AN: Hey guys! Here's the promised, not-so-long awaited revamped version of Tales of the Forgotten Memories! If you haven't read that yet, well, I don't recommend it because I wrote it like a long time ago and I like to think my writing has improved some. Anyways, here it is! Enjoy!
A QUICK WARNING: Things have been changed since the original story. Please take into account the fact that I wrote the first version approximately 7 years ago, and therefore the plot is a bit more thought out than before. Also, all mistakes are my own. My invisible beta is lazy. WARNING OVER!
Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia. I am merely borrowing these poor souls for a time.
Lloyd's Age: 15
A fifteen year-old boy sat at a table, a hand pressed against his forehead in anguish. The dwarf in the room stared at him worriedly, wondering if he would be able to finish his math homework without having an aneurysm. Said boy growled under his breath before turning his face to the heavens and crying out -
"AGH! If two minus three is one, and you times that by six, then why isn't five one of the answers?!"
Exasperated, the dwarf stepped forward and placed the plate he'd been carrying down on the table. He ruffled the boys hair and stood straight, "Because, Lloyd, the answer is negative six, not five." As Lloyd looked at him in confusion, the dwarf grinned ,"Eat, before it gets cold." Satisfied that his charge would not, in fact, cause himself serious brain damage, Dirk stepped back into the kitchen.
"Thanks dad..." Lloyd murmured, realizing just how hungry he actually was.
Silence fell over the house as Dirk cleaned up his mess from dinner, and Lloyd hastily dug into his food.
The teenager, when finished with his meal, took his dishes into the kitchen. Handing the plate and fork to the dwarf, Lloyd heaved a sigh, knowing this would mean he would have to go back to doing his homework. Why did it have to be math of all things?
"Go on, Lloyd. If ya need help ya can call me." The dwarf stated as he dried a plate and put it away.
Much later that night, Lloyd finally managed the trying task of finishing his math homework. With a triumphant grin, he stood up from the table and slammed a hand down on it, "I'm done dad! I'm gonna go to bed now, okay?" Hearing a call of 'goodnight Lloyd' from the kitchen, the teen smiled and rushed up the stairs, excited to finally do something other than stare at a piece of paper.
He threw himself down on his bed, pulling the covers up to his neck and almost immediately falling asleep.
The thing is, he had a really weird dream.
He was being carried on someone's shoulders. They were broad, so despite the mop of auburn hair on their head, Lloyd could tell it was a man. Reaching down with fingers that were smaller than they should be, he gripped it, as if to test if it was real.
"What is it, Lloyd?" The person asked in a deep, soothing voice. Lloyd noted that this man knew his name, and he also felt very familiar to Lloyd.
"Uh...nothing." He murmured. His voice was very child-like.
Suddenly, the man stopped.
"Kratos..." It was a woman's voice. Lloyd looked up to see a woman with long chocolate hair staring at the pair with fear in her eyes. Her green dress was dirty, so they must have been traveling for a while.
The man on which Lloyd was sitting, Kratos, nodded his head and reached up to grab Lloyd. The boy whimpered, suddenly afraid as well. As he was handed to his mother, Lloyd saw Kratos smile at him, shushing him quietly before his face turned hard and he turned around.
"Kvar. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Kratos questioned coldly, a hand on his sword.
Kvar grinned. A wicked smile that sent shivers down Lloyd's spine, "Hand over the Angelus Project, and we won't kill you or your son."
Lloyd gasped. Kratos was his father?!
"I'll never give you Anna." Came the swordsman's response, "You'll have to get through me first!" He ripped his sword from its' sheath, running towards the soldiers with a speed that could barely be followed even by the trained eye.
"Alright then." Kvar turned towards his men, nodding his head at them. They ran at the family almost instantly, swords unsheathed and grins on their faces.
Suddenly all Lloyd could see was red, and bodies. A hand fell over his eyes, and he assumed it was the woman. She shushed him gently, humming under her breath.
"It will be alright, Lloyden." She said, her voice gentle, "Daddy will protect us."
But it seemed she was wrong because Lloyd was falling. He hit the ground hard, and was stunned for a moment. He heard a scream and by the time his vision focused enough so he could see, there was a gigantic green monster and his father was crying.
"No! Anna!" Kratos screamed, "Damn you to hell!" He moved to run at Kvar, but Anna stood in his path.
