Part IV: War

"Spiritua?"

Kratos Aurion would have never believed Mithos Yggdrasil would stoop so low as to send the angel of destruction and the first Chosen of the worlds to destroy children. But there she was, gleaming out of the snowy darkness like the cold creature she was. Her hair was long, blonde and curly, somewhat of a cross between Zelos and Colette's hair. She dressed in a pleated white gown, donned with the occasional gold plated armor and bracers. Her gaze was an empty sea-green, haunting enough to look demonic. She had come armed with her weapon of choice—one long two-handed blade.

Wilder's jaw dropped, "That's Spiritua? Whoa, ho—she's . . .wow."

"Are you afraid or turned on?", Lloyd growled to the Chosen. He shook his head, simply confused at what he was seeing. After spending some time going through Welgaia and Yggdrasil's lairs, he had become convinced that Spiritua had long since disappeared or died. But there she was, in fierce glow and anger.

Raine seemed excited for someone who had just met their executioner, "She's just as the records of Palmacosta depict her!" The party felt a little nervous at Raine's enthusiasm.

Aurion frowned, unsure what he should do. He had been sent with some of the parties of many successful Chosens, so he had been there when she had ascended into Welgaia. Since then, she had become an equally successful branch of Mithos's power when it came to assassinations. He was unnerved that he would have to dispatch the angel.

"Spiritua," Aurion asked the angel, "What is the meaning of this? Have you not been abandoned like the rest of us by Mithos? Why are you here?"

Her response was ice, "HE COMMANDED THIS OF ME. I WILL CARRY IT OUT." It was empty, like Presea had been when she was under the power of her Cruxis crystal. That very thought made Bryant shiver—he didn't want to see anyone like that ever again.

Clearly, the head priest Caeli was confused by the argument between the angel and the mercenary that had stormed his cathedral. Backing up Spiritua, he laughed, "You would dare defy an angel sent by the goddess Martel? Oh, there will be a painful demise for you!"

Spritua was not amused by the priest's interference, "LEAVE THIS TO ME. ATTEND YOUR DUTIES." Like a good parson, he quickly fled the bell tower under the angel's orders. Aurion always thought humans obeyed commands too much, but he was glad this one did not buck them. Maybe he could still talk some reason into Spiritua.

Sheena decided that talking wasn't going to get them anywhere, "Guys, we should get ready to fight."

Wilder wined again, "Man, why do we always have to kill the hot ones?"

The cold angel was not about to let her enemies get any sneak attacks in. With one hand on her large sword and the other grasping at something invisible, Spiritua cried out, "JUDGMENT!" Bright columns of light shot out of the sky, rupturing the ceiling of the cathedral. A heavy brass bell toppled from the rafters, cut loose by the bright and powerful beams. Aurion grabbed his son and rolled, both avoiding the painful bell as it crashed with a heavy BONG! Wilder was also trying to avoid being hit, but was struck on the head by one of the lights. It wasn't enough to faze him for too long.

"You want to have a light show? Fine!", Raine snarled, whipping her broom around a full 180 degrees. She began chanting, and then let her own powers fly, "Holy Lance!" Several pink and purple spears shot out to strike Spiritua, but they did little more than pierce her armor. It seemed to only agitate the angel.

Spiritua seemed surprised, "HALF-ELF? UNUSUAL. YOU ARE MUCH MORE LOGICAL THAN TO BE WITH THESE HUMANS." She extended her sword, transforming it into a ribbon of light. It wrapped around Raine's legs, spiraling her off in an awkward spin. The next crack of the ribbon ensnared Bryant's shoulders, but the angel was amused to find the human holding his stance.

"Bit of an . . .unfair advantage?", Bryant questioned, flipping himself backwards. With a swift kick, he interrupted the energy feed binding him, sending it snapping back at the angel. Spiritua did not appear alarmed by his retaliation, merely shifting her strategy. She began charging something in her hand, and then released a bright sphere of energy. It was enough to blow Bryant out the open bell tower, but he managed to catch himself on the bricks of the cathedral wall before he could fall to his death. He counted it as luck and climbed back into the bell tower as best as a man can with shackles around his wrists.

Aurion's mind began spinning, turning ideas around, "Advantage . . ." His eyes brightened as he thought of something, and then grabbed Wilder. He asked the Chosen, "Can you still use your angel powers?"

Zelos was shocked by his sudden interest, "What? Why!"

