Those Chosen By Fate
"Dwarven Vow #25: A gem is not polished without rubbing, nor a man perfected
without trials."
Gauracchia Forest
Sheena laughed as her parents told her stories of her when she was little – things she could never have known had it not come from her parents…her true parents. "So…you guys never really abandoned me, after all." She said lightly with a smile on her face.
"Of course not." Luccia assured, placing a hand gently on her daughter's knee from her spot directly across. Kamai and herself sat on one couch while Sheena sat opposite in another. "We love you and have always loved you."
"We are so blessed to have you back in our lives." Kamai commented with a smile.
"And a heroine none the less! Now we're happy and proud!" Luccia exclaimed laughing.
Sheena blushed. In truth, she'd always wondered if her parents were happy the way she turned out or unhappy in her failures within the village. "I didn't do anything…really."
"Nonsense!" Luccia insisted. "Only those the summon spirits deem worthy can wield their power. You made pacts with all nine of them! Accomplishing that in itself speaks volumes!"
"You've brought all of Mizuho great honor." Her father said.
"Yeah, come on Sheena. Take some of the credit." Zelos commented walking in.
Gasping Sheena stood up. "Z-Zelos!" Something about the man she liked meeting her parents gave her an adolescent sense of dread.
"The one and only." The red haired youth saluted Sheena's parents and sat down casually next to the flustered ninja.
"What are you doing here?" Sheena hissed in a whisper.
Unperturbed by her anger, Zelos continued to smile to Mommy and Daddy. "Oh come on, hunny. You don't have to be shy. I wanna hear all about your baby years. Was she a screamer or a runner?"
"What the heck are those?" The ninja at his side demanded.
Kamai laughed. "I can explain that one. A screamer is one that'll just stand there and scream or bawl when they've done something wrong. A runner is one that takes off and hides for fear of punishment."
"We have a lot of runners here." Luccia added with a grimaced. "Sheena was definitely a runner."
Again Sheena blushed. "Could we get off of me for one minute?"
"Why? It's all about Sheena today!" Zelos wrapped an arm around her and laughed. "Back when the king threw us a party…"
"Zelos!" Sheena begged.
"Hang on. It's not that long of a story." Zelos quieted her. "Anyway, the king threw us a party and made this big announcement thanking us and stuff. Well Sheena doesn't like crowds too much, as I soon found out, and I had to drag her all the way to the podium!"
Both Luccia and Kamai laughed as Sheena blushed in more embarrassment. "Zelos, when we're away from here, you better keep one eye open when you sleep."
As she threatened the warrior, Carbuncle came bounding in, fur mangled and unkept, pieces of food covering her small form. "W-we got to get out of here Sheena!"
Disturbed, Sheena jumped to her feet. "What's wrong?"
Hearing children laughing, Carbuncle ran underneath the couch Sheena and Zelos were sitting on and whispered loudly. "I'm not here!"
The gang of children came running in laughing and giggling. "Where's the kitty? We want to play some more!"
"Oh Carbuncle? She's right here." Zelos bent forward and pulled the guardian out from underneath the couch by her tail and smirked as he handed her back to the children. "Have fun!"
"I'm going to get you back for this Zelos! Next time you're dying, I'm not gonna bothering saving your neck!" Carbuncle shouted as the children marched away with her.
"Keep piling up the enemies, Zelos, and you won't have a safe place to hide." Kamai warned.
Zelos laughed, but scratched his head in sudden nervousness as Sheena continued to glare at him. "Maybe you're right…"
Renegade Base: Triet
Regal locked his hands in front of him out of habit and kicked the nearest dark elf in front of him before flipping backwards to throw them into the air. "Rising dragon!" He called out, then performed a standard roundhouse to kick the descending enemy away.
"Quite the technique you have."
Recognizing the voice as Megami, Regal turned slowly to face her. "So, we meet again."
"Indeed. A chance to fight one-on-one, no?" She flexed her claws and raised an eyebrow.
Moving one leg back as he leaned forward, Regal nodded. "I accept your challenge."
Megami let out a high-pitched scream that the former criminal could only translate as a battle cry and watched her carefully as she charged in with one clawed arm raised.
