I am alive, and the story isn't over. It's getting close though. I can only update once a month though, unless i'm granted a nice long break from school work. So don't give up on me!

Disclaimer: I still don't own Tales of Symphonia...but I have my fantasies at least...

"You lived with the Jalisa all your life," Yuan snarled at Felicity Jamison outside of the Asgard Human Ranch. "According to what you've said, your family controlled the vermin and you were raised in the inner workings of the Jalisa. Yet you claim you can not divulge their whereabouts."

Felicity met Yuan's piercingly venomous gaze with a look of calm control. She would not give him what he wanted just yet, not before she could cause Anna so much suffering that she groveled on her knees to Felicity, begging for an end to end her pain.

"As I said, unless you pass the Trial at age twelve, you are deprived of major information, such as the location of Asilaj, until you are sixteen, and only then if you pass that time."

"Let me guess, you failed at age twelve?" Yuan sneered.

"Only because the judges were my parents and Anna was their favorite," Felicity spat. As it is, I know the village exists, everyone does now regardless, and I unfortunately was cast out before your idiots ransacked the village recently. Sei Samos led the assassins to Asilaj, followed by my dear sister and her two cronies…and that man you are searching for. I never discovered where it was, for my sister assumed our parents told me, but they didn't find it as pressing to tell me as they should have."

"So in other words," Yuan said drawing his sword, "You are utterly useless." He swung his sword high in the air and brought it down upon Felicity in a blur of polished metal.

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"You are, of course, familiar of the tale of Mithos, hero of the Ancient Kharlan War?" Kratos asked Anna.

"Of course," Anna scoffed. "But how is that relevant to you being a despicable traitor?"

"Because…I was there."

Anna didn't believe him. He could tell because he advanced on her with her swords raised.

"I am a hero of the Ancient Kharlan War. So is my former friend Yuan. So is Mithos. Martel."

"The goddess Martel? The pawn used by Cruxis to brainwash the masses?"

"Your intelligence is as sharp as ever," Kratos said with bitter amusement. "Martel is Mithos's sister, and Yuan's lover."

"So she's in cahoots with Cruxis…which must mean she's Yggdrasil?"

"No… Martel is dead. Mithos is Lord Yggdrasil." Kratos replied. Anna's eyes widened. "Yes the hero of the world of Sylvarant…and I suppose technically Tethe'alla."

And with that the entire story poured from his mouth. The story of the ancient Kharlan War, Martel's death, the exspheres, the Cruxis crystal, the world adjoined to this that, through the Chosen, thrived when Sylvarant suffered a mana shortage and suffered a mana shortage when Sylvarant thrived, Derris Kharlan he told her everything. The only part he withheld was the destruction of various villages, including hers.

"So Yggdrasil believes that by implanting an exsphere in a chosen, he can create a body for his sister's spirit, in addition to creating lifeless beings in an effort to rid the world of hate for half elves?"

Kratos grimaced.

"And you helped him kill all those people for that cause?"

"Yes," Kratos replied heavily.

"IDIOTS!" Anna shrieked. "You all have the right intentions…but are to FUCKED UP to do what's right!"

Kratos looked taken aback as she continued to shout at the top of her lungs, causing birds to explode from the trees.

"Do you really thing making zombies is going to stop the hate?!" she said jabbing a finger into his chest. "No matter what you do, people will still judge! Emotions just give more fire and passion to the hate, but the hate will always be there! And as for Martel, THERE'S A REASON WHY PEOPLE CALL IT 'DEAD!' 'DEAD' MEANS 'NOT ALIVE EVER AGAIN!'"

Not only did her language remind Kratos that Anna was only eighteen, but it annoyed him that she could grasp within minutes what it took him until recently to discover. But, she wasn't the one who lived what he had lived through and seen what he had seen. And did she really think that he didn't know all this now?

"You think I don't know all this?" Kratos asked calmly, though, for the first time in a long time, he felt rage boiling in his veins. "Why do you think I abandoned Cruxis to help you! It was part of my plan!" Kratos shook his head to hide behind his hair, cursing himself for letting the last part slip out.

"Your plan?" Anna spat. "Do I dare asked?"

"Yggdrasil has searched for your clan for ages and ages. Yuan as well. I thought if I joined you, I could atone for the things I've done, and lure Yuan into a place where I could kill him…and Yggdrasil, with your help. It's also a convenient place to keep up with Cruxis's various plans."

"You put," Anna thundered quietly, drawing her swords again, "my clan," she raised the blades high as Kratos's eyes widened in realization of her intent, "IN DANGER!!!"

Down came her razor sharp blades, sideways dove Kratos snatching his sword up and swinging it up to block her next attack.

"I'll KILL you!" she screeched, lashing out with her swords as the two exchange a series of blows with their weapons. "How dare you bring danger onto my already scarred people!"

"ANNA!" he yelled over the clang of the swords, as he pivoted and backed away, completely on defense of Anna's fierce attacks. "Listen to me! If the clan was in danger, Yggdrasil would have destroyed you by now!" He dove, but tripped sideways as Anna tried to run him through with a rising Falcon attack. He rolled as she sent a powerful kick towards his skull. If Kratos though Anna was as dangerous at the Trial as she was able to be, he was utterly wrong. When something threatened the Jalisa, coupled with her injured trust, she lashed out with a ferocity and ruthlessness that Kratos had come to associate with the Cruxis Grand Cardinals.

