Ch 12
With Zelos returned to awareness, both Lloyd and Kratos made it a point to follow him everywhere. At first the redhead appreciated the attention, rather he lapped it up like a hungry pup, but after the ship moored at the dock near the ruins, it lost its appeal. More than once or twice the group saw Lloyd and the Cruxis seraphim scrambling over each other to escape a blast from Thunder Blade or Angel Feathers, Zelos's voice shrieking out above the chaos for some privacy.
"So where did you follow him to this time?" Genis asked in a snickering tone. Kratos sighed and winced as Lloyd struggled to get up from collapsing on his father.
"I'd rather not say." he began as the boy loudly announced, 'The shower room.' He sighed again, turning red as the others in the group laughed in unison over the idea. "Never mind. Can we get going?"
Some time later, the group was making their way to the Ozette Ruins, fending off the monsters that came rushing their way for some strange reason. Raine mentally questioned the new uprising of crazed animals and insects, then jumped at the two sets of Angel Feathers that zoomed by her to tackle a rampaging Wyvern.
"Booyah! Aren't we the most gorgeous team, eh, Colette?" Zelos laughed, flying around the blonde as Seles, now in the light over what was happening to her brother, slid her sword back into her purse and clicked it closed before hopping over with sparkling eyes towards Kratos.
"Did you see me? Wasn't I just grand?!" she cooed. The seraphim forced a smile at her at Lloyd's elbow urging. Seles smiled wider, then yelped in surprise as Zelos zipped by and scooped her up, spinning into the air with a laugh as he hugged her closer.
"Seles, you little brat, whatcha up to?! Don't break little boys' hearts yet!" he teased, the orange and rose of his wings shining bright in the sun, "Come on! Tone down on the old Wilder charms!" Seles waved her arms and laughed, looking at the world as he flew them up higher over the trees. Lloyd looked up at them with a grin as Kratos immediately took off after them.
"It's so beautiful up here, Big Brother!" Seles exclaimed as the wind rushed through her hair and lifted the white streamers on Zelos's collar high up behind him, "Those wings are so pretty; I wish I had my own! If I had been the Chosen, I would have had such pretty wings!" Zelos looked fearful of that and nuzzled his sister's head.
"No, Seles. Don't ever wish to be a Chosen. Didn't you see what happened to me? Didn't you see the pain and the suffering I caused by turning into an angel?" he whispered as he hovered in the air, wings flapping easily after finally being fully restored. Seles stilled and looked pensive, remembering how he acted in Meltokio during the two times he showed up, his first visit and the day she had been poisoned. Then she recalled his death-like state after being cured, the sight of his cold, frozen eyes staring at her.
"But if I was the Chosen, then you wouldn't be the one suffering." she murmured. Zelos shook his head and spun with her some more, laughing as Kratos floated nearby with a slight grin on his face.
"No way! This world was made so people wouldn't suffer! Like you and Colette and all our friends!" he declared, "So look at it this way, my wings are your wings!" A call from Lloyd sent the three in the air back down to rejoining the group.
Nadilene stepped out of the darkness that reigned in the Ozette Ruins and studied the golden disc in her hand. Its twin, still in Sheena's possession, gave away their location as easily as when the ninja had reported Zelos's travels. It would take the group another day or so at their pace to reach the ruins, plenty of time for her to set up the traps to finally get the vessel she and her husband had waited so long to complete.
She slipped the disc away and focused her power, carefully because she could see through the golden object that the former Lord Kratos was traveling with the group. Surprise was of the essence and anything that would tip off the elder seraphim as to what she was up to would more than likely doom the operation at the start.
"Illusion of the heart and mind, on this land do I place the bind. Seek thy prey, the hero of life. Send his mind astray with strife. Darkness cover this battlefield, until the Chosen's life be yield!" she murmured and brought her arms up, allowing a circle of mana to form beneath her and spread in a huge slow wave over the entire ruin that was once the village of Ozette.
"Are we there yet? Man, all this walking is boring. I'm tired. Is there gonna be curry for dinner? When are we gonna take a break?" Lloyd whined as they reached the halfway point to the ruins. Kratos sighed and shook his head before clasping his arm around the boy's neck and walking off with him.
"Let me tell you another story, Lloyd. It's about another tree that exists in reality and legend. It's called the Tree of Sense." he began to say in a controlled voice, "The Tree of Sense was revered for being able to instill upon people a great deal of common sense and knowledge."
