Okay, I'm doing Easter! I have ideas! Hooraaaay! Anyway, I'd like to give inspiration credit for this chapter to My Chemical Romance, because their music video for "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" is pretty damn funny. Even though I had written the majority of this chapter when I saw the music video, I'm still giving them inspiration credit. XD Now, onward to respond to reviews:

To Miokiu – Gasp! You got a detention for pinching people? That's lame. Mind you, my school would probably do the same thing, except for the fact that everyone would be wearing green because it's part of our uniform. XD

To Blissful Twilight – Thank you very much for your comments! (smile) It's always nice to hear that I'm doing a good job and keeping people entertained.

To Adriatic – I wish they'd replace St. Patrick's Day with St. Dwarftrick's Day... maybe then I'd actually make a big deal about the holiday. XD Nah, I've never used the x10 EXP multiplier. By the end of the game, I hardly have any grade. It's really shameful, actually... (lowers head) And thanks for the comments! I feel proud of my well-written brand of humour.

To kuramagirl44 – Ohh, Genis shall continue to get traumatized, my friend. It's like... part of his personality. Mwahaha, heehaha, nyahahahaha! o.0 I'm going Mithos-style-crazy.

To writerauthorguy – Wow... 'Lloyd' does look like 'llama'... Excuse for a moment while I let this revelation sink in. (I'm actually being serious. I never noticed that before. XD)

To Lord Cynic – Yep! Two mature men getting wasted is always a good thing! ...Not that Zelos is really mature... but still! Oh, and... (pinch!)

To timmycheese – Sorry about the lack of Gesea! Unfortunately, there's also a lack of it in this chapter... I'll work on fitting some in next chapter, though.

To DeadEdBoy – Gesea is indeed the correct name combination. Somehow those things have gotten stuck in my head... o.0

To Ermanil Elfobbit – I read that Zelos is the Greek god of enthusiasm in this English literature book that we get in school... and I've also read a bit about it on the Internet. Kratos is also a Greek god, actually. (can't remember what god he is, though)

Disclaimer: If you believe that I own Tales of Symphonia, you're a crappy psychic! If you don't... well, you're just plain correct.

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)Chapter 5 – Easter!(

"And so, the painted eggs are hidden all across the resort. That includes the amusement park, hotel, and the beach. But please," Regal paused in the middle of his speech, making eye contact with each and every one of his friends before continue, "For the love of the goddess, please do not tear apart the Lezareno company building! There is nothing hidden there!" The group of people standing in front of Regal all murmured a 'yeah, we know' in no means of unison. "Meet back at the company building! Have fun, children!"

Kratos sent a glare towards the president of Lezareno. "I'm older than you," he stated calmly. Regal merely gave a casual wave of his hand as if to say 'that's nice'. "Hmph," Kratos grunted softly, "This seems a pointless means of celebration to me." As though to back up his statement of dislike, the seraph turned around and wandered into the city, clearly with no intentions of searching for those pathetic painted eggs. Silently agreeing with Kratos' opinions, Raine sauntered off after him.

"You both fail to see the enjoyment!" Regal yelled after them, shaking his intimidating fist for a moment before clearing his throat. "Anyway... I certainly hope that the rest of you can find the fun in this Easter tradition here in Altamira! But for this year only, it's just us in the resort! No competition from tourists!"

Zelos stared at Regal, his eyes wide and glistening with sadness, "So... no bunny mascots? No hot tanning chicks on the beach? Oh, Regal! What have you done to this glorious resort!"

"Ah, bliss..." Sheena sighed contentedly, "C'mon, Zelos. This place is enjoyable when there's no crowd." She gripped onto the back of Zelos' vest and dragged him off; the Chosen of Tethe'alla still teary-eyed due to the fact that there would be no women for him to gawk at.

Regal watched as Sheena and Zelos disappeared from sight, and then turned back to face the four that remained: Lloyd, Colette, Presea and Genis. The aristocrat opened his mouth his give more information on the egg hunt, but he never got the chance as Genis promptly grabbed Lloyd by the sleeve of his shirt. "Lloyd! Come with me—there's something that we need to do!" Lloyd gave his best friend a perplexed stare. "No questions!" Genis persisted, "Just come!" He then dragged Lloyd off in much the same fashion that Sheena and dragged off Zelos.

