Chapter 11: A Kind-of-New World

"Urgh…" Kratos groaned as he came out of unconsciousness. A bloody and scarred hand twitched and his head flopped limply to the side.

"He's awake!" Raine called from his side. She hopped up from the bed and gave him some room so that he could try to move. Kratos had been injured badly, if not the worst of all of them. She'd been so worried about him; he was her best friend, after all.

Wait—no, that wasn't right. Lloyd was Genis' best friend. Lately, she hadn't been able tell the two thoughts apart.

Kratos' eyelids fluttered opened, revealing startlingly red, bloodshot eyes. He squeezed them tightly, then opened them again and looked around the room. "…The…Renegade Base…" he said hoarsely.

"Yes," Genis responded. "The Renegades came to our aid again, it seems."

"We were waiting for you to wake up so we could head to Tethe'alla to continue the journey," Colette added.

"Tethe'alla…?" Kratos mumbled to himself, still half-asleep. Blinking quickly, he shook his head and said, "Oh, yeah. There. Why are we going there again?" He was speaking quietly, so everyone had to strain to hear him.

"…Because…we have to save Sheena…" Colette said slowly, phrasing it almost as a question. "Don't you remember?"

"Oh, yeah. I just feel like I'm…not as quick as I was before," he said slowly, as if not sure himself.

No one had time to comment on this strange, yet inevitable, occurrence that had just been thrown at them. A Renegade came into the room then with Mithos. The first thing the group noticed was that the "leader" of the Renegades was not wearing Yuan's cape. It was only the second time they'd seen Yuan's body without the cape covering him, and it was quite a shock.

"Not quite so cape dependent anymore, huh?" Colette smirked.

Mithos scowled, but then waved her comment off and said, "I'd imagine that you all know what's happened, right?"

"Sheena's gone, Yuan and Yggdrasill are both in your older body…yeah, we know the gist," Raine said, speaking for everyone.

As she finished, however, Mithos looked shocked. "Wh-what? What about Yuan and Yggdrasill?"

"They're…in your older self?" Kratos repeated slowly, wondering why Mithos seemed so confused.

"But…I thought…oh. Well, this'll be interesting," he mumbled to himself. "Very interesting."

"What?" Raine asked, not sure what was going on. "You didn't know?"

"No; I assumed that I was both of the 'me's, but I guess this makes more sense. I mean, here I am, the leader of a powerful organization, and I wasn't even using it against you. Instead, I was helping you. I guess I really am only the Mithos from four thousand years ago. But that means that the other Mithos is connected with Yuan inside of my new form."

"So, what will happen?" Genis asked, wary of the answer.

"I…don't know. I've never done anything like this. And I…can't remember if I'd done anything like this after Cruxis was set up. I'm sorry." Mithos hung his head, sad that he couldn't tell them anything.

"It's all right. We should just be careful around him, right, guys?" Kratos said, looking around at his comrades. "In any case, we should head to Tethe'alla. We've got to save Sheena!"

It was strange how much he'd already recovered, considering that he had been lying unconscious only a few minutes before. But Lloyd always had been quick to recuperate; it was probably because of his Exsphere. So the rest of the group thought nothing of his condition and merely agreed with him. They did have to go to Tethe'alla; it was, now, only a matter of whether or not Mithos would let them.

"To save Sheena?" Mithos mused. "I…can't let you go." He seemed almost—almost—sorry for his words. "I need you, Kratos. It's the only way that I can think of."

"What?" Kratos asked, incredulous. "Why do you need me?"

"You're Lloyd. Presea is your…father? Mother? Whatever. She's now related to you. She's betrayed you all. She won't release Origin's seal unless we have something to use against her. Can't you see that? I don't want to be in this condition."

"…No. We have to save Sheena first," Kratos said firmly.

"I don't want to wait that long," Mithos retorted.

"We have to save her."

"Then I guess that we'll have to take you forcefully." Mithos smiled sadly and snapped his fingers. A swarm of Renegades ran into the room, weapons drawn and at the ready. "Get them. Don't let them get to the Rheairds." He left the room, leaving it up to the soldiers to take care of the Regeneration group.

"Damn…" Kratos muttered as stood up from the bed.

