(It's crazy how many typos and mistakes I find AFTER I publish a chapter...!)

No secret on what this chapter will be about! So get to it and start reading, enjoying, and reviewing!

I wish I owned Tales of Symphonia, but I DON'T.

The Origin of Hope

Chapter 37: Saving Presea

"The sun is not going to rise any faster by you staring at the horizon, dear."

Kratos turned at the sound of Anna's voice. He had been in the library waiting all night for Regal to wake up so they could depart for Sybak. Somehow the night had never seemed so long in his life. "I guess you're right. It's a good thing sleep is optional for me. I don't think I could even sleep if I tried."

Anna wheeled herself next to Kratos and looked out the window. Dawn painted the sky in brilliant shades of pinks and oranges. It was the time of day Anna could never tire of watching. "What has you so worked up? This is not like you."

"This girl—if we find this girl—may know where we can find sacred wood. Think, Anna, once we have that then our journey is near completion."

Anna lifted an eyebrow. "Then let's hope Sheena doesn't have to form pacts with all the summon spirits first after all." The glimmer in Kratos' eyes dampened at the words, which made Anna regret her words a little. "But it will bring us that much closer to the end, you're right. I'm surprised you never knew where sacred wood was. It wasn't in any of the books here?"

"No, I never did find any references to it. I was really surprised when Zelos said this girl had some. Before Origin mentioned it, the last time I had heard of it was when the world was still one. Where it may be now, I have no idea. I think I will check the Sybak library when get there."

"How much longer are you planning on making Lloyd wait?"

"What do you mean?"

"He is beside himself over Colette. You told them you were going to have the guards watch them, but you didn't actually do it. Are you intending for him to sneak out and find Yggdrassil??"

Kratos smiled.

"Are you serious? You are going to let your own son go seek his own doom? I must be missing something."

"You are, Anna. You didn't notice that all the kids have already sneaked out about an hour ago to go find Volt?"

"What? How could I have missed that?"

"Perhaps they've improved on their sneaking ability. Don't worry, Yuan and Raine are keeping them under tight surveillance."

"They don't know, do they? How very clever of you."

"These kids are just unlucky Yuan and I still remember everything we did when we were adolescents."

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"Regal, I fear that your manacles will be too conspicuous in the high-class university town of Sybak. I understand your reasoning for keeping them on as a reminder, but perhaps you should put it away for Alicia's sister's sake. Alicia would hardly mind if you took them off either, I'm sure."

Regal looked down at the handcuffs that bound his wrists. He had reached out a hand (which meant he had reached out both of his hands) to take a Rheaird wingpack from a Renegade soldier in charge of issuing equipment. Regal's immediate reaction had been to retort a harsh negative, but he always thought before he spoke, so he just took the wingpack from the soldier, thanked him, and put his hands back down.

"I'm sorry. I understand your concern, but to take these off would be an excuse for my crimes."

"It is no excuse, but compassion for her sister. If our journey proves to be fruitless, you are welcome to shackle yourself again should you feel the need."

"Sound reasoning, but again, at this point, it would only be an excuse," Regal said, and walked out the door with his wingpack.

Kratos was now feeling as if he were trying to convince a seemingly intelligent person that one plus one was not three. Sighing, he followed Regal out.

"Before we go then, we need to go find something for you to hide your hands under."

Thus, Kratos went straight to Yuan's closet. Yuan had a certain fondness for capes, mantles, and anything that billowed behind him, which Kratos could never understand. But now he had a use for it, and Yuan would probably not even notice if one of his hundred capes were missing. Then again, Kratos was pretty sure they would return before Yuan anyway.

When they walked onto the snowy grounds outside of the Tethe'alla base, Kratos took out his wingpack and showed Regal how to expand it into the winged mechanism known as the Rheaird. Regal followed suit by pulling the appropriate tabs and throwing the pack on the ground. The action was rather disconcerting since it seemed like an easy way to destroy the item instead. To Regal's pleasant surprise, however, when the pack hit the ground, a loud crack sounded and a small silver plane expanded before his eyes.

"Amazing! This is exceptional technology! I'm surprised Yuan even bothers to add color to his inventions since these are not marketed for sale."

"It's as much a mystery to me as well. He cares very much that people can choose their favorite color."

"I assume you chose your dark purple?"

"I confess I did."

"He should put these on the market. The elite class would buy these off the shelves. And when he can find a way to make them cheaper, it could become the vehicle of the future for everyone!"

"Yuan would say he's a man of creativity, not business. I think you might just be the man he's been wanting."

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Kratos checked out some material from the new makeshift university library and took them outside to a table Regal found outside. The day was warm and students and scholars thronged the benches and grassy parks. The table was situated nicely under a tree next to the creek that afforded a good view of the university entrance. Kratos gave Regal a stack of some past few issues of the Altamira Times, then cracked open his own book (Unique Flora of the Gaorrachia Forest), .

"Do you think Vharley would recognize you?" Kratos asked after a while, putting down the current book and reaching for another book (The Ozette Woodlands: Sacred or Savage?).

"No, I hardly recognized myself when I first looked into a mirror yesterday at the base."

"Then again the manacles may give him a clue."

"It may."

And thus, they waited and continued to read their respective material.

The sunlight had noticeably dimmed, when Regal suddenly froze the sight of a man he never wanted to see again. Next to him was a girl who looked like she could be Alicia's younger sister. Quietly, he nudged Kratos' arm and nodded toward the man and the girl making their way to the university. Kratos tilted his head toward the university entrance. A man with wire-rim glasses in a white lab-coat now stood in the front, a grim look on his face as he eyed the Vharley and the girl coming toward him. Vharley seemed surprised when he noticed him. After a long conversation, the three made their way inside.

