Ch 3
Kratos ran blindly across the cobblestone plaza, halting only when he crashed into something and bounced back, landing on the ground. His first thoughts were of what it was that he ran into, followed by a sudden fear of being caught. A boy taller than him turned and glared down at him for a moment before brightening.
"Oh, hi! Watch out! Are you okay?" he asked. Kratos blinked, then nodded. "That's good. Say, are you new? I've never seen you around before." The boy was surrounded by other children and Kratos finally noticed that they held several items in their hands. Pots, pans, spoons, boxes with string tied across their lengths and bottles and jugs; plus some of the children were wearing a few of the items on their heads.
"I'm from somewhere else." Kratos answered lamely and got up, dusting himself off. "Whatcha doin'?" A girl about his 'age' smiled even more brightly than she had before, honey curls barely bound by a pink ribbon as her sea blue eyes sparkled. She clutched a doll tightly to her body and held a decorated broom handle in her free hand.
"We're having a parade 'cause today's the day Governor-General Neil and the Chosen and her companions made the Desians disappear!" she exclaimed with a giggle and held up her stick, "I'm the band girl! I get to march at the front with Maxie!" Kratos blinked and looked at the brunet boy he'd run into. The older boy beamed; Maxie, he assumed. For a moment, Kratos couldn't place the boy's face, then remembered him as a boy who had walked the plaza when the Chosen's journey first started.
"What's your name?" Maxie asked him.
"Uh, Kratos. Kratos Aurion." the seraphim answered.
"All right then, Kratos! From this day on, you're my subordinate! You wanna help with the parade?" Maxie declared. Kratos looked at the assorted children of varying ages with their crude instruments, then slowly let a smile spread over his face.
"O-okay. It sounds like... fun."
Within minutes of discovering that Kratos possessed a pink plastic dagger, Maxie named him 'Official Town Protector of the Heroes' Band' and put him at the front of the parade with himself and the girl, named Mindy as she promptly said. A pot lid was strapped to his arm for a shield and a copper pot was set on his head for a helmet.
"Okay! Ready?! And here we go!" Maxie declared and marched around the plaza, leading Mindy as she waved the broom handle in the air. Kratos mimicked her motions with his dagger, careful to avoid swinging it at someone, and the children banged pots, pans, plucked strings and blew on bottles and jugs. The racket was loud and anything but harmonious as they filed in a slow circle around the fountain set in the center of the plaza. The adults moved out of their way, some grinning at them, some scowling, but at that point Kratos didn't care. This was fun!
"Who's a stick in the mud now, huh?!" he thought gleefully and pushed the pot on his head up again so he could see where he was marching.
"Neil, we need help!" Lloyd exclaimed as he and Zelos were finally given audience to meet with the Governor-General of New Palmacosta. The young man looked almost relieved to see them as they stepped up to the conference table. "We're searching for my Da-ah, uh..."
"Lloyd! Thank Martel you're here!" Neil answered breathlessly, "We're in need of your help!" Zelos looked irritated and folded his arms over his chest, tapping his foot as the man explained to Lloyd the new problems arising in the city. "A few Desian soldiers from the days before the union of the worlds are still around. They've hired bandits and thugs from all over to attack this city and kidnap people in attempts to revive their human ranch. They've also been attacking supply routes that lead in and out of the city, so our economy is taking a beating as well." Neil briefly told them, "We need your help to stop these attacks and get rid of the last few Desians that still linger here. Can you help us?"
"Of course we'll help!" Lloyd answered without a second thought and yelped when Zelos slapped the back of his head. "Hey!"
"You forgot about Kratos!" the redhead snapped. Lloyd blinked and yelped again.
"Oh, right! Neil, a little boy about eight years of age with reddish brown hair and dark purple clothes ran away from us a bit ago." he began to say, "He's, uh, my little brother and I promised my Dad I'd take care of him. Can you have your troops keep an eye out for him? I really can't do much until I get him back." Neil nodded.
"Most of the soldiers are out patrolling the supply routes, but once enough of them have returned, I'll have them search the city for your brother. What was his name again?" he asked.
