So instead, I don't own Tales of Symphonia.
Kara's POV
Kratos' lack of a straight answer didn't stop us from asking where we were going for four days straight. Eventually, we stopped in the middle of the desert.
"Is this it?" Tyr asked incredulously.
"We've been walking for days, just to get to a hot, icky desert?" Tasha inquired.
Kratos just strode off through the soft sand, leaving us to stumble after him. Around a large, rocky growth we trudged, to see a huge concrete building.
"This is what we've been walking for days to get to," Kratos stated.
"Well, what is it?" Tyr asked; forcibly unimpressed.
Tasha spoke up, awed. "It's the old Renegade base, isn't it? Aunty Raine said a bit about it."
We entered after ringing. The interior was cool from air conditioning – a stark contrast to the stifling heat outside. Our footsteps made a noise on the polished, tiled floor, which resounded around the hallways. A half-elf with bright turquoise hair strode down the hallway, cape billowing out behind him.
"Yuan," Kratos acknowledged.
"Kratos." For a second, the man looked incredibly embarrassed, then said, "Look, I never really had a chance to apologise for the whole blackmail thing…"
I looked at the man in astonishment. "Blackmail?"
Tasha came to the rescue. "How good is your history?"
In the conversation that followed, I discovered that although Noishe had been accurate with the history he had taught me, he'd omitted a few details…mostly concerning the fact that Yuan had blackmailed my grandfather by using Dad…
Before I could shout out and start hating Yuan, the reason was explained, and while I didn't like it, I understood Yuan's viewpoint. He was just trying to help the world. Besides, he was trying to put things right by apologising – that had to count for something, didn't it?
"Anyway, Yuan," Kratos announced, pulling the picture Tasha took earlier out of a pocket. "We need some information. Can you tell us anything about this person?"
Yuan took the picture, regarding it carefully. "As far as I can tell, he's fully human."
Tyr tapped a foot impatiently.
"This is the person who has been attacking places where half-elves are known to inhabit?"
"Yes," Tasha answered, exasperated.
"I don't recognise him, but I can scan the picture into the computer's database."
"What good will that do?" I wondered.
"The computer can compare his facial features and structure against every record in the database. We salvaged the records from the Desian computers as well as already having our own records, so there's just about a eighty per cent chance that either he, his parents or a very close relation is on here."
"How do you get that?" Tyr asked.
"The Desians kept records of every host body they ever captured. Since they only spent around twenty years in each 'world' as it was back then, they had quite a large range of data from both Sylvarant and Tethe'alla. However, the search may take several hours, maybe even overnight. I suggest you make yourselves comfortable. I can trust you won't mess around with any machines?"
We nodded earnestly.
"Then you may explore. I'll send someone to find you if we get a match."
We excitedly set off to explore the base.
Kratos' POVOnce the children were gone, I had a chance to ask Yuan something.
"The boy, Tyr, does he seem familiar to you?"
Yuan seemed slightly unnerved – either he'd noticed the urgency in my voice, or he'd noticed the same thing.
"He does. But I can't put my finger on it. Who were his parents?"
"I don't know. He's an orphan – apparently both his parents died roughly twelve years ago. He has no memory of them."
"It's…unsettling," Yuan grudgingly admitted. "I'll run his picture through the database too – we make get some answers."
"How will you get his picture?"
"The base is rigged with cameras. If he hasn't been caught at least twenty times on film already it'll be a rare occurrence."
Kara's POVTyr, Tasha and I spent some time chatting as we wandered around. Noishe and Aria were trailing behind, on their absolute best behavior – they didn't want to accidentally break anything.
I was halfway through a sentence when a voice, powerful and echoing, cut through the conversation. It was strange – completely different to when the Protozoans speak.
'Children of heroes,' it addressed.
"Tasha, Tyr, you can hear this, right?" I asked nervously.
They nodded, equally as put out. We all could sense that there was no harm in the voice, but something – we weren't sure what, exactly – made us apprehensive.
'You will end much suffering, but at what price?'
"Speak sense," Tyr snapped, slightly hostile.
'Kara,' it said warmly.
"You know my name?"
It chuckled. 'So clichéd. Yes, Kara, I know your name. I met your father once. I need you – all of you – to find me.'
"But how? Where are you?"
'I can't say – that would be directly altering the course of the future. Ask Yuan about your weapons.'
"I don't understand: how could that possibly help?"
'Think of the manner in which they were given to you. You will think of a way.'
And just like that, the voice left – ironically, without ever truly being there to begin with.
