A/N: Tales of Symphonia Independence Day humor? Hopefully humor? D:

Lloyd: Light it. -hands a long fuse to Kratos-

Kratos: -looks at fuse- I don't want to.

Lloyd: Do it!

Kratos: No!

Lloyd: C'mon! Its the Fourth of July!!

Kratos: I don't care! Leave me alone!

Lloyd: -puppy eyes- We never do anything together! What kind of dad doesn't shoot fireworks with his son? -starts bawling-

Kratos: Grrr...FINE! I'm a good dad... FIRE BALL!!

Zelos: ARRGH!! -gets blown up-

Kratos: ...

Lloyd: -huggles Kratos- I love you, Daddy.

Me: Teehee Zelos Go BOOM. Happy 4th of July!!

Anywho...Again, this chapter is one big memory. Probably that's how its going to be from now on. Okay...on to the actual story. C:

Kratos, now in Sylvarant, was on Noishe's back and headed towards Kvar's ranch. The sun was low in the sky and he knew that he wouldn't make it before nightfall. His hand gripped his sword compulsively as his surroundings grew darker.

The protozoan was trotting as quickly as he could, but still Kratos urged him to go faster. "I'll make this up to you later, boy, I promise," whispered Kratos as he petted the panting creature's head

It had been completely dark for at least an hour before Kratos saw the Asgard Ranch looming in the distance. There had been an unexpected delay when a Cockatrice decided that it wanted to have the angel for its dinner.

Pulling a stray feather from his hair, Kratos jumped off Noishe's back outside the Ranch. "Now listen, Noishe, you wait here. When you see me, get ready to run, understand?"

The protozoan sat down and made a sort of yipping noise. Kratos took this as a yes and turned his back on the creature. He headed towards the main gate, clutching the hilt of his sword.

"Who goes there?" demanded a voice. Kratos stopped. A Desian stood before him, bow pointed and ready to fire.

"Lower your weapon, fool," said Kratos in a calm voice. "It is I, Lord Kratos."

"L-Lord K-Kratos!" yelped the half-elf, dropping his bow in his haste to bow to the angel. "Forgive me...i-it was dark and-"

"Never mind, just let me in, will you?"

"Oh yes sir, sorry sir!" muttered the Desian, fumbling with the control mechanism on the gate.

Kratos rolled his eyes. They were complete suck ups, the whole lot of them.

"Here you are, Kratos, sir...er...Lord Kratos. I'm sorry about my behavior. If there's anything I can do for you, by all means-"

"What are you talking about?" snapped Kratos. "Quit babbling and get back to your post!" The Desian, who had followed Kratos into the entrance hall, quickly bowed and slipped back outside

Now alone, Kratos headed down a hallway until he saw a female Desian who he recognized. She had taken him to Anna on his first trip to the ranch.

"Er...Excuse me?" he said.

"Oh! Lord Kratos!" she said sweetly. "What brings you here this evening?"

"I...er...I'm here on orders from Lord Yggdrasill," he lied. "I need to see host body A012. Its important."

"Of course," said the woman, bowing slightly, "If you'll follow me then?"

She led him through a labyrinth of hallways, past closed doors and past cells full of humans, all of which looked horribly underfed and sickly. It suddenly dawned on him what kind of horror he had been a part of. A tight, burning sort of sensation filled his chest. He barely remembered this feeling. He hadn't experienced it since Martel had been killed. What was it called again? Sorrow?

He saw her, finally, as they rounded a corner. She was curled up on a small cot in a tiny cell with her back to them.

"I can take it from here, if you'll just give me the key."

"But...my Lord, w-why do you need the key?"

"Don't question me," he snapped at her. "Just give me the key and return to what you were doing."

She did as she was told and he waited until he could no longer hear her footsteps before advancing down the corridor. There were no humans but Anna in this hall. All the cells were empty.

He put the key in the lock, but she didn't stir. He wondered if she was asleep.

"Go away," she said quietly. "I don't want to talk to any more of you filthy Desians."

"I'm not a Desian." he said, entering the cell.

