A/n: Sorry for the lateness in updating! I've been really busy lately and haven't had much time to do it! Also, some of the mini-quests have been taken out in order to make the story run smoother. Anyway, there's a lot more content in this chapter than any of the previous chapters (I think), so be sure to review!
Chapter 7
Luin and Hima, Asgard Ranch Part II, the Seal of Light, and Traveling to Salvation
We arrived back in the devastated city of Luin not a moment too soon. Sighing in relief, I looked to Sheena and told her, "Thank you so much for helping us back there."
Sheena nodded to me, a small smile on her face, and said, "Ah, you're welcome. So what should we do now?"
Kratos spoke up, "Perhaps it would be best to abandon the situation here for World Regeneration."
Lloyd, Raine, Genis, and Sheena now all looked at the Exspheres on the backs of their hands somberly.
Lloyd then put his arm out, as if trying to separate the Exsphere from himself, "Dammit! This...thing!"
Genis, Raine, and Sheena all glanced up at Lloyd. They didn't say anything but their expressions gave away the concern they were feeling for their friend.
I started to say, "Lloyd, don't, that's--!" I stopped myself though, realizing that if I revealed the fact that Anna's consciousness still existed somewhere within the Exsphere, Raine, Lloyd, and Kratos would all question me about how I knew something like that. I wasn't in the mood to answer questions, so I said nothing more for the moment.
Kratos spoke again and told Lloyd, "But we would've lost long ago had we not had them."
I nodded, glancing down at the Cruxis Crystal on my hand. I wondered who had been sacrificed to make it, but stopped that train of thought before it went any further. I added, "Kratos is right, you know. If not for these things, the Desians would've probably killed us by now...not to mention the seal guardians."
Lloyd replied with a shaky voice, "Don't you think I know that? We can fight because we have these. I know that, but these things exist as a result of taking someone's life! They make a mockery out of human life!" He then removed his Exsphere from his Key Crest and pulled his hand back as if he was going to throw it away.
Reacting quickly, Kratos grabbed Lloyd's wrist and replied, "And? I'm sure the people that were attached to these Exspheres did not want to die, but I doubt they'd want to be thrown away after being turned into Exspheres."
Colette added, "My opinion may not matter much because I don't use an Exsphere..."
In the back of my mind, I was thinking Yes, you are Colette. It's a more evolved form of one, you just don't know it yet. However, I stayed quiet so Colette could finish what she was saying.
She continued, "but if we don't regenerate the world soon, more people will lose their lives to these stones. I don't want that to happen. I don't want this journey to be meaningless. But, I do believe that the Desians will defeat us if we throw away our Exspheres now."
Kratos nodded, in total agreement with what she was saying, "The Chosen is right. We can throw away the Exspheres at any time, but for now, we must carry the weight of the hopes and dreams of those victims; fight for their sake, as well as ours."
Genis replied, nodding his head, "This is Marble's life..."
Raine sighed and added, "People are sinful creatures. Life survives at the cost of another. Then we must continue to bear the burden of our sins for as long as we continue to live."
Sheena responded, "Life survives at the cost of another? I may not know much about this, but I don't think there's any way to justify the lives taken to make Exspheres."
I glanced down at the Cruxis Crystal on my hand, then back up at everyone else, "...We can't just leave those poor people at the ranch though, Kratos! My parents died there, and I'd hate for anyone else to share the same fate."
Colette looked to Kratos, then at me. She then looked at Raine and said, "She's right. If we don't defeat Kvar now, he'll just keep attacking village after village. Please, Kratos, Professor Sage...let's save those people at the ranch first."
I nodded in agreement, "After we do that, we should head to Hima. We might be able to find some clues about the fourth seal there."
Kratos replied, looking only at Colette. Boy did I ever feel loved... "Very well, Chosen. We shall do as you have asked. How will we get inside now? Kvar has no doubt increased his security and changed the pass codes."
I looked to Sheena and asked her, "You were staying at Luin, right? Do you know if anyone managed to escape the ranch?"
Sheena blinked, "...Well, that came out of nowhere. Yes, I was staying at Luin. However, I don't know for certain if anyone did escape. I mean, I may know one or two people that found a way out, but...anyone that did escape wouldn't have come back to this place. They would've gotten as far as possible from the ranch. By now, they'd probably be on the other side of the continent."
I added, "I've heard rumors and whispers that someone named Pietro managed to escape the ranch."
Sheena looked at me in surprise, "Are you sure of that? You can't trust all rumors, you know."
I sighed and replied, "I have my sources and I'm positive. I also heard that he was last seen in Hima, walking around the graveyard. We should go there in the morning...if that's all right with you, Colette."
Colette smiled and nodded, "Yep, I'm fine with it. We can look for clues about the next seal there too!"
I nodded, my eyes trailing over to Kratos and Raine, "After we all get some sleep, we'll leave for Hima first thing in the morning...if that's all right with you, Kratos, Raine."
Kratos responded, "I have no objections."
Raine replied, "I'm all right with that plan."
Sheena spoke again, "Yeah, I'm fine with it too." She yawned and began to build a campfire, Genis helping her by using his Fireball spell to light the wood.
After the fire was ready, Raine volunteered to cook.
I knew right away what her cooking was like and told her, "Oh...that's okay, Raine. I think it's Genis's turn to cook anyway." I tried not to giggle at remembering that Kratos had to cast First Aid on himself after eating what she prepared.
Genis nodded, "She's right. It's my turn, Raine."
Kratos spoke up, "Actually, it is her turn. Just let her cook something. What could be so horrible about it?"
I blinked, "Kratos...don't. Just don't eat it, trust me on this one." While I did find it humorous, I did not want to be there when Kratos almost got sick. It would make me feel even more pity for him despite the fact that he would've brought it on himself.
Lloyd nodded, "She's right. You...don't wanna eat the Professor's—Oww!" He was cut off by Raine smacking him in the back of his head
Raine said, "It's not that bad, Lloyd, honestly. It's not like my cooking has killed anyone."
I added, hoping she wouldn't hear, "Yet."
Genis couldn't help but chuckle at what I said. He then looked at Raine, "...All right, but just this once. You won't impress Kratos though."
Kratos crossed his arms, having not eaten Raine's cooking yet, "We'll see, Genis."
After a little while, Raine had something ready. It was an omelette with diced tomatoes and onions on top.
I told Raine, "Umm...Raine, you know that Kratos doesn't...agh!" I barely dodged her smack that time, her hand hitting thin air.
Raine replied, "Shush. Here, Kratos, try this." She handed him the still-warm omelette.
Kratos took a bite of the omelette, struggling to keep the egg with tomatoes on top down. He told her, with his eyes watering, "It's...delicious."
I giggled now, unable to contain the laughter anymore.
Raine smiled, "Really? Well, do you want more?"
Kratos was actually looking pretty green now and replied, "No! That's quite...all right Raine." He walked a fair distance away and cast First Aid on himself I sighed, "...Kratos, I warned you, ya know."
