A/N: Yes, three Ex Gems are needed to create the compound skill Concentrate on Zelos, Kratos, Genis and Raine. For Zelos and Kratos, it's Speed Cast, Spell Charge and Super Chain. I can't recall exactly which ones are for Raine and Genis, but I know that for Raine, Happiness and Speed Cast are two of the needed gems. And now for a new team member!

Ch 13

Altessa looked up from his work at the urgent knocking on his door. Grumbling irritably, he got up from his workbench and made his way to the front door, opening it to see Lloyd, Kratos and the others panting outside, breathless and drenched in sweat.

"What? What is the meaning of this? Kratos? I thought you were traveling space with Derris-Kharlan!" he exclaimed as he stepped back, allowing the group to enter his house.

"I was, but that's not the point now. We need a Key Crest for a Cruxis Crystal made quickly!" Kratos blurted and pushed Lloyd at him. "Stay here with him, Lloyd. I'm going to Derris-Kharlan and see if I can turn its path back here. When I get back, use the Eternal Sword to bind the comet nearby."

"What?! Why?! Dad!" Lloyd yelped in surprise. Kratos shook his head quickly as he prepared to use his angelic powers to teleport.

"If the comet goes too far for me to bring it back, we'll never rescue Zelos. Do as I say for once!" he ordered and vanished in bright blue light. Altessa blinked at them, then shook his head.

"What is going on?" he asked again and jumped as Lloyd spun around and spilled the entire story out in a panic. Seles threw in her own views at random, clinging to Raine's coat. "This is... not good. Raine, is it true that Zelos died in the ruins?"

"Very. His soul was drained to save our lives. Nadilene stole his body and it will only be a matter of time before Sérno takes possession of it." the half-elf answered, "Why do you ask?" Altessa looked thoughtful and glanced back at his workroom.

"I believe I have something that may be of help. A vessel for a vessel. If you can bring Zelos back from the dead...." he began. Lloyd shook his head.

"How?! We don't have his body! Do you have any inhibitor ore to make a second Key Crest?!" he yelled. The dwarf grunted irritably and glared at him.

"I have plenty. As for the body, I'll need a picture of the Tethe'alla Chosen. Lloyd, I'll also need to examine your Key Crest." he answered. Seles blinked and dug into her purse, searching as Lloyd took on a confused expression.

"Why? My Key Crest is fine." he pointed out. Altessa shook his head and pointed at the gem on his hand.

"Because your crest was carved for an Exsphere. Lloyd, yours has evolved into a Cruxis Crystal, therefore I need to carve a new charm into the mount." the dwarf answered. Seles pulled a picture from her purse with a happy cry.

"I knew I had it with me! Here! This is the picture I carried from Meltokio to the abbey after my last visit to Zelos. It's the most recent picture I have. Will that work?" she asked, handing it out to Altessa. The dwarf accepted it and studied the grinning redhead in the photograph.

"Full body view, yes. Very good. I'll get right on it. Lloyd, come with me and I'll carve the new charm." he remarked and led the boy away. The others looked at each other and shrugged. The adrenaline of what had happened had worn off and they wandered towards the bedrooms in exhaustion.

Nadilene watched with barely controlled joy as the few angels that remained on Derris-Kharlan carried the lifeless Chosen to the mana transfer unit and strapped him in. Sérno moved the chair to above the machine, head bobbing as tendril-like tubes wove up from the now closed capsule and into the hovering wheelchair.

"At last, I will have what was taken from me. Begin the mana transfer!" Sérno declared, eyes shining as the machine whirred to life. Nadilene laughed and spun in joy as the flow rushed down into the body. The celebration dimmed as the palace suddenly shifted and she halted, eyes wide.

"What was that?" she murmured and strode towards the huge open window nearby. Gazing out at the reaches of space, she watched as the comet seemed to slow down, then reverse direction. "Derris-Kharlan is changing course?" Nadilene blinked in confusion at the idea of the comet doing an abrupt 180 as the tubes vanished from the capsule behind her. The lid lifted and Zelos's hand reached out in a stretch before the rest of him sat up and arced to work out a few kinks in the joints.

"At last! I have returned to my former self!" a strangely archaic voice cried from the redhead's mouth. A brilliant light erupted from him and when the woman at the window turned in surprise, she found her husband had already used his newly gained ability to change appearances to restore the body's long red hair and overlapped his clothing with the dark vest and pants that he had selected long ago. Sérno calmly removed the Cruxis Crystal from the mount below his neck, smiling at the second that floated down from his old body to take its place.

