CHAPTER 7
Getting to Hima was going to be difficult as they all knew since they had a good two days of travel to go. Stopping at Luin for the night, they found the few people that was there before had left, leaving the former city deserted. The other reason they stopped at Luin was to cut some corners on their trip, which helped in some ways with money issues since a traveler was looking to get to Hima and was willing to pay them to help him get there Though it wasn't a lot of money, they took it anyway and agreed to help the man their since he was going their direction anyway. The next day, they managed to get there just after noontime, seeing as the traveler was more than willing to use his collection of Holy Bottles to keep the enemies away and have them take out any that did get near. He thanked them greatly as they entered the small place and ran off to the Inn, only to stop and run away.
"There's a monster there!" the man yelled as he got behind them.
"There is?" Lloyd asked as they went over.
"All right, it's weakening!" some adventurer exclaimed as he held his sword up. "Finish it off!"
"Stop!" Lloyd yelled.
"You'll be the one finished off if you don't back away, now." the General said as he lifted his sword, pointing it at the archer nearby as the young lady mana user backed up as Kratos shook his head with his hand on his sword.
"Don't interfere!" the adventurer with the sword said turning around. "This is our…"
"You're heavily outnumbered, and while we don't what to fight you, that so called monster is a former woman." the General said.
"Clara, stop!" Raine said getting her attention. "We want to save you, please calm down…"
Raine barely managed to block the blow, that only knocked her back as Clara ran into her. Colette ended up not moving out of the way in time and got hit, keeping Raine from falling, but knocking Colette to the ground.
"Ahh!" Colette said as she hit the ground, but yelled more out of surprise than pain.
Clara ran off past them all and up the mountain as it seemed.
"Dammit!" the adventurer yelled. "You let it get away!"
Before the group could do anything, the three ran past them all, knocking Lloyd and Sheena aside as they chased after Clara.
"Colette, Professor, are you alright?" Lloyd asked.
"Yes, just got the wind knocked out of me." Raine said shaking her head.
"I'm fine too." Colette said after checking herself to see if she did get injured and found nothing.
"Hey, Clara dropped this." Genis said picking up something from the ground.
"Hmm, this is, the key to the Tower of Mana." Raine said looking at it.
"Well, that solves one big problem we had." the General said putting his weapon back. "I was ready to bet we'd be looking for a month or more."
"Same here. Clara did take it from that priest. I'm glad she dropped it." Lloyd said.
"I hope she is safe…" Raine said with concern.
"Somehow, if she has been able to get around up to here since leaving Palmacosta, I think those three idiots won't stand much of a chance." the General said.
"She was wounded though." Genis said.
"We gave her more than enough time to run away. I'm sure those adventurers will have more trouble keeping the monsters out there away from themselves than Clara will." Kratos said.
"Let's get to the Tower of Mana and get Boltzman's healing technique for Clara and Pietro." Lloyd said.
"Wow Lloyd." Raine said amazed. "Remembering what we are after was easy, remembering the name though, that was surprising."
Lloyd only groaned and the team left not having any reason to stay since getting the book was a major priority and camping out at night was no big deal seeing as Colette volunteered to stay up all night since she was awake all the time anyway. Even though the others felt like they were using her, she was glad to do it so she could look at the stars and listen to the night and stuff. Even with what she had to do, she still wanted to finish her schooling and graduate in some capacity before she saved the world. Raine was touched, and the others went with Colette on the decision. They did get back to Luin and stayed there again for the night, telling the priest they got the key back, and were going to use it to get into the Tower of Mana. He prayed for them and wished them luck along with the blessings of Martel, doing the same in the morning before they set out.
Along the way, Lloyd got curious about something, about Kratos. The General almost butted in, but stayed out of the conversation since he didn't want to start an argument.
"What do mercenaries do?" Lloyd asked.
"We are hired soldiers. Sometimes I am a bodyguard, like I am right now." Kratos said. "Well, more so recently since there hasn't been a war in a long time. But I have heard rumors of rising tensions in Palmacosta."
"I see. So, how much money do you make?" Lloyd asked.
"It depends on the job. For this one, I receive a sizable amount from the Chosen's grandmother." Kratos said.
"So, that's how much?" Lloyd asked.
"Why do you want to know?" Kratos asked.
"I want to know if it pays more than being a Dwarven blacksmith." Lloyd said.
"It does." the General muttered so quietly that only Raine heard.
"Who knows." Kratos said with a tired sigh. "I am hired for my skills. Dwarves are hired for their skills. There is not much meaning in who is paid more."
"Hmm, that's true." Lloyd said.
"You're not thinking about becoming a mercenary are you?" Kratos asked with concern.
Lloyd didn't notice it, but the General and Raine did hear the concern in the man's voice.
"No way!" Lloyd stated. "I'm going to stay with dad and improve my skills. Someday, I'm going to build my own boat, where I'll live in the town I plan on helping the General build…"
Everyone stopped.
"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that last part." Kratos said.
"Ah man." Lloyd said. "I'm sorry General, I…"
"It really wasn't a secret Lloyd, don't worry." the General said turning around and shrugging. "Kratos was pretty much the only one who didn't know."
"I didn't." Sheena said.
"Okay, two people." the General said rolling his eyes. "I have been meaning to talk on it more, but with everything that we learned about Colette…."
They didn't have to say anything as they realized why he stopped, since Colette couldn't help but look saddened for a moment, only to smile less than a second later.
"Once the world is saved, I'll try to visit the town General." Colette said grabbing his hand.
"I hope so princess." the General said gently squeezing her hand. "We'll have to save the world first and see what happens afterward."
"Hey, when we save the world, there won't be much need for mercenaries anymore." Lloyd said. "You could come join us, help build the boat with me."
"I'll, think about it." Kratos said. "I only ask for curiosity sake, but why are you building a town?"
"I'm tired of seeing so much discrimination no matter where we go. The town, which has yet to be named, but is kinda in the building process at even this moment, will have none of that. Anyone who doesn't follow that primary rule, you're kicked out. Anyone or any group that comes to try and cause trouble or attack the town, will not succeed." the General said.
"I see. The idea is very good and quite interesting. I sincerely do hope you manage to get it done and I get the chance to see it." Kratos said with genuine interest.
They saw the tower as they were getting closer, the top poking over the mountain range in the way, and Raine's excitement level built more and more as they got closer. Once there, she ran up the stairs first and looked around at it with extreme interest. The General could almost swear he could see hearts popping above her head as she gazed on it fondly before turning around to them and going into excited teacher slash archeologist mode.
"This place is marvelous! This Tower of Mana was built to gaze upon the Tower of Salvation!" Raine stated as the rest of them got to the top of the somewhat short flight of stairs.
"Yes, it is." Colette said as Raine walked back and forth to either side and other places looking it over with the same extreme interest as she muttered to herself.
"What's that?" Lloyd asked.
"Honestly, Lloyd!" Genis exclaimed in exasperation as his sister continued what she was doing. "We studied it in class before!"
"Is she normally like that?" Sheena asked quietly, seeing Raine dash to the opposite side of the building where Sheena and the General were standing.
"Oh yeah." the General said watching her with a smile.
"It is a tower..." Colette said as Sheena asked the General something. "That was used as a temple by the Church of Martel to offer prayers to the Tower of Salvation. Although, it was closed a long time ago because monsters started appearing inside."
"I must simply go inside. Standing out here is getting me nowhere…" Raine said searching her pockets for the key.
"According to the Book of Regeneration, it's very likely this is a seal." Colette said.
"If you look at it the way we've had to do things and with the story of what you said about offering prayers here for the Tower of Salvation, then it makes sense this place would be the final seal. Unlocking all these seals brings the Tower of Salvation back into visibility." the General said.
"That's a brilliant deduction General!" Raine said amazed. "It all makes sense…"
From there, she went on talking to herself and jumping around subjects so much along with mumbling that no one could understand half of what she said.
"I guess that is normal too?" Sheena asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Only since we started this journey." Genis said with a sigh. "But if this place is a seal, where is the oracle stone?"
"That's probably why there is a key. There is only one Chosen and this place was used by a lot of people at one time." the General said looking up and not seeing the top. "But being a seal, it probably also takes certain people to open it."
"Meaning the average person can't just go in." Lloyd said.
"That or the Church didn't want people inside vandalizing the place." Kratos said. "Let's give the key to the Chosen and see what happens."
Colette did so after getting the key from Raine and the doors opened with a mechanical like sound. Going in, they saw the first floor was clear of any monsters and the place was rather keep and well kept looking for a building that was overrun and had no people inside it for quite awhile.
"Wow, that's a lot of books." Genis said as Raine went back into her maniac like mood and started looking around with intense interest.
