Fifty-one! n.n Sorry it took a bit….

Yuan: No one cares- (SMACKED) OW-!

Me: I own nothing! n.n

We entered Mizuho with relatively little event. Nothing quite out of the ordinary happened; Sheena ran out as soon as they mentioned Volt and Tiga proceeded to tell us about how Volt killed the villagers years ago. The first thing that happened afterward was that Lloyd turned to me, somewhat wide-eyed.

"Jaela? Did you know about that?" he asked.

I looked at him a moment before I nodded.

"Yeah," I said with a sigh, "I knew."

There was a moment of silence through the group before I stood up and headed for the door.

"Wait, where are you-?" Genis started.

"Outside, nothing's getting done in here," I pointed out, "…by the way, Lloyd."

"Hm? What is it?" he asked with a blink.

"You should go talk to Sheena," I said, "you understand kinda what she went through. That and she kinda has a thing for you…."

I saw him frown a bit before I turned and walked out. It was true, after all. Sheena did have a bit of a soft spot for Lloyd. As did Colette. Quite the ladies man he was, even if he didn't realize it. Everyone else wandered about as Lloyd went to try to cheer up Sheena, I personally sat next to the main house and by the stream, watching the water trickle by. Water was always soothing in that way, how you could listen to it trickle and forget everything while the light danced on its surface…

"Jaela?"

I looked up, noting Genis fidgeting by me.

"So you did know about Sheena and…?" he started with a frown.

I nodded.

"…You really know everything about us, don't you?" he asked.

"No," I shook my head, "not everything. You're as unknown to me as I am to you. Sure, I know a lot, but not everything."

"So…so what do you know about…m- me?" he stammered, flushing a bit.

"You? Uh…what everyone knows, pretty much," I shrugged, "why?"

"N- No reason," he flushed, glancing away from me, "but you know stuff that will happen too, right?"

"Some of it," I nodded, biting my lip.

"…I-"

"Depending on what you ask, I may not answer," I said with a sigh, "you know…I have reasons not to."

"Jaela, um… I got you this," he said, pulling something from his pack.

"What-? …"

He was holding out a little notebook, a pen slid in the spiral spine.

"You said you liked to write, so I thought you'd like this," he smiled weakly, "and since you've been stressed lately, I thought…you know…"

"You have been too," I pointed out, but grinned nonetheless, "but I'll take it! Thanks a lot! Really, you have no idea how I've been going in withdrawal from this!"

I took the little book and opened it up, excited at the blank pages. Something about a clear slate is terrifying, but so, so amazingly great. To think you can make anything you want with it, that you can shape what it becomes or tear it to shreds…I dunno, it just always made me happy.

"I'm glad you like it," he smiled, flushing a bit.

I smiled back before he spoke again.

"Could you tell me some of your stories?" he asked.

"M- My-?" I stammered. "Uhm…I…I guess, but you know…most of my stories were about you guys."

"Us?" he blinked.

"Yeah," I laughed, rubbing the back of my neck, "I…kinda didn't have a life. So I just wrote stories about you guys because I got bored... That and you guys all just seemed so….real to me. I guess I kind of know why now, though, huh?"

"What kinda stuff did you write about us?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well…um…I had one about you," I said.

"R- Really?" he grinned sheepishly, flattered I suppose.

"Yeah, it was about you seeing ghosts- a ghost, actually," I shrugged.

That apparently stole some of his thunder, judging by the sudden horrified look on his face.

"O- Oh, but it wasn't a horror story, the ghost was friendly-…sorta…" I muttered under my breath.

"Oh…what about everyone else?"

"Well, to be honest mainly I wrote about Lloyd and Kratos," I admitted with a blush, "Lloyd's fun to write, and I…kind of had a massive fangirl-crush on Kratos."

I swear even the water stopped making noise for a second.

"…What?" Genis said blankly, staring at me.

"Don't ask," I said immediately, "but yeah, pretty much those two. Like I had this one where Lloyd grew ten years older over night, and another where he was in Cruxis-"

"S- Seriously!?" he stared. "In CRUXIS?!"

"Yeah, pretty popular theme back home actually," I smirked a bit, "a friend of mine has like twenty different stories where Lloyd grew up in Cruxis."

"That's…that's…" he stared at me, obviously in shock.

"I was going to write one about you in the Desians, actually," I laughed, "like I had Raine as a Grand Cardinal…yeah, pretty messed up I guess, now that I know you guys are real."

"Wow…" he said simply, still looking a bit traumatized.

