Ch 14
The violet swirls that made up the world of Derris-Kharlan seemed more ominous than before as Lloyd and his friends made their way across the ruined ancient elven cities towards a huge white and gold palace. They paused only to pry Raine away from the relics and artifacts lying scattered around the way. The angels that were under Sérno's command were quickly recognized by the dark violet sashes they wore across their breastplates. Small skirmishes broke out between Lloyd's group and the angels as they tried to sneak their way to the castle. Caleb would run to one side and crouch defensively behind some rubble, a pot of something in one arm and a wooden spoon in the other hand. Since he couldn't fight, the only thing the doll could do to help was cook the various recipes taught to him by the others, the same ones taught to them by the Wonder Chef.
"Is everyone okay?" Lloyd asked tiredly, clutching one badly bleeding arm after a particularly nasty battle. Raine hurriedly held the rod out, murmuring to herself as she healed him. "Caleb? Where are you?" The doll poked his head out from behind a fall chunk of wall, stirring a pot of miso stew.
"I AM RIGHT HERE, LLOYD. HAS THE DANGER PASSED?" he asked carefully as he stepped out and scanned the area. Lloyd nodded and accepted the bowl of stew from the doll. After everyone had eaten and recovered with the aid of the Wonder Chef's recipes, they pressed on across the abandoned villages.
"It's kind of weird having what looks like Zelos hanging out with us, but not acting like him." Genis remarked as the team approached the castle doors. Seles glared at the doll again, then smiled at Genis.
"That's because it's not my brother. This empty hunk of junk is just some stuffy dwarf's toy." she pointed out, "My big brother has a lot more life to him than this thing could ever have."
"Seles! How can you say things like that about Caleb?" Raine remarked in shock, "I thought you were raised better than that!" The girl blushed and looked away with a slightly hurt expression.
"I don't like it. It makes me think that it's trying to replace Zelos." she murmured. Caleb gazed at her with an unreadable expression on his face.
"SELES, I AM NOT TRYING TO TAKE THE PLACE OF YOUR OLDER BROTHER. I MERELY WISH TO BE OF SERVICE, WHETHER IT BE BY BECOMING A VESSEL FOR HIM OR BY SOME OTHER MEANS." he told her. She shrugged and waited as Lloyd examined the lock on the palace doors, then reached into his pockets for his tools.
"Dwarven trained fingers don't fail me now!" he whispered as he carefully placed a pair of the utensils into the keyhole. He worked them into the mechanism and listened as the lock slowly gave in to him. With a click, it opened and Lloyd smiled as he pushed open the door. "Okay, guys, let's find Dad first. Where would prison cells be in this place?" he asked as the group ran into the main foyer. Presea looked around and spotted a staircase heading down across the room.
"Most dungeons and prison rooms are constructed below buildings. Perhaps that stairwell leads to the dungeons of this place?" she remarked. Lloyd silently agreed and raced for the stairs, leading the gang down into a dark corridor. Tiny barred rooms lined the hallway, stretching as far as the length of the palace allowed before turning down to another set.
"Okay, let's split up and find him!" Lloyd exclaimed and raced ahead with Caleb following closely behind, still holding the pot and spoon as if they were his new weapons. They called Kratos's name as they searched, peering into cells and other halls in pairs. Raine and Colette made a systematic search of their hall; Regal and Presea scoured another; Sheena wanted to be alone, rubbing the Topaz Ring in her fingers as she walked by the rooms, peering into them; and Seles and Genis scampered down another corridor.
"It's dark in here." Genis remarked and Seles peered up at the walls. Standing on her toes, she scraped at the brick with her sword and blinked rapidly at the ash that fell towards her.
"There are torches up here. Genis, you have Fireball, right? Can you light them?" she asked. The half-elf followed her gaze, then brightened. He brought out his kendama, the One World, and began to play with it, flipping the spinning globe back and forth as a circle of red mana formed beneath him.
"I'll do one better." he murmured and focused, "Burn! Flame Lance!" he cried and forced his thoughts to make the sword of fire slice across the hall to light all the torches in a row instead of angle down in its usual attack formation. "There!" Seles squealed happily, jumping up and down.
"That was amazing! You'll have to teach me that sometime!" she exclaimed. Genis turned red and rubbed his head.