This was going to be an interesting battle. One who fought with just her hands, and one that fought with only his legs. As Megami came down in a wide arc, Regal raised one leg and deflected the swipe with his armored shin guards – sparks flying as a result of the interaction – and twisted around to lash out with his other leg towards her stomach.
Catching his foot before it could hit her, Megami twisted and Regal had to move with the maneuver, twisting in midair, and landed hard on his back. Megami stabbed down with her metallic attachments and Regal rolledut of the way, sweeping out a leg to trip her as he recovered and got back to his feet.
Jumping up, Regal attempted to use his Eagle fall technique, but Megami managed to flip back and avoid being flattened. Rocks and dust kicked up under Regal's heavy stance and the two were left in a stand still once more.
"We are equally matched." Megami placed on hand on her hip and let the other raise to her mouth where she ran it across her lips.
"Yes, so it would seem." Regal agreed with narrowed eyes.
In the air, Colette and Lloyd still fought Saitou together, but also had to avoid being hit from the smaller cannons and energy lasers being fired off from the Renegade Base itself. Lloyd caught sight of angel warriors coming up behind Saitou to back him up, so he flew up above them and recalled his wings. Spinning forward, he held out his swords and called out, "Psi Tempest!" Gravity taking its course, Lloyd easily slashed through four more angel warriors, leaving the general to face them by himself.
As the youth called out his wings once more and steadied himself in midair, Saitou instantly realized he was surrounded. "Have I been outmaneuvered?" He questioned.
"Ray satellite!" Colette exclaimed.
"Double demon fang!"
Where their attacks clashed, Saitou's form was completely covered in the converging mana, but when it cleared away, he was nowhere to be found.
"Damn! He got away!" Lloyd cursed.
Seeing there was still trouble down below, Colette pointed to the ground. "Lloyd, we have to help them!"
"Right! Let's go!"
The black aura around Zaichar grew until a second entity appeared out of the sphere above the dark lord. As his body formed out of the black energy, Kratos and Yuan looked upon an exact replica of Origin except this one had pale white skin and dark black hair running down his back. In each of his hands was a sword carved right out of bone and across his stomach was a black sash with the angelic symbol for death. "Meet Omega! The summon spirit of death!" Zaichar announced maniacally. "Omega! Destroy them!"
Kratos' eyes widened as he saw Yuan rush in without thinking. "Yuan no!"
Zaichar chuckled and pushed Yuan aside with one half of his weapon, while attempting to attack his exposed back with the other. But luckily Kratos was there and barely blocked it with his sword. "Even you must see the logic in my actions. People without leadership, are no smarter than cattle. This world will dissolve into nothing more than a barren wasteland. It will become another Derris-Kharlan."
Kratos pushed forward on Zaichar's butterfly sword and quickly cast a lightning spell to get the dark lord to retreat. "We have a leader. The Goddess Martel will protect this land as she has for generations."
Yuan saw an opportunity to strike at Zaichar's back now as he paid attention to Kratos and aimed a quick mana blast. "Die, Zaichar!" He exclaimed in anger.
Though Omega was gathering mana to cast a spell, he noticed Yuan's action and both he and Zaichar disappeared. Yuan's mana blast flew through the air and struck Kratos straight in the chest. "Kratos!"
The former mercenary doubled over in pain as his friend flew to his side to steady him, Yuan's thirst for revenge evaporating immediately yet replaced by worry for his dear friend.
"There is no true goddess." Omega's deep voice announced from all around. "Those with the power control everything! Retribution!"
A black ball of mana came barreling down upon the two angels as they looked up in surprise. "Energy shield!" Yuan shouted, raising his sword.
"Guardian!" Kratos followed up.
Both barriers combined to form a swirling blue shield that trembled beneath the dark attack as it struck. Both angels grunted and held it up with everything they had.
On the outside, the barrier distorted and looked like it was about to collapse when out of the sky to the East, a force of six rheairds teleported to the battlefield, instantly firing augmented cannons and lasers at the now visible dark lord. Others aimed at the ground forces, expertly avoiding their own men.
"It's the Rheaird Air Force from Flanoir!" Yuan shouted as the powerful attack against them instantly ceased.
Omega and Zaichar both wore expressions of extreme anger and growled. "We are done here!" The Dark Lord shouted to his generals. Retreat!" Disappearing, he left the details to his second-in-commands.
