Well, from the sound of things, the first chapter was okay! So here comes the second one, and hopefully it'll be even better!

Genis awoke to a bloodcurdling scream that sounded like it was coming from right next to him, which it was. He turned his head and saw an elf, not much older than himself, being poked and prodded with a glowing hot branding iron. Wincing as he watched the metal object fall with great force onto the young elf's head, Genis forced himself to tear his eyes away and get a better look at his surroundings. He was in a cage, and was surrounded by several others which were filled with elves being tormented in one way or another. Some, like the boy next to him, were being branded, others were being whipped with whips enhanced by magic, and still others were in boiling hot baths of water. "Hey," The Desian who had obviously been in charge of the elf next to him called to the others, "That half-elf kid's awake."

Genis knew instantly that it was him that they were talking about, and he braced himself for the worst... But nothing ever came. Instead, he heard a smooth voice that he recognized as his attacker's leader, speaking to him. "Now, little boy, we're not going to hurt you..."

Opening his eyes to glare at the Desian, Genis added, "Yet."

Smirking, the Desian said, "Yes, not yet. Tell us where Raine Sage is, and we'll have no reason to hurt you."

With a mental sigh of relief at the knowledge that his sister was still safe, Genis replied, "I'm not going to help you hurt Raine!" Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a whip lash out at him, striking him hard across the face. It wasn't the leader that had done it, but rather one of the other Desians, who Genis had seen mercilessly beating an elf just moments before.

"Come, now. We're not your enemy, we're half-elves just like you."

"Desians are my enemy! I can't help that I'm a half-elf, but I'm not a Desian, and I never will be one!" This response earned him another lashing from the whip, which he determined was enhanced with some sort of ice-elemental spell.

"Master Trenton, sir!" A group of armored Desians came running through the steel doors on the wall opposite of Genis. They came to a stop in front of the Desian who Genis now assumed was named Trenton and bowed down on one knee.

"Did I not tell you that I do not want to be bothered while I'm talking to this boy?" Trenton hissed at his men, kicking one of them in the chest, causing him to fall onto his side.

"It's urgent, sir. One of the patrols claims to have seen Raine Sage and Lloyd Irving heading this way!"

"Lloyd?!" Genis couldn't restrain his surprise, though he instantly hated himself for it.

Trenton smirked, glancing back at Genis before returning his gaze to his men. "Very well, engage the outdoor magic sensors and set trap twenty-nine C, as well as thirteen F."

"Sir!" The Desians confirmed in unison before rushing off to complete their new orders.

"W-wait," Genis began, "Don't go after them. I'll work with you instead. I won't complain, I swear!" The thought of Lloyd and Raine being captured by the Desians and forced to bend to their will sickened him. Lloyd was more important, anyway. He had a job to do, and Genis did not. He couldn't let the Desians get to Lloyd, and he wanted to keep his sister safe too, even if that mean selling his soul to the Desians.

Smirking, Trenton replied, "Well it's too late to change your mind now, kid. Raine is the one we want, and since they're clearly so important to you, I'm sure you'll make an excellent lure for them. We'll catch two fish with one worm."

"I won't let you!" Genis yelled defiantly, though he knew there really wasn't much he could do to stop them. He was vastly out-numbered and more or less un-armed. Yes, he had his magic, but it was almost impossible to concentrate with screams coming from all around him and a Desian prepared to strike him with a whip at any moment. Apparently, Trenton was well aware of this, because he didn't look in the least bit afraid.

"We don't need your approval, we just need you to lure Raine and Lloyd to us." With this, the Desian snapped his fingers, and the next thing Genis knew, the door to his cage was open and handcuffs were in place. He glared at his restraints, then at Trenton, who commanded, "Now be a good little boy and bring them to us." With this, he was dragged out of the safety of his cage and through the steel doors he'd seen the guards come bursting through earlier. He was forced with his back against an electrified fence, but he somehow managed to make himself refrain from screaming in agony, for fear that it would only make Lloyd and Raine show up faster. He didn't have to worry about this for long, anyway, as soon enough he had a rolled-up handkerchief tied around his face, serving as a gag. His handcuffs were removed, and he was tied to the fence in six places- his neck, both of his hands, both of his legs, and his chest, completely immobilizing him. They weren't just any ropes, either. They were thin strands of metal that had been wrapped around each other until they formed a thick, heavy rope that, as Genis soon discovered, was an excellent electrical conductor.

