Chapter 2! And OMFG, I'm actually posting it when I said I would! It's a miracle!

Disclaimer: Obviously, I don't own ToS, if I did, the epic fail that is DotNW would be an epic Zelloyd WIN.

Chapter 2 – Last Day of Procrastination

He heard the sound of the door closing behind them with a bang, and found himself in the middle of a large circular room with three passageways leading off of it. Zelos had been here before, of course. In all their desperation to prepare for the 'Day of Prophecy', the priests had been sure to have Zelos memorize the path he must take. So, confidently, Zelos marched up the central staircase, expecting to find a warp pad that would take him directly to the uppermost chamber. Instead, he found a… force field?

"Well this wasn't here before…" He muttered, staring up at the painful-looking purple screen.

"You're gonna need to get the sorcerer's ring," the stranger said from behind him.

Zelos turned to look at him. "The what, now?"

"The sorcerer's ring." He repeated, heading back to the circular room, "C'mon."

"Who decided you were leader?" Zelos grumbled as he followed him.

"Right, sorry, Chosen One," he said, eyeing the redhead. "Where should we head next?"

"You mean where should I head next."

He smirked. "I mean where should I follow."

"Hmph." Zelos crossed his arms, deciding to head down the right passageway. "So, what's your name?"

"Lloyd Aurion."

The red head sniggered a little, "Lloyd?"

Lloyd glared a little before turning his gaze back to scanning for monsters. "What about you?"

Zelos paused for a moment in surprise before smirking again. "You need to ask?"

"No," he said honestly. "But I thought it might be nice if I did."

Zelos laughed a little and spun around to face the man, arms out wide, "The Great Zelos Wilder, at your service."

Resuming his walk, Zelos decided to risk questioning his newfound mercenary, "So, Lloyd, you wouldn't happen to be a member of Cruxis, now would you?" He watched as the younger teen eyed him suspiciously, saying nothing. Zelos smiled, "Before everything went to hell, Tethe'alla was pretty close to the Renegades, and Yuan told us some pretty interesting stuff about Cruxis. Like how they tended to send down little helpers in the form of mercenaries." When the brunette still didn't answer, he repeated the question, "So, Lloyd, are you a member of Cruxis?"

"If I say yes, will I still get paid?"

Zelos laughed, "I doubt you'd get paid anyway. This thing will end in my death, which means Seles will inherit the Wilder family fortune, and Seles is not gonna pay you."

"Seles?"

"My sister." He said bitterly, "You'll probably meet her; she's in here somewhere, hugging my Cruxis Crystal…"

"Hugging your Cruxis Crystal?"

Zelos smiled, "You'll see."

The man made no reply and so the two continued down the passageway, encountering monsters every now and then. They were all pretty easy, and half the time they were insects. Zelos did very little in the way of fighting; he was more than happy to let little Lloyd do all the work. The brunet seemed to be in a hurry for some reason, like he really just wanted to get this over and done with. Not really the attitude he expected from a suspected member of Cruxis, but he supposed that it didn't really matter. In the end, Lloyd was just like everyone else; all he wanted was regeneration.

Soon they found themselves on a strange-looking platform with square holes. Strolling around was an extremely out-of-place-looking rock creature. Zelos stood watching it for a moment before noticing the brunet looking at him expectantly.

"You suddenly lose your nerve or something?" Zelos asked mockingly. Lloyd glared in answer, and said nothing. With a small sigh, Zelos stepped forward, unsheathing his sword. Truthfully, he'd never really fought anything like this before, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. Using appropriate timing and precise attacks, the rock golem fell quickly enough, leaving behind no body, but instead a large, perfectly square block. It was now that the red-clad teen approached, again doing little more than staring expectantly.

"So you're what, just not helping now?" He queried.

"I'm a mercenary; you don't pay me to think."

"In other words, Cruxis told you not to."

He smirked, "No comment."

