Chapter fifty-one: In Which Altamira is not Relaxing.

If you're reading this on a Friday, then thank Martel I got to internet. If you're reading it later, then I'm sorry it took so long to get up.

I want to get though quite a bit this chapter without making it seem too rushed, we going though the entire first siege on Altamira. In this chapter, one shall find idiot soldiers, undercover Seraphim, psycho Sadists, mean daddies, and Marta overeating...a lot.

Disclaimer: Mystic Yoshi does not own Tales of Symphonia.


Even Kratos, who, at the best of times, was high-strung, could find Altamira a very relaxing resort. Not today through.

Their arrival into the resort city had been relaxing and quiet; the calls of birds, sound of the ocean, and general hubbub of the guests mixing for a calming atmosphere. Regal swiftly lead the way though the city toward Lezareno Headquarters where he and George had a short talk about the mines. It would most certainly have lasted much longer had a worker rushed in at that moment with very, very bad news.

"George! Lord Bryant! The Vanguard have taken over Altamira! They are requesting that you hand over the girl you kidnapped and the Ratatosk Spirit or they destroy the city!"

This statement was met with general silence.

"This is-"

"I think "bad" would be a bit of an understatement."

"We need to evacuate the city; the citizens are first-priority."

"W-we can't Lord Bryant, they're all being held in the hotel for ransom, if we don't comply to the demands, then they're dead!"

"Damn," swore Regal, "What can we-?"

"We turn me in, get Kratos out of here, and hope that Daddy will give up the city for just me!" All present turned to stare at Marta. There was no way they were simply going to hand the girl over to the Vanguard, the Core still fed off her person, it's removal would still lead to some sort of harm to her personal being.

"Marta, that's out of the question!" cried Emil, "We're not about to turn you in!"

"Yes, you go, get Kratos out of here! I'll hold them off for as long as I can!"

With these words, Marta dashed off, jumping into the open elevator and quickly shutting the doors to sink to the next floor.

"Damn it! The last thing we need right now is a damsel in distress!" cried Sheena, pushing the button for a second elevator. "Come on, come on!"

"George, get as many of the guests to safety as possible, we have to go after Marta. Kratos, stay here where it is safe."

Kratos rose an eyebrow skeptically, "Absolutely not." He growled softly and followed the others into the elevator that had finally come. No one tried to stop him.

"A-are you sure?" asked Emil softly, "You're wanted too…"

"She is my responsibility, and I am hardly about to let you go by yourselves." It was the final word on the subject.

They did not catch up with Marta until they reached the mainland. She was hovering, apparently caught in indecision, near the exit to the rails.

"Marta!" Emil raced forward, quickly enfolding the girl in a hug. "Marta, you can't run off like that!"

"Yeah, you had everyone worried, now is not the time to be playing the selfless hero! We need to stick together and come up with a plan to get the citizens out of here."

"But the Vanguard…and we can't turn in Kratos!"

At these words, Kratos snorted, "You forget who I am. I have been alive long enough to learn how to take care of myself. Do not assume that I cannot get myself out of trouble." Kratos felt as if he was being treated like a child or, perhaps, more like Colette. He did not need protection, he was easily capable of cutting down any enemy.

"It is true that Rat-Kratos can take care of himself, as for the city, I have become rather…paranoid since the Journey of Regeneration, I have a few tricks up my sleeve yet. But for the time being, perhaps we should move this discussion to the Hotel, we had best not be caught unawares."

"Regal's right, I should also find a Mizuho scout and tell them what's happening. Let's get back to the hotel."

Nowhere was safe now that the Vanguard had overrun Altamira, the walls were covered in graffiti and Vanguard signs hung from every banister. They were forced to literally sneak their way to the hotel, and even then, they met with an old friend they would rather not have dealt with.

"Well, well, well, Mart-mart, the little Pet, and Krattie-Kins picked up some new friends again!"

"Alice…" growled Marta.

"Damn, you're that Vanguard girl!" Sheena pointed accusingly at her.

"The President of Lezareno and Sheena, chief of Mizuho, I'm honored."

"Have you come to take Marta and Kratos?!" demanded Emil.

