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Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia, arguably the best game ever made.

A/N: This story is basically an experiment with a "what-if" I had, but it turned into several chapters and there's no end in sight. I want to finish off the story instead of leaving it abruptly, so I hope you like what I have in store! Enjoy!

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Special thanks to Tanali for letting me know... I spelled Colette's name wrong... =_=

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Chapter 2 – Nice to Meet You

"Whoa, bud, what're you talking about? We're you're pals!" Zelos raised his eyebrows in wonder, not sure if he was falling for some sort of gag or this was just some feeble sort of joke.

"Lloyd! Thank goodness you're okay!" Genis knelt down and leaned in to give Lloyd a big hug.

"H-hey, wait!" he looked very uneasy as the younger boy wrapped his arms around his middle.

"Stop, please… just… what's going on? " He shoved Genis away nervously, and tried to find a break in the circle of people around him. He saw the expressions change around him from relieved and welcoming to something else, and it frightened him. What had they called him? What was that name? Why was the man with blue hair frowning?

He looked around one more time and settled on the face directly across from him; unlike the other faces it seemed almost familiar …

"Lloyd, do you not remember your friends?"

That man was speaking now, the one wearing purple. He had spiky hair, and it was an unusual deep red color… Lloyd found that he liked the sound of that voice more than any of the others he had heard so far.

"Who are you? What's your name?" He wanted to know.

"Lloyd, what is wrong?" The man sat up slowly, and reached toward him with one hand.

"You call me Lloyd, right? What should I call you?"

He felt a million sets of eyes watching him, but at this moment it seemed the man in front of him was his best chance of getting answers.

"I am Kratos."

The woman to Lloyd's side was talking to the others of the group, but he hadn't paid attention to what she was saying. She didn't mind that his attention was now turned on her.

"…amnesia. I have read of certain concussion-induced head traumas, but this type of disorientation should wear off quickly."

Lloyd studied the hand that was reaching toward him, and something compelled him to put his own hand there. He and the purple guy, Kratos, held hands for a moment before the man looked into Lloyd's eyes suddenly, and he felt a sudden sharp pain in the back of his head. He had to shut his eyes, and he yanked his hand away in order to press against his scalp. The boy in red moaned softly- there was a lot of pain. He didn't know what to do…

He felt someone move quickly to his side, and he felt a pair of arms lift him into the air. It would have been kind of fun, if it weren't for his throbbing head.

"Lloyd, listen to me. You are going to be okay."

Lloyd nodded though tears had started leaking from his eyes, and he buried his face in the person's shoulder. For some reason, he felt so ashamed…

"He seems to trust you, Kratos."

"I suppose. But we need to get him to a doctor… there seems to be something more serious that's the problem."

"Resurrection should have worked on him. Revitalize should have restored him fully. I have to agree, I think this is beyond my capability to heal."

"W-wait a minute. Seriously, what's wrong with him? I thought you said it was just some kind of amnesia?" There was a female voice near him, and he sensed in the sound that she was agitated, worried… it scared him. He heard other people talking to the one named Raine, but his head started throbbing too much for him to really follow the conversation. He couldn't help the sounds which escaped from his mouth, they seemed to come of their own accord along with the pain in his head.

Lloyd curled in toward his knees, while still being held in the air- he somehow felt the person holding him was incredibly strong, and he felt protected. The fact that this person knew the others made him feel at ease somehow; he felt that these people were all going to help him. He felt himself beginning to trust them, even though he had yet to actually learn all of their names.

"Lloyd, we're here with you, okay?" It was the boy they called Genis, and Lloyd heard him clearly in the crowd. His words were encouraging, hopeful… Lloyd wished he knew what he was expected to say in return. He felt himself being carried, but the man's stride was very smooth and he felt a cold hand press against the side of his face- it was to prevent his head from moving too much. It felt so nice… what should he say to the man named Kratos?

There seemed to be no words, so Lloyd decided to let it go. His head began pounding with a little less intensity, and he felt his eyelids relax as he took a deep breath. The air caught in his lungs unexpectedly, and he started coughing deeply, his body convulsing slightly with each sound. Kratos held him tighter and said something softly, but Lloyd couldn't make it out, only a vague feeling that the man in purple believed he was going to be okay. Dangling limply in his arms, he really hoped that man was right. It was scary to be so alone among this crowd, and it was scary to be so lost in the world… but Lloyd had a feeling that these people were trying to help him, and he knew there was no way he could currently fight them anyway.

…

"Where are we?" Lloyd whispered, afraid to open his eyes.

"You are in a doctor's office now." Knowing Kratos was nearby made him feel suddenly, inexplicably relieved.

"A… doctor…?"

"Someone who is going to help you. He will take away the pain you feel."

"Pain… ah, okay…" Lloyd felt his heart beat faster, realizing he was sprawled out and completely vulnerable. He tried to move, but felt a hand placed on his chest and a voice asking him to calm down. To not worry. He decided to listen, since he was already at their mercy. He felt himself slipping away, and he was unable to fight it…

…

Somebody touched his fingers, and then clasped his hand tightly. He wondered who it was, and slowly opened his eyes… he turned to get a better look at her. She was a short blonde girl, and he noticed her eyes were red. It made him feel slightly afraid, and somehow guilty… he knew somehow that she was upset because of him.