"Kratos. Kratos Aurion. He's kinda odd and likes to try to act like an adult, so if you talk to him like one, he'll probably be more cooperative." Lloyd answered.
"All right. I'll get on it. In the meantime, can you come with me? I'd like to show you, in secret, what we know about the brigands attacking New Palmacosta and our plans to stop them at last. We're having additional help sent here by ship from Meltokio." Here Neil stopped and eyed Zelos. "Before I continue, may I have your name, sir? I remember you from somewhere but I can't place it."
"Zelos Wilder, from Tethe'alla. I used to be their Chosen. I was the one that wore pink last time we were here during the journey of world unification." Zelos answered shortly and glared out the window. "I can't believe we're leaving him out there! He could be lost and scared or hurt..."
"Kratos will be fine by himself for now." Lloyd told him, "I trust his abilities. Now, let's see what we can do about those Desians..."
The parade ended at a high note when a kind old woman brought out milk and cookies for the children, praising their clever idea of the celebration. Mindy winked at Kratos and giggled with the other little girls as they twittered away like birds over their treats. Maxie elbowed the little mercenary and grinned.
"Mindy's got a crush on yooouuu!" he teased and Kratos felt his face grow hot.
"Nuh uh! Don't tease!" he stammered and bit into the cookie. The other boys danced around, laughing and poking fun.
"Mindy and Kratos, sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" they sang. The rusty-haired boy fidgeted where he sat on the fountain. Behind him was the government building, where the new Governor-General was busily laying out the foundation for an attack on the Desian encampment not far from the city.
"Stop that! It's not funny!" Kratos yelled. The children continued to laugh as they finished their treats. The light-hearted mood was shattered, however, as screams rang out and hordes of shabbily dressed bandits and rogues raced into the plaza, led by men dressed in uniforms that Kratos remembered all too well. "Desians?! Here?! I thought they all reformed!" he cried as the soldiers ran for the government building, breaking into the complex as the thugs scattered the people. Chaos ensued as the crowds tried to escape from the attackers, women and men dragged off to who knew where as others were viciously beaten upon in the frenzy of greed and ruthlessness.
"The Desians are back! Run!" Maxie yelled and ran for the alleys, the group of children following closely. Kratos jumped down from the fountain and pulled his dagger free, holding it as firmly as any sword. "Kratos! Come on! They're gonna get you if you stay there!" the boy yelled louder.
"Kratos! Hurry! Run away! Let's go!" Mindy cried as she was led away by hand, still clutching her doll and broom handle. The kids ducked into the shadows, watching in horror at the rioting and looting that overtook their home.
"Lloyd! Zelos! Where are you?!" Kratos shouted as he darted past the fleeing citizens and faced off against a thug, "You! What are people like you doing here?! This is supposed to be a time of peace!" The dirty-faced man grinned toothily at him, stepping closer and more intimidating towards him.
"Lookie here! A pint-sized nobleman's boy! Bet you'd fetch a good price from yer mummy and pappy!" he jeered, whipping out a chipped dagger from under the furs he wore, "Put away that toy, boy, yer coming with me!"
"Hmph, just try it!" Kratos taunted and quickly called up a circle of mana below him, "Fireball!" The spell caught the other man off guard and he stumbled back, hurriedly trying to put out the flames as Kratos ran on towards the government building. "Governor-General!"
A crate of fireworks exploded as he passed by a wagon loaded with burning goods. Mindy screamed as she watched the explosion engulf a good amount of the plaza. Kratos was sent flying, limbs flailing as he produced his cherubic wings in attempts to save himself. Hitting the stone walkways of the plaza, he skidded painfully along for a few feet, then lay limply on the ground, tiny wings fluttering in the winds of destruction that took place around him as the thugs overlooked him for one of the dead.
Moments before the siege had taken place, Lloyd was trying hard not to look lost as Neil explained the plan of attack to him. Zelos nodded, following the layout easily though his mind continued to drift towards his concerns for the now child-like seraphim still lost.
