Hikaru: Okay, lessee . . .ZIM! DO THE DISCLAIMER, OH MIGHTY IRKEN THAT EVERYONE LOVES!
Zim: Okay. Hikaru owns NOTHING! NOTHING, YOU PATHETIC EARTHLINGS! If your intellect were half as supreme as that of MINE, then you would all know BEFOREHAND that Hikaru DOESN'T OWN TALES OF SYMPHONIA, although she can keep dreaming. MISSION COMPLETE!
Hikaru: Thank you, Zim.
Dib: What about . . .me?
Zim: No one cares, Dib-worm.
Hikaru: By the Tallest, I think I'm getting an inspiration for another story . . .Zim . . .Dib . . .hehehehhehehehehehe . . .
Lloyd/Kratos/Sora/Zim/Dib: DON'T GET ANY MORE IDEAS!
Hikaru: Dammit . . .
Raphael stood amongst the grass lawn, standing just a little ways away from the House of Guidance in the Heimdall region. This was it. This House of Guidance was established and built right in the center of the village he grew up in. That village, Andire, was the village that those accursed angels razed after he rescued that girl that was being used in some sinister experiment from a band of angels. (A.N.: It's NOT Presea!) The House of Guidance here . . .was built after the village was destroyed. The priests took good care of him after that horrid incident . . .Sighing heavily, Raphael reached into his jacket pocket, withdrawing a pendant fastened to a glistening gold chain that shimmered in the sunlight. The pendant was shaped as an angel . . .his mother gave this to him a long time ago, when she was still alive, before that angel from Cruxis murdered her. It was the only thing that he had to remember his mother by, other than the so very few memories that he could not quite recall clearly. Raphael turned his back to the House of Guidance, calmly walking away. He can't go back there . . .after all, he did kill his own father . . .yes, that's right, he's a murderer now. He just began, and he wasn't about to stop now . . .he won't, no, can't stop . . .not until he saw every last angel dead.
Raine tapped her foot on the floor, apprehensive, her heart was racing. Since Raphael knew they were staying at Altessa's place, they couldn't stay here anymore. The sooner they found a new hideout, the better. If only they could find a really secluded area, such as the Tethe'alla Renegade Base . . .A sudden idea struck her. She reentered the bedroom, which over the course of one night, had transformed into a hospital bedroom. Zelos was seated in a chair next to Lloyd's bed, who was sleeping as of now. The preceding Chosen of Tethe'alla glanced up at her.
"What is it, Professor?"
Raine cleared her throat before answering.
"Zelos. We can't stay here, unless we want Raphael to attack us again."
"All right . . .where did you have in mind?" Zelos asked, leaning over Lloyd's bed to make sure the boy was asleep instead of eavesdropping.
"Truth be told, I was thinking of going to the Tethe'alla Renegade Base, however, we have no means of contacting Yuan, and without the Rheairds . . ." Raine trailed off.
Zelos stood from his chair.
"Actually, Professor, I can send a transmission to Yuan from here. I can ask him to send over someone with some Rheairds to take us to the base."
"By all means, hurry! The longer we stay here, the more dangerous it gets!" Raine urged.
"Okay, okay."
Zelos held up his hand, the one with the transmission ring. He murmured the incantation, and a holograph of Yuan appeared. The half-elf seemed irritated.
"What is it, Zelos? I'm rather busy at the moment." He snipped.
Zelos cleared his throat loudly.
"Uh . . .to be honest, you know when I told you that Lloyd was suffering from Angel Toxicosis? Well, we cured it, but now this person named Raphael keeps on attacking us, as if he wanted to kill us. He also made it clear he wants to see, with his own eyes, every single last angel dead, whether they're from Cruxis or not."
Yuan arched a brow inquisitively.
"What are you implying?"
"We need to know if you're able to hide us in the Tethe'alla Renegade base. Will you?" Zelos asked, Raine wringing her hands nervously.
Yuan considered for a brief moment before nodding in agreement.
"I don't see why not. Yes, I'll do it. I'll send over someone with Rheairds to Altessa's right away." The blue-haired man replied.
"Thank you."
The holograph dispersed. Zelos sank back into his previous seat, breathing a sigh of relief. Raine seemed to have calmed down a little.
"When will we be moving to the base?"
Both Raine and Zelos looked up. Sheena was standing in the doorway, blocking the shafts of light that flooded the room beyond. She walked over to Lloyd's bed, taking a seat on the edge of it.
"As soon as the person Yuan sent with the Rheairds gets here." Raine answered.
"I'm going for a walk. I need the fresh air." She added as an afterthought, leaving the room.
A moment passed before Zelos followed suit, leaving Sheena to look after the sleeping angels. As soon as the Mizuhoan was sure the others were out of earshot, she spoke.
"You doing okay, Lloyd?"
The boy whom she was addressing sat up immediately, sitting cross-legged to get more comfortable.
"Yeah. The only things bothering me are these."
Lloyd flapped his wings lightly, glaring at them.
Sheena picked up a stray feather from the bed, fingering it. She smiled at Lloyd fondly.
"Your wings are really pretty, you know that?"
She laughed a bit when Lloyd flushed slightly at the compliment. He folded his angel wings so they would be out of the way, or rather, to hide them. Sheena scooted a bit closer to Lloyd, her fingers abandoning the ebony feather she held a moment before. Her hand traveled to rest on the side of Lloyd's face. The brunette blushed violently.
"Um . . .ah . . .Sh-Sheena?" he stammered uncertainly.
