It's been a while, and a shorter chapter, so I apologize for that. It's amazing how time goes by so quickly. This is a little gift I suppose. I wanted to get it done and just happened to finish it in the early hours of my birthday. This story has been going on for so long and has such an amazing following. I still am in disbelief by how many people continue to read and start reading this story. As much as a struggle it can be to try to finish this story, I keep reminding myself that others are enjoying it and it makes it worth it. So thank you all for your support and patience. I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: Namco owns Tales of Symphonia

Chapter 44:

"So, are you two going to tell us what you know?" Raine passed her gaze from Kratos to Lloyd, who hunched his shoulder forward, fixing his gaze on the table.

"How much do you know?"

"What is his goal? How did he come to create this system? How do we stop him?" Raine tapped the table with a finger. "Those are the things that I'd like to know. I'll ask my questions as they come."

"Dad, I don't think it's a good idea-"

"As I told you in the Tower of Salvation. Yggdrasill's ultimate goal is the revival of his sister, Martel. She isn't a goddess, as I'm sure you have figured out." Kratos calmly elaborated. "As to your second question, it's complicated."

"How so?" Raine frowned slightly. "You must know how he fashioned two worlds to live parallel to one another."

"I do, but as I said, it's complicated. The how is not important. As for you last question, it would be rather difficult to stop him at the moment."

Sheena gave a frustrated sigh. "Well can't you just tell us? I hate how everyone just speaks in riddles."

Lloyd glanced at her, frowning. "Some things aren't easy to talk about."

"They could be if you would just tell us the facts," she countered, levelling a irritated look his way.

"Please don't fight. " Colette quickly spoke up, looking between them. "We are all on the same side now. We're all friends."

Lloyd lowered his eyes, counting the seconds of silence that followed after. It seemed an eternity and he couldn't bear to see Colette's hopeful glance, moving from face to face-

"Yeah. Colette's right. We need to work together to bring a stop to all this."

Genis met Lloyd's eyes as the young half-elf stopped talking. He offered a smile, hesitant, but warm.

Lloyd turned to Raine. "It's a sword. Something called the Eternal Sword. I heard Mithos talking about it." A passing glance at his father revealed a stony, but impassive face. He probably mentioned something he shouldn't have, but wasn't this the right thing to do? What everyone was telling him to do?"

"A sword?" Zelos spoke up. "Sorry, Bud, but that sounds a bit corny. Maybe you misinterpreted it or something."

Lloyd glanced over at the Chosen, his arms around the headrest of the chair, tilting the chair back a bit. The goofy expression never quite reached his eyes it seemed. Lloyd frowned a bit, his ears burning at the smirk plastered on the man's face. "I know what I heard."

"So how does it work then?"

He didn't like the challenging tone hanging around the question. He narrowed his eyes, but then lowered them to the table. He didn't have an answer. He didn't know. He had just heard about it in one of Mithos' talks about the past.

"As I said before, how is not that important," his father smoothly cut in, taking the attention from Lloyd. "In the meantime, it's most important to focus on the task at hand. As I've assumed, you need to return to Sybak for something?"

Raine sighed, rubbing her temple. "Yes, apparently a half-elf researcher there has information about Cruxis Crystals. She part of the experiment that Presea was involved in."

Lloyd glanced at the smaller girl once more, her vacant expression never faltered.

"I see."

Lloyd glanced at his father, frowning slightly. The response had been tense, yet nothing revealed itself upon the man's face. Still, even if he questioned Kratos about it, it was unlikely he'd receive an answer.

"Well I think we should be off my hunnies!" Zelos lurched forward, the chair legs clacking against the ground as he sprang to his feet. "Sitting and talking isn't going to get us anywhere."

Sheena rolled her eyes, but rose as well. "We need to go pick up the EC at the laboratory first right?" She frowned slightly. "I still don't know how this is going to work. How will we get pass the bridge?"

"Lloyd and myself will deal with that." Kratos reassured as the rest of them stood.

Lloyd gave him a skeptical glance but sighed heavily and trailed after the group.


