A.N: I did it! I actually managed to complete this chapter before Christmas day (just) and now I'm exhausted lol. As such I have no claims of grandeur to the quality of this chapter, but it's passable...I think. You're supposed to be the judges of that so get on and read it! This ladies and gentlemen, is my present to you.

Out of Necessity

Lloyd yawned, stretched in the small cot, already wishing he was back at home in the privacy of his room with a generously sized, warm bed. As it was, he was sharing a room with four other guys, all older than him, and all extremely unpleasant.

Regal had returned to meet him, Kratos and whoever wasn'tcurrently imprisoned in Saloth'sar's base, and informed them that the plan was well underway, telling them that he had met with Zelos and Sheena and that the two were safe, if not happy and they were spreading the word amongst the prisoners of the plan to rebel. Naturally, they had all been excited at the prospect of the freeing of their friends…and then Kratos, being Kratos, had pointed out that Regal hadn't told them about Raine and Genis situation. And so Regal did.

Lloyd had listened to Regal, his heart sinking with every word that none of them had made any contact with the half-elves and that there wasn't likely to be any. Kratos' face had fallen and though he hadn't been wearing an encouraged grin like the rest of them at the news, it had been obvious he was pleased with what Regal had told them before they got to the issue of Raine and Genis. But the news had pulled him back down to reality, the knowledge that there was no guarantee their friends would ever know about the rebellion hitting him hard.

Kratos had spent the rest of the day completely alone, withdrawing into himself as he processed the information. He had had the courtesy to listen to the rest of what Regal had to say and then left promptly, wandering into the woods, not answering when they called after him. Even Noishe had been shunned, banned from keeping him company.

The seraph had returned some hours later, looking haggard and distracted and Lloyd could've sworn his eyes had been red, his cheeks stained with the salt from dried tears. Not that the man gave him a chance to study him. He returned to the house, grunted a greeting and then disappeared into the bathroom to clean himself up. Eventually, he had emerged, pristine as ever, but there was something turbulent in the depths of those garnet eyes that wasn't entirely soothed.

If someone had suggested to Lloyd two weeks ago that his teacher's and his father's relationship wasn't entirely platonic, he would've laughed at them, told them they were dreaming and shrugged it off as easily as he had been told.

Now though…there was definite evidence to the contrary, that Kratos wasn't just a male friend to the half-elf…or at least, he didn't want to be just that.

It was natural to be anxious about your friends when they were in danger, when you didn't know what was happening to them but Kratos didn't seem just anxious he seemed outright distraughtat times, guilt writing itself over his face every time Raine's name was mentioned. Raine'sin particular. If someone mentioned Genis, the mercenary would lower his head, let guilt flit over his face but that was all…no pained expression, no deep suffering in his eyes, just a brisk acknowledgement that it was his fault and then the notion that something had to be done.

Lloyd stretched again, reaching for the clock that lay on the floor atop his clothes. 8:45. Which meant that the other guys would be getting up in fifteen minutes. He couldn't wait though; he had to meet Regal before anyone else, which meant getting to the site before 9:15.

Almost angrily, the young man rolled over, grabbing a towel off the floor along with a handful of clean clothes, throwing off the covers and making his way quietly to the bathroom to shower.

--

"Lloyd!"

His head jerked up at the sound of his name being called and he found himself staring at the tall figure of Regal, waving a hand in greeting at him.

Lloyd lifted his own hand in response before bringing it back down to pull the piece of toast he was eating from his mouth, biting a large chunk off and swallowing it whole as he walked to the older man. A second later, he was choking furiously and a large hand was slapping heavily at his back, forcing the bread out of his throat.

"Thanks," he gasped, eyes watering, straightening his back to look at the Duke.

"No problem, now, Lloyd, you know the plan for today?"

"I'm going down into the tunnels with the other workers to supervise them in your stead?"

"Yes and then.?"

"I'm reporting back to you at lunch, as long as I've gotten the right information about the tunnel and its workers."

Regal nodded "And?"

"And then I'm going home to my family, to not discuss what I've done down here." Lloyd winked at Regal as the Duke smiled at him.

