A/N: Yo DMG! Long time no see. HA! I'm a poet and I didn't even know it.
GAH! Everyone wants the baby to be a girl! They all started singing a different tune the moment the word 'immaculate conception' was brought up. I swear, I never intended for everyone to automatically think "zomg Mother Mary and Jesus O.O". I wonder what tune you'll be singing when the secrets of the baby's conception come to light? Personally, I'm dying for the brat to be a boy, but if it's a girl that's cool too. It won't change the outline for the sequel much. Yes, there will be a sequel.
Girl: 6
Boy: 6
Have you ever wanted to wake up from your dreaming? It scared you so bad you couldn't control your heart or your breathing…
Sheena- "Drunk Again" by Reel Big Fish
And may I note that Sheena Chapters and Raine Chapters don't always take place right after the other? Sometimes they are hours, days, and many physical miles apart. Sometimes they occur at the same time. 3,371 words. Anyway… Enjoy!
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Four Rheiards cut through the sky, leaving a trail of multicolored smoke in their wake. They flew in a diamond formation, with a purple Rheiard leading the way. In the rider's seat was Sheena, her face paler than normal. The Rheiard to her left and the one to her right sped up a bit to fly closer to her, the riders sharing the same concerned face. They spoke at the same time.
"Hey hunny, are you feeling all-?"
"If you feel that there might be a relapse we could-"
Pandora and Zelos stopped, glaring at each other over the top of the ninja's head. But after they noticed the expression on her face, they cut their argument short and floated back to trail behind her. Sheena sighed in relief, glad she was spared another one of their lover's spats. Hater's spats. Whatever.
She looked down at her wrist, where her grandmother's charm was dangling innocently, as if it didn't carry dark secrets within it. The dark hemisphere glittered in the sun, bright enough to make her wince and turn her eyes away before they got damaged. Narrowing her eyes, she sped up to try and have the rushing winds cool her down. The heavy tropical humidity was beginning to make her feel like murder, as if the current circumstances weren't already enough to drive her insane.
"I want answers."
Suddenly, Genis's voice sounded through the ear pieces he had given each of them, sounding as clear as if he had been flying right next to her. "There's Altamira!"
Sheena looked down and, sure enough, the island paradise was rapidly coming into view. Already she could see the dim outline of the gigantic Ferris Wheel. "That's not Altamira!" Zelos complained loudly into the ear piece. "That's a whale."
"Since when do whales have trees on their backs?"
"Or Ferris Wheels, for that matter?"
Zelos looked from Genis to Pandora and back again, his eyes wide with horror. "Wait a second, you guys can't gang up on me like that! That's not fair!"
"We're not ganging up on you." Sheena could hear a sharp exclamation of breath as Pandora angrily huffed. "We're only saying the truth. Look…" the Rheiards had already traveled enough distance to distinctly see the buildings and rides of the island resort. "We were right."
"I still say it looked like a whale."
"Get your prescription checked, then."
Pandora laughed softly over the connection before Sheena reached up to her ear and snapped at the controls to turn the radio off, having had more than enough of their banter over the past few hours on the flight from Asgard to Altamira. Zelos, in true stalker fashion, had followed Pandora and Sheena to Triet and had demanded he be allowed to join their impromptu party.
"Only if you know where we can find Raine."
"Is that it? Well, last I heard she was headed off towards Asgard…"
They landed on the outskirts of the resort, shrinking their Rheiards into the Wing Packs and walking through the shimmering, golden gates of the island paradise. Genis stopped after a few steps, tugged at the collar of his coat, adjusting the thick wool in the oppressively heavy humidity, but eventually sighed in resignation and slipped his goggles up to rest on his forehead.
"You could take it off, you know," Pandora said, the side of her mouth twitching upwards.
"Ooh, yes. Take it alllllll off."
"Zelos, shut up."
The Ex-Chosen shrugged the comment off and strode after Sheena, who hadn't waited for them at the gates. When he reached her he put a restraining hand on her shoulder and forced her to turn around, pointing at the two half-elves lagging behind them. "You'd better slow down or we'll lose them in the crowds," he said, smiling wryly down at her.
Sheena pulled away from him, relentlessly moving towards the EC that would take them to the main Lezareno Company Building.
