Thank-you for reviewing! And here's the next chapter…

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any Tales game or their characters.

CLAIMER: However, I do own my OC's and story twists.

Please enjoy, no flames, but I will accept constructive criticism.

Chapter 7: Rescue

"In faith there is enough light for those who want to believe

And enough shadows to blind those who don't."

-Blaise Pascal

It seemed like an eternity before morning arrived. I awoke to the sound of screaming, and then a series of loud thumps. Kratos was out the door before I even realized that something happened. When I joined him in the hallway, we found that a half-asleep Colette had fallen down the steps. I sighed and shook my head before returning to our room. I took some time to stretch my limbs and pop my back before adding on my gloves, baggy white belly-shirt, shorts, dark brown belt, and boots. I firmly held my fan in my right hand as I left the room so that Kratos could add his cloak, lavender gloves, belts, boots, and sword to his attire. I yawned as I slung my travel bag around my shoulders and moved down the steps. Colette carefully descended them after me, fully dressed and ready to leave. Raine soon followed. Once the only male in our party was ready, we checked out of the Inn.

"Alright," Raine said as we entered the raging heat. Sand began to kick up due to the constant wind. "We should probably buy some extra provisions before leaving Triet."

Kratos nodded in agreement, "Right. We'll meet at the entrance of the town, alright?"

"Okay." The blonde said obediently.

"Fine by me." I replied. I could care less what our plans were, considering this was my first time on a save-the-world-quest. I decided to follow Kratos around the town, while Colette went with Raine. I felt safer with the mercenary. One never knew when some creepy guys would leap out of the shadows and attack me. The both of us moved quietly from store to store. The redhead was in charge of buying food. I tried to carry our purchases, but Kratos insisted to do that for me. He was such a gentleman.

The quiet was beginning to annoy me. So, I decided to say something, "So…why'd you decide to become a mercenary?"

"No particular reason." The man replied.

I nodded, "M-hm…" There was an awkward silence. You're terrible at conversations! Why don't you say something like 'what's your favorite color'? That always leads to something interesting. I ignored my inner self. I doubted that she knew anything about conversations, seeing as all she has ever done is argue with me. She has never spoken to anyone else before, so she wouldn't know how to have a decent conversation. But I had to admit that I was not a very good conversationalist. It seemed as though Kratos was fine with the silence. So, I took to admiring my surroundings. The heat was aggravating, and there was sand everywhere. I determined that much.

While we were exploring Triet, I noticed a small tent that caught my interest. "I'll be back in a sec." I said to my companion and quickly ran to the tent. I guessed by the sound of footsteps behind me that he followed. I entered the small cloth hut, and found that it was decorated by an assortment of odd trinkets. There was a table, with a cloth covering it and a deck of cards in the center. Behind the table was an old woman, wrapped in baggy clothing. She resembled a fortune teller. She smiled at me, revealing yellow teeth, "Welcome to Madam Ayame's! Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Um…what do you do?" I asked, my eyes scanning the room.

"I tell you of you future in romance, of course," she said as if it were obvious, "for a small fee, I will gladly give you a peek into da world of love, and allow you to see how successful…or otherwise…you shall be." She had a bit of an accent.

I looked at Kratos. Without a word, he handed me a small bag of coins, "Thanks." I always got a kick out of things like this. I knew that they were always just a joke, and never really worked, but it was still fun to play around with fortunes and the like. I handed her the money she desired.

She gladly took it, "Thank-you…now, hold out your hand," I did as she said and held said limb out to her. She took it, and began tracing the lines on my palm. She had long nails, which were painted dark purple. "Hmm…" she released my hand and grabbed her deck. She began toying with the cards, and performing interesting tricks with them. Then, she set the deck on the table, so that only six cards remained in her hand, "Take one." I hesitated, allowing my eyes to trace the cards. I thought for a moment, and then took one from her hand. She did not give me enough time to read it, though. She snatched it away from me, and glanced at her. Her eyes widened in surprise, "Oh! Dis card is very special, indeed. It is da Key of Destiny, a very rare card. Very few have been chosen by dis card."

"What does it mean?" I asked, curious to see what show she would cook up.

She held the card out to me. I took it from her, and glanced at it. It was mostly white, with intricate designs added in. They resembled an angel dressed in flowing white robes and golden jewelry. A pure snow white wing protruded from the right side of her back, while a black wing protruded from the left. Her right eye was pure blue, while the left eye was a deep purple. Crimson blood dripped from the corner of her left eye, like a tear. She had long dark brown hair, and her skin was light. She looked vaguely familiar.

"A long path has been chosen for you. You shall experience love and betrayal. However, you fate is different from most. Depending on da strength of you heart, will determine whether your future love shall return to you. Both evil and good lay in you future. I would be careful, if I were you. You future is unwritten, and difficult to protect." She said.

