"You don't think we should check the slums first?" Lloyd asked, walking through the streets of Meltokio with a determined Colette.
The slums were an obvious first place to look. If Pippy was going to be anywhere, it would probably be near his home! But then, he wouldn't be lost if that were the case.
Colette shook her head. "If Pippy was at the slums, that little girl would probably have found him."
Eyes wide, Lloyd turned to her. "Wow! You know, that's probably right! I would have never thought of that!"
Her chest felt warm again, and she couldn't help but smile. Colette felt confident about this for once! Confident in herself! She would find Pippy!
"I think we should check here," Colette said, nodding to herself.
Lloyd stared down the street. It was a row of homes, very cozy, very quaint. Nothing like the rich mansions in the upper levels of Meltokio, but still very nice. There was a relaxed air here, a wholesome place where families came to live together in peace and harmony.
"Why this way?" Lloyd asked, not doubting her, but curious.
Colette grinned, glad to explain her reasoning. "Smell that?" she asked. Lloyd shrugged. "Dinner! Everyone's cooking their dinners for tonight. There's even a pie cooling on a window!" She sniffed the air. "Apple!"
Lloyd was impressed with her angelic sense of smell, but still didn't understand. "What's that have to do with it?"
"Pippy's from the slums, right?" Colette asked, trying to make it as simple as possible. Lloyd nodded along. "Well, chances are he's a hungry little guy! The smell of all this food could have enticed him, and he might have wandered over here."
The swordsman was shocked. "That makes so much sense!" He was clearly proud of her. She couldn't help but giggle, feeling almost embarrassed at the praise, but still loving it anyway.
Up ahead, a man could be seen walking, a dog by his side. Lloyd wished he had his make-believe laser pointing swords right now. "Colette, look!" he yelled, pointing at the dog. It was yellow, too! "That could be Pippy!"
The angel shook her head. "That's a girl dog, Lloyd." She appreciated the attempt, and wasn't about to miss her chance to see the doggy anyway, though.
"Eh? How can you tell all the way from here?" Lloyd asked as they moved toward it.
"Look at the way she walks! She's clearly a sweet puppy girl!" Colette cooed. "Plus, she's too clean, and that man must be her owner! Pippy is probably dirtier and a bit of a loner."
"Of course, of course!" Lloyd said, jotting the details down on the quest description paper he had brought along.
Doggy now in petting range, Colette called out to it. With a few excitable barks and yips, the doggy was all over Colette, tail wagging at light speeds. "Oh, you love barking don't you?!" she said happily, petting the doggy's soft furry body. "You must be Barkolee! Like broccoli! But with barks!"
The dog's owner smiled, albeit a bit nervously. "Heh heh, well, actually her name is Princess."
"Barkolee!" Colette repeated, completely ignoring the man. "Barkolee, you love pets, don't you?!" Barkolee barked and licked her face in response, tail going fast enough to send her into orbit. "Yes, you do!"
"Uh… Princess, here girl," the owner called out timidly, unsure how to act in a strange situation like this.
Barkolee didn't obey, too busy loving the pets she was receiving. After a long five-minute petting session, Colette finally said, "Okay, Barkolee, go back to your owner now!" The doggy obeyed, running back to the man happily. The owner didn't really want to get into the middle of this, and was just happy enough that his dog didn't get kidnapped there on the spot.
"Master Zelos," Sebastian the butler said, "There is a Mr. and Mrs. Bud to see you."
"My name's—argh, our names aren't bud!"
Zelos practically jumped down the stairs, racing towards the door for his visitors. "Bud!" he yelled, hearing Lloyd's protest clearly but choosing not to acknowledge it. "Didn't know you two finally got married!"
Out of all the decisions Colette made today, including giving away all their food and money, this was probably the only one Lloyd didn't approve of. "We're not married."
The redheaded Chosen met them at the door of his mansion, grinning like an idiot. "Yet! Sebastian's got an eye for this, ya know, don't ya, Sebastian?"
The butler nodded. "Of course, Master Zelos," he said too seriously, not quite sounding like he meant what he said.
Brushing away the help, Zelos leaned against the open door to his home. "It's been a while. So, hey you two lovebirds! What's going on?"
"Dogs," Colette corrected.
The flashy Chosen nearly lost his balance against the door. "Uh… What?"
"We love dogs, not birds!"
For a moment, Zelos made that face, that face of betrayal. Maybe he should have gone through with it after all, even knowing the other side would lose.
"…Right."
"Well, we love birds too, but not as much as dogs!"
"All right, all right, I get it," he sighed, exasperated. He took his head out of his hands and tried to regain his lost composure. "So, what are you guys up to?"
