Hey guys! Thanks for reading this far. I'm really trying to come back to tis story whenever I have a chance because I want to see it through to the end. So please stick with me and see what happens to Crystal and the gang!

Disclaimer: I do not own tales of Symphonia.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Smile

The next morning the group packed up and Hina helped them exit the safe house without risk of being seen. Crystal was feeling physically healthy again, and after assuring her group that she was fine, went back to saying as little as possible.

They left Mizuho and headed for Ozette. The sun shone through the leaves of the old trees as they made their way through the forest. Crystal walked with the also silent Presea.

Lloyd followed a little ways behind Crystal and watched her frame sadly. He couldn't help but worry. It seemed like last night she nearly committed suicide. What would have happened if Kratos hadn't caught her? And what was Kratos playing at? Was he friend or foe? It felt like every time Lloyd turned around Kratos had switched sides again. He was getting sick of it, and he had the feeling it was getting to Crystal as well.

Lloyd wasn't normally the type to worry about more than he had to. That trait helped him get through the journey so far, even though it was one of the reasons he was always considered slow. But now, after all that happened so far, he did worry about Crystal.

Zelos noticed that Lloyd was staring at Crystal and put an arm around him.

"What?" Lloyd asked.

"Well…Is it just me?" Zelos asked quietly. "Or do those two look exactly alike?"

He nodded towards the two girls ahead.

Lloyd shifted his glance. "I suppose…"

Zelos gestured flamboyantly. "Why do they have to be so gloomy? Why can't they smile more for the great and magnificent, Zelos? There can be nothing more wonder-"

"Shut up!" Lloyd said angrily.

Zelos' eyes widened and he looked at Lloyd curiously.

"Sorry…" Lloyd said grimly. "It's just that…Crystal…I'm worried about her…she used to smile but…"

"But what?" Zelos pressed.

"Zelos…" Sheena interrupted a hint of danger in her tone as she flashed him warning look.

Zelos sighed. "Alright, I'll leave it alone."

"Good," She said, looking happy with him for once.

"Besides I have my voluptuous Sheena, and ultra-gorgeous-cool-beauty Raine!"

"You idiot!" Sheena yelled, smacking him upside the head.

Zelos whined, and Raine gave a barely audible sigh.

They entered the quiet green town of Ozette. The moment they entered Presea ran ahead of them.

"Let's follow her, "Genis said as he ran after her.

The group followed her as she ran down a path that looked like it was made of a giant tree root. Because Colette was so clumsy, they walked down slower than the pink-haired girl.

When they caught up she was on the porch of her house, talking to someone.

"Rodyle!" Crystal exclaimed.

"Oh…the Chosen and the little angel," The Desian sneered. "Well, I'll be going now…goodbye."

Rodyle walked away. Crystal growled and started to charge after him, but Lloyd caught her arm, and pulled her back.

"No, Crystal. Let it go," he said. "I'd like to kill him as much as you do, but we can't do it now."

"But…" she started.

"Lloyd is right, we have to take care of Presea," Raine said.

Crystal nodded, and Lloyd let her go.

Genis turned to the axe-woman. "Presea, come with us. We need to get your Exsphere fixed."

"I must do my job. Goodbye…" Presea walked inside.

"Let's go," Lloyd said, and they all followed her in.

They walked up the creaky porch of the small house and entered. Presea was walking around her house, straightening up and putting different things away. But something was not quite right. As the group looked around the little shack, a decaying scent reached their noses. It was the smell of something rotting.

"Ugh…that smell…!" Lloyd gasped.

Crystal nearly swayed when the too-familiar stench reached her. "Death…"

They looked over at Presea, who was attending to something at a table next to a bed.

Raine consciously walked towards the bed. As soon as she realized what was in front of her she stepped backwards in surprise and clutched her heart.

"H-how horrible…" She said.

"This is so not cool," Zelos remarked.

Crystal stepped a bit closer and stared at the bed. She assumed the person in the bed had been human at some point, but it seemed that was some time ago. The body was decomposing appallingly.

She'd seen enough. Crystal turned on her heel and hurried out of the house.

Zelos watched her fly out the door and turned to Raine.

"I'll go check on her."

Raine nodded and Zelos left.

"How come Presea hasn't noticed anything?" Colette asked, hiding behind Lloyd a bit, to avoid the worst of the sight. "Probably because of the Exsphere…" Raine said. "Presea has no idea what's become of the person in this bed…" Regal stepped towards Presea. "Presea, are you coming with us?"

"I must...do my job..." she said monotonously. "Raine sighed slightly. "Then we'll have to leave her." "Here!" Genis exclaimed. "If we force her to come with us, she'll fight back. We'll return for her after we visit Altessa."

Sheena nodded in agreement, and so did Lloyd.

Crystal ran out the door. She went towards the edge of the thick forest and stopped herself on a tree. She hung onto it and panted, her forehead bowed against the cool wood, her eyes closed.

