Spiritua Masquerade: You may recognize me from my collab with Meowzy-chan, Forsaken. Yeah. This is my second fic, and again I'm collaborating with a far better writer than myself. So… Don't expect much, but bear with me. By the way the way, here's the situation on the two worlds: they are still as they were, but the connection is way more stable. There's a Great Tree in each world, and each town has a Rheiard Station of sorts to travel between the two worlds. Now for my chapter. Enter: Yuan.

When I woke up this morning, I never would have thought I'd see her again. When I walked down the deserted halls of my once glorious Renegade base, closing my eyes to see them when the base was in it's prime. When I ate alone at the table meant for a hundred, a meal of cold and sticky oatmeal, knowing that not so long ago she'd sat there with me. When I read and reread the same two sheets of paper, inside information sent by my two correspondents, remembering the days when I had stacks three feet high of reports to pore over. When I sat back in my chair and remembered how I'd always hated it, the hustle and bustle of the base, the massive workload… When I promised I'd never again take something so for granted.

When I heard a harsh pounding on my massive door, disturbing me from my thoughts. When I cursed aloud at the interruption, yet rose to answer it anyways. When I heard a familiar voice, desperately crying my name. Even when I opened my door to a familiar golden-haired angel, her eyes rimmed with tears of distress. Even when a silver-haired half-elven boy was spotted crouching beside a limp figure on the ground behind her, I never would have thought I'd have to see her again.

Her.

Raine Sage.

The one that turned my base from a home to a hellhole.

The one that left this feeling of emptiness deep in my gut.

The one that I hate more than anyone.

But it's not that simple. If I hate her, why does the empty feeling remain? Perhaps because she gave me a taste of what could be, and I'm hungry for more. Perhaps because she showed me what it was like to be cared about. That was before she left, of course. She worked for so long to get my guard down, to get me to let her into my mind, then when she finally got it, she up and left without reason. It was all just a game to her… I should have known. She was too smart to love me for long. If at all. Heh.

I was so shocked to see her that I actually froze in place. Only when Colette and Genis brought me back to reality with a "…Y-yuan?" and a "Come on, you idiot Renegade, she needs help!" could I move once more. I invited them in, told them to take any of the rooms. They're all empty nowadays anyways. Well, except for two, but one's my room, and both are too far toward the center of the base for those three to bother with. Yet I didn't follow them. I couldn't, though I don't quite know why.

Instead, I returned to my office, finishing the report I was reading, as well as reading the last one, before tidying up my desk. I leaned back in my chair, gazing absently at the ceiling and wondering what I'd done to deserve being cursed this way, having her return to my base once more. After a few minutes, I shook the thoughts from my head. If she was here, she was here, and there was nothing I could do about it, so I might as well not sit around and complain. I looked to my clock, hanging on the wall opposite my desk. It had been two and a half hours since I'd let them in. If I grabbed some lunch on the way, it'd be three hours. Plenty enough time to wake up in the company of her friends, I thought.

And still I think that, fully fed and walking down the vast main hallway. The echo of my footfalls is the only sound I can hear against the silence that has made itself at home in my domain. It sounds strangely out of place, foreboding even.

No, Yuan, don't be an idiot. The enemy is outside, remember? And for all they know, the Triet Base is nonexistent. It can only be seen by those who know exactly where it is, without a doubt in their mind. A clever bit of cloaking magic I set up myself but a few days ago. It's impossible to trick, and I know that. Am I getting paranoid? Heh, after four-thousand years, I've finally cracked. Not.

A sharp right turn brings me into a smaller hallway, this one filled with doors. I know the Chosen, the half-elf, and her are in one of the rooms, I'm just not yet sure which one. Wait… I pause. I hear voices. Coming from… THERE! Sure of my realization, I confidently stride over to the door in question, knocking three times. All goes silent inside for a moment, and I assume they're all glancing at each other wonderingly. At last, I hear a bright, cheery voice call, "Come in!"

I open the door, and am immediately caught under the harsh gaze of two half-elves and the not-so-harsh one of the tiny angel. She giggles slightly, waving a hand back and forth in greeting.

"Hi, Yuan!" she bubbles, smile ever-present. Someday, I'm going to find out how she does this. I haven't seen her stop smiling, not once since I met her. Aside from the brief period when she was lifeless, but I'm not going to count that against her.

"Hello, Yuan." Comes a slightly chilled voice beside me, and I don't have to wonder a moment at who it would be. Genis. The silver-haired boy —though by the way he's grown, he's scarcely a boy any longer, getting up to about my height— never did like me, and after what happened with his sister, I'm surprised he hasn't tried to kill me in my sleep. Though I may have spoke too soon, by the way he's glaring at me. I meet his gaze, staring right back. Though my gaze is a bit less spiteful. Okay, a lot less spiteful. However, after a moment, he looks away, deciding this the wrong time to settle things.

I now have nowhere else to look but to the third person in the room, the one whom I never thought I'd see again. Never wanted to see again. Raine.

