A/N: Here's another chapter and now you'll find out about Aya's past. There are hints abound as to where she is from. ::grin:: And now review responses! ::sees amounts of reviews:: Oooh! So many! ::is proud::

Sir Exal – It's not a crossover. Can't see what it would be a crossover with. I guess you are think ToP? I'd definitely say no, then, as I've never played that game. ::sweatdrop::

Charlett-The-Druid – Yeah, I don't like her summoning ability in ToS (too little) and I think it's too much in ToP (from what I've seen when my friend has played). So I present a happy medium. She can summon when she wants, but she can't do multiple summons without severely depleting her mana.

To Trevor X1, Tomato LZ, SunkissSMB, Kazaana the Furyou Houshi, and Rainbow Pheonix: I only have so much space for responses, but thanks for reviewing!

Now, enjoy!

Tales of Symphonia: Gaiden

Chapter Four

Crying. Wailing. Fear.

Tear-stained face. Small chubby hands clinging to black mourner's fabric, refusing to let go.

"Do it, woman," sneered a male voice. No body was visible. Only black.

"Please! She's only a baby!" pleaded a female voice. Mama...

"Would you rather the alternative? We can use her nicely, you know. Like the others." Laughter. "Why don't you consider it a mercy killing?"

Anger. Evil. Wailing. Terror.

"Ssshh," the feminine voice soothed. Tears falling, splashing on bare skin. The tears were cold.

Small hands forced from their grip. Dangling in mother's outstretched arms.

"Remember..." the woman's voice croaked, strained by emotion. "I always loved you, my little... Ayame..."

Crying. Separation.

"There, there... Now I'll end your suffering..."

Screaming. A name.

Wailing. Helplessness while falling. The world was spinning. Blue sky. Green ground. Blue. Green. Blue. Green.

Faster the colors whirled.

Suddenly, the world went red.

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With a start, Aya snapped up, panting silently for breath. Her eyes were wide at the memory, so vivid and yet so confusing.

She brushed sweat-clogged bangs from her eyes, still in disbelief at her dream. It was one she hadn't had for a long time.

Aya could only remember bits and pieces of her early childhood, but the day her mother died had always been in her mind.

She shut her eyes angrily, bringing her knees up to her chest, trying to force herself not to cry.

How could she forget about that time? Her kind was sought out and killed for disobeying the Order. She had been sentenced to die, just like her father. Aya rubbed the red Memory Stone thoughtlessly.

She never understood why her mother had to die. Though it had been explained to Aya several times by her Aunt, Aya couldn't believe the Order will kill a human.

Sighing, having calmed down a bit, Aya threw the covers off and slid off the bed. Looking around, she found her boots by the side of the bed. She slipped them on and already being fully dressed, looked around the small room.

Aya had no idea where she was, so she silently crept towards the only door in the room. It had been left open a crack and she peaked through it, noticing several people.

"You have no idea where that giant bird came from, Raine?" the silver haired man asked.

"No. The mana we all detected during the battle was definitely foreign to anything I've sensed before," the one called Raine replied.

"That thing was strong. Not to mention smart," a male added. He was sitting outside of Aya's line of vision.

"Yeah. I don't think we fought any monsters that tough last time," a woman replied, also out of Aya's sightline. "By the way, when were you able to produce wings Zelos?"

"Awhile ago, actually. See, I haven't given up my Cruxis Crystal yet-" there was the sound of ruffling fabric. "-and figured out how to produce wings about two years back. I figured I could. After all, as a Chosen myself I am descended from the Angel race."

Aya heard footsteps, following by yawning.

"Sleep well, Lloyd?" asked the silver-haired boy again.

Aya cursed as she heard wood scrapping along the floor and someone announcing that she would check on the patients.

Aya lightly ran back to the bed and quickly flung her boots back approximately where they were before. Pulling the covers over her body, Aya feinted sleep just as the door opened.

Sheena walked in, sliding the door closed behind her. She walked over to the bed and rested the back of her hand against Aya's forehead.

