Klangs sounded through the entrance of the tower of Salvation. Zelos betrayed his friends and now he was dodging Genis' magic, Raine's magic, Lloyd's dual swords, Regal's kicks and punches, Presea's axe, and Sheena's sealing artes. In a flurry, everything stopped as Zelos gripped the sword of Lloyd, preventing it from piercing his body. His own sword was flung to the side, just like Lloyd's other sword.
The spiky haired boy tried to remove the other's hands from his sword by flicking it but Zelos' grip was too strong.
Lloyd gritted his teeth in anger. "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS ZELOS?!" He snarled.
"I'm doing this because I want to and…" Zelos began with a soft smile and locked eyes with the brunette. "this is the only way…"
SQUENCH!
Everyone froze in horror and shock as their eyes widened in disbelief.
Zelos thrusted the brunette's sword into his own stomach and back in a shower of blood. The redhead held Lloyd's shoulder and his face was pressed in the other.
Lloyd felt sick when he felt the blood that slid down his hand as he stared at the spot where the hilt met skin and clothing. He tried to remove his sword and only managed to pull it out halfway before Zelos thrusted it back into the soft flesh at a different angle. The redhead gripped the blade and slowly spun it around in a circle, thus, creating a bigger mess of his stomach.
"D… don… don't ta… take it out… the more… I ble… bleed… the better… I'm so… sorry… but it… has to be… this way…" Zelos panted as he spat out a mouthful of blood. "I'm… sor… sorry… m-my… friend…" The Tethe'alla chosen pushed the brunette away and fell forward. He landed, face first, on the floor and let out a small gasp of pain as the sword was pushed deeper. Meanwhile, Lloyd and the floor was splattered in a fountain of blood.
Zelos was panting as he laid in a massive pool of his own blood. 'So… this is how it ends, eh? To die by my own hand… heh heh… well, at least… Seles won't be stuck in that alley anymore...' He thought.
"ZELOS!" Everyone shouted as the rushed to him. He was rolled over onto his back by Lloyd.
"Why? WHY?! WHY DID YOU DO THAT ZELOS?!" Lloyd shouted in anger.
"W… why? You ask… I… did that because… I want… wanted to… ha ha… haha ha…" Zelos laughed as his eyes clouded over.
"WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT?! STOP LAUGHING! YOU'RE MAKING IT WORSE!"
"Keh heh… I… I'm going to… d… die here… any… anyway… what… what… difference does… does it make…?" Zelos grinned as blood poured from the corners of his mouth. He stared up at his "friends'" horrified faces. "Heh… heh… Ygg… Yggdrasil… looks like… you can't… s… see your ex… exper… exper… iment through… to the end… ha ha…" His eyes flickered from his "friends" and focused on Lloyd. "You have grown… into… into… a fine yo… young swordsman during the… sh… short time I have… known you… my only… re… regret now… is… not seeing you grow… to the end…"
"You can, Zelos but only if you let us heal you."
"I can… can… cannot… let you do that… heh heh… you still… need… to save… Col… Col… Colette… she's up there…" Zelos rasped as his vision became blurry.
"Why did you…?" Lloyd asked with a sad expression. Tears began to fall from his eyes.
"Why? 'Cause… she's… pre… precious to you… and you need… to protect her… heh heh…" Zelos laughed softly as his head rolled to the side. "Hurry… now be… be… before… it's too l…" The redhead's eyes closed as he whispered.
"Zelos?" Lloyd whispered as he softly shook the chosen's shoulder.
"L…" The chosen's breathing slowed and he went limp.
"ZELOS!" Lloyd shouted, shaking the redhead's shoulder roughly.
"Relax, Lloyd! He has only fallen unconscious." Raine said as she placed a hand on the boy's head. "We must hurry. We have to save Colette."
"But!"
"No buts! I have placed a very powerful protection spell on him. He should still be alive by the time we get back."
"Someone has to watch him though!"
