"Father, mother! I'm heading off!" The vibrantly red headed girl yelled as she tied her sword to her waist. Her father, Tethe'alla's last chosen, Zelos and her mother, Mizuho's best summoner, Sheena were very concerned for their daughter's safety. After their last encounter with Kuchinawa, in which he swore revenge, they were very cautious about who she went to see. "All right Cassandra! Just be back before sun down. Where is your brother?" She questioned as she walked through the doorway. Since they saved Kaumi, Sheena had not changed one bit. Except she was now married and had two children. "What, am I his baby sitter now?" Cassandra retorted. Her older brother, Yukihiro, was just like her father. Loudmouthed and perverted. Although he shared the personality of Zelos, his hair was a darker red, more like a maroon, due to her mother's dark blue hair. As she said this, Yukihiro walked through the door. "Where were you? I was worried." Sheena said as she looked at him with the same look she often gave to Zelos. "I was talking to someone..." He said. He knew how his mother hated when he went off talking to random women. "You act too much like your father. By the age of ten he had all the women in the world eating out of the palm of his hand." She had not said Tethe'alla because her children didn't know that the world was not always like it was now. Cassandra decided it was best she leave while her mother talked with Yukihiro. Meanwhile, in a house near Iselia, a boy named Lee walked along side his father. "Dad, what was it like being raised by a dwarf?" He asked. He had always loved visiting Dirk, but lately Dirk seemed stressed. Lloyd looked down at his son. "Well, it's no different then being raised by me. Except you have one father and I have two." Lee looked up and saw Kratos and Kaumi standing in the middle of a clearing. "Dad!" Lloyd yelled as he waved to Kratos. Kratos waved back and looked at Lee. This was the first time he was going to have met Lee since he was three. "My god, Lee. You've gotten tall. I'm surprised." Kratos said as he walked over to them. Kaumi followed shortly after. She still had a long scar along her arm from the day half elves tried to revive Martel. Lee had always wondered what that scar was from. Lloyd looked at her arm and he looked away. "Lloyd, it wasn't your fault. It was mine, so stop sulking." Kaumi said as she pulled her glove on, covering her scar. The reason he and Lee had walked out here is because he was finally going to meet a few of Lloyd's friends. They were planing a move which would land them all in Iselia. Sheena had run out of the door and grabbed Cassandra before she went any where, having forgotten about it. Lee was excited to finally meet all the people his father had told him about. "Where is Collette?" Kratos asked. Lloyd looked up and smiled. "Trying to find Meena. She took Noishe out again. She loves nature and animals. Remind you of someone?" Kratos and Lloyd laughed. As Lee looked down at the hilt of his sword, a big bird appeared over head. As it lowered itself, he saw two people he had heard of and two others that he couldn't seem to name. Zelos jumped off the bird and helped Sheena down. A red haired girl jumped down next and then an older maroon haired boy. As Lee looked up, he saw Genis and Raine run after the bird. Raine was still teaching in Iselia and was Lee's teacher. Genis came around often because he too wanted to teach. Genis reached Lloyd. "Genis! It's been ten minutes!" Lloyd joked. Genis grabbed his shoulder, trying to catch his breath. "Presea... and Regal... going to be late..." Lloyd sighed and looked toward his house. Collette was on her way, with Meena close behind. Collette smiled when she saw Sheena. "Sheena! I've missed you! I take this girl is Cassandra." Sheena nodded. "Our daughter Cassandra and our son Yukihiro. The boy must be Lee and the girl Meena." As Collette and Sheena talked, Lee looked over at the red haired girl. He had never met her before and was interested in finding out more, but every time he looked at her, felt weak kneed. He was unsure of why this was, but he was certain he had never felt this way about anyone before. So to keep his mind off her, he went to talk to his uncle. Uncle Zelos. "Hi. I'm Lee." He said casually. Zelos looked over at him and smiled. "God. You look like Lloyd, but something about you is more like Kratos..." Kratos looked over at the mention of his name. "The hair. His hair is