And here is the next chapter! As usual the pace is a little slow but I'm doing my best to skip over most of the unnecessary scenes of the game while planting the seeds of my own plot, little by little... (: Next chapter will be one of the few Lloyd POV chapters I will have (so far it's the only one, and I'm really not sure if there will be another one, we'll see) In any case, I hope you guys enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. (:
Chapter Two
Morning came fast the next day, and with it came good news.
"Just as they promised, the Research Lab finished altering the EC's this morning!" Sheena announced as she made her way into the dining room. Everyone was sitting down there eating breakfast, Lloyd and Colette looking particularly focused on their food.
Zelos, who was lazily leaning his head on his hand, couldn't help but to grimace at the news. "I can't believe we're going to be traveling on those things." he complained, his voice tethering into a whine.
Sheena frowned in agreement. "It can't be helped." She sighed. "It's the best we can do for now. It would be impossible for us to get a ship, and with the Bridge out…" She shrugged.
"Sis, are you okay?" Genis asked in concern, watching as his sister's complexion slowly began to pale.
"I'm fine, Genis…" Raine assured him, although her color did not return. She put down her utensils, having lost her appetite.
Sheena rubbed the back of her head sheepishly at that. "Sorry, Raine." she apologized, having forgotten about the Professor's fear of water.
Zelos raised an eyebrow at the exchange before sliding closer to the half-elf Professor with suave smirk. "Don't worry, my Ultra Cool Gorgeous Beauty! The great Zelos Wilder will protect you!" he promised her, his voice teasing.
Her half-hearted glare did nothing but amuse Zelos, but he laid off the subject as soon he saw her reach for her staff. Luckily for him, Lloyd finally spoke up then.
"Man, the food was great!" he exclaimed with a satisfied grin. "I could get used to this, you know." he joked half-seriously.
"I am glad to hear that, Sir Bud." Sebastian spoke up from behind him, almost startling Lloyd out of his seat. He hadn't noticed the butler's presence. Zelos snickered quietly behind his hand although Lloyd was able to hear him anyway and shot him a glare. He got out of his seat and proceeded to glare at the butler as well, protesting. "I told you my name isn't Bud! It's Lloyd!" he insisted.
Genis rolled his eyes. "Shouldn't we get going already?" he crossed his arms over his chest, looking impatient. He also snuck a few glances in Presea's direction, wondering if she was alright. Without the Rheairds and without a clue of how to save the two worlds, the only thing they could do now is follow through their promise to Kate and help Presea return to her normal self.
"The brat is right. There's no time to lose and whatnot." Zelos agreed and stood up from his chair.
"All right, well, let's head to the shore and make our way back to Sybak then." Sheena smiled.
Sybak had brought them little answers, but at least they had something to go on. Tomorrow… they had to go see a dwarf named Altessa, whom had also been part of the team that had experimented on Presea, and was the only one who could cure her.
"What's the Gaoracchia forest like?" Genis asked Sheena curiously as he finished drying the plates they had used to eat. It was after a general consensus that the party decided to camp for the night, settling down somewhat nearby the aforementioned forest. After all, they wouldn't want to go into it at this time of night. And with their wanted status, there's no way they could've stayed at the inn.
"Hmm," Sheena leaned back on the camp's trees, stretching her arms and taking out the kinks in her muscles. "Well, it's kinda of scary to tell you the truth." Sheena admitted. "Dark, easy to get lost in..."
"What's so scary about that?" Zelos leered at her through half-lidded eyes before dodging the projectile that was aimed at him. "Hey, watch the hair!" he complained.
"I bet there's nothing to be scared of." Lloyd shot Genis an easygoing smile. "It doesn't look much different than the Iselia Forest."
"Hmm, I guess." Genis frowned unsurely.
"It used to be just a normal forest, once upon a time." Zelos interjected with a devious grin. "But then," he whispered, sitting up from his spot and beckoning the two closer before continuing. "One day, a thief hid a stolen treasure deep in the forest."
Sheena, seeing where this was going, rolled her eyes and muttered an "Oh, brother." to herself, but let him continue, feeling slightly mischievous herself.
"It was a jewel worth several billion Gald, so naturally a lot of people came after it." Zelos paused then, leaning in and lowering his voice so they strained to hear it. "Every single one of them ended up dying, slaughtered by the thief." he whispered morbidly, amused as their eyes widened in shock. He smiled thinly then, his face darkening eerily over the campfire. "Over time, the forest became stained with blood. It transformed into a cursed place, haunted by the lingering resentment of the people killed here."
