Well next chapter, sorry I haven't updated other things…
Disclaimer: I own nothing
"You said you'd tell me."
Kratos frowned a bit, avoiding his sons' gaze. He had, he had given his word he would tell Lloyd anything he wanted to tell him. Such a foolish thing to promise, but then again he did owe it to him. Still, how…how could he explain that? Aside from the ones who had been there, Anna was the only one he had ever told of it.
Lloyd frowned, his arms crossed over his chest as Kratos gazed off through the nearest window, his usual stoic expression. It had been getting late, too dark to fly to Altamira and find the Zircon, and the other two were going to be more difficult to get right away. So they were resting in Zelos' mansion, without fear of discovery now because of the rescinded wanted status. Then Lloyd had reminded his father of one thing he promised he would tell him, namely, how old he really was.
"…I did," he said simply. "But it's a rather…complicated thing, are you sure you want to discuss it now?"
"I said yes already," Lloyd scowled.
Kratos sighed, walking over to the chair in the room and seating himself in it. Lloyd blinked, eying his father, drawing the Seraph's attention.
"Well sit down and I'll-…what is it?"
"I- …I don't know," he admitted, fidgeting a bit. "Just- …we've never really talked like this."
Kratos frowned, raising his brow slightly.
"Well I mean, y'know, sitting down in a room, without some crisis coming or you criticizing me. Seems like every time we've ever talked you've been standing up scolding me or I was yelling at you or-"
The elder male's frown deepened and Lloyd cut off, feeling confused just a moment before he realized that wasn't true. As 'Richard' he had spent a good amount of time sitting with him, talking comfortably. Kratos doubtless was thinking the same, given how his eyes averted again, his russet eyes misting. Lloyd hesitated and then quickly took the chair across from him, eager to distract him, and get his answer.
"So? How old are you?"
Kratos seemed to consider something a moment before he sighed, rubbing his face.
"Don't shout."
"What?" Lloyd frowned. "I'm not shouting-"
"I know, but you might, your mother was quite loud when I told her, she was …surprised," he finished weakly.
There was a moment of silence.
"You can't be that old-"
"Four-thousand and twenty-eight."
Lloyd cut off mid-sentence. He didn't do much other than that and stare a bit, as if he had heard him wrong.
"Four thousand and twenty eight…what?"
"…My age," Kratos said flatly.
Lloyd's eyebrow slowly arched up, his eyes widening a little bit despite it.
"Dad that's impossible, you're not-…."
Another moment of silence.
The clock ticked once.
"Wait- are you serious-?" Lloyd half-yelped, nearly jumping out of his chair. "That's-"
"Angels are capable of stopping their metabolic clock," Kratos cut him off. "Yggdrasill and Yuan are about the same age as well, the three of us have been alive since the Kharlan War, or as you know it more commonly now 'The Ancient War'."
Lloyd could only stare at him. Several times he went to speak but then just went silent, unsure of how he could even begin to respond to such a thing. He didn't speak or even move again until Kratos spoke.
"Is there anything else you wish to know?"
"I'm still trying to get my mind around the you being as old as the Ancient War thing," Lloyd admitted, slumping down into his chair, stunned. "I-that just seems so crazy! …Then again I guess a lot of crazy stuff has happened but I just-…you're a cradle-robber."
It was Kratos' turn to stare.
"I beg your pardon?"
"You're a cradle-robber," Lloyd said again. "You're way more than old enough to have been Mom's dad, or her grandpa, or her great-grandpa, or her-"
"Or yours, yes."
"Glad to see you're so calm about this," Lloyd muttered dryly.
"I suppose after so long I start thinking of myself as timeless rather than old," Kratos said with a weak smirk.
"How can you be that old? I mean I figured you were older than you looked and all, but-?"
"During the Kharlan war, there were…techniques, of sorts that someone who had become an angel using a crystal could use in order to stop their internal clock, hence they stopped aging," he said, looking at him. "I was one angel did that did such."
Lloyd frowned, sinking into the cushion of his chair as he let the idea sink in. After a moment he spoke again, looking up at his father.
"How did you…meet? You never told me exactly how, I mean I know she was in the ranch and you saved her, but-…but why? If you were in Cruxis- or trying to get away from Cruxis, why would you have done that?"
Kratos frowned, his eyes misting over as he thought back to the event and considered whether or not he should tell his son.
"I had taken on a job as a mercenary," he said quietly. "I didn't…know what else to do with myself. I have been fighting all my life, my best skill was always to fight, all I had done for thousands of years was fight…so I did it, it was all I could think of to do."
The man thought a moment, looking up at his son's expectant face.
"…I was escorting a group to Luin from Hima, your mother was in that group, she had just been to visit her uncle, I believe… Over the course of time we were traveling, I did not speak with your mother that much. Here and there, she was…quite talkative, and I was not exactly open to discussion."
A weak smile cracked the Seraph's face and suddenly, he looked old again, in Lloyd's mind. That look was the look of a tired, grieving old man, the look of a man that thought back painfully on days past.
"Noishe seemed to like her, though, which I suppose is why I began to speak with her," he said. "Noishe…he is very wise, he senses things about people…so I knew she must be a good person, in some way."
