Ch 3

Lloyd looked around himself again as he walked back and forth before the ship. He looked skyward and judged time by the sun's position, then resumed pacing, a bit more nervous than before. It was a bit past lunchtime, neither Zelos nor Kratos had shown up, but that was to be expected, right? Zelos probably found some girl he could flirt and coo with for a couple of hours, and Kratos... well...

"What would keep Dad from coming back?" Lloyd muttered in confusion, scratching his head. The man didn't act like Zelos, didn't bother with other people unless necessary, and usually kept to a schedule that no one had seen for over 4,000 years. Who knew what went on in Kratos's head?

Lloyd jogged up to a woman passing by with a basket of apples balanced on her head. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small brass locket that his father had given him the day they left Iselia. Opening it up to reveal the drawings of his mother, Kratos and himself as an infant, he stopped the woman on the road.

"Ah, excuse me, ma'am, have you seen a man who looks like this anywhere here?" Lloyd asked, pointing at Kratos's image, "Or one with long red hair and a pink and white outfit?"

"I've seen that man run up the street near the armory about an hour ago. I don't know anything about a red-haired one." the woman answered with an apologetic smile, "Sorry."

"Thank you." Lloyd returned and headed back to Nealar's central roads, "Dad? What are you doing now?" He stopped by a rider calming a horse in front of the grocery shop and held open the locket. "'Scuse me! Have you seen this man or one with red hair and pink clothes anywhere? I heard one ran by here." The rider blinked at him and peered at the tiny image.

"I'll be damned, it's them!" he remarked in surprise, "Hey, kid, the idiot with red hair scared my horse half to death, running out in front of me like the hounds of hell were on him! He was lucky this other guy here zipped across and yanked him out of the way! Moved so fast, I swore I thought he was flying."

"Did you see where they went after that?" Lloyd pleaded. The rider sighed and gazed over at the building across the street.

"Well, they were over there for a bit, talking. Then they looked like they got in a fight and the redhead ran further north. The other one ducked into the alleys, probably to follow him." he mused and shrugged, "But if they both did that, then they probably got into trouble by the Nealar slavers. If they have Lady Luck on their side, they're holed up in a tavern nearby. If not, I expect they'd be taken to the black market soon for sale." He tipped his hat to the ashen-faced Lloyd. "Luck be with ya for finding them. They look like they would sell well."

"Oh Goddess Martel, thanks!" Lloyd blurted and raced for the alley, "Dad! Zelos! Can you hear me?! Answer me! Please!"

The dust and dirt of the alleys and roads had been trampled upon for quite some time, but Lloyd could just about make out the steps of his father's boots, lined sometimes with mana dust from his wings. Darting about to keep sight of them, he came across a patch of land where the footsteps ran everywhere, criss-crossed with those of others and finally overlapped with a pair of lines digging into the earth. Kneeling by them, Lloyd tried to piece together what happened.

"Okay, so he's walking along here, then all these footsteps start messing up the ground, so maybe he got in a fight. Um, there's some fabric here and it's kinda burned, so someone had fire magic. This is Dad's color, so the fire was used on him." he muttered, head already aching from the amount of concentration and thinking. "Ow. All right, so then what happened? Here's a dart. Someone had darts. Here's a few pieces of gald, so someone dropped money. These lines might be someone dragging someone else." Lloyd ran his fingers through them and lifted them up for inspection. Mana dust shimmered faintly, blue and cyan in color. "Dad! They got Dad?!" he exclaimed and scrambled to give chase, following the trail. "Daaaad!"

Kratos shifted uneasily in his sleep and scrunched up his nose when something tickled his cheeks. He could hear voices calling his name, hauntingly familiar voices.

"Kratos! Wake up! Hon, are you okay?"

"Dad! Get up! Can you hear me?"

"Yo, Dad, how many fingers?"

"What in hell-?" Kratos grumbled as he cracked one eye open and immediately wished he hadn't. Everything seemed too bright, and blurry, and... very strange. "Where am I?"

"Home, where else?" Lloyd answered in relief, "You seemed to have kinda passed out or something. Hard day at the dojo?" Kratos tested his eyes again and things seemed to focus better. He looked up into his son's face and watched him smile. "I guess so. Lemme guess, one of the students went a bit too wild with the wooden sword, huh?"

