Here's the next chapter. Really sorry for late update, but I've been surprisingly busy. Hope you enjoy.

"Lord Yuan!" cried the voice of a Renegade. He had been almost relaxing at his consistent screen when a sudden spike was detected.

"What is it?" he asked, walking over to him and looking towards his monitor.

"I'm reading a large flow of mana coming from Mizuho."

"What!?" what could create a surge, unless, "Is it Yggdrasil?"

"No sir, the readings..." he paused as if not believing what he was seeing, "...they're from an exsphere!"

"Impossible!" no exsphere was able to produce levels this high, neither could a Cruxis Crystal, unless..."Kvar's Angelus Project! It's awakening! But, why now?"

"Sir, another source of mana is nearby." Said the Renegade, as another, smaller spike appeared, "It's Yggdrasil!"

"He's after the crystal, and if I'm right, I know who has it." He turned ready to leave, "Red alert!" he cried, "Prepare for a possible attack on our location!"

0000000

"Didn't you hear me?" snarled Yggdrasil, as Pronyma was offering her arm for his support, "Go and kill Yuan, NOW!"

"Why would Yuan attack you?" asked Lloyd, "And how could he alone do so much damage to you?" realisation hit him, "Where have you been?"

"I'm the one giving orders here, Irving! Now do as I say and kill him!" Lloyd merely glared at him, "You know what will happen if you fail to follow my orders; do it now or I will tear your precious summoner limb from limb!" he was so angry, spit was flying from his mouth.

"As you wish," he grunted, "my Lord." And he teleported.

"My Lord?" started Pronyma, worry etched in her voice, "What happened?"

Again, Yggdrasil growled, "It appears that Kvar's little experiment was successful after all. I'm also assuming that is the only reason that wretch is now standing, and so powerful. She should have been traumatised for life from her experience, but there she was barely a few days after, and she's fighting me with everything she could muster."

"My Lord, are you saying that summoner did this to you?" anger filled every fibre of her body, "Please allow me to go and punish her severely for even thinking about..."

"You will do no such thing!" he interrupted her, "Her life is the only thing keeping Lloyd on our side."

Pronyma felt a sudden jolt of jealousy; was Lloyd more important than herself, and she could not help but remind herself of Lloyd's previous statement, 'Would he really do that much for you, after doing so much to get me?'

"My Lord, may I ask why you were down there if not to attack?"

"I decided on insuring Lloyd's loyalty would last. I thought keeping a close eye on the girl would remind him how any insubordination would cost him." His face, already curled in anger, became even more twisted in rage, "When I got there she was standing, she should have been curled in a ball somewhere, cowering from anything and everything that moved! She was in some sort of trance, and mana was surging from Kvar's exsphere. Both would be mine now if that pathetic excuse of a half elf didn't show. Of all times to show his true colours why must it be then." He roared in anger, and flew his arm to the side, sending a powerful ball of energy into the armour Lloyd had been practising with. By the time the smoke had cleared, all that remained was dust within a small crater.

"My Lord, you knew that Yuan would betray us?" she asked alarmed.

"He was the one who started the Renegades all those years ago!" he exclaimed.

"But my Lord, why would you let him if you knew?"

"He was once my good friend, and my sister's betrothed. I left him alive for her sake, and besides, Kratos had a brief spell of insubordinance; the death of Anna put a swift end to that. I assumed that Yuan would eventually realise he could not best me and surrender." Once more he growled, "But now he will suffer."

0000000

Sheena roared in fury as she quickly struck down the nearest angel, "That bastard got away!" she threw a card towards the second angel, causing him to rise into the air and then implode by a strong torrent of wind. She had lost a perfect chance of beating Yggdrasil to a pulp and getting Lloyd back.

Yuan slashed through the remaining angel, amazed by Sheena's new power and abilities. 'That exsphere has greater potential than we thought.' "Sheena," he started, "may I ask how it is you are able to fight with such vigour. I have seen the effects of Yggdrasil's mind torture, and no-one has been able to recover within a matter of days; most never do."

Sheena looked towards the angle, then down to Lloyd's exsphere, "I realised that I had someone important to save." She answered simply, 'Thank you.'

