Mr.Who2123: Well, here I am again, making a more…not so belated update. I own nothing related to Tales of Symphonia or any video game for that matter.
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A warm, spring night fell on Sylverant. The full moon pierced the haziness of the fog that dared to creep into the world, revealing a mysteriously beautiful night. Stars blinked at the wonderful sight, almost as if in awe of it. The trees were as dark as the black waters of Lake Umacy, camouflaging with each other into blackness. The leaves rustled lightly with the small breeze that flew by. White reflections in the lake were oppositely colored to the black all around it, dancing brightly in the moving waters. Almost every night was like this, and a resident in this lake area never got tired of the view.
Anna sighed softly, her eyes staring dreamily out as her thoughts trailed off in a flash. Colorful thoughts of dancing, swimming, and eating in the lake filled her mind as it passed over reality and into Anna's imagination. Her hands supported her chin as she sat at her wooden desk, but they began to slip as she dozed off. Anna snored, but immediately woke up after the noise she made.
I should get into bed…it looks like I'm tired enough, she thought, standing up carefully. A groan came from the young woman, who looked down to see that she was hungry. Placing her food needs before sleep, Anna tip toed carefully out the door and into the kitchen. Her bare feet made no noise, moving expertly on the wood floors. She had become a specialist in making no noise, as she knew her husband could wake very easily. Now next to the fridge, Anna opened it carefully and looked in side of it. All assortments of comfort food were stacked inside of it, all of it looking delectable to the pregnant woman. Picking out a plate of cookies, baked only earlier this evening, Anna held it with one hand while she carefully closed the door with her other.
After setting the yummy dessert down, Anna stuffed two cookies down her mouth at one time, chomping quietly, but ravenously. The young woman sighed in savory satisfaction as she swayed side to side in enjoyment. The chocolaty goodness was almost too good for her tastes, and the wonderful dessert seemed to explode inside her mouth. The chewing slowed down, and Anna finally swallowed the cookies. Of course, if you are a normal person, you just don't settle for two cookies…you eat at least three or four until you're satisfied. And that's what Anna did, except…each time she gulfed down a cookie, her eating had become more ravenous and her chewing louder.
After about six cookies, the light was finally turned on, and the young woman froze. An unkempt and tired Kratos was at the door, staring at a frozen Anna, who had a cookie in her hand that was about to deposit it into her mouth. Different shades of brown covered her lips, making her capture even more humorous. The comment made at her caught her even more off guard.
"The sound of your chewing woke me up from my sleep…," he said. Anna meekly smiled and tossed the last cookie inside her mouth before grabbing the plate once more. Now it only had two or three cookies left when she had made a dozen of them, showing her obvious "craving." Placing it once more in the fridge, she shook off the many crumbs on her night clothes with a couple quick swipes of her hands, and wiped her mouth with the back of her palm.
"Sorry, honey," she finally answered, moving to the bedroom with a tired, yet satisfied spirit. Kratos merely grumbled and followed.
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"Please tell me why you took me again," Kratos grumbled, but the cause wasn't because he was sleepy, but because Anna was taking him to Luin for a reason he found pointless.
"You need to know how to shop so you can get cute clothes for our child when I have him or her," she replied, giving him a 'just be quiet now, because I'm going to win either way' look. Kratos grumbled inaudibly once again, looking away from his wife. The two were now at the large entry bridge into the town, and they remembered the first time they met.
"Remember when I met you at the Tower of Mana, and you practically hated me?" Anna asked, grinning humorously at the memory. Despite his sour mood, Kratos managed a smile in his remembrance as well. His eyes looked back and forth at the many stores in the street, each seeming the same to the Seraph. Anna turned very carefully around to each store, her eyes shining with excitement.
Anna was now seven months into pregnancy, and now her slightly noticeable lump had become swollen to a huge extent. Of course, she fussed over it every day, but Kratos made sure to not look at her stomach, but her face, as not to make they young woman self conscious. And after Anna had become much more hormonal, Kratos made sure to say "You look wonderful" each and every day, as much as he thought it unnecessary.