Kratos nodded, "From now on, I think I'll listen to you when you warn me about her cooking."
I responded, "Good..." I then looked to Genis, "So what are you cooking up?"
Genis, standing over the fire, replied, "Just some curry. Eh...don't worry Kratos. I didn't put any tomatoes in it. I know that you and Lloyd both hate tomatoes. Whoa...that's...weird. Why do you hate some of the same things?"
I shrugged, "It happens sometimes." I knew better than to disclose Kratos's secrets. I would have my head handed to me on a silver platter if I said anything, "One of my friends has a birthday the day before mine, same year and everything."
Lloyd looked over at me, "Okay, that's just plain scary. Oh...by the way, how old are you?"
Raine elbowed him, "It's rude to ask a woman her age."
I replied, "No, it's okay, Raine. I don't mind telling. I'm...22. My birthday is on July 25th."
Lloyd nodded, "Cool, so you're only a year or two younger than the Professor."
I responded, "That's right, Lloyd. You got a problem with that?"
Lloyd shook his head, "Nah, I was just taking notice. So..." He yawned a bit, after he finished his curry, "We're going to Hima in the morning to find this Pietro guy, right?"
I nodded, "Yes, Lloyd. Why don't you go on to sleep if you're so tired?" I sighed and then added, "I'm gonna go for a little walk."
Sheena asked, "Do you want me to come with you? None of us should wander alone."
I shook my head, "Nah, I'll be fine. I won't go that far. I just need some time to think.."
Sheena replied, "Well..all right, but be careful."
Lloyd went to sleep, curled up next to the fire.
Genis, Sheena, Amber, Sarah, and Raine soon followed suit, leaving only Kratos, Colette and I as the only ones still awake.
I sighed, "...It's so close..."
Kratos looked at me, "What is?"
I answered, "The end of the journey...and of Colette's life...err, I mean..."
Kratos looked at me suspiciously, "And how do you know that?"
I replied, "Umm....heh, I read it in a book once. The Chosen sacrifices his or her life in order to regenerate the world. My father was a priest serving in the Church of Martel...and my mom was a teacher. I asked my dad about the Chosen and he explained everything then, and showed me the book where it was found. I was...I guess 13 at the time. It didn't surprise me that much for some reason."
Kratos still had a suspicious look, but he seemed to accept my story and didn't say another word.
Morning came, and we left Luin shortly after everyone was up.
Upon arriving in Hima, we saw something going on in front of the inn.
Clara had returned! Unfortunately though, she was being attacked by a group of adventurers who had no clue who she really was.
I shouted, "Hey, back off, jerks! It's not what you think!"
They didn't respond and Lloyd, Colette, and Raine ran over.
Lloyd told them, "Stop!"
Finally responding, the adventurers turned to Lloyd, "Why should we? This monster tried to attack Hima!"
Angered, Clara lashed out, hitting Colette and knocking her into Raine. She then ran off, dropping the key to the Tower of Mana.
I picked it up and shouted, "Thank you, Clara!"
Lloyd looked at Colette and Raine, "Colette, Professor, are you two okay?"
Colette smiled, "Yeah, I'm fine."
Raine nodded, "I'm quite all right, Lloyd."
Sheena spoke up, "Oh by the way, the guy that escaped the ranch that is here, his name is Pietro. I know him. He has a sister named Sophia."
Lloyd looked a bit confused, "And umm...why do you know him?"
If I didn't know better, I'd have sworn there was a bit of jealousy in Lloyd's voice.
Sheena responded, "It doesn't matter, does it? I have my reasons."
Lloyd replied, "Well, all right. Let's go and find this Pietro guy then."
We headed into the inn to find Sophia. Once we found her, she called out to Sheena, "Sheena!"
Sheena told her, "Hey, Sophia. How's Pietro?"
Sophia answered, looking really nervous and biting her lip, "Umm...he's...passed away."
Not wanting to waste time, I grabbed Sophia and slammed her on the wall, forgetting about my angelic-enhanced strength, "That's a flat-out lie! He's alive, isn't he? Where is he?"
Sophia trembled, "I...I just...he's..."
Even Kratos seemed surprised by my actions. He walked over and placed a hand on my right shoulder, "Joanna...how do you know she is lying?"
I replied, "I've always been good at sensing it when someone's lying, just like I can get a general sense of what others in the room are feeling." I glanced at Sheena, a bit sheepishly, "Don't worry, Sheena, I won't kill her. I just want to know where he is."
Sophia replied, "...I...I don't know."
Lloyd told her, "We heard he escaped from the human ranch. Do you know how he managed to do it?"
Sophia shook his head, "No, I don't...but please, don't bother him! He's not in a good condition right now." She trembled under my grasp and asked, "Could...you let me go, please? I..."
I sighed and let go, "Fine. We'll do what we want though, and ask him how he got away." I then asked, "Does he hang around the graveyard, by any chance? Because...I heard that's where all the ranch escapees that died from the curse were buried."
Sophia sighed and nodded, "Yeah, that's probably where he is now. But...I'm not even really that certain he..."
I replied, "That's all we needed to know. Thank you." I then walked out the door and headed to the graveyard to talk to Pietro.
Lloyd shrugged and followed me.
Kratos followed Lloyd and everyone followed him.
Once we got there, Pietro approached Colette, in a very abnormal state, "Chosen…mana…d…die."
Genis looked confused, "Eh? What's he saying?"
I replied, "He said "Chosen, Mana, die...""
Sophia soon came out to the graveyard, and added, "There you are."
Pietro turned to her and said monotonously, "Chosen…die…angel…die… Human…ranch…underground…"
Sophia told him, "You mustn't come out here, you know. It's not good for you, especially because of that curse. Let's go."
Raine said, "The curse is a secondary concern at the moment. We need to know how he escaped the human ranch right now."
Sophia replied, "I'm not sure that he..."
I glared, "Don't even try to say he didn't. How do you think he got the curse in the first place?!" I then turned to Lloyd, "You're good at getting information out of people. Try to get Pietro to tell us something useful."
Lloyd blinked, "Uh...okay." He walked over to Sophia and Pietro, "How did you get away from the human ranch?"
Pietro replied, still using a monotone, "Boulder…big…underground…jewel…boulder…move…Chosen…"
I nodded, "Got it, Pietro. Thank you."
Kratos asked, "How did you manage to make sense out of that, Joanna? Is that the escape route?"
Sophia begged of Lloyd, Kratos, and me, "Please, let him be!"
Sheena told Sophia, "Now listen here! You may be happy just protecting Pietro, but because of this guy, countless people from Luin are dead! How about helping us just a little? It can't hurt anything."
Sophia sighed and added, "I'm sure Pietro has many things he wants to say, but because of the curse, he's been turned into this zombie-like state."
Lloyd responded, "But he's still alive. The dead can't even tell us that they were scared. Please. Help us. You won't regret it."
Colette nodded in agreement and replied, "We want to go to the ranch. If it's possible to get out, it's possible to get back in, right? Please. We want to help the people that are still being held captive there..."
