Note: This is a crossover between Tales of Symphonia, Fullmetal Alchemist, and D. Gray-man.

Orchard of Mines: Backwards to the Fore

Epic Music: Tikal by E.S. Posthumus

Chapter 1

Nothingness. There was nothing in the beginning. He was just floating in an empty void, completely wrapped in eternal darkness. Something strange was about it, however. It was uninviting, but at the same time welcoming. How odd, he thought. He desired it, but at the same time, he wanted it to go away. So he did nothing.

However, it got stranger. Somehow, the darkness took some sort of shape. It wasn't human, creature, or any form of living being. It just was.

A face appeared in this strange form. No…not quite a face. Just a grin and an eye. But that was more than enough. The expression alone told him that this thing had complete control. It knew that he had no power. None whatsoever. Slyness and arrogance were ever present in its expression. It also told him that it offered him something he wanted badly, though he didn't know what.

It also knew that he couldn't refuse.

He reached his hand out and placed it into its hand. Its grin grew even wider and pulled him into its misshapen body.

Suddenly he was laying on something really rough, but his head rested on something really soft. He opened his eyes slowly almost afraid of what he was going to see, though he had no reason to fear.

The first thing he saw was a girl. She had long, flowing blonde hair and blue eyes. There was something really soothing about her. It could be her face. There was nothing but pure bliss and happiness written on her expression. She wore strange clothing that was white trimmed in blue that seemed to have an angelic vibe. And her age seemed to be either in her early twenties or late teens.

She noticed he was awake. "Good morning," she said with a tired smile. It seemed she just woke up as well.

He sat up and glanced around at where he was. It was a room completely encased in metal. There was not even a crack along its smooth surface. The door itself was also made of metal and seemed to be shut tight. The only source of light came from a narrow slit of a window. It must be the sunrise.

He also noticed a very thin man in old, tattered clothing consisting of a green undershirt and darker green khaki. He also wore black military boots. The poor condition of the clothes didn't draw his attention, however. He couldn't take his eyes off of the rifle that was in the man's hands. A guard? So this is a prison cell.

He was apparently lying on a bed of some sort, though the mattress was really rough.

He then realized what he was wearing. It was a grey tee shirt and white shorts. No…not shorts…underwear. It only felt like shorts. He guessed he should feel indecent, but oddly, he didn't care.

"Um…surprise?" she said.

He sat up and turned to face this mysterious girl. "Surprise?" he asked. He gasped when suddenly an image of this same girl appeared in his mind, her body burnt and her flesh charred. This image frightened him and he couldn't help but look away.

He was about to bury his face in his hands, but when he laid his eyes on them, they changed. They were clean with a thin layer of dust on them, at first. The next moment, they were completely covered in blood. Terror filled his soul as he looked upon this frightening image. It only lasted a moment, though. Lyle quickly put his hands under his arms as tears started welling up in his eyes.

The girl placed her hands on his shoulder. "Lyle, what's wrong?"

He looked up at her, thankful that the image of her burnt corpse was no longer there. "Lyle? Is that my name?"

Her expression screamed concern and utter disbelief. "You…don't remember?"

"Remember what?"

The guard in the corner didn't hide his surprise.

"Oh, no." Her eyes drew away from him and her arms fell from his shoulders as she was clearly trying to process what she just heard. "Could it have come from yesterday?"

"What happened yesterday?" Her eyes fell back on Lyle. He was surprised to see her eyes welling up as well. "What's wrong?"

"I… I don't know."

"How can you not know what's wrong?"

"No, it's not that. I don't know if I should tell you."

"Why not?"

"It's bad, Lyle. Really bad."

Lyle suddenly wasn't so sure he wanted to know, so he simply said, "I see." He lowered his head, looking at the ground and nervously ran his fingers through his hair. "Can you tell me who I am?"

