Chapter Fifty: The Enemy of My Enemy
"I'm tired," Ellie said, hours later. "Can we stop?"
Yggdrasill didn't answer, but Ellie didn't know if this was because he couldn't hear her or if he just didn't care. Considering he was an angel, she had to assume it was the latter. Still, she would give him the benefit of the doubt considering they were in the air. They'd been flying north all night and into the morning, and Ellie was tired. She was still weak and sore and exhausted, and she could barely keep up with him.
"Please!" she shouted, silently pleading him to turn his head and acknowledge her. She wondered what he'd do if she just flew to the ground and rested. Would he even notice? Would he be mad at her for going against him? She was scared of making him mad. If she made him mad, maybe he would hurt her like Rodyle did. What if he took her back? She didn't think he would, but she wouldn't risk it, just in case.
She flapped her wings dully, so exhausted that she wondered what would happen if she passed out while flying. Would her wings stay out and she'd glide? Or would they disappear and cause her to plummet to the ground?
Yggdrasill finally noticed how far behind she was, and shouted, "Keep up!"
"I'm trying!" she called back. "Can't we rest?"
Yggdrasill gave her an irritated look, and Ellie half wanted to see him crash into something as he was flying while staring over his shoulder. All he did though was grumble, "Fine," and angle downwards. Ellie gratefully followed, and soon the pair had landed in a field in the middle of nowhere. She could see the mountains ahead of them, and beyond that the thin spear of the Tower.
She collapsed back in the grass, letting her hair and arms spread out on the grass as she stared blankly up at the sky. She was so tired and exhausted, and it frustrated her because normally flying like this wouldn't wear her out so much.
"Chosen?" Yggdrasill said. She could see him standing nearby, looking over at her. "Are you alright?"
"Hmph," she said, not letting her gaze leave the clouds above her. "Why do you care?"
"I thought I explained this already. If you die, I lose the closest match to Martel we've had in four thousand years. I care very much if you live or die."
Ellie paused. She could tell from the tone in his voice that Yggdrasill had meant it. He really did care about whether or not she died, but the sincerity with which he said it almost made it seem like he was talking about her and not the Chosen's body. Or maybe she'd just suffered in Rodyle's ranch for so long that she was desperate for any kind of affection.
"Well, to answer your question," she finally said, "I feel like shit but unless you learned First Aid sometime since last night there's nothing you can do about it."
"Here," Yggdrasill said, pulling something out of the bag he was carrying. "You're probably hungry."
At the mention of food, Ellie sat bolt upright and snatched the loaf of bread out of Yggdrasill's hands. "'Ank 'oo," she mumbled through a mouthful of bread. Yggdrasill ignored her. After swallowing, she said, "Where'd you get this, anyway?"
"I stole it in Palmacosta," he answered.
Elli smirked. "You? Steal? What are you, a common thief? I thought you were into bigger evils than that. Like, y'know, genocide or something."
Yggdrasill gave her a dark glare, and she immediately snapped her mouth shut and flinched, expecting him to hit her. When the blow didn't come, she cautiously opened her eyes and looked up at Yggdrasill, sitting calmly across from her.
"To answer your question," Yggdrasill said, moving on and ignoring her flinch, "I wasn't going to give money to those inferior beings, but I needed to get food for you or you'd starve to death."
"Thanks," she said quietly and continued eating without further comment.
When she was done, Yggdrasill said, "Can we go or are you still incapable of flying?"
"We can go," she said quickly, not wanting to make him mad. She got to her feet and swayed a bit before getting her balance, then closed her eyes and summoned up what TP she had left to force her wings out. Hovering a few feet off the ground, she opened her eyes to see Yggdrasill glaring at her in irritation. "What's wrong?"
"Sit," he said, pointing at the ground. "You're going to drop out of the sky and I'm not going to catch you."
She let her wings disappear and she dropped to the ground. "I'm sorry."
Yggdrasill just lowered his arm and said, "Go to sleep."
Ellie sat down on the soft grass, but instead of leaning over and going to sleep she pulled her knees up and wrapped her hands around her shins. She didn't want to go to sleep. Her body was tired and she knew she needed it, but if she was asleep she wouldn't be able to defend herself and she would be helpless again. She tried to delay Yggdrasill insisting she sleep by asking a question.
"Why didn't you kill Rodyle?" She stared at the ground while she spoke, her voice thick and filled with resentment.
"Why should I have?" Yggdrasill replied casually, flipping his hair out of the way and then sitting down across from her again.
"Because he..." she struggled to find the right words to describe that man. "After everything he did – I want...He should have..."
Yggdrasill interrupted. "Origin knows he deserved it. But then, aren't you currently trying to stop me from resurrecting my dear sister? I should kill you right now, too."
Ellie's head jerked upwards as her face went white and icy fear clutched her heart.
"The Mana Cannon's going to be finished today, Chosen," Rodyle said with a horrible smile. "You're finally going to be useful! Isn't that nice?"
She didn't look up. She didn't want to see his leering face.
"Chosen?"
Rodyle grabbed a handful of her filthy hair and yanked her head back so it smashed into the wall behind her and forced her to look up at him as she felt warm, sticky blood welling up at the back of her head.
"You disrespectful filth. I should kill you right now."
"Chosen."
"No matter. I shall take solace in knowing that by the end of tonight I'll have finally cut that obnoxious tongue of yours right out of your mouth. But let's not be hasty; I need to get back to work and finish before I can partake in more enjoyable-"
A stinging pain erupted in the side of her face and Ellie yelped, scrambling backwards on her hands and knees. Her heartbeat was out of control and she looked around wildly for Rodyle before realising several seconds later that she was alone in a field with Yggdrasill.
She took several deep breaths to try and relax, while Yggdrasill looked a little shocked. He was staring at her as if she was a bomb about to explode. "Are you ok?" he asked, looking a tiny bit frightened.
She had to consider the question before answering. Was she ok? "I – I think so," she said softly. "Can I have chakrams now? Please?"
Yggdrasill rolled his eyes and gestured around the empty field. "Please, Chosen, by all means direct me to the nearest weapons outlet."
"What-"
"No." By now all traces of nervousness had gone away, replaced by irritation. "To answer your earlier question, I spared Rodyle's life because to allow him to die would complicate the time line and, as can be witnessed by you being here right now, I am capable of sacrificing my short-term desires in order to ensure the success of long-term ventures. Therefore, since I went to all the trouble to rescue you, I clearly have some investment in your survival and any insinuation that I am not capable of protecting you while you sleep is an insult to myself."
'Ellie, it's ok,' Colette said. 'Even if you don't trust Yggdrasill, I'll still be here to watch over you and I'll wake you up as soon as it looks like something might be wrong. You can trust me.'
"O-Ok," she said, and reluctantly leaned over and laid her head on the soft grass. She closed her eyes and felt fatigue quickly sweep across her body and knew she would be asleep within minutes.
Asleep. Defenceless. Helpless.
'...I really want my chakrams...'
"I'm c-c-c-cold," Genis said, pulling his blanket close around his chin.
"We're all cold," Will said.
"I'm not," Zelos said. "My coat is warmer than yours."
Will looked over at Zelos, who had been sulking ever since he put on the fluffy purple jacket. Will, quite comfortable in his faded green parka with the hood up around his ears, just smiled and said, "Whatever makes you feel better."
"The faster we find the Renegade base, the sooner we can get warm," Raine said.
"I'm working on it," Zelos said from the steering wheel. Zelos was driving today, mainly because Regal was only capable of draping his coat over his shoulders and trying to sit at the wheel would probably make it fall off.
Will's biggest fear was that they were going to get stuck. Some of the rocky islands in this area were very close together and if Zelos tried to squeeze the boat in between where it didn't fit, they would have a hard time pulling it out. Luckily it wasn't actively snowing, but it was certainly very cold and very windy.
"How much farther do you suppose it is to the base?" Sheena asked.
"Depends on how long it takes to find it," Zelos muttered. "Dammit, how hard could it be to miss a giant base?"
"Maybe it's underground?" Genis suggested. "Like, they only have a small building up top and everything else is hidden underground?"
"The one in Triet had a glowing light on the roof," Raine said. "Presumably this has to do with using the Rheairds to move between worlds. We should look for that light."
"It's almost sundown," Genis said. "So it will be easier to see a light then."
"It will also be colder," Regal pointed out.
"I hate snow," Zelos said. "It's cold and useless and then it melts and makes you wet and the wetness just keeps you cold longer and-"
"At least it's not really hot," Will said. "Like the Triet desert."
"I'd rather it be hot than freezing," Zelos said. "But then, unlike you, I'm used to being incredibly hot."
"Well," Will said, "with that jacket I can finally comment because it makes you look like a woman. Unfortunately, you make one ugly woman."
"And you make an ugly man, so life evens out."
"Boys, stop fighting," Raine said, giving them an annoyed look. "Honestly."
"He started it," Will muttered.
Raine rolled her eyes. "Drop it, Lloyd. Zelos, concentrate on driving."
The sun was getting low in the sky, and despite what he'd said, he wasn't looking forward to the drop in temperature that would come with nightfall. He was Californian! He was used to year-round sunshine! He shivered and pulled his blanket-covered knees closer to his chest, burying his nose in the front of his coat.
