A/N: Yes, the title is supposed to be that way. It's a sort of pun (in my eyes, anyway!).

A/N: For plot reasoning (AND PLOT REASONING ONLLLYYY!), this story will contain a smidgen of Patroklos x Pyrrha hints. But this IS a Zwei x Patroklos fic. Ai'ight?

A/N: Oh, and since it's up in the air whether or not Pyrrha still has her malfested attributes retained or not after the end of the game, she's magically cured, okay? lol

oOo

Two Glory

oOo

The crisp glow of the sun eclipsed the forests below as it began its descent. Drops of the saturated light drizzled about the outline of the trees like tinsel. Faint caws belonging to the fowl inhabitants broke into the air before the beat of their wings left their echoes behind them. As they fled, small plumes floated down, whispering over the roof of a meager cottage made of wood and stone. In addition to the wildlife and marvelous landscape, this area was also shared by two individuals; a brother and his older sister.

Since reuniting for the first time since 17 years when their family was ripped apart, the twins Patroklos and Pyrrha had embarked on a new life together in the humblest of beginnings. They didn't have much, but they did have the bare necessities, few friends and each other. Or rather, the sweet Pyrrha had friends. The two persons Patroklos had any type of relationship with, outside of his sister, were Siegfried and Zwei. Yet, since he aided the forlorn knight to find his sister, he had no reason to cross swords or speak any words to him other than thanks. In the case of Zwei, of whom offered much more to the brash boy in terms of wisdom and companionship in his own way, the last that was heard of him was literally nothing. Pyrrha seemed to grasp remnants of memories of his fall after she stabbed him as a malfested. Other than that, there were no other hints or leads to his demise or whereabouts. Perhaps one day Patroklos would be able to thank the mysterious man, of whom he gave his trust to, properly or at least see his face again. However as of late, such a hope was just as hollow as the enigma's past.

Not being able to give the man a proper funeral spilled guilt throughout Patroklos's being, but deep in his heart, he believed that Zwei still walked this planet in some shape or form. And until the day arrived when they met again, Patroklos kept himself hard at work tending to the craftsmanship needs of the house while his sister did pretty much whatever she wanted. Pyrrha had taken it upon herself to assist her brother however and wherever it was needed around the house. Save for the two of them being siblings, the image of her being the perfect little wife would be fitting. For the moment, their food supply was a bit low. She would have willingly gone out to hunt or gather fruit from the wild, but Patroklos was so overprotective of her, he would always demand that he be with her at all times whenever she went out. Everywhere. If she was going to achieve this feat herself, she had to at least let him know where she was going.

"Brother did you hear me?" the eldest's feathery voice questioned. A concerned Pyrrha stood in the door frame of the room Patroklos dedicated to blacksmithing as his father had done before him. While he wasn't as skilled as his senior, he knew the basics of forging a decent weapon and was now sharpening a few hunting knives. Of course, over the sharp noises of the activity, he hadn't heard his sister at all. He didn't even notice her, which was a rarity in itself. Lately, his thoughts would carry him to places that not even he cared to go and he often became consumed by their cling. It wasn't that he didn't have a choice; he simply allowed his mind to be carried away. Maybe something was lacking in this new life that he just couldn't recognize yet. If Zwei or Siegfried had been near, he would bounce his troubles off of them for a solution, albeit reluctantly towards the latter. Between the two swordsmen, Zwei was the favorite. The youth found him the easiest to relinquish his fears to, for whatever reason. He wished the fallen fighter could have met his sister under better circumstances.

When she received no response, Pyrrha's eyes softened to meekness and she bit her bottom lip, "Brother..." she tried again, then raised her mousey voice while stepping further into the room, "Patroklos!"

All manner of smithing ceased; the hands that held the blade remained positioned at its sharpening wheel unmoving; the foot at the floor pedal rested on its heel. Patroklos himself didn't make a movement until his mind processed the name his sister spoke as opposed to just the sound of her voice. Like the first light of a candle, his senses and personality returned and he gave her his full attention, "Pyrrha, what is it? Do you need help with something?" he wondered calmly.

The girl managed a small smile from how sweetly her brother would address her, in comparison to the rudeness anyone else received, and shook her head cutely, "Um n-no. I... I just wanted to let you know that I was going to pick some berries for an ingredient in tomorrow's breakfast."

