Lloyd was all bluster and fluster as they entered Sybak the second time to find a familiar face headed in the opposite direction. His hands fell to his swords, ready to draw on the traitor standing in front of him.
The rest of the party shifted uneasily, most of them also adopting defensive stances. Sheena glared at the brown haired man, while Genis brandished his kendama. Raine glanced back at the others, mindful that Presea and Zelos had little idea who they were confronting. Surprisingly, Zelos was pushing forward, muttering under his breath. The Professor held out her hand, bringing Tethe'alla's Chosen to a stop. "Let us handle this."
Stepping forward, the half-elf laid a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Stop it Lloyd, we can't afford to start anything here."
The look on Kratos' face was grim, though there might have been a hint of gratitude underlying his stare. "I didn't come here to fight with you. You may call me a traitor, but you really ought to take a close look at your group. You have another traitor much closer than you think."
Ignoring the glares that the party threw at him, the angel moved towards the outskirts of the town. Just before he exited, he turned back to stare at the brown-haired boy. "If you really want to help Colette, I'd suggest starting at the library. Look for references to the ancient war. I do not know that it will change anything, but perhaps things will work out for you. Unlike..." His voice trailed off, coldly. Silence followed the angel's departure.
Raine glanced over at Lloyd, the boy gaping as he tried to come up with an answer to the angel's parting comments. Zelos glared and crossed his arms. "Hmph. Just like him to try and tear apart the loving bonds that we have to each other!"
Someone mumbled in the background, something sounding suspiciously like "what loving bonds?", but Raine ignored it to focus on Lloyd. His eyes sought the professor out, turning to the only person that he thought might know the truth. "Professor, do you think?"
Sighing, Raine shrugged half-heartedly. "I don't know. Suppose we take a look and see."
Gratitude lit up the swordsman's face for a moment. "All right! Let's go guys!"
It was, Raine reflected later, not the most dignified way to travel. The whole party sprinted after the boy as he headed for the library.
---
The library at Sybak was quite vast, and there were already a number of scholars at work there when Lloyd finally burst through the doors. He might have burst out into a frenzy of questions, but the looming presence of Raine right behind him cooled his ardor. The half-elf calmly asked the librarian for books relating to the Kharlan war.Noticing Zelos, the blonde girl eagerly led them to where the titles were stored. Then she and the Chosen disappeared towards the front again, talking in whispers all the while.
Sheena sighed audibly with Zelos' quick departure. "Saved by blonde-haired maidens." She quipped to herself, before joining the others in perusing the several volumes that dealt with the war's history. An hour passed as they read, then another. Surprisingly, Lloyd wasn't complaining about it being boring, though he did look wistfully out of the window. Sheena mentally congratulated the boy on his restraint, and then went back to reading.
Most of what was recorded was the dry history of numbers and dates, with enough narrative of the events to flesh out the legends of the time. Most of the volumes dealt with the kingdoms and their interactions and multitude of battles. Very few references pointed to the tiny group that had in the end caused the truce to come about. In fact, the only one mentioned by name by most of the authors was Mithos the Hero. "So Mithos and his companions brought about the end of the Kharlan War." Another text placed in the 'useless' pile.
The girl sighed and rested her head in her hands for a moment. It seemed to be a dead end, with yet another worthless suggestion from the angelic traitor. Yet he'd sounded regretful when he spoke...
Sheena glanced over at Raine, hoping that the professor would have found something of use, anything that might vindicate the tiny voice that shouted that 'he was trying to help'. In fact, Raine seemed to be engrossed in the book that she was looking through, even though her stack of books was twice as tall as everyone else's.
Finally she leafed through the last few pages and set the book aside carefully. The half-elf looked up to find everyone staring at her expectantly. "Hmm?"
"Did you find anything?" Genis seemed annoyed at his sister's assumed naïveté.
"Oh, I found many things, but nothing related to Colette's illness." Raine looked pensive for a moment, bracing her chin in her hand. "Perhaps they have more that were loaned out to a scholar of history?"
"So..." Zelos' overcheerful voice cut through the silence that followed. "Did you guys find anything?"
"No." Sheena's voice was blunt. The red-headed Chosen grinned and sat down. "Ah! I see. Don't worry, the Great Zelos will think about this, and maybe I'll remember somewhere else that we can look for a cure."
"Thanks Zelos."
Lloyd was sincerely grateful when he turned to Tethe'alla's Chosen, and it grated on Sheena that he always took things in stride. Perhaps it was just the way Lloyd was made, but you would think that he would at least understand that people had ulterior motives for their offers sometimes. Okay, maybe not. This was, after all, Lloyd. The summoner sighed and stood up.