"Now, just wait here and watch as we capture your friends." Trenton told Genis, walking past him and back into the building. Genis knew there were other Desians watching him, probably from all angles, just waiting for Lloyd or Raine to come running at him. And they didn't have to wait long.

As they walked, Raine explained to Lloyd that the Desians were planning to use elves, and perhaps even half-elves, in place of humans for their experimentation, and how that plan had come about. "A Desian named Trenton Pearson stumbled upon old research records that had been left behind when the building was destroyed before the Journey of World Regeneration. Apparently, these documents implied that the magical power that elves and half-elves have may work better with the exspheres. He intends to use this information to bring back the Desian rule and to create more powerful exspheres than the world has ever seen. But he wants me to help him because he believes that the fact that I helped to regenerate the world might give me a bit of influence over elven communities. So now they've kidnapped Genis to get me to agree to work with them."

Lloyd glared at nothing in particular, "Why Genis? They could've kidnapped any of your students and gotten the same result, knowing you." He pointed out, knowing full well that Raine would go out of her way to protect her students from harm.

"Yes, that's what I thought, too," Raine agreed, "Which is why I believe that if I refuse to join them, they will use Genis for experimentation to get to me. As I said, they are targeting both elves and half-elves, and because there aren't many half-elves who aren't already Desians..." She let her voice trail off there, glancing over at Lloyd.

"They're going to use him for their experiments?!" Lloyd snapped, turning to look at Raine as he raised his voice, completely enraged. He'd already lost his mother to the Desians thanks to their so-called experiments, and he didn't want Genis to face the same fate.

"Keep your voice down!" Raine scolded, "We're getting close now, so we have to be quiet!" She took a moment to calm herself before adding, "I know you're worried about him... I am too. But we'll get him out of there."

When Raine said this, another thought struck Lloyd. "Professor... You're not thinking of joining them to free Genis, are you?"

"If it comes to that, I'll have no choice," Raine admitted softly after a brief moment of silence.

"There's got to be another way." Lloyd stated firmly, "And we'll find it. I'm not leaving until we're all together."

"Lloyd..." It was that moment that they spotted the clearing just outside of the old human ranch, and they both froze, slowly inching over to the edge of it.

One thing stood out to both of them like a sore thumb, "Genis!" Lloyd ran out from the safety of the trees to rescue his friend, who was frantically shaking his head 'no.'

"Lloyd, wait, it's a trap!" Raine called, but she knew it was already too late. Lloyd was now beside Genis, untying his gag to allow him to speak.

Coughing, Genis sputtered, "Lloyd, don't let Raine use magi-" He was cut off when the same cords that were holding Genis to the fence wrapped around Lloyd, pinning him against it as well. Lloyd, who had no reason to remain silent, screamed in agony when his side slammed into the electricity that was now holding him in a tight embrace. The electricity's intensity had increased as the wires pulled Lloyd to the fence, making it even more painful for both of the boys. Wincing, Genis looked over at his sister, who was raising her staff. He wanted to call out to her, but he knew that if he opened his mouth, all that would escape would be a scream. It wasn't long before the Desians were pinning her to the ground.

"Let her go!" Genis finally yelled, unable to contain himself any longer. Lloyd turned his head slightly just in time to see Raine being dragged across the grass towardsthem. What hurt him the most was not that there was not that there was nothing he could do to help her, as would usually be the case, but rather that it was his own fault. "Lloyd," Genis mumbled, getting the brunette's attention immediately. "Can you move your left hand?"

After testing this, he replied, "Yeah, why?"

"Give me your exsphere. We can't let the Desians have it." Genis replied, forcing his own hand to inch closer to Lloyd's.

"If I don't have it, won't it be easy to assume you do? You and Raine were the only ones near me." Lloyd pointed out.

"I know, but I have an idea. Just trust me on this one, okay?" Genis looked back at Lloyd, his expression conveying nothing but sincerity.

"I trust you, Genis..." Lloyd's hand slipped closer to Genis's and he allowed the half-elf to remove the exsphere and hold it tightly. Really, Lloyd didn't know why Genis had asked for his trust... Genis had already shown Lloyd that he was a trustworthy and loyal friend. Still, Lloyd was confused... What was Genis planning?

Yes, what IS Genis planning?