Tales of Symphonia:
Wonder Edition

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Kratos found checking into the Skipper's Haven inn far easier than the Seagull back in Izoold. The rooms were relatively cheap by comparison to other inns in the same sector of the city, and he could select the rooms he wanted based on how many beds were in them. This was ideal to prevent the misunderstanding in Izoold from happening again.

It was just coincidence that the room he chose for himself, Raine and Colette -purely for guarding the Chosen, of course- ended up being taken by himself, Lloyd and Adam. He wondered whom exactly it was he was truly guarding, then sighed. What was the point of denying it? His son was alive and had grown into a young man, albeit a very unlearned one, but if he could just get the boy to open his eyes and take fighting seriously...

He twitched slightly at the dismayed groan coming from Lloyd as the brunet slumped in front of a stack of books placed before him by Raine. The teacher had given similar stacks to Genis and Colette, with yet another stack set aside for Adam, once the Wonder Chef returned from his bath. Really, did Lloyd have to sound like he was about to undergo torture at the mere sight of the textbooks? Was this something that happened because he was raised by a dwarf?

"Genis, let's start with imaginary numbers; you had some trouble with those, if I remember correctly." Raine told her brother, already preparing herself in the teacher's role. She turned to Colette and continued, "Brush up on local history and current advancements in technology. We may take a field trip to see the steamship Isabelle before we leave Palmacosta." Kratos lifted an eyebrow in interest as she turned her attention on Lloyd. What would the boy be studying? "Lloyd, work on your multiplication table; you can't possibly be expected to solve everything using 'times two' as your guide!"

The Seraph found himself wanting to groan in dismay, too. Instead, he squeezed his eyes shut, counted to ten, then opened them in time to see Adam enter the room, blink at the group and what they were doing, then immediately try to step backwards quickly through the door. Raine pinned him with her gaze, frowning deeply as she pointed at the lonely stack of books.

"Get back here and study, Adam! I need the rest of your placement homework to grade as well." she ordered and the young chef reluctantly took his place, pulling out the stack of papers from his travel bag by the bed he'd chosen for himself. Handing it over, he then sat by his books and looked at them with some amount of dread in his expression. "For now, I want you to study environmental science."

Kratos shook his head and decided to leave them to their studying. He was more interested in taking a short patrol around the inn. It would give him time and silence to think. Without a sound, he ghosted down the stairs and out the front door of the Skipper's Haven, turning to begin his habitual prowl, his mind dividing its attention between his surroundings and his thoughts.

What was he to do now? He'd already gotten Adam to pledge his silence on the truth of the two worlds and Cruxis, but the further they went on this journey, the closer they came to colliding with the organization. If things continued like this, Kratos would inevitably be forced to slay the party to ensure Cruxis's secrets stayed that way and then escort the Chosen to Mithos for another attempt at reviving Martel. His hand tightened on the hilt of his sword at the thought; no, he wouldn't be able to do it. That was a fact he was fully aware of and had known since he realized the boy he'd saved from the Renegades at the Martel Temple was his long-lost son.

He'd already killed one person he loved dearly; he couldn't bring himself to think of the chance he may have to do so again.

Encouraging Lloyd to open his mind and eyes to reality without giving himself away was his best and only option if they were ever to escape this cycle. Kratos considered the steps needed to do that. He would need to negate Mithos's strengths somehow, and increase Lloyd's own strength. This would require training, time, allies, resources, and of all these things Kratos could only provide training. Even that would be limited by how long it would take to travel to the four Seals. Distractions would lengthen the time, but he couldn't create them. Not without attracting attention and jeopardizing Lloyd.

Kratos paused his stride for a moment, standing directly below the windows of the second floor rooms. Sound filtered out, faintly, and he focused his angel senses to better hear what was going on.

"...I told you he looked tired, Raine. I mean, unlike Lloyd, he's got a good reason to fall asleep." Genis pointed out to his sister in that sarcastic tone that often earned him slaps upside the head.

"Shut it, Genis!" Lloyd barked back and was immediately shushed with a slap of his own.

"It can't be helped. There's still a little daylight left. Use this time to finish studying before bed. Genis, Colette, let's go to our room and continue our work there." Raine's voice was calm and sure, which clashed with the mental image Kratos had in his mind of her smacking him the way she did. There were footsteps, soft and paced to be unintrusive, and then the sound of the door being shut.

It was safe to return then, and Kratos allowed himself a small sigh of relief at having escaped 'study time' successfully before turning to go back inside.

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In the morning, the group all stood outside the Skipper's Haven, looking down at the crumpled note that Lloyd held tightly in his hand, the brunet glaring at it like it had somehow offended him and he was contemplating how best to divest it of its existence. Kratos couldn't tell whether he should be amused or alarmed at how very much like himself the boy looked at that moment.

"Does he seriously think this counts as a note?" Lloyd finally growled, "'Find me'? Really? That's all he wrote?" Genis finally managed to pry the pathetic-looking piece of paper from his hand and spread it open to read himself.

"Yep. 'Find me', and he signed with his initials." the smaller boy agreed, then looked up at the brunet, "I don't see why you're getting all worked up over it. You told him to leave a note the next time he went to hide, right?" Lloyd just scowled further.

"Yeah, but he could have at least let us know where he was going!" he argued. Genis lifted his hands in a shrug, shaking his head in exasperation.

"That would have defeated the purpose of him hiding, Lloyd." he returned dryly, "Anyway, we have to go back to the Academy to get the exam challenge finished. If we can get through it quickly, we can go to the Church of Martel after that and see if the pastor knows where the next Seal is." At the brunet's flat glare, Genis added on quickly, "And we can look for Adam while we're at both places, okay?"

