Beasts pt. 1

Note: this story takes place 6 months after the defeat of Mithos in Tales of Symphonia. All characters (C) Namco, except those created by me.

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The warm summer breeze sailed gently in the air of the now grown village of Izoold, wafting by his face as he carried himself back up the stairs of the inn, carrying two hot bowls of ramen from the vendor a few blocks down the street. The heat had quickly seeped through his red gloves and assaulted his skin underneath, making him wish that he had the sense of taking some napkins for a makeshift hot pad for himself. He could barely hold onto the bowls and the chopsticks as he opened the door to his room where his companion was.

"OW! Yeow, that's hot!" cried Lloyd as he struggled with the piping hot meals, opened the door with his foot, and rushed up the stairs without spilling a single drop of the tasty ramen.

His companion was a woman that he had met while traveling around the worlds. She sat on the wooden floor of the room, reading some letters next to the low window. For some strange reason, he felt compelled to travel with her, even after the defeat of Mithos and the destruction of the Cruxis earlier that year. Colette and the others had already followed their own ways, leaving him with not much to do afterward.

"Here ya go, Aurora," he handed a bowl to her, in which she took without even looking up from her reading.

She was wearing a simple, knee-length deep blue, sleeveless yayoi with a simple, bowless black obi sash that flaunted her nearly boisterous cleavage; and a single black legging on her right leg with a studded black kneepad. Her wrists, palms, and forearms were wrapped up in protective and durable bandages to support her blade-swinging habits. She had short, somewhat shaggy blonde hair that had reached the length of her chin, with calm, blue-grey eyes reflecting off of her thin glasses. Her body was that of a lithe, young woman; with almost superhuman senses that baffled Lloyd. Inhuman reaction times, acute sense of smell, sharp hearing and vision, just simply amazing, if not better than what he remembered of Kratos. She finally decided to put down the letter she was reading to handle the sudden temperature increase as she touched the hot bowl.

"Finally, something to eat. Thanks," she replied as she picked up the chopsticks and slurped up some noodles. The taste of beef broth, green onions and salt was a welcoming treat to her tongue. The steam curled playfully about the tips of her chopsticks.

"Heh, no prob," he replied with a smirk, "When ya gotta eat, ya gotta eat."

He sat himself down and sipped on the broth, letting the hot liquid run down to warm his stomach before attempting to use the chopsticks. In the past two weeks, he had actually gotten pretty good with these things, but still occasionally struggled with some bits of food. He owed it to Aurora, who showed him how to use it properly.

Both sat in silence, slurping and sipping away at the cooling ramen, when Lloyd spoke, "Y'know, it's kinda weird that I didn't know that you were a hunter of sorts..."

She looked up at him in surprise, raising an eyebrow.

"That...well, you...killed people for a living," he stuttered, putting his bowl down, looking ashamed of himself for starting the conversation.

Aurora smiled at him, sucking the last noodle in her chopstick's grasp into her mouth. "You mean my job? Tch, I have a reason for killing them, and so do you, if that's the reason why you're here. In fact..."

"I...ah...well I..."

"...The people I seek to kill are on a mission to control the world with their ways, much like the Cruxis was. They live by the sword, die by the sword, if you ask me. Most of them were ranch-leaders. Remember Kvar and Magnius?"

Lloyd shuddered. Memories of those ranches were never pleasant, especially at Kvar's ranch. He had learned about his mother and the origin of his Exsphere there, and he'd often wish to forget about it.

"How could I forget? That was not a pleasant time..." he trailed off.

"Actually, they were my targets. You stepped in and did the job for me. Needless to say, I was impressed and displeased."

"What?"

"Yup. My boss had hired me to do the job and would've paid me good too, if you hadn't done it yourself."

"...I'm sorry, but--" he said, glancing down at the floor with a sudden sense of shame.

"I know, I know, I've heard it before: you can't stand it when people are suffering before your eyes," Aurora said as she bit into a piece of sliced beef, her eyes lighting up upon consumption, "Hot damn that's a spicy one!"

She looked up at Lloyd, who had stopped eating at began to stare off into space. "What's with that pitiful look in those pretty brown eyes of yours, Lloyd?"

"Huh?" he snapped back to attention.

"Look, if you're gonna come with me on this little trip, ya gotta eat or it'll get cold. Speaking of which, I'm going 'hunting' again tonight. I won't be back till tomorrow afternoon, so just hang out here. Chiriko'll take good care of you until I get back. Don't ask, I've already paid her, so relax."

"Waitaminute…," he grumbled, "Why am I supposed to stay here?"