"That store! It has infant stuff! Come on, Kratos!" she exclaimed, grabbing his hand and walking quickly to the store. Kratos grumbled again, mixed with a sigh. Anna thrust the door open with incredible strength, dragging her husband behind her, and walked inside. There weren't many people in the store, but it was a very nice and organized store anyways. The pregnant woman let go of Kratos' hand, and the Seraph noticed red marks where Anna's hand just was.
'Sometimes I wonder if agreeing to this "child" thing was even a good idea,' Kratos wondered, rubbing his sore wrist tenderly as his wife beckoned him to the infant section. Slowly, he complied, and was quickly drowned in a million and one questions from his wife.
"What color should we get? Should it be yellow, green, blue, or red? Do you think we'll have a boy or girl? Look at that outfit, it has ruffles! What about that one? I think we'll have a boy, so should I choose a dark blue one? But what if we have a girl, so should we get a pink one? How about the light green one? It's genderless! Do you like it? What color do you like?" was her barrage. Poor Kratos covered his ears from the degree of noise she made and the excessive speed of her voice.
"I…like…red," he muttered back, pointing to the bright red one piece for infants. Anna glanced back at him with a strange look.
"That's ugly. I like this red one! It has ruffles!" she replied. That was too much. The Seraph said he had to go to the restroom, and quietly slipped away to the aisle on the other side of the store. He fell back against the shelf and slowly slid down until he was sitting. His gloved hand clutched his throbbing head as he heard his wife's comments repeating inside his head.
'Please, make these two months go by quickly so I can be rid of this crazy Anna,' he pleaded with himself. He waited for a couple more minutes, until his hurting head died down and his strength and tolerance grew once more. Standing, Kratos walked slowly to his wife, who was still browsing over the sections with huge intensity.
"Hi, Kratos. I like these three," she said. 'To the point as always,' Kratos smirked as he looked at the clothes. There was one outfit with red and blue stripes, another one that was simply white wool, and the last one was a bright green soft material.
"Uh, I like all of them," he replied, remembering his wife's situation. "How about this one as well?" Kratos asked, grabbing one he particularly liked. It was bright red and had white dots all over it. To him, it looked just as good as the ones Anna held, if not better.
"Kratos…," Anna said slowly, grabbing the outfit carefully. Kratos was prepared for a lecture on clothes picking. "I cannot believe you picked out something as cute as this! Good job! I knew you had some fashion sense in you!" The Seraph smiled despite himself and placed a hand on his face, shaking his auburn head.
"Uh, thank you, Anna. I'm glad you like it," he merely replied with a smile still on his face. He wasn't smiling because he enjoyed the praise, but because of the surprise Anna held when he picked out the outfit. It was a priceless face, filled with confusion and awe, as if he'd done the impossible. It was only a minute later when Anna had grabbed Kratos' wrist again, and dragged him out of the store (of course after paying for the outfits) and made her way to another store only across the street. Poor Kratos had to endure four different stores, and then he had to go to an Italian Restaurant which served mainly spaghetti. He managed to keep his food in his stomach, but the smell and memory of the taste were almost too much for him.
'Please let these two months go by quickly,' Kratos pleaded again, his head raised to the ceiling, as if he were looking for a God to come down and help him.
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The couple was now home after a very long day at Luin, and the Seraph plopped on the couch like a dead man when he finally reached it. His wife, completely opposite, nearly skipped inside, closed the door, and hummed while she locked it. Placing her three bags carefully by the sofa, she hummed as she made her way to the kitchen where she could cook dinner.
The Seraph pushed his upper half up to a sitting position so he could see his wife bustling about.
"Anna, are you sure you want to cook this late into your pregnancy?" Kratos asked, still watching her.
"Kratos, if I can shop, I can cook," she replied, and Kratos shut his mouth. 'I need to leave her alone,' he decided, and slowly got up from the couch, acting as though he'd make Anna angry if he made too much noise.