Annoyed by the fact that no one was paying particular attention to him, Regal prepared to make the remaining two girls listen to his information. Naturally, it was pointless, because Colette had already linked arms with Presea and was giving the girl a cheerful grin, "That leaves us as partners, Presea!" Sylvarant's Chosen beamed, "Ooh, this should be fun! We never had egg hunts in Iselia when I was growing up!"

A very small – almost unnoticeable – smile appeared on Presea's face as she gave the optimistic blonde a nod, "Yes. It most certainly be a new experience for both of us." The two girls scurried off, actually interested in finding the hidden eggs, which was very different from what everyone else had planned.

Poor Regal was left alone, never receiving the chance the lecture the 'children'. He sighed, pulling a cellular phone out of his pocket. After dialling in a number, he held the phone up to his ear. "Sebastian?" he asked the moment that he heard the 'click' of the other line being picked up, "Will you be my friend?" Obediently, the butler said 'yes', and the two new buddies conversed the entire day... But what did the others do?

Well, Genis was explaining to Lloyd what exactly his concerns were. "Have you noticed that, umm... a couple of people have been getting... closer lately?" Genis was not sure how to word what it was that he wanted to say. There was no chance that he was just going to blurt out 'I think Raine and Kratos are an item!' No, no, no.

Lloyd blinked with that clueless demeanour of his. "Who? You and Presea?" Genis shook his head. "...Me and Colette?" Again, the young half-elf shook his head. "Sheena and Zelos? Everyone knows about them..."

"No! Lloyd!" Genis snapped, an unnatural level of frustration in his voice, "It's... it's..." he glanced around nervously, as though expecting Raine and Kratos to be around, eavesdropping on them. "...My sister and... your dad..."

"Oh my goddess!" Lloyd exclaimed, "Professor Raine has the hots for Dirk!"

"Not that Dad!"

Lloyd muttered a casual 'oh' before processing that he had a second father. "K... Kratos?" he stammered in disbelief. Genis nodded. "That's disgusting! Kratos and the Professor?" Again, his best friend nodded. "Wow, I really have too many fathers," Lloyd suddenly mused in a spontaneous change of subject.

"Lloyd, this is serious!" Genis whined, "We need to put a stop to this! Or... at least prove that my suspicions are true!" Lloyd tilted his head pryingly. "While everyone's focussed on their own little quests, or whatever, we have to stalk Raine and Kratos. We'll discreetly follow them everywhere and catch them in some romantic act! Just... hopefully it's nothing too disturbing." The suspender-wearing swordsman wrinkled his nose at the thought of romantic acts that were 'too disturbing'. As far as he was concerned, anything between his father and the professor was 'too disturbing'. "Lloyd!" Genis whispered hoarsely, pointing towards the Elemental Railway, "Raine and Kratos are boarding the railway! We have to follow them!" Lloyd nodded in agreement, and then they both ran off to the railway station. "Aw, man... we're stuck waiting for the next one..." Genis observed, watching as Kratos and Raine's elemental train skimmed the water rails, moving away from them. And waiting was exactly what they did.

Meanwhile, Sheena and Zelos were on the beach. "How is it that I always end up spending time with you when our group of friends gets together?" the Mizuho native asked.

"It's fate!" Zelos beamed, wrapping his arms around Sheena's waist tightly in a hug, "This is the only time we have together, so we may as well use it." Sheena could not resist laughing good-naturedly at the Chosen's actions and response. Zelos continued to cling onto the summoner until something – or someone – caught his eye. "Wow! The resort wasn't left totally deserted!" he announced gleefully, letting go of Sheena and flouncing over to the beach's beverage hut, which was being run by (you guessed it) a gorgeous bunny woman. "Why, hello there, hunny!" Zelos greeted, propping his elbows onto the counter and admiring the beauty behind it. "That Altamira bunny uniform certainly is appropriate around Easter, isn't it? Of course, on your figure it could always be considered appropriate."

The woman giggled at Zelos' lame lines. "So can I get you anything, Chosen?"

"As a matter of fact, you can."

