Authors Note: Hello everyone! I know I said I wouldn't continue it unless someone replied... but I couldn't help it! Ohohohohohohohoho! I like writing very much, so now I'm going to write... Chapter one! Get ready... And no, I can't spell Rheard. Reinad? Rhieard? GAH! Well, you know, those little flying... things.
I caaan't spelll... And I don't have spell check. Woe am I.
Chapter One
'Why did she kiss me?' Zelos wondered as she sat on his lap, unconsious, and clinging to his pink top in her sleep as if for dear life.
Every now and then she would
wimper, as if she was afraid, or in great pain. Everyone exept Sheena had throught it best that Kage ride with him since she didn't seem to be too comfortable in anyone
elses Rheards. 'This... is going to be a nuisance.' He realized as he looked down for a brief moment at the young girl. What were they going to do with her? Zelos was all
for leaving her in someone elses hands, but he couldn't just leave a possible member of Cruxis on someones doorstep... And it just so happens that the same thing was on
the other peoples minds as well. Voices floated on the breeze and reached the Chosen of Tethe'alla's ears. He was flying slowly in the back, as to not desturb the girl. He
only heard snaches of the conversation though. "What if...Mithos...Trust." That was Genis. "No...much like...abandoned." That was Raine. What about? Ah. "Never...
pervert...Meltokyo?" Sheena spoke up. 'So. Genis is worried that Kage will end up like Mithos did, Raine thought that she might of been abandoned, and Sheena wanted to
leave her at his house in Meltokyo. Not gonna happen.' Zelos thought to himself. After all, the girl looked weak, but Yggdrasil was no pro-wrestler yet... he could still kick
your ass, who was to say she wasn't the same? Zelos decided he would propose keeping her on the team when they reached his house. They were supposed to be
heading for the Tower of Salvation, where he would complete his job of betraying them all, but it seemed Cruxis must have other plans for him. Why couldn't anyone make
up they're freaking mind? They would have to have new plans for him. Why else would he have gotten a message from one of the angels that he was to abandon his current
task and instead pick up some weak chick? Mabye they wanted her as Martels Vessel. Sure would save time. It didn't seem like anyone was really interested in
protecting her and he really was starting to doubt she could protect herself.
Zelos let his mind wander down that path. If she was Martels new Vessel he wouldn't have to fight Lloyd and the others, whom he was really starting to grow fond
of. He still wouldn't be a sacrifice, and...The young girl squirmed in his lap, as if sensing his thoughts. One of the sleeves of her too-large shirt (they had had to change her
clothes because hers were destroyed, so she had 'borrowed' one of Zelos' undershirts) slipped off of her shoulder revealing a slim pale neck and... 'What the-' a little above
the crook of her arm, right under her collar-bone was a small tatoo of a strange symbol with wings growing out of it. His hand reached out as if to put it back onto her
shoulder, but he instead traced the gentle curves of the symbol. 'Where have I seen this...?' The girl shifted at his touch and curled around his arm. Zelos quickly snapped
back into reality, and pulled up the sleeve of her shirt with his free hand. 'How am I going to steer like this?' He grumbled internally. "Where am I...?" Ah. So the girl was
finally awake. Where was she? 'Is she just stupid, or does she really have no idea?' Suddenly the girl sat up sharply. 'Holy shi-' How did she get better so quickly? Wasn't
she in horrible agony just a moment ago? He watched her with interest as she leaned over the side of his Rheard. Kages eyes widended "It wasn't a dream! This is.. real?
Is this all really, really, real?" Kage whispered, as if she was afraid speaking too loudly would cause everything around her to shatter.
Zelos was shocked. Why did she seem so happy to be here? Didn't she know what was happening everywhere? If she was of Cruxis wouldn't she know of his
trechery? Why does she seem so... glad? He was pulled out of his thoughts by a choking sound. His heart skipped a beat. 'Is she... crying?' He didn't say anything for a
moment, then had an idea. "Hunny, Don't cry! You're face will look all funny if you do... " The crying almost immediently stopped
and she turned away from the edge and hugged him. "Thank you.. Zel-kun. The moon must of answered my wish..." and then she fell asleep again. 'What is she,
narceleptic?' He thought. 'And why Zel-kun?' What is 'kun'? is it some kind of sausage? 'Great. Now I'm starting to sound like Lloyd. "Hey, professor, is a philanderer
somthing you can eat...?"' he thought, and then abruptly giggled. 'GIGGLES?' Now Zelos was desturbed.