Lloyd looked mollified by that, and Kratos resisted the urge to plant his face into the palm of his hand as the boy turned abruptly on one foot and cheerfully whistled, leading the group on to the school building. Instead, he focused on the back of Lloyd's head, just taking in the sight of his son moving, living. There was so much of his mother there, especially when he suddenly switched tracks with his emotions like that. He just had to find some way to protect him, to possibly change things that would allow him to continue to live, free of uncertainty that Desians may one day fall upon him and end him.

Although, considering the dogged manner in which Lloyd seemed intent on fighting Desians, that may be a more arduous task than first intended. Then there was the added matter of the Wonder Chef, the boy who was severely underpowered despite his title and had somehow become a point of fixation for Lloyd simply because he couldn't stand to be in physical contact with people. The people of the two worlds managed to last this long despite periods of drought and famine because the Wonder Chef had always been there to enhance and rejuvenate what little food was found, maintaining the population just long enough for world regeneration and then vanishing to the other world to repeat the process. He was deliberately ignoring that duty for the sole purpose of attempting to convince the Chosen to seek another method of saving the world.

Kratos found himself wondering how he was going to deal with the two of them and still keep guard over Colette without losing his sanity in the process.


Keen observation was key to finding Adam. Raine was beginning to learn this as she watched Lloyd and Colette dash about on the way to the Palmacosta Academy, one looking determined and the other smiling happily. They searched everything they came across that they didn't recognize or thought was 'weird'. Buckets of flowers, cracked pots clustered into a pile, empty trash cans, all these and more were poked at and prodded in the search for the Wonder Chef. She sighed, shaking her head at her students. It seemed almost self-destructive for the blonde to keep running off like that just to teach them a recipe, especially since this time he might not have gotten enough rest.

It had been rather obvious the previous evening just how... delicate Adam appeared to be. While in the midst of grading his placement work, she had lifted her head to demand why he had penciled in corrections to her questions and spotted the blonde already asleep, open book still in his lap as he rested back against the foot of the bed. Lloyd had been watching the other teen, eraser end of his pencil stuck between his teeth, and with a strange expression. Some mix of concern, amusement, and confusion that seemed like something Lloyd was apt to have on when faced with a puzzle too far out of his league. She decided to end the study session early at that point; his work in the cafeteria had sapped Adam's energy despite his cooking prowess and if he was going to pull that disappearing act on them again, he would need ample rest.

The last she saw of him was as she was escorting her brother and Colette out of the room, and it was to see Lloyd rub at the back of his neck in exasperation before bending to pick the other boy up and set him properly on the bed. Raine had chuckled at the sight, then left.

"He disguises as something that tries to blend in with what's around him, but since he's still really young he doesn't have the power to do it perfectly." Genis muttered as he walked beside her. Raine glanced down at him, eyebrow raising.

"Oh? And how did you discover this?" she asked him. Genis pointed at Lloyd, who was now lightly kicking the bench just outside the Academy with a pout on his face. Colette stood by him, giggling behind her hands.

"Lloyd said so, and he said he learned it from Kratos." he returned and Raine frowned thoughtfully. Kratos knew a lot more than he let on about Adam, about many things really. Perhaps it was because he was a mercenary, and travel allowed him the ability to learn from experience, but there was no true way of experiencing the hidden knowledge of the Wonder Chef. Especially since -until just recently- Raine herself had admitted to believing that such a person was a fractured story, more myth than legend, and she had studied and read every book she could get her hands on about ancient ruins and relics.

Granted she'd been surprised that the Wonder Chef would even be mentioned in the same lines as ancient ruins, which brought up even more questions...

They entered the school's main foyer and Lloyd seemed to stiffen in place, then run forward to a sizable space under the staircases. Raine automatically called out for him to stop running just in time for him to halt on his own, glaring at the collection of athletic equipment that was stored in that empty space.

"Lloyd, how many times have I told you not to run inside buildings?" she scolded as she walked up to join him.

"Professor, was this thing here yesterday?" the brunet asked in return, peering at a long, thin pole topped with a basket that held various balls, much like the other baskets set properly on the floor around it. Soccer balls, basketballs, dodge balls, there was a great many of them in supply and Raine looked around at the other baskets before giving the pole structure an intrigued expression. It was rather a unique thing, and she was certain that such an oddity would have registered with them the first time they came here. She blinked as she recalled something else in relation to this spot.

"Oh. Lloyd, while you were busy talking your way into trouble again, I noticed that Adam had been looking at this particular spot with a great deal of scrutiny." she remarked, thinking back to the few minutes it took him to get Genis embroiled in the exam challenge. The blonde had seemed to forget they existed and had narrowed his gaze on this very spot.

"It's a high possibility that he's hiding right there, then." Genis piped up from behind them, hands on his hips as he smirked mischievously, "If not a guarantee, based on what Raine said."

Emboldened by her assumption, Raine reached out and brushed her hand against the cool metal of the basket stand, leaping back with her hand over her heart in surprise when it erupted into white smoke. When it dissipated, Adam stood in that same place, smiling cheerfully as he hopped from foot to foot in that strange little dance of his, giant fork in hand.

"I am the mysterious gourmet, the Wonder Chef!" he declared and Lloyd rolled his eyes, muttering 'We already know that, Adam' under his breath, "Spell your love with ketchup! I will now impart to you the recipe for that traditional breakfast food, omelet!"

Raine smiled in fond exasperation as she watched the blonde pull out his recipe book and flip through the pages in search of that very recipe, a small pout on his face as he scanned the words. He took his role as Wonder Chef very seriously; too bad the same couldn't be said about his studies. Though the majority of his placement work told her he was quite intelligent and well-educated, there were still questions he left purposely blank or rewrote. Why he would do such a thing was beyond her understanding. For now.