"He doesn't need anyone to watch him! What is more important is we get to Yggdrasil and we take him out. We need everyone we've got in order to take him out. COME ON!" She said forcefully as she pulled him to the elevator.
"What about my sword?! It's still stuck in Zelos' stomach!"
"Take his sword then! If we take the sword out of his gut now, he won't survive a few minutes, let alone the amount of time it will take us to strike down Yggdrasil. We must go now."
"... fine…" Lloyd snarled as he grabbed the redhead's sword and dashed into the elevator.
The last image the party saw was Zelos sleeping peacefully with a smile on his face and the sea of blood quickly getting larger.
None of them noticed the glowing amber orbs peering at them from underneath the redhead's eyelids.
"NO! NO! NO! WHY WON'T YOUR BODY ACCEPT MY SISTER'S SOUL?!" Yggdrasil roared in anger as he gripped Colette's shoulders tightly and shook slightly. The Sylvarant only coward in fright. "WHY?! WHY?! WHY?!"
This was how the party found the two and they only stared.
"I-i don't know why! I-i don't know anything about this… but…" Colette whipped her head around and stared at Lloyd with wide eyes. "LLOYD! WHERE'S ZELOS?!"
"H-he stabbed himself with my sword and now he's dieing at the entrance…" Lloyd mumbled in a shaky voice as he turned his head away.
Colette veered back like she just got slapped. "No… no… NO! He actually… went with his plan… he chose to… sacrifice himself for me?" She asked as tears began to pour down her face.
Her friends looked stunned as Lloyd went to her. He gripped her shoulders softly.
"What do you mean Colette?" The brunette asked.
"He…" They all turned to Yggdrasil who had an angered and hurt expression on his face. "HE… DAMN YOU CHOSEN! WHY HAVE YOU BETRAYED ME?! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO BETRAY ME LIKE KRATOS AND YUAN?!"
Lloyd turned back to Colette. "What has happened?!"
"Zelos spoke to me during our stay in Meltokio. He said that he was part of Cruxis and he knew what Yggdrasil was after. I was told that Yggdrasil wanted me so I could house the soul of his dead sister and that Zelos could stop the possession from happening. Zelos told me that the only way for it to be stopped if I was captured, he would spill his own blood on the floors and walls of the Tower of Salvation. He said if he does this, the vessel - me in this case - would be useless for possessions, transformations, and anything of the sort. I told him no but he said he would still do it even if he had to and I made him promise not to hurt himself. He said he would think about it. Zelos must have gone through with his plan. He said he knew none of you would hurt him badly and would stop him from hurting himself. Zelos knew he HAD to betray you so you would come at him with the intent to kill him. He must have realised that none of you could critically harm him so he took matters into his own hands. The truth is, he never betrayed you; he stayed by your side this whole time. He knew you would never agree to his plan so he never told you. A-and now… HE'S DYING!" She pulled Lloyd into a hug and started sobbing into shoulder.
Everyone was shocked.
"Y-you mean he never betrayed us and it was all a set up?" Genis asked with a small tremor in his voice.
"Yes… I should have known…" They all turned their heads and saw Yggdrasil looking down. "I should have realised how close he had gotten to you. Now… I'm going to make sure everything he did is in vain." His head snapped up quickly and his face was twisted in anger and insanity. "I'M GOING TO KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU!" Yggdrasil launched himself at the group and thus the battle commenced.
The sounds of chanting and sword clashing against sword echoed through the room. The battle seemed to be going very well for Lloyd's party until… Yggdrasil played a cheat card as he cast a devastating light spell at Raine with his sword at the ready. Raine was in the middle of a healing spell when he tried to kill her and she could do nothing but brace for impact.
It never came and a loud boom echoed through the room as dust and debris flew everywhere. Everyone had to cover their eyes and they were shocked at what they saw once the dust disappeared.