Sophia then told her, "I'm willing to help you, but in exchange, I want you to lift Pietro's curse. The healing technique left behind by Boltzman is in the Tower of Mana. That will probably work for lifting his curse."
Raine nodded, "All right. But infiltrating the ranch comes first. I won't relinquish that."
Sophia told Raine, "...When he escaped the ranch, he said he came out through the front yard and blocked the exit with a boulder. His things are in one of the graves. Take them with you."
Colette smiled and told Sophia, "Thank you. We'll come back when we get the healing technique."
I nodded and told Colette, "We might as well break the fourth seal while we're there, right? After we defeat Kvar? We'll be killing two birds with one stone that way."
Raine replied, "You raise a good point as always, Joanna. All right. We'll do that."
Lloyd looked confused, "How can you kill two birds with only one stone?" I sighed, "It's an expression, Lloyd. It means we'll get two things done at the same time if we release the fourth seal when we go to get the healing technique to save Pietro. Anyway, we should all rest for the night, and we'll go to the ranch first thing in the morning."
After I dug up Pietro's grave and brought back the Desian Orb, I handed it to Raine. I hadn't had my meeting the previous night with Yuan because it would've been too noticeable in what was left of Luin, and I had a lot that I would need to report to him, especially this recent development. I would also have to ask him if it was he and the Renegades that helped Pietro escape. After all, they were supposed to look a lot like the Desians. It wouldn't surprise me if they had a few operatives on the inside.
Kratos nodded, "I'm agreeable with that...Colette?" Colette smiled, "That's fine. That'll give us a few hours to rest anyway." So, we reserved two rooms for the night, one for the girls (Raine excluded because she wanted to share with Genis) and one for the guys. After I was sure everyone (save Kratos and Colette for obvious reasons, by this point) was asleep, I snuck out of the inn and met Yuan outside.
I said, "Hey, Yuan. Sorry I couldn't meet you last night. A lot's happened and I didn't have time."
Yuan nodded, "That's quite all right. It's only one night. What difference could that possibly make?"
I told him, "Actually, a big difference. We got caught by Kvar when we went into the ranch, but we are planning on trying again to defeat him. This time, though, we're taking a secret route that the escapee Pietro found. After that, we're heading to the Tower of Mana to release the fourth seal and get Boltzman's healing technique to save Pietro from a curse. Oh, by the way, do you have people on the inside of the Desian ranches?"
Yuan responded, "In a few of them. Asgard Ranch is one of the few...why?"
I replied, "I was just wondering. It seemed strange that Pietro would manage to escape on his own. Did any of your operatives help him escape?"
Yuan nodded, "Yes, actually. When no one was looking, two of them smuggled him to the escape route...but you mustn't speak of this to anyone, not even Kratos."
I smiled, "Of course, I won't say a word. Anyway, that does it for my report. Do you have anything to tell me, Yuan?"
Yuan blinked, "...No, not for the moment. When I do, I'll let you know." He teleported back to the Renegade base in Triet.
Sighing, I went back inside. Morning came, and we headed out for the ranch. When we got there, we examined the boulder that blocked the escape route Pietro had taken.
Lloyd observed, "This is it, the one Pietro was talking about."
I nodded, "Definitely...and Raine, don't bother telling him to try and move it. It won't budge without that Desian Orb."
Raine blinked, but then nodded. She placed the Desian Orb on a little niche in the boulder and it slid aside, revealing the secret entrance. We entered the ranch through the special entrance we revealed and ran into 2 Desian soldiers shortly thereafter.
The Desians said, in unison, "Who the hell are you?!"
I smirked, "Wouldn't you like to know?" We fought the soldiers for about 30 minutes before finally killing them.
After that, Raine went over to the computer thing and examined it. She muttered, as if to herself, "Let's bring up the ranch-wide map." She activated the computer and brought up the map.
Needless to say, Lloyd was amazed and told her, "Professor, you're fantastic!"
Sheena responded, "So there are people on this side who can operate machines, too…"
Genis looked confused, "On this side?"
Sheena giggled a bit nervously and said, "Nothing, just talking to myself."
Raine looked at the map and said, "This is where we are." She lit up the area we were in with a flashing little red light, then added, "And this is where Kvar should be." She lit up where Kvar was with a flashing white light. After examining the map thoroughly, she said, "It appears that in order to get to the floor that Kvar is on, we'll have to deactivate the guard system."
Colette looked confused at her words, "Guard...system?"
Raine told her, "Here." She highlighted where the guard system was in blue light, "If we don't deactivate this, we won't be able to get to Kvar."
Lloyd looked pissed and replied, "Then what are we going to do?"
Kratos sighed and told him, "Calm down, Lloyd. There should be a switch to deactivate the system."
Raine looked at the map again and nodded, "Here it is." She had the places with the switches lit up in orange light, "See the two switches at the end of the left-right passageway? Those are the deactivation switches."
Lloyd nodded, "Okay then, let's deactivate it."
Raine told him, "Hold on, Lloyd. I'll bring up the route to Kvar's room." She thought for a minute and then added, "It looks like the conveyor belt prevents passage through there. In order to stop that, we'll need to stop the conveyor belt control mechanism, but…it seems it's constructed in such a way that you can't get close to the control mechanism while containers are on the conveyor… …Let's see, in order to adjust the container dispatch control system…" An alarm went off, and the computer thingy froze up.
Raine cursed, "Dammit. They've detected my access of the main computer."
I nodded, "I expected they would eventually. The Desians are anything but stupid."
Genis gulped, "Lloyd, what do we do?! The Desians will be here any minute!"
Lloyd cursed our luck, saying, "Dammit!"
Raine faced Lloyd and told him, "It looks like we don't have any choice. Let's split into two teams to deactivate the system and to infiltrate Kvar's room."
Genis looked really surprised, "What? We're going to split up?!"
Kratos sighed and said, "There seems to be no other way. I would like to be in the group that goes after Kvar."
Again, I knew his reasons, but I said nothing about it.
Genis put in his two cents, "Yeah, me too!"
Sheena added, not to be beaten by a twelve-year-old, "And me."
Raine turned to Colette, "Colette, please choose for us."
Colette replied, "Well umm...then..." She looked at Lloyd, "I'll leave it to Lloyd."
I smirked, "Heh...you really wanna do that, Colette?"
Genis replied, "Yeah, are you sure? He lives only by instinct and intuition."
Lloyd responded, "What's that supposed to mean? Anyway, I'm the one that's gonna pick? I'm going to Kvar. I want to avenge Mom." He walked over to Genis.
The half-elven boy asked, "You are going to take me along, right?"
Lloyd nodded and told him, "Yeah, be part of the infiltration team."
Genis smiled and gave a thumbs up, "That's what I wanted to hear!"
Lloyd smiled back, then walked over to Kratos. Kratos told him, "I desire to fight Kvar. Please, Lloyd. Take me with you."
Lloyd nodded, "Of course. Be part of the infiltration team."
