A/N: Okay, I know this is shorter, but I just wanted to give information about the main plot. Yay, the main plot! drums Ahem, well, this is for those who were wondering (I don't think anyone even cared >. >) Alfred, the peeping tom, was rescued by pirates, then married a woman named Lolawho gave birth to their son, Aifred. Yeah,that Aifred.

Chapter 6

Unforgettable Truth

"So… When will the training start?" Lloyd asked bending his arms behind his head.

"It has already started." Kratos said plainly.

"Uh… Really?" he stopped and looked around as if there were a huge sign where he could read when had the training started.

Kratos sighed, "From the moment we stepped out of Dirk's house. Don't you think walking is an exercise?"

"Well, yeah, but… " he thought for a moment, "Okay! But I wanna know when the real training starts. You know the fighting with swords and all."

Kratos pondered for a few minutes, and then he finally said, "Do you how to defend yourself without a sword?"

"…No." Lloyd replied plainly.

"Hmm… thought so." He walked over to Lloyd and retrieved his twin blades.

"Wait! What are you doing?"

"Teaching you how to fight with your bare hands." He said glancing back at him.

The boy stared at him in horror. He instinctively touched his left hand, just where the Exsphere was… but there was no Exsphere anymore.

Kratos looked at the empty mount, "Where is your Exsphere?"

"Oh, I gave it to Colette…" he blushed at the thought of his beloved one.

"…So that's why you were so weak earlier."

"Yeah, I guess so. I'm not used to travel without my Exsphere." He said stretching his arms.

"I'm sorry. I've been pushing you a lot. I didn't know you hadn't your Exsphere with you." He said concerned.

"Don't worry, it's not your fault. I didn't tell you about it. I think it slipped off my mind with all that was going," he blushed even more at the memory of his first kiss.

"…You really seem to care about the Chosen." mocked a voice behind them.

Both turned around and found a blue haired man with a black cape standing there, arms crossed.

"Yuan!" Lloyd shouted trying to unsheathe his swords. He realized he didn't have them with him anymore and tried to attack him with his bare hands. The angel just dodged effortlessly and Lloyd fell to the floor.

Yuan, one of the Four Seraphim, laughed at Lloyd's futile efforts to attack him, "How cute: The angel teaching his son how to fight."

"…Yuan, what are you doing here?" asked Kratos placing a hand on Lloyd's shoulder to prevent any more attacking.

"I wish to speak with you, Kratos." He said recovering his serious tone.

"About what?" Kratos said raising an eyebrow.

"Let's not talk here, shall we?" he said looking around. Although there were only a few cacti around and nothing but sand, it seemed he thought that someone could have been listening.

Yuan led them to the Renegade base. When they reached it, Lloyd saw that the security was even heavier.

"Uh… Yuan? Why are so many Renegades guarding the entrance?" he asked curious.

"Come on, I'll tell you everything in a minute." He answered.

They walked through the base until they reached Yuan's office. The blue haired angel walked to his desk and closed his eyes for a moment. Kratos and Lloyd waiting for him to speak.

"Kratos, I have some terrible news." He said finally.

"Terrible? Why so? What happened?"

Yuan sighed, "It seemed some Desians were roaming near the Giant Tree…"

"…Yggdrasill Tree…" Lloyd corrected him.

"Yes, the Yggdrasill Tree. I was worried that they may attack the Tree, so I sent some Renegades to take care of them."

"So what? Did the Desians kill your patrol?" Lloyd asked.

"No, they managed to win. But that's not what I'm talking about." He explained, "I got some information about a Desian leader. His name is Grymal."

"Grymal… Hmmm… I think I've heard that name before." Kratos said.

"Yes. He was the leader of the Desian Grand Cardinals… a long time ago." He said, "But Yggdrasill replaced him with Pronyma after Grymal tried to kill him. Grymal was reduced to a mere Desian. Of course, he left."

"What? I thought he had died." Kratos looked surprised.

"Yes. That's what Mithos told us, anyway. But I investigated more and found out that Grymal had been developing some thing called… The Angelus Project."

"What! That's… not possible! Kvar was the one who developed it!" Lloyd shouted.

"Lloyd's right. Kvar was the one who created that wicked project." Kratos said looking at Yuan who remained calm.

"Exactly. That's what we all thought." He started, "But the truth is that Grymal developed every bit of the Angelus Project, but was Kvar the one who made it happen."

"So what are you saying? Is Grymal back or…?"

"I'm afraid you're right: Grymal has come back. But I don't know what he is trying to do. Now that Mithos is gone, I don't understand why he returned. He desired to destroy Yggdrasill with his Angelus Project, that's why he started it in the first place. The Cruxis Crystal that was to be created from the Angelus Project is in fact the most powerful Exsphere. Unfortunately for Grymal, Mithos found out and he had to hide all his data. But when he was transferred to another Ranch, he left all his data at the Asgard Ranch… And Kvar found it all."

Kratos had sat down and was listening with his eyes closed.

"Lloyd, your Exsphere is the result of that Angelus Project. The only one Kvar managed to get. Your Exsphere is the ultimate lifeless being."

Lloyd's eyes widen in horror. Kratos opened his and stared at Yuan who remained there with a crisp look.

"I'm afraid Grymal is trying to get what was stolen from him," Yuan said seriously, "He knows you're not in the village. And he will do anything to get it back."

There was a long pause. Lloyd lowered his eyes to his feet, thinking as hard as he could. Finally a thought occurred to him.

"Hey, wait a minute! Grymal thinks I have my Exsphere with me, right? But the truth is that Colette's got it. Even if he finds us, he won't be able to get a hold of it!"

Kratos shook his head, "That could be worse. If he manages to find out you don't have it, he will go to the village and try to take it by force. I don't want to imagine what could happen to Colette and the others."

"Dammit! What are we supposed to do?"

"I've been searching for Grymal's hideout and we've almost found it. Don't worry about it… for now. If I'm unable to kill him, I'll send you a message so you can be more careful." Yuan said that in a tone that implied that the conversation was over. Kratos, knowing well that tone, rose to his feet and thanked Yuan, dragging Lloyd with him out of the base.

vvvvv

"Humph. I think we should start training now. After what we just heard… you must be able to defend yourself without your swords." Kratos said once they were outside the Renegade Base.

"Yeah… But could you please give me back my swords? I feel vulnerable without them." Lloyd whined.

"Not yet. First, you need to learn to defend yourself." Kratos said frowning.

"Aw, man! Okay… Gee, let's get this over with." the teenage said.

Kratos sighed in frustration, "Very well, try to hit me."

Lloyd looked at him incredulous. That had to be the easiest thing Kratos had ever asked him to do. I mean, how hard could it be?

The boy ran towards his father and punched him… or at least, he tried. Kratos had easily dodged by moving to the side.

Lloyd stumbled for a few seconds, then realized he hadn't hit Kratos so he ran and tried to hit him again, at which Kratos moved and made Lloyd fell to the ground.

Kratos chuckled and helped Lloyd get up, "Ugh! It can't be that hard, if Regal does it…"

Kratos raised an eyebrow, "You're talking as if Regal was an idiot."

"No, I'm not saying that!" the boy said angrily.

"It sounded like it. Anyway, what you are doing is merely throwing yourself into me. Your movements can be predicted, and that's how I manage to move. What you need to do is stay still and wait for your opponent to move first; then find a weak spot and hit."

Lloyd stared at him dumbfounded, "I don't quite get it, but I got it."

Now it was Kratos' time to stare.