Disclaimer - Tales of Symphonia and all it's characters are property of Namco

Triple Agent - Chapter Four

Zelos woke to the feeling of a dull throb of pain, a warm pair of hands clasped around one of his and the sounds of whispering voices. As his eyes adjusted he saw Colette kneeling at his side, one of his hands gathered up in her lap. She gasped when she noticed him blinking up at her.

'Professor!' she called, looking over he shoulder 'he's waking up!' Following her gaze, the red head saw the others sitting a few feet away, Raine and Genis were huddled together looking almost ill with worry, but otherwise no worse for wear and Zelos sighed with relief. At Colette's exclamation the group looked up sharply and quickly made their way over to the fallen man. A space was made for Raine to inspect his injuries. Relief was evident on each of their faces, but none more than the silver haired teacher's.

'Yo' Zelos rasped weakly, his voice dry. Colette giggled and squeezed his hand. The swordsman attempted to sit up and bit back a groan and the sudden, sharp pain in his chest. Raine placed a gentle hand on his sternum and tenderly pushed him back to a lying position.

'Lie still' she soothed, smiling softly at him 'you took quite a hit back there' she faltered slightly 'several of your ribs were fractured, some broken. I've healed them but you need to rest for a little while longer. I had been hoping that you would sleep through the healing process but…' she ran a careful hand over his exposed chest and Zelos noticed for the first time that his coral jacket had been removed. Trying not to enjoy Raine's touch too much, he smirked up at the others, who had hovered behind the Professor worriedly.

'Be honest' he drawled 'which one of you undressed me?' the others laughed and Sheena flushed darkly.

'Shut up!' the woman responded almost automatically, elbowing Genis who had been laughing just a little too hard.

'It's quite alright, honey' he replied, a suggestive lilt to his voice 'It's quite understandable if you couldn't help yourself' he smirked as Sheena avoided the gaze of anyone with eyes and he discreetly grabbed Raine's free hand and gave her a quick squeeze. He propped himself up onto his elbows with a grunt of pain and the teacher tutted fondly as he grinned up at her. Out of the corner of his eye, Zelos saw Genis fidgeting uncomfortably. Tracing the boy's eye line, the red head glanced down at the mass of dark bruises on his torso.

'You alright, squirt?' he asked, concerned. Genis started, noticing that he was being watched and a pained expression came over his small features.

'It's my fault you got hurt' the young boy replied, his face downcast with shame 'just like before'

'Don't be crazy' Zelos dismissed immediately 'I'm fine, see? Just like before. And I'd do it again, too' he paused to look seriously at them all 'for any one of you.' Perhaps it was the latest string of near death experiences or possibly it had something to do with having all of the people that mattered to him back in one piece, but in either case, the recent events had made Zelos feel somewhat truth some, and he knew he owed each of them an explanation for his actions.

'I'msorry' the red head said soberly, his face down turned 'for everything, really. I wasn't lying earlier when I said I'd been working with Cruxis and the Renegades' letting this sink in, he took a deep breath 'when all this began, I was approached by both factions with, ah, requests to join them, and for a long time, I really was weighing you all up against each other' he laughed humourlessly 'I fancied myself as something of a 'free agent' at the time. I figured I'd wait until one of the groups made me the best offer, that's just how selfish I was back then. But you guys were just so…' he struggled to find the appropriate word '…nice.' The party shared fond smiles of varying magnitude, from Colette's beaming grin to Presea's more subdued expression. Zelos continued;

'I never had friends that stuck with me for longer than it took to gain something, with a couple of exceptions' he smiled slightly in gratitude towards Sheena, and Raine cast her mind back to the long nights the two spent talking together and knew he was also referring to Seles. 'But all of you took me in, no questions asked, and made me one of the 'gang'. You laughed with me, fought alongside me, even kicked my ass when I needed it' again he looked pointedly at Sheena who flushed again as the group chuckled together. 'What I'm saying, I think, is that you're my family, and I betrayed you're trust, and I hope you can forgive me for what I've done.' More nervous than he cared to admit, Zelos forced himself to look up at the faces surrounding him. His worry was misplaced, as not one of them showed any anger or hate at his actions, instead there was only acceptance. Lloyd knelt at his side with a wide smile that the red head couldn't help but return.

