Darn ff...I sometimes don't like you
anyway, hopefully this fixes the html.
There came a pounding on the front door of the Bryant mansion. "Open up in there! By authority of the united people of Tethe'alla, you are commanded to allow us entry!"
A startled butler answered the door. "Yes, what is the problem officer?" he asked, trying to sound formal, but his voice faltered slightly.
"We have a warrant for the capture of a slave, who we have been told is sheltered in this household," the soldier informed him officiously, "Stand aside!"
The butler quickly did as commanded, allowing them in, too afraid to do anything else.
"Where is the master of the house?" the lead soldier asked the butler, as his men marched forward to fill the front hall.
"Ah, I will retrieve him" The butler said, going and fetching Regal.
Not twenty minutes later did Regal come down the stairs, steaming angry. "You!" He shouted at the commander. "What is the meaning of this!"
"We have a warrant for the capture of a slave you are harboring, sir," the commander informed him, "He will answer for the destruction of Meltokio!"
"What!?" Regal exclaimed. "That's insane! Under whose orders!?"
"A coalition has been formed by the leaders of the remaining cities in Tethe'alla," the soldier told him, "We are authorized to use force if met with resistance." All around him, the soldiers had begun searching through the rooms of the house.
Regal cursed loudly. "Your information is incorrect!! The party you accuse is innocent!"
"Did he or did he not cast the spell which destroyed Meltokio, killing all those who lived there?" the man demanded.
Just then, there was a cry from one of the rooms. "You're coming with us, scum!" a voice growled, and soon two soldiers appeared, hauling Yuan along between them.
"Let me go!!" Yuan shouted, struggling to free himself from the two guards.
A moment later, there was an enraged yell from a room nearby, and Zelos emerged, absolutely furious. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" he shouted, "Let go of him, now!!"
"Mind your own business, whelp!" one of the soldiers cried out, "This vermin destroyed an entire city!"
"I-I didn't!!" Yuan cried, forgetting for a moment that he was being controlled into doing so.
"It wasn't him!" Zelos insisted, "Drop him, now!"
"We are under orders to retrieve him," the commander told Zelos, "Stand aside, or face the consequences!" At his gesture, two soldiers leveled their pikes at Zelos' chest.
Regal growled. "You dare assault the second in line for the throne of Tethe'alla?!"
"We have orders not to allow anyone to stand in our way, regardless of rank," the leader replied, "We were told that some misguided nobles were protecting him."
Zelos snarled viciously at the soldiers holding the pikes, but couldn't move forward without being skewered.
Yuan shook like a leaf in the wind, losing the energy to fight. "W-What's going to happen to me?"
"You are to be executed, for the crime of mass murder," the leader told him scornfully.
"NO!!" Zelos cried out, "You bastards!"
Suddenly another set of doors opened and Kratos descended from an upper room. "What is this I hear about an arrest?" he asked, walking over to the lead knight.
"Kratos!" Zelos cried out, "They're trying to take Yuan and execute him!"
"We have our orders," the commander informed Kratos, "and we will carry them out."
"Under whose rule?" Kratos asked calmly.
"We are operating under the authority of a coalition formed by the remaining leadership of Tethe'alla." the commander responded in the same tone.
"I see I however still outrank all of them and have the authority to over throw any decision they make." Kratos said.
"All those within this household are under suspicion of conspiracy to overthrow the Tethe'allan government, with the help of this scum," the lead soldier replied, "Until such is proved false, you have no authority over anyone."
"I see. Well, when my innocence is proven I will ask that he is returned to his master." Kratos said calmly. "Until then I will give you a note demanded that he not be executed. If these orders are not met then make your superiors understand that I will be striping, them, you, and anyone else involved in this treason of their rank. Understood?"
"I will deliver your message, sir," the lead soldier told him, "and ask them to read it. I cannot presume to know whether they will take your warning to heart." His tone made it sound doubtful, though.