"Really? How?" Lloyd asked in eager curiousity. Kratos smiled.
"Like this."
POW!
"OW! DAD! THAT FREAKING HURT!" the dual swordsman rubbed his head after being smacked face-first into a nearby tree. Kratos shrugged and walked away, chuckling under his breath as Lloyd poked at his nose, then jogged after them, injury forgotten as the group decided at last to camp for the night and start dinner.
"Let's see, we have fresh tomatoes, so let's make beef stew with our meat and vegetables!" Genis remarked brightly and passed out ingredients for the group to help chop up. "Kratos, Lloyd, you wanna help cut the tomatoes?" he asked, then looked confused as the two dark-haired swordsmen blinked at him with large eyes, then turned and dashed for the forest. "Huh? What the-? What's up with them?" he remarked as Zelos sat in their place and picked up the knife.
"I dunno. They do it every time I ask 'em to make pescatore." he remarked and set to cutting up the tomato.
They ran until Lloyd couldn't keep up and Kratos decided that he was far enough away to be counted safe. He huffed for a bit, shook himself back into a half-decent composure, then checked on his son. After a moment of looking at each other, both shuddered visibly.
"Tomato... ugh!" Lloyd groaned, "Lousy vegetable. I can't stand those things! So... squishy... when you cut them and it never comes out right so everything tastes nasty!"
"It's a fruit, Lloyd." Kratos corrected and squeezed his eyes shut at the description, "And please don't remind me about it!" After a moment, the wave of repulsion passed and he looked around himself. "Hmm. So, what have we gotten ourselves into now?" Lloyd straightened and scratched his head, blinking at the soft glow of angelic light not far from them.
"Hey, that's where Ozette Ruins is, isn't it?" he asked, walking towards the light. Kratos reached out and hooked a finger into his collar, staring at the distance with his angel senses.
"Yes. And there's a good amount of mana being used there, in small amounts, barely noticeable, but still there. What is that?" he wondered aloud and frowned sternly as Lloyd tugged ahead, still trying to move forward despite being held back by his father. "And where do you think you're going, young man?" he growled under his breath. Lloyd froze and laughed hesitantly.
"Ah... to check if there's no tomatoes ahead?" he replied sheepishly and yelped when he was picked up by the scruff of his neck as Kratos took to the air. He yelped again as he was tossed up, then caught in a hug as the seraphim flew back to the campsite.
"Correction; you will remain at camp and deal with those... things. I will scout ahead and see what is causing that rise of mana in the ruins. And don't let me catch you sneaking anywhere near here with the Eternal Sword." Kratos ordered gruffly, "Do I make myself clear?" Lloyd sighed, then smiled, knowing full well that his father couldn't see his face at that time.
"Yeah, Dad. Whatever you say." he answered.
The spell drained a large portion of mana from Nadilene's body and she leaned against a broken wall to rest, head snapping up only when she heard the gentle flutter of wings. Mentally thankful for the darkness that covered her in the shadows of the ruins, she crouched and watched with a hateful glare as Kratos seemed to float down and land with an almost dainty precision on the very spot she had stood just minutes before. She maintained her glare as the seraphim, hand resting ready on the hilt of his sword, explored the ruins, looking all around himself.
"What could he possibly be doing here so soon? How could he have sensed the mana I sent out when it was barely enough to be noticed?" she thought fiercely. Carefully moving, she backed away further into the darkness. After the attack of Judgment made on her by Zelos, Nadilene was sure to be very cautious about her opponents. She wasn't going to underestimate these 'inferior beings' again. Not if she wanted to rule Symphonia as queen, standing regally by her husband's side. A husband who would become as he was before, gorgeous, luxurious... and powerful.
An eruption of light nearly blinded her as Kratos whirled around with a startled cry. She shook her head and rubbed at her eyes, softly swearing every curse word invented since four millennia ago. Across the way, Kratos was doing the same, covering his eyes with both hands in a bent over form as Lloyd stood in the center of the ruins with the great indigo blade held in one hand, the Eternal Sword.
"What the hell was that for?!" Sheena snapped as the group found themselves suddenly transported to Ozette Ruins from where they had been peacefully camped.
"Well, I didn't want us to walk all the way here, so I figured...." Lloyd began.
