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: Ok, this episode has been brought special thanks for Silver and White Angels suggestion emphasized. Thank you very much!
Genis: You're thanking her for helping you make us suffer.

Lea: -thinks for a second- Yeah. Pretty much!

Genis: You're an insane, video game obsessed freak!

Lea: Thank you! And why you're here, please do the disclaimer.

Genis: -sigh- Lea dose not own Tales of Symphonia but she dose own Lyn.

Lea: Thank you! Now on with the plot!

The group had just made it to Hima at about dusk. All of them were happy to see Lyn waiting for them by the inn, already with reservations for everyone. Lyn was surprised to see Collette not talking, when everyone figured out what happened. Lyn comforted her and made light of the situation. Lloyd was surprised about how small Hima was. Kratos disappeared while the group had dinner at the inn's café. Sheena took the opportunity of him being gone and stood up.

"Guys, I have something to say." She said.

"Finally!" Raine said, then realized everyone in the café was staring at them.

"Well, maybe here's not the best place." Lloyd said. The group agreed after looking at their surroundings. They went to Collette's room and gathered around. Kratos came in at the tail end.

"Kratos, where have you been?" Lloyd asked.

"I was running an errand. Don't worry about it." He sighed.

Lyn and Kratos were sitting on opposite sides of the room, giving each other odd glares back and forth. Sheena finally sighed.

"I'm not from Sylverant." Sheena said. Nearly everyone jumped in shock. "Wait, let me explain. I'm from Tethe'alla."

"The moon?" Genis asked flatly.

"No, I'm not from the moon." Sheena sighed. "Just let me explain. There is another world that is parallel to Sylverant called Tethe'alla. The two worlds can't see each other because they're on shifted dimensions, but they still affect each other."

"And how dose this relate to Collette?" Genis snapped. Raine slapped him.

"Because of mana. As you know, mana is the source of everything. Without it, plants won't grow and magic becomes unusable. It's more important then water." Sheena sighed.

"Ok. What's you're point?" Genis asked again.

"I'm getting there!" Sheena snapped. "Ok. To put it simply… The two worlds are parallel, so look at it like an hourglass with mana as the sand. The mana is always flowing from one world to the other, meaning one is always flourishing, the other decaying. There is only one way to flip that hourglass of mana, and that is by breaking the seals in the regeneration ritual. I was sent to kill the chosen and stop Tethe'alla from falling into decay."

"So you came here to prevent the mana flow to our world to save Tethe'alla?" Lloyd asked. "Meaning you were going to insure our suffering as well."

"Weather you knew it or not, we are both doing the same thing. Your insuring the destruction of Tethe'alla. I don't want to abandon my world, but this world is suffering. I don't know what to do." Sheena sighed.

"Well, we should save Sylverant from its current crisis. After that, we can search for a solution. I'm sure it would take years before Tethe'alla shows signs of decay." Kratos suggested.

"We can't leave the world how it is. Now knowing, we can't just start telling everyone either. We should stay as a group and find out how to save the two worlds instead of this." Lyn said. Everyone agreed. "Ok, now with that setteled," Lyn started, "I suggest that if we are going to fix the worlds, we ought to get to know each other better. And besides, I think we should relieve some of the pressure off of Sheena. Don't you agree?" Lyn asked.

"Fair enough." Lloyd said. Collette grabbed Lloyd's hand.

"Let's play truth or dare." Collette wrote and Lloyd spoke for her.

"That's a good idea!" Genis said getting excited.

"Well, since Sheena confessed, she can go first." Lyn smiled.

"Ok, I pick Raine." Sheena smiled. "Truth or dare."

"Is this for the whole 'I don't trust you' thing?" Raine asked.

"Yes." Replied Sheena

"Why me?... Alright. I'll do… truth." Raine sighed.

"Ok… what to ask… Are you in love with someone? If so, who." Sheena asked. Raine flushed red.

"Ok, I used to have a major crush on Kratos, especially when he took off his shirt, but when I met Yuan… I can't stop thinking about Yuan. Ug! It's too much!" Raine yelled as red as a cherry. Everyone stared at Raine, and Kratos started to get a little uncomfortable.

"Ok, Lloyd, truth or dare." Raine asked.

"Dare!" Lloyd replied.

"Ok. I dare you to open the window and scream 'I'm an idiot and I still suck my thumb' at the top of your lungs." Raine said.

"You know about that!" Lloyd yelled embarrised.

"Yes. You can't hide anything from your Professor." Raine laughed. Lloyd shrugged and yelled the phrase. After that, he picked Genis.