The smile fell from his face, staring off into nothing.
"I collected my pay after getting their group to Luin, I stayed there at the inn that night and then headed off in the morning. I didn't see or hear of her again for a while…I suppose it was a year later when I returned to Luin from another job. I was heading for Asgard, when I spotted a patrol of Desians, looking for an escapee."
"You mean…Mom?" Lloyd asked, frowning as well.
"Yes." Kratos nodded. "I kept an eye on them to see what they were up to…and I saw them catch Anna. They were going to drag her back to the ranch…and I killed them."
His eyes refocused on Lloyd, scanning him a moment before continuing.
"I saved her from them and she recognized me, she had already had the exsphere attached to her body. I…originally I was going to return her home, but I knew that without a key-crest it was only a matter of time before-…I ended up searching for a dwarf with her, so that a crest could be made for her. In that time…we…"
"You fell in love?" Lloyd asked.
Kratos flinched, blinking once or twice. His tired face softened into a strange expression, closing his eyes and nodding.
"Yes...we did," he answered softly.
The pair sat quietly for a bit, deep in thoughts and memories. Lloyd went to ask another question but stopped, frowning to himself. After thinking about it a moment he got to his feet, Kratos looking at him as he got up.
"That's…that's all, for now," he said awkwardly, glancing aside. "It's- it's late, so we should probably sleep- er, I should probably sleep, that is. I know you don't really need to sleep."
Kratos nodded.
"Sleep well."
"I-..yeah, thanks," Lloyd nodded. "You get some rest too, okay?"
That faint smile reappeared on Kratos' face but it didn't seem as awkward this time; Lloyd found himself tentatively returning the smile.
"Night…Dad."
"Good night, Lloyden."
"I've never really liked this place," Kratos stated dryly as they entered Altamira.
"Really? It seems kinda cool to me," Lloyd said with a grin. "It's really exciting and there's all this weird stuff. Like the hotel, it's so tall and it's made of glass! How cool is that?"
"Well it's less the architecture and more-" the man began.
It was then that they were welcomed by the usual greeters at the resort, namely, the Altamira 'bunnies'.
"Welcome!" Two girls in the bunny outfits popped out of nowhere, a blonde and brunette. "We hope you enjoy your stay in Altamira!"
"Well of course we will, ladies," Zelos said with his usual cheesy grin. "As long as you are here to keep us company!"
Kratos made an odd grunting sound which made Lloyd frown, eying his father.
"D-?"
"Hey there handsome!" the girls chimed in unison, both of them suddenly hanging off one of Kratos' arms. "Welcome to Altamira! We would be more than happy to show you around-"
"I'm not interested-" Kratos replied tersely, smoothly slipping his arms from their grips.
They both erupted into a chorus of giggles which made the entire group look on in either amusement or discomfort. Lloyd found his jaw had dropped when the blonde glomped his father, rubbing her cheek boldly against his.
"We don't get such handsome guests everyday! Are you sure we can't at least show you to the casino? We could entertain you-"
"My wife wouldn't like that," he said flatly.
The bunny girl promptly released him and her and her brunette friend had gravitated back to Zelos at such speed that Lloyd was sure they must've had whiplash of some sort. Zelos of course wasted no time in flirting with them and the rest of the group likewise wasted no time in hurrying deeper into the city without him.
"…Wasn't that a bit dishonest, Kratos?" Raine eyed him.
"Not at all. Anna would've in all likelihood pulled their ears off and shoved them down their throats, had she been present," Kratos responded evenly.
"Surely you're exaggerating?" Regal cocked an eyebrow. "She wouldn't have been that violent-?"
Kratos gave the man a very blank yet somehow self-explanatory look.
"Ah," Regal finished, dropping the subject.
"Hey!" Zelos shouted, racing up to catch them. "What the hell, guys? Why did you ditch me?"
"You seemed busy," Sheena snapped, rolling her eyes.
"Don't be jealous, Babe," Zelos responded with his usual grin.
"So have you been to Regals' company before?" Lloyd asked Kratos, ignoring what Zelos was now claiming was a 'lover's quarrel'.
"I have on occasion, not while Duke Bryant was in charge of it," Kratos replied, seemingly disinterested. "It's grown a significant amount since then."
Lloyd nodded in response, unsure of what else to say. The entire group was more quiet than usual, despite many of the members attempts at keeping things 'normal'…or as normal as they ever were. Still they easily managed to locate George and gain access to the records room, where they located the shipping manifest of the zircon.
"Okay it says the last place they shipped to was-" Lloyd began.
There was a flash of movement quicker than they perceived followed by a loud grunt of pain. Kratos was gripping the wrist of a wounded Kuchinawa, which from the looks of it had just taken Kratos' knee to the gut and was half doubled over.
"Wh- what the-?"
"Kuchinawa?!" Sheena gasped.
Kratos calmly pried the paper from the ninja's grip.
"Is there any particular reason you were trying to interfere with us?" he asked coolly. "I assume you all know him?"
"Kuchinawa the Pope is dead! Why are you still doing this?" Sheena asked, obviously upset.
