Disclaimer: Namco owns it. I just write a poorly contrived AU/sequel. So don't sue me Namco. I buy a lot of your games. I even bought Tales of Destiny back when it first came out! And I never touched the "translated" version of Tales of Phantasia floating around the net...cough...

Tales of Symphonia

Lonely One's Love

Chapter Five: "Entwining Once More"

By Cole-san

"This time I'll finish you off once and for all!" The cloaked swordsman yelled. The leader of the bandits smirked.

"Well, well, look who it is... That's what I hate about you humans. Like cockroaches, you simply refuse to accept your fate. But believe me Irving, fight me here and you will die." His right hand burned with magical power as he readied a spell.

"Shut up! For what you did to me...what you made me do...I will kill you!" Lloyd replied angrily, raising his swords and dashing towards his enemy. Yggdrasil's eyes widened. The youth was already right in front of him. He had barely blinked.

"What!" It was only by reflex honed from thousands of years that saved him, as he formed a shield to block the attack that followed, a decapitating slash. Lloyd paused and smiled slightly. Immediately he launched into a series of attacks that came so fast, even a former "god" like Yggdrasil found them difficult to block. What's worse, his shield was being broken down by the sheer speed that Lloyd attacked with.

"How can a human possibly be so fast? How can anything?" His thoughts raged. Lloyd's smile grew more pronounced.

"What's wrong Yggdrasil? You seem to be having a little trouble." After several more attacks he leapt backwards, gaining some distance, and readied himself.

"Majin-ken!" The familiar attack erupted from his swords, a wave of pure force that raced along the ground towards his enemy. But much to Yggdrasil's shock, the attack had been improved tremendously, as it was now double in size and seemed to scream towards him much faster than he remembered.

"Damn! This body is too weak to take on Irving! He's gotten much stronger..." Cursing, Yggdrasil concentrated for a moment.

"Explosion!" The powerful fire spell met the Majin-ken wave halfway, creating a massive cloud of smoke and dust that engulfed the area, blowing the hideout apart from the sheer power. When the smoke finally cleared Lloyd found himself alone, Yggdrasil having fled.

"I let him get away again...damn it!" His fists clenched around his swords tightly.

"You can run you bastard...but that's all..." Turning, he sheathed his swords and left.

Within the city known as Dherris-Kharlan, a single man dwelled. His name was Kratos Aurion, and he was training.

"So...we didn't actually stop Yggdrasil after all...and Lloyd...how could I have been so careless?" His thoughts were grim though his face, as usual, betrayed nothing.

"I had intended never to return from Dherris-Kharlan, but it seems I still have unfinished business after all...I know now that I should have ended this a long time ago. Now I'll repent and answer to my sins once and for all..." Training hard in a specially built room that had adjustable gravity thus putting intense strain on the body, he continued to think even as he pushed himself to grow stronger.

"It's a good thing I still have Excalibur...I'll need it for what I must do." His sword glowed faintly as he went through the motions of a duel.

"Mithos...my old friend...for you and for my son...I will take care of Yggdrasil."

Several days passed, and within Meltokio Castle, a flurry of activity began. The King had just announced that the old tradition of a world tournament would be taken up once more. All races were welcome, and all one had to do was simply sign up and pass a short eligibility test to insure that only the finest fighters would compete. Zelos Wilder, Chosen of Tethe'alla, and legendary philanderer could only whine to himself as he walked through the halls of the castle.

"Ah man...why a world tournament? Now I have to sign up...but I could get hurt! This darling face, this marvelous bod! They could be damaged permanently! Women around both worlds would be so stricken with grief that they might die on the spot! Plus for all I know Seles might try her hand at it again! Okay then, it's decided, I'll just say I got sick and will have to miss out! That'll work!" He considered it for a moment, before sighing.

"No, no it won't. Nobody'll buy that! What am I going to do?" Grimacing, he tried to think of something.

"I got it! I'll go to Sylvarant and hide! Yeah!" Nodding to himself, he turned to leave the castle, when he bumped into Princess Hilda.

"Oh, excuse me Princess." He said quickly, in a hurry.

"Oh, Lord Zelos." She said with a smile.

"I am so looking forward to your competing in the tournament. I am sure you will bring honor to Meltokio." Every word she said was like a dagger in Zelos' chest.

"Ah, w-well, y-you see..." He stuttered nervously.

"Is anything wrong Lord Zelos?" She asked with concern.

"Oh nothing, nothing at all! Watch for me in the tournament my dear princess!" He laughed and rushed past her.

"Oh man, now I really have to compete! Arghh! Damn my incredible and altogether irresistible combination of looks and libido!" He sighed dramatically.

"Wait a minute...I've got it! If I invite all the others, they'll compete too. Then I'll just throw a fight with one of them, not looking bad since they're heroes too! And since they're my friends, they won't hurt me...much..." He winced as a particular thought made itself known to him.

