Response to reviewers:

SerattedDarkness: Wow, well I'm glad you're enjoying it that much...

MoonCannon: Thanks :)

SwordmasterJ: This site has given me a lot of problems, I think I've figured the ittalic problem out (We'll all know after this chapter) and I think I fixed the summary. Sorry for taking so long to update, I've been rather busy.

FariyV: Yes there will be an explanation for Kratos' condition and it's parameters... though you're looking at the wrong fic to get it from. I imagine the subject will be brushed up on very late in this story, but when I mean late I mean really late. I'm going to try to keep the spoilers to a minimum. Basically I'll reveal as much as a first time gamer would know and I'm going to mark chapters that go beyond that with a warning... That way first time players can avoid being spoiled. As for taste, those with Kratos' condition can taste, there is a hard to find skit where Kratos complains about Colette's cooking, and another where he gets sick from Raine's. So in the game taste is a sensation that those with Kratos' condition have not lost... If you feel you can't wait for that explanation I'll e-mail it to you or something.

Chapter 2

Lloyd's team, post Iselia...

Reflections from fallen innocence

(A/N this is a heavily reflective piece, basically I use flashbacks to explain what happened in Iselia, other parts not covered -the early Iselia part of game- will be reflected/talked about later on in the fic)

It rained red in his dreams, his nightmares. Loving hands would hold him, then draw red lines down his flesh. Half familiar scents would twist and warp into the reek of rot. He would look up and the sky would split, hewn buy a shard of the sun, and from that split the rain would fall. It would fall on his upturned face, the tears he never wept would come from that sky and stain his cheeks crimson.

That was his terror, his childhood terror, the red sky the piercing sun, and the crimson rain.

That and the light.

Unlike say sunlight this light in his nightmare rained from the sky, and ripped the earth apart. It tore up the world, tore up the sky, and the world would rain even harder.

Sometimes the sky would scream as it was ripped to shreds, other times it would weep, and when it wept for some unknown reason he too would cry.

He woke with those all too familiar images playing in his head, and with all too familiar tears staining his cheeks. He sat up, held himself like a child, and shook from the horrors. Genis only muttered something in his sleep, and rolled over. The small silver haired elf was supposed to be standing watch, he should have been watching the forest for monsters and wolves, but he'd fallen asleep sometime during the night. Lloyd wasn't angry, he didn't mind, and he wouldn't bring it up in the morning when it rolled around. It wasn't fair, it was all his fault, he wouldn't make Genis more miserable then he was by scolding him.

After all what could happen to them this close to home? They were safe now, so why worry about it?

His throat caught at that last thought. No they weren't close to home, they didn't have a home anymore. He gritted his teeth, forced himself not to cry, he'd cried enough for ten people his age. He'd cried over his father, his mother, he'd cried over everyone that could be cried over, and he wouldn't do it again! He dug his nails into his knees, gritted his teeth, and ran through that mantra until the wetness behind his eyes went away.

I wont ever cry again, I wont ever cry again no matter what! I can't be weak I have to be strong!

"Whine?" Something wet brushed against the back of his hair. He turned and smiled a slight smile as he looked into the canine face of his oldest friend. Noishe's long tongue stuck out just the slightest bit over his sharp lower teeth. His long silver highlighted snout was less then an inch from Lloyd's face. With a small 'slurp' Noishe nosily put his tongue back in his mouth and his white teeth disappeared from Lloyd's sight with a quiet click.

Noishe repeated the sound, his brown eyes were wide as he took in his human friend's wet face.

"I'm fine Noishe, don't worry 'bout me."

"Whine!"

"Stop that, don't..."

Noishe sniffed Lloyd, then nuzzled his face. A paw awkwardly patted Lloyd on the back as his dog tried to give him a hug. Something in Lloyd snapped, he brought his arms around Noishe's massive shoulders and returned the hug. He trembled, the tears he wanted to cry would not come out so he held onto Noishe as he shook with tearless sobs. He buried his face into his dogs thick chest, closed his eyes as the green fur rubbed against his cheeks.

