Disclaimer : I claim no rights to Tales of Symphonia

Beta'd by : Jan Lee

"I didn't imagine seeing either of them again so soon, but knowing that didn't stop me from feeling elating to see Kratos again. I just wished I could say the same for Emil." - Lloyd Irving-Aurion.

Chapter Twenty-Six : Together at last.

Lloyd soon realized that talking to Tenebrae was equivalent to talking to a wall- -a black, floating wall that seemed absolutely uninterested in their current plight. If anything, the damned creature seemed amused as they continued explaining about Richter and theory of the viscount gathering centurion cores. And yet, as they tried to convince Tenebrae to join their cause, the centurion's attention was locked onto Emil. Lloyd didn't understand what was so interesting about his friend, and he was ashamed to admit out loud that he didn't want to know why exactly Tenebrae had his full attention on the noble. But, for once, he was quick to catch on to use it to his advantage.

So, when everyone's frustration came to a boiling point, he quickly called for a break and pulled a bewildered Emil aside to explain his quickly thought up plan. He couldn't say he was surprised when Emil stepped away from him in bemusement. He couldn't really blame Emil for his reaction, it was, after all, a hair-brained schemed that had a thirty percent chance of succeeding, but what could they do? Lloyd was quickly running out patience and judging from the looks Raine and Colette were sporting they too were becoming wary. He didn't even want to glance in Genis' direction for the fact he could actually feel the mana in the air was answer enough.

"I'm going to repeat this to make sure I get this right." Emil lowered his voice while casting Tenebrae a wary glance. "You want me to act dreamy towards him?"

"Yeah." Lloyd replied. "For some reason, he doesn't stop looking at you and we can use that to our advantage."

"I don't think this is such a good idea." Emil looked vaguely worried. "You do realize that he might be screwing with us, don't you?"

"I do," Lloyd confirmed softly. "But, what choice do we have? We can't leave him in Palmacosta and we can't let him wander around by himself. Who knows what kind of damage he's going to cause."

"Who knows what kind of damage he's going to cause if he's with us," Emil countered swiftly, huffing and folding his arms. "Are you sure we can't leave him here or send him on his way?"

"And do what? Wander the world and causing havoc? We have enough problems with-" Lloyd stopped himself once he saw Emil's face become closed off. Right. He should have known better by now. "I'm sorry, Emil. I shouldn't have-"

"It's all right, Lloyd." Emil shook his head cutting him off gently. "I need to prepare myself for the eventual backlash of what Richter is doing and what he's going to do in the near future if we don't stop him. I don't know if this is going to work, but I'll give it a try."

"Thanks, Emil,"

Clapping a hand on his friend's shoulder, Lloyd guided him back to where Tenebrae and the others were waiting. Much to his despair, Lloyd saw that the situation had not changed, and in fact, it had grown worse. Raine frantically waved her staff in Tenebrae's direction, hissing as each swipe failed to connect to the creature. Colette was spinning her chakrams around her wrists with a dark look in her luminous blue eyes and Genis…well, Genis looked downright dangerous for someone his age. The half-elf leaned against one of the few pews remaining and stared at Tenebrae with something akin to murder in his eyes. It was then and there that Lloyd decided that enough was enough.

Climbing up on the pew, Lloyd grabbed Tenebrae's tail and dragged him down and pinned the creature on the dirty church floor. He tightened his grip as Tenebrae growled and struggled in his grasp. Reaching down, he gently tugged the creature's tail in warning which only earned him renewed struggling and deeper growls. He was about to throw in the towel when Emil suddenly appeared in front of them with a blinding smile that put Colette's to shame.

"Tenebrae," Emil soothed, going down on his knees and gently taking the centurion's hands with his. "Lloyd is sorry for the rough treatment, but you do understand why he did it, don't you?"

"No, I do not," Tenebrae growled. "His actions are quite barbaric and I would implore you to ask this behemoth to remove himself this instant."

"Behemoth?" Lloyd mouthed, catching Emil's eyes which shone with amusement and when the noble made a shooing motion with his hand, Lloyd quickly rose to his feet, only to fall back on his bottom when Tenebrae hissed loudly and knocked him down with his tail.

"Hey!"

"Do not grab me like that again, human," Tenebrae intoned, floating next to Emil. "For the next time you do, there will be dire consequences."

"I wouldn't have to do that if you hadn't been taunting my friends." Lloyd waved his arm in the others' direction. "They did nothing to deserve your teasing and if you would have just answered our questions instead of-"

"I do not have any obligation to help you humans so why should I even listen to your plight?" Tenebrae questioned. "What does it matter to me if some human is using my fellow centurions for his own ends? It matters little to me-"

Tenebrae was caught off guard when he felt a tug from behind and he suddenly found himself staring into Emil's dangerous lime green eyes. The centurion howled in outrage when he felt the noble's gloved hand slap him quite harshly on the back of the head. He had no chance to protest the abuse for the next thing he knew his head was in a very tight grip.

"Now you listen to me, centurion," Emil hissed dangerously. "I don't know what your problem is, but it is best that you get over it right now and start cooperating with us. For if you don't, I'm going to move heaven and earth to put you back in that orb. Do you understand me?"

"P-Perfectly."

Emil released the centurion's head and turned in Lloyd's direction. "Ask your question and let's be on our way, Lloyd. We're wasting valuable time."