"Uh, it was n-nothing! And you have to have elven blood to learn magic." he stammered.
"Already taken care of. My mother was a half-elf, so I'm part elf, too!" Seles answered with pride, "And no one messes with me because of my relation to the Chosen of Tethe'alla!"
"Seles, Zelos isn't the Chosen anymore." Genis pointed out.
"I know, because I am!"
A low groan made both children jump and they looked towards one of the cells not far from them. Cautiously, they approached the bars and peered between them.
Lying on the floor, face hidden by hair and darkness, was Kratos, clothes torn and bloodied by a severe beating. Seles cried in shock, then shook the bars as Genis stepped back with a cry.
"Wh-what happened?! Kratos!" he yelped. The seraphim twitched slightly, head resting on an outstretched arm as the rest of his body remained slightly curled up in a fetal like position, evidence that he'd been thrown into the cell before his beating. "Seles! Go get Lloyd and the others! Kratos is hurt!"
"Right! Of course!" Seles stammered and ran off. Genis shook the bars harder, then tried to squeeze between them, holding his breath and wincing as he struggled to get his head through the space. He yelped painfully as he got through and squirmed until the rest of his body followed.
"Kratos! Can you hear me?" the half-elven boy asked softly as he knelt by the mercenary and pat his shoulder. His only response was a faint groan of pain. Pushing his hair aside, Genis took a better look at his face. Kratos's eyes were lidded and unfocused, too caught up in whatever agony he was suffering to register the boy beside him. "Kratos, please, if you can hear me, say something. It's me, Genis Sage!"
He jumped back when a savage retching motion shook the mercenary's body and the seraphim coughed up a splash of something dark and liquid. The footsteps and cries of his friends gave Genis some relief and he called out to them.
"Over here! Hurry! Raine, he's hurt real bad!" he yelled and checked the mercenary once more, taking in the damage once he managed to create a small fireball in one hand as a light. Deep cuts all over his body and a single gash that stretched diagonally across his back, whatever had done this to the ancient hero of the Kharlan War had shown no mercy. It was a miracle of the Cruxis Crystal that he even survived the blood loss this long.
"Dad! Oh Goddess Martel! Dad, don't die!" Lloyd screamed in horror at the sight of his battered father. Caleb took in the scene quickly and set the pot and spoon aside before grabbing the bars and bracing himself. Raine yelped and pulled Lloyd back as Regal caught on and grabbed a pair of bars of his own.
"Pull!" he yelled and both Regal and the doll pulled with all their might to rip out the bars that held them away from the seraphim. Finally, they succeeded and both Raine and Lloyd rushed in. The half-elven woman quickly set to work on using Cure, her most potent individual healing technique. Lloyd threw himself onto his father, sobbing as he cried in pain. Colette hid her face in her hands, trembling as Raine ended her spell, looked at Kratos carefully, then cast a second dose of it, all her concentration focused on restoring his body.
"LLOYD, PLEASE LIFT YOUR FATHER'S HEAD. I WILL ATTEMPT TO FEED HIM MISO STEW." Caleb suddenly said, bringing in the pot and spoon. The brunet sniffled and did as he was told, trying not to think of how badly injured his father had been or of the dried stain of rust red at his mouth.
"Dad, can you hear me? We're gonna feed you some stew. Please get better." he murmured and watched as Caleb spooned out a serving and held it out.
"Not hungry." Kratos suddenly whispered as Raine pulled away again, tired from the double casting. Lloyd laughed in relief and shook his head.
"Come on, Dad! Caleb made it so it's really good!" he urged. Kratos sat up and bent slightly, one hand going to his side as he grunted slightly.
"Give me a bit of time to rest, Lloyd." he muttered irritably, then looked up at the doll holding the pot. His eyes went wide, then narrowed in near fury. "Wh-what manner of deviltry is this?!" he hissed angrily. Caleb blinked and cried out as Kratos bolted up from his place on the floor and slammed the doll into the wall.
"Dad! Stop it! That's Caleb! Altessa made him to help us get Zelos back!" Lloyd cried, lunging out and grabbing his father's leg as he towered darkly over the frightened redhead.
"I AM C-CALEB! MUST RESCUE K-KRATOS AND ZELOS! I AM...." Caleb stammered and closed his eyes, going limp. Presea squeaked and rushed over to his side.
