Chapter 14
Note: Sorry it is a little short, my loyal readers. But I just had to end it at that kind of part. *chuckles* enjoy.
Regal walked out of the castle as he looked up toward the sky with a stern look on his face. It had been a good hour before he left the chambers of the king and since then he had been considering where to start in the search for answers as he tried to think of anywhere the red swordsman and purple ninja could be.
"Regal!" came the voice of the Chosen.
The man looked over his shoulder as he pocketed his hands casually and slowly turned to meet with his former comrade in arms.
"You do not seriously believe the things that Valemeros guy was saying, do you?" Zelos said with a frown as he ran up to the mature president.
"Well, I cannot keep anything from my mind just because of personal relations," Regal started. Zelos' expression said it all as Regal shook his head once. "However, I have to believe that Lloyd would not do something so cold," he added.
"Then why did you insist on hunting Lloyd down and bringing him before the king?" Zelos wondered as he folded his arms.
"Think of it for a moment Zelos; if the king does not send me, then he will just send another and this other is not guaranteed to be as understanding or willing to find the truth as I shall be. Something is happening here and all we have are scattered pieces. I need to find the truth behind it all and find out exactly what is happening," Regal firmly stated.
Zelos gave a sudden grin, "We."
"I figured you would want to come along. We have a lot of work ahead of us then, Chosen." Regal said with a nod as he turned and looked back toward the sky.
"So they are both on the run. The question is, where would they go and where do we start?" Zelos wondered as he looked over to Regal again, "And how do we get there? We don't have any Rheairds to travel around in either." He sighed, raising a hand to pull down on his white bandanna so it was in a more comfortable location.
Regal gave a very light smile, "Do not worry about that, Chosen."
"What do you mean? What are you keeping from me?" Zelos asked in a carefree tone.
"The Lezerano company has been working on its projects. Come." Regal stated as he continued to walk forward, forcing the red haired Chosen to follow.
-Scene change-
Lloyd watched as Sheena performed her small ritual to bring the summon spirit forward, keeping his hands on the hilts of both swords as he watched intently. He had been trying his best not to lose himself to his emotions and urges, but it was very hard. He glanced over to Raine and Genis as he closed his eyes for a moment.
If it was not for Raine, Lloyd knew he may have only done rash things without stopping to take a breath. She had made the comment that he was perhaps maturing too quickly and taking on too much, but he could only think of how he had not matured enough just yet. He had lost his head when everything with Sheena had happened.
His brown eyes opened again as Sheena looked up, a flash of light filling the room as it swirled in a bright aura of rainbow before the colors blended together and took on the silhouette of Verius. The light gave a humming, almost musical tune before it flashed once more and the beautiful form appeared, floating in the air before landing gently on four paw-like legs. His bright but pale-shaded blue tails were as enchanting as Lloyd last remembered. The elegant spirit tilted his head when summoned and the bell around his neck gave a light jingle with the motion.
"You wished to meet with me, Sheena?" Verius wondered.
Lloyd looked to Sheena, awaiting her answer before he realized that she was not speaking and just seemed be looking at Verius. The two stared at each other in silence before Lloyd gave a light growl under his breath and was about to step forward, but felt a tug on his shoulder as he looked over to see the Professor. She shook her head gently.
He did not understand at first why the Professor was silently telling him to not say or do anything, but he gave her the trust that she knew what she was doing. He would give this just a few more moments before the itchy feet would become too powerful.
Verius' tails seem to twitch in a repulsed manner as an echoed growl radiated into the room, causing Lloyd to bite his lip as he waited.
"Your heart has been poisoned, Sheena. What manner of being would do this?" Verius seemed to step to the edge of the platform as if to get closer to her, leaning his head forward, just ever so slightly.
"Verius, may I speak?" Raine asked. Lloyd looked over to her when she spoke.
"You may, if it involves the matter at hand," Verius replied. His tone was slightly agitated as he kept his eyes on Sheena.
"We wish to know what happens when summon spirits are ripped from one's vessel. A man by the name of Valemeros tore them out of Sheena and has left her in this condition," Raine explained briefly.