I responded, "That still leaves us uneven. You'll need to choose one more person, Lloyd...and please, don't choose me. I'd rather help Raine if I can...but, like Colette said, it's up to you, so I won't say any more."
Lloyd told me, "You're being part of the infiltration team too, Joanna."
Raine nodded and said, "I understand. Leave the other team to me, then."
Lloyd nodded and responded, "Let's meet up in Kvar's control room."
After splitting up, Lloyd led Kratos, Genis and I to the manufacturing plant part of the ranch, while Raine and the others deactivated the guard system. (It's happening at the same time, so I'm not going to post both.) We increased the amount of fire the Sorcerer's Ring let out and went to the container delivery control system.
Lloyd commented, "If we stop this, we can prevent the captives from turning into monsters." After examining the control, I activated the switch, which shutdown the container delivery system. The machine that delivered the Exsphere containers to the conveyor belt was shutdown. We headed back into the manufacturing part of the ranch and used the Sorcerer's ring to destroy the six containers keeping the conveyor belts active. The conveyor belts stopped moving after we did that and we moved on to the next area.
Lloyd stepped onto the teleporter and said, "Prepare yourself, Kvar!" After about 45 minutes of waiting, the teleporter reacted and teleported Lloyd to Kvar's room. Kratos followed him, then Genis, then me.
Lloyd said boldly, "I've found you, Kvar!"
We approached Kvar and Pronyma observed, "So, this is Lloyd. I see, he does bear a resemblance."
Lloyd looked puzzled at the reference. Yuan had said the same thing...what were they talking about?
Kvar, merely glancing at us over his shoulder, replied, "So you've come. I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't change the subject, Pronyma! It's clear you've been stealing research data from my Angelus Project."
I started, "Actually--" I stopped myself before I got myself into real trouble with Lloyd though. If I told them that Rodyle was the one stealing the research data, I would be suspected of siding with the Desians and compromise my relationship with the Renegades...as well as Lloyd's group.
Pronyma sighed, growing annoyed, "I grow tired of your accusations, Kvar. As I have told you, I know nothing of it."
Kvar sighed and said, "Stubborn woman. I suppose I should expect no less from one who usurped the leadership of the Five Grand Cardinals. Take heed, Pronyma. Once I retrieve the Exsphere from this inferior being, I will become the leader of the Five Grand Cardinals. When that happens, you'll be begging for my forgiveness."
Pronyma responded, "You speak nonsense, Kvar. I've also heard that Rodyle has talked you into joining him in one of his schemes. But it would be best not to believe that you can deceive Lord Yggdrassil for long." I found myself wondering what it was like to live on a comet made out of pure mana. Shrugging, I looked back, noticing that the rest of our group had arrived. I smiled and waved, then looked back at Kvar.
Kvar spoke again, "So the Mana Cannon is no longer a secret. Well, it doesn't matter." He turned around, finally looking at us, "Once I succeed in retrieving that Exsphere, any suspicions I might have been under will be but a distant memory."
Kratos told us, "Get ready!"
Lloyd glared at Kvar, "You're not gonna take this from me!"
I nodded, "Right behind you, Krat-man, Lloydie!" I drew out my crossbow and jumped back some, to put distance between Kvar and me. The fight with Kvar and his two energy stones...took forever! I got singed quite a bit by the lightning and almost got skewered by his staff/spear thing. At one point in the fight, Kvar picked Lloyd up and placed him in between Kratos and himself. Thanks to Kratos's great skills with the blade, and Lloyd's amazing agility, they managed to avoid any damage that Lloyd might've gotten if his Demon Fang attack had connected. After finally defeating Kvar, Lloyd placed his hand on his Exsphere and said, "…I did it, Mom. You've been avenged!"
Raine walked over and told us, "We've learned of Chocolat's location."
Lloyd looked overjoyed at this and replied, "Really?!"
Colette noticed Kvar beginning to get up behind Lloyd and told him, "Look out!"
Kratos turned around and also saw Kvar about to attack Lloyd.
Lloyd immediately turned around and just as he was going to be attacked, Colette shielded Lloyd and Kvar struck Colette with his staff.
Lloyd gasped, "Colette?!" He caught Colette, who was about to fall onto him.
Colette responded, "Lloyd…are you okay?"
Lloyd added, "Yeah, but you're..."
Colette sighed and told him, "I'm fine, really." Just as Kvar was leaving, Sheena appeared and blocked the way.
Angrily, Lloyd drew his sword and raged, " …You bastard!" He stabbed Kvar through the right side of his chest. Kratos ran up beside Lloyd and stabbed the Grand Cardinal through the left side of his chest.
Kvar cursed his luck, telling Kratos, "Kratos…you pathetic, inferior being!" I smirked, knowing what was coming next. It was too awesome seeing all this in person for words. Kvar was getting what was coming to him and I actually go to be there IN PERSON to hear Kratos say my favorite line.
Kratos seethed, pure hatred and anger in his voice, "Feel the pain…" He pulled his sword out and stabbed the Desian Grand Cardinal in the stomach, "of those inferior beings..." He slashed Kvar one last time across the face, "as you burn in hell!" Kvar died right after that.
Colette grasped at the wound Kvar gave her.
Raine turned to her, very concerned. She gasped, "Colette! That wound..."
Genis told her, "Colette, hang on!"
Lloyd added, "Colette! Your wound..."
Colette smiled up at us all and said, "Thanks for worrying about me, but I'm really okay. For some reason, it doesn't hurt. Hehe, strange, huh?"
I sighed and nodded, "Yeah...strange..." I knew all too well that she would say that.
Sheena told Colette, "You're certainly not okay! Raine, you can use healing arts, right?!"
Raine responded, "Yes, but..."
Lloyd finally spoke up, "...Colette, I'm sorry, but I can't keep this a secret any longer! Everyone, listen to what I have to say. Colette...can no longer feel anything. Colette is getting closer to becoming an angel. She can't eat anymore, she can't sleep...she can't even cry!"
Colette sighed and said, "Lloyd...it's okay. I'm okay, so..." I turned to Raine, simply asking and pointedly not looking at Colette or Lloyd, "Can you blow up this ranch like you did the first?"
Raine told me, "Yes, I can. I'll set it up right now." She walked over to the computer and began to hit buttons. Once the self-destruct was set, we all hurried out of the ranch so that it wouldn't come down around our ears. We made it back to Hima in one piece. While the others slept soundly at the inn that night, I met with Yuan. I told him we defeated Kvar and destroyed the Asgard Ranch as well.
I then added, "We'll head for the Tower of Mana in the morning to unleash the Seal of Light. Uhh...Yuan, after that we'll be going to the Tower of Salvation, but let me ask you something."
Yuan nodded, "All right, ask away."
I asked, "...What are you hoping to gain by planning to attack Kratos right before he leaves with Colette to go to the Tower of Salvation? He's just going to...ack!"
He had put his Swallow to my throat before I could even react. Yuan glared, "How do you know that? I've not told you anything about my plans in regards to him."
I gulped and answered, "W-well, it's obvious you plan to do something. I mean...you did capture Lloyd. You must've had some reason for doing that...right?"