much longer than his father's. And his eyes are much to gentle to be mine." Zelos nodded. "You're right. He looks like Lloyd with long hair." Lee looked at Kratos. He had met him once and only once. When he was three. He had brought Kaumi in after she had stopped a monster from invading the village. The world was becoming more monster infested. Lee sighed as he thought of this. He had heard stories, stories of a world regeneration, but they were just myths. The world had always been like this, hadn't it? When he turned, he found himself face to face with Cassandra. "Hi. I'm Cassandra Wilder. Your name is?" Lee smiled. "I'm Lee Irving. Nice to meet you Cassandra." Cassandra shrugged. "Not a lot of people think so. Where ever I am, people always seem to be in trouble because of me." Lee shook his head. "It's not because of you. The world is just troubled, that's all. It has always been this way, but hopeful, it won't always have to be." Cassandra smiled. "Yes. We can only hope." She seemed to look at the sky, but whole time, her eyes never left Lee.
Chapter Two: The Girl
When Genis awoke the next day, he walked to the school in Iselia and opened the door. When he got in there, however, it was far from ordinary. An elf girl had Lee at spear point, along with Meena and their newest student, Cassandra. Lee had a long scratch mark on his cheek, but was still keeping the elven girl away from Meena and Cassandra. Cassandra was near Raine, trying to wake her up, as she had been knocked out. Meena gritted her teeth and pulled her bladed tonfa's off her back. The elf laughed. "Pay now, Lloyd Irving. Pay now for killing my father." Lee smiled. "What are you talking about? Lloyd is my father." Lee said as he pulled his blade out. Cassandra chuckled. "If the idiot would look, she would have realized that a while back." The elven girl frowned. She charged at Cassandra, her spear held out in front of her. Lee got ready to move, when he saw Genis tackle the girl. "How could she do anything if she wasn't alive? I'm the one who killed him!" He bellowed as he rose to his feet. The girl looked at him. She remembered she had seen a small half elf boy. He had somehow controlled Yggdrasill's soul. "You... I'll kill you! You murdered my father!" Genis could no longer contain his anger. "Your father was trying to revive Martel and kill all the humans! If you hate half elves so much, why did your father try to revive one?" The girl almost growled. "I need not answer the likes of you!" She finally looked up and when she did, Genis stopped. He had never seen a girl like her. Her eyes glowed green and her hair shown in the light. He had never felt the way he felt now. Not even about Presea, she was only a childhood crush, but he didn't know what the feeling that he was feeling now was. He felt like he was walking on air. Genis pulled his Kandama off his back and put it out in front of him. "I don't want to fight you. I have hoped that nothing would come to violence again." The girl smirked, but when she heard a bang outside the school, she looked terrified. She looked back at Genis and finally spoke. "My name" she started. "Is Laura. You will regret the day you crossed me." She jumped out the window and ran off. Genis ran over to Raine and helped her up. Raine shook her head and opened her eyes. When she saw Lee, she shook her head. "How could I allow myself to be caught of guard? Who was that girl anyway?" Genis looked at the window where she had jumped from. "I don't know, but she didn't like me very much. I'll tell you about it later." Raine walked over to Lee and wiped some of the blood off his face. "How did that happen? Your father is gonna kill me." Lee shrugged. "Nothing happened." Cassandra walked up behind Raine and frowned at Lee. "Raine, he protected all the class while they escaped." Raine shook her head. "Just like his father..." Raine breathed. Lee looked at her, confused, but said nothing. He looked at Cassandra. "Did she get you?" He asked, more worried than he had ever been. Cassandra shrugged. "Only a little." Raine looked at her and realized that the thick red line that was running down her face was not her hair, but blood. Raine gasped. "What happened?" Cassandra shrugged. "My big mouth almost got me killed, nothing new. It's like my brother will end up being hurt because he talks to all those girls." Raine took the girls headband off her forehead and felt around for the wound. When she saw Cassandra flinched, she