A/N: Greetings! I want to extend my thanks to HeroR, who checked for inconsistencies in the characterisation and plot. I encourage you to check out her fics, as she has a splendid grasp of the cast. I'd also like to thank those of you who supported me on the FanFiction subreddit (you know who you are!) and looked forward to this story months before release. This story will update fortnightly for the moment.

There is no need to read 'Overshadowed'. However, it's a short read and I think it may add to your experience. I very much hope you enjoy reading 'Wings of Freedom' as much as I did writing it—or at least, a fraction of my giddiness.

/frost-611540839/starry-heavens-cover is the ending to the Soundcloud URL if you would like to listen before beginning this story.


"We'll get rid of Lloyd and the others as soon as they come to the Tower of Salvation."

"Please wait," Kratos broke in. His mouth had moved before his mind had registered it. "If that is so, then will it not be possible to at least incarcerate them at Welgaia?"

Mithos scoffed. "What are you saying? There's no merit at all for me to make use of them."

Kratos shook his head. "There is Lloyd's exsphere. That is the compilation of the Angelus Project research. If we make Lloyd our ally and continue the research further, could we not attain a reproduction of his Cruxis Crystal?"

Zelos looked on with derision. "Man, he's desperate…"

Yes, he was. He was aware that he was beginning to babble. He needed to guarantee his son's survival. If Mithos dispatched them then and there, all would be lost.

"Of course we're going to collect that Cruxis Crystal," said Mithos. "But we don't need Lloyd. If we need research, we can just have it parasitise the idiot Chosen over there."

Zelos flinched.

He needed to keep pushing. "No, Lloyd was born from a mother parasitised by a Cruxis Crystal. In other words, he's received the influence of the Cruxis Crystal since he was in the womb. We've never had a case like this up until now. Lloyd has the highest chance of harmonising with it."

What was he saying? His discipline was falling apart. Anna would kick him to Derris-Kharlan and back. Surely he wasn't suggesting this?

But he was.

Mithos considered the man's argument. "Do you think Lloyd will join forces with us?"

"I will persuade him. If he still will not comply with us… let us then detach his key crest." He swallowed, almost unable to bear the weight of what he was implying. Yet, it was necessary. And he would not allow it to happen. It was only to convince Mithos to spare Lloyd.

"If we detach the key crest, won't he be completely parasitised by the Cruxis Crystal?" Kratos remained silent. Mithos' lip curled. "Or else are you saying even if he loses his self, so long as he's alive, it's all right?"

Kratos closed his eyes, hesitating. "I humbly beg of you."

He bowed his head in the ensuing silence. His heart pounded, deafening in the night. Some animal rustled in the bush. No, not a beast. But he concentrated on Mithos, waiting for the final verdict.

At last, the leader of Cruxis crossed his arms. "Fine. If you insist that much, we'll bring the whole party and make use of them. If we kill even one of them, I doubt Lloyd would yield to us." His eyes flashed in the darkness.

Kratos kept his face blank and withheld a sigh of relief. He simply needed to free his son and his companions before it came to that.


Being thrown into a cell again was not something Lloyd wanted to put down in his List of Awesome Things Lloyd Did. He'd already ticked it off his bucket list. Not that it had been on there in the first place.

He'd already been captured by Yuan before—he was not going to get into the details of that, remembering the severe thrashing the Professor and Kratos had given him about not letting down his guard. Ever. At least the Professor had let up a little in her obvious relief, but was he supposed to have eyes in the back of his head? Was he supposed to just stay awake all night to know if enemies were approaching?

Okay, that last one was in bad taste.

Shaking off the brief guilt upon thinking of Colette, Lloyd figured that… well, he didn't know exactly what, but after fending off way too many people's attempts to get their hands on him, Lloyd thought that he was an expert at not being caught.

He had spoken too soon.

"I really want to know why I keep getting captured and getting thrown into jail all the time!" he grumbled.

Zelos grinned at him. "You sure you haven't been doing anything to deserve it?"

Lloyd shot him a glare, to which Zelos only laughed.

"We should just be glad we have our lives," said Regal.

Lloyd scratched his temple, chastened. "Well, yeah."

Wincing, he went to work at the lock while the others kicked or tested the bars. Genis went all around the door checking for loose components they could wrench free.

