Hikaru: Yay! The eighth chappy is here! I never expected that so many people would like this story . . .but then, angst is one of the greatest genres, second only to humor!

Lloyd: Who's gonna do the disclaimer this time?

Hikaru: Hmm . . .how about . . .Kratos?

Kratos: Do I have to?

Hikaru: Yes.

Kratos: Grr . . .bite me!

Hikaru: Okay! ::bites Kratos' arm::

Kratos: HIKARUDOESN'TOWNTOSNAMCODOESANDLETGOOFMYARRRM!!

Hikaru: ::lets go of Kratos:: That's better!

Raine sighed, turning her head away so she would be spared from seeing Kratos with his head buried in his hands, evidently still sobbing, although no one could hear it. The small group had moved to Welgaia, seeing that Kratos wasn't likely to move any farther than that. The teacher sent Zelos back to Symphonia to contact Altessa about the current situation, hoping that the dwarf would know how to retrieve Lloyd's soul. The Key Crest won't work, since Lloyd's Cruxis Crystal is already attached to one, and hell knows what would happen if they attempted to remove the Crystal. Sheena was exploring the holy angel city, hoping that there was something useful in the remains of the abandoned city. Lloyd's soulless body was hovering above the ground, empty snowy eyes expressionless. Raine wasn't used to seeing Lloyd this way; the usually red eyes abundant with emotion, but now . . .this was a strange sight to behold, somehow different than when it happened to Colette. The silver-haired half-elf's left hand flew to her right, the fingers resting upon the Garnet Ring the Summon Spirit of Fire, Efreet, had given Sheena when the pact was first formed. A sudden idea struck her. She faced Kratos again, her eyes radiating the light of newfound hope.

"Kratos . . ."

The angel in question looked up from his hands, the tears refusing to quell.

"All hope is not lost. There are still undiscovered ways to deal with these accursed Cruxis Crystals and Exspheres, are there not? Although you may have lived for four thousand years, you and Cruxis used the same methods to deal with these Crystals, assuming that those methods would always work for you. You never sought out a substitute technique to work it out. Also, there is the fact that you modified Lloyd's Cruxis Crystal, although it was too late to preserve Lloyd's soul; don't forget that the Toxicosis will not begin to absorb Lloyd's remaining human side."

"You're . . .right." Kratos said, pulling himself together. He did nothing about the still-flowing tears, but nonetheless agreed with the Professor.

Raine removed the Garnet Ring from her finger, showing it to Kratos.

"Kratos . . .do you recall what Efreet did to this gem when we received it?"

Kratos nodded, bewildered.

"Yes . . .he enchanted it with the power to boost the body's immune system and completely protect its wearer from disease."

Raine nodded, handing Kratos the Garnet Ring.

"All we need to do now is find another type of inhibitor ore, and embed Summon Spirit gems that somehow protect the body into it, making a new Key Crest. Well, I suppose I'll call it the 'Spirits' Crest', since it requires Summon Spirit jewels . . ."

Kratos clenched the Ring in his hand, so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"Make a new Crest? We do not know why Lloyd's Key Crest proved worthless against his Cruxis Crystal. From my understanding, even a piece of another Exsphere or Cruxis Crystal could hinder the performance of a lone Key Crest, if it is placed inside the host's body. In other words, the Cruxis Crystal should have been fully controlled by Lloyd's Key Crest, but it could not because someone must have placed another Exsphere inside of his body to trigger the angel transformation."

Raine gasped with sudden insight.

"I see. The Key Crest tries to control the intruding Exsphere, allowing the first one to activate . . .Fascinating . . ." She thought for a moment.

"Those crystal shards embedded in his body from before . . ."

"Yes. Someone who got close enough to touch Lloyd before now must have planted them there. Most likely, it'd be that Raphael person." Kratos replied, unenthusiastic. Or, at least less enthusiastic as Raine.

Raine murmured softly to herself, digging her hand into her jacket pocket for something. She withdrew from her jacket a handheld book, which Kratos assumed to be a booklet of the teachings of Martel. (a.k.a. Symphonian Bible.)

The half-elven teacher flipped through the book to a page she wanted, and then addressed Kratos.

"According to the teachings of Martel, Raphael is the seventh archangel, and the angel of healing. Was there an angel dubbed Raphael among the Cruxis?"