Megami shrugged at Regal and winked. "Until next time." She laughed and whistled, recalling all of her troops back up into the mountains; the elves leaping easily up the jagged mountainside.
Saitou was the only one left from the aerial force and he was nowhere to be found anyway, having disappeared moments later.
"Dad!" Lloyd shouted, flying down to Yuan and Kratos as they recovered from their battle on the ground. "Are you alright?" He saw the front of Kratos' armor was melted and sizzling from an energy attack.
Kratos grunted, but nodded. "I'm fine. Zaichar simply caught me unaware." He said.
Yuan bit back from saying anything, knowing he would have to speak to Kratos about the truth of the matter at a later time. If he didn't want Lloyd to know, the Renegade Leader wouldn't say anything. "Remaining here would be dangerous. Is there anywhere else we can go to rest?"
"My house. It's near Lake Umacy." Kratos said through struggled breaths.
Yuan nodded. "I'll inform the rest of your group to meet us there."
Up in the air, Colette looked around and almost had to choke down a sob as bodies lay strewn everywhere, enemies and allies alike, and blood soaking every inch of desert sand. So many people died here today. And even if they won the battle, would they truly win the war? And at what cost?
Lake Umacy
The trip was short thanks to Aska and the group sat quietly in different areas. Genis had fallen asleep in one of the bedrooms, and Raine remained in the other one studying one of her books. Presea and Sheena joined up in the kitchen, while Regal and Zelos enjoyed the silence of the living room. Carbuncle was licking her fur clean after having her second run in with the children, and glared at Zelos from time to time.
Outside, Kratos sat on the rock next to the water, looking over the mirror surface and letting his mind wonder. Now it was no longer moving gently with the breeze, but instead frozen solid because of the cold. Just recently Colette had come up to him with a suggestion, to which he agreed, and she and Yuan ventured to Luin to gather supplies. In the beginning, only the angel-girl wanted to go, but when she saw how depressed Yuan was, she insisted he come too. Kratos was just happy with the calm surrounding environment.
That calm was short lived when Lloyd came out of the house and took a seat next to him. At first the youth didn't speak, expecting Kratos to start, but when it was obvious the angel wasn't going to say anything, his son spoke first. "So…how's your wound?"
Kratos raised a hand to his chest and gingerly tested its sensitivity. "Thankfully it wasn't very deep or I would need more time to heal."
"Oh." Lloyd turned to look at the frozen lake, noticing the layer of frost covering the leaves of the trees and surrounding rocks. "So, do you think Zaichar will ever leave me alone?" He asked suddenly.
Kratos shook his head. "Not likely. We have to be the ones to stop him."
Lloyd clenched his hands and grit his teeth as the anger grew within him before he knew it. "Why?" He snapped.
Closing his eyes, the angel took a deep breath of the chilling afternoon air. "Nervous?"
Shrugging, Lloyd forced himself to calm down. "Kind of. I guess I'm a little scared too." He looked down at the ground sadly.
Raising an eyebrow in his son's direction as he opened one calculative orb, Kratos questioned, "Lloyd?" The tone of the youth's voice was peculiar and gave the angel reason to worry.
"Before this all started, I was just someone who failed at school like lots of other people. I knew the Chosen…maybe that's what doomed me. Then people started hunting me for my exsphere!"
Leaning forward so he could rest his elbows on his knees, the experienced warrior told his son something his master told to him long ago. "It is not always clear why we endure such hardships. But what is important is that we make it through."
Lloyd crossed his arms in defiance. "What if I don't want to 'make it through'?"
"I know it's difficult…"
Shooting to his feet, Lloyd faced his father with anger and frustration. "You're right! It is! If not my exsphere, it'll be the summon spirits or something else that lands in my lap! When will I get to rest? When will I get the chance to live out my life in the peaceful world that I helped to create?"
Kratos was now very disturbed and stood up to face his son. The words he spoke were unlike what his personality usually was and the angel wondered what would cause him to be so pessimistic. Lloyd had struggled through a lot, yes, but he was never one to give up and never backed down. "Lloyd…"
Lloyd slouched his shoulders and turned away back inside the house. "Forget it." He droned. "It doesn't matter."
