This is a chapter that I've been looking forward to for ages; you'll see why, of course. Not much to say, really, this chapter practically wrote itself, so, enjoy!

…

Colette wasn't speaking to Lloyd; of course, she was incapable of speech to anyone, but the normally forgiving Chosen had not so much as glanced at him since Raine had explained to the group about her situation.

"Since the first seal…" Raine's words echoed in Lloyd's head as he wandered around Asgard, guilt bubbling in his stomach. "Since the first seal Colette has been sacrificing part of her humanity in order to become an angel."

Colette's eyes went wide as she realized where Raine must have gotten this information and her eyes turned hard and she looked darkly at Lloyd. Stumbling slightly, Colette pushed herself to her feet and waved her hands, trying to stop Raine from going further. Her cheeks were flushed with fever and she swayed slightly, only to be caught by Lloyd as she almost fell again. She righted herself, then turned away from Lloyd to try to stop Raine, but the Professor only shook her head sadly and continued.

"Colette no longer has the ability to eat, sleep, or feel pain…and now she has lost her voice. It's only reasonable, though," Raine added as she saw mutiny in Sheena and Genis' eyes. "To become a holy being, one must lose parts of their humanity."

"So Colette's been suffering this whole time!" Genis cried in anguish. "Why didn't she tell us? Why didn't you tell us earlier?"

"Lloyd and I only realized the full implications a short while ago."

All eyes flickered to Lloyd, including Colette's hurt, blue ones. The emotions ranged from Kratos' stoicism to Sheena's righteous fury. Lloyd turned red under their gazes, knowing that he should have kept his mouth shut. He silently cursed Raine for dragging him into this as well.

"…I don't know much about the Chosen's Journey, or Cruxis or anything, but to make someone suffer like that and sacrifice themselves and everything that makes them who they are to save the world seems pretty damn messed up to me," Sheena grumbled.

Kratos glared between Sheena and Genis, as if they had personally insulted him. "Yet," he growled softly, "what other way is there to save the world? If the fate of the world rested on your shoulders, would you save your own life in exchange for the lives of hundreds of thousands of others? Simply going into the Ranch to save you and the others was a risk to our lives. Most men choose to act for the greater good—though there are those who are selfish enough to do otherwise." He looked pointedly at Sheena and Genis.

"…while I agree with Sheena that it is a steep price, Kratos is also right in saying that to sacrifice the world for one person is too cruel. For the moment, however, to continue on with the Journey is our only option, even Colette would agree, yes?"

Five pairs of eyes turned on the blond Chosen who looked between her friends for a moment, then she nodded once.

Lloyd knew that if Colette decided to be uncharacteristically vengeful, his secrets would be out in seconds. As much as he hated it, he was counting on Colette being a much better person than he to keep his secrets. He had tried to apologize, but it seemed that this betrayal was the last straw for the young Chosen, as she had not even opened the door to her room when Lloyd had knocked.

The only good thing that had come of this disaster was that Lloyd had managed to mention Raine's new healing techniques could be used to help Colette's state. This had gotten both Sheena and Genis joining him in the idea that they should work to find the unicorn, and the group had moved back to Asgard to conduct their search. The myth of the unicorn was so popular in Asgard that it had taken Raine next to no time to extract every drop of information from the citizens.

The young angel wandered his way back toward the inn; they were staying at the grandest Inn in Asgard, and as Lloyd ascended the stairs, the fine hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Lloyd tensed and began to turn, his hand already on the hilt of his sword, but a swift jab to his right shoulder blade made Lloyd gasp in pain as his hand was knocked away from the blade. It went skittering across the ground. An arm wrapped around his neck and fingers twined and then pulled his hair.

"Enough struggling, Lloyd," Yuan growled, looking down at his incapacitated victim. "Now, be a good boy and don't do anything stupid. We're going to give your Daddy a little visit."

