A/N: Holy crap, it's been a while. I'm so sorry it took so long, guys. D: My job's been taking up a lot of my time. But yay, at long last, it's here!! I'm so proud of myself. :'D
Anyway, it's late and I really wanted to submit this, so sorry if there are any errors. I'll proofread this whole chapter again tomorrow, when I've got time. But for now, bear with me, alright?
In other news...106 reviews and over 7000 hits? Holy crap, you guys are awesome. I seriously thought this was going to be one of those stories that gets like two hits a day, if any. Having so many fans...it feels nice. :D You reviewers keep me going. Thank you for all the help and encouragement! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to better myself as a writer!
While I'm at it, I'd just like to say that even though it's been taking a while for me to update, rest assured that I'm going to CONTINUE and eventually FINISH this story. I won't leave you hanging. I'm not that evil, really.
Long author's note is long! I'll shut up now! Time for long chapter! :D
Disclaimer: I think you should know by now that I don't own ToS.
----
After the brief, strange warping sensation (I still couldn't get used to it), I found myself once again on one of the tower's high balconies. The others seemed to have gathered, waiting for the last person to come off the warp. Raine was off to the side, lecturing Lloyd, who had been unmercifully kicked into the balcony's railing. I was alarmed to see that it was cracked slightly. How strong were the Professor's kicks, anyway?
"Lloyd Irving!" She thundered, glaring down at him. "Haven't I told you over and over to think before you speak?! Remiel is an envoy from heaven! He comes to speak to Colette and Colette only!"
"But Professor--"
"No buts! I understand you're trying to help Brittany, but interfering with the world regeneration is not the answer!"
As Raine supplied the verbal abuse, Kratos stood off to the side, silent. Although it could be extremely scary when he yelled, right now one of his glares was more than enough to get the message across.
I walked up to the gathering, feeling rather awkward when they all suddenly looked up at me.
"Um..." I shifted uncomfortably when no one said anything. "Shouldn't we get going?"
"Yeah," Genis piped up, jumping at the chance to save Lloyd. "Let's get out of this place. I don't like it."
The Professor hesitated, seeming to calm down a bit, but the next decision was ultimately made by Kratos. He quietly began to walk towards the light bridge connecting the two balconies. He was followed by Colette, and everyone else seemed to catch on. I ended up going last, partly because of my reluctance to get on that damn bridge again, and partly because I wasn't feeling so great after what happened.
...Well, almost last. Lloyd walked along behind me, looking as if he was feeling pretty shitty himself. I really couldn't bring myself to comfort him, even if he had only been trying to help. Poor, naive Lloyd...I found myself wondering if I really should've trusted him in the first place. I couldn't help it; I'm selfish.
I mean yeah, I somehow managed to come to terms with the fact that I'd die on this journey. But I really, really didn't want to become a Cruxis Crystal for Yggfagsill. And thanks to Lloyd, that probably was going to be my fate now. What would happen when we reached the Tower of Salvation? Would Remiel attack me after Colette released the final seal? Or...would Kratos come after me after he betrayed us?! Christ, even if I did manage to get through that, I was screwed the second Yggdrasill showed up!
I had to do something to stop this...but what could I possibly hope to accomplish? I was missing something, here. I had a feeling that some of the key information involved how Yggdrasill knew about me. I could never hope to get home unless I got some answers.
...And there was no way I would ever get any answers. It looked like the angels were the only ones who could shed some light on my situation, and they weren't about to explain theirselves to me. The Desians were after me, but they were only pawns. I doubted they knew or cared much about my background.
"Hey...Are you all right?" Lloyd's voice interrupted my thoughts. I looked over at him, mildly surprised that he had decided to stop sulking just so he could be concerned about me. Then again, this was Lloyd. The only person who could beat him in terms of selflessness was Colette.
I sighed. "...Yeah, I'm fine."
"You don't sound fine." He looked ahead of us, frowning. The others were far enough ahead that they wouldn't be able to make out our conversation. Well, besides Colette and Kratos, anyway.
"Well, I am," I said in the sort of tone that would normally end a conversation. Lloyd was persistent as always, though.
"Look..." he remarked quietly, "I know the Tower of Salvation seems far away, but you heard Remiel. The angels will help you get home. You've just gotta be patient."
"Lloyd, you have no idea what you're talking about. Just drop it, okay?" I huffed, gritting my teeth. I really regretted the way I spoke to him later on, but at this moment everything I said was fueled by the intense fear and anger Remiel's words had stirred within me.
"What do you mean I have no idea?" Lloyd looked back over at me, sounding frustrated. "You want to make it home, don't you?"
"Why did you have to butt in and ask Remiel?!" I hissed, feeling close to tears. I was forced to look away from him so I could get myself back under control.
"What are you talking about?! I was just trying to help!" He hissed back. "Why are you so upset, anyway? Remiel is going to help--"
"The angels are going to help, Lloyd?" I countered before I could stop myself. "The same angels that are doing all these horrible things to Colette? Even if they were interested in lending an insignificant human their aid, I wouldn't want their help!"
He gave me a shocked look, his mouth open slightly. After a moment, he quickly looked away, clenching his fists. "Just...just shut up. We can't do anything about Colette, okay? Sh-she wants to do this to save everyone! It's the only way!"
"You're not that close-minded, dumbass. Quit lying to yourself," I shot back, glaring.
"What are you saying? We should just leave the world to die?!" Lloyd's voice rose to a shout and he stood in front of me, preventing me from going any further. The others stopped where they were, turning around in surprise at the brunette's random outburst. Colette and Kratos gazed at us solemnly.
"I'm saying you shouldn't have stuck your nose in my goddamn business, Lloyd!" I yelled back, my voice cracking slightly.
The anger apruptly drained out of his face, the stiffness in his posture disappearing. When I tried to push past him, he allowed himself to be shoved lightly into the wall without any resistance. I wasn't sure what caused him to act like that. Maybe it was because of what I'd said...or maybe he'd seen the stray tear that had fallen down my cheek. Either way, I managed to compose myself by the time I walked up to the main group. When we continued onwards, we walked in silence.
