"Interesting…" Regal said, rubbing his chin with his right hand. Presea had just finished explaining to the President of the Lezareno Company of the current situation that was arising. "Well," Regal said. "Shall we find the others and tell them about this also?"

"Yes," Presea replied. "But first, I need to buy a new axe."

"Then we shall wait until tomorrow to depart." Regal said. "I'd be honored if you were my guest."

"All right," agreed Presea. "I think," Presea said. "I think I'll go visit my sister. After all, it's been awhile since I last saw her." Presea rose from the chair, and walked back to the elevator. She pressed the button for the roof of the company, and the elevator set off. As it stopped on the roof of the building, Presea steppd in front of the grave. She sat down crosslegged in front of the grave, and stared at where he sister rested. Lost in memories of the past with her sister, before her father died, before the exsphere had been planted in her body, Presea didn't noticed the tall shadow forming behind her. She quickly turned around, to see Regal standing behind her.

"Oh," she said with a sigh of relief. "It's you, Regal."

"Yes," he said. "Well, it's…good to see you again, Presea." Regal said, standing beside the girl.

"Yes, you too." she said. "If you don't mind, could I have a moment alone with my sister?"

"Of course," Regal said, understanding. "I'm sorry to have bothered you." He left the roof of the Lezareno company and returned to his office.

"Alicia…" Presea said. "I've returned from my journey with Lloyd. Now that I think about it, Lloyd's almost like an older brother to me now. He saved me more than once on that journey." Even though Presea knew that her sister wouldn't reply, it still comforted her to talk after six long years of being away from…would she call Altamira her new home? After all, her sister resided here…Presea wondered if there was another reason she felt so much at home in this delightful seaside place.

Presea placed her hand on the grave. "Goodbye again, Alicia. I'll take care." She left the roof of the building, and back to Regal's office.

"Alright, I'm ready."

"Okay." Regal said, signing a slip of paper on his desk. "I have a little more work to do. Can you come back here in about…half an hour?"

"Sure," Presea replied, and left the Lezareno Company. She rode the Elemental Expressway back to the station, and decided to go to the hotel. She could probably buy a new axe there.

Presea walked over to the enormous hotel, passing the bunny girls as she made her way to the second floor of the hotel. Resting a hand on the counter to Wild Card, she assured the storekeeper that she didn't need any help and could get her own weapon. As her eyes gazed on the magical cards next to it reminded her of Sheena, whom she thought of as a great friend. An enormous axe, with a thin, yet sturdy handle and a sleek looking enormous blade suddenly caught Presea's eye. It was perfect; and a perfect fit in her hands as well. She picked it up, and turned it in her hands. It was amazingly light, but everything seemed to hold up like it was supposed to.

"I'll take this ax," Presea said to the man at the counter.

"That will be 3600 gald," the man said. Even though the price was high, Presea paid for the weapon and left the hotel. Carrying the heavy package over her shoulder, Presea went and stood over the ledge of the water. She placed the package containing the ax on the ground, and watched the water drift away as a tall, familiar shadow appeared.

"Presea," said a deep voice. Regal was suddenly standing beside her. "Are you ready to go to my house for the night, or do you want to spend some more time in the city?" Presea looked up at the man, who was now only about two feet taller than her.

"I'm ready to leave," she replied.

"Then let us go." Regal said. "Follow me. This might be a long walk." Regal led Presea to the outskirts of Altamira.

"Regal…" Presea said. "Where do you live? You never told us back during the Journey of Regeneration…"

A thin smile formed on Regal's lips. "You'll see in a few minutes,
he said. "I promise. Now, come." Regal walked through the town gates, and motioned for Presea to follow. She had stayed rooted to the spot, caught up in watching something float in the river from a distance. It looked to be kind of like a boat. Finally she moved closer to Regal, and the two left Altamira.

Regal and Presea walked down a dirt path, on the small island that contained Altamira. A tall forest came into view, but the couple avoided it and continued to travel.

"What's in there?" Presea asked.

"They say there is a secret contained in that forest, but I have been there many times, and there is no such secret."

"Interesting." Presea said. They made the rest of the trip in silence. Finally, on the edge of the lengthy island, a large house loomed in the distance.

"Is that your house?" Presea asked. Regal showed a hinted a smile and nodded, as the extravagant house came closer and closer. The couple arrived at the double doors. Regal opened them, and cool air blasted Presea's face. The air was refreshing after being in the heat for the long walk. The front door opened into a lavishly furnished living room, with many couches and chairs scattered around the room. A coffee table was in the center of the room, and a red velvet staircase on the left side. Four doors lead to different rooms.

"Alphonse," Regal called, and a man wearing a black suit with slicked over hair appeared in front of him. "Take my guest, Presea, to her room. Dinner will be ready soon, Presea." Presea nodded and followed Alphonse up the staircase, through a short hallway, and into a large wooden door.