A couple of hours passed and soon they had reached the gate of Meltokyo, which they flew over. The group jumped off the Rheards, Zelos last because he was
holding Kage, then Lloyd flicked his wrist and the Rheards vanished. "Lets go inside." Lloyd motioned towars Zelos' house, which he always kept unlocked for some weird
reason. Zelos, still pretending to be tired immidiantly opted that they all stay at his place and sleep for the night. The others agreed. The only problem was where the girl
would sleep. Zelos' home was huge, but he barely had enough room for the eight party members alone, much less a ninth one. Generally Lloyd would sleep in the same
room as Zelos, but instead, tonight Lloyd would sleep with Regal and Kage would sleep with Zelos, because she seemed permenantly attached to his shirt.
"Sorry, Zelos, you have to sleep with Kage tonight. I'll sleep with Regal, K?" Lloyd waved a goodnight to Zelos and went to bed. Zelos stared at the lump of female
flesh attached to him. "..." Zelos sweatdropped. "Well, no bath tonight, I guess." Zelos said aloud, but he really didn't want to sleep next to a dirty little girl in
his clean bed, so he woke up Sebastian and asked him to prepare the bath. "Will you be bathing together, Master Zelos?" "Ah! Ahhh ummm... no. Not at all. No. Nope."
Zelos stammered out. 'What is wrong with me? I need to fix this...' "Actually, I might have to be with her when she bathes shes kind of... unconsious. Get one of the maids
to bathe her. I'll stay by her side, she freaks out when I'm not around." That much was true. It seemed that whenever Zelos tried to give her to someone else, she would try
and squeeze him to death. It would be better to have her near him at all times. 'Martel, I hope this isn't what Yggdrasil meant by "gaurdian".' "As you wish, Sir." Sebastian
called over one of the maids, and they took her to the bathroom.
The bathwater was already drawn when they went in, and the maids removed her from him, and then her clothes. When Zelos tried to look, one of the older maids
hit him and gave him a repremanding look. "Oooooooooooooooooooooooowwww..." Zelos cried. "Don't be such a pervert, chosen!" The maid hissed, and looked at the girl.
"By Martel..." The woman whispered, and looking up at the now unclothed girl, who had to be held up by the maids so she wouldn't slip into the water too far, Zelos took in
a sharp breath. "Oh...my...Goddess..." He whispered. The girl, Kage, was but a shadow of a child. Her skin streched taut over her bones like she hadn't eaten very well in
a long time, and they're were bruises all over her arms and legs. She had a long thin scar on her back, and was as pale as death under all of the grime that covered her
body. All of this destracted her from the unusual tatoo. "Zelos," The maid whispered, forgetting her position momentarily. "What happened to her? Where is she from...?"
Zelos replied grimly, "I don't know, Marie, I... don't know."
After they had bathed Kage carefully, the donned her in a set of the chosens old clothes that had shrunk in the wash. They were exactly the same as his clothes,
exept where he had a black undershirt, she had white, and where he had a pink top, she had navy. The gold on his clothes were on (now) her own silver, and the pants
remained the same. For her to sleep in, she wore only the undershirt, and the pants. They kept the over-coat, the white gloves, and the dark brown shoes seperate. Zelos
thought Kage looked good in his clothes, and wondered if she joined the group what kind of weapon she would use, but he swiftly repremanded himself. The girl was sick.
She couldn't go with them... could she? If by some... miracle... she managed to get better... Zelos had an idea, and made up his mind. He gave a brief thanks to the maids,
and went to the room as if to sleep. He waited a while, and after all of the others were asleep, he used his angelic gift of being super quiet to dress her in the remaining
clothes, and took her outside to his Rheard. He wasn't sure why he was doing this, but he felt he needed to.
He sat her in front of him, and positioned her between his legs so he could fly, and she wouldn't fall out. Holding her tightly with his legs, he launched into the air,
hopind he didn't wake up his companions. In the dim steet lights, though, if he had bothered to look back, he would see the shine of lavender in the corner of the street...