Lloyd choked, and it wasn't only because Yuan had him quite securely around the throat; if Yuan made Kratos release the seal now, everything would be ruined! "W-what the hell do you think you're doing?" he gasped. He had more than enough air to function, but to talk sounded was painful.

"The letter I sent myself explained that there is a way to release Origin's seal without killing Kratos, but he doesn't need to know that immediately, and the only way I can coax him into releasing the seal is by threatening you—the letter explained that as well."

"But—but it's not—supposed to happen yet!" Lloyd choked on his words, but Yuan waved his concerns away.

"Kvar has already done enough damage to your so-called "timeline"; my actions will make little real difference at the rate we are going."

Lloyd made another strangled choking noise as he was dragged along. Had he been in any other position, he would have demanded that Yuan explain, but now was neither the time nor the place. He let himself be dragged, waiting for the proper opportunity to get away, most likely when Yuan had dropped his guard just enough that his grip was loosened.

Yuan was dragging him toward the inn, but as they got close, he moved around the side of the inn to the entrance of a small alleyway between the sheer cliff face that rose behind the inn and the building itself. There was only one small door and no windows—little chance for anyone to walk out and help him. Just as Lloyd thought this, however, the door opened and Lloyd's heart leapt, only to fall a moment later as he realized it was his father who was coming.

"So, you actually came," Yuan said softly, almost sounding as if he regretted this whole affair.

"What is the meaning of this?" Kratos hissed softly. "Release Lloyd."

Kratos was doing such a fantastic job of acting and sounding like the uncaring mercenary that Lloyd honestly felt bad at having to break the charade. Yuan didn't seem to care for the art in the same way Lloyd did, however.

"Kratos, release Origin's seal or your son dies." Yuan moved to grab a knife from his belt. His grip on Lloyd's hair gone, the boy was able to pull away and block Yuan's next grab.

"Yuan!" Lloyd couldn't help it, his frustration boiled out at the Seraph. Somehow, the idea that Yuan would bring up Lloyd's relationship to Kratos hadn't occurred to him. He had assumed the man would have the decency to wait until the proper time to blow this as well. It had come out at the wrong moment, he had not expected it; the time for the proper shock had passed. The only thing left was to pull himself out of this with the least amount of pain possible.

"Yuan you…whore!" Lloyd snapped at last. "You are frigging unbelievable! I can't believe you'd screw this up so badly!" Both Seraphim seemed to have paused at Lloyd's adjective for Yuan and were staring at the now shouting Lloyd.

"…what the hell did you just call me?" Yuan hissed after a moment, pulling a knife on Lloyd. The blade glittered in the angel's hand and Lloyd reached for his own swords, but came back with only one. The other was probably lying in some back ally, far from his reach. He switched the left-handed sword to his right hand; the handle uncomfortable between his fingers.

Yuan moved to strike, but even as Lloyd raised his single sword in an uneven, sloppy defense, the Seraph's knife met Kratos' shield and Lloyd's father shoved his friend away. "I think that is enough, Yuan," Kratos said almost calmly.

"Dammit," Yuan spat, seeing quickly that between Lloyd and his father, there was no way Yuan could take both down.

"Would you like to explain what it is you think you are doing?" Kratos advanced, sword still pointed at Yuan's neck. The other angel's green eyes were wide and angry; he, like Lloyd, had no real alibi. Yuan had lost, and in the process he had exposed himself as a traitor and a Renegade.

The Seraph's moment of panic turned to a sneer of defiance. "I think you already realized what's happened, Kratos." He backed a few inches further toward the entrance to the ally and away from Kratos' striking area.

"So, you've turned traitor then, old friend," Kratos said with a half-sigh, but he didn't sound particularly surprised. "…of course you are." He looked at his oldest friend for a moment; Kratos clearly wanted to say more, but he was also conscious of Lloyd's presence with them. Then his eyes hardened. "If you have something you want of me, Yuan, I would appreciate it if you would not drag Lloyd into it. Now get out."