"Yes, I can. Your full name is Lyle Seymour Connaway." Lyle raised his head a little higher at that. "You are eighteen years old and are from a small town called Midvale." He immediately looked back up at her. "You recognize it?"

"Yeah. I don't remember very much of it, but I do know that it has a special place in my heart."

"You've always loved Midvale, Lyle. Your fondest memories revolve around that place."

"They used to, at least."

She nodded, lowering her head. "Yeah. If we hadn't come along…" She suddenly spaced out. Judging from the look on her face, what she was thinking about was really painful for her.

"Hey, are you alright?"

She looked back up at him and quickly wiped away the tears. "Oh, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. So do you have any other questions?"

"Too many to count, honestly. Um…it's odd. I feel like I'm supposed to know you really well, but I just don't. Do you mind explaining who you are?"

"Oh, not at all! I'm Colette Brunel. We've been traveling together since the very beginning."

When she said her name, another image flashed in his mind. It was that same girl, except… "Angel wings," he said aloud.

"Hmm?"

"You have angel wings."

Her face was positively beaming. "You remember!"

"That part, yeah." He couldn't help but glance behind her. There was nothing but empty space behind her. "Where are they?"

"Oh, they're put away right now," she giggled a little. "I'll show you!"

"Um…okay." She got on her feet, turned around, and suddenly, semi-transparent wings sprouted from her back. They were pink near the base and turned darker purple the further out they went. Lyle's mouth fell open at this beautiful sight. "Amazing!"

"Hey, look, look!" She started flapping her wings faster and faster until she lifted off the ground. Lyle felt a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. Suddenly, everything was wonderful, despite the fact that all he could remember were traumatic memories.

Another memory flash went through Lyle's head. It was her showing off her wings. They were surrounded by other people, but he couldn't remember who they were.

"Uh…can I ask you something?"

She set down on the ground as she said, "Of course, what is it?"

"Why are we in this cell?" He glanced in the corner where the guard stood.

"Um…Lyle…" She put away her wings and sat down next to him. "It's not us that's in prison."

"What do you mean?"

"It's just you. I just spent the night here."

"Just me?"

Clicking and clanging suddenly emanated from the door. It was being unlocked. The guard leveled the barrel of his weapon at Lyle, which caused him to flatten him against the wall. The door creaked and groaned as it opened slowly, revealing a tall, well-built man who appeared to be in his late thirties. He wore even stranger clothing than Colette did. It was all the color purple except for the belt which was light blue and the boots which were light blue and white. Attached to that belt was a long sword that went down to his ankles. His hair was blood red and extremely messy.

There was something about this man that demanded respect without actually demanding it. Lyle could tell just from the way he stood there that he was a definite leader. Plus, just the way that he wore the sword indicated he was a very powerful swordsman.

The blade itself seemed very unique. The hilt seemed normal enough, brown with a red stripe spiraling down the handle. The guard itself, on the other hand, seemed almost alive, with a single red eye in the center and jagged wings. It looked so organic that for a split second, Lyle thought he saw the eye move. It lay still, however, so it must've been his imagination. The scabbard was split down the middle, so the blade must be forked.

Another image flashed into Lyle's mind. This man had his sword drawn, ready to attack him. Lyle had his own blade out as well. "STOP THIS, LYLE! STOP!" he shouted. So Lyle had a sword, but where's it gone? His brow furrowed as he tried to understand this new piece of the puzzle.

"It isn't necessary to point the gun at him, Rowan," the man said.

"But Kratos, you saw what he did! As long as the door is open, I'm not going to put it down."

"Then there is no point in arguing. We were going to close the door, anyway."

"Good." The man stepped inside the prison cell, followed by another strange person. This woman looked a little closer to Lyle's age. She was very worn down and had a very solemn look on her face. Despite that, she was really cute.

Her clothing involved what can only be described as a white shirt, black collar, blue leggings, and brown thigh boots. Her hair was really long, with the back going down to her knees and the front going down to her chest. She, too, entered the cell.

