Author's notes: I'm back with another chapter folks! I'm glad you all like this story so much. It's not easy coming up with this stuff, so keep up the good reviews. Of course, burns are welcome as well if anyone had any complaints about the story. But either one helps the story, so who cares? And now, disclaimer!

Kratos: Raenef the 6th doesn't own Tales of Symphonia, only Namco does. In fact, I don't even know why I'm still here.

Me: Simple. One, you're my muse to elaborate some humor in the beginning. And two, I have those embarrassing pictures of you at the Christmas reunion party.

Kratos: What pictures? No one had a camera. (Does the shifty-eyes)

Me: You know, the ones showing you under the mistletoe with Ra-

Kratos: (Quickly cover up author's mouth) All right, all right! Just stop talking about it already!

Me: Alright then. On with the show!

EDIT: This chapter has undergone major work, and is different than what was previously here. If you've read this chapter before this edit, re-read it again. If this is your first time, ignore this note.

Speech-normal speech

Speech-thoughts

Speech-Origin speaking

Lloyd and Geniswere currently on their way to the ranch, with Genis leading the way, often stopping to make sure they weren't being followed, and Lloyd in the back. This was helpful to Lloyd, seeing as how he needed to think some more about the upcoming events. Most of these thoughts were directed around not being caught at the ranch, but Lloyd was having some trouble.

For one thing, he remembered that Forcystus already knew his name when he proceeded to destroy Iselia. This meant to Lloyd that he had been caught on camera while rescuing Genis. The problem withthis was that no matter how many times Lloyd racked his memories, he couldn't remember there even being a camera in the first place. The more he thought about it, it appeared less and less likely that this was one event he was going to be able to change. He came to eventually accept this thought with bitterness. If there was anything Lloyd wanted to avoid, it was the unnecessary killing of innocents.

Another problem was Marble, the old lady who was Genis' friend. If there was one event Lloyd was desperate to change, it was her untimely death. If he could pull this off, it was likely that it would help him later when he ran into Chocolat. The only problem with this one was that Genis obtained his exsphere only because she had died. Without it, it was likely that Genis would be put to more risk than before. He also needed it to learn his stronger spells. Otherwise, Genis would be as weak as he was now.

Lloyd sighed and rubbed the bridge on his nose between his index finger and thumb. This was turning out to be very difficult indeed. He was beginning to wonder if Martel herself had set this up. If he was going to have this much intricacy, he was going to need help if he intended to make any changes. He had Origin, but he could only talk to him as afar as he knew. If he was to somehow summon Origin, then it would only cause him to be doomed by having to face Kratos.

Speaking of which, Lloyd pondered, what was up with Kratos? He had acted shocked when Lloyd had defended the temple by himself. Then inside the temple, he acted curious about his abilities and almost seemed suspicious. Heck, knowing Kratos, anything out of the ordinary was suspicious to him. Then again, that is likely his way of showing affection to him without acting as his father. Then, once he had gotten his answers, he assumed his usual cold demeanor. Maybe he's just confused as to what's happening himself.

Lloyd probably would have considered pondering if Genis hadn't finally stopped him by ceasing in front of a fork in the road. He looked up and quickly searched his surroundings to make sure they weren't in any danger, having lost track of where he was. Recognizing the area, he relaxed and turned to Genis. "So this is your stop then?" He asked.

Genis turned to face him and replied "Yep. I have to stop by the ranch. Is that okay with you?"

Lloyd, deciding to feign ignorance, answered "But isn't that against the treaty we signed?"

Genis put on an angry expression before correcting him. "It doesn't matter. The desians have already broken the treaty by attacking Colette anyway!"

Lloyd nodded, acknowledging his words. "All right then. But let's be careful. I don't want to be caught here; it would just cause more trouble."

Genis nodded and began walking towards the ranch path. Lloyd waited a moment before closing his eyes to speak with Origin. Origin? Are you there?

Yes, pact-keeper Lloyd. I am here. What is it?

It's about us going to the ranch. I've tried thinking of ways to avoid getting caught, but I can't come up with anything. Do you have any ideas?

I too have considered possible situations, but in your current state, they would not work.

What do you mean, 'my current state'?

When you were sent back to the past, your body had to undergo a few changes to match the changing conditions. Since your body had to go back in time, it had to revert to a weaker state. It's a rule of time-travel.

