Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own Tales of Symphonia (although it would be nice to).
With great urgency, Kratos raced through the trees surrounding Heimdall. He kept his magical senses focused on the threat he had located only moments ago, making sure that he knew exactly where to head. He raced through the trees, jumping over low bushes and ducking under low branches. Trees raced by as large blurs of green. Kratos sped forward, sailing silently under the canopy of stars. With a sudden leap, his feet flew from the grass below him, softly alighting on a long branch.
The branch was too weak. It cracked, splitting down the middle as gravity claimed it. However, long before the first snapping sound had been heard, Kratos had jumped away, choosing to move onto the straw roof of the closest elven house. From there, he raced forward, leaping off from the far end, past the patio, and landing neatly on the village path.
His feet touched the ground as his body continued its decent. He came down, finally stopping with both hands, both feet, and one knee in contact with the earth. Lifting his head and throwing back his brown hair, Kratos stared forward, waiting only for a split second to restore his mana before bounding off towards Lersil's home.
Two black robed mages stood on the patio, pentagrams glowing white under one, brown under the other. Lersil was running in from the side, his equipment singed and frozen. Rage had contorted his face as he lifted up his gleaming blade to strike down his enemies. Seraphim was standing pressed against the wall of the house, holding a staff in front as protection. Beside her was Maria.
As Kratos finally entered attack range, he fired off a "wind blade" to distract his foes. Before his spell materialized, both mages completed theirs. The young human drew out his silver blade as a "dreaded wave" commenced below his feet. Lersil had been close enough to Kratos for both of them to come tumbling down to their knees, dropping their weapons. It was the second mage's spell, however, that startled both of them even more.
At first, nothing happened. Soon, though, a deep rumbling began. It started off inaudible but soon grew to a deafening sound. Perplexed, the elf and human looked around. They were stunned with fear when their eyes reached the skies above them. Huge boulders clothed in flames, larger than a person, rained down from the heavens. With a thunderous sound, the deadly projectiles arrived at their target.
As one, Kratos and Lersil dashed forward, seizing their weapons. Both stood and placed their right feet forward. In complete syncronization, they unleashed a tenth of their mana into their swords. A green "guardian" field appeared around them just as the first of the areal strikes landed. Kratos pulled through the impact of the blow. He was ready to release his spell when the rock embedded in the ground at his feet exploded. By sheer luck, he survived.
Beside him, Lersil did not share the same luck. He had been tired from his fight before Kratos had arrived. When the meteor had impacted, his mana ran out, leaving him defenseless for the following explosion. He flew backwards, slamming into a tree trunk and slumping to the grass, blood covering the back of his head.
As the smoke cleared, Kratos peered through, seeking any sign of his mother. Through the haze, he saw that four of the meteors had crashed into the house of his fallen comrade. Worrying about Maria Aurion's life, Kratos jumped forward. A sudden blow from a "stone blast" spell informed him that the mages were targeting him already. Weary from the previous injuries, he felt his conciousness slipping but resumed his focus and forged forward, holding his sword tight in his hands.
Dodging a "gravity well" and an "explosion" through the swirling dust, the young boy struck at one of his assailants. With a single slice, he neatly cut him in half, only to be sent spiraling away in a "cyclone" from the other. Taking another look up, Kratos was surprised to note that Seraphim was standing, holding her staff in a defensive position. Behind her was Maria. Although the entire house had been demolished, the small portion shadowed by the women was standing untouched.
The black-robed mage did not seem surprised at all. He simply turned and rushed at the humans. As Kratos tried to catch up to him, he noted something different about the attacker. Although the Tetheallans were always mages, this one carried not a staff, but an elaborately decorated sword in a sheath. As he got within Seraphim's range, he drew the blade out, showing its torquise color. The icy blue glittered ethereally in the night, letting off a calm glow that belied its threat.
With an unearthly clang, the shaft of Seraphim's Crystal Rod held against the robed man's Vorpal Blade. The force of the blow knocked Seraphim to her knees as the assassin's hood fell off. Mystar Wilder, "Fenrir," wielder of Vorpal Blade, pushed further, causing Seraphim to have her own rod pressed tightly against her throat with his sword brushing against her cheek.
"Give up and return. The kingdom of Tethealla is willing to forgive you for running away. All you have to do is to return to working at the Ozette Laboratory and to return the three Cruxis Crystals that you have."
Seraphim's eyes darted around fearfully. She paused for a second, noticing Kratos, blade raised, stealthily approaching Mystar from behind. She turned back to her foe, lowering her face and relaxing her grip. "Alright, Commander Mystar. I shall come with you. However, there are certain conditions that I will need met before I leave Heimdall. I want you to promise me that you will leave this village alone and never harm it again. You will also provide me with transportation on rheards, not by foot. I will also need to have a large room at the Lab, with full facilities…"
As Seraphim held up the distraction, Kratos finally managed to arrive right behind Lersil's murderer. With a sudden burst of speed, he swung the sword down onto the flaming red hair in front of him.
Mystar, sensing the danger, moved forward. He realized that he had been betrayed as he felt not only a sword cutting through his back, but also a rod deflecting his sword and stabbing him in the ribs. In utter rage and pain, he swung his sword around, using a "super lightning blade" technique to charge it with mana. The desperate attempt struck through Seraphim Yggdrasill, slicing through her and heading for Kratos.
Tired as he was, the human knew there was no way for him to survive. His sword had already left his hands and was lying on the floor. His feet were too tired to evade the blow. Closing his eyes, Kratos readied himself for the end of his life.
With a sudden leap, Maria Aurion picked up the Crystal Rod lying at her feet and jammed it hard against the back of Mystar's head. With his head reeling, Mystar Wilder spun around and jumped back. He had lost too much blood. He would have to return soon. With a sudden spurt of energy, he used a "spark wave" spell on Maria. As his mother writhed in pain, Kratos struck out wrathfully with his Silver Sword. However, before his sword could touch Mystar, the Tetheallan had faded away in a shower of thin beams of mana. He had warped away.
Silently Kratos sat with his back against a tree. The cool shade at the entrance of the Torent Forest calmed him. With a sigh, he turned his face down; he could sense the mana of the approaching elven leader.
"Kratos… I am sorry." The elder came and sat down beside him. His face was also turned down. He let out a soft sigh. "I did everything I could. It just wasn't enough."
"I know…" Kratos looked at the elf. Although he was centuries old, he had always seemed young and energetic. Now, however, time had creased his brow and wrinkled his skin. A pale aura of misery surrounded him. The light of his eyes had dimmed. Yet, Kratos was not surprised, for he, too, felt the same. With his mother gone, no consolation would ever bring back the joy to his life that he used to have.
...yeah. Short. I know.
Anyway, I think the writing's gotten better than the previous chapter. To all those reading this, I guess my update speed might get slower (especially if my chapters are to remain longer than a couple hundred words).
Please review and let me know what you think.
As a side note, if anyone can give me ideas for names of those chapters that lack them, I would appreciate it very much. Also, any ideas on how to improve the summary would be very welcome. Thanx and I hope you enjoy :)