"I will come to get you when dinner is ready, miss." Alphonse said. Presea nodded as Alphonse left, closing the door behind him. Presea walked into the bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror. She looked weary, and depressed. Her face was pale, and her eyes dreary.

You never get good sleep at those inns, she thought to herself. Presea splashed cold water on her face, and watched the water drip down onto the countertop as a knock came at the door.

"Dinner is ready, miss Presea." Presea dried off her face with a towel and walked out of the door. She followed Alphonse through the house and through a backdoor, into a massive courtyard, filled with flowers of all kinds and colors. The courtyard gave Presea a feeling of peace and calmness. A small table was in the center of all the hedges, with Regal sitting in one of the two chairs. He motioned for Presea to join him, and Presea walked over to the table and sat down.

"Hello, Presea." Regal said. "The food should be out here soon." He smiled, but as quickly as his smile appeared, it disappeared and Regal became deadly serious. "Presea, why did you come to me first? You could have gone and saw Sheena, or Colette, or Zelos…why'd you choose me?" Presea's face turned a shade of dark red as she strained her mind to find an answer.

"Well…" Presea said, not sure why nothing would come to mind. It wasn't like she was keeping a secret from Regal or anything…or was she?

"You can tell me, Presea. I trust what you say."

"I like Altamira. It's a peaceful town. And I figured that I'd need to visit my sister sometime." she paused at stared at Regal, who nodded to keep going. "And…you're a smart guy, I figured you would have the best strategy as for what to do."

"I see…" Regal said. At that moment, Alphonse appeared, with two plates of steaming food.

"Dinner is served." he said, and set both plates on the table. Alphonse disappeared back into the house, and Regal continued to talk.

"So where do you think we should go tomorrow? We have a lot of places to go to…"

"Mizuho." Presea answered immediately. "It's closest, and I haven't seen Sheena for a while now."

"Yes, that seems like a good plan," agreed Regal, eating away at his food while Presea picked at hers, barely eating any. Regal noticed, and spoke up. "Is something wrong with the food, Presea?" Presea shook her head.

"I'm just not very hungry, that's all." Regal nodded to show his understanding.

"Presea," he said, not looking at her face. "I'm…glad you came here. It's good to see you again."

"It's…good to see you again too," Presea said, blushing. The rest of the meal was eaten in silence; when Presea was done eating, she got up from the table, bid goodnight to Regal, and stepped back inside the house. She walked to her room, undid her ponytails, and drifted off to sleep.

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Presea awoke to a burst of sunlight through the window. She rose up from the bed and stretched, and walked out of the room. She walked down the stairs, and into the living room, where a sweet smell of food filled her nose.

Presea walked into the kitchen and sat down at a small table. Regal suddenly appeared, wearing a purple apron that read "Cook." He placed an omelet on Presea's plate, and sat down next to her.

"Well, you look different today," he commented, talking about Presea's hair.

"Oh…thanks, Regal." Presea loved it when Regal cooked. Back on the journey of Regeneration, when Genis wouldn't cook, Regal would always stepped up to the plate. He was an excellent cook.

"When you are done eating, we need to quickly go to Altamira, so I can tell George of my leave of absence. Then we can depart for Mizuho."

"Okay," Presea said, swallowing the last bite of her food. Both her and Regal left the kitchen. Quickly, Presea tied her hair into bows and changed out of her pajamas into her regular dress. When she had changed, she walked into the living room and sat down on a couch.

A few minutes later, Regal appeared, stuffing ingredients, clothes and a few apple gels into a small bag. He quickly explained a few things to Alphonse about the house, and turned towards Presea.

"Are you ready?" he said. Presea nodded and rose from the couch. She followed Regal out the door, and out onto the island. From his wing pack, Regal pulled out his Rheiard. Presea mimicked him, and the two rose into the air and flew to Altamira.

As Presea and Regal neared Altamira, Regal stopped midair for an unknown reason.

"Wait a moment, Presea." he said. He listened closely. Besides the wind, the area was silent. Regal continued towards Altamira, followed closely by Presea. Regal landed his Rheiard, and rushed into the city. Presea followed him a second later.

Presea gasped as she entered the joyful town. Altamira was empty. Ever single person had disappeared. Altamira had become a ghost town in a matter of hours.

"What the hell happened?" Regal said. "Everyone is gone!"

"This is strange…" Presea said. Suddenly, for the corner of her eye, Presea saw a quick glimpse of movement. She turned, quickly, just in time to see a figure dressed in all black clothes run away from the sight. "Regal! C'mon! It's one of those guys that I told you about that kidnapped me!" Presea ran off, hoping to catch the…enemy. She could hear Regal's boots against the ground, and it comforted her to see him follow her. The stranger turned to the left, close to the station for the Elemental Railway. He turned back, saw that he was being chased, and ran faster, hoping to get to the Elemental Railway before Presea and Regal could catch up.

