Lyn: Ok, I'd like to thank Vampwriter, Silver and White Angels, Shadow Zeranion, Twlight Angels, Riku Uchiha, and Elonie Kyle for reviewing! We love reviews.
Lea: You know, I was looking up the new Tales of Symphonia, and it makes me angry.
Lloyd: Why? What's so bad?
Lea: You're a bad guy. On top of that, Kratos doesn't come back cause he's the narrator, and the only good thing is that it is being released in America.
Lloyd: You mean you're going to play it?
Lea: Damn right! There's still a chance the Japanese will get it right in the end! Now you, -points to a random person- do the disclaimer before I throw a rabid shark at you!
Random Person: Ack! Ok, Lea doesn't own Tales of Symphonia, just Lyn.
Lea: Ok, now lets get the show going before I get more angry!
Lyn automatically took charge and started organizing things. Kratos was helping with lifting wood or clearing out broken down houses. With his angel powers, they were done by 6 in the afternoon. Everyone was surprised by his strength, even Lyn. It didn't take it long for Lyn to get things organized either, but making a city plan was different story. She had to put buildings construction time in sequence, place them in certain places, and even blueprints for several important buildings. Unfortunately, she had few helpers, but she finished with the master plan soon after Kratos finished.
"How is the plan going?" Kratos asked her.
"Frustrating, but it's pretty much finished. And you?" She asked back.
"We have 9 small houses up and all destroyed buildings cleared out. Temporary tents are also set up for shelter. There is even a whole district that hasn't been destroyed, surprisingly. It's going better then I expected."
"That's good. What now?" She asked.
"Woodwork and more construction." He replied. "It's getting late and our job is done for now. Shall we head back?" He asked. Before Lyn could answer, a man came by with two bowls of chowder for the two of us. We thanked them, but turned the offer down. We looked at each other and sighed. Kratos walked off to grab his swallow top, and Lyn gave the papers to the mayor and briefly explained them. Unfortunately, someone slipped by Lyn who she didn't expect. Kratos was walking back, but stopped when a google eyed woman stopped in front of him.
Kratos saw the brown curled woman who was about Lyns age and wearing fancy bright green and blue clothes with a ruffled parasol and bright red lipstick. He just ignored her and walked on towards Lyn. In desperation, the woman grabbed on to his arm. He looked at her with his evil glare like she was crazy.
"Who are you?" She blushed, letting go. Kratos looked at her. He noticed that she was wearing way to much make up that looked horrible. She had bright green eyes and her hair was burnt in three places. Nothing she wore matched either. He almost would laugh if that look she gave him wouldn't remind him so much of Pronyma.
"I'm a mercenary. I currently have a job to do. Excuse me." He said, irritated. He then slipped on his cloak. Unfortunately, she didn't give up.
"So are you a prince in disguise or an angel sent to save me?" She called to him. He didn't look at her, but replied flatly.
"No." He kept walking. She stopped and yelled at him.
"Want to go out for dinner? Please stop! I think I'm in love with you!!" She yelled. Kratos took a deep breath and thought. Oh dear God in heaven, please no! Kratos walked up to Lyn and the girl was still stalking him.
"Hay Kratos. Ready to go?" Lyn asked with a slight smile.
"Yeah. Some weird girl was following me around. She hasn't stopped stalking me for a while." Kratos sighed irritated.
"Wait. This girl."
"Brown burnt hair, lots of makeup, fancy dress that doesn't match her complexion."
"Ellen." Lyn said and slightly jumped. Lyn then spotted her, trying to hide behind a building. "Yeah. That's her." Lyn sighed. "Dang. That means we can't head back to the orphanage until she's off our tail." Kratos just looked at Lyn with that same vacant expression. "Kratos. I hope you don't mind. I have an idea, but…" Lyn held up the finger with the ring and moved the ring to the 'important' finger. "It will only be temporary, but I think it will work."
"Ok. I catch you're drift." He slightly smirked. That expression made Lyn start to worry. Kratos offered his hand and Lyn took it. She turned a little red. Kratos led the two of them towards the exit of the city. Most who happened to see the ring or even just the two of us gave an approving now, which made Lyn blush more. They were almost out of the city when all of the sudden, Ellen jumped in front of Kratos.