"Hmm, these books must be only semi important or something if they were left here where monsters could easily destroy them." the General said as Raine was looking at the titles of different books. "Or they aren't worth anything. Or worse, they have information in them that is either forbidden or suppose to be kept secret from the rest of the people."
"This is beyond incredible!" Raine practically shouted. "Just think of all the knowledge contained within these books! I could spend the rest of my life here and probably not finish them!"
"Somehow Raine, I doubt that." the General said scratching his head as he looked at the shelves.
"Even I have to stop and eat sometimes even when I don't want to." Raine said. "And Luin is currently destroyed, so the best place to go would be Asguard…"
"Yeah, I get it now." the General said as she pulled out a book.
"Hey, there's an oracle stone here!" Lloyd said as he was standing in about the middle of the room.
"Yes, it is." Raine said as she walked over with the others. "Just as it is written in the Book of Regeneration. This is a seal!"
"Why do I get the feeling that the guardian of this place is going to be a bigger hassle than the other ones." the General muttered.
"I agree." Kratos said. "This place has not been opened in many years."
"Colette, if you would please?" Raine said.
"Sure Professor." Colette said putting her hand on the stone.
The large circle in front of the stone, which had a door a bit behind it, glowed from the three smaller circles, symmetrically apart from each other that where around another raised circle that also glowed briefly.
"Hmm, it didn't open." Lloyd said.
"No, look at that magic circle." Kratos said pointing.
"Marvelous!" Raine said running up and into it, but not on the circles. "This apparatus has awoken due to the oracle stone."
"So, we just need to do something with that apparatus." Genis said as Raine looked over the thing at her feet in detail.
"Yes, so it would seem." Kratos said.
"I think it is a puzzle of sorts." the General said. "And that door won't open until we figure it out."
"Looks like a hard puzzle then." Lloyd said.
"This looks interesting…" Raine said looking at a circle near her.
"Raine, I know you are really curious and almost dying to see what it does, but please be careful." the General said.
"I think I figured out how this puzzle works. Lloyd, come and stand on that blue circle." Raine said.
"What? Uh, okay." Lloyd said.
"General, you can take the other one." Raine said as the man walked over with Lloyd, looked the apparatus over a bit more and saw what she saw.
"I see it now." the General said standing on it.
A door they saw but didn't really think about opened on the far right, near the same wall that the door behind the apparatus was on.
"Oh!" many of them said.
"Wow, it opened Professor." Lloyd said getting off his, not noticing the door closed afterward.
"Great, another splitting of the team again." the General muttered.
"Interesting dilemma." Raine said as she held her chin in thought. "Three people are needed to open the door."
"Which means three of us will need to stay here." Kratos said. "It is dangerous, but we seem to have little choice."
"Yes, we wouldn't want the door to be closed when we came back out." Raine said.
"I don't think that is possible. Somehow, I doubt that we could hold the door open for the other three to get through after they stepped off." the General said. "And I get the impression, even if we had some heavy logs or whatever to put on them, it takes a person instead of an inanimate object to get the door to open."
"I made the same deduction myself." Raine said. "It must have some sort of sensor system that detects life or the life force of whatever is on it."
"We need to choose who stays and who goes then." Genis said.
"Lloyd, Colette will need to go with, so choose whoever else you want to go with, but leave three of us here." Raine said.
"Ah man." Lloyd groaned.
"Does Raine have a spilt personality?" Sheena asked Genis as Lloyd was thinking.
"No. She's strange, but a good person at heart." Genis said.
"Okay, Kratos, Sheena and Genis can stay." Lloyd said after talking to the General.
"Why that choice?" Kratos asked.
"Well, if Colette gets hurt, then the Professor will need to help her." Lloyd said. "I can protect her and Colette, but if Colette does get injured badly, I can't protect her and carry her at the same time."
"Which is why I am going." the General said. "I can carry her and fight if it comes down to it."
"A good point Lloyd." Kratos said.
"Yeah, it makes sense." Sheena said.
"Thank you Lloyd, I do want to see further inside, but didn't really think of it in those terms." Raine said.
Genis, though wanting to go, did understand greatly seeing as he was concerned for Colette, and wished them luck. The three left got on the blue pads and sat down as the door opened. Walking through, Raine was a bit upset and not seeing what she expected.
"Wow, that is one long spiral staircase up." the General muttered as he stuck his head out past the rail and looked. "I see a few monsters here and there, but not a lot thankfully."
"We should stay away from the rail edges, just in case." Raine said as part of it crumbled under her hand.
A few monsters here and there and they finally got to the top, finding a old treasure chest that had a helmet inside. Though a little tired, they pressed on and entered a room that was bizarre. There was a large square object with slanted mirrors on it, along areas going all the compass directions. Using the Sorcerer's Ring, Lloyd burned the red curtain off the north wall and light shined through at them through the circular portal.
"I think that in order for that door to be opened, this mirror box needs to be moved into a particular place where the light shines into that other hole." Raine said.
"Let's give it a try." the General said.
It did that when they got it to the center and made the left door open. Going in, they found themselves on a second level that had a much large room below.
"Hmm, what's this?" Lloyd asked.
"I think it is a teleporter system like the Desians use." the General said.
"Just on a bigger scale." Raine said.
Lloyd pressed a button on the raised panel and the group was surprised as Genis appeared on the platform.
"Ah, Lloyd! This machine is amazing! Can you all see me?!" Genis asked.
"Wow! This machine is cool! Hey there! I can see you too!" Lloyd said.
"Hmm, we were both wrong." the General said.
"The Desian like part was right. It seems to be a holo-projection system like they use." Raine said.
"Hey Lloyd, the door on this side opened. Is it alright to go in?" Genis asked.
"The door opened?" Raine asked before thinking. "I see how this is working. Go on it. Let's all meet up somewhere though before we release the seal."
"Somehow, I'm sure we will." the General said.
"What did you all find?" Genis asked as Raine told him.
Down below, after finishing talking with the others, Genis and them headed through the door. They came in finding the same sort of set up that Raine and the others found as was described to Genis. Seeing a red curtain on the far left, Genis burned it off and light came in. Pushing the mirror cube around, they got it to do what the others did and left through the door leading north. As soon as they entered, they saw the others above them on the second landing. Since the door was still closed where Raine and the others started out, they stayed where they were for the moment and helped direct Sheena and their group. They found a few chest with very good stuff in them, and after the movements of the mirrors were done, the found that a bridge was created up on the second floor north of their position.
"Well, that didn't help us." Lloyd said.
"Since there seems to be a open section hanging out across from us here, I suspect that Sheena and them will have to go do something else to make a bridge for us here." the General said.
"We'll see what we can find and if we can't, we'll come back." Sheena said.
"Okay, be careful." Raine said as they all waved and then headed through the north doorway.
They went through a few passages that were like the rooms with the mirrors before the large room, finding themselves on a similar winding stairway that Genis was told about from Raine.
"Hmm, the General was right about the stairway being rather long looking." Kratos said.
Getting through the monsters wasn't tough and they found themselves at the energy bridge they created recently. Walking across, they saw the others across the room and waved while shouting they were checking the other side. Once there, they found two round circles on a raised platform and a larger one below them. Standing on one of the two, they were surprised when Lloyd appeared like he did back in the first room.
"Whoa, something appeared again!" Lloyd exclaimed.
"It's me Lloyd." Genis said. "We're across the room from you guys."
"Oh yeah. I can barely see you from over here." Lloyd said. "But I can see you on whatever this machine is as though I could reach out and touch you."
"Same here." Genis said. "See if you can all get here now."
"Okay, we'll look around." Lloyd said. "Oh, the Professor and the General say we don't need to look since we have a bridge to the other side too now."
After taking out a few monsters in the way, they made their way around the room on energy bridges and ended up with the others.
"Try standing on that pedestal like I am." Genis said to Lloyd. "If it's the same as the entrance, the next path should open."
The others all got back together as Lloyd stood on it beside Genis. The platform behind the group changed and became a warp point like all the others looked that lead them to the seal.
"Okay, let's go finish this." Raine said.
They got on the warp pad and ended up at the top of the tower.
"Phew, man, I'm tired." Lloyd said as they all got at the raised platform where the guardian they'd have to fight would show and then Remiel would appear next.
"That's because you're always overexcited in the beginning." Kratos said.
"No, I'm tired too. All those stairs wore me out a little." the General said. "Could also be we're just that high that the air is a bit thin."
"It's mana!" Genis stated as they saw the large platform glow like the others did. "Powerful mana is coming!"
"The sky darkened." the General said pulling his weapon. "That can't be good."
The sky colored changed back to blue as a bright but dark light with electricity appeared above the platform and seemed to draw energy in before bursting out brightly. When they were able to see again, they saw a very strangely formed horse like creature. It didn't take long to actually take the creature down, even though it looked dangerous.
"That was easier than I thought." the General said putting his weapon away.