"Shut up and listen!", Aurion barked, "Get Lloyd's extra equipment, and fly Raine down to the Flanoir Inn. Have her heal up Colette, and then bring the rest of them back with you. We need Yuan here, understand!"

"Ten-Four, chuckles," Wilder joked, shaking Aurion loose, "Yo, Lloyd, Raine! Toss me your shit, and let's fly!"

Lloyd threw off his bag and Presea's axe, tossing it to the Chosen. He caught it with typical flair, and then picked up Raine by the waist. She was shocked that he was being so rough, but she didn't have time to argue with him. Wilder jumped off the side of the cathedral with a cocky cry, "Geranim—AAAH!" He barely had time to react, flashing orange wings out. He was happy that he still remembered how to fly in angel form, "YES! I'll be back with more hunnies!"

Well, whatever works, right?

Spiritua was quickly becoming less amused with the resistance she was getting. Sheena irritated this growing hatred with a sudden guest appearance of her good buddy Shadow. Whipping out her ofuda, Sheena chanted, "I call upon the envoy from the dark abyss! SHADOW!" The amorphous blob of darkness rattled through the bones of the angel, but it didn't hurt her more than a few mere gashes on the arm. Entertained, Spiritua decided it was time to show off.

Snapping one hand out, Spiritua began channeling some of her mana into the large grotesque tree in the middle of the tower. Small glowing stones burst out of its sides, like miniature orange suns. It snapped up with sudden life, unraveling its top supports to bend and lean around. It was like a plant version of those humans that lost their souls to exspheres.

She commanded it, "SEIZE HIM."

Kratos was slammed backwards by the eruption of life, pinned on a church column. The tree's vines began growing around him and into his skin, nailing him in place. He hollered as something pierced his left arm and right foot, and then growled as he regained his calm self. Lloyd yelled in fear, "DAD!"

"YOU SIDE WITH THE MORTALS. I WILL HAVE TO DELIVER YOU TO YGGDRASIL ALIVE," Spiritua issued her plans to Aurion, who was now writhing to get loose, "I SHALL HAVE TO SUBDUE THEM." Aurion kept trying to cast some spell—any spell—but every time he did, the tree would drive itself deeper and deeper into his wounds.

Fujibayashi roared with anger, withdrawing several cards at once, "You monster!" She led the first assault against the angel, Lloyd following her right flank and Bryant at her left. There was a burst of seals that flew by, continued with a flurry of sword swipes and a cyclone of kicks. Spiritua knocked Lloyd backwards first, releasing another ball of energy from her hand. Then, she grabbed Bryant's ankle and sent a shockwave of electricity through it, blasting him next to Lloyd. Evading another seal, she then snatched Sheena by her robes, hoisting her in the air.

Spiritua taunted Aurion, "LET ME SHOW YOU WHAT MITHOS HAS TAUGHT ME." Channeling some more mana, she tossed Fujibayashi into the air and cast a spell, "LET THE EMBRACE OF FROST ENTOMB YE FOREVER. ABSOLUTE ZERO!"

It started out just as the youngest Sage's Absolute spell would have—ice caked around Fujibayashi's waist and froze, then burst into sublimation. However, the ice shards came back around her body, crystallizing around her in a small cyclone. It froze all the way up to the ceiling, trapping the youthful ninja in place like a mosquito in amber. Byrant's jaw dropped, while Lloyd was suddenly filled with curses, "Sheena! NO! . . DAMN YOU!"

Lloyd flew at the angel, slashing with a previously unfound grace. It was like watching lightning dance. Both Spiritua and Lloyd weaved across the bell tower, bursts of energy and light crackling as she continued missing the enraged Irving. He landed several blows on her, puncturing her plates of armor and actually causing some serious damage to the angel. She growled, finally finding a place to push back the young boy. Catching him off guard, she unleashed her energy sword once more, plowing him through a support pillar and almost off the edge.

And then the other one went after her! Spiritua barely had a moment to spare between throwing Lloyd off and being intercepted by the convict. Bryant smashed one foot into her spine, pushing the angel backwards a few feet. He didn't give her any time to lash back, diving onto Spiritua and whirling around her again. If Lloyd was the tempest, Bryant was the tsunami fueling his wrath. Spiritua had more luck withstanding some of his blows, but when he managed to smash the angel in the face, she decided to stop him like she had to the unfortunate ninja.