"Ok, truth or dare Genis?" He asked.

"Dare." Genis replied.

"Alright. I dare you to stick ice down your pants." Lloyd smiled. Sheena and Lyn ran out the room and returned with a bucket of ice. Genis reluctantly poured all of the ice down his pants. He jumped all around the room, embarrassed. Everyone laughed, except Kratos. Genis then picked Lyn.

"Truth or dare, Lyn."

"Truth" Lyn replied.

"Ok… What features do you look for in a man? Physically." Genis asked with a large grin.

"What… features… Aren't you a little young to be worrying what girls think about men?... Well, I like hair and eyes. Broad shoulders are nice to. Slim, slightly muscular, taller then me, and a deep voice, but not to deep. Just enough to get lost in it." Lyn said. All of the girls sighed dreamily at the thought. The boys started to get uncomfortable, especially poor Kratos.

"Alright, Kratos. Your turn! Truth or dare?" Lyn asked, returning to the game. Kratos looked at her for a moment and thought. I don't like the look on her face.

"… dare." He said. Everyone was hoping he would pick truth, but changed their minds at Lyn's response.

"Well, I kinda guessed you would. Your too quiet," She winked, "so… I dare you to drink a bottle of sake!" Lyn smiled triumphantly. Everyone looked at her confused. "Oh yeah. Sake is a strong alcoholic beverage. Sheena said she carries it around to help clean wounds, but I don't think she's touched it yet." Lyn grinned. Sheena looked at her like she was crazy and reluctantly pulled out the Sake. Lyn smiled and tossed it to him.

"Well, Kratos, bottoms up." She smiled. Kratos grabbed it and examined it. He recalled Yuan and Mithos getting drunk before, but he had never touched the stuff.

"It can't be that bad, can it?" He asked himself aloud. Then he took off the cork and chugged the whole thing down.

"Oh my God!" Raine said in shock.

"This ought to be good." Genis smiled. Kratos covered him mouth and burped, embarrassed. Then he started feeling a bit awkward. He started to feel dizzy, but really happy at the same time. He got up and started walking around for no reason, laughing.

"Ok, maybe a whole bottle wasn't a good idea." Sheena muttered.

"Yeah, I think you're right." Lyn said sweating. Kratos was spinning in circles. Suddenly, he lost his balance and Lyn jumped out to catch him. Unfortunately, she lost her balance as she fell, and he fell right on top of her. She jumped up, red and his face started turning red.

"You're very pretty Miss flower." He said, hiccupping. Everyone started laughing. "Do you smell good, Misses flower. I don't like tomatoes. They're so mean to me." He said, hiccupping again. "I like stars. They remind me of sparkles. Do you like cake?" He asked, and then grabbed Collette's hand with his eyes widening.

"Why did daddy slap my hand when I call you mommy? Everyone else calls their mothers, mom. Why do I have to merry a stranger? Why do I have to wear these clothes and learn etiquette? Why so you lock me inside the gates? Why can't I be a warrior? Please don't let dad hit me again. I'm sorry I ran away from the palace. I just want to make my own decisions. I want to play with other people, not use them like daddy said. What are friends mommy, and why did daddy say I won't aloud to have them." Kratos asked. Collette looked at him sadly.

"Why do you always look at me like that, mom? Why don't you say anything? Please say something. Do you like cookies? Can I have another drink?" He asked, hiccupping with his face turning red.

"Wow. He acts like a little kid when he's drunk." Sheena said shocked.

"That only makes me wonder about his childhood. Collette seems to resemble his mom. His dad seems to have been hard on him."

"It all seems like blabber to me, except that he thinks Collette's his mom. Maybe I could be the dad!" Lloyd smiled.

"Hm… early betrothal, etiquette, running away from a palace? He must have been an aristocrat or a wealthy merchant's son." Raine sighed.

"Yeah…" Lyn muttered, remembering him when he was younger.

"Really?" Lloyd asked, "Well, it dose make sense. Hm… I wonder if we could get him to talk."

"Talk? About his past? You do know he lived in Luin, right?" Lyn asked. Everyone stared at her. Kratos was falling asleep and Lyn walked over to him and said. "During my stay at Luin, I met up with a friend who knew him. I had no idea he did, so I found out the story." She sighed, thinking about Yuan. "You probably don't want to hear it."

"Yes we do!" Raine yelled. The others agreed. Lyn sighed.

