Almost forgot to upload this! Since it's the end of the semester, there's so many projects to do ): Luckily I'm always a chapter ahead of posting, so I'm optimistic that the pace of this story will continue to be weekly. Plus, it's almost Christmas break too, so I hope to be able to get some time to write some more chapters. But in any case, here you go for this week's ch! It's one of my favs, hehe. (:

Chapter Four:

Seriously? What the hell are they thinking?

The meeting with Tiga had left Zelos with a sense of frustration he could not shake off. The conversation had, at first, gone more or less as expected. The Vice-Chief had mainly wanted to personally assess if Sheena had made a good judgment call in allowing the Sylvarant Chosen to live, especially since the repercussions of her actions had landed Mizuho in hot water not only with the Royal Family but also with the Church of Martel.

Surprisingly enough, the answer had been yes. Why? Well, that was what was throwing Zelos off.

When Tiga had questioned the group over their current goals, Zelos hadn't been surprised by what Lloyd had said (he had heard the speech twice before already), but rather by the Vice-Chief's reaction to it. The whole idea of separating the two worlds was too far-fetched to even consider, but Tiga seemed to see something in Lloyd that made him believe that the venue was at least worth looking into.

Personally, Zelos thought Lloyd was being too naïve about the whole thing. A world without discrimination? A world where this stupid Chosen system could finally be abolished? There was a time when he had been younger that Zelos had hoped for something like that to happen. He had long since discarded those ridiculous idealistic illusions.

It appeared that he was the only one though.

Of course, that didn't mean he was going to go and publicly speak up his opinions on the matter. He certainly didn't care if the group wanted to run around Tethe'alla like headless chickens. As long as they stayed away from the Seals…

They might even stumble into some information about his sister.

Already, Zelos was grateful that they had stumbled upon Mizuho. Since they were known for their non-disclosure contracts, Zelos had taken the chance to discreetly hire one of Mizuho's ninjas to gather information on the Pope's affairs in hopes to get some kind of lead on Seles. It would take time though. And time was a luxury that Zelos didn't have in spades.

At least Cruxis has kept quiet for a while , Zelos thought as he silently followed the group out of Mizuho. They were off to Ozette, finally. It seemed like the Papal Knights hadn't spared more than a day of search in the area.

Pronyma is probably wondering what the hell I've been up to. Zelos frowned as he recalled their last meeting. Her unexpected appearance at the Fooji Mountains still bothered him, and the knowing smirk she had shot him that day had made him considerably uneasy. He had expected some sort of confrontation that very night and had been surprised when she hadn't made an appearance. He hoped things continued to stay that way until he himself knew where the hell he stood with Cruxis. Now that Colette was "useless" to them, the only people who were interested in this group were the Renegades… right?

...Right.

"Ugh." Zelos grumbled irritably under his breath. Why did everything have to get so complicated?

"Something wrong, Zelos?"

Lloyd's voice piped up from the redhead's left, just a couple of feet ahead. Zelos blinked in surprise. He had been purposely lagging behind from the group, having been both assigned to keep guard at the rear and putting up his usual pretense of eyeing the girls from this "strategic" position. He hadn't expected Lloyd of all people to have been trailing behind with him. For the most part, the brunet was usually the one in the lead.

A quick glance to the front showed that the Sorcerer's Ring had been left in Colette's capable hands. Another cursory glance around him reassured Zelos that the rest of the party was too distracted to be paying any attention to him.

Aside from Lloyd of course. Which was… new.

"Oh, um," Zelos struggled for words for a moment, something else that was new. He didn't like being caught off guard. He quickly flashed Lloyd one of his well practiced smiles.

"It's nothing, Bud," he said. "Just wishing we could get out of this forest soon. It's a bit of a bore, isn't it?"

"Ugh, I second that." Lloyd slowed his pace a bit more until they were walking side to side. He looked as bored with this trip as Zelos felt, but the attempt to divert Lloyd's attention away from him hadn't been at all successful. He was still peering at him curiously, as if he knew that that was not what had been on Zelos' mind.