Spiritua wrapped her sword around Bryant again, tossing him back. This time, she followed up with another spell before he could get up. Spiritua hissed foully, "I COMMAND YE, THY ROTTEN JAWS OF DEATH! EARTH GORGE!"

Aurion was startled as bricks flew from the ground, building up like stone teeth. They ripped out of the ground in jagged slabs and grew up at twisted angles. With one great earth-shattering move, they clenched together over Bryant's head and fused shut. Steam billowed back, searing across Lloyd's skin even from fifteen feet away. He screeched like an injured eagle, not believing what was happening.

Young Irving spat at the angel, eyes flaring with anger, "You really are a monster! DIE!"

"MONSTER?", Spiritua was amused with the boy's poisonous words, "I DID NOT KILL YOUR FRIENDS. LACK OF AIR AND HEAT WILL."

Lloyd cried out again, like a mourning tiger. Not taking any time to contemplate an attack, he raged angrily against her. Every one of his attacks flowed together like a torrential stream, a fluid and deadly current. While Spiritua could stand some of the blows, one strike pierced her in the shin. Blood welled up, a darker color than normal human blood would have been. This mortal was troublesome.

Aurion was proud of his son, "Keep fighting, Lloyd! You must succeed!" He tried twisting loose again, but another vine in his thigh stopped him. He wished he could have at least healed the boy, but he was useless like this.

Spiritua was sick of dealing with the young boy. He was going to get the upper hand if she kept going at this pace with him. She threw herself into high gear, pulling several small cones out of a pouch in her armor. They sailed across the battlefield and around Lloyd, sometimes nicking him in the process. All of a sudden, they realigned to form a cardinal rose around him. Aurion jerked again, pleading, "Let my son go!"

"IT IS TOO LATE. HE IS TO BE DISPOSED," Spiritua boomed, then cast one more devastating spell, "LET ALL SINNERS BE JUDGED AND PURGED FROM THE EARTH. BLOODY CROSS!"

Small lines of electricity shot through Lloyd's body, holding him in place like puppet strings. They intensified, systematically reeking havoc throughout his body. The young boy bleated in anger, head down in pain. He was bleeding all over the bell tower floor, and that went back up to fuel the cones' damaging attack. It was continuing on, like an eternity of pain.

Kratos cried out in fear, "NO! LLOYD!" He strained against his bonds again, not caring how injured he would be in the process. Even with all his strength and fury, he could not break free from the tree's grasp. Aurion screamed at the angel, "You would kill a child so cruelly! If this is what it means to be an angel, then we truly are monsters!"

Spiritua was not cowed with his anger. In fact, she was rather satisfied. There was a high seraphim hanging from the sacrificial tree that she had personally defeated. And then, there was also a ninja girl sealed away in time, unable to move as she froze to her doom and watched the demise of her friends. After that, she had a true sinner locked away under the incredible power of the earth, struggling and suffocating as it was sealing him permanently underground. And, what was needed to be said about Aurion's son? Lloyd was Yggdrasil's most hated enemy, and she had him dying in one of the most painful ways possible. She had certainly done no less than perfect in securing all of them.

"I HOPE MITHOS HAS MORE MERCY ON YOU THAN I DID ON YOUR PATHETIC ALLIES," she even had the gall to taunt him! Aurion was almost on the verge of insanity, shaking as he strained to get loose. He was going to get free, if it meant his own death! He had to protect his son!

"Hey, bitch! Your ugly white ass is still up here?"

Oh, joy, Aurion wished Lloyd would have more serious friends, why doesn't he just drive the final nail in my coffin?

Nothing is quite as fearsome as the red-haired pimp Chosen of Tethe'alla flying up to fight with a midget half-elf in his hands. The youngest Sage leapt from Zelos's arms while Wilder flew off in a mad dash to save his hunnies. The second group of the back-up unit was Miss Brunel and Combatir, the former exhausted but still wanting to help her friends out. The third came up in a terrifying burst, Raine jumping down to clobber Spiritua with her broom while Yuan dove to help Aurion out.

Aurion suddenly felt very grateful as Yuan chopped him loose with his two-sided swallow blade. Panting, he barely kept standing as he began healing himself, slashes and cuts mending through the power of mana. He felt woozy through his knees, but he had enough strength to fight. Aurion the almighty angel was prepared to raise hell.