"Caleb! Caleb, wake up!" she pleaded. Kratos regained his sanity and shook his head, staring down at the doll in shock.
"I-I apologize." he murmured and sat back down, pressing his hand to his forehead as the others peered into the cell in concern. "Lloyd, Sérno has already taken Zelos's body. There was nothing I could have done to stop it." The group looked at him sadly. "I've lost him. There's nothing we can do to save him now." he whispered. Caleb stirred and slowly came awake, sitting up with Presea's help.
"N-NO, THERE IS A WAY." he struggled to say and closed his eyes, bending with his hands clasped together before him. Kratos blinked and eyed him warily. After a moment, Caleb smiled and opened his eyes, straightening up. "I AM AN AUTOMATIC DOLL BUILT WITH THE SAME PROPERTIES TABATHA HAD. IF YOU ARE ABLE TO TRANSFER THE SOUL THAT IS CURRENTLY IN ZELOS'S BODY INTO ME, THEN YOU CAN RESURRECT THE CHOSEN." he pointed out.
"But, Caleb, if we do that, then...!" Colette began, her eyes wide with fright.
"You'll become Sérno! You'll be our enemy!" Sheena finished in horror. Caleb nodded and stood up, brushing dust and gravel from his clothes.
"THAT IS CORRECT. BUT IT WILL BE FAR EASIER TO DESTROY THE ENEMY IF HE IS WITHIN THE BODY OF A MACHINE, THAN IF HE WERE IN THE BODY OF A TRUSTED FRIEND. AM I RIGHT?" he asked.
"No! That requires the sacrifice of another friend!" Lloyd snapped, shooting back up to his feet. "We'll find another way. Let's go find Sérno and Zelos!"
Nadilene listened carefully to the angel's report, then repeated it to her husband as he typed out commands in the Magitek Cannon's control board, the monstrosity itself beginning to awaken far below the surface of Derris-Kharlan. He nodded and smiled, eyes shining with madness as his wings fluttered gently behind him.
"Let them come! They won't lay a hand on me, seeing as how I possess the body of their oh so dear brother!" the angel laughed and flicked a lock of hair back over his shoulder as he finished the last command. "In just a few minutes, the Magitek Cannon will be in position to fire on Symphonia. The darkness trapped within the Chosen's Cruxis Crystal will destroy all the hope of peace that can be found in that world and my Age of Empty Souls will finally come to pass!"
"But dear husband, how could they have managed to come up here? I was sure we had sealed the warp point between us and the Tower of Salvation after we captured the former Lord Kratos." Nadilene murmured in concern. Sérno shook his head.
"Don't worry about it! The old fool is too wounded mentally and physically to be of a threat and the boy won't dare bring harm to me for fear of his friend's life." he answered off-handedly and smiled at the black stone pulsing in its containment field, a myriad of machinery designed to channel its power into the mana charges. "Besides, even if he were to somehow steal back this body, the Chosen is too far gone in his own despair that he would probably just die of anguish again. There's no way I can lose my perfect beauty!"
Derris-Kharlan began to shake violently as the ground cracked open and a mighty cannon lifted from below, adjusting itself to meet its target. Nadilene braced herself as her husband laughed, spreading his arms and wings out while the room they stood in slid open to allow them to view the sight of the cannon rising.
"It's glorious! Yes! Rise! Rise, my wondrous machine and show the world your power! MY power!" Sérno cried, hair blowing back in a fiery banner as the winds rushed by him and the violet angel.
Lloyd and Kratos halted with the team as the palace shook. They had made their way up several stairways and halls, taking on the small armies of angels that flooded the path after them. Now this was an entirely new occurrence for them.
"Wh-what's happening?!" Genis cried. Seles dashed over to a window and gazed outside, then screamed and pointed at the huge contraption rising from the ground. The group rushed over to watch with her.
"That thing's enormous!" Lloyd yelped, staring in awe at the machine. Kratos looked up at it with a frown.
"It looks like the Mana Cannon, but different. It's not the same exterior design, at least." he muttered. He blinked and cried suddenly. "The dream! Zelos's dream!" he yelled. The others stared at him.