"Do you remember where it is, Lloyd?" Genis said. "Did you see it when you came through?"
He shook his head. "No, sorry."
"Well," Sheena said, "at least if we go in now it'll be night and most of them will be asleep, probably."
"Or they'll heighten security, knowing potential intruders will think that," Will said.
"Or," Sheena said, "they'll think that potential intruders would think that and thus enter during the day, so they'd have slacker security at night."
"But they probably know that we know they know we know they... know... um... where was I?"
"We're going in when we get there," Genis said. "Sheesh."
"I believe I see a light," Presea said, pointing away to the left from the front of the boat.
All eyes turned in that direction, until Sheena snapped, "Zelos! Watch the water before we crash!"
The boat took a sudden veer to the right as they narrowly avoided smashing into one of the tiny islands. He had seen the faint greenish glow, however, so he directed the boat towards it.
"Hey, guys," Will said as they made their way through narrow straits of water, "I was just thinking... the Renegades aren't exactly bad guys, right?"
"What?" Genis said. "You do realise they want to kidnap you, right?"
"Yeah," he said, "but they're not murder-happy maniacs like the Desians. They're more like...well-intentioned extremists. They don't want to kill me; they just need me as a hostage for some reason, all part of a larger scheme."
"Lloyd," Sheena said, "you can't honestly be defending these guys."
"'These guys' saved all our lives at the Tower," he pointed out. "And anyways, I'm not trying to defend them. I'm just saying, I don't feel right about killing them. I've reached a point where I can kill Desians and people actively trying to kill me, but I would rather not have to kill any of the Renegades."
"I understand," Regal said. "It is natural to feel hesitation about killing those that mean you no harm."
"How can we be sure they mean no harm?" Sheena asked. Will rolled his eyes, half sure Sheena was just trying to be contrary to him.
"They need to capture Lloyd alive for whatever reason," Raine said. "And it stands to reason that they'd rather take the rest of us alive as well to potentially draw Lloyd out."
"And I don't know about you guys," Will said, "but I spent some time in the base in Triet, and trust me. These guys are nothing like Desians."
"What do you propose we do?" Presea asked.
Will thought for a moment. "We should avoid using fatal force whenever possible. We should try to be stealthy and not engage in a fight unless it's completely unavoidable. And try to knock them out instead of killing them."
"I like that plan," Genis said.
Sheena nodded as well. "I suppose that's good. I'd rather not kill people if we can avoid it, too."
"I think I see it," Presea said, and Will turned to see a low, snow covered building nestled in the rocks on an island straight ahead. He would have missed it if not for the brought bluish green light shining through the roof.
"Here we are," Raine said. "Zelos, hide the boat around back."
"Gotcha."
The boat bumped against the rocky, snow covered beach and Will and Regal jumped out to drag it further up the shore. As soon as he hit the water, he swore softly as freezing water rushed into the tops of his boots. He had misjudged how deep the water was here, and paid for it with freezing toes.
Once the boat was completely dragged up on shore, he sat on the edge and pulled his right foot up on his knee, debating whether or not to take his shoe off and massage his freezing feet.
"I wouldn't," Regal said, seeing him staring at his foot. "You don't have a change of socks regardless, and at least if you keep them in your shoes away from the cold air your body heat will warm the water."
"You're probably right," he said, giving his feet a sorrowful look. Already they were warming up, though he didn't look forward to walking around with squishy wet feet all day.
They walked across the beach, snow and pebbles crunching under their feet. No one spoke, afraid of being too noisy and alerting the Desians to their presence. "How are we getting in?" Will asked softly when they reached the front door.
Presea just pointed at the door. "I do not see any other way."
"This seems a little obvious," Raine said hesitantly. "Surely they'd immediately notice that we're here."
"Yeah, but I don't see any other way in," Will said. "We have no time to lose." Ever since he had talked to the Wonder Chef, he'd been anxious to get Ellie back. He hoped she wasn't suffering too much.
"So, who here can pick a lock?" Genis asked, looking around.
Raine looked to Will. "You know how to do that, right, Lloyd?"
"Er...no."
She gave him a confused look. "What about that time you snuck into the classroom after school to try and redo your test, copying Genis'?"
"That was Danny," Genis quickly said, and Will flashed him a grateful look. "He picked the lock for Lloyd but when you caught him Lloyd took all the blame for it to protect Danny."
"I see," Raine said. "I will be sure to discipline Daniel when we return home."
Genis gaped at her. "Raine! That was years ago!"
"A crime is still a crime and should not go unpunished."
"I have a suggestion," Zelos said, cutting into the discussion. "Why don't we just open the door?"
"Do you think they just leave it unlocked?" Sheena asked, glancing at the door sceptically.
He shrugged. "They might. Not like there are a lot of random passersby in this area."
Presea, who stood closest to the door, pressed a button and the large metal doors easily slid open. Will quickly reached for his swords, expecting to see Renegades standing at the door. Everyone else was on alert too, but after a couple tense, silent seconds, they realised that the hallway beyond was empty.
"No one's here," Sheena said, sticking her head in. "That's weird. I was sure we were gonna have to knock out a few sentinels at least."
"I guess they went to bed?" Zelos suggested.
Sheena gave him a sceptical look. "The entire base?"
"Hey, don't ask me! I'm not psychic or anything."
"Hush," Raine said. "Let us proceed with caution."
They walked into the empty hallway, looking around for any sign of Renegades. The doors automatically slid shut behind them, but the lights were on in the hall so it wasn't a problem. This was confusing, though. If the lights were on, it stood to reason that Renegades would be around.
The warmth after the freezing temperatures outside was a relief and Will immediately felt too hot in his jacket. They couldn't just ditch the clothes, though, because they were hopefully going to be flying out of here and wouldn't be returning to the entrance to retrieve them.
As they made their way down the hall, Will thought back to the conversation he'd overheard between Zelos and Yuan. Yuan knew they were coming. He'd been expecting Renegades right here waiting for them, but maybe Yuan was setting up an ambush further in? That was the most likely explanation. They would have to stay on guard.
"I have a bad feeling about this," he said quietly, drawing his swords. "Everyone, be careful."
They stuck close together as they moved down the hall, glancing down every side corridor for waiting Renegades. It was unnerving how incredibly still and silent the base was. Will had been joking when he said everyone would be asleep. He realised that he was in the lead, which was also rather unnerving. He didn't like knowing he was in charge. If something went wrong and someone got hurt, it would be on his shoulders.
"I don't like staying in this main hall," he said a few minutes later. "It feels kinda...exposed."
"You're right," Raine said. "If any Renegade is going to come by, this is the way they'd come."
Will nodded once, and quickly led the group down the first branching hallway they passed. They went off down the left, Will painfully aware that they were not being sneaky at all. Their boots – wet from melted snow outside – squeaked on the shiny floors and their thick, bulky jackets rustled as they bumped elbows. They were making so much noise... where was everybody?
"Maybe they're all at a party?" Zelos said a few minutes later, answering everybody's unasked question.
"Yeah," Sheena said quietly. "A surprise party, and we're the guests of honour."
"I swear to god," Will said, "if we get ambushed, I am going to kill something if anybody yells 'surprise'."
Genis rolled his eyes. "Yelling 'surprise' kind of ruins the surprise attack, don't you think?"
"Maybe."
The hall gave way to a wide, circular room with a pillar in the middle. There were doors spread out around the edges, and the party cautiously made their way inside. "Which way?" Sheena asked, looking around.
"There still aren't any Renegades," Genis said. "I really don't like this. Do you think they knew we were coming?"
"How would they figure that out?" Zelos said, and Will glanced at him, trying to read his face. Zelos didn't show a hint of guilt at betraying them, so either he was skilled at hiding his emotions or he really didn't feel anything about hurting them. Will hoped it was the former.
"It would not be hard to deduce," Presea said. "They know we need the Rheairds and thus can use them as bait."
Will chose a door at random when nobody else seemed about to make a suggestion, and they found themselves in yet another deserted corridor. "Speaking of Rheairds," he said as they walked down some steps, "you guys came over on three. One for Sheena, Genis, and Raine and Colette. But there are seven of us now, so even if we all double up there won't be enough."
"I'm sure there are more Rheairds here," Sheena said. "The Renegades must have more than just three in stock. We can take those."
Will was about to respond when he felt a small hand grip his wrist. He looked down at Presea in surprise as Zelos, walking right behind him, bumped into him. "Wait," she said.
"What-"
"A laser," she explained, then pointed at a small white light coming from the wall. Will squinted and leaned in closer, and was able to see the particles of dust slowly floating by the white light of the laser.
"What do you suppose this does?" Genis asked, looking to Will.
"It probably hurts if you walk through it," he said.
"It may sound an alarm," Raine said. "If the beam from this end is interrupted and doesn't hit the other end, it may trigger a siren."
"You think this was their master plan?" Sheena asked. "Lure us in here so we could trip the alarm and then they get us?"
Raine frowned at her. "It sounds a bit silly, but it could be that they didn't even intend for us to use this laser at all."