"I...?" Kratos began confusedly and blinked as a hand broke into his view, wiggling three fingers.

"Dad! How many do you see?" Zelos exclaimed, bending over to stare at him, cheek pressed against Lloyd's own in competition of being seen.

"Zelos?!" the seraphim answered in shock. The redhead blinked and seemed to consider the answer, long hair tied back with a leather band and him dressed in a simple and sleeveless soft leather tunic and cloth pants.

"Mom, does calling my name count as him being okay?" Zelos finally asked, looking up at a woman with warm brown eyes and auburn hair worn loosely over her shoulders. Kratos nearly choked, eyes wide at seeing the woman he had sworn he had killed to save Lloyd... Anna.

She held a feather duster in one hand, probably what had tickled him, and smiled. Both Lloyd and Zelos helped Kratos back to his feet and he took in the sight of them, still stunned. Instead of the dwarven clothes Lloyd wore, he had on a large shirt of woven cloth cinched at the waist with a belt and cloth pants with leather boots. Zelos, no longer in fancy noble dress of pink and white, looked almost subdued and forgettable in the simpler clothing.

"He seems fine. Kratos, did anything happen in the dojo?" Anna remarked. The seraphim looked at her, still in disbelief.

"Dojo?" he questioned. Anna sighed and shrugged, gentle eyes laughing at him.

"The one you opened earlier this year, silly! The Aurion Sword dojo! It's where you've been teaching the children of Iselia the art of sword fighting." she reminded him and looked at the two young men standing nearby. "Zelos, go and finish chopping the wood for the dinner fire. Lloyd, get started on your homework. Your brother will come and help you later on." she instructed.

"All right." Zelos replied, still gazing at Kratos with uncertainty, "Dad, if you need anything, just call, okay?" He left the room and picked up an axe as he left. Lloyd groaned expectedly and trudged towards his room as Anna resumed dusting the myriad of small trinkets decorating the shelves and tables of what appeared to be a fairly simple house.

"This isn't real." Kratos simply stated, looking around him. Anna smiled as she worked.

"I had a feeling you'd say that. Let me refresh your memory. We married a year after we met in Asgard and Zelos was born a few months after. Once we moved to Iselia when he was four we had Lloyd. Earlier this year, you opened a dojo to teach the children here sword-fighting. Zelos will be going to Palmacosta Academy later on in the month, which may be why he's so anxious about making sure things are okay here before he leaves. Lloyd will have to learn to do his studies without his older brother and you'll have to deal with one less cook." she explained as she bustled about the home, dusting and cleaning. She stopped and looked back at him. "It does seem like a dream, doesn't it?" Kratos remained lost, the little world around him stealing much of his sense. Anna walked up to him and smiled, tickling the feathers of the duster at his cheek again. "Such a wonderful dream of a wonderful life. If only it could be made real, right? Is that what you're thinking, Kratos? If only you could have the family you wanted? Would it hurt to say you already do?" she murmured as darkness swirled around Kratos's mind and pulled him back to a light that shone bright orange and rose.

"Nngh!" Kratos heard a soft grunt of pain as he opened his eyes, rose pink and orange mana feathers tickling his cheeks as his vision cleared. Confused again by the leaving of a dream for reality, he scanned his surroundings and remembered what had happened. Kratos tested the cords binding his hands and gnawed a bit on the gag in his mouth before struggling to turn over and see what was happening now.

Zelos was glaring at a barrel, hands working behind his back as the beautiful orange and rose wings trembled on him. They seemed to jerk as another grunt of pain escaped around his own gag, the expression flickering faintly on his face. Kratos blinked, when did Zelos have wings? And what was he doing? He shifted and the noise caught the Chosen's attention. He paused at what he was doing and looked back at him in surprise that turned to relief.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Kratos's expression spoke for him. Zelos bent and lifted his wings slightly, showing him the tattered ends where he had been ripping feathers out. The seraphim looked towards the back of the wagon and raised an eyebrow at the trail of shimmering mana feathers and the fading silhouette of the town. It hit him then what was going on. He and Zelos had been captured for some reason and were being taken from Nealar! Lloyd obviously was still free and Zelos somehow got the idea of using his feathers to leave a trail for Lloyd to follow. Kratos looked back at the riders leading the wagon, saw them too interested in their destination and forced himself upright. Following Zelos's lead, he fanned his wings back and grabbed a handful of feathers that drifted close to his bound hands. He yanked them out and stiffened in surprise at the sharp pain that shot through him.