"Dad? What are you talking about?" Lloyd asked in confusion. Kratos shook his head, trying to sort his thoughts.
"Zelos told me about a dream he had and a vision that Nadilene had sent him in Meltokio." he answered, "There was a cannon aimed for Symphonia and his crystal was involved with that cannon. I can only surmise that this is a replica of the Mana Cannon and it, too, needs a Cruxis Crystal to control its power."
"If that's true, then won't he need a pure crystal?" Sheena asked. She blushed when all eyes turned to her in confusion. "Uh, well. Remember how Rodyle said that the crystal from a 'sinful' Chosen wouldn't work on his Mana Cannon? If that really is true, then why would Sérno and Nadilene go to all the trouble of bringing more darkness to him? What would they gain by trying to kill you and Lloyd and Seles?"
"Grief, regret, sorrow and loneliness... these are emotions that Zelos has lived with for years. They may be the sins of his heart, a darkness that he's kept hidden from all of us." Raine commented thoughtfully, "This may explain why he's sent us gifts. He was trying to relieve himself of some of that darkness."
"I never gave him that chance. That's why my darkness, my anger and hatred, poisoned his heart and soul that much more." Sheena murmured sadly, "It's my fault he wasn't able to fight it."
"Part of the problem is the fact that he hasn't forgiven himself." Lloyd added, "He told me so himself. Zelos has asked forgiveness about the Tower of Salvation thing from everyone and received it, except from Sheena and himself."
"So his sins are reminding him of who he had been, a traitor?" Colette asked. Seles puffed her cheeks and stamped her foot.
"What are you talking about?! My big brother isn't a traitor! He helped save Tethe'alla!" she declared.
"You weren't there at the Tower of Salvation when we tried to take on Mithos the first time." Lloyd told her gently, "Zelos gave Colette to Pronyma, one of Yggdrasill's Grand Cardinals, then left with her. When everyone disappeared on our way to Yggdrasill, Zelos was able to sneak around and rescue them, then collected some Aionis for me to be able to wield the Eternal Sword. For the trip up, everyone thought he was a traitor, but I kept trusting him and I was right. Zelos hadn't really betrayed me, just acted along to help us."
"So my brother was a traitor for a while and then came back to you?" Seles murmured in a humble voice. Lloyd nodded. "If... if he really did betray you... would you have killed him?" she asked in a faint whisper.
"I don't know. He didn't really betray me, so I'll never know." the brunet replied cheerfully. "So let's chant Zelos's magic words and find him! Whatever will be, will be!"
"Why would Sérno want the darkness in his heart?" Kratos murmured in confusion, then blinked as the gang resumed their journey without him. "Lloyd! Dammit, wait for me!"
"The coordinates are set for the first barrage. I'm locking the program so it can't be interfered with until after Symphonia has fallen." Sérno remarked, typing away at the keys. The monitor flashed and a single window bloomed on it, displaying the time until the cannon fired and a complex looking puzzle below it.
"The Heroes of Union are coming! We can't hold them off!" one of the Swordian class angels cried. Nadilene wrung her hands, then threw open her arms, closing her eyes as she began to gather her mana for a spell. Sérno strode to her side and stroked her cheek, smiling.
"No, no, my beloved. Save your strength. We'll leave this room for a more suitable battlefield." he told her and led her towards a nearby hall, "Let's take this to a nice open field, where our mana fields combined will be more than enough to completely eradicate them!"
The black Cruxis Crystal continued pulsing, sending ripples of sorrow across the room, searching for someone who could ease the pain.
Caleb paused and furrowed his brow. His abrupt halt caught Lloyd's attention and he stopped to ask what was wrong. The doll blinked and smiled, shaking his head.
"IT IS OF NO CONCERN, LLOYD. I MERELY THOUGHT I HEARD SOMETHING FROM A DISTANCE. I WAS MISTAKEN." he answered.
"Ugh! More enemies!" Regal growled, a newly found pair of iron-plated greaves strapped to his legs. "How many times must we take lives in order to save a single one?!" Caleb rapped his spoon on the pot and dashed aside, a signal that he would keep himself hidden until the battle was over.
"Freeze Lancer!" Seles cried, body suspended by a few inches in the air by her mana as she cast the spell, her little pink purse still gripped in one hand. The angels swerved and scattered, attacking the heroes in a chaotic skirmish that left barely any room to maneuver in the semi-spacious hallways.