Zelos Wilder stood in front of the way with Lloyd's sword in his hand and the other on the mess that made up his stomach. He was hunched over slightly and breathing heavily. Wheezing gasps escaped through his lips and his eyes glared at his friend's offender.
Yggdrasil and everyone else who could see his face, took a step back.
The redhead's eyes were a glowing amber and anger, hostility, and bloodlust swam around in them.
Zelos's eyes widened slightly and he collapsed slightly onto the sword in his hand. A wheezing gasp escaped and he grimaced as he coughed up more blood.
"Ha… HA HA HA!" Yggdrasil laughed. "I knew it was a good idea to tamper with your angel transformation. I have no idea what I did but it will be interesting to find out and it appears the effects are taking effect now." Zelos slowly pulled himself up as his muscles shook with effort. "I thought you had died from your injuries."
The redhead grinned slightly.
"Ha ha ha… ha ha ha... " Zelos stared at Yggdrasil with a grin. "HUERK!" He lurched forward but managed to stay on his feet. "As if some… something like this could kill me… you should know better." He panted out as he wobbled a little.
"Ha ha. look at you! You can hardly stand. What could you possibly do to take me down?"
"That's… easy. Take up your final form… this will be a fight… between two angels. What do you think, oh~ Lord Yggdrasil~?" Zelos mocked as gave a mocking bow to the blonde haired man. His muscles strained with effort and a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face.
"HA HA! Brilliant idea, Idiot Chosen!" Yggdrasil mocked back. "Brilliant idea! But how do expect to defeat me when you can hardly keep your stomach together?!" The blonde haired man transformed himself in a very flashy way and he became a robotic, mosquito… thing with him in the cockpit.
Zelos snorted as he closed his eyes. He drew himself up to his full height and stood there, concentrating and dragging energy into him. The redhead's eyes snapped opened and the entirety of his eyes was the same golden color of his wings. Zelos opened his mouth wide and let out a roar, equivalent to a dragon's roar.
The redhead's battered body slowly rose into the air by an unknown force and then his transformation took place.
A line of red feather covered his forearms and his shins. His red hair turned into a crest of red feathers and a matching pair of horns sprouted on his forehead. A small yellow eye appeared in the center of his forehead, right in between the horns, and red tattoos ran up his arms, legs, and chest. Two feathered wings with blood red feathers burst from his back and a matching tail joined them. Crests of the same feathers appeared on his elbows and right above his ankles on the back of his legs. His fingernails and toenails were elongated to sickles and they were blood red. Golden bands wrapped around his biceps and matching hoops hung from his earlobes. A large and intricate necklace dangled around his shoulders and neck. He was barefoot and was shirtless. His stomach was still a mess but it had stopped bleeding.
Zelos opened his mouth wide and let out a louder roar. His eye teeth and tongue were the equivalent of a snake.
"H-how? HOW ARE YOU ABLE TO ACCESS THAT FORM?!" Yggdrasil roared.
"You should already know, Lord Yggdrasil. After all, you were the one who tampered with my transformation into an angel." Zelos hissed. "You gave me a final form when you tampered with my transformation. This from places a great stress on my mind because it gives me an uncontrollable bloodlust to kill something. I knew it was strange to have these instincts shortly after my transformation. It took everything I had to not scumb to my instincts and kill everything and anything that breathed and crossed in my field of view. Geez, I felt like I was going insane. Now I get to let those instincts out full force because I HAVE NO QUALMS IN KILLING YOU! AH HA HA HA HA!" The redhead cackled as he launched himself at the robotic blonde and slashed downwards at the blonde.
Back and forth, the two demonic angels dealt blows to each other. Neither appeared to have the upper hand but neither of them cared. This was the curse of Cruxis Crystals. Not only would you become an angel, an amnesiac, and as emotion filled as a plank of wood, you would either become a drop dead sexy blood crazed killing machine or a demented blood crazed killing machine. Zelos was, apparently, the former.