"The attack should begin tomorrow evening, so when the troops come together for debriefing I'll have them make runs around the city for your brother. Now then..." Neil finished and shouted in surprise as the windows were shattered by men breaking through them. Panicked screams could be heard outside as the soldiers leveled crossbows at the three in the room.
"Desians!" Lloyd hissed as their leader stepped to the forefront, grinning hugely at the chaos he was creating.
"The Desian New Order." he corrected, "Don't try anything, unless you wish to breathe your last this day. We're taking this city over and converting it into an Exsphere manufacturing plant."
"There are no Exspheres left in this world!" Zelos lied through his teeth, glaring at the soldiers closing in around them. The lead Desian smiled.
"Says you. We're getting more from a very willing source. Anyways, men, take them to their new rooms downstairs. I'm sure the inferior beings of this city will be more easily subdued when they hear their only heroes are held prisoner within this very building!" he laughed as Neil, Lloyd and Zelos were forced to walk out and down to the dungeon underneath the government building.
"What are we gonna do?" Lloyd whispered as they were pushed along to the cells. Zelos shook his head, eyes flickering through shades of green and blue as his emotions churned within him. "Dad! I hope he's all right, out there." he finally realized and felt his stomach twist sickeningly at the thought of him. "What if something happened to him? If the Desians got him or did anything to him..."
Each one of them was shoved into a separate cell, the final tone of locks clicking into place as the Desian soldiers laughed and climbed the steps still ringing in their ears. Lloyd kicked at the bars and ran his hands through his hair. Neil sat in a fury on his cot and Zelos began examining the cell.
"Keep it down, Lloyd. Save your strength for fighting these bastards." Zelos answered at last, poking at the bars and walls. "Kratos should be fine. He's smart enough to know what to do."
"But they took away our swords and my tools...!"
"Lloyd, I'm the only weapon and tool you need right now. Give me some time to figure out how to break this cell down without calling attention to us. Neil, can you come up with a plan to get word to your troops to come back here?" Zelos went on. The man nodded, realized he couldn't be seen through the solid walls lining the cells and spoke aloud.
"I'll think of something. The bandits must have waited for something like this to happen so they could attack. It's the only way such a risk they took would be successful." he remarked, "But how are you going to break the cells? These are made of a metal that was imported from Meltokio." Zelos cursed swiftly at that. "What? What's wrong?"
"Ugh! I was gonna say, 'No problem, I'm a descendant of angels and can use inhuman strength to snap them like twigs', but now that I know where these bars came from it's gonna be more difficult." the redhead answered.
"Why? Metal is metal, isn't it?" Lloyd asked in confusion. He heard a banging sound and cocked his head.
"Not always, Bro. Meltokio steel was developed by half-elves in Sybak to resist bending and breaking for decades. Damn things won't even rust until after about fifty years of use!" Zelos griped, "It's going to take me time to open a way through it, even with my angel strength!"
"Then I suggest starting soon. This city won't survive the rule of the Desians for too long." Neil told him flatly and closed his eyes, thinking through various strategies and tactics. Lloyd sighed and sat down, spending his time worrying over his father as Zelos struggled to bend the bars apart, pulling on them one at a time.
Kratos groaned softly as he began returning to consciousness. He almost wished he hadn't, his body ached and his mind felt as though a hundred herds of horses were stampeding through it. Keeping his eyes closed, he tried to feel out his surroundings, coming in contact with a soft bed of cloth and furs that he lay on.
"He's waking up!" a child's voice whispered excitedly, "Kratos! Are you okay? You've been asleep a long time!"
"Shh! The Desians might hear us!" Maxie's voice warned.
"Maxie, Kratos is waking up! Mindy, where's that cookie you were saving? Give it to Kratos to help him get better." another voice answered in a hushed tone. Kratos slowly opened his eyes and looked to one side, turning his head to take in the sight of his bedraggled new friends, all of whom were huddled close to him, expressions of concern, worry, fear, hope and joy lighting through their faces so clearly and openly he had to close his eyes again, fearing that being a child again meant his own deeply masked feelings showed as plainly as theirs did. "Kratos?! Don't die! My daddy died and he looked just like you before he did!"