"Riiight. Well, too bad for you, I don't need your help anyway," he said confidently before pushing the surprisingly light block down one of the holes. As expected, another golem appeared moments later. Zelos stepped forward to fight again, and was surprised to see Lloyd join him. Together with the teen, the monster was brought down in half the time. A few blocks later, the two of them made their way down the stairs and across the recently completed path to a strange glowing pedestal holding a floating ring. Zelos grabbed it and examined the seemingly ordinary red-jewelled ring. "So this is going to stop that force field?"

"It should." Lloyd answered, quickly heading back the way they'd come. At this point, Zelos was sure he wasn't imagining the rushed feeling he was getting about all this.

"What's the hurry?" He asked, following along at a slower pace that Lloyd was forced to match.

"Nothing," the brunet said in a slightly constrained voice. Whatever was bothering him, he wasn't about to tell the red-haired Chosen, so Zelos dropped the subject. Apparently good conversation wasn't something he could get from the red-clad mercenary. In any case, when they once again reached the purple force field and Zelos figured out how to use the mysterious ring (which turned out to be fairly simple and easy to use), the fire that came from it collided with the field, causing it to disappear. Zelos barely hid his disappointment at this. Everything was working like it should. He was one warp pad away from sealing his fate. Locked in an internal battle of wills, Zelos hesitated before stepping onto the pad with Lloyd. After a few seconds of nothingness, Zelos found himself in a familiar room. The city view from the windows showed how high they really were, but Zelos – having been up here numerous times – paid no attention to it. All his focus was on the object in front of him. The platform that had housed the light of the oracle stood there, waiting to be activated. Standing a little aside from the platform was something he hadn't particularly wanted to see – his sister.

"Oh, you actually showed up," she said in her usual uncaring yet mocking tone.

He smiled dryly. "Lloyd, Seles. Seles, Lloyd." The two stepped forward to greet each other awkwardly. It didn't matter who it was, Seles had no finesse when it came to people; a trait he was glad they didn't share.

"I've heard a lot about you," Lloyd said in a failed attempt to soften the atmosphere.

Seles sneered. "Not surprising. My brother is forced to speak only of others since he himself is little more than his title."

"O-okay?" Lloyd answered alongside Zelos' glare. Even now, she had to act like this.

"Look, just give me my crystal, Seles," he demanded. He'd learned by now that pleasantries were pointless when it came to his sister.

"Is that any way to talk to a lady?" She asked in feigned astonishment. Zelos was all for stalling the event that would eventually lead to his own demise, but not if it meant keeping up a conversation with Seles.

"Seles, don't be difficult."

"Difficult? Why shouldn't I be difficult? It's not like the lowly sister of the Chosen could be anything else."

Aw, great, here's comes the guilt speech. Somehow it managed to rear its ugly head every time they saw each other.

"This stone is the only real purpose I have," she continued sadly, her tone showing her clear need for attention, as always. "And you just want me to give it up?"

A large part of him had been expecting this, but a small part in the back of his head still couldn't actually believe that she was actually going to make a fuss about it.

"For the sake of the ENTIRE WORLD, yeah, I kinda do."

"Hmph," she scoffed, folding her arms. "Saving the world… what do I care about that? I probably won't live long enough to see salvation anyway."

Zelos closed his eyes for a moment, thinking about how much he really didn't want to be doing this before stepping forward.

"Seles, I really couldn't give a-" Suddenly another bright light interrupted him, and all three turned to stare at the now glowing platform. Within moments, a figure emerged. Glowing aura, feathery wings, and a general feeling of light – it was an angel. Unconsciously Zelos took a step closer to the platform, and the winged being floated down closer to them.

"I am Remiel, an angel of judgement. I am here to guide Zelos, son of the mana lineage on his journey of world regeneration," he said in a regal-sounding voice. "The time has come to awaken the Goddess Martel, who sleeps at the centre of the world."