"In any case," Will said, "I think it would be wise not to touch it, or interrupt its beam at all." Pushing the blocks around like in the game wouldn't work if it was like Raine said, and he'd seen enough to know that not everything would work the same way here.
"Either crawl under it or jump over," Raine said.
Will opted to crawl, and got down nearly to his stomach to make sure he had enough room to get under. He felt bulky in his jacket, but was fairly certain he was still beneath the beam.
Genis, Raine, and Presea crawled under with him, while Regal, Sheena, and Zelos opted to hop over. In any case, nobody set off an alarm or got their ass scorched, so all was well. Yes, it was always a good day when nobody got laser-ed in the ass.
Once on the other side, they turned a corner and Presea once again said, "Another one."
Will paused and, sure enough, was able to make out the faint light of another laser. "Wow, Presea. You're good at spotting these."
This one was at exactly the same level as the first, so they once again crawled under or stepped over and continued on their way. Will had Presea take the lead, seeing as she detected lasers like a magical laser-detector person...thing.
At the end of this hall was another door, and after Presea carefully scanned the corridor for lasers and declared it safe Will led the party through it. He was worried that through this door would be the ambush, so he clutched his swords tighter and was prepared to jump to the group's defence.
The next hall, though, was as empty as the first. This hallway was wider, and before they could start walking, Presea held up her hand. "The entire hall is crossed with lasers," she said. "It will be difficult to get around them."
Will squinted and was faintly able to see the lights Presea was so good at spotting. "Ok, guys," he said. "Let's all just...make it through here at our own pace. We're heading around the corner and to the first door we find to get out of this dangerous area."
Will sheathed his swords, and watched Sheena go first. She artfully stepped over one of the lasers, but the next one was a bit too high so she bent over and limbo-ed under it. Will followed her example, hoisting his leg up to make it over the first and bending back to go under the second. The third, though, was at an angle, so he crouched and leaned to the side, then barely had time to stand back up and hop over the next.
Looking around, he saw the others struggling to get through as well. Regal in particular was having trouble, seeing as he couldn't even put his arms through the coat that was just buttoned around his neck. He had to be very careful not to let the dangling arms drag through the laser.
Sheena led the way, bending and twisting around the beams like...well, like a ninja. Zelos was close to Will, currently stepping over one that reached his mid-thigh while also ducking under one directly above.
They reached the corner, and Will got down on his stomach to wriggle under one particularly low to the ground, not wanting to get caught by the three approximately waist-high ones right after. There was a door on the left not too far away, and he could see Sheena already aiming for it.
Will got to his feet again, just as Sheena reached the door. She paused and turned around, making sure the others were coming along ok. Will had almost reached it, but paused to grab Genis' arm when the smaller boy stumbled and nearly fell into one of the beams. They still didn't know exactly what the lasers did, but nobody wanted to test them on their soft, fleshy limbs.
Zelos and Raine had reached the door now, which Will was very pleased to see. He'd been worried that Zelos might accidently-on-purpose trip one of the lasers in the event that they were alarms. Will still wasn't entirely sure where Zelos' loyalties lay. On one hand, he had saved Will from Yuan in the Fooji Mountains. But then, he had also claimed that that had just been a ploy to gain their trust. But maybe he did that just to keep options open? Or so that he could stay in the loop of what the Renegades were doing? Or maybe Will was being optimistic and Zelos was just a scumbag.
They reached the door and entered another hallway. This one went in two directions, one going straight and the other turning right and leading to a flight of stairs. "I think we should go this way," Will said, pointing to the stairs. "At least it's different and not just another endless hall."
The others nodded their consent, and they took off again. They made their way up the staircase, and Will pressed the button to slide the door open when they reached the top. They entered into a large room filled with boxes and crates and elevators. With a sense of dread, Will wondered if they were going to have to go through the whole puzzle of sliding boxes around.
"This seems it be a major room," Raine said, looking around at all the machinery and crates. "It's odd that there's no one around."
"I don't like this," Sheena said. "If they were going to ambush us, why haven't they done so already?"
"Perhaps this ranch was abandoned?" Presea suggested, looking around at the room.
"I don't know why that would be," Will said. "Unless Yggdrasill realised Halsey is with the Renegades and killed them all..."
"Do you think the Rheairds are even still here?" Genis asked.
Will shrugged. "I don't know. I hope so."
"Let's go up," Sheena said, pointing to a lift not too far away. "It stands to reason that the Rheairds' hanger would be higher up for easier access to the sky."
Will smiled with relief when he saw that the lift was working and they weren't going to have to jump through hoops just to get up there. They piled on the small platform, Raine holding Genis' shoulders and pulling him close to make sure he didn't fall off the edge. It was a narrow fit, but if they all squeezed towards Regal in the center they probably wouldn't fall off.
Presea pressed the 'up' button and Will nearly fell to the floor as the platform shot up much faster than any elevator he'd ever ridden. There were no railings on this little platform, and somebody should seriously talk to Yuan about safety measures in the workplace. All it would take would be one Renegade to fall to his death for Yuan to be sued.
The elevator reached its destination, which turned out to be another platform. They were on a very wide large looking down on the room, with another lift off to the side. As they made their way to that one and prepared to go up, it occurred to Will that they were probably going to have to fight Yuan – if he was even there – and that his feet were still wet. He had never fought with soaking wet socks before and he hoped they didn't hinder him too much.
At last they arrived, on an even smaller platform with just one door. A handy sign next to it boldly proclaimed, "Rheaird Hanger".
"Think this is the place?" Zelos asked.
"Hang on,," Sheena said. "What's that say underneath?"
She pointed at the smaller text, and Raine stepped forward to read aloud. "Authorised personnel only. Please insert three pass-codes for admittance."
"Oh great," Genis said. "We need a password?"
"Three of them, it appears," Regal said.
Genis frowned. "Anyone have any idea what they might be?" Will noticed Genis glancing meaningfully at him, but he shook his head. The password always changed and he couldn't even remember it word for word, anyway. The device next to the door didn't come in handy chunks of phrase, instead requiring you to type in the password. It was usually something like... 'The power of...something...the tree of life...' Argh, he couldn't remember.
'Do you remember, Lloyd?'
'Nope, sorry. I wasn't trusted with the cards. The Professor took care of it.'
"Wait," Sheena said. "When I first went to Sylvarant, I came this way. I seem to recall that the guys I was following had to check the password on three separate cards."
"Where do we find these three cards?" Raine asked.
"Higher-ranking Renegades carry them," Sheena said. "I guess we'll have to track them down and get the cards. You can tell which ones have the cards because their uniform is different to show their rank."
"That's going to take forever," Zelos whined, leaning against the wall. "It seems like they're practically avoiding us, and now we have to track down three separate guys? We should split up; it would take a third of the time."
Regal nodded. "You're probably right. We don't know how long we have before the Renegades decide to take action."
"And we can't waste time here when we could be finding Colette," Genis pointed out.
"Alright," Raine said. "I'll take Presea and Genis with me, Sheena you can go with Regal, and Lloyd and Zelos... try not to get into any trouble." She had a resigned look on her face, as if she expected Will and Zelos to immediately begin squabbling like small children. Which, if past history was any indication, they probably would as soon as they were left alone.
They took the lifts back down to the main level, and headed back out the door and down the stairs. Once in the hall, Raine said, "Genis, Presea and I will go this way," she pointed down the path that turned, "Regal and Sheena will go back into the laser-hallway and take another door, and Zelos and Lloyd will take that door right around the corner."
The group nodded in confirmation, and just as they started to move Will added, "We'll meet back up here once we have the cards."
Their plan in mind, the group split. Will had to admit that he was rather nervous as he waved goodbye to Genis and the others. He followed Zelos through the door and into a new hall, still wondering if he could trust Zelos or not.
He was alone with Zelos, which the Chosen may use to lead him straight to Yuan. Zelos had been the one to suggest they split up in the first place, but Raine was the one to actually make the pairs. But then, maybe Zelos knew that Raine liked to keep the two kids with her and that she would take pity on Sheena and let her go with Regal and not the two guys she hated. But Zelos was currently walking side-by-side with Will, not leading him any more than Will was leading Zelos, so that meant...
Will shook his head. He was getting a headache thinking about this. He half wanted confirmation of whose side Zelos was on, while half being afraid he wouldn't like the answer.
"So..." Zelos said after a few minutes of silence, "wanna swap coats?"
Will turned his head to stare at him, seeing Zelos giving him a hopeful smile. Will replied with a simple, "No."
The hallway ended at a T intersection, and Will said, "So, which way?"
Zelos shrugged. "How should I know? I don't have a very good sense of direction."
"Oh, true," Will said, recalling how hopelessly lost they'd gotten on the way to Sybak.
"I mean, if you don't have any clue either, let's go...left. Or right – whichever."
Will glanced left, hesitating, wondering if there was an ambush lying in wait just behind that door down the left passage. "If you don't care, let's go right. Always right so we don't get lost."
Zelos, his face unreadable, just said, "Whatever works for you."
