Okay, time to explain where I've been. After April fool's day I got really busy and had little time to work on the chapter I was currently writing, which was for my "In Wolves' Clothing" fic. Then I got a job, and had bad writer's block whenever I sat down to write, so now here we are in March with me hopping all of you are still interested in reading this.

Even though there was no urgency, the party moved quickly towards Meltokio. They were injured and weak with no healing items. If a strong monster or the Knights came after them, Lloyd and his friends would likely fall. As they traveled, Regal carried Stacy who was still weeping quietly.

She has been so strong up till now, being brave and trying to face forward after the death of both Mewtwo and Loy. But her strength had failed her now; she was no longer that proud and stubborn young woman Regal had watched her become. Stacy was a mere child once again. No power, no bravery, just a weak child in need of her parents and protection.

As the walls of Meltokio grew larger, they slowed their approach and hid to discuss how to enter the city.

"We can't enter through the main gate without going through a check point." Zelos pointed out, referring to the measures taken by Knights to ensure no one dangerous was entering the city during times of crisis.

"Then the sewers are out best bet!" Lloyd proclaimed.

Raine interjected. "But we can't all go in at once. We'll be spotted immediately."

"Then we'll break up into groups." Kratos suggested.

"Won't that be dangerous?" Colette sad with unease as her squeezed her hands. "What if some of us get noticed?"

"Then we run for our lives." Zelos replied. "It's not like we don't know all the good hiding places and backstreets."

"But will Stacy be able to keep up with everyone? I've noticed she's been running a lot slower lately, and she loses her breath quickly too." Genis pointed out.

Regal spoke up, "The people of the city are also likely to report her on sight. It would be difficult for her to sneak in with us."

Lloyd clenched his fist. "Damnit! Isn't there another way to get in?"

"There is one option." Kratos said, pulling out his wings.

Genis looked from Kratos to the unresponsive Stacy with concern. "Maybe Stacy would like to go with Colette?" He turned to his childhood friend. "Do you think you could carry her in?"

"Of course!"

"Great!" Lloyd smiled. "Then the rest of us will break up into smaller groups and head in."

"Who are you going with?" Sheena asked.

"Ummm…." He looked around at his friends. Who did he want to go with? Colette was out since she had to fly Stacy in.

Zelos slung his arm over Lloyd's shoulders. "Bud's coming with me, right Bud?"

"Uh…"

"We gotta head in first so we can be at my manor to greet our two blonde cuties~!" He winked towards Colette, who was helping Regal to get Stacy standing.

"Zelos!" Sheena glared at him.

"Now, now, Sheena, we all know you were dying to go with me, but you'll just have to wait your turn, m'kay?"

"Wha-th-Zelos!" Sheena stamped her foot, but the redhead was already dragging Lloyd off towards the sewers.

"Ciao, ciao!" He called.

"So," Lloyd's voice echoed with their footsteps as he and Zelos walked through the Meltokio sewers, "what did you want to talk about?"

Zelos gave a fake laugh, "what makes you think I wanted to talk?"

"Well, you don't normally get that excited about things unless you're hiding something."

Zelos froze. Lloyd; dumb, stupid, idiot, can't-count-past-ten-without-using-his-toes Lloyd saw through him. Of all people, this idiot saw through him. Not Kratos, not Raine, not Regal. Hell, not even Sheena, had seen through him. But this guy did. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Time to face the music," He muttered to himself. "I've just been thinking about a lot of stuff today and…"

"What is it?"

"Well, all that stuff with Patamon, him withholding information and so on, it made me think about what I did to everyone."

"Yeah?"

"And I just wanted to tell you the truth."

"The truth? About what?" Lloyd stopped in his tracks and faced Zelos.

Zelos took a deep breath, "About everything that's been going on in my life."

"What?"

"You remember when we were in Flanoir, and the kid and his mom were looking at the snowmen?"

"Yeah, you were about to tell me something but then you clamed up."

"Well, seeing that kid and his mom made me think of when I was little. There was a record snowfall in Meltokio one day; the whole city was completely covered. I was so excited to see snow for the first time, and I made a snowman in the garden with my mother. Then suddenly the snowman fell apart. Before I knew what was going on, red snow began to fall."

"Red snow?" Lloyd repeated his thoughts and understanding failing him.

"It was my mother's blood. She was murdered."

Lloyd froze. Murdered? His mind raced for answers, but only had questions. Before he could compose any Zelos said "As she fell, she grabbed my shoulder and told me 'you should never have been born'."

