Plot-bunnies breed just like real bunnies, if anyone cares to know that.

…Damn it, I might have to start rabbit season if this keeps up -_-'

Yes, it happened. I finally got to the point where the plot-bunnies were too intense and I said 'OH FCk It! From now on I post whatever the hell I want!' I have two types of stories now: Primary stories, the ones I focus on completing first, and secondary stories, the ones that I'll post on a whim, but will of course eventually focus on. This is a secondary story, so you might see more soon, you might not. (shrug) I'll put a list of which stories are which on my profile, until then...

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

"Mom? Are you up?"

The fourteen year old bit his lip as he opened the tent flap, anxious to see his mother. His father was already packing up their camp as the sun began to come up, but his mom always was a hard-core sleeper. He usually was too, but lately he could barely sleep a few hours at night anyway. What with everything going on…and his mother was so tired and so sickly lately, he couldn't help but worry about her.

"Mom?" he said again, frowning slightly.

The figure under the blankets shifted a bit, a low groan coming from the woman. The teenager hesitated a moment before gently shaking her shoulder, his red gauntlets against the blanket as the exsphere his father had given him gleamed slightly.

"How is she?" his father asked from outside the tent, causing the boy to flinch.

"Well, she's not waking up-" he gave her another light shake.

"Martel damn it, I'm UP already-! STOP SHAKING ME!!"

"Ah-!" the boy yelped, falling back onto his butt.

The woman muttered curses as she sat up and moved her brown hair out of her face, grumbling about morning coming too early and various other curses about life in general.

"You could've just asked me, damn it…" she yawned, the circles of exhaustion under her eyes deeper looking than just morning sleepiness, "are we leaving again?"

"Y- Yeah, Mom," the boy nodded, "in a little bit- do you need some more sleep? We can wait a little longer."

The tired woman looked at her son and forced a weak smile, attempting to comfort him.

"I'll be okay, honey," she said, putting a hand on his shoulder, "I'm just a bit tired…"

The boy hesitated a moment before he gave a reluctant nod and left the tent, leaving his mother to get herself dressed. He frowned as he stood up, brushing the dirt off of his dark pants. With a sigh he adjusted his red and black jacket and turned to his father, whom had just finished cleaning up the fire-pit.

"She's getting worse," the man said simply, his eyes down-cast.

"H- Hey, Dad, don't give up! We'll find a way to save her!" he said, trying to convince himself as well as his father.

"…"

The man looked away as his son frowned a bit. His mother had always been the source of courage for their family when he was young, but now that he was older and she had been getting steadily more ill, the teen had taken it upon himself to try to keep the family's spirits up. His brown eyes scanned the otherwise packed camp and then force a grin reminiscent of his mother's.

"W- Well, why don't we train a bit until she comes out?" he suggested.

"…"

"Dad?" his face fell.

"Very well," he nodded, "you need to work on your stances anyway."

"Hey-!"

A light smirk came to his father's face as he drew his sword, pointing it at his son as the boy drew his own two swords. From a few feet away, Noishe whined, attempting to get them to realize they had yet to feed him.

"HYAH-!" Lloyd charged, taking the offensive.

Kratos smirked and lightly blocked his son's onslaught, easily gaining the upper hand and beating the boy to the ground within a minute. Lloyd swore and looked up at his father, frustrated.

"Lloyd, I told you to keep control of yourself," he lectured, narrowing his eyes, "your emotions will only hinder you during battle."

"I- I know that!" he scoffed, flushing a bit. "It's just-!"

"You'll be as strong as me in time, Lloyden," a small smile graced his lips, "you need only to keep trying. Now come, get up and try it again."

And that was how Anna found them when she came out of the tent, her son getting to his feet as her husband lectured him on what it was he had done wrong. She smiled an ever-dimming smile at the sight, laughing weakly.

"You two are always at it," she smiled, "Kratos, why can't you just let him win once?"

"That wouldn't teach him anything of significant value," he stated simply.

"You just hate me, don't you?" Lloyd said flatly, annoyed.

"Of course I hate you," Kratos said emotionlessly, "that's why I go through all the trouble to teach you, spend time with you…yes, I'm quite the soulless bastard."

Anna laughed as Lloyd gave his father another irritated glare, the angel keeping a straight face.

"I hate it when you try to be funny," the teen mumbled.

