"So, let me get this straight. These scumbags, the Erinyes, took Raine hostage. Then they bombed Palmacosta and tried to bomb Arkylia to "show their power"or whatever. And now they're saying they're gonna kill Raine in two hours if the Convention passes the Half Elves Equal Rights Act? Man, these guys suck." Zelos said as he, Lloyd, Colette, and Genis walked down the stairs towards the Convention's basement.

"Why would someone want to blow themselves up?" Lloyd asked, his brow furrowed. "I just don't get it."

"If you believe in something so strongly, you'd be willing to do anything for it." Genis responded, his voice monotone. He'd be willing to do just about anything at this point to get his sister back.

"It's like how we didn't give up during the World Regeneration." Colette explained, a slight hesitation in her voice.

"But...we didn't set out to intentionally hurt people." Lloyd responded, confused.

"Things are never perfect. People always get hurt, and there's more ways to hurt a person than just physically. You should know that by now," Zelos said as they reached the bottom step. Lloyd glanced at the red haired man, who had cut his signature locks short in favor of a crew cut. He looked a little thinner too, as if some of his personal burden had physically left his body. It had been a year since Lloyd had last seen the Chosen of Tethe'alla. In fact, he recalled, the last time he saw Zelos was also the last time he saw Colette, at the World Tree temple. Painful memories started running through his head, but he forced them away, instead turning his attention to his best friend.

"Genis, I'm sure Kratos and Yuan have a plan after talking to this guy. We'll get Raine back." Lloyd said, attempting to be reassuring. Genis looked at him and nodded, unsmiling. It wasn't the reaction Lloyd had hoped for, but it was better than nothing. The door to the basement cell was open, the keypad to the right glowed green, allowing for entry. Genis and Zelos walked in, but Colette paused in the doorway, silent for a moment, and then said, "I'm really glad you came, Lloyd." She smiled at him and walked inside. Shocked, he slowly closed the basement door behind him. A surge of happiness fluttered inside him as he joined the others.

Kratos and Yuan were murmuring to each other, blocking the view of the prisoner. Sheena to the left, turned to the newcomers, and her eyes went wide with astonishment. "Zelos? When did you get here?"

"Seles sent me a holocom note. I can't just let some SOBs kidnap the Ultra Cool Beauty! I'm here to save the day." He smiled, running his hands through his short hair. Sheena rolled her eyes in response. "Aw, don't be like that. I really do want to help." Zelos pouted.

"Enough. We have important matters to discuss." Kratos said. All eyes fell to the two angels.

"What did the bomber tell you? Did he say where she is?" Genis asked. His face was grim, but the eagerness in his voice was hard to miss. Colette's eyes softened and she moved closer to the half elf, taking his hand in hers in support.

Yuan and Kratos exchanged an unreadable look; they looked as if they did not agree on how to respond. Finally, Kratos nodded and Yuan said, "We didn't get anything out of him. He was dead before we could ask him."

"What?" Sheena asked. "How did that happen?"

"It appears there is a mole at the Convention." Kratos said. "Someone didn't want him to say anything."

"No way." Lloyd said.

"That's not all. I have an operative undercover in the Erinyes." Yuan said. "I shouldn't be telling you this because it could put the operative in danger, but I know how personal this is for everyone. The informant has seen and spoken with Raine."

"Is she hurt? Is she okay?" Genis asked, panicked. He squeezed Colette's hand, nervous for the answer.

"I don't know. But if she had been very hurt, my operative would've said." That seemed to satisfy Genis to a small degree. Yuan continued, "Kratos and I have devised a plan. The operative will be here in less than an hour. One group will go through the aqueducts under the city to the hideout of the Erinyes. That will take approximately an hour to reach."

"So we'll arrive just in time for the deadline." Sheena stated. That made her uneasy. What if they were a second too late? Would they kill Raine right on the dot of the hour?

"Yes. My operative says there is a more direct entrance in the shipyards, but we have to find it."

"Great. That's all we have to go on?" Zelos asked, unimpressed.

"The bomber's name is Andrew."

There was a moment of silence as everyone absorbed the information. It was a lot to take in, but there was not enough time to think everything through precisely. "I want to go through the aqueducts." Genis declared. If there was a sure chance that he could rescue his sister, there was no way he wouldn't take it.

"You, Lloyd, Zelos and myself will go through the aqueducts. The rest will go through the shipyards." Yuan said.

"We need to find the entrance through the shipyards first." Sheena said.

"And deal with this body." Zelos said.

