Disclaimer: Namco owns Tales of Symphonia, not me. Hopefully someday I shall buy Namco…
…
The firelight flickered across the sands, throwing a small circle of light on the ground. The orange glow bathed the still figures wrapped in blankets in a comforting aura of warmth in the freezing desert night; however, for the two men still awake, it only cast harsh shadows across their unlined faces, falsely aging them in a way their infinite years had not.
"Well, Yuan?" The other members of their group having been asleep for hours, Kratos had no fear of being overheard.
Yuan heaved a sigh, blue hair, dyed ginger by the fire, falling in front of his eyes. "I'm sure you've put it all together by now, Kratos. Why even ask me to explain?" He was met with a glare in response. "Yes, it was me." He sighed again. "It was me the entire time. I started it all."
"Why?" It wasn't even a whisper, it was hardly more than a breath, but it was more than enough for Yuan's ears in the silent night.
"Why, Kratos? The question should be, why not sooner? What haven't we done over the years that needs righting?" He chuckled bitterly. "I did what I had to do, Kratos. I couldn't just stand by and watch the world—worlds— go to hell."
Kratos gazed into the flames as he answered. "Everything we've worked for, Yuan. You're simply throwing it away without a backward glance?"
"Backward glances are what this is all about. I want to be able to look back without being ashamed of what I see. What we were doing, what Mithos is doing, is wrong. I'm trying to destroy the monster I helped create." Kratos opened his mouth to reply, but Yuan cut him off. "Mithos' plan is not going to work, Kratos. It took me a long time to realize that. We can't just cling to it. It's not the only option."
For a few minutes, the only sound was the crackling of the fire. Yuan stared at its blue heart as Kratos beside him gazed up at the stars. Somehow, even though he should have been tense, he wasn't. Nothing was going to happen tonight. Through the shared connection born of centuries of companionship, the two understood that whatever confrontation, whatever conflict, may occur, it wouldn't break the stillness of this night.
Without looking away from the sky, Kratos murmured, "She's your fiancée, Yuan. You're going to give up on her?"
"Martel died a long time ago. She wouldn't want us to bring her back. She wouldn't want…" Yuan gestured to the dying world around them, "this."
"What else are we supposed to do? This Chosen can resurrect her; the mana signature is almost a perfect match. Once Martel is revived, Mithos will stop the cycle."
"And start the Age of Lifeless Beings. Is that really what you want, Kratos? This inane system has already done enough damage. What about Anna? Do you want more victims like her?"
Kratos visibly tensed, his hand gripping the hilt of his sword. "I—" He stopped himself, and after a moment, his voice tightly controlled, whispered, "The sooner we revive Martel, the sooner this all stops."
"That's what Mithos told you, isn't it? To make you come back?"
The two men's gazes met briefly, shock in one, something like pity in the other. After a long moment, Kratos sighed, head hung, eyes closed. "What else can we do, Yuan?"
"We can try to fix this."
"There's no way." Kratos shook his head. "We've gone too far to turn back."
"There's always time to turn back," Yuan murmured.
After a few moments' silence, Kratos looked back up at the stars. "All this time… almost two centuries since we first heard of the Renegades, and how long before that… Why did you never tell me?"
"Just to have you run to Mithos?" Yuan scoffed at Kratos' attempted protest. "We both know it would have happened."
"You're telling me now, are you not?"
"Yes, because I have to, Kratos, not because I trust you. We've known each other too long, too well, for real trust. My question now is, what will you do now that you know?"
Kratos' wine-red eyes hardened. "This Regeneration must succeed, Yuan."
"Only because you refuse to see any other option." Before Kratos could reply, Yuan cut him off. "You want to tell Mithos, don't you?"
"I don't see a reason not to."
"Try looking right over there." Yuan jerked his head towards one of the bundles near the fire; a bit of brown hair was visible between the blankets. "Lloyd is untrained, clumsy. It would be so easy for him to meet an untimely demise."
"You wouldn't," Kratos hissed.
"I don't want to, but we both know I would. Or I could tell Mithos the boy's still alive. Or maybe, I could let slip to him exactly what happened to his parents…"
"You know you have me in a damn corner, Yuan, just tell me exactly what you want."
"We both conveniently forget what happened today and go on with our own plans. I protect your secret, you keep mine. Once we get to Triet, I can disappear and you all can go on your way."
Kratos took a few minutes of silence to think; eventually he nodded his head. "I suppose there's nothing I can do to stop you."
Their conversation over, nothing more to discuss, Yuan looked at the sky, examined the position of the stars, judged the amount of light. Only a few more hours until dawn. Dawn, when they would continue to Triet and he could make his escape.
