CHAPTER 5: Kidnapped

I feel the need to comment on reviews. So…

To Thunder Explosion: Well, the Bigfoot, meaning the monster in the game, was in his bed, meaning literally in his bed, so…yeah. As for the Forcystus thingy, what if he doesn't have an arm cannon now? What if, because Martel is still alive, there was never the human uprising that led to him losing his arm? Or, because it's not known whether or not he still has an arm, he could have just taken off the cannon for the meeting. Or maybe it's just a plot hole. But you'll never know. And neither will I. Heh.

And that's all of the reviews that had something to which I needed to say something other than "Thank you so, so, so, so much!"

…I don't know what else to say. So I guess you should read this now. See you at the end.

"Let me down, you perverted old man!" Colette screamed as she pounded on her captor's back. When she had woken up, her head hurt, and she was being carried by the man that had tried to kill her. What a way to start a day.

Now, the three mysterious men were taking her to Izoold. Why they hadn't killed her was beyond her; not that she minded, though.

"Good; you're awake," the man that carried her said smoothly. He acted as if he was unharmed by her blows, and he talked nonchalantly, as if they were having a cordial conversation. He annoyed her.

"Let me down!" she yelled and beat even harder upon his spine. He paid no attention to this and instead talked to the younger men that walked behind him.

"Lloyd," he said, and Colette lifted her head to look at the boy who grunted in response. He didn't look too much older than she, though he did look a whole lot richer. This "Lloyd" wore a pure white jacket that matched his pants. He looked as if he hadn't worked a day in his life.

Based on his looks, she formed an opinion of him. Like most rich people, she assumed that he was stuck-up and snooty. She also guessed that he would be stubborn, and that he would think that he could get anything he wanted. Typical rich people. Why the hell did they think that they ran the world?

Oh, yeah, she thought grudgingly. They do.

"It's not wise to parade around in your current attire," the man clad in purple spandex continued. "You need to change."

"What? Why?" the boy pouted. So far, all of Colette's predictions were true.

"You're wearing white. I would think it would be obvious that you would need to change when journeying in such a forlorn and decrepit world," the older man said simply.

"Hey!" Colette cut in. "I was trying to fix that, until you came and ruined all of that!" Not that I really mind that I can put off my death…she thought to herself.

"Chosen," her captor said calmly. "We are holding you so that you cannot continue your journey. We do have a reason for going through all of this trouble, you know."

Why did they not want her to regenerate the world? Didn't everyone want salvation and prosperity? What was wrong with these people?

"Yeah, my cute, little angel," the redhead added. "We can't have you go die on us. That'd make all of us sad."

"H-how did you know…that I'd die? That's classified information only kept within the Church of Martel," Colette said, stunned.

"Well, you may not know it, but I'm particularly close to the church, myself." The man flashed her a cocky, flirty grin and winked at her.

Colette pretended to gag. "Oh, please. Anyone who was close to the church would know that the completion of this journey is the only way to save the world."

"Not quite, Princess," Lloyd added with the same flirty smile the other man had. "We have to ensure that you don't finish this; otherwise, we die. And you wouldn't want this sexy body to rot into the ground before its time, would you?"

Colette gagged once more. "I think I'd rather die than let you continue to live."

Lloyd's eyes grew wide in a fake puppy dog pout. "Aw, now you've made me sad," he whimpered.

She rolled her eyes. "Wow. You really are something."

"That's better than nothing!" Lloyd cheered, completely switching gears.

From in front of—or, in Colette's case, under— them, the man spoke in curt words. "Would you three children quit your bickering? We have to reach Izoold by sundown, and you are only slowing us down."

The two boys looked sheepish as they said, "Sorry," in unison.

Kratos lifted the Chosen off of his shoulder and laid her on the bed. "Finally!" she cried, happy that she could finally glare at her captor.

"Chosen," Kratos said, ignoring her petty looks. "You will do as we say. Is that understood?"

"Or what, huh?" she asked, obviously not put off by her threats. She started to say something else, but was cut off when Kratos reached for the scabbard that lay at his side and drew out his blade within half of a second, holding it directly in front of her neck. The girl's eyes grew wide as she realized that, if she moved, she would die.

Instead of striking, Kratos only placed the sword back into its holder and crossed his arms. "Now that we understand each other, I believe that I won't have any trouble with you. Will I?"

"N-no…" she said, still shocked from the prior event.

"Good." Kratos turned and walked to the door of Izoold's inn. "Now, go to sleep." He walked out into the hallway and closed the door, locking it behind him.

The intercom of the Asgard Ranch woke Genis up. Another new day. Nothing seemed new about it, though. Every day was the same. Wake up; eat breakfast; patrol the grounds; eat lunch; return to his post; eat dinner; go to sleep. Nothing ever changed for him. Why was his sister so protective? She wouldn't ever let him do anything fun. All of his friends got to leave the ranch; why couldn't he? It wasn't as if he'd never asked. He'd tried asking Raine to leave so many times that he'd lost count. And every time, the answer was always the same.