We quickly decided to find Yuan and Kratos again, and rushed towards the computer room. As we entered, Yuan guiltily looked up from a computer console, minimizing the current task the computer was performing. We paid it no mind, though – the voice that had spoke to us seemed urgent.
"Yuan, you know something about our weapons, right?" I asked in a rushed sentence.
"Apart from the fact that Lloyd made them, we mean. Like, why did he make them, and how did he know where to put them?" Tasha clarified.
This question caught Kratos' attention acutely, and we knew that one way or another, we'd get an answer.
Yuan sighed under the gaze of us four, "Kara, after the Regeneration journey, your mother and father went on a journey to gather all the Exspheres in the land. We aren't completely sure of what happened, but they were in the Meltokio region when Lloyd vanished for two days. Naturally, everyone was worried, but when he appeared back safe and sound, he seemed all right. He wouldn't say a word about where he'd been, except to Sheena, and she kept that secret too. However, he was heard to say something about special weapons at the time."
"And after that, Dad made our weapons…" I concluded.
"But that still leaves so much unsolved…like how did he know where we'd meet?" Tyr wondered.
"I can't be of much more help," Yuan stated apologetically. "However, the results for the half-elf persecutor have arrived."
"Really? Who is it?"
"The Desians never captured him. His data isn't on file."
"No…" I whispered fearfully.
I knew that unless we got some information we'd never beat him.
"However, the database has found three close matches. Rilka Moore, Daerin Moore and Balas Moore. It would appear that Rilka and Daerin were the parents of this human, and Balas was his brother."
We all knew the extra meaning of the past tense that Yuan was using – they were almost certainly dead.
"How do we know their relation?"
"The Desians kept meticulous records," Kratos interrupted.
"Indeed. They kept accounts of the attacks they made on villages and filed them in the parts that were relevant for each person. Of course, in some cases it can mean incredibly short descriptions. This account reads: 'On the whole, the Moore family was captured with relative ease, however, a young boy, nearing 12, managed to evade capture. We are unconcerned – he escaped into a known monster nest. He could not have survived.'"
"Except he did, didn't he? Do we have a name? Anything else at all?"
"We do have some security camera footage of the woman, I'll retrieve it now," Yuan said as he clicked some buttons.
Soon, the screen displayed a small, dark room with a weeping woman in a corner. Faint, but still audible, she whispered something. "Barbaras…wherever you are…stay safe…my son…"
The screen closed itself automatically.
"So," I said shakily, trying to banish the image of the cell from my mind. "His name is Barbaras…"
Tasha contributed: "We know his motive too. His whole family and hometown were destroyed by half-elves…no wonder he wants revenge."
I looked down at the floor. Why didn't I feel the same way? After all, I'd had the same experience – at an even younger age than him. Yet, I didn't hate half-elves. Why?
Noishe nosed my hand as if sensing my thoughts. You have a stronger heart than him.
"Huh?"
It takes a strong person to forgive, while a weak person would seek revenge.
"Thank you, Noishe. And if that's true, you have a strong heart too. You didn't seek revenge either."
He shook his head. I was close to giving up altogether, neither forgiving nor seeking revenge. You were the only thing keeping me going. You were young, and needed help, whether you realised it or not. My heart isn't strong, it was just my dutiful nature doing what needed to be done.
"Noishe…you are strong-hearted. You just won't admit it."
Yuan interrupted with, "Does this happen often?"
Both Tasha and Tyr nodded.
Kratos added, "And while normally, we'd let her carry on, we now need to figure out what to do next."
"Well, to me it sounds obvious," I input. "We have to find out why Dad made these weapons. So, we search for the place where Dad disappeared."
"Seems logical. Yuan, may we borrow some Rheairds?"
"Of course."
As we left, Yuan called Kratos back for a moment, telling us to go ahead. We wondered what it was, but with both of them glaring at us, we decided to work it out later.
Kratos' POVI knew from Yuan's tone of voice that it was about Tyr.
"The computer has finished checking the database."
"And?"
"Too many matches. The hair completely throws the system. I tried refining the search, but then I got no matches whatsoever."
"So, either he looks almost nothing like his parents, or his parents aren't on the database?"
"That's how it would appear."
"It was worth a try," I muttered, striding out the room.
I know, groans all round, right? After all, they got so close to finding out Tyr's lineage…but didn't. Well, believe it or not, there is a clue in this chapter, but it is fairly disguised.
I seem to have a habit of singing in Japanese – right now, I'm listening to a piano only track of 'White Night, True Light', the theme tune for D.N.Angel, and am able to sing the Japanese words – without being able to speak Japanese properly!
Anyway, expect the next chapter fairly soon if all goes well…and I don't get snowed in by course/homework!