"Kratos...please...kill me..."Her voice was distorted, like she was speaking through a fan, "I fear I may hurt you...or Lloyd. Please, Kratos." For a split second, it seemed like she would be able to hold onto herself, but then all hell broke loose. She turned and ran at Lloyd, arm raised and ready to strike.
There was a blur of green and white, and the yelp of a wounded animal.
Then, a sword was protruding from Anna's chest, and Lloyd thought he could hear sobbing.
But then they were falling, and it took Lloyd a second to realize that they were tumbling over the edge of the cliff.
"Anna! Lloyd!"
Lloyd shot up, sweat drenching himself and the covers. His breath was coming in gasps, and he felt like he had literally just fallen off the cliff himself. He wiped a hand across his brow, trying to get his heart rate to slow down. It took a few moments, but when his breathing was finally normal again, he realized that the dream had not faded like they normally do.
But it had felt like it was something else.
It felt like a memory.
The next morning, Lloyd got up and dressed himself, pretending like he didn't have a life changing dream. He pulled his boots on with a sigh, trying to push the dream from his mind. He was still distracted by it when he walking down the stairs, so of course it just so happened that he didn't see his foster father standing at the bottom.
They collided with a dull thud, and Lloyd groaned, gripping his head.
"Lloyd, watch where you're going." Dirk chided with a half smile, turning to face whoever he was talking to, "We have a guest."
Lloyd almost lost his composure when he saw the stranger.
"Who is he?" He whispered, eyes uncharacteristically wide.
"I am Kratos Aurion." The man responded, eyes locked on Lloyd's. His voice was so familiar that Lloyd had to go sit down at the table to avoid passing out then and there.
"He's a mercenary looking for work." Dirk finished, eyeing Lloyd worriedly.
The teen put his head down on the table, ignoring the two talking quietly under their breath. Apparently the man wanted some work done on his weapon and as he would be in the area for a while thought now was a good time. Of course it would be right after Lloyd had a very confusing dream about said mercenary. It was just his luck!
Once the man walked out the door, Lloyd shot up from the table and sprinted up the stairs, hoping to catch the man before he completely left the forested area. He threw open the door to his room and hastily pushed the terrace door open. He stepped out onto it, just barely catching the man as he crossed the bridge and disappeared into the foliage.
Heaving a sigh, he went back into his room and headed downstairs to help his dad on the forge. He would do this on the days he didn't have to go to school. Not because he really had to, but it was something to do aside from training with his swords and staring blankly out the window.
The day past by slowly, the atmosphere feeling almost lazy. It was a drastic change from earlier in the day, but Lloyd didn't mind. It took his thoughts away from the dream and the appearance of the mysterious man.
It wasn't long until he was back in bed, praying to Martel or whatever gods were up there that he didn't have another dream like last nights.
Turns out, everything was going to be fine because he woke up the next day feeling refreshed and well rested.
Except for when he realized that he was late for school. Again.
As soon as he pushed the door to the classroom open, the teacher's eyes flew to him, narrowing in anger.
"Lloyd Irving! I swear if you are late to my class one more time, you are going to have so much detention you'll practically live in the school!" Of course she didn't mean it, but still the thought was terrifying.
Not making eye contact, Lloyd murmured, "Sorry." before taking his seat at the back of the classroom.
He heaved a sigh and turned his gaze towards the window, chin resting on one of his hands. It wasn't long before his eyelids were growing heavy, and he was fast asleep.
"Daddy!" A three year-old Lloyd squealed as he ran up to his "gigantic" father, "Pick me up!" His father sighed, but smiled none the less.
"Okay, Lloyd." The father knelt to pick up the boy when he heard a scream from behind him. His head snapping up, he saw her surrounded by a pack of wolves, "Stay here, Lloyd." He murmured to the child before rushing over to his wife, sword drawn. The wolves noticed his prescence, and turned to attack him instead.
"Kratos!" His wife shouted in fear.
Fending off one of the beasts, he glanced at his wife, flashing her a smile, "It's alright. Protect Lloyd." By now he was surrounded. Cursing under his breath, he swung his blade up into the air and slammed it down onto the earth, sending rocks and a wave of energy flying towards the animals.
As he did so, he heard Lloyd shout something, but didn't have time to see what was going on as another wolf charged him.
