Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia. It belongs to the fine folks at Namco.

A/N: AU fic. This came partially out of frustration because there are no Forcystus fanfics, partially because of a quote from ToS and because I love the "what if"'s. Be warned lots of spoilers. I mean it's about Cruxis and Desians afterall.

The title isn't the best but I think it's appropriate. I also hope I got the idea of a brotherly bond across. Kvar is back again and will make one more appearance after this to talk about a certain major plot point from a certain video game this is based off of.

The Good Aurion
Chapter XXI: Harley and Magni

Lloyd almost fell out of his chair. Forcystus had told him the night he arrived at the ranch that he had lost his eye in Asgard where his father lived. He had always assumed that he wasn't referring to the loss of his eye and his father as a single idea. Lloyd was horrified by the very idea. "Forcystus..."

The old man seemed bewildered by the concern in his voice. "The maiden was all right in the end. Two monsters were vanquished."

Lloyd felt a rush of emotion. He was having a hard time maintaining the composure that his father had taught him to show. Elites of Cruxis were not supposed to become overwhelmed with their emotions. There was a solemn, stoic ideal to uphold. But this wasn't about ideals. This was about Forcystus and what Asgard had done to him. Lloyd stood up almost snarling with rage. "He is not a monster! I know him! I know!" He paused for a moment trying to gather his thoughts. He couldn't really think of much but what Forcystus had told him about the event. "He saved that girl!"

"Boy, you're acting hysterical." The old man said irritably. "Saying you know him. No human actually knows the Desian Hero, Forcystus. No one has actually known him since he got that title and lost that arm of his. The idea... You don't know Forcystus any more than I do. The Cardinals, besides being half elves, are recluses for the most part. No one but their staff and prisoners see them."

Lloyd was still fuming as he tried to compose himself. "None of the half elves relate well with the humans. It's just... more notable with the Cardinals and I do know Forcystus."

The old man seemed surprised. "You are a strange one and I assume well traveled."

"You don't believe me?"

"No, I don't. I think you're a self-righteous brat and a right fighter on top of that who has no idea how the real world works. You get indignant about hating the half-elves when it's us or them and most say, it's not going to be us." The old man said gruffly. "I don't know where you come from but in Asgard if the half elves step out of line, we put them in their place."

"You're talking about Forcystus." Lloyd said in almost a hiss. "How is a child supposed to defend himself against a mob?! No one was protecting themselves that night! They were attacking a child because he did something they couldn't! They were right, the human world is as backwards as ever."

"The human world? What do you think you...? Who are you?" The old man seemed caught off guard when Lloyd lowered his facade.

"I'm looking for a half-elf named Harley. Where does he live?"

"Harley? You're working for the Cardinals. I never thought they'd actually send someone for him."

"Harley, where does he live?" Lloyd turned to see that the argument had attached quite the commotion. The innkeeper had snuck out and was undoubtably trying to gather someone to fight with Lloyd.

He wasn't having much luck with innkeepers. Lloyd walked out of the inn and only a few moments before the woman had gathered a group together to fight him. "That's him!" The old man said pointing at Lloyd.

The group was small, only four of them, lead by a swordsman that was around Lloyd's age. The young man was obviously human with brown hair and arena style armor. He seemed to be seasoned enough but Lloyd was almost certain that he wouldn't be that hard to defeat. "This is the group of the Chosen! They came to stop you from seizing Asgard."

Lloyd paused for a moment and looked at the group. Good Martel, he couldn't believe it. The group was not that of the Chosen. Eventhough he hadn't seen Collette in years, he knew her well enough to know that she wasn't among them. They were con men. It would have been incredibly insulting to Cruxis if it didn't prove their point so well. Humans really were the most opportunistic of the life in both worlds. If there was a way to get ahead, they would find it. "The Chosen's group, huh?" Lloyd said with a polite bow as he drew his swords. "I'm sure it's a pleasure to meet you. Though, I've met the Chosen before."

The fake Chosen flinched. The group knew instantly that their cover, with Lloyd anyway, was blown. "You don't want to fight with the group of the Chosen. Martel is watching over us. There's no way you can win."

Lloyd tried not to laugh. The very idea that he would be intimidated by the other swordsman was ridiculous. Lloyd had been using a sword since he was seven years old. His father had taught him form and Forcystus had always been a willing partner for sparring. He also had a hard time ignoring the obvious advantage of being able to use magic with his swords. The swordsman seemed to know he was outmatched too despite the boasting. Lloyd decided it was better to get this over quickly and to get back to looking for Harley. He didn't want any more trouble than he had already gotten into. "That may be true but you shouldn't declare a win before the duel is over." Lloyd stated pointing his sword at the other swordsman.