Hearing his voice, she turned so quickly that she slipped off of the bed. She got up, but she had her head bowed slightly so that her hair was obscuring her face. "Kratos! I-I knew you'd come for me!"

"Of course, I said that I would, didn't I?"

She nodded her head, but still didn't look at him.

"Anna?" he said. "What's wrong?"

She said nothing, so he reached toward her face, but she avoided his hand. "Nothing," she said. "I-its nothing, really."

"You're lying to me, Anna," said Kratos, crossing his arms. "Show me your face. Now."

Sighing, she raised her head, and her hair uncovered her face. "It's nothing," she said again, but she sounded as though she wanted to cry.

"Its not nothing," Kratos murmured, staring at her. Her face was one big bruise. Her forehead was cut, she had two black eyes, and her lip was busted. Blood was dribbling down her chin and there was a deep, bleeding cut on each of her cheeks.

He touched her face and she winced. "Anna...what happened?"

"I-Im sorry, Kratos. I...they were being absolutely horrible to me after you left. And I-I told them that they wouldn't be able to hurt me for much longer. And they just laughed at me, and I...I..."

"Told them about me." he finished for her. She nodded. "Anna, I told you not to do that!"

"I know!" she said, now crying. "I know what you said, but it slipped because I was thinking about you! So then they threw me in here and left. Then they...they came back and Kvar was with them. He asked me if what I said was true, and I knew I would get beaten for telling lies if I said no, so I said yes.

But instead of being mad, he looked like he thought it was funny. And he asked me if I really thought that you were going to play hero and come and rescue me. And I said yes. Then he punched me in the chest and I fell. And he knelt beside me and said 'Kratos Aurion doesn't give a damn about you. You're just a filthy, miserable human to him.'

So he got up, and started to leave, but I had gotten my breath back and I told him that wasn't true. And he turned around and then laughed and kicked me hard. 'Tell me,' he said, 'does Hero Kratos think that you're pretty?'

And I knew I shouldn't have said it, I knew it was stupid, but I was hurt and I was mad so I said yes. And he...he laughed some more and then the two Desians came in and they...they pulled me off the ground and held me still, and Kvar just...just started b-beating me, my face. He called me a nasty little liar. And he said...he said 'Even if your hero thought you were pretty, he certainly won't after I'm through with you.' And he just kept hitting me and then he took that whip, and hit both sides of my face. And then they just dropped me and left me on the floor."

Kratos walked closer to her but she quickly moved away. "And he was right. You...you don't think I'm p-pretty anymore. You couldn't," she sobbed, looking away from him.

"Nonsense," said Kratos firmly. "Complete nonsense. Kvar was manipulating your emotions, Anna, don't you see?"

"So you don't think...you don't think I'm completely hideous then?"

"Of course not! You're beautiful. Don't worry about those cuts and bruises. I'll take care of them later, okay?"

"K-Kratos I-"

"But right now there's no time to talk. We have to get out of here. Is there a...er...back entrance or something?"

"No, I don't think so," she said.

"I was afraid of that," he sighed. "Here, come on. We'll have to...disguise you if we have to go through the front door. Just stay behind me."

They walked back along the deserted hallway and then through the halls lined with caged humans.

Anna looked at them with sadness and pity all over her face. "Kratos," she said, "can't we...?"

"There's nothing to be done about them. I haven't got the key to their cells and even if I did, they'd be killed if they couldn't escape."

She nodded sadly and stepped behind Kratos again.

Finally, they came upon the girl Desian who had given Kratos the key. "What is A012 doing out of her cell? She cried.

"I'm taking her to Kvar. I just came to give you the key...oh no, I must have left it in the cell."

"Oh," the Desian said. "I can get it."

"No," said Kratos, "Let me, I left it there."

"Oh but..."

"Well, would you like to come with me?" said Kratos in what he hoped was a flirtatious voice, holding out his arm.

The Desian woman giggled and took it. Anna made a jealous sounding noise behind them, but Kratos gave her a warning look over his shoulder and she followed them down the hall with her arms crossed.