Kratos smiled. "You're looking at the new king of Tethe'alla and with its people's pain in mind, I will not give the councilors a lamb to slaughter to gain popularity."
"Be that as it may, 'your majesty'," the soldier gave the title a scornful tone, "right now and until the coalition comes to a verdict, you are as powerless as any commoner, and we are short on time. If you wish me to deliver a letter, bring it here; otherwise, we will take this vermin and leave."
"Ah yes I will also have your name and the name of your squadron." Kratos said, eyes still a dead calm. "Also, my 'treason' or not, you will still address me as Lord Aurion."
The man's eyes widened, recognizing the name. "L-Lord Aurion?" he cried, "I had heard that you were killed in Meltokio, sir!Forgive my insolence, I was only following orders…"
"You will be forgiven if you follow my orders and ensure that this man is not executed until I allow it," Kratos said, "if I deem it necessary."
"Y-Yes, sir," the commander replied obsequiously, "I will most certainly let them know what you have told me – please understand, I have no influence over their decisions"
"You will not be harmed or your squadron as long as you give them my note. After that if they chose to go throw with it, their heads will be the ones rolling, quite possibly literally." Kratos said. "If you would inform them of that as well..."
He quickly got a maid to fetch him some parcel and a pen and wrote all he said down. "Here take good care of it, and him." He said eying Yuan.
"Yes, sir!" the commander cried, saluting sharply, "Let's go, men!" With that, the soldiers dragged Yuan away and marched off, leaving a helplessly fuming Zelos in their wake.
Kratos turned to Zelos. "I'm sorry."
Zelos ground his teeth in frustration. "You did all you could," he admitted grudgingly, "and I'm glad for that, but…" he shook his head, "Dammit! This is the second time he's been taken away right in front of me! Why couldn't I do anything?!"
Kratos sighed. "I'll work on his release."
"Why?" A voice asked from the top of the stairs.
Zelos turned toward the voice. "What do you mean, 'why'?" he asked Lloyd, "I love him, that's why! He's one of us!"
"He's not one of us." Lloyd said with a dark glare. "He's a murderer."
"What?!" Zelos cried in disbelief, "How can you say that?! You have no idea what he's been going through because of all this! Don't you dare call him that!"
"You wouldn't understand at all you stuck up pampered noble!!!" Lloyd shouted at him.
"You didn't lose anyone! Just that whore who would be better off dead!!"
"Lloyd!" Kratos exclaimed.
"Who's pampered?!" Zelos cried in fury, "You're richer than I am, you've never spent a single day being ignored or cast aside so don't talk to me about loss or suffering! And considering all that's happened to him, Yuan is more worthy of respect than either of us, so just shut up!"
Lloyd seemed to be taken back by Zelos tirade. "I-" he looked away. "He...what-what happened?"
"Ask your father," Zelos spat, too angry to care who he might be hurting, "And then learn to think twice before you judge people."
Lloyd glared at him, but backed down slightly, only casting a glance at his father before walking away in a huff.
Zelos scowled viciously at Lloyd's retreating back, then without casting a glance at any of the others who had emerged to watch the scene, stormed into his room.
-
A half-elf soldier ran into the throne room of his lordship carrying a message from the spies planted in Altamira. They sent him as soon as they had heard some very startling news. When he got to the door he bowed low at the door waiting to be allowed entrance.
"Enter," a calm voice came from inside, "What have you discovered?"
"My lordship! They have discovered your son's location!" He said, holding out the message.
Mithos snatched the message up and read it quickly. "Dear me..." he purred, "It seems his shining knight can't protect him very well after all…" He turned to the messenger, "Thank you my good man, we will take action immediately. Go to Rodyle and tell him to come here - and bring his latest experiment."
"Yes my lord!" The messenger bowed again and did as was told, coming back a while later with the two in tow.
"My esteemed lord," Rodyle greeted him. "You called us?"
"I did," Mithos nodded, and thrust the letter forward. "This message details Yuan's location. It should be an excellent test of your project's skills."
