Me: Wow…the thirtieth chapter! Sorry it came out so late though…; I had to work on a project for English…

April: Yeah! Congrats! And at least you got it done…

Me: Eh-heh-heh thanks!

To Understand Part Thirty

Real Image

By Harmony283

Reviews:

Takokinoko-Eh-heh-heh, thanks for the review and yeah, I agree about Genis and the way he looked while he cast that really powerful spell (I'd actually want to see him cast a spell like that in the game, but unfortunately it's not gonna happen - -;)! But yeah like Mithos thought Neo is short for something. And yes it's supposed to be boyish--you'll actually figure out at the end of this chapter. And I'm glad you like the fast updates! I never liked how long some people took writing fanfics (some would leave for about six months and then come back…) so I decided that I wouldn't do that! Though it is hard sometimes cuz of homework and the time on the computer--with Internet access--is limited to only a few hours. But you think I deserve a gift? Hmm, I guess I do…-bows head- thanks for thinking I do! And you're welcome about the hints about Exire. That should be happening in, I'm thinking/hoping, Part 35 or so…maybe…it's not definite yet (nothing ever is in this fic - -;). And if you're wondering exactly how cute Genis'd look. There's a pic of Feral in a blue dress in my bio--you can just pretend its Genis (they look almost like twins anyway) and then there ya go! Genis in a dress! -Cough- Now then, here's the next Chapter--Enjoy!

Alaia Skyhawk: O.o well…yes, she definitely is a--uh, yeah, that word…-cough-but yes Genis has gotten much stronger! And that's a good thing! Anyways, here's the next chapter and, as always, enjoy!

Mizuki hikari-You ask to continue, so I continue! I hope you like this chapter!

Liu Barrowin: Yeah, I know you reviewed for Chapter/Part Twenty-seven but...I'll do your review here! Now then, I'm glad you liked the dark Mithos and, yeah, you'll figure out at least a little more about him so...yeah. Thanks for teh review and I hope you like well, whatever chapter you're on!

Me: Well, here we are! Chapter/Part Thirty! Yay!

April: Yup! This centers more on Lloyd, Zelos, and Kratos right?

Me: Yup…I might put something at the end since a lot of people are wondering what's going to happen to Genis and Mithos (as well as Pronyma and Mitosu) but I'll just see if I have room.

April: Well you'll just see when you get there right?

Me: right, now can you do me a favor and do the disclaimer?

April: Okay! Harmony283 doesn't own Tales of Symphonia or any of its characters. All she owns are Feral Mitosu, the plot, and me! So please don't steal us!

Me: Okay…that's good.

April: You're welcome!

Authors Note: Okay then, like I said above, this Chapter is gonna focus on what's going on with Lloyd, Zelos and Kratos. I'll also put in some of Genis' POV at the end cuz...well, I wanted the traps to each be in their own separate chapter...and the dreams important too and didn't seem to fit for what happens in the next Part...- -;

April: I hope they get Kratos back…but I have a question.

Me: Hmm?

April: What're you going to do about the traps? I mean, Kratos'll be in the little thing where Lloyd turns into a spider, Presea and Regal are going to be in the jail cell, Colette and Sheena are going to be in the Mirror room, but where will Raine and I be?

Me: Oh, don't worry! You'll be somewhere…I just don't know where yet…- -;

April: Oh…-sweatdrop-

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Lloyds POV

"Fiery Beast!" I cried out as I hit the monster--it was some type of Dragon--with me and Zelos' combo attack.

And finally it died.

And we won.

I sighed, dropping to the ground in exhaustion. That had been a lot harder than I thought it would be, though I think most of it was because Zelos had told me it was resistant to all Sword type attacks.

And since the only weapon I had was a sword…that hadn't gone as well.

"Healing Stream!" Zelos called and soon afterwards a calming, and soothing, breeze swept over me, healing any wounds I had received and easing my weariness.

"Thanks." I said, smiling up at the red head who had walked over to me.

"Yeah, no problem."

"I just hope we don't have to go up against those things again."

"Don't worry, we don't have to. Look ahead." I turned around to follow where Zelos was pointing and saw another strange sketch on the floor.