"We can take them!" Colette called, and then she rushed a troop, waving her cards. Raine watched her, briefly stunned. It seemed that Kratos wasn't the only one who'd changed drastically during the time when she was unconscious. Colette was way more confident in her abilities than she had been before, and it certainly was strange. Raine wondered if she noticed it, too.

Remembering that the fight had begun, she ran to the back of the room and started casting. Everyone else assumed their positions and fought their way through the mob. When enough Renegades had fallen, everyone bolted out of the door. They ran down the halls of the base and into the room where they remembered the hangar to be. The door shut behind them, but soon opened again, revealing several Renegades. They advanced, swords and bows drawn. Soon, the group was surrounded.

"Get them!" one called. They came forward again, but before they could get too close, Sheena ran to the front of the group. Her movements looked awkward and unpracticed, but she moved quickly. An unfortunate soldier didn't stop running toward them, and Sheena grabbed his wrist and threw him to the other side of the room. A loud crunching sound met their ears. The soldiers stopped, not wanting to cross paths with the soulless angel.

"Let's go! Come on, Sheena!" Raine called. Though she gave no sign of hearing her words, Sheena turned around and followed the group. The Renegades, too scared to follow, tried to figure out what to do. Meanwhile, everyone had finally reached the hangar.

"Grab a Rheaird!" Kratos shouted and mounted the nearest one. Sheena followed him without looking and climbed on behind him. Kratos looked behind him to make sure that Sheena was holding on and then started the machine. Squinting his eyes against the wind that would soon be blowing on his face, he shot out of the hangar through the hole that had appeared and through the dimensional barrier.

"Tethe'alla…" Genis muttered under his breath. Not even Raine, who sat behind him, could hear him over the wind. They'd made it this far. Now, all that they had to do was get the Eternal Sword. And they would get it. It was hard being his own sister; he just wanted to be himself again…

Below him, Genis saw the Fooji Mountains coming closer. That was also when he heard a tiny, almost inaudible pop. Fearing the worst, he looked back at the Rheaird and saw that the fuel tank was empty.

So, they had to fall out of the sky a second time, didn't they? Well, that sucked.

"Guys!" Colette yelled from the Rheaird next to him. "The fuel gauge is empty!" As she said that, her Rheaird trembled violently and began to descend, increasing rapidly. "Ahhh!"

The others were also falling, clutching onto the machine for dear life. Sheena, however, was suspended in the air with her wings unfurled. She gradually floated down and quickly became merely a dot in the sky to Genis. He closed his eyes and waited for the Rheaird to crash-land.

"Well, that doesn't look good…" Colette commented as she surveyed the Rheairds. They were in much worse condition than they had been last time, and two of them were completely unfixable.

"Nope," Raine chimed in.

"I guess we'll have to get more Rheairds when we infiltrate the Renegade Base again," Kratos said simply, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Though they weren't expecting his blasé tone, they agreed with him and then set off down the mountain path.

"We're back in Tethe'alla. Doesn't it feel weird?" Genis mused.

"What?" Colette asked, confused.

"I mean, I feel as though I actually haven't been here before. And yet I know I have. It's a strange feeling, to say the least," he mumbled.

"Oh. Well, I started here, so that's probably why I don't feel the same."

"I agree with you, Sis—I-I mean, Genis," Raine stammered. Genis flushed slightly and looked down at Raine. Why did Lloyd have to start this whole thing?

Everyone pretended as if they hadn't heard Raine's words and proceeded down the trail and to Meltokio. They had to find the others.

"Oh, Master Zelos!" the girl giggled as the red-head cupped her face with a loving hand.

The rest of the group just stood there, stunned. "Z-Zelos?" Colette managed to squeak. They were all stunned at how normal whoever was in Zelos' body acted.

"Yes, my darling hunny?" the person said affectionately as he twirled around. He stopped right in his tracks as he saw Kratos, Sheena, Raine, Genis, and Colette all staring at him with gaping mouths. "It's you guys!"

No one said anything until Kratos tilted his head to the side. "Who are you?" he asked.

"Me? Well, I'm you—or would that be me? Either way, I'm Lloyd," he said, slightly confused at the uncertainty of the ordeal.