Yuan scowled at this vague answer, "Well, regardless of how you recovered, I suggest that you will follow me to the Flanoir base." He turned, obviously expecting the group to follow.

"Hold it, Yuan!" Sheena yelled, "When were you going to tell us that Mithos was Yggdrasil?" though she was grateful for his help, she was in no mood for Yuan's attitude.

"Simply," he began, as if it were obvious, "I was not aware of his presence in your group. Whenever you talked of him you never mentioned his name; merely noted him as your companion."

Sheena growled in her throat, that was true; Mithos always avoided entering the Renegade Base. "Be that as it may," started Regal, who appeared to be keeping his cool remarkably well, "Mithos' presence in our group posed a major threat to us all. He had ample opportunity to capture Colette or even attempt to sever our ties. It would have been useful to know more about our enemy then you told us."

Genis head fell; he had grown close to Mithos during the time he travelled with them. He thought he had found a half-elf his age; someone who shared the hardships he faced whilst growing up; a friend who shared his beliefs. But he was wrong; Mithos...was his enemy...the one who is attempting to destroy Colette's life...the one who is holding his best friend against his will, "My best friend..." he muttered to himself.

Colette too was dumbfounded by Mithos' true identity. She saw him as a misunderstood boy, just like Genis. She never would have thought that he had any potential to harm anyone.

"I told you all you needed to know at the time." Came Yuan's answer, "I never believed that Yggdrasil would spy on your group directly."

"Well you were wrong!" exclaimed Sheena, "Anything else you deemed beyond our need to know?" Her glare, enough to stare most people down, did not affect Yuan in the slightest. He merely looked at her.

"Nothing that can be risked saying in the open like this." He raised an arm as if meaning in earshot of the villagers.

"Fine, then let's go inside and you can tell us all about it."

"I was referring to this village in general."

Sheena's temper was rising further beyond what she thought was capable, "Mizuho's information network is infallible, and the villager's trust is..."

"Mizuho is not as hidden from Cruxis and the Renegades as you may think." He interrupted, "Your pride for your village may be admirable, but neither I or Mithos need be present to know of your actions. For example your spy within the Flanoir Base was not gone unnoticed," he paused as if to relish the look of surprise on her face, "in fact it was the only reason why he obtained any useful information for you at all. I control the flow of information within the Renegades." At this, Sheena could make no response, "Which brings me back to my earlier suggestion; follow me to the Flanoir Base, that is assuming you want to hear the information I have, and if you want a brief glimpse of your beloved saviour."

"Lloyd?" gasped Sheena.

"And how do you know Lloyd will be there?" queried Regal, speculatively.

"I believe Yggdrasil will have given him the 'honour' of dealing with my betrayal." He answered simply.

"You mean Lloyd's been sent to kill you?" Asked Sheena.

"No!" cried Colette, "Lloyd would not do that."

"We shall see," he said calmly, "Lloyd swore his loyalty in order to keep Sheena alive. I doubt he'd risk her life just because of me."

Sheena almost felt guilty at this; would Lloyd end another's life just to keep her safe? Going against his beliefs of sacrificing others. "I...want to see him."

"Excellent, then shall we proceed? I shall notify your companions to meet us there."

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Raine was dumbfounded. They had barely left Meltokio after discovering a potential cure for Colette, when Yuan's face appeared on the small screen of their rehairds. He explained that Sheena was back and that they were going to rendezvous at the Flanoir Base. What had he meant by Sheena being back? It hadn't been a day since their leaving of Mizuho, and although she was awake and more conscious of where she was, she had not been in any shape to leave the Chief's house, let alone the village itself. Surely there was no way she could be back to full fighting ability; it was much too soon. Raine had witness trauma victims before, and they spent months before they left the safety of their house, and some she met that refused point blank to leave at all, and swore that they never would.

"Hey, Raine!" cried Zelos, over the wind soaring past their faces, "Do you really think Sheena's better already?"

She paused for a moment, "I honestly do not know. It is a possibility; if we are to meet them at the Renegade Base, then she must have shown some improvement since our leave if she willingly agreed to go there."

"I concur," added Presea, her voice still audible through the wind despite her unusually quiet voice, "I cannot foresee the layout and structure of the Cruxis stronghold to be much different from the Renegade Base. Sheena must be, at least, over the fear of building itself."