"…do you plan to report me?" Yuan raised an eyebrow, trying to look as though he was not nervous, and not entirely succeeding.

Something softened in Kratos' eyes, "I have no intention of doing so unless you choose to threaten Lloyd a second time. Now go."

"…thank you," Yuan murmured, then turned and left. For the first time, Lloyd realized that the Seraph hadn't bothered to wear his cape, and his armor stood out in the shady Asgard streets. He strolled away, his steps as confident as ever, despite just having faced down his closest friend at sword point. If Yuan hadn't pulled a knife on him, Lloyd might almost have felt bad.

"…I think we need to talk," Kratos said softly, reminding Lloyd that he had bigger problems than what Yuan was wearing at the moment. When Lloyd turned to look at his father, he met the man's back. Kratos wouldn't meet his eyes. "Let's take a walk."

"Kay…" Lloyd followed behind his father, who took the main street for several minutes before turning off toward the residential cliffs that made up Asgard's east end. Until they were safely away from the bustle of Asgard's larger district, neither man said a word.

Finally, Kratos broke the silence. "…you knew, before Yuan said anything, you knew. How?"

Lloyd held his breath for a moment, watching his father's high shoulders, thinking. He had tried and failed to come up with a real excuse for his actions, but in his time he had managed to come up with a reason for his knowledge. "…Kvar," he said at last. "While we were alone, he told me about Mom…and you. He seemed to think the whole thing was funny." Lloyd swallowed; there was no reason for Kratos not to believe his story, but he still felt nervous lying.

"…why did you never mention it?" Perhaps Lloyd was imagining it—he hoped he was—but Kratos sounded almost sad.

"…there never seemed to be a good time," Lloyd lied. There had been plenty of opportunities, but that was beside the point. "And I couldn't work up the courage…" As far as Lloyd was concerned, neither of these excuses fit well into his personality, to his eyes he had always spoken his mind loudly and without concern as to whom was listening.

Kratos stopped walking without warning and Lloyd was only able to stop a pace behind him. As much as he wanted to back away, he couldn't quite bring himself to reject his father by the one, simple movement. Lloyd's father looked over his shoulder, down into Lloyd's worried, brown eyes, then turned to face him fully. They were alone. "…I am sorry, Lloyd."

"…don't apologize," Lloyd said softly, his voice coming out gruff. "I'm sure—I'm sure there was a good reason you didn't say anything. I mean…you probably weren't even sure it was me…" His best lies gone, Lloyd was now grasping at straws, hoping Kratos was too emotionally tangled to see through him.

The Seraph sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, a motion Lloyd had inherited in the few, short months in which he had gotten to know his biological father before he had left with Derris-Kharlan. "…you had Noishe, you had her eyes, you have the right name, after seeing Anna's grave—" Kratos cut off for a moment, regaining his composure, "…I had no doubt it was you, but I doubted you would believe me, or embrace me, for that matter."

"…what makes you say that?" Lloyd asked softly. "You heard me talk about wanting to find my biological father… You know how much I like you, how many times you've saved my life, how could you think I wouldn't want to know who you were?"

"Lloyd, be logical," a touch of Kratos' cold reasoning had returned, "do I look old enough to be your father?"

"…quarter elf?" Lloyd guessed, for the first time trying not to smile. Somehow, when he had imagined Yuan "telling" Lloyd that Kratos was his father, he had always imagined it to be almost comical, like some huge practical joke. It was nothing like that; his heart was pounding as hard as it had the first time and he was perhaps more nervous now than ever. One wrong word and he could expose himself. It was a sobering thought.

Kratos sighed, "…well, you are right to think I am not human…" He closed his eyes, most likely pondering what to tell Lloyd, just as he himself was doing. "…I am an angel."