'I'll solve that mystery in due time. It shouldn't be so hard to do with careful observation.' she decided with a smile as she accepted the slip of paper with the egg and rice-based recipe. "Thank you, Adam. I'm sure I'll be able to make a marvelous omelet with this recipe and some innovative ingredients!"

"Now, you've done it." Genis sighed with a shake of his head as Adam's smile dropped away and he took on a horrified expression.


Lloyd felt immensely better about things once Adam was back in the group and Genis swiped the omelet recipe from his sister. As they headed up the stairs to the classroom where the exam challenge would be taking place, his good mood started to wear off little by little, until he was frowning to himself as Raine talked with the dean of the Palmacosta Academy who would be supervising the exams. It was good that the chef was with them again, but it just reminded him of what happened the other day, Adam and Colette working in the cafeteria to buy the Potion and Adam giving up that ring. It just felt all wrong to him. It wasn't fair; those other people made all that fuss about some stupid Potion and because of that...

He snapped back to attention just in time to hear Raine suggest that everyone take the exam too. "Eh? Why do we have to take it?" Lloyd blurted out in dismay, "I thought this was just a thing between Genis and that other kid!" Said other kid leaned over his desk and glared at him; Lloyd ignored him, even as Genis dropped his face into his palm.

"Well, just try it out." Raine told him cheerfully, "This would be a good way of seeing how far you've come in your studies."

"I thought that was what the placement homework was for. How much more of this do I have to go through?" Adam muttered as Lloyd nodded in agreement. In the end, the group took their own seats in the room for the test, and the brunet grimaced slightly at the thick stack of papers set before him. He twisted in his seat and looked up at Kratos, the mercenary raising an eyebrow at the exam stack laid down for him.

"Psst! Kratos!" Lloyd whispered out, one hand curled around his mouth to carry his voice, "What's the answer to the first question?" Kratos shot him a glare and Lloyd just grinned widely at him, snickering before turning back around and looking to either side of him.

He sat between Colette and Adam, and he found it strangely cheering to have a blonde on each side of him. Weird. Raine sat next to Genis, who sat next to that Mighty Washington kid, and the dean looked around at them to be sure everyone had a test and a pencil.

"All right. And, begin!" he declared, and Lloyd groaned softly, smile falling away as he picked up his pencil and stared blankly at his test. Colette hummed softly to herself as she went straight to answering the questions. The brunet looked at her with a raised eyebrow, then turned to see how Adam was doing, the chef chewing on his pencil as he read over the questions. With a sigh, Lloyd went back to staring at his own sheets.

Tests sucked.

After what felt like forever, the dean called an end to the testing and went around collecting the stacks to be graded. Lloyd sat back in his seat, grimacing but relieved that it was finally over. "Man, if I ever lay eyes on another test, it'll be too soon!" he complained and blinked up at the two blondes looking down at him, "How did you two manage to get through it without getting a headache?"

"It wasn't that bad, Lloyd. I'm sure you did great on it!" Colette remarked brightly, smiling at him in optimism. Lloyd couldn't help but smile back. Adam grinned as well, resting his cheek on one hand as he gazed at the brunet.

"I'm curious to hear what your score will be. Genis said that schoolwork isn't really your strong suit." he remarked and laughed when Lloyd just stuck his tongue out at him.

That reminded him of something else. Lloyd absently rubbed around his Exsphere mount lightly. When he got into that argument with Mighty and got that exam challenge issued, his hand had itched again as he considered his options. Turn it down so they could get to the cafeteria sooner, or take it and show his faith in Genis? He chose to believe in Genis and his smarts, and when the smaller boy gave a huff of fond exasperation and Adam beamed at Genis as he talked about Lloyd's faith, the itch faded. It was weird, but Lloyd kept it to himself.

"The results are in! I will now announce the scores." the dean declared at last and Lloyd sat up, eager to know by how much Genis had won. "First, Lloyd Irving scored 25."

"Wow! 25!" Lloyd exclaimed in shock, turning to Colette in amazement as the Chosen cheered for him, clapping her hands excitedly.

"That's amazing, Lloyd! It's your best score yet!" she congratulated him and Lloyd preened, soaking up the praise and oblivious to Kratos covering his face with his hands, Adam staring at him in dumbfounded silence, and Raine, Genis and Mighty all giving him pitying expressions. A score of 25; how awesome was that? He usually got a 10. Wonder what changed to have him score so high this time?

The dean went on after a moment. "Colette Brunel scored 210." he announced and Lloyd turned his gaze on the man, confused by the strangely high number.

"Huh?" he asked, "Hey, it's not out of 100?" Professor Sage always scored out of 100 on her tests. Genis gave him a flat glare from across the room.

"It's out of 400." he replied, and Lloyd's face burned red, the brunet sinking down in his chair to try disappearing himself. So... embarrassing. Behind him, Kratos made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a groan.

"Adam Voraci scored 320." the dean continued. Lloyd gave the other blonde a surprised look and Adam blushed, shrugging helplessly. He laughed and the chef blinked before returning Lloyd's earlier expression, teasingly sticking his tongue out just a bit. This just made Colette giggle along. "Kratos Aurion scored 380."

"I figured he'd know a lot of useless stuff." Lloyd complained, craning his head back on his neck to glare up at the mercenary with lidded eyes, "Hey, Kratos! How the heck do you know so much?" Kratos glared back at him from his desk in the higher row, and to Lloyd it looked like he was huddled there. It almost made him want to laugh again.

"I would imagine it is because I paid attention to my studies." he retorted.

"Raine Sage scored 400!" the dean declared in an impressed tone and Lloyd straightened up with a wide smile. Nothing but perfection from the Professor, of course. She knew everything. "And now the results of Genis Sage and Mighty Washington." the elder man finally came to the point of the exam challenge. He checked the scores on his own and nodded. "Genis Sage scored... 400! Mighty Washington scored 398!" the dean declared, "Genis Sage is the winner!"