"What did I do wrong Noshy." Lloyd absently slid into using his dog's childish nickname. "I thought that when you helped people it was supposed to get better, not worse..."

Noishe only licked Lloyd's tearless face, and regarded him with somber brown eyes.

"Do you remember Noshy, when I was little, when I'd have that dream, do you remember when we'd lay down outside your pen and look at the stars?" Lloyd closed his eyes, swallowed hard. "Would it be OK, just this once to..."

"Bark."

Noishe lay, his back legs tucked under him, his fore stretched out and crossed. He had curved himself ever so slightly and Lloyd leaned back into his dogs side with a sheepish smile on his face. As an afterthought Lloyd grabbed his blanket, draped it over the two of them. Noishe almost as absently wagged his tail and made the blanket squirm. Lloyd laughed softly, draped one arm over his dog's shoulders and fixed the blanket with the other.

Moonlight flashed off his ex-sphere, no his mother's memento, and he felt the tears trying to come again. He forced the smile on his face to stay, and leaned back. Lifting his hand up Lloyd pointed to the sky, stories, dwavish and from other places he didn't know, ran through his head.

"Martel's crown is out tonight Noshy."

"Bark."

"And there's Clayford's ax."

Another quiet bark from Noishe told Lloyd that he was well aware of what constellations were out tonight. They'd done this all the time when he was little after all.

"Did you ever hear that story about Martel and the three angels Noshy?"

"Whine?"

Noishe sounded confused. Lloyd never told this story before, and Lloyd had never really heard it before either. Sometimes though, when he needed it, a story would just pop into his head and comfort him. This was one of those stories.

"There are three angels that guard Martel, two light and one dark... The Light Angel's are Yuan and Mithos, and the Dark Angel was Kratos... Heh, that guy, that mercenary's name was Kratos... I never thought of that, I wonder if he knows he has a star named after him... Anyways, Yuan is the angel of Summer, Mithos the Angel of Autumn, Martel is Spring, life, and beauty, but Kratos, Kratos is Winter. His star is special, the hilt of his sword is marked by the red star. Unlike all the other angels who don't have weapons, he does. It's because he's a warrior angel, and that's why everyone calls him the Dark Angel."

Lloyd scrunched up his face, he knew there was more but it was like there was this wall in his head, this black thing he couldn't work his thoughts around and remember the whole story.

"Man, I hate it when this happens!"

Lloyd smacked himself on the head hoping, much like Raine constantly hoped, that something would come out. Nothing ever did however, and now he was nursing frustration and a headache.

"I'm sorry Noishe I don't remember it all..."

"Bark!" Noishe seemed happy enough, he snaked his head around and licked where Lloyd had hit himself.

"Stop it Noshy, that's enough!" Lloyd laughed into one of his dog's huge ears.

Noishe barked again, and went back to licking Lloyd with a vigor unmatched. He stood, shook off the massive blanket and set his large paws on the young swordsman's shoulders.

"Bad dog, bad, ack!"

The tongue came out and pinned by an expert Lloyd could not move as his dog decided that Lloyd's face needed a new coating of dog drool. Satisfied with his work Noishe used a paw to snatch the blanket from the forest floor and plopped it down on Lloyd's back. Then deciding that Lloyd looked comfortable and also looked like a comfortable place to lay down on, he did so.

"Genis help!" Lloyd yelled, and was smacked by his dog on the back of the head.

"Grrr!"

"Off, now!"

Noishe crossed his fore paws and set his head down over them with a yawn.

"Man I shouldn't have asked, this is why you have a pen do you know that? This is why!"

Noishe only closed his eyes and went to sleep.

Xxxxxxx xxxxx xxx xxxx xxx (please work.. Need astericks, writing too bloody distracting)

"Hush little child, don't say a word, moma's going ta buy you a mocking bird...

If that bird don't sing a song..."

"Wow, parents sing that?"

"Yes they do dear, though grandparents do it too."

"Wow, that's really neat Marble! How do you know?"

