Chapter 9 Without a Sound

Colette and Lloyd stood there for a few minutes, staring down at the ground.

"I hope he ends up in the future!" Colette exclaimed.

Lloyd picked up the coin, examining it, "Well, me might as well try to use it. So…"

Colette grabbed his shoulder, as the coin started to glow an eerie colour.

--o0o--

Nine years had passed since Kratos had seen Lloyd or his companions, nor had he seen Ryan or Victoria, though he had seen Bia several times.

Kratos, Yuan, Martel, and Mithos were all seated around a table in the dining room of the inn they were staying at.

"Do you think it's a good idea staying here, Kratos?" Yuan asked, looking around, "Nobody else is here…" Yuan now had his familiar cape (familiar to Lloyd, at least) and the rest of his usual garb. Kratos had gotten his white 'judgment' garb a year before as well.

"I'm sure it's fine. You have to remember we're in the middle of nowhere…" Kratos replied.

"I'm sure Kratos is right," Martel smiled.

"I think we should just travel through the night," Mithos said, "I want to hurry with the pacts. Besides, the only one who has to sleep here is Kratos!"

Martel gave her brother a disapproving look, "Yes, but he is our strongest fighter, and your teacher as well. We can't exhaust him!"

"As much as I hate to say it, Martel is right…" Yuan muttered.

"I'm not that good, you guys… Victoria and Lloyd could still beat me easily," Kratos pointed out, looking over at the window.

A woman walked up to their table, smiling, "Would you four like to try my new recipe? It'll be on the house."

"Sure!" Kratos exclaimed immediately.

The woman handed him a plate of cookies, "I hope they're alright…"

Mithos took one from the plate and took several bites quickly. Kratos took one for himself, taking only a bite.

"Ugh!" Mithos exclaimed, "First aid!"

"Are you okay- Kratos?!" Martel looked over at the other side where the two men where sitting, to see that Kratos had passed out.

The woman looked nervous, "I'll… ah… I'll be going now…" She ran off, leaving the confused members to revive Kratos.

After Martel used several healing spells, Kratos finally awoke.

"What happened?" He asked.

"You ate that cookie and passed out…" Mithos replied.

"Maybe that's why no one is here…" Yuan suggested.

Another woman, older than the first, walked into the room. "I apologize about my niece… She has a rather… strange taste in food."

Kratos rubbed his head, "It's fine."

"Though… are you a group of adventurers, or something?"

"I guess you could call us that…" Mithos replied.

The woman smiled, "My name is Renee. My niece is Fiona."

"You're elves, right?" Martel asked, casting recover on Kratos.

"Yes," Renee replied, "Excuse me for asking, but there is this book in a temple nearby that I would like to see… If you got it for me I would reward you greatly."

"Of course we'll help you!" Mithos exclaimed, "Just don't give us your niece's cooking as a reward, okay?"

Renee laughed, "Of course not. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it!" She turned and left the room, Yuan starting to glare at Mithos.

"Now we're going to go off to a temple to find a stupid book!" Yuan exclaimed.

"Well, we should help everyone!"

"I can't believe you're going to be my brother in law," Yuan muttered.

--

"There's no stupid book here!" Yuan shouted.

They had gotten inside the temple easily, and there were very few monsters. But they had been walking through the temple for hours, unable to find the book.

"Now, now, Yuan, I'm sure it's here somewhere…" Martel said reassuringly.

"I bet they're looking through out bags right now!"

Mithos walked over to Martel, covered in cobwebs, "Sis…"

Kratos walked over to the other side of the room, seeing a pedestal like structure. On top of a rectangular stone, which was about half Kratos' height, was a golden coin. Kratos reached over and picked it up, looking at the intricate pattern of an hourglass and a skull on either side.

"I wonder why- Ahh! What's-" Kratos passed out, the coin falling to the ground, and into a small crack in the stone tiles on the floor.

Yuan, who had finally found the book, walked over to see what the noise was. "Hey Kratos, I found the book! Let's- Kratos?" He walked over, trying to shake him awake, "I can't believe you passed out. Again…"

Kratos mumbled something inaudible.

"Get up, you idiot!" Yuan shouted.

Kratos opened his eyes, looking over at Yuan, "Yu…an?" He sat up, looking around, "What happened?"

"Why would I know? Maybe it was that girl's cooking again," Yuan suggested, "Come on, I found the stupid book. Martel and Mithos are waiting for us."

Yuan grabbed Kratos sleeve, dragging him partly to the entrance.

"Martel and Mithos…" Kratos mumbled.

The two met up with the siblings, and the group left the temple.

"It's so nice to be outside again!" Mithos exclaimed, stretching his arms.

"Yeah, now let's get this book to Renee," Yuan exclaimed.

"Hey, Yuan, what day-" Kratos was interrupted by several shouts. Turning around, he saw Lloyd, with Colette on his back, running from a dragon.

Lloyd noticed Kratos, and immediately stopped, putting Colette on the ground, "Make sure Colette doesn't get hurt!"

Kratos was struck by a sense of déjà-vu, but went to help Lloyd defeat the dragon.

Colette, sitting down on the ground, bit her lip, "Oh, I hope they don't get hurt… This is all my fault…"

The boys returned quickly, Lloyd going to Colette and asking if she was okay.

"I'm sorry, I've caused you so much trouble…" Colette said.

Lloyd turned to Kratos, "Thanks for the help- D-! K-Kratos…"

Kratos nodded, "It's fine. Is she alright?"

"I fell earlier and twisted my ankle…" Colette said guiltily.

Kratos really felt as though she looked familiar- he knew her but… at the same time, it felt as though he didn't remember her.

"Hey, where's Zelos?" Yuan asked.

"He…" Lloyd said, "He went back home."

Kratos flinched, Zelos, Colette and Lloyd…

What the hell was going on!?

I'm sure many people reading this agree with Kratos' statement XD Although, I'm wondering if anyone has figured it out yet.
Thank you to those who already reviewed!