"Anna, I'm going to read," he said softly, giving her a hug and a kiss on her cheek before leaving nervously. Now in the quiet respites of his room, Kratos grabbed a book on Dwarven Technology and Craftsmanship, and began leafing through it, hoping to find something on it about a location of where Dwarves could be. Anything would be good for him. His fingers flipped through page after page, his sharp, trained eyes searching for clues with speed only mustered by thousands of years of reading.
He came upon a picture of a normal Dwarven home, and the Seraph scrutinized the picture. He looked for clues on the location of the place, trying to discern any landmarks or similar areas that he knew of. The only thing is that Kratos had looked in this book countless times, and each time, he failed at trying to figure it out. That day was no exception, and he reluctantly closed the book, staring into the large gold letters on the front cover.
A loud clang of metal made Kratos stand up and run out of the room in lightning speed. Upon entering the kitchen, he saw Anna standing over the stove. There was something wrong though. Her arms were limp, and the half cooked fish in the pan was on the floor, spilled all across the wood. Her face was covered in perspiration, and her eyes were glazed, but held pain in them. Kratos saw the Cruxis Crystal on her chest glowing brightly as it took another step in its parasitism process. With a scream, Anna lost balance, and fell, her strength too little to even let her stand up.
Kratos caught Anna in a flash, his own mind buzzing with worry. He clutched her sweaty hands with his gloved ones, and he gently let her weight onto his chest. Stroking her face with his free hand, Kratos began saying words of comfort with a calm serenity.
"It hurts, Kratos," Anna whispered, her face now mixed with tears of sadness.
"I know, Anna. Just go to sleep. It's alright, I'm here," he kept saying. The young woman complied without another thought, and fell into a fitful sleep in his arms. The Seraph's face immediately became one of deep worry when his wife was finally asleep. After a moment, he picked up his wife in a way where he wouldn't disturb the baby, and walked her into the bedroom.
'I'd assume she only has three years at the most. Please, help me find a Dwarf,' he pleaded with himself. Gently, Kratos laid his wife on the bed and pulled the sheets over her. Now that the flash of pain had gone, Anna was serene once more, her sweaty face now calming down into dryness once more. Kratos silently walked out of the room as not to disturb her, and grabbed another book on Dwarves. He then began searching harder in the books he had already read, even though he knew he wouldn't find anything. However, he carried, refusing to give up.
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Now in Asgard, Sanaro and Yuan were putting posters all over the city with great haste. It was easily three 'o clock in the morning, and the two knew that early work began at around four. If they were to put them up and leave before that time, they would have to hurry. Asgard was the second largest city in Sylverant, and covered many miles.
"Grab that glue. We're done with this section," Yuan said, pointing to the can next to Sanaro. The warrior complied, grabbing it and walking after the Seraph with haste. Now two thirds of the way done, Yuan and Sanaro made their way to the last section of town. Each grabbed a pile of posters and a sticky paint brush. In lightning speed, they plastered glue on the wall, and stuck the poster on. And then they moved to the next building with the same matchless speed.
By the time four 'o clock came, there was no sign that either Seraph was even there, except for the many mysterious posters all over the city. Many of the people would crowd around one nearby and read it:
Humans and Half-Elves of Asgard:
Please understand that it will be a long time until the next Chosen of Regeneration is born. But our organization is here to end the Desians without help of the Chosen that has a high chance of failing. Anyone that would like revenge upon Desians, please meet at the House of Salvation east of here today, and discover your true potential as a being on this world. Together, we can overthrow the Desians at their roots and end the pain that they have wrought upon our world.
In this organization, humans and half-elves shall work together to create a more peaceful world without Desians. Thank you.
Renegade Leader, Yuan
The people talked in hushed voices about this mysterious Yuan and the Renegades. Many of the people decided to go just to see if this was a prank or not. Some others believed in the poster, and had already begun packing for the journey. Most of the women started to gossip on the poster, saying that it was a group of Desians who placed the posters on the buildings, but no one really believed them. Why would Desians come all the way down here to lure a bunch of humans and Half-elves to a House of Salvation? It was unsupported and had no evidence. The people who wanted to join this organization could only believe in Yuan and the poster he had set across the city.
