This may be the last chapter for a while since I recently had another death in the family that will be taking me out of town. Don't worry, I don't plan to disappear for months again. Just don't another chapter next week.

Now, onward to the story.

Chapter 56: Secrets and Lies

"So the Chosen of Tethe'alla has been in contact with those from Sylvarant," Mithos stated as he leaned into his throne. "Those foolish Renegades allowed them to go to the flourishing world."

"Zelos is keeping a close watch on them. When the time is right, we shall retrieve the Chosen without delay," Pronyma informed.

"Very well," Mithos said. "Keep me updated."

"Of course, my lord," Pronyma said with a bowed as she disappeared.

"What will become of Lloyd?" Kratos asked. He was standing in shadows now wearing his Cruxis armor.

Mithos hummed. "Good question. His power is finally awake, but he is still in his infancy. I am not even sure if he's worth capturing him at the moment."

"You think having him worry about the Chosen longer will increase the rate of his development," Kratos surmised.

"I do believe that is the case," Mithos admitted.

There was a moment of silence.

"Mithos, what do you plan to do with Lloyd once he is brought here?" Kratos asked bluntly.

"Well, first I plan to run a series of tests to make sure that he's healthy and stable," Mithos replied. "Then, I will educate him in the benefices of working for Cruxis."

Kratos stared at Mithos. "After what you have done to the Chosen and his friends, I doubt Lloyd would listen to a word you say." He paused for a moment. "And, he wouldn't want to be near me either."

"Well, that is true," Mithos mused. "There are other methods. Erasing his memory to a blank and reeducating him that way. We can even turned him into an emotionless shell like the angels here." He glanced at Kratos who he knew would hate all those ideas. He was correct as Kratos glared daggers at him, but said nothing. "I do have another method I can try."

"Which is?" Kratos asked, not liking any of this.

"It's a secret for now," Mithos said, ending that line of conversation. "In either case, you not need to worry about your son for the time being. Capturing the Chosen is our prime priority at this moment."

Kratos gave a small bow. "Of course."

The walked to Sybak was uneventful and peaceful outside some monster attacks that Lloyd and Zelos were able to easily handle.

Lloyd was impressed by the man's skills. He may come off as a slacker, but he knew how to used a sword and shield extremely well. As hard as he tried not to, he could see Kratos in him. Zelos was faster and more agile, but he wasn't as powerful and steady.

He wondered if Zelos was self-taught like him. Since he was the Chosen, he doubted it. He most likely had the best swordsmen in the world teaching him to fight. He almost wanted to test his skills against him, but Zelos didn't seem to like to practice.

It was late morning by the time they reached their destination. The city wasn't as grand as Meltokio. It was actually quite dull looking. While the capital of Tethe'alla was bright and colorful, Sybak brown and down to the earth. The people were also dressed more casually than the fancy noblemen of Meltokio. The city itself wouldn't have been out of place in Sylvarant.

"This place is amazing. I can only imagine the information store in this city," Genis said, eager to search the libraries.

Raine was also excited. The books on ruins she could find. All the history to explore.

"I hate…this city," Presea suddenly said, speaking for the first time in days. "Hurry…to Ozette."

Genis quickly lost his good mood. "I...I'm sorry, Presea."

Zelos smiled and gently placed a hand on Presea's shoulder. "Wait just a minute, little one. We'll be done in a jiffy. Right Lloyd?"

"Yeah...I'm sorry," Lloyd apologized to Presea. They really dragged this poor girl around. He turned towards Zelos. "Well, lead the way."

Zelos smirked. "Of course."

He led the group to a building on the far side of the city. Other than the stone wall in the front, it blended in with everything else. When they entered there was a blond-haired man with glasses waiting for them.

"Yo! There should be word from Meltokio," Zelos said in his usual blunt manner that would have gotten Lloyd smacked by Raine.

The researcher smiled at Zelos. "Ah, Chosen One! We've been waiting for you. Please come this way."

