Ch 10

"Kratos! Get out of your room!" Zelos demanded loudly, banging his fist against the door, "You were supposed to get up an hour ago! We're gonna be late!" Lloyd plugged his fingers in his ears as he sighed, the noise overwhelming even from where he stood on the deck.

"Man, I don't know what's worse; slicing tomatoes or listening to Zelos scream full force." he muttered.

Zelos began pounding on the door again, stumbling into the darkened room when the door suddenly flew open. Crashing onto the floor, he groaned painfully, then froze when a weight planted itself squarely in the center of his back. This was a familiar position, painfully familiar.

"Strange way of waking someone up, don't you think?" Kratos muttered, arms folded over his chest as he looked down at the other angel. Zelos twisted around and craned his neck to look up at him, blinking in surprise. The mercenary looked more like his old self again, though still much sleeker and less powerful looking than his full seraphim form.

"You've grown some more." Zelos murmured dumbly. Kratos rolled his eyes and helped him to his feet.

"Children grow so fast these days." he retorted, "This would be my angel stage." He looked himself over for the umpteenth time since awakening, the wing-like mantle ignored when he had gotten dressed. "It seems that I can finally handle my power again. I had forgotten how I looked in my younger years." Zelos rubbed his back and head, then blinked.

"Really? I guess you did put on weight somewhere along the way." he remarked and ignored the glare shot back at him, "You look like you can handle Excalibur again. Go ahead and grab it."

"Already ahead of you." Kratos replied proudly, patting the sheath at his waist. "Let's not waste time chatting. We have information to gather!"

Once Lloyd got over his shock at seeing his father in a young adult form, all three swordsmen made their way to Mizuho on the Rheairds. The brunet kept wincing the whole way, mostly due to Zelos's shouts and yells at the reckless flying Kratos went through, looping the machine in tight twists and rolls, laughing at the top of his lungs and whooping as one particularly suicidal-like dive made the already pale-skinned Zelos whiter than a bed-sheet.

"Are you trying to kill me?! Stop it! Get back here! Kratos! Don't do that!" the redhead snapped.

"Martel, did you want to torture us all or just him?" Lloyd asked with a groan as they neared the village hidden in a forest in Sylvarant. Several of the ninjas hurried out, weapons ready to strike if they were invaders. Zelos waved at them, making sure they saw him and Lloyd completely before landing on the ground.

"It's us! Tell Sheena her friends are here to see her! It's urgent!" Lloyd chipped in loudly. One of the ninjas dashed back into the village as the others secreted away their daggers again and walked up to help them dismount and lead them in. "How are you guys liking Sylvarant so far?" he asked as they entered Mizuho.

"It's quiet and we rarely get unwanted visitors. It suits our way." one of the guards answered with a shrug and stopped at a small inn. "Wait here. Chief Sheena should be here soon."

"Thanks for the help." Zelos told him and sighed. "Well, at least Kratos can't pull stupid stunts on the ground." A second ninja looked past his shoulder and narrowed his eyes.

"Perhaps, but he can consort with our women down here as I highly doubt there are any that can fly." he remarked icily, folding his arms over his chest and shooting needles from his gaze, "What is he doing with Neeka?!" Blinking in confusion, Zelos and Lloyd looked at each other, then turned back to see what was going on as giggles and coos filled the air.

Kratos stood in the center of the village square, surrounded by young women in colorful kimonos chatting brightly with him, defying their own traditions in his presence. The angel looked almost smug, talking back with the women in a cool, smooth fashion. Lloyd scratched his head and looked over at Zelos, who glared at the rusty-haired young man with a deadly expression.

"He's acting like you." he remarked simply. Zelos nodded and snorted.

"Yeah. And that's making me sick. That's it!" he snarled and stomped over as Sheena ran up to join them.

"Sorry I'm late and... hey, where's he goin'?" she remarked in surprise as she watched Zelos waving his fist as he marched up to the crowd of women.

"To reclaim his title as Gigolo." Lloyd sighed with a shake of his head.

Kratos lifted his gaze as he finally decided to pay attention to Zelos's rants and ravings, patiently taking in the angry redhead and smiling inwardly in amusement. The former Chosen was taking his new parental role almost too seriously.

"Excuse me, ladies. I have to deal with Daddy Dearest." Kratos remarked with a teasing tone and left the group to follow Zelos back to the inn.

"Okay, rule one; don't call me Daddy Dearest! You're making me sound old!" Zelos growled, "Second, don't go off flirting around with every chick you see! You don't want my old rep, do you?! Third, we're here to see Sheena and find out what happened to the Exspheres, not if your sex drive is still functioning!" Kratos rolled his eyes and twined his fingers together behind his head as he walked along.

"Answer to rule one; if you can do it, so can I. Answer to rule two, I'm over four thousand years old so I don't really care what people think. I haven't in all that time. Answer to rule three; I already know my sex drive works." he replied sarcastically and jerked his thumb at Lloyd, one fist on his hip as he shifted into a rebellious stance, "I had him, didn't I?"

"Not by yourself, you didn't!" Zelos shot back as Sheena stared between them.