"You don't have to do that! I'll get them," Patroklos offered, already setting down the objects of his hobby and standing quickly to his feet. Again, Pyrrha shook her head. Her clothed arms crept behind her back and one knee kissed the other in embarrassment. At the rate he always volunteered to help her, she had begun to feel as if she always needed him for nearly all things in her life, no matter how small and menial the task. While that was something naturally families did, she was the older sibling and had to take control of her own actions at some point. And today she deemed as such.

"That's okay. You don't have to come. You don't know where the berries are, after all! I'll get them! I just wanted to let you know where I was going," she then paused; her muted eyes glided over his handiwork that she had interrupted, "Or maybe I shouldn't have bothered you at all."

"Bother me whenever you want, Pyrrha, I don't care!" he declared, stepping in front of her and enveloping her petite hands in his larger ones. It was only a few days ago when her body was still malformed from bringing forth the dormant malfested within her. Now any hints of it had dispersed, but for how long was uncertain. Instinctively, her minty gems glanced down to the protective gesture before returning to his intent gaze. He appeared as determined as ever, but a smidgen of an emotion she couldn't place rimmed his irises. It had nothing to do with her—or did it? Either way, she spoke nothing of it and listened as he continued, "And no long lost sister of mine is going out there by herself. It's after sunset!"

"But brother, I know how to defend myself! You're my family, not my chaperone!"

"What? Who said anything about that?I have more experience so I'llprotect you."

"But—but I'm the oldest!" she retorted, forcing her hands downward to release his grip for emphasis in her argument, "I should be protecting you! Wait a minute... This isn't about protecting! This is about food and I'm going whether you want me to or not! I can't let you starve!" With that, she about-faced and exited into the next room. A persistent Patroklos was already hot on her heels, "Come on, don't be like that! Let me go with you!"

"No!" she called over her shoulder.

"Fine, then I'll just come anyway!"

"Patroklos, no!" she suddenly ceased her walk and turned to face him with an annoyed stomp. A peppering of rose dappled her cheeks as the pout she gave made one of them puff out, "I need to earn my keep too. I can't let you do everything for me!"

"We're family, aren't we?" Patroklos questioned a bit too quickly; his distracted focus lingered on the luster of her glossed lips as he took into account how cute she looked when she got upset. It made him wonder if he looked the same way when he was ever angered or annoyed.

"Patroklos, I'm being smothered! I'm going out! And please, don't you dare try to follow me!" she warned, making her decision firm. Patroklos held his breath at his sister's new-found ferocity. Sometimes, he preferred her this way. But if they kept bickering like this, neither of them would be able to get anything done. So to end it, he decided to give her the upper-hand—or at least to make it seem so.

"Fine," he shrugged and briefly held up his right hand, "Then, I promise to not try and follow you into the forest after dusk where you could fall into a hunter's trap or anything can spring out of nowhere and mercilessly attack you."

Pyrrha narrowed her eyes and her full lips shaped into a a scowling frown, "Don't try to scare me! I've been working on that new move you showed me that you learned from mother. Yaaaaah!" she suddenly cried out, pushing out both hands as if stabbing with her sword, then added a swift kick that would render any man without proper "protection" to become weak in the knees. While the maneuver wouldn't ward off all attackers, it was well enough for now.

"Good. Then fine, don't let me keep you here. And don't come crying back to me if you get eaten out there."

"Oh ha ha," she mocked, then stuck out her tongue, "I'll be fine!"

"For now, you already are. I mean, you look like me after all..."

"..." She left him a dubious look before adorning her sword, shield, and a twig basket, "You are weird, brother, but you still have my love." And with that, she exited the cottage.

Upon her leave, Patroklos waited for about 2 minutes before dashing off to obtain his own weapons and made haste after his sister. Sure, he promised to not tryto follow after her and he wasn't. He WAS following after her; there was a difference. But he didn't take the exact same path she did. He instead took a much higher route.