I stared at the card, shrugged, and then handed it back to her, "Interesting," An idea struck me at that second. I turned to Kratos and smiled, "Hey, Kratos, maybe you should let her read your fortune!"

"That's a waste of time." The redhead replied.

My smile broadened, "But haven't you ever been curious about your love life?"

"Not really." He said in his usual, serious tone. It must suck that much. Mai laughed. Shut-up! That's rude. I scolded. And I would care why…? It's not like he can hear me. I wondered why my inner self was so different from me.

My face fell, "Please?"

"Fine." He sighed and moved to the table. He removed his right glove and held his hand out to the old woman. I was surprised at how quickly he gave in. Being satisfied with being the victor of the short lived argument, I stood by and watched the show. Ayame grabbed his hand and began tracing the lines on it. She let go of his hand, and began performing more card tricks. She ended up with three cards this time. She held them out to him, and took one. She snatched the card away and looked at it.

"Hmm…very interesting," Ayame mused, "I see dat a fellow acquaintance of yours shall steal your heart, and mend da damage dat has been done. However, a life altering decision will be forced upon you, and you will be da one to decide da fate of her life."

Kratos was silent, before saying, "I see," And turning away from her, "Come on," I bid farewell to the old woman before following him back into the streets of Triet. "We should head to the entrance." The redhead suggested.

"Okay." I agreed and quickly followed after him. We moved through the city, and neared our destination. Raine and Colette were already there. I was walking towards them when I noticed something odd. I stopped, and then headed towards the Inn. My eyes glued to the wall. There was a poster on it. On the poster was a badly drawn sketch of what I guessed was Lloyd Irving. He was wanted by someone named Lord Forcystus, one of the Five Grand Cardinals of the Desians. My heart nearly skipped a beat as I quickly ran to the others.

"Uh guys," I said nervously, "We've got a problem."

"What?" Kratos asked.

I gestured to the poster, "Lloyds done something stupid." I said bluntly.

"What!?" Raine jumped, and sped towards the poster. She read it, and then stomped back to us, "I knew it!"

I blinked, "Knew what?"

"I overheard some of the people in the town talking about how two boys, a human and an elf, were arrested by the Desians last night! That must have been Lloyd and Genis!" the white haired woman replied, looking both worried over the safety of her student and brother, and angry over their stupidity. "Oh, what has Lloyd done to anger the Desians? I always knew that he wasn't very bright, but this is ridiculous!" It was sad when one's teacher could admit that they did not trust in their intelligence. It was amazing how quickly the boy's lives deteriorated. I guessed that this situation transpired shortly after our departure from Iselia Village. "Because of my worry, I decided to get directions to any suspicious places nearby. Come on, we should go immediately!"

Kratos sighed and shook his head as we left Triet. The four of us entered the hot, expansive desert. Raine quickly took the lead, and the three of us followed. Shortly after leaving the town, we came across a large worm-like creature. I almost wet myself when I saw it. Kratos lunged forward and sliced its head off, allowing green blood to pour from its body. It was easy to kill. The four of us continued onward. One the way to the base, we ran into someone familiar. "Huh? Noishe? Genis!" Raine cried as she ran forward.

The green and blue dog-like creature that belonged to Lloyd was walking through the wind, a white haired half-elf perched on its back. Genis was covering his face from the sand that was carried upwards by the wind. Raine ran to the dog, and quickly scooped her brother into her arms. She embraced him, wearing a relieved expression, "Genis! I was so worried about you! How did you escape? Where's Lloyd?"

He looked up at her, a melancholy expression on his face, "The Desian's let me go, but they kept Lloyd! I'm sorry…sis…but…we were exiled from Iselia Village! It's all my fault!" he began sobbing, "One of my friends was a prisoner in the ranch, and I always visited her! But then we were caught by the Desians yesterday, and they attacked the village. Lloyd and I were exiled…" his voice trailed off, "…so we came here looking for you guys. But as soon as we got to Triet, a group of Desians arrested us. They brought us to their base, let me go, but kept Lloyd! We need to save him! It's my fault he's here in the first place!" The boy was frantic.

"I see…" Raine replied. She sighed, "…the two of you have made a grave mistake…but we'll deal with that later. Take us to the base." It was an order. Genis nodded. Noishe whimpered, and then ran off. I was worried about letting the creature go on its own. But I was forced to ignore it, and follow the other four. Genis took the lead, and the rest of us followed him as he ran in the direction that he and Noishe had come from. We ran into one group of bandits. I was forced to slice open one of their sides, while Kratos made quick work of most of them. Hours seem to pass before we finally reached a tall, mostly grey and black building. There were two Desians standing outside the front door.

