(Notes:

This is the real Chapter 1; the introductory chapter for all of the major characters. For someone who doesn't really like OCs present in fanfiction, I sure do love to make second-generation fan-made characters of the real characters. Nonetheless, I want to give both generations equal exposition time in this overall story, hence the overall name of this series!

Anyway, the general outset pairings-wise is pretty much laid out for you in this chapter. But mind you, if you have alternative preferences, like say, Lloyd/Sheena, Zelos/Colette, etc., you can stay tuned as well since I'll have some pleasant surprises in store for the later chapters! Assuming I get to them before my ADD takes over and I never finish this thing.

But, reviews and concrit about how it looks so far are DEFINITELY appreciated at this stage, so say something if you feel even a little bit like doing so! And if anyone's actually interested in what the 2nd generation of ToS looks like down to the most minimal detail, I've drawn them all at least twice on my DeviantArt gallery, so go have a ball if you're that bored.

Just enjoy it. Geez.)

"Forget about grocery shopping for the next couple of weeks, mom!"

"Forget about it?" Colette repeated as she took her attention away from her kitchen cleaning momentarily to acknowledge her sixteen year-old son who had just entered from the front door. "What's the occasion, Rudy?"

Rudy calmly kicked the door aside as he made room to show off a rather large fish – roughly half his size – freshly caught from the lake. It still thought to put up a small fight against its capturer, but Rudy possessed a relentlessly thorough grip on the aquatic creature.

"I'm not really sure how it happened," Rudy admitted, shaking the remaining droplets of water and sludge off his mussed hair. "But this is the biggest one I've caught so far. Neat, isn't it?"

Colette gaped at the sight. "Oh my goodness… that looks twice as big as last week's, dear… that's so impressive!"

"Thanks," Rudy accepted. "I've got a real good feeling about this… you know?"

Colette smirked; not something one would see everyday from her… not in her youth, at least. "Well, unless you can teach me how to make dessert made out of fish, and fish drinks… I'll still have to go to the store." The smirk faded with a more innocent giggle. "Though I am interested in how your father will take this… I don't think he's ever caught any like that before!"

Rudy shrugged. "I guess he's gotta face one day that the son will overcome the father and stuff… not that I mind; I'm kinda used to him being better than me at everything else. Even swordplay. If he wants to be the better man, I can just throw the big fish back next time…"

"Don't suggest such things!" Colette insisted, walking towards her son. "Your father wants you to improve, Rudy. That's why he antagonizes you sometimes; after all, competitiveness runs in your family. Though I'll admit…" The housewife smiled once again at the thought. "It's nice to have a passive boy around for a change. You're the first one I've ever known."

"I just know how things are, I guess," Rudy figured. "The way I see it, dad's done a lot more by now than I ever will my whole life. That's not really a matter of talent… it's just, you know… the world doesn't need to be saved anymore. So I'm cool with letting him have that kind of thing over me. I could catch every fish on Aselia and that wouldn't really measure up with dad's accomplishments at all. … Would it?"

Colette laughed. "I wonder how many other kids your age would figure that out so quickly… but believe me, what your father has done is the right thing. So we can have a life where our biggest worries are… well, grocery bills!" She extended her arms forward. "Speaking of, you'd better hurry and give me that so we can put it in the cooler. Dinner time isn't for a while yet, so let's not have it spoil…"

"Oh, right," the young fisherman consented, and with a considerable amount of difficulty, transferred his prize catch to his mother. The slimy, scaly creature was a little much for Colette and her child to handle; therefore the fish was dropped in the transition and flopped more lividly upon hitting the floor. "Ah…!"

"Whoops!" Colette brought her hands to cover her mouth in surprise, but quickly pulled them away after smelling the less-than-pleasant odor of fish. "Oh no, I just cleaned the floor…"

"Don't worry, I've got it!" Rudy assured, going down to tackle the fish into submission. By this point, even the subtlest scent of an almost-dead animal had permeated the entire Irving residence, and out came the dogs. All four of them.

"Eek! They've picked up your fish's scent!" Colette squeaked in terror, rushing to keep her pets at bay… of course, making sure to snag some dog treats along the way. "Hurry, Rudy! They already know it's here!"

"I'm trying," Rudy muttered as he flopped along with the stubborn fish, determined to get a good enough grip on it once more. "J-just buy me a little time, alright…?"

With two bone-shaped, multicolored doggie treats in each hand, Colette managed to get the dogs' mostly-undivided attention in the meantime. "Snack time! That's right! It's time to do some tricks for mommy! Lucky! All-Star! Cookie! Cocoa!"

The border collie, husky, golden retriever, and shiba inu (respectively) all stood at attention with every intent on obeying their mistress to get the treat they were all well familiar with at this point.

"That's right," Colette chirped. "Sit!"

It was at that time when another person stepped through the still-open front door, loud thuds as he made every step. With heavy boots and a rugged, uneven stubble spread across his face, Lloyd Irving returned home with a fair-sized catch of an unidentifiable bird-like creature. Seeing the incidents so suddenly made his jaw drop, as he lost his grip and the future dinner fell to the floor. "I'm… home…"

"Oh, Lloyd!" Colette sighed with relief as she fed each dog their respective treat. "Welcome back… sorry things are kind of a mess right now."

"I can see that," the former hero remarked as he briefly surveyed the damage… and his eyes fixed on his bumbling son, with a whole arm covered inside the cooler. "You okay there, son?"

"All clear," Rudy reported, though clearly he struggled to free his arm. "Don't worry about me, dad."

