Shards of Regneration

by Kasan Soulblade

Religion is a panel of fine stain glass window, but when that glass is broken it is among the shards that you must look. Each shard is a soul, and if you put them all together perhaps the truth will be seen and all illusions lifted.

20. Wind over plain

Review response from 18-19 sorry I keep forgetting guys

Gijinka Renamon: Glad you're liking it, don't worry more to come.

Bursting Girl: Will you share the sherbet, I love sherbet! Glad you're liking it so much.

Serrrated Darkness: Ruin mode is scary isn't it? Tethe'alla temples, she's going to go completely nuts and she's probably going to try to get them to go between worlds so she can conduct more through research comparing and contrasting the temples. I'm glad you liked Sheena, you'll see more of her, as well as more Corrine. And I guess you're wait is over.

Lil-Samuu: Bows, I do my best. Ironic as I find your works are some of my favorites, but I'm myself a bit of a closet reviewer and keep "forgetting" to send you a line on your work. Well I'm happy you love Corrine and Noishe being put in, I always wanted them to have more of a role and they seem to be forgotten for huge spans of the game, not liking that I decided to fix it.

FallenStarAngel: I liked it too… I just wish I could have done it in the game. Matter of fact that's all I kept thinking about, as I was rather tired when I got their first time plus it seems so logical you know? If you liked Raine's nuttiness in this temple wait till the "wind" temple. Dear god my outline has so many ruin freak outs since it is a genuine historical ruin and not a Martelian temple.

Gamecubegirl1: My fav line so far too "must not kill client" I was like "must not kill Colette" until she grew on me a little. As for subtle, I think it's becoming my middle name with this fic. So much delicate for shadowing, past shadowing and all that stuffs kinda tricky but so worth it when someone sees it!

Gyppygirl2021: Great I can raise my affection ranking easy now! (adds 10,000 gibberish words to story) kidding XD

Saffire Persian: I will check it out when I can not use a public computer; most of them here are either permanently muted or monitored so I can't go to anything but writing related sites. : P

Wow character by character analysis critic! Alright! Let me explain what needs explaining using your format.

Kratos: So it's a little obvious that I share BBQbert's love of Kratos Lloyd friendship building huh? Raising Kratos' friendship with Lloyd, at the very beginning of the game you can see he has a fondness for Lloyd. He hides it, but it becomes obvious when he starts butting into conversations with the rest of Lloyd's friends that he has an interest in the red clad swordsmen. Plus if you see all the swordsman skits when Lloyd addresses him as brother he accepts the title. There's a tone of dialogue in game that I saw first play though –back when I didn't know the SPOILER- that I felt could support an open relationship in a longer story. Plus the game only shows you so much where with a novel you can get away with so much more. The proof I got was from some of the skits and just the feeling I got first play through.

skit ex's: "Chicken and the Egg" skit, "Paternal Love", and the scene outside Falnoir when you catch him star gazing.

The start of the "game" in chapter 19 was probably the uh stone's influence (if you read Broken you know what I'm saying).

Lloyd: He comes as too smart at the moment in my fic but I can not stand an idiot protagonist, so much so I bumped up his general intelligence, or at least my opinion that I got of it in the game. You see hints of the caring, but I felt there was so much more to it –how else would they all stay loyal to them especially Raine and Genis after the anti-discrimination reason for Yggdrasil's scheme comes out in the open) The fish food thing was a reference to sayings picked up due to location. Because Iselia is mainly a farm land location knowledge on how to eat seafood, the taste for seafood, and sayings like fish food wouldn't be common as they would in say Izoold or Luin.

Colette: Chapter 8, Variations, if you were curious. It's Ossa trail, since you pass it like twice –once t get through and then later to attack the skeleton- little wonder anyone remembers it. Let me tell you writing an innocent is hard, not being one myself and on the slightly disillusioned side of the good nature of humanity (comes with being a pessimist I suppose) she tends to fade in the background somewhat as I rarely write what I don't know. One lines, innocent blurbs, they tend to stick out more because of the tactic I use.

Genis: I loved his personality in the game and as with all the character I try to keep them all in character and if I make changes I go nuts giving reasons for that change. If you consider it DES and Broken were there to explain any of the changes that might have occurred with Kratos' personality. I knew he'd be different and not totally canon from TOS so I had to justify it before I got too deep in Shards… As it is Genis the easiest to use as I was much like him growing up. Though I was no genius by any means I was a total book worm and geek, so it's like stepping into the past to write him.

Raine: Glad you bought the reasoning; I get nagged about the tension between them by some rabid Kraine fans. ' Anyways, I just felt I was explaining what the game could only lightly cover, you know with the Ruin Mode and the hydrophobia, as it is being able to add on more is one of the quirks of writing a novel.

As for why the guys, it was a siren like creature, in lore it was a she creature and the spell only affected the males, don't worry I'll squeak in details somehow to explain this in the story.

The chapter was rushed. I have review alerts "on" so I get e-mailed when you guys contact me, plus I got e-mails from people after I made the announcement giving me anti-virus links and pleas to not stop. I guess I better make a general announcement

There are only two reasons I will stop, if I am seriously injured or if there is a family crisis, and I will continue writing somehow once I've recovered, those two events will not stop me from finishing what I started.

Light of Judgement: Your wait is over… and I'm surprised at the interest in the religious sections, I expected it to bring several problems.

Chapter 20

To learn how to fly

A scene edited for clarification

It had been a night of staring at the darkness; of listening to the Chosen draw strained breaths. She had been sick, vomiting, seizures, and as if the fates were truly turning on them that the bites and influence of the water monsters were venomous. He was strong enough to kick it off naturally, but he had to abandon them to fetch the rest of the medicine. There were no more gels, no more antidotes. They'd used everything and none of the children could even leave the chamber that the angel had appeared before them. It had made for a tense night, or rather a resting period, as with no way to see sun or moon all time was lost. Raine had watched her patients, focused solely on them so not to see the water. Having no choice he watched the still black pool, stared at the wall of water that left no froth, hardly left any mark of its passing.

"The world is dying." Kratos whispered, stared at the black expanse of still water. "The streams are tainted; their paths choked with dust, the fires falter and hardly stir the winds that live are slow, lethargic. Stone becomes earth, earth becomes stone, the air falls low as do we all."

"Some prophecy of your faith?" Raine tried to smile, but he did not turn to see the gesture, did not move to regard her. Though she could not see his face, for he faced the black waters, she could feel his gaze flick to catch some hint of motion, some ripple across the surface.

"We broke the seal yet nothing has changed."

"Of course things have changed, can't you feel the mana coming from the altar? It pours out and feeds into the dying world." Raine smiled at the man's naïve.

"I feel something, a tension sweeps past me, it rushes beyond to places I can not see, yet in it's rushing it touches nothing, gives nothing. It is a meaningless motion, a spike of the mana level that does nothing."

Raine lifted her head, looked up from stroking her shivering brother's hair. Even in sleep he shook, as Lloyd still trapped in slumber cried out from time to time.

Kratos was a shard of darkness. Yes he was pale, his chest looked to be pure ivory, his clothes were the color of onyx. Still it was not the colors that lead to the image of stone in her mind, one could say cloud white and night black after all… It was his stillness. He was as still as stone, with no breeze to give the illusion of motion to his hair and cape he could have been a statue.

"The world is dying, and what we do… it is not saving it."

"Of course it is, Colette is becoming and angel and the blessings of Martel fall upon this world. It just takes time for us to be able to calculate the effects. As the church explains it, the mana must meet with that of its compliment before there is a benefit for the world."

"Really?" Kratos turned to her. "That is what your church says?"

"Yes."

"And you believe it?"

"Yes." Raine frowned at the man, wondered what he was getting at.

"Lo' let sea be carried upon winds back so it may fall and heal the earth. Let wind fuel flame and from purifying light shall flame be purged. Then blessed star will touch blessed spire and so shall the trials of the Chosen save the world." Kratos quirked his lips slightly with the recitation, he spoke it with a dull irony laced through his tone.

"For an atheist you are knowledgeable of the writ."

"I am not an atheist."

"Excuse me, for an agnostic."

"I know my gods."

"What are you then?"

"That which you deny, a defiance, I am a flaw in your Goddess' perfection." Kratos turned, stared at the still waters. "Go to sleep Ms. Sage, you can not become ill, I have no way to treat you should you become sick. They need you, the children…"

"You may not be Genis' best friend, but he doesn't hate you, and don't think for a second that Colette doesn't like you." Raine yawned, eased herself and lay down upon the cold marble. "You may like to imagine you are expendable, but you aren't. All I know was that if you died it would rip Lloyd to shreds."