Yuan replied, "...You're right, I did have my reasons, but I'm not telling you what they are at the moment. Now, do you have anything else useful to report?"
I sighed and told him, "Well...not at the moment. Other than that Raine is getting slightly suspicious of Kratos's motives. She watches him like a hawk when she thinks no one else is looking. When she approached him about his reasons for being on the journey, he simply answered that he was a mercenary and that's how they made money. At the moment, I'm the only one that knows for sure why he's there, but I'm afraid she might figure it out."
Yuan replied, "I wouldn't worry. She sounds like a smart woman, but we don't need to worry about it. It sounds to me like Kratos is doing a fine job of keeping her from finding out who he is and why he's really there. If that's all you have, I'll see you tomorrow night." He teleported back to the Renegade base.
The next morning, Kratos and Lloyd were the first two up. I blinked and asked, "Did you wake him up for some early morning training or something, Kratos?"
Lloyd nodded, yawning a bit, "Y-yeah...he said that the earlier we do it, the sooner we can get going to the Seal of Light. I'm supposed to wake the others up after we're done."
I told him, "Aw, don't worry about it. I'll take care of that. You and Kratos focus on training right now." I was looking forward to seeing some of their training sessions in person...I only hoped Kratos wouldn't be too hard on Lloyd. I stepped back some to allow them access to the door to the inn and followed them as they left. They went to the graveyard and trained, and I smiled as I watched them. It was moments like this that made me realize how much Kratos truly cared for Lloyd. If he didn't care at all, he wouldn't have bothered with this or any of the other training sessions, nor would he have spared (or, rather, spare) Lloyd at the Tower of Salvation. I laughed a bit as Kratos managed to knock Lloyd flat on his back, unable to help myself. Kratos seemed unphased by my laughter, while Lloyd shot me a dirty look. He then looked back at Kratos and went at him again. After about two hours, at approximately 7 in the morning, I deemed that it was time to wake the others and went to the inn.
I went into Colette's room and told her, "Come on, Colette. We're leaving soon to go to the fourth seal." I knew that she wouldn't be asleep...but she was probably doing a lot of thinking at this moment.
Colette sat up and nodded. She asked, "...Joanna, is something bothering you? I can't help but notice that you've been a bit distant lately..."
I sighed and told her, looking at the floor, "...It's nothing you need to worry about, Colette. With everything you're going through as the Chosen, the last thing you need is my problems added on top of yours."
Colette walked over to me and tilted my chin up so I would be looking into her blue eyes, "Please, Joanna. You know you can tell me anything..."
I replied, "...Colette, I'm sorry but I just can't tell you. Though, I will tell you that I know that this journey will end in your death. Are you sure that's what you want?"
Colette blinked, a bit surprised. She then nodded, with a bit of a sigh, "Yes, I'm sure. As long as Lloyd is alive and happy in the newly regenerated world, it will be all right if I'm not there. Please...don't say anything to him or to Genis about how the journey will end."
I nodded, "I've already promised to keep my mouth shut. I never break a promise, Colette. But...the further progression of the Angel Toxicosis will be hard to ignore, especially since you will lose your voice. ...Lloyd and the others might figure it out on their own. And I'm sure Kratos knows too. Anyway, I'm going to wake Genis, Sheena, and Raine. You wait outside, okay?"
Colette replied, "Okay, I'll wait." She went and stood at the bottom of the steps as I woke up the raven-haired summoner and two Sage siblings.
Sheena mumbled, still half-asleep, "Bugger off, Corrine, it's too early."
I giggled, "Sheena, I'm not Corrine. And we're not too early. We have to leave to get to the Seal of Light on time."
Sheena finally woke up, yawning and stretching. Her raven black hair, to put it bluntly, was a mess. As she brushed the tangles out of her dark hair and put it back in its customary bun, she blinked and looked back at me, "Oh...sorry, Joanna. Umm...I'll be right out, okay? You go ahead and wake up Genis and Raine."
I nodded and went to the bottom floor of the inn, going into the room that the Sages shared. I shook Raine's shoulder gently, "Raine, get up. It's time to be going soon to the Tower of Mana." Raine yawned and sat up, rubbing tiredly at her eyes. She told me, "Okay, thank you. I'll wake Genis up. You go on back to whatever you were doing. How long have you been up?"
I replied, "...Kratos woke me up this morning when he went to train early with Lloyd."
Raine nodded, "All right. I'll see you in a few minutes." She slipped on her white boots and orange robe-like jacket as I left the room. She went over to Genis's bed and shook his shoulder gently, "Genis, time to get up."
Genis grumbled, "Raine...it's too early..."
Raine sighed, "No, it's not. It's 7 am and we are leaving for the fourth seal today. Now get up and get ready."
Genis nodded and sat up in bed, stretching lazily and putting his shoes on. He and Raine soon joined Colette and me in the lobby. We went outside to retrieve Lloyd and Kratos, getting there just in time to see Lloyd knocked backwards by the pressure of Kratos pressing his strength against their crossed swords. He applied as much pressure back as he could, but landed ungracefully on his rear, his strength no match for the angelic mercenary's despite the fact that it was enhanced by his Exsphere and Genis laughed, "Nice, Lloyd..."
Lloyd rolled his eyes at his half-elven friend, "Shut up, Genis." He used his other sword to push himself back on his feet and asked, "..Am I getting any stronger?"
Kratos nodded, "Yes, you were able to hold out longer this time than last time. If you keep improving, there will be a day when you are able to surpass me."
I blinked, wondering if Kratos knew that his words were somewhat prophetic.
Raine seemed impressed at Kratos's words, "...So there is hope for Lloyd, hmm? That's good to hear. So then, shall we leave for the Tower of Mana?"
I replied, "Yes, let's go. We have to get the cure for Pietro as well as unleash the seal. Oh...Sheena, can I talk to you alone for a sec?"
Sheena nodded, "Yeah, sure."
As we walked side-by-side behind the others to have a private conversation, I told her in a VERY quiet voice, "...I'm not really from Sylvarant or Tethe'alla..."
Sheena blinked, "Oh...then where are you from?" I told her, telepathically, "I'm from a planet called Earth. It's approximately 500,000 light years, maybe more, from here. I told the others I'm from Tethe'alla as a cover story though. Kratos didn't seem to buy it, but the others believe that I was born in Tethe'alla and raised in Sylvarant, the town of Asgard. I was...just wondering if maybe, sometime, you and Zelos could pretend you knew me as a baby...that you babysat me for my parents as we were growing up, or something. I won't ask you for anything else, Sheena. Please?"
Sheena smiled at me and nodded, "Sure, I'll do that. If I ever get back to Tethe'alla."
