Disclaimer: Well, here we are again!

Indeffinate: "Kay so I vote I get to do next disclaimer! :D"

Wavemasterkaz: "Haha okay. Let's do it here(over msn) and I'll just copy and paste it."

Indeffinate: "Sounds good to me! :D"

Wavemasterkaz: "I'm putting this part in there too hah. Now let's get this shindig underway."

Ideffinate: "Sounds good maybe I'll just chill here in the disclaimer instead of leaving like everyone else. Watch the show ya know."

Wavemasterkaz: "Oh yes, that will be grand. You at least don't hate me, hahhh."

Indeffinate: "What the hell did you do to everyone else anyways?"

Wavemasterkaz: "I don't even know, they all just hate me...I'm so unloved!" *cries*

Indeffinate:" Haha, feel the loving, Meemis! And...I didn't think crying was in this script..."

Wavemasterkaz: "You're forgetting, I'm not Meemis here, I'm the ALL powerful Wavemasterkaz."

Indeffinate: "Some big wavemaster, breaks down in tears every couple of minutes." *sly grin*

Wavemasterkaz: *Smites you* "Okay, so..yeah.."

Indeffinate: "Goo onnnn."

Wavemasterkaz: "Uhm...I thought you were doing my disclaimer, not just chilling here making fun of me!" *death glare*

Indeffinate: "But it's so easy to do, and what, no fancy introductions?"

Wavemasterkaz:*sigh* "Alright fine, ladies and gentlemen, the lady who's sister smells of beef (not really), Indeffinate! Woohoo, hooray. :)"

Indeffinate: "Hahaa we will have to get Beef in here to do a different disclaimer. Ahem. Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you for your warm welcome. I would love to stay and chat, however, I have a disclaimer to do! The great smelly and weepy Wavemasterkaz does not own any of the Tales of Symphonia characters, as much as she wishes she does. They belong to Namco, and as for Midna, she is property of Nintendo so no suing!"

Wavemasterkaz: "I have ginger ale." :D "...And I am not smelly!"

Indeffinate: "I disagree, cabbage face." *grins*

Wavemasterkaz: "Meanie."

Indeffinate: "And I had ginger ale earlier today! And you love me." *grins again*

Wavemasterkaz: "But was your ginger ale a one litre? Hm? Hm? HM?"

Indeffinate: "Noooo, it was a nice little drinking size of 355mL. Now are we done here so you can get on with the story?"

Wavemasterkaz: "Yes. Yes we are."

Chapter VIII

Confusion and Sickness

It frustrated him. Now that he knew, he couldn't figure out why, which made him feel powerless, something Kratos Aurion hated more than anything else. He knew that Midna currently resided in Sora's shadow, and he was no longer doubting the boy's sanity, but why? What connection did this young red-haired boy have to the shadow-dwelling pain in the neck? She seemed to know something about him that Kratos didn't, and was obviously not planning on telling him anytime soon. Every night that he was on "guard dog duty" as Sora and Lloyd had begun to call it, she appeared to him out of the shadows and taunted him with her smug smile and irritating giggles.

"Do you promise to return that favour, Kratie?" she asked him one night, her large orange eyes very close to his face. He could feel her cold breath on his face, and as she moved in front of him, he noticed that her body seemed to have more solidity than it had before. The glowing blue patterns were starting to return, very faintly, and he could make out her outline better this time.

"What do you want from me?" he asked yet again. He got no reply, only a giggle and then silence. Yes, she was as irritating as ever, and he was still as frustrated with his situation as ever. What was she up to? Apparently he would have to wait and see.

They were nearing the final seal on the Chosen's journey, the Tower of Salvation. When this was stated, a look of genuine surprise appeared on Sora's face. He looked at Colette with an astonished expression, and after a moment of gaping at her, said,

"Wait a sec...you're the Chosen?" He looked around at the others with shock still plastered on his face while Eccah stood by his side shaking her head and smiling in an almost hopeless sort of way. Lloyd and Genis began to laugh and Sora looked at them in an embarrassed sort of way. "Wow.." he said. "Talk about clueless." From that moment on, he doubled his efforts to protect her and prove his worth as one of their companions.

By this time, the mistrust that everyone had held for the three newest members of the group had pretty much evaporated, and they seemed very happy to be accepted. Sora's conversation with his shadow hadn't been forgotten, but it seemed to matter very little since he was very likable and he and his friends had in fact been very useful. Sora's skills in combat had been very helpful, and Eccah had been very quick in learning healing arts from Raine. Koda was not quite as skilled as the other two in either field, but thanks to his hunting skills, they always had fresh food. The trio did have their oddities, but Lloyd and his companions had grown rather used to them. But every day, Kratos wondered. Why? Why this boy? And not only did Midna insist on tormenting him through Sora, she also seemed to enjoy waving his "newfound fatherhood" in his face. When she wasn't pretending to be about to reveal information, she was asking how he felt knowing that Lloyd was his long lost son and bringing up painful memories of his lost life.