The steam effect was present again followed by the same glass chamber that came up filled with energy. Everyone, more Sheena than the others, where surprised when the General stepped forward and spoke a name.
"That was Luna!" the General said.
The chamber dropped followed by a ball of light appearing next as before. Sheena and Raine started to speak when they heard speaking above them.
"Chosen of Regeneration, you have done well in reaching this far. Now, offer your prayers at the altar."
"Yes!" Colette said walking closer as she clasped her hands together and got to the top. "Oh Goddess Martel, great protector and nurturer of the earth, grant me thy strength!"
She floated up on her wings as she waited for Remiel to appear. What happened was not that as the light extinguished and suddenly there was a lady sitting on a crescent moon holding a staff of sorts, surprising everyone.
"Where is Aska?" the lady asked.
"It is Luna! I knew I saw her!" the General exclaimed.
"What…how…" Raine began, actually speechless.
"Without Aska, I cannot do anything, I cannot form a pact or a vow…" Luna said. "Please, find Aska, in order to restore my power."
With that, she faded away and Remiel appeared.
"Your journey has been long. You have done well to reach this far, Colette, the Chosen One!" Remiel said.
"Thank you, Lord Remiel." Colette said.
"Let us grant you our blessing." Remiel said.
"Thank you." Colette said.
Light came down and touched her, making her glow as it did all the other times.
"You have taken another step closer to becoming and angel, yet you seem anxious." Remiel said.
"Ah, no, I'm very happy." Colette said, though she didn't smile.
"Hmm?" Remiel said. "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'll be able to climb the stairway to heaven."
"The Tower of Salvation?!" Lloyd exclaimed as the General shook his head and Raine sighed.
"Then the world regeneration is going to take place." Genis said.
"Is, regeneration, really going to happen….?" Sheena muttered with worry.
"I shall do as you instructed, Lord Remiel." Colette said.
Saying no more, Remiel faded away and then spoke.
"I shall await you at the final seal, Colette, my daughter." Remiel said. "There, you will become and angel, like me."
"The end is finally in sight." Kratos said. "Let's head to the Tower of Salvation."
"Colette, are you sure?" Raine asked.
"Yes, I'm fine." Colette said.
"Dammit!" Lloyd yelled in frustration.
"We'll need at least one night for Colette to get used to whatever change has taken place." the General said. "Since there is no monsters on the first floor or seem to be able to get in, I think we should go outside, and once she collapses like before, we come back in and all rest, then go."
"I agree. I do want to look more closely at some of those books." Raine said. "We still need to find Boltzmans book as well."
"What about that woman on the moon?" Genis asked.
"That was Luna. If you make a pact with her, which I'm not sure how, but quite sure Sheena knows how to, you can summon her to help aid you." the General said turning to Sheena who looked startled for a moment.
"Well, I can't right now. You heard her say we need Aska first and I have no idea where she is." Sheena said rather quickly.
"I suggest we do more talking when we are resting." Kratos said.
Getting down to the bottom was actually rather easy and once there, they went about looking for the book. It didn't actually take long to find it since Raine had been looking at them before they started going further in.
"Now we can save Pietro." Lloyd said as Raine was reading it further.
"No." Raine said sadly. "It will be difficult for me to use this book with my healing arts. If we at least had some sort of tool to amplify the body's life force…"
"A catalyst?" the General asked.
"Yes." Raine said.
"What do you need?" Colette asked.
"Well, the legendary horn of a unicorn, or Mana Leaf Herb, the elven medical herb…" Raine said.
"I've heard and could swear I have even seen the Mana Leaf Herb, but I don't recall where." the General said rubbing his head in frustration as he tried to remember.
"Where are we going to find something like that then if he can't remember?" Lloyd asked. "Well, let's take it with us for now. Now doing any good sitting on this shelf."
"Yes." Raine said putting it with her other stuff.
"I hate to do this, but let's go outside and see what happens to Colette, while we unfortunately know it will be something bad, we also know it won't kill her." the General said with sadness and concern.
"You can all stop worrying. I'll be fine." Colette said with a smile.
Once they headed out, Colette dropped to her knees but kept from falling on her face.
"Professor Sage!" Lloyd all but yelled as Raine came forward.
"I am concerned just as much as you are Lloyd, but I can't do anything to help her." Raine said as she knelt down with the General. "Colette, what is it this time that is missing?"
Colette opened her mouth and they heard a squeak followed by nothing.
"Colette, what's wrong?" Lloyd asked.
"Can you see us princess?" the General asked as she opened her mouth but nothing came out, so she nodded. "I guess having her voice taken away is better than not seeing or hearing."
The others, besides Kratos, were surprised, except the General who figured it out.
"Let's go back in and rest for the night." Raine said. "It is thankfully warm inside so we can cook outside and take it in and not have to make a fire for the night."
(OKAY, for those of you who are reading this and more for those of you who have played the game, I've played it three times now as I have said in I think the first chapter, the conversation ahead is going to go so far left field for some people while hopefully others will understand what I have done. I haven't explained the General's past, but will be at some point, just not in this conversation or this chapter. The thing is, I wrote what you'll be reading from various points of view and with the idea of what the General is thinking and such, which will all be explained later. Please just try to go with it because from where I was sitting and thinking, while playing the game as I do this obviously, it sounded right even after I went over it a few times after I wrote it all.)
A couple hours later, the food had been done and eaten and they were all seated inside with their beds out and such. Noishe was laying down next to Colette where Lloyd was as the others weren't doing much else. Raine did have several books next to her that she was reading and pointing out things to the General, some of which was written down for school work later.
"Everyone, I have something I need to say." Sheena said standing.
"Huh?" Lloyd asked.
"Please tell me you're going to talk about where you are from." the General said.
"Yeah, somewhat." Sheena said. "I want to explain to you all why I was trying to assassinate the Chosen."
"Please tell us about your homeland, which I am sure doesn't exist in this world." Raine said.
"You knew?!" Sheena asked in surprise.
"Not at first, but after you left in the wind temple, the General collapsed." Raine said repeating what the General said, which the General still didn't recall doing. "You're from Tethe'alla. And you also said that Sylvarant will be saved to us once, which meant you had to be from somewhere else."
"Yes. And I have to say, it is a shame that your intellects being wasted here." Sheena said.
"Though the children she was teaching still need it, I basically told her the same thing about a year later after I joined her class." the General said.
"My world is Tethe'alla." Sheena said.
"You mean the moon?" Genis asked as he pointed at the full one behind her.
"No, of course not. My world isn't on the moon." Sheena said.
"That is and isn't a moon." the General said. "That is her world, we just call it a moon because we think it is one. But we can only get to it by a way I can't recall."
"How do you know?" Lloyd asked.
"I've been there." the General said shaking his head in frustration. "I know I was born there. My grandparents came from there, my parents. But I can't recall much of my own personal past for some damn reason."
"How is that possible?" Lloyd asked.
"I don't know." the General said shrugging.
"Do you?" Lloyd asked looking at Sheena.
"Sorry kid, I don't understand the specifics myself. But I know that Tethe'alla lies entwined with Sylvarant, as a shadow is to light." Sheena said. "And that is Tethe'alla, my world, my home."
"Two entwined worlds." Raine said.
"Yes. I can't say for certain about what we see, looking at what you call the moon, but I know our two worlds are adjacent to each other, but they can't really see each other." Sheena said. "Our scholars say they exist on separate dimensions."
"Kinda like having three rooms, all separated and the middle room having the two way mirror, being able to see both rooms while the outer rooms can't see any room but its own." the General said.
He got a lot of blank stares, though Kratos looked like he actually understood it.
"You know, two way mirrors." the General stated as they shook their heads.
"I've heard of it, but not seen it that I can recall." Sheena said.
"Apparently it is something only seen in Tethe'alla I guess. And no, I can't recall where either." the General muttered as he hit the side of his head in more frustration. "Go on Sheena."
"Okay. So our worlds can't really see or touch each other, but they do in fact exist and affect each other." Sheena said.
"What do you mean, affect each other?" Lloyd asked.
"They both vie for the supply of mana." Sheena said, barely noticing the General's head suddenly snap up. "When one world weakens, the mana from that world flows to the other. As a result, one world is always flourishing, while the other one is waning. Sort of like an hourglass."
"There is a Chosen on Tethe'alla." the General said startling her.
Sheena had a disgruntled, disgusted and annoyed look on her face briefly.
"Yeah, we do." Sheena muttered. "I'd rather not go into that."
"Okay." the General said holding up his hands. "I was just confirming what I was sure was true."
"Wait, if both worlds are vying for mana, then that means Sylvarant is…" Genis said.
"Sylvarant's mana is flowing to Tethe'alla, therefore, Sylvarant is in decline." Sheena said. "Without mana crops won't grow and magic becomes unusable. If there is no mana, the Summon Spirits that protect the world alongside the Goddess Martel can't survive in Sylvarant either. As a result, the world slips even further down the path of destruction."