When they got back to Anna's cell, the Desian foolishly walked inside. "I don't see the-" She stopped short as the door shut behind her. "Hey! What're you doing?"

"Don't speak," growled Kratos, placing a hand on his sword. "I'm taking her out of this hell hole and if you know what's good for you, you'll do as I say."

The Desian gulped and nodded.

"Good girl," said Kratos. "Now, when I turn around. Take those clothes off and give them to Anna. She'll give you her dress. Understand?"

"Yes."

He turned his back on the girls, and heard zippers unzipping and cloth moving around. Finally he heard a clunk as the Desian pushed her helmet through the bars.

"How do I look?" said Anna's voice, now muffled because she was speaking through the visor on her helmet.

"You look fine."

"Meh," she said, observing herself, "I don't like it. It barely covers my b...er...uh...let's go!" She made a little noise of embarrassment and brushed past him.

Smiling, he began to follow her.

"Wait!" the Desian, now just a pink-haired half-elf, cried from behind them. "You aren't just going to leave me in here are you, Lord Kratos?"

Anna and Kratos turned. "I'm sure someone will come looking for you," said Anna coldly. "And if not, you can suffer like I have for the past seven years." Then she turned away and began walking. Kratos hurried to catch up with her.

"You know," he said to her quietly, "This is much easier than I thought it would be."

"I'm grateful for that."

They emerged into the entrance hall to find it completely desserted.

"Are you ready to get out of here, Anna?"

"More than you could possibly know."

Together they walked through the open door and into the warm night air.

"Now wait just a minute. Where do you think you're going?"

Kratos spun around and drew his sword. Anna inched behind him because she had no weapon to defend herself with.

"I-I need her I.D." said the gaurd, who had become about three shades whiter at the sight of Kratos' blade. "And...uh...I'm r-required to ask her where she is going at this...er...hour."

Anna reached into the only pocket in the tight uniform and drew out a small metal card.

"Ah #7903, you shouldn't be out at all. You're supposed to be on patrol!"

"I-I-uh..." stuttered Anna.

Kratos stepped forward. He hoped three things. One, that he was a good actor. Two, that he wouldn't blush when he was talking. And three, that Anna wouldn't laugh at him later. "Listen," he said, walking close to the Desian. "The lady and I have some...business...that we need to take care of, if you get my drift."

The boy, probably no older than fifteen, looked completely lost. So Kratos was forced to continue. "We...er...have something that we need to do in...er..." he made a little coughing noise. "private, if you catch my meaning."

The boy looked like he was deep in thought for a minute and then his eyes widened. "Ohhh..." he said. "I get it."

"I knew you'd catch on," said Kratos with a wide, fake smile. "So anyway, if you could just make sure that no one disturbs us," he pushed a small bag of Gald into the boy's palm, "We would be most grateful," he finished with a wink.

"Oh yes, sir, of course!" said the young Desian , pocketing the Gald. "I haven't seen either of you, then?"

"Why, no, you haven't," said Kratos. He turned and escorted Anna, who was shaking with silent laughter, into the forest.

They soon met up with Noishe, who was greeted with a gasp from Anna. "What is that thing?!" she said pointing to him as she pulled #7903's helmet off of her head..

"Well," said Kratos. "We...er...think he's a dog right now."

"That is NOT a dog!"

"No. He isn't. He's a protozoan, a creature that changes shape. We, uh, think he's a dog...thing...at the moment."

He climbed on Noishe's furry back and extended a hand to Anna. She hesitated. "Come on," Kratos said. "We have to hurry. Don't be afraid of Noishe. He's big, but quite harmless, I assure you."

She carefully climbed onto Noishe's back with help from Kratos, where she then almost fell right back off. "Whoa!" she shouted, flinging her arms around Kratos' waist to steady herself. "I-I've never ridden something this big before."

"What do you mean? Haven't you ever ridden a h--" he stopped short, remembering that horses had been extinct in Sylvarant for nearly 3,000 years. "Er...I mean, you'll get used to it.

Hours passed and they were well out of reach of the Desians...for the moment.

"So," said Anna, "How long do you think it will be until they come after us?"