Kage felt wind blowing against her, and the warmth of somthing close to her. 'What could it be?' She thought, and tried to raise her head, but it was difficult. She
hadn't realized she was so weak. She hadn't felt this way on Earth... As she strained to move, she felt a warm hand touch her shoulder, and she heard Zelos' soft voice.
"It's going to be O.K. I'm taking you to... a doctor." Of sorts. He murmured. 'A doctor? Why a doctor? I should be fine...' Kage thought. 'Why would... Zelos... care?'
"What?" She heard him ask, and it seemed like he was far away. She hadn't realized she had been speaking aloud her thoughts. Kage smiled up at him. "Thank... you..."
She managed to get out, and tucked herself up to his chest, let out a sigh, and went to sleep.
Zelos looked at her worriedly. 'What was wrong with her? She wasn't this bad when we found her... and her Mana is getting weaker and weaker.' He found himself
worrying. What was he going to do? He had to take her to someone. This seemed too complicated for an ordinary doctor, and who in Cruxis could he trust...? Wait a
minute... 'Kratos' He thought irritably. He hated the man, but he had no choice. With a sigh of his own, he turned his plane around and headed forth, to Welgaia.
Kratos sat, bored, in his office. He had seen Zelos carry off the unusual young girl, and head in the direction of Flanoir, and saw the look of worry on the Lecherous
Chosens face. He knew he should be helping Lloyd and the others save Colette, after all, Zelos had refused to help. 'A traitor.' Thought Kratos, who was also a traitor. 'We
are like twin stars...' Kratos was tossed out of his thoughts by a sharp rap of the door, Kratos turned to open, and found the opject of his thoughts kneeling on the floor
before him, eyes wide with panic. "Please, help her!" Kratos's eyes caught on the small female in his arms and gasped. 'So this is what Mithos had been worrying about
before. The 'gaurdian' has finally come. The Lady of his nightmares.' Kratos had changed when he got back, into his 'judgment' attire, and looked at Zelos in the eye. He
could have some fun with this.
"So.. the traitor is asking the father of the man he has betrayed for help, when he himself would give none. How amusing." Kratos said coldly. Zelos looked at him
back in the eyes. "Yes, a traitor. Please..." Kratos looked at the lithe chosen. "And what would you do in return?" Kratos asked a smirk forming on his lips. Zelos blanched
at the thoughts that filled his head, but retained his composure. "I... will help you're son." Zelos muttered, unsure of why he would. 'You already are.' Thought Kratos,
looking at the girl in his lap. 'He really has no idea who she is... or does he?' "Zelos." The chosen looked up. "Do you... know who she is?" Zelos' eyes widened in shock.
"Yes..." he hissed. "She is Kage." 'Does he know?' Thought Zelos. 'Does he know the truth?'
Kratos was amused. Zelos had turned defensive. Very well, Kratos knew what he needed to. Zelos probably knew she was important somehow, just not why.
"Alright." Kratos said, trying to sound like he was accepting it remorsefully. "As long as you help me and... do not betray my son." Zelos looked at him and nodded.
"Ok" Kratos looked at the girl. "It seems her Mana has been being drained from her body. How long has she been here? She is not... of this world." Kratos murmured.
Zelos looked up at him, 'How can you tell?' etched perfectly into his face. "It's her Mana that is left. It's the polar opposite of the Mana we have here. In Sylvarant, or
Tethe'alla. I doubt very much she will be able to survive here... unless..." Now Kratos actually thought for a moment. The other things he already knew he had learned from
his former apprentice, but this... was strange.
"Unless what?" Zelos asked, fear evident in his eyes. 'Does he know how he looks?' Wondered Kratos. 'Nah, probably isn't even aware what she is to him.'
"Unless... Now this is important, Zelos, are you really willing to make this decision for her? You know how it feels to not have a choice. I'll tell you, but you have to promise
to think on it before saying 'yes', alright?" Kratos said, seriously. "Alright, alright, yeah, yeah, yeah, Okaaayyyy..." Zelos muttered loudly. Kratos was amused. "We can
turn her... into an 'angel'." The smile dissapeared off the Chosens face. "An...A-angel?" Zelos had gone through that process, quickly, yes, but is still wasn't fun.
"An Angel. Now think on that." Kratos stood silent, waiting for Tethe'alla's would-be-chosens answer. "Is they're no other way?" 'Goddess. Now I'm really starting to
sound like Lloyd.' His voice came out as a squeak. "...No. Besides returning her to her own world, which I don't think is possible at this moment in time. Mabye never."