"Then the Chosen's world regeneration is actually the process of reversing the mana flow?" Raine asked.
"Yes, exactly." Sheena said. "When the Chosen breaks the seal, the mana flow reverses, and the Summon Spirit that governs the seal awakens."
"That explains why we've seen someone or something there that fades away when Colette has opened the seals." the General said.
"Yes. I never expected one of them to actually speak at us as, Luna did." Raine said.
"Neither did I really. But now we know what has been really happening, which is why I probably feel a little better, though I still get the feeling something is wrong." the General said rubbing his head before looking at Sheena. "But now we also know why you came here."
"Yeah, I was sent to prevent the regeneration from happening here." Sheena said. "I broke through the supposedly impassable dimensional fissure for the sake of protecting Tethe'alla."
"As sad as the story of what is going on and why she came here is, she at least had a good reason." the General muttered. "And now that we know what is happening, we might be able to do something different."
"How?" Lloyd asked.
"I haven't figured that out yet." the General said.
"It makes sense and yet, it is hard to believe at the same time." Raine said.
"I'm the proof. I possess summoning arts that have been lost from this world." Sheena said, looking over at Colette when she tried to say something and gave her a look Sheena didn't like. "Please don't look at me like that Colette. I know that wasn't your intention when you started this journey. I don't know what I should do either. I came here to protect my world, but this world is impoverished and everyone is suffering. But if I allow the world regeneration to occur, then Tethe'alla will become just like this."
"Leaving us all at an impasse." the General said. "We keep going and we'll save ourselves while condemning other people, but if we do nothing, we suffer."
"But you're helping us." Genis said.
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I can just abandon Tethe'alla." Sheena said sadly. "I don't know what to do. I don't want to let you finish, but I don't want to fight you either."
"Neither do we." Lloyd said.
"There has to be a way! A way for both worlds and Colette to live free, safe from this problem and be happy." Sheena said in frustration.
"I want to know what it is too!" Lloyd said. "There has to be some middle ground, not constant suffering that is exchanged every so often."
"Have any of you considered that nothing that convenient exist in the real world?" Raine asked.
"No, there is a way." the General said standing up and began pacing back and forth while rubbing his head. "I know there is a way and it is on the tip of my tongue! But I can't for the life of me figure out what the hell it is!"
"Are you really sure General?" Raine asked standing up as the others did.
"Completely. I'd stake my life on it, even though I have no idea what I am talking about." the General said hitting his head with his fist. "Ow."
"We should continue on and save Sylvarant from its current crisis and then figure out from there." Kratos said.
"What if we don't regenerate the world and just defeat the Desians?" Lloyd asked.
"Although we have succeeded in destroying a couple ranches, we cannot possibly defeat all the Desians." Kratos said. "The mana will eventually be exhausted."
"I think otherwise." the General said turning to Kratos sharply, even though the man was well over a dozen feet away. "I don't have all the details, but parts of my memory keep resurfacing, and the more they do, the less I like you for some reason I can't explain. But I have a pretty good feeling that despite what is going on, both worlds need each other to continue their survival. If one dies, they both will."
"Mana is needed for both worlds to survive." Raine said. "It is possible a overabundance could destabilize one world causing it to die too. That is probably why the Giant Tree of ever-flowing mana talked about in fairy tales is considered a legend by some and a myth by others."
"The tree, which sounds familiar, must actually exist, but is dying or seriously injured, causing the balance to be off and shifting so much as it has been." the General said.
"It would be explainable in that sense, if not for the fact that this Chosen of Regeneration journey has been going on for longer than some elves usually live if they are lucky." Raine said. "By now, the tree would be long dead and gone if it existed."
"The Giant Tree lives through mana, so even with both worlds vying for it, it could still be alive, but stunted, which is why this has continued." Genis said.
"That is one theory that is possible." Raine said as she thought. "We've all been living by slowly chipping away at the available amount of mana. Things have slowly gotten worse over the last few hundred years according to history, even though there has been a few moments of better times."
"If the tree is suppose to regulate and make it, then with how bad things have been, could mean that the tree is alive, but just barely with all the mana being used so much over the last few hundred years." the General said. "People used to fight wars with bows, arrows, swords and whatever they could throw or grab. Now days, there is a lot of different people using mana more than it was so long ago."
"That would make the theories we've came up with more viable." Raine said. "There was once a lot of magi-technology that has all but been lost and now considered ancient."
"Mana disappeared from the world." Sheena said. "Which made the loss age so much more greater than any other time in history."
"Yes." Raine said. "Magi-technology consumes large amounts of mana."
"The more used, the greater the affect of whatever is being done. From healing to, extreme destruction." the General said looking at his necklace.
"Yes. If things continue the way things are now, Sylvarant will eventually lost its mana just as it lost its magi-technology. And in the end, be destroyed." Raine said.
"And Tethe'alla will follow shortly after." the General said.
"How so?" Lloyd asked. "If they have all the mana…"
"The worlds are linked." Raine said. "Both needing mana to survive and probably both flourished greatly with no troubles until magi-technology was used, draining it bad enough that both worlds now fight to survive off what little is left. If the Giant Tree, as I am beginning to think does exist somewhere, were to suddenly have a massive mana burst after one world died, it too would most likely die from the shock and then the other world would die as well."
"Think of it like…um, cooking!" the General said getting stares from everyone.
"I am sorry to say, even after all this time General, I really don't know where you are going much less could even begin to guess." Raine said.
"You got a lot of people, but it takes the two large pans to cook in, that will feed everyone. So you make a fire and both pans are near each other over the fire, cooking soup. One pan springs a leak, but because there is so many people, one pan will not feed everyone even if they all only got a spoonful. Don't ask any questions, just picture it and think about what I said. So, just like our two worlds, one is dying like the soup that is leaking out the bottom. Since it will take both pans of soup to feed everyone and one is leaking, it would be like pouring the leaking pan into the other one, which can't hold it all. The fire, we'll say is the Giant Tree, isn't hot enough to boil the soup so people can eat it soon enough before it leaks all out, so once the other soup is poured into the almost full pan, overflows and puts out the fire, making it so the no one eats because the soup never got finished." the General said.
"That made no sense." Lloyd said.
"It was difficult to follow, but I actually got it." Sheena said.
"Because you used cooking as a reference, I never got lost, but it was confusing." Genis said.
"Very bizarre way of explaining it, even though cooking as a reference brought up a lot of questions, yet the point got across. Not bad General." Raine said.
"I, did understand that, vaguely." Kratos said.
"Did you understand any of what he said?" Lloyd asked Colette who nodded. "Ah man. Can you explain it again? Maybe even act it out for real?"
It took a good half hour, using water in two pans as a reference instead of actually cooking, and Raine was surprised Lloyd got it after the demonstration.
"Hmm, I see what you mean now. That means we need to figure out how to fix all of this before everyone suffers." Lloyd said.
Colette grabbed Lloyds hand gently and started moving her fingers on his open palm.
"Colette, what are you…" Lloyd asked suddenly figuring it out. "Oh, you're spelling something. Start over."
She did as he recited it.
"I'll, ask, Remiel, when, we, see, him, again, if, there, is, a, way, to, save, the, two, worlds." Lloyd said, rather slowly since he had to figure out the letters.
"I really hope it works out." Sheena said, though true in her conviction of doing what she needed to do, was saddened about the thought. "Otherwise, I may have to kill you after all."
"Sheena!" Genis exclaimed.
"When, that, time, comes, I, may, fight, back." Lloyd said as Colette wrote in his hand again and then smiled at Sheena. "Because, I, love, Sylvarant, too."
"I understand. You intend to become and angel no matter what, don't you?" Sheena said as Colette nodded.
"Hopefully I'll remember everything or at least enough to keep us from having to sacrifice Colette as I see it, or fighting you." the General said.
Instead of going where Kratos really wanted, the Tower of Salvation, they went another direction as a few of them remembered hearing about a unicorn possibly being in the area when they were in the towns nearby before. Finding some travelers on the road, they learned a place to take a look. So now, they were at Lake Umacy. It was a very beautiful place with crystal clear water and, if not for the really secluded area it was in, it would be a great place to set up a home to live.
"Look at that!" Lloyd exclaimed as he ran up and saw a unicorn under the water, buried under a large pile of trees that fell on it some many years ago.
"Hmm, it looks like there is a bubble around it." the General said.
"Raine, it is the unicorn!" Genis exclaimed as she walked up.
"Yes, but why is it…" Raine began in wonder.
"Wow!" Sheena exclaimed. "So there is still unicorns on this side!"
"First that I have seen one." the General said. "But that really isn't saying much if I get my memory back."