The Next Day…Lloyd rolled over in his bed and unconsciously scratched his stomach in his sleep. Having found everyone at least some sort of accommodations somewhere in the house, both Genis and Lloyd had been stuffed in one room, while the girls were squeezed into the other seeing as it had the bigger bed. Only Yuan, Zelos, Kratos, and Regal remained in the living room, forced to sleep on the floor, though Lloyd doubted either angel slept at all. When the youth sat up and looked around, he noticed Genis had already woken up and left.
Glancing down at his shirt, Lloyd rolled his eyes as he saw he'd fallen asleep with his shirt on and that it was now all wrinkled. I guess that's the least of my problems.
I would have to agree. Origin replied. Zaichar gave up without much protest yesterday, which leads me to believe he already has other plans.
Frowning, the boy threw his legs over the side of the bed. "Well, with all those rumors he started, if we don't do something about it soon, another great war will break out." Why do I always end up in the middle of things like this?
Because Fate has chosen you to do so. Does this displease you? The human with whom I made the pact seemed determine to set things right. You are merely carrying out your wishes and dreams.
"I didn't wish for this!" Lloyd countered angrily. "I wanted to stop Mithos, yes. And I wanted a peaceful world where everyone can live equally."
Then you must fight for what you believe in. It's the only way.
Growling, Lloyd pushed off the bed and adjusted his clothing to try and get the wrinkles out. "I know, but this Zaichar is making that rather difficult!" He told the summoned spirit sarcastically.
Nothing in this world comes easily, Lloyd Irving.
"So I'm told." Sighing, Lloyd walked to the door and opened it with a lazy expression, hoping the group would catch the hint and leave him alone. But when he looked into the living room, there was no one there. "Guys?" He questioned.
Jumping out from behind the counter and couches, everyone smiled and shouted, "Surprise!"
Nearly falling over in shock, Lloyd steadied himself against the wall and looked around in disbelief. "Huh?"
Colette giggled and ran around from the counter, smiling from ear to ear. She took Lloyd's hands into hers and jumped up once. "Don't tell me you forgot? It's your 19th birthday!" She exclaimed.
Still blinking in confusion, Lloyd looked past his friend and gazed around the room. Sure enough festive decorations were strewn everywhere, thanks to Sheena and Raine's co-efforts. A wonderful spice cake now sat on the counter, made by both Presea and Genis. When the youth looked over at his father and Yuan standing half hidden behind the chair, he saw Kratos wore one of the few smiles he ever remembered him having. "This is all…for me?"
"Of course, dude!" Zelos raised his hands. "You went all spazzed out for Colette's birthday party, so she wanted to do something for yours. Nineteen, wow, you don't look a day over twelve." The swordsman joked.
"Hey!" Lloyd raised a fist in protest.
"Come on, Lloyd! You gotta try some of this cake!" Sheena exclaimed. "It took all of us to keep brain dead over there from eating it early!" She motioned over towards Zelos.
Carbuncle bounded on top of the counter and sniffed the three-layered cake hungrily. "They may have been able to stop Zelos, but you can't stop me from eating this all by myself!" She leapt for the savory baked good.
Presea caught the guardian and held her in her arms like a cat. "Now, how fair would that be to Lloyd if you left none for him?" She questioned.
Sighing, Carbuncle drooped a little. "Yeah…I guess you're right…"
Colette gave Lloyd a little tug and pulled him over to the counter. "Come on Lloyd! Today's your day!" She encouraged. Inside she knew he needed this more than anybody. It just happened to work out that today really was his birthday and Colette used the opportunity to lighten everyone's spirits. That was something she was always good at…other than falling down all the time.
Yuan looked over at Kratos with a smirk of his own. The trip with the angel-girl had been good for him, that and also apologizing profusely to his friend. He let his anger over take him and acted irrationally, resulting in his best friend getting hurt. Yuan knew Zaichar would not return to the Renegade Base if Yuan wasn't there to attack, so he would stay with Kratos' group for now. The dark elf had followed his informants' trail back to Yuan and attacked him to prevent further investigations. When the Renegade leader found the time, he would make a proper grave for his second-in-command.