Yuan thoughtfully asked, "Are you all right?" Even if he wasn't the greatest friend with Aurion anymore, he still had some kindness for him.

"Okage-sama de," Aurion thanked his friend, then asked, "Did you have any trouble?"

The blue-haired angel smiled slightly, "A couple of Papal knights followed Zelos to the inn. They were easily disposed of." He then tapped his large sword in the ground, "Do you think we could stop talking and get to the part we like the best?"

"Saving the world from evil?", Aurion coyly joked.

Yuan shook his head, "No. Kicking some ass. Saving the world from evil is a close second, though."

Zelos, ever being the single-minded man he was, ran over to the towering frosty pillar that held Sheena up. He whimpered, almost expecting her to cuss him out and scared if she was still alive. Whipping his sword out, he cast one of his favorite spells, "Okay, babe. This is for you." With a sudden burst of fire, Zelos yelled, "Burn, Baby! Eruption!"

The power of the fiery spell shot up the column of ice, blasting the top of the cathedral with its heat. In thick sloshes, the pillar began to crumble under its own weight and the fire. Zelos flew up to knock some of the ice loose from around his hunny, expertly carving her out. She coughed as he drug her free from the icy prison, unconsciously clinging to his neck. Wilder always loved this part about rescues—the rewards from the babes!

"Hunny!", he cheerfully beamed, "That wicked witch didn't hurt you, did she?"

With a sudden shock, Sheena pushed away from Zelos. Thankfully, he had almost got to the floor when she did that. She tumbled from his grasp, landing with feline grace like any ninja should. Wringing slush out of her hair, she growled, "Zelos, don't ever do that to me ever again!"

Wilder was confused, "What, drop you?"

"No," Fujibayashi corrected him, "Don't ask stupid questions!" She smacked him again, but he really didn't care. To Zelos, that was her way of saying thank-you. He threw his arms around her again, but she shoved him off once more. Wilder may have been good at arithmetic, but he was a slow learner.

Spiritua's mood had quickly gone back to enraged, "INSOLENT VERMIN. IT IS OF NO MATTER." She speared her strange sword through the air, but Wilder and Fujibayashi both dodged it. Zelos shoved his ninja babe aside, urging her to go to Raine and get healed. He knew that he could fight alone, if he had to. Besides, Zelos was more that willing to go aerial—he was getting used to fighting with wings! Sheena didn't like taking orders from Zelos, but in this instance, she decided it was wise. She thought she might have gotten frostbite, and she needed it checked out.

Combatir watched with an eerie calm as both the Chosen and the angels vaulted themselves into the air. She suggested to Colette, "Perhaps you should help him?"

"Well," she paused, almost scared, "Do you think I'd do okay?"

"Raine is here. She will assist you if you fail," Presea reassured her friend, "Go to them. You have a power we do not have. And . . .I have other matters to attend to."

Colette took this piece of encouragement to heart. She had always doubted her own angelic powers, even if they did help numerous times in combat. Noticing the hidden terror in Presea's eyes (and not understanding why it was there), she nodded and took off. She was brilliant on purple and pink wings, flying up to join Yuan, Zelos, and Kratos. Aurion, of course, was concerned for her safety, but he didn't discourage the girl from fighting with them.

Redirecting her attention to the strange sphere of fused rock, Combatir decided to crack it open. She said a little prayer, and then swung as hard as she could. It barely dented the structure, steam hissing from the small hole she made. She continued chipping away at it, now curious what it was. If it was like that strange ice column Zelos had destroyed, then she was going to have to decimate this too.

Spiritua was now very annoyed by the four gnats that were attacking her. Taking advantage of all the years and experience she had as an angel, she could easily outmaneuver both Chosens. She even tripped Yuan up a couple of times, her sword hitting his legs several times in their chase. Aurion was a different case, however. He was smart, and he knew how to fight in almost any situation. Whirling up and down, he continued to stop Spiritua from casting spells, even throwing in a few of his own. They snapped at each other, lightning and fire speaking their hatred.

Genis would have watched longer, but he and his sister had to help Lloyd. He was looking very ill, not responding to their presence. Raine touched one of the cones holding him in place, yelping as it burned her hand. This could have been a big problem, but Genis and Raine were clever. Both began to negotiate some kind of plan.

"The cones are aligned in a perfect sphere, so I might be able to take all of them out with a Spark Wave," the younger suggested, "But what if I hurt Lloyd?"