"I can feel pain from mana wings?!" he seemed to exclaim and Zelos straightened, returning his expression with one of his own.

"Duh, they are attached to us by mana, y'know. They're just solid enough to let us fly, but not to where we can't feel anything from them." the Chosen replied, then brightened, "But you do that and I'll do something else to help!" Kratos dropped the blue and cyan feathers bit by bit over the low, open end of the wagon as Zelos bent over again and shifted his arms about. After a few moments, Kratos heard the sound of a pop and snapped his head back to stare in shock as the Chosen's left shoulder dropped low and the arm went slack. Zelos ground his teeth into his gag as he moved his arms lower and squirmed to loop them under his legs.

"That is sickening to watch." Kratos's expression remarked as he turned away and shut his eyes, pulling out another handful of feathers. He didn't look back until he heard another snap and Zelos was breathing heavily, a film of sweat shining on his forehead, hair clinging to it without the headband to hold the bangs back. Kratos took note of the missing clothing and wondered briefly how his battle against the thieves had gone. After a bit of rest, the Chosen carefully lifted his arms up and tested them. Sure they worked properly again, he twisted the gag around his head and mouth until he reached the knot and began working at it.

He hadn't gone far until the cart stopped and his eyes went wide. Kratos immediately dropped his wings into disappearance and fell limp against the bundles of goods, closing his eyes tightly. Zelos followed suit, curling his legs up to hide his arms.

"Hey, Gert, she said to do what now to the Chosen?" one rider asked the other. Gert sighed and ran the fingers of one hand through his hair.

"Gah, I knew we fergot somethin'. Come back with me and help me out, the idiot bites." he griped and dismounted, pulling a knife from a hidden sheath. The other two shrugged and followed. Kratos hadn't dropped fresh feathers yet, so none of them noticed anything unusual as they climbed into the wagon and surrounded Zelos. "Hey, you! Come here!"

Kratos peeked angrily as the three men grabbed Zelos roughly and tried to stretch him out. Whatever they were up to, he would make them pay for it. Anna, in his dream, had told him he had a family already. And that family, strange and rocky as it was, included Zelos!

"Hold his legs! Hey! I thought we tied his arms back!" Gert fumed as he pinned one shoulder down, knife still held in a free hand. The riders fought to keep Zelos still as the redhead struggled to curl back up or at least kick one of them.

"He hasn't set fire to us yet, so forget it for now. Let's just finish what we need to do and get going. The others will be waiting at the meeting spot soon." one thief grumbled as he pressed his weight down to make sure the Chosen remained still. Kratos swallowed a grunt as his foot shoved back and kicked into his stomach.

"Gonna cut it good, make sure it leaves a deep mark." Gert muttered under his breath as he tilted Zelos's head back by the jaw with one hand and braced the blade of the knife against the crest below his neck. Zelos whimpered as the sounds of chipping and grinding began, the knife sawing into the charm on the mount and gouging out the characters that maintained the protective seal on the Cruxis Crystal's parasitic ability. "You think that's enough, or should I scratch some more?"

"Dunno, how much should be taken off to be sure it works?" one rider grumbled, "Give it another scratch on this side. Gimme the knife, I'll do it." Kratos heard more scraping for another moment. "That should do it. Okay, one... two... go!" The men leaped away from Zelos, who kicked and flailed as soon as they released him, then sat up and glared at them, heaving. "Eh, don't worry 'bout him no more. Nadilene will finish the job. Let's just get 'em to the clearing." They returned to the horses and the wagon began moving again. Kratos sat up and looked over the Chosen carefully for injury. He didn't seem to have any cuts on him, so what was it the thieves were scratching at?

Zelos finished untying the knot and let the gag fall from his mouth, coughing silently before turning a shaky smile on the seraphim.