Another memory flash happened with her. They were in some sort of enclosed space. The walls were lined with buttons and computer screens. Lyle said, "I'll use my power to keep the shield up. Gather as much thermal energy as you can, so we can blast off away from the shockwave."

She nodded. "Right!"

And then it ended as quickly as it began. Lyle stood up, dusting himself off.

"Good morning, you two," the girl said.

"Good morning," Colette and Lyle replied.

Lyle then turned to the man and said nervously, "Good morning, sir."

The man cocked his head slightly to the right with a confused expression on his face. "Sir?" he asked. "I told you not to call me that, Lyle."

"You did?"

He then raised an eyebrow. "You don't remember. You may be a strong fighter, but your forgetfulness never ceases to astound me."

"It's not just that," Colette said. "Just a moment ago, I had to tell him his name and age."

The girl's jaw dropped. "Oh, no. That's horrible!"

Kratos thoughtfully placed his hand on his chin. "I see. So he's dealing with the trauma by not dealing with it." Lyle furrowed his brow at him. It seemed obvious that they knew each other well, before the memory loss. Why isn't he more shocked or surprised like the girl? Does nothing faze him?

"Yes," Colette replied. "He wanted to forget yesterday's events."

"What happened yesterday?" Lyle asked once again.

He continued as if he didn't hear. "Then we might as well reintroduce ourselves. My name is Kratos Aurion."

The girl next to him said, "And I'm Marta Lualdi. Do our names sound familiar?"

"I think so…maybe… I don't know."

"How much do you remember, Lyle?" Kratos asked.

"Not much. Just bits and pieces."

"Hmm… Can you explain them?"

"Which ones?"

"Start with the first one you had."

"Well, it was with…Colette, right? …Okay. She was a burnt, charred corpse." They all exchanged glances. Colette lowered her head and started nervously kicking at the dirt. "Do you know what I'm talking about?"

"Yes. Now what was the next one?"

Lyle couldn't help but feel like Kratos changed the subject too quickly, but he said nothing. "It was my hands. They were covered in blood." Lyle raised his right hand and stared at it. Suddenly, the image came back and more. "I was crying. I hated myself for what I did, whatever it was."

"And the next?"

"Well…with you, we were fighting each other in a plaza of sorts. In a desert town." Kratos raised his head as if he were awakened from a dream. He recognized that moment immediately.

Lyle and Kratos said at the same time, "Lior."

"We were fighting in the town we're in now." Lyle walked over to the window to try to look outside, trying to catch a glimpse of that area. But all he saw was a dry endless desert.

"Yes. It was yesterday."

Lyle's eyes widened and looked back at him. "We fought yesterday?"

"Yes."

"Does that have to do with what caused my memory loss?"

"Yes, it does."

"Then you know what happened!"

"Everybody knows what happened."

Lyle advanced on Kratos with a determined look on his face. "Then why don't you tell me if it's not a secret?!"

"Think about it, Lyle! If what happened yesterday caused you to lose your memories, then your subconscious mind doesn't want them to come back! What's best is that you remember what happened slowly and deal with each memory as they come."

Lyle's hands balled up into a fist as he persisted, "But wouldn't it be easier if I remember it all at once?"

"First of all, Lyle, this isn't a physical wound. It's much more complicated than that. Second of all, yesterday wasn't the only incident."

Lyle's hand softened. "What do you mean?"

"Various events, coupled with your…condition, proceeded to destroy you psychologically. The one that happened yesterday was the worst of all. I believe that it was the catalyst that caused your memory loss."

Lyle's eyes trailed off. "That…makes…sense," he was reluctant to say.

"It is only a theory. Really, it is best to consult a psychiatrist about this."

Colette and Marta nodded. "But where do we find one?" Colette asked. "There isn't really an institute for psychiatrists or anything."

