Tales of Symphonia Story, Tethe'alla Chronicles (3)

QUIZ START: You all sailed through the sky as quickly as you could...Plumes of black smoke rose from the village. After landing, you rush into the village...the whole village was in flames.
"My...god...!" you gasp, a hand over your mouth in horror,
"This is...horrible..." Presea agreed,
"What happened here?!" Lloyd exclaimed, squinting through the flames,
"Look!" Colette gasped pointing to a blonde boy lying face down on the ground. That hair...his cloths...
"...ow...!" you murmur, your head hurt sharply... You remembered that boy who extinguished the fire when Martel burnt those spices. But...why did you think of that...?
"Lloyd! Look!" Genis exclaimed, finally noticing the boy. A flaming tree suddenly fell down right next to him, barely missing the boy...
"Look out!!" Colette called desperately, however he didn't move. After carefully navigating your way down to where he was Lloyd tried to wake him.
"What's wrong, are you ok?" asked Lloyd. He didnt wake. "We have to get out of here!" the boy exclaimed. Lloyd picked up the kid and all of you quickly fled from the burning village. You take him down to the area near Presea's house as the logs and stuff behind you collapsed; the area near Presea's house was the only place that wasn't on fire.
The boy slowly woke up, then stood. You tried to ignore your hurting head,
"!" he jumped, noticing you all,
"What the hell happened here?" Lloyd asked the boy,
"...I don't really know." he responded. Your head hurt worse, his voice sounded exactly the same as the voice from your flashback. "Suddenly, lightening fell from the sky, and angels attacked the village."
"Angels?" asked Raine.
"They had wings." the boy explained, "Those with wings are angels...right?"
"Dammit, it must have been the Cruxis!" Lloyd cursed.
"Cruxis...so angels destroyed the village..." Presea murmured,
"Presea, are you ok?" asked Raine worriedly.
"...I'm fine. But...this unsettling irritation...is this...anger?"
"....Why?" you asked softly, "Why would Cruxis...attack Ozette...?" The boy looked towards you, and you saw pink spread across his cheeks.
"...uh...."
"?" you tilt your head slightly to the side, confused, "What is it...?"
"N-n-nothing..." he stuttered softly,
"I'm impressed you survived." Zelos commented. "Are you the only survivor? What's your name?"
"My name is Mithos--" a jolt of intense pain shot through your head.
"Ah--!"
"!" you couldn't keep down a yelp as your head pounded. It felt like you'd just gotten a concussion. You sank down to your knees, clutching at your head as it began to hurt worse. You saw a few flashes of Mithos; in one he was having an argument with Yuan, then in another Kratos was teaching him how to use a sword.
"Ah--! Ah...!!"
"Aura!" Colette exclaimed worriedly,
"What's wrong!?" Raine asked.
"Her headaches...?" asked Regal worriedly. Your head wouldnt stop pounding as you heard his voice ask so many various questions, and also seeing flashes of him...lots. Soon, you lost consciousness, and fell to the ground.