It was tight within the EC, to put it bluntly. Lloyd fortunately was positioned near the front with his father, hand gripping the side door loosely as the machine lumbered across the ground. He wasn't particularly interested in being labelled as a wanted criminal, which he was certain would be the case after they dealt with the bridge. Still, it seemed he wasn't given much of a choice.

"Be quick."

The words felt like a sting to his pride and he narrowed his eyes at Kratos slightly. The elder man didn't respond, drawing the vehicle to a stop. One of the guards approached and Lloyd noted they belonged to the Papal Knights. He frowned, wondering how much authority the Pope held over the world in order to position guards at his disposable so easily.

He glanced at his father, who was conversing with the guard, tuning out the cargo story they fabricated. It wouldn't work, everyone knew it wouldn't work. That's why he was going to be labelled a wanted criminal after this. If any survived that is.

"Well you'll have to open back. We need to check out the supplies you're carrying."

"Is it really necessary?"

For a moment, Lloyd eyed the knight, wondering if his father's presence was enough to allow them to bypass. The man seemed hesitant, but one look at his partner and he shook his head, gesturing to the vehicle. "Just open her up and you'll be on your way."

"Lloyd, go unlatch it for him."

Lloyd turned and opened the door, sliding it shut behind him. He could easily hear the crowded breaths within the vehicle, a shuffle here and there. He round to the back, the knight coming around just a second slower, not suspecting Lloyd's sword hilt to ram into his throat.

The knight's eyes bulged within the helmet, hands releasing the halberd he carried, gargling as he coughed and choked, clutching his throat. Lloyd flipped the blade around and ran it through a slit in the armour, pulling the blade out smoothly. The knight dropped to the ground with a heavy clunk.

Lloyd frowned and slapped the machine twice. He heard the engine rev, the machine pulling forward. He hurried along the right side, jogging. He heard the shouts of the other knights, the confusion plain. He unfurled his wings and rushed forward, his bloody sword joined by its partner.

The knights stumbled back in alarm and confusion. Weak attempts to deflect Lloyd's attack were made, but in vain. They crumpled beneath him, slash to the neck, a thrust between the armor. All the while, Kratos drove the EC up the bridge. Lloyd glanced over and then jogged into the bridge control room. He found the switch, lifting his eyes as he watched the bridge lowering down slowly.

Stepping out, he pulled a rag from his pocket, running it down the length of his blade, cleaning the blood before sheathing it, tossing the rag aside. He climbed back into the EC, leveling his eyes forward.

"You did well."

The EC jolted forward and gradually picked up speed. Lloyd glanced at his father, frowning before looking ahead. "I've killed them before. Papal Knights. When they wear all that armour...they don't look human. Not really."

"Does it bother you?"

He considered the question. Did killing humans bother him? He wasn't sure. He didn't really think about it. Like he had said, they didn't look like humans within that armour, more like the ghostly armoured creatures he'd occasionally fight on Derris Kharlan. But he had seen the way that man's face contorted as he choke...

"No."

He heard them shuffling behind him, voices rising up. He glanced back. They were sitting up now, their faces grave from the tension.

"I don't know why we had to hide crouched down like this. Now, I'm all sweaty and hot," Zelos complained, rolling his shoulders back. "We could have taken them."

"If we had all approached, we wouldn't have gotten anywhere near the bridge to do so. They would have probably sent a signal back to Meltokio for reinforcement too," Sheena countered. "Besides, this beats walking."

Zelos grumbled something under his breath, then perked up, scooching closer to Sheena, slinging his arm around her. "Of course, realizing I get to sit beside my favorite hunny for the trip definitely perks me up-not the face!"

Lloyd rolled his eyes, hearing the smack and pitiful whimpers from Zelos. Genis laughed and Raine sighed, rubbing her face with irritation.

Only Presea and Colette didn't pay attention to the group. They were sitting near the back and, from a glance, Lloyd could see Colette quietly talking to Presea. Her face was solemn, one hand laying atop the younger girl's. There was no facial response from Presea, yet Colette continued to talk to her. Lloyd wished he could hear, but the noise from the others muffled anything the blond girl said.