"Presea! Get him!" yelled Regal from behind her. "There are more over here. You just get that one!" Presea nodded to show she heard, and leapt towards the stranger right as he hopped onto the Elemental Railway. Presea managed to grab onto the leg of his pants, sending him to the ground. His face hit the cement hard, and blood flew everywhere.

"You will tell me all I demand from you," Presea said, holding the man down on the ground. "Who are you, and what the hell happened to the people who lived here?"

"I am Lar, a worker for Dessara."

"Dessara?" Presea said. "What's Dessara?" Lar chose not to answer. Instead, he kicked Presea in the stomach, making her stumble backwards. The fact that she had just eaten didn't make the situation any better either. Before she could recover from the pain, Lar jumped off the ground and disappeared out of the city.

"Presea!" Regal called, coming to where she was sitting on the ground, clutching her stomach. "Are you okay?" Presea nodded, and noticed the figured standing next to Regal. He was a boy, about five feet tall with blonde hair.

"Mithos…" muttered Presea under her breath. Luckily, no one heard her. "Yeah, I'm fine." she answered, slowly coming to her senses again. She picked herself off the ground, and dusted off her dress. "Who's he?" she say, turning her head towards the boy.

"This is Amara." Regal said. "He was being taken by the man in black. So, I killed the man and rescued this boy."

"Do you think he could end up like Mithos? Betraying us?"

"No. He won't be traveling with us. He's going to give us information." Regal turned his head towards Amara. "What happened here?" he asked. Tears began to drip down the boy's face.

"My parents…and the rest of the villagers….they…they….they got kidnapped by those men in black!" he said, tears falling down off his face.

"What could they be looking for…" Regal said to himself.

"The guy I chased down said he worked for something called Dessara." Presea said.

"Dessara…" Regal said. "Sounds like its from the elves." He turned again, towards Amara. "Amara, can you fend for yourself? The resort wasn't destroyed. There should be food, right?" The boy nodded, wiping away his tears with his arm. "Good. Let us leave, Presea. Nothing is left here. We need to figure out what's going on, and get the villagers back here." Regal paused, and looked at the deserted resort. "This used to be such a peaceful place." Regal and Presea walked to the gates of the town, and released the Rheiards from the wing packs. They quickly flew out into the air, towards Mizuho.

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As soon as the kind man who helped him disappeared, Amara stared around at his deserted city.

"I wish that man would've taken me with him…" he said sadly with a sigh. A sudden rush of footsteps filled Amara's ears. He turned around, to see another man wearing black clothes. He back away, scared of the man.

"Stay away from me!" he cried. "You're going to take me away!" the man in the dark clothes laughed.

"No, no, no, no." he said. "You've got it all wrong, Amara my friend. I want you to come with me. To a wonderful place. With food, and you might even get to see your family again."

"My family?" Amara said. "Are they safe?"

"They are very safe," the man in dark clothes said, walking closer to the boy. He placed a hand on his shoulder. "So what do you say? Will you come with me, or not?" The little boy thought about this offer.

"I'll come." he said.

Excellent, thought Lar. This boy just may be the one we're looking for…

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"That confirms it," Regal said, flying close to Presea. "They're not finding what they want, so they're taking whole towns. Luckily, they didn't destroy the town like they did Meltokio. But just what could this Dessara want?"

"I'm not sure," answered Presea. "Maybe Sheena has some information about this."
"Yeah," Regal said. "And we could get Mizuho's information network to help us too."

"Good idea," Presea said. A couple of minutes later, Presea and Regal neared the hidden village of Mizuho. Presea didn't even bother looking to see if villagers had started to rebuild Ozette, because she knew they hadn't, and probably never would.

Presea landed her Rheiard outside of the gates of Mizuho and placed it in her wing pack. She followed Regal inside, and came face to face with the ninja Orochi.

"Regal! Presea!" Orochi said as they entered the hidden village. "It has been awhile!"

"Yes," Regal said. "Where is Sheena? We need to see her."

"Sheena?" Orochi said. He lowered his head in sorrow, and his voice became softer. "You mean you haven't heard?" Presea became suddenly alert after hearing Orochi's words.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Sheena disappeared about…two weeks ago. Nobody has seen her since. The information network has declared her dead."

A/N:Man, that took me a long time to write. Sorry about the delay, I got sick for two days, delaying the chapter, and then I got writers block. And…it will probably be awhile before I update again, because I also am writing a fan fiction for the book Pendragon…so while your waiting for me to update, check out my friend Dragonwings144's Tales of Symphonia fan fiction, Runaway. She has twenty-four chapters, so unless you read all of them in one day like I did, that should keep people occupied until the next chapter. J Sorry for the long authors note! Thanks to my reviewers: Dragonwings144, PotatoPuff, and phantom4angel.