The researcher took them into one of the offices that had a large desk in the middle of it.

"Upon receiving the report of Colette's symptoms, we found our attention on research data regarding the Chosen's Cruxis Crystal," the researcher said as he shifted through his notes.

"Well now. So my crystal was useful. When Colette returns to normal I'll need to make sure she thanks me generously," Zelos said with a huge grin.

Raine found the entire situation interesting.

In their world, the Cruxis Crystal was seen as a holy object that only Chosen should touch, which was why it was kept in temple until the Day of Prophecy. There were even legends that if anyone but the Chosen touched the crystal, they would die. Here, it was an item of curiosity and research. They were so lucky.

The man pressed a button on his desk and a hologram came up. It was like the one in the Desians' Ranches. "Cruxis Crystals are thought to be evolved forms of exspheres. Both exspheres and Cruxis Crystals are lifeless beings."

Raine jolted. "What did you say!?"

"Life...less? What?" Lloyd stuttered completely lost.

Raine attempted to clear her mind. "Lifeless beings. How should I put it? Basically, exspheres are alive, though not in the same way we are."

The researcher nodded. "Yes, both of these crystals are like parasites fusing with other life forms."

Lloyd shivered. "Parasites… That's not a very pleasant thought."

All this time, he was told that a Cruxis Crystal was the heart of an angel. He never really believed that until he saw Colette grow wings. Now, he was hearing that not only was a Cruxis Crystal just another form of an exsphere, but they were both parasites. Did his dad know this? How much was his father hiding from him?

"When this happens, the mana within the body loses balance and goes out of control without a key crest," the researcher went on.

Genis grabbed his left hand, rubbing his exsphere gently. "So that's why exspheres without key crests turn people into monsters."

"Exactly," the researcher confirmed. "In other words, since Cruxis Crystals possess the same qualities as exspheres, we surmise that Colette is suffering from a parasitical infection by the Cruxis Crystal."

Raine let out a small hum. "I see. In which case, the ritual of releasing the Seals may be promoting the fusion with the Cruxis Crystal. Fascinating."

Lloyd gave Raine an annoyed look. "Professor, don't talk like that after all the bad things that keep happening to Colette."

"Then, if she had a key crest, she'd return to normal, right?" Zelos asked, getting to the point.

"Yes, she should be able to freely control the Cruxis Crystal if she had a key crest," the researcher concluded.

Lloyd lowered his head in thought. "A key crest, huh? I wonder if we can get one somewhere."

Genis looked towards Lloyd. "You can make one, right Lloyd?"

Lloyd shook his head. "I can only carve the charm. Unless I have an inhibitor ore there is nothing I can do. I also know no dwarves in this world to process the ore."

Zelos gave him a shock look. "I'm surprised you even know how to make the charm. Dwarves are usually extremely secretive about that kind of stuff. They wouldn't even teach the scholar from the Church how to carve a charm."

"Oh, Lloyd was raised by a dwarf," Genis informed.

Now Zelos was very interested. "Really? Well, that explains a lot."

Lloyd glared at him. "What does that mean?"

"The way you carry yourself is...quite different from most people," Zelos said. "Plus that outfit with like a million buttons is a very dwarven."

Lloyd could only stare at him. He wasn't sure what to say.

"Anyway, we should check the vendor shops around here," Zelos suggested. "There's bound to some inhibitor ore somewhere since most people don't know its value."

"It is worth a look," Raine said.

For the next hour, they searched every junk store, pawn shop, and back alley shop they could find. So far, they turned up nothing.

"This is getting hopeless," Lloyd muttered to himself as he looked at another rundown shop. This one wasn't even in a building. It was just some shady man outside selling random wears.

"What's this place? All you're selling is junk," Zelos said in annoyance to the seller, who was attempting to push some supposedly ancient artifact on him.

"It's marvelous! This is just marvelous! Ohhh, this is ancient magitechnology carbon!" Raine exclaimed in excitement as she shifted though the man's collection.