"I'm loose. Feeling okay? They must have used a pretty powerful sleeping potion on you." he whispered as Kratos dropped a few more feathers. He nodded and eyed him questioningly. "I'm fine. I was kinda worried they were gonna get my face, though. Can't scratch up such perfect manly beauty, y'know?" Zelos went on with a soft laugh and reached up. "Hold still, I'll get you freed in a sec. Keep dropping feathers when you can."

Lloyd raced up to the scraps of pink left on the ground and lifted them up. A few steps more brought him to a dirty white band left trampled in the earth and surrounded by more footsteps. He knelt with the items in his hands and tried to figure the scene out.

"Zelos was here, this is his headband and these are those gloves of his. He got into a fight, too, I guess." he murmured and looked around for his footsteps, "But there aren't as many of his tracks as there were for Dad. Maybe they caught him by surprise and he couldn't fight?" He touched Zelos's footsteps and lifted his fingers in surprise as shimmering dust fell from the tips. "Wha-?! Mana dust! But only Dad and Colette have wings for this kind of dust." he exclaimed and impulsively dipped his fingers into his own tracks. Pale blue and cyan shimmered from his fingertips on one hand, the other shone faintly with orange and rose. "Okay, I think I get it. I got those big wings to wake up the Great Seed. So, this stuff must be from Zelos. But Zelos never became an angel. So why does he have mana dust?" he murmured and shook his head. "Agh, forget it. I have to find them!" Lloyd stood up and looked around, spotting tracks from horses and wagon wheels leading away.

Still crying out Kratos and Zelos's names, the young swordsman raced out of the town for the forest. He could only imagine what could be happening to them and the memories of the past few months they spent together surged through him, urging him onwards.

Kratos, his father, alternately reaching for and pulling away from them; was he still conscious? The poor man wasn't exactly sure of himself as a father figure, but he was growing more open and more lifelike as Lloyd continued assuring him he was loved, he was cared for. And as he began to open up, he could see a more playful side to him, a part of him that remained tightly hidden, but came out every so often. It was usually Zelos who managed to draw out the part of Kratos that gave him such spirit, but it was Lloyd who pulled his emotions free, who taught him slowly to show his expressions and speak more through his gestures than just plain words.

"Dad, hang on!" Lloyd cried, "I'm coming!"

And Zelos, that idiot, his big brother of sorts. Kratos still had trouble dealing with him, as seen from that fiasco on the ship, but they basically got along. They hadn't killed each other yet, that had to be a good sign. And there was so much Lloyd was learning about Zelos that he hadn't known before. Who would have thought the guy was such a great healer with herbal medicines? They sparred together for sword practice and Zelos taught him a bit about using gravity and spins to add power to his attacks. They laughed and joked as they practiced, then collectively groaned when Kratos decided to put them on a new schedule of training.

"You're my brother now, Zelos, dumb as you can be, so I won't let you down! I'll get you both back!" he declared and skid to a stop as he caught sight of colorful feathers shimmering ahead of him. "Huh? Orange and pink... like the dust from Zelos's tracks. Are these feathers from his angel wings?" he asked himself as he scooped one up and studied it. The delicate feather shone in his hand as he ran on, following the trail.

"Zelos, if these are your feathers, then you must know what happens to birds who lose theirs. They can't fly." Lloyd murmured. "You're sacrificing your ability to fly to help me find you and Dad." He gasped as he saw blue feathers replace the rosy ones a few minutes later. "Dad! You too?! You're both giving up the power to fly for me?! I won't let any of you down! Not after all you've done!"

The clearing loomed ahead as Zelos worked out the last of the knots and sat back proudly.

"See? Told you I could do it. Now am I brilliant or what?" he murmured softly. Kratos sat up and rubbed his wrists, frowning at the redness that marred his skin.

"Thanks. Now, let me finish the ones on you and we can get back at these guys." he answered and reached for the Chosen's bound hands. Zelos pulled them away and shook his head.

"No way. You get going. It took me this long to untie you, it'll take you the same amount of time to free me." he answered sternly, "We're almost at the place where these guys are planning to trade us to some chick. So do us both a favor and run!"

"Without you?! Are you stupid?!" Kratos snapped in a low voice. Zelos grinned.