Everyone's eyes grew wide and their mouths dropped more. "…How?" Raine asked, bewildered. "You're…you're being so…"

"Well, it's fun. You guys should try it some time! Oh, I suppose you can't. None of you are the Chosen of Tethe'alla." Lloyd smiled, prideful of his new status.

"My son…has become the world's greatest philanderer," Kratos sighed. At this, the tables were turned and Lloyd was the one to drop his jaw.

"D-Dad?" Lloyd asked. "You're…me?"

After another laughing fit, this time including Lloyd, the new Chosen sent his extremely confused "hunnies" on their way.

"A-anyway," Kratos said, trying to get the group to regain some sense of composure, "we should find Presea. Or…whoever she is. Who could she be, anyway?"

"Zelos or Regal," Genis said almost immediately. When he got stunned looks, he added, "I guess that I've been paying more attention than usual…"

"Just like the Professor…" Lloyd mused quietly, coming to something of a revelation. Though still confused, his mind seemed to be working at full speed, trying to figure out this puzzle. Lloyd opened his mouth to tell his friends that they needed to go find the others.

"We need to go find the others," Kratos jumped in, not even paying attention to Lloyd.

"R-right…" Lloyd said solemnly, a little downcast to see that his own dad was taking the role of leader away from him.

And so they went up the grand staircase in their little group of misfits until they reached Castle Tethe'alla. They looked around until they spotted the little pink head bobbing through the crowd of people, pulling a large tree.

"It's her!" Raine exclaimed, pointing to Presea's body. Everyone then ran toward the soulless person.

"Hey!" Lloyd called. The small child turned around with a blank stare.

"…" she breathed. She turned around and went on her way toward the church.

"Presea!" Raine cried. Again, the pink-haired person turned around, but this time, she stayed and allowed the group to catch up to her.

As Lloyd approached her, he noticed that she looked exactly the same as when his group had first met her. It was a nostalgic, yet scary, sight. When he had seen Presea for the first time, he hadn't known that she was lifeless. Now that Lloyd knew the effects of the Cruxis Crystal, he was concerned for the safety of either Zelos or Regal, depending on who he was really looking at.

"…Are you okay?" Raine asked, head cocked, as the group finally reached her and noticed Presea's unclear eyes that never moved or blinked and her stiff, poised body that looked ready to attack at a moment's notice. It was the Cruxis Crystal. The Crystal on her had already reverted the person inside her to the state in which they had first found her.

…This whole ordeal was way too confusing.

Lloyd wanted to be back in his own body again. He didn't like Zelos' long hair or his stupid sword or the flashy tank top or the girls…well, he didn't mind the girls. But he still would have preferred to go back to his comfortable and familiar lifestyle. And, naturally, he would have liked to never have known that his own father was parading around in the body of his son.

As a headache formed, Lloyd turned away from his griefs and toward Raine's admittedly crestfallen face. It seemed that she had figured out what Lloyd had already pieced together, too.

"We have to save you!" Raine was ranting. Lloyd thought about how the Professor was always so calm, and now she was pacing back and forth, trying to come up with a solution to their problem. "Let's take you to Kate."

"Before we do that," Colette said, stopping Raine from rushing down the grand stairs, "We should go to the king. He needs to give us permission to, you know, do stuff here."

"Oh, good idea. Then, let's go!" Raine turned on her heel and led the group to the enormous, opulent Castle Tethe'alla. Presea lifelessly followed them, still dragging the sacred wood.

Deciding to use the same lie from before, Kratos said, "We're helping to deliver the sacred wood."

"Oh?" one of the guards asked skeptically. "It's not just Presea?"

"…It's…special…" the little girl mumbled, refusing to meet anyone's eyes. It was the first time she'd spoken. And then, as if nothing happened, she trudged into the grandiose building, dragging the wood behind her.

"We'll…just be going now…" Kratos said as he slid past the guards and followed Presea, the rest of the group trailing closely behind.

"Was it this big before?" Raine commented as he turned her head wildly, in awe at the high ceiling, large pillars, and lavish furnishings.

"Yes; you're just half your original size, runt," Lloyd mocked, laughing.

Raine glared. "Want me to incinerate you?"