I smiled back, "I'm sure you'll find a way back. You seem to be pretty resourceful. Thanks." When we finally arrived at the Tower of Mana, I used the key that I had picked up to unlock the front door and we went inside. (A/n: I don't have the Unicorn Horn sidequest on here because it's not going to be featured. Instead of the party having to go and fetch it from the unicorn at the lake, the unicorn will appear at the tower.) I was silent as we entered. It was then that I noticed a peculiar painting above the many shelves of books. It was one of a unicorn and Martel, but the unicorn looked incredibly lifelike to just be a picture. I sighed and turned to Colette, "Well, there's the Oracle Stone, Colette. Have at it..."
Colette smiled and nodded, "Oh, right." Once she activated the Oracle stone, a pillar of lightning came down from the sky and hit the strange device in front of the pedestal, activating it. It stayed glowing purple and the three pads that looked like switches were dark, as if waiting to be pressed.
Raine seemed to be in deep thought for a moment, then went and stood on one of the switches. It lit up, "Genis, go and stand over on one of the other ones."
Genis nodded. He went and stood on another switch, "You mean like this?" The one he was standing on also lit up.
Lloyd smiled, "Hey, cool! Maybe..." He went and stood on the third and final switch and the door on the eastern wall of the room opened. Lloyd grew excited and began to run toward the door, "It opened!" The switch he had been standing on deactivated, and the door shut again, "Oh, man."
Sheena sighed and went and stood on the switch where Lloyd had been standing.
Raine explained, "It appears that we have to stay right where we are for the switches to remain active."
Kratos nodded and added, "That means that at least three of us must remain here. Lloyd, choose who will stay and who will go. You did a good job of dividing us up at the ranch."
Lloyd sighed and responded, "All right. Let's see...hmm...Kratos, why don't you and Colette come with me? Professor Sage, you too. We might run into some monsters on our way up the tower, so we might need your healing. Joanna, you, Sheena, and Genis stay behind to keep the switches active. We'll see you later."
I nodded, "Right...see you around."
Lloyd led Kratos, Raine, and Colette through the open door and further into the tower while the rest of us waited for them to find the switch that opened the other door in the room, the one on the northern wall. After about 30 minutes, an image of Lloyd appeared in the center of the array we were standing on. After having a brief conversation with Sheena, he disappeared and we went out the now-open northernmost door.
After solving a difficult puzzle dealing with mirrors and light, we (Sheena, Genis and I) reunited with Lloyd, Kratos, Colette, and Raine. We walked back across the bridges of light and headed for the warp pad that we had seen when going to reunite our split party. Before we stepped onto the warp pad though, Kratos and Raine went and stood on the two blue switches to make the portal active. After the warp pad was activated, we stepped onto it and were all teleported to the Seal Room. It was on the roof of the building...which was a bit unnerving because of how high up it was. Colette walked forward a few steps, Kratos and Lloyd both following her.
Next moment, Lloyd complained, "Whew, man, I'm tired."
Kratos sighed and told him, "That's because you're always overexcited in the beginning."
I shrugged, "That and I'm sure you guys fought a lot of monsters."
The seal finally reacted to Colette's Cruxis Crystal, the sky going almost pitch black, and then getting really bright a few seconds later.
Iubaris appeared the next moment, looking rather formidable with his wings, hooves, horn, and rings of light around his legs. We finally defeated Iubaris after three hours of fighting. (A/n: In other words, I'm taking the ratio that 1 hour in game time=1 minute in real time) Exhausted, I sighed and leaned back against a pillar. The seal was broken though, and yellow energy appeared.
Remiel spoke, though he hadn't made himself visible yet, "Chosen of Regeneration...You have done well in reaching this far. Now, offer your prayers at the altar."
Colette nodded her head and replied, "Yes." She went over to the altar and prayed, "Oh Goddess Martel, great protector and nurturer of the earth, grant me thy strength." Her iridescent pink angel wings appeared and she flew up.
When she got in midair, the energy reacted and Luna appeared. She asked, "Where is Aska?"
Lloyd blinked in surprise, "Whoa, it talked!"
I giggled and replied, "Duh...her lips are moving and words are coming out. What else would she be doing?"
Lloyd rolled his eyes at me, then shook his head and looked back at Colette.
Luna added, "...Without Aska, I cannot do anything—I cannot form a pact or a vow. Please...find Aska...in order to restore my power."
I nodded to the blonde Summon Spirit, whispering to her, "We will eventually."
Luna disappeared the next moment, leaving Colette looking rather puzzled.
A light was seen from above Colette and Remiel appeared. He descended toward Colette and told her, "Your journey has been long. You have done well to reach this far, Colette, the Chosen One!"
Colette nodded and told him, "Thank you...Lord Remiel."
Remiel responded, "Let us grant you our blessing."
I muttered, to myself so that no one else would hear, "...Yeah, it's such a blessing to lose all that makes you human..."
Colette replied to Remiel, not having heard what I said, "Thank you." She received her new angel powers.
Remiel told her, "You have taken another step closer to becoming an angel, yet you seem anxious."
Colette answered that quickly, "Ah, no. I'm very happy."
Remiel sighed and said, "Hmm? Now, Chosen One. Your journey is finally drawing to a close. It is time for you to rejoice. The path to the Tower of Salvation is open! Head to the Tower of Salvation and offer your prayers of Regeneration. Then, you will be able to climb the stairway of heaven."
I was standing there, looking away from Remiel and everyone and trying not to cry at what I knew was going to happen when we got there. Kratos would still betray them, that much I was still certain about. I had a feeling though that it wouldn't be Botta leading the Renegades in the invasion of the tower though.
Remiel looked directly at me, smirking, though he didn't say anything.
Lloyd finally said, "...The Tower of Salvation?!"
Genis smiled and said, "The World Regeneration is finally going to take place!"
Sheena looked thoughtful and asked, "Is regeneration...really going to happen?"
Colette told Remiel, "I shall do as you instruct, Lord Remiel!"
Remiel nodded to her and vanished from the scene. As he was disappearing, he told Colette, "I shall await you at the final seal. Colette...my daughter. There, you will become an angel, like me."
Colette came back down, putting away her angel wings.
Kratos commented, "The end is finally in sight. Let's head to the Tower of Salvation in the morning."
Raine looked to Colette and asked her, "Colette...are you sure this is what you really want?"
Colette sighed and nodded, "...Yes. I'm fine."
Lloyd looked frustrated and shouted, "Dammit!"
As we left the Tower of Mana, I grabbed Boltzman's Book and handed it to Raine, "This has the cure for Pietro in it, right?"
Raine nodded then sighed as she added, "It will be difficult for me to use this book with my healing arts. If we had some sort of tool to amplify the body's life force..."
Genis asked her, "What sort of thing do you need?"
Raine told him, "Perhaps if..."
I cut her off and added, "A Unicorn Horn, Genis. She needs a Unicorn Horn to get the necessary technique to save Pietro's life. But...we don't need to go all the way to Lake Umacy. I have a feeling that we'll see one before too long."
The next moment, the picture that I had seen before reacted to Colette's crystal, glowing a silvery blue color. A unicorn appeared next to Colette, "Martel..."
Sheena blinked, "Martel? You mean the Goddess Martel?"