"Look's like the fever is breaking. That's good. She'll probably be up soon," the Shinobi thought aloud before turning and exiting the room.

Aya opened her eyes, confused at the unbiased treatment she was receiving. It was unusual for such kindness to be shown to her from strangers.

"Ah, I see you're awake," came the faint female voice through the wall.

"Is Lloyd-"

"He's fine. You took most of the damage in the crash."

"Good."

"Kratos, who is that girl you dropped on Regal anyway?"

"Are the others all here? I'd rather not repeat myself."

"I don't know if you should be up and moving. Raine may have used some seriously advanced magic and I know you heal quickly, but still..."

"Please," Kratos sighed. The sound of two pairs of shuffling feet came next.

Aya wasn't sure she liked the idea of Kratos giving out her information. Knowing as little as he did, he was bound to make it harder on her to obtain her goal.

Taking a deep breath, and squaring her shoulders, Aya made her way over to the door and opened it.

All nine occupants of the main room turned in surprise to see their visitor standing there.

"Good morning," Aya addressed, looking around the room. Immediately there was a scramble of movement. Chairs were shuffled around as they made room for both Kratos and Aya.

Finally, after some quick bickering, Aya was presented a seat at the head of the table. She graciously sat down and took in the position of the other people in the room.

Kratos sat to her immediate left. Next to him was a young boy wearing red. Then a blonde haired girl. At the opposite end of the table was an older woman with silver hair. A boy with identical hair sat next to her. Then was a girl in purple, a man with blue hair, a girl with pink hair and a man with red hair would sat on her right.

"I guess you all have lots of questions..." Aya began after a lengthy silence. There were murmurs of agreement. It seems the group had decided the strange girl knew more about the attack and the course of events then they did. "Before I go on, I think it is best for some introductions. I do not know your names."

"Give us your name and we will give you ours," the boy in red snappily replied, looking smug.

"Lloyd..." groaned about three people in the room.

"What?"

"Err... my name is Aya."

"Just Aya?" the woman on the other end asked suspiciously.

"Is there a particular reason you need to know my last name?" Aya asked back, locking eyes with the older woman.

"Trust is earned, not given blindly," the woman replied.

"Goes both ways, grandma," Aya snapped back, gaining several glares.

"Enough!" Kratos snapped, silencing the argument. He wanted to know what was happening and wasn't going to let two females' bickering delay it. "Kratos Aurion."

The others looked around, several sighing in defeat. Kratos looked towards the boy next to him, urging him to go next with his gaze.

"Um, right. Lloyd Irving," he stated.

"Colette Brunel," chirped the blonde.

"Raine Sage," stated the older blonde, her tone of voice dictating authority.

"I'm Raine's brother, Genis," the man next to Raine explained.

"Sheena Fujibayashi," the girl in purple explained. "This is my village where you are staying."

"Thank you for your hospitality," Aya replied sincerely but did not meet Sheena's eyes.

"Regal Bryant. And this is Presea Combatir."

"And I am the ever beautiful Zelos Wilder! Perhaps you have heard of me?" the red-head declared flamboyantly. Aya looked taken aback.

"Eh... err.... No..."

"Shameful! To think there are such beautiful women who do not yet know my name!"

"ZELOS!" Sheena snapped, agitated that both Regal and Presea had (intentionally) sat between the two to prevent bloodshed. "Can't you see you're making her uncomfortable?"

"I was only stating a fact..." Zelos mumbled in defeat, eyes downcast. He flinched as he subconsciously felt pain in his face where she had slapped him last night when he tried – in vain – to apologize for whatever had ticked her off earlier.

"Now," Raine began, taking on the role of leader, "Explain."

"Heh... where to begin?" Aya thought aloud. Her story was very long. "I need the Eternal Swordsman to come and save my home."

Though a simple explanation, it sent a fury of questions and remarks.

"Your home? Where's that?"

"Is there a conflict on Symphonia we don't know about?"

"This is crazy!"

"Who's the Eternal Swordsman again?"

"Lloyd!"

"Hey! You didn't have to hit me..."