Lloyd was not deterred. "You really think you're capable of that right now, brat?"

"Hey, you two. Don't fight," Genis shot back at them, and then Raine and Lloyd realized what they were saying.

"…Sorry…" Lloyd mumbled.

"Same," Raine muttered lamely.

They continued to the top of the castle, Kratos leading the way, until they found the King's chambers. Once again, a guard blocked the way into the room. Kratos found himself to be increasingly impatient, and instead of attempting to smooth-talk his way into the room, he merely walked up to the man and stabbed him. It wasn't a fatal wound, but it was enough to make the guard stumble out of the way, gasping in pain. "Sorry…" Kratos mumbled before throwing open the doors and storming inside, successfully scaring those inside.

"Ah!" Princess Hilda gasped, shocked.

"Who are you?" demanded the Pope, glaring at the newcomers.

"Uh…" Kratos stopped, not having thought of what he would say before coming in.

Colette sighed and took the stage. "I am…Sheena, from Mizuho. Uh, I came with them because—"

"Them? Are they…from Sylvarant?" the Pope guessed, shock forming on his face as well.

"Most of us," Kratos admitted.

Then, Princess Hilda noticed Lloyd in the back. "Chosen?" she asked. "What are you doing?"

"I joined their group. They're trying to save someone. Sylvarant's Chosen," Lloyd shrugged.

"Wh-what?" King Tethe'alla said weakly. Until now, everyone in the group had thought that the king was merely sleeping. Looks like he'd been eavesdropping on them the whole time. "That's preposterous!" he choked. The poison seemed to be working quickly on him.

"We refuse to allow you to help the Chosen of Sylvarant!" the Pope clarified.

Lloyd sighed with a hint of impatience. "Listen. If we help the Chosen to become a human again, what will we have to worry about? They don't want to complete the Journey of Regeneration. You dig?"

"B-but…" The Pope thought for a moment and a look realization came over his face. "Oh…"

"I see…very well," the king said with a weak wave of his hand. "Help them."

"Thank you," Genis said gratefully. "So you are giving us permission to walk freely in this world, correct?"

"Yes. But do not try anything. Zelos, please watch them. If they try to escape or if they are acting suspicious, please report them immediately."

"Yes, Your Kingliness." Lloyd bowed to him.

"Then, we'll be on our way…" Kratos backed out of the room slowly. The others followed and closed the door behind them.

"Maybe we should see if Regal's body is in the Meltokio jail still," Genis commented, stopping Raine from rushing down the grand stairs.

"Right," Kratos approved. "It would save time by checking now before continuing this journey."

And so the group, now including Presea's body, followed Colette to the Coliseum. Once inside the building, they attempted to choose the best fighter of the group.

"Who has the best handle on their new body?" Kratos asked, glancing at every face nervously. "It's very obviously not me; my reflexes are slower, which, admittedly, causes me a great deal of pain during battles." He looked to Colette.

"Huh? Oh, no. Not me. I can't even get those stupid cards to stay in the air," she said, shaking her head. "How about you, Lloyd?"

"…Me? Come to think of it, I haven't actually fought any battles since…this happened," he admitted.

"Genis and I are magic-users. We'd cast too slowly to compete," Raine said.

"…Do you think that Sheena could do it, given the state that she's in?" Genis asked.

"She'd be in as good a position as Presea, or whoever that is," Lloyd commented, jerking his thumb at the soulless, pink-haired girl.

"I think that either would work perfectly. Their soullessness gives them the advantage in which their only concern is self-preservation, which should amplify their powers to give them said advantage," Genis mused, a calculative look on his face. "So our only question is: which one?"

"I don't want Sheena to fight," Kratos said suddenly. "She's completely lifeless, and we're trying to save her at this moment. Let's have Presea do it. Then we'll check the jail and go to Sybak."

"That's a good idea. Okay," Lloyd said as he sauntered up to the pretty receptionist. "We'd like to enter this pretty little rosebud into the arena."

"I'm sorry," the lady said apologetically. "The combatant list is full for this round. Please try again later, though."

"All of that for nothing?" Kratos raged.

"I guess we can't go see if Regal's there or not," Genis said, sighing.

"Then I guess we should head to Sybak," Raine suggested.

