A/N:
This chapter remained mostly unchanged, except for the extension in the first scene and a short dialogue between Lloyd and Genis. Originally, this chapter started with Lloyd and the others leaving Larkin's house.
Lloyd awoke confused and disorientated. For starters, sunlight was streaming in through the window, and he was in a bed. They had spent so many days outdoors, sleeping in the dirt, that sleeping in a proper bed felt strange. Furthermore, Lloyd couldn't remember how he'd gotten here.
He got up, padded over to the window to have a look outside, and sucked in a startled breath. The house he was in appeared to be the only one still standing – all the others had suffered severe damage, or had been destroyed completely.
The next moment, memories of the previous day came flooding in – Lloyd braced himself for the waves of despair to drown him, but they were less intense than they had been before – it seemed that his mind had accepted and processed what had happened while he'd been asleep. He now also remembered that Alice had brought him here and given him a potion. He couldn't remember anything after that, though.
Turning around, he spotted his jacket, trousers and swords at the foot of his bed, his boots were sitting next to the bed. Moreover, with a start, he realised that he wasn't the sole occupant of this room, either – he just hadn't noticed Kratos since the man was being so very still.
Confused, Lloyd approached the bed the mercenary was lying in – he'd never actually seen Kratos sleep before, he had always been awake whenever Lloyd woke up, night watch or not. However, Lloyd knew for a fact that Kratos usually removed his cape and belts before going to bed, and lying on top of the covers certainly wasn't normal, either. And he was rather meticulous when it came to his equipment – this time, however, Kratos had apparently just dropped his boots on the floor, and his sword had, at one point, fallen over as well. To sum it all up, this was very odd.
Lloyd cautiously crept closer. Kratos lay curled up on his side, his face pale and his jaw clenched. He didn't appear to be well, and Lloyd felt worry well up inside himself. They might not have the best relationship, but Kratos was still a companion, maybe even a friend, and Lloyd cared about his friends. However, he had absolutely no idea what could be the matter, so, he decided to get help.
Lloyd got dressed, grabbed his swords (force of habit) and left the room as quietly as possible, as not to wake Kratos. There were several rooms on this floor, and Lloyd had no idea who was occupying which ones – he'd have to either find Alice or Raine, but didn't really like the idea of just barging into their rooms. Instead, he decided to have a look around downstairs – some of his friends ought to be up at this time already.
Lloyd entered a large room that seemed to be both a kitchen and dining area and stopped, surprised. The only person present was a man with pale-blue hair, who was busy preparing breakfast. He looked up when Lloyd reached the bottom of the stairs and wiped his hands on his apron.
"Ah, good morning. You must be Lloyd."
"Er, yes. Um. Your house, I assume?"
"Indeed. Alice asked me to let you all stay for the night."
"Right. I don't really remember much about what happened last night…"
"That is understandable, given everything that has been going on. How are you feeling? Did you sleep well? Oh, I'm Larkin, by the way."
Larkin crossed the room to get a closer look at Lloyd, and Lloyd noticed with a start that he had pointy ears – shorter than Aodhan's, but definitely not human.
A half-elf?
"I'm doing much better than yesterday, thanks for asking", Lloyd replied. "I think Alice helped me a lot. Speaking of Alice – is she up yet? I need her help!"
"Alice and Aodhan left early to assist with reconstruction work", Larkin replied with a frown. "What's wrong?"
"I don't know, that's why I was looking for help – it's Kratos. I'm worried about him."
"I can go take a look, if you like", Larkin replied, untying his apron and hanging it on a hook.
"Are you a healer?"
"No. However, I do know a thing or two. Should this be beyond my skill, we can either wake your teacher or send for Alice."
"All right."
Lloyd led the way and carefully opened the door to have a peek inside. However, he needn't have worried – Kratos was still in the same position, still asleep. Larkin clicked his tongue as he took in the sight before closing the door.
"He does seem unwell", he agreed. "Did something happen yesterday?"
"Well, we had sort of an argument by the lake after we returned from the ranch", Lloyd replied with a frown. "I don't know where he went after that, though, and Alice found me shortly afterwards. I don't remember much more than that."
"I see."
"I know he's awful at self-care, though", Lloyd added, remembering something. "When we were in the desert, he refused to drink water, saying that we should prioritise Genis and Colette. Noishe was getting very worked up over it, and I finally told him to stop acting tough and have a drink. He was grouchy about it the entire time, though."
"Goodness. Well then, I'll see what I can do."
Larkin crouched down next to the bed and reached for Kratos. Lloyd shot forward and grabbed his arm.
"Wait! We'd better remove his sword from his reach before you try anything", he whispered.
"Why?"
"The last time I sneaked up on him, he almost took my head off."
"What?!"
"He seems to favour the 'kill first, ask questions later' approach", Lloyd replied, picking up the sword and depositing it on his bed.
"I see."
"Anyway, I'll be ready to pounce just in case he should try anything this time, so don't worry."
"Very well."
Larkin touched the tips of two fingers to Kratos' forehead while simultaneously touching two fingers to his own, and stayed like that for a short while.
"He doesn't appear to have a fever, which is good. I'll try waking him now." Larkin reached for Kratos' shoulder and started shaking him gently. "Kratos! Wake up!"
Kratos grunted something in reply, his face twisting into a displeased scowl.
"Kratos! Come on, wake up."
Brown eyes blinked open and Larkin quickly withdrew his hand. Kratos turned his head, apparently still half-asleep, and stared up at them. The next moment, he bolted upright, his entire body tensing up.
"Whoa there", Larkin said, holding up his hands, palms facing forwards. "It's all right. You're safe. Sorry for startling you."
