A/N's: Ok well this chapter turned out to be longer than I had expected it to be but oh well. I'll start working on the next one right away and hopefully have it out within a week and a half. Hopefully... anyways enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own TOS.

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"Just stay strong..."

-Keep Holding On by Avril Lavenge

Chapter 11: Childish Punishment

He'd never felt so proud of himself. The week that he had spent with Kratos in Tethe'alla was the best week of his life. Although he had to admit, at first it didn't seem like it would be that great of a week. He was sick with a cold for two days and Kratos didn't have to the time to look after him all day, even though he always seemed to be there when he needed something. Lloyd had never seen this side of Kratos before. He seemed eager to look after him even though he had dropped in, uninvited and caused some trouble. He also seemed somewhat joyful that Lloyd was around. If anything, Kratos barely ever showed signs of ever being happy. Lloyd always thought he was just a strong, grumpy old man who was really well trained in using a sword. His week with him most definitely proved him wrong. Mostly because as old as Lloyd knew Yuan and Kratos were, Kratos was nowhere near an old man... at least he wasn't in everything except for his age.

Kratos was stronger than any mortal human, faster than any bird, and had more control over magic than some half elves. Lloyd totally admired him. Every time he saw Kratos fight, he touched the bracelet on his right wrist to remind him that one day he'd be just as strong. He'd be just as strong as his hero, who fought through a thousand year war and lived, not to mention helped end it. He still found it difficult to believe, even though Yuan had explained the basics of what had happened.

Once Lloyd was able to leave bed, he was allowed to go patrol the area with Kratos. They were in a city called Flanoir and the boy soon learned that the white was snow and there were tonnes of it, everywhere! It covered the roof tops, the ground and even the people who were out shopping or talking. The people in Flanoir were also wearing terribly thick clothing and had hoods, boots and gloves on. Kratos had got some winter attire for him to wear too. He wore a red coat with red fluffy mittens and boots.

The first patrol, Lloyd found, started off interesting but quickly declined after the first hour or so. First, he began to fiddle with his fingers to help keep himself entertained, then he soon found himself falling asleep. Even though it was around -30 degrees Celsius outside and because it was so cold, the air Lloyd breathed in was simply frigid. Kratos noticed him falling asleep. He pulled him up as he moved to stand as well. Lloyd awoke immediately and shivered within his coat. Kratos looked around for a few moments.

"It seems as though the Renegades are choosing not to appear today. How about we do something a little more interesting." Kratos unsheathed two swords and handed the hilt of one to Lloyd. The boy held it, slightly confused. "I'll teach you a few basics about fighting with a sword." Lloyd smiled brightly and nodded. Over the next few days, no one appeared and Lloyd found himself learning many things about mastering the sword and how his stance could affect how his blade would flow in battle. He didn't understand a lot of what Kratos said but he learned it through practice and example. Lloyd had to admit that it was the happiest he'd been in a long while. He was finally away from the people who caused him the most pain, the two he feared the most. He couldn't help but feel joyous as he experienced the sheer cold of the pure white snow for the first time. He'd never even seen the stuff before.

The greatest day, Lloyd had to say, was their last day in Flanoir. The boy was terribly worried about what Yggdrasill would do to him once he returned but he shook it off so that he could enjoy his last day with Kratos before being locked up in Welgaia again. After being there for so long, he was beginning to hate the place. He wondered if Kratos did too. They went on patrol that day, as usual, and they were both expecting to have another lesson with their swords. They were quite relaxed.

Kratos suddenly tensed as his angelic hearing picked up the clanking of metal weapons and foot steps in the snow. He did not expect them to appear at all while Lloyd was nearby. He had expected to be gone that afternoon once they had, once again, refused to show up. But now, they had shown themselves and Lloyd was still with him. He put his hand on the hilt of his sword, alerting Lloyd to the presence of enemies.

"Kratos...?"

"Stay here, Lloyd." He stood and ran out from their hiding place. Lloyd watched as Kratos calmly stopped before the group of men. They saw him and charged immediately.