Colette blinked, realizing she didn't answer the question before. "Oh, right, sorry!" She curled her hands into fists, looking like a determined adventurer. "We're on a quest!"
Little miss angel has been awfully talkative. Usually it's Lloyd doing the blabbering. Zelos' interest was piqued. It had been quite some time since he had gone on an adventure, and this little blonde girl was certainly motivating him to go out and get moving. "A quest, eh? That sounds like fun. Do you need any help?"
Colette turned to Lloyd for a moment. He shrugged, practically saying 'up to you.'
"We could always use help!" she said after a moment, shining brightly. Zelos was starting to understand why Lloyd never left this girl's side. "O-oh, and I guess I should mention, um, I'm the leader for this one."
Adorable! "I don't have a problem with that, baby," Zelos smirked, trying his best to be suave. "You tell me whatever you need, and I'll get right on it."
"Great!" Colette clasped her hands together, unable to hide her joy. "First things first, we could, um, use some money. And maybe a place to stay for a night or two."
She gets right to the point, doesn't she?!
"Well, uh, sure I guess I could loan you guys some cash." His agreement just sort of blurted out. Zelos had a bad feeling these two weren't going to be good on paying him back.
"Thanks, Zelos! I knew we could count on you!" she said with such a spunky cuteness that made Zelos forget any regrets he might have had.
"Heh heh, and you guys are welcome to stay in my mansion!" he said with a renewed vigor. "Mi casa es su casa!" He totally pronounced that all wrong, but these dorks couldn't tell. "I've only got the one bedroom open next to mine, so make sure you two don't make too much noise, if you know what I mean." He raised his eyebrows scandalously and poked Lloyd's side with his elbow.
The sexual remark went over their heads like a spaceship to the moon. "Don't worry, we won't be too loud!" Colette smiled innocently.
"Ah, well, I might snore a little," Lloyd admitted.
The redheaded Chosen frowned. Were they really still that naïve after all these years? "Uh, anyway, so what's this quest you need money for?" He laughed, imagining some great scenarios. "Maybe a pit of beautiful succubi need to be tamed! Or a busty damsel in distress? Or you need help organizing a sexy beach party?"
"We're looking for a little girl's lost doggy!" Colette and Lloyd said together in unison.
Zelos' hopes and dreams were visibly shattered.
"Piiiiiiiippy! Here boy! Here Pippy Pippy Pippy!" Colette and Lloyd called out into the streets. The black of night had overtaken the sky now, leaving only the white light of the moon, and the orange lights of the hanging lanterns around town.
"Uh, here pappy, or whatever," Zelos mumbled halfheartedly.
The blonde leader frowned. "His name is Pippy, Zelos."
He shrugged. "Can a dumb dog really tell the difference?"
"You're dumber than a dog and you can tell the difference," Lloyd snapped back, quick to defend all dogkind for Colette's sake.
"Bud!" Zelos cried, his shoulders slumping, eyes watering. "That was cold!"
But Colette was too busy concentrating on the task at hand to focus on her sidekick's assistant's antics. She strained her angelic senses to their limits, looking over every crack in the cement, every blemish against the metal of a trash can. Her ears picked up everything, every dog in the entire city! But even with her extensive dog knowledge, she couldn't make out Pippy's voice in the crowd.
"Hey, is that Pippy over there?" Zelos pointed languidly. A small black dog could be seen sitting quietly outside of a shop, staring at the door, waiting for his master to return.
"Zelos…" Colette sighed, disappointed in him. "Pippy is a big yellow dog."
"Close enough?"
She sighed to herself. Was Colette failing as a leader? She couldn't get Zelos to take this quest seriously! Then again, Zelos never took anything seriously, did he? Hmm… A good leader would know how to make use of his abilities. Aha!
"Zelos, why don't you ask those ladies if they know where Pippy is?" Colette asked, looking to a group of gossipy girls chattering away.
His melancholy mood melted magnanimously. "Yes, ma'am!" He sprinted in their direction. "Hello, hunnies…"
Unsure where to go next, Colette and Lloyd made their way over to the little black dog. It saw them approaching and visibly shifted, it's tail wagging slowly, but cautiously. The Chosen knelt down slowly and held out a hand calmly, letting the doggy get a good hello sniff with its cute little wet nose.
After deciding this girl was a friend, the doggy's tail wagging increased, no longer afraid of the angel's presence. "Oh, you're such a sweet, loyal doggy aren't you?" Colette said, petting behind its floppy ears gently. "You're Douglas! Douglas the dog!"
Lloyd laughed behind her. "Doglas," he mumbled, petting the little doggy along with her.