They started walking down the right corridor, which ended in a door. There were two other doors on both sides of the wall, and when they got to the end, Zelos said, "Ok, I think we should go through..." He raised his finger to point, first at the one on the left, then the one on the right, then letting his hand drop with a sigh. "Dammit, I don't know. Uh...left. Yeah, let's go left."
He started for the left door, but Will said, "Wait, I think we should keep going right." He didn't want to trust any decisions Zelos made about which way to go.
Before Zelos could get a word in edgewise, Will pressed the button and the door slid open. He took a few steps in and heard something behind him, then turned his head to see what Zelos was doing.
He found himself staring at about ten Renegades lining the wall, all heavily armed. He reached for his swords with a shout, but as he spun around completely one of them raised their hand and pointed a device at him, and he saw a shock of bright blue come racing towards him.
He felt a blinding flash of pain that he vaguely recognised as the same as what had happened in Triet, and then he hit the floor with a thump.
It was cold and dark and she couldn't move. All around her she could hear cackling and screaming, echoing in the cavernous space. She couldn't see her hand in front of her face – if she was able to move her hand, that is. She didn't know why she couldn't move – her body just wasn't responding. She lay on the cold, hard ground, wishing she could get up and run, get up and fight, but all she could do was lie there and pray nothing hurt her.
She heard a voice, sounding simultaneously distant and right in her ear. "What's wrong, Chosen? Cat got your tongue?"
She tried to speak but couldn't, her mouth flapping uselessly like after she had released the final seal. Please let me go, she thought desperately, willing the words to come out. Please.
She felt a cold, clammy hand on her face. "Please, please, please," the voice whined in a mocking voice.
No, don't hurt me! Please don't hurt me.
"There's nothing you can do, Ellie. You're powerless."
She tried to move, tried to scream.
"Ellie!"
Something hard hit her across the face and she finally found her voice, crying out in pain.
"Useless, Ellie! Can't even protect yourself, let alone your friends. Ellie!"
There was another voice overlapping the first one now. It sounded far away, and she wanted to reach it but she didn't know if she could. It was so far, but she somehow knew that it would help her, save her from this horrible darkness and the mocking voice.
"Wake up," the voice was saying. "Wake up!"
But she couldn't, she was trapped, this was hell –
Her eyes snapped open, her vision blurry with tears. Yggdrasill was leaning over her, hands on her shoulder. His eyes were narrowed in an expression that might have been concern but was more likely irritation. She couldn't tell, because by the time she reached up and wiped her eyes with her other arm his face was blank again and he was leaning back.
"You were shouting," he explained. "You might have attracted monsters and I don't feel like fighting."
"I'm sorry," she said softly, her face turning a bit pink. She sat up and wiped her eyes on her sleeve again, embarrassed to be caught crying in her sleep. It was just a stupid dream.
She looked around. The Tower was nearby, probably a couple hours away. By the dim light and orangey sky she guessed it was around dawn. Her mind was still half on the nightmare though. She shuddered at the feeling of being unable to move, and for about the thousandth time felt her fingers itch for chakrams. It wasn't that she didn't trust Yggdrasill to be able to obliterate any monsters that crossed their path; she just wanted to know she could do it herself if she needed to.
"If you're up, we should leave," Yggdrasill said. "There's no reason to stay here any longer than necessary."
"Right," she said, pulling out her wings. They didn't have any more food and Yggdrasill wasn't about to stop in the nearest town and buy some for her, so they went without breakfast and took to the skies. Ellie just hoped she could get some food when they reached Welgaia, though she had to admit she was well experienced with going hungry now.
They flew for several hours, the Tower constantly growing larger on the horizon. She had never flown this much, seeing as she usually had to stay near the land-bound others. It was nice to be able to spread her wings and fly so much, but also rather tiring. She was relieved to finally be done when they landed at the base of the Tower of Salvation several hours later.
It felt weird to be back. She remembered the last time they had stood on the translucent green steps of the Tower, which didn't seem like that long ago. The last time they'd come, though, it had been at the height of the summer. Now the trees they had been flying over looked like a wildfire of vibrant reds and oranges and the slight breeze was crisp and cool.
Yggdrasill set his hand on the Oracle Stone and the doors to the Tower opened right up for him. They went in, Ellie looking around at all the floating coffins. It looked exactly the same as the last time she was here, though she wasn't quite as nervous. Last time she was afraid of losing Will forever, whereas now she was on her way back to him.
They reached the warp that would take them to the Final Seal, and Yggdrasill stepped on without waiting to make sure she was following. Ellie reached it soon after he did, and felt the familiar stretchy feeling of going through a warp.
She walked down the path after him, looking around. She hadn't seen this place since she was floating soullessly around, but it didn't look too different. The others had managed not to cause too much of a mess in their battle.
She paused, then, when she noticed a red stain on the ground by one of the pillars. Her eyes narrowed and her teeth clenched as she stared at the bloodstain. That was where Yggdrasill had stabbed Will and nearly killed him. She had stopped walking, and looked up at the seraph walking casually towards the altar. That man...he had almost killed Will, and yet she was following him and trusting him to protect her. How could she have possibly trusted him after what he did? But he had brought her here, just like he said he would. He had rescued her from Rodyle's ranch, and went to the trouble of going into Palmacosta just to get food for her. But could that possible be enough to make up for the horrible things he'd done?
"Hurry up," Yggdrasill said once he was on the altar, standing next to the warp that would take them up to Welgaia. "You need to go up to the city and then when you warp back down you will exit into Tethe'alla."
"Sorry," she said, pulling out her wings and flying across the room towards him, not wanting to keep him waiting. She didn't want to make him mad or he might hurt her.
Yggdrasill went through the warp, and Ellie took one last look around before following. She was kind of nervous to be going to Welgaia, but Yggdrasill hadn't tried anything funny yet so she had no reason to not trust him.
'Don't worry,' Colette said. 'I'm sure everything will be alright. Yggdrasill has been really nice since you got out of the ranch so soon everything will be all better!'
Ellie stepped on the warp and closed her eyes, stretching up. When she opened them, the first thing she saw was stars. They were straight ahead of her, visible through a great glass window. She had never seen so many of them before, and she stood in awe, feeling like she could reach out and touch them.
Yggdrasill stood nearby, at a podium with controls for the warp. "I've already reset it," he said. "Just go back through and you'll be in Tethe'alla. Find your companions and stick with them."
Ellie looked over at him in alarm. "You aren't coming with me?"
"I have more important things to do than babysit a child." Ellie bristled with indignation at being called 'child' but chose to hold her tongue. "I brought you this far – be grateful. You'll be fine."
"Um...can I have something to eat first?"
Yggdrasill stared at her with a deadpan look, then rolled his eyes. "Fine. Wait here." He turned and stalked away, and Ellie hovered uncertainly near the warp. Welgaia was a big place. She could barely see the ceiling of the room she was in, high overhead. There weren't any angels around, though she supposed she was grateful. She didn't really want to see those reminders of what she had once been.
A few minutes later, though, an angel slowly drifted into the room, a plate and a glass of milk in hand. He had a blank look on his face like a glassy-eyed doll on display in a toyshop, staring sightlessly ahead at her. He wordlessly held out the plate and glass, which Ellie took with a small, "Thank you."
The angel did not reply, and merely turned and floated away. Ellie felt a shudder run down her spine; that job could have been done by a robot, even one of those little vacuum cleaner things.
Yggdrasill didn't return, which she assumed meant he had no interest in saying goodbye to her. She wasn't really surprised about this, but as she sat down cross-legged in the vast empty room, Ellie felt very small and very alone.
She knew it was silly, but she kept glancing over her shoulder to make sure Rodyle wasn't sneaking up behind her. She kept getting a prickling on the back of her neck, and she wished she had someone with her so she wouldn't be so alone.
'I'm here,' Colette said. 'I'm always here.'
'I'm sorry, Colette. It's just...not the same.'
'I'm sorry I can't help.'
Ellie ate her ham and cheese sandwich in silence, then drained the glass of milk and wiped off her milk moustache with her sleeve. She couldn't put off going down to Tethe'alla any longer, so she stood up and returned to the warp. She could feel the absence of chakrams eating away at her, and the first thing she was going to do was go to a store and buy new ones. Except...she didn't have any money. Goddammit.
A few seconds later, she reappeared on the altar far below. She crossed this chamber and took the warp to the entrance level, praying that everything had worked and she was in Tethe'alla now.
She exited, and though the area looked similar she could tell it was not quite the same as Sylvarant. She stood on the steps of the Tower, looking around at the wide open fields around the Tower. She was hit with the realisation that she had no idea where she was, where her friends were, how to find them even if she knew, and had no supplies or weapons.
"Well," she said softly to herself, trying to figure out what to do. "Fuck."
Will opened his eyes slowly, wondering where he was. He was aware that he should be in pain, but also that for some reason he was not. Uh-oh, was he dead?
"Good morning, sunshine," said a familiar voice to his left.
Will turned his head and saw Zelos sitting on the floor of the cell – the cell! That's right, they'd been ambushed by the Renegades and he'd been hit by that electric blast –
He quickly sat up on the cot attached to the wall, looking down at himself to check for damage. If he recalled correctly, last time it had hurt pretty bad. When he found no hint of an injury on him, he said, "What...?"
