Requiem
The Battle Begins
Disclaimer: Don't own Tales of Symphonia, but one day… one day… I will… actually, I don't know what I'll do…I wonder... If I did own Tales of Symphonia, then maybe... Ooh! I got it! Okay, Kratos is an alien in a human's body, which would make Lloyd part alien! Anna's a martian! Zelos is aPimp DaddyJedi, and Yggdrasill is Dark Elvader! O-kay... um... No more watching Scooby-Doo for me...
Warnings: None in this one. Just a stupid a King who poorly runs a country, but that's nothing new.
Lloyd stood next to Zelos, panic stricken. So, this is what Zelos had been trying to tell him. The army was already here. Why hadn't he tried to listen to him before it was too late? Well, the King would not have to worry about people trying to leave now. The Derris-Kharlan army was surely blockading the way out of the nation. The one thing that worried Lloyd the most was that the Tethe'alla army was not here yet. What would they do if the war started the next morning with no help at all? The only thing Lloyd could think now was, 'This sucks.'
"Why is the Derris-Kharlan army here? We haven't done anything to them!" One man in the crowd shouted at the King. Many other people were shouting similar things, except most of them were using different words that were much cruder. The King turned around and held up his hands to silence everyone.
"It seems they have decided to declare a war with us." He said to them. Panicked voices aroused throughout the crowd, and the King had to silence them again. "Do not fret! We have the aid of the Tethe'alla army on our side. They are on their way as we speak."
"What a lying little bas…" Lloyd started to say. Zelos slapped a hand over Lloyd's mouth as a guard in front of him turned around to see what he was saying. The guard looked over at Zelos in confusion. Zelos pointed to Lloyd then twirled his finger around the side of his head, motioning that Lloyd was crazy. The guard nodded, looked at Lloyd in a pathetic way, and then turned back around.
Zelos took his hand away from Lloyd's mouth, and then crossed his arms against his chest. He glared at Lloyd, not in a mad way, but more in a way as if Lloyd were stupid. "You have to watch what you are about to say. You never know who is watching and what they might do to you." Zelos scolded.
"I think these people have the right to know the truth." Lloyd replied sternly.
"Well think about it. What would you do if you were the King? He's got a reputation to hold up, and he would look bad if everyone knew the truth right after he just got done signing a peace treaty with another nation. Although, I wouldn't have been stupid enough to insult the King of Derris-Kharlan. A fatal mistake." Zelos shook his head as he looked over at the King who was trying to calm everyone down.
"I don't even get why he insulted the King of Derris-Kharlan. Why would anyone do that? It just makes them look stupid." Lloyd stated.
"Yeah, well. I think we should discuss this another time. He's coming this way." Zelos said as he nodded toward the King. Sure enough, the King and Colette were walking back through the crowd and back up toward their castle. This time Colette stopped at Lloyd and Zelos, noticing them among the crowd.
"Lloyd! Zelos! Isn't this awful!" Colette exclaimed.
"Yeah, but your fool of a father didn't help matters at all did he?" Lloyd asked in a disgusted tone.
Colette looked down at the ground. "I know. I know this is his fault. But sometimes being the King means you have to make rash decisions."
"Your life is in danger because of him!" Lloyd yelled at her.
Colette looked away from him as tears started to welt up in her eyes. Lloyd's heart sunk. He caused her to cry. Had he gone a little too far? He walked up to Colette and wrapped his arms around her, trying to comfort her.
"Colette… I'm sorry. It's just… It's just I don't want anything to happen to you." Lloyd stated calmly. A lump rose in his throat as he thought about what it would be like if he ever lost her. She was the only reason why he was still alive. If he had not have met her, he would have killed himself, or he would have died from being lonely.
"Can I join in?" Zelos asked sarcastically. "I love group hugs."
Lloyd let go of Colette and managed to laugh at Zelos' remark. Colette wiped away her tears and smiled for the first time in a long while. Lloyd decided he would be just fine with Zelos marrying Colette. Now that he knew the real Zelos. He still disliked the Zelos he had met earlier that day. They would all be happy to a point after the war. Lloyd would not get the girl of his dreams, but she would be in good hands.
