A/N: I'm continuing the story called Dearly Beloved by Cataclysmic Eclipse.

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia.

The Fight

When she went to stop him from attacking Raine, he moved faster and attacked her. She fell to the ground unconscious with his quick and practiced attacks. Her companions all went down like this one by one. First was Raine, who was casting a spell and in the midst of that concentration he took the opportunity to strike. The next was Sheena who was brazenly attacking him but she was driven unconscious by the hilt of his sword. Then Genis, who was casting a spell as well. And even Lloyd, who attacked him fully was downed by the hilt of Kratos' sword. Every time she ran, Kratos was faster. Every time she warned a companion it was too late, and they lay unconscious on the ground. Her angelic speed was useless in the face of Kratos' speed. She ran with her sword in hand and meant to slash it at him but he moved away in quick steps. It because apparent to her that he was avoiding her. She frowned at that. But than he turned her attention to Colette. She ran but it was too late and Colette's wings disappeared as she fell towards the ground. Anna ran and ran so that she was between Colette and Kratos and had her sword raised.

"Get out of the way Anna," Kratos said through clenched teeth.

"No!" He ran past her to get to Colette who was unconscious from one of his attacks. She met him with her sword and steel clashed steel.Clang.She could move fast too.

"I'm not getting out of the way," You're not going to do this! How could you? These people are our friends!"

"I have no choice because of what you've done," Kratos said as he matched her movements in time. She cursed. He had the audacity to go easy on her. "Fear not. They will all survive my attack and awaken from their slumber. Now it is time for me to take the Chosen to the Tower of Salvation."

"No!" She moved her sword yet again and slashed it against him. He moved out of the way in quick steps. "Why are you doing this?"

"You have the audacity to ask me that?" he laughed bitterly. "You're the one that's betrayed me."

"I can't believe you're saying that! You're the one that's betrayed me!"

"I'm not the one that's filled their heads with the cruel truth. They didn't need to know any of this least of all our son," Kratos said through gritted teeth, in the way that he did when he was suppressing his rage. "It was never meant for them to know." And this time he moved even faster than she could fathom. She cursed. He was holding back. She didn't know what to do but her body reacted before her brain did. She brought her sword and drew it against her stomach.

"If you want her so much, I might as well die. That's what you're doing right now, you're killing me and Lloyd and everyone else. What Cruxis is doing is wrong, so wrong. There's more that's important to the worlds than me," she seethed in rage and stared at his eyes that were wide with shock.

"I know that, Anna. But nothing can be done for the worlds. Not in the way that you want it to. We've talked of this before. Don't be absurd, Anna," he said as he slowly stepped towards her. "Please, stop this. Drop the sword-"

"Hey! Not a step further or else," she drew the sword into her stomach and felt pain and knew blood dripped down. "Now you're gonna listen to me. Stop this and listen to me for once in your life. There is another way you don't have to blindly follow Yggdrasill. You-"

And he was gone in quick movements and before she knew it her sword was gone from her, and thrown haphazardly to the side. Pain blossomed at the back of her neck and she collapsed to her knees. He hit her. No, no, no. He wasn't doing this, he wasn't going to take Colette, he wasn't. No. She crawled as quickly as she could onto Colette, shielding Colette's body with her own. Tears welled in her eyes. There was no way he could get to her now. No way. There couldn't be.

"Your beliefs are as naive as ever, Anna," he said with anger of his own. "Now, move. Get out of my way."

"Never! I'm never leaving this little girl. If you want her so badly you're going to have to kill me," Anna said as she tightened her hold on Colette's unconscious body. She brought her head up and tears fell from her eyes as she looked at him. He hesitated before he raised his sword. "Don't do this Kratos," she whispered.

"I will not kill you," he said with anger of his own running through his voice. He brought the hilt of his sword down on the back of her neck again in quick movements. Pain blossomed from the blow. Her head was sent spinning but she looked at him defiantly. She was not going down. She refused.

"Don't forget, Kratos," she said with venom. "I have that stupid angelic form too. I'm not going to be as easy as the others are to take down," Anna said and stared into his anger filled eyes with rage of her own, that was mixed with sadness. More tears fell. "If you want her so badly you're going to have to kill me."

"I will not kill you. Stop saying that," he shouted through gritted teeth. "I'm doing this to protect you."

Anna stared up at him defiantly as he moved towards her, much more slowly and he brought his hand to her shoulder and gripped her painfully. Then there was white mana that surged across the ground and hit him on his side. He winced at the attack and his grip on her loosened before he let her go entirely. He turned his attention away from her and towards the mysterious attacker.

"Protect mom? Protect her?!" he said with rage as he ran to Kratos' side and slashed at him again and again. Kratos moved out of the way of his blows with finesse. "You've got some nerve using that word. You call this protection? Where do you get off?"

"This is the only way," Kratos said through clenched teeth. He slashed against Lloyd which met Lloyd's swords with a clang. "Why is that something that neither of you can understand? The power of Cruxis is stronger than you could imagine."

Kratos moved in quick movements, but Lloyd anticipated the attack and spun around and met his sword with his own.

"Stop this, Kratos," Anna pleaded weakly as she watched them fight. "Stop this. This is wrong, you must know that."