Five minutes later, Lloyd was almost ready to throw in the towel. Key word: almost.

"Dammit! This thing's built solid as a rock! And I can't open the lock either," he complained.

"Same here," Sheena reported. "It won't budge at all."

His frown deepened. "Can Colette or Presea break it?"

"Nope," Colette called, her disappointment clear.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be of use," Presea added.

Lloyd gave the door one last rattle in the hope that it would miraculously crumble to dust. "So we're completely trapped."

Not good. They couldn't let it end here. They were going to cure Colette on their own terms and she was not going to become Martel's vessel. Lloyd was not ever going to let that happen.

"Move."

Startled at Regal's commanding tone, so different from his usually moderate voice, Zelos scrambled out of the man's way as Genis and Lloyd whipped around to stare. Just as Regal crouched and lifted his hands, boots clacked on the teal ground outside their cell. He lowered his wrists in haste. An instant later, Kratos rounded the corner, followed by an emotionless angel.

"Lloyd," he said simply. "Lord Yggdrasill requests your presence."

"Requests?" Zelos repeated, befuddled. His eyebrows rose. "What kind of word choice is that?"

Lloyd would have grinned at his friend's antics if their circumstances weren't so dire.

"Unfortunately, it is not a request you can refuse." Kratos' voice was dry.

The angel beside him unlocked the cell and took Lloyd by the arm almost roughly. The traitor stood at the entrance, stance uncompromising and hand gripping the hilt of his blade, discouraging anyone else from moving. Disarmed, there wasn't much Lloyd could do himself.

"Lloyd!" shouted Genis, his grey-blue eyes alight with concern.

This was not good. He glanced at his teammates as the angel half-dragged him and his eyes met the Professor's. He stared at her, trying to direct her to get out without him. She pursed her lips in understanding. Beside her, Colette had caught the exchange; her eyes were distressed as she shook her head surreptitiously.

As Kratos led him away, Lloyd hoped that they would go through with it. Colette needed that mana fragment. He'd come up with something. They would all escape. It couldn't end any other way; no one would be left behind.

Raine's glower, along with the others', scored holes into Kratos as he took their student. A minute passed as they waited for Lloyd and their captors to get out of range; she closed her eyes and counted to compose herself. At last, she turned to the wall, beyond which was the rest of her comrades. "Regal, if you would."

"Shouldn't we wait for Lloyd?" Sheena interjected. Her forehead was creased in concern, as was everyone else's.

Raine shook her head. "He can take care of himself. We'll meet up with him later."

"But he's being taken to Yggdrasill!" cried Genis. "That's not something you can just get out of!"

She wavered. Lloyd had told her to do what needed to be done. But no one was confident of what to do without him.

"We must acquire the mana fragment for Colette," she said slowly. "We'll find him after that."

Her brother bit his lip. "Then let's split up!"

"That is unsafe," Presea objected. Genis' balled his fist, feeling betrayed. Zelos and Regal baulked at his expression, but neither could bring themselves to admonish his attitude. Lloyd was ultimately his best friend. And Colette was his other childhood friend; it was only natural that he couldn't quite think rationally without either of them by his side.

Regal weighed in after a delay. "Presea is right. We are unfamiliar with Welgaia and would just as easily get lost."

Zelos listened, uncharacteristically quiet. He hadn't expected Yggdrasill to summon him that quickly. He gritted his teeth, annoyed at Kratos for putting Yggdrasill up to this. Sure, at the time it had seemed the only means of convincing the man to spare Lloyd's group but proposing that had been a sure-fire way to endanger the guy's son. It was probably too late for his bud. He could only play along for now.

With that decided, he declared, "Now that that's settled, let's get out of here. Do your thing, man."

Regal braced himself and concentrated. A ball of luminous blue and white formed between his hands before being shot at the cell bars. They ruptured with an almighty crack.

"Wh-whoa!" Genis exclaimed.

Zelos whistled. "That is some power right there."

Equally impressed, Genis nodded silently.

"What?" asked Sheena. "What happened?"

"Oh, nothing," Zelos told the girls, "only that Regal made short work of this cell and I gotta ask why you didn't do this earlier!"

Regal's melancholy gaze met his. "I swore I would never fight with these hands again. In this instance, it was to free us, not to harm other living beings. However, it seems I decided too late."