Zelos then flew his rehaird closer to Raine's, which Presea successfully viewed this as a sign of another private conversation, and did not strain to listen. "If she is...are you ready to see her?" Raine's face saddened; she had been feeling guilty of her actions ever since Colette's outburst, and even more so after Zelos' previous words of comfort. It was partially her fault for Lloyd's current position. Although she still believed her decision to have been the best one at the time, knowing Sheena's innocence would have made it much harder to make.

"I don't really know what to say to her." She began, "I mean, how can I tell her that what I did to her was for the best? Even now I still believe it to be a wise decision. How can I tell her that I did not trust her, did not care about her abduction? How can I possibly tell her that I let Lloyd go off on his own to try and rescue her, and lie to all of you so you would not help him? That it's my fault he's now stuck with Cruxis."

"Do you feel sorry about it?" he asked, simply.

"I still believe my decision was wise..." she paused for a few seconds, "...but, now I know that she was not betraying us, I do regret my actions."

Zelos concealed a smile; it took a lot to get Raine to admit that she was wrong. "Then just tell her." Raine looked up in shock, "She deserves to know what happened. Tell her why it was only Lloyd who attempted her rescue, and apologise. Right now that's all she'll need; all she wants is to have Lloyd back with us."

"You're right, thank you, Zelos."

0000000

"Do you believe you are able to do it?" asked Kratos, watching as Dirk peered over some rough notes.

"This is a very tough thing to create." Replied Dirk, "I 'avn't seen something like this for years, not since I was back home."

"Do you have the skills though?" Dirk was the only one whom Kratos knew and trusted to make something like this; Altessa's loyalty was very questionable to Cruxis, making him just as likely to tell Yggdrasil as to hide it from him.

"Aye, I do." Kratos sighed in relief, "Though you'll need to gather the ingredients. Most of these things are beyond my access, some are even considered to be lost in Sylverant."

"It is only the Sacred Wood that may be of some difficulty, a fire recently destroyed most of it, so unless it grows elsewhere, I may have to steal it from the King."

"Over in Teth'alla then?" he nodded, "Would that be slightly conspicuous by that boss of yours?"

"You need not worry; Yggdrasil has no worries over the troubles of mere humans. I believe he will not even hear of the theft."

"Very well, it'll take time, but I can do it. How's Lloyd?"

"He's well in a certain sense of the term. I have been training him to harness the full potential of his new abilities. Yggdrasil has of yet only given him minor tasks."

"I do hope this plan of yours works Kratos."

"So do I."

0000000

It was an odd experience walking through the Flanoir Base; Renegade soldiers were hurrying about, all with expressions of fear and relief, as if not sure which they should be feeling most. They were also all muttering, "It's him! He's here!"

This meant absolutely nothing to Sheena, Regal, Colette, and Genis, but Yuan seemed to understand it perfectly. "Prepare yourselves." He stated, just before they entered the main control room.

A lone, red figure with spectral wings stood there, just waiting for something, or someone. He was not attacking any of the nearby Renegades, who appeared to be arguing with themselves over whether to fight or flee this stationary angel. "Lloyd!" cried Sheena, rushing towards him. She flew herself into his arms and hugged him with all her might.

"Sheena?" he asked, genuinely surprised. He had not expecting her to be here of all places, but was glad to see her nonetheless. He returned her embrace, and whispered, "I'm so glad you're safe." And then, with forced effort, he pulled himself away from her, "I have something I need to do." He looked over towards the rest of the group, and his eyes found Yuan's. They stared, unblinkingly at each other for some time. Quick as a flash, both had drawn out their weapons and charged, causing a loud clanging sound of blades colliding with each other.

"Lloyd, no!"

And there we go. Again I apologise for the late update, I just reached a major block in what is going to happen. I know what I want to happen, it's just finding the right things to link them all. I'd also like to say sorry if anyone thinks that Sheena recovered too quickly. I know trauma can last very long times, but I didn't know how to keep the story going with her in that state. I'll try and update soon, I have the time now, but there's a few one-shot ideas I've got in my head, which I might just get out the way with.