The redhead pointedly ignored that however. He swiftly turned his gaze to the front, putting on an unbothered and nonchalant front as he continued the conversation.

"Well, it's not like Ozette will be any better. It's such a shame our cute little rosebud has to live all the way out in the boondocks." Zelos wrinkled his nose at the thought.

"What's so bad about living out here?" Lloyd frowned. "Well, not here obviously," he said with a slight shudder.

Zelos gave Lloyd a pitying glance. "Don't tell me, did you guys actually live somewhere like this back in your world?"

Lloyd stiffened in a very telling manner. "So what?" he snapped defensively.

Zelos raised his hands up, aiming to placate the swordsman. "Nothing, nothing! There's no need to get your knickers in a twist," he added, stifling a smirk.

Still, Zelos couldn't help but to give Lloyd another pitying glance, which the brunet dutifully ignored.

"Anyway," Lloyd changed the subject rather pointedly, "I've been meaning to ask you… What do you think of the plan?"

"The plan?" Zelos repeated.

"You know…" Lloyd seemed kind of hesitant to ask and didn't look directly at Zelos. "The whole, separating the worlds thing," he said, pink-cheeked.

"Ah," Zelos answered noncommittally as he wondered what to say to that.

During the meeting he had mostly kept quiet, only speaking up once to remind Tiga that choosing 'Lloyd's side' wasn't exactly a winning option. Zelos wondered if Lloyd had taken offense to that and if that was why he was asking.

"Well, it's not much of a plan yet, is it?" Zelos said evasively and hoped Lloyd would drop the matter.

Instead, Lloyd frowned and nodded in agreement, staring down at his boots in contemplation. "Yeah… you're right," he admitted quietly, looking unexpectedly worried. He seemed deep in thought, and Zelos couldn't fathom what the other could be thinking about. But the brunet's expression returned to its usual vigor soon enough. "We'll find something though. We have to," Lloyd said fiercely, with a look in his eye that made Zelos feel as if Lloyd was swearing that promise to him.

In a way, Zelos thought, for some reason feeling a little stunned, he was.

"Y-Yeah…" He stammered for a second, entranced by Lloyd's impassioned brown eyes. "I… guess we will," he agreed without thinking, and then wondered for a second why he wanted so badly to believe him.

But reality crashed down in Zelos' mind rather quickly. He tore his eyes away from Lloyd's and back towards the ground, trying not to look as conflicted as he felt. Cruxis was way too big an enemy to oppose, he reminded himself. Even the Renegades were having a hard time, and they had a small army as well as the latest of Cruxis' technology at their disposal. What could a motley crew of eight people possibly do against all that?

Absolutely nothing , Zelos told himself firmly, doing his best to ignore the odd feeling he had experienced moments before, as if something that had been weighing him down heavily had just… disappeared.

Zelos felt unnerved and more than a little confused.

He tried to ease the mood back into his usual carefree one, straining to put on one of his well-practiced smiles.

"Hey, Lloyd!" Genis interrupted then, saving Zelos' from having to make the effort to come up with some sort of inane comment.

Lloyd looked up to the front but didn't pick up his pace. "Yeah?" he answered, his voice loud enough to carry over.

The half-elf brat looked irritated at this response and shot a not-so-hidden glare in the direction of the redhead. Zelos held back the amused smirk that threatened to surface.

"Come up here, I think we're almost there!" Genis called back, looking petulant that his best friend was keeping Zelos company.

Lloyd's eyes lit up at this announcement. "Finally!" A wide grin spread across his face and he looked back at Zelos to share it with him. Zelos returned it easily, just as widely.

"Lloyd!" Genis insisted, making Zelos roll his eyes at the brat's antics. He nudged Lloyd, encouraging him to head on up.

"Well, go on. No need to keep the kid waiting," he said, trying to sound too relieved at this turn of events.