"Excellent, you know your way to our entrance and exit from the base?"

He nodded.

"Good. You'll have to show the guard this to make him let you out."

"Yeah, ok," he took the pass, tucking it into an inside pocket of his shirt "So then I go home, have a pleasant two days rest and then come back, right?"

"Indeed. The other workers will be here in a minute, so remember to blend in with them Lloyd, don't be too soft on the half-elves in the presence of the Saloth'sarian guards. I've reassured them that you can handle your team but there will be guards on standby from time to time. You need to get a significant enough amount of work done to not stand out."

"Presea will be with me to help out on that, right?"

"Yes, she'll instruct the workers as to what needs to be done."

Lloyd nodded, noting the pink-haired young woman approaching them as if cued, a large hammer resting over her shoulder – a means to assure the men that her slender build didn't reflect her strength or ability.

"Hey Presea," Lloyd greeted, downing the last of his toast as a row of slaves began to file in through a door on the far left of the compound. "Ready to get to work?"

She nodded "Good morning Lloyd and yes, I am."

Regal pointed out the slaves as they filed in "That's your tunnelling crew."

"There aren't many of them," Lloyd observed.

"No, which is why they're so lightly guarded…be glad, there are only about 15 working under you."

"How many of them are half-elves?"

"5 or 6."

"And the others are humans?"

"Yes…captured for helping out the half-elves," A shock of red hair caught Regal's attention. "There's the last of your team…you had best get moving."

The brunette turned, noting the red hair and pale skin of the male and gave Regal and Presea a devilish grin.

"Let's get to work."

--

It was dark, cramped, musty, dirty and smelly. The air was thick with dust and the coughs of the workers who made no other noise save for laboured breathing and Lloyd found himself unable to comprehend how these people worked in these conditions every day for hours on end. They didn't get to see the sunlight at all anymore…with the entire base of Saloth'sar underground it made him appreciate the freedom he had.

"We need to put a support pillar at this point or the tunnel will collapse…" Presea was saying to the workers, calling half of them back to her to work on that job while the others kept digging. Lloyd paced over to her side, glancing behind him where the guards were keeping watch. They would be leaving in a few minutes to take a break…a long one at that, which Lloyd had no problem with. It gave him a chance to speak with Zelos and Sheena.

The two humans were working on digging, lifting painfully heavy pick axes and slamming them into hard rock, watching it splinter before taking another swing. There were 3 half-elves working by their sides, just as silent, but looking even worse than the two humans. Their breathing was heavier, their bodies thinner and it was taking everything in Lloyd not to rush over to them, pull them from their work and help them.

Scuffing his black boot against the floor, he turned to listen to what Presea was saying. The pink-haired girl was describing, acutely, the process of erecting the support pillars to stabilise the tunnel, ordering the workers to fetch three of the timbers from the cart.

Lloyd winced at the sight of the heavy wood. It would take three or four people in the best of health to move those pillars usually…as it stood, they had seven weakened and abused people, two of which were girls who looked to be little over sixteen.

"Presea," he murmured, laying a hand on her shoulder "You think we could wait until those guards have gone to move those pillars so that I can help them out?"

She shook her head "No. Lloyd, they've made it clear that we have to start putting the pillars up whilst they are here so they know we're doing our jobs properly. Besides, you need all that time to speak with Zelos and Sheena."

"But…"

"Lloyd… you are a kind person. But if you allow your kindness to interfere with this plan, you're merely weak…and we will not be able to help these people without strength."

He lowered his head slowly "I know…you told me that once before."

She nodded "It is only the truth. Come, we must keep working."

Nodding, Lloyd turned to watch as a three of the group building the pillars hefted a thick timber onto their shoulders, carrying it slowly back to the point that it would be put up at, flinching when one of the girls helping to carry it fell.

Blood dripped from her knees and hands as she got up and it was only Presea's hand on his arm that held him back from going to aid her. Shaking his head he turned away, focusing on the diggers who had turned to watch the other workers.

He caught Zelos' eyes on him as he turned back to them and with a hardened resolve, knowing this was the only way to free them, he cracked the flat of one of his swords against his palm warningly.