"Sheena-" Zelos reached out again, but she practically slapped his hand away this time.
"I'm sorry, you just missed her. She left for Altamira, I think, but I don't know what she'll do after that."
"Thanks anyway, Kate."
"You don't know Raine like I do," she said, "She moves without warning. Even if she was here now, in five minutes she could be taking off again. So time is not ours to waste." She hopped into the EC and it took off almost before Zelos could manage to tumble in beside her, looking over his shoulder at the receding dock with a flustered face. Genis and Pandora were rapidly becoming strangers made fuzzy by distance, and soon they were making a turn and he couldn't see them at all.
"The Lezareno Building or the Amusement Park?" asked the employee running the ship. His cap was lowered to cover his eyes and only a few light red tendrils of hair escaped to dangle about his face, further obscuring his features.
"The building, please," Sheena said, sighing and sitting down.
"Of course. Please stay seated, ma'am."
"OK," Zelos said, settling down in the boat and taking off his pink glove to dangle a hand in the water, "I need answers, kiddo. Not three days ago you were running away at the sight of her and now suddenly you can't wait to see her again? What's so important about finding Raine?"
Sheena sat hunched in her seat, her knees drawn up to her chest as she stared forlornly at the ripples the EC motor made. "Sheena?" Zelos scooted closer, leaning forward and twisting in his seat so that he was looking at her in the face. "Sheeeee-naaah!" He said, grinning. "You can't tell me, of all people? I thought we were friends. Remember? Remember? You can't have forgotten."
"You two…" the employee said, interrupting and staring at them from behind huge black sunglasses. "You're…."
Zelos winked at him, pulling down the front of his shirt to show the boy his Cruxis Crystal. "I'm Zelos Wilder, yes. This lovely young thing here is Sheena Fujibayashi."
"So much for traveling incognito…" Sheena muttered, trailing one hand over the railing of the EC to run her hand through the seawater.
The employee smiled at Zelos. "Yes, I figured as much. Regal loves to talk about you."
"Oho?" Zelos left Sheena completely forgotten as he scooted closer to the boy, grinning hugely. "Does he now? You're a friend of his?"
"Not quite."
"Well, what's the blue boy been saying about us, little one?" He reached out to take off his sunglasses.
The boy flinched away, stopping the boat and standing up and pointing accusingly at Zelos. "He uses lots of big and fancy words that don't sound nearly as offensive, but in general he says you're such a pervert you'll sleep with anything that has a hole and heartbeat, and" –he pointed at Sheena now, his movement so violent the boat began to rock- "You're so deeply entrenched in honor you'd run away from the love of your life if it meant your village would respect you more."
The boy smiled sweetly at them, letting the sea breeze ruffle his hair as he took off his cap. "That's what he says."
Sheena didn't move. Zelos's eyes were wide for a moment, but then he smiled. "And you think the same way, sweetling?"
"Though I have not had the time to examine you both properly in your native environment to see if my suspicions are correct…" the boy pulled down the front of his shirt to reveal a blood red Ex-Sphere. He pressed the gem at the base of his throat and suddenly his deep, pubescent boy voice changed to that of a young girl. "I'd have to say… well…" he took off his sunglasses, revealing eyes like rain clouds. "Yeah!"
Light red- no, pink- hair waved in the calm sea breezes.
"Y-you!" Sheena said, scrambling to her feet and staring.
"I mean, you haven't really given me any evidence to the contrary," Presea continued, ignoring Sheena. She grinned at them, one hand on the knife at her belt as she tilted her head to the side like a curious puppy.
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"This is so like him," Pandora said, crossing her arms as she watched the boat get steadily smaller as the distance increased. "But then again, what can I expect from my dubious fiancé?"
"Not much," Genis answered, running a hand through his spiky blue hair. "Sorry."
"Sorry? Sorry for what?" Pandora put a hand to the hilt of her sword for comfort as they waited for another EC to arrive. "You have nothing to be sorry for, unless you're sharing your sympathy for me because I have to marry a pig. In that case, please keep your sympathy as I have no use for it."