Rodyle turned his eyes to Genis who in turn smiled. "I am always eager to be of service." he replied smoothly.
"I'm glad to hear that," Mithos purred, "Because if this mission fails and those filthy humans succeed in killing my son, I will be...displeased." The threat in his tone was clear.
Genis' smile never faltered. "I will not fail."
"Good, then, I will see you when you return." Mithos replied dismissively.
-
A light knock rang on Kratos door while he busily wrote away, still making Yuan's defense.
"Hey dad..." Lloyd asked through the door, voice edged with uncertainty and repressed pride.
Kratos stopped writing, putting down his pen. "Come in, Lloyd," he called, "What is it?" Though he had a sneaking suspicion that he already knew the question that was going to be asked.
Lloyd entered, walking as close as he dared before giving him a hard look. He tried to form some sort of actual question to ask him. "Yuan...I...I heard you hurt him but I...I want to know the whole truth...about everything, including what angels are."
Kratos took a deep breath. "That's going to take a lot of explaining," he replied, "but after all that's been happening, I suppose I owe it to you... Where would you like me to start?"
"The beginning." Lloyd said simply.
Kratos nodded quietly, then took a deep breath and began explaining all that he knew about angels, and then his history with Yuan. When he was finished, he sat silently, awaiting Lloyd's condemnation.
Lloyd stared at him wide-eyed, trying to absorb everything that he had just been told. "That's..." he said quietly, unsure what to say.
"...Horrific. I know," Kratos replied, "...I don't deserve anyone's forgiveness for what I did..."
Lloyd looked down. "And Yuan..." he said just as quietly as before.
Kratos shook his head. "He says...that he's already forgiven me," he murmured, "...and that shows a far greater strength than I ever had."
A cross of emotions flickered through Lloyd's eyes. "He...he must really..." He stopped, taking a deep breath. "I can't believe he forgave our family at all…"
"Neither can I." Kratos replied softly, "Do you understand a little better, now?"
Lloyd nodded. "I owe him an apology," He looked away, "for thinking he killed Colette and for the way I treated him."
"You most certainly do," Kratos agreed, "but first, we need to get him back, which is what I've been working on doing."
"Yeah." Lloyd said, looking at his father. "I want to...I want to help you save him." Just then another knock rang on the door, this time sounding more urgent.
"Who's there?" Kratos called out, looking past Lloyd to the doors.
"My lord! I have an urgent message from the house of councilors." The messenger said from the other side, his voice calm but with a distinct stressed note.
"Come in then." Kratos replied, now fearing the news that the messenger had.
The messenger entered and immediately gave Kratos the letter, forgoing formalities.
Kratos took it quickly, and dismissed the messenger as he opened it. Scanning the contents quickly, he sighed. "It's as I feared," he told Lloyd, "They're pushing for Yuan's execution. I have to go there and try to stop them, as soon as possible."
Lloyd nodded. "I'll go tell Zelos."
Kratos nodded, "Thank you, Lloyd. I'll get packed up and start preparing my defense..."
Lloyd got up and immediately went to Zelos' room nearly running in his urgency, knocking hurriedly on his door as soon as he got there.
"What?" Zelos' irritable voice came through the door.
Lloyd opened the door, not bothering with manners. "Zelos, they're pushing for Yuan's execution, we're leaving as soon as possible."
"What?!" Zelos cried, "Dammit and wait, what do you mean, 'we'?" He looked at Lloyd suspiciously, "I'd have thought you'd be eager to see him die."
"Do you want to go over this," Lloyd asked with a glare, "or do you want to save him?"
Zelos threw his hands up a bit, "Dude, as long as you're really on our side, I could care less about the reason. It's just a little bizarre, is all, you were shouting at me about him not too long ago. Anyway, I'll get packed."
"Good, we leave in fifteen and I've got others to tell…" Lloyd said, then turned and walked back down the hall.
Zelos stared at him confusedly a moment longer, then shrugged and turned to pack his clothes away again.