The scent of the house was still in her nose. That rotting smell of death…the smell that brought so many memories flooding back…

She opened her eyes. Enough of that, she thought. I can't keep letting these things get to me…or I'll never get better.

She turned around, took a deep breath and made her way back to the house. As she did, she noticed Zelos walking towards her.

"Hey, Hikari-chaannnn," He said in a sing-song voice. "You alright?"

She nodded and started to walk past him.

"Why are you so silent?"

Crystal stopped. She turned her head slightly. "It's the way I am I suppose."

Zelos shook his head. "That's not true and I know it."

"How can you know it?" She asked.

"Because…just looking at you I can tell…you aren't meant to be so unhappy."

His words tugged at something inside her. With her back to him still, she spoke softly. "You aren't meant to judge me, either."

Zelos watched her walk back to the house and followed a few feet behind her.

Lloyd knocked on the door of Altessa's house. There were a few moments silence and then the door swung open. A girl with a long green braid stood before them.

Lloyd blinked in surprise. He wasn't expecting a young girl. He cleared his throat. "Um…Hello, is Altessa here?"

"YOU WISH TO SEE THE MASTER. COME IN." The girl stepped aside to let them in.

Crystal eyed the girl as she walked past her. The green-haired girl's voice was robotic, and her eyes were as empty as Presea's. She wasn't quite normal.

They had hardly been there half a minute when a dwarf with a long beard and a bald head, stepped out of his workplace and faced them. "Who are you?"

"We're friends of Presea-" Leave!" W-what?" Lloyd asked, surprised. I don't want anything more to do with that girl! Get out of here!" the dwarf said, and he went back to his room.

Lloyd looked at the girl. "What was that all about?" He demanded.

The group was in a stunned silence. The green-haired girl turned to them.

"I MUST APOLOGIZE FOR MY MASTERS BEHAVIOR, "She said. "HE DOES NOT WANT TO GET INVOLVED WITH PRESEA."

"Why?" Genis asked angrily. "He doesn't care if she dies?"

"IT IS NOT THAT. IT IS BECAUSE THE MASTER REGRETS WHAT HE HAS DONE."

"Then please, save Presea," Colette said. "All she needs is her Key Crest fixed."

"I DO NOT KNOW IF THAT WOULD TRULY BE IN HER BEST INTEREST."

Lloyd looked confused. "Why? How can anything be worse than living in this cruel condition while waiting to die?"

"IF YOU ARE THAT COMMITED THEN YOU SHOULD SERCH FOR INHIBITOR ORE."

"Presea's Key Crest isn't made out of inhibitor ore?" Lloyd asked.

"NO IT'S-"

"Tabatha!" Altessa's angry voice yelled. "What are you doing? Get rid of them!"

"YOU MUST LEAVE NOW. PLEASE, COME BACK AGAIN. I WILL ATTEMPT TO PERSUADE HIM."

Tabatha bowed and the group left.

They stopped just outside of the house and discussed what they would do next.

"Where can we find inhibitor ore?" Lloyd asked. "I have heard that between the forest Ymir and the island resort Altamira there is a mine," Regal said. "There should be some Inhibitor ore there. I would like to help if you're going to make a Key Crest for Presea. I can lead you to the mine."

"Just what is your relation to Presea?" Lloyd asked suspiciously.

"There is none."

"Yet, you seem very concerned about her," Raine said.

Lloyd looked at him for a moment. "Well...either way, you haven't done anything suspicious so far. You're welcome to come along with us."

Regal nodded in thanks before speaking. "Inhibitor ore is found relatively near the surface of the Exphere mine. The mine I know of is across the sea from here, on the southern continent."

"You said it's near Altamira, right?" Zelos asked with a grin. "That place is awesome; we should go there on the way!"

Sheena clicked her tong. "We don't have time to visit some gaudy resort!"

Zelos sighed, and Raine shook her head in exasperation. She looked more worried about something else. "The sea...? We're going out to sea...again?"

"Okay then, let's go!" Lloyd said.

They boarded the EC and sailed across the sea. Lloyd drove again and Colette sat next to him. Regal was also nearby, looking around at the interior.

"That Tabatha girl was a little strange," Lloyd said.

Colette looked at him. "Really?"

"Well...how should I put this? She reminded me of you."

She raised her eyebrows.

Lloyd nodded and continued. "When you lost your heart you acted very...subdued. It was odd. Like her."

"Perhaps, it is because she wasn't engaged in resuscitation." Regal said.

"What? You mean she wasn't breathing?" Lloyd asked.

"It didn't seem like it. I suppose she could have engaged in heavy training in order to breath silently..."

"Don't tell me she's an angel too," Lloyd said.

"She didn't seem like a bad person though," Colette said thoughtfully.

"No she didn't," Lloyd agreed. "I suppose that's what matters."

"Although, It wouldn't hurt to be cautious," Regal said.

A few hours later, they all ventured into the mines. After figuring out how to get to the other caves and getting past the many traps they reached the innermost part where boxes of ore were piled on each other.

