Whilst I struggle with writer's block for my other stories, what do I do? Start another one. Dang it.
I've been tossing this idea around for a while, but only just got the courage to post it. I'm not sure how well received it will be.
Oh, and beware of spoilers. THEY CAN MELT YOUR BRAIN LIKE FREAKIN' ACID!
Disclaimer: If I owned Tales of Symphonia, Yuan would have been a playable character. Seriously, imagine having a guy in the party who can use a giant sword like that.
Past and Future
Chapter I: A Slight Problem
"… So you punched a hole in the space/time continuum… and something came out of the hole?"
The unfortunate Renegade lieutenant quivered under Yuan's angry glare. "Y-Yessir," murmured the frightened Renegade.
Yuan sighed. Okay, so technically he shouldn't have let the Renegades develop technology that could potentially cause the universe to implode… but some of that stuff was just too damn useful. Besides, it wasn't like he was planning to mass-produce or distribute any of the really dangerous or delicate things. Especially since there were people like Lloyd in the world who would push the button clearly labeled 'Don't Push' because they wanted to see what would happen next.
"Um…sir," stated the lieutenant cautiously, "The thing that came out of the hole…"
"Yes?"
"It's…escaped the facility."
Yuan's glare had enough solid venom in it to kill small mammals, "What?"
The lieutenant, who wished he were a small mammal, backed away a step. "S-sorry sir!" he stuttered, "We hadn't expected him to fight like that, or know how to use a Rheaird – "
"Him?" asked Yuan, "It was a person?" The lieutenant nodded. "Who?"
The lieutenant told him.
Yuan buried his face in his hands. He had been so sure a minute ago that things couldn't get any worse…
The Renegade base escapee hastily scrabbled out of the snow bank with some difficulty. He looked down at the stolen Rheaird he had just crashed into the snow. He hadn't meant to crash the damn thing, just land. There was a thin trail of smoke curling out from the nose of the vehicle, which had crumpled on impact. He looked around. He was standing in the middle of a snow-covered field, with giant gray mountains on the horizon. And in the distance he could see what looked like, and he hoped was, a city. As snow fell softly around him, he wished that he had more than his purple windbreaker to keep him from freezing to death. He looked back at the broken Rheaird.
One of the wings fell off.
"…Dammit, this can't end well…"
A little while later...
"Wow! It's snowing!"
"Colette, it always snows in Flanoir."
"That's right… I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize you dork!"
Colette giggled, her cheeks flushing with an embarrassed blush. Lloyd gave her hand a reassuring squeeze as they walked the white streets of the snowy city together. They were taking a much needed break from their journey to gather and destroy all the Exspheres in the world. Finally they could just take a few days, or maybe even a week, to just sit back and relax…
"Hey, Lloyd," said Colette, tugging on the boy's arm and pointing, "Isn't that Yuan over there?"
It was, in fact, said blue-haired half-elf who was yelling at one of his Renegades in the middle of the central square of Flanoir. Even the clanging of the nearby clock tower bell didn't drown out his yells.
"No, you can't kill him!" Yuan snarled at his unfortunate employees, who were cowering from their boss, "The Timeline is a very delicate thing! And it's called 'street fighting' for a reason! Don't expecting him to just give up and walk into a cell! So go out there AND GET HIM! HOW HARD CAN IT BE? And don't you DARE hurt him! AM I CLEAR?"
There were shy mutterings of 'yessir' as the Renegades dispersed, leaving Yuan fuming, surrounded by a ring of curious onlookers. The force and heat of Yuan's rage was almost strong enough to melt the snow he was standing in. The crowd immediately started whispering among itself.
"Who's he, you think?"
"Who do you think they're after?"
"I bet there were people in Meltokio who heard him yelling."
"Should we be worried about this?"
"Do you think he dyes his hair?"
Yuan glowered at the ring of people around him. They all fell silent when they noticed Yuan giving them his 'I'm-three-seconds-away-from-killing-you-all' glare. "Don't you all have someplace to go?" snapped Yuan. The crowd dispersed as if by magic, as each member decided that it was best to not tempt fate… or anger men with blue hair.
Unfortunately, two people did not get the memo.
"Hi Yuan!" chirped Colette, walking over to the half-elf, "Did you lose something?"
Yuan paled a little as he turned to face Colette. Oh no, if she was here, then that meant –
"What was all the shouting about?" asked Lloyd as he trotted up to Yuan and Colette.
Yuan resisted the urge to bury his face in his hands again. He had been so sure a minute ago that things couldn't get any worse…
"It's nothing you should concern yourselves with," said the Renegade leader dismissively, "It would be best if you left the city now and returned at some other time."
The two teens frowned at him. They had not seen Yuan for four months, since the worlds had been reunited. They were slightly disappointed that they were being brushed off like this.
"What's wrong?" asked Lloyd.