At this point, the angel floated only a few feet above them, and had turned his head toward Seles, who still clutched the crystal into her chest as she backed slowly away from the glowing creature. With a simple wave of his arm, mana began to surge around the crystal, and it pried itself easily from Seles' grasp. Once in the air, the glowing red speck took no time to fly toward Zelos, who didn't flinch as the stone simply obliterated his current Exsphere and key crest to attach itself directly onto his skin. The process was not without pain, and Zelos cringed a little as he felt his own body merge with the stone. A slightly more elaborate gold covering replaced his old key crest, though it did nothing to separate the stone's bond with his chest. He didn't like the feel of its foreign power slithering through his body like some kind of parasite. All through this, Remiel kept talking (he did a lot of talking), and at some point during his talking, the Tower of Salvation appeared. He could tell because even from up here, he could hear the people rejoicing.

"Zelos, Chosen of Regeneration," the angel said, causing the redhead to look up. "Unlock the seals that guard the Tower of Salvation, and climb its stairs to heaven in that distant land."

Zelos knew he was waiting for a response, a confirmation. But that was something Zelos wasn't sure he could give. He'd come all the way up here, he was face to face with an actual angel, but… another strange sensation of something like pain coursed through him from his chest. Of course. It was already too late, wasn't it? The moment he'd allowed this thing to attach itself, he'd said 'yes'.

"…I will," he said slowly, the weight of his words bearing heavily down on him.

Remiel seemed to take no notice of his sorrow. "Very good. We of Cruxis shall grant you the power of the angels with each seal you unlock. Once you are reborn as an angel, this eroded world shall be regenerated."

Zelos nodded, "I will unlock the seals."

"First, head North, to the Seal of Earth. Offer your prayers at that distant altar."

Again, Zelos nodded.

Remiel, having completed his task, began to rise upwards. "Good luck, Chosen One. I shall be awaiting you at the next seal." Moments later, he disappeared the same way he came.

"So that was… an angel…" Seles commented; even she was unable to hide her astonishment. "And to think you're actually going to become one? Hmph."

Both of them ignored the girl's comment, and Lloyd slowly approached the unmoving Chosen, who – since Remiel left – had been staring into space with a blank expression.

"Zelos?" He asked slowly, snapping the Chosen out of his trance. "We should get going."

Zelos said nothing, but moved back towards the warp pad at a quickened pace, stopping only for a moment when he heard his sister's strained voice behind him.

"S-so that's it?" She said through tears, "You're just leaving? What about… I… What do I do now?"

He stepped onto the pad.

"Zelos, wait-!"

"Go home," he told the girl.

She froze. "W-what?"

"I said, go home," he repeated. "You're done here. You should have been done a long time ago." She opened her mouth to speak again, but he stopped her. "Just go home, Seles."

And with that, he activated the pad. All these little things, like his sister's constant and never-ending obsessions over the stupidest of issues– they all just didn't matter anymore. It didn't matter anymore that they each wanted what the other one had, because it was too late for them to ever switch positions. It didn't matter that she might never forgive him, because at this point, what was there to forgive? He didn't need to look down or finger the blood red jewel glinting on his chest to know it was there, he could feel it. Every inch of him could feel it, and it was getting worse as it got better. The crystal spread through him more and more with every passing second, but with every passing second the pain started to ebb away to be replaced with a tense raw feeling inside him. Overall he felt… horrible.

"Are you alright?" Lloyd asked, and Zelos glanced at him.

"No," he answered truthfully. "Did you expect me to be?"

"Hmph," was the only reply given. It was strange; the expression on the brunet's face was less one of concern for the Chosen and more one of… fear? Worry? He realized that he really didn't know the face well enough to properly guess the emotions, so he gave up trying. There were no monsters on the way out of the tower, but Zelos wasn't sure if he felt that was a good or a bad thing. Either way, he was going to have to face what was coming. If he was lucky he had maybe a day, probably not two, and he'd have to say goodbye to the city forever.

Due mostly to the lack of monsters and other obstacles, the two soon found themselves back in the main entrance of the temple, where they were awaited by the same anxious priests as before.

"C-chosen One!!" They cried in varying tones of amazement upon seeing him. Their keen eyes looked him over briefly before settling on one spot – the Cruxis Crystal on his chest. Seeing this, their eyes widened.

"You've received the oracle…" The head priest said, more to himself. Zelos nodded. "Then, the journey of regeneration can finally begin!"