Lloyd shook his head fondly, his face still lit up with excitement over the news. "Well, I guess I'll talk to you later then?" He bumped Zelos' arm with his elbow but didn't wait for a response as he hurried on to the front.

Zelos watched him go, taking care not to let his expression reveal how confused the last few minutes had left him.

"Yeah…" he ended up murmuring lowly, absentmindedly and a moment too late. Zelos wondered just how in the world Lloyd Irving kept managing to baffle him. For some reason, the image of the brunet's fierce determined eyes kept popping up in his head. He didn't even know why.

From the front, Genis' furtive voice began to trail off into the wind.

"So what were you talking about…?"

The walk to the inn was a quiet one. Everyone, even Zelos, has been stunned into silence by what had happened only moments ago.

Upon arriving at Ozette, Presea had immediately run off. They had chased after her of course, but none of them hadn't expected to end up seeing that creepy half-elf from Meltokio there as well, talking all-too-familiarly with their pink-haired comrade.

And as if that hadn't been unnerving enough… the corpse they found inside Presea's house was.

"Is she… going to be alright?" Genis asked his sister as they entered the inn, looking worried and subdued as he trailed behind her.

Raine pressed her lips together. She looked just as worried about leaving Presea all by herself, but she attempted to reassure her brother with an encouraging smile.

"She'll be safe here. Don't worry," she murmured to him, running a comforting hand through his hair.

Genis tried his best to look annoyed at the motherly gesture, but the protest didn't really reach his eyes. He leaned into the touch for a few seconds before dislodging it with a shrug.

"I'm going up. See you all tomorrow," he mumbled. The fact that he forewent his usual ritual of glaring in Regal's (and Zelos') direction as he turned in for the night said a lot about his mental state.

Zelos spied Sheena and Colette moving to do the same, the former looking as tense and wary as Zelos felt (though probably not for the same reasons), while the latter trailed behind her with an ashen expression.

Lloyd called out a good night to them but didn't move to follow. He exchanged a few quiet words with the Professor before heading out of the inn. This wasn't anything unusual as Lloyd had made it a routine to keep watch outside for a bit before turning in for the night. Zelos didn't get why he bothered to go through the effort even when they were within the safe walls of a village, but he wasn't about to press.

With only the three of them remaining, Zelos made himself scarce as well. He bid Raine a good night with a lazy wave, but instead of heading to his assigned room, Zelos stepped back outside and slowly made his way up the thick vine that led to the item shop.

The thick, winding tree wrapped around the small village was enormous. Zelos examined it carefully when he reached the item shop before taking a calculated hop to the top of the shop's roof and another one that led him to one of the upper branches of the tree.

He followed the path he'd discovered from there. Despite everything, it was a nice night outside. The stars were bright, far more clearly visible out here in the middle of nowhere than amidst the light pollution in upper districts in Meltokio. Zelos couldn't find any peace looking at them though, but the sight beat the prospect of brooding in a shared room, regardless of the fact that neither Regal nor Lloyd were likely to turn in any time soon.

And speaking of the blue-haired man, there was something about him that had been bugging Zelos for a while. He felt like he had seen that guy before, but just couldn't recall where… It was driving him crazy not being able to remember him.

More importantly, Zelos was getting worried that he had somehow gotten himself in a situation more complicated than he had thought at first. And he had a feeling that it was only going to get progressively worse. Just what was a Desian doing here in Tethe'alla? Zelos had heard of Rodyle in passing from Pronyma, and from what he knew of Cruxis' organization, there was no reason why he should be here.

Just who was this Presea chick? Not only was the Pope involved with her case, but also Cruxis?

There was something odd going on here and Zelos needed to get down to the bottom of it, fast.

As if I don't have enough problems to deal with , he thought tiredly as he ran a heavy hand over his strained face. The uncertainty of Seles' situation continued to eat away at him.