Lloyd walked in the back once more, his eyes trained to the floor. Raine and Sheena gave me a strange look, while Genis only offered angry glares. Colette watched me sadly. Kratos...was unreadable. He didn't seem surprised at all by what he'd heard.
That was unnerving, to say the least.
----
"You can't be serious."
I had abruptly stopped when I realized we were going back the same way my group had come. This wasn't right...we were supposed to go back the way Colette and the others had come, weren't we?
When I'd asked, though, Kratos had confirmed that we were taking the dreaded path, and now I was staring at him incredulously. Lloyd and Genis temporarily forgot the argument that had occurred several minutes ago, and stood next to me with similar looks on their faces.
Kratos raised an eyebrow at my statement. "Do I sound like I am joking?"
"B-but Kratos," Lloyd spoke up, "Why can't we just take the same path you guys took?"
Raine heard the stutter in her student's voice, and looked at him curiously. "That route is too long. I'd like to be out of this tower before any adverse effects of Colette's Angel Toxicosis set in."
Several of us flinched at that and looked away, but Colette somehow managed to keep her expression neutral.
"Raine, the route we took is way longer!" Genis protested, looking over to me and Lloyd for support. I nodded quickly.
"Yeah, we must've been walking for two hours, at least. It was ridiculous."
The mercenary stared at me. "Two hours? When we spoke to you for the second time on the projector, only fifteen minutes had passed at the most."
"What?! That's impossible!" The young mage exclaimed, but Kratos remained unconvinced. He probably thought we were just exaggerating. But dammit, I knew we'd taken way longer than that. There was no way we could've done all that, and fought a battle, within fifteen minutes. Hell, the light puzzles alone had taken us that long.
"Um, guys, he's not lying." Sheena said, an apologetic look on her face, and I knew she was telling the truth.
I shuddered a little. Despite all that the three of us had gone through...only fifteen minutes had passed. Not that we could really explain anything that had happened, but still...holy shit.
"Uh...Can't we just go the other way? Come on, it can't be that big of a time difference." Lloyd said hesitantly, earning a glare from Raine.
"What's with you?" Sheena suddenly frowned, looking between Lloyd, Genis and I. "What's wrong with taking your path? It can't be that bad."
The three of us looked at each other in dread, only increasing the amount of bewildered looks we received from the others. Well, besides Kratos. He'd probably make us swim through pirahna-infested waters if it meant we could get to the Tower of Salvation faster.
The silence that ensued was abruptly broken by the sound of the mercenary walking away. He'd chosen to ignore our plight, moving on ahead to avoid wasting time.
Raine frowned, but began to walk after him. I shifted uncomfortably on the spot, but didn't move.
"I...I'm not going. I'll just go the other way. Meet up with you guys later." I couldn't get that weird reaper's eyes out of my mind. Those glowing red eyes...
"Brittany." The Professor said to me, a warning in her voice. Genis and Lloyd had started to inch forward reluctantly, but when they saw that I hadn't moved, they stopped moving as well.
Sheena looked back and forth between us, and stepped forward to try and act as a mediator. She lightly grasped my arm, giving it a small tug. "Look...just calm down. We'll be outside in no time--"
"I'm not going!!" I said, my voice coming out louder than I'd intended, and everyone stared at me.
Raine opened her mouth to speak, but Genis cut her off. "I'm not going, either."
"We were almost killed on that path. I'm not going back!" Lloyd added quickly.
"Almost killed?" Kratos looked back, raising an eyebrow.
"Y-Yeah," I said quietly. "We kept walking through all these dark hallways, and then the stairs went down instead of up--"
"That's impossible. The basement floor to this tower caved in long ago," The professor said.
"B-But Raine!" Genis waved his hands frantically. "There were all these weird noises, and blood was everywhere!"
Raine paused to stare at her younger brother, her eyes narrowing for a moment. After a few seconds, her eyes lit up in a frightening way. "Interesting..."
"Um...Professor?" Lloyd spoke up almost timidly.
"I've heard that the lower levels of this structure were once a prison used during the ancient war," She murmured, rubbing her chin and looking down at the floor. "The upper floors were merely built above the prison to form the tower. I wonder...perhaps you three stumbled upon that ancient prison? Marvelous! I must see it!"
"But the monsters..." I bit my lip, and she shook her head.
"Just an illusion to ward off intruders, I'm sure." She quickly waved it off, moving back to the topic of her fascination. "To think you rediscovered something that was believed to be lost to the world..."
"Th-Then you go yourself! I'm not going back!" I quickly protested, backing away further. Raine temporarily snapped out of her ruin-mode to give me a nasty glare.
"Enough. We're going," Kratos cut in. I opened my mouth to speak, but he glared at me as well, effectively silencing me. Lloyd and Genis realized it was useless, and followed him with their heads down. I clenched my fists tightly, nervous, and followed after Raine...as slowly as possible.
"Don't worry!" Colette whispered to me, "I'm sure everything will be okay." She'd been observing for the most part for a while now, and I was pleasantly surprised to hear her speak. But her voice...it sounded raspy, sort of.
No...could it be that she was only capable of talking in whispers now? Was she trying to hide it? Dammit...
We arrived at the spiral staircase and walked down it, entering the room with the light puzzle. My footsteps felt sluggish and heavy.
Wait! It'd just be a dead end, right? I mean, the hallway had closed up...
After heading through several rooms, we found that it was not in fact a dead end. That cursed hallway had reopened. My eyes widened, and I very nearly froze in place.
"This--This is--!" Lloyd stopped himself, staring as Kratos entered the hall without hesitation. We slowly followed after, looking around warily.