Zelos remembered how happy she had been to be in Tethe'alla. How she had looked so peaceful near them all. "...OK. I think it will be fine. She can... handle it." Kratos
nodded, and led her into the back room behind his office, where he stored his extra crystals...
When Kage woke up, she couldn't feel anything. No warmth, no cold, nothing. She almost immidiantly panicked. She was sitting up now, in a bed that did not
look familiar, and she realized that it was late. She lay back down and tried to sleep, but found she couldn't. 'Whats... happening to me?' Kage tried to open her mouth
to speak but nothing came out. She stood up, and tried to walk to the door, but due to her lack of nerves, she was un-coordinated, and fell down. She opened her mouth,
and gasped and the sudden impact, but felt no pain. Her eyes widened, and she struggled to stand. Finally, she got up, balanced somewhat, and opened the door, leaning
on it for support. The hallway was empty. She seemed to be in a big, metal place. She wandered down the halls, noting how familiar this part of the building seemed to her,
and stopped when she reached an open space. Her eyes widened. There were four guards, who looked like Desians patrolling the area. 'No, not Desians... Renegades?'
Kage looked around. None of them payed her any mind, and she walked around a bit. 'Why am I here? Why am I in a Renegade base? Why do they act like I belong
here? Whats going on?'
She wandered up a couple of stairs, and through a couple of doors, until she reached a place that looked really familiar. 'What am I doing in Sylvarants Renegade
base!' Kage howled in her head. She couldn't feel. She couldn't speak. She was in a video game world. She was in... Zelos's clothes!
That did it. "WHAT!" She screamed aloud, causing a group of gaurds that were munching on sandwiches nearby to stare at her in confusion. "Hey!" Kage giggled. "I can
speak now! Hell Yeah!" She paused a moment. "...And I don't feel so weak anymore." 'but I still can't feel anything...' She realized sadly.
"That would make sense, Kage, after all, you are an Angel now, and angels are not weak." Kage turned towards the voice, and was met with the most handsome
man she had ever seen, besides Zelos, of course. "Y-yuan...?" Kage blushed 'An angel... how? Oh, right... I can't feel so..' "Yes, I am Yuan." The blue haired elven man
said smoothly. "Uh... Yuan, I know this is a stupid question, but..." Yuan waited for a gut wrenching question, he expected it. When he had turned angel, he had suffered a
great loss as well. "Where are my wings?"
Yuan stared at the girl for a while, then burst out laughing. It looked so strange to Kage, who had never see him do anything but scowl, that she burst out laughing,
as well. "Whats going on here?" Kage and Yuan both stopped laughing immediantly, and tried to don they're most serious expressions. It was Kratos. "Uh... nothing?"
Kages' tone of extreme stupidity almost caused Yuan to burst out laughing again, but he restrained himself. "I was mearly speaking to my guest." Yuan spoke calmly.
Kratos tilted his head to the side. "Really, now? I could of sworn I heard raucious laughter while I was in my office... on the other side of the building."
Kage looked down at her feet, like a child repremanded, and muttered. "I'm... sorry." The word tasted funny in her mouth, she had never had to say it before. Where
she came from, she was considered wealthy, so no one ever bothered with her. Kratos looked at her for a moment and smiled. "No. It's alright. It's good to laugh." Kage
looked up into his eyes. "You are Kratos." She said, feeling the need to let out all of her Knowladge of the situation out. At once. "You are an angel, and your son is Lloyd
Irving. We are currently in Sylvarant's Renegade base. The Renegades are run by the great-almighty Yuan of ultimate blue hair, who is an old aquantance, and a fellow
angel. Zelos Wilder will betray Lloyds group if people continue to show him contempt, and then he will die. I am now an angel. I am... no longer human?" Kratos and Yuan's
eyes bugged out. "How...?" Kratos said. "In my world... you are part of an unusual myth." That was part true. They where game characters. "I know... almost
everything about you, I would assume."
Yuan was silent a moment. Then, "Ultimate blue hair?" "Totally, man." Kage smiled.
A.N. So, that was the first chapter. Not much, I'm sorry, but I'll get to work on the next one right away! ;; It's getting... silly.