"I healed you while you were out," Zelos explained.
"How long have I been unconscious?" he asked.
"Just under half an hour, I think," Zelos replied.
Will rubbed his eyes and then looked around the cell. It was identical to the one he'd been kept in (twice!) in Triet. "Well, damn. I'm disappointed. Usually when we get captured we get marched up to see the boss before getting thrown in jail, which gives us time to make our cunning escape."
"Perhaps Yuan is smarter than that?" Zelos said. "Throwing you in prison is clearly easier when you've been knocked out."
"Seems so. They got you, too?"
Zelos nodded. "Yeah. I woke up about ten minutes ago."
Will was silent, thinking. Had Zelos led him into the ambush? He had chosen which direction to go...but then, he had never made it a secret that he always liked to go right. Maybe Zelos knew that? But why was he in prison with him? Maybe it was to preserve his image, just in case, like Zelos had said back after Volt?
He tried not to dwell on it and just said, "And they locked me up with you? Geeze, and I thought Yuan was above torture."
"Aw, you're so sweet. Why don't you put your head towards escaping and not struggling to find a way to insult me?"
Instead of replying with an equal insult, he just said, "You're probably right. If it's already been an hour, the others might be waiting for us. Or, if the Renegades have me now, they won't be waiting for an ambush and won't be afraid to go after the others now."
He supposed the base had been so empty because the Renegades were waiting for him to be alone so they wouldn't have to fight all of them and thus increase his chance of getting away. Geeze, Yuan really wasn't taking any chances this time, was he? Still, it did increase his suspicions towards Zelos if the Renegades had been specifically waiting for Zelos to lead him away from the others.
"You got out of here twice before, right?" Zelos said, interrupting his thoughts.
"Once," he corrected. "The second time Kratos dragged me out."
"Alright, well, how did you get out the first time."
He shrugged. "I blew the system with an Exsphere. However," he looked out through the slanted bars of the cell, "it seems they've moved the controls to the other wall, so even if they haven't fixed the bug where an Exsphere jammed in can blow the circuits, I can't reach it."
"Hm," Zelos said, walking over to the bars. The box with the keypad that would unlock and open the cell was about ten feet away. "I don't suppose you have a ten-foot pole in your pocket?"
"No, sorry, left mine at home."
"This would be the perfect time to make a joke about having a ten foot pole in your pants, by the way."
Will rolled his eyes. "Sorry. Not in the mood for jocularity."
He eyed the mechanism, trying to figure out how he could possibly either activate it or short-circuit it. "Have you tried hitting it with Fireball? Or I suppose Aqua Edge could work, too..."
"Already tried," Zelos said. "There's a shield around it to defend against magic.
"Well dammit."
'Do you still have the Sorcerer's Ring?' Lloyd asked. 'Maybe you can use that somehow.'
'I do,' Will said. 'But I don't know how I would use it. I can't shoot the mechanism and there aren't any guards around to threaten so I don't know what to do.'
'Hm... Well, you know more about computer-y stiff than I do. What makes a computer short circuit?'
He ran his mind over his desktop at home. What would make it short out? A lightning strike maybe, but that wouldn't work in here. Smashing it with a baseball bat would screw it up, but they couldn't reach. Dumping a glass of water on it would also be really effective, but they didn't exactly have that either.
"Any ideas?" Zelos asked.
Will sighed and leaned forward, resting his forehead on the bars. "Why do I have to come up with the plan? You think of something."
"I've been awake for ten minutes here trying to think of something, and I've got nothing. It's your turn. You get us out or we're screwed."
Great, no pressure. Will didn't feel particularly creative, but he supposed he couldn't just sit here and wait for Yuan to prop him up as a hostage. Plan...plan...plan...plan...
He stepped away from the bars and walked back towards the cot, trying to think. It was hard to think clearly because his feet were still cold and squelching with every step. These snow boots were good for keeping snow out, but they were so airtight that once water got in it took forever for his feet to dry.
Wait. "I've got it," he said, sitting down on the thin mattress and pulling his foot up onto his knee. He quickly began untying the long laces of his boots, threading them out through the holes until he had a long length of string. Then he pulled the rest of the boot off, followed by his wet sock.
"Bit early in the game for cabin fever, don't you think?" Zelos asked, raising an eyebrow as Will started to undo the lace of the other foot. "Don't go crazy on me."
"Trust me on this." Once he had both shoelaces removed from his boots, he knotted them together to make one long string. Then he tied one end around his wet sock and made had bare-footed way back to the bars. He reached through the gaps, holding the laces in both hands with the wet sock dangling in front of him.
Zelos came over to stand next to him. "Ah-ha," he said. "I think I see what you're getting at."
Will glanced his way and grinned, then eyed the control mechanism on the other side of the hall. He swung the sock back and forth a bit, then tossed it across the hall. It hit the wall just above the controls with a wet splat and then dropped to the floor. Will scowled and used the laces to drag it back.
"Let me try," Zelos said, reaching for it.
"No, I've got it."
"Come on, give it to me. I can do it."
"I can do it, Zelos."
"Do you want to get out of here or not? Let the master take care of this."
Will looked at Zelos with a raised eyebrow. "You're a master of loose socks?"
Zelos replied with his customary grin. "I am a master at all types of removed clothing."
Will just rolled his eyes and tossed the sock again. This time it landed right on top of the control box, and ended up draped across the top. "Ha! See? Told you I could get it."
"Well, at least you're good at something."
"Don't be jealous, now." The water on his sock slowly seeped into the opening at the top of the control box, where presumably a card-key would be inserted. About a minute later, the whole thing crackled and sparks flew, and then the green light died.
"Is it unlocked?" Zelos asked.
Will shrugged, then grabbed the bars with both hands and tried to lift them. They came up about an inch off the floor and he grinned. "Yeah. Help me with this."
Working together, they gritted their teeth and pulled the heavy metal bars. "Lift...with your...knees," Zelos panted when it was about halfway up.
"I am," Will snapped back, face scrunched up as the bars slowly rose. A few seconds later, he said, "Screw it. Hold it steady while I duck under."
"Wait-" Zelos started, but Will was already moving, ducking low and darting out from under the bars. He quickly grabbed them again from the other side, and said, "Your turn."
Zelos let go and the bars dropped an inch as Will strained to keep them up by himself. When the Chosen was on the other side, he gasped and let them drop, causing a loud clang.
"We should hurry," Will said, going over to the control box to retrieve his sock. "Someone might have heard that."
"You planning on marching around barefooted?"
"I was getting to that," he snapped, bending over to redo his shoelaces. It took a couple minutes to thread them through all the holes, but then he tied them and stood up. "Alright. Let's go."
"Where to?" Zelos asked as they hurried to the area not too far away where their belongings were being kept.
"The same place we were before," he answered. "Odds are the others have gotten their parts of the password by now, and maybe from those two we can guess the third. They're probably worried about us."
He buckled his swords back around his waist as Zelos grabbed the wing pack. Then they turned and headed for the door, and Zelos pressed the button to slide it open. Zelos went first, and Will frowned as he watched the Chosen's back. Zelos was being so helpful in the escape; surely if he was with Yuan he wouldn't have helped so much.
Although, really, he hadn't done that much. Maybe the control box wasn't really shielded and Zelos hadn't tried to escape at all. Maybe Zelos hadn't only woken up ten minutes before Will but in fact hadn't been knocked out at all. After all, wouldn't it have been wiser to put them in separate cells if Zelos was a prisoner as well?
He sighed and followed. He really didn't know what to think.
They hurried along the hall and had only gone a little ways when Will heard voices from farther ahead and around the corner.
"Zelos, stop!" Will hissed, grabbing the Chosen's arm. In a low voice he said, "Someone's coming."
They pressed against the wall and Will listened to the voices get closer.
"...supposed to be on break right now. 'Oh it'll only take a minute' my ass."
"Stop complaining."
"...You don't think there's actually a problem, do you?"
"Of course not. Remember last year when that bird got in and started tripping the alarms left and right? Probably just some stupid bird screwing up the signals."
Ok, crap, they were coming to check out the short circuit. They were almost at the corner, and Will gave Zelos a quick glance before drawing his swords and Zelos did the same. The pair of Renegades was just about to turn around the corner when Will and Zelos leapt out in front of them. The Renegades gave startled gasps and drew their own swords, just in time to meet the others' blades.
"You – you're the prisoners!" the one with his sword locked with Will's said.
"No shit!"
The Renegade's blade slid along the edge of Will's, creating an ear-splitting scrape. Will, though, had two blades locked in an X, and twisted them forward to get the Renegade's trapped between them, then jerked to the right to twist the sword out of his hand. The weapon-less Renegade stumbled backwards in fear and Will swung the hilt of his sword around to bash him in the side of the head.
The Renegade slumped to the floor and Will looked over to see that Zelos had similarly knocked out his. "What now?" Zelos asked, looking down at the bodies sprawled on the floor.
Will frowned. "Someone's going to expect them to report back in," he said. "If they don't, it will be just as bad is if they report back in that we've escaped."
"So...?"
Will knelt next to the unconscious men and reached for his belt, searching, searching... ah-ha! He pulled out the communicator device, which looked like the one Kratos had given him a long time ago.
