Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia or any characters contained therein.
Kratos rose up slowly. His entire body registered a dull, throbbing pain. He sat and twisted around, stretching his body and loosening his sore muscles. The sparring match with Yuan had tired him far more than he'd thought. Looking out the tent flap, he noticed that the sun had already risen and that his companions were already up and preparing to leave. He himself stuffed his few belongings into his pack, stuck his Crystal Sword into his sheath, and stepped out of his tent, wiping his eyes sleepily. Seeing him emerge, Yuan came over and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Kratos," he greeted. "How're you feeling?"
"Sore," he replied.
"Don't worry; you should be feeling fine by tomorrow. I'll take most of your share for any battles we run into today so you don't have to exert yourself." With that, Yuan turned and left to go help Martel take down her tent while her brother prepared their packs.
Kratos watched the blue-haired half-elf. A small, rare smile crept onto the human's face. He hadn't known Yuan for very long, and he hadn't even really known Mark for a long time either, but he felt a close bond with him. There was a friendship between them that he found himself amazed with.
Turning around, Kratos took down his own tent and quickly stuffed it into his pack. He walked forward a bit and crested the top of a small hill. On the other side he could see a few flying machines – Rheairds, he recalled his father having called them – heading towards a city lying on the horizon. Palmacosta was close now.
He turned around quietly and found his three companions walking towards him. They came and stopped facing him.
"We'll be arriving at Palmacosta today," Kratos announced. "At first, I had thought that we would enter and I would present myself to the Sylvarant government as the son of 'Odin' Cruxis and get help from them to find a place to stay. However, Yuan would be easily recognized, placing his safety in danger."
"So what?" Mithos cut in. "If they're hostile to us, we can just beat them all up. We're strong."
"Yes," Kratos replied, patient but annoyed, "but we're only four people. Also, they're equipment will be far stronger than ours. Your magic would barely touch them through their standard obsidian armor, Mithos."
"Oh… right," the young boy quietly accepted. "So what do we do?"
"That's what I'd like to get ideas on," Kratos replied. "Yuan?"
"I believe that once we enter the city, you can wait while I obtain information on where the spirit Undine is kept. Once I find out, I will leave. At that point, you are free to get whatever help the government will offer you."
"You'll need Mithos to handle the summoning."
"Yes. However, he would be safer with you. I know from my experiences with the government's magi technology that they magically imprison each spirit in a ring that contains its essence. Once I have that ring, I can bring it to Mithos, and we can free the spirit and then bind it into a summoner's contract."
"I see."
Kratos stood silently for a time, then turned and questioned Martel, "Do you have any ideas?"
"No," she replied. "That seems fine… although it might be better if we were all to go after the spirit together. I know Yuan's strong, but I still think it would be safer if we were to travel as a group." Thinking for a second, she softly giggled and added, "And his healing is weak."
Kratos smirked, Mithos grinned, and Yuan's face obtained a few tinges of red. "I can handle my healing," he muttered back.
"Despite that," Kratos spoke, bringing the group back to the serious situation, "I think we should stay as a group. We'll all split up and look for information in Palmacosta, and then, once we find out, we'll leave for Undine together."
Having decided their course of action, the four travelers walked down the hill and proceeded towards their destination.
Kratos stood up and shrugged off a few stray sparks of electricity that ran across his body and began to chant a quick "Aqua Edge" spell. Yuan imitated him and began chanting a spell as well, though his was a "Thunder Blade". A blue circular symbol appeared beneath Kratos while a purple one appeared beneath Yuan at the exact same time. The intermediate level spell activated and struck Kratos, draining him of most of his energy while Yuan was unfazed by the elementary spell.
The memory of his battle from the past night kept on coming back to Kratos, haunting his mind. The sheer power that Yuan had displayed enticed Kratos. He needed that strength.
Fires raged all around Kratos. He fled, arms flailing, crying. His village, his home, was burning. Mages were rushing out of the forest and sending destructive spells flying everywhere. He ran, tripping and falling, seeking his mother. His own friends fell before him, no older than his own 6-year-old self.
Images of what he had left behind in Iselia haunted him. He hadn't been in the village when it was attacked, but seeing it go up in flames, knowing that there were many people that had been left behind had been even more painful. His father was a great warrior and had always been there to protect those around him, but Kratos had fled. If he had been more powerful, this wouldn't have happened.
A powerful mage unleashed his spell. As one, Kratos and Lersil dashed forward, seizing their weapons. Both stood and placed their right feet forward. In complete synchronization, they unleashed a tenth of their mana into their swords. A green "guardian" field appeared around them just as the first of the area 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.