"I guess…" Kratos mumbled, still angry.

Why was that damn bridge so long? Sure, it had to cross the ocean, but Tethe'alla had advanced technology! Why couldn't they invent something that didn't kill them slowly and painfully as they crossed the ocean? Was it that hard?

"Kratos, stop panting so heavily," Genis scolded.

"It was so long…" the man in red complained.

"Don't complain!" his teacher said sternly as he whacked him upside the head. "Haven't I told you before?"

"Ow! That hurt! And no, you haven't. Well, the real Professor did…" Kratos trailed off, trying to remember when he'd come into contact with that information. What was weirder was that he felt as if he had actually experienced those beatings. "Huh…" he said quietly, wondering what that meant.

"Hey! Look! It's Sybak!" Lloyd cheered, suddenly sprinting ahead of the rest of the group. "Finally!"

"H-hey! Wait up!" Kratos shouted and ran after his son.

Minutes later, the city of Sybak loomed over the group. They all knew what they had to do. They walked into the city silently, heading toward the makeshift shop where they could acquire the Crest. If they were lucky, they could make the Key Crest without having to become wanted criminals.

As they approached the shop, the vendor gave them a fake smile and gestured to what he considered to be his "merchandise." They began to look around.

"Ah! These wares are simply marvelous!" Genis gushed, causing Lloyd to whip his head around.

"Wh-what?" Lloyd gasped. It would have been perfectly normal had it actually been the Professor, but…it was Genis! This was so weird! It seemed that Lloyd was the only one freaking out. Was this normal to them? Genis wasn't supposed to act like the Professor! And everyone was just ignoring him!

But his mental breakdown didn't get to last long because Kratos suddenly said, "Hey. I found the Key Crest."

"You want that?" the vendor grinned. "Okay. Let's see…it'll be about…ten thousand Gald."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Lloyd said, forgetting all about the strange occurrence from before. "We're not paying for that. If you know what's good for you, that is." He smirked.

The junk collector was taken aback. "What? And who are you to tell me how to run my business?"

"The Chosen of Mana, at your service," Lloyd bowed deeply, grinning even wider.

"O-oh! Ch-Chosen! I'm sorry! I wasn't aware! Please, take it! It's free!" The man shoved the Key Crest into Lloyd's hands, and they walked away happily.

"Good job, Lloyd. You're not bad when it comes to playing Zelos," Colette praised.

"Well, it is my duty to protect those in need. Like my little angel…" He slowly inched closer to Sheena, and Colette sighed and smacked Lloyd on the back of the head.

Lloyd pouted. "It doesn't matter which body I'm in, does it? I'm going to be abused either way."

"Yes," Colette said simply.

They headed toward the Imperial Research Academy so that they could begin working on the Key Crest for Sheena. A scholar—and a nerdy one at that—blocked the entrance, and once again, Lloyd took control of the situation.

"Hey," he said. "This is my group, and we've got some business inside. So, uh, move along."

"Excuse me?" the student asked, offended. Then, he looked up and saw the face of the Chosen. "Oh! Ah, uh, Ch-Chosen! Please, use any room you'd like!" It looks like being the Chosen was the gift that just kept on giving.

"Thanks, dude." Lloyd and company walked past him, no one acknowledging him any further. Inside the building, another fight broke out.

"I'll go ahead and fix the Key Crest for Sheena. You guys wait here," Kratos said, already heading into the room.

"Shouldn't I be the one doing that? It is my thing, after all," Lloyd huffed.

"Not anymore," Kratos said pointedly, smirking a little.

Lloyd put his hands on his hips. "Oh, yeah? And do you even know how to fix it?"

"Of course! Dad's been teaching me since—!" Kratos stopped abruptly when he realized what he'd said. "I-I mean, I'm just going to go fix it." He left without giving anyone a chance to either retort or comment on the previous statement.

"Wh-what?" Lloyd mumbled.

What in the worlds was going on?

It took him a while, but Kratos eventually finished the Key Crest. He made his way into the foyer of the academy, finding everyone to be asleep. Or, at least, the ones that could sleep. Had he really taken that long? "Hey! Wake up!" He kicked the nearest person to him: Lloyd.