Lloyd faltered with the gravity of the impact. "That's-that's horrible!"

Zelos continued, unfazed, "My mother probably loved somebody else, but because of the oracle from Cruxis, she had to marry the Chosen at the time—my father. And the old man had another woman as well."

"But none of that was your fault!" Lloyd blurted out.

"The magic that killed my mother was mean for me."

Again, Lloyd found himself at a loss, "W-what?"

"They targeted me because I was the next Chosen." Zelos continued. "My mother was caught in the crossfire."

"…" To think that his friend had been through so much, and he didn't know. How many of his dear friends were suffering like this?

"The one who tried to kill me was Seles' mother. They executed her and Seles was placed under house arrest in the abbey."

"So that's what happened." Lloyd said quietly.

"I never wanted to be the Chosen. I spent every moment of my life wishing I could just run away."

Lloyd could only say, "Chosens lead really difficult lives." Thinking of all the suffering Colette and Zelos endured he continued, "I can only imagine what it's like. But I can still understand how hard this must be."

"Sorry. Kind'a hard to think of anything to say to a story like that, right?"

Lloyd shook his head. "Don't worry about it. But what did you suddenly decide to tell me?"

"Because I shouldn't have been born."

"Wh-why do you say that?!"

"I'm not saying a still think that way now." Zelos crossed his arms, but to Lloyd it looked more like Zelos was trying to hold himself together. For a second, he thought his friend might shatter into a million pieces. Lloyd had never seen the redhead look so weak and unconfident before.

"But all my life I've been rejected by my parents, shunned by the Church and viewed as a threat by the royal family. I just wanted to run away."

"But you're here with us now, right?"

Zelos turned away. "Yeah." His voice sounded weird.

"Zelos?" Lloyd drew closer. Zelos suddenly turned towards Lloyd, making him jump.

"Ah, it's nothing."

Even though it was dim in the sewers, Lloyd could just barely make out how red Zelos' eyes were.

"Come on, we need to get going. Our two blonde cuties are waiting for us, right?"

"Sure?" As they continued towards the exit, Lloyd thought he heard the faint whisper of a 'thanks'.

Crawling up the ladder quietly, they slid the manhole cover aside, and entered Meltokio. As Zelos kept look-out, Lloyd slid the cover back in place. "Hey Zelos."

"Yeah?" The Chosen said, not pulling his eyes the street.

"Thanks for telling me."

Zelos took a moment too long to reply, and he knew it, but still the Chosen couldn't help but cover it up. "Man, you still thinking about that? I told you it's nothing!" Zelos' voice cracked on 'nothing'. He was slipping. He was showing more than he wanted to.

Lloyd was silent. There was a huge crack in the mask Zelos always wore. All it would take is a few more questions to shatter it, and Zelos would be left expose. Taking a long look at Zelos, Lloyd could see he was scared. Zelos was desperately trying to keep his Chosen of Tethe'alla mask together, but he was failing.

"Zelos," Lloyd spoke gently, "You don't have to force yourself. I trust that you'll talk to me again when you feel up for it." Zelos peeked at Lloyd from the corner of his eye, and saw Lloyd giving him a warm smile. Zelos took a deep breath.

"Well, of course I'd talk to you! You're my bud, aren't ya?"

"As much as I'd like to forget." Lloyd remarked.

Zelos perked up at this. "Well too bad, you're stuck with me now!" He walked over and slung an arm over Lloyd's shoulder. "We shall forever be: the Great Hero Zelos the Magnificent, and his sidekick Lloyd."

"Yeah, yeah, let's get going."

With the coast clear, Lloyd and Zelos dashed down an endless maze of back alleys and old, unused streets. Zelos followed behind, his knees feeling like jelly from the relief he felt. He wanted to collapse on the ground but he kept running. He finally had someone he could talk to, someone he could drop the mask for, and still be accepted.

Getting into the upper ring of the city was more difficult, since there were less side roads and more knights patrolling the area. Thankfully, Zelos knew all their rotations and all the blind spots. While his reputation may not have been too shining, having it further sullied with some of his other…practices wasn't ideal. What could he say? For the rich and lazy, there was never enough to do to keep from going mad with boredom. Even though the Chosen had many duties to perform, there were long streaks where he wasn't needed for anything. Nothing better to do than use a bit of his mass wealth to get just a little something that would keep him from thinking about anything for a few hours of mindless ecstasy.

But that part of Zelos life isn't something to get into here.

Without incident, Zelos and Lloyd entered the Wilder mansion where Sebastian greeted them.

