Ok this update took forever! But you can't rush art. Thanks to those who waited patiently!
Disclaimer: Not only am I not blessed enough to own Tales of Symphonia, but I don't own the song either. It's Sway by Lostprophets
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A fierce and excruciating pain ripped through Anna as she ran through the dark woods surrounding Asilaj. It felt as though her body was tearing from with in. She cried out a stream of unfamiliar names, in cursing torment and heartfelt agony.
"Loyd! Damn you Kvar!"
She kept running, knowing she had left something so important behind that it was killing her to keep going. But she knew she had to distance herself from them...but who were they.
i'm gonna die...i'm gonna die...
"Anna!" came a desperate cry. "Anna!"
She stopped and doubled over, screwing her eyes up in pain.
"K...K..."
Then suddenly, she was surrounded by fire. The huts of Jalisa burned anew, black smoke curling into the sky as screams echoed from with in. Children cried, mothers screamed. The clash of weapons was everywhere as were cries of agony. People dashed into the forest, only to be cut down by the enemy lurking in the trees.
"Get out of here!" someone screamed. "Head for a village! Go!"
Anna spun around. It was her mother yelling for her people to run from the roof of their burning house. Anna watched in horror as her mother leaped down into a fray, and Anna stomach clenched as Felicity, her father and brothers were struggling to throw off-
"Forcystus!" she screamed in rage, charging at him, just as Felicity was thrown through the air, landing at her feet.
"Anna!" her father cried. "Stay back baby! Take Felicity and go!"
"No! I won't go!"
"Do as I say-" but her fathers chest exploded in blood as Forcystus struck him from behind like a coward.
"Daddy!" Anna screamed running to her father. but before she could reach him, a figure darted out in front of her engaging her in combat.
Anna fought for all she was worth, she had to get to her father, she HAD to get to her father.
"Anna," Edric cried, rushing over to her, closely followed by Samuel and their but the stranger knocked Anna to the ground. Immediately there was a bright flash of light followed by a symphony of screams. Anna jumped up and stared into the blank and unseeing eyes of her brother Edric.
"No!" she whispered as her eyes took in Samuel's bloodstained body, Adam's motionless figure...her mother's expressionless, still face. "NOOOOO!" she screamed falling to her mother's side.
They were gone. Everything around her went dark. She couldn't see, she couldn't breathe, she couldn't think.
"You!" Anna screamed charging at the figure, ready to die with the rest of her family. But in a swish of the wind he was gone.
Anna screamed into the bloodstained night "Come back! Kill me like you killed them!"
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000"Anna wake up!" a voice called shaking her violently.
Anna continued to scream and writhe in agony.
"Lemme try," said a harsh voice.
SMACK!
Anna sat bolt upright looking wildly around the dark forrests outside of Asgard
Denise was crouched next to her bed, very pale and her eyes full of worry. Kratos leaned against a nearby tree, with his arms folded, his expression unreadable. Then it occured to her that someone was on top of her. Ahmond was stradling her, his hand raised, ready to smack her again should she need it.
"Get off!" she cried, pushing him away. "What happened?" she asked.
"The nightmare," Denise said as Anna stood up.
"Oh," Anna muttered, embarassed. She rubbed a hand over her face. "It was diferent from before though," she mumbled. "And it's getting worse..."
For some reason she looked up at Kratos whose eyes locked with hers. Her breathing stopped in her chest as she saw an unfamiliar gleam in his eyes, something like...sympathy...or compassion.
Anna snatched up her swords. "I'm going for a walk," she said. "Come on Noishe," and the dog followed her obediantly.
Once out of hearing range of the others, Anna crumpled on a tre stump and began to sob. It wasn't fair, it just wasn't fair at all. She could have saved her family! If she had listened to her father and taken Felicity, he wouldn't have died. Then her mother and brothers wouldn't have...
And Felicity! She had to kill her own sister now! If ever they could fid her! They'd searched asgard top to bottom and still, no sign of her. Kratos said it was likely that they wouldn't find her until she was ready to show herself again. Ahmond said he didn't know what he was talking about. Denise said either way she'd be found. Anna said nothing, she just watched as ahmond kept up his stupid hatred of Kratos.
Noishe curled up at Anna's feet and she laughed in spite of herself. "None of this is easy for you either. you miss 'em too eh?" Noishe had always been hers, but he protected the whole family.