Lloyd's hands went to his hips; a pose he adopted as he adjusted to parenthood. "Right, so… why is your arm stuck in the ice box, then?"

"Well…" Rudy hummed, looking just a tad nervous. "It makes the fish happy. I guess we owe it to him since we're gonna chop him up for dinner in a few hours…"

"Dinner?" Lloyd wondered out loud. "I was just out getting dinner… that thing," he gestured to the bleeding corpse of a bird he had recently discarded. "Just how big was it this time, anyway?"

"It's going to be a big dinner tonight, Lloyd!" Colette chimed in. "It's the biggest fish yet, and – EEK!" She pointed repeatedly at the further staining of her house. "Oh, Lloyd! I just cleaned…"

Lloyd quickly noticed his mistake and swept the carcass off of the floor and into his arms. "Ah, right! Sorry about that… I'll be more careful next time."

Rudy found it the perfect time to open the cooler to show off his prize. "See, dad? I made a new record for myself!" he announced cheerfully. "I didn't even do anything different from before… I guess it was luck or something."

It was big. Lloyd had never prided himself on his fishing abilities (it simply was too much for his short attention span), but a new sense of pride welled up in seeing that fish… that somehow, it ran in the family anyway. Perhaps Kratos fished well at one time…?

But of course, there was also the tinge of jealousy. "I can't believe it," Lloyd mumbled. "You're already catching bigger fish…"

Rudy felt discouraged, hearing the delivery of that comment. "If you really want, we'll have your dinner instead, dad…"

"Nonsense!" Lloyd interrupted. "I'm kind of in the mood for seafood anyway." He was as jovial as ever… "Bring it on! I'm still all for cutting something up!" And with that, he whipped out his sword.

Rudy's smile followed after his father's as he stood and dragged his arm out, which looked almost completely devoured by the fish. Despite the disturbing visual, Rudy didn't appear to mind terribly much. The family enjoyed a hearty laughing session before proceeding with their daily lives… and their dinner, of course. With a memorable, heartwarming day passing, Lloyd Irving took a mental moment as his wife and son ate their dinner and conversed. It was indeed a wonderful life… but realizing that made the Eternal Swordsman wonder of other lives that once and still remained close to him:

"Sometimes I look back and think… has it really been a quarter of a century since we saved the world? Seriously? … Amazing. But there were always days like this where I had really wished the whole family was together to enjoy this life. It's hard to believe how much impact Kratos left on me in the short amount of time I had with him, but I can feel it… and it hurts."

"Colette, Rudy and I still live in Iselia, in our still relatively-new world called Aselia. We'd never once considered turning our backs on the place that's been our home for so many years… and despite the mishaps in the past, I couldn't feel anything but love for Iselia. I didn't want to distance myself from Dad (ah, Dirk, as you recall him) either, naturally. So he and I set out to build a new cabin for me and my family to live in. Noishe included, too!"

"It's a selfish thing to want, but I really wanted everyone else to be in close proximity as well… we'd all grown so close, but then just as easily, we went our separate ways. But we all had such different lives and goals and hopes and dreams… yeah, it is selfish of me."

"But you can bet I still go out of my way to keep in touch with them! I'm pretty good about contacting Professor Sage on a weekly basis…"

In Asgard, Raine Sage found it hard to walk by and not cause a ruckus amongst the crowd every time she passed. Over twenty-five years, her life had been quite eventful. And though her ultimate goal, to rid the new world of half-elf discrimination proved to only be impossible through her influences alone, Raine's disappointment was overcome with her tired outlook of adventure and settled into the quaint little village that always accepted her no matter what race she was.

… And of course, the village was filled to the brim of her most favorite things: artifacts, ruins… anything related to anthropology with a reasonable amount of age to it. As long as she had these things and her friends to keep in close contact with, Raine was okay with accepting the still-existing flaws of the world. She had long since accepted the absence of perfection.

"I'd swear the only fundamental flaw in Asgard is the fact that no one seems to have anything better to do than cheer me on," she exclaimed. "Though it's nice getting the encouragement… never a dull moment in Asgard; that's for certain."

Raine wasn't merely talking to herself; a short young man had planted himself at the nearest desk to the door. Judging from the strewn pieces of paper and books and writing utensils, it was a safe bet to say he'd been there for most of the day. Regardless, he did not acknowledge Raine, nor did he reply.

"Adonis," Raine sung sweetly as she made her way over to him. "Surely you sent off the copies of my thesis today as I asked… true or false…?"

"Hell is other people," Adonis muttered back. "False. I'm not your indentured servant, maternal unit."

That remark was met with a swift slap across the back of Adonis' head, swishing his straightened, silver hair out of place. "You are my indentured servant until you become independent," Raine calmly reminded. "Thank your lucky stars that I still tolerate your presence, Sir Legal Adult. Hearing that kind of disrespect is beginning to make me regret such selfless actions…"

It was half-serious, half-joking, it seemed, for this mother and son to have their back-and-forth banters in such a drawn-out, verbal manner.

And despite the number of times it's already happened, Adonis lacked the reflexive skills to dodge his mother's rounds of Tough Love and recoiled at the force much like his uncle once had.

"ACK!" he hissed, instinctively covering his head with his arms. A few papers flew off of his desk in the process. "Look, mother, is it really my fault that almost nobody believes I'm any older than twelve? Just what kind of genes did you let yourself mix in with, anyway? No one in your family is like this."

Raine tsked and shook her head. "Adonis, after all of these years you insist on pestering me with such a meaningless subject. And you still refuse to believe that such a thing is hindering your true potential… honestly, you're nineteen. Isn't it time to… well, grow up?"