The solution to his problems wasn't as simple as just handing over the Sylvarant Chosen anymore. With the Renegades after Lloyd, and Mizuho backing the group's ambitions, not to mention this suspicious conspiracy that seemed to revolve around Presea… It seemed the group was only picking up more and more problems, and not leading Zelos to any answers that could save both his sister and his own hide.

If only I could get some kind of lead on where she was… Zelos' fist tightened in frustration as he wondered if there was some other way that he could look for her.

Zelos settled down at a ledge that allowed him enough room to lay on his back. The streets were quiet below. There was no one loitering outside at this hour of the night, but from this high up, it was impossible to even see anyone who was in the first place. Had Lloyd gone back inside already, or was he still walking around somewhere unseen, trying to find the peace of mind that was eluding Zelos?

He spent a good thirty minutes distracting himself by recalling the various constellations he'd once learned in astronomy class, but it was an exercise that eventually led him back to the original source of his worries. He wondered if his sister could even look out into the sky, wherever she was.

"Seles…" Zelos let out a heavy sigh. He rubbed a hand down his face and decided it was probably best for him to turn in for the night after all.

He got up to his feet. His hair fluttered behind him as a light breeze brushed by. Zelos began to walk down the winding path he'd used to get up here when he heard an unmistakable hum in the air. Zelos' spine straightened up at once. His fingers reached for his dagger and wrapped around its hilt as he swiveled around.

"My, my. Look at you, Chosen One. Whatever has you so tense?"

That voice… Zelos' heart jumped up to his throat. His eyes widened as a familiar, dark silhouette stepped out from the shadows.

"Pronyma?!" He took a startled step back. Why was she here ?

"It's been a while, Chosen One," Pronyma purred as she stepped further into the light. Moonlight gleaned over the metal framework of her outfit, and a shrewd smirk pulled the ends of her plump lips as she approached Tethe'alla's Chosen. "I was beginning to think you'd forgotten about me."

Zelos had to keep himself from flinching at those words. He had been dreading this confrontation for some time. It had certainly been a while since he had last contacted them. He willed himself not to look too guilty about that.

"Well," Zelos began, purposely easing his body into a more relaxed state. "I'm not in Meltokio anymore, and you guys aren't exactly easy to find," he said, burying his lie beneath a winning smile.

Pronyma merely raised an eyebrow, not very convinced. "I would have thought that this wouldn't prove to be a problem for you, Chosen One. After all, you do have the latest of Cruxis' technology at your disposal," she reminded him.

Zelos inwardly cursed. He had been hoping she had forgotten about that fact, since she had given that transmitter to him years ago, during their first meeting. He had almost never used it, as Pronyma often liked to make house calls.

"Oh, that thing?" Outwardly, Zelos shrugged in a very carefree manner. "I'm afraid I forgot it back in Meltokio. I guess I just got too used to your lovely visits," he said, giving Pronyma an appreciative look through his eyelashes.

Truthfully, he had purposely left the device behind, having sorely doubted that he would have any reason to contact them in the first place. After all, he hadn't planned on sticking with Lloyd and his gang of merry do-gooders for this long. All he had wanted was to hand over Colette to the Renegades to save Tethe'alla. Lot of good that had done him. Had Seles not been kidnapped by the Pope, Zelos would have just handed Colette over to Cruxis before demanding in exchange that he and his sister be allowed to move to the prospering world.

As it was, he was stuck with the unpleasant task of becoming a thrice-damned angel.

"Is that so? How clumsy of you," Pronyma remarked as she crossed her arms over her ample chest. There was a glint in her eye that put Zelos on edge.

"Well, I'll make sure to retrieve it for you then, Chosen One," she said, offering him a smile. "We'll be expecting to hear from you in the future. But that's a matter for another day, I'm afraid. We have much more important things to talk about after all."

"Oh? Such as?" Zelos's stomach clenched uneasily. He tilted his head, keeping his expression carefully blank as he wondered what exactly the Desian wanted from him now.

