Greetings fellow TOS fans!! Yeah, sorry for the wait. I have a few words for you: school, homework, reading, extra-curricular activities, SATS. That's about it in a nutshell. And to all those who were wondering, yes there will be quite a lot of Norse myth, ergo it will kind of, somewhat follow along the same lines, but not really. More so the end then anything else. So, here it is.
Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia. If I did, this would be the sequel to the game, and not Knight of Ratatosk (although, it does look interesting).
CHAPTER 9
RUMBLE IN THE UNDERCITY
At the arrival of Raine at the front gates of Palma Costa, a wave of officials and scholars bombarded the party. For a few moments there was nothing but chaos and discord, everybody wanting to speak with her.
Already in a less than chipper mood, Raine took crowd control into her own hands. She cracked down on the frantic mob with her signature head bashings, slaps upside the head, and her half lecture-half scolding screams.
The rest of the party sat back in awe.
"I don't know which is worse- her yelling fits, or when she beats the tar out of you," Sheena commented as a soldier went flying over their heads.
"Both are pretty bad," Genis remarked, rubbing his head and wincing as he remembered past beatings.
"But it's when she gives you both that you know you're in real trouble…" Lloyd shivered.
Sheena was about to inquire further, but Kratos spoke first, "It would seem she has had her fill."
The scene had taken a turn from a crazy mob, to docile obedience. Raine had evidently calmed them all down, and was now issuing orders left and right. The people of Palma Costa scurried off o their respective positions and set off to work.
"Genis, come with me," Raine beckoned to her brother. She turned to the other three and said, "I'll be a little preoccupied for the time being. I'll send for you when I can talk. Until then, stay in the city and take care of anything you need to."
With that she was off, and the normal hustle and bustle of the Palma Costan streets was restored.
"Well," Sheena said after a while, "Shall we go restock on supplies then?"
The two swordsmen nodded in agreement and they all made their way to the market place by the docks.
"It seems that the Professor has everything under control then," Lloyd said.
"If she couldn't calm them down, I'm sure Kratos here could have taken care of it," Sheena shrugged.
"What do you mean?" Lloyd asked curiously.
"You should've seen him after you went M.I.A. He shut them all up with a glare and took charge immediately."
"That's because he's such an awesome and intimidating warrior!" Lloyd said proudly.
"Yeah, you could learn things from him," Sheena winked and gravitated to an accessory shop.
Lloyd opened his mouth to retort, then thought about it. Instead he turned to his father who had been inspecting swords at another shop.
"I guess she has a point. Now I gotta watch you and become a more suave, cool swordsman," Lloyd said to him.
"What do mean?"
"Don't play dumb. That would defy all laws of the natural world. I know you could hear our conversation."
"These will do," Kratos handed some gald over to the shop keeper and received a pair of slender, durable swords. He then gave the swords to Lloyd.
"What, for me?"
"You did loose your other ones."
Lloyd decided it would be wise to keep his mouth shut on that subject and strapped on the swords drawing one from its scabbard. He bent at it and spun it around, testing to see the way it moved. The metal was very dark, almost black, and the hilt was midnight blue. The blade was very flexible and thin, but also very strong. Lloyd was reminded of the fishing pole lesson, and sheathed his sword with satisfaction.
"They are called Noctem Saber. Sorry, but these were of good quality and build. You usually use sturdier, broader swords. Use these until you find something else that you like," Kratos put up an air of indifference. However, Lloyd was getting good at reading his father.
"Then I'll be using these for a while," Lloyd said somewhat defiantly, "I'm quite happy with them. I'll treat them with great care."
Kratos said nothing, but Lloyd caught a flash of pleasure in his father's profile. Lloyd stepped next to Kratos at the next stall and noticed some guys talking to Sheena. Judging by the annoyance on her face they were probably trying to hit on her. Ha, the poor fools, Lloyd laughed inwardly and turned back to Kratos. Sheena could certainly take care of herself.
"So!" Lloyd said, "I'll be wanting some fatherly advice from now on. You've got a lot of catching up to do."
Kratos couldn't hide a fond smile and thought for a moment on where to start with his son, who really did need some advice in certain areas.
His attention was then caught by the snippet of conversation he heard between Sheena's pursuers.
"Aw, forget it man, that's Sheena," said the first, "Y'know, Zelos' girl."