"I'm okay. Just really... um. Ow." he groaned and gave up trying to sit upright. "What happened?"
"The fireworks blew up. Everybody thought you got killed, but Maxie snuck out when it was nighttime and got you." Mindy told him softly and smiled, "He was really surprised. You have little angel wings, Kratos! They're pretty and blue and shiny! Are you an angel?" Kratos blinked himself back to awareness and frowned.
"Uh, sorta. Hey, are my wings still out?" he asked, "Someone pull me up!" The children helped him sit up and he looked over his shoulder. The little blue mana wings fluttered weakly and he winced painfully from the motion of getting up. "Okay, my wings are fine." He put them away and looked up at the stars in concern. "It's dark. How long was I asleep?"
"Pretty long time. Uh, this many, I think." one boy answered, holding up six fingers, "The clock's on the front of the building where Neil was locked up in. The Desians said that if the grown-ups and everybody don't do what they say, they're gonna turn him and the two guys with him into monsters!"
"What two guys?" Kratos questioned, mind racing at the thought of having been unconscious for what seemed to be hours.
"Some dorky big kid in red clothes and a guy with red hair." Maxie answered, sitting with them as he kept his eyes on the plaza, watching warily as the bandits patrolled the area, most of them drunk or sleeping while the citizens were held prisoner in their own homes.
"Guy? I thought that was a girl!" another child piped up, "What kind of guy lets his hair get that long?!'
"Maybe he wanted to be a girl?"
"I know those two." Kratos said softly and grimaced, holding his head in his hands as a fresh wave of pain streaked through it, "Lloyd and Zelos are... um, my big brother and my dad." Tears came unbidden as the pain grew more acute. "Ow! Owowowow!"
"Are you okay? What's wrong with your head?" Mindy asked worriedly, handing out her cookie to him, "Here. This will help you feel better. It's one of my cookies." When she saw Kratos unable to move, paralyzed by the pain, she broke it into smaller pieces and held them to his mouth. "Come on! You have to eat! It's gonna be a while before we get any food. We're the only ones the Desians didn't get." The seraphim finally began to eat, wincing as the pain subsided at last but left him weakened and with the knowledge that it could return at any time.
"What are we going to do?" one of the children asked in a whimpering tone, "The soldiers are out of the city, the Desians locked up all the grown-ups, and Governor-General Neil is gonna get turned into a monster if they don't like how the grown-ups act!"
"I can fight. I know how to use a sword and magic. I'll rescue Neil and the others and they can help get the other people free." Kratos told the group.
"But you're still hurt! And you're just as little as us! How can you fight someone as big as that guy?!" another girl pointed out, her finger aimed at a huge, lumbering thug standing guard to the doors of the government building. Kratos blinked and smiled fiercely. That was the alpha male of the bandits, he was almost certain of it. No one else would be trusted to guard the valuable prisoners within that building.
"Don't worry. I can handle anything! All I have to do is beat up that big stupid guy and the others will leave me alone! He's their boss!" Kratos answered brightly, getting to his feet and bringing forth his wings again, flapping them a few times to work out kinks. "You guys just stay here and don't get spotted. I'll have Neil and Lloyd and Zelos out in no time!" With that, Kratos flew up and off to face his biggest challenge since becoming a child and discovering that he couldn't see past the top of the dinner table without a booster seat.
Lloyd snapped awake when he heard a soft grunt of pain. Looking up from his seat against the wall of his cell, he watched as Zelos squirmed through a widened space between the bars of his prison. Finally freed, he set to work on pulling apart the bars on Lloyd's cell, straining with effort as Neil stood and watched him in shock.
"You're free?! Amazing!" he whispered.
"Congratulate me later. Come on!" Zelos growled and pulled harder, "Ugh! I may as well try melting these with all the luck I'm having."
"Why not try that? Use Fireball or Eruption?" Lloyd asked softly. Zelos paused and sighed, trying not to look depressed at the pathetic amount of progress he was making.