He pressed the button and waited for a voice on the other end.
"Corporal Meche, have you identified the disturbance?" an official voice said on the other end.
"Yes," Will replied. "It was, um, a bird. Like what happened last year. It screwed up the signal."
"And the prisoners?"
"They're fine! They're fine, the system's fine, we're all fine – how are you?" Mentally he kicked himself. Will, he said sternly, you are not Han Solo.
"Uh, I'm fine..." the voice said. "Are you sure everything's alright?"
"Yeah, everything's good! I'm going to, uh, take my break right now so I won't be coming right back."
"Very well." There was a click and the line went dead. Will stared at the communicator for a couple seconds, waiting to see if anything else was going to happen, but then shrugged and set it down.
He stood up and looked over at Zelos, who was grinning at him.
"What?"
"You're such a smooth talker. Seriously, how did you ever get a girlfriend?"
Will rolled his eyes. "Some of us are more interested in intelligent girls than big-breasted bimbos who will sleep with anyone who says sweet things to them."
They started to walk again as Zelos said, "Hey, that's not very nice at all! I mean, that's a pretty accurate description of my hunnies, but it's still not nice."
"Anyways," Will said as they made their way towards the Rheaird hanger, "I just don't understand why girls fawn over you. Can't they tell you're totally fake?"
"Jealous?"
"Of you? No," he said simply. "Because you take advantage of every person you meet and eventually you're going to realise that you're really, really, lonely."
Zelos opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Will kept his eyes straight ahead, and though he felt kinda bad about saying that, it was still the truth and Zelos still needed to hear it. Also, he was pissed off because he didn't know if Zelos had betrayed him or not.
Finally, he said, "Let's just...hurry up and meet the others."
"Where the hell am I?" Ellie muttered, looking around. She hadn't found a road to follow yet and she was just too tired to keep her wings out. The sun was starting to get low in the sky and she was afraid monsters would starting coming out when it was dark. She was alone, lost, and weapon-less. The outlook was not so good.
She was in a grassy field with trees scattered here and there, a denser forest off to her right. Based on the sunset she was walking towards, she thought that was probably north. She vaguely recalled taking orienteering in PE last year, but that was not helping at all.
'Colette...do you know where I am?'
'No, I'm sorry.'
Her feet hurt. She was exhausted and wanted to rest, but what was the point? She had no supplies to make camp so she might as well just keep walking until she dropped unconscious from exhaustion. It also didn't help that she was still injured from the ranch and hadn't been healed yet, and after five weeks in, well, really shitty living conditions she wasn't in the best of shape. She felt disgusting, too – she really needed a bath. There was dried blood in her ratty hair and her clothes were ripped and bloodstained.
She wasn't usually one to give in to despair, but right now she was feeling pretty bleak.
What she really needed – though she was reluctant to admit it – was help.
'Ellie! Look out! Something's coming!'
She looked up from the ground suddenly, eyes blinded by the sun right in front of her. "What? Where?"
She raised her hand to her brow to shade her face, and said, "...Oh."
She stood frozen, not sure what to do as a very large and very hungry-looking wyvern flew towards her out of the setting sun. Her fingers twitched once again for her chakrams, but they were far, far away now. Did she even have the energy to use magic? Well, she'd better find that energy or she was going to be dragon food. Wyvern food. Whatever.
"Crap-crap-crap-crap-on-a-sandwich," she muttered, doing the only thing she could think of: running like a bat out of hell. She didn't know if she really thought she had a chance to outrun the wyvern, but it was worth a shot, right? It wasn't like she had any weapons and she really doubted she had the strength to fend it off with magic alone.
A shadow passed over her, and Ellie dived to the ground just as the beast plunged downward, claws out like a hawk catching a mouse.
She rolled through the grass, gasping for breath. There was no time for casting, but the only weapon she had were her fists and those weren't going to do much to such thick scales. She started getting to her feet, but the wyvern's tail lashed out and smacked her hard in the side, throwing her several feet away. The wyvern looked down at her with eyed filled with nothing but hunger, and in a burst of adrenaline-induced energy, forced her wings out.
Just as the fang-filled mouth snapped down, she shot into the air, trying to fly away as fast as possible. Wind raced through her hair and she closed her eyes, not even caring where she was going. Ever beat of her wings was exhausting, but she could hear the steady thump-thump-thump of the wyvern's wings right behind her.
She forced her eyes open a sliver and saw a copse of trees ahead. Perhaps if she could make it there, the wyvern wouldn't be able to get her? It had a pretty wide wingspan, and although that made it fast out in the open, it wouldn't be able to manoeuvre in tight trees, or indeed get through the canopy at all.
She made a beeline for the trees, seeing them as her only salvation. She had almost reached them, when her body was suddenly yanked to a stop as blinding pain flashed through her ankle and up her leg. She fell, wings fading away and she cried out from the pain as she dangled from the wyvern's sharp teeth.
As the wyvern descended and landed heavily on the ground, Ellie hung headfirst from its mouth. Blood ran up her calf, though the foot itself had gone numb. In desperation, she called up all the energy she had left and tried to cast Angel Feathers, but it was hard to concentrate due to the fact that she was seconds away from being eaten.
"H-holy – holy wings," she stammered, feeling only a slight spark of mana welling up. "I b-b-beg of you..."
Thick pillars of light suddenly erupted all around her, and the wyvern shrieked in pain, opening its mouth and letting her tumble to the ground and land in a heap. "What..." Ellie stared up in amazement as the beams of light crashed down all around her, until the wyvern decided that no food was worth this shit and took wing. The lights died down, leaving her with green streaks floating in her vision.
"...the fuck?"
"Chosen." She jerked her head around and stared at her saviour. She really shouldn't have been surprised to see him; after all, how many people knew Judgment? But she still couldn't help the huge smile of relief that appeared on her face when she saw him kneeling next to her.
"...S'up, Aurion?"
"Besides your ankle, where are you injured?"
Ellie looked down at her ankle, and found that she really didn't like the look of it. Blood was all over her blue pants and she didn't think her foot was supposed to go that direction. "Er...everywhere?"
Kratos' expression didn't change as far as Ellie could tell, though maybe if she looked close that was a hint of irritation? She felt a flicker of fear and bit her tongue, looking away as her fingers clenched.
All he said, though, was, "Give me your foot."
She started to move her right – good – ankle, and he said, "The other one."
"But it hurts to move that one. Heal me first."
"Chosen, if I try to heal you in this state it will heal incorrectly and the only way you'll be able to walk again is to re-break it, and trust me when I say that it would be a lot simpler to just let me fix it properly now."
Ellie bit her lip, but nonetheless slowly and deliberately moved her leg, trying not to gasp too much from the pangs shooting up her leg. Kratos grabbed her foot and, without warning, twisted it back into position.
She yelped and then bit her lip hard, trying to fight the tears welling up in her eyes. Pathetic. Then Kratos started to build up white light, and it was the greatest thing Ellie had ever seen in her entire life.
"Healing Stream," he muttered, an Ellie sighed in relief as the magic swept through her and fixed all her pains and injuries.
When it was over, she gingerly got to her feet, looking in distaste at the blood on the grass. Kratos stood up as well, and the rush of activity after his rescue finally died down and Ellie was able to get her thoughts straight.
Well, sort of.
The first thing she did was collapse onto Kratos' chest and hug him as if he were a pillow. "Oh my god Kratos, I am so glad you're here!" she said into his chest as the seraph stiffened, arms awkwardly at his sides as he stared down at the thing clinging to him. "I'm lost and I'm scared and I'm hurt and I don't know where my friends are or how to get to wherever it is and I don't know what to do and I don't have chakrams and – and – and-"
"Chosen..." Kratos' voice, while not sounding terribly sympathetic, was at least not angry.
"Please help me." She was vaguely aware that she was getting the front of his purple spandex wet, but she didn't think she was capable of stopping the tears. She hadn't cried once in all her weeks of imprisonment, so she felt like maybe she deserved to get this out.
One of Kratos' arms came around her shoulders in an awkward half-hug. "Chosen, please calm down and explain how you came to be in this position."
She sniffled, hoping Kratos wasn't going to be too mad about the snot on his chest. "I was with Rodyle but then Yggdrasill came and then I passed out but we were near Palmacosta so we flew to the Tower but he left me and I came here but I don't know where I am and I need to find the others but I don't know where they are."
There was a silence, and then, "Pardon?"
She was about to restart her explanation, when Kratos dropped his arm and stepped away from the hug. Ellie's arms dropped to her side and she stared up at Kratos after wiping her eyes on her shoulder. This practically made her want to start crying again, for when she went to raise her left shoulder for the task she realised it had been almost entirely crystallised.
"Chosen, why are you here?" Kratos asked, crossing his arms. Guarding it against further assault by a sobbing teenage girl? Possibly. "Where is Lloyd?"
She shrugged, her left shoulder feeling stiff and hard to move. "I don't know."
Kratos sighed and closed his eyes for a second. "Alright. You said something about Rodyle. What happened?"