I gasped slightly, gazing down at the floor. That blood...this was where I'd been cut. It was smeared on the floor, clearly showing how I'd been dragged. I looked up and gulped, reaching up to rest a hand on the hilt of my sword. Lloyd reflexively did the same, as Genis gripped his kendama. We were all anticipating that same hellish room.
We continued walking for several seconds, when suddenly I was confused by a soft light at the end of the hallway. That hadn't been there before...were the torches lit now or something?
"What the...?" Lloyd voiced his own confusion as we exited the hallway.
We were back in the main room near the entrance to the tower. What the hell?! That didn't make sense--what happened to all of those damned hallways we'd gone through?!
Kratos turned around and looked at the three of us expectantly, crossing his arms. I wanted to smack him.
"Everything in between...It's gone..." Genis murmured, bewildered.
"MARVELOUS!!" Raine was already distracted, drooling over books once again. Sheena sighed, shaking her head, as she and Colette went to sit down. The mercenary stared at us for a moment before turning away and looking at the shelves, probably trying to find Boltzman's book.
"I don't get it..." I sighed, sliding down the wall into a sitting position. "I know it wasn't an illusion..."
Lloyd and Genis just remained silent for a moment, and then went to the opposite end of the room to sit down and exchange confused looks.
Oh, that's right. We weren't on the best terms anymore, because Lloyd had screwed me over without realizing it.
Ugh. I didn't want to think about the stupid tower and how it made no sense at all. I was never coming back in here, so what did it matter? I doubted I'd survive to the point where Sheena would make a pact with Luna, anyway.
Goddammit. God fucking dammit.
I pressed a hand to my forehead, closing my eyes. To the others, it probably looked like I had a headache...but really, I just wanted to cry. And I really had thought I'd gotten that crap out of my system, too.
This tower had just been one big confusing hell. I just wanted to get out of here. I was in the mood to go lay down somewhere and try to ignore the world for a while. Maybe if I just distanced myself from Lloyd for a while, I wouldn't feel so pissed off at him. I really didn't know.
"Hey." Sheena's voice broke me out of my thoughts, and she sat next to me. I realized that she must've come over after talking to Colette. She frowned slightly at me. "...You don't mind the company, right?"
"Nah." I sighed, even though I most certainly did mind. I didn't want to talk to anyone...and yet I didn't want to be alone and brood, either. Go figure. Maybe I should've just followed Kratos around.
She looked away, watching said mercenary search the bookcases along with the Professor. After a short silence, I felt her look at me again.
"What's up with you today, anyway?" She asked; despite her wording, I could hear the concern in her voice. "You've been acting weird ever since Colette released the seal. Why did you yell at Lloyd like that? I can understand Raine, but that wasn't like you. I mean, he was only trying to help."
I stared into my lap. "...I think he only made things worse."
"How so?" Her gaze didn't waver, and I shifted a little.
"...I don't know. Just a thought."
"You snapped at him over a gut feeling?!"
"No!" I looked up at her, clenching my fists as she glared. "I just--ugh! I don't want to talk about it. Let's drop it already."
She huffed. "You're not making any sense, you know that?"
I dropped my eyes to the ground, giving up, and nodded quietly. Her tone changed to one of confusion.
"Aren't you gonna say anything?"
"I have nothing to say," I replied truthfully. She tensed for a moment, before abruptly getting up.
"Ugh!" She said, aggravated, and walked back over to Colette. I watched her for a moment, and then dropped my head to my knees and heaved a sigh.
"...Go, me," I mumbled under my breath. "If I bitch hard enough, maybe I can antagonize everyone by nightfall. Maybe Kratos can kill me now; it'd save him the trouble of doing it later..." I groaned quietly, hitting my forehead against my knees.
----
At long last, we exited the tower and walked out into the sunshine. It was late afternoon, gradually melting into evening; we'd spent a while in there. It would've been longer, if my group's escapades had really lasted as long as they should have.
Unsurprisingly, Raine had been the one to spot Boltzman's book. Even as we walked out of the large structure, she continually pored over its dusty pages. She was fascinated by the old tome...what else was new?
Well, after the half hour we spent searching for the book...I don't think the others were angry at me, but they weren't happy with me, either. In other words, we weren't really talking much. They were sort of...there, and I was off to the side.
Genis walked up next to his sister, attempting to see into the book despite the height difference. "With this we can save Pietro, right?"
Raine stopped obsessing over the text for a moment, to frown thoughtfully down at him. "...No. As fascinating as this is...it will be difficult for me to use this book with my healing arts alone." She paused, her brow furrowing slightly. "...Perhaps if we had some sort of tool to amplify the body's life force..."
"What kind of tool could do something like that?" Lloyd spoke up.
"A unicorn horn, I would imagine." Kratos remarked, and Raine nodded.
"Yes. But unicorns are extremely rare...our chances of finding one are slim."
"What do we do, then?" Sheena asked, frustrated.
"I have heard that there is a unicorn residing in Lake Umacy, though I'll admit my sources are not exactly reliable," Kratos commented. He crossed his arms. "I suggest we take a look."
Unreliable resources? Yeah, right, Kratty. You've probably been there twenty times already and seen the unicorn for yourself. In any case, I decided to back him up, not wanting to run back and forth until someone managed to figure it out.
"Sounds good to me," I said. "It's not like we have any other leads to go on...and isn't Lake Umacy pretty close by? We can stop there on our way back to Hima."
"It's settled, then," Raine nodded. "We should--"
A thud interrupted her statement, and we all turned to see that Colette had fallen to her knees. Her eyes were wide as she stared on straight ahead in what I presumed to be shock; her mouth was slightly open in a gape...and I knew.
Lloyd gasped, running over to her and gripping her shoulders to support her. "Professor Sage! It's Colette's Angel Toxicosis..."
Raine's expression quickly grew solemn. "I see. We should rest here for the night, then."
I heard a small noise come from Colette--a slight exhale of breath. She was trying to speak, but nothing was coming out. She'd been gradually losing her voice ever since Remiel bestowed Cruxis' "blessing" upon her.