I felt myself smile. He noticed, obviously, which is why he asked what I was smiling about.

"In the story I made where Lloyd wasn't there, I made you leader," I said with a small laugh, "I just thought that was a little amusing."

"M…Me?" he flushed brightly as he sat down next to me. "You made me leader? Really?"

"Yeah," I nodded.

"But- But I wouldn't be able to do something like that-" he blushed brighter, hanging his head.

Then I gave him a light smack upside the face.

"H- Hey, what was-?!"

"Never say you can't do something," I said flatly, "it annoys me when people do that."

"But you do that!" he pointed out. "You say you can't do things!"

"I-….touche," I sighed, rubbing my head, "yeah, you're right…but that doesn't mean it's okay to do that. I need to stop doing stuff like that too, but it doesn't mean you can slack off like I do, you know? I just hate it when people speak down on themselves…"

There was a moment of silence.

"You're kinda a hypocrite, you know that?" he sighed.

"I do that too, don't I?" I sighed again.

"W- Well, yeah," he stammered, "but it's okay. You said yourself that you just need to work on it, right?"

"Right…" I trailed.

"S- So," he began again, glancing aside, "um-"

"Genis, what are you doing?"

He yelped as Raine walked over, her arms crossed and an eyebrow raised as she looked down at us. Genis scrambled to his feet and dusted himself off, looking at his sister.

"Just talking to Jaela," he said, "what are you doing?"

"Walking around," she replied before her eyes lit up, "Mizuho's culture is quite fascinating!"

Genis went even more pale than usual.

"Uh- Nice talking to you, Jaela, gotta go!"he said rapidly before he ran off.

"G- Genis! How dare you leave when I'm speaking to you!" Raine shouted after him as he disappeared from our view. "…Ah, that boy…he's getting to be more and more of a handful."

"Well, he's at that age," I smiled a bit, "a brother's job is to annoy you beyond all hell anyway."

"Yes, I suppose so…" she mused, closing her eyes, "by the way, Jaela."

"Hm?"

She hesitated a moment as she looked down at me then at the journal I still had open on my lap, her eyes calculative as usual while she examined me.

"Genis gave you that?" she pointed.

"This? Yeah, why?" I shrugged.

There was more silence before she frowned deeply and then sighed.

"You…you haven't noticed, have you?" she asked almost exasperatedly.

"Noticed…what?" I trailed, not sure I wanted an answer.

"Genis has a crush on you," she said flatly.

If I had been drinking anything, I'm sure it would've come straight out my nose. I was choking on my own saliva as it was while I tried to catch my breath, not believing what I just heard.

"W- What?!" I stammered, staring up at her. "B- But- he's TWELVE, and I- I thought he liked Presea?! What do you mean he has a crush on me?!"

"He thinks Presea is cute, don't get me wrong," she said flatly, almost annoyed, "but he most certainly has a crush on you. I don't know if he knows it, but he does."

"That's-" I stammered, feeling my face flush.

"Don't get so worked up," she shook her head, "it's perfectly natural for a boy his age to have crushes on older girls. He looks up to you, and because of that he's come to admire you."

"I-"

"Don't worry too much about it," she said with a light smile, "I'm sure he'll come to realize he likes you as a friend only. I do not doubt that he looks up to you; it's much like with Lloyd…except the fact you're a female."

"That's…still a bit weird," I said slowly, "I- I mean, don't get me wrong. He's a very sweet boy, but-"

"But you like Lloyd," she said almost as flatly as she said Genis liked me.

This time I didn't start sputtering or coughing, I just stared at her. Stared at her like a deer caught in the headlights. That….that wasn't true- was it? Sure, I had admitted before that I'd love anyone with that kind of heart, and I wanted to find someone like that myself when I got back home, but I didn't really- did I?

"…Maybe so," I said softly, "but it's just that, a crush. It'll pass."

Raine tilted her head to the side.

"You speak so coldly sometimes," she said quietly, "especially when it comes to yourself."

"So what?" I huffed, glancing aside. "I've never felt 'love' like that. Crushes come and go, I've felt the same way about him that I've felt about other boys who rejected me. No matter how much it feels like 'love' it's just a crush. Que sera sera."

"Pardon?" she raised an eyebrow.

"What will be will be," I said, "besides, Lloyd's got enough girls on his plate already."

"You're referring to Colette and Sheena?" she asked.