Kratos blinked and relaxed marginally. He seemed confused, though, as if he didn't quite know what to make of this situation.
Seeing that he wasn't about to try and murder Larkin, Lloyd allowed himself to relax as well.
"How are you feeling?", Larkin asked.
"Ah, I'm – " Kratos cleared his throat – "fine."
"Hm." Larkin held out a glass of water. "Drink this. Do be careful, it's cold."
Kratos gingerly accepted the glass, wincing when he touched it, despite the fact that he was still wearing his gloves. Larkin produced a straw from somewhere and stuck it into the drink.
"Wait a minute", Lloyd said, his brain catching on. "Did you just make this out of ice? With magic?"
"Why do you think it's so cold?", Kratos groused.
"I did", Larkin said to Lloyd, ignoring Kratos.
"Awesome!"
"Oh, not at all", Larkin replied sheepishly, rising from his crouch. "My magic isn't anything special; I mostly use it to make life easier."
"I still think it's awesome."
Kratos was watching them while sipping his water, a frown on his face.
"Kratos, I know you're not fine. I can offer you a variety of teas, but if you want something stronger, you'd have to go see Alice."
"I don't think that'll be necessary", Kratos said at length.
"All right, then tea it is. Oh, and breakfast is ready. Time to get out of bed."
"I'm not – "
Larkin held up a finger to silence Kratos. "My house, my rules. You will have breakfast first, and then we'll see."
Larkin turned and left the room. Kratos muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like "meddlesome man". Lloyd frowned at him.
"You could just be grateful, you know."
Kratos looked up. "Huh?"
"I went to get Larkin since I was worried about you. We both were. However, instead of being grateful, you sulk. I know you like acting tough – and I won't deny that you are a tough guy – but you're still human. Not some untouchable entity. There must be things that bother you, things that burden you. And when something happens, it's all right to rely on the rest of us. We're a team, you know. You don't have to carry that burden – whatever it is – all by yourself. We're here to help."
Kratos stared at him, surprise and shock clearly visible in his face. Lloyd had never seen him make such an unguarded expression before. Then, he completely took Lloyd off-guard when his eyes softened.
"Lloyd… Thank you for your kind words. Truly."
"Ah, you're welcome", Lloyd replied, rubbing the back of his head while feeling self-conscious.
Kratos let out a soft chuckle.
"A-anyway, let's head downstairs, shall we? I don't know about you, but I'm starving."
"Yes, let's." Kratos swung his legs over the bed and reached for his boots. "Where did you put my sword?"
"Out of arm's reach. I was a bit worried you'd try to kill Larkin."
"I see."
When they arrived in the kitchen, Lloyd was delighted to see that the others were awake as well, although Sheena was absent. Larkin was currently handing out food and scolding Genis for wolfing down his portion. Lloyd grinned. It was a nice scene.
He and Kratos slipped onto the bench lining the wall, and Larkin placed two bowls of fruit porridge in front of them, followed by a mug of tea for Kratos. The latter was accompanied by a stern look from Larkin, meant to let Kratos know that resistance was futile. Kratos sighed and obediently sipped his tea. There was bread, too, and butter. The food smelled divine.
Raine asked Lloyd about his well-being, and Lloyd told her he was feeling much better than the day before. Kvar's revelations had apparently come as a shock to all of them – however, Lloyd had simply been too preoccupied with his own problems to have the time to think about that. Like Kratos, Raine was of the opinion that they couldn't afford to cast away their Exspheres, at least not now – still, Lloyd couldn't bring himself to ask Kratos to return his mother's Exsphere.
While they were busy making plans, Lloyd noticed suddenly that Kratos had gotten up and joined Larkin at the sink, and that they were having what appeared to be a heated discussion. Lloyd couldn't hear them, but Kratos seemed exasperated while Larkin was resolutely shaking his head no.
Eventually, Kratos gave up and sat back down, sulking in a very obvious manner. Lloyd wisely decided to keep his mouth shut.
After having finished their preparations, Lloyd and his companions got ready to depart. Larkin saw them to the door, his gaze sweeping over the group.
"I wish you all safe travels, and I pray for your success in regenerating the world – please, rid us of those Desians."
"Thank you", Colette replied with a slight bow. "I promise to do my best."
"Take care, Larkin", Lloyd added.
They set out to look for Alice and Aodhan. Genis fell into step next to Lloyd.
"I'm so glad we were able to manage to rescue the villagers", he said. "Otherwise, Larkin would be here almost completely by himself."
"He's a half-elf, right?"
"Yeah", Genis replied. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, it's just that he's the first half-elf I've ever met, properly, I mean. I never really thought about what the Desians were, either – to me, they were just bad people doing bad things."
"That's so you, Lloyd", Genis replied, rolling his eyes.
"A-anyway, when Forcystus told us he was a half-elf, that really surprised me. And when you and the Professor told me that most half-elves were Desians, I began to wonder if all of them were."
"Well, I can't be certain, but it's probably safe to assume that most of them are, since there is no other place for them to be", Genis replied quietly.
"But Larkin seems to be doing fine here", Lloyd pointed out.
"Yeah, I was surprised, to be honest. In a good way."
"So, it's possible for humans and half-elves to get along, then", Lloyd concluded. "Though I suppose both sides must be willing to make an effort… I mean, really, what's the difference between them and us? We're all people."
Genis gave him a surprised look before letting out a chuckle. "Lloyd… please, never change."
It was Lloyd's turn to give Genis a surprised look.
"There they are", Raine said, interrupting them.
Aodhan was currently making water sprout from the ground, filling several buckets. Alice was up on a trestle, helping some of the villagers with fixing it to the wall of a ruined house, but jumped down when she spotted them.
"Lloyd, good morning. Are you feeling any better?"