"Quiet!" Raine shouted, silencing the many discussions. Lloyd rubbed the side of his head where Genis had whacked him with the ball of his Kendama for his stupidity.

Aya stayed calm. No one had directed a question to her specifically so she remained quiet. Now all eyes were on her once again.

"You say your home is in danger?" Raine spoke slowly and clearly as she formatted her question. "We have our own ways of finding out information on trouble. We don't know of any problems of the magnitude you are suggesting on Symphonia."

"I guess that's your problem, then," Aya replied bitterly. "You assume I am from Symphonia."

Several jaws dropped in surprise. Again the murmuring rose as everyone tried to speak at once.

"Where, then, are you from?" Kratos asked loudly. Everyone shushed themselves silent as they waited for anticipation.

Aya, not excited about sharing the place of her origin, replied after a bit of quick thinking, "Cadence."

Her sudden smile should have alerted the others to the falsehood of her answer, but they all mistook it for a smile of longing and ignored it.

"I've never heard of Cadence," Kratos replied, suspicious of her answer.

Well, Aya thought, guess you can't fool them all...

"I don't expect you would," Aya replied. "Unless you can-" Aya chose her words carefully "-travel between worlds."

Kratos had to admit that he could not and conceded to her point. She would have smiled in slight victory had she not been barraged with another question.

"Explain the problem on Cadence then," Regal spoke up before Raine or Sheena could ask the same question.

"Make yourselves comfortable," Aya grumbled. "It's a long story..."

"Don't you worry about us, hunny," Zelos replied, smiling in her direction. Aya sighed.

"Let's see... Where I'm from, there are a few races you should be aware of: humans, elves, and half-elves. There used to be angels, before my time, but they supposedly died out.

"Up until forty years ago, half-elves revolted against the pure races for the prejudice against them. A band of heroes put a stop to the civil war and peace returned to the land. Peace lasted for about twenty years. Then the problems started. A group calling themselves Angelus descended from the heavens and declared war on the humans, considering them to be inferior beings and such.

"Angelus sided with the elves. It made sense, after all, as Angelus was a group of angels and elves, we learned, were related to the angel race. The half-elves split into two factions. Some sided with the elves and Angelus. The others sided with the humans who had oppressed them before.

"I was born during this time of bloodshed. Angelus knew there would be problems and hunted down the heroes of old. They knew some of them were of angel descent and tried to sway them to their cause. They all refused and were killed as examples to the rebels. Angelus hunted down the humans that were in the band of heroes and slew them all. My parents were killed in this way.

"Yet still the humans and half-elves fought back. They created gems called Memory Stones – which held the will and power of a person's loved ones – to increase their strength and their ability to use mana.

"Angelus once and for all decided that this was a nuisance. They cast and threw down holy light upon the earth. Mountains, towns, valleys, oceans. Nothing could survive the rain of light. They destroyed our source of mana.

"What was left of the resistance gave up. They became slaves. Only a few still had hope. The few that had survived of the band of heroes – having deceived Angelus of their race – fled to the mountains. Hiding in what was left of them, they created a barrier from the Memory Stones of their fallen comrades. That's where I lived and was raised.

"We found records in the base that we were hiding in of a world known as Symphonia and a hero who had a pact with a Summon Spirit called Origin. We felt that this was our only hope. To find this Eternal Swordsman – as the book called him – and get him to defeat Angelus and save our home."

Aya let the last sentence hang in the air and in the stifling silence. She looked around the room, noting everyone's expressions. If anyone doubted her cause, she couldn't tell.

"Listen, I know this is sudden, but I need to know if I have your help," Aya pleaded.

"We need to deliberate," Raine spoke softly, eyes staring at the table. "To send our friend to such a place alone takes time."

"Alone? If that all you are worried about, I can take..." Aya mentally counted, "seven people with me, including myself."

She stood before anyone could stop her. "I'll leave you to decide who will go." Taking that as the end of her part, Aya left the building to roam the village as she waited for their decision.

Lloyd looked around the table, a somber mood upon them all.