Anna stroked him and hummed a bit of an old song her mom used to sing. It was a sad melancholy tune, but her children loved it, it was soothing. She missed her mom so much...she opened her mouth and sang softly.
"When the sun comes down
When the rain wash away
All the hopes I can bring
To another day
Another day
When your trees start to sway
And the wind makes them move
I can tell that
You don't know
To all the fights I've conquered and beyond
The times have changed and I will now move over slowly...
But through it all I still feel lost without you
Hard to find a new soul
The silence takes its toll
Just sway
You don't know...
Just sway
You don't know...
Just sway
When all you want is to find home..."
Anna remembered the first yime her mother had sang it to her. She was three years old and had been playing with her second eldest brother, Edric's, wooden twin blade swords. She wasn't supposed to, her father wanted her to weild a staff or a chackram. Anna remembered Edric laughing at that, telling their father that Anna was a born sword weilder. She was out in the woods with the swords when a squirrel appeared. Anna chased after it, pretending it was a Desian she was trying to capture it when she fell, scraping her knee badly on one of the swords. She cried and ran back to th village where her mother patched her up and sang to her to calm her down.
"Theres a light pausing
Feel the volume of the sky
Mark your place in time with another question why...
Tiny flickers in the night
Always lookin to be right
To all the fights I've conquered and beyond
The times have changed and I will now move over slowly...
But through it all I still feel lost without you
Hard to find a new soul
The silence takes its toll
You don't know
Just sway
You don't know
Just sway
"When all you want is to find home..."
A second voice, a man's voice, suddenly rang out from somewhere in the trees, joining into the song in a beautiful, deep voice that sounded so lonely and so sad.
"Just sway
And you don't love
Just sway
And you don't know
Just sway
When all you want is to find home...
Just sway
Just sway"
Anna leaped up and turned to see who had followed her and saw Kratos coming out of the trees looking at her with his expressionless face. For some reason the sight of him framed by the trees in the glow from the moon and stars took her breath away.
"I'm sorry if i frightened you," he said plainly. "I didn't think it wise for you to wander off alone. Even with Noishe with you, it's dangerous."
"I'm not a child!" Anna spat scowling. She felt like a child being lectured. "I do know how to take care of myself, thank you very much!"
"I know," he relied. "I just want to be sure you're going to be safe." he saw her eyes widen at the fact that he actually was concerned about her well being. "I mean," he added hurriedly, "It would be a poor lookout for Jalisa should something happen to you. They have to turn to Ahmond and who knows what chaos he'll wreak."
Anna threw her head back and laughed, and to Kratos, it was a beautiful sound. He gave himself a mental shake, reminding himself that should she ever find out ho he really was, she'd kill him, or try to, in which case he'd have to kill her.
"Lord knows, Ahmond certainly can make a mess of things," Anna agreed. She tilted her head to one side and looked at Kratos with a smile that made his stomach jump. The moon shining off of her brown hair and gleaming in her amber eyes made her look so beautiful, so radiant that he was siezed by an insane urge to kiss her.
As though reading his mind she came up to him, closer than she might have normally, and he gulped silently as he looked into her eyes. She was so very close...if he leaned forward, their lips would brush ever so slightly.
"How did you know that song?" she asked in a whisper. It took a long minute but he tore his eyes from hers and looked down at the ground.
"It's a old song," he said. "Very old. It was an old requium for the dead lost in battle. My father...it was sang at his funeral...by my mother. She died within a week of him. I was two."
Anna gasped. "I'm sorry," she breathed. "How awful for you to loose your parents at such a young age. Can you remember them at all?"
"No," Kratos replied indifferently. "It doesn't matter. I don't really miss them because i never really knew them. that song is the only bit of them I know."
"My mother sang it as a lullaby to us," Anna replied quietly. "All this time, I felt so wretched losing my family, but you never knew yours. That's far worse."
"Not really," Kratos said "You can't miss what you never knew you had." He looked back up into those beautiful brown eyes and saw a tear trickle down her cheek. Without really thinking he wiped the tear away softly with his thumb. his hand hesitated for a second, but as he was about to let it drop, she rested her palm on his hand holding it to her cheek, looking up into his brown eyes, begging him not to let go.
They were so close again, Kratos's brain began to buzz as he felt himself lean irresitably forward, never looking away from her eyes as they drew closer...and closer...