"I have a little girl, and my little girl got married and had one of her own." Marble smiled, her wrinkled face happy. "She's not a day over thirty nine and she still blush's when I called her that."

"It must be awful nice to have family like that..."

"It's one of the most wonderful things in the world. But don't think that you've been shorted dear, you haven't been. Your family can be your blood, and it can be those you meet as well. I know, my own Dad wasn't my blood, I never had the chance to meet him or my Mother, I was adopted much like that friend of yours... Lloyd? Yes Lloyd was the adopted one wasn't he?"

Genis nodded, a smile still on his face.

"You make your own family dear, you find them as you go through life. Think yourself as lucky for that."

"I'll try..."

"I know it's rough with your sister and you living alone, but it will get better I promise." She reached through the bars, stroked his face with a labor calloused hand. "You best run along dear, I've hid the food, and thank you yet again."

"Of course," Genis blushed, rubbed the back of his head with a hand. " No problem... Marble, does it work, can you really find family like that? Have you ever..."

Genis blushed as realized what he had just said.

"I have, and I still do, you never stop finding family, even when you get to be my crotchety age." Marble grinned at his protest that she most certainly was not old.

"Run along they'll be coming by in a bit, you dare not linger."

Genis nodded, and ran back a ways, right before he was about to duck past the last boulder and shoot out of sight he turned. Marble wasn't looking at him, she was looking at where he had stood. Tears slid down her face even thought a smile was on her lips. She rubbed her hand, the one that she'd touched him with and then wiped at her eyes and with that strangely gentle smile on her face she walked back into the ranch.

"Marble..." Genis rolled the small rock on his hand, it was warm to the touch. He held it in his hands as it glowed a soft golden hue. "How could they do this to you... you were so nice and and..."

"I have found a punishment fitting of your crime."

"What is that thing!"

Claws lashed out, swatted the mayor aside, and horrible as he was he wasn't mad. He didn't like the mayor, that guy was a jerk, he deserved it! It screeched at them, staggered forward on twisted legs and reached at them with grotesquely long talons. He closed his eyes words that made the mana come out fell from his lips. Fire blackened it, winds he cut the thing and released a spray of yellow blood. No it wasn't blood it was puss, signs of some dread infection...

Then it looked at him, and he knew, he knew

"Marble!"

Lloyd froze for a second, his swords dripped the infected blood. He gapped, and was swatted aside by the monster's huge paw.

"Marble please stop please!"

It shuttered, looked at him with it's single eye and trembled.

"G...G...Genis?"

"Please stop.. You stopped you stopped... and then you you..." Genis sobbed, rolled away from the fire and looked unseeingly into the night.

"I banish you from Iselia, now get out!"

"What, you can't do that to them, they're children Mayor."

"So, will that bring back all the dead, will us accepting them magically fix our houses? The Desian's want Lloyd, Genis has made his own decision. I will brook no argument on the matter!"

"But..."

"Silence!"

The one protester, the guard of Iselia's south gate, gritted his teeth and glared daggers at the Mayor. No one else said anything, no one else dared to protest. With narrowed eyes the Mayor scanned the rest of the people of Iselia, then seeing no more would be hero's to the children... the outcasts... he tromped back to his house.

"I'm sorry, I really am..."

The guard looked back to his post that was empty, but he did not return to it. All the other people were returning back to their homes to fix what they could, to shift through the ashes of their lives. None of them looked at either of them, all save that guard. He sighed, fished through his pockets and pulled out all the gald he owned, five pieces.

"Here you boys take this, you're going to need it more then me now."

"Thank you.." Lloyd whispered. "But we shouldn't... you need it."

"Not much longer I wont." The guard smiled a sickly grin. "I'm not staying here, I'll stick to the forests til I hit Triet's Dessert. I'll snag onto a caravan and guard them for a while, that will give me plenty of money. I'll play mercenary until I can get to a place that needs guards and settle down there... So don't worry, I'm fine, I have a plan, don't worry about me alright. You boys take it, and I have something that I think you can use youngling." The guard smiled at Genis. "Hold on a second... I'll be right back." Firmly placing the gold in Lloyd's hand the guard turned and wandered off to his post. He came back a little later, he had just barely missed the conversation between Lloyd and Phardia. In his hands he held kendama in one and a knife. "You'll be needing these I figure. Take care of yourselves." With that he went off into the village to see if his house was still standing, to see if he could salvage anything from it and supposedly move on with his life.