His older sister figured out that problem, "I can maintain a Barrier spell around him for a little while. It should protect him from most of the damage."

Genis accepted it, "I hope he'll be okay."

Channeling mana through her broom, Raine cast her spell first, "Barrier!" A blue shield threw itself around Lloyd, disrupting the electrical currents hurting him. She kept it held up, ready to throw her entire mana into it if she needed. Genis was quick to get his spell up too, "Get 'em! Spark Wave!" A perfect sphere connected all the points together outside the barrier and began frying them. In small bursts of electricity, the cones began to fry out from the younger Sage's overpowering mana. He blasted all of them out, and quickly dropped his spell. Raine was thankful for that—she didn't know how much longer she could have held the spell.

Lloyd was surprised to find his friends, "Genis! Raine! You-you're back!"

The younger half-elf smiled, "Of course, Lloyd! Now, we've got to get you healed up." His sister dragged Lloyd out of the range of battle, quickly administrating first aid and whatever other healing spells she could get into him. He needed to at least be back to health before he could fight, but she wasn't sure if he should. He looked exhausted, but then, Colette was battling with very low energy too. She had healed her all she could, and that was what she was going to do with Lloyd, too.

Sheena also came to Raine for healing, but was more concerned about young Irving, "Hey, you okay?"

"You know I am," Lloyd grinned, boasting, "Just give me a few minutes, and I'll be kicking that angel's ass with my dad!"

At that point, more of the ass-kicking was being done by Spiritua than by Aurion. She managed to grab one Chosen and through her at the other one, so both of them were feeling outclassed and weakened. Yuan was keeping up with her, but his whirls and slashes never seemed to do anything fatal. If they inflicted damage on her at all, she kept regenerating and going faster. Even Kratos was tripped up a few times, but it hadn't cost him his life yet. He prayed it wouldn't, for himself or anyone else.

"Genis, I need help!", Presea hollered across the field, pulling her axe back out of the sphere again. Out of the large ten-foot diameter rock spell, she had ripped out a chunk about the size of a watermelon. With the steam clouding her vision and making her sweat, she was going to need assistance. Of course, the half-elf was more than happy to help her out.

She asked of him, "Can you dispel this? I can't keep up my strength."

He frowned, not sure what to say. This Spiritua certainly knew how to cast some pretty nasty spells. He decided to go with Air Thrust, since it would mince up the rock like Spark Wave did with that other strange spell. Not wasting any time, he called out for the spell, and it cracked around the rock like a blender on a hard-boiled egg. Small pieces of rock flew out, making the barrier weak enough for Presea to shatter it with one final blow.

Steam blasted out of the earthen tomb, melting snow from twenty feet away. It made Presea and Genis's hair wilt, but that wasn't a problem. Gasping in surprise, Presea leapt inside the remainder of the sphere, dragging Regal out with her superhuman strength. His chest heaved greatly as he finally got oxygen, barely strong enough to wobble out with her help. Genis was frightened, almost terrified of what might have happened if he didn't come to help Presea.

"Will you be all right?", Combatir asked, carefully sitting him down next to Lloyd, Sheena, and Raine. All three looked shocked at what the children had found, but they appreciated their help.

Bryant was dazed, obviously not all there, "I . . .yes. In time." Raine guessed he had heat exhaustion, and she did not allow him to follow the children back into combat. He was delusional, still wanting to fight. She rebuked him, "I don't care if you can heal yourself! You're going to stay right here until I say you can get up!" Lloyd snickered, glad he wasn't the only one getting her wrath.

"MAYDAY!", Zelos screeched as he crashed next to the giant plant. About a second earlier, he had received the full force of a Thunder Blade spell from Spiritua. He had momentarily forgotten he was flying and gravity hit him before he realized it. Rolling off the ground, he screeched again as a set of vines came down to impale him. He dodged out of the way several times, yelping every time one came too close to him. Finally getting some nerve, he slashed through one vine, watching as it squirmed and died on the ground. Well, that was satisfying.

Spiritua softly laughed as she saw how the combatants were fairing, "IS THIS ALL? I AM NOT IMPRESSED." Using her sword, she bashed Yuan away from her out a hole in the cathedral's roof. Miss Brunel caught her off guard, unleashing a storm of hammers and Para Ball attacks. For being weaker than the others pursuing her, Colette was keeping up pretty well. Spiritua growled, shoving the Chosen into the tree and watching as she fell down next to the other unfortunate one. Aurion took the time to intercept her with a couple of Demon Fangs, but she caught onto his game and blasted him backwards. He couldn't believe this! Why was she still so powerful after all this?