Genis sighed and blushed in embarrassment. "There she goes again."

Lloyd kept looking half-heartedly, not really expecting to find anything at this point. At this rate... Just as he was ready to give up, something caught his eyes. Beneath a mountain worthless artifacts was a familiar metal that looked almost like gold. When he touched it, he knew it was an inhibitor ore. No, even better, it was a key crest!

"There! It's a key crest!" Lloyd shouted as he grabbed the crest. Finally, luck smiled on them.

The seller looked at Lloyd. "What? You want this piece of junk?" He obviously didn't know its value.

"Yeah, how much?" Lloyd asked.

The seller tapped his chin in thought. "Hmm, let's see. Ten-thousand gald."

Lloyd glared at the man. "Taking advantage of people in need…"

The man smiled smugly at him. "This is a business."

Zelos returned the smile. His, however, had an aura of malice. "Okay, call the one responsible for this bazaar right now. I'll make sure he can't do business anymore."

The seller was left dumbstruck. "Wh...who are you?"

Zelos leaned forward, never losing his smile. "You've got some guts to be ignorant of the great Zelos, the Chosen."

All the color drained from seller's face. "Chosen!? Please, take this junk. Uh, I mean, I humbly offer this up to you, so place forgive me!"

Zelos nodded in approval. "Good, good. I like your attitude. I'll remember you."

The seller laughed nervously.

Lloyd blinked. Well, that was one way to barter. He was indeed nothing like Colette. She hated using her title to get free goods. Of course, that left her to be taking advantage of. It was almost like Zelos was a mirror of Colette.

Zelos suddenly hit his shoulder. "You can thank me later. I'll just put it on your tab or something."

Lloyd groaned, but he did owe the guy. "Thanks, Zelos."

He smiled. "It was nothing. It was for my cute Colette."

Lloyd took the time to take a good look at the key crest. The inhibitor ore was in good condition, but the key crest itself was worn and useless. Not a problem. He could fix it.

"I need to borrow a room at the academy," Lloyd said. "The key crest needs repairs."

Zelos snapped his fingers. "Done and done."

He led them back to the academy and made the proper arrangements.

Soon, Lloyd was inside a dimly lit room, carving the crest into the inhibitor ore. At first, he was going to make a whole new mount, but decided against it when he found Colette's birthday present in his pocket. After all the broken promises about finishing it, it was time he actually did it.

So, he worked. He did not know how much time past and he didn't care. Out of all his projects, he couldn't afford to half-ass this. This wasn't just a birthday present anymore. This was for Colette's life. If he failed...he couldn't fail. He vowed to protect Colette and he would.

Outside the academy, Zelos wondered aimlessly. He has never been one to like being inside for too long. Besides, he hated school.

"Zelos..." a voice whispered in his mind.

Zelos sighed under his breath. One of his beneficiaries was calling. This was going to be a joy.

He walked outside of Sybak until he reached a wooded area. Given how many times he had to duck into a forest, he was starting to feel like a lumberjack.

"Haven't you heard the saying, 'don't call us, we'll call you'?" Zelos asked in annoyance.

Yuan teleported before him. "Do not give me that. I had to contact you since you've been talking with Pronyma."

Zelos smirked. "Jealous? Don't worry, she isn't my kind of woman."

Yuan chose to ignore those words. "What are you doing in Sybak?"

Zelos folded his arms. "The travelers from Sylvarant are trying to make a key crest for Colette."

Yuan snorted. "That is impossible without a dwarf."

Zelos chuckled. "So, you don't know. Apparently, the boy in red was raised by a dwarf."

This took Yuan off-guard. "What?"

Now that he thought about it, it did make sense. Kratos and Anna were heading to a dwarf named Dirk when Kvar trapped them. Could it be possible that dwarf was the one who found Lloyd?

"For a guy running a spy operation, you're lacking some information there," Zelos noted in humor.