While in Luin, Colette had spoken many a thing to Yuan, feeling that her opening up with him would result in him opening up with her and reveal the reason for his depression. In the end, Yuan hadn't revealed a thing, but learned quite a bit about Colette and her feelings for the half-angel boy. It was a relationship he would enjoy observing how it progressed. When he brought the manner up to Kratos, the mercenary – as always being caught up in his mission – noticed little about the girl's feelings for his son except for the fact that Lloyd was very overprotective of her. How Anna ever got through to Kratos was beyond him.
When the night calmed down, he would speak with everyone about his recent information and plan what they were going to do. As light as the mood was made out to be, they couldn't forget that Zaichar and his army were still out there somewhere. And sooner or later, he would strike again. Both male angels knew they had to prepare for other, more ruthless battles, if they were going to succeed in their struggles.
Colette pulled Lloyd away from the group in order to talk with him privately. As promised, the cake had been exquisite and Lloyd complimented both Genis and Presea's cooking skills. Around the back of the house, was a much larger patio, covered to protect them from any snowfall or rain, which wouldn't happen today since the sun shone brightly high above, granting the birthday boy a clear sunny day. The forest served as the backyard and Lloyd could see broken down training equipment that Kratos probably used to use in the days of old.
Colette stood on the edge of the patio, her hands holding something close to her heart. "I'm really glad you liked our surprise, Lloyd." She said with a smile.
Though she didn't look directly at him, Lloyd could see the blush that tinted her cheeks. "Well from what I heard, it couldn't have happened without you. Thanks."
She looked over and smiled wider. "It's the least I could do after the great present you gave me for my birthday."
Lloyd saddened and placed his hands on the hilt of one of the swords. "Yeah, really great gift. A key crest that didn't even work."
"That's not true! If you hadn't given it to me, Pronyma might've taken me to Derris-Kharlan then and Mithos would've won!" She tried to cheer him up.
As the two talked, Yuan and Kratos stood around the corner to the side of the house, watching carefully. Kratos leaned up against the wood, his arms across his chest like always, while Yuan watched straight ahead, not worrying if he got caught or not. Both angels were here to speak about something very serious. Yuan opened up his angel senses and confirmed what he already believe true. Looking at Kratos, it was unsure if he saw it too, but his friend had been his teacher in sensing mana and life forces, so it was obvious if he didn't focus on it now, it was something he had noted earlier.
Kratos saw his son's face contort with despair and regret from things in his past and worried for his son. It had been the angel's past that had held him back for so long and now he saw his son walking down that same lonely path. It had taken the loving embrace of a human female to reawaken the human side of Kratos and save him from the darkness. If Lloyd rejected that, there would be no saving him and Kratos refused to allow Anna's wish to dissolve.
"You can see it…can't you." Yuan said quietly. He saw Kratos nod solemnly before looking back towards Lloyd. "The feint black aura emanating around him…some of Zaichar's influence remains deep inside his heart."
"He will be strong enough." Kratos stated with determination, not once taking his eyes off his son.
"I hope so." Yuan sighed. "Because if not, history will repeat itself and this time we don't have a way to make the mana links to control them."
Kratos turned to Yuan and narrowed his eyes, the powerful orbs being visible through the hair covering one side of his face. "That won't happen."
"Um…Lloyd?" Colette said more quietly after their conversation ended sourly. "I got this for you. Happy birthday." She held out the charm.
"What's this?" Lloyd asked in a half annoyed manner.
The girl shied back at his tone, but continued hoping she could cheer him up. "It's a friendship charm, carved out of wood." Opening her hand she revealed two halves of a pendant, not connected to a chain at the moment. One side was of the sun and the other was a crescent moon. "They say if you give this to your soul mate, you'll always be together." Lifting the moon, she held it out for him. "This is your half. I keep the other one, that way…"
"You think something like this will keep us together?" He asked taking it from her and holding it up. "If we don't stop Zaichar, if I can't defeat Omega, then we can kiss this entire world goodbye. No matter how hard we try, the sacrifices that are made will mean nothing if another war breaks out. Thousands more could die and it would all be on my head!"
Tears brimming in her eyes, Colette shook her head. "No it won't Lloyd! You've fought hard to get us where we are and we'll keep fighting until both Zaichar and Omega are history! I know we can do it!"
