A/N: In Zelos's words, 'Ooh, that's harsh.' The quotes from the game are there for a reason, to help define a character's personality. That's why there are so many and so varied. Sure, others use them, but at least I try and space them out and use them when it seems like the quote will best fit the situation they're in. As I state in my profile, I like accuracy, I follow the game as closely as I can while still running off to do something different. And I may as well warn you all now, Kratos is going to be loosening up a bit more by the end of this thing, but not so much that I can't mess with his head in the next story. Heh, chibis are fun....
Ch 8
With morning came time to leave Meltokio for the ship and the resuming of the journey. Seles pulled Zelos aside, whispered something to him, then handed him a box and a new white headband.
"Just to tide you over till your next visit." the girl added and then scolded Lloyd loudly, "And you better try harder to take care of my big brother this time, you backwoods hick!"
"You're going to Altamira next, right?" Sheena asked as the group said their goodbyes to Seles and left the rich level of Meltokio for the city gates. Lloyd nodded. "Hey, can we come along too? It's been ages since we had a journey together."
"Sure! Raine, Genis, you want to join up, too?" the dual swordsman asked.
"I'm interested to know what you do to collect the Exspheres and whether Zelos has acquired any new medical textbooks over the journey." Raine replied with a smile as the redhead turned a slight shade of crimson.
"If Raine goes, I go, too!" Genis announced.
"Then we'll need to make room on the ship. We can convert some of the store rooms into guest rooms." Lloyd remarked, "But we don't have enough horses to get everyone back to the bridge." Kratos shuddered at the idea of it. "And Dad doesn't want to use them again. So what now?"
"We can use the Rheairds. We brought the Wing Pack, so there should be one for each of us." Genis pointed out. They waited until they were outside the city before bringing the flying machines out for use. "This is gonna be cool!"
"I'm not coming up above the deck for the whole thing, just to let you all know." Raine muttered, gulping at the idea of being on yet another sea-bound object. With that, the group flew on towards the ship.
Setting sail for Altamira within a few hours, the party gathered in the dining area for dinner, chatting on about the new quest as Lloyd excused himself to start the conversions of the rooms. Zelos glared at his plate, stabbing at the meat and stirring it around to make it appear he had eaten. He didn't like the idea of waiting for the next part of his humanity to just up and disappear on him.
"Can someone find Colette?" he finally asked, causing the group to stop talking and look at him in confusion, "I need to talk to her about something."
"The last I heard, Colette was giving a sermon on conscience in NeOzette." Genis remarked, "Why the sudden need to talk to her?" He frowned, "Unless you're gonna try and hit on her again." Zelos glared harder at his food and stabbed it viciously, startling a few of the party members.
"Figures." he muttered, "Then I'll go and find her myself. Give me one of the Rheairds." The boy dug around and pulled out the Wing Pack, handing it to him. Kratos stood almost the same time he did.
"I'll come along." he told him and led the way above deck. "Can't let you get caught in another attack." he added in a low whisper. Zelos nodded almost imperceptibly, the only one to hear the words. Lloyd returned to the dining room just as they left and looked confused.
"Where are you going, Dad?!" he called out.
"To get ice cream! What flavor do you want?!" Kratos yelled back.
The seraphim was a deep shade of red as he and Zelos flew on towards NeOzette. The redhead was laughing so hard, it should have hurt. He kept pounding one fist on the metal casing of the Rheaird as they neared the forest covered village.
"What is so funny?!" Kratos finally demanded, landing the Rheaird outside the town. Zelos looked at him with a huge grin, then burst into laughter again, almost falling from the machine when it landed.
"Ice cream?! Was that the best excuse you could come up with?! You're getting him some ice cream?!" he howled and toppled over the side. Kratos sighed and rested his head down on his arms, folded neatly on the handlebars of the Rheaird.
"Well, what would you have said?" he grumbled.
"I would've said we were going to get some wine and hunnies! He'd believe that from me a lot more than you and ice cream!" the fledgling angel answered as he brought himself to a standing position. He cried more from surprise than pain as Kratos walked over, grabbed him by the ear and began walking towards the village.
"We will find Colette, you will talk to her about whatever it is that's on your mind, and I will go find... ice cream." he growled, still red with embarrassment, "And if you breathe a word of this to anybody, I'm announcing your 'status' to the entire city of Meltokio! Now, what flavor does Lloyd want?"