"He's a desian sympathizer!" Lloyd heard the crowd getting restless. The commotion had attracted more people than Pietro had in Hima. It seemed as though at these half of Asgard had come to see the young 'human swordsman' who knew the 'Desian Hero' Forcystus. "Kill him, Chosen! Stop him before he gets Kvar!" With the ongoing comments, the crowd was beginning to feel more like a living cage than an audience. They were looking for blood and he had a feeling that they wouldn't be happy until they saw it. He didn't want to hurt the other swordsman though. As much of an opportunistic vulture he was, he hadn't done anything to him.

Lloyd yelped and darted aside. The swordsman had attacked when he was distracted by the crowd. He wasn't only a con; he was a cheat as well. Lloyd parried as the other swordsman hacked wildly at him. The young human's form was a mess and he lacked any real method to the madness of his blows. The style was classic bounty hunter. He was too unskilled to be a mercenary, too well armed to be of a local militia and lacking the position of a duelist. He was a monster trapper probably from a moderate to large city. Lloyd continued to parry as he looked for a moment to disarm him. His chance came when the swordsman leapt into the air and swung down at Lloyd.

He quickly hilted one of his swords and grabbed the swordsman's wrist while tripping his with his other sword. The young human dropped his sword and fell backward. He reached for the sword but it was too late. Lloyd was standing on it and pointing the unhilted sword at the young man's chest. "I think I've won."

The swordsman was sweating violently as he looked up at Lloyd. He seemed turned quickly to one of his teammates. "If you kill me, he'll die too!"

Lloyd furrowed his brow. He wasn't sure what the swordsman meant what he meant. Who was going to die too?

"Let me go! When my brother hears about this..!!"

Lloyd turned quickly to the sound of the yelling. He had never heard the voice before but he had good idea of who it was. In the crowd, one of the traveling mercenaries had grabbed a young boy. He was a half elf without a doubt, his ears were pointed and slightly longer than the humans. He was wearing long shorts, a long coat and bandanna around his head. Though what really gave him away to Lloyd was his striking red hair that was pulled back like Magnius. They had snatched Harley. Lloyd turned back to the swordsman who had snatched up his sword in the confusion. "Let him go!!"

The swordsman answered with a yell and charging at Lloyd. He couldn't be bothered with this. The situation had gotten too far out of hand. Harley was no longer safe in the city of Asgard and if he continued the duel, the boy would surely be hurt. Lloyd knew the only way out was too disable the swordsman and get Harley out of the city as quickly as possible. He charged the swordsman and slashed at his right arm. The swordsman screamed as blood rushed from his arm and his sword fell to the ground. The crowd gasped and eyed the wounded man. It was his chance. He had to grab him in the confusion or the mob would descend on him like a horde. He ran over and grabbed Harley tightly by the arm pulling him away from the other fighter. "We have to go. Okay, Harley?"

The young half elf's eyes darted around in confusion then back to Lloyd. "What's going on?"

Lloyd groaned. There wasn't time to explain. "Later, we have to go. I'm with Cruxis you can trust me."

Harley frowned but nodded and ran off with Lloyd in the confusion. Most were too concerned about the wounded duelist to notice until they were out of the city.

"You work for Cruxis?"

Lloyd panted and looked back. They had put enough space between them and Asgard that he thought it was safe. Harley didn't seem to care. "What?"

"Do you work for Cruxis? You said you did but I don't any humans who do and you are."

"Are what?"

"Human! Aren't you listening?" Harley said impatiently. He couldn't have been much older than twelve though he seemed intimidating enough standing with his fists on his hips.

"Yeah, I work for Cruxis and me and my father are the only humans."

"Oh..." He paused for a moment. "You must be working for my brother. You know him, everybody knows about my brother. He's one of the Grand Cardinals. He's the Grand Cardinal of Palmacosta. Palmacosta, that's the biggest city in the world." Harley boasted. "What was going on back there?"

"We have to get to the Human Ranch." Lloyd said eyeing Asgard nervously. "Kvar'll take us in for until it settles down." Lloyd said and began walking toward the Kvar's ranch.

"Yeah, you sure did cause a lot of trouble. Though with that getup, I'm surprised you didn't get lynched. Haven't you ever heard of causality?"

Lloyd didn't answer. He was at this moment trying to figure out how to tell someone that their brother was dead. He decided against outrightly saying he was murdered. He didn't want Harley looking for blood especially so young. He couldn't blame him if he wanted it. He remembered the rage when Kvar had told him about his mother and anger when the old man said that about Forcystus. He hadn't killed anyone but still.

"...So that's when I got my last letter from Magny. It seemed weird that he hadn't sent me one in over a week. I don't think he's ever missed a week in ... forever. It makes sense now though.

Lloyd gasped. "Why does it make sense?"

"Duh! It makes sense that he wasn't sending letters because he was making arrangements for someone to come get me. He can just tell me what's going to happen when we get there. He always said that when I was old enough he'd send for me and I could go to his ranch. I have to admit, I was getting worried for a while. I thought something might have been wrong."

"Harley..."

"Young Lord Aurion!"

