you should get a room. Honestly…"

Martel's eyes widened, "We weren't doing that. It was just kissing." She was now even more flustered.

Yuan sighed, "Don't worry about it, Martel." He looked to Mithos, "And how do you know about 'adult stuff'?" He looked at Martel, an eyebrow raised in suspicion.

Martel blinked, then blushed, "He was bound to learn about it anyway…I told him six weeks ago…before we met Kratos. You weren't here for that talk, though, I kinda wish you had been…it was a little uncomfortable."

Mithos laughed, "Yeah, I remember it. She was blushing like a cherry the whole time she talked about it."

Yuan sighed, "Did you understand everything?"

Mithos nodded, "Uh-huh…though, I don't think I'll ever meet anyone that I'll love as much as I love my sister." ((A/N: This is a reference to the sister-complex thing that I keep hearing about.))

Martel smiled, "You never know, you might actually find someone. Keep your heart and mind open, okay, Mithos? And if you fall in love with a human, don't feel bad about moving on the feelings either."

Mithos sighed, "I don't think I'll ever be able to love a human woman. Kratos was almost killed by a human…but like you said, I have to keep my heart and mind open, so I will." He smiled at his sister. He then yawned, "Man…I'm so tired."

Martel blinked, "Oh, it is getting late. Why don't I put you to bed, Mithos?"

Mithos shook his head, "I'll put myself to bed. I'm a growing boy now, Martel; you don't have to coddle me." He smiled at his sister, giving her a goodnight hug, "Night."

Martel returned her brother's embrace, "Good night, Mithos." She smiled at him and ruffled his hair affectionately.

Mithos offered Yuan his hand to shake it, "Night, Yuan."

Yuan shook his hand, "Good night, Mithos. See you in the morning."

Mithos then tentatively hugged Yuan around the waist.

Yuan returned the embrace just as tentatively, taking the boy's shoulders loosely.

Mithos then released Yuan and went to bed.

Martel giggled, "Sorry about Mithos. I don't know if he's completely comfortable with the idea of me getting married yet."

Yuan shrugged, "He'll have to accept it. There's no way I'm going to leave you, Martel."

Martel smiled, "I'm glad, Yuan." She hugged him, laying her head against his chest and putting her arms around him.

Yuan returned her embrace tenderly, placing his arms around her shoulders.

They held each other for about 20 minutes, before Martel yawned, discovering that she was a bit tired, "Oh…guess I should go to sleep too." She smiled up at Yuan.

Yuan nodded and the couple went to the room they slept in.

Yuan got into bed first, taking off his red, gold, and black tunic, but keeping his white pants on.

Martel got into bed, taking off her black and green boots. She lay down in the bed next to Yuan then moved a little closer, putting her head on his strong chest, his heartbeat lulling her into a contented sleep.

Yuan smiled then carefully moved a bit to kiss Martel's forehead, "Good night dearest love." He whispered, moving back to where he had been and placing his arm loosely around her. He fell into a fitful sleep.

Next morning, Mithos was the first awake and went dashing into the room where Kratos was sleeping. He didn't yell or say anything, but sat on the foot of the bed, bouncing a little to wake him up.

Kratos mumbled incoherently then opened his eyes and looked toward the foot of the bed, looking for the cause of the disturbance that had awakened him. He saw Mithos and grunted, "'Morning."

Mithos replied, "Good morning, Kratos." He asked, worried, "How are you feeling?"

Kratos managed to sit up and replied, "A bit better now, thank you. Although…my shoulder still hurts. It'll probably be sore for a few days though. That arrow was rather sharp…"

Martel and Yuan had heard them talking and had woken up as well. They walked into the room hand-in-hand.

Yuan was still without a shirt, and his blue hair was in a messy ponytail.

Martel was barefoot, and her long, green hair curled lightly at the ends because of bed head.

Kratos managed a small smile, despite how tired and sore he was, "Good morning, Yuan, Martel."

Martel smiled, "Good morning, Kratos. Feeling better?"

Kratos nodded, "Yes, much better, Martel. My shoulder is still hurting a bit but it should be fine in a couple days."

Yuan replied, "That is good news, my friend. I'm glad you're feeling well. Do you think you could eat?"

Martel told him, "I was about to ask him that, since I'm making breakfast for everyone."

Kratos responded, "Yeah, I think I could probably eat." His cheeks had some color again and he seemed a bit stronger.

Martel smiled, "I'm glad, Kratos. Having an appetite is the one of the first signs that you'll be fine." (A/N: Yeah…when one is sick or hurt, one generally does not have much of an appetite. I know this from personal experience.)

Yuan nodded, "Go ahead and get started on breakfast, Martel." He smiled and kissed her on the cheek, then added, "I'll be in there with Kratos and Mithos in a moment."

Martel smiled, "Okay, darling." She kissed him on his cheek then left the room.

Mithos asked Yuan, "So…when were you and sis going to have the wedding?" He was slowly beginning to accept the fact that his sister was getting married. He was glad that it was to a half-elf like them, though. It made it much easier to accept Yuan as a new member of their family.