Kratos tore them apart, running them all through in seconds. Lloyd touched his bracelet. He watched in amazement as Kratos fought off the last of them... or so they had thought. One of them, with a huge battle axe, pushed himself up and advanced on Kratos from behind. Lloyd stood in panic. Kratos didn't seem to noticed the axe-wielding enemy as he finished off what he thought was the last of them. The axe man prepared to thrust his axe down.

"Thunder Blade!" Lloyd shouted as a blade of lightning fell upon the final Renegade, finishing him off once and for all as Kratos jumped away from him. The Renegade fell to the ground, completely fried from the spell. Kratos slowly turned to face Lloyd, who was panting with his right hand still in the air. The boy fell to his knees, his forehead surging with power. It calmed and faded, signaling it's time for hibernation at which it would sleep, dormant until the turning point. Once the point came, the power would revive and grow until the host could no longer contain it.

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They returned that night to Welgaia. Lloyd was saddened that the trip had ended so quickly but he was happy to had gone at all. His happiness quickly came to an end as an injured Yuan approached the two of them. He had scratches all over his face and his clothing was damaged quite a bit.

"Yuan, what in Martel's name happened to you?" Kratos asked. Yuan shook his head.

"That doesn't matter. What I'm more concerned about is him!" he pointed towards Lloyd. "Yggdrasill has been blowing his top for the week that he's been gone! Why'd you take him with you?!" Lloyd decided to intervene.

"Yuan, he didn't take me with him, I followed him because..." his voice trailed. Lloyd disliked to admit that he was afraid of anything. The half-elf nodded in understanding.

"I guess that would mean you saw Yggdrasill looking for you last week. Well, I don't know what we're going to do-" Yuan was cut off as three angel soldiers seized Lloyd and instantly teleported to somewhere else in Welgaia. Kratos clenched his fists.

"...Damn it, Yggdrasill. Let's go, Yuan. We can't let him do anything rash to him." Yuan nodded as the two headed towards Yggdrasill's throne room.

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The angels dropped him in the throne room, before a very irate Yggdrasill. He picked Lloyd up his throat and tossed him into a wall with ease. The boy slid to the floor and made no effort to shout or cry. He knew that any noise would simply anger the Lord of angels even more. Although, he couldn't help but wonder if Yggdrasill was just going to kill him anyways. He was tossed around a few more times to the point where trickles of blood flowed out of his mouth and he was close to losing consciousness. Finally, Yggdrasill just held him up by his arm and glared down at him. He smiled cruelly.

"Does it hurt, Lloyd? Am I causing you pain?" he asked in an eerie voice. Lloyd nodded, keeping his eyes closed as he tried to stop himself from crying. "Do you want me to stop?" Lloyd helplessly nodded again. "Well, I'm not sure if I can since I don't know if I can trust you." He dropped Lloyd to the ground. The boy did not move as Yggdrasill kneeled down to look him straight in the eye. "How do I know that you're still loyal to me? Even after all I've done for you. I've made sure that you're healthy and that you learn things that normal children can't learn. Is this how you repay me?" He whispered the last question into his ear as Lloyd stared at the ground, feeling guilty. He couldn't help but feel that Yggdrasill was right. He didn't think normal kids could learn magic spells and maybe his trips to Kvar were to make sure he was healthy... Tears fell down his face. He couldn't hold them back now. Yggdrasill put a hand on the boy's head. "Do you want to fix what you've done?" Lloyd nodded, rubbing away his tears. "Then just repeat after me. 'I am loyal to you, Lord Yggdrasill, and no one else.'" Lloyd hesitated. Something deep inside of him was telling him to say nothing and be silent but he knew that if he did, Yggdrasill would most definitely kill him.

"I am loyal to you, Lord Yggdrasill, and no one else." Yggdrasill continued to smile.

"Good. Now the angels will take you to your room, where you will stay until I think that you've atoned for your offense." Lloyd nodded as two of the angels floated over and each lifted him up by one of his arms. Kratos and Yuan walked in just in time to see Lloyd in his battered condition before the angels teleported him to his room. Kratos couldn't help but lose it at that point.