"I knew you would return to me!" Ellen yelled, jumping on him, almost knocking him to the ground.
"What the!" Kratos said from slight shock that a girl would even do that. Wow. She must be really desperate. Lyn thought with sweat running down her face.
"Who are you?" Lyn said like she didn't know what was going on.
"None of you're business!" She snapped.
"Ellen?" Lyn asked. Ellen got off of him, finally, and walked over to Lyn. She squinted at her face and gave her a dirty look.
"Lyn! What have you been doing? You owe me money!" She yelled.
"I don't owe you anything, thank you very much, so you can stop lying to yourself" Lyn said irritated.
"Oh yeah? You may think you look all that great with you're new clothes and braided hair, but I'm still going to live the good life while you suffer! Boys are going to be crawling to me and no one will even look at you!" She laughed. Lyn just looked at her with a confused glance. "Hey! Don't give me that look! I'm in love. I hope he likes me!" She said, clasping her arms together and making a goggled eyed expression.
"You mean… you like Kratos?" Lyn asked.
"Is that his name? It matches his masculine body and beautiful face perfectly. He's too good to be true."
"He's my companion. He's been teaching me how to be a mercenary for about a month and a half now. Right now we're in the middle of a job." Lyn smiled.
"WHAT!!!" She yelled.
"Yeah. We're like the perfect pair. He even gave me this." Lyn said, showing her the exosphere necklace. "Well, I hope you find you're perfect man. We're heading off!"
"No way! Well, he must only think of you as a companion. There is no way a tom boy girl like you could even catch his heart. You aren't even wearing a dress!" Ellen said in shock.
"Raine doesn't wear dresses, and Collette wears them only half of the time. They get in the way when fighting monsters."
"You? Fight? Ha! You can't protect me, let alone kill a rabbit! And besides, I bet I could catch his eye and make him merry me." She smirked.
"Well, I'm heading off. Good luck." Lyn sighed, walking off and walking towards Kratos. Ellen, furious, picked up a rock and threw it at her. Lyn dodged it, but slipped on another rock. Quickly and gracefully, Kratos swept Lyn off of her feet and asked.
"You should be more careful. It would be bad if you twisted you're ankle." Kratos said. Lyn sighed.
"You're right. I'm sorry." Lyn smiled, looking at him. Kratos kissed her forehead and headed out, carrying her. Ellen was devastated.
"Wow. That was mean, but kind of fun." Lyn admitted.
"Really?" Kratos asked.
"Yeah." Lyn smiled.
"Well, either way we should head out to the next seal."
"Oh, really? I probably shouldn't go." Lyn sighed.
"I think everyone would want you to." Kratos replied.
"Do you?" She asked plainly.
"I want you to come as a group member, but I don't want to defile Mithos's orders." Kratos said.
"Well, knowing Collette is being reconstructed and morphing into a living empty vessel, you should be gone 3 days, right?"
"The seal is actually about an hour away from here, the Mana Tower. We'd go and return her for the night. After that, we'd head for Hima, which is a day away if you take the main road if you travel for the whole 12 hours."
"I see. I will head to Hima and wait for the group there."
"What are you planning?" Kratos asked, dropping her. Lyn looked at him slightly irritated, rubbing her butt where she landed, then standing up and dusting off the back of her tunic. She sighed and put her ring back on her pointer finger.
"Ok, ok, I don't want to repeat the accident between us at the inn in Luin. I'm going to check some things out. Besides, you don't have to worry. Even if I flew like you could, I couldn't get very far. And I can't fly. I'll even leave you with a letter if anyone thinks you just got rid of me." Lyn explained. Kratos looked at her like he didn't buy a word. Lyn folded her arms and looked back at him. She finally sighed, and started heading back.
Kratos followed suit, thinking I know you to well Mira. What are you trying to pull? I know you are heading into the Tower of Salvation. What are you hiding up you're sleeve.
"Kratos. Will we be enemies in there?" Lyn asked.
"I'm afraid so." Kratos said.
