This chapter is intended as a bit of a recap as to what's going on in the story. Hopefully it succeeds in that task. There's a tiny bit of plot advancement, but not much.

Enjoy!


Bonus Chapter:

Shining Bind


"You don't stand a chance... Shining Bind!"

"Kaku ga chigau'n da yo... Shining Bind!"


Mithos sat drying in the captain's cabin aboard Martel's Grace—he was still horrified that Yuan would dare name a mere ship after his sister. There could be little doubt as to who had named the ship, after all, seeing as how the other half-elf was playing captain.

Speaking of, just who had given Yuan permission to join the Journey of Regeneration, anyway? Last Mithos had heard, he had had tasks of his own. Tasks such as observing the progress of his Desians, among other things. He was not about to let his plans be ruined by people acting out of place. He was riding too much on the outcome of this particular Chosen. She could do it, she could revive Martel. He just knew it. There had never been such a perfect match in the past four thousand years.

Another thing that bothered him was the fact that Zelos was not present—well, besides the apparent lack of Colette, also. That really pissed him off! Just what was Kratos playing at? Mithos was really starting to think that it was a good idea he had decided to take a first-hand look at the Journey of Regeneration. Clearly it was falling apart, and Mithos was not going to have any of that. No. Way. If only he could contact Wilder. That would really go a long way into figuring out what had happened. He knew Zelos would not dare to hide anything. He had no such confidence in Kratos and Yuan, however.

Settling the blanket higher upon his shoulders, Mithos pursed his lips, still deep in thought. Kratos and Yuan were up to something, he knew that much. Those two had been scheming together for far too many years. It had almost become second nature to him to just brush it off. After all, they had never done anything to hinder him before. It was not the time for them to be fighting him, though. Right now, more than ever before, they needed to work together! For Martel.

Dammit, where was Zelos? He desperately wanted to hear the redheaded Chosen's report on matters. He had never sent the man to Sylvarant, but that certainly did not mean that he would not expect a report from the flamboyant Chosen. Eyes and ears could be used everywhere, even when they were not supposed to be there. In fact, had he thought of it before, he would have sent Zelos along from the get-go. The male Chosen wanted his freedom enough to be trustworthy. If only because Mithos himself was the only one who could grant that freedom.

He was going to have to have a talk with Kratos soon, he decided, throwing down the blanket and standing. He needed to find out what was going on.

"Struggle against these holy chains. Shining Bind!"

"Owari da! Seinaru kusari ni aragatte misero... Shining Bind!"


Kratos had been unprepared for Lord Yggdrasill's sudden arrival. Seriously, did his former apprentice honestly believe that Raine would buy his story about his boat sinking? If that had really happened, where was the debris? Raine was probably already going over that in her head.

The appearance of the childish seraph was also going to put a major hitch in Kratos' own plans. Kratos knew that Zelos played sides—everyone but Yggdrasill knew that—which meant that ordering him off on his next mission was going to be next to impossible with the blond man there.

It was all Yuan's fault. If his friend had not screwed up before, Zelos would have been free to follow his own orders to retrieve the items he needed. It was even because of that that he had been late to meet with Lloyd, a fact he was not happy about. As it was, everything seemed to be in jeopardy now. Kratos had no doubt that if Mithos got his hands back on Zelos, the redhead would be going nowhere. At least not anywhere under Kratos' orders. After all, the auburn-haired seraph was not quite so slow as to not realise that Yggdrasill was on to him and Yuan. Still, nothing short of death, or threat of death to Lloyd, would divert Kratos from his task now.

Yuan, on the other hand, was playing a very dangerous game of his own. The half-elf was trying to assassinate the Chosen, a foolish play in and of itself. Yet Kratos really did not care. So long as Lloyd was safe, Kratos really was more interested in his own plans. He had been hoping Zelos would complete his task before the end of the Journey of Regeneration, anyway. That did not look like it would be happening now, though.

Damn, but he really was going to have to rethink his plans. Still, there was little point in doing so now. There was no point in acting until he had a better grasp on the situation. Hasty actions would just lead to trouble.

Fingering his Flamberge, Kratos wandered the deck restlessly. Even his foiled plans paled in comparison to Lloyd. His son was in danger, and that really did bother Kratos. He regretted not acting upon the Niflheim poisoning sooner, yet he had not seen the reason before, since it had been sealed back for the time being, and other things were taking precedence. He had hoped to reach the Tower of Salvation before then, to get Lloyd real healing. Yet now all of that was blowing up in his face. It was not a pleasant experience. He was going to have to find Lloyd, and soon. He hoped the poison would hold back for awhile yet, but the sooner Lloyd was treated, the sooner Kratos could forget the problem entirely.

Soon now, Kratos knew he was going to have to act. Lloyd's safety came first. Yggdrasill could chew on that.

"I'll show you what I'm made of! Take this! Shining Bind!"

"Ore-sama no honki, misete yaru yo! Kurai na! Shining Bind!Utsukushi!"