"You're his dad, you outta know that much." Zelos taunted, deciding that the painless feeling was handy for now.
"Don't rub it in!" Kratos griped as he looked around for the shops.
"Ice cream! Ice cream! Daddy's getting ice cream!" Zelos sang out and the seraphim shot him an evil look before promptly sticking his fingers into his ears.
"I'm not listening! I can't hear anything!" he declared loudly and marched off with them still plugged in, ignoring the people that stopped and stared at them, "I don't know that man! We are complete and total strangers! Move along! Nothing to see!"
Zelos stopped singing once a blonde girl walked up to him and waved at him. Blinking down at her, he paused for a moment, then grinned.
"Hiya, Colette! How's my cute little Chosen today?" he asked, cheerfully.
"Um, Zelos? What happened to your clothes and hair?" the girl replied in confusion.
"I set myself on fire."
"Oh. But you're okay, right?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. But I need to talk to you about some recent things that have happened to me." Zelos went on and led her towards the inn, "I figured you could explain things to me, since you have 'experience'."
"On what?" Colette asked as Zelos pulled out a chair for her, then plopped into one of his own.
"Becoming an angel." he murmured and smiled slightly at her gasp, "I'm going through the transformation, and since you went through it already, I was hoping you could tell me more on what's happening with me. Dad, uh, Kratos already gave me a rundown, but you know how he is."
"Why are you turning into an angel? Martel doesn't want a vessel, the seals aren't needed anymore, and you have a Key Crest." Colette asked in concern.
"My Key Crest was destroyed by a bunch of thieves a little over a week or so ago. And some crazy lady triggered it, for some strange reason." Zelos answered, "So far, I've lost taste, sleep, and feeling. What comes next?"
"Speech. You lose the ability to talk." Colette answered softly and sadly, "That's usually the hardest." Zelos tensed and pulled his hands into fists.
"My voice? I'm going to lose my voice?" he whispered, "But, how can I hide that from Lloyd? I've kept this a secret for so long, but if I stop talking to him, he'll know what's wrong with me, right?"
"That's not all. After you lose your voice, you'll lose your soul. You're almost an angel now. Zelos, I know you've been keeping your promise to me. Will you keep another?" the angel asked, "Promise that you won't sacrifice yourself. Don't give up your life for anything. It will only cause pain for everyone."
"I'm sorry. I can't promise that." the redhead murmured and sighed, "Well, thanks for telling me what'll happen. What is it like, to lose your soul?"
"You're trapped in your own body, and it moves on its own, through the power of the Cruxis Crystal. You can see what's happening, you can hear it too, but you can't interact with the outside world." Colette answered, looking downcast, "It's lonely and sad, to see the pain on others' faces, and know that you're causing it, but you can't do anything to stop it or make it better."
"I see. So, it's that bad, huh?" Zelos muttered. He looked up at her. "Would you like to come with me and Dad? We're going to Altamira to ask Regal and Presea if they have inhibitor ore to fix my crest. I could use a little extra support."
"All right. Um, your dad is here?" Colette asked in confusion. Zelos smiled brightly.
"Ah, yeah! Kratos decided to adopt me as a second son and I look up to him like a father, so I got the habit of calling him 'Dad', too. It's nice to have a solid family for once, not that there's anything wrong with having Seles for a sister. I just wished to have a decent father and brother, and I got them!" he exclaimed happily and got up, "He's here getting ice cream for Lloyd. Let's find him and head back to the ship. We brought the Rheairds, too." Colette smiled brightly and followed him to the door. An explosion erupted outside and the shockwave knocked them to the floor as screaming filled the air.
"Oh no! What happened?!" Colette cried as Zelos got to his feet and shook his head, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, fine. Can't feel pain, remember?" the redhead muttered and threw open the door to look outside, "What the hell's going on out here?!" he yelled.
Nadilene stood in the center of the chaos that raged through NeOzette, fires engulfing the shops and houses, monsters chasing the people around the village square, Kratos lying limp in a crumpled heap at her feet....
"Dad!" Zelos yelled out and raced up to face the woman as Colette cried in shock and dashed after him. "You... whatever you are! What have you done?!"
"My informant was correct." the woman merely remarked and pulled her scarf down, smiling cruelly at him. "Would you do anything for the former Lord Kratos? Even give up another part of your humanity?" Colette spread her pink wings and whipped out the Angel Halo chakrams she had won in Meltokio.