"What the hell are you looking at?! Back to work!" he shot a dark glance at he half-elven man standing next to Sheena, feeling his throat close at the terrified look he gave him. Even if it was only acting…there was no way he could hurt these people for long.

It took another half an hour for the guards to decide that they wanted their break and by that point, the workers were near collapsing point with exhaustion. Lloyd listened quietly, drowning out the grunts of exertion and clang of tools to listen to the footsteps of the guards, waiting until they were far enough out of range before he turned and stopped the workers.

"Sheena! Zelos!"

The two had disappeared into a cloud of dust several minutes ago and Lloyd had not seen them since. Eventually, they seemed to materialise from the cloud, coughing and shoving each other playfully.

"Whoa! Supervisor Irving-Aurion, looking good sir!!

"Don't even joke Zelos….I'm sick of this already." He gestured to the workers sitting on the floor, looking up at him with curiosity and fear.

"You're sure those guards are out of hearing range?" Sheena asked as she walked over to the young swordsman, to give him a welcoming hug. "So glad to see you," she murmured as he hugged her back.

"Me too and yeah there's no-way they could hear us now."

"Presea! My cute hunny!"

"..Zelos, it's good to see you're well," she greeted "but…um…what happened to your…"

"Don't mention the h.a.i.r if you don't want a monologue of how tragic his loss is." Sheena warned, flicking a hand towards him.

"Sheena! What are you doing with him?! He's a supervisor…." One of the younger girls, who had taken a liking to the ninja, had risen, shaking her fists at the swordsman.

"Everyone…we need your attention." Sheena announced, waving a hand placatingly at the girl.

Weary eyes turned towards her, bloodshot and sore from dust.

"You remember we told you about our friends on the outside? The friends who were going to help us?.."

A few heads nodded hesitantly.

"These, " she gestured to Lloyd and Presea "are two of them. This is Lloyd and Presea. That's why they're letting you rest….I know it seems weird considering Lloyd was shouting at you before but…well…he doesn't want to…he's a bit of a pansy really."

"Hey!"

Zelos snickered at the outburst from Lloyd before wrapping an arm around his friend's shoulder. "Aww…does poor Lloyd not like the title of 'pansy'? Y'know…we should've got you to go into the coliseum with that title."

"Yeah, like you managed to get Kratos to go in so that the announcer introduced him as the silent 'dad'." Lloyd sniggered back, remembering the look of sheer embarrassment his father had worn at the crowds laughter.

"Silent glarer and hander out of groundings!" Zelos shouted triumphantly.

"You see?" Sheena hitched a thumb back at the two laughing men "Harmless…to you guys anyway. He's gonna get us out of here. We have friends on the outside who Lloyd is going to meet later today and they're going to help us."

"Really?"

"Yes…but we need you to spread the message…and believe it this time. We all have to work together to get out of here…"

--

"So I'll let them know that it's gonna be a little while? It's already been 12 days since the professor and Genis were caught." Lloyd stated, exasperated at the lack of progress.

"Lloyd it takes time for people to believe. There are some who are already raring to get the rebellion underway but the majority aren't."

"…Kratos is getting really worked up."

"He's feeling guilty." Sheena stated, looking at the workers who had slowly got to their feet and started working again.

"I think it's more than guilt." He replied, before jumping up to help one of the half-elves support a beam that was being secure into place. With a smile, he let go of the beam as it slotted into place, standing on its own and the man, the one he had glared at earlier, bowed gratefully.

"…When are you leaving?"

"Lunch-time."

"And you'll be back in?"

"Two days. I'm helping Kratos and Colette out."

"To find the half-elves that are still free?"

"That's the idea…it's really difficult getting them to trust us."

"Well yeah, considering the news, that's not exactly surprising."

A raucous laugh echoed down the tunnels and the workers froze suddenly. Lloyd's mouth snapped shut on the response he had been about to give and he turned to the workers.

"Sorry guys, but we need you to go back to working hard again. We'll try and keep the guards off your case…"

Zelos and Sheena stood slowly, stretching. "Go harder on us than the rest if you have to," Zelos told him, tying back his short hair. "We can take it."