Lloyd made his mouth drop open slightly and his eyes widen. He stared. "…how's that possible? I mean, Colette's not even a full angel yet and she can't talk or eat or sleep and I've seen you do all of that! And if you're an angel…who was Mom? Why are you here?" Lloyd was rephrasing and recycling old questions that he had asked Kratos before and injecting a few that felt appropriate for their current situation.

"…Anna was a prisoner at Kvar's Ranch whom I rescued," Kratos' tone hedged slightly here, as if there was more that he wasn't saying. "We fell in love and ran away together. She was completely human. Colette is going through the transformation; of course she is suffering from different effects. As for my purpose here, I was sent to make sure the Chosen succeeded in her journey."

So many guarded words, but Lloyd could hardly blame him. He wondered for a long moment if the Journey would be easier if he supposedly knew more. To be able to be open and honest with his father… The idea felt so refreshing to Lloyd. Reality, however, woke him from that dream. After the Tower, in Tethe'alla, he couldn't pretend to his friends that he had no idea it was coming. To add that to his lies would hurt more than ever. Yes, he knew what was going to happen already, but Kratos didn't realize it as well.

"…I-I guess that makes sense…" Lloyd sighed and dropped his head, staring at his boots, worrying, wondering.

"And now I have a question for you," Kratos murmured. "You not only knew that—who I was, but you also seemed to know Yuan, having used his first name. How do you know him?"

Here, Lloyd decided, the truth could be used. Kratos already knew that Yuan was the leader of the Renegades. "…when I was captured in Triet, I met him. We talked and I got his name. I-I guess he mentioned you, 'cause I knew he knew you…" Despite this being mostly the truth, Kratos was suspicious. He said nothing, however, to question Lloyd.

"I see…" he murmured simply.

"…D-Kratos," for once, Lloyd made the stumble purposefully, hoping to distract his father from his inability to properly tell the truth, "…would you mind…not telling the others about this? They…I don't know how well they'd take all of this, you know? And…it's a lot to take in and I just don't think I could take their questions right now…"

Lloyd feared that something like shame flashed through Kratos' eyes, but it was gone before he could really place it. "Of course, there is enough going on at the moment that we need not add to it."

"Thanks… Kratos…could you…maybe…tell me about Mom?" This was a real request, for as many times as he had heard stories and stared for hours at the picture inside the locket that Kratos had given him, Lloyd craved more information about his mother. They began to walk again.

Kratos' eyes softened again, their wine-red depths filling with love and fond memories. "…you look like her," Kratos began softly. "Hair the same color as yours, soft, brown eyes. And she quite liked to argue; I am convinced she played devil's advocate in more than one of our…debates simply to disagree with me." Much to Lloyd's surprise, Kratos chuckled softly. "But she was a good woman, constantly striving for a better world. I was shocked to find such spirit in a Ranch; most break within the first year, but she had been there for at least four before we met.

"She was also just as stubborn as you are. Once her mind was set on something, not even the Gods could stop her. You clearly inherited your obstinacy from her. She would be very proud."

"…glad someone would be happy about that. I was always worried it was just annoying."

"Anna once confessed to me that she felt terrible, as she put it, "out-subborn-ing" me. Yet, I believe that was the beautiful thing about her, even her faults she embraced and used to her advantage. More often than not, she was right." He smiled softly.

"…you really loved her…" Lloyd said softly. His voice was hoarse.

"…and you," Kratos agreed. "I was…perfectly terrified at the thought of having a child whilst fleeing from the Desians, but Anna was ecstatic. Thankfully, it was contagious, and you were perhaps the greatest thing that could have happened to us."

Lloyd stopped walking, and Kratos followed his example, turning to face his son. Lloyd's arms wrapped around Kratos and he hugged his father. "Thanks…Dad." He knew Kratos' expression would be beyond shocked, but it simply felt good to hug his father again. After a moment, he felt his father's arms circle his back as Kratos hugged his son back.

…

Sorry for the fluffy chapter, but we've got to have one every so often, right?

R&R

~Yoshi