"What's wrong, Colette?" Lloyd asked, concerned. He could see the shock and confusion in her face, even when she tried her best to hide it.
She couldn't reply to his question, and that was made painfully obvious by the look in her eyes. She gazed up at him apologetically, and then looked down at her hands. I saw Kratos step forward from the corner of my vision.
"I would assume she's lost her voice." He said it casually, without much concern.
"What?!" Genis gasped, and we all stared at Colette in varying levels of surprise. Or, in my case, fake surprise that was a sad attempt to conceal frustration and anger.
"He's wrong, right, Colette? Tell me he's wrong!" Lloyd said in horror. He was trying to hide his own shaking. Sure, she was still relatively okay physically, but...Lloyd seemed to be realizing just now that he would probably never hear her voice again.
The blonde Chosen gave Lloyd a helpless look, and smiled sadly. Lloyd's shoulders slumped.
"Colette..."
----
We spent the next few hours setting up camp and attempting to make Colette comfortable. Night fell all too quickly; I was too absorbed in my own thoughts to realize just what time it was.
As I stared at the campfire, seeing but not really seeing, I finally remembered that the cutscenes weren't exactly over just yet. Hey, maybe this would distract the others from being mad at me for a day or two.
I looked up, my gaze naturally falling on Sheena. She looked uncomfortable. Our eyes met, however, and I guess that's when she decided to speak; she probably thought I was going to ask what was up anyway.
The ninja sighed. "Everyone...I have something to say."
Lloyd looked up, seeming to snap out of the same sort of daze I'd been in. "Huh? What is it?"
She looked down. "I want to explain why I was trying to assassinate the Chosen."
That got everyone's attention. The entire group abruptly stopped what they were doing, looking up to hear her out. Raine crossed her arms.
"All right, we're listening. Tell us about your homeland...a land that doesn't exist in this world."
I made sure to fake surprise, as Sheena nearly gasped.
"You knew?!"
The professor shook her head. "No. But you said it yourself back at the mausoleum: Sylvarant will be saved. That implies that you aren't from Sylvarant."
Wow...in the game it seemed all well and dandy, but really, I wouldn't have jumped to that conclusion right off the bat. It was one of the reasons why I didn't tell the others I was from another world--it wasn't exactly a believeable story.
Sheena smirked slightly, seeming a bit relieved that no one had called her crazy yet. "Yeah...you know, it's really a shame that your intellect's being wasted here. You're right; my homeland isn't here, not in Sylvarant."
"What does that mean?" Genis asked, frowning.
"My world is called Tethe'alla," Sheena replied. Ahh, the first time I'd heard someone speak of the other world. It was really weird.
"Tethe'alla?!" Genis gave her an incredulous look. "You mean the moon?"
She laughed a bit. "Of course not. My world's not on the moon."
"I'm confused," I said randomly, realizing I was being too quiet. I saw Kratos raise a hand to facepalm from the other side of the fire, but he made himself lower it again, probably not wanting to seem suspicious or something.
Sheena shook her head. "Even I really don't understand the specifics, but there's another world that lies entwined with Sylvarant, as shadow is to light. That's Tethe'alla...my world."
"Two entwined worlds?" Raine questioned.
"The two worlds can't see one another, even though they're directly adjacent to each other, like two sides of a coin. Our scholars say they exist on shifted dimensions. The two worlds can't see or touch each other, but they do in fact exist next to and affect each other," the ninja explained.
"'Affect each other?'" Lloyd asked curiously. "What do you mean?"
"They vie for the supply of mana. When one world weakens, the mana from that world flows to the other. As a result, one world is always flourishing, and the other waning. Sort of like an hourglass." Man, how many analogies was she going to use? I decided to keep count.
I was distracted when I saw everyone--except Kratos--shift uncomfortably when they realized just what end of the hourglass Sylvarant had been fated with. I sighed quietly.
"So that means right now, Sylvarant's mana is flowing to Tethe'alla."
She nodded. "Sylvarant is in decline. And without mana, crops won't grow and magic becomes unusable. If there's no mana, the summon spirits that protect the world alongside the Goddess Martel can't survive in Sylvarant either. As a result, the world slips even further down the path of destruction."
I pinched myself slightly to wake myself up more, realizing that I was getting bored with her story. I was supposed to be faking interest, curiosity, and maybe even a little suspicion, but right now all I could muster was a deadpan gaze. I'd heard it all before. After playing through the game several times, it was pretty easy to remember how the system between the two worlds worked. I didn't really feel like listening to Sheena's long lesson again.
Oh, Raine's turn to speak again. She was the only one that really had anything intelligent to say back. "Then the Choesn's world regeneration is actually the process of reversing the mana flow?"
You got it, Professor. But do you really get it? Colette's going to die, and then over in Tethe'alla, some other unfortunate Chosen (maybe even Zelos) will die, and then it'll be back to Sylvarant again.
"Exactly," Sheena confirmed. "When the Chosen breaks the seal, the mana flow reverses, and the Summon Spirit that governs the seal awakens. I was sent to prevent the world regeneration from happening."
Dear Goddd. I knew all of this. Wrap it up already, people. Waning and flourishing, Chosens, weird analogies, destruction, blah blah blah.
"I broke through the supposedly impassable dimensional fissure for the sake of protecting Tethe'alla," She continued dramatically. Lloyd's fists clenched, and he stood up.
"In other words, to assure the decline and destruction of Sylvarant?"
Sheena frowned. "You can say that, but your journey of regeneration is also an attempt to destroy Tethe'alla. We're both doing the same thing."
Yeah, which is why you get more information about crap like this before running around attacking people over it. Goddammit. I hated knowing the future sometimes.
Now Raine chose to voice her skepticism, though I thought she was taking this surprisingly well. "It's hard for me to believe all of this."