"Yes, thanks to your help."
"Don't mention it."
"Alice, about what you did yesterday", Raine said. "You can bring back the dead. Could you teach me?"
"I'm afraid not. It's not a skill that can be taught – you need to amplify your healing powers. In my case, we used some rare herbs and old enchantments, but that's not something I can re-create here... However, I heard stories that there are many books and scrolls on healing stored inside the Tower of Mana just north of town. Maybe you'll find something useful there... I haven't been inside the tower myself, since the entrance is still sealed."
"Thanks for the hint."
"Does that mean you won't be coming with us?", Lloyd asked tentatively.
"No. These people need help, besides, there is a chance that some of the surviving Desians will come back to take revenge on the villagers. But you will be fine, I'm sure of it."
"Will we ever meet again?"
"Who knows? Perhaps."
Much to Lloyd's surprise, Kratos had edged his way around the group while he had been talking to Alice and was now approaching her.
"You know Larkin, don't you", he said without preamble.
"Yes – we're acquainted. Why?"
"Well, you see, the thing is – I tried to give him money earlier, to repay him for his hospitality, but he flat-out refused. I couldn't persuade him… So, I was thinking that – maybe – you could - ?"
"Oh, I see. I can certainly try, if you want me to. Worst case, I'll just hide the money in his pantry or something. I don't think he'd suspect me, and I could – wait a minute." Alice turned to face Aodhan, a wicked smile on her face. "You take the money, make yourself invisible and leave it somewhere for him to find!"
"I'm not opposed to the idea", the elf replied. "I still think you should try and give it to him first."
"All right. I'll try."
"Thank you", Kratos said, handing her a small bag of money.
"That's a lot", Alice observed, weighing it. "Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Very well. I'll see if I can find a way to let you know if I've been successful."
"I appreciate it. Very well, then, let's move."
Lloyd nodded and turned away. Leaving Alice and Aodhan behind filled him with sadness, but there was nothing he could do about it. Feeling he ought to at least do something for this village, he donated most of his money to the mayor, asking him to use it to rebuild the town. Word of that spread throughout Luin with amazing speed, so, by the time they reached the outskirts, not only Alice and Sheena, but Raine and Lloyd himself had become the new local heroes. What surely helped Lloyd's "cause" was the fact that Kratos had apparently told the people that Lloyd had killed Kvar.
"Excuse me."
It was Sheena. Lloyd had no idea how she had managed to approach them unnoticed.
"I would like to come along, if you don't mind. I – I don't ask you to trust me, but – I can't just do nothing now that I know what the Desians do to people. I want to help you."
"I don't mind", Colette replied. "Maybe we'll be able to work out our differences that way!"
Raine and Kratos weren't too pleased, but admitted Sheena was a strong fighter. And both Lloyd and Genis decided she deserved a second chance.
Kratos was very relieved to finally be rid of Alice and Aodhan. This way, they could no longer endanger his plans. Though he had a feeling that he was going to miss something – the discussions with Alice. They had been a welcome distraction. And he had had no need to pretend with her, either...
But he didn't quite figure out why she had mentioned the Tower of Mana. Could there really be some kind of library there?
How could she know something like that, if she's never been inside the tower before? Perhaps she learned that at university. But still... Wait. What if she intends for Raine to become stronger? If she learns how to revive people, this might prove troublesome. Dammit. Alice... what are you up to?
While they were walking towards their destination, Lloyd observed Sheena. She stayed away from the others, but always within Raine and Kratos' field of vision, as if determined to prove she was no danger. Corinne sat on her shoulder most of the time, or he was running next to her. Noishe had, by now, realised he wasn't dangerous and stopped being scared of him.
Kratos suddenly dropped back to fall in stride next to Lloyd.
"I'm sorry about what I said yesterday", he said quietly. "It must have seemed very harsh and cold to you."
Lloyd gave him a surprised look. "But it was the truth. Besides, I ought to thank you – you saved my life. I don't think I could have handled Kvar all by myself..."
"That's exactly why he lured you away from us."
"Yeah... and I fell for it. But in the end, I did it – I avenged my Mum."
"Lloyd, your mother was killed by your father", Kratos replied, turning his head away. "Can you really say you avenged her?"
Lloyd gave him another puzzled look. "But Kvar was the one who created the situation that forced my father to do it in the first place, wasn't he?"
"Ah – of course. That was a foolish question... forgive me."
The others had stopped to wait for them to catch up.
"Alice wasn't completely honest with us", Raine observed. "She acted like she'd never been to Luin before, but she clearly knew Larkin."
"Yes. But keeping that information from us didn't really do us any harm", Genis pointed out.
"That's right, but why didn't she tell us before? Why was she headed to Luin, precisely the same time we were travelling the same road?"
"She did admit to me that our meeting wasn't a coincidence", Kratos replied. "However, I do not know how she knew when we would arrive at the place she was waiting at. Neither do I know her plans, but for some reason, she seems determined to keep the Chosen alive."
"So, she isn't our enemy", Lloyd concluded. "Besides, if she was after Colette, why would she split off from our group?"
"She probably intended to stay with us, but what happened in Luin made her change her plans", Raine mused. "Alice seems incapable of ignoring people who are in trouble or pain."
"That Larkin guy really has me confused", Genis said quietly. "He's a half-elf living alone in a human settlement near a human ranch – and he doesn't seem to mind humans at all – he helped us out, after all. He didn't mind Aodhan, either..."
"I think I can shed some light on his motives", Sheena replied. "Before the Desians attacked, he hid some people in his house, and I asked him why. He then told me that he basically saw everyone in this village grow up since he's over a century old, and he also was married to a human, and their daughter was murdered by the Desians. So, I think he just feels more inclined to sympathise with the humans than with the Desians. This village is his home, after all."