"So narrow-minded," Adonis interjected. "It isn't as if you know how hard it is to be in my position…"

"I apologize," Raine mockingly conceded. "Supposedly you would have me at a standoff, if only I remember how my life was at your age… where I had no time to worry about my physical shortcomings or the identity of my parents because I was already technically a mother myself, to your eight year-old uncle."

Raine's retort was met with a wide, gaping face on the other end. "What physical shortcomings? And you've always known the identity of your parents…!"

The other running theme to these arguments was their short-lived nature. Otherwise, they might've lasted forever…

"I'll hear no more of this," the Professor announced. "Or else you'll go without dessert tonight."

"Good," Adonis shot back. "The less of your cooking I ingest, the better for me."

"… then scratch that. Mind your mouth or I'll make you eat dessert."

"What?" The young scientist felt a little faint.

"I'd also like for you to get a job," Raine mused. "If only to help around a bit for as long as you're with me… you're nineteen, therefore more than old enough."

"But I'm— "

Raine held up a single finger to silence Adonis. "If you're so intent on using your height as an excuse, then I will get a job for you. And with my recommendation, how could you possibly be refused employment? Hm?"

Adonis frowned, clearly not partial to the idea in any way. "The only job available here that I could manage is one you've taken up already," he reminded. "A job that, as I recall, doesn't have a need for any form of assistance, considering your intimacy with the tasks at hand. Most other jobs offered here involve some kind of labor, or else standing behind a large counter which would make me look ridiculous at five-foot-nothing."

"Who said I was restricting my job search to within Asgard's boundaries?" Raine posed. "Either find yourself a crate to stand on behind the counter, or you'll be looking into commuting to work, my little man." Her smile was almost devious; as much as Raine Sage loved her son, it often felt good to put the obnoxious young man in his place. It really was like having another Genis around…

Adonis hunched over on the desk, acknowledging the imminent defeat this time around. It left him no less bitter than when he thought he had a fighting chance, but as his back was turned to Raine, a hint of depression was apparent in his face. He muttered, "If you had never left father, I wouldn't have to do this at all…"

Raine could hear the statement, no doubt. And instead of her usual retaliation technique to such a vile, disrespectful slur… she merely let it go without a word of her own to settle the discussion. She left the room and headed for her own, shutting the door behind her when she entered.

When Raine was officially closed away in solitude, her back hit the door and her hands pressed against her temples in agonizing frustration. She didn't cry… she hadn't cried in many years. Undeniably, she felt like crying… but long ago, Raine decided she'd overcome this hurdle already. Therefore, she wouldn't allow herself to cry… she was certain Adonis was crying right this moment, as it was obvious he was still a long way from jumping the same obstacle she had.

But in truth, Adonis had forced himself to stop crying as well. Like his mother, he felt the urge… and unlike his mother, the matter of this particular unknown still kept him up at night. His desire to know what might have been had grown aggressive over the years… though not as much as his desire to know what had happened in the first place.

"Why do I care…?" Adonis whispered to himself. His face was now halfway buried into his folded arms over the desk. "I… I hate them all, anyway…"

Back at the dinner table, at the Irving household in Iselia, Lloyd frowned. Colette, of course, was quick to point it out and inquire what troubled her husband. Lloyd laughed good-naturedly at the concern and assured the former Chosen that it was only a minor matter… thankfully, which had nothing to do with himself, Rudy, or Colette. For the most part…

"I think the failure of the Professor and Genis' journey hit the both of them really hard. In fact, the Professor had actually disappeared for a while shortly after we learned of her resignation. Not even Genis knew where she was; she hadn't cared enough to maintain contact with her own brother the entire time she'd been gone. Then she came back… almost as if it never happened. But one thing about her changed: she came back pregnant. She was the first one of our old group to birth the newest generation… the one Rudy's in right now. But no one knows who Adonis' father is…I don't know, Genis and his family don't know…I think even Adonis himself doesn't even know!"

"Only the Professor knows, and she said the whole thing didn't really matter because she said it was impossible to maintain the 'ideal' family and it was pointless to get anyone's, especially Adonis', hopes up by telling him who the father is. I guess that's natural of the Professor… hiding away her secrets like that. I can't believe Adonis is already nineteen… I don't think the boy's grown an inch since he was fourteen. I hear the girls think he's really cute, until they hear of his age. Then they're just creeped out. Heh, poor guy… I wish I could help him, but he's never seemed to like me and I don't think he and Rudy have hit it off very well, either. Then again… Rudy and Adonis are really different."

"I ought to get Rudy out and about more often, really. As much as I love Iselia, it's notorious for being a totally secluded place. The world literally happens without you in this town, and Rudy only has a few friends as it is. I'd really like him to be close to the kids of my other friends, if only so it'll establish more stable connections for us. Rudy gets along with girls much better than boys, I think, so he ought to be perfect for at least one of Zelos and Sheena's three daughters…"

Sheena Fujibayashi-Wilder let out a heavy sigh, wiped her brow, and continued cleaning the dishes that once held this morning's breakfast. "I've never had it easy in life, especially not now… if I ever had it easy, I think I might actually freak out, you know? It's a hard life to live, but it's really good discipline. That's what I try to teach the three of you… so we'll understand each other better, and so when you have families you'll be able to handle it as well as I did!"

"Who said you're handling it well?" the eldest daughter, Norie, asked. "Are you just tuning out the daily chaos that goes around in this household and thinking if you ignore it enough, it'll just go away?"