At this Kratos and Lloyd could feel the pressure in the air rise, and a clear vision of a ticked off Sheena appeared in their mind's eye.
"Yeah," said another, "He said that she's totally devoted to him, practically worships him. The lucky punk."
That is when they crossed the line to no man's land.
"ZELOS SAID WHAT?!?!?!?!?" Sheena's shrill voice echoed out through the square.
The pair slowly turned to see the enraged Sheena, pure murder reflected in her eyes, and a magic circle already glowing beneath her. The guys trying to pick her up were cowering in fear.
Kratos put a hand on Lloyd's shoulder, "You want some fatherly advice? Run."
"Like hell," added Lloyd and sprinted away.
Within seconds the two were at the center plaza.
Lloyd looked back and said, "Maybe she cooled dow-"
A huge explosion reaching up to the clouds interrupted Lloyd and the wind rushed forward, pushing him back a foot or two.
"Or not," Kratos brushed off some dust on his shirt.
"Hey, you think it was Volt or Efreet?" Lloyd asked.
"Actually, I believe that was Origin."
"Origin?" Lloyd looked back at the clearing smoke above point zero, "That mad, huh? Zelos is so dead."
Kratos nodded, "As I've said, 'Hell hath no fury-"
"Like Sheena pissed off at Zelos," Lloyd finished.
"…Crudely put, but true nonetheless."
A rush of people came flooding from the docks. Mutterings of 'demon lady' and the like reached the two angels' ears. But mostly it was either shouts of terror or stunned silence.
"May he be granted a swift and painless death before Sheena finds him," Lloyd said wisely.
"Time to asses the damage," Kratos reluctantly started of back to the market, Lloyd a step behind him.
Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"WHAT were you thinking?!" Raine slammed a hand down on her desk, and Sheena flushed a light pink.
"Uh…you probably don't want to know…" Sheena said lamely.
Probably thinking of ways to make Zelos' life (and afterlife) miserable … everyone thought simultaneously.
"We're enough trouble as it is, without you blowing up the docks!" Raine sat back in her chair and sighed, "At least there wasn't any real damage…"
"Y-yeah, that's why I summoned Origin…to try and not cause damage to the area. I knew he'd be able to control the blast…" Sheena tried to redeem herself.
"All bark and no bite to it, eh?" Lloyd said.
"It was enough for those morons, though," Genis put it in, "I think they're still in that daze; won't even move from the spot. Wouldn't be surprised if they're traumatized for the rest of their lives."
Raine stood up and walked around the desk, "Anyway, it can be repaired. And given your fame as a hero, I don't think the town will hold it against you."
Sheena gave a small sigh of relief.
"On a different note," Raine said very solemnly, "Odin's Tear. It seems to have become a very popular object these days. Enough that these mysterious persons would kidnap Genis and hold him for ransom in order to get a hold of me."
At the mention of the Tear, everyone's attention was caught, all eyes on Raine.
"So that's what happened," Lloyd said.
Genis nodded.
"I'm sorry to say that you will not learn much from me. At least not at this time."
"Did something happen with the documents about the Tear?" Sheena asked earnestly.
"No, that's not the problem I'm afraid," Raine shook her head, then asked Kratos, "How much about it is known to you? Or Derris-Kharlan for that matter."
"Unfortunately, close to nothing. Odin's Tear is nearly unapproachable, ergo hard to study. The main concern of Derris-Kharlan and the Elves who probably placed it there, was to keep it locked away so it couldn't be used for malicious purposes," Kratos replied, a hint of foreboding in his tone.
Raine fell back into her chair, fatigue coming over her.
"I was afraid you'd say that," she sighed, "For similar reasons, even the vast archive of the elves in Heimdall is lacking on information about it. And of what we do have, most of it is in an ancient language that no one can read. It would take quite some time to decipher it all."
"Maybe Dad can read it. He has quite a few years under his belt," Lloyd put in helpfully.
"I doubt he could. The Tear dates back to antiquity. Those scriptures are definitely older than Kratos."
"That's a first for me," Kratos said causing Lloyd to chuckle.
"Well, what do you know then?" Sheena asked Raine.
"It's actually myth and prophecy mostly," Genis couldn't hide his interest in the subject.