... ... ... ... ... ...

It happened suddenly. There was screaming. Wait...screaming? Who was screaming? His vision was fading in from black, fading in to a flickering orange light. He tasted something warm and thick in his mouth.. Was it blood? He was bleeding? No..it wasn't his. What was going on? He was standing in the middle of a city. A city? When did he get here? Wait...the city was on fire! Why wasn't someone doing something? Why were they all simply running? As he looked around in confusion, a young child tripped and fell at his feet. He hurried to help her up, but as he approached, the child pointed at him and screamed. These people...they were running from...him? This made no sense, he'd just been with his friends only an hour ago, how did he get here? What was going on? He looked desperately around, trying to make sense of the situation. As he began to run he tripped over something and fell. Looking at his feet he was horrified to see a dead man laying there, his eyes wide and staring, his body torn and bloody. He'd been horribly mauled, but by what? He tried to get up and screamed as he caught sight of his reflection in a puddle on the ground. A pair of scarlet eyes stared back at him from shadows under red-brown hair, black marks on a dark face, and a mouth wide open in horror. A mouth that was dripping with blood. Blood that was not his.

What had he done?

... ... ... ... ... ...

"Darky! Hey, Darky, wake up!" A muffled sounding voice was fading in and out of his head. As Sora opened his eyes his vision was blurred, and despite the fact that the voice was becoming clearer, it still sounded muffled for some reason. The light hurt his eyes and his head felt as though someone had beaten it with a hammer. He groaned and as he groggily tried to sit up but a wave of dizziness made him lie back down.

"Are you alright?" he heard Raine ask. Looking over at her he smiled weakly and squinted at her blurred form.

"Y-yeah.." he said. "I think so..I just feel kind of dizzy." He tried to sit up again and even though another wave of dizziness hit him, he remained sitting, trying to focus his vision. Raine came over to him and put her hand over his forehead.

"You have a pretty high fever," she told him. "Maybe it would be best to rest for a while before continuing to the Tower of Salvation.." Sora shook his head and tried to stand up, swaying from another bout of dizziness. Lloyd reached out to help him, but smiled and nudged his hands away.

"No, don't worry about it," Sora said. "I'm alright." At least he no longer had to squint anymore, his vision had cleared up almost completely. Raine still looked concerned, but Sora gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. She let it go but as they made their way closer to their final destination, but he thought he saw her casting worried glances in his direction every so often.

... ... ... ... ... ...

Kratos was on "guard dog duty" again, and Midna had joined him in surveying the sleeping travellers. She said little tonight, and seemed preoccupied, but answered Kratos' questions as little as she always did. They sat in silence, Kratos gazing into the dying embers of the fire, Midna staring off into the darkest shadows of the night. Lloyd mumbled something and rolled over, his foot nudging Kratos' leg. He turned his gaze to the boy's face-he still refused to believe that Lloyd was his son-and sighed. It was difficult to live in denial when he looked so much like her... Midna looked at him, her orange eyes curious.

"So, Kratos..." she murmured. "Have you accepted it yet?" Kratos didn't answer, he merely sighed again and kicked at the dying fire. Midna narrowed her orange eyes and suddenly her face was in front of his. "Kratos," she said, none of her usual humour present in her voice. "You can't keep running away..they need you." Kratos looked up at her and met her gaze.

"They..?" he said. Midna's eyes widened, and she cast a quick glance at the sleeping group, though who she was looking at, he couldn't tell.

"I have to go," she said, and vanished into the darkness. As Kratos stared after her in surprise, he heard her voice echoing faintly in the night. "I'll be gone for a few days...take care of Sora for me...won't you?"

As Kratos sat in silence, contemplating what she said, he found himself again gazing at the boy's face. He was determined to believe that his son had died along with his Anna, but he couldn't stop himself from finding resemblances in Lloyd's face to his own. As he watched, Lloyd rolled over and his hand landed heavily on Sora's head. Sora grunted and kicked out in the direction of his unknown attacker, and his foot connected with Lloyd's knee. This began a kicking and punching war between the sleeping boys and Kratos couldn't help laughing. It was childish, but it felt good to find humour in things again. Perhaps the world was not as dark and bleak as he'd believed it to be since Anna's death... After a moment, he felt a strange sense of gratitude to these people. They'd accepted him without knowing who he was or where he'd come from, and had begun to consider him their friend. Friends... Getting up, he quietly checked on everyone in the group, pulling blankets over those they'd fallen off of, and making sure that everyone was asleep. As he reached where Sora and Lloyd were asleep, putting Lloyd's blanket back over him, he saw a sheen of sweat on Sora's forehead, despite the fact that he'd thrown his blanket off of himself earlier. He made sure that Lloyd was covered again, though it was probably a pointless effort, and then put his hand on Sora's head to check his temperature. He took his hand away in shock. His fever was so high that the heat hurt his hand. He needed a doctor.

"Take care of Sora for me...won't you?"

End Chapter VIII

Confusion and Sickness