"That's impossible!" Mighty declared in shock and turned to Genis, "Amazing! It looks like I was wrong about you after all." Lloyd grinned as he watched the two of them talk before turning his head in time to catch Adam yawn widely, hand lifted to his mouth to cover the action.

"Are you still tired, Adam?" he asked in concern, "I thought you got plenty of sleep." The chef rubbed his head, giving him a weak little grin. But before Lloyd could hear what he was going to say, something else caught his attention; the dean's offer for Genis to stay at the Academy to study. "Huh?" Lloyd exclaimed, feeling his insides twist almost painfully at the thought that Genis would be staying behind, the same as when Adam asked to study under Cacao's mother. Separating from a friend... the idea of it hurt. But it wouldn't be fair for Genis to miss out, since he'd already missed his first chance at coming here, so he forced a smile at the surprised little boy and hoped it looked encouraging.

"That's great, Genis! Um, you can stay here and study and go to school if you really want to, you know." the dual swordsman offered and to his own ears it sounded pretty lame, but dammit, he just wanted his friends to be happy! "This is what you wanted, right?" But to his surprise -and secretly, to his pleasure- Genis just shook his head and smiled back at him before looking up at the dean of the school.

"Thank you very much, but I want to finish the world regeneration journey first." he replied politely and smiled at Lloyd again, eyes bright and shiny with joy, "I told you, Lloyd, I'm sticking by you until the very end! You can't get rid of me that easy!" Lloyd just returned his smile with a grateful one.

"Then let me give you an acceptance certificate. Just bring it with you to this school after your journey is complete and you'll be immediately enrolled." the dean suggested, handing Genis a rolled up parchment instead. Mighty nodded eagerly, smiling at the smaller boy.

"Yes! Please come back when your journey ends!" he exclaimed with new respect in his tone, "You could be the greatest genius to come out of this school in time!" Genis just laughed sheepishly, clutching the parchment and rubbing his head.

"I will, I promise! Thanks so much, everyone!" he cheered. Lloyd pumped both fists into the air, grinning hugely. His best friend won the challenge, proved he was the smartest kid, got the letter to be able to come back here later, and they found Adam much faster than they did in Izoold.

This journey was definitely getting to be pretty cool.


The building next to the Palmacosta Academy was the Church of Martel, large and ostentatious compared to the Martel Temple that Lloyd, Colette, Genis and Raine were used to in Iselia. Inside was equally as nice. Genis looked around, eyes wide and taking in everything he could. Columns leaned forward and then bent back to support the expansive roof, rich red fabric draped over the brick walls for decoration and rows of finely woven mats were taken up by people that knelt in prayer, facing the pastor and a small statue of a young woman with flowing hair, loose robes and a shimmering halo around her head.

Colette hummed cheerfully as Raine led them all to meet with the pastor, the old man lifting his head from his reading of a prayer book to greet them. It took him a moment to register the Chosen of Mana standing before him, and then he straightened in sudden surprise, a wide and warm smile spreading across his friendly, aged face.

"Oh! Chosen One, do you remember me?" he asked, sounding much like a grandfather eagerly reuniting with a beloved grandchild, "I'm Marche. I trained as a priest at the Martel Temple." Colette beamed happily, smiling up at the elderly man.

"Of course I remember you; you always brought me such pretty flowers on my birthday." she returned and nodded in greeting, "It's so nice to see you again. So you've become a pastor now. That's wonderful!"

"Yes. Ever since the Tower of Salvation appeared, I have eagerly awaited the arrival of the Chosen." Pastor Marche positively trembled with excitement. It kind of creeped Genis out. "The legend of Spiritua will surely be of use to you."

Colette blinked in surprise and Genis wondered why she would be; Spiritua was a famous Chosen. Everyone knew of her in some way, even Adam. "Spiritua gave her first sermon here, right?" the blonde girl asked, looking around herself before tilting her head when her gaze settled on the pastor again, "That was copied down?" The old man nodded.

"Yes, that is correct. The legend of the world regeneration from that time was written down in the Book of Regeneration and was given to the royal family." he explained and looked momentarily sheepish, "At least, back when we had a royal family."

"What part of the Book of Regeneration can help us?" Genis asked, both curious and eager to get things back on track for the journey. The pastor turned to him with a knowing smile, one finger lifted in the air.

"The Book contains a record of every seal the Chosen must break, and their locations as well." he replied and Genis cheered, pumping a fist into the air.

"That's it! We won't have any trouble finding the seals if we have that!" he exclaimed, "Thanks for telling us, Pastor!" He settled down with a grin once Raine set her hand on his shoulder and asked where the Book could be found. Their luck was really going good now! He'd had some misgivings after that little fiasco with the four weirdos and the Palma Potion, but now things were looking up.

"Thank you! We'll go see Governor-General Dorr right away!" Colette remarked brightly, giving the pastor a respectful bow before the group bid their goodbyes and began leaving the church. Genis spotted Adam talking with Chocolat at a small stand near the entrance, the young woman smiling brightly at him as she shuffled papers into neat stacks. Lloyd called out to him and the blonde nodded before turning back to say something to Chocolat, give her a small slip of paper, laugh at her coyish response, then wave farewell as he rejoined the group. Genis saw some prime teasing material right there. Goddess, he was almost as bad as Lloyd in giving him lots to work with for making fun!

"Was that Chocolat?" Lloyd asked once Adam followed them out of the church. He nodded. "What were you guys talking about?"