"Do you think he can make the proper key crest?" Yuan asked, once again ignoring Zelos' sly remarks.

He shrugged. "Heck if I know."

Yuan rubbed his chin. "It would be extremely helpful if he did. It would delay Yggdrasill from getting his hands on the Chosen."

"And if it doesn't?" Zelos asked.

"Then we will go with my original plan," Yuan said. "That group stole some Rheairds from us. Eventually, they will return for them. I want you to learn where they hid them."

"So you can set a trap," Zelos surmised.

"Exactly," Yuan stated.

Zelos leaned against tree. "Sure, no problem. Although I'm not sure how I am going to explain to Pronyma about the Chosen being kidnap by Renegades."

"I am not interested in the Chosen," Yuan said.

Now it was Zelos' turn to be surprised. "Huh? Then what do you want with them?"

Yuan side-eyed Zelos. "I want Lloyd."

"Lloyd, the kid in red?" Zelos asked in disbelief. "What the devil do you need him for?"

"I hardly need to tell you," Yuan scoffed.

Zelos stared at him. "Hey, need I remind you that I have Pronyma's number. Get on my bad side and I just might let it slip that you're doing stuff behind Yggdrasill's back."

Yuan growled. Impudent brat. "If you must know, Lloyd is the key I need to finally defeat Cruxis."

"Does it have something to do with his odd exsphere?" Zelos asked.

"So, you've noticed?" Yuan mused.

"How can I not? All exsphere are tinted red while his is a sky blue," Zelos said. "It sticks out."

"He does have a special exsphere. It is Yggdrasill's attempt to create a Cruxis Crystal from a human host," Yuan explained. "Although to Lloyd, it is far more important. In fact, his life now depends on that exsphere."

Zelos tilted his head.

"However, that isn't why I need Lloyd," Yuan said. "I need him to control Kratos."

"Kratos, that guy with a stick up his butt?" Zelos asked. "The only one Kratos listens to is Yggdrasill. How can that kid control him?"

"That's his son," Yuan stated bluntly.

At that moment, it was like Zelos was struck by lightning. "What!? His son!?"

"Keep your voice down," Yuan scolded.

Zelos quickly regained his composure. "Son? I didn't know that guy was even into women."

"Well, now you know," Yuan said, somewhat amused by Zelos' reaction.

"Are you sure he even cares? According to Lloyd, that dwarf is his father," Zelos questioned.

Yuan nodded. "He cares. And he will do what I want for Lloyd's life. If he resists, then we have to use more unpleasant methods."

"Wow, you really are sinking into the lowest levels of villainy here," Zelos humored.

"Just get in contact with me when you learn the location of the Rheairds," Yuan said, briefly losing his patience. "I trust you can at least do that." With that, he disappeared.

"Sheesh, pushy," Zelos muttered. "Although, never expected Lloyd to be that guy's son. They're nothing alike." He sighed. "Things are really getting heated up. I'm beginning to wonder what I gotten myself into."

He made his way back towards Sybak. For Lloyd's sake, that key crest better worked.

Lloyd's eyes blurred as he finished craving the crest. It was nowhere near his dad's level, but it was by far his best work. He put his heart and soul into this necklace. He could only hope it was enough to bring back Colette.

He stood up and walked out of the room. It didn't take him long to find the others. They were in the main lobby of the academy. Presea was a statue while Genis attempted to talk to her. Raine was exploring the bone remains of some monster that adorn the lobby. Zelos was standing by a wall, looking bored out of his mind. Colette was floated near the entrance.

Raine, Genis, and Zelos turned towards him as he walked in. They all gave him expected looks as he walked to Colette.

"I didn't think I'd be giving you your birthday present like this," Lloyd mused somberly. He held out the necklace. "I've attached a key crest to your necklace. It's late, but it's my present for you." He reached over and put the necklace around her neck.

There, they waited.

Colette didn't move nor respond to them. Nothing changed.