"I wonder if we can make contact with it." Raine said kneeling by the water's edge to try and peer closer.
"The Unicorn Horn?" Kratos asked.
"Yes. In order to use Master Boltzman's healing techniques, we need the Unicorn Horn." Raine stated.
"But how can we get over there?" Genis asked.
"Can we just swim to it?" Lloyd asked.
"You won't be able to hold your breath that long." Genis said.
"I can." the General said tossing his coat aside along with weapon and boots.
"Well, you did get that pearl for Raine last year and had to swim deeper." Genis said. "And we could still see you even then."
"You're not serious, are you?" Raine asked as he was taking off his vest and shirt.
"We need it Raine." the General stated as he emptied his pockets.
"Yeah, we do. Or I do since I'm the one using it. But I was referring to you removing your clothes…" Raine said slowly at the last part.
"Relax, I'm not taking my pants off." the General said as he removed his socks.
He dived in after Raine backed up and they watched him get down, only to stop at the bubble since he couldn't get through for some reason. Going to the top, he swam back and stood on the bank, shaking the water out of his hair before getting onto the dry land.
"Whatever that barrier is, I couldn't get past it." the General said while trying to get water out of his ears. "And I can't say for certain, but I think the unicorn is still alive."
"Is there any other way to get it then?" Lloyd asked. "Or at least get the unicorn out of the water?"
"Um…there is a way." Sheena said looking anywhere but at them.
"Is there something wrong Sheena?" Kratos asked.
"What? No, there is nothing wrong." Sheena said a little quickly.
"I guess she hasn't seen a half dressed man before in awhile." the General said with a shrug as he sat down on a rock in the sun. "After all the walking we have done lately, my feet were glad to hit that cool water. We can take off in a few minutes after my pants dry. Need to refill our water supply anyway."
"My feet kinda ache too." Genis said sitting down as he removed his boots and socks and then put his feet in the water. "Ah, that does feel good."
Colette and Lloyd sat down besides Genis as Kratos went to a area away from them to refill their water containers. Raine sat down on the rock beside the General as he was trying to brush the water out of his hair.
"Sheena, what did you have in mind?" Raine asked.
"Well, we could go get Undine, who exist somewhere in this world, to control the water's mana." Sheena said as she looked out at the water while leaning on a tree.
"Undine, the Summon Spirit?" Lloyd asked.
"Hmm, apparently there are moments where Lloyd did learn something." the General muttered as he saw Raine blink in surprise.
"We don't have anyone that can summon spirits though." Genis said.
"Genis, I would have expected that from Lloyd." the General said with disappointment.
"What?" both Genis and Lloyd asked.
"Sheena is a summoner." both Raine and the General said.
"Yeah, I am. Unfortunately, I haven't formed a pact with Undine yet, but when I do, I can then." Sheena said.
"Oh yeah. I forgot you did mention it and I think we did talk about it briefly." Genis said.
"I'm actually a guardian user. But I can summon too." Sheena said.
"That art was lost a very long time ago in this world." Raine said. "I would love to see how it is done!"
"It still exist on my side. You'll all see it if we go get Undine." Sheena said. "But I won't force you to make that choice."
"The only way to get the horn." the General said.
"We just need to go to the Seal of Water then." Sheena said.
Raine cringed rather visibly, though the General was the only one who noticed it as he gently took her hand and said it would be okay.
"Then our next stop is the Thoda Geyser!" Genis exclaimed.
Genis got his feet dried off and then dressed again, and then went with the others to get ready to leave, leaving the General, Raine and Kratos behind. The General got dressed as Kratos came back over and Raine told him the next plan of action.
"This is quite a detour." Kratos said.
"Yes." Raine said. "Not one I particular look forward to, but it has to be done."
"Raine, it will be fine." the General said patting her on the shoulder in reassurance. "I won't let you fall in."
Half way there, Lloyd got excited.
"I can't wait to see how this summon spirit thing works!" Lloyd said very happily as Colette nodded with a smile next to him.
"There he goes again." Genis said with a sigh.
"I am looking forward to it myself." Raine said.
"Won't you just get bored half way through like usual?" Kratos asked to Lloyd.
"Shut up!" Lloyd exclaimed. "I'm interested so I am excited, okay!"
"It is fine you are interested, the problem is, you loose that interest before it is even over with." Kratos stated.
"Shut up! Stop ganging up on me!" Lloyd yelled.
"Would you all stop arguing?!" the General exclaimed as Raine was pinching her nose in annoyance. "You're giving me a headache. And I think Raine too. Just look at it this way, when Lloyd complains about it being boring or whatever, he does it real briefly. He spends more time saying how interesting something is than the opposite."
"He does have a point." Genis said.
They stopped at the House of Salvation for the night and the next day, stopped for the night at the Thoda Dock, heading out the next morning. Raine and the General were last to get there like last time and since they told the lady, Candy, back when they used them the first time that the tubs needed some work, none of them leaked at all. The energy bridge appeared again when they got close, so they headed up it fast, still ignoring the people looking at them from below. The monsters had returned, so they got rid of those that attacked them or where in their way, heading back for the altar room.
Once there, they were a bit surprised to see a blue glowing ball of energy above the altar.
"That wasn't here when we left." the General stated.
"Maybe it is that Undine spirit." Lloyd said as he turned to Sheena. "Sheena, please do that pact thing."
"Okay, I'll do my best. Although, I am a little scared." Sheena said.
"We'll be here to help any way we can." the General said.
Sheena smiled and then walked up to the altar. The light changed to a vortex and then turned bright as the room rumbled, though nothing broke or cracked, and then there was a blink to the light followed by a lady with flowing blue hair, blue body and dress before them.
"You who possess the right of the pact. I am the one who is bound to Mithos." Undine said. "What is your name?"
"Mithos? The hero of the Kharlan War?" Lloyd asked aloud.
"Something about that name disturbs me." the General muttered.
"Wow, not only was Mithos a swordsman, but he had the ability to summon as well?" Genis asked.
"Mithos is a common boys name." Raine said.
"Since when? We've been quite a few places, and not once have I heard the name come up." the General stated.
"The point is, I doubt that Undine is speaking of Mithos the hero." Raine said.
"I am Sheena! I seek a pack with Undine!" Sheena stated.
"As things stand now, I cannot." Undine said.
"Wh…why?!" Sheena asked in surprise.
"I am already bound by a pact. I cannot form two pacts at the same time." Undine stated.
"You mean your pact with that Mithos guy?" Sheena asked before turning to the rest of them. "What am I suppose to do now?! They never said anything about this at the research institute!"
"Uh…hmm." Lloyd said. "Can't you just get her to cancel the old pact?"
"How?! We don't even have any idea where this Mithos person is!" Sheena stated.
"A Summon Spirit pact requires a vow. As long as the pact-maker upholds that vow, the pact remains valid." Kratos said.
"That is correct." Undine stated.
"And how in the hell would you know that?" the General said before Sheena could speak. "This world can't summon spirits anymore and hasn't in so long, it's basically lore and myth. You must have been to her world."
This even got Raine curious as she looked at Kratos expecting and answer, as did Sheena who was looking his way along with the rest following.
"Sheena is not the first person I have talked with from the other world." Kratos said after a moment. "I am unable to go into the details, mostly because I do not understand the way those few people that I have spoken to got here, but I did learn a few things. One of which was a bit of detailed information about Summon Spirits and pacts. In this case, Sheena only needs to request the annulment of the previous pact and form a new one. It is possible the previous pact-maker has broken his vow. Or, he may have already, passed away."
"We'll have to talk about this later." Raine said after Undine addresses Sheena on what she wanted to do.
"Okay, I'll try that." Sheena said after telling Undine she was thinking, which seemed to satisfy Undine. "Undine! I am Sheena! I ask that though annulst thy pact with Mithos, and establish a new pact, with me."
"Before I can allow the formation of a new pact, I must test your worthiness as a pact-maker." Undine stated. "Draw your weapons."
"What?!" Lloyd exclaimed. "We have to fight?!"
"Somehow, I am not surprised." the General said pulling his sword.
"Let it begin!" Undine said. "I shall judge your worth."
The fight was extremely difficult, seeing as Undine was an opponent they had never faced before. Getting washed up and out had a whole new meaning as they took hit after hit of water attacks. In the end though, they managed to get her using brute strength since Genis was unable to get his mid level attacks off much and none of his high level mana attacks off at all since he kept getting knocked down or hit a lot.
"I am, impressed." Undine said after being hit with a final blow that knocked her down. Who did it was up for debate since a variety of weapons were hitting her at that point. "Splendid. Now, swear your vow. Upon what vow do you form your pact?"
"Right now, at this very moment, there are people who are suffering." Sheena said with emotion in her voice. "I vow to save those people."
"Understood. I pledge my power to you, Sheena!" Undine said.