"And the villagers? Do they accept him?", Genis asked.
"I don't know... one said he didn't want to enter 'the house of a half-elf', so Larkin pointed out that the only alternative was going to the ranch, which shut him up instantly. But I'd say he's generally accepted, or else the children wouldn't have hidden in his house."
"Good point", Raine agreed. "Though Alice did mention she, too, had less trouble with the elven children."
"Yeah, I heard the elves can get pretty nasty when it comes to strangers. I have no idea what it must've been like for her, trying to blend into their society – but she somehow managed. Some people call her the 'elf human'."
"You know her?", Raine asked suspiciously.
"No. I hadn't met her until you guys arrived. But I've heard about her – she's quite famous, actually. The only human living in the village of elves ruled by a half-elf known to hate humans..."
"Her sister – hates humans?", Colette asked.
"Yeah. Luckily, I never had to deal with her myself, but those who have to dread the meetings. Elerína is known to have next to no patience with humans."
They continued on their way while discussing discrimination, Alice's strange situation and other things. Upon reaching the tower, they found an oracle stone in front of the entrance.
"Alice mentioned the entrance was sealed", Genis said quietly. "Did she know there was a seal here?"
"She seems to know a lot about things in general", Raine replied. "Colette, please open the door for us."
"Yes, professor."
The inside of the tower was gloomy and rather cold. The entrance hall was lined with bookshelves. Raine leaned her staff against one of the shelves.
"Start looking", she ordered. "Any reference to healing might be relevant."
They spread throughout the room and started checking the table of contents of books with promising titles.
"I think I found something!", Sheena called.
"Let me see."
Sheena carried the book to one of the tables, and Raine carefully turned the dusty pages.
"It says that healing powers can be enhanced by using a unicorn's horn. But – how are we supposed to get one?"
"I heard a unicorn was seen at Lake Umacy", Sheena replied. "Don't know if it's true, though."
"Lake Umacy is up on the highlands", Kratos pointed out.
"No matter", Raine replied. "Our battles have become more and more difficult lately. We might need stronger healing powers. No offence, but yours aren't that great."
"What did you expect? I'm human."
Upon reaching the lake shore, they searched it for some time without finding any trace of the unicorn. Frustrated, Lloyd sat down onto a rock. Sheena stopped next to him, shielding her eyes against the sunlight.
"Professor, come quickly!", Colette suddenly called.
Everyone gathered around her. Colette pointed out at the lake. The water was smooth and crystal clear, they could see all the way to the bottom of the lake. And there, buried underneath some logs and surrounded by a barrier, lay the unicorn.
"Great", Genis said. "How do we get there?"
"We could dive", Lloyd suggested.
"Good idea", Kratos replied dryly. "How exactly do you intend to dive that deep and bring it up to the surface?"
"Well..."
"There is the possibility to summon Undine", Sheena said.
Everyone turned to stare at her.
"The ability to form pacts was lost a long time ago", Raine muttered.
"I haven't formed any pacts yet – the one with Corinne doesn't really count – but I know how it's done. If you like, I'll try forming a pact with her. We'd have to go to the Temple of Water, though."
"That would take a lot of time", Raine replied.
"Do you want to become stronger, or not?"
Raine straightened her back. "Let's go."
When they set up camp for the night close to Asgard, Lloyd noticed Colette was standing several paces away, looking up at the sky. Again, she hadn't eaten, and Lloyd hadn't seen her sleep in a while. No matter when he woke up, she was always awake. And then there was something else...
Picking up two mugs, he walked over to her.
"Here, I brought you some coffee. Hot, isn't it?"
"Thank you! Yes, it's really hot!", Colette replied with a happy smile.
"It's actually iced coffee. I had Genis cool it down with magic."
"Oh, of course it's cold."
"I lied. It's actually hot."
Colette dropped the mug.
"I knew it! How long have you been like this? You can't feel anything at all, can you?"
"Th-that's not true!"
"But that's not all. You haven't been eating!"
"I eat!"
Lloyd shook his head. "Barely. You even started eating things you don't like. And you haven't been sleeping, either."
"O-Of course I sleep! See, my eyes aren't red or anything - "
"Don't lie to me! You always do that fake giggle when you're lying!"
Colette looked taken aback.
"Is it that hard for you to trust me?"
"N-No, that's not it... I just figured that this is what it means to become an angel, so I shouldn't let it get to me..."
"Colette... what's happening to you?"
"I don't know... I don't know. Things first got strange when I released the Seal of Fire. All of a sudden, I didn't grow hungry any more. And everything lost its taste – I couldn't keep anything down unless I forced myself to, so – I stopped eating. When I released the other seals, I stopped getting sleepy. Even if I lay down and closed my eyes, I still couldn't fall asleep. I haven't been sleeping since. And by now – I can't feel heat, nor cold, nor pain."
"Colette..."
"But my eyesight has really improved – I can see things that are really far away. Same goes for my hearing – then again, this new ability can be quite painful..."
Shocked, Lloyd stared at her, a tear trickling down his cheek.
"Colette, I'm sorry", he whispered, wrapping his arms around her. "All this time you were suffering, and I didn't even notice..."
"Please don't tell the others."
"Why?"
"We're all on this journey together, and I want it to be fun. So, I don't want you to worry about it, either."
"Colette..."
"Lloyd... even though you are crying for me and I'm happy – so happy I want to cry, too – I no longer can."
Lloyd didn't feel like singing any more. The revelation that Colette was losing her senses bit by bit had shaken him to the core, and he could no longer muster the energy to sing. Colette still tried to act like nothing was wrong, which included singing happy, upbeat tunes. Lloyd just trudged along, a frown on his face, kicking at every pebble and small rock he found in his path.