The redhead's friends could only stare as he and the demented mosquito fought to the death.
"Is that… is that really Zelos?" Genis asked in a daze.
"Yes. It is. I never knew he had this side to him…" Sheena whispered. Her eyes were wide and she held up a hand to her face.
Loud footsteps sounded behind them and they saw Yuan and Kratos walking up to them when they turned around.
"Origin has been released." Kratos stated in monotone before he turned his head and stared in shock. "H-he actually went through with it…" He gaped.
"What? What is it, Kratos?" Raine asked as went up to him.
"The chosen. Did he tell he was going to go through with this?" The maroon haired man asked.
"No. He never told us anything about this."
"Hmmm, I guess it's safe to say that none of you know the rest of Zelo's decision."
Everyone was shocked. For as long as they have known the emotionless angel before them, he has never called the Tethe'alla chosen by his given name.
"What do you mean?" Presea asked.
"The usage of an angel's final form transformation is a suicide attempt and it is used as a last resort. Zelos already knew that he was dying and he knew if he could convince Yggdrasill into his own final form, he would die as well, regardless if he bested the chosen or not. The same goes with Zelos. If he strikes down Yggdrasill and kills the angel, he would die as well."
"WHAT?!" They all screamed, even Yuan screamed.
"This is why he didn't want to tell any of you. He knew you would stop him from entering this form. In fact, he never wanted you to see him like this. He would rather die than let you see him as this bloodthirsty monster. Funny, he is dying anyway." Kratos smiled softly.
Yggdrasil and Zelos broke apart and they stared each other down.
The mosquito thing had large, deep gashes running up every part of his body and there was a large wound in his stomach.
Zelos wasn't in any better shape. The mess of his stomach started gushing out blood again, there was a large gash in his forehead, and his arms were covered in lacerations. However, despite the obvious pain he was in and the amount of blood he was losing, his was still defiant and his eyes still blazed with life and bloodlust. He stood tall even with the blood that poured down his body, the heart-stopping gasps that wracked his body, and the sweat that rolled off his skin.
"Let's end this, Lord Yggdrasil. I doubt… neither of has enough power to continue this dispute." Zelos panted out.
"I… must agree with you,Idiot Chosen. Let's finish with one final blow!" Yggdrasil roared as he launched himself at the Tethe'alla chosen one last time.
"I COULDN'T HAVE AGREE MORE!" The redhead equally roared as he too launched himself at his enemy.
They met in the middle and the sound of piercing flesh and skin echoed in the room.
Zelos had run Yggdrasil's sternum through with Lloyd's sword and the blonde had pierced the redhead's chest, heart, and back wit his hand.
They leaned against each other, each breath wracking both their bodies and each one being harder than the rest. Then their forms slowly faded away and the blonde and redhead they knew before, stood in a pose that looked like a brotherly embrace.
With a snarl, both angels pushed each other away. The blonde staggered about and he redhead was too drained to stay upright anymore and fell backwards. He would have hit the ground if Kratos hadn't stepped in and caught him.
Lloyd and the others rushed over to them.
"Why Zelos? Why did you sacrifice yourself for this?" Lloyd asked as tears pricked at the edges of his eyes.
"I… I di… did it… cause… I ha… had to…" Zelos rasped as his head rolled around slightly and his eyelids fluttered over his darkening eyes.
"No… no… NO!" Yggdrasil roared as he tried the put the pieces of his broken Cruix Crystal back into his chest. "I CAN'T FADE NOW!I CAN'T!" The blonde's body disintegrated in the wind and Yggdrasil was no more.
A small stream of blood trickled down Zelos' chin as the others - except for Colette, Yuan, and Kratos - rushed about to keep the redhead in a comfortable position and heal him.
"Stop." Kratos commanded and they all stopped.
They froze in their spots and stared at the blank faced, maroon haired man.
"Are you crazy, Kratos?! We can't leave our comrade to die!" Raine roared as she pointed her staff at him in a threatening manner.