knew she had the right place. She took her head band and tied it tight around her forehead once more, except now it was covering the wound. Lee recalled what his father had said. Cassandra's house is too far away to reach to get her help. I'll bring her to my house and get her wrapped up. Lee felt Cassandra run her finger across his cut. "You're bleeding quite a bit for just a scratch. Let's go to your place and get taken care of." Lee nodded. Meena looked at them and smiled. "Okay you guys, let's go." Raine stopped Meena and pointed where she once knelt. The floor had drips of blood on it. "That you or your brother?" She asked. Meena nodded towards Lee. "Him, I wasn't touched by that... thing." Lee shook his head. "Yeah, probably because you didn't speak up. You were the only smart one." Meena shook her head. "I'm just a coward. I couldn't stop her from hurting you. I'm sorry." Lee smiled. "Hey, just because you're a minute older than me, doesn't mean anything." Meena smiled as she walked out the door. To their surprise, there, at the entrance of the village, stood Noishe. Lee helped Cassandra on and then Meena jumped one. "I'll walk beside him, okay?" Lee asked as he started Noishe off. Meena stopped Noishe. "I don't think so. I'll walk along side Noishe and you ride on him." Lee tried to protest, but Meena jumped off and shoved him on. Lee felt his back hit against Cassandra and he grabbed her hand to make sure she didn't fall off. Cassandra grabbed Lee's shoulder to keep her balance. Meena pushed her back up and started Noishe up. "I'm sorry Cassandra. You almost fell off." Lee half laughed. Cassandra gripped her head and smiled. "Yeah, it's okay. Just a little bit unstable." Meena ran beside them as Noishe began to run faster. Meena had speed to make up for strength. She also had stealth to make up for courage. She just wasn't used to the monsters and after the monster that attacked her at age six, she couldn't face danger. I think too much of myself. She thought as she ran along. Lee was in trouble and I didn't even have the guts to say anything. I'm going to change that. Meena stopped running once they reached the house and opened the door. Lee followed shortly after with Cassandra at his heels. Collette was waiting for both of them in the front room. "What happened to you two?" She asked calmly. She took the bandages out of the cupboard and sat them both down. Cassandra said nothing. She was wincing at every movment she made. Collette took the headband off her forehead and examained the wound. She then cleaned the wound and wrapped it up. She moved onto to Lee and examined his cheek. She was horrified when she found out that his wound was poisoned. "Lloyd! Lloyd, Lee is..." She couldn't finish her sentence before Lloyd ran into the room, his face the picture of fear. "What happened? Who did this?" Just as he asked that question, Lee fell to his knees, panting and gasping for air. Collette's face turned white as she rushed over to him. Shaking his head, Lloyd ran outside. "I'm going to get Raine! Keep him alive, please Collette." Collette nodded, but before Lloyd could leave, Cassandra grabbed his shoulder. "I'll get her. You need to stay with your son." Lloyd shook his head, but Cassandra wouldn't give in. "It's my fault he was poisoned! I need to return the favor. I'm sick or people losing their lives because of me!" "Fine. Just hurry! Raine will probably still be at the school, if not ask Genis!" Cassandra paid no attention to Lloyd as she jumped on Noishe and rode off, but every moment, Lee was getting closer to death. Chapter Three: Remembering the Past Cassandra rode on until she reached the small school house of Iselia. "Raine! Raine please come with me! Lee was poisoned!" Cassandra bellowed as she opened the door. Raine slammed her book shut. "You mean from this morning?" She asked as they mounted Noishe. Cassandra didn't answer, but didn't panic either. She was stern and calm. Just like Sheena and Zelos. Raine thought to herself. Cassandra looked ahead and saw the faint figure of Lloyd's house, hoping that she wasn't too late. Lee was still breathing in big gasps as he scavenged for air and life. Collette was crying now and she couldn't be blamed. Her son was near death and the worst thing was there was nothing she could do about it. Lloyd was pacing around the room, tears rolled silently down his cheeks. Collette jumped when she heard Cassandra yank the door open. Meena had just