Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia. If I did, there would be more scenes of Zelos saying 'Not the face!' X3

Pre-chapter A/N: This is obviously an AU fic. In this, Kratos found Lloyd before Dirk did. It follows that he'd be raised by Kratos. Eventually, they'd HAVE to go back to Cruxis. Mithos would demand it. So this is a retelling of ToS, with Lloyd as a member of Cruxis. Let's see what happens, ne?

No matter how many times he saw it, it still creeped him out. He'd been seeing them since he was five, but he just never got used to the 'angels' around here. Lifeless beings as Yuan called them. Yuan always seemed overly critical of Mithos' plans, but he still went along with them. Kratos went along with some hesitation, but no complaint.

Lloyd sighed a bit, shaking his head as he looked around. Welgaia was a pretty cool place, he thought, but it felt so empty, silent as it was. Still, it was better than Vinheim. The silent city of angels was weird, but Mithos' castle was just plain creepy. Lloyd suppressed a shudder when he thought of the place.

It didn't help that Mithos himself was a very intimidating man, despite his bizarre clothing choice. Why anyone would wear a white, skin-tight, full body suit with a plunging neckline, he'd never understand. Then again, he thought, Kratos had strange clothes as well.

He snickered a bit as he recalled what had happened a few days ago, when his father was preparing for his mission to escort the world of Sylvarant's Chosen.

Lloyd was trying not to laugh as his father was trying, and failing, to change his clothes while maintaining some dignity. It really was just too funny. He'd never known it was this difficult for him just to change his clothes. Kratos suddenly noticed Lloyd's face, and glared. "Dammit, Lloyd! Don't just stand there, help me!"

Lloyd made a show of thinking about it. "I don't know, dad...you've managed to change your clothes before, so I don't get why it's so hard now. Besides, it's funny, watching you try so hard to get your clothes off." The look on his father's face, however, soon told him it was time to stop joking and start helping.

He came over, and started undoing the various buckles on the outfit. "I don't understand why this outfit has so many buckles, dad. Sure it looks cool, them crossing over each other and everything, but it's just so...impractical. I prefer the clothes you had them make for me."

He really did. It was cool, in his opinion. It was similar to his fathers, but without all the 'stupid' buckles. The black and red trim that his had appealed to him for some reason, and to top it off, it was damn comfortable. Once he'd helped Kratos deal with the buckles, he turned around to give his father some privacy.

As he listened to his father changing into the purple outfit he'd be wearing while posing as a mercenary, he fiddled with the handles of his twin swords on his hips. He loved those things. He'd originally found them stupid compared to his father's sword, Flamberge, but now...

When Kratos had given him his new swords on his seventeenth birthday, he'd been so excited. They didn't look like they were on fire, like his father's blade, but they were still really cool. But it was a good thing that their sheaths, like the one for Flamberge, sealed them so that the sheaths looked normal.

Long, jet black blades with a streak of red up the sides, a barbed tip at the end, and pure mana pulsing over the edges, enhancing their cutting power and strength. Not to mention, he thought, making them look even cooler. Why his father had given such amazing blades to him was another thing he didn't understand.

He figured Mithos would want them. After all, the man WAS the leader of Cruxis, and seemed to want everything his way, for himself. Lloyd counted himself lucky that Mithos had allowed this. That, or Mithos had no idea Lloyd had the blades...He heard Kratos belting on his sword, and turned around.

Kratos straightened his clothes, and glanced up. "How do I look, Lloyd?" Lloyd looked his father up and down, seeming to think on it, then nodded. "Like an oversized eggplant. Why can't I go? It's not so strange for a mercenary to have a son travelling with him, is it?"

Kratos sighed, and shook his head. "Haven't we been over this, Lloyd? It's too risky. You are too reckless at times for that to work. We can't show our true power down there, or people will get suspicious. I'll be posing as a strong, well trained mercenary. You'll be too tempted to show more power than you should."

Lloyd was silent for a moment, grinding his teeth. "Because of the Desians?" He practically spat out the name. Kratos' face darkened a bit. He wasn't a fan of the Desians either. "Yes, Lloyd. Despite our feelings about them, they are an integral part of Mithos' plans. It's best if you are not there, cutting them apart whenever you see them."

Lloyd looked away. "That only happened once...and that was different...you know that." Kratos sighed, and came over, putting a hand on his sons shoulder. "I know, Lloyd. And Kvar did deserve it, for his part in Anna's death..." Lloyd clenched his fists. "Mom..." Kratos nodded a bit.

He missed Anna dearly. It had taken all his self control to not go after Kvar himself. But when Lloyd had found out, there had been no stopping him. By the time Kratos arrived, Lloyd had left a bloody trail through the Asgard Human Ranch. Some of the Desians had escaped, but most had been torn apart by Lloyd's blades.