'Zelos, it's because of you that we're all back together again, without you we could all have died. I don't want to forgive you' the boy paused and held out a gloved hand 'I want to thank you' moved by the young idealist's words, Zelos took the offered hand and squeezed it firmly. It was easy to see Lloyd's parentage when he smiled like that. The comparison reminded the red head of the man who had saved him once again.

'Hey, where's Kratos? Zelos asked, peering around the chamber 'I thought I aw him right before I blacked out' Lloyd stiffened ever so slightly. The young man was still having trouble coming to terms with finding out who his father was, and understandably so, this was the first quiet moment the he'd had to contemplate that fact. Zelos immediately felt guilty for reminding the swordsman of his turmoil. As though he could sense the sudden tension, Kratos himself stepped forward from where he had been standing in shadow, a short ways away from the recovering party.

'Wilder' the seraphim grunted in greeting, his emotionless mask firmly in place now that he was in front of the whole group.

'Thanks for…y'know' Zelos mumbled, trying in vain not to feel like a sloppy student '…again' he added, remembering that the older man had covered for him earlier when his false betrayal had been discovered.

'I was just passing through' Kratos replied coolly with a slight shrug of his shoulders. Zelos couldn't help himself and he snorted with laughter, as did Lloyd. The party stared in confusion at their sudden laughter, and even more so at Kratos who joined them. Making jokes about close calls and such had always been a particular brand of dark humour exclusively enjoyed by swordsman. A comfortable silence fell over the group and Zelos noted that it was the first time that the nine of them had been together in such a capacity. Colette scrambled to her feet, drawing their attention for a moment. The blond haired girl padded towards the centre of the chamber, gazing up at the shimmering Great Seed, using her hands to shield her eyes from the almost dazzling light.

'What do we do now?' the girl asked nobody in particular as the group followed her stare up to the Seed suspended high above them.

'You still intend to unite the two worlds, correct?' Kratos asked, already knowing the answer. Zelos dipped his head, well aware of the direction of this conversation. He felt Raine's hand softly grip the back of his neck and begin to rub softly and was immediately grateful for her perception.

'Of course' Lloyd replied, meeting Kratos' eye carefully.

'Then you in order to wield the Eternal Sword you will require the recognition of Origin' the seraphim said, catching the look of comprehension on Sheena's face 'the King of all Summon Spirits' he then stared pointedly at Lloyd 'to release him you must defeat me'

'But that's…' Lloyd began, spluttering, but Kratos cut him off by unfolding his shimmering blue wings in a burst of light. For a tense moment, Zelos thought that the duel between father and son would begin right then and there, but with a mighty push from his wings, Kratos kicked off from the ground and took off through a gap in the roof of the chamber, heading for the surface.

'Wait!' cried the brown haired swordsman, reaching an arm out towards his father's retreating form, but the man was already gone. The frustrated boy kicked out angrily at a jumble of fallen rocks, scattering them to the tiled ground. 'This should be over!' he yelled in the direction Kratos had disappeared in. Colette immediately rushed to his side laying pacifying hands on his shoulders. 'This should be over' Lloyd repeated tiredly, much quieter this time, the blond angel's soothing effect on him working almost instantaneously.

'Calm down Lloyd' she said softly 'you should rest before you get worked up and rush off again'

'Colette's right, Lloyd' agreed Raine from her position beside Zelos 'we've all been through a lot to get this far. We ought to take a little time to recuperate; Kratos knows this and will understand.' With no counter to the combined front of his lifetime friend and his teacher, the young swordsman nodded mutely and allowed himself to be steered by Colette towards what she thought was an exit. The girl floundered for a moment, peering between the several identical tunnels that branched off from the Great Seed Chamber. Confused, she turned to Zelos.