"We this, we that. This isn't about you, or Genis and Raine, or even Dad. This is about Zaichar wanting my summon spirits. One-on-one with no one else. Don't you get that? Stay with me and your putting your life in danger!" He clenched his half of the charm tightly in his fist.
"I don't care! I don't ever want to leave your side, Lloyd! We're in this together!" Her tears fell freely down her cheeks, but she didn't dare give up. She would never leave Lloyd alone.
"Then don't expect me to save you every time, because I for one can't keep doing this anymore!" Leaning back from her a little bit, Lloyd looked away. "I'm tired of the fighting…Colette. It's never going to end…"
"Keep thinking like that and Zaichar's already won." Colette countered. When Lloyd looked shocked and turned to her, she couldn't hold it in anymore and ran back into the house crying.
Scoffing, Lloyd decided to go cool off and ran off in the opposite direction into the forest. "Damn it!" He exclaimed.
Inside, Sheena looked up worriedly at Zelos as Colette shook with sobs in her arms. "It's okay. I'm sure he was just stressed." She tried to sooth.
Running a fist into the palm of his other hand, Zelos growled. "I'm going to pound that kid in! You never make a woman cry!"
"Perhaps we should deeper into this." Presea commented calmly. The act of crying was foreign to her. Even with Alicia and her father, Presea didn't know how to cry and therefore didn't know how to sooth one who was crying.
Subconsciously, Raine feared what was happening to Genis was happening to Lloyd. Their group was slowly falling apart and she couldn't find a way to secure it.
"We just have to be patient." Yuan spoke to everyone as he walked into the living room.
"What does patience have to do with anything?" Carbuncle demanded. "Lloyd was just being a big jerk!" She huffed by Sheena and Colette's side.
"He…he didn't seem like Lloyd at all!" Colette hiccupped.
"We have to try and see this from his point of view." Regal commented. "Zaichar is only after Lloyd, not any of us. Because the summon spirits are now bound to Lloyd, only he is in danger of Zaichar's manipulative ways."
"We can help though." Yuan encouraged. "If we keep an eye on Lloyd and continue to join forces and stop Zaichar along the way, Lloyd will not feel the full weight of his responsibilities."
"He's right." Colette wiped away her tears. Opening her hand, she looked down at the sun carving in her half of the pendant. The two interlocked into one, but that would have to wait for another…auspicious day. "We can't give up on him yet. If we do, Lloyd will fall into darkness and be lost to us forever."
"If we stay positive, there's no way we can lose!" Genis exclaimed.
Zelos scoffed, but lowered his fist. "If you say so, but I'm still going to give him a good kick in the rear."
"I don't think that will be necessary." Yuan smirked knowingly. "Kratos has that covered."
Lloyd rested his head on the trunk of a tree and pounded the bark angrily. "Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! What am I supposed to do? I can't just wait for him to show up! I have to take the fight to him!" Punching the tree again, Lloyd sighed disheartedly.
"Why not attack something that can fight back?" Kratos asked from twenty paces away.
Looking behind him, Lloyd saw his father standing there with his sword drawn, pointed towards the ground. "What good would it do? No amount of sword skill is going to help me defeat Zaichar. With the power of Omega, he can sense and block all of my moves."
"Perhaps I should tell you how I became the swordfighter that I am today. It wasn't from training with my master. Though he taught me the basics, much of what I learned was self taught, here in this very forest."
Curious, Lloyd placed a hand on the hilt of his sword. "Really?"
Nodding, the angel continued. "There are many sounds surrounding us even when there is silence. If you learn to listen, you can find and identify those sounds and therefore see without having to see."
"What?" Lloyd asked confused. "I don't quite get it."
Sheathing his sword, Kratos bent forward and picked up a tiny rock. "Deflect this." He instructed, then threw it straight at his son.
"Whoa!" Lloyd unsheathed his swords and batted the pebble away from him. "You could've warned me!" He exclaimed angrily.
"Would Zaichar warn you?" Calling out his wings, Kratos rose above the ground – another pebble already in hand – and dashed to Lloyd's left, throwing it again.
Lloyd watched his movement and easily deflected the projectile.
"Good." His father said. "Now, close your eyes."
"What?" Lloyd asked shocked. "I won't know…"
"Just do it." Kratos cut him off. "If you want to stand a chance against Zaichar, you're going to have to learn to see without using your eyes."
