The silver Rheiard zoomed through the air. The rider, a small girl, began to panic as she saw the fuel level of the Rheiard drop rapidly. Beads of sweat began to fall down her face, and she brushed her pink hair out of her eyes. She continued to ride, even though she knew she would never make it Ozette with this much fuel.
Beep! Beep! Beep! The Rheiard began to spin around in the air.
"Damn it," Presea muttered under her breath. As the Rheiard spun out of control, Presea closed her eyes and waited for the worst to happen.
Presea opened her eyes. She was lying on the dirt ground in a small clearing inside the Gaoracchia Forest. A fire crackled, and a man stood above her.
"Here," he said. His voice was familiar… "Let me help you up." he offered. Presea didn't reply, and hoisted herself off the ground. "Fine." the stranger said. "Don't get help." Presea stared at the man who had built this fire, and placed her and her Rheiard in this clearing.
"Who are you?" Presea asked, tying her hair back into the ribbon she wore it in. The stranger wore all black clothes. His hair was long, and he wore it in a ponytail. His hair color was similar to that of Regal's.
Regal…
Regal's smiling face formed in her mind. How she missed him…but after the journey of regeneration two years ago, he had disappeared. Presea still missed him.
"I cannot tell you," the mysterious man answered. "I just noticed you fall, and I helped you out."
"Then…if you are just a passerby, why won't you tell me your name?" Presea asked. His cheeks flushed red, and he glared at her.
"Don't ask questions." he said angrily. "Now. I fixed your Rheiard."
"Thank you." Presea said. She walked over to her Rheiard and mounted. She started the engine, and hovered in the air. As she flew off, the man called.
"Wait! You never told me who you were!" Presea didn't turn her head.
Back on the ground, the man chuckled as he watched the Rheiard zoom away into the sky.
"See you again soon, Presea." he said, and mounted his Rheiard as he watched hers zoom away on the tracker screen.
Presea scaled the ground, searching for a town to stop in. She decided on the peaceful town of Meltokio. She landed outside the town gates, and used the wing pack to make the Rheiard smaller. She walked inside the city. It was a calm day, and the streets were buzzing with people. Presea had just returned from Lloyd's journey of collecting all the Exspheres. Lloyd's journey was almost finished, so he had let Presea leave.
But now what would she do? She had been gone for four years…Regal had disappeared, and Presea had lost contact with everyone else except for Lloyd. Presea decided to stay in Meltokio, and decide what to do next. After all, Ozette had been destroyed, and she had nowhere else to return to.
"One room please." she said to the man at the inn counter.
"That will be 300 gald." the man replied. Presea handed the money over and headed upstairs to her room. She undid her ribbons, and laid down on the bed.
All of her attention was focused on the stranger she had met earlier. Why did he help her? And most importantly, why wouldn't he give her his name? These thoughts occupied Presea's mind as she fell into a deep sleep.
She was in Ozette. She was standing next to the shop, Nature's Kitchen. Someone was standing beside her, but she couldn't place who. All she could tell was that they were happy together. A sudden sound of footsteps coming up the hill filled her ears. A stranger appeared. His whole face was cloaked in shadows, along with his body. He drew two swords, and ran towards her. She turned away quickly, but it was too late. He had already caught up with her. The stranger raised the swords over his head…
She turned to see if he would help her. He had disappeared. She turned her attention to the stranger…he brought the swords down.
Presea woke up. Beads of sweat dripped down her face, and her hair stuck to her forehead. She brushed her pink hair out of her eyes and got out of the bed. She tied her hair up into the ribbons, and walked outside. It was a couple of hours after dawn. People scrambled around everywhere, trying to get where they wanted to go.
Presea stood in the middle of the crowd, wondering what to do.
"We meet again, Presea," the voice that spoke was familiar. Presea whipped around, facing the man that had helped her the day before.
"You!" she yelled as the stranger stepped closer. He was wearing different clothes this time. Today he wore clothes similar to Yuan's, except his clothes were black and gold. He threw off his cape and pulled out a humongous sword.
"Why do you want to fight me? Presea asked. "And who are you?" she said, backing up farther. She had left her ax back in the hotel room…
"I am Nobuhiro." the man replied. "I am here to serve my master is all." He lunged for Presea, but she managed to dodge the attack. She turned left, and ran towards the sewers where she could escape.
"You're not going to escape, Presea." Nobuhiro called, following her. He finally caught up with Presea in the corner of the city. He pointed the blade of the sword at her face.
"Leave Presea ALONE!" came a familiar voice. Presea focused on the new arrival. Standing a few feet away was Genis Sage. He had grown about two feet, and his hair was also longer. He wore a black version of the clothes he had worn on the regeneration journey. In his hands was his Kendama, and he was starting to cast a spell.
"Icicle!" he called, and six sharp icicles shot out of the ground, cutting Nobuhiro in multiple places. Blood trickled from the wounds, and Nobuhiro panted. Presea sprinted off towards Genis.
"Genis." she said calmly. "Thank you for helping me. What are you doing here anyways?"
"I was off visiting Sheena in Mizuho, and decided to stop here for some cooking materials, and heard your voice. I'm glad I did too." He smiled.
At that moment, Nobuhiro picked himself up off the ground and charged towards Genis.
"Watch out!" Presea said, sprinting away towards the sewers.
Nobuhiro raised the sword over his head.
"Goodbye, Genis Sage." he said with a slim smile. He brought the sword down quickly.
"Guardian!" Genis called, and a green blast of energy blocked the attack. Genis ran around, and began to cast his next spell.
"STALAG---"he was cut off as Nobuhiro took the opportunity to attack then and there. He snuck up behind Genis, and struck the sword down his back. Blood flew into the air as Genis screamed in pain and fell to the ground.
"Presea…" he said. "Remember…." he coughed up blood. "Remember me, 'kay?" Presea nodded grimly as Genis closed his eyes, never to open them again.
Nobuhiro bent down and wiped the blood of the blade of his sword with Genis's clothes. He dropped the dead body to the ground, and approached Presea. He chuckled.
"This is where your journey ends, Presea." Nobuhiro said, beginning to laugh. He bent down and picked up the Kendama from the ground. He pointed it at a building.
"Fireballs!" he yelled, and three fireballs erupted into the building, setting it on fire. He repeated the process with every building in the city. Soon, the whole town was on fire, and Presea stared, watching the city of Meltokio meet the same fate her village had four years ago.
"Your horrible!" screamed Presea as Nobuhiro laughed at the sight.
"Evil? Hah. You don't even know the definition of evil." he laughed and came closer. He grabbed Presea by the arm, and gripped hard.
"Let go of me!" she screamed. He laughed again, and hit her on the back of the head with the hilt of his sword.
"Uhhh…." Presea said. The world became dizzy, and she blacked out.