Undine disappeared into small balls of light that formed into a multi-spinning circle around a small ball of blue light that landed in her hand and then faded away.
"Sheena! You did it!" Genis said excitedly.
Sheena had to take a moment to figure out what Colette spelled in her hand.
"Wow. Congratulations." Sheena said aloud. "Thanks, Colette."
"That was cool Sheena!" Lloyd said. "Now, we can finally meet the unicorn. And maybe, we can get Colette healed too."
"Yeah!" Genis said.
"So Kratos, you seem to have an impressive array of knowledge." Raine said turning to the man.
"Like I said, I met someone that knew a bit about Summon Spirits, that's all." Kratos said.
"Okay." Raine said, not believing him at all as she could also see the same look and got the same feeling from the General's face.
As they were heading out, it wasn't surprising when Lloyd spoke.
"Man, you rule Sheena!" Lloyd said startling her.
"What…what are you talking about?" Sheena asked a bit nervous of what he meant and confused at what it could possibly be.
"Summon Spirits! What else? That was incredible!" Lloyd said. "What was that again? All that, thou, and, thy stuff?"
"Ah, yeah…" Sheena said nervously.
"That was so cool!" Lloyd said, not hearing an answer or waiting to get one. "Making pacts with summon spirits!"
"Really?" Sheena asked.
"Yeah. Hey, what does it feel like?" Lloyd asked with interest.
"It feels like, a great power, separate from myself, comes surging through my body." Sheena said.
"I don't really understand, but it was so cool!" Lloyd said. "I wish I could be a summoner!"
"Well, I hated being a summoner." Sheena said sadly as she looked away and then at the group as they stopped. "Before you ask, I'd rather not talk about it."
"Fair enough." Raine said. "But like Lloyd said, that was truly incredible!"
"I have to say this, but Lloyd didn't do any complaining." the General said as they got near the exit.
"The day is young." Kratos muttered.
Two days later, they were back at the lake again.
"Okay Sheena, ask Undine to take us over there." Lloyd said as they were standing at the water's edge.
"Wait, that is not going to work." Kratos said.
"Why the hell not?" the General asked.
"The unicorn can only be approached by a, pure maiden." Raine said.
Lloyd, Genis and Colette had no idea what that meant and their confusion was easy to see, but lasted scant seconds as everyone was surprised at what the General did. He burst out laughing so hard he had tears and ended up on his knees coughing at the same time.
"What the hell are you laughing at?!" Sheena yelled.
Kratos had the hint of a smile but kept from chuckling or anything else as Raine and Sheena were giving the man death glares as he was getting his breath back.
"What's going on?" Lloyd asked.
"You're not old enough to know yet." the General gasped out before returning to his feet. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help it. Raine could go, but we'll let Colette do it."
"If you are able to go, why not do so Miss Sage?" Kratos asked. "I find it surprising you'd pass up such a, scientific opportunity."
"I do want to, but I seriously pass." Raine said holding up her hands briefly. "Unfortunately, Colette can go get it, but I don't think it would be wise in her condition…"
"Hey!" Sheena exclaimed. "Are you saying I am not qualified?!"
"That depends." the General said as he was still wiping his eyes and face.
"On what?!" Sheena yelled.
"You're Chosen is apparently a guy, and unless he did more than hurt your feelings…" the General said trailing off.
"He didn't!" Sheena yelled, only to put a hand over her mouth the next second.
"Well, I have a lot more respect for you then like I do for Raine seeing as you kept your virtue." the General said.
Kratos rubbed his eyes tiredly as Sheena and Raine looked embarrassed, and the kids looked even more confused than before.
"Let's get this over with please. Sheena and Colette will get the horn and then we can go." Kratos said.
"Seriously, what is going on?" Lloyd asked.
"This is one of those adult only things Lloyd." the General said. "The same answer goes for you Genis and Colette."
"Alright, I'm going to summon Undine now, so we can get this over with." Sheena said walking up to the water. "I call upon the Maiden of the Mist. I summon thee, Come, Undine!"
There was a bright blue light and then Undine was on the water in front of Sheena.
"Please, Undine, take me and Colette here to the unicorn." Sheena said.
"As you wish. To the lake…" Undine said.
The unicorn suddenly got up as the large logs fell away and then floated to the top of the water, standing on it as Undine brought them over after it pranced and stood on it's hind legs and neighed for a moment.
"Martel?" the unicorn asked, confusing the two greatly.
"Martel? You mean the Goddess Martel?" Sheena asked.
"No? You are Colette. And the one beside you is called Sheena?" it asked.
"You can hear Colette's voice?" Sheena asked.
"Yes, but you are not Martel?" it asked walking up to them. "This presence, this mana, and this illness. Even in my blindness, it is clear. You are Martel."
Colette didn't say anything but looked a bit more confused than before.
"I exist to save the awakened Martel from her sickness. To cure the sickness you have." it said.
"Then please, save Colette." Sheena said. "The horn of a unicorn has that kind of power, right?"
Sheena looked over as Colette bowed her head and she saw the unicorn nod as it apparently heard whatever Colette said.
"You are here, not for yourself, but to save a human you have made a promise?" it said. "So that's it, you're the Chosen of Regeneration."
Over on the bank, they could only hear Sheena speak and Raine commented on the fact that the unicorn must have been talking to them in their minds.
"Take it." the unicorn said bowing its head.
A bright light appeared off it and then went into the sky before settling into Colette's hands, leaving the unicorn looking like a normal horse that started to fade away.
"What's wrong?" Sheena asked with concern.
"Our horns are our very lives. My destiny is now fulfilled." it said. "Do not be troubled. A new life will be born from me. And when that new life ends, yet another will be born. In so doing, we live on, forever."
It faded away in a bright light and then they returned to the bank.
"Are you two alright?" Lloyd asked as he went up to them first.
"Sheena, are you crying?" Genis asked seeing tears.
"The unicorn, gave us his horn…" Sheena said.
"I see. Then the unicorn is dead." Kratos said.
"You knew?!" Sheena yelled.
"When a unicorn losses its horn, it dies." Raine said. "By dying, a new unicorn is born. That is why the unicorn is a symbol of death and rebirth."
"A new unicorn will be born?" Lloyd asked.
"Yes, I am sure one has been already." Raine said.
"The unicorn gave us this horn at the cost of his life. We must make good use of it." Lloyd said.
"Yeah, Colette! Now we might be able to get you back to normal!" Genis said.
"Why?!" Lloyd asked after she shook her head and she then wrote in his hand. "I still haven't finished regenerating the world. So please use this for Pietro and Clara. But Colette…."
She only smiled at him while still holding his hand.
"All right, if that is what you want." Lloyd said. "Professor, here."
As soon as it touched her hand, it glowed and she looked up.
"Raine?" the General asked as he went to wave a hand in her face.
"I think I just learned how to save someone on the brink of death or just afterward." Raine said.
"That's good, and normally, it probably would be something to test, except that sort of thing wouldn't be a good idea." the General said.
"I hope I never have to use it on any of you." Raine said putting the horn into her pocket. "Hmm, it seems I also acquired some new healing arts thanks to the horn too."
"Well, let's go save Clara and Pietro then." Lloyd said as Colette nodded with her smiling face.
"Yes, with this Unicorn Horn and Boltzman's book, I'm sure I can save both of them this time." Raine said confidently.
"Where is this Clara person?" Sheena asked.
"We'll just have to look for her." Lloyd said.
"The only thing we can do is analyze her previous actions and search for her." Kratos said.
"Seeing as Hima was the last place we saw her and the place we need to go to anyway to help Pietro, we're on the right track." the General said as they nodded and then took off.
They stopped at Luin for the night and took off as the sunrise was just beginning.
"Hey, Martel is a Goddess, right?" Sheena asked as they headed out.
"Yeah, so what?" the General more muttered than answered. "Have you been thinking about this for awhile?"
"Something I was wondering about before I went to bed." Sheena said. "Do Goddess's get sick to?"
"I guess they do." Lloyd said.
"That is just beyond silly." Sheena said.
"Well, look, if you can think about how Colette can become an angel, then humans and angels can't be all that different." Lloyd said.
"And the angels serve Martel." Kratos said.
"I guess." Sheena said. "I still find it very strange that a Goddess can catch a cold."
"Yeah, that's true." Lloyd said also confused at the idea.
Using a couple Holy Bottles, they got to Hima just before night. The Inn keeper pointed them to the upper room and after getting the lower room for the night, they went upstairs.
"Everyone! The healing technique…." Sophia said with excitement and hope as they entered.
"We found it." Sheena said seeing the woman smile even more.
"I'm going to try it now, all right?" Raine said walking up to the bed the man was laying on.
"Yes! Please!" Sophia said standing on the other side of the bed.
Raine knelt down and had the pose that suggested she was praying.
"Resurrection!" Raine said.