"Yes. He was, as you said, the angel of healing, and played the role of the oracle angel for several of Tethe'alla's Chosens of Mana." Kratos said. He paused, and then spoke again.

"What has that have to do with the Raphael that is after Lloyd?"

Raine put the little book back into her jacket pocket, and folded her arms.

"Raphael may in fact be the one from Cruxis, or at least connected to him. That's how he knew you and Zelos."

Kratos shook his head meaningfully. The Raphael he and Zelos encountered in the Tower of Mana appeared younger; sounded different than the Raphael he knew from Cruxis. Different, but somehow similar. Sighing heavily, the angel turned to look at Lloyd, whom was hovering slightly above the floor beside him, ashy wings flapping soundlessly. He held out a hand to catch a falling feather. As he gazed at it, he became immersed in his own thoughts, if only for a short while. The next thing he knew, Zelos had run up to him, falling into a heap at his feet. Baffled, Kratos knelt beside the exhausted Chosen.

"Zelos, what's wrong?"

Raine bent on her knee as Zelos struggled to breath to fill his lungs with oxygen.

"Altessa's . . .was attacked . . .just now . . ."

"Attacked? How? What about Genis and the others?" Raine demanded.

Zelos panted for a bit, hands resting on his knees before continuing.

"Altessa was . . .all right . . .so were Genis and the others . . .but Colette . . ."

"What about Colette?" Kratos firmly asked.

Zelos breathed in deeply, as if he were trying to get a hold of himself.

"She's a bloody mess. Cuts and gashes . . .everywhere . . .I tried healing her with Healing Wind and Stream, but I don't think it'll be enough . . ."

"Dammit. Why is Colette the only one injured?" Raine muttered.

"There was . . .a message . . .painted in Colette's blood on . . .the wall. It said, 'the angels are at fault. Angels are damned murderers'. And it was signed by the name of Raphael." Zelos said between gasps for breath.

'Raphael? Then, it can't be the one from Cruxis, because he himself is an angel . . .he must be the one from the Tower of Mana.' Kratos thought, folding his arms.

"I'll go heal Colette. Zelos, let's go." Raine announced, grabbing the Chosen's wrists and dragging him off to the transporter that led to the broken seal room.

Utterly leaving Kratos alone with his soulless shell of a son. With no one else there, Kratos simply sank to his knees, the tears surging forth from his eyes, despite his will to hold them back.

"Damn that . . .Raphael . . ."

. . .Mist . . .clouds . . .fog . . .? How could he describe it? There was silvery mist swirling all around him. It felt . . .cold, yet it burned at the same time. He knew where he was, so he was searching for someone he knew to be here with him. His eyes searched the absolute mist, but the condensing clouds were the same on all sides. He became restless until he heard a loving voice behind him, the voice he last heard over fifteen years ago . . .he turned to face her.

"Mom . . ."

Turquoise. Garnet. Topaz. Diamond. Kratos looked at these four jewels, thoughtful, but somewhat reluctant to do this. The mana contained within these jewels may overwhelm Lloyd as he is now. This method was never used before, and Kratos admitted it himself that it was dangerous to engage in activities which you cannot predict the outcome. However, there was little choice in the matter. Kratos clutched the gems in his hand, moving toward Lloyd to examine his Key Crest. The Crest most likely became neutral because it could not control multiple Exspheres. The mana levels in the Crest itself probably ran dry, beleaguered by the combined power of more than one Exsphere or Cruxis Crystal. Kratos took Lloyd's hand in his own, looking over the tarnished golden-hued metallic engravings that covered the Key Crest. The Crest itself, the charm, as Lloyd had called it, still seemed legible. The ore in which the Crest was carved into, however, appeared to be in very harsh conditions. Some parts of the metal were dented, and even housed some small holes.

"What . . .happened to the ore . . .?" Kratos mumbled to himself.

He shook his head. There was no time for that. Instead of worrying about the inhibitor ore, Kratos took extreme care in removing the Summon Spirits' gems from the metal rings that bound them. When the Turquoise, Diamond, Topaz, and Garnet were free of their restraints, Kratos once again took hold of Lloyd's hand, vigilantly using a spare needle-like tool to incise mounts to house the jewels. After Martel knows how long of painstakingly slow work, Kratos managed to successfully implant the jewels into the previously dormant Key Crest. He stepped back, uttering a spell he'd invented during his work period.

