A/N I finally have decided how the ending of this story is going to pan out, and I hope it reads as epic as it sounds in my head! I'm not quite sure when that ending will be mind... but at least I have a target to aim for! Oh and I need to tweak the game-canon slightly. EG after kicking Pronyma around, there was no killing of Yggdrasill and so Genis hasn't got his Exsphere. More canon-tweaking will occur from now, but it wont be anything TOO drastic. And I apologise for the pretty shite chapter XD

Kratos hauled himself to his feet, brushing his legs down. He could feel his heartbeat pumping in his ears as he watched the Rhieard carrying his only son off into the Northern skies. Alone. Lloyd was alone. Alone and scared. Those thoughts shook Kratos as he began to head back to his post on the hill by the Tower; Yuan should return soon.

His mind was swimming with questions and his eyes stung with the threat of tears. What on earth was going on?

'...How did it feel?'

Kratos was abruptly frozen in his tracks. He tried to struggle but the magical bind had overpowered him, and only movement of his head was possible. Kratos recognised the voice, and his eyes narrowed as he cleared his throat.

'What are you doing here?' He asked coldly.

'Your own son, drawing his swords to repel your help...' Yggdrasill mocked, 'Was it worth it, Sensei? Was it worth betraying me and releasing Origin just for that hopeless, pathetic inferior being?'

'Mithos...' Kratos warned menacingly.

'What army have you got, Kratos? What weapons do you have? Your only hope is that boy...and he is in no fit state to wield my sword, wouldn't you say? How amusing. 4000 years, sensei, 4000 YEARS! And this is the best you can come up with? Ha!'

'Mithos, what is happening to my son?' Kratos's voice remained low and calm, he would not be provoked by his former student's attempts to rile him.

'It's my Cruxis Crystal, you know,' Yggdrasill mused, strolling over so he was stood behind Kratos's right shoulder, 'Most powerful ever made...I suppose you will need some Aionis ore to replace that key crest, huh?'

Kratos's eyes widened. Lloyd's key crest, gone. He snorted a laugh to disguise his shock, Yggdrasill knew everything. He knew what was wrong with Lloyd and he knew exactly how to rectify it. Kratos looked to his right, towards the Tower of Salvation, willing a blue haired Seraph to appear at its entrance.

'I see.' Yggdrasill said, laughing slightly, 'so that is why our dear friend Yuan decided to show his filthy face in my city once again? I figured as much.'

'What have you done with Yuan?' Kratos asked, cursing himself for revealing Yuan's motives.

'Oh don't worry, sensei. Yuan will be allowed to leave, just without the ore.' Yggdrasill moved round to the front of the Seraph, light dancing behind his large blue eyes, 'You are all part of my little game now. Think of it as a punishment of sorts.'

'What are you talking about?'

'Let's just say Lloyd hasn't got long.' Kratos's stare hardened as Yggdrasill's face split into a childlike grin, 'that crystal will have absorbed his mana in a matter of days. Don't tell me you didn't feel the difference, sensei. You didn't even recognise your own son's mana signature, and he hardly recognised you; his mana is that unpredictable. This should be amusing to watch. I shall return when Lloyd's time is up to finally collect my prize - the Cruxis Crystal I have been waiting for since that worthless human woman stole it from me.'

Kratos looked away.

'Ha. And there was me thinking you had stopped making mistakes. You dissappoint me again Kratos. Lloyd has 48 hours, if he's lucky.'

With a blinding flash of light, Mithos Yggdrasill dissappeared and Kratos was released from his invisible bindings.

'Holy shit!'

Zelos needed to break the silence after Kratos's story.

'So the mana in Lloyd's body is being absorbed by his Exspere?' Genis asked.

'Correct.' Raine confirmed, 'Lloyd's key crest-less Exsphere was the one used in the original Angelus Project to create an Exsphere for Yggdrassil to use. It's evolving so fast that it is absorbing all his mana which would eventually result in...'

'...his death.' Presea finished.

'Is there nothing we can do?' Sheena asked, gripping some loose material in her purple robe.

'If we can find Lloyd a suitable key crest, the process will be reversed, right?' Collette piped up, 'Like with Presea?'

'We can assume as much.' Regal replied.

'What is bothering me is the speed of the evolution,' Yuan murmured, directing his thoughts to Kratos, 'Anna had the key crest-less Exsphere attached for well over a year.'

'Anna was chosen as the subject because of the unusually high levels of mana contained in her body for a human,' Kratos explained, 'the Cruxis Crystal was absorbing her mana at a swift rate and she was weakening as time went on. I had gathered all of the materials needed to make a key crest-'

'She came to me with them,' Dirk interrupted, Kratos looked up at the dwarf, 'I made her the key crest, but it was too late. So I gave it to Lloyd to use instead.'

This explanation earned a nod from the Seraph as he continued, 'Lloyd is different though...his mana levels are staggeringly high, I can only assume that I have myself to blame for that.'

'So the speed of the evolution is quickened...' Yuan said, 'Lloyd's signature was certainly unstable when he came to me. He seemed more...aggressive and irrational than normal, if that is at all possible.'

'It was quite the opposite with me.' Kratos replied, voice dropping to an almost inaudible level, 'He was nervous, even...fearful of anyone helping him.'

'That will be the mana disturbance,' Zelos piped up from across the room, everyone looked across at him, surprised, 'What? I was in with the pope for most of my childhood, okay?' Sheena glared, 'Anyway...most of the subjects that were involved in the Angelus Project changed. They became distant shadows of themselves, sometimes they were threatening, other times they cried like children. I just sat and watched, convincing myself that I was on the right side and that I was safe from harms way. How wrong I was...'

Sheena's glare dropped as Zelos's voice trailed away. 'So what do we do now?'

'Yggdrasill claimed Lloyd has 48 hours, right?' Raine asked, recieving a nod from Kratos, 'Could he just be playing mind games with us?'

'It doesn't matter!' Collette raised her voice and had clenched her hands into tight fists in front of her, 'If he isn't, then we haven't got much time. We need to find Lloyd! He has spent this whole journey looking out for every single one of us, so now it's time to return the favour!'

'But we are just starting at square one again!' Sheena yelled, 'We have absolutely no idea what is going through his mind, nor how long he will be able to lug himself around in his current state.'

'That is exactly what Yggdrasill has planned,' Yuan said calmly, 'he wont let Lloyd suffer and die without any of us hearing about it first. We will look for him, but I think he will come to us.'

'You really think Yggdrasill will do that?' Sheena asked more calmly.

'Of course.' Yuan continued, 'We still have Collette, remember? He will use Lloyd as a tool to get Collette to become a vessel for Martel. We aren't in a complete position of helplessness.'

'That Yggdrasill is a twisted bastard isn't he?' Zelos murmured.

'Absolutely.'

A/N Rubbish way of ending a chappie, I know. Sorry! Will update soon, please leave your ideas...