After her sudden headache Aura passed out,
"Oh my..." Raine gasped worriedly, kneeling next to her.
"W-what's wrong...!?" Mithos stuttered, shocked, "Did I do something...?"
"N-no...." Sheena assured, "But...did you ever...have you ever seen her before?"
"What?"
"Just...have you?"
"N-no. I don't think so....I-I'd remember if I saw her...I'm sure of it..."
"...Mithos..." Lloyd murmured, "Hey! You have the same name as Mithos, the hero!"
"...."
"...Wait, are you a half-elf?..." Genis asked, his eyes widening slightly,
"I...I...no." he responded weakly. He took a step back,
"Relax. You can tell, can't you? We have the same blood flowing through our veins as you do." Raine assured from where she was kneeling next to Aura. Mithos appeared to be startled by this fact,
"You're half-elves, too?! But you're with humans!" he argued,
"It's okay, were all friends." Colette assured,
"Humans and half-elves as friends? You're lying!" Mithos insisted, shaking his head.
"No, it's true. My sister and I are part of this group." Genis assured, "Besides, you should hear Aura. Shes really nice, but if she hears anyone trying to persecute half elves she practically goes berserk."
"Relax." Raine soothed,
"Y...yeah, but" Mithos asked weakly.
"Your reaction is understandable. Ive heard that the village of Ozette is particularly known for its contempt for half-elves. If you lived an isolated life in this village, you must have suffered." the Professor said understandably. Altessa and Tabatha slowly walked up the pathway from his home,
"What happened here?" he exclaimed, then noticed Aura, "Wh-what happened to her...!?"
"You're Altessa, right? What are you doing here?" asked Lloyd,
"I saw the lightning of Judgment fall towards this village. But what in the world..." he muttered, dumbfounded.
"It was the work of Cruxis angels." Presea told him. "And...Aura just passed out recently."
"Presea! Youve regained your true self?!" Altessa exclaimed, astonished, "How could they do this? Is this their punishment for failing the experiment?"
"What do you mean punishment?" Sheena asked.
"Nothing. It's nothing!" he stormed, before running away.
"Wait!" Lloyd exclaimed. He attempted to run after Altessa, but Tabatha blocked his way.
"THE MASTER BELIEVES THAT IT IS HIS FAULT THAT OZETTE WAS DESTROYED." Tabatha explained. "HE ALSO FEARS...FOR AURAS WELLBEING."
"Altessa is connected to Ozette?...And Aura?" asked Colette.
"YES. EXCUSE ME. I AM WORRIED ABOUT THE MASTER." Tabatha apologized, then left,
"I'm...going to follow him." Presea said,
"Yeah." Lloyd agreed, before turning to Mithos "Mithos, you should come with us."
"But I'm a half-elf and..." he cast a glance to Aura, "And I..."
"That doesn't matter. Besides, what are you going to do if you stay here and the angels come back?" Lloyd asked,
"Lloyd's right! Lets all go together!" Genis suggested happily. Genis walked to Mithos, and extended a hand. Mithos was obviously confused, but took Genis' hand.
"Zelos," Raine ordered, "Help Aura."
"No problem Mamm." he agreed calmly. He easily picked up the girl, and then turned towards everyone else.
"Ok. I'm set, let's go."

After the short walk to Altessa's house Tabatha let them in,
"Is Aura alright?" Altessa asked,
"Yes, she just passed out." Raine assured.
"...I see..." he turned towards the green-haired woman, "Tabatha,"
"UNDERSTOOD, MASTER." she took a step forward, "ZELOS. PLEASE BRING AURA THIS WAY." she asked, "SHE MAY STAY...IN HERE."
"Ok. Be right back guys." he said. The Chosen followed Tabatha into the next room. There were a lot of beds there, and Zelos set Aura on one of them,
"I SHALL STAY WITH LADY AURA." Tabatha said. "PLEASE, RETURN TO THE OTHERS."
"Tabatha, just some advice," Zelos said, "Don't call her 'Lady' Aura...She hates that."
"UNDERSTOOD. THANK YOU." then Zelos returned to the room. And Altessa began to explain
"I was a craftsman who worked for Cruxis." Altessa explained. Everyone jumped,
"So you're on the side of the angels....of Yggdrasill!" Lloyd exclaimed.
"You know Lord Yggdrasill?!" the dwarf gasped.
"Know him?! Because of him, Sylvarant and Tethe'alla were twisted into worlds that fight for each others mana! And he's like...Obsessed with Aura! Hes tried to kidnap her!" Altessa glanced at Colette,
"That's a Cruxis Crystal..." he said, "I see. You must be the Chosen of the declining world. And Aura, her Cruxis Crystal is real... I felt so sorry for her. She has always tried to escape him...but she never could... even after loosing her memory..."
"So you know Aura?" Raine asked
"Indirectly." Altessa responded. "Aura would send me occasional warnings of when i should be wary of Grand Cardinals or Yggdrasill...I only met her in person once...Shes the kindest girl i have ever met....And he always did all he could to protect her from Yggdrasill..." Altessa sighed, then muttered to the side, "...but he never seemed to be able to...then she vanished... the poor man..."
"What?" asked Sheena "Who are you talking about...? Is this 'he' someone from Cruxis...?"
"This may be fate." Altessa responded, ignoring her question. "What happened to Ozette was my fault..." Presea was momentarily startled and approached Altessa.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"I came to hate the work I did, for it was indirectly taking peoples lives. I ran from Cruxis and hid myself in Ozette. But I was found by a Desian named Rodyle. He ordered me to create a Cruxis Crystal in exchange for my life." he explained sadly.
"So that means that the research on Presea was organized by Rodyle and the Pope, who then had you and Kate carry it out?" Zelos asked
"Right." Altessa confirmed, "Rodyle, while a Desian in service of Cruxis, was also planning to revolt against Cruxis. Because I supported him it that, and because I refused to tell him what Aura had done to help me, Lord Yggdrasill grew angry and he... He destroyed the town of Ozette, which had protected me!"
"So this is how Presea, this girl who reflects my distant memories..." Regal asked, "This is how she was caught up in this. And this is part of the reason why Aura suffers and must run from the past she dosnt remember... This is terrible beyond words."
"I'm sorry. I can never apologize enough, but apologizing is all I can do now." Altessa apologized. He was sincere in the words he spoke to Presea.
"My time will not come back. The people of the village and Daddy will not come back." Presea told him.
"Presea..." Genis asked.
"I'm sorry..." Altessa apologized desperately. Presea turned around, back to the dwarf.
"Don't apologize. Even if you apologize I can't forgive you right now."
"....I'm going to go check on Tabatha and La--...Miss Aura." Altessa said, then went into the room Tabatha had taken Aura into.