"Oh please Goddess! Don't let my opponent be Sheena! Please! Spare your humble Chosen!"

Sitting at his wide and imposing desk, Regal Bryant sighed as more and more paperwork piled up, almost as though defying the laws of physics.

"My desk is going to buckle under all this weight soon." He rubbed his forehead wearily, wondering when he had grown so sick of office life. He was the President of one of the most powerful companies in the world, so why was he so...melancholy. True that was his nature to some extent, but still...

"I suppose helping to save the world would tend to overshadow things like signing forms and approving policies." He thought, glancing out his window at the spectacular view it afforded.

"Perhaps I should go on a training trip...I have gotten a little rusty since our journey." He mused. He had used his legs so much that his real fighting style, that which made equal use of all his limbs, had atrophied somewhat. The fact that he had fought at essentially half-strength for the entirety of the quest had stymied his growth as a fighter, though it had done wonders for his endurance.

"Mr. Bryant, letter from the Chosen for you." His secretary said as she stepped into his office. One of his eyebrows rose curiously.

"From Zelos..." He took it wordlessly, nodding in thanks to his secretary, who smiled and left.

"Hmm..." He read the contents curiously.

"A tournament." A rare smile appeared on his face at the word.

"This might be just what I needed. I have two weeks though, I should train hard." Nodding to himself, he pocketed the letter and made plans for an extended vacation.

"I wonder if he'll show up..."

Deep in a nameless forest outside of Ozette, a girl looking barely the age of twelve was chopping wood. The gargantuan axe she wielded would have given even the strongest of men some trouble, yet this young girl hefted it as though it were nothing. With one swipe, a tree that seemed to touch the sky it was so tall, was felled. Such was the power this young girl possessed. But like anything, this power came with a price. The young girl frowned ever so slightly as she cut the tree into smaller pieces and loaded it onto her large cart. Without pause, she began to wheel it back to the village. She was halfway there when she paused. Two familiar silver-haired figures approached her.

"Hello Presea, it's good to see you." Raine greeted with a smile.

"Hello Raine, Genis." She returned calmly. Genis was looking away uncomfortably. Raine smiled with strain and smacked him.

"Say something Genis!" She growled.

"H-hello Presea. Y-your hair looks um...nice." Genis said in a small voice. The girl had left her hair undone instead of putting it in its usual style. She tilted her head slightly to the side in puzzlement at his behavior.

"Is something wrong Genis?"

"No, nothing..." The young half-elf sighed. Raine smirked, finding it all very adorable.

"So how are things Presea?" She asked.

"Well enough." The girl replied simply. Raine sighed inwardly, not expecting much in the way of detail from the usually taciturn girl.

"Well, as for us, we're heading for Meltokio to see the upcoming tournament." She explained.

"Tournament?" Presea perked up ever so slightly, though only one who knew her for some time would be able to tell the difference.

"Yes, a tournament gathering all the strongest fighters in the world. Are you interested Presea?" She teased lightly.

"Perhaps...my father was a well-known tournament fighter before he became a soldier..." She trailed off.

"Well, why don't you come with us?" Raine asked. Genis gasped and blushed.

"I suppose so..." The woman in a girl's body nodded.

"Let me drop this load of wood off at Ozette and I'll join you." She stated. Raine nodded.

"Alright, sounds like a plan." The two women turned to go, leaving Genis to continue to blush and stare at the ground. A few moments later, the boy came back to himself and gasped.

"Hey! Wait for me!"

Camped somewhere near the great bridge, Lloyd Irving slept. One might think a simple fellow like him would dream of simple things. Things like food, or his travels, or perhaps his friends. The truth was, Lloyd Irving had not dreamed in some time, at least not pleasantly. It was always nightmares now. So much so, that he tried to sleep as little as possible. As he tossed and turned in his small, poorly maintained tent, Lloyd remembered in his nightmares what he did not want to in his waking hours.

No...please...no..." He mumbled. Flashes of fire, and blood, images of people dying, screams and pleas for mercy...he had to remember it all...the acrid stench of death...and his own gleeful smile...

"Please...no more..." He whispered, as the images grew more vivid.

"No more!" His screams rang out through the night. The tortured screams of one who was damned.

Within the mind of his newest host, Yggdrasil smiled. Everything was falling into place. The tournament would proceed, and the strongest fighters would come. But he would be the only one winning a prize.

Author's Notes: Uh yeah, sorry about the slightly longer wait and the fact that this isn't as long as I intended. Things are going to get more action-oriented soon, but rest assured, this is still a romance fic. I just have a bunch of ideas, and rather than write a whole other fic, I figured I'd just add them to this, so I apologize if it feels somewhat like I shoehorned them in or something. As for Yggdrasil being alive when you clearly killed him in the game, well...you'll see.