I don't quite understand what you mean. Are you basically saying that I'm as weak as I was when the journey first started?

Technically, yes. However, there is one key difference in this case. Most people, who have been sent back to the past, or even towards the future, ended up losing their memories or at least some of their intelligence. You, however, managed to keep your memories and intelligence. You also seemed to have been able to keep your developed mana stores. This gives you an incredible advantage in your abilities. Your mind remembers all the techniques you can perform, while at the same time, remembers the strengths and weaknesses of your opponents. Thus, all is not lost.

So, what you're saying is that I need to retrain my physical body, so it can catch up to my body? It still sounds odd to me, but I'll go along with it. However, I would like an explanation of time-travel and their effects when we get the chance, alright?

Very well then, I will keep it in mind. As for your current situation, I am afraid that there is no way for you to currently alter the events that will come. However, with time, I'm certain you will be able to.

Alright, Origin. I guess I'll have to accept it for now. I just hope Genis doesn't become too grievous over Marble's death. I don't like having to carry such a burden on my shoulders.

And with that, Lloyd closed the mental link and proceeded after Genis, who was waiting for him up ahead. Apologizing for the wait, they proceeded to the ranch. As they walked, Lloyd considered telling Genis about the camera problem. Maybe the little genius had an idea that neither he nor Origin could come up with?

When they finally arrived, it almost seemed like a place that basically said "Go away." The walls surrounding the ranch were huge and made out of steel, meant to keep wandering eyes from looking inside and instead running away. On the sides, there were openings for fences that allowed people to see inside. However, there was barbed wire in place, so as to prevent any prisoners from escaping. Genis started to walk to the side of the barbed fences when Lloyd stopped him. "Wait a minute Genis. There's something we need to talk about before going any further."

Sneaking over behind some rocks near the pathway, Lloyd and Genis kneeled down to make sure they were hidden. Genis then turned to face Lloyd and questioned "What is it? If this about you trying to stop me from going, then I'm not going to listen."

Lloyd shook his head in response and answered "It's nothing to do with that. It's just that I don't want to be seen on camera, wouldn't you think?"

This one phrase seemed to strike fear into Genis' mind. He hadn't even considered the possibilities of there being a camera in place over the ranch. He had heard rumors of a new magitetechnology being used by the ranch that allows them to keep a watch on everything that happens outside of the ranch as well as inside. Comprehending this, Genis realized that all the other times he visited Marble, he must have been lucky not to have been caught.

"Okay, but then how do we get in there without being noticed?" Genis asked, thinking that it was now a bad idea to even consider coming here.

Lloyd slowly rose up until his eyes were able to see over the rock. "For now, we look to see if there are any visible cameras on the outside. Once we find them, then we can figure out a way to get past them." Genis nodded and began searching around the area for common placements of cameras. There was one on the far right side, and it rotated only a little bit, meaning they were safe from that one.

Lloyd began to search as well, looking on the left side of the walls to see if there was any. His eyes didn't see anything until they came across the junction bolts between the door and the wall. There was something there, but he was too far away to see it. Straining his eyes, he focused more on the spot, but to no avail. This frustrated Lloyd, making him compulsively think I wish I could see closer without moving.

Almost immediately in reaction to his thoughts, Lloyd felt mana moving towards his eyes. Closing his eyes and rubbing them, he reopened them to gasp a silent gasp. He could definitely see the camera all right. It was positioned to rotate only a little bit, due to the close space of its area. But what shocked him was that not only could he see the camera, he could also see the very tiny screws that held the maintenance box in place. Straining his eyes again, he could even see slight traces of fingerprints around it.

What the Hell?! Origin, what's going on? I can see further than I could before!

Calm down, Lloyd. It appears that the angel senses you acquired have managed to maintain themselves through the time warp. I guess that since you still have your exsphere on that they remained linked to you.

Lloyd was surprised to hear this from Origin. If he had managed to keep the senses of an angel in his body, then what else had he managed to save from being reset? There was certainly going to be a long conversation with Origin when this is over.

"Okay, I think we've found them all. There's one on the left side here, but we can easily get past it if we stay out of its range. There's one on the right side too, isn't there?" Lloyd stated.

Genis nodded and said "There is one, but it's too far away to catch us. By the way, how can you see the one on the right? I've scanned over it twice and I couldn't see it."