Kratos cast a worried look his way, but refrained from saying anything.
Finally, they reached the Thoda docks. Raine protested against using the washtubs again, but there was no other way to cross the sea, and so she gave in. The monsters inside the temple proved to be much less of a problem than the last time – especially Genis' new lightning-based spells proved quite effective against them.
Upon reaching the altar, Sheena took a deep breath and stepped in front of it. This reminded Lloyd strongly of Colette doing the same thing when releasing the seals...
"You can do it, Sheena!", Colette called.
"I might fail, you know", Sheena replied quietly.
"You'll be fine", Lloyd assured her.
"You don't even know what you're talking about! Just don't blame me if something happens!"
Blue mana swirled through the air and took the shape of a woman with blue skin and red eyes.
"You who possesses the right of the pact. What is it that thou wishes?"
"I am Sheena! I seek a pact with Undine and I ask that thou grantst me thy power."
"That, I cannot. I am already bound by a pact with Mithos. I cannot form two pacts at a time."
Sheena stared at Undine, then, she turned to face the others.
"Dammit! They never said anything about this at the research academy!"
"Mithos? Does she mean Mithos, the Hero?", Lloyd asked.
"Not only he was a master swordsman, but he could summon as well?", Genis added.
"Mithos is a common boys' name", Raine replied. "It doesn't necessarily have to be the Hero Mithos."
"That doesn't matter!", Sheena snapped. "How am I going to form a pact now?"
"Can't you get her to cancel the old pact?", Lloyd asked.
"How?! We don't even know where this Mithos person is!"
"A Summon Spirit's pact requires a vow", Kratos said. "As long as the pact-maker upholds this vow, the pact remains valid."
"That is correct", Undine, who had apparently been listening to their argument, said.
"I know about that", Sheena replied. "The Summon Spirit approves the pact-maker's vow and agrees to the pact."
"Exactly", Kratos replied. "Therefore, all you need to do is follow Lloyd's advice, request the annulment of the previous pact and form a new one. It's possible the previous pact-maker has broken his vow. Or he may have already... passed away."
"Is it really that simple?", Genis asked.
"I suppose you could call it simple, but if the previous pact-maker is still alive and hasn't broken his vow, then there is nothing we can do about it."
"Okay, I'll give it a shot", Sheena said.
She turned to face the Summon Spirit.
"I am Sheena! I ask that thou annulst thy pact with Mithos and establish a new pact – with me!"
"Before I can allow the formation of a new pact, I must test your worthiness as a pact-maker. Draw your weapons."
"What? We have to fight?", Lloyd asked.
"Let it begin!"
Kratos ordered Raine to watch over Colette while he, Sheena and Lloyd charged. Sheena's feet were hardly touching the ground. Her movements were fast and fluent, they had a strange elegance to them. Whenever Sheena used an arte, her cards glowed.
Kratos had apparently decided to leave close-range battle to Sheena and Lloyd and was casting Thunder Blade, his level two lightning spell. In addition to Genis' Spark Wave, it dealt some heavy damage.
Undine wasn't an easy opponent to defeat, however. Lloyd quickly found out the guardian had been weak in comparison, for Undine was much cleverer and sophisticated. She had a habit of flooding the platform with water from the surrounding areas, and in close-range combat, she used a massive blade made of water. However, the blows of her sword didn't resemble a gentle flow of water, but the impact on the surface after a fall from several meters. Lloyd could tell the difference, he had tried it out.
Sheena dodged one of Undine's attacks, a knife in each hand. Having an idea, Lloyd attacked at the same time as she did form the opposite direction.
"Not bad, Lloyd!", Kratos called. "Looks like practising with Alice really did you some good."
Raine, Genis and Kratos cast their spells almost at the same time, and the next moment, Undine raised one hand.
"Enough! Your strength is admirable."
They put their weapons away and Raine started to heal Lloyd.
"You who possesses the right: Based on what vow doth thou wish to create our pact?"
"Right now, there are beings who are suffering. I, Sheena, vow to help those beings."
"I accept thy vow. I grant thee my power."
Undine vanished. Her mana flowed into Sheena's hands, forming a ring with a small sapphire embedded in it. Sheena let out a sigh of relief.
"Well, that's that. But Kratos, how comes you know so much about summoning?"
"I once had a friend who had troubles with Summon Spirits", he replied. "But that was a while ago."
Raine gave him a piercing look but said nothing. The next moment, Genis gasped.
"Colette! Why didn't you say you're hurt?"
"But I'm not."
"You're bleeding!"
"Oh, you're right", she said, examining her arm. "But it doesn't hurt – I mean, it doesn't hurt much."
"Colette, I'm sorry, but I can't keep our secret any longer", Lloyd said. "Everyone, Colette can no longer feel pain. As she gets closer to becoming an angel, she loses her humanity... by now, she is unable to sleep, eat or feel heat, cold or pain at all."
"Lloyd, it's fine", Colette said. "I'm fine..."
"This most certainly isn't 'fine'!", Sheena exclaimed. "This is terrible! Don't you miss the taste of your favourite food? If you're tired, don't you want to go to sleep?"
"The world will be regenerated when the chosen becomes an angel", Colette replied. "It has always been like that. Please, don't worry about me."
The others couldn't really think of anything to say to that. Raine healed Colette's wound and instructed her to be more careful in the future.
"If you can't feel pain, you might bleed to death without noticing", she warned.
Colette nodded. "I'll take care."
About two weeks later, in the evening, they reached Lake Umacy. Nothing had changed here, the unicorn was still lying on the bottom of the lake. Lloyd stopped at the shore.
"So, how do we get to the unicorn?"
