To Kill An Angel: A Fanfic by Gyppy

Timeline: Based 2 years after "Rising Shadow"

Summary: After Nebilim's shadow was sealed away once more, Lloyd thought that they could all finally enjoy peace. However, he could not have been more wrong...

Two old servants of Nebilim, half-elven females who had once worked for the treacherous Dark Lord, set out to stop Lloyd and his allies. Their first target: the Eternal Swordsman's father himself.

Pairings: LloydxColette and SheenaxZelos primarily, with hints at GenisxPresea, SelesxOC and minor KratosxRaine. There will also be some PronymaxYggdrasill and MithosxOC.

Author's Note: Alright, this is going to be the last part of 'To Kill An Angel'. So far, it's outdone its predecessor in reviews, but it'll most likely not bear the magnificent legacy Rising Shadow has bestowed upon my fanfiction.

Seeing as this is going to be the conclusion to this epic story, it won't have much action in it. However, this most likely won't be the end of Rising Shadow's legacy. Expect to see more, not only in the 'Bearer of the Pact' series that I may just continue, but also in a possible sequel to TKAA.

As you know, the last chapter concluded in a sunset. This 'epilogue' will conclude the story with a brief, romantic piece.

If you dislike the pairing of Kratos and Raine, I advise you don't read this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia, Namco, Final Fantasy or Squaresoft/Square-Enix.

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Epilogue: The End of the Shadow

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It was as if the very air that whirled about the land had changed. There was an eerie silence cast over the plains south of Hima as the crystalline spheres, glimmering far above the crater there, began to gather in their resting place in the center of the crater.

The ones who had sealed Niflheim, as well as destroyed the tower that once stood there, were gathered near that crater, having awoken from a long night of rest.

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"Mithos," Karina uttered, her mind taken over by the beauty of the sunrise. "Isn't it beautiful?"

"Yes, it is," the seraph said, his greenish-blue eyes gazing upon her form. "It's... very beautiful. Almost as beautiful as you."

Karina blushed. "You really think so?"

"Yeah," Mithos replied as he turned his head to gaze upon the sunrise. "But no sunrise could ever match a living, breathing person."

"Thank you, Mithos," Karina whispered breathlessly, leaning her head against his shoulder.

Mithos smiled, drawing his brilliantly feathered wings. He let one wing drift over her back, while the other simply waved behind him, casting a slight breeze upon the terrain.

"I hope you two are done now," Mithos heard from behind him. "You've been slacking off big-time ever since you woke up."

Mithos whirled around, and came face to face with Yggdrasill. "We're not saving the world now. I can do whatever I want."

"Hmph." Yggdrasill crossed his arms. "Doesn't mean you have to slack off."

"You're a real dictator, you know that?" Mithos said teasingly. "Of course, sometimes I positively adore that aspect of you... because it lets me meet people like Karina."

Yggdrasill smirked. "You really like her so much that you blame the fact that you met her on my dictatorship?" Though he made no sound, his eyes gleamed with repressed mirth. "What a wonderful brother you are..."

"He's not a dictator," Pronyma said, floating up beside Yggdrasill. "He just doesn't want his dear little brother to be ashamed of himself."

Mithos smiled. "Thank you, both of you."

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Sheena glared at Zelos, obviously annoyed with his rather unnerving silence. "What happened? You're usually talking so much that it makes me want to tear out my eardrums."

"Ah, nothing much," Zelos replied, glancing over at Sheena. "I was just thinking... don't you think this sunrise is really beautiful? Not a cloud in the sky, there's the ocean out in the distance..."

"Oh, now I see what you're getting at," Sheena said, walking over to Zelos and sitting beside him. "It is beautiful. Almost as beautiful as you."

Zelos grinned. He wasn't expecting that.

And that grin remained plastered on his face until he absentmindedly drifted his hand down to her rear, and she turned and smacked him so hard it made him see stars...

"You pervert."

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"Come on, let's go!"

Lloyd grinned as he ran out ahead of Genis, who was chasing him around, yelling at him for some crude remark he'd made. Colette and Presea had decided to join in on the action, playing a sort of game of tag, despite the fact that Genis was positively vehement.

Meanwhile, Kratos and Raine were sitting some distance from the children, their minds adrift in thought.

"Can't catch me, can ya?" Lloyd called back, glancing over his shoulder at Genis.