"Well… uh… I don't know," he admitted. "It just seemed like the polite thing to say, OK? What do you want from me? How about this: 'It's your fuckin' fault we got here too late and the boat left, you dumb bitch!'" He yelled the last part so loud a few couples stopped to stare at him. In response, he glared at them and yelled out a string of curse words that let them know that their very existence was in critical danger. They left.
"I like the first option, thank you," said Pandora when the last of the gawkers were gone.
"I thought you would," he said as the next EC came around, the motor humming with electric power. He stepped inside and helped Pandora in, shutting the gate closed behind them.
"Where to, Sir?" the boat man asked.
"Well?" he asked Pandora as she sat down daintily in one of the seats.
"Well," she said, "We could go to the Lezareno Building and watch the no doubt awkward confrontation between Sheena and Raine. Or we could go to the amusement park and spend some time together now that Zelos is gone."
"To the amusement park, please," Genis said to the EC man.
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"Well now, kiddies," Presea said, reclining comfortably in the boat seat. "What brings you to Altamira? Please sit down, Sheena. Your theatrics aren't going to change anything."
"Raine," Sheena said, somewhat over her shock as she sat back down. "I heard she was headed here. Have you seen her?" She gripped the sides of her chair tightly, almost afraid to hear the answer.
"I'm sorry, no." Presea pressed a few buttons on the controls of the EC, putting it into auto-pilot. "Even if I had seen her, the chances are I would not have recognized the girl. I barely recognized you, in fact." Smiling, she folded her hands on her lap. "I've only ever talked to you through letters, Sheena, and I've only ever seen you in pictures. And you were always wearing some purple robe."
"….I'm lost," Zelos admitted to Sheena, his eyebrows rising up into his bangs. "Presea my darling little rosebud angelbunny sugar p-"
His stream of pet names was cut short. "Don't ask me," Presea said sharply. "Ask Regal. It's all his fault, if his constant bitching is anything to go by."
Sheena wondered if she had ever heard Presea utter a swear word before; Zelos knew he'd never heard her say something foul before. "But that's not right," Sheena said. "I mean, it's not possible."
"It's not possible," Presea said, almost mockingly. "It's not possible." She laughed, softly. "It's not possible… If I can be thirty-one in the body of a fifteen year old, what's not possible, Sheena? What is possible, then? Can you tell me that?"
There was a long pause; Presea laughed again, shaking her head.
"I'm sorry," she said, "Regal's always telling me not to be rude, but it never seems to stick. Maybe he should just kill me like he did my sister Alicia, maybe then he'll be happy."
"You're not Presea," Sheena stood up, her voice frigid. "Presea would never talk like that!"
"And she wouldn't disrespect the memory of Alicia," Zelos added. Even he wasn't smiling now.
"I wouldn't know what your Presea would or would not do," Presea said, looking up at the younger woman calmly. "But because of Regal Bryant, your Presea is as dead as Alicia."
The EC jerked to a halt and Sheena almost fell out of the boat into the water.
"Sheena!" Zelos reached out, but Presea shoved him back into his seat with her beastly strength.
"That's why you should stay sitting down," Presea chided her, grabbing at the hem of her sleeve at the last minute. "Theatrics will only get you a cold splash here in Altamira. Here," she helped Sheena out of the boat, holding her hand gently in both of hers. Now that they were both standing on dry land, it shocked Sheena to see how little Presea had changed. At fifteen, she barely reached five feet tall and she was still as chestless and slim-hipped as a boy. Wait, no. Presea was thirty-one. Wait, no. She was…
Wait, if she was twelve when her aging was halted and it took sixteen years for it to be restored, and then you add the two years after that happened, so wouldn't she only be thirty? But then you have the individual months to consider….
The age thing with Presea had always made Sheena's head hurt, and this new development wasn't helping things any. But when she looked down into the girl's eyes, she saw the familiar stormy grey swirls that went on and on, forever and ever. The taciturn girl no longer, Presea still held too much hurt in her eyes for Sheena to stay angry at her for long. Sheena looked away, and Presea knew she had won.
"Please, just tell me what happened to you," said Sheena. It was as close to begging as she would get, but Presea still shook her head.
"Like I said, it's all Regal's fault. If you want answers, you go ask him." Presea shrugged and let go of Sheena's hand, melting off into the crowd before either of them could get a word in edgewise.
There was a long moment of silence between them before Zelos spoke up.
