Well...before I get yelled at, I did exclude somethings. Healing Peitro...I found meaningless, so I didn't write it. Also, they will get Undine soon as well as the Unicron Horn. I mean...if Raine knew resurrection...that would and less suspense to my story, so I kept it out. Other than that...I think that was all. I do know how to make all of this work out, so don't worry. Tower of Salvation is tomorrow! Try and guess what's going to happen! I still don't know yet!
Disclaimer: No own Tales, I wouldn't be writing if I did.
The Seal: Light
The next morning and after a good nights rest, the group let the captives from the Asgard Ranch do whatever they wanted. Most agreed that they would go back to Luin and begin reconstruction on the town. Some decided to take this opportunity and leave while they still could, in the small chance that Kvar was still alive. Lloyd and his group walked north to the Tower of Mana, to break the last seal before the world was to be regenerated.
"So, you nervous Colette? This is the last step before the world is regenerated." Lloyd asked.
Colette looked over at him and smiled. "Nope. I am really excited. I want to do everything I can to save Sylvarant."
Lloyd laughed at her happiness. He liked to see her so happy, but laughed when she fell.
"You're so funny Colette. You think you can save the world without falling down for once?"
Colette looked up at him and smiled. "I'm sorry."
Lloyd laughed. "You dork. Stop apologizing so much."
Colette stood up, but didn't say anything in return. The group continued to walk to the Tower and stepped in front of the door. Lloyd smiled, then turned around and frowned.
"Mom, are you okay?" Anna's face was showing signs of anger and hurt. She didn't bother to look at Lloyd, who walked over to her while Raine pranced around the Tower. "Talk to me. I'm not mad at you…anymore."
She managed to form a small smile and looked up at Lloyd. "That's good to hear, but you're not the one I am mad at."
Lloyd was stunned. "Um…then who are you mad at? Raine? Genis? Colette? Sheena? Um, Kratos?"
Anna smiled again, but shook her head. "It's nothing for you to worry about. Now, you guys go in. I'm still a little traumatized after what happened. I need some time to think."
"You can't stay out here by yourself! Something will happen to you! I can't fight and know that something can happen!" Lloyd yelled.
Anna silenced him. "I'll be fine. Don't worry about me." With that said, she turned around and walked off.
"Mom!" Anna kept walking and Genis stopped Lloyd from going after her.
"Lloyd stop. It's okay. She can handle herself for a few minutes while we go break the seal!"
Lloyd was in tears. He almost lost his life in the Asgard Ranch and nearly lost his trust with his mother. However, he wanted her to come so he knew for a fact she was okay. He decided to let her go; she probably needed the time alone from the group, and him.
"Fine, I just hope nothing happens to her." Lloyd said as the group walked into the Tower of Mana.
-----
Anna sat down next to a tree, trying to calm down after the few days of hell she had experienced. She hated the ranch, and she hated seeing it again. It was one of the few reasons she was on the verge of tears now. The other reason…was Kratos. She thought she understood him, but she was wrong. She wanted to beat the answers to all of her questions out of him. She hated him for keeping so many things from her…and the simplest thing from Lloyd. Every time she looked at Lloyd, the secret almost came out.
"Kratos, if you don't tell Lloyd the truth, I will!" she yelled at the environment around her. "I can't play your little game and I won't play anymore!"
"Then how about you tell me that? Trees don't talk back."
Anna was shocked that someone had been out there with her. She turned and looked back at the ground. "I don't want to talk to you."
She made a move to leave, but he stopped her. "Anna, I don't want you to be mad at me."
"Kratos, what else do you want me to do? I don't want to talk to you until we are a family again." For once, he made no effort to stop her again. He didn't even speak up. He looked at the ground, never once looking back up to see if Anna had left. She was surprised. Most of the time, it took him a while to get the fact that she didn't want to talk to him. She decided to stay and perhaps, get some more information out of him.
"Look, I don't like it when you keep stuff from us. You're so worried about losing us in the future that you don't care about us now. What are you going to do when Colette regenerates the world?"