A bright glow appeared above the mans body as Raine stood and was absorbed into his body. He sat up seconds later, rather confused.
"Where am…" Pietro began.
"He woke up! Thank goodness!" Sophia said.
"Sophia!" Pietro exclaimed looking at her. "Then, I reached Hima?!"
"Yeah, you're in the Inn here." the General said.
"Yes Pietro! Sheena, she saved you." Sophia said.
"Yes, I remember now. After leaving Luin, I was attacked by Desians…" Pietro said. "Then she, thank you so much!"
"Ah, don't mention it." Sheena said. "And besides, the reason you regained consciousness is because of Raine here. If you're going to thank someone, thank her."
"Oh, I see. Thank you so much." Pietro said sincerely. "Now I can await the Chosen."
"The Chosen, what do you mean?" Sophia asked before anyone could say anything.
"The reason I broke out of the ranch was because I have something to tell the Chosen." Pietro said.
"What a coincidence." the General said as he patted Colette on the head, who smiled at the affection. "Here she is."
"What?" Pietro asked surprised.
"Our friend here, Colette, is the Chosen." Genis said. "We're all helping her on her journey to save the world."
"What?" Sophia said in surprise. "You're the Chosen?!"
"Didn't we tell her already?" the General asked.
"We might have, I can't be sure." Kratos said.
"Considering how much she was worrying about Pietro, I am not surprised she might not have heard it." Raine said.
"Anyway, this is her, so, let's hear it." the General said as Colette stepped up to the bed and nodded as the man looked at her.
"Oh, Goddess Martel! Thank you!" Pietro said.
"Goddess huh? Man." Lloyd muttered.
"The Desians are trying to revive something called the Angelus Project." Pietro said. "They are also developing a weapon called the Mana Cannon."
"Know about both already, thanks for the information though. The Angelus thing can't work because of details we won't go into." the General said as Lloyd covered his Exsphere. "As for this cannon, we don't know a lot."
"The Mana Cannon, hmm? Do you mean Thor's Hammer?" Kratos asked. "From the Ancient War?"
"Sorry, I do not know the details." Pietro said. "They are using things called Exspheres in these sinister experiments. I was mostly wanting to tell you to stop the Angelus Project, but since you have stopped them, I am extremely grateful to hear that."
"We did defeat Kvar and rescued the people who were held captive." Genis said.
"Yeah, we did it with that jewel you had." Sheena said.
"Is that true?!" Pietro said as they nodded. "I knew I could count on the Chosen!"
"I'm more concerned with this Mana Cannon now." Raine said.
"Yes, as am I." Kratos said. "But we won't get anywhere pondering it here."
"Could this technique also be used to save Clara?" Genis asked.
"Yes, I am sure we will be able to save that poor woman." Kratos said. "When we have the time."
"More like when we find her." the General said. "Or a possible location to start looking."
"Yes, the people outside the Inn said they had heard nothing since Clara had left here when we saved her." Raine said.
"Is there anything else we need to know?" Lloyd asked.
"No, I am sorry to say I know nothing else." Pietro said as he got up. "But I promise to go back to Luin and restore it to the bustling city it once was. It is the least I can do for causing what happened to it."
They wished them both good luck and hoped to see them at Luin at some point in the near future. Staying the night, they discussed what they thought they should do next and while Kratos said they should head for the Tower of Salvation and the others agreed, they really didn't come up with a plan of action.
"You can get a good view of the Tower of Salvation from the mountain in the back of this village." Raine said as they walked out of the Inn. "Let's go to the top and have a good look at it and think about what we're going to do next."
"Yeah, we never did really come up with anything." the General said.
Once at the top, where they could see above the clouds and while the view was incredible, it was rather windy.
"Looking at it like this, it feels really close." Lloyd said.
"Considering what I see and from the map here, that thing has to be on the same continent at Triet from the looks of it. Or, just on the other side of the mountain of this continent after you leave the one Triet is on." the General said.
"It is far away." Genis said. "It looks like there is no path leading to it."
"There probably isn't." Raine said. "In order to keep those not wanted away, it has probably been hidden until now."
"More than likely, the only way to get to it, is by boat." the General said. "From the looks of it."
"You there!" a voice said making them turn around and see a scruffy old gent with a thick red hair and beard. "Have you ever wanted to get closer to the Tower of Salvation?"
"What did you say?!" Lloyd asked.
"Oh, I can see from that reaction that you are interested!" the man said.
"Can you really go to the Tower of Salvation?" Lloyd asked.
"Oh yes." the man said before clearing his throat. "Welcome to Dragon Tours! My humble dragons and I shall show you the way to the Tower of Salvation."
"Dragon tours?" Genis asked. "What kind of shady business is he running?"
"You want us, to get on dragons, and fly across this large open expanse to get to the Tower?" the General asked.
"Yes, of course." the man said.
"It would be possible to reach the Tower of Salvation from the air." Raine said. "And certainly better than getting on a boat."
"Yeah, that's true." Lloyd said. "Going back down and to a place with a boat, like Palmacosta, would take days. We can just ride the dragons he has there."
"Great! You all have the honor of being the very first customers for the Dragon Tour!" the man said. "Let's see now, seven people means…."
"The girls can all go on one, Genis with me, Kratos with Lloyd." the General said.
"Hmm, that would work out. Thank you sir for the help!" the man said. "I was wondering about the weight ratio…"
"Don't give me that look, compared to the rest of us, minus Genis here, we weight more than you three girls together." the General said, looking more at Sheena who was glaring.
"He does have a point." Raine said. "They are wearing more armor than we do."
"Well, at least that idiot…" Sheena muttered, with the name of whoever she meant not being spoken loud enough for them to hear.
"Okay, the special price for today only will be 7,000 gald." the man said.
"That's expensive!" Lloyd said.
"A thousand a person. Makes sense seeing as the dragons need to be well maintained in order to keep business going. Setting them free to get their own food would mean the possibility of loosing them, so you have to pay others to go get the food for them." the General said. "You have Noishe as a pet, so you do know a bit of what it takes to take care of him."
"Yeah, but he's simple dog." Lloyd said.
"Bigger the pet, bigger the expense. And would you stop calling Noishe a dog? Dog's don't get that big and no dog has even been able to be used as a pack horse. Much less ridden." the General said. "Speaking of which, where is he?"
"Probably still sleeping by the Inn." Lloyd said.
"We'll pay it." Raine said digging into the money bag. "We need to get there and this is about the only way."
"Yeah, it is for the world regeneration." Genis said.
"What, what did you say?!" the man exclaimed. "Are you the Chosen's group?!"
"That's right." Raine said. "We are her friends and guardians, helping her to get where she needs to go."
"This is Colette, the Chosen One." the General said patting her on the head as she smiled at the man.
"Oh my!" the man said. "No, no, no, this won't do at all! I can't possibly take money from the Chosen! Please, put that money away!"
"Raine hadn't even counted it out all yet." Genis said.
"For the Chosen's group, I shall ready of my three high class dragons for you by tomorrow morning!" the man said. "Of course, I will not accept any money!"
"Well, if you insist." Raine said as the man nodded with a wave of his hand.
"However…" the man said.
"What is it you want instead?" Raine asked.
"I've heard that the area around the Tower of Salvation is dangerous, so, if you could just, I mean my cute little dragons are…." the man said.
"I see." Raine said nodding. "It will not be a problem. When we reach our destination, we shall return the dragons to you. Is that alright with everyone?"
"I have no problem with it." the General said. "Seeing as we know the tower isn't on an isolated island, we can go wherever we need to by walking."
"I have no objections." Kratos said.
"Yeah, like the General said, we can figure out where to go ourselves after we are done." Lloyd said.
"I understand and thank you greatly. I shall await you all here tomorrow morning." the man said bowing and then headed away. "There are preparations to make, so I'll leave you all and see you then."
"So, we are finally down to the last seal." Lloyd said.
"Let's spilt up for the night. Do whatever you want, within reason, and do not worry about any school work." Raine said as Lloyd cheered, getting a partial glare. "But do not leave the village, understood?"
"Yup." Genis said.
"Got it." Sheena said.
"Goodnight then everyone. Please sleep well." Raine said as they nodded and walked away. "Aren't you going somewhere?"
"Where is there to go?" the General said putting a arm around her shoulders. "If we just sat here and watched night come and looked at the stars for awhile, not saying anything at all, I'd be fine. As long as you where there with me."
She smiled but said nothing as they did sit down. He wasn't surprised when she did start talking though and was really glad to be able to do so with no worries of being interrupted.
Lloyd went around and talked to the group for a bit, each one alone, leaving Raine and the General last since they were alone together.
"Tomorrow, Sylvarant will be saved." Sheena said.
"What are you gonna do?" Lloyd asked.