"Because this job I got from my boss needs only one person, a woman, so to speak," she said as she finished the last of the broth. "But I gotta admit, the boss sure is impressed with your swordsmanship. He might even extend an invitation to you to join our little group."

"R-really! I..."

"If you're willing to take human lives for money and just cause."

"Ah...umm...I'm not...really..."

"Relax, kid. You probably won't get one until you've matured a little more."

"What's that supposed to mean!"

Aurora snickered to herself, obviously amused at Lloyd's outburst.

"Hey! Answer me, dammit!" Lloyd demanded.

"Anyway, I've got to get going. Raja'll be back soon, so just tell him that I'm out for tonight," she said as she slipped on her black sandals. They were only ankle high and exposed the toes, but were light and very quiet as she stepped down the stairs. The clinking of chains and blades accompanied the sound of a closing door, leaving him alone in silence.

"Hmph! Waddaya mean 'mature a little more'! I wish she would explain some things to me," he pouted, then proceeded to finish his meal.

Ten minutes passed when Lloyd heard the door opening downstairs.

"Psht, she forgot something again," he mumbled. "For the love of God," he said aloud as he walked to the stairs, "don't you rem--" he was cut short with the arrival of people dressed in very familiar uniforms. Desian uniforms.

"Dammit," he uttered before one of the soldiers looked up.

"THERE HE IS! GET 'IM!" one of them shouted. They herded themselves up the stairs quickly, but Lloyd had already drawn his weapons from their sheaths and backed himself to the open window as a possible escape route. Several of the soldiers made their weapons useful and attacked him, only to be cut down. More soldiers flooded into the building and swiftly subdued him.

"Alright, our little lost boy is now secured. Bring them in," ordered one of the soldiers. One left, and returned a minute later with two more men, one wearing a traditional white swordsman kimono; the other one was wearing a large white hood that he had draped over his body into a makeshift cloak.

Lloyd looked at the two new men, and scowled. The one wearing the kimono didn't look familiar at all, but he looked powerful. Long grayish hair and a goatee, coupled with middle age, made this man to appear to be very wise and skilled at what he does. The other one, well, he couldn't tell under the hood. He struggled against the soldiers holding his arms at bay as the men approached. Oddly enough, they stopped just a few feet from him. The first one spoke.

"Hmm...cutting down four of our men. Quite an insult to our master, boy," said the one in the kimono.

"Who the hell are you!" Lloyd demanded, still struggling fiercely with his captors. "Lemme go, dammit!"

The one in the cloak approached Lloyd and punched him in the left cheek so hard that he began to cough up blood after the blow. The cloaked one grabbed Lloyd's face tightly by the jaw and grinned, forcing them to see each other face to face.

"Remember me, Lloyd? Remember this face? Heh heh, probably not, I mean, why bother? One of those cannon fodder Grand Cardinals you love to foil. Heh, you thought I was dead meat, except this one pulled through! Heh heh!" Lloyd looked into the now familiar face, his eyes widening in terror.

"Yeah, you remember me, Lord Forcystus of the Iselia Human Ranch. That look of terror in your face proves it. Remember how you liked to ruin everyone's plans? Remember how you caused me to fall into the Mana Reactor? Heh heh, yeah, you remember. You left me for dead, and everyone thought I was dead, but I pulled through. I'm much tougher than you think."

'I...impossible! How can Forcystus still be alive?' Lloyd thought, still trying to break free of his captor's grasp.

Lloyd breathed in horror as Forcystus continued, "But after I crawled out of that damn Reactor, the damage had been done. One bad eye, you see, and two of my fingers in my right hand are useless now. The arm cannon no longer works, but I've gotten myself a new arm for that. But the thing is, it's all robotic now, so I can't feel anything for shit. Pretty much washed up as the Hero of the Half-Elves. Ever since that day, I've dreamt about you every single night, of how I would get my revenge on you. I've dreamt about this day for a long time, Lloyd Irving..." he then punched Lloyd in the gut, forcing out of him a cry of pain, followed by a spat of blood onto the floor and coughing for air before Forcystus continued again, "Y-you...son of a bitch! I'll make you pay in spades for what you've done to me! That's all I've thought about!"

He gripped Lloyd's face tightly again, forcing the boy to look at the man as he glared deeply into his eyes. "I ain't just gonna kill ya now, though, no. I'm gonna make it reaaaaal slow. I'll destroy your body and mind an inch at a time. You're gonna wish that you were dead, you little bitch!" Forcystus looked up from his prize and commanded, "Check the place thoroughly. I want to make sure his other buddies are gone! If you see anyone suspicious, kill them on sight!"