"That man is the head of the Cruxis Crystal experiment. He just told Vharley of the half-elf scientists' disappearance. I don't think it's stopping him from continuing the experiment himself though. Let's follow."

"How did you hear that?"

"I have uncommon hearing ability."

"Ah, yes, of course."

The university never closed its doors due to the unscheduled genius and unrelenting hard work of its students and scholars. However, since the night of the library massacre, the security guards had now instituted a series of random checks on anyone wanting to enter. Kratos was stopped immediately at the entrance.

"Weapons are not allowed in the building, sir."

Kratos tightened his lips in immediate irritation. "I clearly remember walking through these doors with my sword before on my last visit."

"New rules have been passed since the massacre at the library. These are enforced for your protection."

"It would be because of the library incident that I would feel unsafe without my sword. What would happen if that person returned and no one had any weapons to defend themselves?"

"There's plenty of us security guards in the building to help defend you."

"Ridic—"

"Look, man, these are just the rules, and we're here to enforce them."

At this point Kratos had to take a deep breath and push away the pleasant idea of throttling the man. "Fine, can I get my sword back when I leave?"

"Just check with the front desk security when you're done."

"Thank you."

When Kratos and Regal passed by the front desk, Kratos noted a gargantuan axe leaning against the back wall. Three guards were squatting around it and chatting animatedly about it and its unlikely petite owner.

"At least it seems one of the three is unarmed."

"You should train in hand-to-hand combat, then your weapons are always with you. If you don't like that, there's always feet," Regal said.

"The sword is an extension of my arm. It has been a lifelong companion and I have never been stripped of it. I am not helpless however, I can defend myself admirably without it."

"You seem to know where you're going even though we lost sight of those three a long time ago."

"The girl has a very altered mana signature, so I can follow it without much effort."

"Seems to be a very useful ability, along with all your other heightened abilities. Turning into angels sounds like a very worthwhile investment."

"I would advise against it, the agony of bearing the Cruxis Crystal on oneself is not worth it. Long life, heightened senses, and the ability to fly are delectable rewards, but the side-effects, incompatibility risks, and the process of creating them in the first place are too gruesome to be worth it."

"I had little intention of having anything to do with them," Regal said flatly. "Kratos, ahead are blast doors, we will not be able to proceed without a code."

Kratos pressed his ear against the thick walls of the door but heard nothing but silence for the next few minutes.

"I can break the lock easily, but we risk tripping the alarm system," Regal said.

Kratos stood back with his arms crossed, frowning at the door. After another minute, he went back and put his ear against the door. If he concentrated hard enough, he could hear an animated babble of someone talking about the best place to get Egg Bear jerky strips.

Shaking his head, Kratos leaned away from the door. The girl's mana signature was becoming fainter and fainter...below him.

"I am a fool! I know where they are headed, follow me!" He quickly ran back the way they came, out the front door, round the corner, and down an alley that ran along the side of the school. Before long, he was lifting the lid of a manhole cover hidden in the tall weeds behind the school.

"What are you doing?" Regal asked politely.

"This was where we rescued the three half-elf scientists. They had dug a secret tunnel from their dungeon that connected out to here."

"Why didn't they just escape themselves, then?"

"They could not possibly escape the city without being noticed, so they just used this as a way to see some sunlight and breathe some fresh air."

"That is truly depressing..."

Regal noted that the familiar musty stench of the sewers here was not half as bad as the sewers in Meltokio. Their goal also did not take half as long. Kratos soon motioned for him to walk quietly, and rounded the final bend. Suddenly, Kratos jumped back, crashing into Regal and nearly sending both of them to the floor.

Light was shining through the concealed opening! And right in front of them in the light stood the doctor and Vharley, seemingly caught in the middle of examining the tunnel entrance.

All of a sudden, Kratos heard a bloodcurdling scream followed by the sound of breaking chains from behind and the next thing he knew, Regal had blown past him with his right fist recoiled. Kratos winced slightly at the sound of crunching bones as Regal's vicious one-two combination knocked Vharley out cold. The scientist's jaw barely had time to drop in shock before Regal laced his hands behind the man's head and brought it down against his upraised knee. Regal was about to pick Vharley up again for another round when a girl with pink hair shot out from above, smashing a large metal table down on Regal's head. As Kratos sprang forward to help, he instinctively reached for his sword and found only air. However, he had underestimated Regal again as the burly duke simply took hold of the legs of the table, wrenched it out of the girl's hands—and threw it back on his attacker.

The moment the table left his hands, Regal realized his mistake.

In that moment of shocked hesitation, the girl, who did not seem to take note of the fact that her head had split open and was bleeding, took hold of the table once again and swung it hard sideways, connecting with Regal's belatedly raised arm. The force of impact launched Regal into a table of glass beakers and flasks on the opposite side of the room. The table collapsed under the force of the impact amid deafening noise.

Kratos tried to recall a spell to freeze opponents in their tracks and hastily mumbled out the words. The air became thick and charged, and sparks of electricity surrounded the girl. That wasn't supposed to happen...

In an instant the air around the girl exploded with electricity, zapping her unconscious and overcharging the machines in the dungeon, causing them to explode, sending shrapnel and fire shooting everywhere.

A liquid spilled on the floor, caught fire and headed towards Kratos and the unconscious girl, forcing him to grab her off the ground and summon his wings. He then flew toward Regal who was struggling to pull out large pieces of glass from his body on the far side of the room.

Fire engulfed the entire underground laboratory and a large plume of flame chased Kratos out through the hidden passageway. Flying as fast as he could carrying Regal and the girl, Kratos hurtled through the sewers and shot up through the open manhole into the twilight sky.

Let me know what you think of this chapter!

Hint: Review! (even a Presea-ish response of something monosyllabic would be delightful!)