Sheena walked over to one of the lounge chairs in a huff, lying down on it while choosing to ignore anything that Zelos did. Sure, he was just joking around, and she knew that, but she still had to admit that she was jealous. "I got a drink for you, milady!" Zelos stated, standing next to Sheena's resting spot. The summoner simply waved him away. "Aw... don't you appreciate what I do for you?" the swordsman questioned sadly, taking a sip of his own drink.

"Not usually," Sheena replied dully.

"Hmm..." Zelos set both beverages down on a small table that was set up near the drink cabana. "Well, then. Do you appreciate me?" he asked, lying down on the lounge chair next to Sheena. She gave an objection, saying that there was not enough room for both of them, but he ignored her, instead closing his arms around her and holding her close to him. "Say you appreciate me," Zelos whispered in her ear, "Or better yet, say you love me."

"Zelos, the beach's environment is boiling enough without you holding onto me like that... plus, we're going to fall off of this thing," Sheena persisted, "And I would laugh if it were just you falling, but it would be both of us... and that will make me angry." Zelos snickered and snuggled closer to Sheena, which she would have enjoyed had he not been contradicting her like a child. As she noticed how close to falling off of the chair she was, she tried to move back a little, but Zelos was too close to her. "Z-Zelos," she said nervously, trying to look over at him... although that was apparently the wrong movement to make, because she – and only she – toppled over the side of the chair and dropped into the sand. "Damnit, Zelos!" Sheena shouted, looking up at the Chosen who was now having a fit of side-splitting laughter. "You jerk! Get down here!" she grabbed onto his leg that was closest to her and tugged on it, pulling him down onto the ground with her.

Zelos was still in high spirits, though. "This scenario seems familiar, doesn't he?" he commented with a grin as he towered over Sheena, "The falling off of something, the me joining you... I can only hope that this ends up the way that I think it will!"

Sheena's face flushed, "Honestly! For it to happen again... And on a beach? Don't get your hopes up, you pervert!"

"Fine!" Zelos grumbled, "Then can I at least get some kisses?" Sheena gave him an approving nod, a smile present on her lips. He leaned down to kiss her, but was rather easily distracted, "Ooh, turtle eggs!"

"What?" Sheena shouted, extremely confused. Zelos folded his arms and rested them on her chest. "Ah, jeez... Off, Zelos! You're heavy!" He did not get off, although he did motion to something behind her in response to the original 'what?' "Zelos, I won't be able to see where you're pointing out while you're on top of me."

"Guess you'll just have to deal with not seeing it, then."

"Get off of me," Sheena demanded, but never gave him a chance to do it himself because she pushed him off. She rolled over onto her stomach and found... turtle eggs. A nest of them. "Oh. There are actually turtle eggs," she murmured, staring blankly at them. Then, she noticed that amongst the plain white, round eggs, there was one that was one that was bigger and... colourful. "Hey, this must be one of those painted eggs that Regal was talking about!" Sheena noted, picking it up.

Zelos inched closer to her again, "I guess we might as well bring it with us for when we rejoin everyone else."

"Well, we could," Sheena smirked, "but I'd prefer to do this!" she crushed the egg over Zelos' head, causing the clear slime and yellow yolk to ooze onto Zelos' perfectly tended to hair.

The Chosen let out a horrified cry, touching the top of his head in disbelief, "You... you..." He bounded to his feet, "I'm going to find more eggs to get my payback!" With that, he scrambled off in search of some ammo.

"Not if I get more first!"

So while those two were acting childish and pummelling each other with eggs, Colette and Presea were taking the activity seriously while searching around the empty amusement park. "I found another one!" Colette announced, waving a tie-dye coloured egg in the air. She began skipping towards her friend, still flailing the egg around.

"Colette, you may want to slow down..."

"Why—aah!" You guessed it. Colette tripped. The eggs flew out of her hand and landed on top of the teacup ride's control panel. "Oops..." she said nervously, looking over to the ride's control as the egg's contents seeped into it, causing sparks to fly in all directions. "Oh, no! I must have broken it!" She hurried over to investigate what exactly had happened when she heard a surprised yelp come from Presea. Colette turned her head to see what had frightened Presea... As chance would have it, the taciturn girl had been hunting for eggs on the teacups when Colette had tripped... and it just so happened that as a result of Colette's clumsiness, the ride had begun to move. "Oh no! Presea! I'm sorry – let me try to help!"