Lloyd responded simply "Well, I'm looking at it from a different angle than you, so that's probably why. That, and I've probably ate more vegetables than you have."

This earned Lloyd a Raine-styled smack upside the head, but not quite as strong. After rubbing the sore spot and whining about 'short-tempered mages', he rose up and said "Alright, here we go. You ready?"

Genis also got up and nodded. "I'll lead the way. She should be meeting us over by the farthest corner of the fence. Let's go." He then proceeded to sneak over behind the rocks, taking careful caution to remain out of the camera's range. Lloyd followed suit behind him, making sure there was no guards that could drop in on them. Once they were sure they were past the camera, they proceeded over to the meeting spot.

There was a figure waiting for them when they got there. She had grayish-white hair and was slightly hunched over, wearing one of the prisoner uniforms associated with the ranch. As they walked over, her face seemed to brighten at the presence of the people she knew wouldn't harm her. Turning over to Genis, she whispered "Hello, Genis. Who is your friend here?"

Genis smiled at the elderly person and replied "It's good to see you Marble. This is Lloyd; he's a friend of mine from the village." He then turned to Lloyd and said "Lloyd, this is Marble, the friend I was telling you about."

Lloyd turned to face her and smiled at her. "It's nice to meet you, Marble." Lloyd's gaze then dropped to her hand, where a key-crestless exsphere lay embedded in her hand. "Hey, Marble, why do you have that exsphere in your hand? Without a key crest, that exsphere will only make you hurt yourself."

Genis turned to Lloyd and asked "What do you mean?" He was curious about the stones he saw on Lloyd's and Marble's hands. He knew that they were supposed to help you become stronger by bringing out your battle capabilities. However, he hadn't heard of anything involving getting hurt by it.

Lloyd turned to Genis and responded "An exsphere only works when it's attached to your skin, that way it can awaken and make you stronger. However, embedding it in your skin without a key-crest would make you sick or hurt. So to prevent that, you apply a key-crest as a mount so as to prevent that from happening."

Marble nodded her head, absorbing the information. "You seem quite knowledgeable in that area, young man. Are you, perchance, a crafteror metal smith?"

Lloyd scratched the back of his head in an embarrassed manner and replied "No, it's just my dad is a blacksmith and I just happen to pick up on a few things. Hey, I know!" Lloyd exclaimed, realizing he could actually do this. "Why don't I ask my dad to make me one, and then I can give it to you? That way, you'll be safe."

Genis nodded and appeared to agree before looking behind Marble and, upon seeing the desians appear, put on a face of fear. Turning to Lloyd he exclaimed "Lloyd! We need to get out of here! The desians are coming!"

Turning to where Genis had looked, Lloyd too recognized the desians and decided not to stick around any longer if they valued their butts. "I'm sorry Marble, but we have to go. We'll try to stop by another time. See you!" Lloyd explained, and then proceeded to push Genis to another hiding spot out of view of the desians.

Once they were in the clear, Genis turned to face Lloyd with a face of worry. He was really concerned about his friend, especially since she was one of his only ones beside Lloyd and Colette. "Lloyd, we need to get out of here! If the desians see us, we'll get in huge trouble!"

Lloyd agreed quietly, nodding his head while looking out beyond the rock they were hiding behind to see if anyone followed or saw them. Seeing as how they had no pursuers after a few minutes, he stepped out from behind the boulder and motioned for Genis to follow him. Leaping down to a nearby cliff, he waited for Genis to follow. Genis looked over to see where he had gone and almost wished he hadn't. Genis hated heights as well as difficult exercise, and Lloyd had already gone and combined the two to make an even worse situation. He then proceeded to slowly climb down the Cliffsideto catch up with Lloyd. When he got to him, he was thankful there was a path for them to follow out of there.

A few minutes later, both had stopped after running down the path to escape from the ranch. Geniswas sitting on the ground lying against a rock while Lloyd was pacing around in a small circle to work off the side stitch he had gotten while running. In his mind, he was slightly frantic, seeing as how everything had become so rushed. He had gone ahead and skipped ahead of the fight with the desianguards, as well as having to save Genis. There was an upside to this though. As far as he could sense, they weren't spotted on any cameras, so they wouldn't be later pursued by Forcystus. They had also been able to not delay Marble, meaning that it was likely she wouldn't be injured for talking with them.

Finally stopping his pace session, Lloyd turned to Genis and found the mage sitting there with a downtrodden face. Walking over, he kneeled down and asked "What's the matter, Genis?"