The moment I look her way, our gazes meet, fixated upon each other. Though her eyes are cold, they aren't hateful like Genis'… No, instead they regard me as more of a stranger. For some reason, this in itself hurts worse than if she'd hated me.

"Raine," I start, nodding a greeting. Yet whatever I intended to say will never be finished, for she speaks before I can.

"Yuan." Her voice is strangely even, though colder than Flanoir's winter, and she inclines her head slightly in greeting. I tear my gaze from hers, looking to the ground. Please, Raine, hate me. It'd be better than this, this cold indifference… But you know that, don't you? You know what will get to me, and you're using that to your advantage. I hate you, Raine. Or, at least, I'm trying to.

After a minute, I become keenly aware that two more beings are watching this exchange as well, one with wide, innocent eyes and the other with narrowed ones. I clear my throat audibly, to help relieve the awkward silence.

"Oh!" Colette starts, her face alight with realization. But then she paused, an expression of thoughtfulness on her face. I sigh slightly. She must have remembered something, but forgotten it again. Knowing Colette, this is gonna take a while. The three of us watch her expectantly as she tries to re-remember. "Oh yeah!" She turns to me. "Thank you, Yuan, for letting us use one of your rooms!"

The two behind me mumble grudging 'thank you's, and I nod, unsure of what to say.

"Of course I would. We're on the same side, are we not?" I reply, and she nods eagerly, grinning from ear to ear.

Suddenly the door bursts open behind me. I whirl around, to come face to face with Sheena, breathing hard, with her usually neat hair a bit of a mess.

"Sheena?"

"Sheena?"

"SHEENA!" A blur of blonde flies past my head, and the next thing I see, Colette is clinging to the ninja like she hasn't seen her in years. Sheena laughs slightly, hugging the bouncy Chosen back before peeling herself from the angel-strong grip. The tiny angel takes no obvious offense, flouncing back to her seat and smiling even wider than before.

"Sorry I'm late, this idiot-" At which point, the summoner sends a pointed glare at me, "-didn't tell me we had visitors."

Though Colette remains smiling joyfully, the other two look dumbstruck.

"We have visitors? WE?" Genis is the one who voices their thoughts. Sheena laughs uncomfortably, glaring at me once more, though this time I swear I don't deserve it.

"Yes, we. I've been staying here in Triet with Yuan to aid him in the resistance." She explains, though they look just as confused as before.

"Err… Resistance?" Raine repeats blankly.

"It's where you resist stuff," explains Colette, which clears things up right away. Not. Oh well. At least she tried. I look to Sheena, who I find is already looking at me, a look of disbelief on her face.

"You haven't told them? What kind of an idiot are you?" She fumes, and I manage not to flinch. Sheena sometimes gets scary when she's angry…

"I didn't have time, I just-"

"It doesn't matter." She interrupts, and turns to face the half-elves and the Chosen. "A group of angels who call themselves the Elite have formed a plan, dubbed Project H.E.A.T., and the eventual outcome of said plan will be their complete domination of the world."

"Assuming Yuan didn't do it, how did they become angels? Isn't the only way to become an angel to have angel powers bestowed upon you by one whose already an angel?"

"What does H.E.A.T. stand for?"

"Why would they do such a thing!"

"All good questions," Sheena continued, "But, sadly, we don't know the answer to any of them. We have a theory for the third, but it's far too unstable to let out into the open as of yet. I can tell you what we do know, however. We know that they are based in a citadel on the west side of Triet, near the shore. We know that they have highly advanced technology that outdates anything we have here, and it's likely they got it from Tethe'alla, which means they have ways of commuting goods between the two worlds, whereas the rest of us only have single and double-seated rhieards. We know that they are all amazingly strong, though if the fighting is one on one we could likely win. The problem is, there's enough of them that if we stormed the citadel, the five of us, we'd each be fighting four full-fledged angels. Lastly, we know that they can't dominate the world without a pact with Origin or the Eternal Sword. I'm holding the pact with Origin, so as long as I remain alive, that's safe. Our priority should be to find Lloyd and bring him here to relative safety, but we have no clue at all where he is, and we're swiftly running out of men to help us. The Renegades were disbanded when the war against Cruxis ended, but when Yuan tried to call them back, only around twenty came. Ten were lost when we first tried to infiltrate the citadel, and five more were picked off one by one when sent out to scout. The remaining five are growing worried for their lives, and we're not sure we can trust them to remain loyal if the going gets much rougher. So it's just the five of us."

For quite a while, the three sit in stunned silence. Finally, Genis breaks the silence.

"Wow."

"Yeah, I know! Sheena sounded almost exactly like the Professor!" Colette giggles.

"No, I mean... We have a lot of work to do, if we're gonna stop these losers."

"No we don't." A sharp, voice comes from the bed in the corner. All eyes look to Raine, surprised. "We don't have any work to do. Sheena, I'm sorry for your losses, but me and Genis are just passing through. Good luck on your resistance movement, but my brother and I will not be participating. In fact, I'm feeling much better now, so I think we'd better be going. We're passing through Triet to collect some supplies and perhaps stay a night, then we're continuing on our journey."

