Second Chances
By Chomper318

Author's Note: Tales of Symphonia belongs to Namco. I'll String Along With You belongs to Diana Krall. This ficcy belongs to me. I hope readers will like it, it's my first TOS fic.

I'll String Along With You

You may not be an angel
Cause angels are so few
But until the day that one comes along
I'll string along with you

I'm looking for an angel
To sing my love song to
And until the day that one comes along
I'll sing my song to you

For every little fault that you have
See I've got three or four
The human little faults you do have
Just make me love you more

You may not be an angel
But still I'm sure you'll do
So until the day that one comes along
I'll string along with you

--Diana Krall


Chapter Four

Kratos Aurion was in the cabin when he heard a loud splash. This was nothing out of the ordinary considering that he was in a boat out at sea. He thought nothing of it and was sitting in a chair devising plans after plans on how to get the bag back. It was silly really. Surely the Battle God from ages past and the young man who reunited the world could brave a mob of angry bathers to retrieve a bag. But no, the women were angry and as much as he wanted the locket back, he couldn't risk bodily damage to his son. He, on the other hand.... Kratos was busy devising a stratagem when he heard a loud woohoo! Despite the sea wind, his hearing was excellent. 4,000 years had taught him much and his senses only intensified over the years of training. Also, with the help of the cruxis crystal he wore, he was verily tuned with his surroundings. He looked at the cruxis crystal, which he wore on top of his hand. It sparkled in the sunlight that was filtering in from the windows. He had not destroyed his own cruxis crystal. Doing so would have proved deadly for the 4,000 year old Cruxis Angel.

He had originally intended to destroy it after the half-elves were capable of living and governing themselves. But then Lloyd came and plucked him out of his half-way existence and brought him back into the world. He thought of his son and was amazed at how much Lloyd had grown and overcome in just the past year.

When Kratos first saw the young man at Iselia, he was shocked. He had reminded him of the son he thought he had lost so long ago but when he saw Anna's grave, he knew. He knew somehow his son had survived...and thrived. At first, he didn't wish to let his son know of their true relationship. There was no point. Lloyd was happy and Dirk, the Dwarf, did a wonderful job raising him. But circumstances changed all that when his former friend and comrade Yuan told Lloyd the truth. At first, Lloyd was resistant to the idea. But Lloyd came around. He was a strong, like his mother. In the end, Lloyd accepted him as his dad.

Kratos looked down at his cruxis crystal, and his Kratos' thoughts drifted to Anna.

When he found out about Mithos' plan for an Age of Lifeless Being, he descended onto the world of Sylvarant. He landed near the Sylvarant Base and there he met Anna. Anna was a research subject. He met her when she was walking outside within the base one night. She was a frail thing, but there was an inner strength inside her that no human ranch could repress. They talked at first. He needed information about the world and spending some 3,000 plus years in Derris-Kharlan had left him in the dark about the current state of affairs. Anna was only 21 when he first met her. She was from the town of Luin, and both her parents were dead when the Desians raided her town.

Anna was soft-spoken and shy. But with each night when they met outside the compound, Kratos could see the true Anna emerging out from her shell. He supposed anyone who endured the brutal environments of the human ranch must in some way build a protective barrier against the hardships. Kratos often wondered what Anna would be like if she wasn't a research experiment at the Sylvarant Base. Of course, he had often wondered about Anna period. The late night walks and conversations about dreams, hopes, and stars led to love. And how Kratos loved Anna. For over 3,000 years he isolated himself from humankinds. Disgusted by how his own kind treated elves and half-elves and even each other, he abandoned humanity. After many years, he thought he was a lifeless being himself. But then he saw one of Mithos' creatures. Something within Kratos awoke and he vowed to himself that he was not going to let it happen. He went down onto the world for the first time in ages and there he met an angel.

Kratos escaped with Anna. It was surprisingly easy. But they were soon pursued by Rodyle and Kvar. They hid from town to town. When Anna was pregnant, Kratos was overjoyed. He vowed he would protect them both and reunite the world for their baby to live in. But that was not to be. Rodyle and Kvar eventually caught up with them. And all was lost.

Kratos stared out at the ocean. Time lost, Anna lost, but.... The world was reunited and he had his son. He was content. He wondered how long he was lost in his thoughts when another loud splash caught his attention. He looked out the window and saw his son swimming towards the boat.

"What the..." he said as he got up. He quickly walked out the cabin and onto the deck. He could see Lloyd swimming back with their bag on top of his head.

"Lloyd? Why are you in the water? How did you get the bag back?"

Lloyd continued to swim. Kratos ran his hand through his hair and when he looked up, he caught sight of a pink Katz. Even from this distance, he could see her quite clearly. His eyes fell upon hers and he felt the breath knocked out of him. His eyes widened, not quite sure if he could believe them. Standing on the shores of Thoda Geyser, holding what looked like three bags of gald, was a Katz. A Katz that looked exactly like Anna.

He felt the boat rock beneath him. He tore his eyes from the Katz and helped Lloyd onto the boat.

"Dad! I got it back!" his son said excitedly. Lloyd opened the bag and pulled out the locket. He opened the locket to make sure it was safe and dried. It was. Lloyd continued, "Actually, the Katz got it back. She was really nice. The women were going to...well, never mind what they were going to do. Either way, the locket is back." Lloyd looked up at his dad who was looking at the picture and back towards the shore.

"Oh," Lloyd said following his dad's gaze to the Katz, "I paid the Katz too. It was the least I could do considering...Dad?"

But Kratos wasn't paying attention to his son. He looked at the picture that was in the locket. It was of him, Lloyd, and Anna. The picture was old and somewhat faded, but he could see the image of Anna as clearly as day. The Katz on the shore was a mirror image of Anna. He turned to Lloyd, "The Katz, what is her name?"

Lloyd looked puzzle, this was not the reaction he was expecting from Kratos, but answered anyway, "Her name is Kat. Although I don't think she's a real Katz." He scratched his head, "Her hair was showing. I've never seen a Katz with human hair sticking out before...unless you count Genis in his Katz costume. But he's human...well, half-elf," Lloyd continued on, "I think the Katz is really a human in a Katz costume, but why do you want to know..."

The next thing Lloyd knew, his dad spouted wings and flew towards shore.