Colette took a seat on the ground, letting Douglas climb up on her lap as she absentmindedly pet him. She had met so many new doggies! It was a great quest so far, and she loved these precious pooches so much! But she made no progress on finding Pippy yet. She couldn't let Pippy down! What if he was alone and scared?
"Heeeeeey!" Zelos yelled, stomping over to the duo with frizzy hair and various lipstick markings across his face. Douglas didn't like him, making sure to stay close to Colette while the strange red-furred human shouted. "Think I might have found something out about your Pepper dog!"
"Pippy," Lloyd sighed. "Also, why are you holding an octopus?"
Zelos looked down at the slimy thing in his arms, as bewildered as anyone else. "Look, Lloyd, women work in mysterious ways." He tossed the raw fish behind him haphazardly. "Even I don't know why they give me things like this."
"What about our lost doggy?" Colette reminded gently.
"Oh, yeah," Zelos blinked. "You guys hear about Regal's new building here?"
Colette and Lloyd exchanged confused glances. The two of them sort of lived in their own little bubble of adventures, never paying much attention to the politics or general goings on of the world.
The redhead frowned. "Yeah, didn't think you two did." He sighed. "Well, Regal's been expanding his little Lezareno business empire. He made quite a big building right here in Meltokio!" Zelos scratched at his chin in thought. "Though, no one really knows what he's planning to do here yet. It's all been really hush hush."
Lloyd asked, "What's Regal's building have to do with Pippy, though?"
Waving his hand grumpily, Zelos replied, "I was getting to that, bud! Apparently, from what my hunnies told me, they've been taking stray dogs into that new Lezareno building of theirs."
The dual wielding swordsman grew visibly upset. "But Pippy isn't a stray dog!"
Zelos held up his hands, growling back, "Don't get mad at me, I'm just telling you what they said!"
"Well, if Pippy is from the slums, he probably looks like a stray dog," Colette added with a nod.
"Wow, of course! You're a genius, Colette!" Lloyd said with a huge smile.
Zelos curled his hand into a fist. "I was gonna say that!" His anger subsided slightly. "Just, uh, a little later."
"No, you weren't."
During their conversation, Douglas the dog had fallen asleep in Colette's lap, her soft petting sending him to a doggy dream. The canine loving Chosen continued petting as she thought. "What could Regal be doing with all those doggies?" she said to herself.
Her question interrupted the boys' little spat. The two had placed their hands over each other's faces, pressing and pushing with a less than playful force. "Well, Regal would never hurt a dog," Lloyd said.
Zelos glared. "Eh? What makes you so sure? He kicked more than his share of monsters without showing any remorse."
"Well, so did you!"
"At least I wasn't in handcuffs and talking about my sin the whole time!"
"More reason he'd never hurt an innocent dog!"
"You never know, Regal was pretty weird," Zelos added, looking away. "It's always the quiet ones."
"That's rich coming from you, you're one of the loudest ones."
Zelos quickly lost his angst-ey aura, tears welling up in his eyes as he grabbed Lloyd's arm desperately. "Ah, bud, where did you learn to be so cruel!? Have you been talking to Sheena, lately?"
Trying his best to ignore Zelos' clingy nature, Lloyd turned to their leader. "Well, what do you think, Colette?"
Still petting the little dog, completely lost in thought, Colette finally snapped out of it. "Ah, um, well I'm not sure! It certainly is strange Regal is taking all the stray dogs in Meltokio…" she admitted, looking a little worried. "But, he'd, um, never hurt them, right?"
"Of course not!" Lloyd replied, but for a moment, his eyes looked to the left, betraying his confident answer.
Zelos, always one to interject his own thoughts, added, "Well, I never totally trusted the guy in the first place. I wouldn't put it past him."
Hmm… it was so strange. Colette had gotten to know Regal quite well during their journey together! Although, even during their closest moments, it was always difficult to truly know what the man was like. She'd like to believe she trusted Regal, that he'd never do something so cruel! But, there was a tiny voice in the back of her mind, a tiny voice saying, but what if he did?
No, no! How could she think such a terrible thought about one of her dear friends?! After all they went through?!
Colette apologized to Douglas as she woke him from his slumber to place him back on the ground. She stood up and faced the boys, saying, "Well, why don't we go to Regal's new building and ask him ourselves?"
Lloyd smiled again, able to ignore Zelos' shenanigans finally. "Yeah, that's a good plan!"
Brushing a lock of beautiful hair away from his face, Zelos said, "Yeah, Angelface, you're right! No point in sitting around thinking about it."
She smiled, chest feeling warm and fuzzy again. It'd be nice to see Regal as well. She hoped.