"I assume you had fun, Zelos."
His sly smile was answer enough. "Oh yes. I helped her with some real life application to some of her book-learning questions. She was a quick study."
Sheena rolled her eyes. "Now that I didn't even want to hear."
"Now, now, don't get all jealous! If you really wanted to I could..." Zelos let his sentence trail off at the glare he received.
"Shut up, Zelos."
"Alas, what torments I must endure because I am the gift of the gods!" Zelos jumped up again, blithely ignoring the raven-haired beauty behind him. "Shall we take the fair Presea home now?"
---
Kratos sighed inaudibly as he left the vicinity of Sybak. Running into Lloyd at Sybak had been a fluke encounter. He'd thought it would be easy to keep tabs on the Chosen's journey without running into the party. He'd reasoned that he could even help them along a little without encountering them, maybe smooth the path a little. Unfortunately, he'd not counted on Lloyd's dumb luck...
A light breeze played with his hair as he continued musing. He might still have a lingering sense of loyalty to Mithos, but that didn't negate his love for his son. Not to mention the fragile bonds that he'd formed with the rest of the party during the time he travelled with them. Whatever they might think about him, he really did not have a wish to see them injured in any way.
And he was getting tired of playing a good little seraphim.
The grass bent lightly under his feet as he wandered into the dark forest. Most angels prefered to float around, but Kratos found it refreshing to walk across the ground. While it might be time consuming, it also allowed him to reconnect with a picture that was bigger than himself. The world around him sang, even the darkness of the forest that he was wandering in. It was a small pleasure that he'd indulged himself in more lately. Especially after speaking with the Storyteller...
Suddenly he halted, sensing another presence behind him. It was familiar, this sensation, and Kratos spoke to the wind. "Come out Pronyma. Following me like this is ridiculous."
The female's green tresses came into view as she morphed out of the shadows. "Hello, Kratos. Lord Mithos wishes to understand why you have been skulking about lately. It has him concerned." Her disdain showed in her eyes as she glared at the only human angel.
Kratos crossed his arms and stared back impassively. He'd had the feeling that something like this would happen. Ever since he'd run off with Anna, Mithos had tried to keep him on a leash, however long that leash may have been. His voice sounded bored as he replied to the implied question. "Indeed? I would think that he would find it interesting to know then, that Colette possesses the same illness that struck his sister when she was transforming into an angel. I merely passed along the information that will allow them to find the cure."
"Was that wise, Kratos?" Pronyma shifted, her strange cloak floating around her shoulders. "After all, they wish to keep the Chosen from fulfilling her destiny as the New Martel."
"It will be useless to us if she becomes the crystal. A lifeless gem is beautiful, but has no worth in the long run. It will save time for her party to gain the cure for her, plus it will keep them from encountering any more of the spirits for the time being. If the links are broken, it may destabilize the entire world, and destroy any hope of resurrecting Martel." Kratos shrugged. "I suppose that the world is going to be destroyed anyway, but until Martel returns, Mithos does not want such a cataclysm to occur."
He turned his back on her and resumed his walk. "If you have any more questions, at least wait until I return to Cruxis to ask them. Lloyd and the others should be coming through here in another ten minutes or so. I highly doubt that either one of us would be welcome."
There was a surge of mana behind him and the angel turned to see faint black feathers falling to the ground where Pronyma had once stood. Sighing again, Kratos took wing and exited the area. Perhaps he should never have become an angel in the first place...
---
The lone figure approaching the gates was not unknown to the two Elves on guard there. In fact, he had been to the area many times before. When he passed them by, they merely stood at their posts, pretending not to notice the deep sadness in his eyes. His footsteps faded on the forest path behind them before they moved again. It was the proper routine, a tiny amount of respect that was afforded to the human.
After all, he was going to visit Origin.
---
AN: Yes, I know. Romance, romance, romance... And yes, it is coming. The story just keeps writing itself out, and I've been advised not to force things. However, just in case you're dispairing, Sheena and Kratos are going to go introspective at least a little bit in the next chapter, Kratos with Origin, and Sheena with someone else.
Oh yeah, Pronyma had a little time in the spotlight just because she doesn't really get much in the game. Mithos really abuses her, what with her dying devotion to him and all. He really is a monster. Ahem, well, that's why she got to appear in this chapter. (Plus the fact that it just wrote down so well. :P )
Anyway, see you next time! And thanks to those of you who reviewed recently, it means a lot to know that this work of fiction is read and appreciated! (And those who have reviewed this work, period!)
Trevor X