"Yup. I'm stupid all right. Stupid enough to try to think I could ever have someone like you as a father. Lloyd deserves you to guide him more than me. So go to your son. I'll give you a head start." the Chosen answered quickly and brightly, then closed his eyes as mana began swirling around him, lips moving to some silent spell. Kratos grabbed onto his shoulders and tried shaking him out of it, but the Chosen's concentration was not to be broken. The crafted bracelet that wrapped around Zelos's wrist held three Ex Gems that prevented anyone from disturbing him during a spell casting.

"Dammit!" Kratos yelled, causing the riders ahead to turn in surprise. Zelos leaped up and aimed both hands at them.

"Burn, baby! Eruption!" he declared and the trio shrieked as flames suddenly burst up from below, scattering them about and sending the wagon crashing into the clearing full of the other thieves. "Kratos! RUN!" The seraphim dashed away into the forest, following the trail they made to find Lloyd. Zelos watched him leave and smiled sadly. "See? I told you I was stupid." he sighed and turned back to glare at the thieves scrambling to attack as he leaped from the burning cart. "You guys part of a gang or somethin'? Mind if I broke up the party?"

"Damn him! Get him! Hurry! Before Nadilene shows up! Get him, but don't damage him too much!" the gravel-toned leader commanded as Zelos resumed another spell. The members raced forward and he dropped the spell, darting out of the way as his mind raced for a way to hold them off. He remembered Regal's fighting style and skid aside, throwing his arms out as he spun on his right foot. To his delight, he managed to knock aside one of the onrushing thieves with his left leg and returned to the spell.

"Don't run! Thunder Blade!" Zelos called out, aiming the huge sword of lightning at the group that tried to follow Kratos. "Come on back! Party's just getting started here!" he laughed. He was probably going to die there. Oh well, might as well have fun at it, right? He laughed again as tears ran down his cheeks. "We're having a blast! See?" he added and called up the mana in his body again, "Eruption!"

The sky lit up with the flames and lightning being called forth as Zelos continued his mad dash around the clearing, halting only to spin and kick aside new attackers, several falling to the onslaught of his higher level spells. The witches banded together, assaulting him with fireballs that he barely dodged.

The air shimmered not far from the battle as Nadilene arrived on the scene and took it all in. She smiled.

"My, my, it seems as if he's already begun the process. Might as well help push it along." she murmured and lifted her arms, "Husband! Hear my plea! Grant the Chosen angelic power!" The sky darkened and a beam of pure white shot down into the area. Zelos cried in surprise as he was lit up by the beam, the additional mana pouring into him through it, absorbed by the crystal he wore. Laughing, she vanished into the air, a shimmer of violet light the only sign of her exit.

Unsure of what just happened, Zelos ran on as his mind tried to understand the strange murmurs that coursed through it. It became a chant and he subconsciously began mouthing the words. He stopped and closed his eyes, lifting his arms and moving his fingers in cross-like motions.

"Holy one, reveal to us your glory and might. Spread your wings of angelic light." he whispered as his own fanned out suddenly, shimmering brightly despite the tattered lower halves. "Angel Feathers!" Zelos cried, lifting his arms up. Blades formed of the falling feathers that surrounded him and flew out, cutting into the wave of men and women that raced at him and sending them to the ground in pain and bloodshed. "The hell? Where did that come from?!" Zelos exclaimed once he came to his senses and yelped as the leader of the gang slammed into him, bringing them both to the ground.

"Damn you! Look what you've done to my gang! I'll kill you for this! Forget Nadilene's stupid plans! You'll be just as good for her dead as alive!" the gravel-voiced man raged, hands wrapping around Zelos's neck and shaking him, pressing down to cut off his breathing. Zelos struggled back, trying desperately to pull the hands away with his own bound ones.

"I didn't mean I wanted to die like this! Why can't even Death lay off on making my life hell?!" the Chosen wailed mentally as he tried gathering more of his new mana reserve for another spell. "Lloyd, you'd better be glad! I'm doing all of this for you! So make the world a better place for my sister, and for your family. I only wish I could keep my other promises..."

Wonderful, glorious
Marvelous me,
Giving my life
For family.

Thanks for the laughs,
The tears, and the pie;
I have to go now,
Farewell and goodbye...