Kratos didn't move. "I care about you, too much now. If Mithos were to find out about this, he would have you killed in an instant. He's watching over my every move Anna. The minute I show more affection for you and Lloyd, he'll come down here and make sure that you're not around for me to do it again."
"Why didn't you say this before?"
"I can't get close to you two. If I do, things will be worse than before. I cannot allow that to happen."
Anna didn't want to believe him, but the look in his eyes verified her thoughts. "Kratos…I don't care what the other people think. Let them come after us! The three of us together could do some serious damage! We ran from the Desians before! Why can't we do it again?"
"Because I don't want to lose you two again!" he yelled, scaring Anna to death. He shook his head and sighed. "You don't understand. The minute either one of you gets hurt, there goes my defense and concentration. After that, I cannot protect you, or Lloyd. I made that mistake once, so I won't do it again."
Anna remained silent. She wanted him to go back to the way he was before, but she wondered if she was the one who changed. He was doing this to protect her and Lloyd, not to hate them.
"I'm sorry. I guess I expected you to be perfect again, but after all those years away from us, things have changed. Now I feel that I am the one who has changed, and not you. You have done everything to protect us, this time you did it differently, and I failed to realize that. I'm sorry."
Anna wrapped her arms around Kratos and pulled him closer to her body, putting her face into his chest. She couldn't believe all she had done to him, plus all the stress he was already going through. He put his arms around her and the two sat in silence for a while, taking in the time and moment alone.
"No matter what happens Anna, I will always love you. I will never put you or Lloyd in danger." Kratos said. Anna lifted her face so her eyes met his.
"I know you won't Kratos. And…even if you do, I will still love you."
"I don't want to lose you, or Lloyd. I don't want to go through all of that again."
Anna smiled and kissed him. "You won't lose us again. I'll make sure that you don't go through that. That's my promise to you."
He returned the smile and kissed her back. "I hope so. And I'll make a promise to you that I will always be here to fight for you. I won't let you down."
They held each other for a while longer until they heard Lloyd and the others, more Raine because of the new book she found in the Tower. Anna walked to the group first so Lloyd wouldn't get suspicious about the two of them being together again.
"Mom! You're okay! I thought something would have happened to you!" Lloyd said happily as he ran over to her. "You must be a tough fighter!"
Anna smiled. "Haven't you seen that already?"
Lloyd laughed. "Right! I guess I have. Well…we best be off! We are heading to the Tower of Salvation!"
Just as Lloyd and the others were about to leave, Colette fell, taking Genis with her this time.
"Colette! Are you okay?" Lloyd asked, helping Genis onto his feet. However, she didn't…couldn't, respond.
"I assume she has lost her voice."
Lloyd turned to the door they came out of and saw Kratos looking at them. "Where were you? You didn't help us fight."
"I apologize, but…"
"You were still injured, right?" Lloyd interrupted. Kratos smiled and nodded.
"I guess you can say that. However, it would be best if we took Colette to Hima, considering that's the closest town."
"I agree." Sheena replied. "We could try and find a way to get to the Tower of Salvation while we are there too."
Everyone else agreed that Hima would be the next place they would stop. The sun hadn't set yet, so the group decided to travel to Hima, knowing it wasn't too much farther. When they arrived in the mountain city, the group was tired and the moon began casting its light on the town. They checked into the inn, the only building in Hima. Once they were all situated, Sheena stood up.
"Call me crazy, but I think it's time I told you guys about why I came here, trying to kill Colette."
"Please do. Inform us about your home world, a land that doesn't exist in our world." Raine said.
Sheena looked taken back. "How did you know?"
"I didn't. But you don't want Sylvarant to be saved, so you want another to be saved."
Sheena smiled. "You're right. Sylvarant isn't my home world. My world, is Tethe'alla. I wish I could explain how this is possible, but the two worlds lie adjacent to each other. We can't see each other, but we live next to and affect each other."
Lloyd was completely confused, so he remained quiet. "What do you mean, 'affect each other'?" Anna asked.
"They vie for the small amount of mana that both worlds have to use. When one world is weak, the other is flourishing. Right now, Tethe'alla is the flourishing world, and Sylvarant is waning."