The two men wordlessly watched the desert, listened to the night. Neither of them noticed that one of their silent companions was not asleep; they didn't see the crimson eyes facing away from the firelight, the small smile twisting their listener's lips.
…
Lloyd grinned as the city came into view. Even though it was early, the desert had already heated up into an inferno, and he was sick and tired of walking. They had picked up camp at dawn, eager to get to Triet and an inn: they needed to rest and reorganize before finding the Seal of Fire.
It felt good to be walking alongside Noishe, talking to his friends. It felt a little bit like home, which was something they all craved. Well, it wasn't exactly like home; they had a few additions.
Skah walked a little to the side of everyone else, occasionally joining in the conversation. He had introduced himself the day before, and while the adults didn't seem to trust him, the guy fit in pretty well with him, Genis, and Colette.
Yuan trailed behind the group by Kratos. The two had explained that they had traveled together when they were younger. Apparently, he had snuck into the Desian base on his own, trying to disable it, or so he said. Lloyd wasn't so sure; he had seemed pretty confident when they first ran into him, which seemed strange for someone trying not to be noticed. And he knew who Lloyd was, although that could be explained by those demented wanted posters the Desians had put up. Still, the man acted really strange…
Speaking of strange, the closer they got to the town's gates, the more the Professor was acting weird. There was this gleam in her eyes that kind of scared him.
When they finally made it into the small city, she turned around to face her students and in a frighteningly familiar voice stated, "Just because we've left Iselia, I don't want you to think you don't need to study. I expect you all to use this journey as a learning experience, and we shall start here." She turned to her brother and ordered him to start listing the ways that Triet's culture differed from Iselia's.
"Oh no, she's gone into her teacher mode!" Lloyd backed up a few steps, quickly evaluating his escape routes. Seeing Genis as already lost—most of the Professor's attention was focused on him as he answered her questions—he grabbed Skah's arm and hissed, "Colette, c'mon!" He darted off down a street to the left, dragging the startled swordsman with him. Colette giggled and skipped after them, pleased with a continuation of the familiar pastime. She loved it when they hid from the Professor. Noishe whined piteously as he watched his master abandon him.
Lloyd dragged a surprised Skah down the streets, Colette following close behind, completely unfazed by the quick turns, dodges, and changes in direction; the two had practiced such maneuvers countless times in Iselia. After the initial rush of escaping the tortures of Raine's lecture, the trio slowed down and began to admire the foreign city. The dirt roads twisted and twined between rows of stalls; accented voices called out, advertising their wares. A couple minutes in, Lloyd found himself totally lost. Not that he minded; actually, the Professor would have realized by now that he was gone, and the longer he could escape her wrath, the better.
"So what's up with the crazy hag anyway?" Skah asked as he and Lloyd examined a set of throwing knives, Colette in the next booth looking at jewelry.
"The Professor's not a hag!"
"Ah, but you don't deny she's crazy."
Lloyd laughed. "Only when she's teaching."
Colette appeared behind them. "I like Professor Raine's lectures! They're fun!"
"Then why did you come with us?"
"Because now they all have to find us! It's like hide-and-go-seek!"
Skah looked at the girl incredulously. "Maybe that Raine chick's not the only crazy one in this group."
Browsing the shops quickly lost its appeal when they realized they had no gald on them, but the narrow, twisting alleys of Triet beckoned. They had been exploring for a while when Lloyd first felt it, that inescapable fear of being followed. Then he heard it, the soft scraping of boots on sand. Lloyd slowed his steps, and after a second Skah and Colette followed suit; the footsteps grew slower, halted for a moment. He sped up again, and he heard the steps behind him start again.
Lloyd could feel his heart beat a little faster; his pulse began to pound in his head. He heard in his head something Kratos had said about thieves and bandits hiding in Triet. This was idiotic, they were just asking to be attacked: wandering around in an unfamiliar city, not caring about how much noise they made. He figured normally he could handle a bandit or two on his own, and he had Skah to help, but they didn't know the terrain, and the constricted alleyway offered little room to move.
He turned a sharp hairpin corner, glancing back the way they had come, and felt relief wash through him as he glimpsed a small swish of something purple…
"Hey guys," he whispered so softly that they could barely hear him, "we've got company. C'mon." He quickened his step, dragging his companions deeper into the coiling network of paths.
…
Kratos sighed softly; his charge and her cohorts had been wandering aimlessly for almost an hour now, and showed no signs of stopping. He supposed it could have been worse: trailing these children was infinitely better than listening to that woman prattle on in her lesson. He wouldn't be at all surprised if they returned without her noticing their absence.