"Odin's Tear was supposedly constructed eons ago by a race similar to the elves and angels," Raine started the tale, "Its main purpose was hypothesized to be a sort of power source. Legends say these people had built a marvelous machination that was the height of their magitechnology. The Tear was both the battery and control center for it."
"What happened to these people and all their stuff?" Lloyd asked.
"Put simply, we don't know," Genis shrugged, "None of the records tell of their end. We barely know anything at all about them."
"This is where it switches more to prophecy," Raine leaned forward and laced her fingers on her desk, "The writings tell of a dark force that would eventually attempt to take this wondrous power in the distant future."
"Like that weird army and that Loki guy!" Lloyd interrupted.
"Yes, that is probably safe to assume," Raine nodded, "If that time should come, another power would come about to once again raise this machine. Then the world would either be saved or annihilated."
"I see," Kratos said thoughtfully.
"Of course, as Raine has said, all this is rather incomplete. A brief overview when compared to all the info we do have. So there are many holes and loose ends in the story," Genis sighed grimly.
"And of course, sometimes little knowledge is worse than none at all. It would be easy to make false assumptions, and therefore fatal mistakes," said Kratos.
"Which now leads us to what we are going to do next," Raine once again stood up.
She made for the door, and beckoned the others to follow.
"At present, the most pressing matter would be the possible disintegration of the Tear. The likelihood of the most catastrophic outcome is as likely as any other."
"Was there anything in your database about if the Tear should break apart?" Lloyd asked as they made their way down the long hall.
"Nope. Nothing at all. Least not in the parts that we could understand," Genis said bluntly.
"So what are we gonna do? Guess?" Lloyd asked sarcastically.
"Exactly," Raine winked as she opened up the doors that lead to a laboratory.
Lloyd instantly knew the room, as it was the one Raine and Genis were in when they spoke via Mizuho's secret communications line.
Again Raine went over to the safe and brought out the Exe-terminal. She took Lloyd's hand and placed the Exe-terminal in it.
"This is only a theory, but I believe it should work," she said, "The Tear is very similar to an exesphere-"
"Probably in more ways than one…" Genis muttered under his breath.
"What do you mean?" Lloyd asked him curiously.
Genis seemed surprised, but after a moment he regained his composure and said, "Ah, angel hearing. I forgot."
"Hmmm?" Lloyd tilted his head.
"It's really nothing. Don't worry," Genis smiled with an effort.
Raine cleared her throat and spoke loudly, "Lloyd, now is not the time to interrupt. You need to hear this."
Changing the subject are we? Kratos observed.
"S-sorry Professor," Lloyd apologized.
"As I was saying, I believe that there are enough structural similarities between the two that the Exe-terminal should be able to track it. If it did not dissipate, we simply find it. If it has then there might be a way to use the Exe-terminal to recreate it without causing a dangerous reaction."
"How?" Lloyd asked.
"The process is still in the development stage. There are a few things I need to check first. Until then," Raine again led the way out of the room, "There's something I must ask of you all."
"Hmm? What?" Lloyd questioned. They were now climbing down a wide stair case, reaching far beneath the surface.
"I would presume you need us to take of the monsters plaguing the supports of the city," Kratos said coolly.
"Correct!" Raine activated a large gate, which swung open to reveal a maze of pillars and supports that reached high up to the city's base. Palma Costa's Under City
"Whoa!" Lloyd exclaimed at the sight.
All along the supports were workers busily scurrying to and fro. The scene was similar to a colony of ants, building its nest.
Lloyd noticed that most of the people looked very nervous and jumpy, always looking over their shoulders.
"What's this talk about monsters?" Lloyd turned to Kratos.
"Oh yeah, you missed that part, huh?" Sheena said, "Well-"
"No time," Kratos grabbed a hold of his sword and jumped across the tops of working platforms into a section by an outer wall.
As he touched upon the railing of the outer walkway a section of the wall gave way, and a mob of monsters poured in. Kratos batted away debris with his sword, using the power of the draw to slice through the cement and the nearest enemy.
"Dad!" Lloyd called out and swiftly followed the same path to aid his father.
"Wait up!" Sheena shouted.
"Sheena! They have that side covered. We can defend the west side," Genis pointed to the opposite end where more monsters were pouring out.
"Good. I'll be going around aiding the construction workers," Raine ran further along the main staircase to a large gathering of panicked people.
Meanwhile, Kratos and Lloyd had already cleared the breech. They now were working their way toward the center where some of the sea creatures had escaped to.