"We just did a little catching up since we haven't seen one another since we were children. She operates a touring business for people on pilgrimage now." the Wonder Chef returned as he walked beside the brunet, "I was curious about it and she explained how people journey for spiritual growth and it gave her the idea of going into a touring business. She signs up people to go on a journey together in one large group and leads them as their guide. This allows them to qualify for escort, so they can move safely past any dangers." Lloyd stared at him blankly and Adam floundered a bit. "Um... I... don't know how to say that any other way." he added weakly, almost wincing with the effort of trying to think of a simpler way to repeat what he'd just said.

"Don't worry. In a few weeks, you'll be able to translate into Lloydese." Genis told him with an air of confidence, patting him on the arm as if he were the child. Adam sighed almost despairingly, muttering 'I'm rather afraid of acquiring that skill, actually.' under his breath. The half-elf smiled cattily, elbowing him lightly as they walked. "But you were looking pret-ty cozy with Chocolat back there." he added teasingly, "Getting sweet on the granddaughter of your dad's teacher?"

Oh, the red that just blazed over Adam's startled face was priceless! Genis couldn't help but laugh as the young chef sputtered and waved his hands helplessly, shaking his head in denial. He quickly stifled it when Raine shot him a stern look but kept the smile in place. "Okay, okay." Genis remarked, grinning, "Still, you can't deny that you looked really comfortable around her."

"Chocolat didn't try poking me in the neck." Adam muttered, hands stuffed into his pockets as he pouted, cheeks still flushed pink as he gave the back of Lloyd's head a halfhearted glare, the brunet back to leading the group around again. Genis found that kind of weird; if this was Colette's journey and she was the one who pretty much decided where they went and what they did, then why the heck was Lloyd walking at the front? "I was returning her grandmother's recipes." the Wonder Chef went on, drawing Genis's attention back to him. Adam looked a little wistful, gazing ahead of them with a faraway look in his eyes. "Since she's not here to train me in making sweets, I have no reason to keep carrying the recipes. Returning them felt right."

Then the moment passed and Adam chuckled. "Then she asked if I was looking for a discount on the next pilgrimage by giving them to her." he finished with a wry grin, "Shrewd business practice. She'll do just fine." Genis nodded in agreement, wondering if Chocolat would have gotten the little green and gold ring if it hadn't been given away. He tried to picture it in his head; Adam and Chocolat in a little house together.

"Erk!" Genis squeaked, shaking his head quickly to dispel the image. It didn't feel right. She was loud and hotheaded and seemed the type to hold grudges, if the way she acted back in the shop was anything to go by. Adam was pretty much the opposite; he'd probably let her get away with everything just to maintain calm and end up not very happy. The blonde looked down at him with a puzzled look on his face, head tilted in silent question, and Genis laughed nervously, rubbing his nose. "Eh, nothing! Don't mind me! Ha ha ha!" he remarked in a too-bright tone. Well, that didn't sound suspicious at all...


By the time they reached the steps leading up to the government building that was the heart of Palmacosta, the unsettling feeling Adam had about the city when they first arrived had returned nearly full-force, and it took all he had to quell shudders before they became noticeable by the rest of the group. He bounced on his feet as he took the steps one after another, an excuse to burn the excess nervous energy he'd gained after leaving the academy. Most of the group was already entering the building, but Lloyd and Kratos stayed outside. Adam gave them both a puzzled look, watching as the brunet listened to something one of the guards told him, murmured something himself and then react with surprise when Kratos spoke to him.

Not wanting to be thought of as an eavesdropper, Adam decided to follow the rest of the party into the building, only to be pulled back by the wrist. Startled, he spun in place, free hand lifting to push away whoever it was that had grabbed him. It was Lloyd -figures-, who immediately let go and jumped back, hands up in the air and surprise on his face.

"Whoa! Okay, sorry! Didn't think you'd still be jumpy." he exclaimed, blinking rapidly. Adam stared at him in disbelief, then sighed, exasperation setting in as he rubbed at one temple carefully.

"Lloyd, I rather wish you didn't insist on touching me so often. Or at least doing so without some warning." he returned and looked up at him warily, "What is it? Why are you smiling like that at me?" Because the brunet was just about beaming at him and Adam was seriously considering just teleporting back to the Skipper's Haven until they were all ready to leave.

"Kratos said he'd train me once we leave the city." Lloyd told him with a wide grin, leaning forward and eyes bright. Adam leaned backwards, trying to maintain space without looking rude about it.

"That's... nice of him... actually." he replied slowly, uncertainly. His face was burning; oh, he can not be blushing right now! Why, why, why did he always blush this much when Lloyd got near him? It had to be the awkwardness of proximity, yes. That made perfect sense.

"I asked if he'd train you too, and he said yeah!" Lloyd added, throwing his hands up cheerfully, "Isn't that great, Adam?"

"Yes, wonderful, now can you lean ba-, wait... what?" Adam cried in shock, falling backwards now that he'd lost his balance and earning a couple of glares from the guards for crashing onto the Governor-General's doorstep. "Lloyd!"

The brunet was already pulling him up, oblivious to his stammering as he went on excitedly. "See, I was just wondering to myself if I should do some extra training to help protect Colette better, and then Kratos said he'd train me if I wanted, so I said yeah," Lloyd rambled on and started pushing Adam through the door with Kratos following behind them, stoic as ever, "and then I remembered that you could use some more work in fighting styles so I asked if you could join in and Kratos said it was a good idea!"

"And you didn't think to ask me first if I even wanted to train with you?" Adam cried in frustration, squirming at the feel of the brunet's hands gripping his shoulders and steering him to the main office, where Raine was impatiently waiting for them. The forward march halted then and Adam blinked in surprise before feeling himself get pulled back, and then went rigid at the sight of Lloyd dropping his chin on his shoulder to look up at him with wide, puppy-dog eyes.