Kratos smiled again as he sheathed his sword, mussing Lloyd's hair with his hand affectionately as he walked past the boy to his wife. Lloyd grumbled to himself as his parents talked, giving Noishe a half-hearted pat as the protozoan whined next to him.

"I'll beat him one day, I swear," he grumbled.

"Keep telling yourself that, Lloyden," Kratos said from over by Anna.

"H- How do you always hear me?!"

Sure, he knew enough to know that his father wasn't normal, but he still was amazed at how he could hear almost everything, no matter how far away it was. Sometimes he wondered- as dumb as he thought it was- if his father was really even human. There was something so strange about him…but whenever he tried to ask about it, they just…

"Lloyd, we're leaving," Kratos stated.

"Huh-? Oh, right, Dad!" he nodded, running to get his pack.

They had done this several times over. Moving from place to place whenever it seemed like the Desians were coming after them. They wanted the exsphere on his mother's collar, and they wanted him and his father for stealing exspheres from Desians they had defeated. They were currently in the Iselia region. In three years time the Chosen would go on her journey…they were trying to hold out until then. Trying to hold out until the Desians were gone and they could finally live without fear, so they could search for a way to cure his mother without constantly looking over their shoulders. Though this morning…something felt weird. There was a twisting feeling in his gut as he looked up in the sky, a frown coming to his face. What exactly this apprehension was for, he couldn't quite say, but he knew something was going to happen today…and he wasn't sure if he wanted it to.

Sure enough, it was only a matter of hours before they found themselves running as fast as they could. Anna rode on Noishe with Lloyd at her side, Kratos running ahead of them to clear them a path and serve as the first line of defense.

"Damn it, don't they give up?!" Lloyd spat, panting as they ran.

"Conserve your energy, don't talk!" Kratos snapped back at him.

And so it was the inevitable when they found themselves cornered on the cliffside, the runaway family huddled together, the males with their weapons out as the Desians cornered them.

"You put up quite a chase, you inferior rats, but we've found you nonetheless," a crooked voice said as its owner came before them, his narrowed eyes gleaming.

"Kvar…" Kratos growled.

"You bastard! Stay the hell away from my mom!" Lloyd shouted.

The teen took a step forward toward the Desian, his father pushing him back with his other arm. He had no intention of letting his son get too close to the devious half-elf, nor did he want his wife unguarded on any front.

"Your mother? You still think you can save her?" the half-elf sneered. "Look at her. The woman's on her last legs as it is! A decaying little wretch like that and you still think you can save her?"

Lloyd snarled at the man while his mother panted weakly on Noishe' back, indeed as tired and sickly as the Desian had said.

"But what did you expect? All these years with the exsphere attached to her, it's a miracle she's held out even this long!" he laughed. "Yet you still cling to the feeble hope you can heal her?"

"Lloyden," Kratos whispered so only his son could hear.

"W- What?" he said just as quietly.

"I'm going to draw them away," he whispered, "as soon as there's an opening, take your mother and Noishe and run. Do you understand? Run and don't come back."

"Wh-!?" he started, his eyes going wide. "But-"

"Do what I say," he whispered, his eyes locked on Kvar, "I'll find you. I swear."

"Dad-"

Kratos glanced at him briefly, his eyes narrowed.

"They can't kill me, Lloyd," he said.

"Dad, no matter how strong you are you're just a human being-"

"Don't assume things, Lloyden," he stated simply, facing the Desians again.

Lloyd flinched, staring at his father as he took in what he had said. Don't…assume things? What did he mean by that? He shook his head, they had other problems right now.

"When I say go, Lloyden," Kratos changed his stance.

Lloyd didn't have time to protest when all hell broke loose, his father making a straight assault for Kvar and successfully driving the underlings to their master's side. Lloyd took the remnants of his family and ran for an opening, successfully getting out of the center of the congregation. He hacked and slashed at any Desians that got in his way, attempting to work his way out of the mass with his mother while chaos erupted around them.

"Hang on Mom-!" he shouted.

Then seemingly out of nowhere, someone grabbed his mother, knocking her to the ground off Noishe. Lloyd skidded to a stop and let out a yelp as he saw his worst nightmare made reality. Kvar had a hold on his mother, who flailed as much as a dying woman could, cursing all she could while she did so.

"Mom-!!"

It happened so fast. One second his mother was there, the next she was writhing on the ground, the exsphere that had just been plucked from her flesh instantly caught in it again as the woman began to twist and mutate before their eyes. Kvar retreated with a sick cackling as the underlings did as well, Lloyd staring in horror as his mother ceased to be a human being.