Growling in annoyance, Lloyd did as told and closed his eyes. Already he could hear the wind blowing through the trees, birds singing high in the canopy, and small squirrels gathering food from the snow covered ground.
Suddenly a pebble smack into his arm and he grunted with pain. "How was I supposed to know that was coming?" He shouted, not yet opening his eyes.
"You have to listen for it." Kratos replied.
Hearing his dad's voice from behind him, Lloyd whipped around and raised his sword, but caught only air until the pebble Kratos had flew in and hit Lloyd's chest.
"Merely having your angel senses is useless if you don't know how to use them." Kratos explained.
Gritting his teeth, Lloyd tightened his hold on his swords and tried to listen harder to the sounds around him. Still hearing the same sounds, Lloyd began to get impatient. This is stupid! He thought. Then he caught the sound of Kratos' wings flowing and moving through the air. It was a higher pitch than the natural wind and focusing on it, he could separate it from the other sounds.
He heard it in front of him again, but didn't react fast enough and the stone caught him in the leg. Resuming his stance, Lloyd ignored his pain and focused again on the sounds his father made. Thinking carefully, he began to pick up the heavy material that made up his father's armor and cape, and even heard the material rubbing against itself. He's raising his arm… Lloyd thought in amazement.
When he heard that same sound but faster, he knew his dad was throwing the pebble and spun as he raised his sword. The rock made a whistling sound as it flew through the air towards him and as he waited till it got to him, he twisted his sword and pushed forward, batting it back with a clink.
Hearing his father catch something, Lloyd opened his eyes in shock and saw he'd hit it back at Kratos, the angel holding it now in his hand. "You see?"
Lloyd was open mouthed in disbelief. "See without seeing…" He repeated.
Kratos nodded with a smile of pride. "Exactly."
Lloyd scratched the back of his head and looked at the ground nervously. "You think you're still up for a quick sparring round?"
Tilting his head, Kratos juggling the rock in his gloved hand. "I suppose I could spend a few minutes teaching you a lesson." Throwing it at his son, Kratos used the distraction and withdrew his sword, flying in to battle his son.
When Lloyd and Kratos returned to the house, the group pretended like they didn't know anything and remained quite as Yuan cleared his throat. "Kratos, Lloyd, I'm glad you're back. We've been discussing the information I received from my people just before Zaichar attacked."
"What did you learn?" The angel-boy asked.
"Well some of the towns have been experiencing trouble both with outside groups and internal struggles. The Arbitrator has called a second World Council to deal with the occurrences, but we have enough time to investigate them ourselves. Perhaps we can solve this before it escalates." He suggested.
"What cities have been most affected?" Kratos asked.
"Asgard, Triet, and Sybak."
"But why us?" Zelos wondered. "Don't they have their own militias?"
"With the strife being about half-elves and humans, the militias themselves are split, being made up from both races. Any local enforcement has probably been divided."
Lloyd nodded in understand. "Okay, Colette and I can get to Asgard pretty quickly from here." Part of him wanted to apologize for the way he treated her and this way they'd be alone.
"I'll go too. You don't know if Zaichar's forces will be there in the center of the commotion." Kratos stepped up. Taking a glance over at Yuan, he saw his friend nod in understanding. As long as one of them watched over Lloyd, they could protect him from himself.
"I will head to Meltokio and tell the Arbitrator about our…counter measures." Yuan agreed.
"Me, Sheena and the lovely Raine can scoot over to Sybak and take a look around." At the end of his sentence the former Chosen smirked, thinking about the delegates and how much fun he'd have bugging them in their own hometown.
Elbowing him mid chuckle, Sheena spoke up. "In truth you just want to go with all women, don't you Zelos?" She teased knowingly.
When Zelos laughed nervously, one of his alternative motives discovered, Regal raised a hand. "I'll go. If we run into the representatives from Sybak, you're going to need me to keep Zelos in line."
"Aww! Now I don't want to go!" Zelos crossed his arms defiantly.
"The rest of us can head to Triet." Presea commented, motioning to Raine and Genis.
"I'll call my men and have them deliver us some spare rheairds for the trip." Yuan offered. "We have a week before the second World Council meets. Let's make the most of it."