Presea latched onto one of the teacups and quickly shook her head, "N... No. Colette, I will manage to get off. Just please, do not try to help me." The girl was too polite to come out and say 'you'll only make things worse', but the point was received as Colette backed off a little. Presea glimpsed around desperately as the ride began to spin faster and faster. "Colette!" she called out, tightening her hold on the teacup, "Please look for something above me that I could reach if I jumped up!"

"Ah... okay," Colette agreed uncertainly. She looked upward to see if there was anything that made a good grip. "Oh!" the blonde angel exclaimed as she took notice of something, "The roller coaster tracks!" her eyes followed the tracks until they were above the teacup ride, "They go right across the centre of the teacups!" The she-axeman gave a strained nod before trudging towards the middle of the ride. Still spinning around and around, she forced herself to look towards the sky. Through the brilliance of the sun, she could make out the rails above her. Now it was all a matter of timing... a difficult matter of timing because – as was mentioned – she was spinning. Cautiously, Presea stretched her arms up to try and reach the tracks without having to jump, but that did not suffice. Her head spinning as much as the ride was, Presea leapt up and attempted to grasp onto the rail... Success! "Presea! Will you be able to get down?" Colette shouted to her friend.

Groaning, Presea struggled to keep a hold on the rails, "Y... yes." As though swinging on monkey bars, she made her way along the tracks until she was out of the teacup ride's vicinity. "Colette, please catch me." After a moment of confusion, Sylvarant's Chosen gave a nod and held out her arms in anticipation. Presea was... hesitant. This would almost certainly end in hurting. "Oh well," the lumberjack sighed, opening her hands and letting go. She fell not-so-gracefully into Colette's arms, which in turn caused the blonde to fall down under Presea's weight. It was rather painful, but overall they were both fine.

"Now we can continue our egg hunt!" Colette said gleefully.

Presea stared at her in horror. "Please... when you find an egg, inform me and I shall place it in our basket."

Back to Lloyd and Genis... Once the elemental train had returned, they asked the engineer where it was that they had taken their last passengers. Of course, he could not give these random children that classified information, so they bribed him with threats... threats with their weapons. Threats like: 'tell us or else we'll slice/eruptify your head off!' Obviously, the engineer cherished his head more than the privacy of two random people, so he explained that they had gone to the casino-theatre area. And then – after another threat – the driver agreed to take Lloyd and Genis there. Now, they were intently eavesdropping on Kratos and Raine's conversation. The two adults were sitting in the small pub outside of the casino, and Lloyd and Genis were hiding nearby. It was so convenient that the pub had no door/walls whatsoever.

"Raine, my past was something that I would rather forget, and yet I can't... Love has never ended well for me."

The professor nodded slightly, "You mean... Anna?"

"Hmm?" Kratos shook his head, "No, no. Well... yes, although that is most certainly true, I had many more loves throughout my four-thousand years of life. In fact, my first love was..."

Flashback

Kratos sat on a fallen tree trunk, staring nervously at the woman sitting next to him. She had long green hair, and wore an elegant green gown with golden lining. "Martel, I know that this may sound completely ridiculous to you, but..."

"Kratos, what are you talking to Martel about?" The future seraph turned to the source of the voices to find Yuan and Mithos looking at him accusingly. Kratos screamed out of pure fear, jumped up, and ran away. They all watched as he jumped onto Noishe, and the 'dog' galloped off into the sunset. Yuan shook his head to himself and then went to go and sit down next to Martel only to find that Mithos had already taken advantage of the free seat. "What the—Mithos! Can I please talk to Martel for a moment?"

Mithos challenged Yuan with a chilling glare. "Why? She's my sister?"

"Well she's my fiancé!" The two boys then jumped at each other's throats and commenced a pointless and very unprofessional wrestling match. Martel watched in amusement.

End that flashback

"And then there was the time just about a millennia ago..."

Another flashback

"So, I was wondering if maybe..."