Lloyd and Genis blanched at Zelos' words, shivering. "You're not serious, are you?" Lloyd asked, sounding nervous now. He glanced wearily in the direction of the forest, feeling much less enthusiastic to visit it now.
"N-no way." Genis laughed weakly. "He's just trying to scare us… right?"
Zelos smirked then, widely and evilly. "Rumors say that even now, when travelers enter the forest… the thief's ghost comes to kill them." he warned them, and did his best not to laugh his ass off at the freaked out expressions of the two.
"Who dares disturb my forest?" Sheena whispered from behind them, having approached the two quietly as Zelos narrated his tale.
The two boys yelped, jumping up to their feet and swiveling around, scared out of their minds.
Sheena began snickering like crazy, tears coming out of her eyes. "Sheena!" The boys glared at her sulkily as they tried to calm down their racing hearts.
Zelos burst out laughing as well. "Oh man, you should've seen your faces!" he cackled. "Sheesh, not even three-year-olds believe stories like that these days." He bit his lip, trying to stop himself from grinning so much.
They turned to look at him murderously as well.
"Alright, children, that's enough." Raine finally spoke up then, closing the book she had been reading. "It's late, and we all need our rest." She lectured them, hands on her hips, although she too had an amused smile quirking at her lips.
After a few more disgruntled glares they all settled down into their sleeping bags, ignoring the snickers coming from the Tethe'allan pair.
It took a while before everything quieted down, but finally, there was silence.
I wonder what kind of dwarf Altessa is… Lloyd thought tiredly, yawning as he wondered how his dad was doing.
Sleep was quick to come.
That night, under the floors of Sybak, a redheaded swordsman walked quietly but briskly to the academy's basement.
His footsteps echoed throughout the hidden tunnels that led to the building, but Zelos wasn't scared of being caught. His eyes narrowed in determination as he reached the doorway of the basement's lab. He pulled the hatch open, watching as the entrance opened smoothly.
Inside, most of the half-elves were asleep. About a third of them however, continued on about their business, looking tired and haggard but determined.
He found his target within a second.
"Kate!" Zelos called out to her softly, surprising her. The blonde half-elf frowned disconcertingly, and Zelos could already see the gears in her head turning. Zelos narrowed his eyes in annoyance, beckoning her to come closer. "Come on!" he insisted and tilted his head towards the door.
Finally, after a second more, Kate approached him, wearily.
"What brings you back here again, Chosen One?" she asked him stiffly, her arms wrapped tightly around herself.
Zelos rubbed the back of this head, giving a weary glance to the inside of the basement. "Not so loud, okay?" he frowned, moving away from the entrance's view. "I just wanted to ask you something is all." he told her.
Kate looked as uncomfortable he felt. She said nothing and waited for him to speak up again.
Zelos sighed, a troubled sound, but got straight to the point. "I want to know who it was that ordered you to conduct that experiment." he asked, referring to Presea's situation.
Kate's lips thinned as she pressed them together tightly. She said nothing, only stared at the ground.
Zelos titled her chin up, piercing her eyes with his own, searching for the answer.
"Was it the Pope?" he murmured quietly, his resounding voice softly caressing the dungeon's walls.
Kate pulled her face away from his grip, refusing to look at him.
Zelos snorted at her response. "Heh, I thought as much. That pathetic old man just couldn't stand not having a Cruxis Crystal of his own, huh?" he chuckled lowly, darkly.
He watched the half-elf's body tense at his words, her eyes flashing. "Don't call him that!" she protested, at last speaking. She bit her lip immediately after though, already regretting it.
Zelos' brow rose slowly and delicately. His mouth morphed into an interested smirk. "Oh…?" he voiced slowly, curiously. "That's certainly unusual. A half-elf, siding with the Pope?" he asked lightly, inquiringly.
"I… I'm not… siding with him." Kate denied, looked downcast.
"…I did wonder." Zelos nodded to himself, finally assured. "You're his daughter, aren't you?" he asked, rather bluntly.
The way her face tightened told him everything he needed to know. Zelos shut his eyes in irritation, knowing he had hit a dead end.
There was only one more thing he could do now, a risky gamble.
Zelos swallowed nervously, looking grim. He hoped word of this never got around to the Pope.