"YES SIR!" One of the soldiers turned around to the last man that arrived, another fellow Desian.

"C'mon, the boss doesn't like to wait...er, what's yer name again?" he said.

Ever so smoothly and swiftly did the last Desian unsheathe his sword than did he slice the soldier into ribbons. The others turned to him in surprise, including their captive. The last swing of the now-enemied Desian threw his helmet off to reveal a very familiar face.

"Raja! You idiot! Get out of here, now!" cried Lloyd as he continued to struggle, "They'll kill you too if you don't leave!"

Raja grinned. He was another one of Lloyd's new traveling companions, and also one heck of a tracker. His long, chestnut brown hair had been tied up into a tight bun, while only a long, lazy bang covered his right eye. "Do you really think I'd abandon this? I've been tracking these boys for the past several days. Sorry that I didn't come back in time to warn ya," he said as he cut up two more men, drawing the opposing group down to just eight members.

"No! That's not what I mean! Get out, now!" Lloyd cried again, still fighting his strong bonds, "You can't take on all of these guys yourself!"

"Heh, don't worry. I'll get you out of here soon enough," Raja chuckled. "So, who's next?"

The kimono-wearing swordsman swiftly answered his challenge, and before Raja could react, the man had taken two swings at him, blowing him back against the wall and tumbled down the stairs into a small puddle of blood, where he lay there motionless. The swordsman then quickly sheathed his blood-covered sword with finesse and speed, breathing a sigh of disappointment.

'Oh god...Raja...' thought Lloyd. He lowered his head in sadness over his dead friend, his face no longer visible to the invaders.

"So much for him...damn kid," sighed the man, then turned to one of the surviving soldiers, "You. How many did he kill? Go see."

"Uh...sure thing, Master Kinuka," replied one of the soldiers as he scrambled to count the bodies. "Looks like...three. Suicide...damn punk."

"Three! Damn it. Not good, that makes seven men dead today. This was supposed to be a secret from Abayama," Kinuka cursed. "More to the point, it's not just these men. We lost 11 men in the decoy operation in Palmacosta...so at least two, three more..."

"Let it go, Kinuka," said Forcystus. Kinuka turned to face him, still pondering the losses. "Okay, guys died. That sucks. But it's history. This just gives us more reason to enjoy messing up this human. If we make him cough up everything he knows about his buddies, you think the old man'll complain! Heh, he'll kiss our butts for this!" he ruffled Lloyd's hair like a caged animal, his newfound game and prize.

"Hmm...?" he looked down at his victim's face, only to be greeted by an angry glare of pure animal instinct.

Lloyd exerted a powerful side kick to Forcystus' chest, knocking his oppressor back to the ground. Using that momentum, he broke free of the soldier's hold and assaulted one with a powerful punch to the face before going for the final kill.

WHACK!

Lloyd fell unconscious to the floor with an audible thud, thanks to Kinuka's quick thinking and a hand chop to the back of the neck. Forcystus sat silently, amazed by this man's extraordinary power.

"Don't provoke him, fool! You can't predict how people will act when they see their friends killed! YOU should know better than anyone!" gruffed the swordsman. He then slung Lloyd's body over his shoulder, and turned to leave.

"Y-yeah. Right," Forcystus said, still a little shaken. Standing up, he ordered his soldiers to take a body, even if they were in two pieces.

"Where are we gonna take 'em? That place over in the red-light district?" asked one of the soldiers.

"Why not? That place is literally made for it," replied another.

"I dunno, man. I don't like dumping guys near that old, deserted brothel..."

"Come on! If you're gonna be a ghost, why not near a whorehouse? Ha ha!"

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Her target dead much quicker than she had anticipated, Aurora released a sigh of content. At her feet was the recently beheaded corpse of an ex-Desian commander who still believed that Desians were still in power, that delusional fool; in her right hand, her bladed weapon that was quite unique: only a few feet long, this handled scythe was sharper and stronger than diamond. It could cut through the air like it was nothing at all, and that she could use it to grapple an enemy or simply swing it like a normal sword. The handle itself was made out of blackened, super hard elephant's tusks, and carved on it were ornate symbols and charms for power and death. In her left hand, the commander's bloodied head.

'Job's done,' she thought, stepping over the dead bodies that had fought and lost against her, 'I'd better get going...'

A sudden cool breeze swept through the area, disturbing a small flock of birds into leaving. Aurora narrowed her eyes as the wind ceased blowing and gazed into the sky.

"A bad omen..."

End part 1