"Desians are half-elves, right? And half-elves can sense mana being used, right? If I were to cast a spell, they'd all be alerted to it and I'd be one dead angel. Nuh uh! I have no plans to meet my Maker in heaven!" he answered and narrowed his eyes, "Or hell." Lloyd swallowed hard and nodded, knowing full well what he meant by that last remark. The redhead resumed his task until Neil gasped and shook his head.
"Wait, wait! Mr. Wilder..." he began. Zelos paused again and grimaced at the title.
"Just Zelos. I don't want to feel old yet." he corrected.
"Fine. Zelos, now that you're free, why not sneak upstairs and get the keys to the prison cells? They should be in my office." Neil amended, "Go three halls down on your left and it will be the first door on the right. They should be in the first drawer in my desk."
"Thank you for not volunteering this information sooner." Zelos griped bitterly and headed for the stairs. "I'll get the keys and see if I can find our equipment too. I'll be right back."
Kratos was seriously reconsidering his decision as he crouched behind a stack of crates, staring up at the hulking behemoth he would have to overcome to get into the building. What the hell was he going to do? Run up and stick his pink dagger into the man's knee? Kick him in the shin? His eyes went round as the man lifted a huge -by his standards- club onto his shoulders and shoved one finger up his nose.
"Gyack!" Kratos squeaked and ducked when the hulk's eyes rolled in his direction. The seraphim... cherub -he had to think of himself as one now more than ever- sat back against his protective wall and thought hard. "I can just attack him from a distance with magic. He'll never know what hit him." he finally murmured and smiled, peering around the wall to size up his competition again.
The thug was no longer there.
"Huh?" Kratos remarked and jumped with a startled cry as the stack of crates exploded into splinters, a huge club punching through and hurtling him back against the fountain. He cried again as he broke through the carved stone and splashed about helplessly for a moment, the behemoth stomping up to him with a snarl.
"Punk kid, what the hell do ya think yer doing?!" he bellowed, "Ya got a death wish?!" Kratos stumbled away from the fountain and coughed, water had entered his nose and mouth and nearly drowned him.
"Gaah!" he gasped out, lifting his hands as a circle of mana formed beneath him, "Wind Blade!" The thug roared in pain and fury as the magical attack sliced into his clothes and flesh.
"Ya rat! Now yer gonna die!" he fumed and slammed the club down. Kratos leaped aside and rolled to safety before jumping to his feet and brandishing the dagger, shaking himself as dry as he could. Other bandits looked their way with bleary expressions, willing to just lie where they were to watch this new entertainment. "Think yer gonna get off easy 'cuz yer a kid, eh?! Not a friggin' chance!"
"You're the one with no chance! I'll show no mercy!" Kratos threatened and blinked as he discovered his voice shook slightly with doubt. "Wh-why am I panicking?! I'm an angel of Cruxis; I can take on anyone and win!" he thought in surprise and yelped, lifting his arm to let the pot lid still tied to it take the blow from the club as it came down on him again. The lid clattered away with a huge dent in it, torn from him as the swipe came around for another blow. Kratos leaped back from this one, heart pounding. "Stay away!"
"Ya shoulda stayed in yer house with yer mommy!" the bandit boss sneered and slammed the club down after him again. The cherub escaped once more, darting aside. He ran, eyes wide as the thug continued to chase him away from the government building towards a storehouse filled with goods from before the supply routes were compromised.
"I said, stay away!" Kratos cried again and pressed his back to the locked doors with a gasp, staring up at his would-be killer, "Don't come near me!" The thug lifted his club back and grinned.
"Sweet dreams, ya runt." he rumbled and let his full strength come behind the swing. Kratos immediately went into a defense pose.
"Guardian!" he cast and barely held the magical barrier long enough to get slammed through the door and into the warehouse. He thudded along the floor as though a skipping stone across a pond and stopped at last in a little heap near a mountain of crates. Other rouges and thieves came creeping along, eager to watch this obviously mismatched and unfair battle end in a bloody victory for their monstrously huge leader. "Owwwww..." Kratos moaned and lifted himself up with a shake of his head. He looked up at the Bandit Boss as he came stomping up for the final blow and gasped. Stumbling to his feet, Kratos turned and began to climb the mountain behind him, unaware of the myriad of little faces peering in through the windows to watch him.