"With the darkness of my descendant's sorrows, loneliness, pain and sins, my Magitek Cannon will rip asunder the hopes and peace of that pitiful world. The Age of Empty Souls will rise and we will rule all that lies before us!" the newly restored angel declared with a mad laugh, holding up the shining green gem that housed what remained of Zelos Wilder.

Kratos watched from his vantage point as he fired the last of the transport units scattered at various positions around the comet. The collective power behind them slowed Derris-Kharlan down, then slowly began forcing it back towards Symphonia. Letting out a breath of relief, he returned his gaze to the nearby databases of information and brightened. Perhaps he could find out more about Sérno in those computers. He hurried over and tapped at the keys, watching the list of names scrolling by far faster than any normal human could read. He stopped at one familiar image and paused the list.

"What? What would Zelos be doing in this catalogue?" Kratos murmured and studied the information, blinking in surprise. "Impossible! This can't be...!" He peered at the image of the redhead once more. The face and hair was almost a dead on match, but the eyes were a bright green, the clothes more of the era that Kratos had lived in so many thousands of years ago. "This is Sérno?! Sérno Whild?!" he exclaimed and slammed his fist against the computer, "Dammit! That's the connection! He's been manipulating the Wilder Family to create a near perfect copy of his original body! And Zelos is the culmination of those centuries of breeding!"

Frustrated by the events, Kratos pulled away from the machine and slumped back against the transport unit firing huge amounts of mana to push the comet towards the planet. The effort to teleport himself back here without using the Eternal Sword's help or the old warp point in the ruins of the Tower of Salvation had exhausted him. Unless he wanted to completely drain his mana and possibly kill himself on the return trip home (which he knew Lloyd would definitely not be happy with), Kratos would just have to wait until the comet had neared Symphonia enough for him to use the warp devices again. Sinking down and getting as comfortable as possible while making himself as unnoticeable as he could, the seraphim murmured a prayer for Martel to keep watch over his family and friends, then closed his eyes to sleep.

Lloyd awoke that morning to the smell of fresh cream stew and scrambled out of bed to grab a bowl of the stuff. On his hand, the Key Crest sported a new set of angelic characters, carefully engraved alongside the runes carved by Dirk. The crest could now handle the Cruxis Crystal that shone softly on his hand, though he briefly wondered why he hadn't gone through the angel transformation himself if his crest had been the wrong type and he also went through the same dangers Zelos did.

"Nice to see you among the living, Lloyd!" Genis joked as the others looked up from their meals. Lloyd looked about ready to make a retort as he sat, but held off when he saw Altessa enter the room, wiping his hands on a small towel.

"It's finished. It took most of the night and a good part of this morning, but it's finished." he muttered and looked back at the room he just exited from. "I already had the body frame made, I just needed to make alterations based on the photograph I was given." The group looked confused.

"You were building something?" Lloyd asked dumbly. Presea furrowed her brow, then yelped.

"An automatic doll! You built another one?" she exclaimed. "Like Tabatha?!"

"Yes. This was supposed to replace Tabatha, after she disappeared long ago. However, knowing that Zelos is in trouble and you will need a body to bring him back, I decided to use the frame to create something usable for this endeavor of yours." the dwarf confirmed, "Don't be frightened of him, as I made him as close a replica to the original as my skills would allow." Lloyd snuck a bite of cream stew as Altessa turned back to the workroom. "Caleb, you may enter now."

All eyes sought out the mop of disheveled fiery red hair as a figure carefully stepped into sight, using the walls as support until it was sure of its own two feet. Emerald colored eyes that flickered to sapphire blue when the light hit it at an angle stared with hollow emotion at them. The group gasped collectively at the sight of a near perfect copy of Zelos standing before them, pushing his messy hair back from his face as he stood dressed in a long gray gown of some kind.

"GREETINGS, TRAVELERS OF SYMPHONIA. I AM CALLED CALEB." he spoke in a mechanical monotone, softened by what sounded like a mimicry of Zelos's own voice. Lloyd almost threw up the stew as he gawked at the creation standing before them.

"I'm afraid I didn't have time to make any clothes for him, so he's in a rather drab outfit." Altessa admitted, "I have to admit, this one is a rather interesting piece of work. Were it possible, do you mind if I kept him after you rescue Zelos's real body?"

"One Zelos is enough for the world." Genis remarked under his breath. Colette cocked her head in confusion.