"Welcome home, Master Zelos."

"Yo, I'm back! Anything happen while I was gone?"

"I was instructed by His Majesty Tethe'alla the 18th to report as soon as you returned."

"You can just ignore that. As usual."

"Very well, sir."

"And is it just Sir Bud accompanying you today?"

"No, no, there are a few others on the way. Some of them will be a while."

"Very good, sir. I will prepare guests rooms for everyone. How many rooms shall I make-up?"

"Ten."

"Of course, sir."

Zelos turned back towards Lloyd, who was grumbling over his nickname. "Alright, now all we have to do is wait outside for the girls!"

Carrying Stacy was a simple task for Colette. She was as light as a feather and just quietly clung to the angel as they flew through the air. Colette worried about her friend, and knew Stacy must have been in a lot of pain. Colette prayed that Stacy wouldn't fall into despair and throw everything away.

The flight was short, and the two soon landed in Zelos' backyard where Lloyd and Zelos greeted them.

Lloyd ran up to them first. "You guys okay? Did anyone see you?"

"Nope!" Colette reported happily as she got Stacy to her feet.

Lloyd looked at his young friend. She still had a distant look in her eyes and was clinging to Colette the same way she had been clinging to Regal earlier. "You okay, Stacy?"

She was unresponsive. Zelos moved forward and waved his hand in front of her face. "Hello~?" Seeing that Stacy wasn't responsive Zelos pulled back. "Hmmm."

"I wish there was something we could do." Colette said, pleadingly.

Concerned for Stacy, Lloyd made a decision. "Maybe we should take her inside and give her time to rest."

"Whoa, look at you Lloyd, being all grown-up and what-not." Zelos joked. "Raine's going to be impressed with you."

"Shut up."

"Good idea Lloyd." Colette replied. "I'll take her inside."

"Sebastian will show where her room is." Zelos called as Colette walked Stacy inside.

"Okay!"

"I guess all we can do now is wait for the others." Lloyd pointed out.

"Yep. Sounds like a perfect time for a nap." Zelos headed back in.

"Yeah." Lloyd followed eager to flop down on the plush sofa inside.

The sun was setting, with only a few rays reaching over the walls of the city, making the upper district glow red. It was in this light that the last two of Lloyd's group, Sheena and Regal, scurried through the city. They had been vaulting over walls and jumping across rooftops. Sheena was surprised Regal could keep up with her, but his sense of balance and physical strength made him almost as agile as ninja from Mizuho. Almost. Sheena smirked as she took a running jump and caught the ledge of a wall and pulled herself up.

Regal sighed as he stared at the wall. "Really, Sheena?" He took a few steps back, ran at the wall, jumped, and in midair did a second jump, allowing him to land on the other side of the wall.

"Whoa!" Sheena gasped, raising a hand her mouth. Lowering he hand she said, "Oh, right. I forgot you could do that. I didn't expect to see you use it outside of battle*."

"Naturally I will use it outside of battle if the situation requires it. Though, this is not the time or place for this discussion."

"Right, we gotta go."

After a few minutes, the whole team had finally regrouped at Zelos' manor safely and without detection. Since everyone was exhausted from the battle with Carmilla still, dinner had been prepared early, with Regal and Sheena just in time.

"You made it!" Lloyd greeted from the table.

"Did you really think we wouldn't?" Sheena replied, eyes smiling.

Sebastian entered from the kitchen. "Ah, Miss Sheena, Duke Bryant, please be seated. I will fetch you your plates immediately." He quickly turned back the way he came while Sheena and Regal found places to sit.

The duke glanced around the table and noted a missing party. "Where is Stacy?" It was unlike her to skip meals.

Raine answered Regal's question. "She's resting in her room."

"No one can get her to come out." Genis added. "I hope she'll be okay."

Regal decided that after dinner he was going to check on her. As much as she tried to push people away, he understood that she really wanted company during times like these. Instead of dwelling on it needlessly, Regal focused his attentions to the conversation at hand, regarding their next move. Immediately they would need to restock, which would be done the next day then they would head to Mizuho to lay low for a while and have the Ninja of Mizuho gather intelligence about the King and his odd behaviour as of late. Hopefully they could find an answer and develop a solution.

When dinner was over Regal headed upstairs to talk to Stacy, but saw Lloyd was already at her door, knocking. Regal took a step but then stopped. He didn't need to interfere. Lloyd had grown into a capable young man over the course of their journey and was probably the best person for Stacy to speak to. Lloyd was honest and direct, and the ability to pull a person out of their darkness, no matter how deep. Surely Lloyd could help Stacy just as he had done with his other friends.