"You won't be getting there at all", Kratos replied. "A unicorn can only be approached by a pure maiden. That means only Sheena, Colette and Raine can go."
"I'm not going out onto the lake", Raine said, taking several steps backwards.
Sheena rolled her eyes.
"C'mon, Colette!"
"Right!"
Sheena raised her right hand.
"I call upon the Maiden of the Mist! I summon thee, come, Undine!"
The Summon Spirit appeared.
"Please take us to the unicorn."
"Very well."
A disc of water lifted Sheena and Colette into the air, and they drifted across the lake. At the same time, the unicorn was lifted up and finally, it was standing on the surface, just as Sheena and Colette. The barrier vanished and it whinnied quietly.
"You have awakened me. What can I do for you?"
"Er – we need your horn – that is, Professor Sage needs it, to help people...", Colette stammered, confused.
Sheena could understand that, she, too, hadn't known that unicorns could use telepathy.
"Martel!"
"What? I'm not Martel."
"Yes, you are. Despite my blindness, I can see it clearly... This mana... this illness... You are Martel."
"Colette is ill? Can you help her?"
"No, Sheena, I'm fine!"
"I live to cure Martel's illness."
"But I'm fine, really! Besides, I need to regenerate the world!"
"I see... so you are the Chosen. Take it..."
The horn started to glow and broke off at its base, and Sheena quickly darted forwards to catch it. The next moment, they noticed the unicorn was fading away.
"What's happening to you?", Colette called.
"Our horns are our lives. But do not mourn me – another life will soon be born."
Sheena closed her eyes for a moment, then, she looked up at Colette.
"After you finished your journey, we'll use this to cure you, I promise."
Colette smiled in reply. Sheena let them drift back to the shore.
"Here's the horn", she said, handing it to Raine.
"Thank you."
"So, the unicorn is dead", Kratos observed.
His cold and indifferent manner enraged Sheena. She whirled around to face him.
"You knew this would happen?", she fumed.
"What if I did? Would it have changed anything?"
"Well, I – I - "
"You already proved you don't mind harming the innocent, so I don't really understand why you are getting so worked up over this."
Sheena glared at him. "I'm not doing this for my own pleasure! If Sylvarant is saved, my homeland will be doomed!"
Full of anger, she turned away and ran off. Reaching a larger boulder after several minutes, she jumped onto it and sat down, frustrated and angry. Her conflicting emotions made her cry.
Colette is a kind-hearted girl, and I like the others as well – except Raine and Kratos. What am I supposed to do now?
Sheena wrapped her arms around her knees.
She has to be younger than me. She acts much too grown up and earnest for that. What happened to her? Are we – alike?
Hearing footsteps, she looked up, wiping her face with her glove. It was Lloyd.
"We're leaving for the tower. You comin'?"
She nodded and slipped off the rock.
"Oh, and don't let Kratos get to you too much. He just loves being a jerk... Just ignore him. I know you're not a bad person."
She smiled faintly in reply. "Thanks..."
They set up camp somewhere in the forests on the western slopes of the mountains. Even though it had been a long day, Lloyd couldn't sleep. His thoughts kept returning to the fight against Undine, and how weak he'd felt without his Exsphere.
After lying awake for a long while, he got up to talk to Kratos, who was the night watch – as usual.
"Kratos..."
"Don't say anything."
Kratos tossed the Exsphere in Lloyd's direction. He caught it and regarded it for a while, then, he placed it back in the Key Crest. The Exsphere glowed faintly with a blue light, and he felt a sudden warmth.
Mum...
Lloyd drew his swords.
"I hope you're ready! For this time – this time, I won't make it easy for you!"
Kratos drew his blade and pointed it at Lloyd. Lloyd charged. It didn't take long until Kratos had thrown him to the ground. Lloyd jumped up again and resumed his attack.
I have to become stronger... for Colette. I promised that I'd protect her – and I will!
A strange gleam had appeared in Kratos' eyes. He seemed to be pleased with something – Lloyd just didn't know what it was.
The next morning, they left straight for the tower to take care of the seal. Lloyd ventured a guess it would be on the top floor and found he was right. They emerged onto the roof to face the strongest guardian so far. Since its element was light, Colette couldn't use angelic magic against it. Things weren't easy for Lloyd, either. The guardian had the shape of a winged horse with long thorns protruding from its legs directly above the hooves. It kept kicking in every direction, making it impossible for Lloyd to even get close. Kratos, Raine and Genis supported them from the distance, while Sheena, Lloyd and Colette tried to hit the monster.
Lloyd was just running away from the guardian when he tripped over a loose floor tile. Instinctively, he curled up into a ball when he heard the sound of hooves growing louder and the next moment, he felt a flare of pain in his left arm. Sheena came dashing to distract the guardian.
Soon, Lloyd felt healing magic close the cut on his arm, but the one responsible was not Raine – as he would have expected – but Kratos.
Finally, the trial was over. The guardian burst into tiny white sparks and after Colette had said her prayers, Remiel appeared.
"Well done, Chosen One! Now, the road to the Tower of Salvation has opened! There, at the centre of the world, you will face the last trial. Once you have offered your prayers for regeneration, this eroded world will be restored, and you can ascend to the heavens."
"Yes, Lord Remiel. I will fulfil my duty."
After the angel had disappeared, they discussed how to best get to the tower, since a great mountain range was blocking their way.
"There is a small settlement named Hima to the south of here", Kratos said. "Maybe we can get some information there."
Just as they left the tower, Colette tripped. Lloyd hurried to her side to help her get up again. Colette wanted to say something – Lloyd could tell she really tried – but no sound came out of her mouth. Colette tried again, without success.
Everyone stared at her in horror.