"Field Barrier! Acuteness!" Raine declared and panted before casting out Photon and Holy Lance.
"Don't let them through! Master Sérno will reward those who kill the Heroes of Union!" the angels declared. Caleb peered out from his hiding spot behind a tall marble pillar as he tended to a fresh pot of paella. It was by chance that he did, as he spotted one of the Swordians swerving around to run Seles through with its blades.
"NO! SELES!" Caleb cried and raced out, swinging the pot up. The little redhead spun and cried in terror as she saw the blonde angel race for her. It never reached its target, as the doll leaped in and swung the pot up, knocking the angel aside and spilling the hot meal everywhere. Seles blinked as he ran after it and smacked the angel again with the spoon, followed by the pot.
"Caleb... you saved me? Even after I was mean to you?" she murmured as the doll walked back to her.
"OF COURSE. EVEN THOUGH YOU DO NOT LIKE ME, YOU STILL HAVE A RIGHT TO EXIST. I PROMISED TO DEFEND ALL OF YOU AND I SHALL." he replied with a smile, "I APOLOGIZE FOR SPILLING THE PAELLA. I WILL MAKE MORE IN A FEW MINUTES." With that he went back to his hiding place.
Time seemed to fly by as the heroes barged into the Magitek Cannon room, only to find themselves awed by the sight of the open area and the view of the cannon. Kratos ran towards the console and studied it as Raine followed him.
"He has it aimed right at Symphonia! In less than half an hour, this machine will fire a mana charge at the planet!" he exclaimed in horror, "And he's locked the program! We can't get in to disable the reactor!"
"Can't you or the Professor unlock it?!" Lloyd cried as Caleb walked up to the large containment unit holding the Cruxis Crystal in place. Raine studied the puzzle and winced.
"I'm afraid this goes beyond what I know in the way of computations. This is a mathematical lock based on figures and formulas that haven't been taught in many hundreds of years. I can barely recognize them, but I can't decipher it!" she explained. Presea and Seles followed Caleb with their eyes and blinked in unison.
"Professor Raine! Caleb found something!" Presea pointed out. The group turned to look at the unit and hurried over. "It's a black Cruxis Crystal?"
"The darkness. This is Zelos's Cruxis Crystal." Kratos murmured. Lloyd reached out and yelped as he was zapped by the field. "Lloyd! Don't touch that!"
"We can't shut off the reactor. This must be it. Zelos's Cruxis Crystal seems to be feeding its darkness into the mana charges for the cannon." Raine muttered as she stepped forward and examined the circuit of energy. "The containment field is holding it in place while the device draws strength from the crystal and blends it with the mana flow that leads into the cannon." She studied it intently and then looked at Caleb. "Caleb, you can act like a vessel, correct? Then reach into the field and free this Cruxis Crystal and place it on your body."
"THE MASTER ASSUMED YOU WOULD ATTEMPT THIS TYPE OF RESURRECTION. I COME WITH A KEY CREST BUILT INTO ME." Caleb confirmed and slipped his hand into the field, unaffected by the energy that attacked his body. He pulled the gem out and placed it on a mount below his neck. "HE FEELS VERY FAINT. THE DARKNESS OF HIS SORROWS AND LONELINESS ARE OVERWHELMING HIM. PERHAPS IF YOU ASSUAGED THOSE EMOTIONS, HE WILL CONQUER THAT DARKNESS." he added.
"All right. Here goes. Forgive us for taking your body, Caleb." Raine said in a sad tone. The doll merely smiled and closed his eyes, waiting with his hands clasped together and held up to his chin in a prayer stance.
"I PROMISED TO HELP SAVE ZELOS. I WILL FULFILL THAT PROMISE." he whispered.
"Bring back the soul of Zelos Wilder from this hellish purgatory imposed upon him! Resurrection!" Raine declared, trying the spell again. The mana wings appeared over the doll and the energy swirled around the doll. The Cruxis Crystal flashed and the spinning mana completely engulfed Caleb. The wings faded and the doll's eyes opened slowly, blinking confusedly at the group.
"Zelos?" Lloyd asked hesitantly. The redhead's eyes went wide and he suddenly broke into a heart-wrenching sob, dropping to his knees on the floor.