"Huh? Who's there!?" one of them asked.

Kratos unsheathed his sword and lunged at him. He decapitated the man, and then impaled the second one in the chest. I ignored the dead bodies and followed the others into the building. The hallways were mostly grey, and were lined with red and blue lights. We immediately ran into a strange robot, which was equipped with a sword and a pair of guns. It was the first time I had actually seen such a weapon in real life, and was a little surprised to see it in a place like Sylvarant. It seemed a little low tech compared to Earth; other then the use of magic, of course. It took Kratos a second to eliminate it. Colette used her chakrams to add damage to the machine. I ran up to it and began using what little knowledge I had of fighting to wound it. Kratos delivered the final blow, and then we continued on. A group of Desians began pouring into the corridors as we moved along. Kratos made quick work of them, while I would stay by Colette and wound anyone that came near. The blonde tossed her chakrams at the enemy, tripped a few times, and then continued fighting. Alarms went off, causing even more Desians to attack.

"What is this? I've never seen anything so advanced before." Raine whispered. It was called technology. I was acquainted with it, but decided to stay silent.

Kratos killed one, and then injured another with his sword, "That doesn't matter now! We need to set Lloyd free, and then continue on our journey." He said as he ended the man's life. I sliced the thigh of one open, and then kicked him between the legs. He cried out and fell the ground. Genis stood back and casted a spell here and there. Both he and Colette wore worried expressions. We ran up several staircases before coming to a door that led into a large, lavishly decorated room. It reminded me of a throne room. The main colors were white, red, and gold.

Inside the room was that Desian, Botta, who attacked the village before. Across from him was Lloyd, holding a pair of twin swords. He looked at us, a surprised expression on his face, "You guys!"

"Lloyd!" Colette cried.

Botta smirked at us, "Good. Now I can kill all of you in one go," He held up his broadsword, "Prepare to die!" He lunged at the Chosen. Kratos leapt into front of him and parried the attack, despite the size difference in their blades. Genis casted fire magic, while Lloyd used his Demon Fang attack. I stood with Colette and Raine, prepared to heal should the need arise. Botta swung his blade at Kratos; the latter dodged that attack with little effort, and lunged at the raven haired half-elf. Lloyd slashed at his back, wounding him. He jerked around, ready to chop the younger male in half. The teen ducked and dodged the attack, then delivered a powerful blow to one of his legs. Kratos fell from the ceiling, and attempted to decapitate him. Botta swerved out of the way and guarded against the attack. Botta released a battle cry and used a powerful wind spell, sending both Kratos and Lloyd flying across the room. He then charged at us, his sword at the ready. Sadly, I was near the front, so I would be receiving a majority of the damage. I cried out, and raised my fan.

"Do you honestly think that that will protect you!?" Botta laughed as his blade rose into the air. I screamed as he prepared to slice me in half with one swing of his blade. Luck was in my favor. There was a surge of energy, and I held out one hand.

The words found their way past my lips, like before, "Grand Cross!!!" The white cross from before erupted from my open palm, and wrapped around Botta's broadsword. The blade cracked, and then blew to small, sharp pieces, which scattered onto the ground. I could feel my white wings protruding from my back, and my body slouched. My breathing was ragged. That one attack was enough to completely drain me. It was almost impossible to stay conscious.

Botta gazed at the hilt and remains of his once proud sword, "Huh…wha…? What the hell…?" he looked at me, "an…Angel? Are you a Chosen of Mana? Or something else…?" His face twisted in anger, "You little bitch! You destroyed my sword!!!" He held up the sharpened remains and prepared to impale my with them. I was too weak to even move. I closed my eyes, praying that a miracle would happen. The pain never came. I opened one eye, and found Botta gazing at me in utter shock. Behind him stood Kratos. I could see his sword protruding from the man's chest, from where his heart would be. The redhead created a long gash in his back and chest, and then shoved the dying man out of his way. Botta hit the ground, and did not move.

"Are you okay?" Kratos asked me as he whipped his blade off.

I nodded, and flapped my wings, "Y-yeah…I'm just f-fine…" Black spots tore at my vision, and my knees buckled. Crap. I thought as I fell forward. Something caught me, and soon, sleep took over…

Keira's wings receded into her back, and she slowly fell forward. I opened my arms, and caught the woman before she could hit the ground. She was worn out from one spell. Her body was not accustomed to angelic magic yet. I sheathed my sword, and lifted the half-elf into my arms, bridal style. It was not difficult for me to read her mana levels, and see that she was a half-elf. Ironic that she possessed the same racial status as her, along with her mana level. That must be one reason why she was chosen. Lloyd limped towards us, holding his wounded arm. He hit the wall and landed on a table full of glass object, so obviously he was wounded. Raine quickly attended to the boy.