He turned to see that the Desian from Luin running up to him and waving. "Hey! Over here!"

The desian ran over to the two young men. "Lord Aurion, I didn't expect to see you again. Are you still on business?"

"Yeah... Actually I was wondering if Kvar could... I was hoping to go... to the ranch."

The desian seemed surprised. "Lord Aurion, are you asking to come to Lord Kvar's ranch?"

"Uh... was that..?" Lloyd blushed bright red. It was stupid to even think he could just barge into a ranch without any notice.

"I think you misunderstood." The desian said and poked Lloyd's chest. "Young Lord Lloyd Aurion, son of Lord Kratos, doesn't exactly have to ask for permission about anything. Or did you think the title had no benefits."

Harley looked up confused. "Lord Aurion? Who is this guy anyway?"

The desian frowned. "Watch your mouth kid. Lord Aurion is son of one of four heads of Cruxis. The question is who are you?" The desian turned back to Lloyd. "I'd be glad to escort you and get this little pest out of your hair."

Harley stuck out his tongue at the desian. Lloyd sighed. "That's fine. He's with me. I have business with him." Lloyd blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "Though I think that escort would be nice. I don't exactly know the way to Kvar's ranch."

The desian laughed. "I swear Young Lord Aurion, you're a riot." Lloyd tried to hide his blush. "The ranch isn't far. I'm sure Lord Kvar will be happy to see you again."

The ranch was indeed close by hidden in a small grove of trees. The ranches all seemed to dwell in a forest of some kind. The half elves did best with some flora he supposed. Heimdall was in one of the deeper forests of Tethe'alla and that was the lost known home of the Elves. The desian opened the gate and lead the two of them into the main entrance. "I'll get Lord Kvar. It'll only be a minute, Lord Aurion."

Lloyd sighed and sat down. Harley just turned slowly to Lloyd. "Magni didn't send for you, did he?" Lloyd turned to the young boy who was now more than a little bit gloomy. "You're some kind of important elite. My brother is important too but he wouldn't be able to send for you."

"Harley..."

"What's going on? Why isn't my brother sending me letters anymore?"

"There was an accident at the ranch."

"So he's hurt?" Harley said his eyes darting and watery. "Are you taking me to see him? How bad is he hurt!?! How bad!?!"

"Harley, he isn't hurt."

"You said there was an accident! Tell me what happened to my brother!!"

"He's dead, Harley. Magnius is dead."

"No... No! You're lying!! How could you say something like that!?! I HATE YOU!!!" Harley yelled sobbing as he ran off past Kvar who had just walked in.

"It was rather mature of you to go get him. I hadn't actually thought of that loose end." Kvar said dryly as he walked into the room.

Lloyd was rubbing his eyes. He felt like his head was ringing. "I just ruined his life. How are you so calm?"

"That was melodramatic." Kvar said irritably. "You did not ruin his life as you claim. Withholding information doesn't make anything less factual. Though that brute of a nanny of yours wouldn't tell you that." Kvar bent down next to Lloyd. "He would have found out sooner or later and at least now, he can go cry in some corner of the ranch and not with a pack of humans at the door."

"How can you say that? He called him Magni! It's his brother! Not some idea!"

"You're too emotional, Young Lord Aurion. He'll be... he'll adjust. The hardest thing will be to find a place for him. Martel knows I'm not taking care of him."

"Maybe he would have been better off in Asgard."

"Not even listening." Kvar nudged Lloyd hard with his staff. "You listen to me. If you're going to listen to anything I say, hear this. He wasn't safe in that city. He's safer here than there."

"He wasn't in any danger until I showed up."

"Information is like a disease. It spreads. Magnius had a net of desian to protect Harley when he was away at the ranch. That net was broken when he died. They would have found out and he would have been in real danger." Kvar paused. "I also think that babying children doesn't get them anywhere. If Forcystus cared about you, he should have told you about your mother."

Lloyd stood up. "Don't talk about Forcystus like that. He was protecting me. He cares about me more than anything. You couldn't know anything about that."

Kvar just stood for a moment staring blankly at Lloyd. "I suppose forgiveness doesn't come as easily as you had hoped and I as well.

Perhaps Lord Aurion, I don't care as you so eloquently put it. But Magnius did care and nothing you say can ruin that child's life because he had a wonderful one so far. Besides his brother being brutally murdered that is."

"I didn't tell him, he was."

Kvar groaned and narrowed his eyes. "You're turning into some odd combination of your father and Forcystus and yet somehow I'm not incredibly annoyed yet."

"I told you that hate begets more hate. I'm not going to force that on Harley."

"I suppose." Kvar stood for a moment nervously and tapping his foot.

"You want to tell me something."

"You need to get back to Forcystus. He'll have a fit."

Lloyd stared bewildered for a moment.

"I'll take care of Harley. There's still time for that later."

Same as always, remember reviews and ideas are always greatly appreciated.