"Please?" the brunet pouted, "Dwarven Vow Number 80; Stuff's more fun to do when there's two." Adam just glared at him, halfhearted and nowhere near as intense as he wished it could be.

"How do those even apply to me?" he demanded and shuddered, finally throwing up his hands to push Lloyd off, "All right, all right! I'll join, just stop touching me so much!" And typical Lloyd, the other boy cheered and threw his arms around him in a hug. "Geh! Lloyd! I just said not to-!" He managed to get free of the brunet and stumbled forward, tripping over himself in his haste to get away.

Things went wrong for him almost instantly after that. Adam threw out his hands to catch himself, Lloyd dove for him to save him first, and ended up colliding with enough force to land them both on the floor, with Kratos standing there and scowling at them both like he'd just seen a dog soil the ground in front of him. That alone would have been enough to make the young chef want to crawl into a dark corner and stay there for the rest of his life, if not for the fact that as soon as his hands touched the floor, that feeling of wrongness that he'd been doing his best to ignore ever since they passed through Palmacosta's plaza, ever since they drew close to this very building, hit him with the same impact as when that assassin's Guardian hurled him into the face of the mountain.

He screamed, flailing about almost blindly in an effort to shove Lloyd off of him and -get away get away get away- get out of the building. Kratos looked faintly alarmed, reaching down to haul Lloyd aside by the arm and giving him the chance he needed to bolt. Fleetingly, he heard the dual swordsman cry his name, but at the moment Adam didn't care to respond to it, just out, out, out, he needed out right then and there.

The guards gave him strange looks and asked repeatedly if he was all right, sitting on the steps to the building and clutching one of the supporting pillars as he alternated between gasping for air and dry-heaving. Adam didn't know whether to nod just to get them to back off or admit he wasn't at all 'all right' and have one of them run inside to fetch Raine or -heaven forbid- Lloyd.

What the hell was in there? What was it that was saturating the air and the stone and the city with that inherent wrongness, that sick feeling of decay and pain and misery? Didn't anyone else notice? Why couldn't they feel that?

Adam pressed his forehead against the marble pillar, flinching once in annoyance at the circlet he'd been forced to wear clicking against the stone, and then just sank into relief at the coolness of the marble resting against what little skin could touch. The pillar was safe, awash in care and pride and security. Actually, now that he could get his racing thoughts back in order and under control, he'd half-expected Lloyd to have raced out of the building after him by now. Had Kratos held him back for some reason?

He felt unclean again, which meant another bath was in order. Did anyone else in the party think it odd of him to want so many baths so often? It was just part of who he was and where he came from, and since no one was supposed to know that much about the Wonder Chef he supposed it was a given. With a sigh, Adam managed to get to his feet and walk up to one of the guards.

"When the group that entered returns, would you mind telling them I've gone back to the Skipper's Haven?" he asked of the guards. Once assured that they would deliver the message, Adam left the building entirely and walked back to the inn, hands in his pockets as he thought over his experience in the short hallway leading to the Governor-General's office. There was something terrible hidden there, and it seemed like everyone was oblivious to it.

No, not 'seemed like'; they were oblivious. They didn't have the same senses he did, so he couldn't expect them to pick up on it as well. Wouldn't Kratos have, though? He was one of the Four Seraphim, surely his angel senses would have alerted him to something wrong. But no, Kratos was just as surprised by his reaction as Lloyd.

'I suppose empathy isn't considered an angel sense?' Adam thought to himself darkly, 'I doubt it, considering how little they care for the lives they destroy.'

.

Baths in Sylvarant were much simpler and longer to take than the methods he was normally used to taking back home. Adam finished dressing in the room he'd shared with Lloyd and Kratos, and just barely brushed his hair down over his left eye when the door slammed open, startling him into spinning around. 'Speak of the devil. Or think it, in my case.' he thought to himself, and then found himself shrinking back at the realization that Lloyd had a rather thunderous expression on his face as he scanned the room quickly, 'What happened?'

When he was finally spotted -and just how infuriated could Lloyd be if he didn't see all the green and red standing out against the plain wood furniture and subdued decor?-, Adam winced, holding up his hands as the brunet stormed over to him and grabbed his wrist, all but dragging him out of the room. "Come on! We have to leave now!" Lloyd griped angrily.

"Why? What's going on? Ow... Lloyd, not so tight!" Adam protested in confusion, hurrying down the stairs after him as Kratos finished returning the keys to the innkeeper. There was a tension in the air, making his surroundings feel charged and Lloyd's deathgrip on his arm wasn't helping matters any. "Lloyd, let go! Ow!" He tried to pull himself free, resorting to grabbing the brunet by his free hand and shaking his arm to get his attention. "Lloyd! You're hurting me!"

That seemed to have gotten the message through. Lloyd dropped his wrist as if scalded and turned to stare at him with wide eyes, alarm and apology flitting through them in order. "I'm sorry! It's just..." he babbled and gestured helplessly before drawing both hands up over his face, muffling a short scream of frustration. Adam watched him in concern, glancing over at the Seraph who just tilted his head towards the door in a sign for them to meet outside soon. "Look, we have to leave right away. That Book thing that we were going to get from the Governor-General got swiped by a bunch of imposters pretending to be Colette and us, and we figured out its the same bunch that bullied you and Colette into giving them stuff for that stupid Palma Potion!" Lloyd finally explained in a rush, all passionate fury in his face and tone. Adam stared at him blankly.

"You mean someone else figured it out and you're more incensed that they also conned us than in the fact that a valuable artifact is about to be sold." he finally returned with a lidded expression, rubbing his wrist gingerly as Lloyd mirrored his earlier expression. He sighed. "Never mind. I get what you mean, however, and you're right. It's not good." he finally relented, "Colette has a right to that book since it is a record of her ancestor's travels, so we should hurry to retrieve it. Where did they say the group was going?"