"Colette? Can you hear me?" Lloyd asked desperately.

Nothing. Nothing at all.

"How is it?" Genis whispered.

Lloyd shook his head. The hope he had been carrying was crushed under the weight of reality. "It doesn't seem to work..." He really was a failure.

Zelos looked on. He kept his expression neutral, but he was upset too. He was really pulling for the kid.

Raine put a gentle hand on Lloyd's shoulder. "How about asking Dirk for help?"

Genis frowned. "But Dirk's in Sylvarant. And the Rheairds are out of fuel…"

"Maybe the people here at the Academy might know of a way," Lloyd said softly. He was desperate to do anything.

Zelos quickly stepped in. "Hey, hey, hey! Wait just a moment! Aren't you forgetting something? I'm here to keep tabs on you! I can't let you go back to Sylvarant!"

Lloyd looked Zelos. He gave him a pleading expression. He knew it was pathetic, but there was nothing else he could do. "Well then, just come along with us, oh compassionate Chosen One."

Zelos was taken back by the plea. "What? Are you serious?"

Raine decided to try a different approached. "You're kind to girls, right?"

"Yeah, it's to save Colette. You'll keep quiet about it for us, right?" Genis asked.

There was a long silence.

He really didn't want to go to Sylvarant. But, this did give him an opportunity. Yuan wanted to know where the Rheairds were and they were willing to tell him. After everything they've been through, however, he wasn't too happy to lead them into a trap. But it couldn't be helped. His beneficiaries wanted results.

"Great, how am I supposed to snitch after hearing that?" Zelos mourned. Well, he wouldn't snitch on them to the Pope. He had no intention of telling that old, fat bag of bones anything anyway.

Lloyd sighed in relief. "Okay, then all we need now is fuel."

Without warning, the back doors of the academy busted opened and several knights came charging into the lobby. Within seconds, they were surrounded.

Lloyd attempted to grab his swords, but he was quickly restrained when two knights all but tackled him to the ground.

Zelos was quickly retrained too, although he didn't struggle as much as Lloyd.

"Chosen, we heard what you said just now. We hereby declare you and your companions to be traitors attempting to destroy Tethe'alla," one of the knight declared.

"Traitors?" Lloyd repeated. He wasn't even from this world. How was he a traitor?

Zelos gave the knight a bored expression. "Humph. Well that was perfect timing, Mr. Papal Knight."

"By the Pope's orders. We are to watch you for suspicions of plotting against the throne," the knight stated.

Zelos rolled his eyes and laughed humorlessly. "Now that's amusing. I'm the one who's plotting against the throne?"

"Don't touch the angel," one of the knights ordered. "If you approach her carelessly, she'll kill you."

Lloyd struggled to free himself. Dammit, if he wasn't so careless he should have sensed these guys. With all that heavy armor, they couldn't have been subtle. Man, if Kratos were here he would have gotten an earful about dropping his guard.

...Even now he thought of that guy.

Something jabbed him in the arm. One of the knights had pulled his jacket's sleeve up and stuck a needle into him.

"Ow! What are you doing!?" Lloyd demanded.

"Criminals undergo biological tests before they are arrested. It's because of the caste system here," Zelos explained as Genis and Raine were also tested. "Some half-elves don't look any different from humans. It's necessary to detect them."

Before Lloyd could ask why such a test even existed, one of the knights cut him off.

"S…sir! We found a match!"

Lloyd turned his head towards his teacher and best friend. Both of them had their heads down in shame. What were they talking about? Genis and Raine were elves. There must be some kind of mistake.

"So, you're half-elves!" a knight exclaimed. His voice was filled with both disgust and horror.

Zelos was equally shocked. The surprises never ended with this group. "Half-elves? Is that true?"

Raine sighed, knowing that there was no point lying. "...That's right."

Genis looked at his sister in horror. "Raine!"

Raine shook her head. "There's no point in trying to hide it now."

