Disclaimer: Nope, still dont own Tales of Symphonia however the characters of Riptos, Elena, Rydan, Reval, Chief Taisuke and Miss Rouge are all of my own creation so at least i own something.

Well its a little earlier than i thought it would be but i suddenly felt the need to update so without further ado here is chapter 2.

Chapter 2: A Rival Appears

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Riptos had entered the forest following the almost dazzling light emanating from the hidden temple in the Gaorachia forest, 'wonder why the oracle has to happen here of all places' he thought inwardly. So distracted was he, that he didnt notice the boxing Iris throw a punch until it had smacked him in the left temple.

"Goddammit" Riptos yelled grasping at the red mark on the side of his head, he glared up at the monster that had just ailed him. He clutched at the hilts of his Silver Saidons nicknamed "Justice" & "Love"and drew them from their side holster. "Now you die" Riptos said coldly as the monster screeched and advanced on him again.

Riptos leaped over the offending creature before slashing at the back of the creature which let out an earpiercing scream. "Im not done yet!" the young ninja added cockily "Phoenix Slash" as both his Saidon blades began to glow, he rushed the creature one more time which had raised its arms in defence. The blades erupted into flame as he cut down the creature which was never to rise again.

"Go back to hell" Riptos sneered before reholstering his Sai. 'I let myself get careless there, best keep my guard up, i've heard all about Martel's trial involving monsters so no doubt there will be plenty more where that came from' he thought, mentally kicking himself at the same time.

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Elena and Rydan entered the outskirts of the forest and heard the calls of some eerie and terrifying sounding creatures.

"You sure you want to do this Elena, i mean we can easily head back" Rydan asked with a hint of worry in his voice.

"I have to, if I dont then the Desians will continue to rape the world" she retorted.

"Well if you feel so strongly about it, I guess someone is going to have to protect you" Rydan mused raising an eyebrow in an all knowing way.

"Thanks"

Rydan and Elena walked into the forest to see most of the light cut off by the dense canopy of overhanging trees above them.

'Cold in here' Rydan thought as he heard a shrill cry coming from above him, three huge killer bees had descended upon the pair.

"Look out" Elena called albeit too late as a bee stung Rydan on the arm.

"DAMMIT!" Rydan yelled as he felt the poison coursing through his system, he couldnt let Elena down before they had even really started, he drew his Steel Sword and swung wildly and increasingly weakly at the offending insects.

Elena began to cast a spell for her ally only to be interrupted by a diving insect, she fell to her knees to avoid it before swinging her scythe and blindsiding another insect. She saw another one attempt to divebomb her, she knew she couldnt defend against it in time, she closed her eyes to prepare for the inevitable...

"Fireball!" was called from the forest and three fireballs flew towards the bug and knocked it out of the air, leaving it wriggling helplessly on the ground next to the soon to be Chosen.

The young girl opened one eye to see she was no longer in immediate danger, she looked around for her saviour and saw a man dressed in purple brandishing a Silver Sword and swatting the remaining bees effortlessly. "Who are...?" she was about to ask.

"I'll tell you when we have dealt with this little problem" the man retorted before returning to his quarry.

Elena surveyed the rest of the battlefield to see Rydan labouring for breath, obviously exhausted from fighting poisoned, immediately she began to cast a spell, this time remaining uninterrupted "Recover" she said as a green aura surrounded her friend and he was able to join the fray once more.

Rydan passed a thankful glance as he swung at the bee that had stung him, catching it with ease and taking great pleasure in stamping its insignificant life away.

No sooner was it over and questions were asked at the Chosen's saviour.

"Who are you?" Rydan asked first before Elena could interject.

"I am Kratos, a mercenary for hire, i was on my way to the temple here to see if the next Chosen wishes for me to join their journey" the man replied sheathing his sword.

Elena piped up obviously excited "That's me, i was on my way to accept the oracle from Martel when we got ambushed".

"I see" Kratos added keeping his frown, "This brings me to my next point then, if i can be paid enough, i will accompany you and defend you from the perils this journey will no doubt bring" he added.

"I dont see a problem with that" Elena said, im sure the mayor of Sybak can pay you handsomely for such a job.

"Its a deal then" Kratos smiled slightly.

"Yes, would you accompany us to the Temple further in the forest?" Elena said earnestly.

"I see no problem with this" he replied leading the way for the two friends. "It's just this way" he added.

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Riptos had arrived at the temple entrance to find that he must have arrived before the Chosen considering that the Oracle stone had not been used yet...crossing his arms he sat down waiting for the arrival of the aforementioned person.

'Reval, why do you have to be so stubborn' Riptos thought, remembering his little brother's pleas to join him on his excursion, the mark from the Iris had mostly faded but it was already a painful reminder of what could have happened if he had indeed let his little brother tag along with him.

He shuddered at the thought as he applied an apple gel to the side of his head relieving the last of the swelling, the redness would no doubt disappear within a day or two 'fool on me' he laughed inwardly.

He heard movement coming from his left, using his instincts he leaped and hid above the temple door in a darkened spot before observing where the sound had came from. To his surprise he saw a richly dressed man in purple sporting a rather expensive looking blade, surely the King of Meltokio hadnt sent another worthless mercenary out to find him. 'Oh well this will be mercenary number twelve then' he mused, always wondering when the King would stop sending more men to their deaths for a price.

Drawing a couple of Shurikens from his belt he held them expertly in his hands waiting for the man to draw closer before making his move. He absently noted the man wasnt alone, seemed he was escorting some Sybakian students or he had them as bait, meh didnt matter, he was going to add to his merc kill count today and damned if some students were going to stop him.

The shurikens left his hand at a quick velocity only to be swatted away by the mercenary in question's blade. Clearly in shock Riptos leaped down from his perch above the temple and rested his right hand on his Sai holster. "Hmmm, i give you credit, you are the first one for a while that survived that attack" Riptos jested full of confidence. "However, this doesnt mean you are going to walk out of the forest alive."

The mercenary merely let out a short grunt before assuming a fighting posture.

"Kratos, no, dont fight, lets just get out of here" the female student behind him called out.

Riptos looked behind his opponent and saw the girl who was blonde with warm chocolate eyes, he shifted his piercing gaze back to his opponent. "So your name is Kratos, it's always fun to know a man's name before i kill him" he drew his Saidons.

"Stay back, I can handle this" Kratos said without glaring back at Elena and Rydan.

Elena and Rydan both nodded before taking 3 steps back clearly marking the boundary of the battlefield.

"Shall we begin" Riptos jested before dashing at his opponent.

"It begins" Kratos said.

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Chapter 2 done then, come on people, i need E-mails for other characters here. I hope this chapter catches the attention of more people because unfortunately i know im not well known...yet but heres hoping. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for the next chapter which will have the fight between Riptos and Kratos in Chapter 3: Ninja vs Mercenary?