'Too late' seemed to be the theme today.

After freeing the women and allowing them to ogle at the ruined prison bars for a short while, Colette, as the angel in the group, had to pretend the others were her prisoners. Thankfully, no alarm was raised, though it was unnerving to see all these angels just like her in all ways but one.

The quandary was actually navigating the place.

"Everything's so boring and mechanical," Zelos whined. "It's tricky to get my bearings."

"Don't go taking Lloyd's place in his absence," cautioned Raine, hiding her amusement.

"I wasn't—oh, geez."


"We have a problem."

"Of course," sighed the voice over the communicator. "What's the issue?"

"Lloyd Irving has been taken to see Yggdrasill. Kratos is with him. We can't go ahead with our original plan like this." Yuan grimaced.

There was a short silence. "What are the chances that Lloyd will be returned to the others? Sir."

"Unlikely. If Mithos has summoned Lloyd alone, it's because he has something arranged, not purely gloating. Separating them is also an effective means of preventing their escape."

"They will not be summarily executed."

"No."

"We can, at the very least, aid in his friends' getaway. It will make them more likely to assist us, and they can be the main foot soldiers in returning to rescue Lloyd."

"You have a point." He stroked his chin. He did not want to disclose his true loyalties to Mithos just yet. "Forget about ambushing Kratos for now. Await the arrival of the Chosen and her companions instead; you do not have to reveal yourselves but ensure that they are protected. I'll escort them out."

"Roger. Don't be antagonistic."

Yuan clicked his tongue. "When am I ever?"

"There's a reason Lloyd hates you." The device's backlight turned off.

"I don't need opinions from an insolent kid whose first words to me were, 'Give me your name and I'll give you mine!'" Yuan groused. He shoved the palm-sized machine into the folds of his garb and walked down the hallways towards the faint thumps several corners away. Lloyd's friends drew too much attention to themselves. He supposed that was in line with the boy himself.

He rounded one and someone rammed into him. "Gah!" a familiar voice sounded.

"Well, well. Look who let themselves out."

"Yuan?!"

He narrowed his eyes. "Don't be so loud. You're in the enemy's base, you know."

Sheena bit back a retort. "What are you doing here?"

"Helping you break out, of course."

"How do we know you're not merely going to recapture Lloyd after all is said and done? You've been after him for a long time," Raine pointed out.

Yuan groaned softly. (She had a point.) "The most important thing right now is to rescue the Chosen and secure the mana fragment before Yggdrasill can go through with his scheme. We can agree on this."

"Yes," she replied, drawing out the vowel, "but after that?" Her grip tightened on her staff, stance shifting. Behind her, the others did the same.

He growled in frustration, spinning on his heel, and strode away. "Just follow me for the mana fragment. We're wasting time here; I'll detail my strategy on the way."

They trailed behind him, reluctant.

"Our goal is to retrieve the mana fragment, preferably before Yggdrasill notices. Get out, get clear." He paused. This was the troublesome part to sell. "As for Lloyd…"

His eyes wild, Genis yelled, "What about Lloyd?"

Yuan blinked, startled at the kid's sudden ferocity. "I'm not entirely certain what's in store, but he'll live. Of that, I am sure. Yggdrasill ordered as much."

He could guess what Mithos wanted to do, none of them good. On one hand, if Martel was allowed to be transferred into the Chosen, it would all be over. On the other, knowing Kratos' fondness for his progeny, Cruxis wouldn't dare to off Lloyd yet—Kratos was too unpredictable at present. There must have been a reason why the Chosen's group had been taken into custody rather than disposed of upon reaching Welgaia. While Yuan questioned Mithos' motives, now was not the time to deliberate. At least, that was the conclusion that Yuan had reached.

Therefore, he had to prioritise keeping the Chosen out of Cruxis' grubby hands; he had to be prepared to accept a short-term loss. That was how he had led the Renegades for so many years. "If Lloyd isn't able to join us in transit, we'll have to leave him behind."

The footsteps ceased.

"We will not leave our friend," Presea asserted.

They were too close-knit for their own good. Much like he had been before everything.

Yuan's hand fisted. "There's no time."

The boy put his foot down. "I'm not leaving without him."

Yuan sighed sharply. "The hard way, it is."

"That's right—wait, what, put me down!"