Biting the inside of the cheek, Lloyd nodded, pulling out the blade and letting it hang warningly by his side…a show for the guards….just as long as they never made him go through with it everything would be fine.

--

He soared above the town, wings pulling against the air as he hid in the clouds, sharp eyes on the look out, scanning Meltokio for any signs of a scuffle.

There weren't any and with a grateful sigh, Kratos pulled himself a little higher, eyes still locked on his student who was walking through the gates, accompanied by two others.

Sequoia was proving to be quite useful since their return to Sybak...she was the only way he could get the half-elves they found to believe that he was trying to help them.

Everyday, after the class he taught was over, he and Sequoia would fly from town to town, looking for any half-elves that might need shelter. She had been surprisingly eager to help, willingly learning to fly a Rheiard to travel from place to place…and extremely laid back about the fact Kratos had wings.

He hadn't intended to show her them, but for her protection, they were sharing a house and she had caught him with them freed one evening. Since then she had been even more attentive and helpful, apparently believing Kratos to be an actual holy being…which he had repeatedly told her he was not.

A flicker of movement on the plains, just ahead of where the trio were walking caught his eye and he flattened his wings slightly, allowing himself to fall into a dive towards it, hoping he was being paranoid and it was actually just a rabbit…he wasn't keen on fighting a large group of Saloth'sarians any time soon. His wound had only just healed as it was.

A ripple of copper and the glint of metal told him he was wrong and with a grunt of exertion, he pulled himself out of his dive, pivoting and heading back to Sequoia and her two companions, hoping to warn them of the danger and change their course.

He flew low to the ground, skimming along it in an attempt to reach them faster, his wings straining silently as he glanced over the top of the cliff he was using for cover.

There!

Three shapes moving across the field right towards the Saloth'sarian scouts and he pulled himself to the top of the ledge, landing heavily and running towards them, not wanting the new-comers to see his wings.

They were only a few metres away now, but the Saloth'sarian scout had called back to the main troops and they were rushing for the half-elves too. Growling, he freed his sword, gripping it tightly as he changed direction slightly, aiming ahead of Sequoia. If he could get there before the Saloth'sarians he could at least fight them off.

"Professor Aurion!" she called to him, happy, waving her arms to attract her attention before noticing that he wasn't looking at them he was looking at the three men running towards them. She threw her arms out suddenly, stopping the two other half-elves dead in their tracks. Too late.

She trotted backwards, watching in horror as the three soldiers closed in on her teacher.

There was silence for a moment, then murmuring as the men spoke and the Saloth'sarians were looking at them and Kratos was watching them too, a smirk twisting his lips as the soldiers approached.

"No! You…"

And the smirk had dropped and he was running towards the men who had turned to look at him, sword drawn, ready and dangerous.

They were blown away by his force in seconds, one thrown to the side, another knocked to the floor as Kratos pivoted, slicing cleanly into the chest of another. He turned back to the one he had thrown aside earlier, plunging his sword through the man's stomach as he charged him.

The final soldier was still on the floor, trembling by Sequoia's feet, staring up at Kratos in horror as he flicked the blood from his blade and strode towards him.

"Professor…please.." the words escaped her mouth without resistance, scared and quiet. Pleading. "Don't kill him…"

Garnet eyes rose to meet her own yellow gaze, hard and impassive. "Sequoia…this man would not think for a second about killing you…"

"Which is why I'm better than him….please, let him live."

"Gods you're just like Lloyd," he commented, rolling his eyes. The sword lowered nevertheless, letting the soldier scurry past him.

"Thank you." she bowed "Guys this is…"

He had turned, sword in hand again…but not just in hand…in the neck of the man he had just let go. The young soldier was still alive, barely, his sword raised high above his head with clear intentions of attacking the auburn haired man who had had his back to him.

Kratos jerked the sword back out of his throat, watching impassively as the young man fell to the floor, gasping as blood burbled out of his throat. He was dead a second later.