Yuan shrugged, "We were thinking about two months from today. Is that a problem?"

Mithos smiled, "Nah, I just wanted to know."

Kratos told Yuan, "May we go eat now, please?"

Yuan answered, looking at him, "Oh, sure." He helped Kratos to stand up and and the two walked into the kitchen, sitting at the table and waiting for Martel to finish cooking breakfast. Mithos had followed them silently.

Kratos sniffed the air and commented, "Mmm…that smells delicious, Martel. What are you making?"

Martel replied, "Oh, I'm making blueberry pancakes and some bacon. Yuan, could you come over here and help me? I need you to flip the bacon while I put more of the pancake batter in the pan."

Yuan smiled, "Sure, I'll help you." He walked over and stood beside Martel, carefully flipping the bacon over.

Mithos told Kratos, "Hey, now that the war's over, I have an idea how we can help Sylvarant and Tethe'alla keep the peace."

Not looking up from the bacon, Yuan asked, "Oh, really? What is your plan then?"

Kratos nodded, "I would like to hear your proposal."

Mithos replied, "Well, we could establish an organization called Cruxis. Sis could give elaborate speeches to help half-elves be better accepted, and the three of us can be her bodyguards. We could try to get the elves and angels of Dherris-Kharlan to help us, and kill all the Desians! I think we should become angels too…so we can better protect sis." He smiled at Kratos, "So, what do you think?"

Yuan gave his opinion, "I don't think it will work, Mithos. Though your idealism is inspiring, I don't think our kind will ever be really accepted even if your sister gives the best speech in the world, because of the Desians. There are so many of them that I don't think we'll really ever be able to kill them all. As for turning into an angel…that sounds a little extreme. I've heard that the transformation is a very painful process. However, I suppose we could try your idea."

Kratos sighed, "Mithos, Yuan…becoming an angel will not be as painful for you two as it will for me. I'm fully human, remember?"

Mithos blinked, "Oh yeah, that's right. Kratos…do you think you would be willing to go through that much pain to protect Martel and me? Or for my cause?"

Kratos gave a nod, "Indeed." He looked to Martel, "Speaking of which, how's the breakfast coming?"

Martel replied, "The pancakes are ready. I'm just waiting on Yuan to finish the bacon."

Yuan spoke again, "Just finished it." He told them, setting the fresh and crisp bacon on a plate and taking it to the table.

Martel followed with the pancakes.

The couple then sat down and began eating.

Mithos and Kratos remained silent as they ate, though Mithos laughed a tiny bit as he saw Yuan feeding Martel a piece of pancake.

Yuan blushed a little at the boy's laughter, but kept on.

Martel blushed a lot more, her face the color of tomatoes.

After breakfast, Yuan and Martel offered to clean up, while Mithos helped Kratos to sit in a chair. They didn't want him overexerting himself since he had just gotten over being poisoned and was still sore from the arrow.

Mithos asked Kratos, "After you're completely better…will you turn into an angel, Kratos and help me protect Martel while she gives her first speech? Pleeease?"

Kratos nodded, "Indeed I will."

Mithos smiled and hugged Kratos "Thanks! You're so cool!"

The day went on as usual, and when night came, Martel went into the room where Mithos and Kratos were. She told Mithos, "Go on to bed, will you? I need to tend to Kratos's shoulder."

Mithos nodded, "Sure, sis. Night!" He gave her a hug then went up to bed.

Yuan told Martel, "I'm going on to bed too. See you later." He whispered the last part in her ear then went up to the room they were sharing.

Martel blushed a bit at this then shook her head to clear it. She told Kratos, "Shirt off, please, so that I can clean your wound and give you fresh bandaging." (A/N: As of now, Kratos is wearing a gold-colored button-up shirt that Yuan let him borrow.)

Kratos nodded and unbuttoned the shirt he was wearing, taking it off.

Martel proceeded immediately to clean the wound on Kratos's shoulder, to keep from staring at his well-sculpted arms, chest, and abs. She then bandaged him up, "There, all done." She smiled and handed him his shirt.

Kratos put his shirt back on and buttoned it back up, yawning, "Well, I'd better get to sleep. Good night, Martel."

Martel replied, "Night, Kratos." She headed up to bed as well.

A/N: Whew, wow. That was a looong chapter 1. Anyway, chapter 2 will come within the next few months, once I get my other stories updated. Please review. I guess you want to know what I am changing about Anna. Well, I'm making her a half-elf that switches sides from Desian to Cruxis (since they are separate organizations for this), and Lloyd's twin sister shall be named Laura, but she will look more like Kratos than Lloyd does. O.O; Scary

Lloyd: -nods- Yeah, that is scary.

Me: Shut up! –Bonk Lloyd on head- Peace out, all!

Lloyd: Owwww…..-rubbing head- Yeah, see you guys later…geez, did ya have to hit so hard?

Me: Yes, to knock some sense into you, I did. Bye!