"Get away fwom mommy!" The three year-old shouted, glaring. He picked up a nearby stick and threw it as hard as he could towards the wolf that stood in front of them. It slammed into it's eye, causing the beast to yelp and dash off into the woods, "Take that, Mr. Bad Wolfy!"
"Good job, Lloyden." His mother said with a smile, pulling her son to her chest. She sighed in relief as the child snuggled into her and nearly fell asleep. But then she noticed that the battle was over and stood, waking him once more.
He glanced up and saw his father.
"Are we weaving?" Lloyd questioned, big brown eyes meeting Kratos' wine red gaze.
"Yes, we are." The man sighed, but then looked at Lloyd again, "One more thing."
Lloyd frowned, slightly worried something bad had happened.
"Don't you ever do that again, young man. You scared your mother half to death." Kratos scolded. But he made sure not to be too harsh, Lloyd was a child after all.
Lloyd nodded, and snuggled into his mother again, eyes closed and falling into a peaceful sleep.
"Lloyd!" A shout pulled him from his dreams. Something was flying at his head, and Lloyd barely had time to move so the chalkboard eraser didn't slam into his face.
"What the hell?!" He shouted, eyes wide. The teacher, Raine, glared at him, and was walking towards him just as something exploded outside the building.
The entire class gasped, staring out the window as flames roared and people screamed. Raine ran back to the front of the class, grabbing the staff that she usually kept in the corner. She moved towards the door, but, as if she realized they might try to do something, turned to her class at the last second and growled, "Everyone, stay here. I will go check what's going on." With that, she disappeared into the hallway.
Lloyd stood immediately, checking that his swords were still strapped to his belt. His dad only let him use wooden ones, but still, he could do something, couldn't he? Decision made, he ran to the door, only to be stopped when his best friend, Genis, ran up to him, worry all over his face.
"Lloyd! You heard what she said! We can't go anywhere!"
Lloyd nodded, "I know that. But aren't you worried to? We have to do something!" Not waiting for an answer, he dashed out the door and into the chaos.
Once outside, he saw the whole of what was going on. Bandits - most likely a large group of them - had invaded the village. Everything was on fire, and bodies littered the streets. Those who were still fighting were not going to last long. Then, there was a flash of purple, and Lloyd realized that Kratos was here. The man disappeared into the fray, and without much thought, Lloyd chased after him.
"Hey!" Lloyd yelled as he caught up to him.
The mercenary turned to him, and suddenly ran straight towards him.
Before Lloyd could get a word out, the man was shouting, "Move!" Lloyd dove out of the way without a second thought, really not wanting to get cut in half at this point in time.
It was then that he realized there had been a bandit behind him, sword drawn, ready to cut him down.
"Oh...thanks..." Lloyd murmured, staring up at Kratos.
"You should avoid letting your guard down, unless you actually want to die." Kratos stated, extending a hand down to Lloyd.
Taking the man's hand, Lloyd questioned, "What are you doing here?"
Kratos shrugged, "I was in the area and saw the fires." The mercenary's gaze focused on him for a moment, before something akin to realization shined in his eyes, "You live with the dwarf I was talking to before, don't you? Lloyd, was it?"
Before Lloyd could respond, there was a scream.
"It would seem we have no time to talk. Let's go." Kratos took off in the direction of the scream, Lloyd following closely behind.
When Lloyd found Kratos again he was standing, watching the scene play out in front of them. Three bandits had a family trapped with a burning building at their backs. For a moment Lloyd was thrown back to the dream he had not long ago. The family was his, and the bandits were Desians.
He was pulled from his reverie by Kratos shaking his shoulders.
"Lloyd, we must focus." The mercenary glanced back at the group, before turning his gaze to Lloyd, "I will take out the one holding the sword," One of the bandits had it's sword pointed at the mother's throat, "If you can distract the others I will get the family to safety." With their plan made, they took off towards the bandits.
Lloyd tapped the first on the shoulder. As he turned around in confusion, the teen slammed the hilt of his sword into his forehead, effectively knocking him out. The other one, however, wasn't so easy. As Lloyd turned to face him, he felt a stabbing pain in his abodmen. With a grunt, he fell to his knees.
He heard Kratos yell his name as everything faded to black.
TBC