She gasped, a hand over her mouth, blinking back tears at the sight of the lifeless body as Kratos tore a piece of cloth from his uniform, wiping his blade clean with it before sheathing it, throwing the cloth back at the body carelessly.

"Sequoia…we need to move, quickly," his eyes turned to the two half-elves huddled behind her and he lifted his head slightly as he looked at them. "You two…what are your names?"

The girl, perhaps twenty years old shied away from him, keeping her eyes averted. The boy on the other hand, lifted his head to look Kratos in the eye.

"This is Amy," he gestured to the girl "I'm Coe."

"Your girlfriend?"

Coe nodded. "Good. Now I assume you don't want her to die."

"Of course not what kind of question is that?!"

"It wasn't. Nevertheless, we need to get moving, so I suggest you move her…"

He turned back to the girls. "Sequoia…" she looked at him hesitantly "we need to go or we will be caught."

Gently, he tapped her on the shoulder. "It was necessary."

She nodded slowly.

"I know."

--

The outside of the safe-house was plain and unassuming. It seemed small and rundown…a place where a hermit would live perhaps, ivy crawling over the building. The garden, such as it was, was overgrown, the well was clogged with debris, the gate hanging on broken rusted hinges, the black wrought iron fence now orange-red and crumbling.

Kratos walked quietly to the door, Sequoia by his side and he knocked three times. He scuffed a piece of moss from the cracked stone path as he waited for the door to be answered.

It swung open, spilling warm light onto the garden in the darkening evening sky, bathing the guests on the doorstep in yellow.

Colette greeted them with a warm smile. "Hey Kratos, Sequoia. New guys?" she nodded to the two half-elves who hung awkwardly behind.

Kratos nodded "From Meltokio."

The blonde smiled brightly and stepped out of the doorway, allowing a way in and Kratos ushered the three half-elves inside, glancing around before shutting the door behind him.

"Lloyd's here," Colette informed him as he locked the wooden door "He got back about half an hour ago…I think he's got good news for us." She bounced cheerily on the balls of her feet her hands clasped.

Kratos smiled lightly, unable to bring himself to tell the excited girl that this early on it was unlikely to be good.

"He's in the back room," she pointed to the assigned room, despite the fact Kratos already knew "Um…shall I get them settled in?"

"yes…I'll speak to Lloyd in the meantime."

"Ok…I'll be there when I'm ready." Kratos nodded, unstrapping the sword from around his waist and leaving it to hang near the door before navigating his way under the low ceilings to the room Lloyd was waiting in.

The wooden door creaked as he opened it, and the room it opened into was only dimly lit. Lloyd sat hunched over a table looking downcast.

"The news is that good is it?" Kratos asked, pulling the black cape of his shoulders.

"It's horrible in there."

"Well you didn't expect it to be pleasant, surely?"

"No but…I didn't expect to be ordering the workers around either."

"It's a small price to pay if we manage to accomplish our goal."

"Yeah…I know."

"What can you tell me Lloyd?"

Lloyd sighed heavily "Not much. I think we've made a little progress with the workers today, so they should be passing a good message on. Most don't believe yet though."

Kratos remained silent.

"No news of Raine and Genis yet though."

Kratos lowered his head, chewing on his lower lip. "It was bound to be too early to have made any real progress," he sighed eventually, running a hand through his hair. "Do we have any idea how long it will take for the majority of the slaves to trust us?"

Lloyd shook his head "There's no way to know if they've all heard. Regal is in contact with the higher ups, so he's going to listen out for news in like, the changes in the prisoners behaviour and stuff to see if that can give us a clue."

"I see."

"They'll be fine for a while, right? I mean it's the professor and Genis…they're always alright...always have been always will be…"

"I hope they can maintain that tradition." Tapping his chin, the seraph stared blankly at the far wall, lost in thoughts of the professor, hoping that the feeling of dread growing in the pit of the stomach wasn't a premonition.

So whadd'ya think? You know how to let me know. Hope it was good for you.

And now, I shall wish you a Happy Christmas and a Good New Year. I doubt I'll be updating before then (it's possible but unlikely) so I hope you have a good one and get what you want.

Now gimme my present and review, please.