"We were in Ozette and Rodyle showed up and took me away," she said. "This was about...five weeks ago. He took me to his ranch in Sylvarant because he needed me to power his Mana Cannon."
Kratos' eyes narrowed at this information, but all he said was, "Go on."
"So then, a couple days ago, Yggdrasill showed up and he said that Rodyle had betrayed him and he took me away."
"And you escaped from Lord Yggdrasill?" asked Kratos, clearly surprised.
She shook her head, though. "No. He let me go. He said that as long as I have Chronic Angelus Crystal-whatever he's going to let my friends heal me before bothering with me."
"You're suffering from Chronic Angelus Crystallisation Inofficium?" Kratos asked, raising an eyebrow.
She nodded. "Yeah. It's on my shoulder."
"I see." He didn't look particularly concerned that she had a fatal disease, but then Ellie had made a hobby out of pissing him off back in Sylvarant.
"But what are you doing here?" she asked, changing the subject off of herself.
"I was in the area," he shrugged. "I saw you flying this afternoon and followed."
She looked down. "Thank you."
"Hmph."
Without raising her head, she glanced up to ask, "So...are you going to help me find the others?"
"Why should I?"
She bit her lip, trying to think of a reason as she raised her head fully. "Well...if you don't and I never get back, then Lloyd will be really sad."
"And why should I care about Lloyd?"
"Well...because...um..." She couldn't think of a reason that wouldn't give away knowing he was his father, so said, "Look, we'll pay you."
"Pardon?"
"Well, you're on your own now, right? You're not getting a big fat Cruxis check. Think of it like being a mercenary, only for real this time. Take me back to the others and I'll get Zelos to pay you loads and loads of Gald."
"I have more than enough savings," he said. Ellie scowled. Of course, after four thousand years it stood to reason that he was already loaded, but it still bugged her.
"Come on, Kratos, please. I – I can't make it back on my own."
"And why should your problems be my concern?"
"Because!" she shouted, stamping her foot. "Because you want to stop Mithos, right? And look what happened last time it looked like I died! Lloyd broke and we need him to stop Mithos and if you walk away now and Lloyd goes brain-dead it's gonna be your fault."
Kratos was silent for a second, and when he finally talked his eyes narrowed and he said was, "What do you know about Mithos?"
Eep. She froze and her heart skipped a beat as she realised what she had said. Dammit, dammit, dammit. She wasn't supposed to know that Yggdrasill was Mithos until after the Latheon Gorge! "Just – just that that's Yggdrasill's first name. I asked him when I was with him and he told me."
Kratos' expression didn't soften. "Hm..."
Eager to get the subject off of knowledge of Yggdrasill's name, she said, "So – so are you going to help me?"
Kratos sighed, and said, "I will take you to Altessa's house. The others can find you there eventually."
She smiled brightly. "Oh thank you so much!" She was about to lunge forward and hug him again, but stopped herself at the last minute. Kratos might change his mind and ditch her if she forced him to endure too much affection.
"And...um...can you buy me some new chakrams?"
They reached the elevator without any further delays. There had also been no further conversation, which meant that once they were stuck standing still on the platform and not walking briskly through the base, things got a little awkward. Will was even wishing for some elevator music.
"Hey...Zelos..."
The Chosen looked over. He didn't look mad or like he was pouting or anything, which gave Will hope that they weren't feuding again and they just didn't have anything to say.
"Your coat looks gay."
Zelos gave him a blank stare for a second, which soon cracked into a grin. "They say boys only tease someone because they like them."
"They also say that your coat makes you look gay."
"Hmph. I happen to be confident in my masculinity; unlike you, bumpkin."
"...I was going to think of a witty retort, but as long as we're in Flanoir I can just always fall back on how incredibly gay your coat is."
They reached the top of this platform and hurried to the next. Will didn't hear any voices from the top, which worried him. He'd been hoping the others would be up there, and wasn't quite sure what to do if they weren't.
They reached the top and looked around at the empty platform. "Well..." Will said. "...Goddammit."
"Karma hates people who insult my fashion," Zelos said, strolling over to the door.
"Shut up, Zelos," Will said, looking down over the edge at the room far below. He wasn't sure what he was looking for, but at least he felt like he was doing something.
'Hey, Will?'
'Yeah?'
'Uh, the door's already open.'
'What?'
Will spun around and saw the door, which looked very closed to him. 'Lloyd, have you ever actually seen an open door?'
'Yes. I was talking about how the password has already been entered and it's unlocked.'
'Oh...right. I knew that.'
He walked over to the door and pressed the button, and the door slid right open. Zelos sat up from his leaning position on the wall, face surprised, but just as Will was about to walk through the door he heard a loud explosion.
The next thing he knew, he was blasted several feet back and his torso was in pain. "What the hell!"
Zelos ran through the doorway as Will got to his feet, and he heard Genis shout, "Zelos!"
Will got to his feet and drew his swords, running in close behind the Chosen. When he entered the Rheaird hanger, he saw seven people standing stock-still and staring at him, frozen like they'd just been attacked by a cockatrice. Behind them, eight Rheairds bobbed in the air like restless birds, the closest one still hovering above a large pit which Will assumed was a power supply of some sort.
"Lloyd!"
Yuan was the first person to come to his senses, and he did not look happy. This was probably due to the blood running down the side of his face and his unkempt hair, his swallow out and raised. "How did you get here?"
"I walked. It's this thing you do with your legs."
Yuan gave him an evil glare. "Botta!" he barked. "Concentrate on capturing Lloyd – again. I'll take care of the others."
"Yes, sir!"
By now everyone had jumped into action, Genis and Raine were casting, while Presea, Sheena, and Regal wasted no time in rushing Yuan before he could block. Of course, Yuan was able to sweep his swallow around in a wide arc, causing them to skid to a halt or risk being cut in two.
Will, though, didn't have time to focus on the others, as Botta was coming at him with the crazy purple spike-thing he used as a weapon. He barely had time to dive out of the way before it came rushing through the air right where he'd been standing, and then Botta twisted away before Will could make contact with his blades.
"Sonic Thr- Zelos!" The Chosen bumped into him, sending his attack wildly off.
"Sorry, bud!" Zelos said, stumbling out of the way.
Zelos then thrust his sword at Botta, but the half-elf blocked it by easily batting it away with his weapon. Before Will could attack again, he jammed the spike into the ground and yelled, "Rock Breaker!"
Shock waves burst out from the force and hit Will head on, pushing him backwards. It hurt, too, though not as much as many other injuries he'd sustained in fights. Mostly it just pissed him off, so he wasted no time in following it up with an attack of his own. "Hunting Beast!"
Botta whipped his weapon up to his face and managed to only be blown backwards a couple steps, which just further pissed Will off because when he Beast-ed someone, he expected them to fall over.
Zelos once again made an attempt to hurt Botta, and once again was easily blocked. Will had to question whether Zelos failed at life or was only pretending to attack, and given that he was usually a pretty good fighter, he had to assume the latter. Dammit.
"Sonic Sword Rain!"
Botta grimaced as Will's sword's plunged into his side, though by the time he finished it up with the final blow the half-elf had dodged, backing up towards the computers as blood ran down the side of his...dress. Yeah, that was a dress. Botta was this big tough guy with bulging muscles, and he wore a dress. Dammit, how come the guy in the dress was more badass than Will?
Botta was injured, and ill could see in his eyes that the half-elf was worried. That Sword Rain had probably really hurt, if the blood flowing freely down his side was any indication. Will felt a flicker of hope that the fight would end soon as he raised his sword, not to finish Botta off but hopefully knock him unconscious.
Of course, Yuan chose that moment to look over at his friend while Will's friends were currently busy getting to their feet from his most recent attack. Seeing his friend in danger, Yuan turned his attention to Will in time to direct his next attack that way.
"Thunder Blade!"
Will's eyes squeezed shut and he raised his arms to his face as a giant sword plunged down right in front of him, and he had one millisecond to think 'oh shit' before everything exploded.
He landed hard on his back several feet away, feeling tingly all over from the burst of electricity. He really hated electricity. Yuan was busy duelling the others now, so luckily he didn't have to worry about that at the moment.
However, the glowing cracks that suddenly appeared in the floor may be worthy of trepidation. His eyes went wide and he forced his sore body to scramble to his knees to get out of there.
Then he felt a hand close around his arm and firmly jerk him away, just as Botta shouted, "Ground Dasher!"
Will collapsed onto Zelos as the ground where he had been standing turned in a massive deliverer of pain, glad to not be part of it. "Thanks," he muttered, getting back to his feet.
"No problem," Zelos replied as he pushed up from the floor. Will was about to start heading back toward Botta when Zelos said, "I'll concentrate on healing. You look like you could use it."
Will just gave him a curt nod and hurried forward to face Botta. Botta then surprised him but jumping forward with remarkable agility, forcing will to stumble to the right a few steps, closer to where Yuan and the others were fighting. Will tried to fight back against Botta, but the half-elf pressed forward, jabbing and thrusting with his weapon all around him. Botta wasn't aiming to kill, so Will didn't have any idea where he might try to attack next.
