So the game is still going on... without Lloyd... yeah, i'll leave that to your imaginations. So Kratos still has a lot of things to do to make his plans work. That means...


12 – Prepping For a Trip

Kratos was unusually quiet one evening as Lloyd cleaned off his gear after training. He was tired, but not near as much as he was when they first started working out like this together. For the past few days, Lloyd could make it back to the cell on his own two feet without keeling over. Sure he passed out not long after his head hit the pillow, but he made it! No one carried him to bed, no sirrie! Still, it was weird that Kratos wasn't going over all his mistakes. There were quite a few from what he could remember. The man seemed… preoccupied.

"Something up?"

"Hm." The man was staring at him, leaning forwards on his elbows with his fingers pressed together in thought. It was different from his usual looks, but he'd seen it before. Back when they started their journey, Kratos used to stare at him a lot. He was about to ask what he was thinking when the man spoke up. "I'm going to be gone for a while."

Surprised, the teen just stared at him. "Okay… how long?"

"A week. Maybe two." His eyes went off into the distance, thinking of something. It seemed rather serious. "There are some things I need to do that cannot be done in Welgaia. Things no one else can do."

"Alright… So… what am I gonna do when you're gone?" Lloyd stopped cleaning, giving the man his full attention. Kratos was leaving? Well it wasn't like he was with him all the time. He spent at least half of his day in his room studying. It was just the most interesting parts of his life happened when Katos was around. Other than the books and occasional talks with Ava (Marcus was a jerk), there really wasn't anything else to do.

"Study."

Teenaged eye-rolling was inevitable. The seraph followed it with more. "By the time I get back, you should be about halfway through that history book. You'll have a basic understanding of how the world once was, before magitechnology became the norm. You'll start having a lot of questions then."

"You've read that thing?" Though it was fascinating once he got the hang of reading, the whole thing was rather dry.

"A few times. If you reach the discovery of exspheres before I return though, stop and read something else. The backs of the other books or inside covers have summaries. Anything covering military actions or politics should go in one pile for a while. Anything else is fair game."

Something wasn't right. "Why don't you want me reading those?" Not that he wanted to, but he had to ask.

Looking to the side, Kratos thought of an answer. "Because you'll want to use them as a cross reference. Believe me, you will not want to go back and forth with history. Not right now.

"Besides reading," he moved on, "I want you to keep up with part of your training."

"What?! How?!" How in all the worlds was he supposed to keep up with anything in his cell when he wasn't even allowed to wear SHOES! That was the whole reason they trained in private right? So no one could stop them and he could move freely. How was he supposed to-

"Pushups. Jumping jacks. Balancing. Marcus will be watching you and giving instructions for-"

"Oh that's just great." Throwing his arms in the air, Lloyd groaned. "The muscle angel is gonna make sure I do stupid exercises in a small place with books everywhere."

"The books don't have to be everywhere on the floor Lloyden." That firm note was back in his voice, and didn't look the least bit amused. It shut him up almost immediately. "And unless you want to go back from our sessions too exhausted to walk, I advise you take Marcus' instruction seriously. The exercises are to keep your endurance up. When I return, I don't want to lose any time. You've made a lot of progress without that exsphere powering you. You're almost at the same level you were at with it."

That made him stop. "What?"

Sighing slightly, it was Kratos' turn to roll his eyes. "You never notice your progress do you Lloyd. In little over two months, you've reached the endurance and skills you had with your exsphere. You're also a lot faster at reading. Your reflexes are still a little slow, and you're still using two bookmarks, but you've improved."

"Really?" He was getting better? Really? This was-

"Focus Lloyd." Hearing the annoyance in the man's voice, the teen snapped his attention back to him. "You need to keep the skills you have attained, so you need to exercise to keep up your endurance and strength. Marcus will teach you the best ways to do that so listen to what he says. He will also escort you to the showers and to the lab for weekly testing. Nothing else will change. Understood?"

Shrugging, "I guess. But where-"

"I'll tell you in time," he promised. That was pretty much the same promise as always. Everything would come out in time. Great. "You just need to be patient and behave while I'm gone. Understood?"

This time the lad sighed. "Fine."

"Good." They stayed still for a moment, then he rose from his seat. "We need to get going."

Nodding and sighing, Lloyd handed over the last of the cleaned up gear to be put away in the wingpack before getting up and heading towards the portal leading out. Kratos met him there and put the cuffs on like they always did before making any appearances before the other angels. He closed his eyes during transport, then looked around as soon as they were in Welgaia where Marcus was waiting.