"And what exactly is that?"

"It's a warp panel. I think it leads to the city of the 'Angels' if you know what I mean."

"Ah--okay…but…won't we get in trouble if one of the Angels sees us there?"

"No. I think most of 'em were killed off or else they're all guarding Venheim."

"Oh…okay. Then, let's go!" I got up and ran over to the warp point, waiting for Zelos to catch up. Once he did, we stepped onto the warp point.

Which led us to the place that Zelos had said it would.

And he was right. No 'Angels' were in sight.

But instead…there was a green magic circle in the center of the room.

"Well that certainly looks suspicious." Zelos muttered, shaking his head.

"Yeah. Let's check it ou--wha--!"

"Lloyd!"

I felt myself sinking into the floor…wait, that wasn't good! What was going on? I'm so confused…

I looked above me long enough to see that somehow the ceiling had reappeared above me and that…was that Kratos?

And what was that black thing?

I watched as it latched onto his leg and tugged him forward.

I hope he doesn't get stuck in that…

Or wait, is it an entrance to where I am?

Suddenly I see…a lifelike hologram of me.

I can't hear what he's saying but…how dare they copy me?!

I thought for sure that they'd make a hologram of my mom or something. I mean, that's what Zelos said they did last time.

Bu maybe he wouldn't fall for it this time?

Yeah, that's probably why.

But why would he fall for…that fake?

Now I wished I could hear what he said.

And, almost as if the, well, trap, heard me, I could hear voices.

"Do you honestly think that will work?" the copy of me asked, sounding angry, doing the exact same things I would do if I were angry.

Now I had to wonder how they figured all this stuff out.

"It--" Kratos seemed to be having trouble forming his words as he tried to run away from the expanding black circle.

"Look. There are so many failures that we--that I--have gone through. Though you have gone through more. Why don't you just give up?"

"I could never--"

"But wouldn't it feel nice to just, y'know, let everything go?"

Yeah it'd be nice to. But people need us! We can't just let everything go now!

"Hey! Stop it!" Kratos, if he could have moved, he would've jumped. Now he was searching for where my voice had come from.

"Where…?" He looked down below and his eyes widened, "Wh-what…?"

"See? Now a spider has showed up. If you get caught by that black hole and are tugged into the room below it will each you." 'Lloyd' said smuggly, crossing his arms over his chest.

Wait…so now I'm a spider? Talk about degrading. I squash spiders all the time…

"No I'm not! You're the hallucination! Not me!" I shouted again, now I was really getting ticked off.

"That…sounds like Lloyd."

"No it doesn't! I'm Lloyd and that's a…spider! Can't you recognize your own son?"

"You…I really must talk to Mithos about this once we find him. But you…are not my son."

"Wha--but that Lloyd down there is a fake!"

"Hey! Who're you callin' a fake you fake?!"

"So Lloyd really is down there."

"But how can you tell if he's a fake?"

"Because for one he would have helped me by now, if you were the real Lloyd you would have found a way to stop this…trap. And besides…Lloyd would never have told me to give up. I've bared to much sin already to just cast it aside as if it were nothing."

He then stopped running and let the shadow drag him back into the hole in the floor that led to the room I was in.

And then, just like that, the trap disappeared.

"Wha…?"

"So it really was you."

"Nice to see you two are back." Zelos said from his sitting position on the floor. He looked bored but I could tell that, underneath that face he was actually really worried.

"Yeah…we're back…"

"So…what was the trap all about?"

"A hologram of me showed up and tried to convince Kratos to give up…and stuff."

"Ah…y'mean like running away?"

Now what had brought that up?

"Yes. Like running away."

Suddenly a bright, golden, light appeared between the three of us. After the immense light ebbed away, there, floating between us was a…

spider.

A broken spider.

"This is--?"

"It looks like a spider charm. I've seen one before." Zelos said offhandedly, taking one piece in his hand, "Though it like now its broken…"

"Yeah…but why don't you two keep it?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, it's kinda like a sign y'know? For you, Kratos, and you, Zelos to, I guess, stop running away…?"

Kratos nodded his head mutely and grabbed the other piece.