"What happened?", Genis asked.
"I would assume she has lost her voice", Kratos replied.
"Colette! Are you all right?", Lloyd asked.
She only smiled in response.
Everyone was shocked by this new development, and Sheena started bugging Raine about why Colette was apparently different from Remiel and if there was no way to help her. Raine was slightly surprised to see that Sheena was concerned about the girl she had tried to kill, which made Sheena furious.
Lloyd decided to leave them to their argument and went to talk to Kratos.
"Say, how much money does a mercenary earn?"
"That depends on the assignment. For this one, I received quite a large sum from Phaidra. Mercenaries are often hired by local militias or as an escort for travellers."
"I see."
"Why do you ask?"
"I was just wondering if a mercenary makes more money than a dwarven craftsman."
"You're not considering becoming a mercenary yourself, are you?"
"Naw, that wouldn't be my thing", Lloyd replied, laughing. "No, I'll learn crafting skills from my Dad, and when I'm all grown up, I'll build a boat."
"A boat?"
"Yes – so I can travel the world once it's peaceful. Oh – but there isn't much work for a mercenary in a peaceful work, is there?"
"I suppose not."
"Then – what are you going to do? Oh, I know! Once my boat is finished, I'll take you along."
Kratos gave him a surprised look, then, suddenly, he smiled. "Yes, I would like that."
Lloyd stared at him. He had never thought that Kratos could actually smile.
About halfway to Hima, they set up camp for the night. Lloyd noticed that Sheena seemed to have no appetite – despite Genis' efforts to make a good meal. Eventually, she put her bowl aside.
"Everyone, listen to what I have to say. I want to explain why I tried to assassinate the Chosen."
"All right, we'll listen", Raine replied. "Tell us of your home – a land that doesn't exist in our world."
"You – knew?"
"No. But you said yourself that Sylvarant would be saved. This can only mean you're not from Sylvarant."
"Yeah. You know, it's really a shame that your intellect is being wasted here. You're right. My homeland is not here, not on Sylvarant."
"What does that mean?", Genis asked.
"My world is called Tethe'alla."
"You're from the moon?", he asked in disbelief.
Sheena laughed. "No, of course not! Even I don't really understand the specifics, but there is another world that lies entwined with Sylvarant – as shadow is to light. That's Tethe'alla – my world."
"Two entwined worlds?", Raine asked.
"The two worlds lie directly adjacent to each other, they just can't see one another. Our scholars say that they exist on shifted dimensions. They can't see or touch each other, but they do exist next to and affect each other."
"What do you mean by that?", Lloyd asked.
"They vie for the supply of mana. When one world weakens, its mana flows to the other. As a result, one world is always flourishing, and the other waning. Sort of like an hourglass."
"You don't mean - "
"Yes. Sylvarant's mana is flowing to Tethe'alla, therefore, Sylvarant is in decline. Without mana, crops can't grow and magic becomes unusable. If there's no mana, the Summon Spirits that protect the world alongside the Goddess Martel can't survive in Sylvarant either. As a result, the world slips even further down the path of destruction."
"Then the ritual of World Regeneration is actually the process of reversing the mana flow?", Raine asked.
"Exactly. When the chosen breaks a seal, the mana flow is reversed and the Summon Spirit that governs the seal awakens. I was sent to prevent the regeneration from happening. I broke through the supposedly impassable dimensional fissure for the sake of protecting Tethe'alla."
"In other words, to ensure the decline and destruction of Sylvarant?", Lloyd asked angrily.
"You could say that", Sheena replied defiantly, "but your Journey of World Regeneration is also an attempt to destroy Tethe'alla. We're both doing the same thing."
"It's hard for me to believe all of this", Raine said.
"I'm the proof. I possess summoning arts that have been lost from this world."
"Wait a minute – didn't Alice say you were a summoner?", Genis asked.
"Yes – she's from Tethe'alla, too. But I don't know what she intends to do... she most certainly doesn't want Colette to be killed – she actually threatened me. And from what I've heard about her powers – I'd rather not get on her bad side."
Colette jumped to her feet, giving Sheena a pleading look.
"Please don't look at me like that, Colette! I know this wasn't your intention. I don't know what I should do, either... I came here to protect Tethe'alla, but this world is impoverished and everyone's suffering... but if I allow the regeneration to occur, then Tethe'alla will become just like this..."
"But right now, you're helping us", Genis said.
"Yes, but that doesn't mean I can just abandon Tethe'alla! I – I don't know what to do." She shook her head in frustration. "Isn't there any other way? A way for Sylvarant, Tethe'alla and Colette to all be happy?"
"I want to know, too!", Lloyd exclaimed.
"Have you considered that perhaps nothing that convenient exists in the real world?", Raine asked.
"The best thing we can do now is to save Sylvarant from its current crisis", Kratos said.
"What if we don't regenerate the world and just defeat the Desians?", Lloyd suggested.
"Even though two ranches were destroyed, we cannot possibly eliminate all the Desians. And the mana will eventually be exhausted."
"Is mana really that important?"
"I suppose only magic users and scholars worry about it", Genis replied, "but mana is even more important to life than water. Without mana, the land will die. Mana is the source material that composes everything – at least that's what I've been taught."
"Unfortunately, the tree of ever-flowing mana in fairy tales doesn't exist in the real world", Raine added. "We live by chipping away at the limited amount of available mana. Why do you think the ancient magi-technology was lost?"
"Because mana disappeared from the world", Sheena replied.
"Correct. Magi-technology consumes large amounts of mana. If things continue the way they are now, Sylvarant will eventually lose its mana, just as it lost its magi-technology, and be destroyed."