"You idiot!" the young half-elf shouted back. "I can't believe you'd try to think I was doing that to Presea!"

"Probability of successful contact with Genis is fifteen percent," Presea said, glancing at Colette and grinning. "In other words, I don't think we'll be able to catch up with him."

"Doesn't mean we can't try," Colette said, her eyes gleaming with suppressed humor. "I mean, after all, he has Lloyd to worry himself about, right?"

Kratos glanced over at Raine, his face bearing a smirk. "Should we tell them to stop?"

"Nah," Raine replied, a grin crossing her own face. "They'll find out on their own."

Kratos nodded, and wrapped one of his arms around Raine's neck. The half-elf blushed, but returned the gesture all the same.

"It's really a beautiful sight," Raine commented, her eyes drifting out over the plain. "It's so beautiful, it just makes me want to close my eyes and dream of it all day..."

The older seraph felt a light pressure on his shoulder, and noticed that Raine had leaned over, placing her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes. He smiled, knowing that she was forever safe in his arms.

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Abyssion looked out over the roaring ocean that lay beyond him, enjoying the sounds of the waves brushing past his ears. Allurya stood beside him, her eyes focused on the same distant spot on the horizon.

"It's beautiful," Allurya whispered. "It's like there's some invisible force out there, casting its breath upon the waters of the ocean."

"There is one out there," Abyssion said. "It's called the wind, and it's carried across the world by the three Sylph, the Heavenly Messengers."

"I wish I could meet them," Allurya said, her eyes suddenly lighting up. "I wish I could meet the Sylph. Then I could see the very source of the wind itself..."

Abyssion smiled. Even though she had been raised in Sybak, Allurya was still just as childish and playful as any little girl her age. He was proud of her, despite his own insecurities.

"The wind's getting cold out here," the dark seraph suddenly said. "I think we should go back to camp."

Allurya nodded, drawing her wings. She turned to the plains that lay behind them and soared off into the distance.

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Yuan stood at the center of the massive crater that had once housed the Tower of Destruction. All the Cruxis Crystals that lay about him were glimmering and shining, not only with the light of the distant sun but also with the joyous light of free souls.

Suddenly, he heard a peculiar whisper of wind from behind him. He turned, and his blue eyes met the translucent form of Martel.

"I didn't know you were here," the seraph said. "I'm sorry for ignoring you."

"It's alright," Martel said, drifting ever closer to him. "I'll forgive you for everything... after all, you saved me from being trapped by the crystal." Though her eyes seemed transparent, they still glimmered with untold joy. "And now, with just a simple boost from the flow of mana, I could be yours again..."

"I don't think that would be preferable," Yuan said. "After all, don't you think you should rest in peace after all these years?"

Martel shook her head. "No, Yuan. I want to be with you. I want to experience your love again. I want to be me... I want to be free from the confines of those whose lives have been taken by Exspheres. I've waited four thousand years for this... I don't want to lose everything to the darkness again..."

Yuan nodded in understanding, stepping forward. Much to his surprise, Martel's arms wrapped around his neck, and he could feel not only the warmth of her touch but a strange physical presence, almost as if she had a physical body.

"I was lucky," Martel said. "I was able to break from the confines of my Cruxis Crystal and live on in this form." As she drifted away from him, her eyes welled up with sadness. "So many others... were not so lucky. Anna, Lloyd's mother... she is still locked up in her crystal, unable to make so much as a move. And Alicia... Presea's sister..." her voice wavered, almost as if she dared not speak of what happened. Then, she finally gathered courage, and finished what she was saying. "Alicia... was one of those who ended up truly dying. She was unable to escape from the tower..."

Yuan felt a tear of sympathy and sorrow well up in his eye, almost involuntarily. "...I see. Then I'll let you live on... just tell me when you want to do it."

Martel's face changed from one of sorrow to one of joy, and her eyes lit up with a genuine, sparkling light. "We can do it anytime you so please."

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Author's Note: Betcha weren't expecting that twist, now were ya? Heheheh... well... this concludes TKAA, and what a fanfic it was.

I'm sorry if it all seemed too short to you. But heck, nothing's perfect, is it? Heheheh. Well, anyway, keep your eyes open. Just because this fic's done, doesn't mean the legacy's over... I may decide to continue this fanfic yet, and of course there's still BotP. Right?