"MOM!!"

He barely realized he was crying as Noishe tackled him back, attempting to keep the boy away from the brewing danger.

Lloyd….

He gaped up in horror, tears streaming down his cheeks as he looked up at the monster.

Lloyd….run.

It let out a roar, swiping in for the boy.

RUN LLOYD! RUN!!!

"Ah-!"

The teen, frozen in his horror, came back to his sense when Noishe jumped in front of the claws, letting out a yelp as he plowed back into Lloyd. The protozoan and the boy scrambled to their feet when Anna made another attack, her claws meeting steel as she was knocked backwards. Kratos stood in front of his son protectively, though he too was horrified by the spectacle.

"Anna…" he whispered numbly.

As she clambered to her feet he jerked his head back to look at his son.

"Lloyd, run, do you hear me? Get as far away as you can!"

He couldn't move. As much as he wanted too he couldn't move, he couldn't think, he could barely even seen his father shouting at him as his mother went to slice off his head-

"DAD-!!" he shouted.

Kratos turned and knocked the arm back, yelling at his son to run again. Noishe grabbed his arm and ran, dragging the boy away from the spectacle only to be blocked off by more Desians. The protozoan and his charge attempted another route and another, only to find themselves right back where they started just as Anna fell to the ground with a thud. Lloyd gaped in horror at his mother's lifeless body and then up, seeing his father standing there with blood running down his blade, and tears streaming down his face.

This couldn't be happening.

"M-!"

He ran to his mother's side just as the cliff beneath her began to give way. Lloyd yet out a shout as he watched his father attempt to make a dash for him, reaching his hand out for his son only to be cut off by more Desians. Lloyd shouted and tried to make his way off the crumbling section, but it was already too late. The teen, Noishe and his mother fell down the side of the cliff, the last thing he saw was his father's horrified expression right when a sword pierced through his back. The only thing he thought clearly through his panic and grief was that he was falling. His parents were dead, and he was falling to his own death. Falling.

Falling-

He let out a shriek of pain, his back beginning to burn as if he'd been stabbed with hot iron. Then as suddenly as it had come, it left, and Lloyd found himself flapping- Flapping?!

He had wings!?

Deciding to question it later, he flapped as hard as he could, attempting to slow his plummet to the ground. He managed to do just that, to touch down lightly on the ground as his mother crashed in a heap feet from him.

"W- What the hell-?!" he cried.

Lloyd…

He gasped, forgetting everything except the voice coming from the monster.

"M- Mom?!" he shouted, racing to her side.

Lloyd…your wings….they're beautiful.

He paled and looked over his shoulder, noting the bright crimson, mana-sculpted appendages that stretched out behind him.

"M…My wings-? M- Mom-!!"

I'm glad I got to see them…

"Mom-!"

Lloyd, listen to me. The exsphere….take it. Don't let them have it….use it, please…

The boy gaped down at the gem that had fallen from her flesh, glinting before them. Slowly, his entire body shaking, he picked it up, unable to keep his eyes off his mother.

Lloyd…don't trust the church….whatever you do, don't…

"But Mom-! Why?! Mom, can't you tell me-?!"

We should've told you….you're-…your father's not human, Lloyd.

Everything seemed to come to a screeching halt. The boy dumbly gaping at his mother.

"I- I don't understand!" he cried in a sob, tears streaming down his cheeks.

Don't let anyone know, Lloyd….just please…live…

"Mom-! Mom, don't die! MOM! DON'T DIE MOM!"

I'm sorry, Lloyd…

"MOM!!!"

No matter how much he called, he would never be able to wake her. He let out a loud cry, desperately calling for his mother, knowing full well it was too late. So he broke down in tears, cursing himself for not being able to protect her, cursing the Desians for killing his parents, and cursing existence in general in his despair. He cried desperately with his arms around his mother's neck, sobbing into her veiny flesh.

"Whut the hell…?"

Lloyd jerked up his head, seeing the short figure through his blurry eyes. A dwarf man that had ambled by and was staring in shock at the scene, the Desian corpses, the wounded animal, the dead monster and the young angel who stared at him with his cheeks stained with tears.

"…" Lloyd blanked, unable to think of what to say.

"…I'm not 'maginin' this, am ah?" the dwarf said slowly.

Lloyd shook his head.

"Oh great Martel…." He whispered dumbly.

Yeah….don't ask how this came about XD

Please review? n.n