"Well," he said, "I imagine they are already looking for you. Probably me too, for that matter. But we have a good head start and they don't know where we're going."

"Where are we going?"

"The biggest city in Sylvarant."

"Palmacosta? Really? I've always wanted to go there!"

"It has plenty of people. So if we dress plainly, we should fit in. We have to meet someone before doing anything else, however. We're already running late..." he told her, looking at the moon which had almost disappeared from view.

"Meeting someone? Who?" said Anna sleepily, leaning her head against Kratos' back. He felt her flinch as her swollen face touched him.

"An old friend," He said simply, not knowing if Yuan wanted anyone to know his name.

"That...sounds...nice..." she said quietly. Her hold on his waist became very loose and he knew she had fallen asleep.

It was mid-day before Palmacosta appeared on the horizon. Anna was still sleeping, lightly snoring every now and then.

"Almost there, Noishe," he whispered to his pet, who was now panting heavily. "I'm sorry we couldn't stop."

As they reached the city gates, Kratos slowed Noishe to a stop. He carefully climbed off, holding Anna up so she wouldn't fall and injure her face worse than it already was.

"Anna," he whispered, shaking her gently. "Anna, wake up."

She lifted her head, blinking sleepily. She yawned and then jumped in pain. "Ohh...my face!"

Her face was so swollen now that her eyes were almost shut. Blood had dried here and there. It was also covered in horrible purple and yellow bruises, which had worsened overnight.

"Try not to open your mouth much. I'll take care of you as soon as we find who we're looking for. Here..." he said, giving her his hand and helping her off of Noishe.

"This uniform is so tight..." she mumbled, straightening the top, which was showing an uncomfortable amount of her chest. "How do they wear them?"

"Shh..." he said. A man passed them, glaring at Anna. "This city is openly hostile to Desians. The sooner you can take that outfit off, the better."

They searched high and low for Yuan, but couldn't find him. Then, just as Kratos had a horrible thought that Yuan might've changed his mind, he heard his name called from a shadowy corner.

Yuan was huddled there, with a cloak completely hiding his face from view. "Kratos!" he hissed, pulling off the cloak. "What is this woman doing with you?"

"She's...I'll explain later. We need to get her somewhere private so I can take care of her face. And you were supposed to be in the shopping district, remember?"

"There were too many people," said Yuan uncomfortably. "What happened to her?" he added, looking with pity at Anna.

"I'll tell you when we get a room!" said Kratos impatiently, pointing to the inn across the street.

Scowling, Yuan led the way into the inn, only to be met by an elderly, extremely rude innkeeper who refused to serve them.

"She," he said, pointing to Anna, "Is a Desian. We don't serve Desians!"

"She's not-" started Kratos, but the man cut him off.

"Don't lie to me, boy. That girl is a dirty, filthy, half-elf Desian! Scum!" he spat.

Yuan growled at the last part. "Listen old man!" he yelled, "We're paying customers! You're more senile than you look if you don't serve people who're waving bags of Gald in front of you!"

"Silence!" barked the innkeeper, "I don't need to listen to you either, boy! You're a half-elf too! We do not serve disgusting half-breed scum, do you understand?"

"I understand perfectly," said Yuan through clenched teeth. "I also understand that I could torch this place with one little sp-"

"Yuan..." said Kratos warningly. "Don't. We will take our business elsewhere."

"Damn straight." growled the man as the group walked out the door.

They began walking towards the shopping district, as Yuan cursed under his breath.

"Wait," said a voice behind them, "Wait, please."

They turned and saw an old woman walking towards them.

"What do you want?" Yuan said irritably.

"I-If you need a place to stay," she said, "My house is large and there's a shop downstairs if you need supplies."

"Well, we'll be fine on our-" Yuan began, but Kratos interrupted him.

"We'll accept your hospitality, Ma'am," said Kratos as Yuan glared at him.

"Please," said the old lady with a smile, "Call me Marble."

A/N: Forgive me for including Marble, if you don't like it. I just think she's so sweet and I feel bad for having to kill her every time I play ToS, so I had to put her into my story.