As Sheena and Lloyd trudged southward, the wind began blowing more viciously than before. Pretty soon, dark, ominous clouds covered the once blue sky. It looked as if the skies were going to open up at any minute and pour their multitude of water upon their heads.
Sheena took her eyes off Lloyd for a minute to scan the sky. She frowned as the darkness above moved rapidly. Her first day with Lloyd alone was going to be a disaster, she thought as a tiny drop of rain fluttered into one of her eyes.
"Why did it have to rain on this day of all days?" Sheena sighed.
"Lighten up! It's rain, it won't kill you," Lloyd said happily.
Suddenly, a bright flash shot through the forest. What followed was a enormous bang, that sounded somewhat like the explosion of the ranches they destroyed in the past. Lloyd's grin faded as the ground shook from the thunder.
"Damn."
"Come on Lloyd, we need to get to that ranch! It's got to be the safest place right now..." Sheena said.
Lloyd nodded, and they started to dash. Then, the clouds split apart. Rain began to pour endlessly down upon them, soaking every article of clothing they wore. Sheena's large chest slogged around in her wet robe and bra. When Lloyd turned around to make sure she was behind him, this caught his attention.
He stared for a second too long. Lloyd kept running. Straight into a tree. He fell backwards, right into the mud. Sheena stopped and began to giggle. "Alright there big guy?"
Lloyd stood up. He wiped the mud off of him as best he could. As the rain spilled furiously on him, he blushed. "Yeah...Uh, I'm good...Sorry, I couldn't, uh, see..."
"Whatever Lloyd," Sheena replied.
"Y-Yeah...we need to get to that r-ranch now, right?" Lloyd said, turning away from what kept tempting him. He was starting to understand Zelos's reasoning.
"Yup."
This time, Sheena ran beside Lloyd. At last, they came to the old sign. It no longer had any words on it. It was torched and black.
"This is it, Sheena. You haven't been here before, have you?"
Sheena shook her head. "Come on, I'm cold!"
They turned right, and headed in the front door. To the right side, a large staircase led down into the ranch. They stopped at the bottom. The above lights had all been turned out, cobwebs littering their leftovers. However, the wall still had energy flowing through it. It lit up the ranch dimly.
"Hey Lloyd, do you mind not turning around? I need to ring out my top..."
Lloyd gulped and blushed. "S-Sure..."
He heard water dripping onto the floor. Lloyd wanted to turn around...but he knew he couldn't. He waited for Sheena to say 'okay', and then he whirled around.
"Let's go."
"Okay, you first," Sheena said nervously.
They walked slowly, deeper into the ranch. Lloyd looked overhead a few times and remembered the red beams that he once had to avoid. He shook his head as painful memories came back to him.
There was no sign of life throughout the entire time they walked. Sheena became jumpy, and every time she or Lloyd stepped on something, she would get startled. As they progressed further, the lights on the wall began to fade.
"Damn, it's too dark in here," Lloyd mumbled.
"I'd summon Luna, but I don't know if there will be enough space," Sheena replied.
"Let's wait until we know we're in a slightly bigger room," he said back.
Each step led them into a darker part of the ranch. "Ugh, Lloyd, I can't stand this anymore! I'm summoning her!"
Lloyd nodded, and Sheena said her summon incantation. The beautiful goddess Luna appeared before them. "Luna! Bestow light upon us!"
"As you wish," Luna said. Suddenly the hall lit up, and Luna disappeared. But they soon found that it wasn't a hallway they were in at all. It was a giant room. A large orb was floating in the middle, high up above a deep pit. Rails were on the path on their right side.
"What...is that thing?" Lloyd wondered aloud.
"I...don't...know..." Sheena said. She was in awe, staring at the orb. It was clear, and on the inside, it looked like there were clouds.
"Sheena, stay here. I'll be right back," Lloyd said. His angel wings sprouted from his back, and he flew up to the orb.
Sheena shook off her look of awe and called up to Lloyd, "Hey, be careful!"
Lloyd ignored her voice. The orb...it was calling to him. He flew in closer.
"Lloyd! Did you hear me?"
The room suddenly changed to the outside around Lloyd. Instead of an orb, there was a mid-sized tree. It looked somewhat like a willow. A soft voice called to him.
"Lloyd..."
Lloyd stood there, wanting to speak. But he couldn't.
"Lloyd..."
He closed his eyes. The tree's mana was immence.
"Lloyd..."
Or was it?
"LLOYD!"
Suddenly, the tree withered. The sky turned black, as did the ground. Everything started to fade, and Lloyd was still floating back in the big room. It wasn't ablaze with the yellow light he was used to...no, this was different. This was like the light they used in the Temple of " Shadow, the summon spirit, rasped. He disappeared, leaving the eerie glow between the two friends.
Lloyd floated down to where Sheena was and dropped on one knee. "Lloyd! You almost touched that thing! I told you not to do anything dangerous!"
Lloyd shook his head. It was spinning fast. "I'm sorry Sheena...that thing...it drew me in...I heard you...but I couldn't say anything back...I..."
"I understand. That's how it was like when Mithos possessed me. I could hear you yelling for me, but I couldn't acknowledge you. It's okay, I know how you felt," Sheena said. This seemed to soothe Lloyd a little, but not much.
"Sheena, maybe you should be the one protecting me," Lloyd said. Sheena laughed, not realizing that Lloyd was serious.
"Come on, let's go. I don't trust that thing..." Lloyd said. Sheena extended her gloved hand to Lloyd. He took it and pulled himself up. "Don't do anything that stupid again, you hear?"
They saw the door in the wall to the left. They headed for it, leaving behind the orb. As they walked through the door, they heard a soft chuckle from behind them. Sheena jumped, and grabbed Lloyd's arm with both hands. Lloyd unsheathed his other sword.
"It...must have just been...that storm, right?" Sheena said, squeezing tightly.
"Y-Yeah," Lloyd replied.
Sheena let go, and they walked onward. It was still dark, but the blue light helped a lot. "This place is like a damn maze!" Lloyd said angrily.
"Lloyd, don't lose your patience. We have time...it's not like we're limited, like we were against Yggdrasill."
They kept walking. It seemed like they had been in the ranch for days. Lloyd's stomach kept rumbling. "Damn..." he said.
Then, they came into an open room. Lights were everywhere, and it almost blinded Sheena and Lloyd as they walked in. A large chair (like Magnius's) was placed in the middle, with a breathing body in it.
"So, you saw my little creation?"
Sheena gasped. Lloyd clenched his teeth and drew both of his swords. "What was that thing? It almost killed me!"
"That," said the voice, "will end the world."
The chair floated to the ground, with the person in it. It turned around, and Lloyd saw the red hair. It shared the color of Zelos's. There was only one person he knew that remotely resembled the Chosen.
"S-Seles...?"