But the days were getting too boring. He needed something to spice up his life.

"Today's the day," he mumbled to himself as he got dressed and left his room. "Change is in the air." Holding his head high, he walked down the hallways toward the room to which few had ventured and survived. He was among the small handful of people that could go into the Grand Cardinal's room at this early of an hour. And today, he would make use of this privilege in order to get what he wanted. Or…so he hoped.

"L-Lady Raine?" he asked timidly, knocking on her door before entering. When he could see the room, he noted luxuries that were not even comprehensible to him. How much gold and silver could actually adorn one bed?

"What?" the woman on the bed snapped. Her eyes were closed and her voice was slurred, indicating that she had woken up only moments before.

"Um…Sis…"

"Didn't I tell you not to call me that? I am not your sister, you miserable brat." She spoke calmly and tiredly, but the insult stung as much as it would have if she'd been whipping him. She was cruel to her subjects, but she was his sister; Genis couldn't just abandon the ranch.

"I wanted to know…can I go out today? I've never seen anywhere past the walls of your ranch, but I've heard stories, and…well, I wanted to see if they were true." Raine had sat up in the bed, and was now staring at him with cold, calculating eyes. He flinched away slightly—not enough to be visible, though.

"What have I said every time you've asked me?" she questioned, one eyebrow raised.

"Uh…'no'?"

"And what makes today any different?" Her eyes never left Genis, and he was starting to feel extremely uncomfortable under her stern gaze.

"You're feeling extra nice today?" he guessed, hoping that she would accept that answer. "Please, Raine—I mean, Lady Raine—I've wanted this as long as I can remember."

Raine finally looked away from her brother and pondered his request. Genis could see her weighing every single option in her mind. After the longest minute of his life had passed, Raine looked back to him, defeat in her eyes. "Tomorrow. You will go with one of the underlings to patrol Luin. And you will be back before nightfall. Is this understood?"

Genis' jaw dropped. Had he heard her right? Did…she just say "yes"?

"Genis." His sister's sharp voice broke him out of his stupor.

Shaking his head a bit to bring reality back into focus, he said, "Sorry. Yes, I understand. Thank you!" Almost succumbing to his childish desire to run up and hug her, he stopped himself and bowed deeply before leaving.

He had done it. Tomorrow, he would finally be free of this hellhole.

"Lloyd," Kratos said as he walked into their room. Unfortunately, Kratos had to accept the duty of guarding the Chosen, his son, and his friend, so the two boys had been told to sleep in the same room as Kratos. Kratos was not happy with the arrangement, as he would have preferred to keep watch over the Chosen, but it was how it had to be. He couldn't have his philandering son try something on the poor girl in her sleep.

It was the next morning, and Kratos had just come back from checking to make sure the girl was still in her room. She was, to his relief.

"Yeah, Dad?" Lloyd looked away from the ceiling and toward his father.

"Your clothes," the older man said simply.

"Do I have to? It's so early; are stores even open at this hour?" Lloyd complained.

"Yes. Come on." Kratos turned abruptly and headed out of the door, leaving Lloyd to hurriedly get dressed and follow after him. Now that Kratos had brought it up, Lloyd noticed that his white suit-like outfit was getting dirty, stained with an array of colors from the brown family. He grumbled a little, upset that his father was right about needing new clothes, and followed the aforementioned man out of the room.

Merchants were lined up next to the dirt roads, trying to sell their goods to the bustling citizens of Izoold. Were towns normally this busy so early in the morning? Lloyd couldn't fathom the idea of waking up so early every day just to stand on the side of the road, yelling advertisements to potential customers.

One merchant, however, caught his eye. The man, thin and worn, looked as if he'd never slept a day in his life. He waved his hands above his head and called to people with enthusiasm. He seemed confident that his wares were better than any in town.

"Dad," Lloyd said, getting Kratos' attention. "Let's go see what he's selling." He gestured to the man. Kratos sighed and directed his path toward him.

As the two neared the merchant, he called, "Ah, yes, fine sirs; you've made a good choice. You see, I'm a traveling merchant, finding and selling my goods whenever I can. I've recently come across a magnificent find, however, so today is your lucky day!" He beamed before continuing. "While wandering through the Iselia region, I stumbled upon a few dwarves. Did either of you even know that they still existed? Well, I tell no lies; the dwarves were real."

"Where are you going with this, sir?" Kratos asked, slightly annoyed with the man's story.

"Quite the impatient one, aren't you?" he mocked lightly. "Well, after several hours of trying, I finally managed to get one to talk with me. I was willing to trade my wares for theirs. What you see in front of you now are those items that I managed to snag from them. It's quite a deal, you see, as there is almost no other way to experience the culture of these underground creatures who are believed to be extinct. So, what do you say? Take a look." He waved his arm flamboyantly over his products.

Lloyd looked at the small wooden sculptures, the finely-crafted weapons, and the figurines that were proposed to be from the dwarves. His eyes scanned over the merchandise until they reached a small, red, tightly-bound bundle of cloth. "What's this?"

