Okay, let's get this thing rolling. Disclaimers, disclaimers… As always, this fic belongs to the Sno Phoenix Collaboration, and Namco owns Tales of Symphonia, its locations, and its beloved characters that we happen to write about. Anyone who reproduces this story or chapter (written by me, Sage) will be reported to FFN officials. Now then, enjoy reading the chapter!

Arc 1 Chapter 1: Search of the Chosen

Emptiness. Nothingness. It was a strange feeling, Lloyd figured. Or perhaps, there was no feeling at all. Just a strange disturbance that was not really there. All he knew was that it was there, all around him. He felt like he was free falling for all eternity. Everything was pitch black. He forgot if his eyes were open or not, though he figured that it did not matter, as darkness was around him regardless.

Warmth. He suddenly felt the warmth of the sun and opened his eyes. The colors were almost blinding from seeing nothing but a null void for who knows how long. After his eyes adjusted, he saw a city a little ways down the horizon. Its concrete walls surrounded the entire city. "That's… Meltokio. What am I doing here?"

'Pact-Maker… Lloyd…' Lloyd jumped at the sound of the voice, not knowing where it was coming from. 'Pact… maker… Lloyd… Listen carefully for I… have little time to explain…'

'Origin? Why do you sound so fuzzy? Can you hear me? Origin!" Lloyd shouted in his head, hoping to get a response from Origin. He stomped his foot angrily when he did not hear him again. Lloyd was confused; he was in the region just outside of Meltokio. Was that a mistake?

'Lloyd… Head to… the city… the Chosen… Go… The problem is-' Origin's voice vanished, unable to finish what he was trying to say.

'Origin! Blast it!' Lloyd thought, kicking the ground as hard as he could. He found a pebble on the ground and in a fit of annoyed rage picked it up and threw it. Then he spotted a larger boulder and decided to sit on it for a while, trying to clear his mind – something that Kratos- no, Dad told him to do whenever he was frustrated. Lloyd placed his hands onto his face, rubbing it gently. 'Come on, Lloyd. You were sent out to Meltokio, there has to be some reason for it.' he told himself, nodding his head absent-mindedly in agreement.

"Now then, what is it that I need to figure out?" Lloyd asked himself a loud. He looked over to the city, a light gasp escaping his open mouth. His eyes were widened in shock; he would have smacked himself for being so naïve. "Origin said to go to the city. Maybe I'll find some clues there." he said to himself, standing up. He nodded his head reassuringly, crossing his arms over his chest. "Right. Let's go then." he said, starting his trek to Meltokio.

Lloyd spotted the road beside him, preferring instead to walk in the grass; not only was it faster, but it was a reminder of his adventures with the others. They always walked in the grass, making sure they were close to the road in case they got lost. He wondered where they all were – he was half-expecting one of them to pop out of nowhere. "Everything looks exactly the same. Is this still my dimension, or am I really in a new one?" he asked himself, looking around and trying to spot anything out of the ordinary.

He sighed to himself when he found nothing. He eventually arrived through the gates of Meltokio, stopping in front of the guards like he always had before. He nodded his head to the guards. "Welcome to Meltokio, Sir." The guard on the left said, straightening on lance. "I hope you enjoy your stay."

"Thanks." Lloyd said, passing through the gates. "I should get a room for the night…" he decided, heading for the inn. He had no trouble finding the inn – considering that it was in the same location as it usually was – and sighed. He walked in and headed for the counter. "Are there any rooms open? If so, I would like a room please." he said, pulling some gald out of his pocket. He smiled to himself; he was so glad that when the group split off, they split all the gald they earned.

The Inn Keeper nodded her head, turning around and walking to the shelves for a key. She then returned to the counter and placed the key onto the counter, taking the gald in the process. "Please sign your name into the guest registry." she said as she placed the gald into the cash register.

Lloyd paused for a moment. First and last name, right? That was going to be a problem, he thought. He did not want to choose one over the other, yet he did not want to use both at the same time. That would be ridiculous. 'Calm down, Lloyd. It's just a name, right? Let's just see what I write down and see if I like it.' he decided, writing his name into the guest registry.

"Thank you, sir." The Inn Keeper said, pulling the guest registry from the counter and putting it underneath. "Your room is up the stairs and down the hall, Mr. Aurion. Have a pleasant stay." she said, bowing her head.

"Thank you. I'm going to go out for a bit." he said somewhat numbingly, turning around and exiting the building. So he put 'Aurion' down; so that was what it sounded like. 'I have to be careful with how I use that name though, just in case. Maybe I should switch between the two…' he thought, nodding his head silently to himself. Yeah, that would work. "At any rate, I should see if I can find Zelos anywhere." he muttered to himself, heading for the central plaza right before the stairs to the upper levels.

He looked up the stairs, seeing the top of the castle in the distance. That had not changed, it seemed. Ah well, he was not going to figure anything out standing here. He walked up the stairs, walking through the middle part of the city. Meltokio never seemed to stop ceasing his amazement; it always took quite some time to walk through the "Dividing Line" of Meltokio's social classes. Nope, everything was still the same. As he was looking around, trying to spot anything out of the ordinary, he accidentally ran into someone. He stopped suddenly. "Oh, I'm sorry! I wasn't watching-" he said, turning to face the stranger. He gasped.

"Oh, it's okay. I'm not hurt at all." the woman said, adjusting her shirt and instinctively wiping it clean. "My, those are some interesting clothes. You're not from around here, are you?" she said, running her hand through her short hair, hand touching her pristine hat.

Lloyd shook his head. "N-No, I'm just traveling around." he said, looking slightly disturbed but trying to hide it. He would have raised his eyebrow, but that would have simply given him away. It was hard, and he even found his eye twitching a bit, but he managed to suppress it. She looked exactly like…!

"Oh, I see. Well then, it's nice to meet you. I'm Seles Wilder, the Chosen of Tethe'alla. I'd love to stay and chat, but my duty calls and all. Hopefully I shall catch you at a later date. What is your name before I depart?" she asked, tilting her head in curiosity. This guy was an interesting character, with his clothes.

Lloyd faked a smile. "I'm Lloyd. Nice to meet you." he said. 'Man, this feels so awkward… Will it always be this weird?' he thought, wondering what else was different about this dimension.

"Ah, so it's Lloyd. Well then, nice to meet you. I hope we get the chance to meet again, Lloyd. Good-bye." Seles said, bowing her head slightly. She then walked past him, walking down the stairs until she reached the gates. She moved past the guards and went out of sight.

Lloyd widened his eyes in shock. "Wait, I've met Seles before, yet she didn't recognize me. This is very weird… Does that mean that my friends won't know who I am?" he gasped to himself, eyes widened in shock. "Okay, now I really have to be careful…" he shivered slightly, slightly concerned over what could happen. "Well, I guess I should get back to work then." he said, resting his hands onto his sword hilts. "Maybe I should check the castle…" he said to himself, turning around for the stone-colored building.

He ignored the stares of the upper class as he made his way to the castle. He was stopped by the guards, each crossing his lance with the other. "What is your purpose of coming to the castle?" the guard on the left said, watching Lloyd with a wary eye.

"I'd like to meet with the King-" Lloyd began, pointing to the castle when he was interrupted by the same guard.

"Do you have permission to enter the castle?"

"Well I-"

"Then I would suggest going to the Church of Martel and see the Pope and speaking with him before you come and bother with us." he said, keeping his lance in an 'X' formation with the other guard.

With a sigh, Lloyd turned around and stared at the Church of Martel. If he had to go through the Pope in order to get into the castle, so be it. But he definitely was not going to like it…