Again, Zelos nodded, and made an effort to wipe the cold depression from his face. Of all things, that's not what the people needed to see right now.

"Oh, bless you, Chosen one, bless you!" Another priest cheered. Their faces were much brighter than he'd seen them in many months. Suddenly another face entered the room; it was the captain of the city's few remaining militia. Zelos had almost forgotten about him.

"Chosen One," he greeted, bowing slightly in respect. "I am glad to see that you are alright. We have done as you asked – it seems that the Renegades wasted no time in escaping, and no one was harmed. However, after the Tower of Salvation appeared, it has been rather difficult to control the people…"

"Good job, Captain!" Zelos told him as happily as he could in an attempt to ease the soldier's nerves. "Don't worry about the people, they just wanna see their precious Chosen all safe and sound and regenerating."

"That was my belief also, sir."

"Right. So no worries, they just need a little attention," he told him, and then his face grew more serious, "However, there are a few things I wanted to talk to you about in regards to the Renegade attack."

The captain nodded. "Understood, Chosen One. We recently received word that Her Majesty would like a meeting with you at the closest available time."

This was something that Zelos had expected to happen, and he was well prepared.

"Tell Her Majesty I'd be honoured if she'd join me for dinner tonight. She'll know where to go. And when."

"Very well, sir," he said with a nod before turning to leave. "Will there be anything else? A few knights for protection, perhaps?"

The distaste in his voice was unmistakable, as was its meaning. Zelos found it incredibly amusing that, despite the fact that Lloyd had done nothing wrong, it was clear that he wasn't trusted. But, as amusing as it would be to see the teen's face if he agreed to bring more adequate protection, he didn't want extra baggage. He'd send the kid away too, if he could.

"That won't be necessary Captain, just deliver the message and leave the rest to me," Zelos told him with the smile of bemusement still on his face. The captain nodded in classic military fashion before heading swiftly out of the room. After a few moments, Zelos followed him.

Stepping out into the still cold air of the afternoon, Zelos was a little surprised at what he saw. Mass crowds of people weren't an unfamiliar sight; it was the atmosphere and the sheer size of the crowd that surprised him. The square was completely filled, which to be honest, he didn't think was possible with the city's dwindling population. Combined with the ecstatic attitudes and the Tower of Salvation hanging from the skyline, it was almost as if Zelos was back home in the Meltokio that had been. For a moment the sky wasn't grey, the people weren't starving, the buildings weren't crumbling, and they were gathered in the square for an everyday celebration of some sort. The vision of happiness and life was slow to fade, but Zelos held onto it as long as he could. He was going to need it a lot in the coming future.

It wasn't long, of course, before he was spotted exiting the temple, and they swarmed him. Not at all like the mob of this morning, where desperation and fear had been their driving emotions. Now it was hope and happiness that ruled over the crowd, and Zelos was soon ushered over the near centre for an unannounced speech that while not planned, seemed mandatory. The good cheer made it easy for Zelos to work out his words in his mind: words to encourage them, and solidify the hopes and dreams made by the appearance of the Tower of Salvation. It was an easy task considering it was something that he'd been doing his entire life, and time seemed to pass quickly as he spoke to the people.

They cheered, cried, and were undoubtedly inspired by his speech from beginning to end, and Zelos was overall rather glad of it. It'd been a long time since he'd gotten the chance to do something like this. But even so, he had to be going; his day wasn't nearly over yet. So, after more than a few minutes of negotiating his release from his loving fans, he managed to escape and set off towards his home. After a moment, he smiled.

"Still following me, huh?" He asked his red-clad shadow.

"Technically I'm not following you; there could be any number of dangers between here and your house."

"And inside my house?"

"Could be danger there, too."

"I figured as much," he said, fiddling with his sleeve. "Well, much as I really, really hate to admit it, you were sorta helpful back there…"

"Heh."

"Hey, don't get smug now; this doesn't happen very often, so just be grateful. Anyway, like I said, it wasn't so bad having you around – someone to do the dirty work, that kinda thing – so I might be willing to take you along on my little journey."

"Oh, really?" He answered in sarcasm.