"I won't let you hurt anymore people! You're a mean lady!" she declared and flew forward as Zelos stood back and brought his arms forward, orange and rose wings fanning out behind him.
"Holy One, thy melody beats in the hearts of the strong. Bless us with the power of thine song. Holy Song!" he chanted and spun as the wave of angelic mana spread out over the little blonde angel, the fallen figure, and himself. Tiny feathers of mana fell from the blonde as Nadilene spun away from Colette's Ring Whirlwind maneuver and laughed.
"Silly child. You have not the power to defeat me." she purred and pulled forth a slender rapier, "Prepare to die this day, little angel!" Colette pulled back fearfully, arm raised to block the attack. A dark blur passed before her as the blade sang through the air. "Agh! No, you idiot! What have you done?! You're supposed to remain perfect!" the woman screamed in a fury. The blonde carefully lowered her arm and blinked up in surprise at Zelos grinning down at her, arms spread protectively over her.
"Can't let my cute little angel get hurt now, can I? You okay?" he asked brightly. Colette blinked again and looked at his left side, eyes widening at the gash that tore away part of his shirt and left blood gushing forth. "Ah, that? Flesh wound, really! It's nothing! I'll stick a bandage on it later and it'll be fine." Nadilene stepped back and hissed angrily.
"You little rat... the only reason why I'm allowing you to even get away with defying me is because of your fate!" she growled and put her sword away, vanishing in violet light. The monsters continued their rampage as Colette tried to press her hands against the wound.
"I'll be fine! Get the other monsters out of here!" Zelos told her and turned to tend to Kratos, "Dad! Can you hear me?" He lifted the other man's head and gently shook him by the shoulders, "Wake up!" He took note of a cut across his temple as the seraphim flinched and slowly opened his eyes.
"I... didn't even... get to finish... 'Sacred powers'...." Kratos complained softly. Zelos snickered as he pulled the seraphim away from the battlefield. Colette summoned her own Judgment spell, finishing off the monsters as the people of the village set to grabbing buckets of water and throwing them on the houses.
"Yeah, it's getting to be a bummer, huh? Not being able to finish your Judgment attack. Maybe if you didn't talk so much and just say Judgment, you'd actually get it done?" he teased and smiled wider as Kratos reached up and rapped his forehead with a knuckle. "You'll be okay. Anything injured?"
"Pride, my head, my whole body. I was hit by some strange energy as I was leaving the square." the seraphim answered and closed his eyes, "Ice cream got melted." Zelos pulled the headband from around his hair and pressed it against the cut, shaking him again.
"Don't sleep. You could have had a concussion. We need to get you back to the ship so I can give you the medicine for it." he told him sternly, "Now, since I didn't actually get into the fight and pretty much kept my cool, I'm not going to lose my voice. Am I?"
"Probably not. Ouch. Gah, just let me sleep already." Kratos muttered and groaned as he was pulled upright, then to his feet. Colette ran up to them, her wings already vanishing as she took in the two of them.
"Everyone here seems to be okay. Will you two be all right?" she asked worriedly. Zelos nodded. "Okay. Is it all right to leave here for the ship?"
"These people have dealt with one disaster before, another won't hurt 'em any. Let's go so I can help Dad." the redhead replied with a smile and tugged on Kratos's ear, "No sleeping!"
"I'm going to make you suffer once we get you normalized again." Kratos threatened as they limped their way out of the town to the Rheairds.
Lloyd and the others watched in concern as the two Rheairds landed on the ship. Zelos had let Kratos ride with him, alternately letting him rest back against him and rapping his head to keep him conscious. Colette looked around at her friends and smiled brightly, trying to keep a positive outlook as her dearest friend, and secret crush, ran up to the former Chosen dismounting his Rheaird.
"Zelos?! What happened to Dad?! Colette! Tell me what happened, please!" he pleaded as the redhead easily lifted the seraphim and silently turned to descend the steps below deck. Raine caught sight of the bloodied headband pressed to Kratos's forehead and followed Zelos down, asking if she could be of help. Genis ran up to hug Colette and they went with Lloyd downstairs to see if they could find out what was happening. Sheena stayed behind, staring down at her boots in confusion.
"He was bleeding. From the side. Such a wound and he never flinched. Zelos would be screaming at the top of his head if anything like happened. He'd gripe it ruined his 'manly beauty'. What's going on?" she murmured, clenching her hand into a fist, "I don't understand. Shouldn't he... be dead?"