There was a long pause, a tense silence. "He should not care for me, he has friends, family."

"He does, and maybe…" Raine yawned. "You need to start thinking about that. The way you act, you throw yourself at everything, ignore the danger, you don't think about if you die, you don't think of your health, but he does."

Kratos said nothing, went back to staring at the water. Many minutes passed while he quietly digested this news. Yes he knew the boy cared for him, as a friend he presumed, but there was something more potent, more lasting then a mere childish show of friendship. It was hidden between the words, perhaps in the woman's tone, and he decided to find out what she meant.

"He does?"

Raine could not respond as she had fallen asleep. With a shaking hand he put his palm over the gem in his chest.

"Who am I… what kind of man am I to accept an innocents friendship. When all I leave is death behind, when all I offer is death, I should force him away as I planned to do before." Kratos knelt by the still water and slid a gloved hand to the still pool. His digit sank into the pool; it left a crimson ripple. The red was his only mark in this world it seemed.

"As before, before what? What even has triggered this?" Kratos murmured looking back and wincing a bit at the view of days past. "So many small things, a piling of pebbles, one thrown stone, one defiance, my own and the boy's… for neither of us are beyond rebuke for our errors. It all seems to be going to Hell now, but then a man who is so "un-enlightened" that he cringes back from heaven probably isn't the best judge of what Hell is."

Rubbing his fingers together, red seeped out from the black fabric, he looked at himself. Pale white skin, almost an unhealthy hue, wreathed in black fabric, two false wings of night hued fabric hung over his shoulders, his auburn hair was slick with the monster's blood. Red, his mark and his trade.

Ironic enough red was Lloyd's favorite color.

"You do not believe as they do, but are you as I am, or is it fond wishing that makes me see this…" Kratos turned to the others, looked to Lloyd who slept, still lost in shame and grief even in his slumber. "I made a promise, I will keep it, I keep those promises that matter and I discard those that don't."

He pushed off from the pillar that was to his right, pulled himself to his feet. Image of omnipotence be damned, he had no care of his image. He might very well sacrifice sanity for this, for the repercussions of this.

But he had made the gamble once before, dropping all hesitance he had snatched at what he wanted, took it, and had had five years. Five wonderful years that though ended in bloody agony were cherished. And after, he had almost ten catching his feet, almost ten years recovering… He sank to his knees by Lloyd's still form, fondly stroked the brown locks.

"Us'il osi…" He sighed those words and continued to stroke the locks of chocolate hued hair. He could pick out a few thread; no highlights, that was the silly feminine term, he could pick out the few auburn locks. Lazily he wound one around his finger, as he had done so from time to time with his son.

"Daddy… stop mussin' me hair!"

"Stop messing with my hair; is the proper way to express that sentiment." Kratos corrected, letting the lock go. "I believe it's time for someone to have a hair cut."

"Hair cut! Does it hurt?"

"Of course not, so long as Mommy isn't the one holding the scissors you'll be fine."

"I heard that!" Anna snarled. "Speaking of haircuts…"

"My hair is fine."

"The end's all frayed and chaotic, you Mr. Aurion, need a trim!"

"I will tend to it myself, and I will cut our son's hair as well. I've seen your attempts on our 'dog' and I know for a fact that he goes into hiding when you pull out the scissors."

"I only did that once."

"He had a bald spot." Kratos snarled. "A large bald spot right between his ears for two months. I can not magic hair to grow back and I refuse for myself or my son to be stripped bald. Hand them over."

"Hand what over?" Anna's voice grew sulky.

"The scissors behind your back, you are so transparent the world can see through you."

"I am not! Fine…"

She huffed, thrusting them out like a sword. She must have been oblivious to the effect as she would never do anything to deliberately provoke his darker instincts. He kept his tension to himself, his son felt the hand in his head twitch ever so slightly and looked up at his father who was carefully sliding the tool between his primary and dress belt.

"Daddy… are you feelin' OK?"

"Fine…" He blushed, for once embarrassed by his instinct that nearly made him pull a dagger from his belt at the sight of the 'attack'. "I am fine, just a little on edge."

"Oh."

"Come on." He scooped his son into his arms, the brown haired boy squealed in delight, his small hands finding a perfect hold on his hair. "Now… Don't hold on so tight…"

X

"...ine thy blessings..."

Lloyd groaned, cracked an eye open, looked at the marble temple island thing around him. Colette was sleeping; it was an ill kept sleep, one that seemed so fragile that an ill placed breath would break it. He wanted to yell at whoever was talking to shut up, that they were going to wake Colette, but he didn't because yelling would wake her up. He let out an annoyed sigh, opened both eyes, and blinked. They were in the chapel, after the fight he hadn't remembered being moved or much of anything really, and little wonder he didn't remember being moved. Someone had wrapped him in a nest of blankets, and from the nasty taste in his mouth that same someone had rammed some potions down his throat.

Bleh, why did medicine always have to taste bad?

Well he knew why he needed the stuff, he felt all weak and twitchy. Yeah, that was the word, twitchy. He felt like his hands should be shaking, like he would be shaking, he was so tired and weak. He spotted Colette and Genis, both were curled up around Raine by the altar. Thoughtfully someone had set him away from the altar, so he didn't have to face it upon wakening. Lifting his head from his cocoon of blankets he leaned on one elbow, looked at his friends. They were all wreathed in silver light, the light of the angels that still enshrouded the alter, but someone was missing. Yawning, he turned to the water, to where the chants had come from and had suddenly fallen silent. Kratos was kneeling by the edge of the water several feet away, eyes closed. The man ceased the soft stream of words had fallen from his lips, stilled the un-gloved hand had seemed to pet the waters that lapped at the false banks of snow. Sparing a glance over his shoulder the man stared at him with his near black but somehow brown eyes.

"Good morning Lloyd."

Genis would have curled up and died, Colette would have fainted, and Raine would have been flabbergasted. Never did Kratos greet them, save for the occasional, "hurry up, we're leaving soon" he was even grouchy with Lloyd in the morning. Still while surprised the Iselian swordsman was not shocked speechless.

"'Morning."

"How are you feeling?"

Lloyd blinked, considered it, after all you didn't really consider how you were feeling until someone asked.

"I've been worse." Lloyd managed a slight grin. "But I think I've been better too."

"I certainly hope so." Kratos smiled slightly, not a lip smile, but with the ever so slight warming of the eyes. He stood, his cape stirring with every motion, in this utterly still and cold place motion caught the eyes because there was little color. The angel's light bleached out all the colors of the temple until only light and dark remained. Lloyd found himself missing the other colors, missing how they didn't hurt or weren't bleached out by the silver light, the whole world seemed lesser for being awash in only light.

"What were you doing?"

Kratos frowned, a troubled look touching his face. "Praying."

"Oh, so you do pray too." Lloyd nodded. "Don't worry, I wont tell Colette."

"That is not my main concern." Kratos stared at him with this pitying look that Lloyd decided he did not like. "I don't know what the greater disservice to you is, teaching you or leaving you alone."

"How could learning anything ever be bad?" Lloyd yawned, did so to hide his annoyance, because if he didn't and Kratos kept looking at him like that Lloyd knew he was going to say something 'smart' and get in trouble.

"What do you really want to say Lloyden?" Kratos growled, sparing a moment to cross his arms over his bare chest and offer the younger man his firmest glare.

"How about you let me decide for once, instead of moping and thinking you let me pick what I want to learn and trust me to make some decisions about me." Lloyd grumbled, he was feeling sleepy agian, while part of him whined that he'd only just woken up the rest of him was going along with that sleepy feeling. "I mean I am seventeen. And for the hundredth time, it's Lloyd, not Lloyden..."

"Go to sleep." Kratos dropped his fierce facade and favored him with a worried one. "You've had a rough time; sleep is the best healer for you."

Lloyd's only response was a quiet snore.

X

They went one at a time, the trip that had taken an hour ate up most of the day. Raine went first, then Colette, then Lloyd and finally Noishe. Only Kratos was in any state to row, Colette stared listlessly at the water, her eyes empty of even thought. Chilled Kratos had put some speed into her trip, and with her friends she seemed to recover, but she seemed withdrawn, distant. When left alone she became quiet, lost.

It was with some enjoyment he left her on the other bank and received a few hours respite from her troubled gaze.

"Do you think Colette's sick?" Lloyd wondered. Staring at the water as Kratos rowed them back to land.

"Perhaps she still feels a bit unwell from the angelic transformation." Kratos offered weakly, ordered himself to focus on what he was doing. "Plus if you consider the fact that the monster... attacked us all in that specific manner, she has had a trying time for her, emotionally and physically."

"Yeah..." Lloyd stared listlessly at the water. "What was that thing?"

"I don't know." Kratos admitted with a growl to his voice. "And I'll admit not knowing gets to me."

"Heh, end of world, you're talking like me."

Kratos smiled slightly, looked down at the boy who sat at his feet. Pale, tired, he looked almost ill. They had treated the poisons, had tended the wounds, he and Raine had spent a hellish few hours after the battle stimulating the children's immune systems, coaxing wounds to knit and forcing them all into a deep slumber. They'd slept off the worst of it, but none of them were up to a battle. They might as well have "bandit bait" written on their backs. Still, everything would be alright, he'd force it too if he had to.

He would protect his own no matter the cost.

"You seem to be picking up on my speech habits." Kratos said, letting paddle slide through water and push them forward. "That was a pre "hurmph" sound if I ever heard one."

"Shut up!" Lloyd growled. "I am not sounding like you... ung... Izoold!" Lloyd mimed getting sick.

"Izoold..." Kratos frowned then laughed quietly. "Ah yes, Izoold, now I remember. You do know black is a more dignified color then r-"

"As if, red's highly dog-no-fude... Err dig-no-find?"

"When you can say it, I shall consider what you said."

"Jerk!" Lloyd growled, but he sounded weary, exhausted. "No fair... you're smarter then me!"

"When you've been around as long as I have you pick up a few things." Kratos soothed. "You will learn, given time."

"You still gotta head start, so's not fair..." Lloyd grumbled.

"I will offer you all I have to teach, it is in your hands to take it. You can sleep if you wish, it will not slow me down."

Lloyd took the mercenary up on that offer with a sigh.

X

It was slow travel, a slow agonized travel broken with several rest stops. They traveled at a mere crawl for even Noishe for all his strength could not carry all the children plus everyone's packs all at once. So frail was the Chosen, so drained were the children of Iselia. It was the poison, contained, but it had made them dreadfully weak. The mercenary quietly skinned the rabbit he had killed, skewered it, and set the small animal on a make shift split. Colette shook her head, turned down the food, but much to his worry so too did Genis and Lloyd.

"My stomach's been hurting all day Raine." Genis whimpered. "I don't wanna eat."

Lloyd just curled up on his blankets and turned away from fire and food.

"What else hurts Genis." Raine muttered, putting a hand to her brother's head. "Goddess, you're burning up!"

"I'm fine Raine, we can't get sick cuz of the Regeneration..."

"Well the Regeneration is going to have to hold on a little, anyways you aren't the only one who's sick either if my guess is right.

Kratos put a hand over Lloyd's head, pointedly ignoring the boy's protests. The swordsman's brow was slicked with precipitation, the boy's pulse was slightly accelerated and there was a hint of a flush to his cheeks that screamed ill health.

"Your guess is right Ms. Sage."

Both adults looked to the Chosen.

"I feel fine, I'm just tired." Colette protested.

"How far to Asgard?" Raine sighed, hoping Colette would confess to being ill was much like hoping that gels and magic cure all potions would rain from the skies..

"We'll be at the pass tomorrow." Kratos frowned, to them he might of been thinking over the distance, but he was in truth trying to pick out signs form the children's conversation. Even knowing that they had a code it was too smoothed out for him to pick up the nuisances. Still they must have known, and they must have taken pains as a group to hide it. While useful this code had turned into an unwitting weapon that the children had turned on themselves. "It's a day's slow pace from there to Asgard."

"At our current pace?" Raine pressed.

"Two at most." The black clad mercenary sighed. "You're the scientist; do you know any medicinal plants around here that we could use?"

"A few," She looked at him, nodded as if reading something on his face she liked, and handed him something. "Here, take this book." She offered him a battered text that was small and could easily be taken with someone in their travels. He scanned the contents; it was all very detailed, offering picture and written description on the plants and preparation methods of the medicines.

"I shall be back in an hour with what I can find." Kratos pocketed the small text. "If trouble comes Noishe will come for me so you best unload his back so that he can come."

"We'll be stopping here for the night then?" Raine frowned. While travel would weaken them in a town she would have access to medicines, doctors...

"A three hours rest, then we move on. We dare not linger here."

Raine nodded; for once both adults were in full agreement.

X

Koton had tried to give them trouble. Kratos had brushed past her, put the statue in front of the old man and made some very specific threats about what part of Koton's anatomy the thing would be rammed up if they weren't allowed to look at he Book of Regeneration. Profane wasn't the right word, it wasn't strong enough, and she could think of no word to cover the amount of vile language the mercenary unleashed on the older man. Genis clapped his hands over his ears and Colette did so for herself with no prompting. Lloyd sat back and showed his very open appreciation of Kratos' swearword proficiency, and the teacher could see her pupil mentally taking notes.

"Lloyd, cover your ears."

"Why?" He whined at her, he whined quite a bit when sick and he was rather ill now so she expected the annoying grate to his tone.

She raised her hand and he meekly did as ordered.

Ill or well he was swiftly cowed by the threat of a Raine'ing.

Koton stared at the mercenary, in shock. It took a while for the old man to recover. When he did, Koton thrust his head forward on that skinny neck so that his beak like nose almost brushed up against Kratos'. If it was meant to be an intimidating motion it failed in its purpose.

"What's it get me, I got guards so you can' threaten me you young whiper sn-"

Kratos snatched the man's tunic, ignored the horrified squawk, Koton's arms flapped up and down, making the brown tunic rustle, the effect wasn't too dissimilar to a bird flapping their wings. In his whiny high pitched voice the elder human cried for help.

"I nearly lost someone I care for getting that statue." Kratos whispered in a lethal tone. "I nearly lost the skin on my hands when I picked it up."

Kratos grimly twisted the front of Koton's tunic.

"Now, I am being civil, I came into your home, gave you which you sought, and you have the gall to demand another statue when I fulfilled our bargain to the letter?"

Squealing Koton pounded his hands against Kratos' chest, crooked his slender fingers into claws and went for the eyes. Sneering the mercenary dropped the old man to the floor.

"Let us try uncivil, I take the book and you from this hut, I then set the premises on fire and we both watch as your life time of miser-ing goes up in smoke."

Koton sobbed, crawled on hand and knee to Kratos and begged him not to.

"Please Kratos, don't hold back, twist the knife in his gut while you're at it." Raine muttered to herself in elven, much to her shock the man flicked his gaze over her and for once there was a bit of humor in his expression. All humor died when the mercenary looked down at the groveling Koton.

"We have a pass." Kratos said, absently kicking off the old man. "We need to look at the book. Here are the rules, anytime, day, night, we get to look at this book, no charge. We get to use this route any time, no charges ever, is that understood worm?"

"Yes..." Koton whimpered.

"Good, now get up, your unseemly whining disturbs the Chosen."

"Th... the... Chosen?" Koton whimpered, his eyes going straight to Colette.

Raine wondered for a moment why no one ever thought she was the Chosen then dismissed that thought as Colette went to the tattered book and flipped through a few pages.

"Well?" Kratos growled.

"It's... a really big book Mr. Kratos, this is going to take a while..."

"Fine, if there are any problems I will be outside, call if... the residential vulture gives you any difficulties."

The vulture in question gulped and cringed back in abject terror and Kratos bared his teeth in what was most definitely not a smile.

X

A day, it seemed to blur due to the misery everyone was in. Kratos knew he was in vile humor, Colette seemed somber and worried, Genis was still sick and Lloyd was recovering but still feeling bad. What made them all miserable besides their private issues was Raine. Raine in "ruin mode" and they were taking her to a city of ruins. The water temple had been hell, a town of ruins, temples, calked up with historical events and sites went beyond hell. The twisted entity could not make a more horrid punishment, no demon, no demented god, could inflict greater pain upon him. There silence was an opportunity, their sickness and pains potential not to cause pain... Oh she wasn't a willing sadist. But it was still a brand of torment. He fell behind, joined Lloyd who was the tail of their group for once.

"Ears hurting?" The young man asked sympathetically.

"Head, ears, brain, everything." Kratos growled, rubbing his temples.

"Huh... You're a wizard right?"

Kratos spared the young swordsman a long look. "I dabble." He said at last.

"Couldn't you just..." Lloyd wiggled his fingers and Kratos sighed.

"If I could do you think I would have by now? My skill lies in wielding the elements as tools of destruction..." Lloyd's eyes were beginning to glaze, checking an annoyed sigh Kratos reiterated what he was saying in simpler terms. "Blowing them up if you will."

"Maybe if you did it just a tiny bit." Lloyd whimpered, "just an itty bitty bit? Not like the ranch by PalmaCosta," Lloyd added hastily. "But like a weaker version of a blowing up spell or something?"

Kratos rose an eyebrow.

"She came back here and quizzed me." Lloyd answered the unspoken question. He rubbed his head and Noishe craned his green neck over and licked the boy's face. "Sick even, and she quizzed me. Well I didn't do good, so when I'm feeling better she's going to take me to all the historical sites and lecture me."

Reaching out Kratos touched the young man's shoulder, gripped the boy and offered what sympathy he could. It was a pale comfort in the face of the horror of being lectured by Raine whilst she was in the dreaded "ruin mode".

"Please Kratos, you have to help me." Lloyd whispered eyes filled with terror. "I'm so dead if she quizzes me! She'll "Raine" me into next year, she "Raine's" like nuts when she's nuts! I'll do anything!" Lloyd whimpered.

Kratos' lips quirked ever so slightly.

"Anything?"

"Anything! Nothing you could do would be worse than Raine!" Lloyd whimpered.

"Alright, when we get to Asgard we'll talk." Kratos' eyes flicked over to the Professor who was happily describing the city of ruins and it's various tours and museums. She was already making plans to see every one of them in less then a weeks time, and she was going to drag them all with her. Once they were healthy enough that is. "It might be that we both need to pull an extended disappearing act." Kratos murmured, a worried light in his night dark eyes.

"Is it ever going to stop?" Lloyd shivered. "The ruin mode, is there a stop to it?"

"When we do not go to ruins I suppose we will not see it." Kratos squeezed the young man's shoulder part in jest part in utter seriousness. "Just ride it out, take a deep breath, it will be over soon enough. A week, two weeks here at most, two more seals, then you'll never have to endure another bout of ruin mode ever again."

"You don't have to tell her this..." Lloyd whispered. "But she scares me when she's like this."

"You don't have to tell anyone this." Kratos said after a long silence. "But she scares me when she loses all of her self control. I know enthusiasm, I know interest, and I know obsession, her mania seems to be a mix of all three that some how goes far beyond the definitions of all three in raw intensity."

"So in short, she's scary."

"Yes." Kratos sighed. "Very much so."

X

"Sparring?" Raine protested. "Again?"

Kratos nodded, his hand clenched around the hilt of his sword. It had been two days since they reached Asgard, two nights they had rested at "The Breeze" and it would be another two before they could leave the city. There was some ritual going on, some ceremony, and one not to miss a historic event Raine was going to make them all attend. He could not talk Raine out of making them sit through that ordeal, so he held his peace and gambled for what escapes he could. Lloyd was in truth in no shape to spar, still sick the boy and him were not sparing, not with blades anyways. He was offering a gentled version of history, laying off the more religious laced themes and cutting into the heart of the mater. Or rather matters, as they were wrapping up the foundation of PalmaCosta Government and Law lectures and going into how those influenced the neighboring town's laws.

"It keeps us out of your hair does it not?" Kratos pointed out, stroking the hilt of his blade.

"Lloyd could be greatly benefiting from..."

"Ms. Sage, let us be honest with each other for once." Kratos sighed, leaned against the wooden door frame and looked about her room. "He's not benefiting from a bloody thing you say."

Soft greens covers served as curtains and covered the rooms twin beds. The room was covered with pastel hues, pale airy colors covered the pillows, the bed, and the night stand, pale ghost colors made up the rug upon the floor and the carpeting that coated the wooden floors. It was a stark contrast to the dark hued door frame and wood frame, certainly the dark brown, almost black, wood served to cover the walls as it did the frames. But someone, long ago, painted the walls an off shade of white. He despised the airiness, it made the room seem illusion. He despised illusion, perhaps that was what the main problem was.

Having so many of your own private illusions shattered, it just did that to you, made you hate all illusion.

"He's learning." Raine protested.

"He hates every second of it than he tones you out for half of it and sleeps through the other half." Kratos snapped.

"Where he doesn't with you?" Raine growled.

"I tailor my lectures to his taste, I ease into things slowly instead of going with the belief that you hold that he is thick and that by ramming every scrap of knowledge down his throat he might magically not become an idiot." Kratos snapped, gave the woman a glare brimming with hostility.

She met fire for fire as the saying went, there was a long tense silence. Colette drifted by the room, her scent tickled his nostrils as her cheerful humming brushed against his ears. She passed him, went down the hall a ways, but was in both their ear shot.

"Hey Colette, have you seen Kratos?"

"Oh he's in Raine's room; they're both giving each other the "death glare"." Colette chirped, and then lost some of her cheer. "I bet Mr. Kratos is mad because we aren't going right to the next seal."

"Huh," Lloyd made a noise; it was as if he was annoyed with them for how they were acting. "Well we aren't going until Genis is feeling better." Lloyd said with a hint of steel in his voice. "I'll talk to Kratos about it..."

"And I'll talk to Raine." The Chosen chirped. "We make a great team huh?"

"Yeah, of course we do Colette." Lloyd chuckled. "I couldn't have off pulled half those pranks in Iselia without your help."

"That was fun wasn't it... fourth day..." Colette giggled.

"Hey, no ruining it, we keep it secret even from each other." Lloyd scolded, but there was a warm note to his voice that took all the bite from his words. "So just the death glare?"

"Un huh."

"I can't believe that Genis thought that the Professor and Kratos liked each other..." Lloyd's shudder was easily imagined and made a wonderful compliment to the tone that "liked" was said in.

"I think they do, they're just friends and don't realize it yet."

"Listen to Kratos whine about Raine and then you'd know how much they hate each other." Lloyd grumbled.

"Genis said the same thing." Kratos could almost see the girl frown in worry. "It's not like you and Ivan is it?"

"Not that bad." Lloyd sighed. "Not yet anyways."

"Well that's good, you know I bet they will be friends sometime."

"I don't mind if they become friends." Lloyd said after a long pause. "But like I said before, boyfriend-girlfriend is just.. Ung!"

"I think it'd be cute."

"Like Genis said... dogs are cute, Noishe's cute, Kratos and Raine together is not cute, it's scary."

There was a creek of the hall door opening, the footsteps faded deeper into the inn, perhaps to tromp down stairs and head top the dinning areas. Both adults stared at each other, identical expressions of horror on their faces.

"So that's..." Raine sat down, luckily she was by the bed and she could sit on that. "They thought that... they think that..."

"I feel very ill." Kratos said at last, he swallowed on the surge of nausea that the idea brought; he slumped weakly against the frame and stared at nothing in particular.

"For once we have the exact same thoughts." Raine shivered. "For the record I have no interest, I'd rather die before I..."

"Agreed." Kratos whispered. "I don't know what I find more appalling, the genealogical consequences of such an action, or the fact that they honestly worried that we might be a couple."

"No wonder Genis had such horrible nightmares." Raine muttered, for once the mercenary took no insult, though there were plenty of interpretations of those words that could make them an insult.

"Indeed." Kratos cocked his head to the side, considered something for a few moments. "I have an apprentice to tutor." The mercenary bowed his head to her. "Good day Ms. Sage."

"So, you are taking him as an apprentice?" Raine stood, was going to head out with him it seemed.

"No, I have no right to be a teacher to anyone. It is merely a way to explain what I am to him to someone who could never understand. It is a... conventual term that others would ascribe to our situation."

Raine favored him with a questioning expression; it was one that Kratos did not respond to. He told her nothing, gave her nothing that she could take as a response, merely turned on his heel and left.

X

The winds were gentle to the skin, a soft caress. His skin tingled at the benevolent motion that rose from the earth with a hint of heat. A deep breath confirmed that the winds carried the scent of flowers that were still green by the spring rains. All the flora was in there prime, the plains of Balacruf were a green ocean whose crests were white, yellow, and blue specks. The winds were forever in motion, an omni-present sigh across the earth that raced across the plains and brought the scent of flowers to the small cliff side, archaeological obsessed community of Asgard. It was a shame that so many were in caves, studying paintings, swindling tourists and scientists alike with over rated over priced inns and goods. He took a deep breath to better take in the scents, the only sound was the snap of his cape unfurling to the wind's playful tugs and whipping up behind him.

Laying on his back, the blades of grass tickling him, Lloyd stared at the wisps of cloud above. The young man seemed to like the feeling of the wind passing over him, Kratos preferred to stand into it, let it pick up his cape and pull his hair out of his eyes. His whole body shivered under the sensation of the wind, it was a presence in the plains, a living entity that seemed entirely focused on play.

"This place is pretty neat huh?" Lloyd said at last, a hint of sleepiness in his tone.

"Yes, it is."

They needed no other words for a long time. Lloyd was content to watch the skies where he was happy enough to stare at the shivering blades of grass. Finally Lloyd turned his head, so that he looked at him, half obscured by the tangled lines of green, framed in green, Lloyd rested one cheek against the soft earth, stared at him with sleep glazed eyes.

"The birds have it good here. With all the wind they just have to jump into the sky and they're up and away."

Kratos said nothing, closed his eyes and just enjoyed the feeling of freedom, though bound to earth there was something uplifting about the breezes, something that tugged at his soul.

"If a person can learn to fly…" Lloyd whispered, more to himself then anyone else. "Then this would be the place."

"Yes, this would be the perfect place."

"I wonder, if the wind lives here?" Lloyd asked it seemed the air more then him.

"There is a small island, long ago it was the… a natural extension of this half of the continent, but the slender path was broke in twain by a horrible battle long ago. There is now a crypt to ancient kings, but it is said, that in times long before our own it was a cavern where all the winds came home. They rush from their earthen confines the three spirits of the winds and split into all direction covering the length and width of the world in their restless travels. Here though is there home, here they are sacred and revered. They say that those who lived here once used the winds to travel across the plains, that they made use of the flatness and the breezy weather to go from place to place."

"I wonder how they did that."

"I once saw… a picture in a museum, of a long slender boat, with wings, wheels, and a monstrous sail."

"Woah! That would be so cool! Do you think people make them now?"

"I doubt it, not with the dragon riders about, nor with the spike in monster population."

"Oh…" Lloyd laughed, "You know Dad told me once humans weren't suppose to fly. 'Cuz of how we were made and stuff, only birds, bugs, and bats fly. After all they have wings and we don't."

Kratos opened his dark eyes, flicked his gaze over to the young man who was moving to sit up.

"What about angels, aren't they people with wings?"

"Dad didn't know about angels having wings and well... he didn't think they'd work because the pictures made them look so small."

"Ah." Kratos' smile was an interesting mix of light and dark humor. "Well that might be a problem, shorter wings and the physical structure of a human…. Humans aren't aerodynamic creatures, so I imagine that coupled with the shortness of the primary feathers… angels like Remial would have some trouble flying."

"Aero-die-nom-ick?"

"Capable of flight, suited for it."

"Oh." The wind shivered about them, brushed past them, always carrying the fragrance of wet grass. Lloyd breathed it in, bent his legs and rested his chin upon his knees. Children took that pose when they rested, Kratos winced at the sight. They were all children, innocent children lost in this theological morass. "You know I feel kinda sorry for the angels."

"Really?" Kratos stared at the young man, startled, this was something that even Kratos found a little hard to hear said. Still difficult things must be said, must be expressed, so he gave the boy a verbal nudge. "Why?"

"Well… They only do one thing, they protect or watch over people and they never get to leave those chapels. That's not something you do to a person, make them be one thing and only one thing, you do that to match-tins… like those floating red light nose things at the Ranch."

"Machines." Kratos corrected. "Non-living but active creatures are either called un-dead or machines. Since they weren't a pile of bones or rotting flesh, since they were constructed of metal, they would be called machines."

"Oh," Lloyd laughed. "How'd you get so smart?"

"Experience."

"You like that word way too much."

"The favor you show of dragging out words like "way" is ill suited to the image of an adult."

"Huh?"

"It sounds very childish."

"Oh, whatever."

Kratos growled softly at being flippantly told that his opinion didn't matter but he kept any biting rebuttals behind his teeth. Frowning at the sky Lloyd seemed to be deeply in thought, mulling something over. The mercenary hesitated, merely stared at the young man for a long moment and something in his gaze must have told Lloyd the question.

"I think that there needs to be a bit of red, right over there." Lloyd pointed to a random spot in the sky.

"Only Aska colors the sky, the sun catches his forever shifting colors on the tips of his wings at the end of his flight and stains the clouds and heavens with their hue."

"I'll make you a bet." The Iselian swordsman grinned at his elder. "I can get color in the sky and you..." Lloyd paused for dramatic effect. "Eat a tomato if you lose!"

Kratos shuddered at the horrid threat then considered something. "If I win you pay double my penalty of losing."

"Two tomatoes?" Lloyd gasped, horror shining in his eyes and squeezing his throat till it came out as a squeak.

"If you are confident take the bet, if not then don't."

"I'm not gunna lose." Lloyd growled, never one to turn down any form of challenge. "Hey if I get more then one color up would you eat spaghetti?"

"Lloyd, if you can get one color up and keep it up for five minuets before dinner tonight I will take your friends to one of the restaurants, pay for everyone's meal out of my pocket, and eat a bowl of spaghetti."

"You're on!"

"If you lose, you will be paying, and you will be eating that spaghetti, however that is not all of it, you will…"

"Not a problem, I'm so not going to lose."

"You will upon defeat drop all your classes with Ms. Sage and serve as my apprentice for… a week."

"An apprentice?"

"More intense swords work and I will be taking charge of all your schooling for that time."

"More intense swords work." Lloyd shivered. "How can it get any more intense then it… Alright, fine, man I can't lose now. Hey more then one color you're my apprentice for a week, just so it evens out."

"You are chasing an impossibility Lloyd, quit while you still have some dignity left."

"Hey, nothing's impossible, well see ya in a bit, hope you like spaghetti Kratos!" With a laugh Lloyd ran off.

He waited until the boy had a chance to get out of hearing range then broke out into a case of laughter. Still laughing Kratos decided to lie down and watch the sky and clouds roll on by.

X

Colette blinked when Lloyd asked to use some long ribbons. With her blessing he took a long blue ribbon, a green ribbon, and a purple ribbon, then ran out of the room with a wide grin on his face. He nearly ran Raine over while he was on his way to a cloth merchant.

"What's wrong with Lloyd?" Raine asked her golden haired pupil, the Chosen looked up at her elven instructor and smiled.

"Lloyd and Kratos made a bet." Colette chirped. "If Lloyd can make colors in the sky Kratos is buying us dinner."

"That's not all!" Genis laughed evilly, a ream of paper and a lead tipped writing stick tucked between the pages. "If Lloyd wins Kratos is Lloyd's servant for a week. I'm helping him but I need to use your notes on those different specie of avian monsters which attacked us."

Raine felt as if her eyebrows were going to make a home in her hair. She'd never imagined she'd hear about Kratos loosening up to make a bet, much less one with this magnitude. She struggled with the idea, she knew Lloyd and Kratos were friendly towards each other, that the man tried to help the boy, but making a playful bet? Being playful? She couldn't imagine the mercenary sinking as low as to play or relax, he seemed one of those types who didn't know what play or ease meant.

"Making colors in the sky." Raine frowned. "That's impossible, it's not as if the sky were some great dome that with only a large enough ladder and paints you could change their color."

"I told him that," Genis snorted. "You know Lloyd, when he gets an idea… I don' know why he isn't making a ladder or something right now, but I hope he wins."

"Oh Lloyd will win, he told me what he's going to do." Colette chirped. Raine turned to her pupil, and her gaze was enough to encourage the abswer to her unspoken question. "He said since he couldn't get up to pain the sky and since bringing the sky down to paint didn't sound good he was going to bring the color to the sky with the wind."

The dor to the inn burst open, ignoring the annoyed innkeeper Lloyd charged past them lengths of fabric in hand, a wide grin on his face.

"Hi guys, I'm busy see ya in a bit!"

They all watched as Lloyd took the stairs three at time, then when his heavy footsteps faded away Raine sighed.

"I just wish, just once, that he'd show a fraction of this interest in his studies…"

X

"I call it a sky sail, what do you think?"

Lloyd proudly displayed what to them looked like a trapezoid covered in green and white fabric. The cloth was draped over a set of crossed sticks very thing crossed sticks that where held together with a web of sewing thread and yarn. Sporting a ribbon tail at its longer, and lower section, it was a strange sight. Even more so when you considered the spool of yarn that hung from Lloyd's hand. Noishe cocked his head, sniffed the contraption and whined. He was obviously insulted that his companionship was so poor during their walks that Lloyd had made a cloth version of him.

"This is…" Raine tried to smile encouragingly but was fighting laughter. "But Lloyd you can't paint the sky with this… interesting device."

Genis wasn't being as civil, as he was chuckling quite openly, mockingly congratulating the swordsman for paying attention during the elementary geometry lecture.

"Laugh all you want." Lloyd huffed. "It's going to work."

"How do you think it will work?" Kratos was not snickering, seemed interested in the boy's thought behind the sky sail, though his tone said louder then words that he felt himself safe from losing the bet.

"You ever watch birds fly, when they don't flap their wings they freeze them and fly without flapping?"

"It's called gliding." Kratos corrected. "Such a tactic saves energy, and the bird may use the winds and thermals to gain altitu…" The mercenary went pale, stared at the device with a hint of worry on his face.

"You bird watch?" Raine gave the man her most disbelieving look possible.

"Something like that… Let's see this sky sail of yours work then Lloyd, you've piqued my curiosity."

"How do you expect that to fly?" Genis snickered. "Lloyd this is almost as bad as the time that you made that cape and tied feathers to it then jumped down the gully's side."

"I only did that once!"

"Then you tried the fans, then the blanket, then the…"

"Genis, shut it!"

"All I'm saying Lloyd is I don't know what your obsession is with flying but I'll tell you it's impossible. Human's can't fly."

"I'm not flying. It's going to fly for me."

"Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you."

"It'll work, I trust Lloyd." Colette chirped.

"Colette, he's trying to defy a natural law, he's going against the impossible that the smartest people in the world have tested again and again."

"Well…" Colette considered it. "Lloyd hasn't tested it…"

"Colette, Lloyd has a five percent in Raine's physical science class I don't think…"

"Genis Sage have you been in my grade book again?" Raines expression promised instant death.

"Five percent?" Kratos' voice became lethal and Lloyd gulped.

"Ah… I'm gunna walk it now…" Lloyd then proceeded to flee the older swordsman's glare of death at a trot. At first the device scraped along the ground, then as the string went taunt and the wind caught under its "wings". It flew only a few steps behind Lloyd, the sticks creaked alarmingly at another gust of wind, but the cloth flared out and the thing strained against the very tight leash that Lloyd was holding on it. Slowly as he ran the thing would do a kind of hic-up. It would drop as Lloyd gave it more slack, then the swordsman's run and a gust of wind would make it shoot up. It bobbed up and down then finally just kept going up.

"Oh wow… The sky is a different color!" Colette squeaked. "Isn't it pretty?"

Raine gapped, Genis stopped breathing, they all stared at the strange thing as it broke one of the main unspoken rules that there society held. Only birds and angels flew, only sacred things were capable of flight.

"Amazing," Kratos whispered. "Simple but effective…"

"THERES A FEW OTHERS BY MY STUFF!" Lloyd yelled to them, he was some ways away yes, but did he have to be that loud?

Rubbing his temples Kratos watched as Genis and Colette snatched up two of the gaudy sky sails and went to running. Soon several other "colors" were added to the sky.

"How does defeat taste Kratos?" Raine murmured as she passed him, picking the last sky sail for herself.

"Distinctly odd." Kratos answered, but she wasn't there to hear it, as she began her run to get her color into the sky. He sat upon the soft grass and watched the playful swooping and diving of the colors then flinched as a thought came to him. Did he honestly have enough gald to cover the cost of feeding them all? Knowing Lloyd's insatiable appetite Kratos began to worry that he did not.

X

He felt sick, had gotten sick already, but prayed that he would not be ill yet again tonight. From his window he could see the rocky trails that cut through the town of Asgard. A dull grey vein, streaked with the silver moonlight. It was hardly moving, but then stone hardly moved, and stone and the secrets upon it were normally more stable then most other substances. Behind him, on a bed, sprawled out in a way that only the young could manage was Lloyd, taking up all the bed despite that being a physical could. Still the boy managed it somehow, breaking yet another rule. Running a hand through his auburn locks Kratos watched the world below, they had taken the second story rooms, Kratos was of two minds of the situation. While the rooms did offer a superior view and prevented easy access to the occupants within there straits would be bad if a would-be arsonist came and took a favoring to this inn. Plus the price, he winced recalled the shoddily made rooms at the Vortex. Despite years of hard living and going to a few of the more seedy sides of various towns Kratos had dug his heels in and said no. It was unclean, filthy really, and he pitied the poor souls who had to make do with such poor accommodations.

Which was why instead of paying the sum of fifty gald a room they were shelling out two hundred.

"No place like Asgard encourages people to camp outside of a town." He whispered to the night, dragging that old quote from the dust choked alleys of his mind. They had come out of his own sire's mouth long ago when Kanion Aurion had been a mercenary soldier long long ago. "Some things never change, if they aren't over pricing the food and value of their ruins then there snatching ever coin form you with the rooms." Lips curling in a bitter smile Kratos looked down upon the path, startled to see Raine and Colette indulging in a late night stroll. He could not blame the women however, being surrounded by men –alright one man and two boys- must be a strain on their female sensibilities.

Recalling how hyper Genis had been after having that slice of sugared apple pie Kratos could not find it in his heart to be annoyed at their lack of thought to safety, not in the slightest.

Still it was his job as her body guard to escort and protect the Chosen.

Not tonight though, it was not needed tonight, there was a feeling of stillness, as if the world were holding its very breath, waiting. This was a moment of peace, a span of quiet. Leaning against the frame, little more then a shadow to those who bothered to look up, he stared down at the town of Asgard, its iron grey flecks upon the tan back of road. It blurred under his unblinking gaze, became muddied, as did his thoughts of future, present, and past tangle amongst themselves more surely then the Chosen's feet did during a run.

X

"What is this ceremony that you want us to see?" Kratos sipped the coffee in his hands, the contents of the cup were rather weak and watery, but then if you wanted the best coffee you bought it in Triet.

"It's to commune with the spirit of wind." Raine explained, she frowned, it was only them for once and she was not at all comfortable talking to the mercenary when they were alone. "The residents here worship and revere it as one of Martel's lesser messengers." Raine sipped her coffee, her eyes shinning with a hint of ruin mania. "During Cleo the…"

"Ms. Sage, stop."

Raine looked the man, startled when he shuttered.

"Do not lecture me upon the history of the ages past, I have no interest in it, all I wanted to know was what the people here did. That is all."

"You have little intellectual curiosity."

Kratos favored her with a long stare, there was a hint of mockery in it, it might have been the way is eyes gleamed or the slight tilt of the head, but there was mockery to it she was certain.

"Perhaps, how is your brother?"

"Better, a little pale, but fine."

"Well enough for travel?"

"Mr. Aurion, this ploy is more transparent then glass. Obviously Lloyd has sent you down here with plans to encourage us to leave…"

"The boy's presence has no influence upon me Ms. Sage." Kratos took a second to sip his glass, he allowed his eyes to slide shut as the course yet weak liquid slid over his tongue. "No one influences me save me, and this is no ploy. The Regeneration can not wait, not for long."

"The world is dying." Raine quoted the man from several nights ago.

Kratos did not respond, merely sipped his drink and said nothing to her for the rest of that morning. He did not speak when Genis came down the stairs and sat besides her with a bowl of porridge in hand, only nodded to Colette, he was for all intents and purposes mute until Lloyd joined them.

"Good morning, Lloyd."

Lloyd mumbled something under his breath, yawned, stretched, and shuffled off after a maid so he could get his order.

Still, that was three more words then Kratos normally spoke in the mornings.

Raine frowned, picked at her toast, and wondered in morbid curiosity if the mercenary would speak to any of them if Lloyd were not about. She considered the sketchy conversation attempts with Genis and Colette in a whole new light, considered the ultimatum that Lloyd had thrown in Kratos' face, in front of them all. They were his friends, Lloyd counted herself, her brother, and Colette as his closest friends, and if Kratos wanted to stay on Lloyd's good side he better not be a jerk to them. Lloyd then had offered the mercenary a taste of what being on his "bad side" meant. Silence, evasions when forced into conversation, Lloyd had given the mercenary one sharp bitter taste of an equally harsh brew and the desperation in the mercenary…

No one had noticed on their first visit to Koton, Genis, Colette were far too innocent to see much less understand…

She had watched the agony writhe across Kratos' face when the man imagined no one was watching. She had seen the unchecked fury that was wielded at the monsters they encountered at that time. The man had a dichotomous personality. Severe, harsh, brutal, cold, that was the side he showed the world, but under that, rarely glimpsed and spent on Lloyd was a kind, compassionate, and needing half. When Lloyd had denied that emotional warmth, that which he normally freely offered… Kratos had chilled her with how he had fallen into animal, no monstrous, rages. Luckily he'd had enough control to point it at the creatures around them.

Goddess Martel, help us if he ever loses control over that rage. Raine could easily imagine him demolishing towns and butchering everyone around him to slake his anger. The images that came to her mind were enough to make her lose her appetite. She set the toast aside.

"Are you feeling OK Professor?" Lloyd asked.

"I'm fine dear, I have a bit on my mind."

A dark bit, a heavy burden that only knowledge could bring. A chill of foreboding caressed her spin. Lloyd liked Kratos, as a friend, was as free and comfortable with the man as he was with Genis. He couldn't possible be entertaining the idea of including Kratos into his oath. The very idea made Raine want to yell "no", snatch her pupils, and bolt.

Lloyd had coaxed Kratos into some semi-balance of civil conversation, had talked Genis and Colette out and was now all but yanking teeth to make the mercenary talk. Finally the mercenary picked up the hints that Lloyd was not going to fall quiet and they both chatted about swords.

Seeing Kratos' animation, seeing the man act as a normal person would, was a shock. Even after seeing this cycle unfold before her time and time again it still was a surprise. Who knew lengths of sharpened steel could be so interesting?

As a healer she knew something of scars. The making was an agony, a searing hot pain as flesh was ripped open, it's sancity and wholeness violated by an inanimate thing, and as the hurts healed they hurt, and after they ached and became a mark of pain borne. Kratos must have lost everything, nearly died from whatever had happened to him, for him to be this emotionally withdrawn. And Lloyd must resemble the man's son very much to make Kratos warm to him so fast.

She wondered, did Lloyd understand this some how, certainly it was too advanced a concept for the boy to grasp intellectually, but had his instincts perhaps given him some more basic insight on all of this?

"Whatever old man, two beats one in numbers if nothing else."

"For the hundredth time boy, you could hold a sword in each hand, one in the mouth, and one a foot, and while formidable looking you wouldn't be able to do much of anything. One sword is by far…"

"If you lose a sword you're unarmed, I have a spare."

"A skilled swordsman never loses his weapon, nor is he never unarmed. My shield is as much weapon as it is a tool of defense."

"But if you lost your sword you'd be in trouble."

"I have a knife, throwing and fighting knives."

"Which are just shorter spare swords!" Lloyd pointed out triumphantly.

"However you use both weapons simultaneously where if I bothered to carry another sword I would not."

"Because you're too old to learn a new fighting style…" Lloyd taunted.

"Pardon?" Kratos rose an eyebrow, oozing a dangerous calm that made the air all but crackle with contained tension. "If you refer to adopting a style that is so lacking defensively anyone with a bow could defeat you…"

"Hey I can block arrows!"

Kratos snorted. "One, two at the most, my shield on the other hand can block many more then that small number."

Seeing that the men were busy talking Noishe helped himself to the remains of Kratos' breakfast. Happily lapping up porridge while the swordsmen talked shop the dog began to purr. Kratos looked down, looked at the tan ring around Noishe's jaws and at his empty porridge bowl. Looking up, tail a-wag, Noishe quickly licked his lips while they all stared at him in total shock. The green dog set his paws on the table, and with a delicate nip took the plate covered with egg, bacon, and toast right out form under Lloyd and padded off.

"Hey, get back here!" Lloyd shoved back the chair and ran after his dog. "That's my breakfast you jerk!"

"That is not a dog." Genis said slowly.

"Of course Noshy's a dog." Colette chirped. "He's just really smart for a dog, that's all."

"If he's a dog then I'm a human."

"But then you wouldn't have pointy ears Genis, so that can't be right!"

"Give that back you thief!"

"Grrrr!"

"It's mine, my food, I gave you your breakfast already you…"

There was a clatter and a thud. Plate had been dropped and by the cries of animal and human pain there was a wrestling match going on. A few moments passed, then Lloyd came back, or rather limped back into their range of sight. He had a wad of yellow in his hair and a disgruntled look upon his face. Slowly he picked out the bit of egg, then with a growled, "I'm going to use the pump outside first" excused himself from their presence and the inn.

X

Head sopping wet, he was cold. The omnipresent winds weren't helping him get warm. He shivered, hunched in his mock mercenary garb since the thick black clothes were warmer. Color, Kratos had explained it, the color black attracted light, dark devoured light, lured it to itself and engulfed it. Light produce heat, could warm as well as fire, fire was quicker but warmth was warmth. He wrapped the slender cloak's halved around his arms, they were good for that, worked as well as the arm sheathes that Kratos wore, and were as good as long sleeve shirts.

"You look miserable." Kratos murmured, the young swordsman had taken refuge with the older man as Raine was less prone to quizzing him with the mercenary about.

"Ruins all around and Raine with us, nothing can be worse then this."

"Things can always be worse."

"They could be better." Lloyd growled.

"Could they? Do not be greedy Lloyd, take what is given you and enjoy it."

"Why are you in such a weird mood today?"

"Something I heard in the inn… something is wrong here and I can't put my finger on it as of yet." Kratos frowned. "I need some time to think, while I normally would like your company I do my best thinking alone."

"Alright…" Lloyd sighed, then gathering his courage looked to Raine who was hugging a pillar and making squeaking noises. Genis was shielding his eyes with a hand and Colette was laughing in joy. "Do I have too?"

"What's wrong now?" Kratos growled, lifting his gaze, he stared at Raine for a long moment then put a hand over his face. "My God something happened to her, she must have been dropped or something…"

"Several times." Lloyd added.

Kratos' lips quirked into a warm smile, he ruffled Lloyd's hair. "Be brave." He said. Then with a firm shove to the small of his back Kratos sent Lloyd staggering in Raine's direction. He didn't know what shocked him most, the hair ruffle (only Genis and Noishe did that and only sometimes), the shove, or the words. His feet decided the shove was it, cuz he tripped. He spared a venomous glance at Kratos but the man's head was bowed and his eyes distant. Whatever was wrong, it must have been big, normally Kratos saw everything.

"Ouch…"

"Ah Lloyd could you answer the question?"

She was lecturing and hugging old rocks… Lloyd had heard of some malosooum. Now that wasn't the right name! Oh well, Kratos had dryly called it a place where they stored dead people and old stuff, Lloyd deided there and then that the under world would freeze over before they even mentioned the place to Raine.

"I fell, I wasn't answering…" He muttered to the ground. "Umm what did you say Professor?"

"What type of stone is this glorious wonderful monument made of?"

"Ummm…" Lloyd frowned at the rock. "Granite?"

"Very good, I'm glad you were paying attention."

"Yah Lloyd you got a question right!" Colette cheered him on.

"He wasn't paying attention he just guessed." Genis protested.

"That doesn't mean he got the question wrong right?"

"Well…" Genis sighed. "I guess not but…"

Good thing Kratos was off thinking and Raine was all Ruin nutty or he'd have been in trouble. Lloyd watched as Raine began to baby talk a pillar, a paper and charcoal piece in hand. OK she wanted to try to do transfers on a windy place, fine, but he was not going to be bored out of his mind enough to watch. Genis and Colette began to talk about history so Lloyd decided to stay away from them… But that left Kratos, who seemed intent on glaring a hole into the earth.

Noishe unfortunately was at the inn, being papered by the innkeeper's daughter, and Lloyd'd get seen if he tried to run off…

Spotting a bit of movement on the other side of the monument Lloyd decided what the heck, he'd check it out, anything was better then this.

X

"If we bl…"

"But that mi…"

There was a long silence.

"Hey what are you doing here!"

"Shh you'll call the rest of them ov..."

"Lloyd what are you doing over there?"

"They were talking about blowing up the ruin Pro-"

"WHAT!"

Kratos decided to pull his cloak up a bit to muffle the sounds of the beating that followed. There were several specks of white on the steps leading up; they had a little bit of time before those people came and despite what Colette might think they were not friendly. People with pitchforks and torches, while stereotypical of evil mobs, were made into a stereotype for a reason. Kratos could not imagine them coming up to invite them to a dance or a few friendly games of cast the pitchfork into the bale of hay. Nor did he imagine that they were going to be asked nicely to leave the premises.

"Hi Mr. Kratos, what are you looking at?" Colette chirped, then frowned at the people in white down below. "Oh see their hats they have little crosses on them!" Colette decided to enlighten him. "That means their priests! He-"

Kratos clapped a hand over the girl's mouth before she called down to them that they'd be happy to see them. He half dragged half escorted the confused girl to the small silver haired boy.

"Pointy ears, we have company coming, fetch your sister."

"P… pointy…"

"I apologize, habit, now hurry up, it's going to be dangerous in a few moments and I'd like to avoid killing if at all possible."

Colette stopped protesting and Genis nodded and ran off.