"Lloyd... what's up with Kratos?" she asked, eyeing the mercenary carefully, "He doesn't seem like his usual self." Lloyd gave her the whole story as Zelos hurled argument after argument at the rusty-haired brick wall that stood before him. "That's no problem. The Topaz Ring was blessed by Luna. I can just ask her... oh, wait a sec." Sheena muttered and tapped her foot on the ground as she thought carefully. "She's one of the Summon Spirits that decided to leave. Bummer. But stay the night and let me talk with my clan. I'm sure we'll find something." She grinned at the group. "Don't worry. We'll beat those renegade half-elves and get back those Exspheres!" she added and walked away with a farewell wave of her hand, "See you in the morning." Kratos blinked at her words, then gazed skyward, sighing in boredom as Zelos finally decided to stop yelling at him and made for the inn.

"Renegades..." the mercenary murmured, "Hmmm." He thought of Yuan, of how he had chosen to remain on Symphonia to help keep tabs on things. If the Desians really were trying to regain their power, the first group that would know of half-elf operations would be another organization of half-elves; the Renegades. "I could do that..." Kratos murmured again and blinked as he realized he'd been left behind, "Hey!" He jogged after the other swordsmen, thinking quickly through the beginnings of plan.

"Glad to see you decided to join us instead of gallivant around with chicks." Zelos remarked dryly once Kratos entered the room he would be sharing with him and Lloyd, "Especially since that's MY thing." The redhead was leaning against a wall in that oddly yoga-like position he was so prone to taking. His eyes were closed, though, so Kratos could only guess at how he knew he'd come in. The mercenary looked around, spotted no sign of Lloyd and asked where he could be. "He's out goofing off with the kids, comparing fighting styles and all. I'm trying to get some amount of rest, what with you trying to kill me with your stupid crap and all."

"It's not my fault you can't take a joke and loosen up." Kratos jeered, "And you say I'm such a stick in the mud. Look who's talking!" Zelos opened his eyes and stared at him in surprised confusion.

"When did you hear me say that?!" he exclaimed. Kratos huffed and put his hands behind his head.

"I have angel senses, too, you know, and longer than you! I'm a Cruxis Seraphim!" he declared and looked momentarily hurt. "I heard you and Lloyd talking about me on the deck of the ship the day we left Altamira long ago. About how I wasn't any fun and acted so old." He shook his head. "Well, that's over now! I'm going to have a party! In fact, I hope I never get past this stage! I've got more energy and strength now than when I was at my old self!" he announced and flopped onto the mat set out to serve as his bed.

"You heard that?" Zelos asked, cringing as he remembered his words and the conversation with Lloyd.

"It doesn't matter anymore." Kratos muttered and rolled over to face away from him, "It was the truth, but not anymore. I'm different now."

"I'm sorry. If all of this started because you wanted to learn to have fun, then it's my fault for pointing out that you weren't." Zelos murmured softly and stood up, making his way to the door. He paused and looked back at Kratos, who hadn't moved at all. "You've always been level-headed and the wiser of all three of us. When Lloyd and I are goofing around, you're the one who keeps us on track. If it wasn't for you, we'd never get this far in our journey." he added, "So don't think of your personality as a bad thing. In time, you would have been able to find ways of having fun with us." With that, he left the room. Kratos waited a few minutes, then sat up and gazed at the door before going to Zelos's pack.

"Zelos had contact with the Renegades long ago. He must still have the communication device Yuan gave him." he whispered to himself as he searched the bundle of clothes and items. A small wooden box caught his attention and he smiled, pulling it out and opening it. A brass funnel popped up and the screen embedded in the top half of the box blinked to life. Kratos pressed at buttons to send a signal and began speaking into a small microphone within it. "Yuan? Are you there?" At first there was only static, a mish-mosh of sounds that made no sense, and then...

"Zelos? Is that you? What is your report?" Yuan's voice called out in confusion. Kratos cocked his head and raised an eyebrow. Was Zelos back to his old habit of leaking information again?

"Yuan, it's me! Kratos! What's the matter? Can't recognize my voice?" the young man questioned.

"Kratos? You're here, on Symphonia?!" the Renegade leader remarked in shock.

"Duh." Kratos answered in annoyance, sitting back with the communicator.

"The hell? Have you been drinking?"

"NO!" Kratos snapped and then mumbled, "I'm not old enough to anymore." He shook his head. "Yuan, I need a favor. Where are you based now? I have to speak with you in person about these new Desians trying to start up old operations again."

"The New World Order? I had some troops approached by them a few times. Come to Exire. I'll tell you about it over coffee."

"For the last time, I'm NOT drunk!" Kratos yelled, but the other seraphim had already cut the connection, laughing the whole time. Groaning in exasperation, the angel put the box back in Zelos's pack and rested his chin in the palm of one hand, propped by his elbow on his knee. If he could find the Exspheres and the Topaz Ring by himself, and bring them back to Lloyd and Zelos, he'd prove himself trustworthy again. His stomach growled and his face fell. He needed dinner; he was definitely against embarrassing himself in front of Yuan.

Which brought him to the thought that he would have to leave Mizuho without letting Lloyd or Zelos know what he was planning. The middle of the night seemed good enough, but if he just got up and walked out of the inn it would be a sure bet that Zelos, light sleeper that he was, would wake up and drag him back to bed. Despite being older than him, years-wise at least, Kratos had no intentions of angering (or worrying for that matter) the redhead anymore than necessary. The man panicked enough as it is when it came to maintaining his looks in the heat of battle.

Glancing over at the pack again, Kratos raised an eyebrow in consideration. Perhaps the communicator wasn't the only thing useful to him in Zelos's bag...