Raine glared at the bookshelves filled with books of love and romance, spying no titles on medical text, as Zelos set the injured angel down in bed.
"Okay, now, you're still not allowed to sleep, got it?" he remarked brightly, "'Cause if you do, then I get your room too!" Kratos grumbled under his breath and sat up against the pillows stacked up for him. "Bleeding stopped, that's good." Zelos added as he pulled the cloth away from his head, "Can you focus on me? Can you see clearly?"
"Yes, yes. What about you?" the seraphim answered and pointed at the gash in his side, now caked with dried blood and cloth sticking to it. Zelos shrugged it off.
"I'll deal with it after you." he replied and turned to Raine, "Oh, gorgeous Professor! If you'd be so kind as to turn your lovely eyes towards that cabinet there, you'll find ample herbs for medical use." The half-elven woman rolled her eyes and strode towards the stained piece of furniture, opening the double doors. Startled by the shelves of jars and bottles filled with herbs and plants, she stepped back and stared at Zelos. The redhead looked back at her with a serious expression, something she had seen only a few times during their travels together. "I'll need you to take the mortar and pestle there in the first drawer to blend the aloe vera oil with arrowroot and some bergamot." he ordered, "I'll also need a needle and thread. Genis, I see you out there! Get some water and a candle. Lloyd, stop staring at me. Colette, help Genis out with the supplies. Lloyd, what are you staring at?!"
The three standing at the door seemed to scatter at the orders, though the dual swordsman remained rooted at the doorway, mouth open as he pointed at him. Raine paused in the mixing of ingredients to follow his aim, instinctively trusting Lloyd's penchant for spotting things others didn't. Her eyes widened and she dropped the pestle, hands going up to her face.
"Zelos.... You're bleeding...." Lloyd managed to whisper. The redhead looked down at the wound again and gave him an annoyed look. "You're hurt."
"Yeah, I can see that. It doesn't hurt... much. Go and pack the Rheairds away while I help Dad." Zelos answered as he returned to keeping Kratos alert. Lloyd's eyes narrowed as he stepped into the room. Colette and Genis, followed by Sheena, returned to the doorway with the items. Kratos turned his head, saw Lloyd reach out and opened his mouth to warn the redhead.
"Zelos! Aside!" he ordered as the boy pressed his fingers into the wound, renewing the flow of crimson. The former Chosen lifted his head in confusion, then turned to look at Lloyd, who stared at his blood-stained glove.
"You... didn't feel that?" he murmured, "I opened the wound and you didn't feel it... did you?" Genis blinked as Colette sighed sadly and entered the room, setting the water and candle on the table. "You've stopped eating with us, you stopped sleeping to take the night watch, you didn't feel me open a nasty wound... it's happening again." Zelos stepped away from him, hands outstretched but doing nothing except trembling.
"Lloyd, bro, I can explain!" he exclaimed, panicked, "It's not what you think it is!"
"No, it is!" the boy yelled, tears welling in his eyes, "You bastard! You're turning into an angel! Just like Colette once did! You're losing your humanity and you never told me and Dad! You kept it secret!" Zelos blinked and looked over at Kratos, who only sighed and shook his head. Lloyd followed his gaze and swallowed hard. "But... he did know, didn't he? You told Dad, but you didn't tell me? Why?"
"Lloyd...." Kratos began and the boy shook his head furiously, openly crying now.
"Liars!" he screamed, "You both knew about this and never told me! Why?! Don't you trust me?!"
"Incredible. Even without the need to open the seals, a Chosen still has the ability to become an angel." Raine murmured, "How? What caused this?"
"Zelos is becoming an angel? Like Colette?" Genis asked in confusion, "Is that why he was looking for her?"
"He wanted help dealing with the transformation." Colette murmured sadly, "So he came to get me, and this lady attacked NeOzette and hurt Kratos. She tried to kill me, and Zelos took the hit." Sheena stood in the back of the group, staring at the redhead in disbelief, yet at the same time, not seeing him there at all.
"Zelos... an angel.... That... wasn't supposed to happen...." she murmured. Lloyd shook his head and hugged himself.
"No, not again. Another person I care for suffering that horrible experience. When? When did it start?" he whispered. Zelos closed his eyes and sighed.
