Disclaimer: All appearing characters and places belong to Namco unless otherwise specified.

The O-dai themes belong to the Zeroshii-Wa, at http/deburu98249.jog. but written correctly. If you visit, don't steal!

Setting: Before the events in the Tower of Salvation.

Warnings: Zelos likes nudes. Might look like angst at the beginning.


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Normal Version,

#12 – Salvation

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He tried to remember. It hadn't been a conscious urge – he had basically acted on impulse, no thinking.

The Otherworldly Gate was shining just before their eyes and they were surrounded by the Papal Knights and a man dressed in red, whose name she had once said meant 'Snake'.

He wondered what her name meant, and then shook his head.

He had felt angry, he remembered, when she, instead of doing what was logical (running towards the gate) had offered herself as a sacrifice...

...he had almost hated her right then because just for an instant she had been just like him. Hated, helpless, not really willing to die but actually wanting to die.

He had hated her and hated himself and then he had yelled something he couldn't remember and dragged her towards the shining Gate.

And so he had been the first Tethe'allan male to ever step into the declining world of Sylvarant.

Zelos Wilder had never believed in salvation, or at least not until that moment when, falling towards the Sylvarantian meadows he realized he had, for the first time in his life, saved someone.

He fell on top of her, both dazzled and confused, and then he heard the others yelling above his head as they followed before she started screaming at him to get off.

Sheena Fujibayashi had glared at him like never before, but he understood how she felt. He, too, would've gotten angry if someone frustrated his try at suicide.

But he hadn't cared. He felt oddly good about himself (a feeling almost alien) and so he grinned.

Now, Goddess knew how many days later, under a full moon, he sat outside of Altessa's house, legs crossed and head turned to the sky. All the others were inside, waiting anxiously for Raine and the Flanoir doctor to come out of the dwarf's room and give their verdict.

He, however, had many things to think of, so he had retired and stepped outside.

But the moon wasn't allowing him to think. That night, too, the moon had been round and full, so he thought about it, and that night reminded him of many, many other things... some he didn't want to remember, some that he loved as much as they hurt, and a few others that made him smile.

"What are you doing out there?"

He half turned around to see the woman that had been bothering his thoughts standing at the doorway, half covering herself with a travel-worn mantle.

"Keeping guard, of course," he grinned, "Just in case any evil angels try to come finish their master's work."

She laughed just once. "We can't spare the doctors right now, so don't expect any help tomorrow if you hurt!"

"Ah, your lack of trust wound my heart," he answered with a fake sigh. "So... any news on the old man?"

"Altessa?" she shook her head. "Nothing yet."

"Ah..." he turned around once more and suppressed a sigh. "Bah, don't know what you're worrying about. That guy's way too stubborn to die."

He almost jumped, surprised, when she sat down next to him. Ninja training, he though, she was supposed to be silent.

"Don't you worry?" the girl asked, clutching the mantle close to her. "Not only about Altessa... I mean... all that happened in just a few hours..."

"Yeah, well..." he stopped, unsure of what to say. He had known this was coming, and yet... "What will be will be, right? Can't change the flow of things."

Sheena frowned. "That's too pessimistic, coming from you."

"Y'think? Well, I guess that being the Chosen you get used to thinking like that," he was being too serious, it seemed to him, so he turned and grinned. "And being the Chosen, what will be will be good, of course!"

"...if you had to go through the same Colette did?"

He forced his grin to stay plastered on his face. She was being too serious. "The same applies."

"Mmmh..." the girl turned her eyes to the sky and said nothing. He respected that silence and stared ahead, trying to think of what he had wanted to think way before, when he first stepped outside and before he noticed the full moon.

This second try, however, was interrupted when Sheena spoke once more, still looking at the sky. "There was a full moon too, the night we found the Otherworldly Gate."

"...really?" he asked, trying to make his tone as though he was bored. In reality he could've sworn his heart had skipped a beat when he realized that, when seeing the moon, she had thought of the same thing he had.

"Yeah," she continued, ignorant of his inner reaction, "I think I remember looking at it from the Rehaird before we landed."

"I don't think I noticed."

"You?" she turned to him and arched an eyebrow, a rather mocking smile on her face. "I would've thought you, of all people, would've noticed a full moon."

Zelos grinned. "Well, only when I have a pretty girl close..."

Sheena rolled her eyes. "Had to be..."

"Have I mentioned how lovely your skin looks under the moon?"

"That line's so..."

"Perhaps you should strip, I'm sure you'd look stunning."

The ninja punched him in the upper arm and he rubbed the area with a pained smirk.

"You know, girls in Meltokio don't hit that strongly..."

"Ah, so they hit now?"

"Of course," he nodded, "It's a natural tradition to punch the man you like."

"Well, in Mizuho it's a tradition to punch any idiot who makes passes at the girls."

"Aaaand that's the beauty of mistranslation!" the Chosen exclaimed happily, and much to his credit she laughed a little.

"...so what about it, then?"

"What about what?" she answered.

"The moon and that."

"Ah, yeah..." she looked aside, first at her feet and then up at the sky again. He though she was blushing. "I just remembered... you know? About that night."

"Mmh?"

"Yes... the thing with Kuchinawa and all that... remember?"

"Yes?."

"Well," again, she looked to her feet and then forced herself to look at him, obviously uncomfortable. "I didn't really thank you."

She had been forced by Raine and Colette to utter a very forced 'thanks', he remembered.

The most logical and sensitive thing to do would've been to tell her not to worry, that it wasn't necessary and that he understood. The most Zelos thing to do, of course, was to grin and say

"And you didn't give me my kiss either! Would you like to make up for that now?"

She hit him again.

"And there's your love for me speaking again..."

"Idiot! Here I'm trying to be sensitive and you...!"

"Yes, yes," he laughed, once more rubbing his arm. He'd have a bruise in the morning. She got up. "What, you're leaving already?"

"You should get some sleep, too," she answered. "Goddess knows what we'll end up doing tomorrow."

"Yeah, I guess..." he raised and dusted his pants off. "Sheena?" he called and turned to see her peeking out of the door, already on her way in.

"Yes?"

"...you're welcome."

The girl laughed. "I still haven't thanked you, you stupid Chosen."

"Aaah, fine, fine..." he followed her inside and walked to the room he had been assigned to. He hadn't gotten much chance to think, but his path was now rather clear in his mind.

She hadn't thanked him yet, but she would soon, he was sure. Because he had never believed in salvation, but starting tomorrow he would have some salvation to do.

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Notes: Short o-dai, late o-dai, I've been having some problems and so I can't promise much about updates, but I'll try.

And I liked how this turned out in the end. It was so angsty when I first wrote it – set during the Tower of Salvation scenes and all that, then I decided to change it to the Otherworldly Gate and then it wrote itself... light fluff, I guess. I hope you people enjoyed it too, and thank you all so much for the reviews for the last chapter!

See you next,

WDR


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#13 – Again

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