"Alas, no, I'm under direct orders to leave Mart-mart and Ratatosk to come on their own. But I do have the pleasure of informing you that if you don't turn yourself in, we'll blow this place to kingdom come!" Alice's little snaggletooth grin made Kratos stomach twist, he had no doubt that whatsoever that she would come through with her threats. "I've got explosives set all around this place and Hawkie has the detonator, so if you don't agree to our commands, you'll all be meeting Martel soon!

"And this time, Ratatosk, you won't have that brat Hero of yours to save you pretty little ass." Alice turned and walked toward the door, throwing over her shoulder, "You have until dawn to make a choice Mart-mart!"

When she was gone, Sheena hissed, "What a witch, I'm surprised she wasn't recruited the Desians. You said she was Sylvaranti, right? From Hima? I'm surprised that Kvar didn't get his hands on her." Both Marta and Emil looked blank, being from Palmacosta, then had most likely not heard of Kvar nor any of the other Grand Cardinals but Magnius. "A-anyway, what should we do now?"

"Isn't it simple?!" demanded Marta, "I have to turn myself in! Somehow convince them to let the city go without turning in Kratos…"

"No way, Marta, who knows what they'll do to you, and you know the Vanguard won't give up without getting their hands on Kratos!"

Kratos was beginning to wonder if it was not best to tell Emil the truth about Ratatosk and turn himself in to give them a little more time, but he was in a similar dilemma to Marta's own, he would not let the girl turn herself in.

Marta made the choice for them.

"I'm going, I don't care what you way, we have to save everyone, they're just innocent bystanders. So what if it means I have to turn myself in?! We have to save them!"

Kratos had not know that she could run so fast, she was out of the Hotel and running down the street before any of the others could register what had happened. "N-no, Marta wait!" Emil began to race after him, but Tenebrae, appearing in a puff of dark mana, stopped him.

"Emil, you cannot stop her, you cannot go out. The city is overrun with the Vanguard, if you go after her you will be caught as well. We cannot lose you as well, we must be logical in our efforts."

"Tenebrae is right," said Kratos softly, "the best way to help her now would be to stop the Vanguard as a whole. If we stop her now we will all be captured and she will be beyond help."

Emil glared at Kratos, "She'll be beyond help unless we stop her now!"

"Kratos is right, calm down. Rest, build your strength, the three of us will come up with a plan." Kratos was glad that he had Regal's support. Emil still looked rebellious, but he seemed to understand their logic.

"Fine, I'm going to take a nap." He turned and disappeared into the elevator.

"Great, now we have to think of a plan…" growled Sheena. "At least he's calmed down. So, did you actually have anything in mind?"

"It is not possible that the Vanguard would be pleased with only Marta; they will be holding her, no doubt under tight security." Kratos paced toward the elevator, preferring to make their plans in private. "The best way to get to her would be to go walk into their trap with some sort of weapon or preset preparation."

"Turn ourselves in?!" hissed Sheena, "That's awfully risky, and what about you? You'll get yourself in a lot of trouble if you just walk in…"

"Perhaps," suddenly, Tenebrae was floating along beside them. "Perhaps Lord Kratos could mask his appearance and disguise himself as a Vanguard soldier. Well the four of you create a distraction, he can shut down their operating system from the inside."

"…I agree with Tenebrae."

"Yes," agreed Regal, "That does sound like an intelligent course of action."

"Humph, I guess there's not exactly a ton else we can do. But won't the Vanguard recognize you?"

"I will take care of that."

How ironic, the idea that he suddenly did not want to be recognized when he had longed for so long to be known.

………………

Kratos stared at his appearance; it felt good to have his auburn hair back, as well as having pulled on his "Mercenary" gear. He felt more at home in his own skin than he had been in some time. He would not get to stay in this clothing for long, but he appreciated the short time he had.

"You really know what you're doing?" demanded Emil-no, Ratatosk-from the bed. Emil had been asleep when Kratos had entered, but he had awoken as Ratatosk, Emil still asleep. "If you get caught, keep your mouth shut."

"You think I would put the world in that kind of jeopardy?" Kratos asked softly.

Emil snorted but said nothing.

"The plan will work Lord Ratatosk, I assure you. I will go with him to make sure all goes according to plan," said Tenebrae, he had more confidence than Spirit or Angel.

"Just don't screw it up! I'm this close-" Ratatosk held up his index finger and his thumb a centimeter apart, "-to regaining my full powers. If I get caught now, I may as well turn myself into a Core."

