A/N: I'm continuing the story called Dearly Beloved by Cataclysmic Eclipse.

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia.

The Confession

Colette collapsed in front of the Balacruf Mausoleum and Anna was right by her side.

"Professor Sage! It's Colette's Angel Toxicosis," Lloyd said.

"I see," said Raine who was calm and collected. "Let's rest here for today."

"Hey sweetie, are you doing alright?" Anna asked softly as she was right at Colette's side. "Don't worry we're all here for you."

Colette looked like she wanted to say something but no words came out of her mouth as she moved her lips.

"Speak up, I can't quite hear you," Anna said and Colette emphatically began to move her mouth and made a motion with her hand towards her throat. She was trying to tell her something. Anna's eyes widened. Colette lost her voice. She couldn't believe it, even this damned journey cost her her voice as well. Her heart sunk. That lively little girl was one step away from losing everything that she was and soon she was going to...to...she shuddered. She wished that there was something that she could do.

"What's wrong, Colette?" asked Lloyd.

"I would assume she's lost her voice," Kratos said.

"What?!" Genis said.

"Poor thing," Anna said and brought her hand to move a strand of her hair behind her ear. "This is so hard on you. Don't worry we're all here for you."

Her blue eyes were pleading, and she grabbed Anna's hand. She moved her finger quickly and it took moments to decipher what she was doing. Her eyes widened. They were in the shapes of letters.

"Colette, I understand what you're doing but...could you try that again?"

Colette nodded and began tracing more letters onto Anna's hand.

"It's...okay...I'll...be...okay...don't...worry...about...me...let's...rest...for...now..." Anna repeated the words that were traced on her hand. Her heart tore. This poor girl was so strong despite what happened to her. And as for the next seal and what would happen...her stomach dropped. It was the final seal at the Tower of Salvation. Soon there would be no Colette. She gulped. There had to be another way.

WWW

"...The two worlds lie directly adjacent to each other," said Sheena, who stood up in front of all of them as she spoke. Anna was stunned at the bravery it took this young woman to speak these words. "They just can't see one another. Our scholars say they exist on shifted dimensions. Anyway, the two worlds can't see or tough each other, but they do in fact exist next to and affect each other."

"What do you mean, 'affect each other'?" asked Lloyd.

"They vie for the supply of mana. When one world weakens, the mana from that world flows to the other. As a result, one world is always flourishing, and the other waning. Sort of like an hourglass."

Genis stood up. "Wait, so, right now Sylvarant is..."

"Yeah. Sylvarant's mana is flowing to Tethe'alla. Therefore, Sylvarant is in decline. Without mana, crops won't grow and magic becomes unusable. If there is no mana, the Summon Spirits that protect the world alongside the Goddess Martel can't survive in Sylvarant either. As a result, the world slips even further down the path of destruction."

"Then the Chosen's world regeneration is actually the process of reversing the mana flow?" said Raine.

"Exactly. When the Chosen breaks the seal, the mana flow reverses, and the Summon Spirit that governs the seal awakens," Sheena said. "I was sent to prevent the world regeneration from happening. I broke through the supposedly impassable dimensional fissure for the sake of protecting Tethe'alla."

"In other words, to assure the decline and destruction of Sylvarant?" Lloyd said. Colette stood up beside her but didn't have the words to say anything. That broke Anna's heart.

"You can say that, but your journey of regeneration is also an attempt to destroy Tethe'alla," Sheena said. "We're both doing the same thing."

Anna listened absently to what Sheena said next. She had heard enough. The wind sent goose pimples down her flesh and she wrapped her arms around each other. It thrilled her beyond words to hear of a young woman that was brave enough to tell their group the truth of the worlds. She was also surprised by how much Sheena knew.

"...I...I don't know what to do," Sheena's voice brought her from her reverie. "Isn't there any other way? A way for Sylvarant, Tethe'alla, and Colette to all be happy?"

And she wondered if all their heads could be brought together if they could figure out another way. A better way. It filled her heart with hope. She chanced a glance at Kratos who looked unimpressed at the information presented to him. She sighed. So he knew yet another thing that she didn't. Did he have to shield her from everything? She sighed in frustration and anger rose in her.

"I want to know, too!" said Lloyd.

"There has to be another way," Anna said absently and toyed with the idea of telling them of all the ways that she had researched on Derris-Kharlan. Of what Kratos had tried to do all those years ago when they were running from Cruxis. "No, there must be another way."