Genislooked up to Lloyd and responded with tears in his eyes "I'm worried about Marble. What if she got hurt because we talked to her? And we might have been caught on the cameras too!"

Lloyd compiled these questions before smiling, saying "Don't worry Genis. I'm fairly certain that we left before Marble could get into trouble. The desians wouldn't have even noticed we were there. Also, I'm sure we didn't get caught on the cameras, because if we had, we probably wouldn't be sitting here talking about it right now, now would we?"

Taking all this in, Genis quickly changed to a happy attitude, glad that he had such a good friend in Lloyd. "Alright, I guess I'll head home then." He got up and started to walk off when he turned to Lloyd. "Make sure to ask about that key crest, alright Lloyd?"

Lloyd smiled and nodded at Genis before saying "Of course I will Genis. I wouldn't go back on my word, you know that. See you later!" He then walked off, glad that he had managed to save at least one life in this new world.

When Lloyd got home, he noticed that Dirk wasn't home at the time, so he proceeded up to his room to do more thinking. When he got up there, he noticed that there was a note on his door. Picking up the note, he noticed it was from Dirk. It read:

Lloyd,

I've gone off to town to pick up some groceries. Be back in a little while.

Love,

Dirk

Lloyd read the note and then discarded it in the wastebasket in his room and lied out on the bed. Sighing, he began to relax on the bed when he remembered that he wanted to talk to Origin about his senses. Sitting up, he decided to contact him.

Origin? Can I talk to you?

Yes, Lloyd. I'm here. So what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?

It's about those angel senses. Do you think you could explain those better?

Certainly. However, this may take some time, so get comfortable. After waiting a few seconds for Lloyd to get ready, he continued. To begin, we must first talk about mana and its effect in time travel. As you know, mana is basically the main energy of the world, used from raising crops to powering magitetechnology. It remains in a definite form at all times and cannot be altered unless willed to do so. This same theory applies to time travel. When you crossed that portal, your body was forced to change, while your mana remained untouched. Contained in this mana were your angel senses as well as your memories and intelligence. When you landed back in this time, your mana was returned to you, containing everything aforementioned.

Lloyd absorbed all this in before saying "So let me get this straight. I have all my angel senses from the future, as well as my intelligence and my memories, while my body was basically reset?"

That is correct. Strangely enough, your wings are present as well, yet, not as you might think.

Lloyd became shocked at this and quickly asked "What do you mean? Weren't they converted into mana as well?"

It would appear they were indeed converted. However, like the Eternal Sword, which was bonded to Mithos, the wings were also bonded to him, seeing as they were his, and were merely reformatted to match your body. However, after going through the time warp, the wing's mana signature was seemingly, as best I can put it, split.

"Split?" Lloyd repeated.

Correct. When you received your wings, they became bonded to you, all the way to nearly your soul, reaching your mana core. Your mana core is what holds all of your mana in place, and allows you to use it as you do. When you entered the vortex, your memories, intelligence, and mana were all within your core, while your wings were not quite as settled. As a result, you have the wings, but you will not access them with ease. The only situation I can foresee you accessing them is in times of extreme duress or emotion.

Lloyd assimilated all of this slowly to make sure he got it right. If what Origin said was true, then he would have to beat Mithos again to re-obtain his wings to their full status. Lloyd then asked "What about my body? You said that was forced to be changed."

That's correct. When one's physical form enters the time stream, it is altered based on one thing: The precise time in which you are being sent. Since you were being sent to the past, your body's time clock was reversed, causing it to go back until a day ago. If you wish to re-obtain your body, you would either have to go back through the portal to the precise time, or train your body back to its usual state.

Lloyd sighed and fell back into his bed after hearing this, his head throbbing from so much information. After a few minutes, Lloyd decided to ask Origin one last thing.

Origin, do you have any ideas about Colette's transformation? I've tried to think of a few ideas, but none of them would work.

Hmm, that is a difficult one. Origin pondered. Then he seemed to be struck by a sudden thought. There was a way, but it was slightly complicated. But if done right, it would prevent Colette's transformation.

Lloyd, I have an idea. It's a risky chance, but we might be able to pull it off.

Lloyd bolted up from the bed and exclaimed "Well? What is it, tell me!" If there was any one goal that Lloyd wanted to achieve, it was to make sure Colette did not go through the same process as before.