The youngest sage had been studying this for a little while now. Presea waited next to him, trying to figure out what to do as well. The half-elf kept staring at the tree, wondering why anyone would put this thing here. If it was simply used to kill people, then it was too elaborate and clearly a waste. He remembered the old tales about the Great Kharlan Tree, and suddenly it all made sense.

"Presea," Genis asked, "Do you think this thing could be generating mana for Spiritua?"

The girl thought about this for a moment, "It is possible. At any rate, since we cannot fly, we might as well get rid of the tree."

"Okay, sure!", he always liked it when someone agreed with his way of thinking, "Lloyd, Sheena! How are you guys doing?"

Fujibayashi stood up without any trouble, and she nodded that she was okay. Lloyd called back, "We're okay. Whaddya need?"

"If you can, join us! We're going to go attack the tree!", Genis instructed. Sheena nodded, quickly rejoining combat even with half her strength. The plan didn't make a lot of sense to Lloyd, but he followed it anyway, wanting to help his dad. Raine was troubled that two out of her three patients had just left her, but then started analyzing the tree like Genis and it made sense.

Raine then made her commands, "Colette, Zelos! Get off the ground and provide a distraction!" The Chosens signaled back, then both flew off in a burst of colorful mana. She then turned to Bryant, "I'm going to pester Spiritua. My spells probably won't have an effect on her, but I need to keep her distracted. Get away from me in case she attacks me."

"Is that permission . . .to allow me to fight?", Regal questioned her. She whacked him on the back with her staff, shoving him in the direction of the tree. That was her kind, gentle way to reprimand him and guide him down the right path. Well, as kind and gentle as Raine can be. She then joined in the distraction team, keeping the angel occupied with Photon spells. It even provided as some help to Kratos—while Spiritua was held in place by the spell, he could get in some slashing attacks and even the occasional Light Spear or two.

The younger Sage spear-headed the second half of the team, organizing what he had for attackers, "Presea, Lloyd, I need you two to go in as deep as you can to the tree and hack away at the trunk. Sheena and Regal, I don't know what you can do for damage, but if you can keep the vines from hurting them or healing or status effects or anything, that'll work. I'm going to be out here casting Meteor Swarm."

Lloyd's jaw dropped, "Whoa, Genis! That'll destroy the rest of the roof—maybe set it on fire!"

"I know, I know," Genis nodded, "It's a lot of collateral, but it'll be the fastest way to eliminate the tree. Sheena, if you ever get the chance to summon—"

Fujibayashi picked up on him, "Right, I'll do that. Probably going to go with Efreet, Origin, or Maxwell."

The party then broke to attack. Combatir easily slipped next to the tree, taking great blows to hack it down. One vine almost whacked into Lloyd, slowing his approach, but Sheena neutralized it with a Pyre seal. Bryant let a few vines wrap around his arms, then pulled backwards with great strength and began snapping them loose. Genis began making his incantations, hoping this would work.

Aurion turned his head for only a moment to watch what his son and his friends were doing. He was surprised at their tactic, but it might be useful. Darting back around Spiritua, he spiraled up in another Light Spear, keeping her occupied. She slashed him backwards, still totally devoted to destroying her aerial assailants. Angels could be very single-minded like her, so she didn't seem to notice what was going on.

Yuan was even amused by their work, but he too kept silent about it. The blue haired angel was getting worn down—maybe Spiritua was a younger angel than he was, but she clearly had more health and strength. She blew him back with another ball of light, and then turned her attention on the two Chosens. Releasing a shockwave from her morphing sword, she knocked them away, both shrieking in pain. Noticing that she had a spare moment, she started to cast a spell again.

Kratos was too slow to stop her, "JUDGMENT!"

Now more holes began to rupture in the ceiling like before. Several struck the tree and the flying members, but none hit the half-elves casting annoying magic on the ground. Spiritua dove after both of them, planning to disrupt them and kill them all at once. She knew of the fragility of a half-elf, even one that knew spells. The older Sage abandoned her casting when she saw the angel swoop down at her, striking her in the back as she flew by. Miss Fujibayashi saw the angel making strikes and immediately went to protecting Genis so he wouldn't be interrupted.