Pronyma only smiled.

"Cruxis has heard Tethe'alla's prayer, Chosen One," she said coolly as she drew even closer until she was standing right in front of him. "I'm surprised at you, really. I thought you longed to escape this cursed life?" She raised one eyebrow, curiosity and amusement framing the lines of her face. "Or could it be that after all this time you've finally grown a heart? Cruxis is pleased at your devout dedication," she murmured, reaching up to examine the Chosen's Cruxis Crystal. The back of her fingers brushed against the red crystal. Zelos tried not to flinch as he felt the sharp end of her thumbnail drag down along the length of his skin, leaving a faint red trail around his Key Crest.

"Oh, so you've heard about that?" He kept his tone just as cool, acting disinterested, as if it was no big deal. It wouldn't do for her to think that he was doing this for anything other than his own interest. So he gave Pronyma a thin, flirtatious smile as he reached up and curled his fingers around her wrist. Her skin was as cold as ice as ever. "It was a last minute decision. I'm surprised you've heard about it already."

Pronyma let out a small laugh at that. "Oh, please. Why wouldn't I?" She shrugged Zelos' touch off with a flick of her wrist. "Did you think that I wouldn't find out? And just how exactly were you planning on becoming an angel, my dear Chosen?"

She gave him an expectant look and Zelos was for once at a loss for words. He hated to admit that he hadn't put much thought into it given how much time he'd spent trying to avoid his fate. All the Pope had told him was that he had to release the seals and that it wouldn't be a problem that he hadn't received the Oracle. Zelos personally doubted that particular ritual had any real use in the first place, and he hadn't questioned any further mechanics. He regretted that now.

"No need to remain so silent, Chosen One. You'll have plenty of time for that later," Pronyma pointed out, flashing him a taunting smirk that made Zelos' jaw twitch.

"So? Why the big secrecy?" she continued. "Don't tell me you've become too shy to talk to me?" she said teasingly, letting her eyes rove over him with familiarity.

A familiar clench of disgust began to curl in the pit of Zelos' stomach, but he put on a charming smile for Pronyma, as he always had. "Truthfully? I didn't think it was that much of a big deal," he said lightly.

"Now that's a laugh." The Desian snorted daintily, giving him a look of disbelief. "You don't really expect me to believe that, do you? After all, you've been dying to get rid of your status for as long as we've known each other. Even longer than that," she added, as if the emphasis was needed.

Zelos frowned. There was little chance to deny that, but perhaps he could play that angle.

"Is it that hard to believe that I've just changed my mind?" he asked her, keeping his expression blank as he held her gaze.

"Ha!" Pronyma let out an incredulous sound. "You? Change your mind? And for what? Surely you're not planning on sacrificing yourself for the rest of your worthless, inferior race." She sneered. "No," she said with a haughty sniff. "I know very well that your distaste of them runs as deeply as our own. That's what makes you such a good spy for us." She smiled thinly. "Or at least, you used to be."

A thick, heavy silence followed her words. Zelos remained still and unwavering, refusing to give her any inch against him despite her threatening implication. Pronyma's eyes narrowed as she stared at him with growing distrust. Neither made a move to break the silence as they eyed each other with careful consideration.

Zelos, for his part, replayed their conversation in his head several times. Pronyma seemed to know something about his situation, but seemed just as insistent about trying to get him to spill his guts. So what did she know, or what she did suspect? DId she know what had happened to his sister? Was she in on it? He couldn't tell, and this bothered him. He wasn't sure how he should act or how much was safe to reveal to her. Was she suspecting him of something, of his ties to the Renegades perhaps? Or was she merely toying with him because she could?

The uncertainty was killing him.

And if he didn't play his cards right, it wouldn't be the only thing.

"Well?" she said expectantly, breaking their impasse. "I have no interest in playing games with you today, Chosen. Tell me what I want to hear."