"And they don't know. We will fight. Well, lets just make a fighting truce. No hacking of limbs, no holding back, no killing each other. Deal?" Lyn asked, holding her handing out.
"Will you not waver? You know what will happen."
"I know... It's for everyone's sake. Look, I already know who will win and all. Just don't kill me when I'm knocked out." Lyn sighed. Kratos extended his hand and grasped hers.
"Well then, if you're mind is made up then, I will not stand down. Let it be a fair battle, and let's hope for the best, along with the coming journey."
"Yeah. But Kratos, I have one more thing." Lyn smirked.
"What's that?" He asked. Lyn walked up close to him and grabbed his cheeks.
"Smile! You look cuter that way. It's no fun when you're so serious all the time." Lyn smiled. Kratos sighed and looked back at her. He put his hand over his face, and then removed it to reveal the same big goofy smile Lloyd always had on. Lyn almost burst out laughing from the shock of it. For one, he looked identical to Lloyd, and another, she never though she'd see the day where she would see him smile, but for the most part, he looked goofy smiling! It wasn't at all like the emotionless glare he always gave.
Finally, she couldn't take it anymore, and she started giggling. Kratos dropped his smile and returned to his emotionless self and walked passed her. Lyn just followed. The two went into the forest meadow. Lyn fell asleep in a bed of flowers while Kratos leaned against a tree and watched the stars.
The next morning, the two returned to the orphanage and snuck out all of their things. The two went to Luin and Kratos left. Lyn watched him leave. Saddness entered her soul, but she knew what she must do. She went to the already built part of Luin and walked into one of the back allies, facing a nobleman with blue hair.
----------------------------
"Wow. That was short!" Lloyd smiled, walking back into the city.
"Yeah. It was kinda fun! Hay, I wonder if Lyn's still here." Sheena smiled with her hands behind her head.
"Yeah. It seems like the two did a great job!" Collette smiled. Suddnely, Noishe started to bark.
"Huh? What is it Noishe?" Lloyd asked. Noishe started tugging at Lloyd's shirt and whine. Then Noishe ran off. Lloyd followed after him. Collette and Sheena, not knowing what to do, waited for him. Noishe finally stopped. Lloyd started to scold him, until he heard a man's voice from in the nearby ally.
"Mira. Are you sure you want to do this. After all." Yuan started.
"I know. Look. I already sent Kratos with the message that I'll meet them at Hima. Chances are that he's going to pull something to avoid conflict, especially with Lloyd and me." Lyn sighed.
"Lloyd?" Yuan asked. "Oh yeah. Him. That's right. If the renegade plan fails, we have no choice but to…"
"Remember, I'm no renegade. I'm the mana goddess, and I care dearly for everyone in this group. I can't afford to let Yggdrassial win, but I do not support you're idea of using Lloyd to accomplish that goal. That's playing dirty." Lyn said flatly
"I understand. But we should hurry. We don't have much time as it is." Yuan reminded her.
"Yes, lets go." Lyn agreed. Yuan teleported the two to the renegade base. Lloyd didn't understand what was going on, but he was shocked by the fact that they were talking about him.
"What makes me important? If the plan backfires? Lyn's the mana goddess, not Martel? What's going on? I don't understand." He sighed and headed back on Noishe. He was slightly depressed, until Noishe burst out in full speed. Lloyd quickly forgot his sadness and held on, laughing as the wind pushed back his hair. He caught up to Collette and Sheena who were waiting for him. Collette jumped up when she caught sight of him.
"Lloyd!" She yelled. Lloyd laughed and waved. Noishe then slowed down and walked up to her.
"What was wrong?" Sheena asked a little curious.
"Nothing much. I met up with Mira. She said she wasn't going to this next seal but she'll meet us at Hima." Lloyd said.
"Really. That's to bad." Collette sighed.
"Yeah. Why isn't she coming?" Sheena asked.
"She just said she had things she needed to take care of. Then she left." Lloyd sighed.
"Well maybe she needed to stay behind and watch those orphans." Collette suggested.
"Yeah with that dirty slut around, that orphanage needs all the help they can get." Sheena sighed. Lloyd and Collette looked at Sheena surprised. "Wait, you've never met Ellen, have you? That's probably a good thing."