"My sister, Seles…" Zelos stared straight into Kate's eyes once again, searching for recognition but finding none. Instead he saw her shame and her fear. Above all, he saw her love. Fuck, Zelos thought then, knowing this wasn't going to work. "She's gone missing." he told her instead, not exactly lying.
Kate looked at him with a pitying expression, her lips sad and her hands angry. She clenched them tightly at her sides, looking frustrated. As if she knew the truth behind his words.
"I… I'm sorry." she said then, her voice soft and shamed as she looked down.
Zelos felt cold then, not trusting her word. He grabbed her arm tightly, feeling his patience begin to snap. "Do you really not know anything?" he hissed at her, narrowing his eyes.
Kate tried to pull away, shaking her head. "I told you, I don't!" Kate protested, wincing as his grip tightened.
The movement jarred something in Zelos' consciousness, making him immediately let go. He shut his eyes tightly, trying to calm his temper. It took a while until he was finally able to apologize. "…Sorry." Zelos sighed, sounding frustrated. "Listen, just, forget about all of this. I was never here." he instructed her, a firm frown set on his lips.
Kate nodded in agreement, looking pale and shaken after the exchange. Zelos watched her hurry back into the lab with a sense of disappointment.
He hadn't managed to accomplish a single thing by doing this. He scowled, feeling useless. Helpless.
Was there really no other choice? Zelos wondered, the thought continuing to pester him the whole walk back to the camp.
Once there, he snuck quietly, carefully, into the clearing. He felt tired all of the sudden. Not in the mood to continue his watch.
With a small frown, he wondered who he should wake up to take over for him, glancing around the camp area.
…One of the sleeping bags was empty.
Zelos' face froze then. Panicked. He heard a thump hit the ground a second later and turned around slowly. He found Lloyd frowning at him, looking right at him with an expression Zelos was currently too tired to decipher.
"Lloyd…" Zelos pulled up a nervous smile. "You're awake…" he grinned uncomfortably, not liking the serious expression that lingered on the dual-swordsman's face.
"You were gone for a while." Lloyd spoke then, looking at him warily. "Where'd you go?" he asked him, crossing his arms over his chest.
Zelos laughed nervously, wondering why he kept getting caught off guard by this guy. "Ah, well, you see…" Zelos began, when a disgruntled groan from the left interrupted their conversation. "Shutuuuup." Sheena groaned in her sleep, blinking her tired eyes open just enough to glare at them.
The moment had been enough. In a flash, Zelos' best philanderer look was in his eyes, topped off with his most satisfying, sleazy-looking smirk.
"Sheena, darlin'," Zelos purred, turning to her so as to not face Lloyd. "I'd be more than happy to help you back to sleep." he teased her, knowing it would wake her up enough to create a small scene.
His plan worked almost too perfectly. Sheena rose to his bait alright, but one look at his disheveled appearance—suddenly, he was glad he had remembered to mess up his clothes on his way back to the camp—made her grimace in disgust.
"Ugh, I can't believe you, Zelos." she groaned, still half asleep. "You're despicable." She glared at him, coldly, as she struggled to stay awake.
Zelos shrugged carelessly, which made Lloyd frown in wonder. Why Sheena was getting so mad all of the sudden? Did she know where Zelos had gone?
Sheena turned to address the pondering teen. "Just ignore him, Lloyd." she scowled, trying not to slur her words as her tired body tried to catch up with her brain. "Do yourself a favor and don't even bother with this pervert." She tried to sound stern, but her ending yawn ruined the effect. She couldn't manage to stay awake for any longer after that.
When Zelos turned back to face Lloyd any remaining trace of guilt and anger was gone from his face. Instead he smirked at the brown-haired swordsman, his flirtatious look never once leaving in his eyes. "Heh, sorry about ditching guard duty and all." he apologized, not sounding very sorry at all. He approached the brown-haired teen slowly, a whole different aura around him now. "I had some, matters to take care of." he purred into Lloyd's ears, his hot breath caressing the younger teen's skin.
Lloyd shivered at the contact, taking a step away from Zelos' sudden proximity. He gave him an odd, uncomfortable look, to which Zelos smirked suavely before winking. "I'm tired. Take over for me, will you, hunny?" Zelos asked the bewildered teen, sauntering over to his sleeping bag before the other could even begin to protest.
"Night~!" he called back at him, leaving Lloyd and his rapidly growing confusion alone in the dark, his face slowly turning a pale pink.
If you have time to favourite a fic, you have time to review it. (:
