Lilikoifish: What's up? I hope you all enjoyed my last chapter! Heh…I had so much fun typing it up. Thanks to all who reviewed! To all who are reading this but aren't reviewing, I hope you're enjoying my fic, but I really hope to hear your opinions, so please review (with an exception of people with no account)!

Disclaimer and notes to readers: I do not own ToS. Also, Kratos is sleeping, which I know he does not, but his sleeping adds to the story, so deal with it.

Bonded – Part3: Chapter 5

The bright sunlight glinted on the beautiful ocean and peeked through the red, velvet curtains in room 437 on floor 4. The rays beamed its gaze onto a small, but happy family. Anna, Kratos, and Lloyd Aurion were all fast asleep in their warm, cozy, four-poster beds.

Anna was wrapped up in a cocoon of blankets, while her husband, Kratos, was sprawled out on the bed with hardly even a corner of the blankets on top of him. All the same, he was comfortable. Meanwhile, their son, Lloyd, had his own four-poster bed to himself. Lloyd was quite small in his large bed and sea of sheets. Several times, Anna and Kratos could not find him and were sure that he had been kidnapped—only to be found curled up in his enormous bed.

Today, however, as soon as the sun peered through the curtains, Anna immediately woke and began to shake her family awake.

"Wake up! We have such a busy day today!" Anna shook Kratos. He would not budge. He was, in fact, a heavy sleeper. 'The men these days…they just can't wake up!' Anna thought.

"Oh! Do wake up, Kratos!" Anna shook him harder. Still no response. Anna thought about hitting him, but she couldn't stand the thoughts of hitting her husband.

"Mommy!" Lloyd pulled open the drapes on his bed. "G'morning!" Lloyd rubbed his eyes sleepily.

"Good morning, Lloyd," Anna was glad to see someone finally awake. She kissed her son tenderly on the forehead.

"Do you need me to wake up Daddy?" Lloyd asked excitedly.

"No, Lloyd," Anna said sternly. Lloyd's facial expression fell.

"Aww…" All of a sudden, a little light bulb went on in Lloyd's tiny head. Lloyd ran over to the large window and yanked open the curtains. Sunlight streamed into the room. Anna squinted.

"Huh…? Wha…?" Kratos rubbed his eyes drowsily. He shielded his eyes from the bright sun.

"It's about time you're awake, Kratos," Anna said. "Get changed. We have a busy day today."

"I swear—everyday, you're sounding like a nagging parent!" Kratos declared. Anna glared.

"And you're sounding like a little kid everyday!"

"Heehee…I know what a nagging parent is…and I act like a kid everyday!" Lloyd noted. Anna smiled and said, "I'm sure you do, Lloyd."

Sooner or later, they were out the door and rushing down to breakfast. They went into the buffet and grabbed a plate. Warm, fresh, glazed donuts were sitting in a tray. Fresh, juicy, fruits of all sorts were lying out on the table. Omelets with potatoes and sausage were in the heating trays with fancy silver lids on them. Toast with apple gel and orange gel spreads were in a basket. Pancakes and waffles were also in the heating trays. Scones, muffins, and all sorts of other sugary sweet pastries were in baskets. Everything looks scrumptious.

"Hey!" Mithos called as the three sat down at the table.

"'Sup?" Yuan asked without looking up from his food. He was also reading the newspaper. "Hey, Kratos, Mithos! Check this article out." Kratos and Mithos looked over at the newspaper Yuan had laid on the table.

IS THE LEZARANO COMPANY IN DANGER?

Recently, Regal Bryant, president of the Lezarano Company, has been facing some major problems. Just yesterday, a new business was formed. Everyone is now switching their insurance company to Exinsurance, which is located in Meltokio. Although Lezarano is still making money through their casino and amusement park, a majority of their funds have been lost. Even if everyone in Tethe'alla goes to the amusement park and casino everyday, their fund will only be 50 percent better. Can Lezarano finally make a comeback? Who knows? If you do wish to support this insurance company, visit the theme park, go to the casino, watch the nightly shows, or keep Lezarano as your insurance company!

Kratos snorted.

"Why should we care about the Lezarano Company?" he asked.

"Exactly," Yuan said. "We shouldn't. This article is completely pointless unless people like the theme park and casino and shows…and insurance." Anna eyed the article.

"Well, we are going to casino today, and this trip HAS been a lot of fun…" Anna pointed out. "I do think that the part about the 50 percent stuff is exaggerated, though. There are a lot of people in Tethe'alla!" Mithos added, "I agree that this article is completely pointless, though. Who would care about a stupid subject like this?"

The truth was…none of that article was true.

That night…

Yuan, Mithos, Kratos, and Lloyd were all in their black tuxedos. Of course, Mithos was going to take Lloyd to the show (since the last time he went, the guards wouldn't let him in). Anna was wearing a white spaghetti-strap dress with her hair pinned up in a pearl barrette.

"Does everyone have money?" Yuan asked. They all nodded. Yes, even Mithos needed money for the show. They departed. As they did, Mithos remembered a nasty memory of the last time he had visited.

Flashback

"All right!"

"Mithos, calm down," Yuan said.

"I'm so excited! I've never been in a casino before! I hear the beef sandwiches are really good, too!" Mithos ignored Yuan's comment. When they reached the casino, though, Mithos's excitement was all for naught.

"We're sorry, but kids aren't allowed in the casino," a burly guard said.

"I'm not a kid! I'm 4012 years old!" Mithos protested.

"Kid…we're being serious. There's no way we're falling for a trick like that. We understand you're trying to be funny, but you're not. No one lives to 4012 years old," the guard said. Mithos was raged.

"Excuse me, sir…forgive my brother's behavior," Yuan said. Of course, Yuan was trying to get Mithos in. "I do apologize for his behavior. However, he really is 4012 years old. He contains a Cruxis Crystal, with slows the aging process down."

"What the—" the guard said. "Okay…you know what? You can either leave or go in. The kid stays out. You are talking rubbish, so get in, or don't."

"I'm sorry, but I promised a friend we would be there. I cannot go in without my brother sir, so it's up to you. Let us in, or die. It's your choice," Yuan held up his weapon. The guard reluctantly allowed them in. They had fun the rest of the night.

Mithos shuddered. He didn't want Yuan to be taking his back again.

Now, you're probably wondering why in the world the article was brought up. That article certainly had a link with the Lezarano Company. It was all a plot, though.

"How cool!" Anna, Kratos, and Yuan entered the casino. "I'm going to try out the blackjack! See ya!" Anna ran off to the blackjack.

"Wonder what got HER so excited…" Yuan said.

Anna sat down.

"Hello, miss. It's 1000 gald per game," the man said. Anna was shocked.

"Are you crazy? Why is this so expensive?" Anna asked.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but it's always been this way. It's been the same prices since this casino was first built," the man said. Anna sighed. She placed 1000 gald on the table as a bet. The dealer handed out the cards. Anna took a quick peek at the other card she had. An ace and the queen of spades…it was perfect.

"Hit?" the dealer asked.

"No thank you," Anna said. Everyone turned over their cards. Anna managed to get 21, so she won 10, 000 gald. She won the next game with a 20, winning her 8000 gald (some people left). She was having a good time.

Kratos tried the slot machines. His luck was horrible. Every spin was 100 gald. He never won…not once. He groaned.

"Does this casino have a grudge against me…?" Kratos sighed and headed for the bar.

Yuan was at…poker. His luck was okay. It was a 500 gald bet…and he won only twice.

"Okay…it's a full house…in clubs!" Yuan slapped down his cards.

"Oh yeah? A straight…in HEARTS!" another yelled.

"Sorry to break it to you, but I have a straight too! It's in SPADES! I WIN! HAHAHA, SUCKERS!" a drunken man slapped down his hand of cards. Yuan rolled his eyes and left.

At the theater…

"Mithos…this is boring…I wanna do something else!" Lloyd whined. Mithos was sitting on the bench as still as a rock…from boredom. The show was a bunch of Katz turning from side to side.

"So do I…let's go hang out, Lloyd," Mithos took Lloyd's hand and led him to the bridge.

"Mithos? Where do you live?" Lloyd asked. Mithos looked away, his hair blowing in the night breeze.

"I live very far from here…I live in the sky, I guess you could say," Mithos sighed.

"Cool!" Lloyd leaned on the bridge wall. Just then, Anna, Kratos, and Yuan ran out of the casino.

"Mithos! Take Lloyd and run! The casino is a trap!" Kratos yelled. He ran as fast as he could. A few Desians stepped out of the casino. They were in tuxedos.

"Hand over A012!" they commanded, holding out their whips and swords.

"No! I'll never go back to you!" Anna yelled.

"Lord Yuan! Quick! Capture them now!" they yelled. Kratos looked at Yuan desperately. Yuan saw the facial expression on Kratos's face and decided he knew what he was going to do. Oh, that look he was giving him! It looked so sad…

"I'm afraid I can't do that, men. You see, Kratos has been a great friend of mine," Yuan replied.

"Lord Mithos! Do something! A012 is right before us!" the Desians yelled.

"How…dare you give commands to me!" Mithos bellowed. A gust of wind picked up and blew his hair and clothing. Of course, the Desians didn't dare make a move. "Most of all from you rats! If you're so concerned about this Angelus Project, why don't you do something about it yourself? These are my friends! I am Lord Mithos, leader of Cruxis! You rats should not be giving me orders!"

"Waah! Run!" the Desians fled at the fury of Mithos. Lloyd stared up at Mithos and blinked a couple of times. Mithos sighed deeply and muttered something about pathetic rats. Yuan's eyebrows had probably shot up about and inch and Anna was still clinging to Kratos. Kratos was looking at Mithos strangely. Mithos had never been this angry before. Not once. Mithos looked around at his friends.

"What?" he asked.

"Are you okay Mithos?" Lloyd asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine…" Mithos sighed. "I just need to be by myself for a while…" He walked off on his own. He paced in front of the ocean, the waves rolling to his feet.

"Kvar! What the hell are you doing? I'm trying to have a vacation and you come and ruin by pursuing your stupid Angelus Project!" Mithos snapped. A hologram of Kvar was standing on the sand.

"I need her. She's important. I think you even consented to this project, yes?" Kvar answered. Mithos growled, "Yeah, but I wouldn't have if I knew you were going to spoil my vacation…" Kvar smirked. Mithos glared at him.

"I am letting you go this time. You are extremely close to losing your position as a Grand Cardinal, you hear me?" Mithos asked. Kvar nodded and smiled. The hologram vanished.

"Sometimes, I wonder why such idiots are on my side…" he murmured to himself. He walked back to his friends. They were all waiting for him.

They all packed up that night and checked out early. They immediately left Altamira.

"It was nice spending vacation with you," Anna smiled at Yuan and Mithos.

"Yeah, it was fun," Mithos said. "Hopefully, we'll be seeing you soon." Yuan and Mithos opened their wings and flew off.

"That was a nice experience…" Anna sighed. Kratos nodded. Lloyd began crying.

"What is it, Lloyd?" Kratos asked. Lloyd sniffed, "That was so much fun…I wanna go back!" Anna picked up Lloyd and said, "Don't worry, Lloyd. I'm sure you'll be able to go back their someday."

At the ranch, Kvar was quite upset.

"That damn Kratos! He took what I want now more than ever! Damn, damn, damn him!" Kvar slammed his fists into the desk. "Kratos, I will get my revenge on you…I will get Anna back!"

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Lilikoifish: Heh…you might think that article was totally irrelevant, but it's not if you make the connections. I'm going to make you figure it out yourself. Heheheh…

Kratos: You're also hinting something about Kvar…

Lilikoifish: Shush! You've done enough spoiling for a day! Please review!

I hope you enjoyed this chappie! Please review and give me your opinions!