Man, if Sheena had said the same thing to me back on Earth, I would've just walked away and tried to ignore her. I would've instantly branded her as batshit insane in my mind. I mean seriously, other worlds? I'd even questioned my own sanity more than once through the course of this journey.
"I'm the proof," Sheena said. "I possess summoning arts that have been lost from this world."
Colette stared at Sheena, a sad look in her eyes, and the ninja sighed.
"Please don't look at me like that, Colette...I know that wasn't your intention. I don't really know what I should do, either." She ran a hand through her bangs, shaking her head. "I came here to protect Tethe'alla, but...but this world is impoverished and everyone is suffering. But if I allow the world regeneration to occur, then Tethe'alla will become just like this!"
"But right now, you're helping us, right?" Genis spoke up, looking uneasy.
"Yes, but that doesn't mean I can just abandon Tethe'alla! I...I don't know what to do. Isn't there any other way? A way for Sylvarant, Tethe'alla, and Colette to all be happy?!"
I wished I could tell them that there was, and that everything would be okay, but naturally I couldn't. I didn't even know for sure if that was the real future anymore...my presence here had already screwed up some things. I didn't know just yet if all the screwups were just going to snowball and eventually kill me.
"I want to know, too!" Lloyd piped up.
"Have you considered that perhaps nothing that convenient exists in the real world?" Raine asked. The others gave her upset looks, but I could understand where she was coming from. Normally, there wouldn't be any solution like that. Life is unfair and it sucks; that's it, no questions asked. We were just lucky this time that there was a solution.
"...The best thing we can do right now is to save Sylvarant from its current crisis." The sound of Kratos' voice nearly caused me to jump. It was the first time he'd spoken in a while. Ever since Sheena had been talking, he'd just sort of been sitting there. Like me, he'd heard it all before. He didn't have to fake any sort of emotion, though, because he never showed any emotion anyway. Stupid mercenary. Once again, he'd offered world regeneration as the best solution. Hey, guys! All our problems can be solved if we just sacrifice this innocent sixteen-year-old girl! He seriously pissed me off at times like this.
"What if we just defeat the Desians, and don't regenerate the world?" Lloyd asked hopefully.
"Although we succeeded in destroying a ranch, we cannot possibly eliminate all the Desians. The mana will eventually be exhausted."
No, Yggdrasill wouldn't let one world flourish to the point of the other's distruction. That would ruin his whole system, because one world couldn't exist without the other. He'd probably reverse the mana flow on his own if the Chosens of one world screwed up too many times. I guess the people didn't really want to risk it, though. Couldn't blame them.
"Is mana really that important?" The brunette questioned.
Genis shrugged. "I suppose only magic users and scholars worry about it. But mana is even more important to life than water. Without it, the land will die. Mana is the source material which composes everything. At least that's what I've been taught."
Ha, us Earthlings don't need mana because we're just that cool.
...Wait, or did we? Mana was the reason why I could do all my techs, right? I could never do a Hunting Beast back home...wasn't that because there was no mana on Earth? But if I was living in this world, and my body wasn't composed of mana, wouldn't I, like, die? Too confusing...
"Unfortunately," Raine continued, "the Giant Tree of ever-flowing mana in fairy tales doesn't exist in the real world. We live by chipping away at the limited amount of avalilable mana. Why do you think ancient magitechnology was lost?"
"Because mana disappeared from the world,"Sheena replied.
"Correct. Magitechnology consumes large amounts of mana. If things continue the way they are now, Sylvarant will eventually lose its mana just as it lost its magitechnology, and be destroyed."
Agh, Professor...this conversation was so long and boring. But if even Lloyd was paying close attention...I didn't really have a choice but to pay attention myself.
The conversation paused when everyone turned to see Colette approaching Lloyd.
"Colette?" Lloyd looked down at her as she grabbed his hand, turning it palm up. "R...e....m...i....Oh, you're trying to spell something, right?"
He stopped, reading the letters she wrote. It took a couple seconds for him to decipher each word she wrote.
"I'll....try...asking...Remiel...if...there's...a...way...to...save...the two...worlds."
Unfortunately, Lloyd totally saw the scowl on my face at the mention of the angel's name. His brow furrowed slightly, and I quickly looked away, pretending nothing had happened.
"If it doesn't work out, I may have to kill you after all," Sheena said.
"Sheena!" Genis said, dismayed.
Lloyd continued to read as Colette began writing again. "When...that...time...comes...I...may...fight..back..."
She paused, smiled sadly, and wrote some more. "Because...I love...Sylvarant...too."
Sheena looked down. "...I understand. You intend to become an angel, no matter what, don't you?"
Colette's sad little smile didn't falter, and we all fell silent as she released Lloyd's hand to sit down once again.
I stared at the fire once more, chewing slightly on my lower lip as I mulled over all the events that had transpired. We were so close to the Tower...It was too bad. I wouldn't have minded seeing Tethe'alla.
Something in my stomach clenched painfully. If I was afraid now...I couldn't imagine how Colette felt. She'd known she was going to die for her entire life! And now she couldn't even speak up to tell people how scared she was...she couldn't cry to relieve her stress, or sleep to replenish her energy.
Well, at least I knew she'd be okay in the end. Hopefully.
"Lloyd?" Genis' voice cut through my thoughts. "What is it?"
I looked up abruptly, and briefly locked eyes with the brunette. When I saw the look of pure shock he was giving me, I froze. Oh, God. There was a monster behind me, wasn't there.
Just as I was about to shout and move out of the way, Lloyd quickly looked down.
"Uh, it's nothing."
"Okay..." Genis frowned at me for a moment, shrugged, and resumed whatever he'd been doing.
Eh? So there hadn't been anything after all. But wait--did that mean Lloyd had actually been staring at ME? But why...? He'd looked so surprised about something...was there something on my face? Maybe he'd realized for the first time how amazingly attractive I was? Nah, that couldn't be it...my attractiveness was way too obvious, he had to have noticed it before now.