"To Hakonesia Peak. It's pretty far north of here, so we gotta go right now!" Lloyd told him and grabbed him by the arm again, racing out of the inn and deaf to his renewed protests.

"Lloyd! Will you stop grabbing me like that? Lloyd!"


They had put several hours of hard travel behind them, and Palmacosta was pretty much a white blur in the distance by the time Raine called for a stop to let Colette and Genis rest. Lloyd couldn't rest, still too angry and energized by that anger to want to stay still. He wanted to keep moving, chase down those imposters -and leave it to Colette to think it was great to have more than one Chosen 'helping regenerate the world'- and then do something to them to make them never want to trick people ever again. He wasn't sure what yet, he was too mad to really think on it.

Most of all, Lloyd was just pissed off that they'd tricked Colette and Adam into giving them another Potion and Adam's ring just because of a little accident. Actually, he was more irritated with the Potion half than he was actually angry. The money used to buy it could have been useful later, and they could always earn more from just killing a few monsters and filling out bounties. No, what really had him wanting to beat up a tree for lack of a better target was the memory of the fake Chosen taking Adam's ring and laughing while admiring it on her finger.

"Damn it!" he cursed under his breath, punching the tree instead and then leaning against it, forehead pressed against his arm. It didn't make him feel any better, and now he had a sore hand. You can't replace a ring as easily as money, especially ones that were crafted special. Lloyd had his suspicions about the little gold ring, but without it around for him to check out, he couldn't be sure of it.

He was also still worried about what had happened in Palmacosta, when Adam screamed after falling to the floor and then fled the building without a single explanation why. Lloyd had wanted to go after him, but Kratos had pulled him back, told him to let the Wonder Chef recollect himself, and they had to see Dorr about the Book anyway. From there that fiasco with being called impersonators happened, and Colette's 'falling on her butt' miracle that had her wings pop out to save her saved them all from being hauled away by the guards that Dorr called up. More headaches they didn't need on this trip, ugh.

"Lloyd." Kratos's voice drew him out of his thoughts, and he pulled away from the tree to watch the mercenary walk over to him, all cool and calm as always. It was something that Lloyd found himself a little jealous of sometimes; if he was more like Kratos, then maybe he wouldn't be freaking Adam out so much. Of course, if he was more like Kratos, he wouldn't care that he was freaking the guy out in the first place.

"Oh. Hey, Kratos." Lloyd greeted in return, not really feeling up to butting heads with the man again. He'd already felt like an idiot earlier, when Kratos gave him that glare over not realizing sooner that the four people they'd run into were the same as the imposters who stole the Regeneration Book thing. He didn't want a second dose. "What's up?"

"Since we've stopped for the duration, I came to see if you still had a desire to train." the mercenary remarked evenly, "There is a small clearing not very far from here, and the others will be safe around the fire." Lloyd looked around him, spotting his friends all gathered around a campfire and relaxing, watching Genis and Adam cutting up portions of meat for sandwiches.

"Yeah. I said I'd like for you to train me, and I'm not going back on that. Not when I want to get stronger and protect Colette and Adam." the brunet agreed, checking both of his swords to be sure they were in place and easy to unsheathe. Kratos raised an eyebrow at him, head tilting in that way that let him know that he'd actually confused the man. "What?"

"Ah, nothing." Kratos replied and glanced at the campsite, "Is the Wonder Chef not joining us then?" Lloyd lit up, remembering that he'd gotten Adam involved in that as well.

"Oh, yeah! Hey, Adam!" he called out, waving his hand excitedly as the blonde looked up from his work, "We're gonna go train for a while! Let's go!"

"You volunteered me without asking!" Adam shot back, Genis and Colette giggling and laughing behind their hands at them.

"Just go and do it. Lloyd's never gonna stop bugging you about it if you don't." the smaller boy pointed out with a grin, "Did he use a Dwarven Vow on you? 'Cause if he did, he's gonna hold it over you forever." Lloyd made a mental note to rub Genis's hair the wrong way later and waited for the chef to get up. He was rewarded when, a few minutes later, Adam came over with his frying pan in hand and a look of resignation of his face.

"All right. I'm here." he remarked flatly and held up the pan, pressing the lip of it against Lloyd's chest when he smiled widely, "No touching, Lloyd."

Sheesh, didn't know when to joke around, did he? But it didn't matter to Lloyd; they were going to get some sword-training in at last and he was excited. He followed Kratos to the clearing he'd found and looked around in appreciation. It was spacious and the ground was pretty flat and even, no rocks or anything that they could accidentally trip over. Eager to get started, Lloyd darted ahead of Kratos, spun around and unsheathed both swords, taking a stance.

"Hah! How's that?" he declared proudly. It was a cool stance and it showed off his swords, plus it was easy to start slashing once he had them both swung to the side like that. Kratos didn't look at all impressed and Adam just gave him a blank look, frying pan in his grip.

"You're wide open." the mercenary told him bluntly and Lloyd nearly fell over in shock.

"Wh-what? How?" he demanded to know, looking over his stance and trying hard to see what Kratos was seeing. How was he open? If anyone tried to come up at him, all he'd have to do was spin in place and both swords would hit all around him! It was cool! The mercenary came up and tapped both blades with his own sword.

"Fighting with two swords deviates from the way they were originally intended to be used." he explained, and Lloyd suddenly found the sound and tone of his voice strangely familiar, tugging on a memory grown dusty and nearly forgotten. His eyebrows furrowed slightly, listening closely and trying to bring that memory to light. "The difficulty increases your vulnerability, since swords had been designed to allow for the equipping of a shield for defense." Kratos lifted his own simple round shield as an example.