"Right." Lloyd gave Emil a wary look, took a step away from the seething noble and laid a hand on Tenebrae's head in a silent sympathy. "We need to know what's going to happen if Richter finds all of the centurion cores."

"The door to Nilfhelm will open," Tenebrae responded tonelessly, "thus unleashing all of its residents onto this unsuspecting world. But I doubt that this Richter is that foolish or that idiotic."

"People can be many things while they are grieving," Raine stated softly. "Foolish is one of them."

"Do you know where the cores are?" Lloyd questioned further. "And how many of them does Richter have?"

"He has four cores currently. No matter where we are, we centurions can always sense each others' locations and it seems to me that this Richter has awakened Aqua, the centurion of water." Tenebrae flicked his tail in distaste. "She's very...abysmal to be around."

No more than you are, I'm sure, Lloyd thought, asking, "Where is the next core? We need to get it before Richter does."

"The next core is in a city known as Asgard," Tenebrae replied, tilting his head to side with amusement. "And I believe that your Richter is already there along with another...more powerful presence."

"More powerful presence?" Raine repeated. "You don't know who it is?"

"No, but what I can tell you is that he is a little bit younger than I am," Tenebrae chuckled coldly. "I can not wait for the inevitable confrontation between all of you. I believe it will be very entertaining to watch."

"You won't be watching anything," Lloyd murmured, coming close and staring into Tenebrae's cold gaze. "You're going to help us and you're going to like it."

Richter's curiosity burned as he gazed at the silent ruins of Asgard. He wondered what secrets they held or if any ghosts lingered within those hallowed halls. It was at times like these that he longed for Aster's presence. The earl would give him that smirk he was known for and drag him to the ruins to explore, all the while expecting Richter to protect him from any of its dangers. Shaking his head, Richter removed his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose, grunting when the moderate breeze pushed his hair in his face. He swiped the strands out of his face and slid his glasses back on and turned his attention to Aqua who was staring at the towering ruins with something akin to wonder and fear.

"Aqua? Can you sense him?"

"Yes, but..."

"But what?" Richter pressed firmly. "Has the core hatched?"

"No." Aqua shook her head slowly. "There was something in the ruins that's died and I can't sense Ventus' power."

"If you can transport me-"

"No need," Aqua murmured, her body tensing. "Whatever killed that powerful creature is coming our way right now."

Slowly, Richter raised his head, narrowing his eyes at the approaching man. He took a step forward and a sharp gasp escaped his dry lips when he realized that it was Kratos strolling towards him, his strides purposeful. Richter would have drawn his blade had not he seen the glowing green orb in Kratos' gloved hand. He quickly held up a hand as his ears caught Aqua's indignant hiss. The last thing he wanted to do was rush into battle with Kratos without a well thought-out plan.

"Richter," Kratos greeted smoothly, stopping inches away from the viscount. "I never thought I would see you again so soon."

"Kratos." Richter's hand slid down to the hilt of his blade. "I need you to hand over the core."

Kratos' ruby eyes narrowed at the demand, and he held up the glowing core for Richter to see while his free hand slid to his own weapon. "What do you plan on doing with the centurion cores, Richter?"

"That is none of your concern. You should be more worried about the Pope's plans." Richter gripped the hilt of the blade tightly. "Just know that I am not out to harm anyone."

"You're not? I find that hard to believe considering the damage you inflicted on Palmacosta and Mihuzo. You do realize that you attacked the hometown of a duchess and that of your husband?"

"I am well aware of my actions. You needn't remind me." Richter adjusted his footing and forced his body into a defensive position. "I am going to ask you one last time. Give me the core."

Kratos smirked bitterly in response to the demand before replying. "Why do you want it so badly? To revive Aster?" Gripping the core tightly in his hand, Kratos lowered it to his side and out of sight. "You can't revive the dead, Richter, no matter how much you desire it."

"I figured you of all people would understand my desire, my goals." Richter lowered his gaze to the ground. "After what happened to Anna."

"Anna would not want to be revived at the cost of people's lives, Richter," Kratos stated harshly. "If you knew Aster at all then you would realize that he too would not want this. Do not sacrifice millions of people just for the sake of one!"

"Aster is worth it!" Richter roared over the sudden burst of wind that came over them. "He is worth ten million people!"

Kratos unsheathed his blade and pointed it not to Richter, but rather behind the viscount. "Is Aster worth everything, Richter? Even the one who you promised eternity with?"

Keeping his stance, Richter risked a wary glance behind to find his eyes locked with the one he had indeed promised eternity with. Emil stood behind him with Lloyd and three people he failed to recognize flanking him, but that wasn't what concerned Richter. What concerned him was the fact that instead of welcoming him with open arms like Richter of dreamed night after night, Emil stared at him with disappointment in his eyes, pointing a blade directly at his back.

"Emil," Richter greeted solemnly, his heart aching at the sight of seeing his husband after so long. This was the last thing he wanted to do. "Emil..."

"Richter," Emil called out, his blade still aimed at his husband's back. "I don't want to do this. Just give us the cores and we can go home, okay?"

"I'm sorry." Richter unsheathed his own blade. "I can't do that. I no longer have a home to go to nor do I have a husband to welcome me with open arms."

"Richter." Emil's face twisted in anguish. "Richter, please, don't say that."

"I'm sorry," Richter repeated, his vision blurring with unshed tears, but that did not stop him from charging towards Kratos with his heart in his throat and one lingering thought in his mind.

I'm sorry that I can't go home to you, Emil. I never can.