"Isn't Yggdrasill's Age of Lifeless Beings an ingenious plan? Once it is put into play, the angels of Derris-Kharlan will have the chance to live on the earth, and all discrimination will fade."

Tears filled Kratos' eyes as he stared at the lifeless, female angel, "What is it with you and Yggdrasill! He's all that you ever talk about! I try to tell you how much I care for you, and yet you... you..." He ran away, stifling back sobs.

No more flashbacks!

"I... can tell that your approach of love has been altered a lot through the years," Raine observed, "and I must admit that I am glad that it has. Your new views and personality... it's very intriguing to me."

Kratos merely nodded. He preferred not to talk about those past instances... although since it was only Raine listening, it did not bother him too much. "I understand that you have had some troubled relationships in the past, as well." Raine lowered her head sadly. "They were problematic in different ways than mine were, but I still understand the sorrow that you must have felt."

"I must admit," Raine continued to cast her gaze downwards, "It's reassuring to me that you had so many experiences because... I really haven't... I'm frightened to fall in love again, in fear of it ending as terrible as it did in my last relationship."

Kratos casually took Raine's hand in his, as he had done during their St. Dwarftrick's Day celebration, and looked at her, "Raine, I understand your fears very well. And still, I believe that there is still a possibility for both of us to find romance again. Perhaps, this romance can be found..." he hesitated to go on further, but Raine could grasp what it was that he wanted to say. And so did two nosy eavesdroppers.

"Aah! Genis wasn't joking! They are becoming a couple! That is so wrong!"

Alarmed, Raine and Kratos released each other's hands and quickly glanced towards Lloyd's voice. As soon as they saw the two boys – Genis desperately trying to shut Lloyd up – they were no longer alerted, but they were angry. The professor was the first to act on her annoyance. She jumped up from her bar stool and began walking towards them, "How much... have you children... heard?" They both smiled sheepishly. "Regret your eavesdropping ways!"

"Nooooo!"

And now, we return to Regal, who was now in the Lezareno company building while still talking on the phone with Sebastian. "So... have you been Zelos' butler for long? Wow! Twenty-two years, you say?" Regal exclaimed in disbelief, "That means that you've been taking care of him for his entire life! Uh huh... humiliating childhood stories? Do tell!"

Just then, Zelos' voice called from the entrance of the Lezareno building, "Hey, Regal! We're back!"

"Damn!" the president slammed the cellular phone shut and looked towards Zelos and Sheena, "Well, welcome back and, umm... uh..." he hesitated, staring them up and down – their entire bodies splattered with egg contents and grains of sand, "...What in Tethe'alla have you two been doing this entire time?" Then, the realization donned upon him, "Did you break my eggs?" Sheena and Zelos both broke into a fit of laughter. "You ruined all of the fun... both of you! And you're filthy!"

"Oh, that's okay," Zelos replied casually, "I'll just have to lick the egg off of every inch of Sheena's body."

Sheena gave him a playful shove, her face going through a dozen shades of red. "That's gross on so many levels!" she retorted. Tethe'alla's Chosen merely chuckled as he hugged her tightly, the summoner giving objections even though she did not mean them. Regal heaved a blatantly annoyed sigh. "Sorry, Regal," Sheena apologized... although she really wasn't sorry for anything. She thought that blue-haired man was being a stiff.

"Well, you can be forgiven as long as you both stop fooling around," Regal stated.

A smirk tugged at the corner of Zelos' mouth, "But fooling around is what I do best," he commented slyly.

"Honestly, Zelos, how many inappropriate remarks can one make within the time period of five minutes?" Regal inquired. That ever-present smirk on Zelos' face provided enough of a response for him. "Never mind," Lezareno's president sighed again, "But why did you even take time to show up here if you had no intention to partake in the festivities?"

Zelos released Sheena from his embrace and then wandered over to Regal, leaning closer and whispering in the older man's ear, "If you must know, I want to take part in one egg hunt." Regal blinked enquiringly at Zelos. The Chosen continued in his hushed tone, "I actually wanted my sperm to hunt for eggs in Sheena's fallopian tubes!"

"Zelos!" Regal shouted in pure incredulity, an embarrassed blush present on his cheeks, "You're very lucky that none of our younger, more innocent companions are present! That is truly an improper statement."