"Garnet, Efreet-ignite your hellfire to burn out disease. Topaz, Luna-rays of light to ward the darkness in the mind. Diamond, Origin-once quiescent power must be used to drive away evil. Turquoise, Maxwell-protect that which you created. Summon Spirits, hear me, bring back this soul from purgatory, the savior of Symphonia!"

As Kratos said each line of the spell, the jewel that the line referred to glowed dimly, and when the spell was complete, all four brightly shone a blinding white light, so bright that Kratos had to shield his eyes. Kratos put his hand down when the light subsided. The first thing he glimpsed was Lloyd lying in a heap on the floor at his feet. Kratos bent on his knee, not hesitating to try to shake his son awake. No response. He tried again, shaking Lloyd's shoulders a little harder than before. Nothing. Kratos stood up, stepping away from his son's limp body, turning away, dazed, and more than anything, shocked. The Spirits' Crest had not worked . . .the almighty Summon Spirits failed him . . .

"Dad?"

Kratos spun around, face to face with . . .Lloyd. Standing right in front of him, confusion written all over his face.

"Lloyd!" he leaned forward, engulfing his son in a tight hug.

Lloyd smiled, returning the embrace.

The father and son stayed in that hug for quite a while. Reluctantly, the two pulled out of the hug. Lloyd couldn't fail to notice that his wings remained feathered and black as ever, although the reason why eluded him. He flapped them, annoyed that he still had to deal with these overgrown articles.

"Lloyd . . .I have some bad news." Kratos said, gripping Lloyd by the shoulders firmly.

"What is it?" Lloyd asked, tilting his head to one side.

"Colette has been gravely injured by an attack Raphael made. Zelos attempted to heal her, but it wasn't enough. He got Professor Raine to heal her with the unicorn horn, but she isn't sure Colette's going to make it."

Kratos spoke so quietly, Lloyd had to strain to hear. When his father got the message out, Lloyd felt paralyzed. Colette's dying . . .why did Raphael attack her? He shook his head disbelievingly.

"Wh . . .what? Why did Raphael attack her? What reason does he have?"

Kratos folded his arms, shaking his head as well.

"I do not know. He attacked her because she is an angel. Why Raphael thinks that's a good reason to attack her is beyond me. I believe that it's possible that—"

A stabbing pain in his back cut off Kratos before he could finish his sentence. He collapsed on the floor in a heap, unable to speak out of sheer surprise and shock. Lloyd was on his bent knee in an instant, his hands grasping Kratos' shoulders; he was calling out to him frantically. Lloyd winced when he looked over his angelic father's back, which had numerous knives driven into the flesh, spilling an repugnant amount of burgundy blood, which flowed freely to the floor, forming a pool of crimson beneath the two.

"Dad! Dad!!" Lloyd called out, frightened.

"My, my . . .what do we have here? I thought all of the angels left Derris-Kharlan . . .it appears I was wrong."

Lloyd glanced up from his wounded father, infuriated and afraid. Standing right next to them was none other than Raphael. This time, he wasn't sporting his black trench coat, but he was wearing a simple attire of a black shirt, a black vest, dark blue pants, and ebony boots. His eyes shone a dangerous shade of extremely dark blue, and his hair, which was as crimson as blood, was short, his bangs hanging loosely about his forehead. Raphael extended a hand, wrenching out one of the many daggers he plunged into Kratos' back with a sickening squelching sound. Lloyd cringed, promptly resisting the urge to vomit on the spot. Raphael laughed softly, twirling the knife in his hand.

"Your friend that I attacked earlier . . .what was her name? Colette? Colette, yes . . .That half-elven healer saved her, but you won't be so lucky . . ."

Lloyd flung his arms around his father's neck, trying to keep from crying out in the open, but he ended up doing it anyway. His voice came out raspy and hoarse.

"Wh . . .What the hell do you want from us?!"

Raphael narrowed his eyes. He bent down to face Lloyd, poising his already bloodied dagger in a stabbing position.

"I want to see you suffer . . ."

Hikaru: Well? What do ya think?

Sheena: What happened to me?

Hikaru: Wait and see . . .please read and review!