"You don't know the meaning of chaos," Sheena retorted as she stacked the cleaned plates together. "If you have a husband like your father, you'd realize what it means… honestly, these days, I think he's mellowed out quite a bit. The crazy pervert might've finally grown up…"

Norie shook her head furiously. "Grown up? Mom, he was proposing to me the last time he got into the alcohol! I would've KNOWN your definition of chaos if he actually got away with that!" Shuddering at the memories, the eighteen year-old felt severely ill at the idea. "He can't even tell his own daughter apart from his… his… his hunnies!"

"He did it again?" Sheena didn't want to believe it, and yet… it was so easy to. She gagged. "I guess you can tell the whole basis of this marriage is a compromise… but I really need to find a surefire way of abstaining him from the wine. It's just hard, as rich as we are and as powerful an influence your father is… I can only do so much, Norie."

"How is it so hard?" Norie groaned. "Doesn't he care that he's inflicting mental trauma on me when he acts so irresponsibly?"

Sheena sighed. There were a lot of reasons why the family situation was this way… some good, others… not so much. "Don't forget dad was the Chosen of Tethe'alla for the first twenty-two years of his life. Now that the worlds have rejoined and there's no longer a need for a Chosen, I'm not surprised how much he's cut loose over the years. Believing for so long that you're expected to die for the happiness of your people… that the only reason people treated you well and gave you things was because you were preordained to be a human sacrifice when the time is right…"

"I've heard this story before," Norie cut in. "It doesn't mean he has this goddess-given right to take it all out on me. I've had nothing but respect for dad up until this trend started."

"He loves you," Sheena assured. "And in a completely, appropriate platonic-like way, too. I can assure you when he's high off the booze, the last thing he sees is you when his libido goes into overdrive."

Norie grumbled in frustration… what an awful subject to talk about. From daughter to mother, no less! "How can you put up with this? He's a married man, for Martel's sake! Even if this was a habitual thing ever since he was young… that doesn't give him an excuse to keep doing it when he's got a family to raise!"

"He wouldn't have an affair," Sheena said knowingly. Above all else, it was the most relaxed statement she'd made all morning. "Like I said, Norie, our marriage is built on compromise. We were constantly at odds with each other in the past… it's a similar deal today, though we understand each other's point of view by now. We know why we do the things we do… and no matter how much either of us want it, we have to face the facts."

"The facts?"

"Because he was born a Chosen and remained high on the social status chart afterwards… and because I chose to accept my destiny as the Chief of Mizuho, we can't possibly have a normal life," Sheena spoke the truth. "With all civilian eyes resting on the two of us being the ones who push things forward towards the brighter future… since we're such a large influence in both Meltokio and Mizuho, this is what's expected of us. Zelos and I… our jobs and titles differ. Just as much as our personalities…"

Norie shrugged. "Yeah, I know. And that's why we're not together as a family very much…"

The summoner nodded to that acknowledgement. "Our common threads lie in what we wanted in a family… even if we can't be there as much as we'd like to be. We also wanted the same things in a spouse… so despite the tosses and turns our marriage has run into, we're still in on this together. We still function, and neither of us want to give it up for anything." Sheena smiled as she fondly remembered the fresher days of married life.

"Is that when you know you truly love someone…?" Norie asked, a tone of uncertainty present in the question.

"Yes, I think so," Sheena wistfully replied. "If I could change anything about my life… all I'd want is more time in the day, so I can spend even more time with my wonderful children."

Almost on cue, the next daughter, significantly younger than her present sister, entered the kitchen. The hard clicking of her high-heeled shoes on the tile floor made it apparent that she was less than satisfied with something.

"Well, if you mean to go to that prehistoric dump for the weekend again, Mommy, can you at least pay the nanny extra so I can stay here?" she asked, though it sounded much more like a demand. "I'm afraid if I go there one more time, I might die from the boredom!"

Such disrespect was expected from the spoiled middle child, but Sheena could never wrap her head around why it was so… vehement. Her cultural background was at least half as much her childrens' as it was hers, after all! "Serena," she scolded. "That alone is out of the question, but asking for things in that manner wouldn't have won over my favor, anyway. Can't you ask for things more nicely than that?"

"That's like telling her to live without breathing," Norie muttered. "Brat."

"Why should I?" Serena questioned, ignoring her older sister's side-comment. "I hate Mizuho. There's nothing to do except menial chores, and everyone dresses funny. None of the kids ever want to play with me, and the closest place to Mizuho is Iselia, which is like the same place except full of bumpkins!"

"I can't believe I raised someone who's so hateful of a culture she's part of!" Sheena exclaimed, partially in disbelief. "See, Norie? This is why I wish I had more time around the house. How am I going to undo this damage…?"

Serena stomped her foot in frustration. Sheena winced as she could've sworn she heard a title crack under her daughter's heel. "Don't talk about me like I'm flawed! I have plans this weekend! I'm not ditching my friends just so I can waste my time in the middle of nowhere!"

As Serena ranted on, Norie bent over closer to her mother and whispered in her ear, "Personally, I wouldn't blame Serena on you or dad. I think she was just born broken. Are you sure she wasn't adopted…?"

"I'm pretty sure I didn't hallucinate the nine months I carried her," Sheena replied, jokingly. "And you've seen the scars during and post-labor. Those weren't from you and they were already there when Pepper was born. The evidence doesn't lie…"

Norie sighed. "It'll be a sad day when Pepper loses her naivety and innocence… she's the only one not going through any stress in this family."

"Don't be so down like that," Sheena encouraged, patting Norie on the shoulder. "We're busy, and we've all got issues… but we aren't miserable. It could always be worse than this… just remember that."