"In Nealar, when Dad and I were kidnapped by the thieves." he replied. The group looked at him in confusion. "Colette, use the water to wash off Dad's cut. Raine, apply the medicine to Kratos's injury please. I'll sew it later." he added and let the two of them continue tending to the seraphim. "When we were kidnapped, the thieves carved out the charm on my Key Crest." Zelos went on and opened his shirt, revealing the ruined mount holding the green crystal to his skin, "With the Key Crest destroyed, the Cruxis Crystal began turning me into an angel. I received the ability to use Angel Feathers then. When I attacked Lloyd on the way to Meltokio, I lost the ability to sleep. Then, in Meltokio, I lost the ability to feel when I faced off against all of you." He closed the shirt and spread his wings, fanning them gently and smiling wistfully as the group jumped in shock.
"They're pretty!" Colette suddenly remarked inanely, "They really go well with you, Zelos!"
"Thanks." the redhead answered bashfully, rubbing his head, "I had the wings before the changes. I used them to get the herbs for medicine when Dad and Lloyd got sick."
"Why is this happening?" Genis asked, looking around. "Why is Zelos becoming an angel?" Kratos waved Raine away after the ointment was applied to his cut and folded his arms over his chest.
"Because Sérno Whild has chosen him for his new body." he revealed. This time Zelos looked confused. "It was what Nadilene was gloating about when she disabled me and I was lying there in NeOzette." he explained, "Let me start at the beginning. Mind you, I only have part of the information; what I remember from Mithos and from what she told me."
"When Martel was killed, Mithos began the conversion of people to angels to begin his search for a vessel and to create the Age of Lifeless Beings. Among his priorities was the punishment of those who were responsible for Martel's death. Sérno Whild was among those who betrayed Mithos. As punishment, Mithos disfigured him and then turned him into an angel without the ability to change his appearance. Sérno's wife, Nadilene, turned herself into an angel as well and tended to him throughout the four millennia we had control." Kratos began, thinking hard as he put the information together in his head, "According to that woman, Sèrno controlled the development of the Wilder Family lineage, the Tethe'alla Mana lineage, from behind Mithos's back to create a vessel for himself, not Martel. Now, he's chosen Zelos to be that vessel, but why now, why Zelos himself, I don't know."
"I do." Sheena said suddenly and blushed as all eyes turned to her, "I know why Zelos was picked for this." She sighed and put her hands to her face, hiding it from her friends. "Goddess, how could I have been so stupid? I was blinded by my hate, that's why. Zelos, I'm sorry!"
"What are you talking about?" the former Chosen asked in confusion. She looked up, teary-eyed.
"A month ago, a woman arrived in Mizuho. As the custom states, I had to make sure she couldn't ever reveal to anyone where the village was located. But she told me she was there to speak to me about Zelos." she murmured and pulled something from her pocket. "She said she knew how much I hated Zelos because of his betrayal, and that she would help me punish him for it. All I had to do was send him to Nealar and she would 'take care' of him. I thought she was going to kill him. I thought Zelos's death would ease my hate and make the world better off. He is a pervert, after all." She held out a small gold disc, looking disgusted with herself. "We spoke to each other with this. I would tell Lloyd where to go and then I'd tell Nadilene. I thought she was just screwing up trying to kill Zelos. I never knew she was making him an angel. That wasn't what I wanted!"
"You're a traitor?!" Lloyd screamed, "How could you?! How could you do this to my brother?!" With that, he raced out of the room, head bent to hide his tears. Kratos turned away from her, glaring at the wall. Sheena cringed as the others gave her awful looks, but the worst was from Zelos.
He stood there, wings spread and fanning gently, an expression of acceptance on his face. He understood her emotions, the choices she had made, the path she took.
"I figured as much. If anyone would ever order my death, it would be you. And I wouldn't fight it." Zelos murmured and reached into his cabinet, "Though this method would have suited your ninja style much better." He selected a jar and tossed it to her. "Ten ounces to a standard dinner. I would have died within an hour." he added and walked by her, "Raine, Genis, Colette, take care of Dad for now. I'm going to get some air." Sheena stared at the jar as the three tended to Kratos.
"Belladonna." she whispered, "Deadly nightshade. Zelos knows about the power of poisons as well as herbal remedies? What kind of man is he?"
Wonderful, glorious,
Marvelous me;
Looks like I've found
My destiny.
A body for one
Who's gone insane;
Even now I'm still
Causing everyone pain....