"Ever get the feeling you're living in a Greek drama?"
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"Ack! Sorry!"
"It's fine."
"Yeah but-"
"Yeah but nothing. It's perfectly fine. You don't have to apologize for everything."
"But I-"
"Genis!" Pandora finally snapped, closing the door to the Ferris Wheel behind her. "You've seen me completely naked! Why should I care if you grabbed my ass? Zelos does it all the time; I just beat him up for it afterwards."
Genis's whole body was rigid with embarrassment. "I didn't mean to," he kept on.
"Yes, yes. You're a gentleman." She smiled at him before sitting down and resting her head against the glass, watching the ground recede as the ride started. "I haven't forgotten."
His face still red, Genis looked out of his own window on the seat opposite to Pandora.
"I haven't been on this thing in ages," Pandora said after a few minutes. "Not since Zelos and I stopped pretending to enjoy being engaged."
"Really?" Genis asked. "I always go on here."
"Always with a pretty girl?" she asked, hiding her grin behind a hand.
"Nope. Sometimes it's Lloyd, sometimes it's Raine. Once or twice Presea, and Zelos and Sheena. Never with Regal, but sometimes he goes on the roller coasters with me." He sat up, suddenly eager. "We should do that next, now that I think about it."
"Silly boy…" she murmured. "So you've always been with someone."
"Yep. And now… now I'm with you."
That made her look up at him, her eyes widened slightly in surprise and her lips pressed tightly together. Then she remembered herself and started to chuckle. "Yes, yes," she said. "You're a romantic. I had forgotten."
"I am not."
"You take me to the Ferris Wheel on our date." She propped her feet up on the empty seat next to him, making herself comfortable. "You brought me flowers on our first date. You want to pull out chairs for me to sit. You're so eager to open the door for me you accidentally palm my butt instead. You're a romantic."
"This isn't a date," he reminded her. "We can't go on dates."
"…You're right," she admitted, bringing her feet back and lifting her knees up to her chest as she stared out of the glass again. She pressed her forehead against the surface, watching the sky begin to change to shades of orange and vermillion. She muttered something under her breath, something he didn't catch.
"What?" He frowned.
"Nothing, Genis. Absolutely nothing. Let's watch the sunset."
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"Regal."
Sheena and Zelos stood in the entrance to the President's office, Zelos leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed and Sheena with a weak smile on her face. The former convict stepped up to greet them, giving Sheena a hug and offering to shake Zelos's hand.
"What the heck is wrong with Presea?" Zelos blurted.
The smile was wiped off of Regal's face faster than you could say 'touchy subject.' He cleared his throat and straightened his tie, glancing away. "So you've met her," he said.
"You could say that," Sheena said, moving into the room and taking a seat. She stared out of the windows, watching as the sun began to set. Another night would pass, and who could say where Raine would be when morning came? Derris-Kharlan, for all Sheena knew.
Regal's face was uncharacteristically dark as he sat back down behind his desk, looking much older than his years. He rubbed his fingers against his temple, sighing loudly. "There's no easy way to say this," he said, "And I had hoped that I could postpone telling any of you this in the hopes that it was only a passing phase, but…
"I convinced Presea to take off her old Ex-Sphere, the faulty Cruxis Crystal that had consumed her soul for so long. Presea agreed so long as she would be able to wear other Ex-Spheres to retain her unnatural strength. At first everything was fine, but as the days and months went by, she slowly began to change in…" Regal closed his eyes. "Disturbing ways. Eventually things have become as you see them now. I… I don't know how, and I don't know why, but Presea has lost all of her memory of the World Reunification Journey and the two years that followed it."
"Quite the disturbing thing, memory loss," said a voice from the corner of the room. Sheena jumped a few inches off the ground as a handsomely dressed older man suddenly made his presence known. He had been quietly standing next to Regal's book case, waiting for them to notice him. When they hadn't, he had spoken up. He closed his book with a snap and walked towards them. "I'm somewhat of an expert when it comes to things like this, but Presea is… an unusual young woman."
"Er… who are you?" Zelos asked.
"Oh." The man smacked the book against his forehead as if reprimanding himself. "Where are my manners? My name is Alexander Sage. It's a pleasure to meet you at last, Sheena."