"Hel-lo! Isn't anyone paying attention to me?"

Sheena and Norie huffed out in aggravation simultaneously.

"Where it gets worse with her, I don't want to know…"

After a little pondering, Lloyd snapped back to reality and looked to his wife from across the table.

"Colette, it's been a while since we've seen Sheena and Zelos, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, a bit," she responded, a little more into her fish dinner than thinking about much else for the moment. "They must be so busy… three children, Zelos being a knight in Meltokio, Sheena running Mizuho and running back and forth between the two places… that's a lot of work."

"It is," Lloyd agreed. Rudy managed to pull away from tearing his portion of dinner to pieces (his table manners were rather less-than-stellar) to listen to his parents talk of the people in their past.

"Dad," Rudy mumbled, rather uncertain of where to begin with his questions and/or musings. "It sounds like you really liked these guys… so how come they're never around?"

Colette shook her head, but her face was blessed with an honest smile. "Different lives, dear. There were nine of us total, and half the group was from the other world to begin with… almost everyone there had some major role of importance. Some kind of obligation to where they grew up…"

"Right," Lloyd confirmed. "Zelos was Tethe'alla's Chosen, and afterwards be became a knight in Queen Hilda's court. Sheena was destined to be the next chief of Mizuho and she followed through with it… and she's doing a really good job. As close as we are to Mizuho, we ought to visit more often."

"She's in and out so fast, it seems," Colette reminded him. "Every time I go to Mizuho, I'm told I just missed her leave…"

Lloyd sighed. "Just the way life goes, I guess… and of course, there's Regal. He's the president of the Lezareno Company even today, but you never know. At his age, he may be ready to pass the torch to his heir at any time…"

Rudy looked awed as he absorbed the information. He was a little forgetful and might've even heard it before in passing… so it seemed everything was like new information to him at some point.

"It's scary to think how age catches up to you like that. I'm forty-two now… augh! But Regal was already thirty-three when he joined our group, therefore today he ought to be about fifty-eight. Wow. Last I've heard, the guy can still put up a fight, too. It'd be a fortunate thing to be born into the Bryant family; with the combined power of Regal and Presea, no one ever has to worry about getting mugged. They both have stayed in Altamira all this time, and because of their influence, it's practically the safest place in the world right now."

"Hellooo, is anyone home?"

"Ah, Sir Wilder!" A teenaged boy around fourteen years of age shouted as he landed gracefully on the ground in his front yard from under a tree. "It's an honor."

Zelos scoffed as he let himself into the Bryant's property and gave the boy a condescending pat on the head. "Still saying that and we're practically mobile neighbors of yours… Justice, kissing up to everyone isn't the most admirable trait, but it gets you absolutely everywhere in life, so I won't stop you from doing it." He winked. "Just don't tell your dad I encouraged it, okay?"

"Wouldn't dream of it, sir," Justice said with a grin. "I was just sharpening my skills, as it were… our cat's stuck in the tree anyway, I suppose it's become a routine… and you're here to pick up Pepper, correct?"

"If I can get her without all the kicking and screaming this time, it'd be great," Zelos mused. "But even the great Zelos Wilder can't expect the best of everything… and she's so attached to your sister as it is, I feel like a criminal, taking her back home."

Justice nodded, almost uncomfortably so. He well knew what a disastrous pair his sister, Felicity, and Pepper were. More often than not, he was the consequential victim of their teamwork. "I have a feeling their friendship will truly transcend time one day… and then no one will be safe. In any case, I'll go get her."

Before Justice even reached the front door of his house, it opened. There stood a fully-grown and beautiful Presea, holding Felicity up with one arm and holding hands with Pepper with the other. She smiled, apparently seeing her guest from the window beforehand. The years had been kind to Presea at her physical age of thirty-seven, and of course, age did not hinder her inhuman strength, as she had no problem carrying her five year-old daughter around. She could have even managed to carry Felicity and the six year-old Pepper simultaneously if she wanted, and she'd never break a sweat.

"My little Rosebud!" Zelos exclaimed, approaching the former axe-wielder full of adoration and the desire to gush over her still-apparent cuteness. "How does the family life treat you with one more in the house, my dear Presea? Does it make you want to consider having a third little baby so your family and mine can match up our numbers?" He grinned at the prospect.

"First of all," Presea began. "I believe it would be more appropriate to call me the fully-bloomed rose at this point, Sir Zelos. And second…" She gestured towards her joyous, lavender-haired child. "The true rosebud now is Felicity."

Zelos applauded Presea's astuteness; it never failed to please him, how staunchly obvious Presea could make things as times. "Ah, a very good point… and please, as a close personal friend of mine, it would be a crime to make you refer to me as Sir Zelos…"

"But you are a knight of Meltokio, correct?" Presea asked. "It would be inaccurate to assume you the same as when I knew you before; it would be disrespectful to otherwise ignore your achievements. As for a third child… I would not mind having another… though I believe Regal finds himself getting too old nowadays," she admitted, somewhat understanding the awkward feeling herself. Despite finally being an adult, Presea still felt twenty-eight years older than she appeared to be.

"Ah, yeah," Zelos noted, reminding himself of just how many years Regal was everyone's senior… barring Kratos, of course. "I guess it would be a little weird starting over again when you're closing in on the big six-oh… I assume Master Bryant is still well, too?" He grinned upon returning the respectful title in kind. "I must say, Presea, no matter how many times I keep telling you, I feel the need to express my awe in just how that man managed to make such a glorious woman out of the little preteen tomboy. You are indeed a fortunate one to end up with such a magnificent husband."