"I'll take care of it." Kratos shrugged, indifferent to the task.

"But what are we going to say? If people ask about him." Colette asked.

"Nothing." Yuan smirked. "We can't tip off our mole. We'll just leave the door open, let someone else think that the bomber escaped and spread the rumor."

"But what about the mole? That's a problem too." Genis said. He didn't want anyone tipping off the enemy to their plans. He didn't want Raine to suffer any of the consequences of their actions.

"Zelos and Sheena will keep the peace among the Convention members. Don't let them do anything stupid, like hold the Vote. That way, you can also try and sniff out who's the mole."

"Ugh, why do I have to do that? I hate politicians." Zelos complained.

"Lloyd, Colette and Genis will investigate the shipyards." Yuan said, ignoring Zelos. "We meet at the sewer entrance outside of Arkylia in an hour. Let's go."

XXXXXXXXXX

"So, where were you?" Sheena asked as she and Zelos headed towards the Convention assembly room. The Ambassador thought back to the last time she had seen the ex-Chosen, and realized it had been about four months ago, when they crossed paths at the birthday party for the Princess of Tethe'alla. While Sheena wasn't a huge fan of large balls with political undertones, she genuinely enjoyed the company of the Princess and was eager to support the heir to the throne. Zelos had been his usual, charismatic self that night, charming the panties off the noblewomen while annoying their dates, but had made time to catch up with Sheena before the night's end. Their conversation had been very one-sided: Sheena talked about the ups and downs of being ambassador, and Zelos offered what advice he could, but never did he talk about himself or his pursuits. It had only occurred to Sheena how odd it was later that evening, just before she went to bed. She hadn't even learned what he had been up to for the past few months. Nonetheless, she had enjoyed the conversation; he had been a wonderful listener and even offered some good suggestions.

"You'll never believe it." He grinned at her.

"Don't be annoying. Just tell me."

"I was camping."

"Camping?" Sheena couldn't tell if he was joking or not. She looked at him sideways, and saw a few lines of fatigue around his eyes. When had those appeared?

"Yeah, I went to the Thoda Geyser to 'clear my mind.' At least, that's what the brochure said would happen." He said, now annoyed. "Don't believe any of that garbage. They said I would be able to mediate with the monks of the island, but they wouldn't let me!"

"What time was the meditation?" A sly grin appeared on her face.

"...that doesn't matter."

"Was it at sunrise?"

"So I was a few hours late. Big deal."

"Zelos..." Sheena sighed and shook her head.

"Whatever. They wouldn't even give me my money back."

"You tried to get a refund from the Church?!"

"Uh yeah. Look at how it ruined my life. Least they could do was refund my 'Transformation Package'." He scoffed.

"But, the Church has changed since Colette and Seles took over."

"Yeah, I know. I know. But the memories are still there." He sighed as put his hand on the door handle to the assembly room.

"Wait. Why did you buy a 'Transformation Package'?"

"A story for another time, my buxom beauty." He grinned and opened the door, not giving her a chance to smack him.

"Sheena!" A voice called to her from her left. She saw Neil and walked over, Zelos following.

"Neil, what's happening here?" She asked.

"They've just been arguing back and forth about possibilities. No one's really made any sort of decision. I think Thurman is gaining momentum, which is never a good thing. But I need to go." He said hurriedly, packing his things in his briefcase.

"Wait, why? You can't leave now! The vote happens in less than two hours." Sheena said. If he left, the last strong voice of reason in the room left with him.

Neil stopped what he was doing and looked up at the Ambassador. "Sheena, my city was just bombed. I should've left fifteen minutes ago."

What could she say to that? "But you won't be able to vote if you're not here."

"I know." He sighed. "I know this is important, but I cannot abandon my people whose lives have just been wrecked." He finished packing his things away.

"I'm sorry." She said, her eyes sad. "Good luck."

"Thank you." He gave her a weak smile. He nodded to Zelos and then walked out of the assembly room.

"Shit." She muttered. Without Neil and Raine, the other governors and mayors could easily shift their positions. There was a very real possibility now that the vote could be overturned by the deadline. And then the Erinyes would win.

"Hey."

Jolted out of her thoughts, she turned to Zelos, anger in her eyes. "What?"

"Let's find this mole and kick his ass." He said. "Focus on that." The severity in his voice calmed her.

She nodded, a wicked grin appearing to her face. "I bet I can turn more votes than you."

He returned her smile with a mischievous one of his own. "You're on.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Okay, so where do we start looking?" Lloyd asked as Genis led them back to Raine's office.