"It's all my fault..." Closing his eyes Genis cried into his arms and prayed he would fall asleep.

(Asterics can someone tell me how to put them in? Just imagine them here...)

"Breakfast is served!"

The bundle of blankets stirred and the dog resting on it whined in protest.

"Man Lloyd you are so lazy! If Noishe lays on you because you don't move he must of thought you were the ground or something."

There was a muffled oath and more squirming, Noishe snapped an eye open and glared at him.

"Breakfast Noishe, huuuuman food."

Noishe didn't seemed thrilled at that, and looked a bit insulted at how Genis had dragged out the word.

"Come on Noishe, I can't eat this by myself, so get off of Lloyd so he can eat. If you do I'll give you some scrambled eggs and two slices of bacon."

"Bark!"

Noishe hopped off Lloyd and walked straight up to Genis, eager for that promised breakfast.

"Oww... I'm in pain..." Lloyd staggered to his feet. "Parts of me are asleep that I didn't know could sleep..."

"Eww, you're sick Lloyd you know that?"

"Huh? Wha'd I say?"

Lloyd yawned, stretched, and staggered over to his friend. He ate his food, not like normal, it was different somehow... He chewed it, his eyes still a little groggy were distant as he tried to think and wake up at the same time. When he was done eating he didn't say anything, just leaned back and scritched Noishe's green head. He watched Genis eat breakfast, neither of them could dredge up any enthusiasm, everything that had happened was just to big, to dark, for them to act like everything was the same.

"Genis, I'm sorry I got you into this."

"What? It was my fault I took you to see Marble and..."

"But it was my idea to attack the Desians."

"No it was my idea and I..."

Noishe looked from one to the other, then barked sharply, shocking them both out of their self blame game.

"What is wrong with you Noishe!"

"Bark!"

"Ung I'll never understand you..."

"Yeah, your brains too small for that." Genis teased absently.

Startled he blinked at his continuation of that old gag. It was a running joke between them that dog was smarter then master. He was surprised how it just came out of him, just like old times. Just like before the world decided to fall apart.

"Well of course Noishe's smarter then me, look at that head, if half of it were brain he'd have a bigger brain then you." Lloyd grinned, picking up where Genis had dropped the thread of humor. "I mean you're head is so small it's amazing that you have room for all of that smart stuff."

"It's called knowledge Lloyd..." Genis rolled his eyes. "And if you didn't sleep through class all the time..."

"I so do not sleep through class!"

"Do to!

"Do not!"

"Do to!"

"Do not"

"Whiiine!"

"Alright already we'll stop, you're such a whiner Noishe!"

"Yeah but he has an excuse... unlike you. I mean all he can really say is whine and bark... it's half of his vocabulary..."

"What's that supposed to mean!"

Genis laughed and after a long moment Lloyd laughed with him.

Just like old times...

"Hey, weren't we on a thing-a-ma-bob? You know a... Watcha-ma-call-it?"

"A journey?"

"That's the word!" Lloyd snapped his fingers, he was overstating his dumbness, and like always when he did that Genis found himself laughing. "Weren't we on one of those things?"

"Yeah," Genis wiped at his eyes. "Yeah we were."

"Well lets get going then, we so can not let Colette reach that first seal without us there. Can you imagine how miserable she is. I mean with the professor yapping about history the whole way and that Kratos guy with her. She's got to be bored out of her mind!"

"You mean she really is traveling with that guy, the mercenary with the one word vocabulary?"

"Humph." Lloyd crossed his arms over his chest and Genis laughed all the harder. Lloyd's horrible Kratos impersonation was hilarious for some reason.

"Let's just break up camp then.." Genis managed between laughs. "And save Colette from boredom if nothing else."