Okay, I've explained this before but for those unfamiliar with my stories, a 'brofriend' is a bro and a bud. It usually means two guys who are really close and are so secure in their sexuality that they can act gay with each other in jest and not be in the least uncomfortable with it. Like the male equivalent of a 'galfriend'…kinda, you'll see.

Also, this is not the same 'verse as the 'Wonder twins' and Worry, despite the use of 'brofriends'. I also characterize everyone a little differently as well between stories as well (ex. Wonder Marta is not the same as The Life After Marta, etc.).

It was the voice of one very much pissed off. Emil, Marta, Genis, and even Richter—though with a little more dignity—all made haste to abandon Kratos in favor of standing where it was safe next to Ratatosk, Raine, and Zelos, who all knew Lloyd would have gone through with the 'Dad' part if he hadn't wanted to draw his blades and attack.

Which was exactly what he did.

"I can't believe you! I thought you were dead!"

"Now, really, Lloyd," Kratos said as he blocked a Demon Fang and dodged a Beast, "you can't exactly blame me for-"

"Then blame your fate!"

"Nice one, bud!" Zelos called out, though shrunk back slightly at Kratos's frostbiting glare.

They were suddenly pulled apart by Fenrir and Sphinx each grabbing one of them by the back of the shirt.

"Okay, break it up, you two." Ratatosk sounded rather bored, having probably only separated them upon Marta's request, "Sheathe your swords, children."

When neither of them did so, but instead only glared at him, Ratatosk gestured for his monsters to violently shake the two side to side for a few moments before giving them another chance to comply.

This had to be done several times.

Once he judged Lloyd to have settled down, Ratatosk had Sphinx and Fenrir shake them one more time before unceremoniously dropping them, earning him a glare from Lloyd. Kratos, however, was focused on someone else entirely.

Drawing his sword once more despite having put it away only moments before, he approached Zelos radiating an extremely disconcerting air, "Now, Wilder, in regards to my son…"

Zelos's eyes widened, "I don't know what anyone told you, but I swear to Fate we're only brofriends!" He was acutely aware that he was on his way into backing into the wall of a building, "I mean, surely there are other ways to-"

"You're right; I could make you a eunuch."

Zelos turned ghost-white, "Other than that?" he practically squeaked.

The other males had lost a shade or two of color as well; all except Emil who asked, "What's a eunuch?"

And before anyone could stop her—but truly, the boy probably needs to know this—Raine answered, "A castrated male who-"

"Okay, I get it." Emil did squeak—'castrated' was a word he knew, it's meaning had been given to him after a battle where he just barely dodged an enemy's sword swing that could have been very unfortunate indeed.

"Alright, before we start severing…stuff; let's get back to why I didn't know you were alive earlier!"

Kratos seemed to seriously consider whether or not to carry out his threat before speaking with Lloyd. After a moment that seemed like interminable lifetimes to Zelos, Kratos finally sheathed his sword, "I suppose since there are ladies present-"

Zelos sped over and threw his arms around Lloyd, nearly tackling him to the ground, "Oh thank you, bud! You saved my bal-err, butt, you saved my butt!"

"I never said I wouldn't let him do it."

Still hanging off of him, arms around Lloyd's neck, Zelos looked up at him with puppy-dog eyes, "But-but, I thought we were brofriends! You know, like Genis and Mithos."

Kratos actually looked physically shocked to the untrained eye, "Mithos?"

The door to the Vanguard building opened, "I heard someone say my name in a voice of pleading; you know I don't do that kind of stuff anymore, so what's the deal?"

Kratos was struck speechless, well, almost, "I'm going to kill Yuan."

"Kratos? You've met with Yuan? He's not slackin' off, is he? Like makin' out with my sister and doin-"

Richter cleared his throat pointedly, drawing Mithos's attention to Emil, who was standing beside Richter.

"Oh, right; sorry."

"How in the hell does he say that with a straight face?" Zelos wondered aloud, no longer hanging off of Lloyd but still draped across his brofriend's shoulders from behind, "Must be a little brother thing, I could never think about my sister making out with a guy and doin-"

Richter cleared his throat pointedly, drawing Zelos's attention to Emil, who was standing beside Richter.

"Oh, right; sorry."

"Mithos, why are you of all people here?" Kratos asked incredulously, having—after many valiant attempts to place the minute fragments of his composure back together—finally given up on his usual deadpan.

"Oh, well, I was helping everyone look for documents detailing assassination plans for Marta." Mithos grew somewhat excited, "With luck, we can find something to get them lift the punishments on our friends for creating the Vanguard!"

"Your…friends?"

"And I'm sure we can find something for Richter; if we can't, we can just fake something. Hey, I know!" Mithos seemed on the edge of bouncing up and down—it was hard enough for Zelos to look directly at Emil for any length of time, now he had this display of purity and goodwill blinding him and attempting to violently ravage his periphery vision—he needed some pity right about now, not that he was going to get any, "Kratos, you're great at making things up! Why don't you help? You did think up the entire mythology of the Church of Martel after all."

"Damnit, brat! You cheated! You used insider information, the bet's invalid! Invalid!"

"Just give Genis the money, Zelos."

Zelos muttered darkly under his breath as he dug through his right pocket, left arm still slung around Lloyd's shoulder, then placed a very good deal of Gald in Genis's hand before putting his arm back around Lloyd's shoulder and resumed resting his head next to Lloyd's own to watch the events unfold, making sure to do so on the shoulder the farthest away from Mithos and his radiating beams of innocence that were casting their purifying light upon his corrupt soul.

Marta blinked, "You basically bet on Kratos's skills of creativity?"

"Of course," Genis said, "Lloyd isn't the sharpest sword in the sheath-"

"I haven't heard that one used before."

"-so most of our thought processes, Zelos's especially, went to that—though his dad is obviously more intelligent—Lloyd is still Kratos's son thus Kratos probably didn't have the imagination to create an entire belief system. Err, no offense, Kratos."

"None taken." The swordsman said hesitantly, still trying to process all this.

"I should have been more suspicious when the brat went for all or nothing." Zelos grumbled.

I love messing with Kratos's father complex.

And yes, I know I said I wouldn't post more of this yet, but that was before I realized how nice everyone is here at the Tales of Symphonia fandom! I'm running out of ToS stuff to post for y'all so this will have to do. You guys make me feel so happy when I see your reviews, since I'd never gotten many before. I love you all! (Plus, I figured I should probably introduce the other main character before I leave y'all hangin'.)

Notes:

That whole discrimination thing settled down in this AU to roundabouts what it is in Real Life—as in there will always be those kind of extremists; but the overall population's all cool considering those who have not lived as long in the world as to have become truly steadfast in their beliefs are starting to come of the age to affect global opinion, ya get what I'm sayin'?