Father and Son

Let me start off by saying this: I certainly don't own Tales of Symphonia. Please read and enjoy.

"What do you mean you want to rebuild this! Haven't you done enough already?" Lloyd was getting angry, and his left eye was starting to twitch.

Pietro shook his head. "I want to help the people of this city, just like I rebuilt Luin. It will be great, I promise. I just need a little help to start off…"

Lloyd exploded. "HELP! You mean like we helped you rebuild Luin? Like we helped you get over 500,000 Gald? You mean help like that!"

Raine dragged him away by his collar. "You know," she said, once he had calmed down, "He's just trying to help. Trying to rebuild Heimdall is a very noble gesture."

Lloyd tried not to twitch again at the word 'help'. "Yeah, but his version of rebuilding means a lot of money from us."

"That's true." Raine thought for a second. "Why don't we take a vote on whether we should help him or not?"

"That's a great idea Professor!" Lloyd ran over to the others to give them the news. "Okay, everyone, we're going to vote on whether to help Pietro or not. Who wants to go first?"

Unsurprisingly, Colette was the first to answer. "I think that we should help him. He's doing good things for those that are in need, and that's something that we should do too."

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but the elves don't really seem to want our help," said Zelos, looking around at the elven women who were glaring at him. "I mean, all I do is say hello, and-"

Sheena cut him off. "I wonder why. Anyway, I agree with the idiot Chosen, for once. There's no way that these elves are going to accept help from humans, no matter how much the elder likes Lloyd."

"I think that our help is needed here," Regal finally spoke up. "If this was my home, I would want to do what's best for it and forget about racial differences."

Presea nodded. "I think so, too. Pietro is a good man who cares about others. I wish that Ozette could be rebuilt like this…"

Pietro's ears perked up. "Ozette? Is that another ruined city?"

Presea started to say something, but Zelos quickly covered her mouth. "Um, no. Ozette is perfectly fine. No need to worry."

Pietro turned away, looking depressed. Zelos winked at Presea and whispered, "Shh, don't tell him about Ozette. If he heads over there he'll find all sorts of things to rebuild and he'll never leave."

"Umm, I agree with Presea!" Genis burst out, blushing. "I mean, it's a good thing to do."

Raine shook her head. "It may be a good thing, but we really don't have the funds right now."

"Okay then," said Lloyd. "I vote that we don't help him right now. So since that's settled, what do you guys want—"

"Hey, Lloyd," Zelos interrupted, "I love ya, but you can't do math for beans."

Lloyd tried to get his mind around that one. "But, what does this have to do with beans?"

Genis sighed. "He means that you can't count, and he's right. It's a tie, Lloyd."

The brown-haired swordsman scratched his head. "But everyone voted so…"

"What about pops over there?" Zelos asked.

Everyone one turned to look at Regal, the "oldest" member of the group. "Geez, I'm only 33…" he muttered.

Zelos shook his head. "No, I meant Kratos."

"We should help Pietro. I have a personal debt to the people of Heimdall that needs to be repaid," Kratos stated.

"Great, now it's a tie," Lloyd grumbled. "You do this on purpose, don't you? You never agree with me on anything."

Kratos shook his head. "Lloyd, don't be so self-centered. You're letting your own ego get in the way of doing what is right."

Lloyd threw back his arm and got into his 'angry' pose. "Don't lecture me on what's right and wrong! You betrayed us tons of times, worked for a psycho who tried to turn everyone into lifeless beings, and killed your own wife! Don't even talk to me about what's right!"

Colette gasped. "Lloyd!" A group of elves had gathered around and were staring on with interest. Lloyd glared at his father, breathing heavily.

Kratos didn't seem angry at all. In fact, he was his cool and neutral self. "You have a lot to learn, Lloyd." He walked into the entrance of Torrent Forest without looking back.

"I hate that guy!" Lloyd ground his boot into the dirt. "He says that just to get on my nerves, I know it!"

Instead of arguing with him, Raine said, "Here, let's stay at the inn for the night, at least before we make any decisions."

Lloyd, still looking mad, nodded. "All right."

That night, Lloyd tossed and turned, but he couldn't get to sleep. He looked up at the clock every few minutes, but it didn't seem to help. Finally giving up, he shrugged on a shirt and walked outside.

The white orb of the full moon hung heavily over the ruined city, casting its white light over the burnt remains of homes and shops. Lloyd shivered, even though it was warm out that night. He was beginning to think that coming out here by himself had been a bad idea when he saw the familiar shape of Regal nearby.

He was perched on a rock, staring over the treetops of Ymir Forest and out to the lake beyond. His profile was bathed in moonlight, and everything from his long blue hair to his heavy shackles seemed to glow. He was sitting so stilly, and with such intense concentration on his face that it didn't even look like he was breathing.

Lloyd sat down next to him. "Let me guess…You're thinking, right?"

Regal nodded. "What gave it away?"

"Well, you have this certain look on your face when you're thinking, and…" He sighed. "You always have that look on your face."

Regal smiled kindly at him. "What's the matter?"