The Cardinal of the Sylvarant army stood in front of the crowd holding a long piece of parchment. It fell down to the ground and lay in a curled pile at the Cardinal's feet. The crowd grew quiet as they waited for what he was going to say to them. It was surely going to be something about the war.
"As much as the kingdom of Sylvarant hates to do this, it is in fact a necessity. I will need all males over the age of ten from each family to participate in the war. If we want to stand a chance against the Derris-Kharlan army, then this must be done." The Cardinal announced to them. Many shouts erupted from the crowd. Ignoring the jeering of the crowd, the Cardinal continued. "If you do not participate, the male members of the family will face a life sentencing in the dungeons. Ex-army civilians will face the death penalty if they do not participate as well. Although some lives will be lost, we will at least have control over our nation. If Derris-Kharlan took over, your sons and husbands would die, along with everyone else here. I have a list of everyone's names that will be required to participate in the war." The Cardinal held up the piece of parchment he was holding in his hand. He began to slowly read off everyone's name, and Lloyd's name was called of course. Zelos would have to participate, even if the Tethe'alla army did not arrive in time.
"This is horrible." Colette said sadly as the sun began to set. "You both have to go out into the battle field tomorrow morning because of me. I'm so sorry."
"Don't be Colette. I accept my fate, and I'm going to go through with this. I promise I will be looking into your face again tomorrow evening." Lloyd said to her.
"Yeah, don't worry. I'll watch Lloyd's back for you. We wouldn't want your best bud to go belly up now would we." Zelos added sarcastically.
"Hey! What am I? A fish?" Lloyd argued playfully. He fake punched Zelos in the shoulder. Colette smiled at them.
"You promise?" She asked.
"We promise." Lloyd and Zelos replied at the same time.
The streets of Sylvarant were crowded the next morning. Most of them were teenagers and men equipping themselves with armor and weapons. Zelos and Lloyd stood back watching all of them. Lloyd's only defense were his two swords that still hung on his sides. Zelos was equipped with a silver sword, and a small shield was strapped to his right arm. A guard walked up to them and looked at them as if they were crazy.
"Aren't you going to use any armor?" He asked eyeing them suspiciously.
"Trust me. If anyone can scar our pretty faces, then they deserve to kill us." Zelos replied.
The guard's jaw dropped after Zelos said this. After staring at them for a few seconds, the guard finally shrugged and walked off.
About half an hour later, all of the men had been asked to gather in front of the drawbridge. Wives and daughters watched through their windows in their homes. Many of them were crying for fear of the loss of loved ones.
"Do not show them any mercy! For you will receive none! Be aware that the cloaked Derrans excel in the use of magic and illusions…" The Cardinal's voice was droned out by the continuous murmur of the crowd of men, and the wailing of the women.
"Just let us out dammit! I wanna kick some Derris-Kharlan ass!" Zelos shouted over the crowd. A few men near Zelos roared in agreement.
"Then get ready." Lloyd said.
The drawbridge to the city slowly lowered to the ground. The Derris-Kharlan army was now visible. Black smoke now covered the sky completely. The army was waiting at the horizon. At the front of the army were the cloaked soldiers on their eerie looking horses. Behind them waited the rest of the army, which stood on foot. Lloyd hoped that he would live to see the next day as he and Zelos crossed over into the battlefield.
Author's Note: That was a fairly long chapter. Well, now the battle is beginning, and the story may possibly be coming to its conclusion. Just kidding! It's still got about four more chapters at least. Maybe five or six. But hold on to your seats people! Here we go!
Please review!
By the way, I made that Disclaimer especially for you Fan Fan Girl. What will you do this time? But I can't believe you killed Yuan! NOOO! Who cares... He's a jerk anyway. I've never seen someone who could review with characters and keep them in personality. You should write sometime! It would be hilarious!
I know I'm evil Sheenachi, that's why I write. If I didn't, then who knows what I would be like? I might be on the streets right now with an uzie (sp?) or something. Just kidding! Beware people, Metal Gear Solid messes with your head. BEWARE!
Bob the chipmunk! Don't ask...