"Maybe. But it's not me you're gonna have to convince," he told him, smirking slightly. "It's everyone else." The teen made no reply, and Zelos said no more. Both were too busy thinking to take part in idle conversation. That, and Zelos' house wasn't actually that far from the main square, so they didn't have that much time before Zelos once again opened the tall oak doors, welcoming the sense of relief and comfort he got from seeing the familiar space. Behind him, Lloyd entered without invitation through the door Zelos had purposefully left open. Stealthily, Zelos listened for any signs of the brunet's reaction – a startled gasp, slight stumble, anything at all. There was nothing. Whoever this guy was, he was clearly used to the privileged life.

It hadn't been a minute before the redhead heard footsteps approaching and Sebastian entered the room.

"Master Zelos, so good to see you're all right," he greeted with the perfect amount of un-enthusiasm someone in his profession would have. Politely, he gestured towards Lloyd "And, you are…?"

"Oh, he's just my new bud," Zelos said quickly before Lloyd could even open his mouth to speak. "Actually, he's a mercenary I've decided to hire to protect me on my journey."

"I see," he said, thinking for a moment before turning to face Lloyd completely. "Then it is a pleasure to meet you, Sir Bud."

Zelos was a second too late to conceal his short laugh at hearing the new title picked out for the teen by his butler. Behind him, he heard Lloyd struggling to find the right words to say.

"M-my name's not 'Sir Bud'…" He said a little too quietly, quiet enough that Sebastian could go about his duties and pretend to have heard nothing.

"Will Sir Bud be joining us for the night?" He inquired to his master.

The question caught Zelos by surprise, but not overly so. "I suppose. I doubt he has anywhere else to go."

"I have more than enough Gald to purchase a room at the inn for a night," he suggested.

Zelos gave another short laugh, and Sebastian shook his head, "The inn in Meltokio is no place for anyone to stay, I'm afraid. The Desians frequent there, and while it remains open…"

"The beds here are nicer anyway," Zelos interjected as he moved towards the grand staircase. "Besides, don't you want to be here when I'm viciously attacked in my sleep?"

"Very well," the teen agreed, without much prodding.

This seemed to cheer Sebastian up. "Excellent, I'll prepare one of the guest rooms. In the meantime, will either of you be requiring a meal?"

"Not today, Sebastian; as much as I love your sauces, my mercenary and I have a prior arrangement with Her Majesty."

"I see. Very well, perhaps a change of attire, then?" He said, his keen eyes looking over Lloyd once more.

"Sounds great," Zelos confirmed before starting up the stairs. "Oh, and Lloyd, you can just hang around here for while and Sebastian'll show you to your room."

The brunet nodded, and Zelos turned to enter his room. He did love his room. It, like the rest of the house, was decorated superbly to give off the clear impression of wealth. This had always been his room, ever since the day he was born. Naturally it was also the biggest, most extravagant part of the entire house, with its custom-made and larger than master sized bed, its fully equipped en-suite, and, of course, the marble balcony that overlooked the entire estate. The balcony's view, however, was never what had interested him. What had interested him was the perfectly climbable wall of ivy growing conveniently right beside it. Before he'd come into complete ownership of his house it had served as the perfect means of secret escape and late night entry to and from his room. Nowadays such a roundabout entrance was unnecessary, but he still found himself scaling down the familiar vines every now and then.

Sadly, Zelos sank down into the comfort of his four poster bed, realizing that he'd never use those vines again – that this would be his last night in his bed, and that he'd probably never see any of his house ever again. And on that thought, who would? Seles, he supposed, would inhabit the family home for a few years, before either her fatal illness or her pessimistic attitude (or, more likely, a combination of the two) killed her off. But… what then? When all the Wilders were gone and dead? If he did manage to somehow regenerate the world, maybe they'd keep the place up and running as a memorial or something. Somehow, he doubted that would happen, but it was a much nicer thought than him failing to regenerate the world and his family name and home crumbling away with the rest of the remnants of Tethe'alla's brief blip of wealth and happiness.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and Sebastian entered, carrying with him a fresh set of clothes and a tray of tea. After a small greeting, he placed the clothes on a nearby chair and the tea on top of the table beside it.