They all went to a different pile as they looked for the ore. Lloyd was really the only one who knew exactly what it looked like, so he went from person to person as they shifted through the minerals.

Crystal was looking around when she found in the corner, completely by itself, a box about the size of her hand.

"I think I found it," Crystal said.

Lloyd walked over to her as she picked up the box and opened it. He examined the ore inside.

"Yeah, that's it!" Lloyd said as he took it from her. "I'll just need a little while to make the crest, so you guys hang out, okay?"

They all nodded and sat on the little rocks by the rushing waterfall.

Crystal walked around a bit and finally sat down. She stared at the rushing water for a while. It went over the rocks up high and flowed downwards until it hit the water below with a crashing sound. But the crashing sound wasn't destructive. It was blending in with the sounds of everything else and the sounds echoed off the walls. The walls were lined with lamp and the light of the lamps reflected on the surface of the blue water, making the caves brighter than they would normally be.

It was calming somehow. It was hypnotizing too. So much so, that Crystal didn't realize a certain redhead sneaking up on her.

"Hey, Crystal?"

The sudden breath on her ear made her twitch violently and she turned hastily, her hand gripping the hilt of her sword.

"Calm down, Calm down, it's just me!" Zelos said.

Crystal sighed and turned away from him again. "What do you want?"

"Well…" Zelos started, talking over her shoulder. "I've just been wondering about something…something that I'd be blind not to notice…so I wanted to ask something."

"Spit it out," Crystal said impatiently.

"What's with you?"

Crystal resisted the urge to turn and glare at him and kept speaking from her position. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Colette's returned to normal, the cause of Presea's extremely sober attitude is some whacked-out Exsphere, and yet you, the one with no Exsphere, and no angel sickness, are by far the most serious girl I've ever met."

"Just because I don't have the misfortune to have a problem the size of Presea's or Colette's doesn't mean I have my own reasons for being "Serious" as you say," Crystal snapped.

"Maybe you do, but do you realize how worried it's making everybody?"

"What are you taking about?" Crystal asked, turning a little to look at him.

Zelos sighed as if he had to explain why 1+1=2. "The professor is always worrying, Genis barely knows how to act between you and Colette being sick, Colette worries about everyone, and even though Lloyd doesn't seem like the type who would worry about anything, he still worries slightly. Not to mention, how hard Sheena's been trying to keep me in check without telling me anything."

"So, what's your point?" She said, looking away from him again.

"My point, Dear Crystal…" Zelos said, tilting his head around her to glimpse of her face. "…Is that, you have to be aware of what you're doing. If you're so worried about something that causes you to shut yourself away from the others, you hurt them."

"I do no such thing," Crystal whispered convincing herself more than Zelos.

"Really? Then why am I talking to you about this?"

She remained silent.

He leaned on her a bit and spoke in her ear. "You know I'm right."

Crystal thought about it for a second. She had noticed how Sheena stopped him earlier. How Lloyd was always glancing over. How Genis was somber when he was near her…How could I be so stupid? Even if I distance myself from them, it doesn't mean I have to worry them. After all, they were betrayed as well…

Zelos watched her silence. "Are you going to cry?" He asked softly.

Crystal remained still for a moment. But her shoulders started shaking slightly.

"…God dammit…" She whispered.

He wrapped his arms around her and rested his head on her shoulder.

The brunette took a breath and then sighed. "No…I'm done crying…I just can't believe I had to have you of all people tell me that."

Zelos grinned. "Well, I am the great, wonderful, Zelos!" He said arrogantly.

His stupidity made Crystal crack a half-smile. "More like the great idiot, Zelos the philanderer."

"Aww…"

She made a noise that was rather like a cross between a snort and a cough.

"Was that a laugh?" He asked, looking rather astounded.

"No…" She said. "Not yet. I have to take care of something before I laugh again."

Zelos looked at her curiously but didn't say anything.

"Alright, I'm finished!" Lloyd declared. "Presea should get better with this!"

"Then let us leave," Regal said, standing up.

The others stood as well and Lloyd moved to lead them out.

"Wait."

Lloyd turned around, as did the others.

"Um…" Crystal started. She fidgeted for a moment, unsure of how to continue. Then she looked up at all of them. "I-I realize how quiet I've been since the Tower of Salvation. I wanted to apologize for making you all worry.""

Crystal went into a deep bow. Lloyd walked up to Crystal and put his hand on her head.

He grinned. "What are you apologizing for?"

He took his hand away and Crystal looked up. She noticed something strange. There was something in Lloyd's cheerful expression that Crystal could swear she'd seen before, not in Lloyd, but in another person.

She brushed her thoughts away and addressed him. "Thank you, Lloyd." Then she looked around. "Do you all forgive me as well?"

"Of course we do!" Sheena said happily.

Genis and Colette smiled and Raine had a hint of relief in her expression.

Crystal watched everyone around her. Her friends. She could almost feel her jaw muscles creak; it felt like so long since she had last smiled.

But she did smile.