"Nothing can be done to bring about what you both want to happen," he said as he matched swords with Lloyd's. "Nothing. If I were to defy him it would bring about the wrath of Cruxis down upon you both. Mithos could even come down and kill you both if he suspects that I am rebelling against his wishes."

"It sounds like you haven't even thought about a way to save everyone and the worlds. You haven't thought about anyone but yourself," Lloyd yelled as he spun his swords around in one of his makeshift attacks that were infused with the power of his exesphere. It sent Kratos off balance. "All we have to find a way to save both worlds and Colette and me and mom. There's a way to do that."

"You sound like your mother," Kratos said and attacked him but with every attack Lloyd kept up and his special exsphere shone in the light of the moon. Anna could see what was happening. Kratos wasn't going on him anymore and Lloyd kept up with him. Lloyd was stronger, much stronger than he was when they had met him again which kept Kratos on his toes.It must be that special Cruxis Crystal. Anna thought to herself as she watched them fight, and she remained over Colette.

"There's another way, dad," Lloyd said as he looked at him. There was a brief pause in the fighting and they both were catching their breath. "Things can be different."

"No they can't," Kratos said as he attacked Lloyd. "I've tried to follow other ideals before and Anna was nearly killed along with you. I will not endanger either of you like what happened fourteen years ago."

"But Kvar's dead!" Lloyd yelled as he matched Kratos' blades with his own. He slashed with an attack infused with his exesphere and sent Kratos careeening away from him. "He can't do anything to hurt us anymore. And this is different from when you and mom were alone with me as a kid. We have friends and we can defend ourselves, I can defend myself and I can protect mom from that Yggdrasill," Lloyd said. "Look at me now I'm defending myself against you. I'm protecting mom from you."

"Yes, I..." Kratos glanced over at Anna and she met his eyes with her own tear filled ones. "They are powerful. All it will do will kill you. And your friends if they fight alongside you. Do you really want that?"

"You don't know that for sure. You're just guessing that we're all going to fail!" Lloyd said in anger and sent white mana that surged along the ground towards Kratos. Kratos avoided it "And besides that what about Colette? What about the worlds? And what about everyone! No one's going to survive this Age of Lifeless Beings." Anna listened and stood, steeled for any attack that would come near Colette.

"The likelihood that the Age of Lifeless Beings happens is infinitesimal. Martel has not been resurrected in four thousand years."

"Bullshit!" Lloyd said and attacked him yet again. "You can't predict the future! Maybe now would be a really good time for it to happen if it's been so long. No one's going to survive this Age of Lifeless Beings once it happens. Not me, not mom not anybody! You're not protecting us at all."

"I will protect you both from it, were it to happen," Kratos said and they had their swords locked. "Nothing would happen to you."

"And what a great world that would be. A world with no friends, no family, no nothing."

"We would become lifeless beings," Anna said. "Just like everyone else. Just like what happened to me up on Derris Kharlan?"

That gave Kratos pause, and Lloyd took the opportunity to attack.

"Remember that the unicorn mistook Colette for Martel. Her mana signature is almost identical to that of Martel's," Anna said and his movements stilled. "She must be a compabtible vessel. Than what will happen to us once this Age of Lifeless Beings happens, Kratos? We'd become lifeless beings too even if we aren't officially turned into one. Is that really what you want? Is that the protection that you offer?"

Kratos hesitated at this knowledge, and paused and took deep breaths. He stared at Anna, and than at Lloyd who stopped with him. He than collected himself and said, "I have to-"

"No you don't have to. Don't you see dad? Right now all you're thinking about is us but you have a choice. You can help save these worlds from the Age of Lifeless Beings and rejoin them and save them from this stupid mana struggle and get rid of the Desians and Cruxis so no one has to be a victim like mom was. We could make a world with no discrimination, a better world where both me and mom can live in."

"It is a world worth fighting for, Kratos," Anna said and she slowly moved away from Colette and towards him on shakey legs. She put her hand on his own that held his sword. "It's all worth fighting for. You don't even agree with Mithos' ideals you're just going along with it because you're convinced that it's the only choice. But there's more than one choice. We deserve to have a life here free from any Age of Lifeless Beings. Free from Desians and Cruxis and this useless struggle of vying for mana. We could live in this world together in peace. Maybe we could even have another child in this peaceful world. Isn't that something to fight for? For once in your life. Please. Listen to me."

Kratos' sword clattered to the ground, and Anna wrapped her arms around his body.

"I...I truly haven't thought of this before," Kratos said while looking at Lloyd. He brought a hand up to Anna's head. "The Age of Lifeless Beings would be a fate worse than death to the both of you. I cannot allow it to happen."

"You're finally talking sense," Anna said with her chin on top of his shoulder. "Finally," she said with such emotion in her voice and more tears fell from her eyes. "Do you want to know why I decided to tell the truth?"

"Yes," Kratos said as he nodded.

"I couldn't stand watching Colette continue the Journey of Regeneration and what Sheena did made me think that maybe I could pull something off and change what's really important and also..."

"Also?"

She whispered. "I felt myself falling back in love with you. I thought that for sure that myself and the others could talk some sense into you. You remind me so much of how you used to be."

"I'm sorry," he whispered into her hair, than looked at their son. "I'm sorry."