In your memories, it was said that Colette's transformation was like a parasite, correct? Lloyd nodded his head furiously, listening intently. Then perhaps we could make Colette's body develop immunity to the parasitism!

Lloyd thought about it for a moment before asking "Say what now?"

Let me start from the beginning. As you went through your original journey, Colette broke the four seals of Sylvarant. And with each seal, she lost a sense, such as taste and touch, finally ending with her memories and heart at the Tower of Salvation. When you investigated the cause of this, you discovered it to be a negative reaction to the breaking of the seals, and gaining angel powers and abilities, correct?

Lloyd nodded, allowing Origin to continue.

Now then, after that occurred, and you managed to restore her to her natural form, you discovered she was suffering from Chronic Angelus Crystallis Innoficium, yes? And that you had to create and place another complicated and extremely difficult key-crest in order to save her?

Another nod.

Now then, consider this. We are back before the process began, before any seals are broken. Colette's body is unharmed for the time being. If we work fast enough, we can plant an immunity system in her body to resist and protect her from harm from either of these diseases, so to speak. But it must be done before she breaks the first seal. If she breaks it before we can invoke the magic, it will not work.

Lloyd pondered over it for a second before saying "All right. Sounds like a good plan to me. How do we do it?"

There is an ancient incantation I know of that was used to heal and protect against parasitic diseases. I remember that I once used it on Mithos when he had become deathly ill. It took only a couple of days, but after that, it never happened again and he got better almost instantly. This should work in the exact same way. I can teach you the incantation, but you'll have to perform it on her yourself. I suggest doing it while she sleeps, that way she won't know about it.

Lloyd thought it over for a minute, thinking if there was anything else he wanted to ask about. "Will this hurt her in anyway possible?"

No, it should not. The entire process should be painless and easy to do.

Lloyd thought about it more. This was precisely what he had been waiting for; a chance to correct Colette's error of judgment about herself, and put a stop to Mithos' twisted plan to revive Martel. And now that he also knew it wouldn't harm her, it sounded perfect. "All right then. I'll do it. All I have to do is perform the incantation and that's it?"

That's right that is all you have to do.

Lloyd lay back on his bed and relaxed. "All right then, now that that's settled, I'll just wait for dad to come back."

At almost the sound of his words, there was a clattering noise from the bottom floor: Dirk had returned. Speak of the Devil thought Lloyd as he hopped down from his bed and ran down the steps to greet Dirk.

After putting away the groceries from Dirk's shopping, Lloyd offered to help make dinner so as to ease Dirk's workload as well as possibly soften him up to make a key crest for him. A few minutes and a full stomach stuffed with beef stew mixed secretly with some alcohol, Dirk was quite content with himself. Lloyd decided that this would be the moment to ask him for help, seeing as how his judgment would be impaired from the alcohol.

"Hey Dad." Lloyd said to his step-father lounging on the sofa. Dirk turned his head and grunted to show he was listening. "I was wondering if you would make me another key crest."

Dirk heaved himself up and straightened himself as he sat across from Lloyd. Taking a moment to get his bearings, he then asked "Hmm? A new key crest? What for?"

Lloyd put on a thoughtful expression to show he actually had a good excuse, while he actually tried to think of a good excuse. No matter how many times Lloyd thought it over, there was no good excuse for getting a new key crest unless his own was damaged, and his was sitting right in front of Dirk. With that possibility gone, Lloyd decided to try the one he used before. "There's this guy in town I saw. A traveling mercenary. He had an exsphere, but no key crest. I offered to give him one so he wouldn't get sick. Isn't that what happens when you put on an exsphere without a key crest?"

Dirk sat there, deep in thought about his situation. Well, to say he was thinking about his situation would be slightly overshooting it. It'd probably be more along the lines of whether or not he wanted to do it at all. The part of him that was dwarfish and wanted to work said he should do it because it would be a good time to practice. The other side, the lazy side who wanted to hibernate, said he should just forget about it and go to sleep. Eventually, they got into a fight where finally the working side won. Standing up, Dirk said drunkenly "All right! I'll make you a key crest Lloyd. Just make sure to give it to him, alright?"