"Good question." Sheena said unsure. "The only thing I can do is believe in the Chosen. She does want to save both worlds and I hope she can. The Chosen on this side seems to be trustworthy and all."
"What does that mean? Is the Chosen on your side untrustworthy?" Lloyd asked.
"Tethe'alla's Chosen is an idiot. I can't stand that guy." Sheena said with distain.
"Hmm, you have a Chosen, and it's a guy." Lloyd said.
"Two worlds, two Chosen." Sheena said and then sighed. "If there really is a goddess, why did she make a world like this?"
"Yeah, no kidding." Lloyd said. "I want to kick her for doing this."
"Seriously." Sheena said with a chuckle. "I wish I could do that myself."
Lloyd found Kratos near the graveyard looking out at the view.
"Lloyd, your journey is finally coming to an end." Kratos said.
"This isn't the end I hoped for." Lloyd said.
"Really? It is the journey you started by clinging to the Chosen. It is to be expected." Kratos said.
"Clinging to the Chosen?" Lloyd asked.
"Don't you remember? It was you who said we have the Chosen on our side. The savior who will regenerate the world." Kratos said.
"Yeah, that's right. I said that." Lloyd said with firm conviction. "And that's why I have to protect her."
"If relying and depending on the power of the Chosen at the most crucial time is what it means to protect her, then the meaning of the word, protect, must have changed significantly from my understanding." Kratos said. "And now, the Chosen is trying to resolve everything, by sacrificing herself."
"What are you trying to say?" Lloyd asked.
"Lloyd, don't make a mistake." Kratos said.
"I don't quite get it, but I got it." Lloyd said. "But hey, if I make a mistake, can't I just do it over again?"
"Humph. Do it over. If it is something you can do over again, then, feel free." Kratos said. "Lloyd, I have a final lesson to give you if you wish."
"Please." Lloyd said.
Going to a section just outside of town, after telling the others what they were doing, Kratos gave the lesson. Lloyd, bowed to him after the intense lesson.
"Thank you, Master." Lloyd said.
"Why all of the sudden?" Kratos asked.
"Well, I never thanked you this whole time." Lloyd said. "And also, you are like my teacher, right?"
"I, do not have the right to be called that." Kratos said putting his sword away.
"No, you do. I was able to fight this far because of you and the others." Lloyd said.
"And what of what the General taught you?" Kratos asked.
"He has helped me as well, but there was many things you taught me, since you fight with one sword, that he was unable on some levels." Lloyd said.
"I see. He is much better with two swords and his particular style than he is with it as one blade." Kratos said. "Do not forget what I have taught you, and protect your companions and yourself."
"Yeah. I mean, yes Master." Lloyd said.
They went back finding that Sheena had went to bed for the night. Genis was talking to the merchant nearby while Raine and the General were in chairs on the front porch of the Inn, talking. Colette was up near the edge of the cliff near the Inn, looking out at things.
"The Tower of Salvation is so close now. We have come a long way." Genis said as Lloyd walked up.
"Yeah. A very long way." Lloyd said.
"It is a time like this, that I stop and think how stupid I have been." Genis said.
"Why?" Lloyd asked confused.
"Because I don't even know if the way things have turned out has been good or bad." Genis said.
"No one knows that." Lloyd said. "The ones who think they do, are the stupid ones."
"You think so?" Genis asked.
"Definitely." Lloyd said.
"I guess you are right. You say some cool things now and then. Thanks Lloyd." Genis said.
He headed over to Raine and the General as they seemed to be just sitting back and looking at things, or each other for a few moments, but not talking.
"You should go see and talk to Colette, Lloyd. This is her last night." Raine said.
"Last night?" Lloyd asked.
"Lloyd, she is going off to become this, angel for Martel or whatever. Even though I have my disbelief in it, if I am wrong and things work out as they should, we may never see her again." the General said sadly.
"Yes, unfortunately." Raine said. "It is her last night as a human."
"What is left of her currently." the General said shaking his head.
"Professor, you're a scholar. Can't we do anything?" Lloyd asked.
"Don't you understand anything we've said?" Raine asked. "I knew you had some trouble Lloyd, but you're not as bright as I thought. It is because I am a scholar that I'm fascinated by Colette as she continues to turn into and angel."
"You can't be serious Professor." Lloyd said in disbelief.
"You think so huh? I would help her if I could, but I cannot Lloyd. So, all I can do is study what happens and help her along, to help preserve her memory, not only for us, but for history." Raine said.
"Go talk to her Lloyd. Besides Genis, you are her greatest friend." the General said.
He walked over and she apparently noticed, just enough to look over her shoulder and smile before turning back to look out across the open expanse.
"Let's talk for a bit Colette. You can write." Lloyd said as she smiled and then sat down with him. "Hmm, the world regeneration. It is almost time."
She took his hand and wrote in it.
"I'm sorry." Lloyd said reading it. "Why are you apologizing?"
She did more writing as he watched.
"This is the end and I can't even speak. I know that's weird?" Lloyd said as she nodded. "You dork, that doesn't matter. No matter what happens to you, you're still you. Even if you become and angel. Even if you become like Marble. I won't ever think you're weird. Ever."
She smiled but kept hold of his hand.
"Anyway, I am the one that has to apologize." Lloyd said looking away, making her poke his hand to get him to look at her. "Even though I promised to make that gift even before our journey ended, I kept thinking we still had a ways to go. I never even got close to finishing it."
She shook her head and wrote.
"I'll wait forever? Even after I become and angel. I'll keep on waiting. You can give it to me at any time." Lloyd said as she nodded and smiled. "Okay, this time I am going to make it. No matter how long it takes."
She smiled with a nod in agreement.
"Can I ask you one last thing?" Lloyd asked as she nodded. "Are you sure you won't regret this? Are you sure you want to become and angel?"
She wrote in his hand as he watched her.
"The truth is, I'm a little scared." Lloyd said reading it and then responding. "Yeah, I would be too."
She smiled with what he was sure a small giggle before writing again.
"But if giving up my life as a human means that Sylvarant will be reborn, then it is most like my life is spreading out to fill the entire world. When I think about it like that, I am okay." Lloyd read as she took her hand from his and smiled as she usually did with the sweet innocent look. "You're strong Colette. Hey, the wind is pretty cold. Let's go back to the Inn. Everyone else has. Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot. You can't feel it."
She only smiled again and held his hand a moment before walking away to go in.
"Dammit! Isn't there anything we can do!?!" Lloyd growled as he watched her walk away.
Later that night, everyone was asleep in their bags, with the girls on the two beds in the room and the fire still burning well, keeping the room warm. Kratos was sleeping against the wall and got up, heading out. Lloyd got up off his sleeping bag by the wall.
"That was Kratos, wasn't it?" Lloyd muttered quietly. "Where's he going?"
"Probably the bathroom." the General muttered from beside the bed Raine was on with Colette.
"You're still awake?" Lloyd asked quietly.
"No. Kratos getting up woke me." the General muttered before turning over. "Good night Lloyd."
Lloyd went out and then outside seeing Kratos out there.
"You have to continue watching over Lloyd for me." Kratos said to Noishe, both at the side of the Inn where Noishe was sleeping on a blanket.
Noishe whined at him.
"I have things I must do. In my place, I need you to…" Kratos said.
Lloyd was walking up when a man suddenly appeared near and just Kratos's side. The man had his hand out which had a glowing ball of light ready to be fired from his palm.
"Kratos! Look out!" Lloyd yelled as he pulled his swords.
Kratos pulled his sword quickly and got the guy as Lloyd ran up, making the guy cry out from the hit.
"Stop!" Kratos said, and before anything else could be said or done, the man vanished away in small points of light.
"Kratos, are you okay?" Lloyd asked.
"Lloyd, thank you." Kratos said putting his blade away.
"Ah, it was nothing. But, who was that?" Lloyd asked.
"I would imagine it's that assassin. He managed to get away, but I gave him an injury he would not soon forget." Kratos said.
"I have a feeling I have seen him somewhere before." Lloyd said.
"Yes, perhaps. Let's get back to the Inn. Everyone is probably up wondering where we are." Kratos said.
"Maybe. I hope not though. I want to sleep for another hour or so." Lloyd said.
"Lloyd…" Kratos said.
"Hmm? What is it?" Lloyd asked.
"Don't die." Kratos said.
"What? Yeah, okay. What's up all of the sudden?" Lloyd asked.
"Don't worry about it." Kratos said as he walked off.
"How can he tell me not to worry about it after saying something like that?!" Lloyd said watching him go back into the Inn. He turned to say something to Noishe when he notice something on the ground that wasn't there before. "Hmm, what's this? There's some strange letter's carved into it."
A couple hours later, they had gotten up, ate and refreshed and were outside the Inn, ready to go.
"It's finally time." Lloyd said.
"Yes, we should hurry." Kratos said.