Zelos touched down well on the outskirts of Ozette, letting his wings dissipate even as he set Noishe down on the forest floor. They had made good time arriving, which was good. Noishe was not exactly the most enjoyable burden he had ever carried. Not that he minded. The protozoan had been a good friend to him, along with Lloyd, for years. Watching Noishe now, pounding through the ferns, made the trouble worth it.

Calling to Noishe, Zelos began the long trek to the town. He had considered taking off to make some reports, since he was finally alone and all, but had decided against it. At the moment he was pretty pressed for time, so that would not go over well. At least he knew Yuan would prefer he stay on task. Sure, acting to retrieve Colette was likely not on Yuan's agenda, but he could see to it that the girl suffered an 'unfortunate accident' if he played his cards right. Which meant finding her without Lloyd around. It grated on him to even be thinking such things, but they were necessary. He was also going to have to get away from Noishe. The dog-like creature was surprisingly intelligent.

At least Kratos would not mind if he killed the girl. So long as Yggdrasill never learned, then he could set off on his mission for Kratos, and all would be well. Thankfully Kratos did not need a report from him, although the auburn-haired seraph was more than likely going to have a thing or two to say on his and Lloyd's little venture.

Then there was Yggdrasill himself, of course. The vicious half-elf was expecting Zelos to be helping out on the Journey of Regeneration, and, despite Zelos heading to Sylvarant on his own, would more than likely be expecting reports. Somehow.

It was a fine, tangled mess Zelos had made for himself. He had three people all with different goals, some of which completely contradicted one another, vying for his attention and skills. Mithos wanted the Chosen's success, Yuan wanted the Chosen dead or gone, and Kratos just wanted...things; and he played them all so he would definitely come out on top, one way or another. Just wonderful.

Yuan was another issue entirely. Zelos was supposed to be watching to make sure Sheena had safe passage to and from Sylvarant, and that she did not falter on her task. Yeah, a great mess he had made of things there. Not only had he failed to make sure Colette ended up dead, but he had also let Sheena make her own way back to Tethe'alla. Through an unstable system. As much as he had to not care about Colette, Sheena was another matter.

He very seriously hoped no harm had come to her.

Of course, then there was Lloyd. He was another matter entirely. Sure, Zelos did not have any true obligations to the spunky brunet, yet at the same time, he did. Lloyd had been his best friend for a long time, and he really cared for the boy. Whatever came out of the sides Zelos himself was playing, the redhead intended to see to it that Lloyd came out on top with him. There was nothing else for it. If anything happened to Lloyd, Zelos was not quite certain what he would do. In fact, if need be he would take Lloyd's safety over even his own.

The very fact that he was having those sorts of thoughts distressed him. Zelos had always been the sort to put number one first, caring for himself before anyone else. Yet that was changing, and had been ever since he had met Lloyd. Just what did that mean? Could it be that...?

No, now was not the time to be having such thoughts. He needed to stay focused on the mission at hand. He could worry about it more when Lloyd was around. Maybe then he would have his answers.

With a start, Zelos glanced down to see Noishe tugging at his sleeve.

"Hahah, okay Noishe. I'm coming," he said with a soft chuckle as he quickened his pace. It was time to get back to work.

"I'll destroy you! Nothing will stop me!"

"Fusege wa shimai! Watashi wo tomete mise yo!"


The tall man stood out in the snow, watching the way it drifted down with glowing, crimson eyes. He could feel the power of Niflheim seeping from somewhere in this world. Somehow, it was breaking free. He was most certainly going to have to investigate this. Especially to the south of him. He could almost taste the reek of Niflheim's curse seeping up from there.

Oh yes. It required investigation.

I assume most of you can figure out who the person at the end was. If not...well, too bad. :P That was the only real effort I put into forwarding the plot, and trust me when I say it's nothing much. At least not yet. With the way I write, that might change anytime...

Anyway, I need to give my thanks to everyone who helped me with this. First off is, as always, my awesome beta. You rock, girl!

Second are my friends, Emy and Kelly. Those two are freaking amazing. Really. They put up with me for three hours the other night trying to catch the Japanese audio of each Shining Bind from youtube videos. It was a lot of work. Of course, we then found the quotes on Aselia, which kind of defeated the purpose. We changed some things, though. The Japanese quote for the last one was not right on Aselia. I also added that first line of the English translation, since there wasn't one. Because it was so wrong for his. (The line's a bit improvised. He actually says something about breaking their defences, but I went with 'I'll destroy you'.)Other than that, it just let us check what we had, and fix some grammatical issues. We did pretty well, if I do say so myself. XD Zelos' English incantation is also terrible, by the way. He actually says something like "I'll show you I'm being serious! I hate you! Shining Bind!," but whatever. Knight of Ratatosk was made of fail anyway.

Anyway, I hope this helped people sort out some of what's going on in the story. I know it's turning out to be a long hull, but I will finish someday.

Also, the title for this was not just picked at random. I wanted to symbolise the fact that all three of Zelos, Kratos, and Mithos are, in their own ways, bound to Cruxis as securely as with chains. I thought their shared mystic arte served the purpose nicely. The last character...well, he doesn't even say 'Shining Bind,' so... XD

Apologies for the retardedly long author's note, and I hope you all enjoyed. See you in Chapter 17!