Smorbkle.
Colette: Um...what?
Me: Nothing. n.n'
Colette: Um... Freakyanimegal owns nothing!
Sorry if the quality is bad, I have to use my old computer because my new one won't work on fanfiction right now...darn it. This one is so slow.
Ocean Side
Kratos growled a bit to himself as he attempted to, for the seventh time, put his hair back down in its original position. He snorted a bit as it
stubbornly stuck to what it was currently, swearing that he would never put a comb to his head again unless he knew who had it last.
"Are you really sure he'd be around here?" Colette asked.
"Yes," Kratos stated, "this is the most likely spot."
"Yeah, but...why Izoold?" Lloyd asked.
Indeed, the group found themselves galavanting around the fishing village attempting to spot a blue-haired half-elven man by the name of Yuan. Why they were looking around a place such as this, no one was really quite sure, but Kratos persisted.
"Do not attempt to understand Yuan," Kratos said, "in four thousand years I still can not understand half the things he does."
"He's that bad, huh?" Zelos asked.
Kratos nodded curtly before surveying the area once more.
"Why does it always have to be near the ocean...?" Raine shuddered, looking out at the waves.
"Professor, one of the bases is in the desert," Presea said.
"I- I know that! It's just-!"
Kratos tuned them out, still looking around the area while trying to stay focused. The sea breeze felt so soothing, the faint taste of salt drifting off
the waters in the vapors of the air. The sun a comforting warmth in contrast to the cold of the powerful breezes, as if they were competing on those
walking whether they would be warmed, cooled, or partly warm and partly cold all at once- There.
"This way," Kratos stated.
The group followed him to the large terrace that jutted out over the ocean, built along a cliff-side which turned the structure into an outcropping of
some sort.
"What? But there's nothing here," Sheena said.
Lloyd looked around and then noticed the rock wall that made up one side of the terrace, the cliff-wall. Something was a bit off about that wall, for
some reason. He couldn't really tell why, but it was just...off. He walked up to the cliff-face and ran his fingers along it. His new gloves allowed for the
skin of his fingertips to make contact with the rock, feeling along the surface as if he would be able to find it-
Hey...
"This spot..." Lloyd blinked, tapping it, "it's...hollow."
"What?" Zelos asked, knocking on it. "Feels pretty solid to me."
"Yeah..." Genis did likewise, "you sure you're not imagining it, Lloyd?"
"I am sure!" Lloyd said. "I can feel it...it's hollow past here!"
"It looks very sturdy...." Raine commented.
"No, Lloyd's right," Kratos stated.
Everyone turned to look at him.
"...Yuan is rather...nefarious for having little escapes like this," he stated, "I remember this one in particular because it is the only one Mithos does
not know about."
"How can you be sure of that? And you mean to say this is a hiding spot?" Raine asked skeptically.
"Yes, on both counts," Kratos nodded, walking up to the wall, "...now... If I could just remember..."
The swordsman frowned slightly and began to observe the rock....
"..." he snorted, "...we're going to have to break it down. Lloyd."
"Huh?" Lloyd blinked.
"Do you remember what I taught you with 'Demon Fang'?"
Lloyd (for once in his life) had a 'ding!' moment.
"Oh! I got you," he grinned, "okay everybody, stand back."
He pulled out his swords and the group retreated beside or behind him. Kratos stood to his right.
"In order to open a usable pathway, I'd say you'll need about three," the Seraph stated.
"Three, got it," Lloyd nodded, "okay...DEMON FANG!"
The sword force went flying and then cleaved cleanly through the rock wall. Some of the members of the group who had of course not seen this done
on rock before, widened their eyes in surprise.
"Now, one diagonally on that line from each side," Kratos stated.
"Got it! DEMON FANG!"
Two.
"DEMON FANG!"
Three...
"Now one last one, right in the middle," Kratos stated.
Lloyd performed the technique a final time and the wall crumbled, revealing what appeared to be a long hallway constructed of much sturdier,
metallic looking material most often found in the bases of Yuan's organization. Lloyd for one, was proud of himself. He had executed it perfectly,
seeing now that the wall had been quite thick as a matter of fact...a couple feet, at the least. He grinned as he sheathed his swords.
"Oh cool," he said, "Yuan's got a secret place here too!"
"I said that, were you not listening?" Kratos muttered blandly.
Lloyd glared at him before they followed the his look-alike into the structure, the ribbons taking on a ghostly shade from the few dim lights that were
strung in the tunnel; looking like vibrant white snakes sailing through the air before them. After a minute they came to a door of some sort which
Kratos knocked his fist against.
"Yuan! Yuan, I know you're there! Open up!" he said, raising his voice.