"These pathetic half-elves have engaged in shameless caste deception," a knight said as if they had committed murder.

Lloyd glared at the knight in question. If he could reached just one of his swords, he would cut the man's tongue out. "What did you say!? The Professor and Genis are much better people than you! Who cares if they're half-elves!?"

Genis looked at Lloyd. He was closed to tears.

Raine still couldn't bear to look at anyone and kept her head down.

Zelos gave Lloyd a particular look. "I don't know what it's like in your world, but over here, half-elves are at the bottom of the caste system."

"Half-elves guilty of crimes are all executed without exception," one of the knight informed pitilessly.

"That's insane!" Lloyd shouted as he struggled harder. What the hell was wrong with this world!?

"Take them away," the leader ordered.

Raine and Genis were handcuffed and dragged away by almost all the knights in the room. There were only five left to restrained Lloyd and Zelos.

"Professor! Genis!" Lloyd screamed helplessly. After everything, he couldn't lose more of his friends. Dammit! He was still so weak!

"Change in plans. Half-elves can use magic, so we must keep them under heavy guard," the leader said.

"We don't have any spare forces," one of the knights pointed out.

"We'll return to the bridge and call for reinforcements. With the wagons, we'll reach it in less than a day," the leader said. "As for the Chosen and the others, just lock them in the basement or something."

Lloyd was roughly pulled to his feet and dragged to the lowest level of the academy. Zelos wasn't treated much better and Presea and Colette just obediently followed them. Since Lloyd put up a biggest fit, the knights had his hands handcuffed.

They were soon taking to two large double doors and dragged inside. In the basement there were two people. A male and female with dark green hair.

"Who's there?" the female asked.

"Don't speak to us, half-elf," the knight sneered. "Be quiet and continue your work."

Zelos and Lloyd were tossed into the room.

"They are criminals. Hold them here until we return for them," a knight ordered as they left the room. They could hear the heavy doors being locked behind them.

The woman stared at them. "Criminals. If you're had the good fortune of being born human, don't throw it away like that."

"W…we haven't done anything!" Lloyd yelled as he struggled in his cuffs. If he could only reached his miniature tool kit on his wrists he could pick his way out in seconds.

"Well, you did try to go back to Sylvarant," Zelos pointed out as he made himself comfortable on the floor.

"Sh..shut up," Lloyd stuttered as he went back to trying to reached his took kit.

The woman approached Lloyd, but stopped short when she saw Presea.

"Ah... Get away..." Presea said as she turned her back on the woman.

"Presea? You're Presea!" the woman exclaimed.

"You know Presea?" Lloyd asked.

The woman suddenly became very nervous. "Ah..I...she's..."

"A half-elf in the Imperial Research Academy is acquainted with a human child? That's strange," Zelos observed, staring at the woman.

"Why?" Lloyd questioned.

Zelos leaned forward. "I told you, half-elves are treated like garbage in this world. The half-elves that work at the Imperial Research Academy never leave their labs, ever."

Lloyd's mouth dropped. "That's insane."

This place...was like the opposite Sylvarant. Where the Desians, who were mostly half-elves, treated humans as cattle and dirt, the humans in Tethe'alla treated half-elves like utter crap. How did this happen?

"Let's put that aside for now," Zelos said, ignoring Lloyd's bafflement. "How does a half-elf that can never leave here know Presea?"

The woman lowered her head in shame. "This child is my team's research sample."

"Research? What kind of research?" Lloyd questioned in dread. For a moment, he saw a visage of Kvar.

"Research to manufacture Cruxis Crystals inside the human body," the woman stated.

Zelos had to fight to keep a neutral expression. Didn't Yuan say Lloyd's exsphere was special and it was Yggdrasill's attempt to create a Cruxis Crystal from a human host? Was Presea also part of that research?

He glanced at Presea's exsphere and saw it was indeed tinted red, just like any other exsphere. It was nothing like Lloyd's.

Lloyd's eyes widened. "You can make Cruxis Crystals?"