We went outside the tower of Mana. Once we reached the bottom of the stairs, Colette kneeled down.
Lloyd went over to Colette, looking really concerned now, "Professor! It's Colette's Angel Toxicosis."
Raine nodded and told him, "I see. Let's rest here for today."
Colette gasped, then looked puzzled. She couldn't speak!
Lloyd asked her, "What's wrong, Colette?"
Kratos answered his question, "I would assume she's lost her voice."
Lloyd and everyone else looked slightly shocked.
I sighed and told them, "Don't you guys remember? I lost my voice too...for a little while."
Genis blinked, "What?! Oh...oh yeah, that's right, you did. But you got it back a couple of days later. Maybe Colette's voice will come back too."
Now, I really wished I didn't know how the journey would end. I didn't say another word and started making camp, taking our tents off of Noishe's back.
Colette gasped again, then sighed and came to help me. Later, after our little campsite was set up and Kratos had a steady campfire going, Sheena stood up, "Everyone, I have something to say."
I glanced at her, silently telling her that if she told them anything I told her, I would make her life a living hell. Lloyd asked, "Huh?"
Sheena answered him, "I want to explain why I was trying to assassinate the Chosen."
Raine nodded, "All right. We're listening. Tell us about your homeland. A land that doesn't exist in this world." Sheena blinked, "...You knew?"
Raine shook her head, "No, but you said it yourself that Sylvarant will be saved. That must mean you aren't from Sylvarant."
I sighed and remained quiet during this little talk. Despite the fact that Sheena was going to tell them that she was from Tethe'alla, I had no desire to tell them that I was from Earth. It would raise too many questions, and I would want to answer none of them.
Sheena sighed, "Yeah...you know, it's really a shame that your intellect's being wasted here. You're right. My homeland is not here, not in Sylvarant."
Genis asked, "...Well, what does that mean?"
Sheena told him, "My world is called Tethe'alla."
Genis blinked, "Tethe'alla? You mean the moon?"
Sheena giggled, then added, "Of course not. My world's not on the moon."
Lloyd looked slightly puzzled at this.
Sheena sighed, "Even I really don't understand the specifics, but there is another world that lies entwined with Sylvarant, as shadow is to light. That's Tethe'alla, my world."
I nodded, "I'm...I was originally born there as well, but my parents and I came over to Sylvarant using the Otherworldly Gate. There had always been whispers and rumors in the Church of Martel in Tethe'alla about the legendary Sylvarant, and my parents wanted to check it out for themselves. I ran into Sheena a couple of times in Meltokio."
Sheena smiled, "I thought you seemed familiar." She winked at me, then looked at Kratos. She asked him, "So, Kratos, while we're talking about families....what happened to yours?"
Kratos sighed, "...My family was slaughtered by the Desians..."
I didn't say anything, for I knew it was a half-truth. It had been the Desians' fault that Anna died because Kvar had been the one to force Kratos's hand. Now I was even more glad that he was dead. If I had been in Kratos's place, I would've killed him a long time ago.
Raine spoke up again, "The Desians that killed your family....they were led by Kvar, weren't they?"So she had noticed how deep Kratos's loathing for Kvar ran.
Kratos nodded, "Yes. And thank you all so much for brining up such a painful subject!" He rose to his feet and stormed off before anyone said anything else.
I sighed, "Let me go talk to him, you guys. I can understand his feelings a little."
Lloyd added, "I'll come too. I know what it feels like to have someone you love killed by the Desians."
Sheena nodded, "Just don't be too long. It's getting dark out."
I replied, "Don't worry. We won't be." I followed Kratos, finding him gazing at the stars, "Hey, Kratos. I'm sorry Raine brought up such a painful topic...she can be rather..."
Lloyd cut me off and said, "Cold and blunt at times. Are you okay?"
Kratos looked at Lloyd, "...I'll be fine. Thank you, Lloyd, and Joanna."
I nodded, "You're quite welcome."
Lloyd went and sat next to Kratos, also gazing up at the stars. He then scooted a teensy bit closer to Kratos.
I smiled, "Well, umm...I'm going back to the others now. I just came to see if you were all right Kratos. I know it's hard to talk about these things..."
Kratos replied, "...All right." He had noticed that Lloyd had scooted closer, but didn't move at all. This was a sign to me that Kratos was starting to open up to his own humanity. If I could just have a few more days with him, maybe he'd actually smile! Well...okay, maybe a smile was a bit much, but at least he was letting someone in. Then again, Lloyd was probably the one responsible for it, not me. I went back to the others, the smile still there.
Sheena smiled back, "Hey, you seem really happy. What happened?"
I told her, "Oh...Kratos just opened up to Lloyd a bit, that's all. It makes me happy."
Raine seemed a bit perturbed by this, "Hmph...he'll open up to Lloyd but not to me? I don't know whether to be offended or happy."
I giggled, "Oh, just give him time, Raine. You haven't really known him all that long."
Colette wrote on my hand, "Neither has Lloyd." I wanted to say, 'Actually, he's known Lloyd since he was a baby...he just didn't know he was alive.', but stopped myself and told her, "Eh...true. Maybe it's because they use the same weapon that they've connected so well. Whatever the case, I'm glad it's happening."
Genis added, "Yeah, me too. Kratos needs to have someone to care about him. It seems to me that he's always got this monster-sized chip on his shoulder or something."
Sheena smirked, "Heh, just what we need, a mercenary with a chip on his shoulder."
I replied, "...Well, I'm going to get some sleep. You guys should too. Good night!" I went and lay down some distance from the campfire and closed my eyes, feigning sleep.
After the others were asleep, Kratos and Lloyd came back.
Lloyd knew that Colette and I weren't really asleep and whispered, "Good night, Joanna, Colette..." He yawned and lay down next to the campfire.
I whispered back, "Night."
Colette gave a sigh as a good night and stared up at the stars.
Lloyd looked at Kratos one last time before falling asleep, "Y'know...it's the weirdest thing, but my childhood memory that stands out the most is...gazing at the stars with my dad. My real dad, not Dirk."
Kratos got an almost shocked expression on his face and then asked, "...Do you remember anything about your birth father?"
Lloyd sighed, "Unfortunately, not really...only bits and pieces. What stands out to me the most about him...is...red hair..." He then drifted off to sleep, beginning to snore.
I gulped, "...Honest, Kratos, I didn't say anything to him."
Kratos nodded, "I know. It's just strange that he remembers so little about me. Maybe the fall off the cliff did that."
I replied, "That or the memory of the night was suppressed because it was too painful for his three-year-old mind to understand." The next moment, I noticed that Lloyd was tossing and turning, in the throes of a painful nightmare. I gulped, "...Could he be...remembering that night in his dreams? Is it possible for a half-memory to cause nightmares?"
Kratos sighed, "I don't know...but I'm to blame for it."
I told him, quietly, "No, you're not. Kvar is. He's the one that forced you to kill Anna while Lloyd was watching."
Lloyd whimpered in his sleep, then muttered, "Mom...no....d-don't kill her! Dad!"