placed a cold cloth on Lee's head and was the calmest of all of them. She knew that her brother's only chance was if they stayed calm. Although she was terrified inside and wanted to join her mother, she had to keep her cool. Lee would be fine. He's too strong to just give up. Raine ran in. She instantly pulled her staff out and recited a spell. "Recover!" She said sternly as she put the top of her staff over his wound. He began breathing regularly and everyone heard Collette sigh with relief. Lloyd smiled as Lee's eyes opened up and Cassandra held back her erge to wrap her arms around him. She was glad to see her friend alive. Raine wiped the sweat from her brow. "Thank you so much Raine." Collette hugged Raine as she spoke. Lloyd shook her hand. "Thank you. If it weren't for you, my son would be dead." Raine shrugged. "You've seen me do this many times before." Raine looked at Lee, who was looking at her strangely. "You have to tell them." She whispered to Collette before she walked out the door. Collette looked at Lloyd and nodded. "Cassandra, I'm going to send you on rehaird to go get your mother, father and brother. Lee, Meena, we need to talk. "About what?" Lee asked. "What was Professor Sage talking about?" Lloyd shook his head. "We need Sheena and Zelos to be here first. Then we are going to tell you about our past." Lee looked puzzled. Meena shook her head. "You mean, you and mom and all the others?" Lloyd nodded. "We were all involved with something that changed the world forever." Lee seemed to space out. What could they possibly done? Were they like the hero Mithos? Once Cassandra came back, her brother, mother and father were with her. "It appears it is time. Who will start?" Sheena asked as she walked in the door. Lloyd looked at Collette. She nodded and wings seemed to grow out of her back. Lloyd smiled as she floated back down to the ground. Zelos was next. His orange wings grew from out of his back and Cassandra was stunned. Sheena's eyes filled with sorrow as she remembered the world before the one they were in. Lloyd pulled his swords out and they formed into one. The Eternal sword. Meena grabbed her head. "Father, you mean to tell me that you're th hero Mithos?" Lloyd laughed. "No. Mithos was friends with my father. All my friends and I defeated Mithos when he tried to create a world of lifeless beings, or Exspheres. Like the ones your mother and I wear. Also like the ones on your very hands. We knew the day would come when you would have to find out the truth, so we decided you had to be prepared." Lee looked over at Cassandra. She was looking at her hand, an orange gem embedded in her hand. Lee looked down at his own Exsphere. It was a emerald green color and he had always been told it was special in some way. All though he had no idea how an Exsphere could be special, he believed his parents all the same. His mom had told him that it had once belonged to one of there friends. Which friend he was not sure. "But mother," Cassandra started. "You have told me time and time again that my Exsphere came from a fallen comrade." Sheena looked down at the ground and smiled a sorrowful smile. "Yes. My good friend from Mizuho, or more like my trainer, was turned into an Exsphere." Cassandra looked at her hand again. "Yes. I was taught how Exsphere were made by Professor Raine. We were about to go into the history of our world when that that woman attacked." Sheena tilted her head in confusion. "What in Martel's name are you talking about? Who attacked who?" Meena shook her head. "You're right Cassandra. You have a large mouth that never shuts." Lee hit Meena over the head. "It's not like we were trying hide it. A half elf attacked our school, thinkin that I was my dad. You should have seen it! Genis came out of nowhere and..." Lloyd grabbed Lee's shoulders. "Genis? What did Genis do?" Lee smiled. "He tackled her and pulled his Kandama out on her. She ran like a little girl! No offense." He said as he looked over at all the girls. Lloyd sighed with relief. "Okay. Well, the world seems to be falling apart again. We're going to have to fix it." Lee lifted his eyebrow. "So let me get this straight, we have to kill all these monsters?" Lloyd semi nodded. "Yes and no. We have to stop the people who attacked you. They want more than just our lives. They want so much more." Lee gripped his sword handle. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get these people and give them judgement!"