"Are you sure he'd be here?" Raine asked again.
"This is the only place that is completely hidden from Mithos, it has to be," Kratos said, "...Yuan!"
There were sounds before the door slid open, a rather exhausted and rumpled looking Yuan standing in the doorway. His hair was a muss, his outfit
not the neat and trim standard as usual and the look in his eyes said clearly he had been under a lot of stress in a short amount of time.
"Kratos, what are-?..."
Yuan observed Kratos a minute, then Lloyd, then back.
"...Any particular reason you appear to be trying to look like your son?"
Kratos glared.
"Uh...yeah, we didn't have anything else for him to wear, then Genis and I kinda...messed with his hair and then...well, we couldn't put it back to
normal..." Lloyd laughed nervously.
Yuan stared a minute before he smirked.
"That is so messed up it's hilarious,"
Kratos' glare intensified, causing his ancient companion to laugh.
"All right, don't look at me like that," he smirked, "come in."
For being underground, the place certainly did not feel like it. The place was well lit, various plants place here and there and a hologram of some sort
played on the ceiling giving it the appearance of a blue sky. The place was otherwise decorated in a very plain style with only functional furniture
such as a desk, bed, and the like. Though based on the doors lined up, the place was bigger than the mere room they stood in.
"You need my help to get back into Derris-Kharlan, am I right?"
Kratos nodded.
"I assumed you'd have a way,"
"Well, lucky for you I do," Yuan nodded, "I guess now that Mithos knows the truth about what I've been doing, the only way to save Martel is to
work with the lot of you."
"You do?" Lloyd said. "That's great! We'd be in trouble if you didn't..."
"Yeah, well, problem," the ex-Seraph crossed his arms, "I have a way, but it won't exactly be easy. There are traps going all the way up to Derris-
Kharlan, and all the way down to the great seed as well. If you want a hope of getting there in one piece-"
"You'll just have to come along with us, then," Kratos said.
"Huh?" Lloyd looked down at his father.
"Yuan is the mastermind behind all the structures and technology behind Cruxis," Kratos said, "it was many many years ago, of course, but he still
did design and build them."
"Anything Mithos may have changed I can get around," Yuan stated with a proud smirk, "that little twerp couldn't outsmart me then, I won't let him
outsmart me now."
"He outsmarted you by joining us though, didn't he?" Genis said.
Yuan flinched.
"Th-that's...that is not important, be quiet,"
"OO! BURNAGE ON THE SERAPH!" Zelos laughed.
Sheena smacked Zelos.
"So you'll help us?"
"Yes," Yuan nodded, "if we're lucky, we should manage to get both the aionis and the furkiol."
"Great!"
"But..." Yuan sighed, "...we should take a while to prepare. This isn't going to be a cakewalk."
He stopped a minute.
"Wait a minute, how did you all get inside anyway?"
Kratos looked away and Lloyd began to rub the back of his neck.
"Uh...well..." he chuckled nervously, "...I kinda broke the rock."
Yuan's eye twitched.
"You did WHAT?! You-! You IDIOT! Now I have to go and repair the entrance!"
"I-I'm sorry! We- Kratos told me to!"
"Thank you ever so much," Kratos said flatly.
"Kratos-!"
"I saw no other way of gaining entry, I apologize," he stated coldly.
Yuan stared.
"...Yeah, that kinda weirded us out too," Sheena said, referring to the Kratos-that-looks-like-Lloyd-being-kratosy situation, "you get used to it."
"Well...whatever," he sighed, "I'll be right back, the rest of you rest up and we'll head back to Tethe'alla tomorrow. I have plenty of supplies here,
feel free to take what you need."
With that the half-elf left the miniature base of sorts, leaving the group alone. After taking some more glances at the Aurions they began to split up
to either gather supplies, rest, or raid the fridge. In fact, many of them took the last option; Yuan had a pretty decent variety of food. Kratos busied
himself by gathering supplies, noticing things he hadn't noticed in centuries. He could smell before, of course; the citrus smell of orange and lemon
gels did not escape him before, the thing was before they were just...smells. Nothing important. Now the smells actually made his mind wander to
food, and his stomach did respond in turn with mild gurgles. So strange...
"Hey..."
He looked up at Lloyd, who fidgeted where he stood.
"Uh...mind if I talk to you while we get stuff?" he asked.
Kratos nodded.
"...Right..."
Lloyd began to gather items for his own pack, shooting glances at his father every few seconds. He looked down at their hands as they selected
between holy bottles, panacea bottles and lifebottles. His hands were larger than Kratos', as Kratos' had been larger than his when the journey
began. It just seemed so unbearably odd that...well, everything seemed odd now. Lloyd bit his lip after a minute and then began to speak.