"Hey! Watch it!" he grumbled groggily as he sat up. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I finished the Key Crest," Kratos said as everyone else woke up.

"Finally," Colette moaned. "It took you hours!"

Kratos scowled at her. "Does it matter? I finished it. Let's just get it attached to Sheena."

Lloyd noticed something as he eyed the Key Crest in Kratos' hand. "Where's her necklace?"

"Huh? What necklace?"

Lloyd gaped. "The necklace that I—you—I promised to give to her for her birthday! I embedded the Key Crest into that the first time around!"

Kratos took the defensive. "Whoa! No need to get all pissy! I'm sorry! I fashioned it into a bracelet, so it should work the same!"

"…It better," Lloyd griped. Kratos took that as the end of the argument, and he walked up to Sheena's lifeless form and attached the bracelet to her.

He stared at the bracelet. Nothing happened. "This should work. Eventually."

"Then, we're right on track," Raine commented, and they turned to leave.

"Wait. Aren't you supposed to meet Kate now?" Genis asked.

"We don't have to. It didn't really have that big of an effect on the outcome of the journey, did it?" Lloyd shrugged.

"I guess not…" Colette admitted.

"Then, what are we waiting for? We've got to go see Altessa!" Kratos exclaimed as he pumped his fist, earning him a strange look from his son, who was not yet used to the strange behavior patterns that everyone was experiencing.

As they reached the exit, the real Presea appeared before them, although she didn't really pay them much mind.

"Da—Presea!" Kratos quickly caught his slip, hoping no one heard it. Because that would be extremely awkward. "What are you doing?"

"You act as if you don't know." Presea's eyebrow arched mockingly.

"Oh, uh…" Kratos rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Well, then, if we already know what you're doing, why don't you just come with us?"

"I do not wish to impede your journey." Presea turned and walked away without letting Kratos get another word in. It must run in the family.

"…Damn," Kratos mumbled, and then they continued out of the city.

It was never pleasant journeying through the Gaoracchia Forest, no matter who you are or how many times you've been through. It was always the same. And so, even though they've ventured through the twisting and puzzling maze countless times, they still were not fully confident or calm.

And although they wouldn't admit it, most of them were trembling in their shoes by the time that they reached the fork in the pathway that would lead them either to Mizuho or Ozette.

"So…" Lloyd looked around nervously, listening to the sounds of wolves' howls and bats fluttering, waiting for a certain indicator. "What do we do now? Where's Regal?"

The group had been waiting for approximately five minutes for Regal to jump out of the trees and attack them, with no results at all.

"Do you think we messed up?" Raine asked. "When we didn't plan to go back to Sylvarant?"

"I hope not," Colette sighed.

"Come to think of it," Genis mused, "the only reason that Regal came after us the first time in the sewers was because the Pope had asked him to retrieve Colette. Then, he followed us into the Gaoracchia Forest to speak with Presea."

"…Shit!" Kratos raged.

"Now what?" Colette asked, her eyes practically bulging out of her head. "How do we get to Regal? Or whoever?"

Genis was the one to speak up. "Well, we're already in the Gaoracchia Forest, almost at Altessa's house. We should focus on fixing Presea, and then we'll go back to Meltokio and get Regal."

"Good idea, my cool beauty," Lloyd flirted before realizing who he was talking to. His face immediately contorted into disgust and he looked away, a deep, deep flush forming on his face.

"Uh, yeah…" Kratos said, deciding not to comment on that. "Let's do that."

And so, they all turned left onto the path that would lead them through Ozette. They heard the whispers of the villagers as they entered the town, each one criticizing at least one of them. They all backed away from Presea as she walked, not paying any of them any mind. Instead, the girl just walked straight ahead, toward her house. The others followed, expecting Rodyle to appear in front of the house. And yes, their expectations were, in fact, correct. Unfortunately.

They briefly wondered what would happen if they killed him now.

But then, they decided against it, considering they'd already screwed up the timeline many times over. So they merely watched as Rodyle laughed creepily and walked away. Presea walked into her house, and not wanting to waste any more time, they left her there, knowing she would only protest and fight back.

And so, with two less members than they originally intended to have, they headed off for the dwarf's house, hoping that he wouldn't turn them away, like the last time.