The dark haired girl ignored his stuttering. Instead, she closed her eyes, leaning toward Lloyd. The boy blinked as Sheena lightly kissed him. It was only for a second, nevertheless, it was still quite blissful. She pulled away, a broad smile gracing her features. Lloyd put a finger to his lips, blushing furiously. But Sheena wasn't going to stop there. She leaned towards Lloyd, laying another kiss on his lips; this time it was firmer. Lloyd's hands gently caressed the girl's dark hair as she kissed him.
"Lloyd, please do not tell me I'm going to have to have that talk that most fathers must have with their sons sooner or later when they have found a lover . . ."
The two teenagers pulled out of the kiss, blushing aggressively. They turned to one that spoke just now. Kratos sat upright, grinning from ear to ear as he gazed at the couple. That only(if possible)made them blush even more.
"D-Dad! How long have you been . . .?" Lloyd stammered, quite embarrassed. Kratos' grin only increased in length.
"So, shall I be dragging you off for that one talk?" The angel suggested, enjoying the moment immensely.
"H-hey, Sheena and I never—"Lloyd began, but his father cut him off.
"Hay is for horses. You do know not to do anything rash, don't you?"
The emphasis that Kratos put on those words clued to something else, which continued to mortify Lloyd further. He put his hands up defensively, as if he were being placed under arrest. Sheena hid behind her love, finding shelter from the angel's gaze.
"Dad, you know I'd never—"Kratos once again intervened.
"Oh, so are you denying me ever being a grandfather, Lloyd?" He asked with a silly grin, quite an unusual sight to behold.
"I . . .uh . . .don't know . . .what to . . .say . . ." Lloyd stuttered.
"Don't know what to say to what, Lloyd?" Colette mumbled as she came to, sitting up in bed.
Not surprisingly, Colette was also wrapped up in gauze bandages, some parts of which were stained with red blood. She was wearing her usual attire, mind you, but her neck and hands were swathed in the once white cloth bandages. Her long blonde hair, however, was tied in a spick and span, yet simple, braid. Lloyd and Sheena's flushing deepened to know that she was now awake and could have heard Kratos. The said person glanced over at Colette, a maniacal smirk taking over his previously giddy grin.
"Colette, do you wish to know what Lloyd is so mortified about?"
Colette yawned sleepily, then nodded.
"Okay. Why's Lloyd so humiliated?" She questioned.
Oh, she had tempted cruel fate . . .not to mention Kratos. For one blissful moment, Lloyd could pretend that they were all one happy family, safe from danger . . .until he heard it. Someone . . .someone . . .screamed.
"That's the Professor's voice!" Kratos announced, leaping out of bed, Colette, Sheena, and Lloyd following him out of the room.
As soon as the foursome emerged from the room, shock coursed through the house. Blood. The floors were splashed . . .no, painted with blood. Crimson everywhere . . .just . . .everywhere . . .Only one other sense dominated that of the shock—fear. In the front doorway, just over the threshold, stood Zelos—with his forearm pierced through Raine's body. The redhead's eyes were wide open with horrendous shock, eyeing the abhorrent amount of blood spilling all over the place. Just a little ways away from the gruesome sight stood little Genis, staring frightfully at the Chosen that had mortally wounded his sister. The threatening of his sister normally would have provoked him to cast an exceptionally powerful magic spell such as Indignation or Meteor Storm, but he had Raine . . .Altessa, Regal, and Presea all stood behind the young half-elf, terrified at the hideous vista before them. All was absolutely silent for a short minute or two. The criminal himself broke the silence.
"Get . . .out . . .of my . . .body!" He said viciously through clenched teeth.
It was then the other party members noticed it—there was a faint, but nevertheless noticeable image of Raphael standing behind Zelos. The image smirked, snapping his fingers.
"Very well."
The image of Raphael became more real, and Zelos dropped to the floor, taking Raine with him, his arm still stuck in her body. The former Chosen slowly removed his arm from inside Raine's body, grimacing as he did so. Kratos was at the injured Professor's side instantly, cradling her head in his arms, trying to heal her wounds via magic prowess. He murmured to the half-elf held, gently trying to sooth her.
"Raine . . .It'll be all right, don't go . . ."
It took everyone else a little while to recover, but the four angels present immediately flew to trap Raphael in a circle formation. Those with concealable crystalline wings willed them to appear; the four angels, Lloyd, Kratos, Colette, and Zelos, floated slightly above the floor, joining hands. Angel feathers swirled all about them in a random mix of colors. The Seraphim began to utter an invocation.
"Gods above . . .cast your purifying light upon these corrupt souls . . .Abandon all hope here, sinners! Final Judgment!"
The surrounding area became atrociously dark, the angel feathers still whirling around the four angels. Raphael paled. In the next moment, there was nothing but a heavy rain of blinding white beams of light, aiming at Raphael. The homicidal human shouted something somewhat unintelligible, and all went deathly quiet. There was only one sound that shattered the stillness.
"I'll find you again. Mark my words."
Lloyd wildly looked about the room, only to find that Raphael had disappeared, leaving them with the lethally wounded Raine. The only thing that Raphael left in his wake was a small gold wrought pendant fashioned as an angel, stained with blood.
Hikaru: Tell me what you thought of this chappy. Yesh, I finally lived up to my claims of having a Sheena/Lloyd fiction and threw a little romance in this chappy. I hope you are all happy. Now after you surrender your thoughts of this chapter via reviews, you are free to go about frolicking in the flowers or, if you'd rather, bang down on my door, kidnap my cat, and threaten to throw it off a bridge if I don't type the eleventh chappy. Good day or night or afternoon to you all. And please leave your reviews. Thank you.