"WHAT SORT OF MOCKERY IS THIS?", Spiritua was not terrified of the summoner ninja, nor of her cards, "BE GONE!"

Sheena was preparing to take a beating from the angel when a sudden shine of light went off behind her. Her jaw dropped as Genis yelled out, "Infinite powers, grant me thy strength . . .Meteor Swarm!" He couldn't have finished the spell at a better time—Sheena rolled out of the way with the spell caster, both avoiding being impaled on the angel's strange sword.

Bright orange balls of fire began searing the air, warning of the oncoming barrage. The ceiling crackled and gave way as monstrous entities from space began to bear down on the cathedral. The first meteor struck the sacrificial tree, sending it up in flames. Lloyd and Presea barely had time to move before two others barreled down on the tree, Regal joining their fleeing at the last second. Raine, Sheena, and Genis moved out of the way, edging closer and closer to the end of the bell tower's roof as the spell continued. More heavy bells began to fall, clanking in a beautiful and dissonant chord. Zelos and Colette barely avoided them, lucky to have enough skill to fly free.

Aurion watched in stunned awe as one unimportant meteor struck Spiritua, sending the angel up in bright red flames. She screamed in pain, the first mortal thing she had done in excess of at least three thousand years. His heart panged in regret, finally feeling some regret for her. She had been a human like him, but she had been tainted by Mithos's power. Now, she was beginning to remember that too.

"Yuan," Aurion issued, "Get the others off the roof. I don't care how you do it. I'll take care of Spiritua."

Yuan was startled, "Alone? Kratos, you're mad! She will still be dangerous!"

The other angel ignored that, "It will not matter anymore."

Watching his friend in cold horror, Yuan quickly retreated and grabbed the elder half-elf. Sylvarant's Chosen grabbed her half-elven classmate while Tethe'alla's picked up Combatir. In a panic, Fujibayashi had some how managed to summon the air spirits of Sylph, and she, Bryant, and Lloyd were snatched up by the three magical creatures. Aurion's child glanced over at his father, not understanding what he was doing. He kept calling for his dad to come, but he was out of range before the angel even moved.

Aurion turned to Spiritua, marching like an executioner. The angel's robes were tattered by the direct impact, and she was bleeding her unearthly self onto the church. Her tree withered and died above her, falling away in chunks. She looked less like an angel and more like a scared little girl. Never the less, Aurion pushed his feelings aside.

Looking up, Spiritua saw that Aurion had his sword unsheathed. She uttered her first words as a human in over several millennia, ". . .save me."

"We were wrong," Aurion comforted the dying angel, "I want you to know that."

She bent her head down, and then knelt in front of the seraphim. Gently, Aurion braced a hand on her neck, and felt only the slightest tinge of remorse. This had to be done.

He placed his sword on her neck, and ended Spiritua's martyring life.

---

The church was still burning as early morning came, a smoking and hissing shell of what it was. Some nuns and monks had survived, but most had not. Certainly, none of the high priests did—they had been struck down by the powerful spells that devastated the holy place. It was likely many of the prisoners could have died as well. So much innocence had been lost, if it had been there at all.

"Kratos, are you ready to leave?"

Aurion merely nodded, still numb from what callous things he had to do. He had spent the remainder of the night guarding Lloyd and his friends in the Flanoir Inn. He missed being able to see his son, and there was a part of him that did not want to leave. Knowing what he had seen at the cathedral, he knew that Lloyd could do well with and without him. He had to go back to Iselia and nurse his wounds, anyway.

Yuan was not happy with his old friend's response. Trying to be comforting, he noted, "You know what you had to do, Kratos. Staying here would only force Lloyd to do the same things."

"What I had to do was meaningless slaughter," Aurion noted, "If we did not go along with Yggdrasil's lie, we could not have had to kill those people."

"We have done many things wrong, Kratos. I've lost several good friends because of my incompetence," Yuan spoke silently, "We've endangered the ones we've loved. We've had to kill them. We've forced others to kill the ones they love. Now, we must accept the consequences."

Aurion asked, "What is our fate to be, then?"

Yuan simply said, "We live with it. We die with it. We become legend, and fade away with it. That's how we will be redeemed."

Aurion stayed mute at this statement, knowing what it meant. He would have to leave Lloyd permanently so he would let the boy live his own life. Maybe it didn't have to be now. But, inevitably, it was coming. That was the price he had to pay—he had to give up his life with his family.