"I will be sure to keep that in mind," murmured Kratos. It was only logical that Ratatosk would want a distraction, but somehow Kratos felt as though there was something only slightly less than fear behind his motives. "We should go; Sheena and Regal will be ready to go in but a few minutes."

"Right, I'm letting him out."

Ratatosk closed his eyes, and Kratos watched in wonder as Emil's shoulder visibly relaxed, his face turning from a mask of anger and hatred to that sweet, calm, concern that was Emil. He yawned widely and opened his green eyes. "S-sorry Kratos, did I oversleep?"

"No, but the plan is about to begin. Come, we should go downstairs."

………………

Kratos watched the others feed some lie to a couple of Vanguard soldiers and the men allowed them passage to the Casino where their main base had been established. Kratos had already changed into one of the tacky Vanguard Uniforms. It was full or browns, grays, and whites, and was complete with a horned skeletal mask.

He, with Tenebrae near but invisible, walked openly with the other Vanguard Soldiers as they made their way to the Casino. When he reached the building, he saw the others being shipped off to wherever they were holding the other prisoners, Regal in handcuffs. Alice was staring after them, obviously wondering about his presence, or lack thereof. He did not pause to let her catch sight of him, but hurried on, down a flight of stairs in the direction that Regal had indicated that he take in order to reach the main control of the Casino.

The others were counting on him to open the doors lest they be trapped until the Vanguard made plans on how to deal with them.

When he reached the basement, he found, much to his chagrin that Hawk was holding some sort of meeting in the exact location he needed to be. It seemed as though they were near to finished, however, and, once they were gone, he hurried over to the control panel and began to shut things down.

………………

"Emil, Regal, Sheena, what are you doing here!?" cried Marta when they were delivered by the Vanguard foot soldier to the "prison".

"Rescuing you of course!" cried Emil. "You shouldn't have run off like that, you could have been killed!"

"Oh Emil…" Marta swooned. "But where's Kratos? I hope you got him out of the city…"

"Kratos is procuring our way out through the basement, with any luck, the power, including the electric locks on this building, should be going out soon."

After several minutes, though they felt like hours to the trapped party members, the lights flickered, and then went out. For a moment, there was silence and then pandemonium broke out above them. The shouts of surprised soldiers, the commands of officers trying to regain control and find out what had happened echoed above. Suddenly, the door to the room burst open and Kratos, still dressed as one of the soldiers, ushered them out.

"I see your plan was a success," commented Regal as they hurried in.

"As was yours," amended Kratos, "Come."

They were met at the top of the stairs by a rather unpleasant sight. Hawk stood, staring down at them, fury and horror written across his scarred features. "Y-you did this…" he growled, "because of you, Lady Alice will have my head!" he was muttering only half to them, but most of his thoughts seemed to be meant for his ears alone. He was thoroughly unhinged. "There's only one thing to do, yes. Of course. I must finish you off myself!"

With no further ado, Hawk charged. He was equipped with huge "claws," there really was no better name for them, and the tunnel they were in was narrow. Kratos had been leading the way, and, in the tight amount of space, was only just able to pull his sword out and block before Hawk was upon him. Sparks flew as metal met metal and Hawk slashed and Kratos carefully blocked each blow.

There was no offensive; Hawk was fast and his slashes mad and furious. When Kratos tried to take offensive, disarming Hawk and slashing at him, but the other man was fast, and Kratos felt a warm trickle of blood slide down his cheek. He had gone back on defense.

He needed a plan, none of the others could help, and Marta would not dare cast a spell that may hit Kratos. At any second, more Vanguard soldiers could hear them and come down to investigate. They were completely trapped. Kratos' blocking became more wild and Hawk was forced further up the stairs, closer to the door. If they could only get a few steps higher, they could take him faster. Hawk was not tiring, however, he did not seem to notice Kratos' plan and allowed himself to be pushed higher.

"I know you," he cried, "you're Ratatosk! The one that took down Lady Alice!" Kratos did not answer, but slashed harder, and that was enough of an answer for Hawk. "Turn yourself in!"

That was when Hawk hit the door. It opened out into the main casino area and the odd group spilled out. "Damn," growled Hawk, "give me a hand here!"