Kvar...was another matter. Lloyd had never once shown any signs of being even remotely capable of cruelty, by it seemed for Kvar, he'd make an exception. Kratos had found Lloyd standing over a bloodied, armless Kvar, blades crossed over the man's neck. Kratos knew he should have stopped Lloyd, but he found himself hanging back, watching.

Kvar had been switching back and forth between pleading for mercy, and cursing Lloyd, an 'inferior being,' for daring to touch him, one of the Five Desian Grand Cardinals. Kratos had watched as Lloyd silently stared down at the man, before swiftly cutting through his neck, relieving him of his head.

Lloyd counted it as avenging his mother, despite the fact that it had been Kratos himself who killed her. Upon hearing that story, Lloyd had just smiled and shook his head. "No, dad. She begged you to do it. Kvar had turned her into a monster and she was trying to kill me. You did what she wanted, and saved me. Kvar is her murderer, you our savior."

It still amazed Kratos, how someone like Lloyd could exist. A gentle idealist at heart, but ready and willing to fight without mercy if he had to. He was even trying to find a way to change the way the worlds worked, so that nobody suffered. It was a futile effort, Kratos felt, but an honorable one. "You are a better man than me, Lloyd..."

Lloyd looked up, startled. Where had that come from? "What do you mean, dad?" Kratos blinked, realizing he'd said that out loud. "Never mind, Lloyd. My point is that you still have a short temper with the Desians. For now, they are necessary, so I can't have you killing them. I am going, and you are staying. That is final."

Lloyd grumbled irritably, and sighed. "Fine. I'm going to go bug Remiel." Kratos groaned irritably. "Lloyd, leave that man alone. He's preparing to deliver the Oracle to the Chosen in Iselia. It's best not to bug him." Lloyd just grinned. "Dad, he never stops calling me an 'inferior being.' When he does, I'll leave him alone."

Kratos watched his son head off to find the angel, and sighed, but couldn't help but grin. "Remiel really should have learned not to annoy Lloyd...that boy is a born prankster..."

Lloyd chuckled a bit when he remembered what he'd done that day. He'd snuck up behind Remiel, and stolen that stupid hat off of his head. The angel had chased him all over Welgaia, shouting about 'inferior beings.' Lloyd shook his head a bit, sighing. He'd never understand them.

The angels were originally half-elves, Kratos had told him. By using a modified Exsphere, called a Cruxis Crystal, they became angels. He and his father were angels as well, despite having been human originally. They had both ingested a magical rock called Aionis, allowing them to cast magic and use magical weapons, as well as become angels.

Together, he, Kratos, Yuan, Mithos, and Mithos' dead sister Martel, became the Five Seraphim. So the question was, why was he still referred to as an inferior being? The half-elves called all humans that, he knew, but still, he really wasn't human any more. He looked around one last time, then figured he'd best get going.

Mithos had summoned him, and it was not a good thing to keep the man waiting. Kratos and Yuan got away with it, but Lloyd barely could. They were his old friends and companions. Lloyd was just Kratos' son.

He used the teleporter to travel to Vinheim, and made his way to the throne room, ignoring the guardian of the door, the Dark Dragon. It had been a few days since his father had started travelling with the Chosen from Sylvarant, and he was eager to hear any news. That is, if Mithos chose to tell him anything.

He was also hoping he'd be given some task to perform. He was tired of just watching over the work being done with the Exspheres, and besides that, the work sickened him. Kratos had tried to shield him from the knowledge of how they were made, but he had found out. Made through the sacrifice of human lives....

Still, what could he do? He couldn't stop Mithos, and Kratos felt it his duty to aid his former student and long time friend. Neither of them could stand the process, and neither could Yuan, for that matter, but they endured for now. Once Mithos' goals were realized, it would all stop. What those goals were, however, Lloyd had yet to find out...

He spread his large blue wings made of mana once in the throne room, and flew up toward where the thrown was. As he did, he felt warmth radiating through him, originating from the Exsphere, or perhaps Cruxis Crystal, on his left hand. The one that had been created in his mother's body...this was the only Exsphere that he would never hate.

It was all he had left of her, aside from the locket Kratos had. And it always felt like it was protecting him. He landed in front of Mithos on his throne, and knelt before him. "I'm here as you requested, Mithos."

There was a pause, and Lloyd mentally cursed himself. He'd forgotten what Kratos had told him about calling him Mithos.

"Lloyd, I do not recall giving you permission to call me by my name. Only my former companions, Kratos and Yuan, may call me by that name. All those under me are supposed to call me Lord Yggdrasill, remember?" Lloyd swallowed hard, but was relived my Mithos' amused tone. Perhaps Mithos wouldn't punish him.

"However, you are the son of my friend and former teacher...I suppose I shall allow it. I assume you are used to it, since Kratos and Yuan no doubt call me that all the time. And feel free to stand in my presence, Lloyd. Kratos and Yuan do not kneel, and I don't require you to do so either. I suppose Kratos has been giving you silly instructions."