"Thanks," Zelos said as he walked over to inspect the clothing.

"Not at all, Master Zelos," the old man said kindly. Sebastian… he was going to miss that guy too. Like the room, Sebastian had always been there as a main part of his life, and Zelos would be sad to let him go. Noticing the redhead's solemn attitude, the butler said, "Is there something wrong, sir?"

The question seemed odd under the circumstances, but Zelos shook his head. "Not really, just thinking about… leaving."

"Ah," he said knowingly. "Have you decided yet when you will be departing?"

"Probably first thing tomorrow, I guess," he answered with a shrug. "Not really any point in delaying it."

"That is true," he agreed, looking over his master carefully. "You know, I am quite proud of you."

The words came as a surprise to Zelos. The butler had never said anything of the like before; he'd never had to. Curiously, Zelos stayed silent, allowing the man to continue uninhibited.

"I remember when you were just a boy, the day you learned about your place in the world, and the truth of the regeneration journey. Never before in my twelve years of serving you had I seen you so upset," he paused to allow the memories of the day to sink in. Zelos remembered it all too clearly; he'd always been treated with the highest regard, but he'd never thought that he'd regret learning why. As a child – no, even now – the idea of giving his life away for any reason frightened him. The priests had been beyond disappointed when they saw that his reaction to the news wasn't a proud sense of duty and honour, as they had felt it should be. Their expectations of a twelve-year-old had been unfair, after all; how would anyone react to being told that your future will be forfeited for the good of the people? One life for the sake of many… the idea sounded great – unless the one life was yours. But, of course, no one would be able to see it that way, because no one in that position would ever live to tell the tale. The day he'd found out about his impeding sacrifice, he'd… well…

"You cried for hours…" Sebastian continued, shaking his head lightly while Zelos fidgeted.

"Not my best moment..." The redhead admitted with a small grin.

"Yes, you cried, but never again after that. For thirteen years you have carried the burden of what must come without once showing any signs of difficulty. There are few who could do that." Sebastian paused for a moment before continuing, "I am sad that you have to go, but I know it is for the best. Tethe'alla is failing, Master Zelos, but you can save it. You can bring peace to the world, you can save the people, and you can free them. Master Zelos, you mustn't be afraid that you must go; you must carry the knowledge that you will succeed." Softly, he placed one hand on his master's shoulder, and looked at him in a deeply caring and fatherly way that Zelos had never seen before, "Oh, I am going to miss you."

And with that, the old butler left the room silently, leaving Zelos again sitting on the bed, a few stray tears on his cheeks. Sebastian had such faith in him; the world had such faith in him… Just how was he going to keep this up? He had no idea what was going to happen in the next few months. All he knew was what should happen, and of course, what would happen were he to fail. They were all counting on him. It wasn't a very safe bet, placing everything they had on one person, but they were doing it. Hoping was all they, as people, could do to aid in the regeneration of the world. He, however, was not so lucky. Now, like so many other times, he wished more than anything that he wasn't the Chosen of Regeneration.

Wow, I am SO pleased with myself for actually posting this on time. I'm giving myself a very well-deserved pat on the back. So, you guys think I can keep it up for next week? I really doubt it. But I shall try!

Exams are starting on the...15th? Yeah, 15th, so expect less chapters then. Well, I really HOPE there's less chapters then, cause if theres not less chapters I am SO gonna fail...

Hmm...what else to say... well, the next chapters gonna start in my wonderful Lloyds POV, so all you Lloyd fangirls can look forward to that. To all you Zelos fangirls, don't worry, it'll switch back to Zelos soon enough. And then hey! Regeneration Journey's starting! Excitement!

I have to do some other writing before I do chapter 3, but I'm still hoping to get it done before next Sunday.

OH! and a round of applause for my wonderful editor Thingbe, who got this chapter edited really really fast! (Thank her lots, she makes this stuff readable.)

Once again, please review! I LOVED all the reviews I've gotten so far. ToS readers are my favorite kind of people, you ALL seem to review.