"Let me get this straight. To regenerate the world, you pretty much flip this 'hour-glass' and that's how Sylvarant will be saved. But at the same time, Tethe'alla will turn out to be like Sylvarant is now?" Lloyd asked.
Sheena nodded. "That's why I was sent to stop the Chosen. If Colette carries out the regeneration, Tethe'alla will look like this."
"Isn't there a way for everyone in Tethe'alla and Sylvarant to live in peace, not worrying about famine and droughts? Can't the mana flow just equal out?" Genis wondered.
Raine thought for a while. "I don't think anything in the real world would allow us that situation. There is no way for everyone to be happy."
Sheena sighed. "I don't know what to do. I don't want to hurt anyone."
"The best thing to do now is save Sylvarant from its current crisis." Kratos replied.
Lloyd stood up. "Can't we just defeat the Desians? I mean, they are the reason mana is being used up so much."
"By the time we killed all the Desians, both worlds would have perished. The mana would have been consumed way before we succeeded in defeating them."
Lloyd sighed and sat back down, knowing that Kratos was right. Colette walked over to Lloyd and took his hand. She flipped it over and began spelling something in his palm. "What are you doing Colette?" After a while, he realized she had spelt something. "I'll try asking Remiel if there is a way to save both worlds."
"What if that doesn't work?" Genis asked.
Sheena sighed. "I may have to kill you. I'm not watching Tethe'alla turn into this."
Lloyd read as Colette wrote in his hand. "When the time comes, I'll fight back."
Sheena nodded and understood. The group knew that they were done with their conversation, so they all got ready for bed. Once everyone was asleep, Kratos decided to walk around, clear his mind from all the recent events. After he was around the inn, he found Noishe, who ran up to him and whined loudly.
"It's good to see you to Noishe." he said as he scratched his ears. "I cannot believe how far we have come. It seems that we just started this journey." Noishe whined in response and Kratos smiled. It was good to have someone listen to him who wouldn't argue back.
"I never knew that you liked animals."
Kratos turned around and saw Lloyd smiling at him. Kratos looked back at Noishe and smiled. "I don't care for them, but I had one, one of my best friends some time ago."
Lloyd walked up to them and rubbed Noishe's head. "I can't believe it's over. I was expecting things to turn out better."
"Why's that? You knew this was how it was going to be."
"I know, but I never really wanted it to happen, you know?"
"Everything will turn out for the best, as long as you don't make a mistake."
Lloyd nodded. "I know, but if I do make a mistake, I can do it over again, right?"
"Do it over. If it is something that you can do over again, go right ahead. Just remember, not all things can be changed."
Lloyd smiled and looked back at Noishe. "He seems to like you. He's not comfortable with strangers. You must be good with animals."
Kratos smiled, but didn't say anything in return. He watched as Lloyd scratched Noishe and it reminded him of all the times he used to play with Noishe when Lloyd was a small child. His memories were cut off by a feeling he had; someone was behind him. He reached for his sword when he heard his name.
"Kratos! Look out!" Lloyd turned around and Kratos drew his sword. Before the assassin could attack, Kratos cut the man's side. Seconds later after receiving a serious wound, the man was gone.
"Mom! What are you doing up?" Lloyd asked as Anna approached them. Kratos took a deep breath and smiled at Anna.
"Thanks." he said. Anna smiled back and looked at Lloyd.
"You should be in bed mister. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow."
Lloyd nodded and rolled his eyes. "I know. I am going back inside so I can sleep and not get yelled at."
Anna smiled and watched as he walked back inside. Once the coast was clear, she turned to Kratos. "Who was that?"
"My guess was it was that man we ran into in Triet. He didn't get away without a wound he won't forget for a while."
"That's good. What did you and Lloyd talk about? It seemed there for a second that everything was back to normal. You were out here with Lloyd while it was dark outside, playing with Noishe until I came out to make you put him in bed. Even then he refused to go to bed."
"That's where you need to be too." he replied as he began making his way to the inn. "We all have a long day ahead of us."