"He looks kind of funny." she added, causing more than a few of the group to look somewhat exasperated at the obvious remark she made.

"The similarities are uncanny. It's excellent craftsmanship." Regal chose his words carefully. Presea merely nodded her agreement. Raine walked up to the doll and circled it cautiously, examining it carefully.

"I'm not sure if my Resurrection spell will bind Zelos's soul to him, but I suppose it's worth a try." she murmured, half-expecting the doll to respond with a flirtatious remark on how she was so intent upon her examination.

"That thing is creepy." Sheena said flatly, still holding in her grip the Topaz Ring Zelos had dropped in Ozette, "But if it helps us get Zelos back, then by all means, Resurrection away."

"I WILL BE HAPPY TO HELP ANY WAY I CAN." Caleb answered and bowed stiffly to the group. Altessa nodded.

"Well, then, let me get a little rest, then I will get to work on making some clothes for him. In the meantime, you may try placing the Chosen's soul in him." the dwarf added and left the room. Lloyd walked up to the doll and studied it himself, cringing slightly as Caleb looked back at him.

"YES? MAY I BE OF SERVICE?" he asked. Lloyd shook his head slowly.

"Uh, just stand right there. Professor?" he questioned. Raine nodded and held the unicorn horn she kept in her pack in one hand as she held the Blue Crystal Rod she earned in Meltokio out at the doll.

"Bring back this soul from purgatory! Bring back the life and light of Zelos! Resurrection!" she declared, her magical energy swirling around her and wings of shining mana forming over the doll. Everyone held their breaths, hoping for a miracle, but none was to come for them. The wings faded and Raine released the rest of the spell, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, but it's not working. I'm not sure why."

"Well, you gave it your best shot." Sheena remarked as Seles carefully walked up to the doll. She studied it quietly, then spun around with a haughty expression.

"I hate it! This thing looks like my big brother, but it's not him! I don't want it to be anywhere near me for the duration of this quest to save Zelos!" she declared. The doll looked oddly sad about that.

"I PROMISE NOT TO INTEREFERE WITH YOUR JOURNEY. I WISH ONLY TO BE OF SERVICE TO YOU AND THE MASTER." Caleb murmured.

"That's okay, Caleb. Well, welcome to the team! I'm Lloyd...." Lloyd paused and frowned as he stared at his boots.

"What's wrong, Lloyd?" Colette asked worriedly. "Are you feeling sick? Are you okay?" Lloyd shook his head, then brightened, returning his smile to the doll.

"My name's Lloyd Aurion Irving, but you can just call me Lloyd! That's Colette Brunel, and Regal Bryant, Presea Combatir, Sheena...." here he looked helplessly at the ninja.

"Sheena Fujibayashi, and they would be Raine and Genis Sage." Sheena helped out. Lloyd nodded.

"And this is Seles Wilder. You'll meet my dad, Kratos Aurion, in a little while. We're trying to save my brother, Zelos Wilder." he finished.

"He's MY brother! At least, by name." Seles corrected. Caleb nodded with a smile.

"YES, I HAVE YOUR NAMES RECORDED IN MY MEMORY. I WILL DO ALL I CAN TO HELP YOU, LLOYD." he remarked brightly. The brunet laughed and pumped a fist into the air.

"It's settled then! Let's wait for Dad to show back up and then we'll go rescue Zelos!" he exclaimed.

Sérno studied his new body in the full length mirror one final time before turning to his small army of angels. Nadilene shone as she walked by his side, the two of them making their way towards the transport units to see who exactly triggered them. After placing the Cruxis Crystal within the Magitek Cannon and learning more of what was happening with Derris-Kharlan, Sérno made it a mission to get rid of the band of heroes, starting with the idiot who decided to play 'Ram Symphonia' with the massive ball of mana.

"Speak of the devil, if it isn't the half-assed mercenary who sided with those pathetic half-elves over four thousand years ago!" he laughed as Kratos jerked his head up from slumber and looked around in a surprise at the half dozen swords and spears aimed at him. He looked up at his captor and turned pale, mouth moving wordlessly as a well of emotion filled his eyes.

"My... my son! Wha-what have you done?!" Kratos exclaimed from where he sat behind the device. Sérno smiled and turned to his wife.

"You were right, my beloved. He does think of that worthless Chosen as his son. What a senile fool." he remarked and turned back to his new prisoner as he struggled against the angels holding him fast. "I don't know what you're thinking, bringing Derris-Kharlan back to that tainted world, but it does make my plans that much easier to implement. For that, I won't kill you. Yet." He twirled a lock of the bright red hair around one finger as he looked smugly at Kratos. "Take him to the prison cells. He'll be brought out to watch me rule this world once all is said and done, then he'll die."