Haaa, I'm so funny.
I looked down at myself. Let's see...bloody coat, muddy pant legs, slightly greasy hair (wasn't too noticeable yet, thankfully), and a thin layer of dried sweat on my skin. Sexy. Then again, it wasn't like the others in the group fared any better. It had been days since our last stay at an inn, months since my last actual shower. Stupid outdated technology.
Having been successfully sidetracked, I stood up, running a hand through my hair.
"Hm? Going somewhere?" The Professor looked up.
I shrugged. "Not that far, just to the river. I won't be long."
She stared for a moment, and then finally relented. "All right."
Lloyd got to his feet, turning to me. "I'll go with you," he offered.
I shook my head, waving him off. "Nah, it's cool. I can find my way on my own." I didn't really want Lloyd to watch me wash the grime out of my hair. I kind of wanted to bathe, too, if I could find a secluded spot.
When I started to leave, though, Lloyd just completely ignored what I said and joined me. Several of the group members gave him an odd look, including me.
"Uh...Lloyd?"
He frowned, narrowing his eyes slightly and giving me a disturbingly Kratos-like look. Don't do that, Lloyd. Ugh, it's creepy. It gives me the urge to annoy you and feed you tomatoes.
Not wanting to cause a scene, I sighed, slightly irritated. "Whatever."
----
"Sooo...what's up?" I asked quietly, pouting on the riverbank. I had taken my boots off and rolled my pant legs up, allowing my feet to soak in the cool water. It felt pretty damn good after the long and stressful day.
Now if only I could shave my legs...Dear God. Back in Luin, I'd paid a barber 400 Gald just to lend me the knife he'd salvaged from the ruins of his shop, and I'd cut myself like twenty times. Not fun. I just wanted a good ol' Venus razor...
Self-conscious now, I rubbed my legs, willing the stubble to go away. Man, even a dagger would be helpful right now. I sure as hell wasn't going to try using my sword. I wanted to shave my legs, not amputate them.
"I was just thinking." Lloyd's voice came seemingly out of nowhere; I'd totally forgotten he was there.
"Eh?" I looked over at him, submerging my legs even deeper into the water.
"I...I get it now." Lloyd sighed. "And I'm sorry for asking Remiel for help without your permission. I guess it was a pretty stupid thing to do."
My brow furrowed. Wait, how would he know? He should still be thinking he was completely justified in his actions. He shouldn't even understand my reasoning till at least after the Tower of Salvation...after I was gone.
"Um, thanks?" I paused. "...What do you get?"
He gave me an impatient look. "It all makes sense! You're from Tethe'alla, like Sheena, aren't you? That's why you couldn't explain anything to me! You thought I wouldn't believe you." He shook his head. "That's why you didn't want me to say anything to Remiel. He probably thought you came here to get rid of Colette, too, so he wouldn't help you. And now you probably think you're in trouble with Cruxis or something, right?"
I groaned. "Lloyd, you're on the right track...but you're also completely wrong."
"What?" The bewildered expression on his face would've been hilarious in different circumstances. "B-But...I had it all figured out!"
"Yeah, I'm sure you did, buddy."
He clenched his fists. "Then...what's the real story?!"
"Haven't we already gone over this?" I rolled my eyes. "I'll explain after Colette regenerates the world. I think you can wait a little longer, it's not that far off."
I guess it was sort of a mean thing for me to do to him...I mean, I already knew that I wouldn't live past that day, so I wouldn't have any explaining to do anyway. Lloyd would just be left hanging. Not that it'd matter--with all the crap that would happen afterwards, they wouldn't have time to think about me much, anyway.
"What difference does it make if you tell me a little earlier?"
"Believe me, Lloydie, it makes a huge difference. Can't tell you why, though."
Lloyd huffed, glaring at me for a moment, and then somehow managed to calm himself down. He watched me kick my feet in the water for a few more seconds before speaking again.
"...You said I was on the right track. What's that supposed to mean? How can I be close if I'm completely wrong?"
I closed my eyes, trying to defeat the headache I knew was going to form. "...Well...I'm not from Tethe'alla, but...I'm from a really far away place. And yeah, I'm sorta worried about Cruxis, which is why I was mad at you for butting in like that."
He stared at me, as if he could see the inner workings of my mind if he tried hard enough. Sorry, bud. No dice.
When he didn't say anything, I laid down on my back and looked at him. "Look, I'm sorry about what I said. I acted like a real asshole. I mean, I had a reason to be mad, but it's kinda my fault too, since I haven't explained anything to you. You were just trying to help out; you didn't know any better."
I shifted a little, trying to find a more comfortable position. "I'm still upset, but it's not like I can go back in time and change anything, so...I dunno. I'm not pissed at you anymore. Let's just...not fight anymore, okay? You're, like, the only person that keeps me sane here." I smiled sheepishly; it was the complete truth.
He met my gaze. "Back there...when you yelled at me...I saw. You were crying, weren't you?"
"...What about it?" There was no sense in denying it.
"What do you mean, 'what about it'?!" He growled, running a hand through his hair in an irritated gesture. "What I did back there...it's bothering you a lot more than you let on, isn't it? What else is bothering you? You complain sometimes, but it's only about dumb stuff, just so you can fill the silence. You never actually talk about what's really upsetting you."
I blinked, surprised. He knew I did that? Most people got annoyed, thinking I was whiny and wanted attention, when I was actually just bored and letting my mouth run. Geez, I thought only my closest friends knew small details like that about me.
Had Lloyd actually become one of my closest friends? Shit. I hated one-sided relationships. I obviously wasn't one of his closest friends; he'd known everyone else in the group, besides Kratos and Sheena, his whole life. And Kratos was his father! Sheena, well...she was Sheena! She and Lloyd had similar personalities, obviously they'd get along well.
"Um..." I shrugged, not really sure what to say, and he rolled his eyes.
"Dammit! You and Colette. What's so bad about talking about your problems?! It's not like bottling everything up ever solved anything!"