Though still well reserved with her emotions, Presea felt the blush overcoming her cheeks as she let out a shy smile. "Regal is working, as per usual. Admittedly, I can't help but feel concern for him in his growing age… but he chooses to go into his job every day with one hundred percent output and seems not to be satisfied if he gives any less effort. But I trust he will know when it is his time to slow down… he's already initiated the grooming stage for Justice."

"Is that true, little man?" Zelos questioned the teenager, who had already gone back up the tree he was in before. "Are you gonna be the successor to the Lezareno Company someday?"

"I couldn't imagine doing anything else with my life," Justice announced, pulling a calico cat from a high-rising branch. "The company means so much to father, after all. It's not right to just give the reigns to just anyone when my father retires!"

The younger girls had been strangely quiet this whole time, until Pepper finally saw it fit to put in an insightful word. "Papa, I wanna be a ninja! A ninja!" She moved over to tug on the low-rising folds of her father's royal uniform in order to better snag his attention.

"Like I couldn't guess?" Zelos joked, patting Pepper on the head. "You're a spitting image of your mother, sweetheart. And speaking of that wonderful mommy of yours, she really misses you and wants you to come back today."

"NO WAY!" Pepper shouted, stubborn and scornfully. "I'm having fun here!"

"Don't take her away!" Felicity protested, much more gently and persuasive than her boisterous friend. "Please don't do it!"

Zelos held up his hands in his defense, definitely feeling the guilt coming down at that particular moment. "Hey, if I could, I'd leave you here too, you're just so content… but you know, Pepper, mommy's leaving for Mizuho at the end of the week. Surely you don't want to miss out…?"

Felicity frowned when she noticed the drastic change in her best friend's expressions on the matter of leaving. "You're gonna leave me to go to Mizuho again, aren't you?"

Pepper averted her gaze towards the open sea next to the Bryant household, looking just slightly ashamed. "You oughta go with me sometime, Filly. It's just so… awesome!"

"It's so far away," Felicity murmured, clinging to her mother. "And scary…"

Presea laughed mildly. Though emotions were available again for her, Presea by nature remained rather subdued and avoided extremes when it came to her reactions. "Perhaps when you're older, then. Exploring the world enriches your character, Felicity. But you don't have to do anything until you're ready… understood?"

"Yes, mommy," Felicity replied with a sullen nod of the head. "… Have fun, Pepper."

"Never a dull moment in your family… isn't that right, Sir Wilder?" Justice questioned, smirking up at the knight. "You're a strong man to handle it all without breaking a sweat."

Zelos smiled back at the young man as he scooped his willing daughter up into his arms. "You find ways to deal with certain things that bug you in particular… it might not ethically be the best option, but you do what you got to do to get by, I think. That's what being an adult is all about. Even though I'm not the Chosen anymore, my list of responsibilities and obligations aren't about to end."

"Which is why I hold such respect for you, Zelos," Presea cut in. "Like Colette, I believe that you handle what burdens you every well… and it's an admirable trait to have. You're truly a strong person despite your demeanor."

"From one strong person to the next, that's a meaningful compliment you gave me there," Zelos noted, winking at his pink-haired beauty. "I'll definitely keep that in mind the next time Sheena thinks to put me down. I appreciate it!" He waved as he started to turn around. "But I'd better get going if I want to be back home before lunch is over. Tell Regal I said hi, will you?"

"Of course, have a safe trip."

"Bye!" Felicity shouted, waving frantically to Pepper. "I'll make you a flower wreath for when you come back, so make sure you come back really soon!"

"Can't wait!" Pepper hollered back, grinning. "Seeya, Filly!"

Justice smiled, not so much energetically like his sister, but more refined and peaceful… much like his own father's smile. "Until next time."

Zelos looked up at Pepper, who had climbed around her father to make the carrying look more like a piggyback ride. "Well, kiddo, you can't tell me you don't miss your mom and sisters. I haven't seen them in just a few hours and I miss them already!"

"I guess you're right," Pepper admitted, looking sheepish. "It's just… the other kids in Meltokio are kinda snobby…"

"Thaaat's to be expected," Zelos muttered. "You're preaching to the choir on that one, hun. I'm just glad you have at least one really good friend anyway. I would've killed to have one of my own at your age, I know that…"

"Don't be jealous!" Pepper teased, pulling on Zelos' still-present long and curly auburn locks of hair. "You've got really good friends now!"

Zelos paused for a moment and looked to the sky, impressed at his youngest child's moment of insight… at the age of six, no less. "Heh, you're right… you're absolutely right…"

"Zelos and Sheena. Regal and Presea. I… really miss those guys."

Once again, Lloyd caught himself wondering about his friends right at the dinner table. Colette had been catching many of these instances, still keeping up with her chattering son meanwhile. Though Rudy was talkative, admittedly it took him a while to really get to his point. Rudy himself was oblivious at his own father's lack of response, which well exemplified of how intuitive the son of Lloyd and Colette was.

Luckily, Lloyd managed to catch his wife's next stare and opened his mouth before she did, "Ah… like I said, dear, don't worry about me. I'm just thinking about the past."

"About everyone again," Colette finished for him. "Oh, Lloyd… growing up is hard to do. Soon Rudy will be in our shoes…"

"Already?" Rudy spoke up after hearing his name mentioned. "But I'm not that old…"

Colette shrugged. "In some places, you may already be considered a man, Rudy. You remember what happened to me when I turned sixteen, right?"

"But I'm not a Chosen," Rudy pointed out. "There aren't any Chosens no more… so I never have to get angel wings and stuff, I hope."