"Ok then. No happy stories, it's the flat truth… You see, he was an aristocrat, and his father was cruel. As you could tell, his mother was kind and beautiful, but she was afraid of her husband and never spoke up for him. His parents didn't know how to raise a child, so they locked him in his room. When he got older, he became rebellious and snuck out all the time.

He learned from traveling gypsies and anyone who would teach him anything. He also gained many friends, mostly half-elves who lived in the slums because they couldn't get jobs. His father found out about it, and…" She sighed and took a deep breath, "Years later, they could no longer take the kings cruelty, and they were killed in front of him. The only reason Kratos was aloud to live was because the one who led the revolt was one of his teachers, and had mercy on him.

Kratos lost everything except a sword and dagger. He had to live off the road, doing odd jobs for whoever would hire the son of that cruel man. When he got good enough, he tried to join the guard. They threw him out when they found out. The only people who accepted him were the half-elves in the slums, but even then, he was blamed for his friends' deaths. After that, things only get worse. I'll stop there. I don't have the heart to go on…" Lyn sighed. "Just act like I didn't tell you, ok?" The group nodded and headed for bed.

Lyn closed the door and sighed. Kratos was asleep on the floor with his face flushed. Lyn was thinking of how embarrassed he would be when he woke up. She sighed and attempted to put him in his bed, but he woke up sober

"Where, am I?" he asked. Lyn dropped him in shock. "Anna?" He asked, standing up.

"No, Mira." She replied, starting to get nervous.

"Mira? That's a pretty name." He smiled and kissed her forehead, then covered his mouth and burped. Lyn started to turn red. "You know that I like my hair? The color reminds me of roses and romance. It's so beautiful." He smiled, sitting on his bed Indian style and swaying his body back and forth.

"How old are you?" Lyn asked.

"18. He smiled.

"No, you're 28."

"If I am 28, would you kiss me?" he asked. Lyn pushed a pressure point in his neck, knocking him out.

"Wow… note to self, never get Kratos drunk… ever again." She sighed. She put him in his bed, but didn't realize how tired she was… She fell asleep hugging him.

Before dawn, Kratos woke up remembering everything. He was in complete shock for a few moments. Then he saw Lyn who had fallen asleep helping him, but he was still mad that she exposed his life story. Well, at least it is better then having Lloyd make me expose myself. I am never doing that again. He thought. He got up and grabbed his small bag of things. He opened it up and found the Book of Mana.

I should give it to her, but then again… she doesn't understand. After Martel is revived, Mithos will bind the two worlds once again. If I give it to her now, she will destroy all of Cruxis's efforts and nothing will be resolved… I'll have to wait then. He sighed, walking out the door to see Collette.

"Are you certain you want to do this?" Kratos asked. Collette nodded yes. Kratos then saw a red rose in a vase next to his door. He pulled it out and placed it next to Lyn's sleeping body. He kissed Lyn's cheek and walked out the door with Collette. Collette just smiled.

"I reserved a dragon yesterday while I was gone from dinner. We should make it to the tower by sunrise." Kratos explained. The two went to the top of Hima and waited for the dragon master to arrive.

-------------------------------

"What the!" Lyn jumped in slight shock. She saw the red rose and picked it up. The bottom of the rose was still wet from the water. "No!" She yelled, running out of the inn, but Kratos was nowhere to be seen. "Dammit! He already ahead of me." She ran back in and changed into the clothes she got when she changed into Mira at Asgard. She grabbed her packed bag, and ran out again and nearly tripped.

"Are they gone?" Yuan asked in a renegade uniform, except the helmet. An army of renegades surrounded him.

"Kratos is, and I'm sure he has Collette." Lyn replied. "The rose he left me was still wet, so he can't be far. The mana would have woken me up if he flew, so they must be going by foot." They then saw a dragon taking off of Hima. "Oh no! No way!"

"Renegades. Wake up the Chosen's party. Lyn, follow Kratos. I'll handle things from here." Yuan said, putting his helmet on. Lyn nodded and ran up to the top of Hima. She glared at the Tower of Salvation and sighed. "This is it… the turning point of the journey. Lloyd, Raine, Genis, Collette, and you to Kratos… What will you do?…" She sighed, pulling out her rainbow wings ((similar to Mithos's wings in the game.)) And started flying towards the Tower.

Lea: Ha ha! Cliffhanger. It just means that you have to review! Yes, the inspiration for this chapter was suggested, meaning that I do take suggestions.

Kratos: You can say that again. Anyway, please review.

Lea: And also pray that I get a new computer. My mom is yelling at me to get off hers. Anyway, please review! I love to hear your super awesome ideas!