"I'm sorry."

"L-Lloyd? Can you see me?"

"Of course. You have long blond hair…"

"Ahehe. I'm so glad you're going to be okay!" she smiled brazenly and Lloyd realized this person genuinely cared about him. She was worried about him.

"Wait, why are you apologizing?"

"I'm sorry… for making you worry."

"Oh! It's okay. Do you… remember me?" She looked so excited, but try hard as he may, there seemed to be no name attached to that face. He wondered if he should know her from someplace, but everything was so vague…

"I'm sorry, I… I don't think we've met before."

"Oh, oh okay. My name is Colette, and it's nice to meet you."

"Ah, yeah. Likewise." He tried to smile back, but he wasn't sure if he was doing it right. He hoped the girl wouldn't laugh at him.

"I'm Genis! I'm your best friend!" Lloyd heard a voice but it was coming from beneath him- he realized he was laying down on a table of some sort, and that the person talking must be too short for him to see. He wanted to look over the edge of the table, but someone still had their hand on his chest, preventing him from doing so. He traced the hand backward to its owner with his eyes, and saw a huge blue-haired man standing over him as well.

They exchanged glances, and then in a calm and sophisticated voice, he spoke. "Lloyd, I am Regal Bryant. I hope you will recover quickly…"

"Y-yeah. Me too."

"I am Raine. I'm your teacher."

"Presea. I am also your friend."

"Bud, I really don't think I need to introduce myself, but…" Lloyd turned his head to face the opposite side of the bed, he hadn't realized there were more people standing over there too.

"What's your name?" Lloyd stared up at the orange-haired man… or was it a woman?

"Lloyd, come on, seriously! How could you forget me, the great Zelos Wilder?"

"So, you're name's Zelos. I'll keep it in mind."

"Yeah, you'd better. Now when are you going to stop playing stupid and-" a hand wrapped around his mouth, preventing him from coherently saying anything else.

"My name's Sheena, and as much as I hate to agree with this guy, I think we all hope you are back to your old self really soon."

"My… old self?"

Sheena suddenly clapped a hand to her mouth, and her eyes widened in… fear? Shock? Lloyd became nervous suddenly, and his eyes started to unfocus. He didn't want to die. There was something he had to do first, something important, some reason he had to live… who was his old self? Were there things he was forgetting? He tried to remember, and suddenly his head was throbbing again… it was so painful! And then he remembered the man in purple, the one who had carried him here. Where was he? Where had he been standing? Lloyd opened his eyes again, and tried to sift through the crowd. Where was he? The one person who had seemed familiar… what was his name, again? Lloyd found that he had forgotten the man's name…

"Wh-where is…" his head was really hurting, and it interrupted him. He closed his eyes and tried again. "Where is the other man?"

"What other man?" Raine was leaning close to him, and it made the hair on the back of his neck bristle. He didn't want her right now, he just wanted to see that man… the man in the purple.

"He wore purple, I forget his name… he was here just a moment ago."

He opened his eyes, expecting that person to appear in front of him, but he did not. Lloyd began to worry, he felt scared… where had that person gone? The other people were all exchanging sidelong glances, but nobody said anything.

"You mean Kratos, don't you?"

"Yeah! Yeah, that was his name. Where is he?"

The group suddenly avoided his gaze, and fell silent again.

"Someone tell me!" Lloyd was feeling worried now, he wanted to see Kratos again, wanted to feel safe again. That was the only person he had sort of felt he knew…

"Lloyd, he… he left a little while ago, while you were sleeping." Sheena spoke slowly, and Lloyd realized that their hesitation should have prepared him for hearing this. It didn't.

He felt his face grow extremely hot, and the world became a blur of color. He realized he was crying, that water was falling from his eyes. He felt ashamed, but he didn't know how to control himself… he tried to turn over, turn toward his pillow, but Regal's hand was still preventing him from moving.

"I… I want to… see him… again." It was hard to talk when his throat felt so dry. He didn't know what was wrong with him, and it was frightening. His cheeks felt wet now, and tears trickled from the corners of his eyes.

"I don't think that's possible right now…"

"No, I want him to be here too! I want to see him… I feel like he is the only person I remember…"

"He can't, Lloyd, please calm down. You're being unreasonable. I'm sure-"

"No! No! You don't understand…!" He tried to move Regal's hand, it was constricting him. It was squashing him. He felt unable to even breathe. He started coughing, and couldn't even turn away…

"Someone should get the doctor, he's becoming agitated…"

"Lloyd, hang in there!"

"Calm down!"

"Bud, you need to chill. He's not that important, y'know…?"

You're wrong. You're wrong… that man, somehow that man in purple is very important to me… Lloyd squirmed, and kicked, and started sobbing. He felt trapped and confused, and without that man in purple he was terribly afraid. He was lost in the world, and he didn't know what to do.

A new voice came into the picture, and he felt something sharp on his arm. Then, suddenly, everything started fading away…

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A/N: So, how do you like it so far? Thanks for all the reviews!