"Hopefully not," Lloyd replied, chuckling. "What your mom's trying to say, though, is that you really will be an adult within a couple of years. It's not as long-off as it used to be, so you'd better get used to thinking about the future so you'll know what you wanna do when your time comes."

"That's hard, though," Rudy complained, stabbing his fork into his share of fish. "You can't know nothing for sure; the world's not like that…"

Colette sighed, seemingly in agreement. "There are many things you can't know for sure… it's just good to have a set of guidelines… you know, a blueprint so you can fit in all of the unexpected turns in life and still get to where you want to be. Your father's encountered quite a few of those turns himself… right, Lloyd?"

That's where the more unpleasant thoughts and memories began to set in Lloyd's mind, and his discomfort on the matter was obvious to Colette. "Yeah, yeah… I guess."

Knowing what bothered him brought on a sad look for Colette. "Lloyd…"

Lloyd bowed his head briefly before bringing it back up, looking a bit more normal, though solemn as he apologized to her. "I'm sorry."

"Though I can't really say that in earnest when I remember exactly how everything happened… what exactly caused the miscommunications and why we still haven't spoken to each other to this day…maybe I could've handled it better, yeah, but there's no way I was in the wrong. Until he owes up to his mistakes and misinterpretations, I can do without him in my life."

"What's wrong, sweetie?"

A normally spunky thirteen-year old girl was now looking quite glum. She was balled up on her gigantic bed made just for her, in her large room that she didn't have to share with anyone… there was a suitcase that looked halfway packed on the floor, a few things strewn about here and there that seemed to make a trail towards the suitcase but never made it…

"This just doesn't feel right," she whined, though quietly. "Whenever there's a sleepover… it's always here, mama. You know why? Because I have the biggest and best room out of all my friends and the most interesting house, too. So… I've never been to my friends' houses for a sleepover before. In their… inferior houses."

Her mother just shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Sonata, is that really all? Spare me the little angst fest… but had I been in your shoes, I would've jumped at the opportunity to be anywhere other than where I was living. Now, what would your friends say, seeing you like this? Don't you think they would be offended?"

"It's DIFFERENT!" Sonata vehemently insisted. "You didn't live in a nice house like this when you were little… of course you wanted to be anywhere but that dinky little hut on that dinky little island!"

Seles, no less, was Sonata's mother. And when it came to looks, Sonata was very much her mother's daughter, sharing her hair color, eye color, and fashion sense. As far as attitude went… that was a little harder to place. Both Seles and her husband had histories of being snarky little brats, though at a near-unbearable level, neither of them reached for any length of time. This new generation seemed to lack something… something called moderation.

"Are you seriously listening to yourself?" Seles asked her daughter, as if she were crazy. Perhaps she was… "It's one night and part of a morning. No matter how much poorer than you your friends might be, I'm sure it won't have that large of an affect on you in having fun."

"I always spend my nights here," Sonata affirmed, gazing up at her decorated ceiling. "The only time I didn't sleep in this bed is when I slept in my crib as a baby and when I slept in your bed when I was scared… I can't help being nervous, mama! Don't you understand at all?"

Her mother was not captivated by the emotional delivery of reasoning in the least. "I kind of wish I could, because this is sounding beyond stupid and annoying now, Sonata… it took you this long to finally agree to a new experience. Don't you dare back out of it now. Your father and I have already made plans for tonight, and we won't be home to let you in should you decide to chicken out midway into this."

Sonata bit her lip. "Can't you and papa cancel the dinner…?"

"No." Seles was firm. She had waited too long for this upcoming night to let her spoiled daughter… well, spoil it. "Everything's been arranged, and we already put a lot of money into this. Pulling out now would just mess it all up."

"You guys always prepared better than this!" Sonata whined, grabbing her hair in frustration. "You want me to go on purpose… don't you?"

Unfortunately, Sonata had hit the nail right on the head. Not that it was unreasonable… in thirteen years, the sheltered girl rarely ventured outside of her neighborhood for a discernable length of time unless it was for school or shopping. Having her around so much, honestly… it began to grate on the parents. This was the first window of opportunity in a while to change that…

"It's not that we want to get rid of you, sweetheart," Sonata's father chimed in, leaning against the door. Seles and Sonata hadn't noticed until he spoke that he had joined in on the conversation. "But new experiences will enrich your life, you have to believe me. We Sages have traveling in our blood."

Seles smirked at that claim. "Traveling, was it? According to your sister, Genis, the only thing you have consistent in your family tree is fleeing."

"Same difference!" Genis shouted back, his mellow disposition temporarily vanishing just to prove a point to his wife. "What I'm getting at is, you have nothing to fear, Sonata. You trust your friends, right?"

"I guess so," Sonata murmured, shying away from the benevolent aura of her father. "But still…"

Genis shook his head, holding his hand out to pause her. "You owe it to them to show your loyalty as they have for you. On a grand scale, dealing with their lifestyle overnight is quite insignificant. At least they still have roofs over their head, right?"

"I didn't mean to be selfish!" Sonata wailed, flailing her arms. "I don't want to be a bad friend… but I can't help feeling what I feel!"

"Only child syndrome," Seles noted with a nod. "Oh, dear. Maybe this sleepover will help you even more than we originally thought…"

Genis also nodded in agreement. "Just what I was thinking. A little positive reinforcement, and this'll do wonders for her." Much more quietly, he leaned up towards Seles' ear and whispered, "And us too, I hope."