Zelos forced himself to keep his composure as he lifted one of his eyebrows, the expression on his face mocking at best. "I've told you nothing but the truth, hunny." He gave Pronyma a winning smile that hardly fooled her. Her eyes narrowed dangerously, leaving Zelos no choice but to think quickly on his feet.

He gave her a shrug that was far calmer than he felt. His heart thudded loudly, but the only thing Pronyma was privy to was the slight upward tilt of Zelos' chin, the darkened shine of his eyes.

"If I've changed my mind, it's only because I have simply come to realize the value of what I was so carelessly disregarding. Is that really so hard to believe?"

He let the words hang in the air. Pronyma pursed her lips as she scrutinized him carefully, looking for a flaw in his words to exploit. There was something in his voice that seemed to convince her a little, but she wasn't ready to let the conversation end at that.

Instead, she leaned close again, as if the lessening distance would allow her to see his true intentions. "I think there's more to it than that."

Zelos didn't move an inch, not letting himself falter. "And what makes you sure there's any other reason?" he asked her, keeping his voice carefully even. He flashed her a smirk. "You of all people know I'm as opportunistic as they come. And now that I've seen what little Colette can do?"

He closed his eyes then and let his lips extend to show a yearning he didn't actually feel. "It's the sort of power I'd be a fool to turn down. Superhuman strength, heightened senses? What's to complain about?" He ended his bravado with a bit of a careless shrug that allowed him to lean back. He made sure not to look intimidated and opened his eyes in a slow and unhurried manner.

Pronyma met his gaze with a sneer. "You mean aside from losing your precious human needs?"

"It seems like a small price to pay," Zelos replied, his tone unaffected.

"Oh, please." The Desian scoffed. "You know better than anyone that the price you risk paying is your life."

At that, Zelos' eyes narrowed sharply at once. "Be that as it may, darling, I have no intention of sacrificing myself," he corrected her dryly, as if that had been obvious from the start.

Pronyma's sneer disappeared in a flash. Had his bold claim shocked her?

"Oh, is that so?" Finally, some of her hostility began to disappear. She let out a low chuckle. "Yes, I should have expected that from you I suppose. As always, looking out only for yourself, aren't you, Zelos?" the Desian couldn't help but to purr. "That's what I like about you, my dear Chosen."

Zelos flashed her a charming smirk, beginning to feel his heart rate slow down as he felt the tension in the air lessen. Finally , he thought, feeling more than a little relieved. Now if only she could stop staring at me like that…

Although he had managed to somewhat convince her of his intentions, Pronyma's gaze remained just as piercing. She stared at him as if expecting to find something amiss, as if she had been expecting something… else.

What does she know? Zelos thought then, the question resurfacing. What does she think she knows? He felt maddened by his own ignorance. He knew that there was something off about this whole meeting. That there was something… missing. Something he wasn't understanding.

He had no idea what it could be, and he had a feeling he wasn't going to find out any time soon.

"Very well then," the Desian continued with an all-too-pleased tone of voice. Her eyes looked pointedly away from him. "It's about time I let you catch up on your precious sleep. I suppose you wish to enjoy that privilege while you still can." Her laugh rang like bells in the wind, but the smirk twisting her lips left Zelos uneasy.

"We'll leave the matter of your fellow Chosen for another time," she continued, her tone turning dismissive as she turned to leave.

"I would like to remind you of one thing, Chosen One," Pronyma added before Zelos could even think about letting his guard down. Although she wasn't looking at him anymore, the sight of her back pinned Zelos in place to the point that it felt dangerous to even breathe.

"If I find out you're lying to me, I'll be happy to show you just how Cruxis deals with traitors," she told him in a voice as dark as it was promising.

It was with those final words that she departed. In a flash, she disappeared as quickly as she had come. Zelos slumped as if the strings holding his body in place had been cut, but the tension remained in every inch of his muscles even in that position. He ran a hand over his face.

"Well, fuck," he muttered, and breathed out a heavy, bone-weary sigh.