"Yes," the woman answered. "Theoretically, they are no different than exspheres. By allowing them to slowly feed on a human body..."

"Wh...what!?" Lloyd exclaimed, startling the woman into silence. "That's the same way the Desians made exspheres!"

"What are you talking about?" the woman asked in shock.

Lloyd glared at her. "I'm saying, how can you treat people that way!?"

The woman folded her arms, returning Lloyd's glare. "I could ask you the exact same thing. How can you humans treat half-elves the way you do?"

"I treat them the same as everyone else. There's no difference between the lives of humans and half-elves!" Lloyd yelled, both mad and annoyed that someone would even suggest he treated half-elves like those scum knights.

"He isn't from Tethe'alla," a voice suddenly said.

Out of nowhere, Corrine appeared. The fox-like summon spirit jumped and shattered the handcuffs that bounded Lloyd's hands. At that same moment, Sheena appeared.

"He's a strange one who was raised in Sylvarant with half-elves and a dwarf," Sheena finished her statement.

"Sheena! How did you know we…" Lloyd started to ask.

"I'll explain later," Sheena said, quickly becoming serious. "Genis and Raine are being taken to Meltokio. If we go after them now, we should be able to save them!"

"I don't see how. They have wagons and horses and can reach Meltokio in not even a third of the time as us," Zelos said as he stood up and dusted his pants.

"I know, which is why I 'borrow' some of the Papal Knights horses before coming here," Sheena said.

Zelos smiled. "Clever. But even with horses those transport wagons are fast. We would be pushing it."

Sheena nodded. "I have that cover too. I know a shortcut in this area that will allow us reach the bridge faster. But we have to leave now if we want any chance of catching them."

"Are you planning on running away?" the woman asked.

Sheena stared at her. "Are you going to try to stop us?" She almost sounded like she was daring her.

"He's going to save his half-elf best friend. What are you going to do, Miss Half-elf?" Zelos questioned.

The woman looked at them in disbelief. "I…I won't let you trick me. There's no way a human would save a half-elf."

"But Kate. I did hear they arrested two half-elves up above," the man assistant, who'd remained silent up to this point, said.

Kata had no counter.

"There's no time," Lloyd said as he reached for his swords. "If you're going to get in our way, we'll just have to fight you!"

Kate sighed in defeat. "Fine. I'll let you go if you promise that once you've saved your half-elf friends, you will come back here. If what you've said is true…I'll release Presea from her experiment."

Lloyd dropped his arms. "You promise?"

Kate nodded. "I swear upon the name of the Goddess Martel."

Well, that didn't mean much. No, that was unfair to say. People believed in the goddess and swearing on her name meant a lot. This wasn't the time for personal bias.

"Okay," Lloyd said. "I will hold you to that."

"Then…come over here. There's a hidden passage," Kate said as she walked over to a pair of dressers. She pushed one aside and revealed passage way. "You can escape to the surface through the door."

They rushed towards the door.

"Thanks," Lloyd said graciously.

"Hurry! We need to head for the bridge," Sheena said. "The horses are near the entrance."

Zelos turned towards Kate. "By whose order was Presea's experiment carried out?" He knew it had to be someone high on the food chain.

Kate looked away from Zelos. "I...can't say."

This told Zelos everything. "The Pope, then."

Kate didn't answer, confirming his suspicions.

The question was, why? Was he planning to have his own Cruxis Crystal? This stunk to high heaven. Well, one crisis at a time. First, he needed to help rescue those half-elves, and then give his report to Yuan once he learned where those Rheairds were. Once those dirty deeds were done, he would deal with the Pope.

"Zelos, come on!" Sheena yelled.

"I know, I know! Sheesh…" Zelos complained as he ran through the passageway.

He should have figured this would turn out to be more than an escort job.

We see more of Zelos playing every side and Raine and Genis being taking to be executed. Eventful chapter to seemed to fly back.

Until next time, please take care.