Seles looked a little too eager to hear that. "Well, um… Sonata, we'll leave you alone so you can finish getting ready. And don't worry; I have all the confidence in the world for you! There's no need to worry…"

"Great," Sonata mumbled, shuffling her feet back over to where her suitcase lay, and resumed packing for her overnight stay. "Now my parents have high hopes on me… that doesn't put the pressure on me at all…"

Genis and Seles hurried out of her room and shut the door. Not even a few seconds of silence passed before Seles pressed her husband against the wall and engulfed his mouth with a sudden, sultry kiss.

The black mage allowed himself to silently enjoy that for a moment before breaking it off, looking intently at the sexually frustrated woman before him. "Now, now…" he breathed out, cracking a smile. "She hasn't left yet… let's not jump the gun…"

"I can't help it," Seles argued, though still whispering. "Genis, can you honestly remember the last time we've had worthwhile sex?"

Genis looked up, checking his memory banks… he knew it wouldn't be easy to recall such a time, but it was more than that. It was borderline impossible. "Well, that's… a really good question…"

"One word: Honeymoon."

Ouch. Genis felt that like a blow below the belt. "Y-you can't be serious…!"

"Sonata never leaves," Seles pointed out. "You know how hard it is to do anything with her in the house. We can't be loud, we can't be kinky… hell, we can't even start because it's like she comes pestering us as soon as we get a chance!" She paused after that small outburst, taking some time to breathe in and out, consequently falling into Genis' embrace as a result. "It's not healthy, Genis. As much as we both work… added with raising our daughter, where do we get our reprieve?"

Genis closed his eyes solemnly. "I ask myself that every day. It couldn't be karma… I'd like to think we're not bad parents, or bad people in general."

Seles shook her head, a little frantically. "It's not healthy for her to hang around us all the time, either… she's thirteen. She needs to go out and be her own person… goodness, soon I'll have to talk to her about becoming a woman…"

"Ooh," Genis winced at that revelation. "Necessary evil. If we're dead set on ushering her out into the world, we can't send her out unaware…"

"Once she starts bringing boys home…" Seles mused, clearly worried.

"… And they start doing it on our bed…" Genis continued, gulping.

Husband and wife looked to each other before shouting simultaneously. It was short-lived, as they covered each other's mouths so as not to get Sonata's attention…

"Are you guys alright?"

… Which apparently failed. Though her call of concern was still within her room.

"Fine, dear!" Genis and Seles called back in unison. They looked back to each other full of worry. Seles was the first to move, right back towards Sonata's door. "Maybe this wasn't the best idea with the risks in mind…"

"Wait!" Genis intercepted his wife and pinned her back to the wall. "That's where our fault is, Seles! Don't you see?"

Seles was frozen in Genis' grasp, uncertain of what he meant. "See…?"

"It's not that we're bad parents," Genis explained, sounding rather enlightened. "We're just too good. We're so overprotective of Sonata that a lot of her reluctance to face the outside world is our fault! We have to have more faith in her…"

"So she'll have faith in herself…?" Seles thought to finish. Genis looked at his wife with approval. "Well, I hope you're right… there feels like a lot of moral conflict in all this…"

Genis pulled away from her, mustering his strength to resist his desires to do much more than pin his lover to the wall. "I checked with the families beforehand, anyway. It's girls-only, of course. Besides… should any boy think to crash it, I think Sonata can hold them off with her skills." He smirked. A black mage so intimate with his knowledge of magic would not allow his daughter to grow up without an appreciation for magic as well. Similarly said for Seles, she made sure to train her only child in the ways of the sword. Still a rookie, no doubt, but Seles was capable of self-defense if at all necessary, with a good balance of magic use and swordplay.

"Well, let's make sure to tell her to do that if she encounters a boy," Seles suggested. "After all, I highly doubt her friends are as naturally gifted."

"Excellent point, dear," Genis concurred, wrapping an arm around Seles' waist and pulling her close to him. Seles smirked and returned the same in kind, letting her husband know that she'd never submit to him without a fight. Persistence as such was exactly what motivated Genis… what kept him interested and intimate. It was an interesting lesson he learned during his teenaged years, but he had to admit that without Seles, there was no telling where he'd be in this present day…

"Oh, Sonata! There is something important we need to make sure you remember…"

"It's not in my nature… I feel bad for feeling the way I do, especially since it's never wavered since that day. But what happened was just… unacceptable. How could I not hate him for what he did? He wouldn't even apologize… how am I supposed to pity such an arrogant, self-centered man? I guess he has some kind of selflessness, though… even though I refuse to see him, I see his wife and daughter on a semi-regular basis. And they're both nice enough people… Sonata's a really sweet girl, come to think of it. I ought to reacquaint Rudy with her, though that would cause some complications… because then I wouldn't be able to avoid Genis. And until he admits the truth to me, the thought of even looking at him today makes me physically ill."

"If Kratos were still here, I'm sure he wouldn't stand for this. He'd make us apologize right then and there, with his no-nonsense way of doing things… maybe it is nonsense. But in my heart, I know it's right for me to be mad. It's right for me to be sorely disappointed in the man who I thought would be my best friend no matter what befell us."

"Ohh… damn him! Why won't he apologize? Can't he see… how much… I want to forgive him…?"

"Colette?"

The blonde looked up, once again interrupted from her feast. She didn't mind the pauses as she loved dinner conversations, but Lloyd's mood swings were a definite cause of concern for her. "Ah… yes, dear?"

Lloyd looked immensely troubled, struggling to say the words his inner self so direly wanted to say. They demanded to be heard, and had waited for over two decades to do so. Maybe it was a sudden and not-so appropriate time, but it had simply been too long to withhold them any longer.

"Let's… plan a reunion."

(TBC)