"Come, we need to leave now," I ordered. Everyone agreed, and we quickly left the way we came. The hallways were not as full of Desians as before. It was easier to evacuate the base than it was to infiltrate. As expected, we were assaulted by the desert heat. I ignored it, and lead the others through the expansive ocean of sand. It was noon by the time we reached Triet. Unfortunately, everyone was too tired to go to the ruins. I turned to the others once we were safe in the town, "We will stay the night here and then head for the ruins tomorrow. Understood?" They all agreed, and we quickly located the Inn. I rented three rooms, and then ran up the stairs. I moved down the hallway and unlocked the door to my room. Keira and I would be sharing a room, leaving the others to sort out who would be with whom. I entered the room and crossed it in three long strides. After calming, I placed the unconscious woman on the bed.

I then turned and placed myself in the nearby chair, allowing my eyes trail over her sleeping form. Both Keira and Colette were my intended targets. Honestly, I was surprised to find them both so quickly, and in the same place. It must have been fate. Judging by her appearance, I would say that Keira was already going through the transformation. This would leave one question: which one would be a more suitable host for her? I had a feeling that he would choose Keira, seeing as a part of her was already inside of the woman. Not to mention she has progressed so quickly. Colette did not even have her wings yet. It is due to her presence that the transformation is even occurring. But I guess it was her fate in the end, seeing as she is a Chosen of Mana. I thought.

There were many obvious differences in physical appearance, but there were also many similarities. Both of them had the same facial expressions, and their personalities were almost the same. They were even the same race; both of them were half-elves. That made Keira her ideal host. The Exsphere on her right hand also added to her power. Yes. He will surely choose her…but… for some reason; I enjoyed the woman's company. I would often force a smile back when she was around. It was like being reunited with an old friend. I felt this strange urge to protect her. Seeing her sleep so peacefully…I shook my head. Stop thinking like that. I urged as I rose to my feet. Some fresh air should help. I locked the door before leaving her unattended. I moved through the hallway and down the stairs. The sun had fallen, so the air had cooled considerably. I crossed the small street and stopped when I reached a small stable. In the stable stood Noishe, Lloyd's pet.

The creature looked at me curiously, and then began sniffing my chest. I reached up to scratch his chin. Noishe purred in delight, and pressed his chin against my fingers. I decided to feed the dog, and give him some food and water. He gleefully accepted my gift. I watched as he ate, allowing my mind to wander. Why does she have this effect on me? I wondered. It was strange, and yet familiar. I knew this feeling all too well, and how much pain it would bring. I sighed, and began stroking Noishe's head. The sound of footsteps rang from behind me. I reached for my hip and jerked around, my blade at the ready. I stopped when a familiar cry caught my attention. It was Lloyd; he wore a terrified expression. The resemblance was scary.

"Oh, Lloyd," I said as I sheathed my blade, "I'm sorry if I startled you."

He calmed and sighed in relief, "Uh, 'startled' isn't the word," I turned away and began scratching Noishe's chin again. "Are you fond of animals?" Lloyd asked as he leaned against the wooden fence.

"No, not particularly," I replied, not taking my eyes from the animal. "I once had a pet, long ago." I added.

"I see…" Lloyd muttered.

There was an awkward silence. I decided to rest before tomorrow arrived. Before leaving, I made sure to give the boy some helpful advice, "Lloyd…" he looked at me expectantly, "Your swordsmanship is severely lacking. You should train more often and improve your skills, unless you want to hinder the Chosen's journey with your inexperience." Then, I walked away from the teen.

He was silent, before shouting "WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY!? You jerk! You think you can say that and then just walk away!? COME BACK!!!" I ignored him as I entered the Inn, and went up the stairs. I moved down the hallway and quickly went inside of our room. When I turned around, I found Keira kicking her legs around. Her face was twisted with fear. She must have been having a nightmare. I crossed the room and stopped beside her bed. I stared down at her for a second before placing my palm on her forehead.

"Rest well." I whispered, and watched as she began to calm. I heard that speaking to someone who was having a nightmare would often calm them. They could usually hear you in the back of their mind. Once peace returned to her, I went to the table and began placing my outer armor and sword on it. I was left with my socks, pants, and shirt. I turned and sprawled out on my bed, and then closed my eyes. Sleep would never come…

Yes, the end of the chapter was from Kratos' POV. And Keira is not a self-insert, she's an OC. Although I will admit that her personality has similarities with mine. I will reveal who 'he' and 'she' (the two Kratos mentioned) are, although I'm sure a majority of my readers will figure it out. Well, please review and I shall update soon…