"We've heard about her, but we've never met her." Lloyd replied.
"What's she like?" Collette asked.
"She's worse then Zelos." She sighed.
"Who's Zelos?" Lloyd asked.
"Wait, you don't know him either. Sorry! Well, basically, she's boy obsessive and hates all girls. When I first saw her, I was helping out one of the kids. A priest came over to talk to me, and she grabbed the poor kid and called me a slut. She wore pink with green and orange and had bright red lipstick on. Then a man happened to be walking by, so she dropped the kid and was stalking him for a half an hour. I mean, she's insane. I don't like talking bad about people, but that's the plain simple truth."
"Wow. I can't even picture someone like that." Lloyd flatly said. "It seems too weird."
"Trust me, when you see her, you know it's her." Sheena sighed.
"Yeah, well, we better be heading off for the next seal. I think Kratos left already." Lloyd smiled.
"Yeah. I honestly don't want to get him angry." Sheena sighed.
"Why not?" Collette answered.
"Well, remember Ossa Trail, when he sent me flying. Well, it wasn't exactly a good experience. That's not exactly normal, either."
"You've gotta point." Lloyd sighed. "He scares me to. I wonder how he gets the energy. He doesn't eat and he hardly sleeps."
"That can't be true!" Collette protested.
"You don't eat or sleep either. Don't think I haven't noticed it." Lloyd told her.
"What about at the orphanage?" Collette asked.
"Well, our food was drugged." Sheena sighed.
"Drugged?" Lloyd snapped.
"Yeah. I don't know why, but after I ate it, I started feeling odd. I managed to take the antidote, but the drugs were so strong that it hardly worked. And what's even odder is the fact that neither Kratos nor Lyn were affected. I woke up and saw the two of them wide awake." Sheena admitted.
"Why didn't you say anything before?" Lloyd asked.
"I thought that you wouldn't believe me. I had my doubts about the two, but I never thought you would."
"I see." Lloyd replied. The threesome then headed off to the next seal, talking about the journey and filling Sheena in on everything that happened.
Lloyd, Sheena, and Collette were the last to arrive. Raine was talking to Kratos about Mira, while Genis sat there, listening to the two babble.
"What do you mean she's not coming! Nothing happened last time!" Raine snapped.
"Look. It was her choice. I didn't force her to go to Hima and wait for us." Kratos replied calmly.
"Hello Professer, Hello Kratos san!" Lloyd called to them.
"Lloyd, Lyn…" Raine started.
"I know. She isn't coming. She said she had something she needed to do." Lloyd said.
"You didn't stop her?" Raine asked.
"No. Why are you getting so worked up?" Lloyd asked.
"Well, I wanted to ask her about the unicorn horn. On top of that, she knows several ancient languages. I was hoping she could help me study the ruins!" Raine said bright eyed. Everyone else sighed.
"Raine in Ruin Mania Mode again…" Genis sighed. Raine slapped him.
"Well, it's gotten pretty dark. Lets set up camp and head in tomorrow." Lloyd said.
"I concur." Kratos said. Hours later, it was completely dark, except for the fire. Kratos was gathering wood and was just returning. Genis was cooking and Lloyd was thinking hard. The three girls were talking about the journey. Finally, the food was ready and Lloyd took action.
"Hay Kratos, you've been working pretty hard. Why don't you rest and eat. I'll be the night watch." Lloyd smiled.
"Lloyd, don't worry about it, it's my job." Kratos sighed, knowing where this was going and trying to think of a way out of it.
"We know, but you're going to burn yourself out again. We don't want you collapsing in the middle of a fight. On top of that, I want you to feel appreciated for what you're doing." Lloyd smiled.
"I'm fine." Kratos said, staring calmly at him.
"You sure?" Lloyd asked.
"Positive." Kratos replied, starting to head off.
"Wait. You don't have to go now. You just got wood! At least rest a little bit and eat."
"If you insist." He sighed, and sat against a rock. Lloyd got the two a bowl of the stew Genis made and handed one to Kratos. Kratos just put his hand over his nose and set it aside, looking a little sick.