"Ah, nothing, I just couldn't sleep and…"

"No, really, what's wrong?"

Lloyd turned to look at him. "How do you always know things like this?"

"Well, I can tell because you didn't touch your dinner," he said knowingly, "and I made Miso Stew, which is your favorite."

Lloyd blushed. "I-I just had a lot on my mind! I'm really sorry if I offended you."

Regal marveled at this boy's mood swings. He went from angry to depressed to embarrassed in under an hour. Must be a teenage thing… "How about I tell you what I was thinking about, then you tell me what's on your mind?" he offered.

"Okay, I guess."

"…I was just thinking about how your father appears younger than I am."

Lloyd groaned. "Do we have to talk about this?"

"Well, you asked." Regal shrugged.

He sighed again. "I'm sorry, Regal. I just can't seem to please anybody tonight. Sorry I snapped at you…You're like an older brother to me…"

Regal's gaze softened. "I'm glad that you feel that way. If I had a younger brother, I would want him to be just like you. But… Kratos is your family, too. Your real family."

Lloyd shook his head. "Stop it, Regal, just stop. You have no idea what it's like… To think that both of your parents were dead, then to find out that your father is alive and he's a traitor! You don't know how it feels!"

"You're right…I don't." Regal put a hand on his shoulder. "My parents died when I was young, but it's not really the same… Just try to give him a chance, alright?"

"Yeah, sure," Lloyd said in a way that told Regal that he wasn't going to do anything of the kind. "Well, I'm going to go to bed now. See ya."

"Goodnight."

They were all ready to go bright and early the next morning. Lloyd saw, to his dismay, that Kratos had rejoined them. He opened his mouth to complain, but Raine beat him to it.

"Now that we're all here," she said with a glance at Kratos, "I think that we should get started. I received a letter last night from the doctor in Flanoir. He needs to talk to us and says that it's urgent."

A loud collective groan emerged from the group. The rude and cheap doctor was no favorite among them, but he was a person in need…

Lloyd sighed. "Let's get the Rheiards ready."

As usual, it was snowing in Flanoir. The ground was covered, and all of the buildings had a thin sheet of ice on the roof tops. Lloyd rubbed his arms and shivered. He looked over to where Genis was running around in shorts and a shirt, perfectly fine. 'Must be a half-elf thing,' he thought.

Zelos was looking at the snow sculptures that people were building near the entrance with an odd expression on his face. Lloyd expected him to make a comment about the beautiful girls working there, but it never came. Instead, his mouth was set into a hard, thin line, and his eyes were full of something that looked a lot like pain. 'But what would hurt Zelos like that?' Lloyd wondered.

Zelos caught him staring. He turned around and his face transformed, the pain in his eyes disappeared and turned into his usual impish smile. "Hey, Lloyd, I know I'm pretty and all, but your staring is going to discourage my hunnies. I wouldn't want them to think that I'm already taken."

Lloyd started to make an angry retort, but was stopped by a tug on his shirt. He turned around.

Colette was standing there. "Lloyd," she started nervously, "can I talk to you?"

He nodded and followed her behind a building, a little ways away from where everyone else was waiting. "What is it?"

"I need to talk to you about something important."

Lloyd scratched his head. "Sure, Colette, what's wrong?"

"It's…It's about Kratos. He's your father, Lloyd, your real father."

He looked away. "I don't want to hear this right now."

"You don't understand how lucky you are to have two fathers who love you so much…" She broke off, thinking of her own "fathers".

"Dirk's the one who loves me. Dirk's the one who raised me. That counts way more than Kratos's blood flowing through my veins."

"He loves you, Lloyd! You just can't see it. Every time you say 'Dad', he flinches. I've seen it!"

He shook his head. "That's not true. He doesn't love me. He doesn't feel any emotion at all. Have you ever seen him cry, or even get mad? When he was talking about Mom, he didn't even…"

"Oh, Lloyd!" She grabbed his hand. "It might seem that way, but that's not true. I know it!"

He shrugged her hand away. "Come on; let's go see what the doctor wants."

She followed him, biting her lip and trying very hard not to cry.

"This is some sort of joke, right?" demanded Lloyd.

"Does this face look like I'm joking to you?" the doctor snarled in reply. "You're at least a week overdue on your payment for that dwarf's treatment. I demand my compensation immediately!"

Raine groaned. "One expense after another."

"Listen, sir, we're a little low on money right now. Is it possible for us to reimburse you at a later date?" Regal, ever the business man, tried to reason.

"A later date? Don't make me laugh!" The doctor showed no signs of being about to laugh. "If it weren't for me, your friend over by Ozette would be dead by now."

Presea stiffened. "I still haven't forgiven him…" she said quietly. Regal placed a hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

"Listen, buddy," Zelos intervened. "I'm the Chosen, and I say that you'll get your money. So you'll get it. Ya dig?"

The doctor looked puzzled. "What the heck does that supposed to mean?"

Sheena sighed. "What it means is that we'll get it to you tomorrow."

"Fine."

