Author's Notes: This story is pretty easy for me to crank out. Expect consistent updating!

"You said you were famous?" Fang asked as he walked behind Zelos who was lightly jogging up the stair case out of the prison.

"Can we talk about this later? Being stealthy is a bitch while having a lengthy conversation," the Tethe'allan snapped and he opened the door at the top of the staircase.

Fang frowned but nodded. The first time he had questions to ask and things to say and he wasn't allowed to talk. Was this how Nudge felt when she got told to shut up? He hoped not, it kind of hurt.

Zelos poked his head out slightly from the door and light finally fell upon his dirty features. Fang was in shock, he hadn't noticed how absolutely filthy the redhead had been until he had been lighted by the luminance. The once-warrior was an absolute mess.

"C'mon, we've got lots of ground to cover," Zelos's words brought Fang back to reality and he dumbly nodded. Would that have been him if Zelos hadn't been able to get him out? A filthy relic of society just rotting away in some cell? Fang decided to shake his head and not dwell on it.

The two sneaked out of the prison's entrance and Fang looked around in confusion. They were in a large prestigious castle. Definitely a contrast to the darkness of where they had met.

"Wipe that stupid look off your face. The only thing royal about this castle anymore is the carpeting," Zelos hissed and he grabbed Fang's arm forcefully and he began jogging, somehow silently, along.

"Wait."

Zelos yanked Fang to an abandoned hallway and Fang's order and he glared up at him, "Wait for what?" Zelos snarled uneasily. Obviously he had met Zelos in prison for a reason. They were both now official fugitives. The blue-eyed swordsman in front of him just knew to be afraid.

For some reason, Fang wasn't too frightened.

The confusion settled in on Zelos's face, "I know you don't get it now but this place is not safe. I'll explain it to you but we need to get out now so I can live to tell that tale, Fang."

"I can become invisible," Fang blurted.

"So can my imaginary friend Bernie but he only does it because he's shy."

For some reason, that reply didn't strike Fang as the type somebody would give if they were convinced or sincere.

"You take the lead and don't worry about me. I'll get along just fine, Zelos," Fang gave a half-hearted attempt at a warm smile to soothe the borderline hysterical guide he had adopted.

Zelos scowled, "It's your funeral," and he proceeded on his stealthy escape.

Fang watched as Zelos began to slink around corners and he shut his eyes for a long moment to steady his breathing. Then he began walking once his heartbeat was nice and steady. Nobody saw the bird kid anymore. He was invisible.

Being unseen was a wonderful feeling, Fang would never get tired of disappearing.

His eyes opened and he began following Zelos and he noted how the redhead would sometimes jerk behind a corner and clench the fabric of his long duster on his pink vest. He'd shut his bright cerulean eyes and he held the duster a little closer like a self-conscious child did with their favorite blanket. And this proved to become a system for Fang that he used when he needed to press against the wall tightly to get out of the way because Zelos never failed to do this before somebody walked down the hallway. Normally the person was heavily armed; like, oh say, a medieval knight.

Zelos did the jerk behind the closest hallway's corner and he grabbed the edge of his duster with ripped gloves. His eyes shut tightly and he steadied his breathing to stay silent. A few moments passed, but nobody had come this time.

Fang watched Zelos for the go but he didn't move, just kept his eyes closed with his back pressed into the wall. He took this as a sign to press tighter against the wall and not to relax. Where were the people the redhead was waiting for?

"Neither the chosen nor the bird kid are in the cell any longer, King Irving," a knight said in a perfect subordinate fashion.

"Well, go find them!" a man, not much older than Fang but not much younger than Zelos snapped. He was clothed in red. Was this the equivalent of the Queen of Hearts?

Okay, he needed to stop this comparison of Alice thing. It was getting sad.

He turned his gaze back to Zelos, he was the one who was in danger of being seen, after all.

Zelos's eyes were still shut tightly, his hands clenching the long pink duster even tighter and his breaths a little shaky. Fang's expression softened. The redhead was terrified, and the avian-hybrid honestly felt bad for dragging him along on this journey.

King Irving had brown hair and dark eyes to match. He stayed put for a long time and Fang held his breath.

Please don't turn that corner. Please don't see Zelos. Please don't kill my only way home.

King Irving definitely didn't come off too threatening. His spikey boyish hair and young features didn't portray danger to Fang. The King brushed back his long red cape to reveal two swords. "Zelooos? You out there, 'bud'?"

Fang's eyes were back on Zelos who physically winced at the nickname. If he lived through this, Fang was going to make Zelos tell him about King Irving and his relationship with Zelos.

"I think we should talk about this. How would you like that? A good hear-to-heart talk. Just like the old days," King Irving was smiling crookedly and he stepped closer to the corner where Zelos was standing stoically. His eyes were shut even tighter and his fist wrapped more around his duster.

"Is this about Sheena?" Irving now scoffed, "Come on. You know I didn't mean to kill her-"

Zelos couldn't stand it any longer and he took off running for the exit. Fang quickly let his cover get blown and ran after Zelos, his heart racing as King Irving could be heard running after them.

"Get back here, Zelos!"

"Run! Run, Fang!" Zelos was breathing heavily but his eyes were directed ahead. He couldn't look behind him. Not at the King. The Chosen of Tethe'alla couldn't do that. So he kept running, almost leaving Fang in the dust but not quite.

"He's catching up!" Fang yelled, barely on Zelos's tail now.

Zelos grabbed Fang by the forearm right as they reached the outside of the castle a pair of bright orange translucent wings appeared on the dirty fugitives back and he took off into the air with Fang who quickly got his wings spread out and began to fly. All while staring in shock at the orange feathered wings that were keeping Zelos in the air.

"You have wings?" Fang asked, befuddled more than he could even voice in anything more than just his tone.

"Yeah," Zelos's distracted response came as he hovered above the gates of the ruined city, his eyes were on the doors of the castle where King Irving stood.

"Zelos, who is that guy?" the teenager asked softly now.

"Nobody important," Zelos met his eyes.

"He seems pretty damn important."

"Can we just a move on? I don't want to talk about this with you while hovering over the city. Somebody's going to find a bow and arrow and shoot us down and I don't want to become the prized goose at dinner," the Chosen's tone was bitter.

"He said you were a 'Chosen'. Chosen for what?"

"Nothing. That's the most horrible fucking part, Fang, I was chosen to become nothing." Zelos's words were frigid and he turned his body, taking off and away from the city and Fang pursued.

Zelos knew a lot more than Fang bargained for. Maybe the most out of anybody he could have picked. Perhaps luck had nothing to do with his meeting Zelos. Maybe it was fate to help this man with his demons and save this world.

Or maybe this was a dream.

'Ooooh, please be a dream,' Fang hoped inwardly as he followed the dirty redhead across the dead fields away from the run down capitol.