Zelos just smiled, "That's a good idea." He then pocketed his half and looked at me, a shimmer in his eyes.

I could tell he wanted to…kiss me. But with Kratos standing right there--?

I heard Kratos sigh, "You know, I'm fine with that sort of thing, go ahead."

And Zelos did, closing the distance between us and kissing me lightly on the lips.

He then pulled apart and smiled.

"Well then…shouldn't we be looking for the others?"

"Ah…y-yeah…you're right." I gave Kratos a questioning look to see his reaction to the kiss but, as always, his facial expression was unreadable.

So he really didn't care.

And that really got me to wondering if what Zelos said back at dads house was true.

But it did make a lot of sense--I mean Mithos had long hair for goddesses sake!

Okay…maybe Regal did too, and he wasn't gay, but that was because he hadn't cut it in a long while so that was easily excusable.

And besides, Mithos…looked so girly to begin with.

Wait…why am I even think this?

I shook my head, "Uh, but, where would they be? I'm pretty sure they're all split up so…where should we check first?"

"I would suggest the prison area. I'm sure they could have put at least two people in there…"

"Okay then! Let's get goin' to the prison!" Zelos turned and walked over to where a blue warp point was. I gave one last look at Kratos before I walked over to Zelos.

Kratos, of course, noticed this confusing stare and returned it with a one of knowingness.

So he definitely knew what I was confused about.

We stepped onto the warp point and appeared in the prison room.

And there we saw Presea and Regal.

------------------------------

Genis' POV

I woke up in a dark room, littered with various stones and gems with a greenish hue.

From Jades, to moss covered rocks.

This place…even though it was dark it had a sense of green to it.

And yet again, how could I sense a color?

I shook my head and stood up on shaky legs. I looked around the room, trying to adjust to the inky darkness.

And, just like all those times before, the darkness seemed so thick that it was suffocating me.

Or maybe my labored breathing was caused by my lack of mana.

Yeah, that had to be it. But…at the same time…this darkness still made a chill go up my spine.

Suddenly, from the far side of the inky blackness of the room, came a light, a crack, as if a door were opening to reveal a much lighter place.

I waited and soon I saw a woman, an elven woman, that looked to be around Raines age come into sight.

She was extremely beautiful, I was sure of that even though I couldn't see her that well.

She walked into the room, and even though it was dark, I could see her clearly.

It was like she was feeding off the darkness.

Now that I could see her clearly I noticed that she was wearing a green, ornately decorated, dress like that of the royalty in Meltokio.

She also had green hair with a lustrous shine to it.

But what really caught my attention was…

Her eyes.

They were like Emeralds.

Not only were they stunning, showing that she was obviously born into a rich family, but they were frightening as well.


They shone with animalistic light.


And right off the bat I knew she was also a killer.

And that bloodied sword in her hand really didn't help to improve that thought.

Or…no…it wasn't blood on the tip of the sword.

It was ruby.

Suddenly she stopped and turned back to face the doorway. She then called out, "Seiji, Mitosu, Jiniasu(1)! Get in here!" Her tone was cold and harsh like that of the harshest commander.

Three other, smaller, figures appeared in the doorway. The forms seemed to be shaking. Unlike the woman, I couldn't see them clearly at all.

It was like they were made of the shadow in the room.

"Oh…come now, you three. I won't hurt you…I'm not mad." Now the womans voice was as sweet as honey.

That in and of itself made me think that she was even more dangerous.

The three finally made their way into the room, and, like the woman, they could be seen clearer now that they entered.

And I had to say that I was surprised.


The three standing there looked to be about eight years old. There were two boys and one girl.

The first boy reminded me of a younger version of that person Mithos was fighting. He had black hair down to his ears. His complexion was the same dark tan. His eyes were the same amber color. He stepped forward first, bowing his head to the woman, who smiled gently at him.

The second boy, actually he reminded me of myself. Where my hair was a whitish silver, his was a dirty blond. His eye were a deep reddish purple. He was wearing a light blue tunic with black shorts and a strange necklace draped around his neck. It was shaped like a cross, though it was black and had a shield in the center covered by bat wings. He was the second person to step forward and bow in front of the woman, who gave a similar smile to him.