Tethe'alla's Chosen laughed at Regal's reaction. "Zelos, what did you say?" Sheena demanded harshly.

"Oh, nothing, nothing," Zelos insisted casually, "Anyway, Regal, I'm only making these comments because none of the immature ones are here."

Regal folded his arms in front of his torso, "Zelos, everything that comes out of your mouth is far more immature than any of our friends." The redheaded Chosen looked down at the ground ashamedly.

"Hello, everyone!" Colette cheery voice greeted as she pranced into the room, "Presea and I found so many eggs!" she announced, holding up a basket that contained a rainbow of coloured eggs.

Zelos cautiously took a step backwards, "Uh... Colette, is it safe for you to be carrying all of those eggs like that?" he asked in reference of her infamous tendency to fall down. Sheena shuddered, memories of the effects of that klutziness flooding her mind.

Presea gave a nod of understanding, "After spending the day with Colette, I absolutely comprehend your concerns." Everyone thought it best not to ask any questions involving Presea's dishevelled appearance. The pink-haired girl glanced around, "Where are Genis and the others? Have they not yet arrived?"

Regal shook his head. "No, they—"

"For the love of the goddess, save us!" They all looked towards the entrance of the room and watched in silence as Raine and Kratos entered dragging Lloyd and Genis by their ears. (Raine dragging Genis and Kratos dragging Lloyd, if you must know) "Abuse! Abuse!" Lloyd cried as Kratos released the hold he had on his son, "Parental abuse!" Raine let go of Genis and then smacked her worst student upside the head. "Aah!" Lloyd whined, "Now even the Professor's disciplining me!"

Colette tilted her head innocently, "Hasn't Professor Sage always disciplined you?"

"Yeah, but now it's just creepy because—" Whack! "Aw, jeez! You can't hide it forever!" Lloyd warned, sending glares to both his father and his teacher.

"What's... going on?" Sheena dared to question.

"Nothing," Raine assured in a completely calm and trustworthy tone, "We just brought Easter treats for all of you!" The glamorous beauty dropped a bag down onto Regal's desk, "You can fight over who gets what amongst yourselves." Colette and Zelos enthusiastically dived for the goodies, while Presea calmly began digging through them and picked out some tasty looking things to eat. Even Regal took a couple of little chocolate eggs to munch on. "Do you not like sweets, Sheena?" Raine asked, observing how the summoner had not joined in the frenzy.

Sheena shook her head, "No, no. I do enjoy them, but..." she looked at Lloyd and Genis who were choosing to simply stand there obediently instead of stuffing their faces as they would usually do, "never mind. I'm just overthinking some stuff," Sheena said, convincing herself more than anyone else. She joined the others in pigging out on chocolate, choosing to think nothing of how peculiar Lloyd and Genis were acting.

Speaking of the two boys, they were forcing themselves not to speak a word. Oh, how badly they wanted to share what they had witnessed! But Kratos was there, standing right behind them, staring at them with that creepy, detached gaze of his. "So," Regal began, glancing towards the silent best friends, "Did you boys go out and find any decorated eggs?"

"I wish we had spent our time to search for eggs!" Lloyd shouted, "Then maybe I would have actually had some fun, or just left with a smidgen of hope for my—" Kratos coolly covered his mouth.

"Umm... so... you're saying that Presea and Colette were the only ones who actually took this egg hunt seriously?" Regal questioned.

Colette clasped her hands together, a sense of sympathy in her eyes, "Oh, that's terrible! The Easter bunny had gone through all of that effort for us, and hardly anyone even tried!" Regal sank down into his chair and bashed his head against his desk repeatedly. "Ah... did I... say something wrong...?"

#))Happy Easter!((#

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There, done! I managed to get it done! Phew... now the question is... what holiday is coming up? (is at a blank) I know there's April Fool's Day, but that is way too soon, and I really don't feel like doing it. XD So what comes after that? Reminders are appreciated!

Anyway, until whatever holiday is coming up next... Sayonara! (Oh, and I'll make an effort to put in some Gesea next time because I realize that there really hasn't been any in the last couple of chapters!)