"Duh, like I can compete with them," I rolled my eyes, "a pretty little blond with more courage than half the planet combined, and a freaking ninja with a perfect body. Please. I'll admit I'm not exactly ugly or dumb, but thosre aren't what's important anyway. Colette for sure has got me beat in the 'heart' category; hands down."

With that I got to my feet and put the notebook in my bag, walking past her.

"We're probably going to be ready to go soon," I said, "we should make sure we've got enough gels. I don't mind telling you that the lightning temple is a pain in the ASS."

Raine didn't say anything more.

We managed to all collect back into our group back in the Chief's house, where Sheena told us all that she would try her best with the pact-making. Tiga gave her a blessing before we all headed off, then I noticed someone was missing.

"Wait, wasn't Kratos here?" I said, looking around.

"Oh yeah," Lloyd frowned, "he left again…"

"Why am I not surprised?" I muttered, rolling my eyes. "Well, whatever, we've got other things to worry about right now. Let's head for Volt's temple!"

"Yeah! And don't worry, Sheena!" Corrine said from her shoulder. "It'll all be okay!"

"Well, I don't know about that, Corrine-"

"Sheena," I interrupted her.

"H- Huh? What is it?" she looked at me.

I narrowed my eyes on her a good moment before I spoke up again.

"Always talk to someone like it's the last time you'll see them," I said.

"W- What? What are you talking about?" she frowned, obviously worried.

"Just saying," I laughed, "come on, let's go!"

"Don't do that!" Sheena scoffed, flustered. "It's kinda bad when someone who knows the future tells you something like that!"

"But the future is exactly what you make it, right?" I smiled weakly.

"Jaela-" Genis started.

"Okay, everyone calm down," Lloyd said, "it'll be fine. As long as we watch each other's backs we'll all be just fine, okay? Let's get going."

And so we left, though I wasn't oblivious enough to ignore the looks everyone was giving me. They didn't trust me, I suppose…but that was justified. It was obvious that they all knew I was hiding something, but true to their word they decided not to press me about it. As for the whole situation with Corrine…what COULD I do about it? And should I even? Corrine's sacrifice is what made him the Summon Spirit of Heart, and what gave Sheena the drive to go forward…but who was I to decide who could and couldn't die?

"Jaela, is there something you want to tell us?" Raine asked as we entered the temple later in the day. "You look preoccupied."

"…Not right now," I said, "let's just go inside…"

The lightning temple, of course, was always a pain in the ass. The thing that made it different from the game, however, was that it was…cool. Really cool. I couldn't help but grin a bit as I heard the thunder echo around the structure and saw the lightning flash. Thunder storms always give me jitters, in a good way. I like to hear them, and I like to see them. Though usually from inside, not in the middle of it, obviously. Still, it was pretty cool seeing as I hadn't gotten zapped yet.

"Um…Jaela? Are you all right?" Genis asked.

"Huh, yeah, why?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Well my little space-kitten," Zelos spoke up, "you do look a bit out of it."

"Oh, sorry," I looked away, "I um…like thunder."

"L- Like it?!" Sheena scoffed, flushing red as she shuddered.

"W- Well I'm sorry, but yeah," I nodded, "I just think it's so cool! Raw energy cutting through the air…the rumbling after the thunder…"

I grinned.

"I get shivers! It's just so cool!" I chirped. "I love electricity…"

"Well, it certainly sounds like it excites you, space-kitten," Zelos smirked.

"Shut the hell up," I spat, noting the gleam in his eyes.

"What? I don't get it," Lloyd frowned, "why is it bad if it excites you, Jaela?"

I shot bright red, stammering a bit.

"N- No, Lloyd, don't say that, okay? That's-"

"Are we missing something, here?" Genis bit his lip.

"I bet she gets excited by fire too, if that's the case," Zelos waggled his eyebrows.

"I do, but- HEY! Stop doing that!" I snapped. "I swear Zelos, I'll hit you so hard-!"

"Does that excite you too?" he grinned.

I was about to smack him across the face when Raine heard our conversation and decided to drop in, noting how Lloyd and Genis looked clueless, Sheena looked embarrassed to silence and I was about to hurt Zelos.

"What are you all talking about?" she asked suspiciously.

"We're talking about what excites Jaela," Lloyd said simply.

Raine stared at us as my eye began to twitch, hearing Zelos snicker wildly behind me.

"…What?" she asked simply.

"That's what Zelos said," Genis shrugged, "why? I don't get it."

"Zelos, may I speak with you a moment?" Raine glared at him.

"W- What? Why of course, my ultra cool gorgeous beauty!" he laughed nervously.