Still, he had to admit he was a little unsettled by the location chosen for the trio's misadventures. This side of Triet held many dangers for the innocent. However, those weren't the only things that worried him. Skah, the blond man whom Lloyd had met in the Renegade base, was unpredictable and set all of Kratos' nerves on edge. He had no idea where the man had come from or what his motives were, and he would gladly leave him here to rot when they moved on; however, the Chosen, backed by Lloyd and Genis, wanted him to remain, and somehow Raine and himself had been over-ruled.
"Hold on a sec,you're theChosen?" the man gaped, crimson eyes wide and orange scarf blowing in the wind.
"Yeah, I am." Colette blushed.
"So this is the Regeneration group…" Skah muttered. After thinking a moment, a grin grew on his face, a grin that to Kratos seemed sly, conniving. "You've got to need some protection, right? Mind if I come along for the ride?"
Lloyd and Colette exclaimed in joy, encouraging their new friend's idea. Kratos exchanged a concerned glance with Raine; for once, they were in agreement. Skah could not be trusted.
"This is an extremely dangerous mission," the woman stated. "Why do you want to come?"
"I like to travel. Trust me, I can handle this." He stretched, cat-like, seemingly careless but subtly aware of his surroundings.
Despite Kratos' and Raine's arguments, the younger group won out. They had gained a new companion.
He quickened his pace slightly to keep up with his charge. The group was now running, they seemed to be racing in the cramped space. They darted around a corner and out of his sight for a moment, their laughter and taunts drifting behind them.
He rounded the same corner moments later and found himself faced with a fork; up ahead, three paths deviated from the one he trod. He hesitated slightly, unsure of which option to follow. A second later, a faint girlish laugh led him down the alley to the right.
He now heard nothing; the friendly banter had suddenly ceased. His pace quickened. There was a corner ahead of him, only one route they could have taken. Fingers brushing the hilt of his sword, he rounded the corner to see—
A dead end. He stopped in his tracks, eyes flickering around, searching the space for any way they could have gotten through.
"Back here."
He spun to see Lloyd standing in the center of the path behind him. Colette hung on his left arm, and Skah leaned casually against the wall to his right. Together, they completely blocked the slender alley.
How had they managed it? It was near impossible to sneak up on him, yet he hadn't heard them at all. It seemed Lloyd was cleverer than he had originally believed.
"Why were you following us, Kratos?"
"My job is to protect the Chosen, Lloyd. I was merely earning my pay."
"I can keep Colette safe. Go back and find Yuan or something, I don't really care, just leave us alone."
Kratos' eyes narrowed. "I'm afraid I cannot do that."
"Sorry, Kratos, but boring adults aren't allowed here."
Colette turned to Lloyd. "Oh, we should let him come along if he wants to, Lloyd. He can explore with us!"
"I agree with Lloyd." Skah rolled his shoulders. "This guy would kill the fun."
"But Lloyd…" Colette pleaded. "It's not fair to leave him alone. Let him come!"
Lloyd seemed to think the matter over for a moment, then sighed. "Fine, whatever." He turned around and started walking away. "Come if you want to. We should probably find our way out of here anyway."
"I know the way back to the square," Kratos stated, keeping pace with the boy and his friends. "I can lead you out from here."
"No." The reply came from Skah.
"And why not?"
It was the Chosen who answered him. "Because that would ruin the fun!"
This was going to be a long journey.
…
About an hour beforehand, a silver-haired woman in the town square nodded as her younger brother answered another of her questions. "Genis, you're absolutely correct. Now, Lloyd, can you tell me…" Raine trailed off as she turned to face a student that wasn't there. Glancing around, she noticed Colette, Skah, and Kratos had disappeared as well.
"Where did they go?" she demanded of the two that remained. Genis looked sheepish, and Yuan froze in the process of sneaking away. "Well?" She stared at her brother, who was engrossed in petting Noishe. It seemed he was reluctant to get his friends into trouble. She turned her glare to the blue-haired man.
"Lloyd grabbed the blondes and ran off about five minutes ago, Kratos followed them. Now if you'll excuse me, I have other business to attend to."
He started towards one of the paths leading deeper into the city. Raine snatched his arm.
"Let go of me."
"You are staying with us until we find Kratos and those absurd children."
"Excuse me? You can't keep me here—"
"Oh yes I can. Kratos is your friend, is he not? You're going to help me track them down."
"So you're punishing me for himleaving?"
"Exactly." Raine pulled on his arm, told Genis to follow them, and stalked into the city, dragging the two frightened males with her. Noishe trotted after them, a mocking grin on his canine face.