'Um, Zelos?' she asked quietly, a red tinge of embarrassment on her cheeks 'how do we get out of here?' Zelos chuckled in a faint amusement.

'Never fear, my little angel, I'll lead us out of this craphole' he flinched when Raine shot him a stern look 'I mean, the Great Zelos is never lost' he added hastily, mentally slapping himself for forgetting about the silver haired woman's zero-tolerance policy on swearing around the younger party members. He looked up at Regal with what he hoped was a winning smile and stretched out a hand.

'Mr President?' he wheedled with his best pleading expression. Rolling his eyes, the large man reached down with his shackled hands and pulled the redhead to his feet. 'Thanks, man' Zelos ground out, wincing at the pain in his ribs 'wheres my…' he trailed off as he spotted what he was looking for neatly folded under one of Sheena's arms. 'Sweetness?' he called, gesturing for the jacket and the Summoner strode quickly over to him. Zelos caught her eyes scanning his toned form and smirked, causing the ninja to blush and look away sharply. 'Prude' he said slyly, laughing when she threw the coral jacket in his face. Pulling the article over his shoulders he felt something jagged brush against his side and, feeling like an idiot for forgetting about it, Zelos slipped a hand into his pocket to feel the rough surface of the Aionis. He was about to open his mouth to speak when he saw Lloyd's lost expression, the poor lad looked like he was about to keel over.

'Later' he decided firmly, tucking the stone deeper into his pocket. Lloyd didn't need any new information to worry over right now. Forgoing buttoning his jacket, the red head limped over to Colette, feeling Raine move up to his right side before he had taken two steps and giving her a grateful smile for the support, ambled towards the left most tunnel out of the many Colette was fretting over.

'This way, folks' he called over his shoulder and the others moved to follow. Winking at Raine who smiled in bemusement, he put on his very best swagger. 'I could get used to this 'leader' gig, y'know' he boasted confidently.

'Is that so?' came Regal's deep voice, his sarcasm as subtle as a poke in the eye. Zelos continued unperturbed.

'Damn straight' the red head bragged, a sudden thought striking him 'and correct me if I'm wrong, Duke Bryant, but I distinctly remember someone matching your description calling me 'Sir' not an hour ago.' The younger party members laughed as the large man stumbled over his response.

'That true, Regal?' teased Sheena, the humour putting some colour back into her face 'you're all for putting Tethe'alla's Casanova in charge?' The group laughed harder as Regal's eyes widened at the thought of taking orders from Zelos on a permanent basis.

'It was a joke…' the blue haired man tried to explain but that only seemed to fuel their amusement at his situation, Presea too had begun to giggle quietly. Taking a discreet peek back at Lloyd, Zelos saw that the boy was smiling slightly, but not enough for his liking, and he continued with renewed zeal.

'Well I'm totally for it' he said, tossing his hair with the hand that wasn't still wrapped around Raine's waist for support 'I have it on very good advice that chicks dig guys in positions of authority…' This latest statement was apparently enough for Lloyd.

'What?' he called disbelievingly from the back 'who says that?' Zelos craned his neck to face him with a wide grin plastered across his face.

'Me, of course!' he finished with a wink and the red clad boy snorted with laughter, unable to contain himself any longer.

'No way, man' Lloyd responded, coming out of his shell at last. Hearing the young man talking and laughing again had an immediate positive effect on the group and they fell back into easy conversation as though they were out on the high street in Meltokio. Mission accomplished, Zelos turned his attention back to the tunnels ahead. Raine pulled him closer while keeping mindful of his injuries.

'Well done' she whispered, and Zelos was certain she could detect a note of pride in her hushed voice.

'For what?' he asked innocently. Raine wasn't buying it.

'You know what' she replied with a smirk, tipping her head back slightly, gesturing to the party behind them, and the light hum of content conversation 'they needed that. Especially Lloyd'

'Yeah, well, kids got a lot on his mind, figured he could use a laugh or two' Zelos answered, warming slightly at the praise, ducking slightly to avoid a stalactite, hanging low from the rocks above. 'What about you?' he asked quietly, nudging the teacher gently with his hip 'what do you need?' The silver haired woman was silent for a moment before leaning closer with a sly smile.