"That is one of my favorite items. It took a while, but I actually got one of the dwarves to make a piece of clothing in traditional dwarven style! Would you like to see?" When Lloyd nodded, the merchant unfolded the clothes so that he could tell that it was a bright crimson jacket. The jacket had several small, intricate buttons lining it. "It's one-of-a-kind. It'll sell quickly; I'm sure. You'd better snatch it up before you leave here today, because it'll be gone soon!"

"Hey, Dad!" Lloyd called. "Look! Does this jacket work?"

Kratos examined the article of clothing and scrutinized every detail. "It's finely made. Do you like it?" he asked his son. Lloyd nodded again. "We'll take it."

"Very good, sirs. Will that be all?" The merchant noted Kratos' slightly nodding head and made a calculation in his head. "Your total will be…five thousand Gald."

Lloyd gaped. "Wh-what? That's insane!"

"Maybe, but it's like I said: this is one-of-a-kind. I doubt you'll ever come into contact with another jacket as finely crafted as this. Sir, the deal still stands. Will you buy it?"

Kratos said nothing, but instead took out a sack of Gald and placed it onto the man's table. "This should cover it." He took the jacket from the merchant's hands and turned from the table silently. Still shocked, Lloyd ran after him.

"Y-you didn't have to pay that much for a jacket…" he mumbled. "Sorry."

"It is as he said. This jacket is very well-made, and I doubt we'd ever come into contact with another dwarf, let alone a jacket of this quality. Just accept it and be grateful." Kratos did not look back to see Lloyd's facial expression shift from shock to joy.

"Thanks, Dad!" he cried happily.

"We still need pants and shoes. Let us hurry."

"Okay!"

It took about one more hour, but the two swordsmen finally succeeded in getting a suitable outfit for Lloyd to wear. It consisted of thick black sweat pants and leather boots that conveniently matched his new jacket. Now the pair walked back to the inn, pushing through the throng of people in the market area.

Along the way, Lloyd had finally noticed something. "Hey, Dad?"

Kratos grunted in reply.

"Why are you wearing spandex? It's really weird."

"I was wondering when you'd finally notice. Even Zelos realized that I'd changed." Kratos cursed that fact that his son was so nonobservant sometimes. "This is easy to wash and does not restrict movements."

"Okay…but…why the cape?" Lloyd pressed.

"It is merely a cape, Lloyd."

A knowing smile made its way onto the boy's face. "I'll bet you wear because you look badass in it, huh?"

Kratos resisted the urge to fall to his knees, pleading for a more normal son. Instead, he looked straight ahead and said sarcastically, "Yes, Lloyd. I wear it because I look badass in it."

Lloyd pumped his fist. "I knew it!"

Sighing, Kratos pushed open the door to the inn and shoved the clothes into his son's arms. "Go change."

"Okay." Lloyd crept into the inn's bathhouse.

About fifteen minutes later, Kratos wondered why Lloyd was taking so long. He slowly walked up to the door and knocked a few times. "Lloyd?"

Without warning, the door flew open, revealing Lloyd. His back was straight, and his hands were on his hips in a heroic manner. "I am Lloyd the Great!" he shouted. "I will right wrongs and banish evildoers from this land!"

He still continued to amaze Kratos in everything that he did. Ignoring Lloyd's "hero" rant, he changed the subject. "What took you so long?"

"I had to put this on the jacket!" he grinned, and spun around so that Kratos could see his back.

What? Kratos thought as he saw long white ribbons dangling from the jacket. "Where did you get this?"

"Well…I figured I wouldn't need my old clothes anymore, and I wanted my clothes to be more 'me', so I tore some strips from my old pants and stuck them onto my new jacket!" he said proudly.

"…Why?" Kratos hadn't directed the question at Lloyd, but instead at himself. It was almost similar to the time when Lloyd was younger. He had run up to Kratos one day after school and demanded that he have two swords instead of one. After explaining his logic, Kratos wondered how he could have raised such a strange son.

It was just the way of the worlds, he supposed.

"Dad?" Lloyd's voice called. "Dad?" The red-clad teen waved his hand in front of his father's unseeing face until Kratos batted it away. "Are you okay?"

"Just…reminiscing…" he murmured.

"Dad, you're pretty weird, huh?" Lloyd said, shrugging his shoulders. He began walking back to the room that he was sharing with Zelos and Kratos.

Kratos waited until the door closed behind his son before responding with, "Yes…I suppose I am."

Uh…a filler chapter? Oh, no! I have to get some plot going! Well, that is…I have to come up with a plot. Dang it.

Anyway, if you noticed, then yes, Lloyd's clothing in the beginning of the chapter were the formal clothes from the game. I'm a lazy, lazy person, and I didn't want to try and come up with something he'd actually wear. But then, I decided that I wanted him to be in his original trademarked outfit, so I spent two days trying to think of a way to get him in those clothes without a plot hole being terrifyingly evident. Hopefully, my explanation was okay and not plot hole-y.

Please review and leave your comments and suggestions! I love you all! You readers are my only friends! …Well, not really. But I still like you all!