"Hey pops! You're not getting tired or anything, right?" Lloyd teased as he skewered a large Sea Jelly creature.
"Hmph," Kratos grunted and with a few flashes of his blade, the giant starfishes surrounding him fell to the ground. "That makes twenty-seven. Quite a few made it through," Kratos said nonchalantly, but Lloyd recognized it as a challenge and fumed (the Sea Jelly was his nineteenth).
"Alright you're on!" Lloyd smirked and chased after some more monsters.
Five minutes later….
"Thirty, thirty-one!" Lloyd called out, slicing a monster with each sword.
"Forty-five," Kratos said and beheaded a monster with ease.
"Thirty-nine!"
"Fifty."
Elsewhere…
"Power Seal!" Sheena blasted away the oncoming monsters and ran up to Genis to support him.
"Forty-seven!" Lloyd's voice rang out through the underground cavern.
"Idiot," Genis and Sheena grumbled in unison.
"Well, at least we know where he is from his voice. They should be getting close to the center," Sheena observed.
"Yeah, we should just make our way inwards. That should cover everything," Genis said then cast a deadly Thunder Blade.
"Fifty-one!"
The two just sighed and continued their work.
Atop the main staircase, watching the chaos, stood two figures. Unbeknownst to the people in the Under City, and shrouded in shadow, they made their way in and searched the area from their vantage point above them.
"Seventy!" rang out the loud voice.
"Good to see he's enjoying himself," laughed the taller of the two in a deep tone.
"Let us go," the other said and they ran off down the stairs to the heart of the Under City.
Back to Lloyd and Kratos…
Lloyd jumped over the wall to the center area and expertly batted away the Fishes lunging towards him.
"And that makes ninety-nine!" Lloyd thumbed his nose.
"It would seem we are tied," Kratos looked up and down the walk way, but for once there seemed to be no enemies.
"What?!" Lloyd looked desperately around for a tie-breaker. He noticed movement in the corner of his eye and saw a starfish around the corner. "Aha!" he shouted triumphantly and started after it.
In a blur, Kratos surpassed him, and now they were both running full force after the starfish, who was frantically fleeing for its life.
"You're mine!" Lloyd jumped forward and performed a Psi Tempest.
It missed, however, and Kratos took this chance to attack with a Hurricane Thrust. The little guy was quick on his feet though, and barely escaped death.
"Get back here!" Lloyd chased after it again.
"Lightning!"
In a flash of light the monster was gone.
"Aw man!" Lloyd pouted and looked down the walkway to see Genis and Sheena coming towards them.
"Looks like we are at a stand still, seeing as Genis disposed of it," Kratos held his sword at his side and smiled at his son who was sorely disappointed.
"You were competing with him Kratos?" Genis said incredulously, "I thought he was only counting to further inflate his ego."
"Zip it, Genis!"
Lloyd was then pushed roughly to the side as Raine came running past them.
"What are you all standing there for?!" she called behind her and they all ran after her.
"Hey, I've been wondering," Lloyd ran beside Raine, "Why the heck are all these people still here?! It is kind of dangerous, and we might not be able to protect all of them."
All around the halls, workers were still conducting their construction on the supports.
"Well, what else are we supposed to do?" Raine asked sarcastically.
"Oh, I don't know, how about evacuating them?!"
"That question was rhetorical!" Raine smacked him over the head, "These supports need to be finished soon! Once we do that, we can close off this area, so we don't have to worry about these monsters. Until then, they need to be here and fortify the pillars."
"Yeah, well, you didn't have to hit-" Lloyd stopped mid sentence.
"You sense them?" Kratos said quietly.
Lloyd nodded his head, "There are more monsters at the center. And some people are in trouble too."
"Let's hurry then!" Genis said.
"Now we can settle the score!" Lloyd turned to Kratos, who smiled slightly in response.
Half a minute passed, and finally the party found themselves at the door to the heart of the Under City, which also served as a water drainage area. The two swordsmen busted through and prepared for an ambush.
"What the heck?!" Lloyd cried and lowered his swords.
"Wow," Genis muttered.
Before them was a sea of monster corpses, their bodies spread everywhere. Workers were gathering to the sides, still looking a little dazed.
"Who…?" Lloyd began, but was interrupted by a deep voice behind him.