"The most we can do right now is ask around to see if we can find one or somebody who knows one."

"Maybe we could ask Hoenheim," Marta said. "He's still in town and seems pretty knowledgeable."

"Yes, he would be a good person to ask. You do that, Marta. Colette could go to the Holy Mother of Lior. I'll ask the local military."

"Who's this Holy Mother?" Lyle asked.

"The spiritual leader of this town," Marta said. "She serves as a symbol of hope against the State."

"Okay, now, what's with this whole State business?"

"We'll answer your questions later," Kratos said. "You want your memory back, don't you?"

"Of course, as soon as possible."

"Then we should be getting to work." He turned to leave, but neither Colette nor Marta moved. He stopped and said, "I see. Which of you would like to stay?"

"I will," Marta said.

"Do what you will. I'll talk with Hoenheim."

"I, um…" Colette said. Lyle cocked an eyebrow. Are her cheeks turning red? "Is it alright if I…stay with Lyle instead?"

Before anyone could say anything, Marta said, "Colette, can I talk to you for a second, outside?"

"Oh, yeah, of course." Colette suddenly became as solemn as the rest of them. It would seem she has an idea of what they were going to talk about and it wasn't pleasant, whatever it was. They both took their leave, leaving Lyle, Kratos, and Rowen standing in the cell.

Lyle realized that Rowen didn't raise his weapon this time.

He began chewing over what happened within the past few minutes: the images, the explanations, everything. Perhaps within them lies…a clue! Kratos mentioned that Lyle had some sort of condition. But what? Lyle decided to ask about it, even though he knew what his response would be.

"I can't tell you, Lyle. Not right now, at least."

"Thought so," he grumbled as he sat down on his bed.

"You must understand, Lyle. It's for your own good."

"Sure."

A moment passed before Marta and Colette returned and Lyle got back on his feet. Once again, Rowen never raised his weapon as they entered. "I'll stay with him," Colette said.

Lyle was starting to feel better already.

"Very well," Kratos said. "Let's get going, Marta."

"Before we go, there's something I need to do."

Marta then turned to Lyle. Uh-oh.

She immediately ran forward, wrapped her arms around Lyle, and hugged him as tight as she could. He swore his spine was about to snap in half. "Ow, ow, ow, ow!" Lyle shouted.

At that, Marta let go. "Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's alright," he said, rubbing his back. "Why'd you have to hug so tightly?"

"Well, duh, we're friends and I'm worried about you. So I thought a hug might cheer you up." Come to think of it, Lyle did notice his mood was much improved. And as he looked upon Marta, her solemn expression was replaced with a spark in her eyes.

Lyle smiled. "Thank you, Marta."

Marta smiled back and giggled. "I haven't seen that lovely smile of yours in such a long time!" she shouted as she wrapped her arms around Lyle and hugged him again, not so tightly. "I feel like I'm seeing the real you again."

Lyle hugged back this time, awkwardly. "What do you mean by that?"

"Oh…nothing." She let go of him and looked upon his face. She suddenly burst into laughter and stepped out of the cell. "I'll see you later, Lyle! Take care of him, Colette!"

"I will!" she responded.

Kratos, with a slight smile on his face, stepped outside of the cell into the hallway, which was also dark except for the sunlight that crept in. "We will bring something to eat when we return. The quality of the food in this prison is appalling…with all due respect." Rowen opened his mouth to say something about that, but quickly shut it as he followed them. He closed the door behind him and locked it.

"So how are you feeling?" Colette asked with a smile.

"Huh?" Lyle asked.

"I said, 'How are you feeling?'"

"Oh. I'm feeling much better, though I'm starting to get hungry."

"Come to think of it, I'm starving, too."

"I hope Kratos can scrounge up something good."

"He will. He's always been dependable."

"Remind me to thank him and Marta when they get back."

"Of course!"

"And thank you, Colette."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all."