"What makes you so sure Anna?" Raine asked. "Have you considered that perhaps a way that convenient even exists in the real world?"

"There must be another way," Anna repeated herself, and she felt close to telling them what she knew to help the worlds but she thought better of it. "If all those great minds of Tethe'alla could send Sheena here surely they could figure out a way for the worlds to live in harmony. There must be a way for both Sylvarant and Tethe'alla to live peacefully and prosper. If the worlds are so reliant on one another than maybe they were originally one. I don't believe that there is no option."

"I don't believe there is another option. The best thing we can do right now is to save Sylvarant from its current crisis," Kratos said and his lips thinned. Oh, now he was losing his temper, Anna thought. He had such control over his emotions but he couldn't fool her. She glared at him and he matched her glare. She rolled her eyes and sat back and listened to the rest of the conversation of the group. Words stood out to her. Colette was going to ask Remiel if there was a way for both worlds to be saved. Her stomach sank at the idea of that naive notion. She had no idea what a truly despicable man that man was.

"When...that...time...comes...I...may...fight...back...because...I...love...Sylvarant...too," Lloyd said as he interpreted Colette's words that were traced onto his hands. Anna's heart broke at those words.

"I understand," said Sheena. "You intend to become an angel, no matter what, don't you?"

Anna's stomach sunk completely. So this was it. This was really it. And in the end Colette and Sheena may fight in order to continue the stupid way that the worlds vie for mana. Or worse yet, Colette would become a lifeless vessel for Martel. No! She thought to herself. No, no, no! There was another way. If she could just talk to them then they would be able to change Kratos' mind about this journey and about his role in Cruxis. She could do this. They could do this. She had already seen him change during this journey. All he needed was everyone to tell him what was a good idea...his own son too. And then things could be different. And Colette could be saved as well she knew it was a simple solution to save her. A key crest. That's all she needed. Not to go see Remiel again. She had to do something.

"Anna, I believe we should have a discussion. I'm going on a walk," Kratos said in that same voice that held his temper. He was really mad at her for saying that that the worlds were originally one, if that temper kept up for this long. All over something she said. Oh yeah, and he thought that she was coming with her. Yeah, right.

"No I'm perfectly fine staying right here. You can go on a walk on your own."

He was shocked for a moment before he nodded his acknowledgement and walked away. Anna walked towards Raine who was reading a book. "Raine? I have something to talk to you. Something very important. Uh, do you mind going on a walk with me?"

Raine nodded, both confusion and curiosity burned in her brown eyes and she got up so they could walk away from the campfire, and the group and into the privacy of the night.


Anna told her everything. Absolutely everything. She told her of the truth of the hero of the Great Kharlan War Mithos Yggdrasill, of Martel and Yuan and Kratos. Of Cruxis and angels and the world that was torn asunder. Of the Age of Lifeless Beings. Of the truth behind the Journey of Regeneration. Of the truth behind the "Goddess Martel" and the Church of Martel. Of the Great Kharlan Tree and the Great Kharlan Seed and exactly what mana Tethe'alla and Sylvarant were fighting over. Of what Kratos was looking for with her as they ran from Cruxis. Of Kratos and his status as the Origin's Seal. Of the years of inaction on Derris Kharlan, and of the true reason why they accompanied the Chosen. Of the angels and the Age of Lifeless beings and the true nature of the Desians who were a part of Cruxis. When she was finished she licked her lips and took a deep breath. She hadn't spoken that for that long in a very long time.

Raine looked at her, bewildered. "Anna, you do realize that..." she finally said. "...That this is all very hard to believe. It's a very interesting story but I...you can't honestly expect me to believe it."

Her heart sank. "Of course, I know that this is a lot to take in but I..." Sheena's words through her mind. I'm the proof...

"I'm the proof," Anna repeated and looked about her. They were far from camp and from Kratos' angelic hearing and seeing, if he chose to use them. She unleashed her wings, the wings that she so despised and Raine's eyes were wide in shock. She put them away quickly. She despised them and all that they represented to her. "If I were lying about what I said how do you explain that?"

"I...I..." Raine was speechless. "So it's true...how else could you...you...you're an angel. How marvellous."

"No, I'm not an angel. I'm human."

"But you have wings. Surely you don't deny that. What was the process in becoming an angel? Surely it must be different from Colette's journey."