"LLOYD!" Kratos bellowed out and flew in like a hawk, sending himself and the boy tumbling and rolling onto the grass, "I told you not to come here until after I finished inspecting the area! Are you so inconsiderate of your own well-being and that of the others that you would risk all of our lives just to satisfy your own curiousity?!"
Zelos stood up from the shifted campfire, the knife and tomato half still in his hands as he looked around warily. The group sighed at their leader's obvious display of incompetence and resumed cooking preparations. He shook his head and returned to his seat, grinning as he looked over at his brother and father.
The seraphim had Lloyd pinned to the earth, lecturing him over his irresponsible use of the Eternal Sword, his audacity in disobeying his orders, and his general idiocy in dealing with the situation. It wasn't until he saw none of his words reaching Lloyd that Kratos noticed the flow of mana seeping from the earth into the gem embedded in Lloyd's hand, the Exsphere. The boy himself was silent, still, face hidden in shadow as the flow moved on.
"Lloyd?" Kratos murmured as he tried to figure out what exactly was happening, "Get off the ground. Now." Lloyd didn't move as still more mana seeped into the gem. "Lloyd, listen to me. Get up!" Kratos urged and choked, wide-eyed as the boy lifted his hand and gripped it tightly around his throat, squeezing as he finally began to sit up.
Nadilene smiled and closed her eyes, projecting herself into the boy's mind, willing control of his body to her magic. This type of vengeance would be much sweeter than she originally planned.
The rest of the group didn't notice what was happening as they chatted about what they would talk with Altessa about and who should add what ingredients next. Lloyd was standing fully by now, gazing coldly down at his father as he kept him on his knees, head craned back so far it seemed it would snap at any moment. The seraphim's hands were tightly grasping his arm, but no further attempts to pull himself free were made, too afraid that he could misuse his angel strength and possibly injury Lloyd. He made a tiny gasp, so faint he felt it to be all that would leave him in this final moment.
Until he remembered he was not the only angel in the ruins.
The strangled gasp was enough to make Zelos whirl around, a strangely serious expression on his face. If he had been shocked by the sight of Lloyd slowly killing his own father, it didn't show as he extended his wings and flew out to pull the boy away with a yell. Colette, hearing the same gasp, jumped up and cried for help, causing the team to drop what they were doing and search the area for signs of trouble, finding it in the scene that Zelos had just now interfered with.
"Lloyd, what the hell's gotten into you?! What did you do to Dad?!" the redhead yelled as he shook the boy by the shoulders, "Professor! Check on Kratos! Hurry!" Lloyd suddenly laughed as the half-elf knelt to check on the fallen seraphim, a dark twisted tone that fell from his lips as his eyes remained veiled in shadow.
"Foolish inferior beings. I told you I would not be defeated so easily. This trap would have been sprung eventually, but I'm quite glad that you've decided to allow me the pleasure of watching you all die." Nadilene spoke through Lloyd's mouth, "I'm sure you'd all like to play as well, So I invited a few... entertainers." At that, a horde of monsters flooded the ruined village, zombies, ghouls, Coffin Masters, all of them attacking mercilessly at the ambushed group. Raine had to pull herself from Kratos's body and add her healing arts to the members of the party as they began the battle defensively, then quickly switched to attack when each found the opportunity. Lloyd took the moment of distraction to sweep his arm out, backhanding the redhead and knocking him to the ground before reaching down and grabbing him by the wrist.
"This thing... ugly little piece of trash. How dare these inferior creatures put a Key Crest on your body! I wondered why you regained your humanity." the woman hissed, the sound alien in Lloyd's body, "Ugh! I will take care of that disgusting thing once we return to Derris-Kharlan!"
"Let go!" Zelos snapped back and swung himself aside, catching Lloyd by surprise as he threw the boy away, watching as he quickly twisted in mid air and landed softly. "Dad!" he cried, darting for the prone seraphim, only to find himself blocked by Lloyd, who had drawn one sword and slashed at him. The Last Fencer seemed to leap into Zelos's grip and parry the attack, the scream of shock from his young sister ringing in his ears as he tried to evade the younger swordsman.
"Eragh!" Regal groaned loudly as a small posse of monsters overwhelmed him despite his greave-dependent fighting techniques. His health fading quickly, Raine moved her attention to him, the same Concentration EX Skill Zelos possessed on his gem bracelet working on her own. The zombies took full advantage, slashing deep cuts into her body as she cast Nurse to tend to the falling heroes.