"If," she continued, "you let us stay here for the night."

The doctor pouted for a moment, and then said, "It's a deal."

"But that's not what I meant!"

The sun had gone down, and snow continued to fall outside of the doctor's house. Everyone was sitting around doing the usual: Colette was talking, Sheena was sorting through her cards, Raine was reading some ancient text, Presea was carving something with Genis and Regal staring at her not-so-discreetly, Kratos was staring off into space, and Zelos was thinking of his hunnies.

That was when Lloyd began to form a plan, and not a very nice one. He looked at Kratos, thinking back to what Colette had said. 'What a joke,' he thought. 'He doesn't care about me. I'll show her…'

He waltzed over to the doctor who was sitting at his desk. "Boy, nights are pretty boring around here, aren't they?"

The doctor cast an irritated glance at him. "If you want some entertainment, go to the inn down the street. Or better yet, just look in a mirror."

"Uh, whatever that's supposed to mean." Lloyd shrugged it off. "Well, I guess that I could talk to you to pass the time."

"I really don't think that's—"

"It all started," he began, "When I left my house near Iselia forest. It was a dark and dangerous place, and I had to pass through it every day. But I could make it through knowing that my dad was waiting for me on the other side." He glanced in Kratos's direction. The older man seemed to twitch for a second, but he wasn't sure.

The doctor yawned. "That's fascinating."

Lloyd tried again. "My dad, he's a great guy. His name's Dirk and he's a dwarf. He's raised me ever since I was a little kid. I love him so much." Kratos had visibly winced after that last statement.

"How precious," the doctor murmured, half-asleep. However, the others were far from asleep, and were watching Lloyd curiously.

His voice started to rise. "Yeah, isn't it? I bet people would give a lot to have a dad like that. He takes care of me, and worries about me, and loves me." He was yelling now. "Because that's what a dad is supposed to do!"

Kratos had his face in his hands. 'Guess he can't take it,' thought Lloyd. 'Good. Now maybe he can feel what it's like…'

"A good dad, anyway!" His face was red, and all of his anger seemed to be pouring out of him. "Because a good dad wouldn't leave his son, or betray him, or not care about—"

"Lloyd, stop it!" Colette was bordering on hysterical. "Can't you see that you're hurting him!"

His hands covering his mouth, Kratos let out an animal-like cry and ran toward the door. Lloyd heard it slam. He slumped down onto the floor, his anger spent. The only noise was that of the doctor's low snores. He could feel everyone's eyes on him like burning needles passing through his skin. He stood up and walked out the door, just to get away from it all.

The Flanoir weather was at its worst. The wind came down on Lloyd from all angles, tearing and biting at his skin like some ferocious animal. He didn't mind the cold just then. The angry fire in his heart kept him warm as he peered through the thickly falling snow, searching for the object of this anger.

He found him a little ways away, sitting on a snow drift. The auburn-haired mercenary was huddled over against the wind, not caring that he was being slowly buried by the falling snow. 'Good,' Lloyd thought. 'Maybe he'll freeze to death.'

The implications of that thought nearly knocked him over. Every life has meaning. How many times had he said that? More than he could count. He sighed. Once again, he was a hypocrite.

He walked over and sat down on the snow drift next to Kratos. "I'm a hypocrite."

The man finally looked up. His hair was mussed and there were lines around his eyes. "No, you are not. What you said was true. All of it was."

"I don't mean that! I mean…" He shook his head. "Never mind."

They sat for a while in uncomfortable silence, near each other but not together. Kratos was the one to break it.

"I don't blame you for saying those things," he said quietly. "They were true."

Lloyd opened his mouth to argue, but Kratos held up a hand. "Just listen for a moment. I did all of those things that you said…or rather, didn't do. I admit this. You…were right."

"You said that I have the power to admit my mistakes," Lloyd reminded him. "Well, I'm admitting them now. I-I'm sorry."

Kratos looked away. "You haven't learned anything, have you? You're still the same trusting little boy from Iselia who wanted to join up on the fieldtrip."

He scowled. "Yeah, and you're the same mysterious old man who won't accept any of my answers as the right one."

"Hmm, maybe you just aren't saying the right things."

"Hey!" Lloyd laughed and threw some snow on the angel. He leaned back to look towards the sky. "Remember what I said to you, about looking at the stars with my dad when I was a little kid?"

"Yes," he replied warily, wondering where this was going.

He hesitated. "Well, I realized that…that only a real dad would do that."

Kratos said nothing. All Lloyd could hear was the sound of his breathing. The ice cold wind had stopped.

Then he did something that he couldn't have ever imagined doing. He reached over and hugged the older man. "I'm sorry…Dad."

Kratos held him, and a strange feeling which he hadn't felt in years washed over him. It was the feeling of holding his child, safe in his arms. And he wanted it to last forever.

Somewhere above, he could feel something. He looked upward. Somewhere, he knew, Anna was watching over them. And she was smiling.

The End.

Hope that was okay. Please read, review, and imagine what Tales of the Abyss will be like! Bye!