"Mr. Kratos they're priests, they won't hurt us."

"Move," Kratos snarled, giving her a slight shove. His instincts were screaming at him, he drew his sword and seeing that she was going to protest farther grabbed her arm and dragged her behind him. "You may be uncomfortable Chosen, but you will be alive, which is all that matters at the moment. I will butcher everyone in every town if I must to keep you safe, would you add these people who are coming to those who must die?"

She came, stopped fighting and didn't start again when he paused for a moment to work his shield off of his back and strap it to his arm.

X

"Oh sweet Goddess, the high priest, we have to run Harley!"

"I'm coming." The pointy eared man growled, he gave Raine a long hard look. "This "artifact"..." The pointey eared man spat. "Stands only to be stained red; I'm not letting Aisha die on this thing no matter what you want."

"I don't understand what you are talking about."

"Of course you wouldn't." The man snapped. "Outsiders don't get it; you get in our way next time you don't get out in one piece." Winding a length of grey cloth over his head the purple vested man ordered the indigo haired man besides him to do the same.

"But it's going to mess up my glasses..."

"Linar, do you want to maybe lose the glasses or probably be killed?"

"I'm working it on..."

"You don't understand what you are destroying, the historical…"

"Not now!" Lloyd hissed, "There are priests coming."

"I imagine that they will be logical and understanding…"

"They don't look very logical and understanding." Genis whimpered. "They look mad."

The two pointy eared men were climbing down the huge steps behind them, the ones not paved or put with normal steps to make it easier. Following Lloyd's gaze Kratos nodded and snatching an arm from each female present dragged them to the first "step" down and ordered them to climb or else.

"Kratos we can trust…"

"I don't trust anyone. Now climb Chosen, or I'll throw you down and you can fly back up if you are so set upon it."

Genis who kept watch paled and made a squeaking noise of terror. Lloyd joined the small elf, crouched besides the edge of the monolith and stared at the red clad man leading the priests. He recognized the metal sheathed arm anywhere.

"Oh crap, it's Lych! Tell Kratos, run."

That would be quite a feat, and Lloyd didn't expect Genis to be able to get down two of those huge several foot sized steps and tell Kratos then have the man climb up and give him orders. The voices were getting closer, Lloyd gripped the hilts of his swords, his arms began to hurt, the scars began to throb.

Footsteps drew closer, he shivered, they'd see him, they were too close and they'd see him if he ran, they'd see the others. He was trapped. Gathering the last of his courage Lloyd let go of his swords, stood and stepped out from behind the pillar, he had the pleasure of seeing Lych's eye's double in size.

"Hey Lych, how's it been?" Lloyd grinned, doing his best Ivan impersonation, oozing arrogance and confidence that he was not feeling.

"You… you're uhh desecrating an alter to the Goddess with your presence heretic, in the name of the Chosen and as the Chosen's friend I demand you pay."

Someone had curled up with their holy text and studied. Lloyd mentally laughed at that, and the ex-sphere sent a bit of warmth through him, gave him a bit of real confidence. He'd been training with Kratos a while now, several weeks, he had to be better, Lych was too arrogant to bother training, wasn't the type for it…

Lloyd wanted to ask the stone where it learned that but kept his mouth shut.

After all crazy people who talked to stones in their hands weren't going to be trusted and they would be watched, which was what he didn't want.

"This is an altar?"

"Yes," the old man in white bristled. "It is a holy artifact of Martel, only priests and those who serve as companion to the Chosen may come to these hollowed grounds."

"Oh…" Lloyd knew how to play dumb so he did that. "Sorry, didn't know, I'll leave then. Maybe you guys should put a sign or something?"

He then did his best Kratos impersonation, breezed past the lot of them like they didn't matter.

He could feel Lych's eyes on him, and between his shoulder blades his skin itched and tingled.

"It's not over yet kid, we still have words to have." The red clad swordsman hissed as Lloyd passed. Scars laced Lych's face with lines of white, and they probably were all over the man's body. Lloyd did not give the man the satisfaction of seeing him shiver, but inside he did shiver a little, and his arms hurt even more.

He managed to keep the façade of strength until he got down the stairs, there, alone and unwatched he leaned against one of the pillars and shivered as terror ran through him unchecked. It took a while, a few deep breaths, but he was alright, and thinking a little better when he heard the bushes rustle nearby. He turned to the sound, almost drawing his blade, but checked the impulse last second.

"Psst… Lloyd! Head to the inn!"

Lifting his head Lloyd spotted Genis and nodded his understanding. Taking a deep breath, clenching the hilts of his blades, Lloyd grimly walked away from the "alter" and went back to the inn, where hopefully the others would be waiting. The second he got in he checked on the stables, seeing Noishe was there Lloyd opened the gate and let the dog follow him in.

"Gotta keep you safe Noshy, the people from PalmaCosta are back." Lloyd said in answer to the inquisitive "whine" to his back. "Oh gods, I hope it's just Lych, he's bad enough all on his…"

A wet tongue licked his hand, he smiled and scratched those silky ears.

He was totally shocked to see that the common room had no one in it save Kratos. The man had somehow taken the table in the farthest corner. Kratos blended in with the dark, and watched everything about him even though he looked like he was napping. Lifting his head Kratos met his gaze and Lloyd had this weird feeling that someone was telling him how to cut through everyone without making a show of himself.

Blinking, cuz that was the weirdest feeling ever, Lloyd followed that feeling/advice/ and felt a pleasant tingle go down his arm in response. OK stone acting weird, his head was acting weird, and Noishe's tail was not wagging which went beyond weird and into worrisome. He picked up the chair, plunked it back and squirmed into the seat across from the mercenary.

"I'm surprised you have a smooth touch." Kratos murmured, his voice calm, quiet, it blended into the chatter and easy conversation without causing a ripple like his normally harsh tone would have done. "Are you certain?"

With that tone, in this place, anything could have been spoken about it seemed.

"Yeah."

"Relax, we are safe for now." Kratos soothed.

"Where is everyone?"

"Their rooms, we wont be staying another night, they are packing and they will go out through the windows. I already got the baggage down, so they should be gone to the slums in a bit."

"The what, are you insane?"

Kratos reached across the table and snatched his arm before he got all the way up.

"Sit down Lloyden, now!"

Shivering at the icy tone Lloyd did as ordered, did not protest the corruption of his name.

"They can blend in; after all half elves would not be welcome in any upper class society. Raine assures me that she knows how to act half elven, so they are safe for now. We on the other hand, two powerful humans, can't just fade away however. Your little stunt insured that we have to stay out in the open."

Lloyd cringed. "What was I supposed to do?"

"They only came on one side; you could have just gone around the other way and had no problems. But that is neither here nor now."

Kratos released his arm and lifted a hand to call a serving woman over.

"Get used to being a mercenary Lloyd, and I hope you do a better job of it then you did in Izoold. We are going to do some constructive eavesdropping and I do not want a repeat of your foray into vigilante-hood happening again."

Lloyd gulped, shrank back in the chair at those cold unforgiving eyes. Seeing the fear Kratos softened for a moment, he reached out, gripped Lloyd's shoulder for a heartbeat. Then the mask was in place, the mask of cold indifference.

"Ice be the blood, and death the trade." Kratos murmured. "Do not forget. Now tell me of what you saw and what you did."

Lloyd waited until the woman dropped off the wine and bread and cheese then took a deep breath and went over everything. Kratos sat, quietly absorbing the report, then nodded at it's conclusion.

"So it is him, I had hoped he had died." Kratos frowned. "We will confront him discreetly if he looks to be hunting us, otherwise keep an eye open on your back and one on your front, and keep a hand on your sword at all times."

Lloyd looked at the wine, set it aside and ignored the food as well, he just felt too sick to eat, seeing the hesitance Kratos gave him a sharp look.

"You are still growing Lloyd, you must eat."

"I'm not hungry."

Kratos' glare of death encouraged him to be hungry, very hungry. He finished off the food in no time but couldn't quite get himself to drink the wine.

On that point Kratos did not push, did not demand. He sipped his wine, and when it was halfway down he too Lloyd's glass and calmly spilled about half of it on the floor.

"With hope they won't see it and won't realize we did it. Let us go, apprentice. Don't shuffle your feet or look nervous. Hold your head up, and don't show as much as an iota of feeling. Scan the area, hand on sword, and don't stop unless I order you to. Do not speak unless I openly give you leave."

Lloyd nodded, shivered at the all business tone Kratos was using.

"You'll do fine." Kratos smiled, then dropped the gesture. "Come Garr, profit does not waits for the man who does nothing."