We watched as Raine took Zelos a good distance away and then proceed to shout at him, wagging her finger in his face in her usual 'teacher is lecturing you bitch' fashion.

"I can't hear her, what is she saying?" Genis asked Lloyd.

"Huh-? Uh…something about him 'corrupting' us," Lloyd bit his lip, "I still don't get it, though."

"N- Nevermind," Sheena said as she tried not to shudder, "just don't say stuff like that again, okay?"

I made a mental note to maim Zelos at a later date.

Everything went relatively smoothly from there, in terms of getting through the temple. It did help that I already knew what to do to get the different lightning colors, and when we got to the part with the blocks I had memorized which ones to destroy with the least effort.

"Those two here," I pointed out, "and those two there, and it'll do what we need it to do."

"You memorized this?" Regal asked.

"Well…yes," I admitted, trying not to look embarrassed.

"I see," he said simply, "well…thank you. It makes things easier for us."

"Yeah, lucky for us she's a nerd," Zelos laughed.

"H- Hey! Don't-!" Genis started.

"No, it's true," I shrugged, "that's all right, though. Nerds make money."

"On your planet, maybe," he smirked coyly.

I was getting the distinct feeling that maybe Zelos was angry with me. Then, I couldn't blame him. We were walking on thin ice, between me knowing what he would do and him worried whether or not I really did know. We'd have to talk later, I guess, or this could only get worse. That aside for the moment, within a few minutes we were standing in front of the altar.

"Guys, I have something to tell you," I said as soon as we got to the top.

"What is it?" Lloyd asked.

"…At this point- well, after waking up Volt, someone…died," I said slowly, nervous about their reactions.

I got exactly what I expected: shock and fear.

"W- What?! But you said no one died-!" Genis gasped.

"None of US," I sighed, "but-"

"Who is it?" Sheena blurted, obviously afraid as everyone else.

"…"

I couldn't find the will in myself to say it. But…but like they said, things were different now anyway, right? We'd just have to do our best together from this point, no matter what happened. That's what they told me, anyway…

Que sera sera.

"Corrine died after you woke up Volt," I told them as I looked away, "he took a hit for Sheena."

Almost immediately I kept talking, as if that would somehow make what I said any better.

"I- but we can change that, right?! Since we know what might happen we can change it!" I said, though it was obvious I was just trying to fix the situation. "Right?!"

"I'm going to die?" Corrine asked weakly, appearing on Sheena's shoulder.

"No! No, you died that way, but that doesn't mean the same thing is going to happen!" I said.

"Why didn't you say anything sooner?!" Sheena snapped at me.

Now she was angry at me. Oh damn, what have I done?

"Because- because I-" I stammered.

"Both of you, stop, fighting amongst ourselves won't help anything," Raine said coolly, "now, Jaela, can you tell us exactly what happened?"

"…Volt came up and you started talking to him," I said, "then he said he wouldn't make a pact with us and Sheena took out her cards to try to force him. After that Volt blasted you off this platform here down to the floor…Sheena got up and warned the rest of you to watch out…"

I hesitated a moment. It's funny how some things don't seem hard to say until you have to say them. I still wasn't sure if I was doing the right thing, but I had come this far already…

"Then Volt attacked her from behind and Corrine took the hit," I said simply.

It was really quiet for a minute or two. I guess they didn't know how to take it, I know I wouldn't know how to take it if someone told me one of my friends was going to die.

"…Maybe Corrine should stay outside, then?" Sheena asked desperately, looking at him.

"No!" Corrine said. "I want to stay with you, Sheena!"

"But-!"

"I want to protect you! What if you get hurt instead?!" he demanded.

"Corrine!" Sheena snapped. "No! Stay outside!"

"Sheena-!"

"I'm not going to lose you, Corrine!" she shouted, tears brimming in her eyes. "I care about you too much-! I don't want you to get hurt, especially for my sake!"

"Sheena-…" Corrine started, then froze.

The little bell on his neck had started ringing by itself. We all stared at it for about two seconds before Lloyd looked at me, confused.

"Jaela, um…what is it doing?" he asked.

"I have no idea," I said, staring at the bell.

Corrine began to glow.

"Okay, now that SERIOUSLY did not happen-!" I stammered.

n.n Yay cliffies. :D Lol

Yuan: Wait, what's happening to the little rodent?

Me: Be nice to Corrine!

Yuan: Whatever. Review if you wasted your life reading this crap.

Me: Ever supportive you are, Yuan. (rolls eyes)