"No! NO! I didn't want to live! I want to die! Why won't you just let me DIE?!" he screamed, clutching the sides of his head, "You all hate me! Hate me! Please, just kill me and let me be out of your lives!"
"Nobody hates you, Zelos! Snap out of it!" Kratos yelled back, "Come to your senses!"
"No! NO! NO! You're lying! Sheena hates me! Even if told her I loved her, she will always hate me! It's proof that I don't deserve love and life!" the redhead kept screaming, "I don't belong here! Let me die! LET ME DIE!"
"Stop it!" Sheena snapped and raced to the forefront, reaching down to slap the redhead, then yelping in pain at the fact that she had hit something metal. The blow still was enough to quiet the hysterical Chosen and he stared up at her, almost captivated by her fury. "I don't know what the hell is wrong with you, but no one, no one, hates you! I forgave you for what you've done and everyone else did too! We all care for you, that's why we've come all this way to find and rescue you!" she went on, eyes flashing with all the emotions she had tried to hide from him. "I won't let you die! I... I love you too much to let you disappear from my life again. You have a family here, with us. Brothers and sisters from Tethe'alla and Sylvarant; even if they aren't related to you by blood or name, they're still your family by the bond of friendship!"
"You're my brother, Zelos, and I don't care about whether you're the Chosen or not!" Seles cried, "Who was it that played with me and protected me when we were little? Not the Chosen, but Zelos Wilder! It's Zelos that I looked up to and admired, not some stupid title!"
"If I hadn't wanted you on the trip with me and Dad, I wouldn't have let you stay with us for so long! When you said you'd come with me back in Heimdall, I was happy beyond words!" Lloyd threw in, "I was happy that my friend was coming with me, someone that I was thinking of as my older brother! I always wanted an older brother, and then here you are, just like Dad but also just like me! It was almost too good to be true!"
"You're not alone! You belong in Symphonia! You helped make it real!" Colette exclaimed, cheeks flushed with emotion. "You'll never be alone when you have all of us!"
"Let go of your past. The circumstances of your birth and upbringing are meaningless when compared to the joy you bring into our lives just by being there. Time can heal most wounds, love can heal the rest. We all have love for you." Raine added gently. Zelos hung his head and sobbed softly.
"Thank you... all of you. I think... I think I can finally forgive myself now. I may not have money or titles anymore, but right now... I feel like I'm far richer than a thousand Chosens combined." he whispered and smiled slightly up at Sheena, "Heh, so I finally melted the heart of my violent demonic banshee. I told you that you couldn't resist my charms for long."
"Idiot Zelos." Sheena answered affectionately, pulling him to his feet, "Now, let's stop this cannon and get your body back."
"Ah! That's right! The cannon!" Kratos exclaimed and flew back to the machine for an update. "There's not much time left! Only a few minutes remain!" Zelos ran up to join him and stared at the screen. "Look at this. Sérno left this puzzle as a lock to the program that controls the cannon's reactor. I've read his data in the computers of Welgaia, he is a great mathematician and swordsman, well-versed in the killing arts. It appears to be a mathematical lock." the seraphim filled him in and carefully added, "And he's also your true father." Zelos stiffened as he absorbed the information, then shook his head.
"That is a lie." he hissed and looked back at him. "Dad, Lloyd! Get everyone out of here! Find Sérno! Get my body back if you can! I'll handle this!"
"What? But-?!" Genis stammered.
"Remember, I was tops in mathematics back at the Academy!" Zelos exclaimed, fingers already tapping away at the keyboard, filling in the rapidly opening windows with answers to complex problems, the lock on the main screen spinning and unraveling with each new entry. "This stuff I know better than any hunny's body! Now go!" he shouted. The team ran towards a nearby hallway and disappeared into it. Sheena paused and looked back at him worriedly. "I said, GO!" Zelos yelled again, eyes following the windows of math.
"Good luck." Sheena murmured and ran on. Zelos smiled wryly.
"Same to you, my voluptuous hunny. Same to all of you." he whispered.
Time passed me over,
Love almost did, too;
What have I done
To deserve all of you?
My family and friends
Pulled me to the light;
But there's a loose end left
And a battle to fight.