"You were born here," Kratos said.
Lloyd stopped.
"What?" he said, looking at his father.
"...You were born here," Kratos muttered, his eyes still on the supplies, "...when Anna and I were on the run...Yuan let us stay here for a while. We
lived in this place for a few weeks when she went into labor..."
Lloyd had totally disregarded the supplies by now, staring at his father in a trance.
"...I..." Kratos trailed, his hands having stopped moving about the goods as well, "...I first looked at you here..."
"...Here? As in...here? In this building?" Lloyd gaped at him.
Kratos nodded slowly.
"Yes,"
"...Can you show me?"
Kratos meet his eyes and Lloyd almost shuddered. They really did have the same face...though Kratos' had a tint of red Lloyd didn't possess. It didn't
matter, though, not really.
"...Of course,"
Kratos turned and began heading for the door to the supply room, Lloyd following quickly after. The elder (Sort of) angel lead Lloyd into another hall
and to the furthest room in. At the door Lloyd noticed Kratos stopped, hesitant. Lloyd himself was sort of...numb. He was excited in the sense he
wanted to see where he was born, and at the same time feeling as if he was about to see something truly special; that to see the very sport where
you entered the world could be something quite profound.
"In here," Kratos said simply.
They opened the door and it revealed what appeared to be a small infirmary of some sort, four beds lined up against the walls. Lloyd looked around
in a bit of an awe as Kratos smirked softly, muttering something about it not having changed. He pointed to one in the far left.
"There," he said simply.
Lloyd walked up to the bed slowly, as if it were an animal he was trying not to frighten. After a minute he put his hand down on the bed; as if merely
touching it could enlighten one's existence.
Where he was born...
"...I never knew," he said, "...I never knew where I was born, you know."
"...I'm sorry," Kratos said.
"No, it's okay," Lloyd shook his head, "it's not your fault."
They stood there in silence for what felt like hours, Lloyd immersed in the simple setting before him.
"...It's...amusing," Kratos began softly, "...there were hardly ever Renegades here, seeing as it was more of Yuan's private hiding hole. So...when
Anna had you, Yuan and I were the only ones here. I...I am not the best with doctoral things outside of wounds, whereas Yuan always seemed to be
the epitome of a scholar in anything. ....Yuan helped deliver you."
Lloyd stared at him.
"That's why he's your god-father," Kratos smiled weakly.
"My WHAT?"
"Ironic, isn't it?" he sighed. "With all that's happened..."
"...Wow," Lloyd said simply, "...just wow."
"...We should get back to the others," Kratos said after a minute.
"...Hey, could you...tell me more about when...when I was little? Or about Mom? What she was like?"
Kratos looked at him a minute before he smiled softly, his eyes seeming to smile as well.
"...I'd be glad to,"
"All right, here's the plan,"
Everyone crowded around Yuan as he called them to attention, those that were able taking seats that were situated around the main room. The
Seraph cleared his throat.
"There's a passage into the tower I can lead you to," he started, "if your goal is to obtain the aionis and the furkiol you'll have to use the warp pad
that will lead you into the tower."
"We're going to go into the tower again?" Lloyd moaned.
"Yes, but there's an emergency transporter located in there that can send you directly into Mithos' palace," Yuan said, his face holding the stern
expression, "Kratos knows where to get it from there, but then there's the problem: It's Mithos' palace. At the very least you'll encounter incredibly
heavy guard, if you don't run into Mithos himself."
Lloyd frowned, making him look even more alarmingly like Kratos.
"So..." he said slowly, "do you have any idea how to get around it?"
"Unfortunately, no," Yuan shook his head.
"So that's it then..." Lloyd frowned, "okay, we're going to have to make this good. Hit 'em hard and fast, get what we need, then get out. ...But..."
"But?" Colette asked.
"...After that, I doubt Mithos is just going to let us get the Eternal Sword and waltz out,"
"That's the other thing," Yuan crossed his arms, "...if you even want to take the sword..."
"...Mithos will have to be eliminated," Kratos finished.
Silence fell.
"...You are right," Yuan sighed, rubbing his forehead, "....the little twerp is going to have to be disposed of."
"...So...we're going to have to kill him," Lloyd repeated, "...we're going to have to finish this once and for all, aren't we?"
"...To put it simply, yes,"
"Are we ready for that?" Zelos raised an eyebrow.
"We're as ready as we'll ever be," Genis pointed out.
"...We'll leave first thing in the morning," Yuan stated, "I'll lead you in and try to create a diversion in Welgaia."
"Won't that be risky?" Raine asked.