He frowned and faced back to the front.

Kratos gave him a side glance, "Go back there if you wish. It'll be a while before we reach Sybak-"

"I'm fine where I am."

"Very well."

Lloyd frowned, chewing his cheek before looking at his father. "So what did you look up in the library?"

"Until I am certain, I do not wish to give false information. It'll only confuse you and the others. I'll explain once I have the items."

"So there is more than one?" Lloyd leaned back in his seat. Kratos gave him a flat look and Lloyd glanced away. "You and Yuan are the same. You know that?"

"I find that hard to believe..."

"You are. You both never tell the full story. It's all secrets and tricks. You tell me one thing, but not the other. And earlier you told me it was important to help them, but when I mentioned the Eternal Sword, you looked at me with exasperation-"

"More from the situation than what you said. You know as well as I, how complicated the situation is. Sometimes certain information is better left unspoken until absolutely necessary."

"That just seems stupid."

His father showed a flicker of a smile, his gaze scanning Lloyd carefully before looking ahead. "Perhaps."

"It is."

"You know we can hear you back here?" Zelos chimed. "Mind sharing your thoughts with the rest of us Aurions?"

Lloyd blinked, glancing over his shoulder and then at his father. Kratos seemed content with feigning ignorance about hearing Zelos' request. Lloyd leaned back, smirked. "Well if you can hear, then you should already know."

"Kratos. We had an agreement." Raine smoothly retorted. "If you are withholding information, then we can't expect to trust either of you. Please keep that in mind."

"I trust them."

Lloyd twitched, looking past the others to where Colette sat. She met his gaze and smiled gently. "I trust Lloyd. And Kratos is his dad, so I trust Kratos too. They both want to help, and they did get us onto the bridge."

The others didn't comment, Raine only offering a tight smile. Colette however beamed at Lloyd and then once more turned to continue her conversation with Presea.

"We'll get you home soon, Presea. I promise."

For the first time in a long time, the old wooden house next to a gravestone came to the forefront of Lloyd's mind. He shook his head quickly and looked out the window.


He had turned his back for a moment, and his dad was gone. Lloyd cursed, looking around the street before sighing irritably and joining the others in the room.

Kate humbled quickly as she met Raine and Genis, shame and disbelief evident across her face.

"It's hard to believe."

"It's the truth." Genis beamed, glancing around the group. "We are all friends here."

"Can you just release Presea from her experiment." Lloyd cut in, glancing at the secret exit. He didn't like the fact that they were still in this basement. How could they not take the opportunity to get out, to have freedom.

"Yes...of course. You'll need to see Altessa on the other side of the Gaorrachia Forest. He was the dwarf that initiated the experiment. After a time, Presea was brought here for examination every once in a while. Altessa would know how to deal with the Cruxis Crystal."

Genis frowned, looking over at the younger girl. She had drawn away to one side of the room, not facing the two researchers. Her eyes remained blank, however, showing no emotion. Lloyd watched the young half-elf approach her.

"We're going to help you, okay, Presea. We'll go see Altessa and get him to tell us how to cure you."

"I just want to go home."

Lloyd's brow tightened, eyeing the crystal embedded on her collar. He knew what she needed. It was exactly what Colette had needed. But the key crest Lloyd had given Colette wasn't suppose to work. It shouldn't have been strong enough. He'd wait, before suggesting the idea. It wasn't as if he had any materials anyway.

"We should get going then." Lloyd spoke up, straightening and heading to the secret entrance.

"Hey, Bud. You know where your old man ran off too?" Zelos chirped up as they began to follow him. "Seems pretty suspicious, just wandering off like that, or did he tell you?"

Lloyd sighed, frowning. "No, he didn't." His father never told him anything. "We'll find him on the way out."

He ignored the skeptical glance Sheena and Raine gave him and ascended the ladder. Kratos had a plan, Lloyd knew that much was certain, he just wasn't telling anyone about it yet. One way or another, Lloyd was going to figure out what his father was hiding.

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