The room was, luckily, near empty, only three men had been put on guard duty while the others tried to find and fix the power problem. The men hesitated for a moment, watching their leader with worried eyes. They could all see that something had snapped. Then the first man ran forward, his short sword aimed for Kratos was deflected by Emil, his eyes flashing red. After a moment, the others joined. Chaos erupted and the sound of shouted spells and metal scraping against metal echoed in everyone's ears.

That was when Kratos saw it: hanging from Hawk's neck like a sick trophy, was the detonator for the explosives set around Altamira. He needed to get it off of the other man's neck, preferable without having to decapitate him. He slashed again at Hawk as he heard Regal take down one of the other soldiers and so did Emil. There was only one left but she would soon be downed by Sheena. Kratos quickly disarmed Hawk and was ready to take the detonator when another soldier rushed in.

Everyone froze and turned to look at the man, "Lord Hawk, Commander Brute will be here in a-" he cut off, for the first time seeing the madness below. Hawk made a choking noise upon hearing his leader's name. Kratos could not blame him, it would not be a pleasant thing to behold; he knew too well how much trouble, though the word was an understatement, he would be in.

That was when said Brute entered. It was the first time that Kratos had ever seen the man, and it was immediately obvious that Marta had gotten her appearance from her mother. Brute was a tall man, dressed in noble robes and had shaved down to only a small black ponytail. In his hands he held a large staff with a monstrous skeletal face carved from gold. He was framed dramatically in the doorway, the lights flickering back on behind him. His small eyes were wide with madness and anger.

"What is the meaning of this?!" he roared, his voice one that echoed with pointless loudness. "I was told that Marta and that blasted Spirit were safely held! What has happened?!"

During the distracting moment when all eyes were fixed on Brute, Tenebrae took the opportunity to slip the detonator off of Hawk's neck. "W-what the-?!" cried Hawk as Tenebrae, much to all's disgust, swallowed the small cylinder whole.

"Damned-!" screeched Brute. "Hawk what have you done?!" And the man began to cast a spell, his loud voice bellowing out ancient words as mana gathered around him.

"Daddy, Daddy, no please! Don't do this!" cried Marta.

"I'm not going to let you harm anyone!" growled Emil.

Brute was approaching at a slow pace, mana flickering around him like a physical force. Kratos' glanced around, searching for a way out, when he noticed a back door, partially hidden by the bar.

"Now is not the time to be heroic!" he barked, grabbing Emil by the scarf as he would have with Lloyd's ribbons. He grabbed Marta's arm and dragged them toward the far door that he had seen. The lightning flashed out of Brute's eyes as he saw that they were escaping. His movements twitched for a moment, filtering out the unused mana of his being, and then he raced forward.

At that moment, Hawk made a very bad decision. He raced forward as if to protect Brute from Emil. At the same moment, Brute went to slash at the young Knight of Ratatosk. The pointed golden blade sliced through Hawk, slashing through his chest and stomach. Hawk choked. His eyes widened and a soft, weak gasp escaped his lips.

Brute did not seem to care; he shook the corpse off of his blade with a disgusted "Useless twit" and turned back to the others.

Luckily for them, Kratos had seem many coldblooded murders and had enough sense to use the continued distraction to safely evacuate the others. They were but a few seconds in front of Brute, who they could hear screaming in rage back inside the casino.

When they reached the tram, Regal stopped. "You go, he will be here soon. I will hold him off as long as I can. Be safe."

"B-but Regal-!" cried Sheena, but they were already moving, Kratos was controlling it.

"We have to go back!" cried Marta, "What about Regal and Daddy!"

"Yeah, we can't leave him!"

Kratos ignored all of their cries and pushed them further. It was dawn as they unloaded themselves from the tram, Marta and Emil both silently ignoring Kratos though he guarded them as they moved. It was not until they were almost out of the city when they were finally caught.

"Mart-mart, little Pet, Ratatosk, and that stupid ninja, what are you doing out here?!" cried Alice furiously. Kratos sword, already out of its sheath, was pointed at the half-elf. "I'll kill you; you've made me look bad in front of Commander Brute!" Her voice shot up several octaves as she became more distressed.

"I do not think so," growled a monotone voice from behind. Alice cried out in pain and crumpled. Behind her, the petite form of Presea appeared. "Sheena, what are you doing here?"


Heh, managed to finish this at 1:06 PM on Friday afternoon. That was chaotic. Gotta' go eat lunch now, but at least I got the chapter done.

R&R

~Yoshi