"So there you all are."
The party turned and looked up to find a tall man, and a smaller girl standing atop a scaffolding.
"Regal! Presea!" Lloyd called happily.
The two jumped down and greeted their friends warmly.
"I apologize for arriving a bit late," Regal said to Raine. "I hope this makes up for it," he gestured to the multitude of dead sea monsters.
"Yes, thank you for your help."
"It's good to see you guys," Lloyd smiled.
"Yes, it has been a while hasn't it?" Presea gave a small smile.
"It would be wise to wrap up the situation and continue this later," Kratos referred to the hundreds of monsters strewn throughout the Under City.
"Ah, Kratos. So it's true, you have returned," Regal held out a hand and Kratos shook it, "And you're quite right. How can we help out, Raine?"
"It will all be taken care of," she waved a hand to the construction workers, "The specialist down here can finish up with the supports, and we can organize a clean up crew. The time of day when monsters usually attack has passed, so we won't have any worries for now."
"You can count on us Miss Raine!" a man working above them called out.
"We should be done by tonight," yet another reported.
"Right," Raine nodded, "I will come down to close up and check on things when the construction is complete." She turned to her friends, "We should get some rest then. From what I could hear, you two took care of quite a few of the monsters."
The seven of them made their way up the main staircase.
"Hehehe, it was nothing," Lloyd beamed, "It'll be nice to take a break though."
Lloyd relaxed and let his guard down. Instantly Kratos noticed the gesture from behind, and ran forward to catch his son just as Lloyd's knees buckled and he began to fall backwards.
"Whoa!" Lloyd cried out before he was reinforced by his father.
"Lloyd! What's wrong?" Genis asked, concerned.
Kratos eased him down to sit on a step. His whole body was shaking slightly.
Raine and Regal kneeled by Lloyd to examine him, while Kratos held him firm.
"There are no injuries," Raine muttered.
"His pulse has quickened, and his breathing is labored," Regal diagnosed.
"It is probably fatigue," Kratos said, "You pushed yourself beyond your limit. You were already tired form your injury and from fighting half an army."
A look of guilt came over Kratos. "I shouldn't have let you fight. At least not so hard. I am sorry."
"N-no, it's my fault!" Lloyd stuttered, "I didn't go at a steady pace like you. I wanted to beat you, so I went too far. Don't worry about it!"
Lloyd smiled and tried to stand up to show it was no big deal, but couldn't manage it.
"Come on, it's actually pretty late. You should get some rest," Regal said and hoisted Lloyd up on his back.
"Yes, I'll go ahead and arrange for some rooms," Raine ran up ahead of them.
Sheena, Genis and Presea walked along one side of Regal and talked with Lloyd. It was clear to see they were worried about him. Kratos walked along on the other side, looking down, but watching Lloyd from the corner of his eye.
I shouldn't have let him fight… Kratos scolded himself.
Then Kratos felt a hand grab onto his own. He looked to see Lloyd's hand holding tightly to his own as he faced the others and spoke to them. Even without looking, Lloyd knew how his father was feeling.
From that angle only Regal could see, and he merely smiled and looked forward.
Thank you… Kratos smiled and squeezed back.
The party left the cavern and the workers busily carried on with their project. And high up among the rafters stood yet another individual. There his large and muscular frame was perched, far above the heads of the people below him and covered in darkness. His sharp eyes watched on as the group exited the caverns.
"So the boy already begins to feel it," he muttered huskily to himself and stroked his short, coarse beard.
A slight disturbance in the air beside him caused his eyes to shift to his left, though he did not move.
"Ah, Verdandi. What do you need of me?" he spoke softly to the woman who now stood at his side.
She tucked her long brown hair behind her ear and out of her face, revealing her deep, blue eyes. Her blue robes flowed elegantly around her, though no wind was blowing.
"Lady Frigg has called a meeting," her voice was clear as a crystal bell, and her face was pleasant and kind.
The man let loose a grand sigh and stood straight, "Very well. Let us be off."
In seconds the rafters were once again empty and silent.
Oku-doku, that's it for now. I hope all of you are enjoying this! (it's my first fic, so I hope it's doing all right).
Okay, see ya next time, and remember, reviewing is good for the health, both yours and mine (I feel good people are reading my story, and I can make it better, and you feel good you're learning literary critique and you made some one smile). ;D