"Yggdrasill!" he shouted as Yggdrasill merely turned to face his two "companions". Kratos charged towards him and was thrust away by a spell.

"Control yourself, Kratos. You don't want to do anything that might want to make me kill the boy, now would you? He isn't dead if that's what you're worried about."

"Where is he, Yggdrasill?" Yuan asked firmly.

"He's in his room. But you will not disturb him. He is there until he has atoned for his error in leaving when he was not supposed to. By the way, Kratos, you're lucky I didn't kill him yet. Especially, after that report I received from Kvar." Kratos could do nothing but clench his hands as Yggdrasill laughed to himself.

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"Why couldn't Kratos be here again?" an eleven year old Lloyd asked as he practiced lightning and fire spells with Yuan. It was his birthday and Kratos hadn't been seen in over a week.

"For the fifteenth time, Lloyd, because he's on a mission." Lloyd frowned.

"But he's been gone for a week, shouldn't he be back by now?" he asked aiming lightning spells at every bunny surrounding him. "Lightning!" he cried as a single blade of lightning struck down for each of the five rabbits. He sighed. "Yuan, I'm bored! Let's do something else."

"That had to have been the tenth time you've said that... Just hit the stupid bunnies with spells and quit complaining will you?" Lloyd used fire ball on another batch of rabbits.

"But this is way too easy!" He finally finished his last batch with a mixture of both Fireball and Lightning. He sat down to take a break as Yuan looked at the timer.

"Good, you beat 30 rabbits within the time limit." Lloyd sighed and allowed his thoughts to wander for his own entertainment.

He remembered when he had left Welgaia for a week and Yggdrasill had nearly killed him for it. He'd spent over three months in his room after that with only the occasional food that Yuan had managed to get for him and his own thoughts to keep him company. He'd also practiced the techniques Kratos had shown him as well and he also practiced focusing his mana and controlling it. He had nothing better to do otherwise. After the three months, he was sent on a mission with Yuan that lasted a month and then after that he was allowed to train with either one of them again. He had gone on a two day mission with Kratos during the year and that was it. Lloyd couldn't help but wonder why.

His thoughts then returned to the book. The book that he had read over a month ago but had really made him think about many things. It was a childish book, one for young children to read but he had read because he was curious as to what it was doing in the library. It was a book about a happy family. There was a family of two parents and one child and they were separated but after a few years, their bond as a family brought them back together. It made Lloyd wonder if he had ever had a family. Ever since reading that book, he'd had dreams that he knew were happy but he could never remember them once he awoke. Every time that happened, he felt anxious and curious. He felt as though sometimes, something was being hidden from him.

"Hey, Yuan...?" Yuan sighed ready for another rant from Lloyd about how bored he was.

"Yes, Lloyd?"

"Do I have a family?" Yuan stared at Lloyd, shocked by the question. He'd have to answer it before the boy got suspicious but he also couldn't reveal too much.

"Well, of course you do, Lloyd. Everyone is born into a family."

"Oh. Then I wonder where mine is..."

"Why the sudden interest?" Lloyd decided not to reveal his finding of the book, in case it was something that he wasn't supposed to read.

"I'm not sure. Hm... Yuan, you've lived a long time right? Did you know my father?" Yuan froze at the question, unsure of how to answer it.

"...Yes." Lloyd looked towards him in surprise.

"Really? Do you think he's still alive?" Yuan turned away from Lloyd sadly.

"...I don't know, Lloyd. Maybe he is alive... and maybe he isn't... that's all I can really tell you. I didn't really know him then." Lloyd sighed once again.

"Oh... oh well, if he is then maybe I'll find him one day. How about try some harder monsters, now?" the boy offered eagerly as he stood. Yuan nodded.

"Sure."

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Me: (stares) Well that was a lot longer than I thought it would be.

Anna:Well it's about time you finished it!

Me: yeah I know. I'm sick and I moved so there's kind of like... boxes every where.

Anna: Review and help her beat her laziness :)

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Preview: Chapter 12: Childish Power

"Lord Yggdrasill, the toxicosis process refuses to start! The jewel is already dormant."

"Kratos... the next regeneration journey will begin in about 5 years."