OoO

"How can anyone see anything from in these thick trees?" he groused under his breath while he perched along the limbs of a tall oak tree, "There are too many leaves and branches in the way! How do the spies do it?" Granted, espionage was not his strong-suit and his agility was better fitted to him when on the battlefield instead of moving along the foliage. He had nearly fallen twice while trying to keep a close distance behind his sister before he eventually decided to test a new plan. Once his feet were back on the ground, he tip-toed after her pausing to hide behind the frame of the large trees every now and then and whenever he feared she would become suspicious. It wasn't like he was stalking her! He was protecting her! And nothing in his mind would change that.

OoO

Near the small cottage the twins had established as "home", the light footfalls of a woman clad in darkness and roses brisked over the dried leaves below. Her steps were almost weightless as she approached the house on her toes. A delicate wind sashayed over her, letting its fingers mingle with her hair and the beads of her costume. Taking this as a spiritual notification in solidifying what she had foreseen, the female turned her head towards the veiled windows of the house.

"The sun has gone and the moon chases after it. Black like clouded wine lined with sorrow; the merging of their paths is as misconstrued," she uttered to no one, "The moon must be found..." As her declaration dissolved into the night, she continued her secretive plight.

OoO

"This is boring..." Patroklos griped under his breath, watching his sister safely collect berries and fruits from a distance. Not one trap had been sprung and nary a boorish knave had sprung out of the blue and attempted to assault her. Well, at least she was alright. Maybe he had been overacting after all when he warned her about those things. He gave her one last long look before turning to leave. Not paying attention to his straying off the path before him, he stepped right into a ground trap that sent him falling into a pit. He swore harshly and loudly while figuring out what just happened. As he tried to climb out, a sudden flash of ivory and burgundy tinged with pink passed by the corner of his eye. It sounded as if something or someone had leapt into the trap behind him. Turning towards it, he completely froze as he found himself face to face with a contented Viola.

"The moon sleeps and has been found..."

"NYAAGGGGH!" Patroklos shrieked, leaping a good 3 feet into the air and grasped the mouth of the hole for dear life, "You creepy witch! You're still following me?" he shouted, scrambling to climb out.

"PATROKLOS!" The sudden shrill and breathy voice tore his attention from the rose-clad woman and bestowed it all upon his, fuming, sister. Hands firmly atop her haunches with a sharp frown teasing her face, Pyrrha marched over to him, "Were...were you following me after you promised you wouldn't?"

"Wait! Pyrrha! I didn't- OW!" he cried upon receiving a nicely delivered kick to the shin from her.

"I don't believe you would do this to me, brother! You promised!"

"Now wait just a-!"

"Do not blame him. This was meant to occur," Viola commented in monotone. Both pairs of eyes were on her at this moment. Being able to settle on her appearance more clearly now, Patroklos' expression faltered slightly at the very sight of her. The last time their eyes met within close proximity, he was still searching for his sister along with 'him'. Viola and Zwei were always together and having her in his presence without the swordsman pinched Patroklos' heart a bit. He really did wonder what happened to him. As if she could channel his guilty thoughts, Viola's orbs of blood drifted over to the ridiculed male and her pink lips parted, "I need you."

Patroklos' brows shot up immediately and his tone swiftly changed from distraught to cocky, "Need me? Sorry lady, but you're not my type."

"Never will I be," She actually managed a tiny smile in telling him that, "I was referring to need in a different sort. The moon is cold and lonely. It is a frigidness in which the sun's rays cannot warm. If you continue in your ways, there will be horror; your blood will drain like thin wine and your tears will not cease."

"Patroklos..." Pyrrha whispered; her tone indicated just how bothered she was by this woman's entity along with her encrypted speeches, "I... I've got a bad feeling. What is she talking about?"

"The truth must bloom. I need to speak with him immediately. Troubled moon, come with me."

Dumbfounded and not sure of what to do Patroklos tossed a look at his sister, whose worrisome features barely overshadowed how cross at him she was for breaking his promise, then set his eyes upon the woman who summoned him. What could he do? Perhaps it would be best to give Pyrrha some space. And the sooner he could figure out what Viola had to show him, the faster he could be rid of her and her elusive eeriness.

"Fine. Let's go."

OoO

To be continued...

Snippet of the next chapter:

"The next thing he knew, he felt a yank at the back of his head before the hardness of the floor made contact with it soon thereafter. Through narrowed vision, he could identify Zwei's broad muscular form looming over him with piercing, searching, eyes."

If u have the time to review, give me pros n cons, pleeease.

-Mel