Colette took Lloyd's hand and turned it, so his palm faced upwards. With her index, she started to trace lines across his palm, and Lloyd realised she was spelling something.
"I'll – try – asking Re-miel – if there – is a – way – to – save – both worlds."
"We'd better hope it works", Sheena replied quietly. "Or I might have to kill you in the end."
"Sheena!", Genis protested.
"When – that – time comes, I – may – fight back. Be-cause I – love – Syl-varant too."
"I understand. You intend to become an angel, no matter what, don't you."
"There has to be a way out of this!", Lloyd exclaimed, frustrated, squeezing Colette's hand. "Life surviving at the cost of another... this is just crazy!"
He didn't like the idea to sacrifice another world for the sake of their own.
They didn't talk much else that night. Everyone had a lot to think about, after all.
So, Sheena comes from another world. Is that why she's wearing such strange clothes? I wonder...
They reached Hima the following day, shortly before sunset. They called it "The Venturer's Colony" and it was a tiny settlement nestled into the side of a mountain.
They climbed up to the peak of the mountain to get a closer look at the Tower of Salvation.
"Crossing these mountains would take us weeks – maybe longer", Raine said. "And Colette is the only one who can fly..."
"You want to fly to the Tower of Salvation? I can help you with that!"
The speaker was a short, stout man who must have climbed the mountain after them.
"And what kind of help do you have in mind?"
"I've just started a new trade, it's called Dragon Tours. Now that the Tower of Salvation has appeared, many pilgrims will want to see it from up close."
"Does that mean we can use your dragons to fly to the tower?"
"No, it's surrounded by a strong magical barrier. You can only circle it."
"That's good enough", Lloyd replied. "We just need to cross the mountains."
"That would be 1.000 Gald per person."
"What?!", Genis exclaimed. "Are you crazy? Where should we get the money?!"
"I left most of my money in Luin", Lloyd muttered.
"But if we don't get to the tower somehow, World Regeneration won't happen", Raine pointed out.
"W-wait – are you – the group of the Chosen One?", the dragon tamer asked.
"Yes", Kratos replied. "The Chosen needs to reach the tower as soon as possible."
"I couldn't possibly accept money for helping the Chosen! I'll ready three dragons for tomorrow morning, if that's all right with you."
"That will be fine", Kratos replied.
The man hurried away.
"This just very strongly reminded me of our Chosen", Sheena observed. "He gets anything he wants just because he happens to be the chosen. Well, almost anything."
"You have a chosen, too?", Raine asked, surprised.
"Of course. The ritual of World Regeneration is carried out in both worlds. The Church of Martel exists there, too."
"Seems like you don't like that chosen", Genis said.
"I don't. Should you ever be unfortunate enough to meet him, you'd understand why."
Lloyd caught Colette's arm as she wanted to follow the others into the inn.
"Colette... I'm sorry. Even though I promised, I never got to make you that present... I always thought we'd still have a ways to go..."
Colette grabbed his hand to write her reply.
"It's fine. I'll – wait – forever. Even after – I become – an – angel", Lloyd read. "Got it. And this time, I'll definitely keep my word!"
Colette smiled.
A/N:
#TopTenAmineBetrayals
Both Larkin and Lloyd are so done with Kratos.
While Lloyd and Larkin spend some quality time together, Kratos is quietly freaking out in the background, not having any idea that his daughter is about ten steps ahead of him.
Also, Kratos sneakily employs his daughter to help persuade his father-in-law to accept his money. He doesn't even know how lucky he got there. Plus, Alice is totally up for it.
Lloyd's "We're all people" was inspired by Ike from Fire Emblem. "Why should I care about the colour of your eyes, hair, or skin? Or that of your wings, tail or ears? No matter how long you live or what powers you possess, at the end of the day, we're all people."
I also skipped the entire Pietro-storyline and reduced the number of visits to the Asgard ranch to one. Alice then became the catalyst for Raine to seek a way to strengthen her healing magic.
Girlfriend Commentary
"Oh, I'm Larkin, by the way."(And I am not your grandfather, no, nuh-uh)
"Wait! We'd better remove his sword from his reach before you try anything", he whispered. (bold of you to assume not having a sword nearby would stop him)
"Awesome!" (Aww, baby Lloyd getting excited about granpa's magic tricks)
"My house, my rules. You will have breakfast first, and then we'll see."(I love the full-on dad-mode, also, props to Larkin, I know this is his son in law and all, but holy cow, it takes balls to tell Kratos what to do)
"I know you like acting tough – and I won't deny that you are a tough guy – but you're still human. Not some untouchable entity." (LOL)
Genis gave him a surprised look before letting out a chuckle. "Lloyd… please, never change." (Awwwwww 3)
"I tried to give him money earlier, to repay him for his hospitality, but he flat-out refused. I couldn't persuade him… So, I was thinking that – maybe – you could - ?" (Well, I mean, of course he refused, he was housing his son in law and his grandchildren, my grandmother would have been seriously offended if any of us had suggested this… I mean, I know we're all pretending he doesn't know here, but ya know…)
"I'm sorry about what I said yesterday", he said quietly. "It must have seemed very harsh and cold to you..." (Good job on making him dislike you, Kratos, make up your mind)
"What did you expect? I'm human." (well, yes, but so is your daughter, Raine is rightfully confused here, I think)
"I once had a friend who had troubles with Summon Spirits", he replied. "But that was a while ago." (once… a friend… a while ago… more like: have… my evil overlord boss… 4000 years ago)
A strange gleam had appeared in Kratos' eyes. He seemed to be pleased with something – Lloyd just didn't know what it was. (Lloyd being oblivious… Let your dad be proud of you, you moron!)
Lloyd stared at him. He had never thought that Kratos could actually smile. (aww, fluff)