Walking the route back towards the secure labs and cells was becoming rather boring really. He already memorized the routes to the Tower of Salvation and back, several times over. And he knew exactly which angels were where at what times. The only fun he had during the trip was looking at the stars or naming the winged half-elf dolls along the path. Soon enough they arrived at some private quarters where a shower was made available. Learning how they worked was fun the first time he was conscious for it, but now it was a little boring too. Soon enough he was out and led to the labs where he would be poked, prodded, and floating around with lights for who knew how long.

When he entered the lab this time, he spotted a familiar sneaky looking man in weird green robes. Inside the lad groaned, and he had a feeling the two angels near him did the same. Lloyd was handed to Marcus for a moment while Kratos confronted the Desian. "These are not your labs Rodyle."

"As you say Lord Kratos." The slimy man smiled as he looked over some computer tablets to where Lloyd was standing. "But you know I cannot wait to see the final results of the… ehem… Angelus Project. I feel I would be a better leader for this experiment-"

"As you have stated in your previous visits." Annoyance was barely eking out of the man's body. How did Kratos stay so calm? "And my answer is the same. You will have the results after the experiment is over. Not before. I do not need your help."

"Are you certain?" Rodyle gave him a knowing look, his eyes shifting hungrily towards the lad every few seconds. "You are after all, a soldier, not a scientist. You may not be objective enough to-"

"This is my project," he seemed to repeat, this time with a threatening tone. "Your tampering will not be permitted."

"Hm. Project. Yes…"

"Do not come near him." Lloyd's eyes widened, staring at the mercenary. In the past few times this Grand Cardinal (yeah, he figured out who he was after the second time he came to the lab to "observe") was shoved away politely. Not this time. "You have five hundred humans at your ranch each year. This one is off limits. Understood?"

The half-elf watched Kratos calmly for a minute before sneering. "Of course, Lord Kratos. Whatever you wish."

"Then leave." In one swift movement, he plucked the tablet from the intruder's hands and took a gem from his pocket as he stepped clear around him. He made a slight motion with his head and two guard angels came to Rodyle's sides, escorting him out of the room. Marcus seemed to position himself between Lloyd and the Desian too, blocking any possible contact or spell or whatever they were expecting from that man.

Strangely enough, Lloyd never felt threatened by that guy. Pudgy was just annoying and slimy, and a little like the mayor or Iselia. Frustrating guy, but not scary. Kvar was downright terrifying in comparison. Kratos was much scarier when he was mad. And Yggdrasil… well, he tried to not think of Yiggy most days.

"Lloyd."

"Huh?" Taken from his drifting thoughts, he jerked his eyes back to Kratos near the center of the room. His hand was playing with the memory gem he swiped from Rodyle as he calmly raised an eyebrow at him.

"The scans."

"Right…" He joined him at the center table, let someone take his cuffs off, then climbed onto the bed without being told to. Hey, he was getting training and waiting for the right time to take down these guys wasn't he? What was wrong with letting them scan his body and exsphere?


"You really should be leaving sir." Marcus. Why was he hearing his voice? Lloyd turned slightly in his sleep, somewhat wanting to hear what was being said.

"I know." Kratos. Well that explained a lot. Quite a few of Lloyd's dreams seemed to have his voice in them these days.

"The sooner you leave the sooner you return."

"The last time I left Lord Yggdrasil tried to kill him. And before that…"

"There are no reasons for that event to repeat itself. Should anything happen, he cannot be blamed."

Someone snorted. "You don't know him."

"Lord Kratos," Ava, "I know you are worried about Lloyd's safety while you are absent, but you said these events cannot be avoided. There is work for you to do. We will keep him safe until your return. He will be here, waiting for you."

Silence, then, "You're right. I should get going."

More silence, but he did hear some tapping getting closer to the bed. Too tired to do anything, Lloyd did nothing until he felt a hand on his head, rubbing his hair. It felt really nice. "You be a good boy for them while I'm gone Lloyden. I'll be back as soon as I can." There was nothing but his hand for a while, then a soft chuckle. "Sleeps like a rock. Some things never change."

His hand left and instinctively Lloyd turned towards where the warmth was leaving him. It somehow helped him hear what was said next. "Take good care of him. I'm leaving my hope in your hands."

"Understood sir."


A/N: Yeah, so Lloyd's gotten used to living as a prisoner in welgaia. Kratos isn't mistreating him, he's getting well fed, plenty of sleep, cleaned up, and learning 24/7, so really, can he really complain about his life so far? the only thing he doesn't have is freedom and his friends. and he's kinda making new friends at the same time. What he doesn't know is what's going on when he's locked away. That is going to change soon. Kratos has every right to be worried while he's gone collecting things and giving cryptic hints to his friends.

I love the dreamy times Lloyd overhears things. If he strung them all together, he'd understand what Kratos is doing for him a little better.

Rodyle is a part of this, along with a few others in the main bad guy cast. so keep your eyes peeled. Laters.