"I left Lloyd a note. Is that all right?", Kratos questioned again.

Yuan laughed once, "Of course it is. Give him something to live up to. Make him be better than you. That's what a father does. That, and protect his son." He paused, taking in the cold night air, "That's what you have done. Now, your life can be complete."

The two angels started walking out into the snowy air of the country, getting away from what they had done. It was quiet for some time, but both were deep in thought. Aurion wandered a little bit, stumbling across all he had lived through. He had never loved anyone like Anna and Lloyd. It was going to be hard to surrender their memories of him.

Aurion smiled, then understanding something, "I let Spiritua off easy by killing her. Living with this pain shall be my punishment. And, it will redeem me."

Yuan couldn't believe his friend's ideals, "Punishment and redemption? That's religion in its purity, my friend. Once you feel bad about something and know it's wrong, then you can be forgiven. Maybe we didn't teach the humans something bad after all."

They didn't debate the subject any further. The blue angel took off in the sky, heading for his base nearby. Aurion watched blandly for a few minutes, staring off between his old friend and the burning cathedral in the distance. Then he flew up and off into Derris Kharlan, going directly through its atmosphere to dear Iselia, where he could rest. He had completed his mission, finishing the war inside his soul.

And his son watched below, taking up his father's sword for his peace.

---

Author's Note:

There you have it. Nothing more to say—and I hope not! Thirty-three pages for a short story? Gack!

I'm guessing you all can recall who Spiritua was from the ToS plotline. I always wondered about her existence, so that's part of how this fanfic came about. The sword thing came from a cross between Ivy's Whip-Blade (Soul Calibur II) and Undine's sword. Two of the big spells were mostly based off of Absolute and Earth Bite (with a little Shakespeare thrown in.) Bloody Cross, however, is an existing tech! I saw it from Tales of the World: Narikiri Dungeon 3, which is basically a little game for the GBA created for the fan boys and girls. I'm guessing it's also in the Japanese version of Tales of Destiny II, since Barbados was using it.

'Okage-sama de' means something along the lines of 'I'm fine, thanks to you and the grace of god.' It's a very humble way to say 'I'm fine', apparently.

Anyway, enough of the technicalities. It's review Q&A time!

Vocalsama—Did you see this coming? Mhwa ha ha! Well, even if you did, I hoped you still enjoyed it.

Solidorliquid—Zelos and Kratos just don't get along too well. Maybe they're jealous of each other's looks! Sheena's pretty cool, but I haven't got the knack of playing her down quite yet. And Papal Knights—well, it's hard not to laugh when they yell, "Long live the Poooooope!" I used to call them Pay-Pal knights for a little while. Cliffies are evil, but they make a good story!

Satanic Mechanic—My family always gives personalities to everything. I'm sure that's some kind of mental illness. I named my mom's car Binky, for crying out loud! So, that's why I anthro-ize everything in stories.

And what good is drama if you can't foil it with a joke every now and then? Zelos is always good for a joke (or the butt of it.)

Fox of Light—Revenge of the evil cliffie! Hide your children, and lock your doors! I hope this chapter lived up to your tastebuds for description. I hate that when people don't get their message out, ya know? That's probably why this chapter took up 15 pages! Aie carumba!

MoonCannon—Glad you're enjoying, and I hope the ending didn't fall flat for ya! Sometimes, that'll happen. (Like, in the occasional Stephen King novel).

A.P.Z.A.E.—Lloyd went through a lot of crap in this chapter, don't you think? Nasty spells, missing his daddy, stuff like that. It's hard being a main lead! Oh, and you need this! (Tosses a Life Bottle) Ya know, for the death by suspense. Sorry, couldn't help myself!

RavenGhost—And there you have it! One fresh update! Is it good, or is it very evil? No one knows . . .mhwa ha ha! Hope you like!

Next story? I dunno, might be longer—I'm arguing a plot around in my head right now. It'll be a mystery, like Scooby Doo style! With Exbeluas and missing children and etc. Jinkies, Sheena, it's a clue! . . .Okay, maybe a little more serious that Scooby Doo, but still a mystery. And suspense. And hottie Zelosness. Mmm, bishonen . . .

Anyway, here's to another fanfic gone astray. Toodles! –Zelda's Fox 38, July 2005