Lersil's death came back to Kratos. Again, he had been too weak. If he'd have been stronger, Mithos and Martel's father would still be alive. It was his weakness that had caused his death, and with the Cruxis Crystals, he would no longer be weak like he had been.
Mystar, sensing 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.
Not only the father of the half-elf siblings, but also their mother had been slain in front of the human. If only he had been stronger…
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. 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.
Even Kratos' own mother had died before his own eyes. All those memories haunted him. The crystals lying in his pack seemed to be calling him. Their power would help him, making him stronger. They would save lives. With them, he could easily protect those close to him, those that had mattered to him. His mother would still be with him. His village would still be standing. Silently, burdened with pain, Kratos walked on.
Mithos, Martel, Kratos, and Yuan arrived at the gates to Palmacosta around noon. Most of the cities in the world had security due to the ever-present threats brought on by the war. However, Palmacosta, among a few others, was an open trading city, and thus the checking was much lighter.
The four companions seamlessly merged into the flow of millions of people coming and going from the city. They passed through the arch marking the start of the port eventlessly and then headed together towards the inn. Once there, they entered and booked a room where they would return to at night once they had searched around. Martel stayed behind with Kratos as he payed the innkeeper while Mithos and Yuan left and began their search for information. They would go to the piers while Kratos and Martel would head towards the government area.
Once the transaction was completed, Kratos stepped outside with Martel beside him. As they began walking through the city, Kratos turned and took a look at his companion. She noticed him looking and turned around to face him.
"Kratos?" she questioned, curious.
The human simply placed a hand on her shoulder and turned her, gently pushing her into a shop they were passing by. He followed her in, then walked past and headed straight for a rack holding many hats. He picked up a large, wide-brimmed hat and placed it on top of Martel's head. She stared at him strangely as it fell half-way past her ears. Satisfied, Kratos pushed her forward, showing the shopkeeper his purchase, and placed a few gald on the counter to pay. The shopkeeper took the payment, thanked him, then turned around to arrange her wares on a shelf while Kratos exited the shop with a confused Martel beside him.
"Kratos?" she queried, completely lost.
"Yours ears need to be covered," the human calmly replied, leading her ahead.
"Oh…" Martel realized as she was reminded of the discrimination common around the world.
Silently, the human and half-elf merged into the crowd and flowed with it towards the government buildings, listening intently for any information on the location of Undine. They walked around for hours, seeking information. They stopped and asked questions when Kratos deemed it safe, resorting to simply listening when he felt it was dangerous. By the time the sun hit the horizon, they had learned that Undine's power was used to run most of the government systems in the system. However, the spirit was not held within the city itself, but on an island city somewhere else. It's mana was transferred via a set of underwater energy lines called the Thoda Pipes.
Having learned enough, Kratos headed to a government powered computer access terminal located in a deserted alleyway. Martel stood beside him and watched as he logged into the system using his father's identification codes. He initiated a search for Thoda and then turned to Martel. He warned her that since he had logged into the system, the humans at the central system would notice and that it was only a matter of time before they would come here to see who had activated his dead father's. He turned back and typed away quickly at the terminal. Martel reached out with her mana and weaved her senses through the nearby streets, searching for any mana signitures heading their way.
Kratos looked up, triumphant just as Martel let out a gasp.
"I've got the coordinates for their Thoda Research Base," Kratos announced just as Martel let out a startled, "someone's coming!"
Kratos drew his Crystal Sword and stabbed it into the computer, destroying the machine. Martel, surprised, stared at him and was suddenly brought back to her senses as the human grabbed her hand and pulled her through a side alley. Using his own magic as well as Martel's superior senses, Kratos wove through the deserted streets, avoiding the government soldiers searching for the terminal-user. Soon, they arrived at the crowded streets and quickly melded into the crowd, heading back towards their inn.
Within minutes, the two arrived at the door to the inn only to find utter chaos raging around them. People rushed everywhere as they tried to get out of the way of a horde of soldiers approaching from the pier side of the city. Right in front of the group of obsidian-covered warriors were Mithos and Yuan, running at full speed.
Finally done with that chapter. It took awhile. Sorry for the delay. I've been really busy and I'll only be getting even busier, so updates will be slowing down significantly. I'll still be continuing this story, but it might take a long time before I get chapters up.
Well... I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Again, chapter name suggestions will be appreciated for any chapter that doesn't already have one, or even those that already do.
Don't forget to review!