"We need to get a list of all the businesses in the shipyards and start there." Genis responded as he opened the door to the office. He paused in the entryway, half expecting Raine to be seated at her desk, asking him how school was like she always did whenever he visited her. It was so strange to not see her there, nose buried in work, attacking politics with the same enthusiasm she did with archaeology. Grief swelled up in his heart, tears attempting to fill his eyes, but he forced them down. Taking a breath, Genis walked into the room and sat behind her desk, an expression of focus fixed on his face. He would not give in, not while Raine was out there, doing her part. So he pulled up her mini computer, and did a basic search of the Arkylia Chamber of Commerce's database for a listing of all businesses in the shipyards.

"Where are the shipyards?" Lloyd asked as Genis began copying down the list.

"They're just on the outskirts of the city." He replied. "They're all that's left of Pekole." Pekole was the small, impoverished port town that used to exist where Arkylia now stood. After a short town meeting with the newly elected Convention members, the inhabitants of Pekole voted for their city to be torn down and Arkylia to be built in its place.

"Huh. I forgot Pekole used to be here." Lloyd said and sat down on the couch on the left side of the room.

"That's because you slept through that lesson." Genis said pointedly.

Lloyd rolled his eyes. "But it was a good thing it got torn down, right?"

"Yeah. Pekole was one of the most primitive towns of Sylvarant, despite its access to the ocean. Now, its prosperous. Well, Arkylia is prosperous since Pekole doesn't really exist anymore. I haven't ever heard of someone not thinking it was a good idea." Genis responded. "Okay, got it."

"Great! How many are there?"

"Thirty."

"Thirty? That's a lot." Lloyd said, concerned.

"Not really. If we each talk to ten, we should be able to come up with something." Genis said, hopeful as he finished copying down the last of them.

"Does the list have names of business owners?" Colette asked.

"Some of them do, some of them don't. This list doesn't look like it's been updated for a year and a half, right after the construction started. It might be the last list from Pekole. They may have a newer one down at the Chamber of Commerce. Arkylia's only been around for a year, so they probably haven't updated the shipyards list yet."

"We don't have a lot of time. We should go to the Chamber of Commerce. Or if they know the names of the business owners."

Genis and Colette nodded and they headed out of the office. Fifteen minutes later, they were on the steps of the Chamber of Commerce. Genis led the way over to the reception desk. "Excuse me? We're here to see the Department head. It's an emergency."

The man at the reception desk looked down at Genis, clearly unamused by his request. "Do you have an appointment?"

"No. But it's an emergency. It has to do with the Erinyes."

"Oh really? And what proof of that do you have?" The man said dismissively. "Your kind are the ones that started all of this."

Genis' face turned red, but before he could say anything colorful in response, Colette stepped in front of him. "Sir, I believe you are speaking out of turn. My friend has requested a meeting due to an emergency, and you have not only insulted him, but myself as well. Please let your Department head know that the High Priestess is here and needs to speak to him immediately."

The man's face paled as Colette spoke. "Y-yes High Priestess," he mumbled and hurried into the room behind him.

Colette turned around to Genis. "I'm sorry about that, Genis."

"I want to punch that guy in the face." Lloyd said, his hands curled into fists.

"No, it's okay Lloyd." Genis sighed. "I mean, it's not okay, but we're not here to fight. We don't have time for that. We need information."

Colette smiled empathetically just as a woman with blue hair came out. "High Priestess! I'm sorry to keep you waiting. Please, come right this way." The woman ushered the three into her office and sat them down. "How may I be of service?"

Looking at Genis, Colette silently urged him to speak. "Would you be able to look at this list and tell us which of the businesses are still around? And who their owners are?"

"Oh absolutely. I can get that done for you right now." The woman began typing away on her computer. "This is a rather old list. I haven't had a chance to update the database, being horrendously understaffed for such a busy office, but I have most of the contact information for the businesses down at the shipyards. Also, it looks like fifteen of these no longer do business." She scribbled some things down on the piece of paper Genis provided to her. "There you go! All set. Can I help you with anything else?"

As they walked out of the Chamber of Commerce and onto the street, Lloyd and Colette looked over Genis' shoulders at the list: Ackernoid Shipping, Benizon Crates, Dareign Distribution, Kernal Construction, Nako Management, Shariya Manufacturing, Takashi Packaging, Vernon Postage, Xander's Boats, and Yegual & Sons. Ten business names with accompanying owner names. One of these they hoped would provide the answer. All they needed was one.