"I think we should help her," he stated. "It's just the right thing to do."

"I agree with Lloyd," Zelos added. "We can't leave a damsel in distress!"

"I swear..." Sheena grumbled, rubbing her temples in frustration as the group came to the conclusion to help the stranger.

"Then, who should go with Lloyd? Not counting him or Aya, we can only choose five of us to go to Cadence," Genis explained.

"I will not go," Regal stated, surprising everyone.

"Why not?" Colette asked, tilting her head to the side in confusion.

"I no longer have my Exsphere. I would only be a hindrance. It is the logical choice."

"Regal makes a good observation. Does anyone still have their Exspheres?" Kratos asked. Several people guiltily looked around the room.

Zelos, Sheena, Raine, Genis, Colette, Lloyd, and Kratos simultaneously revealed their Exspheres.

"We were waiting to give them to Lloyd as a present..." Sheena mumbled in apology as she recovered the back of her hand.

"Well keep them for now," Lloyd replied, smiling in embarrassment. "Consider them on loan."

"It seems then that I should also stay. I gave up my Cruxis Crystal long ago," Presea stated clearly without a hint of regret. Lloyd nodded.

"Okay, so now it comes down to the rest of you. I can't take you all, even if I wanted to. So, any volunteers to stay behind?"

Lloyd wasn't surprised at the lack of immediate responses.

I can't let Lloyd go alone, Raine thought. He'd get in too much trouble. Besides, this new world go be brimming with new archeological discoveries! No! Raine! Focus! It's not the time to be excited over ancient architecture!

Lloyd's my best friend. I have to go! Besides, I can't let Raine go alone. She'd get herself killed with her stupid habit. And what's the point of staying with Presea? Genis mused sadly.

I'm going, Kratos mentally stated. Even in thought, he was quick and to the point. He knew that no one would contest his decision either.

Totally going with the hot chick. Even I need to experience new things, Zelos happily thought, his reasons a bit skewed.

Zelos has that blasted look on his face. I can't leave him to his own devices. Guess I'm going then... Sheena grumbled to herself.

Colette looked around at each of her friends determined faces. She glanced at Lloyd from the corner of her eye and saw him deep in thought. How much he had grown since she last saw him.

Colette wanted to be with him, but she knew better. What could she contribute that the others could not? Decided that she was not needed, she spoke up.

"I volunteer," she said, a smile on her face.

"Huh? Colette?" Lloyd blinked, surprised. In honest opinion, he wasn't expecting anyone to volunteer.

"Don't worry about me, Lloyd. I'll stay behind. Someone has to, anyway. And if Zelos is gone, the King might go crazy," Colette explained with a laugh. "I'll help the king out while Zelos is gone. I've done it before."

"Gee, Colette you really don't have to think about me at a time like this..." Zelos tried to explain seriously. He knew how Colette felt about Lloyd and how hard a decision it was for her to let him go off alone.

"No. Honestly, it's not a problem. I'll be fine," Colette decisively stated. She wasn't going to let anyone change her mind.

"If we're decided then," Lloyd replied, looking around, "then I'll find Aya and we'll get ready to go."

Decisions made, Lloyd and the others set about making preparations for their departure. Eventually only Kratos and Raine remained.

"Do you think we are doing the right thing?" Raine asked him, looking to his thousands of years of wisdom for advice.

"I don't think we have a choice," Kratos replied solemnly. He wished he could over Raine want she wanted to hear, but he was concerned about the girl's story. He closed his eyes in thought, things nagging on his mind.

Raine sighed in annoyance. There was no hope of getting anything out of the angel once he decided to mull on a subject. She decided her resources were best put to use organizing the others.

"I, for one," Raine replied as she prepared to leave. Kratos opened one eye to look in her direction, "hope that we aren't getting in over our heads."

--Silverwings

Ah... Like Aya's back-story? Obviously, she isn't telling all. What were lies? What was truth? The action moves to Cadence, next time! Don't forget to leave suggestions, comments, criticisms and most importantly reviews! Till next time!