Lloyd stood, and smiled. He'd met Mithos before, but never without Kratos. He'd been rather nervous, but it seemed things would be alright. "What is it that you require of me, Mithos?" He may have gotten permission to call him by his first name, but he'd still be respectful. It'd be stupid to piss Mithos off.

"I have a task for you. I assume you know the situation with the separate worlds of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla?" Lloyd nodded. "Yes. They were originally one world, until you split them in two with the Eternal Sword, in order to conserve the limited mana left in the world after the death of the Giant Kharlan Tree."

Mithos chuckled. "Very true, Lloyd. As I'm sure you know, the world are completely separate, unable to interact with each other, aside from sharing the limited mana left." Lloyd again nodded. "And to serve that purpose, the Journey of Regeneration that the Chosen's of Mana go on is actually to change the flow of mana from one world to the other."

"And thus, one world flourishes while the other declines. Good, Kratos has taught you well. However, there is a problem. I'm sure you are aware of the fact that Sylvarant has been in decline for far too long, and Tethe'alla has been the flourishing world for too long as well. Tell me, what is the problem with that."

Lloyd knew this. It was one of the things Mithos did that actually made sense. "It means that Tethe'alla will start developing a lot of magitechnology, and thus greatly deplete the worlds remaining mana. It could potentially destroy the worlds." Mithos nodded almost gravely. "And what has been done to remedy this?"

Lloyd actually beamed in response, obviously happy. "You sent dad to protect Sylvarant's Chosen, to ensure that she succeeds and becomes an angel, thus redirecting the flow of mana back to Sylvarant, stopping Tethe'alla's attempts with magitechnology." Mithos nodded, but didn't seem happy. "But we have a problem." Uh-oh.

"Tethe'alla has discovered Sylvarant, and the nature of the two worlds. And they are not content to let their world decline." Lloyd was startled, but not worried. "Well...what does that matter? It's not like they can do anything about it. They are stuck in their world." Mithos just shook his head. "They have Rheiards." Lloyd blinked, confused.

Mithos continued. "Special flying devices that allow travel between the worlds." Lloyd was floored. "But...how is this possible?" Mithos sighed a bit. "The Renegades. Those people that dress like Desians and yet oppose them and Cruxis." Lloyd nodded, having heard of them. "I understand. What have they done, and what would you have me do?"

Mithos smiled a bit in response. Lloyd was growing on him. He may have been young, but he was eager to do his job. "They have sent an assassin to the declining world of Sylvarant, with the purpose of killing the Chosen." Mithos paused here, as if thinking, before finally continuing.

"I want you to go to Sylvarant, find her, and get rid of her. I don't care what you do, but she must not be allowed to kill the Chosen. Kratos is perfectly able to protect her, I know, but I'd like to remove all obstacles early, if possible. Kill her, capture her, whatever you have to do, just stop her. Understand?"

Lloyd nodded, glad he was allowed to capture instead of kill. He didn't enjoy killing. Kvar was an exception. "I understand, Mithos. Go to Sylvarant, find the assassin, and remove her from the Chosen's path. But...may I ask a favor?"

Mithos raised an eyebrow, and nodded a bit. "I'm listening." Lloyd hesitated, then just dove in. "I was wondering if I could stay in Sylvarant for awhile afterwards. You know, sort of like a vacation. I've always wanted to look around the world where I was born. Besides, if necessary, I could also be of help to the Chosen's group, from the sidelines."

Mithos seemed to think on this for a moment, and then chuckled a bit. "Fine, I see no reason why not. Dealing with the assassin is your first priority, however." Lloyd was excited, but tried to remain calm, nodding eagerly. This seemed to amuse Mithos even more.

"Before I go, Mithos, is there anything you know about the assassin that will help me find her? All I know is that she's apparently a woman, and not from Sylvarant." Mithos nodded at this. "Apparently, she is a ninja from the small village of Mizuho. She's also a summoner, if that's of any use." It wasn't, as Lloyd had no idea what to look for.

Still, he nodded. "Alright, Mithos. I'll take care of it. She will not be allowed to get in the way." Mithos smiled again, nodding. "Good boy. Now get going. There was a shift of mana earlier today. The first seal, the one in the Triet ruins, has been opened. They will be heading for the Ossa Trail, which is a good place for the assassin to ambush them."

Lloyd nodded, and took off, heading for the teleporter, this time to take it down to the interior of the Tower of Salvation in Sylvarant. Finally, he had something important to do!

Post-chapter A/N: Alright, I'm sure you've noticed Lloyd is smarter in this fic. After all, he was raised by Kratos, not Dirk. Not that Dirk is unintelligent, but Kratos just knows more about the world. After all, he's over 4000 years old. On top of that, his power level is OVER 9000!!!! ....Sorry, couldn't help myself for some reason. Feel free to ask questions or whatever in reviews or PM me. I'll try and answer you.