Lloyd knocked on the door and worried when it didn't open after a few second, but it soon opened a crack with Stacy peeking through the gap.

"Hey, uh, could I come in?" Lloyd asked, unsure about how to talk with her. Silently Stacy nodded and opened the door and headed to the bed to sit on.

"You doing okay?" He questioned as he took a seat next to her. Stacy shook her head.

"Yeah, I guess you wouldn't be." Lloyd said, speaking on Stacy's behalf. His gaze dropped to the floor. "Three of your friends died on this journey, it must be really hard for you." A nod was Stacy's reply this time with tears welling up in her eyes.

"It's not just that." She squeaked out, making Lloyd look at her again. "So many other people died too, because of me."

The swordsman put his arm around her and pulled Stacy into a hug. "I know the feeling…"

Stacy shook her head but didn't pull away. "No, this is different from what you guys did. You all fought to change the world, but for me, it was just so I'd be safe. We shouldn't be doing this."

"What are you talking about?"

"There's no way my life is worth more than all of those who died. We're not right for doing this."

"…." Lloyd let go and crossed his arms to think. "I can't say if we're 'right' or not, but I do know nothing would come from letting you die."

"But-"

"Think about it this way, if Loy, Mewtwo or Patamon were in your shoes would you want them to just die, or would you want to protect them no matter the cost?"

Stacy sniffled. "I want to protect them."

"See? It's the same for all of us too. And it's not like you don't care about those who died because of us. You care about them a lot, and I think because you feel that way everyone is happy to protect you." Lloyd pulled Stacy in for another hug though she didn't say anything for a while.

"But…what if it means dying?"

"Hmm…it is a shame that they died, but Stacy," Lloyd guessed that she meant Loy, Mewtwo and Patamon. "I don't think they would have wanted you to be depressed about it, especially Mewtwo and Patamon. I think they wanted you to be happy more than anyone else."

"I guess…but I don't think I can, not right now."

"And that's fine! You're still keeping them all in your heart and I'm sure the day will come when you can be happy again. Until then, we'll all be here to help you along the way."

"Thanks."

"Well convince the king to leave you alone, I promise. Who knows? Maybe he'll stop on his own like Yuan did."

"Yeah…I'm still worried about that. Just what was going on with him?"

"Hey! You're more!"

"Lloyd, focus!"

The idiot just kept grinning instead of replying.

"Whatever happened, it's likely we're dealing with something bigger than we can handle. It sounds like Yuan was under mind control or something. What can we do against someone like that? What if they turn us all on each other?"

"Don't worry about it! We'll find a way to overcome this."

"How can you be so sure?" Stacy demanded, getting a little angry now.

"Because we overcame Cruxis in the past, so this should be nothing!"

She gave a sigh. "If you say so…"

"Besides, look at you! You're not moping anymore."

"Well…no…but…"

"You don't have to beat yourself up over what's happened, you're already doing enough to atone."

"But I haven't done anything..."

"You're doing plenty. You're seeing this through to the end and trying to find a way to do so without fighting. I don't even think I could do that. Besides," Lloyd ruffled Stacy's hair where his glove gave it a static charge and made a few strands stand up, "You're still young. You don't have to atone all at once right now. You have a long life ahead of you for that."

"Yeah…I guess so…"

Lloyd slid off the bed. "Do you wanna come down stairs? Everyone's been worried about you."

"Sure, just let me fix my hair." If it weren't for her glum tone Stacy's words could have been a teasing comment. Lloyd hoped it wouldn't be too long before she was making her usual quips and sarcastic comments again, but only time would tell.

Oh my gosh, again, I'm sooooo sorry for how long I left you guys hanging, and I'm really sorry that all you got was another angst chapter. Work and College have just been distracting me so much.

I also got into Tumblr and now have two blogs. One is my personal (My Husband is Tethe'allan) and the other is an RP blog for Isaac, since he's one of the reason why I haven't been working on this. He's a muse that demands attention, and since he doesn't show up again in the story until the end, he's been making a fuss and distracting me from FI. So I made him a blog where I can put him to use and work him out of my system so I can focus on FI.

Also, I'm really nervous about my characterization/headcannons for Zelos that I showed in this chapter. Any comments regarding that?

I hope I can get the next chapter up soon, but I have to update 'In Wolves' Clothing' first. I swear, I won't let another year pass between updates!