"It's nothing you should concern yourselves with," repeated Yuan. When Lloyd and Colette, continued staring at him, he sighed. They weren't going to leave without an explanation of some kind. Oh well, he could keep things as vague as he wanted, just as long as they didn't get involved. "There was a… slight problem with some… machinery at the base," started Yuan, picking his words carefully, "We're attempting to remedy that now. And it would be best for you two to get off the fjord entirely, and go somewhere else. Altamira would be good. Just not here."
"Why?" asked Lloyd, looking puzzled, "We fought all the Summon Spirits, reunited the worlds, and beat Mithos! There can't be anything we can't take!"
"It's not a matter of being able to 'take' something or not," said Yuan through gritted teeth, "This is a very delicate matter, and I don't need you two in the middle of it."
It was, at this time, that the Renegade base escapee appeared, running down the street that Lloyd and Colette had taken down to the square. He skidded to a halt as he spotted Yuan. The escapee was momentarily confused by what he saw. Yuan looked up and noticed the stunned escapee, who couldn't seem to decide if he should run again or not.
Lloyd turned when he saw Yuan look at something behind him, just in time to see the escapee running down another snowy side street. The only thing he saw of the runner was some purple clothing and a mop of messy red hair…
Yuan swore, "You two stay here," he snapped as he ran off after the escapee, "Understood?"
"Wait a minute!" shouted Lloyd, running after the half-elf, "I'm coming too!"
Yuan didn't even try to discourage him. He was too busy chasing the runner, it was too important that he catch the escapee… he couldn't just let him get away… too many things could go wrong…
Then they came to an intersection, and Yuan didn't see which street his prey had gone down. He swore, again. "What's wrong Yuan?" asked Lloyd, who hadn't been able to see the escapee past Yuan anyway.
Yuan turned to the young swordsman, "Just. Leave. The. City. Now." He growled, before running down the road to his right.
Lloyd stood in the middle of the intersection, staring off after the Renegade leader. Why was he so intent on keeping Lloyd out of this… issue, whatever it was? There must be a way for him to help out!
Unbeknownst to Lloyd, the escapee had run down the left road at the intersection, and had watched Yuan run the other way from behind a cart displaying fruits and vegetables. He watched Lloyd standing in the middle of the intersection, looking confused. It shouldn't be too hard to sneak past him, thought the escapee, He doesn't look all that bright anyway.
He walked around the cart again, keeping his head down, trying to look inconspicuous. Unfortunately for him, Lloyd had decided to look around just when the runaway was almost out of sight. Lloyd spotted him running down the street Lloyd had just come. "WAIT!" yelled Lloyd without thinking, and ran after the mysterious escapee.
Lloyd followed the runner down another set of streets, until they came to a dead end. The escapee stopped at the stone wall looming in front of him, as Lloyd caught up, panting and drawing his swords.
"I've got… you now…" panted Lloyd. Man this guy could run! Lloyd hadn't thought he would be able to catch the fugitive, "Just stay here… and Yuan will… come and… sort things out…"
The escapee turned, and Lloyd saw his face.
It was Kratos.
But something was different. He looked younger, about seventeen, rather than twenty-eight. His red eyes were full of an emotion that Lloyd never associated with his father – fear. Lloyd's brain froze. He didn't understand what was going on! Why did Kratos look eleven years younger… and what was he scared of? Lloyd's swords slipped from his fingers, to land with a soft crunch in the fresh snow. Lloyd stared at Kratos, their rapid breaths freezing in the cold air.
"It's… is it really…? Da – "
Kratos launched himself at Lloyd, striking Lloyd with the stomach with his elbow. Before the red-clad teen could even realize that he had been struck, Kratos' other arm came around and punched him in the face.
The cracking was clearly audible.
Lloyd fell heavily into the snow, completely winded and clutching at his bleeding nose. "Mah nobe!" whined Lloyd, "You brode mah nobe! Whud did you do thab for?"
Kratos stood over Lloyd, hands in his jacket pockets, giving the swordsman a look that was a mixture of pity and disgust.
"Dumbass."
Kratos ran off again, leaving Lloyd to bleed and struggle with his confusion in the snow. The teen couldn't even muster the energy to sit up. Had Kratos – stoic stony Kratos – just call him a dumbass?
Several minutes later, Yuan found Lloyd, who was still lying in the snow. He smirked when he saw Lloyd clutching his broken nose.
"I take it you've encountered our 'problem' then?"
A/N: That was more fun than it should have been, picking on Lloyd, breaking his nose and having a teenage Kratos call him a dumbass. I feel kinda bad about it now.
While this will probably sound mean... but I'll laugh at anyone who hasn't figured out what's going on yet.
I'm not sure I'm going to continue this, it depends on the reviews I get, if any. Constructive criticism is welcome.
Please, please, PLEASE review!
Edited on 1/1/08 - Cleaned up some mistakes, (hopefully) clarified a few things, and removed some italics.