"How did you manage to manipulate the Wilder Family to create a new vessel for yourself?! We maintained watches on both lineages in the worlds!" Kratos yelled as he was pulled away towards a warp point programmed for the white marble palace beyond the sight of Welgaia. Sérno smiled wider, flicking the lock of hair over his shoulder in contempt.

"Simple. I am Zelos's true father. My DNA combined with that of his mother as she slept finally brought forth a vessel worthy of me. I had to keep implanting my seed over the span of several generations since the beginning just to counter Mithos' interference with my pet project. Where do you think the Wilder name came from? Thin air?" he answered.

"You would steal your son's body for your own vain desires?!" Kratos shrieked in a mix of rage and disgust, "How more selfish and twisted can you be?! You have no right to be called his father! I'm more the father figure for him than you could ever dream to be!" Sérno shrugged.

"Oh, give me a break! As if I even wanted him as my son! I merely sired him to be used as a sacrifice to myself. He should be honored that his body is inhabited by the soon to be King of Symphonia!" the redhead sneered, "Now, if you don't mind, I have a world to conquer." Kratos struggled harder, then screamed out as he vanished in the teleporter.

"Origin! Help me!"

Trapped in darkness, with no escape, memories rushing by, Zelos wondered if perhaps death rejected him outright. Even Sacrifice, the most giving of all the angel spells, didn't grant him death, only forced a way around the crest's power to seal himself within his crystal again.

"You... should never... have been born." his mother, Kylene, hissed brokenly as she died, ignoring his tears as he pleaded for her to live. Zelos winced as best he could as the sorrow, grief and loneliness grew within him.

"What do you want from me? I was only a child! I didn't ask to be born!" he cried.

"It's still your fault." Seles's voice sneered at him, "If you weren't born, I would have been the Chosen. And all the power that goes to that title would have been mine!"

"But nothing good comes from being the Chosen! You saw what happened! One of the reasons why I gave up the title to you now was because the world no longer needs the sacrifice of the Chosen!" Zelos yelled back, spirit crumbling as he faced his own inner demons.

"All alone in this world, nothing good will come of you. You're a pervert, twisted and ugly inside." Sheena growled, turning her back on him. "Just go ahead and wallow there in your own self-loathing. And when you're done, just die! No one loves you in this bright new world. You don't belong!"

"I thought you forgave me and looked beyond that now." Zelos murmured softly, breaking further as the darkness pressed closer upon him, "But I guess, I can never really make up for it all." His own voice came back at him, cruel and heartless as his reflection appeared.

"That's right! You can't! Because you're a stupid pervert and above all, a traitor!" Zelos's image sneered, "What makes you think you are even worthy of forgiveness? You? The ass who can't even forgive himself? That's why I'm here, y'know. I hate you, and I'm you! I wanted to be anyone but you!"

"Yes, that's right. I betrayed everyone again." Zelos whispered, gazing sorrowfully down at the pool of black water rising to engulf him.

"Why do you even bother trying to be something other than what you are? You'll only fail at it, liked you failed to be a Chosen! You failed at spying too! You couldn't even pull off being a traitor!" his reflection snapped, "You're better off just giving up right now! Die! No one loves you!"

"Lloyd... and Kratos... my dad...." the redhead murmured hopefully. His mirror image snorted and shook his head.

"You were merely deluding yourself. They only tolerate you because you still have that stupid Cruxis Crystal and that acts far stronger than any badge of office to get those Exspheres." he pointed out, "They have each other. They are family by blood. You are just... in the way."

"I'm always in someone's way. The Pope, the King, Cruxis... Lloyd and his father." Zelos agreed faintly, "No one ever wanted me here. Lloyd said it himself once. 'I invited myself.' He really didn't want me to come with him on this trip. It was meant for a father and son." The water rose and completely swallowed him in emptiness.

"Maybe I should just die.... Nothing good ever came of me anyway."

The Cruxis Crystal embedded in the Magitek Cannon's control board flashed brilliantly once, then darkened to a shining black that seemed to absorb all the light in the room.

Lloyd blinked as a strange feeling rose up his back. He shook his head away from the sight of Seles chasing Genis around, waving her purse and laughing as the silvery-haired half-elf yelped for help, and turned back to look at Caleb's new clothes.