'Ask me again when we're alone and I'll give you a list' she whispered, her tone sending a jolt through the man's body. She was getting really good at this.

'I'll hold you to that, Professor' he replied, matching her low tone 'I did say that I wasn't going to let you go again, didn't I?' he added with sincerity, squeezing her closer.

'I know' Raine replied thankfully and a comfortable silence fell over the two, broken only by the chatter coming from behind them. The party continued through the dim tunnels for some time, following Zelos' direction. The red head stopped once or twice to recollect his bearings before striding off confidently once more down his chosen path. It wasn't long before they turned onto a passage with the unmistakable light of day blinking at them from the far end.

'Booyah!' Zelos whooped, turning to face the others 'admit it, you're impressed' he added with a smirk, secretly glad he had actually found the way out.

'About time' Lloyd retorted cheekily, shouldering past the red head before tearing off towards the light, Colette hot on his heels, their laughter bouncing off the walls of the tunnel. Genis squeezed between the two adults, moving to follow, but hesitated, jogging in place, in front of Raine. Silently she gave him a smile and a nod, and with that authorisation, Genis hurried off after his friends. Zelos snorted, drawing the older Sage's attention.

'You're such a Mom' he said, laughing harder when she elbowed him sharply in the side, carefully avoiding his damaged ribs 'easy, honey' he added soothingly 'I admire that maternal side of you, really. It's sweet.' Eyeing him for a moment longer to assess if he was still making fun of her, Raine gave him a half smile.

'It used to be just the two of us when we first went to Sylverant, and it stayed that way for a long time before we found Iselia. I had to be a sister and a mother for him' the teacher said a little distantly, eyes following her brother's retreating back.

'Well you did a great job' Zelos said honestly and was pleased to see a true smile find its way back to the woman's face.

'I like to think so' she answered, with pride for what Genis had grown into. Silence once more fell between them as they moved closer towards the tunnels opening, stopping when they reached the three youngest group members, who were peering out into the broad daylight from the mouth of the passageway.

'What's the hold-up, bumpkins? Not had enough cave already?' Zelos queried, taking a look over Lloyd's shoulder 'Ah' he added, noticing exactly what the 'hold-up' was 'I'd forgot about that.' From the ledge there was an attractive view of the main entrance to the Tower of Salvation, and also of the twenty foot or so drop between them and the ground. Lloyd gave an excited whoop and flung himself from the ledge landing not so smoothly on the grass bellow, which did little to dampen his spirits.

'Come on, guys!' he yelled up at them, waving madly 'It's not that far!' Colette giggled and in a blink of light, her pink wings revealed themselves. She grabbed Genis' hand and with even less warning then Lloyd, jumped from the ledge pulling the small mage with her with a squawk. Her wings fluttered happily, slowing their descent as they landed softly next to the brown haired boy to join his enthusiastic waving.

'Children…' Raine sighed fondly, looking uncertainly at the steep drop. Zelos smile turned wicked.

'Well if you can't beat 'em, darling…' he said slyly before sweeping her up into his arms and springing from the ledge. To her credit Raine did not scream, but she did squeeze her arms around his neck so tightly the red head was afraid his head might pop off. Wind whipping his open jacket about his sides, Zelos landed as gracefully as possible with his injuries. Carefully he set the slightly windswept woman on the ground. Gathering herself, Raine looked him in the eye for a long moment, ignoring the stifled laughter coming from Lloyd and her brother. Zelos held her glare for as long as he could before inevitably dropping his gaze.

'Are you going to do that again?' she asked in a way that didn't make her question actually sound like a question, her eyes narrowed to dangerous slits.

'Um, no?' he replied, feeling like he was back at the Sybak Academy.

'Good' she said with a smirk and a wink, showing that she as just screwing with him. Zelos found himself extremely attracted to her in that moment. He sighed ruefully.