"Impossible. Sheena has formed a pact with the spirits. They cannot be-" Verius stopped in mid- sentence, "But if what you speak is true, then..." he trailed off.
"Verius, you have to help! Sheena is losing herself and every moment that passes she loses even more!" Lloyd burst forward like a volcano as he stepped forward, his hand clenching into a tight fist. If he was not so driven by his sudden emotion, it would be painful on his knuckles.
"Lloyd." Raine whispered.
"Do not silence the boy. His words are spoken from a heart torn as well. Step forward." Verius stated.
The sudden silence in the room allowed for the sound of Lloyd's footsteps to echo in the room as he walked forward and stood beside Sheena. He looked over to the purple ninja as he scanned her facial expression but what he saw only served to worry him even more. Her eyes were almost blank, glazed over with an empty stare at Verius.
Lloyd's eyes shot to the spirit, "Verius, what is happening?"
"Like I said, her heart has been poisoned. She has poisoned it-" Verius started.
"She? No, it was Valemeros that did it when he ripped out her spirits," Lloyd growled.
"The one you call Valemeros served as the trigger for the poison, young man. But he alone could not have the power to do this. Sheena harms herself by rejecting her deepest desire. If what you say is true, then when her spirits were ripped out, one of the things that made her whole and protected her, they are now gone and her heart suffers from her own heartbreaking suppression and now the loss of what she held as her strength," Verius explained as his tails seemed to ease down again.
"I don't...understand," Lloyd frowned.
"That is part of the problem," Verius replied.
"So you are saying it is my fault as well?" Lloyd felt his heart sink a little as he looked from Verius to Sheena and felt a renewed sensation of failure stab into him.
"So then...you are just going to give up?" Verius wondered.
When Lloyd heard Verius ask him such an absurd question he felt something in him snap as he shook his head and felt his anger well in response.
"Never! I am not going to give up on her. I'll do whatever what it takes...whatever the cost." Lloyd felt his teeth painfully press together.
Verius' head turned from looking at Lloyd to Sheena. Silence dominated the room once more as if Verius was considering something. Lloyd wished at this point in time that he could read the silent spirit's mind.
"I have made up my mind," Verius uttered.
Lloyd felt himself hold his breath in anticipation.
-Scene Change-
"What is that?" Zelos wondered as Regal walked up toward his mode of transportation.
He stopped and looked over his shoulder with a very slight smile, explaining briefly,
"It's a project that I have been seeing to personally. It is capable of traveling over land as easily as it can travel over water."
"What do you call it?" Zelos asked as he walked up to the boat size vehicle and gave a light poke to the bottom. It felt like a strange rubber, almost balloon like.
Zelos watched as Regal climbed up the side and onto the suspended frame.
"It does not have a name, besides its project code," Regal confessed as he opened the door.
"Where shall we go first?" Zelos commented as he jumped onto the frame, leaning against the cold metal as he looked at Regal.
"Well, I think we would be best searching for anywhere that could provide Sheena cover. Both are wanted and hunted criminals and one of the only places they would be safe is..."
"Mizuho." Zelos completed.
"Right. We will start there."
-Scene Change-
"A pact?" Lloyd wondered.
Verius nodded as he sat down, his tails arching upwards,
"Sheena used to draw on the strength of the spirits to push on. Now that she does not have that, she is crumbling slowly from within. I could be a very temporary solution."
"You are going to let her pact with you?" Lloyd wondered.
"It is going to have to be earned," Verius replied.
"How?"
"You said you would be willing to do anything for her," Verius confronted, looking to Lloyd.
"Without a second thought," Lloyd breathed out in quick reply.
"Then you must be her strength right now. If I am to deem her worthy, I wish to test the strength of heart from those she has around her. As one of the factors that caused this to happen to Sheena, Lloyd, I shall test you...and you alone." Verius gave a sudden challenging growl.
Lloyd took a step back. He was surprised as he knew what Verius was implying. He felt his eyes look to Sheena, giving out a sigh. Verius was also implying that he had a part in what was happening to her. He had made this possible - he might as well have been as guilty as Valemeros. Lloyd felt the sting of despair sink into his beating heart.