Lloyd nodded his head and replied "All right. I'll give it to him. Wait dad WATCH OUT!" This last part was directed at Dirk as he stood up and wobbled over to the working area where he tripped and almost slipped on a tool. Wheeling his arms backward, he almost fell had Lloyd not caught him. Righting himself up, he thanked Lloyd and said "I'm all right, I'm all right. Just lost my footing a bit, I did." He started to wobble over to the furnace when there was a knock at the door. "Get that, would you Lloyd?" Dirk asked.

"Sure thing, dad." Lloyd answered and went to the door. Opening it, he found Raine, Genis, Kratos, and Colette all standing at his door. "Oh, hey guys. What's up?" Lloyd asked the small group.

Raine stepped forward and said "Colette would like to have a word with you before going on the journey tomorrow. I would like to as well. There's a matter I need to discuss withyou." She finished with a serious look in her eye. Lloyd recognized that look. Either Genis had told her about the visit to the ranch, or she had found out he had pulled the prank on the mayor. Colette then chirped "Lloyd, could we go up to the Terrace?"

Lloyd smiled at Colette before replying "Sure Colette, Just give me a minute to talk with the Professor, alright?"

Colette nodded her head and proceeded over to Noishe's little stable, where the protozoan appeared to desire company. Kratoswalked off in the direction of Anna's tombstone, with a somber look on his face. Lloyd recognized that look as the same when he revealed he was his father who had to kill Anna to protect him. He would have to talk to him before he left. Turning to Raine he asked "Well, what is it, Professor?"

Raine put on a serious expression and focused on Lloyd. "I heard from Genis something about the ranch, but he refuses to tell me about it, no matter how many times I…ask him to." Raine stated, turning her eyes to Genis' direction, who had chosen to stand by the river as to get away from the conversation. "Care to elaborate?"

Lloyd gulped and tried to put on a brave façade to counter Raine's terrorizing gaze of…um…terror, and stated firmly "What happened was that Genishas a friend that is a prisoner at the Human Ranch. He had wished to go tell her about the Oracle. I came along to make sure he wouldn't be hurt as well as make friends with her. When we got there, we managed to talk to her for a few minutes before having to leave. We were careful to avoid the cameras Professor. There's no way they knew we were there." Lloyd finished, now staring at his teacher as she judged what he said. After a few minutes, her expression lightened and she smiled. "Alright then, Lloyd. I'll let it go this time. Just don't make any serious decisions like that before thinking, okay?" Lloyd smiled; glad to get his friend out of trouble. "Sure thing Professor. Oh, and please don't punish Genis for this. He morally didn't do anything wrong, he was just visiting his friend." Nodding her head, The Professor walked over to Genis to talk to him.

Next is Kratos. Thought Lloyd, mentally preparing himself not to mess up one of his only private conversations with his secret father.


As Kratos stood in front of his fallen love's grave, he thought about all that had happened. How, of all places and times, could this have come to pass? For Lloyd, my only son, to appear before me in happiness, only to curse himself by befriending the sacrifice for Martel's body? Oh, Anna, why did you have to die?

Kratos closed his eyes and resumed thinking. And now, it's probable that he will be going on the journey; that cursed journey whose end is only filled with grief. If he did join us, in the end, I…I'd have to…oh Goddess, why did all this have to happen? He thought somberly, wishing for some entity to just erase his existence here and now to prevent him from causing him more grief.

"Hey, are you alright?" A voice questioned behind Kratos. Turning around, he saw it was Lloyd who had asked. "Hmm? What is it?" He asked.


"I asked if you were alright. You were standing over here looking so grave, I thought something bad had happened." Lloyd replied, walking over and stopping at Kratos' side. Kratosquickly put on a faceless expression and turned back towards the grave.

"It's nothing, I just was thinking about this person's grave. Was she your mother?" He asked, hoping that his face didn't show his true feelings.

"Yes, she was. She died when I was younger. Dirk told me she died protecting me from monsters. He found us with Noishedefending me and my mom lying on the ground injured. He told me she said to take care of me for her, and to give him this exsphere." Lloyd finished, holding up his hand and taking off his exsphere to show Kratos. Kratos stared at it for a moment before saying "I see. Are you going to go on the journey with the Chosen One?" He asked, handing Lloyd back his exsphere.

"I plan on it. I wouldn't miss this for the world." Lloyd replied, putting the exsphere back on his hand and looking back at the grave. Kratos and Lloyd just stood in silence for a few seconds before Kratos finally said "I suppose I shall take my leave. Remember, we leave at noon tomorrow." He started to walk off, but stopped a few feet away. "Oh and Lloyd?" He questioned, turning to look at his son.

