Chapter 4

After being knocked out by the Desians, Lloyd woke up in a jail cell to find they had taken all his equipment away. Darn it! Lloyd raged, punching the wall with his fist with the exsphere as well as another item. What the? What's this? Ah! They forgot the Sorcerer's Ring, yeah! I'm as good as free. Now…to get that guard with thing… "Got it," he congratulated himself as he escaped out of the room. What's that? He wondered, noticing a wooden chest off to his left. Inside it was all the equipment they had taken from him. Lloyd, trying to find his way out, entered small, rectangular room that had a desk and suit of armor off to the left.

"Who're you?" A man questioned; his long, sapphire hair in a ponytail and a cape on his shoulders.

"Give your name and I shall give you mine," Lloyd countered, preparing to defend himself from the other guy.

"Ha, ha ha! You certainly have guts," He stated. "But I'm afraid I don't see the need to introduce myself to a miserable little creature like you," he continued, sneering a Lloyd cockily.

"What a coincidence," Lloyd countered, lifting his hands palms-up at his sides then letting them drop once again. "'Cause I don't see the need to introduce myself either to a moron who doesn't realize how pathetic he is."

The man's glance at Lloyd's hands caused him to look at his opponent's face a second time, this time more closely. "Is that…an exsphere? So you're Lloyd."

"And if I am?"

"Hmm, I see the resemblance." The man turned his head to look up at the ceiling.

"Huh?" Lloyd asked as an alarm went off, red lights flashing on and off. Suddenly, the door behind Lloyd opened—he moved out of the way—as the same man from the Martel Temple entered followed by Desians.

"What the—?" You're Botta!"

Ignoring Lloyd, Botta announced, "Sir! We've received reports that the Chosen's group has infiltrated the facility!"

"Botta! I'm leaving for now. Our plans will be ruined if he sees me," the blue-haired man ordered, moving toward a door across from Lloyd. "I'll leave the Chosen to you."

"Understood."

"Wha—? Wait! Who are—?"

"I am Yuan." The door opened behind him. "Remember that, Lloyd, for the next time we meet, you're mine." He left out the door leaving Lloyd, Botta, and the other Desians in the room.

"You're Lloyd Irving? Now this is amusing."

"Hey! I—"

"Lloyd! Are you okay?" Genis asked.

"Are you hurt?" Colette worriedly questioned.

The door behind him opened and out came Colette, Raine, Genis, and finally Kratos. "He looks fine," Kratos commented impassively.

"You guys came for me?" Lloyd wondered, amazed they would do such a thing.

"Siding with the Chosen, Kratos?" Botta questioned. "No matter, we shall defeat you soon enough."

Kratos scanned their opponents, unamused that the only one he wanted to face wasn't there. "Come. You've found Lloyd. We nee not waste time with such low-classed traitorous…Desians, as these."

Botta gave his men orders, having all but the two strongest leave things to them. "We shall see who is a 'traitor', coward."

That's it, he's finished! Lloyd unsheathed both of his swords and charged at Botta. No one insults Kratos except me!

"Stalagmite!" Botta unleashed an Earth Element attack against Lloyd.

Lloyd tried to defend against it by holding his swords in front of him. Since he saw Lloyd's pathetic attempt to defend himself, Kratos stepped closely in front of him and preformed a defensive "Guardian" technique. Why didn't it—oh, Kratos. "I'm not going to—"

"Thank me? You don't need to," Kratos interrupted. "Just don't die, Lloyd."

"Arg, I'm gonna—Yeagh! What the?! What was that?" He asked as one of the Desians attacked him from behind.

"Be careful, Lloyd," Kratos told him, attacking the same Desian with a "Lightning Blade" attack.

Arg! Why does he treat me like such a kid?! Lloyd wondered as he fought the second Desian, venting his anger and frustration out at him instead of at Kratos. I'd get beaten so badly if I fought him…hate to admit it but it's true.

Once both Desians went down, it was Lloyd, Genis, Raine, Colette, and Kratos against Botta…and all but Raine, Kratos, and Botta weren't doing too well. "Don't over do it, Lloyd." Kratos cast a healing spell on him. "First Aid!"

Eventually, they defeated Botta. Lloyd was just about to finish him off when Genis stopped him, "Don't do it, Lloyd."

"He's right. Don't you want to know why they captured you?"