I hated seeing Lloyd so tormented by his half-awakened memories and looked to Kratos, my voice almost a yell without my realizing, "Kratos...please, hold Lloyd. It won't be good if he rolls into the campfire!"
Kratos nodded, "You raise a good point." He went over to Lloyd and cradled the troubled teenager's torso, also ruffling his hair. He muttered softly, "Lloyd...it's all right. It's just a dream." He hoped his familiar voice would soothe the boy.
I loved this moment. It was the very image of a father trying to comfort his very traumatized son.
Raine, whom I had accidentally woken up, yawned and sat up in her sleeping bag, "Kratos? Is Lloyd all right?"
Kratos looked to Raine, "Hmm? Oh...yes...he was just...having a nightmare and...."
Raine smiled, "It's fine, Kratos. I trust him with you. And apparently, he does too." She giggled and pointed out that Lloyd was now halfway returning Kratos's embrace, his gloved hands clasped tightly around the purple-clad seraphim's wrists.
Kratos sighed, "...I wish he didn't."
I asked, "Why not? It's not as if it's unwarranted." I gasped and put my hand over my mouth.
Raine sighed, "...Whatever. I'm going back to sleep. I'm too tired to worry about that." She yawned and fell back asleep.
Lloyd drifted into a dreamless sleep, still holding on to Kratos. For now, he almost seemed to be just a scared child clinging to its parent for comfort.
I smiled, "...You know...in the morning, Lloyd's gonna wonder how you ended up like that."
Kratos replied, "I know...but I'll worry about that tomorrow."
The next moment, Yuan came over, looking like he had some bad news for me. I blinked, "Yuan...you look a bit down. What's going on?"
Yuan replied, "...Lord Yggdrassil has sent your friends Amber and Sarah home, along with your friend Liz. He considered them too much of a nuisance to keep around."
I sighed, "Great. Well, that's okay. I'll be all right."
Tomorrow came sooner than anyone expected and Lloyd nearly jumped out of his skin at his closeness to Kratos, "Umm...I hope you didn't get the wrong idea, Kratos. I was....umm, I just..."
Kratos chuckled, "I know, Lloyd. You were just having a nightmare. It's fine. I've had a few nightmares of my own in my time." He then sighed and frowned. He added silently, "A few of those times, I wished I had someone there to keep me company and tell me everything was all right, that it was just a dream..."
Lloyd managed to hear him though and told him, "...Oh. I'm sorry...well, I'm here for you Kratos, if you have any of those again."
Kratos nodded, "I appreciate the sentiment, Lloyd." He looked around, noticing that the others were getting up, "Well, Colette and I should get going. It's a long ride to the Tower of Salvation."
I nodded, "I should go too. I'll meet you guys there." I walked out of the inn with Kratos as he went to Noishe.
Despite the fact that I was tripling my loyalties, Lloyd and Kratos's safety was my first priority. Everything else would just fall into place, hopefully.
Kratos told Noishe, "I have some things I must do, in my place, I need you to--"
For some reason, Lloyd wasn't coming out of the inn! What was going on? Was Kratos going to be wounded by Yuan and unable to take Colette to the Tower? Was this going to be a test of my loyalty to both Cruxis and the Renegades? Oh, what to do...
Yuan charged up a lightning ball in his hand and launched it at Kratos.
Despite the fact that I had been so loyal to him, without thinking, I threw myself into the line of fire, getting hit in the back where my wings came out of and fell right into Kratos. I screamed in pain as the attack burned me badly.
Kratos nearly fell over himself, but managed to keep from falling and stabilized the both of us, while still managing to draw out his sword. He slashed Yuan on the shoulder, wounding him.
Yuan grunted in pain and disappeared before Kratos could get a good look. He didn't want the man to know that he was behind it all.
Kratos then looked down at me and asked, "Are you all right?"
I replied, "Aside from the fact that my back feels like it's on fire and I'm in a lot of pain, I'm doing okay."
Raine and the others soon came out, having jumped to attention the moment they heard my scream. She raced over to me and Kratos and demanded, "What happened, you two? Why is Joanna so badly hurt?"
Kratos answered, "Someone tried to surprise me, but Joanna saw the attack coming and protected me." Confounded by my act of selflessness, he fell silent and gazed up at the sky, as if asking it for answers.
Colette was watching me with a concerned expression on her face, and although she couldn't talk, I could hear her saying to me telepathically, Are you okay? Who did this?
I telepathically replied, Don't worry about it, Colette. We need to get you to the Tower of Salvation.
Kratos had overheard the telepathy and told Raine, "Perhaps you should stay here and heal Joanna while the rest of us go to the Tower of Salvation."
Sheena didn't like the idea of leaving me behind but nodded, "Yeah...she's too injured to be of much help against the monsters in the tower, if there are any."
I finally said, "No, I'm coming. I may be hurt, but I can still fight. It's fine. I want to be there for Colette. Please, Raine, let me come."
Raine sighed, "All right, fine, but stay on the sidelines. I don't want your injury to be made any worse than it is."
I nodded, "I will." With no further ado, our small group headed to the top of the mountain at Hima, going to see the dragon tamer about borrowing dragons to take to the Tower.
The tamer said, "It'll be 10,000 Gald for a tour of the Tower."
Lloyd replied, "That's expensive!"
The tamer responded, "I have to keep business going somehow, right?"
I told him, "Look, just cut the crap and give us the dragons. Colette's the Chosen One and we need these dragons to finish up the Journey of World Regeneration."
The tamer gasped, "Well...why didn't you say so in the first place? No no, this won't do at all! Put that money away! I can't charge the Chosen for a trip to the Tower of Salvation! Feel free to use any of the dragons that you wish. Please make sure you return the dragons when you arrive. There will be other customers wanting to use them..."
Kratos nodded, "I believe I will ride with Colette. Joanna, please choose who you will ride with."
I answered, "I'll ride with Sheena."
Lloyd added, "Then I'll ride with Genis."
We got on a dragon with two of us each, with the exception of Raine, who rode one by herself due to our uneven number of people.
As we got closer to the Tower, the sense of forboding that I had felt grew stronger and I wished I could share what I knew now more than ever. However, I told Sheena, "Hey, Sheena, can I fly you over to Raine, so I can catch up with Kratos and Colette? I really want to be alone for a while..."
Sheena nodded, "Sure." I nodded and flew my dragon next to Raine's, and Sheena jumped onto Raine's dragon. I then flew up to catch Kratos and Colette. I wanted to be there before anyone else, despite the fact that I knew the truth about everything. This was not going to be an easy thing to go through, but I had to in order to keep everything the way it was supposed to go. Of course, things were a little different with me there, but how different? I wasn't too sure on that one, but things definitely were not the same as they were in the game. For starters, Lloyd hadn't come out to protect Kratos from Yuan. I had to do that. And I had been one of the ones left behind to hold down the switches in the Tower of Mana. Perhaps I had a bigger hand in what happened than I thought. However, I could not shake the feeling that something very different was going to happen once we entered the Tower...
