Recap: After being betrayed by Kratos at the Tower of Salvation, the party was 'rescued' by the Renegades. Yggdrasil threw a fit and left, while Kratos lingered a moment longer to conceal his gratitude to the rebels from his master...
The story continues in Tethe'alla.
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It was dark outside. The wind blew in soft whispers around the inn, a gentle lullaby of all the night sounds to those who cared to listen. Not all was still and quiet inside, however. In one of the rooms, a young woman sat on the edge of her bed. Her fist were clenched and tears streamed down her cheeks as she voice her hatred.
"I hate him! He's a traitor!"
'I hate him...! He's a traitor...!'
'I hate..... He is a traitor.'
She paused in mid-thought. Her lip began to tremble.
'I don't hate him, even if he is a traitor.'
"Why Kratos? Why did you do it?"
The summoner put her face in her hands and wept. Behind her, Undine and Corrine appeared, the smaller summon spirit creeping up and brushing his head against Sheena's side.
"Hey Sheena! It will be alright!"
The girl straightened up a little, her tears sparkling in the moonlight that came through the open window. "No Corrine, it won't be. Never ever again."
Undine spoke up then, her voice soothing and calming the young ninja. "Young one, he speaks the truth. The Silent One holds much in his heart; great pain, and yet some small joy and hope. While you may not understand it now, he suffers so that you may live."
The water goddess turned her head to gaze out at the night sky. Her line of sight passed beyond the illusions that hung there to the place that lay cloaked beyond. 'Kratos, remember love.'
With that thought in mind, the two summons disappeared, leaving Sheena to her thoughts...
---
Inside a different room, another figure paced back and forth in agitation. Raine Sage had too many mysteries confronting her now. Collette's Angel transformation, Lloyd's Exsphere, the new world of Tethe'alla with all its differences and simularities to Sylverant, and...
Her pacing came to a halt.
...And Kratos' betrayal.
For a long time she had been cursing herself for not seeing it sooner. The Professor, the one to see the cold hard truth everywhere was just as blind as the others when it came to the mercenary. Her perception had failed her when she needed it the most to protect the few people that she actually cared for.
But life had taught her many lessons, and she used one now; there had to be some logical answer, some clue. So she had been pacing and thinking while Collette sat in a chair in the corner of the room. The Chosen was still, and that worried the Professor, though if she really focused on the thought, she was grateful that the girl wasn't out running around somewhere. There would be no way to keep her contained.
"Enough!" Raine shook herself sharply and turned once more to the problem that she must solve. How had the mercenary eluded her senses?
The elf played back every piece of memory that she could recall, both of his words and behavior. Somewhere in there was the reason...
It hit her then, and the pieces started to fall into place.
-The friendliness to Noishe...
-The standing nights on guard...
-His protectiveness of each member of the party...
-The way that he studied the night sky when he thought no one could see...
-His constant harping on being prepared...
-The reluctance to go to the Tower...
-The pain on his face as Sheena called him a traitor.
'Did he not truly wish to betray us?'
He didn't kill you, did he?
The question struck her out of the blue, and in the half light of the moon, Raine sat down on her bed to ponder.
---
The rest of the party lay resting in their own place, dreams doing for them what waking hours could not. Both boys were resting, though Lloyd was mumbling in his sleep.
Genis was snoring...
---
Far away in Meltokio, a figure touched down lightly on the ground. It had been a matter of the upmost ease to avoid the city patrols and land in the garden. Alone, it suited his purpose quite well.
He'd landed near the center, and now he heard a rippling in the fountain behind him. Kratos hung his head; he knew without a doubt who had come to speak with him. "What do you want, Undine?"
The water spirit shook her head sadly. Yet her tone remained gentle as she inquired, "Why did you leave them, friend?"
"You must know why." The angel's voice was a mere whisper, but the pain that it showed spoke volumes to his only listener. "But I will tell you."
He turned to face her, seating himself on one of the little stone benches that stood by the fountain. "Perhaps you did not know that I was married some years ago to a wonderful woman - Anna. We had a child - Lloyd. But my past could not let go of me and I lost both of them to one of Yggdrasil's hounds."
"Until a few weeks back, I was not aware that my son had survived."
Undine waited patiently for Kratos to continue. Her form blended well with the flowing waters of the fountain, rendering her almost invisible to the angel.
"That being so, I have decided to spare them the pain of my company and my luck. None of them will die for having known me. Even though this course leads to my own death."
"I will destroy the source of his power and lend that strength to one who needs it. It's the only way to ensure that they all remain safe and alive." Kratos raised his head and looked directly at his visitor. "It is the only way."
"I see." Undine sighed, the sound almost indecipherable from the surrounding flow of water. She shook her head sadly as she turned to leave, her form phasing out to the realm that only the spirits could access. "Do not forget, friend of my heart, that not everyone who loved you died."
She vanished in a light mist, leaving a confused angel behind her to ponder what she had implied.
---
"No. He was preparing us to face Yggdrasil."
---
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AN: In keeping with some brainstorming that I've been doing recently for Hidden Hearts, I have decided to make this chapter an interlude of sorts. A kind of a break in the storyline, a way to delineate the end of one section and the beginning of another. Kind of like having two discs for Tales of Symphonia. While I'm not saying that this is the 'second disc' (The first disc doesn't immediately end when they cross over to Tethe'alla), it kind-of-sort-of is. At least for the story. As my drama director would put it: "Kind of like an epilogue, only different."
Now for some of my reviewers...
Digidynasty - Yes, I know. It would have been so spectacular and dramatic - if I would have remembered it. The cold hard truth of the matter is that I forgot what all the lines were in scene, so I only put in what I remembered. Hence why "Burn in the depths of hell!" was not among the quotes that were placed. Sorry.
Kitten Kisses - Short chapters they are. Warms my heart to find you like them. Ahem. I know that you think that they are too short (When are they ever long enough?), but I've been trying to keep them approximately the same length so that you can be sure that you won't get a long chapter one update and a really short one the next.
Dominus - Yep, that's fanfiction for you!
angel white - Thanks for reading!
Karana Belle - I had fun writing that line. It seemed like something Lloyd might think. The Evil Teddy was a ridiculous opponent.
dragoonknight1 - Thanks for reading. I'm glad that you're enjoying this tale.
-Whew!-
Now I'm caught up, I think!? See ya all later!
Trev