"What's wrong Kratos? Genis made it, not the professor." Lloyd said, taking a bite. Then Lloyd spit it right out. "Bleh! Genis, what did you put in here?" Lloyd said, embarrised and sick.
"Tomatoes." Kratos told him. "I can't take one bite without getting sick." He sighed.
"No wonder. I can't eat them either. They're disgusting." Lloyd said.
"I'm sorry Lloyd. I didn't know you hated them. I'll make you two something else."
"Sorry, but no thank you. I've lost my appetite." Kratos sighed, getting up.
"Wait! Don't go yet! I mean, we don't usually get to all sit together and talk!" Lloyd smiled.
"Yeah! It's really nice!" Collette smiled. Kratos sighed and sat back down. The rest of the evening was uneventful. Everyone fell asleep an hour later, except Kratos. The next morning, the group went inside the seal. After going through the trials and Collette collapsing again, the group set up a bed for Collette to sleep on just outside. Oddly enough, Collette didn't say a word. She just nodded and fell asleep. Lloyd kept an eye on her while the rest of the group was researching the books. When the sun was starting to set, Kratos walked outside to see Lloyd with five books in his arms. He set them down besides Lloyd and Lloyd looked at him confused.
"What's this?" Lloyd asked.
"The small one is religious doctrine, the two in the middle are books on advanced swordsmanship, and this thick red one is a book filled with old folklore. The last one is Raine's though. It's a book on healing techniques." Kratos told him.
"Cool!" Lloyd smiled, picking up the book on old folklore. He opened it to the first page, where he saw the title. Under it, he saw words written in the angelic language that were hard to read. Lloyd could barely make out the last name, "Aurion." Lloyd was a little taken back, but said nothing. He picked up the next book, and the next. All of them had the name "Aurion." In it, but the first words were in the angelic language, and he still couldn't make out the first name. Finally he picked up the last book, besides the healing book, and barely made out the first two letters, "Kr…"
"No way!" Lloyd said. He looked up to see Kratos gone. "He couldn't have… could he?" Lloyd sighed. He put the swordsmanship books back to the side and picked up the book on folklore and started reading. Surprisingly, he was halfway through with the thick book when everyone finally came back, except Kratos. Lloyd skipped dinner, and read the whole thing by about midnight. He sighed and put it to the side, but for some reason, he couldn't sleep. He decided to eat instead, but when he went through the leftover food, he didn't feel hungry at all.
"That's weird." Lloyd sighed. He went back to his spot and laid down. He sat there for an half an hour, but still couldn't sleep. He then couldn't take it and took the slim book on religious text. He went through that and one of the books on swordsmanship by dawn, and started reading the last one. They were all written beautifully and they fascinated him. Even the drawings were clear and well done. Everyone was up by about 9, and eating breakfast, and Kratos just came back to the camp.
"Hay Lloyd, Hungry?" Genis asked. "I'll make you a double portion because I know you didn't eat last night."
"Well, actually, I'm not hungry. Why don't you make Collette more. She didn't eat much."
"That's true." Genis sighed.
"Lloyd, did you stay up all night?" Raine asked.
"Yeah, actually. I couldn't put the books down. They were so good!" He smiled.
"Wait, Lloyd not eating or sleeping and is reading books all night. Somehow that doesn't sound right." Genis said. Raine slapped him.
"Well, did you like them?" Kratos asked.
"Yeah. I like them a lot!" Lloyd smiled.
"Good. I thought you might. But you really should eat something." Kratos said.
"I don't have an appetite." Lloyd replied. Kratos walked over and knelt down beside him and looked strait into his eyes. "Wha… What is it?" Lloyd asked.
"You stayed up all night, but you're eyes aren't red. That's weird." Kratos muttered.
"Yeah, but you're the same way." Lloyd smiled.
"Now that I think about it, you two are very similar. Same color eyes, hate tomatoes, and even look normal when you don't sleep. Are you two related or something?" Sheena asked.
"I don't think so." Lloyd said, "Up until now, I don't think I've ever seen him in my life." Kratos just stood up and said nothing.