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Sanaro sat on a wooden bench adjacent to the House of Salvation. It was a nice spring morning, and the warrior sighed peacefully. Yuan moved next to his friend and sat next to him, enjoying the lovely day as well.
"Do you think many people will come?" Sanaro asked, looking to Yuan. The Seraph merely shrugged, who pointed his head in the direction of Asgard.
"We'll just have to wait and see," he replied, watching the west carefully. It was a grass hill, which moved so high that it blocked the view of the city which was only about 20 miles from the House. If one stood on that hill, however, they could see Asgard clearly, and sometimes even pinpoint an ant-sized person in a carriage coming in or out of the city. After a couple of nervous, Sanaro couldn't take anymore, and left the bench.
He walked up the hill quickly and without hesitation. When at the peak, he sat down and watched the small city far away. A couple more nervous minutes passed, and Yuan finally left the bench as well. However, he did not follow Sanaro's doing, but began pacing back and forth. His eyes watched the moving floor change colors with each step; from grass to dirt, and then from dirt back to grass.
What seemed hours later, Sanaro stood up. Yuan watched his friend turn to him with a grin on his face.
"Probably one hundred people coming, Yuan!" he exclaimed. Yuan ran for the top of the hill to his friend, and looked over the green hill. With his heightened sight, her could see a mass of people come towards the House with haste. Most of the people wore giant packs, looking determined to join the Renegades. Yuan felt a grin come across his face quickly, and folded his arms.
"Get the Renegades and bring them to the clearing. I'll prepare to talk to them," he said. Yuan walked quickly away to the east for the small forest, but Sanaro stayed put like he was asked. In an hour, the humans and half-elves made it to the top of the hill where Sanaro was.
"Is everyone here for the Renegades?" Sanaro asked, looking among the many mixed faces. There was a unanimous nod, and Sanaro nodded back. "Well then, please no questions until we reach our destination." The people, complying with the strange warrior, followed him to the eastern clearing, which took no more than thirty minutes. The former spy felt his heart pounding despite himself as he walked.
'Let's hope that everyone joins. If they do, then we'll have three hundred, and we can start our plans as a rebellion group,' he thought to himself, glancing back briefly. The many humans and Half-elves behind him would soon be the forces that help bring the worlds back together.
Yuan clasped his hands together when he saw his friend with the hundreds of recruits came inside the clearing. Thankfully, the clearing was large enough for the many people to fit and have room to make themselves comfortable as well. Yuan cleared his throat, putting his fist to his mouth before looking at the strewn about people. Sanaro walked next to Yuan, giving him a solemn, but hopeful nod. Yuan put his hands back together, nerves coming together. He was never good at speeches; Martel would make most of them during the Ancient War, and when she couldn't Kratos would step into place. Yuan was always too shy.
"Welcome, humans and half-elves. My name is Yuan, and I am the one that put the posters on the buildings along with Sanaro. We have come to gather people to move against the Desians. But…before we can start, I have to tell you something…," he looked at the attentive faces all around him. Yuan anxiously put his hands down, but folded them after a moment of feeling uncomfortable. His dark eyes looked about the people once more before looking down at his boots. Sanaro began to wonder if Yuan was okay, but those doubts vanished when Yuan finally did continue.
"The heavenly order known as Cruxis actually controls Desians and wreak havoc upon the world for their own reasons. Now, you may think me stupid or crazy and choose not to believe me. However, if you do choose not to, then you may leave now," he stopped. Yuan looked about the masses of people, waiting for people to leave. There was a strained, shocked silence, but there was no movement whatsoever. Everyone looked about themselves, waiting for someone to leave, but none did. Only after a full five minutes did Yuan clear his throat once more.
"Well then…everyone, welcome to the Renegades."
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Mr.Who2123: Nice and long for your enjoyment. Please review!