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Kratos and Anna sprang apart, listen hard. The clash of metal sounded from back at the encampment. It sounded as though someone had found them. Denise screamed and it echoed through the trees. Anna and Kratos exchanged horrified glances before dashing off into the woods.
"Noishe! Go!" Anna yelled and the huge dog leaped over Anna and Kratos and, with surprising agility, sped ahead of them toward the sounds of battle.
Damn it! Kratos thought, How could I have let that happen? how! Now the price will be paid. Damn damn damn!
Oh my God! Anna thought scowling at herself as she leapt over a fallen tree, Kratos a t her heels. Again, my weakness is going to be paid with a heavy price! How could I have let him almost kiss me! A kiss that wasn't entirely unwanted! FUCK!
As they reached the edge of the trees by the camp, all was in darkness, the fire having been extinguished. All they could see was shillouettes of three people fighting. Noishe was snarling and bounding around, trying to get at whoever was attacking Denise and Ahmond.
"DAMN YOU FELICITY! DAMN YOU TO H-" Ahmond yelled but it was cut off and mumbled as though something had covered his mouth.
"A-" Anna started to yell and dash forward, but Kratos had seized her arm and pulled her to him, one arm around her middle to keep her from unning into the fray clamping a hand over her mouth.
"Felicity is after you!" Kratos said. "This is a trap so keep silent!" But Anna's temper flared and she tried to bite him, while trying in vain to speak. Ahmond was her dearest friend . Felicity had to pay and she wasn't going to get Ahmond. She'd rather Felicity get her.
"I know he's your friend," Kratos hissed, "And I know you'd rather go in his lace, but think about denise and the rest of Asilaj." Anna stopped struggling and strained to see through the darkness. Felicity didn't seem to know they were there yet.
Noishe let out a defeaning bark and began snarling worse than ever. Anna heard her sister cry out!
"YOU FUCKING DOG!" she yelled. "GET OFF ME-AAAHHH! NOISHE! I HATE YOU YOU DUMB MUTT!" Noishe's jaws were snapping shut so loudly that it echoed over his murderous snarls. Felicity screamed and there was a loud bang. Noishe let out a high pitched whine and Anna heard his body hit the ground.
"DENISE!" Ahmond yelled. "DENISE! RUN FOR IT! GET OUT OF-" but there was a loud thunking noise and Ahmond fell silent.
"AHMOND!" Denise screamed. Another thunk and a thud and Denise was silent as well. Noishe let out a bark. Anna screamed from behind Kratos's hand. And then all fell silent.
"Promise you won't scream?" Kratos whispered. Anba nodded. He took his hand off her mouth and conjured a fire ball. It hid the remenants of their fire and the clearing was illuminated.
Felicity and Ahmond were gone. Denise lay in a heap, a gash on her forehead bleeding freely as Noishe nudge her, his teeth and muzzle streaked with blood. Anna tore from Kratos arms and collapsed next to her friend.
Noishe on the other hand trotted up to Kratos and tugged on him with his teeth. Kratos raised an eyebrow at the dog, who gave a short quiet bark and trotted over to a tree. Kratos stared at Noishe, who ran back over to Kratos, tugged on him again, and ran back to the same tree. He barked again.
Kratos walked over to the tree and looked around. Noishe barked again sniffing at a spot near the ground. kratos looked and saw a dark, shining liquid splashed on the tree.
"Blood, it's blood," Kratos said to Noishe. Then he blinked. He was talking to a dog! But noishe ran over to another tree and barked. There was a bloody handprint on it.
"You bit Felicity!" Kratos said, suddenly understanding. "We can follow the trail she leaves of her blood!" Noishe barked and gave a little jump, before runing back to Anna and denise, who had woken up and was explaining what had happened.
"Anna!" Kratos cried. "Denise! Noishe attacked Felicity pretty bad cuz there's a trail of blood. if we move quick we can catch up to her before she gets to wherever she's going!"
"But it's a trap!" Denise said.
"Most likely," Kratos said. "But the trap is wherever Felicity's final destination."
Anna jumped up, catching onto Kratos's meaning. "She wasn't counting on Noishe or for us to have a trail to follow her by!"
"Exactly!" Kratos said.
"Then come on!" Anna said and the three of them dashed off into the woods, Noishe sniffing out the trail of blood left behind by his former family member.
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This may have been a bit short, but I wanted to give Kratos a story since the game don't. But wait til the next chapter, more K and A suggestive behavior. Yay! R&R please.