Lloyd turned to face Botta, "Tell me why you Desians wanted to bring me here."

"Your exsphere is…unique."

"Don't avoid the question, Botta," Kratos warned, giving him a look that said; explain why, just don't give too much information. Before he told why, Botta nodded slightly. His explanation was short, simple, to the point, and didn't give too many details about what it was they were doing.

That night, they spent the rest of the day traveling through Triet Desert, all present except Raine and Kratos voted Genis to cook their dinner. Raine wanted to try to make curry, but they all shouted "No!" However, when and after they actually voted, Kratos was missing from the campsite off somewhere. This made Raine even angrier.

"He's supposed to be guarding Colette and what's he do instead? He goes off somewhere and disappears on us," Raine complained, acting like it wasn't the first time he did something like that. "Again." Mostly, because it wasn't the first time.

"Maybe there's a reason he doesn't want to join us," Genis suggested, glancing over at his sister. "The food, I mean," he continued when he noticed Raine glaring at him, gaining him an even eviler glare.

"Genis didn't necessarily mean your cooking, Professor Sage."

"Uh…Lloyd?"

"What is it, Colette?"

"Where's Noishe?" Colette wondered from where she sat near their campfire, making sure the food didn't burn. "I haven't seen him since we voted on what to eat and who would cook it."

"Now that you mention it, I haven't seen Kratos anywhere around here since then either," Raine commented sourly, still not giving up the fact that he didn't look like he was even trying to defend Colette anymore.

"Maybe he and Noishe went off somewhere?"

Just then, Lloyd spotted a white tail tipped with green whip around a rock and then disappear behind it. Noishe? He thought as he got up and walked over to the large rock. Behind it, he saw Noishe lying against the boulder as Kratos leaned back against Noishe's side. Lloyd tried to creep around back to the campsite without Kratos noticing him. I'm just going to get out of here before he starts to—shoot.

"I just can't promise that, Noishe," Kratos muttered, his voice just above a whisper. "But if that does ever happen, take care of him for me, okay?"

Growl.

"Why not?"

Whine.

Kratos sighed in defeat. "Fine, but you can't always hide from them…Just like I won't be able to hide that from—Noishe? What are you—?" He looked up at Noishe just as Lloyd stepped behind the boulder.

What is it Kratos meant? Who's he hiding something from? Lloyd wondered nervously. And—?

"You arrived at the perfect moment, Lloyd. Noishe and I were just about going to come back," Kratos said, making up his excuse just as he said it.

"Oh, so you heard me looking for Noishe, Kratos?" Lloyd wondered, wandering away from the rock to pet Noishe's head. "I'm glad you found him."

Kratos stood up and went back to the campsite, leaving Lloyd alone with his dog. I wonder what Kratos meant…Hey! Maybe I can ask Noishe! Wait a second, if Kratos just met Noishe a little while ago, then why's he so comfortable around Kratos? "Hey, so what was Kratos talking to you about?"

Growl.

"What? Why can't I know?"

Growl.

"Fine! I won't ask, okay?" Noishe curled around Lloyd as a sign of happiness, his tail waving slowly back and forth across the ground. For a while, neither one made a sound. They both just enjoyed the other's company until Kratos came back and told Lloyd to go to sleep. "Why?" he questioned defiantly. "You're not."

Kratos sighed, "I say this because I have volunteered to keep watch over the Chosen as well as yourselves. Now go back to camp and sleep.

"Why can't I sleep here?"

"Because it is far too dangerous out here," Kratos explained, almost seeming like he was getting really annoyed with Lloyd.

"Fine," Lloyd consented, getting up. "Come on, Noishe, let's go."

Bark! Bark!

"Wha—? Why don't you want to come back to camp with me, Noishe?" Lloyd turned to face him. I can't believe Noishe'd choose Kratos instead of me. What's gotten into—?

"Go, I will keep watch," Kratos sat down, leaning against the boulder, one of his feet flat on the ground with the other beneath his bent knee. "Alone." He emphasized the final word.

Whine.

"Go. You can not always depend on that and run away from your fears. Now go back," Kratos instructed.

Lloyd uneasily glanced over at Kratos, and then up at Noishe. "Come on, Noishe. He wants to be alone for a while." Looking back at Kratos, he asked, "How far are we from the Fire Seal?"

"We should be there by mid-morning tomorrow."