"Your loss has been great, Presea," Raine said, "But, you should try not to loose yourself as well."
"........."
"I can understand Presea's feelings a little." Mithos piped up, "Some things never came back Even if he apologizes, even if you want to forgive, you can't control those feelings... And the feelings of sadness when someone you love disappears..."
"Not being forgiven, that may be punishment." Regal voiced,
"I don't think that's right." Lloyd argued "Forgiving or not forgiving isnt a punishment. I can't really explain it well, but..."
"Ah, well, anyway, lets not get into a philosophical discussion right now." Zelos said in his usual carefree manner. "Presea doesn't need to force herself to forgive him or anything. Let's just think about what we can do now. Like go and make sure that Aura is ok."
" Yes, you're right. Aura's condition is worrying me for the time as well," Raine agreed. "As for me, I think we should take this opportunity to ask Altessa all he knows about Cruxis. We currently dont have enough information. Wouldn't you agree?"
"Yeah... Presea, would you rather wait here?" Lloyd asked.
"No. I'll listen as well...And I am also concerned about Aura's health." The group went to the room that Tabatha had taken Aura into to find her awake.

After you woke up you found you were lying in a room with Tabatha and Altessa watching over you. You sit up slowly,
"Are you alright, Miss Aura?" the dwarf asked,
"Yes--I-I'm fine. But what happened...?" After he and Tabatha finished telling you what had been discussed during your spell of unconsciousness everyone came into the room,
"GREETINGS," Tabatha greeted, "ALL IS...WELL."
"Hey." You greet,
"Aura..." Lloyd sighed,
"Are you feeling better now?" asked Regal,
"Yes, much." when you noticed Mithos hanging more towards the back. *Its a coincidence.* you say, *There can be lots of look-alikes....Theres no way that Mithos is the same...* "Mithos...?"
"Y-yes...?" he asked sheepishly,
"I'm sorry if I scared you." you apologize, "I didn't know that was going to happen."
"N-no...dont worry about it...its ok...." he murmured nervously.
"Mithos...your face is all flushed!" Genis told him.
"Do you have business with me?" Altessa asked.
"Can you tell us about Cruxis?" Lloyd responded
"...It'll be a long story." Altessa told him,
"That's okay." Colette assured.