The group then headed for Hima. Lloyd read all of the books Kratos and Raine had during the two days of traveling. He started eating less and less, and didn't sleep at all. Genis started picking on Lloyd for it, saying he was turning into Kratos. Every time, Raine would slap him for it and say how wonderful his interests in studies are. The whole time, Collette just smiled and said nothing at all. Whenever someone asked her a question, she just dozed off or nodded her head. On the last night on the way there, Lloyd ran out of books. So he stated to walk over to Kratos.
"Hay Kratos. I read them all. They had you're last name in there to." Lloyd smiled.
"Yes, but while you were reading, you missed something." Kratos said.
"Missed something?" Lloyd asked. Kratos nodded to Collette and started making hot chocolate. Lloyd waked over to Collette and smiled.
"Hi Collette! Sorry if you feel like I'm ignoring you. I won't do it anymore." Lloyd said apologetically. Collette just smiled and nodded.
"Is something wrong Collette?" Lloyd asked. Collette just smiled. "Collette?" Lloyd asked again. Collette just looked out to the sunset. Lloyd just sighed and looked back at camp to Kratos. Lloyd gave him a confused look, but Kratos motioned for him to come. Lloyd sighed and told Collette, "Hay, I'll be right back." He smiled, "So don't go anywhere." Collette smiled and nodded happily as always. Lloyd approached Kratos.
"Is she mad at me? She's not talking and she's…" Lloyd started.
"Well, you're the first to notice." Kratos sighed.
"What! You mean she can't talk? What's going on." Lloyd asked. "I know she was acting weird before, but why can't she speak?"
"This will answer you're question." Kratos said, handing him a nearly boiling cup of hot coco. Lloyd could feel the heat through his gloves! Lloyd looked at the mug, then back at Kratos. Then he walked over to Collette.
"Hay Collette, Kratos made you coffee. Here!" He smiled, handing her the cup. "It was sitting for a little bit, so he made it iced." Lloyd gave her the cup. She grabbed it by the sides and took a sip."
"Cold isn't it?" Lloyd asked. Collette nodded yes and put the cup to his hand to give it back, but it burned Lloyd's hand and he dropped it. Shocked, Collette took off the glove and his whole hand was red. "Collette, That wasn't cold. It wasn't even coffee. It was boiling hot chocolate." Collette looked at Lloyd shocked. "You can't feel or taste anything, can you. You can't speak either. I though something was wrong, but why didn't I realize it sooner! I'm so stupid!" He yelled, hitting himself. Collette just gave him a hug. "Collette, why? Why didn't you tell me?" Lloyd asked. "Is it that hard… for you to trust me?" Collette nodded no and hugged him again.
The two went back to camp, and Lloyd fell asleep on Collette's lap. Kratos then walked up and sat next to Collette.
"Collette, I know what you've been hiding. Not just what has been happening, but what will happen at the Tower of Salvation. Dose anyone else know besides us?" He asked. Collette nodded yes and pointed to Raine. "I see." Kratos said. Collette grabbed his hand and started writing.
"Can you do something for me?" Collette wrote.
"What would that be." Kratos asked her.
"I don't want Lloyd to see me die." She wrote.
"I see. Then I have a suggestion." Kratos said. Collette nodded yes. Kratos continued, "When we get to Hima, we could rent a dragon and head for the Tower of Salvation while everyone's still asleep." Collette looked at Lloyd again and nodded yes. Then she wrote on his hand again.
"Thank you. I feel awkward talking to you in private. Especially like this. I'm sorry." Collette then rolled up his hand and looked sadly at him.
"It's alright. I understand. Just remember, It's my job to be there for you. If you need anything, just give me a nudge." Kratos said, returning to his usual spot.
Kratos: So are you that mad that I'm going to leave at the end?
Lea: Yes! You're my favorite character. Do you know how angry I was when I finished the game and saw that you left? I cussed for an hour and went into depression for like a week, hoping that they would make one where you come back. Now they're making another one, but you're not coming back. AHHHHHHHHHHHHGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!! Dammit!
-We're sorry; this section has been taking out from high cussing content-
Lloyd: Wow. I never knew someone could get so mad over a video game.
Kratos: Yeah, she scares me.
Yuan: Well, please help us calm down Lea by sending us reviews.