"Come now, Seiji, what's wrong…?" the woman clad in green asked the remaining child--the only girl--though her tone was curious, the undertone was icy.

The girl slightly spiky hair like me, but her hair was up in two pigtails much like Ferals. And her eyes were a cloudy grey. She was wearing a black tunic that seemed too big on her, and a deep green mini skirt. She also wore black boots and had a black chain belt around her waist.

"I…I'm sorry, Mistress Neofara…" the girl said, coming forward and bowing like the two boys.

"Now, now, how many times have I told you to call me Neo…?"

"But miss, if you don't mind me saying," the boy with black hair that resembled Mithos looked up, "It sounds kind of…boyish."

The woman smirked, "Oh but that's what I like about it, Mitosu. And, Jiniasu? What do you think?"

"I…It's very fitting, miss. It'll confuse the enemy into thinking you're a man!"

"Men have too much power as it is." Neo stated this in bitterness, but quickly changed the tone to sweet, "But I'm about to change that."

The three children looked at her, confused, "Change that? How?"

Neo smirked, "That's part of the reason I called you three here. I wanted to ask you something."

The three waited in silence for their mistress to form the question while I just stood there wondering what it was there.


Though one thing was sure.

I definitely wasn't in Sylvarant.

Or Tethe'alla.

But I wasn't in the strange Mirror room either.

So where was I…? Or was this another one of those dreams…the ones Feral said were impossible to break?

Was this someones past?

"What do you three despise most of all?"

I blinked, turning my attention back to the woman and the three children.

Amazingly Seiji was the first to answer.

"I hate…I hate the way men treat women! I mean, you're a perfectly capable leader and yet they won't let you have the throne!" she cried out, tears budding at the edges of her eyes.

The woman nodded her head, "Well yes, that's definitely true. You have suffered from this racism because it was what…prevented your mother from--"

"Gaining work." Jiniasu finished, looking down at the ground, "I…hate father…he left mother and then she wasn't allowed to work because she was a woman and…and…then they went and executed her for trying!"

Neo just nodded her head in understanding.

But not in sympathy, unless it was a mock of the gesture.

"Now then, Mitosu? What do you hate?"

"My family." Was his dull reply, which seemed to surprise the woman.

He obviously didn't talk about his family much.

"And why do you hate your family?"

"Because…I do. That's all. Can I leave now?"

Neo blinked, seeming taken back by his coldness, "But whatever for? There must be a substantial reason as to why you hate your family--because you came here…to me…"

"There is a reason, but I don't have to say what it is."

The boy then turned and left, followed shortly after by Jiniasu, and then by Seiji.

After the door had closed, the woman smirked, "Poor children…do you have any idea what kind of power I can gain? Do you have any idea? Seiji, Jiniasu, your revenge against men and their cruelty will be more than accounted for. And…Mitosu…your family…your hate for them will be fully avenged, after, of course, I know who they are and why you hate them."

She stared off into the dark silence of the room for a few moments before speaking again, her voice rich with blood lust, "Though as for what that reason is, I'm inclined to believe you will never tell me.'

And then she, too, headed out the door, though she dropped the ruby tipped blade where she stood.

Though only once she turned around.

And this time her gaze…

Was directly on me.

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(1)-The names for these three characters: Jiniasu, Seiji, and Mitosu, are actually the Japanese names for Genis, Sage, and Mithos. Also, Jiniasu is modeled after Genis, Seiji is like a girl version of Genis/opposite of Feral and of course Mitosu is based off of Mithos. And yet again this is thanks to Hiranieas for telling me the Japanese names/last names!

Me: …I just made that even more confusing didn't I?

April: If you're talking about that dream sequence…then yes, probably you did. I mean, most of those characters won't show up till the sequel, right?

Me: That's right…but I wanted to foreshadow some events so people would be able to go back and say 'oh yeah! She mentioned that in this chapter'!

April: That's true. So I guess you're telling people to read these chapters carefully, right?

Me: Right! Now then, Read and Review and I just might update faster! And besides, I love getting them! They make me feel all warm and fuzzy! -cough-