…
They had eventually found their way out of the maze of alleyways and back into the heart of the city. Lloyd glanced longingly at some swords on display in a weapons booth, was about to tell the others to stop for a minute when he heard one of the scariest things in all of Sylvarant: "Lloyd Irving, where have you been?"
"Oh shit, we're screwed." Lloyd muttered, eyes widening in fear as he saw his teacher storming towards him, Genis and Yuan in tow.
"Looks like they found us!" Colette chirped happily, unaware of the danger in front of them. "Hi Professor!"
"Lloyd, do you have anyidea how idiotic it was to just run off like that in a foreign city? And you dragged Colette along too. That was completelyirresponsible."
While the elven woman's rant continued, Yuan scowled at Kratos. "Thanks to you, that madwoman dragged mearound this whole time!" he hissed. "But if you don't mind, I'm heading out now."
"Yuan, I think we need to talk about this."
"No, Kratos, there's nothing you can do to change my mind. Don't even bother. I'll see you around." Yuan turned and strode away, leaving the Regeneration group behind.
Meanwhile, the Professor hadn't finished. "Honestly, I expected better from you. Just wandering off without any adult supervision—"
"We had adult supervision!" Lloyd protested, pointing at Skah.
"Hehardly counts, Lloyd. He's obviously just as rash as you are! And you!" She rounded on Kratos. "You just followed them without a word! Didn't try to stop them, didn't say anything about it, what in the world were you thinking?"
"I was hired to protect the Chosen, Ms. Sage; I was merely doing my job. I believe myself capable of guarding her without your help. Besides, I didn't want to interrupt your lecture," Kratos replied coolly.
Skah rolled his eyes at Raine's fury. "Holy shit, woman, calm down."
The Professor raised a hand to smack him. Lloyd winced in sympathy pain; he knew too well what that hit would feel like. However, it never hit its mark. Skah caught her hand in midair, crimson eyes narrowed in anger. "Don't touch me," he snarled, throwing her hand down. The Professor's ocean-blue eyes were wide as she watched the man depart. Lloyd saw her rubbing her wrist.
"What the…" Lloyd muttered to himself; he hadn't seen Skah act that way before. It looked like he had really hurt Raine's wrist…
"Professor, I'm really sorry," Colette murmured, head down. "We didn't mean to make you angry, we just wanted to explore the city. I'm sorry."
The elf turned back to her student, much gentler than before. "Colette, I was only angry because I was worried. Next time you want to explore, tell me. It's just not safe to go without telling anyone."
"I'm sorry."
"As for you, Lloyd," the Professor glared at him, "the next time you skip one of my lectures, I'm feeding you tomatoes for a week." Lloyd paled; tomatoes were bad enough without hercooking them. "Let's go to the inn."
"Professor, can I stay and look at the swords? I'll be there in a bit."
His teacher frowned, and Lloyd could see the "no" coming.
"I'll watch the boy, take the Chosen to the inn," Kratos offered. Lloyd stared at the man; he hadn't thought the mercenary would help him out.
Raine sighed, still unhappy with the arrangements, but when she could find nothing but Kratos to be displeased with, she agreed. "Fine, just don't take too long." Raine steered Colette and Genis back towards the square.
"Thanks, Kratos," Lloyd said grudgingly.
"Don't mention it." The mercenary's eyes were not on Lloyd, but were following the churning crowds.
Lloyd ran to see the blades on display, asking the shopkeeper about the quality of the different weapons.
"I almost have enough for these!" Lloyd moaned, examining a set of twin swords. He'd give anything for real weapons, but even if he had his money on him, he'd be a hundred gald short.
Kratos brushed past him and paid the shopkeeper the specified amount. "You're going to pay me back," he stated as Lloyd stared in awe at the man.
"Kratos, you are the coolest person ever," he said as he held the blades that were now his. His dislike of the man was swiftly disintegrating.
"Come on, Lloyd, we'd best head to the inn. We don't want to keep that teacher of yours waiting."
…
After Lloyd entered the inn, Kratos ducked into the shadows beside the building. Certain no one was near, he pulled out a small device. Activating the communicator, he waited for an answering signal.
It soon came. "Kratos, what's going on?"
"We've run into some difficulty with the Renegades, My Lord."
"Those bastards again?" The childish voice on the other end huffed in frustration. "Can you handle it yourself?"
"Most likely, but I don't want to take any chances with the Chosen's safety."
"You're right. Yuan's supposed to be in the area, I'll send him to help you."
"Thank you, My Lord."
Kratos smiled to himself as the connection was severed. He had received the reply he had hoped for.
…
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