Lloyd turned to face him and replied "Yes?" wondering what his father had to say as a final word.

"If you do intend to go this journey, remember these words: Be strong in your battles and be careful not to weaken in times of strain. If you do, it could lead to the end of all you know." Kratos spoke somberly, then turned around and walked away from the quaint little home.

Watching him leave, Lloyd realized just how much his father cared about him, even if he didn't directly let it be known out loud. To him, all those words meant were that he would have to be careful in the end, and that he still cared about him, enough to lie about the time of departure to avoid him getting hurt. Remembering that Colette still wanted to talk to him, Lloyd rushed off to the Terrace to talk to the fledgling chosen.

(I'm gonna go ahead and skip their conversation. Sorry, but I'm running out of plot space for what I had planned. Just insert their conversation from the game here.)

Lloyd sat in his room, thinking about what to expect, now that he was going on the journey with Colette. The only difference was that this time, he knew what the actual time was, and would go with them without worrying about the village getting harmed. The only thing he had to worry about now was Colette's incantation and the key crest Dirk was making. He knew he told him to wake him up early, so Lloyd wouldn't have to worry about missing their departure. And with that thought, he went to sleep, but not before placing his alarm to go off in three hours first.

When those few hours had passed, Lloyd snapped awake, taking care to prevent the alarm clock from making noise. He had little time to waste, and immediately proceeded to leave quietly, taking care to not wake Dirk, and headed straight for town.

Finally arriving at Colette's house, Lloyd climbed up a side of the house, said side fortunately having a white criss-crossing fence attached to the side, making it easy to climb. He opened the window to Colette's room silently, and got inside, making sure to not make any noise. He crept over to where Colette slept, said Chosen now far away in dreamland. Lloyd quickly contacted Origin in his mind for the task at hand.

'Origin, it's time. We need to do the ritual now.' Lloyd though quickly.

Understood, pact-maker. Hold your hands out in front of you, and repeat these words as I say them.

Lloyd closed his eyes for a moment, and extended his hands out, as instructed, before beginning to whisper an ancient chant. "Beings of light, carriers of the elements, hear my plea. Protect this mortal before me; enclose her in a realm of security. Let no celestial harm, be it of neither heaven nor hell, enter her body, and should it attempt so, be promptly expelled. Let the grace of the angel's wings forever guard her life, and ensure her safety, so sworn on my mana and blood."

When Lloyd began the chant, his hands started to glow a bright blue, representing his mana. It changed into several colors, going from red, to purple, yellow, and so on, until finally settling on white. When he finished, the glow became a small stream of mana, and it entered Colette's mouth, going swiftly to not disturb her. The only sign of her noticing was her nose twitching, and her twisting to face the wall.

Lloyd sighed quietly, relieved to have completed one of his goals of utmost importance. He left with a smile, and rushed home, far happier than when the day began.

Iselia Human Ranch-security room

"It was one of the most boring jobs in existence" pretty much summed up what everyone in the human ranch thought of the job of security officer. Nothing ever happened in there, because no one was stupid enough to actually bother the ranch. Our security officer on the job was going through the routine of checking all the cameras before finally shutting them down for the night.

I don't understand why Lord Forcystuswants me to always keep checking these cameras. No one ever comes up here to bother us, so why deal with it? What, does he think the prisoners are gonna rebel and escape?

The desian's thought was interrupted as he was checking one of the thermal imaging cameras that had been installed just this week. It was a new type of security, supposed to help see during night time when average cameras couldn't see anything unless it literally glowed. Looking on the screen, the time was set at earlier that afternoon, about the time that they were exercising the prisoners by making them do manual labor.

To the side of the ranch, he could see that one of the prisoners had proceeded over towards the fence. Changing cameras so as to get a better view, he was shocked at what he saw and jumped to his feet. On the other side of the fence where the prisoner was located were two other figures. They had about the stature of children, meaning they were from the village. This meant that they had broken the peace treaty they had signed so long ago.

I need to inform Lord Forcystus right away! Was the desian's thought as he quickly fled the room to report to the master of the ranch.


Author's notes: Oh, shit. Lloyd's gonna get in huge trouble now, and just when everything was going so well, too. To see what happens next, stay tuned! Read and Review!