"Well, I don't know about Colette, but most of my problems involve the stuff I can't tell you right now," I pointed out. "Besides, I can't do anything about any of it, so it wouldn't make a difference if I told someone."
"Yes it would!" He persisted. "Talking about it means you don't have to bear the burden alone."
I raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you don't already have enough on your mind, Lloyd?"
That shut him up. He looked down into his lap, frowning. "I..."
"Look, about Colette..." I started, attempting to think up some comforting words, but he hastily shook his head.
"Stop trying to change the subject. You always do that!" Lloyd crossed his arms. "I'm your friend and I'm here for you, okay? So talk to me already!"
"...Lloyd," I smiled. "Just you saying that is enough for now. Understand?" I stood up, putting my boots back on. "Hell, having one friend that I know I can trust...that's more than enough. I can handle things on my own until the world regeneration. Then I might need someone to lean on. Think you can wait till then?"
He gave me a good, long look, and then he finally sighed. "...All right. You promised, after all."
I nodded. "And I don't break promises."
I was such a liar.
----
After a short discussion over breakfast the next morning, everyone (Kratos and Raine) decided that we should head for Lake Umacy right away. We didn't know how long Pietro would last with his illness, and we also didn't know how the world would last with such a depleted mana supply. I'm sure it could've lasted another century, but y'know, Kratos is all urgent and stuff because he's an asshole. You would think he'd be stalling, considering his son was probably going to die too.
Okay, so Kratos is a confusing guy. What else is new?
"You've got that look on your face again, Brit," I heard Lloyd say casually to me. I glanced over at him.
"What look?"
He shrugged. "I dunno, this weird expression you get when you're thinking about something. You always look kind of annoyed."
"Oh, that's because the voice in my head is really sarcastic," I answered cheerfully.
Hey, all my good friends knew about my sarcasm. I just didn't use it as much here, because I didn't want to get bitch slapped by a certain mercenary. I usually ranted about stupid things to myself when I was bored; though my friends found it amusing, I was sure that sort of thing would just piss most of this group off.
"Uh...right." He stared at me for a second. "...What are you thinking right now?"
My brow furrowed slightly as random words popped out of my mouth. "Wouldn't it be cool to be bit by a lion?"
He instantly facepalmed. "What?!"
"Come on! You'd have this awesome scar all your life. And think of all the stories you could tell that would make you seem wicked badass. Like, 'Oh, this? Yeah, I got bit by a lion. But I taught that bitch a lesson, I punched it in the freaking face!'"
"..." He stared at me for a moment, seemingly unable to think of anything to say. Then he just shoved me slightly, shaking his head. "You're such a weirdo."
"You're just mad because you'd scream like a little girl if you got bit," I pointed out, shoving him back.
"Would not!" He protested. "Besides, you're the girl!"
"Yeah, so I'm allowed to scream like one," I grinned. "You've got no excuse though, Lloydie-boy."
"Would you just cut it out?!" A young voice cut through the conversation, sounding genuinely angry. I looked over in shock to see Genis glaring at me. Wait, wasn't this something he'd normally snicker at? Why was he so pissed all of a sudden?
When I only stared at him, his fists clenched. "Who cares?! It's not like that's ever going to happen, it's stupid!"
"Um..." I blinked, noticing how everyone had stopped walking, turning to look at us.
"Genis," Raine said quietly, with a warning note in her voice.
"But Raine!" He turned to her. "She just yelled at Lloyd back in the tower, and now she's acting like nothing happened!"
Raine pulled him closer to her, and they began to converse in whispers that I was sure only Colette and Kratos could hear. Some of the others exchanged glances, and I tried to blend in with the scenery, my head hung. Now I really felt bad. Maybe Lloyd forgave me, but Genis was Lloyd's best friend, and...well, everyone else was sort of kept in the dark with all my crazy secrets and such.
Lloyd turned to look at me, about to walk over, and I shook my head. Genis would just get more angry if he saw us having our own private conversation. Instead, I inched over towards Kratos and gave him a pleading look.
He raised an eyebrow, but seemed to get the message. It looked like he only cared if Lloyd forgave me, not everyone else. He turned to the group and sighed.
"It would be best if we kept moving. I'd like to reach the cover of the forests by nightfall."
The Professor instantly seemed to remember herself and nodded, cutting off her little talk with Genis. "Yes, let's get going."
We began moving again, but the awkward silence wasn't broken. I was so frustrated that I wanted to hit something. I had made up with Lloyd! Everything was supposed to be okay now!
But, of course, that was how things worked in video games...not in real life. In real life, things aren't so simple. Some people hold grudges more easily than others. I guess it wasn't surprising that Genis was one of those people. He was a half-elf; he didn't even like humans much in the first place. He loved Lloyd like a brother; of course now he was going to hate me.
I looked over at Sheena, but she just seemed confused and frustrated as ever. She probably didn't know what side to take.
I chanced a glance at Colette, and she just gave me a sad little smile. She couldn't say anything, but I could tell she was willing to forgive me if Lloyd forgave me. Good thing, too; I mean, what would I do if I was the single person in the universe that Colette actually hated?
Raine and Kratos...yeah, I never knew what they were thinking. I wasn't going to bother trying to read their expressions, they'd probably just get suspicious.
Noishe had been growling at me for around ten minutes now. Shut up, Noishe.
Dammit. For the hundredth time, this new reality of mine really sucked.
----
It took us four awkward days to make it to Lake Umacy. Thankfully, the amount of awkwardness decreased exponentially in relation to the amount of time that passed. I hate math.
Translation: It became less awkward each day. I guess it was bound to happen, since we did spend every waking hour with each other. We kind of had to tolerate each other. Or, rather, everyone had to tolerate me. Ha-ha. Sucks to be them.
