Chapter 2

Zelos' eyes snapped open. The morning sun was shining down onto the peaceful village of Heimdall. Zelos had dozed off on the bench outside. He sat up, shook his head a few times, and rubbed his eyes.

Today would be the day Lloyd would fight Kratos and unlock the last seal. As sad as an ordeal it seemed to Zelos, there virtually was no other way. Kratos sought to fight Lloyd in the first place.

Zelos looked back at the Inn. Most of the group was already up and around. Lloyd was pacing rather nervously. He had the right to do so. He was going to fight his own father. Zelos thought it might be better if he eased Lloyd's tension. He walked over to Lloyd to start a conversation in which he could take Lloyd's mind off of the imminent fight.

"What's up Lloyd?" Zelos said.

Lloyd noticed Zelos new attire but decided best not to comment. After all, he did look like a normal person instead of some moron in pink.

"Nothing. I was just thinking about something." Lloyd said tapping his foot on the hard earth. Lloyd tried his best not to sound antsy but completely failed.

"Lloyd, I have faith in you. You will definitely win." Zelos reassured.

"Its not that. Its just the thought of fighting my own dad." Lloyd sighed.

"True... But Kratos is preventing you from unlocking the last seal. You have no choice."

"Yeah. I guess you're right. Hey what's with the new clothes?" Lloyd's curiosity got the best of him.

"I like to try something new every now and then." Zelos grinned. He did not feel like explaining everything to Lloyd at this moment. There were too many things to do than tell stories about his life.

The door to the Inn opened and out came Sheena.

"Had plenty of rest I assume?" Sheena asked teasingly, knowing that Zelos did not come back to the Inn during the night.

"Why of course my voluptuous hunny." Zelos said flashing a grin.

Sheena laughed. There's still some of the old Zelos inside of you. She thought.

"Alright its time to go to the last seal." Lloyd announced.

The group made its way to Torent Forest at the back entrance of Heimdall. Torent forest was a somewhat annoying to go through. Long winding paths lead to the middle of nowhere and the tree cover didn't allow much sun light through. The air was heavy and carried the essence of tree sap and rotting wood. It took some time before they arrived at the last seal, and of course, Kratos...

Lloyd and Kratos exchanged a few words before their face-off.

The battle was not as long as expected. When not in angel form, Kratos was pretty much a pushover. Lloyd used guardian to fend off Kratos' Grave spell and easily parried his sword attacks. Whenever Kratos presented an opening in his guard, Lloyd was there slashing and hacking away. Lloyd had certainly grown stronger since their last meeting. Kratos had to admit that when he was defeated by Lloyd.

"And now for the final seal." Lloyd said more directly towards Sheena.

"Right." Sheena nodded.

Kratos could do nothing about the current situation since he was defeated and the presence of Yuan forced him to stand down.

And seemingly on cue, Origin, the final summon spirit, appeared before them.

Origin proved to be a stronger adversary than Kratos. However, the benefits of fighting as a group proved stronger. Origin could not fend off four people at once and went down after some time.

Now with the pact sealed and done, a rumbling in the earth rose up. The group looked up into the sky and to their dismay the Tower of Salvation shook on its foundation. The Tower of Salvation, stretching straight up into the heavens started to collapse. The sky glowed somewhat crimson from the debris falling from high altitudes. A tempest started to form in the skies.

As the last parts of the Tower of Salvation gave away, a new form started to take shape in the sky. The wind and lightning intensified.

Derris Kharlan suddenly loomed above the earth.

Authors Note: Sorry I made this chapter so short. I also fast forwarded through the Lloyd/Kratos and Origin fight as well. They didn't seem that important to me /. I'll add some more Sheelos action in the next chapter . Please R&R.