'Man, am I whipped' he thought, only slightly disturbed by the fact that he didn't care. Hearing soft thumps behind him, he turned to see that Regal, Sheena and little Presea had caught up and joined them down on the ground.

'So, where to now?' piped up the Summoner, using her hand to shelter her eyes from the sun.

'Well I for one would like to cast my vote for Altimira' Zelos cut in quickly, raising his hand 'y'know, if we're going somewhere to rest; it might as well be in style…' he trailed off.

'Why Altimira?' Sheena asked, wrinkling her nose slightly at the thought of visiting that 'gaudy resort' as she had labelled it. Catching Regal's mildly offended look she shot him an apologetic smile 'sorry…' she mumbled.

'Why Altimira?' Zelos repeated incredulously, staring at the young ninja 'because it's awesome, that's why! There's a Theme Park, Casino, Theatre, not to mention a Beach!' he rattled off, chuckling 'what's not to like? There's sun, sea, sand and se-' Raine jabbed him warningly in the side 'sand?' he amended hastily. Colette giggled softly.

'You already said sand' the blond said, nonetheless looking excited at the prospect. Zelos could feel the heat of Raine's gaze on the side of his face.

'Yeah, well…' he hedged, sweating slightly under the heat of the woman's stare '…I just love making…sand castles' he finished lamely. Regal smacked a cuffed hand to his forehead in despair but Colette seemed more than satisfied with his answer, and turned to chat excitedly about this impromptu 'holiday', with Lloyd who could only nod along with the blonde's rapid words. Arrow successfully dodged, Zelos turned to the others with a winning smile. 'How 'bout it?'

'I think it's a great idea!' Genis chimed in, having barely heard the rest of the conversation past 'Theme Park'. The small mage was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet in an obvious effort to contain his anticipation.

'I have no objections' rumbled Regal, thinking of paying a visit to Alicia up on the Sky Terrace of the Lezareno building 'and I appreciate the enthusiastic endorsement, Zelos' he added, with a smirk.

'Not at all, glad to have you on board, big guy' Zelos replied with a slight bow, and he looked expectantly at Sheena for her to throw in her two gald.

'I guess we could sunbathe?' the ninja directed at the pink haired girl beside her with a sisterly smile on her lips. The small axe wielder smiled in return and nodded, which was all the approval the red head needed.

'Great!' the man grinned at them both before turning lastly to Raine 'so…?' he coaxed, elongating the word. The scholar shrugged casually and Zelos thought he saw a wicked gleam in her eye.

'I don't mind where we go' she said nonchalantly, keeping her eyes locked on Zelos 'as long as I can give your body a thorough examination' Silence. The red head seemed to deflate slightly at the scholar's words, spluttering inelegantly, not quite believing what she had just said. Sheena groaned at his antics.

'She mean's your injuries, you cad' she tossed over shoulder as she turned back to Presea, who carried the Wing Pack, containing the Rheiards. Raine shot him a sly smile and stuck out her tongue triumphantly and Zelos immediately knew that this was payback for his stunt at the ledge just now.

'My mistake…' he replied casually 'for a wonderful second, I'd thought the good Professor had succumbed to my charms' he sighed, placing a melodramatic hand over his heart 'Wishful thinking on my part, I suppose…' he added wistfully, smirking while Raine's lips twitched with suppressed laughter. At Sheena's calling the group stepped back to allow room for the eight flying machines to unpack from the small storage device.

'Let's get going!' Lloyd crowed, hopping onto the seat of an orange Rheiard that clashed eye-wateringly with his bright red attire 'I can't wait!' Zelos and Raine's eyes met again at the boy's proclamation as they climbed aboard their own sleek machines.

'Neither can I, Bud' the red head replied over the hum of the engines powering up, continuing to hold the silver haired woman's eye. 'Neither can I'

-End-

This chapter ends 'Triple Agent' a sequel/follow up featuring the 'Holiday' is in the works. Thank you to all those who read and/or reviewed this story, I hope that you enjoyed it.

In the meantime, feel free to take a look at 'White Magic', a slightly earlier story of mine set before this one (also Zelos/Raine)

Ciao