Really, I don't think I uttered more than ten words over the first forty-two hours. I was trying really hard not to annoy anyone. I only spoke when spoken to. That didn't work as well as I'd hoped, though. Everyone else seemed to be calmer, but then Lloyd got annoyed at how quiet I was being and started harrassing me with stupid questions, wondering if I was feeling sick or something. And that just made Genis go all PMS on us again.
By the time we reached the lake, we were relatively...tolerant of each other. I don't think Genis hated me anymore, but I don't think he loved me, either. Sheena was back on pretty good terms with me, at least.
"...Ugh, are we there yet?"
"Not this again, Lloyd..." I sighed, shaking my head. Memories of that time in the Asgard Ranch resurfaced. Sheena got into her trademark bitchslapping position.
"But it's been four days!" He whined, "This is so boring!"
"It's right there." I pointed, and he tensed instantly.
"Where?!"
"Oh, wait, my bad. That's a tree..."
"...You suck."
Sheena sighed, lowering her hand, knowing that smacking him wouldn't do any good anyway.
"Oh! It's over there, Lloyd!" I pointed again.
"No, I'm not falling for it this time." He crossed his arms, turning around and walking backwards so he wouldn't have to see where I pointed.
"Lloyd, I'm serious this time." I could see the glimmer of water reflecting sunlight up ahead.
"No, you're not."
The others looked at Lloyd and just sighed quietly, used to his slowness by now. I grinned, a plan formulating in my mind.
"...Okay, you got me. I'm just messing with you."
Genis instantly understood what I was thinking--for the first time in days, I saw him hold back a smile. Even he couldn't pout through this little joke.
"Yeah, I knew it--" His eyes suddenly widened as we reached the edge of the lake. We'd walked up on to a short overhang, giving a slightly elevated view of the lake--or, to Lloyd, a slightly elevated view of the forest behind us before he fell.
He plummeted into the waters with a loud splash, which was followed by the sound of Genis, Sheena and I breaking out into laughter. Colette had a hand placed over her mouth to cover up a large smile. I ran up to the edge, still laughing, and looked over to see Lloyd resurface. I could barely register the hilarious look on his face, as I was bent over and clutching my stomach.
...That didn't last very long. I had been standing too close to the edge, and part of the ground suddenly crumbled beneath me, causing me to fall in, too. Now it was Lloyd's turn to point and laugh.
"Well, that totally backfired..." I mumbled, finally calming down. The brunette just grinned.
"Nice try, though."
"Hey, I still got you!" I stuck my tongue out. "I just got dragged down, too."
"You guys okay in there?" We heard Sheena call.
"Yeah, we're fine," Lloyd called back, laughing a little more.
"The water's great, come on in!" I said.
"This isn't why we came..." Raine sighed.
I heard some footsteps approaching the edge of the overhang. I recognized those steps, that walk. He couldn't see us, though, since we were beneath the overhang.
In a few seconds, Kratos was standing on the land directly above us. I could tell he crouched down, probably to search for us, because one of the purple tails of his cape hung down over the edge...right where I could reach it.
Oh, God. No, Brittany. Don't do it. Don't you dare, it's suicidal--
Before I could stop myself, I reached out and tugged hard on the cape tail. Kratos, who had already been in a precarious position, could do nothing to prevent himself from falling. Within the next second I saw a flash of purple, and then I was doused in the splash he created.
Lloyd slowly looked over at me. I could tell he really, really, wanted to laugh, but he was afraid to. We both looked over to where the mercenary had fallen, watching the air bubbles rise up for a few moments. I could almost hear the Jaws music playing.
After a couple long seconds, he surfaced.
And I thought Lloyd looked funny when his hair was wet...Holy crap, Kratos.
His hair was all matted down now, not sticking up anywhere. I found myself briefly wondering if he could even see. He looked kind of like an old English sheepdog, only soaking wet.
He was looking at both of us, just daring the culprit to reveal themselves. There was a long silence as we all stared each other down.
And I couldn't help it. I snorted.
His eyes instantly locked on to me. Target sighted. He lunged.
"D-Don't kill me!" I said, digging myself a deeper grave by laughing my ass off.
He was pretty prompt in his punishment; he just shoved me underwater for around thirty seconds, grabbed a handful of seaweed, and let it slide down the back of my shirt.
Then, for good measure, he plopped some on my head when I resurfaced. Lloyd finally started laughing as Kratos trudged out of the water like a cat that had been forced to take a bath. I halfway expected him to huff and shake himself off. He didn't.
That's what Lloyd did when he got out, though. Go figure. I just attempted to get the clump of slime out of my clothes.
I think the others afraid to laugh, too, because we were all dead silent once everyone was safely back on land. We exchanged plenty of glances, though. Plenty indeed.
Heh, good thing the Professor's hair was already silver, because I think we'd been giving her more than enough gray hairs...She sighed, not even bothering to ask what had just happened.
As we walked around the edge of the lake, looking for the unicorn, I watched Lloyd attempt to style his hair back to its former glory. It kept flopping down over his eyes. Eventually he gave up, and just kept blowing the stray hairs out of his eyes every five seconds.
Within the next minute, two resounding smacks could be heard. Sheena and Raine walked on ahead, annoyed, as Lloyd whimpered. The rest of us just shook our heads.
----
A/N: I was honestly planning a "THIS IS SPARTAAA" moment with Lloyd getting kicked into the lake. But before I knew it, the scene was written, and I guess I'm too lazy to go back and change it. XD I contemplated having Brit do that to Kratos, but...no. She wouldn't survive that. Hell, she's lucky she got away with pulling him in, never mind kicking him.
That was kind of immature of Kratters, if you think about it. XD He really is a bully. One of these days he's going to give someone a wedgie and hang them from a fence post.
Uh....anyway. Next time: Sparkles and unicorns! Pure and...un-pure maidens! Which one will Brittany be?!?! THE SUSPENSE! -shot-
EDIT: I just realized that they haven't made the pact with Undine yet. So j/k, no talk about pure maidens just yet. XD