Most of Lloyd's companions watched with jaws dropped. Raine, meanwhile, leapt into action; her staff darted beneath Yuan's throat, gaze deadly.

He tensed. It was a pain to deal with this. His plans had already been derailed, and now Kratos' son was incapacitated, under Mithos' thumb instead of his. And Lloyd's friends were too stubborn to cooperate.

"Look," he hissed, "Yggdrasill won't kill Lloyd; he's much too valuable to them." He ignored Raine's drawn breath, ready to interrogate further, and pushed her staff to the side before she could react and forged onward. "You, meanwhile, are disposable. You won't be of any use to Colette and Lloyd dead."

"Tch," someone spat behind him. "I don't like it."

"I don't either, but he's right… Let's trust Lloyd," said Sheena, and a pair of footsteps started down the corridor after him.

After a moment of heated silence, the rest followed. Warm drops splattered Yuan's shoulder, but neither he nor Genis said anything.


Lloyd was nervous.

He didn't want to acknowledge it, especially not when his friends trusted him for direction. But there he was, separated from everyone, surrounded by adversaries on all sides. No matter how he looked at it, things did not seem as though they would work out.

His brow furrowed in determination. He couldn't think like that! Everyone would get out of this. They would succeed in their mission to cure Colette and fix the worlds.

On either side of him, Kratos and the angel marched him through endless hallways. How did people get around this place? Every room was identical to him. He didn't dare to make a break for it; he was loath to admit it, but the seraph's reflexes were superior to his, as evidenced by every one of their duels. Lloyd still had a long way to go before he could battle Kratos on equal footing. Besides, the more he distracted Cruxis, the more time his friends had to escape and grab the mana fragment.

No one spoke, which both irritated and relieved Lloyd. Kratos' silence had been a source of comfort along the initial Journey of Regeneration and still was to an extent, though coloured by his recent reticence which meant he was holding back the answers they so desperately needed. Lloyd truly could not figure out the man's contradictory actions. Whose side was he on?

The methodical clunking of shoes against the floor gave him something to focus on besides his growing rage.

They soon came to a large room, just as plain as the others, but thankfully decorated by a few splashes of bright colour—could use a bit of red, he thought. On the other hand, before him sat Yggdrasill.

The angel threw him down; Lloyd grunted as he hit the surface with a heavy thud. Kratos stood to the side, impassive.

Guess he really doesn't care, huh. It was difficult to say how Lloyd felt about that.

"Are you going to kill me?" he spat. He pushed himself to his feet despite his aching muscles. He refused to die kissing the floor.

"Lloyd… Irving. I have been waiting a long time." The corners of Yggdrasill's lips lifted—a secretive smirk as though he had been wanting to say something else. "What a curious creature you are. I must say, the Angelus Project has met and surpassed all my expectations. A shame Kvar is no longer with us to replicate the results."

He fought the urge to quiver under Yggdrasill's scrutiny. Lloyd would not give him the satisfaction. But he couldn't help the vindictive grin that split his face at the reminder that his mother's murderer was six feet under.

"Get to the point," he stated shortly, preparing himself. However, what Yggdrasill said next took him by surprise and shattered his mood.

"Wouldn't you like to join us?"

Lloyd stood in silent shock. Yggdrasill assumed he had already won, what with Colette being prepared for possession and the nuisances taken care of. So why would the leader of Cruxis offer such a deal?

An answer slipped out before it formed in his mind. "No way!"

"Think about it," the man continued, ignoring his protestation. "I am working to end all discrimination. Your half-elven friends… Genis and Raine, yes?—they can live in peace in the world that I will create. Your other companions will not be harmed should you accept."

Lloyd's arms went slack. "What?"

Yggdrasill's smile was fleeting. "Yes. Isn't that what you wish for? Haven't you seen how half-elves are treated in both worlds? In Sylvarant, they are driven out of villages, unable to live peacefully in the world they had no choice but to be born into. So many of them become Desians because that is the only occupation in which they are welcome. And in Tethe'alla—you have seen for yourself how they are simply cheap labour, slaving day in and day out in those laboratories, never seeing the light of day."