"No, you can't but it's too late now. His Cruix Crystal was also destroyed in that final attack." Kratos pointed at Zelos' chest.
The angel was right. The redhead's crystal was nothing but a small mound of powder on his mangled chest.
"I'm sorry but it's the truth." Yuan murmured. His eyes were closed and he had a solemn look on his face.
"Heh… heh…" They all looked at Zelos who was smiling up at them despite the fact his eyes were unfocused and blood continued to seep out of his body. "It's… alright… I kne… knew this w… was… going to ha… happen any… anyway…" His head rolled to the side and his eyes slid close.
"ZELOS! Hold on! Let us help you!" Lloyd shouted, desperation in his voice.
"Too… la… te… for… th… at…" Zelos rasped, his voice going quieter with each word. His eyes closed and his body convulsed a few times before he went completely slack. The redhead's heart ceased to beat and his last breath escaped his lips. Zelos was dead.
"NNNOOOO!" Sheena screamed as he pulled him into her arms and cradled his head in her arms. She rocked back and forth as she screamed, sobbed, and cried.
They were so caught up in their grief, they never noticed Zelos' body glowing or the faint image of Martel, the World Tree summon spirit, watching the group with a sad smile on her face and a faint Zelos Wilder holding her hand with an equal smile.
Citizens, young and old, piled into the Temple of Martel. It was a special occasion but it wasn't the cheery kind of occasion. It was more of a sad, depressing kind of occasion.
Today was the funeral of the Tethe'alla chosen, Zelos Wilder. The man who risked everything to protect his friends and restore peace between worlds. The man who no citizen of Meltokio and all of Tethe'alla, for that matter, put in the effort to learn his own name. He would always be "Chosen" in their eyes and he hated that until he died a few days ago.
His coffin was made of the purest marble with gold trimmings along the edges. The heavily decorated top was laid on the floor so they could all see the redhead's face.
Zelos looked like he was sleeping but everyone knew that wasn't the case. There was a small smile on his face and his blood red hair was splayed on the white cushions. The man was dressed in the finest silk; courtesy of the King and Princess of Meltokio. Multiple pieces of beautiful, gold jewellry was hung around his body. His hands were crossed over his chest and the sword he always used was placed in his grasp.
Everyone stood up and placed a white rose around his body. They all filed back to their seats and sat down. Only Zelos' friends stayed by his side.
They watched the lid sliding over his coffin and it being lifted into his crypt. A giant statue of the man, himself, stood over his crypt with a proud smile on his face and his sword brandished in a protective manner. It was entirely made of gold.
All of his friends stood around the crypt as everyone else left the temple.
"What will do without you, Zelos?" Lloyd whispered as he place a hand on the top of the crypt.
He felt a hand land on his shoulder and saw his father, Kratos, standing their with a concerned look.
"Time to go…" He whispered as he turned away and walked away with Lloyd right behind him.
The spiky haired, brunette took one last look at his friend's grave and joined everyone outside. Right as they were at the base of the stairs, their exspheres went off.
"W-what is this?!" Genis cried in shock.
"I-it is a protection spell of some sort!" Raine gasped as she looked at it.
"But who could have cast it?" Sheena asked as she looked around them.
"Only for the journey home, my friends…" They whipped around and openly gaped at what the saw in the entrance to the Temple.
An almost transparent image of Zelos Wilder stood there. He was in his final form but he had more jewellry on him and his wings were feathered and blood red. His amber eyes glowed with power, wisdom, and happiness. He had Martel's staff in his hand.
"Z-zelos?" Lloyd asked.
The redhead in question nodded his head.
"You may not see me again after this brief meeting but know that I'll always be watching over you." He said, his voice deeper and stronger than before.
With one last goodbye, his body was surrounded by a gust of wind and he disappeared into the wind.
He was happy where he was. They all knew that, after all, he was given his second chance.