"This whole thing is 'risky'," his eyes narrowed, "I'm not in the best shape to fight Mithos right now, so I'll do whatever else I can do."
"...All right, everyone get some rest," the Professor said.
Kratos frowned and then looked down at his hand, flexing it. He wasn't going to be as good like this, he knew it.. Well, at least he knew he could still
fight, that was something. ...Perhaps he should get a few more quick rounds in...
"...Hey,"
Lloyd had been eying him.
"Uh...you're worried?" he asked, frowning slightly.
"..." Kratos nodded, "A bit."
"...Let's go outside the village and train for a little bit more," Lloyd said, "it's not dark out yet, so..."
Kratos smiled softly.
"Fine," he said, "but let's tell the others where we're going, first."
Lloyd grinned.
A few minutes later the pair was sparring in what had to be the strangest training round in their lives. Kratos was attempting to get used to the fact
he could NOT in fact jump as high, run as fast, hit as hard; whereas Lloyd was trying to make sure he fly right off the battlefield, run faster than he
intended and trip, or knock his father fifty something feet away.
THUD!
"Oh cra-! Sorry!"
Kratos spat dirt out of his mouth and wiped his face, frowning deeply.
"I must say I haven't tasted dirt in quite some time..." he muttered.
"...Didn't miss it, did you?"
"Not in the least," Kratos admitted as he stood up, "it tastes like obscenely dry brownies with a hint of earthworm."
Lloyd stared.
"...It does," he repeated in a huff.
"Right...well, okay...let's try this again..."
Kratos nodded.
"...Double Demon Fang!"
Lloyd easily wove around the attacks as Kratos sped forward, bringing his blade to collide with his son's. Lloyd deflected the single sword and went
to swipe in with the second when Kratos ducked under the blade and attempted to bring the hilt up under Lloyd's shoulder to wound his joint, which
he almost succeeded in when the 'elder' swerved and brought his weapons down again, Kratos blocking and entering a stalemate... Then Lloyd
knocked him back, the sword flinging out of Kratos' hand.
"..."
"...Woah," Lloyd said simply.
"...Hmph,"
"...I know you could've counter-attacked-"
"Before, I had the physical strength needed to survive a stalemate break," Kratos stated as he picked up his weapon, "yours over powers mine as
things are, the more skilled opponent may not necessarily win against one in better physical shape."
"O-oh..." Lloyd said.
"...But you are right, normally I could have,"
"Heh," Lloyd smirked, "you're still full of yourself."
"And you aren't?" Kratos tilted his head to the side.
"...Shut up,"
"Well, we should-"
Lloyd jolted violently.
"Lloyd? Lloyd, what-?"
Kratos turned in the direction of the town, his eyes going wide at the pillar of smoke billowing from the huts. The Seraph went to say something
when Lloyd charged for the town, his father following close behind him. When the village came into view they luckily did not find it totally devastated,
but the structures around Yuan's 'base' of sorts was in ruins and the people were in a panic.
"Oh no..." Lloyd whispered.
He ran for the base and found it had been blasted open, his friends in heaps at the remains.
"GUYS-!!" he cried. "Guys!"
He ran forward to the nearest one, who happened to be Genis.
"Genis! Genis, are you okay!? What happened?!"
"M-mithos...and Zelos..."
Lloyd noticed both Zelos and Colette were missing.
"...What happened?!"
"I'll tell you what happened," Yuan huffed, clutching a wound as he got to his feet, "that little wretch of a two-faced Chosen Zelos gave our location
to Mithos and then helped the brat take away the vessel!"
"Zelos handed Colette over to Mithos?!"
Kratos swore.
"So he really did have his loyalties to him..." the Seraph growled.
"I had figured he wasn't really spying for them too..." Yuan said.
Kratos jolted.
"You mean to tell me Zelos was spying for you, as well?"
"...Well-"
"Wait, what!?" Lloyd said. "Zelos-"
"Has been playing all of us like fiddles, yes," Yuan gritted his teeth.
"That-! Where'd they go!? Where'd they take Colette?!"
"The tower," Kratos stated, stern, "to the Great Seed."
"Dammit!"
"Damn that Zelos!" Sheena cried as she got to her feet, wounded as well.
"Ugh...REVITALIZE!" Raine casted.
The glow surrounded them all and healed the majority of their wounds.
"We don't have any time, we need to go after them," Regal said.
"Let's go!" Lloyd shouted.
Smeeb. n.n...Does this count as a cliffhanger?
(Silence)
Oh yeah...Colette got kidnapped...again. Sorry. Hope you enjoyed it. n.n' I'll be wrapping it up shortly, however...I hope you guys have liked it.
Review please?