Unable to dredge the memory from the murky depths, Lloyd shook his head and frowned. "That's weird." he muttered aloud, "If you're strong using one sword, then using two will make you twice as strong, right?" Kratos narrowed his eyes at him and the brunet had the sudden urge to retreat to a corner and hide behind someone.

"...Are you telling me that's the reason you chose to fight with two swords?" the mercenary demanded quietly. Lloyd couldn't figure it out. It made perfect sense! Why didn't Kratos see that? He nodded, giving the man a puzzled look.

Lloyd wasn't sure what to make of that open-mouthed gaping expression on Adam's face, but he knew right away he didn't like that other one on Kratos's face. His own cheeks burned at the sight. "What?" he exclaimed at last, confused and annoyed and annoyed with being confused, "Why do you look at me with pity?"

"I'm going back to camp." Adam finally muttered, turning in place and already starting to walk away. He halted when Kratos reached out and snagged him by the collar.

"I said I would train you both to fight properly, and by the Goddess I will." the mercenary growled, stalking towards Lloyd with the blonde in tow.

"Eeps!" Lloyd squeaked and tried to run, only to get caught by the ribbons on his own collar moments later. And for the life of him, he just could not figure out why he broke into laughter at being caught like that.

.

Training with Kratos as their teacher was hard. There were stances he had to learn and he had to always 'think about where his opponents may attack' and balance that with making sure he didn't leave himself open again -and he had the bruises to show for his failing to do that a lot-, and Lloyd was feeling worn out. It was pretty much the same for Adam, who Kratos had an even harder time training because the guy used a frying pan and who in their right mind used that as a main weapon? It had no distance, so Adam was always in danger of getting hit by swords; it had no edge, so he couldn't cut or stab with it, just beat people over the head if he was really lucky; the most Kratos could do was drill the need for agility and speed into the guy so he could stay alive long enough to get close and whack someone.

Lloyd watched from where he rested under a tree as Kratos threw the blonde backwards several feet after another failed attempt to get close. He sighed, rubbing around the mount of his Exsphere again. It had itched again when Kratos first offered to train him and he had just rubbed absently at it when he excitedly agreed to take the offer. Now he wondered if it hadn't been another of those odd signs about decisions. What would have happened if he'd turned Kratos down?

"Move with purpose, not just blind speed! Without purpose, you cannot think ahead in your movements, and that is what you need to get close and strike!" Kratos declared sternly. Lloyd turned his gaze from the mercenary to the chef lying flat on his back and gasping for air. Well, they wouldn't be getting their butts kicked by a guy using one sword, that's for sure. He got to his feet, dusting himself off before grabbing his jacket from the grass and pulling it back on.

"It's getting kind of dark, Kratos. We should go back to the others now." he pointed out and walked over to help pull Adam to his feet. The mercenary gazed upward, nodded, and waited for the two teens to collect themselves before following him back. Lloyd walked beside Kratos, frowning thoughtfully to himself. As annoyed as he was with getting his body and ego battered from training, the experience really did show him just how pathetic he was to think slashing in a frenzy would get him through all his battles. Kratos hadn't held back in his offense -and Lloyd was glad that his strikes were done with the flat of the blade or they'd all be in a world of hurt- and nothing Lloyd did actually held the guy at bay. One lesson had him put into the role of defending Adam from getting attacked; he was on his butt in no time, staring at the mercenary holding his sword across the blonde's stomach and both frowning at him.

His way of fighting was so beginner, a kid could probably beat him.

"What is it, Lloyd?" Kratos asked suddenly, and Lloyd looked up to see the man giving him a concerned gaze. It surprised him for a moment before he returned to his earlier brooding, brows furrowed slightly.

"I think... there are more things I must learn in order to fight powerful enemies." the brunet replied carefully, doing his best to pull his thoughts together so he could talk about them, "The way I fought before, it must have been dumb luck I didn't get seriously hurt or killed. Or worse, gotten my friends hurt or killed, too." He heard Kratos give a small huff that sounded suspiciously like an amused chuckle and shot him a glare. "What?" he demanded, immediately offended that the guy would laugh at him for admitting he wasn't as strong as he thought.

"Lloyd, you will grow stronger." the russet-haired man told him with such certainty in his voice that Lloyd blinked dumbly for a few seconds. Was that... a compliment? From Kratos?

"Huh?" The word escaped him before he could hold it back and Kratos just nodded, glancing back over his shoulder to be sure Adam was still behind them. Lloyd followed his gaze, unable to hold back a grin at the blonde trudging along and yawning every few seconds.

"It is easy to continue recklessly swinging a sword, and I suppose that would be enough to dispatch the weakest of monsters or take care of the average enemy." the mercenary went on conversationally, even doing a little shrug as he spoke, "But it won't serve you when faced with a truly strong opponent." He looked at Lloyd again, and the dual swordsman caught a glimpse of pride in the older man's eyes. "You, Lloyd, are in the midst of realizing this. Therefore, you will undoubtedly grow even stronger."

He blushed, smiling widely and feeling oddly happy that he'd made Kratos proud with just that bit of talking with him. "You... you think so? Really?" he asked eagerly and just about felt himself light up at the man's slight nod. He didn't even mind when Kratos carefully placed a hand on his head, ruffling the brunet's hair a little and in a way that tugged at those dusty half-forgotten memories again.

"Grow strong, Lloyd." the mercenary whispered and pulled his hand away. Lloyd missed having the contact between them for all of two seconds, before the memory was once again swept away by his eagerness to share his new knowledge with Adam. He was rewarded with a yelp of protest and ran ahead of Kratos in peals of laughter, the Wonder Chef chasing after him with a red face.