"Kratos, be careful. You're an angel of Martel!" Mindy whispered as a prayer, little hands clasped tightly around her doll as she shut her eyes. "Goddess Martel, please look after your angel!"
"Come back here!" the behemoth bellowed and swung his club again, smashing a crate just as Kratos lifted his foot from it. Scared almost witless from the experience, he continued climbing. The Bandit Boss growled irritably and put his club aside, preparing to climb up after him. "I'm gonna kill ya with my bare hands! I'll rip yer liddle arms outta yer sockets!" he threatened and laughed cruelly as the cherub paused and looked down at him in horror. "I'm comin' fer ya! I'll snap ya in two! I'll bite yer liddle feet off! I'll crush yer liddle head in my fingers!"
"Get away from me! You... you sick, twisted freak!" Kratos shrieked down at him and darted around the crates to a small gap in the back. Squeezing himself into the enclave, he braced his feet and legs, trembling violently as he waited. "Goddess Martel, please, please, don't let me die like this, tonight!"
"Pray all ya want, ya liddle cur! Yer goin' ta hell!" the huge man laughed at his words, reaching around to try to grab Kratos's arm.
"Go first!" the cherub yelled, shutting his eyes as he pushed against the wall with all his strength. The crates shifted dangerously and the bandit roared in fury as the stack wavered and finally began to topple, taking him and hundreds of pounds of wood and Martel knew what else down on him. Kratos fell with the loss of the majority of the mountain and slammed into a crate, breaking through and disappearing into the straw. He climbed out in time to see the other bandits gather in a horrified circle around their boss's fallen body and flew up to hover over them, holding his dagger as threateningly as he could. "I am an angel of the Goddess Martel! I bring judgment upon all those that oppose her will!" he declared, flapping his wings furiously to stay airborne, "Leave this city or the light of heaven shall cast thee and thy sins into the pits of hellfire!"
"It's a sign from heaven!" the bandits cried in a drunken moan, "Martel has sent the angel of death! Run!" They fled from the warehouse, screaming and crying out prayers and pleas for forgiveness. Kratos grinned tiredly, then whimpered as he fell limp in mid-air, falling towards the floor in exhaustion. Maxie and the children hurried into the building and rushed to catch him. The older boy lined himself up and hooted in victory as he netted the cherub before impact.
"Kratos! You did it! You beat the big guy and scared away the Desians!" one boy yelled and led the group in a cheer, "Kra-tos! Kra-tos! Hooray! Hooray!" Maxie set the boy down on his feet and beamed as he rubbed his rusty hair sheepishly.
"I did what I had to, that's all. You don't have to do that for me!" Kratos exclaimed with a blush. Mindy blinked and screamed as the Bandit Boss lifted himself up and grabbed Kratos from behind, dragging him back and squeezing thick fingers around his tiny throat.
"I'll... snap... yer... neck...!" he growled between gasps for air and coughs of thick red-black blood, ignoring the cries of shock from the other kids and Kratos's feeble attempts to escape, "Gack! Die...!"
"No!" Maxie yelled and picked up Kratos's dagger, stabbing it right into the thug's head for the killing blow, "Let him go!" The evil glint in the man's eyes died at last and his arm went slack, allowing Kratos to stumble free and collapse into Mindy's arms. "Jerk!"
"Is the Desian dead?" one girl whispered in fright, eyes wide and face pale as she stared at the pool of red beneath the body. Maxie pulled the dagger free and herded the other children out quickly. Mindy struggled for a bit before getting Kratos to lie limply on her back, arms slung over her shoulders and head hanging down. She strode on, keeping her face as steady and strong as possible as she carried him. She had to be strong, if not for herself and the other kids of New Palmacosta, then for Kratos, who even now, unconscious once more, trembled from a mess of emotions, fears, doubts and weaknesses.
"Hang on, Kratos. We're gonna help you save New Palmacosta!" Mindy whispered as they made their way back under the cover of night and shadows towards the alley where they stashed their parade supplies.