"Why?! You know why! My parents are dead because of you! Our village was massacred because you failed to pact Volt! I will never forgive you! I will get in your way until I die!"
Kratos' sword was pressed against his throat.
"Kratos-!" Colette gasped.
"Dad, wait-!"
"He's made his intentions to harm us clear, I see no reason to let him live."
"Kratos is right," Raine said with a small frown. "He's just going to keep getting in our way, we can't afford that."
"Wait! Don't-…don't kill him, he's right." Sheena's face fell. "It is my fault, he has the right to be mad at me. Kuchinawa, if I'm the one you hate-"
"Sheena if you even think about sacrificing yourself again, I'll never forgive you!" Lloyd snapped.
"If I'm the one you hate then let's settle this, the traditional way. I'll meet you at the Isle of Decision, and we'll settle this once and for all."
Kuchinawa's eyes narrowed, scanning her and then nodding.
"Fine then. I accept."
"Kratos…please let him go," Sheena asked the Seraph.
The angel eyed her a moment and then released Kuchinawa, eyes narrowed warningly at the man as he backed up from them. He disappeared in a burst of smoke, leaving them there.
"That was foolish," he stated curtly. "Here, Lloyd."
"Huh-? Oh, thanks.." Lloyd took the paper from him. "It…looks like the last shipment was sent to Sybak at the Imperial Research Academy."
"So should we head there now or…Sheena where is it you're supposed to meet him?" Genis asked.
"In Mizuho. It can wait though, our first priority is healing Colette."
Before Colette could protest Raine nodded in agreement, declaring they should hurry for Sybak. The woman eyed Kratos a moment before turning to leave, most of the group doing the same. Kratos had a disapproving look on his face, obviously he did not agree with letting the ninja go but..
"Thank you, that…that's just something Sheena has to do, you know? You understand, don't you?" Lloyd looked at him.
Kratos was silent a moment, considering.
"I suppose, it was still foolish. " He stated, closing his eyes. "Then again you have a knack for turning foolish decisions into good choices…the majority of the time. You still have to think more carefully about the possible consequences of those actions. I know you know that, I simply…"
Lloyd bit his lip.
"Sheena…she did the same thing I did. She made a mistake and her village suffered for it, people died. I don't think it was really Sheena's fault, she caused it but…she was just a little kid, how is it fair to blame her when they made a little kid face up against a spirit?" He patted the side of his leg, brow furrowed in thought. "It wasn't even her choice to try. I mean…what happened in Iselia was my fault. I know that. I made those choices and did what I did, and everyone else suffered for it. It's different-"
He flinched, looking up when Kratos placed a hand on his shoulder.
"It's all right, Lloyd," he said, meeting his eyes. "I do understand. I know you do as well. I…worry about you, is all."
"Colette says you always did, that's why you always acted like that to me," Lloyd cracked a weak smile. "I thought you just hated my guts or something, how you were always criticizing me."
A faint smile brushed Kratos' face before he turned to the door.
"Come along, Lloyd, your companions are probably at the elevator already."
"Hey you were the one keeping us behind," Lloyd huffed, following him.
They made to head right for Sybak but it became obvious as soon as they got outside that that would not be happening very quickly. The skies were black and thunder was heard in the distance.
"Oh well that's not good," Zelos noted.
"We'll have to find a place to wait it out," Raine said. "Regal, if it's not too much trouble-?"
"I'll tell George to have rooms prepared for us at the hotel," he replied, turning to go back inside. "We may be here a while, tropical storms are nothing to sneeze at much less attempt to fly in."
"Can we really afford to wait?" Lloyd frowned, obviously concerned about Colette. "We need to get her that rune crest as soon as we can."
"Calm yourself, Lloyd," Kratos stated. "None of her hair has started to fall out yet."
"Her hair?"
"Is that another effect of the disease?" Raine eyed him.
"Yes, the crystallization process is relatively slow; while we do need to hurry we still have enough time to manufacture the crest. When the skin crystallizes and her hair begins to fall out is when time is short enough that we have to rush."
"Colette, are you feeling all right?" Lloyd asked her.
"Yes, nothing like that's happened yet." She gave him a small smile. "I'll be okay soon Lloyd, please don't worry so much."
Kratos frowned, looking at his son and the blonde. It reminded him of himself and Anna, when the exsphere would be particularly draining. She would tire easily, getting bags under her eyes. She was much like the young Chosen in that way, she would always tell him not to worry and flash that smile of hers even despite how much she was in pain…
He lifted his gaze back to the churning clouds, frowning. If within his power he would make certain the Chosen lived, for his son's sake, and he'd do whatever he could to assist the boy in his goals. It was what Anna would want, after all. Whatever had brought about his transformation must've had that intention as well, he thought with a slight shake of his head. That in itself was another troubling mystery, but…it could wait. There were more important things to focus on right now. Once the girl was healed, there was the matter of finding the materials for the ring of the pact. In fact, he could probably find the adamantite in Sybak while they were there…
Soon things would be settled, one way or another…
Hee hee and isn't Lloyd just going to love that? ;p
Reiews?