Lyle smiled as he sat down and laid back against the wall. Colette sat next to him. "So what now?" he asked.

"I don't know." She started rubbing her eyes. "To be honest, I'm too exhausted to think."

"You didn't get any sleep last night?"

She stopped mid-rub and looked at him nervously. "Um…no. I mean…uh…no as in, I didn't not get sleep," she giggled.

Lyle chuckled a little. "You can't fool me, Colette. Those bags under your eyes are huge."

"Really?" She started feeling the skin beneath her eyes.

"I'm just saying I can see how tired you are."

"Oh. Well, I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me."

"Well, still, you ought to get some rest."

"I…" She looked as if she was going to fight some more, but she finally sighed and surrendered. "Yeah, I'm really tired."

"Victory is mine," Lyle said with a half-smile.

She chuckled a bit. "Yeah. Well, can't blame a girl for trying."

"No, I can't." Lyle stood up. "Go ahead and take the bed. It's rough, but it's better than this…" He placed his hand on the wall. …steel."

"Okay."

Colette laid down on the mattress facing away from Lyle and awkwardly set her head on her arm. Lyle then realized that there were no pillows. "Are you comfortable?"

"I'll be fine," she said as her head slipped off her arm. She put it back in place only to have it slide off again.

Lyle's cheeks lit on fire once an idea occurred to him. "You know…uh…"

Colette flipped over to look at him. "Hmm?"

She propped her elbow against the bed so her head was resting in her hand. Lyle couldn't help but look away. She's so pretty.

"Oh, thank you!" Colette said, grinning.

Lyle nearly leapt out of his clothes. "Wait, what?"

"You just called me pretty."

"I…I said that out loud?"

Colette giggled once again as she nodded. "Well, actually, you muttered it under your breath very softly."

"How'd you hear me?"

"One of the perks of being an angel. Well, actually, not quite an angel, but close," she corrected herself.

"I'm interested to hear how that works, but…" Lyle shook his head. He's getting off track. "I was just wondering…"

"Yes?"

"Before I say it, I want you to know ahead of time, if you don't want to do this, feel free to refuse, okay?"

"O…kay…"

"I was thinking, maybe, that…you know how I woke up and my head was on your lap?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to do that…except with places switched?" Lyle held up his hands. "Once again, feel free to refuse…if you want, that is," he quickly added.

"I would actually really like that."

Lyle's mouth fell open. "R-Really?" Colette nodded. "Alright."

Colette sat up as Lyle walked over to the bed. He sat down when she said, "You don't have to turn red for everything, Lyle. You're giving me a pillow, that's all." She laid her head down on his lap. "And a comfy one at that." Her smile never left her face.

"I…I can't help it. I have no control."

"You won't hear an argument from me on that." She then closed her eyes.

Lyle looked around his cell. Suddenly, it didn't seem like such a bad place. Then a thought occurred to him. He looked back at Colette. "Is what we're doing right now considered normal?"

She replied, groggily, "Maybe. Honestly, I'm too…tired…" Her body rose and fell from her inhaling and exhaling as sleep overtook her. Lyle thought about getting rest as well, but he was wide awake. Besides, the wall was very uncomfortable. She sat like this all night?

Lyle couldn't help but smile. He was sorry she had to endure this the whole night, but she was willing without complaint. That meant a lot to him. He grew determined not to complain as well, though something told him he wouldn't anyway. Perhaps he was a nice guy before his memory loss.

He glimpsed at Rowen, who still stood in the corner, and was now cleaning his rifle. Lyle's smile suddenly faded. Perhaps not.

The more Lyle thought about it, the more he didn't want to remember…but at the same time, he grew more and more curious. Maybe it was one of those truths that only benefited those that didn't know about it. But that's a moot point, since everyone else seems to know about it. But that's exactly it. Why should he be the only one kept in the dark?

Lyle then grew determined to find out. He didn't care if it took decades, he will get his memory back!

.