Altessa's fondness for shades of green led him to partially recreate Tabatha's outfit for the doll. The same dark green and seafoam dress she once had was refitted as a lightweight trenchcoat over a pale green shirt and seafoam pants that fit loosely on him. White boots complemented the outfit, as did the striped forest green and seafoam opera gloves with open ends that stopped just beyond Caleb's knuckles. A dark green ribbon tied his hair back at the nape of his neck.

"Yes. I do believe that works for the best. How do you like it, Caleb?" Altessa asked. The doll examined himself, blinking in infant wonder.

"I LIKE IT VERY MUCH, MASTER. THANK YOU FOR THE CLOTHES." he answered with a smile. The thrum of anxiety ran up Lloyd's spine again and he frowned.

"It looks good on him." Sheena remarked wistfully, "It really brings out his eyes and complements his hair."

"Raine! Help! Save me!" Genis cried and dashed around to hide behind his sister as Seles jogged up and grinned mischievously, bending to look around the woman's robe at him.

"C'mon, little cutie. Show me some of your magic!" she cooed as the boy blushed a deep pink. Presea smiled slightly and shook her head.

"Oh, to be a child once more!" she sighed within her mind.

"Lloyd? Are you okay?" Colette asked as she caught sight of the brunet's worried expression.

"Something feels wrong." Lloyd answered softly and jerked his head up as Origin's voice filled the air. The others looked around, trying to find a focus for the Summon Spirit's voice as Lloyd looked skyward for his focus.

"Lloyd, I have come with dire news." Origin began in his usual commanding tone, "Your father was captured on Derris-Kharlan by Sérno and Nadilene Whild. Derris-Kharlan itself is rapidly approaching Symphonia. This was the message that I was able to glean from him before he lost consciousness."

"Dad! Origin, where's my dad?! And Zelos's body?!" Lloyd cried out fearfully.

"Your father, Kratos Aurion, is still alive, but held prisoner within Sérno's palace. However, the body of your friend has already been possessed. His soul is sealed within his Cruxis Crystal and is rapidly fading from light. As we speak, the darkness of his life is feeding power to a strange device that Sérno is planning to use on this world."

"That's why Resurrection didn't work! And why Nadilene wanted him to use Sacrifice!" Raine cried in understanding, "It acted as a workaround the Key Crest Lloyd made to reseal his soul! And if his soul is in the Cruxis Crystal, I can't pull it from purgatory to his body or another!"

"And if the darkness he still has is gonna be used against us, then we have to hurry and save Zelos!" Sheena exclaimed, "Lloyd! Use the Eternal Sword!" The boy nodded and held out his hands, willing the swords of his fathers to appear before him, then whispering for the Flamberge and the Vorpal Sword to combine into the time-spanning blade, the Eternal Sword. Once it was within his hands, he held it up to the heavens and called out.

"Eternal Sword! Please hold Derris-Kharlan in orbit around our world!" he pleaded. The sword trembled with its power and the sky darkened to a pale violet hue as the comet stopped far above them, high enough to be reached by portal, but not so high it didn't affect the world.

"Before you go, take this." Altessa urged, walking up to Lloyd with a shining new Key Crest in hand. "Place this over the broken crest below his neck. It will fuse with the old mount and control the Cruxis Crystal once more. Only then will the threat of becoming a vessel again be gone." The swordsman accepted the gift gratefully. "Caleb, go with them and help however you can. Be careful. I will not be able to accompany you and repair you should you run into trouble." he added for the doll.

"YES, MASTER. I'LL DO MY BEST TO HELP RESCUE ZELOS." the copy answered with a bow and walked up to join the group now huddled around Lloyd. Seles frowned at his coming, then coughed harshly before shaking her head.

"Seles? Are you okay? You can stay here and rest if you want. You might get sick again and I don't want Zelos mad at me if you come down with something while fighting monsters." Lloyd immediately said.

"I'm fine! Let's go already!" the younger Wilder snapped. Lloyd shrugged and held the sword high above him.

"Eternal Sword! Take us all to Derris-Kharlan, to where my father and brother are held against their will!" he cried and the team vanished in a burst of holy white light. Altessa watched it beam towards the heavens and sighed.

"Good luck, Caleb, for you possess the same abilities Tabatha once did." he murmured under his breath.

Life means nothing,

Nothing at all;

Standing in sorrow

My back to the wall

I gave my life freely,

But at what true cost,

When I feel so empty

And oh so lost?