"But… Colette?" he said, quiet. He fixed his eyes on the ground. Nothing made sense. End discrimination? Live in peace? To be sure, that was what Lloyd had been fighting for all this time. But wasn't Yggdrasill the boss of the Desians and Cruxis, whose actions provoked further retaliation against half-elves? Maintained the cycle of hatred and deceit? How could anyone live happily amidst such pain? How could anyone live with themselves, knowing their world was built on suffering and animosity?

"Martel's revival would be welcomed by all, and with her return, she will be able to bring about the end to discrimination that we all wish for. The goddess herself: the advocate for unity. Is that not fitting?" Yggdrasill said. His brow furrowed. "The Chosen is an unfortunate loss, but victory can only be won with sacrifice."

Lloyd's head snapped up. "I won't—"

"And besides," Yggdrasill interrupted, placing a cold hand on Lloyd's cheek before he'd processed his vicinity, "I am sure your father would be elated to have you by his side."

He didn't.

"Don't you bring my dad into this!" he snarled, and slapped his hand away.

"Oh?"

Lloyd ignored the sudden glint in the man's eyes and clenched his fists and teeth, fuming. "You must be joking. I would never join you. Not now, not ever. Not after what you've done to everyone." The very idea of it sickened him. It would be a betrayal of everyone and everything he had ever stood for.

"Lloyd," uttered Kratos, dropping his hand on the young man's shoulder. He tried to shrug it off—in vain—and settled for scowling.

"Think about this clearly, without prejudice," he said in an urgent tone. His eyes conveyed the gravity of his situation, but Lloyd only found him gruelling.

"What are you talking about?" he demanded. "There's nothing to think about!"

Kratos spoke more softly but could not risk getting out of Yggdrasill's hearing or saying anything too incriminating for fear that he would be suspected of treachery. "If you are disabled here, you can do nothing for your friends. As it is, we can assure their safety if you cooperate."

"Yeah, you're right in one thing. I can't do much if I die." Lloyd's mouth thinned. "But it would be even worse if I start working with the enemy! That would make me no better than Dorr. I swore I'd find a way to change this system, and I will! I won't die here."

Kratos' eyes were shadowed. "There are fates worse than death."

Lloyd faltered at that. In his mind's eye, Marble and Clara rose up—sickly green and blue, monstrous, ominous red glistening at the head. Pietro, staggering blindly, muttering nonsense, movements feral. Colette's vacant stare, ruthless and mindless. Presea, going about her day for so many years without even realising that her father's corpse had rotted away, leaving only an empty skeleton. He exhaled, suddenly more anxious.

"There are," he agreed. And then his resolve flared. "And the worst is going back on my word."

Several emotions flitted across Kratos' face. Lloyd could not place them well. Definitely anger and defeat, maybe apprehension… pride? But no, it couldn't be.

Kratos' shoulders slumped, unnoticed by his son. But not by his leader.

Yggdrasill hummed in what could have been disappointment; Lloyd was sceptical. "That's your final answer?"

He was met only with a glare.

"What a shame," Yggdrasill drawled, frowning as he stepped back. The jerk. "I suppose there's no helping it, then. Do as you will. A little more time to reconsider, you could say." His eyes flicked to his subordinate.

Kratos moved towards him and seized his left hand. Lloyd's eyes widened in horror as the key crest was tugged off his skin.

"Get off!" he all but screamed. He didn't know much about this so-called Angelus Project and had never done well in class, so he could not predict what would happen should his key crest be removed. He didn't want to find out.

But he was not going to regret his decision.

Lloyd tried to pull his hand away, but the seraph's firm grip rendered his struggles an exercise in futility. Yggdrasill's smirk was on full display now.

"That's no ordinary exsphere, you know," Yggdrasill revealed. Lloyd didn't know if his eyes could get any bigger. "That is the singular fruit of the Angelus Project. An authentic Cruxis Crystal. Superior to that, in truth. But you have no need to concern yourself with the details."

A Cruxis Crystal? Then… he'd be like Colette was. Lloyd doubled his efforts to get free, but the golden accessory was gradually coming loose.

Kratos' face was masked; the single feature he could make out was his tight jaw. Was he imagining things in his panic?

"I am sorry, Lloyd." The key crest came free, and with it his freedom.


A/N: The first scene was taken from Tales of Fandom vol. 2; I have novelised it for context.

By the by, I love constructive criticism. Even if this story is complete, I can still revise small things and it's helpful to keep in mind for my future works. Or a simple comment will do.