He took a few more steps backwards, and now he was solidly on the defence. He felt the healing effects of First Aid, but instead of helping him with Botta, Zelos was casting healing magic again. He risked a glance over his shoulder and saw the others struggling, and he supposed that Zelos was covering for Raine. Still, he could use a little help over here.
He took a few more steps back, sweat dripping down his brow. His arms felt heavy from swinging them around so much to try and block the strikes that never quite hit. Botta pushed forward again, his weapon grazing across Will's shoulder. He hissed and gritted his teeth, finding it just that much harder to use his right arm now.
Another step back, and another, and – oh shit, where's the ground?
His back heel slipped over the lip of the pit with the royal blue Rheaird floating over it as his arms wobbled to hold his balance. Botta twirled his weapon over his head, then thrust it towards him with the hilt side and hit him squarely in the chest.
Will had about a second to realise he was falling before slamming into the hard floor with enough force to knock the air from his longs. In a daze he looked up to see Botta gazing down at him from the top of the pit, then turn away and leave him there.
Will pushed himself up with one arm and looked up at the edge of the hole. "God-damn-it, gravity," he muttered. "Give me a break sometime, will you?"
Then he heard some beeps like from a computer, and the Rheaird floating overhead started to descend. Will could do nothing but watch as it stopped just above the edge of the pit, effectively putting a lid over his head. He stared at the Rheaird, which was now about ten feet above his head. As much as this was irritating to him, he had to hand it to Botta for being creative with capturing him.
He let his swords lie on the ground and walked over to the edge of the pit. He could still hear the sounds of fighting up ahead, from the clang of steel to the shouting of techs. He ran his hand along the wall, feeling the smooth surface that offered no grip. The Rheaird overheard would prevent him from trying to use Tempest to get out, and even then it would be a long jump up.
'Lloyd, suggestions?'
'Um...Sorry. I don't know.'
"Thunder Explosion!" Will winced as he heard Genis shout. This was just like the Volt fight, only he felt even more helpless here, where he couldn't even see what was happening.
"Devastation." Presea managed to sound very threatening despite the fact that she spoke in much the same as her normal voice. She was pretty scary for a little kid.
Will paced around the bottom of the pit, trying to figure out how to get out of here. He stared up at the Rheaird, and found that he was near the back end of it, underneath the flap for putting in fuel. The small square hatch came with a red warning label: "Danger! Jet fuel! Do not set Rheaird on fire!"
Oh damn, and he had just been planning on setting it aflame for kicks and giggles, too. That was some really important advice, there. The scary thing was, most warning labels got put in place after an accident. Will tried to imagine the circumstances leading up to Yuan deciding Rheairds needed special warning labels to remind people not to torch them. That was like the ultimate epic fail right there.
However, laughing at the incompetency of Renegades didn't get him out of this pit, and it didn't help the horror he felt when he heard Yuan say in a booming voice, "Indignation!" Will felt the hairs of his arms stand up from the static even from here, and he closed his eyes in frustration as Sheena grunted in pain.
From the sound of it, Botta had joined Yuan. The party was doing their best to hold off both of them but Will could tell they were having trouble. Zelos and Raine kept shouting First Aid or Healing Circle, and though Will didn't know how helpful he would be, he still felt pretty damn useless down here.
He sat down on the cool metallic surface, thinking through his options. He didn't think shoelaces and wet socks were going to get him out of here, so he ran through his equipment. Which...wasn't much. He had the Sorcerer's Ring, an Exsphere, his swords, his clothes...not much to work with.
He growled in frustration as the battle raged on. Regal shouted, "Crescent Moon!" and Will heard and ugly crunch that sounded like a nose breaking.
Will glanced up at the Rheaird hovering over his head, the tail sticking out over the end of the pit a bit. Yuan appeared by the edge, his back to Will. He appeared to be casting, while Botta held the others off. Will scowled at the seraph, and quickly untied his shoe. Before Yuan could finish casting, Will chucked his heavy boot up into the air and straight at Yuan's head. "Hey, Yuan!"
The boot collided with the back of Yuan's head, causing the half-elf's concentration to drop. He spun around, his face scrunched up in anger. "Lloyd!"
"Can I have my shoe back?"
Yuan glared at him. "No."
Yuan went back to casting, moving away from Will until he was standing on the other side of the tail of the Rheaird, using that as a make-do shield against future projectiles. Of course, there were other things he could throw his shoe at.
Will grinned the grin that came with having a plan and he pulled the Sorcerer's Ring out of his pocket. Armed with his other shoe in his right hand, he threw this one up as hard as he could. It banged into the fuel flap with a clang!, which promptly flew open. Jet fuel burst out, splashing onto Yuan and the floor around him, as well as dripping down into the pit.
Carefully standing away from the fuel that had fallen down, Will unleashed a burst of fire with the Sorcerer's Ring. The fire met the fuel, and Will saw Yuan's eyes turn the size of dinner plates and his face pale before everything went up in a burst of light and a wave of heat.
Will backed against the far wall of the pit with his arms in front of his face. Yuan made no sound, but the rest of the room had turned deathly still save for the roar of the fire. From around his arm, Will saw the Rheaird above him go up in flames, and he was pretty sure he saw Yuan stop-drop-and-roll-ing on the side of the pit, bright orange flames covering his back. He struggled to get his cape off as the sheet of fabric quickly turned to ash.
By now Will had lowered his arm, but the explosion of fire he had caused needed no further catalyst. There was fire in the pit now as fuel spilled over the edge, and he looked up in alarm to see the Rheaird burning brightly as well, flames sweeping over it like it was made of kindling. He didn't know if the others were still fighting, but he couldn't hear anything. Then the Rheaird above his head finally gave out, and Will hastily cried, "Guardian!" as the flaming aircraft crashed into the pit.
It landed at an angle, Will nestled with his green shield with the burning wreckage diagonal above his head. He didn't know how long Guardian would last, but it probably would outlast the fuel-powered fire. Will mentally kicked himself; he'd had a streak of good ideas, so he should have known one of his plans would blow up in his face eventually. He hadn't expected it to blow up quite this literally, though.
From what seemed like a great distance, Genis shouted, "Tidal Wave!"
A surge of water coursed over the edge, throwing Botta across the room. The water filled the pit to the top, but unfortunately it carried the fuel with it, causing the surface of the water to burn like wood. Will was safe in his air-tight bubble, but it would probably give out any time now. He was just glad he knew how to swim, though getting to the surface would be difficult through the fire.
There was no point in delaying it any longer, so he took a deep gulp of air and got rid of Guardian. Water crashed in around him as he pushed hard against the floor and swept his arms in front of him. He was weighed down by his swords and heavy winter coat, but he couldn't afford to leave either of those things behind.
It was an uphill battle, and his lungs ached for air. He felt heavy and his movements were thick and slow. He needed to breath, but he was still several feet below water. He could heat on his face, and wasn't sure how he was going to get through the fire.
Then the water right above him parted as someone casted Air Thrust, and a hand burst into the water in front of him, and he eagerly reached forward to grab it, not caring if it was Yuan or Genis or what. Another arm came down and grabbed his upper arm, and he was pulled gasping out of the pit as the fiery water rushed back towards him once Air Thrust went away.
He took several deep breaths of air as water dripped down his face, and Raine gave him a quick smile as she stood up, her sleeves soaking wet. Then he turned his attention to the rest of the room. Sheena was nursing a bloody gash on her shoulder while Zelos knelt next to her while charging First Aid, while Genis – after casting Air Thrust - danced around Presea, making a fuss about a bead of blood running down her cheek. Regal had come over to stand next to Raine and offered Will a hand to help him to his feet.
"Are you hurt?" Regal asked.
"I'm fine," Will assured them, shivered a bit from his soaking wet coat.
"Are you sure?" Raine asked. "That Rheaird looked like it landed right on top of you."
"Don't worry about me. I was in a gap between it and the wall."
"Very well; if you're sure you're fine we should leave before Yuan regains consciousness."
Will looked over at the half-elf on the ground, his cape lying a few feet away. Well, it was more like a pile of soot now. Will also noticed that his ponytail was a bit singed, and hoped Yuan wouldn't be too angry about that the next time they met.
"Everyone get on a Rheaird," Raine said in a louder voice to the rest of the group. They all hurried over to the vehicles, Will mounting one with green on the wings. He looked at the complicated controls, and said, 'How do you steer this thing?'
'It's easy,' Lloyd said. 'The pedal on the right is the accelerator and the one on the left is the brake. You can change how high you are by pulling up or down on the handle bar.'
Raine, meanwhile, had pressed the button to open the doors at the end of the long hallway, and then she took the Rheaird in the front and powered it up. "Where are we going?" Genis called.
Raine didn't look back as she answered. "We're going to head to Altessa's. We'll rest there and decide out next course of action."
She gunned the engine and shot down the hallway, the others quickly following suit. Will gripped the handles tightly, and then gingerly pushed down on the gas. The Rheaird shot forward, and Will eased up a bit. It seemed to be very sensitive.
In no time he burst through the doors and into the frigid night air. He was soaking wet, and so found the cold to be even more unbearable than usual. Still, they couldn't stop anywhere to get warm, so the best course of action would be to charge on to Altessa's house. With a shiver, he angled the Rheaird and followed the others.