"It was but it wasn't a choice. Forced, Raine, I was forced. I was put in a room with a Cruxis Crystal and keycrest and a glass of water full of powdered aionis and wasn't allowed to leave until I put the crystal on and drank the glass of water with that stone," she shuddered at the memory. "I was forced to get those wings and have an angelic form. But I also have a human form that I reside in. Being an angel is terrible. You don't feel hot or cold, your senses are ridiculously sharp, and it's hard to feel anything in it. It's nothing to aspire to or to look up to."

Raine's eyes shone in pity. "Anna, that must have been difficult for you. I'm sorry about that. But...I couldn't help but hear you say aionis. That's a fictional ore," Raine said but didn't sound so sure of herself.

"Oh, it's real. I needed it to have an angelic form and to use magic if I wanted to which I don't. I'm not an elf of a half-elf I am human. It feels wrong."

"So that's how Kratos can use magic. I assumed that it was because he had some elven blood in him," Raine said mostly to herself, then collected herself. "I understand that it was a lot to tell me but I don't know of another way to save Sylvarant than to complete the Journey of Regeneration."

"But there has to be another way and there's more than just Sylvarant that's at stake here. You can't simply abandon Colette to become a lifeless husk of her former self to become a vessel for Martel," Raine looked at her with wide eyes and for the first time since Anna has met her, she looked uncertain. "I just...I can't do this alone. I was hoping that if everyone knew the truth that you all could talk some sense into my husband. He doesn't listen to me but he's very powerful. If he wanted to he could force Colette to complete the Journey of Regeneration," Anna said emphatically and Raine's eyes widened at that. "I can't stand by and watch Colette become a lifeless vessel anymore. I can't stand by and do nothing as the two worlds suffer anymore. I want to find another way to save both worlds and to reunite them with the Eternal Sword and to form pacts with summon spirits to weaken Yggdrasill's power. I need your help. We need to convince my husband to act without him we can't do anything he's very powerful but I can't do this alone," she repeated. "Please. I-"

"Why did you tell me all of this?" Raine interrupted her. "Especially now of all times. You've had plenty of opportunity in the past yet you have done nothing."

"I know I have, I know that I've gotten complacent lately and have done nothing but but I thought that there was no other way. I can't stand by watch my son participate in this journey when it has a tragic ending. I can't stand by and do nothing anymore when there has to be another way out. And I can't stand by and watch Colette suffer like this anymore. Now she's even lost her voice and what Sheena said about the worlds has really reminded me of what's really important. She's acted and I haven't," she shuddered at the knowledge of her inaction in comparison to Sheena's action. "I...I need your help. Yours. No one else's. You're the most rational person in our group and I...I trust you. You're the first female friend close to my age that I've made in so many years. Surely you know by now that the Journey of Regeneration isn't going to work the way that you want it to and that Colette is going to become a lifeless vessel because of such a useless ritual. And Sylvarant won't be saved in the long run it'll just be a part of this vicious cycle that needs to be broken. And what if this Age of Lifeless Beings happens once Martel is resurrected then everyone is doomed. Please help me," Anna pleaded, and Raine stood by for moments as if weighing her options. Raine nodded apprehensively.

"It seems that I have no choice but to help you," Raine said. "Now I believe the best course of action is for our group to know your words so we can think about a next step."

"Yes, they can convince Kratos that this is the best way too. He won't listen to me alone but I think if he listened to what everyone has to say that he could change his mind. He reminds me a bit of the way he used to be when we were working against Cruxis."

"Ah," Raine said. "So he used to work against Cruxis. This is why you think this will work."

"Yes he did. From before Lloyd was born to when he was a baby for a number of years. We were looking for a way for him to wield the Eternal Sword as we ran from place to place hiding from the Desians and Cruxis."

"That makes sense that you think that this will work however this still is a bad option. If he is as powerful as you say and if he is loyal to Cruxis he very well may not be receptive to what we have to say. However, it appears that it's the only one that we have. Now, Anna, I want you to listen to me," Raine said and Anna nodded. "I will tell the group everything you have told me but Kratos can't be in the group to hear it. Our group needs time to think in order to act. I need you to be a distraction for him while I explain it to them."

Anna's stomach leapt up in nerves at the thought of telling lies but she nodded. "A...distraction. I-I can do that."

And the two women left the privacy of the night and returned to the glow of the campfire and the familiarity of their camp.