Kratos jumped to his feet and spun away from another kick, silently grateful for the twin blade swords that prevented her powerful punches. "Super Lightning Blade!" he shouted, but Anna dove under the attack, dropping her swords, and catching Kratos around the waist. They toppled to the ground, where Anna straddled Kratos, pinning his wrists down with one hand.

"You filthy-"Anna drew back her fist and punched him with all her strength in his nose, feeling the bones break, for angel or no, he could be injured…just not seriously.

"Deceitful-" she screeched as she blackened his eye. She realized he was no longer fighting her, so she released her hold on his wrists to rain blows on every part of him she could reach. "Murderous…Villianous…Evil…"

She withdrew a small knife from her boot and pressed it to Kratos's neck, hate and hurt running down the blade like water to burn at Kratos's neck. She could slit his throat right now…but he still wouldn't fight her.

"Why don't you fight me?" she snarled. "Here I am, poised to kill the mighty Kratos Aurion, and still you don't fight me."

Kratos looked straight into her burning brown eyes, feeling the blade pressed against his throat. It was true, he didn't fight her as well as he could have, for she would have been stopped long ago. It wasn't until now that he realized he couldn't fight her, he could not bring himself to hurt her. Not Anna, for whom he risked exposure to Forcystus to save her in Iselia. Not Anna, who he sought out for unknown reasons to be a part of the Jalisa when he truthfully didn't need to be. Not Anna, for whom he endangered everything by exposing his angelic form. Kratos refused to harm the one person he risked his life for when he dove over that cliff to save her.

"You accuse me of all that I am," Kratos said. "My sins are not forgotten to me, I will always bear the weight of the things I have done. If there was any justice in this world, those responsible for the world's suffering would die slow and painful deaths. Myself included." Kratos grabbed Anna's wrist and forced her to push harder with the knife, drawing a thin ribbon of blood. "The only thing I do not regret is coming to the Jalisa…to you, even though you think I've betrayed you. I can't fight you, Anna. I can't bring myself to harm you. Because, rest assured, I could defeat you now, it would be far easier than you can imagine. But I'd rather die. So if you're going to kill me…kill me."

Anna stared at Kratos her eyes still burning, still poised to strike. She wanted to kill Kratos, the betrayer. Kratos, who saved her in Jalisa. Kratos, the destroyer. Kratos, who had helped her save Denise. Kratos, the Cruxis Grand Cardinal. Kratos, who had saved her life, regardless of consequences.

Anna raised the knife high over her head and plunged it downward. Kratos eyes never left her as the blade came down in a graceful arc to impale itself in the ground by Kratos's head.

A single tear ran down Anna's cheek. "I can't…" she whispered. "I can't…Kratos…" Anna jumped up and backed away as Kratos got to his feet, staring at her as she met his gaze evenly.

Without thinking, compelled by a force larger than himself, Kratos closed the distance between Anna and himself in one long stride, seized her, and crashed his mouth onto hers, kissing her as hard as he possible could. Anna threw her arms around him and urged him on, kissing him as much as he did her. Something like lightning lit the air on fire between them as the fell back to the ground. Kratos unbuckled his sword sheathe and threw it aside, his lips never leaving her as he trailed kisses down Anna's neck as she flung her cloak away. She wound her fingers into his hair, moaning in ecstasy and pleasure.

They were fumbling with shirts when suddenly Kratos stopped. Anna stared at him as he got to his feet and ran his hand through his spiky red hair.

"What is it?" she asked him sitting up.

"You need to get Ahmond and Denise awake and back to Asilaj," he said abruptly, retrieving her swords and handing them too her, sheathing his own sword. "they were looking for me, not you three. If the come back, we're all finished."

"But-" Anna said, only to be cut of by Kratos pulling her to her feet. "What about-"

"The Jalisa need you," Kratos interrupted. "So go."

"What about you?" she asked.

"I have to return to Cruxis," Kratos said with an characteristic snarl.

"BUT-" Anna began to shriek, but Kratos put his arms around her.

"It's the only way you'll be safe. As long as i'm with the Jalisa, they'll hunt you. And I lied to you. I can't go back to the Jalisa."

Kratos pulled away and looked at Anna, running his fingers through the brown silk of her hair. And he slowly turned and walked away. It cost him everything he had, every ounce of strength he had ever had to leave her then. But he knew he had to, it was the only way to keep her safe from his past. He couldn't risk the one thing he had ever loved.

"Don't die Anna," he whispered as he headed into the forest.

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Clunk! Yuan's sword hit felicity's staff with the sound of metal clashing on wood. A flick of the wrist, and his sword was gone. Curse his hesitation.

"You need me, don't forget. I'm the only one who has a chance of finding Asilaj. Furthermore anna can't kill me, no mater what i've done to her."

"Am I supposed to believe you can do what you say when all you've supplied so far is minimal information I could have retrieved myself?" Yuan asked cooly

"Do you have a better option?" Felicy asked. It was a risky move, for if he said no, she was finished. But to play their game, she had to be as reckless as they were.

"You better pull through if you want to live!" Yuan spat turning to go.

Did you really think i'd let Felicity die so easily? Not when i have such wonderful plans for her! Mwahahahaha! Any way...as i'm nearing completion...I'm thinking a nice juicy sequel is in order. Lloyd goes looking for the remenant of the Jalisa with the gang and they ll are taken in and trained as assassins. Something like that. Anyway, R&R please!!!