If they were shocked at Sheena's speech, they're even more so at Raine's announcement. I admit, even I am a bit surprised. I can't help but wonder if she'd help if I weren't involved…

"Raine, are you serious? We HAVE to help them! I'm going to stay no matter what you say. I'm not going to let the world be destroyed just because of my sister's selfish emotions!" Genis shouts, and Raine's eyes widen a moment, before she narrows them in challenge.

"You will come if I tell you to come, Genis Sage. And don't even start to pretend you understand how my mind works, because you don't." She hisses. Colette and Sheena watch with widened eyes. I'm guessing Raine's never taken this tone with Genis before? Yes, that's likely it. I look to Sheena —I've been doing that a lot lately, haven't I?— and she looks halfway between angry and distressed. Either way, I can tell she's not going to interrupt, lest Raine turns her anger on the ninja. So I suppose it's my job.

"Triet? If that's where you're headed, you'll be dead in twenty-four hours."

All eyes turn to me. Including hers.

She glares at me with her familiar piercing eyes narrowed. I gaze right back, my own eyes slowly narrowing as well. I can sense the others watching the staredown, wondering who's to win. The tension between us is so strong, I can feel it, a feeling similar to being charged with static electricity. That's the half-elf in me; if any emotion is strong, I can feel it. After what seems like forever, she sighs, averting her gaze.

"I suppose you're going to explain yourself?" Her voice is still cold, but at least the staredown is over.

"Indeed. The Elite have got a stranglehold on Triet, and anyone who goes in right now will likely be killed. All in all, the safest place in Sylvarant right now is here in the Triet Base." I explain. After a moment in which I assume she's processing what I said, she nods.

"Then we stay."

"YEAH!" Genis cheers, throwing a fist in the air, and Colette grins in celebration. Sheena, however, merely smiles slightly and nods.

"I'm glad." her voice is soft, though after a moment her smile fades and her usual strong tone is resumed. "Now, like I said, our first priority is to find Lloyd."

I sense a sudden change, a sudden chill. And since my Cruxis Crystal prevents me from feeling hot or cold, I know that this chill is coming from one of the four other occupants of this room. The chill I've come to know as grief. I look around me, and my eyes come to rest on Colette. The tiny angel's eyes are rimmed with tears. I look away, pretending I haven't noticed, for I know not how to go about comforting her, and if I were to just stand there and watch, it'd be quite awkward for us both.

"Ll-Lloyd is…" she starts, her voice cracking, "on h-his exsphere journey. W-with… P-Presea."

Sheena looks to the golden-haired Chosen, her eyes suddenly sympathetic. She steps across the room, coming to stand beside Colette and silently enveloping the blonde in a hug of reassurance. After a moment, she stepped back, holding Colette by the shoulders at arm's distance.

"Do you know where he is right now? I know it may hurt, but…" She trails off, unsure of how to finish.

Colette smiles slightly. "It's okay, Sheena. I know this is important to saving the world. And... I'm not positive where he is now. I heard he was going to head for the northern continent first and work his way back down and around to Triet, then return to Iselia for a while." Apparently realizing how weak her voice sounds, she forces her smile to widen reassuringly.

"And he left about three years ago…" chimed in Genis.

"So that means he'll be around…" I begin, doing the math in my mind.

"Triet." Once again, that chilled voice from the corner surprised us. We all looked to the scholar, who looked away, apparently still fighting an internal battle over whether or not to be helpful.

"Triet." Sheena echoed, a note of dread in her voice.

"We have to find him before they do." I confirm.

"If they go after Lloyd, they have to go through me!" Genis declares, his eyes ablaze with determination.

"That wouldn't be too hard," giggles Colette, earning her a slightly dirty look from Genis. Only slightly though. He, like everyone else, finds it impossible to be angry with the young, naïve, bubbly Colette.

"Coleee-eeette!" He whines. "You're starting to sound like Ll-"

Obviously he thought better of finishing.

Sheena turns to the three visitors. "So it's agreed? You're all staying?"

"Yep!" Colette beams, the tears on her cheeks nearly dried.

"Hell yeah!" Genis agrees, the content of his agreement earning him a whack upside the head with the blunt side of his sister's staff. All eyes turned to Raine, who hesitated. After a moment, she sighed.

"Yes, all right. I'm in."

Spiritua: Hehehe… I had so much fun with that. Oh the drama! Mwahaha…

D-wings: I don't know what you're talking about, Spiritua! You're a great writer! Ahem, and now to the readers: we put out the problem right away, which is kinda against my style, but definately in Spiritua's. If you read my RUNAWAY stories you know there's like a ballion chapters before we find out what the hell is going on. Ehe.. yeah. HOORAY SPIRITUA! she motivates me to get off my lazy ass and write the damn chapter and not a filler. Plus, she wrote a chapter longer than I did, which gives her 500 brownie points. Yay!

Next Chapter: Inside The Mind of an Angel.