Genis collapsed after being beaten about by a pair of the Coffin Masters. Presea and her axe, saved by Lloyd on the ship, managed to get them away from the boy and then crumpled with a cry as a ghoul's hammer struck her small frame from behind.
"Mini Meteor!" Seles declared, swinging the wand with its huge space-rock attached to it. Whatever hapless monster was in its path found itself hurtling towards the other-world. Zelos stopped at the sound of her voice, prepared to yell for her to get out of harm's way. Whatever words were going to form in his mouth were halted by the cry of pain erupting from Sheena as she fell before the blade of a Coffin Master's 'pet'.
"Nooo!" he screamed, twisting as Lloyd lashed out with his hand and snatched at his arm again. "Let go of me! Sheena! Don't die! Get up!" The ninja stirred slightly, then climbed slowly to her feet as Raine gasped out another healing spell, this time Revitalize, her most powerful one. Nadilene chose that time to emerge from the shadows, watching the chaos with a bemused smile.
"There are too many monsters and so many injuries.... Only one angel spell can take care of all of this. You know what you must do." she whispered darkly through Lloyd's lips as he released the redhead. Zelos stumbled and fell, then looked up in horror at the scene before him. This was no battle... this was a massacre.
"Sheena, Lloyd, Dad, Seles, and all who believed a liar like me. Please forgive me once more." Zelos whispered as he pulled the Topaz Ring from his hand, gazing at it for what he knew to be his final time before clutching it tightly in his fist. Wings still unfurled, he stood and swallowed hard, bringing his arms up to cross over his chest in a mummy-like fashion. Closing his eyes and focusing, he allowed angelic mana to gather around him, lifting him up as rings of light circled his body.
"Oh Holy One, accept this single life and heal all in sight. Let it burst forth from corruption your splendid light. Sacrifice!" he cried and sighed almost peacefully, body relaxing, then going limp as he felt himself seem to just fade from reality.
Colette was the first to shriek out in despair upon recognizing the spell Zelos had cast, watching with teary eyes as the winged spirit that once inhabited the redhead rose from the body and disappeared into the rings of light that rose above him. Those very same rings that now spun out onto the field and surrounded everyone, healing them completely and restoring their own bodies to pristine condition. Lloyd stumbled, fell, then jumped to his feet, once again in control of his own body. The monsters around them wailed in pain as light erupted from their bodies and destroyed them.
Nadilene laughed victoriously as Zelos slowly floated back to the ground and dropped first to his knees, then to his side on the grass, a peaceful crumpled form that looked as if he had just fainted. Raine studied herself for a moment, then gasped in horror.
"No! That spell! It couldn't be!" she exclaimed as Lloyd spotted his father, cried and rushed to his side. "Lloyd! Zelos is...!" All eyes turned towards the fallen angel as Nadilene rushed out and scooped him up, cradling Zelos close to her as she smiled cruelly at them.
"Mine to do with as I please? You are a smart one, for a half-elf. I've gotten what I came for, so I'd best be on my way." she purred and laughed as Zelos's hand opened at last, dropping the tightly held ring onto the grass. "Say goodbye, for soon the sleeping prince shall awaken a thundering god!" In a blast of violet light both Nadilene and the deathly still Chosen were gone.
"No! Big Brother! Give him back!" Seles cried, hands reaching for the last spot she saw him at as she dropped to her knees. Lloyd mimicked her actions, screaming loudly for Zelos. Sheena ran up to the vanishing point as the other members exclaimed their shock and horror at what had occurred. She bent and picked up the ring, eyes wide when she recognized it, then held it close to her heart. Raine made her way almost woodenly to Kratos's side, murmuring a faint Resurrection spell to bring life back to the seraphim, barely registering his jerk and gasp for air.
"My... sons...." Kratos managed to whisper. Lloyd sobbed as he hung his head, knowing that he was, ultimately, the one to blame for Zelos's death and abduction.
"My brother...." he echoed, gripping the grass tightly beneath him. "ZELOS!"
Angels of heaven,
Demons of hell;
I give you my soul,
Where my sins dwell.
My body now empty
As my life had been;
I regret not my choice,
Just the pain I've seen.