"Stop dwelling on the past, young swordsman. Focus on what you can do now, or you will never be able to help her," Verius interrupted.
"Fine," Lloyd firmed out as he placed a hand on Sheena's shoulder. Her head turned to look over to him blankly as she only blinked once. He had never seen her this way before. She looked as empty as when Colette was being prepared as a vessel for Martel. "Wait. Verius, what is happening to her now? She was fine earlier," Lloyd asked as worry seemed to shake his tone a little.
"Her heart was slowly degenerating through its own poisoning and so I have sealed it with me. Safety measures - I wish to keep Sheena safe," Verius confessed.
"You have her heart?" Lloyd firmed.
"That is correct," Verius answered.
Lloyd did not know what to think. He knew that Verius was just trying to protect her and that he could trust the Spirit of the Heart to watch over her. But seeing the condition Sheena was in now as a result of what Verius did made Lloyd a little edgy. He thought that taking her heart was a little extreme.
"Verius...can you give her heart back?" Lloyd asked.
"No," Verius replied.
That answer was not what Lloyd expected to hear from him. He swallowed hard as his fingers laced around the hilts of his swords tightly.
"Why? Why keep her like this?" Lloyd growled lightly.
"You want me to give her heart back to her? Then you are going to have to earn it. Prove to me that you will do anything for her." Verius stepped off the platform as Lloyd released his swords, placing his hands on Sheena's shoulders, gently pulling her away. She seemed to follow his momentum as he pulled her and then looked to Raine and Genis. Raine stepped forward and placed her hands over his. Her fingers slowly slid over his and gently pushed them away. Lloyd let her as Raine now guided Sheena away, making space for Lloyd and Verius.
"Why are you doing this, Verius?" Lloyd confronted.
"This is your test, Lloyd Irving." Verius said.
The walls of the room started the shimmer as Lloyd looked to the side and blinked – they had begun to turn a shade of blue. Turning around quickly, he could only see the bewildered expressions of Raine and Genis, the blank expression of Sheena. He turned on his heel and ran toward them, but they were engulfed by the shimmering walls and disappeared into thin air.
"Verius?" Lloyd yelled.
"This is your test, Lloyd, and yours alone. Do you have the strength to fight for her? Show me the strength of your heart, Lloyd." Verius remarked as his body gave a faint rainbow shimmering glow.
"Why can't you just help her now?" Lloyd asked, drawing both his swords when he noticed that Verius was taking a more aggressive stance.
"The stronger the heart, the more I can do for her. Sheena's heart is too wounded, too poisoned for me to draw strength from. It must be you who proves to me the power of the heart," Verius growled.
"You can see into my heart, why does there have to be any test?" Lloyd asked.
"It is because I can look into your heart that there has to be a test," Verius replied.
Silence filled the air as Lloyd gave out a weak sigh. The flow of blue shimmering energy from the walls had now claimed the floor and they were surrounded in it. Lloyd knew that there was no way he was going to escape this situation, even if he wanted to. He let out one last deep breath before swiping his swords as if testing his ability to swing.
"I do not understand why we need to fight, Verius. We both have the same intentions in mind. We both want to save her, so why can we not work together?" Lloyd asked in a languishing tone, as the spirit pawed the ground lightly.
"You are too emotionally bound to understand this completely, Lloyd Irving," Verius replied.
Lloyd did not fully understand what he was implying and he could not understand why he needed to fight with him, but what he did know was that these strange circumstances had made it so the journey to the temple had become Lloyd fighting Verius. The stakes were high, as it was a battle for Sheena's heart and a vital step towards curing her aliment - her heart poisoning as Verius had called it.
Sheena was on the line in this battle and Lloyd was not about to let her down again. He would die fighting if he had to, but as long as an ounce of strength passed through him, then Sheena had hope of being cured.
"Verius...I won't lose!" Lloyd yelled out determined.
Lloyd lifted both swords up as he took his own fighting stance, his eyes locked onto the spirit's as he felt every muscle in his body tense. Verius gave a growl and leaped high into the air, darting toward the readied swordsman as Lloyd gritted his teeth while the spirit descended upon him.